Sirius was not doing good.
Fire exploded behind him, a wave of heat and light sending him tumbling into a nearby ditch. He landed with a grunt, using the momentum to roll and spring back up into a run. He wove into the trees, using the residual light of the flames to guide his way, disappearing into the foliage once more.
“Come on out!” His pursuer roared, “Are you so much of a coward you won’t even face me!?”
It was more like he wasn’t stupid.
He’d messed up. No, more like he underestimated the opponent.
“I got complacent.” Sirius thought ruefully, “Believed no trainer could match me in hand-to-hand.”
The attack had gone as planned. With Sirius blasting through the trees straight into the encampment. His leg snapping out and into the face of the closest one, sending the Grunt ragdolling into the ground. His first target down he aimed a roundhouse at the second, only to stop the attack and roll away as a pointblank flamethrower was fired at him. He used the opportunity to snag the belt of the knocked out Grunt, the Pokeballs locked within shaking in clear anger.
Quinn showed up a second later, Heracross and Golbat at the ready, their presence immediately drawing the attention of a Grunt with Flareon, whose partner joined him not a moment sooner. He ignored them, instead charging down the remaining Grunt, raising his arms and getting in close, before throwing a perfect body hook.
The surprise he felt when it was blocked must’ve shown on his face, because the grunt in question sneered in response, backing up and sending a lead kick his way, which sent him stumbling back.
“Aurafire!” The one with the Flareon commanded, “Take no prisoners!”
Sirius made to rush into combat once again, but the grunt he faced had thrown out a Pokeball already, an angry Rapidash bellowing in challenge. Sirius frowned, but continued his run, dropping low as Rapidash attempted to gore him with its horn. He rolled, then leapt forward, tackling the trainer instead, the two men tumbling to the floor in a mess of limbs. His fingers fished around the buckle of his Pokémon belt as blows were scored around his body, before finally unclipping the damned thing and making a break for it.
“Rapidash!” His opponent called, in clear anger, “With me!”
Galloping hooves had been his only warning, as fire rolled across the green, just barely licking his suit.
And now here he was.
How many times had he learned never to underestimate the opponent? How many times had the reminder been painfully ingrained into him, in either lost allies or scars across his body?
“New world, same rules.”
The only advantage he had was visibility. It was a forest at night, with his uniform in camo mode SIrius was essentially invisible. His opponent however, rode atop a walking Lighthouse, he’d be able to spot him from a mile away.
“Only issue though,” Sirius thought, as he held back a pained grunt from stepping onto uneven ground incorrectly, “I can’t see shit without that Rapidash.”
It was a tricky game, he kept his distance, but he couldn’t stray too far, nor could he keep the man unoccupied for too long for fear of him returning to fight against Quinn. His partner had confidence, sure, but he’d seen the way the Aurafire Grunts carried themselves.
They were strong.
“You aren’t Chronos!” Sirius said, sucking in his stomach and casting his voice out, having it sound farther away, “Why are you interfering in Galactic Business?”
“[Fire Blast!]”
A streak of fire tore through the woods, alighting the area before ending in a loud explosion. Even from afar Sirius had to dive away, the heat radiating from the blast stinging enough to burn. He stared at the charred remains of the forest, breathing out in relief when he didn’t see any unconscious forms of Pokémon.
“I think you missed,” He said, casting his voice out again, “Not very good at this, are you?”
“Quiet!” His opponent snarled, “Step out of hiding and face me!”
In response Sirius threw a rock at the man, which unfortunately bounced off the neck of the fiery steed as it turned to protect its master. He dove out the way a second later when another blast of fire eviscerated his previous hiding spot.
A few yards away, an explosion rose up, a small plume of fire lighting up the surroundings temporarily, revealing forest and terrified Pokemon who instantly fled the scene. Quinn was still fighting, was he losing though? Impossible to say. The explosion of fire seemed like a desperate attack, but also dangerous.
“Got to finish this,” He thought, “Make it over to Quinn.”
He hefted another two rocks, this time throwing them to the opposite side of him, attempting to mimic the sounds of stumbling footfalls. It worked, Rapidash and its Trainer rearing and sending fire shooting between the trees away from him, while Sirius took the opportunity to scramble up onto the tree he’d been hiding behind.
