"I wonder if those rumors are really true, nya." Skitty mewed as the four of us followed Charizard to the entrance of Lostleaf Forest. "I mean, I don't think it's true, but what if we get lost?"
"I doubt that'll happen, Skitty." Misdreavus replied confidently. I could tell that she wasn't at all as confident as she claimed. I didn't need my psychic power to see that. She kept glancing about warily, as if expecting an ambush or something.
"You two have nothing to be so worried about," Samurott reassured, "With Madame Charizard and me with you, it's only a matter of time."
Charizard glided down and landed in front of us. "Alright kids, here we are. Lostleaf Forest." She gestured off into the trees."I want you four to stay close, got it? I won't tolerate straying."
I nodded once in agreement. "Of course, Madame Charizard. I know better than that."
"Good. If we're done here, let's go." If she was even a little scared, Charizard didn't show it. Her confidence was inspiring, actually. As we entered the forest, I immediately noticed a change in the atmosphere here. Though the scenery was normal enough, my senses were on alert. I could sense a distinct spitefulness in the air, as if someone was watching us...
"Ralts, Do you feel that?" Misdreavus asked. "It feels really hostile here."
I nodded again. "Yeah. It's kinda creepy."
"Hey guys? Check this out! They're in the clearing right here. I smell them ahead!" Skitty bounded ahead, ignoring Charizard's disdainful glare.
"Idiot child." She snorted.
Samurott sighed, putting a paw to his forehead. "Skitty, what did we just discuss about running off?"
Skitty completely ignored Samurott and Charizard's scolding. "Nya! Doduo, Pidgey!"
As I caught up to him, I saw a big meadow in the forest. Pidgey was at the edge of the clearing, scratching at the ground. Doduo was standing nearby, giving us a displeased look.
"I didn't need your help." She said grumpily. I could tell she was definitely faking being mad. Anyone could tell she was actually upset at us.
"Doduo, you insufferable dummy!" Charizard wasn't nearly as restrained, "Your foolhardy behavior could've gotten you hurt! You have no right to be mad at us, idiot!"
"Is it just me or is Pidgey not even paying attention?" Samurott asked, tilting his head at the bird. "This is Pidgey, right?"
"Of course it is!" Doduo blurted, "I'm positive!"
"Pidgey? Hey, Pidgey!" Misdreavus called. The bird stopped foraging and looked over his shoulder at us. The expression on his face was cold and malicious. He didn't seem to recognize us at all, squawking and turning to us with his feathers fluffed up. I blinked and took a step back at the bizarre sight. This was definitely Pidgey, so why was he acting like that?
"P-Pidgey?" Doduo said meekly, walking right up to him, "Are you okay?" She leaned down with both heads to get on eye-level with the smaller bird. Pidgey still didn't speak. Instead, he flared his wings and pecked Doduo's right head. Doduo yelped in surprise and stumbled back several steps. He had just attacked her, completely at random. Staring at him with one head, she craned the other behind her back and looked back at us. She seemed just as confused as the rest of us. I couldn't blame her for being so surprised. I was puzzled too.
She turned back to Pidgey again. "Pidgey..." Her voice wavered and she seemed on the verge of crying again. "Don't you recognize me?"
"Doduo, get back here!" Samurott called, "Something's wrong with him!" Before she could react, I saw Pidgey flare his wings in preparation for a second attack. Instinctively, I threw up a Reflect barrier as I ran to her. Pidgey's Gust attack partially bounced off of my barrier, still managing to damage both of us a bit.
"Ow! Pidgey, that hurts!" I protested, "Cut that out!" Pidgey stared my way, puffing his feathers again. I braced for his next attack, returning his glare. Was it just me, or did his attacks seem much stronger than usual? I'm not as strong as Madame Charizard, but I can hold my own against my peers for the most part. Pidgey's attack shouldn't have been this strong...
"Nya!? Pidgey, no!" Skitty pleaded as he ran up to Pidgey next, "This is no time for a-MEOW!" Skitty's plea was cut short as Pidgey spun around and bit him on the tail. Skitty whirled and yanked his tail free, leaving Pidgey with a tuft of his fur in his beak. "Whiskers, Pidgey! What's gotten into you?!"
"Pidgey, knock it off!" Charizard narrowed her eyes and growled, "Don't make me force this..." Pidgey turned on her next, flying at her full-speed in a Tackle. Charizard easily dodged him by ducking, then countered by slapping him with her tail. This flung Pidgey into a bush with a squawk.
"What's the matter with you, stupid!" She roared through a cloud of fire, "Want me to kick your pathetic little butt!? I'll really thrash you if you don't stop this nonsense right now!" Pidgey's only response was to take wing, twittering nonsensically at us all the while.
"Samurott, protect our back ranks! Everyone else, fall back! Let me handle this." Charizard ordered, "There's no way I can lose to some rookie like Pidgey."
