Chapter Text
Stella rounded the group of kids up and ushered them outside, offering to teach them about moves and type match ups and such. With the Kanto Platinum ranks visiting, it was better to give the rowdier little ones something to do so they weren't stepping on any paws. She figured she'd take them to a nearby clearing surrounded by berry bushes and trees, so that they could all have a snack while they listened. The posse tagging along consisted of two of her own children Spark and Rumble, Angler (his siblings hadn't been interested, plus they were a lot calmer than he was, so Stella didn't think they'd be getting in trouble.), along with Dog, Eros, Tora, and Jojo.
The aforementioned group of four were trailing behind everyone else, though not by a lot, laughing and playfully shoving each other gently from time to time. It made her happy to see them all feeling safe and having good friends. The four of them had been joined at the hip for as long as Stella could remember. They'd all gone through tragic events in their life, they deserved the chance to just be kids. She was glad they were getting that.
Finally reaching the clearing, she motioned for them to sit. Once they did, she scanned around the trees. Oran berries and Pecha berries seemed most prominent. "Alright!" She hummed as she turned back to the children, looking over at the eldest four. "Would two of you mind coming to help me grab some berries? I figure you kids might like some snacks while I teach?" Everyone nodded excitedly, with the check in going on they hadn't had time for lunch yet. Jojo offered to go along, she was much taller than the other kids (even Stella herself, great Arceus Dolly what are you feeding her-) and Tora decided he'd help as well! She didn't worry about leaving the kids unattended, the clearing wasn't that big and even standing at the farthest tree she'd be able to see the remainder of their little group.
Stella sat the basket she'd carried along with them on the grass and nodded towards the other two. "Grab as many as you can, if we have some leftovers we'll just bring them back home, yeah? I'm sure Haribo and Stardust could use some for pies." Tora and Jojo nodded enthusiastically and the three of them got to picking. Once the basket was too full to carry anything more, Stella gave a chuckle. "Alright you two, I think we have enough. Thank you for the help." She bent down to grab the basket, but Jojo piped up with a "I can carry it back!" Before taking the handle in her teeth and trotting off back in the direction of the others. Stella smiled with a small nod of thanks before she ushered Tora along as well. The little tiger cub Pokemon bounded after his friend.
"Alright, feel free to take as many berries as you like. Try to leave some for everyone else though." Stella spoke as she sat in front of everyone, and patiently waited as they each grabbed a few berries. Once everyone had settled back down and all eyes were on her again, Stella began again. "We're going to go over type match-ups first, the types you have can bring you both an advantage and disadvantage. Knowing what types you're strong against is good, but knowing the types you're weak against and how best to handle a battle with them is extremely good knowledge to have, especially in a pinch."
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As Stella started to end the lessons, the sun was starting to set. She'd talked about type match-ups, move types, even let a couple of the kids do small, mock battles with each other. They all seemed to enjoy it, though she'd kept an extra eye on Spark. Hopefully she hadn't overexerted herself too much today. There were even still some berries left, wonderful! "Alright kids, I think it's time to..." Her voice trailed off and her head whipped around upon hearing the cracking of several twigs. Her ears pressed back against her head as she purposely moved her body in front of her little group, putting herself between them and whatever she was hearing. Maybe it was just a random Pokemon that lived in the forest, and they'd move on.
To her luck, it wasn't. Three Pokemon stepped out of the trees. Each wearing a spiked collar and being littered with battle scars. The trio consisted of a Pangoro, Houndoom, and a Sylveon that seemed to be the leader of the three. She wasn't even going to bother asking if they wanted to join Team Rocket, something in the way they stared at her told her they weren't here to become recruits.
Stella raised her head and met their eyes defiantly. "You're trespassing on Team Rocket territory. What do you want?" The Houndoom gave a laughing sneer, glancing at the Sylveon. "Ya hear that boss? Says we's tresspassin'." The way they spoke had the same tone someone might have when telling a friend a joke. She growled in response. "I asked you a question, what do you want?"
The Sylveon gave her a smooth smile, one she might even find charming if she wasn't worried for the safety of the children in her care. "We've come looking for... recruits, shall we say?" The use of the word recruits left a bad taste in her mouth. It felt like they'd used that word purposely. Though she didn't really care what for, she asked "For what, exactly?"
Still wearing that smile,the Sylveon shrugged. "Something that will make you stronger in the long run. I'm sure some of the little ones here would love to get stronger, hm?" A loud snarl rippled through her. Some of the kids shrunk back at her anger. Though he knew it wasn't directed at him, Dog still shook a little bit. Tora laid his tail across his shoulder in a comforting gesture, but didn't take his eyes off the huge Pokemon that had suddenly disrupted their group. "Absolutely NOT." The shiny Mightyena snapped. 'We're not interested in whatever crap you've got going on. Leave."
"Shame you think you've the right to make demands here." The Sylveon sighed, straightening up their shoulders. "Last time I checked there were three of us, and one of you." They didn't even acknowledge the kids. Stella didn't have to ask to know they all thought they could take down the kids without so much as a glance. Stella was strong, she was a ferocious fighter, but she was weak to two of these Pokemon. She had no idea if anyone else was close enough to help if she yelled for it. And if she did and no one was? They'd attack that second, she knew it.
