Chapter 16: Saddle Battle

    Was it just Arven, or was something familiar about the voice that came from Sada? No, he was going crazy. Too many moths were chasing him and his friends. However, he did ask, "Mom, what's that voice?"

    She didn't answer him. Rather, she spoke to the voice. "I'm not going to let you take advantage of me."

    "Mom—" Arven started, but Penny speaking to Nemona broke his thought.

    "Nemona, wait!" She grasped Nemona's shoulder and flashed her phone at her. "According to this, that Pokémon—Iron Moth it's called—is a Fire/Poison-type. It's a horrible matchup for Meowscarada."

    Nemona blew her a raspberry. "Ah, poppycock. I've defeated plenty of Pokémon with Meowscarada's weakness."

    Penny's eyes narrowed. "Nemona, you've got to draw it back."

    "No way," she argued with a smile, clenching her fist. "Meowscarada, use Flower Trick! A Saddle Battle has never felt so good."

    "Scarada!" Nemona's bipedal, Grass/Dark cat announced. It launched a powerful bouquet of flowers at one Iron Moth, only for the plants to bounce off its body like a slinky.

    Not even fazed, the Iron Moth called for one of its friends. Before Meowscarada knew it, two of them surrounded it. They circled the Pokémon and moved faster and faster as the seconds progressed.

    "Dodge them, Meowscarada!" Nemona ordered, slightly panicked but still confident.

    Meowscarada bent its knees, but before it could leap out of the way, the Iron Moths pulled it to the ground and used Heat Wave and Sludge Wave. A purple and red light washed over Nemona's Meowscarada and threw it back with its impact.

    "Meowscarada!" Nemona shrieked. In an instant, she hopped off Koraidon and hurried for her Pokémon.

    It tried to stand, but it was quickly on the ground again.

    Once she was close enough, Nemona recalled it as fast as she could.

    The Iron Moths that attacked Meowscarada zeroed in on her, screeching.

    Nemona threw her arms up and covered her face and upper body. She waited to die.

    From Koraidon's back, Penny drew a pokéball and chucked it. "Vaporeon, come out and use Surf!"

    Her four-legged Water Pokémon appeared and stamped its front legs. To give its attack an extra boost, it opened the fins on its tail and around its face. An enormous wave of water crashed into the Iron Moths. Their bodies sizzled under its cold touch, and both landed in a heap in front of Nemona.

    Scarlet steered Koraidon to Nemona, who stood frozen in place.

    Penny grabbed her and lugged her onto the Legendary's back. "You're welcome," she growled, recalling Vaporeon.

    Nemona's face turned red, and she tightly clutched Meowscarada's pokéball.

    The Iron Moths were down by two, but the remaining ones chased the party out of the Tagtree Thicket. Where they were now was a dry part of the region that had dead trees and way too many craters to count. They were assembled like layers on a cake.

    Sada and Arven tried to get closer to Koraidon, but an Iron Moth came between him and Miraidon.

    Celebi started to put its barrier up again, but it was already too late.

    The Iron Moth launched a Heat Wave at the dry ground. Rocks shattered from it, and the wounded earth chucked Koraidon and Miraidon away from each other.

    "Sada! Arven!" Penny's voice yelled through the smoke and dust, but Arven and Sada did not reply.

    Miraidon spun in circles toward one of the crater layers and quickly changed into his battle form. He held Arven and Sada in his arms but came to such an abrupt halt that he accidentally threw them over a cliff.

    The two fell all the way to the bottom, but luckily, Celebi's eyes glowed up before they could hit it. It caught Arven and Sada in midair and dropped them in front of a small cave that was merely a rocky hallway: Sada on her backside and Arven on his feet.

    The second they landed, Sada's arm sparked, and she cried out.

    "Mom!" Arven yelled.

    "You can punish me all you want," Sada threatened her mastermind. "I'm not scared of you."

    Grabbing her, Arven dragged her into the cave. Celebi soon appeared next to him, and Miraidon flew in from above. His rockets changed like airplane tires when they came in for a landing, so now he floated.

    He and Arven glued themselves to the cave's walls and stayed as quiet as possible. They waited a good ten minutes, but the Iron Moths never showed. Under Arven's touch, Sada's arm stopped sparking, but she still twitched some.

    She looked proud of herself. That must've been the first time she stood up to Infrared. She prevented herself from becoming a battle machine, and now she was safe and snug in a cave with Arven and Miraidon. Perhaps there was hope after all?