"Oh my god, it was a Combee hive," Cynthia muttered, her eyes wide as she took in the terrible sight.
"It's going to fall! Cynthia—Gabite!!" Allen shouted, his voice rising in panic.
Gabite, who had also been staring in horror, snapped into action.
Allen then turned to Caitlin. "Quick, help me move the Pokémon out of the way!"
BANG!
Gabite lunged forward and braced itself against a half-fallen tree, letting out a determined growl—"Gab~!"
Moments later, Marshtomp joined in, pushing its small but sturdy frame against the wood, helping Gabite hold it up.
Gothita's psychic energy flared as she locked onto the largest Vespiquen—her target, under Caitlin's command.
Unfortunately, while Gothita focused on the queen, her bold move triggered the worst possible reaction. The Combee, who had just begun to stir, saw her as a direct threat to their queen.
One by one, they turned, buzzing furiously as they swarmed toward her with their tiny teeth, ready to use Bug Bite aimed squarely at the small Psychic-type.
"Gothita!" Caitlin cried out in panic, her already pale face growing even paler.
"This is bad!" Cynthia gasped, watching the Combee close in on Caitlin and Gothita.
With no other choice, she grabbed another Pokéball—one Allen hadn't expected—and threw it into the air.
"Vee!"
"Eevee?" Allen blinked in confusion, but then he noticed the small necklace around its neck—and in that moment, everything clicked.
"That is...?" Allen asked, turning toward her.
Cynthia nodded.
"This is the Eevee from Grandma Wilma's daycare. Her trainer decided to release her after hearing our story in the cave. He felt incredibly guilty for leaving Eevee alone, and fearing he might end up abandoning her again, he decided she deserved a new trainer—someone who would truly care for her. So, he made a deal with Grandma Wilma. Coincidentally, I was at the daycare at that time, so I knew about it."
'Ah, so much has happened in the past four years...' Allen thought.
"Vee~!"
That was, at least, until Eevee growled.
Allen snapped back from his thoughts, the sound catching the attention of most of the Combee and redirecting their flight paths.
"Don't worry about me!" Cynthia called out, her voice stricken. "Don't get bitten, Vee! They'll do more to you than to me, so focus on dodging right now!"
Reluctantly, Eevee turned its attention away from Cynthia and started dodging the angry Combee that were beginning to descend on it.
Eevee had bought everyone some time, which Allen was incredibly grateful for.
Allen's focus returned. It was just enough for him to see Gothita levitating the unconscious Vespiquen toward him and Caitlin's direction, allowing him to carefully maneuver it through the chaos.
"Caitlin, help me!" Allen urged hurriedly as he cradled the Vespiquen under his arms and began dragging her out of the path of the falling trees, before the Combee started to swarm again.
For being only about four feet tall, the Vespiquen was much heavier than he had expected. He and Caitlin weren't moving as fast as he wanted. Thankfully, there was Gothita, who also helped make things easier.
"Thanks, Gothita," Allen said with a grateful smile as he looked at the little Pokémon.
"Thita~!" Gothita chirped happily, but her eyes betrayed how weary she truly was. Using her psychic abilities to lift the queen had clearly taken a toll on her.
The tree kept groaning and cracking, its charred remnants still smoking, and the looming Combee nearby didn't make things any easier.
While Eevee was doing her best to keep them occupied, a few of the Combee decided to target an easier victim. One of them dive-bombed Allen, landing a hit with its tiny teeth on his shoulder before darting away.
"Hisss," Allen hissed as the pain seared into his brain.
Thanks to his photographic memory, the experience was truly wonderful, but didn't stop him from dragging the Vespiquen away from the tree anyway. Another one dived down, and he just barely managed to twitch out of the way in time.
"Can't you see I'm trying to help!" Allen shouted at the Combee. "If I don't get her away from here, the tree will fall on her!"
Most of the Combee still conscious didn't seem to understand what he was saying, and another one lunged to bite him again.
"Goddammit!" he cursed.
