Disclaimer: I make no claim to ownership of the Pokémon series or any of it's characters; that belongs to Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. This is merely a work of fanfiction based on the world they've created.
[AN: Nearly 2 years since I last did anything on this profile...
I do apologise for my absence, but life is life and far outside my control. I still intend to finish my in-progress stories, but I have no idea about the time frame, I fear.
Until then, here's a random snippet of a story I've been working slowly on for the fun of it; basically a re-imagining of the Gen 3 Hoenn storyline with some elements from Platinum and later games/the anime and a whole bunch of world-building and general removal and/or explanation of game mechanics.
I hope you enjoy it, and please tell me what you think! /AN]
"Really?! Another one?!" May grumbled as she reeled her line in to reveal yet another red-shelled crustacean. Once again, she pulled the snippy Corphish off the bait line and threw it towards her Blaziken, who was waiting on standby to send it sailing back into the water with a scorching Blaze Kick.
"Well, at least Blaziken's getting a good workout," Brendan quipped from where he was grooming his Swellow, but immediately raised his hands in submission when both the Pokémon and trainer in question turned to glare at him. They all knew that the only hard part about this for the towering fire-type was the waiting around between each target.
"What's your deal with Corphish anyway? You weren't nearly this ticked about all the Magikarp we caught last time we went fishing. Did you get nipped by one as a kid or something?" Brendan inquired.
"That's because Magikarp are at least meant to be here; Corphish are an introduced species," she replied shortly, and he couldn't help but notice that she didn't answer his second query. Still, the idea of an invasive Pokémon species intrigued him.
"Huh, I didn't even know there were problem Pokémon species. So what's the deal with them?"
"They originated on the Mainland, around the Kalos region, where they're popular as both food and as pets, because of how resilient they are. So, naturally, they eventually made their way down here, but when some of their owners eventually grew bored of them the Corphish were just released into ponds and river systems. I guess the tropical conditions suited them because their population exploded, and without their natural predators like Octillery and Floatzel to keep the numbers down, they quickly spread to every freshwater system in Hoenn. They're the main reason that you're only allowed to release Pokémon native to the region you're in now, so that something like this doesn't happen again," she explained as she re-threaded her hook and attached some more bait.
"Wow, I had no idea; do they cause much damage, or are they just a pain in the ass?" Brendan asked, and only his interest in the Corphish situation, and a healthy respect for his health, stopped him from commenting on the sudden reddening of her face.
She continued to explain, albeit while positioning herself so she was facing away from him, ostensibly to go back to fishing.
"They do cause a lot of damage, mainly by burrowing into riverbanks and weakening them as a result, which fills the rivers up with silt and causes major habitat degradation downstream, particularly around river mouths; they're one of the major reasons mangrove systems are so rare now. They also badly affect the populations of other Pokémon; they're too small to prey on the adults of most species, so instead they search out the eggs of other Pokémon and gorge on them. Feebas are one of the worst affected, because they're so weak and it's incredibly rare for one to mature into a Milotic, which might actually be able to protect its nest, so now you almost never find them in the wild; there's even been talk about a captive breeding program for them, but there's so little interest in them as a species that they could barely find anyone that owned one!"
"Well I guess that explains your Blaziken-assisted 'catch-and-release' program…" he said carefully, not wanting to incite the clearly ticked-off female, but she just hummed in agreement as she focused on another tug on her line.
Brendan and his Swellow just shared a look that said they both knew this wasn't going to end well.
Sure enough, as soon as she managed to reel it in…
"Gah! Is there anything in this river that isn't a ruddy Corphish!" She shouted, grabbing the offending crustacean around its thorax, wrenching it off her rod and, this time forgoing her trusty Pokémon, punting the small crayfish into the air herself.
Brendan had to wonder whether she had learned to kick from her Blaziken, or vice-versa.
It was only the erupting geyser of water behind her that broke Brendan out of his somewhat fear-induced admiration of his travelling companion. It seemed that the answer to May's rhetorical question was, in fact, yes; and the evidence was right in front of them as an enormous Gyarados burst from the water, catching the much smaller Corphish as it sailed through the air, then crushing it between its great jaws.
It was only after the aquatic leviathan dove back into the river's depths that either May or Brendan were able to react; even the usually fiery Blaziken was looking shell-shocked by the enormous serpent's sudden and violent appearance.
