Hey everyone. It has been a while again, but here's the next chapter. I will finish this eventually! Enjoy.
After replenishing supplies and purchasing another tent, Jason and Kristine proceeded onward, heading out of the cozy seaside town of Valerie Bay. They ventured through a hilly area, taking the path leading towards Kenalta. Clouds were sporadic as the gentle ocean breeze subsided. The twins were heading back inland through more rugged terrain.
Jason briefly looked back, thinking about Sydney and how he had already missed her. Kristine took notice.
"Okay, lover boy," she chuckled. "You have her contact information."
"True," Jason gave a slight nod. He turned back to face the road ahead. "It's time to move forward."
"We have another badge to knock out," Kristine added. "From what the guide said, Kenalta's about a one week shot from here, right in the way of what is called Fearow Hill."
"Fearow Hill, huh? I wonder why it's called that," Jason spoke sarcastically.
"Home to a thousand fearow, supposedly," Kristine gave a slight shrug. "And many more spearow."
"Wonder why they all nest there."
"Good altitude, temperate weather, lots of their own kind."
"So does every trainer in Kenalta have a fearow?"
"Probably."
Jason and Kristine continued traversing down the dirt path.
"I'll need to train with my team soon," Jason mentioned.
"Same here," Kristine replied. She then faced her brother with a playful smirk. "I gotta keep one step ahead of you."
"I was afraid you'd say that," Jason kept his eyes straight ahead. "I need to get better."
"Jason, you're already great," Kristine tried to encourage him.
"And you're the better trainer," Jason admitted.
"No, I don't -"
"You've beaten me twice," Jason interrupted. "Both times down to the wire."
"Jason, you should give yourself more credit," Kristine smiled. "That was Bran and Kadabra saving the day for me and Espeon. You and your pokemon are amazing."
"Right," Jason sighed. "But we need to keep pushing."
"Just don't push too hard," Kristine advised. "I don't want another incident like back in the Mountains ever again."
Jason faced his sister. "That's a promise I will never break. I'm not putting you through that."
"Better yet, don't put yourself through that."
"Right. Just don't go off doing what I did. I kinda like you, you know."
Kristine gave a slight nudge to Jason's shoulder with her hand. "Well, I kinda like you too. We can be friends."
The twins shared a chuckle after the light bantering. After several hours on the road, they settled down at a nearby field and pond, letting their pokemon out as they prepared sandwiches.
Kristine's team seemed to be in good spirits. She sat down, back against a lone tree and sandwich in hand, as she observed all six of her pokemon out and about, relaxing and exploring the immediate area.
"They all seem in a good mood," Kristine muttered to herself. It was loud enough for Jason to hear as he walked up to her right.
"Yeah," Jason gave a nod. He shifted his attention to his team, and what they were doing intrigued him. "Hey, check this out."
Kristine shifted her head to see what Jason was observing. All six of Jason's pokemon gathered together, with Magikarp within the pond and Jolteon at the center of the group. Kirlia, Riolu, Growlithe, and Rowlet surrounded the apparent team captain. Jolteon seemed to be barking orders, or making a statement, or something, to the rest of the team. It was one of many great mysteries behind pokemon; all other pokemon could fully understand what Jolteon was saying, though, to Jason and Kristine, Jolteon was shouting his own name over and over.
"You know, one leading theory is that pokemon hear on a very finely tuned frequency, where they have their own universal language," Kristine mentioned. "We hear name-shouting, they hear intelligent conversations."
"Wonder what got Jolteon riled up," Jason rubbed his chin.
Kristine took a bite of her sandwich. "The tournament we just played in," she spoke with her mouth full.
"You get after me if I spoke with food in my mouth," Jason looked at her.
Kristine shrugged as she swallowed. "I was hungry."
Jason looked back at his team. "I'm proud of them. They all did great out there. Should I do anything?"
Kristine shook her head. "Let it play out."
"Hmm," Jason observed on.
Kristine took another bite of her sandwich. "Come sit down and eat," she spoke with her mouth full once more.
Jason glanced at his sister, who looked back at him as if she never got after him for talking with a stuffed face before. He sat down next to her, grabbing a sandwich from the nearby mat Kristine had prepared sandwiches on.
"Is it just me or do these taste extra good today?" Kristine asked.
"It's called growing," Jason bluntly replied. "With it comes an infinite appetite. But if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were boasting about your sandwich-making skills."
"I could eat like ten of these," Kristine took another bite.
"Next thing I see, you'll surpass me by two inches, and get a deep voice."
"Not funny!" Kristine spoke with her mouth full.
Jason laughed, but it did not go unchecked as Kristine lightly punched his shoulder before adding, "You just wait until your voice cracks!"
"I was just messing with you, sis!" Jason continued laughing.
"At least you have it easy," Kristine put her hand on the area of Jason's shoulder where she had punched, perhaps out of guilt.
"What, infinite appetites and impending voice cracking?"
Kristine was silent, taking another bite of her sandwich.
"Now I'm confused," Jason added.
"Good," Kristine faced him with an innocent smile.
As Jason was sincerely confused as to what Kristine was getting at, and had no idea whether or not she was actually upset with him, he glanced over to his team.
"Now what?" Jason muttered, seeing his team dispersing.
Kristine looked on, seeing that Jason's pokemon were distancing themselves apart from one another, scattered throughout the field. "Looks like they're about to train individually."
"I really feel like I should do something."
Kristine shook her head. "Well, I mean, it's up to you. But look how your pokemon are able to have some self direction. You should be proud of that.
"Guess they don't like losing either," Jason chuckled.
"Believe me, pokemon are just as competitive as us humans. They're the ones out there doing the battling."
