Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story!
Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga
Chapter Thirty Four
From Hunter to Hunted
Part Two
"Charizard, use Flamethrower! Espeon, Shadow Ball!" Red's Charizard opened its mouth and fired a blast of flames at Deoxys while his Espeon formed a ball from shadows and flung it at Deoxys. With the enhanced speed in its current form, Deoxys moved quickly to evade both attacks.
"Deoxys, Iron Defense and Amnesia!" Deoxys' body briefly became covered in a metal coat, its body hardening to increase its defenses. Deoxys then focused to forget something temporarily and increase its defense against special attacks.
"Charizard, don't let it dodge this one! Flamethrower!" Charizard let out another blast of flames, this time catching Deoxys while it was using its Amnesia technique. The flames seared Deoxys, due to it being too busy to try to dodge the attack.
"Ok, now attack with Shadow Ball, Espeon!" Red's Espeon quickly formed a ball of shadow and flung it at Deoxys. The flames around it ceased as Charizard stopped its attack, but then the Shadow Ball attack struck Deoxys and burst upon impact. Deoxys easily withstood the attack with its enhanced defenses, though.
"Switch to defense mode and begin using Cosmic Power!" Galactica ordered Deoxys. Deoxys' body began to shift, its long tendrils splitting into two and flattening out. Its body became bulkier as well, lending to its increased defenses. A purple aura then surrounded it as it drew power to itself to further increase its defenses.
"Boosting defense? Then I'll take the path of least resistance." Red thought to himself.
"Espeon, thats good enough, return!" Red raised Espeon's pokeball and then took another one in hand. "Venusaur, I choose you!" Red held up the pokeball he grabbed and released Venusaur. Venusaur let out a low growl and peered at Deoxys curiously, realizing it faced a strange opponent.
"Venusaur, start draining Deoxys with Leech Seed and Charizard, you get in and go at it with Slash!" Venusaur launched a seed from the large tree-like plant on its back, hitting the defending pokemon with little trouble. Charizard then flapped its wings and made a quick dash toward Deoxys to slash it with its claws. Deoxys easily held its ground through the attack.
"Deoxys, use Recover to maintain your health while continuing to use Cosmic Power." Galactica commanded. The purple glow faded from around Deoxys briefly, its body then shimmering as it used a restorative energy to heal itself. The purple aura then surrounded it again to continue increasing its defense.
"Recover too? Thats going to cause more problems..." Red thought.
"Charizard, back off from Deoxys. Venusaur, wait until Charizard is a safe distance away and use Poison Powder." Charizard quickly backed away from Deoxys, allowing Venusaur to attack without hitting Charizard. Venusaur then shook its plant, releasing a cloud of purple powder. The powder rained down around Deoxys, inflicting poison on it while it continued to increase its defense with Cosmic Power.
"That could be problematic." Galactica thought. "Leech Seed and poison combined will drain a good portion of Deoxys' health in the time it takes it to attack once. A strong attack from his Charizard could still potentially knock it out if it gets too weak without recovering." As Galactica was thinking this, Deoxys took another brief break from its defense boosting to use Recover.
"Ok, Venusaur, now use Sleep Powder!" Red called out. Venusaur shook its plant again, releasing a green powder onto Deoxys. Deoxys immediately stopped what it was doing and fell asleep. However, it wasn't going to stay awake for long.
"Deoxys, awaken." Galactica commanded calmly. The slave collar around Deoxys activated and the pokemon opened its eyes immediately. Deoxys then used Recover again, restoring the damage inflicted upon it. "I'm afraid sleep attacks won't work." Galactica said with a smug grin. "The slave collar allows us to simply order our pokemon to wake up."
"No kidding..." Red thought bitterly, clenching a fist. "Well there goes that plan. If it would have stayed asleep then Leech Seed and poison would have finished it easily enough. What can I do now?" Red folded his arms over his chest and thought over his options. Meanwhile, the purple glow faded around Deoxys as it used Recover again. This time, however, it did not go back to using Cosmic Power. Its defensive capabilities were already at their best.
"Now switch to attack mode and take Charizard down with Zap Cannon!" Galactica commanded Deoxys. Deoxys' body changed again, reverting to the form it had originally appeared in. Its body became slimmer and the tendrils that formed its arms became long and slender again, like a pair of whips. It then raised its four arms over its head and began charging a ball of electricity.
"Charizard, get out of the way!" Charizard flapped its wings and flew straight up, hoping to avoid Deoxys' attack by taking to the air. As Charizard flew up, Deoxys took off straight up after him and quickly moved past Charizard. Deoxys came to a stop as soon as it was hovering over Charizard and threw the ball of electricity down into the fire pokemon. Charizard roared in pain and dropped straight back down.
"Charizard!" Red called out in despair. Charizard crashed into the ground head first and then dropped onto its back. The powerful fire pokemon laid unmoving, knocked out by Deoxys' attack. Red stared at his fallen pokemon in shock and horror.
"I bet this is a new experience for you, having a pokemon knocked out in one attack." Galactica said to Red with a smug grin. "Get used to it, the rest of your pokemon will suffer a similar fate. You see, the metal cap on Deoxys head isn't just for decoration."
"I figured that much..." Red spat bitterly, then raised a pokeball and recalled Charizard. Deoxys slowly lowered itself back to the ground, its body shimmering as it used Recover as per Galactica's previous orders.
"But could you guess what it does? I bet you couldn't!" Galactica mocked Red. "You see, Deoxys' signature technique, Psycho Boost, has a side effect of lowering Deoxys special attack power. But this device attached to its slave collar prevents Deoxys abilities from being lowered by its own attacks, allowing it to use its strongest techniques with impunity."
