About a half an hour after we left my aunt's house, I finally felt like I was over leaving. But as we reached the edge of town and I looked over at the retirement home my grandparents stayed in, I felt a little something come back up.
I remembered all the times my family and I had gone to visit them over the years; I could still see the room and navigate myself around the whole complex. It always had that old hospital room feel, with its pale-yellow walls and brown felt carpet that didn't match. The room smelled like old socks and it was always musty.
I remember the TV on in the background too, drowning out the background noise. I tried picturing myself in the room, with all my family, and the occasional nurse walking in. Everyone was grinning, enjoying the visit. It was a comforting thought, until I started thinking about how the room looked today. Abandoned and quiet, the room dark with the shades pulled down. The TV turned off, and no sound to drone out the background. Nothing stirred and all was still, just the way it was left. I suddenly felt lonely and tried to think about something else.
We walked out into the deserted main strip of Hornell and took one last look at the familiar scenery before heading down the roadway back towards the Southern Tier Expressway. I sighed sadly, feeling nostalgic once again. I couldn't stop thinking about all the memories I had in town. But as I looked around at my partners, I felt my spirits brighten. Riolu and Dusty were up front happily conversing together, enjoying their company. As they talked, I watched the grins on their faces grow. How could I be down when my Pokémon were so happy?
The sides of the road became shrouded with trees the further we traveled from Hornell. Their leaves shook in the breeze, some coming loose and tumbling elegantly to the ground. The light gray clouds high above moved quickly, occasionally revealing the sun and the blue sky behind it for a moment. It was chilly that day, but I was warm in my new jacket I'd gotten from my aunt and uncles' house.
Shifting my gaze from my partners, I decided to look down the road. We'd just taken a slight turn and the bridge for the Southern Tier was in sight. We all stopped, and I pointed it out to them once I saw it.
"There's the bridge, guys. Let's hurry up and try to get as far as possible before sundown." Riolu nodded and Dusty let out a,
"Gar," to let me know he was listening. Zabu did not acknowledge what I'd said at all. I assumed she'd heard it though and didn't really want to bother her a second time.
We started walking again in the same formation, but I came to an immediate halt when I heard Zabu begin to growl. We all turned to face her; she was hunched down ready to pounce.
"Wh-what is it, Zabu?" I asked cautiously as she glared off to the left side of the road in the forest.
"Mroww…" She sounded hostile, like a street cat fighting over territory. Frightened and confused, I questioned again,
"Is something over there?" I was answered by a round blast of water which flew out from inside the tree cover, heading directly towards me. Zabu leapt out of the way quickly before I could react. With my guard down, I flinched at the sudden attack and couldn't move. I closed my eyes and braced for impact when Dusty's long tendrils wrapped themselves around my waist and pulled me just out of the way. The Water Pulse flew past and lost its form, splashing onto the road behind us. As Dusty let go, I brushed myself off and thanked him.
"Gar!" he replied, smiling the way he always did. Just then, I heard someone slowly clapping, the noise emanating from the side of the road where the attack had come from. I turned my head to see a Frogadier and a familiar trainer step out. My heart began to beat faster, and my muscles tensed as I saw who it was.
"…Eliza? Wh-what are you doing here?" She stopped clapping and walked over to us. Riolu got into a battle stance, while Dusty stood confused as to who this person was. Strangely, Zabu dropped her frightening facade for a moment and paused. But in a quick second, she shook her head and snapped out of it, beginning to growl again. I would have paid more attention to her reaction if Eliza wasn't in front of us.
She stopped about ten yards ahead of us. Her red hair was tied into the usual ponytail, and she was still wearing a flannel shirt with black khaki pants. The only difference was that her flannel shirt was white and black this time, and she had on a pair of white canvas shoes.
Frogadier looked menacing; its new evolved form made it look quite powerful. Although it looked a bit worried for some reason; I could tell it was trying to keep up a smug facade.
"Well, well," Eliza started, her voice bringing back memories of my first battle. "We meet again, stalker. Small world, isn't it?"
