A Shadow of His Former Self

Hey guys, welcome back to another chapter. Like I mentioned in the last one, I want to keep the motivation for updating these stories, so far I'm doing good.

Static Eevee 198: It may be sad, in a way, that Church is dead, but don't worry, we'll be seeing more of him.

Jaegothis7: Again, flags should be off limits, specifically to any rookies. And Tucker…don't really know. But that doesn't stop him from trying.

Now that we're done with the reviews, it's time for Disclaimer!

I don't own Red VS. Blue or Pokémon. NOW ON WITH THE STORY!

Days had passed since the recent events of the Reds and Blues. Things weren't looking good for the Blue team. They not only lost their flag, but also a teammate and their tank. Having no other choice, the Blues decide to radio in for help. Currently, Tucker and Caboose were outside the base to get better reception. The Dewott's armor had finally returned back to its original turquois color, giving him a chance to focus more on communicating.

"Come in Blue Command. This is Blood Gulch Outpost Alpha. Do you read me?"

"Okay, that is the last of it. Your armor is now clean." The Mudkip had a dirty rag in its paw as he steps back from Tucker.

"Did you get all the black stuff off?"

Before Caboose could answer his question, the communicator turns on. "Blue Command, come in Blood Gulch Outpost Alpha." At command, a Scraggy was at the other end, talking to Tucker threw the communicator.

"Hello, command! We need help!"

"Roger that, Blood Gulch. What is your request?"

"I don't know what the technical military term is for it…But, uh, we're pretty screwed up down here. We need men!"

Scraggy is somewhat confused and disturbed at what he just heard. "Dude…how long have you guys been down there?"

Embarrassed at what the Scraggy was thinking, he quickly corrects him. "No, no, no, no, it's not like that! We need more men to help us!"

"Roger that. Did you get the Tank we sent?"

"Yeah…That got blown up."

"Wow…sucks to be you."

"Yeah, we know."

"Okay, here's what I can do. The newest Blue forces can be there in sixteen days. Or, I-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Tucker starts to freak out. "Sixteen days?! That's almost two weeks!"

Ignoring his outburst, the Scraggy continues. "Or I can hire a nearby Freelancer, and get them there in a few hours."

"I like the 'in an hour' one." Caboose raises his paw to get a word in.

Tucker nods in agreement as he turns to the rookie. "Yeah, me too. Roger that Command. We prefer the quicker solution."

"Ten-four, Blood Gulch. We'll contact Freelancer Tex and have them there post haste. Command out."

"Whoever he is, make sure he can fix the Tank."

With that the communication ends, giving satisfaction to the Blues. Caboose raises his paw again, wanting to ask another question.

"What's a Freelancer?"

"Freelancers are independent. They're not Red or Blue. They're just gun for hire who'll fight for whoever has the most money."

"Oh…Like a mercenary."

"~Tuuuuccckkeerrrr…Tuuuucccckkkeeerrrr…~" The two blues start hearing a familiar voice, echoing through the air. Suddenly a Lucario with grayish white armor appears in front of them, scaring them out of their minds.

"Who the heck are you?!" Tucker had already taken a step back from the spirit Pokémon.

"I am the ghost of Church! And I've come back with a warning!" He starts waving his arm for dramatic affects. Caboose, on the other hand, was more confused than scared.

"You're not Church…Church is blue…You're white."

The Lucario Ghost face paws at the remarks of Caboose. "Rookie, shut up man! I'm a freaking Ghost! Have you ever seen a blue ghost before?!"

Tucker, who also is no longer afraid, starts nodding. "Yeah, that's definitely him."

Church then sighs out of stress. "Now I gotta start over again!" He starts clearing his throat before continuing. "~Tucker…Tuuuucccckkkeeeerrrr…I've come back with a warning! ~"

"Is it really necessary to do the voice?" Tucker was slightly annoyed by the echoing ghost voice.

"Yeah, it's kind of annoying."

Church just glares at the two. "Fine! Okay, here's the deal! I've come back from the dead to give you a warning about Tex. Don't let-"

"What's the warning?" Caboose interrupts Church, causing him to give another death glare at the Mudkip.

"Shut up for one second and I'll tell you!"

"Oh…sorry."

"Seriously man! I've come back from the great beyond here! Do you think this is easy? It's not like, you know, pop in and out whenever I feel like it. It takes a lot of concentration!"

"Sorry."

"I mean, it's bad enough that you killed me, to begin with. But now I've come back and I can't get a word in edgewise, man!"

Finally he finishes ranting, with Caboose lowing his head the whole time. After a few seconds, he let out another sigh, getting ready to continue with his warning.

