Chapter 4
Flit's POV:
As the Spearow tweaked a piece of grass in her beak, she watched the preparations with interest. She muttered to herself about type advantages as Chisai flung himself headlong towards the bird. He landed on his belly with a thump and looked up at her.
"Success! I managed to find five Sentrets, my friend, Scuttle, and a gutsy Furret who all want to help!" he panted. Flit sighed heavily, much to the confusion of the smaller Pokemon.
"Is that not-" he began. The bird cut him off with a wave of her wing.
"No- uh- that's great. The real problem is- that- we have no idea when those stinking mutts will arrive. They've got the benefit of surprise..." the flying-type lied as she mulled over various ways of action. Chisai just rolled his eyes.
"We'll be fine, Flit. They're humongous wolves, I'm sure that they can't hide that easily!" he pointed out.
"Tell that to the three scouts you lost," she shot back. Words failed the Sentret for a moment.
"Too far. I'm sorry," she apologized. But the damage had already been done. His energy seemingly sapped from him, he cast a glance at the holes.
"I'm going to go get them," he mumbled gloomily. He scurried off and disappeared down one of the tunnels. Flit groaned to herself. Great. She'd just totally destroyed the Sentret's determination. She took to the air, looking around intently for any suspicious figures. She saw none, so she returned to the grass just as Chisai came back, leading a rather ragtag group of fidgeting Pokemon behind him. Flit stared at them like she might stare at a pile of Buneary droppings.
"These are all we've got?" she complained, tail feathers twitching. The six cowering creatures all looked up at her, and the Furret straightened himself up.
"With all due respect, ma'am, we're much tougher than we look!" he exclaimed, pounding his fluffy chest with a paw. The other five Sentrets nodded their agreement, shouting that they were ready to fight. Flit stared at them for awhile longer.
"Well, I appreciate the offer-" the Spearow began. While she was reluctantly explaining to them how the attack would go about, Chisai suddenly looked up and twitched his ears. He could have sworn he'd heard something. Something charging up. He desperately wished he could stand on his tail, but that ability was forever lost thanks to the jaws of a Mightyena. He sniffed the air instead. Was something burning? It was almost like a Pokemon was using...
"HYPER BEAM!" the small Sentret shrieked. He tore off towards the tunnels instinctually, and, realizing the danger, the others quickly followed. Flit was left standing in the dust, blinking with confusion.
"Why did you all leave?" she asked meekly.
Then everything went white.
Kuro's POV:
"Hold still up there! You've got to remember that I don't have eyes. Or super strength!" the bat complained as Ago struggled to stay on top. The Bidoof remained silent, but he loosened his grip on the Zubat's back. They flew clumsily through the air, a strange sight to all the people in Santalune city below. People were shouting and pointing, but Kuro and Ago ignored them. They made slow progress towards the forest on the opposite side of the city.
"Are you sure that the forest is the best place to go to start a new life? I was thinking... I don't know... a Pokemon daycare. We could go drop ourselves off in a basket and act piteous, y'know?" the small brown Pokemon said wistfully. The Zubat just snorted.
"Do you even know what happens at Pokemon daycares?" Kuro asked dryly. Ago eyed him curiously.
"No, I don't. What happens?" he asked. The flying-type just shook his head and snickered.
"Innocent minds, eh? Anyways, we're almost there," the bat hummed. Suddenly, he screeched to a halt so quickly that Ago nearly fell off. The beaver dug his claws into his companion's back to gain a grip.
"What happened?" he asked in confusion. The Zubat shook his head.
"Are you blind or something? I don't even have eyes, and I saw that huge flash. I think that was a Hyper Beam!" Kuro worried.
"Should we go check it out?" Ago asked. Kuro nodded his assent, and the two swooped towards the ground. The bat hovered low enough to the ground that Ago was able to hop off, and then they both stared at the pandemonium.
"Holy Arceus! What's going on here?" the Zubat sputtered. Mightyena were running every which way, chasing Furrets and Sentrets all over the place. Ago backed up, eyes narrowed.
"Let's get out of here," the Bidoof murmured. Suddenly, a flash of green caught his eye. He saw a tiny Ratatta, presumably shiny, racing across the open field with a determined look in her eye. She was headed straight for the biggest, nastiest-looking Mightyena of the bunch, who had cornered a pair of whimpering Sentrets against a tree. Her paws flew across the ground as she jumped up onto the back of the wolf. She chomped down viciously on his shoulder, and it howled in pain before smashing the tiny body against a tree. The shiny Pokemon fell to the ground and lay still. Meanwhile, the Sentrets fled for their lives.
"We've got to help all these Pokemon!" Kuro flew forward, fluttering wildly towards the scarred wolf. It looked up and sent a Dark Pulse straight for him.
"Kuro, wait!" Ago waddled after him, desperate to assist him in the unplanned attack. Meanwhile, the Zubat countered the dark beam with an Air Cutter attack, and they both collided in smoke. He took advantage of this and dove down, opening his mouth wide for a Poison Fang attack. He clamped down right over the tiny Ratatta's bite marks, sending venom through the Mightyena's system. It stumbled and then growled, snapping its jaws closed over Kuro's wing and sending him flying into a tree trunk.
Meanwhile, the Bidoof used Hyper Fang, aiming for the wolf's neck. He dodged, sending the clumsy beaver tumbling. Ago struggled to his feet and turned to attack again, but the Mightyena leapt at him with a vicious Crunch attack. He closed his eyes and waited for death, but suddenly, a glowing wing came from nowhere and sliced into the wolf's jaw, leaving a nasty wound. By now the wolf had decided he'd had enough of being bullied, so he tucked his tail beneath his legs and ran off into the trees. The three who had attacked together all collapsed, breathing heavily. It took awhile before they were all able to get to their feet and stare at each other.
