"Ponyta?" came the whispered voice in my ear. "Ponyta, it's time for you to get up."
I resisted the voice. I was no longer tired, but the state of sleep was so warm and welcoming that I saw no reason to escape it as of yet. For the first time in what seemed like weeks, my sleep had been mercifully deep and free of dreams. The possible effect of the previous night's events on my nightmares was not something that I could predict, but either way, I was glad that I did not have to learn firsthand.
"Ponyta." Courtney was gently shaking me now, to the extent that this teenaged human girl could shake my comparatively massive frame. "Can you hear me? I'm serious. It's after noon."
I wished she wouldn't touch me. I wanted to be left alone to think. Courtney wasn't helping very much.
"Are you all right?" Her voice was beginning to choke up a little bit. She almost sounded as though she were beginning to cry. I wondered why, then I realized that I had been doing my best not to respond at all to her actions, and that it would be easy for her to think that something was wrong with me. Courtney had been having a difficult time, and it wouldn't do for me to worry her more. Resignedly, I raised my head and let my eyes drift open.
"What's the matter?"
I blinked and tried to make sense of the shape in front of me. My eyes stubbornly refused to focus. When Courtney finally swam into clear view, the expression on her face was not what I considered a worried one. Under different circumstances, I might have said it was one of anger. But Courtney never got angry at me… and as I looked longer, I could see that my initial impression was in fact the result of excessive fatigue. Now that I thought about it, she sounded tired, too.
What was the matter? As far as I was concerned, nothing was the matter. I was in a relatively good mood, for what that was worth. It was certainly true that I was going to need time to sort through the mess of emotions that currently made up my mental state, but that did not mean that I was any more troubled or confused than usual. On the contrary, a great many things had suddenly become more clear to me.
That was my perspective on the state of affairs. Courtney, lacking my perspective, could not help but come to a different conclusion.
I raised my head completely and shifted my weight around a little to demonstrate to her satisfaction that I was, indeed, awake. As soon as she saw this, she retreated a few steps to the human-sized bed, sitting down on it with her arms crossed and glaring at me a little. "I'm worried about you," was what she thought of to say after a few moments had passed without words.
I've never been good at replying to statements of the blatantly obvious. ((Sorry,)) was all I could manage.
Courtney nodded slowly. "Apology accepted. Where were you last night?"
I shifted my legs again. The slate-colored carpeting muffled the sounds of my hooves somewhat, but not completely so. ((I was talking with Snap,)) I answered after a pause that I hoped wasn't long enough to arouse suspicion. It was the truth. Sort of.
That statement actually caused the edges of Courtney's mouth to twitch upwards in a sort of smile. The strain obvious in her expression seemed to melt away partially. "You really like him, don't you?" she asked.
I nodded. There was a world of difference between volunteering information and confirming someone else's conclusion. The former was active, the latter merely passive. Perhaps it was because there was no point in denying anything in the face of such damning evidence.
"Ponyta, I think that's great. I really do." The smile remained until after she was done with those words, at which point it began to fray a little. "But… as I think I said a couple of nights ago... there's this thing called sleep. You can talk with Snap anytime you want. Preferably during the daytime. Early evening is okay, but I'll be honest with you, I really hate being kept up till three in the morning. It's just not a good idea."
((Three in the morning?))
She frowned at me. "That's what time you came back here last night. Don't you remember at all?"
I didn't remember much of last night following my return to the doors of the Center. In my defense, I had been extremely tired by that point as well. And more than a little distracted.
Courtney figured out almost immediately that I wasn't going to answer her question (nor did I need to) and plowed on ahead. "Anyway. Will you promise me not to stay out late anymore?"
If I gave my promise, it would place a restriction on me, and I knew that the restriction would stick-- I wasn't one to break my word outside of dire circumstances. But it wouldn't be that bad, or so it seemed to me, and the alternative was to prolong this discussion. I followed the path of least resistance and nodded my agreement.
"And will you tell me where you're going? Always?"
