The Tale of Seven: The Summon of Sorrow

[Reno]

Roxas looked over sharply when he heard the cry, having been watching the young pup as he placed his paws on the edge of the cage and stared out at the corral where the big racing Pokemon where kept. He couldn't see what made her panic, but he did hear the sound of the Pokemon running away and knew it was a Kecleon.

He walked over, looking at her and smiled, saying gently "No one here is going to hurt you. There just as curious about you as you are about them." He glanced over at where she was staring out towards, spotting his Absol and Zan but tilted his head down when he felt a thump on his foot, seeing the little Zorua now perched there.
"What are they all doing here?" The young voice asked, as curious as he remembered his own children to be.
"Some of them are our friends, the rest of them, however, are here to heal."

[Rikugurl]

Heal? That was what they were doing. The mother gave a huff, relaxing her muscles while watching the pokemon run off while others looked over, having heard the scary noise. All these creatures were just like them? Had they all been taken away from home and abused? It was then that she saw some of the creatures staying close to one another, and though they looked different, they looked similar. Were they family? Just like her and her son? She glanced down, seeing her boy wag his tail. She knew sooner or later, he would be asking to go play with the rest and she would have to decide when the time came. Slowly, she pulled away from the gate and walked over to their food bowls, easily chomping down on the delicious goods.

The sun moved across the sky and when the blonde Dark trainer knew it would be safe, he left the mother and child to do other things around the ranch. Axel couldn't handle it all and even if he could, Roxas had to keep an eye out for HIM! He was almost as bad as Roxel doing chores sometimes if he became absent minded.

"Hahaha, whaaaaat? No one got hurt~" Axel grinned, rubbing away some blood from the scrapes he acquired. He had tried to race some Mankey and Primapes up a rock wall and failed miserably. The monkeys seemed to enjoy it but when Roxas came around, he yelled at all of them, saying that they could have all gotten hurt!
Talk about monkey business!
As the two lovers walked down the trail from the mountain environment, their respected Pokemon at their side, Axel paused when he caught a glimpse of something. "Uhh... Rox?" The blonde paused and looked back at him, seeing the confused look on his partner's face. When he inquired, the redhead just pointed out across the field towards their Aid Barn.

Roxas followed the direction only to spot the cage he had set up all morning. It wasn't the cage itself but what was IN the cage. "Why is there a Rapidash and Ponyta in there...?"

[Reno]

The rescuer panicked for just a second as he saw the two horses, thinking that somehow the two dark types escaped and replaced themselves with the horses - but then he remembered the mother's ability and chuckled. Zorua HAD really liked the horses... "I think our tricky foxes are playing."

"Neeeigh!" Came a call across the field, the pontya suddenly pawing the ground and kicking his legs up in the air. The 'horse' hopped on his back legs and kicked his front, turning a full circle before dropping back down. Strangely, or not really so, the heavy hooves made no imprint in the ground even as he started to run around the larger, bigger horse.
"Zorua's feeling a lot better today." Roxas said, his voice upbeat as he watched the would-be quadrupedal mammal play. "He should be just fine now."

[Rikugurl]

"Zorua--- Oh!" That was right. These two new Pokemon of theirs knew how to change into different Pokemon, and even humans. Together, they made their way across the field, heading that way for lunch. As they passed the cage, Ninetales gave the two fake horses a good look, her tails swaying to show she wasn't intimidated by their tricks. She was really never fond of Dark types, knowing they they never had good intentions. Strangely enough, her mate was a dark type himself. She followed her master inside while Roxas stayed back to check on the mother and baby.

The unicorn turned, not minding the joyous pony trotting around her, leaving nothing but little paw prints. Unlike most Rapidash who had red eyes, this one had bright green orbs. Slowly, she walked over, her hooves not clicking at all, and reached the side of the cage where Roxas and his Absol stood. There was a sudden blue flicker, making the Absol growl but pause as the horse suddenly morphed into another Absol.

"Soool~~~" The green eye Absol purred, however her voice was different from most Absol.

[Reno]

A single red eye blinked, looking at the other Absol, tilting his head some in confusion. She certainly didn't smell any different. But as he heard the purr in her voice, the obvious invitation, he growled at her. He was taken.

He turned on his heels and trotted off and back into the house after his mate, shaking his head in annoyance. Roxas watched him go, wondering how in the world he ever managed to charm the more picky cream-colored fox, not noticing the gaze of a very similar Absol, this only only with both eyes intact, who was looking at the 'new' wolf curiously.

