The Fire Stone Ointment
.........................
"I'm afraid we're doing all we can right now..." said the Chansey nurse to Aurora, Aroma, and me as we waited tensely for any news on Brimstone and the Lopunny we had rescued.
"Lopunny has suffered heavy injuries, but she'll be fine within a few days thanks to our X potions." the nurse replied, "Brimstone, I'm afraid is in critical condition. She'll be out for weeks and will be lucky if she can even continue fighting when she does wake up." she added, causing us all to quiver with rage and despair.
"Is there nothing we can do for her?" Aroma asked, on the verge of tears, she had known Brimstone longer than me or Aurora and I guessed they were very close friends. "We went through so much and now she's just finished, like that!?" Aroma was visibly shaking now as the nurse tried to think of any solutions.
"Well there is one possible solution, but I'm not sure if it will work..." she suggested, causing us all to look up in response, "certain types of fire pokemon require an extremely rare mineral known as firestone in order to evolve. According to reports, these stones harness great power for fire types. Cyndaquil don't need it to evolve, but I might be able to grind the stones into a medicine which will hopefully boost her strength enough to recover." Chansey suggested, but I could see in her eyes that she wasn't entirely sure of herself.
"Where can we find these stones?" Asked Aurora earnestly, it was clear she really wanted to help, and I saw that Aroma would willingly jump headfirst into the possible danger as her demeanor strengthened at the possible hope.
"On Mt. Blaze, but it's guarded by Moltres and infested with fire type pokemon. Grass types like your friend wouldn't survive more than a few minutes in there, and the place is an active volcano." Chansey told us, but we didn't care. We knew our next target and headed back to our bedroom to plan out our strategy. Along the way, we picked up a team badge for Aurora too and then proceeded to look over our world map.
Fate was not on our side as Mt. Blaze was dangerously close to Poke Whore territory, practically right between the borders! We didn't bother discussing the details, we knew full well this was going to be dangerous, instead we decided to just jump right into the strategy planning.
"Alright then, Aurora and I will take the front and back ends of the team while Aroma stays guarded in the middle. If we encounter any pokemon beyond second evolution stage, we bolt out of there, the same for any Poke Whore units, we don't want them knowing we're moving closer in on their territory." I said while running my claws across the map like a war general as both Aurora and Aroma were staring at me intently, absorbing every order I gave them into their memory.
"Our goal is this..." said Aurora as she slapped a piece of paper down onto the map which had an etched drawing of a red stone with the image of a flame in the center of it, "We only need one of them, but if we can get more, that's fine too. But we shouldn't take any risks." She said as me and Aroma nodded.
"Just to be sure that everyone knows, there is a degree of immediacy to this task. Brimstone may not ever recover without this stone, we're not doing this for money or for glory, we're doing this to save the life of a fellow member of Team Sea Forest Fire!" Exclaimed Aroma, stomping one of her front legs down on the map.
"Right, lets move out!" we all shouted in unison as we activated our badges and warped to the meadow that we owned before proceeding to make our way towards the mountain.
Meanwhile back at the clinic...
"Aroma.... Derek...." whined Brimstone in her sleep as she shuddered in pain, even the machines hooked up to her pumping X potions into her regularly were only serving as pain killers at this point.
"Hurry back.... She's waiting for you guys..." muttered Lopunny as she watched the Cyndaquil from her own medical bed before turning to look at the ceiling tiles.
Several hours later back with Derek's point of view.
"By Entei's mane, how are we going to get through this!?" Asked Aurora as we were blocked off by a 30 foot wide river of boiling lava which was our last obstacle before reaching the entrance to Mt. Blaze. It looked pretty hopeless as Aroma's vines couldn't even reach half the river's length which cut out any hope of us using her to pull us across. It seemed as though our mission had once again ended in a colossal failure, until a voice sounded which caused all three of us to leap in shock.
"Unless you're a fire or flying type, there really is only one other way..." said the voice as we looked around for the source but found nothing until suddenly a flash appeared and we were surprised by the levitating image of an Abra who waved to use through his squinting eyes.
"Who are you? Are you a member of Poke Whores!?" shouted Aroma as she got ready to strike, but was surprised when the pokemon simply chuckled.
