Standing in the shade of the forest glade, Zoroark watched from a short distance as Lucario spoke with the elder of the Stantler herd. Around the area were other members of the deer-like species, some watching the odd fox and jackal duo with keen interest while others carried on with their own affairs, which seemed to primarily consist of eating whatever they could scrounge from the bushes in the nearby area.
Surprisingly, one of the herd members had taken the responsibility of entertaining Cyndaquil onto itself after taking an interest in the fire-type. Zoroark kept a watchful eye on them, occasionally glancing at the two to ensure they weren’t doing anything too questionable. Currently, they seemed content to show-off their various moves, which Zoroark mostly approved of despite how few Cyndaquil knew.
It surprised her that the fire-type was even willing to be around another Pokémon yet, after a minimal amount of prodding from the Stantler, he had been open to ‘training’ with it. She had not taken the time to try and establish a proper regimen for the young Pokémon to grow as she couldn’t think of one that would be applicable to his species, so allowing him to practice with another Pokémon suited her well. Still, she did have some minor reservations as there were risks, though they were ultimately minimal here.
Given the way Cyndaquil was now trying to create a stronger Ember, the fire-type focusing to generate more flames with the attack, she could focus on supporting the fire-types growth, though it would take much more than that to see progress.
Of course, all this was minor compared to what the herd of deer-like Pokémon wanted from them. Oddly enough, the more they explained about their request the more interested she became. If anything, Zoroark was somewhat giddy with excitement. An opportunity that she could not refuse had presented itself.
Apparently, the ‘Beedrill colony’ of Bewilder Forest had been disturbed, and they were now asking aid from the ‘wandering and noble Lucario’ – a description that she found equally amusing and irritating – to ‘return balance to nature.’ By proxy, she was also being dragged into this, though the elder Stantler had shown far less interest in pleasing her than it did Lucario.
At first, she saw no reason to help them as it clearly wasn’t their problem. Furthermore, it felt as though the Stantler was trying to appear as some sort of mystical and wise Pokémon, which further irritated her. She knew wisdom in the form of the pack’s Alpha, and his wisdom came in the shape of violence and threats, not whatever this farce was.
Lucario, predictably, felt compelled to intervene and bought into their ways, the bipedal jackal bobbing its head at nearly every ‘wise’ thing the elder Stantler spouted, whose old and haggard appearance somehow amplified his words. It also had the approval of the herd to help it seem more legitimate, the few cervid Pokémon listening having thoughtful expressions as they listened.
Normally, being surrounded by so many unknown Pokémon would be a cause for concern, yet those worries had been mostly abated. She was certain Lucario would defend her due to its sense of honor and, given the way most of the Stantler herd behaved, she doubted any of their kind were particularly powerful. Nor did they seem inclined to fighting, given very few had scars or other marks one would earn from battle.
If anything, they likely ran away before all else and only fought when they were cornered. The herd also seemed mostly unphased by their presence, which was odd. She was used to her kind being treated extremely warily.
Perhaps their reaction would be different if she flaunted her aura, yet she was content to keep it contained for now. Besides, she wanted to keep every ounce of her power saved for something else.
While Lucario insisted on seeing what the Stantler had to offer them for their ‘quest’, she would have happily dealt with their issues all on her own, regardless of the reward, as the problem was a single Pokémon that had caught her interest, as it had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and assaulted others indiscriminately with its electrical attacks.
Already, it sounded very familiar. According to the elder, it had a yellow coat of fur with black zigzag patterns along it, which all but confirmed her suspicions. That sounded like an Electabuzz and, given the way it was behaving and how it appeared, it felt likely that it was the one she had met back in Hisui. The one that had injured her, and she would definitely like to return the favor.
Even if a Scizor did technically do it for her already, she was still motivated to get her revenge.
Supposedly, it had attacked part of the Beedrill’s territory to claim it for itself, the bug-types unable to dissuade it despite the ridiculous numbers that composed their swarm.
Naturally, this meant the bug-types would try and make up for their lost territory by invading other parts of the forest, which made it everyone’s problem. Well, everyone in the forest at least.
