POKEMON HEART SOUL ADVENTURES
Hello, everyone! I'm back!
Real life tries to have its way with me, and playing Super Robot Wars L and Pokemon HG doesn't help along with the writing of this fanfiction... but hey, here is the new chapter! Hope I didn't take too long to publish it!
This chapter features the exciting - hopefully - conclusion to Zoey and her friends' problem of having gotten caught by the enemy, who has just now given them an ultimatum: the tried-and-true "join us or die". How will they get out of this mess? Will they be able to stand up to their opponents' Pokemon?
The answers are right below, so... hope I did a good job!
oooooooooo
Chapter 19 – Zoey vs Jakov
"So..." Zoey murmured, looking at the floor as she tried to somehow wriggle free of the ropes tying the behind her back. "The choice is to either join you, or die? That's what you mean?"
"That's exactly it!" Jakov answered nonchalantly, as his Noctowl nodded, never taking his hypnotic eyes away from the girls. "After all, it doesn't sound like that bad an idea to me! If you join Team Vicious, not only will you have your lives spared and an assured future, but you will also have the chance to obtain stronger and better-trained Pokemon who will obey your every order, and will allow you to take a place among the most feared trainers in the world! Just think about it... you two are Gym Leaders already, are you not?" he turned to Candice and Maylene, who glared at him hatefully as he walked before them, taking another bite out of his cheeseburger. Droplets of ketchup and senape sauce dropped from his meal to the floor as he did so. "Just think how much stronger you'd become thanks to our gift! I know you'll like the idea... And about you... Zoey, was it? Just imagine what a great coordinator you'd become thanks to the Pokemon our leader will give us! You could easily get your revenge on that silly little girl who defeated you at the Grand Festival... and with your skill, you'd easily become a commander, just like me! And since the alternative is to get killed anyway, I'd say you will choose wisely and..."
"I refuse."
Jakov stopped cold as soon as Zoey pronounced these two simple words, and even his Noctowl widened his eyes all the more in surprise. For several seconds, Jakov found himself unable to utter a word due to the shock, and he could only stand there like an idiot and stare at Zoey's unreleanting eyes... then, his sense of humour returning all of a sudden, the fat Team Vicious commander chuckled nervously, pointing at the red-haired girl, who still failed to see what was so funny about the whole deal.
"Heheheee... Hahahahahaaa! Nice one, kiddo! Not bad at all!" Jakov laughed at her. "You're really funny, you know that? For a moment, I actually thought you were about to refuse our generous offer here! But of course you will accept, right? Since the alternative is to get killed here..."
"I'm not joking at all, pal!" Zoey cut him short, trying to stand up as much as her restraints would allow her to. "I will never accept to become a pawn for a bunch of criminals! And I'll never betray my friends' trust!"
"Yeah, I agree with Zoey!" Maylene shouted. "I'll never serve you!"
"Well, that makes three with Candice! Did you actually think Candice would help the people who attacked her town and killed three of the people living there?" Snowpoint City's Gym Leader concluded. "You can forget about it!"
Jakov found himself completely stupefied, to the point where he relinquished his hold on his cheeseburger and caused what remained of it to splatter unelegantly on the floor. "Wh... What... you... you..." the Team Vicious commander mouthed in bewilderment. He was so utterly taken off guard, in fact, that he seemed to be unable to find his voice to order the three girls executed...
Maylene understood that it was then or never, and that she had to strike while the iron was hot. With an angry start, the young pink-haired martial artist stood up and pulled away from the wall, trying to force the knots keeping her tied up... but she quickly saw that it was a very robust kind of rope, and whoever had tied her to that metal handle knew what he was doing. The knots were so tight that the rope wouldn't even move...
"Maylene? What are you doing?" Zoey exclaimed. "You can't just break that rope apart!"
Seeing the pinkette futilely trying to burst free, her teeth clenched and her face taking on a funny red hue, Jakov seemed to regain some of his previous affability and laughed mockingly. "Hohohohooo... now, kiddo, what are you trying to do?" he exclaimed. "You should know that you have no chance of bursting them. Those ropes are far too robust..."
Maylene paid him no heed, and kept pushing and pulling in order to free herself of the restraints... once, twice... and finally, at the third attempt, a terrifying sound of ripped metal struck everybody's ears, and the metal handles Maylene was tied to came apart. sending small peebles and pieces of metal everywhere! Zoey and Candice's eyes widened in disbelief, and both Jakov and his Noctowl's jaws literally dropped! Maylene herself didn't seem to have expected that, and stood gawking at what remained of the metal handles... who soon after slid to the ground, not restrained by the ropes any more, and clattered noisily upon it. The ropes slid to the ground themselves... and the young girl, shaking off her disbelief, turned to Jakov and flashed him a radiant smile!
