Zane: "We've reached the midpoint in our heroes' final struggle with the Clown Pirates, and tensions are at an all time high. Now a Pokemon battle between our draconian protagonist and the knife-tossing rogue who silenced the joy of little Rico will finally erupt in a spectacular burst of lightning and fire. But will the parents of poor, little Rico be avenged, or will Ash be cooked and carved like a Thanksgiving turkey? The answers, dear viewers, lie here, in the latest installment of Unlimited Adventure: Resetting the Sails!"
GammaTron: Hoo boy...Here it comes. The new version of Circ showing just what he can do. Now let's see just what reason he had for killing Rico's parents.
Chapter 11: "The Fiery Bout of Dragons and Jesters! Sins of a Sad Clown!"
Meanwhile, the battle between Ash and Circ had moved to a more open area of the town and was quickly escalating. Ash had the advantage now, since the open space gave him more room to fly, while the lack of close quarters limited Circ's acrobatics. Still, that was not enough to give Ash the full edge in this fight, as Circ could still use the lampposts and lower-level rooftops to avoid the dragon's fire.
The teenage troubadour drew another set of his seemingly unending supply of knives from the inners of his jacket and tossed the lot of them at the fire-breather, which became lodged into his diamond exoskeleton once again, stopping just before they reached his flesh. The dance continued as Ash flew up towards him to deliver a swift claw swipe, but a last second maneuver let Circ dodge the attack, and all that was damaged was the wall of the house that was behind him.
"Enough of this," the blue-and-white clothed youth announced, back flipping into the air and perching upon another lamppost. "It's clear as day that we have reached an impasse. You can't land a single blow on me, but I can't draw a drop of blood from you with those gem powers of yours."
"I hate to admit it, but you're right," Ash agreed, slipping back into his human form. Pikachu ran up to him and took its place on his shoulder. "I have enough firepower to roast you in an instant, but it's useless if I can't actually hit you with it. So how should we resolve this?"
"Perhaps the answer is simpler than you realize," the teen remarked, reaching into his jacket again. This time, though, he pulled out three shrunken Pokeballs, the color scheme of each fitting with his own. With a press of their buttons, they grew to full size between his fingers.
"A Pokémon battle, huh?" Ash smirked, pulling three of his own from his belt. "Sounds fun. Three on three, I'm guessing?"
"Exactly," Circ replied, taking one of his Pokeballs with his other hand and holding it out in front of him. "Three matches, best two wins it. I win, and you stand unarmored against a wave of my knives. You win, and I take one of your strongest attacks head on. That ought to resolve our little scuffle quite nicely."
"…One thing first, though," Ash asked as he chose his first Pokeball. "I want a few of my questions about you answered, like how someone with your skill got to be as messed up as you are."
"Alright, then," Circ agreed, "for each round you win, I'll answer one of your questions. But in return, I have one or two of my own, so you'll tell the tales each time I win a round. Deal?"
"Deal," Ash stated as his Pokeball opened, releasing the drowsy Kame out in front of him.
"Then, it's time for the first act of my three ring Pokémon circus of destruction!" Circ announced, leaping back down to the ground as he released his Pokémon.
The creature formed from the light resembled a Tyrogue mixed with a Monferno in terms of body type and color scheme, though height wise it was closer lined up head to head with Pikachu. Its powder-white face was adorned with blue triangles above and under the eyes, a big, red nose, and a wide, monkey grin. The orange and blue clown suit it wore further enforced the clown motif, and it balanced itself atop a large ball attached to the end of its tail.
"I'm guessing this one's another Grand Line Pokémon," Ash thought as he took out Dexter.
=Clofe, the Clown Pokémon; Region: Grand Line; Clofe enjoy performing for humans and other Pokémon in return for food and money. Their best trick involves balancing on the ball-shaped end of their tail while juggling fireballs=
"Fitting choice for a Clown Pirate, wouldn't you say?" Circ asked, bending down to pat his Pokémon on its head. "I've raised a few of these guys for almost ten years now, and they've sort of become my personal symbol."
"Then I guess it's just as fitting it be the first of your team to lose!" Ash announced proudly. "Kame, start things off strong with Skull Bash!"
"Squirt!" Kame readied itself, but then just tilted its head in confusion. "Squirt?"
"Huh? What's wrong?" Ash was perplexed.
"If you're not going first, then Clofe will start the show!" Circ called out. "Use Fire Fang!" Fire spewed forth from the clown Pokémon's mouth that swirled around his teeth as he charged at the turtle.
"Quick, use Withdraw!" Ash ordered. This time, Kame complied and pulled its head and limbs back into its shell. Clofe lifted the little turtle's shell had bit down hard, creating a small explosion.