Obviously, the solution was to remove the new unknown element so that things could go back to how they were. And to think the Stantler were willing to reward her for her violence. Sometimes, the world truly was amazing.
The Stantler that had found them emerged in front of them, bringing Zoroark out of her thoughts. Clenched between its teeth was the strap of a black trainer bag that hung loosely in front of the Pokémon, a red Poke ball design lining the front of the sack with various green and brown stains marking it. The Stantler approached Lucario and then promptly lowered the sack before the bipedal Pokémon, who gazed at it with evident confusion.
Lucario waited a moment before bending to pick it up, the Stantler taking a few steps back as the jackal did so. The bag was twisted and turned as Lucario examined it, the Pokémon trying to figure out exactly what it was looking for.
“Try opening it,” Zoroark offered from the side, earning a sidelong glance from Volo’s mutt. She redirected his gaze by pointing at the zipper on the bag with a single claw. It was likely it had never had the opportunity to examine one of the new bags’ humans carried, so she would guide it so they could finally move on.
Taking her advice, Lucario struggled with the annoyingly small zipper humans had made. Zoroark empathized with the canine, having dealt with the same frustrations herself. Humans should have made something for Pokémon to use, given their obsession with them, but of course all they got were more advanced Poke balls to be trapped in as well as some admittedly delicious food.
Eventually, Lucario settled on pulling the zipper back by using the spike on the back of its palm after struggling for longer than it probably cared to admit. It then peaked inside the bag with curiosity of what prize it would earn. Almost immediately, Lucario’s eyes widened in wonder. It turned its head to the elder Stantler with disbelief and the deer slowly nodded its head, as though confirming it would get what was inside.
Zoroark watched curiously as, delicately and with a shaking paw, a perfectly rectangular prism was revealed, Lucario staring at it with evident wonder as it awkwardly held the white object up. Odd. There was something peculiar about the item. She couldn’t quite make out what it was, but it felt almost familiar.
Like herself, the Stantler that had brought the bag eyed the object curiously. Whatever Lucario was holding was brimming with something that caught the attention of the Pokémon nearby, the elder Stantler eyeing the object with evident confusion while the one that had been occupying Cyndaquil approached as well, followed by the fire-type himself.
Cyndaquil himself, however, seemed to be questioning why everyone was interested in the item Lucario held, his eyes darting between the different Pokémon present.
“Lucario,” the Pokémon holding the item – the Blank Plate if she understood it correctly – let out with wonder. After a moment, the jackal turned to the elder Stantler. “Cario?” it asked, evidently questioning if the elder was really willing to part with the object.
The elder eyed the object curiously, which made Zoroark suspect it had not expected that to be in the trainer bag. “Stan,” it eventually replied, offering a slow and almost reluctant nod to Lucario’s query. “’Tler,” it then added. Ah. So, they would receive it and everything else within the bag so long as they helped.
Lucario seemed satisfied with that. Personally, she didn’t particularly care about the bag, though it was likely that there’d be other interesting objects inside it. She couldn’t imagine a human carrying an item like that didn’t have plenty of other unique oddities with them, which made her wonder who exactly had dropped it.
That wasn’t her issue, however, and nor would it ever be. For now, all Zoroark wanted was to fight a certain feline. That was something she was looking forward to.
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After having recuperated a now exhausted Cyndaquil, the Pokémon having pushed itself to its limit in its attempts to create a stronger flame, Zoroark and Lucario were being guided towards the rough area that the ‘unknown’ Pokémon had claimed as its own. Stantler – the one that had originally found them – was guiding them through the woods once more, the deer hopping over roots and obstacles alike with natural grace.
Unfortunately, that meant Lucario and Zoroark had to try and keep pace with the deer and, Cyndaquil had to be carried, the little Pokémon unable to keep pace nor climb up any of the tall ledges without substantially slowing them down. It was made evident over the short amount of time they spent together that this Stantler – and likely the entire herd – had intimate knowledge of the forest.
After a while, their adept guide eventually came to a sudden halt. There were no obvious differences between the forest behind them and before them, nor any markings that made things look out of place, yet there was an intensity to the air that hadn’t been there before. Stantler turned to them and gestured up ahead wordlessly, confirming her immediate suspicions.
