Hey sorry it took so long to update. I've been busy as all hell lately and I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again so please be patient.
That aside, please enjoy.
Disclaimer I don't own Pokemon, that's Nintedo's headache.
It took Amy a while to find Lenora, although her husband was very helpful and polite while she searched. It turned out that Lenora was one of the main archeologists behind the exhibits in the museum, while her husband was the currator. After she had solved all the riddles and finally found the staircase leading to Lenora, her husband bid Amy good luck and left them to their battle.
Lenora proved to be a challenge for Amy. Her Herdier was strong, and even after Panpour managed to take it down, its defeat left Watchog able to win with ease using Retaliate. After that, Servine and Watchog fought to a standstill, both coming close to fainting until Servine's Overgrow kicked in, ending the fight with a well-timed Leaf Tornado.
Lenora recalled her Watchog and Amy hurried over to check Servine over. "You did a good job," Lenora told Amy. "I haven't had that good of a battle in years. You've definitely earned this Basic Badge."
Amy smiled up at the Gym Leader and thanked her, taking the Badge and the TM, Retaliate, greatfully. Lenora also transferred funds into her account for winning the battle, and it was far more than Amy expected. It was apparently a time full of surprises because just then, Lenora's husband came tearing Lenora's work room, telling her to come quick. "There's a group of people attacking the museum!" He called to her anxiously.
Lenora cursed, which shocked Amy. "Of course, right after I finish a battle no less," She muttered. She pulled out two small stars and fed them to her Pokémon and handed one to Amy. "Here, feed that to Panpour," She told her. "It's a Revive. I have some Super Potions as well. It's no substitute for a Pokémon Centre but it'll have to do for now. Come on; I'll probably need some help." Amy nodded and quickly healed her Pokémon. Servine looked relieved as the Super Potion closed over her wounds and Panpour was very chipper after the Revive.
The two ran after Lenora's husband, who directed them towards the railing. On the ground floor about twenty people all dressed in a familiar blue-grey uniform. Amy glared at them, with Servine hissing and Panpour growling. Lenora looked at her and asked, "Do you know them?"
"I know of them, having run into a few members in the past," Amy snarled. "Team Plasma. They pretend to love Pokémon but so far the only ones I've met are creeps."
Lenora nodded slowly. "I've heard about them but only vaguely. None of the Gym reports have the much info on them. I suppose I'll just have to obtain some knowledge first hand."
Amy nodded and the Gym Leader lead the trio to confront the group. Lenora was the first to reach them, calling from the stairs, "Stop right there." Lenora barked, her voice full of authority. "What are you doing to my museum?"
The grunts actually stopped, surprised and a little afraid of the Gym Leader coming down the stairs. But one of them, who appeared to be the leader, snapped, "We are Team Plasma and we are taking what is rightfully ours."
"By robbing a public museum?" Lenora asked, her voice level. "What piece of Unova's history belongs to such a recent, violent group?"
The leader actually winced at that but stood his ground. "We will take what is ours. We are here for the Dragon of Legend." He said firmly.
Lenora looked at the leader for a minute before laughing long and clear. "The Dragon of Legend?" She asked after a moment. "Which one might I ask? I assure you that I haven't hidden something that powerful away in my closet and I think it might be noticeable out here."
It was the leader's turn to smirk. "We're taking that," He pointed at the skeleton in the middle of the room.
Lenora looked at the skeleton for a moment before turning back to the leader. "You plan to steal my skeleton? Why on earth would you bother with that? That isn't either Dragon."
"Of course you would say that!" The leader snapped. "But we will take it, for the good of Team Plasma."
"Very materialistically noble of you," Lenora told him dryly. "But do you all really intend to fight me for it?"
"If we have to," One of the other grunts snapped, throwing out a Pokeball and a Purloin coming out. Before Lenora could order her Pokémon to act, Servine shot a Leaf Tornado and threw it across the room. Everyone's eyes were on Amy of all the sudden. She looked around the room and shrugged. "I'm tired of word games," She told Team Plasma. "You're all nothing more than self-entitled thieves who hide behind a image of working for the greater good. I am sick of the hypocritical bile that you and your group keep spilling. If you're here to steal, then call it stealing and drop the self-righteous act."