When the smoke cleared though, Clofe was frozen in mid-bite, his pupils shrunken to a tenth of their size before one of his fangs, now fire-free, cracked and broke right off.
"Clo-FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! (My TEEEEEEEEETH!)" he cried out, covering his mouth with both hands after dropping Kame and doing a little dance of pain. Kame pulled itself back out of its shell and tackled the Clown Pokémon before jumping back in front of Ash.
"Awesome!" Ash cheered. "Now let's finish this with Hydro Pump!" Once again, however, the Squirtle just tilted its head in confusion. Ash grabbed his in aggravation, before realization hit. "That's right! Those moves were Squirtle's attacks! What ones did Kame know again?"
As Ash fumbled with Dexter to check Kame's move set, Clofe stood back up, glaring at the turtle through tears of pain. Circ pointed forward and called out, "Flamethrower, Clofe!"
The fire built up in the little clown before erupting out of his maw as a concentrated stream. Before Ash could give an order, Kame pulled itself back into its shell just as the tunnel of fire consumed him. Then, as the flames died down, both sides waited a full minute until the tiny turtle Pokémon reemerged from its shell, albeit knocked out with cartoonish swirls for eyes.
"Your Squirtle's unable to battle," Circ sneered as the little monkey did a victory dance on its tail end. "Clofe wins this round, and the first of the three matches goes to me."
"Kame!" Ash cried out, scooping up the turtle in his arms. "I'm so sorry about this. Next time we'll be unstoppable!"
"Well, that was a rather unentertaining opening act," Circ chided as he returned Clofe to its ball. "So time to pay the piper. Why are you no account vagabonds throwing your lives away by challenging my captain, anyway? I doubt there's any connection between that thief and her bratty mutt with you, so why bother helping them in the first place, especially since they were so keen to throw your own captain under the tracks."
"So that's your question, eh?" Ash replied, returning Kame to his own ball. "I don't expect you to understand, but that's just how my brother rolls. A long time ago, a great pirate, one who valued adventure and friendship more than any riches, saved him and me from drowning in the sea and inspired us to fly the Jolly Roger. I guess some of his ideals rubbed off on us, but that doesn't change the fact that's the path we'll walk, no matter what the cost."
"So, your answer is you follow the ideals of your captain, eh?" Circ smirked, though this time not in any sort of mocking way, but in more of an understanding sense. "Fair enough, I suppose. The captain's word is law to a pirate crew, after all. It's not your fault you got stuck with such an idealistic fool as a captain."
"I doubt you'll be saying that again after this battle," Ash replied, taking his second Pokeball out. However, this time Pikachu leapt out in front of him, cheeks sparking in anticipation. Seeing this, Ash smiled before returning the ball to his belt and said, "Look's like my buddy wants the next round all to himself."
"…Pathetic," Circ commented before releasing his own second Pokémon. This one looked just like Clofe, though with two tails that had the same ball-shaped ends with five finger-like appendages apiece. His triangle makeup was replaced by red whisker designs on his cheeks and blue swirls on his chin and forehead. At his hip was a cutlass hilt with a blade made of fire.
"First you lose in the opening act, then you let your Pokémon call the shots when it comes to deciding who battles in the second ring of the circus. Clade will reduce that rodent to ribbons and embers."
"Clade, huh?" Ash pondered as he turned Dexter in the direction of the new clown monkey.
=Clade, the Clown Pokémon and the evolved form of Clofe; Region: Grand Line; It uses a cutlass of flames as part of a sword-swallowing act. It is not uncommon to see one in the center ring of a circus=
"Another clown, huh?" Ash smirked. "I may have some poor judgment in battles, but at least I'm not repetitive."
"Let's see if this is repetitive!" Circ shouted. "Clade, use Juggle!" Before Pikachu could flinch, Clade had leapt into the air and landed in front of it before grabbing the electric rodent with its tails. One tail then tossed him into the air before catching him with the other tail, passing him back to the first, then repeating the process over and over, leaving Pikachu very dizzy.
"PIKAAAAAA PIIIIIII! (I'm going to be siiiiiick!)" he cried out as he flew back up into the air.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail on your way down to hit him hard!" Ash ordered. Pikachu spun around in the air and dive-bombed towards the clown Pokémon, who was now happily humming with his eyes closed as he waited for his toy to fall back into his tail, using his free hands to start juggling some fireballs just to show off.
"Clade! Defend yourself!" Circ yelled, but it was too late. Pikachu's tail took on the metallic form as he aimed it at his foe like a guillotine, and when Clade looked up, it slammed into his face so hard, he froze and dropped the fireballs he was juggling, which burned out when they hit the pavement.
