Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or its characters.
'I've always watched your back… from our first encounter, your confidence overwhelmed me, inspired me. I envied you. I resented you. I… I admired you, Brendan.' A single tear slid down, leaving a slightly darker line on his cheeks. A terrifying curtain of grey vapor engulfed Lilycove's shore; a sultry and suffocating scent crept over Wally senses, forcing him to cover his nose with a sleeve, however despite how unbearable and sickening this mist is… Something else is responsible for making his stomach twirl, his throat tightens with an ill sensation. 'You can't be that man from my memories. You cannot be the light that always inspired me… Who are you?'
Wally stared at the giant pillar a few meters away from him, standing tall in the sea. He tried to swallow a lump that is stuck on the back of his mouth, the tried so hard to make it go away, but it would not go down. "BREEENDAAAN!" He shouted loudly. Pained, confused and angered. He shouted as loud as he could, it was the only way to unstuck the words from his throat.
Those words resonated in the air, reaching Brendan like a bullet. He did a complete spin of his body, his grey right eye and his now red left eye stared frantically at the green-haired man. "Wally…" He whispered softly through his gritted teeth.
With reckless abandon, Brendan rushed to the edge of the pillar. Gritting the heel of his shoes against the hard rock, he slid down the tall structure and as he got fairly close to the sea level, he launched himself forward, landing on the shallow waters of the beach.
The tall and dark silhouette of Brendan's form appeared from behind the hazy fog. In a way, Wally felt like he was staring at a form of a monster; a distorted and disfigured shadow that he can barely recognize. "Have you lost your mind?" Wally said out to the wind. "Can you even explain all of this?"
"I don't have to explain myself, not to you… Especially to you." Brendan's voice echoed from the white curtain.
"You don't… After all that crap on the TV and your crazy behavior." Wally scoffed nonchalantly. He did so to appear composed and strong, but in reality, his friend's words startled him deeply. "I really don't want to do this, you know. But if you don't budge… you will leave me no choice."
A crazed laughed stormed from the other side, Brendan's shadow crocked down as if he was holding his stomach, bending down as he laughed even louder. "Oh please, tell me. What will you do if I don't budge?"
The mocking tone coming from the other trainer got to him, Wally frowned, he gritted his teeth and stepped inside the fog, walking forward and forward, until he crossed to the other side getting face to face with Brendan. "I will have to beat you down and drag your sorry ass back home." He said dead serious face; He raised one Poké-ball in front of him and dared Brendan to do the same.
"You're welcome to try." Brendan pulled out a Poké-Ball of his own; he shot a piercing glare to his long-dated rival, the glow from his left eye startling the green-haired young man even more. "But you know how this ends." With a flashy light, a gush of violent winds came to life. Layla's strong wing-beats created this relentless stream came like a storm, blowing the fog away and clearing the entire beach from the steamy cloud coming from Groudon's area.
"Tch, I will wipe that smirk out of your face." With a powerful swing of his arm, Wally tossed his Poké-ball forward. A gallant Talonflame coming out of the ball, steadily beating its wings in the air.
Silence filled the atmosphere around them, for a few moments both experienced trainers only stared at each other, waiting for a simple movement from one another to react. Brendan's lips curved, twisted in an evil grin. Wally, in contrast, is frowning, his hands trembling with hesitation and somewhat excitement; despite the circumstances, he had long made his mind about battling his rival once again.
"Talonflame, use Brave Bird." - "Layla, use Brave Bird." They shouted in unison.
Blue, grey, and red feathers scattered up high, the flying Pokémon clashing head to head with the same attack, making an unsettling sound as they hit each other. Talonflame was faster and covered a lot more space in their engage, but Layla is stronger, despite the difference in their size. When the powerful Swellow bashed her head against the fire bird, the impact of their trade of blow ended-up pushing the Talonflame backward, him flailing his wings dizzily.
"Talonflame, ascent at max speed." Wally gave the command. 'If we can't take that Swellow head on, then I just need to…'
With a loud cry of his melodious voice, Talonflame flapped both wings faster and more decisively, turning his body and attention to the sky above him. Layla gave a quick glance to her trainer, receiving back a simple and short nod from him, she then flew in pursuit after her opponent. As before, Talonflame is faster, flying at almost double the speed of the other flying Pokémon, he quickly reached the first clouds, hiding behind them and the scorching sun's light.
