Alicia's Rescue
It took Michael and Liz about forty-five minutes to get to Pyrite, since Michael was driving his scooter as fast as it could possibly go. When they got to the town, they didn't stop until they got to the ONBS building. Surprisingly, the police were nowhere to be seen, despite the horrifying broadcast. "What are the police doing?" Michael asked Liz once the engine was off.
"I'm not sure…but something seems off. Wasn't there a security guard out front too?" Liz asked.
Michael looked more worried. "Let's get in there," he said, opening the door, immediately seeing the security guard on the ground next to the Shroomish that was usually on Megg's reception desk. While Shroomish was asleep, it was clear that the security guard had been injured seriously, his right leg clearly broken in several places.
"Nng, hey, you two, they took Megg. Please save her," he said with a wince. "Be careful, there are Cipher members all around the building."
"Alright, but do you need us to call an ambulance?" Michael asked.
"I've…already called for emergency services. They're supposed to be on their way here."
"Okay, just keep weight off of it for now," Michael said.
"Yeah, I'm not moving from this spot," he said through gritted teeth.
Michael led the way, with Liz close behind as they rounded the corner. There, they almost collided with a Cipher member who was patrolling the halls. "Well, the brats are here, huh? Lovrina told us to look out for you. Now, show us what you can-"
He was cut off as Liz brought her foot directly into the man's groin, hitting a gap in Cipher's armored uniform. "Piss off, you bastards," she shouted, giving the man a punch to the face, knocking him out and making his nose bleed.
Michael was blushing slightly at how Liz handled herself. Note to self: Do not piss her off. "Have I ever said just how beautiful you are?"
"Hmm, mentioning it more often couldn't hurt," she said with a confident smile.
Michael smiled and laughed slightly as they continued. Unfortunately, they were met with another Cipher Peon. "Oh, you two are the ones Lovrina mentioned. I guess it's time for you and your pathetic Pokémon to die."
Michael stepped forward this time. "You really want to fight us?"
"You don't have to fight if you're scared. It'll just make things cleaner," the Peon said. Michael just grabbed the two most recently filled Pokéballs.
"Just try it. Come on out, Shroomish, and Trapinch!" Michael called, not yet learning their names, though Shroomish was just barely still a Shadow Pokémon. "Now, time to fight."
"Come out, Corphish and Electrike," the Peon said as the scarlet crustacean appeared next to the green and yellow electric canine. They were both shown at level 18.
"We'll just keep this brief," Michael said, looking at the listed attacks for Trapinch, knowing he couldn't use the ground attacks inside the building for fear of damaging the floor. "Trapinch, use Crunch on Electrike. Shroomish, use Mega Drain on Corphish!"
"Corphish, use Bubble Beam on Trapinch, and Electrike use Thunder Wave on Shroomish!"
Corphish was the first to respond to his command, shooting a stream of bubbles directly at Trapinch. Thankfully, the freshly caught Trapinch knew that she needed to dodge, jumping to the side as she jumped to the side of the incoming water attack, then charged toward Electrike. She closed the distance easily as she bit the electric hound hard. Michael honestly regretted that they had to resort to such brutal fighting, but they had to be decisive enough to stop Cipher's plan. Electrike barely had time to fire his ball of paralyzing lightning.
Shroomish extended energy tendrils, which wrapped around Corphish, but, due to her concentration, she didn't move away from the incoming Thunder Wave. But she still drained as much energy from her target as she could from the crustacean as possible.
Trapinch then turned rapidly, throwing the Electrike across the field, her aim was precise as the electric-type collided with his teammate. Both were knocked out in the collision. The Cipher Peon growled and just sent out his third Pokémon: the purple ball of sludge, Grimer. However, he didn't recall his other Pokémon. Michael didn't take the time to question it.
"Shroomish, use Shadow Blitz. Trapinch, use Rock Slide." Shroomish was surrounded by a powerful aura, crashing into Grimer just as an orb of energy appeared over it. The orb began to produce a cluster of rocks as if it were a portal. Shroomish leapt out of the way of the attack as the poison-type was almost entirely buried without a chance to make a move.