It took a few moments for Clade to react afterword, letting Pikachu run back to Ash's side, jerkily moving its head forward to reveal the long, red mark across his face and the menacing, tearing glare under it.
"Shake it off, Clade!" Circ pointed forward again. "Use Flame Wheel!"
Clade drew its cutlass and held it aloft as the flames grew in size and heat, swinging it downward as he started to tumble towards Pikachu. He quickly picked up speed and the flames grew enough to engulf him, becoming a blazing tire of doom heading straight for the heroes. Pikachu dodged at the last minute, but Clade circled back around and rolled faster towards his target.
"Pikachu can't dodge forever," Ash said to himself as his partner kept dodging at the last second before Clade circled back. "If only- wait, that's it! I think it's time to turn this circus act against them. Pikachu, knock Clade into the air with Iron Tail!"
Pikachu turned around 180 degrees to face the charging wheel of fire, its tail regaining its metallic sheen. In an upward sweep right before Clade collided with him, Pikachu struck the burning clown hard with its Iron Tail uppercut, sending the fiery wheel high into the air.
"Bad move, dragon breath, " Circ chuckled. "Two can play at this game. Clade, use the momentum from your fall to increase the damage like Pikachu did!"
"Sorry, Circ," Ash smirked, "but this is one game you're going to lose! Pikachu, he can't dodge in midair, so use your Thunderbolt attack!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked as it shot a lightning bolt at the clown monkey.
"Can't dodge?" Circ sneered. "That's what you think! Trick Prop!" The lightning hit its target, which then fell hard back into the ground and sent a dust cloud into the air. When it cleared, the fallen target was revealed not to be Clade, but a wooden beam from one of the destroyed houses. Pikachu was so surprised that Clade could sneak up on it and tackle it into another building.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out. Pikachu pulled itself up, panting but shaking off the splinters. "Great! Time to end this with Electro Ball!" Electricity flowed through Pikachu's body and focused itself in the tip of its tail, forming a sphere of electric energy.
"This game of Simon Says isn't done yet!" Circ shouted. "Clade, counter with Mimic!" The monkey brought his two tails together to form a similar ball of electricity between its tail-fingers. The two Pokemon then ran towards each other, energy spheres glowing with power, before slamming their attacks into the other and creating a huge explosion of energy.
When the dust cleared, Pikachu still stood, though barely, and Clade was lying on the ground with swirls in his eyes.
"Impossible!" Circ yelled angrily, pointing accusingly at Ash. "Mimic should've copied your move in every aspect! How is your pokemon still standing while mine's out cold!?"
"You need to keep up on the latest attacks," Ash crossed his arms and smiled. "Electro Ball's power comes from the Speed stat of its user, and Pikachu's spent the entire battle proving just how much faster it is than Clade. Your clown just couldn't keep up with Pikachu's lightning speed.
"Pika!" Pikachu cheered.
"Well, that was an admittedly interesting turn of events," Circ stated as he recalled his unconscious Clade, a begrudging grin on his face.
"And now I get to ask a question," Ash replied as Pikachu scurried back over to his side. "And this one's been bugging me the entire time we've been fighting. When Rico first showed up, he was terrified of you more than Buggy, and I can guess why." Circ's smirk returned, again mockingly this time, in response.
"What I want to know is this," Ash's expression was deadly serious this entire time, and his glare right now was as intimidating as one given in his half form. "What did they ever do to you? What reason could you possibly have for doing what you did to Rico?"
"Hehheheh," Circ chuckled darkly, drawing one of his knives instead of his third pokemon. Ash was quick to put up a diamond shield, but quicker to retract it when he realized Circ wasn't throwing his knife. He merely tossed it up into the air and twirled it between his fingers as he talked.
"Now that's a story I don't mind recounting, seeing as I rarely get to tell it. To understand, though, let's go back about a month or so to the day the Buggy Pirates first planned to attack this insignificant village. To Buggy and the rest of the crew, it was just another pillaging victim, nothing more special about it than any other town. But I soon realized there was a tad more to this town than meets the eye, a certain duo with three promising Pokemon trainers as their kids, who knew of a certain power that would make me nigh invincible."
"One of the crewmates and I ventured out to find these two while the captain and the rest of the crew terrorized the citizens. I confronted them on the subject when I found them and even took the young mutt as my hostage to get them to comply, but when they stated that they couldn't teach me their power even if they wanted to, well…" he stopped twirling the knife to look at his reflection in it for a minute, "…I got a little aggravated. If I couldn't use the power, then I at least wasn't going to let it be used against me."
"Monster!" Ash growled as Pikachu sparked in anger.
