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Chapter 12: The absconder's absolution
"Argh... Come on, come on, come on; what's wrong with this blizzard?!" muttered a deeply frustrated Sneasel who, moments earlier, had been subject to a discovery which struck him on a most personal level. "I want to get to Mt. Freeze now! It's m-my fault she's in this mess..." Szaer growled, the disgust he felt for himself growing ever more palpable with each moment he was forced to endure inside this cave shelter he and his new teammates resided within.
Never before had he regretted his past actions to such an intense magnitude, now that his silence had gotten another former human in such a devastating situation. He was there when Flutter's life fell apart, there to see the moment when this defiant yet innocent soul finally buckled to vicious slander and admitted to being the human responsible for this land's string of many natural disasters.
Throughout the days and nights since then, Szaer had been wondering if he could have stopped this before it begun, if he could have saved Flutter from just over a week of anguish and torment by just... being honest. Gengar was the instigator of the current ordeal, yes, but in light of Flutter truly being a human after all, Szaer now believed himself to be similarly responsible for not confessing to his misdeed earlier.
"Well..." he muttered, casting his gaze to the barely visible heights of a snow covered mountain nearby and steeling himself for what laid ahead. "For Flutter's sake, the truth must come out at last."
Before he could quietly speak his mind any further, Flutter's two friends approached him as he stood by the cave's entrance, their appearances causing him a small amount of surprise. "Oh, Terack and Kyan? How's Flutter doing back there?" Szaer questioned, genuinely concerned for the Togepi's condition after seeing her pass out in the snow earlier.
"Aside from crying a little bit under the stress and then getting upset with herself for crying, there's nothing wrong with her besides being really tired. Using your Black Ice cloak to keep her warm might have stopped something worse." Terack recounted, appearing pretty down with himself too. "She's sleeping now, but that's when I finally realized something. Flutter must have been avoiding sleep all this time just so she never had to see Gardevoir again, and that's why she's looked so tired lately." he revealed. "I feel so ashamed to have not noticed earlier; Flutter's supposed to be my best friend..."
"She and I would be happy to see you learn from it." Szaer swiftly interjected, primarily to stop Terack beating himself up for Flutter's muddled state of mind. That would be his job, he rigidly believed.
No sooner had he thought this when Kyan spoke up next. "So you're a human too? I was really surprised when Flutter first told me that she was human, but I think this is a bigger shock. Would you mind telling us everything?" the Metang said, believing that this lull in their flight made for a more appropriate time to ask.
Szaer soon agreed to it, now he knew Flutter would be alright for the moment. "Ok, I'll share my story. I was going to tell you all about this at some point anyway; I just didn't think it would come this early." Szaer told them, setting up his tale. "Here's the story. I'd inexplicably woken up one day near the Northern Range, far north from the square, without any sort of memory about this past life."
"Except for the location, that's... that's exactly like Flutter!" Terack gasped in recognition. "I found her near the Tiny Woods. Maybe you two ended up here for the exact same reason..." he speculated to himself.
This detail was rather interesting to take in. "That's a strong possibility. It's obvious now that Gardevoir has something to do with us both being in this world. There's a lot about it all which I can still only guess at..." Szaer mused. "Anyway, whether it was because of the significantly rougher location or the fact that no Pokémon took me in like you clearly did with her, I was a... real brat of a Pokémon by the time I first set foot in the square. I'm not proud of that." he ruefully recalled. He found his prior behavior to be revolting nowadays, even if it helped him survive. Never again, he swore.
He then quickly steered the subject away from these mannerisms, unwilling to go into detail on this aspect. "It was around this time when I began having some strange dreams, the last one with Gardevoir talking to me." the Sneasel continued to explain.
