Topaz and his allies have located Benedetto's rendezvous point and have begun the raid to save the Kalos Pokemon and put a stop to them. Time is of the essence for if they want to avoid this ever happening again they must cull the source: Benedetto himself.
~xxx~
Zenara full on tackled the grunt, sending him tumbling and crashing into a box. Lou charged in right beside her swinging on a String Shot while simultaneously using Iron Defense, turning him into a bug wrecking ball. He slammed into a careless Vigoroth who was sent flying into a crowd of grunts.
Donut sped past their defenses and directly within a crowd to let loose a Discharge, knocking out the humans and weakening the Pokemon enough for Zenara to launch several Shock Waves after them to knock them out.
I took out my combat baton once again just in case anyone got too close. My head was racing and my heart pumping, but not out of fear, from excitement. We were so close to our goal.
"Barrel through everyone in your way! We need to find where they store the Pokemon!" I shouted over the screams of our enemies.
The base itself didn't look all that special. A glorified Secret Base with advanced equipment and large crates lying around. We were surrounded by rock walls and deep caverns.
Underground lamps were scattered all over leading to countless tunnels. In the distance, I spotted several trucks, small enough to fit through the tunnel and ramp we had traveled through ourselves.
Good, they are nowhere near close to packing everything up. They weren't ready for this.
Violet had her nose in her tablet, meanwhile Amethyst was flinging any assailants around like ragdolls. She looked to Violet, who nodded towards a door to our left. Amethyst then unfurled her ears once more; stone, steel and scrap hurtling into one gigantic pillar that she then sent thundering through the door. It burst apart like wet paper, several humans screaming from that side as a gargantuan pillar of death went hurtling over their heads. Violet then looked at me and nodded, running towards the now open passageway.
We made our way down the passage, ignoring whatever obscenities the grunts had for us. Our Pokemon followed alongside us, Donut and Zenara dashing, Lou web slinging and Amethyst flying. More grunts began to emerge from other passages alarmed and armed. Zenara charged ahead and began firing off electrical blasts at every grunt in our way.
If a Pokemon managed to emerge from their Pokeball, Lou and Donut dispatched them as quickly as they came with combo attacks.
Whichever enemy that wasn't taken out by those three was throttled by Amethyst till they stayed down. Her eyes glowing and ears unfurling unleashing the power she had been conserving for today.
She made use of the metal slag she had shredded from the door and began pinning enemy Pokemon to the wall so they'd stay out of the way.
All Violet and I could do was run ahead and stay out of their way. Attacks were flying from all directions, but Violet's eyes constantly moved between her tablet and the direction she was going. Alarms began to blare for a solid 5 seconds before Violet's fingers danced across her tablet and the sound ceased. It didn't really matter as we had no intention of being quiet, but the extra noise was unappreciated.
As we made our way deeper into the base I noted how each path we took was marred with tire tracks and could easily fit the trucks we had seen earlier. I could only assume they had found a conveniently large cavern to convert into a holding cell for all the Pokemon, which was why they were so far away from the entrance.
The deeper we went the more resistance we faced. Although, it wasn't much to speak of besides forcing Amethyst to throw three boulders instead of one occasionally.
Two Simisear swung in from the darkness launching two Flame Bursts straight towards our party. Amethyst's ears just twitched as a door was pulled screeching off of its hinges, blocking the Flame Bursts. It then went careening towards the two, forcing them to dodge.
[Gotcha.]
Apparently right where she expected, as their feet were enveloped in a purple glow before they were swung like hacky-sacks right into each other. There was a loud clonk before they fell down, unconscious. As we all ran past them I could hear Violet shout out an apology to the fallen Pokemon before glancing back at her tablet.
She's really gonna do that for every Pokemon we take out, huh.
Donut pulled me out of my thoughts by voicing his own. [Sheesh are we there yet? How far did they drive?] Running beside me, luckily looking no worse for wear.
[Not far.] And to punctuate that, she stopped suddenly. Amethyst nodded, ripping off the garage doors to a room on our right.
So this is what a pissed off psychic looks like. I can see why they were so confident they'd need no help, Amethyst's power is insane.
We made our way inside and the first thing that struck me was the smell. It was as though I was punched in the face upon entry. I thought wet Elektrike was bad, but this took the cake.
The air was tainted by a metallic stench mixed in with thick, unsanitary grunge. When I opened my mouth the taste of blood danced across my tongue before I recognized the familiar smell of ozone and electrical sparks.
The next thing to strike me was what I saw. As expected it was a large cavern littered with stalactites and several Pokemon transport vehicles. There were bioluminescent fungi and moss alongside the man-made light sources allowing us to properly see. Those were what allowed me a proper look at the cages themselves.
There were dozens of cages each of varying size and bars. Multiple Pokemon were entrapped in each one, what I began to notice was by typing.
Ghost Pokemon were kept within some sort of anti ghost cage barrier preventing them from phasing through.
Aquatic types were compacted into a large aquarium cage with reinforced glass.
Grass and Dragon types seemed to be trapped in a chilled cage, likely to prevent them from using their full power meanwhile the fairies were within a cage with steel bars, their magic ineffective.
I took it all in at that moment. How many Pokemon were lying in pain with likely infected wounds, too tired to move or fight any longer. Others were up, gathering whatever energy they had left attempting to destroy their imprisonments. Their cages had the biggest dents.
What really got to me were their expressions. They ranged from anger, hate, sadness, defiance and pain. I had never seen so many Pokemon kept in such awful conditions. The idea had always seemed alien to me.
It was one of the worst things I had ever seen. It was one thing to hear about their awful conditions, but to actually see it. To be in the same room with them and imagine how long they had to suffer like that as they were taken from their home and transported to another country. It was sickening. Disgraceful. Vile. It was vile. Benedetto and all of his grunts were vile.
Cenza popped out of my bag and shouted something aloud in Pokespeak, waking me from my stir. Several Pokemon, mainly fellow electric types perked up at the sound before they all got up and began shouting as well. Their cries grew louder as more and more Pokemon realized their time to escape had come.
Among the first to stand up was an exhausted young Fennekin. It took her a moment to gain her footing, but once she had she began scratching away at the cage that confined her, claws glowing with basic energy.
A sullen Chespin began tackling his own cage along with an adamant Gogoat with gashed horns.
In another, I spotted a Noivern who had been huddled with two Noibats begin unleashing a strained Hyper Voice on her cage. The bigger of the two Noibat immediately followed with her own Supersonic, followed by the smaller.
The last I was able to catch was a Clauncher and Bergmite who convinced a timid Froakie to assist them in smashing their prison, fighting through their pain.
Cenza gave a few more rallying squeaks before she mind spoke to me. [Topaz, I'm gonna tell them who the good guys are just in case they get confused. I'll be right back,] Cenza announced before she jumped out of my bag and began scurrying over to the electric's cages.
"Cenza wait! Wait for us!" I chased after her only for both our paths to be blocked by two incensed Vigoroth. Zenara leaped in the way of one, the sound of a Shock Wave echoing around the cavern as it impacted both into them. It singed their fur, but not their spirit.
Before they could pursue they were both slammed with flying cage doors encased in purple light. Amethyst's eyes were wide open, ears unfurled and all around the cavern I could see doors in the process of being wrenched off. The Fennekin from before jumped out the moment her door was off and sank her teeth into the leg of the nearest human.
