Ch. 18 The Great Outdoors

            Flamez sighed. He was sprawled out on the couch, feeling bored. Any chores that needed done had already been finished. They had already had lunch and nothing else was going on.

            Kaia was sitting on the back of the couch with a book in front of her. Typhlosion was sitting with Dodger nearby, just relaxing together. The only other Pokemon in the room was Mewtwo. He was sitting on the floor as well in front of Vye’s loveseat. He had his journal and was writing away in it.

            <I’m bored,> Flamez sighed. <There’s nothing to do.>

            <I’m sure you could find something if you tried hard enough,> Dodger told him snidely.

            Flamez ignored him. Kaia turned the page in her book.

            <I’ve been reading about the Kalos starter!> she announced. <Right now Kidd is a Braixen. When she evolves, she’ll be a Delphox. That’s a Fire and a Psychic type! That’s cool.>

            <Psychic, huh?> Typhlosion commented. She chuckled a little.

            <Based on how she’s been getting levels,> Kaia went on, <she might even evolve again before the six months is up. Maybe she’ll break Flamez’s record!>

            <Not a chance,> Flamez muttered.

            <And she’ll have a type advantage,> Typhlosion chuckled.

            <Like that matters,> Flamez defended.

            They heard clattering in the hallway the lead to the bed rooms. Ruger ran by the opening along with Vincent and Arenna’s kids, Adrian and Arianna.

            <Can’t catch us!> Arianna giggled.

            Typhlosion looked towards the hallway, just barely getting a glimpse of Ruger as he ran by.

            <Careful, Ruger!> she called after him. <Don’t break anything!>

            Ruger was having too much fun to answer and just laughed as he chased after his friends.

            Flamez rolled over onto his stomach. He sighed again. He glanced over at Mewtwo, still just writing away in his journal. He watched him for a moment, and then perked up.

            <Hey!> he said, lifting his head. <Mewtwo! We should go do some training!>

            Mewtwo looked up at him, cocking his head in confusion. Flamez pointed at him and then motioned to himself.

            <We can get some practice in!> he said. <You know, stay sharp for when Vye comes back.>

            Mewtwo turned his attention to his notepad. He wrote something on it, and then tore the paper out to send to Flamez. It floated gently towards him so he grabbed it out of the air.

            “Is that a good idea?” it read.

            <We’ll be fine,> Flamez told him, waving a hand at him and sitting up. <We’ll go out in to the forest. No one will know we’re there. We don’t have to really fight seriously or anything, so no one will get hurt.>

            <Don’t bother Mewtwo just because you’re bored,> Dodger scolded.

            <We all need exercise anyway,> Flamez defended. He glanced over at Mewtwo. <And you’ve been cooped up for a long time now. Even if you don’t want to fight, don’t you want to go outside for a while?>

            Mewtwo seemed to consider that. Before he gave an answer, they heard a cracking sound coming from one of the back rooms. They all looked towards it.

            <What was that?> Typhlosion asked dully.

            <I’ll go check,> Dodger sighed, standing up.

            Dodger hurried down the hall to see what had happened. Spyro had been doing something in the kitchen and stepped out into the main room as Dodger ran out of it. He seemed to be wondering what the sound was too.

            Flamez looked over at Spyro.

            <Hey, Spryo!> he invited. <You want go out to the forest?>

            <Forest?> Spyro asked. He smiled. <Sure! What are we doing?>

            <Training, maybe,> Flamez stated. He looked over at Mewtwo. <You in or what?>

            Mewtwo considered it a little while longer. Then he wrote something down again and sent it to Flamez.

            “Just don’t complain when I beat you,” it said. Mewtwo smiled slyly at him.

            Flamez laughed as Mewtwo got to his feet. Flamez got stood up as well.

            <Let’s go!> Flamez cheered.

            The good thing about Vye settling in Lilycove is that there were miles and miles of forest between it and the next city. This left them with plenty of room for the Pokemon to roam without being seen by another person. The last thing they wanted was to be caught without a trainer. Vye would get in trouble for leaving them unattended.

            Not to mention Mewtwo was considered illegal and highly dangerous. Even if they let Vye slide for not being around, no way they’d ignore Mewtwo.

            So Mewtwo teleported the group to an area he knew was well covered so they could check the area out before they started. Spyro and Flamez walked around for a few minutes to check to make sure no one was around. Mewtwo waited in one place for them, stretching and enjoying the sunlight.

            Eventually Flamez and Spyro came back.

            <Looks like we’re good,> Spyro commented.

