Chapter 36 - A Terrifying Tale
There once was a young Buizel.
He lived on a picturesque island out on the ocean, not terribly far from the shore and just barely beyond viewing distance of glorious Radiant City. He had lived there his whole life, considering that's where he'd been born.
The Buizel was the child of two Floatzel, his parents Mateni and Leilani. They were deeply in love with one another, and had become mates long before they had moved to the island. The egg Leilani had produced that would eventually hatch into this young Buizel was their first egg together.
When the egg hatched, an adorable little Buizel cub was inside. To his parents' dismay, though, he wasn't a normal Buizel. Even as young as he was, fresh out of his egg, one could plainly see his bright golden fur. Their son was an ACP. A shiny Pokémon.
Some parents might feel dismay, frustration, discomfort, or even disgust to have their child turn out like this. It wasn't something any parent would ever wish on their child, of course. Not with the sort of life it would lead them to. But Mateni and Leilani could only look at their son with two powerful emotions burning in their hearts.
Love…and worry.
The first few years of the little Buizel's life passed by. He was too young to know what was going on in the world around him. All he knew was that his parents loved him dearly. They doted on him, hugged him constantly, and tried their best to make him as happy as he could be. He was a shiny Pokémon, but Mateni and Leilani didn't care. He was their son, whatever his fur colour was. And they loved him more than anything else in the whole world.
Soon, the little Buizel grew up. He learned how to walk, how to swim, and how to talk. There would always be the most wonderful smile on his muzzle whenever he looked at his mother or father. He had an infectious laugh and enjoyed playing games and having fun. He made friends with the old Gumshoos who lived down the street, as he would cubsit him whenever his parents weren't around.
He didn't have very many friends in his early life, but that suited him just fine. After all, his two parents were his best friends in the world. He was just happy living his quiet island life.
That life changed, though, when it was finally time for him to go to school. His parents had both taught him as much as they could on their own, which actually allowed him to skip the first year of schooling, but eventually it was time for the Buizel to attend classes. He wore a big eager smile on the morning of his first day, clutching his backpack tightly and ready to learn new things and meet new friends.
He came home later that day crying.
That was the day he learned that he was different from everybody else. That he was weird; not normal. True he had noticed a couple other Pokémon, both cubs and adults, acting a little strangely around him before. A single day in school, though, was enough to show him the truth in all of its uncensored glory.
He was a freak.
Everyone had been mean to him. Nobody had been the least bit friendly. Not even the teachers seemed to treat him fairly. He spent the entire rest of the day cradled in his mother's paws, bawling his eyes out. He told them, through shuddering breaths, how many of the other students had told him he was a freak.
His parents immediately detested that word. They both told him, in no uncertain terms, that was absolutely not a 'freak'. He was different, yes, but not a 'freak'. A few Floatzel tears were shed that night as well. Through it all, the three of them all had the same worry; that he had to go back to school tomorrow.
And for many years after.
And it wouldn't get much better.
So, the Buizel's turbulent school life commenced as he continued to grow. After a few stern words from his parents to the administration, most of the teachers started treating him better. A couple of them did try to stop other kids from bullying him if they caught it. Throughout his first year of classes, things became manageable but not much more.
He never came home from school with a smile; not a single time. But, that did not mean that he never smiled again. Eventually, the young Buizel learned that he had to find happiness elsewhere and cherish it. He spent as much time as he could playing with his parents, his Gumshoos cubsitter, or the very very few neighbourhood kids who were actually nice to him.
School was an awful experience. He hated every minute of it. He hated being around so many other Pokémon, feeling so many other sets of eyes staring at him, feeling constantly worried that kids were going to be mean to him or even beat him up. He instead tried his best to be as happy as he possibly could outside of school hours. His parents were very supportive. Though they knew he had to go to school, they put forth 100% of their time and energy to make the rest of his hours filled with smiles.
The only downside was that he didn't learn very much. He struggled with math and especially with reading, but he at least learned how to speak much better and did pick up a couple of things here and there.
At the very least there were a couple of kids who weren't so mean to him. Nobody he could call a friend, but Pokémon who at least tolerated him and weren't abusive to him. It was from these other cubs where the Buizel earned his nickname. During time out on the school playground, the Buizel often found himself running away from the other mean kids. He slowly got better and better at running, not to mention faster and faster. He would zig this way, zag that way, crawl under things and climb over things. Anything to get away from his aggressors.
The nickname stuck, and soon most everybody was calling him 'Ziggy'. He came to enjoy the name and even started using it himself.
Before long, the Buizel grew up to be a young boy of seven years. He had developed a rather severe case of anxiety, but his close relationship with his loving parents managed to stave off depression. It was a tough life for the poor miscoloured Buizel, but he had support from those who loved him, and somehow he made it through. He was a great swimmer, could speak quite well for his age, and loved to help out his parents with chores and jobs around the house.
After all, his parents made him smile so much that he wanted to make them smile in return.
It was then, when this young Buizel was still only seven years old, that his tough but comfortable life on the island came to a sudden end.
The day before had been a special day. There was no school for the day, because it was Family Day. The island was noticeably more crowded, as every Pokémon who lived on the island was there at once. As many of the inhabitants worked off the island, usually at overnight jobs, it was very unusual to have very nearly all of the residents on the island at the same time.
Ziggy barely noticed, though. He hadn't left the house the whole day. It was a happy day, spent in the company of his loving parents, celebrating the wondrous occasion that was Family Day. His mom had bought a cake for the family to share, his dad had gotten him a new board game as a gift, and Ziggy was happy and smiling right up until he went to bed. Thoughts of the upcoming day at school would sometimes keep him awake at night and prevent him from getting a full night's rest, but thankfully that wasn't the case tonight. Before long, he was snoozing quietly beneath the covers.
