//------------------------------// // Raging Storm // Story: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescuers of Harmony // by Codex92 //------------------------------// Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes. “What...happened?” she uttered. As she tried to recall what she was doing, she took in her surroundings. Expecting to wake up under a rocky cave ceiling, she stared up at a ceiling that was smooth, rounded like a dome, and made of wood. Her back was resting on something soft instead of a rough, rugged cavern floor. “...Where am I?” “You’re in the guild’s infirmary, dear.” Looking to her left where the voice came from, Twilight’s eyes grew wide seeing the Pokemon beside the bed she rested on. Chansey grabbed the egg in her pouch, giving it to the awestruck and confused Ralts. “Eat this. This’ll help you feel better and fill your empty stomach.” Twilight stared at the egg, sitting up as she held it in her hands and examined it. “...Uhh...Isn’t this your...baby?” she asked timidly. Chansey chuckled in response and shook her head. “Oh, that’s not a Pokemon egg,” she assured Twilight. “Chansey eggs are really nutritious. We even snack on them from time to time when we get hungry.” “You...make eggs naturally?” Twilight asked curiously. “Yup. Quite often whenever our pouches are empty,” Chansey said, pointing both her small arms to the dark pink pouch on her lower belly. Baffled by learning something about this new Pokemon, Twilight finally remembered what happened to her and her friends. “W-Where are my friends?” she asked. Chansey pointed behind her, prompting Twilight to turn around. She was relieved to find her friends and Spike were ok and in the infirmary too, all of them awake as they ate the same Chansey eggs given to them by the other two Chanseys checking up on them. “Hi, Twilight!” Pinkie greeted with a wave before holding out her half-eaten egg in her tail. “You gotta try these yummy eggs! They’re so good!” Giving her snack a toss, Pinkie tilted her head back and gobbled the rest of it down in one gulp. “I bet these would be great for baking!” One of the Chansey near Pinkie winced and let out a nervous chuckle. “Uhh, that’d be quite a tall order to fill for us,” she said. “B-Besides, we only feed patients our eggs to get them back on their feet.” Twilight looked at her egg before giving it a nibble. It really was delicious once she took the first bite, feeling a little energy pouring into her from the highly nutritious egg. While the recovering Pokemon finished their refreshing snacks, Johann walked into the infirmary, one of his claws hidden behind his back. “Hey, you guys are awake,” he said as he approached the beds. “How are you all feeling?” “I feel crummy,” Rainbow grumbled. “We got our tails handed to us by a rampaging bull.” “And got badly hurt in the process,” Rarity said, chiding the Starly. “We should be grateful we’re still alive and these lovely Pokemon rescued us from that Tauros.” “Actually, we were gathered by Johann to help bring you here,” the third Chansey said. “Whatever mess you all got yourselves in, he was the only one to make it out unscathed.” The Equestrians looked at Johann, only to notice that Scott wasn’t with him or in one of the other empty infirmary beds. “Did Johann go into a frenzy again and beat Tauros on his own?” Applejack asked. “And where’s Scott?” Twilight asked. She began to fear the worst after seeing him take Tauros literally head on and getting crushed by his thick skull. “...Did...Did he…?” “Scott’s fine,” Johann said. “He’s...back at the base...He’s too stubborn to go down like that.” The girls and Spike noticed the Charmander growing timid, even as he tried to make a playful jab at the Riolu’s stubbornness. Seeing all his friends’ eyes were on him, worrying about his own health after all but Pinkie saw him nearly get crushed, Johann let out a sigh. They had to know, but he hoped they didn’t get upset with him like Scott did. “...I’m sorry, guys.” “Sorry? What for?” Fluttershy asked. “...I could have taken Tauros down myself...but I had been holding back my full strength,” Johann said, clenching his eyes to avoid any judgemental gazes. “...What?” Spike asked. “Can you tell us what happened with that Tauros?” Twilight asked. Johann swallowed the lump in his throat, steeling himself for any complaints and scoldings he would get from his other friends. “When all of you were knocked out, Scott was badly hurt, but still standing, and I didn’t get hurt at all. He tried to have me get the tool box and use an Escape Orb to get us out of the Mystery Dungeon while he distracted Tauros, but I refused to see anyone else get hurt anymore. So, I attacked Tauros with Ember, shoved Scott out of the way, and...when my scarf got torn by Tauros’s horn...I was finally able to use Flamethrower, and we took it down together.” “Then that’s great news!” Pinkie cheered. She hopped off the bed and bounced over to Johann, nearly bowling him over as she glomped him. “You can control your fire now! And all it took was a life-threatening situation with a mad bull Pokemon! Desperate times call for desperate measures, as they say.” “Yeah! You took down that Snorlax on your own, but that was when you weren’t mad!” Rainbow praised. “You just needed a little bit of motivation to light that fire in your gut!...Uhh, both the confidence and the actual fire in your...actual gut.” “Wait, didn’t he say Tauros tore his scarf?” As the others climbed out of their beds, Rarity approached Johann after he peeled the sticky cotton candy fluff ball off him. She looked at the cloth accessory around his neck, her keen eye for detail noticing the difference right away. “This is a brand new scarf. You got a new one after getting back?” “Y-Yeah,” Johann admitted, his free paw subconsciously rubbing at it, forgetting that the Everstone that was hidden in his old scarf wasn’t there and the new one he bought yesterday was hiding behind his back. Rarity noticed the odd nervous habit, using her tail to feel the bump she felt in Johann’s old scarf, only to feel nothing but the thin scarf and the Charmander’s chest. “What about that odd stone that was hiding in your old scarf? What was it, darling?” “W-Well, that got broken by Tauros, too,” Johann said. “I...also found a replacement for that, too. And...it was this.” He then showed everyone what he had been hiding. Rarity expected the mystery stone to be something valuable, but it looked like any ordinary, smoothed out round stone. “This is called an Everstone.” “...It’s...just a dull rock,” Rainbow commented. “Maybe by how it looks, but there’s several different sorts of objects that have mystical properties in this world that have no significance to ours,” Twilight explained. “...Although, this is the first I’ve ever heard of an Everstone. What does it do?” “It keeps Pokemon from evolving,” Johann explained. “It won’t work if the Pokemon’s already fully evolved.” “Huh. So, if a Pokemon has it, it’ll keep them in the younger or weaker forms they’re in right now,” Twilight paraphrased. “Well, that’s funny, because if Johann has had that since we first met him, then he must be super strong enough to evolve at any moment!” Pinkie said with a laugh. Johann lowered his head as the realization slowly dawned on the group, their intrigue melding into shock and awe. He braced for the barrage of questions and ire, though the latter was far from that when they finally snapped out of their stupor. “Ya mean...ya could have evolved against anythin’ we fought the last several weeks?” Applejack asked. “You could have beaten those two Croagunks and the thieving Liepard and Purrloin on your own?” Spike asked. “So you let all of us get trampled by a Tauros and watched as we did all the fighting in that Mystery Dungeon yesterday!?” Rainbow shrieked angrily, earning dirty looks from the others. “Rainbow Dash, I don’t think either of us would have really stood a chance anyway!” Rarity scolded. “Besides, now we know