Family Values
January 11th
As the sun rose over the small town, dozens of Combee fluttered from flower to flower, transfer pollen around. The flowers formed fields large that most buildings, and a rainbow of colours seemed to be sprouting out of the earth. And a very big flower seemed to be moving through them. Vanessa was prancing through them, wearing green skinny jeans, brown leather shoes, and a shirt that was made of two giant plastic flowers, with smaller ones running down the side.
"Isn't this just lovely?" Vanessa said to her Wurmple, cutting flowers by swiping them with the sword part of her umbrella.
"Wurmple Wurm." Wurmple agreed, and sniffed a daisy that Vanessa held up. Behind them, there was a cry.
"Oi Vanessa, get back, he's about to test out!" Sahara yelled. Vanessa groaned and put the daisy's in her pocket. Then, she pranced back over towards the others. Xavier and Sahara sat on a picnic blanket with Turtwig, Nutty and Matthew's Wurmple. Matthew was standing a few metres away, with Piplup in between them. Vanessa grouchily sat down amongst the bags, her Wurmple hopping down to join Matthew's, and Matthew smiled.
"Ok Piplup, use Water Sport." He said.
"Piplup!" Piplup said, and fired out a spray of water above her head. It fell down, and Piplup spun gracefully, allowing the water to fall on her.
"Now use Bubble." Piplup opened her mouth again, but this time released bubbles. She leapt up, and the bubbles clung to her. She then stood in the direct sunlight, and the bubbles reflected the light, and the addition of the Water Sport made Piplup's head shimmer as well. The bubbles popped, and Matthew and Piplup took a bow. Sahara, Vanessa and Xavier gave a little round of applause, and the Pokémon went off and jabbered to Piplup.
"Who are you going to battle with?" Sahara asked.
"I am not sure yet." Matthew said, a bit sheepishly.
"The contest starts in an hour, this isn't very good behaviour." Xavier said, and Matthew ignored him.
"Just call your parents and ask for one of your spares." Vanessa said, juggling her PokeBalls and Net Ball in her hands.
"What a good idea." Everyone turned at the source of the voice. Four people were walking towards them: two women, a man and a young boy, carrying a Mime Jr.
"Mum, dad, Peter!" Matthew said excitedly, and rushed forwards, Piplup and his Wurmple following behind. The Pearl family were all wearing blue T-shirts that said
"MATTHEW FOR CHAMPION", though Adrian had a black jacket over his.
"Hello Mother." Xavier said, glancing over briefly. Lady Carolina, who had looking very unimpressed about all the flowers grazing her purple dress, looked up and smiled.
"Hello there darling, how are you doing?" She said, prancing over slightly, and gave him a quick hug. "And these must be your friends. Hello, I'm Lady Carolina, Xavier's mother."
"I'm Sahara." Sahara said, and shook hands.
"Vanessa." Vanessa said bluntly, but ignored the handshake. Carolina looked a bit affronted, but quickly recovered.
"So darling, have you caught any Pokémon?" She said to Xavier.
"No, though I have your Lapras." Xavier said. Lady Carolina looked shocked, but before she could answer, Matthew came back, followed by his family.
"You should have told me you were coming up!" Matthew was saying, evidently ecstatic.
"Well, I had to come up to host the first contest." Adrian replied. "And your mum thought it would be a good idea for us all to see you."
"And, we brought your Chimecho up for you to use as well." Leah said, smiling. Matthew grinned and grabbed the PokeBall as she pulled it out. He caught Sahara and
Vanessa exchanging strained looks, and he stepped aside.
"Sahara, Vanessa, this is my dad, Adrian, my mum, Leah, and my brother, Peter." Matthew said. There was a chorus of hellos, and for the next five minutes, Matthew and Xavier caught their parents up on their tales as they got to know the girls. Matthew was halfway through describing Ursilla, to a very horrified Leah and Carolina, when Adrian exclaimed loudly.
"Bugger, look at the time! We have to get the contest hall now." He said, and looked over towards a circular orange and yellow building in the distance, with a large domed ceiling.
"Oh no, I have to get dressed and prep Chimecho!" Matthew said, and picked up Piplup and Wurmple, who looked mournfully at
"We'll take the car, come on!" Adrian cried, and he rushed over, half pulling Peter with him.
"Xavier dear, are you coming?" Lady Carolina said, as she turned to leave.
"We're going later, we are going to the flower store first." Xavier said firmly. Lady Carolina looked a bit hurt, but Leah called out for her to hurry, so the socialite waved goodbye and hurried towards the silver Santa Fe. Sahara packed up the picnic blanket, and Xavier and Vanessa picked up their Pokémon.
"Tur Twig Twig!" Turtwig exclaimed, and signalled towards the entrance to the town. A black Jeep Wrangler was moving slowly in.
"Get down!" Vanessa hissed, and she pushed Xavier to the ground. Sahara gasped and ducked down as well. They watched from between the flowers as the Jeep moved around the outskirts, heading in the direction of the Valley Windworks, but it revealed another one, which moved very quickly near them. Thankfully, it stayed close to the trees, and rushed past them, disappearing off through a clearing behind them.
"Team Galactic, definitely." Vanessa said, standing up.
"What should we do?" Sahara said.
"I think we should split up, than we can cover both areas." Vanessa said. "Sahara, your slow, you go to Valley Windworks. Us two will make sure that person isn't too dodgy, then defeat him, and we'll catch up." Sahara give Vanessa an agitated look, but nodded.
"Come on Turtwig." Xavier said casually, and walked towards the trees, Vanessa walking alongside.
"We'd better go as well Nutty." Sahara said. "At least we know the way.
"Pachi." Nutty replied, and the two headed off towards Windworks, leaving their old town behind.
"Ampharos, Discharge, let's go!"
"Purugly use Shadow Claw on Dusknoir."
"Dusknoir use Shadow Punch on Ampharos!"
"Skuntank use Crunch on Ampharos."
Nearly everyone who worked for Team Galactic had come to watch the tag battle. It was initially meant to be Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and Draco, but Saturn was still bedridden after the airship crash. Cyrus had decided that a grunt would take part in the battle, fighting alongside Mars.
He decided to go with Charles.
Charles was now watching as Ampharos ran forwards, dodging Draco's Dusknoir and Jupiter's Skuntank, and then glowed yellow and released a field of electricity.
"Jump Purugly!" Mars squealed. The giant cat leapt upwards, avoiding being hurt by the attack, and dived downwards, slashing as Dusknoir with a glowing purple claw.
"Dusk!" The ghost Pokémon exclaimed, falling backwards.
"Now Ampharos, use Thunderbolt on Dusknoir!" Charles exclaimed.
"Skuntank, get in there with a Headbutt and stop his Ampharos." Jupiter said. Skuntank charged forwards, head down and aiming straight for Ampharos.
"Purugly use Slash!" Mars said, smiling deviously. Ampharos fired the electric attack, blasting Dusknoir even further backwards. Draco seethed with fury, and looked delighted as Skuntank went to strike Ampharos, but Purugly leapt up, slashing across Skuntank's stomach.
"Skun Tank Skun!" The skunk fumed, and rolled over.
"Thanks." Charles said to Mars.
"You can thank me properly later." She replied, winking at him. A shiver went down his spine, but he watched as Dusknoir got back up.
"Destiny Bond!" Draco roared. Dusknoir lifted up his dark hands and held them apart, a small glowing white ball forming.