Instead he was drawn away from the cage when he heard yet another splash, and went hurrying off yelling, "Flareon! Enough swimming!!"

Zorua too didn't seem too noticed a thing as he ran inside the open door into their room and back outside, and inside again, loving the way his 'flames' made the room glow differently from place to place.

[Rikugurl]

"Absol...." The wolf tilted her head some, the scythe on her head suddenly becoming 'stuck' in the cage. She had completely forgot about that thing sticking out of her head but before she could pulled away, a smaller wolf walked over, shyly pulling on the cage to 'free' her. He was naive, not realizing that the scythe this Absol had wasn't even real. But there was something real about her...
"Sooooool~~" Her eyes. Zan was captivated when she turned to look at him, their eyes meeting and instantly, little hearts began to fly around the young disaster pokemon's head.

Both forgot about the happy little pony that was rushing in and out of the building. Luckily, his 'fire' wasn't real and he couldn't catch anything on fire. Still, the female absol stuck her nose through one of the cage opening, sniffing the other and catching his scent. What she didn't expect was for him to lean in closer and their noses suddenly touched. It was a wet shock that ran through her, making her fake white fur frizzle before jumped back. Another blue flicker ran over her body and her true form was revealed, making Zan back away in fright at her size and complexion.
"ZAN!?"
He heard his master call and quickly ran into the house, knocking over a stand trying to get to the kitchen quickly as if she could possibly follow.

"Dear Arceus! For having rescue pokemon, how come all of you are clumsy!?" Axel sighed, picking up the fallen piece of furniture. He shouldn't be talking!
As Axel disappeared from sight, the mother growled, raising onto her back legs and turned to see her son running out of the building again. "Baby, enough with the games. You will wear yourself out. I think it is time for a nap."
By the time Roxas walked back with a very wet Flareon, he noticed the mother and baby cuddled up together in a corner of the pen, letting the sun warm their fur. When he stepped inside, he saw a more nervous looking Zan, hardly able to eat.

[Reno]

Drip, drip, drip.
A towel was grabbing from the coat hanger and wrapped around Flareon, still a little damp from this mornings 'fun'. Roxas sighed as he set her on the counter and rubbed her down, glancing at Zan every now and again when he noticed the poor wolf acting so strangely.
Yes, it was a very strange day for the haven indeed.


And, still in Canaclave...
"Hmm...." Tensai's eyes narrowed as he looked at six Pokemon. One a silver fox named Eevee who was tackling another, a red skunk. Next to him, a orange-tip tailed beagle who was doodling little caricatures in the grass. Beside him, was a blue lion with a growing mane pawing the ground nervously. In a nearby fountain, a large goldfish swam about. And up high, a magnificent owl, who was scanning the clearing around them. "Maybe... Maybe if I got Charlie to sketch Pepper's flamethrower!"

"Or Borva's Will-O-Wisp!" Came a helpful suggestion from nearby,
Roxanne leaning forward on a rock she was perched on as she watched the on-going ons with the rest of their friends.
"Mime, Mime!" Came the echoing call as her mimicking friend leaned forward as well.

"Faber's foresight could come in handy too." Sanyi said with a yawn running a tiny comb through the fur of a small purple creature on his lap. Upon further inspection, it turned out to be a Ratatta. His name was Pip due to his very small size.

But what was he going to do about that defense? Bryon's Pokemon really knew how to handle attacks and take minimal damage. He wasn't really at any type disadvantages no matter who he picked, which was good.

He sighed again crossing his arms, but looked up when he heard a slight rustling and someone came upon them - but it was someone they recognized!
"I thought I'd find you guys somewhere around here." The blue-haired woman said, a blue fox walking at her side.
"Aunt Aqua!"
"Mom! How did you know we were here?"
"Heh, you guys are in the newspaper~ Tried to handle an oil spill all by yourselves huh?"

[Rikugurl]

"GROWL!!!" A happy, playful yip came from what seemed to be above and by the time Moxley and Pepper knew what was going on, a growlithe pounced them both, sending them all flying to the ground. He was pawed in the face playfully when he jumped back onto his feet and began licking his friends. It had been awhile since they could all ready play together like this. After the rain, it was a beautiful day though his friends' master didn't seem to enjoy the sun any since a frown was on his face since this morning.