Their quarry was somewhere up ahead and, given the way Stantler showed no intention of moving any further, it was now up to them to find it.
Zoroark turned her gaze to Cyndaquil, and she began to question what she was supposed to do with him. Knowing what she did, it seemed like a bad idea to risk having him around during the fight. Electric-types were prone to using attacks that affect a large area and she didn’t feel confident in her ability to keep the fire-type safe while fighting. That said, she had no idea what she was supposed to do with him.
Well, no ideas that she was fond of. She could leave him with Stantler, but she didn’t exactly trust the benign Pokémon despite its behavior so far. Even if it wasn’t hostile, she doubted it would protect others over itself if a threat did emerge. Yet her other options were… unappealing, to say the least.
Zoroark felt at the bag attached to her hip, nudging the Poke ball within. It was probably the ‘best’ solution for her problem, but asking another Pokémon to imprison itself because they were currently inconvenient bothered her. Especially when that Pokémon was meant to be a member of her pack – though questions on that matter have begun popping up far too often for her comfort.
She narrowed her eyes. No, she shouldn’t doubt herself now. That would only lead to more problems. What she should do is ask Cyndaquil what he wants to do, as he was the Pokémon that was directly affected by this the most.
Zoroark nudged Cyndaquil’s back with her snout to get his attention and the fire-type turned to look up at her. “Up ahead is a dangerous fight, And I’m not confident in my ability to protect you if you’re out in the open,” she honestly told him. “I don’t want to force anything on you, however, so I’ll ask; what do you want to do?”
Cyndaquil looked at her with a confused expression, uncertain as to what she meant. Seeing that, she decided she clarified. “Do you want to be around for it, stay back, or…” she paused with hesitation. “…be carried in your Poke ball,” she eventually finished with clear discomfort.
Cyndaquil looked at her oddly. “Quil,” he decided immediately, Zoroark blinking at how easily the answer came to him.
“Really?” she asked uncertainly, illusionary voice filled with doubt. She couldn’t fathom why a Pokémon would want to be in a Poke ball.
Cyndaquil nodded, though he did offer her a questioning look. “Cyn,” he reaffirmed. “Quil?” he then immediately questioned, wondering why she found it strange.
Zoroark barely had to think of an answer. “They’re prisons,” she replied, as though that was all the reason one would need to hate them. “Humans force Pokémon into them and- “
“Cyndaquil,” the Pokémon interrupted in disagreement, making her frown. At that, he explained. “Daquil.”
Zoroark brought a claw to her temple and rubbed at it. Somehow, she had the distinct feeling Cyndaquil was copying another Pokémon’s thoughts, as he had shown little interest in ‘napping.’ She also doubted a Poke ball was a ‘prime’ napping spot, despite the fire-type’s claims.
Lucario let out an amused huff from the side, earning their – and Stantler’s, who had watched their exchange in silence – attention. “Lucario,” it dismissively said, as though Zoroark’s worries were for naught.
She stopped herself from reacting to that and kept her attention on Cyndaquil. She wasn’t being ridiculous. It was everyone else that was abnormal. She confirmed one last time with Cyndaquil if he was certain he was fine with being left in a Poke ball for a bit, the Pokémon once more offering the same answer. From there, she struggled with the offensively small Poke ball, eventually managing to return Cyndaquil inside it with the point of a red beam.
With Cyndaquil now safely tucked away, Lucario and Zoroark advanced into the unknown, leaving the Stantler behind, the deer immediately going to scrounge leaves off a nearby bush. She briefly considered trying to get it to join them, given this was its problem, yet one stern look from Lucario both showed it somehow knew what she was thinking and that it highly disapproved of the notion.
Well, it wasn’t as though they needed the Stantler. Besides, them being alone did give her a rather fun idea.
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After a short walk, their search led them into a small clearing where the trees and ground alike were torched indiscriminately. In the center, a large and curious gash had been made in a rock and a golden gooey substance was leaking out it, which seemed... odd, to say the least. Zoroark was certain rocks don’t bleed.
There was little doubt that the Pokémon they were searching for was nearby, however, given the way the place looked. She could say without a doubt that fighting had regularly occurred here that involved a Pokémon that could dish out strong electric-type attacks.
