Pokémon: Pallet Town Heroes
It's been soooooo long. Sorry for not getting back to this story. I got burnt out and wanted to draw more. Plus school took precedence.
Chapter 10: Middle Ground
-0-
Both kids chomped down on their burgers in the fast-food restaurant, ignoring the looks from employees and other customers. They were wet, tired, and angry. Kendra bought the food, out of repentance of the trouble she caused.
The fast-food restaurant was pretty dull compared to the rest of the city. You could find this food chain anywhere else. But it was still pretty good. As Kendra gulped down her last bite and started to down her drink.
"You know. You're pretty okay."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you're pretty alright."
Ash looked at her with a 'discerning' eye. Which wasn't that good, in actuality. The smugness that exuded her was the only thing he could catch. He sighed and nodded along.
"I guess I am."
"Hehe…"
Kendra turned her attention to another thing, a question she wanted an answer to. She needed it to be sure. She liked his energy. "Can I ask what you're doing here in the city?"
Ash munched on a French fry before answering, "I'm here to challenge the gym leader and get a badge, I'm going to take on the indigo league next year!" It was supposed to be held this year, but some…Unfortunate circumstances forced the committee to cancel it. Kendra gave him a curious glance.
"You…Do know what the League committee is planning, right?"
"What, are they doing something new?"
"Well, yeah. It was all over the news yesterday. The league committees from around the world decided that, since the 100th anniversary of the formation of the league, they'll hold a surprise tournament. They said that, for next year, every league would be made into on super league, taking the strongest trainers from each region a pitting them against each other. Though, when I say strongest, it usually means people who earn eight badges."
"Woaaah. That's so cool!"
"It is! It's open to all trainers who have at least eight badges. It also doesn't matter if they aren't from the same region. Anything goes." This. This sounded like a big event. A big event that Ash wanted to take part in. Kendra didn't stop there.
"And guess what. They decided that the place it'll be in, is at the Indigo Plateau. Where the first league was made." Now, that blew Ash's mind. The best of the best would be there.
Ash was fired up, "Now, I'll have to get eight badges quick!" If it was a year before it took place, he had a chance to get up and be one step closer to his dream. He wondered if the other three knew by now, they probably did.
"Well, if you want to get to the gym leader, follow me!" She took his arm and an umbrella and forced their way through to the open, raining streets of Jewel City. Ash almost yelled at the force, but he held it in, and asked, "What? You think you can get a challenge for me?!"
There were certain times when you couldn't challenge gym leaders, regional emergencies, crimes, etc. But the most common was office hours. Gym leaders were people too, after all.
"Of course! The Gym leader is my mom!"
"Is your what!?"
Kendra cackled at his face and ran faster as she dragged him through the alleyways, stomping on puddles and trash as they made their way through the city. They made way to the open street again and saw multiple people walking with umbrellas and raincoats.
"Hey, Kendra, what'ch you doing?" A casual question.
"I'm taking this guy to have a gym battle with my mom, is she in the gym now?"
"Yeaaah, probably? The last time I saw the Gym, the outside was glowing, so it probably still is."
"Thanks!"
"Oiiii! Kendra, I got some free snacks if you want!" Another person, this time an old woman, noticed her and gave her a great smile, it made Ash's stomach feel warm.
"Hey, Kendra!"
"Hiiya!"
"Kendra! It's been so long! How've you been doing!"
"Kendra!, you should come over again, my daughter misses you!"
"Kendra!"
"Kendra!"
Ash looked and listened to the people around them, they all were kind and nice. They all had smiles that spoke of happiness and elation when they saw Kendra. It was like time slowed and he could take it all in. The light that glowed under the rain made the warmth feel brighter than it actually was.
He wasn't proud to admit it, but he was jealous. He was extremely jealous.
He was brought of those thoughts by the girl in the center of attention, "Hey, Ash. Just a word of warning. My mother's a bit stiff and off-putting. But, trust me, that's only a front. She's really kind."
