POKÉMON: CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS
#25: On the Road to Victory
The blistering fire and billowing smoke obscured both competitors for a good length of time, and everyone in the vicinity showed obvious signs of apprehension, even Roman and Vulcan. Once the carnage settled, Charmander stood fiercely, claws bared and ready and its eyes still glowing with the hellish fury of Blaze. Facing it on the other side, Golbat stood staunchly, wings flexed out to their maximum span, eyes and fangs looking deadly. The Rogue and Dontae stared in amazement at their two battlers; once again, the battle had projected the illusion of time travel, and it was as if the Rogue were seeing his first Gym battle all over again, wondering if he could earn his first Badge instead of his last.
Dontae, however, shook off the amazement, "All right, buddy, this has to end, now. Flamethrower!" Just as it had before, Charmander attempted to make its move, but tripped and fell over, still Confused. The Rogue thought back to his first bout with Dontae, and remembered that, when this happened then, his Golbat (then a Zubat) had had the last of its strength whittled away by its Burn, making both Pokémon lose and ending the match in a draw. Once again, though, the match deviated from this strange time trip, and Charmander, still on the ground, hacked up more purple, sizzling saliva as it struggled to get up. After a long few seconds, Charmander pushed itself up onto its arms, working with all its remaining might to get back on its feet. Its arms shook, its breath rattled, its eyes slowly lost their fiery shine.
And it was down. Despite its best efforts, the Poison had consumed too much of its health, and it whined as it flopped back down, defeated at last, "Chaaaaaaaar . . . . ."
"Charmander!" Dontae yelled, quickly racing out onto the battlefield toward his friend. He knelt down and slowly brought Charmander's head into his lap. "Are you all right, buddy?" he asked it calmly, stroking its scaly head, "Don't worry, you're gonna be all right. You were awesome out there, you know that? Just awesome!"
Charmander's voice was hoarse, but it responded with a smile, "Chaaar . . ."
The Rogue approached Dontae and Charmander, his Golbat leaning on him for support due to its own injuries. "He's right, you know," the detective assured, "Both of our Pokémon were excellent. Nothing gives me more confidence than this. Now, I'm sure we can catch Kaine together, and no spy he has working for him will ever change that."
Both Trainers and their Pokémon turned at the sound of a high-pitched sneeze from a few feet away. Stacy, delicately wiping her nose, glanced between the two, "Is it over now? I know what I saw, but I'm just so . . . . upset watching you two fight. We have to work together, and we're running out of time." She was softly rubbing her crossed arms, and her eyes were shaky with subtle, nearly-hidden fear.
"It's all right, Stacy," the Rogue calmed her, "This will be my last Gym battle. After this, we'll finally be able to meet Kaine face-to-face at the Indigo Plateau, and we'll stop him there."
"Not without that last Badge, Gumshoe," Dontae added quickly, then dug around in his jeans pocket, pulling out a tiny, green, leaf-like object. As he held it out, the Rogue observed it, and knew his case was soon to close.
It was the EarthBadge, the final Badge of Kanto's Indigo League.
As the Rogue took it, Dontae quickly turned around, almost making the Badge fall in the transfer. Dontae, carrying his Charmander in his arms, swiftly made his way toward Roman wearing a stern expression. Roman, however, seemingly for the first time, looked inexplicably passive.
"All right, look," Dontae's tone was all business, "This guy is a detective. He needs me to help him solve a major case, and I have to go with him to the Plateau. While I'm gone, you're in charge of the Gym, but don't get used to it! I'll be back after the League Tournament. And if you give me more crap about him and me together, I'll kick you right in your PokéBalls!"
Roman kept his passive look, gave a short sigh, and replied in a relenting voice, "All right, Dontae, I get it. You wanted to prove yourself to your big bro all these years, and you have. You beat me in battle yesterday, and even though you lost today, you still kicked ass. I guess you earned the Gym, and I'll watch it while you're gone."
"You'd better," Dontae answered in a low voice, "Wouldn't want to get another visit from the Rogue's Charizard, would you?"
At the sound of this, Vulcan began shivering and whining slightly, "Meleon . . . . ."
Getting past the Badge check gates took most of the rest of the day; the path west of Viridian City toward the Indigo Plateau was mostly water, and the Rogue needed to hire a boat to have his motorcycle carried over it. Due to this, the group found themselves at the entrance to their next destination by sunset, but it was their last hurdle before reaching the Pokémon League: Victory Road.
Revving smoothly through the cave entrance, the Rogue steered his motorcycle carefully through rows of stalactites and high ridges of rock formations. Stacy squeezed him tightly from behind, and Dontae gripped the edges of the sidecar tightly. Above them was the flickering light of Charmander's tail as it was carried through the cave by an oddly enthusiastic Golbat. The Bat Pokémon was spinning and diving and sailing freely through the cave, screeching happily and flapping its wings erratically.
