Transformation: Quarantine

Chapter 9- Eve of disaster

A/N: Lord Nalthren can finally thank me for updating a chapter that relates to his story in a major way. And by the way, the one-shot featuring John after his Quarantine experience that ties directly into Ancient Society is out now, so check it out. (Thank you Swack16!) Lets get it on!

Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Transformation belongs to TurtlesandMonkeys. Swack 16 owns John and Lord Nalthren owns Akira. I myself have ownership over Cindy and Lina. MEE-YAA!

The three continued to run away from Verdanturf town. They soon came to a stop for a rest, tired, panting, and Lina still coping with the loss of her friend. John beat his fist in frustration.

"Man! I can't believe that this is happening! No one is safe from this virus, not even our own pokemon!" His clenched fist trembled.

Cindy thought about his words and thought back to the cave with the Zubat, then to the incident that just happened at the Pokemon center with Nurse Joy. Suzie just…I hope that does not happen to Quilava…

Lina still trembled a bit. "Oh, if only I could've helped her back at the caves. It was my fault! Now she's a monster and poor Nurse Joy will turn into a pokemon and-and…!" The rest of her words were caught up in a sob. Cindy went by her to comfort her. She too was worried. John still stood there looking angry. "Well, what are we going to do now?"

"We still have to get out of Hoenn." Cindy said. "We'll head to Mauville and rest there, then go straight to Lilycove and head off to Johto. Hopefully, the virus didn't hit there."

John just nodded.

Suddenly, a rustle came from the bushes. All three of them turned around. Out of the bushes stepped a young man who looked about twenty. He had black hair and some sunglasses and he wore a trench coat. Cindy recognized him. He was at the Rustboro camp. The man from the command tent…

"Well, it took some doing, but I finally found you guys." He said in a voice that was cool but not cruel. His sharp blue eyes shone from beneath his sunglasses.

John stepped forward. "And just who the hell are you?"

The man was about to answer when a voice sounded behind him. "Akira! Akira, wait up."

He put his fingers to the bridge of his nose and turned around to face a girl who looked about 19 with red hair. "Jeez, almost lost you back there." The girl said, kind of blushing.

"Evaglin, please, if you're going to tag along, at least keep up." He said, kind of turning red for some reason.

"Sorry." Said the girl, Evaglin, who Cindy noticed was not wearing much in the name of clothing, just a white tank top with black jeans and a red jacket.

"Anyway, my name's Akira Ryoto. This is Evaglin Kikari, my chief of security back at Omega Island."

"You're with those H.D.-whatever guys, are you?" John asked with a firm tone.

Akira did his annoyance gesture again. "Yes and no. I'm only here because those bastards quarantined my entire island and forced me to contain this little "Outbreak". After witnessing what happened at the camp last night, I'm starting to realize why I was brought here." He flashed his blue eyes at the group.

"I just came along to get some action." Said Evaglin suddenly after Akira just finished his explanation. He suddenly face planted on the floor. Evaglin blushed. "Uh, real action, not…"

Akira raised a hand. "Just drop it."

"What a bunch of weirdoes…" Lina whispered to Cindy. Cindy just stared confused.

"So, what are you doing here exactly?" Cindy asked.

"Well, I hate to tell you this, but I'm here to take you guys back. So just make my life easier and come with me without things getting rough." He said, looking very bored with the situation.

John planted one foot. "And if we don't?" He asked defiantly.

Akira touched the bridge of his nose again. "Kid, don't start with me. I just had to deal with some…uh," He shot a side glance at Evaglin. "Personal issues and my home company is in a rut right now, so I am NOT in the mood for any crap."

"Well the only way you're gonna get us back is if you go through me." John said pulling out a Pokeball. Cindy shot a glance at John.

"What are you doing?"

Akira looked down just a bit to show his blue eyes and smiled a bit. "Is that a challenge?" His hand reached for his poke belt.

"You bet it is." John said with a smirk.

Cindy walked to John. "You don't have to do this."

John only smiled back at her. "Of course I do. It's in me to do this kind of stuff. Don't worry about me."

He turned back to Akira. "Listen up. This fight's mine."

