"See this? This is where I could have done better. Myst is also adept at ranged moves, so I should have just commanded him to disperse the flames with another move like Psychic or Focus Blast instead of a physical one like Psycho Cut. It was obvious that the Fire Blast from Cynthia's garchomp was just a smokescreen. If Myst and I had thought of it, Myst would not have gotten himself hit by that Dragon Rush. That Dragon Rush was where the battle started to go downhill for us."
"Really? I couldn't tell." Jimmy asked quizzically as they crowded around Volkner. Volkner is showing them the video footage of his battle with Cynthia and they are all extremely excited. Volkner had indulged them and let them watch the footage as many times as they want, and he ended up explaining to them what was happening and how he could have done better in that battle. His gym trainers had all joined in as well and before they know it, everyone in the orphanage is now sitting in a room where the video is being played on a large screen for all to see.
"Garchomp is obviously a lot better at fighting up close than from afar, even if it is no slouch in that area. Myst would have a better chance at winning if we stick to ranged moves with a hit-and-run tactic using Teleport. We didn't really have a chance to do that since garchomp was constantly chasing after him, but it is something that could have been avoided if we had played it a little smarter. There is a chance that Myst might win if we simply keep our distance from her garchomp." Volkner continues to explain as he rewinds the video to that part of the battle and slowed the video down. The battle between his gallade and Cynthia's garchomp was so fast paced that most of them have troubles keeping up with their eyes.
"Why would you order Myst to use Close Combat against her garchomp's Outrage though?" Kayla asked when the video reached that particular scene. "That could have been a chance for you and Myst to finally pull the distance."
"No point, Myst was too weak and injured by then. See how he is barely keeping up at this stage?" Volkner pointed to his gallade on the screen where the battle is being played in slow motion. "There's no way he is going to outlast garchomp by that point, so the best way to continue fighting will be to try and inflict as much damage as possible on the garchomp before bringing it down with Destiny Bond. I need to give off the impression that we are desperate, so Cynthia would not suspect a thing. If you noticed, Drain Punch was mixed into that Close Combat, so it actually allows Myst to last longer. The only way we could beat her garchomp at that moment is to be sneaky about it."
"That makes some sense." Marco adopted a thinking pose with a thoughtful frown on his face. "Many trainers tend to order their pokemon to use their biggest moves to go out with a bang if they know it is a matter of time before they lost that match. By using a reckless move like Close Combat, it can possibly fool the opposing trainer into thinking that you got desperate. I just didn't know even our Champion was fooled by this method."
"She just wasn't thinking straight at that time since she was very angry at me." Volkner chirped in a happy tone, a stark contrast with the content of the words he just spoke. "I merely took advantage of the situation."
"What did you do?" Vicky asked the burning question in everyone's mind. Even the kids at the orphanage are curious.
"Come on, Vicky. It's not that hard to guess."
The gym trainers all gave a variety of reactions that showed their exasperation and resignation. Volkner must have slept through the latest meeting again.
"Why would you send out Myst though?" Anne asked as she tugged on Volkner's shirt. Even the reserved girl is now excited and eager to learn more after watching that blood pumping battle.
"If you guys ever engage in a battle that is not one-on-one, what you should focus on isn't the outcome of each match, but the overall battle as a whole." Volkner explained patiently to the little kids. "The whole world knows that Cynthia's garchomp is her strongest pokemon. If none of your pokemon is strong enough to bring it down, then why use your strongest pokemon to face it? There are many ways to win a match other than destroying your opposition with brute strength. In this case, Destiny Bond is one way to do it. Once her garchomp is down, the rest of my team can now come out to play. My battle as a whole will now be a lot easier."
Anne gave an 'oh-I-see' expression and returned to hugging Squeaky, causing the furry electric type to purr in contentment.
"Big Bro Volkner, why-"
RIIINNNGG!
"Ah, sorry about that, Jimmy. Gimme a moment."
Volkner picked up his phone and answered the call in his usual lazy manner.
"…Yes, speaking… What?"
Volkner's concerned tone immediately got everyone's attention. It is rare to see Volkner using that tone.
"Seriously? Ok, I'm on it. The SPF knows about this already, right? Cool. Thanks for informing, bye."
Volkner ended the call and immediately stood up. He turned towards the group, but what is different is that his usual lazy demeanour is now gone. Volkner is actually serious.
Just what happened?
"Sorry kids, but I have to leave now."
"Are you beating up some bad guys again? Can we watch?"
"Yes, and no. It's too dangerous." Volkner gave a glance to Mary, who returned a reassuring nod to him. That silent gesture is all he needs to know that the elderly matron will ensure that the kids will stay within the building and not venture out in their curiosity.