"Wow!" Stacy looked up at them and grinned, calling out over the echoing noise of the bike, "Golbat looks so happy! It must be glad to be almost through with the case!"
"That's not the reason!" the Rogue called back, looking up and smiling as well, "My partner's probably glad to be home! This is where I first met it, back when it was still a Zubat!"
"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that!" Dontae hollered from the sidecar, "How did you and Golbat first meet? Must've been on a case, right?"
"Exactly!" the Rogue nodded, "It was about eight years ago! Thieves working the Plateau just before the big tournament!" The Rogue could clearly remember that day, as if it had happened only yesterday. A kid detective, still angry with his absent father, getting in way over his head with a case of Pokémon thieves. The first really unusual thing to happen that day was seeing an injured Zubat on the cave floor. After that, things seemed destined to come together . . .
No one expected the fourteen-year-old detective to track the Indigo League bandits to the farthest corners of Victory Road, but it happened. Victory Road was an enormous maze of a cave that housed some of the most ferocious Pokémon in Kanto, and it served as the final test for all Trainers participating in the Pokémon League. The Rogue had done extensive research on the cave, prepared himself for any and every circumstance, and had followed through on a hunch that seemed to pay off. Now, the crooks were being driven deeper and deeper into this frightening cavern, and the young detective had no distractions in his quest to find them and bring them to justice.
Except for one.
The Rogue had nearly stepped on the little creature, and he took one step back, bending low to see it more clearly. It was a Zubat, but it looked severely injured, and it screeched in pain as it twitched its sprained left wing. It stared at the Rogue with an eyeless expression of longing, as if it begged the detective to help it.
The Rogue took out his PokéCell, a prototype of the device he would use in later years, and scanned the creature, taking in all of its biological info. Putting the Cell away after getting all the useful information, he observed the small blue creature, taking in the smallest details and, with them, knowing everything that happened to it that led to its injury. The wing was bent low and back at a low, yet painful angle, suggesting force on both sides that bent it that way; the Zubat had used Wing Attack to defend itself, but its opponent was stronger. It was covered in obvious shoe marks from two distinctly different kinds of shoes, meaning two people attacked it after defeating it with their Pokémon. The ceremonial torch-lighting for the Pokémon League Tournament was today, and thus, there were no other people about to explore Victory Road for a while; thus, the two thieves on the run (who had been pursued by the Rogue to this very part of the cave) could be the only possible assailants of this poor Pokémon.
The Rogue picked up the wounded Zubat and began massaging it all over, paying special attention to its wing. Using both hands, the Rogue rubbed the Zubat's injured wing until it was warm all over, and the Flying-type chittered in relaxation. Still massaging with one hand, the Rogue slowly and gently pulled the wings out to full span,and a little at a time, the wing began to soften up, relaxing. After the relaxation had spread to the Zubat's body, then out to the other wing, the Rogue quickly pushed the injured wing in, hearing the distinct cracking sounds of joints, then he pulled the wing back out in another fast motion. Zubat screeched in pain, but seconds later, the Bat Pokémon began flapping, and it took to the air once again.
Zubat chattered its gratitude, but the Rogue merely sighed and shook his head. "I can't stay," he whispered to the grateful Pokémon, "I'm on an important mission. Maybe we'll see each other again sometime." And with that, he walked away, leaving the flapping Pokémon there in midair, happy, but confused at the unexpected help and sudden departure.
After some more walking and tracking, the Rogue heard sounds from a section of the cave not too far away from the Plateau side's entrance, and knew they were voices. Human voices. His quarry. They had just stolen an entire stock of Pokémon used by the competitors of the tournament, and when the Rogue had acted upon his hunch and caught them in the act, they had fled into Victory Road. Now, they were cornered, and had nowhere to run. Soon, the Rogue would call Officer Jenny patrolling the Plateau, and she would send a squad of cops in as backup. Crooks are caught, Pokémon are saved, tournament goes ahead as planned; all is well.
Until the Rogue was attacked.
As the young detective ducked a Poison Sting attack, he quickly realized that he was in over his head, and it was the first time since he took the case that he had realized it. It was his youthfully naïve misunderstanding that people who steal Pokémon would not have any of their own, and thus would not use any against him, especially the potentially disobedient Pokémon of the tournament competitors. He looked, and saw one of the poachers barking orders at a Tentacool, a small, blue jellyfish creature with two red jewel-like orbs stuck in its bulbous head (this Pokémon was the pre-evolution of Tentacruel, a Pokémon the Rogue would fight eight years later). He panicked even more when he saw the man's partner, carrying a sack of PokéBalls, deploying his own Pokémon with the PANG of a PokéBall: a Lickitung, a large, unusual-looking creature that looked like a pudgy, hairless pink squirrel with an exceptionally long tongue. The Rogue began to sweat as he jumped from the high ridge he stood on to dodge another Poison Sting from Tentacool, and almost cried out when Lickitung's tongue stretched to abnormal proportions to just barely miss a Paralysis-inducing Lick attack. The Rogue reached for his PokéCell to call for backup, but a poisonous needle shooting a hole in his duster meant that there wasn't enough time. That, and a Lickitung tongue coming right at him, ready to slap him in the face.
