DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon or any of its characters, place names, etc. The only characters I own here are the lovely Samara Kantaris (or rather, she owns me...hehehe) and her 'rival' Ivan...and Kate Roscoe too. I guess Stella's mine as well, you could say. None of the other characters are mine (although I heartily wish I owned Lance and Giovanni, but unfortunately I don't...)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Has everyone abandoned me? lol...I'm still alive, yo. And so is this fanfic series. I've been doing loads of work on it...the next few chapters are either completed or in the process of being completed.

I left you with a bit of a cliffhanger last time (well, my terrible attempt at a cliffhanger)...so...now you get to find out what happens. It's a little unbelievable (if you've ever played PKMN R/B/Y, that is) but, anyway. Believe it. LOL!

Enjoy


Kantaris didn't have much time to think. She couldn't get up to run, so instead she frantically struck one of her Pokéballs' buttons before scrambling away. She nearly had a heart failure when she saw how tiny and pathetic her Oddish looked next to the formidable bird Pokémon. Part of her wanted to run away, leave her Oddish there and make a run for it. At one point, she would have done that. But for some reason, she just couldn't. It wasn't right. Her only other option was...to battle.

"Razor Leaf!" Kantaris yelled once she'd found her voice.

Oddish looked fired up, as if it were eager to prove itself. It leant forwards and sent out an intense Razor Leaf attack. Its opponent was so huge that the attack couldn't miss, but it didn't seem to do any damage either.

"Try an Absorb attack!"

Again, the attack connected, but nothing seemed to happen. The bird seemed to cry out mockingly. Then it drew one wing back and casually swatted Oddish to the side as if it were a speck of dust. For a fraction of a second, Kantaris was angry. But her anger was quickly replaced by pity. She ran over to her Oddish, examined it quickly and put it back into its Pokéball. It looked to be in pretty bad shape.

Her next feeling was that of terror. The giant bird looked angrier than ever. The sparks of electricity on its wings were building up. It's an Electric Pokémon, Kantaris realized, so therefore its attacks won't work on a Ground Pokémon.

With trembling hands, she unleashed her Diglett. She was about to order a Magnitude, but then she remembered that a ground-based attack would never work on a Pokémon that was in the air. But did Diglett have any other attacks?

"Rock Throw!" Kantaris called out.

Diglett looked at its trainer desperately as the bird started to peck at it.

"Okay, okay..." Kantaris shook her head. "Rock Slide, then!"

At first she thought nothing was going to happen. She was about to call Diglett back and make a run for it, when gradually pieces of debris on the floor started to rise. The bird was too busy pecking at Diglett to notice. All at once, a bundle of rock was dropped on it from above. The rocks landed on its head with a deafening crash, and it fell to the ground. Kantaris waited. It didn't move. Diglett was eyeing it warily.

Finally, Kantaris let out a sigh of relief. She was about to call her Diglett back when...

The bird arose again with a piercing shriek, shaking the dust and grit from its wings. It was looking a little weaker, as if it were struggling to stay in the air.

"Try another Rock Slide, Diglett!"

But Rock Slide was slow, whereas this opponent was fast. It launched itself at Diglett in a powerful Tackle attack, knocking it out instantly. It rose into the air, cawing triumphantly, as Kantaris called back her fainted Pokémon. Two down, only four left...

"Go, Quilava!" Kantaris threw in the second Pokéball on her belt.

Quilava emerged, already looking worried at the prospect of battling such a gigantic opponent. But it stood its ground, and Kantaris forced herself to smile.

"Your best Flamethrower!" she commanded.

Quliava cried out with the effort as it took a deep breath and produced a blazing Flamethrower. It hit the bird in the face and it screeched in anger. It responded with some sort of air attack – but it was too powerful to be a Gust attack! – that simply blew the fire out of its way and back towards Kantaris. Kantaris screamed in genuine fear. However, she didn't leap out of the way but instead leapt towards the oncoming blaze, snatched her Quilava out of the way (with the flames on its back and all) and jumped to the side. She let go of Quilava, who scampered back into battle straight away and started launching Ember attacks at the bird of its own accord whilst dodging Peck and Thunder attacks skillfully. It was treating it like some sort of training drill.

