Chapter 21: A Reason to Remain

The first few days for the group were quite turbulent. The first problem arose quickly after Crisis joined them.

“What do you mean you don’t have a sleeping bag?” asked Ceailean.

“I mean I don’t have a sleeping bag, C!” explained Marie. “You know I was in a hurry so I packed light.”

“The solution is quite simple really.” said Crisis. “I have packed a spare sleeping bag should anything unexpected happen. You will most likely have to sleep with Ceailean though if you plan to sleep in a tent.”

Marie became slightly flustered, “Huh? Why? Do you sleep out in the open?”

“Yes, actually.”

“Aww, sleeping with a girl. That’s not a good idea, I could get cooties.” remarked Ceailean.

“Shut, up, C!”

Over time, a sense of normalcy befell the group. Crisis proved quite resourceful, easily finding open patches of land for the group to leisure in along with food, rivers, and cooking. The group eventually got to know Crisis a little more as well. He was nineteen and had been a part of Team Harmonious ever since he was six. Through his time at Team Harmonious he had learned survival skills, his battle prowess, and his linguistic knowledge (Although it secretly seemed pretentious to Ceailean and Marie).

Nothing of note had happened for three days, that is until they all had an encounter with a very peculiar Pokémon.

The group had just woken up and were preparing for breakfast. Scorbunny, Fennekin, and Snom all found difficulty trying to socialize with Crisis’s Pokémon, so they mostly took to themselves when they played.

Ceailean was relaxing under a tree. He had noticed that Marie still hadn't left the tent. “Hey, Marie? You gonna come out anytime soon? We’re gonna eat all the food without you.”

“Just hold a minute.” replied Marie.

“What’s taking so long. I haven’t seen your stupid face all day.”

Marie shoved the tent flap out of the way. Her hair was in a disorderly array. “Without a comb, it gets pretty hard to straighten this thing. Just how do you two get ready so fast?”

“Me? I just comb it to the side with my hand.”

“And I do not care for physical appearances much. It would slow down missions.” answered Crisis.

“Ugh, must be easy being a guy.”

“I assure you it is not.” said Ceailean.

Some time had passed. Crisis was finally done preparing the meal. “The breakfast is ready for you all.” Ceailean and Marie thanked him for the food and began to dig in. The pokemon came over for some as well, but none was presented.

“Hey, don’t we have any pokemon food left?” asked Marie, seeing that their pokemon were looking longingly.

“No, I think we ran out already. I only bought one bag.” said Ceailean.

“There is no need for such synthetics in a forest as lush as this. Here, I just so happened to have a few extra.” Crisis tossed three Sitrus berries near Scorbunny, Fennekin, and Snom. They were all elated and dug in.

“You were able to find berries?” asked Ceailean.

“With an eyesight like Decidueye’s, the task is made quite easy.”

“Well thanks, we’ll make sure to buy more Pokémon food next time.” said Marie.

“I prefer it this way. It just doesn’t seem right to me to have a Pokémon eat from a bowl. I imagine it as if it were humans doing the same thing. Quite demoralizing.”

“Alright then, whatever is good with you.”

The group had nearly finished their meal when Decidueye got Crisis’s attention. His face immediately went serious as he asked, “Is it anything serious?” After a moment, Decidueye shook its head no. Crisis lightened up and sighed.

“What was that about?” asked Ceailean, “I doubt there’s a Pokémon strong enough to justify securing a perimeter.”

“What do you mean C?” asked Marie.

“You don’t see it? He has his Pokémon watching over a corner of our entire camp.” Marie looked around and sure enough, each of his Pokémon were placed in a way where they could watch over at least a third of the camp.

“Okay, but why though?”

“I second that Crisis. Why do you feel that you need to keep your guard up?”

Crisis chuckled a bit. “Oh, I do apologize about that. I suppose it does look quite unusual to non-Team Harmonious members. I shall recall them at once. Gurdurr, Farfetched, Decidueye, cease your guard! We will not need it as much in our coming travels.” The Pokémon nodded and walked back towards the center of the camp.

“This a habit of yours?” asked Ceailean.

“Us admins are always pressured to look over recruits to the best of our ability. All of us have had our fair share of experiences to warrant such a habit as this. I assure you however, there is no need to worry.”

“But despite being a team with the purpose of unity for all, you still have enemies?”