In the fountain, the large goldfish wasn't the only one swimming around. A yellow and purple Gorebyss was enjoying the cool, fresh water along with a pink slug who was cleaning herself. At the edge of the fountain, a curious chicken was glancing at the shiny coins on the bottom, her head tilting back and forth, wondering what they were. She wasn't much like her friend back at the Haven who actually ENJOYED water so she didn't brave enough to plunge in. Quite honestly, she did the exact opposite but it wasn't her intention when she was suddenly hit with a stream of water. "TOOOOORCHIIIIC!!" She flailed once she hit the ground and huffed, fluttering her downy feathers to get them dry while sending a glare at the laughing Floatzel.

"♪♪♪♪♪~~~~~"
♪♪♪.......♪.........♪♪.......♪♪♪♪!
"Ludicolo~ Ludicolo~ Lu-lu-lu colo♪~"
A little band was playing while a festive looking pokemon danced around the Pokemon who was making most of the music while the bird above on a branch sang a pretty song. Underneath, spiteful eyes glared at his sister. How come SHE got Borva? She was so beautiful and strong! She could have really helped him against Gunnar!
"SOL!"
"Ut! Oh.... Sorry, Sanuye..." He blushed, seeing a large tuff of white hair in the comb that he was brushing her with.

Below the girl getting the death stare, Bonnie was flipping through a magazine, looking at all the beautiful dresses. She needed to find a perfect one for her holiday show. However, she placed the magazine down and glanced up, seeing her aunt suddenly. "Ah! Aunt Aqua~" She smiled, slowly getting up and chuckled when her Beautifly landed on her shoulder. She really looked up to her aunt... maybe because she had a wife and it gave her some hope down the way for her and Roxy...

All their excitement was crushed the moment she brought up the oil spill from two days ago though...
"Well, we couldn't just stand there without helping." The brunette explained.

[Reno]

The blue fox, uninterested in their conversation, stepped away from her master to go and greet her nephew, nipping at his ear as he got pinned under a bigger tiger dog.
"Vee~" Came a happy, squeaky call.

There was a nod from the woman, chuckling softly, "I know. I would of done the same. I'm not upset about it or anything."
"Niiiine..." Came a sad call, silver tails curling around the body of the elegant fox as she laid her head in her paws. If only she had been able to do more...
"We would of taken care of it too, if it weren't for that stupid ranger!" Roxy burst out suddenly, her temper once again getting the best of her.

"Roxanne," The other woman said patiently as she walked over to where the majority of the group stood. "It never hurts to accept a little help you know."
"Hmph. We had it under control." The other frowned, crossing her arms. "He just wanted all the glory!"
"Oh? So what were you going to do if this ranger didn't rudely interrupt you guys?"
Green eyes narrowed, ".....We would of figured it out!!!!"
There was a sigh besides her and Sanyi shrugged, "Yeah maybe." When he was given a glare by the blonde whirlwind, he hardly flinched, just saying carefully, "Well, I was frozen stiff. You were about to set the oil on fire. No one had even thought to get that family out of there. I mean come on Roxanne, it was a big flop of a rescue attempt and you know it."

The woman grit her teeth, but only crossed her arms, Charlotte doing the same so they appeared to be ganging up on the poor teen.
"You know Roxy... we never knew what we were doing either when we went on those rescue missions." Her aunt said kindly, knowing that those stories had stuck with the young blonde as it had all their children. They often even called them heroes, though Aqua would say honestly she felt nothing like one. "But, we never once turned our backs on a helping hand either. We wouldn't of been able to do even half the things we accomplished without help."
Roxanne frowned more and shook her head, but sighed. Of course she knew that - Demyx, Saix, Volken, Firi, Gin and countless others had been a great help to their parents when they were young, hopeful and a bit foolish. Even some legendaries had helped them... including the very one who insulted her yesterday!
"Aunt Aqua?"
"Hmm?"
"Was Shaymin a jerk when you met him?"
Blue eyes blinked in confusion at the sudden random topic. "...Shaymin? Well... a little stuck up I suppose and awfully full of himself, but... well Sora always says he's 'wise in his own way'. If you ask ME, he's a wise-ass. ...Why?"
Roxanne glanced at her then looked away towards the others unsure if she wanted to tell her aunt the truth - what would she think if she knew they had met Shaymin yesterday?