"What are you doing here, Eliza?" I said again, trying to sound as intimidating as possible.
"I should ask you the same thing, you brat. Listen, I wasn't finished with you after our first battle. I want a rematch, right here, right now."
"Forget it, Eliza. I've got places to be." She scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Saving the world or whatever can wait, stalker." Something shot through my body and I tensed even more.
"...How do you know about that?"
"That's none of your business. Besides, why would I tell you anyways?" My blood was boiling, and I could practically feel the steam coming out of my ears. Eliza was the only person who got me this way.
"Rio." I focused down on Riolu, who looked worried. Something was fishy about Eliza suddenly showing up like this, and we all knew it. Nonetheless, her challenge clouded my decision making like it usually did, so I made a rash choice before my mind could tell me no.
"Fine, I'll do it. I'll battle you, Eliza! But you won't win!" She giggled in a smug way and said,
"I'll wipe the floor with you, and your weak Pokémon." Just then, Zabu cried out.
"Liepa!" She yelped loudly, surprising all of us except for Eliza and Frogadier. I could tell Zabu was mad too, presumably for the same reasons Riolu and I were. "Lie, Lie." Zabu said, turning around and looking at me.
"Do… Do you want to battle, Zabu?" She nodded her head yes and jumped out in front of us. "Alright, that settles that then. Let's do this, Eliza!" Riolu opened his mouth to say something, but eventually closed it and headed back to where Dusty was.
Before we started, I tossed my backpack over to the side so I didn't have to deal with the weight of it during the battle; Riolu and Dusty did the same with their supplies so that they could rest and watch our fight at the same time. I then pulled out the PokéNav's Pokémon Scanner app so I could check what moves Zabu knew. While I did this, Eliza taunted me in the background.
"So, you're going to battle with this one, huh? For a fully evolved Pokémon, your Liepard looks quite weak. And what kind of name is Zabu?" I was taken aback by this remark, but Zabu was even more insulted. She burst out like she had in the attic.
"Lie! Liepa, pard, Lie!" Eliza scoffed at Zabu's response, like she knew what it said.
"Ever since Frogadier evolved, he's been waiting to battle you again, stalker. With all the training we've been doing, there's no way we can lose!"
"We'll see about that, Eliza. Get ready, Zabu!"
"Lie!" I quickly memorized Zabu's moves and put my PokéNav back into my pocket. The air was thick with suspense. My heart was pumping at a thousand miles a minute as a nervous sweat built up at my forehead. I could tell this battle was going to be an interesting one.
"Frogadier, start out with a Quick Attack!"
"Froga!" Frogadier jumped off the ground and dashed in at Liepard, but I knew it was coming. Knowing Eliza, I predicted she would come at me with a Quick Attack first.
"Zabu, Fake Out!" Zabu slapped her front paws together just as Frogadier got into range. Although she'd hardly made contact with Frogadier, it flinched and stumbled. Zabu then moved out of the way at lightning-fast speeds right before Frogadier hit the ground hard, skidding along the pavement towards me until friction stopped it.
"Perfect, Zabu! Now hit him with Fury Swipes!" Zabu turned around and pounced at Frogadier, who was still recovering. But before Frogadier had a chance to react, her attack landed. She swiped four times with her razor-sharp claws, striking with all her might. Zabu hopped back after the attack and Frogadier struggled to stand up, covered in scratches.
"Water Pulse!" I heard Eliza yell. Frogadier let out another quick Water Pulse, making direct contact before Liepard or I could act. The pulse knocked Liepard back towards Eliza and doused her in water. When Liepard opened its eyes and realized it was soaked to the bone, it only became angrier.
"Lie! LIE!" it yelled, letting its anger out.
"Zabu, get in there with Slash!" Zabu dashed at Frogadier, its long legs carrying it at remarkable speeds.
"Frogadier, dodge it!" Frogadier hopped out of the way quickly, just missing Zabu's claws.
"Don't let up! Keep using Slash!" I yelled, determined to land another hit. She turned around almost instantly and pounced again at Frogadier. He was ready again, but so was Zabu.
