The Path of Destiny

[Scytherwolf]

The Path of Destiny
Chapter 72 – Stormy Decisions

Rain fell over the forest. Thick and heavy, it broke through the treetops to spatter the ground below. Overhead, thunder rumbled, and many of the normally active tree dwelling pokémon hurried back to their nests. Flashes of lightning sent bursts of light through the leaves of the canopy.

At the riverbank, the weary group gathered, their moods dampened as they realized that the search had so far been fruitless. The pokémon huddled together at the base of one of the immense tree trunks, watching the river surge by, while the trainers stood a short distance away.

“We didn’t go far enough,” Katie said, shielding her eyes against the rain as she looked over to Damian. “What did Arien tell you?”

“Fernwing said there are a couple of other streams, but they didn’t have time to check them out. We can still look there.”

“What about the river?” Katie asked, looking to Alex and her azumarill, who were waiting in the water for the group to make a decision. “Did they see anything like that place those butterfree were talking about?”

“They haven’t found a lake yet,” Damian responded. “It must be pretty far up ahead. Further than that yanmega could have flown, most likely.”

“Stupid storm,” Justin muttered under his breath, his feet squelching in mud as he walked toward the pokémon. “Of course it had to rain right now, in the middle of the search.”

“It’s only around noon,” Katie replied. “The storm should pass well before nightfall and the flying types will be able to see things more clearly. Damian, does Fernwing still remember where she saw those streams?”

While the trainers conversed, Wildflame looked up toward the treetops, wrinkling her nose when several drops of water landed in her face. “It’s going to be impossible to find a scent in this,” she sighed. “We’re better off waiting for the rain to let up.”

“Katie doesn’t want to wait too long in case it gets dark before we find him,” Spark replied. “I guess I can kinda understand, with this pokémon having a Forbidden Attack and all...”

“Yeah, well Stormblade, Fernwing, and the others can hardly see anything down below in this storm. I’m not sure we’ll have much more luck on foot.”

The jolteon was about to reply when he saw Katie and Damian walking toward them. His ears pricked up, looking to Justin confidently before turning to the other two trainers and awaiting instruction.

“A few of us are going to wait here,” Katie explained, “and the rest will go in groups. Fernwing’s going to lead several of you to the first stream.” She waved her hand in front of the group of waiting pokémon. “Damian and his pokémon are going to the other with me. When we get there, he’ll head upstream and I’ll head downstream. Justin, you’re staying with the pokémon here.”

“That’s fine with me. Believe me,” Justin muttered.

“We’ll meet up back here in an hour. You two!” Katie pointed at Azumarill and Alex. “Take a break. We’ll search the river again later if we have to.” She unclipped a poké ball from her belt and returned Azumarill before pointing at Alex. “Stay here with Justin and anyone who wants to stay behind.” She then pointed to the group of waiting pokémon. “Those of you who aren’t staying are going with Fernwing. You can decide for yourselves when you get there who will search what side of the stream.”

As the pokémon conversed with one another and split off into their respective groups, Katie and Damian set off. “You sure you know where this stream is?” she asked warily.

Damian nodded. “Yes,” he said. “And I mean it this time. Finding my way through the wilderness is one thing I can do right.”

Katie cast a brief glance back at the pokémon. The search party was being led off into the trees by Fernwing already. Justin was watching her as he sat with the remaining pokémon. “All right,” she told Damian. “Let’s go.”

-ooo-

Yenn awoke to find that he was drenched with rain and shivering from the cold. The stream he was lying next to looked deeper than he remembered, and he realized that it was swollen with rainwater. He immediately crawled to its edge to take another drink, ignoring the thunder that boomed overhead. It didn’t occur to him to question how he’d slept through the storm.

He was certainly no longer being followed, that was much was certain. He had lasted what had to have been a day in the forest. With that came the first thought he’d had in what seemed like ages that didn’t revolve around mere survival.

He was filthy. Sure, the rain had washed away much of the dust from the desert, but the stream bank he was lying on had turned to mud. As he looked at what he could see of his reflection in the rain-battered stream, the sight filled him with sadness. He decided that he would fly to a tree branch so he could try to groom himself. Even if it didn’t help much with his present situation, it might make him feel a little better.

Taking to the air seemed to take more effort than it had before. Every time he forced his wings to move, it felt like his body was a little closer to giving out. He focused on a branch jutting from the nearest tree, the closest one to the ground, and slowly but steadily made his way to it.

Once on the branch, he rested for a few minutes, watching the rain fall all around him. He noticed pain in one of his wings that wasn’t coming from exhaustion. Remembering the encounter with the cacturne, he carefully looked over each wing, seeing a few small holes in one. He suddenly thought back to the healers in Cyclone’s camp, realizing that he would get no such assistance from anyone out in the wild alone.