Most of the members of the group looked at each other, some in shock, some in anger but most in surprise. The leader took action though, stating, "Think what you like. We are working for the good of the Pokémon. You cannot stop us. Now!" He ordered the grunts, who threw down smoke bombs.
The smoke surrounded the whole room and Amy coughed harshly as the thick smoke clogged her lungs and made her eyes water. Even before the smoke cleared, she could hear heavy footsteps in rapid succession heading for the door so it was no surprise to her when she could see again that the head of the dragon skeleton was missing.
"Damn," Lenora snapped running towards the door. "Those cowards!" Amy agreed and headed out after her, with Lenora's husband hacking and trying to catch up.
Whether or not Lenora would have caught up to Team Plasma would be debated later because on her way out she ran into a roadblock, otherwise known as Cheren.
"Oof!" Cheren exclaimed as he was knocked, ass over teakettle as Lenora plowed right through him. Lenora would have kept going except that Cheren slowed her down enough that another arm intercepted her, clotheslining the Gym Leader. Making a similar sound to Cheren, Lenora looked up at an angry blond in a beret.
"What is wrong with you?" Bianca snapped as she went over to help Cheren up. "You could hurt someone like that!"
"I could?" Lenora muttered, winded and holding her chest. Amy and the curator ran out, the curator hurrying over to help Lenora. "I'm fine Hawes, really," Lenora managed as her husband helped her up. Amy sighed as she checked on Cheren.
"Bianca, that's the Gym Leader Lenora. The museum was just robbed by Team Plasma and she was trying to catch up with them." Amy told her friends.
Cheren, rubbing his back, suddenly looked up alert. "Team Plasma? Again?" He asked. Amy nodded. "They must have taken off out of town. Bianca and I just came from the Pokémon Centre and we didn't see them."
Lenora scowled. "Where could they be?" She demanded to the open air.
"Probably out of town by now." A different voice called.
Amy turned towards the voice, its owner a tall, skinny man with curly brown hair, dressed in a bright green overcoat. "Nobody would be enough of a fool to rob a Gym Leader and hide in town," The man pointed out. "Likely they ran off, planning to meet up with a larger group just outside of the town."
"Burgh?" Lenora looked at him in shock. "What are you doing here?"
"I was going to inform you that the bridge construction is finally done and to drop off a piece your husband likes for the museum." Burgh answered smoothly. "But right now, shouldn't we be worried about catching the thieves?"
Lenora nodded. "You know Pinwheel Forrest better than I do," Lenora told him. "You head off to the west. I'll take the road in the east. Those are the only ways out of here on foot and they couldn't have flown off with that skull. It's too fragile to take by air."
"It isn't safe for us to go alone," Burgh pointed out. Lenora scowled at him and he raised his hands defensively. "I know you're a powerful Trainer. So am I. It doesn't change the fact that we are going after hostile Trainers who outnumber us and will likely have prepared for our type disadvantages. We need some backup."
Amy looked at Cheren and Bianca, who both nodded. "We'll help," Amy told Burgh firmly. Burgh raised an eyebrow and was about to protest when Amy continued, "I just beat Lenora in a Gym Battle, and Cheren and Bianca were just coming to challenge her. Both are as skilled of battlers as I am."
Burgh looked about to protest before he sighed. "Beggars can't be choosers..." He looked at Lenora. "You're town, your call."
Lenora looked Cheren and Bianca over. "Either of you have a Flying or Psychic type?" She asked. Cheren shook his head while Bianca nodded hesitantly. "Ok. Amy, you go with Burgh into Pinwheel Forrest. I know you're strong enough to look after yourself if you get lost in there. Blondie, you're with me in case those Plasma grunts happen to have a Fighting type. Boy, you stay here. The trainers in my Gym can help you out if too many Plasma grunts come back. Hawes, let them know to listen to..." Lenora suddenly blanked on Cheren's name but Bianca muttered it to her and she clarified, "Tell them they're to listen to Cheren. He's in charge until I get back."
The curator nodded. "We can manage that," He assured Lenora. He grabbed Cheren's arm and told him, "Come. Quickly. With any luck, they might come back for the rest and we need to be ready." Cheren nodded and followed, calling his team out as he did so. Burgh was moving out, as were Lenora and Bianca so Amy followed Burgh, running to try and catch up.
