Pokémon: Konoha Region

by Sand Fox

A remake of my original fanfic, Pokémon Konoha. Follow the journey of Pokemon trainers Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Hinata Hyuga as they start their adventures and travel through the Konoha Region, aiming to become Pokémon Masters! This story is set in the Pokémon world, using characters from the Naruto Manga.

12. Chapter 12: Hive of the Mad Queen

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Disclaimer

Let me just start out with the standard Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Pokémon, or any of the associated or mentioned franchises/companies, and I am not making a profit on this.

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Author's Note

Sigh, I am sorry this fic took so long to update. I have some dreadful news.

My father passed on since my last chapter was posted. I won't give the details regarding what happened, but the experience was painful and draining. As a Christian, I know this separation is only temporary, but there is still pain in it. In any case, I didn't feel like posting much anything on social media for a while, and I separated myself from it for a time. Now, I am feeling much better, and I am at peace with things. So now I can continue entertaining my faithful readers. Thank you all for your support. It really means much to me.

Question: I was thinking of adding Gaara to the story soon, when I was struck with an idea: what if Gaara was a girl? I usually dislike changing characters too much from cannon, but in this case, I noticed there aren't many girls in the cast that really give the boys a run for their money. Plenty of the girls are fun in their own right, but none of them were really meant to challenge the boys in outright combat. And I think Gaara's character would be interesting to see from a female perspective. So I'd like to know how my readers would feel about it. I haven't made any decisions yet, so things could swing either way.

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Review Response

Thank you everyone for your support. To keep things short so you can all get to reading, yes, I plan on including Hisuian Pokémon, along with any Pokémon that show up in the newest gen when it comes out. Your input is greatly appreciated, and I'll keep it in mind for future chapters.

And now, without further delay, the chapter you've been waiting months and months for!

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The Hero's Pokémon & Accomplishments:

Naruto Uzumaki:

Team Members: Kubo (Frogadier, male, Starter), Sora (Bagon, male), Kata (Riolu, male, Aura-trained)

**Sasuke's Shoto is currently traveling with Naruto as well

Badges & Awards: Antidote Badge

Sasuke Uchiha:

Team Members: Bayushi (Eevee, male, Shiny), Togashi (Charmeleon, male, Starter), Akodo (Shinx, male), Hitomi (Dewott, female, genetically altered), Shoto (Arctic Vulpix, genetically altered)**

**Sasuke's Shoto is currently traveling with Naruto as well

Badges & Awards: Antidote Badge

Sakura Haruno:

Team Members: Ochako (Chikorita, female, Starter), Tetsu (Metang, male*), Mina (Goomy, female)

**Sakura also has a Polteageist in her possession, but she does not consider it a member of her team.

Badges & Awards: Antidote Badge

Hinata Hyuga:

Team Members: Kikyo (Ralts, female, Starter, Shiny), Midoriya (Quilladin, male), Katsuki (Quilava, male, genetically altered)

**Hinata also has an unidentified egg in her possession; it is brown and rocklike, with a ring of orange bumps around it's middle.

Badges & Awards: Antidote Badge

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Pokémon: Konoha Region

Chapter 11

Sasuke & Sakura

Hive of the Mad Queen

A shadow streaked through the forest, barely a flicker against the witching hour's darkness. Only the occasional glint of moonlight on his horns or the flash of his teeth made the beast visible as he swiftly cut through the underbrush.

All at once, the Houndoom came to a stop, his breath heavy and labored. His instincts were telling him to keep moving.

Moving kept you alive. Staying still didn't.

For the last few days, running had been his whole existence. It was all survival instinct. He had slept sparingly, in a half-awake state, ready to bolt the moment his pursuers (whatever they were) caught up with him. Eating had been a rarer occurrence, and it had not been a pleasant experience. At first, every time he tried forcing food down his gullet, his stomach turned and heaved until he puked it back up. After a while, he could keep food down, but nothing settled his churning gut. His whole body was aching, rallying its last reserves to just keep him standing, but the Houndoom's instincts told him to continue moving.

Back when this all started, the Houndoom tried thinking about why he was running, or what he was running from. But he quickly gave that up. His brain was a hot, buzzing mess of sparks and pain. Every time he attempted to puzzle a thought more complex than 'keep moving', the Houndoom's skull started to split with flashing headaches.

Worse yet, for a while, his whole world had been a haze of red rage. Anytime he came across something that moved (and a few things that didn't), he had felt the uncontrollable urge to kill it.

Now the Houndoom forced himself to stop and start thinking, even if it still gave him a headache. Great pains and effort had been made to carry the brain this far, it was time it started doing some work.

He couldn't keep going. Not like this. He needed to rest. He needed food (and to keep it down after eating it). And he needed to ask himself some questions.

He'd start with the questions, then work on food, and then get some sleep. Start with the hard stuff, and then reward himself with the easy steps last.

First things first: Who was he?

…nope, no answers there. Just more splitting pains, like an axe in his head.

Okay, moving on: Why was he running?

That was easy, the Houndoom realized. Things might have been in a haze for a while, but he knew things had been attacking him, and he had attacked them back. So something was angry with him, or maybe he'd been angry at it, but now apparently it was after him. The Houndoom couldn't visualize the situation in more complex terms, so he quickly decided to keep clear of anything that could potentially bash his skull in. Or at least he'd do that until he got some food and rest; maybe after that, things would be clearer?

Speaking of which, the Houndoom's head wasn't hurting as much. Thoughts were just annoying buzzes in his head, not hammers on his skull. Possibly, the various other pains wracking his body had decided it was their turn to be noticed and told the brain to stop hogging all his attention. Now that he'd stopped moving, his muscles were singing a symphony of complaints and cramps while his stomach was trying to tie itself into a knot. And his throat was sore and ragged, though he wasn't sure why.

Well, rest would help his muscles, and maybe food would-

Ugh, the thought of food made the Houndoom break out in a fit retching. However, in order to spew your stomach's contents, your stomach first needed content to spew; an unfair case of cause-and-effect that left the Houndoom dry-heaving on his side.

It was then that he realized he was so sick with starvation and exhaustion that his body was at the stage where it didn't want to eat. Not good.

The Houndoom's limited mental activity bounced about in his head, and he was struck with an idea: Pecha berries. His father had taught him that those were good for settling your stomach when you were sick-

-A-HA!

His father! The Houndoom remembered that…sorta. At least that it happened. He couldn't remember exactly when, or why, or what his father looked like, but at least it was a start. Maybe after the annoying buzzing in his head was gone, things would be clearer?

Sniffing the air deeply, the Houndoom wandered off, searching for a berry patch. The forest was rich with greenery, and before long, he was following a scent trail he hoped would lead him to food.

There was another, fainter scent in the air. The Houndoom wasn't sure what it was, but his confused mind couldn't ignore it. There was something familiar and comforting about it. The smell nagged at him, but with his brain still a mess of sparks and haze, it couldn't do much more than annoy him. Perhaps after he'd eaten and rested, the Houndoom might remember why it was so important…

-0o0o0-

…Later, Elsewhere…

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The daybreak air was bitter cold, with a heavy fog hanging low and thick. And the forest was deathly quiet, even for the early hour. The only noise came from Sasuke, Sakura, or their Pokémon as they packed up camp. Even then, the sounds they made seemed muted, as if the air itself was smothering them

"I don't like this," Sasuke said, speaking with a low, quiet voice. Not quite a whisper, but far from his normal tone. "Last time we were in a fog like this, we ended up fighting a crazy Espurr and an Aura-using Riolu, not to mention we ended up being stalked by that damn teapot ghost."

"Ah, don't be superstitious, Sasuke," Sakura said, trying to sound playful. "We went to the known hangout of Ghost-types. Of course freaky stuff was going to happen! The fog was just coincidence. It had nothing to do with anything."

"Pfui," Sasuke spat. "You misunderstand: the fog provides easy cover for predators and ambushes. Meaning there are higher odds we'll be attacked when we least expect it."

From his shoulder, Bayushi nodded solemnly.

Everyone suddenly had the urge to look over their shoulders, as if expecting Sasuke's words to summon an attacker. Luckily, nothing of the sort happened.

They went back to packing up their camp, though Sasuke noticed with satisfaction that Sakura was being more cautious now, looking over her shoulder and listening carefully whenever there was an unexpected noise.

Using a compass, the group made their way back to the Pokécenter they had left the day before, with their teams out, marching besides them (along the Mythical Ponyta). It was a slow trek, as the fog remained heavy and thick, and they had to navigate it cautiously. Once, Sakura had tripped over a thick root, though Sasuke had been nearby and caught her.

After over an hour of travel, during which it seemed the fog only worsened, Sasuke called them to a halt. Gratefully, Sakura set her backpack down and took a rest. The fog was oppressively cold, and she was grateful to have packed a thick sweater.

"We're not even half as far as we should be," Sasuke announced, checking their progress on his Pokénav. "If the fog doesn't clear up, we won't make it back to the Pokécenter before nightfall."

"Vee," Bayushi agreed, hopping up to Sasuke's shoulder and looking at the 'nav.

From the ground, Akodo scoffed. He doubted that Bayushi even knew what their trainer was talking about. The Shinx rolled his eyes and looked off into the fog…and then gasped, eyes flashing as he arched his back, growling.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, following the Shinx's gaze.

His question was answered when a voice called out from somewhere beyond their sight.

"Hey, is someone there?"

The voice was confident and belonged to an adolescent- and Sasuke recognized it.

A figure broke through the swirling mists, followed by a second one. Cross and his Lycanroc. When Cross saw Sasuke, he gave a nasty Sharpedo-toothed smile.

"Sasuke Uchiha. Thought you ran off yesterday before we could battle," Cross said.

Sasuke scowled while Sakura turned to him and asked, "Uh, do you two know each other?"

However, a high-pitched squeal of delight cut off Sasuke before he could answer.

"CHIIII!" Ochako cried, suddenly rushing to Cross and snuggling up to his leg with open affection.

"What the-?!" Cross stammered, nearly falling backwards. His eyes widened in shock and recognition as he looked down at Ochako.

The Chikorita in turn beamed up at the boy, rubbing up against his leg and crying out in joy.

Everyone else reacted in confusion at Ochako's behavior, save for Sakura, who remembered that her poor Chikorita had a trainer before her.

A trainer who had abandoned her.

"Could he be-?" she asked aloud.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, being unaware of Ochako's past.

Cross was staring down at Ochako, a slight glare on his face, while the Chikorita continued to coo affectionately. "Ochako? Is that you?" he asked coldly.

"Chika!" Ochako cheered, looking up at him with big eyes.

"You're her original trainer?!" Sakura finally demanded.

"Original trainer?" Sasuke asked, looking over at Sakura as he mentally pieced things together.

Sakura ignored him and went on. "You abandoned her! Left her starving and alone! How could you?!"

Cross's eyes narrowed venomously at Sakura, then, without looking down, he lifted his leg and shook Ochako off.

She stumbled backwards, looking up at her former trainer with an expression of hurt and confusion.

Sakura took in a sharp breath and started to dart towards the boy, but Sasuke's hand shot out, while at the same time, Cross's Lycanroc moved next to his trainer, ready to jump between him and any attacker.

Togashi had helped Ochako up and was resting a claw on her shoulder comfortingly. The Chikorita, however, was only gazing up at Cross, fighting back her tears.

"You heartless devil!" Sakura hissed, trying to move past Sasuke. Angry, hot tears were forming in her eyes. "When I found Ochako, she was hurt, malnourished, and lost! How could you leave her like that?! You miserable, low-life, son-of-coward!"

Instantaneously, Cross's face darkened dangerously. Murder flickered across his eyes, and his hand was on a Pokéball at his belt before he could help it. As quickly as he had gotten angry, Cross mastered himself. He paused, fingers clamped on the ball like iron, before he suddenly untensed, releasing it from his grip. "I'd be careful insulting a man's father if I were you," he said, his voice low and threatening.

Sakura, too angry to think, had opened her mouth to say something worse, though luckily for her, Sasuke realized it and interpreted quickly.

"You have some explaining to do," Sasuke said firmly, meeting Cross's glare with his own.

The redhead scoffed and held out his fist.

"One-" he raised his thumb, as if counting the number off, before using it to point to himself, "I don't have to explain Tauros-crap to you. My life, my choices, my business. If I choose to release one of my Pokémon, I'm not obligated to explain why to anyone. All I have to do is follow the legal procedure. Which brings me to point two-"

He folded his thumb back down and extended his index finger as he said 'two' and used it to point at Ochako. "-When I released her, I did so all according to all the rules and standards of the Konoha League. I released her inside a qualified Pokémon Center, with the help of a staff member, and left her in their care. If anything your girlfriend says about Ochako being lost in the wild and starving is true, then that's not my fault. I don't know how she ended up like that-"

"She ran off to find you, obviously, you idiot!" Sakura spat.

"-but it isn't my fault," Cross continued coldly, ignoring Sakura. "If Ochako couldn't accept I didn't want her anymore, that's no concern of mine."

This was the final crack in the floodgates for Ochako. Wailing piteously, the heartbroken Chikorita ripped away from Togashi and fled from the scene. Not waiting for his trainer to give him an order, Togashi chased after her without a glance back. The two vanished in the fog in an instant. Meanwhile, the sound of Ochako's tears, combined with the emotional storm and hard words between the humans was just too much for little Mina, who started crying herself, which in turn caused the Mythical Ponyta to panic and cry, her Psychic-empathy working against her.

For a moment, Sakura struggled and floundered, first instinctively trying to bolt after Ochako, then stopping to try and sooth Mina, then moving towards the panicked Ponyta, and finally looking over at Sasuke and Cross. Sasuke rescued her by putting a hand to her shoulder, indicating that Togashi would keep an eye on Ochako for now, before moving over to the Ponyta to make her calm down before she bolted in her panicked state.

Silently thanking Sasuke, Sakura turned back to Cross, who's expression had become scornful and cruel the moment Ochako had burst into tears.

"…you are going to apologize for what you've done," Sakura ordered in a threatening way, talking over Mina's whimpering.

Cross looked almost amused. "Tend to your brat," he said, motioning at Mina, before starting to turn and walk away.

"Don't you ignore her!" Sasuke said, dashing out in front of Cross and cutting him off.

Cross took a step back, surprised and insulted. But he regained his composure, moving so that he could see both Sakura and Sasuke. He raised his fist as before, putting down his index finger. "Yeah, as for point three-" he put down his index finger and raised his middle finger, flipping them off "-I'm not sorry and I'm not apologizing. If you've got a problem with that, suck it. I. Don't. Care. Now," he looked specifically at Sasuke, "we done here? Or are you still looking for a fight?"

Sasuke bristled at Cross's challenge. At his feet, Bayushi hissed angrily and puffed out his fur.

Sasuke's hindbrain was telling him to attack; to hell with battles! He wanted to launch himself at Cross and beat that arrogant smirk right off his face. However, his forebrain was reminding him of all the annoying reasons he shouldn't try that, from little things like murder being illegal and shunned in most societies, to the not-so-little things like how Cross's Lycanroc would rip his throat out the second Sasuke laid a finger on Cross.

Sasuke noticed movement in his peripheral vison. Sakura was moving forward angrily, and Sasuke was reminded he had to be the responsible one right now. Sasuke quickly moved between her and Cross before anything could happen.

"We don't care what you do," he said, quickly grabbing Sakura and turning her in the direction Ochako ran off. "We have more important things to do than spend time with you."

Cross let out a disdainful chuckle as Sasuke led Sakura off, with their Pokémon following. Luckily, once reminded of Ochako's flight, she shifted gears and ran off to find her heartbroken Pokémon.

-0o0o0-

Togashi had found Ochako not too far off, strewn across the forest floor with her face pushed into the dirt to try and muffle her sobs.

The Charmeleon, having expected for the Chikorita to continue running for some time, had to go from running at full speed to an awkward, sudden stop that left him reeling to keep his balance. He failed and hit the earth face-first before flipping over onto his back with a painful thud.

Togashi groaned as he raised a claw to his stingingT face. Eeyep, he had scrapped it, and he could feel a pain in his back, indicating he had landed on a rock. Ochako's face came into view, though Togashi could only recognize it as Ochako's face because of the leaf on her head and her characteristic tealeaf scent. The face itself was covered in mud after Ochako tried to suppress her sobbing by pressing her face into the ground.

"[W-What happened?]" she asked, voice still shaky. "[Are you okay?]"

"[Well, I've just used my face to polish the ground, and I'm pretty sure I've got a rock stuck up my backside, but otherwise, I'm fantastic,]" Togashi explained in a deadpan tone.

"[Here, let me help,]" Ochako said, administering a small pulse of healing power to his scuffed-up face before helping the Chameleon to his feet.

"[Thanks. Uh, you got a, uh, a little something there,]" Togashi said hesitantly, pantomiming as if she only had a small smudge on her face.

"[I must look awful,]" Ochako said, hanging her head.

"[Yeah, you do,]" Togashi admitted, shrugging. Then he realized this was the wrong thing to say and added, "[But that's to be expected after pushing your face in the mud. Besides, it doesn't really matter. You are you, and a little dirt won't change that.]"

The words felt cliché when he said them, and Togashi saw Ochako wasn't feeling any better. He had to try something else. "[I mean, you are likable and talented the way you are?]" he suggested, feeling increasingly awkward.

On one hand, Ochako's expression was no longer despondent. On the other one, it was because she now sported a look of uneasy confusion.

Togashi sighed. "[…perhaps I should just help you get cleaned up?]"

Togashi did his best to get the dirt off her, careful not to get any of it in her eyes. It proved difficult, since they didn't have any water to work with, but at least Ochako didn't have to walk around feeling like her face was caked in plaster.

