Aoi Hyoudou: What's up, everyone! I'm very pleased by the overwhelming positive feedback from chapter one thus far. You guys are the best! Like I mentioned it before in chapter one, there will be a flashback showcasing the full battle between Regidrago and Black Raven. Most of you are already believing Black Raven's ace Pokémon is either Charizard or Greninja. Some of you even guessed it could be Lucario while a few said it could be Pikachu, which is interesting. Some of Black Raven's Pokémon will be making their debut so we shall see. Without further ado, enjoy chapter two!
Chapter II
Wanted!
~(...)~
Wyndon City - Galar region
Night has fallen over Wyndon City. The streets were flooded with tourists and Pokémon Trainers from all over the regions. They were greeted by Wyndon citizens and welcomed with open arms. The tourists were visiting the popular spots within the city; from the Battle Café to the once Rose Tower, which was now renamed the Leon Battle Tower. The Pokémon Trainers were eagerly preparing themselves for the upcoming Champion Cup to determine who gets the right to challenge the current Galar League Champion for the title. It was a lively atmosphere.
However, it would soon be interrupted by the sudden arrival of Black Raven's aircraft which was hovering above the city, causing immediate panic within the streets. Observing the scene from his Battle Tower office window in a business suit was the once undefeated Champion of Galar Leon. He could only glare and wonder why a notorious apprentice of a Pokémon Hunter was here in his city. It could only mean trouble if that was the case.
The massive gray aircraft began to head towards a disclosed location far away from the city where a fat, short Pokémon Collector in a golden business suit accompanied by his personal security was waiting eagerly for his shipment to arrive. "Right on time," he said, looking quite pleased.
The crooked group watched as the airship lowered down to their location and made a secure landing. The ship's dispatching ramp lowered down allowing the one and only Black Raven to descend from the airship and approach the client. "Ah, Black Raven, we finally meet face to face." The Pokémon Collector greeted the apprentice with a warm welcome, in return he didn't receive an immediate response. "Do you have what we agreed upon?" he asked.
"I do, but do you have the payment?" The young teen was in no mood for small talk.
The crooked man flinched by the icy cold tone. "O-Of course I do, but first I must see my precious cargo before we discuss your payment any further."
"Tch." Black Raven clicked his tongue in annoyance. The slime ball was clearly trying to weasel his way around his end of their agreement, but the young apprentice decided to follow his client's wishes. "Fine." He reluctantly snapped his fingers.
On cue, his men descended from the ramp and escorted a collection of Regirock, Regice, Registeel and Regidrago on transporting carts. They were literally frozen in stone and sealed in giant glass capsules like living displays. "Marvelous! Simply marvelous!" The Pokémon Collector rushed over and admired his newly fine additions to his personal collection. "I expected nothing less from Pokémon Hunter J's lapdog."
Ignoring the man's ignorant comment, the young apprentice simply watched the pathetic man drooling over his new trophies like a stupid kid in a candy store. "To think you managed to collect them all-" The man studied each Regi very closely without missing a single detail. "-especially this one!" His eyes fixed upon the ultimate treasure before him.
Regidrago.
"I have my ways." Black Raven said simply, a small smirk tugging against the corner of his lips.
~(Flashback)~
BOOM!
A loud explosion erupted and echoed within Regidrago's temple, signaling that a major battle was taking place. Regidrago slid across the room after it took an attack, sustaining some damage, but it quickly recovered and stared straight ahead at its opponent. Standing across was a a bipedal, canine-like Pokémon with predominantly blue and black fur.
It was Black Raven's most loyal ace Pokémon, Lucario.
Regidrago's raging eyes fixed their gaze on the Aura Pokémon. It didn't appreciate the Aura Sphere it received just now. It combined its dragon's mouth-like arms together and fired a sudden light blue beam directly at Lucario. Black Raven calmly watched as the Dragon Breath was heading straight at his Pokémon, however, he anticipated the move and made his counterattack.
"Dodge then use Extreme Speed!"
Lucario obeyed its master's orders as it quickly leaped into the air, easily evading the Dragon Breath. Its body was coated in green aura and soon afterwards it dove downward at its target with high speed.