The boy nodded, "Okay, Thanks for telling me. I'll try to not be intimidated." Kendra looked ahead, where the Gym was going to be. After making their way through another alleyway, the gym was simply ahead of them, in its full glory.
This Gym was clad in neon colors that outlined the entire building and most windows, arraying it in a variety of colors and patterns. It was tall. Now that Ash got a good look at it, he wondered why it wasn't visible when looking outside of the city.
"She cares about this city a lot." Ash didn't know what to get from that. But the more Kendra talked about her mother, the more she seemed to be a good but rough person.
The doors opened simply by stepping in front it, "Oiiii! Mom! You here!"
"You really need to quiet down, I didn't raise you to be barbaric, did I?" From out the main door was a woman in a black dress suit, a fedora, and black gloves. She was smoking and her eyes were sharp.
Kendra huffed at the sight of the cigarette, "And I told you that smoking was going to kill you. Seriously, you promised to stop!" That only earned her a pat on her head, which the girl fumed at.
Ash slightly jumped when the woman turned her sight towards him. She looked at him up and down, taking any information she could get from just his appearance. And the only she could get was that he was very basic.
A plain boy with his heart on his sleeve.
Almeta looked back at her daughter, "You sure know how to pick them."
"Mom!"
"Hahaha!"
Ash was confused.
Kendra punched his arm.
"Ow."
"Why'd you punch my arm?" He felt nothing.
Kendra looked at him, "Why is your arm so tough?!"
"I dunno."
Kendra looked towards Ash as she pointed to her mother, "Ash, this is my mother, Almeta. Mom, this is Ash."
The boy bowed while the lady brought out her hand for a handshake. She rose a brow at him. He quickly took it, embarrassed.
"Say, are you from Johto?"
"N-no. My mom is, but I was born here." Almeta nodded at that. His accent spoke of someone from the countryside.
"So, why are you two here?"
"Isn't it obvious? Ash is here for a Gym battle." Ash nodded to her words.
"How many Gym badges do you have?"
"Just one."
"Alright, so a two-on-two then-"
"Wait!" Ash got the attention of both Bhavishya's. "I need help looking for my friend, we got separated when we entered the city, do you think you could help?" Kendra knew what he was talking about. She didn't know that Almeta already knew.
"Oh? What's their name?"
"Sabrina, she's a Gym leader like you." Bingo.
Almeta tilted her head to the side, a fake curiosity to it, "Now, what's a gym leader doing here? Why's she not at her post?"
Ash scratched his head, "I don't know, she just started traveling with me near Viridian city, she wanted to help me out, and now we've been traveling ever since."
She narrowed her eyes; she was most likely there to hand in a report to Giovanni. If the boy was here, that meant Giovanni wasn't in Viridian city, making his whereabouts unknown. That could be a problem.
The lady nodded her head, "Of course I'll help you out. I'll reunite you with Sabrina, then you can challenge me."
Ash smiled and bowed, "Thank you so much!"
-0-
Sabrina tilted her head to dodge a Thunderbolt, Before she commanded her Kadabra, "Psychic!" Her Pokémon choked the air out of the electric Pokémon and punched it towards the opposing trainer. It knocked them out clean and cold.
"G-get her!"
"Foolishness."
Before the thug could send out their Pokémon, she clamped their hands down on their Pokeball. She gave them a disdainful look before throwing them to the side of the warehouse. She was growing frustrated., She couldn't find the hideout anywhere. She searched the minds of the thugs, but no one knew of a hideout.
She kept them in the dark, as Giovanni did with the grunts.
After cleaning up the idiots, she returned Kadabra and left the Warehouse. The search was on again. If the Warehouses was a bust, what else is there? She guessed that Almeta didn't actually tell where her base was.
This mission wasn't supposed to be this hard.
.
.
.
.
.
As she went back up the steps, she looked forward and back into the main city. Again, it was sprawling and massive. Lights were everywhere, all array of colors that were a bit too saturated for the eye. People were milling about in the rain, with their umbrellas and raincoats. All of them none the wiser—
.