Hours later, Ziggy was abruptly awoken by a terrifyingly loud crash! He screamed in terror and tumbled off the side of his bed in a bundle of blankets. He could hear other noises, some of them loud, and none of them he recognized. The room was also very hot; uncomfortably hot. Clutching the blankets to himself for security, Ziggy turned his head up and looked out the window.
He could tell something wasn't right by the fact that he could see more than the stars in the sky. While he knew it was still the middle of the night, there was an unnatural amount of light that could be seen outside. Ziggy carefully stood up, quivering with fear, so he could get a better view out the window. Terror gripped his heart like a vice from what he saw.
Flames.
There were flames all around him, consuming the buildings of his village. Nearby trees were on fire. Grassy lawns and fields were on fire. His neighbourhood had been lit on fire.
Before he could do anything else, there was another strange sound. Somebody nearby screamed, and then his ears were overwhelmed by the loudest sound yet. A powerful smash erupted from all around him, causing the whole house and everything in it to shake. Walls crunched and fell apart, parts of the roof crumbled down, and the glass window shattered into a million pieces. Ziggy could only scream in horror as his room was destroyed around him. It was as if a wrecking ball had been thrown against the side of his house.
A thick beam from the ceiling snapped and fell down, landing in the middle of the room with a powerful crash. Part of Ziggy's bed was reduced to splinters and his dresser was destroyed. More pieces of damaged wood rained down from above, creating a huge pile of destruction all around him. Mercifully, Ziggy wasn't hurt by any of the carnage, but he could see that he was now pretty much trapped in his room. The large beam that had fallen was blocking the way to the door. He could go out the window, but he was up on the second floor and he would definitely break his legs if he jumped from there.
Besides, Ziggy was too terrified to move. He just huddled himself up in his cocoon of blankets, hugging himself and trying not to hyperventilate. The poor, frightened Buizel had no idea what was going on. Everything had happened so suddenly. All he knew was that the village outside was on fire, and his room had been completely destroyed in seconds.
He started hearing screams from outside. Many screams from multiple different Pokémon. There was more crashing and destruction he could hear, and the sounds of the roaring flames only got more and more intense. He could hear glass breaking, Pokémon crying out in horror, and all manner of nightmarish sounds that drove him to a level of panic he had never reached before.
There were frightening sounds from within the house too. Ziggy was terrified and just wanted his mom.
The temperature in the room, already sweltering hot, rose to an unbearable degree. Ziggy was already having trouble breathing due to his panic, but he soon found he could hardly take a breath at all. He started coughing and sputtering, and a quick glance upwards revealed why. The flames had reached his house. The timber on the ceiling was already quickly getting engulfed in flames. Within seconds, the inferno raced down the fallen beam and set more of his room on fire.
Ziggy cried in despair. Even though he was seven years old, he hadn't learned how to spit water from his mouth yet. He had no way of putting out the flames, despite being a Water-Type. The fire slowly drew closer, hungrily devouring everything in his room. Ziggy's heart sank as he realized he was about to die. There was nothing he could do to escape this.
Another tremendously loud crash rang out, and more wood exploded into his room to add to the pile of destruction. This crash, though, was accompanied by a loud yell of determination. Ziggy had his eyes clenched shut and was curled into a fetal position, but a second later he heard something different that caught his attention.
Rushing water.
Ziggy dared to open his eyes and looked up, seeing that a stream of water was dousing his room and putting out all of the flames. It created a huge cloud of black smoke, but when it cleared Ziggy saw something that made his heart soar.
Standing in a hole in the wall where his door had once been, covered in charred fur but uninjured, was his mother. Leilani the Floatzel was looking around the room desperately until she finally laid eyes on the terrified little curled up Buizel.
"Kalei!" she exclaimed in relief and hurriedly sprinted across the destroyed room. She quickly reached his side and bent down towards him. "Kalei, are you okay?"
"M-m-mom…!" Ziggy whimpered.
"Are you hurt, Kalei?"
Shaking his head, he replied, "N-no…" He let out a panicked sob and then asked, "What's happening?"
"It doesn't matter. Don't think about that. We need to get out. Right now!" Leilani didn't waste any time and reached out to pick up the Buizel and extract him from his cocoon of blankets. "Mateni!" she shouted, already making her way back to the door and out of the room, "Mateni, I've got him! He's okay!" She quickly made her way back out of the room and down the stairs, which showed clear signs of having been on fire and being recently extinguished.
At the bottom of the charred staircase, another Floatzel was looking up at the pair relieved. "I sprayed the door," he said, "Hurry, c'mon!" Mateni gestured for his mate to go first, and the two Floatzel quickly made their escape from the burning house. As they went, Ziggy caught a glimpse of their bedroom. There were two ceiling beams that had collapsed in there, and it looked like it had been quite the struggle just to get out of the room.
The two Floatzel finally burst out of the house and onto the streets, where they beheld a terrifying sight. Everything around them was on fire. Every single building along the road they lived on was being consumed by flames. The tall palm trees in the distance were on fire. Everywhere they looked, there wasn't a single part of their quaint little village that wasn't actively on fire.
Ziggy clutched tightly onto his mother, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the nightmarish scene. He could hear screaming constantly from all around him. There was tons of smoke in the air, making breathing difficult, and there was a horrible burning smell throughout the air. The strangest thing he saw was that most houses had a 'dent' in them, like a meteorite had fallen onto each of them. Roofs everywhere were caved in as the crumbled houses were eaten by the flames.
There were a bunch of Pokémon lying collapsed on the road. They weren't moving.
"N-no…" Leilani whimpered, "Dear Arceus, have mercy…"
"How…did this happen?" Mateni mumbled, equally as shocked as his mate.
