A/N: Here's Chapter 4 :) Thanks for reading.
4. The Emergency
By Legacy
The puddled sidewalks and light midday traffic were welcome sights to Milo as he trudged slowly into town. His tired feet welcomed the solid, level concrete sidewalks beneath them after all the rough terrain they had navigated to get there.
His sneakers and pant legs were soaked from walking through the muddy dirt roads and fields on his usual route to Viridian City. The rain had ceased, but the air was still very crisp and cool, and the gray overcast skies and stiff breeze seemed to contribute to Milo's shivers. Only Fawkes, who had fallen asleep in his arms, provided any sort of warmth to him as he walked.
"Well, here we are in Viridian again," Milo said aloud to himself.
While Milo had made the trip to the large, bustling suburb a half-dozen times over the past summer for his trainer certification classes, it wasn't until now that he was able to truly take in the sights and sounds of Viridian City, and really appreciate how different it was from Oak Grove and how far away from home he seemed to be already.
Milo made his way down the busy street, passing streetlights, shops and fast food restaurants on either side. Cars and trucks frequently whizzed by him, and the pungent aroma of automobile exhaust filled his nostrils. It was much different than home; a fact that was obvious to him, but one that he hadn't given much thought to until now.
Before he knew it, Milo had found himself stopped in front of what had been his normal destination over the past summer: the fenced-in front entrance to Viridian Academy. Without realizing it, it appeared as though Milo's muscle memory had taken him here while he had been deep in thought and not paying attention to where he was walking.
He stared through the large fence's dark iron bars at the impressive, towering brick building inside. The blacktop school yard as well as the huge concrete steps leading up to the entrance were completely deserted, but Milo knew that in just a few days, Andy and the other students would be beginning the school year.
Thoughts of crowded hallways, unfamiliar faces and burdensome homework returned to Milo's mind, and suddenly he felt very relieved to be standing on this side of the fence. He was surprised to realize that he wasn't feeling the intense computer withdrawals or homesickness that he had expected. Granted, he was only an hour or so into his epic adventure, but his feeling of excitement still hadn't diminished.
A gentile moaning sound interrupted Milo's thoughts. He looked down to see that his beloved Vulpix had finally awoken and was stirring in his cradling arms.
"Well, look who's up," Milo said cheerfully as he set Fawkes down on the ground at his feet. The pup yawned and cried out a greeting to her master.
"We've gotta get you a pokéball," he said. "I'm not gonna carry you the whole time."
Again, Fawkes barked in reply and Milo chuckled.
"Look where we are, girl," he said, pointing through the bars of the fence at the school. "That's where I'd be locked up all year if it weren't for Mom."
It became clear to Milo very soon after passing the academy that he had no idea where to go. Much of the city beyond this point was still very unfamiliar to him. He knew that the nearest Pokémon Center was located just past the Viridian City border in the next town, Maple Plain. And Milo knew that, to get there, he must navigate through the Viridian Forest, which was a large thicket of towering redwood trees located at the outermost reaches of town. From what he had read online, his destination would be located just past this point.
The problem was that from where Milo stood on the sidewalk at a busy intersection in the heart of the city, there were no signs whatsoever indicating which direction he should go to find this forest.
He knew he should ask one of the locals to point him in the right direction, but again, walking up to complete strangers and striking up a conversation was not something Milo had ever felt comfortable doing. So instead, he and Fawkes kept walking aimlessly through town not even knowing what they were looking for.
But after passing the same burger joint for what Milo figured was the third time, he finally admitted to himself that he was simply wandering in circles. He was lost. He could tell Fawkes was not amused by all the walking as she was lagging behind with an annoyed look on her face.
"All right, all right," Milo sighed. "I'll ask someone for help."
It was at that moment however that Milo was interrupted by a loud commotion from off in the distance. It sounded like a group of people yelling, but he wasn't sure. He looked around, trying to see any sign of a ruckus, but whatever it was, it was coming from up the road out of sight. Buildings and cars blocked his view, but curiosity lured him towards the noise.
"Well, might as well see what all the shouting is about," said Milo before taking off on a jog down the sidewalk with Fawkes scampering behind.
