Aggron let out a Roar of triumph. Onix had been defeated. New metal plates materialized where the old ones had been shed. The battle was over

Stuart jogged up to the victor, and stuck his fist out.

“Boom! Now we have to get moving!” Stuart rushed their usual celebration.

“Agg.” Aggron agreed.

She lowered herself to the ground to allow Stuart to climb on. He secured one foot and swung his body on.

“Hey, is it still alive?” Stuart glanced in Onix’s unmoving direction.

“Agg”

“You're so nice sometimes.” Stuart patted Aggron’s head.

“Secure!” Stuart called out. He then strapped himself to Aggron’s riding harness.

After being given the all clear, Aggron’s body scrunched closer to the ground before launching herself into the other direction.

Stuart cackled as the two flew through the air. Aggron aimed her body towards the nearest plateau. Litwick had said that its intruder went up to more rocky ground, and the plateau was the closest landmark to satisfy those conditions.

“Thud!”

Aggron landed as safely as one could when flinging oneself through the air. The momentum carried them multiple steps further, flattening nearby grass and greenery.

After coming to a complete stop, Stuart climbed off. The search was on. The partners spread out to look for any trail or Pokemon that could point them in the right direction.

After a few minutes, Aggron had found something, “Aggron” she called out about the discovery.

“No! I've got one better!” Stuart countered right afterward.

Aggron left from the northern cliff face to join Stuart on the south side. Stuart pointed at the tree covered path down to the southern hills. In the dirt were footprints untouched by the wind. The tree cover helped to preserve them despite being days old.

Aggron got down and sniffed the area. Tracking wasn’t one of her specialties, but it never hurt to try. Stuart examined the prints alongside his partner. He noticed that there were no returning prints, and that they were heading toward Buoy Town. That meant the suspect either returned to the same location on a different path, or Litwick was wrong and they went in a different direction.

The two looked down onto the hilly plains from above. Pokemon dotted the landscape.

It was time to head down and check things out. The duo followed their best lead.

Stuart and Aggron climbed over the first hill. Closest to them were a pack of Rattata. They moved through the grass, occasionally peeking their heads out. The small rats nibbled on the surrounding grass. Unfortunately the small rodents weren’t known to be the most intelligent.

As a general rule, the stronger a Pokemon was, the more intellectual they became. With some pokemon, their ‘stronger’ came at a much later date, slowing their mental development. It was a known fact that some species of Pokemon were much stronger than others. The stronger a species, the faster their maturity.

“Agg” Aggron pointed towards a few stray Doduo.

“Naw, we'll never catch them.” Stuart then pointed towards a different direction. Agrron followed his finger. Lillipup chased each other off in the distance. The grass was incredibly short, with no cover but the other hills around. They stuck to open areas.

Aggron and Stuart approached from the far side of the hill. Their plan was to sneak up on them. They crouched down to get a good look at their targets.

Stuart and Aggron went over their plan. A distraction would separate the pack, and that's when they would swoop down and question one of them. Before their plan could be executed, they were rudely interrupted.

“Grrrr” A Stoutland had snuck up behind them.

Aggron turned and stepped before Stuart in a defensive position. Mother Stoutland growled at them again as Stuart reached for his Styler. Stoutland appeared to physically increase in size as Intimidate, her ability, took effect.

She discouraged Aggrons next attack. It wasn’t every day that a Pokemon snuck up on the two.

Before Stoutland could deploy his Styler, something strange happened.

Both turned off into the distance. Their reactions turned polar opposites. Stoutland visibly relaxed; she had all but backed down. She knew there was no need to fight.

Aggron however grew more restless. She pawed the dirt, motioning towards Stuart for something. Aggron was visibly upset about something.

“Ggron!” Aggron used Autotomize. Her metal plating popped off her body. Aggron was now almost twice as fast.

Feeling Aggron’s distress, Stuart deferred to her and climbed on. An emergency of some sort was happening.

Before Stuart could fasten himself to her harness, Aggron had taken off. Not only had she taken off, but was now traveling at full speed.

Stuart palmed his Styler, reaching for their connection. He asked her what had her so riled up. Aggron had heard someone in distress off in the distance. The entire forest had woken from her cries. It was a strange forest. Something was off about it, but Stuart focused on something more immediate.

Stuart watched their flanks. Turning his head left and right, Stuart watched the Pokemon of the forest fleeing from the direction that they were heading towards. Some of them were quite strong. 2 and 3 Star Pokemon were spotted among the refugees.

It appeared that they had found the mission objective. Stuart and Aggron’s bodies moved in sync. She didn’t even feel the extra weight. Both prepared for combat. It was unknown what they were about to walk into despite the occasional 4 Star Pokemon evacuating.

Aggron barreled forward as another scream filled the forest. This time, Stuart was close enough to hear it for himself.

“No!!!”

Aggron's weight shifted to the left. They were getting closer. Stuart willed Aggron faster.

The surroundings blurred as Stuart strained his ears. It was hard to listen to anything with the wind rushing by. Aggron darted between the trees.

“Gruff,” Aggron signaled to Stuart. They were close.

Stuart unclipped his safety harness and pushed upwards. Stuart was clear. Aggron shot forwards as her lungs expanded.

