Past and Present
On his trip to Petalburg City, Fives encountered a small number of trainers looking to test their skills against each other. For some strange reason, every time Fives looked into the eyes of those trainers, they would run up to him to challenge him. Were they like robots programmed to challenge anyone who made eye contact with them? In any case, Fives didn't mind this, and took advantage of the circumstances for Cinder to gain some combat experience.
Combat wasn't the only thing that got Fives' attention. On the route to Petalburg City there were bushes that hid different pokemon, from Zigzagoons, Seedots, Poochyenas...but there was one in particular that attracted a lot of attention: a Heracross was sitting on the shore of a lake, looking at the horizon, as if it was pensive.
"Look at that Cinder, a Heracross. It's bigger compared to others of its kind they show on TV."
"Tor-Tor?"
Pretending to have understood his companion's words, Fives replies.
"Yeah, I also wonder what he's doing sitting there. I highly doubt this is where his species is located, considering we haven't seen any Heracross on the road. Maybe he's lost?"
"No, he's been here for as long as I can remember. Every day he watches the sky, the sea and the land simultaneously."
These were the words of a fisherwoman standing a short distance from Fives and Cinder.
"Does he always sit there?" Fives asks the fisherwoman.
"That's right. He's quite punctual in that respect, he always goes in the middle of the day to sit there, without moving, without saying anything..."
After a moment of silence, Fives decides to break the silence, and at the same time, the ice
"Ah, by the way, my name is Fives, and this is my good friend Ceniza, who are you?"
"Oh, my manners, excuse me dear. My name is May, and I'm just a fisherwoman trying to live life as much as possible." These words aroused Fives' curiosity.
"What do you mean by that?"
After a slight chuckle, May replies:
"You'll figure it out."
"Figure out what?
"That dreams don't always come true" May lightly strokes Cinder´s head, who was at first nervous, but allowed the show of affection.
Even more hesitant, Fives preferred not to talk further on the subject, and turn his attention back to the Heracross.
"Do you know how that Heracross got here? I understand that this is not its habitat" Fives questioned May.
"Indeed, its species does not inhabit these places, however, years ago I saw it here, and every time I went fishing it stayed there, same time, same place."
"Do you live near this place?"
"Near the lake is my summer home. I come here when I want to distract myself...or forget."
Obviously, those words rumbled in Fives' mind, but he had an intuition that they were personal problems, and he didn't want to be rude and meddle in other people's business.
"If this Heracross has been here for years, and has not returned to its habitat, how does it feed?"
"I don't know, but I at least feed him from time to time...if he's willing. I give him tree sap and berries that I pick along the way."
"If he's willing?"
"Well, this Heracross is somewhat...hostile...to strangers. Many people have tried to capture it, but this one always breaks pokeballs before they touch it."
"I don't think it wants to be someone's partner."
"I wouldn't say that. Some people don't have very noble intentions, and at least, the times I've seen that Heracross refuse capture, people act violently. Maybe because of its abnormal size people think it's a rare pokemon? I don't know, but I guess those experiences have scarred him. Either that, or he really wants to be alone."
Out of nowhere, Cinder decides to approach the Heracross to strike up a conversation with it.
"(Torchic!) (Chic-chic!)" Cinder decides to break the ice with those words. However, the Heracross only looked at him with one eye, to answer him in a cold manner.
"(Herrr...)"
Confused, Cinder insists and decides to touch the Heracross' arm with one of his little feet.
"(Tochic?)"
However, this throws the Heracross off balance.
"(HERACROSS!)" After expressing his anger, this one stands up and punches Cinder, sending him far into the air in the direction of Fives, who was ready to intercept his friend and pull him to safety.
"Cinder, are you all right?" Fives voices his concern, only to look at the Heracross, who returns a hostile glare. However, he sits back down on the lakeshore.
"I told you," May expresses. "He's not very friendly with strangers."
After touching the ground gently thanks to his trainer's action, Cinder tries to show his friend that he didn't suffer some very severe damage to avoid worrying him.
"That doesn't mean you should be hostile to someone who just wants to be your friend," Fives comments, annoyed.
"That's just the way life is sometimes. Besides, you don't know what he went through, so you can't incriminate him for the actions he takes against others who are just looking to pick on him."
"..."
Fives pondered those words, however, a deafening noise broke the silence inside the lake, and from the sky fell a giant steel net that landed on top of the Heracross, immobilizing it.
From the bushes, a group of people who appeared to be hunters advanced towards the Heracross.
"We finally caught you, you little bug" commented the one who appeared to be the leader of the hunters.
