Chapter 7
Goldenrod
Revelations, Exclamations, and Sweaty People.
-FLASH- We appeared ten feet above Goldenrod Game Corner. Kira was floating next to me. I was hovering. We landed, and I unfolded the paper and read the address.
Kagasuri Dance Party Mania Land
20 Main Street
Goldenrod, Johto
"Riiight. Okay, let's go," Kira said, walking off as if she already knew where to go.
"Wait a second. Why are you helping me? I just appear, and then you appear, and now you're helping me. I've never met you before. Why?"
"Sore wa himitsu desu," she said distractedly.
"Great, yes, more secrets. Alright, let's go." We started off downtown, and it only took eight hours to find Kagasuri Dance Party Mania Land. It was night-time when we got there. Outside, it was quiet. I opened the door. Music blasted, the bass almost knocking me to the ground. The whole building was sound-proof! Kira followed me in. We walked through a metal detector, and, although I am really heavily armed, it didn't go off, as, aside being armed, I am psychic, and it was a small matter to short it's circuits for three seconds. There were masses of people on several different levels. Outside I had seen a small dome. It was only the top level. The main dance area went down another three, and there were several other levels with miles of passages, other rooms and arenas. It was gigantic. Taking up the rear, Miss. Himitsu was looking around, slightly suspicious. I could sense a strange presence too. I turned to her. Then I noticed the cloak, or at least the absence of it.
"Weren't you wearing a long black cloak when we came in here?" I asked. She was wearing a red dress. Like the ones in the weird anime, with the belled-out sleeves.
"What long black cloak?"
"Ummm. Nevermind." We must have looked slightly odd. A girl in a red sorceress dress, and a guy in a trenchcoat, black jeans, and a black Kung Fu shirt. Pretty damn weird. Pretty damn weird.
We made our way to the third tier of the main dance arena, where a trio of Delibirds, their natural 'tuxedos,' making them look even stranger surrounded by a bunch of dancing people in traditional Goldenrod Night Dance outfits (Males: Ricky Martinish stuff or the Baggy Look. Females: Not Much.) Kira and I must have look really strange, being fully clothed and all. There was a ring shaped bar in the middle of the tier, lit by neon lights. I sat at a stool, and my companion, naturally, disappeared.
"Anything to drink, sir?" The bartender asked.
"Nah, it was pretty bad last time I drank anything. But maybe you can provide some information."
""Well, maybe, what do you need?"
"Have you seen this girl?" I showed him a picture of Sabrina that randomly teleported into my hand. His eyes widened, and he was visibly shaken.
"No, sir."
"Well, thank you. Perhaps some of the other staff saw her. Tell me, where is the manager's office?"
"Down the stairs through that door over there."
"Thanks. Oh yeah, I was never here."
"No, you weren't."
Where the hell had Kira gotten off to? I walked down the stairs. There was a brightly lit tunnel, going for miles in either direction, every so often there was a door. Bass music boomed from upstairs, but it was still strangely quiet. There was a sign on the wall.
Manager's Office --
--Spas, Hot Tubs, Bar, and Hall 13
"Hmm. Toughie." I went right.
"Psychic Speed! Ha!" I sent myself flying down the hall, to abruptly stop in front of the manger's office. I opened the door. He was not at his desk, Kira was, though. Her feet were up on the important papers, and she was playing a RPG on the Playsation 32. She had changed wardrobe again. Now she was wearing a dark purple cloak, with black inlay.
"Hello, you aren't the manager, are you?"
"Nope. He doesn't exist. This is a trap. Hehe. Or at least it was." She pointed to three burly men, tied up with duct tape, and duct taped to a wall. They cringed away from her finger.
"Woah. Thanks, I guess."
"Yep. Now, if I'm not mistaken, someone needs your assistance in Hall 13. I'll meet you at the bar." She got up and went into the hall. I followed, and found an empty hall.
"Psychic Spe... Oh, what the fuck. Teleport!" I landed in front of a nondescript door that said, in big, bold letters, and I quote, "HALL 13." I pushed open the door. There were a lot of crates. Crates, and several Baggy Look guys chasing a frightenmed looking young woman into a corner.
"You, know, Boss said to deal with her. He neva said we couldn't have a little fun."
"Stop. Hey, you, at the door. Help, please!" The guys whirled at me. They had name-tags on. Rocky, Rockie, and Rocko.
"Leave, before we have to hurt you," Rocky, the ringleader, it appeared said, attempting to look menacing. He looked like a constipated Slobro.
"Yeah," Rocko agreed, a not-too-bright look on his face.
"Well, if that's the way it is. Do your worst."
"Hehe. Let's kick his ass, then we can finish with the girl." The first thug came at me. He punched sloppily. I caught the punch and turned it until it snapped loudly. He fell, gripping his arm. His partner attacked, pulling a jump kick. I ducked under, caught it and threw him to the ground. He stood up, coughing. I kicked him in the face with a roundhouse. Spitting blood to the floor, he fell over. The one with the broken arm attacked again, sporting a knife in his good hand. I kicked it from his hand. He tried a fast kick, but found that he was suddenly on the ground. I kicked his neck, snapping it, and his head lolled to one side. Rocko stood in the back, staring at the two fallen Baggy Pants guys.
"C'mon, Rocko, let's go."
"Nuh-uh. I'm leaving."
"No, if you leave, they'll know what happened. I'm sorry, you don't get to leave." He pulled a gun. I pulled mine faster. Rocko dropped. The girl was standing, open mouthed, staring at her three assailants.
"Well, we should leave now," I told her. She closed her mouth and kept staring. She made no move to come with me.
"C'mon."
"How do I know I can trust you?" I pulled out the League Ranger Badge. She nodded.
"A Ranger? Wow. I though they were just stories made up to frighten Rockets into submission."
"I'm real as far as I know." She followed me to the door. She grabbed a bag that had been lying in the darkness. It clinked as she slung it over her shoulder. We walked the way to the bar.
"I never caught your name."
"Your badge says Kojiro. My name is Tekazou, Musashi Tekazou."
"Well, pleased to meet you. We have an appointment to keep."
"Huh?"
"You're coming with me, I'm not leaving you alone down here."
"Oh, okay." We entered the bar. I spotted Kira's cloak in a back booth. I could see two more people in the booth with her, but couldn't see their faces. I led Musashi over. As we neared I could see Kevin, Kira, and a girl hadn't met. Musashi sat, bowing slightly to my friends, observing Japanese customs. I sat, a hand ready to go for my gun. Kira smiled darkly. The new girl bowed her head quickly.