"But your metal handles? Not enough so, I'm afraid!" she happily exclaimed. In a flash, she grabbed her snow jacket and dramatically tossed it aside, revealing her combat outfit underneath it! Before Jakov and his minions could react, Maylene kicked off her snow boots and charged head on, punching the nearest grunt in the face and dropping him like a sack of rice! Another one tried to grab her, only to be flipped judo-style over the small girl's shoulder... and then Maylene turned her attention to the rest of the grunt, knocking them out in a flurry of quick and accurate blows! Zoey and Candice couldn't help but be impressed with their friend's display of skill!
"Candice.. is very happy Maylene is a friend!" the Ice-type Pokemon trainer commented. There was not much Zoey could answer, except nodding her head while keeping her mouth half-open...
Frightened by the ease with which Maylene was taking out their subordinates, Jakov and his Noctowl took advantage of the fact that the girl was still busy fighting and ran away as fast as they could - not that much, in Jakov's case - towards their office! Maylene ignored them as she roundhouse kicked the last of the Team Vicious grunts into unconsciousness... then, after making sure they were all down for the count, she went over to Zoey and Candice in order to free them.
"Zoey, Candice! Hold on a sec, I'll take care of this..." she said as she began to untie the knots holding her friends. Soon after, both the coordinator and the Gym Leader were free, and they thanked Maylene as they rubbed their sore wrists. The three girls quickly checked to see if their Pokeballs were still in place, and sighed in relief as they noted that it was actually the case! Clearly, Jakov was so sure that they would have accepted his offer, that he hadn't even bothered taking their Pokeballs away, instead settling for just tying their wrists.
"Our Pokemon are still with us... that's good!" Zoey said. "But still... wow, Maylene, you really did a number on those guys, you know? You knocked all of them out, and you're not even winded! That was really amazing!"
Maylene rubbed her forehead and chuckled goofily. "Hehehee... actually, I was trying to break the ropes, but this is good enough, isn't it? And now, let's get outta here! Those guys will soon be hot on our trail!"
"We already are, you meddlesome brats!" Jakov growled, startling the girls. The obese Team Vicious commander had just come back, two Pokeballs in his coarse hands, and his expression a far cry from the serene attitude he had a few minutes before. He was, in fact, mightily pissed that Maylene had made a fool out of him in front of his men... and he seemed to have decided that the only way to redeem himself as a leader was to defeat the girls with his own hands. "Nobody takes it out on my men and gets away with it! You were warned, kids... since you all seem to want to play heroines and you refused my offer, I have no choice but to eliminate you! Bring it on!"
Zoey and Candice were undaunted, as they stepped forward holding one Pokeball each... and just then, Jakov tossed his in the air, allowing two of his best Pokemon to come out: a Slowking, a Pokemon similar to a small pink bipedal hippopotamus with a white underbelly, with a rather vacant expression on his face and a large conus-shaped shellfish biting down on the top of his head, acting like a makeshift crown; and a Slaking, a robust cross between a gorilla and a sloth, with a muscular torso and baboon-like arms hanging almost all the way to the ground, a cold glare and a pair of small fangs protruding from his mouth. Zoey already had some experience with those Pokemon... they were both slow but very powerful, and if Jakov had gotten his place in Team Vicious because of his skill in battling, she knew she was in for a rough battle.
"If you think Candice and her friends will give you an easy time... you're dead wrong! Come out, Abomasnow!" Candice exclaimed. Her Pokeball flew open and let out a simian-like Pokemon, the same kind as those who had tried to attack Zoey's team earlier, as they were making their way up the snowy peaks.
"Maylene! You and Lucario will take care of the other guys! I and Candice will be more than enough for this guy!" Zoey exclaimed, before letting her own Pokemon out. "Gallade, come out! I need your help now!"
Kirlia's alternate evolution materialized in front of his trainer and at Abomasnow's side, ready to face Jakov's Pokemon... who, by their part, tried not to have them deal the first blow, and immediately rushed to attack! "Slowking, use your Flamethrower... on that Abomasnow!" the obese criminal exclaimed, catching both girls by surprise with the fact that a Water Pokemon had learned a Fire-type move. Slowpoke's alternate evolution took a deep breath and shot a large crimson flame towards the Grass / Ice Pokemon... and only Zoey's quick thinking saved Candice's Abomasnow from a very dangerous attack!
