Present day

When Angel awoke to the smell of berries, he assumed he was still dreaming. It nagged him, made his homesickness a needle in his heart. Worse, it clawed and gnawed at his still-empty stomach. Yet it lingered, enough that once he stirred and stretched he could still smell it, practically taste it. Curiosity got the better of him and he cautiously poked his head out of his hole.

A massive pile of berries was waiting for him, a beam of sunlight shining on it.

Angel abandoned all caution and rushed for it as fast as his exhausted body could carry him. A small gust wafted the sweet scent into his nostrils. These were real. Not Kakuna, not some hallucination. Real, genuine, actual berries. With a happy squeal he took one in his mouth and ate the thing in one bite. It was the sweetest, most delicious food he’d ever had. It was just a Pecha berry, but it might as well have been crafted by a chef. One by one he demolished the pile, eager to refill his gut.

Rapid hammering snapped through the trees above him.

“[AH! SORRY SORRY SORRY!]” he screamed as he burrowed back underground. For several long seconds he cowered there, expecting something to come after him.

Then wicked cackling filled the air. “[Ahahaha. You--you should have seen your face. You were like, ‘EEEEEE DON’T EAT ME!’ Bwahahahaha!]”

Angel squirmed his way back out and looked up towards the source. A purple Nidoran was flopped onto a tree branch, laughing its butt off. “[You’ve gotta be kidding me,]” he groaned, “[You’re the one from the river last night.]”

“[Hehehe. Really, ya just figured that out, pet?]” the Nidoran taunted, still grinning ear-to-ear, “[Gotta ask, how is something so comically fat afraid of everything in this forest?]”

He grumbled under his breath and started slinking back to the berries, but when he reached them he realized something and looked back up at it. “[Wait, where’d this food come from?]”

“[Hmm? Oh, a human put some poison on ‘em and left ‘em there.]”

Angel squeaked with horror.

“[Ahahaha, nah bro, I’m just messin’ around. I got it for ya.]” It hopped between branches, strutting vaguely towards him as it talked. As it got closer, he noticed that this Nidoran looked a little small for a male. Also, its horn looked like it had been rounded off or chipped. “[See, after watching you fall out of the sky like a dang Geodude, I wanted to see what happened if I scared ya,]” it rapidly kicked the tree trunk for demonstration, making that same hammering sound. Even as Angel narrowed his gaze, Nidoran sighed in disappointment, “[But seeing you snivelling and whining was more tragic than funny. Figured I owed ya something.]”

“[Jerk,]” he grumbled, then turned back to the food, “[But thanks. I was really hungry.]” As he resumed eating, he examined every fruit in case she hid a spicy Petaya berry in there or something.

After a few seconds, Nidoran asked, “[Soooo… what’s a pet doing out here anyways? Get separated from your owner?]”

Angel winced, trembling slightly. “[Something like that.]”

“[Get your fat butt abandoned?]”

He looked up with surprise. “[How--?]”

“[Oh, don’t be so dramatic,]” it groaned, laying down across a branch and swinging its legs, “[You ain’t the first pet left out here, won’t be the last. Them humans are real evil butts, huh?]”

“[Hey!]” he protested, digging his tail in and rearing up towards her, “[Not all humans are like that.]”

“[Sure, just most of them.]”

Angel hissed and flicked out his forked tongue. “[Don’t be stupid. Just because we got abandoned doesn’t mean that’s normal.]”

“[Oi!]” The Nidoran leaped to its feet and kicked the tree, dropping a nut onto his head. “[I’m no pet, and ya’d better remember that,]” it snarled.

After a few seconds glaring at each other, Angel huffed and returned to eating. “[You’re still wrong about humans.]”

The Nidoran let out a long sigh and hopped to the forest floor. “[Listen, pet, you’re better off without ‘em,]” it continued, “[All they’ll do is make ya fight, then when you’re not good enough they boot ya to the curb. Ya really think that’s not evil?]”

You don’t know what you’re talking about. He wasn’t in the mood to argue though. After all, this Nidoran had gotten him food; it would be rude of him to get snippy. However, now that his belly was getting full and he was able to stop panicking, he was able to think rationally about his situation. It was still just as bad as he thought it had been.