Frogadier dodged, but Zabu predicted where it would step and attacked there instead. The result was Frogadier being hit right in the chest with a powerful, anger-driven Slash. He was knocked backwards and knelt on the ground, its injuries getting worse. It gritted its teeth from the pain.
"Come on, Frogadier! Move around if you need to!" Eliza yelled. Frogadier tried to get up and run, but its injuries rendered the attempt useless, and it fell back to the ground. I saw my chance, so I told Zabu to push in.
"Zabu, get over there and use Pursuit! Don't let Frogadier get up!" Zabu charged in towards Frogadier again, its claws glowing a black hue. As soon as she was in range, Zabu immediately swiped at the downed Frogadier with all its might. The move struck Frogadier hard, sending him back into the ground. Zabu leapt back after the attack, landing perfectly on all fours. She sassily licked her paws, knowing Frogadier had fainted. And she was right too; he lay on the ground unconscious, claw marks all over his body.
"Dammit Frogadier!" Eliza yelled, stomping her foot in anger. "You useless–" Eliza stopped talking and turned around, presumably to hide herself from our view.
"See, Eliza? I told you that you wouldn't win! Why don't you learn your lesson and stop messing with us?"
"The battle's not over yet, stalker!" She yelled, whipping back around and returning Frogadier to its Poké Ball with a red flash. "I've still got another Pokémon! You're not going to last long with this one!" Eliza then shrunk Frogadier's Poké Ball and placed it back into her pocket. Expecting her to pull out another Poké Ball, I was surprised when she pulled her hand back out with nothing in it.
"Uhh… Where–"
"Shut it, stalker! Y'know what to do! Go, Gengar!" Suddenly from the ground in front of Zabu a ghastly purple creature materialized on the road. Two red eyes opened, and a terrible, wheezy laugh came from the Gengar's mouth. The noise brought me back to when I was cornered at my dad's house days before. I vividly saw Gengar's horrifying visage… Its eyes staring into my soul, and the purple aura around it.
I snapped back into reality to hear Eliza laughing.
"Aw, is the stalker scared? Does Gengar want to make you run back to your mommy?" I cringed and didn't know how to react. I was emotionally scarred from the run in with Gengar, but I couldn't let Eliza win.
"I-I'm not scared Eliza, especially now that I'm with my Pokémon!" I yelled, trying to sound confident. I looked over to the sidelines, to remind me of what I was fighting for. Riolu was giving me a big smile and was waving. Dusty was turned around, staring at some bushes on the other side of the road, not paying attention. I expected him to do so as he wasn't around to meet Eliza in the first place but seeing Riolu's smiling face was enough for me to feel a little better.
Gengar laughed again, gaining my attention.
"I like the confidence, stalker. Unfortunately, all that is going to end here. This battle is already over! Gengar, get ready to use your combo attack!" Gengar smirked and got into a battle stance. Just then, a group of Haunter emerged from the ground around me, surrounding me in a circle. I felt more fear jolt through my body, realizing what was unfolding in front of me. This was the same Gengar that had attacked me at my dad's house, and somehow Eliza had him along with his team of Haunter! Riolu and Dusty turned towards me once they saw I was cornered and began preparing attacks in response, except for Zabu, who hesitated again and looked unsure what to do.
"Uh, yeah, no, that's not happening guys. Lay a finger on my Haunter and I'll blast your puny stalker into next week. Capeesh?" Eliza sassily yelled out to Riolu and Dusty when she noticed they were trying to fight back.
My Pokémon continued to hold their attacks out, but did not release them, knowing Eliza meant business. Despite wanting them to fight back anyways in an effort to escape, I realized there was too much at stake. I turned to Riolu and Dusty and nodded, showing them she was right. As they reluctantly dispatched their moves, Eliza laughed again, this time more maniacally than before.
"I can't believe this actually worked! How did you not see this coming, stalker? The only way I knew you were going to save the Pokémon World was if someone told me... And that person was none other than Necrozma himself!"
"You–" I was at a loss of words, trying to decide what to do. Then I realized what she'd said. "W-wait… Necrozma?" I asked naively. She scoffed.
