The Path of Destiny
Chapter 40 - To the Forest

Snowcrystal watched the entrance to the cave, knowing that at any moment another pokémon from Cyclone’s army could be walking by. A mightyena brushed past her, carefully laying more strong herbs by the entrance. Snowcrystal wanted to tell him that too much might make the area seem suspicious, but at that very moment she heard the sound of more pokémon approaching, and quieted down, waiting and watching.

-ooo-

Silverbreeze and a luxray named Skyfang had both paused near the hidden entrance. The rest of the army was either moving quickly or scouring the rocks for signs of Blazefang, the houndour who possessed Shadowflare’s power. The scyther and the electric type had been chosen to search this area of the canyon, and neither of them were pleased, knowing that the houndour could be anywhere.

Skyfang wrinkled his nose in disgust, glaring at the scenery around him. “Somethin’ stinks over here,” he growled. “It smells like some of those nasty plants we found!”

“Shut up and keep searching!” Silverbreeze snapped. “I can smell it myself and I don’t need you complaining.”

Skyfang shot the scyther a glare when her back was turned, and lumbered off to search somewhere that smelled less pungent. He was getting tired of Silverbreeze ordering him around, but because she was one of Cyclone’s elite pokémon, there was nothing the luxray could do about it.

Now alone, Silverbreeze focused her attention on what she had noticed before Skyfang’s interruption. There had been scyther blood spilled here recently. The thick smell of the strongly scented plants made it hard to notice, but Silverbreeze could still detect it. And beneath that, very faintly, was Stormblade’s scent.

Silverbreeze had no idea how Stormblade would have gotten this far, unless he had died and some powerful scavenger had dragged him into the canyon. She wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about this realization. She did not like Stormblade, but after seeing him tortured, she was beginning to think that maybe Cyclone was the one she should be disliking. His intentions were good but he had made her witness something she would never forget, as much as she wanted to. Of course, she kept all these thoughts to herself. There was no point in trying to persuade Cyclone and risk losing her high rank in the army. And that was in the past now. At least the leader who overthrew her mate was dead now.

The scyther began to realize that the strong scents seemed to be coming from the same place. Curious, she walked toward it, noticing that the scent of the plants made it difficult for her to smell anything else the closer she got.

“Silverbreeze!” Skyfang shouted from somewhere further along the rocky ridge. “I see canine footprints here! They look a bit big to be a houndour’s…but I dunno, why don’t you come and see?”

The scyther sighed and walked over to him, leaving the area where the air was filled with strong-smelling herbs behind.

-ooo-

Knowing that the army was now swarming through the canyon, the pokémon inside the cave still kept very quiet. Most were speaking to one another in hushed whispers or hiding in their caverns. Snowcrystal had finally been allowed to go into the place where Stormblade was resting, and, not wanting to bother him much, she lay down beside him.

She knew that Redclaw was helping some of the cave pokémon guard the entrance in case of any intrusion, and some of the smaller, stealthier pokémon were venturing outside by a different way to hide in the grass and alert the others to any danger, or to see when the army left.

Blazefang had seemed more frightened than any of the other pokémon, and hid himself deep within the cave tunnels. Wildflame was waiting with him, and everyone else in the cave was also longing for the moment when the army would leave.

Snowcrystal wasn’t sure how long she waited in the dim cave, listening to the worried sounds of the pokémon moving through the main cavern. She knew that a long time had passed, but she had no way of knowing just how long.

She was still in the healer’s cavern when she heard one of the pokémon scurry by the entrance. Curious, she stepped out into the main cave, where a poochyena was addressing the group loudly.

“Most of the army pokémon have moved on,” he explained. “I think it will be safe soon.”

“Are you sure?” someone asked. “They left so soon?”

Snowcrystal couldn’t help feeling a bit annoyed; the time she had spent waiting had seemed anything but short. The poochyena went on to tell them that it seemed as if the army had just been passing through.

Rosie turned to Redclaw, looking worried. “If they don’t find Blazefang,” she whispered to him, “will they come back?”

“I don’t know,” Redclaw replied. “For now, let’s just stay here where it’s safe.”

Rosie sighed and turned away, and Snowcrystal couldn’t blame her for being worried. She too was wondering just how safe the cave really was.