"Oh, no, no," Circ smiled evilly as he continued tossing his knife in the air. "The real monster is that kid Rico. I may take pride in doing the dirty deed I did, but that day, my hands weren't the only ones drenched in blood. Even now, I remember the gruesome conclusion of this story."
"Momma! Papa!" A slightly littler Rico cried as he rushed out of the grip of a rotund, bandana-wearing pirate to his fallen parents. Overlooking the whole scene was the blue and white-clad knife thrower, tossing a bloodied knife into the air the same way his did in the present.
"Shut it!" the pirate lackey of Circ shouted at Rico, drawing the scared kid's attention back to the two. "So, Circ, what should we do with this yapping pup? I can think of a few Carney folks who'd pay good money for this brat as an attraction, and even a few buyers who'd pay more for him on a platter! Gyahaha!"
"Don't bother with jokes right now, fool," Circ replied a tad morosely, replacing the knife with a regular Pokeball from his pocket. He released the beast within it, an intimating Doberman-like Pokemon with a red muzzle and several bone-like protrusions on its body, including a skull-shaped plate just above its face. "Without the ability that brat and his no good kin possess, I'm left at a tragic end to my quest. I'd rather have Houndour here do away with this eyesore, if only to raise my own spirits." The dog Pokemon pounced onto Rico, holding him down as a fireball started to form in his mouth.
"Momma…Papa…" Rico whimpered as he started tearing up, then howled, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Suddenly, an aura of blue light started to engulf his body, surprising the pirates and their pet. Then the aura start creeping up Houndour's body, before both were hidden from view by a sudden burst of red light. The pirates shielded their eyes from the bright glow until it died down, and only one figure remained.
At first, the two thought it was Rico, but the figure was the size of a young adult, his body thin and lanky. His hair and fur had turned pitch black, and his tail thinned and stretched into a more whip-like form, ending in a two-pointed prong. The weirdest changes, though, were the bone-like protrusions jutting out of his back, like Houndour's, as well as a pair of upturned horns. His torso was shielded by spiky armor made from the same material -three extra bits of it resembling teeth at the bottom of the armor-, as were the enormous, shovel-like claws that covered his forearms and hands. He glared at the two with dark-red, animalistic eyes as he let out a similar growl as the one Houndour gave with the same kind of muzzle. In truth, the head was more like a houndour's head than a perfect blend between human and Pokemon.
"Gah!" the fat pirate gasped in surprise. "Boss, what is that thing?!" But Circ only stared at the reborn form of Rico with a look that mixed stunning awe with realization and envy, looking directly at a barely-visible carved image on the torso bones resembling a leaf fused with a strand of DNA.
"I knew it," he muttered, a mad smile creeping across his face as Rico took a step forward. "I knew this power was everything the legends made it out to be, but I never thought it would be this intoxicating! Damn fate for giving this brat such an ability instead of me!"
"Boss! Get over it! We gotta ru-AAAWWWAAAAAARRRGGHH!" The pirate shouted before Rico tackled him, engulfed in a shell of fire as he swiped at him with his claws.
"GWRAAAAAAAAWRG!-!-!"'Rico' snarled, his voice deeper and distorted.
Circ snapped out of his awe as he leaped back a couple feet, redrew his knives, and sent a wave of them at the transformed being. Rico sensed them and back-flipped out of the way, leaving them to skewer the side of the downed lackey. The white of the bone marrow claws was turned red by the attack, making it impossible to tell which of their attacks killed the pirate first. Rico landed and faced Circ, hissing, as Circ drew a new set of knives, but then the little beast winced as he grasped his head and let out a howl of pain. He glared at the remaining Clown Pirate before dashing off down the street, into an alley, and out of sight.
Circ returned his weapons to his jacket, then prodded the prone form of his former ally to make sure he was dead. After verifying this, he turned and chuckled as he walked back down the street to where he assumed Buggy and his other crew-mates were.
"I can't help but laugh..." he said to himself as he walked. "He uses the power of the Reburst, the power I want, to use my own Pokémon to kill my underling," he trembled as he began to laugh softly, "The kid's just one big joke at my expense; a big, stupid JOKE!" as he walked, he slowly pulled his right hand over his left eye, the fingers wrapping around the side of his head while his thumb dug a little into his forehead, "If I ever see that stray again, I'll take my revenge, no matter how long I have to wait to do so."
"Well, now you know the whole story between me and the kid," Circ chuckled as he finished his tale. Ash and Pikachu were both dead silent, but the looks in their eyes conveyed their many conflicting emotions at that moment. Sympathy for Rico, hatred towards Circ, even a touch of confusion and intrigue regarding this so-called "Reburst" power Circ was willing to kill for; all these powerful emotions swirled within the pair, yet they kept calm, as if giving into anger was exactly what their enemy wanted from them.
