Forum Thread

Skorch shivered. Not only because he was scared for his life, but the Spinda on his back grew awfully freezing. The Spinda opened his eyes to the flame symbol on Skorch’s back. The poor thing screeched out in terror.

: AYEEEE! FIRE! MY ONLY FEAR!

The Spinda leaped off of Skorch’s back like how a cat jumps at the sight of a cucumber. Skorch tried to calm them down.

: Please... calm down... we need to get out of here, we’re being chased.

: Oh... okay... I’m a bit scared though...

They followed the others in running.

---

Margo was barely aware of what was happening. Then fresh air filled her lungs and she gasped, jerking away from the Flareon. She was still running though, and she heard the wet snap of something, then human shouts. She whirled around, shimmering faster than any of them had seen her do yet. She was now a Jolteon, and a large one at that. She waited till the last pokemon had passed her before blasting forwards with a bunch of electricity, bursting the lights, unlocking the doors, and setting off the fire alarms. But, as fate may have it, the fire alarms also set off the sprinklers in the roof. The Jolteon yelped, and shimmering again, was a Vaporeon. She sucked in her breath, and blasted a wall of water at the retreating pokemon, pushing the out the exite door. Unfortunately, it also blasted Margo right into a whole flood of TR grunt's. They grabbed her dragging her into a cloth bag. They obviously hadn't seen her evolving.

---

Linii saw Margo being taken away by TR. *NO!* She screamed and launched herself at the TR Grunts, overcome with rage. She launched a giant thunderbolt which struck all the enemy. With a slash of her paw, the bag containing Margo was ripped. Darkness clouded her as a jet of water struck her back...she fainted...

Margo's eyes opened wide, and she evolved into a flareon. She burned the bag, forcing back the grunts. She evolved into a mega jolteon so she was large enough to carry Linii, and scooped up the fainted pokemon. As she stumbled to the exit, she sent waves of electricity into the Linii. She ran on.

About a day later
Everyone was in a clearing deep in the tangled forest. Everyone was still there, luckily, but many were injured.

---

Now that they were out of that awful place, they could finally assess their injuries and learn about each other. Or in Eris' case, learn to trust and heal the injured. Thanks to the fresh air and sunshine, her rosebuds and opened a little bit and gave her more power. She spent most of her energy and new power healing the injuries of others with Aromatherapy. She didn't linger on each Pokemon long, just long enough to heal and make sure they were alright. She wasn't ready to open up to anyone yet, but this was at least a start.

Ribbon was laying in the shade of a tree a little ways away from the main group. Lots of the Pokémon had run away before they had defeated Team Rocket, but the majority of them were there. He could see everyone tending to their wounds, helping each other, reuniting with the friends they’ve made along the way. He scoffed and layed his head on his paws. Friendships were useless, they only set you up for betrayal. He didn’t need that again. He was glad they had gotten out of there safely, but the chip on his ear was still bothering him. He stared off into the forest surrounding their little safe spot. What was stopping him from just leaving, right here, right now? He didn’t want anything to do with these weirdos. But at the same time, he knew that, deep down... he didn’t want to be alone again. He sighed. Maybe he could give this whole friends thing another try. He glanced back out at the group of Pokémon, all smiling and happy, finally free, and he smiled to himself. At least they were happy. At least it was over.

---

Floria was laying with Linii, making sure that she was ok. She had been scared out of her mind that night, and she vowed to never let anything like that happen again. She flicked her ears, feeling the sun shine down warmly on her back, a feeling she had forgotten the feeling of for so long. She smiled softly and lifted her head, her ears picking up on a multitude of conversations as the Pokémon healed, the majority of them positive. The Zeraora was nearby, whom she had learned was named Zaru. Zaru was nice, but he seemed to carry a lot of weight that most likely shouldn’t be carried alone. However, she had yet to decide on talking to him about it. So far, she was content with resting here until they could move on and find a better place to stay. She noticed the Flareon sitting a ways away from everyone else. She had yet to learn his name, but she felt kind of sorry for him. He looked so lonely, but he also looked as though he did not want to be bothered, so she didn’t approach him. She wasn’t very injured other than a sprained ankle from tripping on a stair, and that was already starting to heal. She had learned that the shiny Eevee’s name was Margo, and she was starting to get to know some more of the Pokémon here, though a lot of them are nervous and shy. She honestly couldn’t blame them, and she did her best to make them feel safe. She couldn’t help everyone though, which is why she swore to protect those she could help with her life. She smiled to herself. Even though Team Rocket must be looking for them at this very moment, she felt a sense of calm washing over her. They were safe, at least for now, and they would be able to find a safer place in the future. While a group this large of escaped lab Pokémon may not be the best thing to stay hidden and stealthy, it was better than splitting up and losing someone. She rested her head again. She was so glad that they had finally escaped. She could see Talon again! She smiled and closed her eyes with a happy sigh.