Kantaris, still lying amongst the rubble, was in two minds over what to do. Her initial reaction was fear for her Pokémon, battling it out on its own. It was a hopeless cause. It would be better to run. But no: if Quilava was able to keep going, then so was she. As she climbed to her feet and dusted herself off, she noticed that she had burn marks on both arms and grazes on her legs, and the bottom section of her T-shirt had been burned off completely from when she had seized Quilava.

If she had stood around thinking about it, the pain would have hit her and she would have quit – she wasn't actually that brave by nature when it came to pain, although she liked to think that she was. But she leapt over the pile of rubble and onto the 'battlefield' where the bird Pokémon was now walking on the ground, coming ever closer, driving Quilava further and further back. Quilava was weakening.

Kantaris wondered why the bird was walking now. Then she noticed that part of its left wing was badly burnt and its right was in an awkward position as if it was injured in some way. We're making progress, she thought.

Quilava's part in the battle soon ended – it collapsed out of pure exhaustion and Kantaris called it back with silent but immense gratitude. When she'd first set out with her disobedient, nothing-special Cyndaquil, she'd never imagined that it had so much fight in it waiting to be unleashed. Now she knew that it wasn't to be underestimated.

But she wasn't out of danger yet. She was about to send Staryu out when she remembered her Eevee, 'never raced nor rallied'. This would be a baptism of fire for her poor Eevee – she'd hardly battled with it before – but it was inevitable that it would have to fight at some point. Kantaris wasn't giving up. So she sent it out. So far as she knew, it only had four attacks. None of them would be much use, but it was worth a try.

"Quick Attack!" she ordered, deciding that she'd wasted enough time already.

Eevee, seemingly unbothered by its formidable opponent, raced forwards into a mediocre Quick Attack. It hit (it was hard to miss, really) but it didn't seem to do any damage. This really was hopeless. The bird cawed mockingly in a sing-song fashion and flicked Eevee out of its sight with the tip of its beak. Horrified, Kantaris ran forward to catch it before it hit the wall. Her Pokémon were dropping like flies. If she weren't careful, she would have serious medical bills to pay at the Pokémon Centre after this. If she ever got out alive.

Don't be stupid, she told herself firmly.

Kantaris put Eevee back into its Pokéball and hastily released Staryu in its place. If she were to lose this battle, she would lose in style: Stella would be the last to fight. As Staryu appeared, the bird suddenly took to the air again as if the sight of its opponent strengthened it, somehow. It knew that it was at an extreme advantage. Kantaris longed to call for a Hydro Pump or even an Ice Beam, but she knew that Staryu wouldn't have either of those attacks at this level. So, instead, she called for a Water Gun.

As if sensing the urgency of the situation, Staryu steadied itself and a terrific blast of water ensued forth. The large bird seemed surprised by its power but it was too late to dodge. The attack hit full on and the bird was thrown against the back wall. It fell to the floor and hopped onto its feet weakly, stumbling every so often as it ran forwards again. Sparks of electricity leapt from its wings.

"Spin Tackle!" Kantaris commanded.

Staryu was looking particularly on form. Like a boomerang, it flew into the air, hitting the bird on the head with each of its five limbs before returning to its original place. No damage to Staryu as of yet. It was at full strength.

With its last few ounces of strength (or so it seemed), the bird screeched and unleashed a dazzling Thunder attack. It was unavoidable. Kantaris could do nothing but crouch by the door, out of the way. She didn't even have to look to know that Staryu had fainted. She felt a rush of heat zoom past her head, which was followed by a burning smell. She cursed as she looked at a few locks of her hair at the left side of her head that were singed at the bottom.

Now was the time to let out her anger. The battle was almost over.

"You wanna fight for real, huh?" she yelled, returning Staryu to its Pokéball. "You wanna beat me? Think I'm not good enough for you? Fine! I'll give you a fight!"

The bird loomed over her and screeched loudly. Kantaris had never been so scared. But she still had one last Pokémon. She had her fortress. And she let her loose.

"Go, Stella! Do me proud. If this is to be the end, let's make it count!"

Stella made a sound of general agreement. She narrowed her eyes and began to glow the classic blue color of a Psywave attack.

"No, not strong enough!"