"Big bro Volkneeeeerrr!"
"Kiddos." Volkner's gaze turned sharp, immediately stopping the kids in their tracks. "No."
The kids all deflated at the order they were given. It has been a long time since they saw Volkner in action with their own eyes. It is a bummer that they cannot witness him taking down these bad guys personally.
"Sorry, but it really is for your own good." He ruffled Martin's hair apologetically, who was standing the closest to him. "This particular case is really too dangerous. Gym trainers, listen up."
The words barked out by their Gym Leader immediately got the group of gym trainers straightening their backs unconsciously. If even Volkner is serious and he actually needs their help, then something big must be happening.
"I want the Elite trainers to follow me. Advanced trainers, pair up and station yourselves at the feeding spots in the city. Sunyshore's SPF should be on it already, but they may need more firepower. I take it everyone has their main team with you?"
His gym trainers all nodded their heads in affirmation.
"Good." As if somehow knowing the right time to make an entrance, Myst teleported into the room just at that moment. "Let's go. I am teleporting everyone to their positions."
"Poachers, huh." Kayla muttered to herself as she rode on Woofy's back with Vicky and Marco travelling alongside her with their pokemon. Marco is riding on his electrode, who had finally grasped the technique to fly with Magnet Rise although it could only float half a metre off the ground at the most, but it is good enough to give his trainer a ride. Vicky is riding on the back of her magnezone. The three of them are the only Elite trainers among Sunyshore's gym trainers and they are tagging along with Volkner as he had requested.
Volkner led the way as he rode on Simba. He had briefed them that a large group of poachers were sighted not far from the edge of Sunyshore along Route 222. These poachers had been a thorn on the League's side for a long while, but they haven't been apprehended since they eluded any attempts of capture. Not only that, these poachers had been very successful in what they do.
From the information Volkner had just received, a group of more than 50 poachers were sighted and the SPF do not have enough time to mobilise a big enough force that is strong enough to take down such a large group in time. The fact that the poachers were found to be hiding near the mountains that surrounds their city is another problem. It is too hard for the SPF to move their forces there. By the time the SPF reaches where the poachers are, the poachers would have spotted them and make their escape. That means that the best way to take down these poachers before they disappear once more is to send in a small yet powerful group of trainers that can reach the poachers undetected while the SPF tries to keep up from where they are following behind.
The most obvious group of people to send is Volkner and his gym trainers, a.k.a. herself, Vicky, and Marco. It is also part of their job description as Sunyshore's gym trainers to help the city in its time of need, although things had never gotten to the extreme until now. This is the first time for the three of them where they actually have to go and experience a real battle. A battle where anything goes and no rules are in place.
A battle where death is a possibility.
Kayla isn't too concerned about the possibility of death. She, Vicky, and Marco may not have experienced a mob battle before, but they are Elite trainers. They are strong despite their young age. Furthermore, the SPF's forces are just right behind them and they will catch up soon. What bothered her the most is the idea of pokemon being poached. Just the thought of pokemon being poached by these scums made Kayla's blood boil in rage. It is a sickening thought. Pokemon are man's best friend. They should be treated with respect.
Volkner was also wary that these poachers might set their sights on the various feeding spots around their city, even if it is very unlikely given how well protected these places are. Still, he had ordered the advanced level gym trainers to pair up and guard these spots until the situation is solved as a precautionary measure. The city's SPF is on the job as well, but not all of their officers are particularly good in battles. Most of them are only intermediate level trainers who had dropped out of their gym circuit and enlisted in the League's forces so that they can have a paying job. Having extra help in the form of gym trainers will give them a boost in firepower should these poachers somehow sneaked around and launch an attack on the feeding spots.
It will be disastrous if the poachers somehow angered the wild pokemon population in the area. The wild pokemon population had only just started to open up and place their trust in the city's occupants. If that trust is broken, it will take a very long time to restore it. The wild pokemon may even lay a siege on Sunyshore if they are angered, a siege larger than any that Sunyshore had ever faced.
If the worst comes to pass, the efforts that the city had put in for the past five years will go down the drain. Not only that, having a large horde of wild pokemon laying a siege on Sunyshore in their rage can cause a lot of casualties. Almost two hundred years ago, something similar happened to Mahogany when the wild gyarados population in the nearby Lake of Rage were angered. Nearly half of the town got destroyed and a quarter of the city's population were killed. There were no warnings and there wasn't enough time to evacuate everyone. If something similar happened to Sunyshore…
Kayla threw these negative thoughts out of her head. This is why they are here. Sunyshore is their hometown, the place where they all grew up in. They will not allow anyone to jeopardise the safety of their home.
The poachers will be stopped.
