Pokemon Heart Soul Adventures
I apologize for the long wait, but real life has been a cruel mistress to me... hopefully, I can churn out new chapter faster, after I'm done with a few real life problems. Anyway, this chapter sees some of our favourite characters make a comeback, and you can bet that there will be quite a lot of action as Drew and Solidad decide to take the fight to Team Vicious!
Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
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Chapter 39 - Drew and Solidad
The malicious little creature giggled to herself, slipping from one hideout to the other like a lizard, in the cave she had ran into to escape the victims of her latest pranks. Once again, her tactics had worked to perfection - her cute appearence had thrown everyone off, and she had managed to slip inside a Pokemon Center and use her powers to mess up the machinery for a good twenty minutes. And even in all that chaos, those foolish humans had never even imagined that she might have been the cause of all that... simply for the fact that humans never suspect of someone who is cute and appears friendly. How stupid they were, and how easy it was to deceive them...
Still, the cruel little creature thought with a disgruntled frown, it was all too easy. It gave her no ore satisfaction to deceive those fools, except for a fleeting satisfaction at having shown to be smarter than they were. It was starting to become very boring... if only she had managed to cause greater damage to something or someone, it would have been a lot more fun... but alas, the chance never presented itself. She was not satisfied with the two-bit prnks she was used to play on humans ever since she had first set foot in the outside world... she wanted to do more damage, and make more people suffer...
As she strolled through the galleries, searching for something to amuse herself with, her evil glare stopped upon what looked like apair of huge iron doors, bearing a symbol resembling a mirrored capital R... a gate of sorts, barring access to the caverns beyond and stimulating the evil Pokemon's curiosity. Surely it was the work of humans... which meant it must have been the work of human beings, obviously. Maybe there were quite a few people around there, ready to be played a terrible prank upon... maybe that was her golden opportunity to amuse herself with them.
Giggling again, the malicious imp slowly crept towards the iron doors, already cooking up some dastardly scheme... when a sudden, low noise on her right caused her to hesitate, and to slip back inside her hideout, waiting for the threat to go away.
She was not surprised to see a bunch of men and women, all wearing uniforms belonging to some kind of criminal organization like Team Rocket or Team Galactic. She had never been interested in joining one of those, they were too rigid and incompetent for her own tastes. But this time... this time, things were different... so, as soon as the individuals got close to the iron doors and entered, the evil Pokemon slipped behind them and, convinced nobody could see her, followed them inside a small corridor, trying to think of what sort of terrifying prank she could play on that bunch of fools. Maybe she could burn the main generator with a Flamethrower, or mess up the water supply with a nice Psychic attack. Or maybe use Attract on their male Pokemon and cause them to fight among each other... this all sounded very amusing, and yet, the malicious little Pokemon didn't think it would really have satisfied her. No, she wanted to do something original and more grandiose... a disaster the likes of which she was never able to create as of yet...
"Security, we have an intruder. A Pokemon slipped inside our hideout by following our steps. Proceed and capture."
One of the grunts, speaking in his communicator, caused the little Pokemon to jump up in surprise, widening her cruel little eyes, and she immediately started looking around, searching for a way out. She tried to run the opposite way, and after hiding herself between the rocks, she waited for a few minutes for the sound of steps to ebb away, before slipping away into another corridor, hopefully to a safer haven. She was so frantic in her attempts to escape, that as soon as she emerged on the other side of the passage, she failed to notice a bunch of live wires extending for the whole width of the passage, and inadvertantly touched one.
The effects were immediate, as a powerful electrical shock coursed painfully through the Pokemon's body, enveloping her in a dazzling light! The small creature shrieked in pain before falling to the ground, twitching in shock and feeling her senses leave her already. In the confusion of the moment, she was barely able to make out a tall, grey-haired woman walking up to her, nonchalantly avoiding the trap the small Pokemon had just fallen prey to. The woman stopped in front of the stunned Pokemon and glared at her with sinister interest.
"Hmm... a Togepi, huh?" J said to herself, as she looked at the small Pokemon. Had anyone been close enough to look at her, he or she could have seen the hint of a cruel smile on the woman's lips. "Still... there's something quite different about this Togepi. I've never seen such a grim expression on the face of this kind of Pokemon... this could really be interesting! As they say, every cloud has a silver lining."