Once he’d cleared his metaphorical plate, he gave her a fragile smile and said, “[Well, thanks. You really saved me. Um… you know how to get out of here?]”

“[What, ya wanna go back?]” it asked, jaw on the floor, “[Ya hit your head on the way down or somethin’?]”

“[I hurt my wing,]” he said, fluttering his good one for emphasis, “[You know how to fix broken bones?]”

It trotted over to him and looked at the injury, inspecting it for a few seconds. Then it suddenly piped, “[I sure can’t, but there’s a Shiftry out here that might be able to help.]”

“[A… Shiftry?]” He knew what they were, but he only ever saw them on Grandma Akari’s TV shows. Last time he checked, they were kinda mean.

“[Mmhmm,]” Nidoran confirmed, “[He’s the forest’s protector. Real nice fella, has a little refuge he keeps for hurt and weak Pokemon. If anyone here can help ya, it’s him.]”

Huh. Well, it’s not a Pokemon Center, but beggars can’t be choosers. “[Could you bring me to him?]” Angel asked, trying to muster some excitement.

“[Weeeellllllll… I suppose I can,]” it replied playfully, hopping onto a nearby rock and looking back at him, “[Follow me, chubster, if you think you can.]”

Unsurprisingly, trying to keep up with Nidoran was a pain. Even if Angel’s wing was working it would have been tough, the darn thing was just so quick. It hopped over fallen logs, boulders, and babbling brooks with ease, leaving him to launch himself exhausting distances. Not to mention that if he fell behind it would throw rocks and nuts at him, chiding, “[Oh come on, you can do better than that.]”

As they reached a particularly awkward stream that left him carefully extending from one rock to another, he tried to make small talk, “[Ssso. What’s your name?]”

“[Names are for pets, pet,]” it replied, hopping onto an oak branch overlooking the water.

“[Don’t be silly,]” he countered, awkwardly curled up on a rock and looking around, “[They make things easy when you’ve got siblings. Okay, could you have chosen a harder route for me?]”

“[Not my fault you’re slow as a Snorlax,]” it countered, flopping onto the branch and kicking its legs out, “[But yeah, what’s wrong with calling me Nidoran?]”

“[Well nothing, but…]” he paused to launch himself at another rock, grunting at the hard landing, “[A name adds character. Makes you feel less like ‘Dunsparce Seventy-Three’, you know?]”

“[Ya need a human to give ya meaning?]” it sputtered, cackling and laying her head down with a lazy sigh, “[You pets are funny.]”

“[Actually, my mom picked mine out. Said I reminded her of my dad.]”

Nidoran’s eyes snapped open and it stared down at him. The silence that followed made Angel think that the conversation was dead; he made it across the stream without another word from it. Then, as he landed in the gravelly mud, it hopped down in front of him and said, “[Call me Rio.]”

Wow, that’s a nicer name than I would’ve expected you to come up with. “[Cool!]” he replied cheerfully, “[I’m Angel.]

“[Okay,]” it replied coolly, turning to lead again, “[Let’s keep moving, not much farther.]”

As he followed, though, he couldn’t help but ask, “[Soooo, what happened to your horn?]”

Rio immediately stopped and kicked him square in the nose.

Stars rippled across his vision. “[OW! What was that for?]” he whimpered.

“[I’m a girl, ya blind butt-munch!]”

“[Sorry, I thought purple Nidoran were guys,]” he soothed.

Another kick shoved him until his drill was in the water. “[Well I’M a girl,]” she snapped, glaring back at him blazing red eyes, “[Got it?]”

“[Owww…]” he groaned, squirming slowly back up the bank, “[Yeah, got it. Didn’t have to boot it into me.]”

She made a high-pitched “[Humph]” and trotted off ahead.

Thankfully, she didn’t just leave him behind, but any attempts at conversation stopped. Not that the forest was silent. As before, Angel was acutely aware of all the sounds around him, all the different rustling in the branches and calls of other Pokemon in the distance. Rio didn’t seem to mind them, hopping from object to object bold as could be. She probably knew what every last one of those sounds meant and how far away it all was.