[Rikugurl]

Unfortunately, Roxy had an idiot brother who didn't think twice about opening his big mouth. "Because the ranger had one." The blonde and red haired teen answered, making even his sister glare at him but he glared right back while he walked up, the Absol by his side with a silky smooth coat.
Before the blonde could kill her sibling, Bonnie placed a hand on her shoulder and smile. "Well, we actually don't know if he owned it. I mean... it is a legendary."
"So? My daddy Axel OWNED Moltres!"
"Roxel, your dad didn't OWN Moltres. Moltres came to help him and then flew off."

Well, that just started an uproar, the teens all starting to debate about the whole thing. Aqua could quickly tell that this group of youngsters wasn't like the one she was a part of when she was on her own journey. Sure they had their arguments and rough times but they were at least understanding afterwords. This just seemed like puberty gone wrong.

"How could you say that? My dad gave her orders and she followed!"
"ABSOL!"
"That boy gave Shaymin orders and Shaymin did it! That means they own them!"

[Reno]

"Your such an idiot Roxel!" Roxanne snapped.
"Nine!" The silver-colored fox barked a reprimand, but unlike when they were young, their was no stopping their insults now.
"A styler can get Pokemon to follow orders too, that doesn't mean they own them now does it?!" She continued, all of them fighting left and right.
"Yeah!" Sanyi jumped in. "You own a Pokemon when it gifts you with something special! Like, Draco allows me to fly on his back!"

And watching this very odd argument, was Tensai, standing on the sidelines with a frown, and Aqua who was tapping her foot in annoyance as she tried and failed to calm them down.
"Well that's not-" She attempted to interrupt, only to be talking over. "Now that's-, No that isn't-, Now don't say... Ugh... WILL YOU GUYS FUCKING COOL IT?!"
"GLA!" A little icy wind burst onto the teens (and some of their unfortunate Pokemon, her partner giving her a literal hand in 'cooling them down'.
"Why thank you." She said graciously to her fox before crossing her arms and frowning, looking at the shivering kids. She looked at their youth and sighed. They knew so little... But she had learned all her lessons the hard way. "You guys have a LOT to learn if that's how you think of Pokemon. The only people who ever OWN Pokemon... are teams and very cruel trainers."
"Gla!" Glaceon nodded in agreement, sitting down at her mother's feet.
"W-What?!" Some of them cried.
"Moltres listened to Axel because she was his friend." She said it very clearly, as if explaining it to two year olds. "They listen to your orders, they fight for you, they share things with you and they protect you because they are your companions. Because they want and choose to. If you 'own' a Pokemon... then the only reason you do care about it is because it's your property."
"...M-M-Mom we didn't mean it like that..." Sanyi said, his teeth chattering, Pip now snuggled under his shirt to get warm.

"I know." She said, her tone becoming gentler, but waving her hand to the array of Pokemon all around them, "But they all have ears. They ARE smart enough to understand what you mean - and you can hurt their feelings. You'll lose their respect, if you don't treat them with the same."
"Gla." There was a very serious nod from the Pokemon at Aqua's feet.

[Rikugurl]

"Soool...." The disaster pokemon shivered from the icy wind, lowering herself against he ground. Roxel wrapped his arms around him, his little hairs sticking up as he shivered as well.
"Ut!" Bonnie blinked feeling the weight on her shoulder suddenly leave, hearing a thud behind her only to realize Beautifly was weak against ice moves. As she listened to her aunt's wise words, she recalled the bug pokemon and sighed. Aqua was right. None of them OWNED any Pokemon. Especially not a Ranger. They only had one dedicated friend that helped them calm others. The rest of the Pokemon Rangers worked with connected with the Ranger through friendship.

That ranger must have been really special if his Poke assist is a legendary.

They all blinked when a little yellow and orange chick walked up tentatively, glancing at the teens who were shaking as she made her way over to her trainer. She looked up at him, turning her head one way to another before nuzzling him. From her touch, she warmed his body instantly and the boy smiled. "Thanks Melody..." He reached out and picked her up, holding her close and nuzzled her fluff. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. We're best friends, right?"
"Torchic!" The chick smiled and nodded, agreeing happily.

Bonnie, having wished she made friends with a fire type, frowned as she watched the 'cute' scene before turning her gaze to her aunt again. "Well, besides the point, the ranger that helped with the oil spill had a Shaymin with him."

