Pokémon - The Final Journey in Fenyuu

Chapter 48: The Beautiful Battle

Second Movement



He was only fifteen when he began his Pokémon journey. Such anxiety, such passion, such excitement; the possibilities seemed endless. New technology was developed enabling children at the young age of ten to leave their homes to begin their very own Pokémon journey. Thousands upon thousands of trainers now traverse the world, each with the exact same goal: to be the greatest Pokémon master to ever scale the world. Without a doubt, Matt was no different.

Now, almost two years later, soon to be at the age of seventeen, Matt's dream remained the same...almost. To capture, to train, to become one of the best; that was his original goal. Now what was his dream? To survive. Ever since the destruction of Team Rocket, he has feared for his life, as well as Lizzie's. This is not the way a Pokémon trainer should feel; this is not the way anybody should ever feel.

He was supposed to be one of the best, and now, everything was literally slipping away from him. The Nyxing Bird now ruled the skies, as another one of Giovanni's creations failed him. How ironic, Matt thought, that his own creation who was supposed to destroy everything has chosen him as his first victim. However, I am his second.

Falling, and falling, as if time itself was slowing down to give him time to think of a way to help himself. Matt had replaced all his bird Pokémon with others currently with him. There was absolutely nothing he could do to save himself; he knew was going to die.

It was almost as if time had stopped itself, as Matt realized that he was no longer falling. He had thought that it had finally happened: death had finally reached him. However, he realized that he started to go upwards, higher and higher, back towards the rooftop of the Silph Co. building. The same Silph Co. building which resided on the outskirts of Saffron City.

Suddenly, very slowly, his hearing began to return to him. However, he remained very puzzled as to what was happening; is an angel taking him away?

"Matt? Matt! Oh, God, please, can you hear me?!"

"Perhaps he had a heart attack? That's what happens."

"No, this is impossible. Matt! Matt! Come on!"

Suddenly, Matt blinked a couple of times and felt a spasm shift through his entire body. He heard the large flaps of wings as he looked around. He was on top of something. He quickly sat up and looked around. He was sitting on top of a Pidgeot, along with Jordan and Ace.

"Matt! Oh thank GOD! I was afraid we were going to be too late!" Jordan shouted, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"Hey, man!" Ace stated.

Matt held up his hands and looked at them. He looked all around them. "I...I'm alive!" he shouted with excitement. "I can't believe it! I survived!" Out of response, he quickly jumped at Jordan, embracing him with his arms. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh God, I've never been so scared in my entire life!"

"Whoa, whoa, it's okay man. Please...you're making me feel uncomfortable," Jordan replied, gently pushing Matt back.

"Sorry, but...oh MAN! I can't believe it!"

"Matt, what happened up there?" Jordan asked.

"The Nyxing Bird!" Matt replied, looking upwards towards the roof. "It's still up there, and so are Lizzie and Arrmun! Come on, we need to help them!"

"Step on it, Pidgeot!" Ace commanded.

The Pidgeot responded with a squack, then quickly picked up its pace and started to fly towards the very top of the roof of Silph Co. Upon reaching the top, Lizzie had collapsed, crying, while Arrmun was trying to fend it off with empty Pokéballs.

"Lizzie!" Matt yelled. "Look up here!"

Lizzie seemed shocked at first, as she thought she was hearing things. She then looked upwards, seeing Matt on top of a Pidgeot waving to her, along with Jordan and Ace sitting directly behind him.

"MATT!" she replied, beginning to sob even heavier. She wiped her tears from her eyes and stood to her feet.

"Matt! Ace? What the hell took you so long?!" Arrmun replied.

"Hey, I tried to get here as fast as I could! Come on, we need to get out of here!" Ace yelled.

"Let me try!" Lizzie stated, pulling out a Greatball. "I haven't battled in a long time, but at this point I don't think I have any choice. Go!" She tossed the Greatball high into the air as it sprung open. After a few seconds of blinding light Articuno appeared.

The Nyxing Bird caught sight of Articuno and released a large energy blast towards it. Articuno swiftly dodged and began charging at the Nyxing Bird at a rapid pace.

"Ice Beam!" Lizzie screamed.

Quickly, Articuno charged up a beam and launched it towards the Nyxing Bird, who had no time to dodge from hovering around the air for too long. It held out its solid, sharpened wings in front for protection, as it was struck heavily by the beam. A large plate of ice was formed upon its wings, as the Nyxing Bird tried desperately to free itself.

