Retaliation
The late afternoon sun beats down on the colony. After the big battle that went down between Patricia and Mint, everyone has been a bit uneasy. It doesn't help that at this very moment in time, Ross is out for blood over what happened. Only one thought exists in his head: The one that's going to be on the ground bleeding in a mangled mess.
While running towards the main colony, he managed to get far ahead of Mint and Emilia. He heard them calling his name out back on the path, but he didn't pay attention to them. He ran as fast as he could to shake them off his tail. He hopes they give up and go home but deep down, he knows they're coming to stop him and will eventually find out what he wants to do.
Now in the main colony, he makes haste to Brian's den. He knows he's home, for he does nothing all day and sits around on his ass waiting for death to take him. Looks like it arrived much earlier than usual. Ross bangs on the door with his right paw. "Yo, open this piece of wood up or I'm kicking it down myself!" he yells.
The door opens almost instantly and instead of Brian, it's Patricia. She goes to say "hello" but then realizes just EXACTLY who it is. "Hello, that's quite the-" she cuts herself off and gasps loudly when she sees him. She takes a few steps back quickly and falls on her butt.
From within the den, Brian shouts to her. "Who's at the door and why'd you scream like a baby?"
She turns her head to face his direction. "I-It's… It's…"
"It's who? Stop stuttering and answer me!" he says.
"I-it's Mint's father!" she blurts out as fast as she can. She stands up off the ground and runs deeper into the den, fearful that he might grab her and hurt her.
Brian can hardly believe what she said. "Mint's father? What kind of lies are you telling me…" he stands up from where he's sitting and heads for the front door. Upon reaching it, Ross stands there, arms crossed and his right foot tapping.
He's grown impatient and was getting ready to go in himself but this works better. "About time your fat ass started to move."
Brian gives him a smug look. "Nice to see you too asshole, seems you haven't changed in the 15 years since I last saw you."
Ross gets right up in his face. "Oh I've changed quite a bit in those 15 years… and if there's one thing I still don't stand for, it's bastards like you doing whatever you want and allowing your own hellspawn to do as they please with no consequences."
He has an idea of what he's talking about but decides to try and dance around it and pushes him back a little with his face. "You're spitting some bullshit. Speak in a language we both understand dammit."
"Oh, I spoke in a language we both understand. Don't play stupid with me, you KNOW what your daughter did, I swear on my life that she told you about it."
This makes him crack a smile. "Aww… it's a shame he got his ass kicked. That's what happens when you make threats but can't go through with them."
Ross grabs him by the fur on his chest, pulls him outside, and slams him into exterior walls of the den, pinning him in place. "My SON has a broken nose and probably a broken spirit after that brutal beating he took. If it wasn't for an outside visitor, he would've probably suffered from major blood loss! She got him real good, and for that, I want her head on a burning stake…" his voice is deep and extremely aggressive.
Brian cockily responds. "Oh, what's wrong? Your son, who was supposedly the strongest Minccino in his age group, got beat and you can't accept that, so you come to my den looking for a fight?" he grabs Ross' paw and pushes him away. He chuckles lowly before cracking his paws. "Alright, I'm game."
Ross glares daggers at him. "You're a fat ass… unlike me, you've grown old and slow. I've stayed fit and kept working, that's how we make our living. Shit isn't given to you on a silver platter you know. I'll knock you on your ass so fast that you won't know what happened."
Brian scoffs at this. "You, knock me on MY ass? I'd like to see that happen with my own eyes! You've grown old too, and the same problems apply to you just as they apply to me."
He then proceeds to rush at Ross with all of his might. He catches him and Brian manages to push him back a little but Ross resists and stops him. They both grunt and growl at each other as once again, another big fight starts, but this time, being knocked out with with a broken nose is going to seem like a stroke of luck.
Brian takes the first attack and goes to use 'Iron tail' but Ross is fast and manages to catch the attack in his paws. He takes a little damage but nowhere near what it could've been. He grips his tail and proceeds to swing him over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground. This allows him to use 'Retaliate'. He takes a small step back, then with blinding speed, smashes into Brian and sends him flying.
