Chapter 16
Mightyena


Snivy, Krokorok, Mightyena, and I are all in Krokorok's room at the inn. The day after we brought Krokorok to the village, they were moved from Torterra's house to a room at the inn. We managed to get Mightyena in through a window without anyone noticing, and we've just finished explaining the situation to Krokorok.

"So," Krokorok begins, "you're telling me a dark-type with the Wildfire needs to steal to keep someone from dying? Well, I guess you came to the right person."

"So you'll help us steal the medicine?" Snivy asks.

"Oh sure, let me just hop out of bed, shake off my second degree burns and I'll have the loot in your hands by tomorrow morning. In all seriousness, I can't directly help you steal it, but I've been part of a few team heists before I went solo. I can help you plan your heist, but that's all."

"Thank you, Krokorok," says Mightyena.

"No problem, but, uh... Jamie, are you sure this won't just blow up in their face? I mean, stealing the stuff I wanted didn't exactly work out for me."

"We don't know, but I think we just need the desire to go away. Once Poochyena's safe, it should-"

"Forget about getting rid of my Wildfire," Mightyena says, "that's not what's important right now. Krokorok, I've tried to steal this medicine three times, so I can provide any necessary information. Now, let's make a plan."

"Alright then."



About 30 minutes later, we're finally wrapping up the plan. "Finally," Krokorok says, "you'll need a getaway. Jamie, Snivy, if those guards see your faces, you might have to leave town, so get everything you'll want to take with you and be ready to run with it."

"Well, we were already planning on leaving soon anyways." Snivy says.

"Escaping shouldn't be an issue," Mightyena says, "those guards might be strong, but I'm much faster; I can outrun them easily, and I can carry Jamie and Snivy."

"Perfect," Krokorok says. "And remember, I had no involvement with this, got it?"

I nod. "Of course."

We head out, Mightyena again leaving through the window. The heist is tonight, and it's noon right now, so we need to get everything ready. Snivy and I decide to say goodbye to everyone and tell them we're leaving tomorrow morning. We get all our stuff from our room at the inn and hide it in a bush near Kecleon's wagon, ready to be grabbed as we make our escape.

First we talk to Audino, and check out of the inn. Next is Torterra. They encourage us to stay, because it's safe in the village and all that. I wonder how they'd react if we told them we were about to become criminals. Finally, we say goodbye to Machop. They beg us to stay just a few more days, so that we can play and spar together once they're ungrounded, and when we decline, they ask us if we'll ever come back to Amari Village. We say yes; it's only after we leave that I remember I'm going back to the human world. Oops. After we finish saying goodbye, all that's left to do is wait for night to come.

Fast forward to about 10:30 pm, and Mightyena and I are hiding in a bush, watching Sawk patrol around Kecleon's wagon. Kecleon is at the inn, so we don't need to worry about them. The wagon is lit by torches, and is out in the open, making it hard to approach stealthily. Still, we have a plan.

We wait until Sawk is turned away, then Mightyena silently rushes forward, with Sawk noticing just in time to get blasted in the face with a glowing red flamethrower attack! Sawk shakes off the flamethrower and calls out to Throh on the other side of the wagon before dashing forward to attack Mightyena. Just according to plan; Throh is slower than Sawk, and will take a few extra seconds to get around the wagon and join the fight. That buys us more time.

I watch silently from the bush as Mightyena and Sawk fight; Mightyena is on the defensive, trying to make distance between themself and Sawk, but Sawk is fast, and keeps up with Mightyena's dodging. Eventually, as Mightyena dodges to the side, Sawk either reacts quickly or predicts it, instantly nailing Mightyena with a kick! Mightyena's a dark-type, and Sawk's a fighting-type. With that disadvantage, it's no wonder Mightyena's failed their last three attempts.

Throh appears from around the wagon, and approaches behind Sawk. Mightyena shoots a flamethrower at them, but Sawk dodges, and Throh blocks it; Throh is tough, and great at defending, so attacking them is pointless. Sawk circles around behind Mightyena, and while Mightyena has their attention split, Sawk lands a punch, knocking Mightyena back into Throh, who grabs them.

The moment I see Mightyena get grabbed, I run out from the bush. Once I'm close enough, I blast a water gun at Throh from the side, and land a direct hit without hurting Mightyena! Sawk turns to see the source of the water, and I get a bit closer before turning around and kicking a mud-slap into Sawk's face, blinding them! Mightyena breaks out of Throh's grab and lands a headbutt on Sawk before retreating and using flamethrower again in a wide, sweeping arc.

Sawk and Throh are forced to block the fire, while Mightyena and I retreat. We look behind us to see Throh grab Sawk and spin around before launching Sawk towards us through the air! We dodge to the side as Sawk flies past us, landing perfectly in front of us. Mightyena fires off another flamethrower, but Sawk dodges it easily. I follow up with a mud-slap and a water gun.

