Hey everyone! I immediately have to apologize for the long wait. I really didn't expect this chapter to take so long. I'm just going to have to remind myself not to do all of those after-school activities while trying to write a chapter. So... yeah.
Z-Pikachu: Yeah, that one was a bunch of talking, wasn't it? My bad.
Disclaimer: Pokémon doesn't belong to me.
Snivy's POV
Snivy quietly hissed at the continuous noises and vibration of the aircraft, curling up into a tighter ball as she tried to ease herself. It felt too similar to her previous experience. The sounds of the plane's many workings, the air rushing furiously outside, her heart pounding in her head as she took deep, uneven breaths, each one sending a scorching fire through her body, the black swelling- Wait. No, she forced herself to refocus; she was - for whatever reason - trying to relive memories from the past. Just the sounds are here. The sounds and the movement. No issues whatsoever. Her scar burned - not painfully, but an extremely uncomfortable feeling - as if to remind her of it's presence. That it was there, too. It was a problem. … No issues other than this annoying thing and the reason we're riding in the first place: the missing Pokemon. Other than that, perfectly fine.
Some time had passed since Elesa had sent them off. Luckily, her Emolga wasn't there; she would've given Snivy a hard - very hard - time about leaving. The Grass Snake did feel somewhat guilty for excluding her, but the relief of not having to immediately "tell her story" greatly overpowered it. It was one less thing on her mind. That didn't mean she wouldn't tell it; it just meant she wasn't going to right away... that's what she kept telling herself, anyway. She just hoped Elesa could talk some reason into the Sky Squirrel before she could do something crazy.
"(Hey,)" a voice made the Grass Snake jump, though she didn't move, "(world to Snake.)"
"Snake"? She thought groggily, dimly realizing she had almost fallen asleep. Great. Emolga. Iris's. "(What do you want?)" She asked, not bothering to hide her annoyance or shift her position.
"(Hey, I know you just woke up, but don't get cranky with me. I didn't know you don't do mornings,)" the Sky Squirrel grunted. "(Though, technically, it's afternoon,)" she added; Snivy didn't know whether she was trying to be obnoxious or actually trying to joke with her. The Grass Type waited for her rival to continue while she also trying to ignore her unnerving surroundings. "(Look, I know my cuteness is overwhelming and extremely difficult to take in without jealousy consuming you-)" Snivy felt annoyance course through her at the comment "(-but I need to talk to you. And I can't take you seriously when you're curled up on the floor napping. Or are you being a scared little kid? I honestly can't tell.)"
Snivy's head darted up as she sent a glare at the Sky Squirrel, though her eyes were trying to adjust to the painfully bright light, making the aim a little difficult. "(Don't you have anything better to do? Eating, for instance?)" She snapped.
"(I don't particularly enjoy airline meals,)" Emolga responded nonchalantly. As her eyes adapted, the Grass Snake saw her rival wave a paw dismissively.
"(That's funny, coming from a Flying Type,)" she muttered. "(Or perhaps it's the thought that there's something you won't eat.)"
"(What can I say?)" The dual type shrugged innocently. "(I'm an amusing Pokemon.)"
"(Alright, clown, flirt, glutton, procrastinator, whatever you are,)" Snivy rolled her eyes as she stood up; she noticed the Sky Squirrel give an annoyed flick of her tail at the comment, "(I'll ask again: what do you want?)"
Emolga paused, an odd flash of hesitation in her eyes, though she quickly shook off whatever doubts she had and replaced it with a determined look, "(I wanted to talk about yesterday.)"
"(Not now, Emolga,)" Snivy stated firmly, knowing what her rival was hinting at. She didn't want to think about the events of the previous day. It was all a bunch of nonsense that didn't help the situation. An extra, unnecessary bit of garbage that, depending on how it was viewed, could be a bonus or another burden. The way the Grass Snake looked at it, it definitely had an overall negative impact - if it's even true. Which is incredibly unlikely.
"(There isn't any other time to talk about this!)"
"(It doesn't matter. It's all a bunch of rubbish,)" the Grass Type hissed, glaring at her rival.
"(That's not what you think, and you know it,)" Emolga stated flatly, her eyes forcefully staring back at her. "(Pokemon like you don't just randomly begin to use telepathy. They don't just glow and receive reopened wounds! They don't get hunted down!)"
