Chapter 4
He woke up to find himself surrounded by white walls. He could feel every inch of his body ache in pain. He appreciated all the times he and Monarch learnt to deal with pain in the wild as he forced himself to sit up. Having a better look around the room he was in, he noticed Daisy sleeping in the chair next to his bed. What had him worried was the bandage covering her left hand and wrist.
It was as he shivered from a draft through the open window that he realised Monarch wasn't in the room. He gently shook Daisy awake in hope of getting some answers.
"Derek!" Daisy screeches as she jumps on his bed throws her arms around him.
Derek winces in pain but otherwise doesn't push her away. Instead, he wraps his arms around her and pulls her tight against him. It had been years since the last time since he was able to hold her like this.
"Hey, do you know where Monarch is?"
Daisy pulls away from him and looks anywhere but at him. This worries Derek as Daisy has never been one to shy away from him.
"Daisy," Derek says forcefully, "where is my brother?"
A bandage covered Derek stumbles his way through the doors of the Lab. The first thing he notices is the amount of people. There was way more than what he was normally used to. The problem with this was the fact that most of the people in the Lab were not Professor Oak's lab assistants, they were League Officials. Derek took note of Dragon Master Lance and Elite 4 member Bruno standing next to a distressed Professor Oak. Red and Blue were leaning against one of the walls, looking very annoyed at everything going on around them. Their Pikachu and Jolteon were pacing back and forth in front of them in agitation. In the middle of the room was a sight that had Derek's rage tip over boiling point in an instant.
"Lance, I am warning for the last time, if you do not release these pokemon you will be making an enemy out of someone very dangerous!" exclaims the Professor.
"I can't do that Professor Oak. Their owner is now an accomplice in a multi-regional crime syndicate. I am confiscating them and will be arresting him as soon as he is released from the hospital." States a bored Lance.
"You are making a mistake Lance." Says a dangerously calm Red. "You haven't healed his Charmeleon at all. He will not be happy and you will be to blame for unleashing his anger."
In the wild, pokemon developed a 6th sense for danger. This helps many of the weaker pokemon from keeping away from those who would do them harm. It was this fact that caused all the pokemon released in the Lab to take note of Derek. Although many of the pokemon stepped back in fear, a few pokemon stepped up to take note of the threat. Lance's Dragonite and Bruno's Machamp stepped up to meet the threat. Pikachu and Jolteon moved to stand in front of Derek, facing the two bigger pokemon.
Derek ignored everyone around him as he made his way to the cage set up in the middle of the Lab. Everyone made way for him as anger radiated off of him in waves. He crouched down in front of the cage and the sight before him with him with so much pride and love that it almost matched the uncontrollable rage that was wanting to be let out.
In the cage was the still heavily injured Monarch. It looked as if he only received the bare minimum medical attention. What made Derek swell with pride and love was seeing Monarch curl his larger than normal body protectively around to pokemon eggs. Derek could easily make out the bloodstains covering the floor of the cage and smeared over the shells of the eggs.
"The day after we put you in the hospital, Hunter J came flying in with an egg in hand saying that she had to speed up the process but you would be able to figure out why." Blue breaks the silence. "Unfortunately, these helpful league officials came round after your battle due to it being felt all over Kanto. When they saw Hunter J drop off an egg for you they wanted to confiscate but as you can see, Monarch was quite against it. He battled anyone who tried to take it away from him, which in his condition it a very impressive feat. Dragon Master Drake arrived yesterday to drop off the egg you told us about. We instantly gave it to Monarch. As you can see, they had to contain Monarch. He collapsed from exhaustion a few hours ago."
"Derek," the Professor calls out softly, "they had to restrain Daisy when she wouldn't leave Monarch's side."
Derek doesn't acknowledge that he heard any of what was said. He kept his eyes fixed on a sight before him. A tear escaped his left eye yet he made no motion to wipe it away.
"To think, the first time I see accepting other pokemon into our family would be as you are protecting them with your life." Derek says in a quiet voice that carried through the entire silent lab. "You truly are worthy of your name and title, dear Brother."
Derek stands up from his crouched position and turns around to the glare of Lance's Dragonite head on. Without taking his eyes off of the pure dragon specimen before him, he addresses all the league officials in the room.
"You come to my home town; you lock up my family, my un-hatched children; you hurt one of the only people I have ever loved; you force my brother to protect his family while he is on the brink of death." The calm tone Derek uses scares everyone there more than anything else most of them have experienced in their life. "Allow me to show you why my family name was so feared during the poke-wars."
Derek walks around the cage until he isn't between it and the two champion level pokemon anymore.
"Monarch!" everyone steps back in fear as the fearsome Charmeleon's eyes snap open before landing on his trainer. "Hunt!"
Primal rage filled eyes wandered around the room, assessing who was a threat and who wasn't. Monarch gently unwrapped himself from around the eggs before walking to the bars of the cage. His claws shine for just a second before he swiped at the bars, shattering them into pieces.
Monarch steps out of the cage with the grace of a King raised from birth, which is the exact way Derek moulded him to be.
