Through the Eyes of a Flareon [PG] (Chapter 31 FINALLY up)

[Dragon Master Mike]

FINALLY! INTERNET! WORKING INTERNET! Now that i can get on using a mouse and keyboard, i will leave my thoughts on the chapters i read while i was stuck on my tablet (10-14).

Spoiler:

Wow, the chapters got really long. FIRST GM CROPS, NOW GM POKEMON? WHAT HAS THIS WORLD COME TO!?!?!?!? And poor Luck and Roarake D=. Also, I can't believe that Izante turned out to betray Dusty! You really portrayed Dusty's emotions (Particularly her sadness) very well; so well that I could feel them myself. I'm really hoping that Izante makes a reappearance. I would actually be pretty surprised if she doesn't show up again at some point.

Really the only thing about the story so far I have to criticize is the fact that I think it jumps around perspectives a little too much, which can get confusing. Also how it jumped to the future briefly then the 15 minutes earlier thing really confused me at first. The first part is most likely just more personal preference, but the second part, i think you should either have somehow made it clearer that it had jumped into the future, or ended the chapter and made the jump the start of the next chapter. Oh, and there were a few times i saw where it looked like you had tried to italisize something but you accidentelly typed [/I][/I] and stuff like that instead of

just curious since if it said this somewhere, i missed it: How old are Dusty and Izante?

[Suicune's Fire]

Haha yeah, the chapters get a little longer, too. xD I usually have around 8,000-10,000 words per chapter now. I think chapter twelve was 12,000 or something. *checks* Nope, it's 14,000 words. XD And yep, Izante is a buttpie. :c And thanks! 8D I'm glad you think so. And yes, she will reappear, don't you worry. xD

Oh really? I don't think I switch perspectives often. xD Only really when I need to show another pokemon's point of view. Haha, yeah, that was meant to be confusing, though. I wanted to end the chapter on a "Huh?" note. xD And don't worry, I fixed up the italics problem. :] I think it was only in one place. xD

I don't think I specified, but I aimed for them to be teenagers. My pokemon years to human years calculation is probably a little confusing though. xD


Thanks for reading! :D

[Dragon Master Mike]

I haven't been posting comments lately so I decided to post before I forgot the comments I had in mind. Wow, You really enjoy making us question what is going on XD. Azure at the colony, the random attack (that i suspect has something to do with team rocket), and of course what i'm still wondering: What ever happened to the others who got off the ship? I'm sure the first two, and I would think the third at least partially will all be answered. Still very much enjoying. Also, really? Only teenagers? I imagined them in their early twenties. Although teenagers makes more sense with how Dusty's maturity level can be. Just curious, How do you pick character names? The names in the story (Zhol, Izante, ETC) are really interesting (In a good way). Also, there Is one more time that you did the [I][I] thing. Paragraph 19 of chapter 10 (It may have been chapter 11 but I am pretty sure it was chapter 10). Oh, and right now, I think the last chapter I read was chapter 19.

EDIT: more comments.

I read to chapter 22 last night, and I have one thing to say. Dusty... What are you doing...? She clearly isn't trying to make any friends XD. And seriously, she tells bibi not wynore about Luck? Its times like these I really wish I could talk to the characters XD. Still though, great chapters.

[Suicune's Fire]

Lol yes, I do love to keep readers guessing. It amuses me to hear theories, too. Some of them get answered... others I have yet to write. xD Some of the things I've actually forgotten about because it's been so long, unfortunately, but hopefully most things won't escape my memory.

As for the names, well some of the characters are actually guest stars. Izante is actually a name created by an ex-friend of mine who I actually began the story with. She was writing from Izante's point of view and I from Dusty's, but she stopped writing the story because we kept having clashing opinions. The original direction of the story was completely different to what I made the story into; I doubt she ever wrote anymore, whereas I branched off and made it my own story. Zhol was a guest star, though I lost her personality information so the only thing I still have left of her guest star form (made by someone on Pe2k, as were all the other guest stars), is her species and her name. xD Most of the names I made up, but some of them I didn't (mostly a few pokémon on the ship, such as Hakumei (hope I spelled that right xD). But yeah, otherwise I just randomly come up with them. I have a document with a list of names I've thought of at times that I refer to when I need a name for a character. Oh lol, thanks. I'll fix that up. x) If you see any other mistakes, don't hesitate to let me know!

xDD Yep, that's one of those times where I dragged it out unnecessarily... I actually got feedback from someone who told me that she didn't like the fact that I dragged it out since there was no point to it, and if anything it just caused anxiety for her. Oops. I sort of regret doing that, but don't worry, it gets cleared up soon. xD LOL THANKS. <3

[ninjaskarmory]

I'm not that far into this, but I must say that I'm very impressed! It's a really good story with vivid description and captivating displays of emotion. You've inspired me to go through my story in progress, Autumn Lights, and strengthen all of the weak words and sentences. Great job, Suicune's Fire!

[Suicune's Fire]

Ah, thank you so much! :] Glad to hear it! :D And that's awesome that I could inspire you! *v* It always makes me happy. xD Thanks for reading!


~SF.

[Dragon Master Mike]

OK. I finally read the whole thing!

I really liked it. I started to like it a little less towards the end, but I don't think that was because of anything you did to make it not as good. I think part of it is that I kinda want them to get out of the caves and for another major plot event to happen. Overall though, It was really good. You put an insane amount of detail into this, and I can't believe how long the chapters are! That part towards the end with the water, your description made me cringe just thinking about what that water must have smelled like, and then the fact that they all fell in!

I think I can summarize my review for the story in two words: Write more.

[Suicune's Fire]

LOL Yeah, I know what you mean. =/ I began to get impatient with it too. xD In the next chapter they do get out, so hopefully it'll start to get better after that. :] I decided to totally revamp the story though, and that involves heavily collaborating with a friend of mine (he won't be writing any of TtEoaF though; we're just going to combine our story worlds and have characters in each other's stories and corresponding events and such) so I don't feel like I can write much more until we've sorted out what's going to happen. I do have part of the next chapter written though, so for the rest of that, and hopefully for a few chapters after, I won't need to have stuff planned with him... It's just a matter of actually writing it. XD

Thanks so much for reading! :D I'm appreciative of the feedback as well!


~SF.