.
.
No—wait… she quickly noticed something was wrong. The way the citizens moved and looked felt wrong. Sabrina quickly dashed back into an alleyway, and she poked her head out to see the people. It looked normal. People were talking to one another, smiling, and laughing. Some somber, some frustrated, all in all, normal.
But the way their eyes flittered about. The small fidget movements that she counted too many. Hands-on phones, ready to instantly call felt suspicious. Some may call her over paranoid, but in her line of work, she knew when this was the right call.
Closing her eyes, she extended her powers to a wider range. Most of the time, she had to at least be 10 feet from them to read their mind. She could extend it to 100 feet, but that took heavy concentration.
Soon, the whispers came.
"Have you found her yet?"
"Not yet. I heard a commotion from the docks, but someone already checked. She was there, but like a ghost, she disappeared."
"Pfft. She should be a ghost Gym leader if she's this hard to find."
"Enough joking around. Almeta asked us to help her, and so, we are doing our damn hardest to help."
"Yes sir!"
Sabrina opened her eyes and breathed deeply. Rolling her shoulders a scowl formed on her features. She knew the leader would eventually find her out, but she didn't expect this! Unheard of, getting an entire block, maybe even the city to help her! Sure she was a Gym leader, but most kept it professional.
She needed to find Ash. Who knows what they might do if they find out he was with her.
She started to traverse the alleyways, making sure to hide from the citizens of Jewel city. It confounded her. Thugs, gang bangers, and unsightly people, helping normal citizens with one job. Finding her.
Making a good distance away from prying eyes, she huffed and leaned against a wall. The wall was connected to a supermarket. Hide in what seemed like a bad place honestly sounded like a good idea. She needed a disguise of some sort.
Luckily, someone with great misfortune ducked into the same alleyway as her. They stared at her once they noticed her presence. They had a dark red raincoat and a dark blue umbrella.
She stared back…As she walked out of the alleyway with a red raincoat and a dark blue umbrella, she flipped her hair with her free hand and began walking.
Sabrina had to find the gym, which should be easy, since gyms are all distinct in their own way, but are usually plastered with "POKEMON GYM" near it. Going by this city, it better have neon lights that burned her eyes.
Cracking her neck, she sped up and passed by groups of people. It seemed that no one was alone. That made her even more worried and frustrated. Trying to stay out of people's way, she scoured every building to find the one.
The Treasure Famiglia was troubling. No one seemed to know where the hideout was. No thugs, not even those who were "part" of the gang. The more she dove into this city, the more confusing it became.
It wasn't like a gang under one banner, but a collective of smaller gangs that helped one another.
Before she could think of anything else, luck was going to ruin her night, and collectively, everyone else's.
She was forcefully brought out of her thoughts by a shout of a familiar voice. One which she was looking for, but now, was regretting that she didn't lookup.
"Sabrina! Heeeeey! Over here!" She immediately turned her head to ash's voice. Biting her lip and her eye began to twitch. If only he would have run-up to her instead to get her attention. As he was waving to her, she saw a girl with him, around his age. Where Ash was excited, the girl was hesitant, guarded.
Before she could walk up to him, a cold, bitter, angry tingle went down her spine. Her eyes lit up with Psychic energy as her right hand nearly crushed the handle of the dark blue umbrella.
Looking to Ash's left, stood an older woman, older than her by the looks of 5 years. Her actual age. What brought her to Sabrina's attention was her eyes. Those eyes…Those cold, hateful, fury-driven eyes that wanted to stab at her.
It made the hair on her arms stand and her danger sense go wild. For the first time in her adult life, she screamed in panic, "ASH, RUN, NOW!" Her scream pierced the sky and the people around her. The citizens slammed their ears in pain. Some fell from the volume of her voice. Others were blasted by the wave of psychic energy.
The girl near Ash dove for the ground, her eyes in a panic and her voice drowned out by everyone else's.
