"Release!"
A rocking behemoth appeared near me, shaking the ground. Next to it came whispers of chaos, the eldritch wood creaking as it surveyed the area. The ground sprouted a leak when three mole-like humps bounced up and down.
The trees surrounding us twisted as the roots bent backwards. The Trevenant's eyes glowed an emerald green, its wooden branches raised in concentration.
The Rhyperior stomped on the ground. The earth warped, rocks and branches all washed away to the sides as the wave of dirt brought all the debris with it.
The Dugtrio sped through the nearly flattened area, clearing out any remaining obstacles. Rocks crumbled into nothingness. Small mounds flattened instantly.
In mere seconds, a large circular area had been cleared. Where before, trees and protrusions of rocks, logs, and uneven ground had been, there was now a completely flat area to camp.
"Alright Terrence, Oslo, make camp. Lieutenant, Norton, Jeffords, show the kids some take downs."
The other rookies looked to each other and buzzed with excitement. I was pretty excited too. Take downs sounded like we'd be able to see Ranger pokemon in action. Or maybe Rangers? I still didn't know how common and powerful aura was.
Tristan nodded towards one of the Rangers, who released an Alakazam in response. The psychic mustache pokemon's eyes glowed pink and floated in the air. It had two metal items in its hands, but they weren't spoons. One was a charm. It looked like a Mamoswine tusk, but made of a silvery metal. The other hand held onto a crude metal stick. It was larger at the end, looking like a miniature metal caveman's club.
The Ranger's eyes widened, and nodded towards Tristan again.
Tristan addressed the group. "Okay kids. Jeffords here found a live one. This is going to be a real rampaging wild pokemon. Don't panic. Do not run. Do not scream. Don't be noticeable. Nothing out there will be able to hurt you with Alakazam running defense. Other than that, sit still. Watch. Observe. Learn. And don't panic. That one's important. Got it?"
We didn't even get a chance to respond before a flash of pink enveloped the area.
All of a sudden there was a bear not even 5 feet away from us. It was at least 7 feet tall, with claws as long as knives. The Ursaring roared, and stomped forward. It slashed down, eliciting a scream of fear from one of the rookies. But the bear's massive paw clunked against a pink barrier that sprouted in front of the group.
I idly noticed the body of a Luxio laying in a heap on the ground get teleported away, leaving only a crimson stain on the ground. I looked around, but other people didn't seem to notice.
"Alright Jeffords, you take this one." Tristan nodded to the other Ranger. The one without the Alakazam.
The Ranger released a Pikachu and Pachurisu.
Tristan stood behind the group, watching the ursaring through the pink barrier. "Pop Quiz! What do you do when you're cornered by something that's way outside your weight class and can rend trees in half like wax paper? Yellow shirt."
The rookie stammered. "..run?"
"You can't run faster than a rampaging Ursaring. You just died with your tail tucked between your legs. Glasses, what about you?"
This trainer was more prepared. "Release my pokemon. Aim for the legs."
Tristan glanced down. "And what pokemon do you have?"
"Numel, Marowak, and Magmar." The kid replied.
Not a bad team.
"Those burns won't hurt Ursaring until a couple hours after it's torn you to pieces. But better!"
Ursaring slammed on the psychic barrier again, but it didn't even shake. Jeffords continued to wait patiently for Tristan's orders.
"Oak's kid. What would you do?"
I cleared my throat. "Fighting retreat. Favor electric moves, hoping to stun or paralyze. Anything to slow it down. Pick routes with big roots and rocks to impede its path." I forget if bears can climb trees. Maybe black bears could? Or was it brown bears? But would Ursaring count as one of those anyway? Either way, punching it in the nose definitely did not seem like a good option.
"Not bad. Jeffords, go ahead."
The Pikachu and Pachurisu jumped onto Jeffords, who whipped his arms to launch the pokemon over the psychic barrier.
They circled the Ursaring, peppering it with attacks. Thunder waves, thunder shocks, even nuzzles bombarded the thick furred pokemon.
