A Late Start

Respite

"Your Eevee is fine, Just a little overexerted," the nurse spoke quietly to me. "Although I've never seen a trained pokemon this exhausted without fainting, what happened?"
"He was being stubborn, I think he voluntarily discharged the last of his energy towards the end of a fight he couldn't win," I sighed as I held Silas tightly in my arms.
"You know discharges are dangerous for pokemon right? Is he not getting enough exercise?"
"I know, He just really doesn't like losing."
"Well I hope this wasn't YOUR idea, you should know better," She scolded me while pointing a finger towards my face.
"Of course It wasn't my idea, I haven't seen him do that since he was a hatchling, not that it was voluntary back then."
"Either way, as his trainer you should be more responsible." Silas shivered a little in my arms as she spoke. I turned to leave without acknowledging her statement. "At least make sure he gets plenty of rest before the next match," Her voice faded away as the door slid shut behind me. I looked down at Silas, his eyes were still closed and he was shivering and shaking.
"When are you gonna start listening to me bud... you're gonna get yourself seriously hurt someday." No response. probably asleep. Not a bad thing right now. I thought to myself before returning to the building all the contestants were gathered in. As soon as the door closed Ethan ran up to me.
"How is he?" He asked with a trace of worry in his tone.
"He's fine, Just pushed himself too hard, again," I felt bad for Silas but couldn't help but be a little annoyed about it.
"So, What even was that? some kind of attack?"
"No, I think it was a discharge."
"Can pokemon even do that without being overloaded?"
"Yeah, they don't usually do it willingly though, Since it's pretty painful for them."

When a pokemon's energy is built up for too long or too quickly it becomes volatile, this results in the pokemon becoming sick and causes intense pain for them, after a short while of being in this overcharged state the excess energy will be expelled from their body in a violent explosion, known as a 'discharge.' It is for this reason that all pokemon must find ways to continually burn through their internal energy via battling or using their power in other ways. This phenomenon is most common in baby pokemon, who don't yet know how to control their power while also having a much lower capacity for it. While pokemon can force this overcharged state upon themselves and discharge willingly, many will avoid this due to the pain it causes and the potential repercussions. It is only ever seen as a last-ditch effort in life or death scenarios. I read back through the data on my Pokedex about pokemon discharges. I had learned all about it while Silas was still a hatchling. The more energy a pokemon has the stronger the discharge will be.
"Why would you do something like that bud..." I sighed, gently stroking Silas' shaking form as I leaned back against the tree. Glancing off into the distance, I could see the next round of the tournament playing out. On the field was a Growlithe and Herdier fighting a Watchog and Sewaddle. I wasn't paying enough attention to know who was winning.

"Hey! You gotta help me," a voice broke through my thoughts, but it seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. I took a few quick glances around, but I couldn't figure out who was speaking. All this stress must be getting to me. Even hearing voices now. I became acutely aware of the sounds of footsteps in the distance, followed by another, more familiar voice.
"I'm tellin' you he went this way." Memories rushed to the forefront of my mind. Silas hanging from that tree, my own voice, telling him to run, the sharp pain in my head, ropes pressed against my wrists. I felt Silas' claws dig into my arm slightly, even he recognised their voice.
"Sorry bud," I whispered to him. "Lie low for a little while." I tapped his Pokeball gently against his back, recalling him before clipping the device back onto my hip.
"Seriously, You gotta help me out here." That voice again, still seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere.
"Who's there?" I spoke quietly, trying not to draw the attention of the poachers as I snapped into a standing position.
"Down here, I'll explain later. But you gotta hide me." I glanced down to see a small, black creature appear seemingly out of thin air. It had a small tuft of hair ending in a red tip on its head and red accents on the tips of each leg. A zorua, HERE?! The creature stared at me, an intense yet vaguely fearful expression across its face. I stood dumbfounded for a moment before remembering the poachers.
"Alright, here. Get in, stay still and be quiet." I took my bag off my back and opened the large middle pocket, allowing the creature to climb in. I zipped the pocket most of the way back up before slinging it back over my shoulders. The added weight made it more than a little uncomfortable. I looked up once more to see a face I wished never to see again appear over the crest of the hill I had been laying on. I felt my body tense up the moment they came into view. A look of disdain appeared across the man's face the moment he made eye contact with me.
"Ugh. You again?" I felt myself backing away instinctively as he came closer. "Relax girly, I'm not gonna hurt ya... This time," a smug grin came over his face as he finished his sentence. "Don't even try your little, 'It belongs to me' routine this time either. I chased this one across the country myself. So where is it?" He raised his voice to a shout as the last few words escaped.
"W... where is what?" I found my tongue, but not my confidence.
"That blasted fox that's had us chasing our tails for a week straight. I know you seen it," He continued to move closer, towering over me as my legs turned to jelly.
"I, have no idea what you're talking about," I swallowed hard as I spoke.
"What part of low profile don't you understand?" A second voice called out, I recognised it as the poacher's partner. The bigger man took a step back with a huff. "Sorry about that, miss... Oh, hello again." He smiled an awkward smile as he recognised me. "Look. Kid, I'm going to be blunt here. We're on the trail of a very rare pokemon, not unlike the last time our paths crossed. Followed it all the way from Driftveil county to here. So if you've seen anything out of the ordinary recently, could you kindly point us in the right direction." He was acting like a professional, as if nothing had ever happened between us.
"I haven't seen anything. Besides, what rare pokemon would be out here anyway? We're barely outside City limits." I tried to act as calm as possible, the weight from my bag shifting uncomfortably not making things any easier.
"See? I told you it wouldn't have come this way, It probably ran back into the forest somewhere." He turned to his partner in an almost scolding tone.
"You think It's a coincidence that SHE shows up, here and now, right as we're closin' in on the beast for the second time?" The bigger man gestured toward me as he spoke. "She's interferin' in our hunt again I'm tellin' you."
"Forgive my partners' attitude, we've been having a stroke of dry luck ever since... well, you know. So he's a bit wound up." I nodded stiffly in response, still leaning on my back foot. "You have my sincerest apologies for the last time we met due to my partner's... lapse in judgement. But we best be on our way." The pair of them then turned and started running back towards the forest. I stood there in shock until they disappeared beyond the treeline before collapsing to my knees.