"I'm Raven. They call me Karasu."
"I know."
"Huh?"
"I'm psychic."
"Ahh." At this time a tough looking guy burst through the door. He was followed by two other heavily armed men.
"Check please! Table two!" Kira said. My hand grasped the cold grip of my gun. Kira and I stood, allowing the others to get up. Suddenly the few denizens of the bar disappeared.
"You guys want trouble?" asked one of the men.
"Just as much as you want it."
"We don't tolerate smart-asses here."
"So it seems." While I had been discussing this with the thugs, Kira had found a door. I reached out with my mind, disarming the men. The guns appeared in a pile of twisted burning metal on a table.
"Don't mess with us." The thugs were slightly shaken, but they didn't leave. I admired them, or what's left of them.
"Psychic... Burn!!!" A huge ball of purple-pink energy shot at them. It vaporized everything in its path, and reduced the thugs to goo.
"Do you think the wanton violence is necessary?" Musashi asked.
"Yeah," Kevin said. We teleported out of the Dance hall to a park in Goldenrod. It was dark out, but the sky shone with the first rays of morning's light. We collapsed on the ground. I was weak from the Psychic Fire. Kira was not there. Musashi had sat on a bench, and was opening her bag. Kevin and Raven were dazed.
"Be right back!" Musashi yelled, and then seemed to rocket into a tree. The leaves rustled, and she landed, wearing a samurai kimono, the Miyamoto seal on the sleeve.
"Huh?" Kevin and I asked. Karasu was asleep.
"As I told you before, I am Musashi Tekazou. What I didn't tell you is that my name is Musashi Tekazou no Miyamoto. I am descended from Miyamoto Musashi, the brave sword master that defeated Sasaki Kojiro. I am samurai, one of the last of a dying breed."
"Huh?" We asked. Karasu snored.
"I'm a samurai. Miyamoto family heir."
"Oh. Yeah, okay." She pulled the clinking objects, four swords, from her bag. No-Dachi, Tachi, Katana, and Wakizashi.
"These are my ancestor, Miyamoto Musashi's swords. My Enemy, Kojiro Tokagana Sasaki runs that place. I have sworn my revenge upon him!"
"Revenge? For what?"
"My parents, my family, all of them adept with swords, murdered."
"I'm sorry. I can see why you'd want to kill him."
"Yes. I thank you for saving me. Ironic that my savior be named Kojiro."
"Well, normally, I'm not supposed to let random malice occur, but seeing as he killed your family, I should put in an investigation, and most probably an ass whooping."
"I again thank you, and am honored by your assistance."
"Well, let's find Kira, and then we'll get a move on. Besides, that guys has something to do with the disappearance of my wife." Why would Will have known where to send me? Why would Sabrina have come here? This was getting complicated.
"Are you leaving without me?"
"Huh?" Kira had appeared, again with a change of clothing. Now she was wearing a bizarre armor dress. OI didn't think they made them anymore. Keidaren Industires, 1896. This one had seen some battle. She was armed with... a fan? We walked, a ragtag assortment of warriors, samurai, students, Pokemon Ranger J, and... Fan Lady.
The dance hall wasn't blasting anything. The lights didn't flash. There were no cars parked outside, no stoned Ricky Martin guys throwing up on the sidewalk, and no under clothed girls patting them on the back. I Psykicked the door, gliding gracefully and slowly into it, hitting it, and making it fly eighteen feet backwards. Our 'army' stood in the door of a deserted dance hall. We entered. Metal doors slid down over all the windows, and the doors too. The only open doors were the ones to the lower levels. We looked around. Music started blasting. The Venga Boys' "We Like to Party." Lights flashed. My psychic sense alerted me to the weird presence. A man appeared. He looked about 18.
"Greetings random assholes!" I guessed this was Sasaki.
"Hello!" I waved enthusiastically, pulled out a pistol, and fired several rounds at him. He ducked, and suddenly wasn't there.
"I'd make a traditional bad guy speech, but, what the hell. FUCK YOU!" His voice was on the intercom. The floor burst open, revealing Pokemon I'd never seen before. They were genetically engineered. Each one carried the weapons of one of the people in our party. Their forms were grotesques bastardizations of the human they represented. Each squared off with the equivalent human. Mine towered above me. It had at one time been a Machamp. Two arms held psyblades the others were holding guns. The head star of a Kadabra was on its forehead. It had Articuno's wings. I stared at it. This wouldn't be easy. The others started their critter down. Kevin dropped into a fighting stance that I recognized as Jeet Kune Do. Raven's hands came together to bring a psychic firewall attack. I hadn't known she was psychic.
Kira stood opposite her hybrid critter. She looked at it.
"Look at you, you're a sad excuse for me! No fan! You really suck!" Long metallic bars shot out of its front. Blades folded down from them. Skarmory's fan-like wings.
"You're not even original!" Her hand shot out, sent a blast at the critter. It blocked with its wings, which got burned straight through, and fell over, a large hole in its chest.
"Cheesy hybrid shit." She shook her head and put her fan away. Why couldn't I have gotten the easy one? The creatures attacked simultaneously. In under a second, Musashi's creature was dead, cloven in two by her sharp samurai no-dachi. She was after Sasaki. Kevin glided into the air with a graceful flying kick, gliding past the monster's defenses. It fell, and he kicked its neck until it snapped. Raven had finished her critter off with one blast. These things were hideously weak! I expected my fight to be easy, too. The creature swung with a psyblade, mine parried. I kicked it, expecting the solid thud of foot on critter. It blocked me, and sent me flying into a wall.
"Okay, okay, I ran over budget after making the big one, all the others required leaving out major parts, like brains and muscles. Shit," Sasaki on the intercom. The others moved to help me, and the room suddenly started filling with the armed baggy pants men. They all looked like Rocko, but bigger, and dumber, and with lots of random weapons.
The Death Machamp came at me again, swinging its powerful arms, letting off blasts of psychic energy. I blocked what I could. The butt of a gun struck my face, but I kicked up, taking the gun out of its hand, and firing back at it. The bullets hit, but truly didn't phase it. My psyblade's purple blade flashed into existence, and I struck the creature. My blade was blocked, and he swung with the other, powerful arm. I psychically grabbed the arm, twisting the wrist. He dropped his blade, and I psyburned it. Now he couldn't use it. I kicked it when it was weak. Then it was up again, suddenly it wasn't so weak. It grabbed me. I tried to break away, but it was too strong. It was slowly crushing in on my ribs. I was using every bit of psychic power I had to breathe. At that point it fell over, sliced in half with a psyblade. I fell to the ground. When I looked up at my savior I found that it was Sabrina. She held her psyblade low, frozen in her follow through.