"Again, just like Flutter." Kyan remembered, he and Terack becoming increasingly concerned by the parallels between these humans so far. "She's been having these odd dreams too. Her most recent one came just before Gengar's meeting, actually. The dream left her convinced that she'd abandoned Gardevoir, so there was no attempt to disprove Gengar when he cornered her..." he sadly thought back. "I had to stop her from running out on us afterwards. Hearing her say she was no good for us was really difficult to bear."
This account served to add fuel to the fire within their Ice type teammate. "Grrh... The sooner we fix this travesty and get her head back in the right place, the better." Szaer spoke with a growling undertone to his voice. As the snowstorm outside hadn't died down enough however, he continued telling his story. "I somehow managed to shut out her visitations; maybe it's because I'm also a Dark type, and I've never seen her again until today, but that didn't change my bad behavior. Before long, I, well... left the square. I wasn't well liked by then."
Neither Terack or Kyan asked for details, they both knew it was something he wanted to keep vague. "I made it all the way out to the Frosty Forest before what little supplies I had were all gone. I must have blacked out because I next remember waking up at Articuno's plateau with her watching me. She'd saved my life..." Szaer went on telling them.
Judging by what they'd seen out of Articuno, this part came as a surprise to the listeners. "Wait, wait, Articuno saved you even though you were intruding in the forest? I wonder why she'd do that." Kyan thought aloud.
Out of nowhere, Szaer was now cracking a small grin. "Funny, that's what I wondered too. "The fact that she chose to go out of her way for the likes of me, an unlikeable Pokémon... It struck me deeply. That's when I decided to change my ways. Articuno took me in, trained me, taught me so much, and introduced me to her duty of protecting the forest. Thanks to her, I became a changed Pokémon." he stated, now more fondly.
"Aww, that's just incredible. I'm so happy to hear how you turned your life around..." Terack marveled at him. "What brought you back to the square though? It sounds like you're pretty close to Articuno." As the Trapinch spoke, he noticed another, more subtle parallel between Szaer and Flutter. Terack was more or less the Articuno of Flutter's life; helping her in a time of need and introducing her to the path of a rescuer. It was eerie and heartening all at once.
"This is where the Ninetales legend comes into play." Szaer continued, unknowingly interrupting Terack's thoughts. At some point, I met Moltres when I ventured out of the forest and I soon began to visit him often. On one of these trips, I'd seen this rescue team along the way and overheard them discussing the rash of natural disasters. One of those Pokémon was recounting that legend and it made me remember Gardevoir and my dreams. With how I used to act, I... saw myself in that human." Szaer admitted.
It made perfect sense, he believed. "Hearing the story really sealed the deal and made me want to atone for everything... so I decided to return to society and provide aid to all these hardworking rescue teams however I could. However, I obviously couldn't return to society as myself, that troublemaker Sneasel, so I instead took on a new identity as the Black Ice, cloaked and masked vigilante..." he finally finished.
"Just... wow, and that's how we ended up meeting you in the Sinister Woods?" Terack pieced together in a mumble, to which Szaer replied with a nod. "I still have one more question. What is it that makes you so convinced of Flutter's innocence? Every other rescuer joined that hunt, but you joined us." Terack asked him.
Szaer knew that he'd be faced with this question sooner or later. "The fact is, I'm sure she isn't the human... because I'm convinced that it's me." he confessed
The two listeners weren't even given a moment to digest this before he continued speaking. "As a result, this entirety of this event has been painful. I hated seeing Gengar try to break her; I hated attending Alakazam's meeting; I hated playing along with the hunt, and I hated hearing about your close call in the Lapis Cave. Everything you've gone through is my fault and right now, I'd want nothing more than to meet Ninetales and g-get Flutter's good name cleared! I'm the one who should be chased off!"
"No you're not! Don't say that about yourself!" Terack emotionally called out, having become rather sensitive towards others holding such negative views about themselves. Though he hadn't said it, seeing Flutter get in such a way back then had profoundly bothered him. "Sure, you might be that human, but it doesn't mean you deserve to be treated that way! You've already redeemed yourself in my eyes just by going back to the square as the Black Ice!"
