Author's Notes:

In response to a question posed by Code Blue, Jet's Pokémon didn't level up since his battle with AJ because the trip to the power plant happened the very next day. Plus, as Pokémon get in their higher levels, they need a lot more experience to get stronger. You may notice in future chapters Jet's stronger Pokémon grow a lot slower than his weaker ones. And I agree that Kadabra is probably one of Jet's most useful Pokémon. His ability to sense other Pokémon in the area, coupled with his fighting skills and ability to teleport make him invaluable to Jet.

As for whether some of his Pokémon will evolve soon I can't really say because I never know how long a part will be until I write it out. Before his next badge? Definitely. I know I don't answer your questions that often, mostly because the ones you ask have to do with plot points that will be revealed in future chapters, but I enjoy reading your reviews and thoughts all the same.

As for the whole x men like discrimination thing, I like where your head is at there, but I'll be doing something a little different. I won't go into detail, but let's just say there are a lot more telepathic trainers out there than people think.

By the way, sorry for the lack of updates, (work and classes and blah). You can thank InheritanceConfessor2011 for reminding me that I have people waiting on the next update for this story. I also have to write a five hundred word essay on why following orders is important, but I'll do this chapter first. Yep; I'm a man who has his priorities straight.

PS: If you haven't played The Last of Us yet, PLAY THAT SHIT!

Bird of Thunder

Jet's Pidgeot was not able to keep up with the intense speed of Bill's Skarmory. They were soon left behind as Bill flew faster and faster in pursuit of the bird of legend, hopes high for the haul of the century. Jet could feel his Pidgeot sweating under him as she flew faster to keep up. He told her with his mind, Don't bother, they're too far ahead. Just head in the direction they were flying at a normal pace; I don't want you expending too much energy right now.

Sora slowed down, though her heart was still beating at an incredible pace. They flew north of the power plant; past a river and toward a mountain range. Before long, they heard a clap of thunder. In the distance, a blue bolt of light shot upward from the mountains. Jet urged his Pokémon toward the light, warning her to stay cautious as they approached.

Soon they saw Zapdos battling with Skarmory, and bolts of electricity were being sent in every which direction. Sora had to dive, (making Jet's stomach do backflips in the process), in order to avoid one of these bolts. When it missed, it hit the side of a mountain behind her that caused a rockslide. Jet yelped in panic as Sora did another incredible dodge to avoid the falling rocks. Jet looked back at where the attack had landed; a large crater was now etched into the mountain, (complete with scorch marks).

Jet made Sora retreat to a safe distance to watch the battle; one hit from one of those Thunderbolts would kill the both of them. Sora backed up and perched herself atop a cliff on the side of one of the mountains. Jet dismounted and told her, "Use Roost to regain your energy; we may need to make a quick escape."

Sora nodded and closed her eyes. She began to glow faintly as she used her aura to regain her strength. Jet watched the battle between Skarmory and Zapdos. It was very one-sided. Skarmory spent more time retreating and maneuvering than actually attacking. Zapdos, on the other hand, was sending out Thunderbolt after Thunderbolt. The mountains echoed with loud thunderous booms, and Jet kept his hands over his ears to protect his hearing.

Jet noticed that while Skarmory was dodging Zapdos' attacks, Bill was nowhere to be found. Jet felt his heart catch in his chest; just where the fuck was Bill? Sora noticed Jet was worrying about his friend, and nodded her head at one of the mountains and screeched. Jet frowned, "What's wrong?"

Sora gestured to her eye with her wing and then pointed back at the mountain and screeched again. Jet frowned and tried to read her mind to see what she was trying to tell him. He then saw an image of Bill, who was clear across the valley they were over, yelling directions at his Skarmory from a branch on the side of the mountain. Jet let out a sigh of relief. He was ok, for the moment.

Jet pulled out his Premier Ball and sent out Neo, his Kadabra. Neo looked up at the at the sky battle in surprise. He turned to Jet, awaiting battle instructions. Jet shook his head, "This isn't our fight. That Zapdos is way overpowered; that much is obvious. Bill over there is trying to catch it, but I think he's in way over his head. If things go south with his Skarmory, we'll all be in danger. If that happens, I'm going to need you to teleport us to a safe distance away from that Zapdos."

Kadabra nodded, and turned back to the sky battle at hand. Skarmory tried to shoot a quick Swift at Zapdos to buy itself some time, but the attack missed completely. Zapdos used Thunderbolt yet again which forced Skarmory to dive in haste to avoid it. Somewhere above her, Skarmory's trainer was shouting orders that she couldn't hear over the roar of her opponent's Thunderbolt; which meant it was time to improvise.

