Chapter 13: Fire Away!

I looked over the list.

1. Pokeball- failed to catch transformed Ditto

2. Pokeblock- transformed Ditto ate with delight; should be noted, however, that different Pokemon like different flavors

3. Pokeflute- did not wake transformed Ditto from sleep

4. Battle- is a better fighter than most humans, still loves to fight as a human

5. Physical touch- interestingly, the transformed Ditto does not react normally to human touch. The Ditto often takes touch as a signal to battle. Also, when touched by another human for an extended period of time, the Ditto becomes uncomfortable.

6. Language- the transformed Ditto cannot speak in English; we are currently attempting to see if it is possible to teach the Pokemon

I leaned my head back against the thick tree. The results of the tests thus far were fairly inconclusive.

"Honch!"

I looked up at my Honchrow, who hovered, awaiting orders. I nodded to the Pokemon. "Go back."

I closed my eyes. The one other test I could use was Miss Parkwood's background. Perhaps I could find a hole in her story…

As my eyes darted across the list one more time, I smiled to myself.

My detective was the only person in the entire world I would entrust with such a job.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

A ball of fire randomly swung towards me. I ducked and felt a rush of heat fly across my back. I winced as the heat continued, and then screamed when the pain became too unbearable. I rolled onto my back.

The stone floor was nice and cool. I stood up and touched my back. The blistering pain made me grimace. I felt my hair, and when it was not as soft as usual, I held up the ends so I could see them.

They were black and burnt. My hair had caught on fire. That must have been what had scorched my back. Quickly, I flipped my hair into a ponytail.

I ran forward. Another fireball came at me but I dodged to the left and was unharmed. I silently thanked Arceus for Liam. Without his practice I would have been dead in the first thirty seconds of this prelim.

I came upon the first stick of twirling fire tied to the ceiling. As it spun, I looked below it and realized the flames did not ever touch the floor. The tip of the stick came short of the floor by about a foot every time it twirled around. I got onto by belly and inched my way forward like a beat up Seviper. Each time the fire came inches away from my back I held my breath.

Just as I was beyond the reach of the twirling sticks of fire, I looked up to see yet another fireball hurling my way… less than two feet away. I closed my eyes.

I tried to summon a barrier.

I really did.

But since the pond, despite working with Apple, Griffy, and Liam, I had not been able to create even one barrier.

I prepared for the pain I was about to endure.

It never came.

I opened an eye and saw that the fireball was gone.

{You're welcome.}

I looked around, confused. {Apple?}

{Yeah?}

{Did you stop the fire?}

{Duh.}

{I told you not to use your powers! Someone is going to find out!}

I could imagine Apple snorting. {This is the thanks I get for saving your life!}

{Apple, stop! I'm serious.}

{Relax, Anita. It looks like you summoned a barrier. Nobody will suspect it was really me. Plus, if you don't get your butt down here soon, I will be exposed anyway!}

{So you realized it, too?}

{What, do you think I'm a moron? Actually, don't answer that.}

I got up and looked to my next obstacle. It happened to be a gap in the floor I would have to find a way over. I walked to the edge of the stone and peered over the ledge.

Heat flashed against my face as a fireball rose from the lava below and then dropped back down. Again, I would have been severely scorched if a barrier had not appeared in front of my face.

{Anta! You need to be more careful; it's exhausting trying to create barriers from this distance.}

{Thanks, Apple.} I paused. {Wait a second. How can I even talk to you?}

{This distance may be out of your range, but it's not out of mine! Now get a move on!}

I took a step back from the lava and waited. The fireball rose from the lava again. As soon as it started going down, I took a running start.

I really shouldn't have looked down.

But I did.

I leapt. Fire flashed before my eyes. I looked to the stone on the other side and realized I wasn't going to make it.

No. I had to.

I fell. I reached out for the stone with my arms, and I barely missed the stone.