He led the way to a new part of Pinwheel Forest, through an entrance that had been blocked yesterday. "I had to have the path opened, even though construction isn't quite finished," Burgh told Amy as he passed through. "Trucks were still able to bring goods through but most of our tourists and trainers come on foot from the south. The dessert in the north limits us to visitors." Amy nodded slowly, not fully understanding why he was choosing to share this information with her.
He came to a path that diverged off the paved path and told Amy, "This is one of the entrances into Pinwheel Forest. The other path is further along here that joins up with this one. I'll head up along that path and cut Team Plasma off. What kind of Pokémon do you have with you?" Amy showed him her Pokeballs. He sighed. "The forest is full of Bug type Pokémon. You're team won't last long against any of the powerful ones." He reached into his satchel and handed her a disk. "Here, give this to your Water type. It's the TM for Scald. It won't do much good against Grass types but it'll be powerful enough to take out other Bug types. I can't offer you much more help than that." Without waiting for a response, Burgh took off into the forest.
Amy just shook her head and headed down the path. Whoever Burgh was, he obviously had confidence that he could deal with whatever Team Plasma threw at him. Looking down at the TM, she sighed and called out her Pokémon out and used the TM on Panpour. "Sorry buddy but I think that you're going to need this. Servine won't be able to do much against the Bug types here." Panpour nodded and took the TM, grimacing as the disk transferred the power of the move into it.
Scald was a powerful move but it had drawbacks, as Amy soon learned. Panpour had the problem that the more he used Scald, the more burnt his mouth got. After less than ten minutes of being attacked, she gave up ordering Panpour to use Scald and called out Servine. "You two will have to tag team and just use Tackle and Furry Swipes," She told them, much to Panpour's relief.
The forest was mostly empty of Trainers, only a few Rangers who gave Amy some berries for her Pokémon, which she was grateful for but she was more anxious to find Team Plasma. They were hiding somewhere in the forest and the longer she took, the more time they had to get organized. Much as she wished it, the more she fought with Team Plasma, the more she was forced admit they or their leader was smarter than people gave them credit for.
Panpour was on her shoulder and made an inquiring sound. Amy forced herself to stop and look around, trying to shake off her thoughts. Servine hissed quietly and stared over at the side of the path, trying to see what Servine had reacted to.
She caught on almost immediately. The path ahead was a massive log that seemed to connect the two levels of the path. But from this angle, she could see what appeared to be Team Plasma laying an ambush by the other end of the log. She shook her head. They couldn't take her in a real fight, so they were resorting to an ambush?
Regardless, she did have a plan to counter it. "Servine, Panpour, I need you two to get on top of the log," She instructed. Both nodded hesitantly. "Don't worry; I need you two up first so I can get up there too. I'm not built for climbing, so I'll need Servine anchored and for her to throw me a vine."
Servine nodded and jumped, leaping up towards the top of the log while Panpour stood guard over Amy. It took Servine two tries to get anchored enough to help Amy up but she managed, and Amy half climbed, half jumped up with Panpour on her shoulder and Servine anchoring her from the top of the log. After climbing up and securing her footing, Amy led her team quietly across the log.
Team Plasma was waiting at the top of the log, glaring down the log. They were out of sight from inside the log, but in order to be so they were hidden quite uncomfortably around the edges of the opening. It was almost comical, watching all these grown men and women attempting to hide at the top of the log and Amy giggled a little while assessing the situation.
She crawled up the log, listening intently for anything the grunts said. She heard one complain, "Why are we doing this? We could have flown passed Driftville by now if we just took off with the skull."
"Moron!" Another snapped. "Do you know how old this skull is? Do you know what it's worth? It's far too fragile to risk by flying. Why would you suggest such a thing?"
The grunt that spoke before looked away, muttering, "Of course. That's why we ran up a moss covered log onto a cliff, because that's so much safer."
One grunt smacked him on the back of the head. "Shut up. We've also got to make sure we aren't followed. We don't anyone to sneak up on us. That Gym Leader would make mincemeat of the lot of us."
