[PW!] Vows

A soft wind played over the grass as the sun crept up over the
forested path leading to Fortree City. Within a small clearing stood a
tall young woman, her long brown hair swaying in the wind. In her
right hand, tightly clutched, was a Poké Ball.

While it hadn't been all that long ago since she'd been granted the
small spheroid, it had felt like months for Alexandria Masters. What
time she'd spent hadn't been wasted; a gym battle, a brief trip to a
Magma outpost, and her current journey, a short trip back to Fortree
City before she got back to what she'd been doing in Fortree before
all of this had started.

But the Poké Ball in her hand was very much a part of it.

She and several other members of the Search Party for Smasher had
entered the Fortree Doubles Tournament in the hopes of finding their
objective, Adam 'Smasher' Samson. Unfortunately for them, the Smasher
they encountered was false, a Ditto with his memories and Pokémon that
had managed to fool all of them. With that revelation also came
another; that one of Smasher's Pokémon, the massive Arcanine known as
Rush, had been converted into a Shadow Pokémon, little more than a
heartless weapon. It was Rush who now rested in that small Poké
Ball...just as he had since Alex had been given him at tournament's
end.

"You know child, indecision and you are hardly a good match."

She turned to the speaker. "Can you blame me for being a little
worried?"

"Not really, no." Schwester Schatten stepped forward. "However, you
seem to be losing sight of your priorities. When Rush fell into your
custody, you promised yourself that you'd do what you could to restore
him for Smasher's sake. Whether alive or dead, you knew Smasher would
rather his Pokémon be whole than a cruel version of his former self.
And yet, you've done nothing to fix the problem, beyond keep him with
you."

Alex shrugged. "A lot's come up."

"Yes, but you've been actively avoiding letting him out as well."
The helmeted ninja surveyed her carefully. "You've looked into methods
of purifying Shadow Pokémon. You know full well that the best method
to rid them of that taint is to battle with them, and you've been
purposely keeping him out of battle."

The girl averted her eyes, looking at her boot-clad feet. "Is that
a bad thing?"

"It is for Rush." Schwester stepped forward and laid her hands upon
the teen's shoulders. "I know full well you are sensitive to unusual
auras. The aura cast by Shadow Pokémon is especially unusual, and you
can't help but sense it. But as much as it pains you, you must battle
with Rush, and bring him back to himself."

"Who with?" Alex's eyes slowly tilted up as she looked into the
lenses of the ninja's helmet. "I can't ask Wanda; she's reluctant to
battle. Amber and Jason have their own problems. And no one else is
present. What am I supposed to do, risk a bunch of wild Pokémons'
lives bringing back a Pokémon more than three times their level of
strength?"

Schwester smiled beneath her face mask. "No child. You face a
trainer equal to Rush in terms of strength." She withdrew her hands,
then suddenly leapt backwards, landing on her high-heeled feet and
standing upright as she withdrew a Poké Ball of her own. "You face
me."

"What...but...!"

"Doth the lady protest?" The ninja's voice grew taunting. "The same
girl who entered the Silver Conference despite the odds against her?
The same girl who has faced bounty hunters, demons, and would prove
herself a hero? Or have you finally learned the meaning of the word
'surrender'?"

Both hands tightened. Eyes narrowed. "I never surrender."

"Then prove it girl."

Alex nodded. "Consider challenge accepted." She raised her right
arm and threw the Poké Ball into the air declaring, "Rush! Let's get
extreme!"

"Raijin! Come forth!"

As the two Pokémon materialized, a chill raced up and down
Alexandria's spine. This had been the first time Alex had ever brought
Rush out for a battle, and she'd been loathing that moment with good
reason.

He was very much the same large Arcanine as before, physically at
least. Those who did not know him before, or those who had not the
same sensitivity as Alex, would not know any different. But the large
canine was indeed different. A heavy aura shrouded him, causing Alex
to grit her teeth as it radiated away from his body. His paws dug into
the ground, and his fiery, striped fur appeared even more vicious than
before. His large eyes looked upon the Raichu opposite and her
trainer, and surveyed them with interest.

"Chicas..." he growled, "...muerte..."

Alex had never been good with Spanish, but she knew enough. "Rush,
go! Shadow Blitz!"

"Raijin, Agility!"

The shadowy aura around the massive flaming canine intensified as
he charged, the much smaller electric rodent darting to one side just
as the blow hit. She took damage, but it was mitigated slightly by her
quick movement.

