Chapter 54: Make Way for Freddie
Whilst the Dirty Delinquent control over the world was weakening very slowly, Moody and Zamenza fought with Commander Gideon Grant, who seemed somewhat challenging until they forced him to flee, trapping them into the midst of a Dirty Delinquent attack. Luckily, Moby brought his friends to open a path for them and chase after Gideon. But at the Fox Village, a cloaked Pokemon struck, putting everyone to sleep as he was sneaking in for a kill until Samantha stopped him.
Samantha: You…You used those sleeping bombs to put everyone else into a deep sleep, didn't you?!
Frogadier: Sure! Don't want them waking up from their slumber, ribbit! Speaking of, why aren't you affected?
Samantha: I could ask the same for you, but you're wearing a face mask made out of your bubbles!
Frogadier: Still doesn't answer my question, ribbit.
Samantha: *groans* I don't know!
Frogadier: Then sleep forever…
He pulled out a sleeping bomb and tossed it under his feet, emitting mist from it before he left the hut. Samantha ran after him, only for her to fall asleep seconds later. As the Corporal approached the chief, he raised his sword until he was pecked in the head by Honori, who was unaffected by the mist for some reason.
Frogadier: Ow, ow ow ow ow ow ow! Damn bird!
He swatted his sword, with Honori being too quick to avoid every swing. The pecking forced him out of the hut, with Honori following after him. He had no choice but to flee towards the hill as Honori flew back to the village, leaving him alone. However, something came to mind during his runaway.
Frogadier: (...Wait a minute…! That Mutant Bird Pokemon…! The air was full of sleeping mist, and it resisted the effects…! Is this the work of Insomnia…? If so, then I've got to worry about a pet…! Damn it to all things considered…!)
However, he had some sort of idea.
Frogadier: *chuckles, grins* (...That's it…! I don't want to use it, but I've got no choice…!)
Back at the village, Honori flapped his wings to create a strong gust that blew away the sleeping bombs, lifting the effects of the mist. However, the village was pelt by bombs that released smoke that was hard to see through. The sounds of bombs were enoujgh to wake up the gang, fearing the onslaught that took place. Coughing, they struggled to see through it until they heard the sounds of an explosion. Honori managed to blow away the smoke, but it was too late as a teepee was destroyed.
Unhaus: Damn! Who's attacking us?! And what happened?!
Tanner: If I know about this, it's got to be Freddie dropping his bombs.
Baye: That's similar to when we fell asleep at the…tournament…
Honori cawed, drawing their attention towards him as he was flapping away the smoke.
Baye: Honori!
Tanner: Hey, that's strange…When we were asleep, Honori stayed up during the sleeping bombs.
Baye: That's because Honori has the ability Insomnia. He's kind of like our night owl.
Unhaus: Wow, really?! He sounds like a good pet right now!
Tanner noticed Honori's wings blowing away the smoke, which gave him an idea.
Tanner: Hey, Unhaus.
Unhaus: Yeah?
Tanner: I think Honori's using Defog. Can you do the same thing he can?
Unhaus: Sure.
Another bomb struck the village, springing Unhaus into action as smoke filled the village once again, but thanks to the two birds, the smoke cleared away faster.
Baye: What do we do?!
The chief along with his family had arrived with Samantha slumped on the chief's back asleep.
Naidu: I think the situation is obvious. But perhaps whilst your flying friends are clearing the smoke, perhaps one or two of you could go after the culprit.
Tanner: I'll go.
Happy: We can do it!
Charles: Happy!
Tanner: Sorry, Happy, but-
Naidu: I believe it's a good solution. You two children are stronger than you look.
From above, Unhaus shouted with some news he believed was dire.
Unhaus: Guys! We have bad news! Dirty Delinquent ships at 3 o'clock surrounding this island!
Tanner: What?!
Near the islands sailed in some Dirty Delinquent ships, which surrounded the area. It increased the situation even further as they had to protect the village from any possible attacks.
Tanner: Happy! Charles! Go after Freddie Croaker on the hill. You'll know him when you see the cloak he wears.
Happy: What about you, Mr. Tanner?
Tanner: We'll be fine. Just go.
As Happy and Charles ran ahead to the hill where Freddie Croaker was, Tanner was prepared to fight as he was joined by the Pokemon of the village per the chief's instructions. Baye and the chief including his family went into a tent, knowing to not get in the way and get other Pokemon out so as to not be killed in case of a bomb attack. A bomb was thrown, only for a blue Ninetales to stop it using their glowing blue eyes.