Not once had Szaer seen it that way before, but Terack wasn't finished. "I mean, look at you now! You've been trying to make up for your misdeeds ever since! I... I..." he soon struggled, finding the next words very difficult to form. "W-we'll all go up Mt. Freeze with you, and then afterwards... I wanna find some way to get you welcomed back too. You shouldn't have to be remembered for one bad thing when you've done so much good afterwards." Terack soon managed to say.
This made Szaer feel an unmatched sense of appreciation. "Thank you." he finally spoke after much silence, during which the bad weather outside waned enough at last. It was almost symbolic, in a way. "I see where Flutter's got her good heart from."
~
With Szaer now a part of their team, the trek through Mt. Freeze was easier than Terack and Kyan would have expected. This couldn't have been called an equal effort however. Flutter, who had needed a lot on convincing to take this trip, spent the entirety of it on Szaer's back and did absolutely no battling whatsoever. Once this was all over, Terack intended to have her take a few days off from rescue work for her own health, as he now believed her to be a bit ill.
After Kyan defeated a Glalie with Bullet Punch, they finally reached the mountain's summit. "We're here... At the top of Mt. Freeze." Kyan said as Flutter got down from Szaer. Terack looked around for Ninetales in this circular platform surrounded by rocks, but they appeared to be alone here.
"There! There's Flutter!" a triumphant voice called out behind them.
Having put the foursome on high alert, Tyranitar of Team A.C.T. approached them, followed by Charizard and their leader Alakazam. Terack, Kyan, and Szaer all took places in front of Flutter. It was as though their worst nightmare had taken physical form. "Ah, you guys actually got past Mt. Blaze after all?! Flutter was right to be worried." Terack said. The air was deeply charged with tension as the two teams eyed each other.
"Of course we did." Charizard replied, as though clearing a feared volcano dungeon was an everyday thing for them. None of the other Pokémon present had noticed Szaer's... vicious gaze. "Your little fugitive stunt dragged us all the way out here, but that's all over. No more mer-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH! I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH THIS RUBBISH!"
Someone had interrupted Charizard with a scathing roar of a response, packed full to the brim with suppressed anger and frustration. Szaer's restraints, so often tested by what he'd had to conceal on the way here, had finally given way to raw frustration. "Do you even understand what this entire mess has done to her!?" he furiously demanded. "You've ruined her! This fixation on an old legend has effectively destroyed a kind soul who cares about this world, and you still want to finish the job?! Not on my life!!" Szaer continued to rant, stepping out in front and throwing his arms out to shield all three of his companions as though his body were on autopilot.
The intervention of a new face on behalf of Flutter's side was interesting for Alakazam. "And you are? Who might you be?" Alakazam asked him. Evidently, the apparent fourth member of Team Celeste cared a lot for Flutter's wellbeing too.
As the Sneasel cooled down slightly, he understood that his big moment of truth was finally upon him. "My name is Szaeracier, better known the Black Ice. I may have attended the town meeting and joined the hunt, but I'll tell you now that I have never once believed her to be involved in the legend. I'm standing by Flutter through thick and thin, irrespective of the consequences." he explained without the slightest drop of hesitation. All three of them were surprised by this turn of events.
"...Very well. Your conviction is indeed remarkably strong. I hadn't forseen this fate for you, but it is still a rescue team's role to help bring peace." Alakazam finally replied to Szaer. "Team Celeste... This is most regrettable... We shall summon every last iota of our power and crush you! Go!"
As soon as Alakazam said this, Szaer rushed at Tyranitar and struck him hard with his glowing red Dynamic Punch, knocking him into a wall and leaving him dazed. He then backflipped away from Charizard's flame wreathed Fire Punch and landed in front of Flutter, working solely through a mix of speed, adrenaline, and sheer desperation. The others weren't as fortunate, Terack's Rock Slide couldn't seem to hit Charizard and Kyan was quickly being overwhelmed by Alakazam, his mastery over the move Teleport being made quickly apparent.
