CHAPTER 1
Doug crawled the last ten meters to reach the perimeter fence. The dirt was hard beneath his chest and every time he shifted his knees to push himself forward they scraped and bumped the hard dirt beneath him. He had been moving like this for the past hour, as stealthy as possible for a man his size and stature. The hard earth was unforgiving and the distance he covered since he went to a prone position left his knees bruised and aching. Now as he finally reached the electrical fence before him he could make sight of the facility in the distance, his destination. It was a massive building made of what looked like mostly metal, probably steel and iron. You could hear the hum of the machinery inside even from one hundred meters away. It was peculiar since it was past the operating hours of the site. The facility, which was a power plant that produced industrial size batteries, shut down for the day hours ago. No machine, at least one capable of creating such a heavy noise, should be operating this late in the day. Doug took it as a sign that the information on his mission was accurate. There was some unusual behavior going on in the power plant, and hopefully illegal, he really had become quite bored as of late.
He had been called the day before on his home computer communicator. It was his superior officer, Agent Krell, who asked to open a video transmission with him. Doug took note of the serious tone being used by Krell and moved to a more private location with a more secure link, located in his basement. He did not bother to turn the lights on in his basement as the video screen gave off as much light as was needed. Agent Krell stood their stoic, hundreds of miles away in another region. The agent had the typical look of a retired field worker who sat behind a desk now. A slick black suit fitted to him perfectly over his white button down shirt with a black tie around his collar. A perfect flat haircut that did not leave one grey hair out of place and an angled rectangular moustache to match it properly. An earpiece coming from his neck rested in his ear as he stood tall and void of emotion before him on the screen.
Douglas, known as Stanborn by his fellow workers, stood direct and center before the camera that sent his image back to his superior. After a brief moment's pause, which Doug knew to be the time it took for identification scans and security checks to be made on the link, Krell breathed a sigh, "Agent Stanborn, pleasure to see you today. I hope your work is not keeping you too busy these days."
Doug grinned, technically he was not suppose to be referred to with the title of agent. He was actually a trainee with a lot of field experience.. At MainStation they called people with his ranking "clean boys" which was a joke about how their uniforms were never 'dirty' from real field work yet. That was far from the truth for him though, even at just eighteen years old he had just as much if not more field experience than most new agents. That made him curious, he did not know if Krell was simply unaware of his true title and rank or if he was just being kind, he hoped it was the latter. He replied, "Not at all sir, things have been easy going these past couple of weeks, I can almost say I have become a tad bored just sitting here all day."
Krell smirked, "You think running a training gym as a cover would keep two agents busy all day and night, but not you two, you manage to have free time half the week while we bust our butts around the clock here at MainStation. Where is the Major anyway?"
Douglas froze at the moment, his brain starting running a mile a minute while his heart just stopped. He had been waiting for this moment for Krell to call and to ask that question. He prepared a dozen times what to say and to try his hardest to act natural about it. His whole plan depended on these next few lies he would tell. "Agent Brazo left on a day mission this morning, an underwater pipeline broke about three miles off shore and he was called to help with the repairs."
His superior paused, this time longer than before, "Why did we not receive a message of his departure here?"
"It was only a local issue to take care of sir. Something the local people look to a figure like Major to help out with, it was nothing of concern to MainStation." Doug felt his stomach twisting into a knot. He tried his hardest to remain calm and collected.
"Every time an agent leaves to deal with any issue it is a concern of MainStation, do you understand Stanborn? You will fill out a mission departure notice for the Major immediately after this transmission terminates, is that understood? Now when do expect the Major to return back from his mission?"
Doug relaxed slightly, a weight lifted off his shoulders. His superior bought his story, now he just needed to wrap it all together. "The Major is expected back by tonight. He only took "O" along with him the rest of his team stayed here including myself. However he may be asked to return tomorrow for further aid." That was not a complete lie really. There was a pipeline break offshore but it was Doug who went out to go help fix it. It had only taken a few hours but if MainStation did any investigation into the matter it would show up clean. As long as they did not dig too deep of course.
"Not possible," said Agent Krell, "We have a mission of concern for you two, it outweighs any issues of local need for now, priority yellow two." Doug's heart jumped, he had been waiting for something interesting to happen and nothing was more exciting than a good mission. "It seems we have a maltreatment disturbance in your sector", continued Krell, "It would be no concern of us, something for the local authorities to handle usually, but it would seem the offenders at hand are up to something more displeasing. The call was made due to a power production and storage facility overworking their units, however paperwork does not show any signs of increased profit growth in their sales or any increase in their shipments. We suspect they are shipping and supplying energy cells and batteries to the black market or something worse, possibly a terrorist organization. Plasma Organization is of concern by the history of what has happened around you so be on alert for them. As for mission debriefing, we need you two to investigate the facility when it is shut down and no civilians or workers are in the way. This is a covert mission but if our suspicions are correct there should be hired security around the building, you have a minimal force allowance here. It may just be what it seems and nothing more, so we don't need any flak coming back to us, so control your units. You briefing data and parameters are being sent over now, make sure the Major looks them over and reports back to us after mission completion. Agent Krell out..." BLEEP! The screen went blank with a white flash giving Doug no chance to respond. He was left alone in his dark basement.
Two thoughts went into Doug's head at that time. The first was how he hated how Krell referred to them as units, when they were living beings with complex minds and emotions. The second was that the whole conversation went way better than expected. He had told multiple direct lies to his superior and not one of them had been detected. He thought about the truth for a moment, how his mentor, Major Brazo, had left not this morning but weeks ago, over a month actually, taking all of his companions and not just one. He left with very few words to say, only requesting that he keep his departure a secret for now, especially from MainStation. With the Major gone he was left in charge of the gym until his mentor returned. Doug had asked about where he was going and why he was leaving so abruptly but the Major said he would explain when the time was more appropriate. It was not unusual for the Major to act weird or distant but the two of them had just gotten back from a very eventful week long mission that left both of them drained. So the next day when his mentor, fellow agent, and most of all his friend just decided to get up and leave Doug really wished he could have given him some answers.
He did not though, he left with so much unclear and unsaid. The first few days Doug worried. He had absolutely no idea of the whereabouts of his friend. The Major could be hurt or injured or on a dangerous mission all by himself with only his companion at his sides. After the first week of paranoia and worrying though he just was flat out bored. Running the gym was simple enough on his own. With a decent number of visitors each day only looking for training, which he was happy to give. There was also a half dozen or so challengers he had to turn down, other than that he had not run into any issues, well except for one. Ten days after the Major's departure there was a challenger at the gym. He was a very large man even taller than Doug himself who was a few inches over six feet and his muscles were more defined. He had tanned skin and a charming face. He wore an elaborate purple shirt embroidered with gold. Doug found his clothes peculiar, it was not a style he had seen any place he traveled. The weirdest thing about him were his eyes and his hair though, they both had golden tints to them as if brushed with gold dust. When the man had entered the gym he had said very little, simply asking to challenge the Gym leader, the Major specifically. When he was informed of his absence the only thing he had to say was, "What a shame."
