Chapter 33

"So how can I really help with this situation?" Margaret asked politely. "White seems to have it all under control. I mean she does know where to go to solve this problem."

"Well they know where to go, but they still have obstacles to jump over," N told her calmly. "As you've seen, Team Flare desperately wants you, Deborah, and Fiona, but those blood samples they took will tell them everything about Sky Blue being an Aura Guardian. After that, they will want to take him for themselves for his ability. I wouldn't be surprised if there are demands for Aura Guardian DNA in the black market. Since his kind are so rare and so hidden, it's hard to catch an Aura Guardian."

" Besides that, the war inside of him is attempting to break through the barrier as we speak," added Alan as he levitated next to Margaret as they walked. "You witnessed the first time in years that he has lost control of himself. That wasn't even close to how much common sense he will lose when the barrier shatters. He was ten years old when he first lost control, and he gained the ability to wield aura and had the strength of two adult men. Imagine what he'll be like at eighteen when losing control. He will be stronger than all groups combined, and a strength like that could kill."

To distract them from this unpleasant thought, a high pitched squeak echoed from behind them. They looked around to see Amelia pelting away from a bush with flowers on it. A robotic pokemon had just stomped over it without awareness of startling the Mareep.  It kept repeating in a mechanical voice, "GOLETT, GOLETT, GOLETT!"

Amelia squeaked and puffed up as the Golett stomped past her. The flowers that she had picked stuck out in her wool. She looked a bit like a blonde Shaymin.

"You know it's getting more and more obvious that you made the right choice by bring her along," Alan told Margaret. "I don't mean to sound harsh, but she would have a rather hard time coping with Team Flare on that one route."

Margaret blushed a little and went to pick up her Electric Type. She was not mad with Alan or Amelia, but she was a little embarrassed. Many of her friends had not failed to tell her how she and Amelia were a perfect pair, how they were so similar in personality. She had also seen herself in the Mareep, but it made her see the side of her that others found annoying and weak.

"It's ok, Amelia," she told her Mareep quietly as she picked her up. "It was just a Golett. He wasn't going to hurt you."

"F-Forgive me, Miss Margaret," squeaked Amelia. "I just haven't been on this route before. It's also said to have a graveyard in it, so I expected a lot of Ghost Types."

"The Ghost Types here are harmless, Amelia," N intervened as he came to check on Margaret and her Pokemon. "The most common Ghost Type here is Golett, and they don't hurt anyone unless provoked."

"Oh, i-if you say so, Mister N..."

The Mareep's wool then flattened again and she began to pick the flowers out of her fur. While she did this, Margaret looked back up at Alan and N and asked, "So, what exactly do you want me to do to help Sky?"

"We need you to help us make sure Sky Blue doesn't hurt himself or anyone else," Alan answered, bowing his head. "White and N are the only humans who know about this. We need to extend the circle to include you and Amos. We can't protect him ourselves anymore. We need more people to understand the situation. Margaret, would you be willing to help us?"

"Well, I won't deny that this is a difficult request," Margaret admitted. "I mean, well, wouldn't Danny or Leia be better suited for this job?"

"Margaret, we chose you because you would understand Sky Blue's predicament better than them," N told her. "You understand what it's like to be an outcast. To be different. They have never been that outcasted."

"But you understand just as much," Margaret pointed out. "You know what it's like to be misunderstood and isolated."

N did not reply. His soft expression turned into a scowl at the thought of understanding the boy who took his sister away from him. Alan then hastily said, "So will you help us?"

Margaret frowned slightly and thought for a moment. Then she answered, "Of course, I will help however I can."

She could tell that the Alakazam looked relieved at her answer. He closed his eyes and sighed with relief, causing his long mustache to twitch.

"Many thanks, Margaret," Alan thanked her slowly. "You have no idea how grateful we are."

"Oh, I am happy to help."

The rookie paused and thought for a moment. She then asked them, "What about Mira?"

"Mira?" repeated Alan, his voice suddenly turning cold.

"Well, Mira, is like Sky Blue and White's younger sister. They have known each other for years. Has she been told?"

Neither of them spoke. Then N answered tensely, "No."

"No? Why not? This is something she should be brought in on!"

"Sky and White never wanted to tell her. Sky Blue's relationship with her is too important to him. He loves her very much, he cares for her as her guardian and elder brother. He would never do anything to jeopardize that bond. He would be heartbroken if that relationship was broken."

"But what about when she learns the truth? She won't be very happy if she learns that her siblings didn't trust her enough to tell her all of this."

Once again, they were saved by a high pitched squeak from Amelia. An Electrike had crossed their path, but it did not seem to notice them until Amelia cried out. The canine yelped, looked around widely, and pelted away. It's bark could still be heard.

"Amelia, you need to just chill out," N sighed as the Mareep puffed up her wool and hid her head. "Like I said, most pokemon here are harmless."

"Oh, but they are so scary..." whimpered the little sheep-like pokemon.

"You can't go through life fearing other pokemon like this," Alan told her sternly. "Have you ever even had a proper battle?"

Amelia poked her head out of her wool and stammered, "Well, n-no, not exactly..."

"That may be the problem, then. If you haven't battled, you will have difficulty interacting with other pokemon, and what if Margaret was in trouble and you were the only one to help?"

"That wouldn't be good..."

"You're right, it wouldn't. You should try and battle with someone you know. That way it won't be as intimidating."

Margaret looked down at the Mareep in her arms. She did not want to force her to battle if she didn't want to. She wanted Amelia to be prepared and ready to battle.

"You can have a double battle with me, if you wish," N offered. "A friendly battle between you and me."

"Oh, well," Margaret stuttered, stilling looking at her Mareep. "I guess so, but Amelia, are you up for it?"

Amelia glanced from the two humans to Alan. After a moment, the Electric Type answered, "I-I guess it wouldn't hurt to try..."

*~*~*

"Alright then, this is a double battle, which means each trainer can use two Pokemon at once," Alan announced to the two humans from the sidelines. "The battle is finished once all the Pokemon from one side are defeated. Without further ado, let the battle begin."