what happens when we do get beaten: losing consciousness and needing to be rescued as well.” “Thank goodness we didn’t lose all our goodies if Scotty and Johnny got knocked out as well,” Pinkie added. Before Johann could get a word in, Twilight was already up in the Charmander’s face, grasping his shoulders with her hands and tried to shake him as hard as she could. “You were going to evolve and I would have to miss out on experiencing it in full detail until either of us did! And how did you hold off on evolving for so long if the other one you had got destroyed!? You can’t just halt a metamorphosis phase like that if it’s crucial for survivability!” Johann pulled Twilight’s hands off of him and backed away. “I-It’s not that simple and very exhausting to do!” he said. “Not all Pokemon want to evolve into a stronger form! L-Like that weird Meowth we ran into in The Cat’s Den a while back!” “Dude, you are wicked strong, and you’ve been holding back against Pokemon who are way stronger than all of us combined!” Rainbow exclaimed. “I-I...I know…but…” Johann shook from Rainbow berating him, just like Scott did. Fluttershy noticed how upset he was getting, quickly hopping between him and her friends. “Everypony, stop pestering him!” she exclaimed. “It’s obvious he’s not comfortable talking about his real strength, so back off before you upset him even more!” Startled from hearing how irate the Buneary was getting, especially Rainbow Dash, the girls and Spike shut their mouths and backed away a couple paces from Johann. Satisfied, Fluttershy turned around, giving Johann a gentle smile, encouraging him to continue. “I’m sure he has a good reason why he didn’t want to tell us until he was ready to tell us.” “...T-Thanks, Fluttershy, but...I didn’t want to tell anyone,” Johann mumbled. Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion, but unlike the others pressing him for more details, she waited patiently for him to speak. “I guess it couldn’t have been helped when I lost myself and took out my pent up anger against that Snorlax.” “Could you have beaten Snorlax without your Blaze ability activating that day?” Fluttershy asked. Johann silently nodded, clenching the Everstone tightly in both paws. “Why didn’t you want to tell us you knew Flamethrower and you were so strong?” “And why were you failing to use such a strong attack after that?” Rainbow questioned. She earned a painless, but startling shock from Applejack as she growled and glowered at the Starly for her remark. “Ow! Hey!” “Ya need to learn to keep that big beak of yours shut, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack warned. “Next time, it won’t be just a tiny zap.” “No fighting in the ward, please!” one of the Chansey exclaimed, catching the harmless zap Applejack gave to Rainbow. “We already treated your wounds, and we don’t want to have to do it again over something trivial!” Seeing they were disturbing the Chanseys and their work, the group left the infirmary and went outside of the guild to talk. During the walk outside, Johann tried to settle his nerves, but he was still anxious to continue talking about his strength and hiding it from his friends. Ignoring the other guild members, they hung out around a tree to give them some shade, being as far away from hearing distance from the other Pokemon. “So, as you guys know, my dad’s part of Team A.C.T., one of the strongest and famous rescue teams in the land,” Johann said. “Since I was a hatchling, I wanted to be a rescue Pokemon just like him. At first, the training was fun, but after he, Tyranitar, and guild master Alakazam were defeated by Groudon when they searched for what was causing so many terrible earthquakes...dad got...a bit more aggressive with the training.” “Yeah, your dad’s kinda scary,” Spike agreed. “And really, really mean. Daddies do NOT be that mean to their kids. Not even for training,” Pinkie said with a pout. “What even got up your dad’s giant plot anyway?” Rainbow questioned. “Throughout my family’s history, my ancestors were considered the strongest of Charizards among our kind, and my dad still holds that title,” Johann said. “Generations upon generations of my ancestors had faced tough Pokemon and never lost once to anything. Not even Pokemon who have a type advantage. My dad took pride in that and wanted to put that on me and my older brother to take that title when the time came.” “I didn’t know you had a sibling,” Fluttershy said. “Is he a Charmander, too?” “He’s a Charmeleon; the next form I would have evolved into if I wanted to,” he said. “I also have an older sister, but she’s...different.” “Does she not like fighting?” the Buneary asked. “No...It’s actually...complicated,” Johann mumbled. “So...your sister’s not nice?” Twilight asked, wincing a little as she wanted to pry a bit more into Johann’s family life. “I’m actually really close with her. My brother, not so much,” Johann groaned. He shook his head, getting back on topic. “Anyway, since my dad’s first real loss against a legendary Pokemon who can shift and increase the amount of land on the earth, he changed. I feel like I don’t live up to his expectations, no matter how much I tried to impress him. I’m too scared to try to talk to him now, or even tell him how I felt when he pushed me too hard. So, since then, I...I hid how I truly felt around everyone when I got upset. I pretend nothing bothers me, and even though I kept Flamethrower, I relearned weaker moves from a Pokemon move tutor so no one thinks I’m stronger than I’m supposed to.” “Well, we saw what happened when all that bottled up emotion backfired on Snorlax,” Spike mumbled. “So you hid behind a mask and suppressed your real power around others? Why would you put so much strain on yourself, darling? It’s definitely not healthy for you when you might lose control of yourself again,” Rarity said. “Yeah! And being fake happy is NOT happy!” Pinkie added. “What am I supposed to do?” Johann asked. “I feel like a disappointment to my dad, I’m afraid of letting everyone else down, and I didn’t want other Pokemon my age to feel inferior around me when I’m much stronger than they think.” He clutched the Everstone tightly, being careful not to squeeze too hard to crack it and ruin its power to keep him from evolving. “I still want to be a rescue Pokemon...but I didn’t want to take away my whole team’s glory when we face a powerful Pokemon by myself.” “Come on, Johann! Are you kidding!?” Rainbow exclaimed. “You DESERVE all that praise! You’re a leader for a reason, and you can be pretty tough when you build up that confidence some more! Trust me, I’m a great motivator!” “In what universe?” Applejack muttered. “Is that why Scott’s not here?” Twilight asked. “He’s so jealous that he feels you upstaged him when you went all out on that Tauros to save his tail that he didn’t hear why you hid your real power in the first place?” “I-I tried to explain, but...he did make some...decent points,” Johann mumbled. Twilight wasn’t going to hear any excuses or whatever reasons Scott came up with, fuming angrily at how horribly the Riolu treated his best friend. “I’m going to give that stubborn mutt a piece of my mind. In both cases!” The Ralts began to storm off back to the base, leaving Johann stammering, trying to tell her he was responsible for getting them hurt. “We better make sure she doesn’t hurt him too badly,” Spike said. “Or they get into more than just a friendly sparring match.” The other girls agreed, but Johann tried to beg everyone not to attack Scott for calling him out and avoiding him. Fluttershy grabbed the Charmander’s paw and guided him along, looking just as mad as Twilight, though her expression showed more like she was disappointed in the Riolu. Loud grunts and yells rang out in the small training field outside Team Rescue Rangers’ base. Scott punched and kicked at the air with intense force, training himself hard to reach the level Johann was at. He was still mad at Johann, feeling humiliated