Disclaimer : I do not own Pokémon or any of its characters
A/N: I think you guys have pretty much come to terms with my style of writing; from now on I'll leave out the document layouts at the top.
Thanks goes in whole to both Rawhide and PhoenixClaw. If not for them, I wouldn't have the resources to post my stories, and this would be ready even later then when I promised.
On another note, this is where things start to heat up for our heroes. It's probably the most action I've included in this story so far.
Which actually requires me to bring up the fact that there's a bit of bloody violence here, so even though I can take this (I wrote it after all), I know that some people are squeamish. Just thought I'd warn you all.
Ch 10: Stay for the Battle
"Go, Hitmontop!" Butch tossed his pokéball to release the fighting type Pokémon. "Rapid Spin!" Hitmontop flipped upside down and began rotating clockwise at an accelerated rate, deflecting Corsola's Spikes.
"Now, Staryu! Get rid of that bomb!"
"Don't let that Pokémon near it, Hitmontop!" The tip of Hitmontop's head neared the surface of the water, creating a large whirlpool to suck Staryu out.
"Staryu, counter with your own Rapid Spin!" Misty cried out desperately, but Hitmontop was already reaching its maximum rotation speed, descending deeper into the pool as it drilled a path to the bottom.
"Now Sableye, use Shadow Ball!" Cassidy ordered. Staryu traveled up the water cyclone and was shot into the air directly into the path that Sableye launched its attack.
"Corsola, help Staryu!" Corsola was on the scene in an instant with a Mirror Coat ready. The dark ball of energy was reflected downwards toward Hitmontop.
"Hitmon!" (Aw nuts!) The fighting Pokémon cried out in surprise as he was knocked off his axis, propelled out of the pool, and crashed into the now evacuated stands. Corsola started breathing heavily, the toll from taking that last hit catching up with her.
"Corsola, Recover!" The tired coral Pokémon began glowing upon activation of her restoration powers.
"Don't let up, Hitmontop! Attack that Corsola before it gets its strength back!" Hitmontop burst from the rubble and delivered a jump kick to Corsola before could she could fully recover.
"Corsola, return!" Misty held up the pokéball to let the beam of red light recall the fainted Pokémon. Butch smirked.
"Nice try, Missy, but you shouldn't have underestimated us," he taunted. "Now Hitmontop, use Triple Kick on the girl!"
The three-legged pokémon nodded and rushed at Misty. The young Gym Leader gritted her teeth, expecting the worst. Without warning, a pair of vines wrapped around the waist and legs of Hitmontop, instantly halting his movements.
"Now slam it, Meganium!" The grass type nodded before she slammed Hitmontop into the concrete floor.
"What the—augh!" Cassidy exclaimed in surprise before raising her forearm to block the blinding light shining in her eyes.
"Casey! Nice timing!" Misty exclaimed with a grateful laugh.
"Don't forget us!" Misty looked up to see Duplica and Melody on top of the diving board, directing a Ditto spotlight at Cassidy's face.
"We've got your back, so hurry up and save the Gym already!" Melody chipped in. Misty nodded.
"Thanks you guys! Time to fish out that bomb, Staryu!" Staryu launched into a rapid spin down towards the rapidly settling explosive canister.
"Oh no you don't!" Sableye launched a Night Shade attack at the platform supporting Duplica and Melody. Ditto instantly shifted into a gooey pink rope and wrapped itself around Duplica's wrist, halting her fall. Duplica reached out for Melody's outstretched hand, but was short by mere centimeters. The same ghostly pale expression crossed both girls faces as Melody continued to plummet to the ground below. Halfway down she felt something wrap itself around her waist; a tightening sensation was followed by the realization that she was no longer falling uncontrollably. Melody looked down to see Casey riding on top of Meganium's back with a smirk on her face.
"Looks like I've got your back, Melody!" Melody breathed a sigh of relief, resigning herself to the vines lowering her gently to the ground. Seeing that her friends were no longer in imminent danger, Misty turned back in time to see Sableye pin Staryu to the bottom of the pool with a Double Edge. Misty glared at Cassidy.
Cassidy smiled wickedly and held out the detonator. Misty's blood ran cold. 'She wouldn't!'