WHAP!
At only one inch away from touching the Rogue's face, Lickitung's tongue retracted, and the Licking Pokémon fell, dazed. The Rogue glanced to whatever was responsible, and saw a Zubat.
The same Zubat he had healed nearly an hour earlier.
The Flying-type swerved in the air and landed another Wing Attack on Tentacool. The Water-type flew backwards, but was not knocked out yet, and by now, Lickitung was shaking off the damage it took earlier. It launched its tongue forward for another Lick, aimed at Zubat, but the smaller Pokémon's impressive agility saved it, and it aimed a bright stream of light from its mouth at Lickitung. The pink creature stumbled around and comically slapped itself in the face with its own tongue, befuddled by the light of Confuse Ray. Zubat let only a few seconds of time slip between that and another Wing Attack that knocked Lickitung back again, and quickly turned around and enlarged itself strangely, making a horrid face at Tentacool and making it emit a bubbly screech as it Flinched.
The Rogue saw the last move as Astonish, and was impressed not just with the power of the normally weak Ghost-type move, but with the Zubat's incredible battle prowess. The two thieving Trainers had gotten irritated at this sudden, frustrating intrusion, and were now taking matters into their own hands, jumping in to subdue the renegade Zubat. The Rogue quickly sprang into action, racing in to block their path just as they approached the Pokémon battle, and performed a low leg sweep to trip up Tentacool's Trainer. As he was sent flying into a stalactite, the Rogue threw a punch into the gut of Lickitung's Trainer, and the thief doubled over in agony. The Rogue turned, and saw Zubat slamming another Wing Attack into the Confused Lickitung, hitting Tentacool with another, final Astonish in quick succession. Both Pokémon were now defeated, as were their Trainers, and the sack of stolen PokéBalls was left unprotected and waiting to be returned to the Plateau.
After the Rogue called Jenny and handcuffed the two criminals, the police arrived in less than fifteen minutes. The two crooks were taken into custody, their own Pokémon were confiscated, and the Pokémon they stole were on their way back to their original Trainers. While overseeing all this, the Rogue felt something on his shoulder, and saw the Zubat that had helped him earlier, perched comfortably and grinning at him. This seemed to be Zubat's way of extending a hand in partnership—at least, that's how the Rogue saw it.
"You were amazing out there," the Rogue congratulated the Poison-type, "You know, if you don't have anywhere else to go, you can come with me. I could always use a Pokémon partner to help me out of scrapes like that."
Zubat seemed only too eager at this proposition, and nuzzled up the side of the young detective's face, gladly accepting his offer. The Rogue raised a hand to pet Zubat, and he seemed to realize, then and there, that the two of them were destined for great adventures together for a long time.
The Rogue's story was interrupted by an explosion that went off several yards away. The Rogue swerved a split-second too late, and the bike tipped over, spilling Dontae, Stacy and himself to the cave floor, while Golbat suffered turbulence above, toppling Charmander off its back. At the same time, a gigantic surging stream of fire, far more powerful than any Flamethrower they had ever seen, erupted from where the explosion went off, and began to rip through the cave ceiling like a knife through butter. The cave rumbled, and chunks of rock fell from the hole above the group in a massive rockslide.
And the group was inches away from being crushed.
Instinctively, the Rogue rolled to the left, and Dontae dove in the same direction. "Golbat!" the detective called quickly, "Save them!" Golbat was infinitely faster than its Trainer commanded, and had already swept the ground at a low angle, catching Stacy and Charmander and pushing them to the right of the rockslide. The large boulders fell to the ground with a deafening roar, and in an instant, the low ceiling separating one cave section from another was now added to by a wall of rocks.
The Rogue and Dontae were on one side of the wall; Stacy, Golbat and Charmander were on the other.
"Rogue!" Stacy's voice cried from the other side of the wall, fear making it break, "Rogue! Dontae! Where are you?! Rogue, Dontae, help! Please, help!"
"Stacy!" Dontae answered back, "Stacy, are you all right? Can you see Charmander and Golbat? Are they okay?"
There was silence for awhile, highlighted by more explosions in the distance, then Stacy answered back, still fretted, "Yeah, they're right here. Please, help us! I'm so scared!" Soon after this, Charmander could be heard growling, and a bluish light could be seen in the thin cracks between the rocks.
"No!" the Rogue shouted, knowing what Charmander was doing, "Charmander, stop! If you try to break through these rocks, it could start another rockslide! Don't try to break through!"
Dontae nodded and added, "He's right, buddy! Just stay close to Stacy and give her light! And don't let her out of your sight, understand?"