Guess he could learn too. Thing was, Angel didn’t want to be a wild Pokemon. I guess I could present myself to the first trainer I come across. Or maybe I’ll get lucky and find someone from Argentbrook on the road. Or or I can head down to the Pallet Town Pokemon Ranch, I hear they adopt out to trainers a lot. But… it’s just not the same. I’ve already started my journey. Sure I didn’t get far, but that special moment of starting with a new friend is already gone. Darn it Haru, why did you leave me?

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he wound up running right into Rio when she stopped. “[Sorry, sorry,]” he reflexively said as he backed up.

She didn’t say anything, her ears twitching as she stared into the distance.

“[Uh… Rio? You okay?]”

She shushed him then whispered, “[Do you hear that?]”

Angel frowned and dug his jaw spikes into the ground, listening closely. At first all he noticed was the distant sounds of the forest. Then a strange rumble rattled up to his ears. It almost sounded like an approaching earthquake, but seemed to be getting more distant. “[What is that?]” he thought aloud, “[A truck?]”

Rio whirled around and stared at him, literally trembling, then spun right back around and sprinted into the distance, kicking up a trail of leaves and rocks as she went.

“[Hey! Don’t leave me!]” he called as he chased after her. Not that he had a hope of keeping up, but she was easy to follow.

When he finally caught up, he was treated to a fantastic sight. A positively gargantuan cherry tree with snow white bark dominated a sprawling glen with a crystal clear brook flowing through it. Sunlight filtered through the flowers and tinted the world a warm pink. Long grass and flowers made a meadow that, by rights, shouldn’t have existed in the shadow of such a tree. There were even a few small bushes that looked fruit bearing. It was, without question, the single most beautiful place he’d ever seen.

Except something had clearly been through it. Clumps of flowers were trampled, bushes were ripped open, and even the great tree itself bore gashes in its bark. Also, besides Rio standing on the water’s banks and shivering, it looked strangely empty. No Shiftry, no Seedot, no Pidgey, not even the ubiquitous bugs. In fact, besides that distant rumble Angel couldn’t hear anything.

As he crawled forward, he whispered, “[What do you think happened?]”

Rio just shook her head, seemingly paralyzed as she stared at the damage.

Frowning, Angel crawled around the broken haven, trying to find some hint about what had happened. Then he heard a weak, “[Chuuuuu.]”

He snapped his attention to a bush and found a Pichu curled up inside. At first Angel thought the little fella was just scared and told him, “[It’s okay buddy, we’re friends. We’re here to help.]” When the electric mouse didn’t respond or even flinch, he realized that the little guy was sleeping.

Now, why would he sleep in that? It looks pretty uncomfortable. Then he slunk closer to try calling a little louder and bumped the bush slightly. A strange blue powder rained around him.

He instinctively recoiled away. Sleep Powder. Taking a deep breath, he went back in and gingerly pulled the little guy out with his mouth.

“[Angel…]” Rio muttered, her voice getting very high-pitched.

“[Mmon Shmecont,]” he mumbled, struggling to get the Pichu out. The poor fella was stuck but good. Angel extended his tail out and dug it into the dirt, trying to get some more leverage.

“[Angel!]” Rio continued.

“[MMON SHMECONT!]”

Then, just as he thought he had the Pichu clear, something grabbed him by the tail. Angel dropped the Pichu instantly as he was hauled bodily into the air and dangled upside down. A bulbous wooden body filled his vision along with feet like geta shoes.

Looking ‘down’ just a little he met two furious yellow eyes set to a sinister-looking scowl amid an enormous mane of white fur. It was the Shiftry. A terrified chill fell over him as he squeaked, “[I can explain.]”

“[Did you do this?]” Shiftry whispered, his voice seemingly coming more from the wind than his mouth.

“[N-n-n-no,]” he replied, squirming to look up at the tree guardian, “[Rio--uh, the Nidoran and I just got here. I-I was looking for help. See I’ve got a broken wing and--]”

“[WHO HURT MY TREE?!]” the wind howled as Shiftry’s eyes seemed to pierce his soul. Flower petals flowed through the air like a tornado.