A few blocks down, Milo finally saw the source of the commotion: a large group of probably thirty or forty people of all ages were gathered around the front steps of a large office building. Like a mob of adoring fans crowded around the stage at a rock concert, the people were yelling and pumping their fists in the air, some wielding homemade poster board signs.
Milo scooped up Fawkes into his arms and cautiously approached the gang from the opposite side of the street to try to get a better view of what was happening. As he got closer and closer, he realized what the building was that they were gathered outside of. The words Viridian City Hall were as plain as day posted above the glass front doors in huge block letters.
Milo saw that the dozens of apparently angry people were all rallying around a young bearded man, probably in his mid-twenties, who was standing on the front steps of City Hall in a brown wool sweater and khakis with a megaphone raised to his mouth.
"We will not be ignored any longer!" the man adamantly shouted into the amplifier.
A section of people huddled closest to the bearded man on the steps roared in agreement and pumped their fists even more wildly. It appeared as though whoever this man was, he was giving some sort of speech to his loyal followers. Some of the people in the crowd though, Milo could tell, were simply passersby like him, wandering over to see what all the fuss was about.
"We will no longer stand idly by while the leaders of this country continue to allow this sort of cruelty to go on! Our president made promises of change before he was elected, and he has since failed to make good on those promises!"
Milo and Fawkes were now standing among the outer edge of the group, watching intently as the young man in the brown sweater continued ranting passionately, clearly trying to incite his audience to agree with his anger towards, apparently, Kanto's newly elected president, Robert Matthews.
"The President has claimed that he was a supporter of the rights of all creatures in our world! He claimed that his administration would make enforcing the fair treatment of monsters all over Kanto a top priority! But those were all just lies! Lies to get himself elected. Nothing but empty words!"
"Is that what this is about?" shouted a short and stocky, middle-aged man standing right near Milo, interrupting the activist's rant. "You're out here causing this big scene because of Pokémon rights?"
Milo turned towards the man, who was obviously an on-looker and not a member of the actual protest. Everyone else in the crowd whirled around as well, including the man with the beard and the megaphone. Even though the many eyes that turned were not directed at Milo specifically, he still felt unnerved to say the least to be standing near the man.
"Yes, sir, we are," the protester with the megaphone replied in a calm yet antagonistic tone."Many people in today's society – including yourself it seems – do not respect all of Kanto's wildlife as deserving the same rights and freedoms as humans. You, as well as our government, continue to view these wondrous creatures as inferior to humans and simply as tools for our personal gain. The time has come for our lawmakers to see that we will not just sit back and continue to let this injustice go on!"
There was another robust cheer from the crowd. Milo could finally see some of the cardboard poster signs some of the demonstrators were holding up, including ones reading, "Battling is Cruelty!" "Empty Kanto's Pockets Mr. President!" and "Free the Pocket Monsters!"
"You hippies are delusional!" the man who was challenging the crowd bravely shot back. "President Matthews has done more for Pokémon rights than anyother president we've had!"
The crowd booed and shouted, but the man stood firm as he continued.
"Remember what it was like before? All those brutal underground battling leagues... all those bloody monster fights to the death that... monsters dying in cages and being starved to death? Matthews not only put a stop to all of that, but he's even banned all Pokémon from military use just like he said! And you still think he's some kind of tyrant? You idiots just want something to bitch about!"
A part of Milo wanted to cheer this man's response just like the protesters had cheered for their leader. Even though he wasn't at all well-versed in Kanto politics, Milo did know that the popular opinion was that President Matthews had done a lot to help advance Pokémon rights in Kanto. Heck, Andy and probably many others were mad that Matthews might have actually gone too far with his new laws.
"You are the delusional one, sir," the bearded man bellowed into his megaphone. "President Matthews' administration passed those laws to appease their critics and fool the country into believing that progress is being made. But in reality, the President is simply perpetuating the same barbaric ideals as those before him."
The man standing next to Milo just threw up his arms and turned to walk away, obviously realizing that he couldn't argue with people with such conviction.
"Fucking wackos!" he shouted over his shoulder as he stormed off, leaving Milo and Fawkes all alone in his wake.