"I should at least acknowledge what they're doing," Jason began to get up.
"Guess I should watch out for you, huh?" Kristine looked up at her brother.
"We will win next time," Jason faced her with a smirk before leaving.
"Oh, we shall see about that, bro!" Kristine spoke loud enough for Jason to hear.
"Love you!" Jason replied.
"Need to stay one step ahead," Kristine muttered to herself out of Jason's earshot. "His team has a very special chemistry going on."
Jason approached his team, noticing that all six of them were focusing on something different. Jolteon was dashing to his left and right, lunging forward and hopping backwards, as if he was trying to increase his speed.
"Jolt!" Jolteon dashed to his right before suddenly letting out an electric shock on a nearby tree. Dashing to the left, he did the same thing.
"Jolteon!" Jolteon leapt backwards, unleashing Thunder Shock a third time. He then lunged forwards, using the attack one more time.
It seemed to Jason that Jolteon was trying to increase his mobility for hit and run attacks. Thunder Shock was a good move for that, especially since there was a slight chance to paralyze the opponent, but Jason was thinking there could be something more powerful; speed didn't have to come at the cost of power.
"Thunderbolt," Jason muttered. "I need to get him to learn Thunderbolt. I wonder if Kenalta has an In Your Element."
Jason proceeded onward to see Riolu focusing on his palm strike technique. He seemed very quick to get Reversal off, especially most recently against Pikachu. Not to mention that trainer's poliwrath in Raley City. Riolu seemed very capable to hold his own in battle.
There was no doubt in Jason's mind that Jolteon and Riolu were the most capable of the bunch. Kirlia wasn't too far behind, he thought. She stood at the edge of the pond, eyes closed. Jason approached her to see what she was up to.
Kirlia lifted her arms slowly, bringing up a sprout of water. A moment later, she was able to project this energy as well, conjuring a small sprout that would envelop her, or the target of her choosing.
"Life Dew," Jason observed, though he silently argued there should have been a more suitable name for it. He knew, nonetheless, that this would replace Heal Pulse, the very move that helped save his life back in the Mountains. Perhaps Life Dew would have helped suppress his fever.
"Kirlia!" Kirlia faced Jason and smiled.
It felt strange to Jason that Kirlia was interacting with him without the use of telepathy. It seemed to only kick in during battles. Then again, there was no need to use telepathy; a simple friendly gesture as all that was needed.
Looking past Kirlia, Jason noticed Magikarp splashing about. There was no doubt about the pokemon's determination, even if he was considered the laughing stock of all pokemon species. It was quite admirable, Jason thought.
Growlithe ran past Jason, lunging forward as if he was attacking something. Flames burst from his mouth, indicating he was practicing the use of Fire Fang. Rowlet intersected paths with Growlithe, jumping over him with his talons barely brushing the canine's forehead.
"Row!" Rowlet projected a powerful barrage of leaves that were able to make cutting dents to a nearby tree. This wasn't Leafage, as Jason became convinced; this was Razor Leaf. With Rowlet getting stronger, Jason knew it was only a matter of time before the owl pokemon would evolve.
Jason remained impressed that all six of his pokemon took it upon themselves to train as hard as they could. They all wanted to be the best of the best, and Jason was proud of their efforts. He walked back towards Kristine, who was finished eating.
"I keep telling you, you have an awesome team," Kristine faced him.
"No doubt about it," Jason smiled.
"So I never asked you this, Brad," Will began his personal inquiry. "Are you with someone?"
The two were worn and weary from traveling on foot from the Cinders, avoiding being apprehended by agents of Team Order. As they traveled further east, Brad decided it was time to break silence and establish contact with Team Mystic in Fort Lexing. He figured he and Will were out of the clutches of Rafael and his subordinates.
Despite visiting numerous pokemon centers and lodges, the two wore the same sets of clothing they had at the Cinders, as Brad left promptly, only grabbing his pokeball belt and leaving most of his gear behind. The pokemon centers and lodges were their life sources; they were able to get food, water, and shelter while the Nurse Joys they came across were cooperative. Most had insisted they call the authorities, and some may have taken it upon themselves to do so. Still, Bradley thought it was best to keep moving, especially if Team Order were monitoring any calls or extranet visits.
It was only the previous evening when Bradley established contact with a very worried Aria. He introduced her to Will and told her everything that had transpired. Will had agreed to disclose some vital information to Team Mystic, but only on Aria's word that he and his fiancée would be protected.
Will had to convince his lover to get out of Redholt City before Rafael would get the idea of using her as a bargaining chip. Sonya was at first resentful of her fiancé's request, mainly because he hadn't talked to her for a prolonged period of time, but later agreed to take the first flight to Fort Lexing out of concern for her and Will's safety.
Bradley knew he was in the home stretch. And he was looking forward to seeing Aria again.
"Yeah," he simply replied to Will's question. The two walked within a dense treeline, once again taking efforts to evade detection, even with Team Mystic looking for them.
"So you have a girlfriend?" Will asked.
Bradley was hesitant to answer further.
"A boyfriend?" Will pressed.
"I'll leave it to your imagination," Bradley smirked.
"Why the secrecy?" Will pestered. "Come on, man."
"It has to be secret," Bradley replied.
"What, you dating someone's wife?" Will snorted from his own joke.
Suddenly, Brad could hear a faint sound of a helicopter in motion. "Shh for one sec."
"Wait, I hear it," Will soon confirmed what Brad could hear. "But who is flying?"
"Team Mystic," Brad was sure. "Sound's coming from the east. Hear it? It's getting louder now."
"I hope you're right," Will remained cautious.
Brad ventured out of the woods into a nearby field.