Ash brought his arms to cover his face and protect himself. It was only a brief moment before he brought them down. Without hesitation or fear, he began to run. He didn't know why he had to. But the intense fear, the utter guttural sound in her voice at that moment transcended any and all meaning from other people. He knew her the longest out of everybody here.
Too bad someone stopped him. The atmosphere changed. From one of intense fear to one of controlled fury and superiority.
"Ack!" Ash choked as someone grabbed his collar yanked him back. They quickly wrapped their arm around his neck to stop him from speaking. A cold voice made him stop moving entirely.
"Stop, Don't. Move." The atmosphere got to him, he grew rigid and was sweating.
Almeta lifted her head to look at Sabrina. Two purple eyes balefully stared back.
"M-mom, what are you doing?" She looked at her daughter whose eyes were filled with fear and dread. She hesitated a moment at those emotions, making the air around them grow hesitant before she steeled herself. "Doing what has to be done." She began to ignore her own daughter.
"W-what does that mean? Mom? Mom!? Answer me! What does that mean? Please, tell me…" No answer. Only silence filled these streets as many citizens ran away or hid. "Why won't you say anything? You always do this to me?" Kendra threw her hands up, angry, helpless, "You always say "This has to be done" or "We need to do this to be safe" but you never give me a reason that I can understand?! I know of the dangers of this world, I know you're scared, I am too. But…Please…Let go of Ash, he has nothing to do with this."
"He has everything to do with this!" She barked back at her daughter, which cowed her as Kendra brought her arms to cover her face. The space grew hot with anger that made Kendra fear and Sabrina's blood boil at Almeta's grip over Ash. She continued, "If I have him, then this witch can't do anything to us. He seems important enough to have her keep tabs on him."
"And? Then deal with the woman! I know you're strong mom! Stronger than anyone else I know! So, stop using him!" Kendra all but roared back at her mom. Tears streamed down her face.
Speaking of the boy in question. He was angry. He was angry about all of this. About Sabrina's scream of terror. About Kendra's tearful expression. About Almeta's cold and vicious rebukes. Most importantly, he felt angry at himself. He was frozen. Whether that be fear or…No, just fear. He was scared. Why wouldn't he be?
But, if what Almeta said was true, then he had to do something since everything went back to him. He grabbed at Almeta's arm and, with all his strength, pulled.
"What the hell?" Almeta started to get worried. This child was inhuman, Where had all this strength come from? She threw her other arm around and held him. Ash started to thrash around in her grip, kicking, almost biting, to get out of her grip.
"Tch. Damn brat." Before she could say anything further, she felt the atmosphere change, one of steel and precision. "Drapion! Block her!" A white laser splashed in front of her, revealing a giant Pokémon with fangs and pincers, it roared before crossing both arms.
Boom, Bash, Kr-booom.
Three psychic blasts came quick and easy from Sabrina. Who bit back a curse at Almeta's quick thing. Those blasts would've knocked either her should or head if Drapion wasn't in the way.
"Mom!"
"I'm fine! We're going, now! Drapion return!" Almeta, with Ash in her grip, began to run towards her Gym. "I leave it to you to deal with the lady and bring her to me! I'll deal with the kid." Multiple thugs appeared from the smoke and began to throw and unleash their Pokémon to wreak havoc upon Sabrina.
Almeta stopped before looking back. Kendra wasn't looking at her, but instead, at the fight that was happening right now. Sabrina threw out a psychic Pokémon, This one being Mr. Mime. Almeta began to yell, "Kendra! Get over here! Now!" She brought out her 'mom' voice for Kendra to come over. It always worked. It always did.
Kendra looked at her. An unknown emotion was on her face that brought confusion to Almeta. It looked blank, but she could tell something swimming in her eyes, in her soul that she could see behind it.
Kendra then spoke one word.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"No."
Kendra ran back to where Sabrina was.
Almeta stopped and fell silent She looked at the back of her daughter. The one who she always scolded and reprimanded. The one who one day would get their eminence and be become the head of the Famiglia. The Famiglia was only her and her daughter. Everyone else was…Just…Helping out. Not much, was it?