"Damn you, you weak Pokémon!" the Cipher Peon said. "Doesn't matter anyway. You were just assigned to me, not even my Pokémon." He took off the belt of Pokéballs and dropped it onto the ground before leaving, simply walking out of the building.
"Well…we did want to help free the non-Shadow Pokémon," Michael said before he thanked both Shroomish and Trapinch for battling so hard. As he did, he saw a notice that Shroomish was ready to be purified. Liz went and recalled the Pokémon the Cipher Peon had just abandoned, leaving the belt on a table nearby.
"Maybe now they'll find real trainers," she said with a sad, yet hopeful tone. "Let's just hope the others in Cipher will drop their Pokémon like this guy did."
"I know what you mean," Michael said as he healed Shroomish and checked Trapinch for injuries. "I seriously worry about Lovrina's other Pokémon. There's no way she's not abusing them."
"By the way, should we go and take the Pokéballs from the guy I knocked out back there?" Liz asked.
"I don't want to stoop to their level, but I'd rather keep the Pokémon safe from those monsters," Michael said. "Go for it."
Liz smirked, grabbed the other belt, and left for a little more than five minutes. "Okay, I placed the two belts in some of the drawers of Megg's desk. Hopefully Cipher won't find them there."
"Perfect," Michael said, his Pokémon all healed and in their Pokéballs. "Let's go through and clear this building before we go for Nett's office."
"You want to find and catch Alicia, right?" Liz asked.
"Yeah," Michael said. "If that broadcast was seen outside of Orre, there's a chance that Gwen saw it in Hoenn. After she came to us pleading for help, I decided I was going to do anything to save that Ralts."
Liz smiled. "Well, once we find the guy who has her, you can battle him," she said with a smile.
"You sure?" Michael asked. "You don't want to catch her?"
"I do…but I can tell that your feelings are stronger than mine are," Liz said as they entered the elevator. "Plus, if she's anything like her mother is supposed to be in battle, she's better suited on your team."
Michael gave Liz a quick kiss on the cheek as thanks. "But, who knows, you and her might become friends too," he said as they got to the second floor. They stepped out of the elevator, but then they heard a what sounded like boots hitting the floor behind them. Michael turned, seeing another member of Cipher, who seemed to have just appeared out of thin air.
"Surprised that I'm here? Well, it wasn't easy bracing myself against the ceiling," he said, clearly fishing for a compliment.
"Cool, but you're a talentless hack," Liz said, ready for a battle. Michael chuckled a bit at Liz's insult.
"You say that, but it's not as easy as you are. Come out, Kecleon and Surskit!" the Peon said, as a tall chameleon Pokémon, and a water-skater bug appeared from his two Pokéballs.
"Okay, you want to play that way? I'll play along. Titania, Mareep, let's show him what we're made of!" The Flaaffy and Sylveon duo came out, ready to battle.
"Fury Swipes, and Water Gun!" the Peon said, almost angrily. "I don't give a shit who you attack."
"Titania, Fairy Wind on Kecleon. Flaaffy, use Thunder Shock on Surskit!" Liz said. Both of the girl's Pokémon attacked, the cyclone of fairy-type energy whirling around Kecleon, knocking him to the ground hard. Flaaffy's wool began to buzz with electricity before she launched a spiral of lightning, hitting the water-type hard. The attacks both dropped the health of their opponents by about a third. It was already fairly clear who would win this battle.
Kecleon and Surskit still managed to get up and start using their attacks, with Kecleon desperately trying to scratch Titania, who just dodged as if she couldn't care less about her attacker. She then started using her ribbons to whip the Kecleon between his swipes. Surskit was very inaccurate with her bursts of water, with Flaaffy barely making a move to dodge.
Something is wrong here, Michael thought. Unless there's some sort of damage done to their senses, no Pokémon misses that easily. He then started to notice that both of the bug-type's eyes looked almost cloudy, as if cataracts was beginning to develop. No…there's no way they're intentionally hurting their other Pokémon…wait, no, that's par for the course for them.
