The Grand Desert, one of Equestria's greatest landmarks. On point with the Ghastly Gorge and Everfree Forest, it was a terrain that should only be tackled by the bravest and best trainers in the region....or a bunch of idiots who don't know when to say no to a situation.
"It's so hot!" Spike moaned as he and his friends trudged through the sand on their way to Appaloosa City and Flash's next Gym Challenge. After leaving Dodge Junction, the four teens had begun their journey into the sandpit, now walking after their new friend Cherry Jubilee had given them a ride through the first few miles of the desert in her jeep. She had also given each a hat they could use to keep the sun out of their eyes, the boys getting basic baseball caps while Twilight got a large sun hat.
"Quit complaining," Twilight told her brother while pushing the side of the hat up. "You don't see Peewee moaning." She pointed up at the Terragon, the dragon flying around with a happy smile on his face.
"That's because he's cold blooded," Spike grumbled as he took off his hat and wiped his brow.
"You could take off your hoodie." Flash added, as he had taken off his jacket and tied it around his waist, the bottom of it hanging just above his shoes. "Besides, it won't be as bad as this everyday."
"No...it could be worse." Doc sighed as he wiped his forehead.
Spike groaned as he looked ahead, now seeing a large rocky area coming up. "We're not seriously gonna be going over there, are we?"
"Its necessary and part of our path," Twilight replied, "The sun is too close to the horizon now. We need a place to camp, as we are NOT going through the desert at night." She then turned to the young teen, "Unless you'd rather camp in the sand."
"I hate sand," Spike moaned as he scratched his backside, feeling a few grains of it in the back of his shirt. "It's coarse, rough and irritating...and it gets everywhere."
"Wow. You sound like a robot." Flash added, only to get a nudge from Spike.
"Stop it you two. Let's just pick up the pace so we're not sleeping in the sand," Twilight chimed in as they headed for the rocks. This seemed to make Spike shut up, the group soon reaching the area as the sun began to kiss the horizon.
They had their Flying-types carry Flash up to the top of the largest, flattest rock they could find, which allowed him to drop a rope ladder down to the others. After reaching on the top, Twilight spoke up, "Alright, let's get to work while we've still got light." Flash and Spike nodded and got to work on the tents, Doc preparing the meal while Twilight set out a blanket she pulled out of Flash's bag before preparing the Pokémon food.
"Done," Flash said once the tent was securely nailed into the rock.
"Same here." Twilight added as she filled the last bowl with the food.
"Food's ready!" Doc held up a large pan of beans before decanting them into bowls.
"Alright everybody!" Flash took out his four Pokeballs, "Come on out!" He tossed them into the air, letting out Riptide, Prongs, Viper and Hopper, the four landing beside Springer and Skyler.
"Grubs up!" Twilight let out Shine, who quickly galloped over to Twilight's leg.
"Dinner time for sixteen!" Doc called out Higear and Tockwork, knowing they couldn't eat but didn't want to leave them out.
It was here that dinner began, the sun not completely set as they had Viper start a campfire. The group sat around it while eating, everyone enjoying the peace and quiet around them. "This is great," Flash said as he scooped a spoonful of beans. "I feel like we're in one of those old westerns my gran loves to watch."
Spike was the first to finish his meal along with Peewee, turning to the others. "So what do we do now? Horror stories? Singalong?"
"Clean up and go to bed," Twilight deadpanned as she took a long gulp of water. "We're waking up at sunrise tomorrow, so we need to get a good night's sleep."
"Aw man..." Spike moaned again, slumping over.
"Think of it like this Spike, the earlier we wake up, the more distance we can walk. And the more distance we make up, the faster we'll get out of here."
"Guess you've got a point Doc," Spike added, the others quickly finishing their meal before Flash and Twilight headed back down into the sandy area, carrying the bowls with them. Learning a trick from Ms. Jubilee, in order to save water, you could instead clean the bowls by filling them with sand that you scrape along the sides. After a few minutes, they emptied the sand out and filled them with the smallest amount of water to get the last bits of sand out.
Once all the pots were clean, they headed back up, now seeing everyone getting ready to fall asleep. Twilight went into her and Spike's tent, Shine following her while Flash headed inside his and Doc's tent. All the other Pokémon had opted to sleep under the stars, the group gathering to get a spot on the blanket they had eaten on.
