Chapter 9: The Insect Gang and New Friends
It's been about an hour since we said goodbye to Gige, and we should be reaching Route 214 any minute now. The journey would've been fairly nice if not for-
"HEY, FOR THE... haah.... FOR THE LAST... TIME... hooh... SToP!!!!"
If not for them. I don't know my luck is just shitty or what, but about fifteen minutes ago we ran into another group of Pokémon. Except this time it was a group of 3 bug-type Pokémon that called themselves 'The Insect Gang'. Now normally that wouldn't be a problem, it'd be welcomed, if not for the fact they tried to rob us.
------Flashback------
"It sucks that Gige didn't wanna come." Hops said while kicking at the ground.
"Yeah, but there's nothing we can do." I shrugged.
"I know," she replied with a pout, " it was just a lot of fun beating up those Machop, and Gige seemed like a riot."
"Indeed, she also seemed quite knowledgeable, which would be quite helpful in the grand scheme of things." Eva chimed in. Surprisingly Jules offered up a response. "It's probably cause we don't know much about the outside world."
So far the number of times Jules spoke can be counted on one hand, so when she suddenly added to the conversation we were all caught by surprise. Hops and I were even starring in shock. Not enjoying the attention Jules attempted to justify her response. " I-I d-don't me-mean any off-offense. I-it's j-just that Jay o-only hatched today, a-and-"
It was at this moment that 3 figures jumped down, from the trees in front of us, blocking our path.
"Halt!" the leading figure shouted out. "Go no further, for you are now in the presence of-"
"""The Insect Gang!!!""" all three Pokémon shouted in unison.
They then struck a pose very reminiscent of Team Rocket. I'm sure inside their minds they looked very cool, but to us they were just two Kricketot and a Wurmple randomly striking a pose while introducing themselves.
"Who?" I asked in confusion and the others nodded in agreement, showing they didn't know either. The leading Wurmple seemed to be genuinely surprised by us not recognizing their 'gang'.
"THE Insect Gang." He repeated placing great emphasis on the word 'The'.
"Just saying it again won't magically make us know who you are." I say while looking at him like he's an idiot. "Oh My Arceus! How can you not know us? We're only the most feared group of Pokémon in the area!"
"Really?" Hops asked with obvious doubt in her voice.
"Wha-Of Course, ask anyone about us and they'll tell ya!" The Kricketot on the left said in their defense. "Yep, yep. In fact if you even mention our names, some Pokémon will tremble in fear!" The other Kricketot echoed in confirmation.
Hearing his 'goons' stand up for their Gang, the Wurmple's chest started to swell in pride. "Exactly, and since you now understand who you're dealing with... Fear Us and Hand over Everything you got."
"You're mugging us?" I asked in surprise. The Wurmple responded with a smug smile on his face. "I wouldn't call it mugging, just think of it as paying a toll to pass through our turf."
""Yeah a Toll!"" Jiminy and Cricket echo in the background. Ignoring those two, I look back at my friends and it seems they're thinking the same as me. Turning back towards the Wurmple I give him our answer. "There's no way that's gonna happen, so move out of the way oooorrrr..." I trail off at the end leaving them to finish my sentence, but apparently they're too stupid to even do that. " Or what?" The one I've dubbed, Cricket asked.
Luckily the Jiminy picks up the slack and feels her in. "He's trying to say they'll beat us up if we don't move out of their way. Idiot." "WHaT?! How dare they. Boss can you believe that, the nerve!" Cricket shouted in anger and surprise.
I'm not sure if it's cause of my response or the stupidity of his goons, but a, almost cartoonish, bulging vein appeared on the Wurmple"s forehead. "I know Cricket, I heard him, now shut up. And as for you, Mr. Tough Guy, are you sure you want to mess with us? We are feared for a reason."
'HA, her name is actually Cricket, awesome.' I thought in amusement, before responding with a challenging smirk on my face. "Actually I'd rather not, but there's no way you're getting anything from us. So your move Bug Boy."
He really didn't like my response because immediately after, He shot a web-like substance, from his mouth, aimed at Jules. Some even managed to tangle up Hops, who was nearby. Then he charged at me as the stingers on his back started to glow an eerie purple color.
'Fuck, I knew this would end in a fight, but I didn't expect him to attack so suddenly and quick!' I thought while dodging to my left trying to avoid his glowing stingers. Unfortunately I didn't react fast enough, so he still managed nick my side.
After he landed behind me I swiftly turned around and prepared to counter attack, but the scratch his stinger left suddenly hurt. When I looked down at it, I saw the scratch, and some of the skin around it, take on a purple hue. 'Fuck, of course I got poisoned! Luckily there's a Pecha berry in my sack, but We've gotta finish this before I can eat it." I thought before refocusing on the Wurmple and that shit eating grin on his face.
