Hey, everyone! Ta-Ni here, bringing another chapter of Seasons of the Sun. I know this took a while, but it was also a struggle for me too. I have general ideas as to where I'm going with the storyline, but the details always allude me when i sit down to write. Hopefully the length of this chapter justifies the wait! Enjoy!
Bold = Pokemon moves, underline italics = Pokespeech, italics = thoughts, "italics" = telepathy, "normal" = human speech, "bold-italic" = intonation
"Thunderbolt 'em."
I snap out of my shock in time to jump aside, but another scream pulls me up short. Eve is still on the ground, and so couldn't dodge. I growl deep in my throat, then unleash a flamethrower, forcing the manectric to dodge instead. Even the trainer flinches from the heat.
"What power…" he mutters, even though I can hear him clearly. Louder, he commands, "Looks like you made good use of my gift. Now, to capitalize on it. Manectric! Focus on the ninetales; we can catch the weakling later…"
My growling only deepens; despite my earlier feelings about her, I cannot tolerate her being insulted like that. Any further thought is lost, as the electric dog lunges at me, fangs sparking (thunder fang). I twist out of the way, then follow up with a dash of my own, slamming bodily into him (quick attack).
I leap clear as sparks ripple through his fur, barely avoiding paralysis. As I land, I feel something lightly touch my hind paw, and Eve's voice echoes briefly in my head, "Sol…run…"
"No!" I growl at her. "I won't let someone else be taken away by him."
I hear another crackle and lunge at her, knocking us both away from the lightning. Through the extended contact, she manages to relay a longer message, "You know him? Who did he…?"
I don't reply, but the grimace on my muzzle tells her enough, and she lets out a small gasp. I stand over her, facing the manectric, and bark, "Where's Nana? Why are you after me?"
"Oh, you mean the mongrel?" he growls back. "She was too problematic, so we had to get rid of her. But we still need a fire type, so…" He grins maliciously. "You've been chosen."
"I'm not going anywhere…and neither is she!" Flames tickle my throat as I unleash a large spiral of fire, attempting to surround him (fire spin). He dodges out of the ring with a burst of agility, but I notice him favoring a hindpaw; I must have burned him. Unfortunately, the trainer notices it too, and tosses something toward the manectric. He snaps it up in midair, and lands perfectly fine, the burn gone.
"Enough of this," the human shouts. "Thunder Wave!"
The pulse of electricity washes over Eve and I, and I feel my legs lock up, driving me to the ground. Struggling, I look up to see my doom: a red and white ball casually sailing toward me…until a blue-tipped ribbon snags it out of the air, crushing it to pieces. I glance at Eve, who has moved out from under me and is surprisingly on her feet. Then, I notice her other ribbon jammed into the ground.
"Clever girl…" he mutters, again unaware I can hear him. Louder, he shouts, "Fine. If you're gonna stand in my way, you can join him! Pin her down!"
My opponent blurs away from me, and sinks his teeth into Eve's leg, bringing her to the ground with a cry and sitting on top of her. She tries to escape, but his weight and grip keeps her from moving. The trainer walks up to her, a ball in hand, while I struggle to break out of my paralysis. My mind flashes back to my youth, seeing my Nana disappear before my eyes in a red light, while I could do nothing.
As he reaches out to tap her, my mind suddenly snaps. "I…said…NO!" I roar, a great gout of flame pouring from my mouth and incinerating the ball and causing him to recoil with a singed hand. At the same time, I force through the paralysis and charge the manectric, knocking him bodily away from her and breaking his bite (take down). There's a flinch of pain from the recoil, but I ignore it, still glaring at the electric dog. Pure adrenaline keeps the paralysis at bay for now, but I fear it will set in again.
Wait, paralysis…? I think to myself, remembering something from my dreams. Quickly tapping into my ancestral memory, I dash toward the stunned manectric, who braces himself. However, I stop a few strides away, planting my forepaws and spinning around. My tails whip around, each covered in an invisible coat of foxfire, and brush almost gently across his head and muzzle. Then, I land, panting slightly from the awkward movement and praying it worked.
For a brief moment, all is quiet. Then, the manectric gives a frightening howl and begins to stumble around, random sparks shooting off in random directions. I'm forced to flee back to Eve, shielding her and myself by using a tail in the ground like she did earlier.
"W-what did you do?" she whispers to me, with a little fear in her voice.