Soon enough, Alakazam used Ally Switch to swap positions with Charizard, leading the Metang into a Fire Punch that took him out of the battle while he then took care of Terack with a multicoloured Psybeam, which left only Flutter and Szaer still standing. Szaer fought desperately against both Alakazam and Charizard in unyielding defense of her, masterfully wielding the icicles from his Icicle Crash in his attempts to fend of repeated onslaughts of Charizard's Fire Punch and Dragon Claw. Though he was rather outmatched on his own, this parrying method was holding up well enough.
Once Tyranitar returned to the battle thanks to Alakazam's aid however, he repaid the debt with interest by blowing Szaer into a wall and out of battle with a single powerful Focus Punch, the sight of which horrified Flutter as she tried to nudge him awake. "No, no, don't you faint on me too! Please wake up!" she pleaded.
"I'm not enjoying this either, Flutter. I hope you won't hold this against us. It's all for the sake of peace." Alakazam spoke, which brought back the full reality of the situation. She recalled the last time she saw him, where the rescuer expressed his regret and disapproval over the final consensus of what to do with her.
With great effort, she turned around and sighed deeply as though in surrender. "I understand. I'm not holding this against you; I know that we wouldn't be here if you'd had your way-" Shades of the old Flutter were starting to surface through her recollection, including her penchant for defiance in the face of adversity. "-but I won't give up!" she insisted. "I wouldn't be here if my teammates hadn't carried me either, and now it's my turn to defend them! However I can!"
With that said, she launched her blue jolt of electricity, the Shock Wave colliding with and being gradually overpowered by a Psybeam from Alakazam's crossed spoons. Flutter knew she couldn't win with any scenario; this was just a statement, that of her preference to at least go out in a spat of resistance...
Then, from out of nowhere, another beam of psychic energy in a pure gold colour shot forwards to join the clash in assistance of Shock Wave. The addition of this Extrasensory attack made it an even match overall, triggering an explosion which kicked up a lot of dust. Both Flutter and Alakazam were clueless as to the identity and whereabouts of the third Pokémon.
"Cease this at once!" said third presence commanded of Team A.C.T from within the remnants of the explosion, which dissipated to reveal none other than Ninetales. "Team Celeste are my guests. I have been awaiting their arrival at this location." she spoke again, with red eyes almost ablaze. During the intervention, Terack managed to come round and get the rest of the team back up on their feet before he went to Flutter, who now appeared to have shrunk back into fear at the sight of this Pokémon. The number of tails was telling enough to her without any further introductions.
"Ninetales, it's really you?" Alakazam gasped, his own surprise equal to that of Team Celeste's group. "Perhaps this may yet have a good resolution after all." he hoped. Just from those mere moments, when Flutter had the full intention of protecting a partner from an attacking Pokémon... Alakazam was now feeling more confident in Flutter's innocence than before. "Please tell us. The legend in which a human grabbed one of your tails, is it really a true event?" Alakazam asked. His teammates were both watching this, in addition to Kyan and Szaer.
After a moment, Ninetales spoke up with a somewhat haughty sniff. "Hmph! It matters not to me what anyone thinks of the legend's validity in history, but... Yes. It did happen. Many centuries ago, I tried to lay a curse upon a human who had the sheer audacity to grasp one of my tails, but the human's Gardevoir took the curse in their place without any thought about herself..." she recalled. "This human then abandoned their undyingly loyal partner and fled. They were reborn into this world as a Pokémon by my words and live on to this very day..."
"And who is this human? A series of disastrous events has led to this Togepi becoming branded as the sole suspect, but now I am beginning to have doubts." Alakazam revealed, which brought a deep sense of relief and joy to her teammates. "We need to have this cleared up."
