Chapter 24 – Cornering Team Plasma
Last time on "Tale of a Legend"…
Bianca spilled out her tale to Volan and the gang, revealing that Team Plasma stole two of her Pokemon! After debating over what to do, Burgh split the group up – one half would search Narrow Street, while the others would scour the sewer system. Volan, Iris, and Ash ended up being the latter, and their search turned out to be rather uneventful. However, they soon came across an injured Sandile, the same Pokemon that defeated Bernice four years ago! The Desert Croc Pokemon went with Ash and Pikachu to the Pokemon Center to get his wounds healed, while Volan and Iris continued their search. However, no one realized that a mysterious Pokemon was still stalking Volan…
-.-.-.-.-.
"Iris, watch out. You almost stepped in something," Volan cautioned.
The girl recoiled from the mound of processed garbage that she had been one step away from sinking into. "Eeeeww!" she exclaimed, wrinkling her nose at the pile that seemed to ooze up out of the river beside them. "Why is it that the first part of the sewer is garbage-free, but this place is covered in it?!"
Volan shrugged, making his way around the garbage piles as best as he could. In the ever-dimming light, it was getting much harder to see what lay ahead of them. Hence Iris' close encounter with the piled-up sewage.
This deep in Castelia City's complex sewer system, there was now only the occasional lamp embedded into the walls that provided scarce sources of light. As Volan and Iris made their way past it, they noticed another large pile of processed gunk that was heaped against the wall and spilled over a fair amount of the concrete path on which they walked. Volan idly glanced at it as he walked around the lamp-lit garbage heap, and almost immediately stopped. Iris looked back and saw the Gurei boy staring intently at the garbage sitting under the yellow glow of the lamp.
"There's a time and place for staring at trash, you know," the purple-haired girl said sarcastically.
Her Axew popped his head out of her hair and squeaked, "Axew yew."
Volan motioned her over without even glancing up. Sighing, Iris walked up to his side and regarded the pile of trash with a mix of disgust and disinterest. "What's so fascinating about this junk anyway? You're acting like such a little kid!"
He finally looked up and gave her a baleful stare that would make a Bisharp flinch. "Would you stop criticizing me and look more closely?" he asked harshly.
Iris indeed peered closer – wrinkling her nose as she did so – and finally saw what Volan had seen. In the garbage that spilled over the path were a bunch of indentations in it. When Iris scrutinized them further, she could see that they were footprints.
"We're on the right track," Volan stated, turning away from the garbage. "Let's go, Iris. Team Plasma can't be much farther now."
"How do you know it's Team Plasma?" the girl asked him. "It could be anybody!"
Volan looked back at her and raised his eyebrows. "Who do you know that goes into sewers for the fun of it?"
Iris searched for an answer before replying, "Maybe there's a cleanup crew that came down here."
"Does this place look clean to you?" the Gurei boy asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he swept an arm around at their filthy surroundings.
He walked onwards without another word, leaving Iris to grumble to herself as she followed a slight distance behind him.
It appeared as if whoever had installed the lights in this place hadn't bothered going any further, because there were no more lamps providing illumination from then on. It wasn't pitch-black, but there was only just enough light to make everything dim and fuzzy. Volan squinted, trying to see just a little bit farther, but he could barely make out anything more than a few meters away from him.
"It's getting really dark in here…" Iris murmured, and Volan turned around to look at her. It was so hard to see in the almost non-existent light, he could barely make out her features. Her face was extremely blurry, and he imagined that he must look the same to her.
"Hmm, I might have an idea," Volan mused, digging out one of his Poke Balls. "Go, Rickie!"
The flash of light momentarily blinded Volan and Iris, and then things became dark again. Rickie hopped up to Volan and smiled, although the expression was barely noticeable through the darkness.
"Rickie, I need you to help us navigate through this sewer," Volan told him. "Can you lead us to Team Plasma, who might be hiding down here?"
"Pole!" affirmed Rickie, turning around and hopping down the corridor.
Motioning for Iris to follow him, Volan walked closely after the Tympole, who seemed to vanish the deeper he went ahead. He quickened his pace so that he wouldn't lose Rickie in the darkness of the sewer.
His eyes flicked to the side. Despite the blurriness of his already-restricted vision, he could have sworn that he wasn't seeing things when he saw something move.
