Smokey groaned and clutched his stomach. Beads of sweat covered his forehead.
"Are you alright?" Joey asked when he heard the groan.
"Yeah, I'm good," he nodded, "I think that mushroom I ate wasn't really ripe yet."
"That's what you get for eating random things off the ground," Joey grinned. Smokey groaned again,which wiped the smile from Joey's face, "are sure you're alright?" he asked.
"I said, I'm good!" Smokey snapped, unconvincingly. Joey rolled his eyes and decided to back off the subject. He started to pick up some extra light. They turned the corner to see an opening in the wall, which lead to the path outside. When they stepped out of the cave and into the open air, their eyes were momentarily blinded by the light. Joey stood there, blinking for a while, before noticing something strange.
"This isn't the peak!" he exclaimed in surprise. Buzz rolled his eye.
"OF COURSE, WE STILL HAVE TO CLIMB TO THE TOP," he explained, "DID YOU REALLY EXPECT TO JUST WALK ONTO THE PEAK?"
"A little..." Joey mumbled. They trekked along a fairly wide and rocky path, which ran along a deep gorge that was filled with jagged spires of rock. They didn't talk and the silence was only broken by Smokey's pained groans. Joey was worried that he might be suffering from food poisoning when he saw a small red orb in the cracks. He pointed it out to Buzz.
"THAT IS A CHERI BERRY," he told Joey, "IT HAS THE ABILITY TO CURE PARALYSIS AND MAKES A NICE TREAT, IF YOU LIKE SPICY FLAVOURS."
Joey figured that it would be useful in case of accidental paralysis. He bent down to scoop up the berry, just as Smokey launched an Ember at him. He felt the heat of the fireball sail over him, missing him by millimetres. Joey stood up straight as the ball of fire exploded against the rocks.
"What was that for?" Joey demanded angrily, spinning around to face Smokey. His anger morphed into confusion when he saw his friend's face. Smokey looked really angry. Black smoke was pouring from his nostrils and he was panting hard. His eyes seemed to boil with rage. Joey took a wary step back, in case he launched another Ember at him.
"Smokey, what's wrong?" Joey asked cautiously, "if you want the berry, you can have it. I don't even like spic-"
"DIE!" he yelled suddenly and charged Joey. The Pikachu cursed and dove out of the way, barely managing to avoid his friend. Joey rolled to his feet to see Smokey trying to grab Buzz, who just bobbed lazily above him.
"What the hell has gotten into you?" Joey yelled at the Charmander. His voice caused Smokey to whip his head towards Joey. That's when he realized something was odd about his friend, other than his sudden urge to kill him.
Smokey's eyes had a red tinge to them, making him look a whole lot more evil. Joey just had time to register this before the fire type charged him again. Instead of dodging, Joey stuck out his leg, tripping the bigger Pokémon. He used this distraction to join Buzz.
"Why is Smokey doing this?" he asked the Magnemite, "Has he gone crazy? Maybe the mushrooms he ate are causing him to want kill everything that moves?"
"I'M AFRAID THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MUSHROOMS," Buzz stated, "THE RED TINGE IN HIS EYES IS NOT USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH FOOD POISONING."
Smokey was back on his feet. He spat another Ember at Joey and he just barely managed to dodge it. As he ducked the fireball, Smokey rushed them again. It was easy for Buzz to dodge him; all he had to do was float over the Chamander. Joey didn't have it as easy and had to dive towards the edge of the cliff, rolling to his feet just on the edge.
"Then what's causing him to go psycho?" Joey yelled to his sane teammate, who once again had drawn Smokey's attention away from the Pikachu. Buzz looked around and made out a levitating figure that was hovering above the rocky ridge, opposite to the gorge. He felt the gears literally click in his brain when he arrived at the conclusion.
"IT IS THAT MEDITITE'S FAULT," he said calmly, pointing it out with one of his magnets, "THAT POKÉMON IS USING ITS PSYCHIC POWERS TO CONTROL SMOKEY."