            <Come on,> Flamez urged, waving to Mewtwo, <there’s a nice clearing over this way to give us some room.>

            Mewtwo nodded and followed the two of them through the trees to the clearing. The area was open and empty. They could hear bird Pokemon chirping in the trees around them but otherwise the area was deserted.

            Flamez walked out a ways and then turned to the others.

            <Okay,> he said. <Probably the only way to try and make this fair is a two on one.>

            <Yeah!> Spyro agreed happily. And then he took Mewtwo by the arm and held their hands up into the air. <Me and Mewtwo against Flamez!>

            <What?> Flamez asked, surprised. <No, I meant the two of us against Mewtwo!>

            Spyro frowned. <Aw, but we’re always against him,> he complained. <I want to be on his team this time!>

            <No,> Flamez scolded. <That wouldn’t be fair at all.>

            Spyro pouted, so Mewtwo patted him on the head to comfort him. He smiled at nodded at him. Spyro smiled back and then went over to Flamez’s side.

            <All right,> Flamez instructed, <so let’s be careful. This is just practice.>

            Spyro lifted both his hands up into the air. <Let’s do this!> he yelled.

            Spyro spread is wings and then flew up into the air. Mewtwo and Flamez both watched him dully.

            <Guess that means go,> Flamez sighed.

            Mewtwo shrugged and nodded in agreement. Then he lifted a hand at Flames and waved it at him. Flamez was suddenly thrown off his feet by a blue energy that flung him back a few meters. He regained his footing as Spyro swooped down at Mewtwo. Mewtwo jumped out of the way. Spyro connected with the ground with his hands so he then stood on them while swinging the lower half of his body downward. This swung his tail down at Mewtwo. Mewtwo quickly jumped out of the way again.

            Mewtwo threw a Shadow Ball at Spyro. Spyro was still in motion from his attack so he rolled into a ball to avoid Mewtwo’s attack. As he rolled towards Mewtwo, he jumped at him. This time they collided and Spyro sat on top of him, pinning him down.

            Spyro wagged his tail playfully as Mewtwo clenched his teeth from the weight. Then Spyro suddenly jumped up off Mewtwo. Flamez had come back over to them and was up in the air above them, now aiming a Blaze Kick down at Mewtwo.

            Mewtwo twitched in surprise and then rolled out of the way just in time. Flamez’s attack hit the ground where he had been, creating a loud cracking sound and scorching the grass and dirt where the flames hit.

            Mewtwo got to his feet. Spyro fired a Flamethrower at him as he did. Mewtwo threw another Shadow Ball in return. It split the flames into two streams that both missed Mewtwo. Mewtwo’s attack continued on towards Spyro who flew out of its way.

            Flamez smiled as he rushed at Mewtwo. He swiped a Blaze Kick at him which hit him in the side, making him stumble away. Spyro swooped down and rammed into him before he regained his balance. This pushed Mewtwo backward and through the air a ways before he skidded back to the ground.

            <Keep going!> Flamez urged, running towards Mewtwo again.

            Mewtwo quickly climbed to his feet and fired two Psychic blasts at his opponents. Flamez ran out of the way of the one aimed at him but Spyro was hit. It flung him into the air as Flamez reached Mewtwo and swung another kick at him. Mewtwo hit back with a Brick Break which blocked the fire and Flamez’s leg from hitting him. It also sent small embers to the ground and scorched some of the earth around them.

            The battle continued for a while with the three of them exchanging blows back and forth. Since none of them were really putting that much effort into the attacks, no one was getting hurt. They were more enjoying the fight than taking it seriously.

            At one point in the fight, Mewtwo flung Flamez away sending him through the air and putting distance between them again. Spyro fired another Flamethrower in Mewtwo’s direction. At first it seemed Mewtwo was about to fire another attack back at it, but he suddenly stopped and whirled his head around.

            This distraction caused the attack to hit Mewtwo in full force. He clenched his teeth and stepped out of the flames. He patted his arm and side where he had gotten hit as if trying to brush off the heat.

            <Sorry!> Spyro blurted, coming in to land. <I thought you’d block it!>

            Mewtwo didn’t seem too worried about the attack but instead faced Spyro and Flamez seriously. He held his hands out in front of him, bobbing them downward slowly. Then he put a finger up to his mouth, motioning to be quiet.

            Flamez studied him, a little puzzled. He glanced around them worriedly.

            <He must sense someone,> Spyro whispered.

