A/N: Violence warning at the end of the chapter.

Fifteen: Part 2

Johnny could not believe that he had been tasked with getting the cake for Mike's birthday party. He recognized that it was the only way that he would be invited in the first place so he told Ellie that he would do it. Johnny had not directly bullied Mike often in the past, but he had stood by while Craig had done so. In his mind, he had to play a part in mending Without Craig around to drag him into mischief, Johnny was able to truly analyze all the horrible things they had done.

"Man…that was stupid…" he mumbled to himself when he remembered the time that he and Craig had brought Mrs. Kroft to tears by egging her car and covering her house with toilet paper for giving them detention.

There were plenty of other instances, but that one had bothered Johnny because of how pointlessly mean-spirited it had been. He tried to put it out of his mind as he pulled his car into the West family estate. If he had been relegated to picking up an ice cream cake at Slurpuff's Sunday Sundae, then he was going to drag Tyler along with him. He parked his car and made his way to the huge backyard.

"When dealing with grass types and their health, it's important to make sure they get enough time in the sun…"

Johnny heard Felicity's voice, but still did not expect to see her alongside her Venusaur when he entered the garden area. He spotted the new Snivy that Tyler had told him about in his arms and noticed that his friend was actually paying attention to Felicity while she spoke.

"Am I interrupting something?" Johnny asked with a grin, making his presence known.

"I was just teaching your friend about the proper way to care for his new Pokémon since its obvious he needs assistance," Felicity replied with her usual haughty tone shooting Tyler a quick smile. "Don't worry, Johnny, I was just leaving. I wouldn't dream of interfering with whatever ignorant activities are about to take place."

"Wait, Felicity…" Johnny said as she recalled her Pokémon to its ball. "I need to talk to you…"

Felicity let out an exasperated sigh before she nodded her head. The two walked over to the closest tree. Johnny had been putting the conversation off for as long as possible, but with the situation regarding the Kanto Pokémon Federation worsening, he knew that he could no longer avoid the uncomfortable talk.

"I don't want to talk about Craig," Felicity said quickly. "I haven't answered any of his calls and I want nothing to do with him. Dealing with him for two years was just one giant headache."

"Has he tried to call you?" Johnny asked.

"A few times," she replied. "But I ignored them."

"He joined the federation," Johnny continued. "Rumor has it they're about to start selling some kind of device on the black market. I don't know what it does, but its definitely bad news. Anyway, I just wanted to know that if he bothers you in any way-"

"Why would you care what he does to me?" Felicity interrupted. "Aren't you his best friend?"

"I was his best friend," Johnny corrected her. "I used to listen to everything Craig said. And what did I get for it? I lost my spot on the battling team and I got stabbed. Even worse, I lost Jen. I'm not going to let him screw up any more lives."

"I understand, trust me," Felicity replied. "He's done a lot to me too. We can at least find common ground there. If you want to play hero, I'm not going to stop you."

She reached in her purse and handed him a small packet of what appeared to be dirt.

"Tell Tyler to give that soil to his Snivy, it'll help her warm up to him."

With that, she headed towards the gate and Johnny had so many new questions that were forming in his head. However, he remembered that he had something to do and quickly called Tyler over so that they could head to the dairy shop.

"Everything okay with you and Felicity," he asked curiously as he approached with Snivy in tow.

"Is everything okay with you and Felicity?" Johnny retorted. "What did Laila call you and Amelie? Tamelie, right? Should I tell her that Telicity is looking more likely nowadays?"

"It's nothing like that," Tyler told him sheepishly. "We hung out during the gala last night since we were the only ones our age there. She agreed to come over here today and help me out with Verde here since she has a Venusaur. That's it."

"If you say so," Johnny said with a shrug. "Come on, let's get to Slurpuff's…"

The drive to the dairy shop was uneventful for the most part. Johnny did not want to talk about the battling team that he was no longer a part of, and Tyler would just stare out the window on the passenger's side until he was asked a question. It was something Johnny had gotten used to since he started spending more time with Tyler. If you wanted a conversation with him, you would have to start it off.

"Why did your dad give you the Snivy again?" Johnny finally asked.

"Good behavior," Tyler answered.

"Good behavior?" Johnny replied. "You make it sound like you're getting out of prison early. Believe me, if my dad gave me a rare Pokémon from Unova, I'd be overjoyed."