"Silky and Minty, come out and assist me!" N shouted as he tossed two pokeballs into the air. His Glaceon and Leafeon popped out of the pokeballs with loud cries and landed on the field. Amelia, who had been standing next to Margaret on the other half of the field, yelped and hid behind her trainer.

"Fletcher, come out!" Margaret yelled as she threw a pokeball into the air. It burst open and Fletcher the Flechinder gave a loud battle cry. He did some impressive flying tricks before landing on the ground to face Silky and Minty.

Amelia stuttered something that was not audible before edging toward the center of the clearing to stand next to Fletcher. She looked frightened at how Fletcher and Silky were growling at each other. Minty looked just as uneasy as the Mareep.

"You may have the first move," N called to Margaret.

"O-Ok," she stammered while sliding open her Pokedex. "Fletcher, use Flame Charge! Amelia, use, um, Thundershock!"

Fletcher and Amelia both gave loud squawks and bleats as they attempted their assigned attacks. Before they could hit the Glaceon and Leafeon, N had commanded, "Both of you, use Helping Hand!"

The Glaceon and Leafeon gave happy cries as they both hugged each other. Each Pokemon began to glow a light red color.

Helping Hand raises to user's ally's Attack and Special Attack, Margret recited in her head as Silky and Minty avoided her pokemon's attacks. Now they're both stronger than ever...

"Amelia, Cotton Spore!" Margaret ordered her Mareep suddenly.

The Electric Type squeaked as she obeyed. Cotton parted from her wool and flew toward the Ice Type and Grass Type. They yelped and yowled as the cotton surrounded the field. Fletcher flew above the field to avoid the cotton. Silky and Minty didn't have much luck. They had a difficult time trudging through the wool. Amelia didn't have a very difficult time. Wherever she walked, the cotton on the ground got absorbed into her wool.

"Minty, try and use Dig!" N instructed his Leafeon as she and her sister struggled through the cotton.

"Fletcher, stop them!" Margaret cried desperately as Minty began digging. "Try Steel Wing!"

The Fletchinder gave a loud caw and swooped down toward the Eeveelutions. His wings turned a metallic color as he got closer. Right when he went to attack, Silky had followed her sister into the hole Minty had made.

"Keep your guard up, Amelia!" The rookie called to her Mareep. Fletcher was in no danger unless he landed on the ground. Amelia, on the other hand, was grounded and was very weak against a Ground Type move like Dig.

She could see Amelia whimpering and trembling as the time stretched out. The expectation of being hit was nerve wrecking. Margaret felt terrible that all she could do was watch. She couldn't help her at all.

There was wsuddenly a loud pop in the middle of the field. It was quickly followed by a bang, a yowl, and a scream. A tall humanoid Pokemon materialized in the middle of the battle field right when Silky and Minty burst from the ground. They both hit Shane in the jaw, causing him to bellow with pain. Amelia shrieked and pelted back toward Margaret while Fletcher cawed and flew away from the Gallade.

"SKYLER AZUL!" Margaret heard N bellow as someone yelped and tumbled off the Gallade's back.

Sky Blue slowly got up and huffed, "Did someone catch the license plate of the tank that hit us?"

Margaret stifled a giggle, but the others didn't seem quite as pleased. N was trying to calm down Minty as she scrambled around screaming with fright. Alan was hiding his large head between his long fingers. At the same time, Silky and Fletcher were chasing Shane around the field furiously.

"Oh dear, are you ok?" Margaret asked Sky nervously, walking over to him and helping him up. "That was quite a fall..."

"I guess so," he muttered so only she could hear him. "Feels like my leg snapped again..."

"Oh my..."

"What are you doing here?" N snapped at Sky as he walked over to them, carrying his timid Leafeon in his arms. "I thought you were with White and Amos!"

"I have been temporarily banished," Sky answered unconcernedly as he looked around. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Um, we were battling to help Amelia learn how to fight."

"Well sorry about that, I know when I'm not wanted. Have you seen my Galvantula? She's the reason I'm here."

Margaret felt slightly worried as she repeated, "Y-Your Galvantula?"

"You know, a giant yellow and blue tarantula! Her name's Jo Jo!"

"We haven't seen her," N told him sternly. "It would be hard for us to miss her."

There was a crack and a squeal as something of Jo Jo's description fell from the tree above them. Margaret screamed and ran back from the center of field just as it fell on Sky, causing him to yell and collapse under his pokemon's weight.

"Never mind, I think I found her..." Sky panted as Jo Jo squeaked happily and got off her trainer to chase her rubber ball instead.

"A-Are you hurt?" Margaret squeaked fearfully as Sky Blue struggled to stand up again.

"She might've cracked my spine," he said with a wince while standing up. "But I'll live..."

"Oh, well that's good."

"Well since I feel the mounting frustration coming from the third party, whom I won't name, I will depart," the young man continued, grasping his staff in his hand and limp over to Alan and asking him, "How long have you been out here?"

"An hour."

"Really? I never noticed you left!"

"You wouldn't have, you were chasing that crazy Galvantula up a tree."

"Ah, well if you are coming with us, you gotta move fast. Oi, Shane, get over here!"

Shane, who was hiding behind a tree while nursing his bruised jaw, winced at either his trainer's loud voice or his own injury. Nevertheless, the Gallade stood up shakily and teleported to Sky's side, while Jo Jo held onto the humanoid pokemon's leg while holding her rubber ball in her pincers. Once he was on the Psychic Fighting Type's back, Sky Blue then saluted to Margaret before he and his Gallade disappeared with a loud pop.

"I shall see you both once reaching our destination," Alan told them before teleporting away.

N turned back to look at Margaret. His face was red from frustration and anger.

"Well," he started, looking around for his Leafeon and Glaceon. "Should we continue battling?"

Margaret nodded and looked around for her pokemon. It appeared that both Amelia and Minty were hiding in a bush while Silky and Fletcher tried coaxing them to come out. With both N and Margaret's combined efforts, they were able to get the Leafeon and Mareep out in ten minutes. Once calming the poor timid pokemon down, the pokemon returned to the center of the field to continue the interrupted battle.

"Margaret, you can move first!" N called to Margaret from one side of the battle field.

"Oh, o-ok..." Margaret stammered, looking from her confident Fletchinder to her timid Mareep. "Amelia, Thunder Wave! Fletcher, Steel Wing!"

