[Fin] Peaceful Afternoons

[BlackFireKitsune]

The Zoroark's sudden appearance and distress startled the Growlithe, who hadn't expected anything to be in the path of its flames, and it yelped as well when Viktor's Psychic caught it off-guard, sending it staggering to one side. The Mewtwo's words in its head startled it further, but it instead quickly turned to its pair of humans to see what they were doing for a clue what it should do next.

Jozette snarled again as she whipped her head to one side and sank her sharp teeth into the man's arm; he cursed loudly as he felt her fangs, the oppressive heat from the Rapidash behind him, something on his head, and something unfamiliar and angry projecting a voice into his head. Recognizing their target and not wanting any more of this crap, Jozette's free paw dove to the bottom and pulled out a pokeball, and she wasted no time pressing it into the arms of the shocked Ralts beside her. She offered Yulia a hasty wave and, realizing the importance of her task, the little pokemon nodded once before hugging the ball and Teleporting five or six yards away.

Luckily for Dith, Ion's assailant had no intention of continuing his assault; once the teen landed on the ground, he sluggishly rolled onto his side and propped one arm up on the grass, but otherwise didn't try to get back up. His assailant quickly hopped onto his other side to get away from Dith, the startling voice in his head from the angry floating pokemon, and so he could start running towards the Ralts.

Cursing again, the man holding Jozette pushed her to one side - he couldn't back up lest he get trampled by the angry Rapidash right behind him - and yanked his arm away from her before he hastened after his partner and towards the Ralts, all while trying to either grab and throw the small pokemon on his head pecking at his ear, or to just swat it off, whichever worked first.

A Water Gun struck the Growlithe and it growled angrily, but their target had moved. Ignoring the Espeon and Mudkip, as well as the unfamiliar human and all of his pokemon, it darted after its pair of humans as fast as it could.  

[TawnyAngel]

s**t. What the hell had just started happening here? Leaving his pokemon to deal with the humans who was chasing the Ralts Dith knelt down beside the kid to check on him, he still seemed to be having trouble breathing and - to state the blindingly obvious - that was never good. "Take it easy, they had this under control," Dith said; offering reassurance was always a good first step.

A flailing hand caught Gabbie a smack on the head and while it didn't hurt her a whole lot it did send her flying. The small fire type hit the ground with a soft thud, picked herself up and took off running after her target again, her speed increasing along with her enthusiasm as the battle got into swing. <>

Gulp, who was not very fast, lumbered on after the humans and the Growlithe a little way before giving up and jetting another Water Gun at the fire type instead.

Dolly, naturally, overtook the humans with ease; she spun around with a snort, planting herself between them and the little Ralts with her head lowered threateningly and one hoof pawing the ground.

Viktor, bounding after Dolly, blasted the Growlithe with another Pyschic attack. <> he snapped at the canine pokemon. <>

//Excellent advice, but you are out of time for that!// Lovelace's mental voice sneered as she added, lashing out with a Pyshic blast at the human closest to Yulia. For the sake of her human roommate's sensibilities she pulled the punch a little but she had had quite enough of playing games and intended that the vicious humans should be in absolutely no doubt of that.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

If he hadn't had trouble breathing before, he certainly did now. The blow had effectively winded him at a terrible time, and he squeezed his eyes shut. His chest hurt and his throat felt so constricted he could barely breathe, and while he did make a soft wheezing noise occasionally, he was mostly silent. The stranger's presence and reassurances gave him little solace, but it at least sounded like no one had been hurt.

With the bad humans gone - more or less - Jozette was free to dig around in the backpack for a moment, unimpeded. In a moment she'd found and withdrew one of Ion's inhalers, and she immediately turned and hastened closer to her trainer to press it into one of his hands, watching him anxiously. His fingers fumbled around it for a second before he pressed it to his lips, though at this point he wasn't sure how much it would help.

While the humans didn't react to Gabbie's most mature outburst, the Growlithe glared at her as it ran. Before it could yell at her, a Water Gun connected with its back and it stumbled, startled, then yelped as the Psychic attack struck it. That was more than it could handle, and the fire-type stumbled again before falling forward and skidding to a halt in the grass, unconscious.

With the annoyance gone, the human in front raced as fast as he could towards the Ralts - then stopped abruptly as an angry Rapidash easily surpassed them and blocked their path. His partner stumbled to a stop behind him, and turned to glance behind him. Nope, nope, nope; he pulled a ball from his belt and returned the fainted Growlithe while the man in front cursed under his breath and reached for something on the inside of his jacket.