"Our president is a hypocrite! Passing laws that state that monsters will no longer be used by humans as tools for personal gain, but at the same time still allowing competitive monster dueling leagues and the KPL to continue operating? He continues to allow the media to celebrate criminals like Hugo Bowers as heroes and fails to shut down Bowers' latest endeavor, the Kanto Battle Quest, a despicable competition that teaches our children that it's okay to enslave monsters as long as we humans benefit from it?
"... Not to mention, Matthews has failed to outlaw the use of pokéballs, those cruel capture devices that usurp a monster's freedom and livelihood and force it to serve its human captor!"
Again, the crowd erupted, matching the young leader's enthusiasm. Milo subconsciously reached his hand into his pocket to feel the two small metal spheres inside, making sure their profiles wouldn't be visible to any of the protesters. The last thing he wanted was to be publicly chastised by an angry mob for being someone who is "using monsters as tools for personal gain."
Not wanting to risk becoming the center of the group's negative attention, Milo casually slipped away from the crowd and continued his way down the street past city hall. He hoped that no one would notice Fawkes cradled in his arms like a baby as he walked off and accuse him of Pokémon cruelty as well. Whoever that group of demonstrators was, it was clear that they were very passionate about their cause.
Milo still wasn't sure which direction Viridian Forest was, and his feet were now starting to blister from all the walking, so he decided to step into a small diner located in a nearby strip mall so he and Fawkes could rest and grab a bite to eat.
The diner was very cozy and intimate, with not more than a half-dozen two-person booths lined up along the wall. Aside from Milo and Fawkes, the quaint dining room was vacant. The place was empty except for a couple of people at a table in the corner.
Milo slid into the nearest booth, with Fawkes jumping up to join him on the bench. He wasn't sure if the restaurant allowed pets, but he didn't know what else to do with her since he had no pokéball to contain her in at the moment, and he really didn't care at this point. It just felt so good to sit down and get off his feet.
As Milo was waiting for an employee to notice that he had arrived, he felt a tap on his shoulder from behind. He turned, hoping it wasn't someone from the mob outside who had come to accuse him of "enslaving" Fawkes.
But it wasn't. The first thing that caught Milo's eye as he turned around was the wild, frizzy red hair of a teenage girl who stood before him. It was Izzy Cunningham, the freckled girl he and Andy had met during summer school.
"Hi, Milo," she said happily.
"Oh. Hi, Izzy."
"Wow, you have a Vulpix," she exclaimed when she noticed Fawkes standing on the seat opposite Milo at the booth.
"Yup, her name's Fawkes. Got her about a month or two ago," Milo said awkwardly, feeling as untalented as ever when it came to striking up an interesting conversation.
"Fawkes, that's a cool name. I've read that ancient tribes overseas used to use Vulpixes fire-breathing ability to ward off evil spirits."
"Uh... cool."
"My mom and I love this restaurant," Izzy abruptly changed the subject, totally oblivious to Milo's confused expression. "We come here all the time. Have you ordered yet? You gotta try the peanut butter sandwiches. They're to die for... only, I like mine without the bread."
Milo just stared back blankly at Izzy.
"Anyways, what are you doing here in Viridian City, Milo? School doesn't start for another few days."
"Oh," Milo said, finally feeling as though he had something worthwhile to say. "I'm actually not going to be going to Viridian Academy this year."
"Oh, really? I thought you and that Andy boy were trying out for the team. It's not because of what happened in the hall with Johnny Lucas is it? I'm sure a popular guy like that wouldn't remember you at all."
"Gee, thanks," Milo replied a bit sourly, although he didn't disagree. He knew by now that Izzy wasn't being mean-spirited with her comments. "But no, it's just that... well, you heard about Hugo Bowers' Battle Quest, right?"
"Oh yes. After I met you guys that day, I went home and researched everything I could find about Bowers and the KPL. You boys made him sound so interesting. Not sure what all the fuss is about, but yes, I heard about that contest he's putting on. Sounds very exciting!
"Although, I read that anyone over the age of fourteen can join... and I can't say that I think anyone that young stands any sort of chance to actually win a battle with experienced trainers like that, from what I've read. And traveling all around the country on their own? I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of these kids ended up dead! Don't you think?"
Milo just sighed and rubbed his eyes, exasperated.
