FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

---

Once the sun started to rise, the group was up and about once again. After putting out the fire and gathering up all of their stuff, the three of them set off to continue their long trek to Ecruteak.

"Mister Kyo?" Asako asked, "How much farther until we reach Ecruteak?"

"Uhhh," he pulled out his poke-gear from his bag, "we're...just about half way."

"Okay," she replied, nodding, "by the way, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he said, putting the device away, "what's up?"

"I just wanna know," she began, "how did you get a poke-gear?" Kyo's heart skipped a beat. "And also, what about all of your stuff? And how did you get your shorts?"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhh," he tried to think of something, "a...a friend gave em to me."

"All of that stuff?!" she exclaimed, surprised, "is your friend rich?"

"Y-yeah," he replied, faking a smile, "I was really lucky. I kept telling him to not give me such expensive stuff, but he kept insisting on me to take them."

"Wow," said Asako, "you really are lucky. My parents gave me all of my stuff."

"Heh, that's generally where a kid can get their stuff," he chuckled, relaxing slightly.

"So...was your friend a trainer?" The question made him tense again. "Was he your trainer?"

"Uhhh," he tried to think of something, "no, I...never actually had a trainer before."

"You haven't?" she exclaimed, having a double take, "so then...who took care of you?"

"Well..." Kyo took another moment to think, "I...I guess you can say I'm...an orphan pokemon."

"Oh," said Asako, looking away awkwardly, "I didn't...know that..." They walked in silence for a moment, before she turned back to him. "I'm sorry I brought that up mister Kyo. I won't do it again, I promise."

He smiled at her. "It's alright, just don't worry about it."

"Okay," she nodded, turning back to the path ahead.

"So," Kyo began, "what exactly are you planning to do once you get to Ecruteak? I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

"I'm gonna challenge the gym there!" she declared proudly, looking at him excitedly, "after that, I'll have three!"

"Three?!" it was Kyo's turn to double take, "which ones do you have?"

"Let me see..." she reached into her bag, pulling out her badge case, "I've got...the ones from Golden Rod and...Olivine."

Olivine?! he thought to himself, wow...she actually beat Jasmine's pokemon... Is she some sort of genius or something?

"Hey Asako," he asked, "How did you beat Jasmine? Wasn't she...difficult?"

"Well, I was kind of lucky," she replied, "I found out fire types were strong against steel types." She looked down at her partner and smiled, "plus, Flamy's a really good pokemon. He's very clever and strong."

Flamy puffed out his chest proudly, walking on ahead of the pair. They both chuckled.

"But to be honest, I think she was going easy on me," said Asako, "she didn't use very big pokemon, so I only fought Mawle and Magenmite."

Kyo paused to think about what she could have really meant. Maw...Mawl...Oh! She meant Mawile and Magnemite.

"You should still be proud," he replied, "It's not an easy task to defeat gym trainers, especially for someone at your age."

"Yeeaaahhhh," Asako shrugged, "I guess you're right. But I heard that Ecruteak's gym leader is really strong."

"I'll bet," Kyo nodded, "he uses ghost type pokemon. They're not too common around Jhoto."

"Wow mister Kyo," said Asako, "you sure know a lot about the region. How do you know about all of these things?"

Kyo flinched. Shoot, I shouldn't have gotten carried away...

"Uhhh," he thought about what to say for the third time in a row, "it's...it's what happens after you've traveled as much as me."

"Cool," she replied, "how far have you been?"

He paused. I guess there's no real problem with telling her that.

"Hold on a sec..." He pulled out his poke-gear again, clicking to the map. "So far...I've been as far as Cherrygrove City." He lowered his poke-gear to her, pointing to where it was on the map.

"Wooooaaaahhhh, that sure is far." She looked up at him, eyes wide. "And you went there all by yourself?"

"Heh, not really," he replied, "I had help of course. I had a partner of my own you know."

"Really?" Asako asked with wide eyes, "You mean like me 'n Flamy?"

"Yep," Kyo answered her, "the two of us were best friends. I don't think there was ever anything that could separate us."

"Wow," she gasped in amazement, "so...uhhh..." She hesitated, looking away.

Kyo's head tilted. "What is it? Something you want to ask me?"

"There is," she answered, "but...I don't think I should ask..."

"Go on," he encouraged her, "I'm listening."

"Well...i-if you say so." She looked to him again. "So...if you two were partners, then...what happened?"

"Oh," said Kyo, smile fading slightly, "I...I see what you mean..."

"I-I'm sorry mister Kyo!" she stammered, "I didn't mean to do that again, I swear!"

"Y-you don't need to worry," he tried to assure her, putting his hands up, "it's not that bad of a question really." Asako calmed down, and looked at him apologetically. He shrugged it off, waving dismissively. He thought for a moment about what to say. "If you really want to know, it was because...there were people...we needed to protect..."

They walked in silence, before Asako worked up the courage to speak again. "There were...people you needed to protect?" Kyo only nodded in response. "Oh...that must've been...hard to do..." Her eyes wandered over to Flamy, who was still walking ahead of them. "I don't think I would've been able to do anything like that. I can't imagine what a day would be like without Flamy..." Flamy looked over to the pair, a hint of concern in his eyes as he watched his trainer.

Kyo nodded. "Yeah, it was hard when we left. None of us were really ready to say goodbye, but we knew it was for the best." His hands went to the back of his head. "Besides, we realized something." He looked over to Asako, who was listening intently. "We realized that it wasn't the end. We knew that we would be able to see each other again some day."

Asako smiled warmly. "You two must've been really close, huh? I don't think me 'n Flamy are even that close yet."