Meanwhile, Tanner teamed up with two of the blue Ninetales and yellow Delphox to fire their attacks at the ship, destroying one of them whilst the rest began attacking. Cannonballs were fired, with psychic energy able to stop and chuck them back. However, unbeknownst to them, another fleet of ships belonging to the Dirty Delinquents were headed their way. Only Unhaus and Honori could spot them a mile away.
Unhaus: Guys! It appears that another fleet is headed our way! They're prepared to take us down!
Tanner: Dammit!
Meanwhile, Happy and Charles were catching up with uh…Freddie Croaker to settle the score and end the nightmares.
Freddie: Damn! My bombs are doing nothing, ribbit! But that's alright. The cavalry's here, ribbit. Time to put on the lethal gloves!
He reached into his cloak to pull out a genuine bomb with a fuse on it and with a match he struck to light it, he tossed it at the village, destroying another teepee. But as he grabbed another one, Happy and Charles poked at him from behind, startling him by surprise.
Freddie: *shrieks* What the?!
He took a good look at the duo, wondering if this was some joke the villagers decided to give him.
Freddie: Oh, some kids. Must be humorous, ribbit.
Happy: Hey mister, why are you throwing those things at us?
Freddie: Look, kid. Go play elsewhere, ribbit. I've got a village to seize under-
He then thought about what he was going to say, but decided not to as he didn't want to damage his reputation further, but it was already too late as the duo knew who he was.
Freddie: Well, why am I-
Happy: You talk funny.
Freddie: *frustration mark* "F-Funny?! Why I oughta-
Charles: You're the guy named "Freddie Croaker", aren't you?
Freddie: Why, of- Wait a minute! How the…he- heck did you know my name?
Charles: Never mind us. We're going to kick your butt.
Freddie: *laughs* Oh, that's funny, ribbit! A bunch of kids who think they're tough! I don't do "babysitting", so go back and play in…whatever you kids today do, ribbit.
Happy: Hey! We're more than "kids"! We're stronger than we look!
Charles: Yeah! We're capable of taking you on!
Freddie: Alright…Then I'll use some of my secret ninja skills…Be afraid…Be very afraid, ribbit…!
He pulled out some shurikens and tossed them at the children, to which they sidestepped with ease, although it piqued Happy's curiosity more than Charles's. However, Freddie had a clueless look on his face, wondering what he was fighting although he decided to play it off.
Freddie: *sweat drop* I uh…meant to do that. (...They dodged my shurikens like they were in slow motion…! Who are they…?!)
Happy: *bounces* Ooh! Do it again! Do it again!
Freddie: Sorry, but ninjas don't do the same trick twice. You'll have to uh…guess where I am, ribbit!
He took out a bomb and threw it at his feet, creating smoke that blocked the duo's sight. When it cleared, he was…well, not really gone as he tripped over a rock, groaning in pain whilst lying on his stomach with his butt in the air. His cloak did not cover that part, as it left him somewhat vulnerable…
Charles: …Huh. He didn't make it.
Happy: What if he's not right there? He could be elsewhere!
Freddie, despite being in pain, grinned a bit as he was still with some children that weren't mature in the brain department. Well, one of them, anyway.
Freddie: (...At least these children are idiots…)
Charles: Oh, really?
Charles then picked up a leftover shuriken and walked towards Freddie, planning to do something with it as he grinned at the opportunity. Happy followed along, not even understanding what was going on.
Charles: Well, let's see if he's "elsewhere".
Freddie: (...Huh…? They're getting closer…! Pretend I'm a uh…rock…!)
Freddie began to sweat bullets, praying that the children wouldn't do anything. However, without warning, Charles stuck the shuriken in Freddie's bum, causing him to scream and dance funnily in place, even hopping around like a uh…frog would. This alone was enough to make the children point and laugh, even rolling on the ground as they couldn't contain their laughter.
Happy: *laughs* He dances funny!
Charles: *laughs* He's "elsewhere", alright! He's everywhere! *laughs*
Upon hearing their laughter, Freddie stopped hopping around and got really steamed by their childish antics, pulling the shuriken out of his bum and facing them not with a bomb, but with his katana in his hands. Even though the children's laughter stopped, they could tell he was serious.
