Chapter 12: Bashing Against Steel

“Take down.” ordered Steele. A yellow mach cone formed as Bastiodon charged ahead.

“Snom, dodge!” shouted Marie. Snom shot an icy wind into the ground, propelling it upward. Bastiodon however was uninterested, instead it charged directly towards Marie. She noticed just in time to move, but she was still swept off her feet. Fennekin fell out of her arms, hitting the ground hard. “Fennekin! You gotta get up and move!” It had seemed to listen when it shakily stood up, but fear still took hold, keeping it frozen in place.

Bastiodon quickly recovered from the miss and turned toward Marie. “Again!” ordered Steele. Bastiodon charged again, this time aiming for Fennekin.

“Fennekin! Hurry, it’s coming!” pleaded Marie. Paralyzed in fear, it slowly turned its head to watch Bastiodon charging in, but did nothing but shook where it stood. “No! I gotta think of something.” Marie grabbed her hair and shook her head trying to think of what to do. Snom then lands next to her, reminding her that it was also here to battle. “I’ve got it! Snom, use icy wind to get close and then use struggle bug!” Snom nodded in agreement and rocketed off towards Bastiodon. It soared through the air, zigging and zagging on its way. One last good blast forward lands Snom on the back of the rampaging Pokémon. It hardly took notice as Snom charged up its attack. The resulting blast of green energy knocked Bastiodon’s face into the ground right before hitting Fennekin, flying over and knocking down several trees as it crashed. Fennekin’s gaze never looked away from where Bastiodon was charging, its expression paralyzed in fear.

Steele was disappointed, “How annoying. Bastiodon, get up this instant!”

Marie looked at her foe and realized that she can’t fight him in the state the Fennekin was in. Snom could only get cheap shots in for so long. She picked herself and ran to Fennekin. “Come on, let's go. You too Snom!” she said to it, picking it up and running to the forest. Snom blasted itself into the air from the back of the recovering Bastiodon, shoving it back into the ground. Marie caught it before disappearing into the forest.

Bastiodon shook the ice off itself ready to rampage, only to be halted by Steele. “No. Let them go for now. It’s not often that I get to go on a hunt.”

Through the leaves and shrubbery they ran. Fennekin and Snom were within Marie’s grasp, the latter on the lookout for threats. Marie looked behind her and to her surprise, no one had followed them. She slowed down to hide behind a rock, putting her two pokemon beside. “Fennekin, you have to tell me what’s going on. I can’t have you freezing up on me in the middle of a battle,” asked Marie. All it did was shiver in place. Snom crawled up next to it, trying its best to consult with it. “You were so motivated to come here. Now I finally understand, you’re here to save your friends aren’t you?” Fennekin finally looked Marie eye to eye. “That’s it isn't it? Your friends got caught by those crooks, and you’re going to save them.” Fennekin gave her a firm nod. “Then let’s focus on that, we’re here for them, we’re their last hope.” Fennekin seemed to be slightly encouraged, but that all went away when a tree was heard getting knocked over.

“Let’s play a game, huh? Let’s play, find the little girl and squash her bug and hunt down her fox!” yelled out Steele. Bastiodon was busy destroying the forest, causing all the native Pokémon to flee.

“Those monsters!” said Marie in a hushed voice. “We have to stop them Fennekin.” She looked at it expecting for it to be ready, but instead it quivered in place, scared out of its mind. Listening as Bastiodon got closer, all it could think about was how it was not strong enough to take it on, imagining itself getting crushed under Bastiodon’s foot.

“Your fox has caused me a lot of trouble girl! If it wasn’t a special kind of fox, I would’ve enjoyed leaving out in the middle of the ocean!”

Marie was starting to get furious, “That, ugh! We have to take him down, only then could we save your friends.” Fennekin didn’t show any indication that it heard what Marie said. “Please, we have to try! Help me help you save everyone!” Another tree hit the ground, causing Fennekin to jump. It looked around in terror trying to find where the noise came from, backing itself away from Marie. “No! Please!” pleaded Marie, reaching out her hand. Fennekin finally broke, even cowering to Marie. It has had enough and proceeded to run away as fast as it could.

