Why did everything have to be so complicated?
Cinder knelt down in front of the cauldron that sat in the shared laboratory space. Caustic alchemical reagents and Essence components that opposed each other had all been added to the cauldron, creating a volatile, disruptive brew that ate away at any Essence that was not native to the body it was applied to.
It had no practical application, no pre-existing reason to exist, yet Cinder's Master not only had the mixture in his satchel, ready for use, but also had the recipe streamlined for ease of production with maximal stability. It had been as though he had the solution to a crisis within his feathered grasp before anyone had even known there was a crisis.
She had no idea if anyone else realized how unlikely this mixture's existence was. And now, she needed to make use of such an improbable concoction.
Cinder took in a breath and covered herself in shadowstuff. She took the form of a buizel, being the first familiar maiju with paws that came to mind. She went over to the cauldron and used a ladle to pour some of the volatile liquid into glass flasks.
Cinder scurried past respectful assistants and accomplished healers and towards one of the guest rooms, before stepping in, quiet as a ghost. Her two charges lay sleeping on separate mats, both just a handful of paces apart. Her two charges, the Jigglypuff and Raichu, had fought her just a short while ago, and were it not for Brock's timely intervention, she might have suffered greatly in their paws. Cinder did not blame them for their actions. With the Ditto dealt with, now was the appropriate time to clean up the rest of that Ditto's mess.
The weasel-disguised-fox walked over to Raichu first and gently poured the Essence corroding solvent over the sleeping rodent's body. Yellow ears returned to a native brown, whilst Raichu's fur became more vibrant and natural. Sizzling vapor rose into the air and dispersed, a slight hum of displaced Essence returning to the natural world. As the last of the flask's contents dribbled out,Cinder turned her eyes to it. The solvent's effects were something unprecedented, worthy of examination.
Cinder's focus turned to the orange fur that currently covered her body, and her thoughts to the person the illusion was based on. What would happen if the formula was applied to a human? Would simply removing excess Essence result in them taking the form of a Maiju?
It was a leap in logic, yet there was clearly a link: Maiju who were oversaturated with Essence lost their powers, and their ability to understand other Maiju. That was a trait humans possessed, and it was likely not a coincidence. After all, according to some, all humans were Maiju at their core… But how could she possibly test that hypothesis?
Raichu tossed and turned in her sleep, letting out a slight moan as the last of the foreign Essence was dispersed. With that done, Cinder picked up a second flask and turned toward Jigglypuff, and began the process of searing away the Essence from her body.
The excess of Essence didn't explain everything. If the human condition involved smothering a Maiju in Essence until they couldn't even command it, why were all humans shaped like tall, upright Infernapes? Who could have conceived of such a plan in the first place? And to what end?
The revelation did at least explain why her friends needed to go to the Crucible to create a spell to become human again; becoming human must have been an artificial process. Now, Cinder had all sorts of questions on what the Crucible was and how it operated.
"Zorua, are you well?"
Startled, Cinder's disguise shattered and she nearly spilled the contents of her flask onto the floor. She grabbed onto it with her body before it shattered. She turned towards her master with a nervous grin before she drained the last of the fluid onto Jigglypuff. Jigglypuff's hair lost its dark pink highlights as it returned to its natural shade.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Cinder turned to the speaker. "Father named me Cinder, in reference to Ash, Master."
Master Aspen let out a small laugh as he walked into the room. "I see. It suits you nicely."
"It's still a little funny, having a name. I honestly thought I would not get one unless the Empress or some other Official rewarded me."
"In truth, your father really should have named you, though… he was always the sentimental sort." Master Aspen walked into view.
Cinder balked. Her father? Sentimental? Then again, she supposed that old fox spent far too much time around funeral urns.
Master Aspen shook his head. "He never felt right about naming you, always saying that… your mother had more say or that he didn't feel right doing so. In truth, I don't know if it hurt him to do it or his mind was simply unable to escape his desire for revenge."
Cinder leaned over her patients as she went to observe them. Both Raichu and Jigglypuff seemed fine, having returned to normal appearances for their species. Perhaps once Raichu awoke, she could enjoy talking to someone and understanding them for the first time in weeks.