"Gallade, get in front of him and use Protect!" the redhead ordered. With blinding quickness, her Psychic / Fighting Pokemon placed himself in front of Abomasnow and created a shimmering energy shield in front of himself, deflecting the flames. Though this gave Slaking ample time to get his act together and attack...
"And you, Slakking... use a Strength attack! Hit them now!" Jakov exclaimed. The gigantic sloth grabbed a huge block of solid rock, raised it above his head and flung it like a ballista shot against both Abomasnow and Gallade. Once again, both Pokemon were only saved by their trainers' quick wits...
"Drat... quick, Abomasnow, use Ice Shard!" Candice ordered, just as the boulder was about to land on her Grass / Ice Pokemon. Abomasnow rapidly pointed her arms at the flying rock and shot a fusillade of ice blades that pierced it and caused it to shatter in countless pieces! Then, taking advantage of the fact that, after that attack, Slaking seemed to take his sweet time getting in position again, Abomasnow took the initiative and charged Slowking!
"Use a Wood Hammer attack, Abomasnow!" Candice ordered. The alarmed Slowking tried to retaliate with a Psychic attack, but he was too slow, and Candice's champion managed to get close to him and deal a violent blow with her right arm, swinging in a circular motion! Slowking grunted as the blow lifted him clean off the ground and threw him some distance away, causing him to land on his back, on the cold, hard steel floor. Jakov gave a short alarmed cry and rushed to his Slowking's side to make sure he was okay.
"Slowking!" the Team Vicious commander exclaimed, surprising Zoey and Candice with his genuine and unexpected display of compassion for his Pokemon. He kneeled down before his Slowking and helped him up, breathing in relief as the Water / Psychic Pokemon managed to climb back up. Then, he glared back at the two girls, his eyes filled with a terrible desire for revenge. "How... how dare you treat my Slowking like that? My Pokemon and my men are the most precious thing to me! I won't allow you to do such things to them!"
These words caused Zoey to feel a pang of compassion for that man, who couldn't have faked all the anguish he was showing then... but after thinking about it for a second, Zoey and Candice felt a surge of rage against the man's hypocrisy, and decided to call him out on that. "Well... aren't you being a huge hypocrite right now? You are accusing us of harming your Pokemon... and what about you?" Candice exclaimed.
Jakov frowned in irritation, "What? What are you saying, little girl? You are talking about my Pokemon, my best friends! You are not allowed to harm them!"
"And that's just what my friend was saying just now!" Zoey accused him, a finger pointed at him. "At first, I thought you were just a cold-blooded killer... but I can see you can feel love and compassion towards your Pokemon and your underlings! Then... why couldn't you spare some of that compassion for the people you buried under the snow?"
The obese Team Vicious executive muttered something under his breath, and then began fighting back with unchanged ferocity! "Shut up, you rugrats! You do not understand the grandiosity of Team Vicious' scheme! A few sacrifices can be made, for such an high-minded cause! Slowking, Slaking... keep attacking, and take out those Pokemon!"
Jakov's Pokemon stood on guard again and got ready to resume their attack, but this time, Gallade and Abomasnow looked more than ready to fight back. "I don't think it will be that easy!" Candice answered. "Use Energy Ball, Abomasnow!"
"Show them what we're all about, Gallade!" Zoey followed up. "Strike Slaking down with Psycho Cut!"
On the opposing side, Slowking's body was enveloped in a pale blue aura, and the Water / Psychic Pokemon's vacant eyes lit up, while Slaking reared back and threw himself at his opponents, ready to deliver a devastating Body Slam! Gallade slashed the air with his arms, tossing a shining arc-shaped projectile at his opponents, but the Slowpoke king tossed a Psychic attack in response and intercepted Gallade's Psycho Cut in midair, causing a spectacular display of light and explosions as the room was shaken by a miniature earthquake. Abomasnow created a glowing sphere of green energy in her massive hands and threw it at the massive sloth Pokemon, who had no choice but to take the attack head-on and grit his teeth in pain... but in the end, Slaking was only slowed down a little, and was able to continue on his way and throw himself at his opponent with all of his weight!
"Abomasnow!" Candice exclaimed as one of her strongest Pokemon flinched... but the Grass / Ice monster was immediately back on her feet, and began bombarding Slaking with her flailing fists, causing the mightly yet sluggish sloth Pokemon to step backwards, using his arms to protect himself. Abomasnow, taking advantage of his slow response times, was keeping him under pressure, and Jakov, his fists clenched at his sides, understood that he was dealing with far more formidable opponents than he had anticipated.
