Six time Felix was saved by his pokemon.
(And one time he did the saving)
Kanto Team. Six pokemon, six moments. Let's learn a little more about them!
Now since this chapter has six different moments in it, I'm not going to put down when and where like I usually do. The time is his first journey, and the place is Kanto. If I need specifics, I'll write them in.
Keira saved him first, she would come to often save him the same way.
Felix was often a clumsy kid, tripping over easily in a spastic flailing of limbs. The first twelve times he fell around her he hit the ground as always, scraping his arms, or knees, or both.
The thirteenth time he began to trip, she caught his leg and pulled him right back onto steady feet, such was the power of a pokémon, even a small one.
Felix would continue to constantly trip, but rarely would he hit the ground anymore. Keira would walk ahead of him, knock loose rocks or other items out of his path, and remain close to grab him when he began to quick descent to the ground.
He appreciated it. It was never fun to scrape his skin, although the constant falls did help accustom him to pain.
Even as Felix grew taller, and Keira not so much, she'd remain in range to catch him. He became a lot heavier to deal with and even the Fighting-type pokémon would have trouble pulling him back to his feet sometimes.
There were times she overcorrected and threw him backwards instead of letting him fall forwards, but Felix would always laugh it off and thank her regardless.
It was easier, then, when she evolved. Felix had gotten surer on his feet, but he would still knock into things and trip over the air from time to time. He was rarely careful, as he knew Keira would always catch him.
She never did find the exact words to tell him, but there weren't many times she was more scared than the day when Felix lost his footing and nearly fell down the cliffside they were navigating. She had caught him, as she always did, and told him off for being so careless.
Felix just laughed and thanked her, not afraid because he knew she would always catch him.
Diego took a shot to save him.
The setting had been grim, a devilish duo directed by Team Rocket had committed grand poaching and had stolen dozens of pokémon from all over Fuchsia City.
The city was a big one, it wasn't uncommon for pokémon to disappear for a day and turn up again fine, but the two had been too impatient and had spent only three days stealing from all over the city.
Seeing a familiar face pass by him in the crowd was not a surprise Felix had enjoyed. It hadn't been the first time he had experienced the evil that Butch doled out like candy, and he remembered Mount Moon, Maiden's Peak, the Rock Tunnel and Saffron City well.
He followed as discretely as an eleven-year-old could and found himself in a quiet area, with warehouses all over.
"Come out already, kid," Butch said, and Felix found himself trapped, muk and grimer guarding the alleyway he had entered from, and both Butch and Cassidy standing before him.
"Well, well, well if it isn't our favourite little stain," Cassidy snarled, fingers twitching at a pokéball.
"You've made a big mistake kid," Butch growled, voice as gravelly as ever, "now you're going to pay for it."
"Who the hell are you people?" Felix snapped back, hoping for a very specific reaction.
"Who…?" He could almost hear their blood pressure raise before the dam broke.
"To INFECT the world with devastation!" Cassidy sang.
"To BLIGHT all people in every nation," Butch continued, voice really not fit for singing.
"To denounce the goodness of truth and love." Cassidy was calming down.
"To extend our wrath to the stars above." The motto seemed to calm many Team Rocket members.
"MY NAME IS CASSIDY!" Then the anger returned.
"And BUUUUTCH of course." Felix still couldn't understand him.
"We're Team Rocket, circling the world all day and night." Cassidy grabbed her pokéball and sent the pokémon out.
"Surrender to us now or you'll surely lose the fight!" Butch struck a pose.
"Let's just crush him!" the raticate Cassidy sent out snarled, finishing the motto.
"ATTACK!" Butch and Cassidy ordered together, for all their pokémon to follow.
The raticate's Hyper Fang on top of the twin grimer and muk's Sludge Bomb attacks would have been too much had it just been Keira defending him.
The apparent need for Team Rocket members to say exactly who they are in song and dance was used to prepare, and Felix sent out Diego and Shira to help hold them off.
Keira's Reversal held Raticate off while Diego and Shira knocked the Sludge Bomb attacks to the side.
"Go for it!" Felix yelled and his pokémon did.
A flurry of Force Palm's smashed into Raticate, knocking him flying into Butch.
While blazing in a Flame Wheel, Diego warded the grimer off while Shira tore into the muk, the growlithe and meowth able to occupy them long enough for Felix to get out of the battlefield and to a better vantage.
With some time to think, he was able to bring some control over the battle. His three active pokemon fell into the slobberknocker of carnage, energy blasts began going in every direction as the humans ran for cover.
"Keira, circle back Shira's having some trouble!"
The muk, while Shira was able to scratch it to goop, simply reformed and was trying to envelop her. Diego was too wrapped up in the grimer to be able to help, so Keira it was.