[Lou,] Violet's voice cut through, [how far are we from the surface?]
Lou stabbed an incoming Simisage before addressing her. [To use human measurements, we are around 500 feet below the surface.]
Her eyes darted to the floor for a brief moment. [Is there a way for you to detect fresh water in the area? For the water types. And a flood.]
My mind raced back to the flowing water we had been able to hear when we were coming here. It appeared the memory dawned unto Lou as well judging by his facial expression. [The ground becomes moister the closer you dig to water. I know of a nearby water source we can divert to this cavern. I can acquire it before you would even miss me.] He proudly proclaimed.
Violet quickly pointed towards a wall, closer towards the water types and further away from where the freed Pokemon were congregating. [Can you create the exit within twenty feet of that point?]
Lou grunted in affirmation before he swung over the entire battlefield, began spinning like a drill mid descent and dug his way through the earth faster than I had ever seen him.
[Major Donut!] His mind shouted.
Donut zapped at the cage of the normal types freeing a colony of Bunnelby before replying. [I'll keep him safe, just try not to drown, mkay?] Donut said before working towards another cage. Lou simply grunted in response before he went quiet.
[You got this Lou Lou!] came from Zenara, currently electrocuting another cage. While all this was happening, a large haphazard half-pipe of metal was forming itself in midair.
Amethyst gave a cheeky grin. [Topaz? You might wanna move a bit to the right.]
She's enjoying herself.
I made my way to the right where I spotted one of the guards of the cages slowly getting up after having been hit by a stray zap. I quickly bonked him on the head with my baton, knocking him right back down before turning back to Amethyst.
[All clear!]
Violet nodded, her fingers flying across her tablet. Suddenly, towards where she'd pointed, a truck with a mechanical arm on it roared to life. The headlights shone brightly, though redirected by the gigantic shovel now fused to the front of it. Rubber squealed against stone as it shot forwards, swerving around any Pokemon but conveniently burying a couple of grunts as a large trench was carved behind it. It continued rumbling onwards, skidding through the door and sending a grunt who was about to come in jumping out the way. Then it turned and screeched out of sight.
Violet simply looked at us. [A makeshift riverbed.]
I nodded in acknowledgment before I spied a grunt typing away at a control panel, standing with a limp due to stray shrapnel in his leg. I ran over and swiftly knocked him out before assessing what he had done.
Initiated teleportation procedure!? Flying cage 4 initialized for transfer in 10 seconds?
I looked up to see the cage with the Noivern and Noibats had yet to be opened, but the mechanisms on their cage began to light up. On it was Zenara trying to gnaw it open herself while a Hawlucha went to town on it from their own side.
[Zenara! That cage is going to teleport in 10 seconds!] I mentally yelled into everyone's minds to alert them of the danger. As fast as I could I took out my own Pokedex and connected it to the mainframe. [I'll try to delay the rest, but I can't stop the transfer! It'll alert you which cages you should prioritize releasing!]
Zenara's eyes widened, glancing between the cage before she clamped down harder. [I'm going with them! I'll free them and we'll zap the bad guys! I don't really know what a submarine is, but they're not expecting me to shock 'em silly!]
I gave her a confident smile and nodded. [Show them how it's done, Sunyshore style.]
She gave a slight wave with her tail. [You know it! They won't know what hit 'em!] The light around the cage began to glow and Zenara bit in deep into the cage to hold on. The captives within looked around in concern at their forced disappearance before the light engulfed them all.
I looked down at the terminal before typing away at my Pokedex.
I can do this. Volkner trained me for this. I won't let Sunyshore down! I may not be as savvy as him or Violet, but I can still hack. I know what I'm doing.
I found the override program I had made before I left Sunyshore yesterday. The last thing I programmed before I got caught up in this whole mess, with the aid of some of the more experienced programmers at the gym. Praying it would be enough, I had it activate for me to gain some semblance of control over the mainframe.
Come on, come on, come on, yes!
Once I had hacked in I began modifying the settings giving me the highest level clearance allowed in Benedetto's code and setback all the timers for each function cage as far as I could, considering the mass teleportation could not be interrupted without danger to the Pokemon.
[I did what I could. The next cage is fairy 1, teleporting in 25 seconds.] I alerted the others. [Donut, you're closest! The base of the cage should have the timer on it. Smash through the pipes with fighting energy!]
[On it.] He affirmed to me before making a mad dash towards the fairy cage.
An Ambipom and two Aipom tried to tail him, but Amethyst had him covered. Some of the mangled remains of cages battered the Aipom away, while glowing rainbow leaves, Magical Leaf, formed from the surrounding rubble and launched themselves at the Ambipom.
Without any distractions, Donut tumbled into a Rollout before his tail began to glow a burning orange indicating Brick Break. The fairies moved to the back of the cage as Donut became a blur before he spun through the entire cage, smashing a giant hole through the steel bars of their cage as he came out the other side, dusting himself off.
All of the Flabebe, Spritzee and Swirlix within tumbled out immediately and began showing their generosity by smothering him with hugs and pixie dust.
Donut tried to pry them off until he began gagging and sparking. [Ack, can't breathe!]
[Awww, they're thankful. Don't shock them.] I chuckled at the sight as Donut managed to pry them all off before telling the weaker ones to hide with Violet and for the strong ones to come help out. The Flabebes whose flowers were still alive were eager to dole out some vengeance for their sisters as they accompanied Donut on his warpath.
[Topaz,] Violet's voice rang out, [you need to stall Benedetto. Once Lou returns, Amethyst and I will handle the Pokemon. Make sure he does not escape.]
I raised an eyebrow. [Isn't he on the submarine with Zenara or something? He's prolly too preoccupied to escape. We just need to follow them.]
She shook her head. [We are destroying this base, but he will attempt to escape and cut his losses. You need to show him that he cannot leave.]
It took me a second to realize what she meant. [The cargo! The Keystone and Snag Machine! He can't leave without them!]
[Precisely. Make him understand you hold them, and that I hold his receipts.]
His receipts? Okay, I guess.
[I don't exactly have his number here on this terminal. Where am I supposed to go?]
She pointed to the trench, a grunt slowly sneaking up behind her. [Follow this. I crashed the truck next to the command room.] She then put her tablet in its holster, whipped out a knife and shanked the grunt in one swift motion. [We will handle this.]
Did she just- She has a- No. I can't keep being surprised by her. Just expect the unexpected and head to the command room.
[I hath returned my General!] As if Dialga themself willed it I heard Lou's voice echo through our minds once again. He spoke some more, but I was too distracted by the waterfall that began pouring out of the hole he burrowed out of the ceiling before he swung to safety.
The water began filling up the trench, distracting nearly everyone from the battle at hand to avoid being washed away.
[I am Lieutenant Lou and I bring to you the ocean!] He announced with grandiose swinging in midair before landing close to me. [Or swamp I should say. Speaking of water, I am parched. FOR BATTLE!]
I reached into my bag and took out an ether for him to drink and a potion to spray. [That was beyond brilliant Lou! The most badass soldier I've ever seen.]
As Lou preened under my compliment, Amethyst destroyed the glass containing the water types while some Espurr were huddled around her. There was more than enough space for them in the river as the water came pouring out, freeing them all in one go and allowing them to enter the fight as they pleased.
