Chapter 11: A Tyrant Falls
The Pokémon that came out of the bush was quite anticlimactic. I was expecting something much larger—what stood in front of us was about a third of Nile's height, and, oddly enough, it was pinkish-purple. It walked on all fours and had large ears that were blue on the inside. Its back was covered in spikes, and it had one larger horn on its head.
"That's it?" I asked, a little disappointed.
"Aww, he's kinda cute," cooed Lyra.
Nile looked a little disappointed as well, and shrugged upon seeing the stout Pokémon. The Pokémon responded by growling at Nile, like it was trying to get his attention. That growl was a lot more intimidating before I saw what it was, and now it was just cute.
I noticed that the wild Pokémon was focusing solely on Nile, ignoring everyone else, which was a bit odd. Despite the intense look on the pink Pokémon's face, Nile was kind of lax, and just stood there wondering whether or not he should really bother with this wild Pokémon. Then, as if angered for being ignored, the Pokémon suddenly rushed forward to attack Nile.
Nile just lazily lifted his foot up and stopped the Pokémon in its tracks without really trying. The Pokémon pushed against the Croconaw's foot, but Nile just lightly shoved him off. The wild Pokémon was tenacious, though, and quickly charged again before Nile stopped him a second time with his foot.
"I'll give him points for effort, but Nile's not even trying," I said as I reached for the Pokédex to find out who this attacker was.
After getting a scan of the Pokémon, the 'Dex brought up the section on it.
"Nidoran, male, the Poison Pin Pokémon. It is small, but its horn is filled with poison. It charges its prey and then stabs them with the horn to inject poison. They often live in large groups, along with other blue female Nidoran," uttered the Pokédex in the automated voice.
"Poisonous, huh? Nile, I'd be careful. Watch out for those spikes—they're filled with poison."
"Gold, I think he's got it covered," said Lyra, pointing over at Nile.
I looked up from the Pokédex and noticed that Nile was holding the Nidoran up by the ears, and I chuckled a bit. As it dangled there, the pink Pokémon tried to swing its arms at Nile, but its reach wasn't far enough, and it just swung aimlessly. Nile's eyes were half open as he looked at the stout Pokémon and yawned.
"So, is it trying to bore him to death or something?" Lyra joked.
"I don't know; I wonder if it has any idea how strong Nile really is. 'Cause Nile can pretty much sweep the floor with him at this point, if he wanted," I said as I sat back down on the log. "Nile, you can let him go back to the woods."
Nile glanced back at me before he rather rudely tossed the Nidoran back into the bushes, then walked back towards us. Before Nile could reach us, the stout Pokémon was on the attack again, this time tackling Nile in the back while he wasn't looking, causing him to stumble.
"Wow, he's not giving up," commented Lyra as she sat back down.
Nile turned to face the Nidoran and hissed like a gator.
"Nile, don't hurt the little guy—go easy on him," I said as Nile and the Nidoran started to fight.
"Hmm, let me know when they're done." Lyra turned around to lay her back on the log, throwing her legs across my lap. She then tilted her hat over her eyes, crossing her arms behind her head. I'll be honest when I say that I felt a little nervous by Lyra's sudden action, but I didn't say anything. I glanced back up to see how Nile was doing, and I noticed that all of our Pokémon were watching the two fighting.
The Nidoran charged again, and Nile reacted by stepping to the side and sweeping his tail at him. The stout Pokémon jumped over the tail and turned, skidding across the dirt path. It then charged once more, but Nile swiped his hand at the Nidoran , grabbing it by the ears again. He held the Pokémon up and gave a rather bored look.
"I think Nile's done," I said, nudging Lyra.
She turned her head to the side and lifted her hat to see the Nidoran trying to swipe his hands at Nile.
"What, already? Oh, wow, he's still going at it. Jeez, he's tenacious," she noted as she shifted back into a sitting position.
"Well, I think we should head out now. Nile, can you take care of the Nidoran , please?" I requested, getting up.
Nile nodded towards me and looked back at the feisty Nidoran . He promptly head-butted the Nidoran , just hard enough to incapacitate it instead of really hurting it. Nile then walked over to the log we were sitting on and laid the unconscious Nidoran on it.