"Shadow Blitz again!"

"Thunder!"

Once more, Rush charged. This time the blow hit, but the massive
canine found himself bombarded with a heavy burst of electrical
energy. He staggered back, shaking himself violently as he recovered.

"Shadow Wave!"

"Agility!"

A ball of purplish energy charged in Rush's mouth. He spat it out
violently, sending multiple pulses of light at his target. Raijin
managed to dodge most, but one hit its mark perfectly.

"Shadow Blitz!"

"And Thunder once more!"

One more Rush charged, and one more his charge was met with a
massive burst of lightning. This time however, something else happened
along with the lightning burst. As he recovered, his aura shifted,
going from the purplish energy that Alex perceived at the start of the
battle to a pulsating form, rapidly shifting between black and blood
red.

Alex cringed as the same chill she'd faced earlier intensified. Her
eyes barely open as the aura's radiation gave her pain, she cried out,
"Shadow Blitz!"

"Dig!"

Raijin leapt skyward, then dug into the ground, burrowing deep to
protect herself as the raging Arcanine surged forward. He growled,
then charged again as Raijin emerged and attacked, both Pokémon taking
damage...though Rush much greater.

Despite all her efforts, however, Alex faced her own pain. This was
like nothing she'd felt before...such darkness, such directionless
rage, all wrapped up around a closed heart and an entombed soul. She
couldn't fight it off...

Her tightened fists relaxed as thoughts came to her. Memories, old
pain from long ago. The death of her father. The revelations
concerning her heritage. Her mother's passing. Her defeat at the hands
of the new Hunters some time prior. All of that had caused her pain,
physical and spiritual.

Yet she was still standing. She hadn't run from any of those pains,
she'd confronted them head-on. And she'd beaten them.

This was no different.

Her eyes opened, a determined expression on her face. "Rush!"

The massive canine halted, and shook himself. Suddenly, the blood
red and black aura faded back into the purple, and the purple itself
was weaker.

As electricity arced through Raijin's tail, Alex's lips curled into
a smile. "You can't run from the pain or the sorrow. You have to face
it, or it'll always control you. Rush, Shadow Blitz!"

The massive canine charged again, hitting his opponent dead-on.
Raijin flew through the air for a brief second, then fell unconscious
as she hit the ground.

Schwester smiled beneath her helmet as she produced a Revive.
Meanwhile, Alex approached Rush, her steps firm and her back straight.
"Rush, do you remember me?"

The canine looked at her. The same expression that had been in his
eyes when he surveyed Schwester and Raijin was still there, though not
as prominent. It seemed softer...less dangerous. "Alex?"

The girl nodded. "Smasher's missing. I don't know where he is. I
wish I did. But until I find him, you're stuck with me. And when I do
find him, I want him to have all of his team back, whole and safe."
She reached out her hands and held the sides of the canine's head. "I
don't know how this happened to you, or who did it. But I don't think
you want to stay this way, do you?"

Rush's expression was unreadable. Alex could feel it, his mind
seeking out memories and feelings. Most were faint, deadened by
shadow, but the clouds were beginning to be pierced. Having him with
her, battling with her, had been enough to get the ball rolling.

But a few seemed to be the stronger focus of his efforts...those were
the ones most shrouded in shadow.

"Do you want to remember?"

She didn't need to read his face or his mind to get the answer this
time. "Si."

"I'll help you. I promise."

She gently leaned forward and touched her forehead to his, giving
the canine a gentle embrace. Then she ended it, and recalled him to
his Poké Ball. At last, she turned to her benefactor. "Thank..."

But Schwester had disappeared once more.

The brunette smirked. Without another word, she turned and trooped
back to the campsite. Amber, Jason and Wanda would be up soon; they'd
need a good breakfast before they finished their trip back to Fortree,
and before Alex got back to what she'd set out to do.

She'd been wasting far too much time. She needed answers, and she
was going to get them.


TBC?

[NS: Whew! Here's hoping this brings a few people out of the woodwork.]

"William Rendfeld" wrote:

> The brunette smirked. Without another word, she turned and trooped
> back to the campsite. Amber, Jason and Wanda would be up soon; they'd
> need a good breakfast before they finished their trip back to Fortree,
> and before Alex got back to what she'd set out to do.
>
> She'd been wasting far too much time. She needed answers, and she
> was going to get them.