It heard Marie’s fading voice say, “Wait! Where are you going-.” It ran thinking nothing more than its own safety. Weaving between branches and rocks, it ended up going so far that eventually everything started to look the same. Stopping to get a handle of its surroundings, all that could be heard was the quiet drone of wind blowing through the leaves. Shadows danced with the rustling leaves with beams of sunlight waved around as if it were a curtain. It all seemed peaceful with everything embracing each other's company, but Fennekin did not enjoy the beauty. How could it, with the knowledge that there are others that will never see this kind of place in the world ever again. Only the barren, gray, and wet confines of a cage. Thinking about was horrible, why was it the only one to be spared, why are there horrible people, why was it so weak, what could it have done differently?

Tears began to form. It looked back, but it was hopeless to ever find Marie again as it was too deep in the forest to find the way back. Nonetheless, it ran through the foliage once more, blindly hoping that it would find Marie. It ran and ran for so long, eventually causing it to collapse in exhaustion. Panting on the ground, it looked to the tree canopy which was now denser, making it lucky for a ray of light to even shine through. One just so happened to dance its way over to Fennekin. It laid its warmth over its forehead, providing a seemingly loving embrace, saying everything was going to be okay. Fennekin watched it stay in place for a while, before being washed away by a passing wind. It began to weep covered in the shade.

There it laid, defeated and broken. Nothing could ever bring it any lower. The guilt brought about so much weight making it seem like it could sink anything into the ground. Fennekin was convinced, no matter the scenario, it couldn't stop what would happen.

A few minutes pass. Everything felt quiet, not even so much as a rustle. Then, the little taps of a pokemon could be heard approaching Fennekin. “Wooper?” it asked curiously. Fennekin paid it no mind while Wooper got closer to inspect who it was. It circled around Fennekin, noticing that it was sad beyond belief. Rather than say something comforting, it jumped up excitedly and exclaimed, “Wooper!” It rested it’s head upon Fennekin’s side and went to sleep. This seemed to bother Fennekin, as it wanted to be left alone. It picked itself up, letting Wooper’s head fall to the ground, moved over a bit, and curled back up. This hardly deterred Wooper however, as it simply followed Fennekin and laid on it like before. Fennekin was starting to get annoyed. It repeated it’s previous actions, only for Wooper to also do the same. It got so annoyed with Wooper that it told it firmly to go away. Wooper only tilted it’s head, clearly not understanding what was going on.

Fennekin ignored it and simply went a little farther until it couldn’t see Wooper anymore. There, it simply laid down once again on top of a tree stump. Shortly after, Fennekin felt something lay on again. Giving no second guesses who, it looked back to see Wooper had laid on it again. This time Fennekin was super annoyed, absolutely berating Wooper for its actions. At the end of it, Wooper only smiled happily and said, “Wooper!” It was trying to be Fennekin’s friend in such an odd way, but it felt as if it wasn’t being taken seriously. Having had enough, Fennekin used scratch on Wooper, smacking against a tree and down into a bush. Finally alone, it curled back up on top of the tree trunk to well in its thoughts. But it couldn’t relax. It tried to, but it couldn’t shake the feeling that Wooper was going to lay on it again. Eventually overcome with paranoia, a gust of wind set Fennekin off. It looked around quickly trying to find where Wooper was, but it was nowhere to be found. Fennekin almost seemed confused, it had expected Wooper to show up again. It calmed down and turned around to lay back down, only to be met face to face with Wooper, scaring Fennekin. It jumped back, asking why it wouldn’t leave it alone. “Wooper.” it simply said, nodding its head.

