8 – Your Courage Leads Me On
It's hard to read her this morning. She woke up late and was very tired and groggy after getting up. She wanted a shower right away but otherwise showed no other motivations. Her mood was strangely blank, as if her emotions were absent. I initially chalked it up to having expended herself on crying the night before. We ate breakfast and got ourselves ready. I called in to the Gym and told Lisa I would be taking the day off.
When picking a dress, my first choice was to reach for a pair of somber bone-white kimonos, the traditional attire for a funeral. I hesitated, grimacing. We were attending an execution, not a funeral. Would this be appropriate?
"No," Jasmine said, answering my question for me and motioning for me to hold off. She silently insisted we wear our normal outfits: I in my yellow kimono, her in her new green sundress and cardigan.
The trip to Hightower Park felt long. For me, it was one long journey of remorse. Each building, each landmark passed by was a reminder of history long gone by. My friend seemed anxious; she wanted us to hurry and walked ahead of me.
"Look at that," she said, pointing.
On arrival, I marked eight police vans- and then also several other vehicles. Firetrucks. Black SUVs belonging to some government agency. A white news van with a broadcasting dish on top. A short bus marked with the seal of the Pokemon League. A construction truck. In fact, the street seemed quite crowded and busy.
"There she is!"
A police officer spotted us and hurried to meet us.
"Captain Norland wanted to meet you."
"Captain?" I asked, confused.
"Well, it's complicated. I'll let him explain." The officer ushered us further on.
Something was amiss.
My sadness was replaced by fear.
Evan was conferring with seven or eight other officials at the edge of the pond. He looked up, saw us, and his face filled with relief.
"What is going on? 'Captain' Norland? Were you promoted?"
"Just this morning," Evan replied. "Former captain was arrested on conspiracy and drug trafficking."
"That's no different than…" I began, pointing underneath between us.
He leaned in to whisper.
"Truth, he wanted the mayor to take over the Moon Dust business directly. Mayor didn't like the insubordination."
"Oh. So you as the loyal lackey got promoted in his stead." My mood soured. "Then what about the Oddish? Are you still going to exterminate them?"
Evan frowned.
"Have you already done it?"
Evan's grim face did not flinch.
"What have you done?"
He spoke up.
"The reason I wanted to see you," he began. "Did you tell Petrel?"
"Yes," I answered, unhappy in the way Evan seemed to be accusing me. "Of course I told him, he forced me to come to him and give a report. What you all were going to do wasn't exactly a secret."
The young man sighed, exasperated and annoyed.
"You know I'm right," I insisted. He nodded, agreeing. "So what of it? Have you killed the Oddish or not?"
"Don't say 'kill'."
"Have you?"
Evan shrugged.
"Go see for yourself."
He waved me away, and in a curt conversation instructed the officers to let us through. I tugged Jasmine in the direction of the hidden garden.
"Well?" she asked.
"I don't know. He wouldn't say. Um, you might want to prepare yourself, in case they've already carried out the procedure."
The hike was laborious, but not as much as before. A crude path had seemingly been bulldozed up the side of the hill. What we found at the top took me by surprise.
"It's… they're… gone."
The Oddish were nowhere to be seen. The silvery fronds of plant matter, both sentient and non-sentient, had been stripped out completely. Here and there, some refuse and leftovers, but by and large the flora had been ripped out and removed. The shallow pool of water was completely drained. Perhaps, most astonishingly, the white boulder was also missing, a gaping hole left in its place.
I stared blankly. Jasmine looked at me, more interested in my expression than the empty devastation of the grotto.
"We didn't do this."
A voice, Evan's, came from behind me.
"What?"
"We found it this way when we got here."
"You're lying," I said.
"I'm not. We came in this morning and the place was already ransacked."
"Didn't you have a guard on duty?"
"No, not up here. Down by the entrance, and on patrol around the perimeter, but no one wanted to spend the night up here in the woods. Somehow someone snuck inside without us knowing."
"Who?" I uttered.
"Who do you think?"
I inhaled.
"Maybe your blabbing didn't tip off Petrel, but there's no way to prove it didn't spur him to act sooner."
"Shh!" I flitted my eyes to my friend- who was tipping her head to the side.
"So? What's up?" she asked.
"The thugs who were running the drug trade came in and ransacked the place. The Oddish are probably all dead already, fodder for their narcotic," Evan callously explained.
"That's horrible," Jasmine said.
"Yeah well it makes my job a lot harder. Now your Pokemon are dead and we still have to deal with one last wave of Moon Dust addicts. Ah hell. The withdrawal symptoms are bad enough. We were going to use the euthanized creatures to make a diluted serum to help the addicts wean off, but now we're borked."
He shook his head in frustration. "Those thugs screwed us over badly." He stared me in the eye. I knew what he was getting at.
No one wins here.
The Rockets may have gotten a massive harvest from this crude culling, but the purity and quality won't be anything like when I was in charge of the harvest. Their temporary good fortune will vanish quickly, their steady income will dry up, and they may turn desperate and violent in order to continue to fund their criminal violations.
