Continuing their journey to Hoof Town so they can compete in the Hoof Cup, our heroes found themselves travelling through yet another forest. Joined by their friend and rival Trixie, they were currently enjoying the ride in her wagon, which was being pulled by her Girafarig.
Well...enjoying wasn't exactly the word they'd use.
"How you guys doing back there?" Trixie asked as she opened a slot to look into the wagon, only for her and Twilight to see the three boys sitting or standing in very awkward positions.
"We're...okay," Flash replied while sitting on a box of rubber Farfetch'd with one of his legs resting on a higher box and Springer sitting on his shoulders. "Not much space though."
"Ri..." Springer moaned as he was squashed between two box towers.
"Sorry. When Trixie got her wagon, she wasn't thinking she'd be giving rides."
"That's alright," Spike groaned as the wagon then went over a rock on the road, which made one of the hanging frying pans fall off its hook and bonk his head. "Ow!" Peewee crawled down and grabbed the cooking tool, which Spike hung back up. But once he was sat back down, the handle came off the pan, bonking him again. "OW!" He glared up at the pan, only to notice it was still connected to the handle by a string of handkerchiefs. "Seriously?!"
Twilight turned to Trixie, "I'm surprised you can sleep with all that stuff in there."
"There's just enough room to hang a hammock," Trixie replied as she twisted her hands on her reins. "I just learned to not move so much in my sleep."
"I'm just surprised your Girafarig can pull this much," Doc said as he stood in an Egyptian pose. "The wagon on its own must weigh a good bit with all of this stuff."
"That's a good point," Twilight blinked at the Girafarig, but saw it didn't seem to be struggling at all.
"My Girafarig's super tough. And if he ever gets tired, he can use his psychic abilities to lighten its load." She gave the giraffe Pokémon a big smile, "Ain't that right?"
"Gira!" Girafarig neighed back.
"See?"
Twilight nodded before looking up to see that the sun was getting pretty low. "Even so, I'm sure your Girafarig would appreciate a break. So why don't we stop for the night?"
"I'M DOWN WITH THAT!" The three in the wagon cried out in unison, making the girls giggle.
"Alright, let's go." Trixie finished as she pulled the reins. "Get ready Girafarig."
Twilight looked at her map and found a small clearing just big enough to camp at. She directed Trixie and as they came to a stop, Flash, Spike, Doc and the Pokémon leapt out before trying to pull their limbs back the way they were supposed to be.
After this, Flash and Spike began to set up their tents, Doc and Twilight started working on dinner while Trixie started rearranging the objects in her wagon before putting up her hammock. "All done!" she proclaimed before walking out of her wagon and went over to where Doc was fixing dinner. She sniffed the air and released a low moan, "Is that curry? It smells delicious."
"Thanks," Doc told her with a nod before pointing at the two pans of food. "Now, do you want the mild coconut or spicy vindaloo?"
Trixie raised an eyebrow, "Vindaloo obviously. What's the point of making curry if it isn't spicy?"
Doc smirked before pointing over at a particular blue hair teen as he finished putting up their tents. "Some of us can't handle spicy food."
Flash looked back at him, seeing their stares, "What?!"
"Nothing," they all replied.
Flash just shrugged before pulling out his Pokeballs, "Grubs up guys!" He then let out the other four members of his team.
"Wingust/Aquana/Thawn/Hisscor!"
Twilight let out Owlicious while Doc let out Steeledge before he turned back to Trixie. "Want to let the rest of your Pokémon out?"
Trixie nodded and pulled out two more Pokeballs, "Magitual and Slowpoke, come on out!" She tossed them into the air, both releasing the Pokémon. Of course there was Magitual, but there was also a very dopey looking otter/salamander Pokémon.
"Awesome!" Spike cheered they went over to say hi to Slowpoke. But as they crowded around the odd looking creature, Slowpoke didn't seem to even notice it was being looked at. "Uh...is it okay?"
"It's fine," Trixie told him. "That's just how Slowpoke are. They're very...laid back Pokémon."