Suddenly, I felt an unnatural force push me forward. I gasped as my breath was knocked away, but I caught on to the stone ledge.

{Anita, I just told you to be careful!} I could hear strain in Apple's voice, from both worry and tiredness.

The heat beat against the soles of my feet. I struggled to pull myself up over the ledge with my arms and made a mental note to do push-ups every day before bed. Finally, I found an invisible crook to stick my foot into and maneuver my body over the ledge.

For a moment, I panted on my hands and knees. I looked at my PokeTech. It had been five minutes.

Crap.

I turned my face forward and could clearly see the bridge now. It was still a ways away though. If I was going to survive and move quickly, I needed to be more attentive.

I closed my eyes and listened.

I "saw" a fireball coming my way and easily ducked under it.

I approached another stick of twirling fire, but this time, instead of wasting my time squirming my way beneath it, I waited for just the right moment between twirls and ran through it.

Another ledge was ahead of me.

This time I was already running, and my eyes were closed; no chance of looking down.

I jumped and made across.

Ahead of me was a giant green tube taking up the entire hallway. If I remembered correctly, giant green Venus Flytraps came out of those tubes in the games. They sometimes spit fireballs.

A Carnivine rose out of the tube.

I didn't think it could spit fire…

But I sure was not about to stick around to find out.

The giant plant lashed out at me as I reached the tube. I pretended it was Liam's leg attempting to trip me. I jumped up and landed on the Pokemon's head.

I wish I could say I then used the Carnivine's head as a springboard and to gracefully jump over the hole following the tube.

I wish.

Instead, I fell off of the Pokemon, bruised my head, and tumbled to the ledge.

The Carnivine was stunned for the moment from me hitting its head. I wearily picked myself up and stared across the ledge. On the other side, there was a twirling fire stick on the ground, and then, finally, the bridge. Apple and Fiery were now hanging less than a foot above the lava bowl on the other side of the bridge.

First things first, I needed to get across the ledge. I didn't want to tire Apple out any more if I did not have to; she still had a battle after all of this. Because of the green tube, there was no room for me to take a running start.

How the heck was I going to get across?

I looked at the Carnivine that was starting to recover. Maybe…

{Hey you! Carnivine! I bet you can't catch me!} I challenged.

The Carnivine glared angrily. {You little twit! You'll be my dinner!} The grass Pokemon lunged at me. I stood on the very edge of the ledge and the Carnivine couldn't reach. {Man, if I was not tied to the stupid tube, you would be dead meat!}

I stuck out my tongue and taunted, {Nya, nya, nya, nyaaa, nyaaa! You stink! You're a lemon-headed stupid looking, plant with vines that couldn't hurt a fly! And you're supposed to eat flies! Ha ha!}

The Carnivine licked its lips. {People are actually my favorite snack. And these vines are good for something—} The Carnivine threw its vines at me. {—catching you!}

If this Carnivine could laugh evilly like Aden could, I'm sure it would be right now.

This, however, had been what I was waiting for. I jumped up onto the tube beside the Carnivine so the vines would not hit me.

Carnivine vines are long and very powerful. When they miss, they go a long distance and take a few seconds to retract. This Carnivine's vines happened to reach all the way across the ledge, nearly to the final twirling stick of fire. I took the opportunity and ran across the vines to get across the ledge.

Immediately, the vines started to curl up and retract quicker. When the end tips of the vine reached my feet and started grabbing for my ankles, I jumped as far as possible and then broke into a dead sprint.

A vine caught my leg. I reached with my mind ahead of me and sensed a gap in the twirling fire. I twisted my leg and tumbled through the gap.

The vine attempted to grab my leg again, but it was hit by the fire.

For a moment, I watched the vine wither in agony and then retract.

I shakily rose to my feet. Apple and Fiery were just inches above the bowl of fire.

Bowser, the Torkoal across from me, threw a fire ball at me. I sprinted forward and jumped over the ball. I reached the Torkoal and took a giant leap over the turtle Pokemon.

