We entered the wooden building, the main base of operations for the rescue team I assumed. Inside wasn't anything fancy. A giant map was posted on the back wall. A large, round, wooden table sat in the center on top of a red, round rug. Piles of straw and hay made up the beds over in the back corners. A few cabinets and wooden drawers sat along the sides of the room, with cloth sacks leaning against them. The sacks were probably filled with food and other materials. Celeste and Brazen headed over to the supplies on the right side of the room.

"Do we have any reviver seeds left?" Celeste asked. Brazen opened a drawer and began rummaging through it.

"I'm afraid we used them all up from the last job we took," Brazen shook his head. "Those Beedrill were a real pain."

"Oh yeah, I remember now..." Celeste shuddered. She looked over at me. "I'm sorry I... can't give you a way out in case things do get bad."

I held my hand up. "It's fine. I haven't used a reviver seed before. I'll be fine without it. Is there anything else you guys have that could help?"

"Hm..." Brazen kept searching. "The only thing we have that could really help us is some Rawst berries, in case we're burned."

"That's it!? Any Oran berries?" I asked. Brazen gave a sigh.

"All out of those, too..." He shut the drawer.

"Wow. We're really screwed then," I commented. Celeste and Brazen both drooped their heads. They knew this was going to be difficult, too. "Well, can you tell me anything else about this Charizard?" Celeste looked up at me.

"He calls himself, Crimson. He's been a wanted Pokemon for a while. Shortly after posters of him went up in Post Town, that's when he showed up here. He began robbing and terrorizing everyone in the area. We... really weren't ready to take him on." Celeste stood up straight. "But being the only rescue team in the area, it's our duty to stop him! We have to stop him!" She put her paw to her chest, but her eyes widened and she looked down, as if she was trying to grab something that wasn't there. "I can't let another Charizard bring harm to this world..." she spoke softly. I almost didn't hear that last sentence.

"Isn't there some kind of police force around here, though?" I asked.

"The closest police station is next town over," Brazen replied. "If we contacted them, Crimson could fly away before they arrive."

"Man, what a pain in the ass..." I can see why Celeste asked me for help. This Charizard was way too much for them to handle. They were just looking for any help they could get. I don't know if I'd be much help though, with me being a grass type. If all four members of this team couldn't handle him, then what could I accomplish? Hmph.

"So, what's the plan, then?" I asked.

The two of them stared back at me.

…

"You're kidding me." I threw my hand over my face in disbelief. We walked in here just for supplies?

Celeste gave an awkward laugh and rubbed the back of her head. "W-Well, usually Wayde's the one who comes up with our plans! He's a pretty good strategist!"

"Hm... I guess it makes sense that he went with Siegfried then."

"So, the plan is to meet up with Siegfried and Wayde."

"We should probably get going now, then," Brazen chimed in.

"Sounds good!" Celeste agreed.

"But they're all the way in Post Town, right?" I folded my arms. "That's quite a ways away from here."

"That's why we need to move now!" Celeste hurried to the door. "C'mon!" Brazen and I followed her.

Again, I questioned why I decided to help these guys out. This really wasn't looking like a good fight. There's a very small chance of us winning, let alone getting away with our lives. Heck, we're still just kids. How did they end up in a spot like this? I guess I'll just have to do my best to help. But if I have to run away, then I will. This was never my problem.

Brazen and I stepped outside to the sight of Celeste waving to us. She stood in front of the giant red archway at the entrance. As Brazen and I took a step towards her, I noticed something in the sky. I put my arm up and stopped Brazen.

"Hm? What are you-?"

"Shh. Hang on..." A silhouette was flying towards us in the air. It was moving at a fairly fast pace. I could see two wings flapping along side the figure.. I realize now-!

"Celeste! Quick! Get back over here?" I shouted to her. She tilted her head at me in response, and began to casually walk back. What the hell is she doing!? I looked up and saw that the figure had reached us, and I was right! It was a Crimson! "You idiot! Move!" I shouted again. Celeste looked up, and noticed the giant dragon was beginning to dive towards her. Dammit! I don't have enough time to help! Just as Crimson was about to grab her, Celeste dashed out of the way, thanks to her incredible speed. She leaped over back towards Brazen and me.

"How the heck did he get here so quickly? And why is he even here!?" Brazen panicked.

"I-I'm not sure..." Celeste began trembling. I drew my sword out from its sheath.