The invisible Pokemon instinctively stopped breathing when it saw Volan's eyes rest upon it. When the boy turned his head, the Pokemon relaxed again. It wasn't ready to reveal itself just yet, but Volan seemed to know it was there despite its invisibility. Of course, nothing less could be expected of the hero with the white dragon in his eyes.
Rubbing its eyes to help it see better in the perpetual darkness, the Pokemon suddenly saw the backs of the two humans retreating further into the darkness. With a small cry of protest, it floated after them.
-.-.-.-.-.
"There you are!" Nurse Joy said cheerfully. "Sandile is fully healed and will be just fine!"
"Thanks," Ash replied.
The Desert Croc Pokemon jumped down from the tray Audino had wheeled in and wagged his tail. The bruise was gone and his mouth had stopped leaking blood, but his tooth was still missing. Nothing could be done to re-grow his tooth, after all.
"Pika!" cried Pikachu. He scampered down from Ash's shoulder to join Sandile. "You're alright!"
"San Sandile!" Sandile replied, grinning confidently. "Naturally."
Suddenly, there was the hissing sound of the Pokemon Center's sliding doors opening. Ash, Pikachu, and Sandile turned around to see Burgh, Stephan, Tony, and Cilan rushing in.
"I thought I saw him through the window!" exclaimed Cilan, immediately making his way toward Ash.
"What're you doing in the Pokemon Center?" Stephan questioned. "Didn't you go down to the sewers with Volan and Iris?"
"That was the plan, yeah," Ash admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "But we found this injured Sandile while looking for Team Plasma. So I volunteered to take him here to get healed."
Cilan frowned. "That must mean that Volan and Iris are still down there searching," he concluded. "We've searched nearly half of the city by now, and there is still no sign of Team Plasma."
"Not to worry," Burgh said with a smile. "I know Castelia City well. Chances are those thieves have gotten lost in the vast urban jungle. All we have to do is find them!"
"Easier said than done," grumbled Tony. Lucky descended from the air and perched on top of his head.
The group walked out of the Pokemon Center and into the city streets once more, with Sandile and Pikachu following. The sky was dark and stars were breaking out. However, the streetlamps ensured that everything in the city was bright enough to see clearly.
They talked amongst themselves, puzzling over the possible places where Team Plasma could possibly be hiding. But just then, a sudden clattering, clanking noise brought the troubled discussion to a halt. Burgh, at the head of the group, put a finger to his lips to indicate silence. He then took the last few steps toward the end of the street and peered around the corner.
The others followed the Gym Leader's lead, including the three Pokemon. They then saw some rather surprising events unfolding before them – the manhole cover in the middle of the sidewalk had been removed, and a woman wearing an amoebic uniform was pulling a similarly-dressed man up through it.
"Could that be Team Plasma?" Cilan wondered aloud.
"Yep, that's them alright," Stephan answered.
"Ugh, I'm glad to finally be out of that sewer," he muttered, spitting on the ground.
"Me as well," the female grunt agreed. "But it provided a safe escape route. Now we'll be able to head back to our base without opposition."
The girl grunt succeeded in pulling her comrade up aboveground. Her companion got to his feet after a second, and the two of them walked off down the street.
"No opposition, huh?" repeated Burgh, smiling in a satisfied way. "We'll see about that! Onwards, my friends!"
After waiting for them to move farther ahead to a safe distance, the Gym Leader began to follow the Plasmas. Stephan, Cilan, Ash, and Tony all followed him in turn, with their Pokemon close behind. The Plasmas were unwittingly leading them right to their secret lair, and when they got there, they were confident that they'd be able to beat any Plasma who got between them and Bianca's Pokemon.
-.-.-.-.-.
On another street, a street where nothing stirred and all was silent, a manhole cover suddenly shifted with a comparatively loud *clank*. The sound echoed slightly as the flat disc of metal slid back into its original position.
It shifted again just then, this time remaining propped up an inch by the edge of the concrete surrounding it. If anyone had been around to hear, they would have detected faint voices coming from underneath.
Suddenly, the manhole cover began to levitate several inches off of the ground. The voices grew quiet as their owners witnessed this happen from below. The metal then dropped back down onto the sidewalk with a huge, echoing clang, leaving the hole in the concrete uncovered.
A head and torso forced its way up and onto the sidewalk. Volan gasped deeply, inhaling the fresh, sweet air and allowing it to fill his lungs. Newly invigorated, he crawled away from the manhole and stood up, allowing his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness of the nighttime city streets. It was also chillier out here than in the sewers, and he reflexively shuddered and drew his hoodie more tightly around him.