"Dusk-NOIR!" Dusknoir cried, and released it. Ampharos ducked out of the way, and the ball struck Purugly. Mars let out a gasp of shock, and glared angrily at Draco, who smiled slightly.
"Purugly, Aerial Ace on that freak of a ghost!" The red head growled, and Purugly leapt into the air. Her tail uncoiled, and it glowed, seemingly turning into a wing.
"Ampharos use Discharge again!" Charles commanded.
"Dusknoir use Shadow Punch on Ampharos." Draco said.
"Skuntank, use Double Edge on Ampharos!" Jupiter yelled. The four Pokémon all seemed to be moving closer together. Dusknoir punched Ampharos with a ghostly fist. Ampharos released a burst of electricity, which Purugly fell into. Skuntank rushed into it as well in order to attack Ampharos. They was a sudden explosion, and bolts of electricity blasted across the room, several smashing lights and knocking grunts backwards. Charles looked around, trying to see what had happened, and found all four Pokémon lying around each other.
"What happened, how is this possible?" Draco fumed, as he brought Dusknoir back.
"I guess that Ampharos' Discharge would have knocked out Dusknoir. Due to Destiny Bond, Purugly fainted as well. Skuntank then used Double Edge, causing Ampharos to faint, and the recoil knocked her out as well." Mars suggested. Charles and Jupiter exchanged looks of shock, while Draco turned and stormed off.
"Plausible enough." Jupiter said, and brought back Skuntank and walked off. Charles did the same, leaving before Mars could do anything creepier.
At the back of the room, behind a one way window, Cyrus and Minerva stood there, watching as everyone left.
"He is an excellent battler." Cyrus said. "It is a surprise he didn't manage to defeat Lance."
"I don't think he owns an Ice type." Minerva said.
"That's not the point." Cyrus said, and he turned away. "I need to fully test him." He continued, and he began to pace the room. "And I know just how to do it. Minerva, make sure he is back up here in half an hour."
"May I ask why?" Minerva said, though she already knew the answer. Cyrus smirked at her as he opened up the only door in the cramped room.
"I'm going to battle him of course."
The anticipation in the Floaroma Contest Hall was building. Nearly every seat was filled, and they were in a ring, facing down towards the arena. Lights were flashing, loud pop music blared out of the speakers, and the four jumbo television screens showed clips from previous contests, and different areas of Floaroma. The judges sat on a covered, raised platform, giving them all a perfect view of the stadium. Matthew stared up at the table as Adrian pushed him forwards, and could make out a woman and two men.
"Dad, who are the judges?" Matthew asked. He had learnt several years ago that the Pokémon Contest Board consisted of his father as the head, and then the six judges, who all did different contests.
"They announce all that later, just go in and get changed, it is about to begin!" Adrian replied, and opened up the changing room door and pushed his son in. "Good luck!" And he slammed it. Matthew rolled his eyes as he put his bag down. He opened it up and pulled out his contest outfit: a deep ocean blue jacket, a black T-shirt, a red tie and black pants. As he went into one of the stalls to get changed, he heard other voices.
"I am telling you Harrison, you'll do fine! You are a great coordinator." A woman was saying, and the voice sounded vaguely familiar.
"I know I am, but did you see those people out there? That guy's Slowking won the Smart Rankings last year, and that ace trainer won four ribbons last year!" A slightly hysterical man was saying.
"Your Vaporeon and Skiploom will do fine, trust me!" The female said. Matthew put the jacket on and stepped out the changing room. He registered the two people in the room: there was a stout woman wearing a pink jacket and skirt, and a man, wearing an extremely loud orange and red striped suit, with matching pants.
"Your Lucinda Large." Matthew said, and remembered seeing her doing a report a couple of days before he started his journey.
"It's always nice to be recognised." Lucinda chuckled, and shook his hand. "This is my cameraman, Harrison. I am guessing your entering the contest?"
"Yes, my first one." Matthew replied.
"The Floaroma Contest three years ago was my first." Harrison said. "I remember that this was this one person who-" But he was cut off by a loudspeaker, which let out a loud beep before the voice said 'Contest is beginning in one minute. Will Harrison Maude, Jenna Smith and Michelle Ryder please come to the front gate.' Harrison let out a gasp and rushed forwards without saying goodbye.
"We can watch the opening on the television." Lucinda said, and she pressed a button on the wall. The wall length mirror turned blue, and then crackled slightly before an image appeared. Matthew sat down next to Lucinda, and they watched as the lights dimmed. A PokeBall rolled onto the field. It burst opened, and as the red light formed, a number of orange-pink and purple flower petals rained upon the ground. A spotlight shone down, revealing a Sunflora.
"Sun!" She cried, and released a swallowed a Power Herb. She shut her eyes, and everyone stared in anticipation. A powerful Solarbeam was released, signalling for the lights to come back on, and the music played again. The crowd whooped and cheered, and a girl with shoulder length brown hair, wearing a purple dress walked onto the arena, waving with her Sunflora.
"Hello everyone! My name is Felicity, and welcome to the Floaroma Contest!" The girl cried into her microphone.
"Felicity hosts all the Sinnoh contests, and she hosts the SBC lotto as well." Lucinda explained. Matthew nodded, but was barely listening, all his attention focused on the screen.
"Before we continue, let me introduce today's judges!" Felicity said, and the spotlight pointed towards the judges table, were a woman and two men were sitting. "Firstly, Madam Florence, champion of the Sinnoh Grand Festival from 1996-2001!" Madam Florence had golden blonde hair, and was wearing large tinted glasses, covering most of her face. She was wearing a pale white poncho, and didn't acknowledge the crowd's cheers, merely looking a bit bored. "Secondly, Mr Holmes, Chairman of the Sinnoh Pokémon Fan Club!" Mr Holmes was wearing a brown suit and red tie with a brown hat, and waved cheerfully to the crowd, though he was getting a bit less applause then Madam Florence. "And finally, we have Dr Orson, acclaimed scientist working at the Oreburgh City Museum." Dr Orson was bald, and his head was shining in the light. He was wearing glasses, and had a grey suit with blue stripes, and a matching tie. He nodded to the crowd, and the spotlight left them, going back to Felicity and her Sunflora.
"Ok everyone, let's get the ball rolling with Harrison Maude, a cameraman for the Sinnoh Broadcasting Company and resident of Jubilife City. Let's give him a big round of applause!" And Felicity ran out of the arena. As Harrison walked in, there was a quick shot of everyone applauding while workers placed a large rock in the centre of the field.
"Vaporeon, go!" Harrison exclaimed, keeping his cool. He threw out a Heal Ball. A variety of pink and blue bubbles popped open, and Vaporeon formed. There was a smattering of applause, and Vaporeon went and stood on the rock, facing the judges.
"Surf!" Harrison commanded.
"Vapor." Vaporeon said, and a giant wave burst out from the arena floor. It descended, but it began to crash against the edges of the arena, and the people in the front row looked a bit shocked. The lights had dimmed and the music had stopped, so all anyone could hear was the waves. Harrison ordered two more Surfs, and the arena was soon practically flooded, except for the rock.
"Now use Aurora Beam on the water." Harrison said, smiling as the crowd watched in awe. Vaporeon fired the multi coloured beam into the water. Instead of freezing, the water began to glow, making a rainbow of colours. The crowd began to applaud, but Harrison wasn't done yet.
