Alright, so the official new title for this story is "Origins of Hate," because let's face it, "Pokemon Tales" was a serious tap out. Also, no one had any suggestions about what other members should be on Max's team, so I will just add what I think would be best!
Max ducked under yet another low hanging branch, and glanced around the dim twilight of the forest's floor and undergrowth. He felt uneasy; the Ninetales had darted out in front of them, and his Dodrio was unable to keep up. The forest rang with an eerie silence, the quiet suffocating.
"Ember, wait up!" he called, hoping she could still hear his shouts. His Dodrio picked its way carefully about the tree's exposed roots, minding his thin, weak ankles. Max grumbled in frustration, his eyes squinting in the leaf induced dusk, trying to see a glimpse of Ember's pearly fur.
Max's Dodrio fell to the forest floor with a surprised squawk, and Max felt the wind get knocked out of him as his back slammed into the tightly packed dirt below. His Dodrio, whose name was Dailyn, rose awkwardly to its feet, and hissed angrily to it's opponent. Max weakly rolled over, and found a small Furret growling angrily at his Pokémon on all fours, it's tail bushy and threatening. Upon seeing Max move, the Furret tried to flank Dailyn, its tiny teeth bared, but Dodrio quickly moved to shield his owner.
"Enough," I barked heatedly, finally back tracking to find her lost charges. The Wild Furret shrank beneath my anger, immediately ceasing her attack. "Return to your sentry post; these are our allies." The Furret scuttled away and into the underbrush again quietly, and I turned her attention to the Dodrio. "Are you alright?"
"Of course we aren't!" Shouted the angry head of the three.
"We were ambushed," whimpered the sorrowful head, bowing in sadness. The third head, that of joy, looked away silently, unable to find happiness in the event.
"Calm down, "I growled; now in her forest, the Dodrio felt immediately uncomfortable; here, my status as Alpha was absolute. However, as they were Captured, my power of command was merely bothersome, and not all powerful. "That Furret was just doing its duty. We are on high alert to all humans who enter the forest." I walked to Max, and nuzzled him to his feet, and once he was on his feet again, I turned and began their pilgrimage again.
Max mounted Dailyn quickly, worried about being separated again. We traveled a long time in silence, and Max felt himself growing impatient. Just as he was about to ask how much farther, he heard a small whisper. That whisper grew into a dull roar, and before he knew it, he was at the center of countless Pokemon; there, a Beedrill was sharpening it's stingers on a rock, and just next to it, a Machamp was cranking out pushups at a reckless pace. A Cranidos crashed into the base of a wide tree, and the pine groaned in protest, trying not to fall over. A Seismitoad further away was punching a boulder rapidly, and the rock was slowly cracking under the pressure. All around him, Pokémon were preparing for battle, sparing and training desperately, trying to find confidence in their own abilities. As Max passed, countless eyes stopped and stared at him, accusing, pleading, terrified. He swallowed his mixture of emotions, and stared hard at the back of Ember's crown of fur.
Ahead, Sergio was frying a Pangoro with a Thunder. The Pangoro finally tore through the attack and rammed into the Manectric with a powerful Body Slam. Sergio quickly rose to his feet, and upon seeing me, ended the battle, telling the Pangoro that he would be joining the attack, and to continue training. After a brief, intimate nuzzle, we separated, our cool demeanor's returning, all business.
"I have sent nearly no one home; many of the Pokémon here in the forest are very strong. However, I did send Currant home…she is too young." I nodded sternly, glad that the baby hadn't passed the tests.
"This is Max," I said, pointing my nose at the human staring at us blankly. "He has a Gallade with him who acts as my translator. He has agreed to help us, and destroy the devices that control the Collars."
"There's a lot of angry looking Pokemon here," Max chuckled nervously, noticing how many hostile eyes were on him. I looked around, and stood next to the young man on the Dodrio.
"This is an ally," I proclaimed sternly. "He will not be harmed, or made to feel unwelcomed." All the eyes turned away, and the Pokémon resumed their training. Slowly, with the tip of one of my blue tails, I pressed the button on Rizio's Pokeball, releasing him. After cordial greetings, war strategy was discussed.
The sun set drearily, dreading the night as much as the forest's inhabitants. "Just before sunrise, we will ambush the camp, starting in a stealth mode. As soon as they realize they are under attack, for they will find out, we will rush out in overwhelming numbers. Hopefully, with surprise on our side, we will be able to overpower the enemy," I sighed, trying to hide my doubt.
