Chapter 32: Irate, Hostile, and Brutal
Author's Note: Hey, everyone! This is the final chapter of the Training Camp Arc, so I hope you like it. This was a particularly difficult chapter to write since I had to take into account a few quirks that didn't really have any "Pokemon equivalent." I'm pretty happy with what I came up with, though. They aren't perfect, but I think they're fine. I don't really have much else to say, so enjoy!
"Shoji, what happened?!" Izuku, Mezo, and their Pokemon took cover behind some trees, making sure to keep out of Hydreigon's sight. The Pokemon thrashed violently around the forest, with Fumikage's efforts to calm him down being useless.
They began slowly following Hydreigon, with Mezo carrying Riolu and Barbaracle carrying Izuku and the others. "When we heard Mandalay's message, we braced ourselves for an attack. A Villain attacked us from behind, and I got hurt." Mezo held up his arm, revealing a large cut across it.
"A-Are you okay?"
"Don't worry. It's nothing too serious. I'll be fine." Mezo replied. "But I guess the sight of blood was too much for Zweilous to handle. He evolved and lost control."
Hydreigon roared angrily into the sky. Fumikage yelled for help and for Hydreigon to calm down, but the Pokemon didn't listen. "What a powerful Pokemon… he's lost control…" Izuku said.
"It's not easy to control a Hydreigon. His instincts must've taken over and he's out for blood now. He refuses to return to his Pokeball too… To make it worse…" Mezo stepped back and accidentally stepped on a twig. The sound alerted Hydreigon and he shot a Dragon Pulse, but Barbaracle was able to use Protect and they were able to get out before he spotted them.
"He's attacking anything that makes a sound…"
Fumikage was barely able to stay on top of Hydreigon. He had to hold on to the center's neck tight enough to hang on as the Pokemon violently tried to shake him off. "Leave! Get out of here! Forget about me! Find the others! Calm down, Hydreigon!"
"If we lead them back, the teachers could probably take care of Hydreigon…" Mezo said, but he knew it wasn't that easy. "Midoriya, no matter what happens, I don't wanna be a man that leaves his friends behind. I know why you ran all the way here. You and your Pokemon are worried about Bakugo. If you say you can move, Barbaracle and I will create a distraction and open up a path for you to get through."
"N-No, wait…" Izuku said. "The camp is too far and we don't even know if the teachers are there. It's too dangerous!" Despite his efforts, he ended up being loud enough for Hydreigon to hear. The Pokemon ran in for a Crunch, but they managed to evade the attack and begin running away.
"You need to take risks to save others! That's why we're Heroes. You need to make a choice, Midoriya." Mezo turned to Izuku and looked him in the eyes. "Stay with me and take care of Tokoyami, or go and save Bakugo?"
Izuku closed his eyes and shook his head. "Sorry, Shoji…"
By this point, though the gas had cleared, Shoto and Katsuki had no way to escape from Moonfish, the Villain with the Armaldo. "Give me your flesh!" He shouted as Armaldo went in for another Slash. Luckily, they managed to take cover behind some ice walls that Ninetales had set up, but it could only take so many attacks.
"Damnit, we can't get close to it!" Katsuki shouted. "We just need to use a Flamethrower or something…"
"No, are you crazy?!" Shoto replied.
"If the trees burn, just cover them with ice!"
"What happens if I can't stop the flames?! We won't be able to see and it'll give him the upper hand!"
Katsuki clenched his fist tight. They were in a tight spot. Both of their Pokemon were severely handicapped and they had nowhere to run… but it looked like it wasn't over yet.
In the distance, they could hear a roar slowly getting louder and louder. There was a voice too… "There, I can see ice! They're fighting!" There was no doubt about it. That was Izuku Midoriya.
Mezo, Izuku, and their Pokemon emerged from the forest with a rampaging Hydreigon following behind them. "Bakugo! Todoroki! Help!" Mezo shouted.
Moonfish and Armaldo tried to stop them, but their attacks were stopped by powerful Dragon Pulses from Hydreigon.
