With a roomful of pokemon now on the loose the sounds of chaos have escalated. It sounds like a war zone echoing throughout every corridor. Gunfire is replaced with a wide variety of sounds from a variety of pokemon who are fighting for their lives. I just hope they get out alive.

"Alex! Ahead! I see stars!" Thunder cries out. Sure enough a dozen or so yards away a hole in the concrete wall ahead frames the night sky above green treetops and knee-high grass. A forest. And escape route probably courtesy of our grey and purple friend. Perfect. Just what we need to lose them.

"Sweet. Let's hurry." I reply as I slowly limp my way towards our freedom. Hopefully we're not somewhere too remote. Though with our luck that's almost certainly the case.

The sounds of shouts behind me give pause to those thoughts. Without anything to take cover behind we're sitting ducks. But we could make their jobs a little harder.

"Thunder! Shock the lights!"

"The glowing things?"

"Yes! Those!"

A branching bolt of electricity arcs forward towards the light fixtures above us. After a brief power surge the lights burn out in a cascade, leaving the hall in darkness with only the outside giving off any light. I stand against the wall to avoid casting a silhouette and slowly shimmying forward, inching my way closer to the opening.

"Son of a..." One of the guards mutters. "You got a flashlight?"

"Yeah." Crap! Didn't think this through!

A circle of light suddenly comes into being, sweeping across the hall before centering on us.

"There he is!" I have no choice. I have to run for it. I sprint towards the open hole, my gut violently erupting in pain with each step. I hear gunfire behind me from, thankfully missed shots. I barely get through the hole before the pain becomes too much. I collapse to the ground, blood seeping into the bandage from my now reopened wound.

"No! No, get up Alex! Hurry!" I hear Thunder scream. The pain is too all consuming for me to respond. My thoughts grow fuzzy and faded as I start to pass out. The last thing I consciously remember is Thunder returning fire on the guards with electro balls.

Thunder
Thunder refuses to relent with his attacks. Each electric sphere forcing the guards back further and further back out of fear. But he can't keep it up forever. Eventually he'll tire and they'll start spitting those lead bullets at them again. He's seen what it did to Alex. It's not hard to imagine it killing him in short order.

"Looks like it's time to return the favor!" A voice calls from behind. Thunder glances quickly behind him to see the Growlithe that Alex had freed before. He dashes over to Thunder and joins in on the attack, spitting puffs of fire at them. The guards say something out of alarm and back up much farther. Good. Now to focus on Alex.

"He's hurt, bad. We need to get him out of here." Thunder replies.

"We'll need to get out of their sight first. We can't carry him with them shooting at us." The Growlithe says before letting a wave of fire loose. The flame grows to engulf the width of the hall before it dies out, leaving behind a thin cloud of smoke barely illuminated by the moonlight seeping in form the hole. Wait a minute. Smoke. If his fire had something to burn the smoke could be much thicker. What could-

Grass! The grass outside! It should burn high enough to mask their escape.

"I got it! Light the grass up as we exit! That'll keep them from following us!"

"That could work."

"Right! Let's do it!" Thunder leaps out the hole, watching as Growlithe does the same, simultaneously spitting more embers and flame at the oncoming aggressors. Once outside he inhales deeply and spews a sizable blast of fire at the ground, quickly igniting the grass and sending smoke skyward. Before long, the hole was completely blocked off by a wall of flame and thick smoke. Exactly what Thunder was hoping for. "Perfect! Now let's get him out of here! There's got to be a town here somewhere nearby."

Growlithe grabs hold of one of Alex's hands and starts pulling. Thunder joins in with the other hand, pulling as hard as his body would allow. It takes a lot of effort, but they eventually get moving. Behind them the fire starts to spread, further blockading their would be adversaries. So at least there's that. All they can do now is get as far away from here as possible and find help. Assuming they find someone who's willing to.

"I can't..." Thunder pants. "I can't do it anymore..." He let's go of Alex's hand, sitting down on the ground as he catches his breath. "Too tired..." Thankfully they had gotten a good ways away from that building and everyone who wished them harm. But without a way to treat Alex's wounds, he won't survive.

"I'm beginning to feel it too." Growlithe replies. "I think we need to go get help and lead them here."

"You mean we should leave him behind?"

"We really aren't flush with options right now." Growlithe pauses, sticking his nose in the air and sniffing, before bringing his head down to the ground and doing the same. "...Exhaust fumes... means cars, means humans. Yeah. Hurry. This way."

"Fumes? Cars? What on Pokemar are you talking about?"

"Just follow me. We might not have much time." He's right. Every moment they wait, the closer Alex is to death. They need to move.

"Alright. Mind if I take a ride? I'm too tired to keep up myself."

"Yeah. no problem. Hop on." Growlithe leans down as Thunder climbs on. As soon as he's situated, he nods to him and they gallop off into the distance. It doesn't take long before they reach something of interest. A road. A wide one made of gravel rock curving off into the distance. Good. Where there's road, there's civilization.

"Keep a lookout. Tell me when you see someone." Growlithe tells him. Thunder obliges, glancing in both directions for someone to call upon. Several minutes pass with no one in sight. Anxiety starts to bubble up within him. If they even find someone now will they be too late? He just got a second chance with his friend, if Alex is taken away from him a second time... he won't be able to take it.

"There! Someone's coming! Make some light! Draw their attention!" Growlithe yells suddenly. Light starts seeping out from behind the curve, revealing two blindingly bright eyes speeding towards them. Thunder's hairs stand on end. What in Arceus' name is that!?

Growlithe starts billowing flame into the air, trying to catch the attention of whatever that horrifying thing is. Reluctantly, Thunder joins in, using thunderbolt to summon a mini storm cloud to strike the area around them. The speeding eyes start to slow as they approach, soon coming to rest alongside them. Their source reveals itself. A massive cart made of metal and glass. At least he thinks it's a cart. there's not much else he can compare it to. A door opens on the side of it. From within a human steps out.

"Yes! He stopped! Human! Follow us! Hurry!" Growlithe barks happily before sprinting off into the forest back to Alex. The human follows, using some sort of cylindrical device to light the way. Before long they return to Alex. The human immediately rushes to him and looks him over, saying something that, to Thunder, sounds like a mangled mess of words and sounds.

The human appears panicked, concerned over Alex's well being as he looks at the bandage around Alex's torso. After a brief moment of hesitation, he picks the wounded Alex up and hurries back to his cart-thing. Growlithe follows, with Thunder still riding on his back. A surge of relief washes over him. Alex just might make it.

"Come on Alex, hang in there..." Thunder mutters quietly to himself. "I can't lose you again..."

Soon the cart is in sight. The human opens a door and lays him on the seat in the back. Growlithe jumps inside with them, resting under the seat.

"Alright. Now we wait. You should get some rest. You look exhausted." Growlithe says as he lies down, letting Thunder get off.

"Yeah. Rest." The human get's into the seat in front of them and the cart lurches to life with an unnatural roar. Thunder yelps in surprise as he gets tossed back slightly from the force before everything settles. "T-this thing is safe, right?"

"Should be. The humans seem to know how to work them just fine." Growlithe pauses for a second. "You mind if I ask a few questions?"

"May as well. I've got nothing better to do."

"What's your deal, exactly? How does your trainer know pokespeak? And what what this 'Pokemar' you referenced earlier?"

"Wait, you're not from Pokemar? I thought you were kidnapped like us two."

"Kidnapped, yes. From Pokemar, no."

"Wait, so where are we?"

"I asked first."

"Alright. But get ready. It's a long story."