pokefic chapter 11

"Finally!" Cera said as the three stood at the beginning of Route 56. "On the road again!"

"The routes are longer from here on out, though," Amber commented. Next to her, Quilava chirped in agreement.

"That's just more chance to train!" Cera told her with a grin. On her shoulder, Totodile made a noise of agreement.

"The next town is Oolite Town," Emil read from the map on his Pokédex. "There's a farm there and a daycare! That's so cool."

"No Gym?" Cera asked, already looking disappointed.

Emil shook his head. "The next Gym is in Coquina City, but you should take advantage of  the extra time. The Gym leader, Leaelly, is pretty well known for her strength. Plus, she uses Water Types. You don't have any counter for that."

Cera rolled her eyes. "I can improvise," she replied. "We'll learn a new move for Riolu to use!"

Emil stared at her incredulously for a moment. Somehow the more obvious issue of Rampardos having a weakness, or of Totodile being the same Type completely went over her head like the fastest Pidgey using Quick Attack.

"Alright," Emil finally said. "This route isn't harsh terrain-wise, it's just very long. But we should keep a lookout for wild Pokémon, since they're more likely to get scared and attack us here. There's not as much stuff besides grass for them to hide behind."

"Says here there's Growlithe around," Amber said excitedly, Pokédex in hand. "I've been wanting more Fire Types."

"We can look on the way, then," Cera replied.

"Hopefully there's some cover ahead," Emil added with a nervous glance to the sky. It was overcast, and clouds were threatening to pour down below.

"It's always raining when we travel," Cera muttered, despite the fact that they'd been traveling barely a week.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before they crammed themselves under a large oak, trying to avoid the rain thrumming around them. Quilava and Absol were both returned, but Totodile happily laid a few feet in front of the trio, soaking in the water and mud.

"I bet Feebas would like this weather," Cera commented, nudging Amber, who gave her a wry look.

"Not in those shallow puddles, it wouldn't," she replied. As she spoke, there was a rustle in the branch in front of her, and a little green Pokémon suddenly dropped into view. Amber stared at it for a moment before pulling out her Pokédex.

*"Burmy, the Bagworm Pokémon,"* it said robotically. *"To shelter itself from cold, wintry winds, it covers itself with a cloak made of twigs and leaves."*

"Cute," Amber said. "It's a Bug Type."

"What's it doing?" Emil asked, patting Totodile's head as it trotted back over to them. "They don't usually just come out to talk to people. They're pretty timid."

"Wait, look," Cera said, leaning over Amber to point. At a closer inspection, the Burmy was chirping and making noises, trying to call attention to itself.

There was more rustling, and they looked around as more Burmpy appeared until half a dozen were scattered around them, dangling from the branches. They all chattered, seemingly anxious about something.

"What's wrong with them?" Cera added, eyes brows furrowed. Totodile squawked curiously.

"They're not the only ones," Emil said. "Look."

Gazing around the area, they could see Pokémon all over behaving strangely; Mankey were fidgeting nervously, Buneary were huddled together, looking around, Ledyba and Mothim were fluttering away, and Cera could even see a Persian hissing anxiously as it looked around, using its body to shield a few small Meowth.

Cera exchanged a glance with Amber. "What's going--"

All three ducked, covering their heads with their arms as the route suddenly lit up, the sky flashing.

"The storm's getting bad," Emil said, slowly lowering his arms. "Is that why the Pokémon are acting weird?"

"It's just the weather," Amber said. "They shouldn't be freaking out like this, especially since they're all native to the area."

"Look!" Cera suddenly cried, pointing. They heard rumbling, and saw something moving quickly through the rain, kicking up dust. Pokémon dove away, making room as the figure plowed through.

"What is that?" Amber added, slowly moving from sitting to a crouch. The others followed suit.

Cera held up her Pokédex. "A Tauros," she said. "I've never seen one up close before."

"It doesn't look happy," Amber commented.

The Tauros came into view now, suddenly veering to the left and charging right at them.

They all cried out, quickly running out of the way just as the large Pokémon slammed into the tree trunk, grunting as it stepped back, shaking its head.

"Tauros don't live on this route, do they?" Cera asked her brother, staring incredulously as the Tauros pawed at the ground angrily.

Emil shook his head. "They don't, usually."

