Play Rough
"Gary Muthafucking Oak!" Jet grinned as he greeted Amy's older brother. It had been three days since he'd been home, and already he found himself back at Oak's lab. This time, however, it was to see his Grandson who had just recently arrived back in town.
"Oh shit!" Gary exclaimed in surprise, "Jet, what the fuck are you doing here? Last I heard you were shacked up with that Gym Leader in Cerulean!"
Jet laughed, "Yeah well, that didn't work out. So what are you doing down here? Amy called me and told me you were going to be at the Lab today, she didn't say why, though."
Gary shrugged, "Just wanted to come back to the Kanto. I'm surprised Amy didn't join me, but last I heard she was in Olivine working on another badge. I was about to head outback to smoke, want to come?"
Jet and Gary headed out back to the small ranch behind the Research Center. The staff would take Pokémon back here to run around and play and mate. It was a place where some of the more restless Pokémon could let out some of their energy. It was also where many of the mock battles were held.
"You don't smoke right?" Gary asked. Jet shook his head, "Nope. Bad habit."
Gary shrugged, "Nowadays, what isn't a bad habit?"
Jet sat on the wooden fence of a paddock and asked, "So what do you plan on doing while you're in the Kanto?"
Gary shrugged, "Catch Pokémon, collect badges, train a new team. I take it you're still running around here training, right? You don't strike me as the kind of guy to just head home and retire just as you're gaining momentum."
"Nah," Jet replied, "I'm teaching my brother and sister how to train Pokémon for a little bit, and then I'm going to start traveling again."
Gary nodded, "As you should! The world needs more serious trainers! The only things these locals are good for is using their Pokémon for punching bags. I got to hit up some Gyms to find some real competition.
Jet was about to reply when a couple of teenagers that work for the professor came up and interrupted them, "Hey, you're the Professor's grandson, right?"
There were three girls and two guys. One of the guys, Jet recognized, was the kid from Oak's office who had the Pikachu. Sure enough, Jet spotted the little electric mouse following behind his trainer.
Gary turned and looked at the speaker, which was one of the girls. "Who's asking?"
The girls started giggling, and one of them said, "You're as cute as they said you were!" The other two girls started giggling. One of the males rolled his eyes. Ash, however, said, "Hey, if you're really Professor Oak's Grandson then you must know a lot about Pokémon!"
The girls started giggling again and one of them said, "Here we go! Ash, can you go five minutes without challenging someone to a Pokémon battle?"
Ash looked at his friend, genuinely surprised, "But if I want to become a Pokémon master, I have to beat as many strong trainers as possible!"
Jet could see what Oak meant by this kid being enthusiastic. Jet asked, "Aren't you guys supposed to be working?"
Ash replied, "We're on our lunch break; we can battle if we want to!"
"Umm, speak for yourself, Ash, we're going to grab some food. Bye Professor Oak's grandson!" The girls giggled yet again and left, with their guy- friend following them to the cafeteria. Ash, however, stayed rooted in spot.
"C'mon, let's battle!"
Gary gave Jet a look that said clearly, Is this kid serious?, and then turned to his challenger. "Why not? I'll battle you, Ashy-boy!"
"Alright!" Ash exclaimed with all of the enthusiasm in the world. His Pikachu jumped on his shoulder and exclaimed, "Pika!"
Gary smirked and pulled a pokeball from his belt, "Let's see what you got! Go, Umbreon!"
Gary's Umbreon was summoned forth, it's demeanor reserved and observant. Ash threw a pokeball into the sky and called, "Go, Pidgeotto!"
Pidgeotto flew in a circle above Ash's head, before going into a nose dive to tackle Umbreon. Gary told his Pokémon, "Take it out with Dark Pulse!"
It was a one hit KO. Ash's Pidgeotto didn't even stand a chance. Ash recalled his Pidgeotto and turned his hat backwards, "I was right for figuring you'd be a tough opponent! But we're not out yet! Go Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and sent a bolt of electricity flying at Umbreon. Gary called to his Pokémon, "Use Protect!"