"Miss me?"
"Did I ever!"
"C'mon there's work to be done. Darien's back."
"Well, shit." I grabbed my psyblade. We worked our way through the miscellaneous fighting to the middle arena, where the party was meeting. I caught a kick in the back, but quickly my attacker caught a pressure point kill shot.
He dropped. And, at that second, the floor blew out, sending Kevin tumbling down to the floor below. The rest of us were hovering above the hole, using psychic levitation. Kevin was looking alright, but possibly dead. Unconscious.
"Kira, you're wearing a dress. It would be a good idea to land now, maybe."
"Humph!" Sabrina looked slightly angry.
"What?" I asked.
"You noticed," she frowned.
We landed next to what may have been a heating duct at one point in time, but which was now a twisted hunk of metal lying on Kevin. A door opened, and the shape of a person was silhouetted by bright light behind it. All of us, with the exception of Kira, turned to the door. She was standing over Kevin. I heard a loud bang, and a several crashes, and Kevin, looking perfectly fine and totally not dead was standing next to me. I looked back. Kira was smiling sweetly, but I could barely see it with the smoke still clearing. I turned back to the door.
"Hello, James. I'm glad I found you."
"Who are you?" He laughed evilly. Okay, so this was a bad kind of glad.
"Did you expect me to stay dead? I have more friends than you think, and resources beyond your possible imagination. Soon my family will arrive here, and you will all submit. Even if you destroy me, you will have too much to cope with in their attack." He stepped into the light.
"Darien, why don't you just die?"
"Come, come, James, didn't you miss your brother? It's been a while since I last screwed up your life."
"Yes, it has, let's keep it that way, absence make the heart grow fonder, doesn't it?"
"Look, James, can we dispense with the usual banter and just attempt to kill each other?"
"Fine by me," I replied, hurling a psychic fireball. He blocked it, and pulled out an automatic Rocket issue handgun. I grabbed a pokeball, releasing Lugia into the light. The flash caused strange shadows to be thrown from the I-beams and drums lying around the room. Lugia stared down at Darien. There are some pokemon that are weak, and you would never in your wildest dreams ever think about sending up against a madman with an automatic pistol, like Charizard or Dragonite. Then there are tough pokemon who can handle it. Lugia is one of them. Darien stared back at the graceful yet dangerous water guardian. He looked slightly phased. That was good.
"Oh shit."
"Lugia, Psychic Elemental Augmentation!" I yelled. Lugia's eyes glowed. Darien's eyes widened as the huge purple-red-yellow-blue ball of energy hurtled toward him. As he was engulfed, his finger closed on the trigger. The bullet whizzed past me, near enough to feel the hot air it generated brush my cheek like a painter's brush, dipped in hot oil. Sabrina fell. The bullet hole was a clean circle in her forehead. I looked on with disbelief on my face. Darien sputtered in the doorway.
I knelt next to my wife. At least she was invincible, it would only hurt, not kill her. That was impossible. I thought. I held her in my arms. I could feel no heartbeat, pulse, or breathing. Her long black hair had fallen tangled around her. I brushed a strand from her face. She was dead. It couldn't be, but it was. It had ended before she could truly live. She had died here, caught up in my stupid fight for retribution with Darien and my past. Why couldn't I have just accepted what I was, and lived with it, and not have to seek out all the links to my past and destroy them. Would this be what it took to stop it? Even as I thought this, the anger welled up inside of me. I knew that no matter how much I wanted the death to end with this, it wouldn't. The anger, unbridled anger, would force me to destroy my own flesh and blood, Darien, for this. A felt as Macbeth must have, and the lines, "Blood begets blood" appeared in my head. Kira stood next to me, her face showing the only negative expression I'd seen on it. One single tear leaked from her eye to fall, a crystal to the metal grating where Sabrina's blood had pooled. I was still holding my wife. I felt the two lights that were Darien's twins wink out with their mother's fall. I held her head to my chest, the blood staining my trenchcoat. Her face was calm. She hadn't even seen it coming.
"Darien!" Eriss appeared in the doorway. Darien was lying, somewhat toasted on his side near the door. She knelt to him, and picked him up with surprising strength.
"Eriss, I told you to leave, you should have, I don't want you hurt," Darien was standing on his own now. He and Eriss backed out of the room, the two others in our party advancing on them. I drew my pistol, my face still an expressionless mask, and fired, repeatedly at the door they had disappeared through. We were alone. The door slammed shut, and a circle in the floor opened, a platform rising from it.
"Goodbye, now you must face the wrath of our ultimate pokemon. The platform finished rising. On it was a giant clam.
"It's a giant clam."
"Yes."
"It's a giant clam."
"Yes."
"It's a giant fucking clam!"
"Yep."
"It's a GIANT fucking CLAM!"
"Mmhmm." Boom! Basically, that's what happened. Boom. The clam whirled into action, and somehow we all ended up lying on the floor, DeathClam hovering above us. I teleported the group away.
I walked into the Pokemon League headquarters and Indigo. Ash was sitting at his desk. Misty, as always, stood behind him.
"James, glad to see you're back. How did it go?"
"Fuck you, Ash."
"Huh? What happened to you?"
"You. You think you could send my wife out on some crazy assignment and not expect me to put two and two together and trace it back to you. She would only have gone to a scum hole like that under your orders, because of her care for humanity. I don't even know what happened to Musashi and Kojiro, the two samurai rivals in the dance land. Kevin was injured, and... and... Sabrina's dead."
"James, how?"
"Darien."
"James, I'm sorry." He placed a hand on my shoulder. I grabbed his hand, and twisted it to the point where I heard a clicking in his wrist.
"Don't touch me. It's your fault that she's dead. You sent her on that crazy mission. What was it for? She didn't even tell me before she died." I released his hand and he gripped it, massaging the wrist. Misty stepped between us.
"James, I'm sorry about your wife, but I can't let you hurt Ash. Why don't you just take this down into the arena? I can't have fighting in here!"
"Honey, this isn't something we can just settle with a battle."
"No no no, no buts. Get down there now!" She violently ushered us out of the office and down the stairs to the arena.
"I'm sorry about your loss James, but I don't lose a pokemon battle. I'm sorry."
"Funny, me neither."
ROUND 1
I drew a pokeball. Lugia. Ash selected Blastoise. I threw my pokeball out. He threw his. The two pokemon appeared, staring each other down. Lugia looked at the opposing trainer.
