Pokemon Journeys, Ch. 3: Clash of the Gangs
The Jolteon bolted through the forest, dodging trees with tremendous speed. Whatever it was running from must have been left far behind by now. Its Agility carried it faster and faster, though it appeared to be tiring.
Crystal, Keia, and Pulsar watched as he stopped, panting, in the middle of a clearing, his head down. The Jolteon walked over to a small lake and took a drink, glancing over his shoulder as if expecting to see someone following behind him. The trio moved out into plain sight so that the Jolteon would know they were there.
"Is someone chasing you?" Keia asked. He turned to look at her, a bit startled by their sudden appearance. "Not anymore," he replied. Pulsar looked back the way he had come and asked, "What were you running from, might I ask?"
The Jolteon sighed. "Team Rocket. I need to go back, however. They have my trainer, Damian."
Crystal blinked. "I though they only stole Pokemon. What would they want with your trainer?" she asked.
"He belongs to a rival gang. They wanted to question him the whereabouts of our gang's hideout."
Keia looked at him incredulously. "Your trainer is a Pokemon thief?" She asked.
"Yes," the Jolteon replied a bit sadly, "But he's actually very good at what he does. And he's a good trainer… and my friend."
Pulsar shook his head scornfully, "I can't believe that. I mean honestly – Team Rocket couldn't catch a cold on the top of a mountain in December in their underwear, much less catch a trainer."
The Jolteon glared. "They're not all weak and stupid like those you know. Some of the T.R. trainers are very powerful, and they have powerful Pokemon, too."
"Like what?" Crystal asked.
"Like Nidoking. And Charizard. They have others, but they didn't send them out. I was just barely able to get away; they were trying to steal me, too."
The Meowth thought for a moment. "I'll help you. My name's Crystal," she said finally, walking up to the Jolteon and smiling, then looking over her shoulder at the others to see if they would, too.
"Well, in any other case, I'd say let them take him. But to help a fellow Eeveelution in need, I'll do anything," Keia said, stepping forward. Pulsar looked from one to the other. After a moment, he said, "Well, there's no way I'm letting you two go in there without me, especially since it could be a trap. Besides," he winked, "beating up Rockets is my hobby!"
"My name's Sage." The Jolteon said. The others two introduced themselves and Sage led them off towards the small, rundown building where he claimed the Rockets were holding his trainer captive.
They snuck around the side of the building, which looked like an old warehouse. What a warehouse was doing in the middle of the woods, no one knew, but it was there. Sage leapt onto a pile of stacked firewood that was leaning against the side of the building, and from that to the ledge of a large window. "He's in there! Tied to a chair in the far corner. Charizard and Nidoking are guarding the door. Apparently they're expecting company," he reported.
"You?" Crystal asked.
"Maybe so…but most likely they're nervous and think I've gone to get help. They won't be expecting this help," he replied with a smile.
They stood before the doors, listening quietly. They could hear the sound of voices inside, but couldn't make out the conversation. Pulsar took a deep breath. "On the count of three, we go in. Agreed?" When the others nodded, he counted, "One…two…THREE!"
The four Pokemon burst through the door and were immediately met by the Charizard and Nidoking. The two Rockets who stood in the room, young men both with black uniforms and masks, called out two more Pokemon when the four Pokemon entered.
"Go, Dragonite!"
"Go, Alakazam!"
"Rai!" Pulsar growled, lunging for the Dragonite. The legendary Pokemon dodged and whacked the Raichu with one of its leathery wings, sending him sprawling, but Pulsar got back up, apparently not hurt much at all. "You should know better than to use a flying-type attack on an electric-type!" he scorned. Suddenly he leapt forward again, this time darting all about the Dragon with blinding speed, using his Agility. What he did not expect, though, was a second opponent. The Alakazam stepped up and narrowed its eyes at Pulsar. A blue aura formed around him and he found himself helpless under the effects of the Disable attack.
Sage faced off against the Charizard. He started off with a Thunderbolt attack, and the Charizard was obviously hurting, but the flame Pokemon retaliated with a Flamethrower attack, singeing Sage's fur. He growled and used the Thunder attack, which left the Charizard reeling, hardly able to keep on its feet.
Keia looked at the Nidoking in front of her with a kind of boredom.
"A poison type? Oh please," she said. The Nidoking started to glow, and she casually turned her head to look at the wall beside her. The Psychic attack hurled Nidoking into it hard, leaving a slight indentation wherever it had hit. Then she looked at the ceiling. Then another wall. And then to the floor, and to another wall. By the time the huge Pokemon had hit every flat surface in the room, it had fainted. She yawned delicately, "Piece of cake. And it's a chocolate cake, too. Triple layer, with lots of icing… and sprinkles… and– " then she noticed Pulsar, under attack by both the Dragonite and the Alakazam, at the other side of the building. But she would never reach him in time.
Crystal had immediately run over to Sage's trainer, dodging the two Rockets as she did so. She chewed through the ropes that held him and he stood, pulling the gag from his mouth. The two Rockets had reached them by then, and Damian met them with fists flying, slugging one and knocking him out cold. The second was a harder opponent, though, and much larger than the slight, black-haired boy.