Thankfully, Rio piped up, “[Humans did it, Shiftry]”

It instantly dropped Angel on his head, frozen in place. “[Humans…?]” it grumbled, seemingly tasting the word as it stared into the distance, then whirled to get into Rio’s face, ranting, “[There were many of this forest’s strongest Pokemon resting here. Are you telling me humans overpowered them all?]”

To her credit, she stood her ground, staring back at him defiantly, but every inch of her was trembling. Righting himself, Angel came to her defense, “[They were trainers, probably had someone who knew Sleep Powder.]”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The hurt on the Shiftry’s face was palpable, its voice cracking as the old guardian whispered, “[Why would Pokemon do this?]” It slowly stepped away from her and towards its tree, running its leafy hands over it and listening. “[I grew this haven as a place of peace and rest for my brothers and sisters. It’s supposed to be my gift to this forest. How could anyone bring themselves to harm it?]” Its touch landed on one of the scars, tears appearing in its eyes, “[Oh, my dear child. What have these brutes done to you?]”

It pained Angel’s heart to see the old man so torn up, but as he looked at the sleeping Pichu and the area around, a deeper fear seized him. “[Where are the others? Did the people take them?]”

Rio looked at him like he was stupid, “[Well, no duh the humans took ‘em. What do ya think they did, give ‘em massages?]”

“[Well we’ve gotta get after them then,]” Angel countered, leaning up a bit and looking in the direction where that rumble was growing more distant, “[If we go now then maybe we can--]”

“[Ahahaha, I’m not going after something that could beat that many Pokemon,]” Rio protested, backpedaling away from him.

While her words stung, Angel had been referring to someone else.

However, the Shiftry was still staring at its tree, its hands beginning to glow softly as it tended to the wounds. When it glanced back at him, Shiftry sighed and shook its head, “[I’m sorry child, my greater duty is to this forest; the loss of this haven would cause far worse harm. I must tend to my child.]”

“[B-b-but WHAT?!]” Angel sputtered in shock, quivering with barely restrained rage. Rio’s trying to be all high and mighty while leaving them out to dry? This one’s pretending to be a protector while leaving the people he was protecting to fix a tree? He squirmed into Shiftry’s line of sight, “[Uh uh, uh uh. Nobody gets left behind. No way! We’re going after them.]”

“[I’m not stopping you,]” Shiftry countered, not even looking at him, “[Go, child.]”

Angel stopped and lowered himself down. “[I-I can’t,]” he said, wincing with shame, “[I’m too slow without my wings working.]”

Finally, the Shiftry glanced down at him and leaned to look at the injury. Angel inhaled sharply with pain at the touch, but the older Pokemon was incredibly gentle. “[It is just a sprain,]” he reported, then darted over with frightening speed to a bush. When it returned, it had a peculiar white-and-red berry in its hands. At first Angel’s eyes lit up and he leaned forward to take it, but the Shiftry held it back, looking down at him with a severe glare, “[Will you use this to save my charges?]”

A tiny shiver lanced up Angel’s spine, then he reared up and looked him eye-to-eye, “[Either I’m coming back with them, or not at all.]”

There was a long second as the wind howled around them, the Shiftry seeming to stare straight into his soul. Angel didn’t dare flinch. Then Shiftry abruptly shoved the berry at him. Angel took it without a second thought.

It. Tasted. Horrible. Spicy and bitter and sickly… he very nearly puked it back up as it slithered down his throat. Then there was a sharp jab in his wing that made him even sicker. Angel gasped at the first jolt, but within a heartbeat it was fading. When he caught his breath, he tentatively tested that wing.

It felt good as new, maybe even better. Angel let out an excited trill and fluttered into the air, just the tickle of dust against his belly earning a gleeful laugh out of him.

Then, in an instant he was back to business. He dropped down and touched his jaw to the ground, listening for the rumble’s direction. Once he had it, he looked back and said proudly, “[I won’t let you down,]” and took off at full speed through the forest, leaves rippling through the air in his wake.

Behind him he heard Rio mutter, “[He’s serious… By Ho-oh he’s serious!]”