When Izuku was given the choice between helping Katsuki or Fumikage, he refused. Instead, he formulated a plan to save both at the same time.
The plan went as follows: Hydreigon was fast, but with Fumikage holding him back, it wasn't fast enough to quickly if they played their cards right. While running, Combusken, Eevee, and Riolu would use special attacks to counter Hydreigon's ranged moves. They would lead Hydreigon over to Katsuki, and if he was still with Shoto, he could have Ninetales use Fairy attacks to take him out.
It was risky, but if they were careful, it could just work.
"The two of you, now! Take care of Hydreigon!" Mezo shouted.
Shoto nodded and pointed right at the Dragon. "Ninetales, Moon Bla-"
"Wait!" Katsuki held his arm out and stopped the fox Pokemon from attacking. "Look!"
Moonfish ran up to Armaldo and began breathing heavily. "No… no! I cannot allow it! I'm the one who'll kill these kids! Don't steal them from me!" Both he and his Pokemon charged at Hydreigon, but it was useless. The Brutal Pokemon charged right into the two of them, crashing into several trees and eventually knocking them out.
"Now, Typhlosion!"
From behind, Typhlosion dug out of the ground and used a Thunder Punch on Hydreigon, catching him off-guard. Using the opening, Ninetales shot out a Moon Blast, dealing super effective damage and finally knocking out the Dark and Dragon-Type Pokemon.
As Hydreigon collapsed to the ground, Fumikage finally took a minute to breathe. "I'll deal with you later…" He said before returning Hydreigon to his Pokeball. "Hm, that makes two times now," Katsuki said.
Fumikage stood back up and bowed down. "I'm sorry. Thank you for stopping my Pokemon."
Shoto let out a sigh. "Damn, we were barely able to keep up with him…" He said, looking over the knocked-out bodies of Moonfish and Armaldo. "But your Hydreigon wiped him out just like that…"
Mezo, still carrying Riolu and Eevee, walked over to Fumikage and helped him up. "Are you alright, Tokoyami?" He asked.
Fumikage clenched his fist and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, everyone. I couldn't control my Pokemon. I let it get out of control, and all of you almost died for my mistake. I… I-"
"Save it for later," Mezo said, cutting the black-haired boy off. "That's what you'd say, right?" Mezo and Izuku smiled at Fumikage. The boy smiled back and nodded. Right now, there were other problems to deal with.
"A-Anyway, we've got bigger problems right now," Izuku said. "We know that Kacchan is one of the Villain's targets…"
"What do they want with Bakugo specifically? Do they want him dead?"
"I'm not sure. I think the best place to go for now is the camp. Vlad King and Mr. Aizawa should still be there."
"Very well," Fumikage said. He pulled out more Pokeballs, sending out Corvisquire, Absol, and Honchkrow. "For now, our mission is to protect Bakugo." He said, much to Katsuki's dismay.
The others did the same, sending out all of their Pokemon. Shoto, in addition to his Ninetales, had Charmeleon and Froslass come out while Mezo also took Machoke and Crobat out of their Pokeballs.
Katsuki wasn't happy about having to work with everyone here, but he knew this was the best shot they had at staying alive. He also sent out the rest of his Pokemon, letting Thwackey, Torracat, and Primeape also take the stage.
Izuku thought to himself for a moment to try and figure out a plan. "The only path back passes through the clearing, and the Pussycats should still be fighting there. If we pass through there, we'll get the attention of the Villains. We'll have to cut through the forest from here."
"We don't know how many Villains there are either," Shoto said. "For all we know, there could be an entire group waiting to ambush us."
"But we have Honchkrow, Crobat, and Corvisquire," Izuku said. "They can fly overhead and warn us about any Villains without being spotted. Then we have the rest of our Pokemon…" He looked over the small squadron they had formed and smiled. "I think even All Might would have problems facing us right now."
Katsuki scoffed and stomped his foot. "The hell's gotten into this guy?"
"You, stay at the center," Katsuki said. "We'll surround you so that we can keep watch."
The blonde boy continued to grow angrier, but he complied knowing that this was what they had to do.
