Chapter 5: A Rare Ability
As the sun began to set and darkness crept up over the horizon, Ember and Absol grew ever closer to the looming twin mountains before them. Ember grew increasingly nervous the darker it became. The constant fear that Pokémon from the East Side would ambush them at every turn was almost too much to bear. Still, they hadn't seen any sign of them yet, which did help to ease her worry, but only slightly.
"Don't worry too much about it," Absol reassured her when he saw how nervous she was. "The East Side has tried to claim these mountains for years, but their ruler, Rypherior, has never given them quarter."
"But, can it really be this easy?" She replied. "Will the East Side completely lose track of us once we get to the other side?"
"No doubt about that, but you are wise in assuming that it won't be that simple. Luxray will no-doubt send agents after us, and they may be bold enough to attack us near or even at the mountains. But once you reach the other end, you should be safe. Luxray's aggressive, not stupid."
Ember was relieved by that knowledge, but it seemed like circling the mountains while battling powerful Pokémon was a risky plan. Still, it was better than nothing.
"So, how will the East Side be able to track us?" she asked.
"There are many ways they can. Luxray and his ilk can see through anything. Surely you noticed how his eyes glowed before?"
Ember nodded. She didn't like to be reminded of the look in Luxray's eyes.
"They can't usually track prey they don't know about," Absol continued, "but once they know even vaguely where you are, they can hunt you down with ease. I'm surprised that we even found a flock of Farfetch'd still around in their territory."
Ember thought for a moment.
"If the East Side really is so dangerous, cruel, and cunning, wouldn't it be a good idea to join up with the West Side and help fight them?" she asked.
Absol suddenly stopped. He turned to Ember and gave her a long, blank stare. He then turned back and continued walking as if he hadn't heard her.
"Um…I'll just take that as a 'no,' then," Ember muttered.
Eventually, when they reached a small hill overlooking the entrance to the mountains, a small area enclosed by a few trees with a pond at the center, Absol motioned her to stop.
"There they are," he whispered.
Ember looked down toward the entrance, but it was too dark for her to see anything.
"Who? The East Side?" she asked.
"That's right. Two agents. An Electivire and a Jolteon. Luxray is really determined to take us out. Electivire is a powerful heavy-hitter, while Jolteon is known for speed. It was lucky we spotted them first. Now all we have to do is get past them."
Ember squinted, finally seeing the vague outlines of their enemies.
"So, what do we do?" She asked.
"One of two things," Absol replied. "We can either try to elude them through stealth, or take them out. Either one will be difficult, so I'm willing to go along with whatever you want to try."
Ember glanced back at the two Pokémon from the East Side. She saw them more clearly now, as they were moving about, almost as if they were patrolling the area. Finally, she looked back at Absol with a new resolve.
"Let's take them out," She said firmly.
Absol glanced at her for a moment, a look of surprise and admiration crossing his features. He then grinned.
"Strong spirit. Alright, let's give those two more than they bargained for when they joined Luxray."
Watching the two assassins from a well-concealed hiding place in the tall grass, Absol nodded to Ember.
"That Electivire is the main threat," he whispered. "We'll need to take him out first. Let's wait and see if we can catch them separated."
Ember nodded silently, watching the now-visible electric Pokémon patiently. She didn't like the thought of waiting for an opening out in the cold, but if Absol thought it was the best thing to do, she would wait all night. She began to feel her inner fire warming her up anyway.
About a half-hour later, just as Ember was starting to nod off, she was snapped awake by a sudden movement from the enemy Jolteon. The Electivire pointed toward another spot in the nearby woods surrounding the mountain, probably giving it an order of some kind, and the fox Pokémon darted off at blinding speed into the trees.
"Now's our chance," Absol muttered. "He probably ordered Jolteon to search for us. Take off your Choice Scarf and let's strike."
Ember pulled off her scarf and put it in their bag. She felt strangely exposed without it. The wind even seemed slightly cooler on her neck now that it was off. She hadn't been without it for as long as she could remember. Still, it wasn't an entirely bad feeling.
Taking Absol's silent advance as her cue, she slowly crept on her belly toward the Electivire, quietly circling him from the opposite side. The monstrous electric Pokémon seemed unaware of their approach, thankfully. She saw Absol slowly preparing to strike. She knew that her part in the plan was to get Electivire to launch an attack so that Absol could strike first with Sucker Punch.
With that, she began to warm up her body again, feeling her inner fire release its power into the atmosphere. The night was still as dark as ever, but the air became incredibly humid. Electivire turned back and forth, obviously searching for the source of the change in the weather. Ember suddenly leapt out of her hiding place, preparing to launch a Fire Blast.
When Electivire spotted her, his arms shone a bright yellow. Suddenly, Absol leapt out of his hiding place behind Electivire, launching his Sucker Punch. However, when he tried to use its power, the move failed! Shocked, he looked at Electivire for a moment. Then, as realization dawned in his eyes, he quickly turned to Ember.