After staring a campfire and preparing a complete breakfast for her current
party, Alex wanders away from the campfire over to where Elsa is sleeping
and says, "Wake up, Wanda! It's time for breakfast!"

"Mmmrrrrmmrrm," groans Elsa from within the soft green sleeping bag that
Alex loaned her, clutching the green Grass Cushion that came with the bag.
She had stayed wide awake through most of the night, concerned about falling
asleep near the gender-swapped renegades she's been traveling with lately
and worried that the land shark she spotted earlier would tear her apart in
her sleep if she dozed off.

"Fine, I'll go wake up the others first. I'll be back in five minutes."

"Mmmm," moans Elsa, pleased to hear the sound of dried fallen leaves being
crushed under Alex's boots as the tall woman walks away from her. The
sleeping bag she's in is so comfortable and the early morning sounds of the
wilderness surrounding her are so relaxing that she loses consciousness a
mere five seconds after her would-be awakener leaves her be.

Roughly five minutes later, Alex once again wanders over to the sleeping bag
she loaned Elsa and repeats, "Wake up, Wanda! It's time for breakfast!"

"Mmmhmm," responds Wanda, recognizing the voice of the woman who Sven and
Peabody found to help her with the abdominal injury that her Shuppet
inflicted upon her. Her eyes still closed, she rubs one hand on her abdomen
and she's pleased to find that she can do so without feeling pain. When she
opens her eyes, she's confused that she's presently in a green sleeping bag
clutching a Grass Cushion instead of on a Surf Mat clutching a Water Cushion
under a soft blue duvet. She unzips the sleeping bag and pokes her head
out, curious about her current location.

Alex watches Wanda's head, which is partially obscured by
even-frizzier-than-usual dark brown hair, turn from side to side as the
young woman gazes at the wilderness comprising Route 120.

Once she's done taking in her surroundings, Wanda looks up at Alex and
comments, "I'm all for natural cures, but was it really necessary to bring
me outside the Secret Base behind the waterfall in order to treat my
abdominal pain? Not that I mind being in the great outdoors, and not that I
don't feel better, because I do... It just seems a bit unorthodox."

"Oh dear..." Alex furrows her brow as she asks Wanda, "You don't remember
anything about the trip we made to the Team Magma Base at Mount Chimney to
retrieve your captured Pokemon?"

Having been stirred into consciousness by the conversation outside the
sleeping bag, Wanda's Roselia pokes her head out of one of the bag's
interior pockets and looks over at her companion with her squinted eyes.
The Thorn Pokemon asks the young woman she's sharing the sleeping bag with,
"Elsel? Ro sel ia?"

Wanda glances down at Roselia's head and exclaims, "Roselia! I'm so glad to
see you again! Is it true that you were captured by Team Magma?"

Roselia promptly juts her red flower out of the interior pocket she's in and
slams her limb against her own forehead, "Rose ro..."

"Is something wrong, Roselia?" asks Wanda, not sure why the Grass Pokemon
seems frustrated.

"Sell..."

"Hey wait," interrupts Wanda before Roselia gets a chance to complain about
the difficulties of traveling with someone who has multiple personalities,
"If you and I were reunited, then that probably means Mudkip's around here
somewhere too!" The teenager scoots out of Alex's green sleeping bag,
stands up, and calls out, "Mudkip! Oh, Mudkip! Come out, come out wherever
you are!"

Roselia crawls out of the sleeping bag muttering to herself, annoyed that
her companion's present personality so blatantly favors Mudkip's
companionship over her own. Figuring that Wanda might appreciate her more
if she helps the girl find her Mudkip, the Grass Pokemon climbs up Wanda's
leg, careful not to prick her friend with any of her thorns, unzips the
brown fanny pack hanging from Wanda's waist, and starts rummaging through
the contents of the pack.

Wanda looks down and notices that she's now wearing her green tank top,
black capri pants, brown fanny pack, and golden anklet. The teenage girl
lets out a sigh of relief and says, "This outfit is so much better than that
horrible Team Magma uniform I was wearing before! What are you looking for,
Roselia?"

"Rose!" Roselia replies, pulling a standard Pokeball out of Wanda's fanny
pack. She lets the Pokeball drop to the ground. When the spherical device
hits the ground, it snaps open and out pops a young Mudkip who immediately
starts chasing his own tail fin.

"Kip! Kip! Kip!" pipes the cheerful Mudkip as he runs around in circles in a
vain effort to catch up with his tail fin.