As planned, Fumikage, Absol, and the rest of Katsuki's Pokemon would cover the back, while Shoto and Mezo, along with their Pokemon would cover the front. Crobat, Honchkrow, and Corvisquire would fly above the trees, keeping watch.
Izuku and his Pokemon still had to be carried by Barbaracle and Mezo, but at the very least, they could provide support with their Special Moves. Plus, they saw having Izuku there as a benefit, even in this state since he has since proved himself to be a good tactician, especially in high-stress scenarios such as this.
They knew that at all costs, they needed everyone to return safely. Not just Katsuki, and not just them, but all of Class A and B. For now, all they could do was pray.
However, things weren't looking as hopeful for the other students as they wanted. Tsuyu, Ochako, Politoad, and Clefable were stuck in a confrontation with Toga and her Zoroark. The Dark-Type's Night Slash had managed to cut Ochako's Arm, and its Flamethrower left Clefable hurt.
"Who do you think you are?!" Tsuyu shouted. Toga smiled and simply hopped up and down as Zoroark growled. "I'm Toga!" She said. "I've heard a lot about you, Uraraka and Asui."
"She knows our names…" Ochako said, hiding behind Clefable. Tsuyu took a step back and gripped another Pokeball, ready to call out another Pokemon if needed. "Probably from the Sports Festival." She whispered back. "In any case, she's got info on us. Just assume she knows everything…"
"Normally, I'd just be satisfied with Zoroark killing you, but you two are just so cool…" Toga pulled out a kitchen knife and smiled. "I wanna get some action too!" Instantly, she dashed toward them, ready to strike.
Acting fast, Tsuyu sent out Greninja and had him pull Clefable and Ochako out of the way. "Get back to camp! Get help! We're supposed to protect ourselves, not take them out!"
"Tsuyu! I'm not leaving you!"
"I'm not staying either!" The girl got ready to run away, but before she could, Toga got up close and nearly plunged the knife right into the girl's neck. Luckily, Politoad managed to push the Villain out of the way with a Bounce before using Bubble Beam to keep the Zoroark at bay.
As Toga stepped back, she couldn't help but smile. "Tsuyu? Tsuyu?! That's such a cute name! I'll call you that too!"
Politoad held his arms out to protect his trainer, though it was clear he was just as disturbed by Toga as she was. "N-No! Only my friends get to call me that!" Tsuyu shouted. She and Politoad tried to jump out of the way, but Zoroark was fast and pinned them against the tree.
"Yay! I'm your friend!" Toga cheered as she approached them. She then spotted the small cut on Tsuyu's forehead and got close. "Oh, you're bleeding! You're bleeding, Tsuyu!"
"No!" Ochako, Clefable, and Greninja quickly turned around to try and save the girl and her Pokemon. "You know, I love blood…" Toga said as she slowly brought the knife up to Tsuyu's face.
"Not on my watch! Meteor Mash!" Clefable ran in and tried to land the Steel-type attack, but Zoroark simply jumped up, avoiding the move completely. This created an opening for Toga to try and strike Ochako with some quick movements, she managed to evade the attack.
She recalled her training with Gunhead. When facing an opponent with a knife, pivot one foot to avoid a strike and get out of your opponent's line of sight. Then, grab the wrist and base of the neck, then pull them down as hard as you can!
And just like that, Ochako had managed to pin Toga down to the ground. Zoroark tried to go and save her, but with the combined efforts of Water Shurikens from Greninja and a Moonblast from Clefable, they managed to pin it down as well.
"Ochako… you're pretty cute too." Toga said, making both girls nervous. "You're kinda like me, right? You like someone too…" She said, catching Ochako off-guard. "And you feel like you wanna be like that someone, right?" How did she know all of this? Was this part of the information she got on them? No, it couldn't be. Nobody else knew other than her.
"Don't worry, I get it," Toga said, a smile creeping onto her face. What then hell is with this girl… Just the way she was speaking was beginning to make Ochako and Tsuyu feel uneasy. "It's only natural. What type of person do you like? I like people who beat up and bleeding! That's why I always cut them up! It's so fun, right Ochako!"