"'Hey,'" Flamy began, "'don't go speak saying things like that. Flamy super close to trainer.'" Asako looked to Kyo.

"He's saying not to look so down on yourselves," he explained, "the two of you are that close to each other. You just don't realize it."

She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." She looked over to her partner, bowing slightly. "Sorry if I hurt your feelings Flamy."

"'Well...as long as trainer get gets it...then Flamy suppose it fine...'" He turned back around, facing the path ahead. He paused, sniffing the air. "'Oh! Looks like we have meet company.'"

"What'd he say?" Asako asked him curiously.

"He said we have company," he answered her. He turned to the fire type. "Hey, what kind of company are you talking about?"

"'Trainer company,'" he replied, pointing a paw forward, "'and Flamy think trainer know this trainer.'"

"What'd he say now?" asked Asako.

"It's a trainer..." Kyo began, "and...he says that you know this one."

"A trainer I know?" Her head tilted slightly. "Huh...I guess we should say hi then. Come on Flamy!" Before Kyo could react, the two of them hurried off to see who it was.

"H-hey, wait for me!" Kyo shouted out as he ran off to catch up to them. He soon did, as they didn't run very far from him. They stopped, seeing a young boy out in the distance.

"Hey!" Asako shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth, "Michi! Is that you?!" The boy's head perked up, and he turned towards the group. The boy smiled, and waved toward them. "Come over here! I want you to meet my friend!" The boy nodded, and jogged towards them.

"Hey Asako!" he shouted as he made his way towards them, waving. She waved back happily, and looked to Kyo.

"That's Michi," she told him, "he was one of my friends. He went on his journey on the same day I did."

"That so?" Kyo asked, raising an eye ridge. He looked over to Michi's direction, who was almost caught up with them. When he finally arrived, he paused for a moment to catch his breath.

"Hi Asako," he greeted again, looking to Kyo, "is this a pokemon you caught?"

She shook her head. "No. This is mister Kyo, he's a wild Feraligatr."

"Nice to meet you," Kyo said to him, "so you're Asak-ACK!" He was cut off as a pokeball was thrown at his forehead.

"Michiiiiiii," said Asako, "that wasn't very nice."

"Sorry," he replied, "it's just that you said that you didn't catch him so I wanted to give it a try."

"Well it doesn't work anyways," she told him, "pokeballs don't work on him for some reason."

"Oh," said Michi, looking over to Kyo, "is it because he's shaped weird?"

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" he said to himself off to the side. "N-no. W...well kinda... It's because I'm something called a pokemorph. See, they're these pokemon tha-w-wait a sec. Are you seriously not weirded out that I can talk as well?"

The boy tilted his head slightly. "Is...that not normal?"

Asako giggled. "No silly, pokemon can't talk like you and me. Mister Kyo told me about that when I asked him the same thing."

"Oh, okay," he replied, "it's just weird that they can't, cuz it always sounds like they're saying their names all the time." He shrugged, and moved on from the subject. "So Asako, have you caught anything cool yet?"

"No," she answered him with a shake of her head, "it's still just me 'n Flamy. What about you?"

"Oh yeah!" he replied enthusiastically, "I got two more pokemon. Wanna see em?" Asako nodded her head excitedly, making Michi smile.

"Sweet. Lemme just get em out first." His hands reached into his bag, and he pulled out three pokeballs. "Come on out guys!" he said as he threw them up in the air, each opening up and spilling out the red energy that soon materialized the pokemon within.

The first one to come forth was a small, green creature with a leaf on its head. Its body was in a shape very similar to a pear. It was Quadra pedal, standing on four feet. Kyo recognized it as the grass pokemon, Chikorita.

The second pokemon was a brown-feathered bird with a sizable beak. A sharp 'V' adorned its forehead, almost appearing as a sort of eyebrow. Delicately held within its wing was a small green twig, about the size of the bird itself. Kyo identified this one as Farfetch'd.

The last one was also a bird, also having brown feathers. Its beak was smaller than the previous avian. Its feet were planted firmly next to each other, giving the deceptive appearance of only having one leg. Similar to Farfetch'd, the pokemon had an interesting design around its head, with a black outline around its eyes and two arrows also in the shape of a 'V' at its forehead. Kyo easily recognized it as Hoothoot, a rarer pokemon out of the bunch.

"Whoooaaaa," Asako gasped, kneeling down to the small owl's height, "did you really catch these Michi?"

"Uh-huh," he replied, nodding proudly, "aren't they cool?"

"'Meh,'" Flamy spoke up, folding his arms and looking to the side, "'Flamy guess new pokemon alright.'"

"What'd Flamy say mister Kyo?" Asako asked, looking up to Kyo as she gently petted the Hoothoot.

"Oh that's right!" Michi exclaimed, looking at Kyo excitedly, "You can tell us what our pokemon say!" The water type smiled, chuckling slightly.

"Well," he began, "Flamy's saying that he's not entirely impressed by your new pokemon Michi."

"Awww," the boy said, frowning at the small hedgehog, "not even a little?" Flamy looked defiantly to the side, his chin up in a snotty way.

"Hey, don't worry 'bout it," Kyo tried to cheer him up, "If anything, you should be proud of yourself. Catchin' pokemon is not as easy as it looks. In fact..." His hand went to his chin. "Is...is Chikorita your starter?"

Michi looked over to the small grass type. "Yeah, her name's Leafy." He knelt down to pet her head gently, earning a happy squeak from her. "Why?"

"Just curious," Kyo continued, "did you catch those pokemon with her?" The boy nodded, looking up at him. Kyo smiled. "Well color me impressed. I don't think you realize this, but flying types are strong against grass types." Michi's eyes widened greatly.