There was a loud crash that startled the family trio. This was followed by a distressed grunt, and then a long, drawn-out, horrifying scream. The sounds had come from behind them, so the two Floatzel turned around. Besides seeing even more of their village being burned to the ground, they saw something neither of them could believe.
From where they were standing, the street led up a very small hill to the central plaza of the village. There were a group of Pokémon there, all members of the village that the couple recognized, as well as plenty more Pokémon laying unmoving on the ground. The upright ones all stood in defensive stances, facing off against something none of them had ever seen before.
Large and white, with a bulbous head and strange tentacles drooping below. Markings on its head that vaguely resembled stars, but absolutely no face. It was creature unlike any Pokémon in existence, and it currently had its tentacles wrapped around a Ponyta who lived in the village. She was the one letting out the blood-chilling scream, and it wasn't difficult to see why even at a distance. She was being horribly electrocuted. When the creature pulled its tentacles away, she immediately stopped screaming and collapsed onto the ground lifelessly.
"What…" Leilani muttered in a shaky voice, "What is that?"
Mateni didn't reply. They watched as another village resident, a Tyranitar, let loose a powerful Hyper Beam at the creature. It didn't seem to have any effect besides causing the creature to start hovering over towards him.
"Did…Did that thing do all of this?" Leilani asked, sounding terrified.
"It must have…" Mateni said, "I've got to go help them!"
"What?!"
"I have to help try and drive that thing off!"
Leilani shook her head vigorously and shouted, "Sweetheart, no! You can't! That…That thing…L-Look what it did to Alejandra…!" Tears streamed from her eyes as she cried out, "It's too dangerous!"
"Lani…" Mateni replied in a firm voice, "Those are our friends up there. Our neighbours. I can't just stand here and watch them all…" There was a catch in his throat, and a few tears beaded in the corner of his eyes as well. "I have to help. I've got Hydro Pump after all. If I can't drive it off, I can at least try to put out the fire.
Leilani was quivering on the spot; Ziggy could feel her. "Mateni…"
"Take Kalei and get him out of here," the other Floatzel commanded her, "Get him somewhere safe, away from all of this. Get to the water and swim to shore. Stay away from the MD and just get him to shore where it's safe."
"B-but…"
Mateni briefly flashed her a comforting grin. "Don't worry. I'll be right behind you."
For a brief moment, Leilani just whimpered softly. She glanced down at her son, clutched tightly in her forelimbs, and then her mouth twisted into an anguished frown. She quickly leaned in and pressed her muzzle up to her mate's, sharing a quick but loving kiss with him. "Go," she said in a determined, if somewhat shaky, voice, "Save them."
"D…Daddy…?" Ziggy squeaked.
Mateni briefly leaned in so he could look down at the young Buizel and smiled at him. "I know it's really scary right now, bud, but it'll be fine. Just hold on tight to mommy and she'll keep you safe. Okay?"
A loud cry pierced the air, causing the three of them to look up the burning street again. The Tyranitar was thankfully still standing, but seemed shaken by something.
"I have to go. There's no time," Mateni said.
"I love you!" Leilani shouted as her mate was already in the process of turning around.
"Love you too, sweetheart!" Mateni called back genuinely, though he was in too much of a hurry to be able to look back at her as he did.
Leilani stood there for a moment, shell-shocked, as she watched her mate sprint up the street towards the plaza where the massive, frightening unknown creature was. Ziggy watched as well, a confused and frightened look on his face. This was all so overwhelming to him, and he didn't know what was going on.
"Okay," Leilani then spoke up. She lifted Ziggy out of her grasp and held him up in front of her. "Kalei, I need you to get on mommy's back and hold onto her ring, okay?"
Ziggy glanced at the yellow floatation ring that circled behind his mother's back. He gave her a worried look and asked, "W-won't that hurt?"
"No, I'll be fine," she replied quickly.
Leilani then manoeuvred the cub onto her back, and urged Ziggy to grab onto her ring. She let go of him, and he remained on her back while holding on as best as he could. "Okay, now hold on tightly," she said as she dropped onto all fours, "Mommy needs to run really fast."
"O-Okay…"
Seconds later, Leilani was off. Ziggy squeaked in fear at the sudden burst of speed, but held on tightly and didn't fall off. He'd done this sort of thing plenty of times when he was younger, though in those times it was simply his mother giving him a friendly ride on her back. Now he was older, larger and heavier, and this was much more serious.
Leilani dashed through the burning streets as quickly as she could, slowing down only to occasionally use Water Gun to clear out any smaller fires that were in the way. It was an absolute inferno all around them. Every single building was on fire. Every single tree was on fire. The entire island and everything on it was burning to the ground, and there was absolutely nothing Leilani could do about it.
She just focused on getting her son to safety; that was what was most important to her. She ran down the main street, keeping an eye out for a safe way out. A lot of the buildings had collapsed and blocked some of the roads. She knew which ways to go to get to the ocean, but there was always a blazing waterside house in the way.
Truthfully, Leilani had promised herself that she would stop and help if she found anyone in need. To her dismay, the opportunity never came up.
Rounding another corner, Leilani skidded to a stop. More buildings and trees had collapsed on this road, the carnage creating a roadblock she couldn't hope to get through. Panic was quickly setting in. All she had to do was get to the ocean and they would be safe, but somehow she couldn't find a safe way there. Though she was a Water-Type and could put out fires, she was only a single Pokémon and there was only so much she could do.
Leilani bit her lip and decided her best hope was to run back down the main street and try the other side of the island. Ziggy yelped from her back as she made a quick turnaround, but he continued to hold on tightly.
Precious minutes ticked by, and Leilani continued to run. There had to be a safe way out somewhere. She just had to find it. As she ran along the main street, she would glance to the right and catch glimpses of the battle taking place on the plaza. Every small road she passed by offered a view up to where her mate and the strange creature were, but it was never more than a glance. She couldn't tell if Mateni was doing okay.