[Suicune's Fire]

Welp...it's been about three years since I've written any of this story because I am a huge disgrace. xD I'm so horrified at myself for not writing in so long... Anyway, I hope all one of my readers enjoys this chapter. :3c @Dragon Master Mike if you wanna read it at some stage. cx GUESS WHAT. THEY GET OUT OF THE CAVE! *rejoice* I also updated the first page with a list of characters just so that you can double-check if you forgot who someone is. (I nearly forgot who a few were...and I write this thing! XD)

---

Chapter Thirty-one: Untimely Reunion

It was nightfall before we finally made it out. I was exhausted from all that travelling, and I knew that the rhyhorn (whose name I still hadn’t learned and didn’t particularly care to learn) and Rentana were too. The latter was still worn from the psychic energy she had exercised on both me and the rock type, and judging by the way she kept swaying, I suspected that she might collapse with exhaustion if we didn’t find a place to rest soon. I was certainly unfit to try to carry her in my current state, and even if there wasn’t a gaping hole in my side, I was probably too small anyway. I had no idea if the rhyhorn was willing to have her on his back or not, but given his positive attitude towards her, I guessed that he would be willing. Had it been me in her position, and I highly doubt he would have been interested.

Once we emerged into the crisp night air, I took in an overdue lengthy breath. The temperature had drastically dropped, and if I hadn’t been a fire type, I would probably have been shivering as much as the kirlia. I nearly proposed that she could encase herself in some sort of force-field to act as a shield from the weather, but the suggestion became rather silly once I revisited the amount of energy I knew she had already spent.

Still, I directed my attention at the psychic type. “I can create a bonfire for you. You know, provided we can find some wood.” I began to toss my head about, but no trace of logs – that were dry and detached from a tree – surrounded us. “Which...might be harder than I thought.”

“We don’t need a fire,” grunted the rhyhorn, who began to trudge up the side of the cliff we had emerged onto. The path stretched for a while before it came to the edge and was, from what I could tell, flat. There was a separate rise which was much narrower that stretched up the side of the mountain to our left, but I hoped that somewhere there was a slope leading back down to around where ground level was.

“Right. I bet you also don’t need food and water,” I smirked, watching him snort and turn away.

After I stalked to the edge of the cliff, I peered down and spotted the ground not too far down. It was much too steep of a drop to try jumping, so I was going to need to find another way down. If I was a mankey or an aipom, the possibility of leaping into a nearby treetop would be something I could consider, but given that I had no opposable thumbs, the idea was useless. I couldn’t imagine Rentana would have wanted to try, and the rhydon would succeed only in generating a crater in the ground if he tried jumping.

I returned to my companions, who were huddled against the wall of the mountain. “Cold?” I teased, and the rhyhorn ignored me. Rentana looked up but said nothing. “Come on. If we keep moving, maybe we’ll find somewhere adequate to spend the night. And warm ourselves by walking!”

I was clearly more enthusiastic about the journey than the others, but it was really just a facade. My wound was pounding with endless pain and I had to fight the urge to collapse and try to lick it clean. I was sure it had been leaking the entire time we had been travelling, and at occasional points, I had pretended to show interest in something such as moss which we spotted in moist parts of the caves, telling them to keep moving, but stayed behind to rest my wound. I had hoped they hadn’t pick up on the truth, even though in hindsight I considered a flareon showing interest in moss for no apparent reason pretty unrealistic. Other times, I had just suggested that the kirlia rest, as she appeared more physically worn than me or the ground type. That had worked too, and I was free to take the liberty to close my eyes for around half an hour before we got going again. I had certainly been looking forward to evening—that was for sure.

“Dusty...I’m tired...” heaved the kirlia, leaning against the wall with her head cocked back and her eyes closed.

A little worry washed over me; I knew she was tired, but I did not want to pause yet. “We shouldn’t stop here...” I began carefully, hoping I wasn’t going to give her any kind of fright. “Look, there’s a downward slope!” I exclaimed, noting a path which I had initially missed.

“Would you give it a rest?” the rhyhorn barked, standing beside the kirlia as he made somewhat of a move to guard her. “We all know your wound has been hurting you this entire time. You’re not tougher than us, and you’re a fool for thinking you can push others the way you’ve been pushing yourself.” He emitted a low rumble. “Just let her rest.”

I was about to snap back with my own retort, but felt no words make their way to my tongue. I failed to find a valid argument altogether and snorted, gritting my jaws as my nose twitched continually. With a gruff snarl I tore away from them and continued on my own. I had apparently forgotten my wound for a moment as I was engaging in conversation with him, as my leg began to beat louder than before once I applied pressure, agitating me and forcing my jaws more tightly together. I controlled my breathing and began the slow descent down the gradual slope, head low as I twitched with agitation. “I wasn’t pushing her,” I muttered grudgingly, mind on the rhyhorn.

The scenery around me was coated in snow. Peculiarly, the snow didn’t reach most of the cliff, which was probably due to the angle at which it had blown. Considering this, I wondered if it was really a good idea to go off in search of more shelter. I was a fire type, sure, but that didn’t mean I could sustain my body temperature forever. If I were an ice type, my body would be able to regulate the freezing temperatures and adjust itself to them, just as I could in hot climates. But there was only so long I could handle the harsh embrace of the cold.

Before deciding that splitting from the only two nearby pokémon I knew were my allies, I stopped partway down the slope. If there were more caves around in which we could spend the night, I would be lucky to find them. I realised that we could simply retreat back into the cave we had come, and although the idea didn’t excite me, it was possible that it could be the most sensible option. At the same time, though, I wondered if we were going to be found by the others. Currently we were lost, and I was willing to admit that. Not to do so would be pointless anyway. I just hoped the others – who we had been separated from hours ago – knew where they were going and how to get out. For all I knew, they could still be in the caves. Either that or they had beaten us out long ago, and I was wandering around blindly while they had found some grand shelter elsewhere.

As I sighed to myself and worked my way back up the gently slanting rock, I thought to myself about the other pokémon. Although I didn’t know him, it was a relief to know that the granbull, Derino, was okay, as the steelix had reportedly not been out to harm anyone and likely knew his way around the caves if he lived there. It was possible most of them had been separated and were alone, and I realised how lucky I was to have encountered the kirlia and a random rhyhorn—one that did not wish to attack us at that. I was still wary of him, but things such as his concern for Rentana persuaded me that he was not a bad pokémon, despite our intolerance of one another.

‘I really hope they find us soon...and know what they’re doing...’ I gave a sigh and tilted my head skyward, focusing on several different glowing dots among the murky blue. ‘...We certainly don’t.’

***

“FINALLY,” groaned the glaceon with such enthusiasm that she thought she might cause an avalanche.

She sprawled onto the grass that grew sparsely on what looked to be a rather high cliff, rolling over onto her back and peering up into the limitless sky. She could once again see stars and wispy remains of the day’s clouds, which smeared into indecipherable smudges as night crept across the horizon. She moved her head to Tarla, who was a big fluffy blob beside her.

“Fresh air,” the altaria added, closing her eyes to breathe it in through her small ivory beak. She felt the freezing wind sail by as her two distinctive head feathers danced behind her, stretching her wings to allow the air to flow through them. Her left one still ached, and she hoped that a night’s sleep might help, even if only a little. She had injured it that same day, after all, and it hadn’t had any proper rest.