"Stop, Ember!" He yelled. "Don't attack-"
But he was too late. Stopping a move while in the middle of launching it was incredibly difficult and Ember had already fired off the attack. The wall of flames flew over to Electivire, but the massive Pokémon suddenly split into two identical copies of itself!
Ember glanced frantically back and forth between them, trying to see which one was the enemy, but one of them seemed to disappear. The Electivire the flames struck merely vanished like an illusion. She realized that it was a duplicate. He had used Substitute!
Suddenly, Ember felt herself being lifted off the ground. Electivire had her in his grasp. The East Side assassin hauled her up and threw her into the air. Ember landed painfully on her side with a sickening thud onto the dirt. She always hated the move Seismic Toss, especially when it was used by a Blissey and she couldn't knock it out in time.
She quickly stood up, her body aching from the attack. She launched a Solarbeam, the sultry night air giving her just enough power to fire it quickly. However, the beam merely collided with another Substitute. She suddenly heard a loud thud. Pivoting, she saw Electivire right behind her, his arm glowing again. She flinched when she realized that a Thunderpunch was coming.
Suddenly, Absol leapt on Electivire, blasting him at close range with Flamethrower. With a roar of pain, Electivire threw off Absol, but he was moving slower, and his attacks seemed shaky. Ember noticed a horrible burn mark on Electivire, no-doubt caused by Absol's fire move. She was surprised Absol had such a wide move variety.
Ember saw her opening and aimed another Fire Blast, this time striking Electivire dead-on. The flames blasted the assassin against a tree, knocking him out. Ember realized how right Absol was about her scarf. She was glad to be able to use different moves whenever needed.
"Well, that takes care of their tank," Absol muttered. "Now all that's left is their glass cannon. When Jolteon reappears, we'll take care of him too."
Ember gave him a quizzical glance. "Why did Electivire know Substitute and Seismic Toss? I've never seen those moves on any other Electivire."
"Well, in competitive battles and tournaments, those moves are useless on an Electivire," Absol replied. "But out here, they are quite effective. Seismic toss lets him deal damage against any type, even ones he's weak against, and I think we've both seen how useful his Substitute was."
Ember nodded. "You're probably right. It's going to be tough getting used to all the different moves Pokémon know out here."
"Well, just think of it like an alternate kind of competitive battling. The tactics are different, but the strategy is basically the same, only surviving is more important than winning here."
They suddenly heard a rustling nearby. She and Absol turned, seeing Jolteon return, wearing a King's Rock in its head. The fox Pokémon gasped when he saw them, but quickly recovered and dashed away.
"Did he give up?" Ember asked. "Is that it?"
"I doubt it," Absol replied. "He's probably going to alert-"
Absol was suddenly cut off as he was slammed into by the speeding form of Jolteon using Quick Attack. Before he could even react, Jolteon was already gone again, the Dark Pulse Ember launched at him missing and fading away. Absol growled, shaking himself off. How on earth were they supposed to catch a Pokémon that could move so—
Suddenly, Ember felt a horrible tingling sensation, the hairs on her back slowly standing up. She then felt dreadful pain as she was flung aside, landing on the ground nearly seven feet away, electricity coursing through her body. She gritted her teeth as she tried to stop shaking from the Thunder Wave. She could barely move. She saw Absol run over to her, opening up their bag and pulling out a red berry.
"Eat this, quickly," He said.
He placed the berry in her mouth, and Ember forced herself to chew and swallow it despite her quivering body. Slowly, she began to stop shaking as she swallowed the fruit.
"Thank you," she said between strained breaths as she shakily stood. "How the heck can we catch this guy?"
Absol thought for a moment. "He's obviously too quick for our attacks, but I've got a better idea."
Finally, Ember regained her legs, though she was still tingling slightly from the fading electricity. At least the Rawst Berry was helping against the paralysis.
"What do you have in mind?"
Absol grinned. "Farfetch'd."
Ember gave him a blank stare.
"Absol, I really don't think this is the time for that."
Absol laughed. "Just hear me out. We'll catch this sack of Tauros dung the same way we caught those Farfetch'd earlier. I'll head over to the other side of that pond. When the time comes, you'll know what to do."
Without waiting for a reply, Absol dashed away, circling the large pond about a hundred yards away. Ember realized his plan and smiled a bit. She then sat perfectly still, closing her eyes and listening for Jolteon. She heard another loud rustling as the fast but clumsy electric Pokémon dashed at her again. Moving on pure instinct, she darted to the side, Jolteon flying past her as his Thunder Fang faded.
Ember quickly used Fire Blast, but she wasn't aiming directly for Jolteon. Instead, she blasted the ground next to him, the fox Pokémon quickly jumping up and running directly toward the pond, as planned. She launched a Solarbeam to his left when she saw him straying from the right path, and Jolteon quickly ran toward Absol's hiding place in the bushes.