Finally, Leilani made it to the opposite shore of the island. To her dismay, though, she just found another wall of burning waterside houses. She stopped at the end of the main street, sweating profusely from both her growing panic and the intense flames that surrounded her. The fact that she couldn't find a single safe way to get to the ocean was a testament to just how widespread this inferno was. It boggled the mind that it had happened so quickly.
A thought occurred to her, and Leilani looked to her left. The present location was near to the pointed tip of the teardrop-shaped island, and the entire point was a large beach without any houses on it. If the main ways to the ocean were blocked, that was probably her best bet.
Panic seized her heart when she saw that the way leading to said beach was also blocked by a pile of burning rubble. It wasn't as large as the one she had encountered previously, but it was still enough that it ruled this option out as well.
"Mommy…!" Ziggy called out in a panic from her back.
"I-It's okay, Kalei. Stay calm…" she said in a quivering voice, "Don't worry. Mommy will-"
A sudden loud cry of pain caught their attention. It made both of their blood run cold, because it was a voice that was intimately familiar to them. Leilani snapped her head back around to the right, looking up another road that led to the plaza.
Mateni was on the ground, lying on his back. Red splotches covered his body, and he was struggling to get up. The Tyranitar from earlier was nowhere to be seen. The strange tentacled creature was hovering through the air and flying directly towards the downed Floatzel. Mateni opened his maw and unleashed a powerful Hydro Pump. However, the creature anticipated this and swiftly dodged around it.
Then, in a matter of seconds, the creature swooped down towards Mateni and wrapped all of its tentacles around him. His eyes shot wide open and he let out a horrifying, tortured scream. Sparks could be seen dancing from the creature's tentacles and all across Mateni's body. It only lasted for about two seconds. Then, the creature loosened its tentacles and Mateni fell limply to the ground. His eyes remained wide open, frozen in a state of shock and pain. He stared lifelessly ahead as he simply lay there unmoving.
Leilani could only stare in horror. Her breath came in short, quivering gasps. She refused to believe what she could see with her own eyes, but the pain in her heart told her it was true. Her mate, the love of her life, was dead. That thing, whatever it was, had killed him in seconds.
"Daddyyy!" Ziggy cried out in terror, reaching a paw out in the direction of his comatose father.
The creature twitched in the air slightly, and then turned so it was 'facing' directly towards the two. Despite not seeming to have any ears, it had definitely heard the young Buizel's outcry. Leilani gasped and her blood ran cold. Still wracked with grief as she was, the panic she felt in that moment was nearly too much to handle.
Then, it started flying towards them.
Leilani let out a cry of shock, and forced herself to turn on her heels and run in the opposite direction. She dashed down the street as fast as her paws could take her, but when she glanced over her shoulder she saw that the creature was already gaining on them. It could fly through the air at remarkable speeds.
She then realized with dismay that the street she'd ended up running down was the one blocked by the pile of rubble. She knew she had nowhere else to go, though. She couldn't turn around; not with this thing chasing her now. In her panic, she had run right into a trap.
Untold amounts of adrenaline pumped through the Floatzel, and she focused her sights on trying to find an escape route. She kept running at full speed, lest the thing catch up to them, which didn't give her much time. Only one spot stood out to her, and she could only pray that her next course of action would work.
"Hang on!" she shouted to her son.
Leilani then charged up the most powerful Water Gun she could muster and fired it at a spot near the base of the rubble. It impacted a certain spot where there were a couple of boards laying at unusual angles, precariously holding other debris up above them. The fire had obscured the spot, but Leilani had noticed the smallest little opening under the boards.
Her Water Gun doused the flames, revealing the tiny escape route. It would be just barely large enough. She didn't waste a second, since she barely even had a second between her Water Gun ending and collision with the rubble pile. With a cry of determination, she dove through the hole. She slid painfully along the ground, cutting up the skin on her belly, but she was soon on the other side. She let out a brief cry of relief, and then picked herself up again and kept on running. The road ahead was clear of obstacles, and she knew it would lead right to the beaches at the tip of the island.
Ziggy let out a cry of fear, causing Leilani to look over her shoulder. She saw what she had expected to see, though it wasn't any less terrifying. The creature had simply floated up into the air and over the pile of rubble, moving right through the flames as if they weren't there. It hadn't slowed it down in the least.
She pushed herself to run faster. She poured all of her energy into her strained muscles; anything she could muster to get herself and her son away from this monster. Her legs all screamed in protest, but she ignored the pain and kept running. She could feel her fur standing on end from the latent electricity this thing was emitting, which was all she needed to know that it was close behind and gaining on them.
Only a couple blocks were left before the road ended and opened up to the beach on the island's tip. There were still no other escape opportunities along the way, with every building engulfed in flames. The beach was their only option. Leilani kept running, and thanked the stars that this road was free of any major obstacles.
A few tense seconds later, Leilani had reached the end of the road. There was a short section of grass and dirt before the beach started, thankfully not long enough to sustain flames. The way was clear, and Leilani bolted towards the beach as fast as she could.
"Augh!"
Leilani's agonized cry rang through the air as she tumbled roughly to the ground. Ziggy was immediately thrown from her back. Luckily, he landed in the sand and rolled to a stop a few metres away. The Floatzel grit her teeth and groaned loudly in pain as she pushed herself up from the ground. She was covered in dirt and the fall had caused her to smash her muzzle into the ground, giving her a bloody nose. She looked over in anguish at the injury that this all paled in comparison to.
Her right hind paw was twisted at a grotesque angle, either dislocated or broken. There had been a small hole in the ground during the grassy section and her paw had landed squarely within it while she had been running full tilt. The momentum had carried her forward, viciously twisting her ankle in the process.
