Hey everyone! I'm here with a special Fourth of July update for the story here. Like I said before, I update this story when I get the next chapter in my head and write it. I'm not just writing blindly with it like I used to. Anyway, let's get the show on the road.
Last Time: Russell and Trent battled each other after Trent came search for a battle with Tom. Although the battle went back and forth and heading in Russell's direction, Trent and Serperior countered back with an Attract and Aerial Ace combo to seal their win at the end. Trent attempted to demean Russell, but soon found himself on the receiving end of his own game. To add insult to injury, Tom told Trent he would never consider him a rival because of his attitude.
Bold- Message Bulletins/PA System/Plaques/Books
Italics- Thoughts/Letters/Flashbacks
Bold Italics- TV/Radio/Pokedex (AKA Dexter) Descriptions/Xtransreceiver Messages/ Xtransreceiver Conversations
Tom and Sparks stared out of the window as the bus continued its drive over the Skyarrow Bridge. The bridge itself was unique with its structure. It was a two way bridge that had a lane of traffic for each direction heading to and from Castelia City. Atop of the road was another tier for bikers and walkers who wanted to take the more scenic route for traveling. Although the pedestrian route took a lot longer, the view was worth it.
If one were to take the walkway, they would see the large river that went underneath it connecting it to the ocean. Off to the west there was a pier that had dozens of ships, both small and large, docked and ready to set sail. But the most magnificent sight was the skyline of the city that came into view midway across the massive bridge. Endless skyscrapers that seemed to stretch high to the sky.
"So what are you going to do once you get to Castelia City?" Chris asked, breaking the silence.
"I'm going for my next gym badge." Tom smiled.
"Same here." Russell nodded, "But I need to run a couple of errands before I do that."
"Oh, cool."
Chris leaned back in her seat and opened her bag. She rummaged around in it for a bit before she pulled out a notebook. Inside the notebook was a lot of detailed notes in neat handwriting.
"Well, that's one thing you'll beat me at," Tom said pointing at the notes.
"Being a scholar?" Chris smirked back at him.
"Actually I was getting at your writing since mine looks like chicken scratch, but whatever."
Chris giggled and turned her attention back to her notes. Her biggest job was to get to the research center in Castelia City to report her findings to Professor Oak as part of her thesis. Although she had a job with the well-known professor, she was considered an intern and had to do an assignment on the Pokémon life of another region. Once it was finished it had to be peer reviewed and corrected into a final copy to be graded. She wanted to make it the best she could to have a chance of being hired by Professor Oak. That was all she wanted.
She was broken from her reading when Sparks clambered over her and pressed his face to the window to look outside. She giggled at seeing the small, chubby Raichu staring intensely in the distance. When she looked out, she could see why. She closed her notebook and was amazed at the sight of the city as it came into view.
"I don't think I've ever seen a city this big," Chris said, still amazed.
"Same here." Russell whistled. "I can tell this city makes all the cities in Hoenn look tiny."
The bus went down the ramp that connected to the main street of Castelia City and turned left. The bus station was just off to the side and was jam packed with busses and people who were trying to catch them. Thankfully their bus did not have to wait long to get a spot to park so they could get off.
Tom, Sparks, Chris and Russell stepped off the bus and the noise of the city met their ears. Cars were honking, voices surrounded them and sirens were blaring in the distance.
"Come on, let's get out of here!" Tom began weaving through the crowd.
"Right behind you," Russell said, following close behind.
"Hey, wait for me!" Chris hurried after them.
Pierce felt a chill go down his spine. He, Melanie and Liam were getting another mission that would take place in Castelia City. After their bust back in Nacrene City he was in no hurry to jump back into the fire. He was only doing it to keep Langdon's suspicion off of him.
Ever since he returned to Team Plasma after 'escaping' from Striaton County Prison, Langdon had kept a sharp eye on him. It made his task of sending tips to Clint a lot harder and it was getting to the point that he was starting to develop panic attacks. He cursed under his breath and gripped his wrist tight to stop his hand from shaking wildly.