She thought that the glaceon’s endeavour to save her must have done something positive, however, as she suspected that the bone, which was likely to have been out of place, had clicked back into the correct spot. It had felt much better to move around since then. The circumstances of the bone’s relocation weren’t ideal, but she was glad that the eeveelution had done it regardless. Both were still alive and well, which was what mattered the most. The same couldn’t be said for the geodude who suffered a tragic fate, of course, but she was reluctant to think of that again.

“We need to find somewhere to stay,” the rhyhorn behind them grunted as she emerged from the cave. She glared at the lying glaceon and stepped around her, intentionally ensuring her steps were laboured to display how much of an inconvenience she was. The rock type walked around the small area, which was a rounded-off cliff with only traces of ice on top. There were a few slants that angled down from the cliff, which presumably led to lower levels and more crossable land, and it was clear that the rhyhorn intended to descend them presently.

Tarla turned to Azure. “We don’t need to go down any further. We can stay up here for the night.” She glanced to Thunderquake, who was already metres away and peering over the edge of the cliff.

“Yeah...we could,” Azure muttered, her paws hanging lazily as she angled her head toward the rhyhorn. More rock types circled around her and she gave a tiny smug smile, happy to be in their way.

After mere moments of deliberation, the rhyhorn had picked a path and decided to move off. Tarla and Azure had little desire to see them off, but Thunderquake turned and plodded toward them, her glare present as always.

“Do not cross into my territory again,” she grumbled, traces of a thread evident in her tone. She switched her gaze to Azure, who proceeded to get off the ground. “This is the last time I will help outsiders. Do you understand?”

“Yeah,” the glaceon muttered with a raise of her brow, uninterested in enduring a lecture. “Bye. See ya! Nice to have the company.” She rolled her eyes.

Thunderquake merely watched her for a few seconds, making the ice type uncomfortable, before turning to Tarla. “Fare thee well.”

The two Usster pokémon followed with their eyes as the fragment of the rhyhorn herd trudged away, disappearing out of sight.

The dragon type took a deep breath, deciding it was time to relocate her focus. She turned to the mountains in the distance and settled her gaze. From where she was, she could see the distant mountains and their many differences. The mountain range stretched beyond what she was able to see without taking wing, but even then she would have to fly a fair distance to see its end—and that was its width, not length.

Memories began to flood back through her mind as she continued to stare, almost as if in a trance, and she waddled forward to the edge of the cliff to cast her curious gaze across the surrounding areas for a more detailed assessment. The view was breathtaking. She had seen similar sights many times before, but they never ceased to rob her lungs of air.

Azure strode up beside her and took a seat at the flying type’s side. Although the swelling darkness stole many details which would have been stunning in proper light, what could be seen was still amazing, and Azure was happy to be anywhere with snow. It was only a thin layer under her paws, and she didn’t intend to sleep on it, but she was happy to be in an icy climate. Sometimes she dreamed of straying from the colony – temporarily – just to visit the snowy mountains. However, she was rarely allowed the luxury. All business she had away from the colony was not free time, and often she wasn’t to choose where she would go. She tried to block that out for the moment, allowing herself to feel the breeze and inhale the fresh air around her. Its coldness was comforting.

“You know something...?” began Tarla unexpectedly, and the glaceon faced her with a questioning look. “...I used to live here. Not on this mountain...but one of them.”

“You did?”

“And before that, I used to live far from here. Until I was banished.”

The glaceon’s eyes lit up at the words and she stared intently at the pokémon at her side, interested in what she had to say. “You were banished...as well?”

Tarla frowned a little. “...As well?”

“Uhh,” the glaceon began, suddenly growing uncomfortable. “It’s a stupid tale. Really, it’s not worth hearing about...”

The altaria looked at her for a few seconds longer before she removed her gaze and redirected it out to the mountains once more. “When I came here, I was attacked by a skarmory...” Her eyes narrowed but she didn’t blink. “One of the most frightening experiences of my life.”

Azure processed the information without a particular response, then queried, “Why’d it attack?”

Tarla’s mind worked as she tried for the hundredth time to figure that out for herself. “I wish I knew.”

--

The swablu awoke with a heavy head. The crash had rendered her a little disorientated, and her wings both ached with shooting pain that she hadn’t felt anything like before. It was horrible, and she longed to have it disappear. She knew she wouldn’t be so lucky, however, as she was not familiar with any healing moves. Even then, what she had sustained was probably too serious to be healed with a mere pokémon’s move. Rest and recover were good for minor injuries gained in battle, but not broken bones and fractured ligaments.

She groaned in pain, her breathing sharp and uneven as she tried to focus herself and still her rushing mind. So much had happened, and so fast. The skarmory had come for her like a golbat thirsty for blood, and she was truly confused as to why. She had done nothing to agitate it. It seemed vicious, like it was trying to protect something. She wasn’t sure what; she only knew that the monster was gone now, and she was tangled in a tree, between thick and thin branches and their many leaves. Her face hurt, her feathers had been yanked out, and she was sure she could see droplets of blood in a few places. One such place was on her cloudy wing, which showed up brightly and almost shockingly against the pure white.

She glanced around, trying to make out anything other than trees and their limbs. It wasn’t long before she tried to free herself and wriggled amongst the leaves and twigs, finally unlatching herself and feeling her body tilt. The small sphere-like shape of her form tumbled from the tree as she tried to beat her wings, having little success as she only turned in circles faster. She softened her landing, at least, but her wings felt too sore to hoist her into the air once she thumped against a large mound of snow. Her beak had accidentally closed on her tongue, and she felt the pain shoot through her mouth as she groaned. Suddenly she was alerted to the sound of cracking, and to her horror, a tree branch not much longer than her began to fall her way. With no time to escape, she let out a tiny peep before she was knocked out by the weight.

A night passed before she awoke to the brightness of the sun-kissed snow around her. Miraculously she hadn’t grown overly cold in the bed of snow, and wondered if it was because, in addition to her cloudy wings, she was also encased in the draping branches around her, including the one that had caused her to fall unconscious.

She was unsure what to do as she struggled to make a decision in her mind. She had lost everything: the flock she used to belong to and call family; the only friend she had made since she had lost her way; even her ability to fly had been taken from her, and she was left with nothing but snow and a new, unfamiliar day.

Her motivation had depleted, leaving her without any ability to right herself and navigate her way to safety. The idea was horrifying to her; she hated knowing that she was helpless in the face of destruction. The chances of encountering another friendly pokémon like Kori were slim, and she almost felt like giving up before she tried again. Right now, she had nobody to rely on but herself. Perhaps if she had stayed with Kori, all would have been fine, and she would be safe and sound, away from harm and out of the freezing snow. Her injuries wouldn’t have happened and she would have a home. Not only that, but she wouldn’t be alone.