-ooo-

Cyclone was in a bad mood. The vaporeon did not show it, but the rest of his followers could feel it ebbing from him as the water type walked past them. The army leader couldn’t understand how a simple houndour could seemingly vanish. His pokémon had searched through the entire canyon, and the flying types had scanned the area around it. He wondered if Blazefang was still in the giant, maze-like caves after all. If so, it wouldn’t be worth losing a large number of pokémon in there to go searching for him. The army was still small, and Cyclone knew he did not have nearly enough strong pokémon for a bigger search; the majority of the army pokémon were weak and untrained. For now, although he hated to admit it, the fire type Forbidden Attack Shadowflare had slipped from his paws.

Calling two of his most trusted pokémon aside, the vaporeon led them away from the main army. He turned toward Silverbreeze, the first of the two. “Take thirty pokémon and watch this area for any sign of him,” he ordered. “You’ll be in charge of them. If there’s no sign of Blazefang in one week, follow our tracks and find us.” He turned to look at the other pokémon, a charmeleon. “And you,” he began in his same calm tone, “tell the rest of the army that we will be moving on. There are more Forbidden Attacks in the world.”

The two pokémon nodded and went off to do his bidding, leaving Cyclone alone with his thoughts.

-ooo-

A young eevee hidden among the grass at the top of a cliff watched the army move off into the distance. He stayed still as the last of Cyclone’s pokémon climbed out of the canyon and headed toward the plains that bordered the edge of a forest. The army kept well away from the forest, heading past it and traveling further across the plains. It made sense that such a large group of pokémon would not want to travel through a forest, but the small eevee wondered where it was that they were going. Quietly he slipped back to pass the news to the others in the cave, Silverbreeze’s group escaping his notice.

-ooo-

As the news that the army had left the canyon spread through the caves, pokémon gradually dared to venture out and bring back food. They did not go too far, and the remainder of the day passed without any trouble from strange pokémon.

Even after several more days, most of the pokémon stayed close to the cave, worried that the massive group of pokémon would return. Every time Snowcrystal saw one of the canyon dwellers fearfully darting back into the cave, she couldn’t help but think she and her friends were responsible for leading the army there. After all, they had agreed to let Blazefang come with them in order to keep Cyclone away from the fire Forbidden Attack.

Though Nightshade’s wounds had started to heal, Stormblade didn’t seem much better off. Streamrose’s herbs had stopped his infection from spreading…for now…but the scyther looked just as weak as ever, and would barely eat. Snowcrystal wasn’t sure about Thunder’s condition; she never saw the scyther except for when she ventured out of her small cavern to nibble at the food the others had left for her and then leave again. Snowcrystal wondered if this was a good time to try and get her to trust them more, since she seemed more willing to accept help. Yet she had been told by the others that it was probably best to leave her alone; no one wanted to make her angry when she was so weak.

Her thoughts kept drifting back to her friends no matter where she went, but as she walked by the healer’s cavern for the sixth time that morning, Snowcrystal wanted to try and distract herself. Spotting Wildflame and Redclaw nearby, she walked over to them nervously.

“Do you think we should go bring back some food for the others?” she asked. “I…I could use some practice hunting in the grass and trees,” she added in embarrassment.

“All right,” Redclaw replied, seeming to sense why she wanted to be out of the cave. “Let’s just be careful and not go too far.”

Wildflame stood up as well, nodding to Snowcrystal to show her that she was willing to go. Snowcrystal smiled back at the two and led the way out of the cave.

-ooo-

That afternoon, when Snowcrystal was coming back with Redclaw and Wildflame, something unexpected occurred. The young growlithe had not caught any prey; her white fur was still too noticeable in a grassy landscape. Redclaw and Wildflame, however, had both caught something and were bringing it back to the others when the zangoose they had seen at Nightshade’s battle confronted them.

“What are you doing here?” Wildflame growled, dropping her prey. During their stay, the houndoom’s dislike for the zangoose had grown.

“I’m here on Scytheclaw’s orders,” he replied hastily, ignoring Wildflame’s hostility. “He has told me to tell you that you must be gone from this place, from this cave and from this canyon, by tomorrow morning. You have brought nothing but trouble upon us.”