"Really?! I didn't know that!"

"Good job Michi!" Asako congratulated him, smiling at him brightly.

"Th-thanks," he replied enthusiastically, scratching the back of his head, "I-I just remembered that Chikorita could use her vine whip to catch them out of the air."

"Heh, pretty clever thinking on your part," Kyo said, glancing over to Flamy's direction, who simply chuffed and looked off to the side. He chuckled at this, and turned back to Michi.

"'Y...yeah,'" Leafy began hesitantly, "'m...my master's very clever. H-he can think his way out of a lot of situations.'" Kyo smiled and knelt down to her level.

"What'd she say Kyo?" Michi asked him.

"She's agreeing with what I said," he told him, "She also thinks you're clever."

"Awww, Leafy," Michi hugged the small grass type, making her blush lightly.

"'Ey, Croc face,'" a voice spoke up behind Kyo, making him blink in confusion. He turned around, meeting the eyes of the Farfetch'd. "'So what's yer story eh? Ya don't speak in ah tongue, n' ya certainly ain't no ordinary poke.'"

Kyo blinked again, a bit caught off guard from the bird pokemon's...language. "U-um...I-I'm sorry, come again?"

"'He asked for your story hoot,'" a new voice piped up. Kyo turned around, seeing that it was the Hoothoot that was speaking now. "'Lizards can hear, right hoot?'"

Again, Kyo blinked. He cleared his throat awkwardly as he tried to come up with something to say. "I...I'm sorry. I just...I'm not used to your...dialects." The two bird types tilted their heads.

"'Lissen Croc,'" Farfetch'd continued, "'All I'm askin' 'bout is what yer deal is. I culd ceah less 'bout what yer used to 'n what yer not, capish?'"

"I...uh..."

"'He's asking if you understand him hoot,'" Hoothoot informed him, "'You should try to listen more hoot. It's important if you want to have a conversation with someone hoot.'"

"I-I'm sorry," Kyo stammered, "I-it's just hard for me to adjust to all these different-"

"'Ey!'" Farfetch'd cut him off, "'don'chu rememba what I said? I jus' tol' you that I wanna know 'bout yer story. You c'n tell me 'bout yer unerstan' of speakin' when I give three Digletts.'"

Kyo scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Um...kid?"

"Yeah Kyo?" said Michi.

"...Where exactly did you catch these guys?"

Michi put a finger to his lip, thinking for a moment. "Well...I caught Hoothoot somewhere along this route, and I got Farfetch'd...somewhere...near Goldenrod I think."

"That...makes sense," Kyo said to himself.

"'EY!'" the duck shouted at him, pointing his twig at him, "'Iz that s'possed to mean somthin?!'"

"Uh-uh-no-no," Kyo stammered, putting his hands up, "n-nothing at all-nothing at all!" Farfetch'd glared at him, making the water type withdraw slightly.

"'P-please don't be mad at him Farfetch'd,'" Leafy said to the bird pokemon, "'I-I'm sure he doesn't mean any harm. H-he seems very nice.'"

Farfetch'd rolled his eyes. "'Pfft, whatev'r Pear shape. Jus' as long as he ain't runnin' his mouth, then I'll leave 'im be.'"

"I'll...try not to do that then," Kyo said, scratching the back of his head. Asako and Michi looked to each other, exchanging glances. They simply shrugged and let it go.

"'So anyways hoot,'" said Hoothoot, "'I think I'll be turning in hoot. I'm a nocturnal hoot. Sunlight isn't my thing hoot.'" He turned to Michi and hooted twice. He nodded in understanding and pulled out his pokeball. He scooted over to him, and pressed the button of the ball to the owl's forehead, returning him to a mass of red energy and back into the ball.

"'I think Imma be turnin' in too,'" Farfetch'd declared. He pointed his twig at Kyo. "'R'member what I said. Run yer mouth again, 'n Imma bop ya on the noggin once er twice.'"

"I'll...I'll keep that in mind..." Waving his wing dismissively, Farfetch'd squawked at his trainer, who pulled out his pokeball and returned him as well. He turned to the grass type.

"So, do you wanna go back too Leafy?" he asked her curiously. She shook her head in response, letting out a small chirp. Michi shrugged. "If you say so." He sat down next to her, and looked to the group. "So where are you guys going?"

"We're going to Ecruteak city," Asako answered him, "and Kyo's coming with us because he wants to make sure we make it there safely."

"'Even though poke-trainer have nothing to worry about,'" Flamy muttered, "'Flamy keep saying Flamy strong strong. Poke-trainer still don't listen.'" He hopped onto Asako's lap, and curled up into a ball.

"'I-I'm sure he has faith in you Flamy,'" Leafy began, "'b-but you can never be too safe. R-right mister Kyo?'"

Kyo nodded, turning to Flamy. "Yeah Flamy, I trust that you're strong. I'm just concerned about you guys." The fire type rolled his eyes.

"'It no matter to Flamy,'" he replied dismissively, "'just as long as poke-trainer no get over-protective.'" He settled into her lap, and took a small nap. Asako smiled, and pet him as he slept.

"Thanks for defending me by the way Leafy," said Kyo, "It was pretty nice of you to do that."

"'W-w-well,'" she stuttered, blushing and looking away, "'it-it was the least I could have done. Y-you're welcome though.'" Kyo chuckled, smiling at her.

"You definitely are a shy one, aren't you Leafy?" She blushed again, nodding and looking away from him. The group let out a chuckle, bringing about a deeper blush from her. "But anyways, where are you headed Michi? I don't believe you've told us yet."

