Hello everyone.
Another battle in this one! This chapter is a bit longer than the others but some important things happen that are essential to the story. I hope you enjoy it!
~bigwilly
The giant fireball lit up the night sky like fireworks. Except Will didn't feel the same joy he experienced when he saw fireworks. For a few moments, he didn't feel anything. His whole body was cold and empty, like the deep reaches of space had reached out and swallowed him. He was still, as still as a statue, and numb as well. It was as if all of his emotions had been drained from him.
And then it all came rushing back as one huge blow to the stomach. His head grew heavy and his insides lurched threateningly. His lungs ached as his one single scream pierced the night like a knife. Panic spread throughout the street as people called the police and the fire department and the ambulance. And all through it Will stood still, unmoving, watching with horror as the corpses of his parents burned.
Why had this happened? How could this have happened? The world, the vicious and cruel world, had reached out and snatched his parents away in the blink of an eye, destroying the two people he had loved most. Why did it have to be him? Why couldn't some other teenager have his family destroyed right in front of his eyes?
He staggered towards the car, knowing beyond a doubt that his parents had surely died, yet wanting to do something, anything. He moved closer and closer until the heat became unbearable and collapsed to his knees, his tears glistening in the light of the flames.
There was a movement out of the corner of his eye and he summoned all of his strength so as to turn his head. A car had pulled up under the street light. The bald man with the scarred eye appeared and went to get into the car, only to look up, directly at Will. His single eye locked with Will's and he knew somehow, in that moment, that the bald man was the one responsible for his parent's death. As if in response, the bald man smiled wickedly and drove off.
Will screamed once more, a scream of pure agony that ripped apart his insides. A scream that all the world could hear.
The next three days blurred past for Will. He wasn't sure which memories were real and which were nightmares created by his suffering mind. His parents had died, right in front of his eyes. They had been brutally murdered. The police had turned up empty handed. It was as if the bald man had been a ghost, flittering into Will's life just to exterminate one of the most important parts.
Some memories were clear as day, seared into his memory. The image of the bald man smiling his vicious smile. The speech given by his uncle John at the funeral. His Pokemon, Riolu and Growlithe, sombre by his side. And throughout it all, one word burned the brightest.
Revenge.
Not one moment in Will's waking life was spent without that night playing in his head. The black Audi exploding into flames as the bald man got into the sleek car, his scar pale in the streetlight. It haunted his dreams and kept him awake at night. His friends had noticed; Jack, Daniel and Claire. They had tried to talk to him a couple of times but he had refused. All he could think about was how he could find the bald man and kill him.
A few more days passed and again Will paid almost no attention to anything at all. He was now living with John and Dominic and had been completely out of it. His friends had come around several more times to try and speak to him but were repeatedly refused. They'd banged on his door and shouted at him to talk to them but he just didn't care. Until one day when Daniel decided to break the door down.
"I'll pay for that," said Daniel as the door crashed onto the floor. He went to pick it up while Jack scowled at him and stepped into the room. Claire wasn't with them.
Will sat up. "Get out of my room," he said quietly.
The two stood in front of him. "No," said Jack "It's time you did something."
Will's face stayed blank. "Go away, I don't want to do anything."
"We don't care, we'll make you do something."
An edge of irritation crept into Will's voice. "Look, I don't care about what you want, just leave me alone."
"We're not leaving."
"My parents are dead! I don't care anymore! Get the fuck out of my room."
"No."
Will lashed out, incredibly fast, and his fist connected with Jack's face. He stumbled back, his hand clutching his bloody nose. Daniel sprang forward and charged into Will, pinning him into his bed. "WILL!" he shouted. "Calm down!"
Will squirmed under Daniel's stocky build, anger churning inside him. "I'll kill you! I'll kill that bald man and then I'll kill you! Just leave me-"
"Shut up! Will, we're you're friends! We want to help you!"