Tristan continued. "Ursaring is a tank. Any damage you can do right now will mostly be superficial. If you can't beat this thing within five seconds, don't try to beat it at all. Fighting retreat is a good option. Of course, teleporting out is far better, but not all of us have the luxuries of a teleporter. But Jeffords is no amateur. People laugh less about Pikachu after Ketchum, but his Pikachu is a Legend trapped in a tiny rat's body. Jefford's Pikachu is the true pinnacle of what can be achieved normally."
The Ursaring slowly stumbled around. Each movement was sluggish. Every swipe of its paws sent electricity running down every one of its nerves.
Tristan clapped. "Jeffords could incapacitate a rampaging Machamp with ease. Electric types are glass cannons, but Jeffords uses them as a team, and a glass cannon that doesn't get hit is just a walking powerhouse. And now that the Ursaring can hardly move, it's far easier to take out." Tristan nodded to the Alakazam's trainer. Norton, by process of elimination.
The barrier dropped, making the yellow shirted kid gasp in alarm.
Tristan stalked forward to the Ursaring fearlessly. It swiped, but Tristan leaned backwards to avoid it. It was slowed, but I knew that even at full speed it likely wouldn't have been able to touch him.
"See, perfectly harmless!" Tristan yelled as he continued to dodge wide swipes of the Ursaring's claws.
In a quick fluid motion, he crouched onto his knees to duck under a swipe, and then jumped up the second the Ursaring's clawed paw passed over his head. For a moment he hung in the air, right above the Ursaring, as it turned its head to look back from where it was overextended. Tristan cocked his hand back, and chopped down between the Ursaring's head and neck. It dropped to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Tristan brushed off his shoulders with his hands, and turned to Norton.
"Start looking for the next one. I'm thinking contain."
Tristan turned back to the group.
"Yellow shirt. What did you learn?"
The yellow shirted kid did not look happy to be picked again. "That you're really strong."
Tristan laughed. "Well that is true, but not good enough! Scar face, you're up."
The older looking kid with the scar and ultra balls glared at Tristan. "Higher weightclass also makes for a big target. Smaller fast pokemon that usually don't get used in circuit can still be viable in the wild, as the wild doesn't have set rules like the battling format. Ursaring, and potentially bipedal pokemon in general, have a weak spot between their neck and shoulder. That being said, an Ursaring can still defend that area easily if it isn't stunned, and it's a risky maneuver regardless."
"Good! Everyone got that? No pokemon is useless. If you can't think of a way to use a pokemon, that's a problem on your end. Not the pokemon." Tristan turned as Norton nodded to him. He laughed. "Alright, round two!"
Another pink flash enveloped us.
Immediately a cloud of vapor appeared in the air. A thick plume of yellow dust obscured the clearing around us.
Alakazam made a dome of clear air around us. In the haze of yellow dust, I could hardly see anything outside. I looked for whatever poor pokemon was getting attacked, as well as for what pokemon was the aggressor. But I couldn't see anything. My eyes kept scanning through the haze, until I finally saw a dark shape. There were large red flaps, kind of like flower petals. It shook as it jumped up and down, and more dust continued to cover the area.
Tristan turned to the group. "Alright! Scar face, what would you do?"
"Cover my mouth as I run. Have my Scizor tear the Vileplume to pieces. Release my Heracross to make sure nothing else can attack me in time."
Interesting. So the scar face trainer was probably a bug trainer. Somehow I didn't expect the badass older looking rookie with the Ultra Balls and scars to be a lowly bug catcher. Admittedly Scizor and Heracross were on the cooler end of bug types. I'd make sure not to discount him just because bug types tended to be weaker. I wonder what else he trained? And damn, he had a Scizor? I wonder if he had to use a metal coat, or if such things even exist.
"Not bad. Those toxic clouds and vapors can range in dozens of effects. Whether it's to stun, poison, or put you to sleep, generally avoid breathing any of those particles in at all costs. Nature types generally react violently to those powders, but Scizor are one of the few who can shake them off with ease. But alloys tend to be pretty rare. Norton, if you would?"