As trees flew by him and Shiftry’s sanctuary disappeared into the distance, a lump of purple slowly caught up with him, running alongside him. “[Ya really did hit your head on the way down! Why would ya throw yourself at these humans?]”

“[I said I would, didn’t I?]” Angel pointed out, swerving between oaks.

“[That doesn’t make it a good idea!]” she protested, jogging alongside him, “[Come on, there was a Ninetales hanging out at the sanctuary. If they could beat her, you’ll be eaten alive.]”

Angel, however, didn’t pay her protests any mind. Nobody got left behind under his watch. Not if he had anything to say about it. Never again. Instead he flashed a grin at her, “[Well, nobody’s making you follow me.]”

She glowered at him, then she grumbled, “[Someone’s gotta make sure ya don’t hurt yourself, pet.]”

A huge part of him wanted to tease her, but he was just glad to have help. Besides, he was straining to keep track of where he was going.

Before long they wound up on what looked like an old hiking trail, only barely kept clear enough for a vehicle to trundle along. A long pair of tracks led North. Angel didn’t stop, banking and drifting through the air to keep going.

“[Okay… how does… something… so fat… move so fast?]” Rio asked between breaths.

“[I’m not fat, I’m beefy,]” he grumbled, only to hear an engine growling in the distance, “[Quiet, we’re getting close.]”

Before long a lump of shining metal appeared on the trail, along with a cloud of dirt and wood chips. In their final approach Angel and Rio slowed down, moving through the trees and bushes as quietly as possible. A heavily modified cargo truck with big off-road tires and reinforced slabs of armor plating sat on the trail, its wheels spinning in the dirt as a pair of humans and a Machoke tried to unstick it.

“How did you even manage that?” the female human grumbled.

“Look, we came up this road without issues. Whattaya want from me?” the male snapped back.

The Machoke had one arm in a sling and was pinching its brow with the good one, “[I can’t believe I got captured by this idiot. Just grab a log, drag it into place, and reverse over it. It’s not that hard.]”

Now, Angel considered himself pretty knowledgeable on the weird things humans liked to wear, but he was pretty sure he’d never seen these wackos. They were dressed in dark grey catsuits with a needle thin golden cursive E on their chest, along with strange porcelain masks which were mostly blank except for some curly inlaid gold. A few pokeballs sat on their hips along with some assorted pouches and a coil of rope.

As Angel and Rio snuck into viewing positions, the Nidoran whispered, “[What’s the plan?]”

He worked his jaw thoughtfully, looking over the truck. “[Well… I only see four Pokeballs on them, so that means all our friends are in the car. It looks pretty well stuck, lucky us.]” A lull in the humans’ arguing made him pause, then he continued, “[I say we wait until they’re not looking, then you pop the tires with Poison Sting. Meanwhile, I go ahead and dig under the truck and stick my drill into the floor. One of us goes in, frees the Pokemon, and everyone escapes back down the hole I made. Easy.]”

A soft scoff escaped her as she turned back to them, “[You’re not as dumb as you act.]”

“[Thaaaaanks.]”

Just then, the man said, “Oh wait, this thing’s got a low gear. Silly me.” With another grunt from the engine the truck lurched forward and left its ditch with a heavy clunk.

While the woman returned her Machoke, Angel and Rio stared at the situation dumbfounded. “[Uhhh… pet?]” Rio whispered.

“[New plan! Hop on-board and figure it out from there!]”

The truck was already moving by the time Angel took flight. He was only barely able to move faster than it, and then only thanks to the cruddy road. After a solid hundred feet of chasing, he managed to land on its slick, metal surface. Meanwhile, Rio sprinted past the truck and up a tree overlooking the trail. She managed to jump onto the car, but the momentum sent her skidding towards the edge, panic in her eyes as her legs headed off the side.

Angel quickly lunged out and grabbed her in his mouth, doing his best not to bite too hard. She still winced a little, but didn’t cry out as they hauled her back on top. “[Thanks,]” she panted once aboard.

It was still very unstable, the jostling of the car doing its best to throw them off. Despite all the noise, Angel could hear the woman talking to someone from inside the car. “Hey boss, Squad Fourteen here, got a full load of Pokes headed your way. Mostly common critters, but we found a Ninetales you might be interested in.”

