A/N: Hello everyone, I'm back to writing! Sorry for ghosting the story. Lots has happened in my life, but I finally have a bit more time for writing. Not much since I have to focus on paying my loans, but enough to hopefully keep a consistent schedule. Anyway, here's a chapter. Another one will be posted at some point tomorrow.
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"Inkay, go after Fuecoco!" I shouted, immediately squaring up to fight the monkeys. Fighting any Pokémon was normally stupid, as I'd learned over the last fifteen days. However, these three were weaker than Inkay when I first found him. Fuecoco was substantially stronger than the rest, and I highly doubted I'd be able to get close to something that was spitting mini fireballs.
"Kay!" my starter responded, zooming toward the running crocodile. I trusted him to take care of the biggest threat. If I couldn't do that now, our journey was a lost cause.
The first Pansage ran and jumped towards me. I moved left and just barely avoided a Scratch. As it sailed over my shoulder, I reached out and grabbed its tail, causing it to yelp. The next Pansage stopped mid-stride and charged green energy at the tuft on its head. I swung the Pansage I held into it, causing the energy to implode and hurt both.
The third dropped down onto me, its mouth glowing deathly black. Its tongue rolled out as it Licked me. I shuddered as my body instinctually acknowledged its mortality and despair flooded my brain. My body refused to move when I tried to shove it off me. I saw them reorganize in the few seconds my body stood frozen. All three launched forward just as I regained control.
"Agh, fuck it!" I yelled, running forward too. With all three attacking at the same time, I only had a short window to fight back before getting overwhelmed and I intended to make the most of it. They looked guilty but did not hesitate with their attacks. Claws glistening with Normal-type energy, each swiped at me from different directions. I continued through their attacks, getting cut up along my arms and face. Each hit honestly wasn't as bad as Inkay's Pecks, but they still hurt and left me bleeding. I jabbed twice, hitting one Pansage's face. Before the other two could muster enough energy for another attack, I closed the gap to punch one in the stomach and punt the other.
I stopped there, not wanting to hurt them any further. They were fighting against Inkay and me, but not because they wanted to. The Pansage looked at me, a pleading look appearing on their faces. "I won't fight you if you don't want to fight."
I saw them consider my words. They were hesitant, but I knew I could reason with them and have them leave peacefully. Their leader was a different story.
"Coooo!"
We turned to the other fight. Inkay looked like he'd gone through the wringer with how charred two of his tentacles were and the several cuts that dripped blood. Fuecoco, however, was far worse and still suffering a thorough beating from my crustaceous bully. Inkay became more efficient with each furious Peck and Psybeam. The crocodile was bleeding and barely able to shield its face with its stubby arms. Inkay gave it no room to breathe.
By this point, all the other Pokémon had recovered and were watching us. The Litleo were wide-eyed, apparently shocked that their leader was getting the beating of its lifetime. The Fletchling were perched on the edge of the dumpster, completely engrossed in the fight. It seemed like Inkay and I broke the spell Fuecoco had on the group.
Inkay quickly noticed the lack of action in the background and let up his own barrage. He huffed and puffed like a champ, slowly floating over. Fuecoco slumped, relief flooding its face. Until it looked around. Its grew furious when it glanced at Inkay and me, but its expression changed as it saw we weren't fighting and, instead, were all staring at it from the other side of the dock. It probably looked like an intervention.
"Fueco, Fue. Co?" it growled. The Litleo and Fletchling fidgeted in place, but one of the Pansage stepped forward and shook its head.
"Pan, Pan. Sage, Pa," the green monkey responded, each word heavy with exhaustion.
"Coco? Co Fue!" the red reptile shouted. It shook its head and filled its mouth with fire. "Fuecoco!"
"Ik, Kay!" Inkay intervened, Psychic energy forming at the middle of his mantle.
The fire died down in Fuecoco's mouth, but it was still fuming. The Pansage stepped back toward us before turning to Fuecoco again. "Pansage."
There was a tone of finality in whatever Pansage just said. Fuecoco noticed it as well, looking at the rest of his enslaved crew. "Co," it shouted before turning and waddling toward the exit.
"Wait!" I called out. The fire croc turned, lips curling in distaste. "You're hurt, and you -."
Fuecoco fired an Ember just in front of my feet and continued waddling away. "All you had to say was no, you asshole."
It walked out of the loading dock, leaving me alone with the rest of its crew. I looked around at them. The Litleo paced nervously and the Fletchling stared at Inkay warily. The Pansage were the only ones that looked calm, though even they fidgeted as they waited for something to happen.
"Do you have a home?" I asked.
They all shook their heads. Great, we gotta find a place for them to go. "Let me call a Ranger and we'll figure something out."
I rummaged through my fanny pack, taking out a small assortment of Berries. "Here," I said placing them in front of the group.
The group of starving Pokémon looked back and forth between me and the Berries. I nodded my head at them. "Go ahead and eat while I figure this out. Just don't leave yet, okay?"
They all dug in immediately, devouring the Berries with delight. I looked at Inkay, who was staring at the Rawst Berries in the pile. I sighed, pulling a handful out. "Here you go, buddy," I told him. He chirped with glee and used Psychic energy to bring them to his mouth.
While they ate, I went back to the door. "I'm done, open up!"
After a minute, I knocked on the door. Nothing happened, so I banged my fist on it. Eventually, Anaïs opened it with a smile. "Ah, thank you for solving le problem. Now-."
She froze, staring at the group of Pokémon munching on Berries. "How can you say you are done when le Pokémon sont toujours là?"
"How can you say a few Pokémon are causing issues when you damn near have a little army of them?" I shot back. She at least had the decency to look embarrassed, so I pressed on. "I only have one Pokémon. We could have literally been killed given how many of them there were."
"Ah, w-well," she stammered, clearly uncomfortable.
"Here's what I'm going to do," I said. "Since you clearly don't want to or can't pay for someone to actually deal with this, I'm going to call it in. I'll call the Rangers, I'll them a Pokémon I was chasing came through here and trashed the place, and I'll make sure they leave. If you have any spare Berry seeds or saplings, I'll take a few so I can plant some food for these guys and they stay out of your business. Fair?"
"But I should not have to-."
"It's this or I can tell the Rangers and Officer Jenny you marked my bill up and used that to get me to deal with fourteen Pokémon despite being a newly registered Trainer."
"I have some seeds for Oran and Pecha Berries. I can give you those."
"Thank you, I'll deal with the rest."
Anaïs walked back in and came back with several packets of seeds. She grumbled a bit, but she handed them over and went back inside, shutting the door.
I turned to the group. "Okay, we'll find a home for you and plant some Berry trees so you can have food. Are you okay with that?"
"Pan!" / "Leo!" / "Fle!"
With that, I stepped out through the back entrance and walked until my phone connected to whatever signal service they used here. After giving the Ranger information on the Pokémon group and a different version of what happened, I sat with the Pansage.
"Alright buddies," I croaked. Sitting down let exhaustion seep into my bones. I was going to have a fantastic nap after this. "Ranger is coming to bring all of you to the forest. They'll pick up the seeds as well, so when they find a spot for all of you, they'll plant the Berry seeds."
One of the Pansage, the one that Licked me, walked over and grabbed my hand, tears in its eyes. "Pa Pan, Pa Sage!" it cried out before going for a hug. I hugged it back, rubbing its back for comfort.
"Yeah, you've all had it pretty rough, haven't you? I think its about time you have some good in your life." I looked up at the rest of the group, most of whom seemed to agree with whatever Pansage said. "All of you deserve some good. Let's keep eating some Berries, alright?"