Chapter 35
Setijin stomped his right leg forward, digging his heels into the dirt by the side of the
road, readying for battle. Hurling two cases to the floor, Umbreon and Medicham took
shape, standing side by side, squaring themselves up to the Boss's Medicham 2 and
the 'blob'. Medicham stood rigid, swaying uneasily on the spot, as if queasy,
Umbreon preparing for a charge.
"What impressive looking pokémon," the boss commented. "Medicham, calm mind."
Medicham 2 hopped backwards, almost robotically, closing its eyes in concentration,
its mental state rising significantly. With Setijin's order, Umbreon lunged forward,
kicking up a stream of dust behind it as it tackled Medicham 2 with full force, the
fighting pokémon apparently unharmed from the assault.
"Not good," critisised Jasmine, preparing to release her pokémon into the fray,
Winona blocking her with an arm thrust.
"If we jump in now, Setijin's pride will be shattered…" she said. "Something is
driving him to fight, and we'd best not interrupt it without needing to."
"I'm not sure I follow you logic, but I'll wait…" Jasmine replied unconvincingly.
"…and should something go wrong, there's no holding us back," Winona finished.
Jasmine grinned and nodded simultaneously, returning her view to the fight unfurling
before them.
The Ever Grande League meeting hall was packed once again, all of the trainers
eagerly mumbling to those sat next to them, apart from Drake, whom simply sat
forward in anticipation, twiddling his thumbs around each other, his eyes fixed on the
door, excitement reaching boiling point as the doors creaked open.
"Stevie boy!" he called, the crutch wielding Steven hobbling into the room with a wad
of papers scrunching up in his hand.
"I ought to maim you right here and now," he grunted in reply.
"Well that's hardly a nice way to great the guy who spent all of his free time keeping
you company in hospital!" Drake huffed angrily, his positive energy flushing itself
out of him. Steven rushed forwards, slamming his papers down on the table, leaning
over in Drake's general direction.
"Because of you, I haven't slept for the last eight days!" he snapped.
"You can hardly blame that on me directly. I sat and slept quietly in my chair," Drake
attempted to justify.
"Yes…you're chair, in which you spent every waking moment adjusting to meet your
comfort requirements."
"It is not my fault that hospital issue chairs are squeaky by nature…"
"…I'm not even going to begin to state what's wrong with that response. Any I'm not
going to start to explain all that was wrong with that remark you made to that male
nurse, let alone what you did with my waste paper basket when you went to the
narcotics ward."
"But I…"
"No!" Steven interrupted. "Not a single person in this room needs to hear what you
did, and it should be stricken from memory for the rest of your days you spend living
and breathing."
"…It was only supposed to be a hat…" replied Drake sheepishly. Glacia whom sat
next to him leant back in her chair, shifting her hand to support her chin.
"By the sounds of things, I don't think we would want to hear…" she commented
snidely, Steven shuffling through his now almost undecipherable papers.
"Medicham, please use Shadow Ball!" Setijin begged, Medicham continuing to stand
on the spot it started in, its face now turning a pale green. As he fought, Umbreon's
stamina seemed to rapidly deplete, Medicham 2 still standing strong, and the blob yet
to see any form of activity. With its last tackle, Umbreon staggered backwards,
stumbling to the ground while panting heavily. Setijin rushed to its side, its eyes
steadily glazing over.
"I guess it's about time I let you in on my little secret," the boss chuckled, Setijin
lashing his eyes back in anger, awaiting an explanation. Pointing slowly at Setijin's
Medicham, it hopped forward feebly, standing to attention by the boss' side.
"What…what are you doing?" Setijin asked in a fearful hybrid of confusion and
angst.
"This Medicham would be my little gift to you," he explained, his chuckle rising to a
cackle. "One of my better plans, I must admit. You see, this little character is a
pokérus carrier."
"Pokérus?" Setijin murmured.
"Character? The thing didn't move!" Winona blurted, covering her mouth in
embarresment upon realizing that she had spoken rather than thought. Setijin turned to
her impatiently, before slowly returning his gaze to the boss' attention.
"Pokérus is an odd virus, evidently only affecting pokémon. It can have a positive
effect, pokémon putting more effort into their fighting, and therefore benefiting
exponentially from it. Of course this is one of the nastier strains, simply sapping your
other pokémon of their energy. The only one that is unaffected in the same way is the
original carrier; this Medicham here."
"What? No…It…" Setijin stammered, returning Umbreon to his pokéball, before
releasing the combination of Ninjask and Barboach, both pokémon clearly weary
from the virus.