Will struggled to break free and throw his fists into the person on top of him. The boy on the ground was still clutching his nose as blood streamed from it. It reminded him of when he fought Mark with his friend Jack at Daniel's party.
Something clicked in the back of his mind. Wasn't his friend Daniel the one on top of him? Was Jack the one the ground that he had hit? His vision blurred and his head began to throb. He didn't have friends. His parents were dead and he was alone. He stopped struggling.
"I have no friends," he said, his voice empty.
"Yes you do. You're not alone Will, no matter how badly you want to believe it."
Will swallowed and his vision cleared. He looked up into Daniel's warm brown eyes. "Okay."
"I'm going to let you up now, okay?" Daniel stood up. Jack had managed to stop his nose bleeding with some tissues.
Will sat up slowly, his head still hurting. He saw Jack clutching his nose. "Sorry for hitting you," he said sheepishly.
Jack grinned. "You hit like a pussy anyway."
The trio laughed and instantly Will felt better. His body flooded with emotion as it rushed to fill the emptiness that had been sucking away at him. For the first time in a week, he smiled.
He sighed. "Thank you, both of you. I've been a real bitch, haven't I?"
Daniel smirked. "You fucking bet you have." He paused. "But I guess you have the right to be."
"I'm sorry, I really am."
"Don't worry about it. I would probably be the same in your position."
"No, you wouldn't. You're stronger than me. I don't know, I just felt so alone when they died."
"It's natural dude."
"Again, thank you."
"Again, don't worry about it."
Will smiled. A moment passed as he enjoyed in his 'awakening'. He was going to do something today.
"Uhhh, I think I need more tissues," said Jack. The tissues in his hand were drenched with blood.
Will sprang up. "Oh shit, yeah, come with me."
He led the two downstairs and into the kitchen of his uncle's house, the midday sun streaming through the windows. John sat at the table and when he saw Will his face lit up like the sun.
"You guys did it!" he exclaimed. "You actually did it!"
"Yeah, but at a price," said Jack.
John noticed his bleeding nose. "Jesus Will." He produced a box of tissues and a bottle of cold water as the boys sat down. "So you're back to normal?"
A pang of guilt shot through Will as he realised that he probably caused a lot of trouble for not only his friends but his family as well. "Yeah, I'm fine now," he said.
"Well, that's good." John smiled warmly.
"Oh yeah, one thing," Daniel piped up. "I kind of broke your door."
John blinked. "Which one?"
"The one to Will's room."
"Oh well, that's okay then! Anything to get our boy back to us."
Daniel breathed a sigh of relief.
They sat and talked about what had been happening the week during Will's isolation. John had been studying Starter Trio III. Daniel had been playing Playstation practically all the time now that Black Ops II was out. And Jack had been to the beach with Claire.
"By the way, where is Claire?" asked Will.
"Oh she's with Sarah and her friends somewhere," Jack said, waving his hand vaguely.
There was the sound of footsteps as Dominic rushed into the room. His face was flushed and he looked as if he was about to burst with excitement. "The battle is about to start!" he said eagerly to the group.
Everyone but Will immediately jumped up from the table and hurried out. Will was left sitting there with a puzzled look on his face. He followed them into lounge room.
"What match?" he asked.
Daniel rolled his eyes. "Trey Kohler announced he would be battling Sid McGuire in a charity match," he replied.
Will's face lit up. "Cool!" He sank into one of the plush sofa's surrounding the Samsung Plasma E8000 television. One thing he could get used to was the modern technology his uncle implemented into his household. "Who do you reckon will win?"
"Kohler,"said John imidiately. "I'm sure of it."
"Yeah right!" scoffed Daniel. "Did you see McGuire at the Spring Festival? He was in prime form."
John shook his head firmly. "Kohler did extensive training for this. I'm sure it'll pay off."
Daniel just laughed. "Sure, sure. You agree with me, right Jack?"
Jack looked away. "Actually, I think Kohler will win too."
Daniel gaped. "Jack! What the hell!"
