CHAPTER TWO:

Bruno awoke with a jolt. Sharp talons were scraping his face and a dark body was 
hovering over him. Bruno shot up in terror, his head bashing into the wall. He 
heard a high pitched screech and felt rough feathers flutter against this skin. 
He opened his eyes and laughed.

"Murkrow, what are you doing here?"

"Pretty bird!" The Murkrow replied. The dark bird belonged to Karen, and 
although Murkrow could learn to speak human language very well, Karen could only 
teach her to say "pretty bird" so far. Murkrow fluttered around the room, her 
shiny black plumage contrasting with the soft rays of the morning sun.

Bruno's smile faded when he realized something. "Murkrow, did something happen 
to Hoots?"

Murkrow only cackled and continued her raucous flying. Bruno leapt out of bed. 
"Show me where she is! Oh my god, if anything happened to her..."

Murkrow shouted "pretty bird" again before flapping out of the room. Bruno 
grabbed his Pokebelt and chased the bird.

A while later, they reached Karen's private quarters. Bruno was out of breath, 
more from his worry than from running. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw 
the pale lady sitting calmly at the table eating eggs. Her Umbreon was curled up 
on an empty chair sleeping. Murkrow glided to Karen, perched on her shoulder, 
and pulled on her hair with her golden beak.

"Good morning Bruno... what happened to you?"

"I thought something bad happened to you! Your Murkrow came into my room 
flapping and carrying on and... say, did ever catch that Pokemon we heard last 
night?"

"See for yourself," Karen smiled.

Bruno could hear a grotesque smacking noise coming from under the table. He 
looked under and saw a large, hairy canine Pokemon with grey and black fur 
eating a plate of scrambled eggs. Its eyes were bright yellow and red, and its 
pointed ears were big and floppy. The beast slowly lifted its head up and a low 
growl rumbled in its throat when it saw Bruno. He backed away from it... it was 
that same pokemon he saw the other day!

"Hoots, what the heck is that thing?"

"Isn't she beautiful? She's a Mightyena. When I was a child back at the farm, 
there were Mightyena everywhere. I admired them for their mysterious and tough 
nature. Sadly, they frequently attacked Miltank and Mareep herds, so they were 
overhunted. I thought Mightyena were wiped out of Johto, but apparently they're 
not!"

The dog prowled from under the table and Karen knelt down and hugged her. Bruno 
cringed. Bits of egg clung to Mightyena's moist ebony lips and whiskars, her 
thick mane was dotted with specks of dander, and her large paws were caked with 
dried on mud leaving dusty paw prints on the clean floor. Being freshly caught, 
the beast still retained the looks of a wild animal.

"Aren't you afraid of catching something?" Bruno asked. "It sure looks filthy."

"Quarentine it," a third voice said. Bruno and Karen spun around and saw Lance, 
the dragon master and leader of the Elite Four, standing in the entryway of the 
kitchen. He had a youthful appearance despite being the second eldest member 
(Koga's the oldest). His long cape flowed elegantly around his lean frame. 
"Karen, you are sopposed to refer to me before any new Pokemon is added to your 
team. We need to isolate Mightyena and make sure it is free of disease."

"She," Karen growled. "Mightyena is female."

"Whatever," said Lance. "Give me Mightyena's Pokeball so I can send her to the 
Pokemon Center. You'll get her back tomorrow at the earliest if she's healthy."

Karen pouted as she took out the Ultra Ball she used to capture Mightyena. Bruno 
could swear he saw the dog shoot an evil glare at him before disappearing into 
her spherical container. What did Mightyena have against him anyway?

 

***

"Ok, Hitmontop, focus on Defense! And Machamp, don't hold back, use all of your 
power!"

Bruno was working with his youngest Pokemon and his strongest one. Steelix was 
napping under the shade of an overhanging rock while Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee 
were resting against his steel hide. Hitmontop was dodging Machamp's grapples 
and punches with ease, spinning like an insane dreidle. Machamp leapt up and 
stomped on the ground using his Earthquake attack. The fissure sent Hitmontop 
spinning through the air, making him look like a flying saucer from an old low-
budget movie. Machamp swiftly snatched Hitmontop in midair and slammed the 
little fighter into the ground. Hitmontop covered his face as Machamp raised his 
three fists, his fourth holding Hitmontop down.

Something strange happened just then. Both Pokemon turned their heads and were 
staring out at Bruno's direction. Their pupils were shrunken and their bodies 
were locked in their current poses. Bruno realized the two were looking at the 
direction behind him. He spun around, heart racing, wildly looking at all the 
surrounding rock formations and boulders. Bruno then stopped. 'What am I doing?"

Bruno then heard quiet snickering. He turned to his fighters and saw Hitmontop 
nudging Machamp in the ribs, both of them laughing at their paranoid trainer. 
Even Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, and Steelix joined in. Bruno fumed.