that he was trying to train his best friend to get stronger and find his inner fire, only to discover he was already tough enough without his help. Scott didn’t know what game his friend was playing with him, but if he was going to keep hiding secrets from him, then he wasn’t going to bother with whatever problems he has anymore. After throwing several combo punches and a spinning roundhouse kick, Scott set his sights on a wooden log he had left standing. Several piles of broken wood and splinters scattered about, shattering over a dozen other training logs with his brute force. Letting out a yell, the Riolu charged at his final opponent, then swung a flurry of rapid punches into the center of the thick wood. After seeing and hearing it begin to crack, he brought both his paws together to his chest, then thrust them forward into a double-palm thrust. The impact caused the wood to split into hundreds of pieces, launching splinters and some good chunks of wood across the grass. Scott stood silently with his arms thrust out, glaring at the wood for a brief moment before lowering his arms with a disappointed grunt. “All the training I could have given him. All for nothing,” he growled to himself. “His dad was THE Charizard from Team A.C.T. He had all the training he could have gotten, and yet, when Flamethrower didn’t work, it just magically began to work right for him. He’s got some nerve asking me for help when he could have easily burnt me to a crisp in a real fight.” Scott clenched his paws angrily, letting out a huff as he walked over to a nearby tree. He leapt up onto a tall, wide branch several feet above the ground, curled his legs around it as he hung upside down, then proceeded to do some lifting curl-ups. While focusing on his rigorous training, Twilight stomped down the road with her friends and Johann trailing behind her. They spotted Scott on his workout branch and approached him. Scott noticed them, but ignored their presence and continued training. “Scott, get down here!” Twilight exclaimed. “Glad to see you all awake,” Scott greeted between grunts. “I’m busy training.” “Is that really all you have to say!?” Rarity exclaimed in shock. “‘Glad to see you’re awake!?’ We all got trampled by a wild Pokemon!” “Well, that’s life as a Pokemon sometimes,” Scott said, taking a moment to pause his workout to blankly stare at the group. “You win fights, you lose fights. And if you lose, all you need is a bit of sleep and some berries and you’ll be good as new. Just as long as one of us is still standing-” Scott gave Johann a sneer, making the Charmander wince and lower his gaze. “-we can make it out of a Mystery Dungeon with our tails still attached. Now get some training in before it gets dark.” Baffled, the Equestrians stared at Scott as he continued his reps. “You’re really going to pretend like nothing happened yesterday?” Spike questioned. “And yell at Johann because he’s afraid to show everypony how strong he is?” Fluttershy added with an angry look, ready to use her Stare on the disgruntled Riolu to force him to apologize and make up with Johann. “I don’t know what kind of sob story he told you guys, but all of this could have been avoided if Johann put a bit more effort into fighting when it truly mattered!” Scott said. Twilight snapped, using Confusion to snap the branch Scott was hanging from. The Riolu yelped, quickly flipping rightside up to land on his feet. Before he could berate Twilight for making him fall while he was in the middle of his workout, she was already up in his face. “What is the matter with you!?” she shouted. “Johann’s your friend! You’re gonna be upset with him because your ego was hurt after seeing him take down a Tauros!?” “M-My ego!? The heck’s that got to do with me being mad at him!?” Scott questioned. “You keep boasting about strength and showing off like you’re better than any other Pokemon, but you still go way over your head! Even after you learned that lesson with those Croagunk twins, you seemed to have completely forgotten after that!” Twilight argued, pointing her digitless hand at his snout. “Excuse me!?” Scott smacked Twilight’s hand away and pointed back at her, taking offense to her accusation. “First off, that Snorlax came out of nowhere, and that Pokemon was destroying a farm! I wasn’t going to stand around and let it eat everything in sight while he was berserk! Second, those thieving cats stole Spoink’s pearl, and as a team, we ALL agreed to take them down! And that Tauros took us all on by surprise when none of those Pokemon ever showed up in the Cave of Normality! Trust me, I’ve been there a couple times for training, so I know exactly which Pokemon roam down there! “And if all of you are going to attack me because I yelled at Johann, you’re not seeing the real problem here! Because of this berry smoothie-chugging lizard-” Scott then pointed at Johann, who winced and slowly backed away from the group, feeling hurt as his best friend angrily called him names out of spite, not for playful banter. “-there were so many times he could have dealt with ALL the Pokemon we came across in the last few weeks in seconds! All the times he’s held himself back on purpose, that would have saved me from being reamed by all of you, especially HIM, for being reckless!” “So you admit you were jealous of him after all!” Twilight exclaimed. “I’M NOT JEALOUS! I’d prefer facing someone stronger than me to challenge myself, and if I ever lose, that’s a good motivation for me to train even harder and grow stronger than them!” As Scott bore his fangs, he startled Twilight as she backed away a bit, but had her hands ready to stop him with her psychic powers if he became too aggressive. “I’m mad at Johann for lying to me, and because he refused to unleash his full potential when we were in a dire situation, that Tauros could have done a lot more damage to you guys!” Fluttershy hopped toward Scott, startling him slightly as she almost headbutted him while looking him straight in the eyes. “That doesn’t excuse you for putting Johann down like that!” she scolded. “He’s afraid to show everyone how strong he really is because he has so many expectations from his father to continue a family legacy, but feels like he can’t when he’s being pushed so hard! If you can sense the emotions in other Pokemon with your aura, why can’t you see that he’s distressed on the inside!?” Scott’s gaze slowly changed back into a glare, even as Fluttershy began to use her Stare to get him to back down. He faltered a bit, but quickly shut his eyes and looked through his aura, avoiding eye contact while seeing through his aura sight. He could see Fluttershy’s aura the brightest, being so close, and the others’ auras behind her, all of them except for Johann’s flickering in a way that showed they were all cross with him. As usual with Johann’s no matter what expression he held, his aura remained perfectly calm. Opening his eyes back up, he ignored Fluttershy’s Stare, gently grabbing her shoulders, then forced her to turn around and look at Johann, surprising her as her Stare didn’t work on the Riolu. “If you could see through my eyes, you would have no idea what he’s feeling,” he said. The Buneary stammered, trying to figure out why her Stare didn’t work on Scott when it affected Johann and the Poison Twins, Scott wrapped his paws around her head, covering her eyes. “He looks upset right now, but on the inside, his aura’s much more calmer than any of yours right now. No matter what emotion he bears on his face, every single time I look at his aura, it’s always like that. The only other time I’ve seen it change at all was when he went mad in his Blaze rage, and I felt so much inner pain in his aura than I ever could have imagined from someone like him. “I’ve never heard of any Pokemon having that calm of an aura, no matter what kind they are. Neither my parents or any Lucario in the village I grew up in has ever seen that happen, so Johann’s aura is probably as unique as yours