Chapter 168
The next day passed without much of importance happening, just more questions being thrown his way by the siblings joining him through Eterna Forest. On the third day, right as Ethan was approaching the lone path that led off to his ranch, a commotion just off the path grabbed their group's attention.
Straining his ears, Ethan listened to the distant voices and sounds of battle. With a quick glance toward Rachel and Gideon, he saw that they were looking at him like a mother duck. He looked off in the direction of the commotion again, then released Smeargle by his side, who appeared hugging his tail but determined, having heard what he had and having felt his mood.
"You two stay here while I check out what this is." Ethan said, pointing to the ground to tell the two teens to stay where they were.
As expected from getting to know them, Rachel nodded her agreement while Gideon balked. "What? No! I'm coming with you."
Ethan gave himself a second to think about it, then shrugged. "Suit yourself. Just know that if all hell breaks loose—which is just my luck, by the way—then I'm going to have to look out for me and not for you."
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Gideon replied while pulling off Duskull's pokeball from his belt and releasing it. The floaty ghost was mild and non-emotive as ever, simply staying by its trainer.
The sound of another release announced Jigglypuff, Rachel's pokemon, and the girl herself walking up to stand by her brother. They both shared a nod, then looked back to him to lead the way.
And that's what he did.
After having lived within Eterna Forest for over a year, Ethan was very much a professional about how he traversed the thick underbrush and twisting branches of too closely bundled trees. Unlike his two compatriots, he hardly made a sound as he snaked his way toward the commotion. The amount of 'stealth' he practiced back when he first arrived gave him these skills. Afterall, sneaking berries from all those lone berry trees spread in the forest wasn't very easy when you didn't have a pokemon and you sounded like ten humans instead of one. Practice made perfect.
Ethan continued forward, outpacing the siblings and Smeargle by a solid fifteen feet when he spotted a figure, back turned towards him. After creeping towards a thicker tree nearby to get a better look, Ethan spotted three young men—new trainers, judging by their attire and single pokeballs—facing one another, surrounding a… very beat up Slakoth.
Ethan spared a glance around, finding that most of the common pokemon that called the forest home were nowhere in sight. No Pidgey, Starly, Caterpie, Wurmples… they had fled. His attention was pulled back to the three trainers when one of them called out a command. "Poochyena, Tackle it again."
One of the other teens smiled and eagerly clapped the one who called out on the shoulder, looking giddy, while the other one looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.
Ethan rose up, finally seeing said Poochyena through the underbrush as it tackled the already unconscious Slakoth again, sending its body ragdolling a few feet to the side.
"What the fuck do you three think you're doing?!" Ethan yelled harshly as he forewent stealth completely, stomping forward as a very rare rage built up in his system.
It didn't take a genius to know what was happening. Not to be 'that guy' but the two who looked excited at this murdering of Slakoth looked like stereotypical bullies. The teen with the Poochyena was thicker, wide, and had a face only a mother could love, probably used to being the big bully back from wherever he was from. His happy lacky, who wasn't so happy anymore, was tall and lanky—sleezy looking in Ethan's opinion, the kid probably did or sold drugs. The third looked out of place, and being as before Ethan revealed himself that he obviously looked like he didn't want to be here, made him more innocent than the others, but not completely. That particular teen was short, even by teen standards, and had big square framed glasses resting on his small nose.
Seeing Ethan, a very mad adult, stomping towards them, the two 'bullies' lost all of their smiles and cringed. They murmured to each other while the third looked relatively relieved and stepped aside, separating himself.
"Trent? Wade? Wait, is that you Calvin?" Gideon's shout registered to Ethan, but he ignored it in favor of checking on the poor unconscious Slakoth. The teen who'd separated himself looked relieved at Gideon and Rachel showing themselves through the trees and started walking over to them, while hesitantly throwing a glance at the others.
"Calvin? What the hell dude? Why are you with them?" Gideon asked as Ethan finally reached the Slokoth. Trent and Wade, the two troubled teens, watched him with frowns but their reckoning would come soon.
Ethan knelt and gingerly flipped the Slakoth onto its back, taking in its bruised and battered form. This Slakoth had been done with whatever battle it was having long before he arrived. There was even some blood leaking from the corner of its mouth. One of its legs, probably where it had just been tackled, was visibly broken and it took slow and labored breaths while unconscious.
Ethan stood, turned towards Trent and Wade, picked the bigger of the two, stepped up to him, then wound his arm back and slapped him full force across the face. The very clear and punctuated sound stopped the ongoing murmuring from behind him.
Now, was it okay to hit random children? No. But it also wasn't okay to torture a pokemon to death.
"Trent!" Wade, the lanky sleezy teen yelled in a shrill voice as the boy was sent tumbling onto the forest floor from the blow.
Ethan turned to Wade and stepped up, posturing and towering over the lanky teen. Then, he called out. "Smeargle, watch these two and don't let them leave. If they try to run, you know what to do."
His ever happy and calm painter had a huge frown on his face as he spared a glance to the battered form of Slakoth, then pointed his tail right at the two who dealt out the damage, ready to act.
