"Blaziken! Blaziken, we have to go!" It was faint, but Blaziken could hear it. It was Brennan, he knew that. But his anger... his anger wouldn't let him stop. Red was the only thing he could see. Throwing around Team Scavenge members like rag dolls was the only thing he could do at that moment. Nothing else.
"BLAZIKEN!" It was even more faint than before. He tightly grabbed a Team Scavenge member by the throat, slamming him hard into the wall, before turning and slamming him with the same brute force into the concrete floor.
He quickly spun around, nailing another member in the gut with a Fire Punch. He grunted loudly as he flew backwards into another member.
"Blaziken! BLAZIKEN!" The voice had almost vanished. The sound of another explosion was what was heard. He felt a bullet pierce his shoulder. He could feel the pain. Feel the blood from his fresh wound trickling through his fur. He let out a loud roar as he cloaked himself in flames. He turned and charged at the culprit, picking him up on his shoulder and not stopping until he had rammed him hard into the rock wall. That was a bad idea. The force caused the already weakened wall to crack even further. He let the now limp body of Team member slide down the wall and onto the floor below as the chunks of rock falling from the ceiling became larger, beginning to cloud the war zone in dirt.
"BLAZIKEN!" It was very, very faint, but he heard it one last time. He was too aintranced by his anger to even notice his trainer being dragged out of the room. Another loud explosion filled the room—the screams and cries of Team Scavenge members and their Pokémon blended in.
Blaziken grabbed another member before punching him right in the gut with a fast, ferocious Flame Punch. A large dirt cloud filled the air as chunks of rocks caved in from the roof. He looked around, watching as beaten, and weakened Team Scavenge members tried to flee. But they couldn't. That was the last thing he saw before a crushing weight fell on him from behind, taking him roughly to the ground.
After that... everything went black. The screams of Scavenge members and crumbles of rock hitting the ground became more and more faint, before everything was finally silenced.
Silence...
Silence...
Silence had taken over...
His eyes slowly blinked. Just once though. His body was numb. He didn't know where he was. He blinked again, this time trying to keep them open. But he failed. He closed them again. After, he tried to move. He tried to do anything. But he couldn't. He was weak. Weaker than he had ever been before. Weaker than he even thought possible.
He let out a weak grunt as he once again tried to move. The numbness began to fade, being replied by the pain dealt to his body as a result of the explosion. He let out a cried pain, beginning to grow frustrated. He was finally able to hold his eyes open, trying his best to look around the now destroyed room. The sunlight peaking in through the large holes in the roof providing enough light for him to be able to see the aftermath of the carnage that he had caused.
Bodies were strewn everywhere— Pokémon and human alike. They were all unmoving— lifeless. It was a very gruesome scene. He felt sick just looking at it. He began to try and drag himself forward, digging his claws into the floor as he did. But he couldn't. He was stuck. He dropped his face down onto the back of his hands as he let out another frustrated cry.
The frustration was now starting to get the better of him. He angrily looked up, beginning to punch the ground below him. It was doing absolutely nothing to help. Once he stopped, he finally managed to see what was keeping him pinned to the floor. A large support beam had fallen and landed on him. It hadn't crushed his legs, but it was on them just enough to where they were pinned down. He reached back trying his best to see if he could push the large beam off of himself, but it was way too heavy for him to move by himself. Especially in the state he was in. He let out another frustrated cry as he began to violently claw at the beam.
He eventually gave up— staring forward once again. He closed his eyes and slowly shook his head wondering if this was indeed going to be his end. After that thought, out of sheer frustration, he grabbed a nearby piece of rubble and chucked it as hard as he could. In doing so, he hit another pile of rubble, collapsing it. The tumbling rocks broke the silence for just a few seconds before they settled once again. The sun shining through the cracks in the ceiling gave him a clear view of the once again resting pile of rubble. As he stared at it, he noticed something peaking out from the dirty brown and grey rock chunks. It was a hat. But not just any hat. It was a hat that he was VERY familiar with. It was his Trainer's hat. The same hat he had dropped and left behind during the earlier events.
Blaziken began stretching his arm out, trying to reach for the hat that he knew was well out of reach. He dug his claws into the dirt struggling to pull himself forward. He grunted as he began trying to crawl, but the beam wouldn't allow him to make much progress. He hit the ground out of anger once again, before he again began to try and crawl forward. He was digging his claws into the ground deep as he struggled to try and pull himself forward. He kept his eyes locked onto the hat as he did. He wasn't going to give up and lay there and die. He refused. Brennan didn't train him to give up when times were tough. No. He trained him to be a fighter. To never give up.
He let out a loud growl as he felt himself begin to drag his body across the floor— his legs sliding their way out from underneath the beam. He never broke eye contact with his trainer's hat, not even when his legs finally became free and a sharp pain ran through them as the numbness began to wear off. He dug his claws into the ground, crawling over the rubble that lay scattered all over it, ignoring the small pieces that began to stick into his body.
Once he was close enough, he strained his arm out, grunting as he did, reaching for the hat. Once he felt his hand touch the fabric, he squeezed it hard as he pulled it back towards himself. He stared at it, his beak beginning to quiver as he did. He blinked his forming tears away before trying to push himself up to his knees. But he couldn't. He legs were hurting. They were hurting so bad he didn't think he could do it... but he knew he had to. His determination began to increase as he stared at his trainer's hat.
