Xerox watched Scarlet talk with the Goodra and the missing colt, his ears tuned over to their direction. He stayed under his invisible veil and continued hiding behind a tree, not wanting to interfere with Scarlet at what she did best... well one of the things she did best at. However, he did shrink the veil to just cover him instead of an small area so he didn’t have to strain himself too much in keeping it intact.
He watched the three talk for a few minutes before his ears twitched at the sound of something else approaching. He turned his head slightly over his shoulders and his fur stood on end in fright as a Scolipede passed by him. The Scolipede thankfully didn’t even notice the Zoroark and continued moving, heading right for Scarlet and the Goodra. Even worse, he could see two Whirlipede as well as three Venipede following close to the Scolipede.
The Scolipede moved up to Scarlet and the others, it’s angry hissing easily being picked up by the Zoroark’s ears as well as its threatening words towards Scarlet, the Goodra and the colt. The Whirlipedes and the Venipedes took up formation in an arc in front of them, while Xerox stood completely still behind him.
His heart was racing in his chest, his chest heaving in and out softly as he tried to make little noise. This is bad... this is real bad. He muttered in his mind. Scolipede were very territorial, as well as their previous evolution forms, as well as being relentless in removing other Pokemon from their territory. Either by chasing them off or by poisoning them to death.
One of Xerox’s claws was tapping lightly but very rapidly on the bark of the tree he was standing behind, trying to figure out what to do. Sure, the Goodra was a dragon type and is possibly no slouch in a battle, but the same could be said with the Scolipede. Not only that but the poison would still be a problem, especially to Scarlet now that she was a grass type.
Xerox’s mind went a bit frantic as he tried to figure out what to do to help, but his ears perked up hearing Scarlet say, “Especially when we can simply leave and let you be.” The Zoroark glanced over to her to see the Serperior looking at his direction and the light bulb turn on. Of course, I just need to get in the middle of them and cast the veil over all of them... should be simple enough. He quickly rationalized and headed towards them.
“Buck that!” the colt yelled out as his horn lit up and picked up a rock from the ground. “SCRAM!” he shouted as he tossed the rock at the Scolipede.
Xerox’s fur turned white as the bug poison Pokemon glared at them and hissed. “Kill them.”
The Venipedes and the Whirlipedes all hissed angrily as they advanced towards the trio. In a panic from within the middle of fray the Zoroark dropped his illusion and summoned more of its power and called out, “THUNDERBOLT!” He held his arms, the jewel on his mane glowing brightly and out coming from the sky were streaks of lightning striking down in front of each bug Pokemon.
“What the heck!?” a Venipede yelled out in alarm of the sudden flash of lighting inches in front of him.
“Muddy Water!” The Goodra shouted, throwing back her head and unleashing a blast of water out of her mouth at the ground, turning it to muddy sludge. She then surged forwards atop a small tidal wave of it, the wall of water washing over the bug types before the Goodra herself slammed head first into the Scolipede, smashing it into the ground.
The Scolipede hissed furiously as it quickly got back up. “Toxic!” she cried out before a surge of icky goo spewed out her mouth. Thankfully though, belaying her size, the slick Goodra was faster than the Scolipede and dodged the surge of toxic goo which buried itself against a tree behind her, turning its bark black and causing it to wilt.
“Poison sting!” a Venipede shouted as it attempted to launch a stinger, but a vine wrapped around it’s body and it found itself flying through the air and slamming into a tree.
“Xerox use Flash!” Scarlet order out before retracting her vine and closing her eyes to shield herself.
The Zoroark nodded his head and sprinted into the middle of the battlefield before concentrating for a brief moment and sent out a blinding flash that blinded the eyes of several of the Bug Types. Thankfully for her, the Goodra’s back had been turned, unfortunately for the Scolipede, she was not.
“GAHHH!” she screamed out as the world around her turned bright white and burned her eyes.
“OUTRAGE!” The Goodra roared, charging forwards and grabbing onto the Scolipede’s rear end, hoisting it above her head and bringing the insect slamming into a tree, through a tree in fact. The sound of splitting wood and cracking chitin filled the air as the Dragon brought the Scolipede into another tree, head first, and then into yet another, ichor spraying with every
slam.
After the Goodra finished bashing the Scolipede about, the Bug Pokemon went completely limp, the life leaving it’s body as the Goodra held her trophy aloft. “LEAVE!” she roared at the other bugs before she threw the centipede’s body towards them. The Venipedes and the Whirlipedes didn’t think twice as they turned tail and ran, or rolled, as fast as they could.
“AH! My eyes!” The colt exclaimed, rubbing both of his hooves over his eyes. “What the heck happened! I hear smashing and shouting?”