We had started out the battle with a severe numbers disadvantage (although our power made that trivial), but now we were backed up by countless tired, but enraged Pokemon. Benedetto's crew and their Pokemon were being pushed back. Violently.
Cenza made her way back to me, tired and dirty, but more or less unharmed. [I did it. Everyone knows who the good guys are,] She cheered before collapsing into my ready hand as I placed her into my bag.
[Thank you, Cenza, take a breather. Donut, we need to go!] Not too soon after I called Donut came running, breathing heavily, but nothing an ether and potion couldn't keep at bay. [We're heading to the command room. I can see you two will have no problem holding down the fort.]
Amethyst looked at me, her eyes glowing. [You know it. Just make sure he doesn't bolt, I'm kicking his ass today.]
I nodded just as Donut finished drinking his ether. We traversed our way through the battlefield, hopping past defeated grunts and enemy monkey Pokemon. The field had grown bloody, so I had to assume the worst. I wouldn't blame them if they took some grunts' lives today.
I passed by Violet who was surrounded by all the Pokemon too weak or weary to battle themselves. Her hands were flying, but not across her tablet. She had a pile of bandages and various Potions, Super Potions and Hyper Potions next to her. Not to mention piles of food, be that cooked or dug up, and plenty of fresh water.
She was feeding some Pokemon berries if they were too afraid of the potions, and she didn't even look up to pay me any heed. She was just bandaging the Gogoat from earlier and spraying potion on their horns, speaking softly to them as she did so.
They'll be safe with her.
~xxx~
We made our way down the trench down to where a destroyed truck was laying next to a smashed open cavern entrance. We ran up the rubble into another short passageway checking every door in between till we reached the last.
It was a large, barren room. Just some equipment, a terminal for communications, and a large projector monitor for face to face conversations.
"Okay let's see if this still works," I said as I turned it on, waiting for it to connect. "Good. Now let's see what I can do here."
I plugged in my Pokedex once again to override the password before looking for the way I could contact Benedetto.
"Where is the 'call thug boss' button?" I asked, scrolling the contacts.
[I'd help, but I can't read,] Donut shrugged. I rolled my eyes and chuckled at his attempt to make light of the situation.
"Lou, what do you think I should be looking for?"
His face scrunched in thought before replying. [He's on the submarine yes? Try home base or headquarters.]
I nodded before looking in the 'h' section until I found 'Headquarters-Boss'. "This better not be some Kalosian restaurant," I muttered clicking the call button.
[I hope they do takeout,] Donut joked, once again. Although knowing him, he prolly was legit hungry.
It rang a few more times before a grown man's frowning face appeared. He was lanky with long black hair, a 5'o'clock shadow, and appeared to be of Kalosian descent. He wore a sherpa-lined long coat over a red shirt. All of it looked familiar until I stared into his eyes. That was when I knew.
The wanted poster didn't do him justice. He's uglier in motion.
"Benedetto, so we finally meet." I spoke even and firm, just as I was trained.
He stared at me in confusion before his frown became an annoyed scowl. "What the hell am I looking at here? Is this a joke? Who are you, kid? How did you get access to this terminal?"
I stared right back at him. "Considering where I am, you should already know. I'm surprised you had the time to pick up considering you're being attacked from the inside."
The annoyance began to fade and was replaced by realization. "That's… impossible…"
I had to smirk at that one. "Tell that to the Mareep that's attacking your men. It's not so fun to be ambushed in your own home, is it?"
Benedetto didn't deign that response with a noteworthy reaction. No, he was different than every other thug I've come across the last two days. They've ranged from incompetent, exaggerated and useless; frankly I'm amazed they got anywhere at all. It seemed like Benedetto was the only brain in the operation.
"Looks like ya got me, kid. If you wanted to play hero, then congrats. You did it," He stated plainly before clapping his hands together. "Did you call me for a li'l fun? Or did you want me to know the face of the boy I need to maim?"
The annunciation of 'boy' sent a dangerous shiver down my spine. He was livid, but he wasn't acting as though he lost yet.
"Awww, the big man wants to beat up a little kid," I taunted him on screen with fake crying theatrics, hamming it up to 11. His clenched fists looked prepared to smash the terminal. "How about I give you a chance? You come out of your little submarine and I'll kick your ass on sweet, solid ground."
At that line his expression softened to surprised, and then slight amusement. "You know I never cared much for children, no matter how gifted they claim to be. In relative terms, you're pretty smart, boy, but on my terms you're still just a whelp."
I squinted my eyes at his accusation and so he continued. "When my men reported to me that two children and some mediocre at best Pokemon were ruining everything we had ever worked on a few minutes ago I had wondered if they had lost it. Except ever since yesterday I've been getting hacked, screwed and my men arrested. Even my wallpaper was changed to clowns."
Definitely a Violet touch.
"At each incident though, children were involved. I had prepared for everything, but apparently when the kids in Sinnoh aren't doing homework, they're doing the League's job. I am going to assume you're intelligent enough to do this: You want me to come back to land, fix everything you ruined and then ambush us with the League or hell defeat me by yourself. Whatever monsters you got on your belts obviously seem to be working overtime."
"You have no right to say that. The only monsters here are you and everyone loyal to you," I shot back without hesitation.
He chuckled at that last remark before continuing. "I will admit. You fucked my operation baaaad. I can still rebuild though. My men will beat every creature on this submarine within an inch of its life and we'll take off to sell them elsewhere. I knew there were risks to coming here and I've learned from this experience. I'll have my chance another day."
Now it was my turn to smile as I reached into my bag and popped open two capsules. "Are we sure about that?" I asked, equipping the Snag Machine onto my left arm while holding the Keystone.
Once again he held back the majority of his surprise, but I could begin to see the anxiety creep up on him judging by his microexpressions.
The tightening of his lip, the bulge in his eyes and I can practically see his eyebrows trying to remain in control. This bothers him, immensely.
"Before you ask, yes, I do know what these are. Really should've put a tracker on the Snag Machine… and get better security, your grunts make this too easy," I chuckled, flexing my left hand. "Who knew training and practice could make such a huge difference for a combat unit?"
"You little shit," Benedetto laughed, but his voice was laced with disbelief and hate. "You're something else. Suppose that's what I get for not handling the exchange myself… that still ain't enough to keep me here. I can… live without them. You don't own me, boy."
As he continued ranting at me I began plotting out my next move.
Well he's hesitant, but that wasn't enough. Violet mentioned receipts? I'll give it a go.
"Oh really? That's not all I've got," I chuckled, trying to push down my nerves because I had no idea what the heck I even had. I ushered him to lean in closer to the screen so I could whisper it to him. We both leaned into the speakers before I grabbed the mic and screamed. "I've got your receipts, you punkass thug!"
Benedetto jumped back ready to throw hands until he calmed down and glared.
"No… no, you can't." Benedetto opened up another tab before he began clicking away. He kept clicking the screen in anger multiple times before he tossed the mouse he was holding at the wall in anger. "How did you get past the security!?"
Uhhhhhh.
"Magic?" I shrugged. Donut raised an eyebrow and Lou had a perplexed look.
I guess she stole something from his database when she hacked into this rendezvous point's network.
Suddenly, another video window opened up in the bottom right of the screen, glitching into existence. Violet simply had the tiniest smirk. "I must thank you for using your communication system to connect to a compromised network. Congratulations, you are phenomenally stupid. I can now transmit a signal beacon from your submarine. Unless, of course, you attempt to stop us."