"Flaaffy, finish that Surskit with Thunder Shock," Liz said. Flaaffy could see that something was off with the bug-type, so she gathered as much power as she could for this attack. The electricity arced from the electric coils on the sides of her head, hitting Surskit directly. For a moment, the water bug seized up, only to collapse once the electricity faded. The Peon walked forward and punted the bug type toward Liz, making the poor thing cry out from pain. That just pissed off Liz, her Pokémon, and Michael. Titania then proceeded to use Bite just as Kecleon made a final swing for his Fury Swipes attack. She then let loose with a blast of Fairy Wind finishing the job. The Peon then began to curse louder.
"Fucking weaklings," he said as he pulled out a third Pokéball. "Makuhita, time to show them power."
The Pokémon that came out was a short, yellow Pokémon with the build of a sumo wrestler, and it had black hands that looked like boxing gloves. Then came the alert from both of their Shadow Monitors detecting the dark aura from the new opponent.
"Level 18, nice," Liz said as she looked to her Pokémon. "Flaaffy, use Thunder Wave! Titania, use Disarming Voice!"
Both Pokémon reacted precisely, with Flaaffy firing a ball of static electricity at Makuhita. The fighting type tried to move out of the way, but the Thunder Wave still hit his foot as he leapt to roll away. Titania followed the paralyzing shot with a shriek, with the soundwaves glowing a light pink. While the cry was as irritating as nails on a chalkboard, it was effective as it hit the Shadow Pokémon, leaving it with barely any health.
"Shadow Blitz," the Peon said angrily.
Makuhita sprinted forward, a red aura flaring out along with the black aura that came with Shadow attacks.
Oh, shit. He's got Guts, Liz thought as the Makuhita slammed into Flaaffy, dropping her health by almost two thirds of her maximum. The devastating impact even knocked her to the ground, making her slide to Liz's feet just as her trainer finished programing a snag. "You want to be an ass and beat your Pokémon?" she asked. "Then I'll just take them from you." She threw a Great Ball the moment it materialized in her hand. The energy hand extended from the ball and grabbed Makuhita, pulling it inside, and shaking a couple times before snapping shut. She was quick to help Flaaffy up, using a Super Potion to heal the electric sheep. "Thank you both for working so hard," Liz said to her two Pokémon, getting a nuzzle from both, Sylveon standing on Liz's right thigh to nuzzle her face, and Flaaffy by her left side.
"Liz, you're always so kind," Michael said to himself as the Peon left the building, leaving his Pokémon unconscious and on the floor. Michael, however, noticed two crushed capture matrices on the ground. "Seems those two aren't his Pokémon anymore. I guess they can now go to the right trainers for them."
"Hey, Michael, I'm worried that the main newsroom is still being held hostage. I'm going to take care of them there," Liz said after picking up Makuhita's new Great Ball.
"Alright, then I'm coming with you," Michael said with determination in his voice.
Over in Hoenn, Gwen was sitting in a daze on the family couch. They had the television set to the channel for the Orre News Broadcast Station, which was currently showing live video of one of the members of Cipher pestering Ancha for her autograph. It would've been mildly amusing under any other circumstances, almost like a bad comedy sketch, but Gwen was so deep in a depression that nothing registered. Suddenly, the sound of a door opening behind the camera. The man by the news table turned around, as did the camera, showing two eighteen-year-olds, Gwen perked up a when she saw that they were the two whose dreams she'd entered. She immediately levitated the remote and hit record for the DVR.
"Hey, who the hell are you two?" Don't you know that Cipher is controlling this place now?"
The boy spoke up. "And now we're here to kick you out." He pulled out two Pokéballs with a look of determination that reminded her of Brendan. It started to give her a sense of hope. She watched the battle that started, with the Cipher member's Rhyhorn, Qwilfish, Chinchou, and Koffing all facing Michael's Jolteon, apparently named Nick, and his Spheal, named Boreas.
Wait, I think I remember seeing those names on a list of Pokémon on the Libra with Alicia. Michael's saved them, and now he's coming for Alicia, she said, joy in her voice.
Brendan, having sensed Gwen's hopefulness, came into the room, seeing the battle on the screen. "Gwen, are those two…?"
Yes, they're the ones I found in Orre. Michael Orison, and Elizabeth Hanz, she said. And they're at ONBS to drive out Cipher.