A Force Palm blew the sludge-like pokémon off Shira and she yowled. "This is going to take WEEKS to clean off me!" Her fur was raising in fury her eyes glowed white and she screeched again, preparing to pounce.
"Grab her!" Felix quickly said, jumping into the muk was exactly what it wanted, and Keira had to grab Shira in a ursahug to stop her.
"MUK!" Butch roared, throwing Raticate off him. "Sludge Bomb the TWERP!"
Keira gasped, Shira gasped, the muk grinned and shot the filthy poison at Felix. Keira tried to throw Shira off her and jump to the defence, but she was too slow.
Felix tried to duck, but muk had shot several globules and he could dodge them all. Despite squeezing his eyes shot a moment before the impact, Felix still saw the bright flare and felt the wash of heat.
Diego had heard the order right as Butch said it, and rolled on complete instinct into a Flame Wheel, leaping into the path of the Sludge Bomb while wreathed in flame.
The impact from the hit still knocked Diego, but his momentum caused him to miss Felix and land to the side.
"DIEGO!" Felix cried and ran to the downed growlithe's side while Keira and Shira turned their full fury on the muk and wiped it out.
"Ow, ow, ow," Diego whimpered but pulled himself up even as Felix fussed over him. "I'm fine, I'm fine." He limped, sagging right back down as soon as he tried to stand
Diego had been a police growlithe. Even without the general knowledge that attacking humans was a no-go, attacking his trainer sparked an anger in him he had never felt before.
Yet, rather than point that anger at the attacker, he'd thrown himself into Felix's defence.
Felix knew Diego would always come to his defence.
The way Shira saved Felix would be unknown for many years.
Having not told him of her part of the fateful day in Lavender Town, where the ghost first cast sad eyes upon her and the terrible one.
What words had been shared.
How she wanted to run.
How she did run.
How she came back.
It would be many years indeed, but she took a first step no one else had, not even Keira.
She told him her true name.
"Sharpened Claw along Hidden Red. Don't question it, doofus. Just smile and nod and do NOT tell anyone."
Felix gave her a hug. As he had everyone after that experience.
She had come back. That's what mattered.
Emma battled to save him.
The lapras was an odd one. She was the last pokémon in Kanto Felix brought onto the team but acted like the mother of the group. She spoke formally, even classy, despite confirming she had few individuals to talk to. She was the youngest, age-wise, but was the least childish. She knew the Sing technique, a useful move to send someone to sleep, but it worked in the reverse and would turn listeners hyperactive before long.
She chose to go along with a trainer on the Gym Circuit but strongly disliked battling.
Strong wasn't a strong enough word to describe her negative attitude towards battling. She had no issue with other pokémon battling, she'd happily play support with her Sing and Psychic, but it just wasn't for her.
Felix hadn't been her first trainer, Emma confided in him later, but he was the first to understand. Not just in the literal sense, his gift towards understanding the words pokémon spoke developed far beyond what he had ever dreamed, but figuratively. He didn't make her battle, but he also didn't release her like the others.
It was nice, or lovely as Emma would say, to be part of a trainer's team. Having the simple joys of having others to talk to would have been enough on its own, but she wasn't shunted to the side, holed up in the containing contraption known as the pokéball, and forgotten unless there was water about.
With a gentle use of Psychic, Emma was more than capable of floating alongside the rest of the team as they wandered the area, getting into trouble, upsetting the locals, and even sometimes solving an issue or two.
Where everyone else was more than prepared to settle differences through claw, and fang and fighting, Emma spoke, she explained, she soothed, she even argued. She never came to blows, however, even when the most straightforward way of solving an issue was a fight.
She was dexterous in ways the others weren't. Using controlled uses of her Power to perform tasks her flippers never could. She could hold an impressive number of objects in a Psychic hold at once, despite not being a Psychic-type, and would always help Felix lay out the picnic for the day.
She could generate little bubbles of water with her Power to cool another team member down, or even provide a drink.
Same use with her icy abilities, useful to create little ice cubes to keep a drink cool or send a thin shower of snow to relax someone on a hot day.
She had the control that the others lacked, the temperament, and Emma was delighted to find that she held a place on the team after all.
Arguments weren't uncommon, and fighting an issue out wasn't always healthy, it simply forced one to concede. Emma could talk them through, she stopped Brian from trying to smash Diego's head with his club in such a way.
Furthermore, she was the only one who could get through to Adrien in the times he lost all reason. Acting as a solid counterpoint, she could speak reason back into him and bring him back from whatever terrible place he had travelled to in his mind.
With the confidence to always be able to talk through an issue, Emma swam confidently along a cove. The group had stopped for the night, near the sea, and Emma asked her trainer if she could go for a swim.
He too knew she could always talk her way out of a confrontation and let her swim, making sure she knew not to stray too far and get lost.
Emma only laughed, a lapras wouldn't forget.
