Pokemon: The Dark Side Chronicles

Chapter 5

Iris, with her Axew firmly positioned on her head, was walking along the streets of Mistralton City alongside Skyla. It had been a long time since she was last in the city and wanted to do some shopping but did not feel up to it. They were heading to the airport, the silence only being broken by the thunderous sound of the airplane above them. Skyla wanted to break the silence but did not know how.

Finally she said, "You look like you have a lot on your mind."

"It's that obvious, huh," Iris replied.

"Ash was a great trainer. He certainly made an impression on me when we battled. Losing him so suddenly must have been tough."

"The thing is…" Iris paused. "The thing is…I have never lost a friend before." Iris rested against a lamppost. "This feeling stinks."

"I haven't been in your position before," Skyla said, resting her hand on her shoulder. "Everyone I care about is still around. But I do know something about adversity. When the weight of the world seems to be on your shoulders, you just have to pull through, you know. Trust your friends and your Pokemon, they will help you in more ways than you know."

Axew cheered and Iris cracked a smile. "Thanks, Skyla. You've been a great help. You even got me a flight straight to Saffron City."

Skyla smiled. "It was nothing." She looked at her watch. "We should hurry before you miss your flight."

"Right."

Iris and Skyla hurried down the street to the Mistralton Airport. Iris had been there before but it was much smaller back then. The airstrip in those days only carried cargo once a day but since then it had become a full fledged airport with multiple aircraft that travelled around the world. Skyla had done a lot to reform the airport to what it was now while also being a gym leader. Iris admired her for that. When she told Skyla about Ash's demise, she immediately offered to lend a hand. Iris was thankful, without her it would have taken much longer to get to Kanto. She had not found out about Ash until a few days after it happened, this way she would make up for the missed time.

Skyla and Iris stopped in front of the airport. Skyla took out a ticket and handed it to Iris.

"You'll need that to get on the plane," Skyla said. "I also got this for you." She pulled out a map. "I marked out the route you need to take in order to get to Pallet Town from Saffron City since you're not too familiar with the area."

"You're like a guardian angel, Skyla," Iris said.

"Only prettier," Skyla replied.

They giggled. Iris took the map and was about to place it in her bag when she was bumped by someone from behind. A man with blue hair wearing an Eevee cap, a red shirt and blue skinny jeans knocked the map out of her hand and continued into the airport as if nothing happened. Iris yelled after him but he took no heed.

"Stupid punk!" Iris said, bending over to pick up the map. "Some people are just hopeless."

"Don't let it bother you. Just make sure you get on that plane."

"Sure, Skyla."

Iris and Skyla hugged, even Axew got into the act. They said their final goodbyes and Iris went into the airport.

"Remember to keep Axew with you," Skyla shouted. "Pokemon aren't allowed to roam free on the plane."

"I will. Thanks again."

Iris disappeared into the airport and Skyla turned to go. She stopped, looked back and said, "That guy. I wonder if he's…" She shook her head. "No way. He wouldn't be here. Anyway, I've gotta get back to the gym."

"Seat 27-I. Looks like this is our seat, Axew."

Iris took a seat. It was comfy and she quickly relaxed into it. Iris picked Axew off her head and laid him on her lap.

"Remember to stay with me, Axew," Iris said. "Pokemon aren't allowed to roam the plane."

Axew nodded. Iris looked around the plane. There were at least a dozen people on that flight in coach, she wasn't sure how many in first class. She began to wonder what it must be like amongst the rich when the pilot announced they were about to take off. Iris strapped on her seatbelt shortly before the plane started to move. Soon they were in the air.

It was going to be a long flight so Iris laid back and closed her eyes. She thought back to when she first met Ash and he mistook her for a Pokemon. She regretted not knocking him silly then. Afterwards they met up with Cilan and travelled together throughout the Unova region. It was a lot of fun, the most fun she had ever had. She took Ash for granted and teased him sometimes. Ash not being around anymore was never considered. Yet he was gone now and there was nothing she could do about it. At the very least she could pay her respects to his mom.

The plane shook, which grabbed Iris' attention. It shook again before becoming calm.

"This must be the turbulence Skyla told me about," Iris said.

A red curtain was parted and entering coach was a familiar sight. It was the man with blue hair with an Eevee cap on his head from before. This time, he wore all black, and there was a V on his chest.

"Someone with a letter on his chest," Iris said. "This can't be good."

"You're right, my dear," the man replied, approaching her. "Especially for you."

Iris leapt out of her seat. "Who are you?"

"You don't recognize me?" The man took off his cap and allowed his long hair to flow down his back. "How about now?"

Iris stared at him intently and said, "Nope. Still no clue."