“Quite perceptive of you for someone so young. Yes we do, but it is those who’d you expect to challenge such a purpose. Criminals and thieves of the like.”

Marie crossed her arms. “Y-You guys are kinda scaring me with this kind of talk.”

“Oh, sorry about that Marie. I was just curious.”

“We’ll drop the subject for now. All Decidueye must’ve detected was a wild Pokémon, nothing more-” As soon as Crisis said this, an explosion set off in the distance, making Marie jump in her seat and start trembling. Crisis inhaled and swiveled around towards the dust cloud. “Okay…”

“We should probably check that out.” said Ceailean.

“There is no shame in staying behind, I am up to the task all on my own.”

“I’m curious. And should it be anything serious, I’d like to see if I’m up to par in battling.”

Crisis thought for a moment. “Alright, if you insist.”

Marie tugged on Ceailean’s sleeve. “W-Wait! You’re not just gonna leave me here are you?”

“Well do ya wanna come with?”

“Well yeah, I guess.”

Crisis had already started walking towards the dust, his Pokémon further ahead of him. “If she’s coming too, make it quick. It could be a distraction to collect our valuables.”

Ceailean looked Marie in the eyes. “You ready?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Down in the forest, Crisis took lead while Ceailean walked close behind, Marie clinging behind Ceailean. Up ahead, they heard something aggressively rustling the trees. Scorbunny, Fennekin, and Snom eyed the treetops closely. Then, Marie snapped a twig and everything went quiet.

“It would seem it has noticed us.” pointed out Crisis.

“For sure.” agreed Ceailean.

“It probably has its eyes on us now, proceed with caution.”

Marie gripped Ceailean’s jacket a little harder as they walked forward. Eventually they came to a clearing. It was small, but strange markings surrounded the trunks of the trees that surrounded it.

Crisis walked up to one and ran his hand along it. “Quite curious. I haven’t seen anything of the sort. What do you make of it Ceailean?”

Ceailean, after observing for no more than ten seconds, said, “I dunno. To me though, they look like training grounds.”

“Training grounds? How so?”

“I used to do this kind of thing with a Deerling I lived with back home. If it was a big Pokémon the trees would have been destroyed. Seeing as they aren’t, we can assume that the one causing this was a relatively small Pokémon, possibly not fully evolved. If this is true, then it would’ve had to come back here several times if it were to cause these many scars on this many trees.”

“My my, quite observant. You would make for a great scout for Team Harmonious.”

“Not a chance. Besides, we were lucky to come across something where I’ve been doing something very similar. I can’t guarantee that I’ll be as effective.”

Marie finally had the courage to let go of Ceailean to wander on her own. The group made rounds around the site for a few minutes.

“Let us head back, it would seem whatever it was that was here moved on.” said Crisis.

“I guess. Pretty cool though- Everybody watch out!” shouted Ceailean. Blades of air shot at them. One landed near Ceailean and Marie’s Pokémon, sending them scrambling. Another went straight towards Ceailean, making him dodge out of the way. The last one went straight for Marie. Ceailean tried to recover fast, but it would’ve been too late. Decidueye was quick to react however, covering her with its wing to resist the attack. It waved its wing to the side and shouted in the direction of the attack. A silhouette stood above a mossy rock just barely out of the sunlight. It shot more blades of air into the treetops, cutting down the branches that obscured the sunlight.

There, bathed within the spotlight of sun, stood a Noibat, stretching its wings as wide as they could go.

Ceailean stood in awe. “Is it trying to intimidate us?”

“It is challenging us.” said Crisis.

“What kind of Pokémon is it?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“It's a Noibat, C.” answered Marie. “Although it's unusual to see one way out here, especially in the daytime.”

“Suppose you could call it special.” remarked Crisis. “However, I will not tolerate such an attack on my associates. You wanted a challenge?” Gurdurr, Farfetched, and Decidueye all jumped into a triangle formation in front of the Noibat, all looking down upon it. “What say you now?” Noibat sheepishly tapped its two claws together and backed away. “You have decided well. Be sure to keep to yourself for the time being as we are not far from here. Let us return to camp, we have seen what has caused the disturbance.” Crisis began walking back towards the camp.

“Come on, C. It looks like it was just a Pokémon.” said Marie as she walked back also.