Fennekin just gave up trying, lying back down accepting Wooper’s presence. However, it did not feel as sad before, even wanting Wooper to stay with it for a bit. This is when Wooper became sympathetic, asking what the matter was. Fennekin was hesitant for a moment, but it gave Wooper a brief rundown of the situation. Wooper gasped, it was shocked that something like that could ever happen. Without a second thought, Wooper offered its help to Fennekin’s cause.

Fennekin was surprised and somewhat confused. It stood up asking why it would ever do such a thing. Wooper responded saying that it was willing to help anybody with anything, no matter how large or small the problem was. Even so, Fennekin couldn’t risk Wooper’s safety and declined its offer. Wooper continued to insist without any regard of its own well being. Fennekin harshly shot down its offer once again, making Wooper smile fade. How could it offer its help if Fennekin wasn’t able to even make a scratch on Bastiodon, the situation was helpless. Wooper said never to think that way, any obstacle in life can be overcome with the right amount of persistence. Fennekin was still discouraged, what could it do?

Wooper thought for a moment, then told Fennekin to wait a moment. It ran off into the forest out of sight for a moment and came back with a twig in its mouth. At the end of the twig hung a single Oran berry. Wooper offered it to Fennekin, the latter not understanding why. It only urged Fennekin to just take it. After a few tries, Fennekin accepted the Oran berry and ate. As it ate, it felt a little better as its strength began to return. Wooper then congratulated it for passing the test, saying that all had to do was try it out, a leap of faith. Fennekin understood what it was trying to say, but still had its doubts. Nonetheless, it assured Wooper that it would try. Wooper gave an approving nod.

The time to act came fast. The forest floor began to rumble accompanied by the cracks of trees snapping and falling to the ground. Bastiodon was closing in. This time, Fennekin planted its legs firm, ready for anything to come its way. Bastiodon crashed in, rampaging all around until its gaze landed upon the two Pokémon. Wasting no time, it used take down. Fennekin launched an ember with all of its strength, which had as little effect as it did before. It shot again and again, all dissipating off of Bastiodon as if it were just hot air. Fear took hold again, keeping Fennekin frozen in place. Bastiodon was about to crash straight into it before Wooper courageously stood between them, surrounded in a red aura. Wooper halted Bastiodon’s advance and followed up with an explosive red shock wave, sending Bastiodon clear above the treetops.

Fennekin was completely astounded, how could Wooper have thrown back an attack like that? Wooper turned around and asked where they needed to go. Fennekin regained its focus saying that it wasn’t quite sure. Wooper took initiative and told Fennekin to follow it. They went through the forest into a large strip of clearing where the grass was growing tall. Curious about Wooper’s power and initiative, Fennekin asked what the plan was. Wooper looked back saying that it didn’t know, it was just going in a direction hoping to find something important. They walked out into the grass onto a rocky field, searching around for anybody that Fennekin knew. It even tried to find Marie’s scent, without any luck. That is when Wooper suggested that they head to the ocean, it had some friends that could help over there. Fennekin agreed, seeing that there was nothing much else they could do.

Before heading off, a voice said, “Use take down.” Bastiodon came charging in again from in front of them. Wooper once more enveloped itself in a red aura, but then the voice said, “Stop!” Bastiodon slid to a halt, standing menacingly over Wooper as its red aura faded away. “So that’s how you did that to Bastiodon, you know counter. A rare find for sure.” Steele had found them and he wasn’t playing around anymore. “Use iron defense.” Bastiodon’s body grew shinier, making it look like it was actually made of metal. “I’m not gonna miss this opportunity. Take down!” Bastiodon charged in, but Wooper fought back by spewing a black smoke from its, obscuring it and Fennekin from view.

“No! It knew haze. That’s annoying.” said Steele, watching Bastiodon charge into the haze only to find the two Pokémon weren't there. While looking around, it noticed that its metal sheen had disappeared. Steele was irritated, but noticed that the grass behind him had rustled. “Bastiodon, demolish everything in your path!”