"Uh, yeah. The Necrozma. Damn, you really are dense." She giggled and I felt even more anger seep into me. Apparently, Necrozma had more power than I thought, turning Eliza into his ally to stop me. I knew Uxie told me The Prismatic King and his army were extremely dangerous, but I didn't realize he would be able to pull strings like this.
"Necrozma came to me in a dream the night after we battled and offered me a deal. He told me to capture you alive, and that he'd make me one of his right-hand allies if I succeeded. I couldn't refuse an offer like that, getting revenge and receiving so much power! Necrozma then loaned me some of his minions and we planned to get you before you left for Kinzua. Of course, we didn't expect Uxie to show up that night and save your sorry ass, but now that she's been dealt with, there's no escape! Prepare to be sent to Ultra Space!"
Did she say that… Uxie had been 'dealt with'? Does that mean…? My thoughts trailed off as I heard Dusty make a surprised noise from my side. I turned to him and Riolu who were staring horrified at the bushes. A dozen different Ultra Beasts emerged from the trees all around us and we were completely surrounded in a heartbeat. With nowhere to go, my Pokémon all backed up towards me and the group of Haunter. The Buzzwole looked ready to beat us up, while the Xurkitree looked ready to shock us silly. There was nowhere to go, and nowhere to hide.
There's got to be some way out of this…! This wasn't how I wanted to go.
"It was rigged from the start, stalker! Say goodbye to your precious Pokémon! Gengar, start your Hypnosis combo!" The Haunters moved aside and Gengar floated over Zabu to me before letting out its terrible laugh once more. Then, Gengar and his Haunter lined up in front of us and began to channel their energy. Their eyes changed color, as the purple aura began to fluctuate around them, just like at my dad's house. I closed my eyes and cringed. I felt the fear coursing through me, even though my Pokémon were right beside me. Suddenly, I felt sleepy and fell to my knees. I tried to resist the feeling, but I wasn't strong enough. No… Please…
Just as I was about to pass out, I heard a low rumbling noise. I thought it was just a side effect or something of Hypnosis, but I then realized it had to be real when the sleepy feeling faded away.
Looking up, a giant horde of Raticate and Rattata was storming the scene from farther down the road by the bridge. They were all getting past the wall of Ultra Beasts anyway they could and attacking the Gengar crew. Each of them were using Crunch or Bite, dealing a good amount of damage on the Ghost types.
"What in the?" Eliza asked, standing back. The Raticate group was so large, it cut a hole in the defense of Ultra Beasts, leaving a huge gap open. The Ultra Beasts scrambled to patch up the hole, as well as attack the Raticate and Rattata that were fighting with the Gengar crew, but they were outnumbered. I turned to my partners who were all starting to come to.
"Now's our chance!" I yelled. "We've got to go, right now! Forget the bags and head for the bridge!" I stood up and began to bolt as fast as my tired legs could take me. Immediately, the pain of running flat out hindered my speed, but I knew that if I didn't pick it up, I was as good as gone. I looked back for a moment to see all my partners chasing after me, bounding through the hole in the garrison.
"Don't let them get away!" I heard Eliza yell, as we fled the scene. Behind us, I could hear the cries of multiple Pokémon and Ultra Beasts, as well as attacks hitting all over the place. I was worried to look back anymore, so I stayed facing forwards and continued to run. Seeing as all my Pokémon could run faster than me and none of them had passed me yet, I assumed they were also trying to fight back behind me, covering our tracks. Still, some dark orbs of energy that I assume were Shadow Balls got past them and exploded by the ground near me. I jumped, ducked, and dodged, my adrenaline fueling me on.
You've got to keep going, I told myself over and over. For my Pokémon and family. For the human world. For the Pokémon World. For–
I kept trying to think of reasons to keep going as a motivation, my hand over the jacket pocket where my mom's letter was the whole time.