"(So, what do you expect me to do?!)" She snapped. She tried to keep her voice low to avoid attracting attention. "(Even if - if - the whole thing was real, there isn't anything I can do about it!)"
"(You could try preparing for whatever might come,)" the dual type responded coolly, "(with the other's help. You're a team for a reason.)"
"(We're a team, yes, but I'm not going to stir any unnecessary drama! We have enough of it already!)" Why is she being so persistent?! She really shouldn't care.
"(It won't-)"
"(Emolga, the answer's no!)" The Grass Snake interrupted. "(I'm not going to talk about it! Discussion over!)"
"(Didn't Elesa say something about trusting your trainer just yesterday?)" The dual type ignored her, her voice rising. "(Doesn't this fall into that category?)"
"(Discussion over!)"
Emolga's eyes unexpectedly widened. She stared straight at the Grass Snake in alarm, though Snivy couldn't identify the reason why. It wasn't shock from being yelled at - they'd done plenty of that before. The Grass Type brushed it off, still glaring down her rival. The two were at a silent standstill for several moments, neither one moving.
"Emolga!" The named Pokemon blinked, snapping back into reality as she turned toward the voice. Snivy allowed herself to relax slightly, also glancing in the same direction. Iris was making her way to them, a look of scolding on her face. Her eyes were locked on her Pokemon, "Are you arguing with Snivy? There's a lot going on right now; this is not the time to be picking fights."
The Sky Squirrel just flicked an ear. She seemed somewhat past speaking at the point.
"Come on," her trainer sighed. She reached down and grabbed the dual type. "Sorry, Snivy," she apologized quickly before she walked off.
"(Looks like your 'cuteness' didn't save you from Iris this time,)" the Grass Snake said, surprising herself by the venom she heard in her voice. She was mad at her rival, yes, but it sounded… Snivy decided to dismiss it. She gave the Sky Squirrel - who was hanging over her trainer's shoulder - one last glare. Emolga just stared back, still in shock.
"Time for dinner, everyone!" Cilan's voice echoed throughout the plane a few minutes after the incident. Snivy watched her fellow Pokemon immediately rush over to the bowls - filled with food - set out for them. They each settled into two different groups. She glanced at each, considering which one to join. The first group consisted of Excadrill, Swadloon, Emolga- She immediately began walking to the next bunch of Pokemon. She wasn't about to get anywhere near the Sky Squirrel. Not after that, she thought with a frustrated flick of her tail. She saw an empty bowl within a group of Pokemon and made her way towards it.
"(Hey, Sissy!)" She heard a certain Dragon Type greet cheerfully. "(Are you sitting with us?)"
She couldn't help a small grin making its way onto her face, her anger quickly dissolving. She always had a soft spot for Axew. He was a sweet child; perfectly capable of befriending almost anyone, regardless of any differences - an example would be his ruffian "brother" - who currently sat right beside him - Scraggy. "(Yes, I'm coming.)"
"(Yay! Sissy's sitting with us!)" He exclaimed joyfully.
"(But Ax! She'll make everything boring!)" The Grass Snake heard Scraggy complain quietly as she moved to settle with them.
"(We could ask her to show us some battling stuff. I know you like that,)" Axew responded, his voice also a whisper.
"(She can't battle! She can barely move around! I could kick her butt easily!)" The dual type raised a fist as if to prove his point. Smirking, Snivy released a vine and, as she came to a halt in front of her bowl, threw it at one of Scraggy's legs. It quickly wrapped around his ankle and, with a fixed amount of force, pulled it out from under him with little aftermath on her end. The Shedding Pokemon let out a yelp of surprise as he fell, backside to the ground.
"(Here's a battling tip, Scraggy: don't underestimate your opponent,)" Snivy said smugly, beginning to retract her vine as she sat down.
Scraggy brought himself into a sitting position, a paw holding the back of his head. "(Sh-)" he began to curse, but a quick warning glare from the Grass Snake cut him off. "(Sure,)" he said instead, covering himself.
