A Struggle for Freedom

One night in the Dusk Forest, a small band of wild Pokemon were hanging out by the river. A Houndoom named Heart and a Shiny Umbreon named Lucid sat side by side, soaking in the moonlight. Their friends Kodi the Ninetales and Luna the Leafeon laughed light-heartedly as they played in the water. Kodi held his head high, proudly showing off his beautiful pelt which seemed to glow in the moonlight. Luna splashed through the water in a carefree way, sending up a dazzling array of droplets as she went. Heart dipped her black paws into the cool water. A mischievous grin spread across her face and she splashed some water on the unsuspecting Umbreon. He shook the water from his black and blue pelt, growling playfully. The night seemed quiet and peaceful. Little did the Pokemon know, the silence was about to be shattered. Just then, a Team Magma Grunt came thrashing through the trees with his Golbats, ready to attack. The group of Pokemon started and Heart, Lucid, Kodi, and Luna all scattered in fear. The shiny Umbreon ran as fast as he could until he reached the shelter of the trees. When he was sure it was safe, he came out from hiding and met up with the rest of his friends. Kodi and Luna were alright but Lucid soon realized with horror that Heart was not with them. She had been captured by Team Magma. When the reality of their situation sunk in, Lucid paced back and forth in obvious distress. "I have to rescue her!" he said at last. "And don't you guys try to stop me!"
Lucid then turned around and bolted through the trees. He clenched his teeth as dark thoughts raged in his mind. "They're dead..." he thought to himself, "If they lay a paw on Heart, they're dead!"
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of pawsteps thudding behind him. He stopped and spun around, baring his fangs, viciously. Kodi and Luna came to a halt behind him. "What are you two doing!?" Lucid barked angrily. The Ninetales and the Leafeon looked at each other nervously. "We can't just sit around while our friend is in the hands of those monsters," Luna cried.
"I agree!" growled Kodi. "We shall help you rescue Heart!"

The three wild Pokemon made their way to the road where they caught Team Magma's scent. Lucid took a whiff of their scent and his bright yellow eyes narrowed into a hateful glare. He motioned for his friends to follow and together they tracked Team Magma all the way to their hideout. They paused for a moment to scope out the place. Four Magma Houndoom sat guard outside, their shiny metal armor glistening in the light of the moon. "Alright..." Lucid whispered, "You two distract the guards and I'll sneak in and find Heart."
"Right!" Kodi and Luna nodded in unison.
So Luna and Kodi created a diversion and the Houndoom guards left their posts to go investigate. As soon as the coast was clear, Lucid dashed toward the entrance and slipped inside.

When the Houndoom guards spotted Luna and Kodi, they chased after them into the woods. Their master's orders were to defend the base at all costs and the Houndoom were determined to do just that. The Leafeon and Ninetales fled as fast as they could. "Kodi, they're gaining on us!" Luna panted in panic.
"Just keep running!" Kodi shouted back.
Neither of them knew where they were going. Clouds covered up the moon making the scenery fly right past them in a shadowy blur. The savage Houndoom guards closed in fast on the Ninetales and Leafeon, snapping hungrily at their heels. Kodi and Luna both leaped up just in time to dodge the oncoming Crunch attacks but when their paws came back down, the ground disappeared before them. Their startled yelps echoed through the trees as the half-blind Pokemon tumbled helplessly down a steep slope. "Oooof!"
Luna and Kodi hit the ground with a sickening thud which knocked the wind out of them both. "Kodi...Kodi...please be okay..." Luna whined faintly.
"Luna?" Hearing his friend's cry, Kodi caught his breath and tried scrambling to his paws. "Hang on, I'll..."
The Ninetales' words cut off as heavy paws landed on him, forcing the breath right out of him. The Houndoom guards were upon them now. They pinned Luna and Kodi down without mercy. One of the Houndoom placed his paw over Luna's throat and dug his claws in, causing Luna to moan in pain.
"Get off of her!" Kodi screeched and flailed his legs about.
"Oh still resisting, are we?" taunted the Houndoom who held Kodi down. "I'll show you what we do with those who resist us."
Kodi's eyes widened in alarm as his captor's jaws opened to reveal long, knife-like fangs. As Kodi's eyes locked with those of the Houndoom, he could almost see the lifetime of torment and pain this Houndoom had to endure because of Team Magma. Luna had seen it too in the eyes of the other Houndoom guards and she shuddered to think of her friend Heart becoming like them. The Houndoom who pinned Kodi to the ground then moved in for the kill, aiming his fangs right for Kodi's throat. In that split second, an object flew out of the darkness and struck the Houndoom in the head. Before the other Houndoom guards could react, they too were knocked out. Luna and Kodi looked on in confusion. The bushes quivered and two new Pokemon stepped into view.
"Who goes there?" Luna called out.
"Fear not, fellow Pokemon, the Rebels are here to help" said a voice.
Kodi and Luna squinted their eyes and could just make out the shapes of a Zorua and an Oshawott coming their way. The Oshawott held her razor shell proudly over her head and Kodi and Luna realized it was that razor shell that had struck the Houndoom guards.
"Greetings, I am Shadow," the Zorua announced. "And this is my teammate Wolfi."
The Oshawott dipped her head politely at the sound of her name. "Something tells me you're not with Team Magma," she pointed out.
"We're not. We were just..." Kodi began but Shadow interrupted him.
"Then you shall join us! he exclaimed.
Shadow turned his black head toward the trees in which he came. Luna and Kodi were about to argue but then they followed his gaze. The Leafeon and Ninetales gulped at the sight of the dozens of shining eyes staring back at them from the darkness.