The mayor is hurt twice over. Corpish will receive no election campaign money from the Rockets, nor will he gain any respect from the public for his anti-drug campaign- not when a brief but violent wave of substance abuse is about to hit the city. Evan and I's position was in jeopardy, we may not be able to count on the mayor's protection in this fiasco. The mayor himself might not escape prosecution.
Worse, the entire reason I risked my career, my dignity, and my safety was to protect the innocent Oddish- and I've failed miserably. They're gone. This is not all my fault, there is one evil man in the world who bears most of the blame. Yet, I'm not guiltless either, and the feeling that I could have done more is just now starting to set in.
"Still can't figure out how they moved the boulder though. Dang." Evan shook his head in disbelief. "I'll contact you later. See ya."
He waved goodbye. In due course, the yellow tape was stripped down and the throng of police left. We were left alone, Jasmine and I.
"They were your personal charge, weren't they?" she said. I nodded. "You cared for them, a lot, didn't you?"
"They were like my family," I said. "I was supposed to protect them. Do you have any idea what this feels like?"
"Yes," she said, sitting beside me. She laid her head on my shoulder, and we sat there for a long time.
Her voice broke the silence, voicing something she had been thinking about in the midst of the tragedy.
"I do know how you feel. I have a Pokemon I'm supposed to take care of. Once upon a time, something happened, and I…" and she fell silent.
Her Ampharos, I think she is talking about- although this is the first time I'm hearing about any sort of incident involving it. Yet she must have changed her mind about telling me mid-sentence. Whatever tale she had intended to reveal never came out.
"Let's go down. I don't feel well in this place," I said.
"Right. Understandable."
She helped me down the hill slope and across the rocky shore. The last gap between traversable boulders required a long hop. She happily jumped in the water, up to her knees, and held her hands out. I took them and used them as a crutch to clear the murky water without wetting myself. Her hands were warm, and dirty, and unexpectedly rough.
"They're all gone."
"No, there's one. Oh, it's Evan."
Evan Norland stood in the middle of the park, still as a statue, with only his eyes wandering about and taking in the scene. As soon as we came within view, his stare locked onto us and held there. His intense gaze lasered in on us, never wavering as we approached.
"I'm not in a mood to talk to you," I said. "What else do you want?"
"I told you. We wouldn't come after you. I want her." Evan raised his finger and pointed directly at Jasmine.
Those awful words returned to the fore of my memory and I suddenly realized it was not Evan standing before us.
"Jasmine, get behind me."
"What is it?"
"GET BACK." I forcibly shoved her behind my back. I did not turn away from "Evan". His eyes did not leave me.
"What's wrong? Why is he acting funny?"
"Show me your face," I demanded. He obliged. The prosthetic mask was ripped off and tossed on the ground. The purple-stained wisp of a mohawk and goatee appeared underneath. The disgusting facsimile of Evan's face wobbled and warped as it hit the grass.
"I know that voice. Is that Lepert? Why does he look so much younger?" Jasmine asked, confused.
"His name is Petrel, Jasmine."
"You know him?"
I shook my head. "There's no one in this world that knows him. He hides his true self behind an endless parade of masks and fake personas. I only know "of" him." I gritted my teeth, and then clarified. "He is the monster who is responsible for killing the Oddish."
"Oh… um, well." Jasmine popped her head from behind my back. "Are you the drug dealer?"
Perhaps what terrified me the most is how little he spoke. In all the times we'd spent together (albeit none of them cordial), I'd never known him to be quiet or soft-spoken. Now, however, he wasn't saying a word. He simply pulled on a pair of white leather gloves, and reached behind him to take out several objects.
They looked like Pokeballs.
Of course. That is what this would come down to.
"Hey! What do you have to say for yourself?! Huh? Drugs are horrible, they ruin people's lives! They're gross too! And you're hurting innocent Pokemon to get your fix? You'd better apologize!" Jasmine shouted.
"Jasmine, this isn't going to be settled with words."
"Huh? Oh." She saw me withdraw my Pokeballs.
"Stand back."
Heart racing, I knew better than to hold back. This was no sanctioned battle.
"Vileplume, Victreebel, Tangela, Gloom, Exeggcute, Clefairy."
My six Pokemon materialized before me, forming a wall between us and the villain.
Petrel flung what looked like handfuls of birdseed through the air. I was confused, and then surprised, when I saw the individual specks balloon into full-fledged Pokeballs.
"Mini Balls," I murmured- Pokeballs able to shrink to one-tenth the size of regular Pokeballs, making them compact and easy to carry in bulk. However, they had a limit on the size, weight, and power of the Pokemon they could carry.
Which means-
"KOOOOFFFF!"
The forty or fifty Koffing facing us were not too strong.
"Oh really."
My mind started racing through every lesson I had learned over the course of my Pokemon battling career.
He'll use these Koffing to Self Destruct in order to wear down my Pokemon, to lay down a Smokescreen, and to buy his stronger Pokemon time to set up.