"Yes, that's true. You ought not to be acting further without complete certainty." Ninetales agreed with him before she walked over to Flutter, who felt as though Ninetales's powerful gaze had rooted her to the spot. She held her breath and awaited the judgement... "Flutter... You look very tense, child. It must have been difficult to endure everything on the way here..." Ninetales observed.
Flutter gently nodded at her and finally found the words most able to sum up her recent experiences. "It's been the most horrible moment of my life, running away from everything. I want this to end..."
Ninetales honestly had to wonder what exactly happened to make Flutter the suspect. Even setting aside the fact that the human of legend wasn't a girl, there was also a great mismatch in personality. This was an easy thing to call. "Well, you can relax now. You aren't that human."
A collective gasp echoed out from every other Pokémon, deep relief from Team Celeste's members and abashed surprise from those of Team A.C.T.. Flutter said nothing for a bit as she took this in until she was caught by the overjoyed and tearful embrace of her teammates, in which she smiled for the first time in what felt like ten thousand years. "Oh, Flutter... It's just as I thought all along, I knew you wouldn't have done that..." Terack said in a choked up voice.
"Team Celeste, there is yet another of your number I wish to see." Ninetales said. "Szaeracier, to me."
"What? You mean to say that he was human too?!" Alakazam asked as Szaer approached Ninetales, genuinely not anticipating the twist this time around as a result of the nonexistent personal interactions between them. Ninetales didn't answer, she was busy staring hard at the second human of the team. This time it was going to be harder to judge, as the gender matched up and she could sense Szaer's... coloured and checkered past.
Undoubtedly, she had to see what motivated him. A path and question soon became clear. "Hmm... If it isn't Flutter, then who do you believe the human of legend is?" Ninetales queried, more with the intent of gauging his reaction rather than getting a straight action.
"I know who it is, and he's in this area right now." Szaer told her without a moment's hesitation. "It's me. I know it's me. This is why I'm here; I wanted to meet you and set the record straight, because I've hated watching a good and innocent human go through such misery on my behalf. I'm ready to take what I deserve."
Someone whom, after a dreadful mistake, would own up when another was taking the fall for him instead of choosing to hide and watch. What he thought he deserved and what he actually deserved, Ninetales was now certain that these were leagues apart. "I respect the way you've chosen to handle your convincement, but you aren't the human either."
Szaer was silent for even longer than Flutter, unsure if he'd heard this correctly "No... No way, I-I must have misheard that..." he shakily decided, to which Ninetales shook her head. The poor guy literally didn't know how to react, collapsing to his knees as a massive weight finally left his mind. "I don't believe this, I always thought it was me...! I'm just... so happy..." Flutter went into Szaer's arms for a hug, the two quietly sharing in their relief as they embraced each other.
Ninetales watched this scene for a bit before she turned to address Alakazam. "There is one more thing I must clear up. While it is true that I also foretold of the world's balance becoming upset when I predicted the human's rebirth as a Pokémon, those two events are not related. One event hasn't caused the other. Whomever they are, the human of the legend is not to blame for our current state of affairs..." she firmly concluded.
"S-so you were all doubly wrong here! Doubly wrong to treat her so horribly, like a disease to be eradicated! Even if Flutter were the human, she's not a danger to the world at all!" Terack immediately yelled out to Team A.C.T., intent on at least chewing them out in some way after everything that had happened since she was accused. Szaer's explosive callout towards them was fuelling much of that desire.
"Ah... erm... Yes, we're all very sorry for our roles. It's my hope that we never have to speak of this dark circumstance again. Congratulations on finding the truth you've sought." Alakazam spoke before addressing Szaer in particular, still wearing an incredulous expression. Not once did he expect this vigilante to play the role he did. "Szaeracier, you... Casting aside your respected Black Ice persona and instead aiding a falsely accused fugitive in clearing her name without anyone else suspecting a thing... I'm deeply impressed by your actions and judgement. I forsee a bright future for you in Team Celeste."