Seeing her task near complete, the fox then turned towards her Master and voiced the thought that had been at the back of her mind ever since she had learned the truth. "Master… about humans… Why do we hate them?" It was something that she had taken for granted, before she had even met Ash, that humans were the cause of so many problems. Now the entire idea seemed utterly ridiculous, a farce.
Master bowed his head in clear shame. "Things were… different, back then. In truth, the stigma with humans was significantly less than it is today." He shook his head. "Even back when I was your age, we didn't think of them much beyond the odd memory or tale from a new arrival. It is easy to not care about people who you were never going to meet."
"...But aren't a lot of arrivals humans?" Cinder found herself asking. She wondered if it was the right idea to bring it up in a relatively unsecured room with two patients, but Jigglypuff and Raichu were still out cold. "Even if we assume that for every hundred Maiju enter our shores and just one should be human, wouldn't there be a lot of humans?"
Master sighed, a sign of weariness. "In those days, travelers didn't retain all of their memories. Many of them didn't recall who exactly they were. They were nearly indistinguishable from any other maiju of their kind." He frowned, his beak dipping slightly. "Some groups pieced together the difference once they fit together the odd tidbits of information that made no sense, such as vestigial habits and conflicting memories that had no explanation. And yet, even knowing the simple fact they weren't born maiju, what was the worry? Stripped to the bare essentials, they were just like us. In a real sense, the promise that no human could ever enter Citrine could be interpreted in many ways."
Cinder nodded. In short, because up until recently, humans were simply a nonissue, irrelevant. And those that showed up were near indistinguishable from other Maiju, unless you paid explicit attention. Cinder nodded her head, understanding. "And… things changed?"
Master Aspen let out a defeated sigh. "There… have been many events over the years that have colored our feelings toward the outsiders, but the Usurpation War was the most impactful." The owl shook his head and bowed. "The strange spheres that your friends carried, they were a major part of why the Usurpation Was as bloody as it was. While Citrine always had a variety of devices and spells to subvert the wills of others… the Usurpation War saw the deployment of so many different tools all at once. I understand that your friends did not have spheres of that nature, but possession of such devices is still a crime. People don't like reminders of that tragedy."
Cinder frowned, her thoughts about Ash and his family. Her reading materials of the Tajiri clan were light, but she knew that at one time, they were both lively and prestigious. The War left only two survivors. It suddenly became quite obvious why Pokéballs were distrusted.
While she stewed in her thoughts, Master continued. "At the end of everything, when all of the dust settled and those who had enslaved others were dealt with, the survivors considered their next steps. Citrine had always been seen as a sanctuary, a place free from humans entirely, yet without even being present, they'd managed to inflict so much suffering. The war proved that even Citrine was not safe from humans. Some felt that action needed to be taken, to punish them for their transgressions. For a time, the mere possession of an item made by human hands would have earned reproving glances. At its height, even outsider Maiju were viewed with suspicion."
Cinder frowned and looked down at herself, an uncomfortable knot developing in her body. Where did that leave her? If having an object that was associated with humans was seen badly, then what about maiju that were descended from humans?
Master nodded his head, seemingly understanding her thoughts. "It's a question that we thankfully never had to answer. Most don't know what the prohibition of humans actually meant."
The fox wanted to protest. "But humans and Maiju are…"
Master put a feathered hand over her mouth. "I don't think that technicality would have mattered in those days. In fact, some might have simply used that secret to justify their positions further." He shook his head. "Cinder, how many people like you do you think there are? Think of it, how many humans do you think ever came into Citrine?"
Cinder made a pained wince. She didn't have any hard numbers, but she knew that plenty of people had ancestors who were outsiders, somewhere in their family trees. Certainly, the number of direct descendants would be vanishingly small, over the thousands upon thousands of Moons, there would have to have been several families that could trace their links to a human ancestor.
But that might not have mattered. The mere suspicion of human ancestry might have been all that was needed. Cinder's father told her how destructive suspicion could be, how that kind of poison could tear apart groups of people and set them against each other. "...I don't like this," she grumbled.
Master looked down, a little ashamed. "Neither do I. But thankfully, things have cooled down since the war. Most of the fire has burned out, though I don't know how receptive they would be to… everything presented."