"Can it even battle?" Flash asked, wondering if Trixie's three badges were only won at Gyms that used two or less Pokémon.
"It can," Trixie replied while looking a little irritated at the question.
As they were busy trying to get a reaction out of Slowpoke, Springer suddenly felt the twinge of an unfamiliar aura. "Rio?" he whispered as he looked around, but saw nothing but the cooking stove. "Riolu?" He scratched his head in confusion.
Once everyone was bored of trying to get Slowpoke to notice them, they all got ready for dinner. Of course the Pokémon were the first to be fed, while Doc began dishing out the curry. Magitual was leaning against a tree, its staff laying next to it as he picked up its bowl of food. But as it gripped its first handful, it got a feeling that is was being watched. It looked up and saw almost all the Pokémon were staring at it. Slowpoke and Girafarig were the only ones not staring, while the others were waiting for Magitual to pull down the front of his cape and reveal what it was hiding.
Magitual raised its eyebrow at this, but seemed to comply and raised its hand up to lower its mask. Thoughts of what could be under there embraced the Pokémon. They thought about super big blimp like lips, or bucked teeth, or a teeny tiny mouth. Time seemed to slow down as Magitual's fingers grabbed the top.
But right when Magitual began to pull it down-
"AAAAHHHH!" They all turned to Flash, who was now seeing what looked like fire coming out of his mouth, was now screaming, "Hot, hot, hot, HOT!"
"Here," Twilight gave him a water bottle, the trainer instantly gulping the whole thing down.
The Pokémon all rolled their eyes at the boy's weakness before turning back to Magitual, only to go wide eyed when they saw him lift the front of his cape back into position before putting his now empty bowl back down. "SO FAST!" They all exclaimed in their own languages, only to turn and give Flash a death glare. The teen was unaware that he was being shot the stink eye, and lowered his dinner to glare at Doc.
"What's the big idea?! You know I can't stand spicy food!"
Doc raised an eyebrow at this, "But yours wasn't supposed to be spicy."
Spike looked down at Flash's food before dipping his own spoon in and taking a bite, only for his face to go fiery red. One drink water of later, he stuck his tongue and moaned, "Man, that stuff's got a kick."
The other three took a bite and found Spike was right, needing to take a drink afterword. "I don't get it. I made double sure that the coconut had no spice in it. Someone must have added some when I wasn't looking."
"But who?" Flash shot everyone a suspicious look, but nobody owned up. Doc then said no one was around the curry while he was cooking it, which made Flash sigh before pushing the meal away. "Great...now what am I gonna eat?" As soon as he asked that, his curry seemed to float up into the air before moving over to Slowpoke. Slowpoke's before untouched bowl of Pokémon food was then floated over to Flash and dropped in front of him. Everyone gave the dopey Pokémon an odd look as they watched it slowly float the contents of the curry into it's mouth, either not noticing or caring about the super spicy taste it had. "Err...thanks?"
"I wouldn't eat that Flash," Twilight told him as she pointed at the bowl. "Pokémon food isn't meant for people. Remember when you first caught Skyler?" Flash nodded and pushed the food away, Doc then pulling out some jam and bread for him to make a sandwich out of.
Once everyone was full, they spent the last hour of daylight cleaning up before they all recalled their Pokémon, all ready to go to bed. Sleep came particularly easy for them, and for several hours, they all rested peacefully. That is, until all the water Flash had had at dinner finally reached the exit of his body, waking and making him moan before carefully getting out of the tent so he wouldn't wake Doc or Springer. Once out of the tent, he rushed into the trees and bushes, all far away enough before doing his...business.
"Ahhh," he sighed in relief as he finished, "Much better." He zipped himself up before heading back to camp, but as he entered the clearing, he blinked as he looked up at a new sight. It was a particularly clear night, no clouds in the sky as the stars covered the sky. But as he looked in one direction, he noticed that a section of the sky appeared starless....only for it turn into a odd color of black. His eyes squinted as he stared at the sight, only to notice it was moving. The sky-bound thing was thick and wavy, but as he glared at it, Flash's nose also picked up what it was.