Despite what Twilight had said, Flash wasn't feel particularly tired right now, so he decided to kill some time doing one of his favourite hobbies: Polishing his badges. He pulled out the case, opening it up to stare at the four badges he had earned. He couldn't help but smile at them, flashing back to the battles he had won. They weren't just a valuable piece of metal, they were the proof of his connection to his Pokémon. Proof of the bond of trust they all had, which had allowed them to be victorious.
Flash spent the next half hour carefully cleaning them, soon getting to the Harvest Badge. And as he finished wiping it, he felt himself begin to yawn. Putting the badge back in the case, he put it in his bag before placing it besides himself as he sat back and began to drift off to sleep.
Hours began to pass, the moon now high in the sky while everyone was fast asleep. The trainers were all in their tents while the Pokémon huddled together on the blanket, asleep and snoring up a storm. But as they slumbered, a new figure entered the scene. Down below on the sand, a pair of red and green eyes opened on the sandy surface. Around them was an almost puddle like splodge of shadow, even darker than the rest of the shadows around it.
The splodge and eyes began to fly across the sand, all towards the rock the group was camping on. There, it began to slip up to the top, quickly moving past the Pokémon before staring at the tents. Reaching Flash and Doc's tent first, it looked up and saw it was zipped shut, only for a single hand to phase out of the dark puddle. It was covered in a thin black mist, showing the fingers to be stick-like. The being then grasped the zipper, slowly undoing it before slipping inside. It was here that it saw Flash, snoring away with his throat fully visible. And with swift motion, the fingers reached out...and thrust forward.
The next morning...
As the sun ascended above the horizon and hit everyone's faces, the Pokémon began to open their eyes and pull themselves out of the huddle before starting to stretch. While this happened, one of the tents opened to reveal Twilight and Shine. The two had almost identical hair, Shine floating her trainer a brush so she could straighten hers out.
"Thanks," she said as she got to work. "Come on guys, time to get up." This got a moan from Spike as he and Peewee crawled out of the tent, Twilight turning to the other and raising an eyebrow at the open front. "That's odd. Guys, why is your tent open?"
Inside the tent, Doc sat up and yawned before turning to Flash, "Flash, its morning." Flash didn't respond, to teen laying face down with his back turned. "Flash?" He reached over and shook him, only to get no response. Doc then reached over and flicked Flash's ear.
"Ow!" Flash moaned as he sat up, rubbing his ear before glaring at his tent mate. "What was that for?!"
"Time to get up," Doc replied as he got out of the tent. "Come on."
"Right..." Flash rubbed his ear while thoughtlessly reaching over to his bag. But as he did this...he felt nothing. Blinking at the event, he turned around, only to yell out, "AAAAAHHHHH!"
Everyone turned to the tent, all tensing at the sound of their friend's scream. Flash then staggered out of the tent, a look of pure horror on his face. "My...my bag! It's gone!"
They all exchanged glances, now seeing Flash hop back into the tent to search for it. "Hold on there Flash, calm down." Twilight added as she walked over to him, "Where was the last place you had it?"
Flash turned back to her, "I was polishing my badges before I went to bed. Once I was done, I put them in my bag and put it right beside me. When I woke up, it was gone!"
"Wait...does that mean your badges are gone too?" Spike asked, Flash rapidly nodding in response. His Pokémon then all let out a yelp, knowing what that meant in terms on their symbols of hard work.
"Now we have to find it," Doc continued, "But if it's not here, then someone or something must have taken it in the night."
"That would explain why your tent was open." Twilight commented, Doc nodding as he was about to say the same thing.
"But who could have done it?" Spike asked, "And how are we supposed to find them?"
"Simple," Doc moved over to the edge of the rock. "One of the beautiful things about being surrounded by sand, it makes tracking thieves easy." He began to climb down the rope ladder while the others began to pack up the campsite. However, without Flash's bag, they didn't have anywhere to put the blanket, making Twilight attempt to stuff it in her bag when they heard Doc's voice. "Uh...guys? We've got a problem."
Flash, Twilight, Spike and their Pokémon all climbed down as Doc continued, "Whoever took Flash's bag, they didn't leave any tracks."