He has Raticate, Fearow, and Weezing. He might also have borrowed some of the Pokemon from Giovanni's personal cache. They would be much stronger than his own Pokemon, but less experienced and less obedient.
Raticate will use Dig. Fearow will Fly. They'll try to attack in an earth/air pincer maneuver. Weezing will prepare Fire Blast or Will-o-Wisp, or maybe a Poison attack on Tangela and Exeggcute.
Very well.
Let me show him what I'm capable of.
"Clefairy, Sunny Day. Tangela, Vine Whip, Wrap, ground. Vileplume, Sleep Powder. Victreebel, target last, Solar Beam!"
It all happened very quickly.
Clefairy snapped her fingers. The sunlight brightened artificially and the air became hot. Tangela buried a pair of vines into the ground. Vileplume launched a compact ball of spores at the nearest Koffing. It hit and exploded into a small cloud of sleeping agent. Victreebel's Solar Beam charged nigh-instantly and fired across the narrowing gap, detonating on the sleeping Koffing. The beam triggered the Koffing's Self Destruct prematurely, not only blowing itself up, but also spreading the cloud of Sleep Powder all across the charging horde of gas bags. Within moments the majority had fallen to the ground, snoring restfully.
"Tanga!"
Tangela had found Raticate underground and managed to get her vines around it. Unfortunately, the Raticate was stronger and was pulling Tangela underground. Their struggle became a tug-o-war, and my Pokemon was losing.
"Tangela, can you show us where the Raticate is?"
I was keeping my eye on the sky.
A glint crossed my vision, and before I could react Tangela was drilled through by a blur of brown. Fearow banked gracefully out of its dive-bombing Drill Peck.
It used the Sunny Day to hide in the sun. Curse it!
"Vileplume, Victreebel, combine your Solar Beams, swat the bird from the sky."
The Flying-type's resistance would not avail it with double the power bearing onto it. However, the ray of sunfire, massive though it was, was too unwieldy to hit the dodging foe. Fearow tipped and turned, easily avoiding the Solar Beams. My Pokemon couldn't hit it, but neither could it approach. We were at a stalemate, at least until the Sunny Day petered out.
"Exeggcute, Confusion."
Exeggcute used psychic pulses to down the remaining Koffing one by one. Raticate broke out of the ground, tipping over Tangela and nearly finishing her off.
"Protect."
Raticate's fangs crunched down hard on a shimmering shield, breaking the tips of its teeth in the process. The oversized vermin backed off, screeching in pain.
"Good job Clefairy."
"Clef clef!"
"Wish for Tangela. Vileplume, Solar Beam the Raticate!"
I immediately turned without watching the results of my command.
"Victreebel, Weather Ball!"
The harsh sunlight was beginning to fade. This would be the last chance my two power-hitters would have to utilize it.
"Gloom, Mega Drain."
Raticate had turned on Clefairy, dealing critical damage with a Hyper Fang to the poor creature. Her Wish successfully healed Tangela, thankfully.
Fearow was unleashing Whirlwinds and using a combination of Sand Attack and Double Team to disguise its location.
The last Koffing fell to the ground a mere foot from Exeggcute- but not fainted. The bag of noxious fumes glowed.
"Ex, back up!"
Too late. The ball of fire and thunder flashed across the battlefield. Exeggcute was consumed. I was flung over, as were the other combatants.
I looked down into the grass, staring at my hands. There was red covering them, and for a moment I was afraid it was blood. Scrunching my fist, the substance felt wet, but cold.
Mud.
The ground shivered.
Something is coming.
Fearow swept by, taking a potshot at Clefairy while she struggled with Raticate. The Drill Peck slashed across her backside. She fainted. Gloom rushed in with another Mega Drain to try to help her.
"Glllm!"
My Pokemon was suddenly trampled under and flattened. The dust cloud above her dissipated, revealing a monstrous creature: Rhydon.
"Rhuuuur." A low, guttural, threatening roar came from deep in its throat.
I looked beyond.
Petrel was directing his Pokemon with what looked like a remote control. He took turns talking into it and fiddling with the switches. I don't know how that gadget works, I'm sure Jasmine does, but I wager if I knocked it out he wouldn't be able to command his Pokemon so well from such a distance.
Yet, I didn't have the luxury to think that far ahead. Yet another Pokemon joined the fray: Nidoking.
The mass of horns and muscle jumped headlong into the fray, pounding the earth and roaring.
"Oh dear."
What is the Weezing up to?
"Tangela, Root Trap."
They were prepared. As soon as Tangela unleashed its roots, Nidoking unleashed a violent Earth Power, ripping the ground apart.
"Vileplume, Stun Spore!"
Vileplume jumped bravely forward. The three grounded enemies leapt at her all at once.
"Power Whip!"