"Psycho Boost...that was the attack Espeon blocked while Deoxys was in its speed form." Red thought.
"Deoxys, Psycho Boost! Take down Red's Venusaur!" A purple sphere of crackling energy formed around Deoxys body. Deoxys channeled an immense psychic power into its attack and then fired a large ball of psychic energy at Venusaur. Venusaur, being too large and slow to evade the attack, took it head on. The sphere of energy passed through Venusaur's body, continually assaulting it with psychic energy until Venusaur collapsed.
"Urk! Venusaur too?!" Red cried out in disbelief. Losing his pokemon so easily was indeed a new experience for Red, who was used to being able to simply overpower his opponents. Now he was realizing that such a tactic won't work against Galactica. Red quickly shook off the initial shock of Venusaur fainting and recalled his pokemon.
"Go on and send out more of your pokemon!" Galactica taunted Red. "I want to watch you squirm as each of your pokemon are defeated, one by one!"
"I've still got a chance to do this..." Red thought. "But how? I need to be able to overcome its defenses somehow and deal a strong blow to finish it off. Blastoise might be able to take a Zap Cannon, but can I bank on that? What other attacks does she have up her sleeve? Could Snorlax take a hit?" Red thought over his options for a moment.
"Maybe there's something Espeon can do..." He thought, then took two pokeballs in his hand. "Espeon! Blastoise! I choose you!" Red called out, releasing both pokemon simultaneously. Blastoise and Espeon emerged from their pokeballs, facing Deoxys and ready to fight.
"Two pokemon? It makes no difference, as you can already tell." Galactica said to Red. "Deoxys, put his Blastoise down with Zap Cannon!"
"We'll see about that." Red shot back. "Blastoise, Protect! Espeon, Psych Up!" Deoxys quickly formed a ball of electricity and then hurled it at Blastoise, but Blastoise was able to form a barrier around itself to block the attack. The electricity dispersed harmlessly againstly Blastoise's barrier. Espeon, meanwhile, focused its psychic power on Deoxys and copied the other pokemon's defense enhancements.
"A Psych Up technique! I should have seen that one coming!" Galactica thought, mentally slapping herself. "Well, it matters not. His Espeon cannot possibly harm my Deoxys as it is."
"Deoxys, ignore it and attack Blastoise again with Zap Cannon." Deoxys raised its for arms over its head and formed a ball of electricity, then hurled it at Blastoise. This time, Blastoise couldn't count on its Protect technique and took the full power of the attack. The ball of electricity dispersed through his body on contact, bringing the water pokemon to its knees.
Blastoise struggled for a moment after being attacked by Deoxys. Though it was a powerful attack, Blastoise remained conscious and was struggling to get back onto its feet. The attack had left it paralyzed, making it difficult for Blastoise at first, but a blue glow surrounded it as its torrent ability activated. With renewed strength, Blastoise stood back up.
"Can always count on Blastoise to take a hit." Red thought with a smirk. "Espeon, Baton Pass!" Espeon opened her mouth and a red baton formed. She threw the baton into the air and was then recalled by Red. Red quickly took another pokeball in hand and sent out his Snorlax, who then reached up with one of its large hands and grabbed the baton. Snorlax absorbed the baton into its body, gaining the status boosts Espeon had copied from Deoxys.
"Damn it! He passed the defense boosts to his Snorlax!" Galactica cursed. "Even attack form Deoxys can't overcome Snorlax's defenses now, but his Snorlax can still..."
"Snorlax, use Belly Drum now!" Red called out. His Snorlax began pounding on his chest, inflicting damage upon itself in the process but maximizing its attack power. Snorlax's physical attack power and its defenses were now maxed, leaving it an unstoppable powerhouse.
"NO! Deoxys, finish it now! Superpower!" Galactica called out desparately. Deoxys began focusing its power, and the ground around it began to shake.
"Aren't you forgetting about someone?" Red said to Galactica with a slight grin. "Blastoise, Protect!" Blastoise stepped back, moving closer to Snorlax and formed a barrier around itself. Deoxys moved toward Blastoise in one quick movement, thrusting its arms into the barrier and firing a blast of energy that completely engulfed both Blastoise and Snorlax. However, Blastoise's barrier deflected the energy around them, and both pokemon emerged unharmed.
"Ok, now pin Deoxys with Hydro Cannon!" Blastoise dropped its barrier and then trained its twin cannons on Deoxys. A blast of water fired from each cannon, with each blast as wide and tall as Blastoise. Deoxys was smashed into the ground by the high pressure water blasts and was pinned down. It struggled against the attack with all its strength but it was too much for it.
"Now, lets end this! Snorlax, attack with Body Slam!" Snorlax crouched down, building power in its legs and then took a great leap straight up. Snorlax jumped straight over Blastoise, just as the water pokemon's cannons were running out of water. No longer pinned by the attack, Deoxys began to stand up, but couldn't get out of the way in time.
Snorlax landed on top of Deoxys, coming down onto it with its incredible strength and immense bulk. Even with its enhanced defenses, Deoxys was far too frail in its attack form to take a full strength Body Slam from Snorlax. Deoxys was knocked out instantly, crushed under Snorlax's weight.
"Its over." Red said quietly. "Snorlax, break off its collar." Snorlax sat up and took one end of the collar in each of its hands. With Snorlax's enhanced strength, the collar ripped apart like it was a piece of paper in Snorlax's hands.
"No! This is impossible!" Galactica growled, clenching her fists tightly. "This can't be happening! I had the strongest pokemon!"
"Ok, good job you two. You can both take a well deserved rest." Red took Blastoise's and Snorlax's pokeballs in his hands and recalled both of them, then returned the pokeballs to his belt. He then reached into his backpack and took out a pair of yellow crystals. He crushed one of the crystals in his hand and tossed the dust on Deoxys unconscious form.