"Curses, I really didn't need that..." he muttered to himself, as his Noctowl, still perched on his shoulder, was intently watching the fight, never allowing himself to get distracted for a second. "The leader won't be happy if I mess this one up..."
oooooooooo
At the same time, in Hoenn...
Rustboro City was pretty different from cities like Littleroot or Petalburg: it was a large, busy metropolis, one of the largest of the continent, not to mention it was where the first Gym of the Hoenn League was located. And that was what had brought Max and May there: the siblings, having just been to the Pokemon Center to let their Pokemon rest after several days of walking through the wild lands, had taken a couple days off to allow Max to think up a strategy to be used against the Rock-type Gym Leader, Roxanne... and now, after getting his team organized, the young boy was feeling pumped up and ready to face the pretty Gym Leader
"So, Max, what's the situation?" May asked, as the two siblings were sitting at a table near a window of the Pokemon Center. Max's team, composed of Mudkip, Poochyena and the newcomers Zigzagoon and Ledyba, was now standing at attention in front of their trainer, and they were doing their best to look determined, though the two rivals, Poochyena and Zigzagoon, were still glaring at each other, seemingly challenging each other to see who would have fared better in the upcoming Gym battle.
"I think I'm reasonably prepared, sis!" the glasses boy proudly said, taking a look at his four Pokemon. "Ledyba's attacks should be able to confuse Roxanne's Rock-type Pokemon and allow me to get somedecent attacks in, while Mudkip's Water and Ground attacks should be able to do the rest. At least, that's my theory...". And Max already knew that theory and practice are one and the same in very few cases.
"Alright..." the older sister said, adjusting her bandanna. In fact, Max's team didn't look like it was that well-armed to face a Rock-type Gym, but knowing her brother, he probably had something in mind to even the odds. "Still, remember this... though I guess you probably already know... Ledyba is extremely weak to Rock-type attacks. You will need to find a way to dodge them, or Ledyba won't be able to last long."
"Yeah, and Rock-type Pokemon are among the best, when it comes to defence..." Max answered. "But don't worry, sis, I've already got something in mind!"
"That's good to know." A familiar quiet and deadpan voice murmured, belonging to a pretty red-haired and perpetually frowning young girl that entered the Pokemon Center right then, joined by a Treecko, a Dustox (clearly, the evolved form of that Wurmple Max had seen her with at the beginning of his journey) and a newly-acquired Taillow. "I do hope you've got a good strategy, because I think you'll need it."
"Wha? Who..." Max asked, turning in her direction. The two siblings immediately turned that way and recognized the one who had just spoken... and who, as it seemed, had cleared Rustboro Town's Gym ahead of them. "Hilde! Imagine meeting you here of all places..."
"I wasn't expecting it myself, so I guess we're even." the red-haired little girl said, almost indifferently, as she allowed her moth-like Pokemon to land on her shoulder. "Still, I can see that you've been seriously training your team. That does give you points."
"I guess I should say thank you, Hilde." Max answered, somewhat miffed. Hilde sure wasn't that good at sweetening pills. "I knew I would have had to deal with a rather tough Gym, so I tried to prepare my team well enough... and not to rely on Mudkip only, as you can see! But tell me, have you faced Roxanne already? How did it go?"
"I win. Just barely, but I won." Hitomi stated, refusing to show pride for her victory. "Dustox and Treecko have both done a great job, but despite my prepations, Roxanne did give me an hard time. She's the kind of person who knows her stuff."
To show that what she was saying was true, Hilde took a case out of her backpack, opened it and showed the golden badge given to her by the Rustboro Gym Leader. "You'd better be prepared for everything, Max. Roxanne can catch you off guard anytime."
"Alright, I'll remember that... but I'm sure my Pokemon will be able to handle her no problem!" the young boy proudly said, giving another look to his team."Right, guys? Are you up to this challenge?"
"Mudkip!"
"Pooch, pooch!"
"Zig, zag!"
"Ledyyy... ba!"
Impassible as ever, Hilde looked at the Pokemon lineup and shrugged, not wanting to reach an hasty judgement. "Well, you seem to be well prepared, at the very least. I wish you the best of luck." she affirmed, before starting to walk away...
"Hold on a sec, Hilde! Don't go just yet!" May gently recalled her. As soon as Hilde turned to her, the chestnut-haired coordinator winked at her and invited her to spend some time with them at least. "How about you come with me and watch how Max does in the Gym challenge? I think it would be a nice idea... and it will allow you two to take a measure of your respective skill! And furthermore, being with friends is never a bad thing, is it?"