"Finish it!!" yelled the Magma Grunt.
Heart was forced to into battle, the moment the Magma Grunt captured her. Training was harsh and her opponents were ruthless. Now she stood panting with exhaustion. Her opponent, Team Magma's Poochyena, crouched before her in terror.
"I said finish it!!!" the Magma Grunt shouted again.
Heart hesitated. This Poochyena didn't have a chance against her and it obviously didn't want to fight either. "Don't be afraid, Poochyena. I don't want to hurt you..." Heart whined.
But the Magma Grunt had had enough. He stalked over to Heart and beat her with his fist. Due to her gentle nature, Heart could do nothing but whimper pitifully as the Magma Grunt struck her again and again. The blow from his fist knocked the poor Houndoom the the floor. The Grunt was raising his fist again when all of a sudden, a flash of black streaked across the battlefield. The grunt turned his head just in time to see a Shiny Umbreon lunging right for him. Lucid snarled viciously and sunk his fangs into the Magma Grunt's arm. The grunt screamed in shock. The two of them swung around, wrestling violently. Heart scrambled to her paws. "Lucid!? What the...!?"
She shook off her confusion and stared wide-eyed at the chaos before her. Blood splattered all over the floor as Lucid unleashed bite after bite. During the struggle, Heart's pokeball fell out of the grunt's pocket and smashed on the floor, breaking on impact. Lucid then leaped backward. "Heart run!"
Heart and Lucid raced toward the exit. One of the Magma grunts grabbed his walkie talkie. "We've got runners!" he hollered.
The next thing Heart and Lucid knew, they were being tailed by a pack of Mightyena. The dark wolves snapped angrily at their heels. Heart spun around and released a powerful flamethrower attack. The flames startled the Mightyena, giving her and Lucid time to get away from them. The Shiny Umbreon and Houndoom burst out of Team Magma's hideout. But then came to a screeching halt. They were surrounded. Team Magma's Pokemon blocked their path to the forest and the pack of Mightyena were catching up to them. Lucid let out a battle cry and charged at their enemies with Heart right behind him. They combined their most powerful moves to combat their foes but not even that was enough. The two of them were largely outnumbered. "Hurry Lucid, run to the forest! You can make it!" Heart shouted.
Lucid unleashed his Shadow Ball attack on one of Team Magma's Rhydons. "No! Not without you!" he growled.
Mid-fight, Heart moved herself closer to Lucid. "Thank you for trying," she whispered. "I promise I'll be alright but you must save yourself."
Lucid's heart sank. He was well aware that he could escape by himself but could he bring himself to leave his best friend behind?
"I'm not going anywhere," he rasped. "If we fall, we fall together!"
"But!..." Heart wanted to argue but she knew it was useless. Lucid was so loyal to her that he was willing to sacrifice his freedom to be with her. The Houndoom's eyes filled with tears of sorrow and gratitude as she fought by her friend's side.
Right when all seemed lost, a howl of defiance shook the air. Kodi and Luna exploded from the trees, followed by an army of woodland Pokemon. "Hang on!!" they howled.
The fearless Rebels advanced on Team Magma's Pokemon. Luna and Kodi fought their way to Lucid and Heart's side.
"Sorry we're late," Luna grimaced as she released her razor leaf attack. Heart and Kodi scorched the battlefield with their flamethrowers. Now it was Team Magma's Pokemon who were outnumbered. The wild Pokemon rose up against the Team Magma Pokemon and fought with all they had. By the time the grunts came to get a hold of the situation, their Pokemon were already defeated. "Better think again before messing with us!" Lucid roared.
He used the most powerful dark pulse he could muster and blew the disbelieving Magma grunts away. Then he and his army of wild Pokemon took off into the forest.

The threat had been diminished. The clouds had finally cleared and the moon hung bright in the sky once again. Heart and Lucid now lay by the river, surrounded by their Pokemon friends. Luna and Kodi introduced their old friends to Shadow, Wolfi and their clan of rebel Pokemon. "Thank you all ever so much for saving me," Heart smiled lovingly.
"I know you would've done the same for any of us," Lucid said, giving Heart a friendly nudge.
"Yeah, us wild Pokemon need to stick together," Shadow said with a grin.
Heart nodded. "Will we be alright?" she mumbled as she thought of Team Magma returning.
Lucid raised his head to the moon. "We'll be fine. We have the whole forest on our side." he declared boldly.
And so, the Pokemon of Dusk Forest celebrated their victory. They let out howls of triumph and danced joyfully under the shimmering stars of the night.