And then the signal cut off.
He squinted his eyes at the screen where Violet had just appeared before calming down. "I see… you kids really wanna do me in, huh? What'd I do, steal your mama's Purrloin?" He chuckled before focusing his attention back at whatever tab he had opened. "She can't access the files mid download so I'm safe for a bit. Alright, kid. We'll play your game. Just don't cry when I beat you… on second thought. Cry as much as you like, motivates me to kill you harder."
Lou, Donut and I each gave him our most determined smirks. "Screw you, asshole."
I cut off the connection before I could bother to get his response and unplugged my Pokedex. I activated its scrub protocol so he couldn't track me down and gain access to my data before turning back to my team. "That went better than expected. Let's keep up this lucky streak, alright team?"
"Not so fast, dirtbag!" A squeaky voice interrupted our peptalk causing me to look behind me and at the girl, who looked around my age and the adult next to her. More importantly though… "Are you really all that lucky when you get robbed right under your nose?"
The girl put a finger on her chin in wonderment as she held the keystone ore in her hand before looking up at the woman next to her. "Did I nail it, Galena?"
She smiled, ruffling her hair. "You did. I couldn't be prouder."
I looked down at where I had placed the keystone to find it truly was gone. Both Donut and Lou looked equally shocked (pun intended) to find it gone too.
Uhhhhhhhhhh!?
[Are my ears even working today? How did they sneak up on us,] Donut asked, mid attempt of cleaning his ears.
[Naturally we have spies among us. These must be Benedetto's covert operatives. The scum has even accosted a child to assist in his dirty work, despicable.] Lou grunted.
The older woman, Galena, smiled smugly with several Pokeballs hooked to her belt. "You shouldn't be so surprised. It's not the wisest thing to shout about your secret plans on a train platform, little man."
What is she-? Ooooh, the argument at the resort station. Damnit, I screwed up. Still though, did I mention the keystone? I don't believe so. Was I really so suspicious it'd give them reason to follow us? No, children fight all the time over dumb crap. They have reasons beyond intuition.
"You two are pretty adamant stalkers to follow me into a smuggler base. Now that you're here though." Donut and Lou sensed the hostility in my voice and immediately stood in front of me ready for anything. "We're not about to let you go."
She just chuckled. "I'd apologize, but I'm really not sorry. You see, the small fry you're dealing with right now isn't really fair competition. We would've taken him out ourselves, but why not let you go at it? You're doing pretty well so far, and even got us a Key Stone as thanks for our troubles." She looked at the girl. "Jubi, you feel like showing him the gap between a half rate and Dispetto?"
I had to control myself from excessively rolling my eyes at the mention of Dispetto.
"You thugs just keep getting in our way… just accept your failure with dignity and leave us out of it."
The girl pranced forward and revealed two Pokeballs. She was a black girl around my skin tone and age with curly black hair tied up into two puffs. She was adorned in a purple and black witch's costume with a satchel at her side. A cheerful, happy go lucky smile was plastered on her face as she waved at me. This girl's eyes sparkled just like the rest of her outfit. It was like if happiness was a person… but impeding your progress.
"Mmmm, sorry can't do it!" She smiled right after her half assed apology which incensed me further.
"Can't wait for your answer," I exhaled, exasperated.
"Well you see, Dispetto was in the middle of an operation to take out those Benedetto goons at the beach warehouse. Newsflash, we don't sell Pokemon, that's messed up! So our guys were going to beat up or kill, whatever worked, everyone mean in there and go crush Benedetto!" She said, slamming her fist into her palm dramatically.
"But then you and your friends came and messed the whole thing up and got our guys arrested. How could you!?" The girl pouted and pointed at me accusingly as though I had spilled her milk.
Donut and I exchanged looks before shrugging in unison. "Uhhh, just like you are doing now, your people got in the way and were arrested. They all got what you deserve, don't look at us."
"Pouting, intensify!" She shouted, eyeing me even harder than before.
Uhhhhhhhhh again?
"Are you-"
"Anyway… my friend, Rin, remember the one with the Crustle? She was able to get out, but because of what your team did she's got a concussion, a nasty scar and her Crustle is gonna need to make a new shell!"
[They were lucky to escape alive considering our combined power!] Lou thoughts echoed through my mind.
[Yeah… they were…] I mentally muttered. I felt a bit worse hearing that and it actually could've been a lot worse if they gathered even more power, but… we were just defending ourselves.
Can't show weakness now.
I crossed my arms. "Good for them, are you done?"
I couldn't really take her seriously when she pouted like that, but then she suddenly switched to a big smile. "She's really beating herself up about failing the mission and it's all your fault. You interrupted the raid, stole the keystone and got them arrested. So, no I'm not done. I'm only getting started."
She tossed out the two Pokeballs revealing a Misdreavus and a large Mudbray, surprisingly enough.
"I'm Jubilee! Meet my beautiful Hecate and my trusty Merlin! We used her ghost magic to shroud us from all your senses! Even when you teleported in the middle of the city after you kidnapped that fat guy, it took awhile, but we found your trail. By the way, that was hilarious!"
The woman, Galena, smiled behind her at the mention. Donut and Lou's stances tensed as Hecate the Misdreavus made the most unsettling faces and Merlin the Mudbray stood tall, ready to crush whoever got in his way.
[These people… aren't normal,] Donut whispered.
[Good,] Lou huffed shifting position. [Maybe they'll finally put up a fight.]
"I know you've got a whole thing going on, but if you can't beat me here can you really beat Benedetto? Come on, let's rock'n'roll!" Jubilee began air guitaring out of nowhere before she shouted out commands. "Psybeam Lou, High Horsepower Donut!"
Ugh, she knows our names too of course.
Back in combat mode I began relaying orders. "Dodge with a web sling, maneuver the attack and Tickle!"
Lou aimed for the ceiling and began retracting his line dodging the psychedelic beam. Donut made his way straight towards Merlin, jumping straight over him at the perfect angle before jumping onto his back to begin tickling.
The Mudbray halted abruptly before his body began turning a sheen silver before Donut could even tickle properly. Donut swiftly jumped off realizing the futility of continuing until Merlin shifted his whole body into a side tackle, slamming Donut into the wall. Merlin began running forwards for a follow up attack.
Lou attempted to shoot at his assailant a String Shot to slow him down, but Hecate manipulated the string with some haunted energy to wrap around Lou before screaming in his face with a horrific Astonish, sending him hurtling into a boulder.
Galena was barely even paying attention to the battle, just looking at Jubilee. "Having fun?"
"Absolutely! Winning is the best," She cheered.
I chose to ignore them and relay my next commands.
Donut knows what to do in situations like this, but fighting a ghost? That's never easy. Poor match-ups for both of them, but it's workable if they switch.
"Donut, wake up and spring! Lou show her what a real scream sounds like!"
Before Merlin could smash Donut through the cave wall Donut slapped his electric cheeks creating an intense Flash, momentarily blinding Merlin while giving Donut enough time to scramble out.
Hecate hissed in disdain at the sudden light show, making her susceptible to Lou's own Screech as she began to wonder if she should use her hair (I'm just gonna call those tendrils hair) to cover her eyes or ears.