Amy smirked as she looked down on the group. So they weren't strong enough to handle Lenora. She had been right in assuming that she could handle these minor grunts. But what would they be waiting for?
That didn't matter. What mattered for now was that she dealt with them, quickly and quietly. Whatever the grunts were waiting for, it was certainly something they thought would help them take on even a Gym Leader. She turned to Servine and Panpour, and quietly told them "I have an idea. You two listen and get ready to move and we might not even need to fight these guys." The Pokémon both nodded and shuffled closer to Amy. After explaining her plan, Servine shook her head while Panpour grinned gleefully.
Amy made sure all the grunts were present before she put her plan into action. When she was as certain as she could be that they were all waiting, she grinned and gave Panpour the signal. The small monkey grinned and scampered down the log with ease. Servine stood by Amy, anchoring them both to the top of the log with her vines. Right on time too, because after they were anchored, Panpour arrived at the bottom of the log and Screeched into the opening.
The Grunts reacted almost comically, some falling off the cliff, some into the log but most jumped out of hiding and ran to the opening where Panpour greeted them with Water Gun. Amy gave Servine the signal and she braced, allowing Amy to swing down the log and slam into the back end of the swarm of Grunts.
The group yelled and tumbled down the log, Panpour slowing their fall down with Water Gun before jumping out of the way. The wet mess that had been made by Water Gun eased the Grunt's way and they ended up slamming into the edge of the path. Amy let go of the vine and glanced around, surveying her handy work.
She'd gotten rid of about half the grunts, which left the rest scattered across the platform. Servine jumped down from on top of the log, hissing at the remaining grunts as they struggled to their feet. Panpour, deeming the grunts at the bottom of the log no longer a threat, scampered up the side of the cliff excitedly, only to see the grunts that Servine was warning off and to join in, jumping on Amy's shoulder as a guard.
The grunts were getting up warily. The outnumbered Amy but none of them seemed too eager to take her on, especially with her Pokémon so eager for a fight. They looked at each other for a moment, before one grunt stood in front of the others and sent out a Venipede. "You guys fall back, I'll slow her down," He ordered them. The grunts nodded and took off as Servine glared at the Venipede.
"Servine, keep back. Panpour, you're up." Amy ordered her team. Panpour chittered excitedly as he jumped down and Servine fell back grudgingly. The grunt stood ready, and his Venipede made a similar chittering as Panpour.
"We have to end this quickly," She reminded Panpour as he stood ready for battle. Panpour nodded and stared down Venipede. "Ok Panpour, hit it with Scald."
Panpour grimaced but did as he was ordered, taking in a deep breath and blasting out the hot water. The Venipede gave a surprised screech as it was hit, curling up in a ball. When the attack was done, steam rose off the Bug type as it fainted.
The grunt stared in shock before turning and running off. Amy stared in surprise. "Ok, that I didn't expect." She told Panpour and Servine. She knelt down and handed Panpour a Rawst Berry. "Sorry about that," She told him. "We just needed to end this quickly."
Panpour nodded and ate the berry, relaxing as the juices coated his burned mouth and eased the pain. Servine stared in the direction the grunt had run, and Amy followed her gaze. "Ok gang, let's get moving. Servine; you lead while Panpour plays rear-guard on my shoulder." Servine nodded and took off, leaving a startled Amy to grab Panpour and run after her.
"This is getting ridiculous," Amy muttered as Servine knocked out another Swadloon. "These grunts have such weak Pokémon and they all seem to be just like the wild ones that have been leaving us alone. What are they doing, catching and releasing as they go?"
Servine was panting and not paying attention but Panpour gave a loud "Pour!" and pointed further down the path where the grunts were rummaging through the bushes. "Come on," One of the was calling to the others. "She's not that far behind me and we're out of Pokémon again!"
"I know, I know but these ones are hardly slowing her down," Another grunted as he threw a ball into the bushes, only for it to come back empty. "Damn it!"
Amy stared for a moment before letting out a frustrated moan, slowly making her way to where the grunts were searching. When she showed up, it took them a minute to realize she was there. "Seriously?" She asked them. "You've just been catching and releasing the wild Pokémon hoping they'd slow me down?"