Their next mission was not as risky as their last one, but it involved their goal of Pokémon liberation. Their mission for the day was to take Pokémon from their trainers and rendezvous near a storage unit in the city and transport the stolen Pokémon to the city's outskirts. It would involve about fifteen members of Team Plasma to keep a low profile. It was his job to lead the mission, but he had to be careful how he did it so he would not get compromised tipping off Clint and his PCTU agents.
"Crap," Pierce muttered, standing up.
"What?" Melanie asked, appearing behind him.
"Nothing."
Melanie raised a brow, but shrugged when he turned away. Her partner had been acting a lot weirder than normal to go along with being more distant from her and Liam. It was as if he was trying to isolate himself from them permanently. She knew he was still angry with her and Liam for what happened back in Striaton City and felt that was a big part of why he was acting like that, but she had the feeling there was something else to go with it.
"We're ready to go, Pierce," Melanie said.
"Good. Let's go now." Pierce nodded.
Melanie led the way out of the storage garage and he followed close by. Pierce shifted his gaze back to Melanie and took the chance. While she had her back to him, Pierce quickly pulled out his phone and texted Clint the address of the storage unit and when to show up with his team. He sent the message and pocketed his phone just in time.
He could see Melanie's eyes looking back at him and his brow furrowed. He was in no mood to talk with her and could not wait for the mission to start so they could split up to carry it out.
"What's up with you lately?" Melanie asked. "You've been acting very odd."
"Mind your own damn business, okay?" He snapped back.
Melanie's brow furrowed at his icy tone and she stopped in her tracks. She turned to face him and jabbed her fingers in his chest. Pierce did not look phased by her anger or her poke and that only irritated her more.
"Okay, that's it. You and I are talking now!" Melanie sneered.
"You got thirty seconds of my time before we get moving, so make good use of it," Pierce replied.
"What's wrong with you? You've been acting like a real jerk since you've gotten back!"
Pierce said nothing at first, but he crossed his arms and gave a defiant look back at her.
"I told you that I want nothing to do with you or Liam. You left me to rot in prison!" Pierce growled.
"You told me to leave you behind!" Melanie stomped the ground.
"Because I knew you would have cracked under interrogation!"
Melanie blinked in surprise and took a step back. Was that true? Did Pierce really have her run to stay out of trouble? She looked at the ground in silence. She was not one to do well under pressure, no matter how hard she tried to bring in her fake persona to seem like it. Pressure always broke her and if she did get caught that day, she would not have lasted long at all. At the end of the day Pierce protected her and all of Team Plasma by taking the rap and being caught.
"If you think I'm mad because of what happened in Striaton City, you're wrong. That was only part of it," Pierce continued. "I'm mad with you because you aren't being true to yourself for starters. The other reason is because it's your job as my partner to back me up!"
Melanie shuffled her feet with each word Pierce said. Now she understood why he was furious with her and Liam. Liam was a lost cause and he would always hate him no matter what, but with her it was different. Their partnership was something he held high, and when she left him to sit in prison it hurt him. She did not even think of breaking him out.
That was what she was supposed to do and what she should have done. If she went back for Pierce and at least attempted to break him out, he would not be avoiding her and treating her like the plague. If the roles were reversed, she knew he would have come to break her out. The guilt that was building inside her gut had grown tremendously.
"Let's go. We're already behind schedule." Pierce walked away.
"Yeah…" Melanie answered weakly.
Tom and Sparks had bid farewell to Russell and Chris who went to take care of their errands. It was nice to have them for company for a while and that was the way he liked it. Although he had a lot of fun with Corey, Kenta, Elliott, Vanessa and Eri, he felt that he did not have a lot of time to himself. He liked to travel alone with only his Pokémon and that was his original plan when he first arrived to Unova. Being in groups was fun for a while, but after a while it became too routine.
He liked having a mix like he did with Russell and Chris earlier. Have some companions for a while on a trip and then split up to do their own thing. When he was leading his group, he felt like he was managing a bunch of people and it got tiring. Now that he was alone, it was a breath of fresh air. If he ever met back up with his group again he was more than willing to travel with them, but it would be more on and off than anything.