Joey spun towards where Buzz was directing him. Sure enough, a blue creature, with what resembled a white turnip on its head, was floating above the incline next to the path. Joey realized that in order to free Smokey, he had to defeat the Meditite.
He started to power up for a Thunderbolt attack when Smokey's attention switched to Pikachu. The Meditite must have also figured out what Joey was planning on doing and made Smokey attack him. Before Joey could release the attack, Smokey tackled him, nearly making them both roll into the gorge below. They wrestled down the path before coming to a stop just by the edge, with Smokey on top of Joey.
"DIE!" Smokey snarled at his friend, while trying to bite his throat. He kept repeating that, elevating Joey's anger.
"Is that all you can say?" Joey choked out, "try something different, you psychic prick!"
"Then die slowly, Joey," he said slowly, his eyes bulging out of his skull. Joey swore loudly, not out of anger, but out of fear. It was infinitely times creepier when he said his name because Smokey's voice was not his own. It sounded contorted, like two different voices were speaking at once.
"Buzz, help me!" Joey managed to say. Buzz floated there, unsure of what to do. His friend was attempting to hold back Smokey, but was losing that fight. Joey had pressed one hand against the Charmander's jaw, keeping it closed while his other hand was trying to push him off. Smokey, the bigger of the two, had both hands around the Pikachu's neck, strangling the life out of him.
Buzz had to do something, or Joey would die. On the other hand, if he attacked Smokey, he could die. He tried to think of a way to save both of his friends but just couldn't come up with one. He noticed the sparks coming from Joey's cheeks as he fought. That gave him an idea.
The power inside of his started to grow but he wouldn't need that much. Once he measured the correct amount, he released it at the fighting Pokémon. The electricity burst from his magnets in a thin stream of lightning. It struck Smokey in his side and he toppled off of Joey, who sucked in a raspy breath and started to cough.
"Took you long enough," he spat once he recovered, "were you planning on waiting until he killed me?"
"I AM SORRY, JOEY," Buzz said, his electronic voice filled with what seemed like sadness, "I WAS UNSURE OF WHAT TO DO. A SOLUTION THAT WOULD NOT BE FATAL TO EITHER OF YOU COULD NOT BE THOUGHT OF QUICKLY."
"Don't worry about it," Joey sighed. He hated when his anger got the better of him, causing him to hurt his friend's feelings. The fact that he managed to hurt a robot's emotions, which were supposed to be non-existent, made him feel worse. He looked over at Smokey, who lay twitching on the ground. This prompted Joey to ask, "Is he going to be okay?"
"SMOKEY WILL BE FINE," Buzz reassured him, "THE ATTACK, THUNDERWAVE, ONLY PARALYZES AN ENEMY WITH AN ELECTRIC SHOCK. THIS WILL RENDER OUR FRIEND HARMLESS FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME."
"But if he's paralyzed, how could he still be twitching like that?"
"THOSE MOVEMENTS ARE INVOLUNTARY. I FEAR WE MAY HAVE OTHER, MORE SERIOUS THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT IN THE TIME BEING." Buzz pointed towards the rocky slant. Joey followed his magnet's path to the Meditite that was still hovering above them.
His anger took control again. Joey dashed up the rocky slope and faced the Pokémon that was controlling his friend. Its eyes glowed a deep blue and looked like it was in a trance. Realizing that this was his chance to catch him off guard, he lunged at it.
The Meditite slapped Joey with a backhand, causing him to go flying back to the peak of the hill. He grasped a hold of a rock to prevent him from falling but it tore loose of the ground, sending him back down to the path.
"YOU CANNOT DEFEAT HIM WITH PHYSICAL ATTACKS," Buzz called down from the top of the hill, "A MEDITITE IS A FIGHTING AND PSYCHIC TYPE POKEMON. IT WILL NOT LOOSE IN A PHYSICAL BATTLE."
Taking this into consideration, Joey fired a Thunderbolt attack at it from below. However, it blocked the lightning with a kick, dispersing the electricity into harmless sparks. Joey stared helplessly back at the Magnemite, who seemed just as confused as he was.
