The parasect lurched forward, screeching. It thrashed about vigorously, the cloud of orange spores floating around it growing thicker. The forest suddenly came to life with noise: growls, chirps, and groans echoing off the trees from every direction. Jonas looked to Eleanor for direction, as the growth around them began to rustle. Something was coming.

“Eleanor, we have to go!” Jonas said, grabbing the researcher’s shoulder to turn her away from the scene. She stood transfixed, however, eyes narrowed in focus, head tilted to the side.

“Jonas, that parasect is the largest I’ve ever seen. It must be some sort of… apex specimen. Its rage powder is affecting the entire forest! We can’t just leave,” Eleanor said before adding with a grin, “this is fascinating!”

Jonas grimaced as he retrieved Flint’s pokéball. “Let’s battle it then.”

“Jonas, no! Rage powder enrages the target. It’s the reason the pokémon of this forest are behaving so strangely. It’ll affect Flint too. If he were an arcanine, maybe he could handle it, but right now he just isn’t fast enough to do anything before the powder gets to him.”

Not fast enough, huh? Jonas thought, reaching back into his bag. Before he could grab Dash’s ball, a groan sounded from behind them, and something big came crashing through the woods, leveling plants in its way. It pressed its bulk against a rotted tree, and Jonas jumped out of the way as it fell. He landed in the bushes, brambles scraping at his arms, and the tree fell close beside him, a narrow miss.

Jonas stared in horror at the advancing pokémon. Its massive form emerged from the shadows, draped with matted brown fur. Enormous bloodshot eyes stared back at Jonas with an unsettling intensity. It huffed, striding forward on massive paws, then rose, standing on its back feet, and letting out a loud snarl, sharp teeth protruding from its powerful jaws.

“Ursaring!” Jonas shouted at the same time Eleanor calmly said, “Silvanus, go.”

A flash of white light filled the area, momentarily blinding Jonas, when his vision returned, a large deer stood between him and the ursaring. Its large antlers were covered in green leaves, and currently locked against the shoulders of the ursaring. The majestic sawsbuck bellowed with effort and pushed the ursaring back a few steps, giving time for Eleanor to rush to Jonas’s side.

“Jonas! Run!” she shouted, pulling him to his feet. “Silvanus and I can handle this.”

“But the rage pow…” Jonas started, but to his surprise Eleanor smiled.

“Silvanus is a grass type. He’s immune to powder moves. Now get out of here before you get hurt!”

“Let me stay, I can help! We have to stop that parasect. Please!” Jonas pleaded. Eleanor’s face was firm for a moment, but then softened.

“Alright,” she replied, “but if it starts to look like you can’t handle it, you’re leaving.”

“Thanks, professor,” Jonas said, reaching into his rucksack and finding Dash’s pokéball. He retrieved it with a whisper, “Let’s see if you’re fast enough.”

***

Dash was a blur of color, darting through the underbrush with lightning speed. Jonas grinned at the pokémon, who whirred loudly, moving from tree to tree. The parasect clicked a warning, turning in a slow, lumbering circle to try and keep up with the venipede.

“Dash, you can’t sit still long, okay? We need to beat this thing fast!” Jonas warned the pokémon. It clicked in response as it scuttled in close to the massive parasect. Jonas could see his mandibles glowing a brilliant purple.

“Wow. Going for that already? Okay, I’ll try to keep up.” Jonas said, amazed. Dash zipped behind the parasect, and Jonas lost sight of him for a moment due to its bulk. The parasect hissed as Dash reappeared, running back to the tree line on his tiny legs. It whipped around and swung its claw, slashing through the air where Dash had been previously. Traces of glowing purple lingered low on the parasect’s mushroom.

“Dash, good job! But watch out! You need to be careful. Go for poison sting again.” Dash whirred excitedly as he skittered back into the fray, mandibles already glowing again with venomous energy. Jonas glanced behind him for a moment to watch as Eleanor battled the ursaring.

“Silvanus, bounce!” she commanded, and to Jonas’s surprise, the sawsbuck leaped high into the air, disappearing into the canopy overhead. Moments later, it came crashing back down into the ursaring, who let out a roar and swiped furiously at Silvanus, a clawed paw connecting with his shoulder. Silvanus bellowed, then locked his antlers against the ursaring once more. Jonas grinned for a moment, astounded by the powerful display, then turned back to focus on his own opponent.

A horrible crack rang through the clearing as the parasect’s claw came down hard on Dash’s back. Dash let out a screech and skidded to a stop near the edge of the clearing.

“Are you okay, Dash?” Jonas shouted across the clearing, closing the distance by several steps before a coughing fit brought on by the spores seized him. Dash whirred angrily, but got back to his feet.

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“Okay, let’s be a little more careful. Use defense curl in case it tries that again, then go for a rollout!”

Dash rolled into a ball and hesitated for a moment before he began to spin in place, just as he had done when battling Flint. The parasect began its advance toward Dash right as he shot forward.

“Yes!” Jonas shouted with the first impact, his face splitting into a wide smile. Dash was definitely moving faster, possibly the fastest Jonas had seen him go. He slowed his rolling at the edge of the clearing, then angled back to make another pass at the parasect. The second impact elicited a loud screech from the larger pokémon.

