Beyond Fate's Intention
Disclaimer... Pokemon is owned and copyrighted and blah blah blah by nintendo and all those other folks, not me. and I give credit where credit is due...
Previously, Scott Hawk and Paul had finished a competition, it was a close fight, and Paul had emerged the victor..but Scott had an expierence during that fight he couldn't easily describe...and it still eats at him.... and now....
Chapter 2
Scott was sitting on the lakeshore with his brother, it had been a long week. He hurled another stone out across the water, watching as it skipped accross the surface. Looking around, he actually took the time to appreciate the beauty of this place. Watching the setting sun cast a glimmer off of the water, he gazed out at his pokemon. Geargon, his Gyrados, was just exicted to be back at his birthplace, Scott had caught him as a small Magicarp long ago, and had, over time raised him, he rembered when he had evolved into that huge leviathan of a sea monster. Then he gazed over at Mystique, his Gengar, she smiled at him, then layed back, just enjoying the last rays of the sun, now was her time to relax. Scott had been talking to Paul about what had happened during their battle. "Scott, that wasn't like you, I saw how terrifyed you looked, but you seemed to be off in another world." Scott looked over at his younger brother, he still remembered how they had come across Paul, they had found the poor little tyke abandoned and crying in a dumpster when he was just an infant. Scott's family had taken Paul in, and they were closest of friends now, though Scott still sometimes teased Paul, using the nickname "Dumpster Boy". "I-I don't know what happened, Paul, something...its hard to describe." Paul looked at him seriously, "You saw something Scott, don't try to deny that, I could see it in your eyes." Scott sighed in frustration, he strained to rember what he had seen, "It was...a bird, the biggest bird you ever saw, Paul. It had four legs, and wings on its back, and a vicious looking beak, and its eyes...oh lord Paul, its eyes were so cold, like they were cutting right through me.. and it was pure white, I swear Paul, you never saw anything so terrifying." Paul looked at his brother, if what he was saying was even remotely true, why then, why there, why now? Scott and Paul had been through enough, they didn't need some bird swooping down on them.. Friend, Scott's Slowking, placed a hand on Scott's shoulder, [whatever happens, we will be with you, my friend] Scott gazed at him with a thankfull expression on his face, "Thank you... Anything I can get to help me is most welcome, all of you mean so much to me... every last one of you, you are all my dear friends." Scott's pokemon made some sarcastic 'awwwwws' and they all broke out in laughter, except for Magneto, Scott's Magneton, who simply beeped and clanked, with no mouth it was hard for him to laugh. He looked at Paul solemnly, "I just need some time alone right now Paul, come on Geargon" Scott jumped onto the back of his Gyrados and began riding out on the lake. "Where are you going?" Paul yelled out, still looking at him worriedly from the shore "The Dock," Scott hollered back before drifting beyond earshot. "Good old Scott" Paul thought to himself, "Theres always enough time for him to go on a candy run" Scotts Magneton made another attempt to laugh, succeding only in making more clanking sounds.
Scott headed down to the gas station called the Dock, he figured they were all in need of some refreshemnts. He told the pokemon with him to wait outside and pushed open the door, causing bells to jingle as he walked in. Scott chuckled with amusement, ever since Pokemon training had become all the rage, busineess had acquired some new merchindise, scott looked over all of the Pokemon treats available, Ketchup bars...electric type Pokemon loved those, some various water/fertilizer gel packets for grass type pokemon, a sort of moist spongue like food wrapped in seaweed, water pokemon liked those.. the selections were endless. Scott grabbed a couple handfulls of various pokemon treats, then took his trainer ID card and slid it into the PC next to the counter, He withdrew some money he had been saving up for just such snack cravings, made his purchase and left. Outside, scott saw a person he never expected to be at the Dock, Tony Silvers. Scott saw him opening up a small packet of toxic sludge, handing it to an eager Muk. "Since when did you come down here Tony?" Scott asked. Not many people knew Tony well, he tended to be an outcast, and didn't have many friends, his main companions were his videogames and his Pokemon. Tony stared at Scott with his black eyes, the boy had always come off as slightly wierd, his frizzy hair rustled a bit in the wind, Scott thought this was a bit too Batman for him. "Oh, hi Scott, I forgot you lived around here" Scott could see Tony fidgeting with his gameboy. Scott looked at the shy boy with a smile, he never went anywhere without that gameboy, "The Dock is the only place that sells sludge, and Murkrow wanted to fly around.. so I figured, hit two birds in one stone, Oh no offense, Murkrow." The dark/flying pokemon croaked in ammusement, Tony was always close to his pokemon. Scott looked up at the sky, "Say Tony, You feel like flying a bit more, I'm in the mood for the sky myself." Tony looked at him with nothing but a slight grin, "Sure Scott," Tony always did get to the point. Scott looked at his pokemon waiting out in front of the Gas station. He saw passing motorists slowing down and staring as they drove by the large assortment of different pokemon. He laughed when he bheald Mystique using her psychic abilities to project words in the air displayed to the passing motorists 'honk if you love candy' as he got closer he covered his ears, the sound of horns honking was becoming deafning. "Good old friends" he said.