This was easier. I had no problem with Courtney knowing where I was going. Locations in and of themselves betrayed nothing, and I doubted that Courtney would actually come to track me down most of the time. I nodded again.
She seemed satisfied at last, relaxing and leaning back a little on the bed. "All right, then. That's fine." She still looked tired, but at least she was no longer visibly upset. Some of the old, perpetually cheerful Courtney came back into her face. "Is there anything else you want to ask or talk about?"
((What are we doing today?))
Courtney laughed. "I actually meant anything about the subject we were just talking about, but that's fine. Best to leave it if neither of us has anything more to say. As for what we're doing today, I don't really have any more plans than I did for yesterday. I want to try and get in touch with King. I called his parents last night, but they hadn't heard from him yet."
The mention of her trainer's name instantly evoked images of Ashley in my mind. How long ago had I last seen them? Counting the nights that had passed since then, I realized that it had not yet been a full three days. It seemed like an eternity. Where were they? Had they fallen afoul of the PLA? I had no idea if three days was too short a time to expect a reply, or long enough that we should be worried.
"So I'll call his parents again, I guess… since I can't really do anything else right now. I have no idea where we're going to go when we leave here. King told us just to come here, and until we know more it might be wisest to stay put. We're probably pretty safe here in a big city, don't you think?"
I pointed out that, while it was true that Kelton was a huge city and one could almost become lost in it, we were staying in and around the city's Pokemon Center-- probably the most obvious place to start when one was attempting to locate a renegade Pokemon owner.
Courtney looked as though she had thought of this, nodding her head slowly but not appearing very worried. "I see your point. But do you remember King telling us that this area isn't very friendly towards the PLA? They're barely tolerated, as far as I can tell. That nurse in Radjin was ready to call the police on Langley almost the moment he set foot in the Pokemon Center, and the threat of law enforcement was enough to make him back off. It seems to me that being on League property makes us safer then we would be in a strange place."
Her logic seemed solid. I couldn't easily find any holes in it, so I let the subject be.
"I think I'll go up to the lobby and make the call from there. Why don't you go outside while you're waiting for me? I was up there earlier getting lunch-- it's a beautiful day outside. I'll come outside and join you when I'm done."
She was right. The weather outside was every bit as warm and inviting as yesterday's had been. There was considerably more wind than there had been, but it was warm enough that the breeze was actually quite pleasant. The moment I stepped through the sliding glass doors of the lobby, the wind wrapped itself around me and held me close like some sort of insubstantial blanket. The feeling was very comforting. I knew that there would come a time when the heat overwhelmed me and I would have to seek the cool refuge of the air-conditioned lobby, but for now I was content to let myself enjoy the luxurious sensations of the hot air slipping around me.
As luck would have it, the object of my thoughts, or at least a recurring character in them, was also enjoying the sun outdoors at that very moment. Snap was lying in the middle of the field some distance away, stretched out on his back and apparently dozing off. He was not alone, I saw. There were literally hundreds of other Pokemon and Trainers scattered around the lawn and the others nearby. Some were napping, some were talking to each other, all were generally being lazy and enjoying the afternoon sun.
He looks beautiful.
I wanted to go straight to Snap, lying there in the warm green grass and somehow beckoning me without even being aware of my presence, but I fought it off. I had decided in the time since waking up that I did not enjoy having feelings that I did not understand. I needed time alone to figure things out. When I had thought over the situation, that would be the time to return to him. That would be my reward, being able to enjoy his presence that much more.
I quietly slipped around the curve of the building until Snap had vanished from my line of sight. My hooves were rather loud on the paving stones, but he didn't wake up. The field on the other side of the Center was smaller and sandwiched on all sides between paved roads, but it was none the less crowded for this fact. I found a small place to stand and tried to concentrate despite being surrounded by humans and Pokemon of all descriptions. I closed my eyes after a few moments. That helped a little.
First things first. Why did this happen?