As she said that, Nick fired a Shock Wave, finishing the Cipher Peon's final Pokémon, Koffing. To both of their surprise, the man didn't even bother to recall his Pokémon. Instead, he crushed their Pokéballs under his feet before leaving, saying that Cipher would beat Michael into submission for this.
Michael then walked up to Ancha and the crew, seeing the man who had his limbs crushed by Alicia laying on the ground, but there were a few crew members trying their best to tend to him until paramedics arrived. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Thanks to you, yes," the newswoman said.
"Do you know if the three who attacked this room earlier are still in the building?"
"Yeah, they are. Bitt sent a message saying that they were using Megg as a hostage to get back a piece of technology…or something like that."
Michael nodded, realizing that the SD Card they'd brought earlier was what drew Cipher here. He then turned to face the camera. "If the Maple family in Hoenn happens to see this, I promise we will save Alicia."
Gwen looked excited for the first time in nearly a month now. I believe him. He's got the same spirit as you, she said with a smile.
"Maybe we can all go to see them in Orre once they've handled the crisis," Brendan said. "And then you can have a battle with Alicia too."
I'd love that, Gwen said. I just hope she can match me.
"She's your daughter, and she's got Samuel's genes going for her too. She might just surpass you if you aren't careful," Brendan said with a teasing voice.
I wouldn't mind if she did, Gwen said with a soft, motherly tone.
"Really?" Brendan asked.
It's only natural for kids to become better than their parents…just like Selena and your second kid will eventually surpass you and May so you can both retire.
"Yeah," Brendan said. "You're right about that. Just glad that May won't be going into labor at the Grand Festival this time around."
"Hey, it wasn't my fault you couldn't keep your hands to yourself till after the wedding," May said from the doorway.
Brendan just laughed slightly before turning to the television. ONBS had apparently switched to video feed from the building's security cameras, specifically where Michael and Liz were in the building.
"And now we get to watch them save the day…kind of like we did with Aqua and Magma," May said with amusement as she heard Selena's little feet hitting the ground as she ran toward the room. May just waited for her little look-a-like, scooping up the little girl and walking into the room so they could all sit on the couch together and watch the promising new trainers.
Michael and Liz were about to get to the next elevator when they came across a woman in the Cipher uniform. "I'm taking this one," Liz said.
"Go for it," Michael said, sitting back.
Liz stepped forward, holding the Pokéballs containing Flaaffy and Artemis. "Hey, lady," she called out confidently.
The Cipher member turned. "Perfect, my Shadow Pokémon could use a victim." She then sent out two Pokémon, one was a Spinarak, the other was a Beautifly.
"Looks like I made a good choice with my team. Go, Flaaffy and Artemis," Liz said as she sent out the two Pokémon, unaware that she'd just caused a certain five-year-old girl to squeal with delight at the sight of the two cute Pokémon.
"Spinarak, use Night Shade on Flaaffy. Beautifly, use Gust on both of them," the Peon said, her voice showing confidence for some reason. The Spinarak's horn then began to glow with ghostly energy, firing it at Flaaffy, while Beautifly began beating her wings quickly, a miniature tornado forming and flying at Artemis.
"Flaaffy, counter that with Thunder Shock!" Liz said, with a smirk. "And Artemis, dodge and use Metal Claw on Beautifly." The Teddiursa leapt up as her claws began to shimmer. She slashed through the tornado as she went, then hit Beautifly out of the sky with pinpoint accuracy, hitting the bug-type towards Spinarak. Meanwhile, Flaaffy's attack had not only stopped Spinarak's Night Shade, it had started to overpower it.
Beautifly landed on her teammate just as the Thunder Shock hit them both. They both landed hard, collapsing from the impacts. That shouldn't have been enough, Liz thought as the Cipher Peon ignored her injured Pokémon, sending out her next two Pokémon. The first was the venomous purple moth with green patterned wings, Dustox, which looked haggard now. The second one set off the Shadow Monitor. The six-tailed fox Pokémon in front of Liz almost made her cry for how poorly it was being treated. The poor creature was clearly not being fed at all, to the point that her ribs were showing.
"How dare you," Liz said, her teeth gritted. "You starve your Pokémon. You're not even human."
"Oh, fuck off," the Peon said. "This makes them stronger. If they can deal with hunger pains, then they can handle battle pain."