"James, I can't fight Ash, he saved me."
"I understand, Lugia. It's important to have gratitude. I'll avenge Sabrina without your help." I called him back. Mewtwo flew out his pokeball, a huge menacing opponent. His tail twitched back and forth in anticipation. He looked back at me, a glint in his dark eyes. Blastoise glared back.
"Blastoise, be careful. Hydro Pump!" Ash cried. His cap was turned back like he was kid. Pikachu stood next to him. A blast of water flew at Mewtwo, only to fall short under a psychic block.
"Mewtwo, Psychic Assault!" Beams of purple energy shot toward the stolid Blastoise.
"Blastoise, withdraw!" The psychic energy hit the shel, damaging it, but not hurting the withdrawn turtle. Blastoise stood, brining itself back out of its shell. It seemed to jeer at my psychic pokemon. Ash was no lightweight. My face bore no expression. I just looked on, telling my pokemon what to do. The very purpose of my life, it seemed, had gone. Now I just wanted to win this, and go home to someone who would hole me and comfort me and tell me it would be all right.
"Mewtwo, we have no time for this! Psychic Lightning!" Bolts of purple lightning flew from Mewtwo's outstretched hands, hitting the Blastoise square in the stomach area. He was wracked with the bolts of energy crackling across his body, and he fell, KOed to the arena's floor. Mewtwo was tired, and was panting, the powerful attacks wearing him down. Ash, surprised, withdrew his Blastoise, the red energy of the pokeball enveloping it.
ROUND 2
Mewtwo stood, solid as a rock in the arena. Ash selected his next pokemon, Venusaur. The giant lizard plant appeared and lumbered to its place.
"Venusaur, SolarBeam!" He wasn't wasting any time.
"Mewtwo, Barrier!" Venusaur's SolarBeam flew, a rod of white light, at my pokemon. Mewtwo's Barrier held it off for a second, but the weakened psychic strength eventually collapsed. Mewtwo flew backward, sliding to a stop on the ground at my feet. He made to get up, but fell back to the ground. I knelt next to him and patted him on the shoulder.
"It's alright friend, you fought well, I'll get Moltres out here. C'mon back." Mewtwo nodded, and was enveloped by the pokeball's protective casing. I called out the firebird, and it soared gracefully across to land near Venusaur.
"Venusaur, VineQuake!" Venusaur's vines shot out, up and down, into the rings soil, digging through the ground, threatening to burst under Moltres at anytime. I had a solution.
"Moltres, Magma." I said it calmly. Moltres blew out molten rock, regurgitating it onto the arena floor around, just as the vines came up. They burned and Venusaur roared in pain.
"Moltres, finish it now with Fire Blast!" The Fire Blast flew towards Venusaur, who was too slow to get away. He was hit, and fell, but, as he did, his vines, still barely functional, grabbed Moltres and pulled it into the magma. The bird couldn't take this, and was severely weakened. Moltres pulled itself up, and Venusaur fainted. Ash recalled him, a tear in one eye. Moltres collapsed. I recalled it.
ROUND 3
I could tell, psychically, that Ash was going to send out Charizard. I pulled my next pokeball, Mew. She flew out, enthusiastic as ever. Charizard stared at her.
"Oh please, Ash. Mew, Dimensional Rip!" A shining cut in the time-space continuum appeared above Charizard, and slowly widened until it dwarfed the dragon. Charizard was sucked in suddenly. The portal closed, and Ash screamed.
"What have you done with him?" Ash yelled. I nodded to center ring. Te cut opened again, and Charizard fell out, an orange bundle, the flame burning just slightly on its tail. Ash recalled it.
ROUND 4
Strangely enough, Mew fell to a burning BladeFire attack from Ash's Scyther, a force to be reckoned with. I was surprised, but didn't show it. I just stared. My next pokemon was Skarmory, the Steel Bird. Scyther flew in, trying a speed attack.
"Skarmory, Wing Fan Block!" Skarmory's wings came up in from the steel blades descending from them, and creating a shield in front of the bird. Scyther tried to stop, but rammed headfirst into them. Skarmory used a Steel Wing attack to finish it. Ash recalled Scyther. He was down to Pikachu and one other. I had two left after Skarmory, but Lugia couldn't fight, so I only had one other.
ROUND 5
Ash sent his next pokemon, a Dragonite. It lumbered up to face my Skarmory. Skarmory cawed a challenge to it, which it answered with a hyper beam. Skarmory's wing quickly came up, blocking and reflecting the beam back at Dragonite, who was helpless to defend against its own attack. It took a heavy hit, but was still standing. Its next attack was a powerful Body Slam. It crashed down on my Steel Bird. Skarmory was no idiot, though, and brought the hard wings up and struck the Dragonite as it fell, slashing it with the blade-like feathers. I was allowed one last pokemon. So was Ash.
ROUND 6
So it came down to my Golden Pikachu against Ash's Pikachu, a veteran fighter. Goldie was no weakling, and it's hideously over powerful electric attacks would more than compensate fro it's lack in size next to Ash's larger, stronger pikachu. Goldie neede to attack commands, she could play this one by ear.
"Pikachu, Thunder!" Ash yelled, immediately going for the hard attack. Goldie absorbed the damage, and fired it straight back. Pikachu was surprised, and took the hit. It soon stood and shook off the weakness. Goldie was then target for devastating speed attacks. As Goldie took a final scratch and fell, I realized he had been my last pokemon. It was over, Ash had beaten me. I fell to my knees, eyes wide. I knew that I should have beaten him, I could have, had I had Lugia. My eyes watered, and tears began to fall. I stood, and turned around, ready to leave, never to return. I was interrupted by the voice of Lugia.
"James, I will fight."
"You don't have to. I already lost, get back in the pokeball."
"No, I won't let you lose, no matter what my faith to Ash is, you are my trainer, and my friend, as your wife, Sabrina, was my friend. I will do this for you both." Lugia turned towards Pikachu, his immense wings flapping.
"Pikachu, finish this with Thunder." Pikachu released its most powerful attack. Lugia was unfazed. Seeing my pokemon stand up to this made me proud. I smiled, ever so slightly.
"Lugia, Psyburn!" Lugia's psyburns smashed the electric rat backwards into Ash's waiting arms. It was knocked out. I recalled Lugia, silently thanking the Guardian. I turned to leave.
"James, I'll understand if you resign," Ash said.
"I won't. The people need Rangers, and I'm the best they've got. I'll be on page." I left.
