Dark Puck - Pokemon Fic, homg

Seven to eight years before...

The very first thing that Polly Maguire did once the boxes were unpacked and everything put away in her room was brush her hair, grab her Dratini doll, and wander to her brother's room to pester him to take her to town.  After a solid five minutes of this, the preteen sighed, put his book down, and agreed if she'd just shut up for five seconds so he could change and get his Pokémon.  Gleefully, she raced out to the paddock where the family Rapidash had been unloaded while Jim changed into riding clothes.  There was no way in hell he'd walk a quarter-mile with a seven-year-old sister when Flame was perfectly capable of carrying them both.

Once they got to Ecruteak City, Polly spotted some children playing and immediately went in that direction as soon as her brother set her down.  Rolling his eyes, Jim went to buy his Ponyta some treats for putting up with a bouncy child.

The kids Polly had spotted were playing some kind of ball game in a vacant lot. There seemed to be a lot of screaming and hitting each other with balls involved. Polly ran over to join them, but something caught her eye. Some distance away, sitting by himself under a tree, was another boy, maybe the same age as the ball kids, maybe a bit older. He was rather scrawny, and quite pale. He paid the kids no heed, and they paid him none in return.

Polly was an energetic child, to be sure, but she was also tired from the move.  Rather than play with the ball kids, she decided to go talk to the tree boy instead.  Maybe Jim was right and some quiet would do her good.

"Hey!" came a voice. It was one of the kids playing ball, who was running toward her. The rest of his posse were all looking at her.

Confused, the pink-haired girl turned around.  "What?" she asked, curious.

"You don't wanna talk to him," the boy said, looking over to the boy under the tree as one might look at a particularly repulsive insect.

"Huh?  Why not?" Polly wanted to know, clutching her Dratini doll closer.

The boy chuckled darkly. "You're new in town, right? That's Spooky Joe. He never talks to anyone and never wants to play or anything. An' he looks funny, too. He's weird."

"Maybe he just likes quiet," Polly said, thinking of her brother.  And Jim wasn't that weird.

Someone else marched up to join the first boy. "He's scary! He likes to hang out in dark places. I heard that if he gets too much sunlight, he'd melt or somethin'."

Another kid - a girl, this time - soon joined them. "I heard that if you get too close to him, his shadow'll eat you. Remember that one kid, Baxter? I bet that's what happened to him."

Polly stole another glance over to the boy under the tree.  He didn't look scary, or like he'd melt, or even that his shadow would eat people.  "I want to talk to him," she declared.

"Your funeral," said the first boy, wandering back to the lot.

"At least we didn't have enough time to get attached to her," muttered the other boy, as he followed the first.

Polly ignored them and continued on her original path, towards the boy under the tree.

The boy did not look up when she approached. He seemed to have his nose buried in a book of some sort.

Definitely like Jim, she thought as she got closer.  "Hello."

"Go 'way," he said, without looking up.

"Why?" she wanted to know.

"Cuz I'm scary," he replied, rather sarcastically.

"Are not," she retorted, getting closer.

He looked up at her, brushing hair out of his eyes. They were rather dark. "Go away," he repeated.

"No," she told him now, though she did hold her doll a little tighter.

Growling a bit, he pulled the book up to his face and proceeded to ignore Polly.

Annoyed now – he wasn't anything like Jim at all! – she moved even closer, refusing to be ignored.

Just then, a flash of darkness appeared before Polly's eyes. It formed into a huge image of an indistinct but quite horrid-looking face, with sharp fangs and eyes glowing red. It roared at her.  Startled, she dropped her doll, staring at the face with wide eyes for a moment... and then laughed.  "Cute!" she declared.

The face paused, blinking several times.

With a "poof" and  a puff of smoke, the image of the face blurred... and reformed into the shape of a Haunter. A very confused-looking Haunter.

Polly laughed a second time and attempted to hug the Haunter, shivering slightly as her arms passed through it.  She pouted as she realised she couldn't hug it.

The pale boy looked more confused than the Pokémon. "Shouldn't you be running or something?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"What for?" she asked him.

This only added to the boy's confusion. "Cuz he's all scary 'n ugly 'n stuff."

"Is not!" Polly protested.  "He's cute!"  To punctuate her comment, she fished about in her small bag for a Poffin and, finding one, offered it to the Haunter.

The Haunter grinned widely, floating closer to her and licking the treat out of her hand. He felt solid now.

"...you're weird," added the boy, giving Polly a strange look.

She considered this, then nodded.  "Yup!"  Giggling, she tried to pet the Haunter.  This time, she could feel it. Its flesh, if it could be called that, felt soft and slightly squishy. He let out a loud laugh, followed by a quieter growl.

"Y'think?" said the boy.

The Haunter growled again, and bobbed up and down in an approximation of a nod.

Polly blinked, looking from boy to Haunter.  "You understand him?" she asked.  "What'd he say?"  She plopped down on the ground across from him.

"'Course," replied the boy, looking at her. "He seems to like you, so I guess you can't be all bad. 'm Joseph."

"Polly," she introduced herself gleefully, and then held up her Dratini doll, "An' this is Drake."