Her statement would be put to the test, after enjoying a few hours in the ocean, feeling the saltwater in all its glory, lapping against her body, she swam for a while. Night fell, and the stars came out and still, she swam, it was only when she realised she was getting tired did she think to turn back.
Ultimately, Emma was proven to be right to turn back. She knew her way back and within an hour, as the stars and moon shone brightly, she spotted a familiar cove. She had ducked in there earlier, curious, but found just a small patch of sand and nothing interesting.
She could hear voices from it now, however, and with new interest, she swam onwards.
Inside was a human man, dressed in the layers that humans always covered themselves with, armed with nets. A lot of nets.
He heard her enter and looked up, eyes concealed in the darkness but something about him made her think he was widening them.
"A lapras?" He wondered, voice raw with wonder, and then a smile entered his voice. "Hello there beautiful thing." He dropped what he was doing and walked close, the soft thwap of flippers reaching Emma's ears.
"…hello?" She said back, before mentally chastising herself. Only Felix was able to understand her, this human was likely hearing nothing but, "Lapras."
"It is one," he murmured, coming closer. There was something about this man that was triggering multiple danger senses in her head. The nets, the darkness, the odd quality to his voice. Deciding to have none of this, Emma turned away and began to swim.
"WAIT!" He called, and in the reflex of being polite, she did stop. She turned her head back to try and see him, only for a capture contraption device, another pokéball, to hit her square in the face.
The ball opened, and she was covered with a red beam, but the device failed and plopped into the water.
"…not wild," the man muttered, and Emma had enough of this, turning back to swim off faster she wasn't able to get far before a net fell over her. "Not so fast, I'm not missing out on a lapras!"
Emma squealed out in panic, thrashing in the water as he tried to pull her back. Using her rather sharp teeth, Emma bit down and tore a hole in it, giving her head some space to move. Feeling a mite better, she was able to focus on her Power and draw out a Psychic.
Using the move, she pulled the net off her and dove down into the water, ignoring the yells of the human that had tried to take her away.
She completely missed her human rushing into the cove, dressed in nothing but shorts and wielding nothing but fists. She later learned that Felix had been waiting along the water's edge, worried about her, while the rest of his pokémon remained at the camp. He had heard her cry out and leapt into the water without hesitation.
He saw her escape but couldn't do so himself.
"You're the trainer?" The man said and had Felix in a net before he could even think to dive. "Then you're the perfect bait."
Emma hadn't gotten far before the man caught up to her. "Hey, lapras!?" He called, trying to catch her attention. "Look what I have?" She didn't turn back, not wanting the man to catch up. "It's your trainer!"
That brought her to a stop.
The man was riding a jet ski with an add-on, zooming after her with a white wave streaming behind him.
A net was fired at her, but she diverted it with her Power. What the man said was true and Emma felt something she had rarely felt begin. Fury.
"Emma, run!" Felix called, completely trapped in a weighted net.
"Not the best idea," the man added, patting Felix through the net. "If I have to go too fast, we might bump a bit over the waves, and he might slip off. And this little lad will sink like a stone thanks to that net he's in."
Emma's heart skipped a beat as, after a jostle, Felix nearly did fall off. She knew he couldn't swim during the best of times, if he fell now he would drown.
Emma bowed her head and stopped, the poacher grinned and sent out a pokémon of his own. "Yo Bruce, make sure this lapras ain't gonna try something funny." He sent out a sharpedo who growled his response.
"Got it, boss." The teeth of the terrifying pokémon sunk into dark energy as the sharpedo summoned his Power, bringing forward a Crunch to hold Emma in place.
"Emma NO!" Felix yelled as Emma braced and took the bite. Bruce the sharpedo bit down hard and she could feel his teeth pierce through the Crunch and press into her body, drawing blood.
"Good job," the poacher complimented as he slowed to a stop beside them. "Keep it in place, I'm getting the net ready."
"Excuse me?" she whimpered, feeling the sharpedo grip harder. "Excuse me?" she said a little more forcefully. "Could you please let me go?" The sharpedo did not release her. "Please, just let me take my human and go. We're not here to cause any trouble, just let us go and we'll move on."
With some time to spend, the poacher made sure he had everything in place and perfect before entrapping his prey. "Okay, lapras, you better not move or else your trainer gets a dip in the drink." The poacher pressed a threatening hand against Felix and he could feel himself nearly slip into the water.
Emma cringed and tried again. "Is there anything I can offer? There has to be something. My trainer can understand us, whatever it is I can get the request across."
She felt Bruce beginning to release her and her heart leapt.
"Good job."
Before the net brought her crashing down to reality. The sharpedo swam dutifully back to the poacher's side and the man tossed a bit of chum to him, Bruce delighting in the feed.
