Chapter 12:

Sky Encounter

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Hylla didn't waste a second, she opened the drawer behind her desk and pulled out a sleek black laptop.

I wanted to shout that now was not the time to do that but in the second I was processing that thought she had already logged in and was typing away faster than I thought was possible.

It was not an operating system I recognized but that was not strange, considering I'm not in the same universe anymore.

She typed something faster than I could read and closed the window, then she opened another window.

The window itself was divided in 4 parts, 3 of them showing live footage from outside and the fourth being black.

"We have cameras? Awesome." Chelsea commended, not at all disturbed.

Hylla didn't bother answering, instead she studied what was going on.

On the live footage we saw Team Rocket members walking up the hill, it could be seen from three different angles and they all showed the same thing.

They were surrounding the hospital.

Welp, time to prepare for trouble.

I could spot 6 Team Rocket members in total, they all had a variety of Pokémon though most of them did not look very threatening.

They had a shitload of Zubat, Ratata and other pest like Pokémon that were not really a big threat.

Having lived in this world for almost a week made me less scared of them, sure they were dangerous but I have Ralts and my trusty knif— shit I need to get a new one as fast as I can. Until then stick with kicking and running away.

However one of the Team Rocket Members had a Machamp with him and another one had a Ursaring which was concerning.

Hylla closed the laptop and pulled out three shrunken Pokéballs and threw them to the floor, enlarging them in the process.

With a flash Charizard, Luxray and Rapidash appeared.

They each let out their generic cry, Charizard's sounding a bit anxious and Luxray sounded like it was ready to battle.

Rapidash stayed completely silent, I could barely hear its breath. Weird shit I know.

"You're gonna fight them?" I asked.

"Not exactly." Hylla said and turned to her Pokémon. "The hospital is under siege by Team Rocket members, go stall them but avoid direct combat. Charizard-" Charizard perked up, "-after exactly two minutes you create a Smokescreen big enough to cover the entire hill, Rapidash keep the Smokescreen going using Tail Whip and keep pressure, but don’t stay still, keep moving."

Rapidash stared blankly.

"And you two," Hylla ignored the stare and turned to Luxray and Charizard. "Come back here as soon as the Smokescreen is up. GO!"

It sounded like a weird plan to me but Hylla seemed to know what she was doing.

Charizard and Luxray roared triumphantly and Rapidash neighed which actually surprised me.

They turned around to leave, I briefly wondered how Charizard would leave the building considering its size but it stormed through a wall without much consideration.

"This place is going to turn into a battlefield soon anyway," Hylla said without breaking a sweat. Chelsea and I were staring at the gaping hole in the wall. Hylla didn’t even look at it.

We heard the sound of an ongoing battle coming from outside. Roars, the sound of trees being toppled over and cries. The sounds were still a distance away but far too close for my liking.

"So," I said, "If you plan to fight them just so you know, my Ralts is in a bad shape."

"Ralts," Ralts agreed, lying comfortably in my arms.

Hylla opened her magical drawer again and pulled out a weird purple bottle with a spray head mounted on top.

Wow, that's a potion.

She tossed it at me and I managed to catch it without dropping Ralts. "Spray it on her and it should heal the wounds, it's not a replacement for an actual Pokécenter but it's a good temporary solution.

"Ralts?"

I followed her directions and began spraying, it apparently tickled because Ralts tried to suppress a chuckle.

"So, we're going to fight them?" Chelsea said, then yawned which was kinda misplaced.

A loud crackle tore through the air and interrupted Hylla's answer.

Hylla waited till the sound of crackling electricity faded away and began to explain.

"We're not going to fight them," Hylla said matter of factly, "They are after you Dust,"

Hylla turned to me.

"So, what should I do?" I asked, truly having not a clear idea of what to do.

"You and Chelsea are going to fly away while I fight the Team Rocket members and keep them occupied. In the meantime the two of you can make an escape." Hylla folded her arms confidently.

"We're going to fly!?" Chelsea asked.

"You're going to fight them alone?" I asked at the same time.

"Ralts!?" Ralts imitated me.

Another explosion shook the building and I almost fell to the floor. Chelsea hopped off the desk to have a better footing.

"They are here for you to get revenge, you and Chelsea are the most vulnerable. If you two fly away on Charizard while I keep them busy I won't have to worry about you two. Help should arrive in 14 minutes, the Smokescreen will hopefully feed them the illusion you are still here."

