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Ios sprinted through the forest, all senses on high alert. The Luxio sported several lacerations along his flank and a swollen eye. He paused, ears swiveling back and forth. When he wasn’t able to hear any traces of his pursuers, he relaxed ever so slightly. He dug through his pack and pulled out an Oran Berry, downing it in two bites. As the healing energy washed away his wounds, he pulled out his badge. He concentrated on activating it to send a message out.
“This is Celecon, go ahead,” came a slightly distorted voice from the badge.
“This is Ios. Anamken and I walked straight into a trap. We need help immediately.”
“What?! Are you both ok?”
“We arrived at Shaded Grotto for the job and got ambushed by bandits. Evidently they have a grudge against my parents for busting them back in their guild days. We fought our way out but got separated.” As he finished explaining, he heard several loud shouts from the badge. Before he could question it, Celecon responded.
“Alright good news is you have back up on the way. Better news is they’re gonna be there soon and are more than enough to handle it. Bad news is Shaded Grotto isn’t going to exist anymore.”
Ios gave a quizzical look at his badge, not understanding.
“And that means, what, exactly?”
“Well, that was your dad.” Ios blinked.
“Shit.”
He tore off through the underbrush, desperate to find his partner before the Crimson Apocalypse arrived. His ears picked up the sounds of a struggle to his left and he swerved in that direction. He came upon a creek, where a lone Tinkatuff faced off against a Mightyena, Skarmory and a Graveler. Fur dancing with electricity, he leapt down the creek bank with a roar and slammed into the Skarmory, knocking him out in a single blow. Anamken answered his roar with one of her own, taking this opportunity to slam into the Mightyena with a Play Rough, knocking her out as well.
The Graveler, suddenly bereft of teammates and collateral, smirked maliciously before unleashing an Earth Power. The explosion of earth energy blasted both Ios and Anamken, sending both of them flying. They crashed into the creek bank and collapsed in a heap.
Ios struggled to his feet. Anamken was barely holding onto consciousness at this point, and Ios doubted he had the strength to do more than fire a weak Signal Beam. He moved in closer to his partner and she weakly wrapped an arm around him. Checking his badge, he saw that it had a large crack running down it, having been damaged in the crash.
Several menacing chuckles sent his heart plummeting straight into the ground. The remaining bandits had found them.
“Well, I’ll admit, you two put up a decent fight,” a voice mocked the pair. A battle scarred Charizard strolled forward. His most striking feature was a missing horn, lost in a fight decades ago against Ios’s parents.
“I was gonna let you both off with a light punishment. You know, some broken bones, maybe a missing limb. Just to repay what your parents did to me all those years ago. But now,” the charizard chuckled darkly. “After what you’ve done to my mons, I’m gonna have to take more than your limbs. It’s only fair, after all.”
Ios snarled in response, fur prickling with electricity.
“You got exactly what you deserved. So many mons had suffered because of you and my parents did their duty by taking you down. Instead of reflecting on what you’ve done wrong and realizing your mistakes, you place the blame on someone else. Now you stand here, trying to kill the child of those who brought you down because you’re too prideful to admit that you’re nothing more than criminal scum.”
These words enraged the entire crowd, all of them crying out for bloodshed. Charizard took a step forward, snarling. Ios reached into his bag, desperate for an item that will bring them salvation. Finding only a few status healing berries and a sticky Cleanse Orb, despair flooded his entire system. He put himself in front of Anamken, fully intent on going down swinging. She managed to stand, sending him a weak smile as she struggled to lift her hammer.
Before the crowd could close in, a raging inferno crashed into the leader, sending him flying backwards. The flames began to die down, revealing a Blaziken overflowing with murderous rage. Relief nearly knocked Ios off his feet, only the fact that Anamken was heavily leaning on him kept him upright. The crowd of bandits stumbled backwards, realizing how dire the situation suddenly became for them.
“No God in this or any other universe will be able to undo the pain I am about to inflict upon you,” the Blaziken spoke, his absolute-zero tone juxtaposing the infernal flames surrounding him. Some bandits attempted to flee, only to be cut off by a wall of flames materializing in front of them. Sensing their queue, Ios helped Anamken onto his back. She clung tight onto him as he prepared to leave.
“Dad!” Ios called out. The Blaziken’s gaze snapped to his son.
“Fuck them up.”
A savage grin spread upon his face. He roared, pure energy sparking along his entire body. A shockwave of energy exploded outwards as he transformed. The Mega Blaziken sprung forth, intent on leaving no survivors. Ios took the first opening he found and bounded away from the carnage, hope granting him a second wind. As soon as he found a suitable spot far enough away, he gently set his partner down and began checking her wounds. He paused as she gently cupped the side of his face.
“Hey. I'll be just fine. Your pa will get us back to town once he’s done with ‘em.”
Ios nuzzles into her hand, sighing as he closes his eyes.
“I know. That’s not going to stop me from worrying about you. We both came so close to dying out here.”
“Well, it’s what we signed up for, isn’t it? Knew just how dangerous this job was just from all the stories your parents would tell us.”
“I’d imagine it’d have been much more tame without us needing to face Legendaries. But it wasn’t until today that it set in just how easy it is for us to end up killed.”
Ios opened his eyes, looking directly into Anamken’s.
“It’s made me realize this isn’t the profession to leave things unsaid, lest they become regret carried into the afterlife.”
Anamken smiled, knowing exactly where this was headed. She met him in the middle with a kiss, both knowing the other well enough to understand the unspoken words in the air. But sometimes, it’s nice to hear what’s already known.
“I love you, Anamken.”
“I love ya too, Ios.”
Ios curled around her as they both settled in to wait for the massacre to end. Later, after the infernal rage had burned down to a low smolder, a certain Blaziken found the pair barely awake and snuggled firmly into each other. He smiled softly, bending to pick them up. After some whispered reassurances, they drifted off, safe and sound in his arms. He concentrated on his badge to activate the teleport countdown that would take them home. Looking down at his son, he chuckled.
“At least you sorted your feelings out quicker than your mom and I did,” he said before a blinding light swallowed them, taking them back to the guild.