Wooper and Fennekin popped out of the grass followed by a raging Bastiodon that flattened everything in its way. Wooper jumped and shot mud into its eyes, causing it to veer off course into rock, destroying it. Fennekin praised its good thinking and Wooper jumped with excitement. But just then, a metal claw flew in and plucked Wooper from where it was, reeling back into Steele’s hand and capturing it in a glass sphere.

“Well, this has to be the greatest purchase of my life.” said Steele, inspecting his catch. Fennekin watched in horror as another one of its friends was taken away from it, struggling to break out of another prison.

It remembered the night they came. Everyone was sleeping the night away under the blanket of moonlight. A couple of figures had come inside the enclosure. Fennekin couldn’t sleep that day and saw the figures come in. They were having a silent argument as they walked. After having come to a consensus, one of them carefully picked up a Froakie and put it into a box. Fennekin had assumed that it was just one of the professors doing some check-ups and tried to get back to sleep, but it continued to hear footsteps go around the enclosure. Curious, it looked around with one eye to see that many of the Pokémon that were sleeping had disappeared. It got up to look around some more, seeing more Pokémon missing. It was starting to get worried, it walked around and found the two people scooping up more Pokémon.

It made its presence known, “Fennekin?” The two seemed to have gotten startled, but quickly regained their composure.

One of the people said, “Hey little guy, we just so happen to be the cleaners for the enclosure and we need all the Pokémon out to do our work. So why don’t come with us.” He reached out his hand to grab it. A cold chill ran down Fennekin’s spine and instinctively it backed away. “Hey come on what the matter? It’ll only be for a little while.” He reached out again, this time Fennekin retaliated with an ember. It flew by his face, revealing it to be someone Fennekin didn’t know. The ember hit the roof and set off the sprinklers, and therefore the fire alarm. Gas shoots down along with the water and the emergency light flash on, the alarm blaring in as it all happened. The diversion was enough to let Fennekin get away.

“Damn it! It set the alarm off, what do we do?”

“The hell do you think, let's go!”

The remaining Pokémon inside the enclosure began to panic, running every which way. Fennekin watched it all go down from under a tree.

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“What about the cages?”

“Pick your favorite, leave the rest!”

Looking back, the two people that Fennekin saw were Boug and Steele. They picked up a cage each and ran into the main hall where they met up with Jragon.

“What’s going on?”

“Boug screwed up that’s what!”

“Hey hey, don’t pin this on me!”

“Whatever, lets go!”

Fennekin heard the door open and the crew all left in a rush. It came out from under the tree and looked around. Pokémon were still scrambling in fear, gas was shooting down from the ceiling, and water was raining everywhere. Amidst the chaos, Fennekin noticed the leftover cages. They all held Pokémon that were begging to be let out. Knowing that there were still some Pokémon in need, Fennekin made its way out the lab to confront the crew. When it made it outside, Boug and steel were holding sacks of pokéballs along with the one cage they chose. The truck they were presumably getting away in drove off without them.

“Dammit, Jragon that bastard got scared!”

Fire truck sirens were starting to close in fast.

“Forget it! Run into the alleyways and plant the pokéball somewhere no one can find them, I’ll think of something later.”

“O-Okay, if you’re sure.”

Fennekin knew it had to try and stop them. It ran up and bit Boug's pant leg, pulling with all its might.

“Woah! No, come on, let go!”

“Stop playing around!”

After that statement, a kick hit Fennekin away. Steele gave a slight chuckle.

“What was that for!”

“Either you do that or you get caught rook! Toughen up a little, huh!”

As Fennekin’s consciousness faded, it saw one person run away immediately, and the other hesitated a bit. He looked to it feeling sorry, but eventually ran off with his load of Pokémon as well. Then everything faded to black.

“I ain't letting you get away either, use take down!” shouted Steele.

Fennekin was brought back into reality and remembered the situation it was in. It turned to try and run, but it got one of its legs trapped in a cracked rock. It braced as it waited for Bastiodon to strike.

