Phantom Rider: Chapter 4
A/N: I'm kind of zoned-out right now due to tiredness, so if this chapter sucks, I have an excuse. Vacation was fun, but it's back to writing now, and this chapter will explain everything. Well, mostly everything, please review.
Disclaimer: Come back to me in a week, I'll be out of this coma then.
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~General POV~
He couldn't believe it.
The Phantom Rider was none other than the supposed to be dead Pokemon Master...
Sara Giles.
Suddenly, the girl jolts awake, grabbing his arm in such a way that could shatter bones.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Sara's POV~
I stare at the figure before me, barely able to distinguish him in the firelight.
I relax, realizing that I saw him before, and he's no threat to me as I let go of his arm.
"Tracy Sketchit..." I say softly, as he stands there in a kind of numb disbelief as Buddy comes up and starts licking his hand.
He stumbles back, obviously scared, "It's okay, if you were a threat, Buddy wouldn't be this friendly towards you." I say, gesturing to the Growlithe, "and sorry about grabbing your arm like that, it's an automatic reaction."
He hesitates, and then sits down across from me on the other side of the clearing.
"You're in the safest place that you can ever get, and I trust you with my secret. After all, you are the only person who has a drawing of me as the Phantom Rider." I say, smiling at his shocked expression.
"That was nothing, I mean, anyone can try it if they're good pokemon watchers." He says, blushing.
"But you succeeded, and that separates you from the others."
He glances at me, curiosity shining in his eyes. "What happened to you?"
I lean forward, my hazel eyes boring right at him as I stir the dying embers. "I will tell you..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I was born and raised in Pallet Town. Not the town that you think is Pallet now, but the ruins of the original town, where the now-retired Professor Oak started his work. Two years before Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak were born. My parents were poor; we had enough money to live on, but not much for anything else. The day that my journey was supposed to start was the day that my dad got fired from his job. I ended up being told that they couldn't afford me to go on my journey.
Heartbroken, I wandered the nearby beach, only to find an abandoned Charmander drowning in the water. I rescued him with the help of a nearby Lapras, and soon I had not one pokemon, but two, the Lapras and Charmander became my starting pokemon. Professor Oak donated the money for the license and to help me out, and soon we were all on our way."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What happened to the Lapras and Charmander?" Tracy asks.
"They're both still with me, and actually the Charizard, Charmy, has never disobeyed me. We have a deep connection and understanding for each other that few trainers know about, and even less have with their pokemon. Ash has the same connection with his pokemon, especially Raichu." I explain.
"You mean Pikachu," Tracy tries to correct me.
"No, I'm getting to that part..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"The next three years I trained and raised pokemon, some were abandoned, that's how I found Sue, my Arcanine, who went to my parents as a gift for their anniversary. Some were abused, Midnight Thunder, my famous Ponyta came to me after I defeated his trainer who was beating him because he refused to evolve. I earned all the badges, and was about to go to the Pokemon League Championships when disaster struck.
I went to see them with the news that in a few days I was going to the Championship, only to find the whole town on fire. Thankfully with the efforts of my pokemon and I everyone was saved... except my parents."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There's a moment of silence as these words were spoken.
"I'm sorry." Tracy says quietly, "I never knew."
"That was right before you joined Ash, there was no way you could've known." I say quietly, and then continue.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I didn't fight in the championships that year, instead I went on a rampage, attacking any Rocket that I saw. Many are permanently injured in my hands, and a few, I regret to say, died.
Another thing that kept me from going was the inheritance my parents left me was something that totally convinced me to not compete. Apparently my dad was a pokemon master when he was my age. He never wanted me to become cocky and arrogant so he kept it a secret until the day he died. I his will he left me all of his pokemon, and a map of Johto."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Johto wasn't discovered back then." Tracy interrupts.
"No, it was discovered, but Kanto didn't know about it, they had a barrier of some sort to try to keep trainers from entering. I don't know how my dad got through the barrier, but he trained and caught almost all of the new pokemon. He knew about a secret passageway that led to there, that's how I got to Johto."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I went through Johto, raising my pokemon and earning all the badges that year. At the end, the only way to get the last badge was to say an oath that you would never tell where you got the new pokemon. I agreed, and went back to Indigo Plateau, with all sixteen badges.
That's where I made my mistake.
I used my pokemon from Johto along with my other ones, we won, but it didn't come without a price.
Two weeks after joining, I started to get threats and pressure from a member of the Elite Four, he knew that my pokemon weren't well-known, the ones from Johto. He wanted me to use them all the time, I refused, believing in a fair fight, and not overworking my pokemon. He told me that he controlled Team Rocket.
