FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"This storm is actually really helpful," Ben commented as he effortlessly dodged a bolt of lightning. "I'm remembering how I-I mean Latios- used to fly all those years ago." Using his new-found psychic powers, the latios deflected two lightning bolts into the clouds they came from.

"I agree!" Summer added enthusiastically. The latias twirled in the air, narrowly dodging the electricity that threatened to singe her wings. "This whole thing will still take some getting used to, but it sure is fun."

"Fun?! Even for me," Pichu said, flailing around wildly, "this is too much lightning! Wah!" he cried out as a lightning bolt zoomed past him and clutched Ben's neck more tightly. Ben smiled and encouraged him to relax.

"With our powers, we might not have to capture as many pokémon for our Target Clears, and we should be able to deal with the Pinchers more effectively." They continued to dodge and deflect the lightning as they made their way to Layuda Island. Ben looked at the peak.

"Even with our resistance," Ben explained, "it's too dangerous to simply go to the top. The lightning there is too frequent for us to dodge. We should be better off at a lower elevation." They flew lower until a cave in the mountain became visible. "There! That looks like a good place to start."

"Hey, Ben, do you see that? There's so many wrecked Z.Z. Flyers. They must have had the same idea. And look!" she cried, pointing a claw near the cave. "There's someone here!" The latias took off her goggles and flew closer. A young man wearing one of the Pinchers' uniforms lied near a badly scorched vehicle. Several cuts and burn marks covered most of his body, and his hat lost its top, exposing his black, electrified hair. From the small breaths he took, he was still alive, but had lost consciousness long before they arrived. Feeling sorry for the wounded man, Summer approached him and tapped him. "Hello? Are you going to be okay? Please get up." Ben hesitantly (to his surprise) joined her and nudged the youth, rolling him onto his back.

"...Urrghl..." he groaned weakly, opening his eyes and coughing. "That fall really hurt... Did I... Am I alive?" As the two dragons gave him some space, he looked at the thunderous sky and frowned in disappointment. "What a horrible mistake I've made, joining the Pinchers," he lamented. He coughed once more and stood up shakily, wincing in pain. Once he turned around, he gasped in shock upon seeing the other wrecked flyers and the two Eon pokémon. "Latias and Latios?! I thought only one of those dragons lived in this region...! Am I hallucinating? If you're not a hallucination, I-I-I'm so sorry! Don't eat me!" he cried hysterically, holding up one of his hands. The Capture Gauntlet in his hand appeared to be broken beyond repair, and in his current state, he was almost completely harmless to any pokémon or the environment. He attempted to back away, but soon found he was out of ground. Before he could fall over, Ben grabbed him and pulled him back to safety.

"What? We're not gonna eat you," Ben said, bewildered. "That's crazy talk!"

"I-I don't know what you're saying!" The man shut his eyes, lost in his hysterics. Ben face-clawed, having forgotten that most humans were unable to completely understand exactly what pokémon were saying. All the man could hear from him were light cries. He focused and tapped into his psychic abilities, projecting his speech into the man's mind. "Oh great, now I'm hearing voices. I'll never join another bad guy group again, I swear, even if I'm desperate for money!" Ben frowned at the male's increasingly paranoid state. He grabbed him to keep him from falling off the cliff.

"Maybe we should use the styler on him," Pichu joked.

"I wish Rand were here," Summer said. "He'd definitely put this guy at ease." She suddenly had an idea and moved closer until she brushed up against the ex-pincher. The latias smiled as warmly as she could and nudged him.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Ben asked.

"Opening my heart to him, just like our stylers can do." It was not long before her efforts succeeded and the injured man began to respond.

"W-wait... you're not... here to hurt me?" he asked them. He nervously reached his hands out and rubbed the two Eon pokémon on their heads. They sighed in mild pleasure as he did so, and he smiled and relaxed as much as his body would let him. Once they knew he was calm, they floated away.

"Hide away from the storm in this cave," Summer mentally instructed him after briefly focusing her power. "We'll come back for you and take you home. I promise."

"There's something we must do here first," Ben said.

"Wait!" the young man called out. After coughing for a short bit, he resumed speaking, guilt evident in his voice. "Why are you being so nice to me? After... after I and the others chased and harassed you and the other pokémon..."

"Don't worry. You can fix things later, but right now you have to stay safe. Hide in the cave so the lightning won't hit you." Ben, Summer, and Pichu entered the cave, leaving him to the mess outside.

"What is with that odd gear they're wearing?" he wondered as they disappeared into the cave. "Is that... ? No, it couldn't be... Is it even possible?"