Wally carefully watched as Layla approached the same cloud Talonflame went through, his lips curving in a triumphant grin. "Bring that Swellow down." He whispered just to himself, knowing that even if he shouted his voice would not reach his Pokémon. But even in whispers, his words caught Brendan's attention, who after hearing them looked upwards with a troubled expression.
Before Layla could enter the white ocean of clouds, Talonflame dove down, surprising the blue bird with a sneak attack. Cloaked in bright red flames, the red bird clashed against the Swellow's bare back, critically landing his Flare Blitz. Burned feathers and body, the small Swellow closed her eyes in pain. Without beating her wings against the air, she began to free-fall, rapidly coming down towards the sandy ground.
"It seems that my Talonflame is better trained than your Swellow." Wally said. The young trainer is delighting himself on the taste of victory. "To blindly follow your opponent and let your guard open… This battle was already over before she knew what hit her."
The little taunt had little to no effect on Brendan. He practically ignored Wally presence and continued looking upwards, watching as Talonflame flew down toward Layla, either to finish her off or to stop her body from hitting the ground. "You're wrong in two points." He replied back, finally taking his eyes down to Wally. "This is far from over... And Layla is far smarter than you know." He casually moved his right arm, and with his index finger, pointed up into the sky.
Layla continued to fall down, just waiting until Talonflame was close enough to not be able to escape. Then with a complete twirl, the Swellow flapped her wings with fierceness, charging at full speed onto the red bird. Talonflame tried to stop and do a complete turnover, but this proved to be the worse course of action as he casually turned his back to his opponent, letting the blue bird dig her sharp talons onto his feathered back. With a powerful, even mean, peck; Layla grabbed Talonflame's neck and forced his entire body down, immobilizing any movement he could do. Using the weight of their bodies as an accelerator, the Swellow dive-bombed against the sand, crashing the red flamer on the beach without any compassion. Then, as nothing had happened, she flew away from her opponent, gliding casually next to Brendan.
"You can't win. There is a basic difference in level between us." Brendan clenched his chest, he felt the unbearable fire inside of him dance in joy with his words; a sick or perverted sensation in his heart, craving for more… more of Wally's hurt expressions.
Talonflame slowly got back on his feet, shaking his head from side to side, shooing the dizziness away from him. "Like you said…" Wally gave a little sigh of relief as his Pokémon flew next to him, more than ready to continue. "This is far from over!" He stepped forward and pointed at Layla. "Talonflame, you are faster than her. Let's prove that you are also stronger!"
With a loud and confident cry, Talonflame raised himself higher in the air and charged against the Swellow again.
"Evade his fire plumes and attack his vulnerable spot again." Brendan ordered and Leyla cried in reply. The blue little Swellow instead of meeting her opponent head to head again, flew away from his grasp, graciously evading any and all attempts to strike her down.
"Flying away? That is your strategy?" A light scoff escaped the green-haired trainer. "I can see that difference in level, alright." Wally was ready to throw another mocking comment at his rival's way, but he stopped before he could. Something is not right, with Brendan or with him. He can feel it clearly as he can see the blinding light of the ranging sun on top of them; Something is leading them by the nose, making him behave like a frustrated child again. "Brendan, I don't think-"
Brendan let out a snort, interrupting his rival in his sentence. "Heh, this was not what I meant with a difference in level. Although, with the first glance I already knew that Layla is stronger than your Talonflame." And Wally who was ready to stop this stupid fight, swallowed back his words and is now glaring angrily at his friend. "What I meant really, is the difference between us, as trainers. Let me prove that to you." He pulled another Poké-Ball out of his pockets and hurled it with a full swing of his arm, directly at Wally.
In a quick response, Wally tossed the first Poké-Ball he could find; both round objects meeting each other in midair, first simple sparks came out of them which rapidly turned into bright flashes of light. Brendan's powerful and prideful Sceptile landed on the sands with his leaf blades raised and ready to battle. A big Garchomp, bigger than the normal ones, landed right in front of the green leafy lizard, staring him down menacingly.