"But your pokémon will be blown to bits!" Misty yelled. Cassidy shrugged.
"Now Hitmontop!" Butch ordered. Hitmontop climbed out of the impression he left in the floor and dashed towards Casey and Meganium.
"Triple Kick!" Butch called out. Casey dismounted off Meganium and held up her bat in defense, determined to buy Meganium enough time to safely lower Melody to the ground. The other girls watched in horror as Casey was disarmed with the first kick, and received a brutal kick to the chest with the second. A small spurt of blood was released from Casey's mouth upon impact, her mind flashing red from the pain; she was unconscious before she hit the wall and slid to the floor with a thud, lying motionless in a crumpled heap.
"GO ALREADY, MEGANIUM!" Melody screamed down at the giant flower pokémon. Meganium nodded before releasing her hold on Melody, who ungracefully fell on her butt, getting there just in time to take the third kick, the sheer force sending Meganium crashing through the wall.
Misty gritted her teeth with rage.
"Don't forget about me, runt!" Cassidy called down to her. Misty whipped her head around just in time to see Cassidy push the switch.
"NOOOOO! STARYU!" Misty screamed. The small cube flashed yellow before it detonated inside the pool. Melody's eyes locked on Casey's helpless form. She dashed forward to protect the injured girl with her own body, facing forward with arms shielding her face and heart. Melody shut out all feeling when shards of glass cut into her skin, despite the pain when a jagged piece bounced up and managed to slash across her right eye socket. A cry of anguish finally escaping from her mouth when a large shard, roughly a foot in length embedded itself deep into her left thigh, piercing through to the other side. The strength in her leg failing instantly, Melody collapsed on one knee and clasped a hand over her eye, her good eye focused on the miniature tsunami approaching. Duplica and Ditto dropped down without warning, the latter transforming into a barricade to prevent them all from being washed away.
"Melody, are you okay?" Duplica asked worriedly.
"Never better.," Melody assured weakly, smiling despite the burning pain in her leg and increasing lightheaded sensation caused by the blood trickling through her fingertips.
"Go ahead and get them out of here, Duplica!"
Butch and Cassidy lowered themselves into the rubble to recover their prize, coming face-to-face with Misty as the smoke cleared.
"I'm not going to leave you alone!" Duplica protested.
"Think about it! Ash and Ritchie still haven't come back. Butch and Cassidy must have brought backup, so you need to get Casey and Melody to a hospital while you can!"
"But…"
"Duplica! Go! I can only buy you so much time!" Duplica turned back towards her wounded companions, seeing the shallow breathing of Casey, and Melody's condition.
"Sorry to be such a burden," Melody apologized. Duplica put on a determined look.
"C'mon, Ditto! Let's get them out of here!" She ran to Casey's side and grabbed the correct pokéball before returning Meganium to her pokéball. Ditto finished transforming into a perfect copy of an Arcanine. Duplica helped Melody climb onto Arcanine's crouching form before carefully handing her Casey.
"I'll be back as soon as I can, Misty!" Duplica promised before grabbing Casey's bat and climbing on Arcanine. Arcanine stood on all fours before using Extreme Speed to race out the hole in the wall.
"Thanks for the offer, Duplica, but I'll take care of these two no problem," Misty declared. Butch laughed incredulously.
"I got this Cassidy. The girl is obviously delirious from smoke inhalation." Cassidy nodded in agreement, a look of contemplation on her face.
'I don't know, Butch. She weathered both the explosion and the miniature flood, but she doesn't have a scratch on her.'
"Hitmontop, use Mega Kick!"
"Hitmon!" (This ends here!) Hitmontop's three legs gave him incredible speed as it dashed towards Misty. He jumped into the air and kicked out at Misty.
Misty mouthed something inaudible and a transparent wall appeared inches in front of her to absorb Hitmontop's attack, the sheer force of the attack sending her skidding back towards the remains of the bleachers.
"What, what are you?" Butch exclaimed.
"A gift from Staryu."
Misty's response stunned Butch momentarily before he smirked at the revelation.
"Aw, isn't that precious? She thinks that pathetic pokémon gave her one final gift by leaving that Reflect wall in place. Too bad it's worn off by now. Maybe next time you'll think about your Pokémon's safety instead of worrying about those weaklings in the stands."
