Pokémon Horizons: Echoes of the Past AU

Part 6: Face down in the snow (again? Who knew)

{{EDITOR'S NOTE: Slight TW for written violence + light bl00d and electrocution. Skip over this part if you get triggered easily by any of these things. Stay safe!}}

However, that same night, Lizzy got a call from Exceed, an institute where Friede used to work, saying that the place had been broken into (according to Friede, this was the second time) and was asked to investigate. Which means that she can't go with the others to the Crystal Pool.

The morning when everyone was about to set off, and Lizzy was about to hop on one of her partner Pokemon, a shiny Corvikinght, Roy tugged on her sleeve.

"Man, why'd they ask for you? Is this why you're hardly ever here anymore?" Roy asked, with a sad look on his face.

Lizzy sighed and climbed on her Pokemon before simply answering with a nod, and gave a slight, yet sad smile.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, okay? Just.....stay safe out there, kid" Lizzy said, while ruffling Roy's hair.

Lizzy's Corviknight then took to the skies, ready for a long journey back to Paldea.

After at least 3-4 hours of flying, they made it to Glaseado mountain, the location the message had told her to go to. Corvikinght landed in the woods, which also happened to be where the incident with Spinel and the Laquium took place, which Lizzy knew, of course. She got off, adjusted her scarf and started to look around. It was just nothing but snow and trees for as far as the eye could see, not even a single Pokemon lurking. Odd. Lizzy returned Corvikinght to its ball and started scouting the area.

Nothing. Just trees, and snow. And it was freezing, at that. Lizzy was starting to feel uneasy when....

Footsteps could be heard crunching in the snow. Lizzy's senses were on high alert as she whirled around to see.....Spinel. Now this can either go two ways. They can either have a civilized conversation or...

"My, my..what do we have here?" Spinel said with a slight, yet sly smile on his face while his Umbreon stood beside him. "A lone Volt Tackler, in the snow?"

Lizzy just stayed silent, while slowly reaching for her Garchomp's Pokeball, in case he pulls anything. She's learnt not to trust anyone unless they give her a valid reason to, she's not making that mistake, not again. Spinel noticed her uneasiness and chuckled a little, while Umbreon just stared at her silently. Spinel then took a few steps closer.

"Now now, no need for any of that.." Spinel said, while still stepping closer.

Lizzy still stayed silent, but then out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a Magneton slowly approaching her from behind, with its magnets pointed straight at her.

"What are you even doing here..?" Lizzy asked warily, now holding her Pokeball tightly. "The Explorers were in Kitakami...then how are you..?" Lizzy started, but then was cut off by Spinel.

"Ah, you mean the Beheeyem? That was a fun little illusion we set up to make you and the rest of the crew think that we were all there...but really, it was all just a part of this little game that we're playing now." Spinel said smugly, as he suddenly lunged forward and held Lizzy in place.

"Hey- WHAT THE-" Lizzy yelped in surprise and tried to wriggle free from Spinel's grip.

"Now, Magneton, use Thunder Wave!" Spinel said, as his Magneton flew forwards and shocked Lizzy with 10,000 volts of electricity, right in the back.

Lizzy hissed in pain, but managed to kick Spinel in the stomach, causing him to let her go and stumble back a bit.

"Heh..you're quite the resistant one, aren't you? Not many can stay standing after a shock like that" Spinel said, while regaining his composure. "Not to worry my dear, I too have many tricks up my own sleeve."

Lizzy immediately understood the situation now. It was all a trap, and she was lured to this specific area for a reason, which meant there was only one real option here.

RUN.

Lizzy started running for dear life, heading deeper into the woods. This trap was laid specifically for her, which meant that the Explorers must have planned around her fighting back rather than running. Spinel was also hot on her heels, running after her with that same smug look on his face, but he now looked slightly more...annoyed. His Magneton and Umbreon were also giving chase, so she had to act fast. Although she just took 10,000 volts like it was nothing, there's no way she could pull it off twice. She had to get out of there.

She looked all around for a way out. But, just like before, it was nothing but trees and snow all around, and the worst part was, it was getting colder and darker. And what made things worse, she was getting tired, and was slowing down a bit. Did Spinel anticipate this too? That she would try to run? Or was the Thunder Wave not to subdue her, but to wear her out instead?

"Ugh..all of this is really messing with my head.." Lizzy thought to herself, while still trying to run.

She then felt a harsh yank on her scarf as she was pulled back violently, stumbling and coming to a stop. She turned around to see that Spinel had grabbed the loose end of her scarf, and was pulling her towards him. There was only one thing that she could think of, which was to take off her scarf and keep running, but Spinel had anticipated this too, and Magneton shot her with an Electro Ball before she could do so, and it all just faded to black, with a few drops of blood falling from her nose and into the snow.