"In our days as raising trainers, we used to fight in multi-battles, take as many opponents as possible in a single match." With a chillingly calm voice, which doesn't match the expression in his face. Brendan slowly strolled to the side, reminiscing about the past. "But there was a catch to that, remember? We only tackled multiple weaker enemies, because would be too hard to direct and guide your team in multiple battles against a skilled trainer." He pulled another Poké-Ball, a devious smirk showing on his face. "Wally, you really think that you can stand as equal to me? Then prove it!" With his third Poké-Ball flying in the air, Brendan called another member of his team. Violen, his stern-looking Gallade landed right in front of him.
"Fine… I will prove to you." Wally matched Brendan's Violen with his own Gallade. Deep inside of him he still knows that something is wrong, that he should stop this before it gets out of hand, but that voice of reason is now only but a faint whisper in the back of his head. "Garchomp, jump onto his weaker side and use Dragon Claw."
The blue ground dragon swept in, cutting the winds with his large fins.
"Ekissu trade stances and push him back with your Leaf Blade."
In simple but very efficient pacing of his legs, Ekkisu pulled his right foot back and stepped forward with the left one. This one simple action made the structure of his pose stands perfectly in place to swing his left arm at full force. And so he did, his large green arm-blades glided in one swoop, clashing against Garchomp attack and bashing the dragon backward.
"Take his footing away from him, with an Earthquake." Wally commanded.
Garchomp looked for support on his strong legs and sprang himself into the air. Falling down with a mighty stomp, the blue dragon created a shockwave, small yet compressed enough to shake the earth beneath him. A thick line formed on the sands, as the land was giving out, digging down; this strange line darted ahead, aiming precisely on the Sceptile's direction.
"To your right and then up." Brendan shouted hastily. Ekkisu followed his words by heart, barely evading the line, and then jumped over the mess of rock and sands that exploded where he was standing. "Leaf Storm and follow with Giga Impact." In a flash of green, a torrent of sharp leaves flew from the lizard's long tail, going at high speed at Garchomp. As the ground-shark Pokémon occupied himself with the task of blocking and evading the storm of green blades, he opened himself to a powerful strike coming from the Sceptile's right foot that landed square on his chest.
"Just don't fall!" Wally shouted, he bit his lips in anticipation and then gave a little sigh of relief, when his Pokémon withstand the heavy blow, despite the screaming pain pulsating from his chest. "Now is our chance, after a Giga Impact, he won't be able to dodge like before. Mow him down with a Crun-"
"AERIAL ACE!" Brendan's voice echoed high and loud. Soon a swooshing sound came from above them. A red and grey bird came crashing down on the sands, with a swift Swellow sweeping very close to him.
"Tch, Talonflame get behind the wind flow with Tailwind." Talonflame jumped from the sand and created a small whirlwind, blowing sand away, and flying high in the air again.
"From left to right, break him with X-scissor." Ekkisu who was still standing next to Garchomp, slashed from the left and then from the right, making a deadly cross with his leafy arm-blades. The dragon growled in pain, falling down to one knee.
Wally cursed at himself for forgetting about his injured blue dragon. "Garchomp just disengage, create some distance with Stone Edge." With a pained cry, Garchomp raised himself to his feet and did a small jump backward, a large and sharp stone raised from the ground, getting between him and the Sceptile.
"Violen, two steps forward and use Fire Punch. Then three steps backward and Stone Edge."
"Gallade walk forward and grab-" Wally tried to counter, but before he could finish his sentence, a fiery punch had already struck his Gallade in the face. He then could only watch as a small pillar of stone erupted from bellow and throw his Pokémon partner in the air, making him fall on his back, next to the water.
"Cut that stone down and push it forward." Brendan said pointing to Garchomp. Ekkisu promptly slashed the stone in half with his blades and with a quick spin jump, swung his massive tail against the upper-half, hurling the thing against the tired dragon.
"Punch that away!" Wally said with a bit of panic, large drops of sweat already running down from his cheeks. Garchomp made the movement to punch the projectile away, but the strength in his arms was not enough. Instead, his left arm-fin bashed against it, a strange sound coming from his limb as the dragon cried loudly in pain.