"Boss, I think that "little bug" is not short enough."
"(crr...cross...heracross...heracrosssss)" were the sounds emitted by Heracross, trying to find a way to get out of the net, without any success.
"It's true, look at him, he's panting and shuddering with all its might, but he can't get out."
"Haha, you're right, more like, "tiny bug" fits him perfect."
Fives, after recovering from the noise and with the determination to save others in trouble, looks at Cinder, who nods his head, as if he already knew what he was going to ask of him
"We must help him, May, please!"
*sigh* "I told you there were people who don't have very noble motives. Anyway, I guess I don't want to see that Heracross in the hands of those guys either. swampert, Breloom, Swellow, get out!"
May throws 3 pokeballs, which materialize 3 pokemon in the air, and they immediately stand in front of May, waiting for instructions.
"Go with him, and help him free that Heracross!" orders May.
The trio, according to their trainer's instructions, join Fives and Cinder to confront the hunters.
Upon intercepting the hunters, the leader looks hostilely at the group of Fives and co. and decides to deliver his ultimatum
"Hey kiddo, this is grown-up stuff, business, nothing personal. Now get out of here before I decide to add you to my list of 'accidents'" threatens the leader.
"I won't let you take him!"
"Alright, you asked for it. Boys, bring in the wolves!"
Gesturing in front of their accomplices, they throw pokeballs containing a combination of Mightyenas, Absols and Luxrays, which began to surround Fives and his companions. However, both Swamper, Breloom and Swellow were experienced in situations like this, and took no time at all to start the fight and quickly defeat the "wolves" of the hunters.
Cinder also made his contribution. Thanks to Fives' instructions, Cinder was able to briefly repel an Absol that was preparing an attack against Swampert, which allowed the mudfish pokemon to counterattack, and in the process raised its huge hand in thanks. Breloom cleaned the floor with the Mightyenas with its fighting moves, and Swellow, bored of dodging lightning attacks, decided to pick up Cinder and throw it towards a Luxray, where the little Torchic prepared itself with its Peck move and fell on top of the lightning pokemon as if it were a missile, knocking it out instantly.
Finally, Cinder decided to use Ember so that both Swellow and Breloom used the flames to strategically set fire to the battlefield, which was completely grass, to then trap the rest of the "wolves" in a ring of fire, where Swampert with its Muddy Water ended up knocking out the opponents...and extinguishing the flames, of course. We don't want to start a fire, right?
All the hunters, except the leader, observing the result, decide to gather their pokemons and flee away from the combat, however, the leader, using the chaos, slipped away to get to where Heracross was trapped.
"Unbelievable, you cost me a lot of money, and I won't even be able to collect the reward, but...I'm sure your huge horn will have some value!"
After this, he pulled out a huge machete knife and was about to cut the beetle pokemon's horn, but, without a second thought, Fives threw himself on top of the hunter leader, causing the latter to lose control of the knife, and makes a slight cut on Fives' left arm. They both fall to the ground, and Cinder immediately runs to his friend, who was now wounded.
"(TORCHIC!)" Cinder exclaims, who is now at Fives' side, tries to get his friend up.
"Relax, my friend, it is but a slight cut, although I think it will leave a mark, hehe."
"(T-torchic...)" comments Cinder, in a morose manner, worried about his friend.
"Damn kid, im gonna get ya..." says the leader of the hunters, who gets up in the direction of Fives, but, in a moment, May's Breloom arrives, and kicks him away from the lake, in the direction of the forest.
"(Bre-loom!)" she exclaims, feeling like he's taken out the trash.
Breloom, Swellow and Swampert regroup together from Fives and Cender, and May joins them.
"Oh dear...Fives, are you okay?" asks May, trying not to look worried.
"Yeah, it's just a scratch, but wouldn't you have a bandage or something. It still hurts a little.
*sigh* "Kids these days? I'll go get the first aid kit, you wait here. You guys, get that damn net up and get that Heracross out of there!"
"(Swampert!)"
"(Swellow!)"
"(Breloom!)"
"Help them, Cinder, I'll be fine, I'll keep pressure on the wound."
"(Tor!)" shakes his head Cinder, showing both his concern, and his intention to stay by his friend's side.
"Hehe, you really are worried, aren't you. Well, I'll respect your decision."
Meanwhile, May's pokémon trio manage to lift the huge steel net that was keeping Heracross trapped. The beetle pokémon stares at his rescuers, and shows his gratitude by nodding his head.
"(Heracross...)"
