Chapter 29: I… I don't know what's wrong with me today…
Mt. Caldera was an unfamiliar place to Sera and her teammates, but at least mystery dungeons felt more like familiar territory. Of course, before they could enter the dungeon, they needed to make a few preparations. Sera was standing in front of the Kangaskhan rock, and seemed to be having difficulty deciding on which items to bring.
"Um… Considering this is fire type territory, maybe we should bring Rawst berries in case we get burned?" Blitz suggested, having noticed that Sera seemed to be unsure what to retrieve from their item storage.
"Oh, right… Rawst berries…" Sera said and nodded her head slightly, before looking through the berries they had in storage. "… Ah! We barely have any Rawst berries in here!" Sera sighed and leaned her head against the rock. "Why haven't I bought more…?"
"Sera, there's no need to freak out!" Azure commented, shrugging slightly.
"Hmm… I guess we can bring some Heal Seeds," Blitz said, thinking for a moment. "If we don't have enough Rawst berries, then Heal Seeds will work too."
"Right, Heal Seeds…" Sera said, sighing. "Why didn't I think of that…? Oh, but how many do I bring?"
"Yeah, there's always that dilemma there…" Blitz responded, rubbing his forelegs together. "Bring along an item that would be useful, or save it for later?"
"I don't know what to do!" Sera exclaimed, her ears twitching.
"Whoa, calm down!" Blitz said, surprised at Sera's sudden outburst.
"Sorry!" Sera responded, turning to Blitz. "I… I don't know what's wrong with me today…"
"… Do you want me to handle the items for you?" Blitz asked, looking somewhat concerned.
"O-Okay…" Sera replied, nodding her head and moving aside so Blitz could get to the Kangaskhan rock. "Here you go…"
Sera set down the treasure bag so Blitz could look through it and the items in storage, and determine which to bring and which to save for another time. While Blitz was managing the items, Sera took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.
"Come on, Sera, you're the leader of this rescue team," Sera said to herself, lightly hitting one of her paws against her head. "You've got to pull yourself together!"
"Why are you talking to yourself?" Chiaki asked, tilting his head slightly.
"It's nothing to be concerned about," Sera replied, shaking her head.
"Sera, the last few days have been kind of stressful for you," Azure said. "So, we understand if you're feeling a bit out of it today."
"Thanks for the concern, but I'll be fine, really," Sera responded, managing a smile at her teammates. "So, Blitz? How is the item management going?"
"Almost done," Blitz replied, placing a few items into the bag.
"Good!" Sera responded, nodding her head. "I guess we're almost ready to get going, then!"
Sera, Chiaki and Azure waited for Blitz to finish sorting out the items, and soon Blitz closed the lid on the treasure bag and returned it to Sera.
"Here you go," Blitz said. "I think I picked out a good selection of items."
Sera nodded, and opened the lid to see which items Blitz had picked out for her. After looking over everything, she closed the lid again and smiled at Blitz.
"Yeah, this probably looks good," Sera said, nodding her head slightly. "Thanks for helping me out, Blitz."
"No problem," Blitz responded, looking around. "So… I guess we should start exploring the mystery dungeon, then?"
"I'm ready!" Azure said, raising her hand.
"So am I!" Chiaki said, smiling and waving his paw.
"Okay, let's go, then!" Sera said, walking up to the entrance to the mystery dungeon.
She waited for her three friends to gather together at the entrance, and then the four of them entered the mystery dungeon together.
Meanwhile, Megara and her two friends, Drake the Charmeleon and Inferno the Monferno had managed to find Aidan the Arcanine, and were currently explaining to him what Blitz had explained to them earlier. Aidan listened closely to what they had to say, and nodded his head as they finished explaining.
"I feared something like that might be the case…" Aidan said, sighing.
"Come on, Aidan!" Megara said, looking up at the Arcanine. "We need to get to the bottom of this!"
"You're right…" Aidan responded, nodding his head slightly. "I need to find out exactly what is going on with Blaze, even if it means possibly having to fight him…"
"Whoa, could it be?" Inferno said, staring wide-eyed. "Will we finally get our answer to the question of who would win in a battle between Aidan and Blaze?"
"Possibly," Drake responded, looking over at Inferno. "However, the situation is quite serious."
