Aloha! Welcome back to another installment of this fanfic. I hope you all are enjoying yourselves because I sure am! So yeah, last chapter, Lumiose is going to be in for it. And what do we have here? A familiar scenario from the beloved BW series. Two Leaders Tadashi hadn't even fought yet, and the other six he and the gang bested are going to be making an early debut! I hope you've fastened your seatbelts...because this, as one of you reviewers put it, it's about to go down!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon! All of its characters and content are owned by Gamefreak and Nintendo.
Chapter 37: Under Siege! The Cavalry Arrives!
"Clemont...what's going on? I'm scared..." Bonnie said with a nervous look on her visage.
"Clemont...how long do you think it will be before Lumiose is under fire?" Victor inquired.
"There's no telling...Team Flare seems to strike when least expected. It's never their style to announce their assault...so why now?" Clemont said with a trembling voice.
"That last statement...sounded like a challenge..." Tadashi said as he stood up to walk towards the door.
"Tadashi...if you even think about going there by yourself I will tie you down and force you to stay..." Clarice grumbled.
"Do you honestly think I'm going to let him get away with this? The longer we sit here, the more time he has to power up that machine of his and blast us all six feet under!" Tadashi snapped back.
"Tadashi's right...if we wait here, we'll be killed, but if we move out we'll have a greater chance of stopping their plan. However...we can't abandon Lumiose. Honestly...why would they threaten the city? They have a weapon that can reduce the populace to ashes..." Victor stated firmly.
"I think I have a good idea why..." Trinity sighed, looking out the window as people were starting to flee the city. She didn't blame them, who wouldn't run?
"It's to stall. Now that I'm out of the organization, Lysandre figured that I told you guys about the plan. He knows that if we all go after him at once, his goal won't be reached as easily as he wants it to be. So he's going to turn Lumiose into a war zone..." Trinity said flatly.
"In essence...he's not only going to commit mass genocide...but he's going to destroy an entire city beforehand...sounds a bit counterproductive...if he's that confident in the machine's ability he should just use it instead...so why doesn't he?" Clarice muttered.
"Because he probably doesn't have the energy needed to pull off such a massive assault. From what know about this Ultimate Weapon...it once wiped out everything. The world faded to nothingness. I heard this due to the man named AZ revealing it to me in a story. Though he doesn't talk much...he has quite a history it seems..." Tadashi murmured.
"So it really does have the capability to commit a global assault...great..." Victor muttered.
Clemont was about to speak again when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. People were running in the opposite direction of where he saw them last. A Houndoom darted by the Pokemon Center along with a few individuals in red suits. His eyes widened at this. It had already begun and sooner than he'd expected. Everyone else saw this and ducked down to avoid being seen.
"Great...they're already here. And from the looks of things, they're packing a ton of fully evolved powerhouses...and I think I saw a few of them with Evolutionary Rays...they must have put all of those pokeballs to good use then..." Trinity spat.
"We can't just sit here...we need to help them, let's try to move out without drawing attention to ourselves. We can't afford for the Pokemon Center to get damaged. We'll need them active to bring in any injured..." Tadashi said as he moved slowly towards the door.
He felt a tug on his shoulder and turned around. It was Clarice. She had a stern expression on her face that seemed to be masking worry behind it.
"We're all going with you...so don't just walk off like you always do..." Clarice grumbled.
Tadashi nodded and the group proceeded to exit the center. Before they could get out, an explosion resounded directly across from them. The group darted outside to see the cause of the explosion only to be horrified at the sight. It was Sycamore's lab. Some of the assistants had stumbled outside and were gasping for air. Tadashi immediately darted towards the lab. One of the female assistants was about to fall face forward until Tadashi caught her. The other assistants were helped by the rest of the group. Most were unconscious and just barely breathing.
"Wh-what's going...-cough-...on?" She asked, looking up at Tadashi.
"I remember you...you're that boy who came in and got that...-cough-...Fennekin..." She said weakly.
"Yes...but we don't have time to talk about that...are you alright? And also...where's Sycamore?" Tadashi inquired, looking back at the inferno that was spreading through the lab.
"He's still in the lab...he began returning as many...-cough-...Pokemon to their pokeballs as possible. Please...you have to...save him..." She breathed out before passing out.