"Jump into the water." He commanded, and Vaporeon leapt off the rock, diving in. The water suddenly began to move in towards Vaporeon thanks to Water Absorb. Vaporeon leapt out of the water after thirty seconds, and was now glowing a rainbow colour like the water. Harrison then raised his arms to show the end. Everyone clapped and cheered, and Vaporeon released the water through an Aqua Tail. Felicity ran back on, but what she was saying was barely audible over the crowd's cheers.
"That was great, wasn't it?" Lucinda said, clapping enthusiastically. She looked towards Matthew, but he had turned white and was looking thoroughly depressed.
He didn't have a shot of winning now.
Floaroma Meadow
The Jeep Wrangler came to a halt outside a quaint cottage. The doors opened up and Roshonda stepped out, along with four other grunts, though all of them were male. Roshonda stared around at the field of flowers nearby.
"Hideous." She hissed, and walked over to the cottage. As she walked, she released her Beedrill, who fluttered beside her. The other grunts released their Pokémon, and soon a Stunky, Ekans, Geodude and Haunter were out, along with the usual amount of Zubats. Roshonda smiled, and stood up to the front door and knocked. No one answered her, but she heard someone gasp inside.
"Tut tut, how very rude." Roshonda smirked. "I'll give them one more chance, they when go in. Space yourselves out in case they run for it." She said to the grunts. They all nodded, and moved around the tiny area. Roshonda rapped her fist on the door again, but still, no one answered.
"Ok then Beedrill, use-" Roshonda began, but there was a crash, and the front door was knocked down. A giant pink ball smashed into Roshonda's face, knocking her backwards.
"What's going on?" She wailed, and turned around as the pink ball stopped spinning, and a Lickilicky stood up.
"Nice work." A voice said. They turned as Looker walked out, bouncing two PokeBalls in his hand.
"I've heard of you, your that clumsy agent from the International Police!" Roshonda said, and several grunts sniggered. Looker glared at her and pulled out a gun.
"I am a perfectly capable agent, thank you very much." He said, and walked over towards Lickilicky. "I heard from a source that you may be in the Valley Windworks area. I thought I would provide some security to the head caretaker here." And he signalled towards the door, where a middle aged man was peering around, looking a bit frightened.
"We are not leaving until we have the all access key!" Roshonda said firmly. "And I am prepared to fight you to the death." Looker and his Lickilicky laughed at this.
"You are forgetting I am the one with the gun." The agent reminded her. "It seems that Cyrus doesn't trust you all enough with one." Roshonda was practically fuming at this point, and Looker grinned as he lifted up his arm, his finger ready on the trigger.
"AAAHHH!" They all turned as the grunt nearest the entrance was sent flying by an invisible force. His Ekans turned around, hissing, and was blasted by an Ember. Xavier and Vanessa ran in, followed by Turtwig, Chimchar, Lapras and Wurmple.
"'Ello, 'Ello, 'Ello, what have we here?" Vanessa said, pulling her umbrella out of her bag. Looker stared at them, and Roshonda used the time to kick him in the stomach. Looker doubled over, coughing and spluttering, and the gun fell to the ground.
"KILL THEM!" Roshonda hissed, as she picked up the gun and pointed it at Looker.
"Wurmple, String Shot!" Vanessa yelled.
"Wurmple!" Wurmple said, and fired the attack at Roshonda. The string wrapped around her eyes, forming a blindfold. She screamed and dropped the gun as she tried to pull it off. The other grunts rushed forwards, and the battle began.
Sahara and Nutty were wondering down Route 205, staring at the nine giant wind turbines positioned around the are, which were spinning rapidly, the three points merely blurs.
"I know people think they are ugly, but I think that they are quite nice looking." Sahara said, as she paused, staring mesmerised by them.
"Pachi Pachi Pachi!" Nutty gasped, and pointed towards a building. Sahara turned around, staring at the two storey structure that was the power plant. It was painted grey, and had simple sign with bold black writing read its name.
"I remember visiting here!" Sahara said.
"Pachirisu Pachi!" Nutty said irritably, and pointed near the entrance. The Jeep Wrangler was there, along with a man in a white coat and three grunts, which were standing guard with Zubats, Geodudes, Machops and an Onix captured from Oreburgh Mine. Sahara rushed and ducked behind the long grass.
"I kind of recognise the guy in the lad coat from when Charles was captured." Sahara whispered. Nutty nodded, and the two looked up over the grass. Two of the grunts were using the Pokémon to capture a number of Pokémon in the fields: several Bidoofs tried to flee, while a group of Electrike were trying to fight back, but the Geodudes were too strong. The scientist turned around and sighed.
"Where is that blasted girl with the key?" He growled. "Cyrus specifically said not to leave traces of us being here before Mars gets her."
"I cannot see her anywhere in the distance Charon." A grunt said, as he tossed back a range of PokeBalls into a bag, and went after the Good Rods. Another grunt went off towards the nearby Honey Tree, which was shaking slightly.
"These people are monsters!" Sahara hissed. The remaining grunt was having the Onix towering over three tiny Pachirisus, who were whimpering.
"Pachi!" Nutty said angrily, and leapt up and fired a Spark before Sahara could stop her. It hit the grunt and blasted him backwards, smashing into the one doing the fishing. The toppled back into the water. Charon turned around and threw out an Ultra Ball, which burst open in yellow light and twinkling stars, and his shiny Magnezone rose up into the air, along with the Onix.
"Show yourself!" Charon cried. Sahara sighed and stood up. Charon's look of anger turned into shock, and then he smiled. "Ah Sahara, how lovely it is to meet you."
"What?" Sahara said, sounding appalled, and she took a step backwards.
"Try and run and I'll kill you." Charon said, taking a step forwards, Magnezone following him. "As I was saying, it is lovely to meet you. I heard of what your darling friends Eden and Crystal did at Oreburgh Mine and the Global Trading Station, and-"
"Eden and Crystal are not my friends." Sahara hissed, and she slowly reached inside her pocket. Charon was staring at her face and didn't notice this.
"So sorry my dear, I merely presumed." He said, bowing in apology. "But I would love to meet them, if you would just come a bit closer."
"Rot in hell, creep!" Sahara snarled, and whipped out two PokeBalls and a Great. They burst open, and Aqua, Virus and Smash all formed.
"Spark, Aqua Jet, Charge Beam and Tackle, let's go!" Sahara screamed, and her Pokémon rushed forwards. Smash and the Galactic Onix charged for each other, but Smash hit this one straight in the middle, and it toppled backwards, falling into the stream nearby. Several dots of electricity spun around Virus' mouth. Electricity then formed in the middle, and Virus roared, releasing a beam which smashed into Magnezone. Nutty fired constant Sparks at the Zubats, who began to drop like flies. Aqua rushed forwards and struck the Geodudes, causing them all to scamper.
"Magnezone use Magnet Bomb!" Charon boomed.
"Magnezone Magnezone." Magnezone said, and a fired a ball of steel from between its magnets. Sahara screeched and tried to run. Suddenly, a fist of electricity smashed into the attack, causing it to explode in mid air. Sahara looked around for her saviour, and saw Mason rushing towards her, his Nidoking and Golduck racing behind.
"What are you doing here?" Sahara gasped.
"Nice to see you too." Mason smiled. "Professor Rowan and I are doing some research. I was across the stream looking for some berries and I saw you, so I figured I could help."
"Cheers, I don't think I can really combat Steel moves." Sahara said. There were several flashes behind her, and Sahara turned as Nutty, Aqua, Smash and Virus rushed back to her, as Charon and the grunts released all their captured Pokémon. Around two dozen Electrikes, Mareeps, Bidoofs and Buizels joined the Geodudes and Machops. Charon stepped forwards, grinning.