He takes massive damage from this attack due to Mint being injured earlier. Brian stands up and walks it off as nothing though and uses 'Swift'. Star shaped rays appear around him and he throws his paws forwards and they all fly at Ross. He wastes no time and counters using 'Hyper voice'. He emits a massive scream that generates a damaging sound wave and destroys all the Star rays.
Brian follows through with 'Gunk Shot' and at such a close range, this attack is very difficult to avoid. He hurls a massive blob of garbage at Ross and although he tries to dodge it, a small piece of it hits him and he takes a bit of damage from it. Nothing too major luckily. While he's recovering from that, Brian runs at him and manages to tackle him to the ground. Unlike Patricia, he doesn't know 'Doubleslap' but he knows his paws clenched into tight fists will hurt just as well and he begins to punch Ross in the face repeatedly.
Ross takes 4 punches before kicking Brian off and away from him. He stands up quickly and takes this opportunity to prepare his next move as Brian gains his balance. He turns around to see the blast from the move 'Focus Blast' coming at him and although it should hit, he's quick to respond and dodges it, retaliating with 'Swift' once again.
Unlike before, Ross is unable to avoid it and the star shaped rays pelt him. He's then knocked back by Brian using 'Iron tail' once again. The attack was quite powerful and leaves a nasty gash on his stomach that starts to bleed a little. Ross takes a look at the damage and then looks up at him with a death stare.
Brian snickers confidently. If he can keep this up, he'll be able to take Ross down in a few more hits. Ross on the other hand, despite being injured badly, doesn't show signs of pain or weakness. He's not gonna let him get away with allowing Patricia to hurt Mint. He grinds his teeth and lowers his head, he HAS to beat him. His own son looks up to him for how tough and strong he is, he has to keep it that way.
Ironically, out of the corner of his eye, he sees Mint and Emilia. They've finally arrived on the scene just to see Ross about to get hit with Brian's secret move. Normally, most Minccino cannot learn the move 'Close Combat' but when he was younger, Brian had gotten training from a fighting type Pokemon who knew the move and with time, managed to pass the move down to him. Ross shifts his attention back to Brian, only for him to be slugged across the face hard.
Mint's eyes go wide and he gasps at what he sees. Emilia does the same thing but to a lesser extent. She knew this could've happened, because 15 years ago, Brian had used the same move and managed to knock Ross out, leaving him with a few broken bones. Mint gets over the initial shock of this and screams out to his father. "DAD!"
Ross can't do anything but take blow after blow rapidly on every area of his body. Brian laughs in a way that comes off as pure evil as he hits him hard and fast. "What's the matter Ross!? About to faint to my secret move 15 years later!?"
What he said is true. 15 years ago, the two got into a very long and bloody fight that ended with Brian using 'Close Combat' and utterly demolishing Ross. If he doesn't do something, he's definitely going to lose this fight as well. The attack ends and Brian finishes it off with a nasty uppercut, causing Ross to be thrown into the air, blood flying out of his mouth in the process. He lands on the ground, barely clinging onto consciousness and completely dazed. Brian begins to walk towards him slowly, getting ready to use his final move and end the fight.
On the side, Mint's mouth is wide open in shock. He can't believe what just happened, his own father being beaten by the vile, disgusting Brian. He's never seen his father in such a wounded and hurt state. He can't stand to see this and within him, a fury similar to what happened during his battle earlier begins to form inside of him. His father is supposed to protect him, not get beaten up like this. Without thinking, his tail begins to glow a bright white but slowly starts turning to a bloody red and then a deep red color. It also starts to heat up extremely fast as he seems to be using a significantly stronger variant of 'Tail Slap'. His head lowers down a little and even though the injuries from earlier still sting and pain him, he doesn't get affected by this and instead, focuses on saving his dad.