Freddie: *growls, frustration mark* How dare you make fun of me…?! I will not be reduced to a mere joke by such troublesome brats!
Happy: Are you going to do any more funny tricks?
Freddie: *chuckles* Oh, I'm going to do some "funny" tricks, alright…Better not lose sight of the prize…!
He pointed the katana up and with his own power, he concentrated his energy into something, which confused the children for a moment.
Charles: What's he doing? Is he constipated?
Happy: What does "constipated" mean?
Charles: Nothing, really.
Freddie: *sweat drop* (...It might look like it, but it's the complete opposite, ribbit…!)
It didn't make sense at first until Freddie began to split into not two, not three, not four, but five copies of himself, shocking the duo as they had the same stance with katanas pointed in the air, circling around the duo.
Happy: Whoa! Awesome!
Charles: I…I don't…believe it…! There's one, two, three, four, five of him!
Freddie and his clones spoke together as if they were in unison, creating some sort of "echo" effect.
Freddie(s): Quite an impressive technique, isn't it? It's something that skilled Pokemon can learn. At this rate, who knows which one of us is real?
Happy and Charles looked to one another before looking at the surrounding Freddies, now baffled as to how they would defeat him.
Freddie: (...Idiots…As if I'd tell them about the move Double Team…)
However, the real Freddie could still feel his bum in pain, as he was prepared to touch it. But to Charles, this was now easy thanks to one little thing that Freddie gave away. Charles then walked towards one of the Freddies and punched him in the gut, causing that one to reel forward in pain as the other clones disappeared.
Freddie: *groans* …H-How…?!
Charles: Your butt's bleeding.
Freddie: (...Dammit…! Those nasty kids…! If that lizard hadn't stuck that shuriken in my ass, the cloning technique would've been flawless…!)
But despite Charles being in front of him, a sparkle shined in Freddie's eye as it gave him an advantage as he used his katana to take a swing at Charles, nearly striking him in the face had he not dodged in time, only giving him a cheek cut.
Charles: Hey!
Freddie: "Hey" is for the Mutant Horses, you yellow-bellied lizard!
He chased after Charles, swinging his sword at him a few times before Happy gave him a gut punch before he brought down his sword, stopping him. He fell to the ground in a painful state, with the children jumping around in victory.
Happy: We did it! We did it!
Charles: Aw yeah!
A bomb rolled out of Freddie's cloak, which was in front of him and the children. Charles and Happy freaked out as they ran away, with Freddie managing to wake out of his painful state to only realize what was in front of him. He freaked out as well as he got back up and ran from it, but it was too late as the bomb went off, blasting him away as he screamed like a frog into the blue yonder, shouting…
Freddie: I'LL GET YOU DAMN KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDS!
...
A few minutes later, the ships surrounding the island sank one by one thanks to the efforts from Tanner, Unhaus, Honori and the villagers. As Tanner fired an Energy Ball at the last ship, it sank, earning a victory from the entire village. There was no more smoke in the village, which cleared every threat for the chief and his inhabitants.
Unhaus: We did it! No more ships in sight!
Tanner: Yes! (...But, did Happy and Charles manage to defeat Freddie…?)
Just as Tanner had thought about them, the duo appeared in front of him unharmed.
Happy: Where are the ships?
Tanner: Ah, Happy and Charles. I take it that you two took down Freddie?
Charles: Yeah. I think he went flying because of a bomb he let slip from his cloak.
Tanner: *sighs* Thank Arceus.
Naidu: Now our inhabitants can rest easy. I assume that you all are going to stay for a while?
Tanner: Of course. Until the world is back again, we need to stay here for a bit.
Unhaus and Honori flew back down to where the party was, with Honori perched on Chibi's back.
Unhaus: I can't wait to rest a while. We're gonna need it just in case.
Charles: I wonder how the old man and Mr. Moody are doing…?
Tanner: Ah, I'm sure they're fine out there. Their vibes should still be steady even as of now.
Unhaus: Yeah, they can handle themselves out there. They're stronger than they look.
...
Speaking of, Zamenza and Moody, along with Moby and his friends were out on the seas chasing after Gideon Grant, who was trying his hardest to outspeed them. However, their chase would be halted as a red Grumpig with three black pearls on his head wearing a green Dirty Delinquents cloak stepped onto the boat deck snacking on various berries, not even fazed by his approaching targets.