After that Doug watched the man slowly walk away, he found it odd that the man only carried three pokeballs at his side, when everyone who challenged the Major knew he used six pokemon in his battles, and Doug never met a challenger who did not need all six. To make things even stranger, when the man was about fifty feet away he looked back over his shoulder and said in a commanding tone, "Make sure you let the Major know that I visited. Tell him King stopped by." Doug was about to chase after him to get some answers for all of the weird things about this man but he was quickly stunned by a large flying pokemon sweeping over his head and causing him to stumble back. After he regained his balance he looked back towards the man but he was gone along with the pokemon in the sky. The whole meeting left him feeling... well he didn't have a word for it, but after a day or two he stopped thinking about it and moved on.
It got tedious after that. The second and third weeks were unbearable for him. The same thing over and over again; cleaning up local messes, dealing with rookie trainers, and straightening up the gym. If it had not been for his own pokemon with him and all the personal training they got to do he would have gone insane. It was only now coming up on the fifth week of his mentor's absence that he could be happy for once. Had had awaited the call from MainStation that he knew was coming, missions were always coming up in these days. It took longer than he thought but it gave him time to perfect his elaborate lie and it went smoothly. Luckily he no longer needed to sit around doing nothing but train. He packed up his bags and equipment, everything he anticipated he would need for the covert operation. He sent out a coded message to the Major about where he was going, along with the mission debrief. He did not forget to file the false departure form for the pipeline that was fixed either. Then finally he went to his room and unlocked the case up on his shelf. In front of him were six unique pokeballs all of which were his. They were all empty currently, the pokemon being around the gym. He had to decide now which pokemon he was going to bring with him. Krell had said this was a covert mission so bringing along all six could be risky. Doug picked up the matte black ball with the white claw marks and the brown ball with the yellow claw marks. He really wanted to take his frost white pokeball but he knew this was not the right mission to have Zero with him.
Doug double checked his gear again, did a weapons check. Just for good measure he did a quick field cleaning of his rifle. Lastly he did one final sweep around the gym. Locking up the office, the living quarters, and the security door that gave access to the lower level. On his way out he stopped at the front door, looking above the doorway he saw the same old plaque on the wall. It read: Never Forget Your Training, Never Forget Your Friends. Beneath the inscription was a pokeball sitting on a shelf. It was a standard pokeball, aside from all the dust it had collected from sitting there longer than Doug had ever been at the gym. He knew it meant something to the Major. His mentor had a long past that very few people alive new about. Doug had only learned fragments of that history and for now, he was content with that. Leaving his thoughts behind him, he locked up the gym with a sign on the door reading: CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
CHAPTER 2
That is how he ended up here on his covert mission to the facility. He was suppose to be a team of two but he was more than certain he could handle such a mission on his own. Laying before the fence now he could see it was constructed of large metal poles spaced apart at about two meter intervals. The fence went all along the perimeter of the facility. Between the poles which stood at least twelve feet in the air, were beams of blue pulsating electrical current. His mission data warned about such obstructions so he was more than prepared for such an obstacle. He quickly and carefully removed a small device from his belt at his side.
It was a magnetic haywire device. The perfect tool for getting by this electric fence. Doug was sure there was an alarm system enabled into the fence so if it was ever disabled it would alert anyone inside the facility. This device however would only put a disruption in the fence's electrical barrier for a few seconds before turning off and it would never break the beams continuous flow of energy so an alarm would never trigger. The only downside to it was that it only could be used for a period of fifteen seconds or else it may demagnetize the entire fence which would no doubt set off a few alarms. Still fifteen seconds would be plenty of time for him to sneak through the opening even in with light combat armor covering over half of his body making him even bulkier than he already was.
He carefully set the device and put it in place. He adjusted all his equipment and weapons as well making certain nothing was hanging loose on him, the device would not give him a huge opening and if anything on his person came into contact with the electrical beams he would be fried. He took a deep breath waited a second for the click of the disruption field to activate and crawled on his stomach through the opening. Being three or four inches over six feet tall and well over two hundred pounds, squirming through was not the easiest of tasks but in a moment he was safely through to the other side. He got out of his prone position, setting one knee to the ground and planting his other foot.
He then unclipped his binoculars from his hip and snapped them out of their compact position horizontally so they matched with the spacing of his eyes. It was getting darker now as the sun was setting so he switched the sensors on his binoculars to low light vision. With it activated it gave a faint green view of the facility before him. It was about eighty meters of open dirt expanse before you reached the outer fence. Inside there stood large red construction beams and crossbeams wrapped with electrical black wiring around it. The maze of red metal and black wires stretched another twenty meters until it reached the larger facility and entered through openings three times higher than Doug's reach. There were also massive flood lights spaced along the facility that were currently off but if they were to be switched on the entire expansion of dirt he was about to sneak across would be lit up light brighter than a Lanturn using flash.
Scoping out the area before him the power plant looked like a huge silver box with a flat roof. It was about 10 meters high and 200 meters wide but Doug could not get a good view of how long it was. The data he read on it stated it was another 200 meters lengthwise but that information was two years old and he was not positive it was still accurate. The building had three stories but only the second two had any windows which were spaced apart. The windows were smaller and tinted black, impossible to see through from any distance even with his binoculars enhanced vision. The only opening he could see on the first floor was the door directly in the center of the facility. It was two red doors locked with a crosshatch that was padlocked. It was your average power plant by Doug's standards, nothing unusual except for the hum of machines that should be turned off by now. Now he just needed a way in.
He scanned the area over once more making sure he did not miss anything that could be useful or get him compromised. There was a mountain range behind the building but it was a good half mile away. Grass patches that were knee high also spotted the stretch of dirt before him and could provide some cover or camouflage if he needed it. Other than that it was a clear shot to the door. He would have to go back to his slow crawl in the prone position to remain unnoticed. He was almost certain there was something of suspect going on here and that meant for certain there were going to be some security patrolling the area. So back to his stomach he went, lying prone he began to crawl forward.
He did not make it very far before things went extremely bad. While crawling, his hands pulling him forward as his legs pushed, he snagged a little rod sticking out of the ground. His arm moving faster than his mind could react, tugged just enough to set off the device which sprung into the air about six feet high. That was when Doug made the mistake of having his eyes follow it into the air. The rod lit up with a white flash of light that was horribly blinding. He shielded his eyes as fast as he could from the effect of the flash bomb but it was too late. His eyes were burning, the light too much for his pupils to adjust to so quickly. He was completely blinded by a sheet of white in his vision. He tried to regain his bearings. That was when the alarms sounded off. It wasn't a loud blaring siren or a wailing of horns but a piercing beep of noise that sounded off every two seconds or so echoing through the open air. Doug knew things were only going to get worse.