A heavily roboticized and obviously modified voice replied in a sinister growl, “Excellent work. Bring it to Base Seven. Await my debriefing there.”

Oooookay, that’s not creepy or anything. The fan of mystery stories in him wanted to investigate what this base was, but at this point he didn’t want to try to battle anything worse than they already were. Slinking away from the cab, he told Rio, “[I’m gonna try and drill in. Once there’s a hole, you get in and break stuff until your friends are out.]”

“[Not my friends, but I getcha.]”

Taking a deep breath to brace himself, he spun up his drill and got to work. It was… unpleasant to say the least. He liked to think of himself as a good digger, but metal was a totally different proposition to dirt, tending to get extremely hot very quickly. Stop, start, stop, start… each time only a little bit of the metal giving way. But, he was making progress.

Then, when he punched a tiny hole in the other side, it let out a loud squawk. Immediately a hatch opened from the top of the truck’s cabin and the woman poked her head up. Angel and Rio froze in place. “[Uh… hi?]” Angel trilled.

“Aw dangit, we’ve got stowaways,” she groaned.

“Want me to stop?” the man asked.

“Nah, I’ve got this,” she replied, bringing up a Pokeball, “Clean this up, Cassidy.”

A chill entered the air as the ball opened and dropped a bright blue… Sandshrew? It sure looked like a Sandshrew, though it was wearing a masquerade-style mask similarly engraved to its owner, and was, as mentioned, light blue. As it landed, it stood up on its back legs, seemingly unbothered by the shaking car. “[How undignified,]” she complained, dusting herself off, “[I do hope you plebeians will do me the favor of losing quickly.]”

Oh come on! Couldn’t you guys at least stop? Putt his tail back to work, he told Rio, “[Hold her off while I drill.]”

“[Uh… ooookay,]” she replied, awkwardly shambling into a position between them. Between all the Pokemon, the top of the truck was getting very crowded. Despite her misgivings, she stepped up and spat a burst of poison needles at her opponent.

They pinged harmlessly off Cassidy.

The woman promptly scoffed and said, “This’ll be quick. Cass, use Ice Shard.”

A panicked squeak escaped Rio as the Sandshrew held its hands in front of its mouth for a second, then flung a hunk of ice at her. It sent her skidding backwards, shaking her head for second, then shouting back. “[Angel! Ice type!]”

“[The poison didn’t hurt it?]” he asked in disbelief.

“[No! HELP!]”

The Sandshrew giggled shrilly and lunged forward, going for a Scratch. Rio managed to leap over it, landing on the truck’s cab, only to wind up having to duck an attempted grab from the human.

For its part, the Sandshrew looked back at Angel and muttered, “[You ruffians dare harm my master’s property?]” Then she tried to Scratch him.

Angel took the blow, using the closeness to swing his still-burning tail into her. It landed not with a smack, but a hiss of steam, sending her reeling back with a screech. After stumbling to a stop, she stretched out her talons and snarled, “[How dare you even touch me, you insignificant beast!]”

“[We’re both Pokemon, dude,]” he pointed out.

Before she could attack, though, her human attempted another swipe at Rio, only to prick her hand on the Nidoran’s spines. “Ow! Cassidy, focus on this little nuisance. The grub can wait until--”

“[NO TOUCHY!]” Rio squeaked in rage and kicked her in the face. The mask let out a hearty crack and the human instantly dropped back into the cabin.

The Sandshrew let out an enraged scream and hurled another Ice Shard at her. It connected with a heavy thud and sent Rio skidding off the cabin’s edge, only barely holding on. “[How dare you hurt my human!]” Sandshrew snarled and started winding up another throw.

“[Help! I’m slipping!]” Rio cried.

Angel immediately stopped drilling and bit onto the Sandshrew’s tail. It was shockingly hard. Thankfully, he still surprised her enough to get her to swing around and throw the ice cube right into Angel’s face. It hurt. A lot.

Regardless, he stuck his tail into the divot he’d created in the truck and, with all his strength, tried to throw the Sandshrew sideways.