Ceailean eyed the Noibat with great interest. It stood awkwardly on the spectacle stone it made for itself watching Crisis walk away. “Hold on a minute. I want to see if I can see it training.”

“What? Crisis just killed its whole vibe. You probably won't see it do anything for a while.”

“It’s hard to explain, but I just have a feeling that it still has a lot of energy right now. I’m sure something will happen. Just give me a few minutes, I'll be back with you soon.”

“Okay then, do whatever.” Marie walked back with her Pokémon in tow. Ceailean backed up into the forest to obscure himself.

Noibat continued to watch Crisis walk until he disappeared behind the trees. It looked around and found that it was all alone. Clearly upset with Crisis’s intervention, it kicked the moss off of its stone and flew into the air, chattering in a mocking way vaguely reminiscent of what Crisis said to it. A flurry of kicks into the air followed, then one into a tree. It’s actions were fueled by adrenaline as each kick was more forceful than the last. One final kick sent it into a backflip. A monologue started, as if it were a boasting hero. Crossed wings, standing tall, it was as if a full on larping session had started, and the only characters were Noibat.

Only a few scenarios played out before Ceailean stepped in with Scorbunny at his side. “Hey, you seem to be pretty cool. Where did you learn stuff like that?” Noibat froze. It swiveled around to reveal that it was bright red in the face.

“Oh, you didn’t expect me to be watching that huh?” Noibat launched an attack of air blades. Ceailean ducked as it flew overhead and whacked the side of a tree. Looking back, he found it flying high into the sky trying to get away.

“Wait! Wait! You’re the one looking for a challenge right? I’d like to challenge you!” Noitbat stopped and hovered in place.

“Just you and Scorbunny here. Fair and square.” Noibat turned around and observed Scorbunny.

Seeing its nonchalant nature, Noibat flew back down towards the stone. Perched atop of it once more, it stretched its wings out and shouted, “Noi-bat!”

“Don’t let its intimidation display get to you Scorbunny, you ready?” Scorbunny pumped its fist and ran up to challenge Noibat. “Hmph, Go!”

()Back at the camp, Crisis had just arrived. He leaned against the table until Marie arrived herself. “Where’s Ceailean?” he asked.

“He wanted to see what else that Noibat was up to I guess. Seemed super weird to me. I wonder what he’s up to.” Shortly after Marie finished her sentence, a shock wave rustled the leaves in the trees.

“It would seem that you no longer have to wonder, it looks like he has accepted its challenge.”

“But why-? Oh Arceus, how come I didn’t think of that?’

“Do tell.”

“He’s gonna try and catch it! He must’ve devised a plan to get us away so he could catch himself without any competition!”

“I’m sure that you’re overstepping-”

“C! I’ll show you! I’m gonna catch that Noibat! Fennekin, Snom, let’s get em!” Marie charged back into the forest. Fennekin sighed and ran back in with her.

“Quite interesting. I want to see how this plays out. Decidueye, Gurrdurr, Farfetched, return!”

----------------------------------------

() Noibat flew back to gain distance away from Scorbunny.

“Quick attack!” shouted Ceailean. Scorbunny pursued it closely.

Noibat retaliated by diving straight down to the ground and pulling up at just the last moment, soaring straight towards Scorbunny.

“Scorbunny, duck!” Scorbunny slid on its knees, having only its ears graze Noibat. It wasn’t done though, quickly turning around and landing another attack of air blades. Dust exploded out from the impact.

“We’ll try this, Scorbunny jump up as high as you can!” Scorbunny jumped up ten feet above the tree line, a dust trail highlighting where it was going. Noibat flew up to pursue, Ceailean observing closely.

“Now blaze kick on the way down!” Scorbunny’s legs ignited into flames as fell at an astonishing speed, posing for an ax kick. Noibat avoided the attack with ease, sending Scorbunny straight down to the ground, dust blowing up from the impact. Ceailean watched Noibat fly back down and got an idea.

“Quite slow for something that flies.” he thought to himself. “Scorbunny! Jump up as high as you can again, this using the treetops as a base!” Scorbunny did as it was told and found itself an extra ten feet up more than last time. Noibat, almost stubbornly, pursued once more.

“Try this, obscure yourself with blaze kick!” Scorbunny kicked the air with its fiery legs. The flames flew out far enough that Scorbunny couldn’t be seen. This confused the Noibat and it stopped, hovering in the air.