There was another silence as more fire surged from far away, accompanied by rumbling in the ground that shook a few rocks loose (startling the whole group). Finally, Charmander agreed with a grumble, "Char-char!"
"Golbat!" the Rogue called, "You know this cave better than any of us! Try to scout out the area and find a way around! Once you meet us, go back and bring Stacy and Charmander to us! Dontae and I have to figure out what's going on over on our side! Be careful, my friend!"
Golbat could be heard chattering from the other side of the rock stack, and the sound of flapping wings signaled its departure. The Rogue and Dontae then raced in the direction of the explosive sounds, and saw a destructive, albeit unusual battle taking place. Two people were on one side, commanding two towering bipedal Pokémon in their battle. One Pokémon was deep purple and covered in sharp, dangerous spines, a Nidoking, the evolved form of Nidorino; the other was a chalky blue, its spines were far duller, and it bore a set of what looked like feminine breasts; Nidorina's evolved form, a Nidoqueen. Battling these two Poison/Ground hybrids were a Gyarados and a Golem, and commanding these two Pokémon was none other than Tanshin.
"Oh, hey, Ryoguchi!" Tanshin greeted in an incongruously cheerful voice, "Fancy seeing you again so quickly!" His voice suddenly grew ferocious, "Blizzard!" Gyarados suddenly roared and shook its enormous body, conjuring freezing gale-force winds that sported giant snowflakes and deadly icicles. Nidoking dodged the fierce Ice-type attack, and Nidoqueen conjured a reflective Protect bubble to shield herself.
The Rogue couldn't find the strength to correct his father, for he and Dontae were now staring at what the two Trainers were battling Tanshin over. On a raised section of earth between the two sides, underneath what looked like an incredibly strong fireproof net, was a large bird that looked like its wings were on fire. It had sunset-orange plumage, a long beak and sharp black talons, and its tail and the crest on top of its head were made of pure fire. It screeched and struggled under the net it was pinned under, releasing intense jets of flame that carved holes in the cave ceiling.
Dontae was the first to speak up, his nonchalant voice covering up his shock, "So, ummm . . . . . yeah, that's Moltres, isn't it . . . ?"
The Rogue nodded, speechless. This certainly didn't look like a situation Tanshin was controlling, and even worse, this seemed to be another call to stop the journey that was coming so close to the end.
"What?!" Nidoking's Trainer, a tall, muscular man with a thick, black mustache and a long duster that matched his Nidoking in color, bellowed at the new intrusion, "Damn it! More cretins come to take what we've rightfully poached!" He moved into the fray swiftly, his duster flowing behind him.
Nidoqueen's Trainer, an equally tall, busty blonde woman in a sports bra and miniskirt that were the same color as her Nidoqueen, shrieked in frustration. "It's the Rogue!" she yelled and stamped her foot, "We can't let him stop us, baby! We just can't!" She raced in behind her partner, her startlingly short miniskirt moving with her full-figured thighs.
Suddenly, the Rogue brought out his PokéCell and punched a few keys, bringing up his criminal files. The screen displayed the info, and he made the connection, "Those are the Royal Pair, Indigo and Azure! Husband-and-wife Pokémon poachers that are considered the best in the business! They're said to be such powerful Trainers, they've been known to easily defeat Pokémon League competitors!"
"I guess I should explain why I'm here, then!" Tanshin yelled from his position on the battlefield, "I heard that these two were finally stirring in activity after a five-year hiatus! Word was, they were planning to go after a Legendary Pokémon just before the tournament, at a place where no one would bust them in the act. I deduced that, because everyone was busy at the Plateau with the tournament, they would try to find Moltres' nest and capture it without any witnesses! Rollout!" Golem suddenly pulled its limbs into its body, becoming perfectly spherical, and charged after Nidoking, rolling a full speed.
"But why did you try to take these guys on your own?" Dontae asked above the noise. Nidoqueen had suddenly launched a sizzling Thunderbolt at Gyarados that made it bellow in agony.
Tanshin reluctantly answered, glancing at his son beforehand, "I knew how busy you were with your case, Ryoguchi. I didn't want to have to distract you again. Hydro Pump!" Another quick command, and Gyarados launched a titanic jet of water from its maw, dousing the field around it. Nidoking nimbly dodged again, then roared as it called down a series of rocks from out of nowhere. The Rock Slide struck Gyarados harshly, it roared in pain again, then collapsed, defeated.
"Yes!" Indigo cheered, giving Azure a celebratory slap on her behind, "You can't win, gentleman! We stay strong for a reason! We're taking Moltres, whether you like it or not!"
Azure was suddenly excited, "Oh, baby, let me take out the kids by myself! Please, baby? I'll make 'em scream and beg for mercy! Can I, please?" At this, Indigo only sneered and nodded, and Azure squealed triumphantly as she raced down the raised section of earth, impressively nimble on her high-heeled knee-length boots. She charged directly at the Rogue and Dontae, swinging her arms and making her large breasts dance up and down repeatedly. The Rogue immediately knew that Azure was no longer interested in a mere Pokémon battle.
