//------------------------------// // A Cure for Doc // Story: Pokémon: Equestrian Adventures // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// With his victory at the Appaloosa City Gym and fifth Equestria League badge now in hand, Flash Sentry and his friends were back on the road. Cloudsdale City was their next target, but to get there they had to head back out into the Grand Desert. The group had set out early that morning, having been waved off by Braeburn, Derpy, Strongheart and Thunderhooves. The trek through the desert had been fairly uneventful, Twilight leading them to an area they could spend the night. "There it is," Twilight announced as she pointed at a group of rocks. "That's where we'll set up camp tonight." "Why there?" Spike asked. "It has a cave we can use for shelter and inside is a spring we can use to top our water up." "Then let's get going," Doc added as he looked up at the sun. "It's been a long day and I'd like to set up camp before the sun sets." The others nodded as they continued to walk, the group taking an hour before reaching the rocks. "Here it is!" Flash yelled as he found the cave, all going in to soon find a spring near the back of the cave. The water was coming out of a stalactite and falling into a bowl like structure that had been dug into the ground, making it a pool. "Looks good," Doc replied, "Large enough for our tents and all our Pokémon. Let's get started setting up." With that, they began their work, Doc and Flash setting up the tents while Twilight and Spike got everything ready to feed their Pokémon. "So how much further do we have to go before we reach Cloudsdale?" Spike asked Twilight as he pulled out some feed, "That last trek felt like it took forever to get to Appaloosa." "Not as far as you think." She showed Spike her journal. "Once we're out of the desert, it won't be long after that. There's a small town between the end of the desert and Cloudsdale. We can rest and restock there before heading to Foal Mountain." "Foal Mountain? I thought we were going to Cloudsdale." "We are," Doc announced as he set the tents up, "But don't forget, Cloudsdale's situated at the top of a mountain. Remember when we first met Rainbow and Fluttershy? They told us all about it." "Oh yeah...I forgot." Spike replied, only to gulp, "Wait...does that mean we have to climb a mountain to get to this place?!" "Probably not," Twilight replied while shaking her head, "If there's a city at the top, they must have found a way to get up there quickly without climbing. There's probably a cable car or something like that." Spike sighed in relief as Flash and Doc finished with the tents and Twilight placed the last bowl of food on the ground. "Alright, that's everything. Time to eat!" Doc called out as he took out his Pokeballs, "Higear, Tockwork and Flitanium, dinner time!" "Skyler, Riptide, Prongs, Viper and Hopper, grubs up!" "Hope you're hungry Shine, Owlicious!" They threw their Pokeballs into the air, unleashing an army of hungry mouths. "Gear/Tock/Fly/Wing/Tore/Leaf/Car/Rush/Nee/Hoo!" The group cheered as they ran over to their food, Springer and Peewee joining them. The trainers laughed as Doc went over to his bag and started taking out his cooking equipment, filling a pan at the spring while the others set up the table. And as they waited for their food to finish, everyone relaxed at the table. Flash was polishing his badges while Spike watched the Pokémon eat, and Twilight was reading a new book she had gotten at Appaloosa. This one had depicted the many ways in which the Desert Equestrians survived out in the Grand Desert. After Thunderhooves and Braeburn's many talks about the old ways, the teen had grown interested in the ways with Strongheart suggesting she get this book. As such, she was thoroughly entertained, The only one not relaxing was Doc, the teen busying himself with the food. He had putting up lights on the ceiling from hooks other hikers had put up. The sun was close to setting, so those lights would have to do. But as he did this, Twilight looked up from her book, "Doc, why don't you relax for a bit." "I'll relax once everything's done," he replied as he kept making sure the food didn't burn. Seeing this, the others were all now staring at him work, Flash whispering to the others, "You know, I never noticed how much work Doc does around here." Twilight nodded in agreement, "Yeah. He cooks, carries all our medicine and other things we need." "That backpack of his must weigh a ton," Spike added. "We're lucky. We probably wouldn't have gotten as far as we have without him." Flash finished