The Doomed Sprout

Chapter 19


« I never knew someone as boring as you would have such a cool hangout spot, Cel ! »
« Don't call me that », grumbled Celebi. « And I don't recall you having allies before. How did you convince them ? ». The Pixie pointed at the three other Legendaries sitting alongside them in a chunk of land, floating in the void. The lake trio were sipping tea in silence, nodding to welcome them.
Uxie spoke up first, floating closer. « A pleasure to see you on our side, Celebi. Please do not mind Mew, despite their antics, they want the best for all Pokemon »
« Yeah, sure, that's why they keep insulting me behind my back… ». Celebi floated away, finding comfort in a nearby tree. « You all better keep this place a secret, understood ? I appreciate what you all have been doing, but this place has been under my watch for much, much longer than some of you even existed »
« Not me ! », chimed in Mew, much to the Pixie's irritation. « I'm the oldest hereee~ »
« My point still stands. You needed a place to plan in secret, this is my contribution, but I will protect this place before any of you. It holds too many relics to lose »
Uxie nodded slowly. « We will respect those terms, Celebi. Though, we should get to the plan… »
« How do you approach a deity ? », asked Mesprit, letting the question simmer before answering « By making the deity approach first ».
« And we know what grabs His attention », continued Azelf. « A strong will, emboldened by the havoc they create »
« And I have just the thing~ », Mew gleefully let out, much to Celebi's growing concern.
Please let the world endure just a little bit longer…


A few days have passed since the meeting with Cylan, letting Fen and the others get more adapted to the Sprout while remaining on edge due to the nearby Lurantis still being a threat. Fen's explanation of the mysterious cavern led to a frenzied search for resources and understanding of this new area, which the Nidoran was more than happy to help with, so long as no one asked them for how long they knew about this place. Due to the scouting teams being experienced, there were thankfully no injuries in the exploration so far, with Sera having the time of her life doing the exact same things she used to do, sneaking around, but with company this time. Lumin, meanwhile, was still on guard duty in the town itself, carrying around the iPod, wrapped around his tail and whose music was becoming normal for the Pokemon there, to the point where they'd complain whenever he'd walk to other parts of the Sprout. The Shinx was starting to doubt his true purpose in this town.

In more strange news, the scarves that were painstakingly made and painted had disappeared during their rescue mission, leading to a heated argument about thieves, consisting of Fen and Sera against Cylan. Eventually, the Zoroark (or is it a Zorua now ?) yielded, mostly due to Sera's ferocity and lack of manners, tasking Amy and Glen with figuring out where the missing scarves went. They were quickly found wrapped around statues that had been recently put up around the town, with Matt, the Teddiursa, as the culprit. The scarves were simply too nice a decoration to not use, and so, as the artist of the Sprout, he chose to repurpose them. This, of course, did not go over well with the trio, with Lumin's aggression being clear enough that the other two had to calm him down. Eventually, though, they were able to each bear their respective scarf, ending that day on a happier note.

It was a good time for a happier note, as the very next day…

As she was picking some berries from the garden, Fen suddenly heard the sound of a gong, pestering as the bundle she wanted fell to the ground. Where did they hide a gong in this town ? It wasn't the time to complain, though, that sounded like an alarm, and it meant she had to move, fast ! The Nidoran ran as fast as she could towards the leader's tent, uncertain where else to go, and kept hearing cries coming from the buildings she was passing. In the distance, she could see the Ninjask, Jay, yelling his lungs out. « Threat incoming ! Threat incoming ! Meet at the Sprout's center ! ». She didn't have time to thank him as he kept whizzing around, trying to find any lost Pokemon to direct. Eventually, she arrived towards the center of the village, with Cylan standing tall on a cardboard box, in front of the statue of the Sprout. Probably a temporary illusion to stay visible, she thought. As she approached, the Zoroark nodded a welcome to her, visibly relaxing upon seeing her. Sera noticed her too, though her reaction was much more hands-on, grabbing the poor Nidoran and placing her right in between Lumin and herself in the middle of the crowd, all without uttering a word.