The Rogue turned to Dontae and made his plan, "I'll hold her off, you help Dad." Dontae nodded and took one of his PokéBalls, and with a PANG, Wartortle appeared, ready for battle. Suddenly, Azure attacked, throwing a kick into the Rogue without a care that she was wearing a miniskirt that looked more like a wide belt. The Rogue blocked her kick with his arm and launched one of his own, catching Azure in the small of her back and throwing her a couple of feet away.
The Rogue tensed and prepared for a different kind of fight. "Just so you know," he said, his voice as unshaken as his body, "I'm not afraid to hit a woman."
"Mmmmm," Azure purred, smiling seductively, "Kinky . . . ." She then screeched as she threw a punch, which the Rogue ducked before sweeping the ground with a leg. Azure jumped over his leg and dove into him, and the detective found himself buried under her deceptively hefty weight.
And his face buried under the obvious weight of her breasts.
Indigo was right next to the net holding Moltres now, and took command of both his and his wife's Pokémon. "Nidoking, finish that Golem! Nidoqueen, after that Wartortle!" Nidoking roared as it intercepted Golem's next Rollout with a devastating Brick Break. Golem moaned as it took the blow, but it wasn't through yet. At the same time, Nidoqueen heaved her girth into the air and slammed it down onto Wartortle in a powerful Body Slam. Just as her Trainer had done to the Rogue, Nidoqueen was now smothering Wartortle with her breasts, and the terrapin creature's yowls of pain were well muffled.
Dontae growled in frustration, "Damn it! Even my Pokémon get more action than me!" He then called out desperately to his Pokémon, "Hang in there, Wartortle! Push her off with Water Pulse!"
"Tortle! War-tortle!" Wartortle's face finally popped out from beneath Nidoqueen's ample chest, aimed its mouth directly at her face, and blasted her with a set of pulsing water rings. Nidoqueen roared and pushed off of Wartortle, letting it escape, but when she tried to retaliate, she tripped and fell on her face, Confused.
"Impressive, brat!" Indigo bellowed, grinning, "But a kid won't beat us! Hell, not even League competitors can beat us! Nidoking, Megahorn!" Nidoking's horn suddenly shone with incredible power, and it charged, crashing its horn into the front of Wartortle's carapace.
The Turtle Pokémon gripped Nidoking's horn to push it back, digging its feet deep into the dirt and standing its ground defiantly, "Toooooooooooor-tleeeeeeeeeeeee!" The longer it held on, the harder Nidoking pushed forward, and the deeper Wartortle dug its feet in. Any moment now, the Water-type seemed ready to collapse.
Until it began to glow.
While grasping the charging Nidoking's horn, Wartortle began emitting the glow of evolution, its silhouette changing back and forth from its new form to its old and back at ever-quickening speed. As the light burst into sparkles, Nidoking was thrown back by Dontae's ex-Wartortle's newfound strength. It was now two feet taller, with a much wider and rounder shell. Its ears and tail were shorter, almost nonexistent, and sprouting from two pop-open holes on the shoulders of its shell were two large, metallic cannons.
"Whoa . . ." Dontae awed at his new Pokémon as it growled and showed off its impressive cannons, "Blastoise! Awesome!"
"Hmmph!" Indigo scoffed, "Cool! Get your celebrations over with now, so we can crush you that much more easily! Nidoqueen, Superpower!"
Azure's Pokémon,commanded by her husband as she continued to fight the Rogue, suddenly glowed with ravenous red, yellow and white light all over her body. Nidoqueen released an echoing roar as she charged into the fray, throwing both fists in front of her and aiming right at Blastoise.
"Whoa, not good!" Dontae panicked, then made his quick response, "Blastoise, use Water—"
"TOOOOOOIIIISE!" Blastoise howled in reply, completely ignoring its Trainer as it faced the charging Nidoqueen. There were two loud clicks as Blastoise's two cannons cocked and loaded, and each cannon suddenly released a powerful stream of water at Nidoqueen. Blastoise's Hydro Pump obviously caused massive damage, but Nidoqueen bravely shook it off and slammed her powered-up fists into Blastoise's chest, blowing it backwards into a cave wall behind it.
The Rogue forced Azure back with another kick, seeing Dontae in trouble and readying a PokéBall of his own. "Hang on, guys!" he called out as he enlarged Kabutops' Ball, "However skilled these guys are, they won't last much longer against all of us!" Just as he was ready to throw, he suddenly felt immense pain in his hand, and the Ball went flying into the darkness of a cave opening. Azure had kicked the PokéBall out of the Rogue's hand.
"Ooooh, you're such a naughty boy!" Azure grinned, her legs spread wide and her hands locked on her hips, "You haven't finished playing with me yet! Don't make me whip you now, naughty boy!"