"Oh no..." Flash gasped before running back to the tents. "EVERYBODY UP! NOW, NOW, NOW!"
The tents and wagon all opened up to show a bunch of very tired and annoyed glares. "What's going on?!" Trixie asked as she pulled off her sleeping cap, which had the same design as her wizard's hat. "There better be a good reason why-"
"Smoke! There's a forest fire!" Flash interrupted as he pointed behind them. The group turned to the sight, only to all gasp as the barely visible dark cloud started to get closer.
Trixie let out a screech before jumping out of her wagon and running behind it. Once there, she started trying to push it, her form quickly glaring at the others, "Hurry, you gotta help me! My wagon is filled with fireworks! If it goes up, I don't want to imagine the kind of explosion it'll create!"
The others gasped before running over, all helping push the wagon to a safe distance. Once it was in the center of the clearing, they turned back to the smoke. Staring through the trees, they could now see the flames that were making it. "Now what?" Spike asked as he hid behind Twilight, "Where'd this fire even come from?!"
"No time for theories," Doc replied before crossing his arms. "We need to do something about it before the flames surround us."
They nodded as Twilight turned to Flash. "Flash, bring out Riptide and tell him to use Water Gun on the trees around the clearing. We might not be able to stop this, but we can keep ourselves safe."
"Got it." Flash pulled out his Pokeball, enlarging it. "Riptide, come out and use Water Gun!" He tossed it and unleashed the Aquana, who landed before taking a deep breath.
"Aquana!" He began unleashing torrents of high powered water, all of it soaking the trees.
"Nice!" Spike cheered while Doc turned to Trixie.
"Can your Slowpoke use any Water-Type moves?"
"Just one," Trixie rushed back into her wagon and quickly returned with her Pokeball. "Slowpoke!" The ball opened as Slowpoke appeared at her feet. "Go use Water Pulse."
Slowpoke didn't say anything, instead opening its mouth as a blue sphere of water appeared. It fired the orb at the wood, exploding with a wave a water that covered the bottom of all the trees around them. "Good work," Trixie commented before picking Slowpoke up. "But maybe get a little closer," she carried it over as it launched another Water Pulse, soaking more and more forest. But as the two worked to cover all the trees, they were only half way around the clearing before they could see the flames start to reach them.
"Oh no," Twilight said as she gripped Spike's side.
"There's gotta be something we can do." Flash added as he backpedaled. "Something..."
But as he said that, something shot out of the trees and landed in the center of the clearing. They all glanced at it, only to almost mistake it for Riptide. It was a humanoid lizard like Pokémon, whose head to toe height was about four and a half feet. It had light blue skin with a dark blue belly with light blue long arms, but his hands and three fingers were dark blue. Its tail was long, light blue with a dark blue streak underneath it that ran from its belly, and had a pair of strong light blue legs with dark blue feet. The creature also had three white fin like appendages on its head, two coming from either side of its mouth while the third was a foot and a half long dorsal fin that ran from the tip of its nose to the back of its head that increased its height to about and a five and a half feet.
"Spran..." the new Pokémon slowly said as it looked up at the blazing trees. "Nee...nitor."
"Whose that Pokémon?" Spike asked.
"It's a Spranitor," Twilight answered as Flash pulled out his Pokedex.
Name: Spranitor
Category: Water Lizard Pokémon
Type: Water
Info: The evolved form of Aquana. Its body has grown more adept to moving on land, while its swimming ability has grown as well. Wild Spranitors have been known to help people in distress out at sea.
"So that's what Riptide's gonna evolve into?" Flash asked as his Aquana stared at its future form with awe.
A large crackling sound then brought their attention back to the forest fire, reminding them that they were still in trouble. "Spranitor!" They looked up to the source of that voice, only to see someone around Doc's age run out of the trees. The teen had pale skin and was dressed in a black shirt and pants with an orange vest, boots and hat. A looped up lasso was also tied to the left side of his belt.
The teen glared at the fire and sighed, "Not again. Spranitor, you know what to do!"
