Chapter 23 – The Third
Route 14
With Reversal Mountain in the distance behind the large structures of Undella Town we walked down Route 14 in the direction of Black City where Maia had told us to go, and that something important was there for us. What it was remained a mystery only solved once arriving in the city where Maia would hopefully be there waiting for us. I had hoped Latias wherever she might be to hold out a little while longer until this was over, thinking of her and all of the things I wanted to say after all these years apart.
"I'm glad you're feeling better Bent, but are you sure you're ready to move again? That dart did weaken you a lot." Espeon asked as she walked beside Brent looking refreshed and full of energy after coming out of the hospital.
"It sure did, but I'm more than alright, I'm feeling alive!" He chuckle, lightly scratching his goatee. "Those doctors sure did wonders and made me feel energized, like I could run a triathlon or two."
"Well I don't know about that, but I'm glad you're alright." Espeon giggled.
"So this Cara gal, she taken away by Devon and his team?"
"That's right, to be reunited with Mr. Sad in a holding cell until we figure out what to do with them." Lisa stretched as we walked. "Devon's team have the best men guarding them both keeping a watchful eye on them at all times. I doubt they'll escape. So two down, three more to go until The Five is no more."
"That's great!" Brent exclaimed with a smile. "We're defeating them one at a time. Ya know, they might have a chance against us if they fought us all at once."
"Hey now, don't you be given them any ideas to them how to defeat us." Espeon mused. "We are still hanging in there and I would like to see the end of this journey alive with everyone else."
"Yeah." He yawned. "I wonder what we'll find in Black City, an underground base you think?"
"It is possible since these guys are everywhere in the region. But let's talk about something else while we are out here." I answered quietly, not wanting to talk about our plans out in the open like this in fear the enemy could be listening, and especially how close we were to Team Annihilation Reborn's base. Brent understood this and nodded.
We decided to stop for a while to take a little rest somewhere off the main road and a short walk into a small clearing we had found within the forest surrounding the area. Espeon, Lisa and Brent sat together beside a large tree filling up on snacks, while I sat a little further away from them drinking water I claimed I needed to take care of my dry throat and needed some alone time, but really I just wanted to watch out for them, to protect them from an ambush from the enemy.
The voices of Isaac suddenly from out of nowhere entered my head, voices of the past. "Hey guys, do you want to come with me while I search this region for the herb my great-grandmother found? I would like the help."
Then the voices of Sakura entered my head, sounding happy as she usually did. "Sure, I would love to help you out. What about you Zack, feel like going for another adventure with us?"
My mind didn't play my response, but I knew it well, remembering that smile I made when I answered, happy to travel with my friends again. And so I answered silently making sure the others wouldn't here. "You bet." Isaac had wanted to search all over Unova in search of a rare herb his great-grandmother found that allowed humans to understand Pokemon, he wanted to look for the herb and share it with the rest of the world while also honoring his great-grandmother and the memory of his grandmother for trying to do the same, but he never did, a dream of his that remained a dream.
We got back up and continued to walk in silence down the route towards Black City, a two hour walk from Undella if you walked fast or used a bike, but we managed to reduce that time by cutting through the forest and jumping over small streams, areas populated by wild Pokemon aggressive at first we had managed to convince them we meant to harm and to let us pass, most did let us pass but some not so much, so we either had to fight them off or run as fast as we could away from the area.
We found ourselves back on the main road again and decided to stay on the road rather than cutting through the forest not wanting to risk running into the more dangerous Pokemon within the route.
Espeon and I stopped Lisa and Brent after we had detected something close by, other humans within the area very close to us, a scent Espeon and I had recognized from before. Unlike the other times when we had been ambushed by either Team Annihilation Reborn soldiers or The Five we had rarely sensed their presence, this time we did hidden off the main road at a scent we had detected and one we knew. A strong scent, the same scent we picked up when The Five first ambushed us and beat us all to a pulp almost left for dead.
Lisa looked at me and Espeon and quickly realized we had sensed danger as she quickly turned to cover our backs with Brent. All four of us saw one of the five armoured soldiers who had attacked us that day emerge from the bushes slowly clapping his hands.
"We meet again, Dewott boy." The man named Bulldozer stepped in front of us from walking out behind the trees. He removed his helmet and grinned as he casually dropped it to the ground. He was bald, sickly pale skin with a scar across his right eye. "Zack Raines, Espeon, Lisa Rivers, and Brent Jackson, enemies of Team Annihilation Reborn. For five years you have been travelling all over the region in search of your friends? Now remind me, who is it you are still looking for? Latias was it?"
"Where can we find her?" I reached for my shells and held up one of them and pointed. "Tell me!"