The Rogue suddenly felt rage surge through him. This woman obviously had no regard for her own or anyone's Pokémon, and now Kabutops may be lost in this cave forever. Steeling himself, the Rogue leaped at Azure with another kick, only to have it caught by a still-grinning Azure. She grabbed the detective by the front of his duster, pulled him in for a ferocious kiss right on his lips, kneeing him hard in the groin halfway through it, then threw another kick into his chest, knocking him backwards to the ground.
"Go, baby, go!" Azure screeched up to Indigo, "Torch this cop! I wanna see him scream! Torch him good, baby!"
Indigo sneered again, seeing the weakened Rogue on the ground. "Perfect!" he cackled, "Uninhibited carnage! Nidoking, Flamethrower!"
Nidoking roared his compliance, and aimed his slowly-glowing mouth at the Rogue as a furious flame formed inside it. Nidoking threw back its head as it prepared to launch its Flamethrower, but then bellowed in frustration as Dontae's Blastoise rushed up behind it and gripped Nidoking in a headlock. Nidoking's aim was compromised, and the Flamethrower shot upwards, ripping into a cave wall that Moltres hadn't perforated with its own Flamethrower yet.
"You dirty, underhanded slime!" Tanshin suddenly shouted, making people and Pokémon in the vicinity jump, "Don't you dare hurt my son! Stone Edge!" Golem grunted and righted itself out of its Rollout, then it growled as a series of sharpened stones floated around it like an insane carnival ride. The stones stopped, then flew swiftly through the air at Golem's command, aiming straight at Nidoking as it continued to struggle against Blastoise's grip.
The Rogue watched as this Rock-type move he'd never seen before launched itself at the Royal Pair's Pokémon. As strong as this new move was, though, it wasn't enough, Nidoqueen suddenly lowed as she jumped in the way of the deadly stones, projecting another Protect that blocked them off and kept both Ground-types unharmed.
"Blaaaaaaaast . . ." Blastoise grunted as it held its ground against Nidoking. The purple creature's Poison Point ability had Poisoned it, and the sturdy Water-type was now exhaling purple breaths, showing its slowly-growing fatigue despite its best efforts to subdue its foe.
As Nidoqueen slammed into Golem with another Superpower and Nidoking called down another Rock Slide that rained down onto Blastoise's shell, the Rogue continued to roll and leap out of the way of Azure's insane attacks. Control was slowly being lost, and the Rogue suddenly found himself worried that, for the first time since Verdus, the bad guys might just beat him.
"POACHERS! HARM NOT THESE TRAINERS! RETURN YOUR POKÉMON AND LEAVE THIS PLACE! THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING!"
Everyone froze, even the berserk Moltres, at the sound of a booming, intimidating voice. The Rogue's eyes widened as he finally stood up; he knew that voice, the voice without a mouth. A voice that belonged to no human.
On the section of raised earth, directly in front of Moltres, a burst of bluish-purple energy went off in the wake of an eerie sound, and appearing in its midst was the beast that had tortured Articuno in the Seafoam Islands a week ago. It was Mewtwo.
The Rogue reached into his duster for Charizard's PokéBall, but Mewtwo held up a disfigured hand. "Calm yourself, human," its voice echoed throughout the Rogue's mind, "I come not for revenge, but for redemption. My defeat at the Seafoam Islands cause me to think critically of my actions. Your strength and teamwork taught me that power alone means nothing, which is why it can be easily attained."
The Rogue was in awe at the normally vicious Psychic legend's uncharacteristically benign words. "But," the Rogue attempted to ask, uneasy after his memories of his last confrontation with Mewtwo, "But what are you doing here? What . . . . what do you want?"
Mewtwo's eyes shone with something that the Rogue could swear was genuine regret. "Simply seeking power for power's sake is not worthy of my abilities," the Genetic Pokémon continued, "and the way you utilized yours was a marvel to me. I wish to use my power in this same fashion, and achieve a goal that is truly worthy of my gifts. I shall fight alongside you. Our feud is over."
The Rogue's awe was seemingly ceaseless, and it only grew as he watched Mewtwo turn around slowly, reach out the bulbous fingers of one hand and flex them. The net over Moltres suddenly evaporated, as if the air around it superheated the material into nothingness. Moltres gave an ear-shattering caw as it took off, its wings splashing embers across the darkness of the cave as it flapped away from the scene.
"NO!" Indigo raged, as if Moltres would listen, "Stop, you overgrown burnt turkey! I captured you, and I'm not leaving without you, dead or alive!" He then turned to Nidoqueen and Nidoking, "Both of you! After it, now! Now, now, now, now! NOOOOOOW!"
Both Poison-types obeyed, racing after the quickly-departing Flame Pokémon. Suddenly, though, both of them froze where they stood, and started glowing blue as they both began to levitate. They roared and struggled, but could not break out of the psionic trap Mewtwo held them in. In midair, both Pokémon then bellowed as they suddenly rammed into one another, flew upwards and rammed into the cave ceiling, then moaned in pain as the glow around them dissipated, and they dropped back to the ground, dazed and defeated.