‘WHAT?’ Snowcrystal wanted to yell, but she kept her mouth shut. She exchanged glances with Wildflame, wondering if Scytheclaw had found out about why Cyclone had entered the valley. She decided to speak. “Three of our friends aren’t ready to travel,” she told him, though she already knew that the zangoose was well aware of Stormblade, Nightshade, and Thunder’s condition.

“Doesn’t matter,” the zangoose snapped. “If you’re still here by morning, we have Scytheclaw’s orders to attack you.” His eyes gleamed threateningly as he turned around and stalked away. “And that includes your scyther friend! Not like he isn’t half dead already,” he called over his shoulder. Several of the other cave pokémon glanced at Snowcrystal apologetically as the zangoose walked away, as if they weren’t pleased with the order either.

Wildflame growled, the fur on her neck and shoulders rising. “That lowlife scizor just wants to get rid of us because of the battle!” she spat.

“I know,” Redclaw replied, seeming strangely calm. “But we can’t stay here and pick a fight with them…I think we should talk to Streamrose and Moonlight. They might know somewhere safe we can go.”

“How are we supposed to get there?” Snowcrystal asked. “With Stormblade-” She stopped mid-sentence, for the other two had already gone off angrily in search of Moonlight. Sighing, Snowcrystal began dragging their prey back to the others.

-ooo-

Night had fallen, and all but Stormblade now knew of Scytheclaw’s hasty decision to force them to leave. Streamrose had given them some of her herbs to take with them, but no one was sure how long they would last. Moonlight had told them that the safest resting place had to be the forest, which Cyclone’s army had avoided. At least, Snowcrystal thought, there would probably be an abundance of prey there. She was still so shocked about leaving so suddenly that she had hardly thought about where they were going.

“I don’t see what you’re all so worried about,” Rosie muttered, breaking the silence that hung over the small cavern where most of her friends were resting. “I’ll be glad to get away from all these strange pokémon and their awful leader. Resting in a forest sounds nice after waiting in these caves for so long.”

“It hasn’t been long at all,” Wildflame muttered. “And the problem with the forest is getting there.”

“Moonlight showed us an easy way to climb out of the canyon,” Rosie responded. “Maybe Redclaw can carry Stormblade. Carefully, of course.”

Spark, who had been licking the half-healed wounds on his leg from the poacher trap, paused and looked up. “I agree with Rosie,” he stated. “It’s pretty obvious we aren’t welcome here.”

“But this place was safe,” Wildflame growled.

“What’s the point in fighting?” Nightshade said calmly, limping between them. “It’s not like we have a choice, and the forest will be safe from Cyclone’s pokémon. At least we would no longer have to hide.”

Snowcrystal nodded in silent agreement, though she could sense unease in all the pokémon around her, even from Blazefang. She wondered what the houndour would do now that Cyclone and his army had given up chasing him.

-ooo-

It was still dark when the group silently made their way out of the cave, shivering miserably in the early morning cold. Redclaw carried the herbs that Streamrose had given them in his mouth. For the second time, he had to carry Stormblade on his back, but this time the scyther was too weak to protest. Most of the pokémon looked much better rested than when they had arrived, but the same wasn’t true for Nightshade, Stormblade, and Thunder.

Rosie and Spark, however, now seemed much healthier despite their injuries, thanks to the healer’s help. Though Snowcrystal knew that Nightshade wasn’t ready to travel, most of his wounds weren’t serious enough to be much of a problem as long as they had the herbs. However, the one in his side still worried her. And Stormblade…well, she knew that there was no way Stormblade should be traveling. The sooner they got to the forest and rested, the better.

Thunder stumbled and nearly fell as she walked out of the cave, and immediately stood up again and started licking one of her wounds, trying to act as if nothing had happened, though Snowcrystal could see her shaking. Over the past few days, it seemed that the infection in some of her wounds had gotten worse, the cuts in her back in particular. During her stay at the caves, Thunder had mostly kept away from the healer and Snowcrystal’s group, and Snowcrystal suspected that she simply didn’t trust Streamrose and had wanted to be left alone. At some point during that time, however, she had grown weak enough to finally accept medicine from Nightshade, but it hadn’t seemed to do much to help the oozing, bleeding wounds.

Snowcrystal glanced at her group of friends, feeling worried for what lay in store for them. In a way, she felt partially responsible for their hardships; after all, her search for Articuno had taken them to these far-off places.

“Snowcrystal?” a voice whispered.