Bulldozer shook his head. "Beats me. All I know about a Latias is that another one has been sighted within the region causing quite the commotion amongst the boss and those who still have a brain allowing them free of thoughts." Bulldozer stared at us and chuckled after noticing our expressions. "Faces like that could quite possibly mean you know about another Latias within this region, attacking small bases and squads here and there… so how about we make a deal; you tell me what you know about this other Latias and I will not kill your friends. I'll leave and we'll never see each other again."
"What will you do to this other Latias if we do tell? Have Shiny Latias to turn her into another one of her mind controlled puppets? Torture her like I know you have been doing to Latias for almost six years?" I growled. "Well you can forget that!"
"So you decided to keep the whereabouts of that troublesome Latias then? Hmph! No matter, we shall hunt this Latias down and all of your allies along with it. It is only a matter of time until we do." He chuckled.
"Hm, this Latias that has caught the commotion, an ally of yours, Dewott boy?" A woman emerged out from behind the trees behind us wearing the same kind of armor as Bulldozer; she was another member of The Five named Iris. "Or is she just a random Latias who has decided to attack only Team Annihilation Reborn bases only? Because I highly doubt it is a random Latias, I believe it is you who she has allied herself with to stop us."
"Joining in on the fight, are we Iris?" Bulldozer raised his voice to reach Iris from behind us. "Hiding in the bushes while I did most of the talking, not knowing when the Dewott and his friends would strike me, without any Pokemon to protect myself. Not a nice thing to do leaving a friend by themselves to take care of things alone."
"Well I was going to fight with you in this battle, but I have changed my mind."
"Running are you?"
"No, I wish to fight them by myself. They have already defeated two members of The Five already; I wish to test their strength."
"Oh? Why do you battle alone? Do I give off a bad omen to you, Iris? I am as strong as you are when it comes to battling, I do not slow others down when it come to cooperation in battle, so why?"
"You can go somewhere for now, somewhere important if you know what I mean. I will go down in a blaze of glory if I have to. This area is rather cramped, it would cause attraction. You need to prepare for the final stage."
Bulldozer nodded and placed his helmet back on. "Hmph! Well, since it was your idea to ambush the Dewott on this particular route, be my guest. It was nice knowing you Iris. Fight well." Bulldozer then took a smoke grenade out from a pouch attached to his belt and threw it between him and us, smoke surrounding the area instantly before seconds later the smoke clearing by a small breeze with him now gone leaving us with Iris still behind us.
"The coward fled on us…" Espeon scoffed before turning her attention towards Iris. "And now we have to deal with this one."
"Oh, Bulldozer is not a coward; he is very tactful when it comes down to facing opponents in environments he is familiar with." Iris quickly looked around the area. "This area… not so much. But for me, it works perfectly for me." With her left hand she reached for her belt and quickly grabbed a device attatched and pressed a button, and from the trees buzzed the familiar sounds of the drones, four of them aiming their turrets right at us.
Espeon and I were about to used our moves to destroy the drones and protect Lisa and Brent, but then Iris chuckled and made the drones move in closer, making a metallic clicking noise. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, those drones are a special kind, able to pick up when a Pokemon is about to use a move." Not wanting to risk their lives, I listened to her and remained silent and still and so did Espeon.
The drones flew closer to us, a small red light at the top of the drone I could see was blinking, it was scanning me and Espeon if one of us were about to use our moves.
"If the drones detect the Dewott or the Espeon about to use any move, they will kill Lisa and Brent." She said, making the drones move closer so that the turrets touched their foreheads. "In previous battles with The Five, we give you rules to follow; do not interfere with the battle. Should you or anyone else get involved, a gunshot will be heard throughout this route, not a tranquilizer round, not a blank bullet, but a live round that once shot aimed directly at one of your friends foreheads can kill them. Understand?" She pulled out her gun and aimed it at Espeon before another drone appeared close to me aiming its turret at my head. "That drone is one that will knock you out if you try anything, so stay where you are. But your Espeon friend, come closer to me."
"Aiming a weapon at a Pokemon, how pathetic must you be!" Espeon spat as she walked closer to Iris, stopping once she saw Iris holding up her other hand gesturing her to stop.
"The boss pays me well for this job, easy money I'd say. I don't care much for how pathetic I must look to others, by the end of the day I know I'll be a millionaire and worry free for the remaining years alive I have left if I don't go spending it all in one go." She held up a Pokeball from her belt. "So then, let's start the battle, shall we?"
The first Pokemon she released was an Arbok, another one of the controlled fighting without any free will. When a normal Pokemon was released from their Pokeball they would hiss or growl to be amped up for the battle, but the controlled Pokemon never make a sound. Espeon sighed and shook her head. "A Pokemon mind controlled to fight? Don't you guys have any normal Pokemon? Because this is getting seriously tiresome."