“Use icy wind!” Snom then dropped down from the sky and blasted Bastiodon with all the icy wind it could. Slower and slower it became as it got closer, until eventually the entire Pokémon was frozen solid. Snom was exhausted and slumped down.

“Fennekin! By Arceus, I was worried sick!” Fennekin faced where the voice came from. Marie came running up to it and freed it from the rock. She hugged Fennekin and said, “I don't know what I would’ve done if anything happened to you.” Fennekin felt relieved to see Marie.

The heartfelt moment was cut short when Steele said, “That’s quite some strong pokemon there. They would make a fine addition to our cause.”

Marie let down Fennekin and said angrily, “I’ll never give up anything to you!”

“That’s funny, you make it seem like you have a choice.”

“If you haven’t noticed, we have you two to none!”

“Why don’t you give it a minute.”

A huge crack made Marie and Fennekin jump. The ice surrounding Bastiodon was splitting apart. Bastiodon’s eye became exposed. Its iris slid towards Fennekin, showing its ferocity. Fear took hold of Fennekin once again, making it back up again in the face of danger.

“Fennekin!” said Marie sternly, “It’s all going to be okay!” Fennekin looked to Marie. “We’re both here for you, we’re your friends. Friends help each other become stronger, stronger than anyone by themselves could ever be! You’re here to save your friends, right? They’re all helpless to do anything to these monsters, but you, you’re only one left to carry out their wishes.” Fennekin was full of realization, it finally knew that it didn’t have to do this alone. “You’re the one your friends are counting on to make them strong. And look at me, where would I be if I didn’t have my friends? Probably in a police station if it weren't for Snom, or a jumbled up emotional mess if C wasn’t there to help me. Now it’s my, no, OUR turn to make sure we do our part!” Full of Determination, Fennekin faced down Bastiodon. Steele watched with an evil smile. “Let them know, let them know that you will not stand for this! No more Pokémon forcibly taken from their homes! You hear them don’t you, all of them begging to be free! Say to yourself that you can achieve it, we can do anything!” Bastiodon’s ice prison was almost completely broken. Fennekin gritted its teeth, feeling a deep power growing from within. “Let your voice inspire all those around you! Let your voice be heard!”

Fennekin reeled back, then unleashed an almighty howl across the field. The grass flattened in a cone shape, the ice blasted off Bastiodon, startling it, and caused Steele to cover his eyes from the kicked up dust. He looked back at Fennekin and saw it momentarily become enveloped in a red energy. “What’s going on here?”

“No way Fennekin, you learned howl!” cheered Marie. Fennekin stood before Bastiodon, raring to bring it down.

“Ha! You think learning a small stat boosting move like that could bring me down, you’re so in over your head.” talked down Steele.

“There’s no way we’re losing now! Fennekin use scratch!” It’s claws flashed white and it charged forward.

“Take it.” said Steele confidently. Bastiodon stood in place and braced. Fennekin slashed across its face, causing it to stumble back. “What? That’s impossible!”

“Woah, so strong now.” said Marie in awe. She then remembered something and said, “We have to try our hardest too Snom, be ready for when I need you.” Snom nodded in understanding and awaited further instruction.

“That’s enough! Use take down!” ordered Steele. Bastiodon charged ahead.

“Use howl!” shouted Marie. Fennekin howled, causing another burst of red energy to flare up around it. The air flew faster this time, making Steele almost drop the captured Wooper. “Now dodge it and counter with a scratch!” Fennekin jumped to the side as Bastiodon charged past. It then turned and scratched Bastiodon on the side.

“You’re moving too slow Bastiodon! Stop messing around!” yelled Steele. The dazed Bastiodon looked around trying to find Fennekin.

“Howl once more!” commanded Marie. A howl followed by a blast of air pressure exposed Fennekin’s position, but it staggered Bastiodon once again.

“Take down! Don’t let it out of your sights!” Bastiodon charged ahead once more.

“I’ve got a plan! Lure it to the trees!” Fennekin nodded, turning around and luring Bastiodon in. Bastiodon closed in, but lost Fennekin amongst the thick forestry. Nonetheless, it thrashed about, knocking down trees and trampling bushes.

