A/N: Hey guys. Sorry about the late update. I've been busy with school and stuff. Same with EarthBolt100. We've got a lot schoolwork to concentrate on.
Just to let you know, I'm going away for a couple of days on Friday. I'm going to Ohio to see my aunt graduate from some kind of medical school or something like that and we're stopping off at Hershey Park too on the way back. Sorry everyone. But I won't be around Friday - Monday. I'll be back Tuesday.
Satoshi: That sounds like fun. You got room for one more?
Hikari: No, take me instead.
Kenta: No me.
Marina: You guys are wrong, she's taking me.
Erin: Actually, I'm sorry guys but I can't take any of you. My parents won't allow me to take any of you. I'm sorry.
Satoshi,Hikari,Kenta,&Marina: Oh crap.
Erin: Anyways, here's the fourth chapter of The Essence of All Power. Satoshi, you can do the honors.
Satoshi: Neither Erin or EarthBolt100 own Pokemon. Believe me, I'd be with Dawn if they did.
Erin: Great Job, now on the story. Enjoy..
The Scene: Asagi City's Pokemon Center
"Pochama, Bubblebeam!"
Satoshi heard as soon as he and Kenta stepped foot outside the Pokemon Center, Pikachu perched on Satoshi's shoulder as usual. It sounded like it was coming from behind the Pokemon Center. Hikari and Marina had went outside to do some training while Satoshi and Kenta both had called their mothers to let them know their fine and they arrived to Joto safely. Now, they both had decided to do some training with Hikari and Marina before the four hit the road again towards the Battle Frontier.
"Mu-Chan, Psybeam!" They both heard Marina's voice commanding her female Muma, nicknamed Mu-Chan, to use Psybeam. They both knew that Marina and Hikari are training behind the Pokemon Center in preparation for Hikari's first Joto Contest, which will be held in Kikyō City.
Both Satoshi and Kenta looked at each other before they ran behind the Pokemon Center, to see Hikari and Marina training. Neither Hikari or Marina noticed their arrival though.
"Pochama, Bubblebeam!" Hikari commanded. Pochama did what his trainer told him to do and unleashed his Bubblebeam attack, which broke up Muma's Psybeam.
"Wow Hikari," Marina said and smiled. "That Pochama of yours; not only is it adorable but really strong as well. I'm impressed. You're gonna be tougher to beat then I thought you were going to."
Hikari nervously put a her hand behind her head. She closed her eyes and smiled. "Umm, thanks Marina."
"Hey!" Marina exclaimed, "I'm telling you the truth Hikari. I'm looking forward to competing against you in the Grand Festival."
Hikari smiled, "me too, Marina. I'm really looking forward to it as well." She looked up at Marina and gave her a determined smile, "me too."
Satoshi and Kenta both decided to make their presence known to Marina and Hikari when they both started clapping for them. Satoshi took a step forward towards them. "You're both gonna do great in the Grand Festival." he said and smiled. Hikari sure has progressed as a trainer. He thought to himself as he looked at Hikari with a slight blush appearing on his face.
Yes, it's true. Hikari really has come a long way with her battle skills. Compared to how she was when she first began her journey. She couldn't do anything right. She had failed horribly trying to capture a Mimirol and ended up hitting him in head with the Pokeball in the process. He held back a chuckle when he found himself thinking back to that day.
The Scene: Route 202 - Four Years Ago
Hikari held a Monster Ball in her hand while staring out a wild Mimirol with a look of determination written all over her face. Pochama was in front of her, waiting for her commands. Satoshi stood very close to her with Takeshi sitting a boulder with Pikachu next to him. "Here we go!" Hikari shouted as she got ready to throw the Monster Ball at Mimirol.
"Hold on!" Satoshi shouted, catching Hikari's attention. "You have to expand your Monster Ball, first."