The thought bothered him more than he thought it should have; the tears in his wing membrane were small and would heal on their own. He had been lucky; he wasn’t even sure if a healer could do anything for a large tear. Surprisingly, the thought didn’t make him feel any better.

Feeling some of his strength return, Yenn began brushing his front legs over his head and eyes, trying to clear them of any mud and dirt. As he did so, he realized that he needed to start thinking about his next course of action. Finding food, that was obvious. Food was his most pressing need now that he’d found water. Then he needed a place to stay that had access to water and prey, which wouldn’t be hard to find in the forest. After that...well, he’d think about it later.

He knew he would miss Ashend and Itora, especially once he became strong again and no longer needed to focus so much on mere survival. A far more pressing concern was what could be happening to them back at the army. What would Ashend and Itora do without him? Would they eventually be forced by Cyclone to use their Forbidden Attacks or be killed?

He tried to remind himself that Ashend knew what she was doing. She had figured practically everything out on her own. She could protect herself and Itora. He had to trust in her abilities. There was nothing else he could do.

Yenn was sure his weak attempts at grooming weren’t doing much good, but the sensation was calming to him, so he kept doing it. However, he found his thoughts wandering to the humans, wondering if what he’d fought for in Cyclone’s army was even possible now that the vaporeon had turned on wild pokémon.

Yenn was just one pokémon. He couldn’t hope to stand against the humans on his own. And the only pokémon with enough power and numbers on his side was doing far more harm than good. As much as he hated to admit it, it was over. There was nothing left he could do, no way he could help the pokémon still suffering in human buildings. Out here, he was useless to them.

All of a sudden, the thought of the humans and what they could do sent fear coursing through him. He knew he was far from Cyclone, but was he still far enough from the humans?

He had to know. Although he was weak, he wanted, before he did anything else, to get a good look at where he was. The only way to do that was to fly above the treetops.

Launching himself into the air with some difficulty, he forced himself to fly up toward the tops of the trees. They were so tall that he worried he would spend all his energy flying into the canopy, but he hardly cared. He needed to know.

The further he got, the more he had to swerve to avoid branches. It was something he’d done so effortlessly – and without thinking – many times before, but it took every ounce of his strength and concentration now.

Finally, he broke through the covering of leaves and into the raging storm above the forest. The wind and rain pounded at him, threatening to throw his frail body off balance. He was sure that if he were still a yanma, he would have been sent hurtling back through the branches. Yet through the dark haze that covered the sky, lit by jagged flashes of lightning, what he saw filled him with relief.

There was forest as far as his eyes could see in every direction. There were no signs of human dwellings, no sections of trees being cut down. No vehicles, no aircraft, no sign that humans had done any damage. The place seemed to be a vast sanctuary, an untouched refuge of the wild.

The fierce winds threatened to overcome him; he simply did not have the energy to keep fighting against them. He ducked back down beneath the shelter of the trees, heading back to his perch near the ground and the stream. Feeling too weak to do anything else, he landed on the branch and rested there.

It didn’t seem long before the rain let up, and the forest seemed still and quiet as the thunder faded away. Feeling a bit less tired, Yenn flew back to the stream, hardly caring that he’d landed in mud as he drank the cool water. He was then reminded of something else he desperately needed. Food.

Though the rain had stopped, the forest was soon alive with sounds again. Yenn could tell there would be plenty of prey to hunt. He just wasn’t sure if he was strong enough to catch anything. However, he wasn’t going to keep lying there in the mud.

He took flight, still unsteady but with a clearer mind, and headed downstream, hoping to detect the nearby movement of a bird pokémon or a winged bug type. He could hear the sounds of pokémon all around him, but none of them were particularly close, and he was afraid of running out of energy if he strayed too far.

Unfortunately, he soon realized that his energy was going to run out whether he left the stream or not. His wings faltered and he felt himself starting to pass out, forcing him to land on a low hanging branch. There was no way he could catch prey in his state.

Yet for the first time in the past several days, luck was on his side. Yenn heard a distressed squawking coming from further downstream. The pokémon who’d made the noise quieted almost immediately after, likely realizing that the panicked cries would attract predators, but the sound had been close. Yenn forced his wings to move again, following the flowing water until he passed the base of one of the large trees and saw a swellow hobbling on the forest floor.

From the bird pokémon’s awkward movements, Yenn could tell that its wing had been broken, and recently too. The swellow hadn’t seen him at all; it was too distressed to notice him.

He waited a moment to gather his strength, then zipped toward the bird pokémon, biting down on its head and tearing out a chunk of flesh and bone before it could blink. Yenn felt a rush of energy flood through him and he landed, ecstatic that he’d managed to catch something despite being so weak.

He started eating his catch right on the ground, not wanting to waste energy even taking it up to a tree branch. He stayed there, devouring it until there was little meat left. He then looked over at the remainder of the carcass, deciding that he should take it and put it where a scavenger was likely to see it. He leaned down and picked up the swellow’s remains in his mouth, hooking his legs around it as he took to the air.