CHAPTER 3
Doug's eyes still burned intensely even seconds after the flash went off but he was regaining parts of his vision with less and less white enveloping his sight. He rolled over twice making his way back to what he hoped was the direction of the fence. Feeling his way, wasting no time being stealthy, his main goal was to reach a safe position. He could only hope he did not set off another one of those flash bombs. His mind raced with scenarios, he could be captured in seconds or under attack. The thought of him dying here and now crossed his mind but he shrugged it off and tried to focus. There was no doubt security guards coming his way right now and it was only a matter of time before they found him crawling blindly in the dirt. He rubbed his eyes again, his vision returning to him more and more as the blinding white became just dots blurring his sight. Then he began to hear something different then the alarm. In between each piercing beep he heard the rapid vibration of a buzzing sound. Reaching to his hip he found his pokeball at his side, glancing at it's tan surface with yellow claw marks, he pressed the button on the ball converting it to it's regular size. He knew things were about to get very interesting, he just hoped he was around after it all to tell the story.
The energy bolted out of his pokeball with a red flash as he released his pokemon. There, standing before him eye to eye was an Ursaring. A massive bear pokemon that was the same height as Doug but with more powerful arms and legs and a much wider torso. The bear snarled loudly as it glanced it all directions allowing itself to gather the situation at hand. Doug still seeing dots hoped that Ursaring could quickly assess the danger that was coming their way and help him out. As Ursaring's trainer Doug had always taken pride in how incredible he was as a pokemon. The Ursaring pokemon was not known for any extraordinary intelligence yet his was surprisingly quick and cunning and able to adapt to any mission they were assigned.
Doug believed that was due to all of their training together. Though he was not his first pokemon, he had him for over eight years now. They trained from the first day he was ready before he evolved and was still a Teddiursa. They continued to train through him becoming an Agent and being mentored by the Major. They defeated gym leaders together, won tournaments together, and went on almost every mission together. Some time along the way Doug had named him Grizz, for his grizzly appearance and personality. The name stuck and ever since then Doug always referred to him as Grizz. So now, as scared as he was with the danger he was about to face, he was happy that he had his Ursaring by his side. He was hopeful he could get him out of this mess and he was certain it would only strengthen their bond.
Locking his gaze on Grizz, Doug saw the brown bear stand up tall on his two hind legs and puff out his chest. Following that, Ursaring let out a deafening roar that boomed from his lungs to the oncoming enemy they faced. That was when Doug actually saw what they were up against. His heart skipped a beat. It was a full swarm of Beedrill coming at them, he counted dozens of them. Doug reached at his side for his second poke ball but then hesitated. He was carrying a dark type pokemon and the bug type attacks of all those Beedrill would be devastating to his pokemon. He withdrew his hand from his hip and faced the danger, his eyes finally regaining full vision. He concluded that Grizz and himself would have to handle this by themselves.
"Grizz charge your hyper beam!" he commanded, "Put as much power behind it has you can, we're going to have to take out as many of those things as possible before they get close to us!". As Doug yelled the command over the siren he reached to his back and unclipped a rectangular object that was securely latched. Bringing it to his front he slid his hand over a switch and out deployed his weapon. Coming out of it's compact carrying position was his CEP-Blaster, which stood for Crystal Energy Projectile. It was a weapon designed by the engineers and scientists at MainStation. Utilizing various crystals that were found in deep sea caves, magma pits, and other high energy environments, the blaster would send a charge of electricity into the crystal. The mechanics on the inside of the blaster would then focus the energy the crystal and electricity produced and discharge it out of the muzzle. The result was a bolt of energy, usually blue but it varied depending on the crystal, that could hurt or stun almost any pokemon, helping incapacitate your foe. The weapon also required a battery that must be loaded to fire shots. With the intense amount of energy the crystal required to react, the user only got sixty shots per battery until you had to reload another one.
Doug's blaster was already loaded and he drew the weapon into firing position ready to take his shot, but the Beedrill made their move first. The swarm of Beedrill started breaking off left and right while some remained in the center swarm. They were dividing themselves into three different masses with around a dozen in each group. That was when Doug realized that this was not some simple defense system the facility had to scare off intruders, this was a highly trained attack formation developed by a trainer who knew these pokemon very well. That set off two alarms in Doug's head. One was that there was without a doubt something seriously illegal going on in that power plant for someone to put this much effort into securing it during the night. And the second was that he was in a truck load more trouble than he had previously thought.
At about eighty meters away the Beedrill finally formed their three swarms with what looked like twelve in each group if Doug counted correctly. He looked to Grizz who had a ball of energy forming ready to release a powerful hyper beam attack. He stood to the bear's left, shoulder to shoulder with the fence at their back. "Grizz I want you to take out as many as you can in the right swarm, I'll take out the left swarm. We can take on the middle when they get up close but we can't have our sides getting flanked!". Before he could even finish Grizz unleashed his hyper beam at the oncoming Beedrill to the right. The beam shot from his mouth with intense power. Flying across the open expanse through the sky the beam hit the far right side of the right swarm in an explosion of energy. As the smoke cleared Doug saw four Beedrill fall to the ground below and five more struggle to fly back into formation after being hit. That wasn't even the worst of the damage. The energy from the blast continued past the swarm and struck one of the floodlight towers which shook under the power of the attack and proceeded to bend and then crashed into the ground.
Doug gave a quick smile, pleased with the result of the attack. However he knew he was going to need more out of his Ursaring if they were going to come out of this on top. He aimed his blaster at the left swarm. The weapon could be set to various firing settings; single shot, burst, or rapid fire. Doug had always preferred the burst shot, specifically five round burst over three. He felt the burst gave you the opportunity to gather yourself after each shot while still being quick and accurate. Along with that he always had the fifth bolt of the burst be a tracer shot. By having a small chemical glow sent with the last bolt he could clearly see where his shots were going as they lit up white instead of blue. It helped at far ranges like this. He put his sights on the left swarm, he had no scope on the blaster and no extravagant gear either. Steadying himself he lightly pulled the trigger and felt the five bolts of energy explode out of the muzzle and the gun kick back. He waited a half second for them to reach their target, unfortunately for him only two of the five did.
Unpleased with the first volley of bolts he hastily pulled the trigger again sending another five shots out. This time was even worse only scoring one hit. The entire swarm was intact and flying straight at his position seemingly unphased by his blaster. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, he was not just fighting for himself here. He had to protect his Ursaring and his other pokemon. If he was captured his pokemon would be taken from him and he did not want to imagine the treatment they would receive. He looked down the sights again and noticed the flying swarm of beedrill were not simply making a direct path towards them. Now at just fifty meters Doug could see the beedrill were rotating in their swarm so they constantly remained moving in two directions and could avoid oncoming attacks. Doug had never faced anything like this before, so many pokemon so highly trained to coordinate an attack like this was unheard of. A sense of panic overtaking him he began burst firing at the swarm repeatedly. Aiming as well as he could he squeezed the trigger ten times unleashing bursts of five shots. Each time he jerked his gun to the side attempting to hit as many of the beedrill as possible.
