Kyra took off sprinting, grabbing Percival by the collar as she ran off, hoping to save them both, before he could even react. Stammering, he had to ask, "Kyra...where are we going?" As the girl skidded to a stop, the boy she was dragging behind her collided into her, knocking her over, as a blast of energy blew over their heads. As more barrages of beams fired, the duo scrambled away, recalling their Pokemon, who up until then had been staying close enough, but clearly would get lost at the rate that things were escalating. With Kyra in the lead, and Percival, amped on adrenaline, only a few paces behind, they knew they couldn't outrun their pursuers with ease.

Sighing, Percival nodded to one of his Pokeballs, sending out Fluffles. "We're going to need to play in your ballpark and not mine, okay? I need you to create enough damage to give us a breather!" Saying this, he tossed Fluffles up to a massive stalagmite ahead of them, and let the little bear swing on the stone spikes in the cieling, creating a storm of sharp rock objects around them. Kyra, thinking quick and catching on even quicker, called out one of her own Pokemon, the electrical canine Manetric. "Discharge, go!" As Manetric launched lightning out from it on all sides, demolishing any rock that came near, Percival and Kyra hugged the edges of the circular barrier they had now created using stalagmites and electricity.

"Okay, come back in Fluffles. We need to discuss a plan." Kyra nodded solemnly, withdrawing her Manetric. "So...plans aren't my strongsuit, at least not in this manner. But if I have a foe, and know what they can do, I can think pretty quick on my feet. I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to what we were running from, but since I was dragging you backwards, you got a good view, right?" Percival agreed, rubbing his neck slightly where his collar had chafed and choked him, if only slightly. Kyra was surprisingly gentle in her desperate escape attempt. "Well, they did stay in the shadows a lot, bu-" "So you're saying we don't know?" "No, as I was saying, while they did stay in the shadows, I did manage to catch a glimpse of at least 3 of the Pokemon we're going up against it." "Spit it out?" "Galvantula. A horde of them, bitter about your knockout of their friend, since that could have got it killed if any predators were lingering around. However, while there were a lot of those, I'm more concerned with the amount of Bergmite, which, being the little icebergs that they are, have no business in a cave like this. I also spotted a lot of Helioptile. Two electric types, banding together. Makes snese, at least to me."

Kyra nodded, before sending out a third Pokemon, which she clearly had not trained as much as the others. A new addition, likely, the little pink cat glanced up with glimmering, curious eyes at its trainer. "Purrmeister, I know we only met a few days ago, and you're not much of a battler, yet, but we need your help. Purrmeister can lure them into one place, if you've got a way to hit them all." "I don't...but you do. Can I use Boomer for this?" "Well, if it's our best means of survival, why not?"

And thus, the plan was set into motion, as a concussive blast of sound issued out of the Exploud, blowing open a singular funnel in the stalagmite defense through which the hostile Pokemon could enter. Galvantula immediately shot their sticky electric thread through, as they began to grapple in and clamber on the walls, surrounding the two trainers with amazing speed. As the Galvantula, followed by the Helioptile, filled up the space, Bergmites entered, slowly freezing the ground as they went, even further limiting the options of their human foes. And yet, Percival signaled for Kyra to wait, much to her annoyance. "I may be peppy, but I can wait a bit, Perz." "Perz? Why can no one just call me Percival? Is it really that hard?" "It would be easier if you could stammer it out a bit more often."

And then, as Kyra nodded to Purrmeister, giving the signal...a massive blast echoed through the barrier, breaking new holes in the stone defense. And a fourth wave of Pokemon entered. Axew. The grey little dragons managed to sneak their tusks within the cracks their attacks had made, as they added to the onslaught. Percival stammered slightly. "Um...Kyra?" "What?" "Our plan may or may not be messed up totally." "What do you mean?" "I didn't think they had a Pokemon with the ability to blast through stone!" "Great, we'll improvise! Purrmeister, now or never, use Captivate!" As all the wild Pokemon flocked together, lurred by the pure cute power of the Skitty, Percival sighed, and nodded to Boomer, issuing a Boomburst. As the powerful move ripped through the wild Pokemon, funneling slightly up, it revurberated, and a second blast echoed throughout the chamber, when, suddenly, a potent barrage of flames ripped through the room, blazing down half the Pokemon.

Percival gave a confused look to Kyra, who only shrugged back, as all the Pokemon snapped out of their captivated state. "That was supposed to last longer, right Kyra?" "Yeah, but that flame took out Purrmeister!" "Drat, the echo hasn't sounded enough times!" "Just try it already!" "Okay, Boomer, Echoed Voice!" Playing off the echoes already sounding throughout the slightly broken barrier, Boomer began to power up a move that, while weak on its own, amplified in the presence of other noise. Blasting through as many Pokemon as he could, the Exploud wiped a clean row of Helioptile off the playing field, and began working towards the Axew, when a sudden blast struck the Exploud, knocking him unconscious. The Axew and other remaining Pokemon advanced.

With their options now limited, Percival grunted a little as he sent out both Fluffles and Charles. "Both of you, take out the Axew first! They do the most damage!" Kyra nodded, calling out her Manetric again. "Bolt! Use Flash to blind all our enemies!" The three Pokemon set to work, as a bright light engulfed the room, emanating from the Manetric. Seizing the chance, Fluffles and Charles launched themselves into the fray, swinging and biting wildly, until, as the bright light cleared, and Percival looked into the field of combat...his Pokemon lay unconscious. In another array of draconic blasts, Bolt went unconscious. They were out of Pokemon.

Kyra, startled, reached into her bag, trying to grab something, but it snagged. "Dang it! Something's off with my bag right now! Percival, catch one of them!" Percival, although unsure of the benefits of catching a Pokemon that would clearly not obey his orders at the moment, instinctively agreed, reaching for one of his Poke Balls. Flicking his wrist in a clean, practiced swish, he sent the projectile at one of the Axew, as the little red sphere blinked, flashed, and sounded. The Axew was caught, and now a member of Percival's party, albeit an unwilling one at the moment. Almost more furious now than ever, the other Axew readied a final blast, to tear Percival and Kyra off the face of the earth, when a gout of flame struck them as well.

As Percival and Kyra glanced around to see who was both their savior and their saboteur, they heard a shaking from the ceiling, as a massive piece of rock hurtled their way. Both ducked out of the way, but the rock was still above them. As Percival and Kyra went into panic mode, scrambling despite the fear their bodies were in, another flame struck the rock, blasting it to bits. Startled from the events of the day, and thoroughly exhausted, Percival collasped on the cavern floor, hoping that the mystery flame-user was truly a friend and not simply a taunting foe.

Pokemon So Far:

Fluffles (Stufful) - Moves: Tackle, Brutal Swing, Bide, Payback; Ability: Fluffy; Level: 26

Charles (Furfrou) - Moves: Headbutt, Bite, Sand Attack, Bady-Doll Eyes; Ability: Fur Coat; Level: 26

Unamed (Axew) - Moves: Dual Chop, Dragon Rage, Assurance, Scratch; Ability: Mold Breaker; Level: 25

AUTHOR'S NOTE - I hope Kyra left a good first impression! As you can see, we're basically working backwards on the generations with Percival's Pokemon, so expect a Gen 4 Pokemon next! This was a 3rd chapter that wasn't shorter, although with the long wait, it just wouldn't be right to give a mini chapter.