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“Give that back!” growled Grovyle and jumped towards Bewear, activating Leaf Blade.
It was the strongest move he knew: the leaves on his forearms started glowing with energy and merged into a single, extremely sharp sword.
The lizard aimed at the paw of his opponent. He had to protect Trainer's property. The priceless backpack, taken over by the mean Bewear, who tried to rip it to shreds.
The attack didn't reach its target. Bewear caught Grovyle in flight and held him at arm's length, watching him unimpressed. It didn't even try to counterattack.
The lizard bared his teeth angrily, unable to escape the iron grip. However, being prevented from moving wasn't enough to stop him.
A quick round of Bullet Seed shot from his snout knocked the bag out of Bewear's other paw. The bear stepped back surprised and Grovyle used this moment to free himself and grab the precious backpack.
Bewear reached towards the bag, but the lizard was faster, instantly climbing one of the trees, high above the opponent's range. The bear however calmly approached the tree and hit it with Hammer Arm, pulverizing the trunk. At the last moment Grovyle leaped onto nearest tree, surprised by the brutality of the attack. Bewear was already aiming at the other trunk, but Grovyle wasn't willing to wait until its fist hits the target and instead fleed through the densely intertwined branches.
His species originated in tropical forests and was perfectly accomodated to such an environment. Prehensile claws on each limb easily found support on the branches, the long tail helped stabilize the flight during long leaps, a slim body easily slipped through the forest thicket. Grovyle was much faster here than on the ground level. Even despite the additional weight of the backpack which he held with difficulty in his arms. Designed for human shapes, it wasn't suited to be carried by pokemon, but it didn't discourage the lizard.
He only thought about coming back to the place where Trainer was. They were together on a high scarp looking for a rare Minior when suddenly they got attacked by an angry Skarmory... It happened too fast to let Trainer call another pokemon, with one attack it blew them both on the edge of the slope, Grovyle clung onto the backpack but it slipped off with him on it... He remembered Trainer's frightened eyes when he fell down, he remembered Skarmory emerging above the edge... He woke up on the jungle floor and the first thing he saw was that nasty Bewear messing with the Trainer's backpack, tearing it into pieces.
Grovyle snorted angrily. He had no idea how to leave this thicket and he couldn't even stop to think for a while with that cranky bear chasing him.
An unpleasant crack snapped him out of his thoughts. The branch he aimed at slided away from him before he managed to touch it, followed by the rest of the tree. Irritated, the lizard prepared to hit the ground, where the relentless Bewear was already awaiting him, leaned nonchalantly on jagged remains of a stump.
“Leave me alone!” demanded Grovyle, trying not to raise his voice.
“It’s nothing personal, I just need this bundle to perish.” Bewear pointed at the backpack.
“Not gonna happen.” Grovyle was ready to protect the bag with his own life. After all, it belonged to Trainer. “What kind of word is that anyway, ‘perish’? Do you ever leave this wilderness?”
Bewear’s expression was impenetrable. He continued calmly, “Nothing human has the right to remain in this jungle. I will get rid of this bundle, along with you if needed.”
Grovyle snorted with contempt. “Why do humans bother you so much? Oh, let me guess: one of them caught your friend? So now you’re burning with hate? Sworn to revenge? Well I hope it makes you feel better.”
Bewear came closer. Grovyle made sure not to raise his head and only glowered at the bear. He didn’t want to look like he’s losing control.
“Have you heard of the jungle on Blush Mountain?” asked the bear quietly.
“Me and Trainer climbed that mountain recently. There is no jungle there.”
“Exactly.” The bear stared intensely at the lizard. The latter without a word nervously adjusted the Black Glasses he was wearing as usual. This surprised Bewear.
“What’s up with your face?” asked the bear, startled.
“These are glasses. I got them from Trainer, I asked for them myself. Trainer loves me very much and always takes care of me. But what could you know about that.”
“What do these glasses do? Besides looking?”
“They boost the power of Dark-type attacks, if you need to know. It’s a very valuable gift.” Grovyle straightened up with pride.
“Well, well. And how many Dark-type attacks do you know?” Bewear seemed to scoff at him. Grovyle tightened his claws on the backpack.
“If you won’t let me go, you’ll soon find out.”
“Very well, you’re good to go.” Bewear gestured at the jungle around and stepped back with a mocking bow. Satisfied with this turn of events Grovyle moved ahead. After a few seconds the bear started following him. The lizard sent him a questioning look.
The bear shrugged. “I need to make sure the bundle has left the forest.”
Grovyle shook his head angrily and without a word kept moving forward. He could hear Bewear in some distance behind him but he no longer wanted to notice him. After a few long moments of silence he looked around. All the trees looked the same and he had no idea how to return to civilization. The only thing he could do was not to back down but count that he will finally find some river or another point of reference.
He twitched when he suddenly heard his stubborn companion right next to him.
“That looks heavy. I can help.” Bewear reached towards the backpack.
“Tearing the backpack into pieces is not help. Thank you very much, I’m fine,” growled Grovyle.