"You sure?" Flash asked, Doc nodding.
"Yup. I completely circled it. The only tracks around this rock are ours."
"So what does that mean?" Spike asked next.
Twilight rubbed her chin in thought, "It means that whoever took Flash's bag has some method of travel that doesn't acquire it to touch the sand. Either flight, teleporting or some other way. Basically, Flash's bag was taken by either a Pokémon, or someone commanding a Pokémon."
"Great..." Flash moaned as he slumped down and hung his head, "Who knows which way they went. And if they did fly or teleport, they could be anywhere in Equestria by now."
"Ri..." Springer added as he moved over to hug Flash's leg. The trainer patted his head, now seeing the rest of his Pokémon join the hug as well.
All but Hopper, the Velocirush frowning at the sight. He knew he hadn't helped acquire any of those badges, his only memory being him seeing Flash happy when they won the Harvest Badge. However, as this happened...his nose twitched. He felt something, something very familiar as it entranced his nose.
A scent.
"Rush?" He sniffed the air, turning around to follow the smell, only to see it come from the sand. "Velo!" he gasped before spinning around and starting to jump up and down, "Loss, loss. Loss-E-rush!" The others turned to him with raised eyebrows.
"What's up Hopper?" Flash asked as he started to his Pokémon lean down and sniff the ground.
He then gestured for them to follow, Spike asking, "What's he doing?"
Doc was now trying to shove the blanket into his bag before he looked up and saw what Hopper was doing, "Hmmm...perhaps Hopper picked up the bag's scent."
"Bags have scents?"
"It must be Flash's scent. He's always carrying it, so it must have picked up his smell. That's what Hopper's following."
"Then they what are we waiting for? Lead the way buddy!" Flash added, his Pokémon cheering. The sight made Hopper wag his tail before sniffing the sand again.
Flash then returned his Pokémon as Hopper got the trail again, quickly running after it. "Rush!"
"Let's go!" Flash called back as he ran ahead, everyone there wanting to remind him that they still had their bags weighing them down. However, Flash just kept following after Hopper, soon seeing he was running toward a large desert mountain in the distance. Glaring at the sight, he pumped his hands, "I'm coming for you, you stinking thief!"
Within the mountain the group was heading for was a giant rock that was filled with holes. These holes turn into to tunnels that were either made by natural means or Pokémon. And down the tunnel was a square chamber, which held a young teen snoring away in a sleeping bag inside a tent. His skin was grayish blue while his hair was a bluish purple, styled in a way that made it cover half his face. Laying beside him was a pile of different bags, each a random color or design.
The teen let out a yawn as he sat up, rubbing his eyes before reaching into one of the bags to pull out a candy bar. Getting out of the tent next while eating the bar, he heard footsteps and turned to see a Pokémon come out of a tunnel. The creature was roughly three and a half foot tall, humanoid in appearance but covered in a black mist. There were only two solid looking parts of its body, the first being a piece of grey armor around its chest that the mist seemed to be flowing out of while the second was a large red horn coming out of its forehead. It's feet were similar to a bird's, with three claws coming out of the front and one coming out the back. Its eyes were red with green irises that had a green mist coming out of the sides.
"Morning Shadusk," he chuckled while sitting down by an electric lantern that he had switched on. He then spotted a black backpack in the Pokémon's claw. "Another successful night?"
"Dusk..." Shadusk nodded as it gave him the bag before sitting down on the other side of the lantern.
"Alright...let's see what we got here." the teen added as he opened the bag, "Hmmm...got a bit of food, some water bottles. Nothing really-" He came to a stop as he pulled out a certain item, "Is this?" He began to fiddle with a rectangular black vinyl leather case with a Pokeball symbol on the front along with a zip lock. He unzipped it and went wide-eyed, now seeing four shiny objects inside. "It is!"
"Shade?" Shadusk asked while tilting his head in confusion.
"Its a badge case with four badges in it! Whoever you pinched this off of must have been a really good trainer!" He closed the case and zipped it back up. "This is great! With this, we'll be on easy street. They'll be trainers looking to pay through the nose for just one of these. Selling all four will mean we never have to steal another thing ever again."
"Dusk..." Shadusk replied, trying to smile despite the teen not being able to see his mouth.
