It was a few minutes before Anya opened her eyes again.
As she slowly came to, her mind foggy from the blood loss and remaining injuries (Anya noted with a grimace the bloody bandage on her arm), she started to get a sense of where she was. It looked like a back room at the Pokemon Center; she could see medical supplies for Pokemon on shelves, and Anya herself was lying on a hospital bed that must be used for bigger Pokemon during regular operations. As she looked around the room, everything started to click into place.
Houndoom. The Zoroark. All those people that had been in the Pokemon Center—were they okay? She tried to sit up, but her arms fell out from under her before she could fully push herself up. Anya decided it was probably for the best. Her arms felt weaker than ever before.
The door to the back room flung open.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!"
Anya had never been more relieved to hear her cousin's voice in her life. As Lionel stormed towards her—furious, no doubt, and he had every right to be—all she could manage was a weak Mareepish grin.
The expression did nothing to placate him. "No, actually, I'm being so fucking serious," Lionel continued, paying no mind to the children and other people that were likely outside, "are you just so fucking delusional you thought you could do that or what?" He glared at his cousin, though Anya knew it was more out of concern than anything. "You could have fucking died, Anya, and you almost did! What the hell—"
"Lionel." The word was shaky, though not as weak as Anya felt. "There are kids outside." She grinned.
"Do you think I give a flying f—" Lionel stopped himself, huffing as he glared at her. "Do you think I care right now? Look, this is getting insane. If things are this bad right now in Unova, then I really don't think we should stay here much longer. I'm sure the League can find—"
"No."
Lionel seemed surprised by the response, but his expression quickly shifted back to a serious one. "Anya, in case you haven't noticed, there's a fucking storm outside that's tearing the city apart, what else do you think we should do? Maybe we can get a flight back to Kalos or something, just until the storm lets up and these damn Zoroark—"
"No," Anya insisted again. She forced herself to sit up, using her hands to support herself as she glared right back at her cousin. "We're not leaving, Lionel, we can't—"
"You're injured!"
"And you worry too much." Anya pushed herself to stand, her legs shaky but capable as she finally got up and leaned against the bed for support. "I'm the Gym Leader, for Arceus' sake, these people need me. Do not make me pull rank on you, because I swear I will."
That stopped Lionel in his tracks, albeit reluctantly. They both knew she could; she was the Gym Leader, after all, and he was one of her Gym Trainers. Lionel paused for a minute before seeming to give up, huffing again in response.
"You're an asshole."
"And yet you love me." Anya grinned in response, gaining the strength to push off from the bed and take a step forward—which promptly caused her to almost fall. If Lionel hadn't caught her and helped her back up, she certainly would have. The Gym Leader begrudgingly got back up onto the bed, her legs dangling over the edge as her mind returned to the battle with Zoroark.
"Something's wrong," she said after a minute or two of thinking.
"Well, no shit, Sherlock, look at—"
"No, dumbass, something's wrong with the Zoroark." Anya looked at her cousin, a serious expression on her face for once. "That one that almost killed me? The pack leader? Something was wrong with it."
"What, like, too aggressive or something?" Lionel frowned, confused.
"No…" Anya shook her head. Zoroark were naturally aggressive by nature, though they usually didn't attack so directly. They only attacked directly like that when they felt threatened or—
Wait.
"Lostlorn Forest," she whispered, eyes widening as everything clicked into place. She looked at Lionel, who still seemed thoroughly confused. "Zorua and Zoroark naturally live in Lostlorn Forest and nowhere else in Unova. They wouldn't be leaving the forest unless—"
"Unless something made them leave." Lionel's expression suggested it had finally clicked for him too.
"Exactly." Anya's body started to hum with energy again as her mind ran through the scenario. "So if we can find whatever that is that forced them out of Lostlorn Forest, we can get them to go back there and leave Black City alone. And the only way to do that is to go there ourselves."
Lionel grinned, already reaching into his bag for his Poke Balls. "I've got Gogoat right here if we want to head out now."
"That would probably be best. Oh," Anya added as it finally occurred to her. "Are Houndoom and all the others okay?"
"Yep, Meowstic helped me find them. All healed up, too; the lady running the Pokemon Center said the machine still worked." Lionel handed her six small Poke Balls, which Anya quickly put into her jacket pockets. The feel of the familiar weight in her pockets was the best she'd had all day.
"Can you walk yet?" Lionel frowned, concern in his features once again. "That one swipe on your head looks pretty bad." He nodded at the bandage wrapped around her head from where Zoroark's paw had knocked her out.
"Only one way to find out, I guess." Anya stood, her legs shaky but doing the job, she took a few steps forward. She almost fell again, but this time she managed to catch herself on the hospital bed and steady herself with some success. Still, Lionel let her hold onto his arm for safety's sake.
As the two walked out of the back room, Anya noticed the people she'd tried to protect from Zoroark earlier still in the Pokemon Center, waiting out the rain. The little girl from before was looking at her with great concern, and so were some others. There were no accusing glares like there had been before, no cries of "Yveltal follower" or some other nonsense.
Anya felt something like relief settle in her chest as she took in the vibe of the room. Maybe she had finally gotten through to at least some of them.