"Quite a few familiar Pokémon around here, wouldn't you say?" He said, smiling. "It must be so nice to be back in your home town, right?" Sahara's eyes bulged, and Mason looked at her curiously. "Ah, you haven't told anyone you used to live here, have you? Of course, you wouldn't want anyone to possibly track down your past, would you, give them a chance to find out about your charming father."
"Shut up, just SHUT UP!" Sahara roared, and Mason looked shocked. Charon grinned deviously, and nodded at the grunts. They all barked out orders, and the Pokémon around began to release their moves. Sahara was too furious to move, and stood there, her face frozen in a twisted rage.
"Virus, use your ability!" Mason said. "Nidoking use Sludge Bomb and Golduck use Psybeam." Sahara looked around as Virus raced forwards. He dived in front of all the electric attacks, allowing himself to be hit.
"You idiot, your letting my Pokémon get hurt!" Sahara hissed, while Nidoking fired a giant purple ball of slime and Golduck fired an attack of multicoloured rings
"Electivires all have Motor Drive as their ability." Mason explained. "Electric attacks cause their speed to rise, look!" Virus was now racing around, a mere yellow blur.
"Wow!" Sahara said, and she suddenly had an idea. "Bring your Pokémon back except Golduck and send out your Lunatone and Solrock, quickly!" Mason nodded and brought back Nidoking, while sending out Solrock and Lunatone. Sahara meanwhile whipped out her PokeBalls, and Nutty, Aqua and Smash all turned into red energy and went inside their metal containers. Lunatone and Solrock formed, looking around the new area.
"Have Golduck use Surf and those two use Psychic on it." Sahara said, as Virus rushed over.
"You heard the girl." Mason said.
"Gol Gold Duck!" Golduck said, and lifted a webbed hand. A giant wave rose out of the stream, and it moved over towards Charon and the grunts.
"Psychic!" Mason said.
"Luna!"
"Sol!" The wave froze as Lunatone and Solrock's eyes glowed pink. The wave turned into a giant barrier, protecting them from attacks for the time being.
"Grab Virus and run!" Sahara said, and wrapped her arms around the Electivire. Mason did the same, and Lunatone and Solrock followed after, keeping the water in form.
Charles had been anxious when the nurse told him Cyrus wanted to see him back on the top floor. So unwillingly, he left Ampharos behind to continue treatment, and went up in the elevator. As it opened up, the third floor was very quiet, and all the grunts were sitting in the stands, perfectly still, though several eyes flickered towards him. Cyrus was standing at one end of the battlefield. Minerva was nearest to him, and she gestured towards the other spot. Charles took his place, feeling rather anxious.
"What is going on?" He said, and Mars, who was in the front row, cackled, while Draco smirked. Jupiter and Minerva didn't react, but merely looked bored. Cyrus smiled, and pulled out a PokeBall.
"We are going to have a battle. Five rounds, a different Pokémon in each round." Cyrus explained. "I will choose my Pokémon first in this round. Whoever wins a round chooses their Pokémon first."
"Why are we doing this?" Charles said, a little apprehensive.
"It is a mere test." Cyrus said. "I want to test your abilities in a proper battle. Now we begin!" And he threw out his first PokeBall, and Charles was a bit surprised by the sudden start. He watched as Houndoom formed, breathing flames out of its mouth. Charles pondered, and grinned as he threw out his first choice. Tauros burst open with a loud moo, and pounded the ground.
"Interesting choice, let's see if it works out for you." Cyrus smirked. "Flamethrower!"
"Hyper Beam!" Tauros released a burst of orange energy, blasting aside the tongue of fire and Houndoom was sent flying.
"Get up and use Dark Pulse!" Cyrus snarled.
"Good job." Charles said, as Tauros recovered.
"Tau." The bull replied, and withstood the dark energy Houndoom fired from his mouth.
"Now get in there with a Will-O-Wisp!" Cyrus said.
"Water Pulse, but wait for the attack." Charles said.
"Hound!" Houndoom cried, and fired out a ball of blue flame. Tauros formed a ball of water in his mouth, and then mooed loudly. The rings blasted the Will-O-Wisp aside, and struck Houndoom, bringing him to his knees.
"Get up and use Thunder Fang!" Cyrus roared. He was not enjoying this crushing defeat. Houndoom stood up, though was obviously very weak. He began to run forwards, thunder in his mouth. Charles was staring at the dog, waiting for the right moment…
"Earthquake!" He boomed. Cyrus' eyes bulged, and all the grunts and admins looked equally as surprised. Tauros lifted his front legs into the air, just as Houndoom came close enough to see into his eyes.
"TAU-ROOOOSSS!" Tauros boomed, and smashed his legs back onto the floor. The whole building began to shake, and Houndoom was hit with the brunt of it. After all the hits, Houndoom couldn't take anymore and collapsed onto the ground. Charles gave Tauros a pat before brining him back. Cyrus let out an angry sigh before brining back Houndoom.
"Good job, I didn't expect you to be able to combat him so easily." Cyrus said.
"I'm full of surprises." Charles smiled. "Now Gligar, I choose you!" And he threw out a PokeBall. Gligar formed and stared around curiously.
"Gli?" He said. Cyrus smiled and pulled out his next Ultra Ball.
"Crobat, destroy him." He said, and released out his four winged bat. The two purple Pokémon stared at each other, and Gligar sprung into the air, so that they were both flying.
"Gligar use Metal Claw!" Charles exclaimed.
"Crobat use Confuse Ray." Cyrus said. Charles cursed as Crobat fired a small glowing ball. Gligar froze in mid air as the ball circled around him.
"Liga Liga!" Gligar said, and dove straight into the ground.
"Come on Gligar, you can shake it off!" Charles said. "Try another Metal Claw."
"Sludge Bomb!" Cyrus boomed. Gligar weakly tried to get back up, but Crobat fired a ball of purple slime. It exploded, coating the field with the purple sludge. Gligar didn't notice, as he was now hitting himself on the head with a glowing right claw. It stopped when Gligar's whole body turned purple.
"Looks like you flying scorpion friend has been poisoned, what a pity." Cyrus said. Charles ignored the jibe, but he was not enjoying this.
"Wing Attack, come on!"
"Cross Poison." Gligar was seeming to gain control, and jumped into the air.
"Cro Crobat!" Crobat said, and raced forwards and slashed Gligar with both wings.
"Gar." Gligar said weakly, and smashed one of his wings into Crobat, knocking the bat down. But Gligar glowed purple a second time, and suddenly began to fall backwards. Charles raced forwards and caught him in the nick of time. He stared down and saw Gligar had fainted.
"Tough luck." Cyrus snarled, and he brought back his Crobat.
"Nice work." Charles said, trying to sound nice, but it came out sounding very vicious. He went back to his spot, brining back Gligar, and prepared for the next round.
Matthew watched in awe as a Slowking used Psychic to send heavy iron balls flying around the room, a Dewgong formed a giant ice sculpture of her trainer and a Parasect used Stun Spore and Sleep Powder to make beautiful spores. As one of the last trainers had their Electrode explode, there was a call for his name.
"Good luck!" Lucinda said.
"Thanks." Matthew said, and he rushed down a brick corridor, pass a girl crying about her stuffed up performance. Matthew rushed up to end of the corridor, and peered around as a boy stormed off, carrying a depressed Bulbasaur.
