Night settled over Fuchsia City. Instead of seeking out a cheap inn or hostel, Xiu found a secluded corner within the small, neglected park he'd discovered earlier. He unrolled his sleeping bag beneath a flickering streetlamp – apparently, the landlord's sarcastic suggestion of sleeping on the street wasn't entirely off the mark tonight. For now, it would have to do.
He sat leaning against the cool metal pole of the lamp, the Stationmaster's thick notebooks open on his lap. He squinted, trying to decipher the handwritten notes in the weak, yellow light. Abra floated silently nearby, eyes closed in meditation. Happiny, already fed and content, was curled asleep inside its Poké Ball. Scyther, however, remained vigilant, perched on the edge of a nearby iron bench, methodically scraping one scythe against the other with a faint shink-shink sound, keeping its blades perfectly honed.
Suddenly, Scyther froze. The scraping sound stopped. It flapped its wings once, launching itself backwards off the bench, landing silently on the grass, scythes instantly raised in a defensive posture. Its multifaceted eyes were fixed intently on a dark pile of discarded building materials – bricks, broken pipes, rotting wood – heaped near the edge of the park.
Xiu, having grown accustomed to Scyther's hyper-awareness over the past few days, knew this wasn't a false alarm. He immediately closed the notebook, his senses snapping alert. He quickly recalled the sleeping Happiny, securing its Poké Ball, then moved swiftly to Scyther's side, peering into the indicated direction.
"Something there?" He whispered, straining his eyes against the gloom. His first thought, based on urban environments: 'Rattata. Or perhaps its evolved form, Raticate.' Those Pokémon thrived in human settlements, scavenging, nesting in refuse. Common, but potentially dangerous, as the unfortunate security guard's fate attested.
Abra, disturbed by the sudden tension, turned its head towards them, though its eyes remained closed, relying on its psychic senses.
Xiu didn't particularly want a fight, not now, not while he was exposed and trying to rest. But if something was lurking nearby, intending to share his temporary sleeping spot, it was better to deal with the 'local territorial dispute' proactively.
He scanned the immediate vicinity – no other people around. Good. He cautiously drew the confiscated net gun from his backpack. It felt heavy, unfamiliar in his hands. He hadn't actually used it himself yet. He advanced slowly towards the debris pile, Scyther flanking him silently, Abra hovering just behind.
'Even a 'little' Rattata can be deadly,' Xiu reminded himself, gripping the net gun tighter. Human bodies are fragile, as even a bite in the wrong place could prove fatal…
As they drew closer, faint rustling sounds emanated from within the pile. Scritch… scratch… He couldn't pinpoint the exact location by sound alone, needing to visually acquire the target. He slowed his approach further, scanning the shadows within the debris.
Scyther tensed beside him, its head cocked, clearly impatient with the slow stalk.
"Allow me." Abra's thought echoed in Xiu's mind. The small psychic Pokémon floated forward slightly, raising one hand.
The pile of debris began to shift. Bricks lifted silently into the air, pipes rolled aside, planks moved without a sound – Abra's Telekinesis clearing the obstruction piece by piece. The rustling inside grew more frantic. Xiu tensed, raising the net gun, finger hovering near the trigger, focusing his entire attention, waiting for the creature to break cover. 'One shot, make it count.'
Before Abra could fully clear the pile, a tiny yellow blur shot out from a shadowed corner, darting towards the park exit.
Instinctively, Xiu fired twice in its direction. Thwump! Thwump! But the nets snagged instantly on protruding pipes and broken boards within the debris pile, failing to deploy properly.
The yellow shadow didn't slow, zigzagging through the park, about to escape into the night. "Abra!" Xiu yelled urgently. "Catch it! Gently!"
He still held back, even now. Pokémon that managed to survive in the heart of a city couldn't be entirely feral or mindlessly aggressive; if not, they'd likely have been captured or eliminated by authorities long ago. There was no need for excessive force.
Abra zipped forward, faster than the eye could follow. A faint blue shimmer enveloped the fleeing yellow shape, halting it instantly mid-air, suspended helplessly a few feet off the ground.
Xiu hurried over, net gun lowered. As he got closer, he saw the captured Pokémon struggling futilely against the psychic hold, tiny limbs paddling frantically in the air, eyes squeezed shut tight. A smile touched Xiu's lips.
"Well, well. A Pichu." He hadn't expected to encounter one of the iconic electric pokemon so soon after leaving the park. 'Figures. Ash Ketchum meets Ho-Oh on day one, while I meet a Pichu scavenging in a rubbish heap. Everyone starts somewhere, I guess.'