"To... ge... pi..." the evil Togepi chirped, struggling to stand up. But the electrical shock had completely stunned her, and she couldn't even move one of her short arms to stand up or use one of her attacks. She could only lie there as her sight faded, while J called for a few Team Vicious grunts.
"Men... take this Pokemon and bring it to the labs." J ordered to a bunch of minions. "This particular Togepi looks like it has a lot of potential... it will either fetch us a bundle or be useful to our plans!"
"Yes, Miss J!" the evil Togepi managed to hear, before fainting...
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"Okay, guys, this is it! Piplup, use your Aqua Jet... and you, Mamoswine, intercept it with Ice Fang! Go!"
Piplup, Buneary, Ambipom, Mamoswine, Togekiss and Pachirisu, scattered in the courtyard of Quest Island's main hospital, were giving their all during that training session, with Dawn cheering on them and giving instructions with energy and confidence. Obeying his trainer's order, the penguin Pokemon shot out an high-speed stream of water, which travelled across the ground... and as soon as the water blast was close to Mamoswine, the mammoth boar swung his oversized ice-encrusted fangs in an arc in front of himself, intercepting the attack when it was only a couple inches away from him! The water immediately froze, taking the shape of a pretty ice sculpture in the shape of a soaring bird that flew for a while, kept aloft by the Aqua Jet's sheer speed... and then fell to the ground and shattered.
"Ugh... ooookay, that was hardly my best idea..." Dawn commented to herself, while a sweatdrop poured down her head. Even Piplup seemed to agree, seeing how he was rubbing his head with one of his wings. "Alright, guys, just forget about this one, I'll have to think of another trick. Man, I'm kinda short on ideas, lately... and I have all the time I want to think about them, too..."
Buneary got close to her trainer and looked at her in sympathy. Dawn had spent the last threedays stuck in bed, and this was the first time she had been allowed to get out, using a wheelchair to move around. Luckily, the blue-haired pre-teen had no problem admitting that she would have taken her time to heal and have her leg casts removed, and she wasn't too much in a hurry. But it still didn't change the fact that being stuck in a wheelchair and needing to be helped in so many everyday activities might have been vexing to her.
Misty, standing close to her Sinnoh friend and watching her training with the utmost attention, tried to be supportive. "Well... don't feel down about that, Dawn. I do have some experience with setting up a Pokemon show, and I can tell you that it isn't exactly the easiest thing in this world. If only you knew how much my sisters have been pestering me with all their reccomandations and 'useful' tips..."
Dawn giggled in amusement as she picked up her Buneary and her Pokemon gathered around her. "The more I hear you talk about them, the more I look forward to knowing them!" she affirmed. "They sound pretty cool... and they might give me a few pointers for my next competition too!"
Misty winced and made a comically disgusted face. "Ugh... no, Dawn, you really don't want that!" she said with a short laugh. "Hehee... those busybodies would just give you one of their foolish tips... but speaking of competitions, there's something I just thought of now. That rival of yours, Ursula... aren't you afraid she might be spying on you as you train your Pokemon? She doesn't seem like the kind of person who would be above that."
"Well... I think she would do that too, Misty. With all due respect for Ursula, she did once try to take advantage of my fear of Plusle and Minun in order to defeat me in a competition. Yeah, she's the kind of person who would make use of tricks to get her way." Dawn admitted. "But... no need to worry, I already thought of that! As long as we're here, she won't have a chance to spy on me!"
Misty blinked in confusion as her friend winked and clapped her hands in order to recall her Pokemon. "Okay, guys, we'll try out something different... for the next contest, we're going to blow everyone out of the water!" the blue-haired girl exclaimed, as her Pokemon were getting ready for another go.
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Ursula rubbed her forehead in annoyance as her Pokemon, her Gabite first and foremost, placed themselves orderly before her, waiting for the training session to begin. That wasn't exactly the placewhere the rich heiress was hoping to begin training: she and her Pokemon were now in the hospital's opposite wing, in a small square surrounded by lush pine trees... and above all, far away from the place Dawn was training at, which meant she wasn't going to have any chance to spy on her rival and get ready for what she was preparing for the next competition. And all thanks to a certain trainer that had volunteered to keep an eye out on her...