Goldenrod
Revelations, Exclamations, and Sweaty People.
-FLASH- We appeared ten feet above Goldenrod Game Corner. Kira was floating next to me. I was hovering. We landed, and I unfolded the paper and read the address.
Kagasuri Dance Party Mania Land
20 Main Street
Goldenrod, Johto
"Riiight. Okay, let's go," Kira said, walking off as if she already knew where to go.
"Wait a second. Why are you helping me? I just appear, and then you appear, and now you're helping me. I've never met you before. Why?"
"Sore wa himitsu desu," she said distractedly.
"Great, yes, more secrets. Alright, let's go." We started off downtown, and it only took eight hours to find Kagasuri Dance Party Mania Land. It was night-time when we got there. Outside, it was quiet. I opened the door. Music blasted, the bass almost knocking me to the ground. The whole building was sound-proof! Kira followed me in. We walked through a metal detector, and, although I am really heavily armed, it didn't go off, as, aside being armed, I am psychic, and it was a small matter to short it's circuits for three seconds. There were masses of people on several different levels. Outside I had seen a small dome. It was only the top level. The main dance area went down another three, and there were several other levels with miles of passages, other rooms and arenas. It was gigantic. Taking up the rear, Miss. Himitsu was looking around, slightly suspicious. I could sense a strange presence too. I turned to her. Then I noticed the cloak, or at least the absence of it.
"Weren't you wearing a long black cloak when we came in here?" I asked. She was wearing a red dress. Like the ones in the weird anime, with the belled-out sleeves.
"What long black cloak?"
"Ummm. Nevermind." We must have looked slightly odd. A girl in a red sorceress dress, and a guy in a trenchcoat, black jeans, and a black Kung Fu shirt. Pretty damn weird. Pretty damn weird.
We made our way to the third tier of the main dance arena, where a trio of Delibirds, their natural 'tuxedos,' making them look even stranger surrounded by a bunch of dancing people in traditional Goldenrod Night Dance outfits (Males: Ricky Martinish stuff or the Baggy Look. Females: Not Much.) Kira and I must have look really strange, being fully clothed and all. There was a ring shaped bar in the middle of the tier, lit by neon lights. I sat at a stool, and my companion, naturally, disappeared.
"Anything to drink, sir?" The bartender asked.
"Nah, it was pretty bad last time I drank anything. But maybe you can provide some information."
""Well, maybe, what do you need?"
"Have you seen this girl?" I showed him a picture of Sabrina that randomly teleported into my hand. His eyes widened, and he was visibly shaken.
"No, sir."
"Well, thank you. Perhaps some of the other staff saw her. Tell me, where is the manager's office?"
"Down the stairs through that door over there."
"Thanks. Oh yeah, I was never here."
"No, you weren't."
Where the hell had Kira gotten off to? I walked down the stairs. There was a brightly lit tunnel, going for miles in either direction, every so often there was a door. Bass music boomed from upstairs, but it was still strangely quiet. There was a sign on the wall.
Manager's Office --
--Spas, Hot Tubs, Bar, and Hall 13
"Hmm. Toughie." I went right.
"Psychic Speed! Ha!" I sent myself flying down the hall, to abruptly stop in front of the manger's office. I opened the door. He was not at his desk, Kira was, though. Her feet were up on the important papers, and she was playing a RPG on the Playsation 32. She had changed wardrobe again. Now she was wearing a dark purple cloak, with black inlay.
"Hello, you aren't the manager, are you?"
"Nope. He doesn't exist. This is a trap. Hehe. Or at least it was." She pointed to three burly men, tied up with duct tape, and duct taped to a wall. They cringed away from her finger.
"Woah. Thanks, I guess."
"Yep. Now, if I'm not mistaken, someone needs your assistance in Hall 13. I'll meet you at the bar." She got up and went into the hall. I followed, and found an empty hall.
"Psychic Spe... Oh, what the fuck. Teleport!" I landed in front of a nondescript door that said, in big, bold letters, and I quote, "HALL 13." I pushed open the door. There were a lot of crates. Crates, and several Baggy Look guys chasing a frightenmed looking young woman into a corner.
"You, know, Boss said to deal with her. He neva said we couldn't have a little fun."
"Stop. Hey, you, at the door. Help, please!" The guys whirled at me. They had name-tags on. Rocky, Rockie, and Rocko.
"Leave, before we have to hurt you," Rocky, the ringleader, it appeared said, attempting to look menacing. He looked like a constipated Slobro.
"Yeah," Rocko agreed, a not-too-bright look on his face.
"Well, if that's the way it is. Do your worst."
"Hehe. Let's kick his ass, then we can finish with the girl." The first thug came at me. He punched sloppily. I caught the punch and turned it until it snapped loudly. He fell, gripping his arm. His partner attacked, pulling a jump kick. I ducked under, caught it and threw him to the ground. He stood up, coughing. I kicked him in the face with a roundhouse. Spitting blood to the floor, he fell over. The one with the broken arm attacked again, sporting a knife in his good hand. I kicked it from his hand. He tried a fast kick, but found that he was suddenly on the ground. I kicked his neck, snapping it, and his head lolled to one side. Rocko stood in the back, staring at the two fallen Baggy Pants guys.
"C'mon, Rocko, let's go."
"Nuh-uh. I'm leaving."
"No, if you leave, they'll know what happened. I'm sorry, you don't get to leave." He pulled a gun. I pulled mine faster. Rocko dropped. The girl was standing, open mouthed, staring at her three assailants.
"Well, we should leave now," I told her. She closed her mouth and kept staring. She made no move to come with me.
"C'mon."
"How do I know I can trust you?" I pulled out the League Ranger Badge. She nodded.
"A Ranger? Wow. I though they were just stories made up to frighten Rockets into submission."
"I'm real as far as I know." She followed me to the door. She grabbed a bag that had been lying in the darkness. It clinked as she slung it over her shoulder. We walked the way to the bar.
"I never caught your name."
"Your badge says Kojiro. My name is Tekazou, Musashi Tekazou."
"Well, pleased to meet you. We have an appointment to keep."
"Huh?"
"You're coming with me, I'm not leaving you alone down here."
"Oh, okay." We entered the bar. I spotted Kira's cloak in a back booth. I could see two more people in the booth with her, but couldn't see their faces. I led Musashi over. As we neared I could see Kevin, Kira, and a girl hadn't met. Musashi sat, bowing slightly to my friends, observing Japanese customs. I sat, a hand ready to go for my gun. Kira smiled darkly. The new girl bowed her head quickly.