This girl is insane. Someone needed to arrive soon. They just needed to hold out. She couldn't let her guard-
Suddenly, Toga pulled out another knife and slashed Ochako's leg. Greninja saw this and managed to stretch out his tongue to knock it away, but she still managed to create a fairly deep cut.
"Uraraka!" Right after, Izuku and the others arrived, prompting Toga to push Ochako off and back away. Zoroark did the same, using a Night Slash to push Clefable and Greninja off of him and jumping up onto the trees.
"Too many people. I don't feel like dying today. Bye… huh?" Toga was ready to run off, but something caught her eye. The boy with green hair? He was… he was perfect! Beaten up and bloody… She'd remember him. For now, though, she and Zoroark made their escape.
"Don't go after her! She might lure us into a trap!" Tsuyu said.
Shoto, Mezo, and Izuku made their way toward the girls and helped them up. "U-Uraraka, are you okay?" Izuku asked. "I'm fine. It's nothing too bad. I can still walk."
"Okay, good! Come with us!" The boy said. "We're taking Kacchan back to the camp!"
"Wait, you're protecting Bakugo?" Tsuyu asked. "Then shouldn't he be with you?"
Right then and there, the boys felt their hearts drop. "W-What are you talking about? He's right-" They turned, only for Katsuki and his Pokemon to no longer be behind them.
"Looking for them?" They heard the voice of a man coming from a tree. They looked up and spotted a man in a yellow coat, top hat, and a white mask standing there with his Beheeyem.
He held out his hand, revealing two small pink boxes. "Y'know, these two shouldn't be on the Hero's side. We'll take him to the stage where he can shine once more!"
Izuku recognized that tactic, but he had never seen it in action. By restricting the use of Wonder Room to a very small area, you could pretty much turn everything in that box into Psychic Energy, being able to manipulate it however you want. There is a time limit though, and once it was up, everything would return to normal.
This specific tactic was used by a Villain long ago. He remembered seeing a video about it when he was a kid, but he never actually thought it was real.
"That's Kacchan! Give him back!"
"Bring him back? Now, why would I do that? Bakugo doesn't belong to you. He doesn't belong to anyone. He's his own person. What a selfish thing to say for a Hero."
"I said bring him back!"
"Ice Beam!" Froslass and Ninetales jumped forward, using Ice Beam to try and freeze the man, but he and his Beheeyem simply jumped out of the way.
"All we want to do with him is show an alternative. An alternative to following the strict rules you all follow." He said as he and Beheeyem landed on another tree. "After all, you kids are all taught to follow your own path."
Mezo took a step back and realized Fumikage was gone as well, including all of the Pokemon that were flying above them. "Shit! He got Tokoyami too!"
"You're telling me he took them without making a sound?" Izuku whispered to himself. "But we just have to keep him here long enough. That Wonder Room shouldn't last forever…"
Shoto, still carrying the Class B student who had passed out, took a step back and let Charmeleon dash forward for a Slash, only to have the attack miss as the Villain jumped away. "You're underestimating us if you're just gonna stand there and talk." The boy said.
The Villain laughed and tuck the two cubes into his pocket. "Sorry, I'm an entertainer. Bad habit, I suppose."
"He's dangerous. Ninetales, Froslass, we don't have a choice! Blizzard!" Surely, the combined effort of two Blizzards would be enough to take him down… or so they thought. Even with the two Ice-Types summoning powerful Blizzards, Beheeyem managed to use Psychic to get him and his trainer out of the way.
"Sorry, I'm only good at stealing things and running away. I don't really feel like fighting you lot now." He pressed a button on his earpiece and began speaking. "Vanguard Action Squad, I've acquired the target! It's time for the curtain call! Head back to the retrieval point in five minutes!" He said as he and Beheeyem began flying away.
Riolu tried shooting out a Vacuum Wave, but it was useless. Beheeyem had just set up a Light Screen, protecting them from Special Attacks. "Don't let them get away!" Everyone began giving chase, but Beheeyem's Psychic made them too fast. They needed to come up with a strategy, fast.
