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My breath came out in quick, panicky gasps as I flipped and twisted in the darkness, trying to allocate my bearings. Flailing, I screamed in frustration, blindly lashing out, trying to find the…
There. Barely visible, far away, a speck of white light. I crawl towards it, kicking and scraping along. I strain with my nose, my tails, anything, everything. Oh Arceus, please no, get me out of here. I wasn't meant to be some pet, please, Arceus, let me out!
My nose lightly touches the speck of light. With a popping noise, I break through the Pokeball's seal .It ejects me in a white waterfall, And as my physical form solidifies, I bat the useless metal capsule weakly at the man, a defiant growl rippling in my throat.
His cocky face slackens, and his Skarmory hisses in surprise. The Trainer's surprise morphs into rage, and he gropes one of the black, woven marbles off of the ground. He hurls it at me, and I bathe it in a Flamethrower, unsure of its purpose. As it nears me, It warps and expands in the air, squealing, forming a - - collar. It hustles through my attack, unaffected. I dive out of the way in the nick of time, and hear the whirring noise of the black coils shrinking back down to its oran berry size.
I land clumsily, exhausted, and turn to face the man, preparing for another black collar to be sent towards me. I screech as a Hydro Pump to my back sends me flying foreword and onto my face. I struggled to my feet, wobble, and collapse. I try again, lifting my head. Something extremely heavy pushes down on the back of my neck, pinning me to the ground. I glare up at the Skarmory, who was holding me down with his hefty claw, preventing my escape.
A blue body zooms over me, crackling with electrical malice, and slams into the Skarmory, sending him reeling. Sergio stands protectively above me, shooting Thunderbolt's not only at the Skarmory and Gorebyss, but at their Trainer's as well.
"Sleep now, my love," he whispers gently. "I shall protect you." Relief washes over me, and I let the darkness overtake me, using Rest. I hear the battle raging above me, around me, below me, the screams of effort and pain suddenly unimportant. I doze deeply, restoring my energy.
My eyes snap open, and my tails begin to swirl with newfound energy and hatred. As I raise proudly to my feet, I find myself in perfect condition; Sergio hadn't allowed anything to harm me as I Rested. Together, the two of us, both new and refreshed to the battle, glared down towards the dangerous duo, who looked suddenly very meek. The Skarmory had red, angry burns across the majority of its metal body, and the Gorebyss' pink body looked mostly purple, as bruises layered on top of each other. With a bark of anger, I lit the Skarmory up with a Fire Spin, and Sergio fried the Gorebyss with a searing Thunder. As our refreshed bodies gave off powerful force, the type advantage we had over our two foes became blatantly apparent, as the Skarmory plummeted into the earth, leaving a small crater, and the Gorebyss floated to the river's surface, both of their eyes crossed out in exhaustion as they fainted. Both were surrounded by a red light, and reabsorbed into their Pokeballs.
Our attention turned to the Trainer's, who were spitting with rage. Finally, the girl, most likely the senior Trainer, turned to her companion. "Come on, we've got one already, let's go," she grunted. The man stoops and grabs the marbles off the ground. With that, the two turn tail and run through the thicket. The man fingered a device on his wrist, and a sudden shriek from the shadows drew our gaze.
A large female Luxray runs after the two obediently, tears of frustration freely flowing. A black, woven collar is clasped around her throat. The trio disappears into the flora. Sergio lurches after them with a growl.
"Sergio, no!" I cry, and reluctantly, he gives up the chase. I scan the canopy, my eyes finding an unfamiliar Noctowl perched a ways off. "You, Noctowl!" It's head snapped towards my address. "Follow those Trainer's! Don't lose them, and don't be discovered." It took wing immediately, soaring up high, soon becoming but a speck in the heavens.
Sergio turns his attention back to Brenton, long fainted from his wounds. He examines the wound, which is bleeding profusely. His muzzle turns to the air, sniffing loudly. He trots around, sniffing, searching, until he finds what he's seeking. His eyes widen, and his nose twitches as he inhales deeper. He turns to me, his eyes grim, his nose having found the hunted scent.
"Watch him, I'll be back," he says before tearing into the forest. I lay down next to Brenton, feeling empty. I failed at protecting him… I failed at protecting the forest. A sudden snapping of twigs and the beating of wings jolted me to my paws, my hackles raising instantly.
An Emolga glides into view, a small Shinx following uncoordinatedly. Both are running in the direction the two humans and Luxray had fled. I lower my hackles and hide my fangs, calling "Halt!" Both freeze, the Emolga landing on a low branch. Both bow low, and I notice that the Shinx is shaking violently.
"Greetings, Alpha," sputters the Emolga as I approach slowly and proudly. Clearly he was higher ranking than the Shinx, so I turned my attention to him.
"Rise." Both straighten from their bows, and I see the Shinx is weeping openly. The poor thing, she was barely a kitten! Without showing the pity I feel, I turn to the Emolga, my cold stare commanding his cooperation. "Who are you, where do you travel, and why?" The Emolga's eyes nervously dart to the general area the crooks had disappeared into.