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He carefully shifted his weight across the boughs of the tree, keeping himself high up, but not too high where the lesser branches would impede his sight. Swallowing, he dropped one last rock a little ways away from him, steeling himself for the coming gamble.
Rapidaash reared, spinning in place a fiery breath ready to deploy. The Grunt kept his distance, commanding his steed to bathe the area in fire instead, lighting up the area, if it weren’t for the many branches in his way, he’d have been caught.
There was also the smoke, god, there was a lot of smoke. It billowed upwards, choking his eyes and causing his lungs to burn. The added fire had set his own tree ablaze, and Sirius could feel the many tongues lick across his boots and legs. Panic welled deep within him as he realized taking them down from above wouldn’t be an option.
He jumped anyway.
Legs tensed and muscles flexed as he burst through the haze, one arm barely covering his eyes as he descended near his opponent. Rapidash spotted him, choosing to use its horn to gore him on the spot, Sirius twisted at the last second, grunting in pain as the tip pierced through fabric and mesh, cutting into hard muscle. That didn’t stop him from reaching out and grabbing the Aurafire trainer, who without a saddle, slid off with a surprised yelp.
“This might be the sixth time I’ve wrestled another guy in the dirt.” Sirius thought idly, as hands punched, grappled and prodded, “Pran would definitely make a joke out of this.”
A palm snapped upwards, catching him in the chin and knocking his head up. Sirius growled as the taste of blood pooled into his mouth, his own fist rocketing into the side of his opponent’s head, only to be diverted as a second hand came up, pushing the attack aside. Through it all Rapidash rumbled and whinnied, unable to help with the two trainers so close together.
Sirius was stronger in terms of muscle, that much was clear with how the Aurafire Grunt was unable to push him off. The man had technique though, good technique. Boxing, Kung-fu, Jiu-jitsu, Sirius had practiced them recreationally before the bombs. Afterwards, he focused more attention on them, learning what he could, when he could. He was good, not as good as someone who’d trained more seriously than he, but good enough to recognize those also experienced.
The man trapped under his weight reeked of experience. Even with all the advantages he had, it was clear not from the attacks, but the composure behind them. Like the man still had some control over the fight.
It worried him.
Knees wriggled underneath Sirius, and before he could stop him, a knee shot into his exposed wound. Unprepared Sirius doubled over and gasped, the grunt taking the time to grab him by the uniform, and flip him onto the ground behind him, rolling with the momentum. Sirius knew what was coming however, and hands went from punching to desperately grabbing at the waist. Fingers closed around a spherical object, and Sirius yanked as he flew overhead, earning a curse from his opponent.
Rapidash was on him in a second, hooves, powerful enough to break stone now honed in on his chest. Just before they could land and pulverize his ribs however, Sirius hit the switch on the Pokeball, encasing the fiery horse in a flash of light, the Pokémon bellowing out in anger as it was sealed into the little device.
“Too close.” Sirius thought as sweat pooled down his head and into his clothes, “Way too close.”
He didn’t have any time to recover as the Aurafire Grunt bore down on him, Sirius rolling away just as a foot thudded into the dirt where his head was. He shot up, sending a snap kick towards his opponent, causing him to back away and earning some distance.
Amidst the fire and the smoke the two began their tentative dance. Sirius stayed on the defense, not committing to any of the feints and light jabs the Aurafire Grunt sent his way. Instead he shuffled backwards, away from the fire, deeper into the forest.
He was tired, his shoulders heaved as he sucked in deep breaths of air semi-tinted in smoke. He was injured, and had spent most of the fight on the run, while his opponent had the luxury of a mount. His best goal was to stay away, disappear into the forest, and then regroup with Quinn whenever he could. Noticing the bright explosions in the distance, it wouldn’t be too difficult.
The Aurafire grunt realized as well, snarling and moving to close the distance. He threw two probing jabs, before sliding into his guard, pushing past Sirius’s arm and aiming a hook for his kidney. Sirius twisted as his opponent did, the attack slapping against his abs instead, with the movement his right arm shot out, catching the man on the side. He kicked out his leg again for good measure, earning a satisfying grunt before moving out of distance again.
