Part IV of IV: Ember the Wild Pokémon
Chapter 23: Forging Their Own Victory Road
"Is that them?" a young trainer with an orange cap and vest asked.
A tall, heavyset man with six Ultra Balls on his belt nodded, looking out over the cliff as well. He and several other trainers in their group watched the myriads of Electric Pokémon moving about in the old mining town, moving supplies, tending to wounded, and doing other things that Pokémon weren't supposed to know how to do.
"They're definitely the ones," said a brown-haired woman holding a leather briefcase. "This large gang of Pokémon have been rampaging through the region and taking over cities with low populations. A small town just west of here was taken and nearly destroyed by them, though there aren't as many Pokémon now as there were before."
A grim-faced man with a Rypherior at his side scowled as he watched the occupying force of Pokémon in town.
"How are they doing this?" he muttered. "They're acting like a military unit or something. Look there; that big, black one looks like it's giving out orders to the others. Wild Pokémon don't take over towns and form armies! Pokemon are supposed to be dumb animals that roam around routes for us to capture!"
"Apparently, these ones learn fast," the brown-haired woman replied, drawing a Dusk Ball from her briefcase. "Trainers have tried to drive them out of other cities before, but they're fighting back like an organized militia. If we're going to get rid of them once and for all, we need to be ready for the worst."
"Worst?!" the heavyset man shouted. "They're Pokémon, for god sake! We beat them up with their own kind every day, and then we capture them to beat up more! How can they possibly put up this much of a fight against us?"
"Maybe they're just sick of the way they're treated every day," the boy in orange suggested. "I mean, how would you like getting stuffed in a ball until it's time to smash your brothers?"
"Oh, who cares why they're doing it? All that matters is stopping them before it gets any worse," the woman snapped.
Near the front of the dozens of trainers watching the city from the cliffs, a brown-haired girl in her late teens who wore a green cap, a red vest, and a green-and-white trainer bag stepped forward. She reached into her pack and pulled out an old Poke Ball, pushing the button and activating it. A black Charizard appeared in a flash of light, and she swiftly climbed on its back.
"Then let's show them why we're the dominant species," she said.
In the nigh-infinite, blackened depths of Rypherior's cavern—which couldn't really be called that anymore, since Rypherior was long dead—an Electivire, a Jolteon, and a Magnezone guarded the main passage between the east and west ends of the region. The trio of East Side agents had the duty of making sure no fleeing West Side agents escaped to the now-peaceful half of the map, and they steadfastly took to their duty. They had a patience that rivaled the mountain itself, an unshakable fortitude and perseverance that withstood the endless passage of time.
"I'm bored," the Jolteon whined. "It's been days since Ampharos stuck us in this hole for mouthing off to her. No one is going to come through here. We should have been helping in the final fight with the West Side, not guarding a stupid mountain!"
Electivire sighed. "Look, we all know how crafty people like Houndoom are. He and his inner circle probably took the first chance they could to escape the city, and if they come through here, we gotta be ready for them. Get it?"
Jolteon groaned loudly, the noise making a slight echo against the cave walls. "Yeah, that's easy for the people who have extra rations to say. Luxray and his guys have enough food to last for months; we're stuck down here in this stink hole with stale bread, stringy salt beef, and a five bottles of "Fresh Water," which looks like it's been stale for weeks."
"Four bottles," Electivire muttered. "I just drank one."
"ENOUGH," Magnezone's metallic voice boomed, bouncing to and fro along the walls of the cave. "NO MORE COMPLAINTS. FOCUS ON THE TASK AT HAND."
Jolteon merely sighed. It would be useless to argue with a machine. What ticked him off was that since Magnezone was a mechanical 'Pokémon,' he didn't need food or rest, and yet he had the gall to ridicule both him and Electivire for their suffering.
"Well, we won't have to worry about it for too much longer," Electivire murmured. "Hopefully, Ampharos and the rest of the boys will relieve us soon, and we can—"
Suddenly, the cavern room was flooded with an incredible burst of light. Jolteon and Electivire shielded their eyes, while Magnezone merely switched optic modes to accommodate the sudden change in lighting. The whole cave now shone like the sun, nearly blinding the two pure Electric types.
"What the heck is going on?" Electivire yelled. "I can't see a—"
Electivire was sharply cut off as his body became enveloped in flames. His screams soon died out as he collapsed to the rock floor, still bathed in fire.
Before either agent could react, Jolteon was suddenly burned by a Will-o-wisp, the flames scorching his quill-like fur. He bolted back and forth through the room while shrieking in pain, both trying to hit whatever Pokémon was behind this and to put the flames out. However, he was suddenly stopped by a wall of flame, which soon enveloped him and killed him even faster than Electivire.
Magnezone finally spotted the perpetrator through the haze of light. The enemy was a Ninetails with only eight tails, an odd sight. Realizing this must be a surprise West Side attack, Magnezone fired a Thunderbolt at the Ninetails.
Despite his solid accuracy, the Ninetails moved like the wind and avoided the bolts of energy, which vanished into the tunnel behind her. Magnezone suddenly found himself bathed in the same flames as his subordinates, his systems failing faster than he could process. His vision faded to static as his main engine shut down, ending his 'life.'
At the end of the tunnel, Ember sighed, both in mild relief that she'd finally reached the end of the cavern, and in exhaustion that she'd had to fight so much to get through it. She was getting tired of having to plow through gang agents wherever she went. At least it was almost over. Ember deactivated Drought, returning the cavern to its dark, dormant state.
She carefully stepped around the last few blind corners in case of ambush, soon seeing the warm glow of the outside world shine through the entrance. She eagerly—but cautiously—stepped through it and back into the eastern half of the region. It had been so long since the last time she'd been here, though she remembered it all so clearly. Now that she no longer had Absol with her, she would have to fend for herself until she found Rose again.
Ember unslung and opened her trainer bag, grateful that she still had Umbra's map of the region inside. She rolled it open and examined it. She'd visited nearly every city and route in the entire region now. There was only one place left to look. She saw a small town at the very tip of the eastern end of the region, and though Umbra's scribbles made the name impossible to make out, it looked like a fine and robust city. It was the best—and last—place to search for her beloved master.
But first, she needed to find some food. Ember looked around the shining, humid route she was in, putting away the map. At her right was the path that led to the stunningly beautiful beach she and Absol had relaxed in before passing through Rypherior's cavern; perhaps she would head there first for old time's sake.
It would be the perfect temperature there, since the longest spring of her life had finally transitioned into summer and was gracing the lands in its warmth and unrestrained sunshine. The country was shimmering gently in a peaceful haze, having bathed delicately in the dew-laden dawn and now blossoming through high sunny noontides.
As she headed for the beach, Ember realized that she'd been in the wild for almost a full year now. Aside from the gang wars and being hunted by trainers, her experiences in the wild and her days journeying through the region had been the best time of her life. Absol had taught her so much, and he'd made her feel at home in a completely different world. All in all, despite most trainers and gangs doing their best to destroy it, the wild truly was a beautiful place.
She would truly, deeply miss it when she returned to Rose.
Another four buildings demolished and twenty Pokémon beaten to death or captured in Ultra Balls marked the fall of the East Side's secondary defensive lines. Endless groups of competitive, tournament-grade trainers were marching their way through Luxray's armies, tearing through the mining town and decimating the gang.
The East Side was putting up a great struggle, but they had little chance against the army of humans. The trainers sent in multiple Ground Pokémon to deal with all the Electric types, demolishing dozens of them at a time with a single Earthquake, usually destroying several buildings at once in the process.