is. Although, I don’t know what to believe anymore if he’s just going to constantly keep things from his best friend.” He moved his paws, letting Fluttershy see and let what he said to everyone sink in, even if they’re all still against him for hurting Johann’s feelings. Scott brushed past Fluttershy and through the rest of the Equestrians, heading straight for the timid Johann. The others wanted to stop Scott, but even if they all ganged up on him, the Riolu was far more combat experienced than they were, even with Twilight using Confusion to freeze him in place. “So, is there anything else you wanna share with me? Or do you not trust me enough, as your PARTNER, to tell me what you told them?” “I-I...I never said that,” Johann mumbled. “Clearly, you open up to them, but not me! Why!? Because I’m a tough male who doesn’t want to talk about feelings and any other sentimental junk!?” Scott questioned. Johann shook his head, but couldn’t respond in time as Scott continued and pointed to Spike. “You told the girls, and even Spike, who is also a male like us! What did I ask from you that night when you went nuts on Snorlax!? I didn’t want you to hide anything from me, and, surprise surprise, you’re still hiding stuff from me!” “Scott, that’s enough!” Applejack warned. “What is it about me that you can’t tell me anything, huh!?” Scott continued, yelling at Johann as the Charmander winced more and more. “I try to help you, even when we were constantly getting picked on by Obstagoon and his team! You could whoop his butt into next week if you wanted to, but you kept taking his abuse while I was the only one who stood up to that jerk!” Johann shook as tears welled up in his eyes, unable to find his voice and keeping his eyes away from the Riolu and his tirade. “You could have saved us so much trouble if you actually showed me your real strength and not held back on me! We both need to be at our strongest as a rescue team to help other Pokemon; to help our teammates from another world find a way to get back home! We made a promise, and you’re going back on it by pretending you’re at my level of power!” “I-I’m not. I swear,” Johann uttered. “...I...I don’t want-” The moment Johann looked up, Scott had dashed toward him faster than any of the group could blink. Scott threw a swift punch into Johann’s chest with as much force as possible. Johann grunted in surprise while the Equestrians gasped in shock at what Scott did. Instead of expecting the Charmander to double over in pain and gasp for air, Johann barely even flinched. He slowly looked down at Scott’s paw against his chest, feeling only a slight, dull pain from the punch. His teary eyes slowly glanced up to his friend, who leered at him in discontent. “...Not even a grimace,” Scott grumbled as he pulled his paw away. Johann subconsciously rubbed at his chest, his lips trembling, the pain in his heart hurting far more than the powerful blow he was given that he was able to withstand. “You really are strong after all. How pathetic of you for going so easy on me.” The Equestrians were speechless, but they could see Johann was about to break down in tears. “Scott, stop it,” Twilight said. “You’re supposed to be a rescue Pokemon. You wanted to be just like your dad. I don’t see a tough Fire-type Pokemon; all I see is a coward who hides who he really is on the inside. Whatever dumb legacy your dad expects from you to continue on, maybe that’s the reason why he’s mad at you. He knows you’re a disappointment to him, and you’re in denial, despite training hard enough to last a round against a legendary Pokemon!” Johann’s eyes widened with a shaky breath. His tears began flowing, but the dejected expression didn’t phase Scott in the slightest. “You’re also supposed to be a leader, but you’re no leader at all! You’re a terrible partner who doesn’t trust me after all we’ve been through the last few months in the guild! I’d rather have my own team than be partnered with a fat, pathetic, smoothie-slurping wimp like you! Either you grow a backbone and stand up for yourself, or run away and quit with your tail between your legs!” Johann whimpered as his body quaked, desperately holding back his sobs while his tears ran down his face like waterfalls. He clenched his eyes and his fists, grasping his Everstone tightly. Scott growled, finding less hope that his supposed friend would retaliate and show that he wasn’t a coward. When Johann finally did move, he threw his Everstone at Scott, who quickly caught it before it struck his face, baffling him as he saw the brand new mystical stone the Charmander held. Johann let out a heartbroken whine before running off, nudging Scott aside as he ran inside the base. Upon contact, as Scott staggered, his aura activated on its own as his eyes glowed blue and his appendages stood out. When he glanced at Johann as he fled, his eyes widened when he saw the Charmander’s aura; it was no longer calm as it wavered in a deep, dark shade of pale blue, expressing intense sorrow, misery, and depression. This aura was the very same feeling deep within the Charmander’s Blaze rage, making it the second time he’s seen his friend’s true emotions, both physically and internally. He was snapped out of his daze when a wing smacked him upside the head. “Nice going, ‘leader’,” Rainbow growled. “How could you call him such awful things!?” Fluttershy exclaimed before rushing off to the base to comfort Johann. “You two are supposed to be friends,” Twilight growled. “Since I moved to Ponyville, I had been new to friendship. But...you treat Johann like that when you have no idea how much he’s suffering from his own self doubts and self confidence!? What kind of a friend does that!?” “He’s a terrible friend, that’s what!” Pinkie shrieked. She then hopped up to Scott, smacked him hard across the face with her tail, then swiped Johann’s Everstone from his paw. “No treats for the bad fighting puppy!” Pinkie let out a huff and hopped away to join Fluttershy. Rarity and Applejack shook their heads at Scott, the Skitty going on ahead to help Johann with Twilight and Spike following after. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, dude,” Rainbow said. “You want to pick a fight with anypony, try me! Or Applejack!” Scott snapped out of his stupor from getting slapped by Pinkie, glancing at the base. His ears twitched, faintly hearing Johann sobbing from inside. Scowling, confused and still irritated that everyone sided with Johann over him, he turned away from the base with a grunt and headed into the forest. “H-Hey! Where the hay do you think you’re going!?” Rainbow flapped her wings to divebomb the Riolu, but Applejack caught her tail in her mouth, making her yelp as the sharp teeth clenched her tail feathers hard. “Just leave him be, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said. “You have got to stop biting my tail,” Rainbow muttered, deadpanned. After Applejack spat out Rainbow’s tail, the Starly checked on her feathers before glaring at the stetson-hatted Yamper. “Why are we just letting him walk away!? He made Johann cry!” “He needs to blow off some steam and calm down. Ah understand he’s mad because Johann lied to all of us, but that don’t mean he meant to hurt anypony,” Applejack said. “He was afraid of how others would think of him because of his pa not appreciatin’ him anymore.” “That was still a low blow, though,” Rainbow grumbled. “And Ah don’t think Scott meant it when he said all that,” Applejack continued, confusing Rainbow Dash. “When Johann ran past him, I noticed how quickly his expression became when them droopin’ ear-like things floated up. And his eyes were opened this time.” “Uhh...that was a weird thing to mention,” Rainbow said. “Doesn’t he see farther with them closed?” “There’s a lot about the critters in this world none of us know how they do the things they do.” Applejack looked out to the forest, watching Scott disappear into the trees, then back to the base. “Maybe that Pokedex can share