"Nope, my name is Ferry... because, well, I work as a ferry. If you need transport across, I can teleport you for only a modest fee." said the Abra holding out a claw as if to accept payment. "Just give me a white gummi and I'll transport you guys across." he said with a grin.
"Please, our friend is in desperate need of a fire stone to make a special medicine, she's in a critical condition, can't you just give us this one time only free?" I asked, causing the Abra to lean back in mid air and frown while rubbing his chin.
"It takes a great deal of concentration to teleport more than just myself.... But since it's for medical reasons, I'll let just one of you go for free. You need payment for any additional or future trips." he responded. The three of us looked at each other and it was no contest that we volunteered me to go, seeing as how a water type made far more sense than sending a Normal or Grass type into an active volcano!
I stepped up to the Abra and took his claw in mine before he began to strain and then we were gone in a flash. I caught the brief sight of the world flowing past us as speeds I couldn't even begin to describe because we were at the other end of the lava river almost immediately after we had vanished. I wouldn't have even realized we had teleported had Ferry not proudly declared we had arrived and I looked to see the towering volcano just inches away from me with it's entrance gaping. I guessed the trip usually lasted longer depending on where he teleported to, but since we were only going a distance of about 30 feet, it was practically instantaneous.
"You only get one free trip back..." said Ferry as I began to approach the entryway, "So don't come back unless you absolutely can not continue," he added while plopping down next to the magma to rest, he was right in that transporting more than just himself was quite taxing, he was panting slightly from the trip.
I have to admit that being a water type did practically nothing to help the comfort ability of this trip, I almost passed out just from the waves of heat alone as I continued further into the cave. Steam poured out of cracks, magma occasionally dripped and bubbled, causing me to dodge narrowly to avoid being scorched to death. I was thankful that the fires and lava were glowing so I could at least maneuver around the caves rather than blindly stumble into a pit of death!
"Halt, water dweller!" shouted a voice, causing me to spin around and come face to face with a Charmeleon who looked absolutely furious by my presence. But that was pretty common for Charmeleon to be angry anyways, so if I was lucky, I might still be on his good side.
"Please... I'm just here to pick up a fire stone, I'm note here to invade your territory." I tried to explain, causing the Charmeleon to blink in surprise that a water type would be after such a thing. "My friend is sick, and if I don't bring her the stone to make a special medicine, she'll me crippled for life!" I pleaded.
The Charmeleon almost had a look of sympathy for a few seconds before his gaze hardened again, "The only way that stone would be useful is to a fellow fire type. And no self respecting warrior of fire would dare accept help from a water dweller like you!" he spat.
Before I could try pleading my case, the Charmeleon lifted his head up into the air and shouted, "Hey, we got a water dweller invader! Everyone to your battle stations!" he called, causing a rumble throughout the cave. I looked towards the Charmeleon in horror as I knew this wasn't going to end well and saw that while I was distracted, he had produced a fire stone from behind his back and was clutching it in one claw.
"You will never steal our treasure, water dweller!" he spat again before dashing off through the caves. I would have followed him but I had bigger things to worry about because just as he ran off, part of the caves gave way to produce a Vulpix, a Growlith, and a Houndour all leering down on me and ready to strike!
"Get him!" shouted the Houndour as he dashed forward with his jaws open "Crunch!" he shouted as his jaws snapped shut, I just barely dodged in time, but I could hear the sound similar to metal being clashed together, signifying just how powerful his attack would have been.
"You're not the only one!" I retorted as I whipped back around and lunged at him, unleashing my own Crunch I had earned during my battle with Swamp. My jaws clamped around the canine's stomach, but before I could crush his spine, the Vulpix hit me in the back with a powerful flamethrower, forcing me off my current enemy and sending me sprawling across the scorched earth, rolling madly in an attempt to extinguish the heat and burn!
"Fire Spin!" shouted the Growlith as it unleashed a stream of flames from it's mouth towards my feet as I had gotten back to my knees and saw the fire form a ring around me, cutting off any chance of moving forward! The three young pokemon moved together to form some sort of pyramid with the Growlith and Houndour on the bottom with the Vulpix standing on their backs.