"Great work Shadusk. Now, let's get packed up. We're not gonna find a buyer in this desert." Shadusk nodded and was about to help, only to get a sudden bad thought, making him go and poke the teen's leg, "What?" Shadusk began speaking and miming out what it was trying to say, the teen barely getting it before looking back at the badge case, "You talking about the one you stole these from?" It nodded, the teen shaking his head with a smile in response. "Relax..." he patted its head, "There's no way they'll find us. If you stayed in the shadows like normal, there won't be any tracks for them to follow. We're safe."
Shadusk let out a little sigh, "Dusk..." he muttered, hoping he was just being paranoid.
Meanwhile...
Flash and Springer had been following Hopper for almost half an hour now. The Velocirush had been moving fast, but made sure to hold back enough for the others to keep sight of him. But now Hopper was coming to a stop, allowing them to catch up.
"What's wrong?" Flash asked, "Did you lose the scent?"
"Rush!" Hopper shook his head before pointing at something on the sand, Flash and Springer going wide-eyed at the sight.
"Footprints?" Flash asked as the others caught up, now seeing that the prints seemed to appear completely out of nowhere.
"I don't get it, did whoever make them teleport here?" Spike commented with a tilted head.
Twilight shook her head, "I don't think so. If they did, then they wouldn't have left a trail."
Doc kneeled down to look over the evidence, humming at the sight, "Hmm...I think it was a Flying-type that took Flash's bag. It probably landed here and began to walk." They followed the prints, only to see they lead to the mountain from earlier, "It must be in there."
They all followed the footprints, Hopper confirming the scent before locking out a new smell. It wasn't long till they got to the mountain's base, now seeing the many holes covering it. The sight made it look like swiss cheese, the sand stopping at the base, which included the tracks.
"You got a lock on 'em Hopper?" Flash asked, the Velocirush sniffing the ground before nodding and rushing down one of the holes.
"RUSH!" He roared, jumping up and down. The others blinked at the dark hole, unable to see anything inside.
"Is this gonna be a good idea?" Spike asked. "Remember what happened the last time we went into a tunnel."
"We'll be careful," Doc assured him as he took off his bag, pulling out a blanket before tying a rope around the cloth with a hooped pin. He then nailed them to a rock, tugging the rope next. "There. We should be able to find our way out when we're done."
"That's what you said last time," Spike grumbled, only to get a nudge from Twilight.
Flash then turned to Springer, "Can you sense anyone?" The Riolu reached out with his aura, the wave flying through the tunnels, only for his ears to flare up.
"Ri!" Springer opened his eyes and jumped into the tunnel.
"Hey!" Flash and Hopper yelled, both following after him.
"Wait up!" Twilight called, the others soon chasing them.
While this happened, the thieves were continuing to pack up. "Almost done," the teen said while folding his tent. As he did this, Shadusk stood by one of the tunnel entrances. It was here that it heard something: Echoing voices flying down the tunnels. The teen looked up as his ears also heard them, a look of panic starting to appear on his face. "May...maybe it's just a bunch of spelunkers who haven't had their bags stolen." Shadusk turned to him, only to point at the tunnel. "Right. You keep them busy while I finish up. Just be careful."
Shadusk nodded before going into the tunnel, the lantern's slowly going away as he got further in. And as he got away from the light, the strange Pokémon seemed to melt into the ground. Soon it was a puddle of shadows with red and green eyes, the puddle beginning to shift into the darkness as the teen double-timed it with the packing.
And as the Pokémon kept shuffling through the cave, on the other end was Doc, who was pulling out a Pokeball, "Tockwork, come out and use Flash!"
"Tock," Tockwork's face completely illuminated at the command, filling the dark tunnel with light.
"There. Now we can see." Doc commented as he put the ball away.
"Good thinking," Twilight turned back to the way they had came, now seeing the outside light about to fade. They were at the bottom of a slope leading upward, both Springer and Hopper confirming the thieves were up there. "Be on guard everyone. If they find out we're here, they might attack without a second's thought."
The others nodded as they slowly made their way, eyes focused straight ahead. But as they did this, they didn't pay to the tunnel's ceiling, not seeing a pair of eyes glaring down. Shadusk narrowed his focus at the eight, trying to figure out which move to use.