Max blinked, somewhat surprised at his sister's suggestion... and Hilde herself looked a little puzzled, not understanding the practical value of what May had just suggested. Still, the young female trainer couldn't deny that it didn't sound like a bad idea, to kill time if nothing else. She looked at her Dustox, who looked back at her with his huge compound eyes and moved his wings in an almost begging way, as if saying that he wanted to witness this fight as well.
After considering the idea for a few seconds, Hilde finally shrugged. "Alright, don't see why not. At least this way I'll know what to expect of you, Max." she answered, trying to sound as cold and detached as possible.
"Very well!" May exclaimed. "Then, as soon as we're ready, we'll head to Roxanne's Gym! I'm sure it will be an exciting battle!"
"Whatever you say, sis..." Max sighed, before turning his thoughts back to the upcoming battle. This was a very important moment... his first battle in a Gym! The idea both excited and frightened him. Sure, he knew that his strategy was going to make things a little bit easier, but at the same time, it was such a special occasion that it was only to be expected that he was so tense.
"Alright, guys, soon will be the time to give it all we've got! I'll do my best to make you win, so... please, try to do the same, okay?" Max told his Pokemon, each of whom nodded in assent and psyched himself up for the upcoming battle...
oooooooooo
"And so, now you've got a Rhyhorn in your team as well, huh, Brovk?" Ash asked his friend, as the Rock-type expert received his Pokemon from the Nurse Joy of Knot Island. Finally, things seemed to be back to relative normalcy, and when Ash and his friends, Charizard and Charla included, had come back to the Pokemon Center, they had been greeted by enthusiastic cheers and congratulations for having saved the island! And the fact that the group who had quenched Moltres' fury also included an Elite Four, even one from another league, was further motive for excitement. Several hours had to pass before Ash and his friends could finally get away from the crowd and reach the Pokemon Center to let their Pokemon rest.
"Yeah... I'm glad to have met him and become friends with him." the young Rock-type trainer stated. "That will be another step on my road to become a good Pokemon breeder."
"You haven't given up on this dream, I see..." Misty said, smiling in approval. It had been some time since she had heard Brock talk about his ambition, and she was happy to know that he hadn't abandoned it. After all, now that she had gotten a second chance of making one of her dreams come true, she was not going tolet it slip through her fingers...
"Well, the strange weather seems not to be an issue anymore. BUt there are still things we have to think about... especially that guy Ashy-boy has met some time ago." Gary stated, recalling everyone's attention on the current problems. "Say, Ash, how did you call him? The Iron Masked Marauder, or something like that?"
"Yeah, that was like... three years ago, during my journey through Johto. He's a former member of Team Rocket who decided to strike out on his own, and he was trying to capture Celebi, a Legendary Pokemon who controls the flow of time." The winner of the Sinnoh conference answered. "He used these Dark Balls to capture Pokemon and cause them to turn violent and cruel... but I thought he had been rendered powerless after his defeat, and instead, now we're facing him again... he's even founded his own criminal organization, now..."
Dawn wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, and he's got J firmly in his camp... I really don't like where this is going, and we have no idea how strong his organization is." she stated. "Guys, don't you think they might have been responsible for what happened to Snowpoint City?"
"It's hard to say, my friend..." Phoebe answered, massaging her forehead. "But it is quite likely... I just wish we knew more of their MO, so we'd have a better idea on how to fight them..."
"We still managed to repel them for now, right?" Ash asked rhetorically. "They will at least take some time to regather themselves... and we'll be ready for when they'll be back! After all, I don't think J's machine will be repaired that quickly..."
"And speakking of J, I'd like to know how she managed to survive... I was sure she had died during our last confrontation with Team Galactic..." Brock stated. "Still, I fear we'll be facing some difficult times. Now that we've interfered in their plans, I don't think Team Vicious will leave us alone."
"And there's another thing I have to wonder... that is, what Moltres did before disappearing." Phoebe commented thoughtfully. "There's something that escapes us here, because I don't think a Legendary Pokemon ever did such a thing... well, I'll have to look into this when I'm back to Hoenn's Pokemon League HQ. What about you guys, what do you think you'll be doing now?"
"Well, for now, I think we'll continue our journey in Sevii." Misty answered. "Team Vicious has probably left some other tracks in other islands, and if we keep searching, we might be able to find a few more clues about their plans."
"I think it's a good idea." the Ghost-using Elite Four approved. "If that is the case, I can only wish you the best of luck, and hope enough light is shed on this mystery."
