Dappled golden sunlight strove through the trees as the sun made its steady ascent along the eastern horizon. Howl ran a hand through their hair, already damp with sweat, and paused to listen. Reports of rogue Absol stalking the forests near Oldale and Route 101 had filtered back to Ranger HQ and they’d volunteered to go out and have a look. Being newer to the region meant they’d been saved most of the doom and gloom of recent months, but reading the incident reports had caught them up quick.

Still, the idea of murderous Absol seemed a bit farfetched-- at least, that’s what they thought, as they pushed themselves up a hill. It was scary enough for the Rangers to assign them a partner, though, and they were making their way towards the rendezvous point to meet her when they caught a flash of silver out of the corner of their eye. They froze, spinning on the spot, to find nothing behind them.

Howl licked their lips, slowly pulling a Pokeball from their belt and depressing the white button; a beam of energy zapped out and soon Blais the Larvesta was at their side.

“Something’s out here,” Howl said, voice shaking only slightly, “be ready.”

A heartbeat. Two.

Then, something flushed a group of Taillow out of a nearby tree; Howl startled, slipped in the loam, and saw the Absol coming through the undergrowth. “Shit!” they yelped, turning to run away, post-haste; they grabbed a sapling and hauled themselves up as the Disaster Pokemon pounced right on where they’d been standing with an otherworldly yowl.

Howl didn’t stay long to make friends, but from the glimpse they caught, the Absol’s mouth was flecked with foam and its eyes were white with rage or rolled back in its head. It screamed again, and took a step forward, before a loud, buzzing vibration shook the earth and air and knocked it away, tumbling down the hill.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Howl panted, snatching Blais up in their arms and turning to sprint away before the Absol could regain its footing.

They lost it in the thick of the woods, bursting through a patch of fog and skidding to a stop when they ran out of breath. Dimly they registered the pinging of their GPS as marking them arrived at destination.

@amelia

☉