Regidrago immediately felt the damage as it staggered and cried from the hit. However, Lucario wasn't finished just yet as it made an immediate U-turn and charged right at the Dragon Titan once again. Regidrago let out another cry.
Black Raven calmly observed the scene and it was clearly obvious he was exploiting Regidrago's major weakness, which was speed. Lucario's barrage of Extreme Speeds was landing hits after hits against the Dragon Titan. It slid further back after receiving one final Extreme Speed. It slowly dropped to both knees and it momentarily glanced downward almost like it was accepting its inevitable defeat. However, Regidrago immediately glanced back up once it sensed Lucario was standing in front of it only to witness the Aura Pokémon was reeling its paw back for another attack.
"Force Palm!" Black Raven barked.
Lucario immediately slammed its palm right into Regidrago's body and then it fired a massive light green blast directly at the Dragon Titan. Regidrago cried in agony as its entire being was engulfed by the attack. Once the attack subsided, Regidrago couldn't move. Its body was completely paralyzed by Lucario's Force Palm. It could only watch as the Aura Pokémon took a few steps back, preparing to land the final blow.
"And...you called yourself a Legendary Titan? How pathetic." Regidrago let out a weak snarl when it turned its attention to the young apprentice who seemingly looked quite disappointed. "Your counterparts put up a better resistance than this." He earned another angry snarl. "No matter...you would soon join them." He glanced at his Lucario who gave him a slight nod and then he glanced back at Regidrago. "You should feel humble after this. Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
Lucario shifted into a stance and placed both paws together, slightly apart as a small light blue orb was forming within. What really surprised the Dragon Titan was that Black Raven also shifted into a similar stance almost as if he was forming an Aura Sphere of his own. Both the master and the loyal ace's bodies began emitting a light blue glow simultaneously. The orb within Lucario's paws grew in size and it continued to do so until it was three times as bigger than a normal Aura Sphere.
"Ha!" In synchronization, Black Raven and Lucario fired the massive Aura Sphere directly at the surprised Regidrago.
BBBOOOOOMMM!
~(...)~
"Now...about my payment." Black Raven drew his client's attention right back to reality. The man flinched and glanced at the young apprentice who was growing impatient with his stalling tactics.
"Oh, yes, yes! Of course!" The Pokémon Collector laughed nervously. "Y-Your payment of fifty million has been wired, per your request."
"Is that so?" Not trusting the man's words, the young apprentice turned to his reliable AI for the confirmation. "Ciel!"
The AI program did a quick background check in the system and then a flash of fifty million appeared on the googles. "Fifty million Poké dollars were successfully transferred into your account, Master." Ciel confirmed it.
The deal was done.
"The contract has been fulfilled." He turned away from his client and faced his henchmen. "No need for any of us to stick around here any longer. Let's move out!" Black Raven ordered.
"Yes, sir!" his men shouted in unison.
However, before Black Raven and his group could even board their ship, loud police sirens echoed the night sky, drawing everyone's attention to the direction of several flashing blue and red lights in the distance. A swarm of police cars was speeding towards in their location.
"Dammit! It's Officer Jenny!" The Pokémon Collector pointed out the obvious.
"Tch." Black Raven clicked his tongue in annoyance. He didn't have time for this.
The police squadron immediately secured the premises and boxed in Black Raven's group with their police cars. The crooked Pokémon Collector and his men were panicking like scared little boys. Even Black Raven's goons were feeling a bit nervous with sweat drops. Their leader, however, remained perfectly calm and fixed his gaze at the police car, which was parked a few feet from the group.
Exiting from her vehicle with another officer was none other than Officer Jenny. The police woman walked up to the criminals and eyed each one with a firm glare until her eyes immediately locked onto Black Raven. "Black Raven, you're under arrest!" she said sternly.
"Please, you couldn't arrest me if your life depends on it." the young wanted criminal retorted, striking a nerve.
"What was that?!" the policewoman sneered angrily, earning a smirk from the teen.