“What are you doing! Get your act together!” demanded Steele. Bastiodon disobeyed him as the anger finally got the better of it.

“Now! Jump on and give it everything you got!” shouted Marie. Fennekin popped out of a tree and landed on the back of Bastiodon. It stopped rampaging as it had noticed Fennekin on its back. All of Fennekin’s claws shined white and, with its face full of ferocity, slashed and slashed against Bastiodon’s neck. Bastiodon reeled in pain, bucking and thrashing around trying to shake Fennekin off. But it held on, continuing to attack so much that sparks began to fly due to the sheer heat.

“Damn it you idiot, crush it against the tree!” Bastiodon then started barreling sideways towards a tree.

“Fennekin! Use ember and get out of there!” Realizing what was happening, it charged up its attack and fired it into the wounded area of Bastiodon’s neck. Fennekin jumped back from the resulting explosion while Bastiodon crashed into a tree, which fell on top of it shortly after.

“I’ve had enough of this! Use iron-!”

“Shut him up Snom!” quickly shouted Marie. Snom blasted forth, smashing into Steele’s stomach, preventing him from issuing his next command.

“AGH...you damn bug...I’ll squash you!” he said with a wicked smile reappearing on his face. He raised his foot to stomp on Snom, but it was too fast, blasting away in another trail of icy wind. The wind also froze the ground Steele was standing on, making him fall over. Wooper called for help from inside its glass prison. “Quiet you!”

“Fennekin! This is it, we’re ending it with one last shot!” Fennekin nodded in agreement and Snom landed next to it also ready to attack. “Use icy wind and ember!” Fennekin and Snom launched their attacks with all of their might. The two streams of ice crystals and cinders combined together, creating a vortex so large that it tore straight through the forestry, sending debris everywhere. Bastiodon was stuck under a fallen tree and could only watch in fear as the monumental attack came its way.

Steele lifted himself up from the ground and shouted, “Bastiodon use-!” The attack hit, causing a gigantic whirlwind of air that grew in strength until it exploded. Ice crystals and cinders blew out with it, creating a scenery that seemed surrounded by stars. Branches and plants flew by Marie and the Pokémon while they all covered themselves from the attack. After a while, the dust began to settle.

“Did we do it?” asked Marie. They all watched in earnest as the dust cleared, revealing Bastiodon to be in the middle of a crater unconscious. “Yeah! We did it!” she cheered, jumping in the air. Fennekin and Snom slumped on the ground and breathed a sigh of relief. Marie went over to her Pokémon and hugged them both.

Their celebration was cut short though, as Bastiodon awoke picking itself up and staring down the team. “It would seem that your all out attack was for nothing, I guess you can say you were, in over your head.” Steele walked up next to Bastiodon and held out his hand to it as if presenting it to them.

Marie was shocked, “No way! How could it-”

“Endure.” interrupted Steele, “Quite the useful move for Pokémon hunting, especially when the occasional one tries to play hero.” Steele’s voice became wicked, slimy even. “Now look at your Pokémon, such a shame. They’re in no condition to fight anymore are they? That’s too bad. Bastiodon, take them down!” Bastiodon charged ahead as another yellow mach cone formed around it.

Fennekin and Snom lifted their heads to try and counter-attack, but couldn’t muster anything. Marie understood the situation. She gripped her Pokémon tightly and waited. This worried her Pokémon, who urged her to try and move out of the way. Just when Bastiodon was about ten feet away, Marie tossed the Pokémon to her side, clear from danger. The Pokémon were surprised that she had done this. She then quickly stood up and shielded her face right as Bastiodon collided with her. She was sent flying back and hit a tree, sliding down.

Steele began to laugh maniacally, “Really! You honestly think one act of valor will save your Pokémon?”

Marie looked up, her leg was hurting badly. “I do.” she simply said.