Jubilee covered her face with her hat. "Oooooo. Aaaaaa. That's so bright. How about we try… shadow ball sonata and rock slide roll! Let's make 'em work for it!"
[Sonata? Roll?] Lou questioned.
"They're going for combo moves, defensive positions and then counter!" I relayed. Hecate began to sing the most cursed song I had ever heard before several Shadow Balls began forming around her. With each horrific high note she screeched a Shadow Ball was launched at my team, even I had to hide behind some boulders to avoid getting hit.
"Isn't she the greatest singer? Oh yeah I forgot to mention, sorry not sorry if they accidentally or purposefully hit you!" Jubilee apologized as I somersaulted out of the way of another Shadow Ball. "You're pretty jumpy. Like a Bunnelby or a Buneary! Hip hop hip hop." Jubilee sang as I dodged for my life.
Lou shot out a Spiderweb to catch some of the balls, but at the pace she was launching them even that wasn't enough to stop them all. To make matters worse, Merlin had finished charging whatever he had been building.
He had been amassing the rocks in the room to create a giant boulder. He turned around and gave it a hefty kick at the perfect position sending it careening straight towards Lou, slamming the poor bug and crushing him against the wall.
[Lou!] I shouted as I ran from my hiding place barely noting the shadow balls flying around me. [Lou, answer me! Are you alright?]
[No need for concern, General.] Lou pushed the boulder off him revealing him badly bruised, but his body sheening from his last minute Iron Defense. [Hehehe, finally! An opponent draws blood. Donut, deal with the banshee, my quarry is with the ornery steed.]
[He's fine. What next?] Donut said as he deflected another Shadow Ball.
I rubbed my chest to erase the near panic I was sent into before accessing the situation.
[She can't keep up that pace forever. When you find an opening use Quick Attack.]
[Wait. I thought normal moves didn't work on ghosts?]
[They don't. Which is why she won't bother to dodge.]
Donut looked at me understandingly before continuing on. Merlin began to kick over more small rocks and boulders, but Lou flushed them all out of the air with a thick Mud Shot. Upon seeing his attack interrupted the serious Mudbray turned his attention to Lou with a dangerous expression.
"Awww, c'mon Merlin! Enjoy yourself!" Jubilee shouted from the sidelines.
Merlin rolled his eyes and began stomping on the ground as if he was doing a tap dance. "Yay! You go Merlin! Live your best life! We practiced that for ages."
Is this real life? Am I really dealing with this?
They were interrupted mid dance when a Mud Shot was doused all over him. Lou stared at him with a deadly look.
[I will not allow my first worthy opponent in the last two days to make light of our battle. I will destroy you, fiend!] Lou shot a web straight onto Mudbray's chest and with blinding speed reeled himself with glowing pincers, stabbing them directly into his chest.
"Show no mercy, Acrobatics!"
They are dangerous, we've got to go all out.
Lou dewedged himself from Merlin's bleeding chest before he began flipping in the air with an almost unnatural ease. Slicing at Merlin over and over as he tried to get him off.
Meanwhile, Donut finally seized his chance by climbing up several boulders and launching Quick Attack straight through Hecate. As expected, the normal energy did nothing to affect her, but the brief shock wave Donut emitted as he passed through worked wonders. With her paralyzed, Donut was able to let loose a Thunderbolt galvanizing the Misdreavus and causing her to descend.
That's going well, now how is Lou? Wait.
With each strike he landed on Merlin, his muscles tightened and the wounds became less and less severe.
Mudbray's ability is Stamina… his defense increases every time he's hit!
"Lou, immobilize him and stick to ranged attacks!"
"Oh no you don't, Bulldoze through it!"
Lou covered him in a thick webbing that did indeed impact his movement, but the stubborn Mudrbay simply charged through headbutting Lou straight towards a particularly spiky boulder.
"Lou return!" I took out his Pokeball and recalled him charge forcing Merlin to skid to a halt in surprise. "Lou use Mud Spin!" I tossed the Pokeball right behind Merlin before he could turn around and Lou immediately torpedoed the ground, lobbing heavy globs of mud all over the Mudbray, each one slamming painfully into his body.
"That's cheating! Hecate, teach him a lesson!"
Hecate, ignoring the paralyzation, flew straight into the mud shots protecting Merlin with her ability, Levitate and began slowly charging a Shadow Ball. Taking note of her crippled speed Lou launched a ranged Spark causing the attack to explode in her face.
"Thanks Hecate, Merlin, don't waste this chance!"
"Donut, intercept with a charged spin dash!"
Merlin got up shakily before shaking off the mud. His body glowed with brown energy as he made his way over with another High Horsepower. In conjunction, Donut had begun rolling out in place, charging up his spin dash to match up with the larger Pokemon's superior strength, defense and mass.
When he was finally ready he took off like a bullet, leaving skid marks in wake zooming across the battlefield. Merlin reared up on his hind legs and clashed with his forelegs. Each Pokemon pushed against the other neither giving in. Donut kept on spinning while Merlin kept trying to shove him into the ground.
Unfortunately, neither side was able to claim victory as both Pokemon reeled back due to overexertion, cutting their attacks short and panting heavily, both injured.
Lou and Hecate got ready for their follow up attacks until Jubilee clapped her hands together.
"Okay, I'm done!" She cheered as she tossed away the flan pudding she had been eating into a garbage that I swear wasn't here before. "That was delicious, does anyone want some?"
"Oh so now you're done because you were losing?" I taunted. "And when did you start eating that?"
[More importantly, will she share it?] Donut asked.
"Noooo! I'm done because my flan is finished and because you're not the bad guy here," Jubilee explained.
My face couldn't decide on which emotion to land on, so I decided on angry disbelief. "Then why are you getting in our way? We're trying to stop a smuggler here!"
Jubilee ignored me as she began passing out flan pudding cups to all the Pokemon that participated before coming up to me. We were around the same height and she looked skinnier than me, but I didn't dare let down my guard around her.
Donut on the other hand was gorging on flan while Lou looked ready to stab her. I was inclined to let him do so in case she tried anything.
She's too much of a wild card and we already know we can't get complacent around her team.
"I know and that's super cool. Saves Dispetto some trouble too, we were gonna shut down this whole operation ourselves and booooy would it get messy. That's what my big bro says anyway. He says I can't come along the 'messy' missions. Treating me like a baby is so not cool!" She pouted once again before smiling, taking my hand and putting a flan pudding cup in it.
"Remember? Rin's mission was to recover the keystone and I'm here to complete it. I just wanted to get a little bit of revenge, but you're better than I thought so I think it'd be silly to have our friends fight so brutally when we both have other stuff to do!"
I looked at the pudding cup and back at her, smiling as usual until she seemed to catch a whiff of something. Jubilee began sniffing the air curiously before she took in a deep sniff of my scent before returning to a knowing expression.
How many crazy girls am I going to meet before the month is over?
I began eyeing Lou for aid, who for some reason had decided now was the best time to ignore me and eat the flan. "What… are you doing?"
"Oooh you smell interesting." She giggled before bonking my nose. "I should ask you the same thing. I can smell you've got potential, but all you do is rely on the Devil. You've got so much passion within your soul, but you've got to let it loose. Stop thinking so much! Trust your gut and speak from the heart. Show the world how you truly feel. If you can do that Ben-Ben will be cake!" She winked at me. "Open yourself to new experiences and you'll discover your truest self."