"I know!" Inferno replied, grinning. "But you have to admit, the thought of a battle between those two is quite exciting!"
"I suppose it is…" Drake commented, thinking about it for a moment.
"So, the rescue team you brought along with you is over at the mystery dungeon right now, right?" Aidan asked, looking over at Megara.
"Yeah, they're probably exploring it as we speak," Megara responded, nodding her head.
"Let's get going, then," Aidan replied, running ahead.
"Hey, wait for us!" Inferno shouted, running after him. "I don't want to miss out on whatever's going to happen!"
Sera and her teammates were making their way through the mystery dungeon, Azure seeming to be having the time of her life as her water attacks made quick work of the wild fire type Pokémon they came across. Blitz was still amazed at how well the silver-colored headbands Couture gave them to protect them from the heat worked, since he doubted they would've been able to withstand it otherwise.
Sera was doing her best to focus on leading her team through the mystery dungeon, but she kept getting distracted by the thoughts that kept swirling inside her head.
"What's with me these days…?" Sera thought to herself. "I am the leader of this rescue team… I need to focus!"
Sera's ears twitched slightly as she glanced around, trying to decide which way to go.
"As leader, I must… look out for my teammates' well-being, right?" Sera thought, slowly leading her team forward. "And I… really messed things up when I made Hercules tell me Blitz's secret… I need to make things right, but how?"
Sera gave a quiet sigh, and glanced over her shoulder. She was certain Blitz and the others could tell she was concerned, but she had to try to stay strong to convince them that it was nothing they needed to be worried about.
"I have to think of something, but for now… my team needs me to get them through this dungeon," Sera thought, nodding her head slightly. "I can do this… right? I've been a good leader for my team, right?"
Walking up the stairs to the next floor, the rescue team moved further into the mystery dungeon. How many floors was this mystery dungeon anyways? Sera wasn't sure, but maybe Blitz knew? She was about to ask him if he knew how many floors were left, but closed her mouth and remained quiet as she kept on leading the way.
"Do I… depend too much on Blitz?" Sera thought, looking down at the floor as she kept walking. "While I did go on a mission without him a few days back… Didn't I just end up looking to Azure or Chiaki when I couldn't think of anything?"
Sera's ears drooped down slightly, and she stopped walking for a moment.
"I'm the leader of this rescue team… but do I really have what it takes?" Sera thought, blinking a few times as she contemplated this. "A leader is supposed to have confidence and the knowledge to handle any situation that might come up… Do I have either of those things?"
"Sera, what's the matter?" Azure shouted. "Shouldn't we keep moving?"
"Oh, right!" Sera responded, nodding her head. "Sorry!"
Sera continued marching on, glancing around as her ears continued to twitch slightly.
"Blitz is the one with the knowledge, and when he's around, I can be confident because I know he's there for me," Sera thought. "But… is that really the only reason I've made it this far?"
Eventually, Sera and her teammates reached the end of the mystery dungeon. Sera sat down and took a moment to catch her breath, while Blitz, Chiaki and Azure began looking around at their surroundings. It seemed the mystery dungeon had led them into another part of the volcano, but they weren't entirely sure how far this area was from the previous one.
"So… Do we explore further, or wait for Megara and the others to get here?" Azure asked, glancing around.
"I think we should wait…" Blitz responded, rubbing the rings on his forelegs together. "I mean, we don't know what might await us if we keep going…"
"Blitz has a point," Sera commented, nodding her head slightly. "Let's just rest for a bit and wait for the others to catch up…"
The four Pokémon sat down and waited for Megara and her friends to show up, however, Azure suddenly heard something.
"Something wrong, Azure?" Chiaki asked, looking over at the Marill.
"Quiet, I hear something…" Azure responded, trying to figure out where the sounds were coming from.
"Is it Megara and the others?" Chiaki asked, tilting his head slightly.
"No… I think it's coming from over there," Azure said, pointing towards a nearby tunnel.
"Um… Maybe it's just the sounds of the volcano?" Blitz suggested, nervously rubbing his forelegs as he began to realize what this would likely lead to. "Volcanoes probably make quite a few sounds that aren't really worth investigating, with all the magma and stuff that's in it…"
"Hey, be quiet!" Azure said again, taking a few steps towards the tunnel and listening closely to try to identify the sounds. "Hmm… Nope, these aren't volcano sounds!"