"Well my father's gifts always come with a price…"

Johnny could sense that Tyler was uncomfortable, so he decided to drop the topic. They spent the rest of the ride in silence. When Johnny finally pulled into the parking lot of the dairy shop, the two of them stepped out of the car just in time to see Lyndon dashing towards them.

"Guys! Guys!" he panted. "Inside!"

"Hey man, calm down!" Johnny told their distressed friend. "What's wrong?"

"Craig and those federation jerks are inside trashing the place!" Lyndon explained. "Tyler, do you remember that Zeb guy from Cycling Road a couple of years back? The one that tried to rob us?"

"Yeah, Amelie beat him in a battle," Tyler said.

"Well he's part of the federation now too!" Lyndon continued. "He's the one in there giving the orders!"

"Alright, then let's go stop them!" Johnny urged.

"Wait!" Lyndon stopped him. "I was in the bathroom when they came in. Zeb had some kind of weird device on his gloves and when he turned it on I couldn't use my-"

"Looking for someone!"

The three federation members emerged from the shop. Johnny locked eyes with Craig immediately. He looked thinner than the last time Johnny had seen him and had sunken eyes. His skin was paler than it had ever been before and the stubble on his face made it obvious that he had not been taking care of his grooming. His mohawk made him look even more menacing instead of silly like Johnny imagined. It pained him to see his former friend hanging out with trash like the motorcycle gang.

Johnny estimated that the other federation members were slightly older than Craig. The one to the left resembled a slightly shrunken Snorlax. He was tall and wide and had beady black eyes. His massive frame made his mohawk looked as if a miniature Furret had climbed on top of his head and died.

"Long time no see, West, Tower," the thug in the middle said with a sneer before turning his attention to Johnny. "Don't believe we've been introduced though."

Johnny did not know what to make of Zeb. He was tall and lanky, but that was all Johnny could take note of. His eyes were almost entirely hidden by the skull cap on top of his head. He wore his hood on his jacket up, obscuring his face further. However, the gloves on his hands drew the most attention. They were black and adorned with what looked like a white dial below the knuckles and buttons on the fingertips.

"It's okay," Johnny replied. "I know a little about you. Zeb, right? Tyler and Lyndon told me they had a run in with you a couple years back. You lost to Amelie McKinley so tell me why I should be scared of you?"

"How about I show you?" Zeb said raising his hands.

"Come on, Zeb, let's just get out of here before the cops come," Craig told him. "We got what we wanted."

"Shut up," Zeb snapped. "I'm an enforcer and you're still a scrub. We'll leave when I say so."

"Who the hell are you talking to?" Craig shot back. "I don't give a damn about your rank."

"You're lucky that you're useful to Warrick right now," Zeb said. "Otherwise I would've killed you last night. Look, we're behind schedule as it is, so tell you what. I'll finish the quota that Warrick set. You and Gino take out your old high school buddies and meet me at HQ with their Pokémon. Do that and I'll put in a good word for you with Warrick."

Craig took a deep breath before giving the older thug a nod. Zeb looked at Johnny, Tyler, and Lyndon and gave them the cutthroat gesture before hopping on his motorcycle and speeding off.

"You'd actually hurt us?" Lyndon asked Craig in almost disbelief.

"Look just hand over one of your Pokémon and we'll leave," Craig replied.

"You helped us fight against Zeb two years ago when he tried to rob us," Tyler interjected. "And now you're on his side? You don't honestly think we're going to let you take our Pokémon or that you can even beat the three of us?"

"Fine," Craig reached for a poké ball and the silent Gino followed suit. "Sneasel, let's go."

Johnny was caught off guard by Craig's new Pokémon. Obviously, he had sent Sneasel out in order to have an advantage over Tyler's Snivy. However, he had a surprise of his own.

"So, it's a battle using our new Pokémon?" Johnny remarked as he tossed a ball in the air.

Krabby emerged and jumped in front of Johnny. He held his claws up in a threatening manner and seemed ready for a fight. Johnny had made sure to catch the strongest Krabby when he was at the beach a few weeks ago and this one had been standing on a pile of defeated Pokémon of the same species.

Lyndon threw a poké ball, but there was a clicking noise and the ball returned to him. He tossed it again, but the ball came back to him and would not open.

"What the hell?" Johnny said. "Lyndon, what's going on?"

