Damn it! damn it!
A man in a red uniform could be seen running away from a group wearing a black-red getup, and a pack of dog-like creatures.
"Stop right there!"
Shouted a man from the latter group.
The man in red pulled out a white-red ball and was about to throw it when a lasso accurately got hold of his arm, forcing him to drop the ball and continue to run.
Damn it! Rangers! How did they find me so fast?!
The group now known as Rangers continued to chase after him alongside their four-legged partners.
"Surrender! Drop the stolen goods now!"
The same male ranger before demanded a second time, his lasso ready to strike.
"Like hell I will!"
Screamed the now-confirmed running thief as he gave the group chasing him the bird.
He took another one of his balls and threw them at his front, the ranger barely missing his arm, a red glow came out and quickly formed a bat-like creature.
"Use Confuse Ray! or whatever to stall them!"
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He commanded the bat who promptly nodded while running alongside him, sending purplish waves across the air.
The rangers dodged out of the way, none getting hit, but got stalled nonetheless.
The thief looked to the front and saw smoke. Knowing that he would get caught sooner or later without a proper escape plan, which he did not have, he rushed towards the smoke desperate for something he can escape with.
He soon reached the area and found a campfire, but no person in it. That is until he heard rustling at his front and saw a ragged-looking boy. The kid was dirtied and weakened to the point that he needed to lean on the trees for support.
Grinning widely, he ran towards the boy, adrenaline and fear filled his system causing him to not even notice the moral implications of what he was about to do.
He hoped to take the boy hostage so he could demand the rangers that they let him escape.
He motioned towards his remaining Ball, as the Bat from before was still bust stalling for time, he wanted to release another of his creatures to take down the boy in case he retaliated.
Which did not happen as the boy fell forward, unconscious, and obviously not able to fight back.
He went closer and reached his hand when—
"Stop right there!"
The rangers caught up, and in the hands of the male ranger was his Bat unconscious. The ranger saw what was in front of the thief and turned red in anger.
"Stop! Put your hands up and release the kid or we will be forced to take physical action!"
The thief paused for a moment but still reached out with his hand toward the kid.
"Houndoom!"
A black dog, Houndoom, immediately tackled the thief, biting and pressing his hand down.
A few more Houndooms attacked as well, pressing the criminal to the ground.
With the criminal apprehended, a few sighs of relief were released between the rangers. Glad that the chase was a success but also worried about the boy.
A female ranger hurried towards the boy and released a new creature from her ball. It was white with pink accents that made it look like it was wearing a pink jacket.
"Audino!~" it cried as it was released.
"Heal the kid Audino! We don't know what's wrong with him, the kid was like this when we arrived."
Explained the female ranger so that the now-named creature Audino can give a clearer diagnosis.
Audino looked at the boy and hurriedly clasped its hands together, pointing towards the downed kid, and from it, a pinkish wave flowed inside the collapsed youngster.
After treating the boy, Audino looked at the female ranger and said a few "audi~ Audino~" with gestures. The ranger nodded and turned towards her teammates.
"Kid’s fine now, but Audino says he still needs to be taken to a hospital for proper treatment."
The male ranger from before went forward and said, "Take the kid to the hospital, the rest of us will escort this Team Magma Grunt."
They all nodded.
"Alright, move out."