I stared at her dumbfounded before replying. "And how exactly do you know that? Why the heck do you even think that?"
She waved me over to lean in so she could whisper in my ear. She placed her hands on my ear, leaned in and whispered.
"Magic." She leaned back quickly as I stared at her quizzically. "I'm also pretty good at reading people, but that was mostly magic. Talking like an adult all the time would make me boring."
This girl… was really weird. Her and Violet were on the opposite spectrums, yet had equal talent at making me confused. At the same time though, all I could do was laugh.
"Haha, adorable. Thanks for the advice, but I trust my training and my team's skill. Benedetto will be easy as… flan." I looked past Jubilee and pointed to Galena. "I'm not ignoring what Dispetto has done either just because the fight is over. I'll take you all down too. Just not today."
She just rolled her eyes and gave a bemused grin. "Sure, sure." She pulled out a gun shaped device with a hook at the end. "You should worry more about right now instead of false bravado towards Dispetto. And learn how to be discreet. Jubi, you ready to go?"
She saluted Galena cheerfully before recalling both her Pokemon and prancing back to Galena's side. I noted that once again the keystone had seemingly vanished since I last saw it, as well as the finished flan pudding cups. "Yuppers!"
Galena nodded, grabbed her around the waist and, without looking back, fired her grappling hook. Jubilee was whooping the whole way as the duo swung off.
… I want a grappling hook.
Donut and Lou made their way over to me, both seemed to have caught their breath, but their injuries were apparent. I took out the healing items I bought from the store and generously began applying them to each of them. After that fix me up they already began looking significantly better, so I decided to finish my pudding cup.
Cenza just needed a little zap from her generator and she was back to normal.
"Looks like that stamina training is paying off. You two feeling okay? Donut, is your back still hurting? Lou, you still dizzy? Cenza, all charged?"
Cenza stretched. [I can't believe I napped through the whole battle. Yeah, I feel way better!]
[The flan fixed everything important. I'm back for business,] Donut replied, rubbing his cheeks.
[The only thing hurt is my pride. We lost the stone,] Lou grumbled. I rubbed his head to smooth out his anger.
"You did the best you could. Even if you two had won, we'd have to handle the other woman, but we… we can't focus on the keystone. I let it out of my sight and now it's gone, that's my fault, but the Kalos Pokemon's lives and Benedetto's imprisonment are more important. You may have lost this battle Lou, but I know you won't fail against Benedetto. We all know you're better than that. I'll do better too, I won't let you down again."
[General…] Lou stared up at me in awe before focusing straight ahead. [You are right, as always. Thank you for reminding me of the mission. We will complete it, whether that warlock tells us to or not.]
I nodded in agreement, but his words sent me back to Jubilee.
The Devil? Does she know about the cards? I clenched my chest. What did she mean?
I put the snag machine away as we all got up and made our way back to the cage cavern to where Violet was still treating Pokemon.
~xxx~
Once she had finished treating the Pokemon (who would glance warily in my direction every so often and need reassurance from Cenza) she put away the leftover supplies she had. Though she left the berries out for whoever wanted any.
"So I've great news and bad news. Great news I highly doubt Benedetto is leaving now. Bad news Dispetto took the keystone and were following us this whole time, which is scarily good considering we've got Amethyst with us."
Violet just looked unperturbed and shrugged. "I fail to see how the bad news is bad."
Amethyst smiled a bit, clearly glad at being able to help her fellow Pokemon. [It's not that big a deal. They don't mess with Pokemon, it's not like there's more Keystones in the world, and I've been busy. I'm not omniscient after all, and if they had ghosts or dark types that makes it way harder to notice unless you're looking.]
They don't seem bothered in the slightest, guess Dispetto isn't a priority for them at all. I don't like the stone being in Dispetto's hands, but it's not like I can do anything about it right this second.
"You're right. So," I scanned the cavern to see that every cage in the cavern had been opened yet they were still being warped away. Every enemy grunt and pokemon had been defeated as well. "Are you ready to head to the submarine?"
"In a moment." She took out her tablet, quickly typing in a command. Donut and Cenza's cheeks sparked ever so slightly, but past that nothing happened. Meanwhile, she let out a breath. "No tracking chips. Fortunately."
"Oooh, smart move. The snag machine didn't have one either so it looks like Benedetto doesn't bother with them."
She looked then to Lou. [That water source you found. Does it connect to a river?]
Lou thought for a moment before answering. [Yes. It is not the deepest, but it connects to more of the marshlands.]
You didn't need psychic abilities to see that Violet's mind was racing before she nodded slightly to herself, then glancing at Amethyst. Who just gave a confident smirk. She then turned to the Pokemon that had been freed.
"Those of you who wish to exit, follow the path of destruction Amethyst has carved. There will be a large door opened without force. After traversing the path you find, the warehouse at the other end connects to open air. I recommend going away from the human settlement, but otherwise you should be clear. Any aquatic Pokemon, simply follow the river we created upstream. It connects to the Great Marsh, as well as several other rivers that trail across the region." She bowed to them all.
"I hope that you can enjoy life in this region that is not your own, and if you ever require help, the humans in red and black clothing with spherical devices on their wrists are Rangers. They can assist you."
I looked at her as though she were crazy. "I can just call the League and they can bring them home if they want right now! The rangers too if they want."
Violet looked to me as Amethyst spoke to them. [Look at it from their perspective. They have just been kidnapped and abused by humans far worse than most humans can even imagine. And yet this is far from abnormal for Pokemon. I would prefer they could go home to Kalos as well. But they do not trust humans. We have no right to force them to agree to being taken across the ocean again without airtight confirmation that they will be taken home. Sinnoh at the very least has more than enough wild area for them to find their own homes without disrupting the native Pokemon, as well as a system that forces humans to be kinder than they would otherwise. Kalos still has not made it illegal to catch wild Pokemon without their consent. What we want cannot get in the way of their lives. Human vices have ruined them already. We must let them choose their own way. Watch. If they wish to go home, and are willing to trust humans, they will stay with Amethyst.]
As if on cue, Amethyst began to wave and every Pokemon that wasn't traveling with us ran. Fast. The fluffle of Bunnelby started bounding down the hallway, the Fennekin from earlier sprinting right alongside them with nary a look back.
The Gogoat charged onwards, Fletchling and Fletchinder flanking them. A few were carrying Swirlix and Helioptile that needed time to rest. Vivillion carried Scatterbug and Spewpa away while a pride of Pyroar and Litleo ran out with a few Furfrou among their ranks. The group of Espurr around Amethyst said something in Pokespeak before scampering off as quickly as they could.
Meanwhile, the Froakie from earlier was nearly up the waterfall already. Jetstreams shot out from the Clauncher and Clawitzer, rocketing them towards the opening. Inkay and Malamar seemed to fall up the waterfall, with the slower Skrelp helping Binacle get up and out. Chespin nodded thanks to us before racing off to join the others.
Not a single Pokemon looked back. Not a single one was hesitant. Even while usually some might fight over food or territory? In this, they were all one. All helping each other escape, leaving the human world far, far behind. Violet said nothing. She simply glanced in my direction after observing the mass exodus.