"But enough of this silent treatment of yours," Circ grinned, replacing his knife once again and drawing a new, third pokeball from his jacket. "It's time for the last round and the final bit of backstory, so pick your-"
"Why?" Ash muttered, shaking a bit. "Why Rico? Why this power? Why Buggy?"
"Geez, you get a cookie every time you ask a 'why' question?" Circ deadpanned.
"My last question," Ash stated, looking straight into his opponent, the whirlpool of emotions close to breaking through his calm, "is this. Why are you doing all this, killing people and ruining others lives for a big-nosed jerk like Buggy? What could've possibly happened that made you like you are today?"
"…I'll answer if you win this round," Circ replied coldly, apparently a nerve touched. Ash took his previously drawn Pokeball back out, releasing its occupant, Charizard. Apparently, it had heard every word of Circ's speech, as its eyes shared a same reptilian quality Ash's currently held.
"I intend to," Ash hissed, flames peeking out of the corners of his mouth.
Light shot out as Circ's Pokeball opened and released his last battler. Like the previous two, it was a simian in a clown costume, but gorilla-sized with bone gladiator armor fused with the suit. It had a trio of alligator tails, each ending in two, ax blade-shaped scales. It cracked the handles it held in each of its four arms, creating whip-like streams of fire for each one, and the clown makeup it wore now made it reflect Ash's immense anger. Ash still held onto Dexter, who analyzed it on its own.
=Clodiatong, the Circus Pokemon and the evolved form of Clade; Region: Grand Line; It is often employed in a circus as an animal trainer of dangerous creatures. When enraged, it will chase its target tirelessly for one year until getting bored and will then go find a place to sleep=
"Don't hold back, buddy," Ash told his friend who roared at the ape pokemon in response.
"Neither should you," Circ stated to his Fire pokemon, who slammed his pectorals with his four arms as he roared at Charizard. "Now start with Flame Charge!" The flames from the whips consumed the titanic clown as he rushed towards his opponent, who was quick to take to the skies.
"Alright! Now swoop down with Wing Attack!" Ash commanded. The dragon pokemon's wings glowed as he dive-bombed his enemy like Pikachu previously had.
"Counter with Hammer Arm!" Circ ordered. Just as Charizard pulled up from its downward swoop to aim at Clodiatong, the ape had already leapt into the air and slammed Charizard into the pavement with a sledgehammer attack.
"Great! Now Submission!"
"Get up, Charizard, and dodge it!" Ash called out. Clodiatong dove for the dragon, but Charizard responded just in time, catching the ape with his legs and kicking him off into another streetlamp. "Now use Dragon Tail!"
"Counter with Tail Slap!" The tails of the two pokemon glowed with power, Charizard's blue and Clodiatong's white, as they fenced with the other's tail. Charizard's had more power and repelled its foe's blows, but he was becoming overwhelmed with the many, repeated strikes his opponent made.
"Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.
"Fire Blast!" Circ yelled.
The two unleashed their most powerful fire attacks at the other that created an even more powerful explosion than the two Electro Ball attacks. Both stood opposite one another as the smoke cleared, both burned and bruised, on their last legs.
"This is bad," Ash thought. "This guy has just as much power as Charizard, maybe more. I need to end this now, but how?" It was then his eyes scanned the field and landed on the bent streetlamp Clodiatong had crashed into, and a memory of his fight with Circ a few minutes ago resurfaced.
"Charizard!" he commanded. "Take to the skies again!" Charizard complied as spread his wings, leaping into the air and catching the wind.
"Shoot him out of the sky with Fire Blast," Circ commanded. The gorilla clown roared before firing another man-shaped wave of fire from its whip at the dragon.
"Use the downwind to dodge left, Charizard!" Ash called out. The dragon pokemon shifted its wings slightly, and a powerful gust pulled it out of way. Angered, Clodiatong let out another roar as it continued to wildly swing all four of its whips and fired another wave of fire with each one. Charizard followed Ash's order, riding the wind behind the ring of streetlamps Circ previously used as footholds, and every one blocked each of Clodiatong's fire attacks.
After a full minute of this, not one un-scorched lamp stood, and Charizard and Clodiatong once again stood opposite one another. The gorilla sneered as it brought its whips together for one last attack, but the flames dwindled down to mere embers, shocking both Circ and his Pokemon, but not Ash.
"It's like I said earlier," he explained. "No matter how much power you have, it's useless unless you hit your target, and all you ended up hitting were a bunch of lamps. Now your pilot light's out, while Charizard still has a good deal of power left. Show 'em, buddy! Dragon Rage!"
