The Doomed Sprout

Chapter 9

In the corner of a vast expanse of blinding white, Palkia was standing, staring off into a tear into the space, right in front of them. They seemed to be mumbling to themselves as they heard a faint shimmer behind them.
« To what do I owe the pleasure, Celebi ? You rarely come without reason »
« I'm rarely called without reason either », she mumbled, before speaking up. « I've been tasked by the Dragons to investigate a certain change, apparently some Pokemon got hold of a leftover »
Palkia chuckled. « Yet here you are. You certainly do not need my help to find it, you know this Land better than even Him. Have you come to report your findings to me ? »
« Yes. Out of all of them, you're the one I trust most, and I need another opinion on this »
Palkia turned around to face the pixie, their face serious. « I see. I am listening »
« The leftover that was taken wasn't picked at random. It was picked because it was recognized »
The gigantic Pokemon stared at the pixie in hesitation. They then sighed. « Humanity is back, then. Is He aware ? »
« Not that I know. This seems to be an isolated event, a Pokemon with human knowledge, but it could change everything for better or worse. And I don't trust it to be the former »
The conversation slowly died down, and after exchanging well wishes, Celebi left, off to tell the Dragons the news. Palkia walked back to the tear, gazing at it in confusion, before laughing heartily.
« It seems I have missed the battle, but there shall be more. Go along, little one, and may I see you again later ! »

Fen's exploration of the cavern had been going on for a long while now, though she had very little to show for it. Whatever this place was, it was immense, and also weirdly shaped. There were a ton of pathways leading from large expansive areas to smaller expansive areas, and it just kept going. The Pokemon living in there were luckily not giving her much trouble, most of them weren't accustomed to living underground and hunting in such a situation, so they were very obvious with both their presence and their intent. It was the first time where her being a Nidoran actually seemed to make her situation better, since she couldn't feel any pain from the rocky surface below her... paws? Feet? Whatever. What mattered was that all the Pokemon in this cave absolutely did not belong, and she did. Partially, at least. So hey, might even be a good spot to practice her fighting skills, though probably not right now. She still needed to find the exit and get back with the group. She'll feel a lot more confident training with some backup nearby.

And so, the exploration continued. Fen used the fact that so many different Pokemon were in this place to observe them from afar, using her terrain advantage to gather as much information from them as possible. She could see how Abras seemed to remain completely still until something noticed them, teleporting who-knows-where, or how Taillows and Fletchlings absolutely do not get along and will even attack any Pokemon trying to interfere in their fighting. The sight of an Absol dashing about almost gave her a heart attack, considering she absolutely did not need a catastrophe to happen right now, but judging by how they acted all confused, it's likely they just got lost in this place, which brought up a new theory as to how everything got here. What if-

"No, no, no more theories... I can't keep thinking about this stuff for hours, I need to get out first!", Fen grumbled. She absolutely didn't want to stay down on the ground for even more hours trying to understand the laws of a universe that she wanted to leave. Not to mention Lumin isn't going to wait forever, and she needed him for safety, especially with how Sera keeps acting about him being strong or whatever.

Shaking off these thoughts, the Nidoran kept pushing forward, eventually noticing how the cavern seemed to change ever so slightly. First the tunnels between each ''room'' were getting longer, and then the walls themselves were getting dimmer, having fewer and fewer crystals around to light things up. Finally, the stone itself seemed darker, almost as if charred. An hour more of walking, and the Pokemon seemed to be less frequent as well, which concerned Fen. Did they just not reach this place, or was there something warding them away? Should she go back and look elsewhere?
The cavern decided to make this decision for her, abruptly finishing on a mixture of rock and lava, preventing any further walking this way. The heat was enveloping the entire room, causing condensation on the roof to form. A natural sauna, even if it sounded fun, was absolutely not a priority for the Nidoran, who promptly backed off, understanding this first search would be a failure. There were already a few puddles of water all over the caverns, so the only thing that this lava-heated room would bring her was a chance to burn, and that seemed like a horrible thing to have.

Dejected, Fen turned around to leave, sighing heavily. There were no Pokemon around, thankfully, though her skin was still feeling oddly stiff, as if telling her to run, but why?

A bark could be heard from a tunnel on the left. Followed by two more. As Fen stood there, frozen in surprise, a pair of Houndours could be seen coming out of the darkness, rushing forward...

...Towards her.

Fen started running, leaving behind any attempt at stealth as more barks reverberated throughout the tunnels, echoing on the walls. Was there only two? Were they calling for backup? Did backup even matter, she hadn't even learned how to fight yet!

Her gaze kept shifting from looking for a way out, to looking behind her in fear of being already caught. In some strange way, she was happy that Lumin forced them to run away the night before, as it helped the Nidoran understand how her legs worked and how it felt to run in a dark-ish environment. The barks kept echoing around her, frightening her even more, even if it seemed like she was keeping some distance between them. In her mind, she tried to think of any knowledge she had of these Pokemon, if they needed sight or smell, or if something scared them... anything that could help, but nothing came to her except the even scarier note that Houndour's evolution, Houndoom, could make burns be permanently painful. She really hoped she'd not need that knowledge.

In an intersection in front of her, Fen could see yet another Houndour leap out from the right, getting ready to attack her as she kept going closer. She could also hear a bark from the left, in a nearby tunnel. They were going to surround her! Fen made a split-second decision to force her way through, shooting needles of poison at the Houndour in front of her, making him instinctively dodge to the side, his leg still getting injured as Fen rushed through the gap. Score one for her!