The weight of the ice, and the lack of hovering allowed the Nyxing Bird to tumble. Arrmun and Lizzie ran away from the side of the building on which they were standing, as the Nyxing Bird continued to fall. In seconds, it collided with the very edge of the building, taking it completely off, along with two hovering video cameras. It continued to fall, crashing within the walls every few seconds, taking off even more of the building. The protestors and civilians battling below began to scream at the falling creature, as well as the debris it was bringing with it.

The continuous crashing eventually enabled the ice to crack, as the Nyxing Bird freed itself. It quickly flapped its wings and flew away from the Silph Co. building at an enormous pace. Several protestors screamed in agony and despair as those unfortunate to be caught underneath the falling debris' targets were crushed. Many of the civilians cheered as once again Giovanni has taken a harsh blow.

"It's flying away!" Jordan shouted joyfully.

"Lizzie, that was fantastic!" Matt commented.

The celebration was cut short as suddenly the Nyxing Bird began firing several beams towards the city, damaging several buildings in the process. Now the protestors began to cheer, as several civilians were fleeing. Panic began to arouse within Saffron City, as several collisions were caused with traffic. Debris continued to collapse everywhere.

"Damn it! Now that Giovanni's gone, that thing is going to destroy everything in sight!" Matt exclaimed.

"Come on, we're no good up here, particularly since there's going to be such a huge ruckus. Ace, do you know where it's headed?" Jordan asked.

"If it keeps going in this direction, it'll go straight to Vermillion City!" Ace replied.

"Make sure everyone is warned! Hurry, let the Pidgeot land for a moment!" Jordan yelled.

The Pidgeot slowly landed on top of the building, as Lizzie called back her Articuno. Jordan jumped off and pulled out a Pokéball from his belt. He threw it into the air, as the ball sprung open. Charizard appeared, and landed on the rooftop of the Silph Co. building.

"I need to go back to Viridian City to see if I can get anything set up. Matt, Lizzie and Arrmun: you three go with Ace to the refugee camp which should be very close East of Route 1. That's the one where everyone in Pallet was evacuated. This is very critical guys, and you need to listen to me. Do NOT follow me."

"Jordan, all by yourself? There's going to be so much madness out there!" Lizzie complained.

"Listen, there is no time for us to be standing here and complaining. All of you, get on the Pidgeot and do as you're told. Wait at the refugee camp for my instructions. Is this clear...?"

"Jordan--" Lizzie started.

"Yes, Jordan, we understand," Matt replied. "Hurry, go, do what you have to do. We'll be waiting for you."

Matt and Ace made extra room on the Pidgeot for Lizzie and Arrmun to get on. There was not much space left, however there was still plenty of flying room for Pidgeot. Matt took a look at the final functioning video camera floating around near them. He quickly pulled out an empty Pokéball, and violently threw it at it, ending the live telecast.

"Well, this certainly backfired on Giovanni. Now we're all screwed," Matt responded. "Okay, everybody here? Let's take off then. Go, Pidgeot!"

Pidgeot nodded and used what was remaining of the roof as a small runway before taking off into the skies. Jordan waved to the four as he climbed aboard his Charizard, who took off just a few moments afterwards.

Havoc was being wreaked everywhere in the Pokémon World, and right now, it did not seem possible that anyone could stop it....

* * *

It took a long time for Matt, Lizzie, Arrmun and Ace to arrive at the refugee camp very close to Route 1. Several families and neighbours of Matt's came out and cheered what he had 'accomplished' on live television. Apparently one of the technically-talented civilians of Pallet was able to hook up a TV signal, however the only thing that was able to get through was the live telecast before it cut out. Several cheers were heard after Matt destroyed the last camera; that was all he was told.

Matt was greeted by his family members. His mother, his father, and his sister. They were all very scared, but were all very glad that he was all right. He didn't want any of them to worry, and said that he was absolutely positive that everything was under control, even though to be honest, he had no idea what he was going to do. He even met Professor Oak, who explained that he had nothing to do with what happened to them earlier. Of course, Matt had already figured that out, but hearing it confirmed nonetheless didn't bother him.

Arrmun and Ace walked around the camp, making sure that everybody was getting prepared. The Nyxing Bird has apparently changed direction several times; it damaged several forests before taking the route over the ocean to Cinnibar Island. Much panic occured there, as well as back at the Refugee Camp, because Cinnibar is also very close to Pallet.