To make matters worse, the rest of the Villains were now on the move. This made it much more difficult for the students trapped inside the forest due to the flames. Dabi had almost caught Yuga who was hiding among the bushes, but Twice's nonstop talking managed to distract them long enough for him to get away.
Toru and Kyoka were in bad condition, still passed out from the Toxic Gas from Weezing, but Tetsutetsu and Itsuka had managed to reunite with them, Yui, and Ibara, escorting them back to safety.
There was also Momo who was left severely injured after getting into a fight with a Nomu. It wasn't quite as strong as the one All Might faced, but weapon-like arms that resembled that of a Sceptile combined with the heavy armor it seemed to be wearing were enough to deal a lot of damage not just to her Pokemon, but to herself.
Luckily, Class B student Yosetsu Awase had found her just in time to save her. He had his Heatmor carry Momo as they headed back to the camp, but the Nomu had given chase.
However, just as it was about to attack, it was called back by Dabi. It instantly stopped its pursuit and turned around. Thinking fast, Momo handed Yosetsu her phone and asked him to slide it into its armor. He was hesitant at first, but he trusted her and managed to get it in. What she planned to do with that, he didn't know.
But this also meant that there was almost nobody able to go and help Izuku's group. They had to find a way to get back Katsuki and Fumikage themselves.
"These kids aren't as impressive as I thought…" The Villain said to himself.
Then, it hit Izuku. He had a plan! "Uraraka, we need Clefable! Greninja, Politoad, we need your help too!"
Clefable's Psychic wasn't strong enough to be able to let them keep up with the speed of Beheeyem, but it was good strong enough to lift a few people off the ground. Izuku, Mezo, and Shoto all returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs and allowed Clefable to lift them into the air.
"After that, Greninja and Politoad will wrap their tongues around us and launch us toward him. We should be able to catch up that way." Izuku said.
"No, Midoriya you should stay. Shoji and I-"
"I don't feel any pain right now. I'm fine. I can move. We just need to hurry!"
Acting fast, Clefable lifted them off the ground and Greninja and Politoad did as they were instructed. They wrapped their tongues around the group of boys and readied themselves. "Make sure you save them!" Tsuyu said as the Frog Pokemon launched them into the air, crashing into the Villain.
Meanwhile, at the rendezvous point, Dabi, Twice, and Toga had met up. "Did you get anyone, loony?"
"Nope!" Toga replied.
"No?! Weren't you told to kill at least three?" Twice asked.
"It couldn't be helped. There were too many."
"Then why do you look so excited?! Did something happen?!"
Toga smiled and hopped up and down. "I made some friends and met a boy…"
Dabi let out a sigh and crossed his arms. "You two are so annoying. Shut u- huh?" He then heard something. He looked up, but before he could react, the masked Villain, along with the three boys came crashing down.
"Who the hell are these guys?!" Twice yelled. Without hesitation, Dabi sent out his Chandelure and instructed it to use a Flamethrower. "Outta the way, Mr. Compress." He said.
The Villain, Compress, nodded. "Roger." Immediately, Beheeyem used Wonder Room, allowing him to trap himself and Compress in a small cube, evading the Flamethrower which managed to burn the three boys and split them up.
Twice and his Kangaskhan went after Shoto first. The boy sent out his Ninetales to do battle, but the Kangaskhan was surprisingly fast. "You were on Shigaraki's kill list!" He exclaimed as Kangaskhan went for a Dizzy Punch, Ninetales narrowly avoiding the attack.
Of course, Toga went after Izuku. He sent out Riolu, but the Pokemon was still badly injured. Despite that though, it fought off the Zoroark using kicks and well-aimed Vacuum Waves. It wasn't enough though as Toga had managed to get up close and tackle Izuku to the ground.
"I thought about it earlier too…" She said as she held the knife above his chest. "You'd look way cuter if you had more blood on you!" Just as she got ready to plunge the knife into his chest, Mezo's Machoke managed to push her off, narrowly saving him from a painful death.