"And now for our final contestant of the day!" Felicity announced. "Making his contest debut, give a round of applause for Matthew Pearl, aged 14 and a budding Pokémon trainer, who recently obtained the Coal Badge." There was a lot of applause, and as Matthew walked out towards the stage, he noticed Dr Orson muttering something to Mr Holmes, who nodded.
"Good luck, I am sure you'll do fine." Felicity said. Matthew nodded, but his mouth was dry and he was shaking a bit. As he stepped into the spot, the applause stopped, and the spotlight focused on him.
You can do this, you can do this, just throw the PokeBall and say a couple of words. He thought, and picked up his PokeBall.
"Piplup, I choose you!" He exclaimed. He suddenly realised as he threw it that he had no seals, and felt a bit ashamed as Piplup formed.
"Use Water Sport." Matthew commanded. Piplup lifted her head and released the sprinkling of water, which coated her body.
"Now use Bubble, and spread them out!" Matthew said.
"Piplup Pip Pip Pip!" Piplup said, and released as many bubbles as possible. They floated around the room, and the spotlights began to hit them, reflecting off others until they struck Piplup, causing her body to twinkle and flash. There was some polite applause, and Matthew was going to bow, but he didn't feel that it was enough.
"Now form one giant Bubble!" Matthew said. Piplup looked a bit surprised and turned around, but Matthew gave her a look and she nodded. She concentrated, and a giant Bubble began to grow out of her mouth, rising up above them. It was glowing brighter than any of the others as it was directly under the spotlight, and Piplup shone bright than ever as well. Satisfied, Matthew bowed, and the crowd clapped. Matthew smiled, and stared around, and saw his parents cheering, and feeling extremely relived, he and Piplup walked off stage as Felicity came back on.
"Great job Piplup, thanks a lot!" Matthew said.
"Pip Pip." Piplup replied, and the two rushed back to the dressing room. Lucinda and Harrison was watching the screen eagerly.
"They are about to announce who is going through!" Lucinda said. Matthew and Piplup joined in on watching the screen. Four people had already been announced: the people with the Slowking, Dewgong and Parasect included. The next person came up, and Harrison let out a squeal as he stared at his own face.
"Congrats." Matthew said, as Lucinda gave her friend a hug. The next two people were revealed, and the girl who had been crying appeared. Only one space remained, and Matthew crossed his fingers. He watched, and grinned as he saw himself.
"Good job!" Lucinda said. Matthew smiled and hugged Piplup.
"Looks like we could be battling each other." Harrison said, and Matthew looked up at him.
"Don't worry, I am sure we will in the finals."
There was a burst of fire, a blast of electricity, a spray of poison and the slash of a wing cutting through the air. Chimchar, Luxio and Staraptor's attacks collided with those from Ekans, Haunter and Stunky, while Turtwig battled the Geodude and Lapras and Beedrill were locked in combat. Xavier stood there, shouting commands to the Pokémon, while Vanessa slashed and stabbed at the grunts, Wurmple clinging to her shoulder. Looker and Roshonda continued in their armed combat, and Lickilicky was trying to get the caretaker out of the way.
"This is insane!" Vanessa hissed, as she wedged her umbrella into a grunts shoulder. He howled in pain and Vanessa grinned, and then lashed out against an oncoming one.
"Ember, Spark, Close Combat, Psychic and Absorb!" Xavier yelled. "My goodness this is tired, I am going to sit down."
"This is no time for sitting down!" Looker yelled, as he dodged a kick from Roshonda aimed at his head, and rammed his left fist into her gut.
"Dick!" She snarled, and doubled over in pain. Looker chuckled and rammed his palm into her nose, knocking her aside.
"The gun, where is the gun?" He cried.
"Up your arse." Roshonda yelled, and swung her right leg, smashing into Lookers legs. He cried out and collapsed over, and Roshonda grabbed his right arm and twisted it behind his back.
"Find it before any of them can!" She yelled. Lapras looked over while she dodged Beedrill's Twineedle attacks.
What a very unladylike position. She thought, and her eyes flashed pink. Roshonda yelled out as she was sent soaring further down the meadow.
"Nice work Lapras." Xavier said.
Why thank you, now get up and do something helpful! Lapras scolded, but then let out a soft cry as Beedrill used Bug Bite.
"Staraptor, get over here and deal with this thing!" Vanessa yelled. She pulled out her green pen and clicked it and jabbed into the nearest grunt. He was left breathless as
his uniform shirt began to melt away and his skin burned.
"Star Staraptor Star." Staraptor said, and tried to fly, but the Zubats swarmed down, firing a number of Leech Life attacks.
"Luxi!" Luxio cried, and fired Spark, frying several, but didn't realise Ekans was closing in.
"Ekans-s-s-s." The purple snake hissed, and began to wrap around him.
"XAVIER, DO SOMETHING!" Vanessa yelled, and swung her umbrella around, and blood was thrown into the air as the grunt with the burning chest was slit in the throat. Xavier ran forwards.
"Ekans, please get off Luxio!" He said firmly, but nothing happened, and Luxio gasped as Ekans closed around his neck.
"Chim Chim Char!" Chimchar said, rolling his eyes. He ran forwards, using Scratch on the Stunky to get it to move, and then fired an Ember.
"Ek!" Ekans cried, and slid away, but Luxio collapsed. Xavier bent to down examine, and Turtwig rushed over, energy being sucked away from the Geodude as he went.
"Tur Turtwig Twig!" Turtwig said, signalling for the exit. Vanessa ran over, leaving the three remaining grunts severely injured.
"Back off, shoo, shoo!" She snarled, swiping her sword at the Zubats, but as they moved, Staraptor collapsed.
"Star." She said weakly, and passed out.
"Bastards." Vanessa hissed. "Luxio, Spark!" But the Zubats all dived down, and fired more attacks upon them.
"Chim!" Chimchar cried, and fired a powerful Ember. It exploded against several of the attacks, blasting Xavier and Vanessa backwards, but left their Pokémon trapped. Looker rushed over, looking concerned.
"You need to leave here, now!" He said. "I can deal with Roshonda." He then ducked as Beedrill zoomed over his head, chased by Lapras on a Waterfall.
"She is unconscious, why don't you just let me kill her?" Vanessa suggested.
"How very crude." They all looked as Roshonda stood up, pointing the gun towards them and smiling deviously.
Virus was pounding down the route, Sahara and Mason struggling to hold on. A pair of trainers battling with a Budew and a Cleffa had to dodge to avoid being trampled.
"Watch where your going!" One of the girls yelled. Sahara tried to apologise, but was already moving too far away, and Lunatone was blocking her view from the girl anyway.
"How long do you think it'll hold them off for?" Sahara yelled to Mason.
"Hopefully long enough." He replied, and looked nervously over towards the Windworks. Sahara copied him, and saw that the wall of water was still holding strong, but it was shaking.
"They are breaking it down! Faster Virus." Sahara said. Virus nodded, and picked up speed, but Lunatone and Solrock were struggling to keep up.
"Stop!" Mason cried. Virus turned and skidded to a halt, nearly toppling over. Sahara fell off and rolled away. Mason rushed down towards Lunatone and Solrock, who were falling closer towards the ground, their eyes turning back to their normal colours.
"Sahara, you get out here, fast. I'll Surf on Golduck." Mason said. Solrock collapsed first, followed almost immediately after by Lunatone. There was the sound of a crashing wave in the distance, and Sahara looked and saw that the barrier had fallen.