"Don't give me that bull. Team Rocket, Team Devastation, either way you guys don't value the lives of people or pokémon," Misty remarked with an icy tone.
"Au contrairé, little girl. My pokémon are very important to me," Cassidy objected. A shadow slowly approached her before revealing himself to be her Sableye. "It's a shame that your Staryu didn't have a more competent trainer." To Cassidy's surprise, a look of relief appeared on Misty's face.
"Good. I was afraid that Sableye had paid for your heartlessness."
Butch chuckled. "I guess for a sentimental fool like yourself, having the opponents pokémon survive must be quite a relief." Misty remained silent.
"You really are pathetic, you know that?" Butch decided. He snapped his fingers, signaling for his Hitmontop to deliver the final blow. Hitmontop jumped towards Misty, two feet aimed for a Double Kick.
"Reflect!" Misty called out. Another transparent wall came to Misty's defense.
"I thought you said that it had worn off by now!" Cassidy shouted at her partner.
"It did, I mean it should have!" Butch defended.
"It did," Misty assured. "I just had Staryu make another." She opened her left hand to reveal a small, orange starfish resting in her palm.
"Don't tell me that Staryu used Minimize to escape that explosion!" Cassidy exclaimed.
"It looks like I won't have to," Misty replied coolly. "Now don't act all surprised Cassidy. I'm sure that someone with your overwhelming intellect had already figured out you've been battling Staryu's Substitute from the beginning."
'That little brat has been playing with us all along,' Cassidy realized.
"When taking the selection test to be Gym Leader here, I ran into a trio of deceitful trainers. I learned firsthand that I'd have to be prepared for anything my opponent could throw at me." She took a deep breath before continuing. "But more importantly, I learned that you have to be willing to sacrifice everything to protect the innocent. And as much as I love this Gym and my position, I've known all along that it I'd have to be willing to lose it."
"Ugh. Spare me that sappy nonsense, please," Butch retched. Misty smirked.
"It's not nonsense," she defended. "It's that way of thinking that will give me the strength to beat you!" She kissed her next pokéball before throwing it forward. With a flash of light, out popped her Gyarados with a ferocious snarl. The mere sight of the blue serpent was enough to send chills down the Devastation Duo's spines.
'Arrgh. She's been stalling until the place was empty this entire time. I can't believe she's been holding that back until it was just us and her,' Butch grimaced.
"Butch, grab the container! We're getting out of here now!" Cassidy ordered.
"Don't tell me that you're afraid of this kid, Cassidy."
"Of course not! Our goal is to recover the container at all costs. We can't afford to have her stop us from carrying out our mission!" Butch stepped back in surprise from the force of her voice, but quickly recovered and dove for the container.
"Hold it!" Misty demanded.
"Use Flash, Sableye!" Cassidy ordered.
A brilliant illumination filled the room, forcing Misty to shield her eyes with her forearm. When the light faded, Butch and Cassidy were gone, leaving behind the indentation from whatever it was that they took from what was left of the pool floor; not to mention about thirty or so low ranking grunts sporting various electric pokémon.
'I think it's time I got out of here,' Misty thought in disbelief. "Gyarados!" Gyarados aimed his mouth upwards before launching a devastating Hyper Beam towards the ceiling. The grunts ran around frantically trying to find an exit before the entire building collapsed. Gyarados extended his body towards the hole in the wall to provide Misty cover from the falling debris as she ran for the exit. Misty recalled Gyarados into his pokéball before a large rock could crush him.
'Goodbye, Cerulean Gym.' She took one last look before heading outside to escape being crushed as Cerulean Gym caved in on itself…
A chain of footsteps echoed past a seemingly empty alleyway occupied by a lone dumpster and a few Rattata. A few of the lower ranked grunts from Team Devastation stopped. One in particular approached the dumpster, scaring away the wild pokémon as he approached. He began opening the lid of the dumpster when one of his comrades called out to him.
"You there, quit fooling around! We've got to get back on the trail of those girls that left the Cerulean Gym. They couldn't have gotten very far with the injuries they sustained."