The white growlithe looked up to see Rosie staring at her worriedly. “Er…what is it?” Snowcrystal asked, trying not to sound too distracted.

“You know,” Rosie began, trying to sound optimistic, “I’m sure things will be better in the forest. Those places are full of prey pokémon!”

“But what about the pokémon who are injured?” Snowcrystal asked the ninetales.

“We can only do our best,” Wildflame whispered to her as she passed by, walking on ahead into the bushes. “Moonlight told us that the easy way to get out of the canyon was along here.”

Snowcrystal glanced up at Stormblade, wondering how the scyther was even conscious. One thing was for sure, she couldn’t let the power that had caused his wounds fall into Cyclone’s paws. With any luck, the vaporeon’s followers would eventually desert him. What did he have to threaten them all with anyway? He was just one pokémon.

Snowcrystal looked up sadly as Wildflame took the lead, letting the others follow slowly after her. Spark nudged her shoulder, and she followed Wildflame reluctantly, glancing worriedly at Stormblade.

“It’s not far,” Wildflame told the group quietly. “I know how to get there…follow me.”

Sadly, Snowcrystal trailed after her, wondering just how much longer Stormblade would be able to last.

-ooo-

Silverbreeze and the thirty pokémon under her command had waited in the canyon for days. It hadn’t been an entirely unpleasant experience, as there was plenty of prey there, but Silverbreeze knew that an exhausting journey trying to catch up with Cyclone was waiting for her after two more days. The scyther had not expected to see any sign of Blazefang anywhere, but she was surprised when, in the dark of night, she was roused by one of the nocturnal army pokémon. He was telling her that he’d spotted an arcanine and some other pokémon from a distance.

Instantly alert, Silverbreeze leapt up and crept through the bushes in the darkness, following the noctowl who had spoken to her. Emerging from the foliage at the top of a rugged cliff, the scyther could see a large arcanine’s flame-colored pelt moving through the trees a little ways away. There were other pokémon with him, and they were slowly making their way up a shallow slope. Silverbreeze could not see all of them in the dark, but she could see the white fur of a snow colored growlithe, standing out in the black of night.

“That’s them,” Silverbreeze told the noctowl. “I wonder if the houndour’s still with them.” She hoped that the bird pokémon wouldn’t notice the unease in her voice. Truthfully, she hoped they wouldn’t find him. As much as she supported Cyclone’s plans to keep the humans away from the pokémon habitats, the idea of using Forbidden Attacks to do so unnerved her greatly.

“I didn’t get close enough to see if he was,” the noctowl replied, turning his head to preen his feathers. “Go get the others.”

-ooo-

“It’s not far now,” Rosie whispered from up ahead, peering at the top of the canyon. The ninetales had begun using her injured leg again, but was still limping. Nevertheless, she had been determined to prove herself and climbed ahead of the others to examine the path they would take. “It looks easy to climb up this way,” she added, pointing with one of her tails.

Blazefang scrabbled up beside her, his black fur prickling with unease. Even though he felt strong and awake in the moonlight, every flickering shadow unnerved him. What if there were still enemy pokémon from Cyclone’s army lurking about?

Rosie growled as Blazefang shoved her aside and moved further up the slope. Snowcrystal and Spark appeared beside her, both looking worried. “What is it?” she whispered to the two pokémon.

“Nightshade thinks we’re being watched,” Snowcrystal replied.

“He thought that right before the canyon pokémon found us, too,” Spark added.

“Then it’s probably one of them, making sure we leave,” Rosie replied. She turned to see Blazefang darting down the slope past her, coming to a halt in between Wildflame and Redclaw.

“I’m staying in the middle of the group!” he muttered determinedly, digging his claws in the pebbly soil.

“Fine,” Rosie muttered. “Be a coward. I-”

“Look…” Spark whispered, and Rosie could feel his fur beginning to sharpen into spines where his side was brushing against her. She darted a few steps away quickly.

Lifting her head, Rosie could now see dark shapes slinking through the trees and rocks on the slope opposite to them. Glancing down into the canyon, her heart sank when she realized that the river was calm there; these pokémon would have no trouble at all crossing it. Looking closely at the nearest pokémon, Rosie could make out the sleek shape of the scyther she had seen before, the one from Cyclone’s army. Growling, she pawed at the ground, longing to give her a taste of her strongest ember attack.