Yenn flew downstream for a short time before spotting an opening in one of the trees about a third of the way up its trunk. A branch jutted out right beneath it, and on it he could see dark feathers. Murkrow.

Upon reaching the branch, Yenn could see that although the murkrow were gone, it looked as if they had been there recently. He set the swellow carcass down near the opening and rested on the branch, trying to catch his breath.

Despite feeling more energized, he found his wings going limp as he rested his body against the tree branch. It was a few minutes before he felt like his legs might be strong enough to support him again.

As he shakily stood up, he noticed movement from a group of bushes growing next to another massive tree that stood near the stream bank. He tensed, immediately thinking of Solus’s group, before remembering how extremely unlikely that would be. Then the creature emerged, and the sight of what had just walked out of the bushes made his blood run cold.

Stepping from behind the tree and through the branches was the distinctive form of a human. The human didn’t wear white clothes, but the very sight of him made Yenn’s body freeze. Immediately the yanmega felt his tiredness vanish, his senses suddenly on high alert.

An image of metal walls flashed through his mind, vivid enough to almost make him believe they were actually around him. Everything in Yenn’s brain screamed at him to flee. This was not simply one of the humans he had pictured in his imagination many times at the army; this one was real and breathing, and it was standing right below him.

Then the rational part of his mind reminded him that this human wasn’t standing in a lab. He was in a forest, a world that belonged to pokémon. That disgusting creature was the one out of his element, not Yenn. However, that thought was met with further alarm and confusion.

A human? Here? How? This was a safe place. He’d seen no sign of humans. How could it have come here?

Yenn couldn’t seem to will his body to move, even as he felt the worst of his fear subsiding. He hadn’t expected to have such a strong reaction to seeing the human. He hadn’t seen one, even from afar, in the months he’d been at the army, but he had imagined encountering them again more times than he could count. He wasn’t supposed to simply freeze up at the sight of one. What was wrong with him?

The human had stopped, almost right below Yenn’s branch, but he hadn’t noticed the yanmega through the thick foliage and the gloom. Yenn was worried that his red eyes and spots would stand out like beacons amongst all the green, but the human’s attention was fixed on a small device he held in his hands.

As Yenn watched, he felt his fear fade to be replaced with anger. Standing right below him was one of the beings responsible for the death and torment of thousands of pokémon. The pain that Yenn so vividly recalled at that moment had been caused by creatures just like the one standing so out of place on the forest floor. The memory of that agony was now enough to drive the last traces of fear from his mind. He hated that human. Hated that he dared to set foot in such a pristine place. Hated his very existence. And he was ready to wipe that existence from the face of the forest.

Lifting his wings, he willed the strength to come back to his body. He had pictured this moment many times during his stay in Cyclone’s army, the killing of his first human. He hadn’t anticipated the fear that had come before it, but that was over now. The human was hardly moving; as soon as Yenn gathered his strength, he would fly down and tear the human to pieces. It would be easy. One bite and the human’s skull would be ripped apart in his jaws. He could practically feel the blood flowing down his fangs. In spite of his anger, he managed to form a smile. This was what he’d been waiting for.

Adrenaline was lending his body strength, and he poised himself for the attack. He would do it quickly. The human’s brains would litter the forest floor before he could blink. It wasn’t going to be like the one he’d encountered during his escape from the lab. Not this time.

Then, right as his muscles tensed, ready to lift him into the air, an image appeared in his mind’s eye. He saw the smeargle lying in a pool of blood on the cave floor, part of his head crushed from Yenn’s bite. The thought made him freeze up again, and he suddenly remembered the way he’d felt, even when believing he’d done the right thing. He had hated the feeling of killing when he was not hungry. His attention was briefly drawn to the remains of the swellow lying beside him on the branch. Some part of his mind was still screaming at him that killing when not hunting for food was wrong.

That human wasn’t one of the ones whose faces he’d seen at the lab. This one wasn’t even doing anything...he was just wandering, and seemed to be alone. Yenn realized he wasn’t sure if he could justify murdering him. He'd thought he wanted to do it. Really, truly believed that he wanted to do it. There had been so many times where the thought of killing humans felt like the only thing keeping him going. And now, here he was. And he wasn't sure.

Below him, the human looked up from his device and scanned the area, but his attention was mostly focused on the branches above the stream, not the one where Yenn rested. The human seemed frustrated, like he couldn’t make much out in the gloom the storm clouds had left over the forest.

Yenn watched him, willing his wings to move but finding that they were locked into place. He could do this, he told himself. This was what he had waited so long for. He had imagined himself killing humans every day, imagined being able to finally feel a bit of peace after what the humans had done to him.

Yet as he thought about this, he felt his wing muscles relaxing. Anger wasn’t enough to set him on a deadly course toward that human. Even after focusing on every bit of anger he had, he didn’t have it in him to end the human’s life.