A spit of flames landed on her left, the heat washing off her face. She immediately stopped celebrating and focused on running even faster. They were catching up with her, and were apparently close enough to reach her already, she needed to get more distance! As the chase persisted for another long few minutes, Fen was able to come up with a plan. Since they were going back the way Fen came, and it seemed pretty clear that they had no other Houndour in front of her, the closest ones being behind her.. or maybe the one on the left tunnel if they were still there... then she was going back towards the more populated areas and would distract them with easier prey to chase. It wasn't very nice, but it's not like she had much choice.

The plan being set, all Fen had to do was hang in there until they met other Pokemon, though the adrenaline was slowly running out, as she realized just how tired she was getting from all the running. Pokemon definitely have good endurance, at least compared to humans, but it seems like her limit was getting closer and closer, and there was still no Pokemon in sight.
After what seemed like an eternity, Fen came to accept she wasn't going to find any way out of this that wasn't battling, and she needed at least some of her strength to stand a chance. She managed to pick up a Sitrus Berry from the ground while passing in a room, then decided to make her move. Upon entering a tunnel, she turned around, locating the two Houndours that were giving chase. Fen steeled herself and shot as many poisonous needles as she could. While the previous Houndour was hit by surprise, these two recovered quickly and jumped to the side, avoiding the attack completely. One of them dashed at her, as the other seemed to bark weirdly, but Fen didn't have time to think about it as she tackled the closest Houndour, smashing her spikes against his head and making him recoil. She was somehow doing pretty well!

At least, until she felt the heat coming from her right. Flames engulfed her vision, and she closed her eyes.

Fen opened up her eyes, her body aching from both the inside and outside. Her muscles were crying for rest, while her skin showed some burn marks, though surprisingly nothing that'd scar.

Where am I, she thought. I should've been dead by now, no?

As the Nidoran looked around, she immediately spotted a Houndour in the distance, seemingly guarding the room she was in, making her freeze. She gently put her head back down, trying to observe without making any sound, using a combination of her senses of sight and smell to get her bearings. She was in a heated room near a few berries, other Pokemon and... ugh, bones. All the other Pokemon seemed unresponsive, which didn't really bode well. They all also seemed to have burn marks, so it was fair to assume they were hunting and stocking everything here, and if they're organized, that usually means they have a leader.

...Awesome. She's gonna meet the one Pokemon that can cause permanent pain, totally what she wanted. Though... In a way, it's probably why she's still alive even after being knocked out. These Houndours probably were told about the poison if they tried their luck with her skin, and decided to just let their boss figure it out.

...Speaking of poison, she could smell that scent somewhere. Or at least, it felt like it was that, she still had a lot to learn and recognize, but Sera did teach her how important it was to recognize things as much as possible. And that smell... seemed to come from the Houndour? Upon further inspection, as much as one can call it that when they're staying immobile on the ground and looking from a distance, it seemed like the Houndour was struggling to stand still. That was probably the one she shot at before, poor fella will need a Pecha Berry quick, but she needed him weak if she wanted to escape. Fen started formulating a plan before another, much louder bark interrupted her thoughts. She realized with horror that their leader was coming, and it was more than likely the Houndoom she so feared. Fen grabbed some nearby berries, trying to eat as much as possible to recover her strength, the Houndour apparently too groggy to notice. As the steps reverberated through the tunnel, the Nidoran tried to figure something out. She was clearly outmatched in combat, since a single attack from that Houndour knocked her out. She also couldn't rely on the poison in such a small space, this room wasn't as spacious as all the gigantic areas closer to her starting point. She also couldn't run away since she had tried that with the Houndours too. So, essentially, every basic solution was out of the picture, she needed to try something riskier or use her knowledge for...

Fen's eyes glistened as she looked at her claws, an idea growing in her mind. Her resolve coming back to her, she stared at the entrance, looking at the now collapsed Houndour and the Houndoom that seemed to nudge it out of the way. It seemed like this Pokemon didn't really protect his members, as he simply turned around to face the Nidoran that stared at him in defiance, albeit with quivering legs. The Houndoom marched forward, evidently not worried in the least, and Fen put her plan in motion. She lifted both claws, focusing on that same mental pull from all the way back in the tree, moving the aura from her insides to her claws, before letting out a flurry of attacks on the sturdy ground she was standing on. She was going to dig her way out of there!

The Houndoom stood there in utter confusion for a few seconds, leaving Fen to completely dig herself underground, as she was slowly passing below him. Eventually, he let out a roar.

« Nidorans do not dig ! The Outcast dies ! », he yelled, before charging up flames in his maw. The sound of wind being absorbed from the surroundings and the increased heat worried Fen. She was going to melt if he shot the flames into the hole, she needed to abort !

Fen quickly dug upwards, finding herself exactly below the very Pokemon she wanted to avoid, but as he shot an incredibly dangerous Flamethrower through the exact path she took, she had no choice but to jump out and dodge. The flames followed the little tunnel and leaped out at the same place that Fen was standing a second ago, blasting a very surprised Houndoom upwards, knocking himself out on the ceiling as he then fell back down head first into the overheated hole.

Fen looked in shock. The situation was perfect, she was free to escape, and she even had an option to avoid the Houndours now. Yet… She couldn't shake the feeling that there was no escaping reality here, these two Pokemon were going to die, and that was because of her. The poisoned Houndour was likely already gone, there were no Pecha Berries in the hoard anyway, and the Houndoom was completely trapped in the hole. If she was still human, she could save him and leave before he woke up, but… no point thinking about it, huh ?

She was protecting herself, trying to survive in a world where not acting like you're supposed to mean you should become everyone's next meal. Perhaps it was foolish to think she could avoid tainting herself with blood, and be the better Pokemon.

… Time to go, murderer. There are Pokemon waiting for you outside.