"But…"
"Just throw your trash on the ground. It's far too late in the game for you to be thinking about Mother Nature."
The soldier shrugged, throwing the remainder of his lunch on the ground and rejoining his comrades to get back on the girls' trail. Or so they thought.
The lid of the dumpster lifted slightly and a pair of brown eyes peeked out from the darkness.
'I never thought I'd owe my life to littering,' Duplica thought with a laugh. She climbed out of the dumpster and carefully peeked around both corners.
"Okay, Ditto. The coast is clear, so you can transform back now." The dingy green dumpster wiggled before it shrank back into the pink changeling pokémon.
"I don't mean to rush you, but I'm feeling really dizzy now," Melody said drowsily. Duplica grimaced. She had already undone Melody's headdress and instructed her to apply it to her eye to slow the bleeding, but the wound on Melody's leg proved too difficult to treat without proper medical supplies.
'And here I grew up believing that laughter was the best kind of medicine,' Duplica thought ironically. She took out the flier that led them to Cerulean Gym and skimmed over it for about the hundredth time that day. After a bit of frantic searching, she located what she was looking for and breathed a sigh of relief.
"We're in luck. The closest hospital is just around the corner. Think you can make it?" Duplica asked concernedly. Melody's good eye glanced at Casey before she nodded.
"I have to. Casey's breathing okay I think, but we need to get her to a doctor as soon as possible. But I guess we should be thankful that she's still alive after taking a direct hit like that," Melody replied grimly.
"We can't be thinking that way right now. What we need is a fast mode of travel that's fairly inconspicuous, which means that a dodge viper is out of the question since I don't even have a permit." Duplica scratched her head in frustration. "Wait, I got it! Ditto, transform into a Chinatown buggy!"
"Ditto!" (Okay, but next time it's the dodge viper!) Ditto slithered underneath Melody and Casey before it shifted into the desired mode of transportation, much to Melody's chagrin for the disorienting movement. Duplica grinned as she picked up the reigns.
"Too bad, I have an outfit that would have gone perfectly with this. Oh well, to the hospital!" Duplica exclaimed, running as fast as possible to avoid running into Team Devastation. Onlookers were a bit surprised to see a plain clothed girl pulling the old fashioned cart, but traffic accommodated for their presence hinting that Duplica had made the right call.
It wasn't very long before the front of the hospital came into sight.
"Help!" Duplica cried out. Fortunately, an on-call Doctor on his way to his car heard Duplica's voice and decided to investigate.
"What happened?" He inquired upon seeing the condition of Casey and Melody. Duplica explained the circumstances directly relating their injuries, choosing to omit specific details about Team Devastation, especially their connection with them. The Doctor gave the girls a quick examination before he switched on his intercom.
"I need two stretchers out here stat. I have two patients here, both female, with severe injuries. The first is a young girl with serious chest injuries and a possible concussion; she also appears to have dislocated her right shoulder. The second is in her mid-teens with a large laceration across the right side of her face, also loosing blood at an alarming rate due to a large shard of glass embedded in her left thigh."
"Copy that. Medics are on their way. Will prep for surgery." A voice on the other end answered. "Have you confirmed the cause of injury?"
"Terrorist activity located at the Cerulean Gym."
"Copy that. The police are on their way."
The Doctor turned to Duplica before putting his hands on her shoulders.
"Your friends are in good hands," he reassured. Duplica nodded gratefully, her good spirits restoring upon sight of the approaching medics. Melody looked over at Casey.
'Hard to believe that little baseball nut stood up to those guys like that, not to mention saved my life. She looks so weak and fragile…sleeping like that,' Melody thought idly. She slipped into slumber, completely unaware of the medics easing her onto the stretcher…
Misty had managed to escape from the scene undetected, now increasingly determined to meet up with her sisters and friends. As she ran down the fairly empty sidewalk, she resisted the urge to turn around and gaze at the remains of the Gym now three blocks away. It looked like someone must have called the cops because a few cars drove past her as she continued to increase the distance.
'And the worst thing is, I was the one who leveled it,' she reminded herself while fighting back stinging tears. She shook her head to clear her mind of those thoughts.