"Uhh, hang on for just a moment. There's something I still don't get." Kyan next called out, looking at the two humans. "If neither of them have anything to do with the Ninetales legend then why have they dreamt about that Gardevoir and why would they both become Pokémon? I'm happy they're both cleared but we don't have any more leads now... Why are they really here?"
It felt as though they were all back to square one with that topic, he thought. All they'd done here was disprove one possibility. There would still be a while to go before he and the team could determine the final truth.
Before anyone could respond, the area was suddenly gripped by an earthquake of massive proportions. "Oh, this is not good. The world's crust is starting to shift!" Ninetales called. "Our rash of natural calamities are beginning to reach much more dangerous levels... They will awaken the sleeping beast that embodies the very land itself... The mighty Groudon!"
Everyone was shocked and Team Celeste's quartet were also confused. "Groudon?" Terack asked. It was an entirely new name on him, but the name alone somehow brought fear to the group.
"Correct. Like Zapdos, Groudon is a powerful Legendary Pokémon, undoubtedly even more so. He created the world's continents long ago and has been sleeping ever since the last cataclysmic battle against Kyogre, creator of the seas and his opposing force. They are the sculptors of our world." Alakazam explained. "We'll try to stop him from breaching the surface, Team Celeste, leave this one to us. Go and bring your truth back to the ringleader."
"Of course." Szaer agreed. Worrying about Groudon would have to wait for the unlikely scenario of Alakazam's team failing. For now, he and his teammates had another Pokémon to confront.
~
Back in civilization, Gengar and Ekans were presiding over a small gathering of Pokémon at the square consisting of Caterpie, Lombre, Bellsprout, Snubbull, Shiftry, and Androma. "Keh, so what's the excuse here? Why aren't you lot out there chasing down Flutter's team?!" He wasn't delighted at the complete lack of success so far.
"Have you even heard about how far they've ran? Those three have gone way, way beyond the Lapis Cave. It's just too much for us further on!" Lombre admitted. For the most part, the team's plan to scare everyone out of chasing them by using the volcano was a success.
"Yes, those kids ran straight for Mt. Blaze afterwards and that's when I had to pull out. Fire doesn't agree with me at all..." Shiftry continued on. "I don't know what's become of them after that."
All this bad news was starting to annoy Gengar. "Pathetic. Absolutely spineless. It's no wonder you're still Normal Rank." he remarked, to Shiftry's embarrassed indignation.
"I can fill in some blanks." Androma told them. "My Breloom friend was in the hunt; he teamed up with the Black Ice to clear Mt. Blaze, but it appears that Team Celeste also did so. Once they arrived at the frozen northeast, he saw that the fugitives had been leaving no footprints in the snow. He suspects that they're riding on Kyan the Metang." This elicited some gossip, as it indicated that the fugitives were leaving no method unemployed. "He couldn't find them afterwards and gave up there."
"Speaking of the Black Ice, has he not reported back yet?" Gengar asked her. Out of everyone taking part, he and Team A.C.T were the ones Gengar held more confidence in.
Androma quickly shook her head. "Nope, he's not said a single thing. That region gives him an environmental advantage over them however. He's in his element." she replied. "Team A.C.T. ought to be out there too; I can't see some snow shaking them off."
"Or Flutter and her cohorts could freeze to death out there. It'd make our job here a lot easier, wouldn't it?" Gengar added nastily, which quietly infuriated the Clefable. However this ended, she wanted to be out of his company as quick as possible, much as Szaer had felt with Reishi.
It was as though Ann was now being blessed with great luck, as a panicked Medicham soon rushed towards Gengar. "Oh no, this is bad! This is very very bad! It's about Flutter!"
"I'd say that there's lots of horrible things about Flutter. Kek, want the full list?" Gengar asked, taking this moment to mess with her a little bit. Medicham did have a tendency to overreact, so he saw no concern to be held. He was wrong.
