Author's Notes: A bit of a wait this time, huh? Revisions, revisions, revisions… Well, you know the rest. Thank you reviewers. Your reviews make writing even more fun than it already is. Ryuka and Tom Gyllhamn, I want to thank you especially. ^_^

Disclaimer: Pokemon will never belong to me.

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The Cyndaquil only looked on mercilessly. "Remember, you… The weak are to follow the strong." Pyra allowed heavy, choking smoke to pour from her back. "I won't stand for insubordination… And for ignoring me, you shall burn!"

In the first battle, Pyra's tackle had been more of a headbutt. It had caught Talon by surprise more than it hurt. This time around the attack was expected. The pain, however, was unbearable. Two blunt hooves slammed into Talon's chest, threatening to tear past the flesh if they were any sharper. Pyra drove the stricken owl into the ground and kept moving.

There was a soft drumming on the road. It faded for a moment, and then came back all the stronger. Talon's hearing—quite impressive actually, but nowhere near as good as her sight—identified it as Pyra. She was running fast and she was coming back.

For a moment, Pyra felt sick to her stomach. Why was she taking this so seriously? She might actually kill Talon if she kept it up… 'The weak are to follow the strong!' Her heart yelled. The sickness disappeared. Pyra broke into a grin and accelerated, sparks dancing beneath her feet. "Here I come, rebel!"

The cry was more than enough for Talon to get an early warning. She stared in Pyra's general direction, smiled, and rolled out of the way. Pyra darted by, bringing scorching winds with her. Silence. Waiting.

Embers rained down in a fiery storm.

They beat on Talon relentlessly. She forced herself to fly away from the fire, finally getting to sunlight. Pyra's voice was close. "Very nice, rebel! Let's turn up the heat and see what happens!"

"What wrong Pyra?!" Talon wheezed, trying to take in as much oxygen as she could. The smokescreen finally faded away, but the damage had been done. Talon's eyes were still swollen and tearful from being exposed to the harsh chemicals, and she sported an ugly purple bruise on her chest. "Crazy, yes!" When she heard Pyra laugh again, Talon knew just how right she was.

Agility could have sworn she had it all together yesterday. She clearly remembered eating pizza with Gerald, who could have cleaned out the entire pizza place if he truly wanted to (this thought almost made her smile, almost). And Leon… When he left her, Agility finally saw the huge mess she'd gotten herself into. Her beloved pokemon were killing each other. New Bark was just over the trees. Agility wanted—for the second time since the journey started—to go home.

A not-so-light punch to the shoulder brought Agility back to reality. It was the Chansey. "Go stop them!"

"They're not mine… They said so themselves." Agility countered weakly. Pokemon training seemed so much easier in books and television shows.

"Doesn't matter! Look at them! Why are you letting them hurt each other?!"

"I can't make them stop…"

"Have you tried? You're the trainer, please take some responsibility!"

Agility figured she'd be hearing about responsibility from Prof. Elm if she ever got back to New Bark. He'd really be disappointed when Agility gave up. "...I'm not a trainer anymore…"

Morals and an iron will kept Chansey from punching Agility a second time. "No decent human being would let these pokemon suffer! You won't do anything to stop this fight!" Chansey clenched her fists, rage swelling in her heart. "You should be the one burning, you…!"

Agility instantly snapped back. "All I want to do is go home! I never wanted anyone to suffer! In fact, I didn't want to go on this journey in the first place!"

"You seemed pretty happy after beating Thorn! You can't just back out of life when the going gets tough! That's the sign of a coward!"

"Then I guess I'm a coward!"

Chansey trembled. She often thought of herself as a mature pokemon, but now it would seem to be a lie. Her pudgy body puffed up and reddened. Shiny tears welled in her eyes and—if this hadn't been a serious situation—it would have looked funny, if not cute. "I don't know if you know it or not, but the way you handled Thorn out there, i-it was amazing. Y-you could be a legend. I know it… I know it…!"

 "No…" Agility couldn't bear to look at her any longer. The Chansey's tears gleamed with betrayal, anger, and… Perhaps hate? "I don't want to be a legend…"

"Pyra stop, yes!" Talon begged. Pyra no longer saw or heard her. All the Cyndaquil could see was a whimpering creature that needed to be wiped off the planet. Deep inside, she was apologizing for every hit, but Pyra's wrath was greater than her kindness. She muttered a gentle apology before going in for the final blow.

 "I don't want to be a legend…" Agility repeated to herself. No one else was or wanted to listen. "I want those pokemon to be legends."

Something small and red crashed just ahead of Pyra's path. It sparked and gave a sharp garbled cry, sending Pyra backwards in shock. "What the-?"

"Chansey! Get Talon into the Pokemon Center, now!" Agility ordered, snatching a trash can lid off the ground. She was going to miss that pokedex. "This coward has a job to do!"

"All right! That's what I want to hear!" Chansey gladly obeyed.

"You?!" Pyra hissed at Agility. "You threw that?"