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Lucario warily looked around as it took careful steps forward, its eyes searching for any sign of a nearby Pokémon. Likewise, Zoroark – under a disguise that resembled Lucario – moved in tandem with the jackal, ensuring it was in front of her to take the hit in case of any stray attacks.
Needless to say, Lucario did not approve of her choice of illusion. She personally thought it was a clever idea, as it would let them confuse their foe – regardless of what sort of Pokémon they were – and offer them a surprise factor once she revealed herself. The fact it also annoyed her temporary teammate was just an added bonus that she would gladly take.
She had also expressed an interest in fighting the Electabuzz one-on-one, should it be one. Lucario eyed her suspiciously at that, as though it were looking for the twisted motivation behind her actions, yet she provided no answers. In the end, the honor obsessed mutt didn’t ask for her reasons – which was fortunate, given she doubted it would approve of them – and was content to leave her to fight on her own, so long as she wasn’t ‘dishonorable,’ whatever that meant.
As they moved closer to the odd rock to examine it, Zoroark couldn’t help but notice that the silence surrounding them was growing eerie, a distinct lack of sound catching her off guard. There were no birds in the distance or insects singing, the sole sound coming from the rustling of the leaves caused by the wind. Something was definitely wrong here. Even the air itself felt wrong, making her fur feel odd and-
Zoroark narrowed her eyes. Her gaze sharply turned upwards, and her eyes widened. The very next moment, she pushed herself into Lucario, forcing it to stumble forward and fall against the rock, followed by the fox herself.
Lucario turned to scowl at her and question why she had just pushed it but, before it could ask, a massive thunderbolt hit where they had just been standing, leaving a massive scorch mark in the dirt.
Well, that had been calculated. Zoroark looked around, briefly glancing at the liquid leaking from the now nearby rock. It was honey. She was momentarily confused before realization dawned on her.
Ah, of course. This was a trap. A poor one at that, made for… Insects, if she had to guess. And it had almost worked on them. Now that offended her.
Lucario got up to its feet quickly, followed by the illusion clad Zoroark. They both searched the area carefully with their eyes for the attack’s source. Standing a distance away, Zoroark caught a glimpse of a familiar yellow feline behind a set of far away bushes, its hands pointed in their direction.
She was about to dart towards it before feeling Lucario hit her in the side, momentarily breaking her illusion as she was pushed into a tree by the jackal’s sudden shove. That had been much harder than how she pushed it.
She was about to vocally complain before another thunderbolt hit the spot where she had just been moving towards. The impact of this one was less intense than the one before, yet Zoroark had no doubt that being hit would be an uncomfortable experience regardless of the attack’s strength.
There was no immediate follow-up, the Electabuzz having vanished after sending out its attack, likely having not even bothered to confirm that its attack had hit. After following her gaze, Lucario was already heading to where the Electabuzz had last been seen. Zoroark furrowed her brows thoughtfully.
The Electabuzz likely used the honey to bait the Beedrill into certain spots. It was highly likely it had other methods prepared to help it fight against the bug-type swarm, especially when she considered how numerous the poisonous insects were. She doubted it’d have traps that rivaled what humans could make, but she wasn’t going to blindly follow it in the hopes it had nothing she couldn’t deal with.
No, that was Lucario’s job. She’ll let them run into the traps while she does the smart thing.
What she should do is ambush it. Electabuzz was trying to catch them off-guard with its attacks, so it’d only be fair if she did the same.
Plus, she was already plenty motivated to catch Electabuzz out on its own. Now, she had little doubt that it was the one she was had met before. It was time for her to get even.
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Normally, tracking down a Pokémon requires a great deal of skill. This time, however, was one of the rare occasions where it didn’t.
The sound of lightning ringing out served as her guide to the general vicinity of where Electabuzz and Lucario were. Zoroark generally remained out of sight, though the glimpses that she caught made for an odd and unexpected scene.
Somehow, Lucario was expertly cutting off the Electabuzz whenever it looked like it was trying to lead it in a certain direction, denying it from controlling where it fought. Furthermore, it was clear that Lucario could easily surpass the Electabuzz’s speed, yet it actively refused to make a direct attack. The confusing sight took her longer than she cared for to understand.