"[…thank you for doing your best to make me feel better,]" Ochako said when they were finished. She was having trouble meeting his eyes.

"[I'm sorry for botching everything that comes out of my mouth,]" Togashi responded evenly. "[I speak with actions, not with words. Shooting flames with accuracy and intensity is easy. Emotions…are hard. I guess I take after my trainer?]" He looked down at his claws. "[Oh sure, playing referee between Bayushi and Akodo is easy. I just have to tell them not to make trouble and bash their heads together. That's not really talking, that's giving orders- aaaaand I'm talking about myself, instead of helping you with your problems,]" Togashi sighed, slouching his shoulders. "[I…am bad at this.]"

"[No, you are being sweet and sincere,]" Ochako reassured him, taking his claw in her vine. She gave it a squeeze. "[I am feeling better, really.]"

Togashi considered for a moment, deciding to think before speaking. "[Perhaps you would like to talk about what happened with Cross? Why he…let you go?]" he asked hesitantly.

Ochako took in a sharp breath.

"[Or not- Or not!]" Togashi said quickly, waving his claws.

"[No, it is okay,]" the Chikorita said quickly, putting a vine on his shoulder reassuringly. "[You did nothing wrong. It's just…it's just embarrassing. The whole thing. I feel like such a fool.]" A tremble in her voice indicated that she was approaching tears, but Ochako mastered herself.

Before the conversation could go on, Sakura and Sasuke walked onto the scene, their Pokémon (and the Mythical Ponyta) in tow.

"Ochako!" Sakura cried, rushing over and throwing an arm around her Chikorita (the other arm keeping hold of Mina). "Thank goodness we found you! I was afraid you and Togashi would be lost in the fog!" She hugged her closer. "Oh, that was just awful! I'm so sorry- you're covered in mud!" Sakura gasped, pulling back as she suddenly noticed. The front of her sweater was now dirtied with what Togashi couldn't clean off Ochako's face.

"Chi-ka?" Ochako managed bashfully.

"Charmeleon," Togashi said, trying to explain via pantomime what had happened and that they had gotten her as clean as possible, so it wasn't like it was their fault.

Sakura watched the elaborate charade for a few seconds before giving up and turning back to her Chikorita. "Okay, first, let's get you cleaned up-"

Water splashed down on Sakura and Ochako (and Mina too, technically). In a few seconds, the glugging downpour was reduced to a trickle. Tetsu floated down from above them, holding up Sakura's now empty canteen.

"METANG!" Tetsu intoned happily, which Sakura had long figured out translated to 'I'm helping!'.

"…thanks," Sakura said in a flat, unamused tone.

Tetsu let out a mechanical noise that was supposed to be a giggle and saluted his trainer proudly. Sakura had set her backpack down when they paused to rest earlier, and she had been so angry when they left, she hadn't thought to pick it back up. Thank goodness Tetsu had the presence of mind to grab it. And since he had Sakura's canteen within reach, as soon as he realized she wanted to clean Ochako off, he was more than happy to oblige. After all, he really did enjoy helping!

"I-If you really want to help, give us a blanket!" Sakura demanded. The bitter cold of the foggy morning had given the water in the canteen a matching chill, and now she, Ochako, and Mina were soaked.

"Take your sweater off. Togashi, turn up the heat," Sasuke said. He sighed, realizing this would be another delay. "I'll get a fire going and you can dry off."

It was not hard to find sticks in a forest. Akodo and Bayushi were competing to see who could bring the most back quickest. Hitomi, deciding she wanted to beat them both, had jumped up a tree and was just cutting branches off.

Meanwhile, Togashi had turned his tail into a miniature bonfire for the chilled girls, and the Mythical Ponyta had curled up around the three, trying to use her body warmth to heat them up faster. Surprisingly, that had been Tetsu's idea, who had suggested it after wrapping Sakura and her Pokémon up with the biggest blanket they had (he was still oblivious that his trainer was upset with him at all).

Sasuke tossed Sakura a spare jacket from his pack. "Here, put that on," he said brusquely. "I want to get going as soon as possible. The fog's giving us enough trouble."

Sakura blushed slightly and considered telling Sasuke she had jackets of her own, but then just smiled and put the one Sasuke had given her on.

Hehe, it was big on her, and she wondered if it smelled like him- Sakura hadn't actually ever notice how Sasuke smelled (she wasn't a creepy stalker, just a girl with a crush), and there was nothing special about how the jacket smelt that she noticed, but it was fun to pretend. Following that train of thought, Sakura pondered briefly if everyone had a unique smell, but it was too faint for anyone to notice. She recalled Kiba mentioning his family could ID people by scent (not their Pokémon, but the actual family members themselves!). And she noticed Naruto had a very good sense of smell, too. The blond could always find more berries than everyone else when they were tracking, and they were always ripper, too. Apparently, Naruto's grandfather took him camping a lot and taught him how to survive by his nose. Chuckling, Sakura suddenly imagined Naruto and Hinata exploring through the quarry, with Naruto crawling across the ground tracking a scent like a Growlithe, with Hinata following him in a coat and detective's hat.

"Goo-braba!" Mina cried out, struggling violently to get Sakura out of her daydream.

The warning came to late for Sakura to react- there was a fierce buzzing sound as the air trembled; something was closing in from behind-!

-CLANG-

The sound of solid metal slamming into much softer flesh drowned out the buzz as the air itself distorted from the force of the blow.

Sakura was able to turn around in time to see that Tetsu had sprang to action, dealing a mighty blow to a Beedrill attempting to dive-bomb her from behind. The punch had such force behind it that the Bug-type was hurled backwards, slamming into a tree and falling piteously to the floor, where it didn't stir.

"What the Houndoom-?!" Sakura began, but she was cut short by the thunderous uproar of insect wings. From seemingly nowhere, dozens of Beedrill and Combee had materialized all around. They were surround!

To make matters worse, the Mythical Ponyta reacted to the situation by letting out a terrified scream at the very sight of the Beedrill. She had been savaged by them just yesterday, and being surrounded by the killer bees left the poor Ponyta in a state of absolute panic. Quick as lightning, she was up from her sitting position and bucking wildly, going one direction only to be forced to turn and charge off in another as the Bug-types cut off her escape. And poor Sakura, who had been laying against the Ponyta before she went wild, was thrown to the ground and had to grab both Mina and Ochako and roll out of the way to avoid being trampled in her panic.

"We're under attack! Everyone, regroup!" Sasuke shouted, diving out of the way as a Beedrill swooped over him from above- luckily, it had been a feint and not a true attack.

At Sakura's order, Ochako lassoed the panicked Ponyta with her vines, and now Sakura attempted to quickly sooth her. However, a formation of Combee formed together, beating their wings in unison in an attempt at using Gust on Sakura and her Pokémon.

A torrent of flame burst through their ranks of the weak Pokémon, forcing them to scatter. Togashi was upon them, loosing stream upon stream into the air at the approaching enemy. One cunning Beedrill attempted to circle around the Charmeleon and hit him from behind, only to be met by Togashi's burning tail. The fire was burning with twice its usual strength, driving foes away as he swung it back and forth. The Beedrill pulled back, and that was when Sasuke jumped in, brandishing two large sticks he had gathered to make a fire, both now burning at the end. He struck at the Beedrill in the gut and face, forcing to fly off in a panic, and then Sasuke turned so that he was standing at his Charmeleon's back, swinging his burning brands as a challenge to any 'mon to come at them!

But Tetsu was proving himself the fiercest fighter present, bar none. Enraged at the attempted sneak attack upon his trainer, the Metang hurled himself up into the air among the Beedrill, wilding swinging his fists at one then another, not even bothering to use proper moves. Four Beedrill fell upon him from all angles, though their numbers did them little good. Having never encountered a Steel-type before, the Poison Bees just attempted to sting Tetsu into submission, not realizing their attacks were completely ineffective. However, even if their Poison Stings were useless, the Beedrill were also wailing on Tetsu with Twineedles, Fury Attacks, and Bug Bites, and while they may not have been as effective against Tetsu's hard hide, they were still tiring him down. Then one of the Beedrill's stingers hit close to Tetsu's eye, drawing a cry of pain from him. The Metang bucked wildly, throwing one of his attackers off, but the Beedrill cheered cruelly, rallying its fellows to go for Tetsu's eyes-

Foosh! A well-aimed Flamethrower from Togashi cut that Beedrill off, knocked him out of the fight.

The Beedrill scattered, while Togashi sent a second attack their way. The three remaining Beedrill moved to regroup to go after the Charmeleon, but Tetsu acted first. Moving instinctively, Tetsu flung out a claw and reached out with his innate Psychic powers, grabbing one of the Beedrill with Confusion and pulling it forward into the path of a Flamethrower. It shrieked in pain and fell to the ground, causing the other two to dart away in opposite directions.

Now the Beedrill swarm regrouped so that they had several units circling the party from two sides, far more cautious than they were initially. Irritated, Tetsu seized a Beedrill with Confusion-

-only to be struck by a small, red comet. And then a second, followed by a third. It was the Combee swarm; they were launching themselves at him with Struggle Bug, a move which cloaked the user in infectious red energy. Each time one of the Combee struck him, its energy cloak clung to the Metang. After the first one hit, Tetsu flinched, trying to swat the Combee away while attempting to use Confusion again. However, the red energy clinging to him left him feeling…odd. It was an annoying sensation. One he hadn't ever felt before. The strange feeling was crawling across his flesh, just under his metal hide, distracting him so much he couldn't concentrate enough to use his Psychic powers.

The Struggle Bug move wasn't particularly powerful- it was meant to leave the target with a distracting itch, allowing the user time to flee or regroup. However, it had the unexpected perk of being especially effective when used against inorganic Pokémon, as they were not used to sensations like itching.

Soon, Tetsu was thrashing about in agony, swinging his fists impotently in an attempt to ward off the Combee swam, while they in turn continued to mob the poor Metang, leaving everyone else to their Beedrill companions.

"Ochako, help him! Sasuke, give her cover!" Sakura shouted. Her Chikorita was in the air, pulling herself upward by lassoing the branches above Tetsu.

The Beedrill suddenly surged forward while the Combee pulled back, blinding rushing towards Ochako and ignoring all else. Togashi sent a wide spray of fire into one group of Beedrill, forcing them back, but the second one moved in, only to be lost in a burst of water and fire.

Hitomi was suddenly among them, twirling upside-down in a burst of Aqua Jet. In one arm, she held Bayushi, and in the other, a scalchop. Her expression was grim but serene, like this was naught but practice. She slashed the lead Beedrill away with Razor Shell, while Bayushi opened his mouth and loosed a gout of flames- he had used Mimic to copy Togashi's Flamethrower. The stream of fire threw two of the three Beedrill back, but the third one fought through it, suddenly bursting out of the flames and zipping past them, closing in on Ochako-

Now it was little Mina's turn to act; Sakura had disposed the baby Dragon-type in her backpack, where she'd be relatively safe from the battle. However, she didn't want to be safe. She wanted to help! Sticking her face out of the pack, Mina drew in a deep breath and called upon her ancestral power, releasing it in a brilliant stream of teal energy that basted the mean Beedrill away. The Dragon Pulse attack's force was such the kickback sent Mina rocketing down into the backpack, which in turn knocked a bewildered Sakura to her rump.

"OUCH!" Moaning painfully, Sakura glanced over her shoulder quickly to make sure Mina was okay. The Goomy was apparently sleeping, having spent all her energy on the attack.

Around and above her, the battle had intensified.

Tetsu beat away the swarming Bug-types fiercely with Metal Claw while Ochako clung to his back, administering Heal Pulses and Aromatherapy to cure his pains and dull the effects of Struggle Bug.

The Beedrill were in a frenzy, driving at them with suicidal rage. Time and time again, Togashi felled them with Flamethrowers, but instead of backing away, the Beedrill drove through the attack, allowing it to land a Poison Sting or Twineedle before falling. The Chameleon was close to exhaustion, and there seemed no end to the swarm. Worse still, he couldn't keep them all back.

Bayushi's Mimicked Flamethrowers lacked Togashi's strength, and they only served to weaken their foes, who were now so determined to carry out their attack that they no longer feared fire. Even so, the Eevee worked methodically, hitting a Beedrill that came to close and then signaling to Hitomi, who closed in with Aqua Jet before finishing the job with Razor Shell. The first time the pair pulled this off, a group of Combee tried to disrupt them with Gust, only for Akodo to fall upon the Bug-types, yowling and Sparking. Apparently, the Shinx had climbed up a tree to pounce upon his unsuspecting foes at the opportune moment. Akodo scattered them as he fell out of sight beyond the bushes, jaws clamped stubbornly to a struggling Combee.

After that, one Beedrill that was larger than the others gave an order as it gestured with its fore-string, and the Combee swarm fell back. Half of them then released a wave of Sweet Scent while the other half sent it at the party with quick, light Gusts.

"They're trying to drug us into submission!" Sakura warned. She had taken hold of the Mythical Ponyta's ribbon and was doing her best to sooth her, for fear she might panic again.

"Then we won't let them!" Sasuke responded, ordering their teams to open fire.

Flamethrowers, Water Spheres, and Hidden Powers where hurled at the swarm. Yet the lead Beedrill had anticipated it. The remaining Beedrill moved in, deflecting what attacks they could, pulling Combee out of the way of attacks they couldn't, and even moving in the way of a Flamethrower, protecting their fellows at the costs of themselves. Some were smarter, however- the lead Beedrill had zipped up and cut a branch down so that it fell in the way of a Flamethrower. This bold tactic proved doubly strong, for the burning branch hit the floor and started a fire, which in turn was sent spreading towards the party by the Combee's Gusts.

"Houndoom it, Hitomi, Bayushi, put out the Fire!" Sasuke ordered, jumping away from the violent flames.

While Hitomi smothered the flames with Water Sphere and Bayushi Mimicked her, Togashi was left alone, ragged and tired, to try and disrupt the Combee's Sweet Scent attack. Something he was simply unable to do alone. Yet even as the group breathed in the dizzying scent, a second, minty smell filled the air. Tetsu flew in low above them, with Ochako spinning her leaf as she spread her Aroma Veil across the field, canceling the Sweet Scent.

"Alright!" Sakura cheered.

Togashi turned to flash a proud smile and wink at Ochako. This was a mistake, as the lead Beedrill ordered its fellows to rush him all at once.

The remaining five Beedrill mobbed him, stinging fiercely to fell their greatest threat. Tetsu and Ochako joined the fray, with the Metang ripping Beedrill away with his powerful arms while Ochako whipped them back while trying to get to Togashi and administer Heal Pulse. One of the Beedrill had broken away from the mob and threw itself upon Tetsu and the started grappling with Ochako, apparently trying to get a clean shot at the Metang. This was soon lost in the commotion as Bayushi, Hitomi, and even Sasuke with his two burning branches joined the fray, while all around them the Combee dove in and nipped at them with Bug Bites.

The chaos of battle was reaching fever pitch when Tetsu threw the Beedrill that had been attacking him off and pulled away from the mob, dragging an unconscious Togashi out of the fight. He had been strung several times and was likely Poisoned. Tetsu automatically reached to the top of his head to alert Ochako that her healing was needed, but found her missing. She must have fell off admit the confusion!

Meanwhile, Sasuke was having issues of his own. He had come across the large, lead Beedrill, which had just stunned Hitomi before noticing him. Buzzing angrily, the Beedrill rushed Sasuke, who tried fending him off with the two branches. The Beedrill easily blocked his first attack, and then shattered Sasuke's second branch before he could finish swinging it. The Beedrill angrily went at Sasuke with swift Cross Poison attack that would have connected had Sasuke not suddenly tripped and fell backwards- even as is, the crossing slashes had cut his jacket. Before the Beedrill could follow up, however, Sakura was at its side, striking the Beedrill in the face with a beautiful punch behind which she put the weight of her whole frame. This was followed by the Mythical Ponyta's furious trumpet call as she charged at the bewildered Bug-type.

Frightened as she had been, the young Ponyta had been cared for by both humans (Sakura more than Sasuke), and this whole fight had proven, if anything, that her companions were not to be intimidated by this cruel Bug-types. And so, following Sakura's example, the Ponyta charged the lead Beedrill, horn lowered and glowing. The Beedrill was able to jump into the air just in time to avoid her horn, but after she had passed him, the Ponyta lifted her hind hooves and hit him with a High Horsepower mule kick. The blow sent the light Pokémon spinning in the air before he slammed painfully into a tree and fell to the ground.

The lead Beedrill swiftly rolled onto his feet and took to the air, but then turned when another Beedrill, who had already started flying away, called to it. Turning back to the battle, the lead Beedrill scanned the field for a moment, as if to confirm something. It then released a harsh buzz. At its signal, the Combee suddenly turned their wings downward and used Gust, kicking up a cloud cover of dust that obscured the whole battlefield. When it settled, the swarm was in full retreat. Those that were too week to fly on their own were being carried between their comrades, with the large Beedrill who had led them acting as the rear guard.

"Wait, why are they retreating all of a sudden?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura frowned. "And why'd they even attack us? It's not like we were threatening their nest or- what is it, Tetsu?" she asked, turning to her Metang, who was tugging at her sleeve urgently.

"Mmmtttg!" Tetsu cried, motioning at their team and the battlefield as if something was missing.

The rest of their teams, who understood what Tetsu was saying, broken into a chorus of agreement, urgently trying to pantomime the problem.

"Wait, something's wrong?!" Sakura knew this was true, but she couldn't put her finger on what- oh no! "Ochako's missing!" She turned towards the Beedrill/Combee swarm. "They took her!