Cylan straightened himself, appearing as serious as always. « Enough of us have gathered, I'll ask for silence, everyone ! »
The Pokemon weren't exactly loud to begin with, but Fen presumed human habits were hard to lose. « An emergency has occurred this morning. An Absol was seen running off from the east, and upon further investigation, their entire territory is now vacant. Considering the Lurantis our teams found recently was last seen wandering near this area, we believe it is now headed towards us »
Fen froze upon hearing about Absols running away. Their entire lore is about detecting and avoiding catastrophes…
« It is currently four minutes away from us, albeit its walking speed is superior to ours. We are still uncertain why it's going our way, but from what we have gathered, this Pokemon is specifically looking for conflict. As soon as the Lurantis detects my illusion, instead of shying away from here like most Commons, it will destroy the area in the hopes of finding me. This means that all we can do is fight it before it comes here ». Cylan's tone was somber, he wasn't looking at the crowd anymore, his face frozen.
As the murmurs started within the crowd, Fen decided to speak up before the panic settled in. « We could also leave and rebuild elsewhere ? »
A few faces turned towards her, glaring in silence. Ok, maybe they don't want to move out..
« The Sprout is our home. We're all tired of running, and we ain't doing it no more », sharply replied Cedric, shaking his head in disapproval. « We'll fight »
« I'll need all combat-oriented Pokemon at the gate entrance. Noelle, you come as well. Fen and Amy, you both grab any berries or tools that might help for this fight and stay in the back. Everyone else, get inside the Hidden Grotto, Julian is already making a forward base in there, and it might become more than that if we don't come back »
The Hidden Grotto… Fen remembered that this was the name they had eventually decided on for that cavern that could only be accessed through invisible portals. It seems like Cylan had the same thought as her on the matter.
« Move out ! », he yelled, surprising the Nidoran. At once, all of the Pokemon started rushing, some towards their homes to drop or take items, others towards their teams in order to plan for the fight ahead. Only the three of them remained in place, with Cylan approaching them.
« You three, you've seen that beast twice already. Do you know what it could be looking for ? ». His tone was urgent as if desperately hoping for an alternative. « I've heard enough about its destructive power to know this Lurantis isn't just strong for its kind, there's something else at play, here »
Fen sighed. « I've got nothing, sorry. We just saw it a few times, that's it »
« It seems to like chasing Pokemon. Remember how it chased you all the way to the cavern, Fen ? ». Sera seemed to be lost in thought, before the sound of multiple trees falling reached their ears, making the Eevee shiver before excusing herself and quickly joining the other Pokemon leaving for the Hidden Grotto. Lumin grumbled, baring fangs before controlling himself, letting Fen take off the iPod and going his way.
« Come back with as many berries you think would be of use, but stay behind the barricade, got it ? ». Fen nodded to Cylan's order, as he continued. « I'll need you to act as a temporary leader out there if things go bad since I still need to keep the illusion on here. Most of the Shinies are still going with their Pokemon mindset of fighting to the end. Keep casualties to a minimum ! »

It didn't take long for everyone to get into position, though perhaps the constant roars and felled trees in the distance helped with that speed. Fen was delivering Leppa berries to those participating in combat, surprised to only see about 10 Pokemon in total, including Noelle. Was that really all they had ? Seems like the town isn't as safe as I thought…, Fen thought. Another roar shook her out of it, this one being much louder. Both Nidoran and Furret quickly escaped back behind the gate, only peeking through the guardpost. Cylan had decided to hold their ground close to the Sprout in order to have a place to fall back to with the injured Pokemon. A gamble, but she was in no position to talk. Still…