with us some secrets about Riolu and their aura sensin’ abilities.” Throughout the rest of the day, Scott mindlessly wandered around the trees, growing more puzzled as his anger toward Johann was long forgotten. He tried to snap out of his thoughts and try to continue training, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Johann’s aura. For so long as he knew the Charmander, he never saw his aura change with whatever emotion he was truly feeling. Not even a flicker until he unleashed all his pent up rage on Snorlax back at the Miltank farm. It couldn’t have been a fault with his own aura vision since he could see other Pokemons’ aura and their real emotions inside just fine, but Johann’s was always so calm and collected, even when he seemed a bit sad or angry. NOW he could see that depressing aura after he yelled at him, which seemed to be impossible for many Pokemon who cannot use or see aura to conceal it from a Riolu or Lucario. The sun was beginning to set when he looked up at the sky, realizing he spent the rest of the day fretting over Johann and his emotional state. He tried to punch some trees to distract himself, but he didn’t put his all in his strikes, only minor taps like he was just giving them light pats. Sighing, he focused his aura to find his way back. He followed his sight until he spotted the lake, surprised to see he had practically made half of a circle around to where the back of their base was. When he reached the open field and the lake, he glanced at his reflection on the calm water’s surface. “...What is happening?” he asked himself. “Johann shouldn’t have any control of his aura to hide all that...pain.” Sinking down to his knees, Scott reached a paw out to the water, gently disturbing the calm lake with a light touch and moved his paw around, simulating what he saw in Johann’s aura earlier. The weak ripples and quivering surface slowed down as he removed his paw, imagining the tear-stricken face of his friend in the water as he cried his heart out. “...What’s bothering you, Johann? Why can’t you tell me?” Sighing, Scott realized how much of a jerk he’d been. Maybe he did go a little bit overboard and said a lot of things he shouldn’t have said, but he didn’t want his friend to hide anything else from him. He wanted to help, but he can’t if Johann refuses to say anything, even if it’s a personal or family issue he didn’t want to discuss. Getting back to his feet, Scott stared at the water for a moment longer before making his way back to the base. Rounding the building, he was about to walk inside, only to be forcefully shoved out by a fluffy pink body. “Nuh uh! Bad puppies sleep outside!” Pinkie scolded. “Pinkie, I just want to go to bed,” he grumbled. “Nope a dope!” Pinkie said with a wild shake of her head. “You’re staying in the dog house tonight for being a bad, bad friend! Or...well, there isn’t another house, so it’s a metaphorical dog house for not being in the same room as the upset party. Or is that when you’re sleeping in the same bed?” Scott’s eye twitched, his anger flaring up again over the defiant Swirlix and her random tangent. “Fine, then! I’ll sleep outside!” he exclaimed before storming off, walking past the garden and plopping himself down against the base of the closest tree. “I can’t believe this. They’re kicking me out of the base. And a pink fluff ball is the guard dog, whose logic and train of thought make absolutely no sense.” As he sat under the tree, pouting angrily for being forced to sleep outside, he stared at the base. He wanted to snoop and listen in to whatever any of them were saying or doing, but knowing Pinkie, she’d probably sense his presence and block him from being within close proximity to the building. He will never understand Pinkie Pie for the rest of his days, what with all her wild, hyperactive antics and the ability to defy any form of logic he knew of. His body relaxed, leaning against the trunk of the tree as his ire slowly faded. He did want to see what they were doing inside, only to realize he WAS able to through his aura. After mentally beating himself up for forgetting his unique ability, Scott closed his eyes and focused his aura. Peering through the rounded wall of the base, he could see the outlines of his team with their aura glowing inside them. Pinkie was guarding the entrance, making sure he stayed outside, Applejack and Rainbow Dash seemed to be talking to Twilight, Spike, and Rarity, and Fluttershy was with Johann. From the looks of their silhouettes, Fluttershy seemed to be hugging him, comforting him. And to Scott’s shock, Johann’s aura was still depressingly wavering, not a single bit of it changing back to the usual aura he saw in his friend. Opening his eyes, Scott felt bad for what he did. He deserved to sleep outside. As much as he wanted to apologize, he doubted the others would want him anywhere near Johann, and he wouldn’t blame Johann if their friendship ended right then and there. Leaning his head back against the tree, Scott just silently watched the base, wondering what his friend thought of him now as the sun finally settled and night began. Eventually, Scott fell asleep, wishing he could take everything he said to Johann back. The next morning, long before the sun was about to come up, most of the inhabitants inside Team Rescue Rangers’ were fast asleep. Applejack stirred, her inner alarm clock telling her to wake up and start her day. Sitting up in her bed, she yawned and stretched her back and limbs. Smacking her lips, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, then grabbed her hat laying beside her small hay bed. After fixing it on her head, she glanced around the room at her sleeping friends. Before she got up, she did a double take when she thought there was someone missing. She knew Scott was outside after Pinkie temporarily banned him from the base, but Johann wasn’t in his bed. The only thing sitting there was his Everstone, something he didn’t want to leave behind to avoid evolving until he’s ready to. “Johann?” she quietly called out. Applejack walked around the beds, being careful not to wake the others as she headed outside. Looking around, she didn’t see the Charmander out in their training field on the other side of the dirt road, or even near the garden. With so little light, it couldn’t be hard to spot a Pokemon with a tail lit up with a flame to illuminate and reveal himself. Beyond the garden, she could faintly see Scott sitting against a tree, fast asleep. “Wonder if he knew where Johann went.” Still upset with him for how he treated Johann, Applejack walked over to the Riolu. As she stood next to him, Applejack nudged his side with her paw. “Scott, wake up.” Scott grunted, his eyes squinting open irritably. “What?” he grumbled, annoyed that someone interrupted his sleep. When he saw who it was that was forcing him awake, the embarrassing display he made of himself came back to him. Irritation shifting to confusion, he slowly began to wake up as he stared at the Yamper. “...What time is it?” “The usual time for us to be awake at this hour,” Applejack said bluntly. “...Oh.” Scott wilted and leaned back against the tree. “I...don’t really feel like training today.” Applejack wasn’t all that surprised hearing the Riolu not feeling up to doing any of his daily training routines. “Ah suppose ya thought long and hard about what ya did yesterday, huh?” she asked. Scott averted his gaze, giving the Yamper his answer through his silence and guilty frown. “Where is he?” Confused, Scott looked back at Applejack. “Isn’t he still asleep in the base?” he asked. “No sign of him,” she said. “He even left his Everstone. Ah thought ya would have heard him walk out or sensed him with your aura.” Scott shook his head, his heart filled with dread. “Did I...make him run away?” he uttered. “Well, ya sure did give him that much of a thought after ya yelled at him,” Applejack scolded. “Ya think ya know your friend, but ya don’t.” “Because he never