We Are The Pokemon, & We Don't Need You Anymore

Chapter 17

I took in our opponents: a Servine, Tepig, Staravia, Poochyna, and a Timburr. I heard orders of, "Get them," and "Attack!" Our enemies charged.

"Run!" I yelled, turning tail.

"Ya think?" Snivy panted beside me.  There had to be a way out of this. Even if we beat our opponents more would take their place. There was nowhere left to run. My eyes stopped on a helicopter coming into the distance. It was flying pretty low... my gaze wandered to the ferris wheel which was being evacuated.

Good, Arceus.

If I timed this right, we would all end up really lucky, or really dead.

"The ferris wheel! Now!" I yelled and made a bolt for the structure. The others ran after me. Unfortunately so did our pursuers. Charmander shoved Kip onto the ferris wheel and yelled for him to climb. The Poocheyna slammed into his side. Pidgey was flapping desperately and barely managed to dodge a Scratch from the Staravia. Snivy, Zoura and I were climbing the ferris wheel as fast as we could.

My claws caught on another metal bar and I pulled myself up. I risked a glance down and my stomach lurched. The Servine and Timburr were following us up and the Tepig was helping the Poocheyna beat up Charmander. My grip nearly faltered on a bar and our enemies snickered below us.

"You're gonna run out of ferris wheel sometime little girl." The Timburr chuckled. The Servine slithered up the bars past me and cut Snivy off.

"Sorry about this, beautiful." He said with amusement and whipped his tail at her head. She ducked and slammed into him and he nearly toppled off the structure with an 'oof'. Pidgey let out a yell as his opponent clipped his wing.

"HEY YOU OVERGROWN CHICKEN!" Came a yell from below. I looked down and to my horror saw Charmander, bleeding from several scratches and bites, waving his arms at the Staravia. The Poocheyna and Tepig were clinging to him and looking exhausted, still trying to fight. "COME AND GET IT!" He waved his tail in the bird Pokemon's direction, who let out a scream of rage and dived. The trainers were rushing forward, Pokeballs at the ready, waiting to take credit for the victory.

Kip let out a fearful cry.

Zoura shouted a warning.

The Staravia began to glow blue.

With a sinking feeling I realized it was using Brave Bird; Charmander couldn't take that hit. The Staravia was so close; I wasn't close enough to help. Then, with a roar, Charmander rolled out of the way at the last second and the bird Pokemon slammed into the ground with a huge explosion.

I cheered, relived. But of course that didn't last long. The Timburr had snuck up behind me and had grabbed me, pinning my arms down to my sides.

"Get off, you-" I began to call him the kind of words I wasn't allowed to repeat around Mudkip. Suddenly he howled and his weight was removed. I turned to see Pidgey using Wing Attack weakly on my enemy. The Timburr raised his hand in a Karate Chop. That would knock Pidgey out or snap his neck at that angle!

Without thinking, I kicked him off of the ferris wheel. He wobbled, then tilted, panicking and reaching out for something to grab onto; then fell. He screamed, and the Servine who had been fighting Snivy saw this and let out a cry of despair. She used this opportunity to whack him with a Leaf Blade, and he slumped to the ground unconscious.

Pidgey was still staring at the open space where the Pokemon had been. "That Pokemon.... we... he.." He began to shake. I grabbed his shoulders.

"Pidgey calm down. We did what we had to. Now fly to the helicopter." I said slowly. His gaze was hollow. He was so fragile, not the best fighter, the smartest guy I knew. He and I had never taken a life before, and I was trying hard to keep the panic out of my voice. What I had just done didn't exactly register. I heard another wail of despair from the ground and knew that it was that Pokemon's trainer.

I choked back a sob.

This wasn't what I wanted.

Pidgey nodded emptily and took flight. I saw Charmander had finally started climbing far below us. The Tepig that had attacked him had fainted, but the Poocheyna was limping after him. Suddenly, in a puff of smoke Zoura appeared and clawed him across the snout, then disappeared again. 

'Arceus bless that idiot.' I thought as Zoura used Faint Attack again on the Poocheyna, who howled and fainted. Zoura supported Charmander and led him up the ferris wheel.

"I hope you have a plan." Kip said, climbing next to me.

"We hitch a ride." I said and continued to climb. We were almost at the top, people running and screaming below us. The helicopter was almost here. I ran an estimate in my head and my heart sank. We couln't catch it, unless....

"Pidgey!" I yelled. "Get Snivy on that helicopter!" He gave a curt nod.

"Wait, if you think I'm- WHOA!" Pidgey had snatched up Snivy in his talons, huffing and puffing with the extra weight.

"Got" -pant- "here" -pant- "what" -pant- "isgoingon?" -pant, Zoura managed, coming beside us with Charmander. Pidgey let out a yell of defiance and tossed Snivy at the helicopter with the last of his strength. The black machine's blades were almost deafening now.

Snivy somersaulted through the air and caught the bottom landing part of the helicopter with her hands and Kip let out a cry of fear as the crowd of humans far below us gasped. Pidgey landed next to her and collapsed, barely hanging on. Snivy's vines lashed out and wrapped around the top part of the ferris wheel, making a bridge for us. She snarled at the strain as the helicopter lurched to a stop and tried to pull forward.

Charmander grabbed Kip and swung from the bottom of the vine like a solitary monkey bar. I edged along it like a tightrope with Zoura not far behind. I looked down and instantly regretted it.

The carnival had turned into chaos; medics running around and reporters filming us. Slack jawed onlookers and children gripping their parent's legs in fright. And worst of all was the fact we were so high up; people looked like insects and the world tilted.

"Don't throw up, don't throw up, don't throw up." I chanted in my head. I quickly scurried across the rest of the vine and reached the helicopter. The bar that was the landing gear was so narrow I had to wrap my tail around it to keep from falling off.

Snivy groaned and released the vines, the helicopter lurched forward and we all panted with exhilaration. We all somehow fit on the landing gear and Snivy was rubbing her bruised vines.

"Well that could have gone better." Zoura said glumly. We were all silent until I heard a choking noise. Pidgey had lifted a wing to cover his face and was huddled in a wretched mess, sniffling, with the shame of what he (more accurately, I) had done.

Charmander quietly wrapped him in a comforting hug and the stormy clouds rumbled and rained all around us. I remembered an old wives tale that every time a Pokemon died, rain fell because it was the Storm Pokemon crying. Guilt settled on me, and in my heart I knew that legend was true.

We flew off into the unknown as both the sky and Pidgey wept.