"Grass Knot and Ice Beam!' N commanded his pokemon as Amelia shot a pulse of electricity at them while Fletcher dove down with metallic wings.

Minty gave a loud cry, causing vines to sprout from the ground. They rose up and wriggled toward Fletcher and Amelia. Fletcher cawed and dove between the vines.

"Amelia, dodge it!" Margaret cried desperately.

Amelia squeaked with fear and began dodging around the encircling vines. Before anything could harm the Electric Type, Silky leapt into the air with a freezing blizzard swirling between her jaws. An ice beam blasted from the Glaceon and hit the swirling vines. The vines slowly began to freeze around the Mareep, imprisoning her in a cage of frozen ivy.

"Fletcher, Flame Charge! Try and break the vines!" The rookie shouted as Amelia gave a frightened cry.

"Silky, stop him with Blizzard!" N ordered his Glaceon, who smirked and pounced over the vines.

Silky landed on top of the ice cage and gave an eerie howl. Snow began to shed off the Ice Type's coat and swirled around the field violently. Fletcher, who had been trying to save his companion by using both Flame Charge and Steel Wing, gave a lot shriek and blew away from the vines. Amelia gave a high pitch cry as the blizzard flew into the frozen cage, causing her wool to freeze.

Before Margaret or N could throw out another order, a loud caw echoed from above the clearing that sounded like, "HAW, HAWLUCHA!"

Blizzard suddenly subsided as something landed on the cage and in front of Silky. The new pokemon threw the Glaceon off and started breaking the ice off the vines. Once the ice was chipped away from a vine, the pokemon pulled the vine out of the ground and leading the Mareep out of safety.

Margaret was intrigued by the new pokemon. It was a humanoid pokemon, but it had the features of a hawk. It stood on short yellow feet while its lower half and chin had white feathers. Most of its upper body and arms had red feathers. It had arms with its wings attached to it. It had red feathers on the outside of the wings with green on the inside. Its hawk-like head had feathers that made it look like the pokemon wore the mask. The feather made mask was green with an orange top and a ring around its pale yellow eyes.

"What's that?" Margaret asked herself, raising her Pokedex to scan the pokemon. The screen loaded for a moment before revealing the name and picture of the pokemon.

Hawlucha, the Wrestling Pokemon

"My dear dama," the Hawlucha was saying to Amelia in a strong accented voice, kneeling on one knee while clasping one of the Mareep's front legs. "I promise that no one will ever harm a wool on your head while I am your protector!"

"Um...t-thank you, but y-you really didn't need-"

"Excuse me, sir," N interrupted as he moved onto the field to confront the Hawlucha. "I'm sorry, but we were just battling to help Amelia gain confidence. I assure you, I would never have my pokemon put her in real danger. I might've let Silky go too far, so I apologize for that."

Margaret thought the Wrestling Pokemon would be aggravated if he found out he helped Amelia for nothing. Instead, the Hawlucha threw his head back and laughed.

"You really think a pokemon will bring their best power in a battle like this?" The Hawlucha demanded once his laughter subsided. "In some case a friendly battle between friends can gain some confidence, but it's not always the case!"

"Well, Mister, err," Margaret began, causing the Hawlucha to turn his attention to her.

"My title is Curandero, my dear dama," the Hawlucha finished while bowing politely to Margaret.

"Well, Mister Curandero, is there anything you would like to suggest we try? You seem to know what we should do."

"My dama, I was raised by a warrior race!" the Hawlucha, Curandero, explained to the human girl. "I may not be a warrior myself, but I have seen many of my kin fight in battle! I am sure I myself can be the opponent of you and your charming teammate."

Margaret heard Fletcher scoff as he landed on her shoulder. She heard him hiss to himself, "Such a flirt..."

"How will a battle against you help Amelia?" N asked Curandero curiously. "It won't be much different from the last battle."

"There is a great difference between a friendly battle and a serious one, my good hombre," Curandero explained solemnly. "In a friendly battle, there is no shame in losing, and their is no tension. But when you are facing true danger, sometimes us pokemon can bring out the best in ourselves. The best part that can't always be found in an everyday battle. Sometimes the most confidence you receive is from winning a difficult fight."

Curandero than turned to Amelia and pointed one of his clawed fingers to her chest while saying seriously, "My dear dama, I would be honored to have a battle with you. There would be no holding back, is that alright?"

Amelia glanced at Curandero and then to Margaret. Then she spams we're breathlessly, "W-Well, I have no objection...I think..."

*~*~*

"I don't understand how this battle is any different then our battle," N said to Margaret as he and the rookie watched the odd Hawlucha do push-ups with just one hand. "Nothing is really on the line."

"I may know know why," Margaret replied. "We were holding back so we didn't frighten Amelia anymore than she already is. I think Mister Curandero wants to show her a battle between a trained pokemon and a wild pokemon. In school, I was told that most wild pokemon feel ill natured toward ones that are owned by trainers. He may not be jealous of Amelia, but he wants to show her what a true wild encounter is like. This is still a basic level of training, but in a wild encounter, the wild pokemon never hold back."

Amelia was staying close to Margaret. She kept staring at the Hawlucha from a distance. It was clear that she was intimidated by him from her trembling.

"Amelia, I'm sure you will do fine," N told the Mareep encouragingly while kneeling down next to it. "You have several advantages in this battle. Curandero is a Fighting and Flying Type, which means he will be weak to your Thundershock. You also have Margaret to help you."

Fletcher, who was the only Pokemon besides Amelia that was not returned to his pokeball, fluttered down to Amelia's other side and cawed, "You'll kick his pompous butt, Amy!"

Just then the Hawlucha stopped his push-ups and entered the center of the field. Seeing that her opponent was ready, Amelia shyly entered the field while Margaret stepped forward.

"You may begin, senioritas," Curandero called to Margaret.

"Oh, t-thank you," Margaret stammered before calling to Amelia, "Let's start with Thunder Wave, Amelia!"

The Mareep nodded and released a large pulse of electricity toward Curandero. The Hawlucha did a backflip away from the pulse and leapt into the air. He twirled and spread his wings out as he soared toward the Mareep.

