Zita

She is the main protagonist in *An Aftermath*. She struggles with leading a new life after her release from prison.

## Relationships

### Family

Sabor (half-brother), Enrique (stepfather), Maria (deceased mother), Emma and Amber (adoptive sisters), Elong (adoptive brother), Zola (adoptive mother), Denki (adoptive father)

### Others

Roberto, Rosario, Rosaria, Jocelyn, Tom, Lola, Mittens, Meathead, Butters, Tina, Morpheus (friends), Ikki, Moka, Tizi, Zula, Melanie, Grant, Dean (enemies)

## **Physical Appearance**

She is a young Zeraora of petite height partly due to her age. She has yellow eyes, a long, fluffy, winding tail, and thick black fur. She has six lightning bolt-shaped whiskers. Her hand and foot pads are yellow, as are the insides of her large ears. As an inmate at the penitentiary, she wore a restraint collar and an orange vest with the number 490326 on the left breast.

## **History**

### **Early Life**

Zita was born during a storm when a lightning bolt struck an erupting volcano, causing it to explode. Soon after, she was taken in by a young woman who wanted a Pokémon for her children to play with. However, as the years passed and Zita matured, the woman and her husband realized they couldn't control Zita's growing power and wild nature. They tried to put her up for adoption, but Zita, having realized she'd reached sexual maturity, returned to the wild before they could do so and learned to fend for herself.

At the age of 10 years, Zita was captured by hunters who were eager to make money. A small troop of Zarude led by a female named Ikki soon rescued her and the other Pokémon who'd been captured. Afterward, however, Zita and some of those other Pokémon were forcibly taken into the troop and trained to fight, steal, and kill; Ikki became Zita's mentor. Having become smart enough to know when to obey, Zita let Ikki dominate her. Sometime later, the troop had to move out of the woods due to human encroachment and moved into a small village inhabited entirely by Pokémon.

Several days after Zita turned 13, she and several other members of Ikki's troop were caught killing civilians for their money and subsequently arrested. Unlike her cohorts, a traumatized Zita had a short trial and confessed to committing the felonies, deciding to plead guilty. The jury ruled out her verdict as guilty, and she was sentenced to three years in the Fula Penitentiary. During her time in prison, she learned to trust nobody and took some time to reflect on her actions.

## ***An Aftermath***

### **Chapter 1: Released**

Three years later, a sixteen-year-old Zita is sitting in her cell watching the clouds move in the sky. She listens to her surroundings and wonders how much longer she'll be here. A Corviknight prison guard approaches her and announces she's being released from prison, as she's completed her sentence. Shocked, she asks when, and the guard answers that she'll leave right now, opening the door. He escorts her out of her cell to the secretary, who removes Zita's vest and restraining collar. Zita receives a discharge certificate, and leaves with it, her mugshot, and the backpack she wore on the day she arrived.

### **Chapter 2: Final Farewell**

Zita returns to her old village, Stone Village, and arrives at her old house. On the way, she gets a cold welcome from her neighbors and realizes she's not wanted here due to her criminal record. She enters the house and is shocked at the dilapidated condition it's fallen into, noticing that several items are now stolen, broken, or otherwise damaged. Zita goes up to her old bedroom, surprised to see it in good condition, but sees the door is missing. She begins to reminisce her memories in the house when she hears someone breaking in. Rushing downstairs, she sees Hank (the house's landlord), Marjorie, and Seville glaring at her.

Marjorie sneers at her. Zita snarls, demanding to know the meaning of intruding into her house. Hank corrects her, revealing he abandoned the house a year after her arrest. He shows Zita a demolition permit revealing that the house will be gone in a few weeks. Initially disbelieving, Zita asks the intruders whose authority they're obeying, and Hank replies they're obeying the village's. He informs her that her rights here are limited now that she's officially classified as an offender. Marjorie spits that nobody wants to be anywhere near Zita, labeling as disgusting, vile, and horrible. Seville adds that everyone signed a petition to have the house demolished and leave Zita homeless, as they want her out as soon as possible. Realizing she can't win, Zita packs up whatever possessions she has remaining and tells the trio they can keep everything else. Marjorie huffs "Good riddance", adding that they never want to see her face in the village again. Zita growls that they won't and leaves.

### **Chapter 3: What Now?**

Zita heads back up the path she took walking to the Village from prison; she sees the latter in the distance, but realizes it isn't an option since nobody can go to prison voluntarily. She contemplates moving into Fula City, but recalls rumors of offenders being harshly treated there, so she decides to live in the wild. As she walks in the woods, the reality of her new freedom sets in, overjoying her. However, she soon gets hungry, and leaves her things under a tree to go hunt.