Paul had been suprised to see Tony out at the lake, but more than obliged to join them in flying. If you looked up from the shore, you could see three large creatures in flight: A large, red, winged lizard, Scott's charizard, What looked like an over sized raven wearing a hat, Tony's Murkrow, and a large bird that looked more like a totem pole than an animal, Paul's Xatu. They had been flying for sometime now, circling the lake, forgetting, losing themselves in the currents. Just as they were ready to depart Tony noticed the Spotlight. "Do you see that Scott?" he called out, usually spotlights weren't on display untill around christmas, which was still about a month away. Scott looked down at his watch, 6:00, "We still have a bit of time, you guys, why not check it out?" Tony and Paul quikly agreed, there was no reason not to. As they approached the source of the spotlight, the sun vanished from view, and the first stars of the night began to show themselves. Scott looked down and saw what looked like an autograph signing, there were people lined up behind various tables, apparently signing forms. What stood out above all that was various pokemon, obviously trainer owned. As they landed, hardly noticed by the buzzing crowd, they saw a banner draped over the entrance, 'All trainers Welcome, sign up for the challenge of a lifetime' one thing Scott had liked about things involving real pokemon is they didn't hype things up as was done with almost everything else, chances were this really was a challenge of a lifetime. Paul tapped Scott on the shoulder, stifeling a laugh, Scott followed Paul's gaze and saw what was so funny, it was Carlton, a heavy set, 5 foot tall, babyfaced red head, he specialized in normal type Pokemon. Carlton was trying to do a victory dance, and was succeding only in causing all who saw to nearly collapse to the floor with laughter. Carlton's entire body was jiggling, entertaining and disgusting people at the same time. Even Carlton's Likitung was having to fight hard not to laugh. Eventually Carlton realized the spectacle he was making of himself and stopped, Scott and Paul were still laughing when he approached them. "Better hurry up twerps," the pudgy carrot top trainer bellowed, "You don't sign up soon you can kiss this competition goodbye." Scott rolled his dark brown eyes, "What competition, Carlton?" he said in a tone similar to that of a parent addressing a 3 year old. Carlton snorted, and his jowels rippeled at the movement, "Geeze, your dumber than I thought, you haven't heard? The 'team of three' comp.?" Scott was ready to unleash some witty remark, only to be interrupted by his brother, "Scott hes right! Take a look at this". Scott and Tony walked over to the admission form paul was looking at, 'All trainers are invited to participate in this special program for junior trainers, It involves challenges of the body and mind, and promotes teamwork.' Scott and Paul skiped down to the program rules section 'Trainers must register in groups of three, with written consent from parents, No one over 18 may participate. Each group of three will be assigned various choices of Gyms at random, some from each different category depending on difficulty. The ranks of Gyms are 1 through 4, 4 being the most difficult of Gyms, a 1 being the easiest. Every group of three has one year to get at least one badge from every gym, Each member of the group has to earn the same badge. Only those groups that have the minimal recquired badges can take part in the international junior legue competetion. Sign up deadline is December First.' Scott looked at Paul intently, "looks like that big challenge we were looking for has finnally shown itself, eh bro?" Paul smiled, "You said it, who would have thought we would ever get the chance to compete in a League, even if it is the Junior class." Carlton chuckeled, his stomache resonating the sound in small ripples, "Theres only one proplem, you two dumbies, need a third member, the rules state 'everyone must be part of a group of three' I only see 2 of you." As much as they hated to admit it, Carlton was right, the two brothers began contemplating who they could have with them. "How about you wimp?" Scott looked up and saw Carlton yelling at Tony...Tony! He smacked his forehead, why hadn't he thought of that earlier? Tony didn't seem to notice Carlton, he was too busy playing his Gameboy, Carlton became annoyed, "Hey, Geek Face! You hear me? Don't tell me you're paired up with these losers?" Paul was ready to say something, but Scott stopped him, his brother stared at him, "Lets wait and see how this goes," Scott said, "Don't you see it Paul, the third member, Tony could join us!" Paul hit his forehead in a similar fashion to his brother, "I never thought of that...but why wait?" Scott grinned, "Knowing how short a fuse Carlton is, I suspect a battle will start in 3, 2, 1..." As if on cue, Carlton began bellowing again, trying to be as intimidating as an obese, spoiled rich kid could. "Ok dirt face, if you aren't gonna listen to me, mabey this will get your attention! Go Miltank!" Tony finally pryed his face away from the game screen and slowly looked up at the short, round challenger standing in front of him. "You want a pokebattle?" he asked simply, "Now you're listening!" Said the redhead getting into a battle pose. Tony looked at him seriously now, "Ok Carlton, but not here, theres people everywhere," The young game addict looked around, "There" he said, "We can fight in that baseball field over there". Carlton looked at him in disgust, "You call yourself a fighter? We fight here and now, weather you like it or not!, Rollout Miltank!" The female cowlike pokemon curled up into a ball and began gathering earth around her body, untill she was a large rock ball, and began rolling straight towards Tony. The boy, with a shocked look, reacted quickly, "Go Heracross!" He yelled, by now people had noticed the battle starting, and some of them began to form a human wall, circling the two fighters, and preventing adults from entering, not to mention Scott and Paul. "Is this what you wanted Scott?" He stared down at his younger brother, "Be ready to bring out your pokemon if things get ugly, I still want to wait, just a moment, I think Tony can do this" Paul sighed, and pulled out a pokeball from his belt, ready to fight at a moments notice. Tony seemed all too ready, "Counter, Heracross!" The purple fighting/bug bettle braced himself as the huge ball of rock rolled towards him. Carlton wasn't expecting what happened next, the earthen ball made contact with the bug and began crushing him, just when it seemed his body would burst, the Herracross made his move. People who had enough time to see what was happening had to cover their eyes as dust was flying everywhere. The Miltank staggered back as the bettle hit her with one punch after another, dealing back the damage she caused two fold. Carlton's head looked like it would overheat and explode, it was so red from embarrasment and fury all at once. Tony just looked on with that blank expression, ready for whatever his opponent had in store for him. Carlton composed himself and issued the order "Body slam, Miltank" the Cow backed up and rushed the bettle, leaping into the air at the last second, Tony took this opening. "Move!" he yelled, the Herracross didn't need anymore than that, he spread his double sets of wings and flew forward, the Miltank crashing into the space he had occupied only seconds ago. Tony was in control now, "Seismic toss!" he hollered. The bettle quickly grabbed hold of his foes tail from behind, the cow type pokemon cried out in suprise, not ready for a shot from behind. Carlton was practically bawling like a baby now. The Herracross flew a few feet into the air, dragging the cow with him by her tail, then began spinning around faster and faster, finnaly releasing the Miltank, sending her straight into the ground. The cow looked up at her trainer, straining to lift up a trembling arm before collapsing, defeated. Carlton recalled his beaten pokemon, his face now purple with rage, and with a sour grin, sent out another Pokemon. "Go Clefairy!" He yelled out, Tony's shoulders slumped, he didn't want this to continue any further, but clearly he had no choice, with no sign of help in sight, he reluctantly brought out another of his friends. "Go Murkrow!". The Black bird hopped forward and crowed in response, [Let's finish this Tony!]