His hands clutched his head tight and he let out a frustrated scream. For a kid who had a great sense of direction, he was doing a terrible job with locating the gym. He had wandered around aimlessly for the past hour trying to find it which in hindsight was not bright. All he succeeded in doing was getting himself more lost within the city. It was not small like Nacrene City and Striaton City. Castelia City was about the size of Celadon City, Viridian City and Saffron City combined. In a nutshell, if he could not find out where he was, he was screwed.
"I can't believe I got lost." Tom pinched the bridge of his nose.
He heard Sparks giggling beside him and sent him a glare, but that only made his partner laugh more. He looked around the street he was on to find something that stood out and use that to reference his exact spot. His eyes fell on the large fountain in the center of the open space.
His mind clicked when he saw it. From what he remembered on his past journeys, a fountain for a town or city was usually in the center of it. If that was the case, he was in the center of Castelia City. He pulled up the city guide on his phone and brought up the gym's address. It was on Gym Street near the southwest end of the city.
"Gym Street? Really?" He pocketed the phone.
He turned around and headed southwest. Gym Street was one of the main roads that ran throughout the city and connected to the heart of it which saved him some trouble. It did not take him long to find it. He started his trek down the street and his mind drifted to the gym leader.
When he was in Nacrene City with his group, he had met Burgh who was the gym leader for Castelia City. Had he not talked to Kenta, he would not have known that Burgh was one who used Bug-type Pokémon. The easy win would be to simply use Sully, but he was conflicted about that. On one hand it would be a cheap and easy win to use him, but at the same time a battle was a battle.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," he muttered to himself.
After what seemed like an eternity, Tom's eyes landed on a small skyscraper. It was green and its light orange windows reflected the sunlight to resemble an afternoon sky. Upon closer inspection, the skyscraper's design resembled that of a series of trees similar to forests or woods. In front of the building was two stone statues with Poké Balls sitting on the top.
He hurried to the building, all the while working his way through the bustling crowd. Once he got out of the crowd he went for the door, but two people were standing outside of it. A boy and girl. He was able to identify Hayley White because of her long hair and her hat, but the boy was another story.
The boy was dressed formally. His black hair was combed leaving only one strand sticking straight up. His red glasses were free of fingerprints.
"Hey, Hayley!" Tom and Sparks hurried over to her.
Hayley turned to him and smiled. The boy just gave him a quick look and dismissed him.
"Hey, Tommy," Hayley said. "You here to battle Burgh?"
"You know it!"
The boy cleared his throat. He looked mildly irritated that his conversation with Hayley had been interrupted. Hayley's face reddened a bit and she sheepishly scratched the back of her head.
"Tom, I'd like you to meet Cheren." Hayley nodded at the spectacled boy. "He's been a friend of mine since we were kids."
Tom reached out to shake Cheren's hand with a grin. He watched Cheren eye his hand and he finally raised his own to shake it. The grip was firm and showed the confidence that he carried himself with.
"Pleasure," Cheren said pushing his glasses up.
"So you're planning to challenge the Unova League too, huh?" Tom smirked.
"Naturally. I just challenged Burgh."
"How'd you do?"
Cheren reached into his blue jacket and pulled out a rectangular case. When he opened it, the Insect Badge was on full display for Tom and Hayley. He smirked and snapped the case shut.
"He made me work for it, but I came out on top at the end," Cheren said coolly. "I'm going to keep winning like this against all the gym leaders, reach the league and win it all."
"Well, you'll have to beat us to get there first!" Hayley smirked.
Cheren's smirk dropped and he looked back at Hayley and Tom with a challenging stare. He planned to win the league as a whole and no one would stop him. His friendship with Hayley, albeit strong, had no place in a competitive field like this. Friend or not, he would defeat her when the time came. Same went for his newfound rivalry with Tom.
"If I win the Unova League, everyone will admit that I'm a strong trainer," Cheren said, digging his hands in his pockets. "That will truly make me feel alive…"
Cheren looked back at the gym for a moment. He pushed his glasses back up and nodded at both Hayley and Tom before he walked down the street and vanished into the crowd.