"Guys...get them to the Pokemon Center. I'm going in after Sycamore..." Tadashi stated firmly.
"No Tadashi! I'm not about to watch you run into another fire. I just got you back and you think I'm just going to watch you go in without knowing if you'll be back? Arceus you are stupid!" Clarice snarled, grabbing his arm before he could turn to leave.
"Let go Clarice..." Tadashi said firmly.
"No chance Tadashi. I'm not letting go, you'll have to drag me in there with you for that to happen," Clarice growled.
"Why? So you can get hurt?" Tadashi shot back.
"Why? Because I love you...idiot!" Clarice snapped back.
Tadashi's eyes widened at this declaration. Clarice still didn't let go of his arm. Her shoulders were trembling and she was doing her best not to cry, and was failing miserably.
"I thought we were all going to die in that horrible prison. I thought you already were...and now that you're healed, now that you're with me, you want to leave again?" Clarice sniffed, trying to choke back the tears.
Tadashi had no words for what he was hearing. As much as he'd like to think about the signs that were right in front of his face...he had no time, he needed to get Sycamore out of there.
"Clarice...I think I have a plan that might work...I know it's dangerous for me to go in there. And I know that you don't want me getting burned again...or worse. I'll need you to send out Greninja and douse me with water. Anyone else who has a water type needs to focus on the building. The rest of you, get these people to safety and then go help the citizens. We're wasting valuable time...everyone's lives...the WORLD is depending on us..." Tadashi said as he turned to Clarice.
"Please...trust me on this Clarice..." Tadashi said as he looked into her eyes pleadingly.
Her response was a simple one. She released Greninja and ordered it to cover Tadashi in water to ward off the flames in case he ran into trouble. The cool water ran over Tadashi's body which sent a few chills down his spine. This was good though, he needed it to get through there.
"Come back to me alive..." Clarice muttered, giving Tadashi's hand a firm squeeze before releasing it.
"I will, now...the rest of you, send out whatever water types you have so we can keep the flames from spreading any farther," Tadashi said as he turned towards the building and darted inside.
The heat inside was intense enough that at a mere touch it would cause severe burns. These were not ordinary flames...they were flames from a Houndoom. By the looks of things...a Mega Houndoom. Tadashi raced through the lab, calling out.
"Sycamore! Professor Sycamore!" Tadashi hollered, hoping for a reply, but none came.
Sycamore was inside the place where he had given Tadashi and the others their first Pokemon. He was sitting in a corner to avoid contact with the flames. His ears twitched as he thought he heard someone calling out to him. In his arms was an injured Floette.
"It'll be okay...as long as we're over here, the flames won't get to us...yet..." Sycamore sighed as he looked towards the door.
"I could have sworn I heard someone call my name...I must be imagining things...I guess this is what happens when you're about to die huh?" Sycamore said with a sigh.
Sycamore's arms were both badly burned and so was his left leg after the explosion as he had shielded the Floette from the blast. A sigh escaped his lips as he watched the crackling flames.
"Sycamore!" Tadashi's voice called out again.
This time he heard it. He thought he'd imagined it at first because last he knew, Tadashi and the others were long gone. Not wasting time, he called back to Tadashi.
"Tadashi! I'm in here!" Sycamore shouted back.
Hearing this, Tadashi whirled around to see that the sound was coming from the distribution part of the lab. If he recalled, it was that beautiful grassy place with all the water and Pokemon playing around. He raced towards that part of the lab hurriedly. The door itself was ablaze, however he was covered in a layer of water from Clarice's Greninja so he should be fine. Flaring up his aura, he delivered a force palm to the door and blasted it off its hinges. The flames didn't hurt him, which he was thankful for.
Sycamore glanced towards the door in shock as Tadashi walked over the door. Tadashi made his way over to Sycamore and glanced down at the mans injuries. He also took note of the Floette in Sycamore's arms and a pokeball on the ground next to him.
"Tadashi? What's going on?" Sycamore said wearily as Tadashi brought him to his feet.