as he moved over to Doc, "Say, why don't I give you hand with that?" "Nah," Doc shook his head, "I'm almost done." "Don't go overdoing it Doc," Twilight told him. "If you don't give your body time to relax, you may end up over-stressing yourself and that could lead to you getting sick." "Guys, I'm fine." Doc put up the last light. "See? Now I just need to finish making dinner, eat, wash up and then I can relax all I want when I go to bed." "I don't really think going to bed counts as taking time to relax," Spike added as Doc moved over to the food. "I'll be fine," Doc replied before turning away from the food and sneezing. Seeing this, the others grimaced as he responded, "Just had some sand up my nose. I'm fine." After that, Doc dished everything out and they ate. Once done, Flash and Twilight forced Doc to let them clean up while he relaxed. He soon agreed to head to his tent before returning his Pokémon. The others followed suit a half hour later, each of them sighing as they let themselves drift to sleep. But no sooner had their heads hit the pillow, they found themselves awakening to the morning's sunrise. Twilight was the first to awaken, Flash following with Spike the last to step out of the tent. "Morning," he yawned while rubbing his eyes before seeing Twilight making breakfast. "Where's Doc?" "He was still asleep when I got up," Flash added while pointing to their tent. "He's probably taking our suggestion to heart and decided to sleep in." "That's good," Twilight responded as she placed the food on the table. "But he shouldn't sleep in too long. We'll need to head out soon if we want to get to the edge of the desert before nightfall." She moved over to the tent, "Doc, time to get up." As she did this, Flash and Spike sat down and got a few bites before Twilight stuck her head out the tent, "Guys, we've got a problem!" Flash and Spike quickly ran over to the tent, both frowning at the next sight. Twilight was kneeling next to Doc as the older teen lay in his bed, his head red from a bright blush and covered in sweat. "What's wrong with him?" Spike asked as Twilight felt his head. "He's burning up. It's just like I said last night. He's worked so hard he exhausted his body to the point it couldn't fight off illness." "So what do we do?" Flash asked next, "Maybe we should try and get him back to Appaloosa. I'm sure they'd have a way to held him feel better." Twilight shook her head. "Appaloosa's way too far, and we would have to carry him. It would take twice as long to get there....wait a minute." She ran out of the tent and returned a minute later with the book she had been reading. "Maybe there's something in here that can help. The Desert Equestrians must have found something that could help cure sickness." She began speed reading it while Flash, Spike and their Pokémon did what they could to keep Doc as comfortable as possible. Spike let out Doc's Pokémon so they could keep him company, the trio staring into the tent while Flash wiped Doc's head and placed a damp cloth on it. "I found something!" They heard Twilight yell, all running over to her. She then showed them an image of a flower in the book, one that had a long green stem and a head with yellow and pink petals. "This plant is supposed to be a great way to help people fight off illness. If we can find one, there's a tea recipe in here that should help Doc feel much better." "Great! Where do we find it?" Twilight looked back at the page, rereading it again. "It says they grow in dry oases." "Dry oases? What the heck is that?" "It's an oasis that grows without any water. It's usually made up of very dry grass and plants that don't need water. That's where we'll find it." "So we just need to find one of these dry oases?" Flash asked, Twilight nodding back. He let out a long sigh before turning to the cave's entrance. "Alright, I'll see if I can find anything." "I'm coming too!" Spike chimed in, "We can have Peewee search from the air!" Flash glanced back at Twilight, the sister doing a small nod in return. "Alright, let's get going. We've got a lot of ground to cover. Twilight, you stay here and look after him." Twilight nodded again before taking out her journal, pulling up a picture of the plant before handing it to him. "Here, so you know what you're looking for. And it'll help you find your way back once you have it." "Thanks," he then turned to Springer, Spike and Peewee, "Let's go guys." "RIGHT/RIO/TERRA!" The three barked back before they all ran out to the desert, Flash taking out a Pokeball and throwing it upward. "Skyler!" The Wingust appeared and spread its