"Here it comes again!" Amber called. Tauros charged, and it only narrowly missed them, swerving to avoid falling into a pond.

Cera held up a Poké Ball, eyes narrowed. "Rampardos--"

"Wait, don't," Emil quickly said. "It won't do well in the rain. Neither will Aerodactyl," he added, glancing at Amber.

Cera lowered her arm, eyebrows furrowed. It was true; rain tended to irritate Rampardos too much for it to focus on a task. Plus, it made it grow easily weary. It wasn't hard for her to guess the same applied to Quilava. And she already knew Absol hated the rain.

She glanced at Totodile on her shoulder. It was far too small to try to hold back Tauros. "Maybe Riolu?" she offered.

"Can it handle it?" Emil asked. "I know Riolu's tough, but it's still a small Pokémon."

Cera turned as she heard the Tauros let out an angry huff. "We don't have time to decide," she said. "Riolu, Force Palm!"

She threw the Poké Ball, and Riolu appeared in a flash of light, paw already glowing. It landed, using the momentum to leap above Tauros as it charged forward. It made contact, Force Palm smashing into Tauros.

And then, Riolu was flung backwards, slamming into the ground at Cera's feet. She quickly scooped it up into her arms.

Returning Riolu, she turned to the others. "Now what?"

Amber looked behind the siblings, eyes widening. "Don't look now, but we have another problem."

While Tauros was recovering from its last charge, another Pokémon was raging a few yards away; a huge yellow figure with a glowing red tail-tip.

*"Ampharos, the Light Pokémon, and the evolved form of Flaaffy,"* Cera's Pokédex chimed in. *"The bright light on its tail can be seen from far away. It has been treasured since ancient times as a beacon."*

"Doesn't look like it's trying to help us right now," Amber said wryly. As she spoke, the Ampharos's body lit up in blue electricity, a flash of lightning blasting towards them.

They all scattered, running to avoid as the Thunder attack hit the earth, spraying dirt and rocks in the air.

Cera could see Amber and Emil taking cover behind a large boulder. Meanwhile, she pressed her back against a tree trunk, Totodile looking around it to see Ampharos.

"Is it close?" she asked her partner. Totodile nodded, keeping close to her.

Ampharos let out a cry, and Cera forced herself to watch as it sent a purple and green beam of energy into Tauros. The large Normal Type grunted angrily, but merely shook away the pain of the attack. It tamped down on the ground before charging, body glowing.

"Signal Beam and Take Down," Cera observed quietly. The two Pokémon went back and forth exchanging attacks, neither appearing any closer to giving up.

Thunder shook the sky again, and Cera turned her back to the fight again, holding Totodile closely to her chest. When she opened her eyes, the sky was dark gray, and she could barely make out anything. She looked over, feeling panic rush through her.

She couldn't see Emil, or Amber for that matter.

Not caring about the two dangerous Pokémon fighting, she let Totodile climb onto her shoulder before running towards where she'd last seen them. Nothing. She called out to them, receiving no response.

Cera looked up, squinting against the brightness as lightning flashed across the sky, lighting everything up in a white sheen. Suddenly, a large, bulky form appeared, barely a discernible silhouette in the sky. It landed in front of Ampharos and Tauros, though the two barely seemed to notice it as electricity veered off, barely missing Cera.

"Rock Slide!" a new voice shouted, and Cera gasped as she realized there was a person *riding* the dark figure.

A blast rocketed the area as the figure's attack hit, and the light faded enough for Cera to get a half decent look at it. Ampharos and Tauros were gone, as was the person riding the thing. The terrain seemed different, too, somehow. It was rocky, mountainous.

The figure itself was toned in browns and grays. It had powerful horns curving from its head, and its amber eyes gleamed as it made eye contact with Cera.

Then, lightning flashed again, and it was gone. The terrain was the normal field again, and Cera could see Ampharos and Tauros laying on the ground in a daze. And, a couple yards away, stood Amber and Emil. They perked up, despite the heavy rain, as they saw Cera.

"Cera, there you are!" Amber cried. All three teenagers ran to meet each other. "You suddenly disappeared--Totodile, too. We thought we just couldn't see you through the rain, but then you didn't answer when we called for you."