She smells a Ponyta nearby and competes with a male Zeraora while hunting it. They both catch their prey simultaneously, and after a tug-of-war, Zita scratches the male's nose, causing him to let go of the kill. She then hisses at him and drives him away. After eating her fill, she leaves behind the few remains and gets her stuff before continuing her travels. However, she scents the male soon after and realizes he's following her. Wanting to avoid contact, she picks up the pace until she reaches an abandoned cottage, where she stops to briefly rest.

However, she is later woken up by rustling and sees the male rummaging in her backpack. Zita demands to know what he's doing; he responds by holding up her mugshot. Fearing he'll spill her secret, she becomes incensed and snarls at him to put it down. The male hesitates before asking if the Zeraora in the mugshot is her and if she's a convicted felon, to which she snarls yes. Zita snarls at him to put it back where he found it and leave, threatening to rip off his ears if he doesn't. The male informs her that the cottage is in his territory before apologizing; he reveals he heard about Zita's release on the news, saying the Zeraora looked like her. Zita confirms it was her and lunges at him with a hiss; she catches him unawares and he drops her mugshot. She puts it in her backpack, grabs her case, and runs off with the male in pursuit.

He calls for to wait and apologizes again, but she yells not to follow her. She eventually stops and realizes he gave up the chase. A while into her trek, however, she catches him tailing her again and asks if she's still in his territory. When he says no, she asks why he's following her. He replies he wants a friend to get rid of his loneliness and reveals he's already starting to like her. Zita doesn't believe him, relying that nobody likes her and she doesn't even know what a friend is. She is puzzled when the male begins to sympathize with her, but rejects him, fearing that he'll turn out like her captors. Zita briefs the male about a criminal record's effects on one's life and recounts what happened earlier.

She tries to leave, but the male begs her not to and persuades her to let him join her. Zita reluctantly accepts, but warns him he'll regret it if he tricks her. The male promises to earn her trust and introduces himself as Morpheus. Zita introduces herself as asks where Morpheus thinks they should go. Morpheus offers for her to stay in his territory and take her back to the abandoned cottage. He recounts the time when he had a trainer who was rude and abusive, but eventually drove him away with his friends who still live in his house. Zita asks why he's not with them, to which Morpheus replies he's content with being a wild Pokémon. He asks about Zita's story, but she reveals she's not ready to share yet and suggests to wait until they get to know each other better. Morpheus happily agrees and takes her back to the cottage, where they end up sleeping together.

### **Chapter 4: Zahn**

The next morning, Zita and Morpheus are hunting a Teddiursa and a Wooloo when they're suddenly sent flying backward, allowing their prey to escape. Confused, Zita asks what happened; Morpheus says he doesn't know. A taller male Zeraora reveals himself, introducing himself as Zahn and growling at them. Morpheus gets angry and lunges at him before Zita can do anything. Morpheus battles Zahn, and she has no choice but to help. She attacks Zahn from behind with Shadow Claw, hitting him, and follows up with Bite. However, Zahn avoids the latter, and Zita ends up biting Morpheus instead. Zahn retaliates with Close Combat on Morpheus, hitting him hard enough to deal considerable damage. Fearing for his safety, Zita begins to retreat and helps him. He works with her, and the two flee from Zahn, who glares after them.

### **Chapter 5: Confrontation**

A few days later, Zita and Morpheus leave the old territory due to human encroachment and are looking for a new home. While camping under a large tree, they try to hunt prey, but Zahn, following them, consistently ruins their kills, much to their confusion and frustration. After a while, the two cats decide to stop and think about how to keep Zahn from ruining anymore kills. Morpheus proposes they find out where Zahn lives and attack when he least expects it. Zita agrees, and the pair follow Zahn's scent to an old rundown building.

A pair of Pokémon hunters arrive just as they're about to approach the building. They watch from the bushes as one sends out a Krookodile and has it use Flamethrower, forcing Zahn to reveal himself. The other hunter sends out a Garchomp, and they both attack Zahn at once. Zahn dodges their attacks, but is hit with a super-effective Mud Slap from Garchomp. Zita realizes that Ground-type Pokémon are an Electric-type's only weakness. Morpheus informs her they should help the hunters in order to get rid of Zahn for good. However, Zita is unsure about it, fearing that the hunters may turn on them as well. She tells Morpheus they should stay out of it, but Morpheus rushes out to join the battle anyway. Zita joins the fray as well, working with the hunters' Pokémon to take out Zahn.

