Chapter 4: A Visit from the East Side

The warm rays of the sun on her face finally woke Ember from her deep sleep. She yawned and glanced around, her eyes a bit blurry still. Were the events of the previous days merely a dream? When she saw clearly again, the sight of their doused camp fire and Absol getting up and stretching himself out proved that theory to be false, so her slight disappointment. Still, it was a nice day, and she remembered that Absol was helping her find her trainer. At least that was something to be happy about.

The memories of the previous day flooded back when she was fully awake. Ember got up and stretched out as well. Her body was quite stiff from the cold night, but her inner fire helped warm her up.

"Good morning," Absol greeted her with a warm smile. "Hope you at least slept better than I did."

"Probably not," Ember replied cheerfully. "So, where are we going today?"

Absol pointed his claw toward the two large mountains off in the distance.

"We should be able to reach the mountains around nightfall," he said.

Ember looked at the mountains in horror.

"I hope I'm still dreaming, then," she replied. "Am I really going to climb those mountains?!"

Absol smirked. "When I was passing by a city, I once heard a human proverb: Wise men climb mountains one step at a time."

Absol then turned and headed away from the camp.

"Wiser men walk around them," he added over his shoulder.

Ember breathed a sigh of relief and followed him out.

The mountains grew larger and larger on the horizon as Ember and Absol walked alongside the stream they visited last night. It was the best way to avoid the tall grass. Ember truly was glad they would be going around them when she began to see how big they really were. By the time the sun finally reached its zenith, they arrived at a large lake at the end of the river.

When they stopped for a moment at the lake, Ember glanced around. When she looked back at the river, she saw two fish Pokémon swimming forward, exiting the stream and entering the lake, joining other water Pokémon nearby. Could those two Pokémon have been…? No, that was crazy. She shook her head and continued walking around the lake, following Absol's lead.

"Hey, Ember," he suddenly whispered. "Look at that over there."

Ember followed his gaze toward a flock of Farfetch'd on the other side of the massive lake.

"Not again," Ember groaned.

"Don't worry, I have a plan, and it doesn't require you to catch any of them at all."

Ember was visibly relieved by that news.

"Okay," she relented. "What do you want me to do?"

"Farfetch'd aren't great fliers," Absol replied. "The only thing they have is speed, but they usually can't get very high. So, I'll stay over here on this side of the lake. You go over to their side and scare them toward me. Once they all fly to this side, I'll catch them with no trouble before they even know what's going on. I might even be able to get three or four in one go."

She had to admit, it was a good plan. The best part was that she wouldn't have to kill any of them herself. With that, she began to run across the lake toward the other side. It took a few minutes to circle the large lake, but she finally made it. She quickly snuck around behind the group of Farfetch'd and into the tall grass. On the other side of the lake, Absol looked like nothing more than a tiny white dot on the horizon.

When Ember grew closer toward the group, she wondered how she was supposed to scare all of them at once. Suddenly, she was hit with an inspiration. She jumped out toward them, breathing a massive blast of fire into the air. The effect was instantaneous. The entire group of birds flew off like Zubat out of the Distortion World.

On the other side of the lake, when the Farfetch'd reached Absol's position, she saw him shoot out of the tall grass as well, nabbing two birds at once with his claws. He then quickly twisted his body in the air and nailed a third with his rear claws. She saw him bolt after the others and leap at another two.

"That was a clever plan you and your friend came up with."

Ember started when she heard the voice. She quickly turned and saw that its source was a four-legged Pokémon similar in shape to her and Absol, its black fur shining in the sun a bit. It also had a long, spiky mane, slight streaks of blue on the fur around its face, and a small yellow star on its tail. The thing she noticed most about the Pokémon was its yellow eyes, which shined like lit coals in the shade of the trees.

"Oh, hello," she greeted quickly. "I didn't see you there."

"I'm sorry if I startled you," the Pokémon replied. "I was just passing by and happened to see you."