The man threw his cap to the floor and stomped on it. "Liar! You know who I am. There's no way you couldn't!"

"You could save us the time and just tell me who you are."

"Lowly brat! How dare you not recognize me, Fiorello Cappucino. The biggest movie star in the world!"

Iris folded her arms and shook her head. "You mean the guy who makes those suckish action movies."

"How dare you!"

"How dare you! Your last three films bombed worse than a pack of Electrodes doing self destruct! Anyway, what do you want with me?"

A vein was getting larger and larger on Fiorello's forehead. He looked like he was about to explode. He pulled a console with a red button on it and pointed at Iris.

"You wanna see something bomb?"

He pressed the button and the airplane door blew open. Passengers not strapped in were blown out the airplane. Iris held on to her seat and tried to strap in but it was too much for her. Like the others, she too went flying out of the plane.

Iris spun around helplessly. One moment the sky was above her, the next it was below. She flew into the clouds, still spinning.

"Hold on, Axew," she said. She pulled out a pokeball and released her Dragonite. He swooped below and she landed on its back. "Thanks, Dragonite." She looked below her. "I can't see the other people who fell out of the plane. That means…" She clenched her fist. "Dragonite, let's get back to the plane!"

The plane was easy to find. Smoke was still bellowing out of it. Iris noticed there was someone standing on top of it. They landed on the plane. Ahead of her was Fiorello, looking at himself with a mirror. She wondered how he was able to stand on the plane so easily, but there was something she wanted to get off her chest first.

"How could you?" Iris demanded. "Because of you, so many people were…"

"Doesn't my hair look great in the wind?" Fiorello responded.

"What!"

"This is what years of professional shampooing and conditioning can do. You could learn from me. Your hair looks like it's crying for…"

"Shut up about your stupid hair! Why are you doing this? Those people just…"

"If you were a real hero, you would have saved them. Just like I did in Gigantic: The Revenge."

"Stop talking about your stupid movies!"

"I can't, for this is all about my movies. Because prissy little girls like you stopped watching, my films became a financial failure. I went from being one of the top stars in the world to being a memory. I couldn't allow that, especially when my replacement was a no talent hack. I had to get back on top and for that I needed The Vexus."

"What's The Vexus?"

"An organization that is hell bent on change, that's all you need to know. We struck a deal, I take care of a problem of theirs, namely you, and I get funding for my next project. It will be a reboot of the Gigantic franchise called Gigantic Begins, and then…"

"Why would I be a problem to this Vexus? I've never even heard of them."

"Not even I know that. Doesn't matter, as long as you die!"

"It's one thing to say it, another to do it! Come on Dragonite, let's take him down!"

Dragonite roared and Fiorello just laughed.

"You're gonna battle me with Dragonite?"

"Got a problem with that?"

"Not at all. I'll just use this!"

He threw a pokeball and out popped a Glaceon. It looked really well kept, strong too. Worst of all, it was an ice type Pokemon. Iris cringed. She had always feared ice types, and now she had to face one in the most important battle of her life.

"I see you did your homework. You were expecting me to use Dragonite to take advantage of its weakness."

"Of course I had to prepare. This will be the role of a lifetime."

"Don't think type advantage will save you! Let's go, Dragonite! Dragon rage!"

Dragonite released a shockwave that surrounded Glaceon. She was stunned momentarily but shook it off. Fiorello commanded ice shard, and Glaceon formed a large ball of ice in front of its mouth and hurled it at Dragonite, who quickly rose above it.

"Your Dragonite's faster than I thought it would be, but it doesn't matter," Fiorello said. "Glaceon, use hail!"

Glaceon fired a beam of ice into the sky and the clouds turned dark. A downpour of hail fell down upon them. Glaceon was unaffected but Dragonite got smashed. He landed on the top of the plane and Iris rubbed where it was hit.

"It had to be hail," Iris said. "And it won't go away anytime soon."

"Might as well give up now," Fiorello said. "You haven't got a chance against us."

"We'll see about that! Dragon rage! Let's go!"

Dragonite used another dragon rage but Glaceon dodged it. He fired again and she did the same. Dragonite roared in frustration.

"Calm down, Dragonite. She can't outrun us forever."

"Sure about that, dragon girl."

"We'll show you! Dragonite, move in close!"

Dragonite charged toward Glaceon and Fiorello told her to use icy wind. She exhaled a large volume of frigid mist that surrounded herself. Iris realized what was happening and told Dragonite to fly above but it was too late. Dragonite flew into the icy wind and immediately took damage from its frigidness. It leapt back but the damage had already been done. Dragonite wrapped his arms around himself and dropped to one knee.