The whole city was also becoming engulfed in a Sandstorm, reducing the East Side's chances of victory further. With Politoed long dead they had no way to stop it. All the Ground Pokémon used the ideal weather conditions to plow their way through the enemy even faster, and their trainers wore face masks and\or sunglasses to guard against it, their concealed faces giving them an even more eerie and frightening presence to the defending Pokémon.
Rows and rows of slaughtered Electric and Fighting Pokémon lined the streets, even more so because they hadn't even buried the dead from their final battle with the West Side. There was hardly a place one could even walk without treading on a dead gang member. Luxray himself was nowhere to be found, and many agents had already lost hope without their hunting leaders to guide them.
There was even fighting well outside the city too. Many Pokémon had tried to escape the slaughter by running through the dead forest, but powerful trainers had been lying in wait for any Pokémon trying to flee, and had soon ambushed and overpowered them by the dozens. The dead, grey trees were painted red with more blood than could ever be washed away. The once-beautiful woods had become a nightmarish wasteland that would never be visited in good spirits again.
Piles and piles of dead or dying Pokémon were scattered here and there among the dry trees. Near a particularly large pile, two of the ambushing trainers paused to take a look at their Poke Radars before turning to each other.
"I think that's all of 'em," said one wearing a grey cap and jacket. "We're getting some faint signatures here and there, but I think they're just dying Pokémon that haven't quite snuffed it yet."
"Agreed," said one in a black Kevlar vest. "We should get back to the others. I think Rose and Velour's weather teams have helped our groups wipe out the other Pokémon around the cliffs, too. Let's make sure none got away."
With that, the two trainers headed out of the woods, leaving behind their trail of destruction without a second thought. There was a long, long silence in the forest where not even a groan of pain could be heard from the dying Pokémon nearby.
Suddenly, a faint shuffling sound broke the somber silence engulfing the woods. A blue-and-white Pokémon pushed his way out from under the largest pile of bodies, shaking himself off and shuddering slightly.
"I thought they'd never leave," he muttered, nearly gagging and heaving under the constant, overpowering stench of death.
Absol looked back and forth, moving silently between the eerie, crooked grey trees, making sure there were no other trainers nearby who hadn't left yet. He had to find a way out of this death trap of a forest and back onto the main route leading to Rypherior's mountain. He quickly moved along the charred trail through the woods, carefully avoiding the rivers of East Side corpses everywhere.
Despite all the wrong they'd done, even the East Side might not have deserved this. Still, it was probably for the best. Absol only hoped that Kala had taken his advice and escaped before this happened. He couldn't bear it if he saw her limp, motionless form lying among all the others, littering the ground as just another victim of humanity's apathy and Luxray's insanity.
Absol snapped out of his thoughts when he saw two bright colors amongst the grey trees and dead grounds. He snuck around past the trees to get a better view while being careful to remain out of sight. He saw two more trainers wearing bright red-and-blue outfits, each holding Poke Radars. Absol crept along at a Slugma's pace, knowing that if he moved even slightly too quickly, the radars would pick up his movements and they'd kill him. Or worse, capture him and use him to fight the other escapees.
Neither trainer seemed to notice him, as they both were pointing their Poke Radars in different directions. As long as he kept moving slowly, they wouldn't—
"I got one!"
Absol was suddenly grabbed from behind by a Scizor, which clamped his sharp claws around his neck, drawing blood and choking him. Absol gagged and wheezed for breath, trying to break free of the metallic bug's iron grip. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a trainer in a yellow sport's jacket pull out an Ultra Ball and aim it at him.
In a moment of desperation, Absol kicked off the ground and slammed Scizor back into one of the dead trees, smashing through the rotted bark like Styrofoam. That alone wasn't enough to break its grip, but it did allow him to twist his head around slightly and torch Scizor right in the face with Flamethrower, instantly knocking it out.
"What are you waiting for? Blast him!" The red-vested trainer yelled.
The trainer in blue, who was now with an Alakazam, hesitated slightly.
"But there's only one," he said to the other. "It's not a big threat, and Velour said we need to—"
"To hell with Velour! We can't let any of these monsters get away! Blast him!"
Goaded into action, the blue-jacket trainer ordered his Alakazam to use Focus Blast. However, Absol rushed at him with Sucker Punch, nailing the Psychic Pokémon right on the head and knocking it out. He then darted aside to avoid the Ultra Ball thrown by the trainer in the sport's jacket and bolted away from the trio.
Absol ran as fast as inhumanly possible, hoping the Poke Radars would soon lose track of him once he was out of range. He heard several Pokeballs activating, followed by angry shouts and roars. He dashed and weaved between the trees, hoping to lose his pursuers with complicated moves. A sudden hiss made him start, and he saw a tree shatter into splinters as it was struck by an Ice Beam. It was either a stray shot, or they still knew where he was.
Eventually, Absol found a large lake at the edge of the forest, just outside the range of the previous forest fire. He quickly held his breath and dove into the water, swimming well below the surface. Trainers wouldn't search for a grassland Pokémon like him in water, Poke Radars or no. He vaguely heard muffled footsteps nearby and saw three shadows glide across the water as the trainers ran past him. They must have already recalled their Pokémon, or there would have been more shadows.
After holding his breath for another ten seconds to make sure none of the trainers had stayed behind or doubled back, he cautiously and quietly surfaced, trying to take in air as silently as possible. The three trainers were gone, and the area was silent again. After another few moments, Absol climbed out of the water and shook himself off.
It was time to make himself scarce, or he'd never catch up with Ember. Once he found the right trail again, Absol sprinted out of the dead forest before more trainers decided to pop up and slow him down.
As the flock of bird Pokémon scattered to the skies, littering the ground with their multicolored feathers, Ember dove at the last squawking Pelipper, catching it between her teeth and biting its neck to end the pain. Sighing, she shook the feathers off her fur and left that half of the beach to find some firewood, the bird still in her teeth. Catching her own game wasn't quite as easy without Absol to help her do the trick, but at least she could manage for a while with what she was picking up.
Ember eventually found a large, suitable log with a few breakable twigs and sticks nearby. She set down the bird and began tearing off the branches with her teeth, dropping them onto the sand in a large pile and setting them ablaze with Will-o-wisp. She had no need to activate Drought to help the fire, since the summer sunlight at the beach was already more than strong enough.
Several times throughout the day, Ember had seen Pokémon trainers scrambling along the path she'd taken, heading for Rypherior's mountain either by land or while riding a flying Pokémon. She'd hidden in whatever cover she could find and risked as good a view of them as possible. They appeared to be competitive battlers, most likely from the nearby tournaments or Battle Tower. She'd hoped Rose might be among them, but she hadn't seen her yet. But whatever the trainers were doing, it must have been pretty urgent for them all to head to the western half of the region at once. She could only guess that it must have something to do with the gangs.
As Ember cooked her latest catch, she found it incredibly difficult not to think about all the times she'd enjoyed a meal around a campfire with Absol. She violently shook her head to clear her thoughts, almost causing her to drop her food into the fire. She didn't want to look back on the memories of all she'd lost. She had to focus on the present now. That's what Absol would have wanted anyway.
As she took another bite out of her roasted game, she began hearing numerous faint noises in the distance. The crackling of the fire was making it harder to hear them, so she took a few steps away from it, her ears raising up as she listened carefully. At first, it sounded like more birds squawking. However, as the noise grew slightly louder, Ember finally recognized it.
Screams.
Startled, Ember ran toward the noise, which became clearer and clearer by the second. It was the sound of dozens of Pokémon screaming and crying out in terror and pain. As she closed the distance between her and the cries, she also heard several loud crashes and explosions. Could the gangs have travelled back to the east side of the region? Or was it some battle between tribes of wild Pokémon?