Margaret's Pokedex beeped after scanning the move and it read, Flying Press, the signature move of Hawlucha. The user soars in the air and lands on the opponent.

"Thundershock, quick!" Margaret cried, but it was too late.

Curandero had landed on Amelia with a loud thud. Dust and sand rose up to cover the scene, but Margaret could hear Amelia's squeal of fear. When the dust subsided, the rookie saw that the Hawlucha had returned to the center of the field. Amelia, however, was right where he left her. The Mareep had puffed up her wool to defend herself from the attack.

"Are you ok, Amelia?" Margaret called, and once hearing Amelia bleat with determination, she then shouted, "Thundershock!"

Amelia's wool charged with electricity as she released it toward the Hawlucha. Curandero cawed as he dodged the bolts of lightning. His speed was remarkable. He was swift and speedy while Amelia was slower because of all her wool.

"Cotton Spore!"

The Mareep squeaked and dislodged some of her wool and shot it toward Curandero. This time the move finally hit. The Hawlucha avoided only a few pieces of wool before finally being slowed down by the wool clinging to his feet.

"Now try Thundershock!"

Amelia squeaked with determination and released another bolt of lightning. Curandero tried dodging the attack, but was too slow. He gasped with pain as the electricity ran through his body. Margaret was amazed by his endurance.

"Now Thunder Wave!" The rookie instructed the Mareep as the Hawlucha collapsed onto his knees.

Just before the pulse of electricity hit Curandero, the Wrestling Pokemon pushed himself off the ground with all his strength and soared toward the Electric Type, avoiding the Thunder Wave below. One of his wings began to glow as he glided swiftly over to Amelia.

"Thundershock!"

The Mareep shot another bolt of lightning at the Fighting Flying Type, but Curandero dodged the attack. With a loud caw, the Hawlucha hit Amelia in the back with his glowing arm. Margaret recognized the attack as Aerial Ace. Amelia squeaked with fright and fell onto her rear as Curandero landed a few feet away from her.

"Amelia, are you ok?!" Margaret called, fearing for her small pokemon's safety.

The Electric Type pokemon slowly nodded and shakily got to her feet. Her coat was crackling with electricity as she faced Curandero. She seemed determined to try and win the fight.

"My dear dama," Curandero huffed to Amelia as he straightened up. "I believe you're finally learning what a battle is truly like. Now, hit me with everything you got!"

Amelia nodded weakly to her opponent and the electricity seemed to crackle more ferociously. As the electricity met its peek, Margaret shouted, "Now, use Thundershock one last time!"

The tiny Electric Type squeaked determinedly and ran toward the Hawlucha. Curandero also gave a loud caw and both his arms glowed white. He to charged toward his opponent, both of them readying to clash attacks.

But neither of them reached their destination. There was a howl as a miniature Mightyena tore through the trees and crashed into Curandero and Amelia. The two battling Pokemon were thrown back. The Poochyena growled and snarled as he stalked over to Amelia.

"Amelia!" Margaret cried as Fletcher squawked with fury and dove down to save his teammate. She was going to save her Mareep as well, but N suddenly grabbed her arm.

"Margaret, don't!" He told her urgently. "It has a Team Flare collar!"

Sure enough, a collar was strapped around the Poochyena's neck. It wasn't like the metal collars that she and N could hear, but it was a regular orange color with a flaming letter F as the tag. If there was one Poochyena, there had to be more.

"Fletcher, Flame Charge!" The rookie shouted desperately to her Fletchinder, who squawked and surrounded himself in flames. He dove toward the Poochyena and barreled into it. The Dark Type yelped with pain and collapsed. With the danger postponed, Amelia shakily got up and ran back to Margaret's side.

"Come on, we have to go!" N said urgently, his grip on Margaret's arm as he began pulling her toward the forest. "Amelia, Fletcher, let's go! Curandero, you would do wise to come with us!"

The Hawlucha had been staring at the Poochyena with mixed emotions. Curandero only turned his gaze away after N called his name. He nodded slowly, got up, and then sprinted after the humans, the Mareep, and Fletchinder.

The Poochyena howled from behind them, and soon a chorus of howls echoed from the distance in all directions. Margaret didn't understand. Every time they traveled, Team Flare was waiting for them. It was only when they left the safety of the town or city that they ran into them.

"This way!" Curandero suddenly called, outrunning them and beckoning the humans to follow him.

Seeing how they had no other place to go, they followed him. The Halwucha led them through the tree for about three minutes. They soon found a huge berry tree in the shadows of even larger trees. Curandero ducked behind the tree and disappeared.

"Where'd h-he go?" Amelia panted, skidding to a stop next to Margaret and N. "He didn't leave, did he?"

"Hey, there's a cave here!" Fletcher called as he flew to the other side of the tree.

Margaret stepped over the roots to look around the tree. A tunnel was dug up from between the roots. The gap was large enough for a person to squeeze through.

"Looks like we don't have much of a choice," Margaret heard N mutter as the howls echoed through the forest again. "I'll go last. Amelia and Fletcher should go first."

Margaret nodded weakly as Fletcher dove down through the tunnel. The rookie picked up the Mareep and lowered her down into the hole. She took a deep breath before lowering herself down after her pokemon. She slid inside the hole and yelped as she bumped her head on the low ceiling. She crouched down and moved away from the tunnel.

"M-Mister Curandero, are you here?" Margaret stammered nervously.

"Come here, senorita!" Curandero's voice whispered from next to her, causing her to jump. "Follow me!"

She felt the Hawlucha grab her hand with his clawed one. She allowed the pokemon to guide her through the dark.

"Did you build this cave all by yourself?" She asked him as a light filtered at the end of the tunnel.

Curandero didn't answer right away, but said quietly, "No, not exactly. You and your friend will be safe here."

Margaret's jaw dropped as she and Curandero entered the cave with the light in it. It was almost like a little biome underground, but it also looked like a primitive lab. There was luminous moss all around the walls and rocks. There was a small pool in one corner with a roughly made wood trough filled with growing sprouts. There was other strange tools laying around the room. On the other side of the room there was a dummy that was shaped like a Golett. The room was like part pharmacy and part training area.