Xerox was looking at the dead Scolipede and then at the heavily panting Goodra in a mix of fear and respect. Scarlet on the other hand simply let out a small sigh.
“Nothing kid... let’s get out of these woods before we run into any other Pokemon,” she replied, using a vine to turn him pointedly away from the corpse and back in the other direction.
“Indeed child... we should leave these woods,” the Goodra agreed as she walked over to him and gave him a small, encouraging nuzzle, a bit of goo getting on his head.
“Hey I said I didn’t want to leave and-”
“You’re not really in a position to argue kid. Either you come with us willingly, or I’ll drag you,” Scarlet said pointedly. The colt was about to protest again when the Goodra simply picked him up in her slimy arms and held him against her chest.
“Lead the way,” the Goodra said simply, leaning down to give the top of the colt’s head a lick.
The Serperior nodded her head and turned over to Xerox. “You think you cast your invisibility over all of us?” she asked. “I’d rather not have any more interruptions.”
Xerox softly nodded his head. “Yeah... yeah, just stay close,” he said, his mind still distracted from what he’d witnessed, let alone helped in. He walked to stand between Scarlet and the Goodra and held out his arms, the jewel in his mane glowing softly as the shaded dome covered all of them.
“Thanks Xerox,” Scarlet told him with an appreciative bow of her head before she started slithering back from where they’d came from.
The Zoroark simply nodded his head once more as he kept up with her. As he walked he glanced at the Goodra next to him, his heart beating a bit faster from just seeing her, yet he was puzzled by the calm face she had. “....how did you do it?” he asked, speaking in the Pokemon langue.
“Hmm? What is it child?” the Goodra asked, glancing away from the now thoroughly sticky colt who seemed to have accepted his fate.
“How can you have just killed that Scolipede and not be so... phased by it?” he clarified. “I mean.. she was threatening us, but you could have simply dominated her and ordered her and the rest to back down.”
“What is there to be phased by child?” the Goodra asked with a frown. “She was threatening the colt, I did warn her of the consequences and she chose to continue her aggression. There was no other answer.”
“But isn’t there the rule in the wild that winning a battle, your opponent have to follow what you say?” Xerox questioned.
“That is a rule,” she agreed. “There is no rule of whether or not to kill your opponent, especially if they threaten your children.”
“Right... I guess that would make sense...” Xerox said softly. “I must have sounded like an idiot... heh.”
“Not entirely, you’re young, I can tell that much,” the Goodra replied as she looked over at him. “And if it makes you feel any better, I did not intend to kill it... but when I use Outrage it is rather difficult to control my ‘power’.”
Xerox nodded his head. “Yeah... I have read of that happening to other Dragon types before.”
“It is the price I pay for being wild,” she agrees with a nod. “But I have yet to find a trainer worthy of me... or a family to protect as my own, so restraint is not something I have paid a great deal of attention too.”
The Zoroark’s mind drifted off somewhat as what she said struck him. What she’d said was the basic goal for any Pokemon... except for him. Have I really lived in the human world so long that I forget the basic thinking of what it’s like to be a Pokemon? He thought to himself, a small frown forming at the edge of his muzzle.
“AHHHH! THAT MONSTER HAS MY BABY! IT’S GOING TO EAT HIM!” Ms. Azalea yelled out once the group entered the Guard's center. She ran up to the Goodra and her purse went swinging, smacking across the gooey dragon’s face.
The Goodra calmly set the VERY sticky colt down on the ground and then in a single movement her right hand moved and the mare was on her side, a line of goo connecting the back of the Goodra’s hand to the mare’s cheek. “Refrain from hitting me,” the Goodra said calmly.
The colt blinked a small pleased smile on his face. However Ms. Azalea stood up and rubbed a hoof on her cheek. “She struck me! She’s going to kill me help!” she screamed out in panic.
“Ms. Azalea, please calm down!” Meadow shouted out, clearly having enough of her antics. The brown unicorn trotted over, huffing out hot air. “Also... would you refrain yourself from hitting her? She might get on your nerves but I will not tolerate another outburst.”
“She paid me an insult,” the Goodra replied, huffing. “She’s very lucky that I did not send her into the wall.”
Meadow frowned, not being able to understand what was being said before her horn glowed and quickly cast the translation spell. “What was that?” she asked.
“Nothing Deputy Meadow,” Scarlet quickly intervened, giving the Goodra a quick warning glance not to continue on the subject while the Goodra stood there, dripping on the floor. “It’s just a matter of her showing the same kindness Ms. Azalea gave her. However, she’s not going to cause anymore trouble, after all she is the one who kept the colt safe.”
“Fat luck that did, she brought me back to my mom,” the colt put in glaring at his mother before smiling slightly. “Though I did approve of the punch, my mom deserved that... along with a few more,” he added.