"Look..." Ursula grumbled, staring at Gary and his Blastoise, who were standing guard on the other side of the square, smiling in self-assurement. "Is it really necessary for you to stand guard over me? You're not exactly helping me concentrate on my training!"
"Nor on Dawn's training, for that matter." the young Pallet Town researcher answered ironically. "Sorry, but we aren't exactly trusting you. Let's just say we're here as a security measure, just in case you decide to play dirty. Nothing personal, okay? It's just because you can never be too careful. Don't worry, I'm not going to tell Dawn anything about your training either. Just pretend we aren't even here."
Ursula shook her head in resignation, muttering something to herself. So much for a chance to spy on Dawn, that would have been her best chance to do so. Oh well, she had no need for such tricks to get the upper hand on Dawn anyway! She was Ursula, for crying out loud... and she *was* going to show that ditz who the best coordinator in Sinnoh was!
"Alright then..." she finally said, her eyes lighting up in determination. "If that is the case, I'll show you just what my Pokemon and I can do! Vaporeon, Flareon! You're first up... come on, guys, we have to give it all we've got if we are to win the next battle!"
Both Eevee evolution cried out their names in assent and placed themselves in front of their trainer, side by side, as Ursula began trying to think of a combination she had never attempted in the past. There were quite a few ideas running through her head, but none of them was particularly brilliant or original. For now, the best thing would probably be to concentrate on improving her Pokemon's speed and teamwork...
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Not too far away from there, Ash and Brock were giving their own teams a good look... and Brock, in particular, had finally managed to know something more on the strange move that his Gible had used in more than one occasion. The small dragon was happily pacing about, picking up fruit from some small trees and eating them without a care in the world, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Ash and Brock were talking about him to Lance.
"Seeing that Pokemon use that move surprised me quite a bit..." the dragon tamer admitted, casting a glance at the seemingly oblivious Gible. "It's a move I have only seen used by very powerful or promising Dragon-type Pokemon... it's called Draco Meteor, and it's really powerful, but the user tires out very quickly when it uses that."
"Well, we kinda saw that... when we were trapped in that cave, Gible used that move, and helped us clear the way." Ash commented as he nursed his casted arm. "So... what do you think, Brock? I think you can be proud of your Gible, this means he's a first-class specimen! I just wish I had captured him myself... hehehee... huh? Hey, Pikachu, where are you going?"
"Pika pika!" the electric mouse turned to his trainer, pointing to the wandering landshark.. He probably wanted to keep the small Pokemon out of trouble by keeping an eye out for him.
"Hmm... okay, just don't get too far away from here!" Brock answered, and when Pikachu gave him a thumbs-up with his small left hand, the young aspirant breeder nodded and turned back to Lance, curious to know something more. "So, Mr. Lance... you think this particular Gible is particularly talented, compared to others of his species? But... what is it that determines whether a Dragon-type Pokemon can learn this move, and how could Gible learn such a powerful move if he grew up in the wild? At least that I know of..."
"I'm not sure about it... The Pokemon's happiness is surely an important factor in it, but it's not the only one. As for what concerns the way he learned it... even here, there isn't really an answer I can give." Lance answered. "There still are a lot of things we don't understand about Dragon-type Pokemon, and I can't say that I know everything about them myself. As you can plainly see, they are a very mysterious kind of Pokemon..."
"Of course..." Ash answered, thinking it was bad luck on his part that he never had a chance to catch a Pokemon of that type. Maybe he should have thought of doing that, one of these days... maybe a Dratini or something like that. "Well, speaking of something else, Mr. Lance... what are you going to do now? One of the gems is in our hands, but Team Rocket has the other two, and we have no idea what they want to do with those..."
Lance tried to assuage the young trainer. "Don't worry about that, Ash... as long as the Sapphire is in the Kanto League HQ, nobody will be able to get close to it without authorization." the Kanto and Johto champion answered. "As for the rest, well... rest assured that we'll do everything in our power to keep those criminals under a close watch and make sure they won't be able to harm anyone. Lorelei and I will be discussing things tomorrow already, as soon as we're back to HQ... and Miyu and Homura will be with us as well."