"I'm sorry, but that's just what I think."
"Fine, let's bet on it."
"I'm sorry?"
"10 bucks, you say Kohler, I say McGuire."
Jack grinned and shook Daniel's hand eagerly. "You're on."
The fanfare of the Fox Sports channel blared out from the high definition television. The commentator began.
"Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to Fox Sports. For those who've just joined us, the charity match between Oceania Pokemon League members Sid McGuire and Trey Kohler is about to begin. Conditions are looking perfect and the crowd is hyped up. Look like it will be an intense battle!"
"Where are they battling?" asked Will.
"ANZ Stadium, Sydney," piped up Dom.
"Huh."
A massive roar rose from the crowd as Sid McGuire entered the stadium. His skin was pale and the sun gleamed off his bald head. The piercings in his ears, nose and lips shone. He wore a loose denim jacket with the sleeves cut off and black jeans, displaying the tattoos that covered his skinny arms. His grin showed off his yellow teeth as he waved to the crowd.
"And the crowd goes nuts as Sid McGuire enters the stadium!" the commentator cried. "But wait! Here it comes, the man himself, Trey Kohler!"
Kohler walked into the stadium, his heavy footsteps carrying his chiseled form. He was tall. Muscles rippled underneath his blue tank top and white cargo pants. His polished black boots gleamed in the sunlight and his rigid jaw line showed no emotion. Will had always been scared of the army veteran as a child.
The two Elite Four members faced each other across the dusty battlefield. They each drew a Pokeball. White light exploded from them as Pokemon formed on the battlefield and the crowd went wild.
McGuire's Pokemon was what looked like a cross between a cat and a mongoose. Its fur was white with deep red markings on the face, chest and forepaws, the sharp edges of colour a predominant feature. It had two long, sharp claws on its forepaws, shining black. It had two tufts of fur on its shoulders and a large white tail. Zangoose looked around hungrily with its pink eyes and bared its fangs.
Kohler's Pokemon had a large pink head, resembling a helmet, adorened with green stripes and a black star-like marking on the front. The rest of its body consisted of blue, segmented cloth-like tufts, with ribbon-like extensions at the top of its back. Its eyes darted underneath their shadowed creavice. Accelgor uncrossed its arms.
The referee signalled the beginning of the battle and immediately the two Pokemon leaped at each other. The speed and ferocity of the two Pokemon astounded the audience seated around the television and Will's eye struggled to keep up. Zangoose flashed its claws and Accelgor barely managed to dodge the swipe before throwing its body forwards. Zangoose twisted sideways and brought its claws down and violently cut open Accelgor's back. Accelgor staggered before stepping out of the path of another swipe and retreating to the end of the battlefield. Zangoose eyed his opponent warily.
"Fast Pokemon," noted Jack.
"Indeed," murmured John. "I'm surprised Zangoose managed to hit Accelgor, though."
"Just wait until they start using Moves," said Will.
Eyes still glued to the television, the boys watched as McGuire opened his mouth and cried, "Zangoose, use Crush Claw!"
Zangoose leaped forwards at an incredible speed, its claws crackling with white energy. Kohler was quick to respond. "Quick Attack," he said.
Zangoose brought its claws down onto Accelgor only to find empty space. Accelgor appeared behind Zangoose and a flurry of motion. "Sludge Bomb," said Kohler.
Accelgor opened its mouth and released a blob of brown sludge at Zangoose. The sludge hit Zangoose square in the back and it fell, parts of its fur stained brown. It growled and sprang back up to face Accelgor who was already charging in at a frightening speed. Zangoose twisted out of the way and its claws crackled white as it charged another Crush Claw. It lunged at Accelgor but was halfway before it screeched and fell. Its body spasmed as the poison sent a painful pulse through its body.
"Oh dear, it looks like Zangoose has been poisoned from the Sludge Bomb!" said the commentator. "Things aren't looking good for Sid McGuire."
On the battlefield, McGuire had a worried look on his face. "Zangoose, use Night Slash!"