"Okay, with that taken care of, we can get going," I said, getting up from the log and tightening the strap of my backpack.
"Right behind you. Come on guys, let's go," Lyra said to our Pokémon.
Merlin left the tree he was perched in and landed on my shoulder as the rest of us started walking down the path again.
"So, Lyra, you have any ideas of what Pokémon you want to catch?" I asked as I handed her the Pokédex.
"Umm, I was thinking of a Bug-type or something."
I cocked an eyebrow at her, perplexed by what she just said. "Wait, I thought you didn't like bugs?"
"I said I didn't like spiders—that doesn't mean I don't like bugs," she said, scrolling through pages of Pokémon on the 'Dex. "Besides, bugs are considered by many to be really cool, so I hoped to get one for the Cool category in Contests."
"Okay . . . that makes sense, I guess. Anyone in particular?"
"I was thinking of getting a Yanma—I think they're kinda cute." She giggled to herself.
"Okay, I'll be on the lookout for one," I said, looking back down the thin path.
We then came around a bend in the path and saw something rather odd. There was a tree in front of us whose leaves and flowers were all withered and dry, and the trunk was swollen around what looked like a hole that was made in it.
"What happened to this tree? It looks like it just died yesterday," Lyra observed, looking up at the branches that hung over us.
"And what's up with that trunk?" I asked, pointing at the swollen portion.
"I wonder what caused that," Lyra muttered, taking a closer look.
"Hmm, beats me." I shrugged.
We stood there examining the tree for a little longer before we got bored and continued on our way. It was a little past lunch now, and we were both waiting for something to happen. In my boredom, I pulled out my Pokédex and started a game of Tetris; but I was interrupted when I heard a familiar growl. I looked up from the screen of falling polygons and saw the Nidoran from before standing in the middle of the path.
"It's that Nidoran again," Lyra said, pointing at the stout Pokémon.
"Jeez, this guy doesn't know when to quit," I said as I motioned towards Nile.
Nile stepped forward, eagerly cracking his knuckles.
"Whoa, take it easy there—I know you like to fight, but there's no need to be—"
I was suddenly cut short when the Nidoran dashed down the path with incredible speed, ramming into Nile just as he was about to crack the knuckles on his other hand, sending him tumbling between Lyra and me.
"Holy shit!" I exclaimed as Lyra and I dashed to the sides to avoid Nile.
Nile sat up, bewildered by what had just happened. He rubbed dirt off his face and shot up to his feet, hissing again at the Nidoran .
"Oh my God, how'd it do that!?" Lyra said, looking at the Nidoran .
Nile dashed towards the stout Pokémon and kneed it, grabbing it by the ears again. The Nidoran looked pissed that he was being held by the ears again and tried to flail his arms at Nile.
"Does he have any idea how strong Nile is? Why does he keep attacking him?" I asked, scratching my head.
"Oh, I can assure you that he's fully aware of how strong your Croconaw is," said the voice of some girl.
"Huh?" Lyra and I both turned towards the voice, looking down the path.
I was shocked to see that the girl in the kimono I saw from earlier was walking down the path towards us. The dress she wore was mostly orange, with lavish pink and cyan designs sewn into it. Her black hair was up in a bun, and she had amber-colored eyes. Her face wore a rather dismal expression, but she looked like she was trying to hide it.
"Look, I'm sorry to barge in. My name is Naoko," introduced the girl as she walked up to us.
"Um, hi, I'm Gold, and this is Lyra. Is that your Nidoran ?" I questioned, motioning towards the dangling beast.
"Oh, no, he's not mine—I just know him. I'm terribly sorry that he's bothering you, though," Naoko apologized.
"So, what's its deal, then? You said it was fully aware of Nile's strength, so why is it trying to attack him?" Lyra asked, confused.
"Well, you see, um . . . it's 'cause he desperately wants to fight strong foes. If he doesn't, he'll never become strong enough to fight Tsar," informed Naoko rather dismally.
"Tsar?" I asked.
"Who's Tsar?" Lyra asked.
"Well, um, Tsar is the Nidoking that rules this forest, and that Nidoran there is Tsar's brother."
"Hold on a sec—why would he need to fight his brother?" I asked, even more confused than before. Naoko sighed.