"I was afraid she'd say that…" Blitz commented, sighing.
"What is it, then?" Chiaki asked, walking up to Azure and trying to listen to the tunnel.
"Hmm… Footsteps…" Azure said, listening closely. "… Claws or talons scratching against the rocky floor…"
"Whoa, you're awesome, Azure!" Chiaki exclaimed.
"Thanks!" Azure responded, grinning. "It's probably that Blaziken that's walking around in there."
"Okay, that's good to know," Blitz said. "Now, let's wait until Megara and the others get here before we do anything about it."
"Why?" Azure asked, tilting her head slightly. "It couldn't hurt to just go take a look, could it?"
"… Azure, if you say something like that out loud, chances something bad might happen increase by twenty percent," Blitz commented, sighing.
"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have said that…" Azure responded, looking down sheepishly. "If we don't go check it out, though, we might lose our chance to figure out what's going on."
Blitz was about to say something, but Sera suddenly stepped in.
"Azure, don't…" Sera said, and it seemed like she was going to say more, but suddenly froze.
Sera stared at her friends, trying to say something, but even though her mouth moved slightly, she couldn't get any words out. Her teammates looked at her with confused glances, which soon turned to looks of concern as they waited for her to say something.
"I… I think we should wait…" Sera finally managed to get out, trying to regain her composure. "Like Blitz said… it's probably better to wait for Megara and the others."
"Okay, you're right," Azure responded, nodding slightly. "I'll be right back!"
And with that, Azure cheerfully ran inside the tunnel. Her teammates stared blankly at the tunnel, taking a moment to register what had just happened.
"Did she…?" Chiaki said, pointing at the tunnel.
"She did," Blitz responded, sighing. "Well, guess we'd better go after her."
Sera, Blitz and Chiaki walked through the tunnel, and soon saw Azure looking at the various walls in the room, although the Blaziken was nowhere to be seen.
"Guys, check it out," Azure said, motioning for her friends to come closer.
The rocky walls in the area seemed to be partially distorted, parts of the walls occasionally turning transparent.
"So, it's spread even here…" Blitz said, looking around.
"Do you think this is what caused the Blaziken's strange behavior?" Chiaki asked.
"No way," Azure responded, shaking her head. "There has to be something more… Let's go a bit further. I think I know which way the Blaziken went."
"Azure, what part of 'this is a bad idea' don't you understand?" Blitz asked, sighing.
"This is the perfect chance to figure out what's going on, though!" Azure responded, grinning. "Come on, where's your sense of adventure?"
Azure did have a point, but Blitz still wanted to wait until the others got there. That, and he was getting the feeling that being in an area where most of the Pokémon around were weak to her water attacks was making the adventure-loving Azure feel a bit too confident.
"… Sera, it's your call," Blitz said, looking over at Sera. "Investigate now, or wait for the others to show up?"
"Um… Am I really the best Pokémon to make that decision?" Sera asked, glancing around. "I mean, I know I'm the leader of this team and all, but…"
"Come on, Sera," Chiaki said, patting Sera on the back and smiling at her. "You can do this!"
Sera's ears twitched slightly, and she nervously looked to Blitz and Azure, trying to make a decision. However, before she could say anything, Azure's ears suddenly twitched as she picked up on something.
"Huh? Is something going on over there?" Azure wondered, before running towards the tunnel to investigate.
"Ah, wait up!" Sera exclaimed, chasing after Azure.
"… Well, I suppose now we have to go over there, huh," Blitz commented, sighing.
"Yeah, I guess we do," Chiaki responded, nodding.
"Let's hurry up and catch up to the girls, then," Blitz said, beginning to move towards the tunnel. "But be careful, and try to be as quiet as you can."
"Okay!" Chiaki replied, with a cheerful smile as he followed Blitz.
The two soon caught up to the girls, who were hiding behind some rocks, watching the Blaziken move about. It almost seemed as if he was patrolling the area, but why?
"What's going on?" Blitz asked, whispering as he and Chiaki moved over to Sera and Azure.
"We're not sure," Azure replied, narrowing her eyes. "He's definitely up to something, though."
"So… Do we go back then?" Chiaki whispered, tilting his head slightly.