"You're blowing our cover!" Will yelled.
"It's Team Mystic!" Brad remained convinced.
The helicopter came within sight. Brad began waving his arms to catch their attention. The helicopter began to fly directly towards him.
"You have their attention now!" Will began to inch out of the woods.
"Come on, show me the emblem!" Brad continued to rapidly wave his arms. "Show me Articuno!"
The sound of the helicopter's blades were nearly ear-piercing. The field began to succumb to the influence of the helicopter, winds pinning down the blades of grass in all directions. The helicopter then faced its side to Bradley before descending. To his relief, it displayed an emblem of an articuno.
"Haha!" Bradley laughed in relief.
"We're saved!" Will ran out to the field.
The helicopter extended its wheels before touching ground. The side door flung open, with Don running out to greet Brad.
"Don, you son of a bitch!" Bradley grinned from ear to ear before hugging him.
"It's good to see you too, man!" Don hugged him back. "You need a fresh set of clothes."
"Don't have to tell me that twice."
Two female members of Team Mystic emerged out of the helicopter, each holding a primed pokeball in their hands.
"Is that your friend?" asked one of them, facing Will.
"Yeah, that's Will," Brad confirmed.
"I'm friendly!" Will waved his arms. "I don't wanna deal with whatever pokemon you have."
"You're fine," the other female member smiled.
Summer soon emerged from the helicopter, pilot's helmet and HUD clearly visible. "Brad, it's good to see you!"
"Likewise, Summ," Brad gave a nod.
"Now hop in and let's get out of here!" Summer headed back into the cockpit.
Brad and Will, along with Don and the two Team Mystic members, got inside the helicopter, taking a seat and strapping in before Summer lifted the helicopter off the ground. Brad was relieved to be going back to Fort Lexing at long last.
Team Mystic's helicopter arrived at Fort Lexing just as the night sky began to set over the city. Summer brought the helicopter to the landing pad on top of the stadium, gently touching down.
"Home sweet home," Brad opened the side door as soon as he felt the helicopter touch down.
"Aria's coming," Summer informs him.
Brad got out, with Will and everyone else behind him. Aria proceeded down the walkway connecting the landing pad to the elevator and staircase.
"Brad," Aria locked eyes with him. They had feelings for each other, but they needed to keep it professional, for Aria's sake more than anything. The two refrained from showing any sort of physical affection, though hugging would likely have been appropriate in this situation.
"Sorry I've been out for a little bit," Bradley chuckled.
"I'm just glad you're safe," Aria gave a slight smile. She looked past Brad's shoulder to see Will. "And you must be Will."
"That's me," Will gave a nod.
Aria walked right past Brad. "Will, I need to know something. What's Rafael planning to do?"
"He planned to bring order to the world but sent vague messages about how he was going to do so," Will responded. "But it starts with ancient settlements and artifacts in Inventum. Our discoveries in the Cinders pointed us to an artifact in Fearow Hill. Some sort of device that can be used to control pokemon. That's all I know."
"What is this, some sort of criminal syndicate technology?" Aria crossed her arms.
"Not at all. Whatever this is, it could be thousands of years old. Inventum is not what we think it is."
Aria turned her head to Brad.
"He's been saying all sorts of stuff like that," Brad shrugged.
Aria turned back to Will. "And when do you believe Rafael is going to Fearow Hill to retrieve this artifact?"
"Soon, if he's not already there," Will responded. "He will act quicker when he knows he has loose ends."
"And why didn't you tell us any of this sooner?"
"I want my security and my fiancée's guaranteed."
Aria sighed. "Fair enough, I suppose. We'll use our funds to get you and your fiancée a place to stay. We'll have the mailing address here to help ward off any unwanted attention. From now on, I want complete cooperation. Do not keep any secrets. Got it?"
"You got it," Will complied.
"Good," Aria walked by Brad once more. "Shall we?" she proceeded towards the elevator.
Aria led Brad, Will, Don, and the two Team Mystic members inside the elevator as Summer began working on the closing checklist on the helicopter.
"Both of you need a shower," Aria mentioned, pinching her nose slightly. "Have either of you used the ones at the pokemon centers?"
"It's been a little while," Bradley began to laugh.
"I bet."
The elevator descended as it came down to the third
floor. As it opened, the two Team Mystic members dispersed as Aria allowed them to exit first. She then led Brad and Will to the right down the hallway. A girl with white blonde hair in a small ponytail approached them.
"I fed some of the fire pokemon as you asked," the girl informed. Brad recognized her as the first girl he rescued in Cheron Forest, Skyler.
"Skyler?" Brad caught her attention. "Hey, kiddo."
"Oh, hey," Skyler smiled and waved. "Welcome back. I'm happy you're safe and sound."
"Sky's been my assistant lately," Aria explained. "She decided to forego the trainer experience and focus on conservation."
"Not the easiest decision since I know it's not every day you're trapped in fire and smoke," Skyler added. "But I ran it over with my team. Saving pokemon is still an adventure."
"You can always continue the trainer's path at any point, if you choose," Brad said. "Not everyone who does it is a twelve year old kid."
"No. Most are, but fair point nonetheless," Skyler acknowledged.
"Well she's already beaten me in battle," Aria mentioned.
"You got family here?" Brad asked Skyler.
"I live here," Skyler nodded. "I live with my parents. I even got the Mystic Badge framed on my wall and everything."
"Would've probably had her use my guest room or something if she came from somewhere else," Aria said, before facing Skyler. "You can head home if you like. I'll get someone to walk you home."
"You don't have to. It's well lit from here to my house," Skyler replied. "Besides, I got my pokemon and Fort Lexing is like the safest city in Inventum."