Once he got over his surprise, Brendan hurriedly recalled Swellow and instead brought out Swampert.
"Alright bud, we're going after a Gyarados," he began to explain, doing his best to ignore the wide-eyed stare of incredulity the powerful amphibian was fixing him with. "I just need you to get it to show itself above water, then Magneton can do the rest."
Swampert still looked like he thought this was a very bad idea, sharing a look with May who was equally wide-eyed and dubious, but he still dove into the murky river after the great serpent, knowing full well that his trainer wouldn't do anything that could truly endanger the lives of any of his Pokémon. Probably.
May was rather more vocal about her concerns.
"You want to catch it? Are you insane?! Did you see the size of that thing?! Surely you know that Gyarados are almost impossible to tame, especially when wild-caught, so what in all the worlds do you think you're doing?!"
Brendan was about to reply and try and explain his reasoning, but she didn't even stop for breath.
"Gyarados are apex predators, do you know what that means? It means that they're the biggest predator in the water around Hoenn, so they eat everything else, Swampert included. I know your Swampert's really, really strong, but you just sent him to fight a Gyarados, in its own territory, and without any instruction from you; he could very easily be-"
Whatever May was about to say was cut short as an earth-shattering bellow of rage drowned out every other sound. Swampert had caught up to the Gyarados, and it was not at all happy about something entering its territory.
"I really hope Magneton is up for this Brendan, because that thing's pissed and almost nothing can stop an enraged Gyarados. If it goes on a rampage…" May trailed off, not at all sure if Brendan's sudden impulse decision was a good one.
"It'll be fine," Brendan assured her as they ran towards the battle. "Magneton's got some real punch, and Gyarados don't take electric attacks well, plus Swampert's pretty much immune to them."
As they reached the river bank, they could see only fragments of the battle as most of the scene was obscured by thrashing white-water created by the Gyarados' angered writhing, trying to catch the surprisingly agile Swampert in its jaws, while Swampert darted around and, on occasion, through the coils of his much larger opponent's body, making use of the extra mobility granted by his strong limbs. The Gyarados would rear its enormous head up in preparation to strike while Swampert would alternate between firing Ice Beams and grabbing large rocks and boulders from the riverbed to throw, which only seemed to infuriate the enormous water-dragon.
Swampert was holding out pretty well, but Brendan was quite aware of how quickly that would change if Gyarados ever caught his loyal partner in its jaws, and Swampert couldn't keep that speed up forever.
"Magneton, let's go!" he called as the powerful electro-magnetic Pokémon materialised.
Almost instantly, Brendan could feel the spike of heat and thrumming of power as the Pokémon's natural EM field washed over him and he knew it was ready for a battle; Magneton may have been the most recent addition to his team, but it had more than proven itself since they'd begun their journey towards Fortree City.
"Alright Magneton, Charge up, then hit that Gyarados with a Thunderbolt!"
Magneton concentrated its electrical energy, building it to such a peak that Brendan could feel his hair start to stand on end even from a few meters away. Only moments later a blinding arc of electricity linked Magneton and its target for a fraction of a second before disappearing as the Thunderbolt attack connected. The Gyarados spasmed and thrashed as the electricity flowed through its body, before it collapsed into the murky water.
"Haha, awesome! Great work Magneton, you too Swampert!" Brendan shouted as he rummaged through his bag for an appropriate Pokéball, while directing his next comment to May, "See, I told you it would work out, no harm done! Sure, training it won't be easy, but that's just a matter of time, and once I earn its trust we-"
For the second time in as many minutes, their conversation was interrupted by an earth-shattering roar. Brendan and May both spun around, wide-eyed, to see the Gyarados burst out of the water and fix its furious eyes on the trio on the river bank, specifically on the Magneton that had dared attack it.
Brendan didn't even have time to react by the time his brain connected the glowing ball forming in the Gyarados' mouth with an impending Hyper Beam, as the searing beam of energy lanced out from the great serpent and engulfed Magneton right before his eyes, going on to destroy a half-dozen trees immediately behind it and leaving a sizable, blackened crater in the ground.