She sighed, shaking her head. I have no idea how to get that out of his system, she thought as the two "brothers" began to talk amongst themselves again. She tried to keep them from developing… bad habits - that didn't mean she succeeded. One slip of the tongue from Excadrill - he still needed a good Vine Whip to the face - and Scraggy found a new favorite word. It took ages to get him to stop saying it twentyfour-seven, and he still occasionally used the curse.
"('Nice to see you moving about, Snivy,)" she turned to face the Mouse Pokemon beside her. He grinned, "(Maybe that'll stop his swearing.)"
"(I doubt it,)" Snivy muttered. "(I'm going to smack Excadrill for this.)"
"(I'm surprised you haven't already,)" Pikachu laughed.
"(I guess I'm just waiting for the right time.)"
"(I'll grab 'im now if ya want me to,)" she glanced at Stunfisk as he joined the conversation. He wore a rather large grin, and his eyes were squinted gleefully at some appealing thought running through his head.
"(No, thanks. I want to make sure I can clearly deliver the message,)" the Grass Type responded.
He appeared to grin wider, "(I'll be sure to see it when the day comes. The look on Excadrill's face as he gets defeated by you, trying to figure out why he could've possibly deserved your full fury.)" He chuckled and flicked his tail to and fro, "(Priceless.)"
"(I never said I was going to pound him,)" the Grass Snake gave the Ground-Electric Type a look.
"(Perhaps not,)" his face grew impish as he watched her, "(but girls always say one thing and mean another.)"
Snivy sighed.
"(Hey… uh, Snivy?)" She glanced to the side at a voice, unease crawling through her upon recognition.
Oshawott.
Tepig's POV
"(I think you should just apologize,)" Tepig told his rival.
"(Y-you want me to just… talk about it?)"
"(Why make it complicated?)" The Fire Pig snorted. He didn't know why Oshawott trying to make everything difficult; it wasn't something he'd normally do. Of course, he's done a lot of un-Oshawott-like things as of late.
"(Girls are complicated!)" The Sea Otter pressed both paws to the sides of his face and shook his head as if he was trying to soothe a migraine.
Huh, 'wonder when he figured that out. Oshawott was the last Pokemon Tepig expected to say anything of the sort. (I'm glad you realized that,)" the Fire Pig rolled his eyes dismissively - agreeing with him wasn't going to help the situation, "(but the complicated thing about Snivy is that she prefers to keep things blunt.)" He paused, the look on the Grass Snake's face at the mention of her past - careful, rather dark and distant, a hint of anger at some memory... - coming to mind. That was really the only time she had ever just clued at something, and it obviously made her quite uncomfortable. "(Most things,)" he added grimly.
"(What if this is-)"
"(Just go for it,)" Tepig interrupted, making himself focus again. "(You don't normally use your brain, so if you try to make this complex, it might not end so well. You have to at least try to act like yourself.)"
"(I do too use my brain!)" The Sea Otter huffed, taking his words offensively while unknowingly dismissing the Fire Pig's message.
"(Then you should know what I'm trying to tell you.)"
Oshawott paused, suddenly looking thoughtful, "(You... have a point... I guess.)"
"(Then go for it,)" he gave his rival an encouraging push.
"(Now?!)"
"(In case you hadn't noticed, I don't think you'll have much time otherwise. This is probably your only opportunity for quite a while,)" the Fire Pig pointed out. "(Besides, we can't have you think about it too much; you might chicken out.)"
Oshawott bit his lip nervously. He hesitated before nodding curtly, "(Alright.)" He located Snivy and began to make his way towards her; she wasn't too far off. Tepig stayed where he was - he wasn't getting involved unless necessary - though he watched as the Sea Otter took his time walking to his destination, his face mixed with emotions. It seemed like forever before he finally came to a stop beside the Grass Snake, who acknowledged his presence with a flick of her tail. Tepig's ears could faintly pick up his words as he began to speak.
"(Uh... hey, Snivy,)" the Water Type began awkwardly. Named Pokémon watched him carefully as she waited for him to continue. The Pokemon sitting with Snivy - Axew, Scraggy, Pikachu, and Stunfisk - all glanced briefly at the two before their eyes returned to their food; it was obvious that, despite themselves, they were still listening, having picked up the unusual note of uncertainty in the Sea Otter's voice. "(I... err... just wanted to apologize,)" he paused briefly before his eyes widened, catching a mistake. "(N-not in an offensive way, of course! I'm not going to take back what I said; I wasn't-)" he abruptly cut himself off. The Sea Otter took a deep breath, starting again, "(I just want to apologize for making you feel uncomfortable.)"