He grabbed onto a nearby chunk of rock ready to try and push himself up once again. With every bit of strength he had in him at that moment he pushed himself upwards—climbing the large chunk of rock. He let out another pain filled grunt as he did. Gritting his teeth as his legs and arms trembled. It was slow, but he was doing it. He felt himself ready to drop back to the ground but refused to let the weakness win. He couldn't. He had made it too far to allow that to happen. He let out a growl. It was anger, nor frustration... it was determination.
It grew louder and louder the closer he got to finally being on his feet once again. He stumbled, once again ready to collapse back to the ground, but he managed not to. And finally, after almost failing multiple times, he managed to get himself to his feet. As he pushed himself up from his hunched over position he let out a loud, frustrated scream, clenching his fists as he did. He felt the fabric from his trainer's hat fold in between his hand.
As his scream dwindled, he angrily looked around the trashed room his was in, now getting a better view than he was getting before. There wasn't anything left to it. Not anything at all. Everything was destroyed. One thing he did notice, and it was the most important thing to him, the door that he and Brennan ran through that got them into this mess wasn't completely blocked by what had caved in. He gave the room another quick glance around before he gingerly started stumbling his way towards it. He was getting out of there.
As he stumbled towards the door, the room began to get darker and darker as the light shining in through the hole in the ceiling began to fade. The worst part was trying to maneuver his way around the rubble and bodies that lay strewn about, especially as the light began to fade. It just made it harder for him to keep himself on his feet. Eventually he managed to make it to the door, collapsing against the doorframe as he did. He breathing had increased as stood staring into the darkened hallway. He closed his eyes and shook his head before continuing down his way down the hallway, using the wall to make sure he didn't collapse to the ground.
He could barely see anything in front of him as he slowly made his way down the hallway trying to find some sort of exit. He wanted to get out of there as quickly as he could. After witnessing what he did, and then almost dying inside of it, he hated that place with a passion. He continued to stumble around in the dark corridor, taking random hallways hoping he would find his way out. But it just felt like he was walking in circles. It seemed a lot bigger than it had before. It was beginning to feel like he was never going to find his way out. It felt like he was trapped.
He once again began to grow frustrated. He let out another frustrated scream. It made the eerie silence even more frightening than it already was. The echo of his scream didn't last long though before the silence had returned... almost. He heard something that made him look around in the darkness. He couldn't tell what it was at first. He glanced around again before he began trying to follow the sound. Walking through the dark hallways like a maze until the noise became louder and louder until he finally got close enough to finally find out what it was. It was crying. The crying of a Pokémon. And it wasn't just one. There had to have been at least a dozen. But that one managed to get his attention.
He quickened his pace as he searched for the room where the crying was coming from. And when he finally found it he realized it was the same room he and Brennan had stumbled upon when they first arrived there. The door had been left open, more than likely by an evacuating Team Scavenge member. But that same member didn't care enough about those trapped Pokémon to help them before he ran.
Blaziken pushed the door the rest of the way open before slowly making his way into the room. He was walking towards the cages when he noticed something on the metal table in the middle of the room. It was a Skitty. It lay motionless. Not breathing. The realization quickly hit him that this was the Skitty he and Brennan saw fighting to break away. But it wasn't strong enough to. Tears formed in his eyes as he stared down at the small Pokémon. Knowing the poor thing didn't even get a chance angered him. He would kill each and every Team Scavenge member if he could. Not that he didn't do a number on them already.
He took a deep breath before looking back towards the cages. By now most of the crying had ceased. The Pokémon were now silenced with fear. Blaziken took a few small steps towards the cages, watching as the frightened Pokémon tried to had in the back corners. He felt terrible for these poor things.
He walked over to the first cage peaking in to see a scared little Pichu shaking in the corner. He grabbed the bars on the door trying to pull it open, but it was locked. That's when, out of anger, he pulled with all of his might, ripping the door off of the hinges. The Pichu let out a scared little whimper, as it's shaking picked up.
"Blazi-Ken." Blaziken said softly, trying to reassure the Pokémon that he wasn't going to hurt it. The Pichu very gingerly looked up at him with one eye, staying curled in a shaky little ball as it did. This poor thing was terrified. He didn't know what Team Scavenge had done to it, but it was obviously enough to emotionally scar it. He very slowly reached his hand into the cage, gently petting the scared little Pokémon on the head. The Pichu let out a scared cry as it tried to jolt away from him, but considering it was already in the back of the cage, it didn't have anywhere to go.
"Blaziken." Blaziken spoke softly, once again trying to assure the Pichu that he wasn't going to hurt it. After, he reached his other hand into the cage and very gently grabbed ahold of the shaking Pokémon, before pulling him out of the cage. Another scared cry escaped it as he did. Once he had it out, he gently hugged it to his chest, trying to calm him down. Feeling just how much this poor Pichu was actually shaking broke his heart. As he tried to console Pichu, he moved on to the next cage. Trapped inside that one was an Azurill. Using one hand to keep Pichu in his grasp, he grabbed the bars on the cage with the other and ripped the door off the hinges like he had done previously. Azurill remained pressed up against the back of the cage as it stared ahead towards Blaziken. After tossing the now broken cage door off to the side, he put his free hand up letting the Azurill know he wasn't going to do him any harm, before quickly moving on to the next cage.