The trainer braced herself for any coming assault. "I think it was one of my better calls."

The Cyndaquil let her fire do the talking for her. After several close calls, Agility was forced to defend her body with the trash lid. The lid successfully blocked the attack, but the makeshift shield became too hot for Agility to hold. Once she discarded it, the trainer was once again vulnerable to Pyra's fire.

"You no hurt Agility!" Talon came at the right time, aiming for Pyra's head. "Agility care more than she say! I beat smoke rat, yes!"

Pyra turned to face Talon head-on. At first there was nothing but a small gleam of light, but when Pyra's eyes snapped open, blue energy flared from them like headlights. It was a mysterious, yet horrifying sight that Talon would remember for the rest of her life. The HootHoot remained hypnotized, even as smoke wrapped around her body and surrounded her in darkness.

"What was- What was that?!" Agility reached for her pokedex, only to remember where she threw it. Her heart sank. "Oh no…"

"Here! You might need this!" Chansey kicked the pokedex back over to Agility. The red casing was scratched a little from its journey across the pavement, but other than that it looked fine. She hoped it worked as well.

"Come on, you… I already gave up the trainer business, but come through for me one more time…" Agility opened it and scanned the file for HootHoot, a grin slowly spreading across her face.

"Talon! Can you hear me?" Agility called. Talon managed to turn her head. She didn't know where Agility was, but hooted loudly just the same.

"This should help!" Agility closed her pokedex with a snap. "…Foresight!"

Pyra continued using her Leer, ignoring the command. However she couldn't ignore the eerie red lights some distance away. Talon's eyes were glowing red, breaking the trance and making Pyra's outline appear in the smoke.

Agility hoped the move was working. "And follow it up with Peck!" In a twist of irony, Pyra was thrown from her own smokescreen. She tumbled uncontrollably until she hit a building. There was a soft squeak and then silence.

Chansey was the first to shatter it. "You beat her!"

Talon let out a sound of disbelief. Her victory was slowly dawning on her. She had won. She had beaten Pyra. "H-hoot!"

Agility let the two of them have their celebration. She chose to kneel beside the fallen Cyndaquil. Pyra was cooling down, and she now realized whom she'd been attacking. The strong voice in her heart that urged her on was gone. "Agility… Just shut up."

The trainer smiled sadly. "Don't worry. I wasn't going to say anything." A small sigh from Pyra. She looked over Agility's singed clothes. There were burn marks on her hands left from the hot lid. "Hey, I heard that dragon type and fire type pokemon go into rages all the-"

"Please."

"Sorry."

"So… You're leaving."

Agility looked apologetic. "Yeah… I just came to do my goodbyes personally, you guys were great you know…"

"Oh…" It was quiet. Pyra's eyes were closed all the time, so it was impossible to tell if she was still conscious. A few more moments of silence made Agility assume Pyra fainted.

 "That was a good battle." Pyra commented after a while. "Good thinking."

That caught Agility off guard. "Wow. Th-thanks Pyra." Talon soon made her way over. She was beaming at her trainer.

"I stronger! You no leave now, yes?"

"I have to…"

The HootHoot's spirit was instantly broken. "You no see how good trainer you are?!"

"You've seen how I act when something goes wrong. I doubt the rest of the journey is going to be full of obedient pokemon and constant winning." Agility's eyes drifted downwards. "I'd rather tell you goodbye now rather than later along the journey."

"I be stronger you be stronger, yes! You be stronger in time!"

"What if something happens after getting one badge or two badges? What if we get all the way to Blackthorn? Won't it be harder to say goodbye when we get more attached?"

"It hard saying goodbye now…"

Agility truly wanted to say Talon would get over it. She knew in her heart that such a thing would never happen. "I know, I know…" Pyra was recalled. Agility held up Talon's pokeball.

"You… no like me? Hate?"

"No! I never hated you! Look, I made a promise that you'd get stronger. I'm just going to make sure it happens, whether it's with me or someone else." Talon said nothing. Agility blinked back tears as she recalled her. "Chansey?"

The healer frowned. "I don't suppose a 'pretty please' would help, would it?"

"Afraid not. You really let me learn something about myself. I want to thank you and…" Agility held out the two spheres and her pokedex. Chansey took all three. "I want you to find the trainer, Chansey. I don't deserve to do it."

"You know you're making a huge mistake."

"I don't think so."

"Truly?"

"…" Agility was at a loss on that one. "Goodbye, Chansey." She turned to leave.

Chansey scowled. "You coward. …You could have been a legend…"

"I'll leave that to Pyra and Talon."

Back to ridicule, scorn, and the mocking laughter of children. Back to the disappointment of Professor Elm and to the amusement of her rival Kataro. Agility walked back to New Bark knowing she'd regret her decision for the rest of her life.

Could have been a legend…

Agility had given up. Her pokemon, however, would not accept her decision so easily…

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Still a short chapter… I'm working on making them longer. Sorta. ^_^