"But we haven't figured out what he's up to yet," Azure responded, sighing. "However, I'm not sure if we can get any further from here…"
"Hmm…" Blitz carefully peeked over the rocks while Blaze wasn't looking. "… You can't, but maybe I can… Wait here, guys."
Blitz quietly began moving closer, trying not to be spotted as he made his way over to a position where he could possibly get a better view. As she watched him, Sera couldn't help but worry that something would go wrong. She was also amazed at how well Blitz was keeping his composure, even though he was probably just as worried as she was.
"Oh, Blitz, be careful," Sera thought, finding herself unable to take her eyes off of Blitz.
Blitz was indeed nervous, but just used the technique he'd learned to control his breathing while he crept closer. On first glance, it seemed like Blaze was seemingly guarding a lava pool, but Blitz didn't pay much attention to that and instead began looking up at the walls on the other side of the lava pool. That was the only place where something could be hidden.
It was difficult to see at first, but Blitz soon noticed something red and sparkly poking out slightly from a wall.
"Isn't that…?" Blitz thought, before carefully starting to sneak back over to where his friends were waiting.
"So, did you see anything?" Azure asked, looking at Blitz expectantly.
"I think I saw the Axis Tower crystal," Blitz responded. "It seems to be stuck inside a wall."
"Well done, Blitz!" Azure replied, grinning. "So, what's the plan?"
"First, we need to wait for Megara and the others," Blitz responded. "Only a fire type Pokémon can get across the lava pool that's in the way."
"Okay… Let's move back over to where we ended up when we got out of the mystery dungeon, and wait there for the others," Sera said, and turned around.
As she began walking back, Sera's tail accidentally brushed against a small rock, sending it flying for a short distance through the area before it landed on the ground. The sound of the small rock hitting the ground was enough to make Blaze turn around, noticing Sera.
Blitz realized Sera had been spotted, but before he could warn her, the Blaziken had already rushed over and picked up Sera by her ears.
"What do you want?" Blaze asked, staring at Sera.
"Ah, let me go!" Sera exclaimed, flailing as she attempted to free herself from the Blaziken's grip.
"Why are you here?" Blaze asked, still staring at the Eevee, his expression oddly blank.
"Seriously, that hurts!" Sera shouted, glaring at the Blaziken. "Let go of my ears, now!"
The Blaziken just continued to stare at Sera, as if he wasn't sure what to do with her. Blitz knew that this guy was probably much stronger than him, but he still had to try to help Sera. Blitz ran out from his hiding spot, and glared at Blaze.
"Let her go!" Blitz shouted, trying to get the Blaziken's attention.
The Blaziken turned around, looking over at Blitz.
"You really shouldn't be here," Blaze said, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Maybe you didn't hear me," Blitz growled, trying his best to imitate one of his mother's intimidating glares. "Let my friend go!"
Blaze let go of Sera's ears, causing the unfortunate Eevee to fall to the ground.
"Sera, are you okay?" Chiaki asked, rushing over to her side.
"That really hurt…" Sera muttered, rubbing her ears with her forepaws.
Blaze began walking towards Blitz, and Azure quickly ran over to Blitz's side and assumed a battle position next to him.
"Ready to fight this guy when you are, buddy," Azure said, smirking. "So, what's the plan?"
"Um… Let me think…" Blitz responded, nervously rubbing his forelegs together.
Blitz had to think of something fast, as the Blaziken was slowly approaching him and Azure and he wasn't sure what would happen once it got close enough. He was just glad it hadn't tried to attack with any ranged fire attacks or something along those lines. What were they going to do, though? Were they going to fight? They still didn't know what was going on with Blaze, but Blitz had the feeling that whatever had happened to Blaze was somehow connected to the crystal that was currently stuck in the wall a short distance away.
If they did have to fight, how were they going to beat him? Blaze looked like a strong opponent, but even if he was stronger than they were, surely they could beat him with just the right strategy. Of course, such a strategy would be difficult to come up with on such a short notice.
Blitz glanced at Azure, wondering how much damage one of her water attacks would do against the Blaziken. Maybe if he made his fur shine, then Azure could attack while the Blaziken was still blinded from the light?
Blaze was suddenly hit in the back of the head by a stream of golden shooting stars, and turned to see Chiaki glaring at him.