"Thanks, Mr. Lance, we'll be counting on you as well." Brock answered. "For what concerns us... as soon as Dawn can get out of the hospital, we'll return to Pallet Town and see what's the best thing to do. I'm afraid Team Vicious and Team Rocket have us in their sights now, and they won't let up until they've gotten rid of us somehow. I think that, as soon as we've recovered a little, the best thing to do is to go back to our journey and return to other places we've already been to. I think even the Legendary Pokemon living there might be in danger."
Lance nodded seriously. "Yes, I think that would be wise to do. Alright, since Johto is my responsability as well, I'll try to take care of susppect movements in that region too... but I hope there will be no problems for a while. I dare hope those criminals need to reorganize themselves, after such a large-scale operation. So... yeah, I guess you will have some time to get some rest."
"Alright... thanks for your concern, Lance! We'll make sure to put our time to good use!" Ash answered, looking at Pikachu and Gible, who were playing around in the proximities. The electric mouse was helping the landshark reach an apple hanging from an high branch, climbing up the trunk and using his forepaws to knock the delicious fruit off the tree. Smiling from one ear to the other, the dragon picked up the apple, then waited for Pikachu to get down, split the apple in two parts, and gave one to Pikachu, who accepted gratefully.
"Pika pikachu!" the electric mouse answered gratefully, understanding that it was a very significant gesture from the ravenous little dragon.
"Gible!" the little dragon answered, as Ash, Brock and Lance looked at him from a distance, smiling at the funny scene.
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Drew and his Roserade took a quick look at the green-haired boy's wristwatch, seeing that it was almost 3 o' clock in the afternoon. If he knew Solidad as well as he thought, she wouldn't take much longer to show up, and she's probably even be a few minutes early. She had always been a very accurate person, especially when it came to being on time.
In fact, the green-haired coordinator didn't have to wait much longer. His Roserade looked up, as if saying that he was expecting that to happen... and then, a gust of wind shook the treetops, and Drew looked up as well to see a large, majestic Pidgeot sweeping down upon the cleaaring, using his large wings as a parachute, fallen leaves and clouds of dust being kicked up as he descended. Drew smiled to himself and shifted just enough to avoid being blown off his feet by the wind, waiting for the Flying-type to land, and for the pretty rose-haired girl on his back to raise her glance and greet him.
"Hey, Drew!" Solidad greeted, calmly combing her hair in place. "Good to see you again! I tried to get here as quickly as I could... hope I'm on time!"
"Bang on time, Solidad! Just as you use to be!" Drew answered as his friend from Kanto dismounted from her Pidgeot. Solidad affectionately scratched Pidgeot's head before recalling him in his Pokeball and hugging her young green-haired friend. "And it's great to see you again after so much time!"
"Same goes for me, Drew, really!" the young girl answered, detaching from Drew and clearing her throat. Sadly, those happy moments would have to wait for now... they had met to face a threat that was looming over their common friend, and other people as well. "Although, I wish we could meet again in better circumstances... as you told me by phone, May seems to be in a bit of a pinch."
"That's what I think." the boy answered, while his Roserade bowed to Solidad like a perfect gentleman. "As I said... I think that those who are manipulating her are holding Max hostage. That's the only reason I can think of for her behaviour."
"Me too." Solidad answered seriously. "But there's a problem about that. Do you have any idea where to start looking for the people who took Max and May? Or do you think they'll be the ones to come for us?"
Drew nodded slowly. "I already have half an idea how these criminal teams operate..." he stated. "I think they are actually looking for me and want to capture me, probably to force me to work for them. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think that this is the reason why they sent May against me. She knows me better than any other member of the organization."
"Yes, I can imagine that..." Solidad nodded, understanding her younger friend's reasoning. "Which not only means that I could be a target as well, but that those scoundrels have probably kept their eyes on us for a long time now. I'm afraid we are dealing with dangerous people here."
"That's why I decided to ask for your help." Drew admitted. "And just to top it off, even Harley recently disappeared, and I'm willing to bet my shoestrings that it was May who captured him and delivered him to those people. We have to act with extreme caution."
Solidad nodded again as the two of them began walking towards the nearest city. "Of course. If that is the case, the best thing we can do right now is prepare a trap for those criminals." she said, analyzing the situation in her own way. The young Pewter City resident had shown herself to be quite adept at analyzing the situation and coming up with countermeasures on the fly during her contest against Drew and May, and she was doing the very same thing here. "They surely won't attack if they see we're together. We need to bait them somehow... one of us walking on his or her own should do... and as soon as they show up again, or rather, as soon as May shows up again... the other will pop up and take our opponents off guard. Hopefully, that should allow us to discover more about all of this."