Brian stands over Ross. he spits in his face. "That's what you get, Ross. 2 losses, first one 15 years ago, and the one that's about to be clocked in, and that's too bad." He looks over and notices Mint and Emilia are there but doesn't notice Mint's white-hot attack hidden behind his body. "Especially when you make a fool out of yourself for the second time in front of your lover, and for the first time in front of that poor excuse for a son too."
Ross coughs and spits up a little blood mixed in his saliva. he goes to move his arms, but he can't and flinches in extreme pain. Instead, he speaks in a weak and quiet tone. "Y-you're gonna… regret this in… the long run…"
Brian takes his comment and ignores it. "It's quite a shame. You tried to be something you're not once again. You let your strength go to your head and make you completely forget that your old pal Brian is a just a bit stronger than you are. 15 years can really make you forget what someone is capable of you know. Too bad you didn't realize that sooner."
Mint can't take much more of this and he fidgets in place. Emilia notices this and speaks to him. "Mint, don't do it… you can't beat him. You're too hurt to fight without getting hurt even more."
He looks at her in the eyes and responds. "I-I have to do something…! Dad's in trouble and if I don't do anything, he's gonna be hurt real bad..." his voice shakes and he seems to be on the verge of screaming out in anger.
Brian prepares 'Iron tail' and takes one last good look at Ross. "While you tried to avenge your son who is nothing but a failure in every which way, you yourself forgot that you are just the same as him. Both failures. You failed to beat me back then and you failed now. Go to bed and sleep with that, let it eat you up and spit you out alive."
He goes to swing his tail down on Ross' stomach but right before he has a chance to, Mint comes charging at him with a speed that he's never shown before until now and whacks him in the face with his tail. This stops Brian's attack and makes him slide a few feet away. Mint lands on the ground, then jumps at him and screams at the top of his lungs. "Leave my father alone!"
He hits Brian across the face with his tail again with more force and strength than before. He spins around and hits him in the face again. He keeps doing this, hitting Brian back and forth across the plaza while screaming loudly. Brian can't do anything and as Mint lands his 7th and final hit, he stumbles back a few feet before gaining his balance. He goes to say something but instantly faints and falls face first on the ground.
Mint stands there, panting heavily as he looks at what he's done. Emilia runs up to him and drags him away from Brian's unconscious body. She can't believe he lashed out at him like that and actually managed to defeat him. She has no time to dwell on it though because Ross is in critical condition. She kneels down to his side and speaks to him.
"Ross! Can you hear me?" she says in a clear but sad voice.
He turns his head slowly to face her and he speaks but in a pained, weak tone. "Emilia…? what's… what's going on…?"
He was hit so hard by 'Close Combat' that he's almost unconscious and doesn't remember what he was doing or what was going on. Emilia tries to pick him up and Mint immediately helps her. They drape him over their shoulders and he grunts in pain but immediately faints. This is probably due to his arms being broken and the blood loss from the gash on his stomach as it's now bleeding more than it was earlier and this worries her.
"He needs medical attention… we have to leave the forest and head to one of those human towns or cities. We can't heal him by ourselves." she says, a very worried look on her face.
Mint's right eye is partially open, his own wounds are being aggravated by the weight on his shoulders and the pain writes itself on his face, but he tries his best to ignore it and nods. They have a long way to go from Pinwheel Forest to the nearest town/city, which is Nacrene City. They'll have to travel deep into Pinwheel forest and go through a completely unfamiliar part of it in order to reach the route that brings them to said city. They'll also be against the clock as during this time of year, the sun goes down quickly when it isn't paid any attention. If they can't get through the forest before the sun goes down, they just might not ever come back home again if the rumors about vicious Pokemon are true.
PD: Slightly shorter chapter. Let's count... that's 2 Minccino injured in a single day, and they're both from the same family too. Will Ross be okay? Will Mint and Emilia be able to get through Pinwheel forest and make it to Nacrene City? The only way to find out is to read the next chapter, so seeya then!
