Night falls. The air grows cool. A soft hum vibrates from a small, mobile outpost. Batgirl and Frogadier approach it with extreme caution. The outpost is nestled between two ancient oaks. Its camouflage netting is almost perfect.
Four figures move around inside the outpost. They communicate in hushed tones. Their gear looks compact. It looks efficient.
Batgirl hears fragments of their conversation.
"Asset collection complete," a gruff voice says.
"Load them up," another replies.
Batgirl can hear their conversation. This sounds like organized crime. It sounds like a big problem.
She sees several caged Pokémon. They look anxious. A Zigzagoon paces restlessly. A Poochyena lies subdued. A Pidgey flutters against the bars of its cage.
Frogadier looks at the caged Pokémon. Its posture shifts. It's ready to act.
"Not yet," Batgirl whispers. "We gather more intel."
She checks her suit. She checks her gear. Her escrima sticks are ready. Her batarangs are primed. Her grappling gun is charged. She has a plan. She always has a plan.
Batgirl gave a silent signal. Frogadier moved like a blur. It slipped around the outpost. Batgirl pulled a handful of small, adhesive discs from her utility belt.
She pressed them to the sides of the cages. A soft click echoed. The latches disengaged.
Frogadier used Water Gun to melt a gap in the netting. The Pokémon inside stirred, confused.
A poacher turned. "What was that?" he muttered.
Batgirl moved fast. She tossed a smoke pellet. It burst with a soft fwoosh. Thick white smoke filled the outpost. The poachers started coughing.
"Now, Frogadier!" she hissed.
Frogadier acted. It smacked the cages open with a flurry of quick Pounds. The Pidgey, Zigzagoon, and Poochyena shot out. They scrambled into the night.
"Hey! Who's there?" A poacher stumbled out of the smoke. He held a stun baton. It crackled with electricity.
Batgirl dodged a wide swing. The baton zipped past her head. She extended an escrima stick. She blocked a follow-up strike. CLANG!
"Water Gun!" she commanded.
Frogadier blasted the poacher with a stream of water. He staggered, soaked. He gripped the baton tighter.
Another poacher emerged. This one held a net launcher. He aimed it at Batgirl.
Frogadier jumped in front of her. It used Double Team. Several illusions appeared. The poacher fired. The net snagged an illusion.
CRACKLE!
The stun baton found its mark. It glanced off Frogadier's side. The Pokémon let out a soft cry. It shook its head, dazed.
Batgirl felt a jolt of anger. My mistake. Too close.
She retaliated. She swung an escrima stick. It hit the first poacher's wrist. The baton flew from his hand. He cried out in pain.
Then she delivered a spinning kick. It caught him in the chest. He fell hard.
"Quick Attack!"
Frogadier, shaking off the stun, darted forward. It slammed into the second poacher. He dropped the net launcher. Batgirl followed up. She knocked him out with a precise strike to the temple.
Two down.
She quickly tied them with zip ties. She checked on Frogadier. The stun mark on its side pulsed faintly.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly.
Frogadier nodded. It chirped reassuringly.
That was too close. I can't let that happen again.
She pulled a small med-spray from her belt. She gently applied it to Frogadier's side. The glow of the spray soothed the mark.
"We need to find out if there are more of them," she told Frogadier. "This feels like a bigger operation."
They moved away from the outpost. The forest air was quiet again. The distant chirps of the freed Pokémon echoed.
Batgirl scanned the trees. She looked for other signs. Other camps. Other poachers.
Her mission just got more serious.
Batgirl sighed, leaning against a large tree. Frogadier sat beside her, still nursing its shoulder.
That alarm was a stupid mistake.
One hundred percent on me.
A rustle in the nearby brush caught her attention. Batgirl tensed. She pulled out a batarang.
A small, brown Poochyena, followed by a curious Zigzagoon, poked their heads out. They sniffed the air, their eyes wide. They looked at Batgirl and Frogadier.
Batgirl lowered her batarang. The Pokémon seemed more curious than aggressive.
"Hey there, little guys," Batgirl said, her voice soft. "Sorry if we startled you."
The Poochyena let out a soft woof. The Zigzagoon chittered. They took a few steps closer.
Batgirl reached into her utility belt. She pulled out a small bag of Poké Blocks. "Hungry?" she offered.
The Poochyena and Zigzagoon approached cautiously. They took the treats. They ate them quickly. Frogadier watched them, a small smile on its face.
"Have you seen other people around here?" Batgirl asked. "People who aren't so nice? People taking your friends?"
The Poochyena growled softly. It pointed its nose towards the west. The Zigzagoon chittered and nudged in the same direction.
West. That fits the patrol pattern.
They're probably heading to a rendezvous point.
"Thanks, guys," Batgirl said. "That helps a lot."
She stood up. Frogadier hopped to its feet. Its shoulder still bothered it, but it was ready to go.
"Looks like we have a direction, Frogadier," Batgirl said. "Time to go poke a hornets' nest, carefully this time."
Frogadier nodded. Its eyes were sharp. Its earlier pain seemed to disappear. It was focused.
They moved silently through the undergrowth, heading west. Batgirl kept her senses alert. She kept her eyes peeled for more tripwires. She would not make that mistake again. The sounds of Aurawood filled the night. The distant city lights were a faint glow on the horizon.
Batgirl and Frogadier found a new spot. They hid behind a cluster of thorny bushes. The bushes were near the poachers' outpost. She pulled out a tiny listening device. It was a gadget from her utility belt.
She pressed it to her cowl. Static crackled. Then voices came through. They were clear.
"Extraction set for twenty-three hundred," a gruff voice reported.
"Good. The hover-drone is ready."
Batgirl glanced at Frogadier. The Pokémon's ears twitched. It listened too.
"Control bands checked?" another voice asked.
"All calibrated. The animals won't know what hit them."
Batgirl felt a chill. Control bands. That meant more than just selling them. It meant forced reprogramming.
The poachers laughed. "Kingpin will be happy. More stock for his… special projects."
Kingpin.
Batgirl's jaw tightened. She knew his operations. He wouldn't just sell Pokémon. He would exploit them. He would turn them into something else. Something worse.
"These common types will fetch a good price," the first voice added. "Especially after a little 're-education.'"
Re-education.
That meant erasing their will. It meant turning living creatures into tools. This was beyond simple poaching. This was a direct threat to the essence of Pokémon. It was a threat to Orion's mission.
The current time was twenty-two forty-five. They had fifteen minutes. Not much time.
She looked at Frogadier. The Pokémon's eyes were firm. It understood. They had to act now.
"Ready for a change of plans?" Batgirl whispered.
Frogadier nodded. It stood tall. It was ready to fight.
Batgirl disengaged the listening device. She scanned the outpost. Four poachers. One drone. Several cages.
The drone is the key.
Take that out first. Then the control bands.
She formulated a strategy. It was fast. It was direct. It was Batgirl's style.
"Froakie," she said. "We go for the element of surprise."
Frogadier gave a small croak of agreement. Its form shifted slightly, preparing for action.
Batgirl took a deep breath. She tightened her grip on her escrima sticks. The metallic surface felt cool against her gloved hands.
No more mistakes.
Not tonight.
The fate of these Pokémon, and possibly many more, rested on her next moves. She would not fail.
***
Give power stones to support this book.
Advance chapters in P@T0n Najicablitz.