I could not speak for Pokemon as other types, but as far as Fire-types were concerned, there were very strict guidelines concerning who one could choose as a mate. It was vastly preferable to choose individuals from within one's own species or evolutionary tree, but at the very least it was considered an axiom not to stray from Fire-types in general. Most Fire Pokemon, it seemed, had no problem with these guidelines, as I had never heard of them being broken. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Pokemon of other types were generally considered inferior in terms of beauty and physical attributes. Attempting to mate with Pokemon of other types was something that simply wasn't done.
But you did it.
Hush, I told my inner voice, annoyed at having to listen to the obvious. Yes, I had done it. I didn't regret it. But part of me still didn't understand why, and clamored for me to justify my actions.
Sometimes, given a chance at the thing we most want, we take it without thinking. Is it wrong to go straight for what you want? Where is the harm in this case? My thoughts were making sense, so I let them keep flowing. You think too much of what other Fire-types do, how they think, what they would say. Who are you trying to justify your actions to-- yourself or others? And for that matter, why are you still thinking of yourself as a Fire Pokemon? Is that what you are?
The last statement threw me for a loop. I realized that I had all but started to think of myself as an Electric-type Pokemon. The evidence was all in place: the way I thought, the kinds of things I was attracted to, even the attacks I learned. Only my physical body stubbornly contradicted the obvious. The trouble was, I had the feeling most Pokemon wouldn't see it that way. If they acknowledged my differences at all, it would be to brand me an aberration and a freak. I knew from experience that most individuals had precious little tolerance for anything that fell outside their area of experience.
That created a problem. I had no intention of changing myself in this regard to meet the expectations of others-- even it was something that I could change, which I doubted very much. But if my identity was to be a source of constant conflict with the rest of the world, or at least a large part of it, how could I cope? For a moment I had the crazy notion that perhaps I could leave behind mainstream Pokemon society and find a remote group of Electric-type Pokemon to accept me as one of their own. But after I paid the idea a few moments' thought, I realized it could never work. For one thing, it simply wasn't practical in my eyes. For another, I did not want to leave society behind. Despite my affinity for Electric Pokemon and my desire to be more like them, I found that I still craved the companionship and acceptance of other beings, especially the Fire Pokemon that I had grown up with. I might become a hermit by choice, but I did not choose to yet, and I would not hide myself out of fear or shame.
What sort of a life was I condemning myself to by these thoughts?
There's at least one Fire Pokemon who accepts you, I reminded myself. Ashley. The thought of Ashley and her trainer, who had been with me through so many of the hardest times of my life, was at the same time reassuring and distressing. Reassuring because of the knowledge that there was at least someone out there who would listen to me and help me, without being judgmental. It was distressing because those memories also recalled the fact that I had no idea where they were or what they were doing right now. For all I knew, they could be dead, or worse… and with the enigmatic PLA factored into the equation, it was very easy to imagine a "worse." It had only been a few days, but it seemed much longer.
Then there was Snap.
The more I thought about Snap, the more I realized that I was attracted to him not because of who he was, but because of what he was. Snap, it seemed, represented something that I had been searching for my entire life without being aware of exactly what it was. A being just like myself, who wanted to know me as much as I wanted to know him. The moment I thought about it, there it was: the now-constant flows of energy that I could feel pulsing through my insides. Flows of electricity, not fire. The fear, shame, and dread that the sensation had inspired such a short time ago was all but gone, supplanted by acceptance and even happiness. What had turned my feelings around in such a short time, I did not fully understand, but I knew that Snap had something to do with it. By reaching out to me and accepting me in the way that he had, Snap had shown me that despite the conflict between my inward and outward selves, I need not be alone or unloved. That, it seemed, had been one of my greatest fears all along-- a fear I had not really identified until I no longer felt it.
But how could I then find acceptance with the majority of Fire Pokemon? I had been born and raised among them, raised as one of them, and I did not feel I could escape their society altogether, no matter how hard I tried.
You may have to settle for what you can get, another part of my brain chimed in. You can't have everything.