"It's a long story. If you want to hear it, then I need to show you something before I tell you," Naoko said as the dismal look became more apparent on her face.
"You can just tell us what it is," pressed Lyra.
"No—this is something you need to see," Naoko murmured in her dismal tone as she turned around and walked down the path.
Considering that I was very intrigued to find out what was going on, I didn't hesitate to follow. Lyra and the rest of our Pokémon promptly followed along, Merlin perched on my shoulder and Nile still holding the Nidoran by the ears. It didn't take long to reach the destination; I saw Naoko standing at the end of the path, looking off into the distance.
"Okay, Naoko, what was it that you needed to . . . show . . .?" I asked as I stopped dead in my tracks.
What lay in front of me was a couple acres of barren land. There were almost no trees left, and the soil was black—it looked like a scar had been gouged into the forest. What little plant life remained was either dead or dying. At first I thought it was a fire, but there wasn't any charcoal or ashes; instead, the vegetation looked withered and dry, just like the tree we saw before, but worse. As Lyra walked up from behind, she gasped at the sight.
"What happened here?" I asked.
"This is Tsar's doing—he used his powerful toxins to destroy this portion of the forest," Naoko informed.
"This forest has always been ruled by a Nidoking and Nidoqueen, one after the other. The previous one died recently, and he had only two sons: Tsar and that Nidoran there," she said, pointing at the ever-persistent Pokémon that Nile was growing tired of holding. "Tsar has a nasty attitude, and when it recently found a Moon Stone and evolved, things got worse. Unlike his father, this Nidoking is reckless and a tyrant. That Nidoran has been bullied and beaten by Tsar so much, it swore to become stronger and beat his brother in order to stop the abuse that Tsar dishes out on his family and everything around him."
"Really? That poor Pokémon," Lyra said sadly.
"Unfortunately, if Tsar isn't stopped soon, I fear that more of the forest or even Azalea will fall to his deadly toxins," added Naoko.
Lyra and I stood there, looking at the dying portion of forest. I had no idea a Pokémon could do something like this. After a while, Naoko turned to us and said, "Look, I know I just met you two, and this is asking a lot, but can I ask for your help in finding Tsar and kicking him out before things get worse?"
"Wait, you want us to stop it?!" Lyra and I exclaimed simultaneously.
"Tsar only evolved about a week ago—he's still weak compared to a full-grown, bull Nidoking, and if you two help me, we can stop him before he becomes too strong. Please—I'm afraid he'll attack a nearby town soon," she pleaded.
My first instinct was to say no, considering I just saw what Tsar could do. But I couldn't shake that primal urge I have to do the right thing. Perhaps I should go back and tell the police about this, maybe they can . . . oh wait, that's right—they suck at their jobs. I guess that leaves me with only one option. I looked to my side and saw that Lyra was waiting for my response. I then looked back at Naoko and pushed past my instincts.
"All right . . . you can count on me—I'll help you dethrone that tyrant," I said with determination. "Lyra, you gonna back me up? I could use your help."
She paused for a second before nodding.
"Okay, we'll help you. So what should we do?" I asked Naoko.
"First, we need to find Tsar."
"Sounds easy enough," I replied.
"What should we do about this Nidoran ?" Lyra asked
"He will most likely be joining us, but I fear he won't be of much help," said Naoko.
The Nidoran snorted rather loudly at the kimono girl for implying that he was weak.
"Don't get mad—these two trainers have agreed to help you," said Naoko, who walked over and leaned down to talk to the Nidoran .
For the first time since I saw that pink Pokémon, it finally stopped trying to get at Nile and calmed down. But that determined look never left his eyes as he dangled there; in fact, he looked a little pissed off. But seeing as the Nidoran finally gave up on attacking, I figured Nile could let go of him.
"Nile, you can put him down, now," I instructed, scratching his head.
Nile let go of the Nidoran and it plopped to the ground. The Nidoran then turned to sneer at Naoko, like it was upset, and surprisingly dashed back into the woods.
"Wait, Nidoran , come back!" Naoko called worriedly.
"Where's he going?" asked Lyra.