"No, no, now's not the time! Flutter's back! With her whole team and another Pokémon in it to boot!" she hysterically said to him. Almost on cue, Flutter, Terack, Kyan, and Szaer all arrived at the square and looked around at the gathering. Aside from the Team Meanies members, they were all pleased to see those there.
Gengar only had eyes for Flutter right now. She appeared a little off-colour to him, as well as a bit fragile. "Hello, Flutter. It seems that you and your selfish behind saw fit to return after what took place in our last meeting. I'm sure you remember it well." he said, keeping civil while still attempting to destroy her again.
"I remember it well and I've returned anyway. I'm going to say something here that I should have said back then. No, Gengar. I am not the human from the Ninetales legend. Is that enough?" She looked him in the eye, bursting at the confidence seams and giving him much more defiance than before despite her exhaustion. She'd sworn to herself on the return trip that Gengar would never be able to crush her this time or ever again.
"Kekeh, someone's a little more sure about themselves, now aren't we? Why do you only now claim that I'm wrong?" he wondered. Though she was now back to her old self conversationally, he still wasn't concerned. He was still wrong.
Flutter gave him a soft smile, ready to witness and savour everything crashing down for him. Nice as she might be, she absolutely detested this guy for the inconveniences he'd caused her and the team. You'll see. I'm going to leave the rest to Team Celeste's newest member, without whom we wouldn't be returning today." Flutter finished off her admittedly weak payback speech before leaving it to someone far more likely to shred asunder Gengar's lies in their current condition.
"So, newbie. What's your name?" Gengar asked Szaer. The Sneasel looked like quick pickings to him. "We've met before, Gengar. My name is Szaeracier and I'm..." he revealed his cloaked disguise. "I'm the Black Ice!"
Shocked gasps quickly emerged from everyone present. "Geh?! Do you have a screw loose?! What are you are you doing, consorting with her?! You were with us, traitor!!" Gengar shouted angrily. This was immediately going all wrong for him.
Szaer dropped his disguise and crossed his arms, furious eyes firmly locked upon him. "You want the truth? I'm with her because... I saw right through your sad, pathetic, spiteful scheme from day one, you deceitful, conniving liar!! I knew all along that you were out to get her!!" Szaer barked back in kind with a clawed paw pointed out at Gengar "I joined their team and we've found the truth, everyone! We met Ninetales herself! Flutter has nothing at all to do with the Ninetales legend! She's innocent!"
Gengar looked nervously at Medicham and Ekans and awaited the response that never came as all eyes rested on Team Meanies's trio. "H-hold on, you, not so fast! How do we trust you without some solid proof?" he improvised on the spot, a stark contrast to his obviously rehearsed last meeting. "Just happening to run across that Ninetales?! Kekekekeh!"
"Proof...? Ah..." Terack murmured. "We, um... don't have any." he admitted.
The wind once more appeared to be at Gengar's back. "Oh, now that's too bad. Mere words can't save you" he said in a mocking tone. "Without proof, all you've done here is saved us the trouble of hunting you down! This is your big chance, everyone!" he announced, completely ignoring the fact that he had used mere words to start this entire thing.
To Gengar's dismay, none of the Pokémon advanced on Team Celeste this time. "Keh...? Everyone, what's the problem? Weren't you all just wanting to get rid of Flutter?" he asked them.
Caterpie, after getting an encouraging little wave from Kyan, finally spoke up. "I've always believed her, you're not going to fool me!" the kid called.
Even if it was just from the child in the group, Gengar was worried. One voice of opposition could soon become several voices and this was all but proven when Shiftry then said his thoughts. "I've always believed her side too. I was just scared to fight against the crowd." he honestly spoke. I'm sorry for not defending you, Flutter. Your team saved my life that day atop Mt. Thunder. You didn't abandon the likes of me back then, so I know you wouldn't have turned your back on Gardevoir. I stand with her, Gengar." he decided boldly.