Matt was sitting alone on an old tree stump, one of the many trees cut down in the area. Lizzie was taking a short nap in one of her tents, while Arrmun and Ace was busy. He was recalling those very brief and quick memories. Watching Giovanni fall off completely helpless, before turning around just in time to watch himself get knocked off. He was very close to death; possibly the scariest thing he has ever experienced in his entire lifetime so far.

"Hey," a familiar voice stated in front of him. "As soon as I heard, I came back."

Matt turned around, and smiled. "Rachel? I thought you were going to Johto!"

"Well, of course I did; that's what I told you, wasn't it?" she replied, with a weak smile upon her face. "Oh, Matt, do you have any idea how frightened I was? I mean...just sitting there and watching you battling that big, creepy man; I didn't even know what was happening! People all around the Pokémon Center started flipping out because something happened with their cable, and all of the sudden, I see you on top of a rooftop battling somebody who used to be in charge of Team Rocket, was it?"

"That's right," Matt replied.

"And when I saw you get knocked off the roof, I screamed. You don't know how loud I screamed, Matt. It was...so scary."

"Yes, I'm sure it compares to my almost dying," Matt sarcastically replied, turning around.

"What? I was certain that you were going to die! I was scared!"

"You know what, Rachel? I thought you were nice, and cute and all that, but...I don't know. You only seem to be more concerned about your own needs than the needs of others."

"What...?"

"Lizzie told me about what you said to her. She also felt upset because she thought you were trying to take her from me. Although it's a bit silly since we're not dating, she does have a point. You can't always have what you want in this world, Rachel."

"Matt, what are you talking about? I came here to see you!" Rachel replied, now sounding very upset.

"I'm almost glad you didn't come with us to Fenyuu. I would have had to look out for you, too, and not just Lizzie...."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this from you. I traveled all the way from Johto just to come and see how you're doing, and now you're telling me that you don't want me around at all?" Rachel responded, wiping away a tear. "I was petrified! I'm just so happy and thankful that you've come out alive, and now...you're telling me off?"

"Go away," Matt sternly replied.

"But...why?" Rachel quickly turned around and started to run away, sobbing loudly.

Matt bowed his head, absolutely frustrated at her. Why would she come and say something like that, he asked himself. Seeing those images made her scream, that's nice, he thought to himself again. He then stopped, thought over what he said, then suddenly, something sparked inside him.

"Oh, God," he muttered to himself. "Oh, GOD! What did I just say?! Oh for crying out LOUD what is wrong with me?!" He buried his hands in his face, realizing what he had just said. "I should be the one being told off; all I'm concerned about are MY feelings. My own petty, feeble feelings! She was worried and scared about what happened, and I just tossed her away like an unwanted friend! God, I'm so freaking SELFISH!"

Matt stood up and looked around, but it was too late; Rachel was gone. "Damn it," he muttered harshly, kicking a nearby rock in frustration. "What if I never see her again, now...?"

"Matthew, I just saw Rachel running away in tears! What happened here?!" Jess stated harshly.

"Leave me alone," Matt replied.

"I don't think so! Of course only somebody like you would go and do something like this."

"I don't need this...."

"Excuse me?! You DO need this! You do this every single time! I mean, come on! She was worried about you, and scared! She was really happy to see you again; why did you do that to her?!"

"Jess, I almost died...."

"That's no excuse!"

"Jess, I ALMOST DIED," Matt repeated, very sternly and very harshly. He then stood up from the stump on which he was sitting and faced her.

"I don't care what just happened to you. Of course I was terrified as well, but that's no excuse! You don't say or do anything like that regardless of what emotions are running through your mind! You had no right to say such things in front of her!"

"Hey, if you had gone through HALF the things I did to get where I was, you wouldn't even be where I am now. You'd quit, just like everything else you've done with your life! You'd go and bitch and complain about everything that had happened. You should consider yourself lucky; sitting around telling others how to live their lives."

"This isn't about me! What is the fricking matter with you; you should be ashamed of yourself!"

"Yes, Jess, I am! I feel terrible, I feel atrocious; I just feel damn-right awful for saying the things I said to her! I feel like total crap right now, and I know that I shouldn't have said what I did, but I already did, and now she's gone! I can't take back ANYTHING that I said to her!" Matt yelled.

Jess shook her head in disgust. "You know, I used to think you were something special. I really thought that you could go all the way and be one of if not the best trainers ever known. But, everytime you just go and screw it up somehow. It wouldn't matter of which situation, you would always screw it up." She stopped, recollected her thoughts and then spoke again. "You've been rude to almost everybody. You've been rude to her, you've been rude to Lizzie, you've been rude to your entire family! I really don't care how good you are; you're still a rotten person inside." At that, she didn't wait for a reaction; she tossed something from her hands down next to him, turned around and stormed back to the refugee camp.