The orange dragon stood tall, with his blue-green wings stretched out, and his long neck giving him a nice view to look down on us. His blue, narrow eyes held a piercing gaze, but I held my ground. A small scar was visible along his snout. He held an irritated look on his face. Despite his intimidating appearance, it was what was in his hands that made my eyes widen. In each hand he held Siegfried and Wayde. They both appeared to be covered in scratches and burns.

"Wayde! Siegfried!" Celeste called to both of them. They didn't respond.

"I don't understand why you keep trying to fight me," Crimson replied. He sounded annoyed. "You're all just a bunch of baby Pokemon. Hmph. And you call yourselves a rescue team? Please..."

"L-Let go of Wayde and Siegfried!" Celeste demanded. Although, I could tell she was still scared of Crimson.

"Fine. I didn't want them to begin with." Crimson raised his arms. Is he-!? He hurled Siegfried's and Wayde's bodies at us! I ducked to my left, barely dodging them. I heard a loud thud, and looked over at where they landed. Celeste managed to move out of the way, too. But... Brazen got hit by both of them. Guess he wasn't fast enough. All three of them were piled together. Celeste and I ran over to them.

"Oh no! Are you guys okay?" Celeste worried. Brazen grunted in pain. He couldn't move. Wayde made no response. Siegfried slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Celeste..." he paused. "I'm sorry. We... failed." As if Celeste wasn't already losing her confidence, Crimson's voiced roared from behind.

"Don't you get it!? You're all weak! What are you even trying to prove by being a rescue team? Hmph," he folded his arms and gave a small smirk. "Maybe I should destroy this paradise of yours to really teach you a lesson." I noticed Celeste lower her head. She was on the verge of tears. Again, she grabbed for something at her chest, but formed a fist when she didn't find anything. Was she missing something? Then her gaze slowly rolled over to me. That's when I noticed it. Hope. A spark of hope shined in her eyes when she looked at me. But... why? What did I do? She knows nothing about me besides wielding a sword. Yet, there was something about that spark she had. It gave me a little bit of confidence, I think. She wiped at her eyes really quickly and gave me a stern look.

"Strom... We can do this!" I doubted that chance of success. But I didn't want to ruin her confidence. I nodded to her in response. We turned to face Crimson. I held my blade forward, gripping the handle with both hands.

"You really want to fight again, huh? Fine by me." Crimson spread his legs apart, getting ready for a fight. However, Celeste made the first move. She dashed over to him at a lightning fast speed, a quick attack of some sort. She repeatedly dashed to his sides to land swipe after swipe on him, while I began circling around to get behind. Crimson seemed unfazed by Celeste's attacks. After landing a few more hits-

"Gah!" Crimson grabbed her by the tail.

"Were those supposed to hurt? I barely felt a scratch!" He gave a light laugh at her vain attack. My turn! I dashed up behind him and leaped into the air.

"Take this!" I swung my blade down, slashing across his back. But when I looked up... it barely cut through his skin. Crimson turned around and stared me down.

"What? A sword? You must be joking. Do you really think you can kill me with that puny knife of yours?" He scoffed again at my weak attack.

"Damn..." I raised my sword again, and leaped for his arms. Maybe I could cut at his arms to let go of Celeste. However, despite my speed, Crimson raised his hand and shoved me backwards. I fell back on the grass, landing roughly on my tail.

"You pathetic little- Agh!" Crimson let go of Celeste's tail as she bit his opposite hand. I could see rage begin to flare up in him now. He raised his other hand and smacked Celeste away. She took a much harder hit than I did, rolling quite a long distance along the ground before stopping.

… She didn't move.

"Tch. How weak..."

"C-Celeste..." I started walking towards her- wait. Why do I care? With her out, the situation became grim enough as it is. I should run while I still have the chance. I began thinking about how I could run around Crimson to get out of here. But my eyes kept glancing over at Celeste... Why can't I stop thinking about her!? Gah! Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she really was being nice to me. Maybe it's because she has an important role as the leader of a rescue team, and taking care of Paradise. Or maybe it's because she gave me that spark of hope. I don't know what the reason is, but I wanted to keep fighting. I wanted to help her. For some reason. I drew my blade towards Crimson again.

"Really? Again? Haven't you learned by now? You're on the losing side of this fight! And I don't want to fight you!" My eyes widened.

"W-What!?"