“Roar!” filled the forest.

The Ranger team was still too far away. It was time to take a more direct route.

Aggron barreled through the trees. Without Stuart on her back, she could afford to be much more reckless. Splinters of wood were sent in all directions. Stuart tried to keep up with Aggron’s charge despite the debris.

One final tree was blasted apart before Stuart watched her come to a screeching halt from a distance. He used the opportunity to flank the left side of the situation.

Stuart arrived on scene. The first thing he saw was a Croagunk stagger away into the forest. It was the furthest Pokemon, and incredibly weak compared to Aggron.

Instead, he turned towards his partner. Aggron would have assessed the situation by now. She stared between the trees, looking at a badly beaten Pansage. What caught his eye, however, was not the green monkey, but what was behind the small Pokemon.

At Pansage’s back lay Lilith. Limbs were bent in unnatural directions, bones were broken in multiple places. Lilith lay on the ground face first, her body unmoving. Blood pooled underneath her tiny body.

Aggron paid Pansage no mind. She took a step towards Lilith to assess her situation. Visibly, Lilith looked to be in bad shape.

Pansage stood defiantly in front of Lilith. Despite knowing he would lose, Pansage held his ground. He would protect his friend. Pansage’s desperation showed.

“Pan!” his injured body shook wildly. He would not let them pass.

“Hold.” Stuart called out to Aggron

He assessed the situation.

‘Two Pokemon fighting and one girl. That Pansage must be her Pokemon to act like that.’

Stuart took a step forward while Aggron sat back on her hind legs. She would assess the surroundings while he would take care of the small Pokemon.

‘No, nothing binds the two.’

Pokemon connected with trainers were unaffected by the Ranger Styler. Despite not deploying it, the Styler could still read the potential connection.

“We want to help your friend, let us take her to be healed.” He spoke quietly towards Pansage.

Before Stuart could make another step forward, the air went cold. The temperature did not decrease, but everyone in the forest felt the subtle change in the air. Tingles went down their spines.

“D3!” Ranger Stuart called out as he cursed in his mind.

Stuart’s training kicked in.

Aggron prepared to defend Stuart with an Iron defense. Her partner made a dash for Lilith. A dangerous Pokemon was coming, A Pokemon they couldn’t fight. They needed to secure the girl’s safety and then they needed to leave. Right now.

Stuart didn’t make it. He couldn’t close the distance in time. Before he could reach Lilith, Pansage fell backwards onto the ground exhausted. Pansage had completed his mission.

A dark shadow materialized between the freshly fallen Pokemon and the Ranger. Neither Aggron or Stuart saw any movement. One second it wasn’t there, the next it simply was. Aggron tried to pull Stuart back. She would have a hard time fighting with him so close.

‘It wasn’t coming, it was already here.’ he thought.

Stuart froze. Glowing red eyes peered through the ominous black shadow. One of the most feared of all Pokemon stared back at him. Its snow white fur contrasted with the black light that seemed to bend around him. A black fin-like tail was complemented by razor sharp black claws. A long scythe-like appendage sprout from the right side of his head. The black blade curved around his skull.

Stuart stared at the Pokemon. He was undeniably old, battle scars lined his body and tufts of fur had lost their luster. He stood on four legs, looking similar to other dog-like Pokemon.

Absol, the Pokemon of Disaster, stood before them. Pressure descended. Absol’s mere presence had stopped the duo in their tracks. His Ability was suffocating.

Stuart choked. The Pressure was too much.

“She is one of mine!” he pointed towards Lilith.

A snarl left Absol’s mouth. He voiced his displeasure. Absol had obviously not wanted Stuart anywhere near Lilith. Stuart felt a physical force push down on him.

“Agg.” Aggron stood before her partner. She then nudged him and motioned to the environment around them. The day had been snuffed out. Darkness covered the forest. Even Aggron had trouble seeing past the trees.

What stood out the most were the eyes. Pairs of red dots filled the surrounding area. They were surrounded. Their next moves would have to be well thought out.

Stuart returned his attention back to Absol and the girl behind him.

“Please, she is hurt. She could be dying.” He begged.

Lost was the usual sloppy, womanizing Ranger. In his place stood an agent ready to complete his mission at all cost.

The Absol stood unmoving. Staring at Stuart. Seconds passed by. Sweat fell from on his brow.

Tension swirled until a pink blob walked out of the darkness.

“Audino!”

Stuart let out a sigh. His safety was still up for grabs, but with an Audino present, the girl would be healed and taken care of. The mission wouldn’t fail completely.

The wild Audino walked up to Absol. He turned his attention away from the Ranger for a moment and addressed the new Pokemon.

“Sol.” he barked.

Audino gave a small bow to Absol, and then approached Lilith. She rolled Lilith onto her back. Once done, Audino stuck out her stubby little arm and waved it all over Lilith’s body. The wave of light washed over Lilith as the wounds plaguing her visibly vanished. Motes of light veered towards Pansage’s direction as well.

Audino then waved her other hand. Water coalesced around her, creating a sweet smell. Audino opened Lilith’s mouth and fed her the Life Dew.

Audino, ruler of the forest, turned back to Absol, her task complete. She gave another small bow before going on her merry way.