She knew immediately that it was bad. A chill gripped her heart when she realized that she wouldn't be able to stand up with this.
Nearby, Ziggy picked himself up from the sand and shook the grit off of his face. He looked over towards his mother, and immediately noticed that she was injured. "Mom!" he shouted in concern.
Leilani looked over at Ziggy with a haunted look in her eyes. She then looked in the other direction at the creature that was still pursuing them. It was hovering down the road, getting closer with every second. Tears welled up in her eyes.
She then looked back at her son once more, anguish in her expression and tears running down her cheeks. "Kalei!" she shouted, "Run!"
Ziggy's eyes went wide and his mind went blank for a moment.
"RUNN!" Leilani shouted, loudly and desperately.
Panic gripped the little Buizel upon hearing his mother shout that way. He had never heard her sound like that in his whole life. He saw her close her eyes in despair, and then roll over so she was facing back towards the street. She then opened her muzzle and unleashed a powerful Water Gun in the direction of the creature.
Ziggy gasped when he saw the creature, and remembered that he was still in danger. His mother's words echoed in his head, which was enough to spike his adrenaline. With a cry of panic, Ziggy turned tail and ran.
He dashed down the expansive beach as quickly as he could, though he found it somewhat difficult to run in the sand. He was still very young and scared, but he at least knew that he had to get to the water and swim to shore. He knew how to swim to shore; he and his family had done it one summer for fun. The moon was high in the sky, giving Ziggy a good view of the beach that sprawled out before him. He chose a direction and ran towards the shore, putting his renowned speed to good use. As he ran, he tried his best to keep his panic from overwhelming him. To this end, he forced himself to ignore the sounds of Water Guns being fired off from behind him.
What he couldn't ignore, however, was the sudden ear-piercing scream that sent a dreadful chill up his spine. He skidded to a halt on the sand, dreading what he would see when he looked back, and turned to look over his shoulder.
Already the screaming had stopped. The terrible creature loosened its tentacles from around Leilani's body, letting her fall limply onto the sand. Her head rolled lazily towards Ziggy, so that she wound up staring at him with her wide, empty eyes.
"Mom!" Ziggy shouted in terror without thinking. His heart caught in his chest and he found he couldn't breathe. He was so shocked by the gruesome sight that he couldn't even properly process it. It couldn't be real. This had to be a horrible, horrible nightmare, and he would wake up any second.
His attention was forcibly drawn elsewhere when the creature left Leilani's body behind and started zooming towards him. Ziggy screeched in terror and scrambled his paws frantically in the sand. This thing was already coming after him, and it was going to do the same thing to him that it had done to his parents. There was no time to think about anything else.
His mother's last words reverberated in his head. RUN.
Ziggy was fast on his paws, but he was at a disadvantage because he was running on sand and the creature was merely floating through the air. He covered about half the distance that remained between him and he water's edge, and then glanced over his shoulder again. He screamed when he saw that the thing was quickly gaining on him. He couldn't outrun it.
He quickly decided to put his namesake to use in a last-ditch attempt to shake his pursuer. He suddenly dug his paws into the sand and bolted off to the side at a 90-degree angle from where he'd been running. He ran in this direction for a few seconds before quickly darting in a different direction again. This thing was fast but it also seemed heavy, so maybe it couldn't turn corners very well. Ziggy's zigzagging wasn't getting him any closer to the water, but another glance over his shoulder revealed that it was at least somewhat throwing the thing off.
Thinking fast and running off of pure adrenaline, Ziggy plotted a jagged course across the beach that would take him to the very tip of the island, where the beach came to a triangular point. If he did enough zigging and zagging along the way, hopefully it would give him just enough time to safely get into the water. Once he was underwater he would be able to move much faster, and he could dive down deep if he needed to.
Ziggy panted and groaned. The fact that he was doing this in the middle of the night, having been woken up from his sleep, was not helping matters. He pushed himself farther than ever before, fueled by the sheer terror of what would happen if this floating thing caught him. Looking over his shoulder was just slowing him down, so he focused on his jagged route and just ran as fast as he could.
About a minute later, Ziggy was finally approaching the island's tip and he was still running. The thing hadn't caught him. He felt a wave of relief surge through him. Safety was just a little bit further away.
When he was only a few metres away from the water's edge, there was suddenly a painfully loud crack that split through the air. He was blinded by a white flash, and then something started forming in the air directly in front of him, forcing him to slam on the brakes. The very ground under his paws trembled as a swirling purple and white hole appeared in the middle of the air. It was the only way he could describe the impossible thing that had suddenly appeared, with the white cracks that surrounded it making it look like a hole had been punched through a glass wall. It dwarfed him in size, and it just appeared like a swirling purple vortex in the middle of the air that led into nothing. He would have tumbled right through it if he hadn't stopped himself.
For a moment he was mystified by the strange apparition in front of him, but then he remembered there were more pressing matters. He whipped his head back around to look behind him, and his stomach sank when he saw the creature was now barreling towards him. It was now strangely tumbling through the air as if it couldn't control itself, but all that mattered to Ziggy was how quickly it was approaching. With a sinking feeling, he realized he wouldn't be able to run away in time.
So, Ziggy did the only thing he could think of. He screamed in terror and dove to the side as quickly as he could, hoping that it was going so fast he'd be able to dodge it.
He felt something touch his head, and then darkness engulfed him completely.
Ziggy felt himself being jostled awake. He had no idea how much time had passed, though it felt as though he'd been out for hours. He groaned in pain and groggily opened his eyes. Everything was spinning, both inside and outside of his head. He'd never felt more disoriented in his life.
There was fire everywhere. That much he could see.