Volkner suddenly released his entire team, prompting the three of them to do the same as well. Their pokemon ran by their side silently as the tension in the surrounding air thicken. Simba gave a low growl, and Volkner raised his left arm before suspending it there, causing everyone to tense.
Simba must be observing their targets with his x-ray vision and cueing Volkner that they will reach their destination soon. Volkner is about to give the signal. They had gone through the plan on their way here.
Simba gave another growl.
"Go."
The moment Volkner's hand chopped down, the pokemon of the four trainers leapt into action. Myst took a portion of them with a Teleport and immediately a loud crash can be heard not too far ahead. The four of them soon reached the site of the battle seconds later.
It is a mayhem.
Kayla quickly took command over her team as they faced off a small group of poachers and their pokemon. Like the rest of the gym trainers and their Gym Leader, they had jumped off their pokemon's back so that they now have free reign to battle, only leaving one or two beside them to guard them from harm.
"Woofy, Thunderbolt! Zap, Shock Wave!"
As much as Kayla tried to keep up trying to command each and every of her pokemon, she found herself being overwhelmed and unable to follow the pace of the battle. Not only that, she has to make sure that they don't friendly fire each other, which is actually harder than it seems. Before they had reached here, Volkner had warned them that fighting mobs is a lot different from the official battles that they are so used to. If it wasn't for the fact that there is no way he can handle this alone without doing something drastic, he would not have wanted them to tag along due to how dangerous this is. None of the gym trainers here have experience in fighting mob battles like this, so Volkner had quickly gave them strict instructions on what to do and what to not do when they start their battles.
How had Volkner managed to fight battles like this and win all the time?
Volkner is handling the majority of their opposition with his team as Vik, North, and Scrat surround themselves around Volkner and fire their attacks from a distance. The rest of Volkner's team save Puddle, who is kept in his pokeball since he is too destructive to be released around them, are swiftly demolishing the poachers' pokemon as his electric types became yellow blurs in the large clearing near the foot of a mountain where they are having their battles.
Kayla's attention got drawn to the use of an Earthquake from a rhydon, which immediately got a massive rockslide dropping down on them where they are fighting it out near the base of the mountain. A large burst of Zap Cannon from North destroyed the falling rocks, protecting everyone from harm. Tec rushed in and knocked out the rhydon with a mighty Hammer Arm right after.
"Focus on your battle! I will handle the rockslides!"
Volkner's shout got the three of them to snap their attention back to their respective battles. The reason why the three of them are hesitant to command their team to use their more destructive moves is largely due to where their battle is being fought. Fighting near the foot of a mountain is a bad idea, since any wrong moves may call upon a rockslide if they are destructive enough. No one loves to be buried under piles of rocks, but unfortunately this troublesome location is where their battles are being fought.
"Spinner, Sticky Web!"
Kayla's galvantula released a massive amount of sticky nets made of threads that ensnared a large number of pokemon that she and her team are facing. A combined use of Thunder from Zap and Woofy brought them down.
However, the group of poachers that she was facing are also using this time to make their escape with their pokemon.
"Stay right there!"
Kayla jumped on Woofy's back and they immediately gave chase to the fleeing poachers with her team following her. The poachers cannot be allowed to escape.
"Squirt! Get back here! Don't give chase!"
Kayla knows that she will be disobeying the most important instruction given to her by Volkner before they made their way here, which is to stay together at all times. However, she doesn't want to let any of the poachers escape when they are within grabbing distance. These poachers must be brought to justice and she is so close to apprehending them.
She knows that she will probably get a good telling off from Volkner later, but she couldn't really bring herself to care right now. What is more important is to ensure that the poachers get their just desserts.
She will bring them down.
"Crap, where did they disappear to?"
Kayla mumbled to herself as she and her pokemon carefully navigate through the small valley that they had tracked the poachers down to. They have to be here somewhere.
"Earth Power!"
The sudden explosion of the ground around them threw them into the air. A huge horde of combees swarmed out from nowhere and began to attack them relentlessly, forcing Kayla and her team to go on the defensive the moment they landed.
Shit, she had just walked into a trap.
Her inexperience in dealing with such a scenario quickly showed. Taking down these combees one by one isn't an issue but taking on an entire nest of combees as large as this is something she had never done before. To make things worse, there are several vespiquens within them as well.
Star, her own luxray, was quickly brought down when a large group of combees focused their efforts on it, forcing her to recall her pokemon. The same goes for Fin, her stunfisk, and Gronk, her alolan golem, when a bunch of quagsires and mamoswines rushed out and took them down with a series of ground type moves.
The poachers are slowly picking her team off one by one. Individually, each of her pokemon may be stronger than any of the poachers', but this is not an official battle. She and her team are still not yet adept in handling a mob battle on such a scale with their own power.