"We'll be back," Anya said, looking around at everyone. "Stay in here, and don't let anything in. Stay safe."
She and Lionel left the building, the rain still pounding onto the pavement from the storm. Part of Anya felt guilty leaving the citizens of Black City alone to deal with the Zoroark and Zorua running around, but she told herself that if she was right, this would be the thing to save them. Lionel sent out his Gogoat, the Mount Pokemon standing dutifully in the streets as the rain poured down from the skies. Both Trainers had climbed onto Gogoat's back, with Anya needing a bit of help to do so.
"You're the specialist," Lionel said without looking back. "Lead the way."
"Will do."
Lionel gently signaled Gogoat to head in the right direction, and the two Trainers set off for Lostlorn Forest.
The trip was a quiet one; neither Anya nor Lionel found much time to talk as Lionel pushed Gogoat forward, guiding him through the rain as Anya ran through a mental map of Unova to find the way to Lostlorn Forest. All the while the storm continued, the rain pounding and wind howling as Gogoat pushed his way through the elements and towards the forest.
After much effort on Gogoat's part (for which he was rewarded with several Poke Puffs in his favorite flavor), the pair finally reached Lostlorn Forest. As Gogoat stopped on the outskirts, Lionel helped Anya off the Mount Pokemon, though by then she had recovered enough strength to stand on her own. Lionel recalled Gogoat—as nice as it would be to let Anya rest a little more and ride Gogoat through the forest, he did need his rest after such a long journey—and he and Anya set off into the forest.
There were plenty of rumors surrounding Lostlorn Forest, from what Anya had heard. Some said that people who came there sometimes didn't come back, and others claimed it was haunted or cursed. Anya herself didn't really know what to make of these rumors; this was her first time seeing Lostlorn Forest in person. She'd seen it in books before, mostly books pertaining to Zorua or Zoroark, but in person it looked much emptier. Though wild Pokemon played among the trees and in the grass much like any other forest in Unova, something hung over this one. It was a dark place, Anya knew; something heavy and dreadful hung over the forest, though neither she nor Lionel could place what it was.
As they made their way further and further into the forest, the trees hanging over them like a canopy and providing some small relief from the rain, neither said anything. This felt like the kind of place where you were supposed to be quiet. Besides, they had to find what they were looking for, or this trip would be for nothing.
And finally, they did.
Anya noticed it first, the distinctive looks of where Zorua and Zoroark typically made their home. Claw marks were etched into the trees, a reminder to all wild Pokemon in the area that this was Zoroark territory. Of course, now that those trees were on the ground, the message was rather useless, but it still stopped Anya in her tracks.
"This must be where the Zoroark and Zorua lived before the storm," she said in a hushed tone, taking a step closer. The clearing was certainly ruined, in a sense; the trees that marked Zoroark's territory had been torn from their roots by the storm, now lying on the ground uselessly. Anya understood why the Zoroark and Zorua had fled to Black City. No one would want to live in a place like this.
"Damn." Lionel frowned, noticing the trees. "I guess there's no fixing it for them to get them to come back."
"No, maybe not." Anya shook her head. Neither of them had a Pokemon that would do the job; besides, it would be a shoddy one at best. "But we can find them a new place, and then they'll leave the city alone. They didn't mean any harm, really. All they wanted was a new place to live, and when they saw all the people and technology and everything, they must have freaked out." She frowned, a pang of sympathy hitting her heart. Poor Zoroark. It had only been trying to lead its pack to a safe home.
"So how do we find it?" Lionel asked, looking around at the trees and watching a few wild Pokemon play in the grass. "What would make it a good home for them?"
"Hm…" Anya paced in a circle for a few seconds, thinking it over. "Well, maybe another clearing, like this one, with some trees nearby so they can mark their territory. I don't think it should be too hard to find in a place like this. The place is pretty big when there aren't any Zoroark to keep up the illusion." She looked up at Lionel. "Can I borrow Gogoat?"
"Why?"
"I need to go back and tell the Zoroark I found a place for them."
"…But you haven't." Lionel frowned, confused.
"I know. That's why I'm asking you to do it." Anya put on her best Lillipup eyes. "Please? Please, we need to get those Zoroark and Zorua out of there as fast as possible and I know you can do it, pleeeeease—"
"Fine." Lionel shook his head as he handed Anya Gogoat's Poke Ball. "Just don't tire him out too much. He needs some time to recover after making that trip twice."
"Got it." Anya sent out Gogoat, climbing onto his back and looking back at Lionel. "Remember, clearing with trees nearby, just like this one. Ideally with natural resources nearby."
"I know. We'll find something." Lionel called out his Crobat, Flabebe, Noibat, and Meowstic—one male, one female. The two Psychic-types seemed to stare into Anya's soul as she signaled Gogoat to go back to Black City, as fast as he could run.
She had a city to save.
A/N: So I think the Lostlorn Forest theme might be stuck in my head now; I was listening to it on loop during the last segment when Anya and Lionel were there. (No complaints, it's a great track; I love the vibe.) Anyway, feel free to leave a review if you like this so far, and the next chapter will (hopefully) be out next week.