"Well, you might be right," he said finally, "but I'm gonna give it a try... not dying, but the Battle Quest. It sure beats going to school."
"Wait. You're entering the Battle Quest?"
"Yep."
"Wow," Izzy said, apparently speechless for the first time since Milo had met her.
After a waitress had finally come to take Milo's order, Izzy sat down in the seat opposite Milo. The two of them discussed the Quest, how Milo's mother had actually given him permission to skip school and the letter he had received regarding the Pokémon Center he was supposed to report to.
"So, are you sure you have to go through Viridian Forest? Shouldn't you just take the highway around it? That's how we always go to Maple Plain whenever I have to go to the orthodontist," Izzy said.
"Yeah, I thought about that," Milo replied. "It would be a lot easier to navigate, but going all that way on foot would take too long. I think I'm better off just cutting right through the forest once I find it."
"Once you find it?"
Suddenly feeling embarrassed, Milo mumbled that he didn't actually know where Viridian Forest was. His feelings were not spared at all when Izzy began to laugh.
"It's not far, Milo," she giggled. She pointed towards the window near their booth. "I'm sure you saw that group of protesters outside of City Hall."
"Yeah?"
"Well, if you pass that and take Larpenter Street all the way, it'll take you to the highway which leads to Maple Plain. But if you veer off the road, you can get to Viridian Forest on foot. It shouldn't take you more than an hour or so if you walk fast."
"Awesome! Thanks, Izzy."
"Oh, no problem," the redhead replied. "But... still, don't you think it might be a little dangerous to go through Viridian Forest by yourself? I mean, no offense to Fawkes here, but if all you have is a baby Vulpix-"
"Oh, I've actually got three Pokémon," Milo interrupted. He reached into his pockets and took out his two pokéballs. Looking for an excuse to release his monsters from their balls, he casually tossed them on the floor.
With a flash of white light, Spearow and Luxio appeared before them.
"You have a Luxio!" Izzy shouted, her green eyes bulging wide.
"And a Spearow too," Milo added, gesturing towards the black bird.
"Yeah, yeah, Spearow's are everywhere though," Izzy replied, not taking her eyes of Luxio. Spearow squawked feebly and flapped his wings, apparently feeling stung at being ignored.
"Do you know how uncommonly rare Luxios are? They don't even exist in the wild in Kanto. Where did you get him?"
Milo chuckled. It was like when he first bought his laptop computer a few years ago – after saving his allowances and chore money for over a year – and hearing all his classmates fawn over the expensive device with twinges of jealousy and astonishment in their voices.
Milo explained to Izzy about Mr. J, his farm and how he had acquired Luxio. Spearow continued to flap his wings for attention from Milo's shoulder, so Milo returned the bird to his pokéball with a flash of red light.
"Oh, how exciting!" Izzy said, bending down to stroke Luxio's shiny coat. "I wish I had a cool old neighbor like that who'd give me ultra-rare monsters. Did you know that a Luxio's fur actually collects static electricity in the hairs as it walks around? And it can discharge that stored electricity as a defense mechanism in the wild."
"You sure do know a lot about monsters, Izzy," Milo said, not knowing what else to say. He instantly regretted the compliment when he saw her blush from behind her freckles and grin back at him.
"Oh... I don't know that much," she replied bashfully. "I just like reading. Anyways, I shouldn't keep my mom waiting. We're off to go shopping for new school clothes."
"Oh, all right."
"But... here's my phone number. I'd like to hear about how your journey is going from time to time, if you have time of course. And if you ever need advice or help along the way... just give me a ring."
"Yeah, uh… all right. That'd be great," Milo said clumsily as he took the scrap of paper that Izzy had written her number on.
"Excellent! Bye Milo! Good luck!"
And with that, Izzy skipped back over to her mom across the diner, her bushy carrot-colored hair bouncing with each stride. She certainly was unique to say the least, Milo thought, but it did seem like she knew a lot about monsters, so he was at least pleased to know that she was willing to help.
It was at that point when the waitress returned to the table with Milo's order, and placed it on the table in front of him where Fawkes and Luxio eagerly hopped up and began nibbling at the food.
"We normally don't allow monsters in here," the middle-aged server said, motioning towards the two monsters.