"Guys, that is NOT funny!" he scolded. Of course, Bruno deserved that morsel of 
humiliation... he fell for that trick two times already today, and his Pokemon 
never got tired of it.

Suddenly, Hitmonchan stopped laughing. He cocked his head as if doing a double 
take, then froze. All of the other Pokemon froze too. Bruno sighed.

"Ah jeez, do you guys really think I'm foolish enough to fall for that again, 
especially so soon after..."

WHUMP! Bruno found himself face down on the ground and felt rough paws scraping 
his back. He looked up. A Mightyena was standing on his back snarling 
menacingly. Like a bolt of brown and purple lightning, Hitmonchan pounced on the 
attacker and sent it flying into a rock. Steelix grabbed his trainer by the belt 
with his mouth while the two other Hitmon rushed at the canine. As Bruno dangled 
in the air like a kitten being held by its mother, the Hitmons surrounded the 
slightly dazed Mightyena. Bruno was shocked... it was Karen's Mightyena!

The fur on Mightyena's back bristled and she growled at her challengers. The 
Hitmon were shaking with fear but they tried to stand up to the wolf. Mightyena 
charged at Hitmonlee, fangs bared. Hitmonlee dodged and swiftly kicked her in 
the side. She yelped in pain as she hit the ground but soon rose again. The 
Hitmon trio circled her but didn't attack. It was like they were trying to 
intimidate her. This confused Bruno... Mightyena was a Dark-type Pokemon meaning 
she was weak to Fighting techniques... why don't the fighters just gang up on 
her and attack at once?

A deep growl of annoyance was heard, and Machamp charged past the Hitmon right 
into Mightyena. He turned to the three as if to say, "If you sissies won't take 
this mutt down, then I will!" Machamp held the dog down with the lower arms and 
raised his upper arms. Before he could pummel her, Mightyena snapped at one of 
his wrists. He flinched back before the fangs came into contact, releasing his 
captive in the process. Mightyena bounded to her feet, shook herself off, and 
glared at Bruno before taking off.

Steelix set his trainer down as the other Pokemon gathered around him. He 
collapsed to his knees "That was... that was really really ODD," Bruno said. He 
turned to Machamp. "Why did you flinch from Mightyena' bite? You get Crunched by 
Karen's Houndoom all the time, it doesn't bother you. Dark's weak to Fighting, 
remember?" Machamp just shrugged his two sets of shoulders and hung his head in 
shame. "Ah buddy, it's no biggie, it's cool! Put 'er there!" Bruno tried to 
high-five Machamp, but he just stood there with no response. All of Bruno's 
Pokemon had serious expressions and glanced at one another worriedly. It was 
like they knew something that he didn't.

***

 

"That can't be Karen's Mightyena. She was sent to quarentine in Indigo Village 
which is miles away, what would she be doing out here?"

"I dunno Will. But I swear it was her, I could tell."

Koga, the ninja Poison Pokemon trainer, snickered. "Fu fu fu... I like the sound 
of this Pokemon's stealthy nature. I wish I was the one who captured her."

"Yeah right," said Bruno. "If you did, you would never hear the end of it from 
Hoots...ugh, I mean Karen."

"Hoots?" Will and Koga questioned in unison. Will giggled. "What, is that like a 
Hooters reference or something?"

"No!" Bruno shouted. "It's, um. Sigh. Ok, that's what I call Karen. You know, 
like a Hoothoot."

Will squealed. "Bruno and Karen layin' in the bed, H-U-M-..."

"STOP IT!" Bruno shouted. "Atleast I have a girlfriend, Willy!"

"Don't get so defensive," said Koga. "You've been high-strung all day."

"Well you'd be high-strung too if you had an evil mutt stalking you," said 
Bruno. "I wish Karen didn't sleep during the day, I really want to talk to her."

"I know you want to do more than that," Will smirked. "I'm psychic, I can read 
minds."

"Psycho is more like it," Bruno said. "I'm going to my quarters, you guys are 
too immature for me."

Koga scoffed as Will continued his childish giggles, dirty images dancing in his 
youthful mind.

***

 

The door to Bruno's room cracked slightly. A stick poked through probing the 
air. Bruno slammed the door open the rest of the way, shouting, "AH HA! Thought 
you could sneak up on me, eh devil-dog?!"

He looked around the room. 'Good, no sign of that monster.' Bruno then noticed a 
lump under his covers. He smiled. Karen was waiting for him. She looked so 
beautiful too under the light of the full moon. Bruno thought it was funny the 
way she tried to be extra sneaky by hiding her head under the covers.

"Hey Hoots," he said. "Boy, what a crazy day I had today. Let me tell you all 
about it."

Bruno reached under the covers and stroked Karen's hair. He stopped. The hair 
felt thick and bristly. It didn't take long for him to realize this wasn't his 
lover waiting in bed with him. A rumbling growl confirmed his realization. So 
did a pair of glowing eyes. And a row of razor-sharp ivory teeth.

'It can't be...' was Bruno's last thought before the Mightyena mauled him...