"Looks like it's two-on-two then," Craig taunted and glared at Tyler. "More like one and a half…"

Elyse had volunteered to keep Mike occupied until his birthday party started. With Relena, Ellie, and Drake setting things up at Relena's house, Elyse was really the only one who could make Mike feel like he wasn't being babysat. Loki had joined the two of them to help Elyse hang up flyers for her father's campaign.

"Hey guys, thanks for helping me with this," Elyse told the boys. "My dad's been spread way too thin since he's finally beginning his campaign."

"Are you kidding?" Loki replied. "My best friend's dad as the mayor of Saffron City. I can see it now. Unlimited access to magnet train rides. I can go back and forth from here to Goldenrod. That's twice as many Pokémon, twice as much food, and-"

"And twice as many girls?" Mike finished. "Because I know that's what you were about to say."

"Point is," Loki continued. "I'll do whatever it takes to help Elyse's dad get in office."

"That's good to hear," Elyse said before she handed him a pile of flyers. "Use that enthusiasm of yours to head uptown and hand out some flyers there."

"Cake walk," Loki replied as the bus pulled up to the stop. "I'll meet you guys at the party."

"Mike, you and I will put up some flyers in Ecru Ward," Elyse explained. "When we're done there, the party should be all set up."

The two split off from Loki as he hopped on the bus. Ecru Ward was only a short distance from where they were, but a walk was still a walk. Fortunately, having someone to converse with made the walk much more bearable. Mike told Elyse about the Tangela that he had captured the day before but was more excited that he and Wartortle had actually been able to work as a team.

"I wonder why he didn't evolve though?" Mike questioned. "That battle with Tangela should've been more than enough to push him over the edge."

"Maybe there's something else blocking him?" Elyse suggested. "Take my Vigoroth for example. Po's issue that kept him from evolving when he was a Slakoth was the fact that he was a lazy ass…and that I would get frustrated. One had to give. I learned how to calm down when training him and he evolved not long after."

"Think it's something with me then?" Mike wondered.

"Possibly," Elyse replied with a shrug. "It's something the two of you have to figure out."

Mike nodded his head before shifting his gaze to the scurrying Rattata. Elyse hoped that she did not make him uncomfortable with her words, but she was slowly becoming more aware that she did not always have a clear answer for all his problems.

"So…" Mike started. "I hear Nadine and Lilly have been helping with the designs for these flyers. If your dad becomes the mayor, he needs to have them decorate city hall. It could use a touch up."

"It's on the top of the…" Elyse stopped short and grabbed Mike's arm, pulling him close to her.

"What-"

"Shh…" she whispered. "We're being followed…"

Elyse had been hearing the sound of a motorcycle's engine for a few blocks but had managed to tune it out because there were other cars around. It was only now that she realized that the same motorcycle had been following the two of them.

"Are you sure?" Mike whispered.

"Yes," Elyse whispered back. "Don't look back or they'll catch on. Now, listen. When I squeeze your arm, we're going to turn and run down the next street."

Mike nodded in agreement and Elyse could hear his breathing rapidly intensify. She was visibly shaking herself so judging him would be more than hypocritical on her part.

When they came up to Pollard Street, Elyse mentally counted to three before squeezing Mike's arms. Instantly, the two of them turned the corner and bolted. Elyse heard the motorcycle speeding up and knew that there was no way the two of them could outrun it especially if they kept running in a straight line. She pulled Mike into the alley, knowing that it was probably a dead end. Still, there was likely a fire escape and when they ran to the end of the alley, Elyse realized that she underestimated how high it would be.

"Looks like we're fighting," Mike resigned with a shrug and tossed a poké ball.

Electabuzz emerged and stood protectively in front of his trainer. Elyse followed his lead and called Vigoroth out for battle. The two Pokémon took a battle stance as the motorcycle stopped at the entrance, blocking it.

The cyclist was certainly a member of the federation, but it was hard to see his face with his hood over his head. He sauntered towards them, reaching in his pocket to pull out what looked like a crumpled flyer.

"What's with the hostility?" the cyclist sneered. "I'm new in town and just wanted some information about the upcoming mayoral elections. I saw you kids putting up flyers."

"Sorry dude," Mike remarked. "Gotta be a resident of Saffron City for at least twelve months to be eligible to vote here. Try coming back next year."