"Kid!" a commanding voice shouted that caused him to wince, "You okay?"
Ziggy looked around in confusion until he finally saw who had been shaking him. It was an older-looking Frogadier that he didn't recognize. The Frogadier wore a serious facial expression and had some sort of badge on his chest.
"What…?" Ziggy muttered in confusion, and then winced as a sudden sharp pain ran through his head. He grimaced and held a paw to his head.
"C'mon, sit up," the Frogadier commanded, and then started helping Ziggy get up from his prone position. Eventually Ziggy was sitting gingerly in the sand, though he kept a paw glued to his head. The pain seemed to be focused in a particular spot near the top of his skull.
"You okay?" the Frogadier repeated, "Tell me what hurts."
"Wh…Who…?" Ziggy murmured.
"I'm Keahi," the Frogadier answered, "Offshore branch, firefight leader. What the hell happened here?"
Ziggy just grimaced even more and brought a second paw up to his head. Everything was all mixed up in his mind. It felt like his thoughts were hurting him.
"Move your paws. Let me have a look," Keahi said before somewhat roughly pulling Ziggy's paws away. Ziggy cried out in distress, but Keahi ignored him. "Your fur's charred," he noted, "Looks like you got a bad burn. My team's setting up the first aid tent on the beach over there, and we'll have some Rawst salve there."
Once Keahi let go of him, Ziggy immediately clasped his paws back onto the spot that hurt. He couldn't think of anything. He was scared and in pain and just wanted whatever nightmare this was to be over. He tried to open his eyes and look around. He thought he saw some vague Pokémon-like shapes that were firing huge streams of water over the nearby fire.
"C'mon kid, say something. Help me out here!" Keahi said, "Are there other Pokémon who need help? Where are your parents?"
"My…p-parents…?" Ziggy murmured. He considered the question for a moment, though all this did was send more waves of fiery pain through his head. "I…" He was so disoriented that it was starting to make him dizzy and feel sick. Why did it feel like his brain was tingling?
"I…"
Finally, a bit of the pain started to die down. Everything was still a mess in his head and it still hurt plenty, but he found he could think a bit more clearly.
"I don't have parents," he answered simply.
Keahi gave him an odd look. "You… Huh? You don't have parents?"
"No…"
"Who looks after you then?"
Ziggy grimaced, still holding one paw to the tender spot on his head. "Nobody," he said, shaking his head.
For a moment, Keahi just stood there looking unsure of what to say next. Then a sudden loud, frightening sound made the both of them jump. It sounded like something very large had just fallen over. Keahi glanced over towards where the fire was and adopted a sour expression. "Okay, look. I don't have time for this. I have to help put this out. I'm gonna carry you over to the tent, okay?"
Ziggy protested at first, but eventually relented and allowed the Frogadier to pick him up and sling him over his back. Keahi then dashed across the beach, and the sudden motion immediately made Ziggy feel nauseous. Only a few seconds later, he was gently but unceremoniously dumped onto something soft and fluffy. There was something bright and flickering nearby, and there was a roof of some sort over his head. Was this the tent?
"Stay here," Keahi commanded, "Relax and save your strength. We'll have the Rawst salve ready soon. Let someone know if anything gets worse." Then, without saying another word, the Frogadier suddenly dashed off into the night.
A nebulous amount of time passed. Ziggy still felt dizzy and disconnected from reality. There were large blobs moving about in the tent, some of them talking in words he couldn't understand. Why was there a tent here? There wasn't supposed to be a tent here. Furthermore, where was 'here' exactly?
As Ziggy's senses started to return, instead of bringing with them a feeling of relief, he only started to feel more panicked. He could barely remember what the Frogadier had said to him, and he definitely couldn't remember where he was or what was going on. There were Pokémon moving all around him, and they were all very big and scary.
And there was fire. Tons of fire. Ziggy was still young and didn't know a whole lot, but he knew that fire was very, very bad.
The scrambled thoughts in his head finally coalesced into something manageable, but Ziggy had grown far too panicked to pay attention to them. He still didn't know where he was or who any of these big Pokémon were, nor why everything was on fire. Sheer panic gripped his heart, quickening his breathing until he was almost hyperventilating. None of the other Pokémon noticed, or perhaps none of them cared.
Run.
Ziggy gasped as one single word reverberated in his head. He had no idea why, but this one single word kept repeating in his mind. He had to run. He had to get out of here. He had to get away from all of this before it was too late.
So, Ziggy scurried away as quickly as he could. His head still hurt and his joints felt stiff, but he ignored this as best he could and kept running. He hoped nobody was following him and didn't dare check over his shoulder to see.
Why couldn't he run very fast? Oh of course, because he was running on sand. Why was he running on sand? Wait, why were his paws getting wet?
Ziggy had reached the shore. He looked out at the vast ocean that spread into the darkness of the night, lit up only by the fire still burning brightly behind him. That's right. He was supposed to swim to the mainland. That's what he had been trying to do earlier.
He shivered a little. The thought of swimming all the way to shore was a little scary, even to an adept swimmer like him. It was especially frightening to think about doing it in the middle of the night. However, Ziggy's panicked state quickly decided that whatever this hellish inferno behind him was, it was much scarier than a little swim in the ocean.
And so Ziggy ran out into the shallows, took in a deep breath, and then swiftly dove into the water. He deflated his neck ring, sunk below the surface, and used his forked tail to propel himself into the dark depths of the ocean.
He swam away from the island as quickly as he could go, never once looking back.
Sparks sat on the end of Ziggy's bed and watched helplessly as the Buizel hugged a pillow and sobbed. Ziggy had been crying pretty much nonstop for a couple of hours at this point.