"Pichu? Pichu!" The small Pokémon cracked open one eye, saw Xiu approaching, and immediately squeezed both eyes shut again, paddling its limbs even faster, feigning helplessness.
Xiu chuckled softly. As he drew nearer, small yellow sparks began to crackle faintly from the prominent red sacs on Pichu's cheeks. The sparks intensified, coalescing into arcs of unstable electricity that discharged weakly into the surrounding air.
And then… nothing. The electrical discharge fizzled out harmlessly before even reaching Xiu. Pichu's head drooped, its frantic movements ceased, and it went completely limp, unconscious in Abra's psychic grip.
"Abra, let it down gently," Xiu instructed, smiling faintly. He remembered reading about this in the Pokédex descriptions he'd devoured in his past life. Pichu, especially young ones, had underdeveloped electrical sacs. They couldn't store electricity efficiently and often discharged involuntarily when startled or emotional, frequently knocking themselves out in the process.
He reached out carefully as Abra lowered the unconscious Pichu. As his fingers brushed against its soft yellow fur, he felt a faint, residual tingling sensation, not painful, almost pleasant and surprisingly soft.
"Let's go back," he murmured, cradling the small Pokémon gently. He carried it back towards the bench under the streetlamp.
Perhaps due to its familiarity with self-inflicted electric shocks, the Pichu regained consciousness only moments later. It blinked, looked around blearily, saw Xiu sitting beside it, and froze for a second. Then, realization seemed to hit. It scrambled upright abruptly, spun around, and bolted, disappearing into the park's shadows again.
"Woke up fast," Xiu commented wryly, making no move to stop it. Abra hadn't reacted, and Scyther merely watched it flee with detached indifference before returning to its blade maintenance.
Xiu picked up his notebook again, trying to refocus on his studies under the dim light. A few minutes later, however, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. The Pichu hadn't gone far. It was peeking cautiously around the base of a nearby slide on the park's small playground structure, watching him.
He initially ignored it, but then Happiny, who had woken up and been released for some fresh air, noticed the Pichu as well. Happiny seemed immediately intrigued, letting out a cheerful "Hap-pi!" and waddling curiously towards the slide, clearly wanting to play.
An idea sparked in Xiu's mind. 'This Pichu lived here.' If he was going to camp here tonight, making peace with the local resident might be wise to avoid any further disturbances.
He took out the bag of basic Pokémon pellets he'd bought for Abra and Happiny. He poured a small amount into his palm, showed it to Happiny (who immediately started nibbling), then walked over towards the playground. He placed the remaining handful of pellets on the bottom step of the slide, then deliberately walked back to his bench, making sure the Pichu saw him leave the food.
He picked up his notebook again, pretending to read, but watched the Pichu covertly.
The small electric mouse eyed Xiu warily, then glanced at the pile of pellets, then back at Xiu. Slowly, hesitantly, it crept out from behind the slide, inching towards the food.
Just as it reached the pellets, Xiu deliberately lowered his notebook and looked around sharply, pretending to have just noticed something. The Pichu instantly yelped, startled, and scurried back behind the slide, poking just its head out to peek at him.
"Hahaha!" Xiu couldn't help it; he laughed out loud. The Pichu's overly dramatic reaction was genuinely amusing.
His laughter, however, seemed to terrify the Pichu even more. It ducked its head completely out of sight.
'Okay, maybe teasing it wasn't the best approach.' He sighed. Time to be direct. "Abra," he called softly. "Can you connect me with Pichu?"
Abra floated silently over to the slide. A moment later, Xiu felt that familiar mental connection establish itself, extending towards the hidden Pichu.
"You… who are you?" a small, timid voice echoed in Xiu's mind. "Why did you chase me out?"
"Uh… sorry about that," Xiu projected back, feeling a pang of guilt. He really had scared the little guy. "I didn't mean to chase you out. I'm just resting here for tonight. I'll be gone tomorrow. The food was… an apology. You can come back. I won't bother you again." He softened his mental tone, trying to sound reassuring. Teasing the Pichu had been fun, though.
"Really?" The Pichu's head cautiously reappeared from behind the slide. It looked carefully at Xiu, then suddenly noticed Abra floating silently right above it. It yelped again, stumbling backwards in surprise, falling onto its bottom. Tiny sparks crackled weakly from its cheeks again, then faded just as quickly. 'Right, it used up its charge earlier.'
"Abra, come back," Xiu instructed quickly. "Don't scare it." He worried Pichu might develop a stress reaction like Scyther's if pushed too hard.
As Abra floated back towards Xiu, the Pichu scrambled to its feet, darted to a corner further away, and resumed watching Xiu from a safer distance, hidden partly by shadows, curiosity warring with caution in its dark eyes.