Chapter 4--Red's Challenge
Fifteen years. Fifteen long and lonely years had passed since that day. I punished myself by never leaving that cave and never befriending any Pokemon. I spent my days thinking about what I have done and apologizing for it. The wild Pokemon in the cave were very battle-anxious. The constantly challenged me, no matter how many times I used a single psychic to dispatch them. Once in a while, a human would find me deep within the cave. I simply transported them elsewhere in the cave and psychically planted a false memory of them having been where I was and finding nothing special. It was a rare occurrence, though. It wasn't much of a way to live, but I felt I did not deserve anything better for killing three lives.
It happened on a day like any of the thousands I had lived through while in that cave. A human was in the cave, a young boy. His hair was brown, as were his eyes, and he wore what humans called a cap, which was red and white. He was with two others, a young girl with short blue hair and another boy, taller with spiky light brown and dark brown hair. They were just more humans who come down to explore the cave. That would've normally been my cue to transport them elsewhere and alter their memories.
Only I didn't. For some reason I just kept staring at him, the one with the cap. There was something about this human…something I couldn't put my finger on. Whatever it was, it didn't allow me to send him out of the cave like every other human. He stared at me as well. I could feel that is was more than just puzzlement on his part, but again I didn't really know why I felt this. After a few moments of staring, I turned away from him. Then I heard a strange sound, a whirring or buzz of sorts. I turned back around to see that the human had released a goldenrod-yellow mammalian Pokemon with curled black ears and a very long tail with a jagged shaped like a lightening bolt on the end. I have seen these Pokemon several times before in the cave, the Mouse Pokemon Raichu.
"Ayeaka (AN: Named after the character from the anime Tenchi Muyo. I name Pokemon I use a lot in my games after anime characters), Thunderwave!" The human called out.
He was trying to capture me surely. While I still didn't want to send him away, I didn't feel like dealing with his Pokemon. I used a single Psychic to lift the Raichu of the ground and slam it very hard against the cave wall. It collapsed after that single attack.
He recalled his Pokemon and paused for a moment, perhaps to think. He then threw a Pokeball, this one containing the Dragon-like Fire Pokemon Charizard. It roared, signifying it was ready for battle.
Calling this Pokemon "Darien" (AN: Named after Tuxedo Mask/Kamen from Sailor Moon. Yes I call him by his English name. I can't help It) , the human had it use Flamethrower on me. Before it could open its mouth, I used Psychic on it. Unlike the Raichu though, it could take the attack and immediately countered with a stream of flames. I protected myself with a blue colored barrier, the fire being completely absorbed by it.
The boy looked worried. The other boy shouted,
"Red! It can use barriers! They're right that Legendary Psychic-types can use barrier! I don't know if Darien has the power to break through that!"
"I'll have to try, Marino," the capped boy replied, "Darien, Fly at the barrier!"
I used another Psychic to stop the reptile, this one knocking it out.
The human returned his Pokemon, taking out yet another one. When he released the Pokemon, it materialized over the water nearby. A giant blue serpentine Pokemon, Gyarados roared loudly. These Pokemon are decently powerful among non-Legendaries. Perhaps he thought it would be able to stand up to me.
"Zelgadis (AN: named after the character from Slayers), Hyper Beam!"
I used a Psychic, slamming the giant creature against the wall. It roared and opened it large mouth wide. A ball of yellow light formed in the center and grew larger. When it was large enough, the Gyarados released a stream of yellow light directly at me. Calmly I raised my barrier. The Hyper Beam was too powerful to be absorbed, so it reflected of my barrier and instead struck the Gyarados in its face, draining it of its entire HP.
The human recalled the Gyarados, his teeth gritted. He took out not a Pokeball, but those more powerful Ultra Balls.
"Amy (AN: Named after Sailor Mercury), go!"
Form the ball came a beautiful bird Pokemon. It was mostly covered in deep blue feathers with a collar of lighter blue feathers that covered its chest. It had a crest of three feathers on its head and very long tail feathers.
"Arriiiiiaaaarrrrrr!" It called out.
Articuno, I thought. But, it's a Legendary Pokemon, like me…how could this human…
Then I remembered what my mother had told me when I was younger. Legendary Pokemon are too powerful for most humans to handle. No human is allowed to train them…except for a chosen few. Know as Legendary Ones (AN: I know it's a lame name…), these trainers are chosen by a council of the eldest Legendary Pokemon and the Sea Guardian Lugia for their purity, potential skill, ability to befriend humans and Pokemon, and other factors not well understood. Only a few humans are Legendary Ones at a time and apparently, there are normally long periods of time when there are no Legendary Ones.
That must've been the reason why I didn't send him away. I sensed he was a Legendary One and thus was compelled to challenge him. Still, I certainly didn't want to be captured. I started off the round by using Psychic on the Legendary Ice Bird.
The Articuno was slammed against a cave wall. Being Legendary though, it could take more damage than the average Pokemon.
"Amy, Agility!"
The large blue bird became a mere blur in the air, zipping from one side to another.
"Now Blizzard!"
It stopped suddenly, and then released a powerful gale of ice and wind from its beak. The attack reflected off my barrier, however the Articuno was able to avoid the attack with its speed.
I used another Psychic, but still the Legendary Pokemon withstood it.
"Amy, Fly at top speed!"
The Articuno flew as high as it could in the cave. Once it reached high enough, it flew back down, straight at me. I stopped the assault using another Psychic, finally knocking her out.
The boy returned his Pokemon, not releasing another. He appeared to be thinking, his teeth still gritted. I hoped that he was going to give up and leave this place. I really didn't feel like hurting his Pokemon any more.
Instead he reached into his bag and pulled out an unusual purple and ball Pokeball. He then hurled the ball at me. I thought he must be desperate. The ball hit my barrier, but it didn't bounce off. Instead it backed away and stopped in mid air. The ball released a shaft of red light that quickly engulfed my barrier. The light had paralyzed me, making me unable to move or even use my powers.
In a flash, literally a flash, I was inside the ball. When you see a Pokemon being withdrawn into a ball, they are converted into energy, which is why they appear to turn into light. However the Pokemon experiences a sort of teleportation, from the outside world to inside the ball. We do not feel ourselves actually become energy.
When I was inside I attempted to break out, but no amount of Psychic power was able to destroy the ball. I struggled to get free of the ball, but all I succeeded in doing was wearing myself out. The ball was admitting cozy. They are designed to make us feel comfortable after all. After tiring myself out, I couldn't help but fall into a thankfully dreamless sleep.