The revelations that had been learned on this day were staggering, to say the least. They had hit Ziggy particularly hard and shaken him to his core. Sparks was here with him now in his room, trying his best to comfort him. Danika and Kona were there as well, with the Dewott sitting next to Ziggy on the bed and gently rubbing his back.
It had taken a while to get the full story out of Ziggy because he had been so emotionally overwhelmed, but eventually he had shared everything that he had remembered. It was certainly a lot more than Rico had forgotten.
"I…had parents…" Ziggy whimpered. He had repeated this phrase plenty of times throughout the day.
"Wonderful parents, from the sound of it," Kona said gently.
Sparks sighed softly. He still looked back with regret to how he had painted the two Floatzel as villains who had abandoned their infant son. The reality of the situation couldn't be any more different. Ziggy hadn't grown up on the streets, or at least not to the extent anyone had understood before.
"Mom…" Ziggy whispered, "Dad…"
It was easy to see why Ziggy was so shaken. From his perspective, he had only just learned about his parents' deaths. He'd never gotten a chance to grieve back when it had first happened. Sparks bit his lip and tried to think of something comforting to say, but couldn't come up with anything. He had never been very good at talking to grieving Pokémon.
There was a quick spasm in Ziggy's chest, and then he buried his face into the pillow and let out an anguished cry. His sobbing, which had quieted down for the moment, returned in full force.
"Ziggy…" Kona said, still comfortingly patting his back, "It's okay to cry. It's okay to be sad. But please don't forget that we're all here for you. Talk to us. Maybe it will help."
Ziggy sniffled and lifted his head, showing off his utterly miserable expression. "I…I can't…" he muttered, "I can't…h-handle it…"
Kona frowned and leaned in a little closer. "What do you mean?"
The young Buizel took in a deep breath and then half shouted, "Mom and dad…They d-died…They both died…" He took in a shuddering breath before adding, "…and then I just forgot them!"
A heavy silence filled the room, aside from Ziggy's sobbing.
"I'm the worst!" Ziggy exclaimed, "How awful! They…Th-they died and then I just go on like nothing happened? I…I can't…"
As the Buizel devolved into heavy sobbing once again, Sparks leaned in towards him. "Buddy, please don't tell me you're beating yourself up over that. Terry just had this discussion with Rico, remember? It's not your fault. It wasn't your fault. You didn't forget them on purpose."
Ziggy didn't reply, though. He was caught up in another wave of sobbing that couldn't be stopped. There wasn't much to do except to let it run its course.
Sparks glanced to the side, meanwhile, and bit his lip again. He tried to make sense of everything they'd learned. Ziggy had forgotten not only his parents, but his whole life on that island. His cubsitter, his companions and schoolmates, his teacher and everyone else in the town. He had forgotten growing up there or ever even being there, aside from the name 'Dewdrop' and vague memories of being in school.
More significantly, though, was that Ziggy had also forgotten the entire incident that had caused him to lose his memory in the first place. Rico had still been able to remember when he'd gotten attacked in the park, but Ziggy didn't even know there had been an attack in the first place. He had forgotten about the fire, the destruction of the village and the island itself, and escaping to the shore.
Sparks shared a knowing glance with Danika. And, of course, Ziggy had forgotten about the Nihilego. Such a revelation brought up a thousand pressing questions that changed everything they knew about this mysterious creature. Those questions would have to wait, however.
"They died saving me…" Ziggy murmured through his shaky breaths, "and I just forgot them…"
"Ziggy, they both loved you very much," Danika said, "The fact that they sacrificed themselves at all to keep you safe is enough proof of just how much they loved you. And since you survived and are still here with us today, well…that's all they probably wanted."
"I…I just…can't believe this…" Ziggy muttered. He then shivered and said in a softer voice, "That horrible fire…so many Pokémon…I think I've had nightmares about that and I just never knew why…"
"Try not to think about it," Kona said helpfully.
Ziggy closed his eyes, letting two more tears streak down the matted fur on his face. "I was…happy… Not at school, but at home. All those happier years, taken away…"
"Well, you must be glad to have those back, at least," Danika said.
Another lengthy period of quiet settled over the room. Ziggy's latest sobbing fit had come to an end, leaving him cradling his pillow with a faraway look in his eyes. Sparks hated to see Ziggy look like this, but he knew ultimately it was the right thing to do. Ziggy deserved to know all of his life, from start to end.
"And…you've got a name," Sparks spoke up.
Ziggy was quiet for a moment before softly responding, "Y-yeah…I do…"
"'Kalei'…" Sparks said, testing it on his tongue, "You know, we had always wondered if you had a real name besides 'Ziggy'."
"Kalei…" Ziggy repeated softly, in a somewhat empty tone.
"I don't think I could ever get used to calling you anything but 'Ziggy'," Kona admitted with a soft chuckle.
"Do you want us to start calling you 'Kalei', or do you prefer 'Ziggy'?" Danika asked.
"Ziggy's fine…" he mumbled in response.
Sparks twiddled his paws as more quiet minutes passed by. To be honest, it was quite a load off of his shoulders to have so many 'Ziggy questions' answered. There were only a couple things left that were unexplained at the moment. Things like Ziggy's grasp of the spoken language made much more sense now. He hated that Ziggy had to cry so much in order to have these answers, but he knew Ziggy would be okay. Once he grieved the loss of his parents, Sparks hoped that this newfound knowledge would just make him stronger.
And if not, Ziggy's friends would be there to help him through it like they always were.
"Hey…Um…"
Sparks turned to look at the Buizel upon hearing his quiet, meek voice. "What's up?"
"How did you guys know?" Ziggy asked.
Sparks shared a glance with Danika before answering. "Well, when Danika and I figured out that you came from Dewdrop Island, instead of Dewdrop Town like we'd been thinking, we realized some stuff didn't make sense. So, about a week and a half ago, she and I went and visited the island."