"You're welcome," the Spearow who had used Wing Attack said. Then, not waiting for a reply, she looked around worriedly.
"Chisai? You here?" she twittered. A Sentret leapt out of a tree and landed with a thump, then looked up skeptically at the Zubat and the Bidoof.
"Um, who are they?" he asked. The bird shrugged.
"They were-" her eyes suddenly flew wide open, and she hopped over the limp body of the Ratatta and nudged it.
"Angel!" Chisai cried, running over and picking up the shiny. His tail, which both of them noted was chewed off at the tip, lashed back and forth. He inspected her all over and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is she okay?" Ago asked, inching closer.
"Just unconscious. She received a blow to the head when that jerk wolf knocked her against the tree. A few bruises, nothing more," the Sentret spoke like a Nurse Joy might. Then he softly laid her back out on the grass.
"Why did she attack that wolf? And where the heck is Setchi? I thought he was trying to keep her out of trouble!" the Spearow tweeted angrily.
"I don't know to both questions. But one thing's for sure, he's going to be mad as heck when he finds out Angel's hurt," Chisai swayed on both paws. There was a fiery look in his eyes.
"Should we leave?" Ago asked meekly. Suddenly, the others all looked into the distance.
"Too late," snorted the flying-type. A purple rodent flung himself into view, shoving the Sentret away to grab Angel in his arms.
"No, no, no... I told her not to come back... this all your fault, Flit! You put the idea into her head that fighting was a good idea! Now she's dead! And now I-" the normal-type despaired, hugging the shiny tightly. Flit slapped him, to the shock of all.
"You calm down, Setchi the Drama-maker! Angel's FINE. You heard Chisai. She's just unconscious. But anyways, at least she's tougher than you," Flit growled. Setchi glared back, but behind the glower was confusion.
"I've got to agree with her here, dude. You let her run into battle and hid behind a tree while she did it. How can you call yourself her brother?" the Sentret shook his head in disbelief. Settee hung his own head.
"You're right. I should've..." he began.
"Um, I don't mean to pry, but who are all of you?" Kuro butted in as he fluttered in place. The other three stared at him.
"If you must know, the name's Flit, and this over here is my buddy Chisai. The poor little Rattata is Angel, and her big brother, Setchi, has just earned the title of Wimp of the Century," the Spearow hissed.
"Well, I'm Kuro. And this guy here is my bro, Ago. A pleasure to meet both of you... we also saved Angel, by the way," the Zubat said proudly to Setchi.
"Don't be rude, Kuro! Anyways, why were you all attacking the Mightyena instead of running? That was pretty foolish of you," Ago pointed out. Flit rolled her eyes.
"Says the Pokemon who just went one-on-one with the alpha. But yeah... it was pretty dumb of us. I can't believe I actually thought we could take on the entire pack," she said miserably. Chisai patted her on the back sympathetically.
"It was a noble effort, Flit. At least we tried," he said.
"Yeah, but we also failed. The Caterflight warren is history," she said, shrugging off his touch as if it were a Beedrill.
"You want to get stronger, then?" Kuro wondered aloud. Flit nodded fiercely.
"You bet I do! My losses are just the beginning! It's just so hard for a common like me to find a trainer, you know?" she sighed. The Zubat gave a toothy grin and looked around at all of them.
"Are you kidding? We don't need a trainer. We can go fight all the gyms ourself!" he snorted. The others all stared at him.
"Um... you technically need a trainer to challenge the league. Besides, how could we ever win? It's a crazy idea!" Ago frowned at him.
"Aw, boo hoo. We can cross that bridge when we come to it!" the bat replied casually.
"Well... I'm all for crazy! If it'll help me get strong enough to protect this forest, I'll go with him," Flit agreed. She stepped next to him and smiled. The flying-type grinned back.
"If it would help me get strong enough to defend Angel here..." he looked down wistfully at the shiny in his arms, then back up at Kuro, "then I'll come, too."
"We'll just fail, like we did in defending the warren," snorted Chisai. The bat glared at him, then fluttered so close that they were face to face. The Sentret recoiled from his bug-scented breath.
"Yeah, we'll fail. We'll fail A LOT. But you know what you should do when you fall a thousand times? You should get up again a thousand times. It's called 'perseverance' and you ought to learn what it is!" the common said indigently. Flit squawked happily.
"That's what I'm talking about, Kuro! You are my kind of travel partner!" the bird's spirit seemed to have returned. His face a mask of determination, Setchi nodded at well.
"It wouldn't hurt to try, Chisai and Ago... please come with us!" the rodent nodded firmly. Ago looked at the bundle in his paws.
"And what will you do with Angel, then?" he asked. Setchi faltered for a moment, then straightened up.
"I'll take her with me. I won't let her battle, but I refuse to leave her. Maybe this could be a learning experience for her!" he said eagerly as he petted the soft head. Ago sighed loudly.
"Alright. I'll come, but only because all of you are going. Got it?" he muttered. They all turned to Chisai, who was the only one remaining.
"I... wh..." he looked at all of them and then groaned, "Oh, fine. I'll go... but I'm telling you, this is a bad idea."
"There is no such thing as a bad idea. Just poorly executed awesome ideas!" Flit grinned. The others all cheered her on for her wisdom.
"It's settled, then! Together, we will take on all the gyms in the Kalos region. We'll start with the Santalune city gym, which isn't far at all!" Kuro squawked merrily.
"Hm!" the others nodded their affirmatives at the same time.
Together, the five companions set off towards the closest city with high hopes and mixed feelings.