With one of the many Pokeball's he carried, Ethan quickly caught the poor Slakoth in hopes that the pokemon would be safer and stablier in a pokeball. The ball didn't even shake a single time. A low growl came from his left as Ethan stormily looked at the ball on the ground. Ethan spared the Poochyena a withering glare, and the growling instantly stopped. Its tail quickly tucked in between its legs as it lowered itself to the ground with a whine.
By now, Trent was up again, hand disbelievingly rubbing his now red cheek from where Ethan had slapped the daylights out of him. He looked to his pokemon, who was sufficiently cowed, then at Ethan, who already had his phone out and up to his ear as he stared at them down.
"This is Pokemon Ranger Stint, what is the reason for your call?"
"I'm calling from Eterna Forest, where I just found a few new trainers torturing a Slakoth to death. I've temporarily captured the Slakoth and will be going to Berry Falls, the ranch in the forest, to take it to the Pokemon Center there. I will also be taking the trainers responsible there. I'm just calling as a heads up. If you would, can you call the police and have a Jenny meet me there?" Ethan said as calmly as he could. There was still a hint of anger in his tone, which wasn't missed.
"Understood." The tonal shift from Pokemon Ranger Stint was obvious, going from someone going through monotony of work, straight to attention. "Whom am I speaking to?"
"Ethan Reed, I am the owner of the ranch in Eterna Forest. I am going to be teleporting those responsible to my ranch to await the police." Ethan replied, both informing Stint as well as Trent and Wade about what was going to happen.
"Understood. We'll have a Ranger there within twenty minutes. A Jenny will take longer, but I will forward the information to them for you."
"I understand. Thank you very much, have a good day." Ethan heard the farewell from Pokemon Ranger Stint, then hung up the phone. Not once did his eyes wander from the teens in front of him.
Ethan nodded towards them as he spoke aloud. "Smeargle, Teleport them home. James and Jessie will be there. I'll be home in a few hours. If they try something stupid, then have Snorlax sit on them."
"Smear." Smeargle, tail at the ready, walked forward to the two teens who were finally dawning on the absolute shit storm that was going to happen in the next few hours. They each took a step back and looked like they were about to either make a break for it or fight, when Smeargle's Psychic locked them into place. Half a second later, their bodies, still locked, floated over towards him.
Ethan finally turned to Rachel, Gideon, and the bullies third, Calvin, and waved them over. Rachel was very confused and a mix distraught at what they walked into, while Gideon looked murderous. Calvin… Calvin was dejected and a mix relieved. "Calvin, was it? You're going to teleport to my ranch as well and await the rangers and the police."
Dejected but understanding, Calvin nodded and awkwardly came to stand beside the two locked in place bullies. "Hold on one second, Smeargle. Let me call Jessie and James and give them a heads up."
And that is what he did.
"James," Ethan greeted once the line connected. "We're going to be having some visitors at the ranch in a minute. Keep watch over them until the Rangers and the Police arrive. They were torturing a pokemon when I came across them."
".... What?" James' deadpan tone made Ethan crack smile.
"You heard me. Tell Jessie and make sure they don't do anything foolish when they arrive." Ethan explained.
"Jessie! Hey, Jessie! Grab our outfits! We're going to put the fear of Arceus into some kids…. Yeah… Yeah, Ethan is on the phone…. Well, he can hear me and isn't objecting!!! ….. Okay!" After some light shuffling sounds from the other end, James spoke again. "We'll be ready. Should we tell Miss. Joy?"
"Yes, actually. There's going to be a Pokeball with Smeargle when he arrives. Please tell Joyce that a pokemon needs emergency treatment and to be ready." Ethan was about to say his goodbyes and thanks, when he decided to add in another bit of information. "Ignore the giant red handprint on one of their cheeks."
"Hoh?!" James barked out an intrigued laugh, then hung up.
Ethan put his phone away and strode in front of a squirming Calvin and fear stricken Wade and Trent. As if going through the motions, he took Trent's singular pokeball right off his hip and then recalled the cowering Poochyena. Idly, he lobbed the pokeball in his hands for a second or two, before clipping it back onto Trent's hip. "Be lucky I didn't take your pokemon from you. Don't grow too attached though, I doubt you'll be having it much longer."
Trent obviously couldn't respond as he couldn't move his mouth.
That didn't bother Ethan one bit.
Ethan held out the Pokeball Slakoth was in to Smeargle and once his painter secured it, he placed a hand on Smeargle's shoulder. "Tell everyone what happened. We'll be home soon."
"Sme–Smear." Smeargle nodded, then, for maybe the first time in his life, saw teleportation from the 'outside'. In a purple blip, as if the world was sucked into a point as fast as the blink of an eye, Smeargle and the three teens were gone.
Ethan simply stared at the spot they left behind while taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down as he was still very much on edge and angry.
Rachel and Gideon didn't say a word, too afraid to speak when Ethan was obviously upset. Rachel was about to speak out, when she heard him softly speak.
"Just one time… just one time with nothing bad happening…"