"I see we have a joker," the cyclist continued. "You know, I've never really had a good sense of humor."

"Who are you and what do you want?" Elyse asked blankly.

"Name's Zeb," the cyclist answered menacingly. "As for what I want, I'll make this easy. Hand over all your poké balls and you get to live. Nothing personal. You kids are just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"You don't honestly think we're going just hand over our Pokémon to you?" Elyse countered.

"You don't have a choice…" Zeb smirked and held up a gloved hand.

His glove was unlike any Elyse had seen before. She noticed buttons on the fingertips and a dial. Zeb turned the dial and all the buttons began lighting up. A bright bluish-white light suddenly shot out from the buttons and hit Electabuzz and Po. The two were engulfed in the light and flew back towards their poké balls.

"What the hell?!" Mike shouted as he tried to send Electabuzz back out. When that failed, he tried to send his other Pokémon out only to receive similar results. "It's like they're locked!"

Elyse tried to call her Pokémon out, but failed. It was only the sound of a switchblade that put her focus back on the threat that was in front of them.

"Last chance…" Zeb said waving his knife. "Hand them over or die."

Snivy was wrapped around Gino's Rhyhorn. It did not do much in terms of actually hurting the rock Pokémon, but it held him in place just long enough for Krabby's bubblebeam to finish him off.

Lyndon watched Gino angrily grumble before recalling his Pokémon, leaving Craig to face Johnny and Tyler alone. He wished that he could help, but his poké balls still weren't working. Fortunately, Johnny and Tyler seemed to be doing a good job at taking care of themselves.

"So, this is how it is huh?!" Craig yelled at Johnny as Krabby and Sneasel clashed.

"You just keep making things worse for yourself man!" Johnny shouted back. "And I'm not going to let you bring me down with you!"

"You're just like Felicity and everyone else!" Craig shouted. "You blame all your problems on me! I never put a gun to anyone's head and made them do anything. Everyone at that school just can't admit that their own stupidity is the reason for their problems. Isn't that right, Tyler?"

Lyndon watched as the verbal and physical battle continued. He saw Sneasel dodge a vine whip from Snivy, saw Sneasel slashing her claws at Krabby, and saw Krabby take the attack without an ounce of fear. Everyone was distracted and Lyndon knew that he had an opportunity in front of him.

He bolted, running towards the fence. If he could get over, he'd be safe enough to call the police. Gino quickly chased after him and Lyndon ran as fast as he could. When he got to the fence and started climbing, he felt the federation thug yanking on his left leg. Lyndon pulled his leg up and delivered a hard kick to Gino, hitting him square in the nose and pushing him off.

"That's for wrecking my favorite ice cream shop!" he yelled triumphantly as he climbed over the fence.

Lyndon kept running until he was at a safe enough distance to call the police. He was told that they had already been called by Old Man Slurpy and that they would be arriving shortly. He called Amelie next to let her know what was taking him so long. They had agreed to meet at her house before going to Mike's party, but he had stopped to get a muffin.

"Hey, Ams!"

"Lyndon, you're taking forever. Is everything alright?"

"No, it's not! Craig and those federation jerks showed up at Slurpuff's and started trashing the place! And then that Zeb guy! And then my poké balls wouldn't open! And then Tyler and Johnny! I'm freaking out man!"

"Okay, Lyndon, calm down. Where are you at right now?"

"I'm waiting for the cops to show up. I'm a few blocks away from the shop."

"Alright, I'm coming…"

When he hung up the phone, Lyndon remembered that he was still being chased. He hid inside a nearby antique shop for a few minutes until he saw a police car headed towards the shop. He followed it back and by the time he arrived at the shop, Craig and Gino were gone and Johnny and Tyler were talking to the police.

"There he is now," Johnny said when he saw Lyndon. "He can tell you more."

"Hey, you guys alright?" Lyndon asked. "Sorry for bailing, but it was the only way I knew I could help."

"You did a good job," Officer Lomax told him. "You were smart enough to let the police handle a dangerous situation unlike your buddies here."

Lyndon decided not to mention that the only reason he was not fighting the federation thugs alongside Johnny and Tyler was the fact that he could not send his Pokémon out.

"Oh yeah, Officer Lomax," he began. "Zeb had a device on his gloves when they were wrecking the store. When he turned it on, it sent Old Man Slurpy's Pokémon back to its ball. Then it locked my poké balls and I couldn't send any of my Pokémon out."