Ember exited the beach and ran through the small woods beyond, the sound becoming almost ear-piercing. Finally, she reached a wide open field filled with tall grass, and she saw the source of the screams and blasts.
In the middle of the largest stretch of tall grass, multiple trainers were viciously attacking uncounted hordes of wild Pokémon. Ember quickly evaluated the situation in her mind. There were four trainers in all, and they didn't look like competitive battlers, since they were using far more typical and low-tier Pokémon than any tournament trainers would, such as Gastrodon, Staraptor, Skuntank, and Carnivine.
The pokemon they were attacking weren't from the East or West Sides; they were just typical wild pokemon that were probably going about their daily business before being attacked. A few of them were strong enough to fight the trainers, like Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Gliscor, but most of them were just weak and common Pokémon like Cherrim and Sunflora. For the most part, they were helpless against the humans.
Ember knew they wouldn't last another minute against the trainers alone. She activated Drought and rushed at the first trainer, a dark-skinned man in a blue denim jacket. The man saw her and ordered his Carnivine to attack, but Ember roasted it with Fire Blast before it could even move. The trainer reached for his belt to draw another Pokeball, but Ember moved forward threateningly and allowed a few flames to trickle out of her mouth, letting him know that would be a bad career move.
Apparently realizing a few more caught pokemon wasn't worth getting torched alive, the trainer turned and ran off, pulling out a bicycle he somehow managed to fit into his backpack and riding away. With that, Ember turned to the others. One of the other three trainers had seen the dark-skinned man's quick defeat at her hands, and he sent his Staraptor flying at her with Brave Bird.
Ember was unable to move quickly enough to avoid the bird's incredible speed, and it rammed right into her with the double-edged move. It gave her a nasty sting, but she'd taken far worse blows in the past. Apparently, the Staraptor hadn't, since the recoil alone was already sending it staggering about in pain. Ember quickly finished it off with Psyshock. The orange-vested trainer tried to grab another Pokeball, but Ember launched a Fire Blast, burning the ground at his feet and sending him running away in fear.
Two down, two to go. Ember turned and saw the wild Ferrothorn battling the trainers' Skuntank, and he clearly had the edge against the trainer's pokemon in type.
The wild Skarmory was fighting the other trainer's Gastrodon, though he was having more trouble damaging the powerful Water-type tank, and Gastrodon was doing bad damage to all the wild pokemon with moves like Surf. Ember quickly ran to Skarmory's aid, blasting the Gastrodon with Psyshock. Skarmory followed it up with Wing Attack, a fairly weak move, but powerful enough to finish off the weakened Gastrodon.
Soon, the groups of wild pokemon drove off the remaining trainers, who ran off faster than a burned Farfetch'd, tails between their legs. The wild pokemon whooped and cheered their victory as the humans disappeared behind the trees. Ember stopped to take a breath, opening her trainer bag and using some of the numerous PP restorers she had left.
The two strongest wild pokemon, Ferrothorn and Skarmory, were the first to turn to her. Ember noticed that they both were wearing odd yellow ribbons, as well as all the other pokemon in this group. She realized with some surprise that they were the exact same type of ribbons worn by the pokemon in Umbra's town.
"Thanks for the assist," said Ferrothorn. "I've never seen someone pack so much punch in one blow."
"I've had a little prior training," Ember replied evenly. "How many were killed or captured?"
Their faces almost instantly fell. "At least ten of us were captured, and seven were killed in battle," Skarmory replied. "There's still about thirty of us left, and that's probably why we're still alive. Trainers don't usually expect to have to fight more than one or two pokemon at a time."
Ember glanced around at the remaining pokemon. Skarmory's estimate was about accurate, though there were only twenty seven pokemon left, mostly Grass, Flying, Rock, Water, and Bug types.
"How did you all know to come here and fight?" Ember asked. "No offense, but most wild pokemon don't see a trainer ambush coming until it's too late."
Skarmory glanced out at the fields. "None taken. Lately, pokemon trainers have been aggressively scouring the region, as if searching for targets to eliminate. We've set up our own sort of little refuge nearby, and when we saw a group of powerful trainers tearing through dozens of pokemon nearby, we decided to help out, just like you."
Ember nodded, remembering to deactivate Drought before she left. The moment the heavy sunlight faded behind the clouds, Ferrothorn jumped.
"Hey, wait a minute!" he sputtered. "I thought you were using Sunny Day! Your ability is Drought?!"
"Well, yeah," Ember replied, taken aback. "I'm a Drought Ninetails. I know Ninetails with that ability are really rare but—"
"We heard that Houndoom found a new Drought lead a few months back," Ferrothorn continued, his fervor growing. "He's been rising to even greater power since then, and his armies destroyed over half the region in their mad war! Are you her? Are you Houndoom's Drought Ninetails?"
Ember faltered, unable to think of a convincing lie. It was true; she was the Drought Ninetails who'd helped Houndoom cause so much destruction and grief for the past few months. It made her feel sick, and it put her in mortal danger now if she didn't choose her words carefully.
"I'm not with the West Side," she said firmly.
It was a true statement, and it might have worked. But Skarmory's keen, piercing eyes narrowed slightly the moment the words left her mouth.
"That sounded more like a dodge than an answer," he said calmly. "A defector could easily make that statement guiltlessly. Now, answer the question. Are you or were you Houndoom's Drought weapon?"
Ember groped for words as Skarmory held her gaze unflinchingly, his black eyes cutting through her like a knife. It was as if all her past sins were being laid bare before a cold, stern judge and everyone near him. She realized that, while she had tried to do good in the past, she'd also been forced to do much wrong under Houndoom's rule. She'd killed many pokemon whether they deserved it or not, and she'd given strength to the enemies of humans and pokemon alike. In the end, while she may have been forced to do it, she couldn't stand blamelessly in the face of her crimes. She held her head low to avoid Skarmory's callous gaze.
"Yes," she muttered almost inaudibly. "It was me."
The multitudes of surrounding pokemon began muttering amongst themselves, their faces contorting with shock and fear. Ferrothorn's eyes were filled with rage, while Skarmory was the only one who seemed completely calm and unsurprised.
"You heard her," Ferrothorn roared, silencing the crowd. "She's one of the killers responsible for the deaths of thousands and the fall of the region. Let's kill her now before she does any more damage!"
"Calm down, Tempest," Skarmory said. "She answered the question truthfully without lying about her intentions, and don't forget, she helped us fend off the trainers before."
Ferrothorn scoffed. "So what? She probably wants us to join the West Side, just like all the others! We've seen this game before!"
"No, I promise, I'm not with the West Side anymore!" Ember said, realizing her life was at stake now. "Please, I'm only trying to—"
"Enough!" Ferrothorn bellowed. "Are we just going to listen to more West Side lies so she can stab us in the back, or are we going to end this while we have the chance?!"
Ember looked at the crowd of pokemon, hoping they would see reason. But they were glaring venomously at her, obviously more inclined toward Ferrothorn's point of view. She was about to protest further, but it was hard to blame them for feeling that way. The West Side had done murderous and unforgivable things, and it would be incredibly hard to trust one of their top commanders, former or no.
Suddenly, Ferrothorn rocketed at her, slamming into her with Gyro Ball. The move had real power behind it; Ferrothorn could very well have been a competitively trained pokemon in the past. Ember fell backwards, her left side aching from where the spiked pokemon had rammed her. She was about to retaliate with Fire Blast, but she quickly caught herself and held back the move, remembering that Ferrothorn was both Grass and Steel type, doubly weak to Fire attacks. If she hit him with a full-force Fire Blast, he would almost certainly die instantly. She didn't want to kill him or any of the other wild pokemon. In their eyes, they were just defending themselves from a murdering monster.