“Keep going!” Redclaw whispered. “Don’t let them know we’ve spotted them.”

Rosie turned and plodded up the slope, worry filling her mind. She didn’t like turning her back on a dangerous enemy.

“What do we do about them?” she heard Wildflame whisper from behind.

“If we make it out of the canyon,” Redclaw replied quietly, “it’ll be easier to fight them off.”

“We can’t attack that many!” Wildflame gasped.

“We can launch our attacks and run for it once we’re on high ground,” Redclaw whispered back. “It’s better than trying to fight here, and it’s probably the best chance we’ve got.”

“Run for it with Stormblade?” Snowcrystal sounded disbelieving.

Rosie felt a wave of anger rush over her. Why had that selfish leader driven them out? What harm were they causing the canyon pokémon? She remembered with a twinge of guilt that they had been the ones to unknowingly lead Cyclone to the canyon pokémon’s home, yet at least no one had gotten hurt. But a lot of their prey would be gone after the army passed through…

Rosie heard a growl of annoyance from behind and turned to see that Nightshade had stopped. Spark was glaring at him; the heracross was staring right at their enemies.

“What are you doing?” the jolteon hissed. “Come on, keep going!”

“I’ll be back,” Nightshade replied simply before flying off into the night.

Rosie’s eyes widened in shock; he was heading toward the other side of the canyon, where that scyther and her followers were. “Come back here, you idiot!” she growled after him, but Nightshade had already vanished.

-ooo-

Nightshade took great care to make sure that he would not be noticed by the pokémon who were making their way down the slope, closing the gap between themselves and his friends. He carefully landed at the top of the cliff directly above the scyther. He could see that she only had about thirty pokémon with her, though he knew that was a number far too great for the others to fight. He had to hope that his plan would work.

There were several large boulders along the cliff side, and Nightshade scanned the area until his gaze rested on a single one. It was larger than most, and rested on a wide ledge a little ways down the cliff. Nightshade quietly flew down behind it, peering around to watch Cyclone’s pokémon slipping quietly toward the river.

Looking at the large stone, Nightshade was fairly certain he could move it. Knowing he didn’t have much time, the heracross ignored the pain lancing across his side and began pushing against the boulder.

-ooo-

Silverbreeze glanced worriedly at the group of pokémon on the slope across from them. She had half-hoped they’d noticed her and the others and run off. She just wanted to get back to the army and leave the Forbidden Attack behind. Yet the group still climbed at the same pace. Irritated, she continued the march down to the river. It was much more likely they’d be spotted once they entered the water.

A deafening crash sounded from the cliffs above, making Silverbreeze whirl around in surprise. In the darkness, she could see the massive shape of a boulder hurtling down the side of the canyon, bringing several other rocks with it. She watched in awe as the cascading mass of boulders brought more and more stones hurtling down toward them.

Without wasting any more time, Silverbreeze spread her wings and launched herself into the air. She wasn’t alone; the noctowl and the other flying type in the group – a swellow – did the same. Silverbreeze could only watch as her followers scattered in panic, filling the air with cries of fear and pain as the rocks and dirt struck them, launching them into the river or sending them rolling down the slope. A few lucky pokémon managed to scramble out of the way of the danger and flee into the night. Silverbreeze didn’t expect to see them again. They were probably taking this opportunity to free themselves from Cyclone’s army, as many had joined unwillingly.

The shower of rocks went on for several more terrifying seconds, and then all was still, save for a few last rocks rolling down toward the river. Silverbreeze watched as many terrified pokémon broke the surface of the water, paddling toward shore in a panic and rushing away. A few unlucky members of the army lay floating in the river, half crushed and obviously dead. Silverbreeze quickly flew to the highest point of the nearby cliff, hearing the startled cries of pokémon as they fled into the darkness.

“Silverbreeze, should we bring them back?” the noctowl asked her, getting no response. “Silverbreeze?”

“They’ll have scattered,” the scyther responded, her voice as cold as ice. “Bring back those you can, but leave them if they try to run. We don’t want a fight.” She knew that the pokémon, most of them at least, would want to get away and not have to be sent into danger again by Cyclone. She couldn’t blame them. Even though Cyclone trusted her, seeing him let Solus torture a pokémon for amusement had drastically changed her opinions of the vaporeon. ‘At least he’s fighting to teach humans a lesson,’ she thought to herself, ‘that’s something to fight for after they cut down our territory.’

