Lost Among the Thorns [Pokémon Short Story]

05| Toxic Sentiments

It was late in the day when they came across another sign along the path. This one read, "Eterna City: 1 mi."

   "Look, we're almost there," Miles pointed out. He was honestly surprised that they hadn't run into any Trainers during their time on the path. But then again, a lot of Trainers took the main paths through the forest, not the winding hiking trail Miles had gotten himself and Buneary stuck on.

   Buneary smiled, though at the same time, her ears drooped. Miles felt another jab of pity. He may have been happy, but to Buneary this just meant that their time together was almost over.

   "Hey, Buneary. Do you know what a Trainer is?" Her ears lifted as she nodded. "That's what I wanna be. I can't right now though, because I haven't learned how to be a proper Trainer yet. It'll take about two years, but if you're still here when I become a Trainer... maybe you'd like to come along with me as one of my teammates?"

   Buneary's eyes widened as she stared at Miles. Her face quickly lit up, and she jumped so high that she was eye-level with Miles. This just allowed him to see her wide smile.

   "You'd still be alone for a while though," he said with a wince. Buneary shook her head and clung to Miles' pant leg, obviously overjoyed.

   "Bun!" she squealed happily. If she was willing to wait that long, then that affirmed that she cared about him without a doubt.

   Miles' heart felt lighter than it already had been. If she was willing to wait, then he was willing to try and settle down. Even if his next family didn't care, he knew Buneary did, and she'd be waiting for him. "Then let's hurry up and go!" he exclaimed with more excitement than he intended. He began to jog down the path, Buneary bouncing at his side.

   For the most part, Miles became deaf to the noises of the forest around him. He was more focused on reaching the end of the trail and the beginning of his new life with Buneary. He prayed to Arceus that they'd reach the end soon.

   Thoughts of Mr. Wright hearing about this filled his mind, putting a bit more energy into him. He'd been right, things would be different this time. And this made Miles feel good for once. He felt so good, in fact, that he didn't notice Buneary jumping up and slamming into his arm.

   Miles was jolted back to reality in a second as the force from Buneary's blow knocked him to the ground. No sooner did he hit the dirt than a flurry of ethereal leaves flew by overhead. If he'd still been standing, he would've been sliced to ribbons. A chill swept down his spine when he heard a familiar hiss.

   The bushes further ahead on the trail rustled, and out stepped Roserade. Another round of Magical Leaves was already floating about her head. Miles' next breath came out choked as he stumbled back, fear striking him. Instantly, Buneary was between him and Roserade.

   "Bun ee ee!" the rabbit seemingly tried to reason with Roserade, but another hiss made her flinch back. With a flick of her petals, the leaves soared towards Buneary, and she covered her face. But they purposefully missed; they were still aimed at Miles.

   Miles dove to the side, barely avoiding being impaled by a barrage of razor-sharp leaves. One grazed his calf, and he gasped when a sharp pain sliced into him. Buneary whirled to face him, looking shocked. But that shock quickly dissolved as her brow furrowed. She turned back to Roserade, her fur bristling. Miles didn't think she could be angry, but she was.

   Before anybody could react, Buneary sped towards Roserade, slamming into her with a precise Quick Attack. Roserade cried out as she was knocked into bushes, and Buneary leapt back as Roserade retaliated with a Poison Sting comprised of thorns.

   The fluffy tufts atop Buneary's ears lit up with an icy blue light, and she swung them at Roserade. Ice crystallized where her blows hit the ground. She'd missed as Roserade had dodged, and a hail of leaves sliced into her ears.

   "Buneary!" Miles cried. "Leave her alone!" he yelled at Roserade. But the enraged Pokémon's attention was on his future partner. "Somebody, get over here! Help us!" Miles called into the woods to no avail. A nearby Starly flew away in fear, but that was it.

   Meanwhile, Buneary had been knocked back as a rapid-fire Bullet Seed pelted against her chest. Roserade was clearly flagging, as her red bouquet had been frozen over by one of Buneary's Ice Punches. But Buneary was helpless as she lay on the path, too dazed to get up.

   "Raaaaa..." Roserade hissed menacingly, raising her blue bouquet.

   Things seemed to slow down for Miles. No, he thought. There was no way he would let Buneary be hurt like this. "Don't you dare hurt her!" he yelled, shoving himself to his feet. He sprinted towards the pair and dove for Buneary. He wrapped his arms around her and tumbled into the brush with her as another Poison Sting was fired.

   The impact snapped Buneary out of her stupor. She sprung from Miles' grasp, her ears primed with icy energy. Roserade couldn't move in time and received the full blow to the chest and lower abdomen. Ice coated her leafy skin as she stumbled back a step and sank to the ground, shivering.

   Miles pulled himself from the foliage and came to stand by Buneary. Looking at the Roserade's hunched figure, Miles couldn't help but feel pity. After all, she was just avenging her child.

   Roserade then staggered to her feet. Buneary readied another Ice Punch as Miles flinched back, but all Roserade did was shake her head. She looked so defeated, and that was like a Sucker Punch to the gut for Miles.

   "I-I'm so sorry for what happened," Miles cautiously said to Roserade. She looked up at him with hollow red eyes. "I know that won't bring your kid back, but that's all I can say," he said.

   Roserade stared at him. To his slight relief, she didn't look like she would attack.

   "Did you at least care about your kid?" Miles asked. Roserade nodded slowly. "Then even if they died, they did so knowing that you loved them. It'd be better than if they lived and they didn't know." He tried to smile at Roserade. "I'm sure they appreciate it."

   Miles watched with bated breath as Roserade continued to stare. After a moment, a look of acceptance flashed across her face. She nodded again before bowing her head. Maybe as an apology?

   "Rade," she hummed. Any hostility that had been in her voice was gone now. With one last look at Miles and Buneary, Roserade then slunk back into the brush, becoming one with the greenery.

   The greatest relief washed over Miles, but so did sadness. "I'm so sorry," he muttered again, shaking his head. At least she seemed to understand. Buneary hopped over to him. While her fur was knotted, and she bled from several cuts, she seemed more worried about him. "Don't worry," he said, reaching out to pet her. "I'm..." He trailed off when he saw the back of his left hand.

   Sunken deep into his skin was a thorn, the same kind of thorn Roserade had fired when she used Poison Sting. Miles could even see faint purple lines lacing through the thorn. His heart dropped into his stomach as he stared blankly at it. Buneary's mouth fell open, fear filling her eyes. He wrenched his gaze from the thorn to her.

   "It's nothin'," he said to Buneary. He nonchalauntly yanked the thorn out, flinching at the pain. But he kept a straight face for Buneary. In seconds, a bead of blood began to well, though that was the last thing on his mind. Bleeding didn't matter when poison could be coursing through him.

   Using his pocket knife, Miles sliced some fabric from his hoodie. And with Buneary's help, he tied the fabric tightly around his wrist in a tourniquet. His hand almost instantly began to go numb, though he felt this was a good thing. It was supposed to restrict blood flow, right?

   "S-see? It's fine," he said, showing Buneary their handiwork. But even with the smile he was giving her, he couldn't keep the fear out of his voice.