"I am Ziltch, and this here is my daughter, Currant." Currant whimpers weakly as my frozen glare glides to her. I offer a small, lukewarm smile to her, and although she doesn't completely relax, her small tail comes out from between her hind legs. "We were chasing my mate, Currant's mother. She…" His eyes glazed over, and he cleared his throat. "She was taken from us." I nodded my head understandingly; although I do my best to warn the forest's inhabitants as to when a Trainer was lurking about, often, Pokemon who don't wish to be captured can't hide in time, and are caught in the open. They are forced to battle. More often than not, these unfortunate ones are captured, and families were torn apart.
"She was captured."
"No." Ziltch shook his head firmly. "She was taken. They came upon us, and they didn't even bother to battle her! They just threw a small black pebble at us. We didn't know what it was! I yanked Currant out of the way, and Ultra tried to zap it but…It just kept coming through her Thunderbolt." His small paws fisted in anger. "When it got close, it grew, and wrapped around her throat. Her eyes went all wide, and when I asked her what was wrong, she looked at me, but… she just stared at me. She looked so confused and angry and, and… She just left with them. I called for her, but she didn't even look back." Currant's sobs grew louder.
I looked down on the babe, and felt true remorse for one so young. I gently laid myself next to her, curling my body around her protectively. At first, she tensed apprehensively, but as I cooed at her caringly, my regal authority temporarily removed, she collapsed against me, seeking protection. She sobbed against me, her despair shaking her entire body. Suddenly, she Sparked, the attack doing only slight damage. I saw Ziltch above us jump in fright, afraid I would hurt his daughter for the attack, but I knew she wasn't being aggressive. She was just so distraught, she couldn't control her energy anymore. The two of us lay there together, me holding her tight as her sobs and electricity flowed freely. As she began to calm down, Sergio came trotting from the tree line. With a final fond licking, I rose to my feet.
Following Sergio is a Chimecho. Sergio approached Brenton, still motionless in the river's shallows. Sergio grunted at his damaged leg, and a shimmering pink haze emitted from the Chimecho. It's Healing Pulse caresses Brenton's injured ankle. Sergio and I took opposite sides of the trap, waiting, as Ziltch and his child came over and watched. When I thought the bleeding was slow enough, the two of us grasped opposite side of the trap, forcing it open. Brenton's leg began to bleed a little quicker, but as Ziltch shoved his foot out of harm's way, and the Chimecho's Heal pulse continued, the bleeding slowed, and eventually stopped.
I thanked the Chimecho as it floated away dreamily, it's duty fulfilled. Brenton's shallow breaths deepened, and he even yawned. Sergio smiled relieved, saying that all he needed now was rest. I agreed, and we both decided to spend the day, and night if necessary, with Brenton, until he awoke. Sergio took his turn to interrogate Ziltch as I played Currant, trying to distract her. Once I'd removed my oppressive, power fraught cloak of dominance, Currant grew attached to me. No longer was I a scary, all powerful Alpha, I was just a strangely colored friend. She often asked why I wasn't yellow like the other Ninetales, and I simply replied each time that it was a mark of birth. The three of us spent the day by the river, playing and entertaining the child and keeping a watchful eye over the seemingly hibernating bear.
As Currant began to tucker out, and Sergio laid her down for the evening, I took Ziltch aside. "I won't lie to you: I have no idea what's going on here, or why these people came here, or what their new device is. But I will make you a promise." I lower my head so that my eyes were equal in height with the rather short Sky Squirrel Pokemon. This wasn't an Alpha telling a lesser Pokemon a possible action; it was one Pokemon promising the other Pokemon: "I will find Currant's mother." Ziltch thanked me, relief washing over his face. With a quick goodnight, he glided over to his daughter, who was sleeping quietly. He clamored on top of her head, then curled up upon her, stroking her fur protectively.
Sergio padded slowly up to me. He approached with his head lowered and submissive as he licked my muzzle. As we switched positions and I greeted him submissively, I sighed with yearning. Although we had been in proximity for the majority of the day, we hadn't had much time to spend together. We nuzzled each other as we settled down for the night close to Brenton's slumbering mass, curling our bodies around one another.
"So, what are we going to do, love?" Sergio asked, grooming my mane. I sigh heavily, resting my head against his chest.
"I don't know, dearest, I really don't. We have no idea what we are facing here. Some new… controlling mechanism has been created by the humans. Unlike the Pokeballs, we can't fight and struggle against it. It's all powerful." I closed my eyes, frustrated at the day's event.
"I don't know what we are fighting," his low voice rumbled, "but I do know that with a mate as strong and crafty as you, the two of us can protect this forest, and all of its inhabitants, from this new entity." I licked his cheek lovingly, but as I fell asleep, I grew worried and unsure.