"Ready boys?" asked the Vulpix whom I now noticed was female, they all inhaled deeply and I could tell they were planning to finish me off. "Fire Blast!" all three of them shouted together as they exhaled three separate streams of fire which merged together to form one single flame technique which took the appearance of the Japanese Kanji for "Fire" and sent it hurdling straight for me!
"Water Gun!" I shouted, spewing a concentrated stream of water towards the ring of fire around me and narrowly dashed out of harm's way just as the Fire Blast flew and impacted with my previous location. It was no secret that Fire Blast was the most powerful fire attack ever recorded, and I was amazed that the three young pokemon had managed to use it by working in unison. I quickly shook off my amusement as I began to dash towards them, I had to quickly finish this while conserving enough strength to get the fire stone for Brimstone!
"Water Gun!" I shouted again, spewing a stream of water as I continued running, it slammed home into the Vulpix, knocking her off the pyramid and causing her dog companions to flinch in surprise, just long enough for me to unleash a scratch attack to the Growlith's face and a second water gun to the ribs of the Houndour. All three pokemon were shocked by my ferocity as they went skidding across the ground. I might as well have bitch smacked the Growlith rather than scratch him because he was trying to shake the numbness out of his face from my attack, while Vulpix and Houndour were reeling from the water attack to which they were weak against.
"Look, all I want is one fire stone and I can get out of here!" I exclaimed, trying to show I wasn't here to fight, my response was a searing pain in my right shoulder as the Growlith had snuck up behind me and unleashed a bite attack right between where my neck and shoulder met. His friends had also recovered and were preparing to attack as well, the Houndour launched at me and succeeded in using Crunch on my left leg! Luckily, my evolved form was too strong for the younger pokemon's jaws to fully clasp around, but I was definitely going to have a limp for a few days as he clamped on the muscle. I watched helplessly as the Vulpix came charging in and jumped into the air.
"Quick Attack!" she shouted as she vanished for a brief moment and then appeared just centimeters away from my stomach before slamming full force into it. She completely knocked the breath out of me and cause the Growlith and Houndour to release me from their jaws as I fell limply to the ground.
"I'm sorry.... Brimstone...." I muttered as my vision began to fade to blackness and I felt the three pokemon begin to try lifting my body.
"I'm afraid we're doing all we can right now..." said the Chansey nurse to Aurora, Aroma, and me as we waited tensely for any news on Brimstone and the Lopunny we had rescued.
"Lopunny has suffered heavy injuries, but she'll be fine within a few days thanks to our X potions." the nurse replied, "Brimstone, I'm afraid is in critical condition. She'll be out for weeks and will be lucky if she can even continue fighting when she does wake up." she added, causing us all to quiver with rage and despair.
"Is there nothing we can do for her?" Aroma asked, on the verge of tears, she had known Brimstone longer than me or Aurora and I guessed they were very close friends. "We went through so much and now she's just finished, like that!?" Aroma was visibly shaking now as the nurse tried to think of any solutions.
"Well there is one possible solution, but I'm not sure if it will work..." she suggested, causing us all to look up in response, "certain types of fire pokemon require an extremely rare mineral known as firestone in order to evolve. According to reports, these stones harness great power for fire types. Cyndaquil don't need it to evolve, but I might be able to grind the stones into a medicine which will hopefully boost her strength enough to recover." Chansey suggested, but I could see in her eyes that she wasn't entirely sure of herself.
"Where can we find these stones?" Asked Aurora earnestly, it was clear she really wanted to help, and I saw that Aroma would willingly jump headfirst into the possible danger as her demeanor strengthened at the possible hope.
"On Mt. Blaze, but it's guarded by Moltres and infested with fire type pokemon. Grass types like your friend wouldn't survive more than a few minutes in there, and the place is an active volcano." Chansey told us, but we didn't care. We knew our next target and headed back to our bedroom to plan out our strategy. Along the way, we picked up a team badge for Aurora too and then proceeded to look over our world map.
Fate was not on our side as Mt. Blaze was dangerously close to Poke Whore territory, practically right between the borders! We didn't bother discussing the details, we knew full well this was going to be dangerous, instead we decided to just jump right into the strategy planning.
