Chapter 11: Turning the Tables
Watchog and Haxorus were keeping watch on King Dedede, waiting for him to fall asleep. They also made sure that Escargoon was out of this. After a while of waiting, King Dedede finally began snoring. "I hope this works," Haxorus said.
"It has to," Watchog said determined.
Watchog carefully tiptoed over to the snoring penguin king and carefully removed his beanie-crown combo. King Dedede was too much of a heavy sleeper that he didn't listen to anything around him at the moment, which was perfect for Watchog's next step.
A Venonat noticed Watchog's actions and ran up to him. "Hey, what are you doing?" he demanded.
"You'll see," Watchog said with a smirk. Then he turned his attention to the crowd of Pokemon present in the room, Haxorus beside him. "Fellow Pokemon! May I have your attention please!"
The Venonat rushed back and joined the crowd. All the Pokemon turned towards him, murmuring amongst themselves about what is going on. Soon, the murmurs subsided, yet their confusion remained as they waited for Watchog to continue.
"I am standing before all of you to say that King Dedede is a fraud!"
More murmurs were heard, only this time a bit more loudly and full of shock and disbelief.
"Yes, it's true. He is a fraud and should not be listened to. He has done absolutely nothing to get where he is now. Take it from me; I did all of his dirty work just for him to be sleeping on the top of this staircase. Now tell me: doesn't this contradict his speech he gave not too long ago about treating Pokemon 'the right way', when he clearly did the opposite of that to me?"
The Pokemon army looked at each other, realizing he was right. Were they really that blind to not have realized that he could have been doing the same thing they set out to change without them knowing?
Watchog then put on King Dedede's headwear. "So, I got a proposition to make. I'll be the best leader that you'll ever have, if you give me a chance. I'll carry out King Dedede's promise, but the difference is that I will make it happen with no tricks, no gimmicks, no nothing. I will help you all get what you deserve: freedom! Now what do you say?"
Slowly, a wave of cheering came from the Pokemon army. This went better than Watchog expected, precisely how easily they were to convince, but he didn't question it. Now it was finally his turn to shine.
After the cheering subsided – still not waking up King Dedede – Watchog placed his first command as king. "Now," he said, "start by dethroning this penguin and kick him out of my territory!" On this command, a handful of Pokemon quickly rushed to King Dedede and threw him out. They couldn't pick up his trusty hammer, so they simply left it there. Watchog smirked, and then saw Escargoon from the corner of his eye.
Escargoon looked around. "Where's King Dedede?" he asked confused. Watchog turned towards him. "He's not king anymore; I am. And you'll help me throughout my reign." Watchog approached him. Escargoon tried to escape, but Haxorus was blocking the way, leaving him with no other choice. This looks like a dead end, Escargoon thought hopelessly.
…
The tree house team, Wob, and Joltik – now fully camouflaged and hiding in the bushes - saw the dethroning of King Dedede, making them wonder what was going on. This was something they weren't expecting at all. Kirby turned towards Meta Knight, showing concern in what to do with him. Meta Knight clearly read his thoughts and wondered the same thing, his eyes turning green. Sure, he was an unfair and villainous king, but deep down they knew he wasn't really all that. So what were they going to do?
"I think we should help him," Kirby finally said. Everyone looked at him, wondering if that was a good idea. Meta Knight's eyes reverted back to normal and agreed with this. "Are you sure?" Pikachu asked. Meta Knight nodded. "It is the right thing to do," he added. Pikachu nodded, not quite understanding this sudden desire to help out the one who was supposedly their enemy.
With some teamwork, they managed to haul King Dedede into the bushes. He was still deep asleep, his snoring louder than before. "How do we wake him up?" Jigglypuff asked.
"I can shock him!" Joltik suggested excitedly.
"That might work," Pikachu said. Everyone else was a bit hesitant about it but didn't oppose. They stepped back and let Joltik do his thing. He used a Thunderbolt attack, immediately waking up King Dedede as he yelled in pain at the top of his lungs.
