Battle on the Edge of the Woods

Evening was setting in and the sky was getting dark, which meant the woods were getting even darker. Luckily for Mari, Max, Daichi and Lyle, they were still able to follow the beaten road. Even though they sometimes tripped and stumbled on the bumpy path they were able to keep trekking. Mari eventually released Charmy to act as a torch just so that they could keep going a bit longer; she was certain that they were almost at the end of the woods. Lyle agreed with her so Max and Daichi just followed along.

Darkness had engulfed the woods entirely but there was still a faint glow in the sky by the time they were close enough to the forest edge to see it. The group smiled and sighed with relief, quickening their pace in eagerness to end this difficult leg of their journey. From there it would take no time at all to reach the flower shop. However, as they approached the edge of the woods, they began to see murky shadows lurking by the exit. It wasn't until they got close enough to reveal them with the Charizard's flame did they realise that the shadows were the silhouettes of two people. They were wearing red and grey outfits. Sadly, the two people who would have been able to recognise them weren't present so when the group approached them nobody was suspicious.

The woman giggled in an ominous way that made the group falter and slow down. The two were standing spaced out evenly between the trees and each other – if the group knew better they would think the pair was trying to block the road.

"Well, well, what do we have here? How'd you get here?" the woman snickered.

Mari blinked. "What do you mean? Came through the Petalburg Woods."

"All the way through?" the woman asked, her devilish grin faltering. "What happened to Slaking?"

"That was yours?!" Lyle shouted angrily.

"Sorry but we really can't let you pass," the man said, flicking his forelock under his hood, only for it to fall back down over his face.

"Why not?" Daichi demanded.

"Look, that's really none of your business," the man replied, taking out a Pokéball. "So either you turn yourselves around and scram or you'll leave us no choice but to take care of you ourselves."

There was no mistaking what he meant by that when he took a Pokéball out of his pocket. Charmy didn't even need to be told before she flew out in front of the group and roared. The woman laughed and procured her Pokéball from a pocket under her poncho.

"Some overrated Charizard?" she cackled. "Bring it on, little girl. Go, Torkoal!"

A little, brown tortoise with a black shell appeared, blowing smoke from its nostrils and a vent at the top of its shell. It made a loud, low whistle, like a locomotive's horn. With such a small stature in comparison to Charizard, it didn't look like it would be any match for her. Daichi raised an eyebrow at it.

"Isn't that just a tortoise?" he wondered aloud.

"Is it though?" Max pondered, taking out his Pokédex. "I mean, it did just breathe smoke and its shell appears to be an actual furnace."

"Torkoal, the coal Pokémon. They dig tirelessly in search of coal, which they burn in their shells for energy. It grows weak if the fire dies down. When it is threatened, it blows out black soot to confuse the foe and aid a retreat."

"Alright, then," Mari said coolly. "Charmy, use Seismic Toss!"

"Withdraw."

Torkoal tucked all of its limbs and its head into its shell as Charmy scooped it up and dragged it high into the air. She threw it down to the ground with such force that the ground rumbled and a plume of dust rose into the air. When it cleared, Torkoal had its own little crater. It popped out of its shell and let out a sigh of both exhaustion and relief.

"Keep it up, Charmy!" Mari ordered, signalling for another attack.

"Oh, I don't think so," the woman chuckled. "Torkoal, use Stone Edge."

There was a shudder deep in the earth's crust as Charizard swooped down. Mari tried calling off her attack but it was too late; pointed stones from under the soil erupted out of the ground and jabbed Charmy before she could reach Torkoal. She screeched as she was tossed back into the air. Her wings were too sore and weak to lift her back into flight. Mari returned her before she hit the ground again. Lyle ground his teeth anxiously while Max and Daichi gaped in shock. It seemed unfathomable that a little tortoise could defeat a great dragon like Charmy. Absentmindedly, Max recalled the little orange tag in Torkoal's Pokédex entry. He took a step forward in Mudkip's Pokéball in hand.

"Don't worry, Mari, I'll take it!" he declared but Mari put an arm out to stop him.

"Don't just think about types," she warned, putting Charmy away to rest and picking up the net-patterned ball, spinning it on her fingers a bit. "Torkoal can't learn that move by itself, so this one is clearly well-trained. Takes an equally trained Pokémon to take down a foe like that. Go! Rush!"