"It's all because of Butch and Cassidy. The next time I see those guys…" Her vengeful thoughts were watered down when the melodic tune of an ice cream truck approaching from behind reached her ears.
'I bet I know where a certain Pokémon Master-in-training would be right now,' Misty thought with a smile. She turned around, almost expecting to see Ash chasing after the truck. It was about twice as long as a normal truck, a large ice cream cone on the top, but the thing Misty's eyes focused on were the green locks of the driver. Misty hesitated momentarily before her memory sorted itself.
"Butch!" She yelled furiously as he drove past her. Butch heard the familiar voice and looked in the rear view mirror to see Misty running after the truck. He stepped on the gas despite the changing traffic lights. The light flashed red before he darted through the intersection, ignoring the cars that slammed on their brakes to avoid running into him.
Misty followed after him, mind focused solely on catching up with him. She was so absorbed in her pursuit, the sound of screeching tires to the right was filtered out until it was too late to avoid the yellow convertible. She closed her eyes, expecting to feel the pain from the speeding car crashing into her, but was distracted by the increasing pressure on her shoulders that somehow made her feel lighter than air. Misty's eyes opened to reveal that the ground was a few feet below her, and that the sports car drove harmlessly past. She looked up to see the Pidgeot attached to the talons gently gripping her shoulders.
"Need a lift?"
"Pi, Pikachupi?" (Did you miss us, Misty?)
Misty smiled at the young trainer and the Pikachu riding on his shoulder, before a thought occurred to her.
"WHERE HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?" Misty demanded. "And for that matter, where are Ritchie and my sisters?"
Ash flinched. "Sorry, Mist. We were ambushed as soon as we got outside. Ritchie and I barely got your sisters to their car before we were forced to flee. I told Ritchie to stay with your sisters while I came back for you, and well, here I am." Misty smirked.
"The real question is, did you come here to save me, or are you just after the ice cream?" Misty inquired. Ash put his hand to his chin, a serious expression on his face. A vein flared on Misty's temple. "You shouldn't have to think about it!" Ash laughed at her outburst.
"I'm just kidding, Mist. Of course I came for you," he assured. "The ice cream is just an added bonus," he added with total conviction. Misty sighed, but couldn't help but giggle slightly at his response.
'Same old Ash.'
"I guess that's an acceptable response. Now get us closer to that truck," Misty ordered. Ash chuckled.
"Yes, Ma'am!" He saluted.
"Pi Pikachu!" (Let's go for it!) Pikachu mimicked Ash's salute.
Ash guided Pidgeot on a beeline towards the wide roof of the ice cream truck. He and Misty dismounted with a clang before Ash recalled Pidgeot back into her pokéball. Cassidy glanced at the passenger side mirror and noticed Ash and Misty standing by the large ice cream cone on the roof.
"We've got company." Cassidy nudged Butch and pointed to the reflection in the mirror. Butch groaned.
"I'll shake 'em." He turned the wheel sharply to the right, cutting off an old lady turning out of a driveway, and nearly throwing Ash and Misty into oncoming traffic.
"Think they know we're here?" Ash asked with a grin, despite the need to focus his attention on maintaining his grip on the side railing. Misty smirked back.
"I don't know, why don't you ask them?"
The truck hit a bump and Misty's fingers slipped off the railing. The color drained from Ash's face as he saw Misty dropping. Their eyes locked and the same thought passed through both trainer's minds.
"ASH!"
"MISTY!"
"ALTO MARE!" They screamed in unison before throwing their pokéballs forward.
Ash's Bayleef extended her vines for Misty to catch, enabling her to stay on the truck's path while surfing via Starmie's Water Gun.
"What do we have to do to lose these kids?" Butch grumbled. He tilted the wheel, guiding the truck into oncoming traffic.
"Hang on, Misty!" Ash warned as he pulled himself to safety. He stood up and turned to Bayleef. "Pull her in, Bayleef."
"Bay, Bay!" (I'm on it, Ash!) Misty held on tightly, swerving in between cars, and prayed for Bayleef to hurry.
The familiar sound of pokémon being released echoed behind Ash. He slowly turned around to see both Cassidy's Houndoom and Butch's Mightyena.
"Um…heel?"