"Team Flare is attacking the city...I guess their primary objective was to take out the lab first. Anyway, we've got no time to talk now...we need to move, pronto!, return that Floette so we can get out of here," Tadashi said as he supported Sycamore. Floette was returned quickly and Tadashi took it and clipped it to his belt. Since it was neither his or anyone elses, it was able to stay there without any issues.
The others were outside trying to put out the fire. Victor had his Crawdaunt out and Clarice used her Greninja and Blastoise. The inside of the building was still scorching hot, and the flames couldn't have been more intense. Tadashi rounded the corner and spotted the exit.
"We're almost there Sycamore..." Tadashi said as he made for the door.
Just above the door, one of the supports began to collapse which was definitely a problem. Clarice was watching on the outside, praying in her head that Tadashi would be okay. Suddenly, the support gave way and collapsed on floor before her.
"Greninja! Put that fire out quick! Clarice ordered.
Greninja fired a water pulse towards the fire, dicing through the support to clear a path for Tadashi who she didn't even know was near the door.
'Thanks Clarice...' Tadashi thought as he dragged Sycamore out of the lab.
Tadashi and Sycamore stumbled out of the lab, Sycamore looking a bit worse for wear at the moment.
"Victor, let's get Sycamore to the center...he needs medical attention immediately. His burns are very severe!" Tadashi said with authority, getting a nod from Clarice and Victor.
The three of them helped Sycamore into the Pokemon Center as Sycamore had passed out from the pain and exhaustion.
"Professor!" The nurse said in a panicked voice, rushing over the counter to meet Tadashi and the others as they carried in Sycamore.
"He'll be okay, but he needs immediate attention, we've gotta get back out there!" Tadashi said as he made for the door.
"Right! I'll get right on it. I need a stretcher in here, stat!" She voiced to the back room. Several assistants rushed in with a stretcher and helped Sycamore onto it.
"Thanks...come on you guys, we need to get out there...where are Trinity and the others?" Tadashi asked.
"They went to different parts of the city, they're trying to evacuate as many as they can. They're running into a lot of Team Flare though...and I mean A LOT. Trinity had to fight off a few while we hosed down the lab. She tore off after a couple of them who ran away after Abby Mega Evolved...I swear she was never this cocky when she was with us..." Victor grumbled.
"That's good then...but what I'm worried about now is everyone in the city...and also, did you catch where Jake and the other two went? I'm guessing in the opposite direction of Trinity...wherever that is..." Tadashi sighed as they got outside.
"Exactly...Trinity took off towards route 13, Blake went towards route 16, Madeline route 14 and Jake route 4 and five. Something about wanting to keep the destruction from getting to the place he met his friends...I assume that's you and Clarice," Victor chuckled.
"Yeah...we met him there...but that's beside the point, we need to stop this madness...it's getting out of hand!" Clarice shouted as they all took off running.
"We should split up if we're going to cover the entire city. I'll get aerial surveillance on everything from the air. I need to find out where most of the attacks are being directed so I can neutralize them...you two try to keep Team Flare at bay anywhere you find them. We can't let them destroy the place..." Tadashi said as an explosion echoed in the distance, most likely near Prisim tower where Clemont and Bonnie probably took off to defend.
"Wait...that tower is basically the symbol of hope to the city. Clemont is their leader and is relied on to help them in times like these. That must be their objective as well. The tower still stands so they must be fighting over there...which means that's where I'm headed..." Tadashi said as he fired Charizard's pokeball, releasing the great lizard.
"Just be careful out there Tadashi...I don't want you coming back with more bruises and bumps like last time. Just once I'd like to be able to hold you without you wincing..." Clarice pouted as she turned to head out with Victor.
"I'll try to be careful...no promises though..." Tadashi said as he hopped on his partner's back.
"Alright Charizard, head towards Prisim Tower!" Tadashi commanded. Charizard fired a blast of flames into the air as his affirmative before beating his mighty wings and taking off.
"You'd better come back to me...Tadashi..." Clarice thought as she watched him shoot off into the distance.
Tadashi made it to Prisim Tower quite quickly and circled overhead as he watched Clemont battling it out with Team Flare. He glanced down at a Pokemon he didn't know Clemont even had. Tadashi took out his pokedex and pointed it at the pokemon.