Her Floatzel leaped out of his Pokéball, ready to take the next command. The woman chuckled nervously, realising the danger to Torkoal. She confidently ordered: "Solar Beam!"

"Aqua Tail!"

Torkoal's furnace burned yellower as it sucked up what little sunlight it still could and it opened it jaws wide. Electric energy charged between them as it prepared to fire its laser. Floatzel closed in too swiftly for the tortoise-like creature to keep up, releasing a cascade of water and whipping it into Torkoal with his tails. The undercharged beam was weak and misfired at the impact, burning through the tree branches of Petalburg Woods. Daichi and Max cringed fearfully but somehow it didn't set the leaves on fire. As for Torkoal, it slumped on the ground. The fire in its furnace dimmed a bit from the wet attack and it was returned immediately.

The woman's smile finally fell as she tucked Torkoal back under her poncho. "Brats! Don't even have Slaking here to pick up the slack." She paused and then suddenly doubled over in a fit of hysterics at the pun she had just inadvertently made. Her partner also snickered.

"Yeah, well we beat you!" Daichi barked. "So beat it!"

That only made the sniggering duo laugh harder. The young trainers fixed them with a confused stare. Daichi suddenly huffed.

"Just get out of our road already! Our friends are counting on us to get help for them." He tried to make his way around the pair. The others thought that it was probably a sound idea and followed his lead.

They hadn't expected the man to recover in such a snap. "Whoa! Didn't hear what I said?" he questioned, casually tossing his Pokéball up in the air to release his Pokémon at his side. A pony with a flaming mane and tail neighed loudly, tossing its head and pawing the ground. "Nobody gets past us. Ponyta, use Fire Spin."

Ponyta's fires flared and charged at them, almost trampling Daichi, who ended up sprawled in the dirt when he dived to avoid it. It galloped around the group, igniting a circle around them. Mari commanded Rush to stop it with Aqua Tail but to her surprise he missed and was also caught inside the increasing fire twister. The group huddled close in the middle of the circle, feeling the searing heat licking at them fiercely.

"Since you were such bad kids earlier, don't think I'll show any mercy," the man drawled, sporting a wicked smirk. "Inferno."

Ponyta's flames seemed to be psychically controlled as they suddenly exploded to wildfire proportions and began to close in. Mari ordered everyone to duck and huddle as close as they could before giving the order for Rush to use Whirlpool. He was quick enough to get the water twister going before Inferno toasted them. The clash of fire and water resulted in huge clouds of white steam that choked the air, making it hard for the trainers to breathe. Luckily they were able to outlast Ponyta's attack. As the blaze died down and the whirlpool ceased, the air became clear and the young trainers could breathe again.

"Man, persistent," the man grumbled. "Ponyta, use-"

"Rock Throw, Geodude!"

Ponyta and the hooded duo turned in surprise and Ponyta was pelted in the side by a big rock that Daichi's Geodude had pulled from the ground. It tumbled and fell on its side. The woman burst into laughter and put her hand to her head.

"Oh dear!" she guffawed. "How'd we forget about the dirty little Mankey?"

Her partner wasn't half as amused. "Use Stomp!"

Ponyta clumsily stumbled back to its feet and charged angrily. Daichi started and took half a step back. "Defence Curl!" he shouted to Geodude, crossing his arms in front as if he was doing the move himself.

Geodude curled himself up tightly as Ponyta's front hooves stomped on him mercilessly. The loud clack made his whole body shake. His hearing had dulled from the din but he managed to catch Daichi's shrill voice giving an order. When Ponyta reared back to stomp again Geodude dropped to the ground and rolled rapidly, bowling into Ponyta's legs and knocking it to the ground again. He curved around in a wide arc and bowled into it again.

Meanwhile, Mari had Rush use Surf, calling up a column of water that crashed back to the ground and created a wave. It was strong enough that the humans were unable to stand against it but it also served to extinguish Fire Spin. Ponyta managed to dodge Geodude's third assault. Its flames roared into greater plumes as it prepared to carry out its master's next order. The attack was interrupted speedily by Rush charging in to whip Ponyta with Aqua Tail. It whinnied weakly, on the verge of collapse until the hooded man recalled it. His female partner giggled anxiously.