wings with a squawk before looking down at his trainer. "Alright bud," Flash showed him the image of the plant. "We need your help finding this. Look for any spots of vegetation that don't seem to have water around them." "Gust!" Skyler nodded before taking to the sky, Peewee following after before looking in the opposite direction as Flash and Spike began their trek. As this happened, Twilight went to the tent and replaced the damp cloth on Doc's head. "Don't worry Doc, we'll find you that flower. I promise." Doc tried to reply, only to let out a moan. The sound made his Pokémon all whimper, Twilight looking back at them, "Don't worry, Flash and the others will be back before you know it." They tried to show smiles back, now seeing Twilight walk out to refill the bowl of water for the cloth. But as she did this, she couldn't help but wear a big frown, "Please hurry guys. This might just be a cold now, but if left untreated...it could get a lot worse." Many miles away... A giant boulder loomed over a bowl of sand in the desert, many rock circling around the area. Several patches of long grass could be seen scattered around it, its center being a large flowerbed with the flowers that had yellow and pink petals. And out of the ground, the head of a Sandile popped out before the rest of its body followed. It glanced around before going over to the flowers, "Dile!" Licking its lips, it took a bite out of the colored grass. But as it swallowed the first one, the ground began to shake, "Dile?" Turning to see the sand now bounce, the Pokémon tilted its head as it then saw something shoot out of the sand, a cloud of sand following this. Sandile gulped as it looked up and up, now locking eyes with a quartet of eyes. Very very angry eyes. Moments later, a loud cry echoed through the boulder field, screaming in pain and fear, "SANDILE!" It had been an hour since Flash and Spike headed out to find the flower, only to find nothing. The desert was completely clear of any type of oasis, dry or otherwise. Skyler and Peewee weren't having much luck either, both deciding to extend their search over a wider radius. "Anything?" Spike asked Flash, the teen having climbed up a big rock they had found before using Doc's binoculars. "Nope!" Flash called back, "Nothing but sand." He looked down at Springer, "Don't suppose you can sniff out any plant life?" "Ri?" Springer shook his head before they climbed back down. As they did this, they saw Skyler and Peewee in the distance, the two flying over to signal they had still not found a thing. The sight made them sigh, the two groaning as they got back to sandy ground. "This is gonna be like looking for a needle in a haystack," Flash moaned as he took out his water bottle, "Even if we manage to find an oasis, we won't know if it has water or not until we get there." Spike gasped at his words, "Hey, that might work!" "What might work?" "Riptide! He was able to detect water before, right? Maybe he can steer us in the right direction." Flash blinked at him before pulling out the Pokémon's pokeball, "Hmmm...not a bad idea. Riptide, come on out!" The Pokeball opened before the Spranitor appeared. "Hey bud, we need you to tell us if there's any water around here." "Tore," Riptide replied before jumping on all fours, sniffing the ground while his head fin wobbled around. After a minute, he turned back to Flash before pointing in another direction than what they had been going. "So you're saying there's water off in that direction?" Riptide nodded with a slight frown, Flash knowing he wasn't completely sure. "Alright, I trust you buddy." He pointed to the distance, now seeing Skyler and Peewee were already searching over there. The teen looked through the binoculars next, seeing that the Pokémon were flying over a bunch of rocks. "Let's hope they find something over there." "Okay....but what do we do now?" Spike asked next. "Now-" Flash's response was interrupted by a large explosion of sand that occurred off behind a few dunes, "We find out what the heck that was!" He, Spike, Springer and Riptide ran over a small dune, getting down and crawling over until their heads popped over to see clouds of sand in the distance...and a battle. "SANDSLASH!" The pangolin Pokémon yelped as it fell back and rolled along the sand, its opponent landing on the sand with a confident stance. It was a Pokémon Flash recognized from his Pokedex, one he had looked up only a few days ago. "A Frostoak." "That's a Frostoak?" Spike asked, "But what's it doing here?" "Frostoak..." another voice said, both turning to see a trainer standing on a rock a few