As he got further and further down the line, the Pokémon that had been trapped were beginning to trust him better. After rescuing about five of them, the others realized that he was just trying to help them. So one by one, as the doors came off, the Pokémon slowly but surely made their way down to the floor. Eventually Blaziken was surrounded by a dozen Pokémon that wanted nothing more than their freedom. After ripping the final cage door off, allowing the Oddish that had been trapped inside to join the other rescued Pokémon at Blaziken's feet, he looked around at them. He freed them from their cages, now he had to get them out of there.
He went to set Pichu down on the floor with the others, but he grasped onto his fur and let out a cry as he did. This caused him to stand back up with the still frightened Pokémon in his arm. The small Pokémon's trembling had continued, so Blaziken decided that maybe carrying him out was the best idea so that's what he was going to do.
He looked around to make sure all of the rescued Pokémon were accounted for before he began to make his way to the door. As he did, he stopped next to the metal table, staring down at the poor lifeless Skitty that inhabited it. He shook his head in anger and sadness as he stared at it. That's when he decided that it didn't deserve to be left there to rot. It deserved a proper burial. He scooped the Pokémon up in his free arm before continuing towards the door, motioning for the others to follow with his head.
As he stumbled back out into the dark hallway, he heard a couple of frightened cries from some of the rescued Pokémon. He looked back at them before speaking in a soft tone once again. "Blaziken. Blazi-Ken." He assured them that everything was okay, and they needed to stay close to him. Not that any of them were going to want to be anywhere but with him.
He moved down the blackened hallway with the others close by his feet. His eyes had somewhat adjusted to the darkness at this point. Although he was still stumbling, he was determined to get himself and the others out of there.
On occasion he would feel one of the others grab onto the fur on his legs when they would get frightened. Even though it did slightly make it more difficult for him to keep himself balanced with the extra weight, he didn't mind. They were scared. If they needed to cling to him for comfort, he was going to let them.
After several more minutes of somewhat blindly walking through the darkness, he finally saw something in the distance that made a small smile form on his beak. There was light. It shone through the cracked open front door of Team Scavenge's hideout.
"Blaziken." He spoke in somewhat of a hurried tone as he looked back at the rescued Pokémon, motioning for them to follow him. As he tried to pick up his speed, excited to finally be out of that horrid place that he almost lost his life in, he began to feel lightheaded. That feeling alone fought to slow him down, but he kept going. He kept going not knowing what was happening to him. But he knew even if he didn't make it, he wanted these other Pokémon to. They deserved to be free again.
As his stumbling became worse, the frightened Pichu finally looked up from having his face buried in the fur on Blaziken's shoulder. Blaziken's eyes had remained straight and determined, not having taken them off of the sunlight in the distance.
As they finally neared the door, Blaziken felt his legs become like jell-o once again before he dropped down to his knees, startling all the surrounding Pokémon. He tried to walk on his knees but he didn't make it far before falling forward, dropping Pichu, Skitty, and Brennan's hat as he did. His vision became blurry. "B-Blaziken." He said weakly lifting up one of his hands and pointing towards the door. He told the others to leave him and go. Pichu, who had landed on its little feet quickly jumped back to them before running forward and clutching back onto Blaziken's fur.
"Pichu." He spoke in a very soft tone. The others walked to the front of him staring at him. They began trying to get him back to his feet, but they couldn't.
"A-Abra." The Abra he had rescued spoke as he tried helping Blaziken back up. A dead tears escaping when he realized he couldn't.
"B-B-Blaziken. Blaze. Blaziken." Blaziken spoke weakly. He told them that getting them out of there was what he cared about, and that they needed to go. But they didn't want to. They didn't want to leave him. He had rescued them. They couldn't leave him.
"P-P-Pichu." The Pichu cried, begging him to try and get back to his feet. Blaziken stared down at the pleading Pokémon. He tried to stand once again, but even with the others trying their best to help him, he still collapsed back down to the floor. Everything was a blur at that point.
"B-B-Blazi...Ken." Was what he managed to get out before everything began to fade to black. He felt the others still trying to help him back up, but it was futile. The last thing he managed to do before the darkness completely take over was clutch onto Brennan's hat... and that was it.
•••
•••
•••
He didn't know where he was. He was confused. His eyes slowly began trying to open, but it didn't last long before he had to shut them again because of the sun blaring down in them. He heard a bunch of happy cries causing him to once again slowly open his eyes and look around. Surrounding him were twelve now freed Pokémon. They all looked happier than they had been in a long time when they saw him push himself up on to his elbows. They all quickly surrounded him, nuzzling and hugging him in some sort of way. Even though his head was pounding, he couldn't help but smile again. He thought for sure that he was dying. But in the end it seems like he just fainted.
And the others, even though he told them to leave him and go be free, they helped him. They managed to get him out of there, and stayed by his side until he woke up.
"Pichu!" Pichu cried happily as he clenched Blaziken's fur with his tiny hands. As Blaziken patted the small Pokémon on the head, the others back up as the Spinda he had freed made his way towards him with something very familiar in his paws.
"Spinda." He said as he held Brennan's hat out to him. They must have grabbed it when they were bringing him out here. He stared at the hat for several seconds before slowly taking it.
"B-Blaziken." He thanked the Pokémon before looking around. "Blaziken. Blaze." He thanked them all. They had rescued him. He owed them.