"YEOW!" he screamed. The tree house quartet all put their hands over the fuming King Dedede's beak, trying to shut him up. After he calmed down a bit, he looked around and realized he was outside with the wrong team.
"Hey! Why am I outside!?" he yelled. Once again everyone shushed him. "You'll get us caught!" Pikachu whispered loudly.
"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?" King Dedede challenged. He was about to call for help when Kirby stopped him with the words he thought he'd never hear in his life: "You've been dethroned!"
"…W-what?"
"It's true," Meta Knight said. "We saw how you were thrown out of the place from here."
"You're lyin'!" King Dedede said.
"Then how do you explain your missing headwear?"
King Dedede patted the top of his head, not feeling his beloved beanie-crown combo. His face immediately turned worried, beginning to believe what they were telling him. "This… this means that I'm not King Dedede anymore," he said in realization. "I'm just… Dedede." He slumped on the ground, feeling completely defeated. Neither Meta Knight nor Kirby have seen him so upset before; they kind of felt bad for him now.
"So who's the new king?" Pikachu asked.
Dedede's face turned a bit angry. "It's that brown Pokemon, Watchog. That lil' sneak got the best outta me." He then turned to the others. "What are y'all doin' here, anyway?"
"We came to stop you, but since there's been a change of plans, I guess we came to stop King Watchog," Kirby said.
Dedede shuddered. "King Watchog? King Dedede sounds way better!" Meta Knight rolled his eyes.
"Then we have no time to lose," Pikachu said. He turned towards Dedede and extended his arm. "Are you with us or not?"
Dedede stared at his arm. After being dethroned, he kind of felt like he doesn't have another chance at conquering the Pokemon world anymore, and he felt like whacking the heck out of Watchog, so why not? "Alright," he finally said as he firmly shook Pikachu's hand.
"Hey, where's that other guy who was with you?" Jigglypuff asked. They all realized they forgot about Escargoon.
"Who, Escargoon?" Dedede said. "For now, he's doin' fine in there." Dedede stayed quiet for a bit as he thought of something. "Hey, Kirby," he began, "since when can you talk?"
Kirby shrugged. "I don't know, either."
"Guys, we can't lose any more time!" Joltik exclaimed. "We gotta go now!"
"Alright," Pikachu said. "Follow my lead."
He made sure the Joltik-Galvantula clan were standing by waiting to come out when necessary, and quietly led the rest through the bushes. They were very close to the main gate, which was guarded by two Zubat. Pikachu signaled his team to stay put and rushed out of the bushes. Jigglypuff was worried he'll get hurt, but tried to assure herself that Pikachu is strong. Besides, Flying Types are weak against Electric Types.
Pikachu scurried on his four paws as fast as he could. Finally the Zubat guards saw him and rushed to attack him. Pikachu swiftly slid underneath them and used a Thunder attack. The two Zubat were shocked so hard that they immediately fell and fainted. "Yay!" squealed Jigglypuff. Pikachu turned around and signaled the others to follow him. They went past the big gate and rushed inside.
Soon enough, in front of the second gate were three Venonats and a Waddle Dee. The Waddle Dee recognized Dedede, and being a loyal subject, he rushed towards him and joined their team. Dedede smiled approvingly.
"Trespassers!" one of the Venonats said. "Get' em!" another said. They rushed towards them and used Tackle on Pikachu, Jigglypuff and Kirby. They were taken off guard and fell on the ground. Meta Knight's eyes flashed red as he saw how his friends got hurt and decided to take action. He ran at them and using the flat part of Galaxia hit them hard on the side of their bodies. Once the Venonats tumbled, he stabbed Galaxia with all his might on the ground, emitting spikes to come out of the ground in a wave-like pattern, knocking out the Venonats as they flew into the sky in the form of a star.
Meta Knight helped his friends up. "That was amazing!" Jigglypuff said as she hugged him in gratitude. Meta Knight blushed a bit and looked away. "Yeah, that was pretty rad," Pikachu added. "Are you all alright?" Meta Knight asked. Everyone affirmed they were okay, and then moved on.