I decided there was nothing I could do about that at the moment. Whatever happened, it was likely something that I would have to deal with my whole life. It could wait a little. The question was, what was going to happen next? What did I want to happen next?
While I was pondering this, something else occurred to me. Given what I had decided were my reasons for liking Snap so much, could it be that any other Electric Pokemon I had happened to be friend could have served roughly the same purpose? Was Snap, in a sense, merely in the right place at the right time for me to attach my affections to him?
In the end, it didn't matter to me. What was past was past. I now felt the way I did about Snap, and if his Electric type attracted me to him, there was definitely something that made him special to me, even among Electric-types. Maybe it was because of my prior knowledge of him, half a year and many miles away in Silverspring. In any case, I knew that just as I wanted to know Electric Pokemon in general, this was one particular Electric Pokemon that I wanted to know even more deeply.
I knew where I wanted to be, then. The only unsolved problem was that of how to get there. I wasn't sure I would have a choice-- the events of my life up to that point had not done wonders for my feelings of self-determination. It was true, I decided how I would feel, and I went along with most of what happened, but really it was just that-- going along. Had that really been so bad? It had gotten me to meet Courtney, then caused me to meet up with Ashley and her trainer again, then led me to Snap. Would my luck run out? Or had I endured so much during the earlier parts of my life that I was due to be happy for a while?
"Ponyta!"
Courtney's voice. Why was she here already? I opened my eyes. ((What is it?)) I asked, still in a daze of my own thoughts.
"Ponyta, I've just been talking to King. He got a new phone, and his parents gave me the number. He and Ashley are fine. They're in one of the eastern port cities-- I forget which one, but I can always call them back. King wanted you to know they were okay, and that the PLA doesn't appear to be following them-- but he also wanted to warn me."
((Warn you about what?))
"Didn't you hear what I just said? The PLA didn't follow them when they left at Crossroads. That means they either gave up, which King didn't think was likely, or they're more concerned with us."
The connection dawned on me. ((Do you think we're in any danger right now?)) I asked.
"I don't know. As I said, I think we're all right as long as we're in the Pokemon Center… but this park is a pretty big place, and there are lots of places where it would be easy to get trapped. I think the best thing we can do is stay right around the Center, or at least this plaza, until King or someone else can help us. He was supposed to call me back this evening…" Courtney appeared to drift off into thought for a minute, then she blinked and returned her attention to me. "And now I definitely don't want you wandering off at night-- understood?"
((Understood,)) I said. I was sure that Snap wouldn't let any harm come to me, but even I had to admit that taking precautions made good sense.
Courtney still looked worried. "I think I might try and call him back right now, now that I think about it. I'm going to go back to the room. You heard what I said, right? Don't go outside this area. Let's meet back in the room before dinner, and I'll tell you what else I've been able to figure out. Does that sound like a good idea?"
((Sure.))
"I'll talk to you later, then." She patted my neck, then started back towards the building.
((And try not to worry so much,)) I called after her retreating form, fully aware that perhaps I ought to be following my own advice. She was already too far away for me to tell if my words had been heard or not.
***
Snap had moved from the place where I had seen him a short while before, but he didn't prove too hard to find. In the field nearby, a group of Electric Pokemon had started playing a game whereby they used their electromagnetic fields to maneuver a small metal sphere through the air. I didn't know what the object of the game was, and I didn't try to figure it out. The important thing was that Snap was one of several Pokemon sitting or lying in a circle around the playing field, watching the proceedings.
I moved up beside him. A large Electrode had taken possession of the ball and was rolling down the field, barreling straight through most of the smaller Pokemon who tried to stop him. ((Why aren't you playing?)) I inquired.
((Ponyta!)) His ears pricked at the sound of my voice. ((Hi! Oh. Well, they asked me to play, but I didn't want to get involved in anything. I was hoping you would show up sometime soon.))
I thought that was sweet, but didn't say so. ((Listen, you know… I've been thinking about last night.))
((You, too?))
That startled me a bit. ((You mean you were thinking about it too?))
