Two Team Flux members stood in front of me. "Did you see a Fuecoco pass through? She took my stuff."
"It's that guy Miss Ada told us to watch out for!" one of them yelled. They both grabbed their PokéBalls. "Surrender right now!"
I grabbed Nautilus' PokéBall, and they released their partners. Nautilus appeared, saw a Ralts and Swablu staring us down, and bolted forward. Before the Grunts could shout their orders, the Ralts' head slammed backwards, and the Swablu flew up to avoid getting hit.
"Cheater! You're supposed to wait till we attack!" one of them, an older teen, shouted. Nautilus took a faceful of light pink waves. His face scrunched up in pain, but he withstood the attack and glared at the Swablu.
"Hypnosis, then Psyshock!" I told him. The sleep-inducing move missed, but Swablu flew right into Nautilus' second attack. I released Tetsu, who happily jumped on the floor. The Ralts stood up, holding their head. I picked up Tetsu and brought her close to my chest. I whispered, "Gravity, just enough for me to stand. Then Acid Spray, okay, baby girl?"
She hummed, and the area's Gravity immediately changed. The Ralts fell over on their side and couldn't get up. Tetsu sent a pungent spray of purple water. The Ralts screamed and cried in pain. The Grunts struggled on the floor. They couldn't talk through the strain of pushing themselves up.
Nautilus, who'd long gotten used to this level of Gravity, chased the Swablu on their way down. As soon as they hit the floor, Nautilus barreled in with a Pluck. He then followed that up with another Peck to the Ralts' head. Both fainted after a round of Psybeam, which left me with their Trainers.
"Wait! We did see a Fuecoco!" the older Grunt yelled. Both returned their Pokémon to their PokéBalls.
"What are you doing here?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes. Nautilus floated next to me, gathering Psychic energy.
"Don't say anything," the younger teen said. We stared each other down. I stared at the other Grunt, who started fidgeting.
"You're obviously not just here to camp," I said. "And asking me to surrender is such a villain move."
"We're not bad guys," the older Grunt said. "We're just trying to protect young Trainers from the war."
"Shhh!"
"What war?" I asked.
"The Pokémon war," she explained. "Two tribes are duking it out over territory. It's getting nasty, and Trainer injuries have increased in the forest."
"And you're protecting Trainers?"
"Oh, fine," the younger Flux member grunted. "There are a few of us that are stopping inexperienced or weak Trainers from traveling through. The local Pokémon are on edge and more likely to attack. If Trainers can't beat us in a battle, they're too weak to handle the wild Pokémon."
"You were barely a challenge," I scoffed.
"Yet we've prevented many kids with weaker Pokémon from going in and getting killed," she retorted.
"Fine, you're trying to protect Trainers. But telling me to surrender?"
Before they could answer, we heard frantic rustling and sharp yelps. Nautilus faced the noise, ready to attack. Fuecoco burst through the bushes, fear etched on her face. She still had my bag, which was great. But the frenzied Vespiquen that followed ruined any idea of getting it now.
The blood drained from both Grunts' faces. Fuecoco rushed past us as Nautilus released his Hypnosis. It hit the Vespiquen but had no effect other than slowing her down just a bit. She turned to Nautilus and released three Poison Stings. Two of them hit, digging deep into his mantle and causing him to cry out. He retaliated immediately with a Pluck, clipping the Vespiquen in a wing as she tried to dodge. A small lump fell from the Vespiquen's horns, and Nautilus' injuries healed soon after.
The Vespiquen buzzed harshly as she hovered lower to the ground. We heard more rustling, and a Ledian rushed in. Soon, a swarm of Vespiquen and Ledian filled the area as both species attacked each other. Legs, wings, and blood fell everywhere, the fight quickly turning into a massacre as each side obliterated the other. The Team Flux Grunts were horrified and ran away the moment blood and viscera started raining down.
I stood there watching the bloodbath. Now I understood what they meant about the Pokémon war. The longer I stood there, there more likely one species turned against me, so I returned Nautilus and ran too. I followed the same direction Fuecoco ran in. Hopefully she hadn't gone far. If there really was a territory war, she'd get caught up in some battles or slow down to avoid them.
I ran for several minutes, the sounds of battle echoing throughout the forest. Every once in a while, I saw the embers on Fuecoco's head. She always stayed ahead, no matter how fast I sprinted. I ran past a nest of Caterpie and Metapod, a furious Butterfree hovering over the mangled bodies of several Combee and a Vespiquen. As I chased Fuecoco, I saw more of the same scene.
Piles of Combee and Ledyba, bodies strewn all over the ground and the air full of the smell of iron. Occasionally, I saw what remained of other species like Pikachu and Bidoof. Blood covered many trees, where some of the smaller Pokémon hid in fear.
I found Fuecoco fighting off a small group of Ledyba. She shot Ember after Ember. The attack shot much faster than the last time we fought her. She eventually defeated the three and immediately ran.