"Oh no, I was afraid this would happen," Naoko mumbled.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"That Nidoran 's heart is in the right place, but he's stubborn like his brother—he vowed to defeat Tsar by himself. He must be upset that I asked you two to do it for him. We have to stop him before he does something reckless!" Naoko said as she dashed into the thicket.
Lyra and I, along with the rest of our Pokémon, raced into the woods after her, on the lookout for that Nidoran . Unfortunately, we lost him, even with Merlin flying around, searching for him high in the trees. When we finally came to a halt, Naoko dropped to her knees and looked very upset that he got away.
"Oh God, please, please don't let him do anything stupid," she cried with her hands over her eyes.
"Don't worry—we'll stop Tsar before anything happens to him," I consoled her, unsure if I could keep that promise.
"Naoko, how do you know so much about that Nidoran and Tsar? It's almost as if you've had conversations with that Nidoran ," Lyra commented.
"That's because I have," she replied, wiping away a tear.
"Wait—what?" I asked, confused.
"If you two must know, I can talk to Pokémon and understand them," she said, standing up.
"You can what?!" exclaimed Lyra, who was just as shocked as I was.
"Yes, it's true—believe it or not, my sisters and I can all talk to Pokémon."
"Your sisters?" I asked.
"Look, I know you two have many questions, but now isn't the time. We need to find Tsar and defeat him before that Nidoran gets itself killed," Naoko said sternly.
"Okay, but how will we find him?" Lyra asked.
"Tsar has a foul temper and throws a fit almost daily. We just have to listen for his roars, and then we can find him. But this won't be easy—all of your Pokémon will have to work together in order to stop him."
"But if we defeat him, what's going to stop him from coming back?" Lyra asked.
Naoko reached into one of her kimono's sleeves and pulled out a Poké Ball with a black-and-yellow design on it.
"Once you two weaken him, I'll be able to catch him with this Ultra Ball. Once he's captured, I'll bring him back to Ecruteak City. There my sisters can decide what to do with him."
"Okay . . . I'm still a bit confused, but I'll go with it," I said, crossing my arms.
"Please follow me—we need to hurry. Tsar may be hard to pinpoint, but I know the basic area where he roams. Oh, I wish there were a faster way, but once we're there, we'll have to wait for his temper to reveal where he is. I hope we find him before that Nidoran does."
"All right, lead the way—we're right behind you!" exclaimed Lyra.
Naoko then took us deep into the forest, and along the way we saw several more portions of forest that had been eaten away by Tsar's toxins. I was starting to wonder if what I had agreed to was a wise decision. We walked for what felt like an hour, and it was starting to get dark out. Out of boredom, I pulled out my Pokédex again; I figured I would look up what a Nidoking is, considering we were going through all this trouble to fight one. What I found was quite scary.
"Nidoking, the Drill Pokémon. Nidoking are the final evolution of male Nidoran, but can only achieve said final form with the aid of a Moon Stone. They can grow from six to seven feet tall and weigh up to five-hundred pounds. While most venomous Pokémon prefer to let their poisons do the work, Nidoking can just as easily destroy an opponent by sheer strength alone. Coupled with their strength and unrivaled toxins, Nidoking are a force to be reckoned with," read the Pokédex entry.
"Oh wow—Lyra, you should read this," I said, handing the 'Dex over to her.
Lyra quickly read the entry, and her eyes widened.
"We're going to fight that?!" she shrieked.
"Don't worry, you two—Tsar is still a runt compared to normal Nidoking. If all of us work together, we can stop him," said Naoko, turning back to look at us.
"Okay, if you say so," I said doubtfully as Lyra handed back my Pokédex.
"So, why are you going through all this trouble to stop this Nidoking, anyway?" Lyra asked.
"I was sent here by my sisters to find out who would take over after the last Nidoking died. Unfortunately, I came too late, and the Nidorino Tsar had already found a Moon Stone," Naoko said.
"Your sisters sound pretty important, if they look after things like this," I said.
"They are—we take it upon ourselves to watch over the balance of the Johto region."
"Sounds like a tough job," Lyra said, picking up her Marill.
"It is, sometimes," Naoko said, looking down.
"This is it—this is the area where Tsar dwells normally," Naoko said, stopping.
