I felt something sharp brush against my cheek. I lazily swatted it away.
"Five more minutes" I mumbled.
Getting up early for school was a bitch. Who the hell was evil enough to create 7 am classes.
I felt the claw brush against my cheek again. I then heard a burp.
It was weird. Everything seemed muted. Like I was experiencing from the other side of a pane of glass while also underwater.
Not only did it feel impossible to muster up the strength to get up, but I also didn't want to. Sleep felt amazing.
Then something began shaking my shoulders, trying to jostle me awake.
The scent of smoke filled my nostrils, forcing my nose to scrunch up. I began blinking rapidly, slowly getting a feel out for my body. I regained feeling in my fingers and toes and wiggled them about experimentally.
I opened my eyes fully.
In front of me was a very worried and angry red lizard, frantically trying to wake me up.
Oh shit.
Right.
The Stantler. I looked around the field looking for enemies.
Instead I saw a battleworn field. The grass had been torn apart by psychic projectiles or flame. Half of the field was on fire right now, next to me. The heat didn't bother me though. Basically the entire area was war torn but the small patch of grass where I had passed out.
I looked at the red lizard below me. There were a few impact areas where she had taken hits.
I gave her the biggest smile I could manage and rubbed the top of her head.
"Damn it Azula, stop being so goddamn selfless. You're making me look bad."
I'm guessing the only hits she took were never actually aimed at her. She was quick enough from having to try to dodge Zuko. The hits she'd taken were from protecting my stupid unconscious self.
I facepalmed. Goddamn sleep moves. First the Wigglytuff with sing. Now Stantler with hypnosis. I'm probably going to get hit by Dark Void by some rogue Darkrai.
That's a scary thought.
A frantic tugging came from my pants as Azula tried to express the direness of the situation.
I then looked closer at the flames. There was a massive wall of flame in front of us, eating up the tall grass with a frenzied hunger.
Behind the wall of flame I saw two prowling Serperior, hissing in frustration. And that wasn't all. Something still felt different from earlier.
Shit.
The sun was at the very edge of the treetops. It already had a warm orange halo of a sun about to leave for the day.
I looked behind me to see my shadow. It wasn't from the light cast by the sun, however. It was from the light of the wall of flame in front of us. If that wasn't there, I would have had a shadow from Azula's tail flame.
Then I began to notice things I'd looked past before.
The rustle of the leaves in trees nearby, some unseen predator waiting for nightfall to pounce.
I suddenly felt terribly exposed. I could feel dozens of eyes on me. It wasn't just the Serperior. There were more, just waiting for an opportunity to attack.
Even though I was right next to a wall of flames, I couldn't help but shiver.
I heard the crackle of electricity somewhere nearby, making me flinch. Shit. Could that be a Luxray? Maybe a Manectric? Or a Boltund?
Just how many electric quadrupeds with sharp ass teeth were there?
What were my options?
I had less than half an hour of light left. Probably. I never learned how to gauge that sort of thing, but I could already barely see the sun as is.
Running into the forest would just tire me out. Plus anything that was watching me now could simply follow me from a distance, waiting for the prime opportunity to go in for the kill.
Avian predators could watch from above. Other predators could simply track me by scent.
Before it was okay if they were able to smell me, since unknown scent and all.
But if they saw me before catching my scent, that meant they could be confident in hunting down the smelly monkey with metal sticks, since I was much less dangerous than any other unknown Pokémon.
Azula's eyes were filled with fear. She scanned her eyes through the trees, a low primal growl escaping through her teeth.
Damn it.
Having Zuko around would have been really nice right now. He was fast enough to dance around any moves the two Serperior could throw out. If he got off a paralysis, or even just served as enough of a distraction, Azula could finish them off from afar.
Plus, after the Serperior were dealt with, he was fast enough that I could trust him to scout the area. He'd be able to dodge anything before it hit him, and retreat back if anything attacked. Well, I guess he might stay and fight it. Yeah, he'd probably take any attack as a personal insult and fight tooth and nail to reciprocate in kind.
Okay. Options. Options.
Azula would have to go in her pokeball before nightfall. Keeping her out right now was already attracting us unwanted attention.