"Dusk..." he whispered as a claw came out of the puddle.
"Vel?" Hopper yelped before looking up, a scent catching his nose. He blinked at the ceiling, only to see a purple light to sudden appear, the light quickly charging as it revealed itself to be a black energy sphere with purple lightning sparking around it. "RUSH!" He yelled, seeing the orb now head straight for Twilight.
It was here that everyone else saw the attack coming, unable to react except for Hopper. The beast tackled the spectacled girl, making her cry out, "Augh!" She then hit the stone floor, the sphere now hitting the Velocirush.
"Hopper!" Flash yelled, only to see the ball pop after hitting his Pokémon, no damage being done. "Huh?!"
"That was Shadow Ball," Doc commented as Flash helped Twilight up, "No wonder Hopper wasn't damaged. Ghost-type attacks won't hurt a Normal-type like him."
"But where'd it come from?" Spike asked, everyone turning to the attack's origin, only to see nothing. Springer then shot out a wave of aura, but could only get a hint of something. The being kept jumping away before he could get a lock on it.
However, Hopper's nose caught on faster, making him spin around to see the eyes now shifting across the wall. "RUSH!" he yelled, pointing at the creature. But as everyone tried to follow him, the figure was already gone.
"Whatever this is, it's too fast," Twilight commented.
"Not for Hopper," Flash added as the Velocirush continued to follow the eyes as they shifted places. "Quick Attack!" Hopper quickly raced up to the eyes, hopping ahead of the creature before stomping down on it.
"DUSK!" They heard their opponent cry, everyone looking down to now see the eyes. Hopper's foot was pressed into the puddle, the creature trying to escape, but to no avail. Tockwork then turned its glowing face onto the puddle, the light seemingly burning away the shadows, revealing Shadusk as Hopper pinned it with his foot on its chest.
"What is that thing?" Spike yelped as he and Peewee backpedaled from the sight.
"A Shadusk!" Doc answered, "I see, that explains how it could hide so easily."
Flash felt a twinge of remembrance at that name, making him pull out his Pokedex.
Name: Shadusk
Category: Shadow Pokémon
Type: Dark
Info: This mysterious Pokémon can disappear into any shadow close to it. Its sneaks up on its victims and strikes with its deadly claws before taking refuge back into the shadows.
"Wait...didn't Tyrandark's entry mention these things?"
Twilight nodded in response, "Yes. Shadusk evolve into Tyrandark."
This made Flash go wide-eyed, almost squirming as he remembered Sombra's Tyrandark, knowing what a threat it could be. But as he looked back at the squirming Pokémon Hopper had pinned, it didn't feel like that much of a threat. "Hey! Why'd you take my bag?" Shadusk said nothing, "Where is it?!" Shadusk continued to say nothing, instead scrapping its hands along the ground.
"DUSK!" He then tossed the dirt it had pulled off the ground into Hopper's eyes.
"RUSH!" Hopper accidently loosened his grip, allowing Shadusk to push him off and jump back to its feet.
"Don't let it back in the shadows!" Doc yelled, only for Shadusk to leap out of Tockwork's light, melting back into the ground.
It quickly shot down the tunnel, making Flash order, "Don't let it get away!" He and Springer ran after it, the others soon following as they made their way down the cave.
Back in the chamber, the teen was now trying to shove his tent into his bag, "Come on! Get in there!"
"Dusk!" He turned to see Shadusk shift up to him.
"Shadusk, please tell me you managed to drive those guys away." Shadusk didn't reply, instead reaching to grab his arm along with Flash's bag before trying to pull them both to one of the tunnels. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"They're in here!" yelled a voice, making them turn to previous tunnel to now see Flash and Springer run out of the corridor. Flash growled as he glared at the teen, now seeing his bag in Shadusk's hand. "Hey! You thieves! That's my bag!"
The teen's eyes shrunk at this, panic settling in as he stuttered out, "I...I don't know what you're talking about. This is my bag."
"Don't play dumb," Doc added as he walked into the chamber, now pointing at the other bags nearby, "Looks like you got a nice little racket going here. How many other people have you stolen from?"
"I haven't stolen anything."
"Right..." Spike continued with crossed arms, "Because that frilly pink bag over there is totally yours."