"Destroy his current with Steel Wings and finish him with another Aerial Ace." Brendan's attention once again turned back to the sky where the two birds are fighting.
"Talonflame, break the current and meet her head-on with Brave Bird."
"One last X-Scissor!"
"Wha-"
"Evade to the side and pursue him at your full speed; focus his back with Brave Bird."
"Dammit." Hopelessness, a cold sensation of defeat crept down, taking over Wally's senses. At each time he tries to think of a proactive move, Brendan has already one in motion. When he tries to counter and shift the situation to his favor, Brendan changes the focus to another battle around them and steals the first move there. It feels impossible to compete as if anything he tries will only speed up his own defeat.
"Violen, he is standing up again. End the fight with Close Combat."
"Aim for his arms, PSYCHO CUT!" A mighty shout escaped from Wally. The green-haired young man closed his eyes and clenched his hands. He shouted more out of reflex and desperation rather than doing it for a concrete purpose.
With a muffled thud, Talonflame fell down on the sand again, but this time the red and grey bird Pokémon staid there, whimpering and totally out of combat. Garchomp resisted the best he could, but the damage from that Giga Impact, together with the pain on his left arm was too much for the dragon and he also fell down to the ground, unable to stand up again. On the other end of the beach, a shrieking noise echoed from the sea. Water splashed everyone, a Gallade fell with his back and is now floating unconscious on the surface… However, that Gallade is Violen.
"Call me impressed… You actually managed to take one down." Slowly clapping his hands, more in a mocking way, Brendan shot a cold glare to his rival. He then silently called his Gallade back and then his Swellow, back to their Poké-Balls. "At least, now you know… the difference."
"Shut up…" Wally said lowly, holding his head down and his arms trembling.
"What was that? I can't hear-"
"SHUT UP!" Jerking his head up, the green-haired trainer shot his rival a fierce glare. "I hate you…" He painfully said between his gritted teeth.
"Hah, how grand of you." Brendan chuckled, holding his right hand on his forehead.
"I-I… I don't hate you, dumbass…" Wally's arms fell to the side. He looks hurt by his own words, more so than from Brendan's behavior. "I always… I always wanted to be like you. For all this time, I admired you."
Brendan looked at him shocked, his cocky smirk disappearing and that unpleasant scowl that has been plaguing his features today came back to him. "Be like me?" He asked quietly, sounding almost disgusted by that. "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME!" He stomped forward, shouting so loud that a vein appeared on his neck.
"Yeah! I don't know you. I don't know you anymore…" Wally growled. He looked past Brendan, to the massive Groudon wreaking havoc on that cave far in the sea. "Look at all this… Look to that monster behind you. Hell, Brendan, take your eyes to the sky and see for yourself what you're doing." He sighed weakly, taking his eyes back to the image of his old rival. "I don't recognize my friend anymore."
"Friend? Heh… Hahahaha! Say, Wally, even for a day, did you really considered me a friend?"
"…"
"As you said before. All I represented in your life was a challenge to overcome, some sort of model standard that you wanted to achieve." Anger filled Brendan's voice again, filled his mind, making him step ever so close to the edge of madness. "If you want to be like me so much. Then try for one day, one fucking day, to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders."
"You really are the worst… I've never met someone so full of themselves." The mood around them got worse. Wally silently strolled closer to Brendan, holding his fists tightly closed. The green haired trainer is feeling himself being carried away by anger and resentment. His reasoning slowly slipping away, his vision turning red as he glared at his rival.
Ekkisu tried to step in and get in front of Wally's way, but Gallade walked over and tackled the Sceptile away. Both Pokémon stared at each other, throwing sharp glares and ready to pounce into one another's throat.
"Maybe I am." Brendan once again chuckled, this time carrying even more spite in his mocking action. "But at least, I am true to my own path. Instead of being a pathetic excuse of a man like you. A mere nobody, chasing after my shadow."
"You… Ugh…" Wally stopped thinking; he only let his body speak for himself. His left arm disappeared from his side, flying like the wind; his fist came from bellow and smacked Brendan on the left side of his chin. "I really hate you right now."