It sounded like a solid plan to me, I love fleeing and if Hylla was confident she could hold out till help arrives, I was all in, still if we left on Charizard Hylla would be left with only two Pokémon.

"I still have Luxray and Rapidash so I won't be alone. Besides I don't have to win, just to sit out the time and give off the illusion of a battle."

Hylla was so calm it was almost freaky, the sounds of an ongoing battle kept coming closer and I heard people shouting outside.

A continued barrage of attacks hit the building and I heard things on the top floor fall, though it looked like the building withstood most of it.

"Chimchar is still upstairs!" Chelsea suddenly gasped.

"Go get him." Hylla ordered and Chelsea stormed up the stairs.

Ralts was now in a better state so I moved her to sit on my neck so I had my hands free.

"So, 100% sure you can handle the situation?" I asked anxiously.

Hylla smirked. "Don't forget I'm a Pokémon trainer too. Don’t worry about me, just make sure you and Chelsea make it safely to Twinleaf town's police station, Charizard knows the way."

"Wait, why not Sandgem town?" From my understanding Sandgem town was bigger than Twinleaf town so I would head to that place, assuming they had more people.

"Twinleaf town is smaller but still has a decent sized police department but less chance of infiltration by Team Rocket."

"Infiltration?"

Another explosion shook the building.

"The Team Rockets must have used a leak or something to track you down, Twinleaf town is too insignificant for Team Rocket and thus safer," Hylla said matter of factly.

"Got it!" Chelsea cried out as she ran down the stairs, holding a Pokéball.

"Okay, are you two ready to take flight?" Hylla smiled.

"Small problem," I said, "I don't know how to ride a Charizard."

"Don't worry, it'll come naturally."

A loud roar came from outside and I heard again the sound of lightning ripping through the air.

"Oohhh...they brought a Rhyhorn along, how interesting." Hylla apparently recognized the sound.

"So, where are we flying to?" Chelsea asked, sounding slightly afraid now the danger was getting closer.

"Twinleaf town." I answered, as if I knew the way.

"Okay, everyone ready to go?" Hylla asked, clapping her hands together.

"Except for the part of not knowing how to fly, yes!" I replied with sarcasm.

Just as I said that Charizard and Luxray entered the lobby, Charizard did not have a scratch but Luxray's mane was ruffled and dirty from whatever fight he just had.

Charizard huffed as it stopped in front of Hylla.

Black, thick smoke flowed through the gaping hole in the wall and made it impossible to see through.

I heard sounds of panic coming from outside, followed by cries of pain.

Guess Rapidash was doing a good job.

"is Smokescreen covering the entire place?" Hylla asked Charizard and the dragon nodded.

"Okay, everyone move to the side," Hylla commanded and we followed, not wanting to get hurt by whatever she was cooking up.

"Luxray, Charge Beam straight up through the middle of the roof."

"WHAT!?"

Luxray's body began generating electricity, yellow-electric arcs sprung to life around its body and a net of electricity formed before it all was focused into one spot above Luxray's head.

"Cover your eyes,” Hylla calmly said and I did as I was told.

I didn't see what happened but I could see the flash straight through my closed eyelids.

When I opened them again a hole big enough to fly through had appeared in the roof, going straight through the second floor and cutting a bed in the process.

A pile of rubble had formed around the hole but most of it was apparently annihilated by the electric beam of energy.

"Huh, that worked."

"Raaaltts."

"What the hell?"

Hylla didn't even blink. "Luxray, go outside and assist Rapidash, I'll join you two soon."

Luxray roared and ran away, back into the smoke.

"Okay, Charizard," Hylla turned towards Charizard, "I need you to bring these two to Twinleaf town for safety, can you do that for me?"

Charizard stared at the two of us.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

I stared back at it, not sure what to say or to do.

The dragon huffed but it lowered its back and folded its wings open, allowing us to climb on top of it.

"Now," Hylla said, turning to us," Charizard is not used to the weight of two people so don't expect too much okay?"

"Yeah yeah yeah," Chelsea said impatiently, "now I wanna ride." She sounded upbeat but I could hear a frantic edge

Hylla ignored it and pointed her finger at me, "Climb on Charizard's back and place your feet around the neck."

A series of explosions were coming from outside and I saw that the smoke was slowly but surely fading away.

I quickly complied and mounted the dragon, which mind you, was scary as fuck.