Azure turned away from her assault on the Rogue, and saw Nidoking and Nidoqueen dazed and weakened by Mewtwo's effortless assault. "Aaaaagh!" she screamed, "Stop that, you mutated freak! Stop getting in our way! I don't care whether you're a Pokémon or not, I'll make you beg for death when I'm done with you!" She then made her way toward Mewtwo, but that was when the Rogue seized his chance, and grabbed her arms from behind, pinning them both to her back.
Azure saw this and grinned, as if she knew something he didn't, "Forget something, sexy?" She then attempted to kick him again, but found her leg movements restricted.
"No," the Rogue grinned back deviously, "I didn't." Indeed, the detective had slammed a pair of handcuffs over Azure's ankles while she wasn't looking.
Azure looked down at this and gave a dejected scoff. "Awww," she whined, "Usually I like handcuffs." She then turned her head to the Rogue with another sultry smile, "I didn't know you were that kind of boy!" The Rogue simply answered her by shoving her forward, and she walked, her movements reduced to the tiniest of steps by the cuffs around her legs.
By this time, both Dontae and Tanshin had seized Indigo as well, and Blastoise followed behind them, bellowing in victory directly into Indigo's ear, "Blaaaaaaaast! Blaaaaaaaast! Blaaaaaaaast!"
The Royal Pair were both tied up and cuffed, and their Pokémon were returned to their PokéBalls. Tanshin had deployed the Rogue's Raichu (prompting her excessively emotional greeting upon seeing her original Trainer) to use her Flash to search for Kabutops' PokéBall; they found it, and it was safe in the Rogue's duster pocket once again. Tanshin had agreed to have his Golem Dig a passageway underneath the wall of rocks separating them from Stacy, Golbat and Charmander, but first thing was first: the Royal Pair needed to be placed in police custody.
Mewtwo had agreed to handle that.
Just as Mewtwo was readying itself, Azure called out to the Rogue, "I like the way you play, detective! Let's get together again soon, 'kay, baby?" She then puckered her lips into a kiss, then blew it to him, still smiling that seductive, yet deeply disturbed smile.
Indigo audibly scowled behind her. "Oh, shut up, woman," he muttered angrily, elbowing her in the ribs.
The Rogue frowned at Azure, still in pain over her knee in his groin. "Maybe some other time," he quipped in a sardonic tone.
Azure raised an eyebrow, then looked at the Raichu that was hugging his leg tightly and weeping with unbridled joy. "I don't think she's your type," she quipped back with a chuckle.
Mewtwo then began humming as the two poachers suddenly glowed blue, and in a few moments, they vanished in a burst of blue energy and an eerie noise.
Before anything else, Dontae reached out with one hand, grabbed the Rogue by his collar, held him six inches away from his face, and glared at him contemptibly. "How?" he grumbled.
The Rogue was confused at the sudden hostility, "'How', what?"
"How . . . do you do it?"
"How do I do what?"
"How," Dontae's teeth were grinding, "do you get all the chicks? Single, married, civilians, criminals, how?" The Rogue merely sighed in exasperation and brushed Dontae's hands off of his collar.
Mewtwo then spoke up, its mouth not moving in the slightest, "I sent those criminals to your nearest human law-enforcement facility. I'm quite certain they will know how to deal with them."
The Rogue approached Mewtwo, maintaining calm in spite of the Psychic-type's imposing presence (also in spite of Raichu still hanging onto his leg in utter glee). "Thank you," he looked up at the Pokémon that stood several inches taller than him, "You've made the right decision. There is so much good you can do for Kanto, maybe the world. What you have done with your gift has determined who you are."
The Rogue wasn't sure, but he could swear he saw Mewtwo smile. "I leave you with a single warning. That being you travel with . . . . . the wickedness I sensed . . . . you have no idea of the doom that awaits you unless it is stopped." Mewtwo then began to glow blue in preparation for its departure, "Tread with care, detective. Until we meet again." Then with that same bluish glow and the strange sound of rushing air, Mewtwo was gone.
The Rogue felt himself nodding, even long after Mewtwo disappeared. He knew Mewtwo must have been referring to Scyther, remembering the Psychic-type's reaction to its unbridled ferocity. The Rogue saw this as a well-intentioned, yet unnecessary reminder; from here, the Rogue only hoped that Tanshin had managed to teach Scyther some self-control in the short time since it left his team.
The group then approached the rock wall that kept Stacy on one side. Golem remained outside its PokéBall, and at Tanshin's command, pulled in its head and limbs and began spinning forward in place, Digging a deep crater where it sat. In moments, the tunneling ceased, and the Rogue, Dontae and Tanshin could hear a fearful scream from Stacy.
"Relax, sweetheart!" Tanshin called, "The Golem is mine! We're gonna get you outta there, okay?"