Emma felt whatever technology the poacher had designed completely trap her in the net, with no opening to swim out of, as he clicked it to his jet ski. "We're just gonna go nice and quickly back to my cove and then we'll be out of here! Right to a buyer, won't that be fun?"
"You're going to pay for this," Felix said darkly, but the poacher ignored him.
The poacher thrummed the engines and Emma shrieked as the burst of water hit her directly in the face before she was pulled along against the hard edge of the net.
She couldn't right herself, she couldn't swim, it was too fast. She could only throw her head above water to take a breath before she was dunked right back down."
Soon enough, however, they reached the cove. The moon still shone brightly down upon them. Emma desperately took some gulping breaths of air before looking around hopefully. The others weren't there.
Felix seemed to share in her hope and shared the pain when it shattered. "Where are they?" she whispered, net resting up against the jet ski. Felix pushed a hand through his net to pat her on the head.
"We're going to be fine," he promised.
"Nah," a deep voice chuckled, and Emma turned to see Bruce swimming up against her net.
"Is there nothing you can do?" she asked, receiving a chuckle in response.
"Definitely."
"You can do something!?" Emma asked, excited.
"Sure." Bruce gave the closest thing a sharpedo could make to a shrug. "I'm not. But I could."
Her heart sank, again. "Why not?" She pressed forward. "This isn't right, I have a trainer, and he's in a net too! Why won't you help us?"
"I follow my trainer," Bruce replied. "And he treats me good. And getting you is making him real happy, I'll be getting lots of treats for this!"
"You. You." Emma couldn't find the words to express her outrage and disgust. "Ruffian!" She tried. "Scoundrel!"
"Those are some real fancy words your spittin," Bruce replied conversationally, before surging forward and slamming her against the jet ski. "And I'm not liking 'em."
Emma's eyes flashes as she summoned her Power and used Psychic, aiming to throw Bruce off her. Nothing happened.
"W-what?" Her eyes flickered.
"HAHA did you just try a mind thing on ME? I've got a dark personality, sure you wanna try that again?"
He slammed into her again, jostling the jet ski as he did so, the final step required to cause Felix to slip.
"FELIX!" She screamed as her trainer's cry was cut off, the water had already swallowed him up. "You've got to save him!" She turned back to Bruce.
"Hmm… nah."
Her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean 'nah'?"
"I mean I'm not doing squat, Guy was probably gonna do that anyway, saves him the trouble."
"You." Emma suddenly found the words. "Go to sleep."
Emma started singing. "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go… to… sleeeep."
Sing rarely worked the way it should have, energizing others rather than sapping them. And this time was no different.
"Woah!" Bruce said, beginning to sway back and forth. "Keep doing what you're doing!"
"Sleep, sleep, sleep, SLEEP!"
Emma could hear her own singing, and it worked the same way on her.
Calling upon her Power for a use she had nearly never used it for, she fired an Ice Beam with every bit of Power she could muster. Empowered by her own song, it sliced right through her net and struck Bruce head-on, freezing him into a sharpedo-sized ice cube.
She slammed her head forward, shattering the part of the net she had frozen, and immediately dove down.
She spotted Felix quickly, still thrashing against his net, and grabbed him with her Psychic. He was heavy, thanks to the net and whatever anti-pokémon qualities it had, but she refused to give in and pulled with all her Power.
Guy the poacher had noticed the disturbance and came swimming out, playing direct witness to Emma bursting from the sea in a surge of rage. She tore the net snaring Felix to ribbons and then, in contrast to her violent display, gently placed him on the shell on her back.
Felix was coughing, more than she liked, but he hadn't taken in too much water by the time she reached him.
"BRUCE!" Guy roared and the sharpedo managed to break through the ice with an Aqua Jet. "GET THEM!"
"Get ready," Felix choked, trying to get a good grip on Emma's shell before she sped off. Only. She didn't. "Emma?"
"I'm defending you." Was her only response.
Emma gathered up another Ice Beam and fired it, only for Bruce to easily dodge it. "Not this time!" he roared and slammed into her.
Emma had braced, however, and scarcely even twitched from the impact. "Ice Beam on the water," Felix managed, pulling more air into his lungs than there was water now.
Following her trainer's plan, Emma froze a circle around her to ward Bruce off for a moment. "Now, Psychic on the ice hit him with it!"
"Get them DAMMIT!" Guy yelled, but to no effect. He wasn't much of a trainer and didn't care enough to know much of what Bruce could do. Felix directed Emma well enough to catch the directionless sharpedo off guard and knock him unconscious with a big block of ice.
"Ice Beam on the guy's jet ski!" Emma was only too happy to oblige, freezing the vehicle that had taken many pokémon away.
"Now get him." Felix pointed to Guy, who was rapidly trying to escape.
"Ice Beam?" she asked, half serious.
Felix was tempted, he admitted later, but shook his head. "Psychic, we'll take him to the police."