"Stop this!" Chiaki shouted. "You're supposed to be helping the Pokémon who live here, not bothering my friends!"
"Why are you trying to get in my way?" Blaze muttered, as he turned around and began moving back towards Chiaki and Sera.
"Chiaki, what are you doing?" Sera asked, hiding behind the Mienfoo.
"I was hoping I could bring him back to his senses," Chiaki responded.
Chiaki continued to try to talk to Blaze, but it didn't seem like the words were reaching the Blaziken. Blitz had to quickly think of a way to get Blaze's attention again, and recalled something his father had once tried to teach him. Blitz had never actually tried the move in question, so he wasn't sure if he'd be able to get the technique right. He still decided to give it a try, and tried to remember what his father had said.
Blitz took a step forward, and then took a deep breath. He then attempted to let out a powerful Roar, but the only sound that he was able to produce was more of a high-pitched squeaking noise.
"… What was that?" Azure asked, tilting her head slightly.
"I… I guess my Roar needs work…" Blitz said, looking rather embarrassed.
However, Blitz's Roar did accomplish its intended purpose, as Blaze turned around again, looking towards Blitz and Azure in confusion. Before he could do anything else, a much louder Roar suddenly echoed from one of the tunnels, and as Blaze turned towards the source of the sound, he was suddenly tackled to the ground by an Arcanine.
"Aidan!" Blitz exclaimed, looking rather relieved to see the Arcanine.
"Sorry I took so long," Aidan said, looking around. "Is everyone okay in here?"
"Yeah, we're fine!" Azure responded, grinning.
"What's going on in here?" Megara asked as she, Drake and Inferno ran over to the others.
"Megara, we found the crystal!" Chiaki said, happily running up to the Magmar. "Blitz can show you where it is!"
"Oh, you found it already?" Megara asked, grinning and giving Blitz a thumbs-up. "Well done!"
"Um… Thanks, I guess," Blitz responded, nodding his head slightly. "We need the help of you guys to actually get to it, though."
"All right, lead the way!" Megara replied, grinning.
"Uh… Hold on," Sera said, pointing a paw at Blaze, who was staring to stir. "Shouldn't we do something about him?"
Blaze got back onto his feet without a word, before glaring at Aidan.
"You're in my way…" Blaze muttered, before suddenly ramming into Aidan with enough force to knock him backwards.
"Whoa! B-Blaze?" Aidan exclaimed, looking rather frightened by this turn of events.
"In my way…" Blaze muttered, charging at Aidan before rapidly hitting the Arcanine with a flurry of punches and kicks. "In my way… In my way!"
"Aidan!" Megara exclaimed, looking horrified at the scene.
"This isn't good…" Drake said, clenching his fists. "We've got to do something…"
"Come on, Aidan, fight back!" Inferno shouted. "Tackle him to assert your dominance!"
Aidan struggled to endure Blaze's repeated attacks while he attempted to find an opening so he could fight back, but it didn't seem like Blaze was going to let that happen. Luckily for Aidan, a Bubble Beam attack to the back of the head made Blaze momentarily stop, just long enough for Aidan to push him aside, before collapsing.
"Nice shot, Azure!" Megara said, grinning at the aqua mouse Pokémon.
"Thank you," Azure responded, smirking. "That felt really good."
Blitz began running over to Aidan, making his fur shine as he passed Blaze to momentarily blind the Blaziken, who had turned his attention back to Azure and the others.
"Aidan, eat these!" Blitz said, placing two Oran berries near the Arcanine.
"Thanks…" Aidan responded, eating the two berries and regaining his energy. "Ah, much better…"
"Are you okay?" Blitz asked, glancing over at Blaze, who was rubbing his eyes while muttering something.
"Yeah, I will be," Aidan responded, nodding his head. "That was quite the scare, though… I wouldn't be surprised if my fur had turned white for a moment there as he suddenly charged at me…"
"What should we do about him?" Blitz asked, nervously looking up to the Arcanine.
"Blaze is my friend, I know he would never do something like this under normal circumstances," Aidan said, narrowing his eyes. "Something or someone else might be controlling him."
"Controlling him?" Blitz asked, tilting his head slightly. "Well, how do we get him back to normal, then?"