I almost hit him at that point, he went to tell me that the fire that started at Pallet Town was under his orders, and he kills anyone that could overthrow him.
I fled that night on my Pidgeot Nicky."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Giovanni threatened you?" Tracy asks, surprised.
"No, Giovanni is second-in command. A member of the Elite Four is the leader, they just make Giovanni look like the leader to throw suspicion off him." I explain, and then continue...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"In a year, the Pokemon League invaded Johto, I can't even imagine what their pokemon went through to get through the barrier, but they did.
In that year, Ash was declared the winner of the Indigo Plateau Championships. He defeated the Elite Four with ease, using Pikachu to wipe out the competition. I knew that Ash was in danger, so I went out of hiding in Johto where I trained and was raising my pokemon.
I got there just in time.
Ash started to get threats from the same person who wanted me to use my Johto pokemon. The traitor wanted Pikachu to evolve. Ash refused, saying that it was Pikachu's decision. More threats came, but Ash held his ground.
One night, the traitor put a Thunder Stone on Ash's Pikachu.
Ash woke to Pikachu's scream as it was forced to evolve. He picked up the now Raichu and his pokebelt and fled Indigo Plateau.
I found him running in the woods, stumbling and crying uncontrollably, with at least fifteen Rockets on his heels. One look at the Raichu in his arms explained everything, and I forced him to get on Nicky, and both of them flew to a location, which cannot be mentioned. My pokemon held off the Rockets long enough for me to escape myself on Charmy, my Charizard.
It's been a year since that incident, and Ash and Raichu still hasn't gotten over it."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Poor Ash..." Tracy comments sadly at the end.
"Yes, I was hoping that Ash could be backup if something happened to me here, but even now it seems like he doesn't want to come back." I say, sighing in frustration at the thought of doing this alone.
"Why did the traitor want Pikachu to evolve?" Tracy asks.
"Pikachu was extremely powerful for it's breed. It was the only one to have a Thunder attack that can penetrate Rock-type pokemon, imagine what he can do as a Raichu. That's what the traitor wants, power." I explain sadly.
"How did you become the Phantom Rider?"
"I'm getting to that part...."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"After Ash fled, and I barely made it out myself, a bounty was placed on my head, dead or alive. I got allies from the Johto League; they wanted to be out of the dominating Elite Four and the Pokemon League. As to answer your earlier question, they knew about the traitor and the corruption before I was even born, that's why they hid in secret.
I went into hiding at one of the few last places where the Elite Four knew about, Mount Silver.
That's where I almost met my downfall.
A month after Ash fled the Elite Four, I was trotting around on Midnight Thunder, looking for any pokemon to fight, when something that felt like hot metal grazed my cheek, making me fall of the Ponyta into the bushes. I blacked out at that point, and the next thing I knew, a Rocket was standing over me, a rifle pointed at my head.
Buddy attacked him, risking his life to save mine.
With the last of my strength, I sent out Sue to help him out, and then passed out from blood loss. Somehow, Buddy and Sue managed to get me back on Midnight Thunder, and they went to the closest gym leader, Clair.
They all managed to save my life that day.
The Rocket, unfortunately, died in the skirmish.
I realized at that point that there was something that needed to be done, and as soon as I recovered I got a disguise and trained my pokemon so they would come to me when I whistled, and within a month, I left to rescue trainers from the same fate that happened to Ash, Gary, and I."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Wow..." is the only thing that Tracy says at the end.
"There's still one part of the story that hasn't been told." I say sadly.
"What's that?"
I lean forward, my hazel eyes reflecting in the firelight as I gaze sadly into the flames as I say one word, "Gary..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Gary was declared Pokemon Master after Ash fled the Elite Four. Both Ash and I sent messages telling him the dangers of staying there, but he was too cocky to listen, thinking that there was nobody that could stop him.
That proved to be his downfall.
Death threats came to him, saying drop his position, or end up dead. He refused for the longest time, and when he finally started thinking about leaving, it was too late.
He was found dead in his bedroom the day that he was going to leave."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What happened to his pokemon?" Tracy asks at the end of the tale.
"Nobody knows, it's assumed that they died with him." I say sadly, gazing at the rising sun.
There's silence as these words are absorbed.
"So, the Elite Four is an corrupt institution?" Tracy asks.
I shake my head, "no, a MEMBER of the Elite Four is a traitor, he rules over them. He keeps them in line with fear. From the amount of trainer deaths, I would be afraid too." I admit.
"So there's a traitor."
"Yes," I turn to him, "and I have to show the traitor that he is not worthy of his title."
TBC...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: These chapters are getting longer and longer. Sorry if this dragged, but it covered most of the questions that you've probably been asking. Please review.
