The Battle Club
Chapter 3
-Foreign-
5:23 P.M
Pewter City
"What? I'm sorry, but… Erase me?"
The mans demeanor turned cold and judgmental. "You have been polluted by the world, that much is evident."
"Says you… Look, man," Zicks sighed, "She doesn't want to go with you. Just leave us all alone, and everything will be fine."
"You have no room to make demands, or even suggestions for that matter. Choose now, come with us, and become clean from your past, ready to start anew with the world, or die."
With the end of his sentence, a Dragonite swooped down, roaring menacingly. Primeape and Zicks both flinched.
"Primeape, use Assurance!"
"Dragon Rush."
Primeape had no time to attack. She was flung back by a great amount of draconic power, immediately sending her spiraling into unconsciousness.
"Victreebel!" Zicks yelled, sending out her next Pokemon while returning Primeape to its Poke Ball. "Acid!"
"Fire Blast."
The flames met with the liquid that Victreebel flung, instantly evaporating. The attack streaked toward its target, ending Victreebel's attempt.
"As you can see, even one of our forces outmatch yours. You have no choice. I'll say it again. Surrender, or die."
"Zicks!"
She whirled around upon hearing Chester's voice. "What the… Chester! Stay out of this!"
"I'll help you! NOW! BUTTERFREE!"
The group of men fell silent, and then burst into laughter. Rolling his eyes, the man spoke again. "Choose now."
Zicks looked at the girl, and then looked over at the Dragonite. "I…"
"Zicks! You can beat them! I know you can!"
She rolled her eyes. "No. Chester, I can't. They're too strong. I surrender."
Chester's left eye twitched. "Then I'm coming with you."
The men laughed again.
"What… Why are you…"
"You're not strong at all! These two, they have potential. But you, you're just some new trainer with no experience… And a Butterfree," The man snickered.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH BUTTERFREE?" Butterfree weakly landed on the ground and sulked.
"Trainer, put your Poke Balls on the ground."
She did as she was told.
"Step forward with your hands behind your head."
Zicks grimaced, and did so.
He nodded at someone behind her, and her wrists were grabbed and handcuffed. A gag was tied around her mouth, as well as a blindfold. She caught a glimpse of the other girl being detained as well.
"ZICKS!"
She rolled her eyes.
"BUTTERFREE, CONFUS-"
His voice was cut off with the sound of an explosion. Zicks winced.
She felt herself being hoisted onto the back of a large Pokemon. A sudden jolt and the air passing quickly by told her that they were moving through the air, the sound of other large wing beats nearby.
So much for settling down.
Later that day
7:40 P.M.
Pewter City
A young man with short brown hair walked up to the Pewter Gym. He sported a plain blue jacket, with a white shirt underneath showing around the collar. His baggy, casual jeans swished approached the doors.
"Ah, hello there, Grant!" The old man cried. "It's been a while! How can I help you?"
"I'm here to see Brock. Is he still hanging around here?"
"Unfortunately, no. He's hiking up in the mountains right now, I'd check back around this time tomorrow. What'd you need him for? He has his Poke-Gear with him, by the way."
"He actually asked me for some training sessions…" The boy rubbed the back of his head. "I'm pretty sure we arranged it for today…"
"Brock, asking you for training sessions… Such a short time ago, you were the challenger. Well, I'll contact him. Meanwhile, I'd suggest finding somewhere to stay. There is a motel, but it has frighteningly high rates…"
"Thanks," Grant politely replied.
The old man turned to the next visitor. "Welcome to Pewter Gym! I'm afraid you can't challe.. OH MY GOODNESS!"
Grant whirled around. A young boy stood in the doorway, cradling an unconscious Butterfree. His clothes were torn to tatters, and he had scorch marks all over his body.
"My boy, you and your Butterfree need immediate medical attention! Grant, could you…"
"Of course. Charizard, I need your help," he commanded, sending out his Pokemon.
"No…" The boy croaked. "I need to see… Brock."