We all stopped in our tracks, and I looked around, wondering where Tsar might be. I glanced to my side and saw that Lyra had a weary look on her face as she held her Marill in her arms. It's a shame that Marill hates fighting—her Hail ability might come in handy. But if a Pokémon doesn't want to fight, I'll never make them do it, something I wish Silver could understand.
"So, where is . . . ?" Lyra muttered before she was cut off by a deafening roar that made the trees rattle.
We all turned to face the awful-sounding noise, and it didn't take long for us to figure out who it was.
"That's Tsar—we have to hurry!" Naoko exclaimed as she dashed towards the sound.
"Lyra, let's go," I said, motioning to her.
We all sprinted through the woods as we tried to keep up with Naoko. We could hear a large commotion ahead of us that grew louder and louder as we approached the source of the roar.
"What's going on over there?" Lyra asked worriedly.
"I don't know—whatever it is, it can't be good. We need to hurry," I added as we continued to dash through the woods.
We eventually found Naoko standing at the edge of an open pasture. When we ran up to her, we saw what she was looking at. Along the edges of the pasture, there were hundreds of blue and pink Nidoran that were all hollering like they were the crowd at some sporting event. The pasture was scarred with massive gouges in the dirt and patches of dying grass. As I looked towards the other end of the pasture, I saw a Nidoran violently get tossed out from the tree line and tumble across the area. It was the same Nidoran from before, and it looked banged up.
With only one eye open and the other bruised, the Nidoran struggled to get back up on its feet. My eyes were then drawn towards the tree line again when I heard the footsteps of something large. Suddenly, a massive creature broke through the bushes and into the pasture. Standing at roughly five feet tall was a bulky purple Pokémon with large ears, massive arms, and spines running down its back—it was Tsar.
"No . . . we're too late!" uttered Naoko, holding her hands up to her face as tears began to flow. "He challenged Tsar."
Before I could even react to the situation, Tsar let loose a mighty roar as he arched his back and faced the sky, declaring his dominance. He then charged with his head held low to point his mighty horn towards the Nidoran , who was barely standing. The ground shook with every step he took, but the Nidoran wouldn't run away. Instead, the Nidoran charged Tsar with what little strength it had, unafraid of his brother. When the two met, Tsar swept his head around and slashed his horn into the Nidoran , knocking it off its feet.
"NOOO!" screamed Naoko in horror.
"Nile, Merlin, go and stop that Nidoking!" I yelled, motioning my hand to issue my command.
"Teeka, you too!" exclaimed Lyra.
Our trio of Pokémon rushed forward into the pasture to face the tyrant that stood before us.
"Keep him busy—I have to help that Nidoran !" Naoko pleaded as she dashed into the field to help the pink Pokémon.
"Don't worry, we'll keep you covered!" Lyra exclaimed.
Turning to the side, Tsar noticed us along the ridge of the pasture, as well as the Pokémon that were sent after him. He promptly let loose a powerful roar and charged headfirst.
"Nile, watch out for that horn! Merlin, quickly—use that shield from before!"
The Nidoking charged Nile as Merlin summoned hundreds of glowing hexagons that formed shields around Teeka, Nile, and himself. The Nidoking lunged forward at Nile as the Croconaw dodged narrowly, its horn sparking off the edge of Nile's shield. But Nile wasn't out of harm's way yet as the Nidoking swung its massive arm around and smashed into the yellow shield, shattering it.
"Nile, get out of there! Keep your distance! Merlin, try putting it to sleep!"
Nile dashed backwards as Merlin swooped past him towards the hulking beast; his eyes glowed white from within his yellow shield as he prepared the Hypnosis. But Tsar saw Merlin coming and tilted his head back as purple toxins oozed out of his mouth, snapping his head forward and firing a glob of purple sludge at him.
"Merlin, look out!"
But it was too late: The sludge made contact with the shield as a horrible sizzling sound echoed over the chants of the Nidoran that surrounded the pasture. Merlin's shield was then shattered as well.
"Nile, stop him before Merlin gets hit!" I ordered frantically.
I looked to the side and saw Nile rush forward and tackle the Nidoking, ruining its concentration and causing a misfire that landed over in a patch of grass, dissolving it in seconds. The Nidoking then swept around and tried to drive his spiked elbow down into Nile.
"Nile, get back, quickly!"