"No use I'm afraid," the boss grinned sinisterly, ordering both Medicham forward,
kicking the bug and the roach into the floor. "This Medicham of yours is also quite
versatile, although I must admit that it was a failed attempt in the eyes of
some…namely me."
"Medicham?" Setijin and Winona gasped, tears welling in Setijin's eyes. Noticing his
distraught flush, Winona rushed forwards, crouching down next to him.
"Calm down Setijin. We'll take him down," she reassured.
"Adorable," the boss squealed sarcastically. "Unfortunately, the virus is very potent,
and will spread to those you've been around for any protracted period. It works fast,
so Winona there will be relatively helpless too." Winona grimaced in disgust,
frustration rising inside of her.
"Why are you doing this?" she snapped.
"I simply wish to test drive my new experiment," he explained, drawing attention to
the blob. "You see, this is its first time further away than my porch from home, so I
felt it would be better to be safe that sorry. Also, you two have been causing me a fair
bit of trouble recently. My Medicham's pokéball is also an effective beacon, making
finding you surprisingly easy and the virus means that you are all totally helpless.
Even young Jasmine here, thanks to your gym battle, so this will really be a way of
killing a few birds with one stone, if you'll excuse the pun my dear Winona. Winona
scowled in response, Setijin curling down into more of a ball, while remaining on his
feet, staring straight down at the floor, thoughts twisting incoherently in his head,
before battering themselves together in a flush of inspiration.
"I want Medicham back," he said blankly, slowly rising to his feet, a maverick hint
twinkling in his eye.
"Well this should be interesting," he smiled, angling his face down, casting a shadow
over his eyes. "En guardé!"
"Cyndaquil, go!" Setijin cried, Cyndaquil's pokéball spinning energetically through
the air, before crashing to the floor, the tiny flame mouse taking shape. It squealed
cheerfully, apparently unaffected by the virus. Gathering his spare pokéballs together,
he hustled them into Winona's arms. "Take everyone to the pokémon center and get
rid of the virus. I'll be okay," he ordered, Winona reluctantly nodding, her and
Jasmine running off down the street.
"Hmm. This one seems to be quite resilient to the virus," the boss examined, a hint of
nervousness hanging on his breath. "Never mind, Medicham, go!" he commanded,
Medicham obediently scampering forwards, taking aim at Cyndaquil.
"Cyndaquil, use smokescreen," Setijin called, Cyndaquil igniting its flaming spines,
encouraging thick black smoke to billow into the sky, before leaping backwards,
behind its new cloak. Launching itself forwards, Medicham soared through the cloud,
causing the entire screen to collapse on itself, the attack narrowly missing the tiny
mouse.
"Nice try, but you're going to have to do better than that. Thanks to some proper
training, Medicham has reached its full potential, meaning pretty little displays like
that are not going to work as well as you want them to," the boss heckled, ordering
Medicham around to launch a shadow ball.
"Cham," it muttered almost mechanically, a black misted ball twisting and warping
from its hand towards Cyndaquil, the fire pokémon bracing itself for impact. The ball
curved around on itself, forcing it into a jagged path, lurching up and down in the air
as it approached Cyndaquil, picking up speed.
"Counter attack with flame wheel!" Setijin relayed, Cyndaquil crying out, unleashing
a ring of flames, cleanly passing around the ball. Thanks to the obstructed view,
Medicham failed to escape the path of the onslaught, and groaned as the flames threw
him back into a nearby wall, the ball of shadow severely battering Cyndaquil."
"That's more like it," howled the boss, Cyndaquil shaking off the shock from
Medicham's assault, unawares of the fighting pokémon flying through the air,
bending its knees, ready to crush.
"Cyndaquil!" Setijin shouted out, Medicham's shadow casting itself down onto the
mouse, eclipsing out the sunlight, only its outline visible in any detail, the solar glare
flickering out from either side, interrupted by a prompt surge of electricity, wrapping
itself through the sky and barraging itself into the side of Medicham's torso, knocking
him back once again.
"Ampharos, pharos!" the yellow pokémon called, Lucia standing proud by its side,
ready to launch her pokéballs into the fray.
"I seemed to remember that there was another one," the boss sighed, instructing
Medicham on its next course of action, receiving no response from the reluctant
pokémon, whom now lay unconscious on a heap of brick and rubble.
"Go Plusle and Espeon!" Lucia bellowed, both pokémon waiting readily and
healthily.
"And yet again, pokérus has shone through. Very well. It look's like this one might
get to see some proper action after all," he sighed in return, clapping his hands
together rhythmically. With this the blob shuffled forward, and hissed with energy as
it began to take shape…
"Here we go…" Setijin thought to himself. "Could this be it?"