The two trainers stood across from each other, John on one side, Akira on another.

Akira reached for a ball. "Just to warn you, this may hurt a bit." Akira said. Suddenly he heard a sound and looked to the side.

"One second…" He muttered. A Shroomish with a few bumps on its head popped out of the bushes and jumped at him. "SHROOOM!" It yelled, its mouth aimed to bite him. Akira simply closed his eyes and pulled off a spinning kick that slammed into the weird mushroom pokemon. It sailed into the air and disappeared in a twinkle. Everyone just stared at the awkward moment.

" Little bugger…Sorry about that." He turned his attention back to John.

"I'll go first. Go, Burn!" John threw out his ball and out came Burn, the Infernape beating its chest. "Nape! Infernape!"

"Your move." John said.

Akira closed his eyes, then smiled. "You make this too easy. Go, Pidgeot!" He threw out his ball and out came Pidgeot, the longhaired bird ruffling its feathers before it opened its eyes. It cooed and flapped its wings a bit. Cindy realized the type advantage.

John furrowed his eyes. "Go, Burn! Give it a fire punch! Go now!" The little monkey ran with its fist catching ablaze, its face focused on the large bird. Akira raised an arm.

"Pidgeot! Evade!" The bird flapped its wings and sailed clear of Burn's attack. The Infernape slammed into the ground and turned around to face the airborne Pidgeot.

"Nape!" It cried out in defiance. Akira directed towards Pidgeot. "Alright use Wing attack, now!"

The Pidgeot's wings began to glow and it flapped them downwards, releasing two blades of energy towards Burn. The blades struck the Infernape hard and sent him reeling, but he still got up. "Good work Burn, now use ember!" John cried out.

"Nape!" The flame on its head burned more violently as little embers sailed towards Pidgeot. The bird cringed as its feathers were singed, but it still flew towards Burn.

Akira's eyes sharpened. "Now finish it with a drill peck/Fly attack!" The bird began to spin in a down ward spiral at high velocity, barley giving Burn any chance at all. It struck Burn hard and the Infernape flew through the air before landing KO'd near John.

"Burn! Oh well, you gave it your best shot." He recalled the fire monkey.

"Good shot, but I'm just getting warmed up!" He reached for another ball.

"Go, Sarah!" The ball erupted and out came a Luxray. The black and blue pokemon looked intimidating, its star tipped whip-like tail swayed in the air, its black fur ruffled up.

"Lux! Luxray!" she cried out.

Suddenly, Sarah looked behind her and caught sight of John. She cried out in joy, ran up and tackled him in a playful hug and began to nuzzle her head against him, the pokemon happy to see her master. "Sarah!" John cried out, trying to get the affectionate Luxray off of him who was nuzzling him even more. Everyone just stared at yet another awkward moment. Even the Pidgeot landed and sweat dropped a bit at the sight. You wouldn't think that a pokemon that fierce looking would act that way just by looking at it.

Cindy thought back to her last battle with John and remembered that when Sarah was a Luxio, she used to love rubbing against his leg before going off to battle. She must really like him…thought Cindy with a giggle.

Much to the relief of John and everyone else, Sarah stopped her cuddling session and noticed her opponent, the Pidgeot. She jumped off of John and into a battle ready position. John got up.

Akira snickered a bit.

"My, my. Looks like your Luxray is very…fond of you."

John just growled. "Alright Sarah, use a thunderbolt on that Pidgeot, GO!"

"Lux!" She cried as she hunched forward and began to charge up, her black fur crackling with electricity. She got up and released a bolt of lightning towards Pidgeot, the yellow bolt zigzagging its way towards the bird. Akira barely had any time to order Pidgeot to evade the attack, and the thunderbolt hit it fully. The bird began to convulse as bolts of electricity surged through its body. The lightning stopped, and the Pidgeot fainted and fell forward. Akira pulled out his Pokeball and recalled it.

"Nice shot, but try some of this." he reached for another ball.

Evaglin cried from behind him. "Go Akira! Show him whose boss, uh, boss!" Akira face planted again. Cindy smiled. It looks like John isn't the only one who has a partner that is overly affectionate.