Mightyena charged at Ash with a Take Down at full power despite the risk of flinging itself off. Ash rolled to the side before he and Pikachu were forced to lie flat on their backs to avoid Houndoom's Flamethrower attack that nearly grazed their noses with the extremely hot temperature of the attack.
"Using fire attacks on top of an ice cream truck just feels…wrong," Ash remarked. Pikachu nodded in agreement. Ash reached for his belt, grabbing and enlarging a pokéball.
"Pikachu, I'm gonna need you to keep Mightyena off of Bayleef. Leave Houndoom up to Corphish." Ash released the pokéball and a red crustacean pokémon popped out to deliver a Bubblebeam at Houndoom. Ash used the attack for cover and slid over to the driver's side window to grab hold of the wheel and steer it back into the proper lane.
"Hey you little twerp!" Butch growled. He pulled Ash inside and delivered a kick to his midsection, sending him flying to the back of the truck. Cassidy took the wheel and steered the truck back into traffic, weaving in and out of the cars maneuvering out of the way of the speeding dairy mobile. Misty gritted her teeth as she guided Starmie over and around the diverting cars. Cassidy jerked the wheel for a sharp left turn, sending Butch and Ash tumbling to the side and whipping Misty into the path of an 18-wheeler.
'Please let that be Optimus Prime,' Misty thought, wide-eyed from apprehension. Her hopes for a transformation seemed bleaker by the second once the truck driver slammed the brakes, sending the entire trailer skidding uncontrollably in her direction. A few cars were lucky enough to brake before the trailer skidded past them, the rest being knocked aside or in one case flattened; luckily the latter had been narrowly evacuated.
"Hydro Pump, Starmie!" Starmie's red core flashed brightly before he increased the pressure and force of his Water Gun. Misty and Starmie burst over the as it tumbled past, sending the cargo it was holding into the street. Misty glanced at the produce the delivery truck spilled.
The force of the high powered water attack sent the pair higher than planned. Starmie cut back to a normal watergun barely keeping them from crashing into a building's side. "Anytime now, Bayleef!"
"Bay, Bayleef!" (I'm trying, Misty!)
"Pi Pikachu, Pika!" (Keep your head down, Bayleef!)
Bayleef lowered her head just as a Hyper Beam sailed over. Pikachu ran at Mightyena with a Quick Attack before slamming the wolf Pokémon's face with an Iron Tail. Mightyena's stunned body slammed into Corphish, but the water-type had already used Harden multiple times to bolster his defense.
Houndoom breathed out another Flamethrower at Corphish, who simultaneously launched a Bubble Beam. The two attacks collided in midair, canceling each other out and leaving behind a thick cloud of smoke. Corphish eyed the smokescreen intently, searching for any indication of his opponent's next move.
A flicker of motion to the left turned into a Faint Attack, knocking Corphish into the air with a swipe of his left paw. Corphish tumbled through the air opening his left pincer wide, somehow managing to latch onto Houndoom's horns with a Vicegrip. Corphish's right claw began glowing with a soft blue light before he slammed Houndoom on the back with a Crabhammer...
Ash heard the sound of something large leaving a dent in the roof. He ducked to avoid Butch's right cross, only to be hit in the eye by his left. Ash stumbled backwards, steadying himself on the miniature console behind him.
'I know I'm gonna feel that in the morning,' Ash thought painfully as he rubbed his face with the palm of his hand.
Butch cracked his knuckles. "I'm gonna enjoy this," he assured. He slowly walked towards Ash, only to receive a shoulder tackle to the gut for his hubris. Both of them crashed into the table bolted to the floor.
"Careful, you idiot!" What was the point of us leveling the Cerulean Gym if you destroy what we were sent to recover?" Cassidy yelled.
"You mean this thing on the table?"
Cassidy momentarily took her eyes off the road to see Ash pointing to the case from the Gym, and Butch lying on the floor with a large bump on his head.
"If this came from the Cerulean Gym, then it belongs to my friend," Ash affirmed. "I just thought it would be impolite to take it without telling you."