Umbreon quickly created a shield of pure energy to block the Thunderbolt. Ash didn't stop however, and told his Pokémon, "Use Double Team!"
Pikachu did as he was told, and seven blurry Pikachu surrounded Umbreon. Umbreon used Dark Pulse to attack all of the Pikachu at once, but the real thing jumped in the air to avoid the attack and used Thunder. A powerful bolt of electricity came crashing down on Umbreon, who was able to withstand the attack, though visibly shaken. Ash told his Pokémon, "You almost have it, Pikachu! Hit it with Volt Tackle!"
Pikachu electrified himself and charged at his opponent at a break-neck speed. Just before he hit however, Umbreon used Dig to go underground. Ash gritted his teeth and said, "Ok Pikachu, use Double Team, quick!"
Pikachu wasted no time in using his evasive maneuver to create several after-images of himself in an attempt to fool his opponent. Umbreon hit the real thing, however, and sent Pikachu flying with a pained, "Chaaaa!"
"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"
Ash's Pikachu was somehow able to recover mid-flight and send yet another Thunderbolt Umbreon's way. Umbreon growled as the attack hit. From the way he was shaking, it looked as though Umbreon was Paralyzed. Ash saw an opportunity and said, "Ok Pikachu, finish him!"
Pikachu landed and immediately transitioned into a Volt-Tackle. It was just about to hit when Umbreon knocked him back with another Dark Pulse. Pikachu fell to the ground with a tired "Pii." It struggled to get back up, but instead fell back down, defeated. Ash ran and picked up his fallen comrade, "Pikachu! Are you ok, pal?"
Pikachu gave a tired, "Chaaa," in response. Ash gave his Pokémon a small smile and said, "You did great, buddy!"
He then picked his Pokémon up and held it in his arms. He turned to Gary and said, "Your tough, bet next time we battle, I'm gonna win!"
Gary gave a small half-smile and said, "Sure kid. See me when you grow up a bit."
Ash gave Gary a blazing glare, and then turned and sprinting off, mumbling something about the infirmary. Gary shook his head and recalled his Umbreon, telling it, "Good job."
Jet smiled, "That Pikachu surprised me."
Gary rolled his eyes, "It's a decent enough Pokémon. The trainer's a loser though. I'm surprised he managed to find a Pikachu that could use Volt Tackle."
"My Raichu can use Volt Tackle," Jet said, absentmindedly, "I usually don't use it though. It does massive damage to the user."
Gary turned to Jet and smiled, "How about a rematch between you and me? Haven't battled you in a long time."
Jet frowned, "We battled before?"
Gary scoffed, "You don't remember? We got blazed on the SS Anne before it got attacked and had a two on two?"
Jet thought about it, "Oh yeah, that's when my Abra evolved! That whole night was kind of a blur, dude. You can't blame me for having trouble remembering."
Gary shrugged, "Fair point. Shall we?" he asked pulling a pokeball from his belt. Jet smiled and pulled a ball from his belt as well. Gary sent out his Pokémon first, "Three on three! No switching out! Go, Granbull!"
Jet sent out his Kadabra. "Neo use Psybeam!"
"Granbull, use Play Rough!"
Neo sent out a multi-colored ray of energy at Granbull. The attack looked as though it caused the Fairy Pokémon pain, but Granbull was able to push through the attack to deliver a blow of his own. His fist began to glow with a bright, pink aura, and he struck Jet's Kadabra with multiple blows in succession. Jet's Kadabra was knocked out cold.
Jet recalled his Pokémon in mild shock. He wasn't expecting Gary's Granbull to eat the Psybeam up the way it did. After all, Granbull weren't exactly known for having good special defense. Jet saw Granbull flinch after Kadabra was recalled and he began panting heavily. So he did sustain a lot of damage, he was just able to fight through the pain to deliver his own attack. Jet was impressed against his will. Granbull pulled a Sitrus Berry from under his collar and ate it, regaining a small portion of his health.
Jet figured one strong hit would take this Pokémon out, so he sent out his Graveler next. "Boulder, use Rockslide!"