"How did you do it?" Amelia asked the Hawlucha with amazement as she examined the dummy. "This place is amazing!"

"The cave was already like this," Curandero replied, standing next to Amelia and looking up at the Golett dummy. "I mean the cave was already dug out and everything. I believe a large Pokemon once lived here and would come in through another passage. There are two entrances, the one that we came through and another larger passage. I found this cave two years ago with my hermanos."

"Hermanos?" Fletcher repeated as flew off of the rock he had been perched on. "What's that?"

"My brothers," the Hawlucha answered with a scowl, placing his small taloned hand on the dummy. "A shame you won't know them..."

"Um, Mister Curandero?" Margaret began, gaining the Wrestling Pokemon's attention. "Do you by any chance know Team Flare, those people who were chasing us?"

He did not answer right away, but Margaret thought she saw his grip on the dummy tighten. Straw and cotton fell out of the puncture in the dummy that Curandero's talons made.

"Of course, dear dama," Curandero answered her quietly yet seriously. "I doubt there is a single Pokemon in this forest who doesn't know about the fire humans."

"So you have met them before?"

"Oh, yes. They swarmed through our forest for the first time months ago. They kept searching for a human and a pokemon, but their searches led to death and flames among the pokemon in the forest. We thought we had seen the last of them. But then they returned a few days ago."

The Hawlucha looked Margaret dead in the eyes. She could see the pain and anger clouding his yellow eyes.

"They came through my colony's home just three days ago. They made their pokemon communicate to us. They asked us to help them search for what they claimed was their property. But they explained that the property weren't items, but pokemon and humans. We refused to help them. My father, the leader of our colony, flatly refused to assist them. He told the fire humans that no living being, neither human nor Pokemon, should ever be considered or imprisoned as property. The fire humans got angry and burned down my home and my people. To put it bluntly, I am one of the few Hawluchas of my colony that survived the fire humans' burning rage.

"I fled the colony after failing to save my people. The burns were beyond my ability to my healing. I was what you call the medicine man of my colony. To not be able to heal your family, to not be able to save them was the worst feeling in the world. This is where I worked on my medicine, and the only home I have left. I have been living here ever since."

There was silence after the Hawlucha finished his sad tale. Margaret was at a loss for words. She had heard of Team Flare's horrible deeds, but none of them could compare to this. They had wiped out almost an entire colony of Hawluchas just because they refused to help enslave a living being. Capture her and her friends.

"You have no idea how sorry we are for your loss, sir."

N had come back. He had been leaning again the entrance back into the tunnel. He had a serious look on his face. Margaret knew he was pushing his true feelings aside so he could talk steadily.

"Sorry will not bring back my family," Curandero answered more harshly, turning his back on the humans to face the dummy.

"Curandero, I think you have the right to know that your family died protecting me, Margaret, and a few more members of our group. Team Flare lives for profit. They sell Pokemon and even DNA from certain humans. I was born with the gift to speak and understand Pokemon, Margaret is, well...a hybrid. We have an acquaintance who is a rare part Aura Guardian, Team Flare would like nothing better than to examine him. We also have given asylum to their leader's daughter and a pokemon that was abused by Team Flare. To put it mildly, we're not very popular with them. Believe me, we had no idea that they would go this far! No one else should've gotten involved, especially innocent pokemon! Curandero, we can't bring your family back, but we promise that if we make it out alive, we will leave the route and never bother you again."

They waited for these words to sink beneath the Hawlucha's skin. He said or did nothing, but Margaret thought she saw him tense up. She looked over at N for some instruction on what to do. The fugitive glanced at Margaret before tilting his head toward the tunnel. She understood it to mean that they should leave and just wait for Team Flare to pass.

Margaret nodded to her own pokemon to follow her and began to step away from the Fighting Type. Then Curandero's voice echoed seriously from behind her, "You won't make it pass them without help."

The Wrestling Pokemon had straightened up and turned to face the humans. He did not look angry at them, but was full of determination.

"My family died to protect you and your amigos," he told them. "They would have died for nothing if I allowed you to get caught. We Hawluchas keep our word, and we never break our promises."

*~*~*

"Um, Mister Curandero, is this really going to help us hear what's happening outside?" Margaret asked uncertainly as the Hawlucha began messing with an old can with a string through it. The string had gone through the dirt ceiling and up the ground above.

"Of course, my dear dama," Curandero replied as he handed the can to N. "I have used it many times. It may not work for hearing humans who aren't talking directly into the other end, but we might be able to get some snatched conversation from their Pokemon!"

"I can hear something on the other end," N informed them as he put the can to his ear. "I can't tell whether the voices are human or Pokemon..."

"What are they saying?"

"Well they are searching for us...that Poochyena tipped them off about us being on the route...it sounds like they already attempted to capture another of our group..."

"It must have been Sky Blue," Margaret whispered, feeling a sickening sensation in her stomach. "He was all by himself besides his pokemon. Is he ok?"

"I think so, it sounds like he escaped. Unless there is a co-leader in Team Flare I'm not aware of, there is no scientist in this group like the last few times we have encountered them. It's just a regular patrol group. They are planning on splitting up to search for us. A few of them will remain behind and stay here in case we come back."

Margaret processed the information for a second before saying, "So it sounds like we need a distraction to get past the ones here."

"I can easily distract six fire butt grunts," Fletcher scoffed, flapping his wings repeatedly and straightening with pride. "I can lure them away while ya'll run the opposite direction!"

"They won't be fooled by you alone," Curandero told Fletcher seriously. "I will accompany you."

A small squeak came from beside Margaret and it asked, "What about me? What do I do?"

Amelia was looking from the two trainers to the two older Pokemon. She looked both slightly annoyed and left out.

"You will be with me and N," Margaret told the Mareep soothingly, but the tiny Electric Type did not return the sympathy.

"But I want to help! Can't I make a distraction too?!" Amelia protested, actually stomping her tiny hood on the rocky ground.

"It's too dangerous, Amelia," N said consolingly to the Mareep. "You'll be safer with us."

"Me and Margaret battled Mister Curandero so I could gain confidence! He said himself that I'll never learn to gain confidence unless in a serious battle! If this isn't serious, I don't know what is! Please, Mister N, Margaret, let me go with Mister Curandero!"