He looked a bit embarrassed. ((Ah, yeah, of course. How could I not?))
((Good point. What in particular were you thinking?))
Snap looked around. I did, too, and saw that some of the other spectators were starting to become aware of our conversation. ((What do you say we find a different place to talk about this?))
We found a relatively deserted patch of field near the edge of the forest. Being so far away from the Center sent a little chill down my spine, but the sun was shining brightly and there were no real shadows that would give a potential attacker any sort of cover. Snap checked the area, looked satisfied, and turned to me. ((You first.))
I almost protested, but Snap would no doubt point out that I had been the one to bring up the subject, which was of course a completely reasonable argument. So I relented. It still wasn't easy to share, but I thought maybe I would feel better if I told Snap some of my thoughts. ((I was just thinking, you know… thinking about what happened.))
((I remember it, too.)) There was a faint trace of amusement in Snap's voice. Coupled with his facial expression, it gave the impression that he was more than faintly amused but was endeavoring to conceal the majority of his amusement for my sake. I had to give him points for that.
((Snap,)) I said, deciding to get at the meat of the matter, ((do you think what we did was wrong?))
((Why would it be wrong?))
I stared at him. He couldn't be that dense.
((My parents always told me,)) Snap muttered after a few moments, ((that as long as I found someone I liked and was happy with, appearance and other things like that didn't matter.))
((People told me that too,)) I said ruefully, ((but somehow I think they never had our situation in mind.))
((Probably not. But as far as I'm concerned, the point is the same. I like you, and it seems like you like me, and anyone who's going to tell me how to live my life can be damned to hell!))
The last words spilled out in such a tumble that it seemed to me as though Snap had to have been thinking of the same things as me. ((Snap, uh, I want you to know that I've been thinking it over, and I've decided I feel exactly the same way.))
((You do?))
"Snap!" It was a male human voice calling out across the field. Looking, I saw a young male human, whose facial features suggested Johtoan descent. He had a belt lined with Pokeballs and was gesturing for Snap to come to him.
((Ugh. That's my trainer.)) Snap grimaced. ((I'm sorry, Ponyta, but I promised I'd do something with him this afternoon. I'm going to have to get in touch with you later?))
((Can't you just, ahem, cancel?))
((I'm sorry.)) He really did look sorry. ((We made the tour reservations days ago. I'd never have agreed to go along if I'd known you were going to be here… well, not if I knew what was going to happen… but I don't think I can back out now.))
((Oh.)) I was disappointed, to say the least. ((Well, I'm sure we'll find some other time together…))
((Tonight?))
Snap looked hopeful, and I was sure I knew why. I felt my shoulders sag. To say it was an appealing prospect was quite an understatement, but… ((I can't. I promised Courtney I wouldn't go out at night anymore.))
((You can't sneak out?))
I had to be firm, I reminded myself. ((No. I'm sorry, you know I'd love to, but this is very important to her. I don't want to make her worried. She's done so much for me.))
((Oh. Well, I won't say I like it, but I understand. Tomorrow, then?"
I smiled. ((Tomorrow.))
((Tomorrow,)) he echoed, smiling back. He turned around to go to his trainer, who seemed to be growing impatient.
((One last thing,)) I said. I felt silly asking the question, but… ((Was it good? Did you enjoy it?))
Snap blushed. ((Well, uh… not that I have much of anything to compare it to, you understand, but-))
"SNAP!"
((Coming! Sorry, I'll talk to you later.))
I was left alone. I would have preferred Snap's presence, naturally, but for once being alone wasn't so bad. I was feeling pretty good, all things considered.
***
When the phone rang later that night, it woke us both up. To be more accurate, it woke Courtney up and jarred me out of whatever my thoughts might have been at that moment. Sleep had not been coming easily for me. Courtney, on the other hand, might have been asleep, but her reaction time did not suffer in the least for it: she nearly fell out of bed trying to reach the phone and had it to her ear before my preoccupied brain had registered the fact that the call might be from King.
"Hello?"