His smile slowly fell from his face when he noticed what else they had brought out with them. It was that poor Skitty. That poor, poor Skitty. He looked down sadly as a couple of tears escaped him. He began trying to push himself back up to his feet, but he was clearly struggling, and the others saw that. They started doing what they could to help him. It was a team effort to get him out of that hell that was Team Scavenge's hideout, so even if it took all of their efforts, they were going to get him back up. And even though it took a minute to accomplish, but with their help, he managed to get back to his feet. He looked around at them, his small smile momentarily returning to his face as he did. But it faded just as quickly as it had returned as he looked back towards Skitty.
He slowly walked towards it, once again staggering as he did. Once he reached it, he very slowly leaned down and scooped it into his arms. He stood back up just staring at it sadly.
"Blaziken. Blaziken." He spoke. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you." Is what he had said. The others stood behind him feeling just as sad about it as he did.
"Hey there, y'all okay?" A voice asked, getting Blaziken's attention. He turned around and saw a girl. She was about the same height as Luna. She had red hair and freckles. She was accompanied by a few different Pokémon. The group of rescued Pokémon immediately jumped into fighting stances in front of Blaziken, ready to protect him. The girls Pokémon did the same thing, ready to defend their Trainer. "Woah, woah. Calm down." The girl said in her heavy souther accent as she looked around at her Pokémon. Her Gothitelle glanced at her, but remained in her defense stance.
Blaziken looked around at all the rescued Pokémon in front of him, before glancing back up at the girl.
"I mean no harm, I promise." The girl spoke as she put her hands up. He stared at her for several more seconds before finally speaking himself.
"Blaziken." He spoke getting the Pokémon defending him to look back at him. He gave them all a single nod as he did.
"I was around. Seen the explosion. Wanted to see if anyone made it out." The girl spoke. "My name is Becky." She introduced herself hoping that would help them trust her more. She really didn't mean any harm on them. "My friend went in there... I was worried. I wanted to make sure he got out of there."
Blaziken didn't know what "friend" she was talking about. But if it was a member of Team Scavenge, frankly, he didn't care either.
"Blaziken. Blaziken. Blazi-Ken." He replied taking a few steps forward as he did. Doing that allowed Becky to get a better look at what he was holding. She gasped when she saw it.
"T-that Skitty... is it-?" She was asking before cutting herself off as she took a few steps forward herself. Blaziken looked back down at the Pokémon in his arms, before looking back up at Becky and nodding. She could see just how upset he looked as he did. A few tears escaped Becky, before she took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. "That's... awful." She said sadly before shaking her head.
"Blaziken." Blaziken spoke in a low tone, agreeing with her as he glanced back down at the Pokémon.
"I-if you want to give it a proper burial, I know a nice place." Becky offered, the sadness in her voice still present. She loved Pokémon. So it really did hurt her to see one end up like this. She already knew it was because of Team Scavenge. She didn't even have to ask. It was obvious. Blaziken stared down at the Pokémon for several seconds before he finally gave her a response. He looked up at her and nodded. This Pokémon deserved a good resting place. Somewhere peaceful. It's life was taken from it unfairly. They could at least do that for it. Becky gave him a silent nod in response, before motioning him to follow her. He looked around at the others before doing the same.
•••
•••
•••
Although Blaziken's injuries were clearly showing, especially evident in the way he was barley able to walk in a straight line, he still insisted on following Becky to the place she was talking about so they could bury Skitty. Becky had already asked him if he wanted to stop and rest, but he declined. He was determined to get this done before he collapsed again.
It seemed like they had walked for an hour or so before Becky finally looked back at them again. "We're almost there." She spoke. Blaziken was somewhat relived by that. They followed her through a clearing in the woods on the side of the trail. He felt something cuddle up against his leg as they continued their walk. This prompted him to look down to see what it was. It was Pichu. Something must have frightened him.
It didn't take much longer before Becky finally slowed to a stop. The others followed suit. Blaziken was left in awe at what was in front of him. It was a small clearing in the middle of the woods, but it was full of pink carnation flowers. It was so calming to look at. Blaziken stood taking in the sight until Becky spoke again. "Found it while we huntin' some berries awhile back. I always come back to it because of how beautiful it is. I figured... it would be a good spot to bury such a beautiful Pokémon." She looked at the Skitty as she did. Blaziken nodded in agreement.
Becky took her backpack off of her back and opened it up. She began fishing around for something, doing so until she finally pulled out a small hand shovel. She stared at it for several seconds before looking back at Blaziken.
"It's a good thing I keep this on me I guess. Use it to dig the holes for the stakes of my tent." She explained. Blaziken stayed silent as she did. He watched her as she walked towards a tree that stood opposite of the side of the woods they entered on. She kneeled down and began to dig a hole. The rescued Pokémon hadn't wandered too far away from him. He glanced around again to make sure they were all still around. As he did, he noticed Gothitelle staring him down. She hadn't taken her eyes off of him for more than five seconds since they met up. She still didn't trust him. The two Pokémon held eye contact for several seconds before Blaziken finally looked away.
Between Becky, the little bit Blaziken could do before the sheer amount of pain he was in stopped him, and the other Pokémon, it only took them about twenty minutes to dig a decent sized hole for Skitty. Blaziken held the Pokémon in his arms for several seconds, just staring at it. He wished so much he could have been quick enough to save it. He really did. He kneeled down before gently laying it in the hole they had dug. The group surrounded the hole, staring down into for several seconds, before Blaziken looked back up at Becky and gave her the nod to begin burying it.
As he watched, he tried his best to comfort the other Pokémon. They were all torn up about it too. He noticed a few tears escape Becky's eyes as she continued to shovel dirt back into the hole. She didn't know this Pokémon, Blaziken didn't either, but it was still heartbreaking having to bury such an innocent creature.
