Next chapter! WOOT!
000
Two dozen Rocket grunts were in a circle surrounding its target. These were the elite forces; the best that Team Rocket had. Their Pokemon were out of their balls, snarling. These Pokemon were as elite as the members who trained them. They had been caught at the Safari Zone, a place where all of the rarest Pokemon flourished.
But none of them held a candle to their target.
The target in the center of their circle was very small and pink, and it shone in a bright blue sphere. Its light blue eyes shone with innocence and wonder, and something that was different, something that the rockets would never understand.
Not that they wanted to.
Proton himself licked his lips, gritting his teeth nervously. His own Pokemon, a Weezing, floated next to him. The Rocket executive knew he had to catch the Pokemon in front of him, and it would be the most difficult job he had ever had to do.
Yet he knew that if he failed, the consequences would be worse than a loss of job.
So he had to try.
"Everyone, attack!"
The Pokemon leapt forward, attacking the pink creature. The Rockets shouted orders.
Proton clenched his fist. This was his only chance.
He had to capture Mew.
000
It was Red that filed the report on Brock's death.
He had arrived at Cerulean City that night, and spent the night there.
He hadn't gotten any sleep.
He had thought about Brock, and how he had battled him. He was brave.
Red didn't feel brave, he felt scared. And sad. And alone.
He heard his other Pokemon sleep.
Hawkeye was snoring loudly. Lucina was sniffling in her sleep. Tyrone had never left his ball since Mt. Moon. Luca was dreaming of sweets. And Ash…
Who was still awake?
Red saw that now. Ash had always been with Red, and he knew that Ash would always be loyal.
Ash's small dark eyes looked into Red's brown ones. Red smiled.
He wasn't alone.
000
Brock's parents had begged him to go to the funeral, but Red would never set foot in Mt. Moon again.
Officer Jenny had seemed concerned for his wellbeing after what had happened. She told him to call his mother.
Red did, but he did not talk about Brock, or anything that had happened at .
Delia had seen conflicted emotions on her son's face, but she didn't push the issue. After hanging up, she wished she had. What kind of mother was she?
000
Red turned in front of his Pokemon. They looked back at him. Even Tyrone, who was always pretending to sleep, was eyeing him with a sharp gaze.
"Guys, Something strange happened the other day. I wasn't sure what happened, but I knew it was dangerous. Are…. Are you guys okay to keep going?"
"If I may interject something, trainer?"
Red nearly jumped out of his skin. "AHHHH! WHO SAID THAT?"
Lucina fluttered forward. The Butterfree's eyes glowed purple.
"That would be me."
"But you can… talk?" gasped Red in shock.
"Not in your language, Red. But my psychic powers have matured enough for me to communicate with you via telepathy."
"Oh." Said Red, still surprised. "That's uh, good I guess. You can translate! So, are you guys okay?"
Ash smirked and immediately climbed on top of his shoulder.
"Ash is in."
Hawkeye squawked indignantly.
"Hawkeye says of course he is in."
Luca gave a shout.
"Luca says he is in it for the food."
The Butterfree twirled in midair.
"And I am in as well. You have got me to evolve and accomplish things that I could never preform by myself. I will not leave you now."
Only Tyrone remained sitting on the bed.
The trainer and the Nidorino stared at one another for a long time.
Tyrone's eyes narrowed, and he gave a short bark.
"I have a question. What if we run into them again?"
Red looked at his Pokemon. "I know something must have happened to you Tyrone. Something happened. They hurt you. I promise, if we ever see them again, I promise we will do the best to bring them down."
Tyrone looked at him for another moment. Then he scoffed.
"Fine. I'm in."
Red's face split into a huge grin.
"Thanks guys, now let's go defeat the gym!"
000
Red was standing in front of the Cerulean City Gym. He sighed in annoyance. He had learned from a man outside that had told him is a Water Gym.
"Ash... I don't think we're ready. I could probably just use you, but Luca has only raised a few levels, and he's definitely not ready, and I don't want you to fight alone."
Ash turned to Red with a look of understanding on his face.
"Pika Pi!"
Red grinned. "Good to know that I have your support at the least. But… Where should we go?"
"How about back to Pallet, cuz you'll be so badly defeated that you want to cry home to Mommy."
Across from Red, leaning across a railing of the Nugget Bridge, was Blue.
Red sighed. "What do you want?"
Blue smiled in a cocky fashion. "Battle me. Again."
Red quickly agreed. "Alright let's go! Everyone come out!"
Red's Pokeballs flashed, revealing Hawkeye, Tyrone, Lucina and Luca. Ash jumped from his trainer's shoulder on to the battlefield.
Blue threw back his ball and laughed. Out of his belt appeared Eevee, Spearow, Rattata, and his new Pokemon; A yellow colored mole called a sandshrew.
"Ready to begin Red?"
Eevee growled menacingly, Spearow flapped its wings, Rattata sharpened its fangs, and Sandshrew held its claws above its head, ready to strike.
"You bet!"
Lucina's eyes glowed with psychic energy. Hawkeye raised his beak high in the air. Tyrone pawed the ground, snorting. Luca snapped out of its daze and pointed at the sandshrew, nodding to him. Ash's cheeks sparkled with electricity.
"GO!" shouted both trainers at the same time, and the Pokemon propelled forward: On the attack.
000
Bill had not gotten any sleep the last few days. He was terrified at this very moment, waiting for Rockets to jump at him. He was typing on his PC, jumping at the slightest sound. His Clefairy knew that something was up, but he never told her. She was sitting in his lap, trying to cheer him up.
It wasn't working.
The Pokemon researcher continued to type, and he knew the more he typed the worse consequences were going to get.