            <Yeah,> Flamez agreed. <Keep it down.>

            Mewtwo turned and looked at the trees behind him tensely. The three of them just stood there for a minute in complete silence hoping that whoever was nearby would just pass by without incident.

            But then Mewtwo flinched and turned back to his friends. He waved a hand at them to follow him as he ran to some nearby trees. Spyro and Flamez followed after him.

            Mewtwo and Flamez pressed up against some trees. The three Mewtwo was next to had a large bush near it. Spyro crutched down against the ground behind it to stay out of sight.

            There was some rustling in some foliage on the opposite side of the clearing. Flamez peeked out slightly from behind his tree to see a man walking out into the clearing. His hat and uniform told him everything he needed to know.

            <Great,> he muttered.

            The ranger looked over the clearing curiously. He stepped out a ways, glancing around as he went. He stopped walking and studied his surroundings for a moment. Then he put a finger up to his ear.

            “Yeah, it’s me again,” he said. It wasn’t clear who he was talking to so it appeared as though he was wearing some sort of headset. “Those noises stopped so whatever was here sure cleared out in a hurry.”

            He stood there quietly a moment, but then started studying the ground.

            “Hang on,” he said. He walked up to some of the scorch and damage marks that had been left during the training session and knelt down to them. He took some of the ash and dirt into his fingers and started rubbing them together to get a feel for them. “Looks like there was a fight here. There’s a bunch of ash. There’s no known Fire Types in the area, are there?”

            Flamez cringed and rolled his eyes. He glanced over at Mewtwo and Spyro. Mewtwo was tensely keeping an eye on the ranger as well. Spyro was watching the two of them nervously. Flamez just held a hand up to him, hoping to keep him quiet and assure him they’d be okay.

            “You’re right,” the ranger said, standing up straight again. “I’ll see what I can find.”

            The ranger started walking back the way he had come from. Flamez initially started to relax, but the ranger came to a stop just outside the clearing. Flamez watched as he pulled out a long, thin device. He held it out in front of him but then started rotating his arm in a circle. The device started to glow and create rings that were thrown through the air.

            Flamez tensed up again, realizing it was the ranger’s Capture Styler. A few moments later, a Mightyena came calmly walking up to the ranger. The ranger smiled at it and patted it gently. He then lead it back out into the clearing.

            “I need your help, Boy,” he told the Mightyena. “I think there was a fight here. From the looks of things, a big one and between Pokemon that shouldn’t be here. I just want to track them down to make sure no one is hurt and everything’s under control.”

            Flamez nervously looked at Mewtwo. <Time to go!> He hissed. Mewtwo quickly nodded at him in agreement. <Take him home and come back for me!>

            Mewtwo carefully crouched down and Spyro lifted his hand to him. Mewtwo took it and then teleported the two of them away.

            Flamez looked over at the ranger and the Mightyena. The Mightyena was already sniffing at the ground. It started moving along the ground leading to Flamez’s direction.

            Flamez’s panic only increased when he realized Mewtwo’s teleport would create a faint glow when he reappeared. And if he wasn’t completely out of the ranger’s site when that happened, he could be spotted.

            Mewtwo must have realized the same thing because when he reappeared, he was crouched down low behind the bush where Spyro had been hidden. He looked up at Flamez with concern.

            Flamez looked back over at the ranger who was only going to keep getting closer. There was a small opening between where Flamez was and where Mewtwo was hiding. If either of them crossed it, they could catch the attention of the ranger. But if they just stayed there, it was only a matter of time before the ranger found them anyway.

            Flamez closed his eyes for a moment, trying to not let the panic take over. He took a few deep breathes, trying to think of a plan. He found one, but it was a little risky.

            Flamez looked back over at Mewtwo. The ranger was close so he hoped Mewtwo was currently reading his mind. Mewtwo started nodding at him, so this seemed to be the case.

            Flamez lifted his head and took a deep breath. He then exhaled, firing off a Flamethrower towards a tree that was a ways in front of him. The attack landed and caught the tree on fire. The ranger looked up at it, startled.

            “Oh no!” he cried. “We have to put it out!”

            The ranger and the Mightyena started running towards the tree. Mewtwo and Flamez kept an eye on him and as he started to reach them, the hurried around their cover, keeping it between them and the ranger and staying out of sight. Flamez slunk around the tree while Mewtwo ran on all fours around the bush and back out into the clearing.

            Mewtwo and Flamez ran towards each other with the ranger now distracted with the tree and not noticing their movements. They were standing out in the open behind the ranger when they grabbed each other by the arm and Mewtwo teleported away.