"He's not here right now! What could possibly be so important that you'd risk your life just to say?" The old man yelled.
"Two girls… There were men dressed in black." He paused to cough. "They took two girls…"
"My goodness! What happened to you?"
"They took them, and I tried to stop them, and I got hit with a fire attack."
"Who did they take?" Grant demanded.
"One girl… I don't know her. But they took my mentor… Zicks. Zicks Rothel."
Grant froze.
"Zicks? She's…" He trailed off.
"Oh my… Abductions… We need to get these two medical attention, though!"
Grant snapped into action. "Old man, take my Charizard and these two to the hospital. Once there, contact me via Poke Gear, and I'll tell you where I am, so you can send Charizard. I'm going to go investigate this."
"Understood…" The old man grabbed the boy and his Butterfree, lifting their small bodies up with ease. He clambered up onto Charizard, who took off gently into the sky.
"Zicks… What have you gotten into this time?"
Here, now that you've each chosen a Pokemon, you can have a Pokedex. They gather data about the Pokemon you meet. This will be useful for my research.
Professor Oak stood before four young children. One boy had jet black hair, the other had brown hair, and both girls had dark red hair.
"Unfortunately, I only have three Pokedexes, so one of you will have to go without. If we remember correctly, Zicks here broke one…" He glared pointedly at the shorter of the two girls. "So she'll be the one to go without. Grant, Aaron, Samantha, here you go. Zicks, I hope this teaches you a lesson.
Grant snapped out of his flashback. He turned and ran toward the rest of the town, hoping to find information on Zicks.
The next day
Unknown Time
Unknown Location
Zicks woke up in a jolt. She didn't remember dozing off, but the ride on the Pokemon was surprisingly smooth. A quick glance around revealed little, she was alone in a metal box with a rough mat that she had been resting on.
She leaned back against the mat, sighing. So yesterday I get rich quick, and today I'm abducted. This is freaking wonderful.
The side of the box opened up, startling her out of her thoughts. It was a glass window, and three men stood on the outside, each holding a clipboard.
"Hello, and welcome to Live's headquarters!" The one in the middle bubbled, sporting a fake smile. "Since you're new here, we'll give you a name!"
"I already have a name. It's Z-"
"No, no, no… That's your old name. Your new name is 127!"
"That's a number." Zicks stated, eye twitching.
"Precisely. Everyone has number. For example, I'm 6. The one to your right is 10, and the one to your left is 24."
"What about the guy who abducted me?"
The man's eyes flashed, and he readjusted his lab coat. "The man who helped you out is 2,"
"Helped me out? The hell he di- OW!" A sudden jolt of electricity pulsed through Zicks' body, causing her vision to flash. "What the fuck was tha- OOW!"
The man smiled in an almost sadistic way. "Here at Live, we believe that swearing will only lead to anger and pain. Therefore, we've devised an implant that will shock anyone who uses vulgarity. It's a disciplinary measure."
"I went to the dam," Zicks tested. "Damn, this system is sma- OW!"
"Neurological sensors can tell what you're talking about. Don't try it."
"Fine. What am I supposed to do here?"
"Prove your worth to the Live society."
"Okay. What exactly is Live?"
"We are an organization with our sights set on making the world a better place!" The man replied.
Zicks sighed. "Do I ever get to leave?"
"Not until we deem you fully erased. Regardless, you will begin your battling training today. Here is your first Pokemon!"
"I already have Pokemon…" She felt around her belt, and was startled to find that not only were her Poke Balls gone, but her entire outfit was as well. Instead, she wore a rather tight-fitting black t-shirt, and a white knee-length skirt. "Okay, first of all where the fuck are my P- OW."
One of the men suppressed a chuckle. "Where are my Pokemon, and what happened to my clothes?" She demanded with a scowl.
"Your Pokemon were deemed unsuitable for Live's standards. Instead, we have arranged for you to battle with this Pokemon, Oddish!" 6 pulled a Poke Ball out of his pocket as 24 pressed a button on a remote. A small opened in the window, and 6 pushed the ball through. It landed on the floor of the metal cell.
