Chapter 2: The Bully's Bullies

A low-pitched bell sounded five times. Josh, Ace, Aravan, and Donovan were ready to battle. "I'll go first," Josh volunteered. "This is an excellent opportunity to test out my REBS Module."

"What's that?" Aravan asked.

"It's a project for a programming class I'm in. It attaches a computer chip to a Pokémon, then sends battle information back to the receiving unit in my left hand. Manectric, you're up!" Josh released Manectric from its Poké Ball. The Pokémon was ready for battle. He turned the device on.

"What does REBS stand for?" Ace asked.

"Real-time Emulated Battle Stat Module," Josh responded. "When I turned on this receptor unit, the chip attached to Manectric activated, and look at what appeared on the screen." Josh pointed to several displayed items on the screen. "This green bar is the Pokémon's life force. If Manectric gets hurt, the bar becomes shorter. Over here, it shows certain attributes like offensive power, defensive strength, and electrical levels. Basically, this thing shows me exactly how my Pokémon is doing in battle."

"Wow," Ace said. "That's cool."

"Enough chit-chat, boys, we're starting! Magmar, you're on! Burn!" At that, Donovan released Magmar, a fire-type, human-shaped Pokémon with a flaming body and tail.

Manectric opened up with a biting attack at Magmar's chest. It evaded the assault and countered with a flaming punch. The attack brushed Manectric's right side, crediting Magmar with the first successful attack of the battle. On Josh's screen, a red "39" appeared in front of the picture of Manectric, then faded. The green bar became a shorter yellow-green bar. "Good," Josh said to himself. "That's working as planned." He then yelled for Manectric. "Counter with a Thunderbolt!" The electric Pokémon launched a close-range electric shot toward Magmar. Donovan's Pokémon took considerable damage, but recovered quickly.

Going for a combo attack, Manectric tried biting at the chest again. Magmar rolled to the left and spewed a large burst of fire from its mouth. Josh's Pokémon dodged most of it, but it got caught in the rear legs. The yellow-green bar shortened and turned amber. Josh knew it was running out of energy.

Manectric, knowing it was running out of stamina, backed away and fired another Thunderbolt. Donovan just laughed. "That's not going to work again, Josh. Magmar, Smokescreen!" After evading the electric assault, the fire Pokémon covered the arena with a thick smoke. "Let's see you deal with that!" Under the cover of the smoke, Magmar ran toward Manectric and tried slashing with its claws. The electric-type saw the attacker just in time, and hopped backward.

"Pick up on its scent!" Josh suggested. Relying on its sense of smell, Manectric shot another Thunderbolt at the hidden foe. Not knowing where the attack was coming from, Magmar panicked and was directly hit by the attack. That was the end of the round.

The second round was a duel between Ace's Typhlosion and Donovan's Crawdaunt. Ace started chuckling. "What the hell's so funny, dork? You're about to be destroyed?" Donovan asked sarcastically.

"The joke's on you," Ace replied, still chuckling. "You'll see."

Crawdaunt waited for the attack. Typhlosion came on strong with a slashing attack. The enemy Pokémon attacked with its Crab Hammer. Both attacks missed. The battle was going nowhere, until...

"Typhlosion, use the secret weapon!" At that, Ace's Pokémon threw a low electrical punch, landing a crushing blow. Crawdaunt fell with just one hit.

"It's over," Aravan noted to Donovan. "We've won two out of three rounds. You don't have to put your Pokémon through any more pain. The match is over."

"I don't care! Your turn, Tauros!"

Aravan used Flygon against the bull Pokémon. This battle was very fast as well. With no way to jump, Donovan's Pokémon could not reach Flygon. Soaring high into the air, far away from its opponent, the dragon dove into the ground, creating a brief 6.5 earthquake. "There's nothing you can do, Donovan. Tauros can't reach Flygon. It's over. Save it some pain and surrender," Aravan asked him.

"No! Never!" Donovan hollered.

"Very well." At that, Aravan's Pokémon soared once more and came crashing into the ground, causing another 6.5 earthquake. Donovan had lost all three rounds of the match. Recalling Tauros, he went into a furious rage.