"Where shall Master Max be?" Rizio asked with his arms crossed, looking out and about at the combatants buzzing around.
"I want him to hide just behind the tree line. We don't want the other humans to discover he is there to destroy the Wristbands, and focus all the pressure on him. You and his other Pokemon will act as his personal guard." Rizio nodded, and translated for Max.
"What?" Max sputtered, stumbling to his feet in protest. "You just want me to sit back and do nothing?" He shook his head, insulted and desperate to prove himself.
"No, Max," I growled. "We need you stay hidden. You are our greatest asset. You are the only one capable of destroying the devices! If something happens to you, then this will all be futile. Team Origin will just begin to Enslave those that are attacking as their own army depletes, and everything will be pointless. We can't win this without your cooperation." Max sighed heavily, and leaned on Rizio for support.
"I want to be of more help," Max muttered, feeling like the little boy he was several years ago.
"You're helping more than you know," I cooed, nuzzling into his hand. He turned away from me, and I huffed in irritation; there was the aggressive, no holding back way to fight a war, and then there was the smart way, the way that would win. "Get him to get as much sleep as possible, Rizio," I called over my shoulder. "We march in four hours."
A deep silence filled the forest surrounding our den as everyone realized the final hour was upon us. Many were curled up in groups, finding comfort in each other, their eyes squeezed desperately tight, praying that this was all a nightmare.
I found Sergio walking amongst our people, trying to see if there was anything he could do to help comfort them. "Come," I said gently. "We need our rest too." We padded slowly to our cave, and crawled in quietly. We curled around each other, inhaling the other's scent wordlessly, desperate to hold onto this final moment of happiness. I tried to commit his scent to memory; I rubbed my muzzle along his underbelly, telling myself to remember how soft he was. I savored his erratic kisses, loving the taste, but hating the way it felt like a goodbye. A single tear rolled down from my red eyes; the magic in my Pokémon tear twinkled uselessly as it splated on the dirt floor beneath us; not even magic could stop the coming losses.
"Nothing is going to happen to us," Sergio muttered, licking at my wet cheek. "We've just found each other; I'm sure Arceus has a plan for us." He gave me a strong, confident, lopsided grin, his tongue lolling out of one side of his mouth. "I won't ever let anything hurt you." We cuddled together tighter, and I felt time slipping through my paws cruelly. When I felt it was nearly midnight, I rose sorely, and with a final sigh, padded outside. All the Pokémon in the forest were either asleep or muttering together nervously. I walked slowly around the mouth of the den, and stood on the small knoll of land that was above the entrance. The last time I had made a forest addressing howl here, it had been to celebrate the union between my love and I. Now it was to sentence countless to their deaths.
My howl rang out, echoing spookily, the siren that began our panic. I saw many flinch beneath my summons, trying desperately to resist, and finding it absolutely pointless. Desperate wails and tears began to flow freely, and the younger members of our army clung desperately to their parents or older friends, their deepest fears surfacing. All rose to their feet, faces either stained with tears or set with a determined scowl to defend their homes. Sergio stepped up beside me, the distance between our bodies making me ache.
"Move out," he shouted; everyone turned and began a silent and quick march to the south. Max, mounted on Dailyn, waited for us; I didn't want him to be exposed. Sergio and I began a quick run, and the Dodrio followed behind us clumsily, as we raced our way to the front lines. When we finally found ourselves leading the war effort, we slowed to a brisk trot, and Max's Dodrio kept pace with us. We marched in silence and anticipation, tense with the sound of our countless paws, hooves, feet, and wings charging onward. As I felt dusk approaching, my heart began to beat much quicker; this was it. We couldn't turn back now. With a silent rising of all my tails, my forces came to a halt behind me. Together, Sergio, Max and I crawled on our bellies through the bushes, and when we finally broke through the leaf line, and saw the countless humps of hundreds of Enslaved Pokémon and humans sleeping, clueless. After assessing the layout of our enemy, we crawled back quietly. We moved our army slightly to the right; here, the human cell was slightly closer to the edge of the Pokémon barricade. We wanted to get those Wristbands as quickly as possible, with minimal casualties. After a few steadying breaths and a few brief, savage embraces, Sergio and I turned to stare out on the plain that would turn into a battlefield.
"Begin," I commanded.