. Tony nodded and gestured to Murkrow to begin, Carlton just made a rather stupid looking grin, "Your over sized buzzard isn't a match for my Clefairy, I paid $500 for that Pokemon! Doubleslap Clefairy!" The pink winged pokemon leapt towards the black bird, hands open, ready to attack. Tony just rolled his eyes, "Up, Murkrow." he said simply, the flying pokemon spread its wings and took to the air, easily avoiding the charging Clefairy. Carlton was jumping up and down in frustration as the Clefairy looked around, confused by the "dissapearing act" her foe pulled. Tony didn't hesitate, "Rush her and peck, Murkrow!". His partner quickly complied, flying straight at his pink opponent. Carlton actually had a plan this time, "Psychic!" He yelled out, the small fairy turned around and quickly began the attack at the sight of the oncoming bird. Tony laughed to himself, Carlton obviously didn't know a thing about dark type pokemon, well he was about to learn. "Stay your course, Murkrow, you'll be fine". The bird confidently flew on, Carlton sniggering the whole time, until he saw the mental assault from his Clefairy make contact...and be absorbed by the Dark type bird, utterly inneffective. Scott thought Carlton's head would litterally explode, veins on his forehead were bulging, his beady little eyes ready to pop out of his skull. "How...." a confused Carlton managed, Tony just chuckled, "You didn't know? Dark pokemon are immune to psychic attacks" All this was being said as the Murkrow unleashed a series of fierce pecks to the fairy, still stuned that one of his best attacks did nothing. Tony felt this was done, watching with satisfaction as the Clefairy flew back and hit the ground..hard. Carlton wasn't done yet, he could see his pokemon still had a bit left in her, "Metronome Clefairy!". Tony stared at the pink creature, as did almost everyone else, eager to see if this would make or break the fight. Scott watched as a very dim purple aura formed around her, just for a second, then dissapeared, now there was just a Clefairy with this faraway gaze, holding her head for a second, then her hands began to glow. Tony recognized the attack immediately, and was terrifyed, "Oh sh...Explosion...Murkrow, I know this will hurt, but people could die, you have to take that Clefairy as high as possible, NOW!" The black bird cawed in recognition, and swooped in grabbing the soon to explode pokemon in its claws, and soaring into the air. Scott saw what was happening and quickly acted, "Paul, help me out here, we have to protect these people, Friend, I need your help!" Scott waited impatiently as his Slowking emerged from his pokeball. Scott looked at him seriously, then up at the Murkrow, "We need a shield, Friend, Paul can you help me here?" His younger brother nodded, "Xatu, lets see about that barrier, help Friend out!". The psychic bird quickly hopped next to the Slowking, both pokemon began to glow a bright purple aura, then, slowly, a small bubble of a shield began to eminate from them, shooting upwards into the sky, then working its way down, forming a giant purple dome, protecting the entire group of people. Tony saw what they were doing, "Hypno, help them out, Explosion packs a punch!" Scott looked with a determined look on his face, the three pokemon began to join forces in one big glow, the spotlight still shined, if you looked to the sky, you could see the light had an odd purple tint to it. Tony's Murkrow tried one last time to stop the living bomb he was carrying, [look, lots of people could get hurt here, for the last time, Stop!] it was no use, the pokemon was already lost in its attack, the affects of the Metronome technique refusing to relinquish the crazed, lost look in her eyes. Scott could see the orb of energy start to form, "Brace yourselves guys, here it comes!" All three pokemon tensed up, the shield started flash, only to be outshined by the enormous explosion, people covered their ears, Scott shut his eyes tight, tthe burst of light was blinding. You could see the strain on the faces of the three psychic pokemon as the explosion pushed against the bubble of mental energy. Just when the shield began to give, the flash stopped, it was over. Everyone stared up with horrified faces, screams could now be heard over the remaining noise from the explosion. Tony was the only one who saw the Murkrow falling in the night sky, "Kroooooww!" the bird cried out as it fell, barely concious. The psychic shield, still there, did nothing to stop the Dark type pokemon, it was immune to psychic energy by nature, and fell right through the shield, absorbing a small part of it in the process. Paul's Xatu was at the end of his stregnth, and began to stumble, exausted. Scott saw the other two pokemon were begining to tire as well, "Thats enough guys, I think its over." Both Friend and Hypno sighed in relief as the allowed the shield to dissapate. Tony cried out, running to help his falling friend he wasn't going to make it. Scott saw the situation, "Mystique, cushion please" his ghost of a friend vanished, and reeappeared on the area Murkrow was fastly approaching, then her body began to contort, she became wider, and shorter, she looked like jello gently hitting the ground in slow motion. In seconds, the Bird hit the pillow with eyes, landing harmlessly. Tony quickly ran over to his badly hurt pokemon. "Go Blissey!" Tony looked around to see Paul smiling at him, "That Murkrow is a friend, Blissey, hes hurt, help him out would you?". The big white and Pink pokemon rushed to the side of the half concious bird, she looked down at him warmly, then reached into her pouch, and withdrew an egg, one of the potent healing eggs that all Blisseys and Chanseys carried. Breaking off small pieces, she handed them to Tony, [Eat this] she said in a sweet voice, [you'll feel better]. Scott had just noticed the fuss being made by Carlton. His Clefairy, unlike Murkrow, didn't just fall through the shield, but had rested on the bubble of mental energy for about a minute, she was just falling, completly knocked out. Scott rolled his eyes, Carlton was just babbling now, so mad you couldn't understand anything he said. Scott realized he would have to act, "Singe, I need some help here!" the large red, winged lizard that was his Charizard steped forward, ready to act. Scott pointed up at the falling pokemon, "Stop her before we have anymore injuries, or even worse, a death, would ya?" His Charizard nodded, spread his wings, and flew up intercepting the falling fighter. Things seemed to be settling down when everyone heard a horrible screeching sound, heads slowly turned and saw a nearby radio antenna, a large one, begginig to give at its mid section. Scott stared in horror as he saw support beams twisting and snap away uselessly as the upper half of the large antenna fell towards the crowd. It was obvious that a shield wouldn't help, there wasn't time, he turned to Friend. "Buddy, I need your help again, weve gotta chew through that antenna before someone gets crushed." His companion nodded in understanding. "Ready? Ok use Psywa-...Ahhh!" Friend looked down at his trainer, Scott was holding his head, and had the most painfull look on his face. "N-No, not again...this can't be