It kept shifting its weight making me wonder if it would attack me if I said the wrong thing.

Still, I managed to sit on top of it and swung my legs over the joins where its wings were connected to the shoulder so I would not restrict its movement.

It was not really comfortable, a combination of Charizard being kinda scary, the dragon's body being kinda hot (probably due to its Fire typing) and Charizard itself being nervous as well, making me even more afraid.

Ralts folder her legs around my neck and her arms around my head, effectively securing her own position.

Chelsea followed and sat between the shoulder joints and wrapped her arms around my middle, which made me realize how stupid this way of flying was.

If I fell Chelsea and Ralts would fall too, which didn't put pressure on me at all.

"This is awesome!" Chelsae cried out, making herself more comfortable.

"No, it's not."

"Okay, hold on tight." Hylla grinned. "Well, see you all in Twinleaf town!"

She turned around and before I could even protest or ask more questions, Charizard flapped its wings 2 times and shot straight up in the sky.

It should've been impossible, taking off like that, but Pokémon ignored the laws of physics on a daily basis.

Wind and gravity tried to peel me off Charizard's back as we shot up and I almost fell because I didn't anticipate the G-force of going straight up.

I couldn't even scream, Ralts was strangling my throat in an effort to not fall to her death and Chelsea was trying to crush my ribcage.

I slightly turned my head and could see the hospital. It was a full moon, which besides being ominous was also really useful for seeing what was going on.

The entire hospital and the hill it was built on was covered in smoke, making a stark contrast with the clear night sky.

Through the black smoke I could see lightning rip across the landscape, zapping multiple opponents at the same time.

A trail of bright flames flashed through the smoke without a clear pattern, striking tiny enemies who were too slow to even react to the burning horse.

The hospital looked worse than when I had arrived, the back part of it had collapsed and it had a huge hole in the roof.

Why do I have the feeling I'm partly to blame for this?

Charizard roared and we broke through the clouds. I felt the air condense on me but it was thrown off by our ridiculous speed which was at least a small positive of this horrible experience.

Okay, that was exaggerated. Flying on Charizard was awesome but it was scary and not at all relaxing, probably because of my two passengers.

When we finally achieved the right height Charizard stopped flying vertically and switched to flying horizontally, which was way better.

I let out a sigh of relief as Charizard slowed its speed and I could breathe again.

"Welp," I yelled to no one in particular. "That was fun."

"I know right!" Chelsea said, still trying to break my ribs.

I wasn't particularly scared of heights, sure they made me uncomfortable but that made me want to overcome that fear by going even higher. Still, this was the highest I've ever been in my life.

I managed to make myself even more comfortable by slightly leaning over and placing my hands on Charizards’ neck, which I couldn't do before without risking falling down. But now we were slowly flying horizontally I allowed myself a bit more space

Below us I only saw white clouds covering the earth, a small gap in the clouds revealed we were flying above a forest.

It made me wonder how Charizard knew where to go, did it read the stars or something? The clouds blocked everything that could indicate where we were going.

For about 2 minutes we flew relaxed and I was actually enjoying it, that was until Fate decided to fuck me over again.

"Raaaaallltts" Ralts let out a panicked cry.

"What?" I cried out, "How? We're flying fucking high."

"What -what?" Chelsea asked, confused.

"Ralts senses someone following us." I explained and I tried to see where our enemy could be at the same time, but I saw nothing except clouds.

Then the sound came and I immediately knew what was coming.

Ultrasonic cries filled the air all of a sudden. It sounded like an ominous siren. I looked behind me.

A swarm of Zubat broke through the clouds and it was immediately noticeable.

Their screeches filled the air as they began to give chase and there were so many that I couldn't even count them, how many did Team Rocket even have?

I guessed about a hundred of them but I had no idea if that number was accurate or exaggerated by my own fear and imagination.

They flew with no particular pattern, they were all clustered up into a single screeching mass of flapping wings that had a clear intention of chasing us.

They began firing attacks at Charizard, purple rays and blades made of wind flew past us as they tried to take us down but Charizard dodged them as expertly as it could without moving too suddenly and risk throwing us off its back.

"Zubat!" I cried out and Charizard began to fly faster but the speed was dramatically slower.

Was it getting tired?

The swarm was gaining on us.