"Very well then," Aria gave a slight smile. "Good night, Sky."
"See you soon," Brad waved farewell.
"Bye!" Skyler smiled and waved before using the staircase to go down to the ground floor.
"Sky, huh?" Brad faced Aria.
"She prefers to be called Sky," Aria glanced at the staircase, seeing Skyler safely go down.
"Looks like someone's got a little bit of the parental instinct going on," Brad chuckled.
"Kid had to go to the hospital after we rescued her," Aria said. "She had some smoke inhalation and burns on her body. And after you took off to the Cinders, well, I followed up with her. Her folks invited me to dinner twice. And she offered any kind of assistance for Team Mystic. So she has an apprenticeship here."
"She did look a little cooked when I picked her up. Seems sharp."
"Kyar twins level sharp," Aria added.
Brad cursed under his breath. "Yeah. Speaking of."
Brad looked at Will, prompting Aria to do the same.
"What?" Will shrugged, oblivious to what Brad was getting at.
"No secrets, Will," Aria crossed her arms.
"He's dense. Gotta lay it out directly," Brad mentioned. "Will, tell Aria what happened to James Kyar."
"Oh, right," Will looked right at Aria. "I can tell you verbally, but I might recommend a written testimony so we can push it to Richland Port if we want something done."
"Yes. But what happened to James Kyar?" Aria asked.
"Murdered by none other than Rafael, one of the higher ups of Team Order," Brad responded before Will could open his mouth.
"Murdered?" Aria gasped. "But it was ruled an accident, right?"
"Well, it -" Will barely got words out before he was interrupted.
Aria pointed at Will. "I'm going to get law enforcement in Fort Lexing involved and you will provide a written testimony explaining this and however you learned about this. Then we will send this to Richland Port and get the Cabinet to lock this bastard up."
"Should I-" Will began to ask a question, but was interrupted again.
"Yes. Start now!" Aria insisted.
"I mean use a shower," Will said. "And I'm going to need some fresh clothes."
"Oh," Aria took a deep breath. "Yeah. You can use the showers here. I'll have someone get you a fresh set of clothes."
"Thank you," Will gave a nod.
Aria pulled out her smart device from her pocket, sending a text message for any available member to help Will out. A moment later, her device vibrated.
"Someone's coming to get you in a few," Aria explained. "Just wait right here," she then faced Brad. "Come with me to my office."
Brad complied, and followed Aria down the hall. The two were silent as Aria opened the door to her office. The door itself was blue, and it had the white emblem of an articuno engraved into it. Below the emblem was a nameplate attached to the wall: Aria Gale.
Inside the office was white tiling, with light blue walls as the decor was a deeper shade of blue with white outlinings, from the desk to the bookcase at the far corner of the room. There was a cabinet dedicated to Aria's achievements in the past, holding trophies and medals from her victories in battles and contests.
"Look, about -" Brad just closed the door when he was suddenly pounced on by Aria. She used her toes to propel herself to Brad's height, knocking him against the wall and before he knew it, they were making out.
"You had no idea how scared I was," Aria said in between kissing, her eyes watering.
"I'm sorry to put you through that," Brad quickly added.
"It's my fault," Aria said. "I shouldn't have sent you in so ill prepared."
"No," Brad pulled away for a brief moment. "No one knew it was going to be this bad," he then began kissing her neck.
Aria moaned. "I love you."
"I love you too," Brad had his hands over Aria's waist.
"Keep them there," Aria put her hands over Brad's. "Not like this. Not here."
"I'm sorry," Brad held her hands. "I shouldn't have gotten carried away."
"I would've let you if we weren't here," Aria gripped his hands tightly. "Kissing you like that was already stretching it."
"I understand," Brad looked right at Aria.
Aria leaned in to kiss Brad once more. "Go home and take a shower. It'll be a little more romantic when you're clean the next time around."
"You're the boss," Brad complied. "But what did you want to talk about?"
"I just brought you in here to tell you I love you," Aria smiled. "And for whatever reason I started to make out with you."
"Pretty sure I got the message." Bradley laughed. "I love you too."
"Go get cleaned, babe."
Jason and Kristine had been traversing on the road to Kenalta for several days. They began to enter more rugged, hilly terrain as they neared the border of the mountain and coastal regions. Though it was the mighty Mison River that officially split the two regions apart, and the river was more than a hundred miles to the west, the crisp, chilly air made the twins feel like they were back home.
"It's looking a lot more like Mountain Spring," Kristine looked around. "Better yet, Route 102."
"Rugged Pass?" Jason recalled. "That felt like such a long time ago."
"And here we are," Kristine had her eyes set on the road and terrain before her. "Such a long time later, we have four badges and are at the doorstep of our fifth," she began to point at a mountain directly ahead. "Fearow Hill stands in our way to glorious conquest."
Jason observed numerous high flying pokemon in the distance, numbering likely in the dozens. Though they were too faint to identify them properly, he assumed they were fearow. "Look at them all."
"So we apparently take a hiking trail through the mountain and Kenalta is on the other side," Kristine recollected from studying the trainer's guide the night before.
"At least you have something to read at night," Jason added.
"I didn't realize it got so boring without me," Kristine smiled, referring to her and Jason using separate tents at night.
"I get used to it."
"Well, we don't have to check in so early. We can always hang out at night."
"I suppose we can be friends," Jason said jokingly.
As they approached Fearow Hill, a dark skinned young man grabbed their attention, waving his arms from down the road.
"Hey!" he shouted. He appeared to be no more than five years older than the twins. He had a shaved head, had a slim yet muscular frame, and wore a black shirt and blue jeans. He was equipped with a pokeball belt, the twins quickly noticing that he only had three pokeballs. "Fearow Hill's closed! It's off limits!"