Hikari looked at her Monster Ball and started freaking out, juggling it in between her hands, before she finally made it expand. "I'm ready now!" she proudly exclaimed.
Then she grinned and threw the Monster Ball while saying, "Lets go Monster Ball!" She exclaimed and threw the Monster Ball. But her Monster ball did not hit its intended target. Instead, it hit Satoshi right in the head. Satoshi fell to the ground with a thud.
Hikari gasped. "Oops, Sorry!" She exclaimed. She couldn't believe what she had just done. She didn't intend to hit Satoshi, her hand slipped.
Satoshi got up and angrily glared at her. "Will you watch where you throw that thing?"
"It was an accident!" Hikari snapped back at him, putting both of her hands on her hips. "If you hadn't been yelling at me, my hand wouldn't have slipped!"
Satoshi balled his hands into fists and angrily glared back at Hikari. "You weren't doing it right!"
"Look, don't you get nasty with me!" Hikari warned him
"Just get it together and I won't have to!" Satoshi yelled back at her.
Oh my god, Pochama thought while watching the two argue before he looked over at Mimirol, only to see it escaped. "Pocha!" The blue Penguin-like Pokemon yelled at the arguing duo while pointing to where Mimirol was stand just a few seconds ago. "Pocha Pocha Pocha!"
That snapped Satoshi and Hikari out of their argument and they noticed that Mimirol has escaped as well. "No! Mimirol!" They shouted in unison.
Hikari angrily marched up to Satoshi and glared at him. "Well, I hope your happy now!"
He turned his head and glared back at her. "Don't blame me!"
"Why not? It's your fault!"
"You're yapping scared Mimirol away, y' know!"
Takeshi looked at the two while they continued to argue. This is gonna be one long day, he thought and shook his head. Pikachu, who sat beside him, also seemed to have the same reaction he did. This really is going be a very long day, if Satoshi and Hikari don't stop bickering with each other.
The Scene: Outside Asagi City's Pokemon Center
Yep, Hikari was one horrible trainer when she first set on her journey. If that doesn't show how bad of a trainer she was, Satoshi thought to himself while smiling at Hikari, I don't know what does. now, she's become quite the Pokemon Trainer. She had won the Sinnoh Grand Festival. It was a tough battle and she found herself facing off against her rival, Nozomi, in the final round. Their battle was long and it looked like Nozomi was gonna win at the beginning but Hikari made a comeback and ended up defeated Nozomi when time ran out.
Well, Satoshi was so happy when she won too. Hikari was a lot like him when he first began his journey. He was a horrible trainer too, he had made more mistakes then he could remember. He didn't even win some of the badges he won, back when he was traveling the Kanto Region with his friend, Kasumi, and Takeshi. The gym leaders gave them to him cause of he had done some good deeds that he had done. He really come a long way with his skills as well.
While Satoshi stood there, thinking about how he and Hikari were similar in a lot of ways, Marina popped up next to him, which startled him. "Hey Satoshi," she began. "What cha thinking about?"
Satoshi looked at her and closed his eyes, placing a hand behind his head nervously. "Nothing really," he said. He looked around to see if Hikari was around. Thankfully, he didn't see her around. "I've just been thinking how awesome of trainer Hikari has become, compared to when I first met her."
Marina squealed when she heard Satoshi's answer. She knew that there was something going on between Satoshi and Hikari. Hikari denied it but she didn't seem to believe her. Hikari does have a crush on Satoshi and visa versa. She knew it, she just knew it all along. "Someone has a crush," she added.
Satoshi looked at her in shock. Did she just say what I think she just she said? Satoshi asked himself. "What?" he shouted in disbelief.
"Oh come on, Satoshi," Marina started, which made Satoshi look at her. "You can tell me the truth. Admit it, you like Hikari, don't you?"
Satoshi's eyes widened when those words escape Marina's mouth. "What? No, I don't!" He shouted.
"Oh come on Satoshi," Marina pushed. "You like Hikari. Come on, you know you do."