Vileplume unleashed a cloud of paralyzing spores all around her. Raticate backed off just in time. The heavyweights Body Slammed her simultaneously. The spores covered them, getting into their skin and lungs. The paralysis was soon evident, their hides spazzing and their movements greatly disrupted. Still, it was a small victory- Vileplume was badly hurt after bearing the brunt of their combined body weights landing on her.
Then Victreebel came in with its one dominant vine bulged up, as if super-charged with steroids, and let rip a crushing blow. The vine caught Rhydon first, ripping through the rock hide and smashing the brute into the Nidoking. The pair tumbled across the field. The latter dug itself out from underneath the former. The Poison-Ground was hurt, but not out. The Rock-Ground was out cold, and judging by the deep red welt across its flank and the sickening angle of its misaligned limbs, would not fight again for the next year.
A pity, for a Pokemon to suffer because of its owner's-
Raticate jumped in and mangled Vileplume with a Hyper Fang.
This is no time to pity the foe's Pokemon.
Tangela was busy dodging a furious Nidoking. The monster was Stomping and breathing Flamethrowers, hurting my bundle of seaweed but not quite knocking her out.
Victreebel and Fearow were at it, entangled with one another. The enemy bird let loose a Gust, disorienting Victreebel and giving the foe freedom. It used this freedom to gain Victreebel's backside. It lifted its head and readied its long, razor-like beak.
"No!"
A flash.
"I got it!" Jasmine cried. Her Magnemite stood on guard, magnetic nodes crackling with electricity.
"Thanks!" I said. That was useful, my Grass-types had no easy way to disable the Fearow. Victreebel bounced clear of the threatening beak and rejoined the main battle. Fearow wanted to pursue, but was zapped in the back by another Thunder Shock. It turned angrily on Jasmine's Pokemon.
She can't handle that one. She has the overwhelming type advantage. As long as I keep these other Pokemon away from her…
Weezing was at last applying itself. The massive, over-bloated Pokemon was using a scary combo- Fire Blast and Poison Gas. I could tell, seeing as the flames not only singed Vileplume, but turned the tips of her flower petals a sickly shade of yellow.
"Victreebel, Leaf Storm! Vileplume, Petal Dance!"
I made a molding motion with my hands.
"Tangela, Wrap!"
I pointed to the ground.
My three remaining Pokemon understood.
Petrel contorted his face in the distance. He began furiously smashing the buttons of the remote control.
Raticate darted in.
Weezing spewed fire.
Nidoking pounded the earth.
The attacks came all at once, blowing up the earth and lifting a massive cloud of dust and grass to obscure the battlefield.
"Please!" I begged the gods for my plan to have worked, even clasping my hands in prayer.
"Nido!"
"Ratta!"
The dust cleared out. The leaves and grass shavings floated down like a premature autumn. The six Pokemon stood in close proximity to one another, heaving and recovering from the onslaught. They were very close, actually, the first to recover their strength could strike out and win the battle. It looked like my Pokemon had gotten the worst of the exchange- they weren't even moving.
Petrel jeered. He didn't realize what I was after, and what small victory my Pokemon had accomplished. They had managed to relocate the fight closer to his side of the field. Or more precisely, the six combatants stood right amidst the horde of sleeping Koffing.
"Retreat!" I commanded.
Petrel had been fiddling with the remote, looking flustered, but his attention was raised by my shout. He quickly grasped the situation, realized both the danger and the opportunity it presented.
"Weezing, rise up and blow them all apart! Detonate the Koffing with Will-o-Wisp!"
"Weez? Weeeeez! Weeeeeeez!" The mighty blimp strained and struggled, but couldn't lift itself into the air.
"What are you, trapped?" He looked closer.
A multitude of thin vines crisscrossed the ground, interwoven with the roots of the grass and entangling the feet and bodies of the Pokemon. Raticate tried gnawing its way out, but couldn't; the strands were too flexible and slender to yield to its incisors. The other enemies were in a similar situation.
"Well blabberfab! Look, her Pokemon aren't moving anywhere either! It's a double-edged trap! Weezing, blow yourself up! Now! Catch them all in the kaboom!"
"Weehehhe!" Weezing shook its body in the negative. It didn't want to kamikaze.
"I said detonate yourself! What are you griping about? You lousy, useless, landlocked limp-gogged larynx of fart gas! I'll force ya!"
Petrel smashed the remote control device. An electric shock jolted through Weezing's body. It grimaced.
An obedience collar of some sort? How crude! How deplorable! How fortunate for me!
"Explode!" Petrel screamed, jamming the button down as hard as he could. Weezing tensed up, and then gave out. It sighed, resigning itself to destruction, I assume. From within the gas chutes riddling its body, a fiery red glow streamed out.
Only then, expecting the area to be lit like the blazing dawn of a solstice morning, did Petrel focus his gaze on the foe.
"'Wah? Wait, no!"
The Explosion detonated with a swift fury. Its fireball rippled through the sleeping Koffing, blowing them up each in turn, beginning a chain reaction that wiped out every last enemy Pokemon in sequence and consumed the battlefield in ash and flame.