Akira got up, regained his composure, and tossed his ball. "Go, Arcanine!" The ball erupted to reveal a very large dog pokemon that had orange fur with black stripes. This Arcanine was exceptionally large. It must be well trained, John better watch out. Thought Cindy.

Akira thrust his arm forward. "Now Arcanine, use take-down!" The large Arcanine started bounding towards the smaller Luxray.

"Sarah! Evade!" John cried out. Sarah managed to jump out of the way of the large dog pokemon, then jumped again to land on its back. She hung on as tight as she could on the bucking Arcanine. The dog was bumping against many objects to get Sarah off, causing injury to itself. Sarah still hanged on. The dog then hit a nearby tree that crunched into Sarah. She cried out a bit, but hung on. "Sarah!" John cried out, his face worried. He wondered why his pokemon was intent on hanging on, then a thought hit him.

"Sarah, use Discharge!"

The Luxray then began to dispel electricity into Arcanine, near its neck. The energy traveled down the spine to all corners of Arcanine's body. The dog howled in pain before falling down on its side, fainted. Sarah wobbled a bit from using up energy and her injury she sustained from the tree limb, but she still stood. "You did good Sarah, you deserve a rest." John recalled Sarah. "Go Kairi!" He released the ball and out came Kairi.

"Espeon!"

Akira recalled Arcanine.

"You're better than I thought. Impressive." He reached for a ball with designs on it. "But now, playtime…IS OVER!" The ball erupted forward and busted into light. The light from the ball began to take the shape of a fox-like pokemon. Nine tails swayed in the air. When the light cleared, it revealed a blood red colored Ninetales.

"Nine. Ninetales." it said.

Wow, a shiny Ninetales. Cindy had never seen a pokemon look so beautiful and frightening at the same time. Even John stared in awe at his new opponent. Lina also stared, her eyes filled with wonder at the beautiful pokemon.

Akira closed his eyes and smiled.

"Are you impressed by Kitsune's beauty? I should warn you, she does more than stun people with her beauty." He clenched his fist. "Kitsune, start off with a flame wheel."

The red Ninetales began to run towards Kairi with flames beginning to surround her. She suddenly leapt into the air and performed a flip, releasing the gathering flames in a wheel.

"Kairi, watch out!' Cried John. Kairi began to run, the flames pursuing her. John was thinking about what to do.

"Kairi, use Psychic!" The Espeon stopped and turned to face the flames. Her eyes glowed blue and the wheel of flames began to disperse in different directions, the flames still flowing forward but avoiding Kairi; she was using the psychic energy to create a penetrating barrier in the center of the flames. Suddenly, Kitsune jumped though the open loop of fire and tackled Kairi. Kairi made a cry as she flew through the air. She landed on her feet though, and turned to face the red Ninetales. Akira still watched with amusement. "Ok Kitsune, finish it with a flamethrower!"

The Ninetales opened her mouth as heat began to burn in her throat. She released a stream of fire and caught Kairi by surprise. The flames engulfed her. When Kitsune closed her mouth, Kairi was still standing very weakly. She let out a quick gasp before she tumbled to the side.

John stared in disbelief. "Grrr, Kairi, return!" He returned her to her ball.

"Well, now do you realize who you're dealing with?" Akira asked.

"I won't back down." John said as he pulled out another ball. "Go, Shadow!"

The ball revealed a wolf-like pokemon with gray fur and a mane of black hair flowing on its back. It growled upon release. "MIGHTYENA!" it bellowed at Kitsune. Cindy didn't remember a Mightyena among John's pokemon the last time they fought. He must have caught it sometime after.

Akira only shrugged. "Oh well, it look like you will never learn."

John only glared. "Shadow, crunch attack now!" The Mightyena rushed towards the shiny Ninetales with its jaws bared. "YENA!" it yelled when it leapt through the air.

Kitsune then shot a flamethrower at the sailing Mightyena and it careened off course. The Mightyena got up again and snarled. It's acting awfully aggressive…even for an intense fight. Thought Cindy.

"Don't give up, Shadow! Keep trying!" John cried out. Shadow kept trying to attack Kitsune, but the fox only avoided its efforts. It was playing with him, John realized.