[Reno]

"Yeah, I think I got that part," Aqua said, still remembering what CAUSED the fight in the first place.
"It was a jerk." Roxanne said plainly, still looking a bit hurt even as Borva cuddled close and warmed her up as well. "Claimed we weren't professionals and was a... complete... chauvinistic... ugh!"

"Heh, sounds like Shaymin alright - but somehow, I really doubt it was the same one we knew." Aqua said. "The Shaymin we knew spent most of his time with Giratina and was kind of prideful about how far he could travel. I can't imagine he'd give that up." The thought of it though made her smile. Did that mean the Gracidea flowers returned? Was his efforts to return the field not in vain?They hadn't heard from the tiny reindeer-like Pokemon since their second big mission, but she still remembered how Shaymin were born - when the phenomenon of a Gracidea flower spouted an extra petal, much like a four-leaf clover.
And, when the floods wiped out nearly the entire field, Shaymin had set out alone with only a few flowers left to him, and found a new home to protect them in. That was how they met.

[Rikugurl]

"Mmm... daddy told me that it wouldn't be surprising if no more Shaymin were born but I'm kinda glad I saw one." Bonnie thought out loud, not minding the glare she was suddenly given again by her girlfriend. She had never seen a legendary with her own eyes and now that she realized just what she saw on that boy's shoulder, it suddenly hit her. He was so small to be a legendary and so surreal that a ranger was friends with one. She even had a hard time believing her uncle knew Moltres.

The big question again came from Roxel who placed Melody on top of his own fluffy head. "So, auntie.... what are you doing here anyway? I hope it wasn't just to scold us about our lame rescue attempt..."
Sanuye glanced up at the teenager before rolling her eyes. He sure did have a way of wording things...

[Reno]

"Well..." Aqua frowned, suddenly looking more serious now. "You're right, I didn't come here for that - though I am incredibly glad for SOME reason you guys went here instead of Oreburgh first."

"Oreburgh? What's wrong there?" Sanyi asked.
"There are reports that Route 203," She looked at Roxel and Roxanne's clueless expressions and remember they didn't live in this area, so she explained, "That's the route that leads into that Oreburgh. Anyways, there have been reports of incredibly increased crime. Apparently some Team has stationed themselves there and has been stealing from trainers, especially new ones. The police are working on it, but they are advising trainers to steer clear of the area until they get the mess cleaned up. So once you guys get to Jubilife, you guys can go down Route 202 or 204, I don't really care just anywhere else."
She gave a good long stare to Roxanne, "And DON'T get any crazy ideas of trying to swoop in there and clear out the problems yourself. These guys are reported to be holding trainers up at gunpoint, so don't even mess around with it, okay? There even getting them from the air. There are even reports of a sniper with them. So, promise me."
"We promise, mom." Sanyi said with a quick nod.
"Promise." Tensai added hugging on Moxley, hoping his fathers weren't freaking out too much. He knew just how much his daddy Sora was afraid of guns... He heard the story of Rosa and Metagross.
The others promised as well, and Aqua nodded and smiled. "Alright, good. Well, I'll let you guys get back to whatever your doing."

They said goodbye to their aunt, watching her go along with Glaceon whose tail was wagging some and they sighed.
"I can't believe that. Can you imagine? You just get your first Pokemon and, bang, get it stolen from you going to your first gym?" Roxanne said, sounding angry and sad. Most trainers did go to Oreburgh or Twinleaf first, because most people only had one or two Pokemon to start and those gyms were often reported as the easiest. So it was like... easy pickings! "Ugh, how can anyone DO that?"
"Roxy, remember we promised we aren't going to do anything about it." Sanyi reminded, seeing how fired up she was getting about it.
"I know, I know. I'm not crazy - dad would be SO pissed if I did." She sighed looking up, then looked up, hearing the sound of Pokemon being rapidly recalled. "Ten...? What's wrong?"
"Gunnar and Lucina!" He said hurriedly, seeming panicked.
Green eyes rolled in exasperation. "Tch, what about em?"
"Remember what Gunnar said yesterday? That he was going to challenge Roark next! And they fly on that Salamence!! We need to warn them!"

"-Even reports of a sniper..." Aqua's words replayed in their minds. If Gunnar and Lucina flew over Oreburgh and were spotted by that team... they were going to be killed.