The other twenty or so pokemon began advancing toward her, preparing their strongest attacks. To Ember's great dismay, even Skarmory was starting to join them, though he still seemed somewhat reluctant. She couldn't hope to survive a battle against twenty-seven pokemon, especially without taking their lives.
Seeing only one option left, Ember turned and ran back the way she came as quickly as possible, the myriads of vengeful wild pokemon taking up the hot pursuit. Skarmory tried to hamper her progress by littering the ground in front of her with Spikes, and though it hurt her paws quite a bit and drew blood several times, she managed to get past the trap and keep moving. Luckily, the spikes also slightly hindered her pursuers, buying her time.
"This is just not my day," Ember muttered as she fled for her life.
Finding Rypherior's mountain was turning out to be much harder than Absol had thought. If he hadn't been attacked by so many trainers, he could have reached it in less than a day, but the new battles between Luxray's gang and the humans were making it almost impossible to stay on the right track. It was quite impressive that the remnants of Luxray's cutthroats were even able to cause the trainers this much trouble.
If only I still had Umbra's map, I could find the right route in no time, he thought bitterly.
Still, he knew there was no point in dwelling on what he didn't have. Right now, he needed two things: a way to heal himself from all the damage he'd taken, and a map of some kind so he could find his way back. And both of those things could be found in one handy item: a trainer bag. He badly needed a new one.
Finding one would be no simple task, and taking it from a trainer would be even less simple, but it had to be done. He remembered the direction those two trainers were heading before he was ambushed by the third, and their conversation about meeting up with a larger group. He knew it would be his best—and probably only—opportunity to find a bag to nick. With that, he set off to find their tracks.
Absol moved with infinite caution when approaching the burned out woods again, knowing that there may yet be another trainer or two around to cause him trouble. It took nearly twenty minutes, but Absol finally saw the human tracks on the dry, cracked ground. He also faintly picked up the scent of the trainers, and began to follow their trail. What he was doing was incredibly risky, but it would be even riskier to travel the region without a map or any healing items. Besides, he was no stranger to eluding the eyes of trainers.
It was another full hour before the scent grew any stronger, and Absol occasionally had to stop and hunt for game to keep himself going. Still, he eventually smelled the familiar, unique scent of fire. A rising column of smoke soon appeared on the horizon, and once he made his way past the last of the trees in his way, he spotted a small campfire surrounded by a large group of trainers. The three trainers who had chased him before were also there, either adjusting their key items or talking to each other while they relaxed around the fire.
But most importantly, he noticed that most of them had taken off their trainer bags and set them on the ground nearby. That was only natural; humans couldn't always wear them, especially when relaxing, eating, or sleeping. He saw an excellent looking bag lying right next to a large briefcase at the edge of the camp. Now was his best and only chance. Moving with as much stealth and speed as the shadows around the campfire, Absol approached the gathering to nab his prize.
"And then, with a triumphant bellow, I charged into the town and sent Machamp to destroy the enemy," the short, bearded man recounted to his fellow trainers around the campfire. "I utterly demolished twenty of those Electric nightmares in as many minutes!"
Rose couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, Jerry, and then I saw twenty more of them knock you unconscious while two other trainers dragged you away from the battlefield."
"Well, every man has his limits," Jerry said unabashed. "And besides, momentarily fainting was a tactical maneuver to throw off the enemy, which I then proceeded to…"
While Jerry continued to regale the others (or more than likely, annoy them,) Rose took a moment to use the device on her Poke Balls to check on the health levels of her six main pokemon. Her Sun Team seemed still in fairly good condition, especially her starter, which she'd been lucky enough to migrate and EV train once she found out he had a perfect nature and IV count, not to mention shiny colors.
She could have sworn she heard a faint rustling behind her, but when she turned around, she saw nothing. It must just be the wind, she decided. After all, the winds had been so strong lately that she half expected a hurricane to form. Luckily, none did, though they would have to be careful as they continued their advance on this deadly gang of wild pokemon.
In fact, they would probably need to take a brief stop and a few marts or department stores later before continuing their attacks. They were running out of Ultra and Quick Balls to use on the enemy pokemon, and they would need dozens each to keep up. Rose reached for her trainer bag to check and see how many Ultra Balls she had left.
When she reached for her bag, however, her hand met thin air.
Rose looked down and saw that her trainer bag was gone. She looked back and forth around the campsite, but there was no sign of it. She waited for a moment's pause in Jerry's overdramatic storytelling before speaking up.
"Alright, very funny, guys," she said. "Where's my trainer bag?"
Nathaniel, the only man in the campsite who would wear a black Kevlar vest in the summer, looked at her.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, befuddled.
"My trainer bag," Rose emphasized tersely. "Who took it?"
Everyone else looked around and at each other, muttering confusedly.
"I don't think anyone has it," Jerry said hesitantly. "Maybe some wild pokemon carried it off while everyone else was enthralled by my tales of valor and strength? You should probably turn on your Poke Radar, just in case."
"My Poke Radar was in my trainer bag," Rose spat.
"Here, use mine," The woman sitting next to her said, reaching into her briefcase handing the radar to her.
Rose activated the machine, looking at the small black-and-green radar screen. For just a split second, she saw the faintest blip emerge on the grid, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. That one mark told her all she needed to know. She stood up, grabbed her six main Poke Balls and strapped them onto her belt.
"You guys can hang out here," she said, gritting her teeth. "I'll take care of this."
Ember winced as yet another sharp spike, no-doubt fired by Skarmory, scratched her on the side while she fled her dogged pursuers. Some of the wild pokemon couldn't keep up with her, but she knew Skarmory and his fliers were following her by air, and Ferrothorn and his fastest fellow pokemon would have no trouble matching her speed in the grasslands.
Ember heard a loud whoosh and quickly dove to the side just as a Pidgeot shot down from the sky at her like a rocket, narrowly missing her with his Brave Bird attack. She then made a sharp turn through the woods to throw off her pursuers and give herself shelter from the aerial attacks. She tried to take confusing twists and turns between the trees, but the wild pokemon chasing her knew the area better and could still follow her with little trouble.
For a moment, Ember considered turning and launching an attack to slow them down, but her choices were extremely limited. Fire Blast would probably severely injure or kill the weaker or more vulnerable pokemon, Will-o-wisp would help very little against so many pokemon, and Toxic meant certain death. Her only aggressive option was Psyshock, and it was time to make use of it.
Once she found an opening, she quickly pivoted around and faced her aggressors. Ferrothorn was in the lead, followed and\or flanked by at least nine more pokemon of various types. She launched a Psyshock at Ferrothorn, and although it was weak to his type and didn't hurt much, it stunned him and made him stumble, causing the others to falter for a moment or even bump into him.
Ember then fired a second Psyshock at the base of a small tree, shattering it and causing the tree to collapse in front of them, blocking their path. Using the time she'd bought herself, Ember turned and bolted back down the trail. Skarmory and his airborne allies were still undoubtedly searching for her, so she had to hope these woods stretched for a long distance so she could remain under the cover of the trees.
No sooner had the thought entered her mind than the woods suddenly came to an end, and Ember cursed under her breath as she found herself back in the wide open plains. She considered doubling back to try and find another path through the forest, but Ferrothorn and his allies were still back there as well, no-doubt trying to cut off all possible escape routes for her.
Ember looked up and saw Skarmory flying overhead and littering the ground in front of her with Spikes again. She launched a Will-o-wisp up at him, burning the metallic raptor and causing him to fly further out of her range, which bought her the few extra seconds she needed to get off the wide-open route and into the tall, thick grass in the next path.
