Chapter 2
"Are you sure you wanna be doing this Lady Green?" Derek asks with amusement in his voice as he stands casually in the trainers' box with his hands in his jeans pocket. "The last time we fought I utterly destroyed your little Ivysaur."
Monarch growls at the Venusaur before him, the look in his eyes for feral than any those in the crowd have seen before with the exception being Red, Blue and the Professor.
"He has gotten stronger, that much is obvious by the flame on his tail." Blue states.
"His size is also bigger than when he fought us. Derek must have stepped up his training after he disappeared all those years ago." Replies Red.
"But why hasn't he evolved his Charmander? If he wanted to make his pokemon more powerful then shouldn't that have been the obvious solution?" Asks a curious Ash.
"It was something that his father developed." Says Professor Oak. "By keeping the pokemon in one stage of evolution until the point where it literally cannot improve anymore, the pokemon will more than likely become even more powerful once it evolves. And before you start," the Professor quickly stops Gary from talking, "this method of training is highly dangerous and was banned centuries ago due to all the deaths it caused."
"Pokemon evolve so that their body can handle the power they gain. If a pokemon stays in one stage of their pre-evolutions for too long, they run the risk of damaging themselves because their bodies cannot handle their power."
"Its different for pokemon who need a stone or to be traded to evolve. In those instances, they just get additional power and/or abilities. Take Pikachu for instance. He is a champion level pokemon yet he has no problem with his power. If I were to give him a thunderstone then his raw power will increase drastically."
"But if it was banned," starts off a curious Gary, "Shouldn't something be done about Derek for putting his pokemon through that?" he finishes off in anger.
"Normally something would be done but Derek is a special case. Both himself and his father are the only two people I know who can successfully pull of this training method. Plus, as I said before, normal rules don't apply to him."
Back on the battlefield Dragonite lifted one of his paws into the air before bringing it back down to indicate that start of the battle. As soon as the paw went down an immediate change over came the battlefield. The very air seemed to crackle with the power radiating from Derek and Monarch.
"Toxic! Poison Powder! Leech Seed!" Green calls out.
Derek doesn't move an inch as Monarch perks up at the attacks heading his way. He surprises everyone there watching by simply walking to meet the attacks head-on. The Leech seeds and toxic impact him and the area around him while the poison powder fills the air around him. A purple hue overcomes his face, indicating that the poison stat has taken effect. The crowd starts to murmur amongst themselves at what they perceive to be a reckless act by Derek putting his pokemon in harms way the way he has.
Green hesitates to call out her next move. When Monarch gets to the middle of the battlefield and stands tall and proud despite the ailments he received, anger over takes her mind and she calls out her next move with no remorse.
"Leaf Storm! Take that Charmander down Venusaur!"
Venusaur is only to happy to comply with that order as a massive tornado of leaves build up around him before he flings it at the smaller. Just as the attack is about to hit, Derek finally calls out his first command of the match.
"Burn it all away Monarch." He says in a clear calm voice.
Everyone watches and then takes a couple steps back as Monarch suddenly tenses up before letting loose of powerful roar. What captures their attention is the flame on his tail going from blue to white to show an increase in heat. It is then they notice the ground beneath Monarch's feet begin to smoke and smoulder. As the leaf storm gets closer to him, the leaves suddenly begin to burn themselves away before any of them could even touch him. Once the spectacle is over, only the really perceptive among the crowd take note of the fact that the purple hue that was on his face is no longer there.
"Grandpa, what was that?" asked a sweating Blue.
"I believe that was Charmander allowing his inner fire to run loose." the Professor replies in a voice filled with disbelief. "To think he has managed to raise that little egg into this powerful beast before my eyes… he truly is your son, Cassey."
Green stands rooted to her spot in fear. This little Charmander just burnt her entire attack away without using an actual move. He was simply flexing his power.
Monarch tilts his head slightly and growls at Derek who nods his head in reply.
"Free reign."
Everyone looks at Derek in confusion, not having ever heard of such a move.
"That's not a move." Red says as he takes a step forward with Pikachu building up electricity in his cheeks. "He basically told his pokemon to fight however it wishes to,"
"Last time that happened," Blue steps up next to Red with Jolteon moving beside Pikachu, "he decimated an entire building."
Monarch once again surprises thos watching by falling forward so that his standing on all fall of his limbs with his tail waving lazily behind him. He is suddenly enveloped by a white light before he blurs across the clearing towards Venusaur. There is an explosion as the two pokemon collide before a large shape is launched out of the smoke and violently crashes through a few trees before coming to a stop out of sight of the crowd. As the smoke clears, everyone can see the Charmander standing when Venusasur was with one of his arms covered in blue flames.
"That was a quick attack combined with a fire punch." Says a awe-filled Gary. "I didn't even know that the Charmander line could line quick attack."