Ah, it was trying to respect her request. That surprised her, yet she did appreciate it. It certainly increased her very low opinion of it. Especially since it was putting Lucario at risk, albeit it could just as easily run away should it feel threatened.
After cutting its path off a few more times, Lucario managed to corner the Electabuzz into a small clearing and Zoroark managed to position herself somewhere behind her quarry. She stared down at the electric-type and noticed the amount of damage it had taken.
Two bulbous antennas poked out of its head, though one of them had a long and thin scar near the base of it, as though something had tried to cut it off and failed. She also spotted a great deal of cuts lining the feline’s body beneath its fur. They were subtle and small, yet there were too many to easily ignore. There was little doubt that the Electabuzz had been fighting nearly every moment since it arrived here, each small cut and bruise no doubt something negligible on its own yet turning into something serious when combined, especially given the poisonous capabilities the Beedrill had.
Despite that, Electabuzz stood there, ready to fight. Even though its chest was heaving with exhaustion, it kept an aggressive stance as it stared at Lucario. If anything, the feline looked more determined to fight than anything else as it waited for its foe to finally make their first move.
Unfortunately for it, Lucario did not intend to fight it. The canine merely looked in her direction – somehow having spotted her – and, after giving her a short nod, stepped back. Electabuzz was confused by the act but quickly caught on once it heard rustling coming from the bushes behind it, the feline immediately looking over its shoulder at her and panicking, as suddenly found itself stuck between what it thought were two Lucarios.
Seeing as one Lucario – the other one, not her – still hadn’t advanced, Electabuzz turned its attention to her, wasting its time in trying to analyze her illusion for any obvious weak points. Electabuzz’s arms stiffly raised up as volts of current built up along them, the Pokémon amping itself up in preparation for its fight.
Zoroark briefly considered trying to communicate with it but immediately dismissed the thought. It hadn’t offered her that choice back in Hisui, so it was only fair that she did the same. She also doubted Lucario hadn’t tried something of its own, though whether it actually did wasn’t something she cared to know.
Still clad in the illusion of a Lucario, she stepped forward and earned a growl from the Electabuzz, as though it was threatening her. Her amusement formed into a smirk as her steps turned into a run. As she approached, Electabuzz raised its arms and electricity condensed around its body.
Zoroark’s shadow extended as she approached, her silhouette far surpassing her own speed, yet the action went entirely unnoticed by the Electabuzz. It focused solely on her as it launched its attack, a bolt of thunder Zoroark only catching sight of it as she paid attention to her environment.
Right as the lightning condensed and seemed like it was about to strike at her, Zoroark mere feet away from the Electabuzz, she vanished. Confused, Electabuzz stared at where she had just been standing as the attack struck to hit nothing.
The feline was then promptly kicked in the back by a clawed foot, getting pushed into the oncoming Thunder and receiving his own attack head-on.
Zoroark let out a mocking cackle as she watched Electabuzz take damage from its own move. Shadow Sneak was always fun when they least expect it. Even though her strategy was unlikely to do much damage, given the Pokémon’s electric-type, she felt the effect would be worth it.
Electabuzz turned to glare at her with pure hate in its eyes, filling Zoroark with a deep sense of satisfaction. Now the real fight could begin.
Electabuzz was about to send out another attack, its arms glowing with intense energy, but it hesitated at the sight of Zoroark’s shadow extending towards it, finally noticing its oddity. It wisely moved back and launched a blast of electricity in her direction, trying to deter her from following it.
Zoroark attempted to dodge, yet the attack was launched from a frustratingly close distance. It hit her leg and broke her illusion, the image of Lucario layered over her flickering out as her true form was revealed. She stopped herself from wincing from the attack, not wanting to let Electabuzz think it could hurt her, and settled for staring at it with as much malice as she could conjure.
Electabuzz’s eyes widened in recognition, earning a feral smirk from Zoroark. Good, so it did know her. The Pokémon then roared out in anger, clearly recalling their last encounter, and was either motivated by a rematch or revenge against her.