Contrary to what was expected, there was no immediate response. Brendan held his chin with one hand, silently staring at Wally. No rage, no anger and not a single trace of madness in his eyes; in truth, he looked sad and disappointed, probably with himself. "I didn't mean to… Wally, I am so sor-" A soft sound came from the sand next to Brendan's left leg, it was a measly little sound which only him heard, but in his head, it echoed like the thundering sound of a storm.
THUMP- A powerful sound echoed from the background; the sea began to shake again. A large burning red figure popped up on the corner of Wally's vision.
Brendan slowly shifted his gaze down and his eyes met the sigh of the red orb, shining like a beacon, calling for him. The next sound that broke the silence between them was the sound of Brendan's right fist exploding on Wally's left cheek. In a swift reply, the green-haired young man spun around, swinging the back of his hand onto his rival's face.
A pained growl and annoyed hiss were all that came from Brendan. He grabbed his rival by his left arm and pulled him closer, meeting Wally's lean abdomen with his right knee. Wally gasped, spit, with a faint tint of red, flying out of his mouth; He tried to pull himself away from Brendan, but the grasp on his arm is tight, impossibly tight, holding him still on place. With little other option left, Wally swung his head back and forward, his green-hair whipping on the air wildly as his forehead clashed against Brendan's right eye.
THUMP- With each passing moment, the dreading stomping sounds become louder and louder. A creeping shadow enlarging itself at the beach, the tip of its higher-end, now almost reaching the trainers.
"Brendan, enough of this!" Wally yanked his arm away. He took a few steps back, breathing hard and fast; his eyes locked on the burning titan that has reached the shallow waters next to the dry sands. "You have to stop that-" Like a wild Pokémon, Brendan leaped from his spot, throwing his own body against Wally.
Like two raging boulders, Brendan's fists exploded on Wally's face; one punch after another, jerking the green-haired man's face to one side then to the other. He looked down to his rival form with just one bright red eye, his right one completely useless at the moment as it is being shut by a swelling bump. He then held both hands together and smashed them against his rival's chest. Wally growled loudly, his eyes widening as the air escaped his lungs.
'Stop…' A little whisper, one simple wish that got crushed inside a giant turmoil of inner screams and loud thoughts.
THUMP- Sand, and rocks flew high in the air. The entire beach is now covered by the shadow of Groudon and despite the red giant blocking the sunlight, the heat only got worse.
With a strong push of his arms, Wally managed to shove Brendan back enough to free his legs, enabling him to kick the other man away. He slowly crawled away, going as far as a nearby rock, the one created by Violen during his battle. A terrifying chill ran down his back, Wally bewildered turned away from the sandy ground, his body freezing with the sight right in front of him.
THUMP- Groudon is here. The burning living lave of his body is creating a strange form of lightning that is blurring the sight of the man standing right in front of him. Where once stood Brendan, now is only a dark silhouette, dark figure created by the bright of Groudon flames, hiding any features of the man standing there, the only visible and colorful thing about him now is the red shining glow of his left eye.
'Please… Stop!'
"Bren… dan… Argh!" A swift kick hit Wally in his chest, sending him sliding down on the sands.
Brendan dashed in, delivering another powerful kick on his downed rival. "You have no idea how much I hated myself because of you… YOU!" He went in for another hit, but a desperate Gallade jumped on his back, wrapping both of his arms on the trainer's neck. As the weight of the fighter Pokémon settled on him, Brendan did a fast spin of his body forcing Gallade out of him but grabbed the Pokémon by his neck before he could fall down completely.
Seeing the insanity of everything, now even Ekkisu jumped on the back of his trainer, with his weight he forced all three of them to fall face down on the sands. Groudon roared loud in rage, he bent down and grabbed both the Sceptile and the Gallade, tossing them to the other side of the beach.
Brendan stood back on his feet, biting his lips so hard that he drew blood out of them. He eyed the green-haired man and took a hard step towards him.
"What are you doing?! That guy is your friend!" Zinnia appeared out of nowhere. She latched herself onto Brendan, binding him in a frantic, desperate hug.
"Aarrgh, for fuck sake. Get away from me!" He brutally shoved her away from him and proceeded to push her even further with a hard hit of his fist on her chest. What happened next, changed everything.