Liz just programmed a snag and threw the ball immediately. She could almost see a glint of hope in the fire-type's eyes as she was pulled into the Pokéball, which didn't even shake before snapping shut. "Looks like your methods are dumber than you are," she said. Flaaffy then shocked Dustox, which Artemis followed with another Metal Claw. It was basically a mercy at that point.
"You think that's true, but you have no idea. I'm just a grunt," the Peon said as she dropped her Pokéball belt. Liz and Michael both wanted so badly to knock out the woman, but they restrained themselves, seeing that the malnourished Pokémon needed help right away. They recalled the Pokémon, deciding to backtrack a bit, going back down the first elevator and into what they assumed to be the employee break room. They also found the man Liz had knocked out earlier, still on the floor. Apparently, his colleagues didn't try to move him. Michael relieved the man of his Pokéball belt before they continued. They then found their way to an employee breakroom, carrying the injured Pokémon that didn't have Pokéballs anymore. They found two employees still there, both looked to be about twenty-five, most likely interns.
"Who the hell are you two?" the girl asked, sounding scared.
"We're here to help, but we need some help with these injured Pokémon. Cipher is just abandoning them after losing battles," Michael explained. "Can we trust you two to look after them? Some were severely abused."
The guy looked at his coworker, and she nodded. "We'll help however we can," he said.
"Just so you know, there's a Spinarak, a Beautifly, and a Dustox that were starved by their trainer. Do you guys have Pokémon food down here too?"
"Certainly," the boy said. "Just leave it all to us." He then pulled out two sleek black Pokéballs with gold trim. "Please, take these to help with the battles to come."
"Luxury Balls?" Michael asked. "Are you sure you want to just give us these?"
"You're Michael and Liz, right? Secc mentioned you two in a staff meeting just before Cipher showed up. We really want to help you two against Cipher in any way we can."
Satisfied with that response, Michael and Liz took one Luxury Ball each, then went back up the elevator. Liz, however, had started looking through her bag, pulling out a can of Pokémon food. "I can't let Vulpix wait another minute for food. Please, keep going, and I promise I'll catch up," she said, finding a small bench, pulling out the fire-type's new Pokéball.
"Alright. Just be careful that Cipher doesn't get the better of you," he said.
Liz just rolled her eyes as she let out the Shadow Pokémon. "The Peons couldn't get the better of me if they outnumbered me five to one." The moment Liz opened the food container, Michael saw a quick glimmer of emotion in the fire-type's eyes. Its hunger clearly overrode her lack of emotion. Just as he got to the next elevator, he saw Liz holding Vulpix and hand-feeding it happily, giggling at how eager the little Pokémon was for food.
Michael took out his phone and snapped a picture of the scene before deciding to keep going. As much as he liked seeing Liz happy, he had a promise to keep.
Michael fought two easy battles using Erebus and Shroomish, which resulted in the Peons abandoning a Gulpin, a Mareep, a Luvdisc, a Bellossom, along with a Furret, a Zigzagoon, a Delibird, and a Togetic.
Once the second battle was over, Liz caught up to Michael, who was using a healing machine on the current floor. "So, how'd it go feeding Vulpix?"
"She inhaled the food, then promptly fell asleep beside me," Liz said with a smile. "Her heart gauge dropped halfway just from that."
"You're kidding," Michael said, surprised that something so simple had such an effect.
"I was surprised too," Liz said as she took her turn at the healing machine, the energizing green light shining brightly.
"I wonder what calling them by their real name would do," Michael thought out loud.
Liz smirked as she finished restoring her team, walking with Michael toward the staircase. They were met by another Peon. "So, you two came, did you? Lovrina told us to give you a thrashing."
"That's weird, because we basically walked through the others like they weren't even there. And they dropped all their Pokémon," Michael said.
"Oh, they're culling the weak from our organization, as our boss instructed," the Peon said, almost in a monologue tone. "Now, I'll take you both out."
Liz smirked, taking the lead with this one. "I got this one," she said.
"Go for it," Michael said, leaning against a wall as he saw Liz take out the Pokéballs of both Titania and the newly snagged Makuhita.
"Sneasel, Yanma, let's teach this hussy a lesson," the Peon said.