"You heard me." He chuckled and ignored the officer's glare as he dug into his coat pocket and pulled out a Poké Ball. "And besides...orange isn't my color." He tossed it with a final say.
In a flash of light and emerging from its Poké Ball was a bipedal, draconian Pokémon, which was primarily dark blue in color. Its intimidating shark-like appearance made Jenny and her fellow officers a bit nervous. Garchomp let out a growl and then fixed his sharp gaze upon the police woman. She firmly held her ground, but felt extremely nervous that something was about to head her way.
"Garchomp, teach her a lesson why no one stays in our way. Flamethrower!" Black Raven ordered with a sinister smirk.
Officer Jenny gritted her teeth and braced herself.
However, something unexpected happened and she was taken aback by it.
...
...
...
No Flamethrower.
Instead the green haired woman was completely dumbfounded what she was witnessing at this exact moment. "Garchomp, what are you doing?! Cut it out! Now's not the time for this!" Black Raven yelled as his head was suddenly attacked by his own Pokémon.
The comical scene produced a series of sweat drops.
Ignoring his master's charging, Garchomp continued to chomp playfully at his head with a happy expression. Even now, in his final evolutionary stage, the Dragon-type still displayed his lovable yet bad habit of gnawing on his trainer's head in random situations.
Finally freeing his head from his Pokémon's grasp, Black Raven gave his Pokémon a sharp glare and sneered angrily. "You need to stop that, Garchomp!" A look of hurt gleamed within the Dragon Pokémon's eyes, which didn't go unnoticed.
The young apprentice sighed dejectedly and massaged his temple in annoyance. "Will you please take this seriously? I promise we'll play later, okay?" He used a gentle tone of voice, which in return received a happy nod from his Pokémon. "Good."
With no more distractions in the way, Black Raven and his Garchomp immediately turned their attention right back to Officer Jenny. "Now then...where were we?" The police woman hardened her glare. "Ah, yes! I remember now-Garchomp, Flamethrower!" he ordered again.
Garchomp fulfilled his trainer's request by opening his mouth and fired a scorching blast of fire directly at the female officer without hesitation. Jenny's eyes widened at the incoming attack, but then she immediately responded by leaping out of the way, narrowly avoiding the Flamethrower. Her police vehicle, however, was unfortunate as it absorbed the attack. The fire attack rocked the car momentarily before lighting it up in a fiery blaze.
Office Jenny was completely dumbfounded to witness her vehicle in flames. She immediately glanced back at the smug apprentice and glared at him, "What are you doing?!" She growled angrily.
Paying no heed to the angry woman, Black Raven ordered his Dragon-type Pokémon once more to continue with the fiery onslaught. "Flamethrower them all, Garchomp!'
Black Raven stood by and watched the scene unfold as screaming police officers ran in panic while trying to avoid getting hit by Garchomp's Flamethrower. Garchomp targeted each police car in sight one after another until they were literally a blazing pile of hot metal. The surrounding area was now a sea of fire.
"Stop it, Black Raven!" Office Jenny had seen enough, drawing the young teen's attention right back to her. "You're going too far!" She earned a small chuckle in return. "Okay, you asked for it!" She dug her hand into her skirt pocket and reached in for a Poké Ball. "Go, Eiscue!" She called for a medium-sized, penguin-like Pokémon with a large ice cube on its head.
The Galar region Pokémon stood before its trainer, ready for battle. Garchomp halted his assault momentarily as he glanced at the ice cube penguin. Black Raven was unimpressed by the Pokémon's puny appearance. "You think a weakling like that can stop us?" He mocked. Officer Jenny merely smirked in response.
"You should never judge anything by its appearance alone, Black Raven." she said with full of confidence, earning a frown. "Eiscue, Blizzard!"
Eiscue immediately opened its beak and fired a powerful breeze of cold air directly at the duo. Garchomp stood still, but grunted at the cold chill as it blew into his body, slowly encasing his entire being little by little in a block of solid ice. Black Raven simply stared at the giant ice cube. Garchomp was trapped inside, frozen.
Officer Jenny was very pleased with the result. "Looks like you're coming with me, Black Raven! It's over!" She declared an early victory, which only resulted in the young apprentice smirking out of amusement.