"I'm Raven. They call me Karasu."
"I know."
"Huh?"
"I'm psychic."
"Ahh." At this time a tough looking guy burst through the door. He was followed by two other heavily armed men.
"Check please! Table two!" Kira said. My hand grasped the cold grip of my gun. Kira and I stood, allowing the others to get up. Suddenly the few denizens of the bar disappeared.
"You guys want trouble?" asked one of the men.
"Just as much as you want it."
"We don't tolerate smart-asses here."
"So it seems." While I had been discussing this with the thugs, Kira had found a door. I reached out with my mind, disarming the men. The guns appeared in a pile of twisted burning metal on a table.
"Don't mess with us." The thugs were slightly shaken, but they didn't leave. I admired them, or what's left of them.
"Psychic... Burn!!!" A huge ball of purple-pink energy shot at them. It vaporized everything in its path, and reduced the thugs to goo.
"Do you think the wanton violence is necessary?" Musashi asked.
"Yeah," Kevin said. We teleported out of the Dance hall to a park in Goldenrod. It was dark out, but the sky shone with the first rays of morning's light. We collapsed on the ground. I was weak from the Psychic Fire. Kira was not there. Musashi had sat on a bench, and was opening her bag. Kevin and Raven were dazed.
"Be right back!" Musashi yelled, and then seemed to rocket into a tree. The leaves rustled, and she landed, wearing a samurai kimono, the Miyamoto seal on the sleeve.
"Huh?" Kevin and I asked. Karasu was asleep.
"As I told you before, I am Musashi Tekazou. What I didn't tell you is that my name is Musashi Tekazou no Miyamoto. I am descended from Miyamoto Musashi, the brave sword master that defeated Sasaki Kojiro. I am samurai, one of the last of a dying breed."
"Huh?" We asked. Karasu snored.
"I'm a samurai. Miyamoto family heir."
"Oh. Yeah, okay." She pulled the clinking objects, four swords, from her bag. No-Dachi, Tachi, Katana, and Wakizashi.
"These are my ancestor, Miyamoto Musashi's swords. My Enemy, Kojiro Tokagana Sasaki runs that place. I have sworn my revenge upon him!"
"Revenge? For what?"
"My parents, my family, all of them adept with swords, murdered."
"I'm sorry. I can see why you'd want to kill him."
"Yes. I thank you for saving me. Ironic that my savior be named Kojiro."
"Well, normally, I'm not supposed to let random malice occur, but seeing as he killed your family, I should put in an investigation, and most probably an ass whooping."
"I again thank you, and am honored by your assistance."
"Well, let's find Kira, and then we'll get a move on. Besides, that guys has something to do with the disappearance of my wife." Why would Will have known where to send me? Why would Sabrina have come here? This was getting complicated.
"Are you leaving without me?"
"Huh?" Kira had appeared, again with a change of clothing. Now she was wearing a bizarre armor dress. OI didn't think they made them anymore. Keidaren Industires, 1896. This one had seen some battle. She was armed with... a fan? We walked, a ragtag assortment of warriors, samurai, students, Pokemon Ranger J, and... Fan Lady.
The dance hall wasn't blasting anything. The lights didn't flash. There were no cars parked outside, no stoned Ricky Martin guys throwing up on the sidewalk, and no under clothed girls patting them on the back. I Psykicked the door, gliding gracefully and slowly into it, hitting it, and making it fly eighteen feet backwards. Our 'army' stood in the door of a deserted dance hall. We entered. Metal doors slid down over all the windows, and the doors too. The only open doors were the ones to the lower levels. We looked around. Music started blasting. The Venga Boys' "We Like to Party." Lights flashed. My psychic sense alerted me to the weird presence. A man appeared. He looked about 18.
"Greetings random assholes!" I guessed this was Sasaki.
"Hello!" I waved enthusiastically, pulled out a pistol, and fired several rounds at him. He ducked, and suddenly wasn't there.
"I'd make a traditional bad guy speech, but, what the hell. FUCK YOU!" His voice was on the intercom. The floor burst open, revealing Pokemon I'd never seen before. They were genetically engineered. Each one carried the weapons of one of the people in our party. Their forms were grotesques bastardizations of the human they represented. Each squared off with the equivalent human. Mine towered above me. It had at one time been a Machamp. Two arms held psyblades the others were holding guns. The head star of a Kadabra was on its forehead. It had Articuno's wings. I stared at it. This wouldn't be easy. The others started their critter down. Kevin dropped into a fighting stance that I recognized as Jeet Kune Do. Raven's hands came together to bring a psychic firewall attack. I hadn't known she was psychic.
Kira stood opposite her hybrid critter. She looked at it.
"Look at you, you're a sad excuse for me! No fan! You really suck!" Long metallic bars shot out of its front. Blades folded down from them. Skarmory's fan-like wings.
"You're not even original!" Her hand shot out, sent a blast at the critter. It blocked with its wings, which got burned straight through, and fell over, a large hole in its chest.
"Cheesy hybrid shit." She shook her head and put her fan away. Why couldn't I have gotten the easy one? The creatures attacked simultaneously. In under a second, Musashi's creature was dead, cloven in two by her sharp samurai no-dachi. She was after Sasaki. Kevin glided into the air with a graceful flying kick, gliding past the monster's defenses. It fell, and he kicked its neck until it snapped. Raven had finished her critter off with one blast. These things were hideously weak! I expected my fight to be easy, too. The creature swung with a psyblade, mine parried. I kicked it, expecting the solid thud of foot on critter. It blocked me, and sent me flying into a wall.
"Okay, okay, I ran over budget after making the big one, all the others required leaving out major parts, like brains and muscles. Shit," Sasaki on the intercom. The others moved to help me, and the room suddenly started filling with the armed baggy pants men. They all looked like Rocko, but bigger, and dumber, and with lots of random weapons.
The Death Machamp came at me again, swinging its powerful arms, letting off blasts of psychic energy. I blocked what I could. The butt of a gun struck my face, but I kicked up, taking the gun out of its hand, and firing back at it. The bullets hit, but truly didn't phase it. My psyblade's purple blade flashed into existence, and I struck the creature. My blade was blocked, and he swung with the other, powerful arm. I psychically grabbed the arm, twisting the wrist. He dropped his blade, and I psyburned it. Now he couldn't use it. I kicked it when it was weak. Then it was up again, suddenly it wasn't so weak. It grabbed me. I tried to break away, but it was too strong. It was slowly crushing in on my ribs. I was using every bit of psychic power I had to breathe. At that point it fell over, sliced in half with a psyblade. I fell to the ground. When I looked up at my savior I found that it was Sabrina. She held her psyblade low, frozen in her follow through.
