"Summer! Come on in! The water is great!" Ben called. I looked up from my book, feeling the hot sun beat down on my skin.

Owen and Emmett threw a frisbee to each other a little ways down the beach. Achilles was surfing, really damn good, while Annalise and Ellie tanned on their blankets next to me. "Maybe later." I called back. Swimming. Not my area of expertise. Chikorita ran around me in circles, jumping up and down happily. "It really is nice right now, isn't it girl." We both smiled, taking in the smell of the ocean. Our week is nearly up. Ben and I leave tomorrow to go back to Ranger School. Now, that I think about it, I'm really going to miss everyone here. It is a lot more fun than sitting at school all day. Plus, they are so nice. Unlike some of the people at school. I haven't put much thought into how it will be when we go back. To be quite honest, I don't want to go back. It is so nice here.

The sound of the waves soothed my ears, luring me to sleep. As I closed my eyes I heard someone nearby shout out. Right as I sat up and opened them, Ben's cold wet body collided into mine, knocking us both back into the sand. He lay on top of me, supporting himself with his elbows on either side of my head. My cheeks burned red, as did his. He stuttered slightly, looking down at me with wide eyes. "Ooh la la! Too much P.D.A!" Ellie laughed.

"Yeah, get a room!" Annalise joked. They both threw some sand at us. Owen and Emmett whistled at the sight of us. My heart thumped in my chest. He looks.. so cute. I almost want to.. Oh my gods! What am I even thinking!? I should not be thinking like that. "Hey, where did Melrose go?" Annalise asked, sitting upward. Ellie did the same, looking around the beach. I shivered as a cold breeze suddenly blew across my exposed skin. I'm only wearing a bathing suit after all. My cheeks reddened more as I looked up at Ben. Why hasn't he gotten off me yet?

He gasped, quickly scampering off me. He mumbled an apology and looked at the sky. Now that I think about it, it has gotten noticeably darker within minutes. And it is really freaking cold. Instinctively, I attached my styler to my wrist. The others on the beach did the same. Chikorita growled uneasily. She ran towards the town. "Hey!" I yelled. Ellie stood up, walking towards the ocean. She opened her mouth to call out to Achilles but a terrible scream interrupted her. Ben and I lurched our heads towards the town, where the scream came from. "That sounded like.."

Another shout came from the ocean. "Achilles!" Ellie screamed. I turned to look. A giant Gyarados held Achilles captive by his tail, squeezing the life out of him. "Let him go!" She cried out. We have to help but that other scream. It sounded like Melrose. Ellie turned to us. "Go find out what the commotion is in town. I'll be fine." We hesitated, but complied, taking off towards the town.

As we approached the Ranger Union my stomach lurched. A giant Venasaur had Melrose trapped under its foot. Tears streaked down her cheeks, her long brown hair sprawled around her. Owen took a step forward, fear etched in his eyes. He lifted his hand up towards her slightly, as if trying to reach for her. Chikorita growled up at the large Pokemon. She isn't.. dead? Right?! Annalise took a step forwards also, her hands covering her mouth. Without warning, Venasaur used it's vines to latch onto one of Annalise's feet and one of Owen's. He pulled slightly, making them fall to the ground. They both landed with a thud, groaning painfully. Suddenly, Venasaur drug them across the ground. "Annalise!" Emmett yelled. He jumped to her, latching onto her hand just as she and Owen were lurched into the air. Ben and I watched in horror, not knowing what to do. Emmett dangled from Annalise's arm. Owen stared down at the unmoving Melrose, breathing shallowly.

Without warning, Venasaur began spinning Annalise and Emmett in a loop, before releasing Annalise's foot. They were both hurled in the sky towards the forest, screaming fearfully. I could feel my body tremble. Why aren't we helping? Why can't I move. These are our friends. "Summer. Go help Ellie and Achilles. I'll help Mel and Owen. It's time to grow up." Ben stated, looking more determined than I've ever seen. I nodded my head, turning towards the ocean. He grabbed my elbow pulling my back to his abdomen. "Just please, be careful, what ever you do." He whispered in my ear. Ben..

I nodded, tearing from his grasp, running towards the beach, CHikorita following. If I'm going to be of any help, I need to stay out of the water. There is no way I can swim against a Gyarados. I can't even swim period. Quickly, I ran into the woods, befriending the first flying Pokemon I saw. I mounted Pidgeot and took off towards the beach. Upon arriving, a piercing scream echoed through the air. Ellie.. She lay floating in the waves, blood staining the water around her. I cringed at the deep gash on her collarbone, trailing around her neck to her back. Oh my gods. "Ellie!" Achilles yelled frantically. He thrashed, trying to break loose, calling out her name hysterically.