Once the hole was recovered with dirt, everyone there picked a carnation and stood back around the grave. "None of us ever got to meet this beautiful creature before her life was wrongly taken from her by those hateful monsters. But that doesn't matter. It doesn't. I know I would have loved Skitty just as much as I love my own Pokémon. And I hope she is looking down on us right now from heaven seein' just how cared about she was. Just how loved she was. We hope you rest easy girl." Becky spoke, getting emotional as she did. As she finished, she sat the carnation she was holding down on the grave. Blaziken stared down at the grave sadly. He watched as every other Pokémon followed Becky's lead. Eventually the grave was covered in those beautiful, pink carnations.
"Blaziken. Blaze." Blaziken spoke quietly, before finally setting his carnation down on the grave. The group continued to stare at it sadly for several more seconds before they started to disperse. Eventually Blaziken and Becky were the last remaining by the grave. Eventually Blaziken began to feel lightheaded again. He pressed his hand against his head as he slowly started stumbling backwards. Becky looked over at him, quickly grabbing ahold of him so he wouldn't lose his balance and fall.
"Aye, I think ya need to sit down." She said, before helping him over to another nearby tree. Once they made it there, Blaziken practically collapsed to the ground. He sat with his back to the tree, it being the only thing keeping him up at that moment. As he sat there, Becky began to examine him. That's when she noticed just how bad his injuries were. There were cuts and bruises all over his body, plus his fur was covered in, at this point, dried blood. "Gosh! You're in bad shape, Blaziken. If we don't get you to a Pokémon Center these cuts could get infected."
Pichu ran up to the two and immediately started nuzzling Blaziken's side. He saw he was in pain. He was hoping he could help somehow. Blaziken dizzily looked down at Pichu, before looking back up at Becky, who was staring at him worriedly.
"B-Blaziken. Blaziken." He replied shaking his head as he did. Yeah, sure, he was beat up. That much was obvious. But not that Skitty was resting peacefully, his next main objective was to get home. He couldn't even imaging how Brennan and the others were reacting right now. He needed to let them know he was okay. He once again clenched Brennan's hat tightly in his hand. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His breathing had picked up as well. He needed to try and slow it down. He took a few more deep breaths before he began trying to push himself back to his feet.
"W-woah! Hey! Blaziken, you need to rest!" Becky said. Blaziken shook his head as he used the tree to help push himself back to his feet.
"B-Blaziken. Blaziken. Blaze." He said before staggering past her and back towards where they had entered at. The rescued Pokémon began following him without question.
"Blaziken! Hey!" Becky exclaimed as she ran and grabbed his shoulder, trying to get him to stop, but he refused. "You're in'a hurry to get somewhere. I get it. But you won't make it like this. You're hurt. You need medicine. You need a doctor." She pleaded with him. But as stubborn as ever, he refused to listen to her.
"Blaziken." He replied, not turning back to face her as he did. She followed him back through the woods towards the trail, pleading with him the entire time. She had just met him, sure. But she didn't want him to drop dead before he could make it to where he was going.
He burst through the bushes leading back out onto the trail, not bothering to go through the clearing they had gone through to get them where they were just at. He ignored the fact that he almost collapsed onto the trail as he did. He began staggering down the trail with the rescued Pokémon right behind him. Becky ran past him and stopped in front of him.
"BLAZIKEN! Listen to me! You won't make it if we don't at least take care of your wounds first! They're bad!" She exclaimed. They were so bad she honestly didn't know how he was even on his feet at that moment. It was obvious that his determination was strong, but still. She couldn't believe it.
"Blaziken! Blaziken! B-Bl-Blazi..." Blaziken began, before grabbing his head again. The world once again began to spin, as he felt his legs grow weak. Eventually the blackness began to takeover again. He fell forward, hearing a few cries as he hit the ground. That was it. Then everything was black.
•••
•••
•••
"He'll be okay Pichu. I promise." A soft voice spoke, trying to comfort.
"P-Pichu." Another soft voice cried in response. This one full of fear.
Blaziken felt something nuzzle into his side as he lay there unmoving. He tried his hardest to open his eyes, but it didn't seem like they wanted to be open. He felt something cool—something wet press into the fur on his forehead. It sent a chill down his spine. The feeling, whatever it was, patted around on his forehead before it began moving down his face. It actually felt kinda nice. It began to makes its way down his body. It was like someone was wiping him down with something. He once again tried to force his eyes open to see what it was, but they still refused to work with him. The only thing he could do was lay there and enjoy whatever was currently happening to him.
It was weird. Usually he didn't like people being this in his personal space. Well, besides Delphox. But this... this he could get used to.
"He was in rough shape." The soft voice spoke again. She could have been talking to the frightened Pokémon currently cuddled against Blaziken's side, but she also could have just been talking to no one in-particular. "I really wish I could do more."
"Gothi." Another voice spoke, appearing from seemingly out of nowhere.
"He's still out of it." The former voice spoke once again.
"Gothitelle. Gothi." The new voice spoke once again.
"Are ya sure? You don't mind sittin' with him for'a few?" The former voice asked. The response must have been a silent one, because she spoke once again quickly after. "I appreciate it. Don't worry, I won't be gone too long."