Deoxys slowly opened its eyes and looked around. The dust Red had sprinkled on it was from a Revive and restored Deoxys to consciousness and half strength. Deoxys looked to Galactica, then Red. Its body then shifted into a more streamlined form, its two arms merging into one and its legs and torso turning black. Once it switched to speed form it flew into the air and took off away from the island at top speed.
"Good idea." Red said quietly, watching as Deoxys took off. He then took another pokeball from his belt and released his unconscious Charizard. He crushed the other Revive crystal he had in his hand and tossed the dust on Charizard. The fire pokemon regained consciousness and quickly stood back up, shaking its head.
"You may have caught me off guard, Galactica, but like everyone else you lost in the end." Red said as he walked up to Charizard. "I'll leave you for Lance and the others to deal with. I have bigger fish to fry." Charizard leaned forward, allowing Red to get up on its back more easily.
"What did you say?!"
"I only agreed to help them because I was going to be in the area anyway." Red replied. "Your leader called me out, and I intend to end this once and for all. What happens to you doesn't matter now." Red patted Charizard on the back, signalling for him to take off. Charizard flapped its wings and took off into the sky, immediately turning and heading toward Seven Island.
"You'll regret this!" Galactica called out after Red. "You hear me?! I'll make you regret insulting me like this!"
"Rhydon, grab its wings!" Gary commanded his pokemon. Rhydon moved to intercept Zapdos, raising its hands to catch Zapdos' metal-coated wings. The plan failed, however, as Zapdos struck Rhydon with more force than it was able to withstand. Rhydon was pushed back by the initial impact, and then Zapdos dropped down in front of it and slashed Rhydon across the chest with one of its wings. Rhydon growled and staggered back, clutching its chest with one hand.
"Even though Rhydon is weak to steel-type attacks, it should be able to take a physical attack like that." Gary thought. "That Zapdos must be getting quite the power boost..."
"Onix, BIND IT!" Bruno called out loudly. Onix moved toward Zapdos to attack, but the thunder bird was already moving toward Onix to attack as well. Zapdos was intent on continuing its assault and slashed Onix across the head with one of its wings before the metal coating finally faded. The attack threw Onix's head into the wall of the arena. Onix shook it off but was a bit disoriented for a moment.
"Its Steel Wing attack is impressive...I don't think Onix or Rhydon can get a good shot at Zapdos at this rate." Bruno said to Gary.
"That hardly matters now, any other pokemon we send out wouldn't last long with all that electricity going around." Gary rested a hand at his side. "Rhydon, attack Zapdos with Rock Blast!" Rhydon thrust his arms forward repeatedly, firing a total of four rocks at Zapdos. Zapdos dodged the first, but the remaining three hit it and knocked it to the ground.
Zapdos quickly shook off the attack and took several quick hops toward Rhydon, flapping its wings for extra lift. Its wings gained a metal coat again and it slashed Rhydon across the chest with another Steel Wing attack. Rhydon staggered back and then dropped to his knees. Rhydon struggled to maintain consciousness, but the effort was too much for it and it soon collapsed. Gary took Rhydon's pokeball in hand and recalled it.
"Thats one down." Thunder said with a smirk. "Now you only have one pokemon left you can even try to fight me with, and all I had to do was order Zapdos to use Steel Wing. With the Elite Four and its new Champion defeated by us, our capabilities will be recognized world wide!"
"You have not gained victory yet!" Bruno said to Thunder. "Onix, BIND!" Onix quickly moved across the floor, putting the front end of its body behind Zapdos while the back end was still in front of it. Onix effectively had Zapdos surrounded and moved in for the attack, wrapping its body around the electric bird and started trying to crush it. With its increased strength, however, Zapdos was managing to push back against Onix to keep from getting crushed.
"Zapdos is far too powerful now for that to work." Thunder said smugly. Zapdos was pushing Onix's body out further and further, nearly giving itself enough room to break free.
"Then lets see how it does without that power boost. Alakazam, now!" While the battle had raged on, Gary had covertly released his Alakazam into the room behind them. On Gary's signal, Alakazam shut down the power generators. The room immediately went dark and the electric field shut down, but soon a backup generator kicked in. The lights came back on, but the electric field didn't.
"Just as I thought." Gary said smugly. "That electric field of your's uses a lot of power, which was being supplied by its own dedicated power generators. The backup generator doesn't supply enough power to keep them running."
"What?!" Thunder cried out in shock. Zapdos immediately lost what ground it had gained against Bruno's Onix and the rock snake's body squeezed tightly around it. Thunder tried repeatedly pressing the button to activate the electric field, but produced only sparks and caused the lights to flicker.
"Well played!" Bruno said to Gary. "Even I didn't notice you released another pokemon."
"I thought it was an obvious plan of action." Gary replied casually. In a flash the psychic pokemon Alakazam appeared before him, courtesy of its teleport attack. "Now lets finish this! Alakazam, attack Zapdos with Psychic!"
"Onix, enough! Return!" Bruno recalled Onix, releasing Zapdos from its grasp. The weakened Zapdos began to drop, but was caught by Alakazam's telekinesis. Alakazam focused on Zapdos with its psychic powers, a blue glow surrounding it and crushing it from all sides before slamming Zapdos into the ground hard. Zapdos let out a pained squawk and was down for a moment with the wind knocked out of it before slowly getting back up on its feet.
"Machamp, go! CROSS CHOP!" Bruno called out as he released the four-armed fighting pokemon, Machamp, from its pokeball. Machamp started running toward Zapdos as soon as it appeared. Machamp brought its upper set of arms down on Zapdos in a chopping motion, striking Zapdos in the shoulders with each fist. Zapdos let out another cry and collapsed, unconscious.