feet behind the Ice-type. The sight made them both scowl, growling as they recognized the trainer as Lightning Blitz with his Chimplug by his feet. "Ice Shard!" He called out, Frostoak raising his hands as icicles appeared in them. "Frost!" It roared as it charged at the recovering Sandslash. "Slash!" Sandslash yelled as it swiped at the Frostoak with glowing claws. But as it did this, the Frostoak hopped right over the pangolin before throwing the icicles at Sandslash like a bunch of ninja kunai. "Slash!" It cried as they dug into its back, exploding before covering it with freezing water. "Now, Metal Claw!" The fingers on Frostoak's hands glowed like Sandslash's now, the snow cloak Pokémon landing and charging at its opponent. It quickly did a two-hit attack on the Ground-Type, only for Lightning to give another command. "Finish this! Blizzard!" "Frost..." Frostoak reached up and gripped its scarf as it breathed in, then pulled it down and breathed out. "FROSTOAK!" From its mouth came a powerful gust of wind, large clumps of snow following it as it struck Sandslash, completely freezing the beast in mere seconds before swirls began to appear in its eyes. "Wow...." Spike gasped as Frostoak turned back to Lightning. But as he leaned over the dune to get a better look, he accidently caused the sand at the top of the dune to shift and fall. This sound made Frostoak turn to him, quickly firing an Ice Shard right at Spike, "GYAH!" the teen yelped as the icicle was about to go for his head, only for Flash to grab his shirt and pull him out of the way. Lightning turned to see the four, the sight making him sigh, "You guys again." Flash picked himself up and began to slide down the dune, "Hey." Springer and Riptide followed, Spike choosing to stay back and hide behind the dune with a small whimper. "Long time no see." "Not long enough," Lightning replied as he hopped off the rock. Chimplug did the same, smirking at Riptide and Springer while Frostoak just tilted his head at the anger on his trainer's face, "Do you mind leaving? I'm trying to train out here and I'm not in the mood." "Sorry, but I need to ask you something first. And don't worry, its not gonna stop you're training." Lightning turned away in response, Flash gritting his teeth before saying, "Listen, our friend is sick and we help. We're looking for a flower that's in this desert that can cure him." Lightning glance back as Flash held up the journal, "It looks like this. You seen anything like it?" Lightning barely gave the image a look before turning away. "No, I haven't. We done here?" Flash opened his mouth to yell back, only for another voice to speak up, "TERRA!" They looked up to see Peewee flying towards them. "Did you find something?" Spike asked, Peewee nodding before pointing to the large rocks in the distance. Flash took out the binoculars next, now seeing Skyler circling something. "Looks like they got something," Flash added as he put the device away. "Come on!" He quickly ran past Lightning with Springer and Riptide following. Riptide and Chimplug shared one final glance as they passed, Spike joining them. And as they ran off, Lightning just watched with a bored stare. "Tch. What a waste of my time." He turned to his Pokémon, both just staring at him, "Please, this doesn't concern us. Come on, we got training to do." The two nodded as they followed their trainer, leaving the Sandslash to be freed by the sun. Back at the cave... Twilight was still trying to keep Doc cool and sweat free, but the pained look on his face was still there. "Just hold on," Twilight sighed as she felt his forehead, noticing it was a tiny bit hotter now, "Flash and the others will be back here soon." As she said this, Shine trotted into the tent while carrying a newly refilled bucket of water in her psychic powers. "Thank you Shine." "Nee." Shine replied as Twilight put another towel in the bucket. And as she damped his head again, she turned to the large desert outside of the tent, "Please hurry guys. I'm not sure how much longer Doc'll be able to take this high fever." The Pokémon all grimaced at words, all silently praying that Flash and Spike would find the flower soon. Flash, Spike and the Pokémon were now at the entrance to the rocks, finding it to be a large maze like structure with different shaped boulders that made many high walls with multiple dead-ends. "How big is this thing?" Spike asked, Flash looking down at the journal. "I'm... not really sure," he tapped at the device, soon finding an aerial view of the place, only to gulp as he saw it was probably a mile long, if not longer. "That