"Okay…Here's the deal-"

"Is this the warning?" Caboose lifts up his head, excited to hear the warning.

"All right, that's it. I swear to Arceus, Caboose. Your life is haunted! When we're done here, I'm gonna haunt you."

"Yeah, you're even starting to bug me." Honestly, Tucker was getting annoyed by both the Mudkip and the dead Lucario.

"Okay Tucker…You remember that I told you I was stationed on Sidewinder before they transferred me here to Blood Gulch, right?"

"No."

"Sidewinder? Isn't that the ice planet?"

Church turns from Tucker to answer Caboose's question. "Yes."

Excitingly, the Mudkip quickly replies. "Cool! What was that like?!"

"Um…it was cold."

"That's it? Just cold?"

"What do you want from me? A poem?! It's a planet made entirely out of ice! It's really, freaking, cold!"

"Will you just let him talk?!" Tucker couldn't help but shout at the recruit.

"Alright, well…"

Flashback.

On the ice planet Sidewinder, there were an assortment of Pokémon in blue armor. They were all outside on the snow, some of them shivering, some of them wanting to be in a warm place. One of them was a familiar Lucario with Sky blue armor, standing next to a Riolu.

"One day when I was there, everything was just like normal. I remember I was out on patrol with my partner, Jimmy. That Jimmy was a real good kid. Everybody liked him."

"You think I was good kid, Church?"

"Tucker, don't get jealous, just listen to the story, okay? Like I said, the guys were waiting around, waiting for some action, complaining about the cold."

True to his words, a few of the Blues were complaining. "Man, its freaking cold!"

"I hope we get some action!"

"Anyways, Jimmy was in the middle of telling me about this girl he had back home."

"Yep, as soon as I get back, I'm gonna get down on one knee, and ask her to marry me."

"And that's when Tex showed up."

Off in a distance, a figure was watching the entire Blue team, but was barely visible, as though it was some sort of invisible camouflage. Without the Blues knowing, Tex starts moving towards one of the Blues.

"Private Mickey was the first to go. He was halfway across the base when all of a sudden he started screaming bloody murder…"

A Pikachu in blue armor starts freaking out as he shoots electrical shots randomly, shouting, "Bloody Murder! Bloody Murder!"

Soon all the Blues try to help him, trying to find who was attacking them. But one by one, they were all taken out by the invisible Tex. Church and Jimmy were the remaining two soldiers, still firing at anything.

"The whole thing was over before it even started. Poor Jimmy was the last one to go. Tex walked up to him, and started beating him to death with his own skull."

"Wait a second!" Tucker was now doubting Church's story. "How do you beat someone to death with their own skull? That doesn't seem physically possible."

"That's exactly what Jimmy kept screaming."

Tex was somehow beating the Riolu to death with his own Skull, with him screaming out loud. "This doesn't seem physically possible! HURK! BLEH! And with that, Jimmy had succumbed to death.

"Bottom line is, these Freelancers, they're bad news. And Tex is one of the worst."

"If he's such a bad guy, why didn't he kill you?" Caboose couldn't help but ask another question.

"To tell ya, I don't know why I'm not dead. Coulda killed me at any point. But maybe it's because Tex and I have run into each once before."

"Where?!" This time Tucker was the one to ask.

"You, uh, remember that girl I told you about back home? Well…Let's just say that Tex is the real reason why we never got married."

The two water Pokémon just look at each other, curious as to who this Tex Pokémon is. Suddenly Church's body start to fade, becoming harder and harder to see.

"Guys, I'm fading fast, and I don't know when I'll be back! Just listen to my warning! Don't let Tex get involved here."

"Okay." They both shout at the same time, nodding to the fading ghost Pokémon.

"I mean it Tucker! No fighting, no scouting, nothing! You'll regret it!"

With his final words, Church finally fades away from the Blue team. Now that they were alone, Tucker turns to Caboose, even more curious than before.

"So…Tex and Church were after the same girl."

"I told you his girlfriend was a Miltank!"

Unbeknownst to either of them, a figure in black armor stands close behind them, hearing the last part of their conversation.

And done, now we have this mysterious new character showing. Is it Tex?...Most likely, and is this Freelancer a friend or foe?...Well if you've seen the show, then you know what will happen. Now before we end, one last thing we need to do. QOTD!

Since we just got a visit from a ghost Lucario, what's your favorite ghost Pokémon? Mine would be Haunter, just because of the way he looks and because of the way he acted in the TV show.

Will the blues survive this new encounter? Who knows, just gotta wait until next chapter…or you could watch the show yourself…Until next time!