"Monarch," Derek calls out as he makes his way into the cage, "the Professor has important equipment inside here. Take it outside."
Red and green energy surrounds Monarch as he falls forward onto all four paws. Once dragon dance is done powering him up his body becomes in cased in a white aura. He pushes off the ground with so much force he leaves cracks.
Before anyone has the chance to react, Monarch slams into both Dragonite and Machamp using the combined power of quick attack and dragon rush. Both pokemon get flung out the side of the building with such force that it completely obliterates the wall. Monarch calmly stand back up on two feet before walking after them in without a care in the world, the rage in his eyes and dragon dance energy around him the only indicator that he is anything but calm.
Derek meanwhile, was in the cage carefully picking up the two eggs. He knew the only reason Monarch left their side was because he was certain Derek would take care of them.
"Welcome to this chaotic family, Little Ones." He says warmly to the un-hatched eggs. Without taking his eyes off the eggs he addresses Lance and Bruno. "You might want to go out and help your weak-ass pokemon before Monarch kills them. If you leave now, they could probably get away with some mild-to-severe maiming."
"What was the move you called out, 'hunt'?" Lance calls out curiously. He was unconcerned by Charmeleon battling his Dragonite. There was no way the little pokemon would be able to defeat his champion level pokemon no matter how strong he is. "And while we're at it, hand over the pokemon you used to fight Professor Oak's Charizard."
"Before today, I only had Monarch as a part of my family of pokemon. He was the one to fight Charizard." Derek says to the shock of everyone who didn't witness brutal battle. "Right now, the same pokemon who fought against the strongest Charizard in the world, the very same pokemon whose family you have threatened, is outside doing everything in his power to kill your pokemon."
A moment later Lance and Bruno rush out of the hole in the wall only to be sent flying back inside.
"I told you before, you are about to witness why my family was so feared."
The sounds of battle and cries of pain and anguish filled the ears of everyone in the lab. Lance suddenly jumps up and shouts at the league officials.
"Don't just stand there! Get out there and help fight that monster!"
They snap into motion and rush to get outside only to be stopped by two lightning bolts. They turn around to be confronted by the current Kanto Champion and the Viridian Gym Leader.
"Red! Blue! What are you doing?" asks an angry Bruno.
"Helping out my God-brother." Red states.
Before anyone can do anything else, a ground shaking roar is heard from outside. Even Derek stops in his care to look out of the hole in the wall.
"Well then… that's not good." Says an astonished Derek.
Outside of the lab, surrounding the once battling pokemon, was Professor's Oak full championship team. What many don't know or don't remember is that the Professor's full team is probably one of the strongest Kanto has ever produced. On top of having the strongest Charizard in the world, the Professor's Dragonite was considered to be in the top 3, easily eclipsing Lance's own. Next you had the psychic of the team, Alakazam, one very powerful pokemon able to go toe-to-toe with any other pokemon on the team. Slithering around through the air is a very large Gyarados, the scratches and kinks in its hide the proof and evidence of all the battles it had gone through. Lastly, keeping an eye on the approaching crowd was Arcanine and Electivire.
While the Professor gave up his battling days decades ago, his pokemon continued to train and go out into the wild in search of worthy opponents. They were all larger than most of their species due to being significantly more powerful than what the norm was.
Currently Monarch was being held down by Charizard, snarling in rage at being taken away from his prey. Bruno's Machamp was lying in a pool of its own blood, one of his four arms lying on the ground next to him, detached from his body. Lance's Dragonite was lying face down on the ground, one of its wings having been clearly torn off without remorse.
"Enough." The quiet command silences everything in an instant. Besides his pokemon team, all eyes turn towards the now intimidating figure of Professor Oak. "Lance, take these people away from my town before I show you just how outclassed you truly are once I am angered." The Professor stared at Lance with a blank look upon his face. "Believe me when I say that I am at boiling point right now. I warned, I told you, that you were making a mistake here yet you refused to listen. You allowed your idiotic pride to take over. After having been beaten by two 10-year-olds in one day you still believe you are invincible. Look at your pokemon! Your strongest pokemon is crippled lying in a pool of its all blood! Does that look fucking invincible to you?"
Lance lowers his head in shame and humiliation. He knew this was all his fault. He never believed for a second that he could ever be defeated like he was when he lost his title.
"Since you got your title back, by default might I add, you have not trained any of your pokemon at all. You have allowed them to become complacent. I am not even certain that you would be able to keep your title if someone new was to come around and defeat the Elite 4. The sight of you right now disgusts me."
The Professor turns his back on Lance and makes his way over to Monarch who is still held down by his Charizard. He was only mildly surprised to see the young Charmeleon still struggling even though he clearly was in no shape to fight.
"Monarch, calm down. The Little Ones are safe." Derek says as he walks into the view the injured pokemon.
"Charizard." The Professor calls. "Go to your training grounds and prepare for another. It looks like you have finally found yourself an heir."
"Huh… okay well that's all well and good but I got to get Monarch healed up and these two hatched. Could you perhaps put a halt to the trip for around a month? There's some things that only Monarch can teach them and I want that to happen before he leaves."