Although it seemed like forever, the on-ramp to the Southern Tier Expressway was finally only a couple yards away. I hopped over the first of the separating guardrails and onto the grassy slope between the roads, then over the other guardrail, and up the ramp. By then I was nearly out of breath, all my muscles were screaming for me to stop, and the pain was excruciating, but I needed to keep running. Directly connected to the side of the bridge, the incline of the ramp was gradual. It slowed me down going uphill, but I continued to push myself. Just as I was about to cross over onto the highway, a white figure gently dropped down in front of me from above. I screeched to a halt, nearly stumbling and falling over.
The beast was a bit taller than me, its white body sparkling slightly. I could see the empty highway through the cloak-like wings on its back and it had two large antennae that stretched out down to the creature's knees. The beast stood up and struck a sassy pose, holding its hips with its small hands before it opened its purple eyes and glared at me. This Pheromosa was ready to battle.
I started to backpedal, knowing I had nowhere to go. From back on the road, I faintly heard Eliza's screaming voice.
"Pheromosa, take care of the stalker!" Pheromosa reached its long arm down and grabbed me by my jacket, hoisting me into the air.
"L-let me go!" I yelped, trying to break free from the Ultra Beast's hold. Just then, I felt something wrap around my waist. I was suddenly jerked backwards out of the grip of the Pheromosa and quickly stopped as Dusty caught me. He was running with Riolu and Zabu in front of him. For once, I was happy to be in his disgusting grasp.
I looked back up to see Pheromosa blocking the ramp. It looked mad Dusty nabbed me and held its arms out to block the rest of the road. We weren't getting onto the highway any other way, so we needed to get through somehow. I didn't waste any time making a plan and yelled out to my partners what we needed to do.
"We've… We've got to distract Pheromosa if we want to get away! Riolu and Zabu... Get in there with Quick Attack and Fake Out! ...Dusty, use Sludge Bomb as a final attack!" I managed to yelp in between my heavy breathing. Riolu and Zabu did not acknowledge what I said, but started to prepare their attacks, nonetheless. Riolu sped away as fast as he could as Zabu jumped in to strike Pheromosa as well.
"...Dusty, I'm going to duck down. Don't worry about me... Just worry about hitting Pheromosa. You've… You've got this, buddy!"
"Gar!" It said, ready to go. I got down as far as I could in his arms, hoping that the plan would work. As the ear-splitting sound of battle raged on behind us, I felt Dusty's chest contract and expand as he prepared his attack. "Garrrrr-bo!" he called out, the slime ball flying through the air.
Peeking back out at what was happening, I watched Pheromosa easily dodge Riolu's Quick Attack; Riolu skidded to a halt atop the highway to the side. Zabu's Fake Out hit, but it didn't do much damage. However, Pheromosa flinched from the move and now had its attention set on Zabu to the left. It began to prepare a counterattack of some kind, its leg glowing an off brown color, aimed right at Zabu. But before she could let it out, I smiled as I saw the purple Sludge Bomb overhead of Pheromosa about to hit its target. The bomb landed, exploding right in Pheromosa's face. Purple goo splashed everywhere, knocking Pheromosa up onto the highway.
"Nice shot! Now, let's go!" I yelled, seeing our chance. Dusty sped up and passed by the stunned Pheromosa, who struggled to get the gross purple substance off. Riolu and Zabu joined up with us as we passed.
My partners dashed as fast as they could, trying to put as much distance between us and the small army that was chasing us, but it was no use for the sheer speed of Pheromosa who once again landed in front of us. It was still covered in purple goo and didn't look pleased to be dirty. It seemed to be even more mad than before, and its eyes looked determined to end us.
All of us came to a screeching stop in front of the Pheromosa, who began to prepare another attack. It jumped into the air and used Lunge, aimed directly at Dusty and I, its right foot aglow with an orangish-tan color.
"Everyone get out of the way!" I yelled. Riolu and Zabu rolled to the sides, but Dusty had nowhere to go. Seeing Pheromosa approaching fast, Dusty leapt forwards onto the pavement. He almost landed directly on me, but he turned to the side at the last moment to not completely crush me. Yet, it still knocked the wind out of me and covered me in slime, but at least we were safe. Just then, there was a huge crashing noise from just behind and the sound of something cracking. As Dusty got up, he sported a worried face and helped me stand back up before we all looked away to see what had happened behind us.