"Good, I can see again!" Volan said to himself, as Bernice flew up out of the sewer and circled gleefully through the air. She then landed on his shoulder and fluffed her feathers to repel the cold.
He turned his head to peer at the manhole cover that lay beside him, frowning to himself. It hadn't been him that pushed it open – no, as it appeared from his perspective, it had simply opened on its own. But before he could ask himself how that was possible, Iris suddenly poked her head up out of the hole and seemed to struggle to get out.
"A little help here, please?" she asked, holding out a hand.
Volan took the hand and pulled with all of his might. Axew popped out of Iris' hair and scurried to help him pull. With enough effort, the boy and the Dragon-type managed to haul the brown-skinned girl up onto the street.
"Whew, thanks, Axew," Iris panted, taking a long breath of air as well. "You too, Volan."
She was holding Rickie close to her in her other arm, that is until he hopped out of her grasp and over to Volan's side. The Tympole gazed around in wide-eyed wonder at the darkness-shrouded city that surrounded him.
Rickie rotated his body in order to get a good look at everything. But when he turned around to face the building directly behind Volan and Iris, he chirped loudly and hopped up and down excitedly.
"Tympole tym!" he cried, not just once, but repeatedly.
"What is it, Rickie?" Volan asked. He turned around and looked up, trying to see what had gotten the Water-type so excited.
He found it, alright. Directly above them hung a huge banner, sporting Team Plasma's symbol emblazoned on it for the world to see.
"What is this place?" Iris asked, craning her neck to get a good look at the banner.
"I would imagine it's some kind of base of operations for Team Plasma," Volan replied thoughtfully.
"This must be where they ran off to!" Iris exclaimed, slamming her fist into her open palm as the realization hit her. "Let's go in and take back those Pokemon!"
The girl raced forward, but didn't get far. Volan reached out and snagged her wrist, stopping her from barging into the building. He only let go when she gave up on trying to move forward.
"What's the big idea?" she demanded. "Bianca's Pokemon are probably in there!"
"Yes, and any number of Plasmas," Volan said, scathingly. "We're only two Trainers with just a few Pokemon between us. We should find the others first and come back when we have numbers on our side."
"Alright then," Iris yawned, suddenly looking very tired. She seemed reluctant, but finally walked away from the building. She collapsed on a bench standing on the sidewalk and yawned again, more deeply this time.
Volan knew that it would be pointless getting Iris to search for the others with him. Instead, he turned to his trusty Starter and asked her, "Bernice, could you try to find Burgh and the others and lead them here?"
"Doooooove!" she replied, spreading her wings and taking off into the black sky. Volan knew she'd be able to find her way to wherever the others were and back to him. The lights from the streetlamps and the occasional window would help her see.
Volan sat down on the bench next to Iris. He looked over at her and saw that her eyes were closed. Gently, he grabbed her shoulder and shook her a bit, but didn't get a reply.
"Yew?" asked Axew, crawling up onto the bench between the two humans and looking up at Volan.
The boy smiled and stroked the Tusk Pokemon's horn, making Axew squeal with delight and snuggle up against him. In just a few moments, Axew was asleep as well.
As he listened to Axew's soft snores and Iris' constant breaths, Volan felt a little drowsy as well. Rickie hopped up onto the bench beside him, flinching a little at how cold the metal felt underneath him. Volan smiled absentmindedly as he withdrew Rickie's Poke Ball from his pocket and recalled him.
Putting the capsule back in his pocket, Volan leaned back in his seat and listened to the silence of the nighttime city, which was broken only by the quiet sounds of the sleeping girl and Pokemon beside him. He instinctively relaxed, closed his eyes…
…and abruptly opened them again as he felt something poke him in the shoulder.
Wide awake immediately, Volan glanced to his right to see what had touched him. However, there was nothing there.
Dismissing the feeling as nothing but a figment of his imagination, Volan turned back around and folded his arms in front of him, relaxing once more. His eyes were closed for about two seconds when he felt a second, sharper poke on the back of his neck.
Instantly, Volan's eyes snapped open again as he whipped around in his seat, trying to find what it was that was touching him. But just like the first time he had looked, there was no-one to be found.