The tall grass gave her additional cover from the enemy's vision, but it still wouldn't be too hard for Skarmory's eyes in the sky to spot a Ninetails with eight tails. She had to find some deep, thick grove or tunnel to escape her followers before she took any more nasty hits. The Gyro Ball she'd taken from Ferrothorn was still tormenting her with throbbing pain for every step she took.
Finally, Ember reached the end of the fields of tall grass. Before her lied yet another accursed plain, another stretch for which she would be totally vulnerable. After a brief moment of hesitation, she rushed out into the field, hoping to reach the large forest on the other side before Skarmory could blast her from above.
Suddenly, Ember heard shouts and war cries at her left. Her stomach lurched when she turned her head and saw Ferrothorn's group running ahead of her from the left side of the plains. They'd circled around the route to intercept her! She ran for the forest with every last ounce of steam in her, but there was no way she could get there before Ferrothorn cut her off and blocked her path.
Just as it looked like there was no hope left, Ember noticed a large shape half-hidden behind a hill to her right. Once she ran ahead a bit further, the form became clear. It was an old cottage surrounded by trees and matted with moss here and there. It was her only salvation. She didn't like the idea of being trapped in there, but it would provide cover from Skarmory's aerial group, and she could hold the front entrance with little trouble.
She reluctantly rushed for the house and burst down the door; it wouldn't have held from the enemy's attacks anyway, and she needed to be able to see them coming. The living room was quite dark despite the natural sunlight creeping in from the cracked, filthy windows, so she illuminated it with Drought. The furniture was in tatters, as was Ember's spirit when she realized that the only way she could hope to hold the entrance was to resort to her most powerful attack.
Ember briefly looked around for any other entrance, though there was no time to search thoroughly for a back exit; Ferrothorn's group was already in front of the building. After one last moment of agonizing hesitation, she reluctantly turned toward the front door and nearby windows to face her pursuers. The last warning before the battle was the rush of footsteps and the remorseless war cries of her vengeful antagonists.
The first pokemon to try and come in through the bottlenecked entrance was a Nidoking. The spiked purple behemoth roared as it smashed through what was left of the front door and prepared to strike. Luckily, it was a fairly powerful pokemon, so Ember could attack without fear of taking its life. She knocked it out in one blow with Psyshock, sending it tumbling back down the wooden steps and falling on top of several other pokemon.
One of the windows suddenly shattered as a Primeape smashed its way in with Mach Punch. Another Psyshock sent it flying back out the way it came with a shriek. Ember used the few seconds she had bought herself to rush over to that window, quickly toppling over a nearby cabinet to block it off. Once that entrance was sealed, she leapt back to the front entrance and faced another assailant.
An Ursaring was charging up the porch to take its shot at her. Ember quickly turned off Drought and used Fire Blast, which wasn't enough to kill Ursaring, but did still knock him out nonetheless. Sadly, he didn't fall on his fellow attackers like Nidoking, which allowed a Meganium to take its place. Ember couldn't afford to risk blasting the Grass pokemon with Fire Blast, so she used Psyshock instead. Meganium survived the blow and retaliated with Frenzy Plant, whipping thorny, jagged vines at her. Ember was smacked backward and had a huge gash in her side from the blow, but she managed to knock out Meganium with a second Psyshock.
Out of the corner of her eye, Ember saw the shadow of a pokemon block the sunlight from another one of the windows. She used Psyshock without hesitation, blasting through the window and blowing away the startled Aerodactyl. After taking a quick moment to make sure no other pokemon were at the entrance, Ember ran toward the window, shoving a large drink bar toward it to block off the last of the windows, which would leave only the front entrance to defend.
Suddenly, two large hands reached in through the window and grabbed Ember by the neck! Gagging, she craned her neck to the window and saw the face of a Machoke from the corner of her eye. Its huge, beefy hands were crushing her windpipe, and Ember's vision was already beginning to darken. She had only seconds left to find a way to win the struggle. The Machoke continued to yank her neck toward the windowsill, making it impossible to break away.
In her desperation, Ember thrust her tails into its face. Machoke briefly started, its grip on her neck slackening ever so slightly. She used the small moment to twist her head back and blast Machoke in the face with Psyshock, knocking the hideous Fighting type out instantly. Coughing and gasping for breath, Ember staggered back over to the bar and shoved it in the way of the window, blocking off the last of the extra entrances.
Turning around, Ember saw the Pidgeot that had missed her earlier fly in through the front entrance, and in her moment of panic, she used Fire Blast. The move struck the bird on the side, thankfully not setting the cottage on fire. It was certainly a telling blow, though Pidgeot survived. Ember breathed a sigh of relief and ran back to the entrance, sending yet another pokemon reeling back with Psyshock.
As she fought the hordes of enemies and hoped they would eventually stop coming, Ember thought of a mother trapped in a cave, trying to defend her cubs from groups of poachers. The only difference was that Ember herself had nothing to fight for, at least nothing as important as that. The thought made her heart sink, though she continued to battle as though she still did have something left to fight for.
After a good ten more minutes of this, the wild pokemon finally stopped coming. At first, Ember though it was either a trick or that they were just taking time to recuperate, but the attacks didn't resume for a long time. After what seemed like an eternity, Ember heard Ferrothorn's booming voice outside through the front entrance.
"Alright, West Side lackey," he bellowed. "It looks like Houndoom trained you well enough. But there's still nowhere to go, and we'll just bide our time out here until you come out or die of starvation. We'll have lookouts posted everywhere, and we'll surround the house on all sides. You might as well give up!"
Now that she had a moment of respite, Ember took the time to catch her breath and ponder the words of her foe. It still stung that she was being recognized as a member of the murderous gang, and even more so that she was about to die like one. She would be remembered as just another West Side agent who received their justice after so many deaths. Correction: she wouldn't be remembered at all.
She had so much red in her past thanks to Houndoom and Arcanine that she began to think that maybe she did deserve her fate. Maybe she should just give up the useless fight while she still could. She couldn't keep fending off so many pokemon without killing them, and she would eventually run out of Power Points and items that replenished them. There was no way out. All she was doing now was causing even more pain and needless fighting.
As the sunlight faded behind the clouds outside and darkened the cottage living room even further as though some great candle had gone out, Ember finally realized what she had to do.
Skarmory watched as two Poliwrath and a Hariyama carried the last of their unconscious friends away from the old cottage. It was absurd to waste this much time and effort to pursue a single pokemon that hadn't even done them any harm, but since everyone wanted the Ninetails dead, there was no other way to quell the situation than to finish the job, as distasteful as it was to him. All that was left to do now was to wait for another opening to attack.
"That house might as well be a Poke Ball with how well we've got her trapped," Ferrothorn said, sounding quite pleased with himself. "Time for another wave of attack."
"I think that would be a little premature," Skarmory replied.
Ferrothorn turned to him. "Oh? And what do you think we should do?"
Skarmory rolled his eyes. "What we should do is leave this alone and go back home. But since you mean strategically, I think it would be wise to wait a while longer and starve her out."
"Are you kidding?" Ferrothorn scoffed. "We outnumber her thirty-to-one, and you want to waste that much time starving her out? Not a chance. We're attacking again, and we're attacking now."
Skarmory let out a long sigh. The Ninetails would simply hold the front entrance and drive them back again, but he knew there was no use pointing that out. Once Ferrothorn had made up his mind about something, there was no changing it, especially when it came to the gangs.
"Everyone, prepare for another attack!" Ferrothorn called. "Move in slowly on the—"
"That won't be necessary."