Cindered nodded uncomfortably. None of what she heard satisfied her, though it certainly explained why many things were the way they were.
Master Aspen turned towards the patients, his eyes considering. "They're starting to move. I can hear them rustling and twitching, awakening."
"That's sooner than I expected," Cinder mused, happy to discuss something relatively easier to comprehend. Hopefully neither of them overheard the conversation. "Maybe they'll want to talk? Or a check up?"
"I can handle that," Master Aspen answered. He pointed out the door. "While we took some time here, your friends were asking for you to come to them once you were done with your work here."
Cinder blinked, before suddenly remembering. "Oh. Right… I got distracted. We were supposed to go to the Dojo today."
Master may have not had lips, but he managed to make a content smirk. A small laugh escaped. "You should probably get moving. Before they leave."
"I should," Cinder frowned as she got up. She wasn't much of a fighter but it was the logical option given that most of the other candidates were either injured or were liabilities against the primary types of the Dojo. She was also the one person in their group who specialized in defensive evasion. And besides…she had a few ideas on what she could use in battle.
Master Aspen smiled at her as he opened the door. Though, Cinder realized only after the fact that she went through the wall.
Charizard felt great about today. He hadn't done anything important yet, but today was the day they were challenging the Dojo! And it'd be his first Gym win in a while!
Pretty much everyone was there as they crossed the bustling streets towards their destination. His trainer and his friends brought their teams with them; even Team Rocket were there, as beat up as they were.
Not only was he not going to the tutors today, he was going to have the chance to pummel some heads in! A part of him was upset that he missed the big fight a few days ago, but maybe that was a blessing in disguise; practically everyone who fought in that battle was still not quite healthy enough for another one. This left Charizard as one of the select few eligible for the battle. This was a rare opportunity to cut loose - against a Gym that had all of its types vulnerable to fire. It was practically a no-brainer to think that victory was assured! Sure, the Gyms here were strong, but come on, the leader was doubly at risk of burning.
And that was not even counting the fact that some important people were going to be watching his victory! He didn't care much for Emperors, especially pipsqueaks, but that had to be worth some bragging rights!
"Huh, you're happy today," Ash called from beside him, a big stupid grin on his face.
"Yup," the big dragon confirmed. It probably didn't take any special powers to figure out his mood. "I mean, it could be better…" Charizard admitted, referencing a small argument that they had last night.
The riolu smirked. "You still want to be the leader, don't you?"
"I mean, yeah…" Charizard's gaze turned over to the zorua who stood in his shadow. He didn't really have much to say about her, other than she bothered him at one time. Other than that, she was… cowardly. She had her talents, but combat was not one of them.
Cinder flinched under his gaze before returning a polite grin. "I mean, I didn't want to offend you…"
"The strongest is supposed to lead," Charizard argued. "They're supposed to get into fights and kick butt!"
"There is no shame in being someone else's guardian," Ash's grandfather said. The old lucario turned his head back at Charizard with tired eyes. "In fact, I would say that your position allows you more freedom this way; the leader has to constantly be on the defense instead of having the liberty to act as you please."
Charizard crossed his arms and studied the old guy for a moment, then nodded his head. The old jackal's argument seemed sound… though it still felt a little unglamorous.
"Kind of wish we could have done this…" James muttered under his breath. " I've even been working on an outfit that'd give me fiery dance skills."
"And we'd be fighting in front of royalty," Jessie the eevee grumbled, one of her legs strained slightly. "That's… up there in terms of importance."
"You shouldn't have spent hours fighting against each other arguing which of you would have been the leader," Pikachu laughed at their expense.
"Nobody asked ya, mouse!" Meowth spat back.
Charizard smirked, satisfied with the outcome, despite his lack of authority. Whatever; a fight was still a fight. It'd probably be fun.
The group turned a corner and found themselves in front of a small walled complex with a variety of guards standing in front. A sign labeled "ERINITE THICKET DOJO" definitively spelled out the place as their destination.
Charizard fought back the urge to let himself in, but no, his lessons had drilled into him that there were a dozen different roles that you had to follow properly to be allowed into an important family's house, especially for special occasions such as the royal family visiting. But, the fire dragon had no idea what the rites even were.