The grunts all looked at each other helplessly. "Well, yeah," One managed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "We weren't given Pokémon for this assignment and we didn't have time to catch any."
"Besides, you took out one of the home-raised ones right away," A female grunt added. "How were we supposed to fight that?"
Amy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Can you guys just give me the skull? I don't know why you want it but I can almost guarantee you that it isn't the skull of one of those Legendary Dragons you're looking for."
"How?" A grunt snapped at her. "You don't seem to know what the Dragons even are."
"Maybe not but think for a minute," Amy replied tiredly. "Do you really think someone with remains that valuable would leave it out in the open undefended?"
That made the grunts pause. "Oh," The one who snapped looked confused. "I never thought of that."
"Lenora didn't even seem worried enough to leave the original somewhere safe and have a plaster replica out in the open," Amy added. "What does that tell you?"
The grunts looked at each other helplessly. "You're right, this doesn't make sense," The woman conceded.
"But even if you're right, we can't hand over the skull," A grunt told her. "We don't have it, and we were ordered to bring it back to our leader. You'd have to catch the guy carrying it, or take it up with our boss."
Amy sighed. "So where can I find either one of those people?" She asked, growing more annoyed by the minute. The grunts pointed to an area further down the path. "Thanks," Amy muttered as she set off at a light jog through the forest. The grunts made no effort to follow.
Amy followed the path that the grunts had pointed out but she couldn't find any traces of the Team Plasma member holding the skull, or the supposed leader that she was supposed to talk to. Servine and Panpour kept looking around as well, but Amy noted that they were getting short of breath. "How you guys holding out?" She asked them quietly. Both gave a weary sound and Amy nodded. "We can take a break if you guys want. I haven't seen any sign of these Plasma members we're supposed to run into."
Servine and Panpour both gave a long sigh of relief, only to stiffen suddenly. Amy froze, taking a cue from her Pokémon. "What is it?" She asked them quietly.
Neither responded, only glared into the bushes, both visibly on edge. Amy's eyes darted all through the edge of the forest, trying to figure out what was the threat.
A sudden burst of movement startled her as something burst from the bushes. All she saw was a massive burst of purple before she was knocked flying. Servine and Panpour gave a war cry, followed by a loud screech. Amy struggled to sit up, her head spinning after what she assumed was rolling from the hit. She shook her head, trying to clear it while struggling to follow the battle.
Servine was dodging around whatever this Pokémon was but it was just as fast as her, if not faster and her attacks didn't seem to be making a huge difference. Panpour was bouncing above in the trees, slamming this massive Pokémon with Water Gun, apparently too tired to use Scald. Amy tried to stand and failed, watching with a growing sense of dread as her Pokémon, exhausted by the sheer number of opponents they had face, were losing.
"Servine, use Vine Whip. See if you can trip it," Amy ordered. "This thing is too big to just Tackle it. Panpour, keep up with Water Gun and if you get the chance, use Fury Swipes. We'll take this thing down."
Her Pokémon cried out in affirmative and did as she commanded, trying to keep out of the way of the massive Pokémon's attacks. Amy followed the attacks the best she could, noticing the combination of Poison and Bug attacks. "Stay alert, both of you," She warned. "I think this thing's like a really powerful Venipede."
Neither gave a sign that they had heard her but Servine leapt out of the way of a slash with the front legs of this creature and responded by hitting it in the face with Leaf Tornado, which Panpour took as a cue to hit with Water Gun again in the same area. The Pokémon was getting agitated and started spitting poisonous attacks in every direction, slamming Servine against a tree with purple gunk.
"Servine!" Amy yelled, still unable to move properly. Panpour gave a piercing shriek and dove down, blasting Water Gun and angrily slashing away with Fury Swipes. The opposing Pokémon cried out and retaliated, slamming into the surrounding trees and trying to crush Panpour. Panpour's only response was to strike harder, hitting the Pokémon in the face. With another shriek, it spat the same poison at Panpour as it had Servine. Panpour flew back and hit a tree, shaking off the poison with a snarl.
Amy could see Panpour was badly hurt by now, sustained only by his anger towards this unknown Pokémon. She needed to get him and Servine out of here, and out of the battle. "Panpour, get over here," She yelled. "We can't win this!"