"Owww!" Jasmine was covering her ears. The bang of the explosion had not spared my eardrums either, even though I was expecting it. I peered over to her. Fearow was not quite fainted, but was on the ground and struggling. The two Magnemite were taking turns zapping it with Thunder Shock, effectively neutralizing the foe.
"What happened? Are your Pokemon safe?" she asked.
"They are, right here."
Tangela, Victreebel, and Vileplume jumped out from behind a row of bushes. Petrel's attempt to take them all down in one fell explosion was foiled.
"Substitute! Decoys! You cuss-mustard!"
Indeed, as Petrel says, during the upheaval my Pokemon whipped up clay and grass to mold a trio of Substitute look-alikes. Weezing was not fooled, it had a point-blank view, and resisted its master's command to Explode knowing it was futile. When the fireballs began blossoming, my Pokemon were diving for cover, well out of reach. Petrel's lack of respect for his Pokemon was proving to be his downfall.
"I've known you long enough, Petrel. I can predict your underhanded tactics and blatant disregard for the well-being of your own Pokemon. That is how I won."
"If you knew me so well," Petrel growled, "you'd know I wouldn't let the outcome of a stupid Pokemon battle settle things."
He held up something in his hand. Another Pokeball? A laser darted out from the sphere, and I readied myself for yet another foe.
When the laser flew straight and tapped Vileplume on the head and my Pokemon vaporized into a cloud of digital particles, my expression turned to shock.
What… what just happened?
Where is Vileplume?
Before I could register the fate of my Petal Pokemon, the same happened to Tangela and Victreebel.
"Ah, good, it worked."
Did he just turn my Pokemon into ash? He- couldn't. He wouldn't. There's no way!
It also didn't seem like that was what happened. The particles I saw during Petrel's attack reminded me of Pokeball energy, not atomized organic matter.
It was silly, but I had to check my own sash, to make sure my Pokeballs were still there. They were. Yet…
Impossible! Had he just captured my Pokemon? They're registered, they're owned, no one else should be able to digitize them!
"Hehehe. You look confused."
"Capture Balls?" I said with a startling realization.
"Nope! Snag Balls! Well, I'll give you partial credit, they're related, use the same technology, developed by the same scientist. The difference is that Capture Balls are a tad limited, just kiddy toys the League prefers to use. These babies," Petrels said, indicating the purple and white balls he was juggling between his hands, "have one little modification."
"What?"
Petrel threw the three Snag Balls onto the field all at once. Vileplume, Tangela, and Victreebel reappeared. A chill ran through my spine. My Pokemon showed no signs of relief or confusion. They were upright, attentive, and facing me with an unwavering focus.
"Mind control," Petrel said with glee.
"That's not possible," I uttered.
I was proven wrong. I was shown how wrong when a Razor Leaf ripped off Victreebel's vine and sliced through my dress. Pain shot up my limbs, drawing a gasp out of me. There was blood on my arm and thigh from where thin, deep cuts had appeared.
"Hey Plume Plume, try Stun Spore."
The next sensation I was treated to was the violent and painful constriction of my muscles. My limbs wouldn't move. It was hard just to breath. I would tell you it hurt more to see my own Pokemon turned against me, but that would be a lie. My body was in torture, and my mind could not conceptualize much beyond the agony. It took a minute to even realize I was on the ground, writhing pathetically in the grass.
"Graveler! Roll Out!"
A living boulder rolled past my vision.
"Woah! Hold yer horses, your turn is next! Mega Drain, you lot."
"Grrrv…"
"Eh, wow. Okay, try Vine Whip."
The same stubby boulder went flying in the opposite direction, not under its own volition.
"Kkk, and you're a Gym Leader? Grass versus Rock, basic type advantages little girl, you'd better learn them. C'mere, I'll teach you."
No!
I can't let him have Jasmine!
I willed myself onto one side. In one corner of my vision I saw Petrel advancing, taking his time, walking in that senseless zigzag pattern. On the other side, Jasmine was standing her ground, but was obviously scared. She was shaking badly.
"Watching, Erika? I told you. I warned you. You screwed me over. You tattled to the cops and forced their hand, and look what they did. Now you've lost your precious Oddish, and I've lost my pay dirt. Now I'm a nice, forgiving guy, you know that? So here's what's what. I'll be gentle, and just f- up this young friend of yours, and depending on how good it feels I'll even keep her alive, you know, for repeat use. See? You don't have to get hurt. You don't have to do anything. Nothing at all. Nothing bad will happen to you. All you have to do is- watch."
No. No!
Jasmine's Magnemite tried their best. Their Thunder Shocks were no use against my strong Grass-types. It was as the ruthless man said, basic type matchups couldn't be overcome. Defensively, the Magnemite were better off due to their Steel-typing, but that only meant it took three Mega Drains to knock them out instead of one. In the end, Jasmine was left defenseless and I was left to watch in horror.
"Maybe you should run, little girl. I like playing tag."
Jasmine shook her head defiantly.