happening againn!" Scott could see the White bird, the cold stare, he tried to fight it, but began to collapse to the ground untill he was just curled up, trembling at random. His Slowking looked at him worriedly, What was happening to his friend? Priorites, Friend thought, he stared up at the falling section of the tower, his eyes began to glow. People who hadn't seen the falling structure now saw a huge, resonating wave of purple energy, spreading out and hitting the antenna half head on. Mystique materialized next to Friend, [Friend, whats happening to Scott?] The Slowking turned his head slightly, [I think hes having one of those "visions" again Mystique, but we have to protect these people first] Mystique nodded absently, staring up at the metal as Friends psywave technique ate away at the metal beams, twisting and tearing them into smaller and smaller fragments, all the time, slowly lowering the pieces of steel to the ground. [Man you're really tearing up those beams Friend, if you don't watch it, you could take and eye out there.] Friend stared at Mystique out of the corner of his eye, [Little help Mystique?] she looked at him for a second, then up at the wave getting closer, he was right, strong or not, making that shield had worn Friend out, he couldn't hold the wave long enough to carry the fragments away, and if he lowered the field much more, he might hit innocent people. Mystique was quick to act, using her illusions to her advantage, suddenly she looked about 5 times bigger, [Ok folks listen up, in about 10 seconds all of these metal fragments are going to be falling down, they are too small to do any real damage, but you are gonna want to close your eyes and get down, or we could have a lot of scratched cornias and cut people, hurry!] people slowly began to comply, she was obviously right, the field was beginning to fade. Mystique watched carefully untill everyone was down on the ground, her gaze lingered a moment on Scott, she could see tears running down his shaking face, that would have to wait. She gestured the all clear to Friend, and he released the pieces of metal, nearly falling to the ground from exaustion as he shut his eyes tight. Mystique, being a ghost, and the only one who could safely stand and watch later described what happened next as 'metal rain'. Fragments of steel were falling everywhere, some people in the crowd began yelping in terror, others laughed, Mystique just kept sharp watch, looking for any dangerously sized pieces of metal. Seeing one, she formed a shadowy ball of energy in her hand, and lobbed it at the falling section of steel. The shadow ball hit head on, and the beam fell to a clearing several meters away, still twisting, like an animal writhing in pain, from her attack. Now it truely was over, people slowly looked up, glad to be alive. Tony and Paul pulled Scott up from the ground, just as he opened his mouth to talk, he was interrupted by the sound of applause. The three boys looked around in wonder as nearly everyone gave them a standing ovation, Scotts face turned a bit red, Paul just smiled, and even took a bow, Tony pulled his gameboy out and started playing again, stroking the neck of his recovering Murkrow with his free hand, and saying words of praise to his friends, human and pokemon alike. Carlton was just scowling the whole time, and ready to confront the group again when a man who looked to be in his late twenties broke through the crowd, he grabbed Carltons shoulder and glared at him. "Hey! Back off! don't you know who I am?" Carlton exclaimed, sounding striking similar to a squealing pig, "I know who you are" The man said, "You're the upstart who started the fight, and very nearly killed half of the people here, If not for the quick action of those three over there" he gestured to the video gamer and the two brothers, "It would have happened, For what its worth, I'm the administrator for this sign up site, I'm going to ask you nicely... just once to leave, and be thankfull that I'm not disqualifying you from the competition." Carlton gave him a rather nasty stare "Just you wait untill my parents hear about this,". The man kept a blank expression "Trust me, they will, they will hear about how you put the lives of dozens of innocent people on the line, now get out of my sight." Carlton started to open his oversized mouth again, "NOT.....ANOTHER..WORD" the man said. Carlton just grimaced, he beckoned to his comrades to come with him, one of them stayed back. "I paid you to join my team you..if you don't want to spend your life in regret and pain, you'll come with us right now" Carlton bellowed. Reluctantly, the boy followed the group out of the signup center.
The man watched them walk away, then headed towards the three trainers, now being confronted by "fans". Scott even had one person ask for an autograph, which they were barely able to read, Scott had terrible handwriting. Paul and Tony had started talking to Scott after the crowd died down when the man came over. "Excuse me, gentlemen?" all three trainers looked at him, appearing a bit irritated at the interruption. "That was some quick thinking and valient action you did out there, without a doubt you saved lives today, I owe you all a debt of gratitude." They all smiled and accepted the handshakes he offered, saying various comments of thanks. "Names Brian," The man said, "I'm the administrator for this sign up site, and after seeing what you did, I would urge you guys to participate in this competion, no doubt you can show that bully Carlton a thing or two." Tony looked a bit upset at this, "Carlton wasn't disquallified?". Brian shook his head, "As much as I would like to do that, I can't, his parents would bring this entire competion down before that happened, he's got those wealthy folks played like a violin, if he wants almost anything, he gets it." Tony frowned at this, "But that kid could have killed someone..." The man just looked at him with a frustrated expression, "I don't like it anymore than you do, but his parents have connections, and I can't just put the competion in jepordy for all the other people who went to the time and effort to enter..". All three looked at eachother, "Sometimes I think the dollar has too much weight in this world" Scott said, his voice still a little shakey. Brian nodded, and as he looked at the teenager, he noticed his eyes were watery, he looked like he'd been through hell. "You all right son?" he asked. Scott wiped away the remaing tears on his face with one swift motion, "Don't worry about me sir, I'll be fine." Brian let it go, "Good to hear, well, great work fellas, hope to see you in the finals!" He waved at them as he walked back into his trailer/office, to report what had just transpired.
Paul turned back to his brother, he pulled him to the side and spoke in a low voice "Scott, you may have fooled Brian, but I can see through you bro, you're a wreck...just what happened?" Scott just stared at him.. "Was it that bird thing again Scott?". The boy looked off into the distance, and could swear he still saw the silouette of that menacing bird...he shook his head. "Didn't you hear what Brian said? We did, great! Now come on, dumpster boy, let sign up." Paul looked on with concern as his obviously troubled brother ran to a signup table, why wouldn't he talk about this?
It was midnight, a week later, Scott woke up gasping, that bird, it was in his dreams now, he couldn't get out of his head. Not thinking, just wanting the pain to stop, he slowly got out of bed, he didn't bother turning on the light as he walked downstairs to the kitchen. "You won't be able to torment me any more" he whispered into the night as he opened a drawer and pulled out a knife, staring at the blade tentatively as it reflected the moonlight. Slowly, he pointed it towards his chest......
to be continued.....