"It's okay, but how did you know I was new here?" she asked.

"Oh, I've gotten used to all the Pokémon around here, and I can tell when someone's new," he said. "I'm so sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Luxray."

"My name is Ember. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine. Listen, though, I'm actually in a lot of trouble right now. There's a sick family of pokemon about a half-mile from here. Their children are poisoned, and they begged me for help."

"That's horrible!"

"It certainly is. I don't know how to help them, but maybe we can figure something out together. Please, come with me, and I'll introduce you."

Despite her urge to help whoever was poisoned, Ember wasn't entirely sure she should follow Luxray alone, even if he seemed nice.

"Well, okay, but can my friend Absol come along too?" she asked.

Luxray smiled. "Absol? Of course. The more help, the better."

Ember considered it for a moment. He did seem kind, and whoever was dying obviously needed help. Just as she was about to go, she heard Absol calling out to her.

"Ember! Are you still over there?" he shouted.

She looked back and saw Absol running toward her. When he saw Luxray, he stopped, his eyes widening. When he regained his composure, he darted toward her at full speed. When he reached her end of the lake, he stopped at her side, glancing back and forth between her and Luxray. Still stunned, Absol stared at Luxray, obviously trying to form words.

"Yes," Luxray replied to whatever Absol was about to ask.

There was a brief silence.

"Get behind me, Ember," Absol said without taking his eyes off Luxray, who was still smiling.

Ember looked at him in confusion. Absol turned to her.

"Now! Quickly!" he shouted.

Shocked, Ember obeyed and stood behind Absol, who uneasily faced Luxray.

"How did you find me?" Absol asked.

Luxray laughed. It had an oddly chilling note to it, a stark contrast to his previous friendly tone and demeanor.

"A better question would be why you were stupid enough to enter my territory," Luxray shot back. "Have you forgotten that my eyes let me see everything and track anyone I choose?"

"What do you want?" Absol replied curtly.

"What? Can't I say hello to a new Pokémon in the wild? After all, the last time you were travelling with someone new to the wild, it didn't go too well, did it?"

Ember saw Absol's demeanor stiffen.

"Yes, and I still haven't fully paid you back for that," he replied. "Like I said, what do you want?"

Luxray glanced through Absol at her. Ember felt chilled when his cold yellow eyes met hers. She instinctively moved closer to Absol.

"That Ninetails has the ability Drought," Luxray replied. "A Pokémon with that ability is extremely rare, and I know the West Side will want to use her to their advantage. I would prefer it if she came with me. We might even find a use for her as leverage against them."

Luxray looked back at her again, grinning ravenously. "Not to mention she looks like she might be good food, if nothing else," he added.

Ember felt her throat become very dry. She shuddered at the thought that if Absol hadn't come, she would already be dead.

"I'm willing to make you a deal, Absol," Luxray continued. "If you hand her over to me without a fight, I'll let you live, an offer far more generous than the one I made last time. What do you say?"

"Go rot in the Distortion World," Absol shot back curtly.

Luxray laughed again. "I see you're as stubborn as ever. Still, this isn't like you, Absol. Sticking your neck out for some stranger again? What is she to you? Has your sick, ebony heart finally grown soft?"

Suddenly, Luxray paused, looking back at Ember. A wicked grin slowly spread across his features.

"Ah, I understand how it is now," he said gleefully. "Alright, Absol, I have another deal for you. Surrender yourself to me without a fight, and I'll let her live."

To Ember's surprise, Absol didn't respond right away. She nudged him slightly to get his attention. He looked back at her.

"Don't make a deal with him, Absol," she whispered. "Why are we listening to him at all? What are our chances against him in battle?"

"None," Absol spat.

Ember was stunned into silence. Absol turned back to Luxray.

"Will you leave her a clear path through the plains to escape?" he asked quietly.

"But of course," Luxray replied.