"Closed?" Kristine approached him in protest. "But we need to get through there to Kenalta!"
"Sorry kid," the young man maintained his stance. "We have a situation up there right now. It's off limits to all trainers."
"We're wanting to challenge the Gym Leader for the Gale Badge," Jason explained. "We have to get through."
"Gale Badge?" the young man repeated. "Look, you can call it a day and camp somewhere close by. I'm sure the leader will take challenges in the next couple days. Otherwise, the only other way is a detour to the south, move west through three towns, then cut your way back north. But that can take three days easily."
"Why is it blocked off?" Kristine asked.
"Some pretty serious stuff is going down," the young man said. "Look, you're gonna have to take my word for it. Like I said, go camp somewhere. Train your pokemon. Chances are I won't be here tomorrow."
"Fine," Kristine began to back away, as did Jason.
"What do we do now?" Jason wondered, out of earshot of the young man.
"I bet you he's not even 18," Kristine muttered.
"What does that have to do with this?" Jason faced his sister.
"The Inventum Trainer's Code of Conduct," Kristine began to pull out the trainer's guide from her backpack, flipping to the first few pages. "This is more of a summary, because the real thing is an entire book. It says here that we're bound by law to respect and listen to all adults. Adults in Inventum are considered to be those who are 18 and over. If he's not 18, he's not legally bound to keep us here."
"What are we going to do, ask him his age?" Jason glanced over to the young man.
"I'm feeling a little rebellious so yeah," Kristine began approaching the young man.
"Seriously, who are you and what have you done to my sister?" Jason began to follow her lead.
"How old are you?" Kristine bluntly asked the young man.
"17," the young man quickly replied. "Wait."
"Okay. Bye!" Kristine walked past the young man, signaling Jason to follow her.
"I highly advise you to stay away from Fearow Hill!" the young man yelled. "There's some bad people there!"
By then, Jason and Kristine were running ahead, adrenaline kicking in for doing what they deemed a rebellious act. They didn't process the young man's dire warning. As initial thoughts of guilt settled in, particularly for Kristine, they both felt like they were entitled to proceed to Fearow Hill. They were very well versed in the reality of dangers that surrounded them. So when someone warned them of supposed dangers, they figured such was the nature of being a trainer.
Jason and Kristine trekked uphill along a heavily forested path. It soon became quite curious to the twins when they realized not a single pokemon was spotted. There was no birdsong whatsoever, though the twins assumed it would be in the form of caws and screeches from numerous spearow and fearow rather than something more pleasant.
"Are they all on top of the hill or something?" Jason asked, looking around.
"It's technically a mountain, and possibly," Kristine replied.
Suddenly, a sudden burst of wind knocked both Jason and Kristine to the ground. A loud, ear-piercing screech followed, almost like the pokemon move Metal Sound. The twins covered their ears.
"Is that a pokemon doing that?" Jason yelled, though Kristine couldn't hear a word he said.
Kristine looked up. Through the leaves above, she could see multiple fearow flying fast, if not frantically. This prompted Jason to also look up.
A moment later, the screeching ended. Kristine quickly got up as she helped Jason up.
"I have no idea what just happened," Kristine looked up once more, noticing there were dozens of fearow high in the sky.
"I'm guessing that guy was warning us about what just happened," Jason also looked upwards.
"We should get moving, quickly," Kristine suggested. "Let's keep going before that happens again."
"Right with ya, sis."
The two continued upwards on the path. Moments later, they heard what they believed to be a distant battle. Jason and Kristine looked at one another, only communicating with a single nod of agreement, before heading closer to the sounds of battle.
"Get down," Kristine whispered, as the two hunched beneath a small ridge leading uphill past a tree line. Both of them heard explosions overhead, sounds reminiscent of a pokemon battle. Kristine peeked her head just enough to catch a glimpse of what's going on.
"There's a couple people, with several pokemon," she informed Jason. "They're all fighting fearow."
"Why?" Jason looked over as well.
Jason and Kristine could see two individuals in casual outdoor attire, commanding a magnezone, jynx, manetric, cloyster, and electabuzz. They were knocking down fearow left and right using super effective moves, from Thunderbolt to Ice Beam.
"More are coming!" one individual, a male, announced.
"Let's scram and let Rafael know!" the female individual responded.
"Who are they?" Jason became curious as the two individuals and their pokemon retreated.
"Criminals of some sort perhaps?" Kristine responded. "Their pokemon look tough."
"If they're criminals, then what are they doing knocking out all the fearow?"
"Maybe there's something here they're after."
"Like what?"
Kristine shrugged. "Maybe we should go after them and see what's going on."
"Sounds good to me," Jason began to climb over the ridge.
"Look at us, going to stop criminals!" Kristine felt a rush coursing through her veins at the very thought. She followed Jason's lead and caught up to him.
They barely emerged from the treeline when they heard the sound of a helicopter from a distance. Kristine realized how horrible of an idea it was to emerge from the slope.
"This is something bigger than we thought," Kristine saw the helicopter as it approached them. "Jason, let's -"
"Bronzong, use Trick Room on those trainers!" commanded a distant voice.
Before the twins could pinpoint the origin of the male voice, a massive box of telekinetic energy began to envelop them. Kristine could only watch as the ceiling completely blocked out the sun.
Just before Trick Room went into effect, Jason quickly primed a pokeball to get Jolteon out.
"Jolt!" Jolteon barked and attempted to move. As he tried to leap, he barely moved an inch forward.
"What in the world?" Jason tried to move his head around. He wanted to shift his eyes to the left, but it became a struggle to do so. He attempted to quickly move his arms to little avail. As he tried to move forward, he achieved as little as his starting companion.