"D-damn you! This wasn't supposed to happen like this!" Thunder growled. "We were supposed to win! Mystique said our victory was assured!"
"You never really did stand a chance against us." Gary said to Thunder.
"Machamp, break the collar on Zapdos." Machamp nodded and turned Zapdos over on its stomach. It then gripped the device equipped to Zapdos in all four of its hands. Machamp struggled for a moment before managing to pull the device apart, then removed it and tossed it aside. Thunder turned to flee, but Gary's Alakazam teleported into his path to stop him.
"There's nowhere for you to even run to now, Thunder. You're finished."
"Moltres, finish this now with another Heat Wave!"
"Charizard, counter with Blast Burn!"
Moltres began flapping its wings while Charizard began forming a ball of fire. The beating of Moltres' wings send a blast of hot air and flames toward Charizard and Slowbro, but Charizard countered with Blast Burn before the attack could reach them. The fireball Charizard had prepped erupted into a column of fire, spewing into the oncoming Heat Wave. The attacks appeared evenly matched until both pokemon were finally forced to back off.
"That collar isn't doing anything for Moltres defensively." Fire thought. "One good fire attack from that Charizard will cripple Moltres at this point." Fire grinned to herself. "Fortunately for me, then, that using Blast Burn left it open to attack."
"Slowbro, use Disable!" Lorelei called out before Moltres could get off another attack. Slowbro didn't seem to do anything, its face maintaining a dopey and unaware expression even while it focused psychic energies on Moltres. A yellow glow surrounded the fire bird, sealing off its Heat Wave technique.
"A pointless effort. I will simply defeat your pokemon one by one." Fire boldly stated, though she felt a twinge of nervousness as well. She had been banking on defeating their pokemon simultaneously and then killing off the two trainers before they could send out reinforcements. Taking each pokemon down one at a time meant one of them would always have an opportunity to send out another pokemon.
"Moltres, attack Charizard with Flamethrower." Moltres opened its beak and spewed out a stream of flames. The flames only engulfed Charizard briefly before it gave a pained roar and collapsed to the ground, leaving Slowbro standing alone to face Moltres while Ashley recalled Charizard and sent out another pokemon.
"Slowbro, attack Moltres with Psychic!" Again, Slowbro's expression remained unchanged as it focused its powers. A blue glow surrounded Moltres as Slowbro's Psychic attack began to take effect. A telekinetic force began to crush Moltres and continued for as long as Slowbro could maintain its concenration. Before losing focus on the attack, Slowbro ended it by slamming Moltres into the ground. Moltres didn't stay down long, though, quickly hopping back onto its feet to continue the fight.
"Snorlax, you're up next! Go!" Ashley called out, releasing her bulky pokemon out onto the field next to Slowbro. Snorlax's Thick Fat ability provided her with resistance to fire attacks, making her an ideal switch in while Moltres was able to put up such a powerful offensive. Almost as soon as she appeared, though, Snorlax started to sweat. The four fake suns made the field feel incredibly hot, especially to Snorlax.
"Moltres, attack Slowbro with Flamethrower." At Fire's command, Moltres flapped its wings and took off, moving toward the two pokemon to get a better shot. Moltres then opened its beak and spewed out a stream of flames at Slowbro, knocking it out almost instantly. Lorelei quickly recalled it and quickly reached for another pokemon's pokeball to take Slowbro's place.
"Snorlax, use Amnesia!" Ashley called out. Snorlax focused briefly to forget something, trading in the memory for an increase in its defense against non-physical attacks. As Moltres focused only on fire attacks, this meant Snorlax would be even more resilient to any attack Moltres threw at it.
"Dewgong, go!" Lorelei released her next pokemon, sending out Dewgong into the fray. The water-based pokemon looked rather out of place on land and lying on its stomach next to Snorlax, but Dewgong was more capable on land than most marine water pokemon.
"That Snorlax is going to be a pest, but I can't give that Dewgong a chance to attack either." Fire thought. "Here goes nothing then..."
"Moltres, attack both of them with Heat Wave!" Moltres flapped its wings, already remembering its Heat Wave attack. A wave of hot air and flames was unleashed upon Dewgong and Snorlax, inflicting heavy damage on Dewgong. While Snorlax still took a heavy blow as well, the attack seemed to annoy her more than anything.
"If we're going to have any chance of beating Fire we'll need to take out those artificial suns." Lorelei thought, looking up at the artificial sun to the left of her. "Dewgong, attack that object with Signal Beam!"
Dewgong shook off the hit from Moltres' attack and followed Lorelei's direction to see the artificial sun in the corner. Dewgong nodded and fired a thin, rotating, tri-color beam from his horn at it. The beam struck the artificial sun, but served only to crack it.
Snorlax, use Amnesia again!" Ashley called out while Dewgong was attacking. Snorlax focused briefly to forgot something again, further increasing its defenses against Moltres' attacks.
"It will take more than that to destroy my suns." Fire said smugly. "Now, Moltres, use Heat Wave again!" Moltres flapped its wings, sending blasts of hot air at the two pokemon. The hot air was soon accompanied by a river of fire, searing Dewgong and Snorlax. Dewgong cried out sharply and collapsed from the heat while Snorlax continued to endure it.
"Destroying those things is our best shot at winning." Lorelei said to Ashley, observing the damage. "Unfortunately it looks like we'll need more firepower..."
"Wish I could help, but Snorlax can't really do a thing to those suns even if she was willing to move." Ashley replied. She briefly thought over what pokemon she had and how they might be able to help but then realized Snorlax was in pretty rough shape after that last Heat Wave and turned her attention back to the battle.