The realisation of her mistake sent a creeping fear crawling up her spine. She immediately tried to command her team to slowly retreat, but her escape path was quickly cut off when a Rock Tomb blocked her only way out of the small valley.
"Heh, think you are so smart, aren't cha?" One of the poachers, who is obviously the leader of his little gang, scoffed at her as a huge hippowdon walked by his side. "You are still years behind us when it comes to fighting a real battle, girly. This is unlike the stupid games you play in your gym battles. Hippowdon, Earthquake!"
The Earthquake released by the hippowdon destroyed the very ground Kayla and her team were standing on. A scream involuntarily escaped her throat when she lost her foothold, but Woofy reacted quickly and pulled her out of harm's way with his jaws and floated briefly with Magnet Rise before landing again. He still isn't able to get the hang of using this move to fly yet.
However, Spinner and Zap were brought down in this short span of time. The poachers' pokemon had used this opportunity to launch their attacks at her two pokemon and Kayla can only recall them back into their pokeballs before they got themselves mauled to death.
"Your pokemon are pretty well-trained, will definitely fetch a high price on the black market." The leader of the poachers gave a crooked smile which his followers mimicked and openly laughed at her plight. "Not so smug without your electric types around, huh? I wonder how loud you will cry and beg when we take your manectric away from you."
Kayla gritted her teeth at his words but at the same time, an unexplainable fear is slowly gripping her.
She should have listened to Volkner. At this rate, these scums are going to have their way with her and her pokemon.
A sudden Hyper Beam shot at her without any prior warning. Kayla tried to dodge it, but her feet seems to be glued to the ground from the shock of the sudden attack. She can feel her eyes widening and her heart jumping into her mouth as she imagined her demise.
A harsh shove sent her tumbling onto the ground just as a loud boom resounded within the valley. Kayla looked up, and saw her starter slumping against the rocky walls of the valley, unconscious and bleeding. Woofy had knocked her away from the Hyper Beam but got himself fatally injured in the process after he took the attack for her. He might die if nothing is done soon.
"WOOFY!"
Kayla quickly got up on her feet to rush to Woofy's side, but a large hand smacked her down onto the ground and pinned her there. The poachers mocked her predicament and to her fear and anger, the leader starts to slowly pick her pokeballs away from her.
"GIVE THEM BACK! GIVE MY POKEMON BACK!"
"What? Did I hear something?" One of the poachers cupped a hand to his ear and feigned deafness, eliciting another round of laughter from his friends. "Oh, a little girl who thinks she is oh so strong is crying for her pokemon. Awww, how sweet."
Kayla struggled but another large man sitting on top of her prevented her from even moving an inch from where she is.
The leader used Woofy's pokeball to recall him and Kayla starts to scream herself hoarse at the disappearance of her starter.
"Oh, shut up."
A heavy kick slammed into her head, courtesy of the leader.
"You think this is just a game? You think that having eight badges makes you good enough to take on all of us? Well, newsflash, girly. This is the real world. Thank you for your donation, we will take very good care of your pokemon. HAHAHA!"
Kayla can feel herself struggling to not fade into unconsciousness after that kick. They are right. Volkner was right. This isn't like the official battles that she is so used to facing on a daily basis in the gym. This is a real battle. She had stupidly disobeyed orders, and now her pokemon are paying the price.
She is a failure as a trainer.
"Hey boss, what are we going to do to her now? Can't leave her just lying here."
"Isn't it obvious? Off her. It's not like we haven't done it before. We can't let her blab to the League where we disappear to."
Kayla's breath hitched a little at how casually these outlaws spoke about killing others. Is she going to die here?
In her groggy state, she can feel someone lifting her head up by painfully pulling at her hair and the sensation of a cool metal blade pressing against her neck. A big burly man looked down at her without any sense of remorse with a dagger in hand.
I'm sorry, Woofy. I'm sorry, Zap, Spinner, Star, Fin, Gronk. I failed all of you.
Kayla apologised to her pokemon repeatedly in her head as she looked bitterly at her would-be executioner. She should have listened to Volkner. He is a veteran in handling and suppressing criminals, but her pride just got in her way. He had repeated many times to her not to rush off alone before they started to track the poachers down and she just have to brush his words aside.
Elite trainer her ass. She can't even protect a single pokemon on her team. What good is she?
The dagger rose into the air and Kayla closed her eyes. If she is lucky enough, it might be quick and painless.
"Hands off."
The familiar voice caused her to open her eyes in surprise just as she suddenly fell onto the ground. A gallade appeared and stood protectively in front of her with blood covering its body.