Suddenly her platinum rank, even her former quartz rank didn't feel like it mattered anymore. It didn't. They could care less. What were they going to do, back off because she told them she was a high ranking member of a crime organization? What a joke.
Maybe if she hadn't come out here without any other adults, but she didn't think she'd need to. It was meant to just be a simple trip to give the kids something to do, they weren't even that far from home. They were supposed to be safe. This wasn't supposed to happen. If the kids weren't with her she could have run home for help by now. But she wouldn't leave them. She kept her gaze on the intruders but addressed the young recruits behind her. "Dog, Jojo." The two focused on her, hearts thudding in their chests along with all of the other kids. "Get yourselves and the others out of here. Get home. Get help."
Dog whined, stuttering a bit as he spoke. "But... but Aunt Stella we...we can't lea-" For only a split second, Stella's head whipped around to face the kids. "GO!" She snarled, and within a second she was turning back around and firing off her Take Down move, crashing directly into the biggest of the trio; the Pangoro.
She tried to shoot attacks at the other two, in hopes of at least slowing them down long enough for the kids to get away. But even just fighting one of them had her paws full. As she battled the Pangoro, she was aware of the Houndoom and Sylveon following after the others. She heard a yelp, no doubt Tora, and turned to see the Sylveon had grabbed him with his ribbons and yoinked him off the ground. She shot another attack at the Pangoro and ran towards them, but the sound of harsh coughing caught in her ears and her heart sank. No. No no no no no. Not now.
Sure enough, Spark was having another one of her sickness attacks. She paused, head turning back and forth from her daughter to her nephew. Once she noticed the Houndoom from earlier getting too close to Spark, pure adrenaline and mother's instinct drove her forward. Tora was older, he'd be okay long enough for her to help Spark. He would, she was so sure.
She was also sure the Sylveon would wait until their friends were ready to skedaddle. They immediately began darting towards the trees. "Wait, no! Put him down!" Stella growled, but had to keep fighting off the Houndoom. Before she knew what was happening she saw Jojo in the corner of her vision, angrily firing an attack at the Sylveon, only to be stopped by the Pangoro who'd since recovered from Stella's onslaught. Eros had ushered the twins and Angler along, promising he'd find help, helping support Spark as they went.
Dog moved as best he could with his heart pounding and his leg already making walking a bit hard for him. He couldn't think straight, he didn't even know why he was trying to go after the Sylveon. But the idea of his best friend being taken from him was terrifying and his subconscious didn't care about anything else. The wind was knocked out of him however, as he stumbled across some overgrown roots he hadn't seen in his haste. He yelped as he was sent to the ground, pain radiating from his good front paw that had gotten stuck. And stuck it sure was. He yanked and tugged at it, but it was no use.
Even if he’d managed to get himself loose, the Sylveon was already too far. Even still, he and Tora caught each other's gaze, the Litleo sobbing as he reached in his friend's direction. "Dog!" He sobbed, and Dog let out a similar and just as broken sounding "Tora!" and suddenly the pink form of the Sylveon was gone. His vision blurred and his mind swirled and he jolted as another attack fired off nearby him, and only then did he notice the Pangoro had been reaching for him. Panic raced through him as he tugged his paw more frantically, only hurting himself more in the process.
He turned around to see Azurite giving a loud snarl as he came to stand over Dog in a protective stance. Nearby, Hiro, who had Anima clinging to his back, was helping Stella chase off the Houndoom. The final two, seeing they were outnumbered with the arrival of two other Rocketmon, decided whatever they wanted to recruit for wasn't worth it and dipped. Not wasting a second, Hiro scanned around the clearing. Eros had run into the three of them and told them Stella and the others were being attacked, and they'd wasted no time in running to the clearing.
Hiro knew Eros, the twins, and her own brother Angler were safe, they were back at the Hideout now. Dog was right there with Azurite, who was helping remove his paw from the roots it was stuck in, and Jojo was nearby too, looking exhausted. Looking... different. Had he evolved during this? What a time to have that happen... But where was that little tiger? Hiro looked back at Stella, eyes worried and serious. "Stella. Where is Tora?" Stella was shaking, opening and closing her mouth a handful of times but not managing to get anything out. Instead she pointed a shaky paw in the direction that the intruders had run off in. "They took him?!" Stella nodded, still unsure that she could properly speak.
Hiro sat Anima down and looked at Azurite. "Make sure they all get home, please." He said before she started towards the trees. "Where are you going?" Azurite scowled in response. Hiro paused for a moment before glancing back at the Glaceon fusion. "I'm going after them." And then leaving no room for argument, Hiro darted off in the direction they'd seen the others take. As Azurite began to lead the others out of the clearing, Dog couldn't help but trail as far behind Stella as he could.
His stomach hurt, it felt like it was twisting up and all he felt when he looked at her was that bad feeling. He didn't like it. All he could focus on was the pounding in his ears and the ache in both his paw and chest. And the feeling, deep down, that if she had been faster Tora wouldn't be gone now. She was supposed to protect them, to keep them safe, and now Tora was gone. Hiro was gone, who knew if she'd get him back. Who knew if they'd come back herself? His remaining paws felt heavy as the four of them stumbled home.
Dog didn't care about dinner, resting, or even taking care of his injured leg. He just wanted his mamas'. He needed his mamas'.