"Silly Song but Rejuvenating Voice," Emma said, as they swam back to land. "That's my name. I heard Shira told you hers. That is mine."
Emma may have been pacifistic, but that day Felix understood that she would still fight for those she cared about.
Adrien fought his nature to save him.
Adrien was not an easy pokémon to be around. He was violent at the best of times. Abrasive when they could understand what he was roaring about. And overly difficult to get to follow even the simplest commands. It was telling that it took Felix several months before Adrien would follow the order. "Do not try to eat anyone on the team. That includes me."
If one could understand the aerodactyl they would be forgiven for thinking that Adrien was never fed, as the only thing that seemed to be on the aerodactyl's mind was food.
Thanks to a lot of advice, and some direct Psychic intervention through Gym Leader Sabrina, Felix was able to get through to Adrien and the aerodactyl began understanding and speaking some sense.
Things did not get better.
Being able to understand each other just meant Adrien knew what he was refusing to do, or not do, and he had more than a few snappy comebacks of his own.
It wasn't until much later, with seven gym badges under Felix's belt, while exploring the mountainous region north of Pewter City did something finally change.
Felix had left Keira at the closest Pokémon Centre to recover after a nasty battle against a wild rhydon, and left Shira there to keep her company if they didn't return in time, but he was still exploring.
He was nervous, something akin to irritated, and frustrated. Seven badges he had obtained, only the Saffron Badge was left, Gym Leader Sabrina, had he yet to defeat.
There had been times Felix had considered searching for one of the smaller gyms that dotted Kanto and trying for one of their badges, but Sabrina had challenged him. And he knew he wouldn't be able to partake in the Silver Conference if he didn't surmount that mountain.
To prepare for the figurative mountain climbing, he decided to climb actual mountains. The pokémon around were powerful and his team was pushed to their limits fending off several dangerous Rock and Ground pokémon.
Even Emma joined in, citing her type advantage and the fact that Adrien couldn't be trusted to help. He was more likely to fly away to hunt than help.
Things had been going well. Diego and Emma were too large to remain out of their pokéball's constantly and had to be recalled frequently. Brian was good to remain out, the stout marowak being more than able in this mountainous adventure.
Then Felix slipped.
He'd, later on, laugh with Keira, saying that if she had been close by, there would have been no chance he'd fall. She'd laugh too, but her smile was tight, and a paw was clenched.
Brian did not have as swift reflexes as Keira and failed to react fast enough to grab Felix as he slipped. He managed to throw out the bone he held, but Felix's fingers were not strong enough to grasp it and the human fell with a scream.
The cliff was sheer, but most of all, it was icy.
It was to Brian's endless relief that Felix didn't fall far, he landed on a wide ledge and sprained an ankle and his wrist but was otherwise okay.
The trip had knocked a pokéball loose, however, and Adrien had been flung out as well, slamming wing-first into the ledge, that next had Felix land on it.
"I'll get help!" Brian called down, once he found that Felix was alright. Brian wanted to help personally, but the cliff was too sheer, too slippery and he was smart enough to know that he couldn't do anything helpful himself, but others could.
"Do NOT think of anything funny," Keira yelled down at Adrien, offering a few more threats as well before going after Brian.
The only race was the one against the light. The mountains were cold and would only get colder. Felix had bundled up with warm, protective clothing, but when night fell the temperature would drop well below zero and there was not near enough space for Diego to come out to warm him.
So, Brian ran, as fast as his stumpy legs could carry him. Keira zoomed along another location, splitting up for the best chances.
On the ledge, Adrien and Felix found themselves in a conundrum. Adrien had landed on his pokéball, shattering it, and due to the fall, Adrien's wing was almost certainly broken. There was barely enough space for both of them, and Adrien was colder blooded than Felix.
Time passed slowly, tensely. Felix wasn't sure how he felt, to be trapped on a ledge with a pokémon that had tried to kill him before. A pokémon he had just broken the wing of. Despite that, despite the pokéball breaking, despite the pain, despite everything, Adrien didn't do anything, and Felix tried to relax.
He wished he could call out even one of his other pokémon. But both were too large. He entertained the idea of trying to get Emma to use Psychic to float herself, and them, up but discarded it. Emma only just could raise herself and he couldn't risk her falling or them.
So, he sat huddled against the cliff as the temperature fell, and they grew colder. With nothing else to do, he tried to talk to Adrien.
"So…," he began, already hesitating. Adrien didn't even react to his words, but he pressed on anyway. "This sucks."
Adrien breathed out a misty huff, Felix wasn't sure if that was a response.
"It's cold, we're both sore, and they aren't back yet. But they will, which one do you reckon will save us?"
Adrien was silent.
"Brian always comes through, he's not fast but he doesn't get tired, they are probably on their way already!"
Adrien breathed in.