‘What have I done?’ she wondered with endless regret, clenching her eyes. She felt tears forming at the edge of her eyes and then trail slowly down her facial feathers, eddying around her beak. She watched the snow surrounding her through blurred vision and wept quietly.

“I...is somebody there?”

The swablu jumped, knocking snow from the tops of her wings and head, trying to blink out the tears in order to see properly. Other than that, she stilled herself completely, holding her breath as she swallowed hard and stared out through the long, giant leaves of the tree which had sheltered her for a night.

“Hello?” the voice began again, and Tarla swallowed, contemplating her options.

As she thought about the possibility of lowering her voice and growling with the hope to intimidate or frighten off the intruder, she realised that the voice had sounded just about as afraid as she was. When she reevaluated the situation, she realised she had not heard this pokémon approach, and therefore they were either able to float or were small and didn’t make much noise...and was alone. Just to be sure, she waited again.

“I just...wanted to see if you needed help...unless nobody’s there...” the voice murmured. It was clear that the pokémon speaking was female, and she sounded timid.

The idea of a timid pokémon, probably small and by herself, was comforting to Tarla. Not only did it mean that she would likely not have a large portion of trouble if she was forced to engage in combat with this creature, but it also meant she was likely able to elude the pokémon if need be. Then again, Tarla considered that she could have been an ice type, given she was hanging around an area infested with snow, and figured that she could have been dangerous after all, especially if she was frightened and reacted with a flurry of ice or snow.

“Okay...well...I guess there’s nobody here,” she said, and waited a moment before presumably making her way from the pine. The shuffling of snow was soft and barely audible, which made sense as to why Tarla hadn’t been able to hear it over her sobs before, and held herself still until she deduced that the pokémon was a safe distance away.

She poked her body between two hanging branches, watching as the stranger walked off without the knowledge that she was being watched. From the back, Tarla could see that she was a yellow pokémon with a cone-shaped body, and had orange diamond-shaped patterns. The altaria felt her heart rate increase as she wondered what she should do. If she called out to this pokémon, there was still the possibility of an attack, but she didn’t want to let slide a possible opportunity for safety or help. The decision was hard, and she knew she was running out of time to make it.

Before she could voluntarily choose, however, the pokémon stopped and turned. Tarla’s eyes widened and she ducked back through the branches instantly, watching as they swayed back into place. She felt herself panic as she dashed behind the tree trunk which, she realised too late, was too thin to be of any use as a hiding spot.

The pokémon was evidently drawing closer and the swablu, frozen with fear and the burden of indecision, had not a clue for what to do. She couldn’t move a limb, and her wings were hammering with pain from the attack and the fall. She tightly compressed her beak.

The branches moved aside and the pokémon stuck the tip of her triangle through before her face came into view. The sight of it shocked Tarla and she felt a jolt of surprise zip through her bones. A charcoal face with a wide-set row of teeth and small eyes which bore no trace of hostility stared at her, cautiously analysing the unfamiliar pokémon.
Instead of showing a potential intruder aggression, she was projecting something closer to frightened concern.

The two pokémon stared at one another, both too frightened to do or say anything to one another, before the yellow pokémon finally raised a small, stubby arm and uttered, “...H...hello...”

“Hi,” answered Tarla abruptly, and after their exchange of two measly words, they didn’t speak again for about ten seconds. In the passing moments, the duo continued to analyse one another in an effort to build a profile.

“I...live around here. I’m a...snorunt,” the ‘snorunt’ explained, and Tarla watched her intently, adjusting her beak as it seemed to sit uncomfortably.

“I come from far away...” Tarla admitted, unwilling to reveal any more information to begin with.

“W...what’s your name?” asked the snorunt, resisting taking more steps into the shelter of the pine tree.

“Tarla... I’m a swablu.” She held up her wings, not taking her eyes off the snorunt. “They’re injured and I...can’t fly.” She swallowed again, hoping that her information was not going to be seized and used against her. Based on first impressions, she didn’t imagine that this snorunt was the type of pokémon to do such a thing, but she certainly knew that looks could be deceiving.

“I-if you want, I can help you get better,” the snorunt offered, and Tarla watched her with newfound hope. She forced herself to remain even just a little suspicious, as she knew that letting her guard down could easily be her downfall.
“How would you do that?” she questioned with narrowed eyes.

“Well, uh...we ice types know a thing or two about healing. Ice helps to soothe wounds. Of course, we ourselves don’t often need to be treated with ice because our bodies naturally generate it...but sometimes we help travellers and many of them are grateful...and-and some even come to us by themselves and—” She paused a second, noticing the light frown on the flying type’s face. “Oh...I’m talking too much, aren’t I? Sorry.”

The swablu didn’t particularly agree, but had no wish to discuss the topic. “Where do you live? Is it...possible that I could maybe...” She didn’t want to finish her sentence, looking down in shame. She had been booted out of her flock and now she had to go asking someone she had just met for help. She hated asking for help.

“Do you want to stay with us for a while?” guessed the snorunt, to which Tarla blinked a few times with a frown.

“What? N-no, I don’t want to...”

The snorunt watched her carefully. “It won’t be any trouble.”

The swablu, taken by her desire to be healed, frowned a little harder. “R...really?”

“Yes,” she answered with an innocent nod. “We treat travellers all the time.” She turned around and signalled outside the area the pine covered. “We live in a cave not too far from here. Actually, it’s a whole mountain.”

“Do I have to fly to get up there? Because my wings are injured and I don’t think I’ll be able to...” She stopped when she noticed the snorunt’s amused expression. The flying type continued to look at her with a questioning look, a small frown upon her delicate feathered face.

“We don’t...ahem. Have wings,” she explained, not wishing to embarrass the blue pokémon before her.

With wide eyes of realisation and a grunt of annoyance at herself, the swablu looked away. “J-just forget I asked.”

The snorunt, still somewhat concerned, gave a slow nod and a small smile before peeling away and ducking out from underneath the branches. As she vanished through the leaves, the swablu elected to follow, slowly scuffing through the snow that layered the ground at her feet. They walked for a time, the tall trees slowly passing by as the snorunt led the way. The whole time, the swablu tilted her head and observed the surrounding area, noting that they were in a shallow gully which was entirely covered with snow. It seemed to stretch for a while in both directions, but eventually stopped when mountains protruded from the earth and created bulky triangular fists punching from the ground.

“You might not know it, but ice types are great healers,” the snorunt from up ahead mentioned, and Tarla looked to her, although she was staring at the back of her body. It was then that she realised this pokémon’s head and body were joined, just as hers were. It made her feel less of a stranger to this pokémon.