Turning away from the stream, he launched himself into the air and flew out of sight.

-ooo-

Damian paused, glancing back into the depths of the forest. For a moment, he’d thought he’d heard something, but he couldn’t see any movement through the branches. If there had been anything, it was gone now. He sighed and turned back to the pokégear.

Katie had sent him a message saying she’d found a yanmega, and, at her request, he’d waited for further instruction before she’d sent him another message telling him that the yanmega was scar-less. Discouraged, he placed the pokégear back in his pocket.

The sound of a pokémon crossing the stream alerted him to Arien’s presence, and the alakazam walked up to him.

“What did she say?” Arien asked through the psychic link the two shared.

“It was a normal forest yanmega,” Damian replied. “Did you find anything on the other side of the stream?”

“Actually, yes. Follow me.”

The two headed over to the stream, leaping across rocks to reach the muddy bank on the other side. Arien knelt beside of a patch of mud, and Damian came to crouch beside him. There he could see, clearly imprinted in the damp earth, the imprint of a thin, spiked leg. Another similar one was right next to it, and as Damian’s gaze traveled along the mud, he could see the partial imprint of a bug type’s wing.

Looking at the size of it, quite bigger than a scyther or scizor’s wing, Damian nodded. “That’s definitely a yanmega.” He glanced to Arien. “They don’t usually lie on the ground like that. This one was obviously sick or weak. And wanted to stay near the water.” He nodded to the stream.

“You think this is it, then?” Arien asked.

“I think it could be. The rain just stopped, which means these marks are fresh.” Damian stood up. “Before we do anything, let’s go get the others.”

-ooo-

Yenn hadn’t gone far when he had to stop for water. He had stuck close to the stream, and as he lowered himself to the water’s edge, he focused intently on his surroundings, suddenly afraid that humans could start appearing from any direction.

‘It was just one human,’ he tried to tell himself. ‘There were no buildings. There can’t be a lot of them here.’

He thought he saw something coming from behind another tree, but it was just a small pokémon rummaging in the undergrowth. He willed himself to relax.

He knew he had to get far away from the human, yet he also couldn’t afford to stray from the stream. On top of that, his energy was nearly spent. He needed to rest. But he couldn’t. Not yet. He felt like crying in frustration. How were there humans here? He had wanted to get away from them. He didn’t want anything to do with this anymore.

He had been so stupid. He’d had a chance to rid the world of a human, and instead he’d been a coward. It had not been the first time he had stared down a human and fled. His final day at the lab, he’d had a chance...one chance to kill one of the humans in charge of it all...and he’d panicked. He had vowed never to let such a thing happen again. He had failed.

With an enraged cry, he lifted himself into the air and sent a shockwave from his wings at a nearby tree. It hit the tree with a loud crack, and large strips of bark fell to the ground. Suddenly overcome with exhaustion, Yenn was forced to land. He had made the same mistake all over again.

No, he thought, trying to shake the thoughts away. That human hadn’t been one of the ones from the lab. It wasn’t the same thing. It didn’t matter as much. The human would probably die out in the forest alone anyway...wouldn’t he? And maybe the human had a gun, or a tranquilizer. Maybe he had powerful pokémon who could have brought him down. Yes, that was it. It was smart of him to flee.

However, Yenn knew immediately as he thought it that it was a lie. He hadn’t been afraid in those final moments. Something else had stopped him that time. Something that, unlike the time back at the lab, wasn’t fear. The realization filled him with shame.

He couldn’t kill a human. What sort of pokémon was he?

Yenn realized there was nothing left to do but to keep moving. Maybe he could find other yanmega, and they could tell him where humans did and didn’t roam the forest. He could belong to a swarm again. He could have companions.

Taking to the air again, he continued flying along the stream, scanning the area for any human threats. He saw none, and was soon forced to stop, as he simply had no strength left. Resting on a branch near the stream, he settled down, facing the direction he’d come from, where he’d seen the human. He would watch in case any appeared again.

-ooo-

When Damian met up with the rest of the group, including Katie and the pokémon who had returned from their searches, it was easy to tell that he and Arien were the only ones who had found any clear signs.

“I didn’t think it was a good idea for us to go after him alone,” Damian explained once Katie had asked him why he and Arien had turned back. “I think we should choose some of the pokémon and have them find him.”

A few of the waiting pokémon glanced at each other and then at Damian, confused as to why he didn’t think the entire group should go.

“Why just the pokémon?” Katie asked.

“Well,” Damian began, scraping the soil with one foot as his eyes looked downward and away from Katie’s, “Arien gave me Nightshade’s description of the yanmega’s scar. It was obviously some sort of surgical scar and it didn’t sound like the sort of thing a pokémon would need to have done at a pokémon center. That, combined the fact that he was with Cyclone...”