"Chelsea," I asked, "Why isn't it doing anything about the Zubat"

"It's a she," Chelsea yelled, trying to be heard but the wind generated by Charizard's increasing speed was making it hard to have a conversation. "And no, why don't you ask her?"

Charizard gave me an annoyed huf, then suddenly glided down as another barrage of attacks flew over our head.

"How do you even tell the difference between a male and female Charizard?" I muttered annoyed.

"The horns." Chelsea answered, apparently hearing it.

"Rraaaalllttts!" Ralts yelled panicked, not contributing to conversation.

I leaned forward to talk to Charizard. "Charizard," I asked. "Can't you get rid of the swarm with Flamethrower?"

She gave me a wary look and shook her head.

"Why not?"

I mean, isn't Flamethrower super powerful? One good hit should be able to take down at least most of the swarm, leaving the survivors to be picked off one by one.

The swarm was now around 40 meters (130 Feet) behind us and I could even see a few Golbat flying in the swarm, the attacks were now getting closer to hitting us.

Charizard demonstrated the reason why she couldn't get rid of the swarm, she turned around mid air and opened her mouth.

A beam of flames tore through the night sky and it was beautiful...but also utterly useless.

I immediately understood why Charizard couldn't get rid of the swarm, the moment Charizard turned around the swarm scattered, apparently smart enough to know the danger of a dragon.

Charizard turned back and began to fly away again, trying to gain speed but being at a disadvantage by Chelsea and me riding on her back.

So it seems like Charizard couldn't turn around fast enough to face the swarm before it scattered, or maybe she could but didn't dare too because that might throw us off her back.

Same for going faster, we were limiting its movement options by just sitting on her back.

If only…

Charizard slightly turned her head to give me a "told you" look and focused her attention on dodging attacks again.

The swarm continued its attack like nothing happened and was now coming even closer.

I leaned forward to talk to Charizard. "Charizard," I yelled. "I have a plan to deal with the Zubat."

Charizard gave me a skeptical look.

"Do you trust me?" I asked as I began to consider all the possibilities.

The Charizard shook her head clearly saying no...okay, ouch.

"Do something!" Chelsea yelled.

"I'm trying." I gritted my teeth.

"Look," I faced the dragon again. "I have a plan, I know you don't trust me but we're kinda in a bad spot."

Charizard didn't even pay me attention.

Still, the swarm kept getting closer and the attacks were still raining down on us.

The ride was also getting more uncomfortable as Charizard was forced to make weird maneuvers to dodge the attacks.

I tried again. "You need to trust me this once," I yelled. "Hylla told you to bring us to safety and right now you are not going to make it."

Charizard groaned and shot me an annoyed look.

The best moment to have a deep conversation is of course while sitting on a dragon's back and escaping a swarm of flying rodents. "If Hylla's sister dies it's going to be your fault, do you realize that?"

Charizard shot me a glare, good at least I got some reaction out of her.

"I think I know something but I need you to listen to me or it will fail. Nothing to lose, right?"

Another windblade passed over our heads and almost hit us.

Charizard's gaze passed over me and Chelsea, she suddenly dove down and up and dodged another barrage of attacks.

They were getting closer and closer and I was not sure if Charizard could keep dodging like that, I had no idea how she knew what direction to dodge towards but I didn't trust her to keep doing that perfectly, especially not as the swarm drew closer and their accuracy improved.

"Look if it fails you can eat me yourself now good?" I said, raising the stakes.

I didn't mention the fact that if my plan would fail we would be screwed anyway, it's about the symbolism anyway.

Charizard gave me one final look before nodding and gazing in front of her again to see where she was going.

"Zard." she huffed.

Bingo!

"Okay, let the swarm gain on us, not noticeable but surely and focus all your efforts on dodging. When I yell "now" you turn around and use Flamethrower on the swarm!" I yelled as I measured the distance between us and the swarm. "Don't worry about missing, this time it should work."

"What are you doing?" Chelsea shouted.

"Trying to get rid of our pursuers!" I yelled.

I hooked my legs behind Charizard's neck so I would have my hands free and pulled Ralts off my shoulders so I could talk to her.

Ralts for her part looked terrified, her red eyes were wide with fear and she held my hand so tight it actually hurt.

"You didn't expect this when you joined me did you?" I tried to ease her, I forced myself to feel calm so she would pick up on it.

Ralts gave me a shaky nod.