"Accelgor, use Quick Attack again!" cried Kohler in response.
Zangoose's claws turned black as night and tendrils of darkness whipped around them as Zangoose lunged. Accelgor disappeared again, right at the last moment, reappearing behind Zangoose. But Zangoose wasn't falling for the same trick twice. It spun on its back feet, bringing its claws around in a wide arc and striking Accelgor right on the side of its torso. Accelgor shot sideways and crashed into the dusty ground of the stadium.
McGuire laughed. "You always were too predictable Trey," he said to himself. He wasn't losing the advantage he had just gained. "Finish it with Aerial Ace!" he cried.
Zangoose shot towards Accelgor and its body became enfulged in a white aura. He screeched and leaped. McGuire grinned triumphinatly, only to have his smile diminished as Zangoose stumbled from another poisonous spasm. The white aura disbanded and Accelgor capitalised on this. It lashed out and this time it was Zangoose who crashed into the ground.
Kohler roared, "Accelgor, use Focus Blast!"
Accelgor leaped up and brought its hands together while Zangoose growled on the ground. An orange sphere of energy appeared in Accelgor's hand and it released it. The sphere shot towards Zangoose right as it was getting up and Zangoose was blown off its feet as the super effective move tore away its remaining strength. Zangoose crashed into the wall surrounding the battlefield and lay still. The crowd erupted.
"What a battle! Sid McGuire has just lost his first Pokemon in a very high-paced confrontation. I wonder what Pokemon he will choose next. Stay tuned to find out the result between these two amazing battlers!"
Back in the lounge room, Daniel swore as Jack laughed. "Not a good start for you, eh Dan?"
"He still has two more Pokemon," Daniel grumbled.
Dom got up from his seat. "I'm going to check on the Pokemon." He hurried out.
"I'll go join him," said Will, eager to see the Starter Pokemon again.
He strolled out of the house and through the stone archway towards the giant dome. He opened the glass door and was greeted again with the fragrances of the forest and the cacophony of sounds that came from the various Pokemon situated inside the lush scenery. Before the electric door could close itself behind him, a streak of green flashed past him and out the entrance. Will whirled around to see Treecko bounding towards the small forest that was just down the road from his house. His stomach sank.
"Crap!" swore Dominic from behind him. His face was red and he took a moment to catch his breath before speaking again. "I don't know what the hell is the problem with that Treecko!"
"Should we go get it?" asked Will and immediately he felt stupid.
"Yes, we have to! Dad will kill me if we lose it!"
Will went pale at the thought of angering his uncle. "Alright I'll go inside and get the others."
"No! We musn't let Dad find out that Treecko has escaped. We'll just have to catch him ourselves. Here."
He handed Will a Pokeball and hurried out the door. They jogged towards the forest were the Treecko had run off to.
"Treecko's are really fast Dom, it could be anywhere by now."
Dominic shook his head. "Treecko's make their nests in tall trees. It will stick to the forest."
They reached the forest and split. Will treaded over the leaves that littered the grassy floor, his eyes scanning the greenery for the sparkle of yellow eyes. It was quiet, save for his own footsteps and the occasional rustle in the very tops of the trees. For every minute that passed, he grew more anxious, hoping with all his might that they could find the Treecko before John found out they had lost it. He searched for what seemed like an hour but was more likely close to fifteen minutes before he saw it. He froze. Two bright yellow eyes were poking out from the bush in front of him. He own eyes locked with them before they vanished from view. A shadow darted to the tree above.
He knew the Treecko wouldn't just go with him willingly. It was probably going to defend its freedom, not run. It was too arrogant for that. No, Will knew just how to handle this situation.
"Fight me," he called to the forest. No response. Will thought he must look incredibly stupid asking a Pokemon that was only 2'3" to fight him. "Fight me, you loser."
There was a rustle in the trees above him. Will stood perfectly still.
"Fight me…coward."