Blinking away the potent after-image from the Hyper Beam, Brendan could no longer see Magneton in front of him, and the usual feeling of energy and heat that it always produced was gone. Terrified, he rushed towards the crater left by the attack.
He found Magneton, but not as it should have been. The three Magnemite that made up its form were scattered throughout the crater, no longer held together in a cohesive mass. Brendan had no idea what this meant, he'd never seen an unconscious Magneton before, and questions raced through his mind as he took in the devastating effect of the Gyarados' Hyper Beam. Was it de-evolved? Would it just re-form when it recovered? Would it recover? Or… could it be dead?
That last one was not a possibility that Brendan wanted to consider, but as one of the Magnemite parts rolled inanimately down the side of the crater, it started to look like that possibility might just be reality.
Groping blindly for Magneton's Pokéball, he tried pressing the return button, desperately hoping it would still work. Red light jumped out from the ball but didn't connect to anything except the ground in the crater, before fading away moments later. Eyes wide and frantic, Brendan fell on his knees next to the closest Magnemite piece, mashing the button in desperation. This time the light at least reached the Pokémon, but it didn't return, it just lay there as the light faded once again. He kept pressing it, but the only got the same result.
"Come on, come on, come on! Please work, please be okay, please just… do something!" A detached part of his mind realised he was hyperventilating, and it also noted how hot the crater still was as the heat seeped through his pants and burnt his knees. Brendan hardly noticed, focused as he was on his Pokémon.
He was still trying to get some response from any of the three Magnemites when he heard May shouting.
"Swampert! No! Skarmory, quickly, try to distract that Gyarados! Keep it away from Swampert!"
Realising he had left his friends to deal with the enraged Gyarados, Brendan was torn between helping them and trying to help Magneton. Trying to return the fallen Pokémon one last time only to see the light once again fade away and leave the Magnemite pieces in place, he dropped the empty Pokéball on the grass and raced back towards the river.
He could see Skarmory diving and swooping around the clearly furious Gyarados, occasionally dropping in close to deliver a Steel Wing attack whenever the Gyarados looked like trying to find a new target, while the Gyarados was snapping and roaring wildly at the metallic bird. The Gyarados didn't look as fast as it had been when clashing with Swampert though, and Brendan figured it must still be feeling the effects of Magneton's Thunderbolt, a thought that was confirmed as the powerful muscles that ran up the Gyarados' two-toned body spasmed as it lunged again for the steel-coated raptor, throwing its attack off-course.
"Brendan!" May called out as she saw him come running up, "I'll keep it distracted with Skarmory, but you need to go check on Swampert."
Looking around, Brendan found his usually indomitable Pokémon struggling to pull itself up onto the riverbank, with one of his arms hanging limply and blood running down his flank.
"No, no, no, no, no! Not Swampert too!"
Brendan didn't even remember running towards his friend, but he found himself trying to help the powerfully built amphibian heave itself onto the riverbank, tugging at his functioning forelimb while Swampert tried to push itself out with his legs. Soon, Swampert was onto the bank, where he promptly collapsed, and it was clear why; his right arm was hanging at an unnatural angle and there was a row of deep punctures that could only have been caused by the Gyarados' fangs along his left flank, all leaking blood at an alarming rate.
Brendan flung his bag to the ground and frantically rummaged through the medical supplies until he found his Hyper Potion. He sprayed the entirety of the bottle over the bleeding holes, blocking out Swampert's pained moans at the medicine's sting, and nearly collapsed in relief when he saw the healing film form over the wounds and halt the blood-flow seconds later. The arm was another matter, but they'd have to get to a Pokémon Centre to get that fixed.
"I'm so sorry Swampert, I didn't think… I never wanted this to happen!" He whispered to his friend, trying to ignore his burning, blurry eyes as he fumbled with the catch for his Pokéball. "We'll get you to Pokémon Centre, where you can have a nice long rest, and they'll get your arm fixed up, and-"
Swampert didn't seem to agree with this plan though, as he warbled in a way that Brendan had long ago learnt meant 'no' and tried to push Brendan's hand, which held his Pokéball, away.
"What? No, come on Swampert, I need you to return, you're hurt and I can't just… I have to make sure your safe!"
Swampert warbled again and bumped his head gently against his Trainer, and Brendan understood why he didn't want to be called back; he wanted to make sure Brendan was safe, too.