"And you must be incredibly strong if you're able to carry that many bags at once," Twilight finished as she finished the now group of glares at the teen.
He began to backpedal, gulping as he stuttered out, "I...I...we...I."
"I'll say this only once," Flash did one long stomp forward, "Give me back my bag and badges and we won't do anything drastic."
He watched as the boy took the bag from Shadusk, expecting him to hand it over...only to put it on his back. "No. These are mine now."
This made Flash's eyes narrow in angry, "What gives you the right to take my things?! Especially my badges....do you have any idea how hard I worked to get them?!"
"If they're so special, you should have kept a closer eye on them! Besides, selling these badges will mean I'll never have to steal again!"
This got everyone to growl at him, Spike yelling, "If you wanna sell badges so badly, why don't you go win your own and sell them?!" Peewee let out a hiss in agreement.
"Oh please. Like we could ever win a badge." Everyone raised an eyebrow at this as he continued, "Shadusk's no fighter. He's way too weak. If we tried to battle, we'd lose in less than a minute." Shadusk looked down in shame as he continued, "We didn't have any other choice. We don't have any place to call home, or any way to survive without stealing." He gripped the strap of the bag, "But selling these badges will give us a real chance to live our best life." He took a step backward, "So I'm not letting you have them. They may be trophies to you, but they're our only shot at a better life Besides, you can always just ask the gyms to replace them."
"I'm not replacing them!" Flash almost yelled, "Those badges aren't just trophies or some fancy trinket you can ask for a spare of. Each of those badges holds a special memory I made with my Pokémon! They're the proof of our hard work, of our dedication to get stronger and of the friendship we forged in the battles we won them in! They're irreplaceable!" He then pointed at the Shadusk, "Maybe you'd understand that if you actually cared for your Shadusk."
"I care about him!"
Twilight rolled her eyes at this, "Oh please, you just called him a weakling. If you really cared about him, you'd believe in him and help him grow stronger."
"No wonder he feels like he needs to steal," Doc went on. "You've shot his confidence down so much he doesn't think he can do anything else."
"SHUT UP!"
"No, you shut up and listen. Give me back my badges or else." The teen said nothing, "Fine. Springer, Hopper, get him!" Hopper was the first to react, running forward to tackle him. But before he could, Shadusk leapt in front of the teen.
"Dusk!" Shadusk tried to slash at him, purple energy wrapping around its claws. But Hopper just took the attack with no issue, giving Hopper an opening.
"Bite!" Hopper snapped at Shadusk, who barely managed to dodge before trying to use Shadow Claw again. "Tail Whip!" Hopper spun around and blocked the attack with his tail, only to spin again to smack tail into Shadusk. No damage was taken from the attack, but it made him stagger back, lowering his guard.
"Quick Attack!" Hopper quickly slammed his head into Shadusk's chest.
"DUSK!" It cried as it flew back, hitting a wall next to one of the tunnels before slumping over. The teen gasped before running over to him, seeing the spirals in his eyes.
He began to shake him before turning to the others, "You see?!" He put the bag on his back before picking Shadusk up, "I told you Shadusk wasn't strong enough to battle. One move is all it took."
"Well maybe if you trained it better," Doc replied, everyone now advancing on the teen as he started to backpedal.
"Just give us my bag and nothing else has to happen." Flash added, expecting the teen to relent...only to run away, quickly going down a nearby tunnel. "HEY!" They quickly followed after him, Tockwork lighting the path ahead.
The teen had no idea where he was going, the cave too dark to see. Instead, he just hugged the wall as he ran, turning any corner he felt. Springer and Hopper were both able to follow him, allowing them to catch up.
But as this happened, the teen turned a corner and saw a light up ahead. Seeing that it could be outside, he ran toward it as fast as he could. And as he felt the fresh air embrace his face, he was about to let out a cheer...only for the ground under him to stop existing.
"WHOA!" He yelped as he pulled himself to a stop, finding he was on the edge of a high ledge near the top of the mountain. In all that running, he hadn't noticed he had been travelling higher up the mountain.
He looked down over the edge, seeing nothing but a long drop. He pulled back before a strong wind blew into him, so strong that it threatened to make him lose balance. The teen turned back to run down the way he came, only to come to a halt as he saw a certain thing blocking the tunnel.