Spranitor nodded before it started moving its body back and forth, as if it was trying to dance. Spike then pointed at the Pokémon, "Is now really the best time to bust a move?! We've kinda got a situation here!"
The teen just smirked and crossed his arms, "just watch."
They turned back to the Spranitor as it continue to dance, only for Twilight to notice a rumbling sound, making her look up. Dark clouds were beginning to swirl into existence above the forest, making her gasp. "Wait, is that-"
"Rain?" Trixie continued as a drip of water hit her nose.
"Its Rain Dance!" Twilight exclaimed, only for the rain to start pouring in droves. Everyone watched as the rain began to put out the fire, completely extinguishing it before the clouds began to fade away.
Once gone, the teen leaned down and fist bumped the Spranitor. "Nice work partner."
"That was awesome!" Spike cheered as they ran over to him.
Twilight bowed next, "Thank you so much for helping us. If you didn't come along, we might have been in serious trouble."
"She's right," Trixie slid over to his side and started tracing a finger over his vest. "If there's...anything Trixie can do to thank you-"
The teen chuckled as he de-clung Trixie from his side, "That's very kind of you, but you don't need to thank me. I'm just doing my job," he pointed to himself. "I'm Drizzle, and this is Spranitor."
Spranitor smirked before crossing his arms, "Spran!"
Riptide ran over to him, stars in his eyes. "Aquana! Ak, aquana!" Spranitor just raised an eyebrow at this, Springer then walking over and pulling Aquana away from the evolved form.
"We're from the ranger union," Drizzle continued as he patted Spranitor's head. "We were sent to investigate these forest fires."
"Forest fires?" Twilight asked as she hopped in place, "So...this is something that keeps happening?"
Drizzle nodded in response. "This is the fourth fire in two weeks. We were sent to find the cause, but so far, we've been unable to find anything in terms of what is making the fires. I apologize in asking this, but you five haven't come across anything that might tell us what made this fire, do you?"
Everyone shook their heads as Flash replied, "Sorry, but we just woke up to this forest fire suddenly happening. Unless unusually spicy curry is a clue, we don't know anything."
Drizzle was about to sigh, only to blink as he got an unusual look on his face. He then reached into his vest, "Actually...that might be a clue." He pulled out a flask and uncorked it before reaching his finger in, then showing it to the group. They all stared at the finger, now seeing a bit of red dust. "I found this stuff at the scene of all three fires. Look familiar?"
Twilight reached up and sniffed the dust, shooting back at the irritation that now flared up her nose. "Ugh. It's some kind of spice."
Doc took some of it on his finger and tasted it, his eyes going wide, "Yow! That's spicy! Its like nothing I've ever had."
Trixie turned back to Drizzle. "And you found it where you think the fires started?"
Drizzle nodded again. "Yes. I sent some to the ranger base for testing, but it could be a while before we hear back from them."
Twilight hummed for a moment, her brain going over all the Pokémon she knew about. "Fire, a spice and something that must be small enough to get close enough to Doc's curry without us knowing....hmmm...I wonder..."
Flash turned to her, "I know that look. You got an idea what the culprit is?"
Twilight nodded before pointing at his belt. "I think I do. Flash, type the name Pyroom into your Pokedex."
Flash nodded and did as he was told, the device quickly beeping as it brought up the data. Everyone crowded around Flash as they watched the image of a Pokémon appear onscreen. It looked like a mushroom, with a round yellow colored stem that had a pair of large black eyes. The head of the mushroom had red with spots all over it, and at the bottom of the stem were a pair large oval-like soles that were the same color as the stem, showing it was the Pokémon's feet.
Name: Pyroom
Category: Spicy Pokémon
Type: Fire/Grass
Info: As a defense mechanism, the Pokémon can release an unusual powder that causes the skin to burn. When properly prepared, the powder can be used as an ingredient for spicy food.
Doc rubbed his chin at this. "So that's it. A Pyroom must have walked into the clearing when we weren't looking. They're easily started Pokémon, so if it got near the curry and was spooked, it must have released the powder before running off."