"Oh," Milo said, caught off guard.
The woman smiled though and stepped forward to pet Fawkes. "But I'm the only one in today, and I won't tell anybody," she said. "As long as they stay well-behaved."
Milo smiled back and thanked woman and promised that his monsters would indeed be on their best behavior.
"I take it since you're walking around with these little guys that you aren't part one of those protesters from City Hall," the waitress continued.
"Nope," Milo replied. "I saw them on my way in here though."
"Oh, ok. I didn't think you were," she said, looking relieved. "They've been out there everyday this week. A bunch of them came in here earlier today for lunch and gave me a ton of attitude for not having enough 'organic' vegetarian food on the menu." The waitress rolled her eyes.
"Who are they anyway?" Milo asked.
"I guess they're a local chapter of some big nationwide activist group that fights for fair treatment of monsters. I guess they aren't too happy with our new president."
"Yeah, they sounded pretty angry."
"Just a bunch of tree-hugging college kids who think they understand everything about the world. They just want something to complain about, if you ask me," the woman said.
Milo chuckled as he ate and drank.
"What about you? Aren't you a little young to be out on your own?" the waitress asked. "Where are your parents?"
Milo hesitated, but proceeded to tell the woman a condensed version of what he had told Izzy about his participation in the Kanto Battle Quest and how his mother had given him permission to forgo school on the grounds that the journey might actually be a better learning experience than being cooped up in a classroom.
"Oh, right. I saw something about that on T.V. the other night," she said thoughtfully. "Sounded like a big load of bologna to me. Asking kids to skip school just to go wandering aimlessly around the country with no supervision. Your mother is really letting you do this?"
Milo just stared blankly back at the woman. He didn't exactly know how to respond her doubts.
"Well, she said it would be good for me," Milo replied with the slightest tone of annoyance in his voice.
"Good for you? How so?" the waitress asked, looking incredulous. "Not sure how letting your kid skip school can be good for him in the slightest. I'm sorry, honey, but I'm not sure why you'd even want to waste your time with such nonsense. And these little guys… are thesethe Pokémon you are going to use to win the contest? These cute little things don't look like they could hurt a fly. It is a monster battling competition isn't it?"
Milo was more than irritated by this point with the waitress as she stared down at Fawkes and Luxio like they were helpless newborns. While the woman was clearly not trying to insult Milo's mother or his monsters, he couldn't help but get a little defensive. Still, not wanting to become confrontational, he repressed what he really wanted to say to her.
Apparently realizing she had offended Milo, the woman relented, "I don't wanna burst your bubble, sweetie, and I don't mean to criticize your mother for letting you do this... I just think that this whole contest thing is a bit silly, especially for someone your age. There's going to be a lot of older kids trying out I reckon, and I don't want to see you get hurt."
"I'll be fine, thanks," Milo said, straining himself to try to sound as polite as possible.
The woman looked like she was going to say something else, but she stopped, smiled at him and left them Fawkes to eat. Milo's heart was beating faster, although he wasn't sure why. His face felt warm, and he noticed that his fists were clenched.
Milo was surprised to realize that he was feeling angry. He glared at the woman as she walked away, her back turned to him. What did she know about Pokémon? How was she so sure that he would fail? Who was she to question his mother's decision or his monsters' abilities?
Milo's heated emotions boiled inside of him as he barely ate. He let Fawkes and Luxio finish much of his sandwich while he was busy concentrating on the journey ahead of him. He felt the anger inside of him gradually transform into motivation... motivation to prove wrong the waitress and anyone else who doubted him.
He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins, energizing him like a lightning strike.
Suddenly, Milo stood up and threw down some money on the table. He returned Luxio to his ball and ran out the door with Fawkes scurrying behind to keep up.
Finally knowing which way to go to find the forest not only seemed to raise Milo's spirits – as did a full belly – but it also seemed to make the trip quicker overall.
The crowd of protesters had gone, which relieved Milo. And in what seemed like no time at all, a large, towering thicket of trees appeared in the distance just beyond the city's limits. Once he saw the forest, Milo and Fawkes took off running excitedly down the pavement.
"There it is, Fawkes!" Milo shouted.