"NOOOO!" Doduo screamed with both heads, "EVERYONE STOP IT!"
Samurott drew his left sword reluctantly. "He isn't listening to a word we're saying, Doduo! We have no choice but to defend ourselves!"
"B-but-?"
"He isn't thinking rationally at all!" I agreed, "Something's driven him wild!"
"Then maybe a good whupping will teach this idiot some respect!" Charizard glanced our way for a moment. To my pleasant surprise, she didn't seem terribly eager to fight. None of us were. This was our good friend for Mew's sake! He was acting like a total maniac! Pidgey was always such a calm and level-headed Pokémon, so why was he doing this? It made no sense! Maybe the answer was in Pidgey's mind. I took the chance to try reading him. What I read surprised me further. Anger. Anger and aggression... His thoughts were chaotic and completely irrational. And why was he so furious?
"Watch out! He's going to attack again!" Misdreavus warned.
I had no time to read him further. Pidgey suddenly cut me off, flapping his wings harder and blowing another Gust straight at Doduo. She couldn't react in time and took the hit full-force. His wind tore at her like knives as she tried to defend herself. Doduo wavered on her feet and collapsed, unable to take anymore.
"Doduo!" Misdreavus cried, flying over to her side, "Doduo, are you alright!?" Doduo didn't reply: she was out cold.
Charizard's tail blazed blue, and I backed away nervously. She was seriously mad now... Charizard growled again, and embers shot out of her nostrils as she spoke. "You'll pay for this...DEARLY!" She roared the last word through a Flamethrower. It was a direct hit, knocking Pidgey against a tree. He fell to the ground, overwhelmed by Madame Charizard's massive attack.
She strode over to him, looming over the fallen Pokémon."Ha! Feel like apologizing? Maybe I'll let you off easy if I like how you say it." She got no response from him, as he was unconscious.
"Madame Charizard, please stop it! The battle's over!" Samurott stepped between Pidgey and Charizard. "I don't think it's necessary to-"
"Can it, Samurott!" She barked. "He was attacking us completely unprovoked! His punishment was swift, but appropriate. You stop!"
"Nya..." Skitty mewed pitifully, glancing between Pidgey and Doduo. He was sitting on his haunches, licking the bald patch on his tail where Pidgey had pulled out his fur. "This is horrible. Why did it have to come to this...?"
"We won, but it doesn't feel like a win at all..." I sighed. Ignoring the escalating fight between the still bickering Pokémon, I turned and scouted for any other danger. I saw no enemies, but Misdreavus was flitting about the meadow, as if looking for something.
"Is something wrong, Misdreavus?" I asked her.
"'Is something wrong,' he asks..." Misdreavus sighed, "Of course something's wrong, Ralts! Pidgey was going berserk just now. I was checking if there was any obvious reason for him to do that."
"Well, did you find anything?"
Misdreavus paused at the far end of the meadow. "The only thing I found of note was this thing back there..." She gestured down the path with her head. A strange crystal was sitting in the middle of a second clearing. The big, glass-like thing was sitting in a circle of smaller crystals. Curiosity piqued, I approached the circle. As I came close to the edge of the circle, I saw a strange light forming in the center of the crystal in the middle. Alarmed, I backed away from it, and the glow immediately subsided. I couldn't say why, but that sight... it scared me. This also felt familiar somehow. I racked my brain, trying to recall. I still couldn't figure out why though. All I could be sure of was that I'd seen this before somewhere...
"Ralts! Get away from that!" Misdreavus flew in front of me, blocking my way. "I sense something powerful in there..."
"...I... recognize this," I said as I tried to piece my thoughts together, "I've seen this before somewhere..."
"Do you remember something, Ralts? Is your memory coming back?" Misdreavus' expression changed from worry to an encouraging smile.
I shook my head. "Not really. I just know I've seen this before..."
Her smile faded. "Oh. I'm sorry. I was hoping for a little much there. At any rate, I don't think we should go near that. When you started coming towards that crystal, I sensed something strong. I'm sure you sensed that too."
"What are you two doing?!" Charizard roared, "Get your butts back here, right now!"
I flinched at her shout. "Yikes. We better get back to the others before we get on her nerves."
Misdreavus nodded. "Yeah. We better get Doduo and Pidgey back to town. Maybe Pidgey will come to his senses when he wakes up."
"I hope you're right, Misdreavus." I walked off towards the bigger clearing, rejoining the others. That feeling the crystal gave me though... I couldn't shake it. I looked one more time over my shoulder in the direction of the crystal. As I did, I got another powerful impression of fear. Was this thing related to my memories somehow? Why was this familiar? And why did this bring me such a feeling of dread? I had to find out the truth somehow.
First things first, we had to get out of this place and get Doduo and Pidgey some help.
