"Everybody, in the house!" called Tessa as she saw the Flygon whipping up a Sandstorm in the distance, "The Flygon's coming! Cougar, stay back unless I need you to help. Flame, go!"
The Charizard materialized in the air above the trainers. He realized the situation as soon as he saw the Flygon, and sped through the air to meet it before it descended on the town.
"Flame, blow away that sand!" shouted Tessa from the back of Snap.
The Charizard created a massive Whirlwind that made the sand condense and fly away in a cloud. The Flygon roared a challenge, and shot a powerful Hyper Beam at Flame.
The Charizard dodged, but the formidable attack grazed his wing. He cried out in pain, and his wing crumpled automatically. Flame dropped to the ground like a stone as the Flygon shrieked in victory.
Suddenly, a powerful, wavering Fire Blast flew up from the ground and scorched the Flygon. It screamed in pain and rolled to stop its wings from burning.
Tessa looked down and saw that Sparkle was out, and Cougar waved. Suddenly, the Shiny Flygon used Dragonbreath, and the attack hit Sparkle head on. The Ninetales cried out and tried to move, but she was paralyzed. Cougar rushed forward with some paralyze heal to help her.
Flame had gotten airborne again, and looked angry. He used Fly, slicing through the air to ram the Flygon hard in the side. The Pokemon's left wing snapped to it's side as it cried out in pain, and it fell to the earth in a cloud of dust.
"Snap, use Sand Tomb!" shouted Tessa to her ride.
The female Flygon's eyes glowed, and the dirt around the fallen Shiny rumbled as if alive. It wrapped around the male's wings in a huge mound, making it impossible for him to move.
The Flygon sent out one last Hyper Beam, and lay still, watching the approaching humans with malice. As Tessa got close, he growled, but Flame and Snap snarled, and he fell silent.
"Cougar, look at this!" said Tessa, pointing to the ugly scars on the Flygon's feet and neck.
"I wonder who did that?" thought Cougar out loud.
"I bet it was his previous owner! That scum, I hate people who abuse Pokemon! No wonder he attacked that trainer and escaped."
The Flygon looked carefully at the two humans, he coughed once, and glared.
"Nice of a human to say that, really. If you could get this sand off me, I need to lick my wing."
"We sure we can trust you?" asked Tessa.
The Flygon lifted his head abruptly, and stared at Tessa.
"So you can speak Pokemon, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Then why do you still imprison them, human? Why do you still keep them in Poke'balls and make them fight?"
"Hey, they choose to go with me! I never force them to stay!" exclaimed Tessa; the Pokemon behind her nodded their support.
The Flygon looked at all of the other Pokemon, all saying that they chose to go with their trainer, and sighed in defeat. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he faced Tessa defiantly.
"Yeah, well why did you attack me then, human?"
"You were going to attack my hometown, you did attack Fallarbor, and my name is Tessa, not human, Flygon!" Tessa shrieked at the now cringing beast.
"Okay, okay. I give in. Now can I get out of this mound of sand?"
"Why?"
"I got a cut on my wing."
"Fine, Snap?"
The female nodded, and the sand fell off the Flygon, making him free to move. He stood up sulkily, and began cleaning his left wing. Soon, a nasty gash could be seen among all the dirt. The Flygon twisted around, trying to reach a difficult patch, but it was just out of his reach.
"Here, let me help you." said Snap, coming up and cleaning the dirt out of the deepest part of the gash.
The Flygon winced, but did not pull away. The gash rapidly became clean, and Tessa asked if she could put a bandage on the wing.
"Sure, why not."
Tessa pulled out a large bandage from her backpack and carefully put it on the Flygon's wing. He helped her tie it, and then flapped them once to test the dressing. When it did not fly off, he smiled at the gathering.
"You sure know how to treat injuries."
"I have to, I have a reserve for Pokemon at home."
"A reserve?"
"Yeah, maybe you've heard of it? It's called Shining Lakeside Reserve. I bought the entire thing for my Pokemon so that they could live like they were wild."
"Nice! How big is it?"
"It's about a hundred and twenty square acres in all. There's every type of habitat, including some fenced off ocean, and a small volcano."
"Now that's a territory." said the Flygon in awe.
"Sure is! I never heard that you had an entire reserve!" exclaimed Cougar after Jaycou had translated the last sentence that the Flygon had said.
"I know, the information isn't widely known. Only the Professors and Pokemon researchers know much about it; that's because I don't want greedy people to try and capture the Pokemon that don't want to leave."