In that split-second of hesitation as Stella cancelled her Psywave attack and waited for a command, the bird took its chance to attack. Something shot from its beak, passed straight through Stella and out of the door, missing Kantaris by a few inches. A Drill Peck attack? Lucky miss.

"Shadow Ball!" Kantaris ordered. She wasn't shaken. It was too close now. She had to carry on.

Stella obeyed swiftly and shot forward a black and purple ball of shadow. It struck the bird under its chin, knocking it backwards. And still, it got to its feet again. Another Shadow Ball. The same happened.

"I'm sorry to do this to you, Stella," Kantaris said, "but I need a Destiny Bond right now."

As always, Stella listened to her trainer with neither complaint nor hesitation. The Destiny Bond was in place. Now all they had to do was wait for the bird to attack. It stood shakily, staggering around. It was weak, but its rage was still there in its dark, flashing eyes.

"Attack," Kantaris whispered.

But it wouldn't attack. It wasn't falling for it.

"Stella, Perish Song!" Kantaris commanded. It was something that she had hardly ever done before.

As the bird realised that it was about to be attacked again, it took its chance. Before Stella could begin her Perish Song, it released a Razor Wind attack followed by a Thundershock (or a weak Thunder attack) and its level advantage was such that that was all it took. Stella fainted, almost graciously, and a split-second later, the bird went down. And it stayed down.

Everything was silent. There was the rustling of the wind in the grass. Kantaris stood astonished. Now that the battle was over, she was back to her old self. Limping, nursing her stinging wounds and fighting the urge to cry, she walked around the fallen bird and looked at it with a mixture of excitement and terror. She reached out to touch it but was too afraid to do so.

"That's not right," she muttered. "What the hell is that?"

And yet it was definitely a Pokémon. And a bloody strong one. Damn, that was all that mattered!

Kantaris ran for her bag that she had thrown to one side and she searched through it. She almost did cry when she couldn't find any Pokéballs. But finally, she did. Just one. A plain Pokéball. She gazed at it for a moment before casting it towards the bird.

"Fly true," she whispered.

The Pokémon was so large that it took a while for it to be absorbed. The ball fell with a clatter and shook violently, rolling around in circles. Kantaris poised herself to give up and run should the bird break loose. It took about five minutes (or it felt like five minutes) for the ball to finally become still. As Kantaris approached it, it twitched once...twice...and then nothing.

With shaking hands, she picked it up. Just as she was coming to terms with what she'd done, it flew from her hand again and out of a hole in the wall. If Kantaris hadn't been so dumfounded, she might have panicked in case it got lost somewhere and didn't end up in her PC storage system. But she still couldn't believe it. Was she even awake? Feeling terribly stupid and cliché, she pinched herself. It hurt. So did everything else.

Then she heard footsteps from outside. Still stunned, she didn't turn round. The footsteps came closer. A low voice said,

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Hmm?" Kantaris blinked and turned round. "What?"

Her so-called rival, Ivan, was standing in the doorway. He was carrying a Great Ball in each hand and looked out of breath.

"How did you get in here?" he asked sourly. "Did you break the door?"

"No, I...I mean, yes. I wanted to have a look round."

"Why?" Ivan snapped, eyeing Kantaris suspiciously.

"Why not?" Kantaris shrugged. "Why are you here, anyway?"

"God...you mean you don't know what this place is?" Ivan rolled his eyes.

"No, but I'm sure you're gonna tell me."

"This is the old Power Plant!"

"Well done, Einstein," Kantaris remarked, returning to her old self again. "The sign outside the door says so. So you can read. Well done."

Ivan backtracked a little and glanced at the sign.

"Okay, there is a sign. But I didn't read it. I just knew."

"How nice for you."

"I'm looking for Zapdos," Ivan replied in a professional manner, adjusting his collar and scanning the building. "Apparently it nests here."

"Why are you looking for Zapdos?" Kantaris felt a bowling ball drop in her stomach.

"Because, sweetheart, it's one of the Legendary Birds."

"If you believe that they exist," Kantaris said, trying to cover her tracks. For some reason, she was scared.

"Of course they exist!" Ivan said scornfully. "What kind of trainer are you if you don't even believe in Legendaries? Me, I'm trying to catch Legendaries!"

"Hmm. Good luck to you."