Disclaimer... Pokemon is owned and copyrighted and blah blah blah by nintendo and all those other folks, not me. and I give credit where credit is due...
Previously, Scott Hawk and Paul had finished a competition, it was a close fight, and Paul had emerged the victor..but Scott had an expierence during that fight he couldn't easily describe...and it still eats at him.... and now....
Chapter 2
Scott was sitting on the lakeshore with his brother, it had been a long week. He hurled another stone out across the water, watching as it skipped accross the surface. Looking around, he actually took the time to appreciate the beauty of this place. Watching the setting sun cast a glimmer off of the water, he gazed out at his pokemon. Geargon, his Gyrados, was just exicted to be back at his birthplace, Scott had caught him as a small Magicarp long ago, and had, over time raised him, he rembered when he had evolved into that huge leviathan of a sea monster. Then he gazed over at Mystique, his Gengar, she smiled at him, then layed back, just enjoying the last rays of the sun, now was her time to relax. Scott had been talking to Paul about what had happened during their battle. "Scott, that wasn't like you, I saw how terrifyed you looked, but you seemed to be off in another world." Scott looked over at his younger brother, he still remembered how they had come across Paul, they had found the poor little tyke abandoned and crying in a dumpster when he was just an infant. Scott's family had taken Paul in, and they were closest of friends now, though Scott still sometimes teased Paul, using the nickname "Dumpster Boy". "I-I don't know what happened, Paul, something...its hard to describe." Paul looked at him seriously, "You saw something Scott, don't try to deny that, I could see it in your eyes." Scott sighed in frustration, he strained to rember what he had seen, "It was...a bird, the biggest bird you ever saw, Paul. It had four legs, and wings on its back, and a vicious looking beak, and its eyes...oh lord Paul, its eyes were so cold, like they were cutting right through me.. and it was pure white, I swear Paul, you never saw anything so terrifying." Paul looked at his brother, if what he was saying was even remotely true, why then, why there, why now? Scott and Paul had been through enough, they didn't need some bird swooping down on them.. Friend, Scott's Slowking, placed a hand on Scott's shoulder, [whatever happens, we will be with you, my friend] Scott gazed at him with a thankfull expression on his face, "Thank you... Anything I can get to help me is most welcome, all of you mean so much to me... every last one of you, you are all my dear friends." Scott's pokemon made some sarcastic 'awwwwws' and they all broke out in laughter, except for Magneto, Scott's Magneton, who simply beeped and clanked, with no mouth it was hard for him to laugh. He looked at Paul solemnly, "I just need some time alone right now Paul, come on Geargon" Scott jumped onto the back of his Gyrados and began riding out on the lake. "Where are you going?" Paul yelled out, still looking at him worriedly from the shore "The Dock," Scott hollered back before drifting beyond earshot. "Good old Scott" Paul thought to himself, "Theres always enough time for him to go on a candy run" Scotts Magneton made another attempt to laugh, succeding only in making more clanking sounds.
Scott headed down to the gas station called the Dock, he figured they were all in need of some refreshemnts. He told the pokemon with him to wait outside and pushed open the door, causing bells to jingle as he walked in. Scott chuckled with amusement, ever since Pokemon training had become all the rage, busineess had acquired some new merchindise, scott looked over all of the Pokemon treats available, Ketchup bars...electric type Pokemon loved those, some various water/fertilizer gel packets for grass type pokemon, a sort of moist spongue like food wrapped in seaweed, water pokemon liked those.. the selections were endless. Scott grabbed a couple handfulls of various pokemon treats, then took his trainer ID card and slid it into the PC next to the counter, He withdrew some money he had been saving up for just such snack cravings, made his purchase and left. Outside, scott saw a person he never expected to be at the Dock, Tony Silvers. Scott saw him opening up a small packet of toxic sludge, handing it to an eager Muk. "Since when did you come down here Tony?" Scott asked. Not many people knew Tony well, he tended to be an outcast, and didn't have many friends, his main companions were his videogames and his Pokemon. Tony stared at Scott with his black eyes, the boy had always come off as slightly wierd, his frizzy hair rustled a bit in the wind, Scott thought this was a bit too Batman for him. "Oh, hi Scott, I forgot you lived around here" Scott could see Tony fidgeting with his gameboy. Scott looked at the shy boy with a smile, he never went anywhere without that gameboy, "The Dock is the only place that sells sludge, and Murkrow wanted to fly around.. so I figured, hit two birds in one stone, Oh no offense, Murkrow." The dark/flying pokemon croaked in ammusement, Tony was always close to his pokemon. Scott looked up at the sky, "Say Tony, You feel like flying a bit more, I'm in the mood for the sky myself." Tony looked at him with nothing but a slight grin, "Sure Scott," Tony always did get to the point. Scott looked at his pokemon waiting out in front of the Gas station. He saw passing motorists slowing down and staring as they drove by the large assortment of different pokemon. He laughed when he bheald Mystique using her psychic abilities to project words in the air displayed to the passing motorists 'honk if you love candy' as he got closer he covered his ears, the sound of horns honking was becoming deafning. "Good old friends" he said.