Liz just sent out her two Pokémon. "Come out, Titania and Makuhita," she said with determination in her voice. The long-clawed dark ice-type appeared, the tuft on his head standing up, as was the case with most males of his species. Beside him was the red dragonfly Pokémon with green eyes and a relatively happy look on his face.
Without missing a beat, as soon as the Sylveon and Makuhita appeared, Liz immediately gave a command. "Titania, use Disarming Voice. Makuhita, use Shadow Blitz on Yanma.
"Yanma, Sonic Boom on Makuhita. Sneasel, use Ice Shard of that prissy blue bitch," he said. Liz's eyes went from competitive to almost psychotic at the insult. She could take getting words thrown her way, but insulting her Pokémon was too far. Sneasel was able to fire a spear of ice at Titania, which scratched the fairy type's cheek as she tried to dodge the fast shot. She grimaced before screaming, sending sonic waves out again, which hit both Sneasel and Yanma. The ice-type dropped to his knee, and Yanma staggered in the air, dropping to the level where Makuhita's aura-wrapped charge could make contact. Unfortunately, Makuhita charged head-on into the cone of pressurized air created through the bug-type's Sonic Boom.
Though he took damage, the Shadow Pokémon kept moving, hitting his target almost savagely. It then grabbed Yanma and began to slam the bug into the ground like it was a hammer. Liz went wide-eyed, not wanting to see a Pokémon hurt permanently. "Come back, now!" she called as she had Makuhita return to his Pokéball immediately.
"Why stop him? That useless bug should be crushed for his failure," the Peon said.
"Because, unlike you, I actually care about what happens to these Pokémon," Liz said as she picked Flaaffy's Pokéball next. The Peon also pulled out his next Pokéball. "Flaaffy, you're up now!"
"Well, princess, I'll just beat you with a Pokémon that the hero of Orre raised. Go, Misdreavus!" the Peon said, sending out a dark blue specter, which looked like the head of a woman with hair blowing in the wind, with a pink pearl necklace around her neck. It was a strong ghost-type with powerful special attacks, but Liz knew she could still win here. After all, Orre natives knew a lot about Misdreavus after Wes raised one, and later battled with
"Titania, finish that Sneasel with another Disarming Voice. Flaaffy, Thunder Shock on Misdreavus!" the brunette said with passion. The two Pokémon responded quickly, with the Sylveon shouting harshly, and Flaaffy's wool buzzing with electricity.
"Psywave, and Icy Wind!" the Peon said disdainfully. Despite his commands, however, Sneasel and Misdreavus refused to move, as if protesting to their trainer's treatment.
"Huh, looks like they don't even want to try to win for you," Liz said to her opponent, who just scowled as his two Pokémon were hit with the incoming attacks, both of them getting knocked out from the hits.
"Useless pieces of garbage," the Peon said, taking out his next Pokéball. "Shadow Pokémon really are the better way to go for Cipher. Now, Duskull, get out here!"
The Pokémon that came out was another ghost type, this one was all black, with a skull mask over a red orb of energy. It looked like it was wearing a black cloak too. As the Duskull appeared, the Shadow Monitors both gave an alert.
"So, a Shadow Duskull," Michael muttered.
"Shadow Wave, knock them both out now!"
"Flaaffy, use Thunder Wave, and Titania, use Bite!" All three Pokémon began to power up, with two orbs of shadow aura flying across the field as the ghost-type waved his arms eerily. Titania rolled to the side, but the aura still exploded on the ground, knocking her to the floor from the force, causing her to slide down the staircase a little. Liz looked concerned now, but she was relieved when she saw Titania stand up, even if she was shaking slightly. Flaaffy, however, was only able to fire her Thunder Wave moments before getting hit directly by the Shadow Wave. Duskull wasn't able to dodge the incoming static, but the massive amounts of damage done to both of his opponents was worth it to his trainer. Flaaffy was knocked out on the floor. Titania then ran forward, managing to pull the Shadow Pokémon in with her ribbons before biting hard, dark energy coating her teeth as she bit.