“Alright, buddy. One more time,” Jonas whispered, leaning in to watch as Dash rolled toward the parasect, a red blur. Just before impact, the parasect raised a claw, and batted Dash away, sending him careening through the clearing until he crashed hard into a tree. Dash wearily unrolled, breathing hard as the parasect approached. The cloud of spores floating around the parasect dispersed for a moment, then reappeared, green this time, and Dash’s breathing slowed.

“Dash, no!” Jonas shouted, reaching for Dash’s ball as Dash closed his eyes and fell asleep. The parasect drew close to Dash, raising its pincer for another heavy blow. A sudden white flash illuminated the clearing, and Jonas closed his eyes against the brightness. There was another loud crack, and Jonas’s eyes shot open.

Eleanor’s heracross stood in the clearing, braced between the parasect and Dash, his clawed arm raised to block the impact. Jonas returned Dash to his ball, staring slack-jawed at the display before him.

“Alright, Marius. Use brick break.” Eleanor’s cheerful tone was gone from her voice, and she even held herself differently, standing straight, allowing Jonas to realize for the first time just how tall she was. She glared at the parasect, as did Marius, a defiant look in his eyes. He clicked aggressively, then hammered down hard. Another crack, and the parasect retreated a few steps. Eleanor strode past Jonas without a glance, entering the clearing with her pokémon.

“You’ve been disrupting this habitat and hurting the pokémon who live here. That stops now.” Her voice was cold. “Marius, arm thrust.” Marius struck the parasect with an open hand. Then again. He rained down a series of blows, his arms becoming a blur of motion, striking the claws, the mushroom, anywhere he found an opening. The parasect hissed as it retreated with each hit.

“Alright, now finish it off with megahorn.”

The heracross lowered his head, his massive horn grazing the forest floor. He rose up, his horn striking the parasect hard in the side and lifting it off of the ground. Marius lifted from the ground as well, translucent wings fluttering behind him. He struggled against the weight, bracing the parasect with his arms, and raised it several feet above the forest floor. Then, he plunged, slamming the full weight of the parasect into the ground. Both of the bug pokémon struggled to their feet, staring one another down. Then, the parasect shuddered, and fell.

***

“You feel much better now, don’t you?” Eleanor encouraged, stroking the ursaring’s head. She smiled as it lumbered between the trees and disappeared back into the forest. The fainted parasect lay on the grass outside the forest, and Jonas sat nearby, keeping a wary eye on the humongous bug. Flint sniffed at the large pokémon hesitantly, curiously investigating.

“I’m sorry you had to miss out on all the action, buddy,” Jonas told his partner, “but we needed to keep you safe. And Dash did a great job!” The venipede scuttled over to nuzzle against Jonas’s leg, clicking quietly. “Looks like he’s warming up to us a little bit too!”

Flint barked playfully at the bug, and bounded over to where he rested beside Jonas. Responding with a playful click of his own, Dash scuttled away, and Flint gave chase, yipping happily. Eleanor inhaled deeply and let out a heavy sigh.

“I’m sorry, Jonas,” she said. Jonas opened his mouth to protest but she continued. “I shouldn’t have let you come into the forest with me. It was very irresponsible of me. You or your pokémon could have been hurt.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jonas replied, brushing off her apology. “Flint and I will have to be plenty tough where we’re going. Dash too. A little adventure here and there is good for us.”

“Oh, really?” Eleanor asked with a small laugh. “And where could you possibly be going where you’ll need to fight dangerous alpha pokémon?”

“Alpha pokémon?” Jonas asked.

Eleanor shrugged, “Seems an appropriate title, don’t you think?”

“I suppose,” Jonas replied, then added, “We’re heading to Nova City to enter the Pokéball Run. I figure there’ll be lots of strong competition. Plus, we’ll be on the road a lot. Just makes sense to get stronger.”

“Oh! Nova City? I work in Nova City!” Eleanor excitedly gestured to the embroidered emblem on her shirt. She knelt beside the parasect and began to rummage through her bag. She removed a couple of purple bottles with white lids and handed one to Jonas. “Here, you should take this, as payment. It can help your pokémon if they get hurt.” She opened the bottle and poured its contents onto the parasect, which immediately began to stir. Jonas scooted back across the ground.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asked.

Eleanor chuckled again. “We’ve got her out of the forest, now. It’s perfectly safe. Now I can figure out what’s wrong with her.” She gave the large mushroom a soft pat, then looked up at Jonas. “After that, I’m heading back to Nova City. You’re more than welcome to stick around and wait until I’m done here. We can travel together. I could use a research assistant.”

Jonas laughed at this. “I appreciate it, Eleanor, but we’ve got to hurry if we want to make it in time to register. In fact, we should probably be going soon.” He stood to his feet, Flint and Dash returning to his side.

“You did a great job today, Dash,” he said, returning the pokémon to its ball. “So did you, professor. Your pokémon were amazing.”

“Thank you for your help, Jonas.” Eleanor said. “When you make it to Nova City, you should stop by NOPE, I’m sure you’d enjoy it. Just don’t tell them I let you help,” she added, grinning.

“You got it,” Jonas replied with a grin of his own. “Who knows, maybe you’ll be back by then? Maybe I’ll see you in Nova City, Professor Aspen.”

“I look forward to it,” Eleanor said. “Good luck, Jonas.”

Jonas and Flint left Eleanor tending to the parasect and continued down the road, their new friend behind them, and Nova City ahead.