"Snorlax, use Rest!" Snorlax hesitated for a moment with a furious look on her face. She desparately wanted to strike back at Moltres now for making Snorlax endure such extreme temperatures, but in the end she gave in and closed her eyes. Snorlax fell into a deep sleep, instantly restoring herself to full strength while Lorelei recalled Dewgong. Lorelei was quick in switching pokeballs to send out another pokemon.
"Jynx, go!" Lorelei called out, quickly releasing her psychic pokemon from its pokeball, positioning her behind Snorlax to protect from a Heat Wave attack, and wasting no time in attacking.
"Jynx, use Psychic and smash that sun!" Lorelei commanded, pointing to the same one Dewgong had attacked earlier. Jynx nodded and brought her hands together, focusing a psychic attack on the cracked sphere. It didn't take long before it shattered under Jynx's psychic attack, depriving Moltres of some of its power.
"Hmph. So they managed to destroy one of them." Fire muttered to herself. "Its still not enough to stop Moltres. Moltres' fire attacks are still receiving a large power boost as it is. First things first, though, that Jynx has to go before Lorelei gets any bright ideas."
"Moltres, fly past Snorlax and attack Jynx with Flamethrower!" Fire called out. Moltres gave a flap of its wings and flew across the room toward the two, then hovering just over Snorlax's head to launch its attack. Moltres opened its beak and fired a stream of flames down onto Jynx. The psychic and ice type pokemon let out a cry and quickly collapsed, standing no chance against the power of Moltres' attack. Lorelei quickly recalled her.
Before Lorelei could send out another pokemon, though, Snorlax began to wake up. Noticing Moltres hovering above her, Snorlax gritted her teeth in a rage and quickly stood up to Headbutt Moltres in the jaw. Moltres let out a squawk and fell back, dropping to the ground at Snorlax's feet.
"-I don't know who you are, but this heat is obviously your fault.-" Snorlax said to Moltres in a bitter tone. "-I don't like the heat.-"
"Snorlax attacked Moltres on her own?" Ashley said to herself in disbelief. Lorelei looked over at her curiously, then back at Snorlax. Seeing Snorlax attack Moltres, a grin spread across Ashley's face.
"Snorlax, use Belly Drum! Now!" Ashley called out. Snorlax happily obliged, pounding her chest in a fury. The attack sharply cut her health but maximized her physical attack power.
"What do you hope to accomplish with that?" Fire said to Ashley, seemingly unphased by the turn of events. "All you've managed to do was weaken your pokemon and allow for Moltres to finish it off."
"Oh yeah? Just try it!" Ashley shot back challengingly.
"Have it your way then." Fire shrugged. "Moltres, finish her Snorlax with Flamethrower!"
"Snorlax, end this now! Body Slam!"
Snorlax bent her knees and jumped into the air while Moltres got up and aimed its beak at Snorlax. Moltres fired a blast of flames at Snorlax, but Snorlax was already coming down on top of Moltres by then and hardly seemed bothered by the flames. Snorlax crashed down on top of the fire pokemon, flattening Moltres into the ground and knocking it out instantly with a powered up Body Slam.
"-That'll learn ya.-" Snorlax growled. She stood up and wiped her forehead with her paw. "-Why is it still so hot in here?-"
"D-damn it..." Fire cursed. "I thought for sure her Snorlax would be too slow to attack, even at that range!"
"Ok, now remove its collar, Snorlax!" Snorlax gripped the collar around Moltres' neck and ripped it apart easily, then likewise broke the metal strap around Moltres' body to remove the device on its back.
"Looks like we didn't need to deal with those suns after." Lorelei smiled slightly and looked over at Ashley. "Nice going, your Snorlax handled that just fine."
"Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without your help." Ashley replied.
"This is impossible! Mystique told me my victory was assured!" Fire thought. She slowly backed up and then turned around to flee. Seeing this, Ashley quickly grabbed a pokeball from her belt.
"Ivysaur, go! Grab her with Vine Whip!" Ashley called out, throwing Ivysaur's pokeball across the gym to release Ivysaur closer to Fire. The pokeball opened up and released Ivysaur, at which point he quickly extended his vines. Fire had nearly reached the door on the other side of the room when Ivysaur grabbed her around the legs, tripping her.
"Sorry, Fire, or whatever your real name is, none of you are getting away today!" Ashley declared.
"-We finally go after the rest of the hunters and this is all I get to do?-" Ivysaur said to himself. "-Lame...-"
"Articuno, take down his Dragonite now with Ice Beam!" Freeze commanded.
"Dragonite, counter with Ice Beam!" Lance commanded similarly. Both pokemon opened their mouths and fired a blue beam across the room. The beams collided in the middle and began forming into a chunk of ice. The ice continued to build up until they finally backed off, leaving a chunk of ice larger than Lance's Dragonite between them.
"Interesting. Seems your Dragonite is better able to defend itself than I thought." Freeze said to Lance. "In that case, lets up the ante. Articuno, Mind Reader!" Articuno closed its eyes and focused, tapping into Dragonite's mind to ensure the next attack would hit.
"No point trying to evade the next one, we'll wait for a chance to strike back instead." Lance thought, then directed his gaze toward the ceiling. "This hail is certainly a nusiance, though. We'll deal with that now."
"Dragonite, ice the ceiling fans!" Lance commanded. Dragonite nodded and tilted its head up to fire an Ice Beam attack at the ceiling. Dragonite strafed the attack across the fans, putting a sheet of ice over the openings and seizing up the fans themselves with ice. It was enough to bring the indoor blizzard to a halt, and Lance was finally able to let go of his cape.
"A useless gesture, Lance, as this battle is now over." Freeze said smugly. "Articuno, Sheer Cold!" Articuno flapped its wings while breathing out a cold air from its beak. Ice began to form on the ground around Dragonite's feet and slowly crept up its legs. Dragonite made no attempt to avoid it, though, allowing the ice to eventually encase his body completely.