He grabbed the container off of the table and undid the locks on the back door. Before Cassidy could even protest, Mightyena and Houndoom came crashing down through the newly formed hole in the roof, courtesy of an Iron Tail/Crabhammer combination. Cassidy gritted her teeth, strained muscles holding back unpleasant verbal expressions of disdain. Ash smirked upon noticing Cassidy's evident fury. He returned Corphish to his pokéball and motioned for Pikachu to climb his shoulder before he opened both doors wide.
'I probably should have considered the fact that I can't fly.' Ash gulped once his eyes focused on the speeding street beneath him. He hesitated, took a deep breath and jumped.
'What was that idiot thinking?' Misty groaned. She released her grip on Bayleef's vines and gripped tightly on to Starmie's top spike with both hands before commanding another Hydro Pump to propel her towards Ash.
Ash reached out with his free hand and caught hold of a bus stop sign. Misty watched him spin wildly and extended an arm, catching him when he lost his grip on the slick metal, and gently dropping him on the sidewalk before making a small u-turn, coming to a splashy stop. Bayleef jumped from the roof of the truck before it crashed into a fire hydrant, sending a high-pressured jet of water into the air. Ash walked over to where Misty and Bayleef were standing, receiving a loving body slam from the large grass pokémon.
"Thanks for all your help, Bayleef."
"You too, Starmie." Misty added before both trainers recalled their pokémon.
"And thank you, Misty. Not sure what I would've done if you hadn't been there," Ash admitted. He extended his hand and Misty took it. Misty smiled and shrugged. By now, many people had pulled over and come out of various buildings to see what all commotion was about.
"I didn't have much of a choice. With you gone, I'd have no one argue with," Misty smiled and winked. Ash smiled back.
"Oh, that reminds me." Ash held up the container he confiscated from the ex-Rocket members. "I found this inside the truck with those fruitcakes, and they said they got it from your Gym."
"And we want it back!"
Ash and Misty turned towards the truck and locked eyes with Butch and Cassidy.
"We're not leaving empty-handed!" Cassidy declared. Ash glanced at Misty with a smile before turning back to the ragged-looking villains.
"Sure you can have the container back. We'll just have to settle for what's inside. Is that cool with you, Mist?" Misty grinned back.
"I'm sure we'll manage somehow, Ash," Misty confirmed before impish impulses convinced her to blow a raspberry at the crooks. The evil blonde clenched her fists and snarled.
"You wanna resort to shooting of your mouth, eh brat? Fine! I'll shoot something back at you!"
She stormed over to the console situated in the remains of the truck and flipped a switch. The giant cone swiftly rotated to face towards Misty, opening up to reveal a technologically advanced energy rifle. Cassidy licked her lips and smiled at the look of terror creeping onto Misty's face, savoring the moment briefly before pushing the classic big, red button. The weapons' coils began glowing red, concentrating in the cherry briefly before it fired a thin beam of red-colored energy at Misty.
'C'mon, feet…move!' Misty thought desperately. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as fear and shock took control, rooting her in place. Just when it seemed as though she'd take the attack full blast, Ash shoved her out of the way, barely managing to roll out of the way himself. Seeing the imminent danger, the spectators chose to run for their lives. (A/N: Naturally, none of the background people stay to help the main characters.)
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Pi-cha!" (Hope your ready!) Pikachu shouted as he ran down Ash's outstretched hand, sending a surge of electrical energy at Cassidy and Butch. The Devastating Duo screamed, lightning coursing through their every nerve.
A bright flash of light from the computer console preceded the explosion of the controls. The force of the blast propelled the ex-Rockets high into the air.
"Looks like Team Devastation is blasting off for the first time!" They shouted in unison before shrinking from sight with a small twinkle in the distance.
Ash breathed a sigh of relief. His ears focused on the sound of machinery powering up; his eyes darted to the laser rifle glowing red.
"But I thought that—" Ash's sentence was muffled by the crackling of electricity.
'Uh-oh…Pikachu's Thunderbolt must have given the laser a supercharge!' Ash barely had time to complete his thought before the laser cone tilted upwards, and fired an orange-colored beam more powerful than the previous shot into the hotel building beside Misty, cutting away chunks of cement.