---

Zaru peered sadly at Linii, who was still unconscious. He nudged her slightly and saw that the Mega Stone in her tail was a dull grey. He gasped. A glassy tear ran down his face. *Floria....we....need the best healer that we can find...* he whispered. He hadn't known Linii long, but he knew her long enough to not want the worst to happen to her. He sat down next to the Luxray, upset.

Hearing the Zeraora, Eris quickly retreated amongst the other Pokemon, hoping that he hadn't seen her or how she was a healer. She felt she wasn't very good and she could hear the concern in his voice. She didn't want to give someone hope only for them to be disappointed in her. Not again. For now, she focused on simply getting her rosebuds to bloom fully to further amp up her power, laying out in a patch of sunshine in the thick jungle.

As no help arrived, Zaru grew desperate. *CAN A HEALER PLEASE COME HERE!* he roared. *NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOU ARE OR BAD, I JUST NEED SOME HELP!* He saw Eris, who was healing other Pokemon, silently turn away. Energy started to crackle along his arms, his veins pulsing with darkness until...finally he snapped. No other Pokemon was coming to save her. He couldn't, not with the serum in his veins. He started to cry, big black tears, which resembled oil came running down his face, leaving dark marks on his fur. He broke down, staring miserably at the dull Mega Stone in Linii's tail and her lifeless body...

Eris winced as she saw what was happening with the Zeraora. Horrified at the inky tearsrolling down his face, she mentally yelled at herself. What was she thinking?! Turning away from someone who obviously needed help! Any help was better than no help! She knew that firsthand. She had long forgotten how to care for others, but seeing the sorrow in the Zeraora's eyes made her feel worried. She forced herself up, gritting her teeth as every instinct told her to let it go. "I... I won't turn away from someone in need!"Unnoticed by her, her rosebuds were starting to glow and pulse as she made her way to the Luxray and Zeraora, peeling back to show just a few petals. "How bad is it?" she asked the weeping Pokemon, silently praying she could be of use, as one of the only healers of the group.

Floria had ran off into the group to find help, when she heard Zaru’s cry. Her heart dropped like a stone and despair began clawing its way into her mind. She turned and ran back to Linii, tears pricking at her eyes. “Linii!!” She cried, desperately hoping for a response. If only it were summer. If she had her grass-type moves she could have done something. She shoved her nose into Linii’s fur as silent tears ran down her snout. She laid down and cried with Zaru, sobs racking her body. She told herself she wouldn’t lose another one... why hadn’t she done something!?
A wave of emotions had hit her like a smack in the face, and the overwhelming feeling just made things worse. She pulled away, tears wetting her face, and shook her head. There must be something they could do! But deep down, she felt it was hopeless. She laid her head down on her hoofs, tears running down her muzzle as she quietly mourned for her friend.

She looked up at the new Pokémon that had come over but said nothing. She didn’t trust herself to speak right now. She would let Zaru handle this. She laid her head back down, her tears slowly coming to a stop, but her hopelessness not failing to tear open the gaping hole she thought she had finally closed.

---

Zaru turned and looked at Eris and thought of how she turned away when Linii needed her most. He sat down and roared so loudly that his energy exploded and the temperature grew to one that you would experience in summer. He threw a blot of lighting at a tree and it disintegrated. Overcome with grief, he closed his eyes and slept.

Eris flinched at how the Zeraora reacted to her. She just wanted to help... She shouldn't have turned away... Why was she such a disappoinment?! To everyone?! She steeled herself and focused on the Luxray now that the Zeraora was asleep. By the looks of it, the Luxray... Linii, wasn't injured in any way. The only thing that could be of concern was the megastone in her tail. It was far too dull, even when she angled it to catch the light. What could she do???