It was too much to take. Ember couldn't stand seeing Absol being backed into a corner like that, nor could she bear the thought of him going with Luxray to his death. Galvanized into action, Ember allowed her ability to brighten the rays of the sun. She then leapt out from behind Absol and launched her most powerful Fire Blast point blank at Luxray.

The flames bathed the black Pokémon. Luxray vanished from view within the flaming wall. Ember couldn't help but grin. She had already easily defeated Luxray!

However, when the flames began to clear, she saw a large shadow come into view. The figure suddenly darted out from behind the cloud of flame, knocking her to the ground. She felt sharp claws digging into her throat.

"You shouldn't have done that," Luxray said.

Suddenly, Luxray was smashed aside by Absol's Sucker Punch. As Luxray thudded on the ground nearby, grunting slightly, Ember quickly stood and ran over to Absol.

"Run for it!" He yelled.

Ember needed no further prompting. She and Absol ran as fast as possible back around the lake. Ember dared to glance back as she fled. She saw the black form of Luxray standing at the edge of the lake. To her surprise, he didn't give chase. He merely watched them go, an icy grin on his face.

When they were finally satisfied that they had gone far enough, Ember and Absol stopped at another clearing, panting and gasping for breath. They had run at top speed for a full half an hour non-stop, and they were completely drained. They both plopped onto the ground, trying to rest and regain their strength, still breathing hard.

"What was that all about?!" Ember asked between nervous, shaky breaths. "Who was that Pokemon?! Why was he talking like he knew you?!"

"Luxray is the leader of a Pokémon gang known as the East Side," Absol panted. "They call themselves that because they "rule" the eastern side of the region. They are mostly made up of electric Pokémon, but lately Pokémon of all kinds have been joining them in their quest for dominance."

"Well, what did he want with me? Did I do something wrong? Why does he want me dead?"

"There is another gang known as the West Side, and they are led by Luxray's nemesis, Houndoom. The West Side, as you've probably guessed, is filled with fire Pokémon. As Luxray said before, a Pokémon with the ability Drought is incredibly rare. To have that power would mean to strengthen every Fire type in their army. They could easily defeat the East Side and take over the entire region."

Ember shuddered a bit at the news.

"So, will the East Side try to hunt me down? Are we in danger right now? How can we avoid them?"

Despite their situation, Absol grinned a bit.

"You never ask just one question at a time when you're nervous, do you?" he asked.

Ember looked back at him in shock. "What do you mean? I don't really do that, do I? Are you sure?"

Absol laughed a bit. She saw that he was just trying to lighten up the mood, but she was still worried.

"To answer your questions in order, yes, the East Side will try to hunt us down, no, we aren't in any danger right now, and we can avoid them by being careful and going where they don't like to go."

"Places they don't like to go?" Ember asked. "There are places like that? Do you know where they are?"

Absol smiled again. "Just calm down and take a deep breath, okay? I'm sorry about all this, by the way. It was my fault he found us in the first place. I had no idea the East Side had already taken over these plains. I thought they were a safe haven the gangs knew nothing about. But yes, I do know how to avoid them now that I know they're hunting us down."

Finally beginning to regain his breath, Absol slowly stood up. When Ember felt better as well, she did the same.

"So, where do we go now?" she asked.

"We'll go exactly where we were planning to go," Absol replied calmly. "The East Side doesn't like mountains. Too many Ground type Pokémon everywhere. Once you pass the mountains, since they wouldn't dare follow you anywhere near them, they will have a hard time tracking you again, so we should be safe."

Ember nodded. It seemed like a logical plan. However, one thing still bugged her.

"Absol, have you and Luxray met before? The two of you talked like you knew each other for years."

Absol shook his head. "That's a very long story, and we need to get moving before he finds us again. Suffice to say we've had our dealings in the past, and we each left scars on the other that will never heal."

With that, Absol nodded toward the mountains. Deciding that he was right about them needing to move quickly, Ember followed him out of the clearing, trusting that he would tell her everything when the time was right.

Chapter 5: A Rare Ability