"And it got into my curry." Flash moaned, "Blasted thing almost burnt my tongue to a crisp."
Twilight crossed her arms at this. "And if it is a culprit, since it's a Fire-Type, it's likely used a Fire-Type attack to start the forest fire."
"But why would it do that?" Spike asked next.
"It probably didn't mean too," Drizzle replied. "Pyrooms usually live in forests, so they don't regularly create forest fires. If you're saying they're doing this, something must be startling it enough that it doesn't think its powder is enough. Perhaps its having to attack something?"
"That's logical." Twilight added as she asked for Flash's Pokedex. "If I remember correctly, Pyroom like to be in groups, which means forest fires could be really easy for them to get out of control. More Fire-type moves mean faster fires after all."
"So what do we do about it?" Trixie asked.
"We find and remove either the Pyroom or whatever's causing it to use its flames," Drizzle replied as he lifted up Spranitor into his arms. "I'll start searching in the morning."
"And we'll help," Flash added, "The search'll go a lot faster if we all look...and we don't wanna sleep into a fire."
Drizzle nodded yet again. "Thank you."
"No problem," Doc told him before Spike let out a yawn. "We should probably try and get some sleep. We'll need to be rested and ready." Everyone nodded before heading back to their tents and or wagon, Drizzle and Spranitor deciding to stay in the branches of a tree in case another fire broke out.
The next morning...
Despite the late night, everyone was up bright and early the next morning. Doc made a quick and easy breakfast, which everyone guzzled down with great haste. "This is good," Drizzle told him as he took a bite of his scrambled egg.
"Thanks. I used a touch of the Pyroom powder to add a small kick. Well, I added it to almost everyone's," he turned to Flash, slightly raising an eyebrow.
Flash looked up from his breakfast and glared at Doc, "What?! I don't like spicy food. Sue me!" Everyone laughed at this before continuing to eat, Spranitor seeming to enjoy the Pokémon food Doc made for him.
Once completed, everyone prepared to head out, Spike then asking, "So where do you think we'll find the Pyroom?"
"Hard to say," Drizzle commented as Spranitor stood beside him. "Since they're mushroom Pokémon, it's likely they'll be attracted to places mushrooms would grow."
"Then we need to find a humid area of the forest," Twilight replied as she pushed her glasses up her nose. "Somewhere where the wind wouldn't blow, and where the soil would have lots of nutrients. It'll also probably be somewhere dark." She turned to Flash, "Bring out Skyler. Let him fly over the forest."
"You got it." Flash pulled out his Pokeball. "Skyler, I choose you!" He threw the ball into the air, soon revealing the Wingust as it soared above the clearing. "Skyler, I want you to find the thickest part of the woods. Somewhere so dense that the sun wouldn't be able to get through the trees."
"Wingust!" Skyler squawked taking to the air, soon flying over the woods. And as he flew, he stared down at the forest, only to then find a place with nothing but leaves. Smirking at the sight, he flew back to his owner.
"WINGUST!"
As everyone trekked through the woods, they looked up and saw the Flying-Type circling an area of the forest. "Skyler's found it! That's where we need to go." Flash commented as Drizzle took the lead, guiding them to that location.
Marching through the forest, they soon reached the area. And just like they had been hoping for, this section was incredibly dense. The trees were all close together and extremely thick, so thick that when they passed the first line, they felt a sudden increase in the temperature. The thickness of the trees were blocking out any wind, making the heat haze around as no coolness level could be reached.
The canopy was just as thick, so thick that it was completely blocking out the sun. Flash then returned Skyler when he started having trouble flying between the trees, Spike then walking in front of him and pointing at a spot. "Look at that." he commented as they all now saw a pile of red powder. Spike was then about to touch the pile, only for Drizzle to suddenly grab his wrist.
"Don't! If that powder's fresh, it'll cause your skin to burn like crazy. We're getting close though."
"How close?"
KABOOM!
The group all jumped at the sound of the explosion, spinning around to its origin, only to see nothing but deep dark woods. "Come on!" Drizzle and Spranitor rushed off, the others soon following. More explosions then filled the air, each one louder than the last as they moved closer to the source. But they came to a stop when they found themselves standing in front of a group of burning trees, the flames quickly spreading thanks to their close proximity.