"Look kid," Crimson seemed to relax himself. "I know you're a new face. I'm guessing they asked you to help out? And I don't like having pointless battles. So tell ya' what, I'll let you walk away right now with no issues." This is... he's giving me a way out? No... No! What the hell? I've been in this situation before! To think I doubted help from Celeste... and now here I was being offered something from this bastard, who's been attacking innocent Pokemon and wants to destroy Paradise. And he thinks I'm going to take it? Screw that! Celeste actually cared. She went out of her way to ask for my help. She really wanted me to... be her friend...

"If I ran now, I'd only be a coward..." I spoke softly. I raised my sword again. "I won't let someone as evil as you walk this world!" Crimson gave an annoyed sigh.

"Well, it's not like I didn't try. This is your death wish, then," he got into a battle stance again, this time tilting his head up a bit. What was he–? A second later, a long stream fire erupted straight out from his mouth. I attempted to roll but-

"Ack!" My damn tail! The whole thing lit up in flames! The immediate pain from the burns caused me to tumble to the ground. I frantically began rolling around in hopes the fire would go out. A cooling relief came over my tail a few seconds later. I stopped and sat up, holding my leafy tail in my hands. The tips of the leaf were singed off, with the rest burnt black. It was here I began feeling weak. I stood up, stumbling from the pain and lost of energy.

"I don't know what you're doing kid, but you know you're not going to win. Just give up already!" Crimson roared again, his enraged eyes piercing my weak body.

I glanced over at Celeste and the rest of her team. They were still out of commission. I'm just about at my limit, too. Should I... give up? Strangely, I thought about Celeste again. Trying to get those guys together to make a rescue team... and to make this Paradise, I'm sure it wasn't easy. I can only imagine how much she sacrificed for all of this. Crimson said he was going to destroy Paradise. If I give up now, all of Celeste's hard work would be destroyed. Another story of the weak and innocent being attacked by others. I... I'm so sick of seeing this happen. I'm tired of being in this world where the good can't triumph evil.

I squeezed my blade in my hands and looked up at the sky. To any Legend out there that's watching, I will once again ask, why? Why are you letting this happen? I guess it doesn't matter to them. Everything falls on us. But I can't accept this fate.

"I won't let our world succumb to darkness..." I said aloud. Crimson tilted his head in confusion. I stared at my blade. "I'm not going to let Paradise fall," I raised my sword to the sky. "I refuse to give up!"

Then... there was a blinding light. I held up my arm to cover my eyes. Once they adjusted, I looked up. An omniscient blue aura was blazing off the sword.

"W-What is that?" Crimson squinted at the light, too. He seemed nervous.

A surge of power began to flow through me. I... don't know what's happening. I instinctively took a deep breath and gripped my sword with both hands.

And then there was a voice.

"The wheel of fate is turning."

Who said that? Whatever, that doesn't matter right now. I just need to stop Crimson. With this rush of power, my muscles relaxed, and I calmed myself. It all felt so natural to me. However, Crimson held his ground.

"You're stupid if you think a little light show is going to stop me!" He raised his head again, preparing another burst of fire. I spread my legs to ready myself.

Crimson lowered his head, opened his mouth, and unleashed his scorching fire. I dashed into the rolling flames.

Shing!

In an instant, I had lunged through Crimson. I turned around and faced him. He stood still before stumbling to the ground, breathing heavily. He looked over towards me.

"How the hell did you-?" He stopped to cough up blood. I could now see a giant slash across his wings and chest. Blood began to seep from the cuts. Finally did some damage.

"Ah..." I gasped. W-What!? The aura faded from the sword. The power that I felt all over my body immediately faded, and my body succumbed to fatigue. My head felt heavy, and I collapsed to the ground. Why am I so... tired...

"Hm... Even with all that power, it was too much for you to handle," Crimson smirked. He stood up. Guess that cut I put through him wasn't enough. Dammit... "I'll make sure you pay for that." Crimson began walking over to me. My eyes grew heavy and my vision blurred. I can't... do anything. All I could see was Crimson's shadow approach me. Heh... at least I tried.

As my eyes fell close and my senses shut down, I saw four other shadows leap towards Crimson.

Hello there. All chapters up to this point were all pre-written. I just uploaded them over the course of a few days so people would be able to catch up. But this also means that I have nothing done for the rest of the story (besides an outline of the events). So expect the next chapter to take much longer to come out. Sorry~