"I hope Keira's alright though, she'll be so mad that I fell." Adrien made a sound, Felix was certain it was a snort of laughter. Keira had shouted mostly at Adrien, but he knew she was saving the worst of it for Felix himself.
"If they send a lot of people, they probably won't be able to guard her enough. Keira knows the ins and outs of Pokémon Centre's too! There's one in Solaceon Town that we went to all the time. Nurse Joy there would give us Pokécola, even though she wasn't supposed to."
Adrien breathed out.
Felix continued chattering, filling the silence with meaningless ramblings and keeping their minds off the cold as best he could.
"I'm cold though," Felix eventually said, his teeth had been chattering so loud that he didn't need to say it. "How are you?"
Felix listened to Adrien breathe in and out for a while, hoping he'd say something back.
"Tired," he whispered, eyes drooping. "Can't sleep."
"Don't worry," Felix chattered, rubbing a stone-cold part of Adrien. "You can sleep, I'll guard us both."
"No," Adrien groaned, shuddering. "Won't wake."
Felix frowned. "You won't… wake up?"
"No."
"Oh." His eyes widened. "OH! You can't sleep, not in the cold and snow!" A light dusting of snow had begun to fall and was coating them both. "You never wake up if you sleep in the snow! Except for Ice-types, I think…"
Adrien groaned, and Felix grew panicked. "Adrien no! You can't sleep, no!" He patted Adrien's side rapidly, trying to slap some heat into him. "Come on, you're super strong you can't go to sleep. Stay awake!"
Adrien took in a shuddering breath. "Not coming. Not in time."
"Brian will be here," Felix insisted. "Or Keira!"
"Not in time."
There wasn't much room to move, but Felix tried to close what little space there was between them in an effort to warm Adrien up.
"You're freezing!" Felix moaned, shuddering even worse now that he was in contact with Adrien's rocky, utterly freezing, skin. "Stay awake!"
"Get off," Adrien grumbled, trying to push him off. "You freeze quicker like this." His stony skin was so cold.
"No." Felix stubbornly replied.
"Off," Adrien repeated, a hint of a growl entering his voice.
"No!"
"Now," Adrien's voice held the warning that had scared Felix so many times in the past.
"NO!"
"NOW!" Adrien roared, thrashing as he forgot where they were and tried to throw Felix off. He succeeded.
Felix hit the edge of the wall and slipped, feet running in place and arms flailing. He was yelling again, and Adrien remembered where they were.
"AH!" Felix yelled as his feet slipped and he fell again, fingers managing to grip the edge of the ledge they were on.
"FELIX!" Adrien screeched, tail whipping down and slamming into him. Felix felt his life flash before his eyes, but he didn't fall.
Adrien's tail had slammed him against the rocky wall and held him in place. "Up," the aerodactyl groaned and Felix grappled around, managing to grab onto the ledge again. "Up," Adrien repeated, and they managed to shimmy him back up and onto the steady floor.
"You saved-" Felix was cut off as the steady floor, stopped being so steady. "AH!" He clung to Adrien, trying to steady himself as the ledge began to break away from the wall.
He grabbed onto Adrien and, thankfully, the ledge stopped cracking.
"It will fall," Adrien grunted. The ledge was still straining, and it would properly fall soon enough.
"Th-they'll get us," Felix stuttered, still holding onto hope.
"Not in time," Adrien grunted back. "Floor fall, because heavy."
"We're too heavy?" Felix asked.
"Yes."
"Then one of us." He stopped himself, not wanting to think past that.
"Yes. One of us fall. Me." Adrien spread his wings, one bent and broken, the other tinged with cold and nearly cracking.
"ADRIEN NO!" Felix cried, acting without thinking. Part of the ledge had poked up, and as Felix rushed forwards he hit it and lost his balance. Again.
"DAMMIT!" Adrien roared as Felix fell to the side, the aerodactyl's tail not able to grab him this time, and Felix fell with a scream.
Felix didn't see his life flash before his eyes a second time, he just felt happy that at least Adrien would get out of this alive.
"NO!"
Twin talons hooked and strong, perfect for gripping suddenly clasped around his abdomen. Felix felt the wind get knocked out of him as he was squeezed, and a part of his mind flashed back to the other time Adrien had done this to him. He had been trying to kill him that time.
Adrien screeched in pain as he flared his wings, trying to slow their descent and fall into a glide. He strained and felt his rocky skin, affected by the sharp cold, begin to tear but he refused to give up.
Holding the extra weight made it so much more difficult, but for reasons he couldn't explain Adrien refused to drop Felix. He succeeded in gaining control of the fall and arced his body, wings straining all over again as they narrowly avoided the tightening crevice. Adrien sent them in a horseshoe motion and used their speed to fling them right upwards.