Apparently, Ash's grandfather knew what to do. The old lucario walked in front of a small squad of guards, who never said a word as they eyed him. Then, once they were satisfied, they removed themselves and unbarred the gate without any further prompt.
One of the soldiers, a massive, overgrown tangela of some sort, walked over to a gong and slammed several viney fists into the golden disk. "Presenting the Tajiri family and associates!"
Charizard had to admit, the soldiers were… kind of cool, in a weird way. In all of his time in Kanto, he had never quite met any group of Pokémon so… disciplined. Some of them were even Grass-types, but they didn't seem phased at all by his presence. There was no fear in their eyes, but also there was no anger or hostility of any sort. They simply acknowledged he was there with a glance — and that was it. He didn't really know how strong the soldiers were, but that attitude drew his attention.
As the old jackal walked through the gates, over a dozen Pokémon followed him in, Charizard among them.
They didn't have to wait long before they were greeted by that panda kid again and his mother walking right behind him. They didn't have those lucario bodyguards with them this time.
"You came!" Panda brat stumbled over, bubbling with excitement. He practically leapt to hug at Ash before his mother grabbed him on the wrist.
"Manners," the Empress reminded the kid.
The pancham frowned, but then at his mother's urging, he made a small bow. "I… greet you my loyal subjects."
Charizard shook his head in sympathy at the kid, as he reminiscenced about his own lessons in "etiquette" and "manners" that the tutor tried to cram in during the week. How did human kids stomach going through years and years of that stuff?
"It's good to see you, too!" Ash said.
Others did their greetings, but Charizard didn't care much to think about it.
"We hope that you'll enjoy your spectating," the old lucario commanded as he bowed his head in turn.
"Uhuh!" the pancham exclaimed, before turning to look at the riolu. "Will you be fighting? Oh, who did you pick for your team!?" Gaozu asked leaping in place.
"I'm not actually fighting," Ash said in an apologetic tone. "I mean, I'd like to, but some of my other friends wanted to fight. Like, Charizard here! He's pretty strong."
Charizard took that opportunity to flex one of his arms to show his muscles.
The pancham's eyes lit up with excitement, clear eagerness in his eyes. Though, his mother did not seem as easily pleased; she watched him with an inscrutable gaze.
The dragon laughed, a slight bubble. It felt great to have someone else look at him with those eyes, even if the older pangoro didn't seem thrilled.
"Are you going to be the leader?" Gaozu continued to beam to Charizard. "You look really big and strong!"
"Nope." Charizard deflated slightly and instead turned his gaze towards the fox that hid in his shadow. Oddly, Cinder seemed to shiver under all of the attention.
"...That… would be me…" the fox murmured. What was wrong with that fox? Like, Charizard knew she was skittish, but this was on a whole different level than normal. For someone who was supposed to be a Ghost-type, she was the one that was scared.
"Uh, okay?" Gaozu seemed slightly disappointed. "Who's the third?"
"Me!" Zubat flew near. "Like, most of us aren't good versus the types here, so… uh I'm here, too!"
"I see…" said the mother, her tone indecipherable. She pointed a clawed hand towards a section at the back of the dojo compound. "Sensei Tungsten and his chosen warriors have been in meditation since dawn. We will meet him together."
Everyone accepted that.
They followed the pangoro towards a teeming mass of bamboo, so thick that it practically formed walls, thick enough that it was hard to see the ground. Though, unlike any bamboo Charizard had seen, the plants bore an unusual silvery sheen, glistening in the light. Lines of water and dirt paths in the shapes swirled in and out of the dense brush, as though forming paths in a maze.
"Oh, wow. That looks yummy!" the pancham smiled.
"No, you'll break your teeth," the mother scolded.
Charizard wondered what that was about. Out of curiosity, he walked over to the nearest pole of bamboo and bit into it. To his surprise, his teeth couldn't bite into the wood; instead a metallic tang fell flooded into his mouth. The dragon spat out the bamboo, rejecting the revolting taste. "Bleh, what's with this?"
"That's the famous Erinite Imperial Bamboo. They're kind of famous for being plants that coat their outer layers in iron compounds. It's rare in the wild these days, but they have a number of uses in alchemy. I also heard it's quite tasty if you're one of the few species of Maiju that can actually digest it." Cinder replied. She lifted neck and threw off the white hat that she sometimes wore, allowing Misty to catch it in her grasp.