The Ranger released two Butterfree's next to his Alakazam. The Alakazam coated the two Butterfree's in pink energy, a small overcoat that let the clouds of vapor wash over them. The two flying bugs then proceeded to circle the Vileplume, bombarding it with confusions. The pink waves of energy each didn't do much damage to the Vileplume individually, but they quickly began racking up. The Vileplume proceeded to get more and more knocked around by each confusion. It's feet stumbled to each side as it tried to catch its balance, but it became more difficult with each hit.
It turned its head towards us, and then turned back to try and run away, but slammed into a psychic barrier that sprouted up in front of it. It fell back onto its behind. It slowly tried to get up, but its stubby limbs weren't great for creating force. Especially since it kept getting knocked down again from the Butterfrees' confusions. Ranger Norton then nodded to his Alakazam. A pokeball was psychically lifted from Norton's pack. There was a light halo of energy around it as Alakazam held it in its psychic grip. It then launched forward, hitting the Vileplume in the back of the head.
After a second of wiggling, the ball signaled a capture.
I perked my head up. "Hey Lieutenant, what do you do with the captured wild pokemon?" I realize Tristan never actually told me how people get their goddamn pokemon in this region if so few trainers tried to train the wilds.
"Don't think you have special rights just cuz you're tied to Oak kid. When we're in the field, do not speak unless spoken to. Unless you spot something that needs immediate attention, never distract any Rangers in the field. Save the questions for camp." Tristan said sternly. I assume he was saying this to assuage any doubts I would get special treatment for the other rookies, while also establishing that the rookies should keep their mouths shut.
"Not a bad question though. Wild pokemon are difficult to rehabilitate, but we try to avoid mindless slaughter wherever we can. Sometimes we ship the wilds off to the regional Professors in the mainland, especially if they've given special requests. Otherwise it might be put into a rehabilitation zone, like a nature preserve, where it can live out the rest of its life. If it's found rampaging in that zone though, we usually have to put them down. Sometimes we just release them back into the wild. And there is the rare case that a Ranger either chooses or is tasked with the difficult challenge of trying to tame one of these nasties." Tristan turned back towards Norton. "Alright last one, and then we can head back to camp for the day. I'm thinking some kind of nature pokemon, difficult to stun and has good range."
Norton nodded. He closed his eyes, his Alakazam following suit. They both went back into the meditative trance they did the first two times. So Norton probably had developed his aura with a psychic foothold, and he could use it to search the nearby area for the minds of pokemon?
Cool.
I wonder if he could also search for people? What was his range? Did he have to link with Alakazam to do it? Did they increase each others' range when searching, or was it just more efficient for both to be searching at once, while communicating, so they wouldn't both search the same area? My mind buzzed with possibilities. Norton and his psychic types must be extremely helpful for search and rescue. Probably good as a scout too. I wonder if dark types were immune to his sight? Would ghost types also be immune? Maybe I'd get a chance to ask him later.
Tristan had been spouting off about specific colors of powders to avoid. Yellow and glittery likely meant stun spore. Paralysis and all that. Dark red meant rage powder. Turned a wild pokemon's mind to mush, making it wildly rampage. Sleep powder, poison powder, all the different things to look out for.
Honestly it probably would have been helpful. But I'd already decided that if I saw anything in the air, I would just book it. No way I'm getting caught breathing any of those in. Of course things weren't always so simple, but my thoughts regarding Norton's possibilities were simply more entertaining.
I wonder if other psychic trainers had similar capabilities, or how aura would develop differently in them. I guess it'd probably depend on what pokemon they trained specifically. And what training they focused on with dual typings. I don't think Tristan has any kind of psychic portion in his aura. His Gallade was probably primarily trained for its physical prowess, with teleportation also trained as a supplementary movement to enhance his fighting ability, as well as raw convenience for travel. I'd have to ask Tristan about it later.
I didn't even notice that Norton had finished his search.
There was simply a flash of light, and we were suddenly in a different part of the forest. The trees here weren't the redwood like before. Now they were more jungle-like. There were vines strewn about, like on the path Tristan and I had carved to get to camp. I don't think it ecologically made sense for these trees to exist in the same forest as redwood, but I guess spatial warping made for weird ecosystems.