Paul had been suprised to see Tony out at the lake, but more than obliged to join them in flying. If you looked up from the shore, you could see three large creatures in flight: A large, red, winged lizard, Scott's charizard, What looked like an over sized raven wearing a hat, Tony's Murkrow, and a large bird that looked more like a totem pole than an animal, Paul's Xatu. They had been flying for sometime now, circling the lake, forgetting, losing themselves in the currents. Just as they were ready to depart Tony noticed the Spotlight. "Do you see that Scott?" he called out, usually spotlights weren't on display untill around christmas, which was still about a month away. Scott looked down at his watch, 6:00, "We still have a bit of time, you guys, why not check it out?" Tony and Paul quikly agreed, there was no reason not to. As they approached the source of the spotlight, the sun vanished from view, and the first stars of the night began to show themselves. Scott looked down and saw what looked like an autograph signing, there were people lined up behind various tables, apparently signing forms. What stood out above all that was various pokemon, obviously trainer owned. As they landed, hardly noticed by the buzzing crowd, they saw a banner draped over the entrance, 'All trainers Welcome, sign up for the challenge of a lifetime' one thing Scott had liked about things involving real pokemon is they didn't hype things up as was done with almost everything else, chances were this really was a challenge of a lifetime. Paul tapped Scott on the shoulder, stifeling a laugh, Scott followed Paul's gaze and saw what was so funny, it was Carlton, a heavy set, 5 foot tall, babyfaced red head, he specialized in normal type Pokemon. Carlton was trying to do a victory dance, and was succeding only in causing all who saw to nearly collapse to the floor with laughter. Carlton's entire body was jiggling, entertaining and disgusting people at the same time. Even Carlton's Likitung was having to fight hard not to laugh. Eventually Carlton realized the spectacle he was making of himself and stopped, Scott and Paul were still laughing when he approached them. "Better hurry up twerps," the pudgy carrot top trainer bellowed, "You don't sign up soon you can kiss this competition goodbye." Scott rolled his dark brown eyes, "What competition, Carlton?" he said in a tone similar to that of a parent addressing a 3 year old. Carlton snorted, and his jowels rippeled at the movement, "Geeze, your dumber than I thought, you haven't heard? The 'team of three' comp.?" Scott was ready to unleash some witty remark, only to be interrupted by his brother, "Scott hes right! Take a look at this". Scott and Tony walked over to the admission form paul was looking at, 'All trainers are invited to participate in this special program for junior trainers, It involves challenges of the body and mind, and promotes teamwork.' Scott and Paul skiped down to the program rules section 'Trainers must register in groups of three, with written consent from parents, No one over 18 may participate. Each group of three will be assigned various choices of Gyms at random, some from each different category depending on difficulty. The ranks of Gyms are 1 through 4, 4 being the most difficult of Gyms, a 1 being the easiest. Every group of three has one year to get at least one badge from every gym, Each member of the group has to earn the same badge. Only those groups that have the minimal recquired badges can take part in the international junior legue competetion. Sign up deadline is December First.' Scott looked at Paul intently, "looks like that big challenge we were looking for has finnally shown itself, eh bro?" Paul smiled, "You said it, who would have thought we would ever get the chance to compete in a League, even if it is the Junior class." Carlton chuckeled, his stomache resonating the sound in small ripples, "Theres only one proplem, you two dumbies, need a third member, the rules state 'everyone must be part of a group of three' I only see 2 of you." As much as they hated to admit it, Carlton was right, the two brothers began contemplating who they could have with them. "How about you wimp?" Scott looked up and saw Carlton yelling at Tony...Tony! He smacked his forehead, why hadn't he thought of that earlier? Tony didn't seem to notice Carlton, he was too busy playing his Gameboy, Carlton became annoyed, "Hey, Geek Face! You hear me? Don't tell me you're paired up with these losers?" Paul was ready to say something, but Scott stopped him, his brother stared at him, "Lets wait and see how this goes," Scott said, "Don't you see it Paul, the third member, Tony could join us!" Paul hit his forehead in a similar fashion to his brother, "I never thought of that...but why wait?" Scott grinned, "Knowing how short a fuse Carlton is, I suspect a battle will start in 3, 2, 1..." As if on cue, Carlton began bellowing again, trying to be as intimidating as an obese, spoiled rich kid could. "Ok dirt face, if you aren't gonna listen to me, mabey this will get your attention! Go Miltank!" Tony finally pryed his face away from the game screen and slowly looked up at the short, round challenger standing in front of him. "You want a pokebattle?" he asked simply, "Now you're listening!" Said the redhead getting into a battle pose. Tony looked at him seriously now, "Ok Carlton, but not here, theres people everywhere," The young game addict looked around, "There" he said, "We can fight in that baseball field over there". Carlton looked at him in disgust, "You call yourself a fighter? We fight here and now, weather you like it or not!, Rollout Miltank!" The female cowlike pokemon curled up into a ball and began gathering earth around her body, untill she was a large rock ball, and began rolling straight towards Tony. The boy, with a shocked look, reacted quickly, "Go Heracross!" He yelled, by now people had noticed the battle starting, and some of them began to form a human wall, circling the two fighters, and preventing adults from entering, not to mention Scott and Paul. "Is this what you wanted Scott?" He stared down at his younger brother, "Be ready to bring out your pokemon if things get ugly, I still want to wait, just a moment, I think Tony can do this" Paul sighed, and pulled out a pokeball from his belt, ready to fight at a moments notice. Tony seemed all too ready, "Counter, Heracross!" The purple fighting/bug bettle braced himself as the huge ball of rock rolled towards him. Carlton wasn't expecting what happened next, the earthen ball made contact with the bug and began crushing him, just when it seemed his body would burst, the Herracross made his move. People who had enough time to see what was happening had to cover their eyes as dust was flying everywhere. The Miltank staggered back as the bettle hit her with one punch after another, dealing back the damage she caused two fold. Carlton's head looked like it would overheat and explode, it was so red from embarrasment and fury all at once. Tony just looked on with that blank expression, ready for whatever his opponent had in store for him. Carlton composed himself and issued the order "Body slam, Miltank" the Cow backed up and rushed the bettle, leaping into the air at the last second, Tony took this opening. "Move!" he yelled, the Herracross didn't need anymore than that, he spread his double sets of wings and flew forward, the Miltank crashing into the space he had occupied only seconds ago. Tony was in control now, "Seismic toss!" he hollered. The bettle quickly grabbed hold of his foes tail from behind, the cow type pokemon cried out in suprise, not ready for a shot from behind. Carlton was practically bawling like a baby now. The Herracross flew a few feet into the air, dragging the cow with him by her tail, then began spinning around faster and faster, finnaly releasing the Miltank, sending her straight into the ground. The cow looked up at her trainer, straining to lift up a trembling arm before collapsing, defeated. Carlton recalled his beaten pokemon, his face now purple with rage, and with a sour grin, sent out another Pokemon. "Go Clefairy!" He yelled out, Tony's shoulders slumped, he didn't want this to continue any further, but clearly he had no choice, with no sign of help in sight, he reluctantly brought out another of his friends. "Go Murkrow!". The Black bird hopped forward and crowed in response, [Let's finish this Tony!]