"Fine you stubborn, loyal amphibian; but if anything else happens to you, you're going straight back and not coming out again until we're at a Pokécentre, alright?"
Swampert rumbled his agreement, so Brendan turned to run back to May, but was frozen by the scene playing out in the river.
The Gyarados was towering over the scene, its body gyrating and twisting in an odd pattern as it revealed its full size, its huge head suspended over 20ft in the air as it looked towards the sky, letting out another deafening roar. Following the Gyarados' gaze, Brendan could only watch in wonderment as the rain clouds that had been threatening all day began to coalesce and swirl overhead, darkening to a violent, inky grey.
Then the rain came.
A couple of heavy drops splattered on the ground nearby, then another hit Brendan's head, and suddenly the entire scene was obscured behind a curtain of heavy droplets as the warm, tropical rain the region was famous for bucketed down, soaking him to the bone in seconds.
Spotting the splash of red that was May against the grey and green backdrop, Brendan ran towards her, nearly slipping on the slick mud and film of water that had suddenly coated everything. Meanwhile, May was shouting encouragement to Skarmory, as the steel-coated bird must have been finding it hard to fly in the torrential downpour.
But the Gyarados wasn't finished just yet.
Arcs of electricity danced around its body as it roared again, but this time it was answered by the growl of thunder as a sheet of lighting flashed across the sky, casting everything in stark illumination and harsh shadow for a split second.
"It's using Thunder…" Brendan whispered to himself, eyes going wide as he put the pieces together in his mind. A large metal bird, high in the air, in the middle of heavy rain; it was pretty much the ideal target for an electric attack.
May must have realised the same thing, because she frantically pointed the Pokéball in her hand at the flying steel-type. Red energy lashed out, connected and returned Skarmory to safety. And not a second too soon, either.
A blinding flash of light and a crack of thunder so loud that Brendan was surprised his eardrums hadn't burst rocked the scene, causing both him and May to fall over in shock. After taking a moment to try and blink away the afterimage of the lightning bolt and clear his ears of the ringing sound left over from the booming thunder, he looked up to see the remnants of an unfortunate tree near where Skarmory had been less than a second ago; all that was left of it was a jagged, smouldering stump and a lot of charred splinters.
Picking himself off the ground, Brendan turned to see May's shell-shocked expression. He probably had a similar look on his face; they were both acutely aware how close Skarmory had just come to death.
Now with the full seriousness of the situation driven home to him, Brendan knew he couldn't leave until he had stopped this Gyarados; it wasn't a matter of catching it anymore, now he had to stop it before it began to wreak havoc on the area in its enraged state.
He caused this, so he was going to finish it.
"Gallade, Kirlia, Vibrava, come on out!"
All three Pokémon materialised in position, taking in the chaos surrounding them and the raging water-serpent, before turning to their trainer.
"Alright guys, we need to stop this Gyarados, but this is going to be really dangerous, so please, please don't do anything risky. Vibrava, stick to the trees and use Bug Buzz to wear it down, keep moving though so it can't find you," Brendan explained quickly and the insectoid dragon-type quickly buzzed into the tree line.
A flash of red light over near May drew his attention to her as he saw she had brought out Baltoy.
"Baltoy, help Vibrava out by hitting that Gyarados with your Confusion and Extrasensory attacks! Try to stay hidden, and bury yourself if you need to," she commanded. Baltoy silently obeyed, apparently unphased by the torrential downpour, and went spinning towards a clump of nearby rocks.
Brendan gave May a grateful nod which she returned, before he turned back to his team. He could see Kirlia was scared, which wasn't surprising given the emotional turmoil she must be picking up from both him and May, but he had to get her to focus; she was their best hope to end this.
"Kirlia, I know we haven't really had a lot of time to practice this yet, but I need you to hit that Gyarados with the most powerful electric attack you can manage; it's just like using Thunder Wave, but with more power. Can you do that for me?" Brendan asked as he knelt down in front of the small empath. Kirlia was decidedly wide-eyed and trembling, but she steeled herself and Brendan could feel a wave of determination emanating from her as electricity began to crackle around the psychokinetic horns on her head.