"It's Trick Room," Kristine responded, standing still as she witnessed Jason and Jolteon's struggle to cope with the drastic change in the laws of motion.
"I know what Trick Room is!" Jason snapped.
Kristine faced him with an unappreciative look. She was essentially calling him rude without actually saying it. "Then you know every motion inside Trick Room is flipped. Fast is slow, and slow is fast."
Jason understood the properties of Trick Room, but his lack of experience in being inside Trick Room, doubled with his anxiety of not having control of his body in the way he was used to, got the best of him.
Kristine knew Jason was frustrated, and it didn't help Jolteon. As the two continued to fight Trick Room with fast motions, Kristine closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Slow is fast," she muttered. As she intended move her right arm slowly, and as her brain and body registered the commands to move slowly, she quickly moved her right arm and down.
"And now we just slowly trot our way out of here," Kristine opened her eyes with confidence. By commanding her body to slowly move forward, Trick Room reversed the rules, rendering her power walking her way towards the other end of the field. Jason and Jolteon looked on as Kristine was quickly able to adapt and overcome the situation.
She emerged from Trick Room, encountering a startled bronzong who floated before her. Behind the bell shaped pokemon was the helicopter, its rotors in motion as the loud noise returning upon exiting Trick Room.
"Bron?" Bronzong approached Kristine, cautiously floating towards her.
"Fletchinder, you're up!" Kristine primed Fletchinder's pokeball.
"Return, Bronzong!" yelled a voice from the helicopter. Bronzong was recalled, giving Kristine a clear view of an older, slender curly haired man holding onto a railing within the helicopter's side. A mysterious object glowed yellow in his vest pocket.
Rafael looked right at the brunette preteen with emerald green eyes, a green shirt and black shorts.
"What should we do with her?" the female colleague asked Rafael.
"Nothing," Rafael responded with no emotion. He knew exactly who the girl was, and he knew locking his eyes with hers gave his identity away. "Let the fearow deal with them."
Trick Room quickly dissolved, enabling Jason and Jolteon to move as intended. They both ran up to Kristine's side. By then, the helicopter had lifted off, with Kristine still holding onto Fletchinder's pokeball.
"Whatever it is that they came for, they have it," Kristine could only watch as the helicopter quickly ascended and moved out of sight.
"Who are they?" Jason turned his head to Kristine.
"That man who had Bronzong," Kristine looked right at Jason. "He looked like he was one of Dad's old colleagues."
"There was a guy with a bronzong if I remember right from the pictures," Jason recalled.
"Jolt! Jolteon!" Jolteon barked, trying to warn Jason and Kristine of the imminent danger above.
The twins looked around. There were dozens, perhaps more than a hundred, fearow circling around, startled and aggravated from whatever disruptions the people in the helicopter had created. They all began to encircle the twins, organizing as if a tornado was about to come down on them.
"They're not going to let us walk away," Kristine primed two pokeballs. "Espeon, Fletchinder, come on out."
"Kirlia, Riolu, you too!" Jason brought out his pokemon.
"Everyone needs to come out!" Kristine suggested. "Pikachu, Snorunt! Let's go!"
Jason nodded in agreement. "Rowlet! Growlithe! Let's go!"
"Dratini! Machoke! Come on!"
"Magikarp! Help us out!"
"Karp!" Magikarp flopped up and down.
"Riolu, grab Magikarp," Jason commanded.
"Rio!" Riolu picked up Magikarp, poised to use him as a weapon.
The twins stood tall, backed against each other, as their pokemon created a radius to protect them. Some of the fearow had already begun to descend.
"Get ready!" Jason yelled.
The first fearow in Jason's direction began a rapid descent, diving right towards Jolteon.
"Jolt!" Jolteon unleashed Thunder Shock, zapping the fearow head on. The fearow spiraled until he crashed into the dirt, succumbing to paralysis.
Two more fearow descended, aiming for Jolteon.
"Jolt!" Jolteon fired another Thunder Shock, striking one fearow, but it kept coming right at him.
"Kirlia!" Kirlia projected Psybeam to knock that fearow out of the sky.
"Jolteon!" Jolteon fired a third Thunder Shock, striking the next fearow, but as before, did not avert the fearow from continuing its attack.
"Growl!" Growlithe fired flame burst to knock the fearow out.
"Jolt," Jolteon began harnessing his energy. He tried to focus, projecting his electric energy to charge a powerful attack. He needed something much more powerful than Thunder Shock.
Meanwhile, the fearow on Kristine's side began their attack. The first one to charge the perimeter went down to Espeon's Calm Mind induced Psybeam. Three more attacked, with Pikachu striking one with Thunder Shock. As the same went for Jolteon, that Fearow continued its course.
"Fletch!" Fletchinder used Flame Charge as a counter attack, striking and knocking that fearow down. The other two fearow began focusing on Fletchinder.
"Fletchinder! Retreat!" Kristine yelled.
"Fletchinder!" Fletchinder used Agility to quickly soar back to the perimeter, with both fearow also using Agility to pursue him.
"Jason!" Kristine got her brother's attention as Fletchinder soared within Jason's side.
"Jolteon! Fire on the fearow on Fletchinder's tail!" Jason ordered.
"Jolt," Jolteon focused his energy. He felt ready to make a concentrated, powerful bolt with absolute precision. It was a move beloved by many professional trainers for its damage and accuracy.
And so Jolteon was able to evolve his own move, Thunder Shock, refining it into the well respected and feared Thunderbolt. With a single bolt, followed by a clash of thunder, Jolteon zapped one of the fearow right out of the sky in a single strike.
