"Let's go, Cassie!"
The bright glow of a Pokémon emerging from their ball filled the ring for a moment, before a Blaziken materialized – tall, proud, and already in a fighting stance; both upper talons clenched into fists.
Before the battle could begin, though, Cassiopeia looked back over her shoulder towards her trainer, blue eyes lighting up for a moment in a bird's best approximation of a smile.
The trainer in question was a woman by the name of Mia, older than most beginning trainers and clearly with plenty of experience under her belt – the fact that said belt held six Poké Balls in total was just one hint at her level of experience, to say nothing about her collection of badges. She smiled back at her starter, waving enthusiastically and giving her a thumbs-up.
"You've got this! They don't stand a chance."
Her morale all but reinvigorated, Cassie rolled her shoulders and turned back to size up her opponent.
A bulky-looking Dragonite had taken his stance across from her, equally braced for whatever she planned to throw at him.
His trainer, Louise, was an old friend of Mia's… or better said, an old rival. The two women rarely met without challenging one another to a duel between their teams, but that only seemed to have brought them closer – outside of said duels, they were two peas in a pod. In a sense, Pokémon weren't the only ones that formed social bonds through battle. But this particular match-up was new: Cassie had never faced off against this member of Louise's team before, only seen him around every now and then.
"Alright, Cassie, you know the drill!" Mia cheered. "Use Blaze Kick!"
Just as she'd practiced hundreds of times before, Cassiopeia reared up to swing her leg in a deadly arc, her limbs boosted by carefully timed and even more carefully directed bursts of flame. Her opponent had the type advantage, so she'd have to make this quick.
The other trainer didn't waste time giving a command of her own, though.
"Now, Felix! Use Outrage!"
Her kick would have landed a perfect blow, if it weren't for her opponent catching it and closing a claw around her lower leg. Their eyes met, and Cassie froze up for a split second under the sheer intensity of the other's gaze.
For that brief moment, she could only wonder what the Dragon-type was up to, until she saw and felt his other claw closing around her thigh. She squawked in surprise as she was lifted up into the air, swung overhead, and slammed down onto the ground that did little to break her fall. The impact knocked all the air out of her lungs, causing her wide-open beak to let out little more than a breathless creak as she tried to recover.
Something cracked in her chest, eliciting another, slightly louder cry, but some bruised or broken ribs were nothing she hadn't recovered from before. She'd be fine, just as long as she got her leg out of–
And then Felix began to twist.
Cassie didn't even realize what he was doing until a searing, paralyzing pain coursed through her leg. She had to strain herself to even look back at him, eyes wide with fear and confusion. This was not how a battle was supposed to go, but no matter how much she squirmed or kicked at him with her free leg, using her arms for support and to try and pull herself free, the Dragonite's vice-like grip refused to budge.
"Blaaaz–"
The Blaziken's crow of pain abruptly turned into a high-pitched squeak as her femur snapped, breaking her leg just above the knee. Her arms gave out and sent her back down to the ground, panting and feeling more feverish than a Fire-type ever should.
And still he refused to let go, just continuing to twist both halves of her leg in opposite directions.
Their respective trainers could only look on and watch in horror, Mia covering her mouth while her rival mustered the courage to speak. Her hoarse voice rang out across the arena, easily heard over the stunned audience – even the announcer had gone silent.
"Felix, STOP!"
One of the Dragonite's antennae twitched. He let go of Cassie's leg a moment later, allowing her lower half to join the rest of her on the sandy ground.
She didn't even notice that she'd only felt one set of claws releasing her mangled limb. Panicked, dizzy with pain and wanting nothing more than to stand a fighting chance, the Blaziken tried to pull herself up on her feet, only to fall back down onto her right side. Her leg screamed with a new wave of visceral pain, just as her eyes darted about to find her trainer.
The tears welling up in Mia's eyes only served to worry her even more. "C-Cassie, you…"
It wasn't until Cassie rolled onto her back and looked down at herself that she realized what had gotten her trainer so panicked.
The Dragonite was still holding her lower leg in his claws, but… it was no longer attached to the rest of her. What had once been her right leg was now little more than a stump, a jagged bone sticking out where her knee had once been and her own blood soaking into the ground.