Twilight then gripped Drizzle's shoulder, "You need to use Rain Dance!"
But as Drizzle looked up, he frowned, "Canopy's too thick, the water won't get through. The leaves will be safe, but the trunks-"
"We'll deal with the tree trunks," Flash said as he and Trixie pulled out their Pokeballs. "You deal with the rest. Riptide-"
"Slowpoke-"
"COME ON OUT!" They tossed their Pokeballs and released the Pokémon, who saw the flames and fired the water attacks instantly.
"Alright, that definitely works." Drizzle turned to his partner, "Rain Dance!"
"Spran!" Spranitor began to perform his ritualistic dance. Seconds later, they began to hear a rumbling from above the trees before the sound of patting water fill the forest. Up above them, the summoned rain splashed down on the trees, all soon rolling through the thick canopy. As Drizzle said, the foliage was so massive that the water was absorbed before it could reach the last line of leaves, but made the leaves wet enough that the climbing flames couldn't burn them.
It was here that Riptide put out the last fire, only for another explosion the fill the air. The group glanced at the noise, all following it until they reached an area of the forest filled with burnt and broken tree trunks. And as they walked up to the disaster area-
"PYROOM!" They turned just in time to see a large group of Pyroom. They were just like the image they had seen in Flash's Pokedex, though they all about a foot and half in height. The sight wasn't enough to guess the number of the shrooms, but it had to be between fifteen and twenty of the Pokémon.
But the strangest thing was, they weren't the only Pokémon in the area. On the other side of the clearing was a group of large ant like Pokémon. Their bodies appeared to be completely made out of gray metal, with six black metallic legs and a pair of razor sharp scissor like jaws. Also, on their heads were a pair of antenna. Trixie reached into her pocket and pulled out her own light blue version of the Pokedex, which she used to scan the Pokémon.
Name: Durant
Category: Iron Ant Pokémon
Type: Bug/Steel
Info: They evolved an iron shell for protection against Heatmor, their natural predator, and dig maze like nests underground. They hunt in groups, surrounding their pray before attacking.
"That explains it," Drizzle said with clenched teeth.
"What do you mean?" Spike asked.
"Durant are known for...not liking any Pokémon but themselves. Watch and see!" Twilight explained as she pointed at one of the Durant as it scuttled towards one of the Pyroom. In response, the Pyroom shook its head before releasing a load of its powder. However, Durant simply walked through the powder, having no issue with the spice.
Durant then tried to bite the Pyroom with its steel jaws, only for it to jump back at the last second. "PYROOM!" From out of one its white spots flew a barrage of fireballs, which the Durant easily dodged, allowing the flames to hit a nearby tree.
"Not good!" Drizzle said as they watched the fire begin to engulf the tree.
"Riptide, Water Gun!"
"AQUANA!" Riptide fired its water burst at the tree, putting out the flames.
This action alone made the Durant and Pyroom notice them, making Drizzle walk in front of the groups, "All of you, stop this! Don't you see what you're doing?! You're putting the forest and all who live here in great danger!" The Pyroom all exchanged glances at the statement, but the Durant didn't even react. Instead, one of them just turned back and tried to take another bite out of the Pyroom.
Everyone watched as the Pyroom repeated what had happened before, releasing its powder yet again. But as the armored ant walked through the spice, the Fire/Grass-Type then unleashed an Ember attack, forcing the ant to dodge.
"Water Gun!" Flash yelled again as Riptide spat out another stream of blue spit at the flames.
"This isn't working," Trixie commented. "Trixie is guessing these two have been having problems for a while."
Doc nodded in agreement. "It looks like the Pyroom don't mean to set fire to the forest, but the Durant are completely immune to their other form of defense."
"Their skin is protected by their armor," Twilight added as she bit her lip. "And since they're Bug and Steel-Types, Pyroom's grass attacks will barely be able to be effective against them."