With small tears sliding down from her eyes, the draconid woman stepped away from her lover. The expression of fear and shock vivid on her features, the way she looked at Brendan as if he is some monster… broke him.
Red vanished from his iris, the omega pattern fading back into nothing as the grey returned to his eye. "Zinnia… I- I didn't mean to." Brendan took a single step in her direction, his hand reaching out for her, which made her cringe and take a step back herself. Salamence fell down from the sky, landing between his trainer and her lover. The blue dragon did a long sweep with his tail, bashing it against Brendan's chest, tossing the brown-haired man into the air.
"What… are you doing?" Wally hissed in pain, grabbing his left side with one hand, as Zinnia kneeled next to him and pulled him up.
"Just shut up, before I leave you here." She ignored his little protest and his pained grunts. With a forceful pull of his arm, Zinnia helped Wally to find support on her shoulders and began to drag him toward Salamence.
"W-Wait." He tugged her arm and pulled her back. "My Gallade… I have to get him."
"I got it; we will get him. Just stop squirming." She pulled him with force again, this time pushing his body on top of her blue dragon. She jumped next to Wally, getting ready to fly away, but stopped to look at Brendan who is kneeled down on the sand, looking at her with an empty or emotionless eye. "I'm sorry Brendan… I can't see you like this. It's too much for me." She tapped Salamence on the base of his neck, signaling for the dragon to take off.
A terrible whooshing sound glide above Brendan's head, a dark and lengthy arm extended itself pass him, burning veins of lava pulsating on the raging limb. Without a noise to make his intentions clear, Groudon advanced forward in a wild bloodlust, reaching ever so close with every intention of squashing those two like bugs.
"STOOOOOOOOOOOP!" The words that were stuck deep inside his chest finally exploded from Brendan's mouth. His voice startling Zinnia, Wally, and even Salamence. All of them turning their heads to him, just to see the nightmarish sight of Primal Groudon inches away from them.
The glimmering sunlight shone at the length of the pure white and sharp massive swords that are Groudon's claws. In his rampage, the Legendary beast was more than ready to kill everyone who stands in his way, but with Brendan's desperate shouted, the red flaming mountain stopped his claw before it could reach his targets.
"Just stop this already…" With the orb in his hands, a darkened and dead orb, Brendan bent forward, pressing his face against the sand surface, soft moans escaping his lips as he tried his best to suffocate the vile thoughts coming to him from that cursed thing in his hands. "Leave… Go away." He directed these words to the woman he loves, despite how painful it is to say this, it would be even more painful if she got hurt again and now because of him.
Zinnia clenched her fists and bit her lips. She wanted more than anything to just jump back down and run right into his arms, to comfort Brendan, to protect him. However, the piercing glare from Groudon is ever so unsettling, despite him stopped his attack, the giant Pokémon still is eyeing them with murderous eyes. She tapped Salamence again on his neck, the blue dragon ascended to the sky and did one last dive on the other side of the beach, taking an unconscious Gallade with his forward paws, right before vanishing far right into the sky.
"After all that hurry, you will just stand here?" Silver asked, curiously waiting for Ethan's response.
As Silver commented about, they arrived in Lilycove a few moments after Groudan had started rampaging in his primal form, yet Ethan has chosen to just stand by on the grassy hill behind the city, and thanks to the tall trees nobody saw them landing with Lugia there.
"Yeah, I will just watch for now." Ethan responded. The black-haired young man rested his back against a tree, still carefully watching what is happening right below them. "If you want to, you can go there."
"What's the point? Weren't you the one so excited to meet that guy over there?" Silver pointed to Brendan, who is silently walking towards the water, his head hanging low.
"Oh, I am excited to meet him. Even more so after watching him battle like that." Ethan's lips curved into a simple but pleased smile. "But this is not the time. He doesn't need a strange dropping out of nowhere and eating his ear off with a lot of talking."
"Then what was the point of coming here? All that paranoid talking and over-exaggerated thinking about the sun falling down…" Silver sighed, turning his back away from his rival. "What a waste of time."