Sure enough, at the very front of the swarm, the Beedrill which had been first to flee was carrying something heavy between its fore-stings. It had been the one that had leapt on Tetsu's back and grappled with Ochako. Only, it hadn't been trying to attack Tetsu, but in fact was after the Chikorita!

"Quick, we have to follow them!" Sakura shouted.

Hitomi was getting ready to Aqua Jet off after the swarm, but Sasuke stopped her with a command.

"Wait!" he cried, stepping out in front of everyone and holding up his hands. "We're not going anywhere just yet!"

"Sasuke, how can you-!" Sakura pleaded, but he shushed her.

"Listen, please. We've all been injured. Togashi's unconscious and Poisoned, and he's the one 'mon we got that's a real threat to the swarm. Do you really think we're in any shape to just run after them blindly?

Bitterly, Sakura nodded partially, though her mind was screaming that they needed to save Ochako as quickly as possible.

Sasuke gleaned a bit of what she was thinking from her expression. "I know exactly what you're feeling. You're angry, scared, and you want to just scream and smash and hurt anything and anyone you can reach. Believe me, I've been there." His expression was vulnerable. Open. Almost…pleading.

Sakura opened her mouth to say something in anger, but then an image flashed before her eyes: eight-year-old Sasuke with his beloved Houndour. She shut her mouth and nodded, feeling guilty and foolish.

The Mythical Ponyta brushed her muzzle against Sakura's hand, and the girl noticed it was wet. She turned and saw that the Ponyta was crying. Sakura gasped and accidently put her hand through the Ponyta's mane. The memory of the Ponyta's first meeting with them flashed through Sakura's mind, with Ochako envisioned as angelic and beautiful, shining with heavenly light as she doctored the Ponyta's leg. The memories shifted, and now the Ponyta was being chased by the Beedrill, who looked monstrous and demonic, only for her to pass by Ochako. The Beedrill fell upon her, attacking her with evil stingers that looked like jagged spears before carrying her off, all while the Ponyta was cowering and hiding. Feeling accompanied the images: worry, guilt, terror. All swirling together in a black pattern.

"Ssh, sssh, baby, don't think like that. And stop blaming yourself," Sakura cooed gently, stroking her muzzle. "None of this is your fault. And don't you worry. We're going to save Ochako."

Tetsu had floated down, putting his arms around both trainer and Pokémon, his metal face streaked with oily tears.

"We sure as hell will," Sasuke said firmly. "We'll save her if we have to burn this forest to cinders." He lifted his hand, clinched it into a fist, and slammed it into his other hand, as if stamping a seal.

A chill passed through Sakura. She had never seen him so grim-faced. When Team Snake had kidnapped Karen, he'd been hot with wrath. But now, he'd become so steely Sakura wouldn't be surprised if he was cold to the touch.

Togashi moaned painfully.

"First things first, we have to tend to our injured," Sakura said, gently pulling away from the Ponyta and pulling off her backpack. Carefully, she took the still-sleeping Mina out and set her down near Hitomi (just in case she woke up and needed tending to while Sakura was busy) and started pulling out her medical supplies. "We'll need Poison cures- I have plenty of those. But not many medical potions. Not enough to get everyone fighting fit."

She was cut off by the gentle canter of hooves. The Ponyta had moved next to Togashi, her horn glowing and mane shimmering like a waterfall of starlight.

The air seemed to shimmer for a moment before becoming clear and fresh, with a crisp taste like it had been filtered free of all contaminates. Sasuke noticed a slight stinging sensation on his chest, and he checked to find a small cut- apparently, the lead Beedrill had managed to nick him with Cross Poison, but he had been too frightened and angry to notice. However, before Sasuke's eyes, the cut, which was red with the beginnings of infection, suddenly paled in color. It had felt, for a moment, like someone had pressed disinfectant against it, before the feeling faded.

Meanwhile, Togashi, who'd been acting feverish, untensed and took in a deep breath. He was still battered and unconscious, but it looked like the Poison coursing through him just…vanished.

"What did you do?" Sakura asked, bewildered.

The Ponyta just knickered bashfully and started administering Heal Pulses by her horn.

Sakura pulled out Pokédex, flipping it on.

"Pastel Veil, the signature ability of Mythical Ponyta and Rapidash," it chimed. Mythical Ponyta and its evolved form can project a field of purifying energy, similar in effect to Safeguard. This ability removes all dangerous contaminates in the area, including poisons, smoke, and infectious germs. Patel Veil automatically counteracts the Poisoned condition and weakens Poison moves. For a highly skilled user, the veil can even induce a vertigo-like sensation in Poison-type Pokémon. Likewise, fresh infections are cured, and even the air itself in the area is cleaned and sterilized."

Sakura looked at the Pontya wide-eyed as her horn's touch made Togashi's cuts seal up and his bruises fade. "Amazing…that's just amazing."

Now Togashi was stirring.

"Char…meleon," he groaned painfully, forcing himself upright. Then he remembered what had happened and flipped up on his feet, claws flexed for battle.

"They got away," Sasuke said, before adding, with some hesitation, "They kidnapped Ochako."

Togashi's eyes blazed as the news sunk in. His face furious, the Charmeleon looked about wildly, searching for trail or something to follow.

"Settle down. We're going to get her back, but listen," Sasuke urged.

Togashi paused and looked at his trainer; his expression was not nearly as respectful as it normally was.

"First, we need to get back into fighting shape," Sasuke said calmly. He looked meaningfully at the Ponyta, who was now tending to Tetsu, their second-most injured teammate.

Already, she was getting wobbly in the knees.

"Don't overdo things, Little One. If you're too tired to walk, you won't be able to help us rescue Ochako," Sakura said gently. She had taken out various potions and curatives. "I've got lots of medicines. Here, you focus on the cuts, and I'll administer pain killers."

Sasuke wasn't idle as Sakura and the Ponyta worked. Instead, he pulled out his Pokédex and started looking something up. Togashi fidgeted irritably, wanting to do something productive, but Sasuke told him this was important.

"What are you doing? Maybe I can help," Sakura suggested.

Sasuke took a moment to glance up from the screen and said, "I just realized something: Beedrill and Combee are not directly related."

Sakura nodded, giving him a funny look. "Yes, they're different evolutionary families. You didn't know that?"

Sasuke frowned. "You misunderstand. If the two species are not related, why are they working together?"

At this, Sakura realized Sasuke was right. She was so shocked she dropped the bottle of spray-on potion, which thumped loudly on the ground. That, in turn, woke up Mina, who started fussing and crying in her confused state.

Sakura rushed to calm her down. Hitomi aided her, along with Togashi. The Pokémon pair explained that everything was alright, they'd bring back Ochako soon, nothing bad was going to happen, and many other platitudes they hoped would sooth the baby. It was a difficult thing, trying to explain this very serious situation to a youngling like her.

Sasuke, however, wasn't paying any attention to that. Instead, he went back to his Pokédex, now specifically looking up connections between the Beedrill and Combee lines. If there wasn't one, did that mean these weren't wild Pokémon? Could this be some sort of complex attack by Team Snake-?

His search turned up an article on Vespiquen pheromones. It took only a paragraph before Sasuke dismissed his suspicions of Team Snake being involved.

Sakura had successfully soothed Mina's worries, and now turned her attention back to Sasuke, who was engrossed in reading. "Are you going to finish what you were telling me?" she asked.

Sasuke looked up from his 'dex to speak, but Bayushi tugged at his sleeve.

"One moment," Sasuke told the Eevee before turning back to Sakura. "As I had been saying, Beedrill and Combee are not natural allies. However, according to the Pokédex, Combee's evolved form, Vespiquen, controls her hive-minions through pheromones. On occasion, there have been documented examples of Vespiquen's pheromones influencing Beedrill, since the two are considered cousin-lines. In short, it looks like a Vespiquen is behind Ochako's abduction."

"But, what would a wild Vespiquen want with Ochako?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke mused for a moment. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the Mythical Ponyta's hooves as she tried finding a comfortable place to rest. A thought occurred to him

"If the same Beedrill swarm that attacked us was also the one that attacked that Ponyta, maybe there's a connection," he suggested. "Maybe they weren't after Ochako, per say. Maybe we're missing something."

"Oh, good point," Sakura said, nodding. She started trying to think what a swarm of giant bees would want with Ochako or the Ponyta? What could be the connection?

Bayushi, meanwhile, pulled on his trainer's sleeve again.

"Furthermore -Bayushi, I said stop- furthermore, we should get ready to track them down. Akodo's our best bet. Between his eye and his nose, he shouldn't have too much trouble chasing down a whole swarm (I bet they smell like honey). Speaking of which, where is he?"

"VEE!" Bayushi snapped, nipping Sasuke's hand and pointing.

Akodo had wrestled his way out of forest's undergrowth. He was scuffed up, but didn't look particularly injured. Rather, Akodo was struggling on account of dragging an unconscious Combee with his teeth. Once he pulled out of the bushes, however, the Shinx had no trouble dragging the Bug-type to his master's feet, after which he stood up and puffed out his chest proudly.

Sasuke looked at his Shinx blankly, and then down at the Combee.

"Akodo, I think you just saved the day," he finally said, an idea suddenly taking form in his mind. "Once I get my monthly stipend back, I'm buying you meat."

Akodo smiled broadly, daring a smug glace Bayushi's way.

"What exactly are you planning?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

Sasuke gave her a small, cunning smile. "Something painfully simple."

"Does it involve letting the Combee go and following it from a distance? 'Cause that's really not very impressive," Sakura pointed out, somewhat disappointed Sasuke hadn't come up with something better.

"Hey, just because it's simple doesn't mean it's bad! My father ways the more moving parts a plan has, the more likely something will go wrong!" Sasuke retorted. "Besides, I don't see you coming up anything better!"

Sakura winced and said, "Sorry, sorry. I was just thinking you had a surefire way to rescue Ochako."

Next to her, Togashi crossed his arms and looked at his trainer ruefully. He started angrily musing that they were wasting time, and that he thought Sasuke had a real plan to save Ochako! Sasuke couldn't understand him, of course, but Togashi's meaning was so clear that no translation was needed. As Togashi went on, he flicked his tail back and forth impatiently, not paying it any mind…which is why he didn't notice lighting a patch dried grass.

Now Bayushi and Akodo were getting on Togashi's case for having no respect for their trainer, which Sakura thought was an ironic reversal of the norm, while Hitomi tried cooling the argument down. She didn't pay much more attention to the Pokémon, as Sakura was too worried about Ochako to do anything but think. There was heat, which caused Sakura to look up and finally notice the smoke. In her worried mind, the unusual sight only proved to jog a distant memory of something in one of the many Pokémon physiology books Prof. Tsunade had ordered her to read. What was it about smoke and Combee again?

"Sakura, there's a fire!" Sasuke shouted, lunging over and pulling her away just in time. The fire had spread to a bush and had grown dangerously close to the daydreaming girl.

Hitomi doused the flames with water while Tetsu dropped dirt from above.

"How could you not notice a wildfire less than three feet away?!" Sasuke demanded, looking her over to make sure she hadn't gotten hit by a stray spark.

Sakura blinked, having not paid attention enough to know what started the fire in the first place. Besides, she had something way more important in mind.

"Sasuke," she said slyly, "I bet I've got a better plan than you."

-0o0o0-

"[Put me down! Can't you hear?! I SAID PUT ME DOWN!]" Ochako screamed, continuing to struggle in her captor's grasp.

She had not gone quietly, first flinging Vine Whips and Razor Leaf attacks at the various Beedrill. Instead of attacking her, they either ignored Ochako's blows or had attempted to hold their struggling, snarling captive down. Currently, the largest, lead Beedrill had the unlucky duty of carrying the unruly Chikorita.

"[Hello?! Are you stupid or deaf?! Where are you taking me?!" Ochako demanded, making a point to yell in the Beedrill's ear.

Angrily, he roughly adjusted his grasp on her, which wasn't much of a threat, but it was the most forceful any of them had been with her.

"[Yoooou are lucky Her Majesty demanded you unharmed!]" he hissed in her ear. "[Now, will you kindly BEEEE QUIET!]"

With that, the Beedrill banked sharply and dove past the tree line. With a sudden twist, he turned from the free-drive and stopped just before hitting the earth. He dropped Ochako with far less grace.

Grunting, Ochako pulled herself to her feet to glare at the Beedrill, but found her attention on her surroundings.

Strands of silk and string drabbed from tree to tree, connecting the branches above like a cloth ceiling. Ochako spied Weedles shooting String Shots to bind tree boughs together or working in teams to haul branches up before tying them in place.

There were also walls of hexagons between some of the trees surrounding the hive, like fortifications. The walls buzzed and breathed, and Ochako realized they were Combee formations creating living barriers.

"[Get moving!]" the lead Beedrill demanded, prodding Ochako with one of his fore-stingers.

"[When I'm good and ready,]" Ochako said defiantly, sitting on her haunches. She wasn't sure what she planned on doing, but giving her captors a head time seemed better than nothing.

Growling, the Beedrill threated to jab her, but Ochako called his bluff- he really shouldn't have mentioned 'Her Majesty' wanting her unharmed. Finally, he just grabbed her, threw her over his shoulder, and started marching.

She was put down at the center of the hive, where the cloth ceiling was woven thickest, providing the most shade. The ground had been carpeted with grass, and a large bed of leaves had been made at the area's center. On it, being tended to by flocks of Combee, was the hive's queen: a great, powerful Vespiquen.

She was huge by her species' standard, well over 6 feet in height. Her exoskeleton had been dutifully polished to a sheen, and her wings looked glossy and beautiful, save for one, which suck out from an odd angle.

The Vespiquen was lounging across her nest, belly down, arms crossed and supporting her chest and upper body, while a swarm of servants attended to her. Weedle carried leaves like trays ladened with berries and held them up to their queen silently, and a trio of Combee carefully massaged her back. She buzzed in satisfaction, suddenly shifting so that she was lounging on her side.

The lead Beedrill stepped forward, sweeping out with his fore-stingers as he made a showy bow. "[My Queeeeeeeen, we have brought you the healer-]"

However, he was suddenly cut off by a sharp exclamation from the Vespiquen. When she had unexpected shifted her great frame, she had inadvertently rolled over onto one of the Combee that had been in the middle of massaging her side. Caught under her, he proceeded to panic, wiggling out from her under her as quickly as he could, without any thought to what he was doing. Unfortunately, in his wild struggles, he had pressed himself against his queen's injured wing.

Wrathfully, the Vespiquen rose to a kneeling position and seized the Combee by his lower face.

"[You stupid little male-grub! How dare you harm me!?]" the queen snarled, holding all three faces of his faces close to hers.

"[F-Forgive us, Your Majesty! 'twas an accident!]" the Combee begged. His two upper faces spoke in unison, though his lower one was being choaked by her iron hold.

"[Be silent!]" the Vespiquen shouted, hurling the unfortunate Combee into a tree trunk. He hit it with a painful 'splat', before peeling off and falling to the ground. He had only time to let out a small groan before a rushing sound caused his eyes to go wide in terror. There was no other warning as a ruby-red Power Gem attack hit, creating a small but potent explosion.

The Vespiquen scowled, leaning backwards. She turned to her remaining servants, who had been left in frozen terror at her wrathful outburst.

"[Well? Are you stupid little male-grubs just going to stand around gawking?!]" she demanded.

The swarm of servants scrambled to find work, careful not to talk or lose focus, lest they mess up and anger their temperamental queen.

Allowing herself a satisfied smirk, the Vespiquen turned her attention to the lead Beedrill, his flanking companions, and Ochako, their prisoner. "[Ah, the little healer! What a delight! I've been expecting you!]"

She smiled and motioned to the hive. "[Tell me, what do you think of my royal court? It's not much, I admit, but it's got potential. Every queen has to start somewhere, right? Right.]"

This was her style, to go on grandiosely, asking questions and answering them as she liked before anyone else could put a word in. She went on for a bit like this before turning her full attention to Ochako, in order to make it clear that now she really did want the Chikorita's answer.

"Now, perhaps you haven't noticed, but my royal personage suffered from a terrible injury," she said, motioning to her back where her wing stuck out oddly from the rest. "I allowed it to heal naturally, but instead of things going back to normal, it sticks out from the rest and is really sensitive. It pains me to fly. As such, I need the attentions of a capable and talented healer, like yourself." She punctuated this last point by reaching out her great arm around Ochako and pulling her in close. "[Well, my dearie? Couldn't you have a look?]"

Overwhelmed and on the verge on panic, Ochako stammered for a few seconds. "[I-I-! Bu-!]" She was looking at where the Combee that had angered the queen was lying unconscious, while all around him, his hive-siblings worked vigorously, doing their best to ignore him. At least, Ochako thought he was just unconscious. She hoped he was unconscious…

"[Excuse me. What was that, dear?]" the Vespiquen asked, now stroking one of her claws up and down Ochako's face.

Ochako stammered some more, which annoyed the queen.

"[Oh, stop your sniveling. Speak. Up,]" she demanded, now pushing Ochako away so that she could stare down the Chikorita with greater ease.

"[I-I can help!]" Ochako managed to spit out at last. She mulled quickly thought through what the Vespiquen had told her. "[I-I mean, I can try! It sounds like your wing didn't heal right.]"

"[I can tell that, you stupid little weed-grub. I don't need you to tell me the obvious, I need you to fix it,]" the queen said, already beginning to lose patience.