Michi put a finger to his lip. "Hmm, you know what? I actually don't have any plans." Kyo tilted his head in confusion. "You see, I'm not really on a journey for gym battles. I'm really just traveling around cuz it's fun." He smiled, petting his pokemon's head. "I get to see lots of cool things, and I get to meet tons of cool pokemon." He paused. "...Oh, that's not really answering your question, is it? Heheh." The group laughed lightly, and even Leafy joined in. "Well, we weren't going anywhere specific, cuz we were just exploring the forest, but we were probably going to stop at the closest city."

"Then you should come with us!" Asako piped up, "We're getting closer to Ecruteak, so you might as well tag along." Michi looked up, thinking for a moment. "Come ooooooooon, it'll be fun! We don't normally see each other anymore, so why not go together for a little bit?"

"'Hold on, hold on, hold on,'" Flamy spoke suddenly, uncurling himself from his ball, "'Flamy no agree with this. Flamy no enjoy crowded trips. Why we need to have more?'" The two kids looked to Kyo, and he looked away awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"Um...h-he said that he...isn't exactly...cool with the idea..." Asako looked down at her partner.

"What's wrong Flamy?" she asked him, "You don't want Michi to come along?"

"Y-yeah Flamy," said Michi, looking over to him as well, "do you not like me?" Flamy looked defiantly to the side.

"'Flamy just tired of tag-alongs is all,'" he muttered, "'it starting to get crowded in Flamy's metaphorical bus.'" Kyo chuckled, and turned to Michi.

"It's not you, he says," he told him, "he's just getting a bit irritated from how many people have been starting to tag along with Asako."

"Flamy," Asako said in a scolding voice, "you shouldn't be like that. You know that we don't get to see my friends all that much. Plus, it's only for a little bit. When we get to Ecruteak, everything will be back to normal. I promise." Flamy grumbled, continuing to look away. "Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaassssseeeeeeeeee?" His demeanor faltered briefly, and his brow twitched.

"'Mmmmmmmmmmrrrrrrrrrrppppphhhhhhhhhh.'" He hopped off of his trainer's lap, turning his back to the group. "'Fine.'" The two trainers looked to Kyo, and he smiled.

"He said he'll let him come." Asako and Michi cheered in happiness, jumping for joy. Asako scooped up her fire type pokemon.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" She hugged him tightly, bringing about a blush to his face.

"'It...it nothing," he replied sheepishly, "'j-just no more hike-hitchers anymore.'" Asako looked to Kyo again.

"He's just asking that you don't add any other hitch hikers after this," he replied, to which Asako nodded. She looked down at Flamy,

"Okay Flamy, I promise. No more adding people after this, I promise," she said to him, raising her right hand up. Flamy nodded, and she gently set him back down. She looked to Michi, who was still jumping around and cheering. "So you ready to go?"

"Huh?" he said, stopping where he was, "Oh! Y-yeah, let's get going! Come on Leafy!" He motioned to the grass type, and the two of them marched forward.

"Uhhhh, M-Michi?" said Kyo, making him turn around.

"What's up?" he asked, a large smile across his face.

Kyo pointed his thumb the other way. "Ecruteak's...the other way..."

"...............OH!"

***

The group soon set off for Ecruteak once again. They were even closer to their destination, but it was still a fair distance away. Flamy continued to lead the group, and Asako and Michi were chatting away, catching up with each other and telling each other about their experiences and all of the sites that they saw.

"Farfetch'd can do that?!" Asako exclaimed in surprise, taken aback by her friend's statement. He simply nodded proudly.

"Aren't I lucky?" he chanted, "Apparently a trainer let him go, so he knew Leaf Blade!"

"Can they even learn that move?" she asked him.

"Apparently," he shrugged, "I think it had something to do with the daycare...but I don't know what that has to do with anything..."

Asako looked up to Kyo. "Do you know any reason mister Kyo? You seem to know a lot about pokemon, so maybe you know?"

"Sorry, but I don't know much about that either," he answered her, "but...it _sort_of makes sense. I mean, he carries around a twig with him, so I guess...that's why he can do that?"

"I guess," Michi said dismissively, "but either way, he knows it, so that's cool." He turned back to Asako. "So Asako, does Flamy know any cool moves?"

"'Flamy does!'" he shouted to them from a distance, continuing to lead them.

"He says he does," Kyo informed them.

"Cool! What is it?" Michi looked to Asako excitedly.

"Welllll," she began, "it...technically isn't a move. More of...a combo of moves." The two males looked at her with a confused expression. "It's...kinda hard to explain, but what Flamy does is he uses the fire on his back to shoot himself at pokemon. So...it's ...sort of like a rocket Tackle."

"Oh, cool," Michi replied, "I hope I get to see that one day."

"Yeah, I do too," Kyo added, "it seems like a really cool idea."

"I'll be sure to show you guys one day," Asako replied with a happy smile.

"I look forward to it," Kyo replied with a smile of his own. He turned away briefly, reaching into his bag and pulling out his water canteen. "It seems like something that I-aw...dang it." The two trainers looked up at him. "Sorry guys, can you stay here for a bit? I gotta go 'n refill my canteen. Just ran out of water."

"Okay mister Kyo, we'll wait here," she replied, calling for Flamy to stop.

"Thanks you guys," he says, bowing to them slightly, "I promise it'll be quick." At that, he hurried off to the side, seeking out any nearby streams or ponds.

He walked a fair distance, but he soon found a small pond. Unscrewing the cap, he dipped his canteen into the water, soon refilling it completely. He screwed the cap back on, and dropped it back into his bag. He sighed. Sheesh, it's pretty hot today. Is it summer already? Shaking his head, he scooped up some water into his hands, and drank from them.