Suddenly, she and Eiscue heard loud cracking sounds coming from the block of ice. Officer Jenny saw large pieces of cracks were beginning to spread with chunks of ice falling to the ground. They were becoming bigger and louder until the block of ice shattered into millions of small pieces and Garchomp was free from his temporary icy confinement.
"No way!" Officer Jenny and her Eiscue were completely shocked how quickly Garchomp broke out from his icy prison and shook it off like it was nothing.
"No more playing around, Garchomp!" Black Raven was now serious. "Time to finish these fools off with Scale Shot!"
Garchomp's body began emitting an oddly silver glow until several scales-like pillars swirled around his body. Then the pseudo-legendary Pokémon launched four rounds of the scales directly at Eiscue who had no time to react.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
BOOM!
"Ahhhhh! Eiscue, no!" The female officer cried.
When the smoke cleared, the ice cube Pokémon was lying flat on its back with Xs for its eyes, utterly defeated even after its Ice Face Ability absorbed the first Scale Shot. It just couldn't withstand the following barrages of Scale Shot soon afterwards. Officer Jenny quickly rushed over to her fallen Pokémon's side to check on it. However, before she could even console her Pokémon for a good effort, a eerie shadow loomed over the pair. She slowly glanced up and saw Garchomp standing over them with his mouth open and flaming up, preparing to fire a Flamethrower at them for good measure. Officer Jenny gasped in horror.
"Do it, Garchomp." Black Raven said with a sinister grin.
Officer Jenny closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable, hugging her fallen Eiscue close to her body. However, just as Garchomp was about to carry out his orders and fried Officer Jenny and her Pokémon to a crisp, a powerful scorching blast of fire suddenly intervened and slammed into the Dragon-type, forcing him away from Officer Jenny. The police woman opened her eyes and witnessed Black Raven's Garchomp was being pushed back by an unexpected Flamethrower.
Annoyed, Garchomp regained his footing and held his ground firmly before shrugging off the Flamethrower. Then the angry Pokémon proceeded to fix his gaze upward at the night sky from where the fire attack originally came from. Black Raven and Officer Jenny also looked up and noticed a familiar face was riding on the back of his most trusted Pokémon, Charizard.
"Leon!" Officer Jenny shouted with great surprise.
"Tch." The young apprentice clicked his tongue in annoyance. 'You would show up and get in my way, Leon!'
The former Galar League Champion glared down at Black Raven and then surveyed the chaos that he created within his city. It was pure sickening. Destruction and panic in a fiery blaze of madness, he won't stand for it. He gritted his teeth and his eyes hardened out of pure rage. He poured all his focus onto the smug teen down below. "Black Raven!" He yelled his lungs out. "How low. How low can you be?! First, you targeted the Legendary Giants and then sold them off to crooks! Now you're attacking officers who worked so hard to put criminals like you in their place? You even go as far as showing no mercy by attacking helpless women?! That's where you're out of line and I won't stand for it!" He barked angrily.
"And this is why you're a former Champion, Leon." Black Raven retorted harshly. "You let your emotions get the best out of you! You worried about the weak rather than yourself!" He shook his head in disappointment. "That's a sign of weakness."
"You're wrong!" Leon argued. "Caring for others is what helps us get stronger and be a better person." Black Raven laughed darkly.
"How naïve." The young teen spat. "I learned it the hard way over the years that being weak gets you nowhere in life. It's all about power and putting fear into others, you fool!"
"Whoever taught you that is the real fool!" Leon retorted.
Black Raven growled angrily at the pathetic man for talking down about his master like that. "Enough talk! Garchomp!" His Pokémon growled in response. "Take care of them!" he ordered.
Garchomp leaped into the air and flew upward with incredible speed at the former Pokémon Champion. Both Leon and his Charizard look startled by how fast the pseudo-legendary Pokémon was moving. The speed boost from the earlier Scale Shot must've something to do with it. "Be careful, Charizard." Leon told his partner as they stared at Garchomp who immediately joined them in the sky. The Pokémon was only a few feet away from them. "Garchomp's a lot faster than before." Charizard agreed with a soft roar, not taking its eyes off the dangerous Pokémon.