"And at best, we will also be able to rescue May and Max." Drew stated, ignoring his roserade's knowing gaze. "Sounds simple yet effective to me, but we have to pick the right moment."
"That's true..." Solidad affirmed... before smiling cunningly to her friend. "Hey, Drew, is it just me, or you're kinda worried about our... friend? You're good at hiding what you truly feel, but I like to think I know you well enough to see through a facade... am I right?"
Caught off guard by the elegant Pewter City coordinator, Drew was unable to "strike a pose" and widened his eyes in surprise for a second, but he was soon back to his previous tranquil, aloof expression. "Ah-ehm... Solidad, you are a smart girl and all, but I'm afraid you're looking too much into it." he answered, knowing what his friend was referring to. "I'm simply concerned over a friend and a worth opponent, that's all there is to it."
"Okay, I won't inquire further!" Solidad answered with a short laugh. However, she soon turned serious again, knowing that this was no joking matter at all. "Alright... I guess we can save the jokes for later, we have to think of a plan right now."
This time, it was Drew who first got an idea. "As you just said, we need to entice those people into attacking us again." he commented. "So, I could be the bait. They'll probably send May to attack me again, and that will be our best chance to confront her and have her explain what's going on. We just need to pick a rather isolated place."
"I think I already have half an idea." Solidad said with a wink. "Okay, I think that will be a great idea. We just need to organize our Pokemon teams and get ready for battle."
Drew nodded, as the two friends continued to walk towards the horizon, determined to save their friend. They were far away from thinking that they were getting involved in something really big...
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May grit her teeth and sighed grimly, as Demitri slowly paced in front of his desk, with Stefan and a couple of grunts close behind as witnesses to the silent glaring contest. It was time for May to redeem herself of her previous failure and to force Drew to follow her the Team Vicious HQ. This time, she couldn't afford any failure. She doubted the young criminal would have taken kindly to that...
But for the moment, all she could do was wait, and hope Demitri was going to be understanding enough to grant her a second chance. For his part, even Stefan was hoping his brother was going to be reasonable and overlook that incident, especially since it wasn't May's fault at all...
The disquieting silence lasted a few seconds more, only interrupted by Demitri's dull, rhytmic pacing. Finally, as soon as May was beginning not to be able to handle it anymore, Demitri stopped in front of his desk, cleared his throat and began speaking.
"Considering your previous failure was due to circumstances unrelated to you... and considering the damage has been minimal... I'm willing to grant you a second chance to capture Drew." Demitri began. "But let it be clear that I won't be as generous next time. Fail this time, and you will never see your dear little brother again. Don't assume Max is indispensable to us, we can always find another trainer."
May frowned angrily, but wisely chose to swallow whatever she might have wanted to say. For now, she had to concentrate on completing her mission. "Yes... yes, sir, I understand. Rest assured I will not fail." she said, her voice faltering ever so slightly. "I will locate Drew and bring him to you, by any means necessary. You can be sure of that."
Demitri frowned and nodded slowly. "Good. That's what I hope for your little brother's sake. Now go, and bring Drew here." he ordered, to which May bowed - albet reluctantly - and began walking away, leaving Demitri, Stefan and their guards alone in the office. The young Team Vicious executive turned to his desk and looked at a few documents lying forgotten upon it.
"Brother..." Stefan began uncertainly. Demitri raised his glance from the papers, clearly annoyed at having been interrupted, and glared fiercely at his brother, as if telling him to make haste. "Do... do you really think May can accomplish this mission? Don't you... erm... think there might be problems?"
Demitri grunted in annoyance. "And why, pray tell, should there be any?" he harshly asked. "May defeated Drew in their last battle, during the Grand Festival. I don't see why she shouldn't be able to do it now."
Stefan thought that his brother was forgetting that coordinator contests and real Pokemon battles were somewhat different, but Demitri didn't seem to be in the mood for discussing, so Stefan decided to drop the issue and proceed with the previous question. "Well... it wasn't exactly a technical question, brother. I know May can defeat Drew, and she can do it again now... I had another question, actually. I think May sees the target as a very close friend, if not more. This could be a problem, don't you agree? She was able to fight Harley because Harley and her have never been on friendly terms, and she might not be that efficient when facing a person close to her. At least... er... that's what I think."