"I can't just leave you, put them back in their PokeBalls!" Sahara said, sounding a bit desperate.
"I have to heal them though, they are good battlers!" Mason said, and scrambled inside his pockets for some medicine.
"Use your others, just hurry up!" Sahara said. "I'll carry them if I have to!" And she went to pick up Solrock, they heard the screech of tyres in the distance. Mason muttered and pulled out two PokeBalls, and the two Pokémon disappeared. Sahara smiled, and they rushed and latched on Virus. But before they could move, an orange blur raced towards them, coming to a halt alongside.
"Mason, where have you been?" Professor Rowan said, getting off his Arcanine. "Oh Sahara, how lovely to see you, how are you doing?"
"I'd be absolutely spiffy if we just get off this route straight away." Sahara said.
"What is going on? Has Jaki done something?" Rowan asked. Mason was about to ask who Jaki was, but the sound of screeching tyres was getting closer, and they could all see a Jeep Wrangler heading for them. There was a clatter, and they all ducked in time to avoid the bullets fired from a machine gun. The two girls Virus had nearly crushed were running away, screaming loudly.
"Granddad, we have to stop them!" Sahara said, sounding almost hysterical. "The people in that car are trying to kill me!"
"Well, I won't let that happen to my granddaughter!" Rowan said. "Arcanine, Fire Blast!"
"Arca." Arcanine said, smiling at the opportunity for a fight. The giant wolf stared towards the car and fired out five balls of flame. As they moved through the air, they spread out, forming a giant star.
Inside the Jeep, Charon could see the attack coming from the drivers seat and cursed.
"Well boys, its been nice knowing you." He said.
"Aren't you going to fight?" The grunt in the passenger seat said. He looked towards the drivers seat and saw that Charon had jumped out. The grunt looked towards the window, and let out a scream as the Fire Blast smashed into the windscreen. Sahara watched the carnage with glee. The front window was smashed, and the car was veering out of control as the interior burst into flames. The car went to the right, and left the road, smashed an Oran Berry plant before exploding, sending metal everywhere, most of which landed into the water. The remains of the car and the grunts inside sunk to the bottom of the lake, which began to turn black from the ash.
"Good, now lets leave and call the cops!" Mason said.
"Oh crap." Sahara said, and watched as green avocado shaped object flew towards them. Virus leapt up and forced her and Mason to the ground, while Arcanine shoved Rowan aside and leapt up as the grenade exploded. Charon watched it go off from the side of the road, and then grinned before passing out.
Cyrus pulled out his third Ultra Ball, and threw it without speaking. The yellow light and energy formed into a Gyarados, which rose above the field, staring menacingly down.
"Pity your only electric type is down for the count." Cyrus said.
"Don't worry, I know how to counter them." Charles said, and he threw out his PokeBall. It burst open with a variety of stars, and his shiny Gyarados rose up to equal height. The two Pokémon glared at each other, but neither refused to back down.
"Gyarados, use Ice Fang." Cyrus said.
"Dragon Pulse when it gets close!" Charles yelled. Cyrus' Gyarados flew forwards and clamped its ice filled mouth down onto the red Gyarados. He retaliated by firing the turquoise beam at him, sending the Gyarados smashing into the ground.
"Nice work." Cyrus fumed. "Waterfall!"
"Hydro Pump!" Charles yelled. The blue Gyarados rose up, being propelled by a giant waterfall. He became consumed by it and then crashed into Charles' Gyarados.
"Gyara-DOS!" He boomed, and fired out the powerful jet of water. But the other Gyarados remained airborne this time, though looked very angry about the attack.
"Ice Fang, but make it long distance!" Cyrus growled. He stared towards the crowd, and saw that people were muttering, unimpressed about their leaders performance.
"Hyper Beam!" Charles yelled. His Gyarados began to absorb in the orange energy, but Cyrus' released the Ice Fang. Charles gasped as his Gyarados was struck and quickly began to freeze before falling to the ground.
"Wish to give up, or would you like to wait for it to defrost?" Cyrus said nastily. Charles glared at him, and wanted to run up to him and punch him with all his might. But if he even tried it, he would probably be shot down a few seconds later.
"I'll wait." He said at last. Cyrus rolled his eyes and smirked.
"If you insist. Giga Impact, now!" Cyrus yelled. The blue Gyarados flew up towards the roof, and then dived down. A yellow ball had formed in front of him, and it spread out and covered him, and purple energy mixed in. Charles shut his eyes, now wanting to see what happen. One Gyarados smashed into the other, releasing a powerful force wave. Charles was tossed across the room, smashing into the back wall. He groaned and tried to stand up, and saw Cyrus triumphantly bringing back his Gyarados, while Charles' lay unconscious on the ground.
The battle rounds of the contest had commenced, and they had been intense. Matthew had seen Harrison's, and his Skiploom had won in only a few turns, using a powerful Solarbeam to knock out the rivals Starmie quickly. Matthew's first round had been a lot longer. He had unfortunately gone up against a Shuppet. Thankfully, Hypnosis and multiple Dream Eaters allowed him to tear down its health, and a Psywave sealed the deal. The judges had given him high marks as well, which could earn him a ribbon at the end.
"Great work!" Matthew said as he went off stage, Chimecho wrapped around his arm. "We're in the semi finals now!"
"Chime Chime!" Chimecho cheered. Matthew turned a corner, about to step into his dressing room, but found his father standing there.
"Hey there." He said. "Great work."
"Thanks a lot, I think I've done-" Matthew began, glowing with happiness, but his father cut across.
"Listen, I just received a phone call, and some people know you're my son." Adrian said. "They think the judges gave you high marks for your appeal because of that."
"What, that's ridiculous!" Matthew gasped. "Can't you just tell them you didn't?"
"The media would just think I am covering." Adrian said. "To get them off my back, you will have to lose." Matthew looked horrified and stepped away.
"I am not throwing this away, I could win!" He said, and Adrian laughed. Matthew was crestfallen, and couldn't stop a tear rolling down his cheek.
"Sorry son, but you just aren't as good as the other people here." Adrian said. "But if you at least know that you intended to lose, then when you do, it won't be as bad." Tears were now streaming down Matthew's face, but his father didn't seem to care. Satisfied, he began to walk away, but Chimecho blocked his way.
"ECHO!" He said, and releasing a powerful Hypnosis. Adrian looked a bit shocked, before his eyes shut and fell to his side, smacking his head on the wall. Matthew stared down at his father, and kicked him in the leg.
"Thank you." He said, and Chimecho smiled. Matthew then turned and went to open the door to his dressing room, but it was flung open before he could. Harrison grabbed Matthew's hand and dragged him, followed by Lucinda.
"Isn't that Adrian Pearl?" Lucinda said, staring down at Matthew's father.
"Probably, but no time to check." Harrison said. "We're battling in the semi finals, so go and get yourself ready!" And he and Matthew walked out of the tunnel, and there was more applause. Matthew quickly put Chimecho inside his PokeBall and rushed over towards his spot. Leah, Carolina and Peter stared down from the middle of the stands. The two mothers were arguing.
"I am sorry Leah, but I have to go and find Xavier!" Carolina said, standing up.
"But you'll miss Matthew's battle!" Leah huffed.
"I'll be back before it begins, I promise!" Lady Carolina said, and she quickly walked off.
"It's about to start!" Peter said, and pointed towards Matthew. Leah was shocked he was back out already, but began to cheer with everyone else.