tells me anything else about him,” Scott argued. “Ever since we met at the guild, he’s talked about how great his dad was, how much he wanted to be a rescuer like him, and through our training, we had fun learning about what we needed to know about creating our own team and the things we’re allowed to do as guild members.” He let out a sigh, running his paws against his face in exasperation. “He was always so positive and optimistic those past few months. Ever since we met you and your friends, I didn’t even realize how different he’s been.” “So now you’re puttin’ the blame on us?” Applejack accused, her body sparking slightly in retaliation. “Of course not!” Scott shouted as he glared at Applejack. “Quit treating me like I’m the bad guy! I could never tell how Johann was feeling, whether he showed it personally or through his aura! I don’t know how he can control his emotional state like that, but ever since he went into his Blaze rage, I saw a side of him I didn’t know he had kept hidden, and I wanted to help him! So don’t say I’m in the wrong when my best friend doesn’t tell me what’s on his mind, because I want to help him get better, not put him down!” Both canine Pokemon stared each other down, but Scott’s gaze weakened, looking down at his feet with his paws holding his head. “...And I ended up doing that anyway. All because I just wanted him to give me a straight answer about what’s been bothering him and got him so upset…” Applejack’s expression softened a little, appreciating his honesty and admitting he was wrong to yell at Johann while he was in such an emotional state. She sat down next to the depressed Riolu, looking out to the base and the growing orchard she was building. “Maybe he didn’t want to tell ya because he was afraid of how you’d think about him,” Applejack said. “He told us that his pa, Charizard, he got much more aggressive trainin’ Johann. Ah can see why that grumpy dragon seemed to be frustrated and bitter with him when we first met him. He ain’t much of a father figure for pushin’ his own kin to continue such an important family tradition.” “I knew his dad was pretty terrifying, but I never knew why Johann would sometimes look...upset whenever he was around,” Scott mumbled. “But your aura can sense emotions, right?” Applejack questioned, finding his explanation yesterday hard to believe through how he perceived other’s aura. “Ah looked at that Pokedex with some of the girls about Riolu, though there ain’t much detail about what they see in a Pokemon’s aura. You could see ours, even what might be some contained Equestrian magic within us, but ya couldn’t tell what Johann was feelin’ at all?” “No. I always saw his aura as a calm, controlled wave whenever I snuck a peak,” Scott said. “Even when he seemed bothered by what I said or if he got frustrated or sad, I saw no change whatsoever.” “And...that ain’t natural for anypony?” Applejack asked. “Or...anything?” “No. Aura always flows and ripples differently, whether it’s weak or powerful,” Scott explained. “...I don’t know how Johann was able to do that. Not even a Lucario with years and years of constant aura training can perfect their own inner aura like that.” “Did he know about aura at all?” Applejack asked. “Maybe his pa, or maybe Alakazam?” “I don’t think so. I did tell him about what I could do with aura when we first met,” Scott said. “I was...pretty excited to be part of the guild, and I felt like showing off, so I told him how each other Pokemon was feeling right then and there. Maybe that explained how his aura behaved, but even then, it’s still impossible to do something like that.” He lowered his head with a sigh. “...Does he not trust me?...He probably doesn’t now after yesterday. I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t trust myself either…I hope he didn’t run away...” He felt Applejack’s paw gently touch his shoulder, making him tilt his head in her direction. “We’ll find him,” she promised. “And we don’t hate ya. Ah can see ya care a lot about Johann, but sometimes, ya need to be a bit more patient if he’s afraid of tellin’ ya how he’s really feelin’.” “You’re right. I need to make it up to him after I apologize.” Applejack nodded in agreement. Suddenly, her body began to release an electric shock, her paw still touching Scott’s shoulder and startled him with the weak jolt. “Ahh! What was that for!? I said I was going to say sorry to him! Do I have to apologize to you and the others, too!?” “S-Sorry, sugarcube. Ah didn’t mean to. It just came outta no-” Another sudden spark of electricity shot through the Yamper, thankfully sparing Scott from another shock this time. Applejack’s fur bristled as a chill ran down her spine, sensing something as her head slowly turned to the road beyond the base. “...W-Whoa. What’s happenin’?” “Uhh, you alright?” Scott asked, feeling wary touching the slightly sparking Yamper. “Do you...need to discharge some electricity? I heard from some Electric-types that they can get sick if they store too much electrical energy, and the safest way to do that is to let it out.” “Ah...don’t know,” Applejack uttered. “Ah...feel somethin’ from here. Like...part of me...wants to go there?” While Scott wondered what Applejack felt, his ears perked when he heard the faint sound of thunder rolling in the distance. “It’s going to storm today?” The sun seemed to be out a little bit, though the sky seemed to stay dark, almost muggy now that it was a bit brighter. In the clouds in the distance, they can see some flashes of light, followed by a slightly louder thunderclap as it seemed to be coming closer. “Oh no. It might rain! If Johann’s out there, he can’t stay out there for long!” “R-Right! If his tail’s fire goes out, he might die!” Applejack said. From the incoming storm, lightning bolts began shooting across the sky, heading straight down to the earth. Applejack’s body tingled, feeling overwhelmed as she could practically feel the powerful bolts striking from this distance. “Ah-Ah have no idea how, but Ah think this storm is gonna get really bad.” “Electric-types have that sense for electrical energy from storm clouds. If you’re this nervous, then that means this storm isn’t any normal one at all.” Now fearing for his friend’s safety, Scott leapt to his feet, having no clue which direction to run to to find Johann. “I don’t know when he ran away, but he could be anywhere! I’ll try to search ahead while you wake the others up!” “Ya sure this is a good idea goin’ off by yourself?” Applejack questioned. “Shouldn’t we also rally the guild? Maybe Johann’s pa?” “There’s no time! He could be out in the middle of that storm and it’s pouring rain down on him!” Before Applejack could try to talk some sense into him, Scott already began sprinting off down the road away from the direction of Pokemon Square. “Scott, wait! Come back!” Applejack called out, unable to chase after him with her trembling body feeling the lightning being unleashed erratically at random moments. “Consarn it. Electric-type Pokemon are a strange bunch. Ah gotta wake the others and see if we can get a search party.” Wandering aimlessly down the road a couple miles away from Pokemon Square, Johann depressingly walked with his head hung low. Tears trickled down his cheeks, his eyes red and puffy both from crying and lack of sleep, but in his heart, he didn’t care how exhausted he was. It was better for him to run away from his problems, including his best friend. The sky was dark and gloomy as the sun was beginning to rise, a perfect representation of how he was feeling on the inside. He didn’t even pay attention to the slowly growing thunder and lightning picking up in the dreary storm clouds high above. Along the road, there was a wide stream spanning for miles, separating one section of land from the other, a bridge in the distance connecting the paths to cross over the water. Both sides had trees and bushes scattered about in two different forests, some of the foliage bearing some wild