As he ran, Milo was very surprised to realize how excited he was to explore the forest. His adrenaline masked his fatigue, and his legs kept churning. He could hear Fawkes barking from behind him pleading him to slow down, but he figured that she was to become a world-class battler one day, she would need to work on her stamina as well, so he continued on.
When the two companions finally reached the outermost edge of the forest, they stopped to size up the intimidatingly thick and dark timberland before them. There wasn't much of a beaten path to enter the forest, only small areas where the brush and hanging branches weren't quite as thick.
"What do you think?" Milo said, looking down at his Vulpix, who was still panting heavily. She gave a halfhearted yip as if to express concern.
"Oh come on. It'll be much quicker than going all the way around and walking along the highway," Milo reasoned. "We're supposed to get to the Pokémon Center before tonight."
With a deep breath, Milo ducked his head and made his way into the forest. Fawkes, who's small stature made it hard for her to maneuver around all the fallen tree limbs and other shrubbery on the forest floor, again leaped up into Milo's arms.
Milo hadn't taken more than a few steps into the tangled jumble of sky-scraping redwood trees before much of the daylight seemed to vanish. The sky was no longer visible aside from a few patches here and there. Right away, Milo could see what Izzy was talking about. Navigating through the entanglement of low-hanging branches, piles of dead leaves and twigs, and other vegetation seemed a daunting task indeed, but by this time, Milo was determined to press on.
Using his arms to shield Fawkes, Milo forced his way through the brush as best he could. Again, he didn't know which way he should head to get to Maple Plain, so he just wandered in the opposite direction of where he had entered, hoping that eventually he would reach the other side.
It was strangely quiet and almost peaceful underneath the bushy canopy. They were insulated from the outside traffic and general hustle and bustle of the surrounding city life. He felt a little more at home here in amongst nature, but the forestry in Oak Grove was no where near as dense and deep as this.
"All right," Milo said, still sounding determined. "I think I see a bit of a clearing up ahead."
Milo was pleased to see that he was right. He made his way a few yards ahead to less saturated area where there weren't as many trees and branches to avoid. Taking the opportunity to rest, he set Fawkes down on the leaf-littered ground. She began sniffing around her new surroundings while Milo tried to figure out which direction to head.
"Hmm... I wonder which way–"
Suddenly, a rustling sound from Milo's right interrupted his thoughts. He and Fawkes jumped and turned towards the sound. What could it be? Fearful thoughts of ruthless, man-eating Ursarings flashed across his mind's eye.
"Wh-who's there?" Milo stammered, even though he knew it was incredibly unlikely that it was a human making those rustling sounds.
Then, to Milo relief, a tiny creature probably even a bit smaller than Fawkes emerged from out behind some low-growing bushes and walked out into the clearing, apparently oblivious to the fact that Milo and his pet were standing so near.
Even in the dim light of the forest floor, Milo could see the strange creature clearly. It looked like a cross between an insect and a crustacean, with a dirt-covered pink exoskeleton and six legs, including two Krabby-like pincers which it was using to prod at the ground in search of food.
Milo had to squint, but he thought he also saw several tiny, red and white toadstool mushrooms riding on the creature's back as if they were growing directly out of its skin. He had never seen anything like it before. Neither had Fawkes, who scurried over to the six-legged insect curiously for a closer look.
"Careful, Fawkes," Milo warned.
The toadstool-clad creature looked alarmed when it saw Fawkes run up to it and begin sniffing at it. It hunched down in a defensive position, flashing its pincers at Fawkes. This movement apparently didn't sit well with the Vulpix, who began to growl, her tails standing tall behind her.
When he saw the weird creature react to being provoked, Milo considering recalling Fawkes to retreat, but he thought about the waitress in the restaurant and her comments about Fawkes' unassuming and wimpy appearance. He looked at the puny creature again and decided that this would be a perfect opportunity for Fawkes to win her first battle.
"Fawkes, get it! Headbutt that thing!" Milo yelled, feeling excited to yell out his first official command as a Pokémon trainer.
The Vulpix just looked back at Milo looking very puzzled. Milo had grown accustomed to Fawkes' impeccable obedience, but he had never asked her to attack another living being before. Again, Milo shouted encouragement to his monster even though he wasn't sure how to make her understand that he wanted her to fight this creature.