"Well, well, well," a voice spoke up behind Kyo. He froze where he was. He recognized the voice, and it certainly wasn't Asako or anyone else for the matter. Hesitantly, he turned around. His heart skipped a beat upon seeing who it was.

It was Eidin.

"I finally found you," said Eidin, a wicked grin crossing his face, "and you thought you could run away from me, freak."

Kyo growled, cautiously getting into a crouch and slowly backing away from his former friend. "How did you find me?" he hissed, narrowing his eyes at him. Eidin simply chuckled.

"It wasn't difficult. After I found out that you ran out on everyone, all I had to do was follow the only feasible path you'd take. After all, you were never a very clever kid growing up. You could never navigate through the forests without a set gravel path to guide you." He chuckled. "After that, I had my pokemon sniff you out. Well, technically Totodile's scent, but you know, you water types tend to have the same scent." He chuckled. "And soon enough, you were in my sites."

Kyo growled more loudly, baring his teeth. "Why did you follow? What do you want from me?"

Again, the human chuckled. "You really are still the same kid back then. Isn't it obvious?" He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a pokeball. "I'm here to finish what I started."

Kyo caught his breath in realization. "You...you were the one who threw the brick, weren't you?!" This time, Eidin laughed.

"Right you are!" he taunted, "and now I have you where I want you! No one can save you here. I'm going to enjoy murdering you, you freak of nature." He tossed the ball up, releasing the contents inside.

Once the pokemon fully materialized, Kyo's features shifted from anger to pure fear and dread. Standing before the water type was a creature of yellow fur. The middle region of its body was of white fur, going down between its legs. Black stripes circled around its neck, ears and tail. On its forehead was a sort of glass orb, with a larger one attached to the end of its tail. Kyo was face to face with an Ampharos.

An electric type.

Eidin's wicked smile widened. "You know what happens next, don't you?"

Kyo bared his teeth at him. "You'll never get away with this."

"Oh but I will," he replied, "because no one will find your body, and no one will come searching for you in the first place." He laughed maniacally before putting a hand to his chin. "Now, what was it you always said before entering battle?" He pointed at Kyo. "Was it...'Don't hold back,'" he then pointed his thumb towards himself, "'because I certainly won't'?" Kyo clenched his fist, growling with newfound anger.

To think...the two of us used to be close friends..._Kyo thought to himself grimly,_and now look at him... He glared at the trainer, now unable to see the childhood friend he used to be.

"Now how 'bout we get on with it?" Eidin began, cutting Kyo from his thoughts. "Ampharos, Thunderbolt, now!" The creature nodded, and began charging up its energy. Acting fast, Kyo jumped out of the way as it shot out a bolt of thunder towards him. He rolled to a stop, drawing his claws. "What are you waiting for? Attack again!" The electric type obeyed, launching bold after bolt at the Feraligatr-morph.

"Hah!" Kyo cried out as he hastily jumped away from another bolt, rolling on the floor and landing in a kneel.

"Stay still damn you!" Eidin yelled out in frustration. "Ampharos! Keep this bastard still with Thunder Wave!" Again, the creature obeyed his command, and began to gather up energy in its body.

Kyo backed up, and dashed off in the other direction. However, the Ampharos had fully charged, and launched a wave of electrical energy towards him, paralyzing him where he stood and eliciting a cry of pain from him. He fell to the ground with a thud, unable to move.

"HAHAHAHA!" Eidin cackled, "TOO DAMN EASY!" Eidin and his pokemon made their way over to the collapsed morph. Kyo struggled to stand, but his arms and legs refused to move. Suddenly, a firm kick was landed on his side, causing him to cry out in pain and roll to his other side. His eyes were met with the sight of the deranged trainer.

"Now before I have my pokemon electrocute you to death," he said, looking down on Kyo as if he were some downed animal he had shot, "I'm going to make sure that I've had my share of beating you." He kicked hard at Kyo's gut, causing him to yell out another cry of pain. "And of course, I don't mean just defeating you." He let out another laugh, and continued to repeatedly kick at the poor, paralyzed morph.

This is it...isn't it... Kyo thought to himself grimly through the pain, I'm...really going to die here... I'm...never going to see my family again... Somehow, the thought of that hurt him more than any kick his former friend delivered. _I'm...sorry...everyone..._Tears began to fall from his eyes as Eidin delivered blow after blow, each harder than the last. All he could do was lay there and take it.

"Aaahhrghh!" he gasped out as he was kicked in a rib. He tried to cave in, but his body would only jerk and shake with every effort to move.

"HAHAHAHA! YOU'RE GONNA DIE FREAK!" Eidin cried out in triumph, kicking even harder than before. Kyo could only close his eyes as he was beaten down upon. "I'M GONNA BREAK YOUR BONES AND FEED YOU TO THE BIRDS! BUT FIRST I'M GONNA HAVE SOME FUN, AND THERE'S NO BETTER FUN THA-GACK!" Suddenly, the kicking stopped. Kyo heard the clack of something landing next to him. Trying his best to ignore the pain, he opened his eyes to see, and through teary eyes, he saw what appeared to be some sort of red and white sphere.

A pokeball.

"Dammit," Eidin cursed, clutching the back of his head. He whipped his head around. "WHO THE HELL THREW THAT?!"

"Flamy! Rocket Tackle!" Kyo heard someone shout in the distance. Then, without warning, a blur of blue trailed by fire shot out from amongst the trees and impacted Eidin at the side, sending him careening away from Kyo. The blur bounced back, and landed in front of Kyo.