From the look on the Water Type's face in addition to the silence, Tepig knew that was all he was brave enough to say. The Fire Pig held his breath, waiting for the Grass Snake to respond. She paused, making the atmosphere tense. After a while, the Fire Type was beginning to wonder if his suggestion had really been such a good idea.
"(Apology accepted,)" she said at last. Tepig felt his rival's relief as the Sea Otter sighed gratefully. "(But first,)" Oshawott froze as she continued. The Fire Pig watched as a vine grew into sight. It quickly lashed out, giving Oshawott a firm smack - so hard Tepig himself could almost feel it - across his face. The sound of the impact seemed to echo across the plane, catching a few of the others' attention. It clearly delivered a warning - "Don't do that again". "(There,)" Snivy said contently, "(I don't know why I didn't do that sooner.)" Oshawott, holding a paw to the right side of his jaw - even blocked, Tepig could see the nasty red mark from the blow, that's going to leave a bruise - turned to face the Grass Type. He gave her a small smile - the action obviously hurt.
"(Sedatives?)" He suggested. He seemed to be hinting at something, though the Fire Pig wasn't quite sure what.
Snivy gave him an amused smirk - obviously not feeling the least bit guilty for her victim's pain. "(Sedatives,)" she agreed.
Tepig, while confused at the exchange, couldn't help but grin. That's finally taken care of, he thought with a little bounce of his tail. Snivy and Oshawott exchanged a few last words before the Sea Otter began walking back to the Fire Type, his eyes glittering happily. "(Nice job,)" Tepig commented.
"(Thanks,)" the Water Type responded, still holding his paw to his new injury.
"(Y'know, you should probably have someone look at that,)" the Fire Pig said, eyes on the already-forming bruise.
Oshawott removed the paw, grinning sheepishly, "(Heh… Well, it's nothing serious...)" He shook his head. "(But, really, thanks.)"
"(What for?)"
"(For helping me out. I… I kinda needed the encouragement.)"
Tepig flicked an ear dismissively, "(Well, what else was I supposed to do, knucklehead?)" He chuckled at the Sea Otter's annoyed reaction at the name. "(Besides,)" he continued, "(what would the world do without it's number one source of amusement?)"
"(I'm not too sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult,)" Oshawott huffed, mock anger written on his face. He paused before adding, "(Piggy.)"
"('Piggy?' Is that the best you could come up with?)" The Fire Pig shook his head. "(Maybe that slap Snivy gave ya knocked whatever brain you had outta your head.)"
"(Okay, that was an insult.)"
"(Ah, so you do have some brain in that head of yours.)"
Oshawott was about to shoot another mock insult before he paused, consideration flickering in his eyes. "(Hey, Tepig…)" he started slowly, "(you… aren't quite as annoying as I thought you were.)"
He smirked, (I'm the annoying one?)"
"(No, seriously. You can actually be a really good friend,)" the Sea Otter said. He hesitated before adding, "(I-I… now see why she prefers you over me.)" He chuckled self consciously. "(I'd have to admit; I was a little jealous at first. You were doing better than I was at getting a girl.)"
"(Wait, what?)" Where did that come from? She? G-getting... a girl?
Oshawott blinked, then his eyes widened in alarm. "(Y-you don't know?)" His voice betrayed his enormous shock.
"(Know what?)"
The Sea Otter looked panicked for a moment. "(I-err-it's-she-the-well-you-)" he stopped the gibberish coming out of his mouth. He gave another chuckle, much more nervous than the last before he tried - and failed - to recompose himself. "(A-and you call me brainless,)" his insult came out a little too high-pitched as he tried to cover for himself.
"(Oshawott-)"
"(Bathroom!)" The Sea Otter announced suddenly, rushing off.
Tepig's eyes followed the Water Type as he hurried in the opposite direction of his destination. The Fire Pig had a nagging feeling that, even as Oshawott caught his mistake and turned around, he was really just making an excuse to avoid him. Tepig couldn't find himself feeling offended, or even just annoyed with it as confusion was the only emotion occupying his thoughts.