"Tch…" Almeta grabbed her fedora and readjusted it. Ash stopped fighting back, as he also stared at Kendra, an unknown emotion on his face as well, but not of betrayal. He looked at Almeta. Almeta stared back.
He wore his heart on his sleeve for sure.
-0-
"Get OUT OF MY WAY!" Kendra charged her way through the thugs and citizens who surrounded Ash's friend and who she saw. She knew these people, they were the kindest, most heartwarming type of people. Yet now…
Alvis now had a cruel grin on his face.
Laurent had a sneer of cold hatred on his face.
Aunt Marie had one of the most disgusting emotions on her face.
She hated it. She hated it. She dearly hated it. One of them didn't want her here, they tried to muscle her out of the ring that formed around Sabrina. She gritted her teeth as she was pushed out. Her fist tightened, and she glared at them.
She was going to stop it. "Darmanitan! Jump into the middle!" A white flash burst out, revealing a round red Pokémon with an ever-present grin on her face. Kendra climbed onto her before it leaped into the air.
"H-hey! Watch out!" She heard someone cry out, she was sure it was Donna, someone who worked at the nearby school.
BOOM CRASH
Darmanitan landed in the center, near the psychic Gym leader. She didn't look surprised at all. In fact, she looked downright desperate and furious. Kendra panicked, "Wait! I'm here to help! Promise!" Sabrina ignored her and looked at the circle of people. What once was hatred and disgust, contorted into hesitation.
"Fine. Your help is accepted."
"Thank you," Kendra said. She calmed her heart, which was pounding as she scanned the same crowd. Laura, Sam, Rinwell, Gobou, Flynn…She closed her eyes before opening them back up. She hopped off Darmanitan and shouted, "Out of our way!"
The people halted, sweat on their brow mixed with the rain that fell. Her heart fell as they steeled themselves. Fine…Fine…If they weren't going to stop, she wasn't either.
"Darmanitan! Stone edge!" The burly Pokémon clapped her hands together, Rain and windblown out of their vicinity, jagged stones appearing around her, swirling. Her smile only got wider as she brought her fist up before sending it, cratering down.
"Duck!"
Sabrina blocked the attack with the help of Mr. Mime while Kendra dove for the ground. The circle frantically ran and dove as well. Their Pokémon taking the hits for them in their place. Kendra felt like she just sucked on a lemon. She forgot Darmanitan didn't care for safety.
"Let's go," Sabrina said as she dusted herself off.
"H-huh? Right…Let's go. I know where the Gym is. It's likely my mother would take him there." Sabrina made a mental note of that information.
"We won't let you." They looked back in front of them. More thugs appeared out of the woodwork. Angry, huffing and puffing. They sent out their Pokémon to stop them. Sabrina didn't look impressed, "More riffraff." Sabrina decided to command her Pokémon once again.
"Mr. Mime, Nasty plot and then Psybeam." Mr. Mime smiled before his face contorted into an exaggerated evil smile, his hands waving and eyes glowing, before bringing his hands to close, widening his stance, and striking a pose like a 'Saiyan' from that one TV show kids love.
Sabrina needed to curb his watch time for sure.
It proved effective as Mr. Mime screamed, "Mr. Miiiiiiiiime!"
"N-n-no wait!" One of the thugs was thrown back as his Pokémon was slammed by the attack.
Kendra threw her arm out, "Darmanitan, Swagger into Fire Punch!" Darmanitan brought one her hands up in a goading manner, pissing off the Corviknight. The trainer growled, "You shouldn't have done that, Drill Peck!"
She huffed before adding an additional command, "Wait on my command!" Darmanitan rose one fiery brow before nodding its whole body. Corviknight didn't waste time and sped across the gap between the two, spinning rapidly before stopping, its beak still swirling with energy that could pierce a building's foundation.