"It's over," Flash said as his friends kept the exit blocked. "Nowhere else to run."
The teen shivered like a leaf at this, only to move over to the edge, "Not yet," he took the bag off and hung it over the side, Shadusk secured under his other arm. "Let me go, or I drop it." This made everyone freeze for a second as he continued, "If I can't have it, nobody can."
And as his threat left his mouth, he expected Flash to start panicking...only to see Flash just glare at him and say, "Go on then. Drop it."
"What?"
"There's nothing in that bag that'll break that I can't replace, so go ahead."
"But your badges-"
"Will be fine," Doc interrupted in a deadpan tone, "The case they're in is highly padded. They won't get a scratch."
"Besides," Flash took out a Pokeball, "I've got a pretty fast Flying-type. Even if you drop it, he'll be able to get my bag before it hits anything."
The teen's face screamed frustration now, glaring back and forth between the group and the bottom of the cliff. His mind told him two things: Either give up or attempt one last crazy idea to try and get away.
But before he could make a decision, a powerful gust of wind flew past the mountain. It buffeted the teen, pushing him back before staggering over the edge, "Whoa!" He yelped as began to fall, the others gasping at the sight of him tipping over the edge. "Augh!"
Flash quickly ran up to the edge, reaching out a hand to grab him...only to get the bag. He soon found himself being pulled to the ground, gripping the bag's strap with all his might as gravity tried to take the thief. As for the teen, he felt himself come to a sudden stop, the jiggling from the force of the halt making Shadusk come lose. This made the Shadow Pokémon begin to fall, only for the teen to catch him with his leg.
"AAAHHH!" He cried, feeling himself get stretched out from both sides.
"Hold on!" Flash yelled.
"I...I don't think I can." He looked down at Shadusk, knowing there was no way he could hold him and the bag with just one hand. "Oh no..."
The others then got to edge, seeing the teen was vastly out of reach. They then grabbed hold of Flash and tried to pull him up, but soon found the trio's weight to be too much. "Urgh...this is bad. We can't lift them!" Twilight grunted out.
"What do we do?" Spike added.
"Just keep trying!" Flash responded as he felt his arm strain more and more.
As this happened, Shadusk began to open his eyes. His mind showed nothing but a blurry image, only for his eyes to slowly go wide-eyed as he saw he was now staring at the ground that was over a hundred feet away. "SHADUSK!"
The teen looked down with a small smile, "Shadusk! You're awake!" Shadusk looked up at him, shivering at the new sight of his trainer hanging on to the edge by a literal bag. "Hurry! You need to climb up me!"
Shadusk nodded and began to bend so he could grab the teen's arm, but to no avail. Instead, all he could do was flop over, "Dusk..."
"It's no good," Twilight added, "He can't pull himself up."
"There has to be something we can do." Flash grumbled as his fingers continued to yell at him in pain.
"If only Shadusk could melt into the side of the cliff," Doc responded, knowing that Shadusk could only do that when it was in darkness. But as he tried to think of something else, he noticed the rolled up blanket hanging out the side of the bag that was fluttering in the wind. "Wait...that could work."
"What could work?" Twilight looked back to see Doc pull the blanket out, turning to Spike.
"Peewee, I need your help." The Terragon blinked at the trainer, only for Doc to pull out a Pokeball. "Steeledge, come on out." The ball opened to reveal the metal bird, which took to the skies. "Steeledge and Peewee," he opened out the blanket. "Use this to keep Shadusk out of the sunlight."
They both nodded, Twilight gasping, "That's brilliant!" The two flyers then grabbed the top of the blanket in their claws and took to the air. They slowly flew down until they were at level with Shadusk, dropping the blanket in front of him, blocking out the light of the sun.
"Dusk?" He blinked his eyes open, slowly melting into the blanket.
"Use that to can melt into the rock!" Doc yelled down at him, Shadusk nodding back as it reached out to the cliffside, slipping into the rock next. Once fully merged, Shadusk began to climb up while Peewee and Steeledge flew with him to make the blanket keep blocking the sunlight.