Ziggy's perked up and gave Sparks a wide-eyed look. "You…went to Dewdrop…?"
"Yeah," Sparks nodded, "There's one other Pokémon besides you who survived the fire, and we met him. We were originally going to find out more about your parents, but it turns out he was your old cubsitter and…well, we learned a lot of stuff."
"Wh…?" Ziggy muttered in confusion, "But it…burned…didn't it?"
"Oh! No. Well, I mean, yeah," Danika interjected, "It did burn down, but they rebuilt. There's a new town there now."
"Really…?"
Sparks nodded again. "It's a really nice village, full of really friendly folks. It rains a lot because of the Mystery Dungeon nearby, but it's really just a happy community. It's only a short boat ride from here."
"I've been there a couple of times," Kona added, "Except I swam there and back. It's good exercise."
Sparks then adopted a more sombre look and said, "There's also a big memorial for all the Pokémon who died in the fire. It's got all their names on it." He paused and cleared his throat. "We saw your parents' names on it. If you'd like, we could take you there so you can…" He trailed off when he saw Ziggy's expression sadden and tears well up in his eyes. "Not right away, if you don't want to. It's okay if you don't feel ready for something like that yet. Nothing wrong with that."
However, Ziggy hiccupped and a new wave of sobs started to consume him. He buried his face into the pillow again and started crying once more.
Sparks sighed, feeling an ache in his heart. "Sorry, bud…"
"I can't…" Ziggy half-shouted, his voice muffled by the pillow, "I…I couldn't!"
"What do you mean?" Kona asked gently.
Ziggy lifted his head slightly and looked up at Sparks. "That's like…their grave, right?" he asked. When Sparks nodded, he continued and said, "I just…I just couldn't show my face to them there…I could never…" Ziggy sobbed a few times and then added, "Not after what I did to them…"
"Because you forgot them? Ziggy, it wasn't your fault!" Sparks leaned forward on the bed after saying this, but then took a moment to calm himself. He hadn't meant to get quite that loud. "Ziggy, buddy, I really don't think you're looking at this from the right angle here. You think your parents are going to be mad at you when they look down on you?"
Ziggy leaned down into the pillow and looked up at Sparks with just one eye. "Y-yeah…"
Sparks smiled gently to emphasize his next point. "You don't think they're gonna look down and see their son, the brand new bronze badge-wearing member of the Radiant City Rescue Society?"
Upon hearing this, the Buizel stared off at nothing for a moment, no doubt some conflicting thoughts in his head. A couple minutes went by, but Ziggy didn't move or say anything else. He just kept up his thousand-yard stare.
Eventually, Sparks glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Look, folks, we've been in here for a while and we've all missed dinner. I'm gonna pop out and get us some food." He was answered with a chorus of thanks from the other Pokémon as he stood up. "I won't be long," he said, particularly to Ziggy.
Sparks then exited Ziggy's room and gently closed the door behind him. As he did, he heard a second door closing just a moment later. When he glanced down the hallway, he saw that Rico was exiting a room in much the same fashion.
The two locked eyes and Rico gave him a tired smile. "Hey, Sparks…"
"Rico! Hi…" Sparks said, "How are you feeling?"
"Better…" Rico replied, "Definitely much better…"
"That's great to hear. I'm so glad everything worked and we got your memories back."
"It feels wonderful to have them back…" Rico said with a nod, "Do you know how weird it was to get a 'part' of you back…when you hadn't even realized it was missing? It's like, everything feels normal once again, even though it had felt normal before and I only just realized how not-normal it was."
Sparks blinked. "I…think I caught most of that…"
Rico laughed softly. "Thank you, Sparks. You and Danika, thank you both so much. Terry and I had both completely given up on me going back to the way I was. I can never repay you guys."
"Oh, don't thank me. This was all Danika."
"I just got done…putting the bangle back on Terry's paw."
Sparks brightened up considerably. "Oh, that's wonderful."
"It was like proposing to him and hearing him say 'yes' all over again. This time, I'm gonna make sure it stays there and never comes off."
"I'm really happy for you two. The whole active team was really sad when you two broke up." Sparks was going to say more, but he was interrupted by a loud growl from his stomach. "Heh… Sorry, I'd love to stay and chat but I'm starving to death. And also I'm tasked with keeping everyone else in that room from starving to death."
Rico glanced at the door behind Sparks. "Ziggy's room? What happened?"
Sparks' eyes went wide. "Oh, that's right. So much has been going on I forgot that you've been in your room all day and you missed the whole second act! Listen, I'll tell you all about it once I deliver the food."
"Oh you can tell me now, if you want. I'll come with you! I was going to get food for the three of us as well. We missed dinner." Rico immediately set off towards the door leading to the common room, but Sparks hesitated initially.
"'Three'?" Sparks asked.
Rico turned back and smiled. "Yup!"
"Lupe finally got back, then?"
"Mhm!"
The two exited into the common room, and for a brief moment neither of them said anything. "So, uh…" Sparks spoke up, "Is she okay?"
"She's great, Sparks," Rico replied, "We're all doing great."
"Yeah?"
Rico stopped walking for a moment and glanced up at Sparks. "We all had a long, long talk. A really nice talk like sensible adults, which I'm quite proud of, heh heh…" He then cleared his throat and said, "Whatever happens, Terry and I are going to be mates and we're gonna make it official as soon as possible."
Sparks watched for a moment as Rico walked off ahead. The Raichu had his eyebrows raised in surprise. He held back from saying anything or asking further questions out of respect for privacy, but he was certainly impressed by Rico's show of maturity if nothing else. He simply settled on saying, "I hope things work out well for all of you."
"Thanks, Sparks."
He then cleared his throat. "Right! So, Ziggy…"