"The sun is back to normal, is it not?" Ethan responded rather annoyed, shooting dirty glares at the red-haired man's back. "Learn to relax a little, will you?"
"I will remind you again; we are not here for leisure." Silver twirled around, pointed down at Ethan. "Learn to take things seriously, will you?"
"Silver, what does your father really want?" Ethan ignored his partner's fuming glare and asked seriously. "I don't get it… First, he announces their existence to everyone like a blazing buffoon, and then he just throws Kyogre away like a disposable thing, just to walk away with style?"
"That is quite easy, my father would not be dumb enough to make their organization public if it would not benefit him in some way." Silver said in a calm manner, holding his right elbow with his left hand, in his chest height. "Pair a new criminal organization coming to light together with a loose mythical beast and you have the perfect chaos. The perfect distraction."
"If he is using Kyogre just as a distraction. Then what the hell is he really after?" Ethan frowned, taking one hand to his chin. "It scares the socks out of me just thinking about it."
Silver walked closer to the edge of the hill, he eyed the movements of curious people walking over to the beach, more and more bystanders showing up now that everything is over. "Sincerely. I've zero ideas what that shitty old man is after, but whatever it is… We need to stop him." He turned around, his scarlet hair dancing over his shoulder. "Ethan, we have to stop him."
"Aye, and we will. I promise you that." Ethan responded looking his rival directly in his eyes. In all of his life, he never sounded more sincere than now, staring at those bright red eyes.
"Brendan? Hello… is anybody there?" Steven's voice echoed inside the barely-standing cave. The steel-blue haired man borrowed a Wailmer from a local trainer, and used the blue aquatic Pokémon to cross the sea and made his way inside the destroyed place. "Hello?" He called out again, the cracks in the ceiling and on the wall making even more difficult to see the interior from the entrance part with the sun still behind his back.
"I am here… At the end of the cave bit." Brendan responded with a dry, cracked voice.
"Brendan, are you okay? The people outside did say you came here by yourself." Steven stepped out of the Wailmer, jumping into the broken metallic bridge just above the water. As he walked over, he could finally see his friend sitting down on a corner, with his face buried in his knees.
"I came here to search… to see the damage I've done with my own eyes." That last part came with a sarcastic snort from him, a soft sigh coming right after. "I looked all around the first floor, there is no one there. They all escaped or… not. I couldn't enter the lower levels, they are flooded."
"These type of people never give up. I can guarantee you if some of them had a way of escaping this place, then all of them escaped together." Steven walked next to Brendan, and shuffled with the top of his head, messing his wet and dirty hair. "Want my shoulder to cry?"
"Hahah, only you to make me laugh right now…" Brendan looked at him with a curly grin, but his eye is void, empty of any sparkle of emotion.
"What happened to your face? Had a fight with a Zangoose?"
"Someone a bit more feisty than a Zangoose, but something like that…"
"Judging by the look of his cave, all those pillars outside, oh and the scorching sun that was frying the planet; that is important too… You used Groudon and the orb, didn't you?" Steven asked sternly, despite his joking tone, and Brendan responded him with a weak nod of his head. "Where is-"
"They are here." Brendan raised the black Poké-Ball and then the red orb. "Right after… doing so much wrong. I thought of throwing it away, both this damned red ball and the monster it controls." He looked up to Steven, showing a bit of remorse in his face, but a lot of determination as well. "I can't. Groudon is my responsibility, I like it or not."
"Yeah… that he is. At least you told me that all those years ago." The Devon hear, sighed deeply. He feels a pain in his chest for seeing his friend like this, but some problems are for the person themselves to solve and there is no amount of wishing that will change that. "Why don't we go somewhere else? I just got into this place and I am already getting depressed."
"You don't want to know?" Brendan asked weakly, hiding his face again. "What happened? What I did here?" He looked to the Tentacruel crushed beneath the stones and fell ill in his stomach.
"Not now. Not here." Steven tapped him on his arm and extended one hand so Brendan could take support on him. "You can tell me all about it later. First, lets at least wash your face first, you look awful right now."
"Steven… Thank you." Brendan reached for his friend's hand and got back on his feet. After that they quietly strolled over to the Wailmer, not a single word came from any of them as they made their way out of the now truly abandoned base.
