Pokémon: Outcast of Comb Island (Prologue)

Prologue


	One more hit did her in. The Combee fell from the air and spiraled to the dirt ground of the forest clearing, landing with a grunt of pain. She buzzed her wings weakly, but found it difficult to lift off the ground. As she struggled, laughter began to fill the air, and she grimaced at the all-to-familiar sound.

	“It’s over,” said an authoritative voice from above. The fallen Combee continued to beat her wings, and finally managed to generate enough lift to hover an inch over the ground. Breathing heavily, she looked up to see where the voice had come from. She saw above the swarm of Combee that had hovered at the edge of the recently concluded duel, and amongst them was the victor, who looked down at her before descending towards her. Like herself, her foe was a female Combee, though the red mark on her lower face was a much darker shade than average, more crimson than red.

	“That was even easier than last time,” she said as she descended towards her bested foe. “What a shame. I was hoping you’d put up more of a fight this time. It’s no good to have a rival that doesn’t provide a challenge, but apparently you haven’t improved. And you know what that means.”

	Hesitantly, the fallen Combee glanced behind her at the four male Combee who had been accompanying her for days. They did not meet her gaze, instead just flying over her and towards the swarm hovering above.

	“No!” the defeated Combee cried towards them. “Don’t go!” But her four former companions did not even glance back at her as they flew off, joining the swarm and melting into the group to become indistinguishable from the rest.

	“You know the rules,” her opponent said. “You lost. If you wanted to keep them as your followers, you should have fought harder.”

	“But I fought as hard as I could!”

	“That’s your own problem, not mine. You have to leave now, outcast.”

	Outcast. The word stung the Combee. She had been a member of that hated caste for so much of her life, and thus been called it so often, that most of its impact had worn off. But as she had just managed to become a warlord again a few days ago, having that title stripped away and replaced by “outcast” made the word hurt even more.

	“I can’t go out there into the wilds again,” the outcast said, her voice cracking with emotion. “I can’t survive out there. Please don’t make me go out there alone again!”

	“Like I said, that’s your own problem. I can’t help you. Now, unless you want to suffer more than just defeat, you really should leave.”

	The swarm of Combee behind the crimson-marked female began to buzz aggressively. The fallen Combee looked at them for a few moments, torn between staying and fleeing. She knew that she would not survive if she ignored the crimson-marked warlord and stayed here. Even so, such a fate was preferable to trying to live alone, in a way. She had half a mind to just give up, to stay and let the swarm destroy her. But the thought frightened her, goading her into action. The woods were dangerous, but she had survived them before, while no Combee had ever survived an attack by scores of their fellows.

	So the outcast turned and flew off as fast as her wings could carry her, back into the forest that she had wished she would never again need to enter alone.


***


	A Pokémon researcher crouched amongst a cluster of bushes deep in the rainforest. The smell of impending rain hung in the air, and with a sigh, he pulled the hood of his yellow raincoat over his head. If he did not find a Pokémon soon, he would need to start heading back to the town empty-handed, and he hated to do that.

	As he hunkered down in the undergrowth, senses alert for any nearby wild Pokémon, he soon detected a quiet buzz, followed by a tiny fleeting shadow between the trees in the distance. He held up his Silph Scanner, aimed it at the shadow, and tapped the screen. He smiled as the screen lit up with the details of the shadowy creature.

	“Well, would you look at that,” he said as he felt for a Quick Ball in the pouch hanging at his hip. “It's about time I found you.”


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