When Cheren was gone, Hayley sighed. A small frown marred her face. She stared after he childhood friend and folded her arms. That was one thing that disappointed her about Cheren. The boy was so fixed on his goals that he never lightened up to have fun. He made everything serious and often times disregarded the feelings of others around him.
"You okay?" Tom asked.
Hayley quickly nodded and smiled again.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She chirped.
"Is he always like that?" Tom jerked a thumb in the direction Cheren went.
"Yeah, he is. He cares so much about being a success that he never lives in the moment."
Hayley quickly shook her head and smirked at Tom. She was about to go in and battle Burgh, but since Tom was here to do the same thing, it presented another opportunity. They still had to have their battle and now would be the perfect time to have it. The winner would get first dibs to battle Burgh.
When she proposed the idea to him, Tom happily agreed and nodded at Sparks. Hayley was about to send out her first Pokémon, but stopped when the doors to the gym opened again. This time Burgh stepped out and looked between the two of them. A smile came to the gym leader's face.
"I take it you are here to battle me?" He asked.
"You know it!" Tom and Hayley nodded.
"I hate to ask this, but do you two think you can wait?"
Tom and Hayley both face faltered at that. Wait? No fair. They had been waiting to battle him and now they had to wait even more.
"I was informed that Team Plasma has shown up!" Burgh's face became serious.
"Again?" Tom crossed his arms.
Hayley looked between Tom and Burgh, confused at what they were getting at. She had heard of Team Plasma before when they gave their speech on Pokémon liberation back in Accumula Town. What was weird in her mind was that they did not seem violent. The fact that Tom and Burgh looked troubled had peeked her interest about the mysterious group.
"What's going on?" Hayley asked.
"Team Plasma were the guys who stole that dragon skull from Lenora's museum a few days ago," Tom replied.
"Really? Why'd they do that?"
"I don't know, but they're up to no good."
Burgh only nodded at that. He too was a little concerned with their presence in his city. As a gym leader he was responsible for protecting the people of Castelia City. If Team Plasma was here to cause trouble, he was going to stop it before they could do so.
"I want you two to come with me!" Burgh started down the street.
Tom and Hayley exchanged looks and hustled after Burgh.
"We'll head to the dock at Prime Pier," Burgh said.
The three of them made haste with their trek to Prime Pier. They reached it quickly and hurried down the cobblestone boardwalk. There were no Team Plamsa members in sight, but they kept alert. The pier was all but deserted with the exception of two girls standing in the center of it.
One was blonde and wearing a green beret and the other was darker and had her long, purple hair in pigtails.
"Bianca!" Hayley ran for the blonde girl.
Bianca looked at Hayley through her teary eyes and rubbed them. She looked very distraught and they had a good idea why. While Hayley tried to calm Bianca down to talk to her, Burgh nudged Tom and walked over to the other girl.
"Iris, you said Team Plasma was here," Burgh began.
"Yeah," Iris said with a nod. "They took this girl's Pokémon."
Bianca let out another loud sob and hugged Hayley. Her tears started to soak her vest and Hayley gently patted her friend. Hayley sent a look at Burgh to help her out.
"They took my Munna, Hayley!" Bianca cried.
"It's okay, Bianca! It's okay!" Hayley continued to pat her. "We'll get her back. I promise."
Bianca stopped her crying and looked up at Hayley. Her tear streaked face was welted from the crying and she managed a small smile. She then wrapped her friend up in a death grip hug. The blonde was so busy hugging her friend and thanking her that she did not notice her struggling for air.
"I tried chasing the guy that stole her Munna, but he got away." Iris frowned.
"Do you know where he may have gone?" Burgh asked.
"Beats me. This city is so big and crowded he can be anywhere."
"You did what you could, Iris."
"That's beside the point! I still failed!"
Burgh frowned at the young gym leader in training. She had such high standards for herself that she could never appreciate the hard work she did. Here she was angry with herself for not catching the thief when a lot of people wouldn't even think about pursuing one.
"Taking someone's Pokémon is bad!" Iris growled. "I'm going to find that guy and give him a piece of my mind!"
"Iris…" Bianca sniffled.
Iris was thrown off by the blonde who let go of Hayley and wrapped her up in a tight hug. Hayley hunched over and gasped for air after being released by her emotional friend. She stood up a second later and looked back at Burgh and Tom.