The orange dragon let his flames build and swirl into a sphere in his maw, then launched the attack at the gorilla. Clodiatong was thrown back, right to the feet of his master, out cold and swirl-eyed like the rest.
Hanging his head and hiding his eyes from Ash, Circ recalled his last Pokemon and pocketed the Pokeball again. He fell to his hands and knees, staying silent as Ash recalled Charizard and morphed back into his half form.
"We had a deal, Circ," Ash growled as flames started poking out of the sides of his maw. "Answer my last question before I finish you off. Why did you do all these horrible things to Rico and why for this 'Reburst' power you talked about?"
"…..heh…heh heh…" Circ chuckled as a new smile broke out on his face. "…I don't know how to answer that exactly. Maybe I just think all this mayhem is fun, or maybe…" He slipped a hand back into his jacket and redrew one of his knives, though this new one had a lightning bolt shaped hilt. "…maybe it's because you idiots just make it too easy to pass up."
With one swift motion, he flung the dagger at his foe once more, and Ash raised a diamond-coated arm to block it again. However, it instead fell inches short of reaching the half-dragon, lodging itself into the pavement a foot or two in front of him. Before Ash could react, Circ clapped his hands together, forming a hand sign with them, as he shouted, "Showman's Flashy Ninjitsu!"
Suddenly, sparks seemed to fly from the hilt of the lightning bolt-shaped dagger, before a tall pole of electricity erupted out of it. Several regular knives, each lodged into the pavement in a circular formation around Ash, erupted with the same streams of lightning, before said streams swirled around Ash along with the original one and released a burst of light. When the light died down, Ash was encased in a spherical cage with bars made of electricity.
"The Cage of Lightning!" Circ concluded, smiling evilly once more. Ash was startled by this, and in an attempt to break free, grabbed hold of one of the bars and was mercilessly shocked. "GUUWWAAAAAAAARGH!"
"Behold, fool," Circ gloated with arms extended, "my ultimate technique, the Showman's Flashy Ninjustu! Feel honored, as I rarely use this power and only against those I consider truly formidable adversaries." He clapped his hands together a second time, and the cage started to shrink. Ash's wing brushed against the bars again and a second jolt was given. "EEAAAAAAAARRHH!"
"PIKA-PI!" Pikachu called out as he tried to run to his trainer's side, but couldn't move because of his injuries.
"Do you see now why the captain and I think so little of you fools?" Circ continued as he drew another knife, this time having a dragon head-shaped hilt, and returned to his habit of tossing it into the air as he talked. "You guys have no clue what being a pirate really means. This kind of life isn't some kids' game; it's life or death! If you knew that, you wouldn't have agreed to our battle because you'd have seen how obvious a trap it was! It's fools like you who value concepts like honor and pride over logic and common sense that I hate the most, so I'll use your last moments to tell the final part of my story, of how I became what I am and why.
"Not long ago, I was a member of a clan of assassins called Troupe Illusio, mercenaries who took inspiration from street performers and other forms of entertainers, creating the Showman's Flashy Ninjitsu and turning the death of our targets into a grand spectacle for all present to see. Our troupe had only two sacred rules, though. The first was that the wishes of those who contracted us to kill a target were absolute and must be followed to the letter, and the second was that we never kill one who we weren't contracted to target. Breaking either rule would be cause for expulsion from the clan, as the troupe valued its honor over the lives of those in it.
"One day, I was hired by a wealthy merchant to do away with six other merchants who were standing in his way of success, and I had to do so in a very specific manner and at a very specific time and place as to give my client an iron-clad alibi. The deal was struck, and I fulfilled my mission…for the most part.
"Someone had tipped off one of my targets to the murder attempt, and he did not attend the event where the others were killed. I had to finish my job later that day, which I did using a much simpler method than the one used on the others. But when I returned to my client to collect my reward, he was furious and refused to pay. He even hired another assassin to kill me in revenge! I later learned that while he had an alibi for the murder of the five merchants, he had none for the missing sixth, making him the prime suspect of that case and throwing suspicion on his alibi for the other.
"Naturally, I defended myself and treated him and his stooge to the same technique I used to fell the last of his targets, took what I was owed off his person, and escaped." Circ took a second to look into the reflection in the blade before continuing, his eyes narrowing in frustration.
"However, news of my actions reached the other Troupe Illusio members before I could. They were furious I not only disobeyed the specifics of my employer's request, but also killed him when he refused to pay. I had broken both the clan's laws and thus was forced to leave the Troupe in shame. Soon, though, sadness and regret gave way to anger and hatred as I realized the truth."