As if in slow motion, I watched Bowser open his mouth beneath me and let loose a flamethrower attack. A circular barrier appeared under me, and the flame was bounced back at the attacker.

I landed on the button.

The bridge's support snapped and Bowser fell to the lava below.

Beside me, the metal cage was just touching the lava. Fiery and Apple were both doing what looked like a potty dance to avoid getting burned. I rapidly opened the cage to release them.

We all fell to the ground and sighed in relief.

{Thanks, Apple,} I said while patting both Eevees on the head. Fiery didn't even seem to mind.

{It's a lot easier when you are right next to me. Really though, you should learn to make barriers yourself.}

{I'm trying!}

{I know, I know.}

"Muwahahaha!" I rolled my eyes and smirked when I saw Apple doing the same.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bridge rebuild itself. I did a double take. There the bridge was, like it had never been destroyed.

Beside the bridge I saw Bowser climbing up over the ledge. {That was fun!} I heard the overexcited turtle shout as he jumped off the ledge into the lava again.

"Congratulations, Anita Parkwood, on making it past the prelims."

I snapped my head around to find Aden standing directly in front of me. He was wearing a very attractive amber vest and jeans, and somehow his hair seemed redder in person. His mud-brown eyes glinted with laughter as he held his hand out to help me up. I took it and his strong arm pulled me up easily.

I glanced back at the bridge. "How did you—"

"Rebuild it?" Aden finished. He pulled out a remote control and pressed a button. The bridge collapsed, or rather, it folded downward so it looked like the bridge collapsed. Aden pressed another button and the bridge rebuilt itself. "Very simply, actually. So how did you like the prelim? Was it fun?" There was not a drop of sarcasm in his voice.

I scratched my head, not sure how to answer. "Err…"

Aden thumped me on the back, ignoring my awkwardness. "I knew you would like it. It's just too bad I'm only aloud to use this setup for gifted children…"

"Too bad…" I echoed.

"Well, I guess we should get down to business. Because you passed my prelim, you have to battle me. Muwahahaha!"

"Why do you always do that?" I asked.

"Do what?" Aden replied.

"Try to laugh evilly."

"Doesn't it make everything more dramatic? Don't you fear me more because I can laugh like that?"

I shook my head. "No."

Aden snapped his fingers. "Damn. I have a friend that can pull a fear-instilling laugh perfectly. I thought I'd give it a go. Oh well…"

"So the battle…" I reminded the gym leader.

"Right. Well, my battle is a bit different because you are gifted. Essentially, you and I will both act as Pokemon."

"What?"

"This is a three-on-three battle. I choose two Pokemon and you choose two Pokemon. In addition, since we have Pokemon powers, we act as Pokemon and battle as well. Unlike usual battles, all three members of each team will be fighting at the same time and any member of one team may attack any member of the opposing team. It is unlikely that you will be able to command your Pokemon because you will be battling beside them. The first team to knock all three members of the opposing team out wins the battle."

"So basically, this is like a double battle… only it's really a triple battle?" I asked, realizing soon after how stupid I sounded.

Aden nodded. "We will be battling on the bridge. You will be using your two Eevees, and I will be using—" Aden released two Pokemon from two of the Pokeballs tied to his belt. "—Eon, my Flareon, and Nip, my Growlithe." Aden raised his voice and spoke down the hallway. "My other Pokemon should evacuate the area to avoid interference."

{Hey! I'm still tied here!} I heard Aden's Carnivine call.

I almost decided not to inform Aden. Almost. But it would be awful if the Carnivine did manage to get loose and try to eat me during the battle. Thus, I repeated the message to Aden, who pressed another button on his remote control.

A shiny Ninetales I hadn't seen, Bowser, and the Carnivine all exited through another door in the glass wall. Aden led me to the side of the bridge and then suggested, "You should leave anything you do not want ruined by the side of the bridge."