Satoshi's eyes widened and he could feel his cheeks heating with a blush he just couldn't seem to stop. "That is so not true, Marina. We're just friends, that's it."
Marina gave Satoshi an unconvinced look. God, how dense can you get? Marina asked herself. I know there's something going on between them and I have to get to the bottom of it. "Mmhmm, sure. Whatever you say Satoshi," Marina said, dropping the subject.
Kenta came over to them. "So, what are you guys talking about?"
Marina looked over at him and smiled. "Oh, nothing Kenta, just how much Satoshi likes Hikari."
Satoshi blushed a dark red shade. "How many times do I have to say this?" He asked Marina, "I don't like Hikari like that. We're just friends."
"Sure, whatever you say, Satoshi," she addressed Satoshi before looking over at Kenta. "Satoshi was complimenting on how Hikari has progressed as a trainer, compared to when he first met her."
"That doesn't mean he likes her though," Kenta added. Marina's eyes quickly widened and Satoshi had a relieved look written all over his face.
"What?" Marina went to say something again but Satoshi beat her to the punch. "Thank you, Kenta."
Marina kept herself from grinding her teeth. Man, guys are so dense. Marina looked at Satoshi and Kenta. You guys are hopeless. She shook her head before she walked over to Hikari, who was practicing with Pochama to even notice her coming.
Kenta looked at Satoshi. "I suggest we get the girls and get going. Your first battle at the Battle Frontier is awaiting you." he told Satoshi.
Satoshi quickly nodded to Kenta and the two walked over to the girls to tell them that they're ready to start going.
Some time later...
Satoshi, Hikari, Kenta and Marina were nearing the Battle Frontier now. Satoshi in particular could not help discussing what lay ahead for them, he was so excited. Smiling slightly, the others politely responded and made conversation of their own. Hikari in particular couldn't help but think of his eager behavior as... Cute.
They were in the middle of such common conversations when Pikachu's ears suddenly perked up. "Pika?" He said, looking left and right, fully alert. "Pikachu, what's up?" Satoshi asked. The other three stopped. "What's wrong, Pikachu?" Hikari asked, breaking off a conversation with Marina about Coordinating. "Is something coming?" Pikachu's cheeks began to spark slightly, but he never could have predicted what happened next.
Looking around for the source of Pikachu's anxiety, Satoshi only had time to notice a shadow looming over him before he was lifted straight up into the sky. Stunned, Pikachu dropped to the ground. It took some time for the others to realize what had happened. When they looked up, they saw Satoshi being taken away by a steel-clad bird Pokemon; an Airmd.
"Satoshi!" Hikari cried out, too panicked to take any action. Luckily, though, Satoshi didn't seem to be. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Pikachu hesitated, he clearly did not want harm Satoshi.
"What are you waiting for? Just do it already!" Pikachu, now looking determined to get his master back, charged and released a powerful blast of electricity, striking Airmd. The Pokemon shrieked, but struggled not to let go. Satoshi, too, was trying to resist the powerful attack, for he was in contact with Airmd as well. Finally, the super-effective attack took its toll on Airmd. It dropped Satoshi, flying low enough so that he wasn't harmed by the drop, and then landing itself.
"Come on!" Hikari urged, as they began to run in an effort to cover whatever distance Airmd had managed to take Satoshi during the brief flight. Satoshi had landed only a few feet away, but Hikari could see he had been dropped at the feet of two people.
Trying to get to his feet, Satoshi stopped when he saw two pairs of feet planted right next to him. He looked up into the faces of the Rocket Gang's two remaining operatives, Buson and Basho. He didn't have time to even wonder who they were, for a bizarre-looking Steel Pokemon hovered alongside the men. "Hypnosis, Dotakun," Basho commanded. "We don't want our journey back to be difficult."