His battery drained from the sixty shots just fired, Doug reached to his thigh for his extra battery charges. He looked at the result of his shooting as he quickly expelled the old battery and reloaded a new one, the motion was muscle memory to him after all of his training. Of the twelve beedrill that came at him before only four remained. Of the four left, two of them were barely still flying. He looked to his right to see Grizz glaring at the oncoming swarms. It looked as if his Ursaring had finally recovered his energy after unleashing such a powerful hyper beam attack. That left Doug with a tough decision to make. He could have Grizz charge up another hyper beam and take out more of the attackers, which would be devastating at close range. However that would leave his partner drained of energy and the attackers would be on top of them in seconds, leaving Grizz vulnerable. Unfortunately he did not have the luxury of time to think about his fighting tactics so he gave the command, "Grizz charge up another hyper beam and hit that middle swarm! Take out as many as you can and I'll handle whatever comes after." He knew there was no point it just sitting there waiting for your opponent to be all over you, he just hoped Grizz did not pay the price for his quick decision.
Doug rattled off three more bursts at the left swarm taking out three more and leaving just one. Alongside his blaster fire came another wicked beam of energy from Grizz's mouth that slammed into the middle swarm. The damage was terrifying and the result was magnificent to Doug's eyes. The beam hit directly into the middle of the swarm The bug pokemon didn't stand a chance to evade, it was useless at this close range. The power must have been insane as seven of the beedrill slammed into the dirt and another three caught themselves just seconds before hitting the ground. He could not have been happier with his Ursaring. After that attack they stood a good chance of fending off the oncoming attack and with the beedrill only ten meters away that attack was coming very soon. He was going to have to fight off the first wave of attacks by himself. He saw Ursaring go down to all fours breathing heavily. It was his turn to do some damage and help out his friend.
Sliding the switch on the side of his gun it slid back together into it's compact carrying position. With no time to sling it onto his back Doug threw the blaster to the side and reached to his back. He pulled out a two foot long black metal rod that was lined with a pair of buttons. He clicked the first switch and out of each end of the rod deployed a greater length of metal leaving a six foot staff in his hands. He watched as the beedrill from the left and the right swarms converged to the middle making a group of nine from their remaining number. With Grizz right by his side gathering his energy back, Doug readied himself for the attack. The swarm dove from the air at him from just a meter or two away. The drills on their arms ready to strike him and his companion. Doug activated a button on his staff and the ends of his weapon lit up with a green glow as a slow humm pulsed from it. As they came at him in an arrow formation he swung his staff with powerful speed and trained precision. The leading beedrill in the formation took the full force of the impact as the striking end of his staff lit up with a green electrical charge. The pokemon was stunned by the attack and thrown to the side into another swooping beedrill. The swarm kept on coming as Doug and Grizz became engulfed by the insect attack, drills stabbing everywhere, Doug brought up the opposite end of his staff and parried as many strikes as he could, losing sight of his Ursaring in the fray.
With the Beedrill zooming past him and circling around for another attack Doug quickly checked Grizz and himself for damage. He saw Grizz laying low to the ground on all four legs, growling at the bee pokemon, no obvious damage was done to him. Checking himself he saw two stabbing drills had punctured what little armor he had protecting him. Fortunately the armor stopped the drill from getting to his flesh and causing any harm to him. He looked up at the swarm as they gathered themselves in the air. Their red eyes locking back onto Grizz and him. He prepared himself for another attack. Frustrated he noticed his first few strikes failed to take down any of them. That was not going to cut it. The swarm dove at them again as Doug spun his staff in his hands. The green energy pulsing at each end left streaks of green behind the staff as it rotated. He charged at the beedrill leaving Grizz behind him and hopefully keeping his enemy away from his pokemon. He swung left and right with each side of the weapon catching the swarm multiple times. Twice more the beedrill stabbed at his armor as he took several more swings at the pokemon.
He rolled on his back and turned to watch the swarm fly past him and into the air again, pulling up before they reached Grizz, exactly what he wanted. This time three were laying on the ground before him, taken out of the fight by the swing of his electric battlestaff. He watched as they regained their formation, making manoeuvres that attested to their complex training. He looked to Grizz who was now standing back on two legs. The bear's breathing was more controlled and relaxed. The two of them locked eyes as Grizz gave a menacing snarl at the beedrill. Doug smirked and his Ursaring grinned back, "If you're done taking your nap I could really use some help with all these damn bugs!" he yelled with half a laugh in his voice. An angered face of insult swept over Ursaring's face as he stood up tall and puffed out his chest once again. He stared down Doug as he flexed his muscles and displayed his strength, obviously aware of his trainers jest but no less slighted. Doug laughed aloud as some of the tension from the battle was relieved from him, "You know you're not fighting me Grizz! Why don't you show your teeth to the real enemy!" he said with another laugh.
Doug watched as Grizz turned to face the beedrill who were back in formation and coming towards the two of them for a third attack. Even having as close a bond as the two of them did, knowing that Ursaring would never harm or hurt him in anyway, the malicious look that Ursaring gave when he leered at his opponent still sent chills up his own spine. Of all the moves and attacks he had taught Grizz over the years, that was the one he had mastered above all. There was not a single pokemon Doug knew that would not feel some sense of fear from that lascivious look. As he expected, the beedrill shifted in formation, none of the flying bugs wanted to be first in line to lead the charge against the mighty bear. Eventually one of the beedrill broke formation completely and started moving directly towards Doug trying to avoid Grizz at all costs. It's drill arms were forward and they gleamed with purple venom as it charged.
Following the lead of the first bee all of the other beedrill followed suit and darted towards Doug, flying clear of the Ursaring. It made no difference how determined they were to avoid Grizz. The bear quickly cleared the distance between his master and himself by running on all fours. Just as the swarm reached his master he lept through the air, his claws slashing left and right as the beedrill jabbed at Doug. Defending himself as best he could Doug swung left and right with his staff, zapping the bugs down everywhere. It was chaos on the ground around them. The beedrill did not regain formation after making their diving swoop this time. They simply scattered about everywhere through the air. Drill arms stabbed and stingers jabbed as electric lit up the air with each swing of Doug's battlestaff. Grizz never skipped a beat. Using his claws to take furious swipes and wicked scratches at his overwhelming number of enemies. In less than a minute of close combat chaos almost all of the swarming bugs were down save three. The remaining few flew out of reach and hovered in the air in a triangular formation. That is when Doug saw a distinction in one of his foes.
One of the remaining beedrill had a sash on the side of it's arm. The sash was black and had a silver badge on it but Doug could not make out what the image was at this distance. Regardless of the symbol it meant that this beedrill was special to someone and that meant they could not be too far away. He glanced left and right noticing Grizz coming back to his side. He checked over his pokemon as he scanned the area. He noticed several wounds on Grizz, some of which looked more severe, but he did not see any trainers around. Putting his focus back on the enemy, he prepared to finish this regardless of whether the beedrills trainer showed up or not. His opponent had fought this long without giving commands and he had no problem finishing the fight without them now.
He glanced at his Ursaring who was obviously in a good amount of pain from the poison jabs he took in the fray, "You up to finishing this and getting out of here buddy?" Doug asked concerned about his friend's health. Grizz released a roar that was full of energy and it settled some of his qualms. It always surprised him the amount of punishment Grizz could take but he just chalked it up to their rigorous training, especially when they trained with the Major's pokemon. "Let's end this then Grizz, charge them now!" he commanded. Now that there were only three enemy pokemon left Doug felt it would be unfair for him to engage himself in the combat. It was only under unfair circumstances where an agent's pokemon was severely outmatched that the Agency permitted an agent to use force. Doug had been mildly concerned about using his blaster and staff against the swarms but he knew it had been necessary.
