Pokémon Chronicles 零 (ZERO)

Episode 33: Feather's message

"I wouldn't keep walking backwards like that, if I were you. You'll go out into the cold," Feather teased, sitting on his tail. I couldn't tell whether I was being mocked or genuinely helped, deciding to obey as I clenched my sword tighter.

"What did you do to Lucca and the others?" Shelly cried.

"I made sure that they won't be able to hear or help you. That's all you really need to know," he answered, sounding muffled due to still nibbling on a finger. "I hope this means you'll actually fight me at full strength, and not just sit there crying."

"They're... not dead, are they?" Shelly whispered.

"They should only be on the other side of the oasis... so how couldn't they hear us?" I realised. "If we can at least divert the battle towards them, maybe we can find out..."

"Hey... listen... I know it's late and all that, but can you like, really put up a good fight? This is the first time I've been asked to fight a proper fight in months. It'd be a shame if it were to end quickly," Feather carried on, playfully waving his wand around. "Little Oshawott, if you really know ancient artes, then don't hold back on 'em! I want to see all of 'em!"

"Oh, you won't even get the chance," I growled, annoyed of hearing him ramble like this. He refused to move from the spot as I approached him however, to which I slowed down and actually lowered my sword. He didn't even look like he was going to attempt to dodge, despite how close I ended up to him.

She comes off as playful and not very serious, but trust me, she is focusing on every last sound and movement happening around her, even those miles away. If you really will have to fight her, then the only way to win is through raw skill...

"This was a bad move!" I cried in my mind, coming to a halt directly in front of him. He didn't even look surprised at my nonsensical actions, instead, looming over me with that same, unnecessarily pleasant smile.

"Crystal?" Shelly gasped.

"Aww, you're not too tired, are you? It's too early to use Rest," Feather joked, while I shuddered before him. I barely reached the thought that I should have backed away again before he moved. He moved far quicker than I ever could have imagined as well, spinning on one foot so quickly that my view of him became a blur. At the same time, his tail stretched out and wrapped around me tightly, quickly bringing me close to him.

"Make this fun," he whispered. I struggled and squirmed to try and escape the tight, stinging grasp of his stringy tail, but was kissed on the cheek before being tossed away by another spin. I landed on my feet, but found myself stumbling weirdly. I tried to stand still and focus, but my feet wouldn't stay still even when I told them too, and my eyesight was beginning to blur even more, viewing double images of everything in sight.

"Wha... what?" I gurgled, almost dropping my sword. All of a sudden, it looked like there were two Raichu, each sat on a tail and getting bigger, so I hopped backwards in some sort of attempt to dodge. I wound up falling right on my backside, and then was kicked in the face by three Raichu at once. That kick threw me back on my feet, where a few more tail slaps whipped my face side to side, ended by another kick that sent me rolling backwards.

"Crystal, oh no!" Shelly cried helplessly. My stomach ached and my face stung so much that I couldn't stand up right away.

"No-no... it already hurts so much..." I growled, forcing myself to roll onto my front. Once I got there, it was easy to press my whole body up with my wings, where I could twist back around, sit up slightly, and see what my enemy was doing. He hadn't moved from where I last was, deciding to sit back on his tail and taunt me with that adorable smile of his. I shivered in expectance of another quick move, but he wasn't doing anything but watching me.