Ash pressed through the pain long enough to sneak a glimpse at the reflection Circ saw in the blade, his eyes widening with realization. He knew how to escape Circ's sorcery, but he needed Pikachu's help and the right moment of opportunity if he was going to win.
"I wasn't the one at fault; they were! It was their stupid rules that were the real problem. They valued their honor more than the lives of those who lived by them, and that made them fools! Don't kill those outside the contract? Don't disobey the client's orders? Bull! Those orders would have gotten me killed, but they didn't care! Since then, fools like them and you have always been a trigger for me.
"You ask why I pursue the Reburst? Why I kill and destroy without remorse? The answer is the same thing you said in response to my question: out of loyalty to my captain. Buggy found me after I was abandoned by Troupe Illusio and took me into his crew. Unlike them, he cared more for my life than stupid honor or rules, so in return I've honed my craft and pursued the greatest of powers, the Reburst. Buggy is the man I've chosen to stand at the head of the Pirate Era, and I will pay any price, commit any horrible deed to anyone necessary, and all without regret, to see him stand above foolish idealists like the Troupe or you wannabe swashbucklers."
"Y-you…!" Ash moaned as the cage continued to shrink, now half the size it started out as. Circ smirked as he stopped tossing his knife and pointed it at Ash.
"Though I doubt you deserve it, here is my final, greatest act, my last gift to you to take on your way to the underworld." Circ poked one of the tips of his fingers with the tip of the blade, wincing as a drop of blood started to form from the wound. He scribbled something on the side of the blade as white and blue smoke started to flow from it and around him.
"Showman's Flashy Ninjitsu Art!" he roared, his voice becoming more gravelly and deep. "The Art of Transformation: Heaven Dragon Form!"
The smoke swirled and shaped itself into a more draconian form similar to Ash's, before parting to reveal the monster beneath it. Circ was now the spitting image of an Eastern-style dragon, clad in white and blue scales with claws as sharp as his knives. Wings in a similar design to Ash's erupted out of his back, white with blue wing flaps as opposed to Ash's black with red coloration.
"Pikachu," Ash called out to his partner. "We don't have much time! I need you to bite down on the end of my tail as hard as you can!"
Pikachu looked up at his master in shock in confusion before Ash let out another roar.
"Trust me, buddy! Just do it and fast!"
Pikachu nodded and rushed towards his caged master, who slipped his tail just outside of his cage, the ruby blade breaking away to reveal black, scaly flesh. The Circ dragon reared up its head like a snake about to strike before shooting towards its prey like an arrow, jaws opened and fangs bore.
Luckily, though, Pikachu reached Ash first and bit into the exposed flesh of his tail with all his might. Ash's eyes widened in response to the pain, then narrowed towards his charging foe as he pulled his tail from his partner's mouth. Said tail shot up and constricted tightly around the neck of his draconian enemy, but something strange occurred.
Though the force holding the beast wasn't much, it was held firmly in place in midair, its expression unaltered as if nothing changed between then and the moment it struck. The same blue and white smoke from its transformation raised from its scales once more, this time, however, its body faded with the white and blue veil rather than being formed in it. Eventually, nothing of the beast remained, and all that was caught in Ash's tail's grip was the same dragon-shaped knife Circ used to summon his bestial form.
Ash, however, was not yet relaxed, dropping the weapon and taking back to the skies as he scanned the surrounding area. Eyes darting and nostrils flaring, he quickly focused in on one area in particular and let his flames build up in his maw once more, the heat changing their color from red to blue.
"Doragono no eiko no…" he growled through his mouthful of fire, drawing his head back when he saw a something in the shadow of an alley shift and squirm.
"HONO!" He fired the concentrated ball of cerulean flames into the alleyway, causing a huge explosion as wooden debris and other refuse made from destroyed buildings during the fight caught fire. There was one other thing in the blaze, though, humanoid in shape and limping out into the open with one arm clutching the other. It was Circ, battered, bruised, and burnt from the attack and glaring at Ash with a look of anger and shock.
"H-how?" He hissed, wincing and falling to one knee, but not breaking eye contact with his draconian foe, as the flames dispersed. "You were trapped by my technique, helpless and in pain! You couldn't have broken free on your own."
"I didn't," Ash stated, staring down at his defeated opponent. "I had help from Pikachu, but most importantly from you. Your habit of playing with that knife of yours let me see my reflection in the blade and told me the truth about your so-called 'ultimate technique'.
"The truth of the matter is that I was never really trapped, nor did you turn into a dragon. It was all an elaborate illusion created by a hallucinogenic chemical hidden in your knives' hilts that mixed into the air around me and fooled my senses into thinking I was being shocked. That's the secret of the Showman's Flashy Ninjitsu, isn't it? You're no wizard or transforming monster, Circ, but just a good stage performer with a bag full of tricks."