Panpour's only response was to attack even more violently, even though every action seemed to hurt him. Her yelling did attract the attention of the Pokémon, who took a moment to slam Amy with its tail before returning its attention to Panpour. Amy didn't even roll this time; she flew. She could feel the ground coming, slamming into the ground after watching the battle get further away.
She lay there a moment, unable to breathe properly after landing. Her chest hurt when she took a breath but she forced herself up with a grunt. It hurt to move but she needed to get back to the battle. She took a step and bit her lip as pain shot through her knee and forced herself to limp over. She could still see the Pokémon still in the clearing but Panpour was missing from the equation. Amy limped as fast as she could managed, each step causing more pain but she pushed on regardless.
She stumbled into the clearing, finally able to see Panpour. The small Pokémon was panting, barely able to stand, but still standing in front of Servine. The Pokémon towered over Panpour, looking very pleased with itself with having cornered both Panpour and Servine. The Pokémon dove its head down and bit Panpour once, biting its arm and holding on. Panpour cried out and struggled weakly. Amy froze, horrified as she watched the Pokémon bite down harder, lifting Panpour in the air with its mouth. "It's going to eat Panpour!" She realized numbly. She didn't have the strength to react, she could barely breathe.
She couldn't save Panpour.
"Air Cutter!" A voice cut through the clearing, harsh and loud.
Amy watched as, for no reason she could identify, the massive Pokémon dropped Panpour with a cry, sliding away from Servine a few feet. Amy shook her head, forcing herself to look around, and saw a figure rushing towards her, as well as a Pokémon flying towards Panpour. "Keep at it," The figure ordred. "It can't take much more. Air Cutter again."
The flying Pokémon gave a shriek and flapped its wings again. This time Amy saw it; a thin strand of curved wind that slammed into the massive Pokémon, causing tiny cuts to blossom all over its hide. The Pokémon shrieked and tried to slam into its flying opponent. "Tranquil finish it; Aerial Ace," The trainer ordered.
The Flying Type give a cry of agreement and slammed into the larger Pokémon. It stumbled back a few paces, wobbling until it finally crashed into the ground. The Tranquil gave a triumphant cry before flying back down to its trainer.
The trainer nodded and stroked the Pokémon's head. "Good girl Tranquil. Keep watch ok? I don't want any other surprises." Tranquil gave a quiet trill before hopping away. Amy's vision was still a little fuzzy but it was getting clearer, and she looked up at her rescuer's face as he asked, "Amy? Can you stand?"
Amy shook her head, wincing at the pain that caused. "Not at the moment," She said quietly. The trainer nodded and she caught a glimpse of green. "N?" She asked. "What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for you. I saw you in Pinwheel Forrest earlier and I was trying to catch up to you," He told her. "I couldn't believe you were going into the Forrest alone with only a Grass and Water type."
"How did you know?" She asked, her head still foggy but her mind suspicious. Only her friends, the museum staff and the thieves knew that she was going into Pinwheel Forrest.
"Cheren. Your friend realized that you might have problems after you left but it was too late to stop you. He wouldn't leave me to guard the museum so I came to look for you. It's lucky I did." N told her. "I've never seen a wild Scolipede in the Forrest."
"Scolipede?" Amy asked. "What are those?"
N chuckled and pointed to the unconscious Pokémon as he gently pulled Amy to her feet. "That is a Scolipede. It's the evolved form of Whirlipede. I've never seen an evolved one in the Forrest though. We'll need to treat your Pokémon for poison now."
"Poison?" Amy asked worriedly, she had a few Potions in her bag but nothing to deal with poison. She didn't even think that would be a problem.
"I've got a few Antidotes with me," N reassured her. "It won't be a problem." He threw a Pokeball in the air and his Tympole flashed out. "Tympole, can you gently wash the poison off Servine and Panpour? Giving them an antidote won't do much good if they're soaked in poison." Tympole nodded and used Water Gun to spray away the poison that coated Amy's Pokémon.
"But won't the poison hurt the Forrest?" Amy asked worriedly. She leaned against a tree for support, her head swimming.