Ochako swallowed. "[I'm sorry, Your Honeyness- er, I mean, Your Highness!]" She backed away slightly at the Vespiquen's dark glare, thinking quickly. "[It's just that I'm not used to treating such an injury- uh…]"

Stall! She had to stall long enough for Sakura and everyone to come save her from this insane insect. "[Uh…you see…I'll have to cause some pain as I move things in place so they can heal right! Yeah, uh, I'll have to do that! And I'll have to take some time looking things over before getting started!]"

"[Ah? You can't just wave your leaf and make things better?]" the Vespiquen asked, her voice suspicious.

"[Of course not!]" Ochako said quickly, then remember that she was talking to a violent despot. "[Er, I mean, no, Your Grace, it doesn't work that way.]"

That much, at least, was true.

"[Ugh, very well,]" the Vespiquen sighed dramatically. "[I suppose you'll want me to lay down so you could have a look at it?]"

"[Hey, what do I get out of all this?]" Ochako asked, unable to think of anything else to say that might help stall things.

"[What do you mean by that?]" the Vespiquen asked, getting annoyed. She was used to her servants satisfying her whims instantly or suffering her wrath silently.

"[Uh, you…uh, you haven't said what I'll get for healing you!]" Ochako said slowly. "[Er, yeah! That's it! What about payment for services rendered?]"

The Vespiquen let out a low, dangerous chuckle. "[OoOoOoh! You want some form of payment? What's the matter? Is not the honor of serving royalty not payment enough?]" The way she put emphasis on the word 'honor', with her eyes narrowing viciously, caused Ochako to stagger backwards as if she'd been struck.

The Vespiquen hummed and drummed her claws in mock performance, as if struggling to think of something good.

"[You know, I'm not sure if I have anything I could pay you with. I mean, I suppose I could give you your life, but would you consider that fair?]" she said, looking at Ochako innocently. "[After all, the only thing stopping my servants from devouring you like a juicy little pecha berry is my command-]"

All around Ochako, the Beedrill suddenly buzzed dangerously, closing their ring around her. A few of them were already salivating.

"[After all, with how sweet you smell, one would assume you must taste even sweeter…and we've never had Chikorita before…it seems cruel to deny my servants such a nice meal, buuuut, we could say sparing you is fair payment for services rendered. Does that sound fair?]" The queen looked at Ochako sweetly, the way a sadistic Persian might look at a Rattata it decided was more fun letting go than killing it quickly.

Very slowly, Ochako gulped down the breath she'd been holding, and nodded. "[Th-that sounds v-very fair…Your Majesty.]

The Vespiquen smiled. "[Good, now, is there anything else you need, little doctor?]"

Ochako thought for a moment. One last idea struck her.

"[Yes. Some berries. A few specific ones- I'll mix them together for you to eat. They'll numb the pain from the procedure.]"

That was an idea the queen liked the sound of.

-0o0o0-

…Later…

-0o0o0-

As Ochako made a show of mashing the berries together in the bowl she had been provided (made from woven sticks and leaves), she mused that next time she was kidnapped and forced to heal her captors, she should be sure to give them a list of berries that were actually impossible to find. As it turned out, the random assortment she had rattled off, listing the first berries that came into her mind, all happened to grow nearby. Over half of them, annoyingly, were ones the swarm had already gathered.

Of course, Ochako's strange concoction, which she continued to mash and mix together long after the berries had been reduced to pulp, was actually garbage. She had no idea how to mix berries and herbs together to create medicines. But, it seemed Bug-types were either stupid or gullible. Or they didn't think Ochako was foolish enough to try and pull a fast one on their queen.

Luckily, while Ochako didn't have a clue on how to mix potions, she was far from helpless. For the last ten minutes, as she mixed the concoction with her vines and waved her leaf over it, she had been very carefully releasing pollen puffs of Aromatherapy into the brew. With any luck, she'd put enough of the anesthetic powder into the mix to drug the Vespiquen into a weeklong stupor. From there…well, Ochako wasn't sure what she was planning, but having the psychotic queen too drugged to rip off her head seemed like a good idea.

"[You've just been doing the same thing over and over,]" the lead Beedrill snarled. He had taken it upon himself to watch the hive's prisoner at all times. "[I think you're stalling.]"

"[Humph, shows how much you know about medicine,]" Ochako said, shrugging. Still, she decided not to try her luck with this Beedrill anymore. The last thing she wanted was him telling his queen she was up to something. "[It's done now, anyway.]"

Her 'medicine' was a brown-green gloopy mixture, thick and lumpy. It had a sickly-sweet smell to it, and Ochako was sure it would taste terrible.

"[Give me that,]" the lead Beedrill demanded, taking the bowl from Ochako roughly. He turned and buzzed off to where his queen sat, holding the bowl above his head, almost reverently. Behind him, two other Beedrill had pushed Ochako in place next to him. "[My Queen, the medicine for your procedure!]" the leader of the Beedrill proclaimed, his voice booming and serious.

The Vespiqueen took the mixture and eyed it suspiciously. It looked like many things…but appetizing was not one of them. She put a finger in, pulled it out, eyed the mixture, and daintily placed the digit in her mouth. She grimaced at the taste.

Cautiously, Ochako cleared her throat. "[Uh, you have to drink it all, so it might be best to just get it over with?]" she suggested.

Sighing dramatically (as was her custom and style), the Queen resignedly lifted the whole bowl to her lips and started chugging the mix. In truth, Ochako realized it wasn't a really big dose for a Pokémon of her great size. The Chikorita winced, having forgotten to take that into consideration.

With a final slurp, the Vespiquen finished downing the faux-medicine and tossed the bowl over her shoulder casually (where it was instantly caught by one of her Combee attendants). She let out a light burp, much to her embarrassment. A pair of Combee seemed to materialize next to her, one holding up a large leaf for a napkin while the other supported a flat, shiny stone that had been polished to a mirror sheen. The Vespiquen took the leaf and carefully cleaned her face.

Then there was silence.

Everyone was looking at Ochako.

The Chikorita blinked, not sure what was to happen next. It wasn't clear if her attempt to drug the queen had failed, or if would take some time to kick in.

"[Well?]" the Vespiquen demanded impatiently. "[What now?!]"

"[Ur, well…we should wait…]" Ochako muttered, not sure how else she could stall. An idea struck her. "[Uh, yes! We should wait! Wait for the potion to take full effect! Uh, in the meantime, why not tell me how you got injured?]"

The queen eyed the Chikorita suspiciously. However, she always did love it when the topic turned to her favorite subject: herself.

"[It is a tale of tragedy, betrayal, and aspiration! A travesty of justice!]" the Vespiquen cried melodramatically, covering her face with the back of her paw while her attendants rushed to comfort her.

Ochako sighed, being sure to get comfortable. It sounded like she'd be here for a long, long time.

"[You see, for our species, it is the duty of the queen's daughters to challenge her, should she prove to be too weak and unworthy to safely lead the colony. If a queen has grown old and senile, traditional dictates that her most worthy daughter should step up and take the throne, allowing her mother to retire in grace. Sometimes, however, for the good of the colony, force must be used to remove a truly disastrous queen. This is one of those times, in which I, the selfless servant of the whole hive, had to dispose of my mother, though it pained me to do so!]" She sighed, having pulled out a fan of flower petals and waved it at herself. "[I was not only the eldest, but the largest, strongest, smartest, most cunning, and by far the most beautiful! Not to mention, my pheromones proved to be far stronger than those of my mother, even before I had evolved into the glorious Vespiquen you see before you!]"

This was her style, and though it was longwinded and tedious, Ochako pretended to enjoy it. Keep talking, the Chikorita thought. Keep talking and let the drug kick in. Or until Sasuke and Sakura come breaking down your door!

The Vespiquen remembered that she had been telling a story, and returned to it. "[Now, strong and great as I was, I had no desire to simply usurp her in ritual combat, like some pretender taking the throne by force. Even if I was obviously more fit to rule. Filial piety, you know. So instead, I waited and watched, looking for the time for my ascendance to power! It finally came: my mother had taken ill and had not left her royal chambers for some time, leaving the whole hive leaderless. And I, the natural, selfless Pokémon that I am, decided to take up the burden of power and responsibility, seizing the title of queen up with a heavy heart. Some of my lesser sisters, jealous that I should rule, denounced me for not challenging our mother directly and instead waiting for her to be too sick to accept my challenge, but I knew better. If a queen is too weak to defend her throne, she is too weak to lead and protect her hive. My mother submitted to my superiority, and I would have been a glorious queen- save for my jealous sisters! Opportunistic cowards as they are, they all challenged me for the throne I had just rightfully taken! Of course, I took them on without fear, but they ganged up and fought me like cowards, three against one!]"

The Vespiquen went into gruesome detail of the battle, saying though she had been outnumbered, her superior strength and abilities had proven too much for her sisters, at least until one of them cheated and struck her from behind (after surrendering, of course).

Ochako privately doubted much of the tale. Aside from the obvious bias of the narrator, Ochako questioned if the rest of the hive would allow for such obvious foul play during a formal challenge between queens.

"-afterwards, I fled my treacherous sisters, taking my flock of faithful subjects who understood who their true queen was,]" the Vespiquen went on, motioning to the swarm of Combee all around them, her demeanor almost affectionate. "[Fate proved its favor to me when we discovered a Beedrill nest. With one whiff of my perfumed pheromones, they realized I was their rightful queen and swore to aid me in taking back my lost throne! Alas, my injured wing has prevented me from launching the final stage of my revenge!]" She smiled at Ochako. "[And that is where you come in, you little bean-grub! To think, your life was dull and meaningless this morning, and now you are assisting a queen-in-exile in reclaiming her rightful throne! The honor must be breathtaking!]"

Ochako didn't trust her voice not to betray her true feelings, so she just smiled and nodded. The Vespiquen was showing no signs of being affected by the Aromatherapy-laced potion. It looked like she'd been too big and tough for the dose to have much effect.

"[Good. Then you'll get to work right away! I want to fly freely as soon as possible!]" the Vespiquen declared. From her tone, it was clear that she wanted no more delays.

-0o0o0-

Using the Combee to track down the swarm's nest was not difficult. The Mythical Ponyta simply healed it slightly, then everyone hid and waited. Once it regained consciousness, the Combee had little trouble in finding its bearings and flying off, none the wiser that it was being followed.

Now Sakura and Sasuke crouched some distance away from the hive's main entrance, hidden by the underbrush, where they prepared for the rescue mission.

Both trainers' entire teams were out and hard at work binding bundles of sticks stuffed with leaves and grass. It was Sakura's plan.

She had remembered reading that honey farmers use smoke to pacify Combee, and a quick check on the Pokédex confirmed it. With any luck, their improvised smoke bombs would have a similar effect.

Sasuke let out a low, thoughtful sound from his throat as he eyed the hive through his binoculars. Meanwhile, Sakura went over the plan once again.

"Okay, Sasuke and I will each have a torch. The rest will go to you, Tetsu. You'll be up in the air with the burning bundles, waiting for the signal. Don't go too high, just out of sight behind that tree, close to the entrance so you can fly in and start chucking them left and right just as the fighting starts. What's the signal?" she asked rhetorically.

"Mmmrng," Tetsu said, motioning towards Hitomi.

"Right, Hitomi will send a Water Pulse up in the air. Now, meanwhile, everyone else will attack the front gate and the guards, which in this case, are the same thing," Sakura said. She was talking about the living wall of Combee that fitted together to form the hive's first line of defense.

Sasuke had predicted that the group of Combee, though numerous, wouldn't be much of a threat. Aside from being fairly weak Pokémon on average, he also noted most of the Combee making up the living wall seemed to be tired or sleeping, the result of long periods kept in motionless formation.

Sakura went on. "Once we hit the gate, Hitomi will throw up the signal. Tetsu, fly in and start throwing those burning bundles at every large group of Combee you see. If you happen to see a large group of Beedrill, you're free to throw at them, but otherwise focus on the Combee- they naturally stay in groups, so they won't scatter away from the smokescreens, and they're weak enough to be affected by them. Beedrill are fast enough to fly out of the way of our bundles, and they're strong enough to resist the smoke's effects enough to just pick it up and throw it out of the way."

Before Sakura could go on with her pre-battle briefing, Sasuke cleared his throat.

"A slight problem. Have a look at their roof," he said, handing her the binoculars. He pointed. "It looks like they're using Weedle-silk to spin branches and leaves together to make a ceiling. There are openings, and most of it looks pretty flimsy; Tetsu, just fly through it and start throwing the smoke bundles."

"Good idea, Sasuke. Once we've gotten in, we'll fight our way to the hive's Vespiquen," Sakura said, holding up her Pokédex to show everyone what their target was. "We don't know why Ochako was taken by them but going after their queen is sure to get their attention. If anything, we can take her hostage and force them to give Ochako back!"

Sasuke gave a grim nod, then thoughtfully added, "Also, if their hive is mostly branches held together with silk, it'll be flammable. If we set a large enough fire, it's spread fast and start a panic. The swarm'll have to fight the flames, not us."

Next to him, Togashi chuckled ruthlessly at the idea.

Sakura found herself opening her mouth to rebuke Sasuke for being too cruel, but paused, remembering that these filthy Bug-types had kidnapped her poor, innocent Ochako. They deserved to be punished. They deserved to burn-

She stopped in mid-thought. Mina was watching her, lip trembling.

Sakura breathed out and back in, calming herself.

"Our goal is to save Ochako, not get revenge, and certainly not start a forest fire that'll endanger us all. Understand?"

To Sakura's displeasure, Togashi scoffed in a way that made it clear he'd make no promises, while Sasuke just gave her a stubborn, faint nod.

"…no forest fires," Sasuke conceded. He turned to Hitomi. "It'll be your job to make sure any fires that spring up don't grow out of control.

Hitomi gave a grave nod.

Sakura allowed herself a faint smile. "Okay, let's go over the plan one more time."

Togashi let out an exasperated growl. Enough talking. Enough planning. It was time to start the attack! To march down the shortest path between him and Ochako, and burn every Beedrill, Combee or Vespiquen that didn't get out of his way fast enough!

-0o0o0-

"[Be still, we're almost done,]" Ochako said, wiping her brow.

Had the Vespiquen's wing actually been broken and healed incorrectly, Ochako wasn't sure she'd be much help. Once, she had helped break and reset a Pidgey's wing that had healed wrong. But Ochako had been helping Sakura, who in turn was assisting Prof. Tsunade in the procedure. Back then, Ochako's powers were only developed enough to start the bone's healing process. Though her powers had developed considerably in the short time since Sakura started her journey, Ochako was sure she wasn't close to healing bones yet.

As such, it was very lucky indeed that the Vespiquen's wing hadn't been seriously injured. During her examination, Ochako had discovered instead the appendage to be largely unharmed. However, the area around the wing's was inflamed with infection, causing the wing to be very sensitive, hence its refusal to fold properly. Upon a closer inspection, Ochako discovered the cause of the problem: the tip of a stinger, likely from another Vespiquen, had gotten wedged between two folds of the queen's exoskeleton, where it had been well-hidden.

Pulling the stinger free had drawn a pained yelp from the Vespiquen, though she quieted down when Ochako showed her the stinger.

From there, all the Chikorita had to do was treat the wound and infection with a series of Heal Pulses. By the third one, the Vespiquen had noted that it barely hurt to move her wing around, and by the fifth, the infection was largely gone. It was the best Ochako could do, in any case.

"[Okay, I've done what you asked of me,]" Ochako said, stepping off the mad monarch's back, and then quickly added, "[uh, Your Majesty!]" She genuflected. "[Please, Your Excellency, let me go now? Like you promised?]"

The Vespiquen thought for a moment before saying, "[Hmmm…no.]"

"[We had a deal!]" Ochako shouted.

"[Yes, and I've altered the deal, as is my right as royalty,]" the mad queen responded. "[Sorry, little weed-grub, but I've come to realize that having a healer is too useful to let you go just yet. You'll help me when I lead my hive against my sisters, and after I've reclaimed my throne, then you have my permission to leave.]"

"[I don't give squat about your stupid throne, you braindead blowfly!]" Ochako said, stomping her feet and drawing herself up to her full height. "[I want to get back to Sakura! You have no right to hold me like this, you power-mad, arrogant, fat despot!]"

"[How dare you say such things to our queen!? Who do you think you are?!]" the lead Beedrill demanded, springing to the air with his three stings raised threateningly.

The Vespiquen, meanwhile, looked down at her waist and poked her belly. "[…I'm not fat,]" she whined desperately. Then she turned to one of her attendants. "[Be honest, have I put on weight? That's bound to happen, since I couldn't fly, but I'm not really fat, right?]"

"[I healed you!]" Ochako went on, her rant giving her courage. "[I healed you and you repay me by going back on your word and making me a prisoner?! What kind of queen are you?!]"

The Vespiquen scoffed. "[My promises are mine to interpret as I see fit, as is my royal privilege.]"

Before Ochako could tell the despot where she could take her 'royal privilege' and shove it, there was an explosive sound, followed by panicked Combee screaming.

"[We're under attack!]" one Combee cried, flying in from the hive's entrance. He was on fire.

Another zoomed after him, shouting, "[Arceus save the Queen!]"

"[What is going on out there?!]" the lead Beedrill demanded, moving past the silk veil that had served to separate the queen's chamber from the rest of the hive.

He spoke quickly with another of the Beedrill before returning. "[My Queen, intruders are attacking our hive! It's the pony-grub that we tried to capture to heal you, along with two human-grubs and their grub-servants! They are trying to fight their way deeper into the hive!]"

"[Sakura!]" Ochako gasped, looking delighted.

The Vespiquen noticed this.

"[So, you've just been stalling and distracting us this whole time?]" she glowered, her great claw darting out.