There was no roar this time. Just a loud and angry warble. Like something bubbling up, but with enough rage and vengeance to put the fear of god in you.
Massive green appendages slammed into the psychic shield in front of us. The appendages were made of countless vines, strung together as tight chords. They were connected to a large ball-like creature. It was over 10 feet tall, with hundreds of vines whipping around wildly.
The Tangrowth was hammering down on the psychic shield with power. There were dull thuds like someone pounding on a large wooden door.
Tristan winced a little at the loud sounds, but turned towards the group.
"Here's a good example of a Pokemon you do not want to fight. Jeffords would struggle, since his stunning tactics would hardly do anything. Tangrowth have thick rubbery vines with incredible natural resistance. With hardly any conductivity, the current just dies out. Any sort of paralysis won't last long, if it even ever gets to that point to begin with. It's got a big enough range with those vines that it could snag Buttefree out of the air. Those vines are replaceable, so it will lash out with reckless abandon."
Tristan turned towards the rampaging creature and pointed to its vines. "Don't ever let yourself get caught by those vines. It can suck the life straight out of you. With the constant canopy blocking the sun, these Tangrowth only tend to get energy by stealing it from others. Some, like this one, have gotten too heavy to climb up above the canopy, so they're constantly hungry."
Tristan released his Gallade. He then pulled out Oblivion from his back. He nodded to Gallade, who sharpened its elbow blades with pink energy, as well as charging its fists up with brown energy.
"I hate to say it, but these are the kinds of Pokemon we can't just leave be. They only disrupt ecosystems. Especially when one has gotten this big. It's part of the job. We Rangers are the protectors of the wild. We protect humanity from the outside. We protect the outside from humanity. And we protect the outside from itself. It's a hefty job, but that's why we like it. I can't just expect Kommo-o and the iron scales to take care of every nut job in the forest."
With a flash of light, Tristan and Gallade appeared on the other side of the clearing. Tangrowth turned to face its opponents.
It immediately began lashing out with one of its two massive arm-like appendages. Tristan quickly sidestepped, jumping up to avoid the aftershock as the vines slammed into the ground with terrifying power. He twirled in the air, slicing to the side with Oblivion. The appendage fell lifelessly to the ground, cut off from its source.
Tangrowth warbled in anger, and took a step back. It eyed Gallade and Tristan with caution. It quickly slammed its other appendage into the ground, while keeping a dozen or so lone vines around it, wildly whipping through the air so nothing could close the distance. The ground cracked as rocks the size of basketballs shot out of the ground, commanded by the Tangrowth. Gallade blurred into motion, stepping in front of Tristan with a wall of psychic energy. The ancient power shattered harmlessly against it.
But Tristan wasn't the kind to just stand behind a pokemon. He ran back, running up a tree and jumping off backwards, easily clearing the psychic wall. Gallade noticed that Tristan was pulling something, and quickly moved to distract Tangrowth. Three pink blades slashed idle vines off of the Tangrowth, making it zero in on the Gallade. They continued past the Tangrowth after cutting, and dissipated harmlessly against Alakazam's shield. While still in the air, Oblivion suddenly burst into flame as Tristan poured energy into the blades. Bringing both arms above his head, Tristan crunched his core, slashing the swords down. The blades ripped through the vines like swiss cheese. The swords cut through the giant ball cleanly, as if Tanjiro had seen the Tangrowth as a massive rock, and the remaining vines quickly lit up in a burst of flames.
Tristan landed cleanly, and whipped both swords around to his back. They extinguished right before he sheathed them. He walked back towards us as all the vines burnt to ash behind him.
"Now, who's ready for dinner?" He asked brightly, with an innocent grin on his face, as if he hadn't just ended a life right in front of our eyes.
The kid with a yellow shirt just stood there with his mouth gaping. Other rookies were in a similar position. Even Barry looked shocked.
"Nobody? Well I guess that's more for me." Tristan said cheerily, clapping Norton on the back. In a flash of pink light, the vestiges of flame disappeared as we teleported away.