"Misty!" Ash yelled desperately, but the water trainer was still trembling from the near-death experience that had passed not minutes ago. Ash sprinted towards her intent on pulling her out of the way, but the laser abruptly dropped down from overloading, and squeezed out the last of its power at him. Ash skidded to a stop; with no time to dodge, he picked up the lid of a nearby garbage can to use as a shield.
Ash 'felt' his arms go completely numb as the beam struck the lid, throwing him back out into the street. 'No, Misty!' Ash tried to reach out to her, but his arms could only respond to his commands with a tingling sensation. Misty had managed to rise to all fours, slowly crawling to safety, but there was no time left. Just as a large chunk of rock was about to crush her, a black blur enshrouded her, scrambling her orientation as she and her savior tumbled to safety.
The world reset itself once Misty realized that she was elevated in the arms of a familiar stranger. She tried to look into his eyes and find the reason for the sense of nostalgia, but the dark sunglasses he wore foiled any attempts to place him in her memories
"Thank you." Misty couldn't explain why the heat in her face was suddenly, and so strongly focusing on her now beet-red cheeks, or why she was no longer shaking, but brushed it off as feelings of gratitude.
Ash shakily stood on his feet after nearly falling on his face once he put weight in his Tentacool arms. 'I'm glad Misty's safe and all, but does she have to completely ignore me. And why is she staring? He can't be that interesting…can he?' Ash couldn't help grumbling at the lack of attention from his best friend. He suddenly felt extremely ashamed for his jealousy. The older teen lowered Misty to the ground and turned to leave, when Ash called out to him. The stranger turned to Ash with a surprised look on his face.
"I, um…well, thanks for saving her." Ash managed to say. The older teen smiled and nodded before running off to complete his agenda.
"I wonder who that was." Misty remarked as she approached.
"I don't know, but the girls and I ran into him on our way to your Gym."
Ash and Misty turned back towards the hotel to see Ritchie behind them with Lily quickly approaching with an annoyed look.
"Ritchie, Lily…so this is where you've been hiding out!" Misty exclaimed with a broad smile.
"What's going on, Misty? First you show up like, a week in advance with all your friends, which actually worked out for us because we didn't have to hire anybody, but bombs in the pool and lasers eating through the wall of our hotel go way too far! You are going to have, like, so much explaining to do once we get back home!" Lily shouted, hands on her hips and looking very pissed. Misty flinched at the force of her voice.
"Actually, I might as well explain here, seeing as there's no Gym to go back to." Lily stared blankly at her little sister. Misty cast her gaze at her shoes and scratched the back of her head.
"I was completely surrounded by Team Devastation grunts, and all I could do to escape was to bring the gym down on everybody," she explained. Lily's mouth flopped open slightly and her eyes started twitching. Ritchie waved a hand in front of her face.
"She's out of it," he confirmed. He put on a more serious expression.
"What happened to the others, Misty?" Ritchie inquired. "Did something happen to them?"
Misty's head shot up. "I forgot! Duplica rushed Casey and Melody to the hospital after they got hurt in the explosion!" This revelation sparked troubled thoughts in the two Pikachu trainers.
"This isn't good. If any Team Devastation members happen upon them, they'll be almost completely defenseless." Ritchie deduced.
"Cerulean city's pretty big, Ritchie." Ash pointed out. "That'll make it harder for all of us to find them."
Richie shook his head. "I wish it was like that. They must know that Duplica had to travel to the closest hospital. If they were followed, we have even less time. I'd better go after them. You guys make sure that Misty's sisters are ready and meet me at the southern end of Cerulean." He enlarged a pokéball and released Zippo.
"Wait, Richie! I'll come with you!" Ash struggled to reach for Pidgeot's pokéball resting on his belt.
"Sorry, Ash, but you'd only slow me down. You can barely reach for your pokéballs, and I'm sure that whatever you and Misty have just gone through must have worn out your pokémon." Ash and Misty's eyes became downcast at the truth in Ritchie's words. They both nodded, each grabbing hold of one of Lily's arms to help her inside. Ritchie mounted Zippo and flew off.
"Hey, Misty, do you think we have time to order room service? I'm starving." Misty sighed…
A/N: I wanted to keep this chapter going a bit longer, but that would have gone past nine-thousand words, so...yeah. It's going ot stop here for now while I put the finishing touches on the next chapter.