Grizz was more than capable of handling three beedrill even after the attacks he had suffered through. He watched now as the bear charged forward once again on all fours. Moving with graceful speed he dashed towards the trio. Two of the beedrill broke off and dove to meet him leaving behind a sole beedrill, the one with a sash on it's arm. Launching himself into the air to meet his opposition Grizz had his arms tucked in close to his body as he left the ground. The drill arms jousted past him missing him by mere inches on each side. Now in the air passing behind his two opponents, Grizz swung his arms back smacking the beedrill through the air. The bear landed with grace as the power of his arm thrust sent the two beedrill tumbling through the air into the electric fence. It created a blinding flash as they were electrocuted. As they fell to the ground he knew they would not be getting up anytime soon.
That is when the young agent heard a sound he did not expect to hear today. Clapping. It was a slow clap at first with a pause each second or two. Then it picked up momentum as clap after clap filled the air. For a second Doug's heart told him it was his mentor, The Major. He would've been thrilled for him to show up right now. As pissed off as he knew he would be to see Doug here all alone, he would be able to save his ass big time. Unfortunately it was not his mentor. It was the person who had just made the last ten minutes of his life a living hell. It was the person who had just sent a swarm of beedrill to come kill him. And though that gave him a chance to get payback, it also meant he was about to deal with a trainer who had some serious skill coordinating attacks.
Doug locked eyes with the trainer as she stopped clapping. She had snuck up on him as his attention was diverted on the battle before him. She stood there in all black clothes. With short blonde hair covered mostly by a black beanie on her head. On her upper arm she wore the same sash as the lead beedrill. She gave off a creepy vibe that he could feel even ten meters away. She gave a frown at Doug as he noticed her Vespiquen flying next to her. The words coming out of him before he could think of anything else to say he spoke aloud, "Damn more bees"
CHAPTER 4
"Bees and bears" the mysterious girl said, "The irony is almost too much. But you know what is really bothering me? The question of why a well trained Ursaring and it's tough guy master are beating up on my beedrill " Her voice was agitated but young. She couldn't have been any older than Doug himself. Yet she seemed so calm about everything, like she was not even concerned about the whole mess she was involved in.
Several thoughts came into Doug's head at the moment. The first was to play off the role of being just the 'trainer' she thought he was. Could he talk his way out of it? Probably not... The second idea was to turn tail and run as fast as he could out of there. The third idea, his favorite, was to act like the "tough guy" trainer she claimed him to be and have Grizz give her pokemon an ass kicking. So that is exactly what he did. "I happen to be an agent working for the United Regions Alliance." he proclaimed. "And under suspicion of work regulations being illegally violated at this facility, I have been sent here to investigate. And it's not looking so good for you" A surge of confidence went through his bones. He sounded really official and he probably just scared the heck out of this chick.
Laughter. She laughed at him. A burst of giggling erupted from her lungs and she bent over gasping for air. "You have to be the biggest joke I have ever heard of!" she mocked. "They send a single agent out here to investigate this facility? Kid you're in deeper shit than you can imagine right now."
"I am no kid! And I am not alone!" he yelled back at her in the deepest voice he could muster. "Now if you would please return your pokemon to their poke balls and put any weapons you are carrying at your feet we can resolve this issue without any further trouble. I am willing to look past your unregulated security force that assaulted my pokemon and I as well, which you should know is a considered a crime against the URA treatise". He hoped he sounded professional enough and that she would understand the gravity of the situation.
Instead she just kept on laughing. "I am going to go real easy on you kid because I am guessing it's your first time out here in the field all alone. I've dealt with the URA and their agents before and I have kicked their asses more times than I can count." He could hear a more serious tone rising in her voice. "And I know how you guys operate. So if you really did have any backup they would have come and saved your ass when you were getting swarmed, fighting like a little idiot with your little stick. Now I'll give you props, your Ursaring is pretty impressive, but that bear isn't looking too good at the moment, a little sickly if you ask me. But I ain't no doctor." She laughed again. She was right. Doug glanced at Grizz and saw how bad he had been wounded, several cut marks and more bruises that he didn't notice before in the heat of battle. Worst of all he saw that Grizz was facing the full effect of the beedrill's poison jabs, the toxin had entered his blood and was weakening him every second. She continued, "So here's what I'm going to do. I'm gonna let you walk away right now. Which is real kind of me 'cause the Boss man will get real mad. But I'm not to sure he wants me to drag your ass into his office for information either, because I'm guessing you're pretty useless in that department, okay kid."
Doug's pride hurt pretty bad at that point. He had anticipated some resistance but he did not expect to be humiliated like that. She had the upper hand as well. She was more experienced and a superior trainer by his observations. To organize so many pokemon like that was an astounding feat. Plus she had more pokemon at her side, that last remaining beedrill, the vespiquen, and another at her hip reserved in it's ball. That wasn't even mentioning all the others that he guessed were waiting behind her at the compound. He'd have to be an idiot to not take this chance to run but the repercussions would be devastating. Whatever illegal activity was going on here would be shut down and moved to another location before any more agents could inspect the facility. He would be punished for his reckless behavior and some real bad people might be getting their hands on some illegal and possibly dangerous equipment. He had screwed up big time here. He wasn't ready to act on missions alone, he wasn't the person he thought he was, he had failed.
CHAPTER 5
She stared at him, "Come on kid, hand over your equipment and gear and go get your Ursaring some help, okay?." He hesitated. She wanted his equipment too? She needed it to see if he had gathered any evidence to incriminate the people here. She needed his gear to stop him from calling for backup once she let him go. He could radio MainStation and have this place crawling with agents in thirty minutes. The fact that he didn't think of this before eluded him but it didn't matter, he had his opportunity.
"Sorry, the offers real nice but that's not how this going to go." he said, "I'll give you one chance to turn around and get out of here before I radio for help. Because once the Agency gets here... well you're screwed." He pulled out his receiver from his pocket and switched it on. Coming to life in a display of green light, he slid the touch screen and put his thumb on the distress call button. "They'll have my position on GPS and they'll be here in minutes. I'll count to three." he said. She stood there facing him, unmoving. "One"...still as a rock..."Two"...a smirk on her face..."Three" as he pushed the button and the receiver lit up with a red flash.
She stood there smiling, "Don't you just love signals?" she giggled. "Jamming signals are one of my personal favorites. Keeping your distress call from ever getting to your stupid little MainStation." She seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit, basking in Doug's unfortunate error. "Sadly you made the wrong choice there kid. At least you get to see another one of my signaling tricks before you leave us!" she turned to her pokemon beside her, "Vespiquen signal another attack order! Have the drones execute a deadlier formation this time and don't have them disappoint... our guest stayed just to see the show." She laughed one final time as she began walking away with her Vespiquen flying by her side. The last remaining beedrill flew towards a new swarm of beedrill that were pouring out of the facility. Doug and Grizz were left to face the new host of enemies that came droning out of the sides of the facility towards them.