"Gothitelle." The new voice replied. After, there was a bunch of shuffling. It didn't last too long before things went silent. Blaziken felt something press softly against his forehead. But it wasn't the coolness of what was previously wiping him down. His eyes were still shut, but he began to feel dizzy once again. He tried to speak, but he couldn't. It's like something was trying to control him, and he didn't know what it was.
He began to feel like he was falling into some sort of blackened abyss. It almost seemed never ending. But eventually it did. He could see something slowly appearing out of thin air. He didn't know what it was at first, but it soon became recognizable. It was Gothitelle.
He was confused. Very, VERY confused.
"We don't have long. I want answers. And YOU'RE going to give them to me." She spoke. Was she speaking... English? What was going on.
"Blaziken?" Blaziken spoke in confusion.
"You aren't asking the questions, I am. That hat, where did you get it?" She asked. Her tone of voice was a serious one.
"Blaziken. Blaze." He replied, a little annoyed.
"It matters because I want to know. Now tell me." She became more threatening as she did. She clearly wasn't in the mood for any games.
"Blaziken. Blaziken." He replied, now more annoyed than before. "It's my Trainer's." Was the response he gave her.
"Brennan. He's your trainer?" She asked. This shocked Blaziken. How did she know Brennan.
"Blaziken! Blaze-I-Ken?!" He exclaimed. Now HE wanted answers.
"We rescued him. The Gardevoir he was trying to help. Did he get her to safety?" Gothitelle asked. Her answer was vague. But that didn't stop her from jumping right back in with another question. Another question that confused Blaziken to his very core. When he didn't answer right away, she repeated herself. This time more important for an answer than before. "Did he get her to safety?!" She was demanding an answer.
"Ken! Blaziken?" He replied, before quickly asking a question of his own. He wanted to know why it mattered to her so much. She stayed silent, looking away from him as she did. She looked to be lost in her own thought.
"She made it." She spoke in an almost inaudible tone. Blaziken was more confused at that moment than he had ever been before.
"Blaziken. Ken?" He asked getting Gothitelle to once again return her gaze to him. She shook her head.
"It doesn't matter. Look, I'm going to let you go now. And when I do, you won't remember any of this." She replied. Blaziken shook his head. This was insane. He still didn't get all the answers that he wanted.
"Blaziken?! Blaziken! Blaze!" He exclaimed. Gothitelle stared at him in silence. She didn't say anything. She slowly began to fade away. Blaziken tried running at her to stop her, but it didn't feel like he was going anywhere. "Blazi-!" He was trying to say before being cut off as that same dizzy feeling returned. The world was spinning once again.
"BLAZIKEN?!" Blaziken exclaimed in surprise as he shot up into a sitting position, his fur soaked in sweat. Pichu, who had been asleep beside him, jumped up in surprise. Gothitelle had remained sitting next to him in silence. She had that same unreadable expression on her face that she usually did. He looked around in a panic as he struggled to try and calm his breathing down. Becky, who had heard the commotion, case rushing back inside of the tent.
"Blaziken! Blaziken, hey. Calm down. It's okay." She said, trying to get the dazed and confused Pokémon to relax. He stared at her for several seconds, finally managing to start slowing down his breathing. Becky flashed him a small smile when she saw him beginning to calm down.
"B-Blaziken?" Blaziken asked, looking around the tent once again as he did. Becky understood what he was asking. She knew he was going to be confused when he finally woke up.
"It's okay. This is my tent. After you passed out on the trail last night we found a good place to set up camp for the night and brought you here. I've been takin' care of you ever since. With the others' help of course." She explained, not wanting to take all of the credit. "You were out for awhile. Slept through the night. The others have been really worried about you. Pichu hasn't left your side the entire time." She pointed down at the small mouse Pokémon with a smile. He had once again returned to cuddling into Blaziken's fur. Blaziken looked down at him before looking back at Becky.
"Blaziken?" He asked.
"It's nothing too fancy, but I cleaned and bandaged up your wounds the best I could. Gothitelle went out and found some berries that I made into a medicine my dad showed me how to make. Again, nothin' too special, but I'm hoping it helped a little." Becky replied. Blaziken looked down at his now bandaged wounds. With all the dried blood cleaned off of him, and the bandages hiding all of his cuts, he did look better. He looked back at Becky and nodded.
"Blaziken." He thanked her. She flashed him another smile before replying.
"It was no problem. I'm glad I could help, even if it wasn't much." She was glad she could help. Sure, she didn't know what Gothitelle did, but maybe that was for the better. Maybe. "Oh! I almost forgot. Your armband, there was a rip in it. Not sure how much longer it would have lasted if that didn't get taken care of." She said as reached for something to the side of her. It was the armband Brennan had given him with the Mega Stone in it. She held it out for him, taking notice of the freshly sewn seam running along the side. Blaziken took it out of her hand, staring at it for several seconds, before sliding it back onto his arm where it belonged. After, the silence lingered, before she finally spoke again. "A Blazikenite Mega Stone. I don't see those too often. Your trainer, did he give that to you?" She asked. Blaziken glanced back at the armband before nodding.
"Blaziken. Blaziken. Blaze." He replied. After, he glanced around the tent trying to find Brennan's hat. It didn't take too long before he finally noticed it. Pichu had kept it pretty close to him, almost as if he was trying to protect it. A small smile crossed his face, deciding to just let him be. He looked back at Becky, who had been watching Pichu herself.