"Looks like your only pokemon has been defeated, Lance. Some hero you turned out to be." Freeze said to Lance in a mocking tone, chuckling to himself.
"I think you better look again." Lance said with smirk. The ice encasing Dragonite began to crack and eventually shattered, freeing Dragonite from his prison and leaving him seemingly unscathed. "Dragonite, strike back with Thunder Wave!" Lance then commanded his pokemon. Dragonite brought his hands together and fired a pulse of electricity at Articuno, paralyzing the legendary pokemon.
"WHAT?! Impossible! No pokemon can survive that attack!" Freeze cried out in dismay.
"Perhaps you've forgotten that if the target pokemon is stronger than the pokemon using the technique, then the technique will fail." Lance said to Freeze. "As you can no doubt tell by now...it would seem my Dragonite is indeed stronger than Articuno."
"That...thats impossible!" Freeze growled. "Articuno is a legendary pokemon, there's no way your Dragonite is stronger than it!"
"Legendary pokemon are powerful, but other pokemon can be even stronger than they are. As is the case with my Dragonite." Lance replied. "But enough of this banter. Dragonite, attack Articuno with Thunderbolt!"
"-About time, I'm itching to get back at this guy.-" Dragonite muttered. He charged electricity through his body and held out his hands toward Articuno. A bolt of electricity fired out from Dragonite's outstretched hands, moving past the chunk of ice between them to strike Articuno. Articuno cried out in pain and dropped to its knees as it was struck, the electricity painfully passing through its body.
"Damn..." Freeze growled. "Articuno, strike back with Blizzard!"
"Dragonite, get ready and fly over it."
Articuno struggled to get back on its feet, the paralysis weighing it down. Articuno eventually managed to stand up and began flapping its wings, sending blasts of cold air and ice at Dragonite. Dragonite quickly jumped up and flapped his wings, flying over Articuno's attack and then dropping down behind it.
"Now attack with Thunderbolt again!" Lance called out. Dragonite cupped his hands together and charged electricity through his body, then fired out another bolt at Articuno from behind. Articuno cried out and fell over again, but then quickly got up again and turned around to face Dragonite.
"Articuno, Ice Beam!" Freeze called out, desparate to get an attack in. Articuno opened its mouth and fired out a blue beam at Dragonite. The beam struck the dragon pokemon in the chest, forming a thin sheet of ice. Dragonite cried out and stumbled back from the attack, taking a strong hit due to his high weakness to ice attacks.
"Excellent! Finish it with one more, Articuno!" Freeze called out.
"Dragonite, attack with Outrage!" Dragonite gave a fierce roar, quickly getting over the pain from Articuno's attack and channeling its rage. An orange glow appeared in Dragonite's eyes as it moved toward Articuno. Before Articuno could launch another attack, Dragonite slammed into it and slashed Articuno with his claws. Articuno fell back to the ground and struggled for a moment as it tried to get back up. It had taken considerable damage at this point and paralysis was still affecting it as well.
Continuing his rampage, Dragonite didn't give Articuno a chance to get back up. With Articuno flat out on the ground, Dragonite couldn't very well tackle it. Instead, Dragonite opted for slashing Articuno with each set of claws. Articuno cried out and fell unconscious and, with Articuno's defeat, Dragonite quickly shook off the rage and confusion that briefly followed.
"But...I had the type advantage! And with a legendary pokemon!" Freeze said in disbelief.
"Type advantage doesn't mean everything in battle." Lance said to Freeze. "Your mistake was overestimating Articuno's power, as well as underestimating my own. Had you not allowed me the chance to battle Articuno at all, you would have beaten me. It is your arrogance that cost you this match."
"I don't get it!" Freeze thought. "Mystique said Sheer Cold would work on Lance's Dragonite, and she's never been wrong before now!"
"Dragonite, break Articuno's collar." Lance said to his pokemon. Dragonite nodded and reached down to the unconscious pokemon, gripping the slave collar in his hands. Dragonite struggled with it for a moment before finally snapping the device in two. Dragonite then proceded to remove the canister part of the device, snapping it off its bindings.
"Looks like this is it for you." Lance then said to Freeze.
"Arbok!" Agatha called out, releasing her poisonous snake pokemon out to battle alongside Gengar. However, Gengar wasn't going to stick around much longer itself.
"Gengar, Curse!" Gengar nodded, resigning itself to its fate. A shadowy pin formed in front of Gengar and then stabbed the ghost pokemon through its chest, knocking it out almost instantaneously. A dark aura then surrounded Mew, inflicting it with a Curse. Agatha was alone against Mew, since Mystique had already removed Rina from the battle, and was intent on throwing everything she had at the psychic pokemon.
"Interesting. A shame I can't foresee what attacks a ghost pokemon will use, but it makes no difference." Mystique said to Agatha as she recalled Gengar. Agatha was also getting ready to release another pokemon, having no intention of leaving Arbok to battle alone with the distinct type disadvantage.
"Crobat!" Agatha called out, ignoring Mystique as she released the four winged poison bat out into the battle. She now had two poison pokemon on the field and Mew could only attack one.
"Mew, attack her Arbok with Psychic." Mystique commanded calmly. Mew's eyes flashed and a blue aura surrounded Agatha's Arbok as Mew focused its psychic powers on it. Arbok hissed as a telekinetic force crushed its body. The attack ended when Mew used the last of its power to fling Arbok into the rear wall of the gym, knocking it out instantly. Agatha seemed to expect this, though, and was already recalling Arbok before it could even hit the floor.