Their fight continued like so for a long time, Sirius shuffling back, his opponent trying to get him into a fight, or at least take the Pokeballs back away from him. Neither made much progress, especially as they got farther and farther away from the light, Sirius just barely able to make out the man’s shadow.
A Wurmple broke the lull in their fight.
Sirius stepped back, only to stumble as the spiky worm cried out in indignation, his foot came down awkwardly, and he lurched back for just a fraction of a second.
It was all his opponent needed.
The Aurafire grunt rushed forward, leaping up with a kick aimed directly for his face, Sirius barely managed to bring his arms up in time as he heard the crack of flesh striking flesh, he fell to the floor, bringing his arms up to his face as he guarded against the sudden flurry of blows.
Growling in frustration, he tried to work his legs around, only to cry out in pain as a knee buried itself into his leg. Blood rushed through his ears as blows landed on his arms, weakening his guard and aiming for his face. He tucked himself in even more as blows found his head, feeling a warm wetness beginning to pool from his scalp.
With a roar, he grabbed the scruff of the Aurafire Grunt’s uniform,pulling it down as his forehead crashed against his opponent’s nose. The man cried out in pain and fell backwards, allowing Siriu to sweep his legs out and underneath, before wrapping them around his neck. He rolled himself up, placing the full weight of his body atop the man's neck as he desperately tried to claw and break his way free.
“Not this time.” Sirius thought with a snarl, finally ending the long fight with a blow across the jaw. As the man slumped, Sirius fell backwards with a groan, adrenaline not completely dampening the various hits he’d taken throughout the fight.
The bright light in the distance told him his work wasn’t done, and with a grunt he stood, bracing himself against a nearby tree.
“S’posed to be the Pokemon world.” He sighed to himself, “Go on an adventure with my partner, see the sights. Instead I’m fighting mobsters in the forest.”
The angry wriggling on his belt didn’t help. Another sigh escaped his lips as he held the belt aloft with the Grunt’s Pokemon.
“Hey. Can you hear me?”
They still shook angrily.
“Unless you give me a sign, I’m leaving your trainer here. Unconscious and in a forest with wild Pokemon.”
They stilled.
“Good.” He grunted, “I still have high hopes for this world, it’s supposed to be different. Better. So I’m going to leave one of you out to guard him so he doesn’t die. Volunteers?”
The Rapidash shook.
Sirius grimaced. The last 20 minutes had been a fast-paced race of him narrowly avoiding death from the Pokemon. Experience told him to kill the man where he sat, leave him for dead, and throw the Pokeballs as far away as he could. Logically, it would be the best move, he’d never be able to threaten him, or become a threat for Pran.
The slow, monotonous drip of blood on metal. People, fighters, dead all around them. Pran looking at him with mournful eyes as he wiped his weapons clean of grime, Arun doing the same with his. The folks here weren’t bad people, but they were Al’s. They were threats, the man would push for expansion when the winter ended, and Layla couldn’t afford a war right now. They had tried to convince them first, but when they refused the two made quick work. Under the cover of darkness the people hardly knew what hit them. Arun nodded to Pran when he confirmed the last of them dead, and the two made their way out of the building. It was getting easier, killing. It still brought a wave of nausea, but it…didn’t do as much anymore.
It scared him.
He wondered if a day would come when he’d no longer care.
No. This was the Pokémon world. It would be better.
It had to be.
He had to be.
Sirius decided on his compromise, walking over to the downed grunt, he placed a foot on his tibia. He angled his foot so his heel was right above the bone, before stomping down with all his might. The crack that sounded was enough to tell him the job was done. Broken at worst, fractured at the least.
He hurled the belt away, before summoning Rapidash again, the fiery steed roaring in anger as its mane burned with intensity.
"Best take care of your trainer now." Sirius grunted, "He'll need it."
Rapidash simply glared at him, eyes flickering with fire.
Sirius held its gaze as he backed away slowly, neither taking their eyes off one another, until he disappeared into the foliage.
The last he saw of his former opponents, was Rapidash softly nuzzling its trainer as the man groaned in pain.