Steele began to laugh harder, until he noticed something. Bastiodon fell to its knees, then fell on its side. Its eyes were swirled, indicating that Bastiodon was defeated. Marie gave a slight chuckle at the sight of it. “No! Bastiodon we are not done!” shouted Steele angrily. He walked over to it and tried to push it upright, having no luck. He strained as he pushed but Bastiodon was just too heavy. “How could this happen?”

“Take down has recoil, idiot.” answered Marie, slumped against the tree. “I guess I can say, you were in over your head.”

Steele was furious, “Get up! Bastiodon you are not going to lie here and be useless!” He started to kick it trying to get it provoked. They only hit like he was kicking a boulder though. This however, still left Bastiodon emotionally impacted. It ignored Steele’s orders and curled up facing away from him. This angered Steele even more, “You’re ignoring me! You useless, piece of insignificant dirt!” Bastiodon did not budge at any of his insults. “Fine then, I’ll do this myself!”

Marie became worried, “What do you mean?”

Steele jerked his head around to Marie, his eyes expressing the scariest of desire. His smile reached new levels of wickedness, possibly more than deranged. His body seemed to jerk violently about as he approached Marie. She was in full panic mode now. She tried to get up, but her leg hurt too much. Fennekin and Snom were still too exhausted to intervene, only able to call out for him to stop. Steele raised Wooper’s cage over his head, planning to beat Marie with it. Wooper also shouted at him to stop, but the deviousness in his mind blocked out any voice of reason. Marie shielded her head and screamed.

“STOP!” shouted a voice from the woods. A blurry figure hit Wooper’s cage out of Steele’s hands, causing it to fly into a tree and shattering it on impact. Wooper jumped out triumphantly and landed perfectly on its feet. Steele was confused trying to figure out what was going on. “Scorbunny, do the thing!” Scorbunny then appeared in between Steele and Marie. It jumped up with its leg igniting into flames and kicked Steele hard straight on the jaw. The impact was so massive that it blew Marie’s hair back a bit and sent Steele flying back a few feet. He landed on the ground completely knocked out. “Marie! Are you okay!”

Marie looked to where the voice was coming from and saw Ceailean running up to them. “C! Yeah, we’re all fine!”

Ceailean crouched beside her, “What happened, where are the Pokémon?”

“Fennekin and Snom are over there, we took down a big, mean Bastiodon.” She pointed to it curled up and quite a ways away from them.

Ceailean stood up on his guard, “Is he still a threat?”

“No, trainer relations broke down. It won’t do anything for a while.”

Ceailean loosened up, “Okay good. Scorbunny, go check on Fennekin and Snom.” Scorbunny saluted and ran over to them. “Can you stand?”

“Y-Yeah.” she said for some reason. She tried to get up once more, but winced as more pain shot through her leg. “N-No no, that’s a no.”

“You’re a terrible liar, you know that.”

“Yeah but, I didn’t want you to worry about me.”

“Well you have me pretty worried. Come on, we got important things to do.” Ceailean offered Marie a hand.

Marie kindly accepted it and Ceailean helped her up. She held herself up using Ceailean as support. “Thanks C. But what about the others we saw?

“An old acquaintance showed up to deal with them. I’m sure he can handle it.”

“Where are we going now?”

“Down to the docks. Scorbunny still has a few close friends he wants to save.” Scorbunny noticed what they were talking about and shouted in anticipation. It was currently trying to bring Fennekin back up on its feet.

“That begs the question, where did you find that Scorbunny?”

“Well-”

“And did you shout ‘do the thing’ to Scorbunny?”

“Hey, I didn’t know what move it was.”

Marie laughed a bit, “That move was blaze kick.”

“Come on, gimme a break. Everything that happened was pretty complicated.”

“Why don’t you tell me?”

Ceailean smiled and gladly started to recap what happened while he was away. They walked towards Fennekin and Snom to check up on them. All the while, Marie seemed to not even be listening. She seemed to only be comforted by the sound of Ceailean’s voice.