"And if you aren't able to digest it, you could inadvertently poison yourself," a voice called out.
Charizard immediately choked and spat out the rest of that disgusting tasting in his mouth. He then stared at the speaker, a ferrothorn who was just suddenly right there, right in front of the clearing. It was surprising, because there was no sound or noise that gave away his movement.
The ferrothorn looked at Charizard. "Hm, I assume you will be challenging me?" He seemed to expect something.
Charizard snorted. "Hmph. Yeah and I'm going to beat you."
The ferrothorn gave an odd look that for some reason made Charizard think he was unsurprised. He made a small, polite bow towards the pangoro and pancham before his eyes then darted towards Ash and then his grandfather. "I see you have three Emeras, Bearer. That means you stand at the halfway point, a stone's throw away from facing the greater challenges Citrine has to offer. As a result, we will give you a taste of what you will face on the road ahead. I am Sensei Tungsten and my students will test your resolve. In this trial, we will allow the use of items as per the standard rules of combat."
Charizard practically salivated at that. Though the ferrothorn wasn't talking to him, the flying reptile more than anything wanted to prove to everyone how strong he was, how much he had grown from being the charmander that he used to be. This was going to be that moment.
The ferrothorn scratched at the dirt, carving three indents on the ground. "Combatants, walk into the forest and meet your opponents."
Charizard turned one last look at his trainer. He knew he had been difficult to Ash, but that was in the past. He was going to win. He had to win.
Ash smiled brightly at him, seemingly radiating a sort of joy and presence that filled the dragon's heart. Pikachu, nearby, also gave him a smirk. Squirtle flashed a digit up, a thumbs up without a thumb. Bulbasaur bore a determined look, a vine over his forehead, as if giving a comrade a salute.
Charizard turned away and walked into the thicket, each foot stomping and trampling the dirt. A few steps in, he found himself in a clearing. Opposite of him was a strange black grasshopper Pokémon with an oddly angular body. It was hunched over, its head bowed down in some sort of prayer, its legs criss crossed. Then, it rose, turning his gaze over to the dragon.
The lokix introduced himself with a high pitched chirp. "Hm. You're… smaller than normal for your kind. Are you a dwarf?"
"I'm not a dwarf!" Charizard immediately hissed.
The bug's eyes glinted faintly. "Hm, I call it like I see it."
Charizard ground his teeth, wanting to bite into his opponent and be done with it, but he held himself back as the others filtered in.
Zubat flew right beside Charizard. "Oh, uh what are you!?" she called out to the strange… tentacool shaped mushroom opposite of her.
"Well, I'm the boss!" the toedscool said with a very excited shout, a single tentacle raised in a wave like fashion.
Charizard didn't quite know what to make of the other Pokémon, but he could swear Lokix made a small, agitated groan.
"Not what I meant!" Zubat called out.
"Whatever!" Toedscool expanded his base slightly, in what might have been a shrug. He pointed a tentacle towards Charizard. "Anyways, you're the boss for your team right?"
"No…" Charizard groaned, arms crossed. He still didn't like the arrangement, but whatever. He just wanted to burn things.
"Yeah, it's Cinder. She's the zorua!" Zubat replied.
Beside the toedscool, a strange rodent Pokémon with an armored shell and yellow cheek pouches rolled into view. She almost looked like a pikachu that ate way too much, save for the spikes that were stuck to her back. "Uh, we just gotta wait for the last one, right?" The togedemaru said with clear apprehension.
"Yeah!" agreed Toedscool. He then shifted his body slightly, turning to Charizard's side. "Wait, how long have you been there?"
Charizard blinked, suddenly realizing that a certain zorua had just appeared right next to him. He nearly took a step back, a little… surprised by the Ghost-type's powers. He wasn't scared; he had long since outgrown any fear of ghosts he'd had as a charmander, so he wasn't afraid, just… not expecting her to have done that. "Yeah. What he said."
"Uh, you weren't looking?" Cinder answered, almost embarrassed if anything.
Charizard almost glared at the zorua before he shook his head. No, no distractions. He had to focus.