She managed only a quiet croak before passing out, the last thing she saw being the bright light of her own Poké Ball opening to take her in.
⸻
When Cassie came to, she was somewhere else: a small, cozy bedroom with blue and pink pillows propping her head up as she lay atop the covers. Even in her dazed state, she would have recognized the room anywhere – she was home. The curtains and window were open, letting warm, welcome sunlight and much-needed fresh air into the bedroom. Right next to the bed, atop a rickety wooden chair, sat a familiar human, seemingly dozing off without noticing her starter had awoken.
"Mia," the Blaziken began, even though she knew humans couldn't understand her directly. Letting her trainer hear her voice was all that mattered – even if said voice was little more than a croak.
Just as she'd expected, Mia practically jumped out of her chair and had to stop herself from pouncing on her injured Pokémon and burying her face in her soft feathers, like she often would.
"Cassie! You're alright!" Careful not to jostle the Blaziken's leg, Mia resorted to wrapping her arms around her shoulders before pulling away while Cassie was still gathering her bearings. There were no covers or blankets covering her, and now that the initial surprise was starting to wear off, memories of the battle with Felix began to flood back and prompted her to look down.
The searing pain from before was now little more than a vaguely unpleasant, throbbing ache. A glance at her leg confirmed what she'd already thought: the lower half of it was still missing, and what was left had been wrapped tightly in bandages now tinged a cooler shade of red than her plumage. Cassie's throat produced a long, drawn-out sound that oozed with fear and confusion, which subsided as she felt a familiar palm on her downy chest.
"They did what they could, but they couldn't put your leg back on. I'm… I'm sorry, Cassie."
The sound Cassie made in response, quiet and half-broken, couldn't be put into words – but it didn't need to. She just reached up and, with talons still weak and shaky from both the battle and the shock that had followed, hugged Mia to the best of her abilities before closing her eyes.
They spent a while like this, both recovering from everything that had happened. Sure, Mia herself hadn't gotten injured, but seeing her starter of all Pokémon get hurt like that… that would have done a number on any trainer, let alone one who loved their team as much as she did. Cassie wasn't just a valuable asset to her career, she was family. Her life wouldn't have been the same without her.
With that in mind, Felix' behavior had frightened her to the core. No normal Pokémon went that far out of their way to cause permanent damage, even on the off chance a battle was personal or they thought their trainer was in danger. It just didn't make sense. Cassie hadn't done anything to make him hate her guts, had she? To both Mia and her rival, this whole incident had seemed like senseless violence for its own sake.
Their embrace was interrupted when Mia had to answer the doorbell, and after a few minutes, she returned to the bedroom with someone else in tow.
Speak of the devil – or, the dragon in this case.
Louise stood in the doorway, in between Mia and a Dragonite that didn't seem to want to look anyone in the eyes. His antennae were drooped low in front of his face, and both his arms and wings hung limp by his sides. It was only when his trainer spoke that he briefly glanced up to meet Cassie's curious gaze.
"Felix wants to apologize," Louise said. "He doesn't know what got into him."
Mia's expression had been coarse from the beginning, but now, she couldn't seem to stop herself from sighing. Cassie just tilted her head, but her trainer had turned to face her rival.
"A-and I'm sorry too," Louise quickly added. "I should've kept Felix in check. Even though we beat you, it wasn't fair."
"Oh, come on," Mia snapped. "You're just saying that because you got disqualified! You never cared about your Pokémon, let alone mine. All that ever mattered to you was winning."
Cassie looked back and forth between the two women, feeling an unpleasant tension building in her chest. She'd never seen them arguing like this before.
"I– that's not true!" Louise retorted. "You know Felix is struggling with anger issues. He has been since he was a Dragonair!"
"Exactly!" Mia fired back. "So why would you ever send him in to fight Cassie? He could've killed her!"
"I said I was sorry!"
"Fat lot of good that'll do us! How am I supposed to win the championship without Cassie? She's my strongest Pokémon! Or she was, before your rabid dragon tore her fucking leg off!" Mia gave a broad wave of her hand towards Felix, who shrank away at the sound of her words.