"Pidgeot, she is sinking, grab her. Try not to hit her wound. Chikorita, stay on the land and help out from there." I instructed. Pidgeot nodded, swooping down to clutch onto Ellie's sinking form. Chikorita hopped to the ground. After Pidgeot laid Ellie down, she took off into the air, back towards Gyarados. Okay, how do I go about this. First things first, save Achilles. "Use Air Slash on Gyarados' tail!" She puled her wings back, then flapped them towards Gyarados' tail. A ray of wind slashed down straight through its tail. Gyarados roared in pain, releasing Achilles from his grasp. Chikorita used razor leaf, distracting Gyarados so Achilles could swim away. "Go help Ellie!" I ordered down to Achilles. He nodded, swimming back to shore. My focus stayed on Achilles, making sure he got to the beach safely. Big mistake. The intense pressure of water hit my chest with unbelievable force. My entire body was flung off of Pidgeot's back. Bitterly cold wind nipped at my skin as I fell. No sounds will come out of my mouth. I can't even call for help.

Ice cold water suffocated my bare skin as I sunk to the bottom of the seafloor. Just stay calm and hold your breath. I opened my eyes just in time to see Gyarados swimming straight at me. His head collided with my abdomen, knocking all of my air out. He swam to the surface, jumping into the air, with me still on his head. As he began to fall back in the water, I continued to drift up sightly. Okay, that really fucking hurt, but collect yourself. I looked at the beach. Emmett made it back. But what about Annalise? Hopefully they are okay. He and Chikorita knelt down next to Achilles by Ellie's body. Please don't be dead, Ellie. The unpleasant feeling of falling tensed in my stomach once again. Right before I hit the water, I caught a glimpse of Ben running towards the beach. At the last second, I took a deep breath.

Now is the time to befriend Gyarados. If only it wasn't so dark. My body began sinking. If only I could swim! Regardless, I scanned the area for any signs of the angry water Pokemon. I caught sight of something in the corner of my eye. A man in a black and green jumpsuit with the letter 'P' printed on the front. He hopped onto a strange machine, swimming out of sight. What the he- Suddenly, I spotted Gyarados swimming towards me again. Capture on!

I began circling loops around him, gaining his trust with each loop. But I don't know how long I can keep up the exertion. I don't know how much longer I can hold my breath. This is so bad. Everything around me began getting darker. No, please. I have to do this. Just as my final loop connected, I could feel the inevitable urge to breath in squeezing at my lungs. Before I could open my mouth, Gyarados swam to me, letting me rest on his head, and swam quickly to the surface. Just as we broke the surface of the water, I took a huge breath, coughing my lungs out. After a few seconds of gaining my breath back, I patted Gyarados' head. "Good boy." I croaked. He roared out happily. Rain began to patter against my skin, adding more goosebumps to my arms. "Please, can you take me to the beach?" He nodded, swimming over to the shore. Ben met us in the tide. He had a cut above his eyebrow and a split lip. I slid off Gyarados' head, thanking him. He swam off, disappearing from view. Ben's front collided with my back. All my tension released as he held me. My body shook from the cold and from fear. I pulled away, turning to face him. My hands cupped his cheeks, my eyes staring intently at the cut above his eyebrow. "Are you okay?" I whispered, unable to keep a steady voice.

His eyebrows furrowed. Is he angry? He opened his mouth to say something, but Achilles voice rang out. "Come on, baby. Don't do this to me." My heart sank. We ran over to them, kneeling down by her lifeless body. "Ellie, please. I can't lose you. Please, baby." Tears streaked down his cheeks. The ring of sirens got closer to us. Ellie's body was an unusual pale gray color. Her deep reddish brown hair clung to her face. Achilles held her head in his lap, rain falling from the sky onto her face. "Don't put me through this again." Put him through it again..? He loves her. He already lost his first best friend, Dewgong. But now he might lose the girl he loves? That would be unbearable.

An ambulance pulled up next to us, its sirens wailing. They pulled out a stretcher and placed Ellie on it, loading her back into the truck. Achilles got inside the truck as well. "We will meet you there." Emmett informed. He nodded his head sadly, the doors closing. Emmett turned to us. His upper lip was cut, along with multiple gashes scattered on his face. "Annalise and Owen are on their way to the hospital with Melrose. She isn't doing well. Venasaur crushing her did a toll. We are going there to meet up with them." He turned to walk away.

"Hey, Emmett?" I asked. He turned his eyebrow raised. "I'm trying not to think much of it, but while I was under the water, with Gyarados, I saw a man down there. He was wearing a black and green jumpsuit with the letter 'P' printed on the front." I informed.

He thought for a second. "Are you sure he wasn't just a diver?"

"That's what I thought at first, but then he jumped onto this strange machine and took off." I nonchalantly grabbed the side of my arm, trying to rub the goosebumps away.

Ben looked to me, his eyebrows furrowed. "You saw the same? While I was befriending Venasaur, two suspicious characters in the same attire jumped onto a machine and took off into the sky. I couldn't get a good enough look though."

Emmett sighed. "We will talk about it when we meet up with Achilles. We have to worry about seeing Ellie and Melrose right now." Ben and I nodded, following Emmett towards town.

Why were Gyarados and Venasaur angry in the first place? It was completely out of the norm for Venasaur to attack someone at random. Maybe not as much for Gyarados, but why was he so close to shore? What could they have gained from these attacks? Why did they go after Mel and Achilles? They are the two strongest and most experienced rangers in this town. Was the attack controlled or.. was it just 'wrong place, wrong time'? Maybe I'm just thinking too much into it. I just hope Ellie and Mel are going to be okay.

Alrighty, hopefully y'all enjoyed! -A