"Come back here!" I shouted as I chased her. I didn't know how long I ran after her, but it felt like an eternity. She stopped for a moment, turning right to look at something. I stopped as well, catching my breath and looking right as well.
My chest tightened. I saw two small Pokémon, a Meditite and a Purrloin, crying over the motionless forms of their evolutions. The Liepard was ripped apart, head separated from the body. The Medicham's body had a gaping hole in its chest, and it was bloodied and bruised everywhere else. Their children wailed in agony, and my heart broke.
The crying didn't last long. They looked at each other, vitriolic expressions on both of their faces. The Purrloin moved first, using Quick Attack to close the distance. Meditite's eyes glowed brown, and it dodged the attack just before it landed. The Meditite then swung a fist covered in Fighting-type energy and sent the Purrloin flying.
I watched them fight despite the injuries they received. It was clear they wouldn't stop until the other was dead.
I ran in between and released Nautilus, surprising both. "Buddy, we have a problem. These two are fighting because their parents are dead. I think it's because of the Vespiquen and Ledian fights going on. Can you talk to them for me?"
He stared at the corpses for a minute before turning to the other two, who started fighting again, completely ignoring me and Nautilus. "Inkay," he said with a nod. He floated between the two, yelling at them as they attacked each other. The Meditite grew tired of his meddling and attacked Nautilus, but he easily dodged and used Hypnosis to make him sleep.
That got the Purrloin's attention, who stopped attacking when Nautilus faced it. They talked for several minutes, and then the Meditite woke up. Purrloin didn't immediately attack it, which was great. But Meditite tried but got shut down by Nautilus. Nautilus kept sending Meditite away with Psybeam until it finally stopped trying to attack Purrloin.
They talked for a while. The sun started setting, and the forest grew unnervingly quiet. The background noise of fighting Pokémon stopped abruptly, and that only made me worry more. When Nautilus approached me, the other two sat and glared at each other. They looked exhausted.
"Inkay," my starter explained. "Kay In. Ik In Inkay."
"They were both running with their parents until they were told to hide, and only came out when it was quiet?"
He nodded. "Inkay In Ink."
"The Purrloin saw her dad fall before Meditite's mom died? And then assumed Meditite was involved because she saw him after the Medicham fell?"
"Ink."
"And then we showed up."
He nodded again. I sighed, sitting down and reaching into my left pocket. I pulled out Tetsu's PokéBall and rolled it around in my hand. 'Did those Team Flare grunts kill her parents?'
I looked at the two Pokémon. They were crying now. Purrloin sobbed into her mom's headless body. Meditite had his eyes closed, tears streaming silently down his face. My chest tightened seeing them like that. "Did you explain the turf war going on?"
He hesitated, so I assumed he didn't. I stood up and walked over to them. Meditite tensed, but Purrloin didn't react. Her listless eyes stared blankly at me. "I'm so sorry you lost your parents."
Purrloin kept staring, but Meditite shouted and formed a fist. It glowed brown, causing Nautilus to get between us and charge his own move.
"Nautilus, he's hurting. Of course he's going to be angry. I would be too if my parents were killed," I chided him softly. I looked at Meditite. "You and your mom didn't deserve this. Neither did you, Purrloin. But don't let their lives go to waste."
They both perked up, one more furious than the other. "They knew the Vespiquen and Ledian colonies were fighting. I'm sure they wanted to escape it to raise both of you. But when they told you to hide, they chose your lives over theirs."
I looked at Purrloin. "If you give up now, you will be killed when the next Vespiquen and Ledian fight here. Or if a Pyroar decides it wants to eat you."
I turned to Meditite. "I'm sure your mom wants you to grow strong. If you go after whoever did this, you will die. You're too weak right now. Both of you survived because your parents made a choice to protect you. If you don't keep yourselves safe, that means they died for nothing. It means they wasted their lives protecting you. I couldn't stand it if my mom died for me and I just wasted my life right after. Can you?"
They both stared at me. Purrloin's eyes were still empty, but I could see something warring in her head. Meditite's emotions were crystal clear. He wanted revenge, and he knew he was too weak to do anything meaningful. I could catch them. It would help them grow strong quickly, and they would definitely stay alive if I did. But that felt… weird. Wrong.
"Survive," I said. "Survive and grow stronger. That's how you make their sacrifice worth it."
I saw familiar flames behind a bush. Nautilus looked at me, and I knew he was thinking the same thing. I looked at the two orphans. "It would be good if you traveled together," I said. "You can protect each other, make each other stronger. More likely to survive than alone, if I'm being honest. But I have to go. I have my own things to take care of. Be strong and stay alive. I'm sure that's what they would want."
I walked away from the two. Nautilus already prepared a Hypnosis, but I shook my head. "Knock her ass out, buddy."