Frontline Mission #5

Jackson swung his legs out of the car as he got out, having to move somewhat awkwardly due to his prosthetic leg. His pokemon, Atlas, who was a noctowl and mightyena fusion, hopped out after him. His paws immediately sunk down a small amount due to the mud.

The trainer and his pokemon were currently in the rather dangerous area of Murkhaven. Jackson had gotten a request for someone to escort a supply truck as it traveled across the swamp. It absolutely wasn’t something Jackson expected to be any bit enjoyable but the reward offer was too tempted to refuse.

Now, him and Atlas were having to step outside the truck at the driver, Greg’s, insistence. The trucker supposedly saw something but Jackson wasn’t sure if that was just from the driver being extremely fearful. Regardless, since the trainer’s job was to keep the truck safe he had ended up agreeing to check it out.

As he turned back for a moment he could see Greg clutching the wheel through the windshield. Jackson felt a small amount of irritation since the driver was sitting inside the protection of a truck, unlike him who was currently standing in the swamp. The trainer let out a sigh as he moved forward. “Guess we better check this out so we can get moving again.” He said to Atlas.

The mud suctioned at their feet as they stepped through it, sticking to Jackson’s shoes and Atlas’ paws. Atlas’ nose was wiggling for a few moments until he made a disgusted expression and stopped sniffing. The trainer thought the swamp probably had a rather putrid smell. Normally he would rely on Atlas to sniff out pokemon, but there was no way he would be able to pick up scents here. “Sorry buddy, I’m sure it smells terrible.” The trainer said as he patted the pokemon on the head.

Jackson began to move around the vehicle, keeping his eyes focused on his surroundings as he did so. Atlas was also looking around, his ears perked up since his hearing at least wasn’t affected. “I don’t see a damn thing.” The trainer said as he put his hands up and shrugged, signaling to the driver that he hadn’t seen anything suspicious. 

He and Atlas then made their way over to the truck, Jackson opened the door and climbed in. His shoes tracked disgusting swamp mud into the truck as he got in and Greg wrinkled his nose. “Arceus, that stinks!” He groaned while Jackson shot him an annoyed look.

“Well try standing outside in it.” He replied back. Atlas was getting ready to jump into the car, and Greg’s eyes widened.

“You’re not going to let that muddy pokemon in here are you?!” The driver questioned, clearly appalled by this idea.

“Well I need him if you want to hear what might be coming. Plus it's an extra set of eyes.” Jackson replied flatly. Greg grumbled but motioned for Atlas to get in. 

“I’m never going to get this smell out of my truck.” He sighed as he pushed the gas. Which again just made Jackson think about how hard it would be to clean the mud of Atlas.

The vehicle’s headlights created a beam of light that cut through the darkness around them, although it still wasn’t all that bright. Still, it was certainly not bright enough to prevent shadow pokemon from investigating or possibly attacking the truck. Jackson began to fiddle with a device he was working on, glancing up every few seconds to make sure there was nothing worrisome. 

“Shouldn’t you be focusing on looking for shadow pokemon?” Greg questioned sharply. At this point, Jackson was feeling quite done with the driver’s annoying and bossy questions.

“I’m still looking. Besides, Atlas is still looking.” Jackson grumbled. It was true that Atlas’ eyes were intensely focused and scanning the environment. Greg didn’t seem happy with this response but also didn’t try to argue, knowing that Jackson had a rather sound reasoning.

The truck’s wheels continued through the mud with Greg not able to drive at a fast pace considering the soft ground. As Jackson was still fiddling with the device Atlas let out a deep, loud bark. Greg jumped, clearly very caught off guard by the bark while Jackson wasn’t phased at all.

“Stop the truck.” Jackson ordered and Greg immediately hit the breaks. The vehicle came to a slow stop and the trainer noticed the driver shaking a bit with fear. Jackson was thinking that the company really needed to reevaluate their drivers.