"Then we've got no other choice," Flash continued as he pointed at the ants. "We've got to get those Durant to leave!"
"Ri/Ak!" Springer and Riptide added in agreement before the three ran in front of the Pyroom.
"Don't worry," Flash said back to them. "You'll be safe with us."
Drizzle turned to Spranitor as the water lizard nodded, the two soon standing next to Flash and his team. "As a ranger, its my duty to protect the forest from anything that might threaten it." He pointed at the Durant, "And that's means you."
The rest of the group ran up to be beside them, Spike pumping his fist together, "Let's do this!"
The Durant all glared at the group before charging, their pincers glowing a reflective light as they prepared to use Metal Claw, "I don't think so!" Flash told them before he covered his ears. "Echoed Voice!"
"Ak..." Riptide took a deep breath in while the others covered their ears, "WANAAAAAA!" The soundwaves echoed through the forest, making the Durant all stop in their place and flinch at the horrible high pitched noise. Several began to dig at the ground, seeming to sink into it to escape the scream.
When Riptide finished yelling, Springer lowered his paws before running at the still recovering Durant that remained aboveground. "Drain Punch!" His fist glowed green as he thrusted it into one of the closest Durant, sending it flying back in pain.
"Ri!" Springer cheered, only for his celebration to be cut short when the ground beneath him exploded, knocking him back as a Durant hopped out of the hole.
"Aqua Tail!" The Durant looked up just in time to see Spranitor leaping at it, water now spiraling around its tail.
"Nee...TOR!" Spranitor spun around and slammed its tail into Durant, smacking it into a nearby tree.
Springer then hopped back into the battle as Flash turned to Drizzle, "Thanks man."
"No problem." However, the ground around them exploded as several more Durant jumped out to surround them. "Okay, problem." They watched as the Durant began marching, their pincers glowing white.
"That's Bug Bite!" Doc announced as Peewee took to the sky.
"TERRA!" He cried as he unleashed a flurry of Ember attacks in a circle. The Durant all cowered away, only for a ring of flames to surround the humans.
"Peewee! We're trying to stop the fires, not make new ones!" Spike yelled, the Terragon blushing at its mistake.
"Water Gun!" Flash and Drizzle yelled as Riptide and Spranitor put the fire out, only to see the Durant use this opening to scuttle towards the group.
"Use Confusion!" Trixie ordered her Slowpoke, whose eyes glowed before unleashing a blue beam of light. This attack struck one of the Durant, pushing it back. But when it was over, it didn't appear to have taken much damage. It was then that Trixie remembered they were Steel-Types, which had an advantage against Psychic-Type attacks. "Not good."
"Aura Sphere!" Flash ordered as Springer created his blue ball attack before shooting it at another Durant. And as it struck, it created a small explosion, knocking several Durant back. "Nice! Now, Double Team!"
"Riolu!" In a flash, Springer multiplied, his copies forming a circle around the group. The Durant all glanced at the sudden increased number of opponents, only to start scuttling at the Riolus with glowing pincers.
"Aura Sphere...BARRAGE!" The Springer all created multiple tiny Aura Sphere, which hit ever that Durant got close. One by one the Durant were blasted back, all being slammed into multiple trees or hitting the ground rolling.
The Durant who hadn't attacked glared at the Riolu as they disappeared. But as they did this, Drizzle pointed at the ants, "Acrobatics!" Spranitor heard this and raced at such a high speed that it appeared to be leaving after-images. Once it reached one of the Durant, Spranitor kneed it in the head before racing to another Durant and doing the same thing as before. It did this several times, knocking the glaring armored ants back with ease.
While this happened, the Durant that Springer had hit started to get up, most going into the holes from the previous Dig attacks. "Not this time!" Flash yelled before turning to Riptide, "Use Echoed Voice into the holes!"
Riptide nodded before jumping over to one of them and taking another deep breath, "AQUANA!" The sonic attack shot into the tunnel, bouncing off the walls as its speed and power remained the same. Everyone watched as the ground below them shook, seconds before exploding as the Durant began to climb out in a daze while huddled together.