"AHHHH! MY ARMS! MY ARMS! AHHHHHHHHH!"
Kayla lifted her head and nearly threw up at the sight of two amputated arms lying nearby. One of the arms is still holding onto the dagger that was supposed to plunge into her throat.
Kayla turned back to the gallade that saved her life, who she knows has to be Myst. Myst is covered in blood, but it is not his blood. It is the blood of the poacher that had tried to kill her.
"Squirt, you alright?"
Kayla nearly collapsed in relief at the sight of Volkner, who quickly caught her with his arms.
"My pokemon… they… they…they took them away!"
Kayla couldn't help but choked out a sob as tears started to stream down her face. Volkner held her close, allowing her to cry into his chest.
"Don't worry. I will get them back for you."
"Shit, it's Volkner! Run!"
"Don't bother. You think Myst is just standing there looking pretty as he glares at you? That was Mean Look. Even Teleport will not be able to save you now."
Kayla opened her eyes a little and looked up at Volkner, who is looking straight ahead at the large group of poachers. His usually bored face is now contorted in rage.
"Prime."
Volkner's shadows moved and a rotom emerged from it before floating in front of Myst. Whirr and Vik moved from their spots beside Volkner and joined Prime as Myst retreated to stand guard by her and Volkner's side.
Kayla's attention was brought back to Volkner when he placed a reassuring hand on her head.
"Don't worry. We will get Woofy and rest of your team back."
Kayla tried her best to squeeze out a smile. There's nothing else she can do now but to place her faith in her Gym Leader. If anyone can take down this group of poachers alone and get her team back, it will be him.
How dare they.
Trying to even think about poaching pokemon near my city is one thing, but to steal the pokemon from my Gym Trainer is another. They even attempted to kill the squirt.
"Prime, Vik, Whirr, go wild."
Upon my order, the three of them dove in to destroy the group of poachers who had the audacity to harm the people and pokemon I had sworn to protect the moment I took on the mantle as Sunyshore's 42nd Gym Leader. Vik and Whirr may not be the strongest on my team, but they are the more bloodthirsty ones. They will not show mercy.
Not to anyone who actually had the gall to try and kill the squirt and escape with her pokemon.
I had to leave the rest of my team behind with Vicky and Marco to clean up the battlefield and chased after Kayla with only four pokemon with me. I'm glad I did that. Kayla would have been dead if we were a second later. Tracking a single individual in the mountainous area is hard, even with Myst at my side. It was a miracle we even arrived in time.
"Squirt, which one took your pokemon?"
"That… that one."
Kayla pointed a shaky finger at who I assumed is the leader of their group since he is the one barking orders at the rest of the poachers who are trying to defend themselves from the slaughter they are facing. I don't know if Kayla's finger is shaking from rage or from the near-death experience she had. I will have to talk to her later, now is not the right time.
'Myst, bring him here and get the squirt's pokemon back.'
After giving Myst my order through our telepathic link, Myst's eyes glowed a blue hue and the leader of the gang suddenly found himself flying towards us due to Myst's use of Psychic.
"Hippowdon!"
A gigantic hippowdon burst out from the ground attempting to crush us with its opened jaws. Myst used a Teleport to transport us a few metres away from our previous location just as Prime reappeared from the shadows to battle the hippowdon.
"Your electric types are useless against a ground type like my hippowdon! Hippowdon, Rock Slide!"
Type advantages doesn't mean a thing in front of me, not when the difference in our skill level is so big. I will show him what a true Electric Specialist can do.
"Prime, use Charge followed by Charge Beam! Destroy the rocks!"
Prime buzzed with a huge amount of static before unleashing it in a beam of electricity that tore through the rocks hippowdon had attempted to bury us alive with. The poacher isn't wrong to say that electric type attacks are useless against ground types, but that doesn't mean that we are completely helpless when we have ground types as our opponents.
A sandstorm brewed as hippowdon's Sand Stream ability took effect. I won't allow the poacher and his hippowdon to have the environmental advantage.
"Charge and Discharge! Blow away the sandstorm, follow up with Rain Dance!"
The sandstorm was forcefully dispersed with Prime's powers and rain clouds starts to form overhead over the blue skies. Whirr and Vik used this to their advantage as they start to summon streaks of lightning from above to decimate their foes.
"Get the rotom! Crunch!"
Hippowdon charged in with snapping jaws as Prime dove in and out of the shadows, making sure to stay out of hippowdon's range as it blasted a Shadow Ball at the ground type. Hippowdon tried to hit Prime with rock type attacks, but Prime is too hard to catch with its ability to hide within the shadows. Prime continues to fire overpowered Charge Beams which effects were boosted with multiple usages of Charge to blow up the area surrounding hippowdon, kicking up large amount of rock and dirt that obscure its vision of Prime and hindered its ability to move around freely.