"Bad situation…" she muttered.

The man clicked his tongue. "Two on one? Don't you fight fair?"

"Like you can talk!" Lyle retorted. "Inferno would have killed us if it wasn't for Floatzel!"

"Yeah," Mari chimed in. "Who are you guys?"

"None of your damn business, twerp," the man snapped.

"Aw, c'mon!" the woman giggled. "We can do the memo."

"Memo?" Max echoed. "I don't like where this is going…"

"Haha!" the woman grinned, striking a pose. "We're here for trouble!"

"And we're making it double," the man added.

Max's eyebrows rose. "Oh… this is one of those…"

"Protecting the world from desolation."

"Uniting the peoples of all our nations."

"Exalting the justice of truth and woe."

"Extending our reach to the caverns below."

The woman tittered. "Julie."

The man grinned roguishly and jerked a thumb at himself. "Jono."

"Team Magma, digging deep at the speed of sound."

"Surrender now or we'll take you down!"

Jono took the opportunity to release a second Pokémon. A Poochyena appeared in a flash and barked gruffly. "Look sharp, kids. Use-"

"What the hell are you two doing?!" a new voice berated angrily. Julie and Jono almost leaped out of their skins. The younger trainers turned to the voice in surprise. Approaching the woods from the direction of a building complex in the near distance was a broad-shouldered man with short locks of bright violet hair peeking out of his hood. He was wearing the same uniform as Jono but with two horizontal stripes across each thigh and a cape trailing off the back of his hoodie. He glared at the two magma grunts peevishly. "Told you to block the road, didn't I? What're these brats doing here?"

"We did!" Julie exclaimed. "Somehow they defeated my Slaking."

"What's going on?" Mari asked. "Someone please just explain!"

"Better save it," Max advised grimly. "These guys are clearly no good."

"Of course they're not," Daichi said, pointing at Jono. "He tried to kill us!"

The newcomer sighed exasperatedly. "Why am I not surprised to hear that you failed at that too? Jono! Julie!" They both gulped nervously and snapped to attention. "Get back to the shop. Let some guys who aren't morons deal with this."

"What have you guys done to the shop?" Mari demanded. Rush hissed at him, hackles rising.

"Really none of your concern," the intimidating man replied as Jono and Julie rushed past him. He smirked. "Least we have some competency among our agents."

The trainers blinked. For the first time they began to notice something shimmering in the atmosphere; powder falling so finely that they couldn't even register it if they weren't paying attention. Lyle looked down at his arms, shocked to find how difficult it was to move. His neck and arms were stiff. Scrutinising his skin closely, he noticed a recognisable gold powder covering him.

"Oh no! Stun Spore!" he gasped.

"H-how didn't we n-n-notice?" Mari said, feeling her jaw starting to lock up as paralysis was setting in.

"The v-veil mu-must have b-been too thi-thin," Lyle replied.

The man in front of them smirked, taking perverse amusement in seeing them struggle against paralysis. He looked up to the Beautifly flitting about, delicately shedding the powder as stealthily as it could. When it deemed it had done enough it flitted back to its master, who returned it before jumping out of the tree branches he was hiding in, followed closely by a partner. As it seemed to be the norm in these teams, the pair was a male and female. They wore their Team Magma uniforms almost to a T; they were also wearing some tight black garments under their clothes, hiding their skin tones. Black face masks and reflective ski goggles hid their faces from view completely – they didn't even have any visible locks of hair to identify them.

"Bundle them up and take them to the shop," the superior ordered, turning around swiftly to flick his cape in the air. "Figure out what to do with them later."

A/N: Oh, yeah, this story actually has a plot. Now it's moving along again. Just to keep things clear, there's some kind of time paradox between this chapter and the previous ones. Not a time skip, more like a time reversal. This chapter takes place on the evening of the night the other guys spent in the forest. So at the moment these guys are a day behind but they'll catch up by the next chapter.

I'm sort of not pleased with the way Jono and Julie came across here. I feel like I've told more about their characters than I've shown, except there's not really much I can do about that until we see more of them.

Reviews, yes?