“Wait a second,” the swablu realised, coming to a halt. To her words, the snorunt stopped as well. Tarla eyed the ground in thought, her mind buzzing with implications only then addressed. “Ice types...” Her eyes widened and she took a step back, at which the snorunt grew a look of alarm.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, a little frantic.

“I’m...I’m weak to ice. I’m a flying type and when I evolve...I’ll be doubly weak...” She swallowed, keeping her eyes on the pokémon in front of her. Suddenly she felt cold. The snow felt like a stranger’s territory. “What are you...what are you going to do with me?”

The snorunt pulled back at the sight of the flying type’s wild eyes of fear. She found it horrifying that she could have frightened someone in such a fashion, and felt herself begin to grow anxious. “I...I...we...”

Tarla knew the snorunt had lost her words and she watched the pokémon shrink back, lowering her gaze to the ground as if in shame. The bird pokémon didn’t remove her eyes, however, but started to feel sympathy for this seemingly harmless pokémon. As the snorunt had been leading her, she had felt as if there had been an invisible vine lightly pulling her along, like she didn’t have a choice. Upon seeing the shy snorunt’s reaction, it felt as if the vine was sliding off. Neither pokémon had control over the other, which was liberating. In order to retain that feeling, Tarla knew she needed to make her own decisions.

The two were silent for a beak-full of seconds before Tarla spoke up. “I...can’t go with you. I think I’ll...stay here until I get better and then...I’ll leave.” She offered a tiny smile, hoping her words were inoffensive.

The snorunt took a step forward with pleading eyes, obviously deciding against verbal protest. She instead gave a solemn nod. “Will you at least...let me bring you remedies?”

The swablu felt a pang of sympathy as she stared at the pokémon and gave a tiny nod. “Okay...”

The snorunt hesitated before blurting, “You can use the snow to keep your wounds cold. I-if you want. It’s a good idea though, as long as you yourself are warm...”

The blue pokémon acknowledged the comment and turned, trudging back to her pine tree. Doing so after encountering such a willing stranger almost felt wrong, and she couldn’t help but wonder if she was making the correct decision. It was possible that staying with those ice types would be her second chance in life, but it was equally as possible that they would only bring her harm. Despite the friendly messenger, she was not willing to chance the other members of her clan after mistakenly trusting a community before.

‘At least she seemed friendly...’ she thought to herself, happy to know there were other friendly pokémon existing out in the wild like Kori. Thinking of the swoobat made her feel another ripple of regret, but she turned her attention to other matters.

Only a few steps in, she realised something: she hadn’t caught the snorunt’s name. Whirling around, she was dismayed to see that the pokémon had disappeared. For a moment she was overcome with disappointment before her hope rose when the ice type walked out from behind a tree she happened to be crossing behind.

“H-hey!” she called, and was a little surprised when she realised how far the gully threw her voice. The snorunt turned around. “I...didn’t get your name!”

The ice type hesitated for but a moment. “Aemara!”

The swablu smiled with an open beak, feeling as if she had officially made a friend. “I’ll...see you ‘round!”

The snorunt, as she could see from afar, brightened up and grinned before nodding and turning around to race away.

--

The altaria gave a reminiscent nod. “...After a few days, I trusted Aemara enough to eventually live with her clan. She became my best and closest friend, and we’ve stuck together ever since. When we heard about a nearby clan who needed a healer, Aemara’s family told her she should go. They had plenty of healers and she was interested in following in their footsteps, so it was good for her to branch out and make her home somewhere else. Just as she wanted, she got to spread the healing touch her clan so highly valued.”

“How long ago was this?” asked Azure, who had been sitting and listening to her tale in the mouth of the cave for the past ten or so minutes. She was genuinely interested in the flying and dragon type’s past, as she had no idea how she had come to be at the colony.

“Years ago when the clan was first formed,” she answered. “Maybe...seven years ago?”

“Wow...” Azure whispered. “You’ve been with them for that long?”

“Yep,” she answered. “Most of the other colony members who have been here for that long were much older than we were when they joined. Pokémon like Luck and Wynore, and Krinn and Shard. Yukra too, I presume.” After she stopped talking, Azure stood and gave understanding nods before the altaria turned to her. “How’d you wind up with the Ussters?”

The glaceon held a breath in her throat, clearly reluctant to answer. She glanced almost fearfully at the altaria, who withdrew her head a little in perplexity. “I...I don’t like to talk about it.”

Tarla analysed her face for a little longer as the eeveelution swallowed nervously. “...Alright.”

Letting go of the question so quickly surprised the glaceon, and she began to stare at a shard of ice which had fallen from the entrance of the cave and had split into a few pieces. Her thoughts ran in circles as she contemplated sharing, even if it wasn’t something she normally did. She had come to trust the altaria and believed she wouldn’t do or say anything to enrage her. At least, she hoped not.

She lowered her head and drew a short breath, as if a little ashamed to begin her story. “Back in my pack... We lived in icy regions way up north, where not many others go. Trainers certainly don’t. I was always...looked down upon for my back.” She rotated her neck around to spot the odd patterning running down her flank. “It’s not much more than a strange discolouration and extra patterning, but because none of my family had such markings, some of our rival families and one of the wiser glaceon believed I was some kind of warning for bad things. They thought I was a sign from the gods and that I was not to be trusted or nurtured properly.

“When I was old enough to survive on my own, they drove me out and told me that they always planned to...but my mother convinced them to wait until I was old enough to hunt and find shelter on my own. If you ask me...she didn’t try hard enough.”

The altaria sat in silence, her face contorted with an expression of sympathy but misunderstanding; she could not fathom how they would discriminate against her for looking a little different from the rest of her kind, especially if it was only a minor marking. She resisted commenting, given how equally short-sighted her flock had been, and instead listened.

She still failed to meet her friend’s eyes as her gaze lingered on the ground. “Up north, there aren’t many other clans at all which could provide us with explanations for things in nature, so those that live up there are often superstitious or create their own beliefs to justify things they don’t understand. It’s what isolation does to you.” She heaved a sigh and sank to a lying position to rest her front legs. She stared at the cave floor. “So after I was banished, I ended up...finding other friends and then eventually joining the Usster Colony. It was something I could confide in and believe was my home... Like a sanctuary where I could be safe. Or as safe as I can feel.”

Despite not knowing what she was referring to with her last comment, Tarla dismissed it as a general statement. Times were dangerous and she had every right to feel unsafe some days. “I never knew that about you either,” she commented.

Azure glanced to her and then gave a nod accompanied with a bottled sigh. “I’ve...never told anyone, except one other pokémon, so...don’t repeat it.” She met her eyes again. “Okay?”