Ghost-type energies built up along her mane as she stepped forward, her ghastly aura on full display. Electabuzz barely reacted to it, to her disappointment, its own fur standing on end as electricity was built up in its body as it kept its distance from her, its eyes watching for her shadow.
Oh? Electabuzz really wanted to keep its distance, it seemed – it’d be good to let it know just how outclassed it was at range too.
A shadowy blob of ghost-type energy condensed in her paw. Right as she was about to launch it, Electabuzz pumped its own arm up and threw another Thunderbolt in her direction, an electric blast arcing towards her from its raised fist.
Zoroark spun to the side as she tossed the Shadow Ball in retaliation, narrowly avoiding the lightning bolt. Electabuzz tried to dodge her own attack, yet it clearly hadn’t been expecting for it, likely thinking she would abandon it so she could dodge. The blob of darkness hit the wildcat’s stomach, the Pokémon letting out a pained gasp as its eyes were forced shut by the impact.
Despite its pain, it recovered quickly and began to prepare yet another attack with a loud roar. Unfortunately, its target was no longer visible, having vanished once more. Before Electabuzz could react properly, it was once more kicked in the back by Zoroark, who had seen an opportunity to approach with Shadow Sneak and gladly taken it.
This time, however, Electabuzz grinned as it retaliated by launching a weak jolt of electricity at her as he stumbled forward from her hit. Unfortunately for it, the jolt had just barely missed her due to her immediately moving back after attacking, causing the feline to scowl as its Thunder Wave failed.
Zoroark smugly smirked back at its disappointment. There was a reason she was kicking it, after all. She could have done much more damage with her claws, but that also meant giving it an opportunity to try and paralyze her. She had no intention of letting that happen, so that she remained careful while near it.
Electabuzz roared in her direction with anger, the feline clumsily moving in her direction as it finally had enough. This time, he tried to punch her with an electrified fist.
Zoroark deftly moved back, having no intention of letting her quarry get any sort of advantage on her. Still, the electric-type pressed on, attempting to hit her with its other fist as it tried chased her, unleashing a flurry of Thunder Punches.
Electabuzz looked at her with pure hatred as Zoroark avoided every hit it threw her way. Despite its failure, the Pokémon continued to throw electrical punches at, content on denying her a proper chance to counterattack and hoping it could gain an advantage by pinning her in a corner. It fought through its exhaustion, its frosty breath heaving with every thrust of its fist.
Electabuzz furrowed its brow and stared at its visible breath, confused by the sudden temperature drop. Its attacks slowed as it felt something ice cold envelop around it. The feline then cried in pain as Bitter Malice fully condensed around its body, the ghost-type energies Zoroark had been holding onto flowing off her and pressing down on the electric cat in a storm of spine-chilling resentment.
Now, Electabuzz was at her mercy. The battle may as well be over, as far as she was concerned. The attack smothered the electric-type in dark purple energies that went against the very fiber of its being. Electabuzz was all but forced to stand still, as it was unable to put up a proper resistance against her.
And yet the attack hadn’t even begun.
First, she attacked with her resentment at Electabuzz, who had attacked her in the space-time distortion. The ghost-type energy surrounding it lashed out in ghostly tendrils, striking the Pokémon again and again from every angle it possibly could.
Electabuzz winced in pain as it stared defiantly at her, still believing it stood a chance to win if it could just withstand her assault. Electricity condensed around its fist as the feline prepared its counterattack for when Bitter Malice ended.
Yet it wouldn’t end. She would push Bitter Malice for all its worth and deny the Pokémon from fighting back.
Next, she attacked by tapping into her hatred for the space-time distortion itself and how it had taken her home from her. Once more, the aura smothering Electabuzz lashed out at it, the unfiltered malice striking as though the feline was the cause for all her problems.
Electabuzz struggled against the attack and, unable to fight back, fell to its knees. Its prepared attack fizzled to a stop as it took desperate breaths, the Pokémon now focusing solely on weathering her storm. Still, Bitter Malice clung to it, pushed on by the unsatisfied Zoroark whose baneful existence demanded more.
She tapped into her grudge against Volo and his Garchomp, who had all but ensured she’d end up stuck here because of the idiotic plan they had yet to share.