The Dojo's leader began to speak, going on about history and something about a bearer and how everything started. It sounded like a long speech, so it probably didn't have anything important to say. The Fire-type ignored the words and instead lined himself up against the lokix and flexed his muscles.
Charizard allowed himself a small grin, as he noted the distinct lack of fire resistance in the enemy team. So he just waited and got ready to strike.
This would be easy.
He didn't need anyone else.
"Before the First Emperor and the greatest of all Quests, the Erinite Thicket was a land filled with chaos and bloodshed. It was a land where life was hard and resources were scarce, and where no one trusted their neighbors or even their own kin. For what did it profit oneself when those who were closest to you would simply take what was yours when you exhausted yourself?" the ferrothorn began his speech, a question lingering in the air. "In these days, trust did not exist. Trusting someone else was seen as an invitation to be robbed and betrayed. Families were marriages of convenience, nothing more."
Ash listened intently to the words, letting them sink in his mind and heart. Back when he was human, normally didn't care much about listening to lectures like this, always trying to put it out of his head because it didn't interest him. Here, he hung on every word and waited carefully at each syllable. Maybe it was the fact this was about battles and fighting, but also maybe because this wasn't just a dry history lesson.
Gaozu, the pancham, on the other hand seemed to be very disinterested, perhaps having heard the story a thousand times before. Togepi at least seemed to enjoy herself, a wide smile on her face.
"Some say that the Erinite Thicket was where the First Bearer truly began his journey. He, as a young shinx, challenged the three strongest warlords of the Thicket. In turn, they rose to meet him in ritual combat at the same time. None of them could agree on who would have the first battle, so the Bearer crafted a scheme. He would simply fight them all at the same time, with two young disciples by his side. The three agreed to this arrangement because they thought they would win. Each was fully evolved and many, many Moons the Bearer's senior. They were convinced one of them alone would defeat the impudent child that went against them." The ferrothorn let out a booming laugh.
"They were fools, for you see, while the First Bearer fought as one with his disciples, the warlords fought and bickered amongst each other as much as they did their actual opponents. In the end, the First Bearer barely had to use any lightning, the warlords defeating one another."
Ash could definitely see it. It must have been so embarrassing.
"It was there that the First Bearer imparted an important lesson, that power itself was no substitute for those willing to stand by your side." Sensei Tungsten slammed a metallic foot into the ground. Lights flickered and suddenly the thickened bamboo became transparent. Suddenly, everyone could see in the dense thickets, where Charizard and others squared off against one another. That was a fancy trick. "We, the inheritors of the Erinite Thicket, begin your trial. May you learn from the mistakes of our ancestors! Stand together!" He continued further, but Ash had found his limit as he tried to digest everything he'd heard.
Ash turned a side eye towards his friends.
Pikachu looked back at him. "You know," the rodent began. "We've always been a team, even if we didn't trust each other at the start."
"Maybe, but it was only after we trusted each other that we really became a team," Ash said back. "We were kind of bad at the whole team work thing for a while."
Pikachu smiled. "And we've only gotten better!"
They might not have been able to stand side by side, but the aspect of teamwork was something that was the ideal of every good Pokémon Trainer. Sure, the riolu knew he wasn't that good at it, but even as a vulnerable human, he was the eyes and ears of his buddies.
Nearby, Bulbasaur and Squirtle looked at each other, a single wordless glance between them both. Dexter observed patiently above both of them, seemingly to take in the lesson. The riolu innately that he could his friends to be by his side, just as much as they knew he could count on him.
The jackal pup's eyes then flickered over to the others. He could feel that many of them felt the same way, their emotions swirling and congealing with a balmy resolve. Misty still reeled from the things they learned, but Staryu and Goldeen were always by her side. On the other end, Brock was actually in the best mood he's been in weeks; he didn't need support himself, but he and the others helped Vulpix recover a bit at a time.
Regardless of everything that happened so far, trust was important; you needed it if you were human or Pokémon.
There was one person who stood out; Cyclizar looked ahead, his face hard a stone. He was the newest member of the group and had barely settled in, but he largely wasn't someone who remained in the background most of the time. He was perhaps the one person out of everything who had to change his lifestyle the most.