This one really scared Gengar, and more was soon to come. Bellsprout, Lombre, and Snubbull also decided that they'd had enough with him and voiced their support for Flutter. Only Ann was left. "H-how about you...?" Gengar nervously asked her.
To have Gengar's reputation in the palm of her hands... Androma's Deuvide affiliation didn't even matter here; she just wanted to see her tormentor pay for what he'd done to Flutter and herself. "I believe her too, no doubt about it. I don't need proof." she said, deeply savouring the opportunity to put him in his place. In a choice between which of these two humans she preferred, Flutter beats Gengar hands down.
Flutter had been a little scared when Gengar started gaining some ground here, so the instant reversal of fortunes was positively overwhelming for her. "Thanks everyone, it means a lot..." she said, hiding some tears from Gengar. As though to complete this wonderful scene, a Pelipper soon scattered some newspapers down upon the thirteen Pokémon when passing by from above with the words "Flutter Innocent!" emblazoned upon the front page.
"A special edition? They must have worked overtime to get this out for Team Celeste's return. Let's see what the story says." Shiftry said as he picked one up, cleared his throat, and turned the page.
"With Alakazam of the Diamond Ranked Team A.C.T. and Szaeracier, previously known only as the Black Ice, watching her as eyewitnesses, the accused human Flutter met with the Ninetales of the legend atop Mt. Freeze. Ninetales's testimony has confirmed that Flutter... is not... the human depicted in her legend..." Shiftry read out loud for all to hear, his voice slowing down throughout the conclusive sentence. A mass of accusatory eyes fell upon Gengar.
"As a result of this evidence,-" Szaer continued after picking up an issue himself. "the earlier accusations and active persecution of Flutter by Gengar of Team Meanies have been revealed to be of malicious intent, which Terack, member of Flutter's Team Celeste, previously stated in the aftermath." he finished, looking up at Gengar. "Here's the proof you've so dearly demanded. What's next for you?" he dryly asked.
Gengar was beyond livid. All the good reputation that Team Meanies had built up over its lifetime at the expense of new teams, all of it was destroyed in that single moment. There was no way his goals would come to fruition now, not with that massive smear on his character. He looked at Medicham and Ekans, his teammates... "I'm afraid this is it, we can't recover from that. Team Meanies is finished." he stated, before turning to face Flutter, barely suppressing his newfound hatred for her.
"You... ruined... everything...! You've ruined me! Don't think I'll ever forget this, brat!!" the broken Gengar yelled at her, his team now irrevocably dead because of hers. He hated the whole lot of them, sure, but it was Flutter's perseverance and unwillingness to buckle which had been the death knoll, and that was something he would never forget.
She wasn't in the mood or condition to raise her voice, but Flutter effectively made up for that with a blank, icy tone. "Get out of my face, you vile crook. I've had enough of you to last for two lifetimes now. Don't let me see you in the square ever again." Flutter simply replied, returning the glare with one of her own to show just how mutual this dislike had become throughout these events. Medicham and Ekans both left together while Gengar went off on his own way.
The happy and apologetic crowd surrounded Team Celeste's members to welcome them back but a downer was soon cast upon this homecoming when Flutter's fatigue suddenly hit a peak now that she'd stopped actively concealing it from Gengar. "Sorry, everyone... I don't... feel too good right now..." she muttered in a pant, yawning deeply afterwards.
With Caterpie and Ann accompanying them, Terack, Kyan, and Szaer guided her towards the welcoming bed awaiting her in the team's base. "It's ok to sleep now, pal... We're finally home..." Terack gently whispered to her, laying the Togepi down for a long and well earned rest.
"It may not happen immediately but we'll soon be doing rescues together again... Sleep tight, Flutter." he said to his closest friend, who looked truly peaceful and content in a fledgeling slumber.