"I don't agree with this. Of course we had every intention of saving them, but it's nearly winter. Even in southern Sinnoh it will get brutal and resources will become more scarce with the sudden population influx. There will be conflicts with the local wildlife, many of those Pokemon still need further care and innocent humans may accidentally agitate them," I said as I watched the last few Pokemon leave our view. "We should've called the League this time. Actually…" I took out my phone and dialed Volkner.
[Please don't.]
I turned to Amethyst as the phone kept dialing. "Why? They need to go home, it's what's best. For them, the local Pokemon, everyone."
[If it was what's best, why didn't any stay? I told them the League and Rangers could help.] She gestured to Violet. [That she'd personally go if it made them feel better. You know me and her could go on about why this is better for them. Ask us later. But right now, we've a Benedetto to deal with. Call the League and tell them to make sure nobody messes with them if you want, but don't try and force them to come back.]
Her eyes looked far away for a moment before refocusing. [I know that in their position, no way in hell would I be taken again without fighting for my life.]
Donut and Lou looked at me curiously for my response until Volkner finally answered putting my answer on pause.
"Topaz, where've you been? I know you're not with Jade, so spill it," Volkner asked. He didn't sound mad, just neutral and a little curious.
I glanced at Amethyst before responding. "There's a situation by Highshire Town. The Kalos Pokemon that Benedetto smuggled into Sinnoh have been released; contact the rangers to maintain peace for native and foreign parties. They no longer trust humans and will attack if they feel threatened."
Volkner's breath hitched slightly at my matter of fact response before he responded in a more professional tone. "I'll contact the Great Marsh division to look into it. Are you and your team alright and where is Benedetto?"
"We're fine and he's got a rendezvous point underground off the coast of Highshire that can be accessed via an abandoned warehouse," I rattled off the address before looking at Amethyst's face once again. "Benedetto's location is unknown, but most of his subordinates have been detained for now. Come get them and the Pokemon." I sighed before speaking. "I have to go now, see you later."
Before Volkner could say anything else I ended the call. Donut raised an eyebrow in surprise, but kept silent.
"Handled. Now let's go," I said, facing them.
Volkner will understand. He's done crazier at my age. I think?
There wasn't any questioning, there was a teeny smile on Violet's face. Amethyst meanwhile was clearly happy. [Great! Now who's ready to say hi to Zenara and see what she's been up to?]
[Are we going inside one of those contraptions to warp over?] Lou questioned staring at the still disappearing cages.
Amethyst just raised an eyebrow (I think? You get the idea). [Why would we do that when she's still linked? We're just gonna warp to her.]
[You're still linked? So you know what's been happening this whole time on this submarine thing? Is everyone still alive?] Donut asked. Which was a valid question, they did jump into the Vespiquen nest.
She nodded. [They're fine. I've not been focusing on her perspective, but given how I can hear her yelling 'Justice!' and 'C'mere and get some!' I think she's fine.]
[Wow Lou, how much did you train her? She's been going at it pretty well.] Donut looked over to Lou who beamed with pride.
[You would know if you didn't nap through all of our training sessions. Regardless I am ready to join another fight!]
"Is it safe to teleport all the way to an underwater submarine when we can just go inside these cage thingies?" I had faith in Amethyst, but I already wasn't a huge fan of warping.
She rolled her eyes. [Yes it's safe. Me and Violet can go there if you wanna go hop in a cage and sit there waiting to be transported. I would prefer to not do that.]
I was tempted to say yes, but Lou zapped me and turned towards Amethsyt. [Now while he's distracted! Time is of the essence!]
She laughed. [I like you.]
And then the now familiar tunnel through spacetime was formed, dragging us through.
On the other end (after I got my bearings) we saw Zenara with random bits of cloth and metal stuck in her wool, but she was grinning bright and defiant as ever as she kept zapping. Only now alongside her were the Noivern and Noibat from before, covering her.
I noticed several grunts were bleeding from their ears. Meanwhile, there were others with limbs bent in ways they probably shouldn't be as the Hawlucha was standing atop one of them… posing?
Lou surveyed his surroundings before turning to Zenara. [Excellent execution, Zenara.]
We were in a relatively tight spot and I could hear fighting from other parts of the submarine from the other Pokemon who had warped in. The alarms blared until Violet swiftly turned them off.
"So we need to get this thing back to shore. Question is how far we are to shore?" I asked.
Violet gestured towards the rest of the submarine. "We are about to find out."
Zenara meanwhile turned to us, scuffed up a bit but looking like she was having the time of her life. [Lou Lou! Amethyst! Donut! We're beating up all the bad guys!]
I knelt down with a potion and ether in my hand. "We can see that, now let's get you fixed up so you can keep going," I said as I began treating her while Violet fiddled with her tablet.
Amethyst and Donut were speaking to the Noi-family and the Hawlucha while Violet pointed down the hall. The Hawlucha was cradling the smaller of the two Noibats implying they may be the other parent.
"The control room is there." Violet pointed on her screen.
I nodded as we began to make our way through the submarine. It was a maze of pipes and machinery for a variety of purposes. According to Violet it was a Hoenn model, some of the best in the world, and one of the largest, with a bevy of advanced functions. The holding bay where they kept the Pokemon was at the bottom of the vessel, while we needed to head to the front.
Our Pokemon had to be careful fighting inside, but whatever resistance we faced was easily dispatched. It didn't take too long before we all made it the control room. A giant glass window was displayed in front of us showcasing the ocean and all the Pokemon swimming within it. Schools of Finneon were swimming past, with the occasional Lumineon swimming gracefully past. Pods of Mantyke cast their shadows from the surface, indicating we were fairly deep.
There were a few men inside manning it, but Lou easily secured them all with String Shot before we made our way to the controls themselves.
"Stop! We're the only ones who know how to pilot this vessel. If you want to get out alive, cease this at once. We can work together-" The pilot began.
Violet just punched him in the face to shut him up before looking over the controls. "Give me a minute, maximum."
"Oh, okay then. Will do…" I awkwardly stepped over the unconscious man with a bleeding nose that she somehow managed to knock out with one punch. I wasn't familiar with submarines at all meanwhile her eyes seemed to be analyzing them at an inhuman pace.
I turned to the flying family that had followed us to this point. They kept their distance, but weren't hostile. It seemed they truly did trust us, but simply weren't comfortable yet. The larger of the two Noibat noticed my gaze and stared right back at me.
She was dirty and malnourished, but her expression was fierce and memorable. I also noticed her tuft was a bit larger than most Noibat, likely due to her Hawlucha blood. Her demeanor definitely screamed fighting spirit.
I like the look in her eyes.
"Done." Violet alerted us as she took a seat in the now empty cockpit and began turning gauges, flipping switches and pressing buttons before she pressed on a foot pedal and turned sharply to the right. The water rushed past as the submarine turned, the Sinnoh shoreline coming into view in the distance. She then flicked a few more switches, pressed the foot pedals and stood up. "The vessel is now on a crash course with the beach."
Cenza peeked out of my bag. [Is crash course a Sinnoh term or do you mean we're about to crash?]
"That is a very important question and I would very much so love to know the answer," I followed up, equally concerned.
"It means precisely what it sounds like," she stated plainly.
Zenara's eyes lit up. [Is it gonna explode? Do we have to escape an exploding submarine that'd be awesome!]
Violet shook her head, seeming almost dejected now.
"No, given the make of the submarine and the land we will be impacting the worst that will happen is some jostling. The engines are set to deactivate so nothing catastrophic happens."