"Not much," N said, thoughtfully. "There could be some damage but the poison is pretty dilute and the Forrest is home to many Bug and Poison types. It shouldn't be a problem." With the poison gone, N reached down and sprayed the Antidote on both Servine and Panpour. He gave Servine a Revive and Panpour a Potion. "There you are, good as new. But what were you doing in the Forrest anyway? Cheren mentioned that the museum was robbed."
"It was," Amy told him grimly. "Team Plasma broke in and stole the skull from the main dragon on display, claiming it was the head of the legendary Dragon types."
N looked at her like she was crazy. "That thing? The Legendary Dragon's head?" He asked.
Amy shruged and winced as she did so. "Apparently they think so. I told them otherwise and I've been trying to find the one who stole it."
N shook his head. "I'll help you," He said. "It isn't safe for you in the Forrest anyway. Panpour and Servine are strong but they're at a disadvantage here and they're both exhausted."
Amy didn't protest. Regardless of how her Pokémon were doing, she was pretty sure she could pass out at any time. Her head was swimming and it hurt to breathe. "Ok,' She said. "We do need the help."
N nodded and recalled his Tympole. "Can we take it slow?" Amy asked. "It hurts to move right now."
N's face suddenly became concerned. "Amy? Did you get hit as well?"
"Not with poison," She said firmly. "But that Scolipede did slam into me twice. It hurts to breathe right now."
N nodded slowly. "I think we should leave," He told her worriedly. "You've hurt your chest and you probably slammed your head at least once. You should see a doctor."
"I'm fine," Amy told him irritated. "And we need to catch up with Team Plasma."
"Why?" N asked her, honestly confused. Amy scowled at him for a minute.
"N, they attacked a museum and robbed from one of the displays. Besides how wrong stealing is, they attacked a public place to do it." She told him. "They released a smoke bomb in a poorly ventilated area where children and elderly visit. Had it been busier that day they could have hospitalized or killed people. And they didn't care if it was the Legendry's Skull or not; they were stealing it because they could. Someone needs to get that skull back and teach them a lesson and I seem to be one of the few people willing and able to do it."
N nodded once. "I don't understand though," He said quietly. "I thought you agreed with Team Plasma."
When had she said that she wondered. "I agree that we shouldn't just catch Pokémon on a whim and do as we wish but I don't agree with what they're doing," Amy told him. "Team Plasma is forcing people to release their Pokémon and acting like common thieves whenever they feel like it."
N looked confused but didn't argue. "Perhaps you should wait here though," N told her. "You are injured and I think that the quicker you return to town the better. Let me chase down this Team Plasma member and the boss. You should be fine here for a few minutes, especially with Panpour and Servine restored a bit."
Amy felt herself blinking with surprise. N had a very odd habit of jumping his thoughts around and it was hard for her to keep up. "Ok... But what are you going to do?" She asked.
"Get the skull back of course."
"N? N, you can't go off alone," Amy protested but her head was still spinning and she fell over, unable to stay upright. Servine and Panpour were by her side in a heartbeat but N was nowhere to be seen.
(N's POV)
He walked away briskly, trying to get away from Amy before she could convince him to stay. "Team Plasma won't hurt me," He thought with a chuckle.
But they might hurt Amy. There weren't any wild Scolipede in the area and that one was too strong to be wild. He was going to have serious words with Gorm when he found him but for now, he needed to keep Amy safe. "Come on out," He said, quietly enough that only the intended ears would catch it.
A Venipede that had been sleeping lazily in the trees above him suddenly shivered and jumped down, revealing its true form as a small black fox. "Hey Zoey," He said with a smile. The Zorua smiled back and rubbed her head against his leg.
N bent down and held out his arm, which the Zorua used to scamper up and settle herself on his head. "Glad to see you too." He told her. She made herself comfortable and looked down at him from the brim of his hat.
"So what happened? Did you see her?" Zoey asked with a gentle teasing tone in her voice. N blushed lightly and Zoey chuckled. "I thought so. What do you need?"
"You need to keep an eye on her," N told her. "She's trying to get back a skull from the museum. Gorm's squad took it and Amy appears to be injured by his squad leader's Scolipede. She can barely stand and her Pokémon are going to busy trying to protect her. I need you to keep her safe until I return."