Before Ochako could react, the Vespiquen had seized her by the back of the neck, holding her high.

"[You weak, miserable, little weed-grub!]" the despot hissed dangerously.

Ochako struggled, but the Vespiquen's grasp held firm.

"[You're…one…to talk!]" Ochako managed to gasp, meeting the Vespiquen's glare defiantly.

Smoke was billowing in around them, and several of the Combee were in dazed panic. Smoke affected them in two ways: first, it clouded their olfactory senses, disrupting their primary form of communication by pheromones. Secondly, Combee had a natural response to smoke and fires to gorge on as much honey as possible, so they might evacuate the hive at a moment's notice. With their communications disrupted and their natural instincts telling them to do one thing while their superiors were telling them to attack the intruders, the Combee were left in a state of absolute confusion.

"[My Queen, you're not safe here,]" the lead Beedrill said. "[I suggest you let us escort you to a safe location-]"

He was cut off by a shrill scream of frustration from the Vespiquen, who beat her wings furiously until they started releasing sonic shockwaves. With her Bug Buzz attack, the Vespiquen blasted the smoke away from her inner sanctum while simultaneously catching the attention of her subjects. She rose into the air, still clutching Ochako by the back of the neck.

"[I'll die before I'm driven from my own throne room again!]" she screamed, eyes flashing red. "[CHARGE!]"

-0o0o0-

"Ochako, where are you?!" Sakura shouted, trying to be heard over the din.

The hive was a picture of chaos. At the heart of it stood Togashi, wreathed in burning wrath. He shot Flamethrowers indiscriminately at their enemies, setting several fires that threatened to spread out of control. Hitomi had to work double-time to keep things contained, throwing Water Pulses to contain the flames while keeping her wits as Bug-types swarmed all around them. Luckily, Bayushi watched her back, using Hidden Power to ward off the furious Beedrill and Mimic to help her douse the flames.

Akodo, meanwhile, stood with Togashi, Sparking viciously as he protected the furious Charmeleon's back. Togashi had been so furious that he had completely abandoned all sense defense, leaving himself open as he attempted to burn the whole hive to the ground. More than once, Togashi would have been hit from behind had it not been for Akodo's vigilance.

As Sasuke directed his team to press the attack, Sakura and her Pokémon were no less busy behind them. Up in the air above them, Tetsu had busied himself with their defense. He had done a good job spreading his smoke bombs across the hive, leaving a thick veil of ash and soot in the air- however, this didn't affect them. Standing near Sakura, the Mythical Ponyta held up her shining horn, spreading her Pastel Veil so that it encompassed their whole teams, keeping their air clean and breathable.

Now that Tetsu was done spreading the smoke bombs, he wrestled with the Beedrill and Combee that Sasuke's team had pushed past, preventing them from attacking the humans. Most of them had either been weakened in battle or by the smoke, making it easy for Tetsu to overpower them.

"Push forward!" Sasuke ordered, brandishing his burning stick. "Don't let them regroup-!"

The thrum of beating wings, followed by beating winds, cut Sasuke off. A string of Combee from deeper in the hive had taken up formation and sent wave after wave of Gust at the intruders. The winds dispersed the smoke, snuffed out the flames, and forced the party to pull together to keep from being blown off their feet.

At the same time, the hive suddenly went on the attack. Dozens of Weedle sprang out from all sides, while the Combee, no longer in a panic, reorganized and started swarming them. From above, the Beedrill were attempting to bomb the party by dropping Kakuna, which would Harden like stone before impact.

Sakura screamed as a trio of Weedle jumped at her. Then a curved barrier of sapphire light sprang up between them and her, blocking their attacks. It was the Mythical Ponyta, her horn glowing blue as she projected the Protect move in front of Sakura. Her horn's glow took on a multihued coloration, and the Protect field was dropped as the Ponyta seized all three Weedle with Confusion, lifting them up and flicking them away.

"Heh, thank you," Sakura said, a bit surprised.

The Ponyta flushed red and looked almost bashful- but then a Kakuna hit the floor next to her with a resounding thud, shocking the Ponyta. Without thinking, she projected Protect up in the air above them, which was just in time to defect another Kakuna that would have otherwise hit them.

Up above, Tetsu went into action, attempting to counter the Kakuna bombardment by punching them out of the way. While this protected everyone down below, it was wearing down poor Tetsu, both from him having to meet the rock-hard Pokémon with his first, and also from those Kakuna that managed to nail him on the head or face as they fell. Worse yet, now the Combee were in full mob, attacking Tetsu from all angles or dive-bombing everyone else.

"Darn it, don't let them separate us!" Sasuke shouted, backing away towards Sakura as he brandished his burning stick. "Stay together, back-to-back!"

Togashi was holding back the swarm from the front, blasting out Flamethrowers and Fire Spins left and right. However, the Beedrill were emboldened, outright attempting to dive around the fierce flames. One actually managed to evade and get close before Hitomi's blades beat it back.

"They're not scared of our fire. We need to turn up the heat: Bayushi, hit Togashi with Flamethrower!" Sasuke ordered.

Realizing what his trainer was planning, Bayushi obeyed without hesitation, and Togashi's body absorbed the Flamethrower, his Flash Fire ability activating.

With golden flames leaking from his tail, eyes, and mouth, Togashi took in a great breath and released one continuous stream of white fire. The intensity of the flame was so great that Sakura nearly stumbled backward from the heat. The swarm could not help but scatter at the white-hot blaze, which set everything in its path alight, though those fires only flashed white for a moment before turning red-orange.

"Ha!" Sasuke shouted triumphantly, only for his cry to become a yelp of pain as a Combee rammed into the side of his head. Akodo screamed murder and wrestled the attacker to the ground, shocking it into submission.

Already the swarm had regrouped, with half the Combee blowing out the fire with Gusts while the rest continued to mob them from above with hit-and-run tactics.

Tetsu tried flying up high to draw their assault away, but he was overwhelmed as the Combee and Beedrill both rushed him from all sides. Sakura shouted for the Metang to fall back, but he either couldn't hear her or couldn't escape the melee, until at last the swarm was forced to part as his heavy form suddenly fell to the earth with a clang, unconscious. One unlucky Beedrill that had been tangled with Tetsu's body as it fell had been dragged to the ground and squashed into unconsciousness as well, resulting the rest of the swarm temporarily retreating high above them and hesitating, assessing the situation.

"Tetsu, you brave fool," Sakura cried as she recalled her Pokémon. "You should have stayed with us instead of trying to be a hero!"

"Focus on the fight," Sasuke ordered, steeling his voice to bury his rising fear. "We started out so strong. Why are they suddenly suicidally aggressive?!" His question was punctuated by a Beedrill diving at him, going after the boy even after it was clipped by Togashi's embowered Flamethrower, slashed by Hitomi as it passed her, finally stopping after Sasuke nailed it twice with his burning stick, and only then because he had managed to knock it out (he made a note to thank his father for making him take kendo lessons since he was 6, if they got out of this alive).

Sakura spotted the answer to Sasuke's question. "That's why!" she shouted, pointing.

The Vespiquen had come into clear view after the swarm had been parted by Togashi's Flash Fire-empowered Flamethrower, though Sakura wasn't sure how they hadn't noticed her earlier; she was easily the biggest Vespiquen any of them had ever seen. Her eyes were glowing red, which Sakura suspected was an indicator of something other than just wrath, and she directed her followers with waves and gestures that released clouds of yellow Sweet Scent pheromones.

"Her pheromones are driving the hive into a frenzy! That's why they don't care if they get hurt," Sakura said. Her eyes widened in horror when she realized that the Vespiquen was holding something struggling by its neck. "Ochako!"

"Look out!" Sasuke called, springing towards her and swinging his stick above her just in time to knock away another Combee.

The Vespiquen had directed her followers to press the attack, and it was only Togashi quicky shooting up a stream of flames into the air at the swarm that made them pull back. However, their retreat wasn't because several of their comrades had dropped to the ground, on fire and writhing in pain. It was because Togashi's Flamethrower had set the treetops on fire. The Combee instinctively went to work putting it out- even the orders of their queen could not suppress their drive to protect the hive from fire.

"If the queen's driving the rest of them into a frenzy, then we've gotta take her out. Togashi, roast her!" Sasuke ordered.

The Charmeleon moved to obey, only for the Vespiquen to scoff and hold Ochako out in front of her, making a point to squeeze her neck so tightly she let out a squeal of pain.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" Sakura cried.

However, her words were unnecessary. As soon as the Vespiquen held Ochako out like a shield, Togashi had redirected his attack skyward, where it hit no one.

The Vespiquen chuckled darkly, covering her mouth with the back of her free hand. Togashi screamed in fury and fire built up in his mouth, but the Vespiquen once again held Ochako up, this time in a lazy fashion, as if she was already tired of this. Growling, Togashi swallowed his fire and turned to Sasuke, looking at him imploringly for some sort of plan.

"You dirty coward, put Ochako down and fight fair!" Sakura demanded.

The Vespiquen put a claw to her mandibles, as if considering the suggestion, before shrugging and buzzing what very clearly meant, "[…no]".

And with that, the Combee above them started to swarm in earnest, having put out the flames. They rose into the air in unison, circling high above head, getting ready to dive down as one.

"Sakura, we have to do something. We're getting overwhelmed," Sasuke said, moving so that his back was to hers.

"We can't attack the Vespiquen while she's using Ochako as a shield," Sakura pointed out. "Ochako could get seriously hurt- ouch!"

A handful of the bolder Combee had broken off from the rest and started a serious of swooping hit-and-run attacks, with one clipping Sakura on the shoulder. Another came at her, but Sasuke beat it away with a burning stick to the face.

"And if we do nothing, we'll be the ones getting hurt!" Sasuke said. "We have to take the risk. There is no choice!"

Togashi scoffed solemnly, his eyes still locked on Ochako, captive in the Vespiquen's grasp. The idea of attacking any of his comrades was unthinkable. They had to free Ochako first! That was the only acceptable solution.

The Vespiquen seemed to sense the Charmeleon's thoughts. She took great pleasure in holding Ochako out in front of her, as if offering her to Togashi if he'd just reach her. Of course, she was also flying a good fifty feet away, and over twenty feet in the air, with a dozen bodyguards between her and him. That complicated the matter.

This did not deter the rest of their team.

Sasuke and Sakura had been focusing on Togashi- after all, his fury at Ochako's abduction was tangible, and he had already laid waste to dozens of the hive's members with no sign of slowing down. It was only naturally for them to think it was Togashi who'd save the day.

…which is why Sasuke and Sakura were just as taken by surprise when Akodo and Hitomi zoomed into action.

First, Akodo leapt at the Vespiquen from a nearby treetop, screaming as mighty a war cry as he could (which was a fairly cute 'meow'). Very quickly, the Vespiquen's Beedrill bodyguards converged upon the airborne Shinx, their stingers raised…and were then subjected to Akodo's Discharged attack. Akodo's electricity burst forth in a thunderclap of fury and light, and the majority of the queen's guard hit the floor, stunned or unconscious. Only the lead Beedrill, made of tougher stuff and fanatical in his devotion, powered through the assault. He first nailed Akodo with Cross Poison, then quickly followed up with a flurry of Twineedle attacks, sending the Shinx to the ground. However, even as the lead Beedrill moved to finish his foe, a comet of water streaked above him toward his queen. It was Hitomi in a full-speed Aqua Jet. Akodo's attack had been a distraction.

The lead Beedrill abandoned Akodo to go after her, but she was already closing in, scalchops drawn-

-and then her eyes met the Vespiquen's, glowing red with regal authority. Suddenly, Hitomi noticed the air near the queen seemed to shimmer and dim, as if she was surrounded by an unseen presence. The presence met Hitomi, and it resisted her. She slowed, ever-so-slightly, in midair, and suddenly it felt as if the air was tangibly thick.

Whatever oppressive force was hampering Hitomi didn't slow the Vespiquen. She slapped the Dewott away with a quick backhand using the same hand she had held Ochako with, drawing a cry of pain from them both, to the Vespiquen's satisfaction. Hitomi was thrown backwards, and then several Combee hit her with Gust, blasting her to the ground. The lead Beedrill moved towards her prone form, but first Togashi and then Akodo moved between him and her, beating him back with fire and lightning.

The Vespiquen called him to her side, haughty and satisfied. Now, there was only the Vespiquen, the lead Beedrill, and the remains of the Combee swarm. Above the party, the swarm was regrouping, with several of their number breaking off to grab the wounded and drag them away from the battle.

But then one sounded the attack, and every Combee that wasn't assisting another hive-mate surged downward like rain.

Sasuke yelled for Togashi to meet their charge with Flamethrower, but Akodo nipped the Charmeleon to seize his attention. The Shinx was ragged, having trouble just standing. That last Discharge attack had taken a lot out of him. Even so, he spoke quickly, explaining his plan, for which he needed Togashi's help. Togashi took only a moment to consider before nodding, grabbing the Shinx, twirling around to gain momentum, and then hurling him straight up into the air. As the Shinx ascended, he built up energy, electricity coursing across his body, which had taken on a yellow glow.

Sasuke realized what was happening and shouted for everyone to drop, grabbing Sakura by the arm as he fell to his knees.

Sakura, meanwhile, had shouted for the Ponyta to try and shelter them all with Protect before the first Combee wave hit. She wasn't sure if the Ponyta'd be up to the task, but the group had moved in close together, so Sakura was hoping that'd make things easier.

A flickering dome of sapphire light sparkled into existence around them, just as a booming thunderclap exploded overhead. Exhausted as he was, Akodo had unleashed every bit of Electric-type energy he had left in him.

The Protect shield faded with the explosion of light. Sakura looked up and gasped; the whole Combee swarm was still falling towards them. At first, she thought Akodo's maneuver had failed, but then she realized they were all unconscious- Akodo might have beaten them, but it looked like they'd still be crushed by the swarm's mass!

Sakura was suddenly yanked by her arm with such force she cried out and pulled back, only for Sasuke to pull her harder. He had gotten to his feet and was trying to run out of the way, shouting for everyone to scatter. However, between Hitomi still on the ground and winded, Sakura confused and getting to her feet, and Togashi tried to see where Akodo was falling to, there'd be no way for them all to get away in time…

…only for a blur of white to dash up a nearby tree and jump into the air above them. Bayushi's eyes were aglow with the same sapphire light as the Mythical Ponyta's, and the Eevee let out a triumphant call as he posed in midair, conjuring a second dome of protective light with Mimic. Unlike the Ponyta's, which had flickered in-and-out of existence and had been barely able to accommodate the party when they were squished together, the Protect Bayushi had Mimicked was a solid dome of near-opaque light, large enough to encompass them all even as they had started to scatter. Bayushi himself remained suspended in midair, outlined in sapphire light that he poured into the Protect dome. A drumroll of 'thud-thud-thud' from the unconscious Combee hitting the Protect could be heard. It continued for over half a minute. A moment of silence, and the then a much quieter 'thump', different from the others, was heard. At last, Bayushi dropped the protective field, hitting the floor, smiling but clearly drained.

The party were ringed by unconscious Combee, who had fallen on the Protect dome and rolled off to the side, though a few had remained atop it, causing them to fall down among the party when the barrier was dropped.

More important was Akodo, who had landed on the dome's summit, then dropped right next to his trainer as soon as it disappeared. However, the Shinx was no longer a Shinx: his body was now larger, stronger, and he sported a darker coloration, with a fuller mane. He had evolved into a Luxio!

Panting heavily, the newly evolved Luxio gave a tired smile Bayushi's way, which the Eevee returned with a challenging one of his own. Each 'mon clearly felt he had saved the day.

However, before Sasuke could even complement his Pokémon for what they'd done, Bayushi's ears twitched in Anticipation. The Eevee lunged out in front of Akodo just as a ruby laser beam was about to hit him. The beam hit Bayushi and exploded in a burst of ruby shards and the sound of an avalanche, and the Eevee was hurled backwards into Akodo. The Luxio looked down at his companion, who did not stir from where he'd fallen, and then up at the beam's source.

The Vespiquen cackled wickedly, her forehead gem glowing as she charged another Power Gem, with Ochako struggling desperately in her grasp.

A red haze filled Akodo's vision. He had not noticed what Sasuke was saying, or how Togashi had moved forward to act. Akodo barely noticed that he was charging at the Vespiquen, electricity coursing around his body as he attempted to unleash as much of his power as he could, exhausted though he was. He did not notice Sasuke shouting for him to stop and get out of the way. The only thing Akodo really saw was the Vespiquen's throat, and how he planned on biting down on it as hard as he could.

Togashi, who had started to launch a Flamethrower at the Vespiquen (deciding that he had no choice, even if she was still using Ochako as a shield), had to choke back the attack when Akodo ran forward and got in the way.

Akodo built up speed, lunging into the air just as his body started to spark-

-and then it was like he was moving underwater. He slowed down in midair, his body surrounded by some unseen presence. The Vespiquen's eyes glowed as the air around them dimmed and shimmered with oppressive force. The Luxio tried to unleash his Discharge attack, but the Vespiquen was quicker, blasting him to the ground with Power Gem, knocking the valiant 'mon unconscious.

"You monster!" Sakura shrieked, darting toward the fallen Pokémon.

Once again, the Vespiquen's eyes took on a sinister light as the air around them took on an oppressive feel. For a moment, Sakura felt herself slow down, as if she were pushing against waves of water. The Vespiquen's forehead gem was gleaming-

Sakura felt herself being grabbed by the hand, and she was suddenly jerked out of the Power Gem's path just in time. It was Sasuke, who still held her hand in an iron-clad grip.