“Means that it’s probably not fond of humans, right?” Justin asked, crossing his arms. “I told you this was stupid.”

“Okay,” Katie said with a sigh, glancing around at the waiting pokémon, “so I guess what we’re dealing with here has got to be some sort of escaped lab experiment with a very likely grudge against humans and a Forbidden Attack. Point taken. So what pokémon are we going to send?”

“Send?” Wildflame repeated with a growl, knowing that Katie couldn’t understand her. “Arien, tell Damian she’s not our trainer.” To her annoyance, the alakazam ignored her.

“Wait a minute...” Justin muttered. “You still want to go after this thing? Didn’t you hear what Damian-”

“Look, even if he doesn’t like humans,” Damian interjected, “the pokémon can explain everything to him.”

“He was running away from Cyclone,” Katie added. “He’s probably not out to murder us. But just in case, we won’t be the ones going near him until the pokémon have talked to him. But if he has a Forbidden Attack, we need him to come with us to find this legendary.”

Spark gave Justin a reassuring glance, rubbing his head against the boy’s hand.

“Okay, fine,” Justin sighed. “I want to stop the Forbidden Attacks as much as you do. I’m just not fond of the fact that we keep collecting all these monster carnivorous bug types.”

From where she sat, Katie’s scolipede narrowed her eyes at the boy. “Well, that’s just rude.”

“I stared down a wild yanmega today, Justin,” Katie responded. “And you know what? It hardly even cared that I was there. And grudge against humans or not, the one we’re looking for is going to be weak. But if it makes you feel better, we won’t send Spark.”

“I think...I want to go,” Blazefang spoke up, surprising the other pokémon. He limped toward the front of the group, looking from Arien to Damian. “If this pokémon has a Forbidden Attack, I can be the one to convince him not to use it.”

“But...you’re injured,” Wildflame said worriedly.

“After what we just went through, this shouldn’t be so hard. Just show me the way to the stream.”

“Are...are you sure?” Damian asked, obviously having gotten the message from Arien.

The houndoom nodded. “I’m not changing my mind, Arien. You can tell Damian that. I fled from Cyclone’s army too. He would listen to me.”

“Okay...” Damian replied, clearly worried for the houndoom. “But you’ll need a healthy pokémon to go with you. Someone who can fight.”

Snowcrystal was about to suggest Stormblade, when Wildflame stepped forward.

“What about Scytheclaw?” Wildflame asked. “He has a...Forbidden Attack...or something like it, as well. Maybe he should go.”

To the surprise of everyone watching, Scytheclaw turned toward his trainer and nodded. “I want answers,” the scizor said. “Maybe this pokémon knows something we don’t.”

“I want to go too!” Snowcrystal called, coming up to stand beside Blazefang.

“You?” Scytheclaw questioned. “You’d barely be a snack for a yanmega.”

“I’m not afraid,” Snowcrystal protested.

“Forget it,” Scytheclaw said with a smirk. “You’d just be in the way.”

“Hey, who says?” Spark growled from where he stood by Justin’s side, and several pokémon voiced their agreement.

Snowcrystal gave a small smile, happy to see that her friends had immediately jumped at the chance to support her.

“Hey, if it makes you feel any better, Scytheclaw” Wildflame said, walking to Snowcrystal’s side, “I’ll go with her. Besides, yanmega don’t normally hunt prey off the ground. And he’s weak and exhausted. He wouldn’t try to attack a group of fire types and a scizor.”

“I’ll come too,” Redclaw offered, standing up.

“Actually,” Snowcrystal replied, “maybe it should just be the four of us. It’s not that I don’t want you to come, I just think...we might look like a threat if there’s too many of us.”

“She’s right,” Wildflame agreed. “We don’t need a miniature army of fire types walking up to him. Just enough to keep us safe in an emergency. We can handle this on our own.”

After a bit more discussion, both the pokémon and the trainers agreed with the arrangement, and the four who were chosen to find the yanmega were given a quick meal. At Blazefang’s insistence, Damian removed the bandages from the houndoom’s shoulder, back, and leg. The wounds had closed, and Blazefang felt that it would be best if he didn’t have any signs that he’d interacted with humans. He also told the others that it would be better to save the remaining supplies for Nightshade, as wounds in bug pokémon didn’t close as easily, and the heracross needed them more.

After that was done, Damian gave the four pokémon detailed directions to the stream, and wished them luck in quickly locating their target. Many of the other pokémon cheered them on as they set off, assuring them that they’d be waiting there by the river. Snowcrystal bid them farewell before she followed the three larger pokémon into the trees.

-ooo-

The journey to the stream took less time than Snowcrystal had anticipated. Even Blazefang was moving at a fairly swift pace, determination clear in his eyes. Wildflame stuck next to Snowcrystal, keeping an eye out for dangerous wild pokémon, and Scytheclaw took the lead. Though the scizor still bore injuries from the machamp’s attack in the underground, he was by far the strongest of the four of them.