Sawk blocks the mud-slap, but gets caught off guard by the water gun! Sawk seems experienced, but doesn't seem to know how to handle ranged attacks. I'm about to shoot another water gun, when Mightyena suddenly tackles me from the side, sending me rolling away. I look back to see Throh standing where I stood; Mightyena just saved me. Mightyena uses another flamethrower, this time sweeping across the ground. The red fire turns orange as it ignites the grass, creating a wall of flame between us and the enemies.

Once again, Throh throws Sawk into the air, high over the fire. Sawk can't dodge in the air, I realize, and I shoot a water gun at them... and miss. I've been lucky to land this many hits without much practice, but hitting an aerial target is way too hard. My situation goes from bad to worse as I realize Sawk about to land right on me! With no time to dodge, I brace for impact...

When suddenly Mightyena tackles Sawk out of the air! Sawk falls to the ground, and I try to follow up with a water gun, but Sawk immediately gets back up and rolls out of the way. Just as Sawk is about to run towards us, we all freeze as a voice cries out from atop the wagon.

"Guys! I got the medicine! Let's run!" Snivy yells, our plan having worked perfectly! And now, the getaway.

"Jamie, climb on!" Mightyena says, helping me onto their back. Their paws ignite into red flames, and they get a running start before leaping onto the wagon. Snivy hops on, medicine in hand, and Mightyena takes off, leaving the guards behind us.

As we run past the bush Snivy was hiding in, Mightyena smoothly grabs the bags we had placed there before, holding me and Snivy's stuff. They pass it back for us to hold.

"Snivy," Mightyena says, "are you absolutely sure that's the right medicine?''

"Yeah! I could read the label by the torchlight; it's a bottle labled 'Praefoco Medicine', like you said."

"Yes, that's it!!" The fire around Mightyena's paws flares up, and they start running faster. "Hold on tight, we're getting back to Maceria Town tonight!" And hold on tight we do; Mightyena's speed is absurd! Looks like the wildfire is good for more than just fighting.

After a few minutes, we've left the forest and Mightyena is still running at top speed, which Snivy calls attention to. "Hey, uh, I don't think those guards are following us anymore. You don't need to run this fast."

"Yes, I do. With every second that passes, it gets closer to being too late. I made a promise that I would save Poochyena, and I intend to keep it!"

Mightyena sounds confident, but their voice and their breathing make them sound pretty tired. Still, their speed doesn't drop. They run all through the night, and eventually Snivy falls asleep; it's probably way past midnight by now, after all. I'm not sure I could fall asleep if I wanted to, with Mightyena's running, so I stay awake and keep Snivy from falling off.

The night goes on, and eventually, Maceria Town comes into view. Well, sort of; it's surrounded by wooden walls all around, with a big closed gate and... guard towers? It's hard to tell from this distance. I wake up Snivy, telling them that we've arrived. As we approach the town, Mightyena speaks.

"Jamie, Snivy, the gate is closed. Hold on tight; I'm going to jump over it."

"Wait, what?!" Snivy says. "But that thing is huge! You're from here, so they'll open it for you, right? Can't we just wait for them to-"

"I'VE WAITED LONG ENOUGH!"

Heeding their warning, Snivy and I hang on as Mightyena crouches down, and with an explosion of flame at their feet, soars into the air, just barely clearing the giant wooden gate! The landing on the other side is rough, but Mightyena quickly returns to a sprint, running through the empty town streets.

Mightyena runs with confidence and familiarity; left, straight, left, then right, dashing between the buildings and along the roads. Finally, they come to a stop outside a modest house with a door that looks to be modified for quadrupedal pokemon. They open the door and run inside, past a surprised Lilligant and up the stairs, through another door, and into a room containing a small bed, on which an unconscious Poochyena lays perfectly still, not seeming to even breathe.

"Snivy! The medicine!" Mightyena shouts, and Snivy fumbles with the bottle for a moment in surprise before opening it and handing it to Mightyena. They place a single pill in the lid before extending it to me. "Jamie! Water!" I try my best to gently use water gun, and a bit of water dribbles into the lid. Mightyena carefully pours the contents of the lid into Poochyena's mouth and gets them to swallow.

Mightyena sits down in front of Poochyena, and we hop off their back. They read the medicine's directions over and over again, their eyes shifting between the bottle and Poochyena as they quietly mumble to themself. The Lilligant from before walks into the room, and starts questioning Mightyena; they seem to know Mightyena, but Mightyena doesn't react.

Soon, Mightyena's Wildfire grows, covering their whole body, and I can here them mutter "please" over and over. The minutes pass, and Poochyena stays perfectly still. Suddenly, Mightyena goes silent, their eyes wide. A few seconds later, I see Poochyena's chest just slightly begin to move up, then down, then up.

For the first time, I see Mightyena smile, sobbing over their child. The Wildfire slowly shrinks down to nothing as tears flow from Mightyena's eyes. At last, the Wildfire fizzles out, and Mightyena drops to the ground.




Thanks for reading. Comments, questions, and criticisms are encouraged and appreciated.