A/N: I'm kind of zoned-out right now due to tiredness, so if this chapter sucks, I have an excuse. Vacation was fun, but it's back to writing now, and this chapter will explain everything. Well, mostly everything, please review.
Disclaimer: Come back to me in a week, I'll be out of this coma then.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~General POV~
He couldn't believe it.
The Phantom Rider was none other than the supposed to be dead Pokemon Master...
Sara Giles.
Suddenly, the girl jolts awake, grabbing his arm in such a way that could shatter bones.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Sara's POV~
I stare at the figure before me, barely able to distinguish him in the firelight.
I relax, realizing that I saw him before, and he's no threat to me as I let go of his arm.
"Tracy Sketchit..." I say softly, as he stands there in a kind of numb disbelief as Buddy comes up and starts licking his hand.
He stumbles back, obviously scared, "It's okay, if you were a threat, Buddy wouldn't be this friendly towards you." I say, gesturing to the Growlithe, "and sorry about grabbing your arm like that, it's an automatic reaction."
He hesitates, and then sits down across from me on the other side of the clearing.
"You're in the safest place that you can ever get, and I trust you with my secret. After all, you are the only person who has a drawing of me as the Phantom Rider." I say, smiling at his shocked expression.
"That was nothing, I mean, anyone can try it if they're good pokemon watchers." He says, blushing.
"But you succeeded, and that separates you from the others."
He glances at me, curiosity shining in his eyes. "What happened to you?"
I lean forward, my hazel eyes boring right at him as I stir the dying embers. "I will tell you..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I was born and raised in Pallet Town. Not the town that you think is Pallet now, but the ruins of the original town, where the now-retired Professor Oak started his work. Two years before Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak were born. My parents were poor; we had enough money to live on, but not much for anything else. The day that my journey was supposed to start was the day that my dad got fired from his job. I ended up being told that they couldn't afford me to go on my journey.
Heartbroken, I wandered the nearby beach, only to find an abandoned Charmander drowning in the water. I rescued him with the help of a nearby Lapras, and soon I had not one pokemon, but two, the Lapras and Charmander became my starting pokemon. Professor Oak donated the money for the license and to help me out, and soon we were all on our way."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What happened to the Lapras and Charmander?" Tracy asks.
"They're both still with me, and actually the Charizard, Charmy, has never disobeyed me. We have a deep connection and understanding for each other that few trainers know about, and even less have with their pokemon. Ash has the same connection with his pokemon, especially Raichu." I explain.
"You mean Pikachu," Tracy tries to correct me.
"No, I'm getting to that part..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"The next three years I trained and raised pokemon, some were abandoned, that's how I found Sue, my Arcanine, who went to my parents as a gift for their anniversary. Some were abused, Midnight Thunder, my famous Ponyta came to me after I defeated his trainer who was beating him because he refused to evolve. I earned all the badges, and was about to go to the Pokemon League Championships when disaster struck.
I went to see them with the news that in a few days I was going to the Championship, only to find the whole town on fire. Thankfully with the efforts of my pokemon and I everyone was saved... except my parents."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There's a moment of silence as these words were spoken.
"I'm sorry." Tracy says quietly, "I never knew."
"That was right before you joined Ash, there was no way you could've known." I say quietly, and then continue.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I didn't fight in the championships that year, instead I went on a rampage, attacking any Rocket that I saw. Many are permanently injured in my hands, and a few, I regret to say, died.
Another thing that kept me from going was the inheritance my parents left me was something that totally convinced me to not compete. Apparently my dad was a pokemon master when he was my age. He never wanted me to become cocky and arrogant so he kept it a secret until the day he died. I his will he left me all of his pokemon, and a map of Johto."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Johto wasn't discovered back then." Tracy interrupts.
"No, it was discovered, but Kanto didn't know about it, they had a barrier of some sort to try to keep trainers from entering. I don't know how my dad got through the barrier, but he trained and caught almost all of the new pokemon. He knew about a secret passageway that led to there, that's how I got to Johto."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I went through Johto, raising my pokemon and earning all the badges that year. At the end, the only way to get the last badge was to say an oath that you would never tell where you got the new pokemon. I agreed, and went back to Indigo Plateau, with all sixteen badges.
That's where I made my mistake.
I used my pokemon from Johto along with my other ones, we won, but it didn't come without a price.
Two weeks after joining, I started to get threats and pressure from a member of the Elite Four, he knew that my pokemon weren't well-known, the ones from Johto. He wanted me to use them all the time, I refused, believing in a fair fight, and not overworking my pokemon. He told me that he controlled Team Rocket.