Upon going through the second gate, they find more Waddle Dees. They all rushed to Dedede the same way as the first one did. "Hey there, guys!" Dedede said. He had to admit he was never happier to have his fellow royal subjects on his side, even though he wasn't king anymore. Kirby saluted them, and then Pikachu pressed on about moving on, so they did.
They are now past the fourth gate and encounter a Dugtrio, an Aron and a Vanilluxe. Dugtrio immediately used Dig and burrowed himself underground. Aron and Vanilluxe split up, trying to attack different opponents. Aron charged at Pikachu and Jigglypuff, while Vanilluxe rushed at Meta Knight and Kirby. Aron used Headbutt on Pikachu, and Vanilluxe used Icicle Spear on Meta Knight. They didn't dodge on time and were really hurt from the attacks. Their partners helped them up and fought back. Jigglypuff used Pound, and Kirby inhaled some nearby rocks and spit them at Vanilluxe. Pikachu and Meta Knight got up and helped fight back however they could, with Joltik and Wob finally joining in. Thanks to Ditto's training, they were able to defeat them. They were all about to go on until Dugtrio emerged from the ground and hit Kirby. Jigglypuff used Sing and then used Body Slam, sending Dugtrio down underground. Joltik helped Kirby up and excitedly praised Jigglypuff's "girl power". Jigglypuff blushed and giggled, and then they all went on.
The team was a bit exhausted from the fighting, but they pressed on. The fifth stage was filled with four Waddle Dees, who also ran towards their former king. There were also some Minccino and a Dustox guarding the next gate. Dustox used Psybeam on Joltik, and one Minccino used Swift on Wob. They fell hard on the ground.
"Dedede!" Meta Knight said. "Help us! Please!"
Dedede felt a bit unsure about it. He doesn't really know how to fight very well without his hammer. His hammer gave him confidence and got the job done faster. He fumbled nervously with his hands, not admitting that he can't fight; he just remained quiet looking at the ground.
Meta Knight quickly turned back around, not waiting for a verbal answer. He continued to jab some hits on the flying Dustox as he himself flew as well. Kirby swallowed a Minccino and was able to copy its ability. He had a gray cap that resembled Minccino and the same tail as him. "Cool!" he said as he swept the spot with his new tail. He then used it to attack the Minccino troop along with Jigglypuff and Pikachu.
Meta Knight and Dustox's fight was almost like a dance in the sky, the way they zoomed about in the air, slashing and jabbing at their opponent. Meta Knight then cut a bit through Dustox's left wing. Dustox flinched and fell. Meta Knight swooped down and reverted his wings back to cape form and landed softly. The others were just about to defeat the Minccino and Wob and Joltik were helping them. Wob was slapped by the last Minccino's tail, and then Wob used Counter and hit him so hard he went flying across the room and fainted. "Alright!" Joltik said and bumped with Wob. Then they all went to the next room.
The next three rooms consisted of fighting and recruiting Waddle Dees. The opponents got tougher and tougher as they advanced, and everyone was getting wearier and wearier. After long vigorous minutes of battling, they have defeated the last gate guardians, Solrock, Lunatone, and three Roggenrola. Except for Dedede and his Waddle Dee troops, everyone had some sorts of cuts and bruises on them, and some limped from pain. It was very awful. But it was all about to become serious, because now they were standing in front of the gate that lead to the Elite Four.
They walked in, noticing that there were no Pokemon guarding the place this time. It was also very quiet, and very dark, a cool breeze going through it at the right temperature to make you shiver. They walked a bit more and saw four glowing stepping stones and an opening in the middle of the floor. They approached it and figured that it lead to the main floor, where King Watchog and the others are.
"This is it," Pikachu said as they all continued to stare at the opening. They all agreed mentally, imagining what awaits them on the other side. Pikachu looked up at the others, seeing how they all felt about it as he read their body language. Some were scared, some were determined, and some were a bit nervous.
With another wave of his hand, Pikachu signaled everyone to follow him. Hesitantly, walking slowly and close together, they all made their way to their next challenge: King Watchog's fortress.