"Hit it with Play Rough!"
Jet's Graveler didn't even stand a chance. Granbull was on him like stink on shit, and struck the rock Pokémon with a furious vengeance. Jet had to recall his unconscious Graveler.
Jet started getting nervous. Perhaps it was because he was so used to his Pokémon outclassing everyone else, but he felt like Gary's Granbull was ridiculously powerful. He needed someone quick to go against him, so he decided to go with his Raichu.
Gary immediately told Granbull, "Use Substitute!"
A pure white, wispy version of Granbull appeared directly in front of him. Jet figured, No problem! One attack for the substitute, another for Granbull!
"Spark, use Electro Ball!"
"Granbull, use Play Rough!"
Granbull charged at Raichu, his Substitute taking the Electro Ball head on. Once the Substitute was destroyed, Granbull shot from behind it and attacked. Raichu attempted to shock him before he attacked, and the result was a double KO. Jet had finally taken out Gary's Granbull, but he still lost the match.
Both trainers recalled their Pokémon. Gary sighed, "Honestly, I thought you'd put up a much better fight than that. What've you even been doing for the past few months?"
Jet didn't have a retort. True, he did spend a lot more time training his weaker Pokémon than he did trying to build a main team, but it had been a long time since he was swept like that. There was no excuse. He shouldn't have sent out Graveler. That much now seemed obvious in hindsight. He should have used Double Team when Gary used Substitute, or used Magnet Rise to attack from above. Better yet he should have used his Charmeleon. Jet finally realized that he was getting complacent. That's why AJ won that match at Bill's Club. That's why he lost that contest ribbon. Victory has defeated him. This would have to stop.
XXX
Jet got back from Oak's Lab a few hours later and got to work showing his Eevee how to shrimp.
"You want our Pokémon to do what?" Anna asked, "What the hell is a shrimping drill?"
"When you shrimp," Jet explained patiently, "Basically you're maneuvering your body in such a way to escape getting mounted. Let me show you." Jet demonstrated by getting on the ground and flailing his body from one side to the other in a manner that, not surprisingly, made him look like a shrimp squirming on the ground.
"What good does that do?" Kenny asked, in disgust.
Jet frowned, "Don't you guys know anything about MMA?"
Both twins looked at each other with blank looks on their faces. Jet sighed. "Ok, let me show you another way. Go, Thorn, go Neo!"
Jet sent out his Charmeleon and his Kadabra. He said, "We're going to show these three Eevee how to shrimp, and why it's useful. So get into positions. Thorn, you mount! Neo, you shrimp!"
Neo got on the ground and Thorn stepped over him. Jet narrated for everyone else, "Thorn right now is in the most dominant position you could be in while fighting on the ground. While Thorn is mounted, he can slash and bite Neo, choke him, strike him, and there's physically very little Neo could do."
"But," Kenny interrupted, "Neo could just throw off Thorn with his Psychic powers!"
Jet turned to Kenny, "Can your Eevee throw off a blood thirsty Charmeleon with Psychic powers?"
Kenny seemed to realize where Jet was getting at, "No."
Jet nodded, "Exactly. So when faced in this position, your Eevee will most likely need to shrimp to escape and regain his position. Ok you two, time to demonstrate!"
Thorn made a motion as if he was about to slash Neo with his claws, but Neo shrimped out from under Thorn, did a roll, and got into a fighting stance.
Anna said, "Ohh, that's what you were doing!"
Jet nodded, "Trust me when I say that everything I do while we are training, I do for a reason. Since Neo is already here, he will use his Telekinesis to create a mild resistance. You three Eevee are going shrimp from one side of the yard to the other until I say stop. Ready? Let's get started."
For the next half hour Jet the Eevee do shrimping drills, followed by combat rolls and ducking drills. By the end of their two hour session, all three Eevee were obviously exhausted. Jet had them drink water and call it a night.
"When are we going to teach them how to fight?" Kenny asked.
"We are teaching them how to fight," Jet replied.