"Darn it! What even is that?!" Sasuke asked, pulling Sakura backwards as Hitomi and Togashi moved in front of them. He had already called Akodo and Bayushi back to their balls.

"It's the Pressure ability, I think; Vespiquen can release bursts of oppressive energy that makes you need to put forth twice the effort as normal," Sakura explained quickly.

Sasuke growled. "Oh, great! As if this fight wasn't hard enough. How do we deal with that?!"

"Wait! I just remembered: Pressure can't be maintained continuously. If we keep the heat on and don't let up on the attacks, she'll either have to drop the Pressure field or exhaust herself keeping it up!" Sakura said quietly.

"And how do we do that when she's still using Ochako as a shield?" Sasuke asked.

As if to answer him, Ochako took action. She had been struggling against the Vespiquen before the battle begun, so that the Vespiquen had to tighten her grasp upon Ochako's throat, almost strangling her to unconsciousness. However, the Vespiquen's attack on Bayushi and Akodo had lit a furious fire within her. Drawing strength from her anger, Ochako thrashed against her captor's grasp. The Vespiquen hadn't been expecting the renewed struggling, and Ochako was able to turn partly in her grasp before the Vespiquen's claws clamped down as iron. However, now Ochako was far angrier than she was afraid, and she could see her captor's snarling face. With a whipping motion, Ochako loosed a Razor Leaf at her foe, straight for her eye.

The Vespiquen might have been highly resistant to Grass-type attacks, but no creature can ignore a blade to the eye, let alone one thrown with a heart full of fury.

The Beehive Pokémon let out a terrible roar of agony, thrashing wildly in the air as her Beedrill bodyguard flew nearby to try and aid his queen. Togashi rushed forward, but he couldn't get a clean shot in; the Vespiquen was wildly flinging the arm grasping Ochako to-and-fro in her agonized throes. Worst still, the air around her distorted and shimmered from her Pressure- if Togashi tried anything, it would be slowed down, making it all the more difficult for him to get a clear shot!

Ochako felt herself becoming dangerously lightheaded as she was thrashed about- now the Vespiquen's grasp was so tight it had cut off her air. Everything was going white…

-0o0o0-

"There's no room for weakness in this world."

His voice was stern, but not harsh. Disappointed, more than anything.

The Chikorita looked up at the human youth. He was tall, with piercing eyes and orange hair in a long, untamed tail.

"You can come out now. The Murkrow's gone," the youth added in a tone that made his annoyance clear.

Bashfully, she crawled out from beneath the log she had taken refuge under. She was still frightened, but something in the boy's eyes made her want to obey his commands. It was the steely, cool confidence of someone who never doubted or feared- something the Chikorita wished she possessed.

Her hiding spot under her log had been only the most recent of several places she had attempted to use to escape her tormentor, a particularly cruel and ruthless Murkrow. It had been bullying her all morning, chasing her from one hiding spot to the next, always finding a way to pry her out and continue the hunt, cackling with vicious delight at her tears and screams.

Then, just as the Chikorita had decided to just stay under her log and never come out, the Murkrow's cawing stopped. Someone else had walked over. A human spoke, and from his tone, he wasn't frightened by the cruel Murkrow at all. There was the sound of a scuffle, and the Chikorita dared to peak out from under her log just in time to see the piecing-eyed boy punch Murkrow in the beak as it tried to rake its claws across his face.

"Beat it!" the boy had commanded, taking a second swipe at the Murkrow's fleeing form.

Now, the youth looked down at Ochako with appraising eyes. There was a Rockruff near him, though apparently the boy had thought the Murkrow was unworthy of battling his Pokémon.

"What exactly where you going to do if I didn't show up? Hide under that log 'till it went away?" the boy asked coldly, his arms crossed.

The Chikorita hung her head.

He went on. "That Houndoomed bird was a coward. All I had to do was punch it in the beak and it ran off. It was bullying you because you're the only thing more cowardly than it. Sheesh, even a cornered Rattata fights back. What's your excuse?"

The Chikorita winced, and the boy sighed again. He considered her for a moment before turning to walk off.

"Whatever. Stay safe…and find a spine if you can. There might not be someone around who pities you the next time that Murkrow shows up," the boy said, looking over his shoulder. He patted his thigh, signaling for his Rockruff to follow, and the Chikorita noticed a trickle of blood running down the boy's hand. He must have been cut during his scuffle with the Murkrow.

The Chikorita hesitated for a moment, and then ran over to his side, quickly tapping her leaf to the boy's hand.

"What are you-?" the boy began, but the sentence died as the Chikorita's leaf released a healing glow. A moment later, the small cut he had gotten when he punched the Murkrow's beak was gone. The boy looked at his hand, and then down at the Chikorita, who was blushing as she looked up at him hopefully. He eyed her appraising for a second before turning to his Rockruff, who sized her up and nodded with a grin.

The boy considered this, turned, and continued walking.

The Chikorita dropped to the ground, sniffling to herself.

"…well, are you coming or not?" the boy called, pausing to look over his shoulder at her. "If ya are, stop that crying. I hate crying."

Choking back the sob in her throat, the Chikorita scrambled to her feet and after the boy- no, after her trainer.

-0o0o0-

"I've told you there's no room for weakness in this word," Cross said, a certain amount of impatience in his voice.

They had just finished a gym battle against a Ground-type specialist. They had won…but not thanks to Ochako.

Cross was sitting at a table outside the Pokécenter, with Ochako curled up on his lap. He was reviewing a video of the battle on his laptop. Cross always did so after every serious battle, even ones he had won. He always wanted to find ways to improve.

Meekly, Ochako tried endearing herself to her trainer by snuggling up against him affectionately. That only earned her a shove off his lap onto the bench next to him.

"You lost to a Wooper, Ochako. A. Wooper. A Water/Ground Pokémon. Something with a double weakness to Grass-types," Cross went on coldly. He brought up the battle on the screen. "How could you lose to it? It didn't even use any Ice-type moves. You had every advantage. Minuano beat it, and he's a Rock-type!"

Cross waved angrily at his newly evolved Midnight Lycanroc, who was curled up and enjoying a well-earned rest.

"Chika," Ochako whimpered apologetically.

Cross reached down to her chin and raised her face so that her eyes met his.

"There is no room for weakness in this world, Ochako," he repeated firmly. "My father taught me that. He taught me that this world only respects strength, no matter what the storybooks say. And he's the strongest trainer I know. He demands strength from his Pokémon, and so do I."

At this last sentence, Ochako broke eye contact with her trainer, doing her best not to cry. Cross hated it when she cried. She didn't mean to be weak! She had just been so afraid…she wished she had some way of explaining herself to him.

Cross hesitated, frowning. Perhaps he was feeling a slight twinge of guilt for being so hard on her. Or maybe he realized that his cold and demanding criticism was counterproductive with Ochako's personality. Whatever the reason, Cross unexpectedly pulled Ochako back up into his lap, stroking her affectionately.

"Oh, Ochako. What am I going to do with you?" he sighed.

The Chikorita literally shook with joy, rubbing her face against her trainer's big, strong chest. "Chikorita…"

"Yeah, I know you're sorry. I forgive you," Cross said, his voice firm but not unkind. "As long as you keep working to be stronger, I'll always forgive you…"

-0o0o0-

"Are you sure you wish to do this? It's very obvious that she's very attached to you! Won't you reconsider?" the Nurse Joy said, looking from Cross to Ochako.

They were in a Pokécenter, in a room with a medical table, a large desk, and several computers. Cross sat on one side of the desk, with his Lycanroc standing behind him, silent and obedient, while the Nurse Joy stood near the table, on which was Ochako. She had been sitting there, silent and still save for the occasional sniffle, ever since Cross entered the room and put her on the table. Of course, when Cross first announced his decision a couple of hours ago, Ochako had first been hit with a wave of denial, sort of swaying between disbelief and treating it as some sort of cruel joke…and then, when she realized it wasn't, the Chikorita threw herself to her trainer's feet crying as hard as she could and begging Cross not to get rid of her. That caused a scene in the center, and Cross had to recall her…and then recall her again when she popped right now to continue begging, this time locking the ball. That had been some hours ago. Now, Ochako didn't have the energy or tears to cry, beg, or protest. Which was good, because Cross didn't have the patience for any of it.

Cross had made his decision, and nothing would change his mind.

He didn't want Ochako anymore. So, he was going to release her.

"The decision is made," Cross said firmly. "I hold my team to high standards. I demand strength from them. And Ochako doesn't have what it takes. I've tried working with her for months, but she doesn't have it in her."

The Chikorita made a pitiful sound, not bothering to look up.

Nurse Joy grimaced. "Please, young man. Think about what you're saying! Pokémon are not just tools of war. They are living, thinking, feeling beings-"

Cross scoffed. "And not all of them are cut out for battle. It isn't cruel, it's just true." He spared Ochako a look. "I've been willing to work with her and try to draw out her strength. But yesterday was the final straw. During a double battle at the local gym, she panicked and tried to flee the fight. My other Pokémon got so distracted trying to help calm her down that he stopped paying attention to the battle and the enemy doubled-teamed him. We suffered an embarrassing loss. It was the first time I've ever lost a gym battle," Cross said darkly. "It's one thing to be weak, but its another to spread that weakness to the rest of my team."

The Nurse Joy sighed and tried talking, but Cross held up his hand.

"Enough. I've made my decision." He turned back to the desk, on which was the document he needed to sign to release Ochako into the custody of the Pokécenter. Without hesitation, he signed it, got up, and handed Ochako's Pokéball to Nurse Joy.

It was at this point that the numb disbelief that Ochako had been drowning in suddenly cleared away. Before she realized it, Ochako had thrown herself off the table and at her trainer's- nay, at her former trainer's feet, debase herself before him. She wailed and cried, begging for Cross not to leave her. She promised to work harder. To train until her bones broke. To never lose another fight again. To die for him, if that's what it took. Finally, Ochako desperately said that she loved Cross, pouring her heart out to him, hoping that he could understand her-

Suddenly, she felt herself being picked up. Cross had lifted her, not harshly, and held her up, so that she could meet his gaze.

For one very short moment, Ochako hoped beyond all hope…but then she saw his eyes. They were cold and piecing, like fire behind ice.

"Be. Quiet," he ordered, setting her down on the table. He was impassive as stone, completely unmoved by her begging- he hadn't even bothered trying to understand what she had said.

Ochako forced herself to quiet her crying down to whimpering as she forced herself to not look away. Cross had always hated it when she cried or refused to meet his gaze. Maybe if she did her best now-!

"There is no room for weakness in this world," Cross said, repeating the creed he had held every member of his team to.

Ochako flinched, and for a moment, she thought she saw a flicker of an emotion other than exasperation or grim resolve in Cross's eyes. But it was gone as quick as it had appeared.

"The Pokécenter will find you a more suitable trainer. Someone who won't care if you're weak. You'll be happier with them," the boy said, though his voice was cold and distant. He stepped back. "Goodbye."

And with that, Cross left the room.

Minuano the Lycanroc, who had been standing silent and without expression the whole time, moved to follow when Ochako called out to him in desperation, begging him to convince Cross to reconsider.

Minuano paused, looking at his former teammate pityingly. But then Cross whistled from the hallway. Sparing only a soft, apologetic goodbye, the Lycanroc went to his master's side.

The door slammed shut, and Ochako's world was reduced to tears.

-0o0o0-

Togashi stood helplessly, smoke wafting from his mouth as he kindled flames but hesitated to release them. He couldn't get a clear shot, but Ochako was in danger, and if he didn't act soon…what was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to do?!

The sound of rushing water overhead caught everyone's attention.

Hitomi had Aqua Jetted into the trees high above the battle and then dove sharply down, letting gravity add to the speed of her fall. She hit the Pressure field, but it only slowed her descent partly. Sakura had said the ability unleashed a field of opposing force, but it wasn't an unstoppable power. In fact, battlers who had faced it before could easily fight against it without too much trouble. The party had simply never encountered anything like it before. Hitomi, however, had faced enemies with powers she didn't understand. Which is to say she was used to fighting against unknown factors. Now that she got a taste of what the enemy could do, she was ready to start the counterattack. And true to what Sakura had said, the Vespiquen couldn't maintain her Pressure ability for long- only in bursts. Already, as the Dewott flew in towards the Vespiquen, the air around them was returning to normal.

By the time the Vespiquen had calmed down from her tantrum enough to open her eyes, Hitomi had drawn her scalchop and struck. She hacked a Razor Shell attack at the arm her foe held Ochako by, putting such force behind it that there was a splatter of green blood, followed by a terrible howl of pain.

Ochako hit the ground, choking and hacking as she drew in new breath.

Shocked and terrified, the Vespiquen flew backwards until her back ran into a tree, clutching her bleeding arm. Meanwhile, her last, faithful Beedrill guard charged Hitomi from behind, screaming bloody vengeance for his queen. He pinned her to the ground, stabbing her through each shoulder, then raised his third stinger-

Togashi had prepared to attack, but there was a mighty trumpet as a white shape rushed before him.

The Mythical Ponyta had joined the fray, head lowered and horned bared as she charged the evil Beedrill. The little unicorn struck her like a knight lancing a dragon, throwing her head back with a powerful flick to fling the Beedrill behind her. He righted himself in midair, only to meet the Ponyta's back hooves in a High Horsepower kick that sent him away. Quick as a flash, the Ponyta had turned around, standing protectively with Hitomi's injured form on her right and the gasping Sakura to the left. She dug a hoof across the ground and whickered aggressively, her horn flashing with light. The Beedrill hesitated.

"Ha! She's not afraid of you anymore!" Sakura taunted.

From across the battlefield, the Vespiquen shouted for her champion to fight, rebuking him for his cowardice.

Unfortunately for her, Sasuke realized that she was now unguarded and helpless, having neither protector nor hostage nearby.

"Burn her bones black," Sasuke growled, his voice soft and dangerous.

Togashi complied, unleashing a terrible Flamethrower.

The Vespiquen saw the light of the fire just in time to raise her arms to her face, screaming. The flames flowed all around her, burning her and everything nearby. Togashi held nothing back in his blind fury. He was finally able hurt the awful witch that had stolen his Ochako! Why should he care if the stray flames started a forest fire?

Fire was breaking out everywhere; the hive's construction of branches and silken strands made it easy for the flames to spread. The air shimmered and distorted, but it was unclear if that was the heat from the fire or the Vespiquen using Pressure in a desperate attempt to save herself.

"Sasuke, you have to stop!" Sakura shouted, grabbing the boy by the shoulder. "The fire's getting out of control!"

She gasped when Sasuke turned to her. By a trick of the fire, his eyes and become red and evil, matching the expression of cruel satisfaction on his face. But it only lasted a moment. Then Sasuke's face returned to normal, and all of a sudden, he seemed to be aware of the danger he had put them all in.

He turned back to the battle and shouted, "Togashi, stop!"

Togashi stopped the stream of flames only with great effort. He glared over his shoulder at his trainer, furious and frustrated, wanting to know what the problem was. Obviously, he either didn't notice or didn't care that there was a forest fire blazing around them.

And everyone failed to notice the Beedrill charging in until he drove Togashi to the ground with Fell Stringer, followed quickly by a train of Twineedle attacks. Togashi slashed at his attacker with his claws and blasted him with fire, but the Beedrill cared not; this filthy lizard had dared harm his beloved queen, and the Beedrill would see him dead for the slight, even if it cost him his life to do so.

Sasuke sprang to his distressed Pokémon's defense, striking the Beedrill with a stout stick. The Beedrill buzzed furiously and turned his stingers on Sasuke, but this lapse in focus was all Togashi needed to blast his foe away with a point-blank Flamethrower.

Sasuke quickly helped Togashi to his feet as he took in the situation.

They were nearly surrounded by a sea of flames. If the fire was not contained soon, it would spread out of control and burn down a good deal of the forest, with the party as well. Hitomi was up, having received a quick bit of healing from the Ponyta, and was trying to put out the flames by herself with Water Pulse. But she was already dead tired.

Sakura was at Ochako's side, examining the Pokemon's injuries. Likewise, the Ponyta had lowered her horn and administered a Heal Pulse, lightening the ring of bruises around the Chikorita's neck.

And then there was the Vespiquen; Sasuke had thought at first that Togashi's brutal assault would have reduced her to ash, or at least rendered her unconscious. However, after Togashi had been forced to abate in his attack, the Vespiquen had gathered her strength and took to the air. She was covered in burns, but her eyes were blazed red with fury. She hadn't attacked yet, though, being too busy taking in the damage done to her hive.

"Sakura, help Hitomi take care of the fire!" Sasuke ordered.

"It's gotten too big; we should leg it and get away while we still can," Sakura said.

"If it gets any worse, there won't be anywhere to run," Sasuke responded darkly. "Now get to it. Togashi and I will handle the bitch queen."

Sakura paused but nodded grimly. She turned to the Ponyta. "Do what you can to help Hitomi; use Heal Pulse to give her some energy, or if you can, use Confusion to smother the fire with dirt. Keep close to us and stay away from the fire!"

As she spoke, she took off her backpack and flipped it open. Normally, Mina would be in there, but Sakura had recalled her to her Pokéball before they started their assault on the hive- now was no time for a baby to be out and about! Quickly, Sakura rummaged through her backpack, not noticing one of the balls on her belt flashed open. Finally, she let out a cheer as she found the items she was looking for: a jet injector and a box of medicine cartages. Tsunade had given the set to her for emergencies- aside from being markedly more expensive than standard spray-on potions, cartages also had less long-term effectiveness. The trade-off, however, was that they were by far the quickest-acting medicine available. Popping the box open, Sakura looked for an ether. Hitomi was the only Pokemon they had capable of putting out the fire in any meaningful way, so she needed to give the exhausted 'mon an energy boost.