A loud swoosh brought her focus back to the edge of their clearing. Somehow a cloud of dust was already lifted up in the air, as a wounded Girafarig was lying on the ground. Fen thought of going in, but Noelle quickly went to help them up, glowing brightly as the Heal Pulse took effect. Behind them, yet another tree fell down, this time leading to the entire group of Pokemon running away from the dust cloud, Lurantis in tow. The Tauros turned around, slamming head-first into them, surprising the Lurantis who barely reacted, before slicing his back, the sheer strength and speed of it making him roll to the side.
« Kutz ! », yelled Amy in distress. « That's too much damage to heal off, I'm getting him back ! », he continued before Fen stopped him.
« The Lurantis is right there. Wait until she moves to another target ». While he glared at her, the Furret said nothing and paused in his tracks, staring intently at his friend.
It seemed like those fighting were distraught as well, with Cedric having stopped in place, barely reacting in time as a swipe was directed at him, blocking it with a tree trunk, which broke in the process. Lumin took advantage of the situation and jumped in from the back, biting hard with a Fire Fang and eliciting a loud shriek from the Lurantis who struggled to get him off. The other Pokemon soon joined in, battering their opponent as Amy hastily went to grab the now isolated Kutz. As the Lurantis's fury grew, petals started swarming all around them, leaving cuts on anyone who remained too close. Lumin refused to dodge the attack, holding onto the Lurantis as tightly as possible as more and more cuts appeared on his body. The Lurantis shrieked, finally shaking him off through the flurry of petals, leaving Noelle to tend to his wounds as she changed her pattern entirely, now attacking in swift and unpredictable motions. One step to the right, a swing to the left, two steps to the left, a jump into a cleave… It was a dance of bloom and doom. The fighter team, not used to this style of attacks, quickly started dropping. Jay was thrown against a tree and fell unconscious, Cedric's side got punctured right after, then followed the Girafarig, failing to dodge the next step, with Ethan barely hanging on.
« What happened, it was going well ! », shouted Fen in worry, seeing another one falling against the murderous dance of the Lurantis. We don't even know who's still breathing, she yelled internally.

As Fen and Amy despaired, Lumin's snarl caught back their attention. The Shinx was back in order, thanks to a few Heal Pulses and a Sitrus Berry mashed onto his back. He seemed more focused than before as well, waiting for the Lurantis to strike, who kindly obliged. Surprisingly, Lumin easily dodged the swipe, countering it immediately with a tackle which, admittedly, didn't do anything and put him in close proximity as the Lurantis tried to swat him away. Lumin ducked and bit against their chest, trying to turn them ablaze before jumping away, seeing the petals coming back towards him once again. The Lurantis suddenly started glowing brightly, gathering light through their whole body, directing it towards their claws as Lumin did his best to interrupt the charge with a volley of electric shocks. In what seemed like an instant, a flurry of glowing cuts was thrown towards the small Shinx, who somehow was managing to stay alive, micromanaging every part of his body to weave around each slash, unable to strike back and panting heavily from the strain each dodge was putting on his body. The strain eventually got too much for Lumin, who bit into the claw as a last resort, surprising his opponent into dropping their guard. He immediately took advantage of the situation, pulling hard against the claw while burning it, making the Lurantis panic and try to slice him. Lumin noticed the attack and leaped away, though one of his fangs, still stuck into the claw, pulled the entire arm in the way of the attack, leading to a clean cut into their own arm. The Lurantis roared in pain and anger, channeling petals once again before being hit in the back by an explosion of light, Noelle finally having found an opening to help out. Seeing them falter, Lumin leaped at the chance, biting at their neck fiercely until, finally, they fell limp between his fangs.

Fen wasn't quite certain what to think, she was of course happy to see that damned Lurantis fall without her friend dying, but clearly Lumin didn't outsmart his opponent… So how did he come out on top ? All she knew was that seeing the small Shinx howling a victorious cry, she couldn't help but shudder at the thought of once having been his target. How lucky had she been without knowing ?
« We should really get going now, Fen », pleaded Amy, eager to help out the injured Pokemon.
That took the Nidoran out of her daze. « Oh, yeah, sorry. You mash the berries, I'll assess the severity of the injuries », she replied, quickly dashing out onto the destroyed battlefield. These Pokemon had done their jobs, it was time to help them out.

All the Pokemon were still breathing, though Jay seemed in particularly bad condition due to having such a small body and wings. As Fen, Noelle and Amy were treating all the wounded, a small light could be seen coming from the Lurantis's corpse, floating out, before hovering towards Lumin, who had fallen asleep out of exhaustion. It eventually landed on its tail, before emitting loud fireworks, scaring all three healers and grabbing their attention, uncertain of what they were seeing. Before long, the light stopped celebrating, being absorbed into the Shinx's tail and making his markings glow.

None of them knew what to say to that, though Fen was certain it'd only mean trouble. And Amy, eyeing suspiciously the unconscious Lumin, seemed to share that opinion. But that'll come later. For now, Pokemon needed their help to survive the battle.