"I just gave him a little curse," I reply. "I didn't except it to affect him this much, though…"
The trainer flinches from a stray bolt, just as confused as us. He unclips a ball from his belt and points it at the flailing manectric, and the dog vanishes in a red light, which he clips back on his belt. Then, he glares at us, reaching for another one and declares, "I don't know what you did, but it won't stop me from catching you! Take thi-"
"That's enough, Joshua!"
The three of us look to see Kevin enter the clearing. He's panting hard, as if he ran a long way, and he is dressed differently, too. He had a red vest on, along with a red hat.
"As Top Ranger of this region, these Pokémon are under my protection. Catching them is unlawful acquisition and will result in your license being revoked."
Ranger? I think aloud, unaware that Eve could hear me and answer.
"Rangers are special trainers who help out wild Pokémon. They don't keep Pokémon in balls, and only request assistance from locals. Kevin is special, though, as he chooses not to use a Styler."
I want to ask more, but the other trainer (Joshua?) speaks up. "That's tauros shit, and you know it! Rangers can't claim Pokémon, except in national parks. Unless…" He studies Eve, then smiles. "Is she your eevee? Man, no wonder it was so weak!"
I want so badly to attack him, but Eve holds me back. "If you attack him directly, Kevin will have no choice but to detain you as well," she explains.
"Besides, if they are protected, why weren't you with them?" Joshua retorts.
"The ninetales is very distrusting of humans; reasonable, given the present company," Kevin explains calmly. "Therefore, I sent Eve with him, while following from a distance. Once he finds the trainer who captured his guardian, I would step in and ask for her release, hopefully."
"Well, you found him!" Joshua comments. "Only, I don't have it anymore; darn dog almost landed me in jail. They let me go, provided I left the Pokémon in police custody. That was a few days ago; it's probably been put down already!"
Kevin hesitates, while I cringe, fearing the worst. "What did the police claim the Pokémon did?" he asks.
"What, the ninetales didn't tell you?" Joshua smirks. "Apparently, it was wanted for the murder of its former trainer!"
Suddenly, Joshua throws an item on the ground, and a large cloud of smoke envelops the area. Coughing lightly, I try to peer out but can see nothing. Then, a firm grip closes on the ruff behind my neck, pulling me into the air slightly, and a voice whispers in my ear, "You're coming with me, whether you want to or not!" I hear the sound of a ball expanding, and want to struggle; however, my instincts tell me to just hang limp, so I do so. By chance, my tails also hang limp, dragging on the ground, and whoever is holding me happens to trip on one. The burst of pain snaps me out of my instincts, so with a yelp, I wriggle free and turn to see Joshua holding onto a few strands of golden fur.
As the pain arcs up my spine, immense power fills my body, leaving me paralyzed and glaring. Tendrils of foxfire weave around me, some of them brushing up against Joshua, freezing him in place as well. Amid the smoke still around us, we can see each other clearly by the light of the foxfire, eyes locked on each other. In the moment of silence, I hear myself intone, both verbally and telepathically.
"You treat your Pokémon as nothing more than slaves and tools, taking them from their lives by any means necessary. For such actions, you must be punished." I pause, as a sudden urge grips me. Something inside is giving me an idea, but as I think about it, it doesn't seem right. I discard the idea in favor of another and continue. "While I could trap you in the body of a Pokémon, forcing you to experience the pain and trauma you inflicted, I have a better idea. I shall take away the power you hold so dear!"
From the tip of the tail he stepped on, a single ember of foxfire leaps from me and lands upon Joshua. He flinches, expecting it to burn, but the illusory flame only burns if we wish it to. Instead, it dances around his waist, alighting on each of his Pokéballs. Then, it bounces upon something shiny on his collar, before lancing straight into his heart.
"Your control of your Pokémon now hinges on your actions and attitude, not your prestige. If you treat them with respect and compassion, like Kevin treats Eve, then they will give their all for you. However, if you mistreat or disrespect them, they shall rebel against you, disobeying orders and running away. This curse applies to all your Pokémon, those you've caught and those you will catch. So say I, Sol Firedancer!"
With that, the foxfire dies down, leaving me weak and breathless. He also collapses, visible fear in his eyes. Then, a sparkling wind disperses the smoke, revealing the two of us.
How was that? I hope things were coherent and realistic, especially the battling; that was the hardest part to articulate. Hopefully, the next one won't be as long coming! As always, thank you for being paitent, and may your Embers never fade!