"Miss me?"
"Did I ever!"
"C'mon there's work to be done. Darien's back."
"Well, shit." I grabbed my psyblade. We worked our way through the miscellaneous fighting to the middle arena, where the party was meeting. I caught a kick in the back, but quickly my attacker caught a pressure point kill shot.
He dropped. And, at that second, the floor blew out, sending Kevin tumbling down to the floor below. The rest of us were hovering above the hole, using psychic levitation. Kevin was looking alright, but possibly dead. Unconscious.
"Kira, you're wearing a dress. It would be a good idea to land now, maybe."
"Humph!" Sabrina looked slightly angry.
"What?" I asked.
"You noticed," she frowned.
We landed next to what may have been a heating duct at one point in time, but which was now a twisted hunk of metal lying on Kevin. A door opened, and the shape of a person was silhouetted by bright light behind it. All of us, with the exception of Kira, turned to the door. She was standing over Kevin. I heard a loud bang, and a several crashes, and Kevin, looking perfectly fine and totally not dead was standing next to me. I looked back. Kira was smiling sweetly, but I could barely see it with the smoke still clearing. I turned back to the door.
"Hello, James. I'm glad I found you."
"Who are you?" He laughed evilly. Okay, so this was a bad kind of glad.
"Did you expect me to stay dead? I have more friends than you think, and resources beyond your possible imagination. Soon my family will arrive here, and you will all submit. Even if you destroy me, you will have too much to cope with in their attack." He stepped into the light.
"Darien, why don't you just die?"
"Come, come, James, didn't you miss your brother? It's been a while since I last screwed up your life."
"Yes, it has, let's keep it that way, absence make the heart grow fonder, doesn't it?"
"Look, James, can we dispense with the usual banter and just attempt to kill each other?"
"Fine by me," I replied, hurling a psychic fireball. He blocked it, and pulled out an automatic Rocket issue handgun. I grabbed a pokeball, releasing Lugia into the light. The flash caused strange shadows to be thrown from the I-beams and drums lying around the room. Lugia stared down at Darien. There are some pokemon that are weak, and you would never in your wildest dreams ever think about sending up against a madman with an automatic pistol, like Charizard or Dragonite. Then there are tough pokemon who can handle it. Lugia is one of them. Darien stared back at the graceful yet dangerous water guardian. He looked slightly phased. That was good.
"Oh shit."
"Lugia, Psychic Elemental Augmentation!" I yelled. Lugia's eyes glowed. Darien's eyes widened as the huge purple-red-yellow-blue ball of energy hurtled toward him. As he was engulfed, his finger closed on the trigger. The bullet whizzed past me, near enough to feel the hot air it generated brush my cheek like a painter's brush, dipped in hot oil. Sabrina fell. The bullet hole was a clean circle in her forehead. I looked on with disbelief on my face. Darien sputtered in the doorway.
I knelt next to my wife. At least she was invincible, it would only hurt, not kill her. That was impossible. I thought. I held her in my arms. I could feel no heartbeat, pulse, or breathing. Her long black hair had fallen tangled around her. I brushed a strand from her face. She was dead. It couldn't be, but it was. It had ended before she could truly live. She had died here, caught up in my stupid fight for retribution with Darien and my past. Why couldn't I have just accepted what I was, and lived with it, and not have to seek out all the links to my past and destroy them. Would this be what it took to stop it? Even as I thought this, the anger welled up inside of me. I knew that no matter how much I wanted the death to end with this, it wouldn't. The anger, unbridled anger, would force me to destroy my own flesh and blood, Darien, for this. A felt as Macbeth must have, and the lines, "Blood begets blood" appeared in my head. Kira stood next to me, her face showing the only negative expression I'd seen on it. One single tear leaked from her eye to fall, a crystal to the metal grating where Sabrina's blood had pooled. I was still holding my wife. I felt the two lights that were Darien's twins wink out with their mother's fall. I held her head to my chest, the blood staining my trenchcoat. Her face was calm. She hadn't even seen it coming.
"Darien!" Eriss appeared in the doorway. Darien was lying, somewhat toasted on his side near the door. She knelt to him, and picked him up with surprising strength.
"Eriss, I told you to leave, you should have, I don't want you hurt," Darien was standing on his own now. He and Eriss backed out of the room, the two others in our party advancing on them. I drew my pistol, my face still an expressionless mask, and fired, repeatedly at the door they had disappeared through. We were alone. The door slammed shut, and a circle in the floor opened, a platform rising from it.
"Goodbye, now you must face the wrath of our ultimate pokemon. The platform finished rising. On it was a giant clam.
"It's a giant clam."
"Yes."
"It's a giant clam."
"Yes."
"It's a giant fucking clam!"
"Yep."
"It's a GIANT fucking CLAM!"
"Mmhmm." Boom! Basically, that's what happened. Boom. The clam whirled into action, and somehow we all ended up lying on the floor, DeathClam hovering above us. I teleported the group away.
I walked into the Pokemon League headquarters and Indigo. Ash was sitting at his desk. Misty, as always, stood behind him.
"James, glad to see you're back. How did it go?"
"Fuck you, Ash."
"Huh? What happened to you?"
"You. You think you could send my wife out on some crazy assignment and not expect me to put two and two together and trace it back to you. She would only have gone to a scum hole like that under your orders, because of her care for humanity. I don't even know what happened to Musashi and Kojiro, the two samurai rivals in the dance land. Kevin was injured, and... and... Sabrina's dead."
"James, how?"
"Darien."
"James, I'm sorry." He placed a hand on my shoulder. I grabbed his hand, and twisted it to the point where I heard a clicking in his wrist.
"Don't touch me. It's your fault that she's dead. You sent her on that crazy mission. What was it for? She didn't even tell me before she died." I released his hand and he gripped it, massaging the wrist. Misty stepped between us.
"James, I'm sorry about your wife, but I can't let you hurt Ash. Why don't you just take this down into the arena? I can't have fighting in here!"
"Honey, this isn't something we can just settle with a battle."
"No no no, no buts. Get down there now!" She violently ushered us out of the office and down the stairs to the arena.
"I'm sorry about your loss James, but I don't lose a pokemon battle. I'm sorry."
"Funny, me neither."
ROUND 1
I drew a pokeball. Lugia. Ash selected Blastoise. I threw my pokeball out. He threw his. The two pokemon appeared, staring each other down. Lugia looked at the opposing trainer.
