EPISODE I - ALWAYS AUDACITY

CHAPTER XIII - FIRE RABBIT, MEET CRAZY ELECTRODOG

Sam's response was twofold. First, kicking his feet into the ground, he leapt to the side, trying to escape the maddened Pokémon trying to kill him. The second was to attempt to cry out in shock.

Instead, it came out as more of a scream.

The Electrike flew past, teeth snapping as it skidded to a halt, turning once more to face the Scorbunny. Once more, Sam tried to raise his hands, beg for them to s-

And again, he was forced to leap back, his heart pounding in his ears as the bloody, stained teeth of the electric type tried to clamp down on him. Okay – he's not listening!

Skidding back, Sam snarled, rubbing his feet into the ground, the heat in his chest already beginning to flare as he drew on those emotions. Alright big guy! If you won't listen – take this!

With the state of the dungeon, the ground was littered with pebbles, and with a sharp cry, Sam booted one of them, the stone igniting instantly as the Ember flew towards the Electrike. The canine didn't even blink as it danced off to one side, the fireball flying past and across the dungeon. Sam could only blink, trying to boot another Ember off before the canine flashed the remaining distance, slamming into him with a painful crack.

Air rushed out of Sam's lungs as his head smacked against the ground. C-Come on! Enough with the head already! He rolled back and out of the way, just in time for the Electrike to fly face first into the ground. Back on his feet, Sam's lips instinctively peeled back into a smirk, Now's my chance!

But didn't go for another Ember, instead, he charged back at the Electrike, willing the emotions to burn, willing himself to hit faster, hit hard-

The world flashed for just a second, Sam finding himself lunging forward faster than his legs seemed able to take him. He blinked to find the green Pokémon cartwheeling back, his white and red foot hanging in mid-air almost comically where it once stood. Q-Quick Attack?!, a little bit of pride beating in his chest. Heh, finally, I'm starting to get the hang of this!

Only then did he kick out another Ember, this time catching the canine in the flank. A bestial roar pounded at his ears as the fireball detonated in a puff of smoke, the Electrike skidding further back to the edge of the pool. Panting, Sam gulped down air, letting his aching lungs recover as he slowly approached, keeping that warmth burning within him in case he needed to retaliate again. The Pokémon's eyes were shut though, his breathing rapid but regular at the very least… Did… did I knock him out?

It was that moment that Aidan's head poked out of the water, a little grin on his face. "Sorry I took so long, somehow they managed to weigh this thing down wi-" His eyes widened at the sight of the Electrike, "What the- Sam are you okay?! Who the hell is this guy!?" He turned back towards him, the Froakie's body stiffening. Sam could only roll his eyes, throwing a hand randomly in the air. "Oh yeah, just had to fight some crazed electric type whilst you were diving."

Before the Froakie stiffened any more, Sam flashed a wink. "A little ruffled up but I'm fine. You got the Dynis?"

The smile returning, Aidan lifted up the glowing crystal, flickering with its rainbow colouration in his hand. "I'd say that is mission accomplished, but to the looks of things, it seems like we've got this guy to deal with." He narrowed his eyes, gaze drifting towards the downed Electrike's arm. "Hey… what team is he fr-"

The Electrike's bloodshot eyes snapped open.

Shit!

The Electrike's eyes snapped back towards the water, with Aidan settled right into it. Sam immediately saw the danger. "Aidan! Get out of the water!" Sam ordered, breaking out into a sprint towards them. Aidan's eyes widened, the reality dawning as he reached for the water's edge, ready to throw himself out. But it was already too late, the blue crackles of energy flickering around the Electrike as it rolled back upright, the blue beam of energy blasting out of its mouth and straight at the water.

Aidan didn't stand a chance, the pool of water flashing with blue and white light as the Froakie tried to leap out of the water, only to get zapped just as suddenly. His eyes widened, pupils turning to pinpoints as he tried to scream, his mouth frozen in place even as his body jerked wildly out of control.

As the electrical attack faded away, the bruised and charred Froakie flopped back into the water face first with a soft splash.

In that second, that warmth in Sam's chest turned into an inferno. His entire body flared up as if his body was on fire, raw anger taking over as the Scorbunny's eyes flashed red. "Get away from him you imbecile!" he roared, leaping for the Electrike.

A flicker of fear flashed across the Electrike's eyes as the Quick-attacking rabbit slammed into him, the duo sliding across the cave floor. The canine tried to push itself back up, only for a white hand to fly into his face. Sam screamed, his lungs burning as he threw another punch, his mind focused on one thing. Keeping this damn freak away from his friend. He threw another punch, then another, the Electrike whimpering from the unpowered punches. Kicking himself away, Sam dragged his foot back, setting a pebble aflame and kicking it up into the air. "Why don't you piss. OFF!"

The Ember flashed as it flew straight down for the electric type, a surprised cry barely reaching the Scorbunny's ears before the fireball struck their side with an almighty bang and a sharp flash of light and smoke.

The green canine sailed across the chamber and straight into the crumbling rock walls with a horrible thud. An even louder snap rang out as the Electrike slid down into a battered heap, the boulders in the wall breaking and grumbling as the ground softly quaked. The power within Sam chilled in an instant, the anger washing away as he steadied himself. Oh no… no…

But then, the quaking ceased. And silence reigned.

Then the struck section of wall collapsed. Rock and earth dropping and crumpling into a pile at the foot of the rest of the intact wall. Some of the earth was shoved onto the downed Electrike, not enough to bury it, but enough to keep it pinned.

Not that it mattered, as the chamber fell silent again, the Electrike's eyes shut as its chest slowly rose and fell. This time, it was definitely out for the count.