"Oddish. Are you fucking serio- FUCK THAT H- DAMMIT THA- OOOWWW!"
"Vulgarity will get you nowhere. This Oddish knows Sweet Scent and Absorb. You will be trained against other guests that are undergoing erasing. Do enjoy your stay." With that, all three men walked away, lab coats swishing.
Zicks reached down and grabbed the Poke Ball. "Give me a break. My Primeape would take this thing down in a fucking insta- Ow. In an instant." She pressed the button, and an Oddish popped out. "So. I guess I'm your battling partner now. I guess we can train some? I don't know…"
1:41 P.M
Pewter City
Grant stood in front of the newly completed house. The structure had a very sleek design, making the decent buildings that were located around it look very bland. "So this belongs to you, Zicks?" He whispered under his breath. His Charizard had already returned, and it stood behind him.
All of a sudden, his Poke Gear rang. "Hello?"
"Grant, do you have time to come to the hospital? The boy wants to talk to you." The old man said. "He has a request to make."
"Alright, I'll be over." He turned the Poke Gear off and turned to Charizard. "Take me to the hospital." In one fluid motion, he jumped on Charizard's back, and it took off. Pewter City rushed below him. Looking back, Grant saw the Battle Club towering over the houses nearby. The sight made him feel anxious, a feeling he wasn't used to or content with, and he looked away.
As the hospital drew nearer, Charizard's altitude dropped. The magnificent fire lizard streaked toward the ground, looking to run into it, but he pulled up and spread his wings, bringing them to an elegant stop directly in front of the automatic doors.
Grant hopped off and made his way into the hospital. The receptionist looked up. "How may I help you?"
"I need to see…" His voice trailed off, trying to remember the boy's name, if he had mentioned it at all. "Umm… Do you know where the victim of the attack is? I'm looking for him, he called me in."
"Just a second… All visitor requests made by patients are filed here, I'll be back soon."
Grant nodded and looked around at the lobby, trying to focus on something other than Zicks. However, his thoughts soon drifted off. He had gone to the park, and found the spot where Chester had been attacked. A giant scorch mark had left a crater in the middle of a grassy field, and although the attack had passed, it was still smoldering fiercely, threatening to become a blaze and consume the park. His Kabutops had taken care of it, but the image still stuck in his mind.
The kid must have caught the very edge of that if he survived…
"Are you Grant Rouge?" The receptionist asked.
"Yes. That's my name."
"Alright, I'll need some identification…" Grant brought out his trainer card, and she nodded. "Okay. Room 315."
Grant walked up to the elevator, and pressed the button with a glowing red 3. He heard the elevator whisk cleanly down to the door, and it opened. Nobody else was on the elevator, so he sighed in relief. He didn't like close spaces, and they were only closer with more people.
It didn't take long for him to find the boy's room once he was on the floor, it was the seventh on the left. He entered, and found the boy sitting up, twiddling his fingers.
"Okay, good, you're here. The old man told me your name is Grant?"
"Yes. And you are…?"
"Chester. Pleased to meet you. Now, I have a request to make."
"And what is that?" Grant asked.
"I need you to train me."
Silence filled the room, except for the shuffling outside the room.
Chester's eye twitched, and he began to elaborate, "I've been told I took the attack well, and that my Pokemon are fine, they've been healed. But it bothered me, what happened."
Grant smiled. "It's okay, to be frightened, you witnessed an abduction and were attacked."
"No! I didn't mean that!" Chester looked away and wiped his eyes. "When I tried to help them, I couldn't do anything. Zicks was… The only person who had even spoken to me like another human being for so long… She put up with me. That was miles more than anyone else had done. I felt so happy, then. But when the time came for me to help her, I couldn't."
Grant frowned. "What about your parents? Why aren't you at home?"
Chester paused, wiping his eyes again. "I don't have parents. I never did."