Cera furrowed her eyebrows. That wasn't right. "No, *you* guys disappeared," she argued. "I called for both of you, but you weren't there."

Amber shook her head. "Both Emil and I saw," she said. "You were gone, and then you showed up again. Like magic."

*Like magic.* Cera glanced down. "You both suddenly were gone, and then the ground and stuff changed..."

"If we didn't see you, and your surroundings were different, I think it might have been you that went somewhere else," Emil piped up.

Cera glanced at him for a second. He had a point. "Well, I don't know where I went. Oh!" She quickly looked around. "I saw something--like a Pokémon."

"A Pokémon?" Amber repeated.

Cera nodded. "It had a person riding it, and it had big horns--its Rock Slide knocked out Ampharos and Tauros, see?" She pointed to the two large Pokémon on the ground. She nearly jumped, noticing a young man with a large gray Pokémon beside him. He knelt by Tauros, then moved on to check Ampharos.

"I don't know about horns, but that guy's Kommo-o did them in pretty well," Amber said.

"We should take cover again now that they're calmed down," Emil told them both. They nodded, all three heading to duck under the tree. The Kommo-o's Trainer stayed with the two large Pokémon, evidently unbothered by the still heavy rain.

After a few minutes, the rain suddenly stopped, just as abruptly as it had begun. The three peeked out, walking over as Kommo-o's Trainer waved to them.

"Are you all okay?" he asked, standing up to meet them. "I know Ampharos and Tauros might have roughed you up a bit."

Cera glanced at the two Pokémon on the ground wryly. "We're okay," she said. "Where'd they come from?"

The Trainer jabbed his thumb over his shoulder behind him. "Oolite Daycare," he said, like the disturbance was nothing. "I was visiting, and I heard that they got out. Figured I'd clean up the mess."

"Visiting?" Emil asked. Cera was just as confused; this Trainer didn't look more than two years older than them. Surely he was traveling still; even after a Trainer accomplishes their initial goals, there's tons to do in a region before going to a town is just "visiting."

"I'm from Oolite Town," he explained. "The Daycare is run by my parents. Apparently Ampharos and Tauros have been a problem for them lately."

Cera fell silent, studying him for a moment. This all sounded familiar, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Well, thanks," Amber said. "I'm Amber, that's Cera and Emil."

He brightened. "Wollemia's kids?" he said with a grin. "I knew there was a resemblance! I'm Aeluro." He reached out to shake each of their hands in turn.

It clicked for Cera then, and the other two seemed to realize at the same moment. "Wait, Aeluro?" she nearly shouted. "You're from the Elite Four!"

He gave a sheepish smile, reaching to pet his Kommo-o. "That's me," he confirmed. "I try not to flaunt."

Cera turned to grin at her two companions, looking ready to burst. "He's the newest member! He only joined two years ago, he uses Fighting Types! This is so cool!" She turned back to him, ecstatic. "Could I please battle you? I can't give up an opportunity like this!"

Aeluro gave a gentle shake of his head. "Not at the moment. Right now I need to bring these two back to the Daycare. Once we know they're alright, then sure," he said. "Kommo-o, mind grabbing Tauros?"

Kommo-o gave a low growl of agreement, leaning down to pick up Tauros. Despite his short size, Aeluro easily lifted Ampharos in his arms, waving for the others to follow him to town.

They followed closely, and Cera suddenly jumped as she remembered. "Oh, Aeluro!" she called, running up to him. "Um, did you have any other Pokémon with you? When you knocked out Ampharos and Tauros?"

Aeluro glanced down at her, shifting Ampharos in his arms to open a side of his vest. Only one Poké Ball was strapped to it. "I only brought Kommo-o, why?"

Cera furrowed her eyebrows. "Is it possible one of your other Pokémon followed you or something?" she insisted. "The Pokémon I saw was big and stocky. And, it walked on four legs. Not like Kommo-o at all."

"All my Pokémon are bipedal, sorry," Aeluro responded apologetically. "Maybe it was a trick of the light. You said you saw it when I knocked them out? The lightning was pretty bad then." Cera wanted to be skeptical, but she could tell he was being genuine.

"I guess..." she said slowly. Though, she found it hard to believe she'd only seen something that wasn't really there. It'd been too clear for that. Still, she walked along, pushing back the frustration.