could take forever to search!" Spike moaned. "And what if we get lost?!" Flash chuckled back as he pointed upward, "Luckily, we have air support." As if on command, Skyler and Peewee landed on the rocks in front of them as Flash continued, "Okay guys, you're our eyes in the sky. If we go the wrong way, let us know." "Gust/Wagon," they replied before flying back up, Flash and Spike quickly sprinting into the maze. The group kept a good pace as they went through the rocks, Skyler coming down to tell them when they should take a turn or two, making sure they didn't hit any dead ends. Several minutes passed as they kept going, only to find themselves squeezing past a pair of tight boulders before finding a clearing. There, they found multiple patches of tall grass and a flowerbed in the center, the boys' eyes going wide at the sight. "That's it!" Spike cheered as they ran up to the grass. Looking back at the journal one last time, they found the flower in the small garden. "Well, this has to be one of our easiest adventures." Flash commented with a chuckle...only to feel regret as the ground under him started to shake, "What the?" He turned around to see the sand around them jump around, making both him and Spike's eyes shrink. Before they could ask what was happening, the sandy ground exploded as something gigantic shot out and sprayed the brown dust everywhere. "Whoa!" Flash yelped as he felt himself trip backward, landing on his butt as he saw the being tower over them, "A Douburrow?" "Uh...that's a really really big Douburrow." Spike added as Flash noticed what he was talking about. Unlike the others they had seen, this one was twice the size, being over thirty feet long. The two headed goliath shifted both heads, glaring down at Flash in particular as they saw the flower in his hand. The teen did a long gulp as he slowly picked himself up, "Hey... big guy. What's up?" He slowly started to backpedal, "Lovely place you've got here. Listen," he pointed at the flowers, "Mind if I borrow one or two of those plants? We need them for a-" "BURROW!" Both heads roared as they charged at Flash, the teen screaming back as he spun around and started to run. And as they slammed their heads down, a shockwave knocked the teen off his feet. "Blaugh!" he yelped as he hit the sand, quickly lifting his head next to yell, "SPRINGER! RIPTIDE!" The two appeared by their trainer, now seeing the worm ascend from the sand before they used Drain Punch and Rock Smash to knock the beast back. Getting back onto his feet, the three ran over and squeezed their way past the rocks, as Spike and Peewee had already ran through. But as they did this, Douburrow placed one of its mouths up to the gap as fire appeared between the teeth. "MOVE!" Flash screamed as the group cut into a sprint, quickly turning a corner just as Douburrow unleashed a Flamethrower. The flames blasted the rock wall beside them, the sight of the boulder starting to melt now appearing in the group's eyes. And as they turned to keep running through the maze, the ground began to shake again as the Douborrow sunk itself into the sand again. Feeling the tremors, Flash did a long gulp down his throat, "This could be harder than I thought." Back at the camp... Twilight's fingers flipped through the book, quickly glancing between the novel and her bags. "Alright....this doesn't seem too hard to make. I just need that flower." She put the book down as she went through one of Doc's bags, "Hmmm...here we go." Taking out a small glass, she turned back to Doc, now seeing Shine wiping his head with her tail before Higear placed a new damp cloth on his head. The sight made the teen shine a small smile, "Great work guys." "Nee!" "Hi..." "Now, I need to do my job." Twilight added as she took a swig of water. But as she did this, a certain trio walked into the cave. It was Lightning, now seeing the laying Doc in the tent as the others kept trying to take care of him. Back with the others... Flash, Spike and the Pokémon had now climbed to the top of one of the rocks to get a better look at their situation. Despite the beast's size, Douburrow's head couldn't reach the top of the bowl, the beast now slithering around in rage. As it did this, Spike turned to Flash, "Is it just me, or is that thing bigger than the ones we've seen before?" "Oh, it's bigger alright. Not sure how it got that big, but it is. That means it's gonna be even harder to get one of those flowers." "So what do we do now? We can't take that thing down!" Flash rubbed his chin in thought, only to turn to Skyler, "When it's not looking, do you think