"Thunderbolt?" Jason looked on as Jolteon unleashed the attack. "Jolteon knows Thunderbolt!"
Fletchinder quickly turned around and flew over Jolteon, giving him a clear line of sight on the pursuing fearow.
"Jolteon!" Jolteon unleashed another Thunderbolt, striking that fearow head on and sending it crashing down well past the perimeter.
"Heck yeah!" Jason cheered. But no one else intended to celebrate; there were still many more fearow circling overhead.
Several more began diving down. It was a well coordinated nose dive, and it seemed to be aimed right at Jason and Kristine. Jolteon zapped one of the fearow, while Kirlia and Espeon fired Psybeam to knock out two more. There were two more fearow closing in on the twins.
"Kristine!" Jason tackled Kristine to the ground, protecting her as well as himself from the impending attack.
"Machoke!" Machoke leapt over the twins just as one of the fearow closed in. Machoke used a well timed Thunder Punch at the beak of the fearow, sending it flying away before it crashed to the ground.
"Fearow!" the second fearow screeched, trying to gain altitude after quickly deciding to abandon its attack.
"Choke!" Machoke used his strength to grab the fearow, slamming it to the ground. Pikachu followed up with Thunder Shock to ensure the fearow was down for the count.
Jason got back up as he helped his sister.
Kristine looked up at even more fearow preparing their attack. She grabbed Jason's hands, squeezing them tightly.
"We will get out of this," Jason assured her.
"We have to," Kristine responded with bravery. "If we die, we'll be in so much trouble."
Kristine gave a quick kiss on Jason's forehead. They were both scared, but they knew they had to combat fear with courage. She then let go of his hands and turned around to see more than a dozen fearow racing towards her side of the perimeter.
"Alright everyone!" Kristine commanded. "Fire everything you have at them!"
Espeon, Pikachu, and Snorunt all fired projectiles from Psybeam to Thunder Shock to Icy Wind. More fearow were knocked out of the sky, but more kept coming.
Jason's side encountered the same situation. Many fearow were attacking the perimeter, and while Jolteon used his newfound move to zap several fearow out of the sky, combined with Kirlia, Rowlet, and Growlithe doing what they could do to fight off the attack, more fearow kept coming.
One fearow closed in, only to be smacked to the ground by a powerful swing from the Magikarp-wielding Riolu.
"Rowlet!" Rowlet unleashed a powerful Razor Leaf at the fearow. The attack wasn't effective, but Rowlet hoped it would at least slow the fearow down. With one big push to project the leaves, Rowlet could feel her strength increase. Suddenly, she began to glow.
"Dartrix," Jason muttered. It was always a good feeling, an accomplishing feeling, to see a pokemon evolve. It was a feeling that would remind both Jason and Kristine the commitment and passions of being a trainer.
The glow ended, revealing the taller, more elegant evolution of Rowlet - Dartrix.
"Dart!" Dartrix unleashed another Razor Leaf at the fearow.
"Jolt!" Jolteon fired bolt after bolt, making sure no fearow would come close to Jason and Kristine.
All pokemon who had ranged attacks kept firing off projectiles. While fearow were being knocked down left and right, it seemed they were replaced by two more fearow.
There was a major problem - exhaustion. Pokemon could only fire off so many attacks. As Jolteon harnessed the power of Thunderbolt, it depleted a lot of energy. Such was the cost of using a more powerful move.
"Jolt!" Jolteon began panting as he struck down yet another fearow.
"Espeon!" Espeon fired another Psybeam, striking a fearow head on. Even she was getting weary.
"Uh oh," Kristine began to brace herself as the fearow that were left unscathed from the ranged barrage came inside the perimeter.
Then came the huge mess in close quarters. More than ten fearow in total swarmed inside the perimeter.
"Fearow!" A fearow's glowing beak struck Machoke. A second fearow's wings ensured Machoke was down for good.
"Machoke!" Kristine got Machoke's pokeball ready, returning him for his safety.
"Dart!" Dartrix attempted to fire off another Razor Leaf, only to be struck head on by a fearow. Dartrix fell to the ground, unable to continue.
"Dartrix, return," Jason recalled her. "You did excellent. Stay safe."
"Sno!" Snorunt projected Icy Wind at close quarters, slowing several fearow down. One managed to close in on her, unleashing a flurry of unrelenting attacks. Snorunt tumbled over and did not get back up.
"Snorunt! No!" Kristine recalled her.
More fearow began to swarm Growlithe. As several attackers came right on top of him, he fired Flame Burst, knocking them all away. Another fearow's Wing Attack was all that was needed to bring him down.
"Growlithe!" Jason recalled him.
"Karp!" Magikarp used Flail to knock one fearow down as Riolu continued to hold him.
One fearow dove down, aiming at Riolu. It approached behind Riolu, as neither he or Magikarp noticed. With one critical hit with Drill Peck, fearow knocked the wind out of Riolu, rendering him unable to continue and sending Magikarp flopping about.
"Riolu, return!" Jason recalled him.
Just then, a fearow grabbed a hold of Magikarp by its beak.
"Karp karp karp!" Magikarp used Flail, striking back at fearow until it fell over, letting Magikarp go. But Magikarp didn't flop around; it was clear he was unable to keep battling.
"Magikarp! Return!" Jason recalled him.
Jason was down to just Jolteon and Kirlia. Kristine still had Espeon, Pikachu, Fletchinder, and Dratini on the field.
"Dratini!" Dratini used Flamethrower to scorch several fearow, while using Thunder Wave to paralyze three more. Two fearow were quick to overwhelm him, using a flurry of attacks to bring him down.
"Dratini! Return!" Kristine recalled him.