“It hesitated! Now, quick attack!” Scorbunny shot itself straight through the flames and landed a kick straight to Noibat’s face, sending it tumbling through the air. Scorbunny landed on the ground just as Noibat recovered barely off the ground.

Ceailean gave a cocky smile. “You’re quite slow aren’t you?” Noibat took offense to this and charged straight at Scorbunny. “Wait for my mark.” Scorbunny readied itself. “Now, dodge and use blaze kick!” Scorbunny sidestepped the incoming Noibat and gave it a fiery kick to the back of the head as it passed by. Noibat flew into its spectacle stone wing first.

“Come on, if you were going to be out here challenging others you’d have to at least keep up. So what do you say, should we go full beans?” taunted Ceailean. Noibat pulled itself up from the dirt slightly surprised that Ceailean wasn’t going all out. This however brought a smile to its face a moment after. It stretched its wings and felt a twinge of pain from the left wing since it impacted the rock. Stubbornly, it ignored the pain and charged up an attack. Noibat shouted at the top of its lungs which was accompanied by an explosive purple aura, the light obscuring Ceailean’s nearby surroundings.

Ceailean had to shield his eyes from the rushing wind. “Just what is that!?”

“That’s dragon rush! You have to get out of there, now!” shouted a voice from the side. Ceailean gave a quick glance to see that Marie had arrived.

“Scorbunny, move!” It had no time to react however. Noibat rocketed forward blasting and debris away, striking a massive blow that carried Scorbunny all the way to a tree. The impact was so massive that it shook the whole forest. Noibat jumped back and spread its wings again, daring Scorbunny to keep going. Scorbunny slid down the tree. As soon as it reached the ground, the tree split in half. Scorbunny lurched around coughing and wheezing.

“Ha! Looks like Scorbunny isn’t able to battle anymore. Now it's my turn to try and catch Noibat!” announced Marie.

“Catch it? I hadn’t even really thought of that.”

Marie tripped up on her words. “Wha-huh? Then why did you battle it in the first place?”

“It was really itching for a challenge, so I decided to give it one. But thanks for the idea Marie, maybe I’ll catch it instead.”

“Hey no! Now that I’m here I’m gonna get involved in this too! Fennekin, Snom-!”

Noibat read the situation quickly and sent blades of air towards Marie. She winced in fear only to find that Decidueye had blocked the attack again.

“Thanks Decidueye, we really gotta stop meeting like this.” It gave her a reluctant nod. “Hey! Why did you attack me?!” Noibat yelled at Marie as if to tell her off.

“It would seem that this particular entity has the spirit of an honorable fighter.” said Crisis, just walking in. “One who seeks others to challenge its capabilities. Although, having multiple combatants would be quite problematic.”

“Isn’t that the point, we have the advantage if we work with as many Pokémon as possible right?”

“Even if that were so and as a Team Harmonious member, I must say this is an exception. For that Noibat there, it simply wouldn’t be fun anymore.”

“Fun? Are you telling me you used to deal with people and Pokémon like this?”

Crisis looked away slightly suspiciously. “I admit no such thing.”

“It was you, wasn’t it!”

Noibat turned away from Marie and stared down Scorbunny. “It’s not attacking.” Ceailean said to himself. Then he realized why. It was waiting for Scorbunny.

“Scorbunny! You okay? Can you still go on?” Scorbunny struggled to its feet, but still gave a determined nod. “Alright then, same strat as before. Jump up as high as you can!” Scorbunny yelled and burst into a blazing aura, blowing air that grabbed the attention of Marie and Crisis. Noibat charged up its dragon rush as if not to be outdone.

Scorbunny planted its feet firmly on the ground and jumped higher than it ever has before. Noibat followed, cloaked in dragon rush. Ceailean was astonished by the height that Scorbunny achieved, clearly double the height it had jumped from the trees.

“Woah! How did it go so high?”

“I know! Scorbunny must’ve learned the move bounce!” answered Marie.

“But how?”

“This battle is almost like you battled me back in Lumiose. You keep jumping everywhere and attacking! So that must be why!”

Scorbunny was high in the air, but Noibat was closing the distance fast. “Scorbunny, you learned bounce? That’s perfect! Now use it against Noibat!” Scorbunny dived down for a drop kick. The two Pokémon come into contact in midair. The air whooshed around fiercely as both attackers clashed. Noibat was gaining the edge for a short moment, but something happened. A spasm went through its chest and electricity was pulsing around its body, but still it charged unrelentingly.