"How you doing BUDDY, feeling a little Sick?" He asked smugly.
"Don't worry about me, PAL. I'm doing Just Fine." I responded while taking a quick look at the others. Eva is keeping Jiminy from getting close to her, by using her telekinesis to throw things at him. She's not doing much, if any, damage since there's only some small rocks and sticks around us. Meanwhile Hops got free from what little string stuck to her and she's currently fighting Cricket, buying time for Jules to get free.
Taking advantage of me not paying attention, The Wurmple attacked charging in for a tackle. Instinctively I reach down and throw some dirt from the ground into his eyes. He reeled back in shock, and took a moment to blink the dirt out of his eyes. I took my chance, pulled back my fist and mobilized the energy in body to use a move. 'Fire Punch', my fist caught aflame and I promptly hurled a right hook at Bug Boy's face.
When my attack made contact it not only left a burn mark on his cheek, but also knocked him off his feet. The Wurmple was down but he wasn't out of this fight quite yet, so before he could recover I rushed over and threw out a couple of normal punches, and then finished him off with, is sure to be my favorite move, 'Thunder Punch'. Hearing the crackle of electricity coming from my fist and seeing the yellow arcs lightning, I couldn't help the smile that graced to my face before I hit him.
Turning to check on my companions, I see Hops standing over Crickets unconscious body and Jules holding up Jiminy by his antennae. 'Good, it looks like everything is fine.' I thought in relief.
"So what are we gonna do with them?" Hops asked. Not know what she meant I ask. "What do you mean?"
"I meaaaan, they're unconscious now, but are we gonna finish them?" Hops clarified.
"Finish them? Aren't they already finished?" I asked still not understanding her.
"I believe she trying to ask if we're gonna end their lives or not." Eva chimed in and explained in Hops stead. "Yeah, exactly!" Hops nodded in satisfaction.
"WHAT!?! NO!!! Why would we KILL them ?!?!" I asked in utter shock at what my companions just suggested. "I mean we already beat them, so why wouldn't we just leave them here, unconscious, just like we did the Machop?"
It was their turn to be confused because it seems like they couldn't understand the way I reacted. They looked at each other trying to see if any of them can make sense of my behavior towards killing. It appears Hops is gonna take the lead on explaining it to me. "I thought we left the Machop alive so that Gige could exact vengeance. Cause I'm positive if we go back we'll find their corpse, or whatever's left, sitting in that clearing."
"Really?" I ask while looking towards the others for confirmation. Seeing them nodding in agreement, I'm shocked once again, before taking a moment to think about it from their perspective.
Hops is about to say something, but I stop her by holding up my hand and speak instead. "Okay, Okay, I think I can see your reasoning on this, it's to avoid future trouble, BUT, but I don't think there's any reason to, honestly. It's not like we're gonna stick around and end our journey here, which obviously isn't gonna happen, so we can just leave."
Eva and Hops nod in acceptance, but Jules doesn't and speaks up about her concerns. "But what if they try to hunt us down for revenge; then all we did is leave a potential threat alive."
"You make a good point, but the world is a big place and the likelihood of them managing to find is low, and even if they did we'd just beat 'em again." I reassure her. This time she nods, but apparently still isn't fully convinced. "What if their stronger next, which they probably will be."
"We will be too, and should such a thing happen, we'll kill them that time around." I say finally consenting to killing them, but only if they're a problem in the future.
This time Jules nods and doesn't say anything else. "Alright since we got that figured out, let's get a move on." I say while continuing our path towards Route 214.
Unfortunately not even 10 minutes later I was proven wrong about leaving The Insect Gang alive, because they had indeed chased us down. This time around though they didn't attack; instead they just kept on trying to get our attention, but seeing as they weren't gonna attack, we decided to keep on walking. 5 minutes passed of them chasing after us , and trying to get our attention to no avail.
Bringing us back to the present, where the only reason we've stopped is because we're here, Route 214. We're currently standing at the edge of the tree line, with us looking past a fence to scope out the situation a bit.
At this moment The Insect Gang caught up with us, completely out of breath. "HEY, FOR THE... haah.... FOR THE LAST... TIME... hooh... SToP!!!!" Bug Boy managed to say in-between breaths.
"By Arceus' Grace! WHat do you want?!" Hops asked in exasperation.
"We.... whoo fuck... WE jus... just want to say-" The Wurmple finally caught his breath towards the end of his statement, before all three members of The Insect Gang bowed and shouted. """THANK YOU FOR SPARING OUR LIVES. WE SINCERLEY APPRECIATE IT!!"""