What happened next had my undivided attention, for although the voice was King's, he seemed to be breathing heavily and had his voice raised enough that I could hear it clearly on the other side of the room.
"Courtney. Are you still in Kelton?"
"Yes."
"Get out of there. Now."
It was a testament to King's trustworthiness that neither of us seemed to think of questioning the order. "Where shall we go?" was all Courtney had to say.
"East. A town called to Ginther's Ridge is about six hours' walk along the Valley Road. When you get there, go to the Center and ask for a nurse named James. He'll help you decide what to do next."
"This James knows how to deal with the PLA?"
"He's encountered them before, if that's what you mean. If you want to hear a long story, ask him about his scars. But if there's nothing else for right now, then you need to go."
"King, do you have associates in every town in the world?"
I could hear a snort from the other end of the line. "Hardly. Now get going. We've wasted enough time already."
***
The last time I had been out this late, it was under far more pleasant circumstances. At this hour, the park was deserted except for a few trainers of nocturnal Pokemon. The shadows that had been my friends 24 hours ago now hid imaginary enemies. Only the lit paths and streets seemed safe.
"How do we get on the Valley Road from here?" Courtney inquired of the receptionist on duty at the front desk.
The receptionist, an elderly-looking lady with wire frames, smiled. "Couldn't be simpler. All you have to do is take the east or west road out of the park, depending on which way you want to go. Either way, it turns into 56th street. Follow that street to the outskirts of the city and it turns into the Valley Road. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Courtney shook her head. "No, we'll go now. Thank you for your help."
It turned out to be exactly as the woman had said. Nobody molested us as we made our way out of town, and save for a few words with the officer at the guard station as we passed the city limits, we had virtually no human contact at all as we began our journey east.
((Are you sure this is the right thing to be doing?)) I asked after we had been walking quickly for a while. It was after midnight, but the moon was nearly full and cast enough light that we could easily see our way.
"King told us to do it."
((But why? He didn't tell us why it was that we should be leaving town.))
"I'm not sure, but my guess is that he thought explaining it would take too long. I'm sure it's the PLA again. It's not like we didn't have any warning that they might be after us."
((True,)) I said. Then something else occurred to me-- something that struck me so hard that I stopped still in the middle of the path. In the urgency of the moment, Snap had completely escaped my thoughts until this second. ((Oh, no.))
"What?" Courtney had stopped walking too and was staring at me.
I started walking again. ((I forgot to tell Snap we were leaving.))
Courtney looked pained. "Oh, Ponyta. I'm sorry. Still, don't you think it should be pretty easy to get in touch with him from wherever we end up?"
((I guess. I just know he'll be worried.))
"Perhaps… but don't you think he'd be worried even if he knew what was going on?"
((I guess you're right.))
We trotted along for a few more minutes. I was about to ask Courtney if she wanted to get on my back, reasoning that even with the added load I would be faster than her human legs, when she leaned close to me and whispered something. "The next time we come to a shadowy area, look back at the path and tell me what you see."
I did as I was instructed. There, clearly distinguishable in the moonlight, were the silhouettes of three humans. By their size, I judged that they were adults and probably men, although the long coats they were wearing made it difficult to distinguish anything else about them.
((I see them. What should we do?))
"Keep going and shake a leg."
It seemed that it was high time to broach my suggestion, so I did. ((Get on my back. We can travel faster that way.))
She seemed dubious. "Are you sure you can handle it?"
((Positive. Hurry up and climb aboard.))
Courtney clambered aboard and grabbed two fistfuls of my mane. "I've never ridden bareback before," she confided to me.
((I guess you'd better learn fast. Here we go.))
I increased our speed to a fast trot. Courtney seemed to have no trouble hanging on, and even stole a look backwards as we gained ground on our would-be pursuers. "They're running now-- but if they can keep up, I'll be very surprised."
I chuckled quietly. So would I.
Courtney returned her attention to the path ahead of us, and it only took a moment for her to panic again. "Ponyta!"