“What should we do about the houndour?” the swellow asked her.

“Nothing,” Silverbreeze snapped. “We go back to Cyclone and tell him there’s no sign of him.”

“You mean…lie?” the bird pokémon responded. “But what if Solus-”

“Cyclone trusts me!” Silverbreeze growled. “As long as you keep quiet about it, he won’t question me. There are too many pokémon in the houndour’s group. They’d overpower us if we tried to capture him now…but we can’t exactly tell Cyclone we saw him but didn’t manage to bring him back, can we?”

The swellow looked uncertain. “But…but what about the others in our group who-”

“Accidents happen,” Silverbreeze replied, turning away from the cliff edge. “We can start following Cyclone now. We’ll be able to travel less and rest more, since he won’t be expecting us to catch up until a little later.”

The swellow muttered his agreement, but Silverbreeze paid him no attention. She was thinking about the army. Though she didn’t agree with Cyclone’s methods, the vaporeon was right. It was all for the greater good.

-ooo-

Snowcrystal watched as a panic-stricken mightyena pulled itself out of the river and dashed away through the foliage. ‘They just separated…like they’re running away from something…something other than the rockslide…’ Snowcrystal remembered what Blazefang had said about Cyclone forcing pokémon to join him, and wondered what they were afraid of. Surely they were free now, and they didn’t have to worry?

Her thoughts were interrupted as Nightshade landed beside the group, looking dazed. Snowcrystal wondered if pushing the big rock down had made any of his wounds worse.

“You’d better thank him,” Rosie growled at Blazefang. “It was you they were after!”

Nightshade wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were on the bodies of the two dead pokémon as they floated down the river. “I…I didn’t want to kill them…” he whispered sadly.

“But it was necessary!” Rosie cried. “And they deserved it for joining Cyclone.”

‘They didn’t have a choice!’ Snowcrystal thought fiercely, digging her claws into the dirt.

“It was either them or Stormblade…” Wildflame told Nightshade, “and the rest of us forced to serve that lunatic.”

“I know,” Nightshade replied quietly, but Snowcrystal could sense the sadness in his voice. She knew he was trying to hide what he really felt. “Come on,” he told the others, “let’s keep going. The forest isn’t far.”

Snowcrystal followed after him, not saying a word as she climbed until they reached the top of the canyon. Seeing the leafy trees of the forest not far away, she tried to feel a bit more hopeful. There they could rest some more…but what would they do after that?

“I hope there’s someone in that forest who can help us,” she whispered, seeing Spark walk up beside her.

“With any luck, there will be,” he replied. “At least it’s free from Cyclone’s pokémon.”

Snowcrystal nodded in agreement, but she didn’t feel any better. What would they do about Stormblade? And Articuno? And would Cyclone cause even more damage elsewhere? The young growlithe sighed, knowing that none of these questions could be answered.

-ooo-

Blazefang found the trek over to the forest to be easier than he expected. He felt light and almost happy, knowing that one of his biggest problems had vanished; Cyclone really had left, and those whom he’d sent to track him down had all scattered. Of course, several problems still remained. His pack was still with Cyclone, his tribe still waiting for him, and of course…Shadowflare. Yet even those problems seemed small now that he no longer had to fear for his life. He wasn’t quite sure what he would do now; he figured that the best thing to do would be to return to the mountain, back to Firedash and the tribe.

‘Maybe…’ he thought, ‘maybe with Shadowflare I can overthrow her… NO!’ He fiercely shook the thought from his mind. He didn’t need to be a leader, and he didn’t need Shadowflare!

Sighing, he walked after the others, knowing that he was still too exhausted to make such a long journey back to the mountain now. He would rest with this group of pokémon in the forest, then he and Wildflame would leave.

As the group reached the outer fringes of the forest, Blazefang paused to give the air a quick sniff. It smelled damp and full of the scents of many pokémon, some he didn’t recognize. It seemed like there would be plenty of prey, although Blazefang wasn’t used to hunting in a forest.

He followed the other pokémon a little ways further until they came to a wide clearing. Redclaw helped Stormblade get on the ground and set about making nests out of moss and ferns.