"James, I can't fight Ash, he saved me."
"I understand, Lugia. It's important to have gratitude. I'll avenge Sabrina without your help." I called him back. Mewtwo flew out his pokeball, a huge menacing opponent. His tail twitched back and forth in anticipation. He looked back at me, a glint in his dark eyes. Blastoise glared back.
"Blastoise, be careful. Hydro Pump!" Ash cried. His cap was turned back like he was kid. Pikachu stood next to him. A blast of water flew at Mewtwo, only to fall short under a psychic block.
"Mewtwo, Psychic Assault!" Beams of purple energy shot toward the stolid Blastoise.
"Blastoise, withdraw!" The psychic energy hit the shel, damaging it, but not hurting the withdrawn turtle. Blastoise stood, brining itself back out of its shell. It seemed to jeer at my psychic pokemon. Ash was no lightweight. My face bore no expression. I just looked on, telling my pokemon what to do. The very purpose of my life, it seemed, had gone. Now I just wanted to win this, and go home to someone who would hole me and comfort me and tell me it would be all right.
"Mewtwo, we have no time for this! Psychic Lightning!" Bolts of purple lightning flew from Mewtwo's outstretched hands, hitting the Blastoise square in the stomach area. He was wracked with the bolts of energy crackling across his body, and he fell, KOed to the arena's floor. Mewtwo was tired, and was panting, the powerful attacks wearing him down. Ash, surprised, withdrew his Blastoise, the red energy of the pokeball enveloping it.
ROUND 2
Mewtwo stood, solid as a rock in the arena. Ash selected his next pokemon, Venusaur. The giant lizard plant appeared and lumbered to its place.
"Venusaur, SolarBeam!" He wasn't wasting any time.
"Mewtwo, Barrier!" Venusaur's SolarBeam flew, a rod of white light, at my pokemon. Mewtwo's Barrier held it off for a second, but the weakened psychic strength eventually collapsed. Mewtwo flew backward, sliding to a stop on the ground at my feet. He made to get up, but fell back to the ground. I knelt next to him and patted him on the shoulder.
"It's alright friend, you fought well, I'll get Moltres out here. C'mon back." Mewtwo nodded, and was enveloped by the pokeball's protective casing. I called out the firebird, and it soared gracefully across to land near Venusaur.
"Venusaur, VineQuake!" Venusaur's vines shot out, up and down, into the rings soil, digging through the ground, threatening to burst under Moltres at anytime. I had a solution.
"Moltres, Magma." I said it calmly. Moltres blew out molten rock, regurgitating it onto the arena floor around, just as the vines came up. They burned and Venusaur roared in pain.
"Moltres, finish it now with Fire Blast!" The Fire Blast flew towards Venusaur, who was too slow to get away. He was hit, and fell, but, as he did, his vines, still barely functional, grabbed Moltres and pulled it into the magma. The bird couldn't take this, and was severely weakened. Moltres pulled itself up, and Venusaur fainted. Ash recalled him, a tear in one eye. Moltres collapsed. I recalled it.
ROUND 3
I could tell, psychically, that Ash was going to send out Charizard. I pulled my next pokeball, Mew. She flew out, enthusiastic as ever. Charizard stared at her.
"Oh please, Ash. Mew, Dimensional Rip!" A shining cut in the time-space continuum appeared above Charizard, and slowly widened until it dwarfed the dragon. Charizard was sucked in suddenly. The portal closed, and Ash screamed.
"What have you done with him?" Ash yelled. I nodded to center ring. Te cut opened again, and Charizard fell out, an orange bundle, the flame burning just slightly on its tail. Ash recalled it.
ROUND 4
Strangely enough, Mew fell to a burning BladeFire attack from Ash's Scyther, a force to be reckoned with. I was surprised, but didn't show it. I just stared. My next pokemon was Skarmory, the Steel Bird. Scyther flew in, trying a speed attack.
"Skarmory, Wing Fan Block!" Skarmory's wings came up in from the steel blades descending from them, and creating a shield in front of the bird. Scyther tried to stop, but rammed headfirst into them. Skarmory used a Steel Wing attack to finish it. Ash recalled Scyther. He was down to Pikachu and one other. I had two left after Skarmory, but Lugia couldn't fight, so I only had one other.
ROUND 5
Ash sent his next pokemon, a Dragonite. It lumbered up to face my Skarmory. Skarmory cawed a challenge to it, which it answered with a hyper beam. Skarmory's wing quickly came up, blocking and reflecting the beam back at Dragonite, who was helpless to defend against its own attack. It took a heavy hit, but was still standing. Its next attack was a powerful Body Slam. It crashed down on my Steel Bird. Skarmory was no idiot, though, and brought the hard wings up and struck the Dragonite as it fell, slashing it with the blade-like feathers. I was allowed one last pokemon. So was Ash.
ROUND 6
So it came down to my Golden Pikachu against Ash's Pikachu, a veteran fighter. Goldie was no weakling, and it's hideously over powerful electric attacks would more than compensate fro it's lack in size next to Ash's larger, stronger pikachu. Goldie neede to attack commands, she could play this one by ear.
"Pikachu, Thunder!" Ash yelled, immediately going for the hard attack. Goldie absorbed the damage, and fired it straight back. Pikachu was surprised, and took the hit. It soon stood and shook off the weakness. Goldie was then target for devastating speed attacks. As Goldie took a final scratch and fell, I realized he had been my last pokemon. It was over, Ash had beaten me. I fell to my knees, eyes wide. I knew that I should have beaten him, I could have, had I had Lugia. My eyes watered, and tears began to fall. I stood, and turned around, ready to leave, never to return. I was interrupted by the voice of Lugia.
"James, I will fight."
"You don't have to. I already lost, get back in the pokeball."
"No, I won't let you lose, no matter what my faith to Ash is, you are my trainer, and my friend, as your wife, Sabrina, was my friend. I will do this for you both." Lugia turned towards Pikachu, his immense wings flapping.
"Pikachu, finish this with Thunder." Pikachu released its most powerful attack. Lugia was unfazed. Seeing my pokemon stand up to this made me proud. I smiled, ever so slightly.
"Lugia, Psyburn!" Lugia's psyburns smashed the electric rat backwards into Ash's waiting arms. It was knocked out. I recalled Lugia, silently thanking the Guardian. I turned to leave.
"James, I'll understand if you resign," Ash said.
"I won't. The people need Rangers, and I'm the best they've got. I'll be on page." I left.