"So, have you seen anything?"

"No," Kantaris replied instantly. "Nothing here. You must have got it wrong."

"You wouldn't be lying to me, would you?"

"No. In fact, I came here to look for Zapdos as well. But the legends can't be true. As you can see, there's nothing here. No nest, no feathers...no Zapdos."

"You really are lying," he said immediately. "I know you are."

"I am not lying!" She widened her eyes in innocence. "All I've got from here are a couple of Magnemites."

Ivan glanced at her belt and smiled slowly and knowingly, making a show of it. Kantaris felt her heart leap into her throat. She didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"So you caught a Magnemite, huh?" he asked. "Prove it. Show me."

"I can't," Kantaris replied. "It's gone to my PC."

"Oh, really?" Ivan advanced towards her; she backed off. "Last time we met, you only had five Pokémon on your belt. You now have six. What else did you catch, Rocket girl?"

"Well, I didn't catch Zapdos, if that's what you're thinking," Kantaris lied (or was she lying? She wasn't sure). "I only have Pokéballs with me. If such a Pokémon as Zapdos exists, no ordinary Pokéball will be able to catch it, right?"

"Possibly," Ivan said, still suspicious, "but tell me what you caught."

"If you must know," Kantaris replied furiously, "I caught a Staryu at Cerulean City and a Diglett on the way to Vermilion Ciity. And I caught a Magnemite, just now. My Cyndaquil also evolved, in case you were wondering. Now I am intending to go to Lavender Town. I was just passing by and decided to check this place out. Is that acceptable to you?"

"You got your Thunderbadge? Already?"

"Of course I have." Kantaris pulled the right side of her coat taut to display her badges.

"Fight with me, then," Ivan ordered.

Kantaris was about to take up his challenge before she remembered the horrible state that her Pokémon were in. There was no way they could fight.

"I...I can't!" she replied, mortified that she was turning down a challenge.

"Oh, you can't?" Ivan looked equally mortified, but it was just an act. "And why not?"

"My Pokémon are all fainted. They're worn out from the trip up from Vermilion."

"You walked down to Vermiliion and back in such a short space of time?" Ivan raised his eyebrows. "That's quite a feat, Miss Kantaris."

"Thanks."

"And you didn't pass any Pokémon Centres on your journey?"

"No. I mean, yes. I did. But I didn't...I didn't stop."

"Ha!" Ivan laughed. "And I thought you Rockets were supposed to be trained liars! You're a joke. No wonder you left Team Rocket. Bet they kicked you out."

"It's the truth!" she snapped. "My Pokémon are all fainted so unfortunately I can't amuse myself by beating you. And for your information, I never left Team Rocket, nor did I get kicked out."

"I never mentioned a Pokémon battle," Ivan said threateningly. "A fistfight will do."

Kantaris eyed him angrily but stood her ground even as he moved closer. He wouldn't dare, she thought. She remembered that she had a gun. The thought comforted her, even though she wasn't intending to use it. Ivan wasn't worth a bullet. A punch in the face? Maybe.

"I won't fight you," she said calmly.

"No, I wouldn't if I were you," he remarked, looking her up and down. "You're in pretty bad shape. Looks like you've been fighting enough already. What happened? Did someone catch you trying to swipe something and beat you up?" He laughed at his own 'work of genius' joke.

"That's none of your business," Kantaris said, blushing. She quickly fastened her coat to hide the burns and dirt on her clothing and any wounds that she had.

"How long had you been here before I arrived?"

"Not long. I just...came in to shelter from the thunderstorm."

"Thunderstorm? That's strange. They say that Zapdos sometimes appears when there's a..."

Something was set alight in Ivan's eyes. He looked at Kantaris. Her eyes widened in fear.

"Hey," he said. "Wait a minute. There was no storm."

"Yes, there was! There was thunder and lightning and I nearly got h...oh, shit. No." She'd just dropped a big hint.

Before the situation could get any worse, Kantaris put her bag on her back and bolted past Ivan towards the door. He didn't bother following her, but as she passed him, he took hold of her arm and pulled her close. With a little smile, he gave her a fleeting kiss. Kantaris was too shocked to say anything.

"I know you're lying to me, Miss Kantaris. I'll be watching you." He smiled at her stunned expression. That had been the intended effect.