Setijin stomped his right leg forward, digging his heels into the dirt by the side of the
road, readying for battle. Hurling two cases to the floor, Umbreon and Medicham took
shape, standing side by side, squaring themselves up to the Boss's Medicham 2 and
the 'blob'. Medicham stood rigid, swaying uneasily on the spot, as if queasy,
Umbreon preparing for a charge.
"What impressive looking pokémon," the boss commented. "Medicham, calm mind."
Medicham 2 hopped backwards, almost robotically, closing its eyes in concentration,
its mental state rising significantly. With Setijin's order, Umbreon lunged forward,
kicking up a stream of dust behind it as it tackled Medicham 2 with full force, the
fighting pokémon apparently unharmed from the assault.
"Not good," critisised Jasmine, preparing to release her pokémon into the fray,
Winona blocking her with an arm thrust.
"If we jump in now, Setijin's pride will be shattered…" she said. "Something is
driving him to fight, and we'd best not interrupt it without needing to."
"I'm not sure I follow you logic, but I'll wait…" Jasmine replied unconvincingly.
"…and should something go wrong, there's no holding us back," Winona finished.
Jasmine grinned and nodded simultaneously, returning her view to the fight unfurling
before them.
The Ever Grande League meeting hall was packed once again, all of the trainers
eagerly mumbling to those sat next to them, apart from Drake, whom simply sat
forward in anticipation, twiddling his thumbs around each other, his eyes fixed on the
door, excitement reaching boiling point as the doors creaked open.
"Stevie boy!" he called, the crutch wielding Steven hobbling into the room with a wad
of papers scrunching up in his hand.
"I ought to maim you right here and now," he grunted in reply.
"Well that's hardly a nice way to great the guy who spent all of his free time keeping
you company in hospital!" Drake huffed angrily, his positive energy flushing itself
out of him. Steven rushed forwards, slamming his papers down on the table, leaning
over in Drake's general direction.
"Because of you, I haven't slept for the last eight days!" he snapped.
"You can hardly blame that on me directly. I sat and slept quietly in my chair," Drake
attempted to justify.
"Yes…you're chair, in which you spent every waking moment adjusting to meet your
comfort requirements."
"It is not my fault that hospital issue chairs are squeaky by nature…"
"…I'm not even going to begin to state what's wrong with that response. Any I'm not
going to start to explain all that was wrong with that remark you made to that male
nurse, let alone what you did with my waste paper basket when you went to the
narcotics ward."
"But I…"
"No!" Steven interrupted. "Not a single person in this room needs to hear what you
did, and it should be stricken from memory for the rest of your days you spend living
and breathing."
"…It was only supposed to be a hat…" replied Drake sheepishly. Glacia whom sat
next to him leant back in her chair, shifting her hand to support her chin.
"By the sounds of things, I don't think we would want to hear…" she commented
snidely, Steven shuffling through his now almost undecipherable papers.
"Medicham, please use Shadow Ball!" Setijin begged, Medicham continuing to stand
on the spot it started in, its face now turning a pale green. As he fought, Umbreon's
stamina seemed to rapidly deplete, Medicham 2 still standing strong, and the blob yet
to see any form of activity. With its last tackle, Umbreon staggered backwards,
stumbling to the ground while panting heavily. Setijin rushed to its side, its eyes
steadily glazing over.
"I guess it's about time I let you in on my little secret," the boss chuckled, Setijin
lashing his eyes back in anger, awaiting an explanation. Pointing slowly at Setijin's
Medicham, it hopped forward feebly, standing to attention by the boss' side.
"What…what are you doing?" Setijin asked in a fearful hybrid of confusion and
angst.
"This Medicham would be my little gift to you," he explained, his chuckle rising to a
cackle. "One of my better plans, I must admit. You see, this little character is a
pokérus carrier."
"Pokérus?" Setijin murmured.
"Character? The thing didn't move!" Winona blurted, covering her mouth in
embarresment upon realizing that she had spoken rather than thought. Setijin turned to
her impatiently, before slowly returning his gaze to the boss' attention.
"Pokérus is an odd virus, evidently only affecting pokémon. It can have a positive
effect, pokémon putting more effort into their fighting, and therefore benefiting
exponentially from it. Of course this is one of the nastier strains, simply sapping your
other pokémon of their energy. The only one that is unaffected in the same way is the
original carrier; this Medicham here."
"What? No…It…" Setijin stammered, returning Umbreon to his pokéball, before
releasing the combination of Ninjask and Barboach, both pokémon clearly weary
from the virus.