Margaret opened her mouth to speak but didn't know what to say. What Amelia said was true. Curandero had said it himself.

In a friendly battle, there is no shame in losing, and there is no tension. But when you are facing true danger, sometimes us pokemon can bring out the best in ourselves. The best part that can't always be found in an everyday battle.

Sometimes the most confidence you receive is from overcoming a difficult fight.

"Amelia, I will let you go," Margaret finally answered with a heavy heart.

"Do not fear, seniorita," Curandero told the rookie reassuringly as Aemlia squeaked with glee. "I will protect Dama Amelia with my life."

"I'll watch her back too!" Fletcher piped up as well, but glared at Curandero.

"Make sure you're safe," Margaret told the three pokemon nervously. "I don't want to lose any of you, even you Mister Curandero."

The Hawlucha blushed and gave the rookie a bow. He then told her in a low voice, "Thank you, Seniorita Margaret. I will protect them, do not fret."

"I will do my very best too!" Amelia said happily as Fletcher and Curandero began to go back toward the entrance they came from.

"I know you will," Margaret responded quietly as Amelia ran after the two part Flying Types.

The rookie felt a hand on her shoulder and heard N whisper, "Margaret, she will be fine. She has Curandero and Fletcher to watch over her."

Margaret nodded stiffly, though the words brought her no comfort.

"We should make sure to listen carefully," the fugitive began, his voice growing stronger and more serious. "We could try the second passage, but Curandero never said where it led to. For all we know, it could lead us to even more grunts. Once the distraction begins, we escape through the way we came. We should split up after that, we'll have a better chance apart than together. Mira and Fiona shouldn't be that far from here, how about yours?"

"Danny and Leia had camp not too far from here either."

"Good, when we get to our groups, we should try and go deeper into the route. It's obvious that we're no longer safe here. No one is safe anymore."

The humans fell silent. Margaret had a feeling that N was also thinking about the tribe of Hawluchas that had burned to death because of Team Flare's determination to capture their prey.

N was right.

No one was safe from the flames.

A few moments later, the sounds of a diversion reached their ears. A loud series of squawks, bleats, howls, and yells mingled together.

"There it is, time to go!" N said urgently, helping Margaret up and they ran toward the entrance tunnel.

Margaret winced a little at his strong grip, but did not say anything about it. They ran through the tunnel with their heads bent low. When reaching the hole that led to the forest above, they could hear the grunts shouting orders to their Pokemon and cursing.

"Do you think you can get up there?" The fugitive asked the rookie loudly over the noises above.

"I-I think so," she stammered, looking up at the opening above them. She stepped onto a fairly large rock while grabbing onto the roots around the perimeter of the hole. With some help from N, she was able to push herself out and onto the grass.

Margaret caught glimpses of the Team Flare grunts fighting on the other side of the tree. She hurriedly helped N out of the hole while keeping an eye out for any grunts that came around the tree. Once both of them were safely out, N grabbed Margaret's arm and the two of them ran swiftly into the forest.

They did not try to quiet their footsteps. They were more focused on escaping with their lives. The only threat now was the patrols that had went out to search for them.

A high pitch ringing suddenly filled Margaret's ears, causing her to gasp with pain. She felt N let go of her as his hands flew to his own ears. Then the drumming of the words began to pulse through her eardrums.

Hunt, hunt, hunt, hunt, hunt...

"N, they're coming!" Margaret whimpered as her knees gave way and collapsed on the ground. The ringing was too much, it was too painful. Her eardrums felt like they were going to shatter.

Someone grabbed her forcefully and shakily around the wrist and pulled her back on her feet. Then the fugitive's voice told her firmly over all the noise, "Margaret, we must block it out! We have to ignore it! I know it hurts, but we must run! We must warn the others!"

After thinking over her friend's words, Margaret's mind turned toward Danny and Leia. To Deborah and Fiona. They had to escape, they had to run away as soon as possible.

Margaret nodded slightly and started to run again. She gripped N's hand tightly from both the pain and to keep themselves from being separated. She didn't know how much longer she could go on listening to the drumming.

To her relief, the drumming died down after a few minutes of running. It wasn't until the noise completely vanished that they stopped running. Once N let go of her hand, Margaret staggered over to a small tree and leaned against it. Her lungs felt like they were about to explode, and her legs felt as if they were going to fall off.

"H-How long do you think it will take them to get here?" Margaret stuttered as N looked back to check if someone had followed them.

"If they noticed that we left, then not very long," N answered, turning back to the rookie. "We should split up now. Go straight to your camp and persuade your group members to move."

Margaret looked around to avoid answering him. She knew how to get back to the camp from where they were, but she still had one thing on her mind that was holding her back.

"You should go," she finally answered, looking back at N again. "I'm going to wait for Fletcher and Amelia. When they come back, I'll go to camp. I can't leave them like this!"

N watched her carefully for a moment. He then sighed, "I can't leave you alone either. I'll stay with you until they come back. Surely they won't be too long now. Let's at least try and stay out of the open."

Margaret nodded and allowed N to help her behind a large shrub. She gripped his hand tightly as she sat on the dirty ground while the fugitive adjusted the leaves to hide them from view. She felt extremely nervous for the safety of her pokemon. If something had happened to them, she would never forgive herself.

They waited for several minutes. Margaret strained her ears for any noise out of the ordinary or the sound of their missing pokemon. The wait was nerve wrecking.

A short while later, there was a noise of panting and the rustling of feathers. Margaret peeked out from behind the shrub to see Amelia and Curandero running toward them with Fletcher soaring over their heads.

"They are coming, senior and seniorita!" Curandero gasped as they reached the shrub. "We must run, hurry!"

N had already stood up at the Hawlucha's warning. He helped Margaret up and told her hurriedly, "Run to your camp and move it! No time for good byes, good luck!"

He then ran off into the trees without another word. Margaret scooped up her Mareep before pelting further into the forest. She could hear the howling of the Poochyena's and the shouting of the grunts as she and the other Pokemon turned left. The rookie was already out of breath, but with Team Flare so close behind her, she couldn't slow down.