I had to come up with something. I had to come up with something now.
Fuck.
What do I have?
One more food bar. That could serve as a potential distraction? Try to bait out a predator with the smell of chocolatey goodness?
I looked around. Grass. Tall grass. Stantler shit. Lots of it. Some flowers.
Wait.
Fuck.
That's a terrible idea.
I shook my head as I tried to think of any other option. Anything but that.
Time was running out.
The wall of flames was slowly petering out as the grass was burnt up. The Serperior would soon be able to close the distance. The fact they hadn't attacked from afar likely meant they didn't know how to use any special moves. That's awesome. I'm glad wild pokemon can't shop for TMs.
I thought back to the other pokemon I had seen nearby. I immediately went back to the sharp metal thorns. Those were the closest.
Shit. That might actually work. But how would I get out of the death zone?
I searched my brain for answers.
The range of a pokeball is 100 yards. That was essentially one football field. That would be enough. But I'd have to get a clear line of sight.
Okay.
This was doable.
"Okay Azula we're going to do a bait and switch. I'm going to need you to pull off the Serperior to the right, and then follow me into the woods."
I grabbed a stick from the ground nearby.
"I'm going to plant this in the ground. When you reach it, stop in your tracks. Once the Serperior are within flamethrower range, I want you to toss out an ember. But not at them. Straight up."
Azula looked at me, flicking her eyes back and forth as she processed.
"Got it?" I asked, watching intently.
She gave a firm nod. She trusted me enough to follow my directions, even if she didn't know why.
Damn, being a pokemon trainer was actually pretty cool. I started moving off to the left, and the pain in my back reminded me that being a pokemon trainer can also really really suck.
The wall of flames dropped to flickers of embers on the ground, and the Serperior immediately began closing the distance.
The twin snakes were as thick as anacondas, and over 10 feet long. They kept half of their body on the ground, slithering, while their top half was in the air, chest thrust forward regally like a king cobra. Their green scales glittered in the flames, with sharp yellow protrusions almost like a suit of armor near their head.
They ignored me in favor of the Charmander, who fought a fighting retreat, shooting off balls of flame.
One Serperior slammed its tail in the ground, twisting in the air to curl around a spewed flamethrower. The twin snakes had the fluidity and grace of acrobats, their sharp yellow eyes held a venom in them that promised death. They dodged each flame attack with practiced ease, closing the distance little by little.
I began picking up the pace, getting into a more comfortable jog. I tried to keep my torso still, just using my legs, so I would disturb my back as little as possible.
Nothing seemed to confront me immediately as I raced off into the dark forest. This actually might work.
I recognized the line of trees where the Ferrothorn made their trap. This was the tricky part. I crept slower, making little noise.
I stalked under the massive forms of the Ferrothorn lying above. Their metal thorns were like stalactites. I was in a cave, with the ceiling threatening to fall at any second. There would be no escape if they decided to kill me then and there.
I reached the middle, and continued on a bit. If I set the trap too far forward, there was a chance the Serperior wouldn't have gotten in the radius yet. Then, after the Ferrothorn fell and I returned Azula, they could simply ignore the giant metal pokemon and circle around to kill me.
I placed the stick a little farther back, and then continued along past the Ferrothorn.
I saw that Azula had entered the tree line. It would have been difficult not to see her. Her tail flame was the easiest thing to see around me by magnitudes of proportion. Any predator nearby would easily be able to hone in on her.
With that thought, I scrambled farther back. 100 yards. That's the farthest I could go. That was plenty of room. The beam traveled with near instant speed. I would be able to go back as far as I could comfortably think I could still hit Azula with the beam.
Behind her I could see the yellow eyes of the regal snakes following her. She was on all fours, sprinting as fast as she could.
I could see her scanning for the stick I lodged in the ground.
She locked on and sprinted faster.
I heard the creaks of wood in the trees as the Ferrothorn began to get restless. After all, fire was something intrinsically grained in them to avoid.
This would be tricky. I had to hope that they wouldn't just attack immediately. There was a chance, but they'd likely also be risking themselves in such a maneuver. They likely wouldn't make a move unless they absolutely needed to, as suicidal plays would never be ingrained in the survival instincts of a wild animal. I hope.
