Understanding

The mankeys attacked. As I started dodging their claws, I realized I could not risk an injury. My friends needed me. Quick as I could,(1) I sped off after them.

They were actually moving pretty fast. When I caught up to them, we were only a mile away from the clearing. I saw that Matt, Tyler, Adriana, and I were the only ones who knew agility or quick attack. But the mankeys were in hot pursuit. I told everyone to go ahead. I turned around and ran straight through the swarm. The mankeys shrieked and scattered. Cowards. I ran until I came out of the forest. But my eyes showed me one of the last things I needed to see.

My friends were talking to a chikorita and a charmander. I recognized the two by the scars all over their bodies. I was in a jam. I needed to get my friends back, but I did NOT want to have to talk to Chikorita and Charmander. Deep in thought, I did not hear the approaching footsteps, until…

"Can I help you?"

It's too bad no one was watching: I think I broke the world record for the high jump. I turned around and saw a squirtle. It had the same marks as the other two pokémon. "No biggie," I thought. "I still have time to escape…"

"Hey, Glen! Come over here! We met some friendly Pokémon." Stupid Derek.

"Did you say Glen?" squeaked Chikorita. "As in rescue team Somos?"

I sighed. "Yeah, it's me," I muttered.

The three approached me. Paniking, I jumped high into a tree. Everyone walked over to me.

"What's his problem," questioned Adriana.

Charmander smiled broadly. "Story time!"

Chikorita grinned, too, and everyone sat down.

"So there we were, Charmander, Squirtle, and I, in the depths of yet another unmapped cave. We were caught in a rockslide. Still weak from fighting crobats, we didn't have much time…"

I was listening to all this from my tree…

FLASHBACKLINOONE!!!

"Another day, another rescue mission," I mumbled to myself, as I fought through piles of rock and bone. This was an unnecessarily tiring mission. Having to save a rescue team after they bit off more than they could chew. I winced as I bumped my arm.

"Stupid crobats…"

I had made my way to a small cavern. I gasped at what I saw. There was a colossal pit in the center of the room, filled with scorching magma.(2) I heard soft noises coming from a passage at the end of the hallway. I carefully worked my way around the pit to the other side.

I found team Go-Getters in the alcove. They were trapped under a pile of rubble. They looked relieved to see someone else there. But they were also worried.

"Are you part of a rescue team?" asked the squirtle.

"Sort of," I answered. "I cannot register as a rescue team because it's… well, it's just me. No one else. I am a loner. But shut up: I need to get you out."

I backed away and assessed the situation. There was no way I would be able to manually move this rock. I had to try something daring…

I let loose a hyper-beam. It decimated the debris covering the three pokémon. They looked incredibly greatful.

"Well, don't just stand there. RUN!!!"

The entire cave started to shake. We all sprinted toward the exit. But in the middle of the cave, the lava started to rise. I looked, and saw a pokémon jump on to the edge of the pit. But not just any pokémon: Entei.

"No… fucking… way," I gasped.

The legendary creature looked pissed. My eyes widened.

"EVERYONE OUT, QUICKLY!!!" I bellowed at the top of my lungs.

We ran through the labyrinth of tunnels, with Entei following close behind, unleashing the full extent of his fury. I could see light at the end. Suddenly, I felt something brush over my back. I winced as I felt a burning sensation down my spine. I stumbled and fell. I saw Entei running, still pursuing team Go-Getters. I gathered all my strength and put everything into one more hyper-beam. It hit Entei squarely in the back. He fell, long enough for everyone to get away. The last thing I saw before collapsing was… nothing. Everyone had left the cave.

The next morning, I woke up, asleep in my bed at home, with fingers and toes.

ENDFLASHBACKLINOONE

"A.. A.. And that's how we know him," finished Chikorita, her voice shaking.

I was crying. I lost my grip and fell to the ground with a hard 'thud'. Chikorita ran over to me.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Okay. Okay! I'm never okay when I have to think about that memory. I saved your asses, and all I had to show for it was my humanity back. But, I am not angry. I don't regret doing it. I don't know why, but I'm kind of glad I did."

Chikorita walked closer to me.

"You should not be upset: It's our fault. We decided to take that mission. We took the risk. We did not deserve saving, from the rockslide or from Entei. We are indebted to you. So why don't we start paying you back now," she said, embracing me.

I stood up and dried my eyes. I broke into a sly grin.

"Well, I will need help with these naïve pokémon I have on my hands. Could you teach them about themselves? I'd like to get back to saving other pokémon."

"HEY! Who are you calling naïve?" screamed Lucia.

"Of course we can," stated Charmander.

I turned to my friends. They looked nervous, but nodded. I slowly walked over to the base. I guess things would be different from now on.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(1) You should know a Linoone can run up to 60 m.p.h.

(2) It was still underground, so yes, it's magma.