            The two of them soon found themselves back in the front room of Vye’s house. Spyro was already waiting there for them. The three of them saw how they had made it home safely and hunched over together in a sigh of relief.

            <That was close,> Flamez said.

            Flamez was still on edge for the rest of the day. They were sure they had gotten away without being seen which was important, but he was also worried that his tactics may have started a more serious forest fire. He and the other monitored news reports for the rest of the evening to be sure but nothing about a fire was ever reported. So it seemed the ranger had managed to control the flames in time.

            <That was totally irresponsible,> Dodger scolded. <You could have hurt someone!>

            <You don’t have to tell me that,> Flamez insisted. <But what choice did I have?>

            The two were standing in the front room facing each other angrily. Night had fallen some time ago but they had stayed up late making sure the fire hadn’t spread.

            <You wouldn’t have been in that mess in the first place if you had just stayed here,> Dodger continued. <So for now on, you better just stay inside.>

            <What?!> Flamez blurted. <You can’t be serious.>

            <I am,> Dodger said. <We shouldn’t be going out without Vye.>

            <We got back fine without being seen,> he defended. <What’s the big deal?>

            <You just barely got away,> he pointed out. <What do you think Vye would have said about your actions today?>

            Flamez took a moment to consider it, so Spyro interjected.

            <She probably would have been fine with it,> he noted. <She wouldn’t have wanted Mewtwo to have to stay inside the whole time she was gone. She trusts us to take care of ourselves.>

            <Yeah!> Flamez agreed. <And even if that fire had spread, we could have taken care of that too!>

            <So as long as we cover up your carelessness,> Dodger snapped, <there’s nothing to worry about?>

            <I wasn’t careless!> Flamez argued.

            <Well, we all were,> Spyro mentioned. <At least a little bit.>

            Flamez and Dodger looked over at Spyro. He continued.

            <It wasn’t wrong for us to go out,> he said, looking at Dodger. He looked at Flamez. <But we probably shouldn’t have stayed. If we had left the moment Mewtwo had sensed that ranger, we could have gotten out without a problem. But I know we all just were hoping we could stay a bit longer so we hid instead.>

            Flamez sighed and nodded. Spyro looked at Dodger again.

            <Mistakes happened,> he said. <We corrected them best we could. That’s all we can ever hope to do. I know why you’re upset but I’m not going to stop Flamez from taking any of us outside. If anything, this probably shows we need to go out more often so we don’t slip up like that again.>

            <You really think that’s a good idea?> Dodger argued.

            <Just look at how destructive Ruger has been,> Flamez offered. <I bet he’d like a field trip of his own to burn off some of that excess energy.>

            Dodger thought about that. Spyro smiled.

            <So long as we’re always able to correct our mistakes when they happen,> he said, <there won’t be a problem.>

            Dodger sighed as he surrendered. <Fine,> he uttered. He pointed at the two of them. <Just make sure to take me next time so I’ll be there to bail you out!>

            <Okay!> Spyro agreed.

            Dodger turned and walked away as Flamez turned and sat down on the floor next to the couch. Mewtwo was in his normal spot sitting in front of the chair and writing away in his journal. Flamez smiled at him.

            <Writing about today?> he asked.

            Mewtwo looked up at him and nodded.

            <Thanks for humoring me,> Flamez grinned. <It was nice getting out for a while.>

            Mewtwo just smiled. Flamez leaned back on the couch, putting his hands behind his head.

            <Maybe we can have even more fun tomorrow,> he offered jokingly.

            Mewtwo wrote something on his notepad and then sent the page to him. Flamez lifted one hand to grab it and looked it over.

            “Then I’ll beat you tomorrow too.” It said.

            Flamez laughed, looking over at him. <Yeah right!> he said. <If you fight like you did earlier, maybe I really should let Spyro team up with you!>

            Mewtwo looked at him slyly as he sent over another message. “I’d gladly take him on my team. He’s the only threat out of you two.”

            <Oh, now you’re asking for it!> Flamez teased. <That’s it, next time I won’t hold back!>

            Mewtwo sent him another paper. “I’ll be fine. You couldn’t even set that forest on fire.”

            Flamez laughed. Mewtwo smiled and sent him another paper that Flamez looked over.

            “Thank you for taking me.” It read.

            <No problem,> Flamez nodded. <We all need some time out of here.> He smiled broadly. <So it won’t be the last time, I can promise you that.>

            He sent him another note. “Let’s just keep the rangers out of it next time.”

            <Definitely,> Flamez sighed. <That was more than enough for one day.>