Fighting Fires! [Awakening Event]

The call to help came bright and early for Vasuki and his Pokémon; normally, he would have wanted them to come with him, but he insisted that they stay at home. However, none of them listened to him and followed him out of the house, quickly grabbing their Pokéballs as soon as they were close enough to touch them, hanging from Vasuki's belt loop. He had heard only a little of the distress signal, and his heart was racing. He wanted to get there as soon as possible, the fires from Groudon's awakening worried him, but he also wanted to make a valiant effort to help the community!

It took longer than he would have liked, because he wasn't the only one in the hover vehicle that transported him to the area. Idle chatter went on between those present, and as Vasuki shifted in his seat, nervous about actually being out and about fighting fires, he sighed to himself and sat up.

"Is this your first time too?"

An older man chuckled and shook his head at the question, "No, I've fought fires before," he admitted, tilting his head. "The others here are mates of mine. There's only one other who hasn't fought one yet."

The youngest, possibly about the same age as Vasuki, spoke up. "Y-Yeah, th-this is my first time fighting a fire too."

Well, at least he didn't have to feel like the only one who was new, he smiled nervously at the young one. "W-well, I guess we'll have to watch out for each other, huh?"

When they got close to the destination, they all got out of the vehicle and looked around at what had once been a small bushlike area, the fires raging along the beaches, and Vasuki huffed to himself. It was hotter than he had expected, and as he lowered his hand to his belt and watched the other men pull out their Pokémon, most of them water types to help fight the flames, Vasuki thought he had left his at home.

But when his hand touched the Pokeballs' fingers barely brushing against them, the button on the pokeballs was pressed, and light glimmered from them.

To Vasuki's surprise, all five of his current Pokemon burst out of their Pokeballs. Each of them looked at him with a grin, seeming almost too happy with their accomplishment of sneaking in for this call. Haietlike immediately slithered up Vasuki's leg and around his neck, nuzzling his cheek gently without shocking him. Xuihcoatl crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at his trainer, giving him a questioning look as if to ask why they were left at home. While Attila and Tiamat immediately looked at the flames dancing around them and then exchanged glances with each other.

Invidia hissed at Vasuki and moved to press her head affectionately against his belly before she also slid toward the fires and looked at the other Pokemon.

"None of us have water move," she said to them, sounding like she was hissing at Vasuki. "So we'll have to do our best to help and move debris where we're needed. We can even carry buckets of water to refresh the water Pokemon that are already out."

Tiamat nodded in agreement and moved to show her flipper-like hands for a moment. "Me and Xuihcoatl would be best suited to carry buckets. You three would probably be better suited to help move debris or guide smaller Pokemon. Especially Xiuhcoatl, since the flames shouldn't hurt you too much."

Xuihcoatl let out a hissing sound and waved one of his hands again, laughing softly. "I can also bring buckets and pour them over some areas."

The snakes finished talking and nodded to each other. Haietlik moved away from Vasuki's neck and immediately began grabbing some of the buckets the other trainers had brought, as did Tiamat and Xuihcoatl. Meanwhile, Invidia and Attila began searching for any debris or injured Pokemon that might need help getting out of the fire.

Vasuki stood there for a good minute, stunned and marveled at how quickly his Pokémon went to work to help them. It wasn't until one of the others yelled at him, asking if he was okay, that he took action. 

"Uh, yeah, I-I'm fine. I... was just shocked that my Pokemon came with me."

They looked at the snakes who were refreshing their Water Pokemon with buckets from some nearby water sources, and the others who were lifting trees or escorting Pokemon to safe areas.

"You've got a helpful bunch, even if none of them know how to move water," the Elder admitted with a smile. "You should be thankful that they want to help as they are. They could get hurt."

Vasuki nodded with a frown and grabbed one of the hoses to help douse the flames dancing before his eyes. His grip tightened a little and his eyes lowered. "That's what I'm afraid of," he admitted to the old man.

They had no idea how long they would be there fighting this fire, but one thing was for sure, none of them were going to slack off or give up until most of it was done. Vasuki worked while sweat poured off him, and his snakes continued their duties, alternating between bucket duty to give the others a break, as did some of the water-type Pokemon.

Maybe they will start making a dent in this fire soon…

(906)