"Welcome to the first semi finals battle!" Felicity said to the crowd. "This battle will determine the first person to battle in the finals. We have Harrison Maude and his Skiploom and Matthew Pearl and his Chimecho. Harrison won three ribbons last year, including the Floaroma Contest, and this is Matthew's first contest. Now, let the battle begin!"
"Skiploom, lets show him the true meaning of a contest battle!" Harrison said, and released his Heal Ball. Flower petals covered the field as Skiploom formed and floated happily around the arena. Matthew was still angry with his father, and it took him a few seconds before he released the battle had begun.
"Chimecho!" He said, and threw out his PokeBall. Chimecho spun around when he formed, before turning to face Skiploom.
"Use Sunny Day." Harrison said.
"Hypnosis." Matthew ordered. Chimecho released a soft melody, but Skiploom knew to avoid it before firing a ball of sunlight, bursting open and blocking out of unnatural light in the hall.
"Now use Stun Spore."
"Get in there with Psywave, quickly!" Matthew said.
"Skip!" Skiploom said, and moved so quickly Chimecho didn't see where it went. Then Skiploom stopped underneath him, and released tiny yellow spores. They clung to Chimecho, who had been about to release his attack, and he froze.
"No!" Matthew said, and Harrison grinned.
"Energy Ball, now!"
"Use-" Matthew began, but looked towards the tunnel and saw his father walking out. Matthew froze, and Chimecho stared around desperately, but was hit by the green ball of energy Skiploom had just fired.
"Oh, um…. Hypnosis!" Chimecho released another soft sound, but Skiploom moved high above, directly into the sunlight.
"Solarbeam, NOW!" Harrison yelled.
"Um…. um…." Matthew was completely shocked: he couldn't remember any of Chimecho's moves. Chimecho was too paralyzed to move anyway, and was struck by the powerful attack, sending him crashing into the ground at Matthew's feet. There was lots of applause, and Matthew realised the battle was over. He had completely forgotten about the judge's scores, but looked up and saw he had been given very low marks.
"Sorry buddy." He said to Chimecho, and pulled out his PokeBall and brought Chimecho back, before walking slowly back towards the tunnel.
Roshonda was looking utterly mad as she walked slowly forwards, pointing the gun towards Xavier, Vanessa and Looker. Luxio had fainted, and Turtwig and Chimchar were struggling to fight the Zubats. Lapras had run out of Psychics, leaving her unable to call Xavier for help or send the gun flying, and instead having to take Beedrill's hits. Lickilicky had disappeared long ago with the caretaker, and two of the surviving grunts were busy trying to stop the other from bleeding to death, not caring about anything else.
"I should haven just shot you all the first chance I got." Roshonda was saying. "But I just love the looks on your faces. They are positively delightful!" Vanessa's hands were clutched to the umbrella, waiting for the right moment, and Wurmple was curled up in her hair. Looker's face was losing all colour, while Xavier merely looked bored with the proceedings.
"Now, who should I shoot first?" Roshonda pondered. "The agent, the android, or the freak?" She spun around wildly, preparing to shoot whoever it pointed at when she stopped. Vanessa lifted her umbrella, and went to stab her, but a jet of flame erupted from some trees on the edge of the field. Roshonda screamed as she was sent flying backwards, smashing into the Jeep Wrangler. The gun fell from her hand as Lady Carolina rushed up, followed by Ninetales.
"Oh darling, what ever is going on here?" Carolina exclaimed, and looked around at the Zubats, the dead and dying grunts and Lapras and Beedrill's battle. "There's my Lapras!" She shrieked, and everyone turned to see the more intense battle happening. Lapras had got up the strength to fight back, but the Blizzard attacks kept missing.
"Chimchar, get in there!" Vanessa yelled as she brought back Luxio.
"Chim!" Chimchar cried, and fired another Ember towards Beedrill.
"Bee!" Beedrill gasped, and collapsed, finally unconscious. Chimchar looked very happy, which turned to shock as it suddenly turned white. His whole body was growing: his arms and legs became longer, he grew taller, and tail suddenly started to grow. The white light disappeared, and a Monferno stood their in its place.
"Wurmple!" Wurmple said happily, and Turtwig beamed at his friend.
"Monferno Mon Mon Ferno." Monferno said, and jumped on the spot. Lapras gave him a nod, but then keeled over sideways.
"I need to go and check on Lickilicky and the Caretaker." Looker said. He pulled several yellow diamond-like objects out of his pocket and gave them to Xavier and Vanessa.
"They are Revives. Use them on your Pokémon to heal them, though it won't heal them fully. Thank you for your help once again." He smiled to the three of them before turning and running off.
"Was he the same man from Lake Verity?" Carolina said.
"Yes Mother. Now what should we do about those three?" Xavier said. The three grunts looked at them. Two of them stood up, fists raised.
"MON!" Monferno rushed forwards, his right fist glowing white. He punched one of the grunts, sending him flying through a window of the caretaker's house. The other one was stunned and didn't notice as Vanessa stabbed him in the gut with her umbrella. He gasped and she shoved him over. Ninetales fired another Flamethrower, but this time towards the Jeep Wrangler, and the upholstery burst into flames.
"Let's get out of here, quick!" Vanessa said, and she ran out, grabbing Monferno's arm and dragged him out. Xavier walked over to Lapras and gave her the Revive. She blinked rapidly before her neck straightened up.
Much better. Oh hello Carolina, surprised to see me out of my PokeBall? Lapras smirked. Ninetales smiled warmly at her old team mate, but Carolina looked a bit cross.
"Let's go darling, come on!" She said, and ran out.
"Tur!" Turtwig added, and he followed.
"Let's go Lapras." Xavier said. Lapras went to follow, but saw Roshonda stirring.
I'll just take care of her. She said, and her eyes flashed pink. The caretaker's house suddenly collapsed as the beams all shattered, and the building caved in, some of the rubble landed everywhere. Lapras then turned towards the Jeep Wrangler, and her eyes flashed once again. Suddenly, the car rose into the air, did a 360 degree flip, and then landed right on top of Roshonda, along with the fire. Lapras nodded and moved along with Xavier, leaving the scene behind. But as they disappeared, the car was suddenly tossed aside, and Nidoqueen picked Roshonda up, who coughed took off her jacket as it was on fire.
"Thanks." She mumbled, and quickly brought back Beedrill, who was still lying near a tree. One of the grunts groaned and Roshonda walked over. He was being crushed by some rubble, but when Nidoqueen moved it off, his ribs were crushed and he stopped breathing. Roshonda rolled her eyes and went to leave: the mission had failed. But as she walked away, the sunlight she had been blocking reflected off something.
"Nido!" Nidoqueen said, and bent down and picked it. It was a small, plastic key card. Roshonda's face lit up and she snatched it out of her Pokémon's hand.
Maybe she hadn't failed after all…
The grenade had gone off, but Arcanine's Flash Fire prevented it from doing major damage, as he absorbed most of it in. But the shock wave knocked Virus aside, and Sahara rolled down a small embankment. Her coat buttons were ripped off and the coat came off. She rolled over a small rock, and her blazer and shirt were badly ripped.
"Sahara, are you alright?" Mason yelled, and ran down after her, but froze as he saw her exposed back.