berries or fruits. Farther up the stream, there was a huge dam built out of twigs and branches that was made by a large group of Bidoof that had continuously grown for decades, creating a massive lake up on the cliff where it stood. Johann didn’t care about his surroundings or where he was going; he just wandered where his feet took him, somewhere far away from his best friend, who hates him for hiding so many secrets from him, and a troubled family life that he disliked, especially from the disgruntled, disappointed look in his father’s eyes. Johann wiped his eyes, even as his tears continued to fall. He paused when he felt something small and wet hit the back of his head, followed by more as he also heard small drips coming from the water. He looked up, finally noticing the storm clouds in the sky, followed by several Flying-types flapping their wings as fast as they could to get away from the rain and sounds of thunder. As the rain began picking up, Johann watched as the rain went from a small sprinkle to a progressively stronger downpour. He panicked and ran toward the trees, feeling his body get soaked as he tried to stay under the cover of the rustling leaves. It didn’t do much to protect him, especially his tail, wincing slightly every time several drops struck the flame tip. The wind began to pick up and lightning began to strike the ground. Each bolt was dangerously close, making Johann wince and jolt in surprise as he ran from tree to tree while trying to keep his tail flame from going out in the rain. None of the trees were able to provide him much shelter with how harsh the wind was blowing. Johann was already getting drenched, and there weren’t any big enough leaves he could use as a makeshift umbrella to keep his tail from getting doused out. “I need to find somewhere dry,” Johann muttered to himself. “As if my life can’t get any worse than it is now.” Johann peered through the pouring rain, hoping to find something to help his survival. Through the flashes of light with each lightning bolt erratically shot out from the clouds, Johann spotted a cliff on the other side of the river, and though it was hard to tell through the rain, he thought he saw the mouth of a small cavern at the base of it. If he was fast enough, he could make it across the bridge not too far away and hide in there until the storm blows over. Up ahead at the Bidoof dam, several of the beaver Pokemon scrambled about as the heavy downpour was shifting up their dam. “Oh, this is bad!” one of them shouted. “The dam’s not gonna hold!” “And the rain’s building up more water unlike any storm we’ve ever seen!” another said. Lightning strikes hit the ground near the dam, causing the Bidoof to yelp and some to flee for better shelter. One bolt managed to strike the top of the dam, shattering the wood and began a domino effect as the gallons of water put more pressure on the weakened structure. The rain made it worse as it helped break the dam further, the sound of creaking and water shooting out from the growing cracks and holes appearing along the barricade. “It’s breaking! Everybody move!” The remaining Bidoof abandoned their dam and fled, praying no other Pokemon who weren’t Water-types would be swept away by the incoming flood near the stream. Johann sprinted down the path as fast as he could, panting heavily while trying his best to ignore the pain of his flame-tip tail getting drenched. He reached the bridge and ran across, being careful not to slip on the slippery wooden surface. Just as he was about to run onto the other side of the river, a lightning bolt struck the earth near that side of the bridge, startling the Charmander as he was sent flying back onto the bridge. His ears rang from the loud thunderclap the moment that bolt touched down and slightly disoriented when he smacked his head against the bridge. He couldn’t hear the Bidoof screaming out to any Pokemon nearby to get away from the river, nor did he notice the river sloshing about from the heavy rain and the water backed up by the dam about ready to crumble and flood the forest. Snapping out of his daze, Johann shakily stood up, curling his tail against his chest to try to save his flame from going out. When his hearing returned, he turned his head in time to hear the sound of something breaking down and crashing, followed by rushing water. Johann’s eyes widened as he watched the torrent flood of water rushing toward him. He panicked and tried to flee, but the tidal wave caught up with the bridge before his feet did. The huge wave crashed into the bridge, shattering it and sending Johann flying into the air before the wave slammed him down into the raging river. Johann felt immense pain as his flame tail was submerged in the water with him, his body tumbling along the now harshly flowing stream. After figuring out which direction was up, Johann breached the surface, gasping for breath as he flailed about, trying to keep his head up and struggled to do the same for his tail. “Help! Someone help me!” he cried out before water sloshed over his head, making him cough as he was carried swiftly downstream. “Johann! Where are you!?” Scott dashed through the forest in the pouring rain, ignoring his soaked fur and the lightning strikes connecting to the ground at a dangerous rate. His eyes were shut tightly as he looked through his aura vision, sensing the depressed aura of his best friend through the veil of rain and drenched foliage. “Come on, aura. Extend farther than this! He’s not going to make it at this rate!” Chastising himself for his aura’s pathetic line of sight, he swore to do more aura training and hone his sight to go even further beyond what he’s capable of seeing. It didn’t help he couldn’t hear anything several yards away no thanks to the rain and thunderclaps ringing out every so often. Of all the times for there to be a natural disaster to occur, a freakish storm had to show up out of nowhere at the worst possible time. As he got closer to the forest edge, Scott skid to a halt as he looked upstream. He recalled there being a Bidoof dam along that direction, but from the way the river had overflowed and was rushing like a raging rapid, the dam must have been destroyed by the storm and was flooding the area. He searched around for any auras of Pokemon nearby if any of them got swept up by the flood. In the river, he found an aura signature under the water, but the energy within that Pokemon was pulsating wildly, which told him they were terrified as they were struggling to stay afloat while being carried downstream. Though aura may seem just like any sort of normal life energy to some, Riolu and Lucario can tell there’s always a slight difference in every creature’s aura, and Scott gasped when that aura felt familiar to him. “Oh no. Johann!!!!” Snapping his eyes open, Scott sprinted off and ran downstream toward the water’s edge. He caught up with his friend as he flailed his arms, unable to swim while trying to keep his head above the surface, but what terrified Scott more was his tail. He had no idea if that flame was going to die out, but it would eventually if the drowning Charmander stayed in the river for too long. “Hang on, Johann! I’ll get you out of there!” he shouted over the pouring rain and loud splashes from the raging river. Looking up ahead, Scott tried to think of a way to get his friend out of that river without getting himself swept away, too. Lightning struck in the forest a hundred yards away, which hit one of the trees and struck the trunk with enough force to send it falling. As Scott watched the tree hit the ground with a thud, the spark of fire from the burning scorch mark the bolt left behind quickly doused by the heavy rainfall, he found his makeshift bridge. Dashing ahead, he used Metal Claw as he approached the fallen tree, slicing off the branches attached to it to make it as smooth as possible in the short time he had. Seeing it was smoothed out enough from any stumps, with an exerted