"No use I'm afraid," the boss grinned sinisterly, ordering both Medicham forward,
kicking the bug and the roach into the floor. "This Medicham of yours is also quite
versatile, although I must admit that it was a failed attempt in the eyes of
some…namely me."
"Medicham?" Setijin and Winona gasped, tears welling in Setijin's eyes. Noticing his
distraught flush, Winona rushed forwards, crouching down next to him.
"Calm down Setijin. We'll take him down," she reassured.
"Adorable," the boss squealed sarcastically. "Unfortunately, the virus is very potent,
and will spread to those you've been around for any protracted period. It works fast,
so Winona there will be relatively helpless too." Winona grimaced in disgust,
frustration rising inside of her.
"Why are you doing this?" she snapped.
"I simply wish to test drive my new experiment," he explained, drawing attention to
the blob. "You see, this is its first time further away than my porch from home, so I
felt it would be better to be safe that sorry. Also, you two have been causing me a fair
bit of trouble recently. My Medicham's pokéball is also an effective beacon, making
finding you surprisingly easy and the virus means that you are all totally helpless.
Even young Jasmine here, thanks to your gym battle, so this will really be a way of
killing a few birds with one stone, if you'll excuse the pun my dear Winona. Winona
scowled in response, Setijin curling down into more of a ball, while remaining on his
feet, staring straight down at the floor, thoughts twisting incoherently in his head,
before battering themselves together in a flush of inspiration.
"I want Medicham back," he said blankly, slowly rising to his feet, a maverick hint
twinkling in his eye.
"Well this should be interesting," he smiled, angling his face down, casting a shadow
over his eyes. "En guardé!"
"Cyndaquil, go!" Setijin cried, Cyndaquil's pokéball spinning energetically through
the air, before crashing to the floor, the tiny flame mouse taking shape. It squealed
cheerfully, apparently unaffected by the virus. Gathering his spare pokéballs together,
he hustled them into Winona's arms. "Take everyone to the pokémon center and get
rid of the virus. I'll be okay," he ordered, Winona reluctantly nodding, her and
Jasmine running off down the street.
"Hmm. This one seems to be quite resilient to the virus," the boss examined, a hint of
nervousness hanging on his breath. "Never mind, Medicham, go!" he commanded,
Medicham obediently scampering forwards, taking aim at Cyndaquil.
"Cyndaquil, use smokescreen," Setijin called, Cyndaquil igniting its flaming spines,
encouraging thick black smoke to billow into the sky, before leaping backwards,
behind its new cloak. Launching itself forwards, Medicham soared through the cloud,
causing the entire screen to collapse on itself, the attack narrowly missing the tiny
mouse.
"Nice try, but you're going to have to do better than that. Thanks to some proper
training, Medicham has reached its full potential, meaning pretty little displays like
that are not going to work as well as you want them to," the boss heckled, ordering
Medicham around to launch a shadow ball.
"Cham," it muttered almost mechanically, a black misted ball twisting and warping
from its hand towards Cyndaquil, the fire pokémon bracing itself for impact. The ball
curved around on itself, forcing it into a jagged path, lurching up and down in the air
as it approached Cyndaquil, picking up speed.
"Counter attack with flame wheel!" Setijin relayed, Cyndaquil crying out, unleashing
a ring of flames, cleanly passing around the ball. Thanks to the obstructed view,
Medicham failed to escape the path of the onslaught, and groaned as the flames threw
him back into a nearby wall, the ball of shadow severely battering Cyndaquil."
"That's more like it," howled the boss, Cyndaquil shaking off the shock from
Medicham's assault, unawares of the fighting pokémon flying through the air,
bending its knees, ready to crush.
"Cyndaquil!" Setijin shouted out, Medicham's shadow casting itself down onto the
mouse, eclipsing out the sunlight, only its outline visible in any detail, the solar glare
flickering out from either side, interrupted by a prompt surge of electricity, wrapping
itself through the sky and barraging itself into the side of Medicham's torso, knocking
him back once again.
"Ampharos, pharos!" the yellow pokémon called, Lucia standing proud by its side,
ready to launch her pokéballs into the fray.
"I seemed to remember that there was another one," the boss sighed, instructing
Medicham on its next course of action, receiving no response from the reluctant
pokémon, whom now lay unconscious on a heap of brick and rubble.
"Go Plusle and Espeon!" Lucia bellowed, both pokémon waiting readily and
healthily.
"And yet again, pokérus has shone through. Very well. It look's like this one might
get to see some proper action after all," he sighed in return, clapping his hands
together rhythmically. With this the blob shuffled forward, and hissed with energy as
it began to take shape…
"Here we go…" Setijin thought to himself. "Could this be it?"