- Vagabond - Male Reader x Pokémon

Chapter 7: Flame

[A Few Minutes Earlier, Outskirts of Sandgem Town]

"Bibarel, use Surf!" Rowan ordered. "Bib." The beaver responded, before a swirling blue vortex began to grow behind its buck teeth. It only took him a few seconds to fully charge up however, water flooding from out its mouth. Throwing its body vertically, the water began morphing into a solid wave of liquid, at least ten feet high, shaking the ground underneath. In the next moment, it collided with the treeline, drenching them and stamping out the fire immediately, even snapping a few younger trees in half. It was an impressive sight, to see the enormous creature create and throw a wave all on its own. Rowan stood facing the fire, his long coat billowing backwards from the wave's impact, rustling his hair and moustache.

It was a start, but it wasn't enough, and there were more fires all around them. Even if they put down one, another would sprout up not that far away. Bibarel could have taken down the entire forest by himself, Rowan knew this very well. However, on its own he would quickly grow tired.

There was something else that was gnawing at Rowan's consciousness however. There was a potent stench in the air, a smell he knew well enough. Gasoline, and tons of it too. He could buy that a green camper may have accidentally set a tree ablaze, but not to this level, and not this fast. With the interspersed flames all around them, it quickly became evident that there were multiple people setting multiple fires all at once, which only made his job all the more difficult.

"Floatzel! I need another Aqua Jet over her!" Berlitz shouted out beside him. "ZEL!" The large orange weasel cried in response, hurling itself at the fire. Yet, as it flew through the air, a veil of water appeared at the tip of its nose, leaving a long trail behind itself. At the last moment, just before crashing through the underbrush, Floatzel snapped back, sending the water attack directly into the fire. It worked well enough, dampening the area, but the forest fire refused to die down...

"Has Yuzo gotten word back from the police yet?" Rowan called out to Berlitz. He shook his head. "I haven't seen him since we split." He responded. His Staraptor was the perfect Pokémon to get messages quickly, especially given the rapidly developing situation. "This isn't some accident, Berlitz. These were set on purpose, hopefully I'm wrong..."

Through the fire, a menacing laugh began cackling through, before being joined by a whole group of figures in grey armour. Rowan knew exactly who they were. "Hunters." He gritted his teeth, knowing that this could have happened. He had predicted they would attempt an attack while the police were out searching up Route 202. It just made too much sense. One stood out confident amongst the rest, flashing him a cocky smirk. "Look at this pitiful Champion! He's just some old, senile fool too busy with his little research projects! How the mighty have fallen, eh?"

His snide remarks meant little to Rowan, but it was hysterical to the twenty or so grunts who had emerged from the burning brush. "How dare you do this to my home! My people!" He shouted back, clenching his fists, trying to control his rage. He had always had a problem with his anger when it got too much, but he had learned to mask it well with age. Bibarel regrouped, standing before his master defensively, strong and steady. "What home? You mean that smouldering wreck up on the hill?" Another voice called out, pointing towards the laboratory.

Rowan shot them a suspicious look, not believing them for a second. That was until an enormous explosion rocked the landscape behind them, a fiery inferno engulfing the village in his peripheral vision. He nearly choked on his own saliva for a moment, whipping his head around to watch. And what they had said had come to pass, as the Pokémon laboratory became little more than ashes, smoke rising higher and higher into the sky. His eyes went wide, realising he was watching not only all his work go up in flames, but also all his junior aides, [Y/N] and Cynthia who he had had such great expectations for...