While she was grateful for the Rapidash's presence, the humans still unnerved her with their violence and persistence, so Yulia quickly looked around at the nearby trees before disappearing with another Teleport.

At the same time, Lovelace's attack struck the unsuspecting human and slammed him into a nearby tree. His partner jerked backwards away from him, displeasure and frustration etched clearly into his features. "Oh, ******** this," he shouted as he grabbed the man's arm and ran into the trees on the side, rather than go forward through the Rapidash or go back to the angry talking legendary.

"Hey, what are-- we need to get--" The other one shouted as he stumbled, but his partner cut him off.

"Forget it! They can keep it, it isn't worth this s**t!"  

[TawnyAngel]

Lovelace watched the humans flee and flexed her hands. //Pity,// she said, speaking to nobody in particular but reaching everyone nearby. Those were the sort of people she had thought all humans were, it would have been good to make them suffer more for it.

Dith paid no attention to the legendary pokemon; his attention was focused with a concerned frown on Ion. Asthmatic then, that explained a lot, and it didn't seem like the inhaler was helping much. Right then. "Hey," Dith gave the kid's shoulder a gentle squeeze, "you need to get to a hospital, so I'm going to pick you up and take you on my Rapidash alright? I know it's hard but try not to worry, I'm a doctor so I know what I'm talking about! You're going to be fine. Your pokemon will come with us on Dolly too so don't worry about them either. My name is Dima by the way, and I think you already know Lovelace?" If he could put Ion at his ease this would be a lot easier....

What had just happened though? Dima glanced in the direction the men had fled, frowned, and then shook his head and returned all of his own pokemon other than Dolly. "Lovelace we need to move quickly... I will meet you back here later?" he suggested to the Mewtwo.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Jozette was also focused on Ion, and her paws flexed as she anxiously looked back and forth between him and the other human.

While part of him realized that the shouting had ceased and things had quieted down, most of him was focused on the reality of his situation. Hospital; hospital was good. Ion managed to offer an "okay" in a voice barely above a whisper before he tried to push himself up to his knees at least so this kind stranger wouldn't have to work so hard to help him, though his movements were sluggish and unsteady.

From somewhere in the treetops near Lovelace, Yulia's somewhat unnerved, mostly curious voice asked,  

[TawnyAngel]

//It's safe,// Lovelace confirmed, peering upward as she tried to spot the other psychic type, //will you be going with your human... friend?// Friend was an appropriate word yes? Probably so. //Come on down and I'll give you a lift onto Dolly.//

Dith was already mounted, having helped Ion and Jozette get onto the large Rapidash in front of him. "Is anyone else coming?" he asked aloud; he had been included in Lovelace's address to - he assumed - the hidden Ralts but he was keen to get moving as soon as possible, repetition stressed their readiness to depart he felt.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Lovelace wouldn't need to wait for long; almost as soon as she confirmed that the area was indeed safe, Yulia teleported down to the ground near her, pokeball still clutched to her chest. she replied to the Mewtwo's offer.

The fire-type called, trying to reach behind her with one paw to open the backpack without taking it off - her other paw was occupied trying to keep hold of Ion's staff - but the teen fumbled with it instead since he was in a better position to do so, sitting behind her. And just in case the man's words weren't enough... Jozette shouted at the still-hidden Pidgey.

A tremulous voice squawked, and sure enough some branches near Lovelace rustled a bit before the anxious Pidgey shot out and flew towards the Rapidash.  

[TawnyAngel]

//Very well,// Lovelace nodded and lifted the Ralts up into Jozette's pack. Once everyone was more or less settled she turned to Dima with a nod. //I will see you soon then, take care.//

"Da," Dith nodded and flashed a smile, "we will. Ah, you can hang onto my shoulder if you want?" he added to the Pidgey, and gave the small bird time to do so if it wished before turning Dolly towards the city.

<> the Rapidash asked, giving a few moments for objections before setting off smoothly at a walk, gradually increasing her speed to a smooth canter.

"We'll be there in no time," Dith assured Ion - and his pokemon - in calm, confident tones; the last thing they needed was for anyone to panic here. What had just happened there though? What had the men been after exactly? That one specific pokeball or so it had appeared, what was inside it? Perhaps he would have a chance to ask Ion later, it certainly wasn't something he felt comfortable just forgetting about.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Yulia said gratefully, and once inside the backpack she dropped the pokeball to the bottom of it and settled herself safely inside.