“Evergreen! You do not talk to me like that! You’re grounded for the next three months! You’re not even going to ever leave the house!” Ms. Azalea stated in shocked outrage.
“You would punish him in such a manner?” the Goodra asked, her large and ordinarily friendly eyes taking on a rather... dark appearance. “I have searched for a mate and a family for most of my life and here you have at least a child of your own and yet you abuse him!” A low, threatening growl rumbled up from within the goo dragon. “You do not deserve to be his or anyone’s mother! The entire time I was with him this child told me tale upon tale of your failings, of your offenses, of your frail minded attempts to ‘keep him in line’ when in fact it is YOU who deserves to be put in line!”
Ms. Azalea looked absolutely gobsmacked. “I... I... I-” she stuttered before her face burn red with anger. “YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TALK TO ME! I AM HIS MOTHER! I HAVE THE RIGHT TO-”
“ENOUGH!” a booming voice shouted from the other side of the room, causing the mare to jump. Everyone turned to the voice to see Sheriff Lone Star standing in front of his office’s door, a pissed off expression plastered over his face. “First off, I don’t like yelling in my guard station. Second off, this is not the child protective agency but you Ms. Azalea have just made me write down a note to give them a call. Third, if you assault anyone else I will have you arrested for assault on an officer, disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, and several other small laws you’ve broken! Fourth, be quiet!”
“But-”
“That’s your only warning,” Lone Star cut her off, giving her a frankly terrifying look. Ms. Azalea finally shut her mouth and kept quite.
“... I think I may have just found my trainer...” the Goodra said with a small smile, moving up to Lone Star and giving the Sheriff a small, slightly sticky nuzzle. “If you will have me.”
Lone Star raised one of his eyebrows. “Trainer?” he questioned.
“Yes, she’s basically asking you if you want to be her friend and have her as your companion to help you in life,” Scarlet answered. “If I were you Sheriff, I would accept it. Goodra’s are very loyal, and as dragon type she’s quite strong. She would be a great asset in helping keeping order, especially among the Pokemon.”
“Hmmm....” the old stallion murmured out as he rubbed a hoof across his chin. “Technically she can’t really work for the guards... but I can’t reject if she wants to volunteer.” He closed his eyes for a moment to think. “Sure, I guess I’ll be your ‘trainer’.”
“Thank you!” the Goodra then reached down and pulled the stallion into her arms against her chest and began to wetly nuzzle him. “I will not fail you!”
Lone Star grunted a bit from the pull of the hug and blinked a bit blankly. “Right... we’ll talk more about this later, for now can you please release me?”
“Oh, yes of course, my apologies, where is my dignity?” she asked, gently lowering his now goo soaked form to the floor.
Xerox, who had been standing idly in the background of everything, watched as the Goodra happily stood next to the stallion who for the most part tried to scrape some of the goo off of his chest. She seem so... happy from just having the Sheriff as a trainer now. Though really, not much change... I mean, couldn't she do the same in haning out with other Pokemon? He crossed his arms and frowned slightly. Though I guess that’s more a human thing to do. He shook his head. That or I’m thinking about this too much...
Lone Star cleared his throat. “Deputy Meadow, please escort Ms. Azela and her son to one of the waiting rooms. Somepony from the child protective agency will come and meet with them... and possible get a cleaning towel for the young colt, as well for me.” The brown mare nodded her head and set off to carry out her order. “As for you, Scarlet. More and more reports of Pokemon problems are flooding in as well as more Pokemon who claim to be human. Lance has been helping out a bit, but I was wondering if you and Xerox could help out even more. After that message from that Arceus being, it’s been like someone’s kicked a hornet's nest out there.”
Scarlet nodded her head. “Of course Sheriff Lone Star, we will do our best, right Xerox?”
“Of course,” Xerox nodded his head. “It’s our job after all,” he said, mostly to himself.
“Good, Ruby give them the latest of the reports and you, Ms.” he turned at the Goodra, waiting for her to say her name.
“I’m a Goodra, that’s what I’m typically called unless you want to give me a name,” she replied with a smile. “I wouldn’t mind one, I suppose it would be better than just being ‘the Goodra’.”
The stallion raised an eyebrow. “Okay... come into my office and let’s talk about what you’re going to do... and figure out what to call you,” he said, turning to head back into his office before stopping and turning his head around to say. “And somepony get the mop and clean up the floors? Last thing I need is others commotions to hear from my office,” he said before opening the door and walking into the room. The Goodra followed with a happy bounce to her walk and the door closed with a solid click.
Xerox glanced over at Scarlet, who in turned to look over to him. “Well, let’s get the party started,” she said as she slithered over to the front desk.
“Yeah... lets,” the Zoroark replied as he mentally prepared himself for a long day.