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A scream of pain echoed through the forest. I traced its origin to the skies above and looked up. Quicksilver's vacuum control had robbed the Charizard of its fire-type moves. Now, it was making up for that by attempting to bully my bird out of the air with its bulk.
I screamed at Quicksilver to flee but it was too little too late. The poacher had seen his Ampharos' death and he desired revenge. The bastard released a pokemon in the skies next to my fleeing bird. The red light formed into a figure that sent my heart into my throat. My screams for Quicksilver to flee became even more frantic. My voice went hoarse but I kept at it. It was all for naught though. The Gengar surrounded his form with a cloud of poison and I felt pain beyond pain.
I thought I knew pain. I was wrong. I felt something in me give out. I felt it when Quicksilver died. I felt the gaping chasm where I once fed aura into. His absence was as pronounced as the sun shining above me.
It was a new kind of pain. A kind I resolved I would never feel again. The kind of pain that turned into anger. A lot of anger. The rest of my team had seen Quicksilver fall, and their anger fed into and enhanced mine. We created a continuous feedback loop with our collective anger seeking a crescendo.
Kenpachi glowed in bright light. He evolved, and instead of joy, I felt anger. He had to grow up, to evolve. Before he was even ready. All because this selfish bastard wanted what wasn't his to take. I released Ino and fed as much aura as I could into her.
Her tired form came alive and I started issuing orders through the mental bond we shared. I started by telling Ino to teleport after the Alakazam. It wasn't a pokemon used for battle and that showed. Ino was far superior and would finish it in no time.
Next, I ordered Igneel to take down that Charizard. The beast was part of the reason Quicksilver died. My breath hitched at the thought. It might have beaten Igneel before but my Dragon was all fired up.
For my last orders, I spoke out loud. I had to. "Broly, Kisame, come with me. We have a ghost to kill". Kisame let out a roar of anger and the lake, almost a kilometre away came alive at her roar. Broly was quieter in his anger, but it was there.
We moved as one. Kisame sent a hydro pump towards the Gengar that just finished recollecting itself. It dispersed again. The lake rose and wrapped itself around my sea snake. She floated beside Broly and me in her improvised Water prison.
The Gengar recollected itself and Broly blasted it with a signal beam the next second. It rushed towards us in a half-formed cloud of gas. Kisame sent some of the water from her prison crashing towards it. It went down at that but quickly reformed. Broly's stone axe dispersed it again
It tried to wrap around Broly to poison him. A fireball came crashing down on Broly's form and I knew Igneel had finished his battle. The Gengar's cloud exploded, leaving Broly unharmed. It tried to flee. Perhaps it saw its fate coming. Kenpachi herded it back towards us with a barrage of rock throws.
My team surrounded the ghost type slowly and steadily. I had no idea how to kill a ghost, but we'd manage it today. At least I thought we would. The roar that came from the Poacher's direction drew my attention and what I saw almost made me piss myself in fear.
The bastard had a Dragonite. A very large Dragonite. The bolt of red that returned the Gengar to its Pokeball was ignored. The terror I felt at the Dragonite's presence cleared away the anger that clouded my mind.
This one was going to be a tough fight. The good news was that the Trevenant came out of the forest a few seconds later. It stood right beside my team. I'd address that later. The poacher seemed to be grinding his teeth and then he whistled.
His Alakazam appeared at his side. Ino wasn't far behind, but the Alakazam, trainer, and Dragonite were gone in an instant. Ino tried to track the teleportation, but it was too far for her to follow.
I felt a hand grab me and then I appeared elsewhere. Staring at me were the dead, soulless eyes of one of my first friends. His grey feathers had darkened, and lines of black ran through his body. Quicksilver was dead and gone. The few embers of anger that remained ignited anew. I felt my anger rise in time with that of my pokemon.
Ino had brought them over and their anger joined mine. Our connection created a continuous feedback loop of vexation. We built off each other and intensified our experiences. We had lost a friend and we felt the loss, the abandonment, the loneliness. We mourned together. Sat before the body of our friend. Our partner.
POV SWITCH -The Pokemon Hunter.
That bastard had cost me most of my team. Pyro, Cyro, and Ampharos were dead. I almost even lost Ecto. The bastard had taken away a Lapras. A fucking Lapras. Pyro was replaceable. Infiltrating the Charicific valley was difficult, but not beyond my abilities.
Cyro was the real loss. Lapras were not just illegal to capture, but well guarded. The only sanctuary I knew of was patrolled by an entire squad of ace trainers. A challenge like that was well beyond me. Even with Draco on my side.
I walked around the base I'd chosen for myself in frustration. Fucking Oak. The spoilt bastard had taken so much from me already. I wouldn't forget though. I wouldn't forgive. I would kill his team. Use the Rock type's skull as a goblet. I would make him watch as I killed his snake and used her skin as a fucking pelt.
That would have to wait though. My team was diminished. All I had was Draco and Psycho. I should have released Draco earlier. Even alone, he had a good chance of taking out the boy's entire team. If I had released him with the rest, the boy would be dead beneath my feet.
I languished in my thoughts till a knock on the door interrupted my thought process. Probably one of the annoying neighbours again. They never got the hint that I wasn't interested in attending any cookouts or picnics or whatever inane events their vapid minds would come up with.
I resolved to ignore them when another series of knocks robbed me of that choice. They seemed to be particularly tenacious today. I tried to close my eyes again but they knocked again. I marched to the door in annoyance to give them a piece of my mind when I opened it and found something I didn't expect.