"Alright then, Aurora and I will take the front and back ends of the team while Aroma stays guarded in the middle. If we encounter any pokemon beyond second evolution stage, we bolt out of there, the same for any Poke Whore units, we don't want them knowing we're moving closer in on their territory." I said while running my claws across the map like a war general as both Aurora and Aroma were staring at me intently, absorbing every order I gave them into their memory.
"Our goal is this..." said Aurora as she slapped a piece of paper down onto the map which had an etched drawing of a red stone with the image of a flame in the center of it, "We only need one of them, but if we can get more, that's fine too. But we shouldn't take any risks." She said as me and Aroma nodded.
"Just to be sure that everyone knows, there is a degree of immediacy to this task. Brimstone may not ever recover without this stone, we're not doing this for money or for glory, we're doing this to save the life of a fellow member of Team Sea Forest Fire!" Exclaimed Aroma, stomping one of her front legs down on the map.
"Right, lets move out!" we all shouted in unison as we activated our badges and warped to the meadow that we owned before proceeding to make our way towards the mountain.
Meanwhile back at the clinic...
"Aroma.... Derek...." whined Brimstone in her sleep as she shuddered in pain, even the machines hooked up to her pumping X potions into her regularly were only serving as pain killers at this point.
"Hurry back.... She's waiting for you guys..." muttered Lopunny as she watched the Cyndaquil from her own medical bed before turning to look at the ceiling tiles.
Several hours later back with Derek's point of view.
"By Entei's mane, how are we going to get through this!?" Asked Aurora as we were blocked off by a 30 foot wide river of boiling lava which was our last obstacle before reaching the entrance to Mt. Blaze. It looked pretty hopeless as Aroma's vines couldn't even reach half the river's length which cut out any hope of us using her to pull us across. It seemed as though our mission had once again ended in a colossal failure, until a voice sounded which caused all three of us to leap in shock.
"Unless you're a fire or flying type, there really is only one other way..." said the voice as we looked around for the source but found nothing until suddenly a flash appeared and we were surprised by the levitating image of an Abra who waved to use through his squinting eyes.
"Who are you? Are you a member of Poke Whores!?" shouted Aroma as she got ready to strike, but was surprised when the pokemon simply chuckled.
"Nope, my name is Ferry... because, well, I work as a ferry. If you need transport across, I can teleport you for only a modest fee." said the Abra holding out a claw as if to accept payment. "Just give me a white gummi and I'll transport you guys across." he said with a grin.
"Please, our friend is in desperate need of a fire stone to make a special medicine, she's in a critical condition, can't you just give us this one time only free?" I asked, causing the Abra to lean back in mid air and frown while rubbing his chin.
"It takes a great deal of concentration to teleport more than just myself.... But since it's for medical reasons, I'll let just one of you go for free. You need payment for any additional or future trips." he responded. The three of us looked at each other and it was no contest that we volunteered me to go, seeing as how a water type made far more sense than sending a Normal or Grass type into an active volcano!
I stepped up to the Abra and took his claw in mine before he began to strain and then we were gone in a flash. I caught the brief sight of the world flowing past us as speeds I couldn't even begin to describe because we were at the other end of the lava river almost immediately after we had vanished. I wouldn't have even realized we had teleported had Ferry not proudly declared we had arrived and I looked to see the towering volcano just inches away from me with it's entrance gaping. I guessed the trip usually lasted longer depending on where he teleported to, but since we were only going a distance of about 30 feet, it was practically instantaneous.
"You only get one free trip back..." said Ferry as I began to approach the entryway, "So don't come back unless you absolutely can not continue," he added while plopping down next to the magma to rest, he was right in that transporting more than just himself was quite taxing, he was panting slightly from the trip.
I have to admit that being a water type did practically nothing to help the comfort ability of this trip, I almost passed out just from the waves of heat alone as I continued further into the cave. Steam poured out of cracks, magma occasionally dripped and bubbled, causing me to dodge narrowly to avoid being scorched to death. I was thankful that the fires and lava were glowing so I could at least maneuver around the caves rather than blindly stumble into a pit of death!
"Halt, water dweller!" shouted a voice, causing me to spin around and come face to face with a Charmeleon who looked absolutely furious by my presence. But that was pretty common for Charmeleon to be angry anyways, so if I was lucky, I might still be on his good side.