“Okay,” the altaria shrugged, understanding how she felt. “If it makes you feel any better, not many pokémon know about my past either. Being kicked out of my flock was one of the best and worst things to happen to me. If I stayed, it would have been because I decided to go along with their little plan...and I could feel that it wasn’t right, so...I didn’t do it. I never would have met my best friend or learned about healing...and I never would have wound up at the Usster Colony.”

Azure stared at her; she hadn’t considered the repercussions as something she should have been thankful for. She always resented her pack for evicting her and even one day thought she might seek revenge of some kind. However, hearing the altaria talk of such things in a positive light really put it in perspective for her. It was a large realisation to know that perhaps being exiled wasn’t the worst thing that happened to her after all. At the same time, she wondered what it would have been like to have been able to stay with her family and her friends her whole life. The icy lands were her home, and she found herself missing them every day.

Suddenly she felt extremely grateful for the chance to discuss her past with someone, and gave a shy smile. “Tarla...I just wanted to...”

When she looked up from eying the ground, she noticed that the altaria’s head was angled completely away from her, off to their right, and looked to be alert. The glaceon tipped her head to one side, a little curious about why she was doing such a thing.

“Is there something—”

“Shh!” snapped the flying and dragon type, and to it, Azure felt a little offended. Her pride resurfaced and she made the decision that she wasn’t going to thank her after all.

The feathers on Tarla’s head barely swayed in the soft wind as she focused, and suddenly Azure found herself interested in what had distracted her.

“I hear...something...” she explained, and got up, ruffling to the cave entrance and sticking her head out. The glaceon followed and tipped her head in questioning.

“I don’t hear—”

The altaria flicked a solid gaze at her instantly to silence her, and the glaceon gave a stoic glare. After a moment longer, she turned to Azure again and spurted, “We have to go.”

“Wh—what? Where?” fumbled the glaceon, who clearly had no idea what the fuss was about. Tarla looked about to lose her patience.

“We need to go now. Something’s happening down there,” she commented, and Azure narrowed her eyes in concern.

“Well how do we get down?” Azure trundled up to the edge of the cliff and peered over, spotting a small slope down the side of the mountain. It was laced with a thin coating of snow, and she only hoped neither of them would slip. With a small growl, she uttered, “Would be nice if you could fly.”

“Well, I can’t,” grumbled Tarla, who was already pushing past her and making her descent.

Azure watched her go a few steps before she called, “Where exactly are we going to?”

For a moment the flying and dragon type said nothing, and once she reached the bottom of the narrow slope, she whirled around and shifted her weight to one leg so she could point the other in a rough general direction instead of using her wing. “Voices; pokémon! It sounds like someone’s in danger and it could be one of us.”

The glaceon was sceptical of the bold claims based on little but some near-inaudible vocalisations. More pokémon could easily mean one or more of many things: a fight over territory, a heated dispute, casual but loud conversation, or even something as unlikely as a trainer disturbing the mountains in search of new pokémon. She doubted the latter, but even knowing it was a possibility, she found herself growing more and more wary of the situation.

Obediently she slid down the slope, her claws scraping streaks into the ice as she momentarily thought her paws might betray her and throw her off the slope. She managed to maintain grip, ending at the bottom with her body rotated. The eeveelution span around and met eyes with the flying type, who was focused on their next location. It was then that Azure heard voices as well, which were accompanied by a following scream. Instantly she recognised the voice, and when she turned to Tarla, she could see that she was not the only one.

“Dusty!” both yelped.

The duo fled down the mountainside, trying with as much accuracy and speed as possible to spot fast routes as they fought to reach their target before anything menacing befell her.

***

“It’s been at least half an hour,” began the krinar tentatively as he trudged behind a small party in front of him. “That sandshrew’s either dead or dying.”

“She’s not dead,” Maka growled back, the weight of the ground type thankfully not hindering her much.

“Can’t you sense a life when you’re near it?” Zaion mocked, walking a short distance from the rhyhorn. Etire pressed his lips together in thought at the question.

“Unlike you, some of us aren’t fortunate enough to have the nose of a thousand pokémon.”

The houndoom raised his brow a fraction. “Very kind of you to say.”

The fighting and psychic type rolled his eyes. He glanced over his shoulder to spot the figure of a quagsire waddling behind him and sighed, turning back to Maka. “This sandshrew won’t hold us up, will it?”

Maka only seemed agitated by his comment, and had been for the past half hour. His constant opinions were beginning to get on her nerves, especially considering he himself had nothing to worry about. She was the one carrying the extra weight and she, by proposing to take the stranger in the first place, had given herself the responsibility of another life. If he had been the one forced to carry her, then his comments would have been more justified. Considering he was not, Maka felt a strong inclination to make a trade with the cave: the krinar for the sandshrew.

She suddenly felt movement that was more than obviously not born of her own actions and became alerted to the possibility of the sandshrew regaining consciousness. She stopped in her tracks with a few alarmed grunts. Zaion doubled back and saw the movement himself; the sandshrew was unfurling.

With a dull thud, the ground type hit the tunnel’s floor with a small grunt. The pokémon rubbed her head in a daze, swaying on the spot as she remained seated. Her small orb-like eyes revealed themselves slowly at first, but took only a few seconds to snap open at once. She drew her arms against her dirty cream chest, quivering at the sight of strangers. Not only were they strangers, but she had never seen some of these pokémon species before.

“Relax, sandshrew,” Zaion hummed, lowering his neck to appear less intimidating.

“Where are you taking me?” the squeaky voice of the ground type peeped. Her orbs darted between the various faces.

“I am Maka,” the rhyhorn stated in a firm voice, “and I am with Thunderquake’s clan.” She glanced briefly to Zaion and Entire, who were nearby. Splash stood motionless a number of paces toward the back of the group. “These are my travel companions. They will not harm you, I assure you.”

The sandshrew knew not what to believe, but the attempted understanding which flashed across her face suggested that acceptance was trying to push its way through a wall of fear. She breathed for a few moments before tilting forward and catching herself with her arms. On all-fours, she crept to Maka’s nose and reached out with a claw. “I was hurt,” she whispered, touching the rock type’s stony snout. “You were trying to help me?”

Maka closed her eyes and dropped her head while the ground type’s claw remained. “Cave-dwellers must assist one another in times of need. I was merely doing my duty.”

The sandshrew’s mouth stretched in a smile. “My thanks. I must be going...” She withdrew from her fellow underground inhabitant and gave another wary stare to the travelling party. Then, like a goldeen going from land to ocean, the citrine pokémon dove into the earth and vanished with a spray of dirt.

“Really? That’s it? She’s just...gone?” Etire questioned rather monotonously.

“She had other business,” Zaion concluded, peeling away from the scene and trudging on.

Maka felt her eyelids settle together as a warm smile spread across her snout. “Our work has been done.” She, too, departed and Splash followed contentedly behind.