Garchomp didn't waste any time as he suddenly fired at a Flamethrower at the duo, which Leon saw it coming. "Dodge it, Charizard!" he ordered. Charizard quickly evaded the attack, already opening its mouth for a counterattack. "Use your Flamethrower!" It immediately fired its own Flamethrower right back at Garchomp who swiftly avoided it in a blink of an eye. 'This is going to be harder than I thought.'
Down below, a smug Black Raven was observing the aerial battle taking place. It was a fierce fight with both sides exchanging Flamethrower after the next. He was confident that Garchomp will keep Leon busy enough for the group to escape to the airship and leave the city. He looked away and glanced at his men who was waiting for his orders. "Men! Head to ship! We're leaving!" he ordered.
"Yes, sir!" they shouted in unison as they quickly retreated to their airship.
Black Raven was about to follow his men when he felt something or someone holding onto his ankle, preventing him from advancing any further. Annoyed, the young teen glanced down to his feet and noticed Pokémon Collector was clinging onto his left foot for dear life. He had tears swelling up in his eyes and snot running down his nose. "P-P-Please...you have to help me!" He begged with a whimpering tone. "I-I can't go back to jail again!"
"Sorry." Black Raven effortlessly yanked his foot free from the pitiful man's grasp. "Our contract has expired. Your problems aren't my concerns." he said to his former client with a stern voice.
The Pokémon Collector was literally on his knees with both hands clasping together. "B-B-But...you gotta help me!" Black Raven's gaze hardened, which didn't go unnoticed. "I-I-I'll pay you double! No, triple!" The young apprentice scoffed at the man's pathetic attempts to bribe him.
"Until you actually grow a backbone, I don't talk to pathetic cowards like you!" Black Raven retorted. Then he glanced away momentarily and noticed the Pokémon Collector's security was subdued by Officer Jenny's men. "And besides...it's your fault for hiring sorry excuses to be your security." He added insult to injury. Black Raven turned away and walked off, leaving the dejected man in defeat.
Officer Jenny noticed Black Raven was retreating to his airship under her watch. "Wait!" However, her shout was simply ignored as the teen quickly hopped on board the moving ramp while the airship was slowly lifting off the ground. It proceeded to fly up high into the sky where the aerial battle was still taking place. The ship's sudden presence momentarily paused the fighting when Garchomp noticed his trainer was still walking up the ramp and heading to the dispatching zone. It was his cue to make a tactical retreat.
Garchomp fired a sudden Flamethrower directly at Charizard, which forced it to back away momentarily. The diversion executed perfectly, allowing the pseudo-legendary Pokémon to fly back to the airship and rejoined his trainer's side inside the dispatching zone as the ramp closed right behind them. The airship activated its thrusters and prepared to make its escape, which didn't go unnoticed by Leon.
The former Galar League Champion wasn't going to allow Black Raven and his goons escape under his watch. "Charizard, don't let them escape! Use Flamethrower!" he commanded.
Charizard released a powerful blast of scorching fire and fired it directly at Black Raven's airship, hoping to stop it from escaping. However, when the Flamethrower reached its target and seemingly made contact, it unexpectedly bounced off and disintegrated almost as if the ship had an invisible shield protecting it. Leon was taken aback by the startling outcome. The airship immediately fired up the thrusters and flew off into the distance with incredible speed, leaving a dejected Leon in defeat.
"Dammit!" he cursed under his breath.
He failed stopping Black Raven.
Onboard the airship, Black Raven entered the massive control room and took his seat in the Command's chair only to be approached by a lowly grunt. "Sir!" The young apprentice fixed his attention onto the lackey. "Master J has sent you your next mission." He reported and then handed over the document, which was reluctantly accepted.
Black Raven briefly glanced over his next assignment before giving out his next order. "Set course to Hammerlocke!"
"Yes, sir!" the co-pilot shouted, quickly typing in the coordinates as the airship suddenly changed course and headed towards its new destination.