“You won’t get rid of me wandering through the forest. I have time.”
Grovyle laughed loudly. “I don’t care the slightest whether you follow me or not! Who do you think you are?”
“Oh, I think I get it.” Bewear seemed amused. “You are lost. You have no idea which way to go.”
Grovyle laughed even louder.
“Maybe instead of goofing around we shall go straight to the town,” suggested Bewear, taking a turn to the right.
Grovyle promptly joined him. “That’s where I wanted to go. Don’t you dare to think...”
“You want to quickly return to humans, I want to quickly get rid of the bundle. Just go.”
Grovyle didn't say anything anymore. They might have had a long journey before them and he preferred to spare energy. Other than their rhythmical footsteps he started to notice the sounds of the surrounding jungle. The forest was full of life - small pokemon were quickly escaping through the bushes, Bug-type creatures were watching them with round eyes from under the leaves, even the branches seemed alive, constantly moving under the weight of monsters leaping on them. Sometimes Grovyle felt someone's eyes staring at him intensely, as if challenging him to a battle, but nobody ever attacked him. Indeed, it seemed that in this unsusually crowded place everyone avoided him for some reason.
The reason, of course, must have been his guide. Grovyle wanted to understand his motivations.
“Say, why are you helping me? You could just destroy the backpack and leave me alone.”
“You will protect the bundle by all means, right?”
“Of course. I know Trainer would do the same for me.”
“Even knowing you have no chance against me?”
Grovyle agreed eagerly.
Bewear scratched his neck. “No one in this forest has the courage to fight me. No one, except you. This Trainer must really mean a lot to you. How long do you know each other?”
“Almost my entire life,” admitted Grovyle. He felt warmth remembering the adventures he had alongside Trainer. “I always wanted to battle and Trainer helps me become stronger. We travel the world looking for challenges. Trainer never leaves me alone and always makes sure I’m in good health. Together we celebrate and relax and I know we can achieve anything.”
Bewear listened carefully. “I didn’t know humans are capable of taking care of pokemon. They don’t even understand our language.”
Grovyle adjusted his glasses, smiling. “With Trainer we understand each other without words. We learned each other throughout the years… You would get it if you saw us.”
Bewear pondered over his words.
After hours of marching Grovyle started to feel exhausted. He wanted to continue until he collapses, but he knew that would make Trainer very upset. He had to take care of himself. He asked for a break.
When he was ready to continue, Bewear without a word took the backpack under his arm. Grovyle did not object. Something changed in the bear in the past few hours. He was now on his side. They continued the journey in silence but the atmosphere seemed relaxed this time.
Finally Bewear spoke. “We are almost there. You will reach the town before sunset. I know this path well, sometimes I come to the edge of the forest to watch humans… I know there is a whole lot of them in the world and I really want to believe that not all of them are complete monsters, because otherwise there would be no hope left for us. But it’s not easy to believe when I only hear bad things about them. Or heard, until you appeared.”
Grovyle was moved by this sudden flush of honesty. Wanting to somehow comfort his companion, he replied, “I wish you could see it for yourself. I don’t know if there are more good humans than evil, but for sure there is good in the world that is worth pursuing.”
Bewear nodded his head thoughtfully.
The sun was about to set. Rays of light falling at a low angle made the flora look incredible. All the flowers were glowing with warm colors, the moisture on leaves shined with tiny sparkles. Despite the situation the lizard couldn't ignore the nature's beauty. He would love to show this to Trainer, but he knew this would be unfair towards Bewear. He remembered that humans are not welcome there. The jungle was the bear's home and it was up to him to decide when he is ready for a meeting.
Among the forest growls the lizard suddenly heard a familiar voice, carrying far in the humid air. It was his Trainer! Calling for him, searching, right here, in this jungle! Grovyle immediately got excited.
“It’s Trainer!” he shouted and quickly took the backpack from Bewear. “Thanks for all, bye!” he said clumsily and quickly moved through the thicket towards the familiar, beloved voice.
He was right. Among the trees, alongside the whole party, he saw his Trainer. Everyone was looking for him, calling his name. The Trainer's arm was in a sling, they must have headed here straight from the hospital... Grovyle's eyes got wet.
Finally reunited. Grovyle approached Trainer carrying the backpack in his arms, but Trainer didn't care much about it. Soon the slightly flustered lizard got showered with kisses, hugs and pleasant scratching on the throat. Finally he was home.
The whole team returned towards civilization. Grovyle listened to Trainer praising him for surviving in the jungle and apologizing for the separation. He wanted to apologize himself for not reacting fast enough up on the slope. However, they quickly forgot about the trouble and simply enjoyed each other's presence.
When they finally left the jungle Grovyle looked back the last time. The adventure was ending and he wanted to remember it well. For a moment he thought he recognized the familiar silhouette of Bewear among the shadows, watching him thoughtfully, but before he could make sure it's him, it was already gone between the trees.
With a smile Grovyle waved goodbye towards the jungle and joined Trainer on the trail to the town centre.