grunt, the Riolu pushed hard with all of his might, forcing himself to pick up speed and roll the log down the road before Johann was carried further down the river. Once he managed to push the large tree far enough, Scott let it roll as he ran over to the “hacked” side of the log. With a yell, he thrust both his paws forward, pushing it hard enough to send it flying across the river, the opposite end reaching the side as the log was just tall enough to make the watery gap. Scott slowed the log down until it came to a stop, then hopped up onto it and stopped halfway. Using Metal Claw with his left paw’s metal stub, he carefully hung over the side of the log away from the water’s flow, then dug his claws into the bark, making sure it was deep enough to keep him attached to the bridge he crafted. Planting his feet against the wood, he practically hung upside down, watching Johann getting closer. “Johann, grab my paw!” Scott called out as loud as he could over the rushing water. He reached his paw out, nearly touching the water and hoping to grasp his friend’s paw. Johann was panicking too much to hear him, his arms flailing to desperately keep his head from submerging in the water. Scott had to time his grab, otherwise his friend would slip away. Ignoring the loud thunder, flashing lights, and the rain pouring down on his fur, Scott dove his hand forward, managing to grab Johann’s right paw with his free one. He held on tightly, refusing to let go, even with the rain and river soaking them and making his grip slightly more slippery. The river made it difficult to pull Johann up to dry land, let alone prevent him from getting swept away by the current. “Come on, Johann,” Scott grunted. “I’m not letting you die in a river. I’m gonna get you out of here, and buy you a smoothie fit to fill a Snorlax tenfold.” He felt Johann’s arm beginning to grow limp and his panicked treading slow to a halt. When he looked at his friend, the Charmander seemed to have passed out, or at worst, his tail was extinguished after being underwater for so long. “No! Don’t you dare give up on me, Johann! You’re stronger than this!” Scott pulled with all his might, not letting go and losing his partner; his best friend. Unaware of the rushing water still rolling down the river, a lot of debris from the dam had finally crumbled away and was carried downstream. A huge piece of wood from the Bidoof dam struck the log, startling Scott and made him lose his grip. Scott gasped, watching in horror as Johann was swept away and sank into the water. “NOOOOOOOO!!!!!” The Riolu’s paw stretched out in desperation, but his heart sank, his friend already being carried down the river, underwater, already drowning. However, under the water, Johann’s flame tail flickered, still burning despite how drenched it had gotten. In the Charmander’s consciousness, all the pain and sorrow bottled up in his heart played the depressing moments in his life as his life began flashing in his mind: his father no longer finding him worthy to uphold his family legacy, undergoing harsh training without any rest, Obstagoon and his team teasing him, but the memory that finally woke him was what Scott said to him yesterday. You really are strong after all. How pathetic of you for going so easy on me. I don’t see a tough Fire-type Pokemon; all I see is a coward who hides who he really is on the inside. I’d rather have my own team than be partnered with a fat, pathetic, smoothie-slurping wimp like you! Either you grow a backbone and stand up for yourself, or run away and quit with your tail between your legs! Johann’s eyes shot open, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks and his fire at the tip of his tail grew despite being underwater. The intense heat radiating from him as the flame grew stronger and stronger as his ability kicked in caused the ice cold water to bubble and boil. Johann growled, his inner rage unleashing as the temperature around him continued to increase, steam rising around the area he was submerged in through the downpour. Unaware of what was happening in the water several yards away, Scott believed his friend was gone at this point. He hung his head, fighting back tears as he climbed back on top of the log. How was he going to explain this to the others? To Johann’s family? If only he held on tighter. Scott climbed back on top of the log and began solemnly walking back across to the muddy road. He began his slow trek back to the others, dreading to tell everyone who knew Johann the unfortunate news. As he sadly looked out to the river, Scott paused, thinking he was seeing something odd through the rain. It was hard to tell with the downpour, but through the hundreds of thousands of raindrops, there was some steam rising from the river. Confused, he approached the river, the air in the freezing rain slowly heating up while he saw a section of the water bubbling. Just as he was about to ask aloud what was happening, the heat of the water became scalding hot as a loud hissing sound and a burst of steam suddenly blasted out. Scott stepped back, startled, his eyes growing wide in shock as he saw several feet of water had immediately evaporated, leaving a small gap of land where the water should have been for a few seconds before the running water upstream began to rush in and fill the dry section of the river back up. Rising out of the temporary trench before it filled up again, Scott saw an orange blur jump out and land on the road ahead. He recognized the roaring flame that came from it, stunned, but felt a huge wave of relief as he recognized that flame tip. “Johann!” Scott ran up to his friend, amazed by how he managed to save himself from his watery grave. “Oh, thank Arceus! I thought I lost-!” As he got closer, Scott’s grin faded and his run slowed down. He came to a stop when he saw Johann hunched over and hacking up water, but that’s not what disturbed him. Johann’s tail flame was like a roaring bonfire, though it should have been much smaller and weaker while he was carried away by the river for the last several minutes. The rain around the Charmander’s body turned to steam before it even touched any part of him. The heat he radiated was so intense that it created a small protective radius, keeping him dry and stopping the rain from pouring down on him. The only time he’s ever felt this much heat from his friend was not that long ago, and while Johann wasn’t in the right emotional state. “Oh no...Please, don’t tell me…” Scott slowly closed his eyes, gulping in anticipation as he looked through his aura; he immediately regretted it. Johann’s aura was blazing wildly like his flame, fueled with so much rage and anger, and it felt even worse than the last time. And from being underwater for so long, his Blaze ability must have kicked in, which must have explained how his body radiated the intense heat to shield him from the rain. Johann slowly stood back up on his feet, panting heavily as he got some air in his lungs, then shot his head up into the sky and let out a loud, menacing roar. His fire grew even bigger and hotter, increasing the radius of the rain evaporating around him as his tail lit up the forest, which only made the scene more terrifying when streaks of lightning across the sky blindly flashed around the area. Scott opened his eyes, frozen in place, even after his friend let out his enraged battle cry. He silently watched as Johann panted, then slowly began to turn his head toward his direction. Scott’s fur stood on end when Johann’s eye caught him, the shrunken pupil within the burning red glare making him completely terrified of being in his friend’s line of sight. He began to tremble when Johann let out a low growl, slowly turning his body while baring his teeth in pure, beastial rage. Scott was going to be the next victim of Johann’s Blaze-induced frenzy, and even though he was scared out of his mind, part of him believed he deserved a proper beatdown for what he had done to him yesterday.