March 8th, First Year
They were actually kind of haunting now that she could look at them up close and personal; its eyes. They glowed like two twin suns as the emaciated pokémon snarled at the two of them, its black mane flickering with static as it crawled closer. Scarlet flames licked up the tree trunks and pooled around the fern-ringed clearing. Jaku kept her saber brandished at the pokémon before her and beside her, Egel did the same.
Its dull pelt clung painfully to its bones, jaws parting to reveal sharp blackened fangs. The Luxray flexed its claws and roared, leaping at Egel with outstretched claws.
At her command, a flurry of stars blasted through the wave of flames into the Luxray's flank sending him skittering away into a bramble bush. Dusk had taken the center stage, waves of fire erupting from its back like quills as it dug its claws into the ground.
The Luxray leaped and Egel rolled neatly underneath it, nicking the pokémon in its hind legs as it sailed over him.
Jaku shook her stupor off. This was the one time she needed to focus! Egel could take care of himself. "Dusk, Smokescreen! Peanut, Tackle!"
The little Cyndaquil reared up and blasted a thick cloud of ash and smoke into the air, catching the beast in the face as it stumbled back again. Eevee wholeheartedly launched itself off of Dusk's back like a spring and landed squarely between the Luxray's shoulders, ripping and tearing at its ears and neck with its sharp teeth and anything else it could reach.
As the Luxray thrashed about, Egel closed the distance and in one fell swoop, tried to sink his machete into the beast's flank. He missed. The blade instead sank into one of its legs with a loud pop and it howled in pain, shaking Peanut off and slamming the tiny pokémon into a tree trunk.
It turned on Egel and arched its back, a brilliant fork of lightning lancing up the blade. Egel screamed in pain as he recoiled. He picked up a stone and hit the beast in the face with it. The Luxray snapped at him, claws raking at the ground and tossing up sand.
"Smokescreen, again!" Jaku shouted, fighting to get the sand out of her eyes. She coughed, moving to tie her headwrap around her mouth to try and breathe. She quickly moved to the treeline, watching as Egel did the same, the charred flesh of his hand a sickly gray color.
Flames whipped around the clearing as the beast made to charge again. With a roar, it leapt and when it landed just shy of ramming into Egel, it switched courses and lunged at her. She sidestepped the beast and watched as it stumbled on the hot dust and fell onto its side.
Dusk skittered around the larger pokémon's paws again, taking any and every opportunity to blast ember after ember at the beast until the Luxray's coat was littered with burn marks. Hissing, the Luxray lowered itself underneath the cloud of smoke and took a hasty jab at the Cyndaquil, knocking it away into the undergrowth. Peanut was still nowhere to be seen. Jaku swallowed. It was becoming harder and harder to breathe with each breath.
"Nowhere to run," she found herself mumbling, trying to still her shaky hands. "Nowhere to hide." She strengthened her grip on her saber. "Egel, do you have your saber?"
"Still got it!" her senior gasped. He had snuck in beside her, his face scrunched with pain. "Keep distracting the Luxray with your pokémon," he rasped. "I'll focus on hacking away at its limbs. If we can immobilize it, we can go in for the kill."
"You're sure this isn't Lesser Lord Luxray?"
"Absolutely. Ready?"
"Ready!"
The Luxray having dissipated the smoke leaped at her once more. A large chunk of burning debris slammed into its face in retaliation as Dusk reemerged from the woods. Egel quickly circled the beast and slashed at its throat, blood spraying onto his face and tunic. One moment, he was standing victorious, eyes shining with victory as the Luxray crumpled to the ground. The next moment, he was frozen, hair alight with static as he was paralyzed from the neck down.
"Egel!"
The man had collapsed onto the ground like a wet piece of paper, his eyes round with terror as he slid into a muddy snowbank. Thank the gods that his head hadn't been submerged like the rest of him.
The sudden weight of the Luxray swept her clean off her feet and onto her back, painfully knocking the air out from her lungs. It screeched and raised its claws to hack at her throat, Egel's blade lodged firmly in its shoulder. She raised her own saber and ripped a nasty scar across its face.
The beast paused. In a flash of blinding light, a wave of white-hot pain lanced through her body, burning at her skin and forcing her eyes shut as the ground fell away from her. All of her muscles contracted and squeezed, leaving her breathless and yet as the burning sensation faded out and an agonizing soreness wore in, she noticed with a new dawning of horror that she couldn't move.
The Luxray placed a massive paw on her torso and opened its jaws wide, a trail of saliva dripping onto her cheek and into her hair. When it locked eyes with her, it paused, a new wave of electricity beginning to flicker through its mane as though intending to make sure that it had finished the job. Was it hungry or just capricious? Wait. Why am I questioning a pokémon when I'm about to die?
A flurry of stars exploded from behind the beast, knocking it away just as both Dusk and Peanut emerged from the smoke. Peanut leaped atop the beast again, clawing at its eyes and shrieking fury as its blood splattered in the dust. Dusk shot forth another Smokescreen and charged. Jaku could only watch as the three pokémon fought, whirling and hissing and shrieking in a smoke-stained mass of claws and teeth and fire.
Then the clearing erupted in a brilliant white light. The smoke parted. Something large and fuzzy skittered to a halt before her eyes and as the feeling in her limbs returned, she felt a new warmth spread across her face and shoulders. The noise stopped. The flames died down. Jaku listened hard for her companions. The fuzzy body moved out of her line of sight.
She saw the Luxray, sparks flying from its jaws as it shook its head this way and that way, swiping its tongue over its lips. It shook itself again and stared first at her and then at Egel. Jaku tried getting her arms up underneath her, not daring to break eye contact with the beast. Her arms gave out and she folded back on the ground. It growled, shaking its head again.
A new pokémon barred the Luxray from coming any closer, scarlet flames sprouting from its back as it arched defiantly at her attacker. Peanut was close behind, tail lashing and teeth bared as it stood guard in front of Egel.
One moment, the Luxray was there. In the blink of an eye, it was gone, leaving a small puddle of blood in its wake. Jaku let out a breath she hadn't even known she was holding, struggling and somewhat managing to pull herself into a kneeling position. Almost immediately, Peanut was under her chin, nosing at her arms and legs trying to help her up.
"Jaku? Are you alright?" Egel wheezed.
"Apart from briefly becoming a quadriplegic, all good over here."
Jaku looked for the saber she'd dropped earlier, needing more than ever to have that little sense of protection back in her hold. The strange pokémon from before was now carrying it in its jaws. It waddled over, flames now doused, and dropped it at her hands, staring at her with concern as clear as day. Both pokémon were covered in lacerations and burns, eyes red from the smoke, shivering and struggling to move. Both were focused on her.
"Quil?" squeaked the strange newcomer.
Jaku paused. "Dusk, is that you?"
"Quil!" The Quilava paused and then gave a little happy shake. Dusk even gave itself a little turn around, surprised at his new form.
"What happened to your pokémon?"
"Evolution, I think. A little light, buddy? I can barely see."