"You're right, Iris. Don't worry, Bianca. We'll retrieve Munna for you," Burgh said turning to Hayley and Tom. "Right?"
Hayley and Tom nodded back at him. They would do everything they could to keep their promise to Bianca.
"Now this still leaves us with a problem," Burgh continued. "Trying to find them in a city like this will be like searching for a needle in a haystack."
That was true. The massive city had many buildings for Team Plasma to be hiding in and searching the entire city would be impossible to do. The three of them would be unable to search the city thoroughly without running the risk of losing them altogether. Forget a needle in a haystack. This was like finding a needle in a stack of needles.
"I spy a gym leader!" A voice came from behind them.
They turned and Tom stared at the guy in front of him incredulously. A Team Plasma member just walked straight up to them. This guy was either really stupid or he was luring them into a trap. Either way, it was the best lead they had to finding the one that stole Bianca's Munna.
"Last time went so well, I figured I'd try stealing another Pokémon!" The grunt smirked.
Scratch that. This guy was an idiot. He failed at being a thief. One of the biggest things was to never strike in the same place twice and this guy got greedy and planned on doing just that. It got more comical when the grunt's eyes widened in sudden realization. He was outnumbered and he just revealed he was the one that stole Bianca's Munna.
"Wait…" The teen took a step back.
"You were saying?" Hayley took a step forward with Tom and Burgh.
"I need to get out of here!"
The teen turned tail and bolted back up the pier. This was their chance to stop the thief permanently and they would not allow him to get away a second time. Tom and Hayley were hot on his heels with Burgh following close behind.
"Iris, stay with Bianca in case more come back!" Burgh called back to her.
The chase had led them back to Gym Street. They still had the Team Plasma member in sight and were gaining ground on him. All they needed was a clear shot and they could take him down. The crowds cleared the way for them as they continued their pursuit.
"I've got you now!" Hayley lunged with her hand out.
Her fingers graced the grunt's collar, but missed. She lost her footing and fell to the pavement with a hard thud. After fighting through the pain, she looked up and noticed the smirk on the grunt's face. He was now surrounded by five other grunts dressed like him. She, Tom and Burgh were now outnumbered.
"I'd say you've got me now." The grunt chuckled. "So let's get this show on the road!"
The six Team Plasma grunts stepped forward and each of them released a Pokémon ready for battle. Hayley stood up and pulled out a ball of her own and formed a fist with her free hand. Even if Tom and Burgh were strong, Team Plasma still had an advantage with numbers.
"I hope you clowns are ready to lose because we're gonna' tear you a new one!" Tom glared at them.
"Let's see how strong you thieves really are," Burgh said, winding his arm back.
Tom, Hayley and Burgh sent out their first Pokemon to battle. Sparks, Pignite, and Leavanny in front of them respectively. With a collective nod, Burgh, Hayley, and Tom began the battle.
"Thunderbolt!" Tom yelled.
"Flamethrower!" Hayley shouted.
"Razor Leaf!" Burgh clenched a fist.
Fire, electricity and leaves combined into one and shot forth with unthinkable power. The joint attack resembled the common goal that the three had at that moment. Defeat Team Plasma and recover Munna!
That's the chapter, everyone. I hope you enjoyed it. Now get outside and enjoy the best holiday of the year!-CaptainPrice
Statements:
1.) The critique you all gave me last chapter is the stuff I like to see. Not that short "good chapter", "update soon", "well done" BS.
2.) Remember, OCs in Tom's group will be cut down significantly by Castelia City/ end of that arc since I don't want to keep writing a giant group since it's a pain and a lot of characters have too many similarities/similar goals.
OCs Featured in the Chapter:
Thomas "Tom" Sandbourne (CaptainPrice): Last appearance chapter 27
Russell "Russ" Shepherd (Nobel Six): Last appearance chapter 27
Chris Walker (Flypandabear): Last appearance chapter 27
Pierce McCarty (CaptainPrice): Last appearance chapter 25
Melanie Rhouth (momo-x-11): Last appearance chapter 25