"'TAKE THAT JERKY MEANY BADY BAD JERK TRAINER!!!'" Flamy shouted angrily, flailing his arms. He then turned to Kyo, his expressions completely changing. "'Is poke-trainer okay? Flamy not too late, no?'"

"F...F-Flamy?" Kyo croaked in response, barely able to talk, much less move. Before Flamy said anything else, Asako was at his side, with Michi and Leafy trailing close behind.

"M-mister Kyo!" Asako sobbed, tears rushing down her face, "a-are you alright?! P-please tell me you're okay!"

"I..." Kyo struggled to get his words out, "I'm alright..." Asako moved closer, hugging him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. Leafy cried as well, shoving her face into his side and gently caressing him with her vines.

"Uuughhhh," Eidin groaned as he tried to stand back up, clutching his side, "the hell just happened?" Soon, his pokemon was at his side, helping him back up on his feet. He looked over to the group, where Michi and Flamy stood protectively in front of the downed pokemorph, their arms spread out.

"You're not hurting our friend anymore!" Michi shouted at him, with Flamy barking out in agreement, "We're gonna beat you and make sure you never hurt him again!"

"N...n-no," Kyo croaked desperately, "it's...too dangerous...j-just get out of here..."

"Hah!" Eidin laughed, "You kids actually made friends with this piece of deformed trash? Huh, kids these days are gettin' stupider and stupider." Michi glared at the older trainer and Flamy let out a low growl. "But whatever. I'll give you one warning." He pointed a finger at them. "Get out of my way and you won't get hurt. Otherwise, you'll get your share of a beating as well."

"'JUST SHUT UP!'" Flamy shouted furiously, "'FLAMY NO WANNA HEAR JERK TRAINER'S STUPID TALK ANYMORE! FLAMY GONNA BE THE ONE DOING BEAT BEATING!'" He whipped his head to Michi's direction. "'FRIEND TRAINER! WE GO BEAT BEAT JERK TRAINER NOW!'" While Michi didn't understand exactly what he had said, the message was clear enough. He pulled out his two pokeballs, and threw them up in the air.

The spilled energy materialized, and Michi's pokemon stood before the group once again. The two bird pokemon looked around in confusion. "Guys! This is an emergency! We gotta stop this guy from hurting Kyo!" They looked towards Eidin.

"'Ah, I see how it is,'" Farfetch'd said, flapping his wings once in agitation, "'This punk's bopin de Croc, eh? Ay Hoots, le's show this guy up!'"

"'Right with you hoot,'" Hoothoot replied, fanning his wings out, "'We'll put him in his place hoot.'"

"Hah! You're kidding me right?" Eidin taunted in amusement, "You're gonna try and stop me with two flying types? What a joke! Ampharos! Thunderbolt em!" The electric type nodded, walking up front and began to charge up.

"Hoothoot!" Michi shouted out, "use Hypnosis n' stop him!" Hoothoot nodded in response and closed his eyes. Soon after, they opened, revealing a soft glow within his pupils. He hooted once, and several rings of psychic energy shot towards the Ampharos. Just as it was about to launch its attack, the rings hit it, causing the creature to become drowsy before collapsing to the floor, falling soundly asleep.

"Dammit!" Eidin cursed loudly, "Get up Ampharos! Now's not the time to be sleeping!"

"Farfetch'd! Use Fury Attack while he's down!" Michi shouted, thrusting his arm out.

"'Aw yeah!'" he shouted out, dashing towards the downed electric type, "'Imma bop ya some!'" Once he was close enough, he swung his twig upwards, knocking the Ampharos' head up. Acting quickly, Farfetch'd swatted the electric type back and forth, swinging his twig from side to side over and over again. "'TAKE. THIS. YOU. FAKING. SHEEP. THING.'" He delivered another firm swat, and the electric type was woken back up.

"Ampharos!" Eidin shouted, "Just Thunder Wave em already!" After receiving one more firm smack, the Ampharos swatted the flying type away with his paw, sending him back several feet. Getting back to its feet, the Ampharos quickly charged up its energy before launching a wave of electricity towards the downed flying type. He let out a squawk before collapsing to the ground, unable to move.

"Farfetch'd!" Michi shouted, "Come on! Get up!" The twig-wielding duck tried to get up, but could only manage to fidget and jerk. "Dang it. Farfetch'd! Return!" He thrust his pokeball out, preparing to return his pokemon back inside.

"Ampharos!" said Eidin, "Thunder Wave his other pokemon now!" Before any of them could react, another wave of electricity was shot, paralyzing Hoothoot and subjecting him to the same conditions Farfetch'd was experiencing.

"Hoothoot!" Michi exclaimed, whipping his head to Eidin and glaring at him, "Hey! No fair!" Eidin laughed at his remark.

"Who the hell said there were rules?" he retorted, "I'm in the middle of trying to kill someone after all." Michi quickly returned both of his pokemon into their balls, clipping them to his belt. "Now, Ampharos! Use your Thunder Wave again, but this time," he turned his eyes to Michi with a wicked grin crossing his face, "this time on hi-"

"NO!" Kyo cried out, causing everyone's eyes to fall upon him. His teeth were gritted, and his eyes bore a raging fire of anger. With all the strength he could muster, Kyo fought the effects of his paralysis, and staggered to his feet. "E...ENOUGH EIDIN! Y...Y-YOU CAME HERE...FOR ME! ...NOT THEM!" Eidin chuffed, rolling his eyes.

"Huh, I'm impressed that you managed to speak, let alone stand up," he said, "but regardless, they got in my way, so I'm just making sure they pay for that."