"Well, she'll have to deal with it, if she wants to see her brother again." Demitri cut the discussion short. "And you too... enough of this! I don't like wasting my time."
Stefan wisely chose to shut up, not wishing to rouse his brother's ire... but within himself, he could feel his anger and frustration at his brother's mistreatment mounting ever more. In spite of the fact that Stefan was doing everything he could to help Demitri realize his ambitions, Demitri always treated him like dirt and felt entitled to pick on him whenever something was wrong. It wasn't fair... and Stefan felt that this had to end soon...
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"Darn... what a drag, we've bee in these stinky little cells for hours now, and nobody came to tell us anything..." an annoyed Hilde grumbled, pacing back and forth in her own cell, while Max sat on the floor in an ill manner, sulking and looked despondently outside. The girl, who didn't share her rival's patience, approached the door of her cell and kicked it harshly. "Darn it all! They seem to have completely forgotten about us! What are those scoundrels thinking, huh? I'd like to know that!"
"Kicking doors isn't exactly the best way to get answer, Hilde..." Max answered sarcastically, not even moving from his position. Sadly, the deadpan delivery didn't do much to improve the girl's foul mood, and she turned to Max with a dark scowl on her pretty face.
"So, wise guy, what do you propose we do?" she asked angrily. "In case you haven't noticed, we're stuck here in these stinky cells, and we can't do anything! And as if this wasn't enough, those guys seem to have completely forgotten about us... what exactly do you think we can do?"
"I don't know, but losing our cool won't help." Max answered, raising his glance a little and staring back at his companion. "For now, all we can do is wait and hope things can turn out well."
Hilde sighed in annoyance, but she had to reluctantly concede that her friend was right. Staying there and lamenting the whole deal would not have done any good... she had to keep her cool and wait, even though there were few motives to think it was going to end well at all, between May being forced to work for Team Vicious, and other high-level trainers and coordinators having ended up in the evil syndacate's clutches. With a resigned shake of her head, the girl sat on the ground again, hoping against hope that her friend was right.
Silence fell between the two cells, and the surroundings became deathly calm, without a single grunt getting close, not even to assess their condition or give them a bite to eat. Max was beginning to think things were taking a turn for the bizzarre... wasn't Team Vicious worried about the fact that some prisoners might have tried to escape? What were they thinking?
A sudden jolt, like an electrical discharge directly in his brain, shook the young boy from his reflections, and Max widened his eyes and sat up from his place as if he had been stung by a Beedrill, widening his eyes in surprise and wonder. It was a hard sensation to describe... it was like a sudden, brilliant pain that had shaken him up, but it wasn't actually unpleasant... it was strange, yet conforting at the same time, and it did feel somewhat familiar to the young boy. Who knew what that could be... Max had a few ideas already, but he didn't dare get too optimistic, for fear of being disappointed...
"Hey, Max, you okay?" Hilde asked, getting as close as she could with the bars standing between her and Max. "What's the matter? You seemed to be freaking out there..."
"I'm... I'm okay, Hilde, really!" Max answered. "I just... had a strange feeling, that's all..."
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"Hmph... alright, let's go take a look at these Pokemon... I sure always get the most annoying jobs. I'm beginning to get fed up with this..." Stefan lamented as he walked to the underground levels to check on the Pokemon Team Vicious had captured earlier during those busy days. Demitri would not have accepted any Pokemon in less than optimal physical shape - they wouldn't have been useful as batteries for teleporting J's flying fortress, or at least that's the justification he had been given. Sure, the idea that Team Vicious was using actual Pokemon for powering up their weapons was cringe-worthy... and the fact that they needed substitutions from time to time did not bide well for the fate of those same Pokemon... and yet, what could he do? As long as his brother was at the head of that section of Team Viciou, his orders were the law, and he could not oppose them...