After the Eevee were fed and watered, Jet had his little brother and sister clean their Pokémon before cleaning his own. Only then were they done for the day. Jet took a nice long shower, and got ready for bed. He had to get up early for training the next day. After his match against Gary's Granbull, it was obvious that he was now falling behind. That was something he could not allow to happen.
XXX
Jet got woken up in the middle of the night by his mother. "Jethro, get up quick and get dressed!" Jet was about to argue, but he heard the urgency in her voice.
"What's going on? What happened?"
"Get dressed, "I'll tell you on the way!"
Jet hopped up out of bed and quickly put his clothes on. When he got to the hallway, he saw Kenny and Anna sleepily leaving their rooms half dressed.
"What's going on, mom?" Anna asked.
"Hurry the fuck up and get dressed, you three! Your dad's in the hospital!"
"Wait, what? Why?" Jet asked as he threw on sneakers, "Mom, what happened?"
Jet's mom put on a jacket and said, "He got a call over a robbery! Frank just called; we have to leave now!"
The twins quickly got dressed and followed their mom out to the car. On the way to the hospital, Jet's mom told them everything she knew about what happened; which wasn't much. There was a robbery, though they didn't know where. There was a car chase in which they cornered one of the getaway cars. And then apparently one of the robbers sent out a Rhyperior which attacked the cops and injured Jet's father. By the time they got to the hospital, they got the details.
"It was that damn Zapdos!" Frank had informed them, "Someone broke in the lab and stole the frozen body. We got the call and found them fleeing the scene, so we chased them. When one of the bastards sent out the fucking monster of a Pokémon, it started flipping squad cars like tonka trucks!"
"Is my dad going to be ok?" Anna asked in a scared voice.
"His leg's busted," Frank informed them, gravely, "He'll live though. Once the doctors are finished with him they'll let you go see him."
Jet's mom let out a sigh of relief, "So he just has a broken leg? Nothing else?"
Frank shook his head, sadly, "That leg's a little more than broken. You'll see."
Jet felt a burning sensation in his stomach. He never really worried about his father getting hurt on duty because they lived in such a small town that nothing ever happened there. The worst the cops usually dealt with were DUI's and kids loitering in the park.
Jet's mom went to go talk to the doctors and see what was going on with her husband. Meanwhile, Kenny asked Frank, "Who would want to steal a dead Pokémon? Even if it is a Zapdos? Who would go through all that trouble?"
Frank scratched his beard, "Doesn't make any sense to me either, to be honest."
Jet thought about it. The only real reason to steal Zapdos is to find out where it came from. The only people he knew of that stood to gain a profit from this heist was-
"The Rockets," Jet said in an angry undertone. His emotions shifted from fear, to rage. "Those goddamn two-bit sons of bitches!" He felt his anger increasing steadily.
Frank looked at Jet, surprised, "What makes you think it was them?"
"Because they have a means, motive, and they always use Pokémon to do their dirty work; that's why!" Jet answered coolly, "Did you get any of them?"
"Nah, kid. If we did, I'd be down at the station making that bastard talk. Either way, there's no way to know if it was the Rockets for sure."
But Jet knew better. That Zapdos was posted all over the news. No doubt the Organization would want to find out where this legendary Pokémon came from. The police weren't able to stop them yet again. Big surprise, Jet thought to himself bitterly. Now his father paid the price for their greed. Jet hated them. As far as he was concerned their actions were unforgivable. Jessie and James better hope I never see them again. Next time, I'll be out for blood!
Author's Notes:
*Gary's Team:
Granbull – Male Lvl. 53
Umbreon – Male Lvl. 50
*Ash's Team:
Pidgeotto – Male Lvl. 22
Pikachu – Male Lvl. 56, (Was given to Ash at Lvl 54)
Team Rocket just doesn't seem to want to stop rubbing Jet the wrong way. Have they gone too far this time? Even so, what could one person possibly do to stop them? If he wants to be able to stand up to Team Rocket, he has a long way to go. Stay tuned to find out what develops from this. And as always, please leave your thoughts in a review!