Turning his head, Heracross notices another of his rescuers, Fives, along with Cinder, waiting for May to recover from her injuries, and decides to head towards them. When he was already less than a meter away from them, Heracross breaks the silence, first, talking to Ceniza.
"(Hera...cross...)" he expresses morosely, possibly regretting his actions against the small Torchic.
"(chic chic!)" Cinder accepts his apology.
Finally, Heracross approaches Fives, carefully takes his arm and begins to lick the wound he had, at the same time excreting a liquid from his tongue. After a while of licking, Fives' wound closes.
"Wow... thanks Heracross, I hope you're okay after all the fuss."
"(Heracross)" after this, he suddenly hugs Fives as a gesture of thanks, and of course, licks his face.
"Hahaha, stop, it tickles" Fives couldn't stop laughing out loud. After another while of licking, May arrives with a first aid kit.
"Wow, I leave you alone for a while and you're already supplanting your needs huh?" comments May, with a mocking gesture on her face.
"Well, I didn't know Heracrosses were grateful like that...hey, what do you mean, needs!?"
*giggles* "It's a joke, kid. Even though I don't judge if you play around "those fields".
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing. At least your wound is now closed."
"Thanks to Heracross" Fives smiles the beetle Pokémon.
"...I can see you're a good person, by the way you dealt with the whole situation. But try not to shorten your life by performing heroic acts, you're just a youngster, and you have a long life ahead of you. Don't you have any goals?"
"To be honest..."
"Let me guess, champion of the region? Good luck with that, nowadays, no one tries that, since the title now doesn't belong to one person, but to a family, which makes it impossible to get very far."
"Well, if the trainers aren't good enough, it makes sense to me."
"Do you really believe that? What about threats, sabotage, theft and assault for anyone who gets all the gym medals?
"...What?"
(From this point on, the dialogue between pokemon will be translated into something we'll call "pokelish" and will be under these parentheses: "()". However, humans won't be able to understand those dialogues for obvious reasons).
Cinder could see that his trainer was unconscious behind him. This gave him more determination to protect him from Amalia's fury, and he kept his defensive posture, despite not having one of his arms.
"(...Cinder)"
"(Amalia...)"
"(How long has it been?)"
"(10 years, exactly)"
"(Then you know why I'm doing this)"
"(Yes, I do, but I can't let you do it)" comments Cinder, demonstrating his will.
"(Why? After everything he did to all of us, what he did to you, and you still want to protect him?!)" expresses Amalia in an aggressive way, with her fists clenched and giving off a psychic aura from them
"(...Yes, I understand very well what he did to us all") expresses Cinder, looking at his unmoving right arm. "(But...in the honor of the person he once was, I will protect him)".
"(Then you're in my way)"
With her psychic powers, Amalia uses Psybeam to break Cinder's guard, which blocks the attack with its left arm, avoiding taking full damage, however, this unbalances him a bit, giving the Gardevoir a chance to prepare Shadow Ball in both hands, and throw them at Cinder. This generated a huge explosion in the vicinity where both Cinder and Fives were, still unconscious.
When the smoke cleared, Cinder was on its back, hugging Fives, as protection against the attack. The Blaziken received the attack to protect its trainer, however, he also stood up as if nothing, and looked into Amalia's eyes, which only expressed hatred and anger.
"(10 years can make anyone change, in many ways, but you, you changed for the worse, very much for the worse)"
"(Don't you dare judge me after all I've been through! You don't have the right-)"
"(That's right, I don't have the right, but you, of all of us who were once his friends, should also understand the value of change and forgiveness. Didn't you love him-?)"
"(Shut up!)" Amalia interrupts him, at the same time she throws a Shadow Ball at Cinder, who dodges the attack. "(He broke my heart...and now I'm going to break his.)"
"(In that case, I'm sorry, Amalia, but I'll have to stop you, but not here)"
"(What do you-)"
Before Amalia could finish her sentence, Cinder lunged at the Gardevoir with Brave Bird, grabbing her and carrying her through the forest, away from the original battlefield, breaking branches and trees on the way, until he finally sensed that he was far enough away from where they were originally, and released Amalia so he could then chained his Blaze Kick move on her to generate a painful fall.
Cinder, with both feet on the ground, watched as Amalia got to her feet, though she was struggling a bit due to the damage she received.
"(...ill...)"
"(What?)" asks Cinder, who was not expecting what she would hear next.
"(I will kill you)" says Amalia, in a cold and ominous tone.
"(...)"
Meanwhile in the distance, a few small growls can be heard.
"(...ugh...)"