What… just happened?
Tepig anxiously watched the neon red-orange lines that flowed in a circular motion around him. Along with many of the other Pokemon, he was supposed to wait inside his Pokeball unless called upon. The only ones not in their Pokeballs were Pikachu, Axew, and Snivy. The first two were out for obvious reasons; they never were in them to begin with. Snivy, however, was stuck outside the safety of her Pokeball on Nurse Joy's orders. It wasn't safe outside - they had exited the plane a while back and were not far south of Driftveil, the "enemy territory" - but it was apparently hazardous for a Pokemon of her condition to be inside. … Snivy hasn't exactly had the best of luck this past week, he thought with a pang of worry. If we come across anything dangerous, she's not fit to defend herself yet, but she can't stay out of sight either. For all we know, they may still be targeting Grass Types...
Oh, what he'd do to be travelling in the open again.
The Pokeball, designed to comply with his wishes to the best of its abilities, allowed sounds from the outdoors be heard: the sound of rushing water and rather strong winds, rustling leaves, the quiet breathing and steps of his friends, and the sound of Tepig's Pokeball brushing against his trainer's pants. The scarlet lights around him drew together to create a sort of hologram or window portraying an extremely blurry sight of what Tepig guessed was supposed to be directly outside in the colors of red and orange. It was much too distorted to be able to identify anything, though; it was basically just a bunch of pixilated colors of the lights.
After a while of fearfully jumping at any strange movement that could've been a danger - which seemed to occur every two seconds - he gave up. The image broke apart at the negative impulse, and the lights began to flow around him again. The sounds were still audible even as the neon lines flickered in their attempts to find a new way to fit his needs. Tepig closed his eyes and ignored them as he attempted to focus on the outside noise; it was much clearer than any view the annoying fire colors could give him.
For a time, all he heard were the natural sounds of the surroundings until a voice - Cilan's - interrupted. "I'm not too sure I trust this. We're getting close and no one's seen anything. This could be a trap."
"So what should we do? We can't just sit around and wait for something to happen," Iris responded. "It's already been a week since this whole thing started. Who knows what might've happened by now."
There was a short, uncomfortable pause before the connoisseur let out a throaty "hmm" in worried agreement. His mind had obviously gone to Dwebble.
"I-I'm sure Dwebble's fine," the girl said quickly, catching her mistake, "don't worry." The connoisseur didn't respond.
"What should we do?" Ash piped up, his words sounding inappropriately cheerful as he tried to lift his friends' spirits.
"W-well," the Dragon Lover began, trying to sound slightly more positive, "one of our main focuses is to take precautions."
"Right," Tepig's trainer agreed, though the suggestion was blandly obvious.
Just as it began to get quiet again, he heard the sound of a Pokeball as it released a Pokemon. He wasn't sure whether it was a friend or foe, though Oshawott's voice confirmed his question. "(More of us'll help!)" The sound of a fist thumping his scalchop followed.
"Oshawott!" Ash exclaimed quietly. "We told you to-" he was cut off by a second Pokeball. "Swadloon, you, too?"
Realizing his chance, the Fire Type burst out of his mechanical home as well. He was met with the view of the humans as well as the Pokemon originally outside in front of him, Oshawott and Swadloon to his right, and forest all around him. A damp scent in the wind promising rain - possibly a light storm - briefly caught him off guard; he made himself focus on giving his trainer a determined stare.
"Tepig-?" Once more he was interrupted, this time by multiple Pokeballs. The other two trainers yelped in surprise as their Pokemon also came out.
"You know, Ash…" Iris started slowly, giving the boy a knowing look, "I don't think they want to be left out."
"You think?" The trainer echoed. He glanced at the Pokemon, "I'd say yes, but what if-"
"Ash, stop overthinking this!" The Dragon Lover snapped. She blinked, her words coming back to her, "... I never thought I'd say that."
"I never thought I'd hear it," he muttered, some of his own surprise written on his face, "... coming from you, anyway."
Iris eyed him briefly before she shook her head, returning to the problem at hand, "Just let them help. If it comes to it, we can always return them to their Pokeballs."