“C! Noibat must’ve gotten paralyzed! Now is your chance!” shouted Marie.

“Okay then, let's get ready to do this! Combine your initial bounce attack with blaze kick!”

“Huh? Is that even possible?”

Scorbunny answered this by having its legs ignite into flames. The flames swirled around Scorbunny, growing with intensity until Noibat was fully overpowered. A mighty flaming kick sent Noibat careening down to earth, bouncing off its face then off a tree.

“Now! Finish it with high-jump kick!” Scorbunny slid right in front of Noibat and spun around to deliver a devastating knee to the gut, shooting it right back into the tree.

Marie felt concerned for the Noibat. “That was a little overkill, wasn’t it?”

“It was it’s choice. Now just to-,” Ceailean felt around his pockets, “Oh yeah. I don’t actually have any pokéballs.”

“Oh you dunce.” Marie threw him a pokéball, “Consider yourself lucky that I’m giving you this. It’s only because it’s probably better to make sure we have the same amount of Pokémon.”

“Thanks Marie. This is it! Noibat, you’re mine!” Ceailean threw the pokéball at Noibat. It watched in horror as it approached. The pokéball hit Noibat was contained. The ball shook once, then twice, but Noibat broke free and laid on the ground panting heavily.

“Darn, it didn’t work. Marie, could you spare another?”

“Might I suggest this pokéball?” Crisis handed over a black pokéball with yellow stripes.

“Are you sure you want to give an ultra ball?” asked Marie. Those tend to be quite expensive.”

“Team Harmonious is well funded. I happen to have these kinds of balls in bulk. So Ceailean, would you please do the honor.”

“Yes sir!” Ceailean took the ultra ball from Crisis. Noibat saw was happening and it knew it would get caught if it stayed still any longer. It could not let that happen. It stood up and let out an unrelenting noise throughout the air. The group was caught off guard as they all scrambled to cover their ears.

“What is that?!” asked Ceailean.

“That’s screech!” answered Marie.

Shortly after, Noibat charged ahead on the unsuspecting Scorbunny and tackled it. Scorbunny flew back a foot and was knocked out, it’s blazing aura dissipating. Noibat didn’t have the energy to stop itself so it tumbled along the ground.

Ceailean recovered first from the screech. “Ah! Scorbunny, you got hurt. Quick, return!” Scorbunny was returned to its pokéball. Ceailean’s eye was now on Noibat, who was panting heavily on the ground. “I swear your effort won’t be in vain. Now Noibat! Come with me!” Ceailean tossed the ultra ball. Noibat didn’t have the energy to react fast enough. It could only brace as the pokéball flew its direction.

Suddenly, the rapid rustling of bushes and branches quickly made its way over to the group. Then, almost in slow motion, a boy jumped out and shouted, “Noibat, no!” The ultra ball pelted him straight on the head, causing him to fall straight on the ground.

The group was surprised. They stood there for a moment before Ceailean walked up and said, “Hey man, I was about to catch that Noibat. You need to watch where you’re going.”

The boy immediately recovered and said, “Noibat? No way!”

Ceailean was getting slightly irritated. “Huh? Why not?”

The boy ignored him and turned around to Noibat. “Come on you have to get up.” He picked up Noibat, “There are too many trainers and you’re already beaten. If you don’t run away, you’ll definitely get caught. Get ready, I’ll throw you.” Noibat nodded in agreement.

Marie stepped up. “Hey wait a minute you-!”

“Ready, go!” The boy threw Noibat up into the air, where it was able to catch wind and glide away. “You’re free for another day, my friend.” His attention was then turned to Ceailean and Marie, both of which were looking down upon him immensely.

“So what’s the deal huh?” asked Ceailean.

“Just who do you think you are?” asked Marie.

The boy was sweating nervously. “Um-uh-”

“Well go on, spill! What’s your deal?!” shouted Marie.

The boy put his hands together. “I-I can’t let you! Not that Noibat! Please! Especially after the way you guys ganged up on it!”

Crisis scoffed. “Neither I nor Marie were involved in this conflict, but whatever…”

“Please. My name is Terrence. I’ll explain everything if you’ll let me.”