I almost hit him at that point, he went to tell me that the fire that started at Pallet Town was under his orders, and he kills anyone that could overthrow him.
I fled that night on my Pidgeot Nicky."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Giovanni threatened you?" Tracy asks, surprised.
"No, Giovanni is second-in command. A member of the Elite Four is the leader, they just make Giovanni look like the leader to throw suspicion off him." I explain, and then continue...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"In a year, the Pokemon League invaded Johto, I can't even imagine what their pokemon went through to get through the barrier, but they did.
In that year, Ash was declared the winner of the Indigo Plateau Championships. He defeated the Elite Four with ease, using Pikachu to wipe out the competition. I knew that Ash was in danger, so I went out of hiding in Johto where I trained and was raising my pokemon.
I got there just in time.
Ash started to get threats from the same person who wanted me to use my Johto pokemon. The traitor wanted Pikachu to evolve. Ash refused, saying that it was Pikachu's decision. More threats came, but Ash held his ground.
One night, the traitor put a Thunder Stone on Ash's Pikachu.
Ash woke to Pikachu's scream as it was forced to evolve. He picked up the now Raichu and his pokebelt and fled Indigo Plateau.
I found him running in the woods, stumbling and crying uncontrollably, with at least fifteen Rockets on his heels. One look at the Raichu in his arms explained everything, and I forced him to get on Nicky, and both of them flew to a location, which cannot be mentioned. My pokemon held off the Rockets long enough for me to escape myself on Charmy, my Charizard.
It's been a year since that incident, and Ash and Raichu still hasn't gotten over it."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Poor Ash..." Tracy comments sadly at the end.
"Yes, I was hoping that Ash could be backup if something happened to me here, but even now it seems like he doesn't want to come back." I say, sighing in frustration at the thought of doing this alone.
"Why did the traitor want Pikachu to evolve?" Tracy asks.
"Pikachu was extremely powerful for it's breed. It was the only one to have a Thunder attack that can penetrate Rock-type pokemon, imagine what he can do as a Raichu. That's what the traitor wants, power." I explain sadly.
"How did you become the Phantom Rider?"
"I'm getting to that part...."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"After Ash fled, and I barely made it out myself, a bounty was placed on my head, dead or alive. I got allies from the Johto League; they wanted to be out of the dominating Elite Four and the Pokemon League. As to answer your earlier question, they knew about the traitor and the corruption before I was even born, that's why they hid in secret.
I went into hiding at one of the few last places where the Elite Four knew about, Mount Silver.
That's where I almost met my downfall.
A month after Ash fled the Elite Four, I was trotting around on Midnight Thunder, looking for any pokemon to fight, when something that felt like hot metal grazed my cheek, making me fall of the Ponyta into the bushes. I blacked out at that point, and the next thing I knew, a Rocket was standing over me, a rifle pointed at my head.
Buddy attacked him, risking his life to save mine.
With the last of my strength, I sent out Sue to help him out, and then passed out from blood loss. Somehow, Buddy and Sue managed to get me back on Midnight Thunder, and they went to the closest gym leader, Clair.
They all managed to save my life that day.
The Rocket, unfortunately, died in the skirmish.
I realized at that point that there was something that needed to be done, and as soon as I recovered I got a disguise and trained my pokemon so they would come to me when I whistled, and within a month, I left to rescue trainers from the same fate that happened to Ash, Gary, and I."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Wow..." is the only thing that Tracy says at the end.
"There's still one part of the story that hasn't been told." I say sadly.
"What's that?"
I lean forward, my hazel eyes reflecting in the firelight as I gaze sadly into the flames as I say one word, "Gary..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Gary was declared Pokemon Master after Ash fled the Elite Four. Both Ash and I sent messages telling him the dangers of staying there, but he was too cocky to listen, thinking that there was nobody that could stop him.
That proved to be his downfall.
Death threats came to him, saying drop his position, or end up dead. He refused for the longest time, and when he finally started thinking about leaving, it was too late.
He was found dead in his bedroom the day that he was going to leave."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What happened to his pokemon?" Tracy asks at the end of the tale.
"Nobody knows, it's assumed that they died with him." I say sadly, gazing at the rising sun.
There's silence as these words are absorbed.
"So, the Elite Four is an corrupt institution?" Tracy asks.
I shake my head, "no, a MEMBER of the Elite Four is a traitor, he rules over them. He keeps them in line with fear. From the amount of trainer deaths, I would be afraid too." I admit.
"So there's a traitor."
"Yes," I turn to him, "and I have to show the traitor that he is not worthy of his title."
TBC...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: These chapters are getting longer and longer. Sorry if this dragged, but it covered most of the questions that you've probably been asking. Please review.