"What do we do now?" he yelled at his teammate. Before Buzz could respond, Joey saw movement coming from farther down the path. He turned to see Smokey struggling to his feet, his body still twitching with electricity, "Buzz, I thought paralyzed means you couldn't move," he called over his shoulder.
"THAT IS THE DEFINITION OF PARALYZE," he replied back.
"Then explain to me how Smokey is able to stand!" he yelled. Smokey had dark smoke flowing from his nose.
"Your puny attacks do nothing to hinder me," he said in the frightening mix of voices. Joey took a involuntary step back in panic.
"JOEY, THE MEDITITE HAS TO LOSE FOCUS IF IT IS TO RELEASE SMOKEY FROM ITS CONTROL," Buzz told him. Joey glared behind him at the Magnemite.
"We already know that, but how can we make it lose focus if we can't even touch it?" he demanded.
"IF WE ATTACK AT THE SAME TIME, THERE MIGHT BE ENOUGH POWER TO HARM IT."
Joey understood and started to power up for another Thunderbolt. The bad thing about having to say your strategy out loud, is that your opponents can hear exactly what you're planning. The Meditite, of course, heard their plan and using its psychic powers, freed Smokey's body from the paralysis. It made the Charmander rush Joey as he powered up for his attack.
He was knocked over as Smokey collided with him. He felt his control over the electricity fade as he grappled for the advantage over his hypnotized friend. Once again, Smokey had the smaller Pikachu pinned down under his weight, a vicious snarl on his face.
Frustration and panic started to overcome Joey's mind. His quick thinking brain abandoned him as he fought the losing battle. Luckily for him, Buzz was able to draw his mind from panic.
"JUST USE THE ATTACK NOW!" he yelled. Obeying his instructions, he let go of the bigger Pokémon on top of him. He was able focus on the task and started to gather all the energy inside of him.
"NOW!" Joey ordered, even with Smokey's claws clenched around his throat. At the same time, Buzz and Joey released two powerful electrical surges at the Meditite.
It opened its eyes to observe what was happening and witnessed the two bolts of lightning merge into one as they headed towards it. The massive electrical attack hit the Meditite square in the chest, sending it flying towards the gorge. The concentration it used for controlling Smokey and levitating in the air was lost as it plummeted into the chasm.
Smokey's eyes turned back to normal and he released Joey with a sudden gasp. He rolled off his friend, who was close to blacking out, and passed out himself. Joey managed to pick himself off the ground, having drained himself of most of his energy on the two attacks.
He stumbled over to the edge of the path to observe the fate of the Meditite. After a brief glance, Joey threw up on the rock. He wasn't prepared for what he had seen. Buzz joined him and glanced over the side, only to jump back in disgust a moment later.
The Meditite, having been unable to control his fall, had landed on one of the many rock spires that lined the bottom of the chasm. The sharp stone had pierced the Pokémon's back and burst out of its chest. Joey held his head in his hands after being sick, trying to get rid of that image.
No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't remove the expression of the Meditite's lifeless face from his mind. It was frozen in a silent scream, its eyes wide open in shock. The memory of his own death came back to him and he wondered if that was how he had looked after he died. Buzz came over and tried to comfort him.
"IT HAD TO BE DONE," he said to the disturbed Pikachu, "WE DID WHAT WAS NECESSARY TO SAVE OURSELVES."
"We didn't have to kill it," Joey whispered, "w-we could have just knocked it out, not sent it off a cliff to get impaled on a spike."
"WOULD YOU RATHER IT HAVE BEEN ONE OF US THAT WAS DEAD OR THE POKÉMON THAT TRIED TO KILL US?" Buzz asked rhetorically. Joey figured he was right. The fact that he killed another Pokémon shouldn't upset him so much when he was trying to protect himself and his friends.
He pushed the incident to the back of his mind to deal with later. Smokey was still passed out, and he had been through more than any of them. If anyone was need of help from what just happened, Smokey was in the most need of comfort.