Liz looked at her Battle Monitor glasses, seeing that Duskull's health had fallen by two-thirds. "Time for a snag," she said, quickly programming her target, then throwing the Pokéball as it materialized. Michael just watched the ball roll and snap shut, but he couldn't help but feel like he was hearing a voice crying for help somewhere nearby. It wasn't actually audible, more of a sensation, but it was distant, like the voice was muffled by water. He barely noticed as the Peon left, his Pokémon still out and injured on the ground.
"Hey, Liz," Michael said. "I'm going to the roof now. You want to come with me?"
"I'll catch up once I heal these Pokémon," Liz said. "It's just good he dropped his Pokéballs too. Plus, I can tell what you're thinking. Go save her."
Michael smiled at his best friend turned girlfriend, kissed her on the cheek to tell her that he'd be okay, then went up the stairs quickly, opening the door and seeing two people on the roof, with the orange light from the setting sun making a more dramatic setting. Detro was closer to the stairs, while a Cipher Peon was standing by the door to Nett's office. This Peon, however, was familiar from the broadcast earlier.
"Why don't you Cipher pricks just leave us all alone?" Detro said angrily.
"Isn't it obvious?" the Peon said with a smirk. "We're trying to control the whole world. We can't have you, or other news stations smearing us."
Michael couldn't wait any longer, stepping forward, ready to send out Nick and Erebus together. "So, you're the one holding Alicia, right?" he asked.
The Peon looked up. "Yeah, that's me. And you're the punk who's fucking with Cipher lately. What, do you want to battle me?"
"Do I need to really answer that?" Michael asked, sending out his Jolteon and Houndour.
"Well, then I'll just crush you," the Peon said. "Go Kadabra, and Flaaffy!"
Michael's Battle Monitor activated, and he saw that both his opponents were at level 22, compared to Nick being level 25, and Erebus being level 23. He knew this would be about as difficult as the other Peons, so he took the initiative. "Erebus, Feint Attack on Kadabra. Nick, use Quick Attack on Flaaffy."
"Kadabra, Confusion on that Jolteon. Flaaffy, Thunder Shock on Houndour," Feldas said, feeling confident he would win this battle and earn a promotion.
Nick was the first to move, becoming a blur as he slammed into the sheep Pokémon hard. The attack even managed to knock the other electric type off balance as he fired his Thunder Shock. While he was trying to hit Erebus, the lightning wound up getting shot into the sky, charging the air around them for a moment.
Kadabra started to gather psychic energy after Jolteon's Quick Attack, but it was too fast for Erebus to intervene. The energy snaked around Nick's legs, and he fell hard as he was trying to get more distance between himself and Flaaffy. Michael was worried for his first Pokémon, but Nick was already on his feet and shaking himself off. He was too tough for that to give him more than a few scratches.
Erebus, however, began to growl almost menacingly. It was the first time that Michael had heard the dark-type growl like that. That's when he saw that Erebus had grown to level 24. "Wait…Houndour is supposed to…" He didn't need to finish his question, as Erebus began to glow brilliantly. His body grew to four and a half feet tall. His tail grew out, with an arrowhead tip. He grew three ridges across his back, with a ridge shaped like a necklace with a skull-shaped charm. To finish, the dog grew horns and a longer snout. With a howl, the glowing ceased, and Erebus had fully evolved into a Houndoom. His expression was one of protective aggression as he ran forward and suddenly vanished into a shadow being cast by the setting sun. As he did, Kadabra seemed to lose focus on him long enough for the dark-type to then reappear under the psychic-type, crashing into his target.
Michael was in shock for a moment at the sudden evolution, and at how fast Erebus was now, but then he noticed that Kadabra had been defeated by that one hit. Michael was elated at the Pokémon's progress, but he was brought back to the battle when Feldas sent out his next Pokémon. It was one that Michael recognized from watching Brendan Maple's battles so many times.
"A Vigoroth," he said, with determination. "Erebus, torch that Flaaffy with Ember. Nick, hit that sloth with Shock Wave."
Nick turned fast, gathering electricity then unleashing it in a sickle-shaped wave, the shot moving quickly.
"Vigoroth, use Endure!" Feldas said. "Flaaffy, Thunder Wave on that Houndoom!"
