Event 6.2 Collab Part 3

Part 3 of a collab between myself and the lovely
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Teams:

Egg Pudding

The Architaves
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So the group began to move once more, slowing breaking back into a run to catch up with the rapidly fading group ahead of them. Fraise was certain that they were running into a trap, but there was little they could do but continue moving forwards right now. Besides, she thought to herself, at least I've got friends with me, Pokés who are willing to trust my choice. Looking over at Sulien, she was met with a warm smile and confident eyes. Moments like these always made her feel so grateful for everything he had done for her, and further encouraged her to work hard and prove to herself, her family, and now Sulien, what she was capable of.
Min was nervous as the group ran, her lack of mobility in the forest often put her a few paces behind her friends, she lacked the mobility in the undergrowth to avoid the pitfalls of a twisting root, low branch or small sharp stone edges hidden in the earth. Her feet ached with scratches and bruises from the journey so far, and her mind psychic power allowed her to sense the length of the journey to come, and unfortunately, it was really nowhere close to giving any of them a chance to rest. Looking up, she suddenly saw the group of Pokémon they were chasing…flicker and fade, revealing an empty clearing. Gasps and moans from the other three confirmed the sight, they had been deceived, and led astray into the heart of the forest. The four of them slowed, and their progress gradually crept to a halt in the centre of the clearing. Leron and Sulien in particular looking worn and spent, the sense of disappointment and despair hanging like a thick perfume in the air around them. Fraise especially looked downcast, blaming herself for her choice. Min moved over to the small Vulpix, and held a comforting arm around her, a small gesture to let her know that no one was upset with her.
The reprieve for the group was not long however, for a darting black shape moved to encircle the group and an eerie cackling hung in the air. Emerging from the trees was a ring of Zorua, each with identical ring like red markings circling their sneering eyes. Their clumps of hair curled to a point, giving a subtle impression of a wet paintbrush. They moved swiftly to enclose the tired group, smiling and licking their sharp, pointed teeth.
"What have we here? Lost little mareep who strayed from the flock?"
The voice seemed to echo in the clearing, the speaker remaining hidden in the group. Min was startled, realising her psychic moves could not pinpoint the speaker due to the dark type. She looked at her teammates, Leron looked startled and intimidated, but not as badly off as Sulien and Fraise, who looked like a stunned deerling, frozen in fear. As the surrounding Zorua further closed the distance between themselves and the two teams, Min's fighting technique kicked in. She grounded her body, and using Meditate to boost her hearing, listened to the footsteps of the approaching enemies. Confused, she only heard one set of footprints outside of her friends, which could only mean one thing…
"Everyone! Snap out of it! We're not here to get eaten, these Zorua are illusions, copies of one real Zorua. If we can take it down, we should be fine. COME ON!"
Sulien felt like he'd been slapped in the face by Min's words, it seemed so clear once she'd said it. Grinning now, he launched into a Dig attack, slipping into the soft forest earth as if diving into a stream. Behind him, he heard the familiar roar of a Flame Charge, a move he knew Fraise had always been proud of mastering. Now at the surface beneath a Zorua illusion, he used a quick attack to spurr himself from the ground and into the semi-solid body of the Zorua, which yelped and faded on impact. Landing neatly in the clearing, he was positioned perfectly to watch Min hit a powerful Drain Punch attack into three illusions, as Fraise and Leron used Charm and Quick Attack together to take out another. With only four Zorua left visible, Sulien leapt and delivered a powerful Hidden Power attack into another Zorua, which satisfyingly yowled and dropped to the ground and lay pinned, panting and cringing. Suddenly, the remaining three faded, they had found the original.
"Ahh, get…off…me you fur ball…I'll rip your pretty tail off… argh…four against one isn't fair!!"
Leron grinned wildly at their victory, Sulien had looked so cool and controlled in battle, and the way he'd moved so smoothly from one move to the next… Leron was snapped out from his dreamy admiration by a slap from Min as she moved to pick the defeated Zorua by the scruff of its neck.
"Enough gloating everyone… now, pest, are you related to that Zoroark that has kidnapped Jasmine? Because we really need to help get her back…and you're going to help us get there or I stick a Drain Punch right into that pretty face of yours"
Min's big show of toughness made Leron smirk; he knew how much she hated fighting. The front was very convincing to the Zorua however, who's angry defiance seemed to slide straight from his face to his tail and drip onto the forest floor.
"Y-Yeah…that's my momma… you're not gonna kill her though, right? It's n-not her fault… I can take you there, and I won't t-tell my brother or momma, but you go-gotta do me a favour first, you see?"
With a yelp, Min simply dropped him to the floor as an approval of their deal. Leron always thought such a display of bravado suited Min more than she would like, but it was certainly effective. After a couple of minutes licking his chest where Sulien's Hidden Power had hit, the Zorua made a motion for the four of them to follow him further into the forest.