In the commotion, Cassie failed to notice Felix shooting her an apologetic look that said more than just the halfhearted, sorry for yanking your leg off she might have expected. He truly was sorry… for all that was worth now. But it wasn't like Cassie knew either way.
The trainers spent a long time arguing – at one point, it almost seemed like things would escalate to the point of a physical fight – but before that could happen, Louise stomped out of the room, dragging Felix behind her. He gave a small, uneasy wave before disappearing from sight. The door was slammed shut behind them, leaving the room eerily quiet.
The soft mattress Cassie was lying on shook slightly as Mia sat down, silent sobs wracking her small frame. The Blaziken cooed softly, reaching out to try and comfort her however she could, but her claw was swatted away by the back of Mia's hand as the human drew in a hissing breath.
"Mia, I…"
"Not now, Cassie," her trainer interjected, her efforts to keep her voice steady ending up making her sound harsher than she meant to. "I need… I need some time alone."
Mia stood up, paused, and then left the room, closing the door more quietly than Louise had – leaving Cassie completely alone, with only distant noise from outside to distract her from her thoughts. She didn't come back.
⸻
Days went by, and Cassie eventually recovered enough to stand. She still needed to grab onto things for balance and support, but for a six-foot-something Pokémon, she moved with surprising dexterity. Her years of training were paying off in the most unexpected of ways.
Something else didn't recover quite as fast, though. Whenever Cassie approached her trainer or tried to start any kind of conversation, Mia would turn away at best, or leave the room at worst. She still cooked for her Pokémon like she always had, but not a word was exchanged between them, and Cassie didn't so much as see a smile on Mia's face whenever their eyes met. Louise, who usually showed up at least once a week, didn't come by either.
And so, one night, Cassie sat at the window and listened to the sounds of everyone else; fast asleep, no doubt, but she could only envy them. Her own thoughts kept her wide awake.
Not having heard any new words from her trainer, she began to mull over what Mia had said during that last conversation – the argument with Louise. Their hopes of winning the tournament were completely dashed, that much was certain: even if Cassie had recovered on time, she would've had to completely redo her strategy to make up for her new handicap, and even then, who knew if she'd ever be as strong as before?
No. She couldn't be the Pokémon she'd always been for Mia. Her number one fighter, her team leader, the one she always turned to for moral support when her human friends couldn't offer any. She'd tried her utmost to take back the role she'd always had, but it seemed as if Mia had turned her away, shutting her out at every occasion.
One of the Blaziken's talons clenched into a fist. If only she'd been stronger, if only she'd managed to fight off Felix, none of this would have happened. She wouldn't have lost… part of herself, and Mia wouldn't have lost her lifelong dream of growing famous with Cassie by her side. But she had lost, and she had ruined that dream forever – or at least changed it beyond recognition, to the point where she no longer had a place in it.
Guilt, shame and uncertainty bore down on her, causing her to lean against the cold glass in a futile attempt at cooling herself down. Instead, all she accomplished was leaving a wet stain where her tear-soaked feathers had pressed up against the window.
She couldn't live like this. Not anymore.
Gathering what little resolve she had, she lowered herself from the windowsill, hooked her claws underneath, and lifted the pane as quietly as she could.
She knew she was going to regret this, and even, deep down, that Mia still cared for her as much as she always had. But if these past weeks were any indication, things between them would never go back to how they used to be. It was just… too much. Maybe Mia was right and they just needed some time apart – in that case, Cassie would try to come back later. When, not even she knew yet.
⸻
The next morning, Mia would wake up to find her starter was nowhere to be found. The bedroom on the other side of the house that she'd occupied as long as she could remember, was now devoid of life. The only remaining trace of Cassiopeia were some small, scarlet feathers, and a note, crumpled up into a ball and left on the pillow where she was sure to find it.
Mia's hands trembled as she unfolded the paper, which had become lightly charred at the edges. The message inside was chicken-scratch of the most literal kind, but still readable… and she would've recognized it anywhere.
IM SORRY. U DESERVE BETTER. I LOVE U. GOODBYE.