Margo trotted up behind Ribbon, and lay down next to him, panting. She was now an Eevee, and she looked. . . Dull. She no longer had that shimmering look about her, that bouncy, happy-go-lucky personality. And her eyes; Her eyes had held a bright sheen, but now. . . They were just empty. Margo rested her head on her paws, exhaling loudly. She closed her eyes, tired to the bone. I failed, didn't I. I lost some, didn't I. I. . . I think I may have killed Linii. Margo turned her head away from Ribbon. She couldn't let the flareon see her tears. They dripped off her chin, making a small puddle on the rocky earth. Her shoulders shook, despite her attempts to keep them still.

---

The reaction from Zaru startled Floria out of her sadness, and she looked up at the Pokémon trying to help. She felt sympathy for this Pokémon, and she decided to lend some words of encouragement. “Hey,” she started, “what’s your name?”
She didn’t feel as though this Pokémon did anything wrong. This was nobody’s fault, and if she got caught up in blame it would only lead down an awful path that would be difficult to step off of. She figured she could at least keep this one from falling down that rabbit hole.

---

Ribbon glanced over as the shiny Eevee, Margo, laid down next to him. He said nothing, but he could sense her despair, and, in a silent gesture of kindness, he swished his tail so that it laid around her, comforting and warming her fur. He wasn’t very good at the whole reassurance thing, and most of the time he preferred actions over words, so he figured this would help. Margo was obviously upset and blames herself for the whole commotion with Linii, and he wanted to say something to reassure her, but he just didn’t know what to say. So instead of saying anything he simply allowed her to lay with him, for he knew that even if there were no words, suffering together is better than suffering alone. He held his own guilt for past actions, but that had nothing to do with their recent escape. Still, he sympathized with her and tried to show that he cared. He hadn’t shown this kind of compassion to another since... he didn’t want to think about it, but he was kind of glad he was finally starting to warm up to other Pokémon (no pun intended), and despite his mind screaming at him to close himself off and not risk getting hurt, he couldn’t help but develop a friendly kind of fondness for this Eevee, who’s just been broken too many times and needs help rebuilding herself. Now that, he could understand.

---

"Um... I'm Eris..." Eris said hesitantly, unsure of how the Deerling... Floria was acting so calm near her. She had turned away from Linii after all. Why wasn't she upset with her?! "And... I know you are Floria. And your friend... Linii... needs my help. And I could use your help as well..." she said after a moment, knowing that time was of the essence when it came to the hurt.

Floria smiled. “Nice to meet you Eris, what do you need from me?”
Maintaining herself even though her friend could quite possibly be literally dying right now took a lot of work, but it was working and she felt kind of better. If they can fix it then all the tears were for nothing and everything will be alright. She held out on the hope that they can fix it, because if they can’t...
Despite Floria telling herself it was nobody’s fault, she doesn’t think she’d ever forgive herself.

---

Steeling herself, Eris spoke to Floria. "Well, we'll need berries. Namely Sitrus, Lum, Oran, and Peppa berries. They'll at least restore her HP and status. And I need some quiet, so I can focus on healing Linii, ok?" she said, thankful for the one thing her family had-- she banished the thought, centering herself to focus on the downed Luxray. Hopefully she could save her...

Floria nodded. She could get those things easy- she had seen them all before and knew what they looked like, and they were in a lush forest so finding them shouldn’t be hard. Without another word, Floria stood up and dashed off, searching for the berries Eris had listed. Hopefully the clearing would be quiet enough for her to focus, as most of the conversations had died off as Pokémon grew tired, but there wasn’t much Floria could do on the matter. Running through the forest, being careful of dangers, she scouted out, searching left and right for the berries, eager to do whatever she could to help her friend.


Eventually she had found as much of each as she could carry and brought them back to Eris. Dropping them next to her, she said, “Here, this should be enough, and if it’s not just call my name and I’ll go fine more.”
And with that, she walked off, leaving Eris in her work so as not to bother or distract her any further.

---

An Azurill wandered through the forests of her escape. It had been about an hour after the experiments' escape and Seether was just beginning her playtime. The biker's only problem was finding shelter and food.

One hour passed by the other and just like that, the Azurill heard voices, screams, cries. What sort of animal could made that noise?

A one bearing food Seether thought. She only stopped to investigate when she heard moans of pain and the animals talking about berries and scouting. The Azurill peeked through the bushes and stalked the group of Pokemon.

Seether was not anywhere near the likes to help these foolish Pokemon, but something of them caught her eye. They all shared an imprint or a malfunction like Seether. The Azurill quickly perked up realizing this and kept her boredom at bay. She stalked from the bushes, awaiting their next move.

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