Skarmory used Autotomize, which sharply raised her speed by reducing her body weight. Bill had taught her to use this technique mid-flight, so she wasn't an easy target during the use of this technique. She felt herself get lighter and was able to move faster than before. Good, she told herself, Now for the hard part!

Skarmory dove again, this time gaining speed by using agility mid-dive while still dodging Zapdos' attacks. Her plan was to gain enough momentum to slice right through that overgrown spark plug with Steel Wing. Skarmory gained the momentum she needed, and shot straight at Zapdos. Zapdos looked surprised to see a head-on attack, but quickly recovered and shot another Thunderbolt at Skarmory. Skarmory tilted right to avoid the attack and let her Steel Aura flow through her wings, gaining speed all the while.

Zapdos stop sending out Thunderbolts and waited for Skarmory to get close enough. Once she did, Zapdos used Discharge to send a shock wave of electricity in all directions. The attack hit Skarmory and sent her falling from the sky. Luckily, her Sturdy ability prevented her from being knocked out completely and she was able to stabilize her flight long enough to dodge the incoming bolt of electricity that was sent her way.

Just above her, Skarmory heard Bill yell, "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING? DON'T ATTACK IT HEAD ON! USE ROCKSLIDE! ROCKSLIDE!"

Zapdos turned to the spot where Bill was perched. Bill looked up at the legendary bird and went pale. He was spotted! Zapdos let out a screech and shot a Thunderbolt at Bill. He yelped in panic at the prospect of certain death. The attack never hit, however, because Skarmory intercepted the attack and used Protect. This move created a shield of pure energy that deflected Zapdos' attack and saved Bill's life. The Thunderbolt ricocheted off of Skarmory's barrier and set a small wooded area a hundred feet below them ablaze.

Skarmory used Icy Wind immediately after her Protect faded. The attack hit, but did not succeed in doing too much damage. Zapdos screeched again and used another Discharge. Skarmory quickly used Protect to prevent her trainer from getting hurt, but things were not looking good.

Not too far away, Jet swore under his breath as he watched Skarmory desperately try to defend Bill's life. Jet said to his Pokémon, "I can't just leave them out there like that, but we don't stand a chance!" He felt his legs shaking slightly. He wanted to save Bill, but his Pokémon weren't near strong enough to last a second against Zapdos. Jet considered his options, and then said, "God damn it! Ok, I'm going to need Thorn for this!"

He sent out his Charmeleon and said, "Listen up! Thorn, I'm going to need you on Sora's back. You two are going to fly in, (not too close though!), and distract that Zapdos but shooting it with Dragon Rage! Once it starts to go after you, Neo is going to teleport over and have Bill recall his Skarmory. Then I'm going to need you to teleport Bill over here with me. After that I'm going to need you to go back out there to Thorn and Sora and Teleport them over here too. Do you think you can Teleport them both at once?"

Neo was amused, Of course I can. Jet nodded and said, "Good. Don't get too cocky out there, though! This thing is unlike anything we ever faced! Sora, just focus on avoiding that electricity! Thorn, make sure when you have a shot, you take it! Neo, be as quick as possible! I don't want anyone in the field of fire longer than they need to be! Everyone got it?"

Jet's Pokémon all nodded. Jet clapped his hands together and said, "Alright then, let's get to work!"

Thorn quickly mounted Sora. Sora then took off with a purpose. She flew into the danger zone very fast, and it did not take long until they were in firing range of Zapdos itself. Thorn took a deep breath, and used Dragon Rage. It was a clear hit. The blast exploded on contact with Zapdos and made it fall several meters before it steadied itself and faced its new foes. Pidgeot began to retreat as Zapdos sent electricity flying in her direction, Bill forgotten.

Once the bird of thunder was distracted, Neo Teleported over and relayed Jet's instructions telepathically. Bill was reluctant to go, but he knew his Skarmory wasn't going to last much longer. He pulled out Skarmory's pokeball when it happened; Zapdos turned and sent another Thunderbolt at Skarmory.

Skarmory, who had no more energy left to use Protect, was hit with bolt of electricity and cried out in pain. Bill pressed the button on her pokeball to recall her, but she had already met her demise, and was now falling into the flames below them. Bill let out a cry of anguish at the death of his Skarmory. Zapdos turned to attack Bill too, but Neo had his orders and followed them to the T. He teleported himself, and Bill, out of harm's way.