Startled, everyone turned toward the new speaker. Skarmory could hardly believe his weary, aching eyes. The Ninetails was standing on the front porch of the house in the sunlight, facing their group of pokemon with a look of resignation in her eyes that could only be seen in a pokemon that had lost all hope. The eight-tailed Fire pokemon calmly and slowly walked away from the house and stopped in the middle of the circle of wild pokemon, facing him and Ferrothorn. The other pokemon were too stunned to even attack her.
"Uh…so! Giving up, eh?" Ferrothorn said triumphantly, recovering from his moment of stupor.
"Yes, I surrender," she replied evenly, her eyes not yet rising to meet his. "I'm done fighting you."
Ferrothorn looked around at his companions. "Alright, everyone, she's all yours. Kill the Ninetails."
For the first time, her eyes left the ground and fixed on him.
"My name is Ember," she said firmly.
"Oh, how cute!" Ferrothorn chuckled. "Fine, Ember, I hope you like those last words, 'cause it's too late for anything else now. Everyone, kill—"
"Tempest, for God's sake, stop this now," Skarmory interjected angrily. "You can't murder a defenseless prisoner!"
Ferrothorn whirled on him. "And why not? You heard her! She helped Houndoom in the gang wars. How many helpless pokemon did they murder?"
Skarmory shook his head. "If we do the same, how are we any different than them?"
Ferrothorn faltered briefly. "Err—well, we're doing it for the right reasons…"
"Oh, so it's okay to kill as long as we think it's right? Look, if she were really our enemy, why would she have given up when she was in a perfect position to hold us off for days, maybe even weeks? She never lied about her intentions, nor did she attack us until we attacked her. I think we should at least her out before we commit murder, don't you?"
"Maybe you think that's enough to prove her innocence, but I need a bit more evidence than that," Ferrothorn spat. "What makes you think she can be trusted just because she didn't strike first?"
Skarmory briefly glanced at Ember, then back to Ferrothorn. "How many of our comrades are dead?"
Ferrothorn hesitated. "What are you talking about?"
"How many of us did she kill during that chase? None. She could have killed you right after you hit her with that first Gyro Ball. All it would have taken was one well-placed Fire Blast, and you'd be dead now. But instead, she spared you. Throughout that entire battle, she was doing everything she could to avoid taking a single life. Now, tell me, why would a West Side agent work so hard to avoid killing their enemies?"
For the first time in as far back as Skarmory could remember, Ferrothorn didn't reply right away. The eyes of all the other pokemon were on him now, and he eventually withered under their gaze.
"Oh, all right," he muttered. "Let's hear what this wretch has to say for herself."
All eyes fell on Ember now. She briefly thanked Skarmory with her eyes before facing the pokemon who would either be her captors, or her executioners.
"I…I won't deny that I worked for Houndoom in the past," she began. "I was forced to, but that doesn't excuse the things I did while under his rule. I've made terrible mistakes, choices that I think I'll never live to stop regretting. I won't try to convince you that I'm some kind of martyred, misunderstood saint who never had a say in the matter. I did what I did, and that's that.
"But I don't want that to be all that I am. I've stolen in the past, but I don't want to be a thief. I've lied in the past, but I don't want to be a liar. And I've killed in the past, but I don't want to be a killer. Houndoom and his gangs revolt me to the core, and I'd rather die and spent an eternity in hell than serve him and his butchers willingly.
"If I am still a West Side agent at heart, than go ahead and kill me; you'd be doing me a favor. But I'll never go back to Houndoom, and I won't keep fighting you to save my own neck. I'm tired of running from who I am and making others get hurt for my own mistakes. But I swear that I never want to harm any of you, or the beautiful world you live in that I can't ever be a true part of again."
There was a long moment of silence as Ember awaited the judgment of her captors. The twenty-odd pokemon looked back and forth at each other, as if mulling over who should speak, if anyone. Finally, the one Machoke in their group—who had just reawakened a few minutes prior-stepped forward.
"I dunno too much about how it was with her and the West Side, but it sounds like she at least deserves some kinda' second chance," he said, his gravelly voice resounding over the mutterings of the others.
"Doesn't everyone?" a Poliwrath chimed in. "Who are we to go around in a mob making judgements about people we don't even know?"
The other nearby pokemon generally muttered their assent. Skarmory turned to Ferrothorn.
"Well, old friend, is your final word still unchanged?" he asked.
Ferrothorn briefly squeezed his eyes shut before grudgingly looking up at him.
"I still don't know how I feel about this," he murmured, though there was less venom behind his tone than before. "How can anyone who worked for Houndoom be trusted?"
"Don't forget, Tempest, you used to be owned by a pokemon trainer before we met you here," Skarmory replied evenly. "For decades, trainers have caused more destruction and suffering than both of the gangs combined, but that doesn't mean that's who you are."
Ferrothorn briefly groped for a sharp comeback, but he couldn't seem to think of one. Finally, he let out a long sigh of resignation as well.
"Let he who is sinless cast the first stone, eh?" he chuckled humorlessly. "Okay, okay, you win. But I'm keeping my eye on her from now on. One slip up, and I'll hunt her down and finish the job myself."
Ferrothorn briefly glanced around at the rest of their group, his old fervor beginning to rise.
"What are you all standing around here gawking at?! Get moving! We're clearing out of here!"
Skarmory chuckled to himself. Ferrothorn always, always had to get the last word, even when giving up on a point. The other pokemon began to fall in behind him, soon disappearing back into the forest. Skarmory was about to follow them, but he suddenly remembered something he needed to do first. He flew over to Ember, who was wiping something from her eyes.
"That was incredibly brave of you, laying your deeds bare and preparing to own up to them."
Ember laughed a little. "I was sure you guys were gonna kill me back there. Thanks for sticking up for me. I'll try to be worthy of your trust."
Skarmory nodded. "You know, things don't have to be that way."
"Huh? What?"
"What you said before, that you could never be part of our world again," he clarified. "I assume you're referring to the wild, to all that's still untarnished in nature. Perhaps you can still find a place in it."
Before she could reply, he craned his head back and removed the small, blue satchel from his spearhead-like tail, withdrawing a tiny, golden yellow ribbon and setting it before her.
"Most pokemon in our group carry that type of ribbon," he told her. "We're actually a fairly well-known group that tries to help pokemon who are new to the wild or struggling to find a home. All around the region, other wild pokemon will recognize you for it, so you'll have safe passage wherever you go. As long as you don't go flaunting your ability or your former status, you won't be thought of as a West Side agent, former or no. Like I said, you can still have a place in the wild, if you want it."
Ember eyed the ribbon in wonder. "You mean you can just give me this?"
"As co-leader of the group, I can give it to whoever I want," Skarmory explained, smiling. "I'm making you an honorary member for your bravery today. And trust me, nothing is braver than facing your past sins. Besides, there's no rule in you picking up the ribbon if I happen to drop it somewhere by accident."
With that, Skarmory flew off to rejoin the group. He would no-doubt be yelled at by Ferrothorn later for being late, and even more so for what he just did. Still, what Ferrothorn didn't know wouldn't hurt him, he thought with a smile.
Back at the cottage, Ember watched Skarmory leave, then picked up the ribbon and tied it around her neck right next to her Shell Bell. She felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She knew her crimes wouldn't simply go away over time, but Skarmory was right; at least she didn't have to let them weigh her down and crush her.
With that, Ember left the route as well, feeling truly at home once again, even if it was for a short time only.
"Ugh…you little…stupid…get...on already!"