"I knew I could count on you, Kirlia," he cheered, before turning to the final part of his plan. "Gallade, hit it with some Psychic attacks if you can, but your first priority needs to be protecting Kirlia, particularly if the first bolt isn't enough to take it down. I know defence isn't normally your thing, but there's not a lot you can do against this thing without putting yourself at serious risk, and I know you'd never let anything happen to Kirlia."
Gallade didn't even deny it, just bowing to his trainer before extending his blades with an audible snick and standing in a ready stance in front of Kirlia.
At the same moment, an ultra-sonic buzzing rose to a din above the sound of the downpour around them. The Gyarados definitely caught the worst of it as it began to thrash around, trying to shake the noise from its head. Its state wasn't helped when the tell-tale distortion of psychic energy manifested around its head, causing it to roar in pain and frustration as the two attacks combined to harass it. Knowing its attackers were hiding, the Gyarados began to saturate the nearby forest with Dragon Rage attacks, blasting shot after shot of flaming blue energy into the tree-line in an attempt to force its foes out of hiding.
Brendan knew Vibrava and Baltoy didn't have long before they were found, but thankfully it looked like Kirlia was nearly ready. With a shriek, Kirlia directed the accumulated charge towards the towering serpent, and Brendan couldn't help but hope that it might have been sufficient as the Gyarados writhed and bellowed as the current raced through its body.
But it wasn't enough.
Turning its attention back to the bank, it once again focused its furious eyes on a trio clustered together there, before zeroing in on the one that had unleashed the electric attack. Kirlia quailed under the great serpent's enraged glare and looked completely unable to respond as it unleashed an enormous Hydro-Pump blast directly at her.
Gallade, however, was reacting just fine, as he leapt between the surge of water and its target, throwing up a Protection field moments before the jet of water impacted. When the attack ended, Gallade was still standing in front of Kirlia, eyes deadly and blades crossed in a silent challenge. The Gyarados responded by rearing back to strike, while Gallade darted forward, sending twin slashes of psychokinetic energy towards his opponent's pale underbelly, then pivoting to the left just as the Gyarados struck at him, side-stepping the enormous jaws and instead slicing clean through its cheek with a well-timed Leaf Blade strike that had enough power behind it to cleave through even the infamously tough scales of a Gyarados.
Bellowing in pain and rage as blood flowed freely into its mouth, the Gyarados reared its head back once again and began charging a Hyper Beam. Gallade saw the attack coming and prepared to Teleport out of the way, but he was so focused on the obvious threat that he was entirely blindsided by the Gyarados' actual attack, as it swung its enormous tail with crushing force, sweeping the much smaller Pokémon right of its feet and right into a thick tree trunk over 10m away.
The Hyper Beam wasn't just for show though, as it turned its attention back towards the petrified and now undefended Kirlia, the energy beam almost ready to fire. Seeing what was about to happen and barely aware of hearing May's screams and her plea to Blaziken to help, Brendan didn't even realise he'd begun moving; he just threw himself in front of Kirlia, hoping to offer some protection to his Pokémon from the energy blast about to hit them.
But seconds passed and there was no incinerating pain or blinding light. He could feel Kirlia latch onto his leg, shivering, though from the rain or fear, he didn't know. Looking up, he could see the Gyarados towering above him as rain glistened off its deeply hued flanks and blood dripped down from its wounded cheek. It lowered its head somewhat, bringing its massive skull closer to eye level, glaring at him with furious eyes as though it was assessing him and his actions. Even Blaziken, who had reacted immediately to her trainer's command to help, had frozen, unwilling to intervene lest her presence incite the creature to attack.
But then the moment ended, whatever had halted its attack losing its effect as the Gyarados roared again and lunged forward with jaws wide open, ready to engulf both Brendan and Kirlia. Blaziken leapt into action to grab the pair at the same moment a large blue shape exploded from the water next to the serpent. The momentum of Swampert's Aqua-Jet carried it the last few meters through the air towards the monster that had dared attack his trainer, his friend, and he brought his one good fist down in a crushing Hammer Arm blow to the side of the Gyarados' great skull, knocking its strike right of course and sending it crashing into the ground of the river bank.
It didn't move.
Swampert, who had landed nearby, looked back to see Brendan held protectively by Blaziken, now well clear of the unconscious leviathan, and punched the ground hard enough to send a shockwave through it, bellowing in triumph. Then he collapsed heavily on his side with a pained moan.