"I don't know," Aidan responded, shaking his head. "For now, I'm just going to try to defeat him before he ends up hurting anyone else!"
Blaze soon came rushing at Aidan again, but this time, Aidan was able to swiftly step to the side and dodge Blaze's attack. As the battle begun, Blitz quickly headed back over to his friends.
"Sera, Chiaki, you two take Megara, Drake and Inferno over to where I spotted the crystal, and try to retrieve it," Blitz said, before turning to Azure. "In the meantime, Azure and I will help Aidan defeat Blaze."
"Ooh, I like this plan!" Azure responded, grinning.
"Okay, Blitz…" Sera said, nodding her head. "That's… a good idea, I think…"
Sera, Chiaki, Megara, Drake and Inferno headed off to retrieve the crystal, while Blitz and Azure turned around and began to prepare to assist Aidan.
"Eat this Violent Seed to boost your attacking strength," Blitz said, handing Azure a small seed.
"Okay!" Azure responded, happily popping the seed into her mouth.
In the meantime, Aidan and Blaze were running around, both trying to catch up to and attack the other. Eventually, the two stopped, and Blaze attempted to strike Aidan with an electrified fist, only for Aidan to dodge and then bite down on Blaze's fist with electrified fangs. Blitz and Azure watched as sparks flew from the two.
"I guess I should wait until they're done with the electricity before I attack?" Azure asked.
"Yes, you should," Blitz responded, nodding his head slightly.
Sera and Chiaki looked up at the cave wall across the lava pool, and eventually, they spotted the red crystal partially poking out from a wall.
"There it is!" Chiaki said, pointing up to the wall.
"All right, we'll get it," Megara said, with a confident smirk. "Inferno, you're good at climbing, right?"
"Of course," Inferno responded, grinning. "I'm all fired up for this!"
"Dude, this isn't the time for your bad jokes!" Drake replied, looking rather annoyed.
"Oh, come on, Drake," Inferno said, happily putting his arm around the Charmeleon. "Just admit that you do lava my jokes!"
"Seriously, stop it," Drake responded, pushing Inferno's hand away.
"You want me to go dormant?" Inferno asked, grinning at Drake.
Drake just sighed, and shook his head.
"Let's just go get that crystal and get this over with," Drake said.
The three fire type Pokémon easily made it across the lava pool while Sera and Chiaki looked on, and Inferno soon began climbing the wall in order to get up to the crystal while Megara and Drake waited for him on the ground. Inferno managed to reach the point where the crystal was without much difficulty, but how was he going to get the crystal out of the wall?
"Hmm… Maybe I can punch it loose?" Inferno said, considering it for a moment before shaking his head. "No, that's a terrible idea…"
"Shame I can't get up there," Drake commented, looking at his own claws. "My Metal Claw attack would probably have been able to break through the rock around the crystal…"
"Well, I guess we need to get something Inferno can use to dig that crystal out," Megara said, before looking over to Sera and Chiaki on the other side of the lava pool. "Do either of you have something that can help Inferno?"
"Um… Blitz has our items," Sera responded, looking down at the ground.
"Oh, wait a minute!" Chiaki said, pulling out three Silver Spikes. "I picked these up when we were exploring the mystery dungeon, but I guess I must've forgotten to hand them over to Blitz!"
"When did you do that?" Sera asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Will this do?" Chiaki shouted, holding up a Silver Spike for Megara and Drake to see.
"It's worth a try!" Megara responded.
Chiaki nodded his head, and held the Silver Spike in his paw. Soon, his paw began to glow with a golden light, and soon Chiaki launched the spike inside a golden star up to where Inferno was, who managed to catch it in his hand.
"Whoa," Inferno said, examining the spike. "Thanks, dude!"
"You're welcome!" Chiaki responded, smiling and waving.
Inferno then began picking at the rock with the Silver Spike, starting to slowly but surely dig the crystal out.
In the meantime, the heated battle between Aidan and Blaze continued, both Pokémon occasionally having to stop and catch their breaths. Blitz and Azure were doing what they could to assist Aidan, but since both Pokémon were moving so fast, it was difficult for them to help.
"Was this really worth using up one of our Violent Seeds?" Azure asked, tilting her head slightly. "We're not actually doing much fighting here."