While Sakura loaded up the injector with practiced ease and replaced the box back into her pack, she failed to notice that stray tongues of flame had started to creep up behind her. With heat and fire all around, the girl had no idea that she was now boxed in by the flames…

…only for a miniature raincloud to form behind her and dose a section of the fire. Sakura gasped as she heard the hiss of water against fire, and felt some of it splash against her, but when she turned around, the cloud had dispersed. Realizing now that she was almost surrounded, Sakura jumped through the opening and moved towards Hitomi.

"Heh, I'd be dead if Hitomi didn't dose those flames at the last second," she mused.

Mina watched her mother/trainer run off, equal parts confused, scared, and flustered. She was aware of the danger of the situation; the heat alone was incredibly uncomfortable, drying out her tender body. At the same time, however, her child-mind had told her that the right thing to do was help…though the innocent Goomy had no idea how to do that. So for the first few moments after exiting her ball, she had stayed very still, watching Sakura as she rummaged through her pack, confident that her mommy would know what to do. It was by instinct that Mina used Rain Dance on the flames when Sakura was unknowingly in danger…and now that Mina realized she could do that, she suddenly was very excited! Now the fire didn't seem quite so scary. Concentrating, Mina created another raincloud, this time over a nearby bush. It would be sad if it caught on fire, right? The little cloud poured out a small drizzle, and the bush was saved!

The Goomy cheered and sprayed bubbles of delight. She was feeling very proud of herself when a stray spark popped out from the blaze and landed on her backside. Squeaking in pain, Mina released a flood of energy. Very quickly, a storm cloud far larger than the miniature ones she had summoned earlier appeared above her, spanning a good ten feet in all directions, releasing a downpour that put out all the nearby fire. Mina gasped in both surprise and relief, as the rain was very refreshing to her dry skin. That, however, broke her concentration, causing the cloud to disappear. Still, it was much cooler and wetter now...funny, Mina mused, but Mommy and Unca' Sasuke didn't seem to notice what had just happened. And it had been so neat, too! Frowning, Mina wondered how she was supposed to help if everyone was ignoring her…when she noticed that a tree near her was no longer aflame, and in fact, it had a tall, sturdy branch she could easily climb up to. The beginnings of a plan formed in her childish mind.

-0o0o0-

Ochako staggered to her feet, not sure what to do. Her neck was still throbbing with pain, her vision was hazy, but she was in the mind to do more than stand about helplessly!

Sakura, after quickly telling Ochako to stay close to Sasuke and clear of the fire, had left her to go aid an exhausted Hitomi, with their Ponyta friend doing her best to help. A quick dose of ether gave Hitomi her second wind, and she was back to hurling Water Pulses where the fire was raging worst. The Ponyta, directed by Sakura, telekinetically created clouds of dirt to smother the flames that were spreading in an attempt to contain the fire.

(There had also been a surreal moment in which Ochako thought she had seen a raincloud appear among the treetops and release small shower, but it had disappeared so quickly that Ochako was sure it was a hallucination brought on by the fire's heat.)

Meanwhile, the battle between Togashi and the Vespiquen had renewed itself. The Vespiquen had begun her assault with a Bug Buzz blast that shook the air with her fury; the resulting sonic booms pushed not only Sasuke and Togashi back, but also the roaring blaze that had started to surround them. With a scream that downed out the inferno surrounding them, The Vespiquen shot a Power Gem at the ground to Sasuke and Ochako's left and right. The earth exploded, sending clouds of dust and rock everywhere.

Luckily, before Sasuke and Ochako could be caught in the blast, Togashi used a Flamethrower to rocket out of the way, seizing the two as he flew. His fire still burned golden from Flash Fire, and in fact, he was passively absorbing the heat around him, which also protected the others from the open flames.

"Heh, you got that from Katsuki. I thought copying moves was Bayushi's thing," Sasuke said with a smirk as his Charmeleon set the two down.

Togashi smirked back, but then shot teal fire over his trainer's head without warning. His Dragon Breath attack hit a Power Gem that the Vespiquen had fired at them, causing it to burst halfway across the battlefield. The Charmeleon roared a defiant challenge at his foe.

Next to him, Ochako had put her leaf to one of his injuries, attempting to administer a Heal Pulse, but her efforts faulted- she had been exhausted after being forced to heal the Vespiquen, before she had been strangled for most of the rescue battle.

Togashi pushed her away firmly. "[Keep Sasuke safe!]" he commanded in his smooth, deep voice, and then lunged at his foe.

Sasuke gave orders, warning his Charmeleon to not use Flamethrower or the like- they couldn't risk making the fire any worse, especially now that Sakura had it half under control.

At that moment, the Vespiquen had started to make her forehead gem glow, as if to use Power Gem again, which Togashi responded to with a Dragon Breath. But she had feinted, using Bug Buzz to hurl a flurry of sonic blasts that cut right through the dragon-fire. The attack would have hit dead-on, had Togashi not suddenly been pulled back several feet. He jolted in surprise, looking first down at his belly to see vines wrapped about it, then over his shoulder to see that Ochako had been the one to grab and save him. Instead of saying a quick thanks, he pointed high above and shouted a warning.

Ochako heard the burning branch falling before she even had the chance to look up. Before she could react at all, however, Sasuke put his arms around her middle and dove to the side. Sparks and cinders filled the air at the branch hit the ground and broke into many burning pieces, but Sasuke paid them no mind beyond shaking his head to get them out of his hair and quickly wiping Ochako's eyes.

"Stay alert!" the boy barked. But the sounds of battle cut off any further rebuke.

The Vespiquen had used the distraction of the falling branch to fall upon her enemy, seizing him by the throat. Vainly, Togashi struggled against his large, powerful foe. He lashed at her claws with his talons, kicked at her gut with his hind-claws, and tried striking her face with his burning tail. Yet the furious Vespiquen only throttled him in more earnest for his efforts. His earlier attacks with fire had hardened and infuriated her so that the bleeding cuts made by his claws and the gabbing of his burning tail was easy for her to ignore.

Smirking with murderous intent, the Vespiquen activated her Pressure ability, eyes glowing red as the air around the two distorted. Desperately, Togashi tried to shoot fire at his foe's face, deciding that it was worth risking another outbreak of flames, but both her grip round his neck and the oppressive presence pushing down on him from all angles made it impossible to spark a flame.

Sasuke had jumped to his feet, grabbed a piece of the burning branch, and hurled it at the Vespiquen, as he shouted obscenities. When that didn't work, he hurled another, and another. Next to him, Ochako had joined in, grabbing two branches with her vines and swinging them at the monster attacking Togashi. The hot wood burned both fingers and vines, but neither one of them cared.

Unfortunately, neither had the Vespiquen. Most of their efforts had been sent off course after entering the Pressure area. Those few that hit simply bounced off her bulk and were ignored. She had far more pressing matters to attend to…by which she meant the matter of pressing her claws down on Togashi's throat until his ears bled.

"[You weak little plebeian!]" the Vespiquen gasped, taking in ragged breaths from both the ash-filled air and from the effort of pushing against Togashi's claws as she tried to snap his neck. "[My hive! My servants! It's all in flames!]"

"[I…talent…causing trouble,]" Togashi gasped, doing his best to smile.

"[Speak up, little weakling. I can't hear your dying words!]" the bloodthirsty monarch said, lightening her grasp by a hair.

Togashi tried taking in a breath deep enough to shoot fire, but his throat spasmed. Things were getting dark.

Vines had wrapped around the Vespiquen's neck, then Ochako appeared, pulling herself onto her foe's back.

"[Let. Him. GO!]" she shouted, slashing at the Vespiquen's wings with her leaf. Such an attack would normally be largely painless- Vespiquen are highly resistant to Grass-type moves and have remarkable body armor. However, Ochako had aimed her blows at her foe's recently healed injury, resulting in a thrash of pain.

The Vespiquen bucked wildly in an attempt to fling Ochako off, screaming murder and vengeance. She beat her wings in attempt to blast her off with Bug Buzz, but Ochako held fast, only tightening her grip on the Vespiquen's neck.

Meanwhile, her grasp on Togashi's throat had slackened enough so that he could take in a breath and push back the fog of unconsciousness that had been closing in. The Vespiquen wouldn't be distracted much longer- he had to do something now!

Togashi released his grasp on the Vespiquen's talons and shoved both of his hands into his mouth. Glands in his mouth released chemicals that could mix with the acids in his stomach to create a fire-accelerate. A side effect of this was flammable saliva. Togashi pulled his wet claws from his mouth and brushed them against his burning tail-

Foosh! His claws burst into fire. Had Togashi been able to laugh at that moment, he'd have been cackling.

Flashing the Vespiquen a toothy, bloody smile, Togashi shoved his burning claws into her face.

The Vespiquen's scream of agony reverberated across the forest, audible over the fire's roar. She staggard backwards, bodily flinging Togashi away as she thrashed about wildly, covering her seared face. By happenstance, the Charmeleon crashed into Sasuke, who had been running at their foe with a burning brand, and the two were sprawled upon the floor.

With hands no longer holding Togashi, the Vespiquen was easily able to reach over her shoulders, grab Ochako, and hurl her away. The Chikorita hit a tree with a loud 'thud' before dropping to the ground stunned.

Togashi, who had gotten up onto his elbows, cried out and reached for Ochako, but then the Vespiquen was there, hitting him like a train. With one claw, she pinned him down by the neck. With the other, she reached for his eyes. Togashi it with both hands, shoving back as hard as she could.

A human pair of hands joined Togashi's, pushing the psychopathic monarch's claws precious inches further from his face. Then Togashi realized that the Vespiquen had pinned him atop his trainer. Grunting with effort, Sasuke pushed against the Vespiquen, trying to free himself. The branch he'd been using as a club was just out of his reach, and he wasn't sure Togashi could hold her off alone!

"[I'll rip your eyes out, you weakling!]" the Vespiquen hissed hysterically, pushing with all her strength against the smaller 'mon.

There was a crack of thunder overhead, followed by a downpour of rain that was so heavy it was nearly unbelievable.

Just what we need, a little atmosphere to set the mood, Togashi mused silently, the joke popping into his mind in spite of the mortal peril he was in. From the corner of his eyes he noticed some movement (which was lucky, since both the rain and the razor-sharp talons getting too close to comfort meant Togashi was now squinting and doing everything to keep said eyes from being exposed). The rain's refreshment had shaken Ochako from her stunned state. She was up, and strangely, outlined in a blur. No, Togashi realized. It wasn't a blur…it was a glow-

The Vespiquen's sudden ranting wretched his attention.

"[I'll leave you blind and helpless, so you can still hear while I KILL EVERYONE YOU LOVE! Your trainer! Your teammates!]" the Vespiquen bellowed, her talons flexing menacing as she managed to get an inch closer. "[I'll gut them and all you'll be able to do is listen to their dying screams! And you know what?! You can't do anything to stop me, because there's no room for weaklings like you in this world!]"

Togashi managed to push her off his throat enough to breath out a small burst of fire, but the rainstorm and the Vespiquen's Pressure made it little more than a puff of heat against her face.

"[Please keep your eyes open,]" the Vespiquen snarled in an eerily calm tone. "[I wanna be the last…Thing...You'll…Ever…See!]" With each word, her talons inched closer…

At that moment, Sasuke had decided to take a chance and released her claw to reach for the nearby branch. By some miracle, he had been able to jerk out from under Togashi and the Vespiquen enough to wrap his fingers around it, getting ready to swing…

…while Hitomi jetted in, both scalchops drawn and fully extended. Her face, a mask as placid as a windless lake. Her heart, a typhoon ready to rend the Vespiquen in twain…

…while Sakura and the Ponyta were running in, with the Ponyta levitating a log like a battering ram while Sakura pushed it forward with all her strength…

…and up in the tree above, little Mina felt her innocent heart quake with rage at the evil, mean creature, unaware that an electrical current was building up between her antennas…

But all of them- Sasuke, Hitomi, Sakura, the Ponyta, and Mina -were a second too late to stop the Vespiquen…

…because before she could follow through with her threat, a powerful vine had shot out and wrapped itself around her claw, while a second on lassoed her by the throat.

"[Don't you TOUCH him!]"

There was a heave, and everything suddenly became a blur for the Vespiquen. Air and rain rushed past her, and before she realized she'd been thrown, she was slammed into a tree with a painful crack.

"[You will not touch him again!]" the voice promised. The Vespiquen realized it was Ochako's, but different. It was stronger…more mature…

The Vespiquen drew in a furious, rattling breath as she pushed herself off the tree. "[You arrogant…little…weakling-!]"

Ochako gave a crack of her vines, and the Vespiquen was slammed into the mud.

Sputtering, the Vespiquen glared at the weak little 'mon she had been able to bully earlier…only to find Ochako was no longer little, and certainly not weak.

Her saurian body was large and strong, as big as Togashi, and her neck ringed in tightly curled leaves. Upon her crown, the Bayleef's leaf-blade had grown and become elegant yet impressive. She stood between the Vespiquen and Togashi, fury flashing in her eyes.

Around them, the chaos of the battle died out in one instant. The rain had doused the fire as quickly as it had come, Sasuke was frozen beneath Togashi, his club half-raised. Sakura had stumbled in surprise, tripping the poor Ponyta behind her, creating a painful tangle between them. Hitomi flew past them like a wet comet, so enraptured by it all that she failed to notice she was about to crash into a half-burnt bush.

"[You'll not harm him again!]" Ochako repeated, releasing the Vespiquen and flexing vines in a threatening manner. "[You'll not harm any of them!]"

The Vespiquen snarled, but Ochako silenced her with a whipcrack of her vines.

"[You've hurt my trainer! My friends! My Togashi! You'll pay for it too, you brut! Leave, or I'll settle with you now!]"

The wounded monarch lay still in the mud, with the rain pouring down. Around her, those of her hive that had been too injured to flee had been stirred by the rain. Yet with but a look at their once-queen, and then one at the furious Ochako, and they turned and fled. The Vespiquen's pheromones might have pushed them towards suicidal loyalty, but even her spell couldn't push the hive towards such a sure defeat. Not when she herself was so obviously outdone.

Feeling greater pain in what she was doing now than ever she had from physical injury, the Vespiquen rose to the air and fled from the ruins of her hive, only turning back to give one last spiteful spit at the ground at the Bayleef's feet.

Hitomi growled and raised a blade to go after her, but Ochako held her back.

"[Leave her,]" she sighed, feeling suddenly wearly. "[Letting her go is a greater injury than any we could inflict upon her.]"

"[THIS IS FAR FROM OVER! I SWEAR IT!]" the Vespiquen shouted, now that she was flying high in the sky and a safe distance away. "[YOU'LL ALL PAY FOR MY HUMILIATION! THIS WORLD ISN'T MEANT FOR WEAKLINGS LIKE-!]"

A thunderbolt split the sky and struck her, and she was sent hurtling down to a distant part of the forest, though it was still close enough to hear her resounding crash.

From her perch up in her tree, Mina smiled, not sure what happened. But, from the tingle she had felt just before the sky flashed and the mean Vespiquen was hit, she was pretty sure she'd done it…but whoa, she was feeling tired now…

"[Heh, seems Raikou wanted to see justice done now,]" Hitomi joked, attributing the seemingly random lightning bolt to the folklore that Thunder Pokémon Raikou traveled the land to strike down the unjust without warning.

Ochako, however, was no longer paying attention. She was at Togashi's side, administering Heal Pulses to his neck. "[This is all my fault,]" she said softly, gently touching the bruising along his neck with her vine. "[If I hadn't been so weak and-]"

Togashi scoffed. "[Weak? You just flung a psychotic despot twice your size and three times your weight around like a ragdoll. You and I must have different definitions of weak.]"

Ochako blushed as their trainers closed in. Sakura, who was crying tears of joy and relief, was caught in a confusing whirlwind of emotion. There was overwhelming joy at having her Pokémon safely back, squealing excitement at her evolution, and blazing pride at her for dealing the final blow to their powerful foe. However, for some reason, Sasuke held her back, telling her to wait. He had noticed a gleam in his Charmeleon's eyes…

"[I…uh,]" Ochako began, only to trail off, not sure what she was trying to say. "[Uh, we better get you out of the rain!]"

"[Oh, I can help!]" their Mytical Ponyta friend cheered, creating a shield of telekinetic energy over the pair. "[By the way, hi, Miss Ochako! I missed you]"

"[Hello dear,]" Ochako said sweetly. "[I missed you, too]"

"[We all did. On that note,]" Togashi said, suddenly looking very serious, "[Did my ears deceive me, or did you say, 'My Togashi'?]"

Ochako started to stammer, but Hitomi spoke up.

"[She did. I heard it too!]"

Ochako blushed, but Togashi just smiled warmly. "[Hmm, well, if I am yours, does that mean you are mine?]"

And without waiting for her reply, he got up and rubbed his cheer against hers. At first, she was too stunned to do anything, but then she recovered herself and rubbed back. The saurian-Pokémon equivalent of a kiss.

Both Sasuke and Sakura recognized it as such. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and chuckled while Sakura squealed with delight. Hitomi smiled warmly. The Ponyta blushed and turned away shyly.

But no one expected Mina to suddenly fall out of the tree above them and bean Sasuke on the head before bouncing off and landing right into her shocked Mommy's arms, all the while laughing with childish delight.

"Mina!" Sakura gasped, wondering when on earth she got out of her Pokéball. But that thought was interrupted by the thud of something hitting the ground. Something which turned out to be a semi-conscious Sasuke. "…Oh no, you killed him!"