Nick was the first to move again, his incredible speed being a huge advantage for this battle, but Vigoroth began to tense up, like he was bracing for the attack. Shock Wave hit him hard, almost dropping his health to zero. So, Michael was shocked to see that Vigoroth held on with just a sliver of his health. Flaaffy, however, was not so lucky, firing a ball of static at Houndoom. Unfortunately for Feldas, Erebus drowned out the static electricity as he shot out a ball of fire, which dissipated the electricity as the two attacks collided. The fire then struck Flaaffy hard, knocking him out of the fight.
Feldas then smirked as he pulled out his next Pokéball. "Seems you want to save her," he said tauntingly. "For starters, Vigoroth, use Reversal on that Houndoom."
Vigoroth immediately became covered with a golden energy that seemed to crackle with power. The sloth ape began to sprint toward Erebus, only for Nick to intercept him with a Quick Attack, knocking him out finally.
Feldas just smirked. "Well, guess I'll just leave now, so you won't be able to snag it. You can go fuck yourself." The Peon then began to walk away. He was met with a fist clad in chrome metal punching into the abdominal gap in his armor. The hit knocked the air from his lungs as Michael grabbed Alicia's Pokéball from the Peon's hand.
"Actually, I think I'll try catching her without battling for her," he said, getting the Luxury Ball out of the Snag Machine. Feldas just collapsed and passed out.
With a deep breath, Michael took a knee and opened Alicia's Pokéball, letting out the Shadow Pokémon.
~A~
As light flooded her eyes, Alicia looked up indifferently at her surroundings, seeing her tormenter on the ground, but she felt nothing. At least, her body didn't feel any emotions. Inside her mind, the little Ralts had created a sort of body for herself. In the time since Cipher had broken her, she had slowly felt her mind detach from her body enough to make her realize what had truly happened. Her personality and conscience were no longer controlling her body. The shadows stopped any and all resistance she ever tried to muster, making her merely a spectator in her own body.
Then she looked up and saw human boy, smiling at her with concern. His green eyes seemed familiar with their color. Wait…who do I know with green like that? She saw an image of a Gardevoir in her mind, and she thought she recognized who it was, but her mind was so clouded she couldn't remember the Pokémon.
And…for that matter…who am I anyway? Alicia asked herself, looking around the area until she saw two Pokémon. No, stay away! She screamed from in her mind. She knew it was pointless, being forced to watch everything Cipher had made her body do, yet being unable to resist the commands no matter how hard she tried.
I'm a monster, she thought as she remembered the horrific injuries she'd given to the man in the newsroom. She'd tried desperately to stop herself, but all that earned her was a twitch that looked like a wince. She wanted to cry out in anguish as she felt her body moving, lifting her arms, gathering the cold aura that she'd been surrounded by since Cipher broke her, and forming another Shadow Wave.
That was when she heard a crunching sound, like a piece of metal had just snapped in half. Her head turned and she saw the boy with her open Pokéball in his right hand, and a crushed capture matrix in his hand. Wait…no. I'm too dangerous to be freed. Stop, please! Her body kept gathering energy, aiming it for the boy now. Despite seeing the attack that would surely kill him if it hit, the boy just smiled softly.
"Alicia, you can stop now," he said kindly. The shadow aura vanished immediately.
Wait…he's…talking to me. He called me Alicia, she thought. He then surprised her further by holding out a Luxury Ball in his hand.
"Your mother asked me to help you. But, I want to do more than that. Want to be friends?"
His kindness pierced through the shadows in her mind, bringing back some of the light that Cipher had snuffed out. Mom? I have a mom? Alicia's mind began to get brighter as she steadily broke through the shadows. Shakily, she managed to take control of her hand long enough to lift it to the activation button on the Luxury Ball. Show me, please. Show me who I am. With the touch, the black Pokéball pulled her in, and she immediately felt so much comfort that she refused to fight it. Maybe this is my real home.
She didn't know that, across the world, her mother was cheering for joy, giving her family more joy in one moment than she'd felt in the month since the Libra vanished.
And that's a wrap. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I appreciate you also being patient with how many battles there are in each chapter. Trust me, I'm trying to keep variety, but there are just too many important battles in the game to skip them.
As usual, please leave a review, and let me know where I can improve. It's always appreciated
Until next time ~ jmoul18