You idiot. Get out of here!
"Flamethrower!"
A wall of fire erupted into existence between Petrel and Jasmine. The trio of enslaved Pokemon drew back.
Oh thank heavens! Gary Oak!
"Who are you? Is that how you treat a sexy young lady? Pfft. Wow. You're toast." Gary sprinted up, taking a protective position between Jasmine and the Rocket.
"Hey Jasmine. I heard you and Erika were here to try to stop some Oddish from being euthanized, wanted to come and back you up. What's the deal here?"
"He's a drug dealer who was abusing the Oddish," Jasmine summarized as quickly as she could.
"Oh, crap. Yeah, no prob, I'll send him packing for ya."
Gary confronted the villain with a confident smirk. He held multiple Ultra Balls at the ready. His first Pokemon, an intimidating Arcanine, was already out and preparing a fiery counter-offensive.
"Ha. Heroes. Geeze, good thing I had Gio-phony to learn from; how not to handle you's types." Petrel shook his head, as if the sight of Gary and his Arcanine was a mere nuisance and not a credible threat. I sensed why he remained so confident.
"Cap-" I tried gritting out. Dang it! Even my tongue, even my jaw were locked up! The strain I exerted trying to move them backfired, causing a fit of convulsions in my lung area. I coughed, or tried to. My vision dimmed. The Stun Spore's paralytic grip was causing me to black out. I couldn't warn Gary.
"Ugghh."
"Booyah!"
When I came to, Arcanine was cornered and being doused by a Hydro Pump.
"Hey, a replacement! And this badboy's one heck of a brute!" Petrel was referring to Gary's Rhydon. It also appears that he had caught and mind controlled Blastoise and Alakazam as well. A fainted Umbreon lay by the wayside.
"Arcanine, take Jasmine, Extreme Speed out of here," Gary ordered. Arcanine hesitated a moment, unsure whether it was okay with abandoning its trainer. That was a fatal mistake.
Rhydon dug into the ground and drew out several huge chunks of earth. It hurled these high overhead, each landing with a loud thud. The chunks cut off Arcanine's escape route. The Fire-type was blasted with another Hydro Pump. It had nowhere to go. Gary cursed.
"Vileplume, Stun Spore the boy too." Petrel burst into an insanely-wide grin. "If the girl turns out nice enough to keep, I'd like to have a backup for some meat-locker fun."
Vileplume resisted. She regained control of her voice and expression, and loudly protested. Yet the psyche-wave of the Snag Ball hit her hard, forcing her body to move on its own. Pollen-colored clouds descended upon Gary. He went down, seized up and incapacitated much the same as I was. Arcanine was put down for good by a final Hydro Pump.
There was no one left to protect Jasmine.
Petrel was advancing quickly. His glee turned to a menacing glare, eyes filled with hate and anger.
"I'm gonna make an example of you all. That Dunsparce mayor is gonna think twice about betraying me after he sees the leftovers. We're Rockets, damn it! We were once the most badass collection of bad boys in the whole nation. We were feared. We were respected. Our name meant something. Well, we'll get there again. Starting with Celadon." Petrel lurched forward. He was ten yards away from Jasmine now. Some of the captured Pokemon were even closer.
"Don't come near me," Jasmine warned.
"I'm coming near you and I'm gonna touch you as I like and do what I want with you, and you're gonna shut up and obey me!" Petrel spat out.
"You're a drug dealer. You hurt my friends. You're forcing Pokemon to fight against their will! You're evil!" Jasmine cried. Petrel was beyond making light of her protests now. His anger had boiled over. He lunged for her. She back-peddled.
"Just leave! Come any closer, and I'm not going to hold back!" Jasmine warned. Petrel lunged again, and again Jasmine stutter-stepped backwards to dodge him. Except, she was fast approaching the hillside. There was nowhere for her to go.
"Grrr." She's growling. That's not fear, that's anger. At a time like this, in a situation like this, with nothing to give her hope, and she is still not afraid? She is still not giving up? What could possibly give her hope? Jasmine, oh dear, for once drop your stubborn pride and please surrender! Do what he says! Evan, I'll get Evan, I'll have him and the police come rescue us! I'm sure I could get a call out, and even if it means turning over my body to him, I'll do it! But please don't get yourself hurt just for the sake of bravado!
Wait. What is she doing?
Jasmine reached behind her back.
That's right.
Her last Pokemon, her team leader, she hasn't brought out Onix yet.
Onix is strong… but… it would be one versus six. And a Rock-Ground-type would be at a severe disadvantage to my Grass-types and Gary's Blastoise. The mind-controlled Pokemon would overwhelm her.
Is there some miracle, some hidden strategy she has, to defeat them all?
I can't see any.
But maybe, just maybe, Onix can help her get away. A last stand, or maybe a mount to serve as her retreat. It would be hard, or impossible. If she does get away, I know I and Gary will suffer Petrel's rage. But it would be worth it.
This one last sliver of hope-
"Zubat, if ya please."
-dashed.