Incredibly, another Combee collided with it, sending it veering off course and buzzing angrily.
Allen's unexpected savior turned toward him, bobbing up and down in the air.
"Thanks!" he called out, though he didn't have the time to figure out what the Combee was trying to communicate.
The Combee served as a guard of sorts, knocking away any of its fellow Combee that tried to bite Allen.
Soon, for some reason, the other Combee seemed to realize it hadn't been affected as much by the smoke as they had, and clearly understood that Allen was trying to help their queen instead of kidnapping her.
Once Allen had gotten the Vespiquen to a safe distance, he quickly dashed back toward the pile of unconscious Combee.
"Vee, good job!" Cynthia called out, signaling her Eevee to keep the aggressive Combee distracted.
"Muddy, Gabite, keep it up!" she shouted periodically to Allen's Marshtomp and her own Gabite. Both were strong enough to work independently, barely needing any instructions—so Cynthia focused all her attention on Eevee.
Eevee, now looking ragged, had its brown fur matted from the wet ground. The heavy movement was clearly taking its toll, and Eevee was panting heavily after running so much.
"Vee, tackle!"
"Vee~!"
With quick reflexes, Eevee dodged a Combee's Bug Bite and tackled it into unconsciousness.
After Eevee helped knock out the last of the Combee, it gently dragged a few of them away with its mouth. Then, without warning, the fur on Eevee's neck stood on end—ears twitching high.
Its Run Away ability had kicked in.
The rest of the Combee were lighter and easier to handle, though the challenge remained to avoid accidentally squashing them.
Done with it all, Allen staggered back, completely exhausted.
A warm feeling spread through his chest as he realized he'd made the right choice by coming to investigate. If he hadn't pulled the Pokémon out of the way in time, they would've been crushed by the falling branches.
With a heavy sigh and a groan, Allen collapsed into the mud, not caring about the mess it was making of his clothes. His body ached, and for a moment, he just lay there, letting the fresh air wash over him. Eventually, he pushed himself up again, knowing his work wasn't finished.
"VEE~!!!" Eevee cried out suddenly, its voice filled with urgency.
It was just in time.
Once all the Pokémon had been cleared from the danger zone, the tree let out a deep groan, followed by a cracking sound like a cannon shot.
It finally gave way.
The fire had weakened its trunk, charring it until the wood became soft and brittle, making it all but certain to collapse.
Allen's heart skipped a beat at Eevee's cry. Without a second thought, he straightened his spine, looked around, and his eyes widened.
"Cynthia—move! Get out of there!" he shouted.
The massive tree was falling—directly above her.
Cynthia stood frozen in shock, her eyes wide, her body unmoving, as the shadow of the tree's trunk loomed over her.
Gabite, still holding onto the half-burnt tree, didn't waste a moment. It quickly released its grip and dashed toward Cynthia, moving swiftly to protect her.
It seemed like there was no time to save her, as the tree loomed above her, threatening to crush her.
Meanwhile, no one seemed to notice how Caitlin's face had been growing paler with each passing second. When Caitlin saw her only friend in danger, something inside her snapped.
"Thita~?" Gothita sensed it instantly.
KABOOM!
Caitlin's aura erupted, and anyone near her, including Allen, was sent flying far away by the sudden surge of power emanating from her body.
For the first time, Allen experienced what it felt like to be hit by Shinra Tensei.
Fortunately, Marshtomp, following Gabite's lead, prioritized saving Allen. It quickly rushed toward him, jumping just in time to catch him before he could be sent flying further.
Thanks to Caitlin's psychic burst, the tree trunk that was about to crush Cynthia was pushed slightly and fell, shaking the entire ground as it hit the earth.
Allen looked toward Cynthia first, and when he saw she was okay, he sighed in relief. But when he saw Caitlin, his mouth twitched.
"This is going to suck."
Amid all the chaos and destruction in the forest, Caitlin levitated, her arms spread wide and her eyes glowing with a deep purple hue.