I dropped my bag to the ground behind me, eliciting a yelp from the creature within. I pulled the zipper back open and let the Zorua out as I pulled my Xtransceiver out and began scrolling through my contacts.
"Thanks, I thought they'd never get off my tail." The Pokemon spoke without moving its mouth.
"Why does it sound like you're in my head?" I decided to ask while I waited for the call to connect.
"It's my power, I can use it to create illusions within others' minds, I'm not ACTUALLY talking to you, just tricking your mind into thinking I am." He seemed proud of his talent as he posed while explaining it.
"Hey, Lexi, What's going on?" Ethan's voice came through as the call connected.
"Meet me on the hill just outside Floccesy, Northside, quickly if you can," I hung up before giving him a chance to respond as I flopped onto my back.
"You're probably wondering why those guys were chasing me huh?" Zorua chimed in.
"Not really, I've seen them before. I know what they are.
"Eh?" The creature seemed taken aback. "You mean, that isn't just how humans are when they see something rare as me?"
"Well, not all of us. Those guys are especially bad, Pokemon poachers, if they had've caught you you'd have been either sold off to the highest bidder or killed on the spot for pelt. They tried to take my partner, Silas a few weeks ago." I could see him shiver as I spoke. "Wait, if you thought all humans were like them why did you call out to me?"
"I didn't really have much choice, I couldn't keep myself hidden for much longer. So I took a chance. The elders were right, I never should have left."
"Run away from home huh?"
"Yeah, the elders tell us never to leave, keep us in one spot our entire lives, the human world is too dangerous they say. Guess they weren't entirely wrong."
"Where did you come from anyway, the poachers said they found you around Driftveil right?"
"My home is called 'Entra' It's hidden away from the human world so we can live in peace. I had barely been out for a day or two when those so-called poachers found me."
"Why'd you leave if It's so safe there?"
"Well, I got bored. Tired of being in the same spot, all day every day, I wanted to get out and see the world. Figured I'd almost lose my hide the moment I stepped out though." At this point, Zorua had laid down next to me.
"Yeah, I know how you feel, I only got to leave Aspertia a few months ago and It seems I keep finding new ways to get myself into trouble since I left."
"I bet you can still go back though."
"Huh, yeah. Of course. Can you... Not go back home?"
"When one of us leaves Entra, we're considered banished. Never to return for risk of jeopardising the colony."
"Dang, that sounds rough, Do you at least have a plan for where you're going?"
"Honestly I don't even know where I am anymore. Those guys chased me around for so long that I lost track of where I was headed."
"Right now we're about a kilometre out from Flocessey Town, me and my Pokemon are participating in a tournament there with a friend."
"So it's true then, humans do capture pokemon and force them into fights." The zorua sighed and inched a little further away from me.
"It's not exactly like you think, yes, we catch pokemon, and we do battle with them, but they like it. And it's less like we own them, and more like we become friends with them, the relationship between a Pokemon and its trainer is mutually beneficial. We protect each other and work together to overcome obstacles we couldn't alone."
"It sounds a lot nicer the way you say it."
"I know it's probably not on your priority list, but if you stick around you can have a chat with my partner pokemon, Silas later about it if you wanted."
"You mean, you're not going to try and capture me?"
"Not if you don't want me to, Sounds like you've had enough stress for a while."
Zorua and I continued to have this kind of back and forth for about 20 minutes before Ethan eventually showed up. It was, strange talking to a pokemon like that but also strangely relaxing.