Aden took off his belt of Pokeballs and his vest so he was left bare-chested. For a moment, I couldn't help looking at his tanned six-pack.

I gulped.

He was strong.

I put down my pack, and after a moment, I decided to take off my t-shirt so I was just a tank top and shorts.

I slowly walked across the bridge, trying to calm myself with deep breaths. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach and I couldn't help thinking, What if I screw everything up?

{You'll be fine! You just handled that obstacle course by yourself!} Apple said in an attempt to comfort me.

{I wouldn't have made it without your psychic powers!}

{Well, I can still use my psychic powers to help you, so we are all good.}

When we reached the end of the bridge, I turned around to face Aden. We stood in silence for a moment. Then Aden declared, "Begin."

Immediately Eon, Nip, and Aden threw flames at us. Yes, I included Aden. He apparently had a powerful fire gift and could create and throw fire with his hands.

I watched in shock. A psychic barrier rose in front of me.

{Move, Anita! You need to fight and protect yourself. At this rate, I'll use up all of my energy protecting you!} Apple hissed. I jumped to the side and Apple released the barrier. Both Apple and Fiery launched themselves at Eon and Nip. Aden decided to join Nip to take on Fiery. I watched uselessly as Fiery attempted to dodge the Growlithe's bites and Aden's punches along with the fire they both could control.

Apple, in the meantime, was exchanging tackles with Eon.

{Anita, go do something!}

{What can I do?}

{You've been practicing with Liam! Go help Fiery. Or come help me. Just. Do. Something.} Apple growled while using sand attack. Eon was temporarily blinded and Apple took the opportunity to help Fiery by hitting Aden with a quick attack.

I noticed that Fiery was not as harmed as I thought he would be from taking on two. I approached Fiery and Nip.

I felt very awkward. Even though Nip was battling Fiery, I did not want to attack the Pokemon. I had fought with humans… but Pokemon seemed almost sacred to me. They never seemed to be the ones causing the problems of this world, only innocent bystanders. To go up and kick Nip just seemed so wrong.

Fiery saw me watching him out of the corner of his eye.

{Thanks, Anita, for stopping all of the fire attacks,} he said as a barrier appeared between him and Nip's ember attack. Apple, on the other hand, took a hit from Eon.

Guilt flooded my mind.

Apple was doing everything for me… because I was too pathetic to do anything.

Pain rushed through my body as something hit my back.

"Hehe. Do you think I'd let you miss out on all this fun?" A booming voice said above me. "I'm surprised you did not see that one coming; you've blocked nearly everything else."

I reached out with my mind and felt Aden throw another punch at me. I rolled to my right and he missed.

I heard Fiery yowl in pain.

Apple must be getting tired. I reached out and felt the minds of my opponents. None of them were wearing out quickly. I leapt into Aden's mind and through his eyes, I watched him prepared to throw fire at me.

I saw the fire was about to come from the palms of his hands. With my own body, I kicked his arms up so they fired fire away uselessly. I sensed his surprise.

Because I was in his mind, I could always see what he was doing next. I always dodged.

The only problem was he didn't seem to be getting tired.

Every once in a while, I checked up on Apple and Fiery. In a moment when Fiery seemed about to falter from wheel of fire coming towards him, Apple knocked him out of the way with a quick attack. Apple then began fighting Nip, while Fiery took on Eon.

Apple was holding her own against Nip.

Fiery, on the other hand, was nearly exhausted. He was taking more and more hits, as Apple was too drained to continue creating psychic barriers.

I ducked under one of Aden's kicks. He was extremely strong, but he was slower than Liam. Besides the first hit, he hadn't hit me once.

An agonizing scream pierced the air. Fiery had been struck by Eon's fire fang.

I ran towards Fiery to help. Apple attempted to reach him too, but she was blocked by Nip's extreme speed.

Fiery lay weakly on the ground. Aden's Flareon stood above him with a triumphant look on his face. A small ball of fire began to build in the Flareon's mouth.