"But...they're...CHILDREN!" Kyo shot back, fists clenched in anger, "Are you...REALLY...THAT COLD-HEARTED?!" Again, Eidin's eyes rolled.

"They were the ones who chose_to get in my way, so _I'm just punishing them accordingly."

"You're a monster," Kyo growled, baring his teeth.

"I believe you're mistaken," Eidin retorted, smiling at him coyly, "I am a human being. You on the other hand are the monster. And, as a human, it's my job to slay the monster. So in a sense, that makes me the good guy, right?" He began to cackle madly, the wicked grin plastered onto his face.

"M...Michi," Kyo began, causing the two younger trainers to look to him, "Asako...run..."

"What?!" Asako exclaimed, "B-but we can't leav-"

"I SAID RUN!" Kyo cut her off. They hesitated, none of them not wanting to leave their friend.

"'Now no time to be stupid stupid poke-trainer!'" Flamy shouted, "'If Flamy and trainers leave, then jerk trainer make zappy pokemon hurt poke-trainer bad bad!'"

"I DON'T CARE!" Kyo shot back, struggling with every word, "GO! NOW!" They began to argue amongst each other, none wanting to leave the other.

Eidin chuckled. "Is this infighting I see?" he said, "Ampharos! Thunder Wave the boy while they're distracted!" The electric type nodded, and prepared another shot.

"Arceus sake! Just le-" Kyo stopped himself, "MICHI MOVE!" Acting fast, Kyo lurched forward and shoved Michi to the side, causing the attack intended for him to instead fall upon himself. Kyo cried out as he was once again hit by a wave of electrical energy. He immediately collapsed to the ground, violently twitching and jerking. His breaths became even more labored, and he found it harder to remain conscious.

"KYO!" the group exclaimed, all rushing to his side. Eidin laughed hard, almost falling over in amusement.

"What a fucking idiot!" he cackled, clutching his sides, "The moron's gonna die without me even trying!"

"Kyo please say something!" Michi sobbed, holding his shoulder and shaking him slightly. Kyo could only manage to groan in response, breathing becoming labored and difficult. His muscles refused to relax, making his limbs stiff and unmovable.

Eidin caught his breath, and sighed. "Alright Ampharos, time to end this. Just Thunderbolt them all." The electric type nodded, and began to charge.

Flamy caught ear of this, and whirled around. Before the electric type could do anything, Flamy quickly let out a jet of flame, stunning it and causing it to stagger backwards, shielding itself with its arms.

"'STAY AWAY BACK!!!'" Flamy growled, "'ZAPPY POKEMON AND JERK TRAINER NO TOUCH TRAINER OR POKE-TRAINER!!!'"

"Still being defiant huh?" Eidin said in amusement, "Yeah, go right ahead, see if it matters to m-"

He stopped mid-sentence as a loud roar echoed throughout the forest. Eidin froze where he stood. The roar had sounded close.

Very close.

He looked around, head darting from left to right. He spun around, looking behind him. He heard heavy feet thudding on the ground. He backed up several steps, scanning the area for whatever was approaching.

"Is this what you call fighting?" a deep voice sounded from amongst the trees, "Do you have no honor of which to speak of?" Eidin let out a sigh, and relaxed.

"Oh what? Are you gonna give me a speech?" He punched his palm. "If you wanna try and stop me, then come out n' battle me!" He turned his head to his pokemon. "Ampharos! Ignore them for now! Let's take care of this guy first!" Ampharos nodded, and hurried over to his front. "Come on then! I heard your pokemon's roar! I know you're a pokemon trainer! So come out and show yourself!"

A booming laughter escaped from the stranger. "So now you wish to fight me, do you? Well, if it's a fight you want..." The footsteps continued, and a huge figure emerged from the trees. Eidin's composure changed completely, stumbling back and falling on his haunches in fear. Michi, Asako, and the rest looked over to where the stranger was, and they all stared in shock. The figure smirked. "Then it's a fight you'll get."

Standing before the fallen trainer was a huge, six-foot beast. His body was covered from head to toe with thick, brown fur, save for light brown fur on his short muzzle along with a large circle on his stomach. It stood on two feet, its muscular arms folded across its chest. It smiled a toothy grin, flashing its large teeth. It was a bear, and it was not. It was an Ursaring. But it was no ordinary Ursaring.

It was a pokemorph.

"A..." Eidin's mouth gaped open, "a...another one?!" The bear's booming laughter filled their ears once more.

"Has your confidence left you so soon?" he laughed, "You can handle attacking defenseless individuals just fine, but not a straight fight man to man?"

"MAN?!" Eidin exclaimed, scrambling to his feet, "You are no man! You're another one of those freaks of nature!" The Ursaring-morph raised a brow.

"Another one?" he said, tilting his head slightly. "You've met another..." his eyes drifted over to Kyo's direction. The bear's eyes widened. "OH! THERE YOU ARE! Ha ha, it looks like I don't have to travel all the way to Olivine after all!" He put his hands to his hips, and laughed. He paused for a moment, looking up as if in thought. "Wait...so...if you're here with...Mh!" His eyes darted over to Eidin. "YOU are attacking him and the children, aren't you!"

Eidin hesitated. "And...and what if I am?"

The pokemorph growled, baring his teeth. He unfolded his arms, and cracked his neck. He squatted down, placing his hands on his thighs. He slowly began to raise his left foot up, tilting his body slightly, before coming down and slamming his foot on the ground, taking a wide stance. Eidin felt the ground beneath him shake and rumble for a moment. "Now you and I will fight."