Ash cleared his throat, before calling for the attention of the pretty island girl. "Still, miss Phoebe, there is something I'd like to ask you before we go. If it's not a bother to you, of course..."
"Well..." Phoebe answered with curiosity. "I don't think it will be, Ash. Tell me, what is it that you wanted to ask?"
Ash chuckled and scratched Pikachu behind an ear. "I'd like to ask if you would kindly have a match with me, before we take off to the next island." Ash said. "I and my Pokemon would like to see how we would fare now against an Elite Four, that's all!"
Pikachu's cheek sparkled with lightning, showing how eager he was to take on this challenge. "Pika pika... chuuu!" he squeaked, ready for everything. Even Charizard, his reptilian eyes flashing with determination, raised his head and grunted an affirmative. "CHAR!"
Phoebe seemed to think about that for a second, before smiling and nodding. "Well, I've got no problem with it at all! To be fair, after seeing the way you were fighting, I thought you would be able to give me an exciting fight... which I haven't had in a while!"
"Why was I sure that Ash would have asked that?" Dawn chuckled, knowing very well that Ash would never have missed a chance to have a Pokemon battle against a tough opponent...
Misty shrugged. "That's Ash Ketchum for you..."
"Alright then, miss Phoebe! So... I guess we can battle tomorrow, after our Pokemon are well rested!" Ash answered, before remembering an important issue. "By the way, now that I think about that... Charizard, what will you do from now on?"
The Fire / Flying Pokemon turned to his former trainer, meeting the inquisitive gazes of pretty much all members of his group of friends. "It's actually a smart question, which is kinda rare for Ashy-boy..." Gary said in a vaguely mocking tone, which earned him an annoyed glance from Ash. "Anyway, there is a small problem with that. After all, Charizard, you've been living in Charicific Valley for quite some time, and... well, from what I can see, you've also got yourself a girlfriend! If you wanted to go back to travelling with Ash, you'd have to leave some things behind, right?"
Charizard seemed to be well aware of that... and so did Charla, who was standing near him, looking at her boyfriend with some sort of saddened pride as he turned to her. In a touching moment, the two dragon-like Pokemon looked at each other straight in the eyes, exchanging a silent promise before warmly hugging each other, knowing they would see each other again.
"Char, char... charrrrr..." Charizard said, gently holding Charla's hand in his.
The female Charizard nodded, understanding what her companion meant. "Char! Char charrrr... zard!"
"Char!" Charizard stated, before hugging his girlfriend again. There wasn't really any need for translation there - it was obvious Charizard had told his beloved that he would be away for a while, but that he would soon be back, and they would stay together!
Dawn smiled, feeling a little misty-eyed. "Awww, have you seen them? They are so sweet..."
"You're right..." Misty stated, smiling gently herself. "They look like a couple of Pokemon cubs at their first date!"
"I'm definitely not an expert on dating and stuff, but even I have to admit they're really cute!" Ash answered, himself touched by that display of love and tenderness between two Pokemon that, only a few hours earlier, had been fighting tooth and nail against a frenzied Legendary Pokemon, and holding their own against him. Now, they almost looked like two diffent Pokemon altogether...
"When the right time comes, we'll see by themselves how love can change people..." Brock commented with a wistful sigh. He stepped aside as he saw Nurse Joy coming closer... and the usual symptoms of love-at-first-sight appeared on his face!
"You're absolutely right... after all, love is a feeling that us humans and Pokemon have in common, don't you agree?" the young pink-haired nurse commented with a dreamy expression... which quickly turned to confusion as Brock quickly got in front of her, got on one knee, and held her hands, sparkles lighting up all around him!
"That's just what I was thinking, my fair Joy..." he began, in the latest of his attempt at conquest! "And since, as you said, love is a feeling that connects humans and Pokemon so tightly, how about we try to estabilish a link between us two..."
*ZZZAP!*
Before Misty could intervene and drag the Casanova-wannabe away by his ear, Croagunk, the fastest Poison Jab in Sinnoh, popped out of his Pokeball and struck Brock's rear end, causing him to painfully stiffen and fall to the ground, his face humorously contorted in pain and shock! Then, still keeping that half-grin on his face, the toad Pokemon dragged his hapless trainer away as Brock was still trying to mouth cheesy declarations of love to the latest object of his affections, and both Charizard and Charla sweatdropped at the sight!