"And Teeka, use Thunder Shock!" Lyra exclaimed, pointing at the massive beast.
Heeding to Lyra's command, Teeka rushed forward to cover Nile's escape. Her wool sparked as the bolt of electricity arced across the air and zapped the Nidoking. But nothing happened to Tsar. In fact, the Nidoking just cackled at the Mareep as remnants of purple sludge oozed out of the cackling maw.
"Lyra, Gold, be careful—Tsar is part Ground-type, and he's immune to electricity!" Naoko yelled from across the pasture, holding the wounded Nidoran in her arms.
"What?!" Lyra and I both exclaimed.
"Teeka, run!" Lyra yelled fearfully.
Tsar let loose a mighty roar as he readied to attack Teeka. The Mareep was petrified with fear and couldn't move.
"Nile, save Teeka!"
Nile growled loudly as he rushed in to save Teeka, but was stopped when the Nidoking swept its mighty tail around and smashed it into the Croconaw, throwing him aside. Tsar then charged Teeka, with no one to stop him.
"Teeka!" Lyra screamed.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Nidoran jump away from Naoko's arms and rushed forward with lightning speed, straight for Teeka. The stout Pokémon grabbed the terrified Mareep and rolled out of the way as Tsar rushed past them, narrowly missing them. We all gasped at the sudden actions of the Nidoran , who started to run back toward us with Teeka following him. Tsar quickly turned around to charge the two once more.
"Nile, Merlin, stop him!" I ordered.
Nile ran up from behind and grabbed ahold of Tsar's tail, digging his heels into the ground. The Nidoking was stopped for moment as he looked behind him to see the Croconaw. Before Tsar could react, Merlin swooped in and pecked at the Nidoking's face. With Tsar occupied, Teeka and the Nidoran reached Lyra, who grabbed ahold of her Mareep.
"Teeka, thank God you're okay," she said, bringing Teeka up to her face and hugging her tightly.
"Nile, use Water Gun, and Merlin, create another shield!"
Nile dashed backwards, inhaling deeply, and unleashed the powerful jet of water. Tsar was distracted by Merlin, who was pecking away at his face, and was struck by Water Gun full-force. It's a good thing I learned that Tsar was a Ground-type, making Nile's typing perfect against him.
The mighty beast recoiled as Merlin summoned the myriad of yellow hexagons that engulfed my team with protective shells.
"Nile, Merlin's got you covered—go and use Scratch!" I said, seeing that Tsar was dazed.
Nile rushed forward and roared loudly as he threw his fist back, ready to punch Tsar. Then, suddenly, a hazy aura of light-blue mist swirled around Nile's scarred arm, and ice started to form around his fist. He then jumped forward and socked Tsar across the jaw, leaving behind hunks of ice that froze to Tsar's face. The Nidoking recoiled in pain as he tried to the claw the bits of ice off his jaw.
"What the heck was that?!" Lyra exclaimed, acknowledging Nile's new power.
"That's Ice Punch! Gold, ice is super effective on ground, and that move is more powerful than Water Gun! Tell Nile to keep using it!" Naoko hollered from the other side of the field.
"Got it! Nile, you heard her—keep using Ice Punch!"
Nile nodded as he threw his fists to the sides, and they were quickly encased in ice as the frigid, light-blue mist swirled around his arms. The Nidoking, recovering from Nile's last attack, roared defiantly towards the Croconaw and charged him. The two sluggers went at it as each one threw their fists at the other. Nile, being shorter than his foe, was able to bob and weave around most of Tsar's attacks, but Tsar was able to land a hit and shatter Nile's shield. But Nile was fast, and he landed a punch in retaliation, causing the Nidoking to lurch backwards and holler painfully. Nile then jumped up to deliver the next blow, but Tsar wouldn't stand for it.
Roaring loudly, Tsar threw his arm forward, snatching Nile out of the air and digging in his claws around Nile's head. Nile yelled in pain as the ice dispersed from his fists, and he tried to pry the hand off him, but wasn't strong enough.
"Nile!" Lyra and I shrieked in horror.