-0o0o0-

Ino stepped out from under the tree she and Choji had taken refuge under. "Come on, Choji, the rain's stopped. Let's get back to finding your little darling. Truffle, see if you can pick up her scent again."

The chubby boy sighed ruffly as Ino's Tepig sniffed around in the muddy earth and puddles. "He'll never find her now! The rain must have washed away the trail by now!"

"Oh, stop your whining. At least we can try!" Ino snapped impatiently. Instantly, she regrated being so harsh on the boy, remembering that he'd been through a lot. She glanced up at him.

Choji was still covered in bandages and wraps; even with the aid of the Pokécenter's healers, the sheer number of stings he had suffered (some rather large and nasty) had been too much for them to treat all in one night. Not to mention, the poor boy had been utterly despondent since yesterday, and it showed. His hair was uncombed and damp, his eyes red and puffy, and he always looked to be on the verge of tears. Of course, Ino thought she'd look the same if she had lost one of her Pokémon. Especially one she had just caught. Poor Choji hadn't even gotten to show his newest capture to her before the Beedrill attack.

Choji and Ino had departed Teakgrove together after it was announced that the Coordination Contest had been postponed and moved to Steel Blossom. However, along the way, the two had run into a group of kids they knew from school, among which many had often teased Choji or butted heads with Ino. Ultimately, one of them had made such fun of Choji, calling him fat and saying he needed to hold Ino's hand just like in class, that Choji tried challenging him to a battle…a battle poor Choji lost, though Ino thought he did very well for himself, since the boy in question had been a year older than them and had a lot more experience. After that, the bully had continued taunting Choji until he broke down and cried…to which Ino slugged the boy and told him to beat it. Afterwards, Ino tried comforting her sensitive friend (wishing Shikamaru was there to help), but Choji's confidence had been badly shaken.

It was then that Ino suggested that maybe Choji should try catching a Pokémon by himself. The two hadn't started their journeys together. Rather, a week after leaving home, Ino had found Choji by happenstance, lost in the woods and scared out of his wits. Since then, the two had traveled together- Ino had even helped Choji catch his first Pokémon.

Which was why Ino had gotten the idea that Choji go off and catch a Pokémon all on his own- what better way to build up his confidence? Sure enough, after only separating for a day, Choji called Ino up, and was beaming with pride at his newest capture. Ino couldn't help but smile as the gentle boy told her the whole story, and how he couldn't wait for Ino to meet her (he had said this last part with a sly look in his face, though Ino wasn't sure why).

Thus, when poor Choji showed up at the Pokécenter, without a new Pokémon but with plenty of Beedrill stings, Ino knew they couldn't walk away from this.

Resting only for the night (due to Nurse Joy forbidding Choji from leaving the medical ward until he got at least 8 hours of rest), the pair went back to the scene of the attack and started tracking his poor, lost teammate.

Tracking Choji's lost 'mon had proved difficult at first. Truffle hadn't gotten a chance to meet her yet and didn't know her scent. However, Ino suggested that they start where Choji had first caught her. There, they found some tracks and Truffle was able to pick up the lost Pokémon's scent.

Back in the present, Ino sighed sympathetically, reigning in her frustration. "Sorry Choji. I shouldn't snap at you."

"No, I should apologize. You're right!" The big boy jumped up and clinched his fist, trying to look determined. This caused his cubby cheeks to jiggle slightly, which Ino mused looked rather adorable.

"Tepig, Tepig!" Truffle suddenly called, pointing in a direction excitedly with his snout.

"A-ha! Look at that!" Ino cried. "Never underestimate a Tepig's sense of smell! Stronger than even a Growlithe's!"

"Don't let Kiba hear you say that," Choji half-whispered, though he smiled brightly.

But before they could celebrate, the sky was split by a thunderclap, followed swiftly by something large and heavy crashing through the forest's canopy nearby. It hit the ground but continued to skid until hitting a tree with a resounding 'thud'.

"Whoa! I think that's a Vespiquen!" Ino said, her mouth agape at the size of the new arrival.

"No way, she must be twice as big as the ones my father keeps!" Choji said. His father owned one of the finest restaurants in Oakencrown City, and always said if you raised your team like they were champions, then they'd be champions in the kitchen.

It lashed out with its claws, causing Choji to stumble backwards in shock. The air filled with its chittering growl as it forced itself to rise. Choji was wrong, Ino though; this Vespiquen wasn't twice as big as average. Technically, she was closer to half-again as big as any Ino'd ever seen.

The very-large-but-technically-not-twice-as-big-as-average Vespiquen swept out her claws threateningly, infuriated at the sight of more humans after everything else she had gone through today. Power started to collect in her forehead gem-

"Truffle, get her!" Ino ordered, swiftly pulling a Heavy Ball from her belt.

"Tepig!" A stream of flames issued from the Tepig's snout, blasting the irate Vespiquen in the face. She staggered back and prepared to lunge at her attacker, but Ino threw the Heavy Ball, hitting her dead-on. She was absorbed with a flash, and the ball wiggled three times before pinging shut.

"Ha, got ya!" Ino cheered, running over and plucking the ball up. "Good job, Truffle!"

As Ino gave her Tepig an affectionate pat on the head, Choji rose to his feet, saying thoughtfully, "That was easy. It only took one attack to catch her, and her being so big, too!"

"I think she was struck by lightning. That's why she crashed," Ino suggested. "Oh! I just realized you might have wanted her! Sorry, did you?"

Choji shook his head. "Nah, they're temperamental and haughty. Besides, my dad's got three. There's nothing special about them to me." He paused, and added, "But you better be firm with her. She seemed really aggressive. Vespiquen that are allowed to challenge their trainers and order their teammates around get disobedient and hard to handle. It's their instincts to be served and not to serve."

Ino nodded. "Looks like we'll have to put the fear of fire in her!" she said, winking at her Truffle. Then she remembered that they were on a mission. "Wait, Truffle found the trail! We should be following it. Come on, Choji! Let's go find your Ponyta!"

-0o0o0-

"Urg, it was a kid with a baseball bat, officer," Sasuke groaned, rubbing his head as Togashi and Hitomi helped prop him up. "Punk hit me from behind and road off on his bike."

"Uh, close enough," Sakura said, not sure if he was joking or not.

Nearby, Mina scrunched down and looked away guiltily.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I know it was Mina. I wasn't actually knocked out, just stunned…I think."

Sakura let out a nervous laugh, saying, "Well, let me have a look at your head. Yeah, you only have a small bump. Ochako could heal this in a heartbeat-"

Their Ponyta friend happily cantered over and put her glowing horn to Sasuke's head. There was a cool, soothing sensation, and then the dull headache that had been throbbing vanished.

"Thanks," Sasuke said

Togashi patted his trainer on the back. Now that he was certain Sasuke was alright, the Charmeleon turned his attention toward Ochako. He then pulled a blanket out from Sasuke's pack, spread it out on the driest patch of dirt available, and waved graciously towards her, a rather dreamy look on his face as the newly evolved Bayleef sat down and patted at the spot next to her. Togashi took her invitation, and soon the two were snuggled up, watching their trainers.

"Isn't that the sweetest thing you ever saw?" Sakura cooed, beaming radiantly at Sasuke. There was an expectant look in her eyes.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, turning to Hitomi.

The Dewott screwed up her face and put a finger toward her mouth as if to puke. "Wott!"

"Yeah. They're just as bad as Itachi and Karen," Sasuke grunted, though Sakura thought she saw a tiny crack of a smile on his face.

Sighing, the boy looked about at their surroundings. The Combee hive was in smoldering ruins. The rain that Mina apparently summoned might have put out the fire before the forest was badly damaged, but many trees had been scorched to cinders. From the looks of it, the Combee and other hive members had the sense to flee the flames and assist their hive-mates who hadn't been able to run on their own (Sakura and even Sasuke didn't want to check or about the possibility that some had been unable to escape the inferno).

Now, the grove was blacked and wet, with many corpses of trees still smoldering.

"…my father once said that one of the harshest lessons a trainer must learn is that even good intentions can have wicked results," he said in a melancholy voice.

Sakura started to say that they had done what they needed to save Ochako but hesitated. After all, that was more-or-less Sasuke's point.

Finally, she decided to quote one of the few profound things she recalled her own father telling her. "At the end of the day, you own every choice you make."

The air was somber and still for a time. Finally, Sasuke broke it when he observed Sakura gently stroking the Mythical Ponyta's muzzle.

"What are we going to do about your Ponyta?"

Sakura blushed lightly. "We'll have to bring her back to the center. After all, she's not mine."

"Tch, tell her that," Sasuke said, letting out a disapproving click with his tongue.

The Ponyta indeed rubbed her face against Sakura's, letting her main brush up against the girl. Sakura's mind was filled with swirls of happy colors and warm feelings.

Sighing, Sakura pushed her away. "Oooh, I wish I could keep you."

From the blanket Sakura had set her down on, Mina perked up and cheered in agreement. As did Ochako and Togashi beside her. Even Hitomi nodded respectfully at the idea.

Sakura smiled, but her expression was pained.

"Way to get everyone's hopes up," she said in gentle rebuke towards Sasuke.

He scoffed in response. "If we find her original trainer, just offer 'em a trade for the pony."

"And what member of my team would I be offering them?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"That Polteageist you were wanting to get rid of. You know, the one you were planning on trading anyway," Sasuke said.

At this, Sakura let her mouth hang open. She had completely forgotten about that stupid Ghost!

…in fact, it might have been useful during their fight with the Vespiquen! Sure, as far as Sakura could tell, the Polteageist was a resentful, disobedient Pokémon that wouldn't listen to Sakura to save its own life, but maybe she could have just tossed it out in the middle of the fight and hope it would end up battling the enemy by default…then again, it might have realized what was up and attacked Sakura out of spite if she tried that.

Dismissing such thought as unproductive, Sakura instead considered Sasuke's idea. He had a point: Polteageist were very rare and valued Pokémon in Konoha, at least according to the Pokédex. The species was known only to show up in the most ancient of teahouses, so of course tea enthusiasts and posh restaurants were willing to pay large sums of money for such treasures. Sakura had actually played with the idea of asking Sasuke's brother Itachi if he'd like to trade with her, seeing as he had recently opened a teahouse, only for Sasuke to mention Itachi disliked Ghost-types of all sorts, though he wouldn't go into further detail on the matter.

Sasuke was probably right! Surely, the Mythical Ponyta's trainer wouldn't mind trading a Ponyta for a rare Ghost-types…though, it was a rare Ghost that was also spiteful and ill-tempered, a nagging doubt reminded Sakura. And Mythical Ponyta were a very rare breed themselves. And this Ponyta was just so sweet and well-behaved that her trainer must surely adore her.

Before Sakura's unhappy doubts could continue to fester, they were cut off by a Tepig bursting through the foliage into the scorched grove, followed by a girl and boy. It was Ino and Choji!

Ino was busy talking to Choji, and hadn't noticed the devastation around them. "See, Choji, I told you Truffle would find- Oh sweet Lugia, what happened?!" Ino gasped when she finally turned to look at their surroundings. She spotted Sakura and Sasuke. "What are you doing here?"

"What are we doing here? What are you doing here?" Sakura demanded right back.

Choji cut in. "Our Ponyta!"

"Wait, she's yours?" Sakura asked.

The Mythical Ponyta answered Sakura's question by trotting up to the boy with a cheerful knicker, nuzzling him. She then noticed his bandages and got to work, touching each in turn with her soothing horn.

"Ah, Choji, you were right- she is a sweetheart," Ino cooed.

"You rescued her," Choji said, turning his beaming face to Sakura.

"Yeah…I guess we did," Sakura said. She did her best to hide her conflicted feelings.

"Are we to assume you were separated from her by a Beedrill attack?" Sasuke asked bluntly.

"Uh, yeah. Right after I caught her, too," Choji admitted bashfully. "I had let her out to have a look at her, if you know what I mean. Put a pretty bow on and get her all nice and clean. She was very sweet and kind. And all of a sudden, there was this terrible buzzing, and without warning I was stung on my b-bottom!"

He stammered in light embarrassment at this last admission, glancing nervously at Ino.

The girl, however, didn't seem to think less of him for it.

"Poor Choji hadn't even gotten to name her yet!" Ino explained, deciding Choji didn't need to share any more details about what had happened.

Sasuke hummed in a neutral way. That would explain it; Sasuke had been observing everything closely as soon as Choji exclaimed 'Our Ponyta'. Firstly, Sasuke noted the chubby boy hadn't said 'My', but 'Ours'. Or that while the Ponyta was very glad to see Choji, it was a greeting more akin to the kind given to a friend. Now that she had seen to Choji's stings, the Ponyta had trotted over to Sakura and nuzzled her affectionately. Choji and Ino barely noticed, since they were all standing together with the Ponyta between them, and they were all stroking her mane as Sakura started explaining all that had transpired. Lastly, Sasuke noticed that Choji kept asking Ino various questions, all of which were basically wanting her opinion about the unicorn foal. Choji was very glad to be reunited with the Ponyta, but he seemed especially glad that Ino was showing interest in her.

Logically, Sasuke mused that likely meant one thing.

Well, better cut right to the chase, he thought to himself.

Sasuke cleared his throat, cutting Sakura off just before they got to the point where they confronted the great Vespiquen.

"Choji, how would you like a Polteageist?" Sasuke asked bluntly.

"A what?" Ino asked, bewildered at the very sudden change of subject.

"Polteageist are a sort of tea-ghost Pokémon. They're very rare," Choji explained. "My father's wanted one for years. Says it would give his restaurant another star." The looked at Sasuke with wide eyes. "You have one? You really are a prodigy trainer, just like they said you'd be in school!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Sakura caught one. And she's willing to trade it to you for your Ponyta."

"Sasuke!" Sakura said, gently tapping him on the arm. "Now's not the time-!"

He rolled his eyes. "If you can't tell, she and the unicorn kind of bonded over our little adventure today. Since you haven't even gotten to name her, I assume you'd be willing to do the trade. The Ponyta would be happy with it. Ask her."

The Mythical Ponyta blushed, but nodded eagerly, letting her mane fall into Choji's hand so she might share her feelings of affirmation with him.

However, Choji didn't know she could do this, and stumbled back in shock.

Once that was over, and Ino had helped him up, the boy looked rather embarrassed.

"Uh, well…"

"You don't have to make a decision right now, you know," Ino pointed out gently. "And you shouldn't feel pressured into doing something you don't want to. Though, Sasuke might have a point," she added, smiling flirtatiously at him.

Sakura scoffed inwardly, knowing full-well Ino was only agreeing with Sasuke as a means of flirting with him.

Choji, however, had a very odd expression on his face.

"Uh…well, you see…" he began, now blushing. "Well…the thing is…and you know, I want her to be happy, mind you. But well, this is kind of embarrassing, but…she's not really mine to give."

Even the Ponyta seemed perplexed at this statement.

"What does that mean?" Ino asked.

Choji sighed, decided to get it over with. "Well, the truth it…I was planning on giving her to you, Ino."

A brief, awkward silence followed the announcement. Ino broke it as tactfully as she could, given the situation.

"Saywhat?" she said, looking rather dumbfounded.

"I, uh, caught her for you!" Choji explained, blushing red with embarrassment. "You've been so nice to me since we teamed up, you see, so I wanted…you know….to do something nice…and pay you back…" He trailed off, cringing at himself.

Sakura noticed that the chubby boy dared to glance over at Sasuke before returning his attention to Ino, slouching down. She had the strong suspicion that Choji was just now comparing himself to the other boy unfavorably, especially considering how Ino had made it a point to beam radiantly at Sasuke at every given chance since this meeting began. True, when it came down to it, Sasuke was a finer physical specimen- he was taller, physically fit, came from a very good family, performed well in school, and people considered him cool and good-looking. Meanwhile, poor Choji was seen as fat, awkward, dull, and didn't have many friends. In that case, Choji's attempt to give Ino the Mythical Ponyta could have been motivated by more than just gratitude towards a friend.

Ino was talking now, in a polite, understanding tone.

"You're being very sweet and thoughtful, Choji. Really, anyone would be proud to have this little unicorn on their team," she said, gentling stroking the Ponyta's face. "But you don't need to feel obligated to do something for me just because I was nice to you. We're friends- we're always there for each other." She smiled radiantly and winked at him.

Choji blushing lightly and looked away bashfully. "Yeah…I know that…I just thought she was a good match for you."

"She is," Ino admitted. "If circumstances were different, I'd take you up on your offer, right after I caught something I thought you'd like. I wouldn't want to take advantage of your kindness. But I think it's pretty obvious the situation's changed." She looked over at Sakura. The Ponyta had snuggled up against the girl, and in turn Sakura's Goomy had slicked up from her mother's arms onto the Ponyta's back, cooing happily. Ino sighed contently. "Take Sakura up on her offer. It's pretty obvious the little unicorn's bonded with her- she'd never forgive me if I separated them now. Besides," she added, turning to Choji, "didn't you say your father had been trying to get his hands on a Polteageist? Think of how proud he'll be when you tell him you've got one."

Choji actually reeled back a bit at this suggestion. He stammered an affirmative, causing Sakura to laugh and cheer, with the Ponyta letting out a trumpet of delight.

While everyone else was celebrating and talking excitedly about the day's amazing events, Sasuke leaned over to Ino.

"Hmm, that was surprisingly mature of you," he said quietly.

Ino smiled at his complement, but then frowned at the suggestion that she wasn't normally so mature. "Ah, what else could I do?" she asked. "Besides, now Sakura owes me a favor."

Sasuke scoffed and rolled his eyes. Some things never changed.