Ash opened his mouth to protest, but his eyes suddenly widened in surprise, realization flickering in them as he appeared to remember something. "Yeah," he agreed with a nod while he recovered himself, "I'm not going to stop them if they want to help." A huge grin splattered onto his face as he rose, his gaze returning to the Pokemon in front of them,"Alright, everyone," he said, "we're near Driftveil City, so we'll have to keep our guards up." The Pokemon immediately became alert as they all watched the area carefully. Tepig couldn't help keenly taking in his surroundings as well. Aside from the large number of trees, he saw, turning around, some huge, red pillars - from Driftveil Drawbridge, he guessed - towering above them even from the long distance. He couldn't hear anything abnormal, though the rushing water - confirming signs of an incoming storm - coming from the currently hidden river could easily block out quiet movements. "Is everyone ready?" There was a short pause while the others nodded their heads in response to Ash's question. "Okay, let's go."
Tepig started out side-by-side with the Sea Otter, though, when Oshawott's eyes met his, he backed away slowly, giving him an apologetic grin. The Fire Type was puzzled for a brief moment before remembering his last talk with him. So, he's on good terms with Snivy, but he's avoiding me now, he sighed. That's not exactly what I was aiming for…he couldn't prevent his mind from going to the last conversation with the Sea Otter, "Getting a girl". Did he mean… a relationship? He felt his face redden, though he shook it off. I don't doubt that could've been it; this is Oshawott the flirt. He probably has some farfetched suspicion. I-I mean… I haven't… He quickly forced the thoughts to the back of his head. This isn't the time for that! There's more important things to deal with right now! He kept his eyes and ears peeled for any signs of danger, making himself focus on his surroundings. He took deep, fairly quiet breaths to taste any scents that might have hinted a threat, but his sharp nose didn't seem to catch anything except for the natural smells of the environment and the Pokemon that obviously resided there.
They continued walking for quite a while without a sign of danger. The trees began to thin out until, finally, they disappeared altogether, leaving the group of friends in the cold storage area. While Tepig felt somewhat exposed without the trees to cover them, he could at least see their enemies if they decided to attack. The only cover in the area was the cold storages, so there wasn't much of a hiding place. Wordlessly, the friends continued walking forward, keenly searching their surroundings for danger.
Tepig eyed each of the buildings as they passed by. Still no signs of danger. A rush of impatience ran through the Fire Type. While it was nice not being attacked, it was also extremely frustrating not to know where or who the danger was. An organization in Driftveil City, sure. Lots of Pokemon, okay. But those factors weren't exactly a lot to go off of.
"(Over there!)" Swadloon's voice abruptly shouted beside him. The Fire Pig quickly glanced at the Leaf-Wrapped Pokemon and followed his accusing glare. He snorted warningly, immediately spotting a Liepard standing on a roof a decent distance from them. Upon being spotted, the Dark Type snarled. It whipped around and speedily darted away.
"After it!" Iris's command rang. A few of the Pokemon began to dash past Tepig as they pursued the fleeing feline. The Fire Pig was about to run after them, but he suddenly remembered the Grass Snake. He whipped around to find his trainer bringing her into arms.
"I'm not babying you, don't worry," he told Snivy, giving her a grin. "Just no running until you get better," he then joined the chase. Tepig, with a sigh of relief, ran directly behind him.
"Is it a good idea to be following it?" Cilan asked from the left. "It may be a trap."
"They've had lots of time to ambush us," Iris pointed out from Ash's other side. "I think they just don't want us to find them."
"Besides, what else can we do? This is probably the fastest way to find the Pokemon, trap or not," the raven-haired boy added.
"True," the connoisseur agreed. His eyes glinted determinedly as his pace picked up.
Tepig, also gaining speed, searched for the Dark Type that had escaped his view. He located it racing ahead, only gaining farther distance from them atop the buildings' ledges. He noticed a small black spot in the air not far behind the fleeing Pokemon. When electricity erupted from it, he instantly recognized the dot to be Emolga. The Liepard agiley dodged the inaccurate bolts of electricity from the Discharge, though it did slow it down enough for the others to start gaining. It sharply changed course, instead running towards the river's general direction. Emolga veered left to follow it again before she began to dive at the Dark Type. She barrelled into it, knocking it off balance and out both of them of anyone's view. He listened, his heart racing at the sounds of the two Pokemon's cries. The group exchanged glances with one another before they forced himself faster. Tepig desperately searched for a short time before he located them. They had somehow made their way to the ground of a narrow alleyway, sparks flying as they wrestled.