Matt spat some extra saliva that was developing in his mouth when he noticed what Jess threw was a strange stone. As he got down on one knee to look at it, he noticed that there was a note attached to it. He quickly picked up the stone and took off the letter. He opened it and read it.

'Dear Matt,

I know I'm not exactly the most thrilling person to speak to, not to you anyway. I'm sorry I caught you at such a bad time; I didn't realize you were going to be in such a bad mood after what happened. I just thought that after your big personal victory that it would be such a nice time to see you again.

I had originally found this when I had started in Johto, but I wasn't sure what it was. I asked some of the trainers around me, but they said it wasn't important, as if they were trying to weasel it out of me. But, I don't think so. I think it's something really important, and I seriously think you can use it wisely. It's not an evolution stone, I can tell you that much, but I really don't know what it is. Hopefully you can find it more useful, and hopefully I can find a better time to speak with you again. It should be soon.

Rachel'

Matt looked at the strange stone in his hand, before he realized it wasn't a stone at all. It seemed to be created out of metal. Could it be...? Yes, it was a Technical Machine! But, of which skill?

Matt pulled out his Pokédex and performed a large scan on it. His face lit up as he took his eyes off both and aimed them towards Route 1. He then turned around and looked back at the direction towards the Refugee camp.

He quickly put away the Pokédex, and put the Technical Machine in his pocket. "At last, I finally have an idea," he said aloud.

* * *

"Fantastic. Thank you." Jordan pulled the receiver away from his ear and placed it back down to hang up. He had just gotten off the phone with the gym leaders of each of the gyms in all of the Indigo League. He took a look at his watch, then looked out the window. The rest of the Elite Four is late, Jordan thought to himself.

Earlier in the day, Jordan had released several plans on what to do with the Nyxing Bird and try to find information about what happened to Giovanni. Is he dead? It's possible, but he wasn't exactly certain. Since the Nyxing Bird is currently flying overseas, it can't do much damage there, so that was temporarily postponed. However, what drew more attention was the fact that the protestors were now picking fights in the streets with civilians, causing a league-wide riot. He had contacted the gym leaders to wait for information on what to do on the situation.

"None of them have Pokémon," Jordan said, "however, some of them ARE armed with firearms. The only ones I've seen armed so far were back at Silph Co., but even now I'm not exactly sure. Hopefully they'll get here soon; it's starting to get really dark outside...."

* * *

Ace and Lizzie were outside one of the tents speaking with Professor Oak. Each of them were speaking exactly what happened with the battle, and how Ace and Arrmun were able to come and save Matt in the nick of time.

Jess walked out from one of the tents and jogged towards the three standing outside. After catching her breath, she spoke. "Guys...have you seen Matthew anywhere?"

"Matt?" Lizzie responded, confused. "Well...no, I haven't seen him at all this evening."

"He said he was going to rest on one of the tree stumps," Ace stated.

"Yeah, I know, I even found him there, but the thing is, he's gone now. I've looked all over in that area, then I came back to see if he was here. Since it's getting really late, mom wants him back here."

"Well, if he isn't there, where could he have gone?" Lizzie asked.

Ace typed in some commands into his laptop as some information windows popped up. He did a little bit more exploring before his face turned completely pale. "This isn't good, guys," Ace stated before wiping his forehead. "Nope, this is very bad."

"What?" Jess asked.

"The Nyxing Bird is flying faster than we had originally thought. It's heading for the Southern port which leads down the ocean towards Cinnibar Island."

"What?! Why the hell would he go challenge it? Particularly all by himself?!" Lizzie blurted out, in frustration and confusion. She then looked at Jess. "Did he tell you anything about this?"

Jess shook her head. "I hadn't a clue."

"Guys...even more bad news," Ace interrupted. "Apparently Giovanni is alive. He's managed to regain complete control over the Nyxing Bird and is waiting for him at the port."

Lizzie quickly searched her Pokémon belt to verify that she was equipped. She quickly brushed by both Ace and Jess as she dashed far away from the refugee camp. This was without a doubt a very stupid decision by both Matt and she. Matt once again was trying to show that he can do it all on his own ran off, prepared to challenge the Nyxing Bird to a final showdown. Too much pride, Lizzie told herself. But of course, my following him isn't that much of a better choice, Lizzie thought to herself.

"But really, is there any other choice...?"



TO BE CONTINUED.