Spinning on his heel, Sam shot towards the pool, Aidan's body still bobbing up and down in the water. Almost quite literally throwing himself into the water, the Scorbunny bit off the sudden chill and grabbed onto the Froakie's arm. "Aidan!?" Sam shouted, tightening his grip on the limb and shaking it, "Come on mate! Say something!"

The limb stiffened in the Scorbunny's paw… and a swarm of bubbles rose to the surface around the Froakie's head. In the two seconds it took to confuse the rabbit with his cocked head, Aidan finally jerked back upright, eyes wide as he gasped in a breath. "Holy crap that was a shock!"

Sam snapped back with a huff, half out of relief, half out of concern and mixed in with no small amount of confusion. He shook his head, shoving the confusion aside, "Puns aside, you alright?"

"P-Pun? Err… yeah, I'm fine!" He said happily, a giant grin spread across his face. "That was a rush alright!"

The Froakie puffed out a whistle… and immediately began to sink, his free hand grabbing onto the Scorbunny's arm. "Okay… rush over, that hurt. A lot." He winced, struggling to stay afloat as Sam slung one of Aidan's arms over his shoulder. "Hang on buddy, let's get you out of the water." He stressed, only to pause as something dawned upon him.

Aidan's struggling to float. So how…

Sam immediately looked down just as he sensed that his feet weren't on the ground, but very slowly kicking away underneath him, keeping him upright. In the corner of his eye, it was obvious that Aidan had seen it too, his yellow eyes flickering round towards him.

"Okay." Sam stated woodenly. "Turns out I can swim."

Together, the two swam back over to the water's edge and pulled themselves out. As Aidan sat back against the rocks shivering, Sam pulled out one of the so-called Oran Berries from his satchel and handed it over. "Thanks." Aidan said, pulling a weak grin as he gobbled down the blue fruit. Only then did Sam finally relax, letting out a sigh as he managed to pull a grin of his own. "Thought you would have had it then."

"Oh don't worry about me. One electric attack isn't going to kill me." Aidan managed to croak with an injection of humour, still chewing on the oran berry. His eyes drifted past Sam's shoulder. "How the hell did you do that?"

A red tipped ear dipped an inch, "Oh, the Electrike? I knocked them out with a-"

"Not him. The wall."

Blankly, with his ears dipping even more, Sam turned back towards the wall. The Electrike was still out cold, the pile of rubble was still there. And lo and behold, a new opening within the wall itself. I… I suppose I missed that when I was trying to help Aidan.

Shaking his head, he kept his gaze on the wall. "Can… can that happen?"

"Sometimes, with the right orb maybe." Aidan said, "But just from a move? Never heard of that."

"Poor state of the Dungeon?"

"Yeah."

Rolling his shoulders back, the Scorbunny started towards it. "Wait here, I'll have a look."

He scrambled up the small pile towards the hole, half expecting a new tunnel to run off into the darkness. But he didn't. Instead, he came across a hollow alcove, barely more than a metre across in area, barely lit by the light coming from the main chamber.

And at the bottom, there was a chest. But it wasn't something like those he had seen scattered around Robinswood, with their arched, wooden appearances. No. This one was smaller, rectangular, smoother… and interestingly, made out of metal.

With a frown on his face, Sam clambered down towards the chest, laying a hand on the cold surface. How long have you been down here… he pondered, blowing off a layer of dust that had built up on the container. Sweeping his fingers around the edge, he found the latch and with his ears perking up with interest, lifted the lid open and pushed it clear of the box.

The inside had not fared as well. It was mostly filled with dozens of sheets of paper, all of them half rotted away with all the text on them little more than a smudge. I suppose the seal must have failed on this thing. He shoved some of the old paper work aside to reveal a strange, slightly rusted red… cup? Dome? It was hard to say, even as he picked up the strange metallic object, the inside of which was charred black and with the only distinguishing feature being a white, raised circle on one side. Shrugging, Sam shoved the thing into his satchel, and was about to turn away when something flickered underneath the paper. Eyes narrowing, he reached back in again, digging the paper out.

At the bottom of the case, surprisingly undamaged, was a small, sleeveless red jacket and a pair of goggles, supported by some kind of brown… leather? Clothes?

He picked up the small jacket, noting the high collar and its fairly small size. A weird sense of déjà vu settled over him, as if some memory or feeling was trying to get the Scorbunny's attention. This seems… familiar… why-

"Hey Sam!" Aidan called out, "What's taking so long? Are you okay?"

Stiffening up, the feeling dissipated completely. Sam leaned back, "I'm good! Just a chest filled with junk! Mostly!"

"Mostly?"

Sam looked back into the crate, fingers drumming against the fabric before lips peeled back. Well, no one else is picking you up…

Aidan raised a brow as the Scorbunny emerged from the alcove, the little red jacket now resting on his shoulders and the goggles hanging around his neck. Sam flashed a smirk, opening his arms up to show it all off. "Looks like we've found some actual loot after all."

The frog let out a stronger, hearty laugh at that, pushing himself back up to his feet, holding up the Dynis crystal that had been their objective. "All the more worth it then."

That was when his eyes narrowed, nodding his attention towards the comatose Electrike, still breathing softly at the edge of the pile as Sam clambered back down. "So, what are we doing with him then?"

Sam glanced over at the electric type, just for a moment, a little pang of guilt tugging at his guts. "We can't leave him here… he's a Rescuer like us. It's kinda our job."

"True." Aidan said softly, before immediately raising a hand up, "Not it."

Sam blinked, "Huh?"

"Too late, I'm not carrying him. Besides, I don't have the legs to properly hold him up anyway."

Carr-

It dawned on him way too late as the Scorbunny's gaze snapped back down the body of the Electrike on what Aidan meant.

Sam's ears drooped in half immediately, "Aw crap."