"Well," she whispered in reply, pulling herself free, "that will be very rude of you."

Needing time to think (and time to get her mysterious new Pokémon), Kantaris went into the city centre and stopped at a Pokémon Centre. The healing took longer than usual and there was a charge incurred because some of her Pokémon had needed extra treatment. Kantaris was glad that her Pokémon were okay now, but her desire for her new Pokémon outweighed her happiness and she exchanged her Oddish for...

Zapdos. That's what it said on the screen. Kantaris did a double take. No, it really did say that!

"Oh, my God," she whispered. "I caught Zapdos."

I caught Zapdos! I captured a fuckin' Legendary Pokémon! Can you believe that?

Saying it out loud brought it home. She gasped and shielded the screen with her arms in case anyone was watching. Her heart rate doubled. This can't be real, she thought. She glanced at the screen again. Holy shit, she screamed silently, it is real!

She seized the Pokéball, fitted it to her belt and ran back to Kate's house; her injuries were totally forgotten by now. It was only when Kate opened the door and screamed,

"What happened to you?"

...that she remembered all the burns and bruises that she'd earned whilst capturing...

Oh, my God. Zapdos. I caught Zapdos. A Legendary Pokémon.

"I..." Kantaris had been about to formulate some story. But for some reason, she changed her mind and told the truth. "Kate, you won't believe what happened."

"Try me!" Kate looked genuinely concerned. Kantaris wasn't sure why.

When they were both sitting in the lounge and Kantaris had bandaged her wounds up, she began her unlikely-sounding tale of how she had broken into the abandoned building in the field nearby and had been attacked...fought...and ended up catching some weird Pokémon. She left out the bit about Ivan since Kate had never had the 'pleasure' of meeting him.

"Kantaris..." Kate's eyes were wide with…what? Accusation? Disbelief? Admiration? "Do you realise what you just did?"

"I...I think I do..."

I captured Zapdos. It's mine. All mine.

"You just captured a Legendary Pokémon! Some trainers get only one chance at one Legendary. Some get none at all. Some get more than that. It's a random thing. But you've only been training for...hardly any time at all! Other trainers spend years searching for a Legendary and you just happened to find one! And you caught it, first time!"

"Sounds like you don't believe me."

"Well, I'm...I'm a little skeptical." Kate blushed and cringed. "But I'm not dismissing your story. If I see it, it'll confirm it."

"I can't let it out!" Kantaris whispered. "It's crazy! It attacked me with thunderbolts and everything! God, you should have seen what it did to my Pokémon!"

"But they're okay now?" Kate asked quickly.

Kantaris nodded.

"You know," Kate said, "if you catch a Pokémon – any Pokémon – it really is yours. It won't run away. The only way you could lose it is by giving it away or possibly by having it stolen from you."

"You really wanna see this Zapdos, don't you?" Kantaris sighed.

"Sure I do." Kate grinned. "What trainer wouldn't?"

Kantaris followed Kate into the back garden and, after glancing around nervously for a few minutes she released the Pokémon from her sixth and final Pokéball. There was a flash. Thunder was heard in the distance. Kantaris winced and looked towards the power station. It appeared that Ivan had gone.

Then there was the familiar sound of bird cry again. And when she saw the bird hovering in the air above her, Kantaris couldn't deny it anymore. It was real. She had just captured a Legendary, and yet she felt more scared than pleased.

"Wow. But you know, a lot of people would say that that wasn't right," Kate said, confirming her fears. "Capturing Legendaries, I mean."

"I can see how they might think that..." Kantaris whispered. "But...winner takes all, right?"

"I suppose so, yes."

Kantaris hastily recalled her Zapdos with a call of,

"Return, Tempest."

"Tempest?" Kate questioned with a smile.

Kantaris shrugged.

"I dunno. It just goes with it. 'Zapdos' is too hard on the ears. And besides, subtlety is everything. I wouldn't wanna go proclaiming to the world that I own a Zapdos...would I? Kate?"

Kate suddenly looked all serious. Kantaris had never seen her like that before.

"Most certainly not. Whatever you do, Kantaris, don't tell anyone. You'll either get mugged for it or the Pokémon Defense League will have your guts, believe me."