After another futile, frustrating minute of trying to sling it around his body, Absol angrily tossed his new trainer bag to the ground. He had known that male and female humans had different types of trainer bags, and he'd also known it might be harder to wear it and carry it around, but he hadn't known how much harder it would be, until now.
"How do they even wear these things…?" he muttered.
Instead of the two detachable straps of a backpack, this new bag had a single strap that apparently went somewhere around the shoulder, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out how to make it work. Why would they even design bags like this? Once it was loaded with supplies, lugging it over one shoulder for an entire journey—one that would undoubtedly involve extremely taxing activities like rock climbing and hiking—would grow so tiring as to be ridiculous.
Absol sighed to himself, deciding to at least look through the contents of the bag first before trying in vain to wear it again. There were a few key items like bicycles and Poke Radars, of course, though he had no idea how to use them, nor would they be of any help on the journey. There was also a map of the region, thankfully, though he would look at it in a minute; his top priority was in the bag compartment beneath it.
Finally, Absol found what he was looking for. He let out a sigh of relief as he pulled the several dozen healing items out of the bag, sorting them out to find the best ones for the job. He hadn't been fully healed since his battle with Houndoom, and now he could finally restore his health and strength after so many arduous fights.
Absol found a Max Potion and an Elixir, which would be more than enough. One at a time, he uncapped the bottles and drank them down. He was almost instantly refreshed as the life-saving (if hideously bitter) liquids washed through his system, closing the major wounds and renewing his strength. He felt like he could smash through Rypherior's mountain with his bare claws.
Now, on to the map.
Absol pulled out and unrolled the Town Map, scanning it several times. He knew that Ember probably wouldn't be visiting any of the towns they'd already been to, which eliminated almost every spot in the region. Almost. There was still one last place to look, one more that Ember could search for her old master: the National Pokemon Championship Tournament.
This particular trainer had marked the location of the NPCT on this map in red, meaning that she would probably be participating once this business with the East Side remnants was done. If Rose was entering the tournament, Ember would be heading there was well, so he just had to go there first and meet up with her, and all would be well. The new NPCT was near the region's Battle Tower, so he'd have to go find the poor HM slave Tropius to fly him there, but that wouldn't be a problem.
Just as Absol was about to roll the map back up and put it away, he remembered something vital. When he'd last spoken with Ember, he had advised her to go to Umbra's town, since there was plenty of food, shelter, and almost total safety from humans and remnants of the gangs alike. Would she have taken his advice and gone there? Or was she still adamant that her old master was somehow different than other competitive trainers?
At this point, there was simply no way to know. He so wanted to have faith in Ember, and that she would make the right choice and seek out those who truly cared for her, but she had only been in the wild for one year. A long and life-changing year, but a year nonetheless. She had been with her trainer since birth, and she'd been so heavily trained and broken every day until the moment Rose released her that Absol feared she was still her master's slave at heart. Damn the humans. Why do they always have to destroy spirit and free will in favor of sport?
Still, whatever decision Ember made in the end, he would never find her in time if he didn't hurry. He quickly stuffed the map and healing items back in the bag and once again tried to sling it over his shoulder. Perhaps if he used his horn, he could—
KABLAAM!
Absol was pounded backward by the shockwaves of a deafening blast right next to him. Jagged pieces of earth and stone dug into his sides, giving him a sharp, stinging pain like hot coals, an agony he was no stranger to. He instinctively whirled to face his attacker, seeing a huge, black Charizard flying at him. There was also a trainer riding on top of the fire dragon; he recognized her as the human he'd stolen the bag from.
Great, he thought. Just great. Over one lousy, badly designed bag. Would your dragon like me fried or filet?
After dodging another Flamethrower, Absol fired a Stone Edge at Charizard. Sadly, it seemed that the starter wasn't on a competitive trainer's team for nothing; the winged beast easily dove out of the way long before the rock missiles connected. The trainer leapt off of Charizard's back and landed on the grass, watching the battle from afar. At least she didn't have her bag, or Absol would be ducking Ultra Balls as well.
Charizard was holding a Life Orb in his left claw, an ideal held item for such a heavy hitter. One direct hit from him would be like being crushed by a tsunami. Absol rushed behind a large rock as Charizard used another Flamethrower, sending a cloud of smoke and embers spiraling into the sky. Absol quickly leapt away from the rock as the devastating Fire attack melted the stone into a puddle.
Absol decided against another Stone Edge, since it was the obvious choice and therefor too predictable and easy for Charizard to avoid again. Instead, he tried a Psycho Cut, hoping for a critical hit. Sadly, his luck seemed to have gone on a vacation to Unova, since Charizard shrugged off the blow like it was nothing.
As Charizard prepared another attack, Absol considered intercepting it with Sucker Punch, but that would bring him too close to Charizard for comfort, and he couldn't afford to take even a single hit from this opponent. The black dragon opted to use the slightly less accurate but infinitely more deadly Focus Blast.
As the ball of light flew at him, Absol was about to jump away, but he stopped in that split second when he saw that Charizard had known he would try that. The crafty devil had aimed exactly where Absol would have tried to dodge, and in another second he'd have been deader than Hoenn Battle Tents. He forced himself to remain perfectly still, the Focus Blast grazing his side as it flew past him and shattered several trees into splinters behind him.
Absol briefly debated whether to try for another Stone Edge, but he knew Charizard would still dodge the blow with no trouble. However, a solution presented itself in the form of the human giving him orders. Absol turned toward Charizard's trainer, who was standing right in the middle of the plains, totally exposed. He fired the Stone Edge at her instead, knowing the only possible outcome. It was a cruel tactic, but this was life and death.
As predicted, Charizard flew in front of her and shielded her from the attack. As the Stone Edge collided with the dragon and sent him careening backwards under the move's weight and force, Absol was sure he had won. However, after a long moment of silence, Charizard let out a low groan, slowly rising to his feet. His black scales seemed to absorb the red from his wounds, though they were still clearly there, and he was beyond badly damaged. However, his eyes still showed no weakness, and he stood his ground firmly and evenly.
Absol couldn't help taking a moment to look in awe at the incredible pokemon before him. He knew it was a foolish thing to do, but he was too awestruck to resist.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"A competitive pokemon," Charizard replied. "A tool for battle trained from birth to destroy others of my kind, I am a victim of one atrocity, and a perpetrator of another. I have no soul, only my next commands. I have companions, but I can never have friends. I must defeat all those whom my master orders me to. I am truly sorry, but it must be so."
Before Absol could reply, Charizard lunged at him at speed that rivaled the lightning in the distance. As Absol flinched and prepared himself for a physical attack, Charizard instead torched him with Flamethrower. A vortex of heat, pain, torment, and noise engulfed Absol, and he didn't even realize he was in the air until he crashed to the ground in a heap.
As the fire around him finally died, Absol tried to get up, but a ruthless jolt of pain made him regret even daring to move. The attack had hurt more than Houndoom's Heat Wave, or any other Fire attack he'd ever been hit with. He could barely even breathe without feeling a rush of agony. He vaguely saw Charizard approaching him, no-doubt for the killing blow.
Absol desperately looked around, hoping there was some other way to cheat death. There was no way he could reach cover, and nowhere for him to hide. And yet…
There it was. Absol saw his new trainer bag just a few feet in front of him next to one of the fallen trees Charizard had destroyed, no-doubt knocked there by the blast from before. If he could just reach the strap lying on the ground…he heard Charizard's deep, unsteady breathing as he struggled with the pain of his own wounds, though it wasn't enough to stop him. Any minute now, Absol would be fried to death or jammed into an Ultra Ball if he couldn't reach that accursed bag.