"Hehehee... don't worry, Charizard, I'm sure you'll get used to it eventually!" Ash commented with a light chuckle.
oooooooooo
The battle of Zoey and Candice's Pokemon against Jakov's Pokemon had been dragging for quite some time, without a clear victor in sight - both sides were too skilled to allow any attack to come close. Gallade's Signal Beam was deflected by Slowking's Amnesia. Slaking's powerful Crush Claw was blocked by Abomasnow's strong arms. Neither side could get a substantial hit in - and Zoey was getting somewhat nervous about it. She and her friend had to finish the battle right then...
"Alright, then I'll have to make sure the next attack is also the last!" the red-haired coordinator muttered to herself, deciding that it was high time to pull out all the stops. "Gallade, let's wrap this up! Usa Sword Dance... and then strike down Slowking with a Leaf Blade! Now!"
Jakov grit his teeth. "Tch... Slowking, get ready to defend yourself, and strike him down with Ice Beam!"
The Psychic / Fighting Pokemon quickly pirouetted in place, and green sparks began glowing on his forearms as Gallade charged head-on towards the enemy in front of him! Slowking crouched low and took aim with Ice Beam, a sphere of glowing white energy forming inside of his mouth... and Candice and Zoey looked at each other in understanding.
Jakov, on the other hand, smirked maliciously as Gallade got closer and closer to his Slowking, savouring the moment when the mighty Psychic / Fighting Pokemon would fall to his Slowking's Ice Beam... in fact, he was so sure that everything would go smoothly that he was caught completely off guard when Zoey gave her next order, waiting just for the moment when Slowpoke's alternate evolution was about to unleash his Ice attack!
"Teleport, Gallade! Now!"
"WHHAT?" Jakov exclaimed, his cocky demeanor soon turning to horror. "Wait! Stop it, Slowking, hold your attack..."
But it was too late to stop the attack, and the crown-wearing Pokemon breathed out a freezing energy beam just as Gallade vanished in a flash, and the Ice Beam passed between Candice and Zoey, causing them to shiver from the cold, before slamming on the wall behind them and covering it in a thick crust of ice, just as Candice was issuing a new order to her Abomasnow!
"Abomasnow! Hit Slaking with Wood Hammer!" the pretty Gym Leader exclaimed. The Ice / Grass Pokemon's arm was wrapped in an otherworldly green aura, and Abomasnow quickly closed in to attack Slaking, who smirked and got ready to counterattack...
But Gallade chose that moment to pop back into existence, right behind the sloth Pokemon!
Abomasnow and Gallade struck together, and the giant sloth barely had time to register surprise before Gallade's Leaf Blade struck him in the back, making him reel and causing him to drop his guard and let Abomasnow's Wood Hammer strike him in the chest! Slaking grunted in pain and surprise as he was lifted clean off the ground, before dropping down with a loud crash!
"W... What?" Jakov shouted as his Noctowl furiously beat his wings in protest. "I... I thought you had chosen a different target each, and you both attacked my Slaking instead!"
"Sorry, pal... we don't make it a habit to play by the ruleswhen someone is trying to kill us!" Candice shot back as Abomasnow and Gallade turned to face Slowking, who was beginning to feel like throwing the match. Without Slaking to back him up, thing looked difficult indeed...
"I think you should just give up now." Zoey told him. "And to give up your plans as well, or we aren't going to take it easy on you."
"Tch..." Jakov snorted as he recalled the fainted Slaking in his Pokeball. "Do you actually think you can threaten me and get away with it? Team Vicious... is the new rising star in the world of Pokemon training! There is no way we can be defeated by a bunch of schoolgirls like you! You've forced me to retreat for now... but don't think for a second it will end like this! We will claim all Legendary Pokemon for ourselves! Noctowl!"
The owl Pokemon hooted again, took flight with a simple clap of his wings and lit up his huge eyes, unleashing an Hypnosis attack which forced Zoey, Candice and their Pokemon to avert their eyes in order not to be stunned. Jakov immediately took advantage of the chaos to recall Slowking as well and run away, with a speed that belied his girth. The alarm echoed inside the secret base a few seconds lster, and Noctowl interrupted his Hypnosis to join his master, leaving Zoey and Candice behind to watch helplessly.
"Darn, he's getting away..." the Ice-type Pokemon expert muttered.
"Let him go, we don't have any business with him anymore..." Zoey answered, rubbing her sore eyes. "What we need to do now, is make sure Team Vicious can harm nobody else... by the way, where's Maylene?"
"Darn, you're right..." Candice said immediately after recalling her Abomasnow in her Pokeball. "We'd better go look for her, I hope she hasn't gotten herself in some sort of trouble..."
"Ya-HAAAA!"
