Wanted Dead or Alive

By Lord Agravane the Undead

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the characters within.

Notes: Set in the Pokemon Platinum game universe, about 2009. I aged Lucas and his mates up a bit so they can do crazy stuff without getting grounded.

For some reason, Solaceon Town always gave off a Western vibe to me, so the story has quite a heavy Western influence in parts xD

High Street, Solaceon Town

Lucas stood in the centre of the dusty street, his Pokeball clutched in his hand. The air all around him was still; too still and too quiet. Not a breath of wind stirred, not a sound could be heard, save for the pounding of his heart.

Behind him stood his girlfriend, Dawn and his best mate, Barry. Lucas could feel the support radiating out from them but he didn't look back. He couldn't. Not when he was determined to keep eye contact with his challenger, who stood at the far end of the street.

Cyrus. The man without emotion, or so it was whispered. The man who always beat Lucas in every single Pokemon battle they had fought so far.

Until now.

A sepulchral sound spilt the air, causing the hairs on the back of Lucas' neck to prickle.

The Town Hall clock. Striking the hour of noon.

Lucas pressed the button on his Pokeball. "Go Pip!" he yelled, as his Empoleon burst forth.

"Go Weavile", said Cyrus in his usual monotone. His Weavile was released and the two Pokemon stood there, eyeing each other up.

"Pip, use Hydro Pump!" Lucas yelled, aware that even though he was 18 and his voice had broken some years beforehand, he still sounded much higher than Cyrus.

Pip fired out a gigantic blast of water, hitting Weavile right on. The water exploded all around, soaking the houses and shops and turning the dirt road into a slurry of mud. Barry and Dawn cheered and Lucas grinned in delight.

Weavile shrugged and blinked, hardly affected at all. Lucas' smile faded.

"Weavile, use Dark Pulse", said Cyrus, sounding a million times more badass than Lucas could ever hope to sound. The powerful Dark attack hit Pip and drained his energy in a one-hit K.O.

"No, oh nooooooooooooooooooooo!" Lucas shrieked. "Come on Pip, you can do it! Please!"

Pip lay motionless on the road, completely out for the count.

"Urrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" groaned Lucas, clutching his head in his hands. "I can't believe it. We lost AGAIN!"

Dawn and Barry hurried over to him. "Cheer up Lucas", said Barry. "You fought really well and you got Pip out first and I was really impressed with how cool and calm you were, even if towards the end you did sound kinda like a Mary Sue high school girl".

"Never mind sweetie, you did your best", said Dawn, kissing Lucas on the cheek. "You'll beat Cyrus next time, I'm sure of it".

"Y-yeah, I guess so", Lucas sighed. He glanced up and over to where Saturn and Mars were congratulating Cyrus on his victory. Saturn had got one arm around Cyrus' neck and was giving him a noggie with his free hand. Mars was cuddling Cyrus and kissing him all over his face. Cyrus stood there, stiff as a board and wearing his usual deadpan expression.

"Hahaha, well done mate, you really trashed Lucas that time", said Saturn. "How about the forfeit now?"

"If you two will release me, I will see to it", said Cyrus.

Saturn and Mars stepped away from Cyrus, both of them grinning evilly. Cyrus walked over to Lucas, until they were about a foot apart. Then, he unzipped his jacket, removed it and handed it to Lucas.

Lucas sighed, took the jacket and slipped it on. Saturn and Mars were smirking and Barry and Dawn were giving Lucas their most sympathetic looks.

"Remember, you have to wear it for a week", said Cyrus. He checked his watch. "The time is 12:23 and 17 seconds, exactly. So you must come back here in 168 hours or 10,080 minutes or 604,800 seconds, whichever you prefer to count by. Then, your forfeit will be over and you can return my jacket".

"Believe me, I won't be a single second late", said Lucas.

"Hey, cheer up Lucas, it actually suits you", said Barry. "Well, I mean it would suit your more if it didn't have the logo of a villainous team on it.

"Thanks, Barry", said Lucas. "Somehow, I feel much better now".

"And remember, you have to keep it on all the time", Saturn grinned. "That means in bed too!"

"Ugh! I shall dream about Cyrus if I have to do that", Lucas shuddered.

"You say that as if it is a bad thing!" said Mars.

"Come on now, we must leave", Cyrus said. "We have important things to do".

"Bye Lucas", said Saturn, as they walked off in the opposite direction. "Enjoy yourself!"

Lucas stared after them, shoulders slumped. As they left, Mars took hold of Cyrus' arm and said to him, "Cyrus, can I borrow one of your jackets to sleep in tonight?"

"Come on, Cupcake", Dawn said, patting Lucas on the shoulder. "Let's go to the Pokemon Centre and get Pip healed up".

Five minutes later, Lucas, Dawn and Barry arrived at the Solaceon Town Pokemon Centre. As they stepped in through the revolving doors, they noticed that there seemed to be a bit of a ruckus going on. Men and women of both sexes were agitated, muttering amongst themselves and talking nervously on their mobile phones.

"What's up with everybody?" Lucas muttered. "They seem scared".

"It's cus a member of Team Galactic has just walked in", said Barry.

"Hahaha, funny mate", said Lucas. They went over to the counter, where Nurse Wendy was chatting on her mobile, a worried expression on her face.

"Yes, there's been sightings, Auntie" she was saying. "Bert from the general store swears blind he saw him down in the Ruins, early Sunday morning. No, no, he wasn't drunk".

"Seen who?" Dawn whispered to the boys.

"Dunno but it's sure worrying the people in here", said Lucas. Here and there, they caught snippets of conversation about sightings of somebody...or something.

"Yes Auntie, I really must go now, I have customers", Nurse Wendy was saying. "I'll be careful, I promise. I won't go out without my strongest Pokemon. Bye bye Auntie, speak soon".

She pressed the end call button and put her phone down on the counter. Then she looked up at Lucas and the others and smiled weakly.

"Good afternoon dears", Nurse Wendy said. "How may I help you?"

"Can you heal my Empoleon please?" said Lucas, handing over his Pokeball.

"Of course dear", said Nurse Wendy.

"And can you tell us what's going on in here?" Dawn asked. "Why is everybody so worried? Who have they seen?"

"Oh my!" Nurse Wendy exclaimed, clasping her hand to her bosom. "Y-you mean, you haven't heard the news?"

"No, we've been out battling our Pokemon all morning and stuff like that", said Barry. "What was on the news? Was it something scary?"

Nurse Wendy didn't speak. Instead, she gulped and pointed towards a huge poster on the nearby wall.

It was an old, faded image of a fierce looking Pokemon. A Groundeon, a rare type of Eeveelution. The Groundeon was scowling at the camera, teeth dripping with a dark red substance. Underneath its image, were some imposing words.

WANTED - DEAD OR ALIVE

Terrance Jason Heliodor the Groundeon

For the assault, battery and probable murder of ten men