"Excadrill, help Emolga!" Iris was quick to order.
The named Pokemon immediately acted. Excadrill ran unrelentingly through the ineffective Discharge and threw himself at the Liepard who had just managed to pin its opponent to the ground. It didn't take him long to overpower the weakened Dark Type and trap it between his steel "fingers". The cat-like Pokemon unsuccessfully struggled to escape his grasp.
"Emolga," the Dragon lover rushed over to her Pokemon, "are you okay?" The named dual type slowly sat up, but she winced, gripping her right shoulder tightly. "Cilan-" the girl started, but the connoisseur was already there.
"Can I see your arm?" He asked. The Sky Squirrel hesitated before reluctantly releasing her stronghold on her shoulder. Cilan gently placed his hand on the injury - Emolga hissed painfully, but remained still - as he observed it. Tepig watched as he tested the arm - "How does this feel?" - before he sat up. "I think it's dislocated its shoulder," he told Iris, who nodded in agreement.
"That's what it looks like to me," she said. "Should we try-"
A loud screech split the air, interrupting her. Tepig turned to the source; the Liepard still struggling to escape its captor. Excadrill pressed one of his blades to its throat, quick to solve the problem. He whispered a few things into the feline's ear. Its eyes widened in alarm, and it stopped struggling altogether. Its tail rushed fearfully between its legs as its ears pressed to its head with a little too much force; both were acts of a horrified submission. The Dark Type's boundless terror was written on its stone-still face - Tepig himself could feel it roll over him in waves. The dual type smirked cockily before he noticed unusual quiet and then the eyes on him. "(What?)" He grunted. "(I got it to shut up, didn't I?)"
No one responded.
Tepig, finally beginning to recover, heard light, almost inaudible, footsteps behind him. He turned around, prepared to fight. Surprise filled him at what he saw; a Glaceon. The Glaceon - it had to be. Tepig felt a brief sense of strange satisfaction at the sight of a decent sized "X" shaped scar not quite finished healing on the right sight of its face; it had to be from Dwebble's X-Scissor.
Dwebble.
His satisfaction quickly gave way to rage as he charged at the Glaceon. He thought he heard someone call his name but he had already launched himself at the Ice Type. It agilely evaded, seeming to vanish as Tepig blew past it. He hit the ground, taking in the shock with his legs, and whipped around. He was instantly bowled over and into a nearby wall. The Fire Pig jumped to his feet, staggering for a second before he regained his balance and glared firmly at the Ice Type. It just stood there, its eyes flickering from him to his friends.
"(Where's Dwebble?)" Tepig snapped. The Eevee Evolution's eyes flashed to him.
It paused. "(I'm sorry...)" it said - its deep voice proved it to be male - slowly, guarded, "(do I know you?)"
Tepig jerked his snout towards the Ice Type's injury, "(I believe a friend of mine - a Dwebble - gave that to you.)"
"(Oh,)" he said coldly. "(Him,)" he almost sneered the word.
Anger coursed through the Fire Pig again, "(Where is he?!)"
"Tepig, get back!" Ash yelled urgently, interrupting the two. Suddenly, he was yanked backwards as something collided with the place he had just been, causing an explosion of debris. That was all the Fire Pig managed to see before he hit the ground. He somersaulted back a short time before coming to an abrupt halt, hitting what he soon realized was his trainer's leg. He stood up, forcing himself to stay steady as he spotted a vine slowly loosening itself from around him. He realized with a jolt who it belonged to. Tepig's eyes darted up to see the Grass Snake - still in Ash's arms - stiffened from exertion. She managed to somewhat recover herself as she retracted the rest of the green line that had just saved the Fire Type from a major blow. She blinked, glancing briefly at the eyes - Tepig wasn't the only one staring - on her.
"(What are you staring at?!)" Snivy snapped. "(Move!)"