"Fletch!" Fletchinder became overwhelmed by three more fearow. He lost consciousness after several direct hits from Drill Peck and Wing Attack. Kristine recalled him before he hit the ground.
"Jolt!" Jolteon zapped yet another fearow. He was clearly drained.
If there was any sort of good news, it was the fearow attack seemed to be letting up. Dozens were paralyzed or knocked out across the field. Still, Jason and Kristine had a combined total of four pokemon able to defend them, with many more fearow still circling about.
"Pikachu, charge Jolteon!" Kristine commanded.
Pikachu ran over towards Jolteon, using Thunder Shock to empower him. "Chu!"
"Jolt!" Jolteon used Thunderbolt to strike another fearow, using the electric charge from Pikachu to bolster his energy.
With Kirlia using Life Dew in efforts to energize everyone, it seemed the remaining pokemon were holding off the fearow for a brief moment. Then one fearow used Agility and soared right at the group at low altitude.
It found an opening in the weakened perimeter, with Jason as its target. With glowing wings, it closed right on him. Jason turned his head and body, only to be struck directly in his torso.
"JASON!" Kristine shrieked.
All four pokemon turned to see what had happened, and immediately fired Thunderbolt, Thunder Shock, and two Psybeams to bring that fearow down before it prepared for another attack.
Jason slammed to the ground on his back. Kristine slid on her knees, pulling her backpack off her shoulders to render him aid.
"I think I broke a rib," Jason coughed. It was obvious it was hard for him to breathe. The impact had to have been so powerful.
Kristine lifted his shirt up. His entire left torso was beaming red.
"How bad is the pain?" she asked him.
"It's sharp when I try to breathe," Jason responded. "How much did that fearow weigh?"
Kristine prepared a potion with an injector cap. "On three."
"Sis, you know how I feel about those."
"One!" Kristine quickly injected the impacted area.
"You said you were going to count to three!" Jason snapped. It was already easier for him to breathe.
Kristine smiled. "I know."
Jolteon, Kirlia, Espeon, and Pikachu were doing their best to combat the remaining fearow. They were still outnumbered, and they were all on the brink of fainting from exhaustion. They couldn't do anything to fill the gaps that some of the fearow were trying to exploit. One landed just a few yards shy of Jason and Kristine.
Kristine noticed the fearow was approaching her and Jason. She held his hand to squeeze it briefly and gently. "I got this."
"You're gonna fight that fearow?" Jason asked as Kristine got up.
Kristine assumed a fighting stance. "Yes."
"Fearow!" the fearow charged at Kristine.
"Jump Kick!" Kristine performed a high kick, perfectly timed to strike at the side of the fearow's beak. The fearow flopped over, clearly knocked out.
"Did you just yell out Jump Kick?" Jason wasn't sure how to react, but was impressed Kristine easily dispatched a fearow.
"Maybe," Kristine smiled and blushed.
A second fearow came crashing down nearby, struck by Jolteon's Thunderbolt. Jason turned his head to see Jolteon flat on the ground, clearly spent on energy. But to his relief, whatever fearow that remained seemed to retreat.
"I think the fearow have given up," Jason announced.
"Not this one," Kristine maintained her fighting stance, seeing the fearow struck by Thunderbolt managing to get back up.
"I got your back," Jason said to her.
"I got this!" Kristine assured him. "You stay right there!"
Jason knew Kristine was more than capable of handling herself. He had already felt bad for being struck, given that terrifying shriek from Kristine that he would never forget. If Kristine were to be seriously hurt from this, and if there was something he could have possibly done, he would have never forgiven himself.
Jason took his seventh pokeball, the unoccupied one that was formerly Swellow's. As the fearow began to charge at Kristine, Jason tossed the pokeball as he attempted to capture fearow.
"What the," Kristine was ready to defend herself when a pokeball projected the fearow into it.
It wobbled around as Kristine turned to face her brother with a look that expressed "Seriously?"
"We're doing this together," Jason leaned up.
Then, the ball stopped wobbling. Fearow was captured.
"Well, now you have a fearow," Kristine turned to face the pokeball and approached it.
The rest of the fearow retreated. The four remaining pokemon were relieved. All across the field were dozens of fainted fearow.
"We did it," Kristine laughed. "We actually freaking did it!"
The twins began recalling their pokemon.
"What should we do now?" Jason wondered.
After picking up Jason's pokeball, Kristine walked over to sit down opposite of Jason, using her back to support his. "How are you feeling?"
"I can try to get up. Maybe we can get my ribs checked out."
Just then, several individuals emerged and began scouring the field.
"What in the name of all things good just happened here?" an overweight man with dark skin looked around, approaching the twins.
"Hi!" Kristine smiled and waved. "Things happened."
The man laughed, revealing a large gap in between his front teeth. "Things sure happened all right. Let's get you two fixed up pronto. We'll worry about the details later."
Kristine got up, helping Jason up and using her body as support.
One of the surveyors walked up to the man while two more were tending to Jason and Kristine. "Look at them all, John. Even with twelve pokemon, those fearow are heavy hitters."
"We got a couple very powerful trainers," the man replied. "Half the trainers who fought me wouldn't last ten seconds out there. I'll have to think of something challenging for them."
And so Jason and Kristine were helped down the slope back on the trail. The individuals, presumed to be from Team Gale, intended to take them straight to Kenalta for further treatment.
Whatever had enraged the fearow, it was done so for some purpose. Rafael headed west, not forgetting Kristine's face.
"Sir," the female colleague addressed him aboard the helicopter. "You think the fearow took care of them?"
Rafael smirked at the question. "If they were half as giddy and stubborn as James, we'll be seeing them again."