~(...)~
Vermilion City - Cerise Laboratory - Kanto region
The morning sun shined brightly over Cerise Laboratory, strongly indicating that a full day has passed and a new day has begun. The morning sunray brightened up a certain room through the windows, causing a slight movement in the bottom bunk bed in the room. A familiar, tanned teen, now at the age of seventeen was slowly waking up from his slumber, eyes half-open. A soft moan escaped from the young teen's lips, hinting that he was finally waking up. Goh reluctantly pushed himself into a sitting position and stretched, followed by a morning yawn until he heard a soft "chu" sound. He tiredly glanced down at his lap and noticed a familiar yellow mouse was still sleeping in his lap. The young teen smiled softly before gently shaking Ash's Pikachu. "Hey, Pikachu. It's morning. Time to get up." he said gently.
Goh looked quite amused when Pikachu offered a few cute yawns and did some stretches before finally acknowledging his presence, facing towards him with a happy expression. The yellow mouse greeted him with a cute "Pika!". "Good morning to you too, Pikachu!"
Pikachu hopped off Goh's lap, allowing the young teen to get off the bed and walk over to the desk with a picture frame. He carefully picked up the picture frame and examined the photo. His mood was immediately replaced by sadness, which didn't go unnoticed. Pikachu let out a sad "chu" when noticing the teen's sudden mood change.
It was a picture from four years ago at Wyndon Stadium. Most of Ash's previous traveling companions and rivals were in it.
From the right: Brock, Gary, Paul, Cilan, Clemont, Alain, Gladion, Sophocles and Kiawe
From the left: Misty, May, Dawn, Iris Serena, Bonnie, Mallow, Lana, Lillie and Chloe.
In the middle of it all was him, Cinderace, Pikachu, Lucario and Ash, who was happily hoisting up the Champion Cup trophy with a big grin. Ash finally achieved his ultimate goal and dethroned Leon in the final round of the Pokémon World Coronation Series to become the new Pokémon League Champion of Galar. It was an amazing accomplishment, however, it was immediately cut shortly afterwards.
"...To think it's been four years since Ash disappeared." Goh whispered sadly while still staring at the photo. "How time flies so quickly."
Just days after Ash won the title, he planned on returning home for a while to consider his options whether or not he would continue with his journeys or be a defending Pokémon Champion in Galar. Goh, a true friend wanted to give his first friend a warm send off by tagging along to the Vermilion Port. However, they would soon be attacked by the returning Pokémon Hunter J, who many people including Ash had claimed, she died back in Sinnoh. The moment she attacked everything crumbled into pieces. Galar stripped Ash out of his title after proclaiming being killed or kidnapped by J so they had no choice, but to replace him with a new Champion the following year. Most of his friends lost hope believing Ash was still alive while some like Gary and Alain still believed Ash was alive somewhere, continuing with their own search.
Goh, like Gary, Alain and a few others also believed Ash was still alive. Even if there was no exact proof to prove their claim, he will continue to search for his missing friend, no matter what. It was something that Ash taught him during their short tenure together, to never give up!
"I will never give up! Not now, not ever!" the young teen said aloud, setting down the picture
Goh briefly exited the room for a quick shower and when he returned he was still dawning his old outfit he first wore when he met Ash. However, this time around, he was wearing a lab coat over it, strongly hinting that he became one of Professor Cerise's official assistants during the four year span. He fixed his attention to Pikachu and grinned. "Are you ready, Pikachu? Let's go meet up with Professor Cerise and see if he found any new clues about Ash." The yellow mouse squeaked happily and jumped onto the teen's shoulder as they exited the room to meet up with Professor Cerise.
Cerise Laboratory - Interior Research Room
"Professor, I'm here!" Goh announced his arrival when he entered the room with Pikachu riding on his shoulder.
...
...
...
When he didn't receive an immediate greeting by the professor, Goh looked ahead and noticed Professor Cerise, Chrysa and Ren were gathering around the digital monitors with worrisome expressions, which piqued the teen's interest. "What's going on over there?" He walked up to the group and called out to Professor Cerise, hoping his mentor would react this time around.