The moment she screamed my name, I saw what she was looking at. Some distance ahead where the path wound through forest on both sides, another group of humans was standing across the highway. They were obviously waiting for someone, and it was an easy guess who they were waiting for.
Enemies on the path behind us; enemies on the path ahead of us. Time to remove the path from the equation. Without waiting for confirmation from Courtney, I left the paved surface and plowed into the woods. The little ambush party wasn't too far away for my hearing to detect the sounds of shouted curses and pursuing footsteps. I heard the sounds and saw the reflected flashes of Pokeballs popping behind us. I couldn't afford to look back and see what was being released, but Courtney did and screamed again. I poured on the speed.
"They've got bat Pokemon!" whispered Courtney tightly as we dodged a low-hanging tree branch. "If we don't get away now, they'll be able to hunt us down even in the dark! Hurry up!"
What do you think I'm trying to do, was what I wanted to say, but the only word of those that actually emerged from my mouth was ((Trying.)) The dark and uncertain path ahead was my greatest concern. Avoid a rock here, skirt a dead branch there, leap over a small crack in the ground… The sounds of our pursuers were getting fainter, and I thought for a moment we might be making progress.
That was when Courtney fell off.
I had gotten so used to her screams of terror-- not that I could blame her, the situation we were in was enough to make anyone freak out-- that I didn't even notice she was gone until I registered the sudden lightness on my back. By the time I turned around, I was already a good fifty feet past the point where a branch I had missed had swept her clean off my back. In what little shreds of light were available to me, I could already see two menacing creatures circling around her, the beat of their leathery wings audible even at this distance.
((COURTNEY!))
She didn't seem to hear me. One of the creatures swooped down as though to attack her; she aimed a kick at it, and it darted up again, out of reach. I took a step forward, and before I quite realized what was happening, anger surged through me. There was a blinding flash and a terrific thunderclap, and suddenly the Crobat was lying on the ground in a gibbering heap of thrashing limbs. I quite clearly heard an astonished expletive uttered from the approaching humans.
Nice work, I thought to myself, almost without realizing it.
The other Pokemon had broken off its inspection of Courtney to investigate this new threat. I danced back as it flew towards me. Do that again, I told my body. Nothing happened . Evidently my body didn't seem to be listening.
The Crobat danced in front of me, glaring at me with eyes that could only be described as malicious. It seemed eager to avenge the attack on its twin. It darted at me. I shuffled backwards. It lined up its attack again and made another pass. I again managed to avoid it, but this time my hind legs slipped on a pile of loose rocks and dirt. I stumbled and fell.
Crap.
The infernal bat seemed to realize that its prey was in a bad way. All too aware that the first hit would probably incapacitate me, I mentally lashed my body, trying to get it to deliver the goods. Thundershock. Thunderbolt. Thunder Wave. ANYTHING!
The Crobat screamed. I thought for an instant I had been successful, but the plume of liquid fire that had engulfed it was nothing that had come from me. Looking to my right revealed a medium-sized Pokemon that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, a golden creature whose tails fanned out behind it in a plume that would have put any peacock to shame.
A Ninetales!
The wounded bat flittered off lopsidedly to rejoin its human masters, who were even now approaching the spot where Courtney had fallen. Some of them bent to inspect her, others pointed at me and the Ninetales. I staggered back to my feet. The sudden aid had saved me from the Crobat, but I still didn't see how the two of us could possibly take on a whole contingent of the PLA, complete with their own Pokemon and probably with weapons as well.
Now a few of the agents started toward us. The Ninetales adjusted his (her?) aim, and a twenty-foot-long swath of dried leaves and brush blazed up at the touch. The brilliant yellow light allowed me to see the scene clearly for the first time, and it also provided quite an effective deterrent to the attackers, who stopped in their tracks to resize the situation.
((They will find a way around the fire. Come!))
((But Courtney…!))
((You can do nothing for your human. You'd be taken, too. They will take her away from the fire, which is more than we could do right now. I have no time to argue with you. Come!))
I went.