"So you're just trying to get home? I bet your trainer is worried sick." Blaziken looked off to the side after she said that. Yeah, he and Brennan had been at odds lately, but the thought of how upset he must be at that particular moment hurt Blaziken. He never wanted any of this to go down the way it had. Maybe he had been acting too immature about this whole Gardevoir thing. He shook his head before realizing he needed to go. Becky had said he had slept through the night, so he had gotten plenty of rest. He needed to get moving. He needed to get home.
He began trying to get up, stirring Pichu awake as he did. Feeling cramped, Gothitelle decided to leave the tent. As Blaziken made his exit, with Pichu close behind him, hat in his tiny hands, Becky followed suit.
"Blaziken. Blaziken. Blaze." Blaziken spoke, silencing Becky before she could begin saying what she wanted to. The other rescued Pokémon happily jumped up when they saw the now awake Blaziken exit he tent. He was moving a lot faster than he was before. He was still hurt, but it wasn't as obvious as it had been.
"Blaziken, I don't know if you should be tryin' to make this trip yet. Even though you're lookin' better than you did, you're still in pretty bad shape." Becky said. Blaziken shook his head.
"Blaziken. Blaziken. Blaze. Blaziken." He explained. He appreciated what Becky had done for him. But now, now he had to move on. He was still a long way from home so he couldn't afford to waste anymore time. As reluctant as Becky was, she still nodded. She couldn't stop him. She knew that. So she had to give him the benefit of the doubt here. She had every bit of faith in the world that he would make it home.
"Okay. You gotta do what you gotta do. Just know that I'm here one-hundred percent sure you'll make it home." She said.
"Blaziken." He replied, giving her a smile and a nod as he did. After, he looked around at all the rescued Pokémon. They had remained loyal to him. It hadn't even been a full day since he first met them, but they had been by his side through all of this. He rescued them so they could enjoy the world. He smiled around at them before kneeling down. "Blaziken. Blaziken. Blaze. Blaziken. Blaze. Blazi. Ken." The Pokémon were surprised by what he had just said to them. "Thank you for your help. I appreciate it, and I will never forget it. I have to go. I want you guys to go enjoy being free. You deserve it." They all looked around at each other, before piling in for a hug. They didn't want to leave Blaziken. He saved their lives. If it wasn't for him, they would still be trapped in those cages.
"Nuz-leaf." The Rescued Nuzleaf spoke.
"Oddish." Oddish spoke sadly.
"Mud-kip." Mudkip said, as he nuzzled his head against Blaziken's leg.
Becky stood by watching, knowing what was being said between the group. She could tell. It was sad to see. She watched as Blaziken wrapped his arms around as many of them as he could, pulling them in for a large group hug. She could tell just how sad the others were about this. So that's when she came up with something.
"Hey." She spoke up, getting Blaziken to look at her. "I understand why you're doin' whatcha are. But I have a suggestion. My group and I, it's just the five of us, and it's been that way for a long time now. We wouldn't mind having some more company on the road. We do a lot of travelin' too. There's a lot to see out there. So... if you guys would like, you can come with us." She offered, a big, bright, friendly smile on her face as she did. Blaziken was pretty surprised by her offer. It was very generous of her. He knew adding twelve more Pokémon to her party was going to be a lot to take on, but she seemed more than happy to do it. The group of rescued Pokémon looked from Blaziken, to her, back to Blaziken. They weren't sure what to do, and Blaziken could tell.
"Blaziken. Blaze. Blaziken. Blaziken." He explained. He knew that then staying with Becky would be better for them anyway. She travels. They could see the world with her. With him the only thing they would get to see is Brennan's living room. They deserved better than that, especially considering all they had been through. He could see they wanted to remain loyal to him. He wasn't sure if they had just grown really attached, or if they were doing it because they felt they owed him.
"Spiiiinda." Spinda spoke, giving Blaziken an understanding nod. He looked around at the other rescued Pokémon before continuing. "Spinda. Spinda. Spin-da." He spoke. The others looked around at each other, before finally giving some sort of nod in response. After, he looked back at Blaziken. "Spinda. Spinda." He said, thanking him for what he had done for himself and the others. Blaziken offered him a smile, as the group embraced in one more large hug. After they broke it, Blaziken smiled around at the group one last time before pushing himself up to his feet. He turned back towards Becky after he did.
"Blaziken." He thanked her once again. She gave him another smile and a single nod.
"Get home safe." She said.
"Blaziken." He replied. After, he began to walk away from the group. It didn't last long before he heard the pitter patter it very fall footsteps in the grass behind him. He turned around only to be greeted by Pichu. The small mouse Pokémon had a very sad look on his face. He also still had Brennan's hat in his tiny hands.
"P-Pichu. Pichu." He spoke quietly as he stared up at the much larger Blaziken. Blaziken kneeled down again, giving him a smile as he gently patted the top of his head. Tears began to form in his large, sad eyes, as he sprung forward, clutching onto the fur on his leg. "P-P-Pichu. P-pichu." He cried. Blaziken stared down sadly at the upset Pokémon. Gently rubbing the top of his head as he did. Pichu wanted to go with him. He had grown so attached to Blaziken that he didn't want to leave him.
Becky watched on as Blaziken tried to console the crying Pokémon. "I think you should let him come with you." She spoke up, getting Blaziken to look up at her. "It wouldn't be a bad thing to have a travelin' buddy, would it? Besides, look at how small he is, I don't think your trainer will have too big of problem letting him join your team." She continued. Blaziken stared at her for several more seconds, before looking back down at the crying Pichu. He had looked up at him just enough for him to see his large, sad eyes. This made Blaziken sigh in defeat. He nodded.
