Twenty-sixth Day/ A Whirl Of A Time pt. 2

"What's going on?" Eric asked as he ran over to Melanie's side.

[Pika!~] [Chaar~] [Eevee~] His Pokemon were slightly injured, but they were happy to see their trainer arrive.

"This Dratini was injured very badly when I found it. So I wanted to help it, but then I remembered I left my backpack with all my medicine and herbs... But before I could come back, this woman stopped me.." Melanie replied, stroking the head of the injured Dratini. She wasn't looking too well either with a few cuts and bruises visible on her arms. It seemed like she got them by protecting Dratini.

"This woman has a name and its Mara. Elite Team Rocket Agent Mara! Remember me when you die! Nidorina! Poliwhirl, let's finish this!" Mara shouted.

[Nido!] A fierce-looking Nidorina stomped its feet and prepared itself to battle for its master.

"That...Poliwhirl."

"Yeah...I was right. It was owned by someone. Who would have thought it to be Team Rocket.."

[Poliwhirl..] The light-blue Poliwhirl from earlier glared at its opponents as it pounded its fists together in a threatening manner.

"Nidorina, use Poison Sting! Poliwhirl BubbleBeam now!"

[Nido Nido!] Nidorina opened its mouth wide before sending out what looked to be purple needles toward the group.

[Poliiiwhirl!!] Poliwhirl inhaled and exhaled a stream of glowing bubbles in the same direction as Poison Sting.

"Dodge it, you guys!" Eric commanded as he swiftly picked Melanie up to dodge with them.

*Boom!*

Poison Sting and Bubble Beam caused an explosion as it hit the ground, missing their targets.

"Grr...Pikachu Thunder Bolt on Poliwhirl! Pidgeotto Air Slash on Nidorina!"

[Pikaachuuu!] Pikachu summoned its electricity from its small body and sent it hurling at Poliwhirl.

[Cha!!] Pidgeotto quickly took the sky and sent a powerful wave of air towards Nidorina.

"Dodge it, you two!"

[N-nido?!] Nidorina was too slow and took the strong Air Slash head-on, knocking it onto its back.

[Poliwhirl!] Poliwhirl was fast and managed to leap out of the way before Thunder Bolt could touch it.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Nidorina! Follow my commands to the letter! No mistakes!" Mara shouted, kicking the already down Nidorina.

Melanie looked at the scene with disbelief, "W-what is she doing?! That's horrible! You shouldn't treat Pokemon like that!"

"Eh? Why do I care? Look." Mara sneered, continuing to kick Nidorina as it got back up on its feet.

[N...Nido!] Nidorina pounded its chest before getting back into a battle stance

"It doesn't mind at all as it wants nothing more than to please me! Pokemon are nothing but puppets used for gain!" Mara said as she began to laugh. She genuinely didn't care for Pokemon as the only thing she cared for was long gone. "Once I add that rare Dratini to my team, then I'll have another puppet!"

"No, you're wrong! Pokemon are so much more than that!" Melanie shouted at the top of her lungs as she jumped out of Eric's arms. She couldn't believe that there were people like this treating Pokemon anyway they wanted. 'It's one of the reasons why I want to be a Pokemon Ranger...'

"Pokemon are not tools! You-"

"Shutup, girl! I don't need to be preached to! Nidorina use Helping Hand! Poliwhirl Bubble Beam again, but aim it at the ground!" Mara demanded.

"What?"

[Nido!] Nidorina's hands glowed with faint golden light as it clapped its hands together in a strange rhythm.

[Poliiiiwhirl!!!] Poliwhirl suddenly felt a warm energy flow into its body before it attacked. Its standard Bubble Beam became faster and even stronger than before!

*BOOM*

The strengthened version of Bubble Beam bombarded the ground in front of Eric, causing an explosion so strong that it made a massive cloud of dust, obscuring anyone's view.

"Pidgeotto...U-use Whirlwind!" Eric said while coughing. "Melanie, stay close to me!" He shouted, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Ok.." Melanie blushed at the sudden contact, but she quickly realized it wasn't the right time to be embarrassed.

[Chaa!!] Pidgeotto quickly flapped its wings to blow away the massive dust cloud.

"You're dead.."

Eric heard a voice, and almost immediately, he moved his body to the left along with Melanie, narrowly dodging what looked to be a knife.

With the dust cloud finally gone, it revealed Mara behind Eric with a gnarly-looking black knife in her left hand.

"Huh? So you aren't just a pretty face. This is going to be fun!" Mara grinned as she continued to assault Eric with her knife.

The Pokemon battle quickly turned into a real battle!

Eric immediately pushed Melanie to side and continued to dodge Mara's attack. He learned his lesson back in Vermilion City.

He couldn't be careless!

Eric narrowly dodged the knife attacks as he didn't know how to fight properly. He was relying on his stats to move his body, and luckily it was keeping him alive as he managed to see purple liquid drip from the tip of the blade.

'It has poison?!'

"Hahahaha! This is fun! But you're beginning to piss me off! Die already! Poliwhirl Low Kick!" Mara shouted.

"Oh, no!"

Nidorina was still standing in the spot it was in early as it was still new to its master's habits. However, Poliwhirl has been with its master since day one! It knew its master like the swirls on its stomach.

[Poliwhirl!] Poliwhirl leaped into action and stretched out its right leg, readying itself to attack the boy.