Grumpig: Tch… *snort* I'm cleaning up after a Commander. This is stupid.
Moody and Zamenza noticed the boat as they approached it, wondering who could be sailing it at this time of night. However, one look at the cloak from afar told them otherwise.
Moody: That Grumpig's wearing a green cloak. I assume that is the Pokemon who brought in my son and his friends. I heard he's called "Major Hamm".
Zamenza: I get the feeling that we were set up to meet this guy for Gideon's distraction.
From afar, Hamm addressed the approaching party with a shouting tone, saying…
Hamm: You two! Just where do you think you and your merry band are going?!
Zamenza: Anywhere but here.
Hamm: Hmph. I hear you. Unfortunately, you're an enemy, and if I'm correct, one of you defeated Commander Meat, which I assume is the Alakazam with the star forehead.
Zamenza: *smiles* …I'm famous now.
Hamm: …To be honest, I don't want to tussle with you, as that was Commander Chocolate's job.
Moody: *snickers* "C-Commander Chocolate"? That's his "codename"? Between your "name" and the rest of the Dirty Delinquents, I assume that the leader was hungry!
Hamm: *frustration mark* Hey, you'd better take those snide remarks of yours back! How dare you insult our given names?!
Zamenza: To be fair, I think it's hilarious and ditzy at the same time.
Hamm: …All right. You asked for it. I can't sit by and let you all do as you please. I'm going to bind you both in half…like a rubber band…!
Sarcastically, Moody rolled his eyes and said…
Moody: …Oh, joy…Let's take this elsewhere.
Hamm: Gladly.
A few minutes later, they were on a nearby island. Hamm, with his arms crossed and a displeased face, stared at the old duo.
Hamm: It's not too often that I have to beat up two old guys past their prime. First the children, now the elderly.
Moody: …Greeeeeat.
Moody, along with Zamenza, took on a fighting stance, as did Hamm.
Moody: And let us, the elderly, beat you up and call it a day.
Zamenza: Heh. I think you're different from the rest of the others, but your strength is somewhat subpar compared to that Colonel's.
Hamm: I'll show you why I'm considered a Major among my ranks.
...
At the Pokemon World Government's palace in the Terrabenie, the six white cloaked Pokemon sitting at a table near the window were contemplating on what to do with their world stability until they received Roto-Phone calls, which was surprising to them.
First: …Hello?
Whilst listening to the conversation, the First reacted with shock, intriguing the other Pokemon. But this was also a sign of relief to the First as if it was good news.
First: R-Really?!
The First continued listening, having mixtures of shock and relief in his voice until it was over before he hung up, prepared to tell the others. Strangely, a cloaked figure appeared in the empty chair out of nowhere with a grin, as if it heard the entire thing. The six Pokemon turned to the cloaked figure and kneeled in respect to it.
First: M-Milord! We have great and bad news. The good news is that apparently, the Dirty Delinquents are beginning to lose their foothold in the world. There are fighters who are rebelling against their order!
The others except the figure reacted with shock, now seeing a turn of the tides for the world. But the Fifth responded as there was something else to address.
Fifth: …What about the bad news?
The First, only in a somewhat somber tone, replied…
First: …Unfortunately, Queen Caramel of the Mithra Kingdom has been killed by one of the Dirty Delinquent members.
Silence. Nobody reacted to the news. However, the figure kept a grin and the other six seemed to have heard something from it, allowing them to stand up from whatever it said through whatever means.
Second: Agreed, Milord.
Sixth: Even though the Queen of the Mithra Kingdom has been slain, it appears our world stability will continue with a steady balance after all. Unfortunately, due to a loss of money from the economy, the world shall enter an Underflow.
Sixth: Even if the world enters an Underflow, how will the Mithra Kingdom fare without a queen?
Fifth: I think there'll be a fill-in until her daughter is old enough to rule it.
Fifth: Understandable. In the meantime, informing the Royal Regalian Society's Financiers of the Underflow situation should be simple. They'll be sure to get a kick out of it.
Third: A price to pay for the destruction of unruly hoodlums.
Fourth: As that is going underway, so shall the restoration of society, thanks to Milord's future premonitions. Slowly, but surely, our world stability shall go back to normal…without the terrorists knowing about it… *chuckles*
...