"Kun...Dota...Kun..." The Pokemon emitted sleep-inducing ripples, directing them at Satoshi and, sure enough, he was unable to resist the Psychic power. He dropped to the ground, unharmed, but unable to fight.
"Well done, my friend. Return." Basho said, recalling Dotakun to its Pokeball while Buson walked over the unconscious boy and lifted him up, throwing his limp body over his broad shoulder.
By this time, Hikari, Kenta and Marina had caught up. Seeing Satoshi's unconscious form thrown over Buson's shoulder made Hikari gasp in horror at what was happening. "Satoshi! No!" She glared at the criminals. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She spat in anger.
"Wait a moment," Kenta said. Only then did he seem to remember he and Marina had met these two. "Not you two again!" He exclaimed, his voice brimming with hatred.
"Didn't you learn the first time?" Marina added, her own anger sparking at seeing the two old foes.
Hikari looked back and forth between Kenta and Marina, this confusion was probably the only thing that could subdue her anger at the assault on Satoshi. "We've met before," Kenta supplied upon noticing Hikari's questioning expression.
"Yes indeed," Basho added. "We have been acquainted. Buson and I would certainly love to catch up with you but right now, we're kind of in hurry." He said and looked over at Buson. "Lets go," he said, earning a nod from Buson.
"What do you want with Satoshi?" Hikari yelled.
"That's none of your business. The only thing you need to know is he is vital to the restoration of the Rocket Gang." Hikari and Marina gasped at Basho's answer. What the heck did he mean by that?
"You can't do this!" Kenta yelled.
"I don't know who you are or how Satoshi will help you," Hikari shouted. "But you are not going to take him! I won't let you!" The venom in her voice actually earned the raise of an eyebrow from Buson.
"Oh would you look at that," Buson said in a mocking voice and looked at Basho. "This little girl here thinks she can save her boyfriend." He tried to keep himself from laughing before looking at Hikari. "What makes you think you can stop us?"
"This does!" Hikari took out a Pokeball and threw it in the air. "Eifie, lets go! We gotta save Satoshi!" One of the many evolutions of Eievui was released. Elfie was a purple Sun Pokemon with a red gem embedded in her forehead. "Eif-ieeee!" She cried.
Kenta and Marina withdrew Poke Balls of their own. A Bakphoon, Muma, Spear, and an Ordile appeared, all ready to fight as well." You won't get away from us without a fight!" Marina said.
"You have guts," Basho commended. "But violence is a common solution for you, is it not? This is not the case for us; the Rocket Gang has learned. And, as I said, we cannot afford to waste time with you." He nodded to Buson, who pulled out some kind of detonator. Hikari had a horrible premonition. "No, WAI-!"
But Buson pressed the trigger. There were no explosions. Instead, several gas bombs around Hikari, Kenta and Marina discharged, releasing eye- and lung-irritating toxins. Coughing, Hikari fought to keep the kidnappers in sight, but the smoke was too powerful. "E-eifie, return." Hikari coughed, aiming her Poke Ball at random spots. Thankfully, she hit her target and Eifie was recalled, but Hikari could not find the will to do more.
Kenta and Marina struggled to keep their eyes on Buson, Basho, and the unconscious Satoshi but the smoke was too powerful for them to withstand. Marina found herself getting weaker. "Spear, blow this smoke away!" Kenta struggled to command but his Spear did hear him and it wasn't long before the smoke was blown away by Spear.
Kenta, Marina, and Hikari looked at the spot where Buson and Basho had been before but to their horror, the two Team Rocket members used the smokescreen to escape. And with Satoshi too.
"PIKA-PI!" Pikachu shouted on realizing the that his master was absent from the group. He looked around hopelessly, and then stared at the floor, sadness brimming in his eyes. "Pikachu..." He said sadly a some tears made their way down his cheeks. He couldn't believe this had happened. His master, his best friend, had taken away from him.
Marina recovered next. "Those... evil..." She said haltingly. "They took Satoshi."
