CHAPTER 1

Trevor dangled from the vine, his gear clanking loudly against his limbs. Even though fear made his nose freeze and his lip slightly tremble, he made no move to run or hide. Finally a roar signaled his cue. He swung the first few feet, and jumped clear from the fire. The burning blazes caught the tip of his boots and threatened to catch fire due to the harsh wind.

Another roar. The forest was a blur of a fire red blaze and a dark, nonchalant green as Trevor swung from vine to vine. He jumped off of the last vine and was thrown into a dark abyss, the Cliff of Triads. Suddenly a squawk could be heard, and a Braviary swooped down and caught Trevor by his gear. The gear clanged again, and the Braviary looked down at his trainer. The multi colored bird wore a soft fitting collar around his neck. It beeped softy as Braviary spoke:

'You owe me some soda.'

"We will discuss what I owe you later!" Trevor yelled over the wind. In response, Braviary said, 'Then I suppose I have permission to drop you.'

'Stupid bird,' Trevor thought. Before either of them could speak again, fire blazed toward Braviary's wings. He shrieked, and plummeted out of the sky. Trevor turned his head to the cause of the blazes. From the top of the cliff, he could see a Haxorus preparing another Flamethrower. Trevor, without warning, swung upward and gripped Braviary's legs tightly. The dark red bird battled for altitude, and climbed back into the air with desperate flaps of his wings. Just as the Flamethrower was heading their way, the trainer whipped out his blade and held it up high in the air. A peculiar keystone in the handle began to glow, and the sword was outlined in red. The

sword grew brighter and brighter as the flames inched closer to Braviary. At the last moment, Trevor flashed the blade in a graceful arc, and the fire bounced off of the blade harmlessly. Trevor closed his eyes, and waited. An explosion sounded.

Satisfaction scored through Trevor as a faint roar echoed from the cliffs. The wind made it harder to see what had happened. Finally, after Braviary twisted in mid-air, Trevor saw the dead body of the Haxorus, its scales and the axes on its glinting jaws singed to nothing. The rest of its body was so severed from the flames that only ashes remained. Braviary's collar beeped again, "Even a Haxorus can't take a weak blast. What a disgrace!"

Trevor gazed upon the body for a few moments, and then replied, "If I had not blocked that blast, your feathers would be burned, and I would be good as dead," he chuckled. Braviary's collar beeped in a wordless protest, but Trevor cut him off, "Come on. We need to get back to the hideout before we are ambushed."

He gripped Braviary's legs again, and pulled himself upward. Braviary shrieked triumphantly as Trevor mounted his back, and flew towards the horizon.

Waves splashed on either side of the island. Zropha stared down at the water as if anticipating an oncoming disaster. Of course, owning an Absol would do that to you. The said Absol was crouched next to her, staring at the sky. He occasionally twitched, but didn't blink.

Sighing, Zropha retreated from the shore, and walked calmly into a secluded cave. Beautiful gems on the walls glittered brilliantly, and reflected the sunset's rays. Absol will come in when he wants to, she unconsciously thought. As she had predicted, the Absol hurried in pursuit, claws scraping painfully on the stone.

You did not warn me that you were going inside." His translation collar beeped sadly.

"Why do you stare into nothing?" Zropha asked, avoiding his prompt.

'Isn't the Dragons' activity something to look out for?'

Zropha looked up at the gem-encrusted walls. "Not at the moment." When Absol lowered his head, she assured him, "But thank you... For watching and caring about to the safety of everyone."

Absol looked up, obviously surprised, and said in a slightly happy tone, 'You're welcome, master!'

Just as Zropha was about to settled down beside Absol, wing beats could be heard, and loud squawks pierced the air.

"Trevor and Braviary!" Zropha ran outside before Absol could even react to the sound.

'Wait, master!'

Zropha slowed down a bit to let Absol jump up from the ground. She waited at the entrance, but leaned against the wall, and pointed her sword, not saying a word. She suspected it was a hoax, but then a yelp answered her suspicion.

"Calm down, Zro! It's just me!"

Zropha let out a sigh, and looked at the shocked face of Trevor. Battle weary and sweaty he was... Braviary didn't even look tired. In fact, he looked very smug.

'I get more exercise than you every day, yet you still pass out in your bed? That's saying something!'

"Sh-shut up..." Trevor said, shoving the bird's wing.

'You do as much damage to me as Ground type,' said Braviary, smirking even wider.

"Are we ready to go to the base now?" asked Zropha, trying to stifle a laugh.

"Yes." Trevor glared at Braviary. "And then we'll see who's tired and who's not!"

'Master.' said Absol blankly, predicting the worst. 'We will run into trouble on the way home.'

'Yes…' Braviary agreed. 'We should be on guard, just in case.'

"Let them come," Trevor said, leading the way back to the sunlight. "We'll be ready."