Ash slowly reached over with one of his paws and gave the tall lizard a reminder of his presence.
Cyclizar turned to him for a brief second and nodded his head. Then he turned away, his expression slightly brighter than before.
"BEGIN!" A gong rang, interrupting all thoughts.
Ash stood at attention, his paws clenched. He shouted in cheer for his friends on the battlefield.
Charizard heard the gong clatter, the shouts of everyone outside the bamboo thicket filling his ears.
The large dragon immediately saw Togedemaru charging right at him. The hedgehog let loose an electrical shockwave that traversed the metallic shoots and filled the arena.
Zubat swerved and managed to escape by ducking under the wave, but Charizard was far too big to dodge the attack.
The dragon felt pain shoot up his body, but not enough to stop him. Charizard drew the fire inside of him into a long gout of flame, Flamethrower battering away wildly in the air.
Then, a sudden sharp pain struck Charizard in the neck. The Fire-type's attack sputtered and died out as he choked on the sudden disruption. Lokix appeared right by Charizard's side, his eyes betraying a satisfied gleam.
Charizard extended his claws in an attempt to strike at him, but the grasshopper deftly evaded his claw swipe.
Lokix returned and slammed a light kick into Charizard's side.
The dragon reeled and raised a fist and slammed it like a hammer into the ground, but to no avail. The annoying bug just cartwheel out of the way out of the way.
"You're far too slow!" Lokix taunted.
Angry, Charizard thrashed his tail in an attempt to knock the bug off his feet, only for Lokix to simply jump over his tail and spin like he was in some sort of dance.
"You're sloppy!" Lokix said as he spun in the air. His legs extended as he slammed several spinning kicks into the dragon's side.
"Gaaah!" the Fire-type shouted, rage burning inside of him. Why wasn't anything he doing working?
He raised his wings in a sudden motion, the action of which distracted Lokix just enough he was knocked backwards.
"Finally!" Charizard roared as he went to dive in for a finishing blow.
Lokix rolled away from the attack, narrowly avoiding the strike even as claws struck earth.
Charizard turned and saw the grasshopper sprint into the dense thicket and disappear from view.
Frustrated yet feeling emboldened, the Fire-type charged in after the Bug-type, stomping his way through the dense layers of metallic bamboo. Yet despite his best efforts, the grasshopper was gone. In fact, it seemed like everyone was gone. He didn't see any of his opponents… or even his team members.
"Eat this!" Zubat shouted from the distance. Waves of air shot out randomly, clanging against steel.
Charizard blinked, suddenly realizing that he was led astray. The dragon flapped his wings and rose into the air with a powerful gust of wind. He flew over the rest of the battlefield, seeing his team getting cornered by others.
Cinder ran through the woods, casting stars and starlight in a mad flurry behind her, not caring who she hit. Meanwhile, Zubat charged in to run interference against her opponents, wielding her wings and teeth as Lokix tried to close the distance towards the fox's position.
Toedscool was difficult to spot, but the mushroom kept lobbing explosive seeds and mud against anyone who got too close.
Charizard saw his opportunity to make a move. If he took out that pathetic mushroom, victory would be his! The dragon flexed his wings and curved them downwards, angling his body in for a dive bomb. His body ignited, the rush of power within him unbound!
Toedscool didn't see it coming!
And neither did Charizard for that matter.
The dragon felt one of his wings seize up, electricity coursing his body. He jerked his head slightly, noticing a… web of electricity binding his left wing. Charizard panicked as pain flooded his body. He was going down, missing his mark.
No. He refused. The dragon jerked his working wing to compensate, angling himself so he could get closer to that pipsqueak! He roared his head and thrust himself further.
Toedscoll turned up his head, the sound alerting him.
The dragon roared and swung his tail to control his fall. He was so close! Had had to win!
The Grass-type burrowed into the ground, displacing the earth as though it were water.
Charizard reached, his claws motioning towards the mushroom. The edge of his claws met the tips of Toedscool's cap… and slipped past. The dragon crashed into the earth.
And there you have, my first post in a long while. I hope you enjoyed it, despite the cliffhanger.
A bit shorter than most, but the next chapter should come much sooner than usual as a result, where we hopefully wrap up this fight.