“I’ll go hunt!” Spark volunteered, his eyes bright with anticipation. Blazefang casually remembered overhearing someone say that the scyther, Stormblade, had first taught Spark to hunt in a forest.

“I’ll go with you,” Snowcrystal said quickly, following Spark out into the trees.

“Idiot…” Blazefang mumbled under his breath. “You won’t catch anything with white fur like that!”

The houndour jumped up as Thunder stumbled into the clearing. Growling, he backed away, well out of range of the scyther in case she attacked. She had been the last one to arrive, as the others had wisely let her trail behind them at her own pace. He was disappointed that she hadn’t collapsed.

Thunder didn’t seem to have noticed him at all, and simply lay down near a clump of berry bushes without bothering to make a nest or even clear away any sticks or dry leaves. He could scent a very strong, sickly smell coming from her, and wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Walking away from Thunder, Blazefang cleared a place on the forest floor next to a tall oak tree. He was glad that none of the other pokémon had tried to chase him off yet; they knew as well as he did that he could be on his own now, but he wanted rest and protection first.

“Any sign of dangerous pokémon around here?” Redclaw was whispering to Rosie, who had been exploring a bit of the forest nearby. “I know there aren’t any near this clearing, but I want to find more of these herbs that Streamrose gave me. Did you smell anything that could be dangerous?”

“No,” Rosie replied, shaking her head. “Just prey and forest.”

Blazefang sighed, letting their conversation fade into the background. He had more important things to think of; he didn’t need to listen to a pair of silly pokémon who’d dragged themselves into the growlithe’s search for Articuno for no reason at all. He failed to see why they would be interested in helping a tribe they would never see, let alone know.

It wasn’t long, however, before another one of the pokémon distracted him. Nightshade, still looking shocked, headed into the forest alone without attracting the attention of the others. Blazefang knew he’d be back, but he couldn’t help wondering if he was still thinking about the dead pokémon in the river. ‘They had to die because we had no other choice,’ he thought to himself in annoyance. ‘Why can’t the stupid heracross accept that?’

Blazefang rolled his eyes at the worried whispers still being exchanged between Rosie and Redclaw. With all these pokémon around, he wondered how he’d get any rest at all. At least they’d been quieter in the cave!

The houndour looked up as Snowcrystal appeared from the bushes with Spark, who had a taillow in his mouth. The jolteon passed the dead bird pokémon to Snowcrystal, who walked with it over to Stormblade.

Blazefang let out a low growl. "Why don't you eat that yourself?" he asked the white fire type.

Snowcrystal looked at him with wide eyes and set the taillow down. "I want to give it to Stormblade," she explained. Her tone sounded firm, but he could tell that she was uneasy with the way he was staring at her.

"He doesn't need it!" Blazefang snarled. "Give it to those who can use the energy!"

"Relax, Blazefang," Redclaw told him from where he was sitting beside Rosie. "We're only trying to help Stormblade."

Blazefang flattened his ears against his head. "I just don't find killing a perfectly healthy pokémon to feed a dying scyther morally right!" he growled, stalking away from the main group.

"They're prey pokémon!" Spark called after him. "They'd kill us if they could! Survival of the fittest!"

"Then why is Stormblade still alive?" Blazefang yelled over his shoulder. Grumbling to himself, he turned his back on the others another time and loped away into the trees.

Once out of sight, he slowed down and let the scents of the forest wash over him. Even though he was alone in a strange place, he didn’t feel like he wanted to go back to the group that night.

However, now that he was by himself, he couldn’t help but remember that his problems really were far from over. He would never see Boneclaw again, and he had journeyed so far for nothing. Or was it for nothing? Blazefang still felt half tempted to use Shadowflare to overthrow Firedash, but he quickly drove the thought from his mind. He would never use Shadowflare again. Not after what he’d seen it do.

Shaking, Blazefang lay down and closed his eyes, hoping for sleep to overcome him. Would the urge to use Shadowflare ever leave him? ‘No…’ he thought, ‘not unless the Forbidden Attack is passed on to someone else.’ With a jolt of horror, it dawned on him fully what a horrible mistake his journey had been. He should never have taken the stone, never found it in the first place, but now that he had, he would never be rid of the Forbidden Attack’s dark power.

He was cursed until the day he died.

To be continued...