you can fly down and grab one before it sees you?" He saw his Wingust stare at the Douburrow, which looked like it could swallow him whole, but then he took a deep breath before taking to the air. "Wing!" He yelled as he waited for Douburrow to turn away from the group. And as the worm looked away for a second to reposition itself in the sand, the bird shot down, gliding above the sand as he drew closer to the flowers. "Come on," Flash whispered, "Just don't look around, don't look around, don't look around." "Dub..." One of Douburrow's heads murmured before turning around, now spotting the Wingust flying towards their precious flower garden. "BURROW!" The other head followed his gaze, now both glaring at Skyler before firing a Flamethrower at the bird. "WING!" Skyler cried as he saw the flames coming, forcing him to abandon his mission as he started to flap his wings to gain height. "Burrow!" Douburrow roared as it swung its tail down, smacking the Wingust across the sand and flying into a wall of jagged rocks. "SKYLER!" Flash yelled as he quickly returned his Pokémon before he struck the wall. Seeing the red light, Douburrow turned and glared at the two, "Uh....hi." "DOUBURROW!" Multiple lights appeared around the worm next before fading to reveal several large sharp rocks. Roaring at second time, it fired the stones at the teens. "Move!" Flash grabbed Spike and pulled him away from the edge, Springer and Riptide destroying the rocks as best they could. And when the last rock flew over them, the boys shrunk behind another large rock, Flash noticing Spike now clutching his leg in fear. "You okay?" "I-I-I t-t-think so," Spike gulped as he slowly pulled himself off the leg. "B-b-but what do we do now?" Flash sighed as he leaned back against the rock, "I have no idea. Douburrow's probably gonna be expecting us to try to get the flower now." The trainer then let out a deep breath before crawling up the rock, poking its head out to look down at the sand bowl. But as he did this, he now saw the Douburrow circling the flowers...only to lean down and eat some. "So that's it." "What?" Flash got back down and let out another sight, "Those flowers must be Douburrow's favorite food. That's why it's so protective of them." "Great...how does that help us?" Flash crossed his arms at these words, "Hmm...what would Twilight...or even Doc do?" As these words left his mouth, a smile crept onto his lips as he then said, "I think I've got an idea. It's risky, but if we all do our part, it should work." Seeing the smile, Spike shined a small smirk, "Well I'm in. We gotta get that flower for Doc after all." Flash nodded back before leaning down, whispering his idea as the group soon went wide-eyed at his suggestion. One hour later... Douburrow continued to slither around its favourite food, one of its heads watching the many gaps between the rocks. As it did this, a voice suddenly yelled out, "HEY!" Both heads turned to see Flash standing atop the bowl, the teen crossing his arms. "I'm up here. Come and get me, you overgrown earthworm!" The beast growled and prepared a Flamethrower, only for a jet of water to hit his face, "Burrow!" It cried before looking down to see Riptide standing at one of the entrances. "Tore," he chuckled before charging at the Douburrow, the two headed Pokémon doing the same as both mouths readied to bite down on him. But as they surged forward, Riptide fired a Water Gun at his feet, propelling himself upward, "Spran!" He flew between the heads, about to go for the flowers, only for Douburrow's tail to fly up and smack him. "Tore!" He yelped before suddenly grabbing the tail, holding on it tightly. Feeling this, Douburrow started swinging its tail, Riptide soon being flung off as he yelled, "Spraaaaaan!" And as the Pokémon fell into a buffet of sand, Douburrow glared down at him with both mouths licking their lips. The worm fully spun around, ready to eat the Pokémon...only for an Aura Sphere to come out of another rock and explode against its head. It cried out in pain again, turning to see a charging Springer with another Aura Sphere. "Burrow!" The worm roared as its right mouth filled itself with fire while the left one keep its glare on Riptide. "Tore..." the Spranitor replied as his tail became wrapped in water. The right head then launched a stream of fire at Springer as the left charged at Riptide. Springer leapt over the flames and threw the Aura Sphere at the left head, hitting its back while Riptide hopped on the head before spring-boarding and slamming his tail into the right head's side. Both roared in pain as Springer and