"Shadow, use shadow ball!" The Mightyena opened its mouth and released a ball of concentrated dark energy. The ball flew towards Kitsune. She just stood her ground and sat there as the ball continued its venture towards her. She closed her eyes and the ball stopped. It then dispersed. John stared, his mouth agape.

"What was that?" John asked, trembling.

"Do you honestly think that you could beat Kitsune with a move like that? I keep telling you, you don't know what you're dealing with. Now it's time to end this. Kitsune, flamethrower!" Akira pointed.

Kitsune opened her eyes and released a stream of fire at Shadow. John just watched helplessly as Shadow was hit with the brunt of the blast and slammed into a tree

Akira closed his eyes. "Well, that's that."

John was about to recall Shadow when the Mightyena suddenly got up weakly and ran towards Kitsune. Before the fox can do anything, Shadow bit into her paw.

"Kitsune!" yelled Akira. Cindy and Lina both gasped. John just stared in disbelief.

Shadow tugged and pulled against Kitsune's paw, causing blood to appear. Cindy couldn't notice it until it started dripping on the ground. Kitsune fired another flamethrower in self-defense at the attacking Mightyena. Shadow finally let go and passed out on the ground.

Akira pulled out his ball and recalled Kitsune. John ran up to his passed out companion. "Shadow?" Is shadow…?

Shadow disappeared in a stream of light when a round object struck it. John did a quick glance and saw Akira holding a distinct ball with an M on it. A master ball?

Cindy noticed the strange apparatus on Akira's arm.

"Is that a snag machine?" Asked Lina.

John stared in disbelief. "A snag machine? Than that means…"

He shot an angry glare at Akira. "YOU BASTARD!" He began running towards Akira with his fist ready. Akira just stood his ground and grabbed John's fist, and did a quick throw that pinned John to the ground. Cindy and Lina both gasped and ran to help John.

Akira still had a stern face. "Listen I had to do it. Your pokemon was infected. It attacked Kitsune, so you better pray that she isn't infected too!" He let go of John. Cindy and Lina helped him up. Akira adjusted his shades. "Listen, your other pokemon should be your main concern. They need attention bad. I hate to admit it but they can't go on without getting looked at."

John only glared, his fist trembling.

"That's why I'm letting you go. There should be a Pokemon center in Mauville that can help you. If I understand, that's your best shot considering what happened in Verdanturf. However, the girls are gonna have to come back with me." Akira said.

Cindy looked at Akira. "Why are you doing this?"

He flashed his blue eyes. "Let's just say I'm cutting your friend a break. If he comes back with me, the unit will take his pokemon and they won't get the proper care they need. I'm not heartless you know."

John looked to Cindy. She nodded. "Go ahead, we'll catch up. Go and help your Pokemon." She said.

John just looked at Akira, then at the girls then turned around. "I'll see you guys there. Be careful." His amber eyes shone with grim determination. He glared at Akira one last time, then started to walk down the road.

"John!"

He turned around. Cindy was there.

"Take care." She said. She suddenly gave him a quick hug, then let him go. He stared at first, then smiled. "I will." He gave a salute and started to walk down the road to Mauville city.

Take care…John. Cindy hoped he got there ok and avoided the virus. She knew the only reason this happened was because of her. No, that's the way John is, willing to sacrifice for those he cares about…

"Alright, let's go." Akira said. He gave a look in John's direction. There goes a good trainer…Man I hope Kitsune's not infected. He looked at his ball. The girls started to move with Akira, but Cindy gave one last look as John walked off in the direction of the setting sun.

A/N; Whew…that must have been my longest chapter yet! This is my first ever battle sequence in anything, so I hope I didn't overdo it. Well, that's the end of John in this arc.

John: Aw man. I know what happens next. (Shiny Eevee in thought bubble)

Me: Don't worry, I'm writing a one-shot about your experience after this story, so we'll be seeing more of you…just not in this story.

John: Oh well. Hey, at least I'll be meeting Missy and the others soon.

Me: Anyway, please leave a review. JonseyCat, out! MEE-YAA!