"Now Peewee!" Spike roared as he pointed at the group, "Dragon Breath!"
"Terr..." Peewee landed in front of him before taking a deep breath, "WAGON!" It launched its blue and white fire at the Durant, an explosion following this as it burnt the whole group. And as the attack ended, the severely injured and burnt Durant turned to them with a whimper, now finally acknowledging they were outmatched. With no other choice, the group turned to scuttle away into the woods and lick their wounds.
"And stay out!" Spike added.
"I don't think they're gonna take the message," Drizzle commented as they watched them disappear into the forest. Once they were completely out of sight, everyone sighed in relief before turning back to the Pyroom. Drizzle then crouched down to the mushrooms, "Relax. You're safe now." The Pyroom gave him a happy nod, at least he figured they were happy considering they didn't have any mouths. That being said, he let out a small sigh, "But even so, this forest isn't safe for you anymore."
The Pyroom all tilted their heads at this, which the others were also doing as Flash asked, "What do you mean?"
Drizzle stood back up to them. "Those Durant have made their nest in this forest, so they'll likely be back. If the Pyroom stay here, this whole mess will eventually start again, and you know what that means."
"You mean this whole place will eventually get burnt to a crisp." Spike replied with crossed arms, "But why should Pyroom have to leave?"
"He's right. They were here first," Trixie added. "That's not fair to them."
"Sometimes, life isn't fair, but that's the way things are. After all, unlike the Durant, these Pyroom will be much more cooperative." Drizzle turned back to the Pyroom and smiled, "I can find you all a nice new home, somewhere where the Durant or any other Pokémon predator will ever find you. You'll be safe, I can assure you of that." He held out his hand, "What do you say?"
The Pyroom all stared at him, only to turn and huddle up. They did this for about a minute, everyone unable to hear what they were saying. After this, they turned back to Drizzle, only for one of them to jump into Drizzle's hand. "Pyroom!"
"PYROOM!" The others all cheered in unison.
Drizzle sighed in relief as he stood back up, the Pyroom remaining on the palm of his hand. "So does this mean you're gonna let me take you somewhere safe?" The Pyroom nodded, "Thank you." He then turned to the others, "And thank all of you as well. I would have never found and saved them without you."
Flash laughed as he placed his hands behind his head, "Don't mention it." The others all nodded in agreement as Flash added, "Sides, we're used to fixing problems like this. We do it all the time."
"He's kidding, right?" Trixie whispered to Twilight, only to get a deadpan stare and shake of the head in response.
"Nope. This is the usual for all of us. We literally solve every problem in every town ever." Trixie raised an eyebrow at this, only for Twilight to add, "Seriously. No joke."
"Huh...here's hoping Trixie's trip with you all doesn't have many more problems."
Not long after that, our heroes returned to their camp and started packing up their stuff. Once ready, they prepared to say their farewells to Drizzle, Spranitor and the Pyroom.
"Well, guess this is it."
"Guess so," Twilight replied. "We wish you rangers luck in relocating the Pyroom."
"Thanks," Drizzle said with a nod. "I contacted HQ and gave my report. They've already located another forest that the Pyroom will like. There's no known predators there, so there shouldn't be any problems. That and there's a ranger base that'll be able to deal with any forest fires that occur."
"That's good."
Drizzle reached into his pocket and pulled out a large jar of familiar looking powder, which he held out to Doc. "Here, a little thank you from me and the Pyroom. I'm sure you'll be able to put this to good use."
Doc smiled with a nod as he took the jar, "Thanks. Can't wait to see what I can make with this."
"Just make sure to keep it away from my food," Flash commented with crossed arms. Everyone else laughed before Drizzle and the Pokémon began to walk off. They all waved their goodbyes until they were finally out of sight, Trixie turning to the others as she pointed to her wagon.
"So, shall we get back on the road?" The boys all moaned in response while the girls just laughed.
Our heroes stop in the forest had been an eventful one to say the least. Having helped a group of Pyroom and saved the woods from being burnt to ash, they can now continue their journey to Hoof Town and the Hoof Cup