Riptide jumped away, getting to a safe distance as Douburrow raised its heads again. And as they got to full height, Springer's body suddenly flashed and created multiple copies of himself. The copies began running around at random, the two heads' eyes darting around. Unable to keep up, the worm slithered its body back, going around the flowers before firing rocks and flames in every direction it could. As this happened, Riptide snuck back to the gap in the rock, quickly parkouring through them until finding Spike, who was standing beside another wall of rocks. He turned to the water lizard, "Hey, is it time?" "Almost," they spun around to see Flash running up to them, "You guys remember the plan?" They both nodded back, "Good. Now, we just gotta wait for the signal." On the other side of the wall, Springer and his clones continued to jump around, dodging flame and rock at every second. And as they did this, Springer's ears suddenly spiked, now feeling Flash, Riptide and Spike's aura's in one place. "Riolu!" he roared as he was about to do the signal, only for a large tail to suddenly hit his side, "Rio!" He yelped as he was knocked away, his body rolling on the ground as the clones around the Douburrow vanished. The Riolu quickly hopped back to his feet next, now seeing Douburrow glaring down at him. "Ri!" he yelled as he formed an Aura Sphere, only for the worm to fire a Stone Edge at him. But as the rocks began to reach the Riolu, his body suddenly vanished, having switched to Extreme Speed to dodge the boulder. He then began to move further back, dodging each stone as the worm kept getting closer. Soon, Springer was up against a wall as he charged an Aura Sphere, only for the beast to hit him with a Tail Slap, "RIO!" he cried as he was sent flying, firing the orb upward at the same time. BOOM! "There's the signal!" Flash called out as they all saw the midair exploding Aura Sphere. In unison, he and Spike began to pull of as many small rocks as the could out of the wall, Riptide using Rock Smash to shatter some as well. "Come on Springer...stay in there." The Riolu let out a long moan as he picked himself up, now seeing Douburrow slither up to him. But as the monster got close, Springer looked up at him and saw the fangs brimming in the worm's mouth...only to smirk at the sight. Before the worm could even react, Springer's body sparked with blue lightning, disappearing in an instant. "Dub?" "Riolu!" Douburrow turned around to see Springer behind him, Aura Sphere in paw as he fired it. The orb flew at Douburrow, only to pass between its heads and strike the wall instead. A loud crack could be heard next as the blow coupled with the others' work on the opposite side began to show, the whole section falling over a second later. "DOUBURROW!" It cried as the rocks began fall on it, burying the worm as Flash, Spike and Riptide ran out of the side. "Great work everyone!" Flash yelled as they all ran for the flowers. But as they did this, the ground began to shake again, only for the sand around them to suddenly explode. They all gasped as a sand cloud filled the entire bowl, the group now seeing the Douburrow emerge with a loud roar. "BURROW!" It screamed before swinging its tail down, the wind from the impact hitting all four flying. They landed in a line on the sand, Douburrow's mouths filling with fire to fry them. But as it prepared to fire, the group hopped onto their feet...and pointed upward. Douburrow raised an eyebrow at this, only to look up to see Peewee flying high above them, complete with the flowers in his claws. The dragon had snuck in throughout the battle, the sand cloud perfect to hide his ascent into the air and was now out of range of both Flamethrower and Stone Edge. "BURROW!" it roared again, firing a blast of flames upward. "Oh, no you don't! Water Gun!" A jet of water then smacked Douburrow square in the heads as Springer leapt up at the worm. "Double Team!" Springer created another army of Riolus, all but the original charging as Flash gave his next command. "Now, Aura Sphere Barrage!" An army of tiny Aura Spheres formed in each paw as Douburrow tried to recover from the Water Gun. "Dub?" When it opened its eyes, all it saw was a cloud of Riolu leaping at its heads before thrusting their attacks into its face. "DOUBURROW!" It screamed as it was knocked back, slamming into another rock wall, which caused another burying rock slide. "And there's our cue to leave!" Spike yelled as he cut into a sprint into the rock maze, the others following right behind him. And as they ran, the heard no sound from the Douburrow, making