. Tony nodded and gestured to Murkrow to begin, Carlton just made a rather stupid looking grin, "Your over sized buzzard isn't a match for my Clefairy, I paid $500 for that Pokemon! Doubleslap Clefairy!" The pink winged pokemon leapt towards the black bird, hands open, ready to attack. Tony just rolled his eyes, "Up, Murkrow." he said simply, the flying pokemon spread its wings and took to the air, easily avoiding the charging Clefairy. Carlton was jumping up and down in frustration as the Clefairy looked around, confused by the "dissapearing act" her foe pulled. Tony didn't hesitate, "Rush her and peck, Murkrow!". His partner quickly complied, flying straight at his pink opponent. Carlton actually had a plan this time, "Psychic!" He yelled out, the small fairy turned around and quickly began the attack at the sight of the oncoming bird. Tony laughed to himself, Carlton obviously didn't know a thing about dark type pokemon, well he was about to learn. "Stay your course, Murkrow, you'll be fine". The bird confidently flew on, Carlton sniggering the whole time, until he saw the mental assault from his Clefairy make contact...and be absorbed by the Dark type bird, utterly inneffective. Scott thought Carlton's head would litterally explode, veins on his forehead were bulging, his beady little eyes ready to pop out of his skull. "How...." a confused Carlton managed, Tony just chuckled, "You didn't know? Dark pokemon are immune to psychic attacks" All this was being said as the Murkrow unleashed a series of fierce pecks to the fairy, still stuned that one of his best attacks did nothing. Tony felt this was done, watching with satisfaction as the Clefairy flew back and hit the ground..hard. Carlton wasn't done yet, he could see his pokemon still had a bit left in her, "Metronome Clefairy!". Tony stared at the pink creature, as did almost everyone else, eager to see if this would make or break the fight. Scott watched as a very dim purple aura formed around her, just for a second, then dissapeared, now there was just a Clefairy with this faraway gaze, holding her head for a second, then her hands began to glow. Tony recognized the attack immediately, and was terrifyed, "Oh sh...Explosion...Murkrow, I know this will hurt, but people could die, you have to take that Clefairy as high as possible, NOW!" The black bird cawed in recognition, and swooped in grabbing the soon to explode pokemon in its claws, and soaring into the air. Scott saw what was happening and quickly acted, "Paul, help me out here, we have to protect these people, Friend, I need your help!" Scott waited impatiently as his Slowking emerged from his pokeball. Scott looked at him seriously, then up at the Murkrow, "We need a shield, Friend, Paul can you help me here?" His younger brother nodded, "Xatu, lets see about that barrier, help Friend out!". The psychic bird quickly hopped next to the Slowking, both pokemon began to glow a bright purple aura, then, slowly, a small bubble of a shield began to eminate from them, shooting upwards into the sky, then working its way down, forming a giant purple dome, protecting the entire group of people. Tony saw what they were doing, "Hypno, help them out, Explosion packs a punch!" Scott looked with a determined look on his face, the three pokemon began to join forces in one big glow, the spotlight still shined, if you looked to the sky, you could see the light had an odd purple tint to it. Tony's Murkrow tried one last time to stop the living bomb he was carrying, [look, lots of people could get hurt here, for the last time, Stop!] it was no use, the pokemon was already lost in its attack, the affects of the Metronome technique refusing to relinquish the crazed, lost look in her eyes. Scott could see the orb of energy start to form, "Brace yourselves guys, here it comes!" All three pokemon tensed up, the shield started flash, only to be outshined by the enormous explosion, people covered their ears, Scott shut his eyes tight, tthe burst of light was blinding. You could see the strain on the faces of the three psychic pokemon as the explosion pushed against the bubble of mental energy. Just when the shield began to give, the flash stopped, it was over. Everyone stared up with horrified faces, screams could now be heard over the remaining noise from the explosion. Tony was the only one who saw the Murkrow falling in the night sky, "Kroooooww!" the bird cried out as it fell, barely concious. The psychic shield, still there, did nothing to stop the Dark type pokemon, it was immune to psychic energy by nature, and fell right through the shield, absorbing a small part of it in the process. Paul's Xatu was at the end of his stregnth, and began to stumble, exausted. Scott saw the other two pokemon were begining to tire as well, "Thats enough guys, I think its over." Both Friend and Hypno sighed in relief as the allowed the shield to dissapate. Tony cried out, running to help his falling friend he wasn't going to make it. Scott saw the situation, "Mystique, cushion please" his ghost of a friend vanished, and reeappeared on the area Murkrow was fastly approaching, then her body began to contort, she became wider, and shorter, she looked like jello gently hitting the ground in slow motion. In seconds, the Bird hit the pillow with eyes, landing harmlessly. Tony quickly ran over to his badly hurt pokemon. "Go Blissey!" Tony looked around to see Paul smiling at him, "That Murkrow is a friend, Blissey, hes hurt, help him out would you?". The big white and Pink pokemon rushed to the side of the half concious bird, she looked down at him warmly, then reached into her pouch, and withdrew an egg, one of the potent healing eggs that all Blisseys and Chanseys carried. Breaking off small pieces, she handed them to Tony, [Eat this] she said in a sweet voice, [you'll feel better]. Scott had just noticed the fuss being made by Carlton. His Clefairy, unlike Murkrow, didn't just fall through the shield, but had rested on the bubble of mental energy for about a minute, she was just falling, completly knocked out. Scott rolled his eyes, Carlton was just babbling now, so mad you couldn't understand anything he said. Scott realized he would have to act, "Singe, I need some help here!" the large red, winged lizard that was his Charizard steped forward, ready to act. Scott pointed up at the falling pokemon, "Stop her before we have anymore injuries, or even worse, a death, would ya?" His Charizard nodded, spread his wings, and flew up intercepting the falling fighter. Things seemed to be settling down when everyone heard a horrible screeching sound, heads slowly turned and saw a nearby radio antenna, a large one, begginig to give at its mid section. Scott stared in horror as he saw support beams twisting and snap away uselessly as the upper half of the large antenna fell towards the crowd. It was obvious that a shield wouldn't help, there wasn't time, he turned to Friend. "Buddy, I need your help again, weve gotta chew through that antenna before someone gets crushed." His companion nodded in understanding. "Ready? Ok use Psywa-...Ahhh!" Friend looked down at his trainer, Scott was holding his head, and had the most painfull look on his face. "N-No, not again...this can't be