Green rushes to her down Venusaur only to be stopped in her tracks by a wall of blue hot flames. She looks towards the direction in which the flames came only to take a step back as Monarch dashes past her and up a tree. He uses his momentum to jump up high over Venusaur.
Green takes note of all of this before turning towards Derek who still hasn't moved from his spot. In fact, he hasn't even turned his head to look at what was going on.
"Call of your monster! Venusaur is already down!" Shouts a frantic Green.
"This is what happens when you challenge those aiming for the very top." Derek says without looking at her. "The very fact that you thought you could even compete with us is an insult."
Up in the sky, Monarch becomes surrounded by blue flames. Red and Blue rush towards Derek as Pikachu and Jolteon sprint to stop Monarch.
"Don't make the think of making the same mistake again."
Monarch descends at a rapid pace. Far faster than either Pikachu or Jolteon can compete with. Just as he's about to make contact with the injured Venusaur, a large body covered in green energy slams into the side of him and throws him off course. Dragonite stands over the injured Venusaur and roars in anger at his son who manages to back himself out of the burning trees that fall around him.
Derek looks to his left only to come face-to-face with the Professor's Arcanine growling at him in anger.
"Hmmmm, it would seem that we might have gone a tad bit too far, dear brother mine." Derek says in amusement, unimpressed by the powerful pokemon watching his every move.
A white streak makes its way towards him before coming to a stop in front of him to show a scratched up Monarch with bloodthirsty grin upon his face. Red and Blue standing protectively in front of Green with their pokemon stepping up to challenge Monarch.
Just as the tension reaches boiling point, a hands snaps out behind Derek to smack on the back of his head. He and Monarch both turn around with rage in their eyes before they both take a step back in fear at the deceptively sweet smile upon Delia Ketchum's face.
"Derek Raze, Monarch, are you two causing trouble again?" Delia questions sweetly. Both Derek and Monarch gulp in fear before the both look down at the ground sheepishly.
"That really is a matter of perspective, Godmother." Derek says as Monarch walks towards Delia.
Ash, Gary, and most of the town's people shout out warnings to Delia only to be shocked into silence when Monarch gently nudges her hand for a rub, which Delia happily complies with.
"You two are coming home with me for a nice cooked meal." Delia orders as she begins to walk away with Monarch following her obediently.
"Actually Aunt Delia, we were about to…" at the glint in her eyes Derek quickly changes his statement. "…we were about to follow you to your house for a home cooked meal."
Derek sits at the table surrounded by a bunch of people he doesn't like. He looks into the kitchen to see Monarch follow Delia around and helping her our by handing her things she might need.
"Traitor." He mutters in irritation. "Probably the most powerful Charmander to have ever lived is reduced to a what can be considered a domestic raised Growlithe."
Everyone else's pokemon was outside in the backyard eating pokemon food. Derek made sure to keep Monarch away from them due to his bloodlust being higher than most.
He sighs in annoyance before turning towards the people sitting at the table with him. He receives glares from Red, Blue, and Green while Ash and Gary look at him in wonder. The Professor, sitting on his right-hand side, is busy going through reports sent to him by the league. From what little glances he managed to sneak in, Derek saw that criminal activities were on the rise again.
"Your reports are out-dated Professor." Derek drones lazily as he leans his head on his left hand. "Criminal activities have hit a plateau due to most of the organisations planning for something big."
Red, Blue, and Professor Oak gaze intently at Derek who doesn't even flinch.
"How do you know this?" the Professor questions sternly.
Derek moves his gaze towards a happy Monarch. He watches as the flame on his tail flickers between a bright orange and blue.
"You know I don't hold the same view as you do when it comes to these organisations. Taking them down is one of the biggest reasons why I train so hard. I have been keeping tabs on them using information I have gathered from the underground battle arenas." Everyone at the table, besides Ash and Gary, flinch at the mention of the arenas. "You once told me that revenge wouldn't ease the pain of my loss… I don't know whether I agree with you or not when it comes to that but I do know that my mother and father were taken away from me while Monarch's mother was brutally murder trying to protect us."
Derek switches his gaze to stare into the Professor's eyes. The look of pure unadulterated rage and hate in the young man's gaze causes the Professor to flinch back into his seat.
"I am no hero Professor. I never pretended to be one. I will reach the top of this world and become the first Pokemon Master to be internationally recognised by all regions. While doing so, I will take down each and every organisation, burning them all to the ground. I will not allow another child to go through what I went through to satisfies the greed of power hungry individuals." Derek finishes with passion.
"Would that not make you one of those individuals?" the Professor asks sagely.
"I may be on the side of the angels – but don't think for one second that I am one of them." Derek states with the grace of a king.
Before anyone can say anything else the front door is slammed open. Everyone takes note of the stiffening of Derek's shoulders as he snaps up into his seat at the sound of the voice filtering through the house.
"Aunty Delia, need any help with supper?" an angelic voice, in Derek's opinion, calls out.
A white and red blur streaks from the kitchen to tackle the newcomer to the ground.
"Monarch? Oh my Arceus look at the size of you!" Derek closes his eyes as he waits for the inevitable. "How's my baby boy doing?"
Derek doesn't wait for her to come around the corner. He gets up from the table and walks out the backdoor without a word to anyone. He makes it as far as the fence separating the Ketchum residence from the forest before he hears her voice call out to him.
"You just going to hide yourself away each time I'm around?" the sound of her voice does things to him that he wouldn't ever admit to anyone.
"Its better this way." Derek says in a strangled voice. "I left for a reason, Daisy."
"Yet, I tell you every single time that I don't care about it." Derek feels her walk about and wrap her arms around his waist from behind before placing a kiss on his cheek. "Don't stay out here too long Der." He doesn't turn around as she walks away, already missing her touch.
He takes a few moments to compose himself before he makes his way back inside. Once inside he immediately takes note of Daisy sitting in the chair to the left of his, Monarch sitting between the two chairs keeping guard over Daisy as he always does when she is around.
He quietly makes his way over to the table and sits down without a word to anyone, steadily ignoring the sad small on Delia face as she gazes at him.
"Derek?" He turns his gaze Gary who hesitates before plowing through with his question. "Why is your Charmander's tail orange now when it was blue every other time I say it?"
Derek turns his head to look at Monarch to see that his tail is indeed orange. He shakes his head at his brother in everything in blood before turn back to Gary.
"Its because she's around." Derek points his fork at Daisy without looking at her. "She's one of the very few beings, pokemon and human, who he is truly comfortable around. His inner fire settles down."
"Derek." The tilt of his head is the only indication that he was listening to the Professor. "What are your plans now?"
Derek took a moment to eat some of the food on his plate as everyone waited for him to speak.
"Well, the Indigo League only starts in 18 months so I have plenty of time to get all the badges. I'll probably leave that till the second last month. Drake is supposed to be making port here any day now. He has a pokemon egg that asked him to breed specifically for me. Once that egg hatches, I'll start training it up. Along with that, I'll finally let Monarch evolve. He is finally reaching that stage where he can't improve anymore. I'll give him time to adjust to his new body and power before leaving with Drake to look for Hunter J-"
"The pokemon hunter?" Blue asks incredulously. "You are going after that dangerous woman?"
"Of course not you imbecile." Derek says with a roll of his eyes. "She has a pokemon egg in stasis for me that I asked her to keep an eye out for me. Once again, its I had it specifically bred for me."
Everyone around the table, except for Daisy, looks at him with anger in their eyes. Monarch, feeling the tension in the air, growls lightly in warning as his tail flame quickly shifts back to a dark blue.
"Monarch," He snaps his head to Daisy, "you need to eat as well. The forests are over populated with Spearow and Fearow." He looks intently at Daisy, tail flame lightening just a bit. "Free reign."
Monarch gently nuzzles the side of her leg with his head before he walks out the back door and disappears in a red and white streak. Derek gazes at the streak in irritation before turning his ire onto Daisy.
"I hate it when you do that." He says in annoyance.
"You are just jealous that he likes me better than you." Daisy says smugly, gaining an eye roll from Derek.
He turns his head back to the others who are looking at them intently. He offers them all another eye roll in reply.
"I have a contract with Hunter J. I give her pokemon that are captured in any of the evil organisations' special branded balls and she keeps me informed on the seedier side of the underworld while keeping an eye out for specific pokemon I want on my team."
Red stands up and leans angrily over the table.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't arrest you right here and now?" he says in a deathly calm voice.
"You mean besides the fact that her illegal activities are now confined to work against the organisations over all the reasons?" Derek asks back rhetorically.
"She still hunts and trades in pokemon! Often times, she's the cause for certain pokemon becoming a rarity in areas!" Red shouts at him.
"Yet none of that has happened in the past 3 years." Derek replies back with a raised eyebrow. "I told you before, Champion, I am no angel."
Derek finishes off the rest of his food before standing up and walking around the table towards Delia. He places a soft kiss on her head before making his way out of the house in the direction Monarch disappeared.
Gary turns to his older sister and asks the question that has been bugging him since she came into the house.
"Why does Monarch act like you are his mother?"
Daisy smiles warmly at her little brother before rplying.
"I, with Derek, raised him since he was an egg. I even gave him his name." Daisy states to the surprise of Ash and Gary. "Besides Derek and my own Blissey, I trust Monarch more than any other pokemon or person in the world."
review and let me know what you think. i already have two other pokemon in mind for his team. derek won't have any legendaries and i'll explain why in later chapters. i know that some of you might thin that Charmander is OP but keep in mind that he has been trained for seven years without evolving. if that still isn't a good enough explanation then i'll try and fit one into the story for you all