Finally, after the mushroom carrier had apparently tired of being cornered and sniffed by Fawkes, it hissed angrily and swung its pincers at her. Narrowly avoiding the strike, Fawkes jumped back with her tails wagging as she continued to egg on the creature, as though she thought it was playing.
"No, Fawkes!" Milo shouted. "It's not play time! I want you to knock that thing out!"
Still, the command didn't seem to register with Fawkes, who looked to be having fun poking and prodding antagonistically at the creature and dodging its repeated pincer strikes. She didn't appear to realize that her opponent was getting more vicious and angry with each swipe.
Suddenly, to Milo's horror, the strange Pokémon stopped flailing away at Fawkes and instead, a black cloudy substance shot out of its pores like a toxic gas wafting right into the Vulpix's face, who immediately keeled over coughing and wheezing, unable to breathe.
"Fawkes!"
Before Milo could rush over to Fawkes' aid, the poisonous creature took advantage of her dazed state and plunged its pincers into her flesh like two butcher knives. Still blinded by the poisonous gas in her eyes, Fawkes howled in pain.
"No!"
Milo could see blood drawn from the two open wounds on Fawkes' abdomen as she collapsed to the ground. He was stunned at how swift and strong the diminutive mushroom crustacean was. It stood over her and began to raise its arms to stab Milo's fallen monster once again. Unable to see or defend herself, Fawkes lay helplessly before her attacker on a bed of leaves.
Not knowing what else to do, Milo instinctively reached for his pocket.
He took out one of the pokéballs and threw it at the creature like a baseball, hoping at the very least to distract it from causing further harm to his pet. The orb bounced on the dirt right in front of the creature and exploded on impact, unleashing a bright flash of light that briefly illuminated the forest around them. When the light dissipated, Luxio stood in its place.
"Luxio!" Milo shouted desperately. "Take down that thing!"
The electric feline creature, still young and inexperienced in his own right, did not follow Milo's command either. He looked around curiously, gauging his surroundings. Right away, he noticed the creature, who was again standing at the ready with its sharp claws raised.
Jumping back, Luxio growled and bared his teeth at the creature who in return, swung at him with its knife-like claws. Luxio easily avoided the strike, but looked enraged.
Suddenly, white crackling sparks began radiating from Luxio's dark fur just as they had earlier that morning when Andy had tried to hold him; only this time, the intensity of the electricity was visibly stronger.
Milo gasped as he watched the feline Pokémon roar and let loose an incredible bolt of electricity and shot it towards the creature. Almost instantly, the toadstools on the clawed creature's back flew off from the jolt and its six legs wriggled horribly until it crashed to the ground right beside Fawkes, unconscious.
Milo was in awe of Luxio's display of power, but he didn't have time to revel in it long. He picked up Luxio's pokéball and recalled him before rushing over to Fawkes who still wasn't moving. Blood continued to gush from her wounds. Milo's hands trembled as he took her up in his arms.
"Holy shit!" he screamed. "Fawkes! Fawkes!"
Not knowing what else to do, he took off on an adrenaline-fueled sprint back towards Viridian City where he had entered the forest. He knew there was no way he could navigate the forest and find Maple Plain before he lost Fawkes for good. His only hope was to retrace his steps and find help as soon as he could.
As soon as Milo escaped the maze of trees and returned to the edge of Viridian City, he dropped to his knees in the grass, carefully placed Fawkes on the ground and frantically took his phone out of his pocket. His hands were sticky with her blood but he didn't care. He dialed and called for an ambulance, trying hard to keep his voice composed enough for the operator to hear him.
"H-hello? Yes, I need an ambulance right away! I'm at the north border of Viridian City, right at the edge near the forest. Hurry! Please, hurry!"
He hung up and replaced the phone in his pocket and concentrated again on his ailing pet. He could feel Fawkes' faint pulse slowing and her normally very warm body felt like a lifeless sack of potatoes as Milo desperately tried to revive her. He took a deep, sobbing breath and tried to stay focused on applying pressure to Fawkes' wounds with his hands.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Thank you for reading! Please, if you could take just a minute or two to leave a review, it would greatly help me as an author! Thanks again!