The same woman from a few days ago with a group of men behind her. "May we come in?" She asked with a painfully smug tone. I hated her already. I stepped aside to allow her entry while picking Psycho's ball off of my belt.
She and her goons walked into my apartment and I finally focused on what they were wearing. Black bodysuits with a red R on them. She sat down and spoke again. "There's no need for the Pokeball, Robert, May I call you Robert?" It was impossible for me to keep the surprise off my face. I'd gone to great troubles to hide away that part of my history. How the fuck did she know my name?
I ached to wipe the smugness off her smile. "What do you want?" I finally managed to grind it out. "We're all friends here. One conversation, Robert. A single conversation with the boss. No tricks, no escapes. Hear what the boss has to say and if you don't like it, we leave."
I had no real choice. She spoke a big game of being friendly but there was no way she didn't see the trap she had me in. With knowledge of my identity, there was nothing I could refuse her. "Fine" I replied.
She gestured to one of the goons behind her and he produced a laptop that he opened. The same shadowy figure with a bright background greeted me. "Hello, Robert. Please accept my condolences for your loss" How did they know? Was Oak one of them? Did he inform them?
"No, Donnell Oak does not form part of my organization. I had a promising agent watch the battle between the two of you. He had high praise for both your skills. Unfortunately, a majority of your team has been lost to you." His voice was smooth and I felt myself hanging on to his every word.
"This is where my organization comes in. We can help you find new pokemon for your team"
I laughed at that. "What can you offer me that I can not claim for my own?"
"Good question. Have you heard of the other regions?" Other regions? Was he speaking of Hoenn and the Orange Archipelago? The Islands might talk a great deal about their independence but they might as well be part of Indigo.
"No, I don't speak of Hoenn or the Archipelago. There are entirely new unexplored regions. The league has kept knowledge of the discovery of these regions to a select few but nothing is hidden from my organization. These regions pose an opportunity for you. If you join my organization, then you will form part of the first expedition we will be making to one of these regions."
I understood his unspoken offer. New regions meant new pokemon. I'd get the opportunity to claim rare and powerful Pokemon to replace those Oak stole from me. An offer I can't refuse indeed.
"I accept your offer. I'll join your organization." I had no real choice here. The carrot was too tempting and their unspoken stick too dangerous.
The shadowy figure spoke again. "Welcome to Team Rocket, Admin Archer. June has a Pokeball containing a Charizard claimed from the Valley just for you. She will also leave you with a phone that I will use to contact you when the time comes."
Admin huh? Sounds nice. The way it went with my chosen name sounded exquisite. The lady, June I guess her name was, gave me what I needed and then left with her goons in tow.
I wanted to go to bed but I felt too antsy. Might as well welcome my new pokemon. I released Psycho and had him teleport me to the usual training grounds we used.
Next, I released Draco. "We have to welcome a new member. It's a dragon so you'll have you it who's boss" Draco nodded and folded his hands across his chest. He was ready.
I released the Charizard. It must have been very irate because it let out a roar of challenge the moment it appeared. Draco matched its roar.
The Charizard rushed at Draco with a dragon rush. Draco caught it and threw it back the way it came. It didn't stay down for long and got up with a mighty flamethrower. Draco ignored the attack and used his tail to knock the fire dragon into a tree.
The Charizard came back out and caught a dragon breath to the face for its troubles. It fell and stood up again only to be knocked back to the ground by a kick from Draco. So that's how he wanted to play this. I settled in on the tree I was leaning against to enjoy the show.
The Charizard flew into the air. It seemed to be attempting to gain aerial superiority. A total waste of time. Draco flew up even faster and knocked it back to the ground. He sent a dragon pulse into its body when the Charizard tried to stand again.
The Charizard still didn't get the memo. It fired off a hyper beam straight at Draco's flying form. He huffed and dove straight through the beam with the tell-tale glow of Giga Impact surrounding him. He drove the Charizard deeper into the ground with his dive.
He got off its form and started walking towards me when a roar went through the forest. The Charizard stood up again with blue fire on its tail. Good, this one had blaze. It rushed at Draco again but Draco sent a Dragon rage straight at it. It went down and Draco put a single leg above its form.
I knew it understood when it stopped trying to get up. I walked on over. "Welcome to the team, Pyro".
A/N; This chapter broke my heart to write. How do you like it?
Thanks for reading. We're already halfway through with chapter 27 on the pa-atreon page. Feel free to join me there if you can. Same username as up here. The link's on my profile.
Name; Donnell Oak
Age; 15
Hometown; Pallet
Next of Kin; Samuel Oak
Account balance; 31,050 Pokedollars
Pokemon.
· Kleavor (Nickname; Broly)- Male. Bug/Rock type
Moves; Signal beam, agility, fury cutter, quick attack, slash, swords dance, protect, stone axe, ancient power, and rock throw.
· Milotic (Nickname; Kisame)- Female. Water type.
Moves; Brine, ice beam, hydro pump, dragon breath, dragon pulse, water gun, protect, recover, iron tail and bubble beam.
· Charizard (Nickname; Igneel)- Male. Fire type.
Moves; Ember, dragon breath, scratch, bite, growl, metal claw, flame thrower, protect, and dragon rush.
· Pupitar (Nickname; Kenpachi)- Male. Rock/Steel type.
Moves; Tackle, rock throw, bite, crunch, and leer.
· Gardevoir (Nickname; Ino)- Female. Psychic/Fairy type.
Moves; Teleport, psybeam, psychic, confusion, hypnosis, dazzling gleam, moonblast, and recover.