---

"This place must be crawling with Pinchers," Pichu mused. The two dragons stopped as they listened to him. "What to do? If we take them on now, they might cause an uproar and overwhelm us."

"Pichu's right," Summer agreed. "We'll need to sneak past them."

"Hmm... Summer, do you remember what that voice in the dream said?" Ben asked.

"Not exactly. What are you talking about?"

"I remember it happening in a clearing in some forest. 'You can blend into your surroundings by bending the light around you,' the voice said. It then wanted us to try and do so. I think it went something like this." His entire form shimmered before slowly disappearing before Summer's eyes.

"Wow! That could really help! Strangely, I can still see Pichu," she commented, "but the scarf, goggles, and styler are hidden with you."

"I guess it doesn't spread to riders. Can you see him from below me?" Ben floated higher to allow her to check.

"He's definitely hidden that way," she observed. She then followed his example and hid herself. "Okay, so we can hide ourselves in plain sight, but we're not entirely see-through."

"Works for me," Pichu said with a shrug. They continued to make their way through the cavern, using their invisibility to sneak past any Pinchers that patrolled it. Every time they passed one of them, Pichu discharged a small amount of electricity to disorient their capture devices. Eventually, their progress was halted by an electrified electronic gate. Since there were no Pinchers around to see them, they ceased being invisible.

"It's nice to not have to battle any Pinchers for a change. What do we do here, Ben?" Summer wondered. The latios pointed his styler at the gate, analyzing it.

"We'll have to overload it somehow," he explained, "but we don't have the power needed."

"I can't even crack it," Pichu added.

"Perhaps we can be of assistance, great ones." They turned to see an electivire and a luxray walking to them. "My parents told me stories about your adventures a long time ago. I never thought I'd get to meet the ones who saved Oblivia in the past."

The luxray spoke. "We would be honored to assist such legendary heroes as yourselves." He bowed towards them.

"Huh? I-I think you might have us mistaken for someone else," Ben said. "I'm not sure we really are the pokémon heroes you know..."

"I'm almost certain you're them," Electivire stated, confused. He then looked at Pichu. "What is that odd thing on your back?"

"It's a long story," Summer replied, "and you probably wouldn't believe us if we told you."

"Try me," Luxray declared confidently. "We'll open the gate for you in return."

"Luxray, are you crazy?" Electivire asked worriedly. "You can't just-"

"No worries, Electivire," Summer said. "This should be good practice for when we tell the others."

"Others?"

"Summer and I were once humans," Ben explained, ignoring Electivire's comment. Pichu pulled out his ukulele and played a few suppressed notes as Ben continued, the duo listening intently. "The odd gear you see on us is our little reminder of that. When we were reconstructing the sign of the Eon duo, we had unusual visions about them and a voice telling us to 'reclaim our lives', and when we went to Tilikule Island to get their help, we ended up becoming them instead." The two electric-type pokémon stared at them in mild shock as they processed the information.

"There is a voice," Summer added, "that gave us a short talk about our new forms last night."

"So... you're not the Latias and Latios that saved Oblivia a long time ago?" Electivire questioned.

"None of us are sure yet, but that's not important. Right now, we have to get to the top of this mountain, but this fence is in the way."

"...To be honest, I'm a little disappointed," Luxray said. "I thought we were finally meeting the ones from long ago, and it turns out you only look like them."

"Look, are you gonna help us or not?" Pichu asked impatiently, catching Luxray off guard. "We're here to stop those loathsome humans at the top of this mountain from waking up Zapdos and causing a disaster."

"...Pichu's right. They did tell us about themselves, like you asked. It's only fair we let them proceed," Electivire admitted. He nodded and grabbed the fence, draining the electricity from it. "If nothing else, this is good fuel for my Motor Drive ability."

"All right, but only because they look a lot like them," Luxray conceded, looking at them. He launched himself at the gate and opened his mouth. As his jaws closed on the wires, flames shot out of his mouth, allowing him to tear the gate apart.

"Thanks very much, you two," Summer said. She smiled at them. "I'm sorry we're not who you think we are, but we have a mission, and we sincerely thank you for letting us continue it." Ben and Pichu nodded in agreement.

"I-it was nothing," Electivire stammered bashfully. "Gosh, she's cute," he muttered.

"Yeah, n-n-nothing to it," Luxray added, just as bashful as his friend was. A small flame appeared in his mouth and he winced, having temporarily lost control of his Fire Fang. A light blush adorned their faces as they looked away from the dragons flying out of the cave.

"That pichu is awfully lucky," they said.