"Don't worry, it's almost over-"

Charizard suddenly swooped to the left and I almost fell, I had to strain every muscle in my leg to keep myself up.

I smiled at Ralts. "Almost over, just need you to do one thing. Think you can do that?"

"Raallts." Ralts tried to smile.

The swarm was now making more progress as Charizard stopped trying to outrun (outfly?) them and instead focused on dodging.

I counted the distance and the seconds.

"Okay, Ralts I need you to fire a full force Confusion at the middle of the swarm when they are in range."

"Ralts?"

The problem with this was that Ralts' Confusion was limited by line of sight and it was almost impossible for her to get a clear shot at the swarm without falling.

"I will hold you okay?" I said and she nodded.

I didn't mention the fact that I was almost falling down myself.

While my hands were shaking I slowly lifted her above my head. I tried to keep balance on the flying dragon with my legs, they began to feel numb but I could still use them as leverage to position myself.

I put Ralts on my head and held her with my hands above my head in position, she was shaking in fear.

She was now facing the swarm and could clearly see all the attacks they were firing, most of them were missing but some of them drew dangerously close.

They were almost in range of Confusion.

Three seconds later they were close enough, I quickly went over the speed of the Confusion and the speed of the swarm and decided this was the best shot we would get.

"Okay, Ralts fire the Confusion full force in the middle of the swarm!!!" I yelled.

“RAALTTS!” .

The Confusion appeared in the middle of the air. Big ethereal purple rays. They sped towards the swarm, growing in size as it traveled further.

At least 60% of the swarm flew right into and were thrown back a little.

I pulled her back into my arms and yelled. "Now Charizard!"

She spun around and faced the swarm, the spin almost made me fall (again) but this time Chelsea pushed her own weight against me to help me keep balance.

The swarm did not scatter this time, they couldn't.

I resisted the urge to smile, just the satisfaction of a scheme going as I planned made me want to laugh.

The swarm of Zubat and Golbat went nuts, they began to fly into each other and attacked their comrades in the chaos.

Some of them even fired attacks at their teammates which made for even more chaos.

The problem with the swarm was that they were cautious of Charizard, everytime she would turn to face them they would scatter and they became a very hard target. However they did not consider Ralts to be a threat, she was a lot smaller and didn't look half as dangerous.

But she was a threat, Ralts' Confusion was not merely just a damaging attack but also gave the Confused status effect, though the effect was inconsistent.

That didn't matter when she had a few dozen targets she hit at once, for every 9 Zubat who just got damaged at least one of them would get Confused.

And the Confused ones dragged down the others with them, a swarm relied on their coordination, especially with blind Pokémon.

The Confused Zubat stopped flying (making their teammates crash into them) or began to attack at randomly (causing more trouble), I had no idea how many of them were affected but it was enough to disrupt the entire swarm.

Charizard opened her mouth as the swarm descended into chaos and a beam of fire cut through the swarm.

Some of the bat-like Pokémon tried to escape but they were heavily hindered by the others who were not paying any attention to the dragon.

They screamed as the flame roasted them.

It was oddly satisfying, seeing Charizard take them out with such ease, the swarm began to thin out as Zubat fell from the sky.

Within a few seconds at least 95% of the swarm was taken out, only a few Zubat and Golbat remained, none of them were confused.

Charizard prepared a second Flamethrower but they fled, no longer having their numbers to their advantage.

We waited for a long minute for them to come back but it seemed like we scared them all off.

Charizard gave a satisfied huf and our eyes met, I saw respect and pride in her eyes. Then she returned to flying towards our destination.

"That was awesome." Chelsea said after a long silence.

"Ralts."

"Zard."

I stayed silent, not really having something to add to it.

I was still wary, the last hour was a rollercoaster for me and I still expected something worse to happen.

Only when a small town appeared underneath us and Charizard descended did I felt a little bit safer.

Charizard circled around a building that looked to be the police station before slowly diving down and landing on the pavement.

Chelsea hopped off first, followed by Ralts.

I jumped off last and the doors of the police station opened, a few guys in uniform stepped outside and greeted us.

I glanced at Charizard and wondered if she would fly back but she stayed near our side while Chelsea explained the situation.

I turned to face the orange dragon.

"Thanks." I said awkwardly. "For trusting me."

Charizard nodded and lowered her head, my mind froze before I realized that she wanted me to pet her.

I did and she let out a satisfied roar.

Now I only had to hope Hylla was doing okay.