That brought Hikari back to reality. She was so unwilling to believe it, that she immediately got to her feet, and started looking left and right for a sign, any sign that Satoshi was still here. She expected to see him walking towards her any second, wearing that smile she loved seeing so much. But even she knew that was impossible. "S-satoshi..." She murmured weakly, nearly on the brink of tears.
"H-hikari..." Kenta began, but Hikari barely heard him. She fell to her knees, breathing heavily and fighting back tears. Finally, she could no longer restrict her emotions.
Hikari snapped, "SATOSHI!" She screamed to the heavens above, raising her arms begging them to forgive her. This was her fault, all of it. She had not been fast enough to rescue her friend. She had failed Satoshi. That did it. She fell to the ground and pounded her fists on the earth beneath, gritting her teeth in agonizing shame. Her tears flowed freely now, but she did not care. What was there to care about? The Rocket Gang had just abducted Satoshi. In the blink of an eye, the boy who was possibly her greatest friend ever, who had trained with her, comforted her, and spent time with her, had been taken away from her... Maybe even forever.
Kenta, Marina, Pikachu and Pochama could only watch in utter astonishment at the violence of Hikari's breakdown. Her emotions had broken through whatever cage Hikari had built up around them. She was having a complete emotional breakdown at her utter sense of failure.
"No, no!" Hikari cried, refusing to believe the obvious. "It isn't possible!" But that did more harm than good. Her tears soon developed into full-fledged sobs; she would never, ever have enough tears to compensate for the heart-wrenching guilt she felt at that moment. "I-I'm so sorry, S-satoshi," Hikari sniffled. "I... I failed you."
Finally, Pochama found the will to step up and try and bring Hikari back to reality. Hikari was now on all fours, in utter emotional agony. Gently, the Pokemon placed a fin on his beloved Trainer's arm. She reacted almost immediately, her head shooting up to look at the startled Pokemon. But Pochama regained his composure, merely staring into Hikari's eyes. The Pokemon's stout, proud expression ebbed away some of her turmoil, enough that she could speak. "I-It's all my fault, Pochama," She began, fighting back newly formed tears. Pochama just stared, looking directly into her eyes.
Even through all her emotion, Hikari couldn't help feel astonished at was Pochama was attempting to do; he seemed to understand just how fatally her plight had affected her, and knew that words would do little good. Seeing that she had regained control over herself, Kenta and Marina took the initiative.
"Those two, Buson and Basho," Kenta began, causing Hikari to bristle at the very mention of their names. "We've met them before; they're part of the Rocket Gang. But... I heard it had been finished off months ago!"
"Yeah, me too," Marina added. "Not to mention they seemed intent to actually revive the Rocket Gang. How would Satoshi help them with that anyway?" She sighed, realizing Hikari needed consolation, for whatever good it would achieve; she was as distraught as Marina had ever seen anyone. "Hikari, none of that was your fault, none of it! They had it all planned out; they must have hidden gas canisters underground and then just waited here. This was a trap. A trap for Satoshi."
"You don't understand, Marina," Hikari retorted, abruptly getting to her feet and pacing anxiously. "I should have done something. Satoshi has been by my side since I began my journey, and now I finally got the opportunity to return the favor. Not only did I fail, but..." She shook her head, clearly restraining her now-volatile emotions. "I may never get to see him again."
"Don't say that!" Kenta urged her. "He's your friend, you can't give up on him so easily! We can get him back, Buson and Basho are pushovers!"
Hikari looked at him. "I want to believe you, Kenta," She said quietly, "but I'm not willing to lie to myself. Not after this..."
Marina had had enough. "Hikari, tell me, how do you think Satoshi would react if he saw you in this state?" She asked in a scolding tone; she didn't want to make her feel worse, but this was the only way to get through to her. When Hikari did not answer, she continued: "He wouldn't want you beating yourself up like this and he wouldn't want you to think you'd failed him!" Hikari slowly turned to look up at the older girl, who lowered her voice, almost to a gentle whisper. "And he certainly wouldn't want you to think you'll never see him again."