Etire released a sigh, somewhat unable to conclude why they had even bothered to carry the stranger in the first place. He shook his head, shooting out a bottled breath. “Let’s just get out of here.”

Not two rooms later, Etire, Maka and Zaion were surprised to encounter the sandshrew yet again after she had burrowed up from beneath the floor. This time, she was with some of her friends. The small ground type party explained that they were grateful for the help that the travellers had provided their fellow sandshrew with, and offered to lead them out of the cave.

Surprised but happy, the group followed the pack of ground types until they reached what they claimed was the final room before the cave dipped and then morphed into a steep incline, leading out of the cave. The two groups parted ways and Maka, Zaion, Etire and Splash followed the path.

The upward hike was worth all the effort it entailed, for resting at the top of the slope was an opening to ground-level outdoors. Zaion and Etire spewed from the cave, thankful for the blinding light pouring down from the sky and into their sensitive eyes. Splash seemed happy at the sight of scattered snow, an assumption which was confirmed when he dove into a mound resting beside a looming tree trunk. The ground was icy, but somehow grass still managed to sprout through and stretch towards the sun.

“Thank the legends!” shouted Etire, collapsing within the snow beside Splash. He felt his wounds sear into the frozen powder, grimacing at the pleasant but stinting bite of his dissatisfied nerves.

Zaion turned to Maka, who remained at the mouth of the cave, marvelling at the outside view but appearing hesitant to emerge. With a pair of narrowed eyes, the houndoom understood. “You’re not coming.”

Maka made no move to deny it. “I must stay. In truth, there were moments when I imagined I would leave my home and travel, perhaps to find a new home. But my clan is my home, and it must be where I die.”

“Don’t die too soon,” Zaion joked, his tail swaying patiently behind him.

Maka emitted a fragment of a blunt hum and turned around, making her slow descent back into her natural habitat.
The psychic and fighting type, still embraced by snow, sat up, his brow knitted with befuddlement. “Where’d she go?”

Zaion stood, slowly moving past his travel companions with little regard. “She went back home.”

“Oh.” Etire moved his mouth to the side of his face in contemplation. He thought she would have at least said goodbye. “Wait, didn’t that rhyhorn leader say that they don’t live underground?”

Zaion shrugged, a number of possibilities crossing his mind. Perhaps this was the wrong exit, or Maka was unlike the rest of her clan and lived beneath the surface. Whatever the case, all ties of its relevance had been severed.

The fire and dark type was already several paces away before he inclined his head back. “I’m not one for teamwork, but we need to meet up with the others if we’re gonna survive another wild pokémon attack.”

Etire hauled himself out of the snow pile and heaved to his feet. “I know. I’m not letting another pokémon lay a hand, or paw, or claw, or wing on my mate.” He sneered at the thought of his beloved falling under threat yet again. A single time was enough for one day. He turned to the quagsire making snow-angels beside him. “Time to go.”

He began to hobble after the houndoom as the water and ground type remained encased in frostiness, docility coating his wide-set face. He stayed for another few seconds before shimmying out of the snow and waddling happily after his colony mate. However, something made him stop. Something distant. His simple mind skipped a few beats as he tilted his head in order to understand. Was it...a voice?

“Siiiire,” droned the pokémon, drawing the krinar’s attention.

“Splash?” he questioned a moment after having turned around. For the first time, he saw concern painting the quagsire’s face. He was completely still. “Splash, what is it?”

“Ssssire,” he murmured in somewhat of a whisper, his body beginning to be pulled in the opposite direction as if a magnet had him in its tide.

“Hound—houndoom,” shouted Etire, snaring Zaion’s attention. The quadruped paused as he continued, “Splash is onto something!”

The houndoom’s brow pressed down on his eyes. He was sceptical of this pokémon’s ability to detect, analyse and conclude matters, but when his mind flashed back to the heroic act of saving that wild geodude, he was reminded that this pokémon was indeed capable of things others weren’t. Not only that, but his unnaturally broken composition and apparent anxiety – a trait he had not displayed until now – inclined the dual type to believe something was significantly wrong.

Before he could ponder any longer, the quagsire trundled off, drawn away in the opposite direction to either of his travel companions. The houndoom snorted through his heated nostrils as he galloped to Etire.

“If this lead proves to be nothing but an empty-minded pokémon taking a detour, I might be tempted to relieve him of his duty.”

The krinar’s jaws parted, appalled at Zaion’s gross judgement. Splash may have been challenged, but he was in no way less valuable than any other colony member. He was insulted at the mere assumption that the quagsire was incapable of proper thought or circumstance assessment.

With a mere snort, the dual type muttered, “Stupid control-freak houndoom,” and stumbled after them, knowing he would have to rely on tracking skills to follow.

***

“I have to get to the cave,” the rhyhorn stressed, his voice carrying tones of regret and uncertainty.

“I...I know. Just go!” I wheezed to the rhyhorn, who stood hesitantly behind me. I could feel his conflicted eyes boring into the back of my skull as he probably analysed the situation at hand. I tilted my head, hoping I could afford the luxury of relocating my gaze for a short period. “Get out of here.”

I threw my gaze back to the predicament I had been greeted with not two minutes prior. The scene I looked upon was one I dearly wished I could handle on my own, but even if my wound was sealed and my energy was replenished, the sight of a hovering claydol watching me from a distance with its inconsistent head rotations would have planted seeds of doubt inside my mind. The real deal-sealer was the giant armour-plated bug-like beast which had already dealt blows to the rhyhorn and me in several places. The creature stood on two legs and possessed mighty strength which, as much as I hated to admit, was far superior to mine.

I heard the rock and ground type trundle off while keeping my eye on the brute of a pokémon pacing back and forth, flexing his many limbs and stopping to stretch. He was as cocky as they came, which made me seethe. Not only was this pokémon obnoxious, but he was actually as good as he thought he was. That annoyed me more than the attitude itself.

Normally I would not normally place myself before a giant adversary capable of slicing me in two, unless it was to protect Master, but Rentana had suffered enough and she needed to be away from harm. As frequently as the rhyhorn and I got on each other’s nerves, he was interested in protecting her, which I could not only appreciate, but acknowledge as a rare quality. I was also notably stronger than he, despite my weeping wound.

Discarding my thoughts of the others, I glared at the presumed bug and water type beast sneering at me from a few paces away, taunting me with his stretching. The cold didn’t seem to penetrate his haughty demeanour one bit. In fact, not much seemed to grab his attention. Since he and that creepy claydol had arrived, the only target either of them had taken an interest in was me. In fact, it was almost as if they didn’t acknowledge the presence of the others until the rhyhorn had gotten in the way and fought alongside me. Now, however, I was alone.

The beast’s mandibles clicked together as sharp movements possessed his head. I still had no idea what either of the strangers were doing here, but this one seemed to be enjoying prolonging whatever his mission was.