"What?" the officer questioned. "I've heard Silph Co. was working on something similar to help the police catch criminals, but how did a device end up in the hands of a mid-level federation member? Lyndon, I think you should come down to the station with me."

"We'll help Old Man Slurpy clean up," Johnny volunteered looking almost guilty for some reason.

"Can I come with him?"

If there was anyone who could bring a sense of peace to any situation it was Amelie. Officer Lomax begrudgingly nodded his head. It was not protocol, but Lyndon knew that the officer could not turn down Amelie after all she had done for the city.

"Wait, what happened to Craig?" Lyndon asked.

"He…" Johnny started. "He-"

"He got away," Tyler finished.

Johnny sighed and nodded his head. Lyndon could tell that there was more to the story but did not want to press it. He and Amelie got in the police car and Lyndon let out a deep breath. It had been a long day and he still had the party to go to.

"I asked Elyse if she was at the party yet," Amelie remarked with a puzzled expression. "But she still hasn't texted me back or answered my call…"

"Think she's okay?" Lyndon asked.

"Time's up!" Zeb shouted.

He made a dash at Mike with the knife, but he managed to dodge in time. Mike knew that it would be difficult for both of them to escape a maniac with a knife. Zeb was targeting him first, so if he could hold him off for a bit, it would give Elyse enough time to escape.

"Elyse, run!" he screamed at her as he dodged another slash attempt.

Mike had never been more thankful for gymnastics in his entire life. Zeb grunted in frustration as he attempted to stab the young trainer. Unfortunately, in his third attempt he managed to slash Mike across his arm. He winced in pain and felt his blood oozing out.

Elyse ran, not away, but towards the two of them. Mike knew that it was a stupid idea to even think that she would leave him behind. With a scream, she jumped on top of Zeb and bit hard into his neck, drawing blood.

"Little shit!" he screamed as he tried to throw her off.

Mike grabbed his hand and wrestled for the knife. The blade flew out of his hand and slid down the alley, hitting the dumpster. Zeb flipped Elyse over his head, and she hit the ground with enough force that Mike could see the blood on her forehead. Looking around for anything that could help, he spotted a rusty pipe and picked it up. He swung the pipe against Zeb's ribs and then his legs. Mike missed his third swing and Zeb grabbed the pipe. The two wrestled over it, but Mike was not strong enough to keep it. Zeb headbutted Mike, momentarily stunning him and knocking him over.

"Little! Piece! Of! Shit!" Zeb spat as he kicked and stomped at Mike.

"Get off of him!" Elyse screamed as she charged at Zeb.

Zeb hit her in the stomach with the pipe and the teenage girl fell to her knees. Mike recovered just enough to grab Zeb's leg in order to keep him from going over to Elyse.

"Fine!" Zeb screamed, turning around pulling Mike up to his knees. He put the pipe against Mike's neck. "You die first!"

Mike flailed wildly but could not move as Zeb crushed the pipe against his neck and began strangling him. The thug pulled harder and harder and Mike gasped for air. The more he struggled, the tighter Zeb choked him with the pipe. Mike felt himself starting to fade away. His vision was blurry, and his flailing arms were slowly falling. The last thing he heard was Elyse's scream and felt something warm spraying down on the top of his head before everything went black.

"Ugh…"

Mike felt his vision clear up and took several gasps of air. Rubbing his sore throat, he slowly got to his feet, thankful to be alive. However, nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next. Zeb was lying motionlessly on the ground, a pool of blood forming underneath him.

"Elyse…" Mike whispered in a raspy voice.

He saw her leaning against the dumpster vomiting, shaking, and covered in blood. Mike saw the knife on the ground next to her, but it had been reddened. It was then that Mike realized that it was Zeb's blood that he had felt on his head before he passed out. The federation thug was dead at Elyse's hand.

"I…I…" she stammered. "He w-was about to kill you…and…I-I…"

"We have to go…"

Mike took her hand and they ran.

A/N: Talk about a crazy chapter. And talk about a crazy wait but I hope it was worth it. The next chapter will wrap things up for this portion of the story but there's still a lot more to tell.

The POV characters for this chapter were Johnny Hawkins, Elyse McKinley, Lyndon Tower, and Mike Snowe

Until next time!