Brendan quickly escaped Blaziken's grasp and ran towards his badly injured partner, while May, Kirlia and Blaziken herself followed close behind. Apparently, the exertion of his attack had re-opened Swampert's wounds, and he was once again bleeding freely from the deep gouges around his torso. Brendan frantically searched through his bag once again, but he was all out of Hyper Potion and he didn't think any of the lesser balms would be enough to stop the bleeding. May was searching through her bag as well, just in case she had anything on hand, but the apologetic shake of her head told him that she didn't. Brendan knew he could just recall the gravely wounded Pokémon to his Pokéball, but then Swampert would be in for an agonising wait until they could reach the next Pokémon Centre in Fortree City, four days away; he had really hoped not to subject him to that.
Then Kirlia stepped forward with a tentative chirp and stretched her hands out towards the wounds as her eyes and horns on her head began to glow. Waves of psychic energy pulsated out from her hands, and Brendan could see the previously bleeding holes begin to close up a little more with every pulse. In moments, all that was left of the bite marks were some faint, pale scars forming a crescent on both sides of his torso. Swampert's arm even looked marginally better, though it was still bent at an awkward angle.
"That was Heal Pulse!" May gasped. "I didn't think Kirlia was able to use that move yet, it's not usually something they master until they've evolved again."
It certainly looked like it had taken a lot out of the little empathic Pokémon, but she appeared to be revitalising quickly as both Swampert and Brendan thanked her profusely and the general mood began to climb.
Vibrava buzzed to a stop near the huddle, and Baltoy made its way over soon after. Remembering what had happened to Gallade, Brendan spun around to find the determined Pokémon gingerly making its way towards the impromptu huddle, clutching its side. Running up to help, Brendan tried to support the taller Pokémon but wasn't having much luck, until Blaziken once again came to the rescue, propping its friend and sparring partner up and supporting him as they approached the group. Kirlia hurried towards him worriedly but could only manage a weak Heal Pulse, drained as she was from healing Swampert. She seemed quite frantic at her lack of energy, but Gallade still looked much better for it and didn't need to lean on Blaziken as heavily, and a few lilting warbles from the older Pokémon reassured her somewhat.
Beyond relieved that his team was alright, Brendan opened his Berry container and fished out a handful of Sitrus berries for Gallade and Swampert, as well as a few Leppa berries for Kirlia. The three Pokémon gratefully accepted the succulent fruits; Kirlia and Gallade savouring theirs while Swampert just swallowed them all in one go. Even the rain had begun to let up, now free of the Gyarados' influence.
May brought him out of his reverie, however, drawing his attention to their most immediate problem as a deep rumble emanated from the great bulk of the still-unconscious Gyarados.
"Brendan, what are we going to do about that Gyarados? We can't just leave it here, who knows how it will react when it wakes up. Maybe we can call the Rangers and see if they can do anything about it? I mean, dealing with dangerous Pokémon is one of their jobs, right?"
Brendan nodded absently as he considered the options. Calling the Rangers would certainly make sense; they must have protocols in place for dealing with rogue Gyarados, after all. But there was still a part of him enamoured with the idea of training and commanding a Gyarados. Unconsciously, he found himself slowly searching through his various Pokéballs until he found one with a distinctive ridge on its upper lid. It was one of the prototype 'Timer balls' from Devon Corp that were meant to work better the longer a battle had gone on, and they were supposed to be product testers after all…
What better opportunity to try it out then against one of the hardest Pokémon to contain, after one very long and drawn out battle?
"You're right May, but I just want to try one thing first…" Brendan mumbled as he pulled the ball out of his bag and synced it up to his Pokédex.
May realised what he was going to try and was far from pleased.
"Oh no, you can't still seriously be thinking about trying to catch it after everything! It nearly killed you Brendan, not to mention Swampert, and Kirlia, and Gallade, and –"
"I know, May, but it didn't kill me, it stopped for some reason, for a moment at least; I want to know why. Besides, we need to take care of it somehow; and if it's captured, it can't get out to wreak havoc," Brendan replied, acutely aware of the disbelieving glare he was receiving from her and the uncomfortable vibe coming from the crowd Pokémon as they realised that he meant to try and capture the monster they had just fought.