"Confuse Ray!"
Prime sent a ghostly light at hippowdon, who is now inflicted with the confused ailment.
"Shadow Ball, take it out!"
A Shadow Ball at least five times the size of Prime was thrown at the hippowdon and sent it flying. The hippowdon didn't stop even after crashing through the mobs of poachers at the far back where Whirr and Vik are. However, it is now definitely out for the count.
"No way! How did that Shadow Ball-"
Obviously, it was because I had Prime used Charge Beam repeatedly to raise its offensive powers to ridiculous degrees although I won't be explaining that to the poacher. There are many ways to use electric type attacks other than using it to force your win with brute strength, like the one I am planning on letting Prime use on him.
"Thunder Wave."
Prime shocked the poacher with a watered-down version of Thunder Wave, causing him to fall and convulse uncontrollably on the ground. Myst grabbed the sack of pokeballs from the fallen poacher and used its psychic abilities to find out which ones belongs to Kayla before returning them back to her.
"Prime, go help Whirr and Vik."
Prime jumped back into the fray happily upon my words. I gave a comforting pat on Kayla's back as she held her pokeballs close to her chest and sobbed uncontrollably while apologising profusely to them over and over again. By the time trainers reached the level of an Elite trainer, they would have forged a very strong bond with their pokemon. Losing a single one of them can be devastating on their psyche. The same goes for me as well. I will either fly into an angry rage or break down if I somehow lose any member of my team in that manner, I don't know which. I am lucky enough to not experience something like this thus far and I don't want to know what it feels like.
More and more pokemon are swarming out from the poachers' side as they tried to overwhelm us with sheer numbers. Fools.
I will teach them not to mess with my city and its people. I will teach them not to mess with ME.
"The three of you, Discharge. Blow everything up, it will be easier for the rest to find us."
Myst threw up a shield of Protect to shield us as the other three very gleefully blew up the entire area in a surge of bright light. It seems that Whirr had also somehow found time to use a Rain Dance to gather even more rain clouds. On top of using Protect, Myst had very thoughtfully erected a psychic pane which is a combination of Reflect and Light Screen that shield me and Kayla from the rain.
Perfect.
"Prime, Shock Wave, Chain version."
Large streaks of lightning fell from the skies one after the other as multiple Shock Waves found their targets. Prime rained them down repeatedly without rest as Vik and Whirr opted to use Thunder instead, which is a lot more destructive but have a longer charging time. If the poachers are smart enough, they will find a place to hide until it's all over. If not, not my fault if they got themselves killed. Their pokemon can survive an attack of this level, but I'm not so sure if humans can live through getting hit by attacks like those.
"Aim for the gallade! Then we can all Teleport out of here once his Mean Look loses effect!"
An angry roar reverberated across the valley as Simba made his appearance and pounced onto the man who just suggested that bright idea before slamming him into a rock wall with a swing of his paw. More yellows streaks of light landed beside me and Kayla from the stormy skies. It seems that the rest of my team had finally caught up. The electrical explosions earlier are too obvious a sign to be missed.
"Go, but I want them alive."
Franky led the charge as the rest of my team joined Prime, Vik, and Whirr in wiping out the remaining poachers and their pokemon. Scrat, Squeaky, and Myst remained by our side. Kayla's sobs had started to die down by now and she watched with me as my team helped her enact her revenge.
"Run off like that one more time, and I will make sure you will have an even harder time waking me up every morning, squirt."
Kayla winced at my remark, but she remained silent as she looked guiltily at her feet.
"Don't look down, look up. Watch and reflect on your mistakes. You lost not because you are weak, but because you were stupid. You were too arrogant and you let your emotions dictate your actions. You are still too inexperienced. This is why you need to learn. Observe how my team fights these assholes and see for yourself how different you handled them as compared to how I did. You need to think and understand why my way of handling them is more efficient. Once you can understand, then only can you start to grow. The next time you find yourself in a mob battle like this, hopefully you won't make the same mistakes. I will save the scolding for later. For now, just watch and try to learn as much as possible."
Kayla forced herself to look at the scene of destruction in front of us at my words. If there is one good aspect I like about her, it is that she is willing to reflect on her mistakes and learn, a quality that is severely lacking in many trainers I had seen during my gym circuit and my own travels. Kayla has the potential to grow into the level of a Thirteen Pillar in the future, it was why I chose her to be my head gym trainer and kept picking on her specifically out of the many gym trainers that had come and go in Sunyshore Gym over the years. She completed her gym circuit in just a single year before joining my gym as a gym trainer. She's only fifteen this year and she's already in the upper tier of the Elite trainer level. Not many can achieve that.