Tepig, confused for a moment, just cocked his head. He then remembered the attack, and his gaze darted behind him. He gasped at the sight; the Glaceon, in a matter of seconds, had been joined by at least twenty other Pokémon - on the roofs, the ground, two or so in the sky - most of them Liepard, and all of their eyes were on them. The Fire Pig quickly faced his friends again; they had already begun to flee, Snivy and Emolga in their respective trainers' arms. Tepig darted after them. Suddenly, a group of Liepard leaped to the ground directly in front of them. Tepig skidded to a halt and stumbled back as they stepped threateningly forward.
"Iris!" His ears perked at the sound of Cilan's voice… past the Liepard. The Fire Pig glanced over the Dark Types to find Cilan, Ash, and Snivy looking at someone - Iris likely - behind him. He couldn't see if anyone else was with them through the wall of Liepard.
"Keep going!" The Dragon Lover called. "We'll catch up!"
After brief hesitation, the two nodded and ran onward.
Tepig backed himself up until he could feel the human beside him. Instead of trying to fight off their enemies - that would leave him open to others' attacks - he searched for an escape. Liepard, Liepard… Liepard… and more Liepard, he felt annoyance and frustration flicker through him. There has to be an opening somewhere! His eyes darted rapidly from one of the feline Pokemon to the next as they moved simultaneously to corner them. Wait. He looked at them closely. Their movement was precise and exact. They all stepped at the same time with the same paw in the same position. He listened closely; he could only hear two or three pairs of pawsteps at a time. … Double Team? When his hind leg hit a wall, he knew he didn't have time to second guess himself. He took a deep breath, summoning his fire, and blew a huge Flamethrower through a section of Dark Types. They vanished.
"Gone?" He heard Iris whisper, briefly confused. "Double Team!" She exclaimed as a collage of Liepard pounced. Iris rushed forward, flashing past a few. Tepig followed - the sound of paws landing beside him told him he had just avoided getting hit by a real one. He pushed himself faster.
He noticed the sound of two additional footsteps behind him - not pawsteps. The Fire Pig turned his head briefly to spot Excadrill and Scraggy rushing behind him. He thought he saw Stunfisk on the Subterrene Pokemon's back, though he wasn't sure; he didn't bother double check himself when he spotted the Liepard not far behind. He instead focused in front of him.
As they ran, Tepig searched for any clues to lead to their friends, but to no avail. At least we're headed in the right direction, he thought. Maybe we'll cross paths.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a soothing sing-song voice began to echo in his head. He glanced upward to find the source; a Chatot flying in the sky above them, its beak opened in song. He felt his senses beginning to dull, his hold on his body slipping away from a sudden wave of exhaustion. He tried to push himself faster as his drooping eyes searched for some safe place to hide - he knew he wasn't going to stay conscious for long. He immediately tripped over his own feet at the attempt, and he crashed to the ground. The Fire Pig forced his tired limbs to move, but he found that he no longer had the strength to stand himself up again. He let out an exhausted snort as his head began to roll to the side. No… I can't… fall asleep… n-now… he tried one last time to fight it back, but he felt the much too appealing darkness slowly drag him into sweet-
Tepig winced at a horrid screeching sound. Something cold picked him up, and he was soon right beside the noise as he swiftly moved up and down. He opened his eyes to find Excadrill looking determinedly, but tiredly, forward as he rushed onward. The Fire Type noticed he was holding him in one arm while dragging his other across the ground to make the racket. He slowly realized it was to block out the Chatot's Sing.
"Quick, everyone!" The Fire Pig glanced at a rather sleepy Iris as she waited beside an open door. She pointed inside, "In here!"
Excadrill, still carrying him, took a quick right on his trainer's orders and rushed in. Suddenly, upon entering, he collapsed onto both the ground and Tepig. The singing immediately returned. Even muffled by the Subterrene Pokemon's body, it still was enough to bring the Fire Type back to his exhausted state. This time, there was nothing to help Tepig as sleep overtook him...
Okay, I don't know if that ending was very nice of me or not, but at least I finally got the chapter up!
So, right now, we've got Tepig, Excadrill, Scraggy, Emolga, Stunfisk and Iris in one group, and Ash, Cilan, Snivy, Oshawott, Pikachu, Axew, Pansage, and Swadloon in another, just to clarify it for everyone.
Oh, and as for when I'll be updating this, I think it's safe to say I haven't been very accurate as of late. The next chapter will come when it'll come.