Zoroark rejoined his trainer and scowled at the Heroes-in-training. "So that's how we're gonna do this." Toga said. "I don't like you, but I'll cut you up." Mezo joined the two and sent out Barbaracle. "She's crazy…"
While they were all distracted, Beheeyem released himself and Compress from their Wonder Room cube and walked up to Dabi. "What a plan, chasing after me like that." Compress said. "Did you get Baukgo?"
"Of course! I snagged a little something extra too- wait, what?" He reached into his pocket, but much to his dismay, the cubes weren't there. Mezo smiled and got back up. "Todoroki, Midoriya, let's get out of here! That confirms it!"
He held out his hand, revealing the two pink cubes. "I don't know how he did it, but Midoriya told me everything. Tokoyami and Bakugo, right Mr. Entertainer?"
Compress smiled and began clapping. "Very impressive! You managed that pretty quickly! You're pretty good!"
Ninetales used Ice Beam, creating a wall of ice in between them, Twice, and Toga giving them time to escape.
"Chandelure, use Shadow-"
"Wait." Compress cut off Dabi's command, simply pointing to them as they ran away. Suddenly, the Nomu emerged from the forest. "This way!" Shoto shouted as they turned, but their way was blocked by a Spiritomb and Alakazam that had teleported into the field. Kurogiri quickly followed, having Alakazam teleport him in as well.
"It's been five minutes. Time to leave." Kurogiri said. "Sorry, I gotta go, Izuku! See you next time!" Toga said as Alakazam teleported her and Twice away.
"Wait, the target's still with them," Dabi said. Compress shook his head and smiled. "Ah, about that. They seemed so happy so I decided to leave them with a present." He said, catching the three boys by surprise.
"It's one of the basics of magic, after all. Sleight of hand. When I flaunt something, I'm just taking your attention away." He held up his mask and opened his mouth, revealing two pink cubes.
He snapped his fingers and Beheeyem released the cubes Mezo was holding, revealing to be just a few shards of ice from Ninetales' Ice Beam. "No!"
Alakazam teleported behind the two of them and placed his hands on their shoulder. "Anyway, that's all from me for now. I'll be seeing- ack!" Out of nowhere, a Bubble Beam had shot out, hitting Compress in the face and forcing him to spit out the two cubes.
They looked to the side and found Yuga and Starmie there among the bushes. They followed Dabi and Twice back here!
Shoto and Mezo dashed forward to grab the cubes. Mezo managed to grab one with the help of Barbaracle who blocked a Shadow Ball from Alakazam, but Shoto wasn't as lucky. Just as he was about to grab the cube, Dabi reached out and grabbed it. "What a shame, Shoto Todoroki." He said.
"Release them. We need to confirm." Dabi said. Compress adjusted his mask back on and scoffed. "My show is ruined…" He snapped his fingers, instructing Beheeyem to release the cubes.
The one with Mezo turned out to be Fumikage and all of his Pokemon, including Mezo's Crobat, but the one Dabi had turned out to be Katsuki and all his Pokemon. "Then there's no problem…" Dabi said.
"No! Kacchan!" Izuku tried to run forward and stop them, but it was too late. "Stop… Deku…! Stay… away!" Then, Alakazam grabbed onto them and teleported away, leaving behind the four boys. They all looked back and stared in horror as they realized what had just happened. Did the Villains… just win? The students and Heroes had lost…
Eventually, the emergency services Vlad King had called had finally arrived. They had managed to put out the flames and take the injured students to the hospital. They also provided a report to UA and the teachers on what had happened.
Of the forty students, fifteen were left in critical condition from the gas, eleven were injured, and one… was missing. Not only that, but among the six Heroes, Pixie Bob was left in critical condition due to a severe blow to her head, and Ragdoll was missing as well.
On the other hand, three Villains were arrested on the spot. However, five had managed to get away, leaving behind no trace.
The training camp that all of them had looked forward to turned into their worst nightmare, and the worst part? It was far from over.