"Fletcher, fly up and see if you can spot anything!" Margaret called to her Fletchinder.

Fletcher cawed and flew up toward the tree tops. A moment later, he dove back down and called, "I know the way back, follow me!"

The Fire Flying Type flew over her head and began flying toward the right direction. Margaret looked back over her shoulder before running after him. She felt Curandero lingering behind her,  panting heavily as he tried to catch up.

It felt like ages before Margaret finally followed Fletcher into a clearing. She helped as she accidentally bumped into someone and collapsed onto the ground, dropping Amelia while the Mareep bleated with pain. She heard someone shout fearfully, "Margaret, are you alright?!"

"Danny!" She gasped as someone helped her up forcefully. She then looked up to find that she had ran straight into Deborah.

"Are you injured?" Deborah asked in her neutral voice as Margaret shook her head to clear it.

"Margaret, what's wrong?"

Both Leia and Danny were at her side, both of them looking concerned. Besides Deborah, Leia's Lucario and Serperior were out of their pokeballs. It looked as if Deborah and Severusa had been battling.

"Team Flare!" Margaret finally choked after feeling Curandero run into the back of her leg with a yelp. "T-They're here! They are chasing us, we have to go!"

"What is Team Flare doing-" Leia began, but comprehension dawned on her.

Danny whirled around to face his Gardevoir and asked her sharply, "Do you sense their presence?!"

Deborah closed her eyes for a moment. When opening them she replied, "Yes, they are here. I believe their plans are obvious. They are here for me and Fiona."

"I sense them as well," Ringdog growled, though none could hear him but Margaret and he other pokemon. "They are excited, they believe our capture is just at hand."

"We must hurry then!" Leia said frantically, pushing past Danny and running toward their bags that were laying near the edge of the small field. "Severusa, Ringdog, come help!"

Once Leia and her Pokemon went to collect the luggage, Danny ordered his Pokemon, "Deborah, if any Pokemon comes into the clearing that is Team Flare's, try and hold them at bay!"

"What about that one?" Deborah asked, nodding toward Curandero.

"He isn't a part of Team Flare!" Margaret explained frightfully as Deborah began to form an aura blade. "He has helped us escape! He is on our side!"

Danny glanced from Margaret to the Hawlucha before saying, "Alright, but let's hurry and leave. I'd rather not come face to face with Team Flare again."

He took the performer's hand and led her back to where Leia was. She and her pokemon had collected most of the bags except for Margaret's keyboard case and Danny's violin.

When Margaret scooped up the case, a louder, deeper howl echoed from across the clearing. It was unlike anything she had heard yet. The humans turned to see a large, black and orange horned hound crouched at the edge of the clearing. The Houndoom gnashed its teeth and snarled at them threateningly.

Before anyone could give an order, three of their own Pokemon had ran to confront the intruder. Deborah, Curandero, and Amelia ran to meet it, all three of them preparing to attack the Dark Fire Type.

"Amelia!" Margaret cried as Danny shouted, "Deborah, Disarming Voice!"

As Deborah prepared to use Moon Blast, she took a deep breath and let out an earsplitting shriek. The Houndoom howled and cringed at the noise. With the Dark Pokemon preoccupied, Amelia bleated furiously as she let loose the most powerful Thundershock Margaret had seen yet. At the same time, the Hawlucha cawed and hit the Houndoom with a Brick Break attack.

The Houndoom howled under the weight of the combined attacks of Moon Blast, Brick Break, and Thundershock, but it refused to back down. Flames began to leak out from the corners of it mouth as it turned its head toward Curandero and Amelia.

"Ringdog, Bone Rush!" Leia shouted to her Lucario, but it was too late.

The Houndoom spread open its jaws and a jet of fire flared out. The Flamethrower swiftly flew directly toward Amelia, the weakest of the three. But before the attack landed on her, Curandero threw himself on top of the Mareep, shielding her from the Houndoom's attack.

"NO, AMELIA, CURANDERO!" Margaret screamed, about to run out to defend the poor Pokemon. But someone grabbed her arm tightly and yelled, "Margaret, no! That thing will kill you!"

"I can't let it hurt them!" She shouted furiously back to Danny as tears began streaming down her face.

There was a loud whacking noise and the lights from the flames died out. Ringdog and Deborah had both hit the Houndoom on the head, Ringdog with Bone Rush and Deborah with her Moon Blades. As the Pokemon collapsed, Margaret also saw sparks fly from its body as if it had been shocked.

Curandero had collapsed from the powerful Flamethrower, but Amelia was now standing in front of him as an act of protection, a look of absolute fury on her face.

"NO ONE HURTS MY FRIENDS!" She shrieked while she began to glow white. "GO AWAY AND LEAVE THEM ALONE!"

The Houndoom back away slowly from the Mareep, Gardevoir, and Lucario. It snarled and moved back toward the forest, which was now filled with howls and yells. Even after the Dark Pokemon left, Amelia's glowing did not subside. The evolving Mareep had turned to check on Curandero, who's back had been badly burnt from the Flamethrower.

With the Houndoom gone, Margaret threw off Danny's restraining arm and ran to her Pokemon. The Mareep was completely white as she collapsed onto the Hawlucha's back sobbing, "I-I'm so sorry, Mister Curandero! I-I wasn't strong enough to save you! If only if I had been stronger, y-you would be ok..."

Amelia's body began to expand. Her wool shrunk and absorbed into her body. There was now only wool on her head and neck. Her skin turned from navy blue to a light pink, and the orb on her tail turned from orange to a bluish green. The pokemon's body was now built for her to walk on her hind legs instead of on all fours.

The light subsided and the Mareep was gone. In Amelia's place was a Flaaffy. Amelia had evolved in order to grow stronger for her teacher.

Unable to think of what to say, Margaret approached the Flaaffy and the Hawlucha cautiously. She bent down and pulled Amelia off of the Hawlucha to look at his back. His feathers were black with ash. When she touched it lightly she could feel the blistering burns beneath the feathers.

"Margaret, let me check him!"

Leia had ran up beside her. Margaret picked up the sobbing Flaaffy as Leia knelt beside Curandero and placed her hand over his chest. After a moment, Leia said sharply, "Margaret, he's still alive! We can still help him!"