His claw grazed the edge of the strap as he reached for it. He tried to wriggle his body forward without Charizard noticing, though he only got a few inches closer to the prize. He stretched his arm as far as it would go, trying to ignore the dizzying suffering in his joints screaming at him to stop moving. How irritating it was that the body would do everything in its power to make him stop trying to save it.
A heavy thud told him that Charizard was only a few feet away. In a near panic, Absol pushed himself even further and made one last desperate attempt to grab the bag. At last, he reached the strap and grasped it…
Damn it all! The strap of the bag was partly wedged under the bark of the fallen tree, and it resisted his attempts to reach it. He heard the sizzle of flames welling up in Charizard's throat, and he knew he had only seconds. He launched one last Psycho Cut, his eyes watering as a new level of pain clawed at him for it. However, the move freed the bag, and Absol yanked it to him, its contents spilling onto the ground.
Absol finally saw what he was looking for and grabbed it, hearing Charizard roar and prepare to finish him.
Charizard reared back, ready to fire.
Absol hurled the item at him.
The Ultra Ball caught Charizard in its beam, pulling him inside as the flames in his throat dissipated. The dragon let out a grunt of surprise before vanishing inside the capsule.
It would be only seconds before Charizard broke out of the ball or his trainer picked it up and sent him back out. Absol grabbed a Hyper Potion, quickly guzzling down the contents. It would have to do. With what strength was restored to him, he leapt to his feet, grabbing the bag in his teeth and making a run for it.
Behind him, he heard Charizard's trainer shouting angrily, followed by the clack-hiss of an Ultra Ball activating. Absol knew Rose would catch up to him unless he stalled her somehow. Only one way came to mind. A small lake soon came into view up ahead. Perfect. Absol ran toward it, stopping at the edge of the water. He had to give Rose something else to do so he could escape.
Absol removed the map from the pack, and then tossed the trainer bag into the water.
With that, he ran for the nearest grove for cover, knowing that Charizard's trainer would have to let him go and try to grab the bag before it sank out of sight. The map was all he needed from that awful bag anyway.
Once he was certain the human was no longer following him, Absol took a moment to catch his breath, and then went on his way. At least he'd managed to secure a detailed map of the region, which was quite a prize indeed. It almost made the whole endeavor worth it.
Almost.
Ember's heart sank at the sight of the last city in the region. She'd expected multitudes of people roaming the streets, modern buildings and Gyms, and maybe even some other attractions like Contest halls or a new Battle Tower. But what she'd found was yet another totally abandoned city. Why? Why did nearly every town in this entire region have to be abandoned?
Ember slowly walked out into the town square, looking around for any signs of civilization. She knew it was foolish to look for humans, but she only wanted some clue as to Rose's whereabouts. She had come so far in her journey and faced so many gruesome trials…it couldn't all be for nothing. She'd already lost Absol. She couldn't lose Rose too, and she had to know if Charizard was all right.
Nearby stood several old signs near shops and tall buildings. One of the sign posts was at the entrance to town, undoubtedly bearing the name of the city. She tried to read it, but it was too smudged and faded to make out any of the syllables clearly. She could only tell that it said something about beaches or sunshine or something like that. Some of the other signs were more legible, but they told her nothing of any importance.
Despite the town being deserted, Ember could tell it was once an impressive city. There were several large bridges that made pathways between the cliffs, and most of the buildings were constructed on the solid rock, usually quite firmly placed. Despite the powerful and unobstructed sunlight in the city, there were no solar panels on any of the houses, meaning that the town was probably run on electricity. A tall lighthouse stood at the edge of the coast, further backing that point.
Ember was about to turn and look elsewhere, when…Hold the phone, she thought. Is that a light up there?
She trotted to the top of the highest cliff in the city, having to cross one of the steel bridges to get there. From the better vantage point, she saw the top of the lighthouse more clearly. Sure enough, a single flickering light was shining from the top, not powering the lighthouse itself, but definitely using its electricity. Was there someone up there?
Considering there was nowhere else to look, it didn't take long for Ember to decide her next move. She carefully made her way along the rocky beach path, eventually reaching the base of the lighthouse. A few large, dusty crates blocked the entrance, so she quickly burned them away with Will-o-wisp and carefully stepped inside.
This lighthouse was far smaller than the one Cloyster had used as a base, and a single spiraling staircase led straight to the top. She briefly hesitated. If there was a trainer at the top, she was fairly confident she could handle them, unless they were a competitive trainer. Then again, why would a competitive trainer hang around at an abandoned town in an old lighthouse? The possibility of such danger seemed absurd and paranoid, so she shrugged it off and ran up the stairs, still remembering to keep quite in case of actual trouble.
Compared to all the running and jogging she had been doing for the past year, this climb was nothing, and she reached the top in minutes. The peak of the lighthouse had a beautiful view of the sea through the 360 degree glass windows. There were a few loose wires lying here and there on the metal floor, and Ember hoped that they wouldn't shock her.
She heard a faint grunting behind her and she turned toward the corner of the room. A yellow-and-black pokemon was sending electricity through a pair of metal antennas in its hands, apparently trying to power a large television set against the wall. Why would a TV be at the top of a lighthouse…? No matter, perhaps the pokemon knew something about the city and why it was in this state.
"Um…excuse me?" she began.
The pokemon jumped a little, turning to face her.
"What…what are you doing here?" she asked, probably surprised that anyone else would come to this town.
Now that she was facing her, Ember realized that the pokemon was a powerful Electric type, and quite possibly an East Side agent. She backed up a little, igniting her inner fire in case she needed to fight. The Electric pokemon saw the move and held up her hands nervously.
"Wait, wait!" she pleaded. "I know I don't exactly seem like your friendly neighborhood Spinarak, but I'm not with the East Side. At least, not anymore…I don't sound very convincing, do I?"
Ember was about to shoot back a sharp retort, but she realized that she'd said the exact same thing to an aggressor not two hours ago. I'm not with the West Side anymore, she'd pleaded desperately. Ember decided that if she'd been given a chance, she owed the same to this former East Side agent, whoever she was. Despite the potential danger, she lowered her guard.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I assumed the worst because of all I've been through, but I won't start trouble unless you do."
"Fair enough," the Electric pokemon replied, obviously relieved. "I know you could easily ask me the same thing, but what are you doing up here, anyway?"
"I was looking for someone, and I saw the light from below," Ember explained. "Sorry for startling you. I was actually hoping I could ask you about this city."
"You can see the light from below? Crud. But anyway, what's there to know about an abandoned town?"
Ember shrugged. "I don't know. How long has it been abandoned? Are there other pokemon like you here?"
"I'm the only one here, and I think the town's been abandoned for decades now."
"Oh. So, you're just looking for any food or items that may have been…"
Ember noticed with slight chagrin that she was staring intently at the tiny stub of her ninth tail that was left after Mienshao had cut off the rest.
"Uh, yeah, my tail, long story…" she mumbled.
"Ah," the Electric type said, smiling. "You're her, aren't you? Your name is Ember, right?"
Ember's eyes widened a little. "How do you know my name?"
"He talked about you a lot. The way he described you, I wouldn't have been surprised if you were a legendary pokemon, until I saw you for the first time back in Houndoom's town. You were unconscious, so you wouldn't remember me, of course…"
Ember unconsciously began to tense up again. This was starting to feel even weirder than before.
"What is that supposed to mean? Who are you?"
The former East Side agent smiled again. "You don't know me, but I've heard quite a bit about you. It's too bad you two were separated the whole time; I was hoping he'd get the chance to mention me. I'm Ampharos, but you can call me Kala. Nice to meet you."
Chapter 24: The Disaster Pokémon