"HEY!", Doug yelled, "If I'm going down I'm at least going to face my opponent one on one!" he barked at her. He needed her to face him, she was the only thing standing between him and his death.
"You got alotta game kid. The Agency must have gotten to you young. Shame too, you might've made a half decent pawn around here." she nonchalantly spoke. "I'm 'fraid I am going to have to decline your offer however. The Boss man needs me and you got your hands full anyway" she never even looked back at him. That was when Doug had what felt like his first good idea since he got to this facility.
"Dammit stay and fight you coward!" Doug screamed. That got her to turn and face him, it was a mistake on her part, but it was all he needed. Doug snapped his fingers and Grizz stood up tall by his side. The bear showed his teeth and snarled. Doug knew it was Ursaring's mean look and he knew it worked. The Vespiquen had turned with it's master and caught Grizz's eyes. It was an attack similar to his leer and scary face but affected a pokemon differently than throwing its focus off or weakening it. It was believed that mean look channeled an energy in the defending pokemon's that disturbed it on an emotional level. Whatever the case, the focus of the mean look could be so effective that it stopped the pokemon from leaving an engagement until it finished the fight. There was only one problem with that, Ursaring was hurting bad with the poison taking it's toll. Not to mention him being drained of energy. That meant that Vespiquen would have every advantage in this fight. Doug's only chance of surviving the onslaught of beedrill would be to take out Vespiquen and stop her attack order signal. He knew now that the only way all of those beedrill could fight in such perfect formation was do to the hive mind of the Vespiquen. Beating her was the key to surviving.
The only problem was, Grizz didn't stand a chance. He could take out his other pokemon but that would break the effect of the mean look he just used and Vespiquen could flee. Every angle Doug looked at it he was royally screwed. It was a situation that was impossible to win. Grizz would barely be able to keep up in this fight let alone end it in a few seconds before the beedrill arrived. The gears kept grinding in the back of his head but he knew there was no game plan out of this. It was sad that after putting up such a fight it would end like this. His first mission a failure. A failure that would cost him the lives of his pokemon as well as his own. He refused to go down cowering though. He had Vespiquen locked for a few seconds so he'd make the most of it. He looked at Grizz as he always did, knowing they shared the same thoughts and came to the same conclusions, an effect of being together for so long. He gave the command, "Grizz get in close and swipe that damn bug to bits!" Without hesitation he lurched forward arms outstretched and claws ready as he slowly approached Vespiquen.
"You act too fast kid" she said. "You should really think before you go and do something stupid like that. I'm going to humiliate you now. And when I'm finished I am going to send your shattered poke balls back to MainStation so they can remember what happens when their agents mess with me. Vespiquen use fury cutter!" The flying bug flew towards the approaching Ursaring quicker than Doug thought she could. It slashed its claws into Ursaring and flew above him out of reach of his counter attack. That Vespiquen was far too quick for Grizz to get a hit in when he was injured. Doug wasn't even sure Grizz would be able to get a clean shot if he was in peak shape. So he decided to change up his strategy, "Grizz we're going to have to slow things down, Vespiquen is just too fast for you!". His bear turned towards him confused at his command. "How about that nap we talked about" He yelled.
Understanding what his trainer had meant, Ursaring instantly put himself to sleep by using rest. Unfortunately that left the bear open to just about any attack Vespiquen wanted to deliver. Fortunately for Grizz, resting also rejuvenated some of his strength and energy. Doug saw that his opponent was not going to let him take advantage of using rest to recover but that was fine by him. His opponent made the demand to her pokemon, "Use Fury cutter again!". From the air above Vespiquen flew down with claws out even quicker than the first time. Doug stood there and watched as the claws of Vespiquen slashed into his sleeping friend. This attack looked far more devastating than the first and Doug instantly scorned himself for his mistake. He had completely forgot that the Fury Cutter attack became more powerful if it hit in succession. He knew he messed up but he had to keep his focus on the fight. Though the attack had flipped Grizz over onto his back it was not strong enough to take him out and he was still sleeping soundly and regaining his strength by the second.
"Hang in there Grizz! We got this." He knew he sounded unsure in his voice, the nerves setting in as things became more desperate. He glanced at the girl who was causing him so much distress. To his surprise she actually looked pretty concerned about the battle as well. Her eyes were darting back between her Vespiquen, Grizz, and something behind him. He glanced back for a second and a chill shot up his spine. There looming behind him were sixty or so beedrill. They had snuck up behind him while he watching the fight. He was pissed at himself for once again making a rookie mistake and allowing himself to be snuck up on. He began to wonder why those beedrill had not swooped in already and massacred Grizz and him. It then clicked in his head a second later. These beedrill were all under Vespiquen's attack orders so the effect of Mean Look must be keeping them from getting involved in the battle. That was a titanic swing of good luck in his favor and he had to capitalize on it. If he could only knock out that damn queen bee their signal would be broken and their formation would be ruined. Hopefully that would give him enough time to get out of here.
Time unfroze and his second to think was up. His opponent's pokemon dove down to attack Grizz again. He heard the girl call out, "Use Fury Cutter one last time and let's be done with this." And as scary as it was for Doug to see those vicious claws make their way towards his Pokemon, he still smiled, because he heard the nervousness in her voice. She wanted to end this fight immediately because she knew she was losing her edge. She knew her back up plan of Beedrill was already countered by Mean Look. The Queen Bee closed the distance and went to finish the fight with one last attack but Doug was sure it would never reach it's target. Doug whistled as loud as he could knowing the sound would zoom through the air and reach Grizz's ears. Turning over in his sleep Grizz gave out a cacophonous snore. The power behind the earth shaking yawn threw off the incoming Vespiquen and sent her crashing into the ground.
Then Grizz's eyes slowly opened as he let out a long sigh. "Hey bud" Doug yelled to help wake us his friend, "If you're all done sleeping I would really appreciate if you could thrash that Vespiquen."
"Gggrrrhhh" boomed Grizz. Hearing his bear roar gave Doug a burst of positive energy and watching him savagely swing at his opponent made him even happier. The Ursaring rampaged into the downed Vespiquen crushing her further into the ground. It quickly tried to retake flight but the thrashing claws would not let her escape and she kept getting swatted back into the hard earth. Lost in a violent frenzy of swinging arms Grizz did not let up. He took full advantage of his opponent flinching from his snore. It was all too much for the Queen of the hive and with one monstrous swing into her side she hit the ground for the last time and was knocked out.
The Beedrill went into a frenzy. They swarmed around in the air, flying recklessly and randomly. The signal that Vespiquen had been emitting was broken and now these semi-wild pokemon were in disarray. They no longer were receiving orders from any source and that meant they were out of anyone's control, there was no way that girl could train and order over sixty pokemon. Doug looked to her. She was in full panic, almost as frantic as all the bees around her. Every second a Beedrill would break off from the swarm and fly down close to him and Grizz but they never made an attack. He started to realize how horrible this was, these Beedrill were mindless without their Queen, they needed her to survive. The idea of that pressed on his mind. Was it the Queen's fault for making these pokemon her subjects or was it just natural for the pokemon to need a leader to function properly. He pushed the philosophy from his head and focused at the true problem at hand, getting the hell out of here. The beedrill all starting swarming closer towards their fallen queen and that gave Doug and Grizz their chance to escape. The female trainer was caught in the fray. They ran like holy hell to the fence.