"LOOK! It's him!" A teenager girl shouted as she saw Brendan.
"Yes, that is definitely him." Then a sailor man shouted after her.
Brendan lowered his head in shame, expecting and rightfully so, the scrutiny by everyone that is looking at him.
"Our hero! He saved us all." A little boy jumped in joy, shouting louder than everyone else did. "He shooed one monster away and captured the second one. I saw it all, it was amazing."
"I knew it! That talking of the Pokémon League Champion being bad was crazy." An old woman shook her head, a big smile on her face.
One after another, all the residents of Lilycove began to sing their praises, high and loud to the world to hear. They stared at Brendan as if he was made of pure light, more of a savior than a man, a champion they could truly be proud of.
"Look at that. This Rainbow Rocket tried to bring your reputation down, but the people are calling you hero again." Steven chuckled, slapping his friend a few time in his back. "I call this a small victory for the good guys."
This acclamation was ten times worse than aggressive shouts and cursing at his way. Brendan fell ashamed, hollow and terrible. "I don't feel like a hero." He said with a short whimper, his left eye tearing up. 'I am no hero.'
Inside the massive submarine, the entirety of Team Rainbow Rocket escaped from their base, before Groudon could even begin to tear it down. As always, Giovanni's plan went perfectly as he envisioned it, every little bit of it… almost all of it. Only a single thing was missing or rather, someone is missing.
"Has anyone seen Rush around?" Scarlet asked around the vessel to anyone she could find, it was maddening to her, to not find the person she loves most to make fun and torment. She dreads the thought of losing the pleasure of making Rush's life a living hell.
However, while everyone quietly escaped to the bottom of the sea, a key event that even Giovanni's overlooked was happening somewhere else.
Deep inside the destroyed base, one of the rooms still shone with light. Every room on the labs are sealed and protect against anything flooding or accident from outside and using that as an advantage, a member of the enforcers has chosen to stay behind, to never leave the side of his prized possession while their base fell apart around him.
"O… Or…" A faint voice singed inside Rush's head as he ran his fingers around the edge of his mask. "Orb… Orb…" It continued to sing the same word, repeatedly. Desperately trying to convey a message to him.
"I know… I have his strength… No. I am stronger than him." He whispered to himself, smirking like a lunatic, eying the broken mass of blue and red inside the tube. "But I stand no chance against him because of that orb." Rush chuckled, then laughed. Laughed loud and crazy, running his fingers on his hair. "Luckily for us, there are two of those. Two orbs and two beasts… Just wait for me, Brendan. I will crush you and take Groudon for myself. Then we will see who the chosen one is."
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Guest chapter 14 . May 10 – As I said before, I understand from where you came from. I also hate when the protagonist doesn't show his potential when he should or when he loses when you think that he should have easily won. However, sometimes is best if it is that way, it makes the stakes a bit higher, knowing that even the hero can lose.
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DOOT76 chapter 14 . May 10- I was kind of scared when I was writing this chapter, because it went in a complete different turn from what you normally expects in a Pokémon story. Groudoun going all crazy monster and all that, but I am very glad that you liked it.
On the Raz topic, while he is a stronger trainer, he is not the brightest person, so there are stuff he doesn't get in his head and Groudon didn't get to really re-shape the world in the modern era, only the people of Hoenn knows about him and Kyogre, them and people who really are interested in Legendary Pokémon.
I will abstain myself from commenting anything on Deoxyz, because anything, really anything, I say about him would be a massive spoiler. I have really big plans for him and he will be a central point of this story.
Silver and Ethan are up to a lot of things… ;). However, they also will have a big impact on the story, for the time being they are just being casual bystanders, but that will change soon enough. And of course that will tie in a lot with Giovanni and his final plan, just stay tuned and see what is next on the show, lol.
On a final note, I wanted to hide (just a bit) the fact that I am a huge Legend of Zelda's fanboy, so instead of going with a title like Bolero of Fire, I mixed Prelude of Light with Bolero of Fire and went with Prelude of Fire.
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Mr. MogiGaming chapter 14 . May 11 – I know right?
Oh, and I really liked your profile pic. ^-^.