"H-He is ok?" Amelia stammered, lifting her head up.

"How can anything survive such a close range Flamethrower?!" Danny demanded as he ran next to Margaret.

"Well he obviously has great endurance," commented Deborah, observing the fallen Hawlucha with no real concern.

"Curandero is tough," Margaret whispered, hugging Amelia tightly. "He won't give up easily!"

The howls echoed from the forest had grown closer, causing them to jump. The Houndoom might have given up, but Team Flare was a different story.

"We don't have much time," Danny sighed, kneeling down and gently picking up the Hawlucha. "We can't leave him here, he'll come with us. Come on!"

Margaret nodded weakly and adjusted her bags and Amelia in her arms before quickly following Danny out of the clearing and into the forest. Leia trailed behind them while Deborah, Ringdog, Severusa, and Fletcher made up the rear. They're pace quickened once they heard the patrol enter the clearing they left behind. Margaret thought she heard someone yell, "They must have escaped into the forest again! Look for any sign that could tell us which direction they went!"

"How far do you think we'll need to go?!" Margaret called to Danny and Leia as they all broke into a run.

"We may need to go all the way to the next town if they don't give up!" Danny answered. "It seems like the only safe haven we have is in a town or city!"

"The Hawlucha can't wait that long!" Leia argued back. "We should at least stop so I can give him some medicine!"

"Alright, but you'll have to be quick! We can't let them catch up!"

After a few more minutes of running, they stopped in an enclosed area where the trees were closer together and shady. Danny stopped next to a large rock and laid Curandero down so his back was facing upward. Leia immediately knelt next to the Wrestling Pokemon and began rummaging around in one of her bags. She pulled out her first aid kit and opened it to take out two bottles of Burn Heal and some badges.

Margaret and the others watched her work intently. Amelia leapt out of her trainer's arms so she could be by Curandero's side. The rookie could tell that Leia was nervous about healing him alone by the way her hands were shaking.

"L-Leia, will he be ok?" Margaret stammered when Leia finished wrapping the bandages on Curandero's wounds.

Her friend turned to her and gave her a small smile before answering, "I think he'll be fine. I did the best I can do for now. We'll just need to get him checked by Nurse Joy once we get to a Pokemon Center. Otherwise I think he'll survive. He's definitely a fighter."

The rookie let out a sigh of relief. Curandero was going to be alright. He wasn't going to die. Margaret felt Danny put his hand on her shoulder and squeeze it gently as if trying to comfort her.

Amelia gave a small sob of happiness and threw herself onto the Hawlucha. The Flaaffy cried and stammered, "Oh, Mister Curandero, I wish you didn't get involved in our fight..."

Margaret turned away from everyone else at this. She too felt the same way. Team Flare had killed so many Pokemon, ruined so many innocent lives.

How many more living beings, humans and Pokemon alike, were going to suffer because of her and her friends?

That was something she did not want to think about, for the thought was too terrible to imagine.

~~~

Sup.

I'm sorry this chapter took awhile. I was excited to introduce Curandero, but the chapter was boring to write XD I have no idea what to even do for the next chapter, so I must have a bad case of writer's block.

Ok, so I don't have much to say. In case you didn't know, Curandero the Hawlucha is Spanish. Any normal words that aren't italicized are Spanish, so when using Google Translate, turn the options so words are translated from Spanish to English. I also want to say that Curandero means Medicine Man in Spanish. In some versions it can also mean quack-quack or witch doctor, but that wasn't my intention. Doctor in Spanish was just regular doctor, so I changed it to Curandero. Just some clarification.

vvv PLEASE READ! vvv

I do have a small/not so small announcement to make. So you all know that I have a short story, We'll Be Counting Stars. Some of the cast have already made appearances in SWS2.

Well if you're following me, you may know that a few weeks ago that I unintentionally let slip to a reader that I was working on a WBCS sequel. Well it is true. I have been trying to work on the continued journey of Stella Knight and Astro Gomez since March of this year. I got inspired to continue the story after hearing a song that left an impact on me like no other song except for "Counting Stars".

But I have a problem. I'm almost finished with the first chapter, but I wanted to publish the story around November 18th, the release date of the long anticipated Pokemon Sun and Moon. Since Stella and Astro have a connection with night and everything about it, it seemed like the best time to release it. But I'm nervous that the story won't be finished in time since school starts in a few weeks and SWS2 soaks up all my writing time.

So I guess I would just like to tell you that I am working on other stories besides SWS2, and I would like you to understand one of the reasons why SWS2 is taking longer to write than expected. I'm also just making sure you know to watch out for the upcoming WBCS sequel. When published, I will add a part to WBCS and send my followers a message. I will release the title when I am reaching the end of writing the story.

I also think it's about time to tell you that I am working on two other Pokemon books in my drafts. Each book is the start of a new series. I'm telling you all this because I would like to select a few people to look over the two stories, like the descriptions and a bit of the first chapter to see which story I should work on. I would like to publish one of them once I'm a couple chapters into the story. My goal is to get a new book out by the end of the year or by the beginning of next year.

Again, here is what this job would require:
*Reading some of, or the full first chapter/Prologue of the two stories
*Looking over the descriptions
*Giving feedback on which story you are most interested in reading and why
*Giving any suggestions on how I could possibly improve the stories

If you are thinking about helping me with this, I would like you to know that the story content will be kept between you and I if I decide to entrust you with my upcoming works. You can not tell anyone any vital information about the story. The most I will allow you to tell will be the titles and genre. I will release more information on those stories when I am ready to release it to readers. If you're willing to help me with this, please comment on this passage.

I would really appreciate the help if anyone could help me with these stories. I would at least like two people to volunteer, if not three. If you could help I would be very grateful ;) I have been looking forward to releasing one of my story ideas for a long time, but I believe I need some outside help on deciding which story to put the effort into.

^^^

I think that's it. The next chapter is already started, it's at around 200 to 300 words, so I have a small head start! Remember to vote and/or comment! I'm sorry if the chapter wasn't the best, I had a difficult time making it exciting, even for me it was dull ;/ If I forgot anything I'll add it later.

Good bye till next time!