None of the pokemon objected and only Yulia offered an affirmation of while the other two remained silent. Albiore did not want to ride on the stranger's shoulder, and instead fluttered to and fro anxiously until Dolly started moving; once she did, he followed along and kept up without much trouble.

Ion tried his inhaler one more time before he gave up and offered it to Yulia - she accepted it and stowed it safely inside the backpack - and then leaned forward a bit to hug his arms around her and Jozette. The fire-type whined and set a paw on one of his arms, distressed and concerned about her trainer's well-being; unlike Dith, she'd almost completely forgotten about the pokeball at this point. Yulia reached a small hand up to gently pat his shoulder, though she didn't vocalize her concern like Jozette did.  

[TawnyAngel]

Fortunately it didn't take too long to reach Sandalwood's main hospital; Dith delivered the young man into the care of his fellow medical professionals before withdrawing to a waiting area with a promise that they'd fetch him once Ion had received the help he needed. The question of what was in the pokeball and why the men had been so keen to get hold of it still occupied his thoughts, he was mildly concerned about the whole situation if he was completely honest with himself. Lovelace clearly knew Ion and his pokemon at least a little but he didn't know them, and the fact that they seemed very sympathetic didn't necessarily mean they were in the right. Nevertheless for now he felt is best not to mention what had happened to anyone else, he'd rather hear what Ion had to say - once he was capable of talking properly - before he made any more decisions. If he found out that he had just been accessory to a theft however he was going to be really annoyed.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

After a while a young woman in lilac-colored scrubs rounded a corner and paused for a moment to look around the waiting area before approaching Dith. Yulia followed along after her, pokeball in hand again. The little Ralts offered him a polite wave as they approached. "Hello," the woman greeted him cheerfully, "you brought the young man in who was suffering from an anxiety attack, right?" Without waiting for his confirmation, she went on, "He's doing much better now. We have him on oxygen for the moment and expect him to be fine within an hour or two, but he's resting for now. Once he wakes up, we'll bring you on in to visit him if you'd like?" She finished, and left the offer hanging for him to accept or decline as he so chose since he had, essentially, brought in a complete stranger for treatment.  

[TawnyAngel]

"That's right," Dith nodded, smiling and waving to the little Ralts at the same time, "And good, I'm glad to hear that. Ah, and yes please, I'd like to make sure he's okay before I head home." The kid might need a ride somewhere, or somebody called or... well, something, it wouldn't feel right to leave him alone even if Dith didn't have questions he rather wanted answered.

"And what about you?" Dith asked, turning back to the Ralts again. "Are you going to keep me company?" He wished Ada was here or one of his ground types so that he could understand the little pokemon.... Though really having Scruff or Jor out here would not be not practical. At all. Steelix and Mamoswine were not exactly 'indoor' scale pokemon, if you tried it the indoors could rapidly become outdoors with broken ceilings and a very large bill plus possible criminal charges.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The woman nodded, offering him a bright smile. "Alright, I'll come get you in a little while then - he should be awake by then, I think. But before I go, this little girl seemed very eager to come see you. I'll leave her with you for the time being," she finished, and waited to see if he had anything more to add. If he didn't, she would leave him to his own devices for the moment.

Yulia waved again, and as Dith spoke she teleported close to him with a pleased noise. Rather than answer his question, she patted the pokeball she held in her arms, and then pointed to the doors leading outside with a questioning expression on her face.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Alright, thank you, I'll see you later then." Dith bid the woman farewell with a smile and a nod before turning once more to Yulia.... She had a pokeball, the one the men had been after? "You want to show me?" Dith asked, getting to his feet prepared to follow her if she headed for the doors; perhaps he was about to get some answers sooner than he'd thought?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Yulia nodded her head, her hand returned to hug the ball to her chest, and she teleported away again, this time to a spot just in front of the doors she couldn't open by herself. She was glad that the human opted to follow her and, once outside, she paused to look all around. Sandalwood was entirely unfamiliar to her; she'd never been her whole life, and though she knew what to look for when they were out in Camphoreon, she had no idea in this city in the trees. The Ralts paused to offer Dith a faintly puzzled, uncertain expression before she teleported a ways away to look around again, her gaze searching and the ball still held close.