Grant looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry for bringing it up, I didn't mean to bring up any hard feelings. But I understand. You feel indebted to her in a way. Zicks has a sort of gruff charm. Gruff, vulgar, insolent, stubborn, charm. She's an old friend to me, so I'm going to go look for her. However, I'm going to need a team, and I just so happen to know two people who fit the bill. I suppose while we're waiting, I could give you a few pointers."
"Fantastic!" Chester leaped out of the bed, wobbling a bit. "I'll meet you in a few minutes in the Battle Club!"
Grant stared after him, dumbfounded. He had taken an attack from a powerful Pokemon just the other day, and was now running out of the hospital, ready to go. Who is this kid?
The same day
Unknown Time
Unknown Location
"Oddish, use Sweet Scent… Again…"
For what seemed to be the hundredth time, the Oddish focused and released a bright plume of pink spores that drifted down to the floor. A strong aroma of flowers wafted off of them, making Zicks' eyes sting. She endured it, though. "Is that all you have? I'm not gagging. It needs more power!"
The Oddish focused again. The spores flew up, filling the room with a smell so sweet that Zicks lost her vision for a second, her mind going blank in a dizzy, mind-numbing stupor.
"S-STOP…" She managed to gasp, and the Oddish relented, the smell gradually fading in power, although it never left.
All of a sudden, the window opened up again. 6, 10, and 24 stood before her, with 6 glowering.
Zicks raised an eyebrow.
The man cleared his throat. "127, in the past few hours, our sensors have indicated that your Oddish's power level has increased. At a certain point, we reward our residents with…"
"Don't you mean prisoners?" Zicks asked.
"Beg pardon?"
"You said residents, and I'm assuming you were talking about me and whoever else is here. We're not residents. We're prisoners."
6's eye twitched. "We reward our residents with a new Pokemon after their current ones have reached a power level."
"Good. Do I get my old Pokemon back?" Zicks asked.
"No," 6 answered curtly.
"Why the hell not?" She felt the current zap her, but didn't want 6 to feel any pleasure in knowing she was hurt.
"Your Pokemon were your old, tainted life. They are currently becoming part of a better plan, one that will help Live achieve it's goals of making the world a better place." 6 answered.
"They aren't yours. Give them back immediately, or you'll regret it." Zicks threatened.
"My dear companion, you must understand that we're trying to help you achieve your greatest potential."
"Give. Me. Back. My. Pokemon."
"NO."
Zicks stared out into the eyes of the man, red anger clouding her vision. "If you do not do what I say at this very moment, I swear on my life I will make you live to regret it. Give me back my friends, six, and I fucking mean it." Another jolt of electricity, this one stronger, pulsed through her body. She ignored it.
6's hand shook. His eyes twitched. His lip curled back.
Then all of a sudden, his body relaxed.
"127, you are not currently in a solid state of mind. You are still poisoned by your previous life. In due time, you will thank us for our actions. Now, 24, hand the kind girl her new Pokemon, a Snorunt, if I'm not mistaken."
He began to walk away as 24 slid the Poke Ball into Zicks' room, but then stopped and turned around. "In my rush to commend you for your rapidly growing skill, I almost forgot. You will be meeting 5 other residents of Live's facility in less than an our. All will be explained then by 1."
The window closed, and Zicks slumped against the wall.
"I don't want my money back. I don't want my house back. I just want my friends back."
She sat there for a few minutes. The tears tried to come, but she wouldn't let them. Zicks didn't know if she was being watched, and she didn't want to show any weakness, especially if 6 was watching.
All of a sudden, she realized what she was doing. Instead of acting, she was becoming controlled by self-pity. She glared at the wall opposite her, and then reached down and grabbed her two Poke Balls.
"Snorunt, Oddish, come out. We have work to do."
3:02 P.M
Pewter City
Battle Club
Grant opened the doors to the Battle Club and peered inside.
"Yes! You're here!" Chester cried. His Butterfree and Jigglypuff were already out of their Poke Balls, and appeared to be doing laps around the first floor.
"Um, yeah," Grant said, rubbing his head.
"So, how do we begin?"
"I suppose we should battle."
"Sounds good," Chester replied.
"Alright. You attack my Pokemon, and I'll analyze how you work, see what needs improving." Grant commanded, pulling out a Poke Ball and sending out the Pokemon contained inside.
A Raichu popped out, whipping it's tail about and feinting a few punches.
"Woah! A Raichu! That's so cool!"
"Focus on the task I gave you. You're already wasting time," Grant snapped.
Chester nodded. "NOW! THROW INTO THE AIR THY THREADS THAT SHALL BIND THE OPPONENT! BUTTERFREE, STRING SHOT ON RAICHU!"
The threads shot out of the Pokemon's mouth, but landed on the floor. Raichu was behind Butterfree now.
"Do you really emphasize your attacks like that? I mean, it's original and all, but… It's kind of a dead giveaway, and you give your opponent too much time to retaliate." Grant sighed.
"Well, yeah. I thought that's how everyone did it."
"No. No it's not. Where did you hear this?"
"Some old bald guy came up to me, he was walkin' all funny, like he was having trouble balancing, and he was all like: "YANNO KID, YUR GONNER BE JUST LIKE ERYONE ELSE SUMDAY, ARNCHA?" And I was all like: "Yeah, I hope so…" So he said: "WULL, ERYONE ALWAYS TALKS REAL LOUD LIKE THIS WHEN THEY'RE MAKIN THEIR MOVE." It was the first battle advice I had ever received, and I was all: "Thanks!" And I walked away."
Grant burst out laughing.
Misunderstanding why Grant was laughing, Chester smiled and continued, "He tried walking after me, but I lost him eventually. Maybe I should've stayed, he might've had more battle advice."
"Oh…. Oh my goodness…" Grant regained his breath, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Chester, that old man was NOT trying to help you with battle advice. You're lucky you kept walking."
"What? Why?"
"You'll understand when you're older, I guess. For now, let's refocus. And don't announce your moves like that, ever, ever again. I swear I'll stop training you if you do."
The same day
Unknown Time
Unknown Location
The sweat that Zicks had produced while running small laps around the room froze against her skin. She stood with her face facing the snowy wind that blew across both her and Oddish. The small plant Pokemon shivered fiercely.
"Now stop!"
The Snorunt ceased with it's Powder Snow attack, and began jogging around the room, panting heavily. Zicks knelt down by the Oddish, using all of her willpower to not shiver. "Come here, and warm up. Most powerful grass Pokemon I know couldn't stand up to that much ice."
The Oddish cuddled up against her.
Zicks' mind flashed back to a simpler time. She had a Mankey, and they were both running together. Whatever she made Mankey do, she did herself. The last time she'd trained like that had been years ago. In time, her Pokemon became too powerful for her to match, and by training with them, she was slowing them down. Her Pokemon. Her friends.
All of a sudden, the wall opposite the one that opened up to a window sank into the ground, revealing a hallway.
"Please proceed down the hallway, 127," A warm female voice called. "Leave your Pokemon in their Poke Balls in the room."
She grudgingly did as commanded, and walked down the plain white hallway.
The wall at the other end opened as she approached it, revealing a large, majestic chamber. It had flora and fauna of many different varieties, and all sorts of little Pokemon played in the springs and ponds and fountains that dotted the room. Overhead, the ceiling was made up of hundreds of intricately carved arches, with sunlight pouring through the gaps.
Five other people stood with her, marveling at the chamber as she was. Two other girls, and three boys.
"Welcome, my dear friends…"
Their eyes darted up to a regal throne that stood in the center of the room at the base of a great tree that penetrated the arches at the ceiling.
"I understand that you all must be feeling afraid. But please, I beg of you, be patient, for I, the one you may call 1, will explain all."
She was a woman. A beautiful woman. She was perfectly tall. Her hair was perfectly brown. Her body was shaped perfectly, and her voice lifted up and down, melodically, in the most perfect way. However, the clothes she wore were not perfect. They were precisely the same as what Zicks and the other two girls wore.
"Long ago, my ancestors conceived a dream. They conceived a beautiful utopia, one where everything is in perfect order. That dream was passed down, generation to generation, evolving and formulating into the perfect plan. When it was passed down to me, I became captivated by the plan, and set it into motion. You, my dearest friends, have the honor of being part of a plan that is thousands upon thousands of years old."
Nobody spoke. All six were awestruck by her.
"Unfortunately, the world grew more and more cruel as time passed. It was then that my family realized that peace could not be achieved without war. We must fight, in order to bring the world to the harmony it so deserves… And even more unfortunately, there are those who do not believe in this utopia. Therefore, those poor misguided souls must be removed…"
Zicks snapped to attention. Something about the woman was so enthralling that she had been absorbing what the lady had been saying, without realizing what it was.
Filtered justification of taking over the world.
"WAIT."
The woman looked over at Zicks and smiled warmly. "127. Do you have something to ask?"
"Yes. When will I be getting my Pokemon back?"
"My dear, did 6 not explain to you? They are a part of your past. Your past was with the world as it was… But your future is with Live, with us, your companions and friends. I do hope…" She trailed off. "6 was not harsh with you, was he?" Her lip trembled, and she wiped her eye. "He does overreact to situations, sometimes… He is so fervent in his pursuit of our utopia that his temper is wild with those who do not cooperate." Her beautiful voice wavered. "I'm so, so very sorry, 127. Will you please forgive me for his mistakes? I do not want any anger to come between any of us, as we must all work together for our utopia."
Zicks' mind told her to say yes, to say that it was all fine, that she understood. But something held on.
"I want my friends back."
"My dear, we are your friends now."
"I don't think so. I don't know any of you…" She looked around at the faces of the other five, and was taken aback to see that the girl who was abducted with her was there.
She felt safe, then. There was someone there with her, who she had seen before. Everything would be alright now. There was nothing to worry about.
But there was.
She shook her head. "No. There is one person here that I've seen before, while she was being abducted. By you and your 'friends'. I don't know what's going on here, but I'm not going to fall for your tricks, you filthy rat. Now explain to me this: Where can I find my Pokemon, and when do I get to leave?"
1 smiled down at her, happy.
How was she happy?
"My dear, you have misunderstood our intentions. You must be patient. You must trust. Everything will be alright. You are here with your friends now, you will train together, and you will fight together. Fight for our utopia."
127 nodded.
"Brilliant!" 1 cried happily. "Now, you six will work as a squadron. This girl over here that I talked to is 127. Say hello to your friends, 127!"
"Hello!" 127 said, waving at each of them, making polite eye contact and not giving any of them favoritism by holding their gaze or waving longer at any specific person.
1 announced the names of the others. 128 was a young girl with brown hair. 129 was an middle-aged man, well built and tall. 130 was also a man, but a much younger one, no older than 11. 131 was a boy as well, but older, well into his teens. Last, but not least, was one that 127 recognized. 132 was the girl that she had known before. She felt safer with her around. Something familiar. Something friendly.
127 was sure they would grow to be the best of friends.
Zicks fought against this hypnotic consciousness that had taken over her body, but was unable to do anything. She watched as 127 greeted her new friends.
She would've begun to cry, but even that was impossible.
So, I'm back. Sort of. After a few months of inactivity, I finally finished it.I remember promising someone the next part would be out by the end of . That worked out , it's Christmas Vacation now, so I'll have plenty of spare time to work on this. Look forward to (much) more frequent updates in the next 2 or so weeks. After that, it's back to being busy, but maybe I'll have more incentive to work on this.
I hope so.
Also, while revising, I noticed that a lot of people's eyes twitched in this chapter. Maybe it's allergy season or something.
Feel free to give me pointers on my writing and grammar in a review. You know you want to.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. I realize now that it's a good thing, because I would procrastinate the responsibilities that I had to the franchise. All rights go to their respective owners or something like that.