Hearing Goh's voice, Professor Cerise momentarily turned away from the screens and glanced back, finally noticing his student. "Oh, good morning, Goh." he greeted with a half-smile, which didn't go unnoticed.
"Um, Professor, is something the matter?" Goh asked, gaining a sigh from the professor.
"It's best if you see it for yourself, Goh." he instructed, which the teen complied.
Goh walked up closer to the monitors and stared at them for a brief second until his eyes widened when he saw a familiar face being highlighted by the Pokémon News. "Black...Raven."
Black Raven Strikes Again!
Wyndon City in pure CHAOS!
Black Raven's on the LOOSE!
Reading through the bolded titles and watching brief clips shown by the news of Black Raven's chaos, Goh couldn't believe one person was causing so much panic within the same time frame Ash went missing. He clinched his fists together and glared sharply at the large image of Black Raven being broadcasted.
Black Raven...who was he and why was he doing this?
Hammerlocke - Galar region
An eight-year old girl and her Vaporeon was standing in front of an ice cream stand, waiting patiently for their ice cream. "Here you go, miss. One chocolate chip mint for you and a plain vanilla for Vaporeon." The ice cream stand employee handed two ice cream cones to his customers.
The young girl happily accepted them and thanked the man with a bright smile. "Thank you, mister!" The employee smiled back and waved the girl good-bye as she and her Pokémon started to walk off to enjoy their ice cream treats somewhere else. "Come on, Vaporeon, let's go-"
BOOM!
A loud explosion erupted behind the pair, not only did it startled them, but it also sent them flying off their feet and landing forward. The girl immediately dropped both cones to the ground. "No, ice cream!" she cried.
However, that wasn't really important as she glanced back and noticed the ice cream stand was now in flames. The employee managed to avoid the unexpected attack, but he was in completely shocked, standing simply frozen and staring at his burning stand.
"W-W-Who could've done this?" she asked no one in particular.
"I did!" an icy cold tone voice immediately answered from high above the streets.
The ice cream employee and the young girl quickly looked up while Vaporeon growled venomously at the new threat hovering above their heads. It was Black Raven and he was riding on his Noivern's back, glaring down at the girl's Vaporeon.
"It's, it's Black Raven!" the employee yelled and ran off like a scared little coward, leaving the little girl and her Pokémon to defend for themselves.
"B-B-Black Raven!" she squeaked in fear. "W-What are you doing here?" Black Raven snorted.
"That's simple, little girl." he said with a firm voice, causing the little girl to cower even more. "I'm here for you, Vaporeon!" The girl gasped. "Hand it over and I might go easy on you."
"You want my Vaporeon?" She gave the young teen a hard glare. "No! I won't let you! Right, Vaporeon?" The Water-type jumped right in front of her and agreed, earning an annoyed groan from the young apprentice.
"Why must they choose the hard way?" he sighed deeply, but he went to business anyway. "Noivern, Dragon Pulse!" he commanded.
Noivern opened its mouth and fired a purple beam of energy directly at Vaporeon.
"Vaporeon, use Water Gun!"
Vaporeon opened its mouth and squirted out a blast of water at the incoming Dragon Pulse in retaliation. Unfortunately, however, when the two opposing attacks collided, Noivern's Dragon Pulse completely overwhelmed Vaporeon's Water Gun and it engulfed the Water-type in an instant. Vaporeon cried in agony.
"No, Vaporeon!" the little girl cried.
BOOM!
Vaporeon flew backwards off its feet and landed hard with swirls for its eyes, covered in bruises and scars. "Vaporeon!" The eight-year old girl rushed over to check on her Vaporeon.
"How pathetic." Black Raven looked unamused that his talents were being wasted away on sad assignments like this one. Noivern flew down to the ground and allowed its trainer to climb off its back. "But a mission is a mission." he grumbled as he slowly walked up to the little girl who was trying desperately to revive her Pokémon.
"Well, now...that's not very nice of you to pick on young ladies, Black Raven!" a new yet familiar voice spat, causing the young apprentice to stop into a sudden halt. He glared sharply at the new opponent who suddenly stepped into the girl's view.