Clutching the Timer ball, he faced the immobile serpent, still partly in and partly out of the river. Taking a deep breath, he threw the cream-coloured ball at the Gyarados, watching and hoping as it disappeared inside the small container. The ball started to shake, softly at first, then more violently; at one point it nearly rolled itself into the river. Then, after almost a minute of nerve-shredding waiting to see if it would break out, the shaking ceased and the Timer ball emitted a ping that was mirrored by his Pokédex.
He had caught a Gyarados.
Hesitantly, Brendan approached the eerily still ball as though the enraged dragon might just burst out of it at any moment. But nothing had happened by the time he reached the ball, so he gingerly picked it up and went to place it on his belt, when he noticed something, or more specifically the lack of something.
"Magneton!" He gasped as the realisation that he had completely forgotten the first casualty of the battle hit him.
Still holding the Timer ball in his hand, he turned and sprinted in the direction of the Hyper Beam crater.
"Brendan? Brendan!" May shouted at him as he rushed by. Realising she wasn't going to get a response, she huffed in annoyance and ran after him. Their Pokémon exchanged confused glances and vocalisations, not quite sure what was up with their trainers, but still ended up moving in the same direction, though more slowly due to the injured ones among them.
When May caught up, she found Brendan kneeling in a steaming, blackened crater that she realised must have been caused by the Gyarados' first Hyper Beam, the one that had hit Magneton.
"Oh no," she whispered as she realised what had happened, "please don't let this happen to him, he doesn't deserve that, he cares about them so much…"
When she reached the crater, she found him staring blankly at the inactive Magnemite pieces strewn amidst the charred and cracked ground as steam from where the rain had fallen on the burning earth twisted its way into the air.
"Is it- is it normal, for unconscious Magneton to look like this? I tried recalling it, before, but nothing happened," he asked, not turning to look at her, and May thought she could hear him choke back a sob.
She honestly didn't know what to say, she hadn't had much experience with the Magneton species, but the scene didn't look good. And not being able to recall it…
As if to emphasise the thought, he raised a Pokéball, Magneton's presumably, and pushed the release/recall button. Red light flashed out towards the nearest piece, then flickered away again, leaving the pieces right where they were.
"See? What does that mean, May?" He pleaded as he turned to face her, hoping beyond hope for a positive answer.
But May wasn't looking at him, she was still looking at the crater. The Pokéball had still managed to find one of the Magnemite pieces, so there must still be some sort of connection. So why wasn't it recalling it?
In a flash of insight, May leapt into the crater and grabbed the nearest piece, acutely aware of how hot it was to the touch, and placed it next to one of the other pieces, before grabbing the third one and doing the same.
"Okay, try it now Brendan," May instructed as she nursed her scalded hands.
More than a bit surprised, Brendan did so. This time, the light engulfed all three pieces, and looked like it might work, before flickering out again. May looked downcast, but Brendan shot to his feet at the difference it made.
"I'm sorry Brendan, I just thought that that might help," May said quietly, still staring at the unresponsive Pokémon.
"No, no, it did, it really did!" Brendan exclaimed, his enthusiasm catching May off-guard. "That actually got it to recognise the whole Pokémon, and it looked so close… there must be something else that we're missing."
They both sat in thought for a moment and seemed to come to the same conclusion.
"The heat!" they both exclaimed.
"Steel-Types are weak to Fire…" Brendan stated excitedly.
"…and heat inhibits electrical currents!" May finished, just as excited at the possibility. "Amaura, we need your help," she called as the released the newest and youngest addition to her team.
The prehistoric ice-type mewled in happiness to see her trainer, before becoming concerned as she saw the focus of their attention.
"Amaura, we need to cool down Magneton, he's been badly hurt, so you need to be gentle. Use Powder Snow and Icy Wind until I tell you to stop," May instructed quickly, and the small sauropod nodded in understanding, gently coating the area in snow and ice.
The first few layers melted on contact with the ground and particularly with Magneton's steel body, but soon the snow began to accumulate and the steam that had been rising from the crater turned into a dense haze as it settled, its heat lost.
"Okay, that's enough Amaura, thanks so much," May praised her Pokémon, stroking its icy neck, which had the extra benefit of soothing her tender hands. The young Pokémon cooed happily as it leant into the touch.
