A Vacation, an Adventure, and the Story of a Lifetime

Chapter 59- Dying Flames

Sorry it's a bit late; I had a paper due by midnight that I sadly had to prioritize over this chapter, but it's here now! Enjoy, my fox kits~

      -Luna the Space Fox

Key:

Author's notes

Thoughts

"Telepathy or emphasized words"

"Speech"

"{Pokemon speech}"

Disclaimer: If I owned Pokemon, this wouldn't be a Wattpad fanfiction and the Sun/Moon anime would have the same animators as X/Y~

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The light that had previously seemed to die in Lunalox's eyes returned in a blaze as the starry canine let out a short howl shouted purposely toward the sky. She jumped into a battle stance beside Midnight without fear, facing the Mega Camerupt across from them as if it were no more than a pesky Grubbin in their path.

"I guess Lunalox is getting fired up about this battle too!" The brunette commented enthusiastically. "Now, girls, it's our time to shine!"

Courtney nodded with a grin. "Nobody's holding back! Camerupt, go for a full-power Eruption!"

"This is gonna sound a little crazy, but Lunalox, use Blizzard! Mid, go for Double Team and then Shadow Ball!"

The area around their heated battle immediately dropped in temperature as Lunalox called for the subzero attack from within herself, summoning clouds heavy with thick flakes of snow that launched forward at lightning speed. Midnight instantly created dozens of copies of her blue-ringed form, and each one created a Shadow Ball.

A gigantic wall of lava once again was launched from the volcano-like back of Mega Camerupt, swallowing up and melting any of the snow that came near it. However, the sheer number of flakes and fog that the cold attack summoned seemed to block out the sun from the battle, and as the air grew more humid with each bit of vapor being added, the real Midnight sped around the Eruption and firmly planted a Shadow Ball to Camerupt's side.

It let out a roar as she daintily ran back, though a few drops of the now-weakened Eruption landed on her back with a nasty sizzling sound. Luna and Midnight both hissed, though the former was just from imagining the pain her shiny Umbreon sister must have been enduring.

Said Pokemon grit her teeth and twisted on her next jump, landing in a roll on the small number of snowflakes on the ground in hopes of cooling the harsh burns, with lackluster results.

Luna cursed under her breath as her two teammates faced Courtney's one 'mon, and even though the former's attack plan had been successful, the wounds Midnight sustained at the last second were worse than the single hit that Camerupt had received. Despite being a physical tank, Midnight was admittedly dwarfed by the Fire- and Ground-Type brute.

That deep feeling of frustration and helplessness was one of the things Luna loathed the most. Being unable to do anything in a situation peeved her to no end, which was how she often came up with the most obscure plans on the spot; a ditch-effort at each last second to regain control over a situation.

And that's why she dug her heels into the ground with clenched hands as she stared at the Pokemon across from her, unaware of the rest of the groups having finished their own battles, now spectating. Didn't notice the smothering heat that Mega Camerupt emit that covered the field. Didn't care enough to wipe the sweat starting to form on her forehead.

Her head was in the game now.

It had been some time since she trained a new, young Pokemon, Luna thought, so sending Lunalox up against a highly-trained Mega was probably not the best idea. But it was experience, and that's how one grows.

Midnight began to notice her trainer getting lost in though, desperately spiraling into her own mind, feeling the helplessness emanating from her sister via their Synchro bond.

"Camerupt, go for another Eruption!" Courtney called.

"Relax, Lu, don't think about it! Now's not the time to go down. I believe in you; I always have. C'mon!"

Despite the shiny's telepathic words of encouragement, Luna still looked lost despite zoning back in. "Dodge it," she called weakly, grinding her teeth together. If Poseidon was here, he could easily take Camerupt out with a Water-Type attack. Even an Aqua Tail from Snow Queen or a Bouncy Bubble from Henri or, or even a Surf from Tyrant could probably defeat it. I'm not used to having such limited options... curse this match!

Lunalox leapt into the air and flew away from the oncoming attack while Midnight used Quick Attack to dodge it, the heat singeing the tips of her fur once more. Luna felt the dull sting through their bond but did not flinch.

"What, giving up so soon?" The purplette asked with a smirk. "Where's that spark that always comes out when you battle. Don't tell me it's because you don't see me as a worthy opponent!?"

"{She has a point, sis! You seem really distracted, and we're in the middle of an important fight!}" Midnight added pointedly, stressing her syllables to emphasize how important it actually was.

Luna reached up to tug at her hair, blinking a few times as she tried to focus on the fight in front of her. It's not that I don't know it's important; I'm perfectly aware! I want to fight Courtney because she's a strong opponent and good friend of mine. But suddenly... I can't even think straight. Like my motivation's dying as soon as it comes to being.

"Mid, Lunalox, use Bite," she called out, hoping her mind would relapse and her usual instincts would kick in. However, no such thing happened as she semi-lifelessly watched her two partner Pokemon step in-sync, breaking into a jog as they bared their fangs.

Mega Camerupt countered by rearing up on its back legs and roaring, getting ready to stomp down on them. Midnight suddenly grabbed Lunalox by the scruff and dragged her out from under the heavy hooves moments before they would have been trapped, managing to scratch her claws out in an unfinished Double Kick.

The Fire- and Ground-Type roared at the attack, as if shocked it managed to actually get a few cuts; Midnight's claws were sharper than they looked.

"Don't let them get away with that! Use Earthquake!"

"Midnight, counter with- with..." Luna cursed under her breath, cycling desperately through the mental list of moves her Umbreon knew. The second it landed on a certain move, she yelled it out in desperation, though she immediately felt drained afterwards, strangely. "Use Sucker Punch!"