XXX

Jet nodded at Neo when he appeared with Bill and said, "Great job, buddy! Now let's bring the rest of the team home!"

Neo nodded and Teleported away again. Bill angrily got up and kicked a nearby rock off the cliff, "That fucking thing killed my most powerful Skarmory! This isn't over, mate! I'm going to get that fucking bird!"

Jet, who was worried about his own Pokémon, said, "Sorry about your loss, Bill, but we're not out of the woods yet! Wait until my Pokémon get back here before you start thinking of doing something stupid!"

Neo suddenly returned, with his two out of breath team mates in tow. Jet's face split into a huge grin when he saw they were all safe. "Great job, guys, time to rest!"

He recalled his Pidgeot and his Charmeleon and turned to his Kadabra. "Do you think you can Teleport us all the way back to the Power Plant?"

Neo nodded, but Bill interrupted, "No mate. I need you to take us to the light house."

Jet frowned, "Wait, why?"

Bill shook his head, "Because, mate, this ain't over. I'm going to catch that fucking bird!"

He then turned and yelled to Zapdos itself, "YOU HEAR ME? I'M GOING TO CATCH YOU!"

That got Zapdos' attention. Jet said angrily, "What the fuck, Bill? Are you trying to get us all killed? We need to leave, now!"

He bent down and put his hand on Neo's shoulder and told Bill to do the same. Soon, his body began to tingle all over. There was a bright light, and next thing Jet knew he and Bill were in front of the light house.

Jet was surprised Neo took them there and not back to the Power Plant. Bill stood up and walked inside without a word. Jet called after him, "Bill, where are you going?" When he didn't answer, Jet grumbled, "God damn it!" and followed Bill inside, Neo in tow.

Bill had his own personal Pokémon storage terminal inside of the light house, and it turns out that's where he was going to. Jet stood there with his arms crossed and said, "You do realize you're going to get yourself killed, right?"

Bill began withdrawing numerous Pokémon from his pc and said, "Do us a favor mate. There's a new case of Ultra-Balls in that cupboard to your right, grab them for me."

Jet sighed and went to grab the ultra-balls. "Trying to catch that Zapdos is a suicide mission. You're going to get hurt."

Bill looked up and said, "I appreciate the concern, Jethro, but I can handle this. That Skarmory was at a type disadvantage against Zapdos, but I got other Pokémon without that problem, mate. Pokémon a lot stronger than Skarmory was. And you know me too well by now to think I'm going to back down from this opportunity. Not after my Pokémon gave her life."

"So that you could live!" Jet argued, "Not so you could get yourself killed by going back out there!"

Bill go finished withdrawing his Pokémon and grabbed the Ultra-balls from Jet. "Don't follow me, Jethro. This could get ugly, and the only flying type you got on you is no match for what I'm going to face!"

Jet grunted, "No shit."

Bill and Jet went outside. Bill said, "You might want to head back to the plant and get your mate. I'll be fine, don't worry."

Bill then sent out a team of powerful Pokémon: A Dragonite, a Salamence, a Gliscor, an Aerodactyl, a Flygon, a Hydriegon, a Sigilyph and a Talonflame. Jet watched as Bill mounted his Salamence. He called to his Pokémon, "We'll be chasing down a Zapdos today! A powerful Electric and Flying type Pokémon that has already taken out one of our number! Do not get complacent! Sigilyph will relay all my commands! Let's not waste any more time!"

All at once, Bill's team took off. Jet covered his face as the wind from their take off sprayed dirt everywhere. Jet gritted his teeth as they got farther and farther away within seconds. He silently wondered, with all of Bill's exotic Pokémon, how has he never caught a Gyarados before Jet came along? He then turned to Neo and sighed, "You ready?"

His Kadabra nodded. Jet knelt down and put his hand on Neo's shoulder, "Let's head back then." And they disappeared.

Author's Notes:

Next Chapter Bill hunts down Zapdos. Will his venture end well? Find out!

*Wild Zapdos – Lvl. 50

Bill's Team:

Skarmory – Lvl. 56 Female

Dragonite – Lvl. 62 Male

Salamence – Lvl. 56 Female

Aerodactyl – Lvl. 54 Female

Gliscor – Lvl. 51 Male

Flygon – Lvl. 58 Male

Hydriegon – Lvl. 65 Male

Sigilyph – Lvl. 48 Male

Talonflame – Lvl. 50 Female