They traveled upstream, stopping when Snowcrystal and the other canine pokémon caught the scent of the yanmega near the bank. “I think it’s the same scent,” Snowcrystal told Scytheclaw. “Though I’m not sure where he went. We can’t track something that flies.”

“Thanks for stating the obvious,” Scytheclaw muttered. His gaze scanned the surrounding trees. “He shouldn’t have moved far in his state. Let’s keep going.”

As they continued to walk, Snowcrystal cast a concerned glance at Blazefang. “Are you okay?”

“Fine. Let’s just find this pokémon,” the houndoom replied, panting but no less determined.

For a while, they carried on in silence. It was nearing late afternoon, and the forest seemed darker apart from the patches where sunlight broke through; at least the clouds were starting to clear up.

When they rounded a bend in the stream, the four of them suddenly stopped, Scytheclaw reaching out with his claw to halt them, though he needn’t have bothered. For resting on a branch far above their heads, they could clearly see a large bug type pokémon. He might have blended in with the foliage were it not for his red eyes and the spots that lined his body, which prevented any sort of camouflage. The yanmega was facing the stream, not turned toward them, but there was no doubt in any of their minds that he could see them.

Snowcrystal realized that her group probably didn’t seem of any importance to the yanmega until they halted and looked up at him. Then he responded by slowly and painfully lifting himself to his feet. From the angle she stood at, she couldn’t see if he had the scar, but even from a distance she could tell that he was weak and exhausted. There was little doubt in her mind that they had found the right one.

“Ex...excuse me?” the growlithe called up to him, her voice faltering. Truthfully, she hadn’t expected to come upon him so quickly after finding the stream, and the thought of him being dangerous flashed through her mind. She reminded herself that he had tried to warn her and her friends about Solus, but from the look of him, something told her that he didn’t recognize her. “We don’t mean any harm. We want to talk to you.”

“We’ll make it worth your while,” Scytheclaw added, making sure his voice was loud enough for the yanmega to hear.

Blazefang backed up. He was suddenly nervous, knowing that this yanmega also had a Forbidden Attack. The dragonfly creature had the bug type one and he had the fire one. If it came to a battle where they were forced to use them, Blazefang thought, they both would lose. He tried to steady himself, telling himself that the thought was irrational, but the fear remained.

“Hey, you know you’re safe here, right?” Wildflame shouted to the yanmega. “No one’s coming after you. We think we can help. Your name is Yenn, right? You warned us about Solus in the desert.”

Snowcrystal and the others couldn’t read any expression in the yanmega’s eyes, but his body language suggested surprise, or confusion. To their surprise, the winged bug type took off from the branch. His movements were listless, not the agile and speedy flight she knew the species was normally capable of, but he landed on an enormous root that arched high above their heads and faced them. There, they could see him clearly, for a patch of sunlight filtered down onto the root from above. He still stood quite a bit higher off the ground than they did, but it would be far easier for his words to reach them. From there, Snowcrystal could clearly see his scar. It made her cringe, and she hoped the yanmega didn’t notice.

From his perch on the tree root, Yenn watched the newcomers cautiously. “Who are you?” he asked. His voice was so raspy and hoarse that he didn’t recognize it as his own voice. But at least he could talk. “How do you know my name?”

Snowcrystal walked closer, Wildflame hurriedly coming to her side. The yanmega didn’t seem afraid of them, but it was clear that he couldn’t recognize her or the two houndoom, couldn’t remember what had happened between them out in the desert. “One of Solus’s pokémon mentioned it,” the growlithe explained, coming to a stop once she was directly in front of the massive root. “They can’t follow us, though. We’re safe here.”

The bug type stood still, and Snowcrystal couldn’t tell what he was thinking; his enormous eyes were unreadable. “Not safe,” the yanmega replied, sounding as if it pained him to speak.

Blazefang and Scytheclaw edged closer to their companions, Blazefang watching the yanmega but remaining silent.

“Look, you’re...probably confused,” Scytheclaw said, his voice sounding kinder than Snowcrystal was used to. “Solus and his pokémon couldn’t get through the portal. Do you...remember any of that?”

“Not what I meant,” Yenn replied.

Scytheclaw stood up straighter, and for a moment Snowcrystal was reminded of the confident, collected leader he used to be, only without the cruelty. “We’d like you to come back to where our group has set up camp. We can get you food. Help. We have healers-”

“What do you want from me?” The yanmega’s voice had a wary edge to it that time.

Snowcrystal was surprised by his sudden change of mood. His wings moved, like he wanted to fly away or attack, but he remained standing on the tree root above them.

Beside her, Wildflame tensed, but Scytheclaw walked up next to them, completely calm. “He wouldn’t attack us in that state,” the scizor said, quietly enough that the yanmega couldn’t hear.