"I only have one pokemon that even stands a chance against this Mew." Agatha thought as she took another pokeball in hand. "Misdreavus!" Agatha called out, releasing that very pokemon next. A feminine-looking ghost pokemon with a pearl necklace appeared next to Crobat.
"I need to help Rina somehow." Agatha thought. "Mew's Curse should buy me some time as it will have to heal eventually. If weren't able to do that then I'm sure Mystique would be more concerned."
"Misdreavus, attack with Shadow Ball. Crobat, you too."
"Mew, Softboiled!"
Misdreavus and Crobat began forming black shadowy balls, with Crobat forming the attack much faster than Misdreavus. Crobat fired the black ball at Mew, inflicting minor damage on the psychic pokemon, followed by Misdreavus attack hitting Mew with similar results. The psychic pokemon easily shook off both attacks and an egg formed in the air over it. The egg cracked, sprinkling a sparkly dust on Mew that instantly recovered its health.
"Your pokemon can do nothing to Mew." Mystique said to Agatha, chuckling quietly. "You should just surrender already. I've predicted everything that will happen today. From your method of attack, to the downfall of my 'comrades'."
"Downfall?" Agatha asked curiously, furrowing her eyes.
"Of course. I instructed them all into taking a course of action that would lead to their own defeat." Mystique replied, snickering to herself. "Why should I share control over the Grand Hunters? With my capabilities I can lead the hunters into a new age! An age of global domination! The very name will be synomous with fear itself!"
"Is that so?" Agatha intoned with a sly smirk. "Then tell me, what do you see in the future for you and your Grand Hunters?"
"You truly wish to know? Very well then..." Without any shift in her expression, Mystique used her psychic powers to search for a vision of the future. In doing so, however, she had unintentionally released her mental grip on Rina. The girl batted her eyes and slowly stood up, looking somewhat disoriented. All of a sudden a look of fear began to form on Mystique's face.
"Ow...what happened?" Rina asked groggily, rubbing the side of her head. She looked across the gym toward Mystique and blinked in disbelief when she saw the look of fear on her face. "What happened to her?"
"She's receiving a taste of her own medicine." Agatha said to Rina, chuckling to herself.
"You...you tricked me!" Mystique accused Agatha in a raspy tone. "There's no way this can be real! I've come too far to lose now! This changes nothing! NOTHING, YOU HEAR ME?!"
"Now, now, now, whats the matter? Is the future not turning out quite how you planned?" Agatha mocked Mystique, then glanced over at Rina. "Child, perhaps now would be a good time for you to use that collar-busting technique of your's?"
"Right!" Rina nodded and quickly grabbed Pippi's pokeball from her belt. "Ok, Pippi! Come on out!" She called out, releasing Pippi from her pokeball.
"-Phew! Its about time!-" Pippi said as she appeared. Seeing Mew she tilted her head to the side and peered at it curiously. "-What pokemon is that?-"
"I'll explain later!" Rina said to Pippi. "Now get in there and break the strap around Mew's chest with Volt Tackle!"
"-Ok, got it!-" Pippi charged electricity around her body and took off running across the gym.
"You won't win that easily!" Mystique growled. "Mew, Hypnosis!"
"Pippi, stop and use Double Team!" Pippi came screeching to a halt as Mew started to focus hypnotic, psychic waves on her. She began to feel drowsy, but before falling asleep she managed to split off into multiple images of herself. With six copies of Pippi now facing it, Mew didn't know who to continue the attack on, sparing Pippi from falling asleep.
"Damn it..." Mystique growled. "Mew, use Softboiled." Mew focused briefly, forming an egg out of nowhere over its head. The egg crackled, sprinkling a restorative substance down onto Mew. With Mew taking constant damage from Curse, it needed to keep its health up.
"She has this under control now." Agatha thought, taking a pokeball in each hand and resting her cane against her side for a moment. "Crobat, Misdreavus, you both did well. Now, return." Agatha held up the pokeballs and recalled each of her pokemon, then put the pokeballs away and took her cane in hand again.
"Ok, now lets try this again! Volt Tackle!" Rina called out. Pippi quickly formed the aura of electricity around herself again and then shot toward Mew, smashing into Mew's stomach and striking the metal band around its torso. Mew cried out and staggered back, and the metal band snapped at the point of impact.
Mew was still under the effects of the collar, but the effect seemed to be weakened. Mew started shaking its head violently, trying to fight off the device's control. Eventually Mew's body began to shift, its skin changing to a yellow color and body briefly losing shape until it dropped out of the collar. Mew fell to the ground and continued reconfiguring its body until the transformation was complete. When Pippi got back up, after being bounced back from the impact, she found herself face to face with another Pikachu.
"-Huh?! Where did you come from?-" Pippi asked the other Pikachu, who was actually Mew transformed into a Pikachu.
"-I'm Mew!-" The transformed Mew replied cheerfully. "-Thanks for breaking that thingy!-"
"Mew can transform?" Rina asked, blinking in disbelief.
"It would seem so. I suppose such a capability makes sense for a pokemon rumored to be the ancestor of all pokemon." Agatha said.
"-Oh...your welcome then...-" Pippi blinked, still not understanding why she was now speaking with another Pikachu. All she knew now was it was actually Mew. Mew turned to face Mystique while its body began to shift again, reverting back to Mew.
"-You're a bad lady!-" Mew said to Mystique. "-I...ow!-" Mew winced, feeling the curse still taking its toll.
"It seems all you have succeeded in today, Mystique, is engineering the end of the Grand Hunters in its entirety." Agatha said to Mystique. "In your attempt to take over, you sacrificed your allies and entrusted your own victory to psychic visions. The future is constantly in motion, Mystique."
"I don't need a lecture from you, grandma!" Mystique spat.