The giant tear was exposing her back, which was milk white. But it was covered with a giant tattoo. Firstly, there was a large red circle, covering almost of her back. There were also three circles: steel blue, pale pink and a rich gold, which were positioned like a triangle: the blue by her left shoulder, the pink around her right shoulder, and the gold by her right hip. There was also a Pokémon face inside the red circle. It was pink and blue, but Mason couldn't work out who it was. Suddenly, a large yellow hand grasped his shoulder, and Virus threw him back onto the road.
"Elec!" He roared, and picked up Sahara. She hadn't noticed, and looked a bit groggy.
"Where did it come from?" Rowan asked.
"Who cares, just take me to Floaroma!" Sahara moaned. Virus nodded, and he began to ran, carrying her in his arms. Rowan and Mason climbed onto Arcanine and they followed after.
Behind a bush, Charon began to stir, and watched as they left. There was a beeping sound, and he picked up his cell phone. The plastic was severely cracked, but he was able to see Roshonda was calling.
Hopefully, she would have better news.
"Weavile, go!"
"Elle, I choose you!"
The Ultra and PokeBalls burst open, and Cyrus' Weavile and Elle stood there, staring angrily at each other.
"If I win this round, I have won the battle." Cyrus said.
"Well I'll make sure that doesn't happen." Charles replied, and Cyrus simply smirked once more.
"Weavile, Night Slash."
"Elle use Return." Charles boomed. Weavile raced forwards, lifting up her left claw which was glowing black. Elle waited for her to get close before forming the pink heart in swallowing it. Weavile was only inches away, about to swipe, when Elle released the pink beam. Weavile cried out as she blasted towards the roof, smashing into the lights and falling back to the ground. Jupiter looked shocked, and Draco and Mars exchanged confused looks. They had never seen an un-evolved Pokémon have such a powerful attack.
"Get up!" Cyrus growled, sensing some disturbance. "Use X-Scissor."
"Wea." Weavile moaned, and struggled to stand up.
"Use Secret Power." Charles said.
"Eva Eve." Elle said, and her body suddenly glowed white. Than, it changed to yellow and Elle ran forwards, leaping up when she reached the middle of the field. Weavile was moving slowly forwards, both claws glowing green, when Elle landed on her. Weavile collapsed and was unconscious before her head hit the ground.
"Oh no, it looks like you didn't win." Charles smirked as Elle turned into red energy.
"Not yet anyway." Cyrus replied, and he stored Weavile's Ultra Ball away. "Come on, hurry up and send your next mutt out." Charles rolled his eyes, but was glad that Cyrus was losing his cool. He threw out a Great Ball, and Poochyena formed.
"Honchkrow, end this!" Cyrus said, and the giant bird formed, and flew high above Poochyena.
"Poison Fang, quickly!" Charles said.
"Drill Peck!" Cyrus said. Honchkrow dived down, spinning rapidly. Poochyena was running forwards with a mouth full of poison.
"Jump onto her back!" Charles yelled. Cyrus gasped as Poochyena bent his legs and leapt up, landing right between Honchkrow's wings, and then he clamped his teeth onto feathers.
"HONCH!" Honchkrow cried in pain.
"Stay on with Bite!" Charles proclaimed.
"Get it off with Psychic!" Cyrus snarled. Poochyena bit down again, and Honchkrow flinched, unable to initiate the attack.
"Poison Fang once more!" Charles called.
"Psychic!" Cyrus yelled.
"Poochy!" Poochyena said, and clamped down again. But this time, Honchkrow's whole body flashed purple, and Charles punched the air happily at the bird's poisoning. But Honchkrow's eyes flashed pink, trying to get him off, but Poochyena resisted.
"Did you forget that Dark is immune to Psychic?" Charles teased. "Jump and use Sucker Punch, now!"
"Heat Wave, do whatever you must to defeat him!" Cyrus yelled. Poochyena leapt up into the sky, and soared back down, punching his right front paw into Honchkrow's stomach. The birds eyes bulged and she fell to the ground, landing with a soft thud. Minerva ran up to the edge of the field and stared at Honchkrow as Poochyena landed.
"It has fainted!" Minerva exclaimed. "Charles has won!" Charles beamed and Poochyena barked happily. The grunts began to clap, but Cyrus shot them all an evil look and they remained silent.
"Pooch Poochy!" Poochyena said, and he suddenly glowed white. Charles watched in awe and happiness as Poochyena's body grew until it was about twice its original height and length. The white light disappeared, and Mightyena let out a loud howl before jumping happily onto Charles, knocking him over.
"How adorable." Minerva said, and she stroked his black fur. Cyrus stared over at Charles before storming off. He had just reached the lift when an the loudspeakers suddenly turned on.
"Urgent message from Admin Charon and Grunt Roshonda." The emotionless, genderless voice said. "Valley Windworks have been unlocked. Mission 7 Phase B has begun. Require back up, the Dex Holders are in the area." Cyrus stared up towards the ceiling where the message had come from and he beamed.
"Get your worthless arses downstairs straight away!" He yelled. "We must get there urgently." The grunts all stood up and began to stampede. Mars led the way, barking orders to anyone she could boss around. Charles sighed and gave Mightyena a pat before bringing him back and following the others down towards the helicopters.
Vanessa was leaning against the Contest Hall, watching as everyone left. Xavier had seen Sahara come in and had gone to check on her, leaving Carolina with Vanessa as they watched for the Pearls to show up.
"So what's the deal with Xavier?" Vanessa blurted.
"Excuse me?" Carolina said, sounding confused.
"Why does he has about as much emotion as a brick?" Vanessa continued, and turned towards the woman. Lady Carolina took a deep breath before continuing.
"As you may now, my family and the Pearls live between Twinleaf Town and Lake Verity. We always use to have picnics by the lake. Lapras and Leah's Mantine would take the kids across, they always loved it. But one day, when the boys were about eight, Matthew and Xavier started having an argument. We got them some Goldeen to take care of for when they became trainers, and unfortunately, some of them had died. They were arguing about who was supposed to have fed them, and they started fighting while riding Mantine. Matthew pushed Xavier off and he fell into the lake. Palmer went to dive in, but Xavier was suddenly blasted out of the water. He hasn't shown any emotion since then and I still don't know why." Tears were streaming down Carolina's cheeks, making Vanessa uncomfortable. Suddenly, a piece of white string shot out and grabbed her. Vanessa was pulled forwards, through the crowd, and suddenly she was by a disgruntled looking Matthew and his Wurmple.
"We have to leave, now!" He said.
"Why, what have you done?" Vanessa said.
"I'll explain on the way, I just need to escape my family." Matthew said, and he began to run. Vanessa looked towards Carolina, who was now joined by Leah and Peter, and shrugged and followed after.
Meanwhile, Sahara, Xavier, Nutty and Turtwig were walking out of the Pokémon Centre. Rowan and Mason had to do some work, and the two had decided to head off. The nurse had sewn up Sahara's coat for her, so her tattoo was covered up.
"Sounds like we both had pretty eventful days." Sahara smirked, as Xavier finished explaining his run in with Team Galactic.
"This Team Galactic seems to be following us." Xavier said. "They are always at the exact same location that we are at."
"I know, it's like their watching us." Sahara said, shivering slightly with repulsion. The two continued to walk forwards for some, not noticing Vanessa and Matthew running ahead of them. Suddenly, there was a whirr over their heads, and the two looked up and saw a dozen helicopters flying over them.
"What is going on, where are they all going to?" Xavier said. Sahara looked in the distance and saw a wind turbine near several small black dots that could be cars. She rolled her eyes and groaned before turning to her friend.
"Feel like a trip to the Windworks?"