"Luxray...the Gleam Eyes Pokemon. When its eyes gleam gold, it can spot hiding prey, even those taking shelter behind a wall.." The pokedex informed.
"Neat...and it looks like he's giving Team Flare some trouble, although he won't be able to keep this up forever. How about we give him some backup Charizard?" Tadashi smirked. Charizard nodded and dove straight down.
"Keep up the defenses everyone!" Clemont commanded his pokemon. Magneton and Heliolisk were fending off flamethrowers from hitting the tower with thunderbolts. Luxray tore through some of the defenses but was knocked back by what appeared to be a Rhyperior. This was going to be trouble. Ground types...just what he needed.
"You can't keep defending the tower forever, eventually we're going to burn it to the ground..." The voice of Gloria said with a smirk.
The Rhyperior belonged to her as she had recently brought it to its final evolutionary state with the Evolutionary Ray she had on her back. Due to the boost it received due to the added adrenaline pumping effects that were stored to give the ray a more potent effect, this particular Rhyperior was boasting considerable force.
Luxray struggled to his feet, the thunder lion growling at the towering foe before him. Clemont staggered back as the powerful behemoth advanced on him. Clemont suddenly looked up and caught sight of something plummeting towards the ground at very high speeds. Suddenly, Rhyperior was smashed into the ground by a powerful force, causing a massive crater and several aftershocks that sent Team Flare, and unfortunately Clemont and Bonnie flying back, the former grabbing his sister to avoid her being hurt too badly when they fell back.
When the dust settled, a Lucario rose up from the ground ontop of a a thoroughly concussed Rhyperior. Considering its weakness to fighting type moves due to it having a rock subtype, and the fact that Lucario crashed into him from twenty feet up with a force palm, there was no chance that Rhyperior would be getting up anytime soon. The sound of flapping wings was heard as Charizard hovered down next to the fighting steel-type with Tadashi on his back. Clemont and Bonnie got up and saw Tadashi seated atop his Charizard. Gloria also got up, along with the grunts who seemed a bit disoriented.
"YOU!" Gloria snarled, pointing at Tadashi who hopped off of his Charizard with a smirk.
"I have a name you know..." Tadashi muttered, looking rather put off considering nobody seemed to use his name. First it was Clarice when they ran into each other a few times, then it was Tyson, and now her...this never ceased to be annoying.
"Right...the annoying brat who made a mess of the lab...how can I forget that?" Gloria growled.
"I'm surprised you're even awake after what Gardevoir did to you two...I'm guessing you all woke up after we left and managed to get out before the police came...too bad that won't help you here..." Tadashi smirked.
"You humiliated me back there...but this won't end the same as last time...not with what I have in store for you..." Gloria grinned devilishly.
"As much as I'd like to stay and play...I don't have the time to be dealing with all of you..." Tadashi muttered, tossing out Gardevoir in the process.
'These people again?' Gardevoir inquired, sighing as she saw Gloria and the grunts behind her.
'Yep...you know what to do...' Tadashi replied.
Before they knew it, the grunts and Admin (Gloria) were flung through the air, crashing into the sides of several buildings in near perfect unison.
'Showing off a little are we?' Tadashi said with a raised brow.
'Can't help it...I evolved, what did you expect?' Gardevoir shrugged.
'Point...' Tadashi sighed as he turned to Clemont and extended his hand.
"You okay?" Tadashi asked as he helped the Gym Leader onto his feet. Bonnie got up with little injury while Clemont sustained a scraped left knee and a bruised left shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little sore...that was rough," Clemont muttered.
"Sorry about that...I saw that Rhyperior was giving you trouble so I instinctively threw Lucario out...apparently he wanted to try an aerial assault and didn't count on the point of impact being as destructive as it was..." Tadashi mumbled.
"It's no problem...had you not taken out that Rhyperior...well, things would have gotten a little dicey for me," Clemont said with a chuckle.
"Doesn't Mageneton know Flash Cannon?" Tadashi deadpanned.
"Eheh...so it does...but it was preoccupied so it wouldn't have been able to react fast enough, anyway...we're getting off track. Also..." Clemont said, pointing to the knocked out Team Flare members.
"Was that necessary?" Clemont mumbled.