Because a tiny bat of a Pokemon flitted behind Jasmine, scratched her, and whisked away. In its claws it held her last Pokeball. The Zubat dutifully delivered the item and its living cargo to Petrel's hand.
"Now then." Petrel hunkered forward. The enslaved Pokemon gathered in a semi-circle. Jasmine was backed up against the hill. There was nowhere to run.
She was crying, I think. Her chest was heaving and her head was bowed.
"I have- only once- only one other person in this world I know- is worse than you. You… You… You evil MAN!"
"Shut up!" Petrel screamed. He stormed forward.
Jasmine stomped on the ground in a fit of emotion.
And then the ground rumbled.
Jasmine rose into the air.
I can't believe it.
She's flying.
No, she's riding the earth. The earth is rising for her.
NO!
It's alive! It's a monster!
Oh Gods of every faith, it's a… It's a… It's a…
"STEELIX!"
The young woman perched atop the head of a forty-foot-long leviathan, armored head to tail in sleek, impervious metal, a maw that could eat a human whole, and with eyes burning like raked coals.
Petrel's face: Eyes popping. Jaw dropped. Tongue dangling out- Priceless. "Stone Edge the Blastoise!"
Wow. Even in the shock of the moment, she's still thinking strategically.
The Blastoise was surrounded and locked down with rock stalagmites. Its water cannons were jammed into awkward angles, preventing it from targeting Jasmine's Pokemon. The water-spewing tank was the most dangerous threat to her Steel-Ground-type, but being mind-controlled, it did not act of its own volition. Jasmine was smart in neutralizing it before Petrel could force a Hydro Pump.
The curb-stomp did not end there.
"Uh, uh uh uh, Giga Drain? Power Whip!"
My Grass Pokemon were forced to attack. The Mega Drain popped harmlessly on the leviathan's chin, and to my amazement Victreebel's Power Whip, the strongest physical attack in my Pokemon's arsenal, literally bounced off Steelix's iron hide.
"Iron Tail!"
Vileplume and Victreebel were sent flying clear across the park and into the pond.
Tangela's mind-control was completely overpowered by fear. The poor bush flopped on the ground and shook in her pile of roots, unable to take any action at all.
"Zubat, distract her!"
"Roar!"
From my position, a good thirty yards away, my ears were ringing from the beast's bellow. The Zubat was about three yards away. The puny little thing likely did not even make it to the ground before fainting.
"Graar! Where are those Revives? Revives! Nidoking! Get back up, save me!"
Nidoking huffed to a rise. It saw the great earth snake and backed up a step.
"Flamethrower! Just buy me some time!"
"Earthquake!"
Petrel worked furiously with his pile of equipment. Gary's Rhydon was forced forward, using its own Earthquake to neutralize the oncoming seismic wave.
Well, Nidoking and Petrel were spared, but the Rhydon was laid flat out by the convulsing earth.
"Flamethrower, Ice Beam, whatever it takes! Dang it, where are the rest of those things?."
"Fissure."
A gap in the ground split open wide. The crack ran beneath Nidoking, but the foe managed to jump aside and avoid falling in.
"Rock Slide."
Nidoking regained its footing and prepared a Fire attack, aiming at Steelix's head. Steelix cracked the ground with his tail. Nidoking tipped over, the Flamethrower going awry. The ground was giving way beneath it. Steelix was using tremors to cause a collapse on one side of the fissure, right where Nidoking was standing. Like an avalanche, the creature was drawn down and under, falling into the gap.
"Aha! Take a load of these!" Petrel shouted.
A cloud of Mini Balls appeared in the air. All at once the park was filled with dozens of Koffing, all primed and ready to Self Destruct.
"Knock Down! Wave version!"
Steelix whirled around, slashing at the ground. A wave of dust, dirt, and clay rose into the sky, and came crashing down on the multitude of living bombs. All were forced down onto the ground, their Levitate ability negated.
"Magnitude!"
Waves of shaking rippled through the ground. The Stun Spore paralysis gripping me was wearing off slightly; I had managed to roll over onto my side and clutch my stomach. It was good that I could manage that, because the Magnitude hit me in the side. It felt like a giant hammer hitting my side. I was afraid my spine might snap in two. The direct target of the attack, the grounded Koffing, stood no chance. They fainted in one slow-motion comedic wave, making grimaced faces as they keeled over.
"Grrr. Fine, fine, I didn't want to have to use this."
Petrel raised his hand, an object held in it.
Another Snag Ball?
No. It wouldn't matter if it was- Steelix was a massive target, at full health, a monster in the oldest sense of the word. A Snag Ball wouldn't be able to capture it.
But this wasn't a Snag Ball.
It was colored slightly differently, a richer shade of indigo. There was a circuit board-pattern overlaying it- I'm guessing that's the Snag Ball technology added to the original ball. It had an "M" imprinted on its seal.
How'd he get one of those? Oh no! Jasmine, watch out!"
"Jaaaa-zzz-min!" I tried shouting. My voice was still constrained by the paralysis.