"So you keep an entire peninsula to yourself and the Pokemon you caught?" asked Sparkle.
"No, the wild Pokemon that were already there can stay if they want. Most of them do since they don't have to worry about being captured, but the predators have to agree to be careful about who they prey on, since they could get seriously injured if they go after my trained Pokemon."
"Hmm. Do humans go there often?" asked the Flygon thoughtfully.
"No, it's not a safari, it's a reserve. No humans are allowed without special permission from me."
"Great, when do I get to go there?"
"Why, you want to go?"
"Yeah, the place seems like a perfect territory for me."
"So you want to live there?"
Tessa looked carefully at the large Pokemon; she smiled slightly and shook her head.
"You do realize that I'd have to capture you to bring you there? It's a long journey, and I can't fit a full grown Flygon on a boat."
The Flygon looked at Tessa carefully, considering the choice. He finally nodded and turned to Tessa with a slight smile on his bug-like face.
"Yeah, so go ahead, capture me, I won't fight."
"Okay."
Tessa pulled out a Poke'ball and gently touched it to the Flygon's head. The Shiny was engulfed in red light, and drawn into the ball. The sphere twitched a few times, and went still. Tessa picked it up and turned to the group.
"Well, why don't we all go home?"
A cheer went up from both Pokemon and human. Even Lavender, who was now back on Tessa's shoulder, seemed to be tired of adventure for a while. Tessa laughed and called her Pokemon back.
"Great job, everyone! You guys deserve a rest."
One Month Later, Hoenn...
Tessa congratulated Cougar on beating the Elite Four; he had been raising Jaycou and Sparkle for quite some time, and he had finally achieved his dream. Tessa hadn't been surprised when he had found the reserve to tell her.
"Great job, Cougar, I knew you could do it!"
"Thanks Tessa, I never could have done it without your help!"
"Giving me too much credit again, huh?"
"Nope."
"Well, what'll you be doing now that you've accomplished your goal?"
"Well, I've been thinking about trying to beat the Orange League. I know a Diglett that wants to help me, and it would be a great challenge."
"You're right. Oh, let me give you something in congratulations. Wait here."
Tessa hurried to her barn, where Snap and Azure, the Shiny Flygon, were currently residing. She went to the heated shelf and took out a jeweled box. She carefully traveled back to the house, and presented it to Cougar.
"Here, this is a very special present, take care of it well on your travels."
Cougar opened the box, and gasped. Nestled in the warm material and cotton, there was a large, greenish egg. Cougar carefully replaced the lid and sat down.
"Wow, thanks! This is one of the best presents I've ever gotten!"
"I'm glad you like it. The instructions on taking care of it are folded near the side of the box. There's also a Poke'ball in the lid for when it hatches, so you can catch it."
"This is so great, I can't thank you enough!"
"Don't worry, it's a present from everybody at the reserve, for helping me when Azure was feral."
"I won't let you down. I'll call you when it hatches, but I have to go now so I don't miss my boat. Goodbye!" said Cougar, slipping out the door.
"Bye, good luck!" said Tessa; she waved as Cougar sped down the road on his new trick bike he had gotten for his sixteenth birthday.
Tessa walked back to the barn. Snap and Azure were waiting to be groomed by her, because a rather sticky substance had covered them when they tried to eat a Gloom.
"Hey, guys. Time for a bath!"
Tessa took out a brush and water hose. She had Snap handle the hose while she scrubbed Azure, and vice versa. Soon the two were clean, and the entire group had fun soaking each other with the hose. The three were soon collapsed in a laughing heap.
Tessa caught a paper that had flown through the barn door because of the wind. She looked at it, and gasped in surprise.
Boy Wins Tournament Single-Handedly
A day ago, the boy who was all over the news last monthdid it again! Zack Mendon of Goldenrod City, using only
one Pokemon, defeated the Champion of the National
Water Pokemon Tournament! He is now fully healed after
the feral Pokemon incident of last month, and has come
back strong and with a vengeance. The boy refused to comment,
but we are very sure that he is very proud to have won this
momentous occasion.
"Whoa, look at this!" exclaimed Tessa, showing the paper to the two Flygon.
Azure snarled and Snap gasped.
"What is HE doing in the paper?!" demanded Azure.
"I don't know, but was he the trainer that abused you?"
"Yes." hissed Azure menacingly.
"Well, then. He seems to have collected a few more defenseless Pokemon. What do you say we go stop him cold? I'll call the Police and report that we've found him, and we'll go confront him and make him pay for what he's done."