Treecko leaped down from out of nowhere and slammed its tail into the back of Will's head. Will stumbled forward onto the grassy canopy. He turned just in time to see Treecko leap forward and slap him across the face. He clutched his stinging face that accompanied his throbbing head and just had time to acknowlede the pain before he was taken off his feet by a low sweep. Jesus, that Treecko was fast.
Will saw the Treecko crouching in a branch across from him. It sneered at him before disappearing from view again. Will stood in the middle of the small clearing he was in and stood deadly still. This Treecko had no fighting experience. It was still young. Will could do this.
There was a rustle in the leaves above him. Will dropped, straight onto his back and kicked upwards. His shoe connected with Treecko in a crude imitation of a bicycle kick. It flew into a tree and dropped to the ground. For a moment, Will thought he had overdone it, but before he could even see if the Treecko was still concious or not, he lunged forward, Pokeball in hand and threw it. It connected with the Treecko and opened, its invisible radiation transforming the Wood Gecko Pokemon into white energy before snapping shut. The small button at its center flashed red. Will stood there, fingers crossed, before finally breathing a sigh of relief as the chime of a sucessful capture rang out through the forest. He picked up the Pokeball and called Dominic on his mobile phone.
"Hey Dom, I caught the Treecko," he said into the phone.
He could hear the relief practically emanating from the other end. "Thank god," he said. "Do you reckon you can find your way back to the house?"
"I have a GPS on my phone so I should be fine."
"Sweet, see you there."
He met Dominic on the road back home and showed him the captured Treecko, a miniturised version slightly visible through the top half of the ball. They grinned and headed back, only to have their grins replaced with looks of despair upon seeing their uncle standing outside the dome. His arms were folded and he had a deep scowl furrowing his face. Will swallowed nervously.
"And just where have you two been?" he asked. His tone indicated that he knew exactly where they had been.
"We uh, we were um, just went for a walk," stammered Dom unconvinvingly.
"Bull," growled John. "You better have got it back."
Will held out the Pokeball that he was clutching in his sweaty hands. John snatched it up and observed the injured Treecko inside.
He sighed. "Of course it's hurt," he grumbled. "I guess you two can't be blamed for Treecko's arrogant need for independence. Come with me and we'll have this little bugger healed up in no time."
The two cousins breather with relief as they escaped such a close encounter with the wrath of John Lee. John was scary when he was angry.
He lead the boys through the glass dome and they reached an automatic door, similar to the one at the dome's entrance. They went inside and were greeted with a small laboratory. The walls were all white. Several filing cabinets lined one side of the room while a computer lay dormant in the corner. A workbench took up the middle of the room, littered with scientific tools and books, some of which Will had never seen before. John went over to a machine at the far end of the room. Will thought it was a printer until John opened it and placed the Pokeball inside, much the same way someone would put a sheet of paper in a photocopier. He pressed a button and the PKMN Restorer whirred to life as it set to restoring Treecko to full health.
He turned to the boys. "I'm surprised you were able to capture Treecko," he said to the duo. "Let alone without any Pokemon."
Will looked down. "Yeah, I kinda had to kick it," he said sheepishly.
John burst out laughing. "You sound worried! That Treecko will be fine. It relishes a fight, that one does. Come on, I'll get you something to drink while it's healing."
Will grinned and the group headed back through the dome and into the house, where they heard Daniel complaining as he handed Jack a ten dollar note.
"Ohoho, better luck next time Danny boy," he teased.
Daniel grunted and trudged into the kitchen. "Where the hell were you guys?" he asked.
"These two managed to let Treecko escape," said John as he grabbed some Coke from the fridge.
"But Will got it back!" piped up Dominic.
Jack whistled. "Nice."
Daniel grunted again. "Not bad."
"Will has quite a way with Pokemon," nodded John. "It reminds me of his father."
The group fell into an awkward silence. Will said nothing. Talk of the battle just shown on the television surfaced and soon everyone at the table was eagerly discussing it.