Electabuzz fell to the ground and let out a weak cry of surrender, as it began to recognize it was slightly outclassed here.
Zoroark eyed the feline’s downed form consideringly. No, it wasn’t enough. Now, she attacked him out of pure spite for daring to try and concede. He would never allow her to do the same, nor would anyone else.
Electabuzz gasped in pain for a moment before his head slumped against the dirt as it passed out from the pain and exhaustion. The Pokémon lay there motionlessly in a small storm powered entirely by Zoroark unhinged resentment that showed no signs of stopping.
It wasn’t enough.
It would never be enough.
Everything that mattered was gone. There was no pack here. There may be nothing for her in this world, even if she searched its entire span. All that remained were humans and weaklings hiding amongst them.
Zoroark stepped closer to the unmoving Electabuzz and roared at its face, earning no reaction from the passed-out feline. Now, she was going to finish him. She would let out her resentment at-
A paw on her shoulder interrupted her before she could launch her next attack. Zoroark turned with a growl, only to find Lucario looking at her with resolve in its eyes, one paw held in front of the other.
“Cario,” it firmly told her, making her snarl in outrage that it dared to try and stop her. Given its posture and the way it eyed it, it was clearly ready to intervene should she disagree with it.
Enough? Enough?! It was nowhere near enough. She should attack Lucario next. Someone needed to put their kind in their place. Bitter Malice faded away from Electabuzz’s collapsed form as Zoroark eyed Lucario, as though she were listening. She spread her claws behind her back, out of the canine’s sight, and-
“Eep!” a cry came from a nearby bush, making Zoroark pause. She turned in the direction of the sound and caught a glimpse of brown hair rapidly moving away. Of course, there had to be a human of all things here. She should fix that.
Lucario briefly looked at the escaping human, yet it still firmly stood its ground in front of Zoroark, preventing her from moving passed it. “Cario!” it repeated once more, earning a scowl from her.
Her eyes darted between Lucario and the direction the human had moved in. It didn’t take much for her to lose sight of them, but she knew she could easily catch up. And yet… She considered her actions carefully. She wasn’t being rational right now. But she didn’t want to be, she wanted to-
With a deep breath, Zoroark shut that thought away, recognizing that it would lead her somewhere worse than nowhere. She turned her gaze back to Electabuzz momentarily, who had long since fainted and remained unmoving where it had fallen. Despite how much she hated to admit it, Lucario was right. It was enough.
She stepped back and moved away from both Electabuzz and the direction the human had run in, as she forced herself to calm down. She couldn’t help but glance towards the latter spot, recognizing that it may be a problem in the future.
After seeing she had no malicious intentions, Lucario finally relaxed, although it did so cautiously. It followed her eyes to stare at where the human had headed off, seeming to have a thoughtful expression. “Lucario,” it dismissively barked after a moment’s thought, and Zoroark reluctantly agreed with Lucario once more.
It was just one human. Likely a young one at that, if she saw them correctly. She doubted that it could cause that much harm, even if they had somehow caught the entirety of her fight without her noticing.
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After a short break, an exhausted Zoroark was now walking in tandem with Lucario, who was carrying the fainted Electabuzz on its back.
Originally, she had suggested staying behind while it fetched the Stantler that had guided them, yet Lucario showed little enthusiasm for the idea. Which, granted, did make sense – she did put the Electabuzz in its current state, even though she still believed it deserved it and that she wasn’t the sole contributor to the damage it had sustained.
Then again, even if the Beedrill didn’t fight it before, she most certainly would’ve beaten it to a pulp either way. Lucario didn’t need to know that though.
She failed to see why they were even bringing the Electabuzz instead of just informing the Stantler herd they had dealt with it. Yet Lucario insisted on it, its sense of honor prevailing over its sense of logic, as per usual. The canine desired to bring the electric feline to the Stantler herd so that they may decide its fate, instead of allowing the Beedrill to do what they will with it. Not that she minded, given she wasn’t the one carrying it, but it felt like a lot of effort regardless.