But Grizz was fatigued and could not get there as fast as his master. Looking back he saw vehicles from the compound closing in on his position fast. Past the fence he saw more of the same vehicles closing in from the left and right, ATVs, at least a half dozen. They must've realized the chaos meant bad news for them. Grizz was almost with him at the fence now striding on all four legs, they would have mere seconds to slip past and get out of here before they were surrounded. Then a wall of purple came slamming into the slow moving bear, throwing him through the air. It was a Nidoqueen. Correction. It was a massive Nidoqueen. Nearly the size of Grizz himself, the force behind it's tackle must have been devastating as it sent the Ursaring flying and left him unable to get back up.
Realizing the Grizz could do no more, Doug called him back. With a red flash of light his pokemon was in his pokeball safe at his side, or as safe as he could be in their present situation. Keeping his hand at his side Doug clicked the button on his other poke ball. The black matte ball with white claw marks expanded to it's full size. "Alright Twig, time for the second act! Let's see what you got!" with another red flash of light his other pokemon came to stand before him. It was a mighty Pangoro. Just like all of Doug's pokemon and himself, Pangoro was big. Standing much taller than his brother bear Grizz, Pangoro was a daunting sight. Easily a hundred pounds heavier than Doug and at least half a foot taller, Pangoro didn't get his name Twig because he was skinny.
Doug looked to the Nidoqueen that had just taken a cheap shot on his Ursaring. His thoughts were confirmed. It belonged to that same old chick who had been a thorn in his side since he got here. She must've have broken free of the frenzy and decided to get some revenge for getting outsmarted and out trained. Doug didn't have time to play games with her again but he realized the tables had turned once again. Now he was trying leave and she wasn't going to let him. Doug couldn't hear what she commanded but the Nidoqueen before him came charging at his Pangoro. "Twig, we need to create some separation here. Wait for your chance to hit, make it count, and then let's go!" Doug commanded.
Pangoro crouched low and faced the Nidoqueen, waiting for the impact of it's attack. Charging hard the Nidoqueen launched its body into Twig and slammed him back. The two mighty pokemon went tumbling backwards. As the two came to their feet though, Twig had his powerful arms wrapped around his opponent. "Use Vital Throw now!" Doug called out. It was an unnecessary order however, as Twig was already mid-motion throwing his enemy through the air. Impressed by Twig's autonomy, Doug watched the Nidoqueen fly far back towards its trainer and slam into the ground crashing into the girl. It was a forceful throw that sent her five meters high but even though Nidoqueen slammed the ground hard, Doug knew the attack wasn't very effective. It didn't matter though, the throw created a gap between them and the girl who was dazed for at least a few moments, so they could take their chance to escape. He then saw as the beedrill took notice of their little battle and began to swarm towards them.
Glancing towards the fence Doug realized that Twig was far too big to be able to squeeze past the electrical currents. "Time to get out of here Twig, come back to me." he called while holding out his pokeball. Ignoring him for a second, Doug watched as Twig gave a threatening stare directly at Nidoqueen, the he proceeded to be summoned to his ball. These pokemon would continue to amaze him Doug thought, admiring the parting shot Twig left on Nidoqueen. Making a mental note to praise Twig for his quick thinking when he got out of this mess, Doug sprinted for the fence. Reaching to his back he grabbed at air. Damn, damn, damn! Was all Doug could think. He had tossed his blaster to the ground before and now he regretted his hasty decision not to pick it back up. He was going to attempt use the blaster to try and blow a hole in the face and slip past but now he had to think of another plan, and fast.
Continuing towards the fence Doug's brain stormed for another way past the barrier. He really really wished he had his mentor with him right now. He was in way over his head and could seriously use some help. Thinking on the fly he reached for his staff. Thank Arceus he had remembered to hold onto one of his weapons. deploying it to its full length Doug held it like a javelin. With absolutely no idea whether his plan was going to succeed or not Doug kept his full sprint up as he tossed the staff through the air like a spear. Striking dead center in the middle of the electrical field the staff lit up with sparks. The electricity connected with the staffs metal body and fried it. A step away from the fence Doug realized that his idea of using his staff to draw off the electrical current failed.
Unable to stop due to his pursuers closing in on him with ATV's, the beedrill's swarming on him, and his momentum carrying him forward, Doug made a desperate decision. He grabbed his haywire device at his side and activated it. Hoping it would disrupt the field before his body passed through it he flew through the air. His body went numb...
CHAPTER 6
He hit the unforgiving hard dirt. Sore from the Beedrill jabs and the shock he just took, he really did not need any more bruises from this mission. He suspected there would be plenty more to come however. Trying to get back to his feet and escape the immediate danger, Doug found he could not even manage to move his arms or legs. The electric shock must have paralyzed him, he just hoped it was temporary, very temporary. He tried to tighten his core muscles and roll over. Aside from a few spasms in his gut he made no progress. Face in the dirt and unable to move as dozens of dangerous security personnel closed in on him, Doug guessed he was pretty screwed. He was right. He heard the sounds of engines nearing his position. The ATV's would soon find him laying on the ground unable to protect himself.
A minute passed and then lights shined on him as two ATV's surrounded him. "Don't make a move! Or we'll blast you in the back!" He heard a stern voice yell out, followed by the familiar sound of weapons being drawn. Not much of a problem there, he nervously joked to himself. Not being able to see much as he was stuck with his face in the ground looking down, he heard as they inched closer to him. They likely suspected him of playing some kind of trick, he only wished that was the case. Seconds later after the stern voiced man and the others exchanged a few words, he was pulled up to his feat by two strong arms.
Still unable to stand on his own, once the arms holding him up let go, he slumped right back down to the dirt. Ouch. "He's paralyzed boys" scoffed the stern voice man. Set him on his ass. The arms grabbed him again and Doug saw that they did not belong to people, instead he was man-handled by two hulking Machokes. Tossed onto his rear, he saw before him the stern voiced man. He was dressed in all black light combat gear not that different than Doug's own. He had a rough face and a pissed off look painted across it. Beside him stood another man, younger than the him but no less intimidating. The younger one carried two pokeballs at his hip while the stern guy only had one. He wondered if the Machokes both belonged to the younger guy or if they each trained their own.
Stern voiced grabbed the walkie-talkie at his side, static "This is outpost team three at fence 18F, we got the security breach. Confirm again there was only one..." A mumbled voice on the other end of the receiver. "Understood we'll hold him here. Team three out". static. "Well damn son, I woulda bet a shiny credit that there was no chance one kid could cause such a screwed up situation. Guess I'd been wrong." He laughed and looked towards his friend.
"And I guess there's no point in me telling you that the operations being carried out here are highly illegal." Doug desperately inquired.