"These ones controlled by Shiny Latias are much superior than those with free will. Always obeying all commands without a second delay, the perfect puppet to do our bidding." She chuckled softly. "But anyway, you are today's lucky winner to fight in the battle. So here are the extra rules; you alone must fight my two Pokemon, defeat one and you chose one of your friends to go free, should you be defeated then you must chose that dies while your friend Zack will take your place. I know he dislikes fighting Pokemon, so if you lose the battle I'll restore all of my Pokemon back to normality and he'll have to fight and kill my two Pokemon to save whoever you didn't choose to die."
"As if I will lose to the likes of you!" Espeon growled, digging her claws into the dirt. "Once I defeat all of your Pokemon, you'll wish Bulldozer was there to save you from what I will do to you!"
"Hah! All words and to no surprise no action from you. Show me your strength to save your friends, so stop wasting your breath and fight!"
The Arbok moved first after iris gave its first command Acid hitting Espeon right at the side of her neck, she was pushed back by the attack and shook a little, her Sp. Def (Special Defense) had been lowered. Epseon tried to attack he Arbok with a Psychic, but the attack had missed when the Arbok slithered to the side to ram into Espeon with a Strength knocking her off her feet. But Iris didn't give her a second and immediately used another move Poison Jab as its tail was steeped in poison and at first tried hitting her while she was down, but Espeon was quicker and rolled out of the way backing off as much as she could away from the Arbok continuously using Poison Jab trying to land a hit on her.
She dodged as fast as she could, sometimes a jump or quick steps to the side away from the Arbok's attack that never seemed to let up.
"You can do it, Espeon!" Brent cheered to Espeon, wanting to encourage her not to give up with the battle, but this cheering ended early when the drone buzzing in front of him inched closer and made another metallic clicking.
"I'll have none of that from either one of you fool." Raised her voice, pressing a button on the device she bragged from her belt. "Keep at it Arbok, move faster, hurt her!"
The Arbok without uttering a single word or another hiss did so being more aggressive with its attacks, aiming and stabbing at her legs, swiping at her with its tail, pushing her back against the trees and boulders at the side of the road. When Espeon was backed up against a tree without realizing it she tried to jump back from another one of Arbok's Poison Jab, and that's when she was hit multiple times by the Arbok before Espeon pushed it back with her Confusion. Arbok was not affected by the attack Espeon used, but Espeon was poisoned by Arbok's attack.
Espeon coughed and her whole body began to shake for a moment. "Aww, what's wrong? Are you are poisoned, my dear? Is this too tough for you?" She mocked with a short laugh, "How long can you last before your health depletes thus ending the life of one of your friends?" Espeon looked up at Iris briefly before turning her attention towards the Arbok, a glare remained throughout the rest of the fight, not for the Arbok, not for Iris as we thought, but refusing to give up to allow herself to be defeated in battle to have me forced by Iris to chose one of my friends to be killed by the drones.
Espeon ran at the Arbok and used Psychic to grab it by the head and slammed it down onto the ground before using Zen Headbutt right into the slightly dazed Arbok sending it flying into one of the boulders on the opposite side of the road. I had never seen Espeon use that move before, not knowing when she had learnt it. Espeon smirked at Iris as she tried to stand upright still affected by the Poison.
"Aww, what's wrong? Are you down one Pokemon already, my dear?" she mocked Iris, chuckling at her as she recalled the defeated Arbok back inside its Pokeball. "Am I too tough for you to handle?" Espeon looked over at us and smiled. "Surprise move, hm? I picked up that move while I was-"
"You think you have bested me? Oh ho! You are quite wrong you little pest!" Iris interrupted Espeon as she held up her second and last Pokeball. "This here is my strongest of Pokemon. The reason I chose you to fight me Espeon is that I want my Pokemon to live, they would've died if they were defeated by your Dewott pal over there." She shook her head. "Not that I was going to allow that from ever happening."
"Wait a minute; you say you don't want Zackary to fight your Pokemon not wanting any of them from dying due to his ability which absorbs the life energy of the defeated Pokemon, you also said that if I were to be defeated in battle Zackary would have to fight in my place."
"I did, didn't I?" She shrugged, tossing the ball up in her hand. "But I have confidence my Pokemon can defeat the likes of you and that Dewott. My Pokemon, they have been with me for the longest time, with you poisoned and health draining by the second I'll have this battle done and over with soon, then I'll revive my Arbok and together take down that Dewott leaving most of you dead."
"Just bring out your last Pokemon already…" she coughed as her body once more shook. Iris threw up her Pokeball and out came the last Pokemon, Nidoqueen, and just like with Arbok, it never made a sound.