With an heavy heart, the young man descended the stairs and went to the underground shelter, looking around himself to check whether everything was in place. On both sides of that sort of corridor, stood numerous cages that seemed to have been created with an unknown technology: they were dome-shaped, like huge bird cages, and a small device the size of a cigarette package was standing on top of them, a red light turning on and off rhytmically on its surface, and emitting a semitransparent forcefield all around the cage. There was a small Pokemon, usually an Abra or a Ralts, but in any case a Pokemon that could learn Teleport, in every cage, and Stefan quickly understood that the mysterious forcefield actually served to inhibit the Pokemon's psychic powers and keep them from teleporting their way out or using telekinesis to free themselves.
Apathetically, Stefan began checking the cages, without seeing anything suspect. All Pokemon were either asleep or too stunned to do anything, and none of them seemed to be able to use its powers to free itself. Thinking that stayingthere any longer would have been a waste of time, Stefan was about to turn around and walk away, when a strange feeling caused him to stop in his tracks - not a sound, nor anything he might have caught a glimpse of, it was just a strange feeling that had popped up all of a sudden...
The young man looked around, trying to understand which cage that strange feeling was coming from, and his eyes fell upon a particular dome, containing a stunned Ralts that was surrounded by a faintly visible azure aura, managing to stand out among the dull colors of the forcefield surrounding the cage. For some reason, Stefan was feeling like that Ralts was trying to tell him something...
Almost instinctively, Atefan reached for the cage, and immediately stopped himself, realizing what he was ddoing. Had the security cameras seen what he was about to do, Demitri would never have forgiven him... so, after gulping some saliva, Stefan tried to walk away from the cage. But the Ralts standing inside of it stopped him again, this time by sending a message directly to his mind and speaking telepathically to him!
"Help me..."
Stefam blinked in curiosity and incredulity, looking at the Ralts as if asking him what he could do to help him. The small Psychic type managed to feel his confusion, and sent another telepathic message to help him.
"Max... here... free... him..."
"W-what?" the young man asked. "You... you are asking me... a Team Vicious member... to help you? Do... do you have any idea of what would happen if I did help you? It would be all over for me... there would be no place for me in this organization anymore... and neither anywhere else!"
"I know... who can... help you... no more... energy..."
Ralts was having trouble keeping up the mind link, because of the forcecage dampening his psychic powers, and in fact, a few seconds later, the aura flaring weakly around him faded, and the small Pokemon stood inert in his prison, unable to move a muscle. Still shocked from the unexpected development, Stefan tried to think of a way to weasel out of the whole deal, and to avoid getting himself in trouble with his unforgiving brother...
Unfortunately for him, the telepathic call for help had already taken effect, and it was managing to completely undo his already shaking resolve. Could he really afford to ignore Team Vicious' cruelty, despite knowing all too well what they were doing? Could he really let two children be taken hostage and May be forced to work for them? His conscience would just not keep quiet about it... and now that he had a chance to do something about it, was he going to turn away and pretend nothing had happened?
But the question was... could he really do anything without getting caught? The surveillance cameras were still active... but maybe, if he picked the right moment, he could have deactivated them and slip in unnoticed...
Maybe it was worth a try. At that point, Stefan had had enough of ignoring his own conscience and do whatever his brother wanted. He just had to help that Ralts, all those Pokemon, and possibly Max and May as well. It was a crazy idea, but maybe it could work...
"Alright then..." he whispered to himself. "I can't do anything for now, little Ralts... but rest assured that, as soon as I am able to, I'll be back and I'll make sure you and the other Pokemon can get out of this mess. I give you my word."
oooooooooo
Damien was both exhausted and terribly annoyed when he finally set foot once again in Team Vicious' HQ... ever since J had pretty much left him on Mt. Ember after that botched attempt to capture Moltres, the hapless Team Vicious grunt had been forced to return to base with his own means, and it had been quite a long and diffcult road. As if this wasn't enough, he had surely lost his boss' respect after that humiliation... and judging from the condescending, mocking glances he was receiving as he walked through the HQ's corridors, he had lost his colleagues' as well. It was an unbearable shame for someone with such a huge ego to be looked down upon and pitied...
Trying not to care about the mocking stares he was getting ,the young grunt walked to the innermost parts of the HQ, crossing hollow rooms and corridors, until he got to a closed door that seemed to be controlled by some kind of visual identification device. Sighing and mentally preparing himself to the huge headache he was about to get from both his boss and Hunter J, Damien placed himself in front of the door, keeping his eyes open, and a small red light shone into his eyes, performing some sort of retinal scan. A second later, the door opened with a low whirling sound, allowing Damien to access a darkened control room, in which the Iron Masked Marauder and J, along with a sizeable number of grunts, who seemed to only be waiting for him. Ready for the tongue lashing, Damien stepped into the room and bowed to his boss, who coldly stared at him, scratching his goatee.