"This is still no reason to believe you are warriors! Mark my words, I will get stronger. I will obtain a power you cannot comprehend, and use it to destroy all of you! You hear me! The next time we battle, you'll wish you were in hell!" At that, the defeated trainer stomped off in disgust. Shalin stepped forward.

"You guys are so brave, standing up to him like that!" she said in admiration.

"Thank you," Ace said.

"In class, you tried to tell how you saved Johto by joining forces with the legendary Pokémon. What was that like?" she asked.

"Let's do this in some other place," Ace responded. "I'm a little tired from that battle."

"How about in my room?" Josh suggested.

Shalin was delighted at the idea. "Thanks, Josh!"

That evening, just before six, they all arrived at Josh's room. It was a little cramped for four people, but they made do.

"Josh, what was it like for you to control that legendary Pokémon?"

He didn't know where to start. "It's an experience unlike any other, that's for certain. I miss everything about Raikou. Legendary Pokémon can communicate directly with the minds of chosen people. I was chosen to control Raikou. The part I enjoyed the most was riding like the wind across that big field north of campus. When I was riding Raikou, all the scenery around me was a large blur. I felt wild and free, as if I had become one with Raikou. Ace knows this better than I do, but if you've ever ridden Arcanine in Extremespeed, you know you're going very fast. I've done that before, and it is quite the experience. But it's not the same as Raikou. When you jump on Raikou and speed off into the distance, there is this feeling of power, speed, and thrills that you can't get from Arcanine." Shalin didn't know how to respond. Josh continued.

"Also, being a swordsman for a while was interesting. Those fencing lessons I took as a kid got a lot of use when I was a Raikou Rider. It was no ordinary sword, either. It was a yellow, lightning-shaped blade enhanced with Raikou's electricity. It was a weapon to be feared, and I used it to the best of my ability."

Aravan added some of his experiences. "Riding Suicune was nothing short of awesome. I'd ridden Pokémon before, but nothing like this. The way Suicune runs, you don't feel all the wind resistance you should, yet you're still racing forward so fast, no ordinary land Pokémon is going to catch you. Suicune's so fast that it can run on water. No need for it to swim, it can just run over the water."

Hearing all of this, Shalin was simply amazed at the experiences described. She knew that both of them were lost for words. "I wish I could become a Beast Rider," she said. "It sounds like the most awesome experience in the world! But I'll never get a chance." They discussed the Beasts for another hour, then all three guests left, each for their own rooms.

After Josh finished eating dinner, a severe thunderstorm came rolling into the area. The howling winds sounded through the windows, which Josh promptly closed. The thunder was terribly loud, and subtly reminded Josh of Raikou's roar. It kept him awake for longer than he wanted. When he drifted off to sleep, he had a terrible nightmare. Donovan had grown much stronger, and had a set of completely new Pokémon. The former Raikou Rider was getting terribly slaughtered in battle.

"Salamence! Finish this!" Donovan yelled. The flying dragon dove straight into the now-defenseless Charmeleon. When the diving slash connected with amazing accuracy, Charmeleon sounded an ear-piercing scream of pain. The fiery lizard was critically wounded. Josh ran up to his Pokémon, ready to tend to its wounds. "You soft-hearted boy! You'll never win like that! In fact, go to hell right now! Finish off Josh!"

The dragon took flight once more, setting its eyes on Josh. When Donovan's Pokémon was about to collide with its target, the thought of death woke him up, heart beating fast. "What a terrible nightmare!" Josh said to himself. He tried to go back to sleep, but he couldn't; nor could he stop thinking about Donovan. "This is just like last time. Something's not right with this Donovan guy."

Taking his five Pokémon with him, Josh quietly left his room and locked the door. Carefully setting his foot down on the tile floor every step of the way, Josh knew he had to be stealthy in exiting the building. Slowly going down the stairs to the ground floor, Josh's heartbeat remained high. If he were caught prowling the halls at night, there would be big trouble for him. Luckily for him, there were no staff members roaming the hallways. Stealthily opening and closing the exit door, Josh successfully made it out of the building. It was about half past three.

"Whew! I made it. Now time to get out of here." At that, Josh released Pidgeot from its Poké Ball. The Pokémon was silent upon coming out, as per its trainer's request. Josh climbed between the eagle's wings and soared off toward the peak of Tin Tower.