She gasped as she immediately recognized who her savior was. "Raihan!"
The Dragon-type Gym Leader and hometown Pokémon Trainer momentarily glanced back and gave her a thumbs up. "Just leave this to me, little lady." She nodded. Soon Leon's rival and friend turned his attention right back to Black Raven. "Now then, Black Raven, why don't you just surrender now and save yourself from experiencing a painful loss by my hands." The young apprentice simply chuckled.
"Funny." Raihan's gaze hardened at the smug brat. "You're quite the comedian, Raihan."
"If you want Vaporeon, you have to get past me first!" the Gym Leader challenged.
"Fine." Black Raven quickly accepted the challenge, which pleased Raihan. "It's not everyday I get this chance to crush you twice in one lifetime!" Raihan's eyes widened.
"Wait, what?" He blinked in confusion. "Have we met before?"
"Don't worry about it." The young apprentice quickly dismissed the subject before something slipped out by accident. Raihan simply shrugged. "Don't cry when you lose!"
"Right back at you!" the Gym Leader said smugly.
The two competitors glared each other down and they were about to have their legendary battle when they heard a female voice from the distance behind Raihan. "Stop right there, Black Raven!" Officer Jenny's voice shouted.
Black Raven looked right past Raihan and saw Officer Jenny and a group of cops were running towards in their direction. "Tch." The young apprentice didn't appreciate uninvited guests coming in and spoil his fun.
"Black Raven, sir!" a grunt's voice suddenly buzzed within the teen's coat pocket.
Annoyed, Black Raven dug his hand into the pocket and pulled out the earpiece, pulling it into his ear. "What?!" he growled with an annoyed tone of voice.
"S-Sir! The client has bailed out on their request!"
"What!"
"All the commotion has scared them off. They have voided the agreement. Master J has ordered you to retreat back to the ship at once!" Black Raven gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Damn these interruptions." he cursed under his breath.
"Running away?" Raihan taunted.
Black Raven glared at the cocky man. "We'll settle this some other time!" He reached into his coat pocket again and pulled out a small suspicious capsule. "Consider yourself lucky." A loud click could be heard and then the capsule was tossed to the ground. Suddenly, the capsule released a thick cloud of smoke from top to bottom, engulfing the entire area.
"What the heck is this?!" The Gym Leader's vision of Black Raven was becoming a big blur as the thick smoke was making it difficult for anyone to see anything in front of them.
When the smoke finally subsided and Officer Jenny and her team arrived on the scene, Raihan could see Black Raven escaping on his Noivern's back in the sky. "Come back here, you coward!" When Black Raven refused to turn around and continued to fly off, the Gym Leader cursed loudly. "Dammit!"
Black Raven escaped yet again.
Next preview - Chapter 3: "Visions of the Past!"
J: "Welcome home, brat!"
Black Raven: "To think I continue to run into my past."
Goh: "Do you promise that we'll always be friends?"
Chloe: "Goh! Just stop! Stop chasing a false hope! Ash's gone!"
Black Raven: "Why do I keep having these stupid visions?!"
J: "Chapter 3: "Visions of the Past!"
Goh: "The friendship I shared with Ash is my hope!"
Black Raven: "...Friendship...who needs it."
Whoever guessed Lucario to be Black Raven's "old" ace is corrected. However, it is truly his ace, you will have to wait and find out later down the line. Did any of you expect Garchomp and Noivern to be part of Black Raven's starting rotation? Guess who is the other party members. Speaking of which, for those who are wondering...yes Ash will have some help. A couple of people have already submitted an OC. If you want to submit one, just let me know and I'll submit you an OC form. Black Raven will only have 8 elite Trainers who will be part of his elite corp. Eventually, some OCs will defect, get written off or get captured so I need to know if your OCs is willing to fall in one of those categories.
UPDATE: Five of the eight slots has been filled for Black Raven's Elite Corp. I need a few more. If any of you are still interested, there's still time to submit your OCs for the remaining spots. Just let me know and I'll PM you the OC form to complete.