Pheromosa had crashed to the ground on the bridge, dealing plenty of damage to itself and the structure. Its attack was so strong, the bridge began to crumble to the ground. The on ramps were also hit hard, sending Pokémon and Ultra Beasts alike into the air.
As the bridge fully collapsed to the ground, a huge dust explosion erupted into the air, shrouding the area behind us with a brown fog.
"W-we have to keep moving everyone, hurry!" I shrieked over it all. We all met up in the middle of the road and started to bolt again, but within moments, another cracking sound and a fear-inducing battle cry caused us to stop again. I turned my head to see what was happening, but all I could see was dust. Suddenly, a huge piece of bridge rubble surfaced from the brown cloud and flew towards me. "Watch out!" I screamed, suddenly changing my direction and jumping to the side again to dodge. Luckily, the highway was separated in the middle by grass, so I had a somewhat smooth landing, but all this falling on the ground was really getting to me. Whatever injuries I had before were getting worse and I was still completely out of breath.
The rubble missed all of us and smashed into the concrete hard, bursting into a million pieces. Inside the impact crater was a mess of tangled steel and broken rock debris. I struggled to pick myself up and began coughing as the front of the brown cloud rolled in. Then, I looked behind us again to see Pheromosa emerge from the smokescreen, staring directly at me. I didn't need to think twice to know what it wanted to do. Although it was just us and her now with the bridge collapsed, that didn't mean we should underestimate her.
Rushing to the middle of the highway where my Pokémon had gathered, I hid behind them, watching Pheromosa carefully in case it did something rash. I felt somewhat confident with my Pokémon guarding me, but Pheromosa's glare alone mostly negated that feeling.
Suddenly, before I had a chance to tell my Pokémon to attack, Pheromosa quickly turned around and began vibrating its wings in a way to let out a terrible Bug Buzz that nearly ruptured my eardrums. The noise was earsplitting, even louder than the sound of the collapsing bridge; all my Pokémon were hit by the unexpected move, especially Zabu, since she was a Dark type.
Then, once the terrible noise stopped, Pheromosa immediately jumped up and used Lunge while we were still recovering, heading straight for me. I wasn't ready for attack and stood still, watching the creature headed right for me. Dusty's long arms suddenly extended and caught Pheromosa midair, stopping its momentum just a couple feet away from me. Pheromosa struggled to get free, but before she could, Dusty brought his tendrils down and slammed her into the dirt median on the side of the road.
It didn't do much however, as Pheromosa immediately recovered from the attack and jumped right back in front of us. Then, it leapt into the air and disappeared high above the thick cloud of dust. There was a brief pause as all of us looked up to the sky.
"Keep your eyes up! It's attacking from above!" As we looked up and got ready, Pheromosa suddenly emerged from the dust coming from ground level where the bridge collapsed and used Lunge on Riolu. He didn't expect the attack from that direction and had no time to react. Pheromosa's attack pounded Riolu into the ground, sending chunks of asphalt out around the blast. Pheromosa didn't hesitate, and instantly jumped back into the air, lunging at Dusty. Dusty was still staring at Riolu and wasn't ready, so he suffered the same fate as Riolu; he was also thrown into the pavement with a hefty eruption of debris.
"No!" Is all I could cry out as both Dusty and Riolu completely fainted from the powerful attacks. But Pheromosa wasn't done yet. It used Lunge again and jumped directly at Zabu. However, seeing the pattern of its attacks, Zabu knew better, and jumped out of the way towards me. Pheromosa crashed into the ground and stood there stunned for a moment.
I fumbled through my pockets and brought out Dusty and Riolu's Poké Balls.