The ones that do are usually the ones who somehow found themselves as a member of their region's Thirteen Pillar in the future. Flint and I were once like Kayla too. All of us had similar achievements. Going by that logic and her growth rate, Kayla will definitely be an amazing trainer in the future.
If she doesn't go and do something stupid and get herself killed, that is.
But that is why I am here. It is my responsibility as a Gym Leader to help trainers when they inevitably made mistakes along the way. Experience is the best teacher if you survived the ordeal. I will make sure she survives this.
Deciding that I should make full use of the time I spent waiting for my team to finish their job, I decided to give the leader a violent wakeup call with a kick to his gut. On top of Prime's Thunder Wave earlier, Myst will prevent him from moving with his psychic powers. I need to know why these poachers are here. It is obvious that they are not here to simply poach pokemon. Something much bigger is going on behind the scenes and I need to know what it is.
"Speak. Who do you work for?"
The guy wheezed on the floor in pain where he lay, but he didn't say anything. Putting up a tough guy act, eh? I wonder how long can he stay that way?
I walked to his back and grabbed his arm.
And twisted it out of its socket.
"ARRRRGGHHH!"
"Who do you work for?"
"I am not telling you! AHHHH!"
His index finger is what I dislocated this time. There are laws against enacting physical torture on criminals, but I couldn't bring myself to give a shit about these laws right now. I can always set the dislocated bones right back without anyone the wiser. No one will trust the poacher's words over those of a Gym Leader anyway.
And I really want to vent my anger on someone for what had nearly happened to Kayla, and who else is a better candidate than the one who tried to kill my gym trainer? They had tried to kill her right under my very nose.
Kayla seemed shocked at the display of my ruthless side. I don't want to show this to her either, but these poachers are obviously taking orders from a way bigger organisation. It was a topic that was discussed in the latest meeting between the Thirteen Pillars. I have a feeling I know which organisation it is, but I need concrete proof.
"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." I spoke in a monotone and gestured for Kayla to turn around if this is too much for her to handle. She decided to continue watching. "I can break every bone in your body until you coughed up everything you know, or I can just order my gallade to mind-rape you with his psychic powers and leave you in a coma for life. Your choice."
"W-Wait… I…"
"Too long. Another finger."
I twisted his middle finger out from its rightful place and he squealed once more.
"WHO gives you your orders? Why are you guys here and what do you want from Sunyshore? My patience is running thin."
I made a move for another of his finger. That was the last straw before he starts to blurt everything out.
"I DON'T KNOW WHO THEY ARE INDIVIDUALLY! I JUST KNOW THEY CALL THEMSELVES TEAM GALACTIC!"
I clenched my fists in rage as my worst fears were confirmed. I had thought it to be weird that there were no signs of Team Galactic until now ever since I was reincarnated here. I chalked it up to the fact that I was reincarnated about two decades earlier before the plot started. Is this their debut?
"What else?"
"T-They wanted us to steal the pokemon at Sunyshore's feeding spots!"
"You expect me to believe that?" I broke another finger this time. The feeding spots are heavily guarded round the clock. It won't be easy to poach pokemon within the city in broad daylight and anyone with a working brain will know that it will take a lot more than 50 poachers to get off with a successful heist. That's how heavily guarded the feeding spots are. The only reason why I stationed the rest of my gym trainers there is for extra insurance and for them to have a learning experience. Technically, they don't need to be there, but I want to make full use of this opportunity for them to learn. I want them to know what it feels like to work in the League's forces, since most of them are planning to enlist in it after they quit being a gym trainer.
"IT'S THE TRU-!"
A swift punch from me broke his nose. I have no patience for this.
"If you think I will run out of bones to break, then you are wrong." I demonstrated my point as I painfully reset his nose and crouch down to his eye level, ignoring his pained screams. "I didn't break them, I merely dislocated them. I can always reset your bones and then dislocate it over and over again. Want to try?"
I raised another hand, and this time, he caved in.
"We were the distraction!" He screamed out before I can lay my hands on him. "There were another group of us who were supposed to rile up the wild pokemon in the sea to launch an attack on Sunyshore! We were supposed to loot the city of money and pokemon during that time! Whichever we can get our hands on!"
What?
"It's the truth!" The scum started to beg and plead from where he remained pinned onto the ground by Myst's psychic powers, who had gradually increased the force he used to slowly crush the man against the floor to encourage him to spill the beans faster. "It's the truth!"
'Master, I can sense that he is not lying. We need to make haste and return.'
'I know. Myst, tell the rest to hurry with their job here. We need to go back and protect the city.'