Then she noticed Pulsar. He was too far away from the others for anyone to reach him, and he was being attacked from all sides. It made her furious, and yet very desperate. If only she could reach him before he fainted! She felt strange then, as if she was slowly becoming weightless. Everything around her turned to blackness, gray shadows swirling all around. She could see nothing by the Alakazam. In a flash, she was there, right in front of her. She felt the power of the darkness around her, and she focused it on her opponent almost reflexively as she struck it. "Kaaazaaammm!" the Alakazam seemed badly hurt by it. Then everything around her became clear again, all but a black aura around her, which faded swiftly. Crystal had no time to worry about it now, though. She leapt up at the Alakazam and bit it, and to her surprise it fainted under the Dark-type attack.
Pulsar, having now regained his ability to move, growled at the Dragonite and leapt high into the air, landing on the Dragon Pokemon's back and clinging there. The Dragonite flailed about and spun in circles futilely, but it could not shake the Raichu. Pulsar's Thunder attack shook the foundations of the building, and the Dragonite wavered for a second. The mouse Pokemon jumped off, stood there for a second, and then used Quick Attack, knocking the Dragonite to the ground, unconscious.
Crystal still stood unbelieving at the feinted Alakazam. How had she done that? And what was the strange attack she had used that had carried her across the room? She didn't have much time to think, for the remaining Rocket tossed one last Pokeball into the fight. "Go, Persian!" he yelled. The huge, lion-like cat Pokemon appeared, and Crystal was a bit taken aback. The small Meowth was the first thing that the Persian went for. Crystal felt dread overtake her. How could she possibly beat her own evolved form?
Keia rushed over to Pulsar, who was nearly fainted. "Are you okay?" she asked. Before he could answer, there was a terrible racket to their left, and they looked over to see Crystal facing off against the Persian. "Oh no…" Keia said. The two moved almost too fast to see, and it was hard to tell who was winning. "I only hope she can use that Faint Attack again." Pulsar said. The Espeon looked at him curiously. "Faint Attack?" she asked. "Yeah, that's what she just used on the Alakazam, there. That's why it fainted so quickly. I don't think she even realized what it was. Hopefully she'll figure it out… and fast."
The Persian leapt at her, but Crystal dodged. She focused again on her opponent. I must reach the Persian. It's too fast to get any normal way. Must reach out and strike again with the shadows…she thought. In mere moments, she felt the world fade into the distance again, and the shadowy mists swirled around her. Again, time seemed almost to slow down as the Persian looked around, confused that its opponent had disappeared. Crystal focused as much energy as she possibly could, until she though she might burst with it, and struck out. The Persian reeled back from the hit, but still stood, although wounded badly. Crystal appeared again and the Persian retaliated, swiping her aside and sending her tumbling hard into the wall. She shook her head dizzily and looked over in time to see the Persian almost upon her.
There was a flash of yellow and white, and something slammed into her foe, knocking it aside before it could strike her again. Sage stood defensively between her and the Persian. Then he smiled grimly and lunged forward and kicked the Persian hard, knocking it out cold with his fighting-type attack, Double-Kick. All of their opponents had been defeated, but the group was sorry looking indeed. Pulsar and Crystal were barely conscious, and Sage was badly burned. Keia had not been harmed, but was tired all the same. Damian walked over to Sage and put a hand on the Jolteon's head, smiling. "Thanks, Sage. I was really worried there for a while. Not only do we have two captives to bring back to the boss, but all these Pokemon you and the others knocked out, too. Come to think of it," he turned to look at Pulsar and Keia, "we have even more than that. Get them, Sage!" he pointed at the Keia and Pulsar. The Jolteon did not move an inch. "Sage, I said attack!" Damian said, confused. After his Pokemon still did not move, he scratched his head confusedly.
"Tired, maybe? Okay, then. I guess I'll call out Vapor-"
"JOLT!" As Damian reached for the Pokeball at his belt, Sage put a paw on his hand, pinning it down, and shaking his head empathically.
"...eon. No?"
"Jolt! Jolteeeeeeon!"
The trainer looked at him blankly for a bit and then smiled. "Oh, I see. They're friends of yours, ne? Alright, then. I'll get these idiots here taken care of," he motioned to the Rockets, "and you can tell your friends goodbye. This isn't a good place for strays," With that, he turned to take care of the enemy thieves.
Sage turned to Crystal and the others. "I don't know how I can ever thank you for your help. But take these," he went over to Damian's pack and took two Hyper Potions out of it, tossing them to Pulsar, "they'll at least help with your wounds. You had better go now, if you want to be safe. Thank you again. If you ever need anything, just ask." A red beam of light hit Sage and he turned into nothing more than a cloud of red glowing light as he was recalled by his trainer and drawn into the Pokeball. They watched silently as Damian left, taking the unconscious Team Rocket gangsters with him. Pulsar, being the only one with decent paws for the job, used the Hyper Potions on himself and Crystal. Their wounds healed instantly, and the three companions were able to start on their way once again. The sun had begun to set and all were tired, more than willing to find a safe place to rest for the night. "Do you think we'll ever see Sage again?" Crystal asked.
"I hope so," Keia replied absently. She'd been a bit distant ever since they had left the abandoned warehouse. The other two looked at her curiously. She seemed a bit infatuated…
"I'm sure you do," Pulsar said slyly, "Methinks Keia has a little bit of a crush…"
"I do not! So, okay, I agree he's a nice guy, and good looking, and brave, and smart…" she stopped herself before going too far, "But that doesn't mean I'm obsessed with him."
"We said nothing about obsession. A crush is an entirely different thing," Crystal pointed out.
"Whose side are you on, anyway?" Keia demanded.
"Pulsar's."
"I should have guessed as much… you're not going to let me forget this, are you?"
"Nope!" the other two said in unison. Keia sighed. This was going to be a long night…