Snowcrystal wanted to remind him that having a Forbidden Attack put him at an advantage, at least over herself, Wildflame, and Scytheclaw, but kept her mouth shut. Up above, the yanmega continued to watch him, but it was clear that his unease was growing. At least, Snowcrystal thought, he didn’t seem to have any interest in trying to eat any of them, despite looking emaciated.

“We just…want you to listen to us,” Snowcrystal began, calling up to the yanmega again. “We think we know something that-”

“I’ll do the talking,” Scytheclaw hissed at her, pushing her aside with his claw. The growlithe narrowed her eyes at him as he took his place at the front of the small group. “As I said,” the scizor addressed the larger bug type, “we can get you help. Plenty of food, water…”

“Scytheclaw, we can all do the talking,” Snowcrystal protested, bracing herself in case he tried to push her away again. She turned her attention to Yenn. “You were running from Cyclone’s pokémon, weren’t you?” she asked. “Well, so were we back there. If you need help, our group can give it to you. And…what we want to know is, why were they chasing you? Do you have something Cyclone wants? A…”

“Forbidden Attack?” Yenn answered.

“I...yes...we’re looking for a way to stop the Forbidden Attacks. Get rid of them, and we think there might be something here that can help us. And you.”

Seeming to lose his strength, Yenn slumped against the tree root, his wings falling limp. At least most of the wariness he’d felt seemed to have faded away. “I know you’re not with them,” the yanmega said, still sounding like he had to force the words out. “They never called it a Forbidden Attack in the army.”

“The army?” Blazefang spoke up for the first time, limping forward to join the others. “You were-”

“I joined Cyclone,” Yenn said bitterly. “But he did some terrible things. I didn’t want to be a part of it, so I left. That’s all you need to know.”

“He tried to force me into joining.” Blazefang’s voice was stronger, more confident, and he stood taller as he looked up at the yanmega. “My name is Blazefang, and I have the Forbidden Attack Shadowflare. I’m looking for a way to get rid of it, and there’s a legendary in these woods that might be able to help us both, or at least put us on the right path.”

“Blazefang…” Yenn repeated, turning his head to face the houndoom. He sounded unsure, as if he didn’t believe them, but then he turned to look at Snowcrystal. “Someone back at the army said a group of pokémon helped him escape…a white growlithe?” He sounded more like he was talking to himself, but as he stood up, Snowcrystal could imagine that his exhausted mind was finally starting to make the right connections.

“I…I remember you,” Yenn stammered, his voice still faltering with weakness as he addressed Snowcrystal. “You were out in the desert. The houndoom too. There were others with you, weren’t there? There was a ninetales…and someone else…and you were all huddled in the rocks and you didn’t even know…” He trailed off, trying to search his mind for more memories, but seemed unable to conjure up more as he looked at the small group before him, baffled.

“Yes, the rest of our group is waiting elsewhere,” Scytheclaw told him, the niceness returning to his voice. Snowcrystal realized that he must desperately want answers, and thought that if the yanmega came along with him, the legendary might be more willing to help them. That is, if the legendary knew what could help at all.

The edges of the yanmega’s mouth curled downwards, and he turned his head toward Scytheclaw. “Wait a minute…what is a scizor doing out in the wild? And why is Blazefang injured? Did you…escape from something?”

Snowcrystal’s fur bristled; she suddenly had a feeling things were about to go south. Before she could say anything, however, Scytheclaw spoke up.

“Just from Solus’s army,” the scizor explained. “And a crazed trainer back in Stonedust City. But that’s hardly-”

“The city?” There was a dangerous edge to Yenn’s tone now.

“Look, we both want answers,” Scytheclaw responded, sounding a little less friendly. “I’m sure you don’t want your Forbidden Attack going out of control, and if you come with us and back to our group, we can find this legendary.”

“And who makes up your group?” Yenn asked.

“Several other wild pokémon,” Scytheclaw answered. His voice gained a hardened edge as noticed the yanmega’s sudden change of demeanor. “Three trainers. Their pokémon. And I assure you that my trainer has everything that-”

All at once, Yenn seemed to snap. His wings flared out and he drew back, baring his fangs. “Traitor!” he shouted, and in spite of his weakness, the sound of his voice sent shivers down Snowcrystal’s spine. “You come here, standing by doing nothing while humans roam this place, threatening all the pokémon here? And you consider them part of your group? What else have you stood by and watched them do?”

Wildflame let out a low growl, crouching beside Snowcrystal. Blazefang stepped back, glancing to Scytheclaw as if expecting the scizor to do something.

“Don’t talk that way about my trainer,” Scytheclaw said coldly, his eyes locked on the yanmega’s. “He’s done nothing but try to help pokémon.”

“You’re lying!” Yenn shouted, the fierce sound of his voice echoing through the trees.

“Oh boy,” Scytheclaw muttered under his breath to the others, clenching his pincers. “Cyclone did a good job brainwashing this guy.”