Once Shadusk got up to his trainer's arms, it reached out and slowly helped pull him up. This extra bit of help was what they needed, now pulling the teen closer to the edge. Soon enough, the teen was close enough that they could grab his wrists, allowing them to pull him and the bag right back up. This also freed up Steeledge and Peewee, the two dropping the blanket before flying down to grab him by the back of the teen's shirt. And with one finally pull, everyone managed to yank the teen over the edge. As soon as he was safe, they all jumped away from the edge, all in fear of another strong wind.
The teen panted and curled up on the ground, his entire life having flashed before his eyes. Once he got his breathing under control, he looked up at the group, "You saved me...us. Why? After what we did."
Flash slumped over, panting as well before glaring up at the teen, "You might be a criminal, but even you don't deserve that."
The teen's face shrunk at that, a huge frown on his face. "A criminal? But I...I...I don't want that."
"What?" Doc asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't want to be remembered as a criminal."
"Well, you don't have much choice. You're a thief!" Spike barked at him, Peewee adding a bark in as well.
"Yes, he does have a choice." They all looked at Flash, the teen standing back up. "You can start over and make things right. It's never to late to turn over a new leaf." He then pointed down at the teen, "But first, you have to make up for what you've done."
"What do you mean?"
"You've done a lot of bad things. You stole all those bags and possibly left people with no way to survive out here." He gestured out at the desert, "You can't start your life over until you've made up for all that."
"How?"
Twilight stood up next, "Well first, you should probably return those bags. I'm sure if you talk to someone in Dodge Junction, they'll be able to locate the bags' owners."
"But they'll arrest me."
"That's what you get for doing something like this." Doc chimed in next, the statement making the teen want to shrink down even more. Shadusk then moved over and put a hand on his shoulder, making him turn and blink at his friend. The sight of his Pokémon now made him realize what would happen to it next after he got arrested.
"O-o-okay." he shakily stood up, "But can you all do something for me?" The others all raised an eyebrow at this, only to see him bow, "Please...look after Shadusk!" Everyone hopped in place at this, surprise on his face. "He deserves better than me! And maybe...maybe with one of you, he'll become strong enough to actually win a fight."
Everyone shared a glance next, speechless at the sudden proposal. But before they could even reply-
"DUSK!" They looked down and saw Shadusk shaking his head. "Dusk, dusk, Shadusk!" He wrapped his arms around the teen's leg, holding him as tightly as he could.
Smiles were on all the faces but the teen's as Twilight remarked, "I don't think he wants to leave your side."
"But...but I'm going to jail!"
"And I think he's willing to wait," Doc replied, chuckling as he saw the teen stare down at his Pokémon.
"You...you really wanna stay...with me?" Shadusk nodded, "even though I might be locked up for a long time." Again, he nodded. The teen couldn't help but start to tear up, pulling Shadusk into a hug. "Thank you..."
A little later...
The group returned to the thieves hideout to retrieve all the bags, though not before Flash spent ten minutes making sure his badges were safe. They pulled him along before he could go full 'my precious', everyone finally getting back into the desert.
"You sure you're gonna be able to make it to Dodge Junction on your own?" Doc asked, the teen and Shadusk nodding back.
"Yes. We've already wasted enough of your time. You guys keep heading to Appaloosa." He held out a hand. "And the next time we meet, I'll be on the straight and narrow."
"Good to know," Flash replied before shaking his hand. Shadusk did the same with Springer and Hopper before the two turned around, walking away into the horizon to turn over a new leaf.
"Are we sure letting them go off on their own is a good idea?" Spike asked. "What if he was lying about turning himself in?"
"I don't think he was," Flash added before looking down at Springer, "What do you think bud?" Springer nodded, knowing he didn't sense any deception in their auras.
"Everyone deserves a second chance," Twilight told Spike while patting his shoulder, "We just have to trust they make the right decision."
Doc nodded in agreement, "And if they do fall back into old habits, we'll be there to set them straight."
"Okay...I guess so." Spike finished before looking back up at his friends, "So are we gonna get going too?"
"Yup," Flash pointed in the direction of Appaloosa. "Let's get going! We wanna find a good place to set up camp, don't we?" The others nodded before following him, all running into the desert for their next pitstop. It had been a truly taxing day, but thankfully they had managed to help someone change their life for the better. Hopefully, the rest of their adventure in the Grand Desert would be less exhausting, but only time would tell, as the journey continues