As the haze began to clear, they were able to see Magneton's form, still lying at the bottom of the crater, but looking… better, somehow.
"Okay Brendan, try it now?" May asked, not quite sure she wanted to know if their idea had worked or not. If it hadn't, then she wasn't sure what else to do.
Brendan nodded but didn't move, probably just as worried as she was, given the circumstances.
Apparently noticing their hesitation, Amaura gently bumped her head against Brendan with a reassuring coo. The contact seemed to be enough to make up his mind as he absently stroked Amaura's head and raised Magneton's Pokéball once again.
Red light flashed out, surrounded Magneton, and then faded away, leaving… nothing!
Magneton was gone!
More specifically, it was inside its ball, where it was meant to be!
May turned to Brendan, their relieved, ecstatic smiles mirroring each other and suddenly they found themselves hugging. It took them a moment to realise, but when they did they immediately let go of each other and took about three steps back each, and May just knew her face was furiously red. Though, it was some consolation that Brendan wasn't faring any better.
Amaura was rolling around on the ground, trilling in what passed for laughter for the species, the traitor.
A snicker from behind them alerted them to another presence, or, more specifically, a number of presences, as they turned to see the rest of their Pokémon watching them and trying to contain their amusement. They gave up trying when they saw their trainer's mortified expressions, doubly so when Kirlia began to squeal and giggle happily at the two trainers.
Doing her best to compose herself in the face of such a scene, she ignored her team and instead focused on Brendan, who was seemingly enraptured by the Pokéball that held Magneton, not that she could blame him.
"Brendan, I think you should take Skarmory and fly ahead to Fortree City, your team needs to rest, and the sooner Swampert and Magneton get looked at, the better; Magneton's not out of the woods yet, you know, and Swampert's arm is going to take a while to heal."
"You're right but… are you sure? I mean, Skarmory's your Pokémon and I can't just leave you on your own," Brendan replied, looking far more downcast at the mention of the injuries his team had taken.
"Yes I'm sure, and of course you can, I can look after myself. Besides, I'm not going to be comfortable until that weapon of mass destruction clipped to your belt," she said, gesturing to the Timer ball that held the newly captured Gyarados, "is securely stored somewhere. And I'm still mad at what you did today; I mean, did you think at all before you attacked that Gyarados? Did you stop for even a moment what would have happened if you had of failed? Your Pokémon could have died, Brendan. Innocent people could have died, you could have died! You're an amazing trainer, Brendan, but you're not invincible," May finished quietly, noting Brendan's wounded and downcast expression.
She hated being so blunt after everything that had happened today, but if she didn't say it now then it would all boil over at some point and she'd say something she couldn't easily take back, and Brendan meant to much to her to let something like that break their friendship apart. Plus, he had scared her today, she'd never seen him so oblivious to the risks of his actions; something about seeing that Gyarados had changed him, and she didn't like that change. Maybe this would force him to re-evaluate a bit.
Brendan didn't argue, he seemed to realise the truth of her words. In a few minutes, she'd explained the situation to Skarmory and he was ready to go.
"So, I guess I'll see you when you get to Fortree?" Brendan ventured tentatively, and May had to resist rolling her eyes.
"Of course I'll see you there, we are still going to travel together, right? Besides, I'll want Skarmory back after this."
"Oh, yeah, right…" he mumbled in reply, rubbing his neck awkwardly, but looking a bit happier with confirmation she didn't hate him. "I guess I'll see you in a couple of days, then?"
"Exactly," she confirmed, "I shouldn't be more than four days, three if I'm lucky. Oh, and don't forget to call me when you get there, I want to make sure you don't slip off and break your neck or something on the way there."
That got a snort out of him, which was much better than his sombre mood from a few minutes ago. Soon enough, Skarmory had taken off, squawking at the additional weight but flying just fine. May watched them go until they were little more than glint of steel in the distance before grabbing her pack and setting off after them.
[AN: An that's that folks, I hope you enjoyed it if you took the time to read this! I may one day finish the rest of the story and post it here, but I don't know, and it certainly won't be before I've finished by other out-standing stories.
Thanks again, and I would love any feedback you could give me! /AN]