He only managed to get her to the edge, leaving her teetering and flailing her arms. Perhaps he could have pushed her over, but Angel raced right by to grab Rio. He actually overshot the end of the cab, leaving them both dangling over the road just ahead of the truck. Rio screamed in terror while the driver looked out at them in disbelief. Groaning at the effort, Angel flapped his wings and let the car get back under them before dropping down. Rio dug her claws in and screeched to a halt, panting and whimpering.

Angel wound up skidding back along the roof and smacked into the Sandshrew. Again, it was like hitting a brick wall.

Or a steel one.

Waaaait one ice-breaking second! “[Rio, you know Double Kick?]” he called out, squirming to get away from their opponent.

“[Yeah? What about it?]”

At that point, the Sandshrew stepped on his tail and pinned him down, giving him a Scratch across the back. “[Ooh, what’s this tattered old rag?]” she said, yanking on his bandanna.

After a few seconds of trying to turn around and bite her, Angel looked to Rio and barked, “[KICK HER!]”

Rio immediately got the message and came flying in, delivering a savage punt to the Sandshrew’s face, sending the icy mouse stumbling backwards. Then, just as Rio landed, Cassidy snarled and curled up, starting to glow.

“[Watch it, she’s using Bide,]” he warned.

This time Rio was ready, tense and waiting. As the Sandshrew barreled across the truck, trampling over Angel, Rio leaped into the air. Cassidy passed under her and, on her way down, Rio gave her a firm two-footed boot to the backside.

Cassidy’s trainer chose that exact moment to pop back out of the hatch. She was greeted by a Sandshrew flying into her face, sending both of them dropping back inside.

For several long seconds, Rio stared at the hatch and panted with exertion. When nothing came, she made a sharp “[Humph!]” and kicked the top of the truck.

A cacophony of cries for help came from inside.

On hearing that, Angel quickly got his tail back to work, telling her with a smile, “[Way to go, Rio!]”

She let out an exhausted laugh and told him, “[Now you do your job, ya lazy worm.]”

Thankfully, the worst of the work was done, and at this point he was just trying to widen it enough to let her through. “[Ooookay. Aaaalllllmost…]”

Suddenly, the man announced, “Get out there Butch!” A Pokeball leaped from the open hatch.

A Butterfree wearing a plaid bandanna over its mouth appeared and immediately drifted alongside the truck. “[Oohoo, you boys’ve done it now. I’m gonna whip ya so good yer grandbabies gonna come out red as a cherry.]”

Angel immediately yanked his tail up and said to Rio, “[Get in there. Get in get in get in!]”

She promptly squirmed and squeezed into the hole, only needing a quick slap on the backside with his tail to finally pop into the truck.

With that done, Angel reared up and let out a threatening scream.

The Butterfree laughed. “[Get a load o’ the big bad snake,]” Butch taunted, flying alongside the truck, “[Whatcha gonna do next, varmint? Sneeze at me?]” With that it dove sideways and rammed into Angel with all its weight.

The impact actually sent Angel sliding off the truck, but he managed to flutter himself back into place, narrowly managing to stay on. Okay, so… I need to work on my battle Screech. Good to know. Of course, now that he was in the fight, he realized that this was a bad situation. Angel didn’t know any ranged attacks. Even if he did, the Butterfree had the advantage, what with flying and all.

About that moment the truck slowed down and started to take a sudden hard turn. Seeing his chance, Angel coiled up and lunged at the Butterfree, slamming him with his head. Even as his opponent was sent higher, Angel came back down, going through the hatch and landing right in the truck’s cabin.

In the female trainer’s lap, squeezed right up against Cassidy.

“[What in the world…]” the Sandshrew groaned.

“[I bet yo momma told you to wear that mask to stop scaring the other kids,]” he trilled, then bounced back outside.

Only to feel some force grab him by the body and slam him headfirst into the truck.

The stars cleared from his vision just in time to see the Butterfree’s eyes stop glowing. “[Boy, you better run yo happy tail off, or I’m gonna turn yo yellah belly into some corrrrrn bread.]” Its gaze briefly turned skyward, obviously fantasizing. “[Awww yeah… with some gravy. And mashed taters. Mmm…]”

“[Do you listen to what come out of your mouth?]” Angel asked playfully.