"Son, this whole operation is way, way past illegal and that doesn't bother me much anyway. The legal work don't pay nearly as good as this black market shit." The Stern voiced joked. "What're you doing here anyway?"
"I am Agent Stanborn, dispatched by MainStation to patrol and protect this region from people like you." Doug replied. He slowly felt the numbing sensation in his body dissipating. Not that it would help him much to be able to move, because he suspected if he shifted even an inch he would either be blasted in the chest at point blank range or crushed by the massive muscle pokemon standing at his side.
"God damn for an agency renowned for its intelligence you guys make some pretty stupid decisions. You're telling me they sent one agent, heh not even you're just a kid really, but still one guy to investigate an operation run by the Drill Gang?! I mean you gotta be kidding me." The man's voice had almost entirely lost its stern tone and now sounded like he was mocking his prisoner.
Drill Gang? That rang a bell in Doug's head. But why? Come on come on, why does that remind him of something? Oh shit that's right! After the whole war and the disbanding of Team Rocket, there were all those splinter groups that set up and tried to dominate the crime world. The Drills were one of them, one that actually made quite a name for themselves a couple years back, but then they went completely underground. Could this really be their operation? And if it is, why the hell didn't he get any intel from MainStation about this? There's no way they could be so in the dark about activity of this magnitude.
"Hey A-3 we got team four and six coming in, they are thirty seconds from our position." The younger man said.
"Good, they're bringing the cage, we'll throw him in and bring him back to the boss to question him a little more." The other replied.
"Scanner shows a team closing in from the South as well, but they haven't checked in." The younger man followed up.
"The South?" The man replied, the stern tone back in his voice. "There shouldn't be any teams South of our position B! Double check those scanners!" he was yelling now.
"Double checking now", the young voice nervously replied as he quickly checked his scanner. "That's a positive on a South-bound incoming! Two readings... they're aerial..." he sounded panicked. "Now thre... no four... five! They're on the ground too!" he screamed.
The other man, slightly less panicked than his younger companion, grabbed the walkie at his side and radioed in. "We have incoming hostile forces moving in on our position from the South! I repeat incoming hostile forces from the South! Check your scanners and update your positions now" he commanded. He looked towards Doug and the two Machokes. "Chokers detain the prisoner and fall back with me. B grab your wheels and lock down this position we're powering down the fence and moving out. No one gets passed you for the next sixty seconds, you got that?" The man ordered.
"Understood A-3" fear sounded in the voice of the younger man as the realization of his role as the sacrificial pawn dawned on him.
The two Machokes grabbed Doug beneath his arms and effortlessly carried him to the back of the ATV. The man who was being called A-3, which Doug assumed to be his designated name as leader of this team, mounted the ATV as the two Machokes hopped on the back railing of the vehicle. The combined weight of all four of them was too great as the rear end of the two person vehicle sank into the ground as the shocks moaned against the weight.
"Shit! Hop off you two, you're going on foot with the prisoner. I'm gunna set the fence for a 5 second delay so DO NOT miss your opening to get through." A-3 ordered. He drove off down the perimeter of the fence until he reached a post that had a terminal in the side. One of the Machokes grabbed him by the waist and slung him over his shoulder like a piece of meat. Even though Doug was well over a foot taller and he guessed about a hundred pounds heavier he knew their was no shot he could break free of the pokemon's hold, especially in the beat up state he was in.
Doug watched as the top of the two fence posts before them blinked with a red light. A-3 was speeding back towards them on his ATV. A low electric hum sounded and slowly faded away as the glow of the fence dimmed until the electric field completely shut off. Doug wished he had known of that little trick when he made his desperate run past the fence. Following orders the two Machokes sprinted forward past the fence with A-3 right behind them. Doug heard the static on the man's walkie cut in and out as dozens of reports came back with positions and updates. He pulled his ATV up to the three of them and dismounted. Doug groaned as he was dumped off the shoulder of the fighting pokemon and hit the dirt. He wished he had full use of his body but he was still twitching from the shock he took. He wondered if he would ever feel anything again as A-3 grabbed him by the straps of his gear and heaved him up.
The punch that cracked him in the jaw was the last thing he needed to feel today. "You little piece of shit decoy!" A-3 said as he threw another punch, this time to the gut. "You brought the whole damn agency down on us?" Two more punches to the ribs. He dropped Doug's limp body to the ground in a heap and took a break from punching him to grab his walkie. There we explosions and sounds of battle coming off from the distance past the fence. "This is A-3 reporting to control, we need another Bee Queen out here to get aerial support ASAP." Doug watched his face as he waited for a response, then turned to look at the open field he just tried to escape from. He saw crazed beedrill still frantically flying through the sky but there was no sign of the female trainer and her Nidoqueen.
"God dammit why not? Then set up secondary defenses on the fence we need stop them from coming in from the air! And what am I doing with this prisoner?" A-3 waited for another response and in a second a grin spread across his face. "Well you screwed yourself kid cause the boss said we don't have time for prisoners now." He unholstered a pistol blaster at his side. It was an illegal military grade weapon that fired a super-heated projectile and was incredibly efficient at killing whatever it was pointed at. The black market had nicknamed the rare and incredibly expensive gun, the Dragon Shot. And now it was pointed at Doug and he felt his stomach turn as the realization of his death came over him.
A-3 had his back to the fence as Doug faced him. He saw the bright light come towards him. But it wasn't his passing to the afterlife, it was a massive fireball that came hurtling over the fence right towards them. One of the Machoke grunted and A-3 hesitated to turn around but it was too late by the time he did. The ground around them exploded as the fiery mass impacted the earth and heated the air around them. Doug watched as all four of them were thrown through the air and engulfed in flames. As he lay slumped on the ground unable to move he felt the fire burn at his clothing and armor. He wished that A-3 had shot him a second earlier because he really didn't want to burn to death while paralyzed and as black smoke filled the air around him, he slipped away into unconsciousness.
CHAPTER 7
The Noctowl ceased his circling flight in the air above and landed on a branch in the trees below. He had found who he was looking for. The bear Pokemon was sleeping calmly laid with his back against the tree Noctowl stood on. The rhythm of his heavy snoring the only disturbance in the forest. Surrounding the bear were dozens of stems from various berries most of which
were half eaten. Some of the juices from the fruits still covered his face and slowly dripped down his face landing on his thick belly. The owl found it hard to believe that this was the Pokemon he was sent to call upon. Not much in terms of heroics if you asked him. Still who was he to judge the wisdom of his master. With a draw of his breath he let out a loud HOO! HOO!
Disturbed from his sleep the Ursaring grumbled and grunted and finally let out one final snore. The sound almost shook the Noctowl off of his perch in the tree. Noctowl watched as the bear slowly opened his eyes and looked around angered at whatever awoke him. After a few moments the Ursaring forgot about the noise and stopped looking around, and soon began to drift back into his slumber. Another nudge of judgement passed in the back of the owl's head, "Up here grumpy" teased Noctowl. Like lighting the bear shot up from his laid back position and slashed at the branches above him. By pure luck Noctowl avoided being slashed to ribbons by the claws of the bear. Flying clear of the bear's reach he landed on a tree far away from the frantic bear.