But he had to try.
000
The battle was complete pandemonium. All across the bridge were the Pokemon of the two trainers, and a crowd soon gathered to watch.
Ash was taking on the Spearow.
The Pikachu was sending electrical blasts at his opponent, and the Spearow flew high in the air, dodging.
The tiny bird's speed and stature allowed it to avoid every Thundershock. Occasionally, the Spearow would dive down, and Ash had to roll to the side to dodge them.
The Rattata managed to leap on to Tyrone's back, safe from all attacks. The rodent was scratching and biting the Nidorino's back, and while each attack did very little damage on his durable skin, he was slowly weakening the Poison Pin Pokemon, and Tyrone bellowed in rage and tried to buck it off.
Luca sent vines to battle against the Sandshrew. Each vine was blocked by the mole Pokémon's sharp claws. When Sandshrew counterattacked with a scratch attack, the Bulbasaur leapt backwards to dodge.
Hawkeye fought against the Eevee.
The fox like Pokemon tried to tackle the Pidgeotto, but was too slow. Hawkeye focused all of his efforts on dodging, trying to tire the Evolution Pokemon out.
Lucina watched the battles out carefully and shifted from side to side, looking for an opportunity to help a friend.
Red and Blue stared at each other, their hands clenched.
It was five minutes before the first Pokemon went down.
The spearow finally landed a strike, as this time Ash was unable to dodge. The Pikachu gave a yelp of pain as the Spearow flew high in the air.
Blue, seeing his chance, shouted "Now! Peck again!"
Red tipped his hat. "Catch it, Ash!"
The spearow descended down, its beak flashing in the sunlight. Ash held out his stubby arms and caught the bird.
"Now, roll backwards!"
The Pikachu, rolled backwards with the Spearow in hand, before landing a kick and sending it in the air.
"Finish it with Thundershock!"
Ash blasted the disoriented Spearow with electricity, knocking it out.
Not to be outdone, Tyrone finally threw off the Rattata. The rodent rolled off the Poison type's back squeaking frantically. But the squeaking was ceased as Tyrone landed the double kick, and it fell unconscious.
"Punk."
Blue cursed as he returned them to their Pokeballs.
There were now only two pairs left.
Luca and the Sandshrew could still not hit one another.
As Hawkeye dodged another attack from Eevee, the fox Pokémon's eyes narrowed.
Leaping forward, she bit the Pidgeotto's leg. Hawkeye squawked and shook, trying to shake the Eevee off, but the grip was too tight.
Meanwhile, Bulbasaur cast two more vines at the Sandshrew. This time, instead of blocking, the Sandshrew ducked under, throwing Luca off balance. Sprinting forward, the Sandshrew slashed at the Bulbasaur's face. Luca whimpered in pain, and the sandshrew raised its other claw to strike.
But then Luca's vines flew backwards, hitting the Sandshrew's back and sent it flying into the side of the bridge.
Luca's vines now wrapped around the mole's body, before lifting it high in the air. With a great effort, he slammed it into the ground. The Sandshrew twitched in pain.
Blue returned his Pokemon, but his attention was on the Eevee and Pidgeotto. Hawkeye was still unable to let go.
Red stared nervously, wondering if he had to switch out. He could always use Lucina, but he wanted this to be the Pidgeotto's fight. He didn't have much choice, unless…
Red shouted, "Hawkeye! Fall off the bridge!"
Blue gaped at the other trainer. "What?!"
Hawkeye grimaced in pain, but he complied. Falling backwards, he fell off of the bridge, taking Eevee down with her.
Blue's face paled as he ran to the railing, looking down.
Red tipped his hat. "Now fly up!"
There was a painful second of silence. But then…
Blue flew backwards and landed on his butt as Hawkeye ascended. The Eevee was no longer biting his leg, but clutching on fearfully.
"What?"
"Throw her!"
Eevee was finally shaken off and fell to the bridge. Rolling on her feet, she snarled.
"Tackle!" Both trainers shouted.
Eevee sprinted forward, and Hawkeye flew at top speed. They were about to collide….
"DO A BARREL ROLL!" Red screamed at the top of his lungs.
Hawkeye did a complicated ariel maneuver, dodging. The Eevee skidded off balance.
"End it!"
Twirling in the air, Hawkeye's gust attack hit a critical, sending the Eevee very close to the edge.
She tried to get up, but failed.
As Blue returned her to his ball, he turned to Red murderously.
"COME ON! WHY CAN I NEVER BEAT YOU?"
Ash squinted his eyes at the loud noise.
Red scratched his head sheepishly.
"Genetics?"
"MY GRANDFATHER IS THE POKEMON PROFESSOR!"
Red flinched. "Sorry."
Blue was breathing heavily.
"But-you know, you should take the Nugget Bridge Challenge. Get a free nugget."
Red nodded. "O-ok?"
"And visit Bill. The Poke maniac. Its cuz of him I got this baby."
He flashed a ticket.
Red gasped. "That's to… that's to the SS Anne."
"That's right. I'd suggest you'd go, but I didn't think you'd be fancy enough, especially with that rat of yours."
Ash growled.
"Smell ya later."
Red rolled his eyes, but he looked thoughtful.
"We should probably do it though right?"
Turning around, he saw five trainers, each of them prepared to battle.
Red looked to Ash. "Ready buddy?"
Ash gave him a confident grin. "Pikachu!"
000
Pokemon: 5
Badges: 1
Deaths: 0
Team:
Ash lv 19
Hawkeye lv 22
Tyrone: lv 25
Lucina: lv 17
Luca: lv 14
000
This one was shorter, but still good. Not much to say…