A twig slapped the Butterfree across the head and it glared at him. “[You wouldn’t get it. Anywho, this is gettin’ a mite dangerous, so I thinks I’m just gonna end it,]” Butch announced and got ahead of the truck. The occupants slammed the hatch shut, which warned of what was coming.

Angel held his breath as a light blue powder started pouring off the Butterfree’s wings and over the truck. Uh uh, you ain’t catching me with Sleep Powder. However, he also saw a chance, so after a few seconds of pretending to resist, Angel flopped back to the deck and laid his head down. He didn’t bother closing his eyes though; nobody except other Dunsparce could tell when they were open.

His chest ached as he waited, his lungs begging for air. Below he could hear lots of clangs and noise. Then, after a few seconds, the hatch came open and the Butterfree came down over it to squeak, “[It’s all good, boss.]”

Seeing his chance, Angel coiled up, then charged forward into a somersault, performing a textbook Rollout at his opponent. He slammed heavily into the Butterfree, sending it spiraling through the air and flopping to the ground. Angel landed right behind him, still rolling and running over the Butterfree again.

Of course, as he uncoiled and looked behind him, he realized that he’d momentarily forgotten that the truck was moving. Oh no!

Brakes squealed and a cloud of dirt sprayed both of them. When the dust cleared, the truck had only barely stopped before hitting the dazed Butterfree.

The male trainer jumped from the driver’s seat and sprinted to his downed Pokemon. “Butch! Butch are you okay! Say something to me!”

“[She’ll be comin’ round the mountain when she coooomes hehehehe,]” Butch mumbled deliriously.

Both the human and Angel let out a sigh of relief, but then the human brought out a new Pokeball and snapped, “Time to send you packing, you pest. Come out Joule.”

A Magnemite promptly appeared in the air, its eye fixed on Angel. “[RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. AND INTERNALLY NOMINAL.]”

Angel whimpered and gave an awkward smile, looking between the trainer and his Pokemon. “[Maybe we got off on the wrong foot?]” he suggested, then muttered, “[Wait, neither of us have feet.]”

Then, as the human inhaled to give an order, a gout of flame erupted from the top of the truck, engulfing them. When it cleared, Magnemite was down and the human coughed a pained, “Ow.”

A majestic Ninetales stood atop the truck, Rio strutting into view alongside it. “Leave our forest, invader,” she declared, psychically speaking to the human, “And never return.”

A small army of assorted local Pokemon came around the truck and gave their own warnings, a few even firing some Poison Stings his way.

Terrified, the man looked up at the Ninetales, then at the Pokemon he’d just captured, then slowly turned to stare wide-eyed at Angel.

“[Boo.]”

The man screamed, returning his Pokemon and leaping into the truck, slamming the door and mashing the pedal. Naturally, the Ninetales and Rio hopped off. As the vehicle careened down the road, the back doors slammed wildly, revealing the busted cages inside. Not long after it was out of sight, the tell-tale clunk and growl of it getting stuck again filled the air.

A huge grin split Angel’s face as he slunk on up to Rio, looking around at the collection of Pokemon they’d rescued with pride. “[Well, I’m no expert--besides all the crime shows I watch--but I think that was a successful jailbreak.]”

The Nidoran groaned and laughed in disbelief. “[Don’t. Make me. Do that. Again.]”

Almost immediately, the younger Pokemon all dogpiled Angel and Rio, bombarding them with thanks. Not that he minded. Amid the collective hug, the Ninetales strode up and said, “[Thank you for saving us. I don’t know what those villains wanted with us, but we all owe you.]”

Angel just laughed nervously and replied, “[Figured it needed doing, so I did it. Nothing fancy.]”

She gave him an odd look, then smiled and said, “[Come along everyone. I think our stay at the sanctuary might be longer than expected.]” Then, as they all started to trot off, leaving Angel somewhat awkwardly looking around, the Ninetales stopped and looked back at him, “[Are you honestly going to make me invite you?]”

He let out a cheerful trill and floated in among them, winding up at the head of a little impromptu parade through the forest, with Rio very nervously pushed to his side.