"Return, both of you!" I yelled, returning both the fainted Pokémon to their balls for a rest. I shook in fear as Pheromosa turned towards us again, still pulling itself out of the small pit. Just then, I felt the ground rumbling behind me and turned to see Ultra Beasts appearing from the dust. They'd made it past the destruction of the bridge and were rearing to aid Pheromosa in capturing me. My heart was pumping even faster now, and I could feel the sweat rolling off my forehead. Side to side with Zabu, I shouted,
"Zabu, there's too many of them. We've got to run!" Zabu turned to me and confidently nodded, then crouched down and gestured to her back with her head with her tail.
"Y-you want me to get on?" Zabu nodded again and flicked her head forward. I nodded back and carefully straddled onto her back. "Alright, go! Get us out of here!" I grabbed onto her chain link collar as she bursted forward.
I wanted to give Zabu some kind of advice as to get away faster, but her sheer running speed was enough to keep me quiet and holding on for dear life. Suddenly, I turned my head back to see Pheromosa using a High Jump Kick and heading right for us. I closed my eyes as Zabu rapidly sidestepped out of the way. Pheromosa crashed into the ground again, another eruption of stone and concrete exploding off to our side.
Zabu was unfazed by the event and continued running as fast as she could. I opened my eyes again and noticed we were okay, but right then the rest of the Ultra Beasts began to attack. The Buzzwole came at us, fists aglow, and the Xurkitree launched giant electricity balls at us. Yet, they were no match for Zabu's raw speed and agility. She dodged and weaved, as I yelled for her to watch out. Finally, after not being able to hit any attack on us, Pheromosa was ready to give it one last try.
Pheromosa broke through all the Ultra Beasts and put its heart into one last full High Jump Kick. Seeing it coming, Zabu leapt forward, right as Pheromosa crashed into the ground. Although it didn't directly hit us, the shockwave from the attack was too powerful and launched both of us forward off the ground. Zabu and I hit the pavement and skidded to a stop. I groaned in pain as my injuries worsened to an even higher degree. One more good hit, and I was probably done for good.
Putting the last of my strength into my legs, I stood up as fast as I could and saw the gang of Ultra Beasts led by Pheromosa, dashing over to me. Zabu was still laying on the ground, too tired and injured to move. Escaping was up to me now, and without any help, I was scared beyond belief. Yet, I knew that if I began to panic, I would slip up and hastily fall to the Ultra Beasts.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out Zabu's Poké Ball, quickly returning her to rest. As the strange sense of confidence burned inside my chest, I suddenly broke into a sprint, dashing back across the road, up a small hill, and into the woods by the side of the highway as fast as I could.
I didn't look back, I just kept running. All the while I carefully glanced around, looking for trouble and trying to not trip. Throughout the woods, the sounds of the pursuing Ultra Beasts reverberated everywhere. I felt the shockwaves of attacks landing behind me and saw approaching Ultra Beasts out of the corners of my eyes. Eventually, after aimlessly running for a surprising amount of time, Pheromosa jumped down in front of me to try and make a barrier. I knew I couldn't stop running, so I charged at it.
There's got to be a way around it! Then, I got a spark of inspiration. I waited to get within arm's length of Pheromosa to put my quickly crafted plan into place. As Pheromosa reached out to grab me and I suddenly ducked and slid across the ground. Pheromosa wasn't expecting my sudden movement and clapped its hands together to try and catch me. However, it proved to be too little too late as I slipped right past the gap in between its legs.
Wow, that actually worked, I thought, but I wasn't in the clear just yet. Behind Pheromosa was a steep hill that led down into a heavily wooded area. With the amount of space left, I couldn't stop the momentum of my sliding in time, so gravity took me down. I tried to control myself with my hands, but the forest floor was too uneven and bumpy. I hit my right hand on a loose rock and my left one on a root at almost the same time. I lifted my hands up in reaction, which was a poor choice. Just then, my body hit a large root and I went flying.
Everything seemed to slow down as I glided through the air. I closed my eyes and cringed as I hit the ground hard and began rolling and tumbling, running over all the rocks and roots I could. At the bottom, my momentum was stopped by a large oak tree that shook as I ran into it. I fell over on my back and stared up at the forest canopy; I was in too much pain to move and felt my conscience fading fast. My vision blurred as darkness enveloped me, and I passed out on the forest floor.