Merlin dove in to help Nile, and tried to peck at the Nidoking. Tsar promptly swung his other arm around, destroying Merlin's shield, sending him flying into a tree. Tsar, returning his focus to the squirming reptile in his hand, roared loudly and threw Nile into the ground, then quickly stomped on him, causing the ground to shake. Over and over again, Tsar stomped Nile into the ground as the will was beaten out of him.
"Nile, get out of there!" I yelled.
But Nile couldn't move, try as he might. Suddenly, the Nidoran by my side rushed forward and, in the blink of an eye, was charging Tsar head-on.
"Nidoran , don't!" Naoko yelled.
But the stout Pokémon wouldn't listen, and while Tsar wasn't looking, he tackled into the side of the massive beast. Miraculously, Tsar was actually thrown off balance for moment, and halted his attacks on Nile.
I was shocked by what this little Pokémon just did. Where did this strength come from?
Tsar, angered by his little brother, swung his tail around to attack the Nidoran . The stout Pokémon was smashed aside and tumbled along the pasture as Tsar returned his focus on Nile. But the Nidoran jumped to its feet and charged again. Tsar, noticing this, swept his tail around once more. But the Nidoran jumped onto his brother's tail and ran along it, jumping onto Tsar's back. The Nidoking clawed away at his back, trying to get his bothersome brother off him. Meanwhile, Naoko, Lyra, and I were all standing in awe of what this little Pokémon was doing.
The Nidoran then bit into Tsar's back, causing the tyrant to holler in pain. The Nidoking then dashed backwards and tried to smash the Nidoran against a nearby tree.
"Look out!" Naoko yelled.
Before the Nidoking could crush his brother, the stout Pokémon jumped off his back, and Tsar smashed into the tree. The tree snapped at the base and toppled on top of Tsar. Naoko yelped as she dashed out of the way of the falling tree to avoid being crushed. Once the whole thing came down, there was a silence, and no one dared to move.
I looked at the tree and wondered if Tsar was defeated. To my dismay, the tree was lifted upward and Tsar shoved it aside, looking for his brother. The beaten and bruised Pokémon stood before his massive sibling and wouldn't back down. Tsar let loose another roar at his brother as toxins spewed from his mouth. But the Nidoran was unfazed and stamped his foot, roaring loudly as well. However, the roar of defiance was cut short as the Nidoran fell to its stomach. The Nidoking, seeing his brother's weakness, cackled once more. The crowd of Nidoran that surrounded the pasture—either willingly or out of fear—joined Tsar in his mad cackle. I felt powerless to help the Pokémon that lay there, beaten and bruised.
In the midst of Tsar's maniacal laughter, the Nidoran struggled to get back up on his feet, but fell again. This prompted Tsar to cackle even more as he walked over to his sibling, rearing his leg up, ready to stomp the life out of him.
"NOOO!" Naoko screamed as she fell to her knees.
Then, just as Tsar was about to crush his brother, he hesitated when he saw something odd. I looked at the Nidoran and saw that same glowing haze that Nile gave off when he evolved. The haze began to glow brighter and brighter as the Nidoran got back up on his feet. Tsar took a step back, bewildered by what was happening.
"He's evolving?" I said under my breath. "He's evolving!" I repeated, louder now.
All three of us stared in awe as the Nidoran 's body was quickly engulfed by a glowing light, and he grew larger and more robust. The horn on his head became more pronounced, and his ears became more swept back. His snout elongated and his legs became beefier. Once fully-formed, the new Pokémon resembled a rhino, and his eyes were dead-set on Tsar. I glanced to the side and saw that Nile was getting back up from the ground.
"Nile, hold out just a bit longer—that Nidorino needs your help!" I said, pointing toward the newly-evolved Pokémon.
Nile, although very banged up, nodded to me and encased his fists in ice once more. The duo charged Tsar, who in turn stormed towards them. The tyrant's brother rushed forward and dove under the Nidoking's sweeping arm, ramming into Tsar's gut, knocking the wind out of him. Nile then followed up by jumping up and nailing Tsar with a frozen uppercut to the jaw. With Tsar off balance, his sibling rammed once again with all his might into the tyrant, knocking him onto his back. Nile then jumped on top of Tsar and unleashed a flurry of Ice Punches into the tyrant's body before jumping back off.