It wasn't enough to get them to the top, not with the extra weight, and he pumped his wings, feeling every part of his broken wing scream in agony, while the other one strained against the cold as it tried to compensate for the broken one.
They nearly reached the top, before Adrien felt the sinewy part of his broken wing tear completely and he lost all push on that side. He flapped frantically with the other wing as Felix threw out two pokéball's.
They began to fall again, but Adrien managed one last push and opened his jaws, clamping down on the cliff side and chomping his teeth right through the frozen stone.
Emma and Diego appeared, and Emma reacted immediately. She grabbed Adrien in a steady Psychic while Diego flipped out, snapping the arcanine out of his panicked yelping with a bark, not unlike the ones he was given years back in training.
Emma pulled them up as best she could but wasn't strong enough to hoist them onto the safe land. Diego grabbed Adrien and tried to pull, but the aerodactyl hadn't released the stone.
"Let go," Diego urged. "We've got you."
Adrien hesitated, the primal part of him couldn't bring itself to place his life or death in the hold of another.
"Adrien," Felix's voice reached him. "It's okay, let them pull us up."
"Don't listen!" The inner part of Adrien's mind bellowed. "Do. Not. Listen. Outstretched Wings. Over. Craggy Vally."
Adrien began to release the rock. "Name. Not just that. Adrien. Adrien also name."
He fully let go and Emma and Diego pulled them up.
It was much later that Felix was able to talk to Adrien, after the search party arrived to find them part way back, after Felix had been treated for hypothermia and Adrien had been treated for his wings, torn skin, and hypothermia as well.
It was over a week later before they were even able to consider the idea of leaving, that Felix asked to talk to Adrien alone.
Nurse Joy had given him a spare pokéball to recapture Adrien with, they had gone on the computer to have the broken pokéball marked as such, but Felix wanted to ask.
"Do you want to still come with me?"
He had been terrified of the response. Every part of him told him to just capture Adrien and be done with it. The aerodactyl was violent, uncontrollable, rude and more, but Felix couldn't see his team without him.
"Yes."
To his surprise, Adrien agreed immediately. Even after he explained that with the destruction of the pokéball, Adrien could technically just leave. Even then, Adrien had chosen to stay.
That was the moment Felix decided, no matter how difficult it might get, no matter how disobedient, uncontrollable, violent and more a future pokémon might get. As long as it wanted to be with him, he would continue to find a way.
Brian saved him from giving up.
It was his first proper journey, Kanto was the beginning. Felix had decided he didn't want to combat Sinnoh until he was ready until he could do it and not embarrass himself in front of the only humans that cared. They might see his poor attempts in other leagues, but as long as it wasn't Sinnoh he could deal with it. At least, he thought he could.
He wasn't sure what to expect, but like anyone and everyone competing there was a part of him that thought he'd win.
He managed to get through all four special fields, and in the final field, ice, Keira did the unthinkable.
They entered the next match on top of the world. Six on six. Felix felt bad he had to bring Emma into this, but with confidence that he wouldn't need her.
His opponent, Lennard, smashed him.
The score ended 5-0. It took absolutely everything he and his team had to bring down even one of Lennard's pokémon, a charizard, with a final move that actually destroyed their battlefield and nearly injured them.
Lennard had, afterwards, complimented him on the battle and told him off for nearly injuring them both with the final attack, but left with a smile.
Felix, however, was stunned.
Lennard's charizard had sent both Keira and Adrien into the emergency department and neither was going to be fit for doing much of anything for a few weeks. Shira and Diego were a little better, which simply meant they were only unconscious. Emma was the least injured, but the shame in having used her, even if he pulled her out of the battle quickly, ate at Felix.
Even as Emma assured him she agreed to fight but Felix continued feeling like the bottom of a tauros.
Lastly, there was Brian. Brian was a little less injured than Diego and Shira and was the second to be released from the tender care of the chansey and nurses. Emma being the first.
He took Emma to a lake nearby for her to swim in and sat at the riverbank and stewed in his loss. Brian joined him quickly and the two sat near the water, picking at the grass.
"So." Brian broke the silence. "That sucked."
There was something about how frank Brian had said it, but the words made Felix laugh."
"Yeah," he giggled, hiding his face as he laid back against the ground. "Completely rubbish." He composed himself and sat back up. "Sorry. I guess I just wasn't a good enough-"
"I'm gonna stop you right there," Brian interjected. "I'm afraid not. You are a perfectly good trainer, I'd even say you're better than good, and you know me. I only say that about the ladies."
Felix frowned slightly. "Are you calling me a girl?"
"No." Brian rolled his eyes and thwapped Felix's leg with the bone club. "I'm calling you a good trainer. This was your first go, no one expected you to get it won straight away!"
"I know that," Felix said, crossing his arms and frowning. "I just… we were beaten so easy, it took everything to beat the charizard, and that was just one pokémon!"