Snowcrystal looked from the scizor to the two houndoom, both of whom looked like they were expecting an attack. If Scytheclaw kept arguing with the yanmega, she thought, there might be one. Weak or not, she remembered what Justin had said about Katie’s pokédex and what a yanmega could do. Even without the Forbidden Attack, Yenn was dangerous.

And yet, as she watched him, she began to wonder why he was acting in such a way. Even Thunder hadn’t reacted so badly toward pokémon who were friendly with humans; she hadn’t ever had any major problem with Spark for caring about Justin. There was something wrong. She began to wonder if, under all the anger, what Yenn truly felt was fear.

As she thought of what Scytheclaw had said, something clicked. Perhaps Cyclone had influenced some of Yenn’s hatred, or at least contributed to it. She didn’t blame the yanmega for being wary of humans – his scar alone was proof that he had had some sort of terrible experience – but he genuinely seemed to believe all humans were evil.

“Look, Yenn,” the growlithe began, having to raise her voice over the sound of the yanmega’s shouts and Scytheclaw’s responses, “if Cyclone told you that all humans were cruel, he was lying.” She waited for Yenn’s response, suddenly aware of how small she was compared to him.

Yenn’s demeanor seemed to suddenly change. The yanmega didn’t turn his head toward her, but she knew he had to be watching. She didn’t imagine his eyes missed much. His voice was lower when he spoke, not a shout, but cold and menacing. “And you would know all about these humans and their intentions?” he asked, his words filled with barely concealed anger. “Do you honestly believe there isn’t cruelty in them?”

“Cyclone lied to you…and I’m sure of it,” Snowcrystal continued. “The trainers with us…they’ve been trying to help us. Help Blazefang. Cyclone just wants his pokémon to believe whatever he wants. If you don’t believe me…”

“I believe you,” Yenn replied, this time turning his head toward the growlithe. He suddenly seemed exhausted again. “At first I thought you were well informed about what you were doing, but you really do sound just naive. You may think your humans are fine, but you're gambling with your lives. You should take this opportunity and run away now, before anything happens.”

“We’re not running away,” Snowcrystal stated firmly.

“Then I can’t help you. Find this legendary yourself, if it even exists.”

“Wait!” Snowcrystal cried as he lifted his wings. “We can help you! To find out what can stop the Forbidden-”

“I’m not going to use my Forbidden Attack,” Yenn hissed back at her.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”

Each of the pokémon turned to Blazefang, who had spoken up. The houndoom seemed more confident as he looked up to the yanmega. “Look, you can’t fight it forever,” Blazefang called up to the weakened pokémon. “If we don’t find a way to put a stop to it, we’ll lose our minds. Go insane.”

At this, a strange, uncharacteristic sense of fear seemed to come over the yanmega, who stiffened at Blazefang’s words. “Not if we resist using it,” he said, though his voice sounded shaky and uncertain.

“You can’t resist it forever,” Blazefang growled.

“Maybe not,” Snowcrystal interrupted, “but I’m sure he could resist it for longer. You weren’t really sure how to resist it when your Shadowflare attack set that forest on fire, were you?”

“No,” the houndoom muttered, turning his head away, “but even now that I know, it’s…harder. Much harder.”

“How many times have you used your Forbidden Attack?” Wildflame called up to the resting yanmega.

“Once,” came Yenn’s shaky reply.

“Good. Let’s keep it that way,” Wildflame replied. “Come with us, and we’ll try to help you.”

The yanmega looked uncertain, so Blazefang stepped in again. “If you use the attack again, you’ll lose control. You’ve lost some control already, just by touching that stone and using it the first time.” The houndoom paused, glancing at Yenn’s scar. “Look, you’ve been under the control of humans, under the control of Cyclone, and now you’re under the control of this thing. But we're going to try to help get rid of the Forbidden Attack. Then you will truly be in control again.”

The yanmega was silent, and the four pokémon waited for his response. Scytheclaw tensed, his eyes narrowing, while Wildflame continued to regard Yenn with wariness. Blazefang looked worried. Snowcrystal watched the three of them, and when no one spoke, she looked back at Yenn. “Please…we can help you. We don’t want you or any other pokémon hurt by these attacks any longer.”

To her surprise, the yanmega gave a sigh, lying back down on the branch. “All right. I'll go with you. To this legendary. Not to your humans.”

“Fair enough,” Scytheclaw replied before Snowcrystal could speak.

“Wait,” Wildflame interjected. “What about the others?”

“We’ll work it out later,” the scizor replied, already walking off into the trees. “There’s a pokémon who can take us to the legendary,” he announced to Yenn. “We’re going to find him.”

Snowcrystal watched them go, letting Blazefang pass ahead of her. The yanmega up above hesitated as well, and she looked up to give him a reassuring smile before she set off after Scytheclaw through the trees.

To be continued…