"Wait…Wait…Wait…Now! Dodge and slam it into the ground with that Fire Punch!" Darmanitan grinned as the Flying-type grew closer, before sidestepping out of the way, now to the Corviknight's side, with her fist aflame she strikes true. Slamming their wing into their body and sent it into the directing of a lamppost, bending it as it crashed into it.
Kendra readjusted her eyepatch. "I'm ready, are you?" She turned to the lady. She was–"Hey, don't leave without me! I know where the Gym is!"
They left on their way to save their friend. Or at least Kendra was, Sabrina…She bit her lip.
-0-
"Let me go!"
"Ah-Stop squirming kid! Sheesh!" Almeta dropped him like a sack of potatoes onto the floor. Dusting herself off, she began to walk ahead of the place she dropped him off. Ash stood back up and looked around. It was obviously a battleground. It looked exactly like the ones you find everywhere in parks and such.
But this had Gym flair. Neon lights of purple and pink outlined the rim. Seats were arrayed at the two sides in the same direction of the battlefield, like how most were if they weren't a dome. Ash looked around, finding the exit to be sealed shut.
He looked back to Almeta, "Why'd you bring me here?!" He demanded.
Almeta dug her pinky into her ear, wincing. "Why'd you think I brought you here? To battle." Ash was confused, before quickly growing angry, "After everything that happened?! You want to do a Gym battle now!?" Well, look at him, being all responsible.
The Gym leader sighed, "Look kid, don't lie to me. I saw the way you looked at me when I ran, you wanted answers and to stop this whole mess, right?" Ash stopped his yelling and thought of what she said. He gritted his teeth; people could really read him.
"Yeah, I want to stop this, and I want answers," Ash said.
"Well, you might not like them, just a warning. That lady you travel with isn't doing it out of the goodness of her heart or curiosity."
"And what do you know of her." This time Ash said in a more subdued tone.
"A lot more than what she presents on the surface. A lot…More of what she hides behind that façade of worry and fear." Desperation. Almeta tore away her thoughts and brought her attention back to Ash, "So, that's why we're battling. Do you know why we're battling?"
"Battling helps us understand our Pokémon, but-" He hesitated before continuing, "It could also help understand our opponents." Like Kendra.
"Precisely. So, if you win. You get answers, and I'll leave you and Sabrina alone."
"And if you win?"
"Then…Tell Sabrina and those behind her to leave us alone?" If he was so precious to a plan, him being forced to not comply might bring her to a heel.
"Wha? She wouldn't go seeking for trouble." Ash knew she was a jokester, but she wouldn't go for dangerous types unless she was provoked…
"Again, you might know her as Sabrina, but I know her as someone else." It seemed that she wasn't going to tell him anything unless he won. Fine. So be it.
"Then bring it on." Ash brought out a Pokeball.
"Then two on two, since you only have one badge." She casually brought one Pokeball out of her Pocket.
"Right."
"…Did you skip one? Seriously."
"H-hey, that's not what's happening now! Let's just battle."
"If you say so." A flying robot descended from the ceiling, before lighting up and speaking, "The Battle between Gym Leader Almeta and Trainer Ash is about to commence."
Ash tapped the tip of his right shoe onto the ground two times, stretching.
"This battle is a two-on-two. Only the Challenger is allowed to switch in."
Almeta readjusted her black lapels and her cuffs.
"Are both trainers ready?"
"Yes!" "Of course I am."
"The battle begins…Now!"
"Kangaskhan! I choose you!"
"Stunky! Come out here and play."
Kangaskhan roared, along with her child making an imitating roar, sounding cute and not fierce like his mother. Kangaskhan growled before blowing air through her nose.
A purple quadruped burst forth, white fur that ran along its back and two large cheeks below their eyes.
Ash didn't need to win this…He wanted to win this. To make her pay for the attack on his friend, for everything that she was hiding. Everything that she "knew" about Sabrina. He wouldn't believe her. Why would he? By the looks of it, she had something against her, maybe it was a mistake. Maybe it wasn't.
All in all, He just wanted to win.