"Awwwww, how cuuuuute!" Wanda coos, her gaze having settled on the adorable
Water Pokemon the moment he appeared.

"Selrose!" curses Roselia as she hops down from Wanda's leg, bothered that
Wanda was not considerate enough to thank her for releasing the Mudkip that
the teen finds so very enthralling.

"Wait a minute, if Mudkip was trapped inside a Pokeball in my fanny pack,
maybe I have other Pokemon stuck within Pokeballs too..." Wanda reaches
into her fanny pack and feels around for shrunken Pokeballs. The first ball
she withdraws is a Luxury Ball, which she figures must be the one that
contains the disturbed Shuppet who attacked her before she last lost
consciousness. "I don't like keeping Pokemon in Pokeballs, but I'll make an
exception for you since you're just a wee bit too rowdy for my tastes." She
continues to rummage through the pack with her free hand and then withdraws
another standard red and white Pokeball. "Hmm, I wonder what's in this
Pokeball..." She casually tosses the Pokeball to the ground.

The flash of red light that exits the Pokeball when it hits the ground
settles into the form of an unconscious Chimchar.

"Oh my, how long was this Pokemon stuck in that dreadful Pokeball?" Looking
over to Alex with a concerned look on her face, Wanda asks, "Is she...
dead?"

"No, she's just unconscious," Alex explains, "You can use the Revive I gave
you yesterday to help her recover."

"You gave me a Revive?" Wanda asks. After Alex nods her head, Wanda sifts
through the belongings in her fanny pack a third time and withdraws a light
yellow capsule. "Thank you so much! You're such a good friend... uh, I'm
sorry, what's your name?"

Now realizing Wanda's mental condition is even worse than she originally
thought, the tall brown-haired girl simply answers, "Alex."

"You're such a good friend, Alex!"

"Sel!" humphs Roselia, turning away from Wanda and crossing her arms in
front of her leaf-covered chest, jealous that Wanda thanked Alex for the
Revive but didn't thank her for her assistance earlier.

Not sure what's bothering Roselia, but more concerned with reviving the
Chimchar that was trapped in the Pokeball she was carrying, Wanda bends down
and slips the Revive into the unconscious Fire Pokemon's mouth.

Within seconds, the Chimp Pokemon coughs and groggily sits up, finally
waking up from the battle she lost against a crimson Scizor. The revived
Chimchar reaches up and rubs her head, which is still aching in the spot
that was gently struck by the Scizor's Metal Claw. "Chiiim... chaaaaar..."
When she opens her eyes, the first thing she sees is Wanda's Mudkip, who is
still frantically stalking his own posterior appendage. Having been trained
to hate all Water Pokemon by the Magma Scientist who raised her, the
Chimchar starts snarling at the Mudkip. Though she has not fully recovered
from her loss against the Scizor, Chimchar jumps up and charges Mudkip. The
Fire Pokemon knocks the Water Pokemon on his back and starts furiously
Scratching at his underbelly.

"Kiiip mud mud!" giggles Mudkip, believing the Chimchar is just playfully
roughhousing with him. To fight back, he Mud-Slaps her with the tail fin he
was just chasing and exclaims, "Mudkip, mud!"

The Ground-Type attack sends the Chimchar reeling! She steadies herself on
her knuckles and Leers at the Mudkip who's now just panting happily with his
mouth wide open. The Mud-Slap weakened her considerably, so Chimchar thinks
twice about attacking the Water Pokemon again. Instead, she bides her time,
deciding she should wait to be fully healed before trying to take him down
again.

Having watched the fight that broke out and realizing Chimchar's motive was
not to play with Mudkip, Roselia glances at the Fire Pokemon warily, worried
that she might end up harming Wanda's favorite Pokemon. Though she doesn't
like that Wanda prefers Mudkip, Roselia doesn't want anyone to hurt her
innocent, happy-go-lucky teammate. She considers trying to warn Wanda that
she shouldn't trust Chimchar, but she decides that doing so would be a
wasted effort since Wanda seems to be ignoring her and she continues to sulk
instead.

Concentrating only on the present mood of her jolly Mudkip, Wanda remarks to
Alex, "Pokemon are so much happier when they're allowed to roam free!
Especially when their human companions are out in the wild as they travel
from place to place. Speaking of which... Where are we headed?"

"Fortree City," replies Alex. "It's not far from here."

"Ah. I have one more question."

"Hmm?"

"What's the deal with the two crossdressers having breakfast by the campfire
over there?"

-Elsa