"T-Tanshin, sir?" Stacy answered, her voice puzzled at first, then nervously submissive, "Umm, o-okay . . ." There was a sound of dirt moving on the other side, alongside a quick, sharp squeal from Stacy as she slipped a bit. The sound of moving earth grew louder a little bit at a time, until Stacy crawled up out of the hole in the dirt that led to her side. She instantly raced to the Rogue and hugged him, and the Rogue (uneasily, as usual) returned it. She did the same to Dontae as Golbat clambered through the hole, racing to the Rogue and flapping at his side, chittering in glee. As Charmander was the last to exit, running to Dontae and tackling him to the ground in a monster hug, Stacy approached Tanshin, her face a vivid red. "Umm, thank you for helping me, Tanshin, sir," she said just barely above a whisper, her hands behind her back and one leg bent inward, the sure signs of infatuation.
"Anytime, my dear," Tanshin replied benignly as he returned his Golem. He then gave a graceful bow, at which Stacy giggled femininely.
The Rogue then approached Tanshin, trying with every fiber not to let his temper go at the indignity of what had to be said, "I suppose I should thank you, too. This proved to be another distraction for me, but your intentions were noble enough. Without your help, I wouldn't have been able to get to the Plateau in time." The Rogue could just feel the bad taste in his mouth those words left behind.
"Well, you're welcome, Ryoguchi—"
"Stop calling me that."
"—but I wish I knew how to get you to trust me with this case you're on. I think I can handle keeping a secret, and if this case is as important as you say, you'll need all the help you can get."
The Rogue took a deep sigh and cradled his head between his thumb and forefinger. Glancing off to the side, he saw Dontae recounting their harrowing battle with Indigo and Azure (embellishing his own role while downplaying the appearance of Mewtwo) while Stacy and Charmander listened with wide eyes. Looking around quickly, as if to spot Kaine's yet-unseen spy eavesdropping on his explanation, he took Tanshin back into the cave area where the battle over Moltres took place. Now as isolated as he could manage to make them both, he began explaining:
"There's a madman hiding at the Indigo Plateau, waiting until the final round of the League Tournament before he detonates a set of explosives hidden there. If I go in there and start looking around, he'll know it, and set them off early. So the only way to get in without alerting him to my presence is to enter the tournament incognito. That's why I needed to become a Trainer again. That's why I've been collecting Gym Badges. I have to find this man and stop him before every man, woman, child and Pokémon at the Plateau is doomed. At first, I just wanted you to stay out of my business, so I didn't tell you, but now I'm not sure I have a choice. We think he has a spy near us at all times, because he seems to know each and every move we make as we make it. If I told you anything, there was always a chance he'd change his own actions accordingly to be prepared to fight you, too."
Tanshin was silent for a long time, his expression pensive. After taking in all the details of what his son had just mentioned, Tanshin finally responded, "You're absolutely sure he'll do it?"
"Check in with Professor Oak if you don't believe it," the Rogue replied, "He sent a message to him in Pallet Town as a challenge to me. He thinks I can't stop him, so he let me know ahead of time. I don't know why or how he's doing this, but I can't let him do it."
Tanshin's eyes went slightly wide as more and more became clear to him. "Well, for this guy to force you back into being a Trainer, he's got to be a real genius!" he joked, but stopped smiling at the reproachful look on the Rogue's face. Tanshin then sighed and continued seriously, "Well, there's two more days until the tournament starts, and tomorrow is the last day for registration. You'll need quite a bit of training in the meantime, and you'll need someone to hold onto the Pokémon your not using during the tournament. I imagine you'll need your Scyther and Raichu back to help you compete, as well."
The Rogue nodded, "Only if you've managed to do well enough in training them this past week." He then glanced back at Dontae as he reenacted his Wartortle's evolution into Blastoise, Stacy hanging onto his every word. "Dontae has helped me so much," the Rogue admitted, "but you're right, it won't be enough for what I'm doing. And Stacy is my number-one priority. This lunatic has been after her and her father, too, and she can't get any more involved."
Tanshin nodded, "Well, what do you say we do a little training for your Golbat on the rest of the way to the Plateau?" He then took out another PokéBall, and it sprang open with a PANG.
In a flash of light, Tanshin's Dragonite appeared, flapping her tiny wings and lowing comically, "Baaaaar-bwar!"
The Rogue was confused at first, but Tanshin explained, "My Dragonite knows Double-Edge, which is a highly powerful move used only by expert Trainers." The Rogue knew this, but allowed Tanshin to continue, "I think your Golbat has the potential to use it well. What do you say, son? You've got nothing to lose by trying it."
The Rogue considered this, and realized that Golbat's moveset was a bit lacking compared to the rest of his nearly-fully-developed team. With a move like Double-Edge in the Rogue's arsenal, there was no question that the Rogue would definitely be ready for Kaine when he finally revealed himself. Slowly, the Rogue looked to his father, and nodded his approval.