"Please... I'm just here to pick up a fire stone, I'm note here to invade your territory." I tried to explain, causing the Charmeleon to blink in surprise that a water type would be after such a thing. "My friend is sick, and if I don't bring her the stone to make a special medicine, she'll me crippled for life!" I pleaded.
The Charmeleon almost had a look of sympathy for a few seconds before his gaze hardened again, "The only way that stone would be useful is to a fellow fire type. And no self respecting warrior of fire would dare accept help from a water dweller like you!" he spat.
Before I could try pleading my case, the Charmeleon lifted his head up into the air and shouted, "Hey, we got a water dweller invader! Everyone to your battle stations!" he called, causing a rumble throughout the cave. I looked towards the Charmeleon in horror as I knew this wasn't going to end well and saw that while I was distracted, he had produced a fire stone from behind his back and was clutching it in one claw.
"You will never steal our treasure, water dweller!" he spat again before dashing off through the caves. I would have followed him but I had bigger things to worry about because just as he ran off, part of the caves gave way to produce a Vulpix, a Growlith, and a Houndour all leering down on me and ready to strike!
"Get him!" shouted the Houndour as he dashed forward with his jaws open "Crunch!" he shouted as his jaws snapped shut, I just barely dodged in time, but I could hear the sound similar to metal being clashed together, signifying just how powerful his attack would have been.
"You're not the only one!" I retorted as I whipped back around and lunged at him, unleashing my own Crunch I had earned during my battle with Swamp. My jaws clamped around the canine's stomach, but before I could crush his spine, the Vulpix hit me in the back with a powerful flamethrower, forcing me off my current enemy and sending me sprawling across the scorched earth, rolling madly in an attempt to extinguish the heat and burn!
"Fire Spin!" shouted the Growlith as it unleashed a stream of flames from it's mouth towards my feet as I had gotten back to my knees and saw the fire form a ring around me, cutting off any chance of moving forward! The three young pokemon moved together to form some sort of pyramid with the Growlith and Houndour on the bottom with the Vulpix standing on their backs.
"Ready boys?" asked the Vulpix whom I now noticed was female, they all inhaled deeply and I could tell they were planning to finish me off. "Fire Blast!" all three of them shouted together as they exhaled three separate streams of fire which merged together to form one single flame technique which took the appearance of the Japanese Kanji for "Fire" and sent it hurdling straight for me!
"Water Gun!" I shouted, spewing a concentrated stream of water towards the ring of fire around me and narrowly dashed out of harm's way just as the Fire Blast flew and impacted with my previous location. It was no secret that Fire Blast was the most powerful fire attack ever recorded, and I was amazed that the three young pokemon had managed to use it by working in unison. I quickly shook off my amusement as I began to dash towards them, I had to quickly finish this while conserving enough strength to get the fire stone for Brimstone!
"Water Gun!" I shouted again, spewing a stream of water as I continued running, it slammed home into the Vulpix, knocking her off the pyramid and causing her dog companions to flinch in surprise, just long enough for me to unleash a scratch attack to the Growlith's face and a second water gun to the ribs of the Houndour. All three pokemon were shocked by my ferocity as they went skidding across the ground. I might as well have bitch smacked the Growlith rather than scratch him because he was trying to shake the numbness out of his face from my attack, while Vulpix and Houndour were reeling from the water attack to which they were weak against.
"Look, all I want is one fire stone and I can get out of here!" I exclaimed, trying to show I wasn't here to fight, my response was a searing pain in my right shoulder as the Growlith had snuck up behind me and unleashed a bite attack right between where my neck and shoulder met. His friends had also recovered and were preparing to attack as well, the Houndour launched at me and succeeded in using Crunch on my left leg! Luckily, my evolved form was too strong for the younger pokemon's jaws to fully clasp around, but I was definitely going to have a limp for a few days as he clamped on the muscle. I watched helplessly as the Vulpix came charging in and jumped into the air.
"Quick Attack!" she shouted as she vanished for a brief moment and then appeared just centimeters away from my stomach before slamming full force into it. She completely knocked the breath out of me and cause the Growlith and Houndour to release me from their jaws as I fell limply to the ground.
"I'm sorry.... Brimstone...." I muttered as my vision began to fade to blackness and I felt the three pokemon begin to try lifting my body.