Despite their best efforts, they fail; Zahn, despite being at a type disadvantage, easily defeats the hunters' Pokémon with a newly-learned Ice Punch. The hunters, having no more Pokémon to battle with, flee the scene, but are soon caught and arrested by the police. Zahn goes berserk and turns his anger on Zita and Morpheus, who eventually discover he's too strong and powerful for them to handle. They lose the battle, with Zita getting her leg sprained, and Morpheus ends up having to protect her. Seeing this, Zahn returns to his senses and tries to approach them, but Morpheus roars at him to stay away from Zita, who is grimacing in pain.

Two other male Zeraora (brothers) arrive on the scene. Zita is shocked that one of them is holding her things. Morpheus demands to know who they are; the males introduce themselves as Roberto and Rosario and speak normally. Roberto sees Zita in pain and asks what happened; seeing the police uniforms they're wearing, she briefs them on what happened. Rosario reveals that Zahn is also a cop, but decides they'll let them off since they didn't know. Grateful, Morpheus begs them to get an ambulance, and Roberto says it's on its way. He and his brother help Morpheus with supporting Zita's sprained leg and tending to her until the ambulance arrives. Zita asks how they got her stuff, and Rosario says he and Roberto found where she and Morpheus were camping. He tells Zita she needs to rest and suggests for her to be sedated. Morpheus, thinking sedation means death, tries to stop them, but Zahn holds him back, allowing the brothers to administer a sedative. As the drug takes hold, Zita looks weakly up at Morpheus and feels her senses drifting away before falling asleep.

### **Chapter 6: Rehabilitation**

Zita wakes up in the hospital. Morpheus, Roberto, and Rosario are in the room, and they're all relieved to see her awake. Roberto asks how she's feeling, and Zita replies she doesn't feel anything.

### **Chapter 7: Captivity**

Two weeks later, Zita is well enough to leave the hospital, as her leg is back to normal. However, when Roberto arrives to pick her up, she tells him she doesn't have a home. Roberto reminds her that she's up for adoption, but no one has stepped forward to claim her. Zita asks what she'll do now, and Roberto reveals he and Rosario will look after her for the time being, to her chagrin. She then realizes that Morpheus isn't there, and asks Roberto where he is. Roberto replies that Morpheus was sent to live with a foster family without telling her where. Zita starts to get upset at this, but Roberto reassures her that she can go visit him as long as she behaves herself.

*More coming soon.*

### **Chapter 8: Reunion**

One night, Zita sees Roberto and Rosario going to bed through the crack in her bedroom door. She comes out to bid them good night, only for Roberto to angrily rebuke her for leaving her room without permission. He snaps at her to get back in there, which she does. Zita watches as he shuts the door to his and his brother's bedroom, thinking about her recent aggressive behavior. She waits until she hears the brothers snoring, then stuffs her pillows under her covers as a decoy. She whispers an apology to them before sneaking out of the house via her bedroom window. She then runs away from the house to find Morpheus.

Throughout the night, Zita searches every building in the suburbs for her friend, but can't find him. She curses Roberto for not telling her where Morpheus' foster family lives, and realizes she has no idea how to contact him. However, she decides to keep looking anyway in case he doesn't live too far away. Her determination allows her to remain awake for the whole night. When dawn comes, however, Zita realizes she's searched all the buildings with no luck. Tired, she decides to go rest somewhere hidden to prevent Roberto and Rosario from finding her.

Some time later, she wakes up to smell Morpheus' scent nearby and deduces that he escaped to come looking for her. She creeps out of the alley she's been sleeping in and makes sure the coast in clear. Zita follows the scent trail out of the suburbs and into the city, where she joyfully reunites with Morpheus. They hug each other, each asking the other how they've been doing.

However, the moment is cut short when Roberto hollers Zita's name. The pair look to see him advancing on them. Zita panics and tells Morpheus to run. They flee from the infuriated Roberto, who shouts for them to stop. A chase ensues, with Zita defending Morpheus from Roberto's attacks while trying to avoid getting caught. The two eventually escape Roberto's grasp by losing him in a large mall. They sneak out into the parking lot and discuss how they'll escape. Zita notices a man approaching his car a few feet away. She tells Morpheus to wait, sneaks up behind the man, and knocks him out, stealing his keys and wallet. Morpheus picks up the unconscious man and places him on top of an adjacent car, complimenting Zita's quick thinking. The two then get in the car, with Zita in the driver's seat. Morpheus asks if she knows how to drive, to which she replies that she remembers from a young age. Zita drives out of the parking lot, through the city, and onto a highway.

## **Type Effectiveness**

As an Electric/Dark-type, Zita is weak against Fairy, Fighting, and Ground-type attacks. She is immune to Electric-type attacks since her Ability is Volt Absorb. She is resistant to Flying and Steel-type attacks.

## **Trivia**

* She inherited her Dark typing from her mother, a Liepard.