"Grandma? Hmph..." Agatha said indignantly.
"-Hey! Can I get a heal, please?-" Mew asked, giving Pippi a pleading look. "-I'm still cursed and it hurts!-"
"-I don't think I can help you with that...-" Pippi said to Mew.
"I think you'll have to wait for it to wear off." Rina added. Mew looked at her curiously and then quickly floated over to her, flipping upsidedown in the process.
"-You can understand me?-" Mew asked Rina. Rina nodded to it. "-Wow! I didn't think humans could!-"
"Its...a rare talent..." Rina explained. "Anyway, you should just keep using Softboiled until the curse wears off and then you'll be fine."
"Unless Mew was willing to go into a pokeball, that may take awhile." Agatha said to Rina. "Of course, Mew could also choose to allow the Curse to knock it out. I have a few Revives with me."
"Oh! That could work!" Rina smiled at Mew. "If you're willing to go through with that then we could just revive you as soon as you're knocked out." She said to it.
"-Hmm...-" Mew flipped rightside up and leaned in closer to Rina, looking her straight in the eye for a few seconds before nodding to her. "-Ok! You seem trustworthy enough!-" Mew waited another short moment before suddenly collapsing into Rina. Rina caught the small pokemon in her arms.
"That Mew has them distracted it seems..." Mystique thought, grinning to herself. "Time for me to make my escape!" Mystique turned to flee the area, but found Pippi already standing in her way.
"-Sorry, but trespassers will be shocked.-" Pippi said to Mystique, grinning widely. Mystique growled, but said nothing.
Agatha reached into one of her pockets and retrieved a single Revive crystal, then handed it off to Rina. Rina took the crystal in one hand and crushed it, then sprinkled the dust on Mew's unconscious form. Mew quickly opened its eyes and Rina let go of it, allowing Mew to float in the air again.
"-Ooh! Thats much better!-" Mew said, sounding rather pleased.
"Let us be going now." Agatha said to them. "I'm sure the others are waiting outside."
With the Grand Hunters all rounded up, and the legendary pokemon freed from their control, the trainers all met back outside on the island. There was no sign of Galactica anywhere when they got out, but Lance contacted Koga and was assured that Red had shown up to deal with Galactica and that Deoxys was spotted leaving the island alone.
The remaining hunters were all tied up and tossed on board the Sea Gallop, and the three legendary birds were quickly fixed up with a Revive each. Mew was still hanging around Rina as well, despite now having the chance to leave the island.
"It seems Galactica may or may not have escaped." Lance said to the group once everyone was gathered and the three legendary birds healed. "We can't find her, all we know is Deoxys left on its own and Red was here. I would rather not think of what he might have done to Galactica, given that he has kept quiet on what he did with Giovanni as well." The rest of the group remained silent, allowing for Lance to continue.
"Aside from that, only the hunters shadowy leader remains to be found. As an organization, though, they are pretty much done for. There is nowhere for them to run now."
"Well if thats it, I'm getting out of here." Gary muttered, taking a pokeball from his belt. "I ain't spending another minute with these losers. Pidgeot, come on out!" Gary held up the pokeball and released his Pidgeot next to him.
"Do what you wish then, Gary." Lance said with a sigh. Ashley glared at Gary, but he didn't notice as he climbed onto Pidgeot's back and took off.
"-Wow, that guy seems like a jerk.-" Mew commented.
"He is." Rina whispered to Mew.
Once Gary had left, Lance turned to address the three legendary birds. "We've dealt with the hunters who had enslaved you." He said to them. "You are free to go now, we won't stop you." Lance looked back toward Mew. "Same goes for you as well, Mew."
"-I'm in no hurry, you guys are kinda interesting.-" Mew replied, smiling.
"-Interesting?-" Pippi asked, twitching her ears.
Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres looked around at the group and then backed away. They didn't flee, however. Instead, they turned to face each other, and sounded as though they were talking amongst themselves.
"-There is no doubt, that is the same girl.-" Articuno said to Zapdos and Moltres.
"-I recognize her as well.-" Zapdos said, casting a glance toward the group. "-Its clear what we must do. I won't make the mistake of underestimating her again.-"
"-I doubt its the same girl, but the resemblance is uncanny.-" Moltres added. "-I agree that we should at least give her the chance to challenge us.-"
"Rina, what are they saying?" Ashley asked. Everyone else looked at her expectantly.
"I don't know, I can't make them out." Rina replied. After talking amongst themselves for a moment, Articuno turned around and scanned the group. The legendary bird seemed to focus on Rina as it moved toward them again.
"-We wish to battle the one you call 'Ashley'.-" Articuno said, apparently expecting that Rina would understand it. Rina and Pippi looked on in shock and Mew seemed confused, wondering what the big deal about it was. Again, everyone looked to Rina, expecting an explanation.
"Umm...Ashley?" Rina said nervously as she looked over at her.
"What is it?" Ashley asked her.
"They want to battle you..."
Author's Notes: That two Snorlax KO was more or less unplanned. When I was making up the 'win' scenarios it just happened to lead to Snorlax for both Red and Ashley, and in Ashley's case providing an opportunity for Snorlax to get up off its lazy ass and attack for once.
Galactica, obviously, escaped capture for now. She probably won't be making another appearance in this saga. I may have other plans for her yet. As for the obvious upcoming battle, I intend to give a little backstory before we jump into that one. For anyone thats read the "Legends in Hoenn" series that came before this, there's going to be a brief "History Chapter"-type blurb at the beginning of the next chapter to explain a few things basically.
As for the mysterious leader of the Grand Hunters...well, its no one anyone knows at this point. He will be making an appearance eventually, but there's a few more chapters left until then. In the next few chapters, though, expect a few things to start coming together.