"Gorm's squad hurt her?" Zoey asked, in surprise. "That's odd. And they are watching us again," She snarled, glancing off into the brush.
N glanced where she was growling but as usual, he couldn't see anyone. He didn't doubt the Zorua but he didn't understand her problem with Ghestias' spies. "They are doing their job. They are supposed to watch over me," He reminded her.
"They aren't what you think they are," She snarled. N was a bit startled and gently picked her up off his hat. She still stared and snarled into the woods.
"I'll go find Gorm then. They should follow me. Will you keep an eye on Amy for me?" He asked her.
Zoey hesitated before agreeing. "Keep Tranquil out," She ordered him. "I'll take care of her for you. Be safe." Before N could thank her, she shimmered into the shape of a Pansear and scampered off. N shook his head, calling Tranquil down from the skies to follow him. N followed into the clearing where Gorm had called to meet him.
The older sage was waiting for him, looking rather disgruntled. "My lord N, where have you-"
"What have you been doing?" N snapped at him. Gorm froze, startled by the boy's harsh voice. "You ordered an attack on the museum?"
"But, the skull my lord-" Gorm started.
"Was the remains of a Dragonite, a Pokémon native to another region. It's no more a Legendary than a Sewaddle." N snapped, angrily cutting the Sage off in mid-sentence. "And what was with attacking the museum at all? We are not a violent organization."
Whatever excuse Gorm would have given was interrupted by a grunt running into the clearing, holding a bag triumphantly. "Sage Gorm! I have the skull and have dealt with the girl following us."
N stiffened and turned to face the grunt. "What was that?" He asked coldly.
The grunt froze as he saw N standing with Gorm, as if he hadn't noticed him upon arriving. "My Lord N," He said bowing.
N stared at the man. "You were talking about dealing with a girl following you?" N asked again, his voice still cold.
The grunt swallowed heavily. "Yes sir. My Scollipede has yet to return and the girl is not here so I believe it is safe to assume she has been dealt with."
N met the grunt's eyes and the man flinched. "You mean to tell me that you sent your partner, a Scolipede which you cannot fully control after a ten-year-old girl because she followed you into the woods?" N asked, his voice shaking.
"Yes, my lord," The man responded.
"My Lord N, who is this girl?" Gorm asked.
"She is a Trainer who is sympathetic to our cause and a friend of mine," N snarled. "You nearly killed her because you were unable to beat her in a battle. She is currently in a clearing not far from here, with a concussion and other broken bones because you didn't want to fight her."
The grunt was backing away now and N noticed that even Gorm looked nervous. "My lord we didn't know, but Lord Ghestias did order that no one interfere."
"I am in charge, not Ghestias," N told Gorm coldly. "Now hear me; you will not harm her again. Battle with her if you must, but if any of you raise a hand towards her again I will deal with you myself. This is not the way of Team Plasma."
Gorm nodded once slowly while the grunt nodded vigorously. N reached out a hand and said, "The skull if you don't mind. Gorm was mistaken as to its origins and now I will see it returned."
Gorm hesitated a moment. "My lord, shouldn't we hold on to it in case we-"
"We are not thieves Gorm," N snapped. "The skull now, or I will take it myself."
Gorm swallowed heavily before motioning to the grunt to hand over the skull. N took it, and told them, "You had best Fly out of here Gorm. I have no doubt Burg will be here soon, and he will let your squad leader go but not you." Gorm nodded, calling out a Swoobat and taking off.
The grunt looked at N worriedly. "Are you sure they won't do anything my Lord?" He asked nervously. "The Gym Leader seemed pretty angry."
"So am I that you attacked that girl but I haven't done anything," N replied, his tone light. The grunt gulped and N continued, "But it should be fine. Lenora will simply increase security in the Gym and try and get useful information."
"What should I say then?" The grunt asked.
"The truth. They caught us fair and square. We crossed over the line with the theft and assault. Don't offer information, but answer the questions they ask honestly. It won't do us any harm to build better relations with the Leaders." N turned away. "Now don't run off, and be sure mention to Burgh that Amy is injured in the woods. I'm going to check on her and disappear. We must keep moving from the shadows if we are to avoid hurting anyone else."