them wonder if it was now knocked out. But as a few minutes passed, the pile of rocks that buried the worm began to shake, the Douburrow shooting out next with a mighty roar. It took a few heavy pants before glaring around, now seeing the four were gone...and its flowers having now been crushed by the rocks it'd thrown off itself. "DOUBURROW!!!!" Flash and the others were still sprinting, only slowing down once or twice to take drinks from their bottles. And as they got back to the cave, they found Twilight and Peewee at the table, "Did you get it?" Flash asked, only to see the flower on the table next to Twilight. It's pink and yellow petals had been plucked off, placed on a cloth that Twilight lowered into a cup before pouring boiling water into it. "You guys did great," Twilight replied as she used a spoon to press the petals and stir the drink. She then turned to them, seeing the now beaten up clothes Flash and Spike were wearing. "What happened to you guys?" One chapter long explanation later... "Wow. That sounds harsh. To think a Douburrow could grow to that size. Incredible." Flash growled back at the girl, "You wouldn't think it was incredible if you had a pair of very angry, fire breathing heads chase you around." Twilight just giggled back as she leaned down and began feeding Doc the tea, "This might be bitter, but it's gonna help you feel better." Doc flinched as he drank the whole thing down, groaning once the last drop was drunk. "There, that should do it." Spike leaned in next, an expectant look on his face. But as he watched Doc, he turned back to his sister, "What's going on? Why isn't he looking any better?" Twilight gave him a deadpan stare in return, "He's not a Pokémon Spike. He won't get better the second he's given a cure. His body needs to process the tea. It could be a few hours before he's up and about." "Oh...that bites." "At least he'll actually get better," Flash added before letting out a long sigh, "After everything we've been through today, that alone should give us cause to celebrate." He turned to Doc's Pokémon, "Don't worry. He'll be fine after a bit of rest." Twilight nodded in agreement, "And hopefully, this'll teach him not to overdo it so much in the future." "Though we'll need to pick up the slack until he's completely better," Flash chimed in, "Does anyone actually know how to cook other then Doc?" The two shook their heads, the group starting to discuss what they could eat while Doc recovered. As they did this, just outside the cave stood a certain trainer, Lightning leaning against the rock wall with Chimplug and Frostoak beside him. He took one last glance into the cave before walking away. "Come on, let's-hmm?" He said as he got a few yards away from the cave, only to see some sand in the distance began to rise out and move like a giant rabbit trail. "What is that?" Chimplug and Frostoak hopped in front of him, getting into fighting stances as their trainer continued to glare at the sight. But as the trail got closer, Lightning saw it was almost as tall as him, and going as fast as a train. "What in the-" he yelped before giving out a command, "Dodge it!" The trio leapt out of the way, the trail shooting past them like a bullet. Lightning then spun around, now seeing the trail not even bothering with them before heading for the cave from before. "Chimplug, Charge Beam into the air!" "Chim..." Chimplug raised its tail as lightning surged around it, "PLUG!" A bolt of lightning zipped into the sky, exploding into a barrage of crackles into the sky. At the same time... "What was that?" Flash asked as they looked out the tent. But as they did this, the ground beneath them began shaking. "Oh no..." Spike said with a loud gulp, "Is that what I think it is?" On que, the ground in front of the cave exploded, revealing a certain giant worm. "BURROW!" it roared as its heads glared dowon at the group and their Pokémon. "You weren't kidding," Twilight added, "That thing is huge." And before they could do anything, the Douburrow thrust its head at the ground, quickly digging into the sand beneath the rock. "What's it doing?" Spike asked as they saw the rocks around them begin to shake and crack open. "It's trying to crush us!" Flash yelled, "We have to get out of here!" They nodded back before turning to Doc. But as they di this, the ground suddenly shattered beneath them. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" They screamed as they felt themselves begin to fall down into the darkness of the tunnel the Douburrow had dug. Slowly, everything around them went dark as they all began to black out.