"Blaze. Blaziken. Blaze." He spoke. This caused Pichu to begin crying again. But this time, it wasn't in sadness, it was joy. He jumped onto Blaziken hugging him as best as he could. Blaziken smiled as he hugged him back, standing back up as he did.
"How adorable." Becky said to no one in particular. It was official, Pichu was going with him.
Blaziken held the small Pokémon in his arms as he looked back towards Becky and the others. "Blaziken. Blaziken. Blaze." He spoke.
"Well, I hope the two of you have a fun trip home." Becky said with a smile. Blaziken nodded again.
"Blaziken. Blaze." He said, offering the group another wave. He had thanked Becky again, before he and Pichu headed off. Saying bye to all the others that he had rescued was going to be hard. But he knew they were in good hands with Becky.
"Blaziken. Blaziken." He spoke as he and Pichu approached the trail. "Pichu, lets go home." Was what he had said. Pichu nodded happily, climbing onto Blaziken's afterwards. The two were off. Headed for home. He wasn't sure how long it was going to take them to get there. But they were indeed going to get there.
•••
•••
•••
The walk had been a long and tedious one. For Blaziken more so than Pichu. The bandages had begun to fall off about halfway through their trip, allowing the cuts to start bleeding again. He tried to ignore it as blood once again began to soak his fur. He would make it. No problem. Finding camp for the night was a bit annoying too. But they were finally able to stumble on a cave that was actually a good place to rest for the night.
After they had gotten their rest, they set out again at the crack of down. With how long they had walked the previous day, Blaziken knew they were much further out. They couldn't be. And eventually, after all they went through to get there, they made it back to Slate Port. Blaziken walked through the very familiar city, glad that he was actually being able to see it again. Pichu looked around in awe. Blaziken looked towards the small Pokémon that rested upon his left shoulder, giving him a small smile as he did. He was ignoring the fact the passerby had noticed his blood covered fur. They were giving him very strange looks.
The pair eventually made it through the city and to the trail leading back to the apartment. Even though his legs had gotten so bad again he started limping again, they were almost there. Almost... home.
Pichu clenched tightly to the fur on the back of his neck, once again nuzzling his small head into the side of Blaziken's head. He reached around patting the small Pokémon on the head, causing him to coo in response. He was really hoping Brennan and the others would fall in love with the little guy like he had.
And as if the trail only took two seconds to walk down, the pair had finally reached the apartments. Blaziken stood there, taking in the sight for several seconds before smile formed on his face. Against all odds, he had made it. He wasn't sure how long it had taken, but he made it. No. THEY made it. He glanced over at Pichu one last time before he began walking towards the complex.
It was a slow walk up the stairs, but he knew it was all worth it once he had reached the door to the apartment. He lifted his shaky hand, ready to knock, and once he did, the nervous little Pichu jumped off of his shoulder, hiding behind his leg. Blaziken looked behind him, down towards the scared Pokémon. But before he could reassure him everything was alright, the door opened.
It was Luna. And she looked shocked to say the least. "Blaziken..." she managed to get out before turning back towards Brennan.
Brennan and Delphox had broke their hug, just as shocked as Luna was. Delphox covered her snout, as Brennan took a few short steps towards the door.
"B-Blaziken." Blaziken spoke, as he held out Brennan's hat. Brennan broke down once again as he ran towards his Pokémon. He collided with him so hard, he knocked him back a couple of inches. He cried as he tightly grasped his fur. Blaziken stared at the others, who remained shocked, and in silence, before looking back at his trainer. He eventually returned the hug, happy to finally be home.
"I-I thought *Sniffle* I-I lost you." Brennan cried. Blaziken shook his head.
Gardevoir was so shocked about this she was shaking. Tears ran down her cheeks as she stood there. Delphox was crying just as hard as Brennan was.
"I-I'm sorry *Sniffle* Blaziken. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything." Brennan cried, continuing to hold his Pokémon.
"Blaziken. Blaziken. Blaziken." Blaziken spoke. He had apologized for the way he had been acting. All of this had helped him realize that he was wrong. Brennan and Gardevoir has done nothing wrong. He had. He acted like a child, and he was wrong for it. "Blaziken. Blaze." He apologized to Gardevoir, staring right at her as he did. She remained silent. She was still too in shock to respond.
After, his eyes locked onto Delphox's. Brennan had finally broke his grasp on him, allowing him to take a few steps towards her. He didn't get far before she ran and tackled him into a hug just like Brennan had done. She almost knocked him off of his feet in the process. She held him tightly and cried into his fur. He held her back, just standing there. She only broke away far enough to begin smothering his face in kisses.
Pichu was left standing alone, shy, nervous, and scared outside of the apartment door. That's when Brennan noticed him.
"Blaziken, you brought a friend?" He asked, wiping some of the tears off of his face as he did. Blaziken broke the hug with Delphox, still managing to keep his arm around her, as he turned towards his trainer. He nodded, motioning the small mouse Pokémon over. Pichu ran into the apartment at lightening speed, over to Blaziken, and quickly climbed him like a tree, finally resting on his shoulder. Brennan smiled and nodded. "Well, welcome to the family little guy." He spoke. This caused Blaziken to smile. It was a lot quicker than he thought, but he was glad Brennan was okay with Pichu.
They were home. They had made it. They were back with their family. That's all that mattered. That's all that ever mattered.