"Eat Master Ball, b-!" Petrel yelled and hurled it.
At the same time, Steelix froze up. Gary's Alakazam was forced to use Telekinesis to immobilize the leviathan, if only for a moment.
I froze up.
Then my fears vanished. My imagination was stumped. My attention was wholly captured and enraptured.
That dearest friend of mine, that shy girl and her unsure motions and lilting walk- jumped.
She leapt off Steelix's head and caught the Master Ball with her bare hand, from mid-air, while diving.
The sight of her so selflessly hurling herself into the gap of the sky, fearlessly, to protect her Pokemon, was, to say the least- inspiring. I had never seen, and would never again see, such grace and poise in the actions of a human being. I am not one subscribing to that religion, but for a moment, I could readily believe that angels existed, and I was beholding one.
Then she landed on the ground, rolling forward to save herself injury, and scampered to crouch.
"You're kidding," Petrel cried weakly.
"Rock Throw."
Alakazam was conked out.
"Eh. Ehehe. Eh…"
It took Petrel maybe five seconds to realize he should run. Jasmine seemed ready to let him run. Then, when he gained half the distance to the park entrance, she made a simple hand signal.
Steelix raced forward. It was shockingly fast for its size. Petrel made it another quarter of the way to the gate, and then a wall of steel and spines blocked his path. He changed directions and began running back towards us.
"Quake."
This was not so strong of a Ground attack, just enough to flip the villain head-over-heels and land him flat on his back. He stared into the sky.
I leaned up on one elbow to get a better view. Gary was lifting his head up as well. Jasmine was marching her way over to the vanquished Rocket Boss.
"Listen! And I mean LISTEN! That means you will stay silent! That means you will carefully hear and evaluate my words! That means you will memorize my instructions and follow them with the utmost care and forthright intent."
"I'm not taking orders from a brat!" Petrel yelled.
"Steelix, kill him."
"Wait! Don't go that far!" I hissed, voice unheard.
Steelix raised his great tail high into the air. Jasmine raised her arm likewise. She brought her hand down. Steelix brought his tail crashing down.
The earth shook. I winced.
Petrel lay ramrod straight, shaking like a wet, newborn baby. His teeth were chattering, his brow was sweating. His eyes were popped open and locked onto the multi-ton iron bludgeon that had missed splitting his head like a rotten coconut by a mere six inches.
"YOU WILL NOT TOUCH MY FRIEND, YOU WILL NOT HARASS HER, YOU WILL NOT PEDDLE DRUGS, YOU WILL NOT STEAL POKEMON, YOU WILL LIVE A LAW-ABIDING LIFE FROM NOW TO THE END OF YOUR DAYS OR I WILL END YOUR DAYS RIGHT HERE AND NOW! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"
What else could Petrel do? He nodded and lay limp.
I cannot say Petrel lived a law-abiding life thereon after. He is a bad person, to his core. Nor did he leave me alone. The Rockets and the Celadon Gym had a long, uneasy relationship, one stretching back well before my tenure as Gym Leader. We were the mediators between the criminal gang and the linchpins in town hall. It was impossible to fully divest my involvement so long as the corrupt system was in place and Petrel remained a free man.
However, I will say that he never addressed me with the same kind of contempt and presumption as he once did. His harassment became more passive-aggressive in nature. Our in-person meetings dwindled in number, until he outright refused to talk to me except via phone or text. In matters related to Pokemon, he seemed more willing to listen and defer to my wishes. I found I merely had to raise my voice, and something in his primal instincts triggered and he would become submissive and malleable. His threats were less menacing than they once were. The Rockets themselves were losing appeal, mainly for lack of money, and their criminal antics gradually subsided.
It was a tenuous situation, one that would not last forever, but it was infinitely more preferable than what had come before it. For me, it was a blessing. It was freedom from fear. The cold, dark fear of the worst possible outcomes had been replaced by simple stress, everyday worry. My life was not good, by absolute terms, but it had changed for the better. I felt, for once in my life, empowered.
Because of her.
My friend.
The one I used to look down upon as a little innocent girl who needed protecting.
Now?
The morning after the battle, I found myself sleeping on the floor, and waking up, I found her in my bed. She was above me, still sleeping peacefully. That's how I view her now. I look up to her- as a beacon of light. An exemplar of courage, and bravery, and strength. What the Rockets taught me is that the world is ruled by force, and that might makes right. What Jasmine showed me is that power is not the sole possession of the wicked, that there are good people in this world who are also mighty. I know now, Jasmine's purity and goodness of heart is only matched by her conviction.
To put it simply, she has the strength to make her ideals a reality.
To someone like me, who has lived all their life by acquiesce, forced to take what was given to me, the good and the bad equally, without protest, in the hopes that such behavior would keep the peace and maybe, just maybe, end in a happy outcome, her courage is something I could never attain; and so instead, I am content to admire it, and give thanks.
So Jasmine- Thank You- thank you for saving me.