Ember saw Absol finish using a Swords Dance, and as soon as Jolteon came near, Absol launched a powered-up Psycho Cut from his hiding place, the move connecting perfectly with Jolteon. The yellow fox tumbled and rolled several times as it came out of its mad dash, the momentum causing it to keep thudding on the ground until finally stopping, completely unconscious.
Ember grinned. "Jolteon, meet Absol," she muttered.
As the humidity caused by Ember's Drought finally faded, Absol found a good spot near the entrance to the mountains to catch what sleep they could before circling them tomorrow. They stopped there, Absol unstrapping the bag from his back and placing it at his side.
"That was some nice battling before," he said. "You definitely learned a thing or two from those tournaments."
Ember looked away to hide a blush. "Well, it was mostly your plan that won the fight."
Absol shook his head. "I couldn't have pulled it off without you. Don't undervalue your strength."
"Thank you Absol, but I'm afraid my Drought might actually have given us away before the fight even began. That's probably how Electivire knew to use Substitute when I attacked, the same way Luxray did."
Absol yawned as he lied down. "Well, that's easily fixed, you know. You don't always have to use Drought in battle."
"What do you mean?"
"Drought may be good in tournaments, but it's not so great as far as stealth is concerned. If your ability gets in the way, you can always control it."
Ember looked at him curiously. "How can I possibly control my ability? That can't be done, can it?"
Absol smirked wryly. "Competitive battlers would like you to think you can never control your ability. After all, who wants their Drought Ninetails suddenly turning off her ability in combat? Trust me, all it takes is willpower. Like I said before, when the time comes, you'll know what to do."
Ember didn't really understand, but she decided to trust his words, the same way she trusted Charizard back at the tournament.
"Alright," Absol announced, "I think it's time to get some sleep. We'll take care of everything else in the morning."
With that, Ember lied down as well, curling herself into a ball and wrapping her tails around her body to keep warm. She instantly fell into a deep sleep, exhausted from their day's work.
When he saw that she was already out, Absol stared at her for a moment, in awe at how all he ever had to do was say it was time to rest and she would instantly fall asleep. Every day was the same without fail. Perhaps they were always walking a bit too much? No, probably not. He sighed contently as he shut his eyes as well.
Suddenly, however, he heard a faint flapping sound nearby. His eyes instantly shot open as he stood up, looking for any sign of an aggressor. Perhaps another agent of the East Side wanted a fight. He was about to wake Ember, but decided against it when he saw who it was.
The blue-and-purple bird-like Pokémon slowed its descent as it landed on a branch nearby, glancing conceitedly down at Absol. Despite the pokemon's noise, Ember hadn't stirred from her slumber.
"Well, well, well, Absol," the crow-like Pokémon greeted a bit too loudly. "I didn't expect to see you around here again. We all thought you were dead."
"Sorry to disappoint," Absol shot back coldly. "What do you want, Honchkrow?"
The bird Pokémon cawed twice, as if laughing. "I couldn't help but notice your fight against those agents from the East Side. Quite a clever tactic you used there. After that, I decided to drop in for a chat."
"Save it," Absol replied curtly. "I'm not in the mood for your games. Houndoom sent you to try and recruit Ember to the West Side, didn't he?"
Honchkrow cawed gleefully again. "You're as perceptive as ever, I see. I actually wanted to speak with her, but I see she's asleep right now. Shall I wake her?"
"You do that, and I'll be having roast Honchkrow for dinner tomorrow."
Honchkrow didn't laugh that time.
"Oh, come on, Absol, surely you can see we have a bigger threat to deal with here?"
"Yeah," Absol shot back. "Both of your lousy gangs."
"Why are you being like that? You know as well as I do that the East Side is taking over. They are more powerful than ever, and a Pokémon with Drought is invaluable to us."
Absol growled. "That's all you people ever see, isn't it? When you look at a Pokémon, you don't see them as a person. You see them as nothing more than a weapon and wonder how you can use them for your little gang war. Well, you're not going to drag her into your fight. Ember has plans of her own, so why don't you just go and preen your feathers?"
The two dark-type Pokémon glared at each other for a few moments.
"Alright, Absol," Honchkrow finally said. "I'll leave for now, but Houndoom needs that Ninetails to win the war—"
"A war he started," Absol cut in.
"—and he will recruit her at any cost," Honchkrow finished. "So I suggest you stop being so stubborn and see the greater good."
"The greater good I see is the day when both of your gangs are demolished," Absol said. "You might as well stop trying to threaten me and move on. Houndoom probably has a large list of people for you to bother, and that's not going to last long."
Scoffing, the crow spread his wings and took off, becoming nothing more than a shadow on the moonlit horizon before finally vanishing entirely.
After a few moments, Absol slowly turned back to the sleeping form of Ember, who was peacefully unaware of the argument. No matter who came for her, be it the West Side trying to use her or the East Side trying to kill her, Absol swore to himself that he would never let them get her.
Chapter 6: Unseen Cruelty