*Bam!*

"Guh!" Eric gritted his teeth as a way to bear with the immense pain of being kicked in the leg. The attack was strong enough to knock him off balance.

"Eric!!"

[Pikaachuuuuu!] Pikachu used Thunder Bolt without its trainer's commands, which caught Poliwhirl off guard.

It was a direct hit!

However, Poliwhirl didn't mind the pain as it already accomplished its mission.

Mara took full advantage over Eric's situation and jumped on top of him with the tip of her knife heading straight for his heart.

"Noo!" Melanie screamed, moving at speeds never thought possible in an attempt to knock Mara off of Eric.

At that moment, everything for Eric seemed to slow down as if the world wanted him to engrave the scene of him dying in his mind. He was scared and sad that he is about to leave the Pokemon World before he could really do anything.

Eric wanted to see more, much more, exploring every nook and cranny of all the different regions. He wanted to catch more Pokemon and train them to beat all the Champions!

To be known all across the world as the strongest Pokemon Master!

'No... Stop thinking like you're going to die! You're not!' Eric thought, letting out a beast-like yell as his left hand shot out like lightning, latching onto Mara's wrist, stopping the knife from ever reaching its target.

"I'm not dying today!"

"Huh!-"

Eric showed no mercy and slammed his right fist into Mara's face with so much force that it sent her rolling across the jungle floor.

Mara rolled until she was stopped by a tree, causing her to scream in pain.

Melanie gently placed the injured Dratini down before checking Eric, "Are you ok?! You didn't get stabbed did you?!"

"N-no..I'm good." Eric nodded with his forehead now covered in sweat. 'I was really close to dying..' He then slowly got to his feet and looked at the woman who almost ended his life.

"Hahaha..."

She was laughing.

"Hahahahaha!" Mara was laughing even when she was bleeding from her mouth. She then suddenly closed her mouth, moving her cheeks side to side before spitting out a bloody tooth. "That really hurts, boy... You didn't even hold back for a beautiful lady like me~ " Mara smiled icily, licking away the blood that was on her lips and chin, leaving a smudge behind.

"I think... I think I'm in love~..." Mara said, her cheeks blushing with red as she struggled to get back up on her feet. "Won't you be mine?~ You won't betray me like the others, right? Right?!"

Eric looked at the woman with fear and disgust. He couldn't believe such a person could exist. 'Wait... A yandere?'

Mara took the silence as a yes and screamed, "That's wonderful! Please be mine!"

Eric wanted to decline, but before he could, someone else spoke up.

"That boy is mine! Hands off!" A familiar voice shouted.

Everyone looked to see who he was, and it was a black-haired man wearing a fedora!

Its... Mishal!

"Why is he here?... Wait, did he follow us?!"

"Why would he follow us?" Melanie asked.

"Mishal? The world-renowned cook here?" Even Mara wanted to know why he was in the jungle.

"That boy is my successor. I hope you know what that means?" Mishal said as his eyes flashed with a dangerous light.

"Tch... Nidorina! Poliwhirl! Return!" Mara recalled her Pokemon and quickly escaped the vicinity after giving Eric one last look, flashing a seductive smile before disappearing.

Eric's body shivered after that one last look from Mara, and he hoped he'd never see her again. However, something told him to watch his back more often.

"Ah! Eric, my successor! I hope you are doing fine!" Mishal laughed as he patted Eric's shoulder.

"You...What do you want, anyway? And I already told you no!" Eric sneered, smacking Mishal's hand away.

"Come on, don't be that way. I saved your life as the woman would have found a way to end yours."

Melanie was confused, "What does he mean by successor?"

"Oh! You must be his girlfriend. Nice to meet you!" Mishal flashed a smile as he held out his hand towards Melanie.

"G-girlfriend?!... Wait, we have no time for this!" Melanie said, turning away and running back to Dratini.

Dratini's breathing was weak as its entire body shivered from pain. It was severely injured by Mara as it was trying to escape. Dratini knew right away the woman didn't have good intentions, and so it ran. The little Pokemon continued to run even when it was hit again and again with moves that generally would have knocked it out.

The woman seemed to enjoy watching it run and scream in pain. Dratini then started to regret leaving its home, but then it suddenly felt a pair of warm arms surrounded. It wanted to struggle, but it was too weak to move a single muscle. However, the owner of the arms soothed it with her sweet voice and promised to help it.

Dratini knew it was finally safe and fainted in the arms of its rescuer. But now it was in critical condition and needed to be nursed right away.

Melanie gently lifted Dratini in her arms, "Come on, let's go!" She said as she ran in the direction of the river.

"Let's go, you guys!" Eric immediately followed after Melanie with his team right behind him.

"Wait for me!" Mishal shouted.

-------

Dratini was now sleeping soundly on a soft cloth with its body almost completely wrapped in bandages. Melanie had medicine she made from herbs, and it helped Dratini with the pain.

"Dratini should be fine now. It just needs a couple days of rest to be back to normal." Melanie tiredly said as she laid back on the ground.

"That's good... But that woman..." Eric sighed while a shiver went up through his spine.

"I'll teach that lady a thing or two..." Melanie muttered, promising to herself that she'll take down Mara. She didn't know how, but she was going to do it!

"Now, with that out of the way! Eric, how about we leave this jungle to begin your training!" Mishal excitedly said.

" Go jump off a cliff... Why are you still here!!"