Even as he scanned the sidewalk behind him, Volan felt another touch on his left shoulder blade. He turned around again, hoping to get a glimpse of what it was that was doing this. But when he still saw nothing, he blinked bewilderedly. He was starting to get a little spooked.
Then, he jumped as he felt something touch him right in the chest. He could even see the indentation that formed on his shirt as if someone had pressed the tip of a pencil into him. But there was nothing there!
Or is there? Volan wondered, tilting his head quizzically. He could start to make out a vague distortion in the air in front of him, as if that air was moving independently from the rest of the atmosphere. Almost immediately, he was reminded of the strange movement he had seen in the Castelia Sewers, where it had appeared that a part of the wall had moved.
Volan reached out with his hand, only to see the distortion move away from it. A faint, high-pitched giggle reached his ears. The distortion moved freely in the air in front of him, allowing him to see a vague silhouette of whatever it was that was teasing him. "What are you?" he murmured.
The mysterious creature stopped moving and tilted its head even as Volan did the same. It giggled again, and Volan could faintly see its hands move to cover what he assumed to be its mouth as it did so.
"I can see you, you know," Volan said with a smile, amused with the unknown being's behavior.
It stopped giggling and appeared to look at him intently. Volan didn't know how he knew that – it just seemed to him that the invisible creature was regarding him with some form of interest.
But just then, the creature appeared before his very eyes, color and texture blooming across the distorted silhouette as it dispelled its cloak of invisibility. It was a pale, tawny color for the most part, with huge, pointy red ears and a wide smile on its face. It floated in the air using a pair of small wings on its back. Volan noticed that its short fur was sleek and shiny, but what really grabbed his attention was its wide, sapphire-blue eyes.
Volan stared at the pixie-like Pokemon (if indeed it was a Pokemon) for some time, and it simply stared back at him. From the way it smiled, Volan could tell that it liked him. But he himself wasn't sure of what to think of it.
"Um… hello," he said tentatively.
"Tini!" it replied, doing a front flip in midair and allowing itself to drop into his lap. It grinned widely up at him, showing its small, pointy teeth.
Its playful attitude was infectious, and Volan couldn't help but laugh. He reached out with his hand to try and pet it, only to have it scuttle up his arms with its tiny hands and feet and sit on his shoulder. He laughed again, and the Pokemon giggled along with him.
Suddenly, Axew stirred. He groggily blinked his eyes open and stretched his stubby arms out whilst yawning squeakily. The little Dragon-type sleepily looked at Volan and almost immediately saw the creature on his shoulder.
"Volan!" cried the voice from somewhere in the distance.
The mysterious Pokemon squeaked in fright and instantly vanished before Volan's eyes. He felt the pressure on his shoulder ease as it left.
"Pidoooooove!" trilled Bernice, melting out of the night sky and flying down to land on his outstretched arm.
Beside him, Iris blearily opened her eyes. Shaking herself out of sleep, she murmured, "Mm, what time is it…?"
"Axew yew!" chirped Axew, tearing his gaze away from the spot where the unknown Pokemon had disappeared. He clambered up onto his mistress' lap and nudged her repeatedly, further encouraging her to wake up.
All of a sudden, Volan saw Burgh, Stephan, Ash, Cilan, and Tony running down the street towards him and Iris. He stood up, and Bernice hopped onto his shoulder when he lowered his arm.
"Hey, everyone," he greeted them. "Any sign of Team Plasma?"
"Yes indeed!" Cilan replied. "We saw two of their members emerging from the sewers even as we searched. We were following them to their lair when your Pidove came and insisted that we follow it."
"Dove Pidoooove!" agreed Bernice, proudly. "It was easy to find them!"
"Freeeh…" Tony's Butterfree muttered. "Show-off…"
Scowling, Bernice retorted, "Dooove… You should talk…"
Standing up, Iris pointed to the building with the Team Plasma banner behind them. "Well, we found their lair alright! We followed the Plasmas' trail through the sewer and ended up right here!"
"Awesome!" Ash enthused. "Now we can get Bianca's Pokemon back!"
"That reminds me, what happened to Sandile?" inquired Volan, looking at the Kantonian boy curiously.
Ash was about to answer, when the Ground-and-Dark-type suddenly crawled up to Volan and wagged his tail. He said something in his growl of a voice, sounding completely fine as if he had never been lying in pain in the sewers.
Bernice looked down at him sourly. Sandile pretended not to notice, instead focusing on Volan.