“Look, I don’t know what you want, but I have powerful friends you don’t want to anger,” I bluffed, glowering.

The creature emitted a very odd bug-like trill which I imagined was laughter. “When flareon present challenge?”

I scrunched up my muzzle, confused as to why this creature was speaking like a cavemon. However, I had bigger things to worry about. “I’m injured, you idiot. Can’t you see?” I growled, showing my gaping wound to the great bug type.

The pokémon angled his head, apparently not insulted but instead seeing reason in my statement. However, the show-and-tell prompted him to come closer, which in turn influenced me to take a step back.

“Stay away. I’m warning you,” I hissed, nearing the wall behind me.

“Or what?” gurgled the pokémon as he closed in.

Before I could do anything, he shoved a giant scaly hand into the air as if he was summoning something. Instantly I seized the chance to unleash a billowing stream of fire into his chest, causing him to recoil for a mere second before his forearm lit up with cyan light. He drove the arm into me, striking my face and forcing me to the ground.

I cried out and spluttered in pain as my wound berated me for neglecting its treatment. It had gotten more agitated in the few moves we had exchanged before the rhyhorn disappeared to follow Rentana, which further worried me. It didn’t seem like this pokémon and his floating psychic buddy were here to simply beat me to the ground for amusement; I had a sinking feeling that I knew exactly who they worked for and why they were here.

“Nighty-night, flareon,” the creature bellowed, calling a puddle of water from the surrounding snow, which melted into liquid armour encasing his body.

“DUSTY!” screeched a familiar voice, causing my ears to prick up.

Both the giant dual type and I glanced toward the source of the sound, which was in the direction of the slope which led upwards to a higher point on the mountain. My heart raced as I realised that there were two voices calling my name. If my ears weren’t deceiving me, it was Tarla and Azure.

My foe didn’t even give me a second glance before plodding over to the only slant heading up the mountain while still encased in the watery armour, and began to stalk steadily up it. My gut wrenched at the potential outcome of the coming encounter; although Tarla would have a type advantage if the brute was part bug as I imagined, his sheer willingness to crush anything in his path gave me a reason to be worried.

The moment he reached the tip of the ridge, there was a flurry of white wings as the altaria crashed straight into him, bowling him over and ridding him of his temporary liquid shell. For a second I thought he was going to tumble off the side of the ledge and succumb to the long fall towards the ground, but he caught himself right before he came to the border of the slant and righted his body in a moment. Furiously he slashed at her with the same cyan glow around his fist as he did me, striking her with surprising speed in the side.

Tarla screeched in pain, and it occurred to me that back in the cave when we were fighting the rock and ground type clan, she appeared to be favouring one of her wings. I thought nothing of it at the time, but the realisation that she had met with my foe on foot as opposed to from the air was what made me consider that something could be wrong. Without an aerial advantage, there was no possible way she could defeat this warrior.

As Tarla engaged the bug beast, a cobalt form with swinging appendages came skidding down the ramp and properly into my view. My heart thundered faster as I tried to call out to her, but Azure was taken by surprise as the watchful claydol shot an army of glowing rocks directly at her. Her legs tangled over one another as she tried to stop and plot a course, but the immediacy of the attack combined with her surprise smashed through her guard and exploded against her flesh, sending her back and into the wall that I currently lay up against.

With a moan, she lifted her head and glared at me, as if frustrated that I had put her in this position. I gave her a shrug and a growl of annoyance while trying to fight off the pain gnawing at every square inch of my body.

The claydol gave her a mere second of rest before he launched a second attack, still only targeting her despite having a full view of me while I was down. I watched it soar towards the glaceon as she scrambled to her feet and bolted to the side, probably assuming she had avoided it. However, the boulders took a sharp turn and chased her like a cub following its mother, relentlessly trying to catch her.


Azure shrieked, bolting away from the rocks as they pursued her. She began to near the claydol, and it looked as if she was about to trick the giant airborne pokémon into hitting itself with its own attack. Just as she came into close proximity, another wall of rock suddenly appeared suspended between her and the claydol, causing her paws to scramble at the ground before she collided with it. The trail of rocks still pursuing her got the chance to catch up and smashed her from behind before she even realised it was still after her.

“Azure!” I screamed in horror, fear scaling my body in a shiver as I contemplated what sort of damage must have befallen her.

Once the rocks crumbled into useless piles of dust, Azure could be seen lying at the edge the flat mountain outcrop that this whole battle had been staged on. I swallowed hard, feeling uneasiness crawling up my throat and trying to burrow its way into my brain.

Tarla gave a shriek as a stream of cloudy ultramarine gas crackling with yellow sparks flooded down the slope she and the bug type were brawling at the top of. Suddenly I witnessed her form appear as she scurried desperately down and onto the flat surface where Azure and I had been. Her eyes were quick to meet with the glaceon’s unmoving form as she presumably worked her brain fast for a next step. Her gaze then swiftly shifted in my direction as an outcrop of rock from the cliff-side above broke off while surrounded by a pink casing.

We all watched as the onslaught of newly detached boulders shot directly at Tarla, who could do nothing but leap at Azure’s inert body and surround the glaceon and herself with her own giant wings. Her whole body was a ball of cotton as the boulders struck, rocking her visibly but not taking her down. After the attack, she remained completely still, not a trace of blue showing among the igloo of white.

I tried to hoist myself up as the floating claydol focused its many creepy eyes on me and projected its psychic abilities. I felt myself lift off the ground, my limbs dangling in the air as I slowly began to levitate to where the pokémon was. I flailed violently, trying to somehow break free of the psychic powers through pure will, but internally knew that it was hopeless. I could not use my mind to attack like this psychic type could, so there was no way to combat its assault.

Before I knew it, I was hovering before the claydol. I shook my head repeatedly, attempting to push myself away from the menacing, expressionless pokémon. I attempted to call out for Rentana or that rhyhorn, or for either of the pokémon encased in the cotton just behind me, but I could produce no sound. Whatever psychic barrier the claydol had erected was blocking my attempt to do anything but breathe.

The giant water and bug pokémon stumbled down the slant and locked his eyes on me. Satisfaction appeared to smother his foreign face and nervousness gripped me.

“Time to leave,” he grumbled to the ground and psychic type indirectly holding me. “Boss waiting.”

‘No,’ I thought, my face hardening with fear and denial. ‘They can’t take me! Let me go!’

The claydol began to rise as the pearly armoured pokémon gripped one of its ball-like feet, when suddenly my stomach churned.

In a flash of magenta, blue and blinding white, we vanished.

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

Awesome that you're writing this again! Reminding myself to read it later! @Pokemon Trainer Sarah

Also that chapter looks so long, it took forever to scroll down here on my phone xD