Timothy's POV
The little girl huffed and crossed her arms. "I'm staying with my family!"
Morgan groaned. "You're not even related to them!"
I sighed. "Morgan, you're not gonna win this."
Morgan turned to me, incredulous. "Oh my gosh, whose side are you even on!?"
"The side that gets me home faster," I said, crossing my arms. "And right now, you trying to wrestle a child away from a fire-breathing dragon is not looking great for us."
Morgan turned back to Charizard, who was still staring at her with a look that very much said, Try me, human.
Morgan groaned loudly and dragged her hands down her face. "I hate this. This is so stupid."
"Eevee!" Eevee chirped in what sounded like agreement.
Morgan snapped her fingers. "AHA! See? Even the Eevee agrees with me!"
The little girl tilted her head. "No, she said you were the stupid one."
Morgan nearly exploded.
Eevee's POV
Oh myArceus, this is exhausting.
If I had known raising a human would come with this much drama, I would've left Artemis at that smelly hunter's camp and gone about my shiny-collecting business.
Okay, no, that's a lie.
But still.
"I still don't trust you," I told Morgan, "but if you two must be here, then you're gonna have to play by my rules."
Artemis translated, and Morgan looked at me like I'd grown a second tail.
Morgan scoffed. "Your rules? Are you serious?"
"I'm Mother Eevee. Of course, I'm serious."
Artemis nodded sagely. "She is Mother Eevee."
Morgan threw up her hands. "Oh my gosh! Why do you all act like this little rodent is some goddess?!"
Before I could properly roast Morgan, something… changed.
The air shifted, like the moment before a thunderstorm, heavy and wrong. Charizard's wings twitched, and I saw his nostrils flare. Shinx's fur bristled, little sparks flickering between his ears. Even Buneary—who usually has the self-preservation instincts of a twig—froze mid-chew.
Then, we heard it.
A long, low, guttural growl.
Something big was watching us.
I turned, my ears standing straight up. Charizard rose to his full height, wings partially unfurling, his tail flame blazing now. Even Morgan and Timothy stopped arguing, stiffening as their instincts kicked in.
"What… was that?" Timothy asked.
Morgan scanned the trees. "Something bad."
Shinx was the first to speak. "This is not good. We need to move. Now."
Artemis relayed the message, and I could see the humans' panic spike.
Timothy groaned. "I told you it's not safe out here. That thing doesn't sound small."
Another growl, closer this time.
"Okay! Running time! Now!" Shinx yelped.
Charizard turned sharply, lowering himself. He wanted Artemis on his back.
Morgan took this moment of chaos to grab Artemis's arm. "You're coming with us! Now!"
"No!" Artemis protested, clinging to Charizard's head spike.
A loud SNAP echoed through the trees, and something massive barreled through the undergrowth.
Red eyes.
Sharp claws.
A low, rumbling snarl.
A Rhydon. And not just any Rhydon. A feral, territorial one, glaring at us like we just personally insulted its entire bloodline.
I felt my fur bristle. "Okay. Yeah. We're leaving."
Morgan wasted no time. She threw Artemis over her shoulder like a bag of potatoes and took off running.
"HEY!" Artemis shrieked. "PUT ME DOWN!"
Morgan did not listen. Timothy sprinted after her, panting.
Charizard, Shinx, Buneary, and I? Yeah, we ran faster than a quick attack.
We tore through the trees, faster than we had ever moved before. I heard Artemis yelling at Morgan the whole way—something about how she was "kidnapping" her and how this was a huge betrayal.
Morgan's response?
"IF YOU WANNA FILE A LAWSUIT, DO IT AFTER WE DON'T DIE!"
Rhydon roared behind us, shaking the ground. I risked a glance back and immediately regretted it—
That thing was gaining on us.
I turned forward. "CHARIZARD, FLY!"
Charizard nodded and he launched himself into the air, grabbing Shinx and Buneary on the way up. I leaped after them, barely grabbing onto his tail before I was yanked into the sky.
Morgan and Timothy, however…
Yeah, they couldn't fly.
Morgan's POV
"Uh, what about us!?" Timothy yelled.
I skidded to a stop, my eyes darting everywhere for an escape route.
The trees were too thick for Charizard to swoop down. The cliffs nearby were too steep to climb.
The only way out… was through the ruins up ahead.
I gritted my teeth. "RUN FOR THE CAVE!"
Timothy blinked. "The WHAT—"
I dragged him forward.
The Rhydon roared again, barreling after us.
We slipped into the cave and the Rhydon ran straight past us.
"Ya know, I kinda miss the old you, Timmy," I said.
"The 'old me'?" Timothy repeated.
"Yeah! You were much more fun! And you even liked catching Pokémon! In fact, you probably would have stood up to that Rhydon with your Servine!"
"Catching Pokémon doesn't save people from dying or being kidnapped..."
"Garchomp..."
"Oh, great, first you start a custody battle with Pokémon and now you have us barging into a Pokémon's home..." Timothy mumbled.
"Well, sure we can work something out," I said sheepishly. "Right, little girl?"
"Yeah, yeah sure. Also my name is Artemis, not little girl."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."
Artemis's POV
I glance at the Garchomp who looks visibly angry. "Hey, big guy. Listen, I just want you to know that me being here, isn't my fault, okay? This Teenager has been trying to take me to a hospital —"
"What's a hospital?" Garchomp interrupted.
"You're not supposed to make it angry, Artemis!" Morgan says.
I roll my eyes. "Well, that's funny, because I don't know what a hospital is either."
"I've been trying to tell you, it's a place to help you get better." Morgan grumbles.
"The Teenager here says it's supposed to make me get better," I said to the Garchomp, "Anyways, you were wondering why they came into your cave—a Rhydon was chasing us." I gestured my head towards Morgan. "And she thought it would be a great idea to take shelter in your lovely home."
"Oh, that guy? Yeah, he's a menace." Garchomp said, slamming his tail on the ground.
Timothy sat on a nearby rock. "Yeah, okay, we die in a cave. Cool."
I looked outside. "You think he's gone now?"
Timothy's POV
Garchomp stomped past us. He peeked his head out of the cave and looked around. "Garrr..."
"He says he doesn't see Rhydon," Artemis says.
"Perfect! Now we can continue going!" Morgan exclaims.
"I just sat down..." I mumbled.
I stand up and brush the dirt off my pants. "Until that Charizard finds us and burns us for kidnapping its family."
I followed Morgan as she walked out of the cave. Garchomp followed too.
"Garchomp!"
"Thanks, Garchomp!" Artemis chirps.
"What'd he say?" Morgan asked.
"He thinks we're entertaining!" Artemis says.
"If he thinks we're entertaining, he should've seen Timothy when he was a kid!" Morgan says.
"It was only entertaining to you because I always got in trouble," I mumbled.
"That's because most of your pranks went overboard," Morgan said. "Plus, you almost gave Aunt Rose a heart attack once."
"A heart attack? What kind of attack is that?" Artemis asks. "Is it when someone attacks with hearts that make you feel better? Or is it worse? Like when someone slices their opponent's heart with their claws?"
Artemis's POV
"W-WHAT?! No! No one is slicing anyone's heart with claws!" Morgan panicked. "What—why would you even—?!"
"So… is it the heart one? Do they fight with hearts?" I ask.
"The second one sounds cooler!" Garchomp says.
"It's, uh, when your heart… decides to stop working." Morgan tried to explain. "Um, yeah! But not because someone attacked it! It's just… tired!"
"From too much love?" I asked.
Timothy sighed. "Yeah, sure."