"It's good to see you're alright," the Gurei boy said, bending down to look more closely at Sandile. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Dile!" the Desert Croc answered, nodding. "Couldn't be feelin' better!"
Cilan stepped forward and observed the two of them interacting. "If I may say so, that Sandile seems to have taken a shine to you, Volan. It's almost as if Sandile is an unexpected ingredient that accidentally finds its way into the recipe, only to create a pleasant and mysterious new flavor that causes a savory feeling of surprise and discovery upon the palate!"
"Yes, I was just about to say that," Volan told him, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Cilan's just trying to be helpful, you know!" Iris admonished. "Honestly, what a kid."
Volan's eyebrows crept together even as his face began to heat up. "Maybe you won't talk so much with your hair stuffed in your mouth," he growled, standing up and taking a threatening step towards Iris.
But suddenly, the doors to the Plasma's hideout burst open, and a squad of Plasma Grunts ran out to confront them. Everyone turned around in shock, being met by eight identical sets of amoebic uniforms.
"Plasmaaaaaa! It's those Trainers again!" cried one, specifically indicating Iris and Cilan.
"And they've brought back-up!" said another grunt.
"They've come to steal their Pokemon back! Defend the hideout at all costs!" shouted a third. "We must save the Pokemon from these cruel Trainers!"
The subsequent cry of "Plaaaasmaaaaa!" was picked up by the eight grunts, who spread out to form a semi-circle around the group.
"We're ending this," Volan snarled, reaching for Grunge's Poke Ball. But before he could even touch it, Sandile stepped up in front of him determinedly.
"San Sandile!" the Ground-and-Dark-type said, looking directly into Volan's eyes.
The Gurei boy's anger drained away as he gazed back at Sandile. In that instant, what little color there was in the dark city at that moment faded, and a white shadow flashed across Volan's eyes. Then, he knew the truth.
"You want to join me, don't you?" he asked.
"Dile!" Sandile confirmed, nodding. "San san, Sandile!"
"Doooove?!" trilled Bernice, appalled at the notion that he was even considering letting her worst nemesis join the team.
But Volan ignored her. As far as he was concerned, Sandile had done nothing wrong – he had only been following the commands of his Trainer on that fateful day. Sandile wasn't to blame, and he knew that Bernice saw that too, deep down. She was just too stubborn to admit it.
Kneeling down to Sandile's level, Volan told him, "If you're going to come along with me, you need a name. How does Rudy sound?"
The new Rudy nodded his head and turned around to face the nearest Plasma. He growled deep in his throat, prepared to do the best he could do for this kind new Trainer.
All around, Trainers called out their Pokemon and prepared for battle. And in the abandoned city streets, the fight truly begun.
-.-.-.-.-.
Ugh, this chapter was a complete pain to write. I just didn't know how to word it at first, you know? But I got it done, finally.
Want to know where Rudy gets his name? I named him after the Baryonyx in Ice Age 3! After all, Krookodile looks more like that particular dinosaur than a crocodile, in my opinion.
So, another showdown with Team Plasma is imminent, Volan and Rudy join forces – to Bernice's shock – and the mysterious Pokemon is finally sighted! It seems to have taken a liking to Volan, certainly…
Rudy: "Dile Sandile? Are you gonna review?"
Chapter Question #15: Do you think that the Castelia Sewers were a good idea in BW2? What do you think could have been done to improve them?
I think being able to climb up through manholes all over the city would have been an amazing touch.
-.-.-.-.-.
Volan's Party:
Bernice (Pidove, female)
Ability: Big Pecks
Attacks: Air Cutter, Roost, Quick Attack, Hypnosis
Grunge (Garbodor, male)
Ability: Weak Armor
Attacks: Pound, Body Slam, Poison Gas, Solarbeam
Rickie (Tympole, male)
Ability: Hydration
Attacks: Bubblebeam, Supersonic, Sing, Mud Shot
Rudy (Sandile, male)
Ability: Moxie
Attacks: Thunder Fang, Bite, Sand Tomb, Dig
Thrin's Party:
Oliver (Pignite, male)
Ability: Blaze
Attacks: Flame Charge, Tail Whip, Body Slam, Arm Thrust
Luna (Munna, female)
Ability: Synchronize
Attacks: Psywave, Defense Curl, Yawn, Psybeam
Valkyrie (Venipede, female)
Ability: Poison Point
Attacks: Rollout, Screech, Poison Sting, Attract