"…Heh," Circ chuckled, lower his head in defeat. "I didn't give you enough credit, did I? …Troupe Illusio indeed started out as a village of simple medicine men and doctors who one day figured out how to use their herbs and medicines to create hallucinations and used it to dispose of our enemies. But that alone shouldn't have been enough to break the spell, so how-"
"Because I've encountered it before," Ash cut him off, catching his attention. "Well, not really the whole thing, but rather just the key ingredient in your compound. I'm no doctor or scientist, but I do have this dragon's nose, and it can sniff stuff out even better than a dog's." For emphasis, he pointed at his reptilian snout with his thumb and smirked.
"I caught a familiar scent in the hallucinogen, something I encountered once or twice before in my travels that can make you think reality's been distorted, and when I realized what it was, I knew I needed Pikachu to send a jolt of real pain to my system to snap me out of the illusionary pain."
Ash's tail then picked up one of the knives littering the ground and placed it in his hand. He felt around the hilt before unscrewing the false bottom of the handle and pulled something out. It was a small, cylindrical vial half-filled with a lavender liquid, and when Ash crushed the vial with his dragon claw, the liquid immediately flowed upward as smoke of the same color.
"The main ingredient is extract of Stantler horn, isn't it?" Rather than wait for an answer, Ash pulled out his Pokedex and typed in some words, pulling up a holographic page of a Pokemon. It looked like an ordinary caribou, except for the elaborate and strangely eye-shaped horns jutting from its head.
=Stantler, the Big Horn Pokemon; Region: Johto. Stantler's eye-shaped horns emit a hallucinogenic odor that it uses to create illusions and bend reality. These horns were once highly valued as works of art, leading to Stantler being driven to near-extinction=
"No point in denying it now," Circ replied, losing his strength and falling to the ground. "I'll say this much, you were a grand last enemy to face, but I'm all out of energy and ready to finish off. So get it over with, kid, send me off to face judgment for what I did to that little runt's folks. I'm not afraid of what lies beyond."
Ash raised a claw, but rather than finish off his enemy, picked him up and slung him over his shoulder before Pikachu leapt back up on his other. "I'm not going to kill you, Circ. You'll face justice for your crimes, sure, but it'll be at the hands of the proper authorities. Luffy and I aren't the kinds of pirates you and Buggy are, ready and willing to kill whoever and whenever you choose. If we were, we wouldn't be deserving of our dreams of Pirate King and Champion."
"Tch!" Circ clicked his tongue in annoyance as his eyelids felt heavier. "You won't live long on this sea with that mindset, let alone the Grand Line. Take it from someone with experience, if you let your enemy live to see another day, chances are…you…won't…" and with that he finally passed out, leaving Ash to sigh in disappointment as he carried his partner and his foe back toward Buggy's base.
"What a sad life you must have lived, Circ. I can't forgive you for what you've done to Rico and so many others, but I can't help but pity anyone with that kind of outlook on life."
Zane: "A show-stopper performance, Ash, as expected of you, but the show's not quite done yet. Two rings down, one to go, and the ringmaster waiting in the wings. Soon we'll bid fair well to Orange Town, but hopefully on happy terms. We've seen one of our leads triumph over his foe, so let's see how well Luffy and Zoro fair in the next installment of Unlimited Adventure: Resetting the Sails!"
GammaTron: o.0... Holy shit. Now that is a crazy guy, that Circ is. Bravo, Zane, bravo. *applauds* As for Rico's Reburst, that was actually something I was going to do in the original story for this when I first read the Pokemon Reburst Manga on a site, but I never got around to it. However, I won't spoil anything on why exactly Reburst is important in this story. Also, when you're reading that bit when Rico does his Reburst, try playing the theme from Rockman EXE Beast called 'Beast Out.' In fact, every time Rico ever does that, you play that music. Now let's see...*puts on (fake) reading glasses* I need to go into detail on Clofe, Clade, and Clodiatong. All of their names are a combination of 'Clown' and something else, such as Clofe being 'CLOwn plus kniFE', Clade being 'CLown plus blADE', and Clodiatong being 'CLOwn plus glaDIATor plus kONG.' All three are a combination Fire/Fighting Type and their Hidden Abilities are Clofe and Clade have Pick Up while Clodiatong has 'Guts'. Their normal ability is 'Circus Act,' their own unique Ability that doubles their attack, evasiveness, and speed if there's another 'Clofe,' 'Clade' or 'Gladiatong' nearby.
