//------------------------------// // (16) - Reconnaissance // Story: A Pokemon Problem // by Solecism //------------------------------// A Pokemon Problem (16) - Reconnaissance I'll have you know that I am worth my weight in scrap, and then some. Foolish gryphons! If they thought— Click. Click. Click. Bwong. Did they just—? "This 'ere metal sounds awfully strange. Kinda like it's hollow, but it ain't." "If it's hollow, then it'll be easier to drag. Ya got the ropes on ya, right?" "'Course." Not only did one of the gryphons tap and then kick my torso, they were also planning on wrapping rope around me and drag me along the forest floor. Not if I had anything to say about it. I focused my energy on my hovering capabilities, and prepared to launch myself at the gryphons at the first sign of contact. I could already imagine the terrified looks and scared squawking. If I wasn't waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, I would've twiddled my three spiky digits and laughed maniacally. And then they said something that made me abandon my plan. "I hope yer right about this scrap heap—" I vibrated a little bit, but they didn't seem to notice, "—being worth all them marks, Dirk," said the third voice. "I'm missin' the fight b'tween the bird that Roster found the other day and Felicity's champion." "What's so special 'bout that new one, anyway?" asked the second voice—Dirk. "'parently it can breathe fire, or somethin' like that. I'm pretty sure Roster's pullin' ma tail, but..." "If both of ya quit yer yammerin' and tie the bloody rope already, we might make it back in time," said the first voice, silencing the other two. This mysterious, fire-breathing bird that the gryphons were discussing had me worried. Knowing my luck, it was someone from our little group-turned-Pokemon. The fact that they were being forced to fight certainly did nothing to quell my unease. I decided to play it cool and continue to pretend to be just a chunk of metal while the gryphons dragged me to their camp. With any luck, I'd be able to save whoever was there. Yes, as a matter of fact, I can think and plan ahead. It doesn't happen very often, but I am capable of it. "Ryder!" I mentally shouted, making sure I was only speaking to him. "What?!" he whispered harshly from inside the tree trunk. I chanced opening an eye, and through the tiny slit, I saw the three gryphons all turned towards the tree in question. I quickly shut my eye before they could notice. "Didja hear that?" "Yeah... sounded like 'Haunt,' or somethin' like that... this place ain't haunted, is it?" "What're ya, afraid of ghosts?" "I ain't afraid of no ghosts!" (Their thoughts told me a different story.) "Then let's tie this thing and start draggin' already!" When I heard the sound of something being pulled out of a bag, I thought to Ryder again. "I overheard these gryphons talking about a fire-breathing bird, and I'm pretty sure it's another one of us in Pokemon form." I didn't hear a response, so I kept going. "I'm going to infiltrate their camp and rescue whoever's being held captive. I want you to wait until the gryphons and I are a good amount away, then wake Seth up and follow us from a safe distance." Once more, I didn't get a response, so I assumed that the plan was set. As I felt the rope slowly wrap around me, I wondered how the hell the three gryphons were going to drag me. /\/\/ Turns out, gryphons are a lot stronger than they look. I weighed approximately four hundred and fifty pounds, but between the three of them, they were able to drag me along the pine needle-infested and moss-covered forest floor at a decent rate. I periodically opened a singular eye and looked around when I was sure that they weren't looking. By the time we arrived at the gryphon's camp, the three that found me were panting heavily, and their back halves were sheen with sweat. I wasn't sure how that worked, because birds didn't sweat (something about not being able to fly if they did), yet gryphons could and did, apparently. The pounding noise that I had heard earlier had only increased in volume, creating a torrential waterfall of sound that wouldn't stop. Ironically, that was exactly what was causing the noise. The gryphon camp was situated along a crystal clear lake that was fed directly from a massive waterfall that was probably eight to nine hundred feet high. The camp itself was mostly made up of a motley assortment of tents in all shapes and sizes, colours and styles, with walkways in-between pounded flat from gryphon paws and claws. All of the tents seemed to encircle two pits in the center of the camp. It wasn't a very large camp, and by the number of tents compared to the average gryphon size, I guessed that maybe twelve or thirteen of the feathered felines were living there. "Looks like we're in time, Clave," said Dirk, who had her tongue lolling out like a dog. "Everybody's still gathered 'round the fightin' pit." "Lucky me," replied who I thought was Clave. "Where should we drop this scrapheap?" "Here should be good." I heard a couple sighs of relief when they stopped pulling me along. To be honest, it was actually kind of nice, having something else move me around. Must be how people on mobility scooters feel. "'Ey! Ya'll're back, and I see you brought... whatever in tarnation that's supposed to be," exclaimed a new voice, one that wouldn't sound out of place on a Texan ranch. "It's a big 'ol pile a metal that somebody must've left behind," replied Dirk. "I reckon it's worth fifteen hundred notes, easy." One of them, probably the new voice, whistled. "Quite a profit ya'll'll turn, if the price is accurate... but I gotta ask: the heck are those two things attached to the main part? And why're there spikes all over it?" "We've been wonderin' the same thing..." "Ah well. Extra scrap's extra scrap. Anyhow, care to watch as my newest fighter beats the living tar outta Felicity's quote Champion unquote?" I snuck a look and saw, much to my amusement, that the gryphon even did the air quotes along with it. "Sounds like a plan," replied Clave as they started to walk towards the 'fighting pit' as a group. I settled in, and concentrated on listening for any clues that would tell me that whoever was fighting was a person-turned-Pokemon— "Ooh, a new challenger? Let's see if you can block this!" I blinked my eyes open. That sounded like— "Hah! I haven't had this much fun since my high school gymnastics competition!" Aww shit.