"Volkner!" Kayla walked up to me as I knocked out the poacher which I had just interrogated. "We need to-"
"I know. Jarvis, relay what we learnt to Sunyshore's SPF and the League. Send a personal message to the other Gym Leaders to keep an eye on their own city, I am overriding all usual protocols and issuing an emergency alert on the level of Code Black with my authority as a Gym Leader. Tell the SPF to hurry and evacuate all the citizens to the shelters or out of the city if possible. We also need more help. Get the Elite Four or Cynthia here, whoever is available." I say out loud to no one in particular, but I know Jarvis can hear me thanks to the poketch on my wrist where he usually dwells in his data form. He had never failed me and I know he will never fail me.
Franky and co. will finish up within a minute or two. Tec and North should still be with Vicky and Marco, the two of them should be alright with my two rock types protecting them. I need to find a way to transport the fallen poachers to the SPF's hands before I rush back to Sunyshore. I cannot leave them here unwatched.
It is a good thing I brought Puddle with me before coming here. I didn't use him until now because he is simply too destructive. The only place he can fight without worrying that he will destroy everything in sight is the open sea, which will be our battlefield later. For now, he can help transport the fallen poachers to the SPF.
I ran a frustrated hand through my messy hair. Puddle may be the leader of the wild pokemon population of the sea surrounding Sunyshore, but even he may not be able to keep them in line if the wild pokemon were riled up and loses their mind in a fit of rage. There are many water type pokemon in the seas surrounding Sunyshore, if they all decided to launch a combined siege on the city in their rage, Sunyshore is toast.
The worst part of this entire fiasco is that she is on a ship right now that will be reaching Sunyshore soon. I may have taught her how to teach her pokemon to fly with Magnet Rise but fighting on the sea is not her specialty. I know she is strong, but she is not one who gets herself into battles like this often unlike me. I had lots of experience in handling hordes of pokemon due to how often Flint and I challenged the city's thugs when we were just kids. She didn't have the same kind of battle experience as I do, she is too gentle for that. If the information we got was real and she gets caught up in the imminent attack on Sunyshore…
I know she can take care of herself, but I still need to hurry. I am not risking anything when it comes to her.
Pokemon and trainer list:
Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist
Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash
Main team:
1) Electivire (Franky), male
2) Luxray (Simba), male
3) Jolteon (Jo), female
4) Magnezone (ISpy), genderless
5) Gallade (Myst), male
6) Rhyperior (Tec), male
7) Probopass (North), female
8) Gyarados (Puddle), male
Pokemon used for Gym challenges
9) Raichu (Squeaky), female
10) Pachirisu (Scrat), male
11) Heliolisk (Bask), male
12) Ampharos (Fluffy), female
13) Vikavolt (Vik), female
14) Eelektross (Whirr), male
15) Lanturn (Glowy), female
Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security
16) Rotom (Prime), genderless
17) Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless
Jasmine Terbium: The Gym Leader of Olivine, Steel Specialist
Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Johto's Strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Johto, The Iron Wall of Olivine
Pokemon Team:
1) Ampharos (Amphy), male
2) Steelix (Steely), female
3) Magnezone (Magny), genderless
4) Skarmory (Skia), female
5) Forretress (Forest), male
6) Metagross (Mety), genderless
7) Empoleon (Emy), male
8) Bronzong (Bronzy), genderless
9) Mawile (Molly), female
10) Lucario (Lucy), female
11) Excadrill (Drilly), male
12) Ferrothorn (Thorny), male
13) Klinklang (Clang), genderless
14) Bastiodon (Bobby), male
Flint Cinders: Sinnoh Elite Four, Fire Specialist
Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Tie for First Place with Volkner in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Raging Inferno
Pokemon team:
1) Magmortar (Burner), male
2) Infernape (Might), male
3) Houndoom (Bel), female
4) Flareon (Flare), male
5) Rapidash (Flamel), male
6) Talonflame (Soar), female
7) Volcarona (Buzz), male
8) Chandelure (Wick), female
9) Turtonator (Fuse), female
Cynthia Shirona: Sinnoh Champion, Generalist
Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Champion of Sinnoh, Pokemon Master, Sinnoh's strongest Generalist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Undefeatable Queen
Pokemon team:
1) Garchomp
2) Roserade
3) Spiritomb
4) Lucario
5) Milotic
6) Gastrodon
7) Togekiss
8) Glaceon
9) Braviary
10) Eelektross
Kayla: Sunyshore Head Gym Trainer, Electric Specialist
Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Elite Trainer
Pokemon Team:
1) Manectric (Woofy)
2) Zebstrika (Zap)
3) Galvantula (Spinner)
4) Luxray (Star)
5) Stunfisk (Fin)
6) Alolan Golem (Gronk)