She was slightly tempted to argue her point, yet the sound of distant buzzing quickly dissuaded her from speaking up. It wasn’t surprising that there were Beedrill in the area, but it felt a little ridiculous that they arrived almost immediately after the fight had ended. Then again, it was certainly better than the mess having a swarm of them arrive mid-fight would’ve been.
And so, they walked in relative quiet, tracing their path through the forest back to where Stantler was hopefully still waiting for them. The duo carefully maneuvered away from any suspicious buzzing sounds, though it appeared that the further they moved from where she fought Electabuzz the less frequently they heard the roaming bug-types.
As the buzzing became less and less frequent, Zoroark opened her bag and began fiddling with Cyndaquil’s Poke ball. She could let him out now, given the relative safety they were in, but… There was something that had been bothering her for some time now. She doubted she would have a better time than now to bring it up.
“Lucario,” Zoroark spoke up, earning a single glance back from the canine. She paused, uncertain on whether or not she should ask. “Why do you follow Volo?” she eventually let out, deciding it was worth bringing up and earning a considering look from the other Pokémon. “I don’t understand what you see in him. He doesn’t seem honorable or trustworthy no matter how I look at- “
“Cario,” the jackal interrupted before she could finish that thought, the other Pokémon’s tone laced with clear disapproval. Yet a complicated expression did form out of its features afterwards as it considered how it should reply to her question. “Lucario,” it eventually provided, Zoroark furrowing her eyes at the answer.
A world where justice always prevails? Was that what Volo was offering it? Even if she could see the appeal, it didn’t make any sense – the world was fundamentally an unfair place. Even if the man said he wanted to ‘fix what’s wrong with the world,’ there was no feasible way to make that happen.
Then again, Volo was relatively insane, given some of the details he shared. It wouldn’t surprise her if Lucario was just as mad as its trainer and convinced that a solution was out there. Still, a justice related reason did line up with what she knew of their species.
They walked on in silence for after that, Zoroark stilling her tongue from belittling Lucario or showing her thoughts. Doing so would only antagonize it, which seemed like a bad idea after it had offered her a sufficient amount of respect over the course of the day. She owed it some too, especially when she considered it put itself at risk to intervene at the end of her fight.
Still, having asked her question, she decided she should finally release Cyndaquil. Even if he wasn’t bothered by being in a Poke ball, she still didn’t like the fact that he was stuck in one. Zoroark once more opened the bag hanging at her waist to fetch Cyndaquil’s Poke ball. She released him up ahead near a tree stump, a red light and a subsequent flash signaling his appearance alongside a surprised cry from the fire-type.
He looked around and spotted her. It almost looked like he was about to run up to her before his eyes managed to catch sight of the passed-out Electabuzz laying on Lucario’s back. He let out a small gasp and sheepishly approached the downed Pokémon, eyeing it carefully and with curiosity. He then turned with questioning eyes towards Lucario as he did his best to keep pace with the taller Pokémon. “Cyndaquil?” he asked, wondering who had fought it.
Lucario shook its head as it continued to guide them back with steady steps. The canine pointed with its nose in Zoroark’s direction, Cyndaquil turning to look at her. He then ran towards her and began questioning her about the battle, to which she happily obliged, with a few changes and exaggerations that made her look significantly better.
From there, it was mostly uneventful up until they found the Stantler that had guided them, who was currently eating something from the nearby bushes much like it had before they split apart. It was clearly a glutton and its nonchalant reaction to their approach slightly annoyed her, as though the Pokémon had no fear of them.
Upon catching sight of them, the Stantler approached the fainted Electabuzz on Lucario’s back and eyed it curiously. Lucario looked at the deer and gestured for it to take the Pokémon, believing the four-legged cervid to be more fit for carrying the fainted Pokémon. The act went entirely unnoticed – or, rather, ignored – by the Stantler, who walked off after sating its curiosity, earning a smidgen of approval from Zoroark.
With a sigh, Lucario continued carrying the Pokémon with it after Stantler gestured for them to follow it from a distance away. Cyndaquil and Zoroark likewise followed. Now, they’d get their prize from the elder Stantler and, hopefully, Lucario will be able to convince one of the herd’s members to lead them back to somewhere they recognized.
After all, she still had to confront Volo and get proper answers out of him.