happening againn!" Scott could see the White bird, the cold stare, he tried to fight it, but began to collapse to the ground untill he was just curled up, trembling at random. His Slowking looked at him worriedly, What was happening to his friend? Priorites, Friend thought, he stared up at the falling section of the tower, his eyes began to glow. People who hadn't seen the falling structure now saw a huge, resonating wave of purple energy, spreading out and hitting the antenna half head on. Mystique materialized next to Friend, [Friend, whats happening to Scott?] The Slowking turned his head slightly, [I think hes having one of those "visions" again Mystique, but we have to protect these people first] Mystique nodded absently, staring up at the metal as Friends psywave technique ate away at the metal beams, twisting and tearing them into smaller and smaller fragments, all the time, slowly lowering the pieces of steel to the ground. [Man you're really tearing up those beams Friend, if you don't watch it, you could take and eye out there.] Friend stared at Mystique out of the corner of his eye, [Little help Mystique?] she looked at him for a second, then up at the wave getting closer, he was right, strong or not, making that shield had worn Friend out, he couldn't hold the wave long enough to carry the fragments away, and if he lowered the field much more, he might hit innocent people. Mystique was quick to act, using her illusions to her advantage, suddenly she looked about 5 times bigger, [Ok folks listen up, in about 10 seconds all of these metal fragments are going to be falling down, they are too small to do any real damage, but you are gonna want to close your eyes and get down, or we could have a lot of scratched cornias and cut people, hurry!] people slowly began to comply, she was obviously right, the field was beginning to fade. Mystique watched carefully untill everyone was down on the ground, her gaze lingered a moment on Scott, she could see tears running down his shaking face, that would have to wait. She gestured the all clear to Friend, and he released the pieces of metal, nearly falling to the ground from exaustion as he shut his eyes tight. Mystique, being a ghost, and the only one who could safely stand and watch later described what happened next as 'metal rain'. Fragments of steel were falling everywhere, some people in the crowd began yelping in terror, others laughed, Mystique just kept sharp watch, looking for any dangerously sized pieces of metal. Seeing one, she formed a shadowy ball of energy in her hand, and lobbed it at the falling section of steel. The shadow ball hit head on, and the beam fell to a clearing several meters away, still twisting, like an animal writhing in pain, from her attack. Now it truely was over, people slowly looked up, glad to be alive. Tony and Paul pulled Scott up from the ground, just as he opened his mouth to talk, he was interrupted by the sound of applause. The three boys looked around in wonder as nearly everyone gave them a standing ovation, Scotts face turned a bit red, Paul just smiled, and even took a bow, Tony pulled his gameboy out and started playing again, stroking the neck of his recovering Murkrow with his free hand, and saying words of praise to his friends, human and pokemon alike. Carlton was just scowling the whole time, and ready to confront the group again when a man who looked to be in his late twenties broke through the crowd, he grabbed Carltons shoulder and glared at him. "Hey! Back off! don't you know who I am?" Carlton exclaimed, sounding striking similar to a squealing pig, "I know who you are" The man said, "You're the upstart who started the fight, and very nearly killed half of the people here, If not for the quick action of those three over there" he gestured to the video gamer and the two brothers, "It would have happened, For what its worth, I'm the administrator for this sign up site, I'm going to ask you nicely... just once to leave, and be thankfull that I'm not disqualifying you from the competition." Carlton gave him a rather nasty stare "Just you wait untill my parents hear about this,". The man kept a blank expression "Trust me, they will, they will hear about how you put the lives of dozens of innocent people on the line, now get out of my sight." Carlton started to open his oversized mouth again, "NOT.....ANOTHER..WORD" the man said. Carlton just grimaced, he beckoned to his comrades to come with him, one of them stayed back. "I paid you to join my team you..if you don't want to spend your life in regret and pain, you'll come with us right now" Carlton bellowed. Reluctantly, the boy followed the group out of the signup center.
The man watched them walk away, then headed towards the three trainers, now being confronted by "fans". Scott even had one person ask for an autograph, which they were barely able to read, Scott had terrible handwriting. Paul and Tony had started talking to Scott after the crowd died down when the man came over. "Excuse me, gentlemen?" all three trainers looked at him, appearing a bit irritated at the interruption. "That was some quick thinking and valient action you did out there, without a doubt you saved lives today, I owe you all a debt of gratitude." They all smiled and accepted the handshakes he offered, saying various comments of thanks. "Names Brian," The man said, "I'm the administrator for this sign up site, and after seeing what you did, I would urge you guys to participate in this competion, no doubt you can show that bully Carlton a thing or two." Tony looked a bit upset at this, "Carlton wasn't disquallified?". Brian shook his head, "As much as I would like to do that, I can't, his parents would bring this entire competion down before that happened, he's got those wealthy folks played like a violin, if he wants almost anything, he gets it." Tony frowned at this, "But that kid could have killed someone..." The man just looked at him with a frustrated expression, "I don't like it anymore than you do, but his parents have connections, and I can't just put the competion in jepordy for all the other people who went to the time and effort to enter..". All three looked at eachother, "Sometimes I think the dollar has too much weight in this world" Scott said, his voice still a little shakey. Brian nodded, and as he looked at the teenager, he noticed his eyes were watery, he looked like he'd been through hell. "You all right son?" he asked. Scott wiped away the remaing tears on his face with one swift motion, "Don't worry about me sir, I'll be fine." Brian let it go, "Good to hear, well, great work fellas, hope to see you in the finals!" He waved at them as he walked back into his trailer/office, to report what had just transpired.
Paul turned back to his brother, he pulled him to the side and spoke in a low voice "Scott, you may have fooled Brian, but I can see through you bro, you're a wreck...just what happened?" Scott just stared at him.. "Was it that bird thing again Scott?". The boy looked off into the distance, and could swear he still saw the silouette of that menacing bird...he shook his head. "Didn't you hear what Brian said? We did, great! Now come on, dumpster boy, let sign up." Paul looked on with concern as his obviously troubled brother ran to a signup table, why wouldn't he talk about this?
It was midnight, a week later, Scott woke up gasping, that bird, it was in his dreams now, he couldn't get out of his head. Not thinking, just wanting the pain to stop, he slowly got out of bed, he didn't bother turning on the light as he walked downstairs to the kitchen. "You won't be able to torment me any more" he whispered into the night as he opened a drawer and pulled out a knife, staring at the blade tentatively as it reflected the moonlight. Slowly, he pointed it towards his chest......
to be continued.....