Eidin clenched his fists. "F-fine!" He whipped his head to his partner. "Ampharos, Thunder Wave this thing like the rest!" The electric type nodded, and charged up for the attack.

"Come!" the Ursaring shouted, "Come at me with all of your might!" The Ampharos hesitated briefly, before finally launching its attack. The wave of electricity impacted the morph, causing him to tense up. His eyes clenched closed, breathing deeply through his nostrils.

"Ha! Stupid idiot!" Eidin laughed in amusement, "Just standing there like a useless plank...of...wood..." He trailed off, staring at the normal type in confusion. While he did seem paralyzed, he seemed otherwise undeterred. His shoulders rose and fell with every massive breath he took.

"Nakeru..." he muttered under his breath, "nakeru...nakeru...nakeru..." Suddenly, he lifted a leg up, and took a heavy step forward, shaking the ground beneath. "Nakeru..." His other leg was lifted up, and he took another powerful step, still remaining in his squatting position. Eidin stared at him in shock, mouth gaping open. "Nakeru..." Another step was taken, and the Ampharos took a step back. "Nakeru...Nakeru...Nakeru..." He stopped in front of the electric type, who could also only stare in shock. Snapping itself back into the fight, it began to charge an attack. The Ursaring-morph's eyes snapped open. "NAKERU DE!!!" The bear's arms shot forward, delivering a powerful impact with open palms. The force of the push sent the electric type flying back, taking its trainer with it.

They both hit the ground with a hard thud, landing a few yards behind Kyo and the others. He clutched the back of his head as he tried to get back up. However, the weight of his pokemon kept him on the ground. "Gah, Ampharos ge-" He stopped. Opening his eyes, he saw that the electric type had been knocked out. He grimaced, rolling it off of him and returning it to its pokeball. He staggered to his feet, shuddering and trembling. His eyes began to water, and tears began to fall from his eyes. "D-damn you!"

"HA HA HA HA!" the bear laughed, his booming laughter filling their ears once more. "My strength," he put a thumb to his chin, and popped his neck, "has made you cry!" Eidin choked, trying to reply.

"Sh-shUt up!" he shouted, his voice cracking mid-sentence. He wiped the tears from his eyes. He flipped him off and made a mad dash in the other direction.

"Flamy! Rocket Tackle!" Asako shouted. Flamy quickly obeyed, and shot forward using his flames to propel him. He landed his target, tackling Eidin square in the head and knocking him out cold.

"'Jerk trainer got SMACKED!'" Flamy shouted, turning around and kicking up some dirt at Eidin's unconscious form. He huffed, and trotted away.

The bear nodded in satisfaction, and slowly made his way over to Kyo and the others. The two trainers looked up at him in fascination, crowded around Kyo in concern over him. The larger morph knelt down to their level.

"Are you two alright?" he asked them, gradually overcoming the effects of the Thunder Wave.

"We're fine, but our friend isn't," Asako replied, indicating to Kyo, "That mean trainer attacked Kyo and he got attacked with an electric attack." Kyo's back was to them. He jerked slightly, still tense and unable to move. His eyes were clenched closed, and his breaths were still very much labored. "Will he be alright?"

"Mrph," the bear grunted, nodding, "he should be fine. However, he does need medicine. Do either of you have any potions for paralysis?" The two trainers hurriedly opened their bags, searching for one.

"Here!" Michi said excitedly, holding it up for the bear to see. He nodded once more.

"Good," he said, "now spray it over his body. It should neutralize the electricity and return him to normal." Michi nodded, and moved in closer to Kyo. Everyone else backed up slightly to allow him more space to work with.

He sprayed at Kyo's back, and his back immediately began to relax and loosen. Michi then moved on to his neck, then his arms, then the rest of his body. Soon enough, Kyo was completely restored. He laid there on the ground for a while, slowly regaining his energy as his body was finally granted rest. Michi then turned to the other morph.

"Do you need any mister?" he asked him, holding the bottle up. The Ursaring shook his head.

"I'll be fine," he replied, "It takes more than a little jolt to keep me down."

"'Hmph, another overconfidenter,'" said Flamy, "'just like poke-trainer.'" The Ursaring-morph let out a laugh.

"Silly little one," he said, "I am no trainer. I am a proud pokemorph!"

Flamy rolled his eyes. "'Not what Flamy meant...'" He trotted over to his trainer, and sat on her lap.

"So you're like Kyo then?" Asako asked curiously, gently petting Kyo's shoulder as he rested.

"That is indeed true," the bear replied, "and I am not the only one. In fact, there is an entire island inhabited by pokemon like us."

"Really?!" both trainers exclaimed at once, looking up at him in surprise.

"Indeed," the bear answered them, "in fact, that is why I came here. I heard news of another pokemorph in this area, so I thought I would come here and check. And by much luck, I have come across him on the way! Ha ha ha!" He crossed his arms as he let out his laugh.

"You mean, you were looking for him?" Asako asked.

"Yes I was," the bear replied, "though it is a misfortune that I come across him in the middle of a fight. Though I suppose that it is also a good thing, especially considering nothing worse happened. I hadn't even anticipated coming across him when I heard the cries of help from afar."

"Th...thank..." Kyo croaked weakly, bringing all of the attention to him. The two trainers moved closer to him, along with their pokemon and the large morph. "Th...thank you for...h-he-"

"Shhh," the bear shushed him, gently placing a paw over his muzzle, "there is no need to thank me. For now, you must rest. You can thank me later." Kyo tried to speak again, but could only manage a few grunts and weak murrs. He soon settled back down, not making another sound. The bear patted him on the shoulder as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

***