{STOP!} I yelled. Eon was momentarily distracted. He looked at me, and a moment later, I hit the ground.

My foot was on fire; it felt like a thousand needles were being stuck into my lower leg. I jumped into Eon's mind and could taste my own blood.

He was biting me.

I lifted my leg up and pain shot up my entire body. I then slammed my leg onto the ground. I felt Eon wince in pain and he released my leg.

Darkness tickled the corners of my eyesight. My body wanted to faint, but I couldn't abandon my Pokemon. I felt Eon prepare to bite me again, and I felt Aden begin to launch his fire at Fiery.

Many things happened at once.

I mustered up all of my energy and hurled myself toward Fiery, who was still lying on the bridge a few yards away. Then I forced my mind out in front of us.

Eon missed me and hit the ground hard.

Both Fiery and I would have been cooked by Aden's flames if I hadn't managed to create a barrier in front of us.

The force of Aden's fire, however, created holes in the bridge's railing on either side of my barrier. I heard the splash of rocks tumbling to the lava below.

Aden's fire did not cease. He kept up a continuous stream, and I tried to hold my barrier. I kept being forced backwards.

Aden summoned a giant pulse of energy and sent the fire down his continuous stream. I was hurled backwards over the edge of the bridge.

Fiery and I fell towards the lava, but I managed to catch hold of the bridge's ledge. I tried to catch Fiery.

I failed.

{FIERY!} I called desperately as the Eevee plummeted towards the lava.

I put every last bit of energy I had into forming a barrier below Fiery to hold him.

I'm not sure if I succeeded, but even if I did, it was only for a few seconds. I was just too tired… I was a failure to my Pokemon.

I considered just letting go.

I didn't think Aden would let me die, but I'm sure I would be knocked out. Then this battle would be over…

WHAM

I looked above me and saw Apple growling at Aden, who was knocked on his butt.

{Get up, Anita!}

{I can't….} I said weakly.

{C'mon, Anita, don't give up now! I knocked out Nip!}

I tried to pull myself up. I felt Apple debate with herself silently and then give me a small psychic boost. I was up on the bridge again, but Apple had collapsed. {Apple!}

Eon and Aden were both on the ground, but getting up. Aden was grinning.

"Alright, Eon," Aden said, turning to his Flareon. "Let's finish this."

I closed my eyes and tried to summon my psychic powers. So did Apple.

Flames rushed toward us. Neither Apple nor I had managed to summon the strength to create a barrier.

I prepared for pain.

But it never came.

I opened my eyes and saw a Flareon standing in front of us, smiling widely. The fire had no effect on the Pokemon. For a moment I was confused. How were there two Flareons? And why was one protecting us?

{Miss me?}

I gasped. {Fiery?}

Fiery, the newly evolved Flareon, nodded. I grinned. Beside me, Apple smiled weakly.

{Let's go!} Fiery launched himself at Aden. I limped toward Eon; the bite on my leg was still painful. Eon easily dodged around me and aimed a flamethrower at Apple. Apple's eyes widened with fear.

But Fiery was there again.

He stood above her, protecting her from the flames. The flames gave him strength.

I felt Apple's final strength leave her as she used helping hand to transfer her energy to Fiery. Fiery glowed with energy.

He launched himself at Eon.

Something hit the back of my head.

Darkness overcame me.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Fire splintered through my body. I winced.

"I think she's awake," I heard someone whisper.

I opened an eye. White surrounded me.

"Hey, Anita, how are you feeling?"

I tried to speak but my voice stuck in my throat.

I blinked several times until I could see Erin standing above me. "That was a sweet battle, you know."

"What happened?" I mumbled.

When I turned my head, splintering pain ran down my back. On the bed next to me, a Flareon stood protectively over a sleeping Eevee.

The Flareon noticed I was up.

He grinned.

{We won.}

I passed out.