"Entirely...the police will be able to round them up presumably within the next few hours once this blows over...however this could take a while. We need to get moving to other parts of the city..." Tadashi said as he recalled his companions.
"Right...let's get moving Bonnie," Clemont said to his sister who was shaken up a bit but glad to see Tadashi in this situation.
"Thank you Tadashi!" She chirped happily before running to keep up with them.
"Not a problem, now let's keep going!" Tadashi called over his shoulder as they ran.
The tower had been spared, but the rest of the city wasn't in as good a shape. The gang was having their fill of Team Flare as they were outnumbered 5 to 1 respectively. Team Flare seemed to have a habit of utilizing their vast numbers to overwhelm their opponents.
Jake was fighting off a few Grunts at a time with his Talonflame and Flygon. Madeline had her hands full on her section of the city fending off several houndoom with her Masquerain and Golduck combination. Blake was doing his best with his Dodrio and Scrafty. By the looks of things, they had all taken their training seriously, but two of them knew the real reason, they wanted to best Tadashi, Victor, Clarice and even Trinity.
They were outnumbered however, and their teams were getting tired and losing energy fast. Jake's team was the first to fall, followed by Blake and Madeline's. The three weren't aware that they had somehow been defeated at the same time. Their teams were exhausted. Jake backed away from the encroaching Houndoom in front of him, only to fall on his rear. It got closer to Jake and opened its mouth, fire crackling in it as he prepared to release it, only to be smashed aside by the tail of an Onix.
The grunt in command of the Houndoom looked up to see a dark skinned young man who had several stones in his hair and was wearing what looked to be climbing attire. A smirk crossed the young man's features as he stepped beside Jake.
"Long time no see Jake, it looks like you've come a long way since I saw you last," Grant laughed, picking up Jake from the ground.
"Oh wow, Grant! Am I ever glad to see you!" Jake said as he turned towards Team Flare with an irritated look on his face.
Blake was being backed into a corner by a Hariyama only for it to be blasted away by a powerful psychic attack. Blake blinked in surprise as he saw a woman walking towards the battle ground wearing a dress with a cap flowing behind her, baring the stars of the galaxy within. Psychic energy radiated from her being as she trekked alongside a Meowstic.
"It would appear that I made it in time...you are very fortunate young trainer..." Olympia said with a brief smile.
Blake blinked in surprise. He had no clue who this woman was, but she was awfully powerful by the looks of things. Hariyama looked as though it had gotten sidelined by a semi. It was incapacitated.
Madeline was was avoiding several lightning enduced attacks from a Manectric. As one of them was about to fire thunder attack, an ice ball about the size of a large boulder smashed into it with devastating force. The source of said ice ball was an Avalugg and next to the ice behemoth was a rather large and burly man with white facial hair. He was tall and quite rotund.
"Close one there, are you alright?" The man who was undoubtably Wulfric, said as he walked up beside Madeline.
"Y-yeah...I'm fine, thanks," Madeline said with a nervous smile.
All over the city, the Gym Leaders showed up to aid in the battle. Elliot, who was forced to retreat due to the appearance of Valerie, doubled back into an alley and sent out a message on his holo caster.
Lysandre's holo caster beeped, signalling him to pick it up. Seeing it was Elliot, he answered with a sigh.
"Speak...is everything going according to plan?" Lysandre inquired.
"Everything WAS until the Gym Leaders showed up! Valerie is here which completely shuts me down and I think I spotted Korrina wreaking havoc with her Mega Lucario! It's chaos over here...I don't know if we're going to be able to keep this up much longer!" Elliot grumbled.
Lysandre sighed and ended the call, standing up from his chair to face the scientists.
"It appears that the Gym Leaders have chosen to join the fray. I have to admit...I hadn't entirely counted on them doing so. This is but a minor setback...the distraction should hold them off until preparations are complete...keep working in the meantime..." Lysandre said as he exited the room.
And Lumiose is under attack! But it looks as though the situation is under control as the Gym Leaders arrive on the scene. Team Flare needed the distraction so they could continue to gather energy for the weapon to be prepared enough to fire. Tadashi and his friends need to get to Geosenge as fast as possible because time is of the essence! Will they make it? Or will Lysandre bathe the world in Flames of Revolution? Find out in the next installment!