"Well, at least that way you are prepared whenever we do need to step in," Blitz replied.
"I suppose," Azure responded, trying her best to keep up with the battle. "Wow, these two are fast. I'm worried I might blink and miss everything…"
"I know what you mean," Blitz said, nodding his head slightly. "They're both starting to look tired, though. This might be over soon…"
"Come on, Aidan!" Azure shouted, grinning. "You can do this!"
Aidan's fur and Blaze's feathers were looking rather messy from all the fighting and both of them were worn out from the fight.
"Blaze… Please snap out of it!" Aidan said.
The Blaziken just ignored him, and crossed his arms over his chest, beginning to glow with a blue and white light.
"… I guess you're not going to listen," Aidan said, shaking his head. "Very well, let's get this over with."
Aidan growled, and his body soon became enveloped in purple flames, while Blaze spread his arms as the glow around them took the shape of wings. The two Pokémon then charged at each other, before colliding in a big flash of light.
"Whoa! What was that?" Azure asked, trying to shield her eyes from the bright light.
"I think… Blaze used a Brave Bird attack, while Aidan used Outrage," Blitz responded, blinking a few times. "Both very powerful attacks…"
As the dust settled, Blitz and Azure could see that both Aidan and Blaze were still standing, although not for long, as Blaze collapsed just a few seconds later. Aidan stumbled around for a bit, looking rather dazed, before collapsing himself. Blitz and Azure quickly ran up to the Arcanine, taking out a Reviver Seed and giving it to Aidan.
The Arcanine soon opened his eyes, and looked at the two young Pokémon.
"So, how'd I do?" Aidan asked, getting to his feet.
"You beat him," Azure responded, grinning. "That was quite the awesome battle!"
"Thanks," Aidan replied, glancing over at Blaze's unconscious body. "I just hope that Blaze will be back to normal when he wakes up…"
Inferno continued using the Silver Spike to pick away at the rock around the crystal, and was now close to getting it loose from the wall. Drake and Megara were watching and getting ready to catch the crystal once it fell down, while Chiaki and Sera were waiting on the other side of the lava pool for the fire types to finish their work.
"Almost got it," Inferno said, grinning as he continued digging the crystal out.
With a few more determined strikes against the rock, the crystal fell out from the cave wall, and landed in Drake's arms.
"All right, we did it!" Drake said, handing the crystal to Megara.
"Thanks, you guys!" Megara responded, grinning.
Inferno climbed back down, and the three fire types went back across the lava pool to the Mienfoo and Eevee waiting on the other side.
"You did it!" Chiaki exclaimed, smiling as he saw the crystal.
"Couldn't have done it without your help," Megara said, smiling back at Chiaki and Sera.
"You're welcome!" Chiaki responded, grinning.
The five of them went to go check on how things had gone for Blitz, Azure and Aidan, with Sera staring down at the ground with her ears drooping down as they went.
After moving to a different area within the volcano, Aidan, Drake, Inferno and Megara were waiting for Blaze to wake up, while Chiaki was showing the crystal they had retrieved to Azure. Sera was just sitting on the ground, facing a wall.
"Sera, what's the matter?" Blitz asked, walking up to her. "We got the crystal, so shouldn't you be more excited?"
"I didn't really do anything, though," Sera responded, sighing. "You, Azure and Chiaki did all the hard work… All I did was following your lead… Really, I'm not fit to be the leader of this rescue team…"
"Huh?" Blitz replied, tilting his head. "Where's this coming from all of a sudden?"
"Blitz, think about it… All I've ever done is listen to you and following advice and never really trusting myself to make own decisions when exploring," Sera said, glancing over her shoulder at Blitz. "While I may be a good enough explorer, I don't really have what it takes to be a leader…"
"Sera…" Blitz responded, unsure what to say to her.
"I'm so sorry, Blitz," Sera said, shaking her head. "I should've treated you better, but I messed up…"
Blitz wasn't sure what to do. Sera was clearly under a lot of stress these days, to the point where she was in no condition to act as the rescue team leader. Perhaps someone else could fill in for her while she took a few days to recover? The question was, who? Chiaki was much too inexperienced to be a rescue team leader, and while Azure was getting better at it, she was too unpredictable. It seemed like there was only one option.