The Nidoqueen watched as Espeon moved in close to attack with another Zen Headbutt, but the Pokemon sidestepped out of the way and countered the move with a Bite, holding Espeon down with its paws before opening its mouth wide and taking a bite into Espeon's back. Espeon yelped out as soon as the Nidoqueen's teeth had bitten deep into her, struggling and wiggling with all of her strength to break free from the mouth of the bigger Pokemon. When she did, Espeon backed off, almost stumbling to the ground as the poison made her weaker.
"Use Tail Whip, Nidoqueen." Nidoqueen used the move by moving in close to Espeon and quickly wagged its tail before backing off away from her. Espeon's ears drooped slightly when the move had hit her, and her defense lowered. Being Poisoned, after suffering from Bite a dark type move, and having her defense lowered, Iris was looking on finishing the battle right then and there.
Espeon backed up again while Iris had her Pokemon use Focus Energy so that the Nidoqueen can land critical hits easily. And with a chuckle, Iris gave the last command to her Pokemon, "Nidoqueen, use Body Slam! End her now!" The Nidoqueen jumped up high in the air above Espeon, quickly falling down to slam its body on top of Espeon. When the Pokemon had touched the ground, a huge dust cloud engulfed the area blinding us temporarily from the outcome of the battle, but to Iris she cheered.
"Yes! That's my Pokemon for ya, strong and powerful." She chuckled, reaching for her other Pokeball which contained Arbok ready to revive it once the dust had cleared away. "So sorry Dewott boy, but I'm afraid you'll have to choose one of your friends to have killed while you fight for-"
"I don't think so!" Iris was interrupted at the sound of Espeon's voice within the cloud of dust. Next to the slightly visible Nidoqueen lying face down on the dirt we saw Espeon, her eyes glowing as the dust had cleared.
"W-what the… h-how did you-"
"Finding what little strength I had left I dodged out of the way the last minute before being crushed by the larger Pokemon." She turned to the Nidoqueen as it slowly got up. "Over the years I have faced many opponents weak and strong, some with type advantages and disadvantages, but I have over the years have trained myself to be fast to avoid attacks which can K.O. (knock out) me." Espeon smirked at Iris at the sight of her shaking, so quickly turned to the Nidoqueen and used Zed Headbutt right into its stomach before using Psychic to pick up the Pokemon and send it flying into the same boulder she threw Arbok into.
And just like Arbok the Nidoqueen was defeated, and so without wasting time she moved in close to Iris and attacked her with her Psychic and threw her against a tree knocking her out. She used her Psychic to pull the device out from her hand and destroyed it causing the drones to lose signal and crash onto the dirt, the red blinking lights slowly fading. "D-did it…" Espeon said weakly, slowly making her way over towards us.
With Iris defeated we were free from any harm, but Espeon however the Poison had gotten to her and she collapsed. After a quick use of Antidote and a bottle of Potion to help restore her health back she regained consciousness a little confused as to what had happened at first.
I held her head up from the dirt road until she had recovered. Antidotes usually took a little while until the affects from Poison left her body completely. "You did it Espeon, you defeated them. Nice work!"
Espeon turned her head a little until she saw Iris on the ground unconscious with Lisa standing over her calling for Devon's team to take care of the unconscious member of The Five. "Yeah… just barely… phew, thought I was done for, but I'm happy you guys are all right." she smiled weakly, but happy knowing the fight between Iris was over. "What about Bulldozer, he got away?"
I nodded my head. "Yeah. Brent checked the area to see if there were other soldiers's nearby or if Bulldozer was watching the battle, but there was no one out there."
"That's good, not sure if I would be able to help out if he came back to come at us for a second round or more of the controlled."
"You've done enough. Just rest until you have recovered your strength and we'll make our way to Black City."
It wasn't long until Espeon had recovered and Devon's team came to take away Iris. The remaining walk towards Black City was an uneventful one, one that we were silent throughout constantly cautious and watching our surroundings not wanting to risk another ambush or Bulldozer coming at us to battle us himself.
I was happy none of my friends were killed by the enemy that day, and thought back to when i remembered hearing the voices of my friends earlier that day. I didn't want either one of my friends to join the voices of the dead I hear in my mind, i wanted to do better on keeping them safe.
Arriving at the city we immediately checked into a hotel close to the city exit to stay until we were done with whatever the reason Maia asked for us to be here. The next day we would find her not too long after leaving the hotel, the reason was an important one.
To be continued…
Trivia:
Brent in the original draft would be too injured to fight with Zack in the final battle with Team Annihilation Reborn; he instead would be cut out of the story until a very late chapter.