"So?" Brian shrugged.
"So?" Felix gaped. "So, what?"
"Exactly." Brian winked. "So, what? In the end Adrien did take out the charizard, even if he knocked himself out doing so. That's still impressive."
"But that doesn't… that's not… ah." Felix bowed his head. "Why can't you let me be disappointed in myself?"
Brian sighed and stepped up close, laying a hand on Felix's shoulder. "We are the ones who fought, we're disappointed in ourselves."
"What!" Felix squawked, snapping his head up. "That's wrong. You didn't let me down. None of you did, you are the only reason I got as far as I did."
Felix looked up, seeing Emma slowly drift along in the lake, even from where he was he noticed her head was bent a little farther down than usual. "EMMA!" He yelled, catching more than a few people's attention as he did so. "YOU DIDN'T LET ME DOWN! YOU DID MORE THAN I EVER COULD HAVE ASKED FOR! THANK YOU!"
Emma seemed to perk up and Felix looked back to Brian, nodding his head. "So, you're allowed to be disappointed in yourself but not us in ourselves?" Felix's energy seemed to fade, and he balked.
"I...?"
"Nope." Brian shook his head. "Because we feel it too. You can't help but think 'What if I did this?' Or 'What if I tried that differently?' But we know you don't blame us, and we all hope you know we don't blame you. We will all use this to get better, stronger, greater I bet! Really impress the ladies. But we can't get there without you. Alright? We kind of happen to like you, I don't want that guy as my trainer." Brian pointed out to a random person walking along. "I want you. And so does everyone else."
"Alright." Felix smiled, genuinely this time. "Thanks."
Felix didn't tell Brian or any of the others, but he had been wondering if he could keep going. If he was a good enough trainer for the pokémon he thought deserved only the best. But if they chose him, then he'd choose them back.
Always.
Felix saved them all.
Such a fact was never spoken outright. Not from everyone, not with words. And it carried beyond just Kanto's group as well.
It'd be years before Keira would tell Felix the truth of the night he saved her, how close she was to being caught by pokemon willing to kill her, how grateful she was that he remained stubborn and came back to save her.
Adrien could never be sure about what his life would have been like, had he not broken out of the containment a second time and tracked down the puny human that had dared to capture him the first time. He was sure, however, that it wouldn't have been a life. He may have been living, but it would not have been the life he had with Felix and knew that the trainer had saved him.
Diego was not happy when he was Number 4. Just a number among a pack of growlithe, trained in complicated police manoeuvres that he just couldn't understand. He knew he could have stayed with Blue Haired Owner and they might have been able to help him understand, together. But he wouldn't have been as happy. He wouldn't be as free. For that, he saw Felix as his saviour.
Shira was a normal meowth. She didn't have the mystery of Keira, the ancient power of Adrien or even the unique training of Diego. She was just a normal alley cat who had been challenged by a cocky riolu. Her life would have been the same, forever. Feeding off scraps, and participating in pokémon disputes over territory, until she inevitably got sick from a scratch, ate something bad, or any other poor end. Perhaps she would have been killed instead, over the same disputes or even a human not happy with a meowth digging through its garbage. Keira may have been the reason she joined, but Felix was the reason she stayed. The human gave her a warm place and food, then a team, a family, a home. He had rescued her, and she wouldn't forget that.
Brian was weak. He knew that. As a cubone, he could barely escape predators and survived mostly by being too small to notice. He had dreamed, so many times, of a trainer. A human. The pokémon spoke of how powerful a human could make a pokémon, even though the humans seemed to have no powers of their own. Yet no matter how long he waited, no one came for him. No human would want him. He wasn't strong enough to be noticed, and he wasn't brave enough to approach them himself. Felix met him halfway, coming to save him from a fearow and then letting the cubone approach him. Brian was sure that had Felix not taken him along, saved him, no matter how weak he was, he'd still be in those bushes, waiting for someone that would never come again.
Emma had been bred to be a battling pokémon. She never knew the smell of the sea until her third human, disappointed but kind enough not to just sell her again, released her into the ocean. She scarcely knew how to survive and was too soft-hearted to hunt. Felix had found her, malnourished and fading in a forgotten corner of the region and had saved her. Out of everyone, however, she asked him to come along. Realising what could be had, what could be missed, by letting him leave. He accepted the strange lapras who sang the wrong song, wouldn't battle and refused to hunt. He gave her a chance to live.
They weren't the end of that.
Felix never thought of it as saving and rescuing, but it wasn't an uncommon topic among the pokémon he didn't have on hand at a given time to share stories about what their trainer rescued them from.
And they all were determined to continue saving him. He couldn't have saved those to come if they hadn't saved him too.
Things mentioned in this chapter will likely be expanded on in the chapters to come. Particular Shira's part. Just a snippet of sorts.