"Um… Would you like me to be the leader?" Blitz asked, rubbing his forelegs together.
"What?" Sera responded, surprised at this. "I thought you didn't want to be a leader? I mean, what about those things that happened to you at your old home?"
"Well… Being the leader of a Luxray pride and the leader of a rescue team are two different things, right?" Blitz replied, looking away. "Besides, it'd only be for a little while… You know, until you're feeling a little better, and can properly focus on the missions."
"You'd… do that for me?" Sera asked, blinking a few times.
"We're friends, and… friends look out for each other, right?" Blitz responded, glancing around.
"Yeah, they look out for each other," Sera replied, hugging Blitz. "Thank you…"
"I'll… do my best," Blitz responded half-heartedly, nodding his head slightly.
The two of them soon walked over to the others, as Blaze was starting to regain consciousness.
"Ugh… What happened?" Blaze asked, rubbing his head and looking around at the Pokémon gathered around him. "… Megara? When did you come over for a visit? And who are these four Pokémon?"
"You don't remember?" Megara responded, tilting her head.
"Um… Not really," Blaze replied, blinking a few times. "I… recall patrolling the area, and… there was a Sigilyph there…"
"Wait, a Sigilyph?" Blitz inquired, leaning a bit closer.
"Yeah… I asked what he was up to, but he just laughed… and then I tried to stop him from leaving, but I think he hit me with an attack…" Blaze said, thinking for a moment, before shaking his head. "Everything is kind of fuzzy after that…"
"I… see…" Blitz responded, looking over at his teammates.
"So, the Sigilyph that stole the crystal was the one who made Blaze act all weird and suspicious," Azure said, tilting her head slightly. "How'd he do that?"
"Um… What are you talking about?" Blaze asked, looking rather lost.
"It's a long story," Megara replied, gently patting Blaze's shoulder.
"I'm glad to have you back," Aidan said, smiling at Blaze. "I'll explain everything I know later."
"Oh, okay…" Blaze responded, nodding his head.
"Well, I'd like to stay longer, talk about the old times and such, but we should probably be heading back to Fenix Town," Megara said, looking over at Drake and Inferno. "It was nice seeing you guys again, though!"
"Yeah, it was nice seeing you too," Drake responded, smiling at Megara.
"You should come back and visit another time when there isn't some crisis going on!" Inferno commented, grinning.
"I will," Megara responded, nodding her head. "And you guys should come visit me sometime, so you can meet my teammates!"
"We'll consider it," Drake replied, before turning to Sera and her teammates. "It was nice meeting you guys as well, and maybe we'll meet again someday?"
"I'd like that!" Chiaki responded, smiling.
"Ooh, I can tell you some more of my jokes the next time we meet!" Inferno said, grinning.
"Hey, don't scare him like that," Drake commented, smirking at Inferno.
"What?" Inferno said, shrugging. "Come on, you do like my jokes. Just admit it!"
Megara chuckled, and hugged her two friends, before walking up to Sera and the others.
"Let's return to town, and give this crystal to Stella," Chiaki said, smiling.
"Four crystals found, four more out there," Azure commented, grinning.
"I wish you luck in getting the remaining crystals back," Aidan said, smiling to the Pokémon from Fenix Town. "In the meantime, Blaze and I will keep an eye on things here, and keep track of the distortions."
"Thanks, Aidan," Megara responded, nodding her head.
Blitz looked to Sera expectantly, only to remember that this time; he was the one who was going to use the badge to send everyone home. He took the silver badge in his paws and looking down at it for a few moments, before lifting it up and letting it release its magic to teleport everyone back to town. Drake and Inferno waved good-bye, before going off somewhere, while Aidan explained to Blaze what was going on.
When they returned to town, Megara went to find Mirage and Cordyceps so she could tell them about how her mission had gone, while Blitz, Sera, Chiaki and Azure stopped by Stella's house to drop off the crystal for safe-keeping. When he and Chiaki had returned home for the night, Blitz lay awake and kept staring at the bag and the rescue team badge which was now sitting in a corner, thinking about how he now was the rescue team leader until Sera was feeling better.
Being a rescue team leader was different from leading a Luxray pride. That's what Blitz had said to Sera earlier, and he kept quietly repeating it to himself as he tried to sleep.
End of Chapter 29