"Hey, watch it!" Zoey exclaim in alarm, hitting the floor and dragging Candice down as well, as a Team Vicious grunt literally flew over their heads and landed in a stunned heap in the middle of the room, five-pointed stars orbiting around his head!
Candice sweatdropped. "I stand corrected. I hope she hasn't gotten those guys into somekind of trouble..."
The two friends ran in the direction the defeated grunt had come from, finding themselves following a trail of knocked-out and stunned grunts and Pokemon who had fallen victim to Maylene and her Fighting-type Pokemon. Sounds of fighting came from a distant room in the maze of corridors, which the two girls immediately tried to follow. Finally, they ended up in a large computer room, where Maylene and two of her Pokemon, her Breloom and her Lucario, were mopping up the last few remaining stragglers. The pink-haired girl had just flipped a grunt on his back using a spectacular aikido throw, while her Breloom and Lucario had their hands full fighting a Weezing and a Golbat respectively. Not that it lasted long, though - Lucario concentrated for a brief moment and used a powerful Psychic attack on his opponent, hitting the giant bat with a shining stream of energy coming from his head. Golbat was hit by the psychic shockwave and slammed on the levigated stone wall, while Weezing was caught and knocked out by a lethally accurate Stone Edge attack from Breloom, who waved his right arm in front of himself and created a shockwave, causing countless pieces of stone to rip out of the floor and slam on the Poison-type Pokemon. The computer room seemed to be clear now, and Maylene, failing to resist the temptation of doing something crazy to celebrate her victory, leapt in the center of the room and raised her fists in the air in an heroic pose. Lucario bowed like a karate fighter, and Breloom lightly tipped the mushroom hat he had on his head, like a samurai...
"Aaaaaalright! We got 'em all, guys!" the small Gym Leader exclaimed loudly. "Are we great or what? Hey, Zoey! Candice! Have you given the fat guy the what-for? Well, then I guess they won't bother us anymore for today!"
A few shocked moment of silence later, Candice put her hand to her forehead and chuckled good-naturedly. "As Candice said before, she's really glad Maylene is on our side!" she said. "Well, that aside... Maylene, do you happen to know whether this is the hideout's main computer?"
"I guess so..." Maylene answered, turning to the largest of the terminals, with Lucario and Breloom by her sides. On the screen, a complete map of Sinnoh was visible, red dots blinking over some regions to mark places of interest to Team Vicious. "But... I think I have to let you deal with it, because I know nothing of these things..."
"I don't know if we really are more qualified..." Zoey answered as she started to study the map in front of her. "First off, we'd have to understand why on Earth these regions are highlighted... though I can guess these are the places where theLegendary Pokemon are located. Those are the three main Sinnoh lakes... Mt. Coronet... and even a certain region in the north, near an active volcano called Stark Mountain..."
"Heatran." Candice said, having already heard about that particular place. "Team Vicious also seeks to capture Heatran, and I can see they've already located him... but as for the Regi trio, they seem to be searching blind. Pity, if only we knew how to use this thing, we could discover something about Team Vicious, and maybe even predict their next move... well, guess we'd better leave that to the police. For now, what really matters is, we've stopped Team Vicious, and they will not cause any more trouble around here!"
"Yeah... Snowpoint City is safe, at least..." Maylene said. "Though I'm afraid they will soon be back. At least we've bought some time, though."
"True... for now, there's nothing more to be worried about!" Zoey said, running a hand through her hair. "Okay, girls, now let's call the authorities and make sure this place gets investigated on!"
"Right!" the Gym Leaders unanimously answered as they flashed Zoey a thumbs-up. The red-haired coordinator did likewise, her thoughts staying to her friend who was in a far away place.
"Are you dealing with these Team Vicious guys as well, Dawn?" she asked herself. "If that is the case, my friend... please, be very careful. These people are really dangerous..."
oooooooooo
Not too far removed from where the battle with Team Vicious had taken place, a colossal ice behemoth, walking in a slow, ponderous pace towards a destination only known to him, stopped suddenly and looked in the distance, towards an horizon swept by howling, frigid winds, an hollow and desolate landscape that would have frightened even the most seasoned mountaineer.
If anyone could have read his thoughts, he would have known that the mysterious ice golem felt like a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders, and that he had a few mere humans to thank for that...
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's note: And that's about it for now! Zoey and her friends have won, for now... and in the meantime, Max is getting ready to tackle his first Gym!
Guess I can leave you with a preview for next chapter: does Ash facing Phoebe in a three-on-three battle sound good to you? We'll see how our plucky hero fares against the latest Elite Four! Up until then, hope you're satisfied with this chapter, and... see you soon!