Putting his book aside, Joseph looked Polly up and down, as if sizing her up. "You're very pink," he noted.

She grinned.  "I like pink," she told him, patting her ponytail and smoothing her dress.

"Nice colour," said Joseph, in something of a monotone. "Couldn't ask for a nicer shade of light red."

"You're very black," she pointed out.

"I like black," he retorted, somewhat sharply.

She grinned at him.  "Couldn't ask for a nicer shade of dark grey."  She discovered a stash of berries in her blouse and offered one to the Haunter. 

"Black isn't really a shade of anything," he muttered, as the Haunter gobbled the berry up. "You new in town?"

She nodded.  "Just finished unpacking," she told Joseph, smiling and offering more berries to his Pokémon.

"Where'd you live?"

"Lavender Town, in Kanto."  Polly paused.  "Well, close to it, anyway."

"I meant here in town," Joseph added, looking 'round and pointing. "I'm right over there, with my mom."

"Oh."  She twisted and indicated another direction.  "Quarter-mile out that way, on the outskirts of town."

"I didn't think there was anything out on the outskirts," said Joseph, absent-mindedly petting the Haunter.

"S'a ranch," she said, smiling.  "Daddy's been renovating it for months."

"That's interesting." He actually looked up when he said that, looking interested. "What'd you raise out there?"

"Ponyta an' Rapidash," Polly replied.  "Mama's even thinking of riding lessons."

The pale boy actually smiled a bit at this. "Can I come down 'n see?" he asked, sounding almost exited. He stood up, and as he did so, the Haunter floated behind him and seemingly faded into the ground, merging with the shadow he cast.

"Sure!" she said eagerly, then paused.  "But we hafta ask Jim.  I dunno if his Ponyta can carry three."

"I'm fine just watchin'," he said, stepping out into the light. Amazingly, he did not melt.

Polly grinned at him and grabbed his hand.  "C'mon, let's go find him!"

Recoiling a bit, Joseph shouted and shook her hand off his.

Startled and a little hurt, Polly stepped back and stared at him.  "D-did I do something wrong?" she asked plaintively.

"S-sorry," Joseph muttered, staring at his shoes. "I...don't like being touched."

She stared a bit more, then nodded.  "Then I won't touch you."  She offered him a smile.

He mumbled a "thanks". Was he...blushing?

She didn't notice.  "Jim!" she yelled, searching for her brother,  "Jim, where are you?"

Hearing his sister yelling, Jim sighed, rolled his eyes, purchased his book, and then strode outside the small shop.  "I'm right here, Polly-Pink."  An eyebrow rose as he noticed the boy following her.

Joe waved a bit, but didn't look at Jim, as if a bit frightened of him.  The taller boy ran a hand through blond hair.  "New friend, Polly?"

She nodded.  "This's Joseph.  Joseph, this's my brother, Jim.  He's nice."

The boy looked up, and muttered a "hello".

Jim nodded to him as Polly barged on.  "He wanted to see the ranch.  Can he, Jim?  Please?"

The twelve-year-old sighed. "I don't think Flame can carry three, Polly," he told her.  As her face fell, he added, "So I'll walk."

Joseph smiled a bit, but did not otherwise react, and endeavoured to avoid meeting Jim's eyes.  Smiling slightly, Jim unhooked a Pokéball from his belt and tossed it lightly into the air.  "C'mon out, Flame!"

The red ball split into halves, and a flash of light heralded the arrival of a slightly-grumpy looking Ponyta.  He smiled and scratched her ears.  "I know you hate those, girl, but the man wouldn't let you into the store.  No more today, I promise."

His face brightening, Joseph darted over to pet the Ponyta.  "Hey, be careful!" Jim cried.  "She's a family pony...."  His voice trailed off as he watched the boy.  Joseph paid no heed, and gently patted the thing along its fiery mane, saying something to it that Jim and Polly couldn't quite make out.

Jim put a hand over his heart.  "Fright of my life," he muttered as Flame nuzzled Joseph.

"You take good care of her," said Joe, rather matter-of-factly. Not asking nor guessing, just as if he knew it to be true.

"Well, yeah," Jim said, startled.  "She's my baby, aren't you, Flame?" he asked her affectionately.

"You raise her yourself?" he asked. He was now being nuzzled gently by the fire horse. "She's very happy."

"Since she was foaled," Jim replied, adapting quickly to the boy's oddities.

Joseph nodded, smiling more. "Let her run 'round a bit when you get home, she's a bit restless from bein' in a ball so long."

"Right," Jim said, deciding not to mention that'd been in his plans all along.  "You ready to go, then?" he asked the kids.

Joseph nodded happily. Polly did likewise.

"Right.  Joe, you need help getting up?"

Joseph shook his head, looking a bit nervous again now that he was being directly addressed.

Jim pretended not to notice, hoisting his sister up on Flame's back.  "Up you go, Polly-Pink!"

Joseph hopped right on behind her, though he inched back a bit to avoid touching her much.

"Right," Jim said again.  "Let's go, Flame."  Calmly, he lead the Ponyta and her passengers to what would eventually be called the Maguire Ranch.