"She's right, Hikari," Kenta added. "We've defeated these two before, and we can do it now! We can get Satoshi back! You can get Satoshi back, you can save him!" Hikari looked at him... And he took a step back. The blunette's usually bright, cheery sapphire eyes now held a powerful resolve in them. And venom. Hikari clearly wanted vengeance against the Rocket Gang for kidnapping Satoshi like this.
Marina seemed astonished as well. She had suspected feelings between the two, but not of such a strong magnitude as to provoke such a powerful lust for revenge in Hikari. Her feelings for Satoshi clearly rose above all others now. She wanted to redeem herself for failing Satoshi, and she would.
Even Pochama and Pikachu were surprised, the former walking up to his friend and hesitantly tapping her leg. She looked down, resolve burning in her eyes... But with a smile on her face. A confident, sure smile. She nodded once at Pochama, and then turned back to Marina and Kenta.
"You're right," Hikari said, her voice now firm and even. "They may have taken Satoshi from us, but they won't get far." The sudden, sheer confident voice startled both people and Pokemon. "We'll find them and make them pay." Her voice was genuinely cold, and it stunned Kenta and Marina speechless.
After a few moments, however, Marina managed to speak: "Uh, H-hikari," The other girl looked at her. "I think it would be wise to go back to Asiga's Pokemon Center and ask the police for help. We can give them descriptions of Buson and Basho, and they'll surely be willing to believe that the Rocket Gang is up to something!"
"Not to mention it'll be easier to track them down," Kenta added. Privately, Hikari couldn't help but wonder whether his agreeing with Marina was only to earn her feelings. "We can't do this alone, Hikari, like it or not."
Hikari considered trying to find a way around this. The police would no doubt arrest the Rockets and rescue Satoshi themselves. She was the only one who could do that, she had to do it. Otherwise, she would never be able to live down the fact that she had failed to protect Satoshi. Finally, she came to a decision. "That's fine with me, but..." She paused, long and purposefully, "I don't want the police to apprehend the Rocket Gang on their own; we have to stop them ourselves." She hesitated. "... I need to stop them and rescue Satoshi." Her tone was almost sad now.
Marina put a hand on Hikari's shoulder. She didn't react. "You're a true friend, Hikari," Marina said. "And you're right!" Her tone was encouraging. "We'll enlist the help of the police, have them track down the Rocket Gang, then... We can rescue Satoshi." After a few tense moments, Hikari nodded once.
Without a word, they turned and headed in the direction of Asiga City, all three of them wearing determined expressions. They had to do something to save Satoshi from his captors, they couldn't just abandon him when they need him the most. One way or another, they were going to save him. they have to. Satoshi is counting on them.
I am not going to let this go unpunished, Hikari thought, still fuming inside. We'll find the Rocket Gang... And I'll make them regret their actions, if it's the last thing I do.
Well, that's it. For now at least. As for Translations, here:
Spear: Beedrill
Mu-Chan: Little Miss
Ordile: Feraligator
Airmd: Skarmory
Asagi City: Olivine City
Satoshi: Oh no, what's going to happen to me?
Hikari: That blasted Rocket Gang. How dare they steal the man I love?
Marina: I knew you did.
Satoshi: What? *speechless*
Hikari: *thinks: did I say that out loud* Umm! No, you guys it all wrong! Erin, stop making them do that.
Erin: Why would I do that?
Hikari: Just please. Stop making them do that.
Erin: Ok, fine. I'll end the chapter here. I'm sure you guys want to know what's going to happen next but I'll be away for a couple of days so I won't be able to update till next week. Sorry, guys.
Erin,Satoshi,Hikari, Kenta,Marina,and Bolt: Bye readers :D