For several moments, no one said anything as we all waited for Tsar to move. His sibling, along with Nile, stood ready for the tyrant to rise again. But he didn't budge—he was out cold. Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief as Nile and the tyrant's sibling both collapsed in exhausted heaps. All three of us rushed to the fainted Pokémon; I went to check on Nile and the little brother while Lyra went to check on Merlin. Naoko walked up to the massive Pokémon that lay unconscious before her.
"Tsar, I'm sorry, but you have to be put under control."
She reached for the Ultra Ball from within her sleeve and tossed it into the air. A red light shot out from the ball and captured the Nidoking inside. It rolled a few times and clicked.
"Thank God," Naoko said lightly as she reached for the Ultra Ball.
I tended to a few wounds on Nile with medicine from my bag, and then I returned him as Naoko walked over to Lyra and me.
"Gold, Lyra, I can't thank you two enough for what you did," she said.
"Sure, no problem—I'm glad we could help. Even though that fight was way too close for comfort," I responded.
"No, I'm serious. I wish I could do something to show you two my gratitude," she said rather sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it—you don't need to thank us," Lyra assured her while holding Merlin in her arms.
"You're sure?"
"Positive."
I looked to my side and saw the Nidorino start to get back up on its feet.
"So what's going to happen to him?" I asked, pointing to the tyrant's sibling.
"I don't know; I'll ask him," said Naoko, who knelt down to talk to the newly-evolved Pokémon.
The Pokémon looked up at Naoko and grumbled something to her, then looked at me for a moment before looking back at her.
"He says he wants to go with you," Naoko translated as she stood back up.
"What?" I responded.
"He said he wants to get stronger, like Nile, and he thinks you're the only person who can do that for him," Naoko said, smiling.
"Hey, it looks like you found your next Pokémon after all," Lyra said rather excitedly.
"Well, after what I just saw him do, how could I refuse?" I smiled at the pink Pokémon.
The Pokémon gave me a slight but definitely happy look.
"So, do I have to battle you, or are you just gonna let me catch you? 'Cause I've got no one to fight you," I joked, partially.
The little brother shook his head, letting me know he was fine with being caught.
"Thanks. Before I catch you, you're going to need a name, though."
"You can call him Duke," Lyra suggested.
"Duke, huh? I like it. What do you say?" I asked, looking towards him.
He tilted his head to me and murmured something.
"He likes it," Naoko said, scratching Duke's ears.
"All right, then. Well, here's your new Poké Ball, Duke," I said, digging into my bag for a spare.
Once I found one, I tossed it at him. The following red light sucked him in and the ball fell to the ground, rolling a few times before it clicked.
"Well, I should get going. Thank you again for helping me capture Tsar, and I wish the two of you the best of luck on you travels," Naoko said, bowing to us.
Lyra and I bowed back before she waved good-bye and disappeared into the woods.
"Well, Gold, now that that's over with, we should set up the tent soon." Lyra yawned, rubbing her eyes. "Don't forget, tomorrow you have to help me catch a Pokémon, too, so don't sleep late, okay?" she added.
I yawned as well. "All right. I'll get the tent started."
I got out our tent and we started to set up it up. Our tent is rather small, even though Lyra and I still have to pack it in two halves, one in each other's bag, so it doesn't take up too much space. It's funny how organized we are. In fact, Lyra and I used to joke about how much stuff we can fit in our bags when we would go out on our "adventures." Even though we never got that far, considering our moms would always hunt us down before we got anywhere. This then led to me getting grounded, followed by me hating Lyra the next day, only to be dragged into it again by the end of the week thanks to her charm. About halfway through setting up the tent, Lyra asked me something.
"Hey, Gold?"
"Yeah?" I replied, looking back at her.
"Can we . . . make a fire tonight?" she said rather timidly.
"Um, sure, I'll get started on that."
"Thanks," she said, smiling at me.
Now then, I may have fudged the proportions of Nidokings a bit, but come on, a 4 foot 7 dinosaur that weighs only 137 pounds isn't that scary. Hell, I could bench press a Nidoking if I wanted to, that's sad, considering they're strong enough to cause earthquakes. So I made them grow up to 7 feet tall, cause that's how I imagine them to be.
So, I had a lot of free time and I was able to get this chapter out sooner. Hope you enjoyed it.