I think I'd be able to tag Azula with the return beam in time if that happened. But then the Serperior would be free to circle around and kill me.
Azula passed under the first Ferrothorn, completely oblivious to the presence of the dangerous beast above her.
The Ferrothorn squirmed as the flame passed under it, but it didn't drop.
Whew. I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead. My hand was pointed forward, ball in hand, ready to return Azula the instant something happened.
Azula reached the twig, only a dozen paces before the Serperior. They passed under the first Ferrothorn.
Azula skidded to a stop, and quickly shot an ember into the air, not even looking to see what she would hit. A metallic shriek made me flinch and almost drop the pokeball.
She immediately dropped to all fours as she realized what kind of danger she was in.
The conditions were set. The bait was laid.
Azula was hit with a red beam, and dissolved into red energy. Mere milliseconds later a steel appendage connected to green vines slammed into the ground, shredding through the dirt.
Following the appendage were the thuds of multiple titanic forms dropping to the ground, crushing everything below.
The Ferrothorn slammed their side appendages all around them in a murderous rage, ready to kill the offender.
The two Serperior never stood a chance.
I idly noted that the Ferrothorn would have hit Azula with a side appendage. That wasn't something I'd thought of. I didn't expect them to have so much control over their appendages. If one of the first Ferrothorn had done that, the whole plan would have gone up in flames. Sacrificing one of your limbs wasn't the same as a suicidal attack, and sacrificing one appendage would definitely be favorable to dying. So the fact that the actual Ferrothorn that Azula attacked used its appendage means that any of the ones she passed under could have done the same thing. Which, even in that worst case scenario, I could have returned Azula on time. However, the Serperior would have been able to circle around and kill me right after.
I got really lucky. I noticed that that was becoming a trend. That was unacceptable. In the sense that I can't be relying on luck when trying to survive. But still, I wouldn't complain.
My momentary relief and silent triumph faded as I heard the rustle of leaves behind me.
I turned quickly, unsheathing one sword with my right hand. Across from me was a grinning denizen of the forest.
Sharp viridian leaves honed like a blade lay at its sides, ready to slice me to ribbons. It had a sharp nose and bright yellow eyes.
It was only four feet tall, but its steps were light and agile.
I wouldn't win in a sword fight here.
I quickly grabbed the repel from my pocket with my left hand. I don't think this is how it worked, but I'd give it a try.
The Shiftry looked at the canister with caution, and avoided closing the distance. The unknown element gave me the upper hand.
I wanted to taunt it, stalling with words as I tried to come up with something, but I was too worried I'd attract even more attention by making noise. One Shiftry was already more attention than I wanted.
You know what? Fuck it.
I sprayed forward, walking towards the Shiftry, ready to use the repel like goddamn pepper spray.
However, I backpedaled as nothing came out. The Shiftry immediately jumped in, ready to take advantage of the distraction, but was warded off as the repel bounced off of its head.
Are you fucking kidding me? Tristan you piece of shit, having goddamn faulty repels in your pack.
Fuck.
At least my aim with my left isn't bad. Not that hitting Shiftry in the head with a repel would do any damage, but it would at least ward it off for a blow. If the repel didn't work, it was useless anyway. Well I guess I could try and take it apart, see if just the spraying mechanism was faulty, potentially replace the caps of this one with the other after I'd used it, but it was too late now.
Shiftry sliced forward, but I parried with Oblivion. I saw that the leaf blade on its hand took clear damage from Oblivion. Even though it had been reinforced with dark green energy, the leaf had chipped at the edge.
Shiftry narrowed its eyes at me, and began circling me with a little more caution.
I then grabbed the incense from my other pocket. Idly, I wondered what my hands were doing, but I didn't have the time to think as Shiftry lunged forward again.
The black energy of night slash clashed with the cold steel of Oblivion. Twice more the blades made of leaves were chipped as they collided with the spectral blade.
Shiftry looked at me with growing frustration. Those slices were fast. Each one made me twist in a way that I could feel was opening up the wound on my back. But I simply couldn't afford not to. I knew I was extending my recovery time, but this was the only way I'd have a recovery time at all.
I knew this wasn't sustainable though.
I got an idea as I looked at the incense in my hand. This was essentially a large collection of strong smells.
The Shiftry lunged forward again, and I twisted to the side. My back screamed in pain, and I could feel my skin tearing back open.
However, it did give me an opening to slam the Incense down onto Shiftry's nose, making the Incense explode all over its face.
The powders went into its eyes and it began coughing as the thick plume of sweet powders covered its face.
I saw it back off, trying to look at me with rage. But its eyes were red with irritation from the powder. It kept sneezing, trying to get the scent out.
I used the opportunity to begin creeping away.
Hopefully the overloading of its senses would distract it enough for me to get away. Twigs crunching behind me assured me that that was not the case.
I turned to see the Shiftry stumbling through the brush, looking like a drunkard with no sense of balance.
I could see its bloodshot eyes locked on me.
Okay. This wasn't great.
But it was still a far cry better than how things were looking a minute ago.
Shiftry could only track me with its eyes right now. And its eyes were very dulled from the powders of the incense.
I realized I could just use the same strategy as the Serperior and scrambled off in the direction of the Galvantula nest.
While I wasn't using the marking of the trees, I could use the compass to tell the general direction. Hopefully as I got closer, I would recognize where to go.
The next couple minutes were a mess. I hastily scrambled forward, trying to make my way through the dark forest without disturbing anything.
The Shiftry behind me stumbled forward in chase. It kept tripping over everything possible. Its senses were overloaded. It was constantly coughing or sneezing, and its irritated eyes screamed bloody murder.
It failed to avoid attracting attention, but proved why I should be scared of it. A Liepard that tried to take advantage of its dazed state was quickly slashed to ribbons by the sharp leaf blades. However, the Shiftry was no longer just looking for food. It wanted revenge. It wanted blood.
So leaving the Liepard behind for others to eat, the Shiftry continued chasing me.
I saw a patch of bushes I recognized, and rejoiced as I realized I was almost there.
This would be the hard part. How could I get the Shiftry off my tail, using the Galvantula nest, without actually getting killed or eaten by any of the aforementioned parties?
I looked at my hands and came up with a plan.
I guess this was a better time than ever to see just how good my electric resistance was. Zuko's electricity had fizzled out. I don't think that was due to personal relationship. Logically any amount of electricity he used would be the same level of danger as electricity anywhere else. But that didn't mean I was terrified of the possibility that I would immediately be paralyzed when I touched the electric webbing. And then promptly be incapable of fighting back as I was eaten by spiders. Or slashed apart by Shiftry. Whichever came first.
Wait? Wasn't it a thing in the anime that Rapidash could choose not to burn their riders with the flames of their mane?
Fuck.
Maybe it was the same with electricity? But with aura everything I'd surmised before still made sense. Should I change my plan based off of something I half remember from some show that might be relevant?
Fuck it. I don't have time to speculate.
The gambit.
Life or death.
Logically everything should work here. But I'd also reasoned earlier that the Ancient Power wouldn't hit me, so it was very possible that I was wrong or missing something and about to die.
I finally reached the Galvantula nest. I saw lines of electric webbing littering the area. Some were like trip wires. Others were parts of giant webs.
I saw Galvantula moving about farther along in the nest. One Joltik was near me, and scurried up the tree as it saw me. If it alerted others, I only had seconds before I was swarmed.
The Shiftry stumbled closer behind me.
I stood, my hand inches away from the live wire in front of me. It wasn't quite spider silk. I saw lines of some metal ingrained in the fibers, providing the conductivity to hold a charge. The powerful thrum of electricity was mere inches from my hand.
This was it. Moment of truth.
The charged wire slowly dulled to a dead silk and metal composite thread as I became the conduit between the live charge and the ground below my feet. It was interesting. I could feel the charge travel through my body, tingling across my skin.
Shit. Right.
Interesting. The wire wasn't holding a live current. But it did have voltage. So as soon as it was connected to anything, it would release all of its pent up voltage into whatever touched it. The thread was essentially serving as a capacitor. I really wanted to steal the thread, finding out how the Galvantula had understood electric engineering to make their webbing in such a way. Anyway, my hand was unblemished. Proof of concept.
The Shiftry was mere feet away. It lowered its head and charged, blades ready at its sides.
I wonder if I?
I quickly grabbed onto the nearest wire, tearing it from the tree. I really focused, trying to stop the electricity from traveling past my forearm. The thread hummed, holding its voltage.
Holy shit it worked.
I quickly ducked off to the side like a matador, letting Shiftry crash into thread. The grass and dark type quickly began convulsing as the electricity traveled through its system and into the ground below.
I quickly wrapped the remainder of the thread in my hand around the Shiftry, and began moving as fast as I could away. I could hear and see the occupants of the Galvantula nest moving towards the noise.
My back was slick with blood, and I was feeling more lightheaded. Reopening the wound in my back was really shitty.
I wasn't in the clear yet though. I heard the buzzing of something up above and turned to see a Vikavolt.
Waves of green energy distorted the air as it shot towards me. I dived, trying to get behind a tree in time. But it was too fast, and the world became pure agony.
My eyes felt like they were going to explode. My teeth were vibrating. My brain felt like it was being ground to mush.
I held back the urge to scream.
After a couple seconds of near incomprehensible pain, the ringing in my ears began to lessen. I tasted blood in my mouth. Was it even mine?
I slowly realized how stupid of a question that was. I shakily stood up.
The Vikavolt had become entranced with the Incense coated Shiftry. It seemed the sweet smells had done enough to distract it.
I slinked away, limping back towards camp. My final glance showed the Vikavolt and Galvantula closing in on a paralyzed Shiftry.
Fuck.
That could have been me.
Why the hell were Vikavolt and Galvantula working together? I guess they were both electric bugs.
I stopped trying to think about mutualistic relationships as my headache worsened. That bug buzz was fucked up. My skull still felt like it was vibrating.
I crept through the trees, avoiding everything that I could.
The night had arrived. And with it, all the nocturnal predators had begun their hunt. I could hear the clashes of battle throughout the forest.
I just had to hope that nothing caught on to the scent of my blood before I got back to Hurricane and Zuko.
Shit.
I hope they are doing okay.
I quickened my pace a bit. The smell of blood was getting stronger the closer I got to camp. That was worrying.
I flinched as an electric blur shot out of the darkness, tackling me. I nearly fell over as the mass crashed into me.
I realized I was in the clear though, as the mass slowly began licking my face rather than ripping out my jugular.
"I missed you too buddy. You have no idea how good it feels to see you." I laughed. Tension was released from my shoulders.
Zuko was here. And he was doing fine. I was going to be okay. My breaths got less haggard.
Zuko escorted me back to camp. I noted the many unconscious pokemon we passed along the way. There were two Roserade passed out next to each other, electricity fizzling against the ground near them. There was also a Mightyena, and a Decideueye.
"I see you've had your own share of battles." I grinned. I don't know why I ever worried. Hurricane was trained by Rangers. By Tristan. Zuko was trained by me. They didn't have to worry about any wild pokemon. Not even wild pokemon from Starfall.
We reached the camp, where Hurricane was sniffing the air for enemies. The strong and proud pokemon gave me a brief nod before returning to his post.
Within seconds he turned towards Zuko and pointed his paw off into the night. Zuko cackled and immediately disappeared off into that direction, ready to incapacitate the assailant.
"I see you two have figured out a good system." I said, looking the large red and white furred pokemon in the eye.
Hurricane nodded.
Shit.
I collapsed to one knee as my head swam.
Blood loss was a bitch.
Hurricane looked to me in concern, but snapped his head as he caught onto a new scent. I heard the growl of a feline and the crackle of electricity somewhere close. And there was more than one. It was coming from the direction I'd returned.
I guess they'd caught the scent of my blood.
I slowly stood up, trying to ignore the rhythmic pulsing coming from my back. I looked into the dark night, spotting the glowing yellow eyes of the electric carnivore.
Luxray.
I struggled to blink the sleepiness from my eyes. I couldn't afford to pass out now.
The night was far from over.