Except Will. He just sat there in silence. He'd hardly known his father. James Lee was always away on some sort of business. Back when he was about 2 years old, he didn't see his father for a whole year, deployed in the Middle East with the Australian Army. Since then, it was one business trip after another; meeting a new client one day, forming a deal the next and then it would be overseas to exotic locations. Will had come to appreciate the time he'd had with his father. Hearing that his Dad had been skilled with Pokemon was almost no surprise to him; he had been to a lot of places and met a lot of people.
"How did you get over it?" he blurted.
The crowd gropued around the table fell silent. "I'm sorry?" asked John.
"How did you get over their deaths?"
John responded immediately. "By looking after you."
Will blinked. "What do you mean?"
"By looking after you, making sure you're safe, that you get a good education, that sort of thing."
"You didn't have to do that."
"I'm sure it's what they would've wanted."
"I have no idea what they wanted, I don't think I hardly knew them."
"I sometimes think the same thing too, kid. There's still lots of things I don't know about them. I bet you didn't know James took the Gym Challenge when he was younger."
Almost every single eyebrow in the room shot up. "Did he make it?" asked Jack.
John shook his head. "Knocked out by The Eigth. No matter how many times he challenged it, he would always lose."
"Huh," murmered Will.
A long moment of silence passed. Daniel looked at Jack who looked at Will who was still staring at his feet.
Dominic was the first to break the silence. "Treecko is probably healed now," he said. His voice echoed in the silence.
John stood up. "You're probably right. Who wants to come see him?"
"Treecko?" asked Daniel, raising an eyebrow. "As in Starter Trio III Treecko?"
Will grinned. "John has all three."
Will's friends sprang up. "Well what the hell are we waiting for? Let's go!"
John roared with laughter and lead the way through the house and into the dome. He left the boys and went to fetch Treecko.
"This is amazing," breathed Jack as he stared at the environment that surrounded him.
"The boons of researching Pokemon," Daniel muttered.
John returned with Treecko's Pokeball in hand. "Look quickly," he said. "Treecko doesn't like company. It will most likely just run away into the forest."
The ball sprang open and Treecko materialised on the lush grass in front of them. Will was immediately wary. Would Treecko be angry that he had kicked him? Will knew how fast that Treecko was and did not like the idea of facing it again.
But Treecko didn't attack him. It just stood there and blinked. It looked at each of the people around him. It looked at John, who still held the Pokeball in his hand.
Treecko jumped with the grace and agility of a gazelle and snatched the Pokeball from John's hand. It somersaulted into the air off of his shoulder and landed right in front of Will. Every muscle in Will's body tensed. Treecko held out the Pokeball to Will. Will cocked his head, confused. Was it trying to give the Pokeball to him?
He accepted the empty Pokeball. It was light in his hand. Treecko still had its arm outstretched. Will stared. Was it trying to shake its hand?Upon instinct, Will crouched down on one knee and grasped Treecko's hand in his own. He could see his reflection mirrored in the Pokemon's bright yellow eyes. He smiled.
"Oh my," said John softly. "It seems you have a new Pokemon, Will."
Will looked up sharply at his uncle, who's eyes were sparkling. "What?"
"You're triumphant encounter over Treecko in the forest has garnered its respect."
Will looked at Treecko. "Is this true?"
Treecko nodded once, a short and simple 'yes'.
A grin split Will's face from ear to ear. He'd connected with a Starter Pokemon. This proud and arrogant creature was willing to be his friend. His grin widened. Treecko did the same.
"Now we both have Starter Pokemon, Will!" squealed Dominic.
"Guess you really do have a knack for Pokemon," said Daniel.
"You can be as good as your father one day," said John.
Will looked up at his friends. He had the skills. He had the Pokemon. He had the support. He decided, there and then, that he was going to make his parents proud and win the Oceania Pokemon Championships. He was going to be the very best. Like no one ever was.
He stood up. "I'm taking the Gym Challenge."