I did not see that coming; and a glance at my friends' faces showed they didn't either. "Uhh... Don't worry about it, it's no big deal." I say after moment of silence.
"That's kind of you to say that, but it is a BIG deal. Most in your position would've killed us. I can't even lie and say I didn't plan on killing you guys if that battle had turned out differently." Bug Boy said with his hanging low.
"Really, damn." I said in disappointment.
"It's true." Cricket chimed out, "Especially with how hard a fight it would've if we did win. Can't leave any potential problems for the future."
"I tried to tell you." Hops added with a smug smile. Irritated I snap back. "No you didn't, Jules did."
Hops didn't say anything in response, instead she chose to cross her arms above her chest and pout. Ignoring her I turn to the Insect Trio. "Look I understand, but seriously don't worry about it. As long as you don't plan to cause any problems for us down the road, consider the matter settled."
"Oh don't worry about that, we have no intention of causing any more problems for you. In fact we'd like to join your group and repay you for your kindness." The Wurmple explained with expectance in his eyes.
"Whoa, what?" I said in disbelief. " Are you serious?"
"Deadly." He responded
"I... uh... I- Give a sec." I say before turning towards the others. But they all shake their heads and Eva speaks up. "You decide, Jay. You spared their lives and caused this situation to arise, so you'll decide and we'll follow along."
"Fuck," I whisper under my breath and turn to face the Insect Gang, "Uh, Uh, how about, how about we just introduce ourselves and we'll be friends from now on."
The trio show a glimpse sadness on their little bug faces before I quickly added on in consolation, "It's nothing against you guys, but we don't want our group getting too big right now, when we don't have a concrete plan for the future. All we want to do now is to explore, and wouldn't hurt to have some friends in this area should we need help in the future. For now just stay here and get stronger, expand your influence; so you'll be strong enough to help in the future, should we need it."
After hearing my long explanation the three didn't seem completely happy, but they accept it. "I guess I can accept that." The Wurmple said before beginning the introductions.
"Well I'm Buggy, She's Cricket, and He's Jiminy." He said pointing towards the female and male Kricketot in turn.
"Pleasure to meet you all, I'm Jay."
"I'm Hops!"
"You can call me Eva."
"J-Jules."
"Welp, that's that then. So what are you guys gonna do next because we plan on following Route 214 to Veilstone City, check out the sites, and then we'll go from there." I said trying to find out their next move.
"I think we'll get started on expanding the Gang and getting stronger. Then we'll just live our lives until you call upon us for help." Buggy explained with nods of agreement from Jiminy and Cricket.
"That's great, I wish you guys luck and until next time." I say while giving them a two fingered salute goodbye.
"Until next time, friends." Buggy says as they begin to make their way back into the forest.
They make it ten feet, when suddenly two canine figures leap out from behind trees on their left and right. The two dog like Pokémon quickly bite at Jiminy's and Cricket's necks. It appears they're way stronger because the two Kricketot don't even get chance to react before their throats are ripped out and green blood is splashed everywhere.
In an effort to check on the noise behind him, Buggy turns around only to see his closest friends dead and two unfamiliar Pokémon, who I now notice are Houndour, standing over their corpse. "What the..." is all he manages to get out before I see an expression of horror, then anger flash across his face. "You FUCKERS!!" Buggy yell before shotting out a 'String Shot' and then charges in with 'Poison Sting' at the ready.
Unfortunately the Houndour are prepared and dodge his 'String Shot', leaving it to hit his friends bodies. They then return his charge and attack his flanks. The one on the left bites into his neck, while the Houndour on the right bites right before the stingers on his back. Once both had a solid grip they began to pull away in opposite directions, almost like they were playing a game of fucked up tug of war. Under their opposing forces Buggy didn't last long before he ended up pulled in half, his guts and purple blood staining the ground.
True to his name as the Worm Pokémon, Buggy shows off his amazing vitality by still struggling in the Houndour's maw. Regrettably all that did is end up extending his suffer as they feasted on his insides. When he was finally released from his suffering the expression on Buggy's face showed nothing but horror and pain.
After finishing up with Buggy the Houndour returned to feasting on Jiminy and Cricket's body.
Seeing my new found friends suffer such brutal deaths, I don't know what to do. I want to avenge them, but I can obviously tell I don't stand a chance from how easily they managed to take out The Insect Gang. I also couldn't bring myself to run, so I ended up standing their in shock. "what... the.. fuck." I hear someone say behind me.
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Sin_of_Acceptance
Sin_of_Acceptance Sorry for the sudden and unofficial hiatus, but I'm back now. I also added a new Auxiliary Chapter with an update on that [Status]. Please give me feedback on the new chapter.
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