Thank Arceus for not indulging in Zenara's fantasies. There's only so much thrill I am willing to escape from.
[So now what? We just wait? Where's Benedetto?] Donut spoke up once again, asking the important questions.
Zenara was actually the one to speak up. [While we were fighting some of the bad guys, there was this big whoosh noise that went towards the beach. Maybe he can swim really fast?]
Amethyst shook her head. [Probably an escape pod. He's a coward who can't even stay on his own ship. Good thing Topaz baited him.]
Lou nodded his head in agreement. [The craven is being driven into a corner and cut his losses with the submarine after it became overrun by his own captives. He must be desperate and thus he will make mistakes. For now we must wait and track him on land.]
We all looked out the submarine window, watching the ocean move past us as we made our way to the shore. As we had time, Lou and Zenara caught each other up while Violet and Amethyst spoke with each other. Cenza had hopped out to speak with the fellow wild Pokemon.
In the meantime, I began checking my Pokedex to make sure everything was alright and reread some entries.
Oh wow, it scanned basically every Pokemon that was in the cages. I'm suddenly significantly closer to completing my Kalos dex… not how I wanted to do it at all.
I looked down to Donut who was admiring a very aggressive Remoraid chase down a Mantine.
[That Remoraid reminds me of Lou,] He pointed out, chuckling. I laughed alongside him before we both went quiet. There was a long pause before he spoke again. [I'm surprised you didn't tell Volkner to be more hands on with the Kalos Pokemon.]
I had a feeling this was coming. All my life I've admired Volkner and everything he did, even if I never openly said it. It was one thing to omit the truth, but to lie to him… Donut wanted answers. I exhaled deeply before replying. "They genuinely do not trust humanity anymore. We can't change their minds just because two human children helped them. It sucks and it would really make things easier if they could, but they can't risk it. Volkner will understand."
[Do you think he'll understand why you're facing an infamous smuggler without League backup?] He inquired. Another surprisingly good question.
He's even more perceptive than I thought.
I closed my eyes, thinking about how much I respected Volkner, Cynthia and everyone else in the League. Then my mind raced back to saving Cenza, Amethyst's speech on the train and witnessing all the Pokemon in cages.
"It doesn't matter if he does or doesn't. This is something I have to do, to be right with myself," I answered opening up my eyes. "I'm going to need your help too, partner."
Donut gave a little smirk before turning back to the water. [I'll always stand by you, Zio. With or without the League, my help is guaranteed. Plus, seeing Cenza being all roughed up left a bad taste in my mouth, of course I had to help her out.]
"Just admit you've got a secret hero complex and wanted to do the right thing," I laughed rubbing his head playfully. He pried my hands off and gave me a rueful look before we both began laughing. "It's nice being able to talk to you like this. A proper conversation I mean."
[Not so much for me. Now I have to actually pay attention when you speak,] Donut joked. [But yeah. It's… not so bad, I guess.]
"Tsundere," I whispered.
[I heard that!] Donut shot back. Before I could tease him further the submarine's terminal alerted us that we were close to shore and about to impact it. [Looks like we can go now. We need to head to the hatch thing to leave, right?]
I nodded as we all got up to head to the submarine exit. It was a bit unsteady as we were about to hit shallow waters, but we got there just fine. Amethyst sent out a telepathic message to all the Pokemon inside that we were finally about to escape and soon enough they all flowed in to join us, several Honedge, Spritzee and Inkay huddling together. We all braced ourselves as the submarine crashed onto solid ground, sliding up the sandy beach we had landed on before stopping. Violet's tablet dinged informing us it was safe to exit.
[Finally! Blow open the hatch! My time in this submarine has confirmed my suspicions. I am not a navy bug,] Lou exclaimed, causing some of us to laugh a bit.
Violet made her way to the terminal and unlocked the hatch for the loading dock, more than large enough for all of us to exit.
Due to the positioning of the submarine we had to get off in the water a little bit, but Amethyst psychically lifted us over to the dry shore. The rest of the Pokemon clambered through the water without problem making their way into the forest or into the ocean. Cenza waved to quite a few of them until it was just the Noivern family and Hawlucha left. They all said their thanks in Pokespeak and our Pokemon responded in kind, but the larger Noibat looked at me one last time and nodded.
I nodded back at her and while she didn't smile, her hard expressions softened ever so slightly before she flew away with her family. She was a tough Pokemon, I knew she'd be fine. Her and her family.
I looked around to find us on an indiscriminate beach. I checked the map on my Poketch to see we were close to South Sinnoh Port, the southernmost location in the region. In other words, exceedingly far from where we had begun.
Donut and Zenara were sniffing the air, while Lou was sifting through the sand. Violet was checking her tablet for something while Amethyst seemed… disgusted.
"Lookie what we have here?"
We all whirled behind us to find a tall, lanky man standing on top of a large rock next to an escape pod merely 20ft away from us. Benedetto's tone was friendly, but his glare seethed with fury and hatred. He began pointing at us one by one before addressing us once again.
"I spy with my little eye, seven livestock to be slaughtered."
~Chapter 17 Fin~
Author's Note
The final battle between our heroes and Benedetto approaches! I definitely knew this chapter would be a long one and a doozy, hopefully it wasn't confusing. Things are heating up, but it's nothing compared to what happens next.
~x~
Question: Favorite combo attack so far? Any ideas for combo attacks? In general, just how do you feel about combo attacks?
~x~
Trainer: Topaz Heart
Age: 12
Class: Youngster
Funds: ¥6,000.
Gear: Pokedex, Poketch, 10 Luxury Balls, 10 Super Potions, Escape Rope, Cellphone, Several Berries, Baton, Explorer Kit, laptop, 9 Ethers, 6 Full Heals, First Aid gear.
Deck: Fool, Devil.
Team: Donut (Pikachu), Lou (Charjabug).
Other: Cenza (Dedenne).
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Donut (Pikachu/M)
Equip: Eviolite.
Moves: Thunderbolt, Discharge,Iron Tail, Brick Break, Quick Attack, Rollout, Tickle, Charge, Nuzzle, Thunder Wave, Flash.
Ability: Static Chance to paralyze opponent upon physical contact.
Likes: Pastries, sweets, naps, relaxing, quiet, Topaz's bag.
Dislikes: Bitter food, stress, stupid decisions.
Tactics: Maneuver (Creates a thunder wave barrier to sense attacks), Enhanced Tickle (Enhances his tickles with electricity to hit the nerves of sturdier opponents), Spin Dash (Rollout+Iron Tail), Battery Bolt (Combo: Lou's Battery + Donut's Thunderbolt).
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Lou (Charjabug/M)
Moves: X-scissor, Spark/Wild Charge, Acrobatics, Mud Shot, Iron Defense, Screech, Dig, String Shot, Spiderweb.
Ability: Battery Boosts allies' special attack moves.
Likes: Bugs, war, battling, General Topaz, usurping oppressors.
Dislikes: Birds, criminals, condescension, threats to his unit.
Tactics: Mud Pit (Digs a hole underneath the opponent and traps them in a pit of mud), Mud Spin (Digs into the ground and begins throwing mud all over around himself), Grapple Bug (Uses string shot to reel in himself or the opponent), Web Sling (String Shot+Acrobatics).
Allies
Trainer: Violet
Team: Amethyst (Meowstic), Zenara (Mareep).