"That's a good idea." The Professor says thoughtfully. "I am not too sure how long Charizard will keep him at the training grounds so do whatever you have to do as soon as possible."
Derek returns Monarch to his poke-ball and then walks off into the forest. Everyone watches him walk away until he is out of sight.
"I am definitely going to up my training." Blue says to Red, loud enough for everyone to hear him.
"I know what you mean. There's no way I plan on losing to him again." Red replies.
The sun was just about to be hidden by the horizon by the time Derek made it back to the Lab. Instead of taking the long way around and entering through the back door, he decided to just step right through the hole in the wall that hadn't been repaired yet.
"How?" Derek turns his head to find the Professor sitting alone inside the large room. "My Charizard was the first pokemon I caught on my team. Even though Dragonite is the better fighter, Charizard was, and still is, my team's powerhouse. He gained that power through decades of training and battling. How did you manage to get Monarch up to that level within seven years?"
Derek takes a moment to consider answering the question. He walks over to a table and starts undressing.
"You were there when he hatched, when I received the case of everstones from my mother, and you were there when I couldn't stand to be in my own home anymore." Derek says as he begins to unwrap the bandages from his boy. "The very first move I had him learn was quick attack and how to maintain it. When my mother died, I had to leave. I made my way straight to the base of Mt Silver and that's where I built one of my many homes around the regions. The only time in six years that I used technology to feed, heal, or even just help us was my mother's old pokedex to look at map routes and the once a year check up at a poke-centre to have Nurse Joy use the Ditto procedure to fix us up good as new."
Derek spreads his arms and turns around. The Professor had to force himself to not look away from all the scars covering the young man before him. No child, nor adult, should ever have to go what he went through in his life.
"I was lucky to end up with Monarch as my partner. Even before my mother's death, he had a thirst for battle that only the alpha pokemon in the world had. As much as I hate to admit it, her death was what solidified our bond, ensuring that nothing would ever break it." Derek begins wrapping himself up again. "While travelling, I went to many places the league would definitely not approve of. I basically lived in the underground world. I learnt many things about a number of different subjects. It was there that I learnt about my father and what he had done… what he was the indirect cause of."
The Professor gets up and walks over to a cabinet. When he returns, he brings back with him a bottle of amber liquid and to whiskey glasses. He places the glasses on the table and pours the amber liquid into both of them. Without hesitation, he slides one over in the direction of Derek.
"I take full responsibility for Giovanni. I had the chance to stop him but I let chose to see a good in him that hadn't been there for years by that point." The Professor takes a big gulp of his drink. "I could not stop your father. Unlike you, he already had three decades under his belt. Three decades in where he created a team that was almost capable of beating my own. If I had my full team back then, I know I could have gone toe-to-toe with him. I'm not sure I would have one, but I'm not sure I would have lost either."
Derek sits at the table and picks up the glass in front of him. He tilts it to the Professor before finishing it all in just a few sips. He places it on the table and slides it back to the Professor.
"Its that exact reason why I don't hold any of what happened against you." Derek says with a small smile on his face as he watches amber liquid being poured back into his glass. "Having a full team of pokemon trained in close to the same way I trained Monarch is a frightening thing to go up against. What takes most trainers, yourself included, a lifetime to achieve, he was able to do in a few decades. For all the hatred and anger I have towards him, the prospect of pitting my very own team against his is something that I very much look forward to." Derek sips on his drink.
"Quick attack was a literal life saver. Once I found out what it was my father accomplished, I set out to do exact what he was attempting… but better. Everything I had Monarch do was purely natural and very primitive. He ate from the carcasses of the pokemon he defeated. I healed our wounds through natural substances. We went to harshest places in every single region and went against the beasts that inhabit them. When we lost, and we only lost back then, we would run. The scars I showed you are the cause of what happened when we weren't quick enough. When we were caught we fought our way out. We took survival of the fittest to a whole new meaning.
I set his bones back into place and he set mine. We sat in freezing cold temperatures until he was forced to increase his inner fire so we wouldn't freeze to death. I had him spend days trying to melt boulders, ice-bergs, anything that we could find really. After finding out that my father was responsible for what hangs around Red's neck, I knew I had to push Monarch and myself to the doors of death if we wanted a chance at beating him."
Both Derek and the Professor sit and drink in silence, each of them lost in memories only they can see.
"What are your plans?" the Professor asks after awhile. "You must know that he has only gotten stronger over the years."
"He created an army so it only makes sense that I create one as well. It's for that reason why I plan on entering into the leagues and competing against as many trainers as possible. While he works on quantity, I shall build mine on quality." Derek finishes off his drink and stands up. He makes his way towards the door while speaking in a voice that sent shivers up the Professor's spine. "He plans on creating a team of Legendries… I plan on raising one."
review and let me know what you think. one of the things i don't like about the anime verse and some of the game verse is the fact that there seems to be no difficulty to beating the elite 4 of each region once you manage to collect all 8 badges or win the league. i also don't like the fact that ash manages to win without training his pokemon. Red and Blue are different because they managed to complete the pokedex. if you think you can do that and not have your pokemon become strong then you are very much mistaken.