"Sir... Miss J... I'm... er... I'm back.! And... I apologize for not having shown up before. I... tried to arrive as quickly as possible..." he said, trying not to show fear, even thoug he found it rather difficult considering the situation he was in. "I will... accept any punishment you deem fit for my incompetence."
The Iron Masked Marauder did not answer immediately, limiting himself to glaring at Damien. J herself declined to comment, and not even the grunts present said or did anything, which actually managed to unnerve Damien all the more, at least until the Marauder spoke up.
"Stand up, Damien." he harshly said, much to the youth's surprise. "There is no need for you to excuse yourself. Rather, there is something we would be glad to give you... something I'm sure you will appreciate..." he ended his sentence with a grin that both confused and terrified Damien. The youth was that far from imagining that, instead of a punishment, he would be given a reward from his leader...
"A... reward?" Damien asked. "What... what's this all about?"
Leaving her usual stoicism aside, J chuckled grimly. "Hehehee... don't worry, there's no trick. You have nothing to fear." she affirmed. "Despite your... unsatisfying performance during the fight in Knot Island, we think you have shown great potential, It is only a matter of giving you the right Pokemon, and we have captured one just today! Take a good look at it."
Two grunts stepped forward, carrying a small cage inside of which a female Togepi with a mean expression on her face was thrashing and turning, in an attempt to free herself. She was emitting shrill, ear-piercing cries of rage... and despite his initial incredulity and disappointment - he would never have thought a Togepi could actually be a useful Pokemon - Damien quickly saw that it wasn't a Togepi like all the others. Aside from her cruel expression, she actually looked far stronger and more dangerous than your average Togepi.
The Iron Masked Marauder smirked as he saw Damien's confused expression. "Hehehee... I know, a Togepi isn't exactly what you'd call a powerful Pokemon... but believe me when I say that this one is very different from the others. This s ctually a fierce and cruel Pokemon, that will surely enjoy her chance to stay with a trainer that will allow her to hurt someone! And I'm sure that, thanks to her, you will be able to get your revenge against Ash Ketchum and that bunch of losers! So, Damien, what do you say? This will be the first in a long list of powerful Pokemon that will allow you to become the most feared trainer in our organization! Of course, provided you can actually raise her to a nice Togekiss..."
"Briiii! Briiiii!" the evil Togepi squeaked, thrashing in her cage like an angry snake. Damien went closer, drawing the small creature's angry stare on himself... and decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to actually try and train her. If that Togepi was already rather strong as she was, he could only imagine how much stronger she would be as a Togekiss!
Finally, after gathering his thoughts for a few moments, Damien smirked in triumph. "Hehee... alright, sir... I am very grateful for this! I will not fail you this time, you have my word! I'll make sure this Togepi becomes one of our deadliest weapons... and I'll wipe out anyone who opposes us!" he exclaimed, as the evilTogepi stopped thrashing and regarded her new trainer with curiosity.
The Marauder smirked again. It was really that easy to manipulate that fool...
oooooooooo
"Fine then... I'll start on my way, and you'll be following me from a safe distance." Drew summed up, to which Solidad nodded in assent. The next morning had come in a snap, and after getting a few hours' sleep in the first Pokemon Center they had come across, Drew and Solidad were on their way to the nearest city. Not that they actually expected to find anything unusual... their only objective was to draw out Team Viciou, especially May, by making them think Drew was on his own... only for Solidad to intervene and turn the situation around, forcing the criminals to spill the beans... and hopefully convincing May to tell us what was actually going on.
"Of course... we'll catch those guys off guard, and we're getting some answers out of them." Solidad answered. "Anyway... well, no need to say it, but still, be careful. Those peple play for keeps, from what I can gather. Good luck, Drew!"
The green-haired boy smiled slightly and nodded as he started on his way. Solidad stood there for several minutes, and as soon as her friend was far enough, she started following in his footsteps, all of her senses alert for a probable new attack from Team Vicious...
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED