CHAPTER 109

I felt my legs wobble as my friends rushed toward me. My sixth team member. I had finally caught it.

"Grace, your face!" Denzel yelled. "Justin, get a compress."

Justin nodded and started looking through his bag.

"It's not just her face, her arms and palms are burned too," Pauline sighed. "You almost died."

"No, I had it under control most of the time," I sighed. The air was finally cooling, but I could still barely hear anything. My left ear in particular was hurting really badly. "Cece, can you heal Tangrowth and Electabuzz?"

"Of course," she said with a thin smile. "Never do that again, I was so scared for you."

"Now you know how we felt with Scyther," I said. "But I won't. Turtonator's my sixth, so I won't need to take risks like this for a while. Not until I get my eighth badge and I can get permission to catch more Pokemon anyway."

I groaned in pain as Justin placed the cold compress against my face. This was going to hurt like hell in a few hours. Actually, it already fucking sucked.

"Already thinking that far ahead? You should probably slow down," Pauline said.

"No, no, I was just saying it to calm Cece down," I said, waving my unwounded arm dismissively. "I have no idea who I'm going to catch, and no plans about it."

"You have no idea how many times I tried to stop you, by the way," Denzel said. "Pauline stopped us every time."

"Yeah, I did, but Cece managed to slip through, especially with that asshole of a Zweilous that growled at me for holding her by the arm."

"That was just Zerst…" Cecilia sighed.

"Anywhere else you're hurting, Grace?" Justin asked me. "Or is it just your burns?"

"I felt lightheaded earlier, but I think that it was because of the heat, and my ear's kind of fucked up. Other than that, I'm fine. Thanks."

"Fine is probably pushing it," Denzel said. "But okay. "We should probably move, though. It's a miracle that nothing came to interrupt that battle. Are you good to walk?"

"Wild Pokemon here probably avoided Turtonator like the plague," Cece guessed. "You saw how strong it was. Nothing here could stand up to it in a fight. Maybe Rhydon, but that's it."

"Well, Grace sure has powered up, then," Justin smiled. "As expected of my teacher."

I blushed. "Gee, you're embarrassing me. I won't be able to use Turtonator for a long time, I think. There's no way it's going to listen to me. I don't even think all of my Pokemon could stand up to it in a fight where it's at its full strength."

"That's probably true," Cece sighed. She knew more about dragons than anyone here. "It's going to take a long time for you to gain its respect, but if you can get on a 'doesn't try to kill you every time it's out of the ball' basis, then I'd say you're on the right path."

I chuckled at that. I didn't really think Turtonator would attack me from that short interaction we had had, but who knew how it would feel a few hours from now? At least I'd be able to recall it into its ball as soon as it started acting up. I didn't want to keep it trapped, but I needed to be safe. There was no telling what it was capable of after getting all of its wounds checked at a Pokemon Center.

"Well, let's move, then," I said. "Thank you for trusting me, Pauline."

The redhead's eyes widened. "Yeah, no problem. I knew you'd kick ass."

"What? No snarky remark?" I grinned.

"Don't push it, you little gremlin," she fumed.

"Grace, let me bandage your arm," Justin said.

"Don't forget her hands…" Cece said.

Once again, we started walking toward Mount Coronet's exit. Turtonator's fight marked the halfway point, but we were less than a day away from the dangerous zone. As soon as we left that, we were as good as free.

—

"Okay, here goes," I sighed, looking at my entire team. Even Larvitar was here. They had recovered from the fight relatively well, although Electabuzz's hand was still broken, and his fingers were all bent the wrong way, which was why I wanted to make this as quick as possible so that he could go back in his ball.

We were only a day away from exiting Mount Coronet, and we had made camp in an isolated part of the cave. My burns still hurt like hell, especially when we had to change the bandages. The friction was horrible, and the pain was getting worse. I could barely hear anything out of my left ear, and holding things with my hands was basically impossible, although I always pushed myself whenever I needed to use Pokeballs. Strangely though, a part of the burn on my arm was painless. Well, I actually couldn't even feel anything there, even touch, and the skin there had turned completely white.

If only I was a Pokemon… one burn heal, a potion, and I would have been as good as new. Turtonator had really done a number on me.

Speaking of Turtonator, I was going to release it again for the first time here for a few reasons. First, I wanted to figure out what was its gender, because referring to Turtonator as it felt dehumanizing— well, it wasn't human, but the point still stood. Second, I wanted to heal its injuries as best I could with potions and Togetic's Wish. Third, I wanted to just speak with it.

"Ready, guys?" I asked my Pokemon. They nodded.

I grabbed Turtonator's Pokeball, which felt hot in my hand, and released it. The fire type stared at us with indifference— or was it disdain? It was somehow still standing after all that fighting and acting like it was nothing.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Hey again," I said. We were close. So close, in fact, that it probably could have burned me before I had time to recall it. "I wanted to help you with your wounds, and scan you with my Pokedex."

Turtonator snorted and turned away from me dismissively.

"No?" I asked. There was no response. Only the temperature rising by a few degrees. I swallowed, hurriedly and painstakingly grabbed a potion from my backpack, and sprayed its bruises with them. I also ordered Togetic to use Wish, which would help somewhat, but the shell was broken beyond what a potion could do, and we'd have to wait to get to the Pokemon Center for that, just like honey's hand.

"I'm going to scan you, okay?"

I grabbed my Pokedex and pointed it toward the fire type.

Turtonator, the Blast Turtle Pokemon. Turtonator's shell is made out of a thin layer of explosive material that ignites when struck, creating an explosion. It gushes poisonous gases from its nostril and will also strike at its own shell to kill its prey.

Moves: Smog, Ember, Smokescreen, Incinerate, Iron Defense, Flamethrower, Shell Trap, Dragon Pulse, Bulldoze, Scorching Sands, Rock Tomb, Body Slam, Flash Cannon, Solar Beam, Rapid Spin, Scale Shot, Iron Tail, Focus Blast (Click for more information)

Ability: Shell Armor (Click for more information)

Gender: Male

My eyes widened at the incredible array of moves Turtonator had at his disposal. Some of these could only be taught to the species through TMs, just like Denzel had told me! Iron Tail in particular intrigued me, because Turtonator's short tail and little mobility meant that he wasn't the best at using the move, but after thinking about how to apply it for a few seconds, I realized that it was how Turtonator had triggered his own Shell Trap. The move needed Turtonator to take actual damage, which meant that simply touching the shell wouldn't be enough. That was why he hurt himself with Iron Tail. His old trainer must have been incredibly skilled. He probably only used a few against us because those were what he was the best at, and he wasn't in the right state of mind to use the others he had less experience with.

Still… his trainer was powerful and experienced, and yet, they still died in a cave. The proof that one mistake was all it took. One mistake, and a life could be snuffed out.

"So you're a guy," I hesitantly said. "Erm, let me introduce you to the team. This over here is princess. She was my first Pokemon—"

Turtonator ignored me completely and walked off, lying down on the ground about twenty feet away from me. Togetic chirped sadly in protest, but I stopped her.

"Are you tired? Do you want to eat?" I asked. "I have food if you want."

The dragon type didn't answer, so I opted to keep introducing him to the team. I knew he could hear, even if he acted like he couldn't.

"This is buddy. He was my second, and he's kind of reserved, but he always means well. Sorry if he's glaring at you so much, he'll come around," I sighed before pointing to Electabuzz with my thumb out of habit and winced when I felt the skin rub against my bandage. "That's honey. He tends to be hyper, although he's mellowed out with age. Just a bit, though. I don't know if you enjoy battling, but if you do, honey's your guy—"

I took a step back when I saw Turtonator glare at me. Just one look, and I felt instinctual fear. The temperature rose around me, and I started to sweat. Larvitar protested and screamed at the dragon type, but he paid her no mind and kept staring right through me, as if he was judging my every action.

"Okay, I get it," I hurriedly said. "That's angel, and that's sweetheart. We're done."

Turtonator closed his eyes, and the temperature slowly went back to normal. So that was how he was going to do it, then. He recognized that I was the one getting him out of the cave, so he wouldn't try to kill me, but he also wanted nothing to do with me, so if I tried to do any kind of bonding, he'd threaten to burn me.

Well, maybe he needed some space. The loss of his trainer was probably still fresh in his mind, and me swooping in like this probably angered him. I had wanted to ask him if he used to have a nickname, and if he hadn't, then I wanted to give him one, but that was clearly off the table. Even just speaking was off the table.

"I'm recalling you," I sighed. He snorted, seemingly satisfied with himself, and I placed him back in the Pokeball before turning to the rest of my team. "This is going to take a long time, but I want you all to be as accommodating as possible. Obviously, don't let him walk all over you, but don't be aggressive, either."

"Fri…"

"Yeah, I know it's hard. I know he hurt me, but if I've forgiven him, you can at least try," I smiled thinly. "Let's get back to the others."

Today's interaction was a win in my book. Sure, he had threatened to squash me like a bug with a single look and by raising the temperature slightly, but he hadn't done it. Plus, he at least knew everyone on the team now. Things might change when I brought him out of the cave, however. He had only joined me because I promised to get him out, so who knew how he'd feel when I released him on the outside?

Well, he didn't seem to hate me, at least. That hadn't been the impression I got from him. Maybe he just found me annoying to deal with? Thinking back to what Craig had told me during my fight with Chase, it'd be important to give Turtonator his space.

I had recalled Turtonator at the perfect moment, because a pair of trainers walked past me a few seconds later. I had no idea how I was going to go about gaining Turtonator's respect. The last unruly Pokemon I had had was Frillish, but he had come around after a few days, even if he hadn't listened to every command. Turtonator would be a whole other beast. A small part of me hoped that there'd be a breakthrough in a few days and that we'd all become friends, but I knew better. This wouldn't take days. This wouldn't even take weeks. This would take months. I'd try to find out more about his old trainer online when we got to the outpost.

I was in for a long ride, but I had nothing but time. The hardest step, which had been catching him, was already over, and he didn't want to kill me either. I clenched a fist in determination and hissed when a jolt of pain shot up from my hand to my shoulder.

I was going to shower Turtonator with love until he finally yielded. No matter how long it took.

—

"We're finally out," Justin sighed. After six days of travel, we had reached the other side of Mount Coronet.

The view here was absolutely breathtaking. Pristine rivers ran through deep canyons lower on the mountain slopes, and the outpost could be seen around ten minutes away from here. In the distance, Hearthome stood in all of its glory, with its mix of new skyscrapers and older buildings that came together to create something beautiful. Still, even if the city of warmth and kindness looked close, it was actually five days away because we'd need to walk down the steep mountain, and then through a short flat path. Route 208 was relatively easy, as far as routes went, but the terrain was among the worse to get through.

"Let's get to the outpost and to a Center," Denzel said. "We deserve a break after all of that."

I nodded. "Even though we made it through without much difficulty this time, it was still fucking exhausting. I want to take a warm shower and sleep in a warm bed."

Although with my burns... showering would probably be an agonizing experience. And changing clothes. And sleeping. I sighed.

"The rangers seem to be getting better at keeping Mount Coronet safe," he said. "There weren't as many dangerous encounters as I was expecting. I almost thought I'd see another Gyarados coming out of that giant lake."

My eyes bulged. "Gyarados?"

"Oh… right, I never told you," he sighed. "Yeah, Cece and I saw a Gyarados when we were separated. Didn't fight it, though. It was too strong."

Pauline sprung up. "I'd like a Gyarados!"

"I thought we already agreed on Exploud," I laughed.

We walked to the outpost, but before going to the Center to get myself and my Pokemon checked out, I had one more thing to do. I entered the ranger building and patiently waited for my turn until the receptionist called me over. I strode up there with a slight smile— as much as I could, with how fucking painful these burns were. Hopefully I'd get some painkillers or something because this was quickly becoming unbearable.

"Welcome to route 208's ranger building. How can I help you today? If this is about orientation, we won't run another one of those for three weeks. You missed it by a few days."

"No, no, this isn't about orientation," I said. "You know that Turtonator that troubled you?"

"Of course. What of it—" The ranger stared at me for the first time and gasped in shock. "Um, you look really bad, you should probably get to a Center right now."

"I'll do it right after this. I caught Turtonator, and I'll be keeping him, too."