"Get up, Dragonite!" Iris yelled.

"Time's almost up for you," Fiorello said, now brushing his hair. "I'll finish that weakling now!"

"Dragonite, are you going to take that from him. Come on!"

Dragonite roared and got to his feet. He flapped his wings then flew high into the sky.

"Now Dragonite, hyper beam!"

Dragonite collected a powerful ball of energy in front of its face. Before it could fire, Fiorello raised his palm.

"Remember, dragon girl, if you use that hyper beam, you'll hit the plane too. So many people have already died. Do you want to add more to the list?" Iris told Dragonite to stop and Fiorello laughed. "Weakling. Now prepare to lose! Glaceon, bombard them with ice shard."

Glaceon fired ice shard time and time again and Dragonite dodged each time. Glaceon fired at Dragonite's head and forced it to go lower each time. Ice shard was such a quick attack, Dragonite had little time to react and could do nothing else. Fiorello had a gleam in his eyes.

"It's low enough. Now Glaceon, use blizzard!"

Glaceon's eyes shone white and several pillars of ice erupted along the plane's roof and smashed into Dragonite. He fell to the plane face first, making sure not to fall on top of Iris. He was hurt and was slow to get back up. Iris looked him over and realized that one of his wings was frozen.

"Because of hail, blizzard is harder to dodge. Damn it!"

She was mad but there was more. The plane was damaged in the attack and was descending. Even with the plane falling out of the sky, Fiorello was calm and cool. He looked like he did not even care.

"How could you!" Iris yelled. "If the plane goes down, everyone dies, including you!"

"Please. My death scene isn't in this script. You're not so lucky. Looks like your Dragonite won't be flying anymore."

Iris cringed. She wished she had ice heal on her but did not expect to be battling during her trip to Kanto, especially on a plane. She tried to break the ice but it was too hard.

"Glaceon, bombard them with ice shard. I'm on a tight schedule."

Glaceon fired multiple ice shards, each one hitting Dragonite. He bellowed. Iris did not know what to do. There seemed to be no way out. Iris picked Axew out of her hair and laid him on Dragonite's back. She kissed him and rubbed his head. She then leapt off Dragonite and threw herself in front of him.

"No more!" she yelled. "I won't let you!"

"As if I'll hold back! Glaceon, finish her!"

Glaceon fired another ice shard. Iris closed her eyes with her arms outstretched. Expecting the worse. She thought she was going to die and end up where Ash was. At least she would not be alone. She hoped her Pokemon at least would survive.

The ice shard was shattered. Iris opened her eyes to see Dragonite in front of her. He roared and the ice on his wings melted. Axew called to her and Iris nodded.

"Dragonite…that must be…I see. I'm coming Dragonite."

Iris leapt on Dragonite's back as it soared into the air. It twirled in the air and glowed as it came to a stop. Fiorello was freaking out.

"What's happening?" he said nervously. "What is it doing?"

"It's a special technique called dragon dance," Iris replied.

"Dragon dance? What does that do?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Now Dragonite, let's go!"

Dragonite charged toward Glaceon. She fired ice shard after ice shard but each one was dodged easily.

"Use blizzard! Hurry!"

Glaceon let loose another blizzard that ripped through the roof of the plane. Dragonite swiftly dodged each pillar of ice that came at him without losing any speed.

"Icy wind! Icy wind!"

Glaceon started to spew its frigid mist when Dragonite appeared in her face, startling her.

"Now Dragonite, use fire punch."

Dragonite's right arm was embroiled in flames and he landed a fierce punch on Glaceon that launched it toward Fiorello's feet. He yelled at Glaceon to get up, but it barely shifted its head. Fiorello let out a high pitched scream.

"Impossible. I had the advantage…yet I lost…to a silly little dragon girl!"

"Silly little dragon girl? How dare you. I'm the Unova league champion, after all."

"What?" Fiorello stared at the tattered roof of the plane. "I see…I see. No wonder I lost. But it's not over yet, because I…"

Fiorello tried to move but his feet were planted to the roof. He tried to remove his boots but they would not come off.

"Crap, I'm stuck!"

"Those boots! That's how you're able to stand on the plane so easily. They must be magnetic!"

"Listen! You have to help me! My boots are stuck to the plane. I can't move."

"Forget it. That's your problem. Let's go, Dragonite."

They rose in the air, and Fiorello screamed for help. They kept going. Fiorello bit his lip and said, "I can help you." They kept going. "I can give you information." They still kept going. "I…I…I have info on Ash Ketchum!"

Dragonite lowered itself near him. "What do you mean by that? Ash is dead."

"The organization was responsible. They wanted him out of the way."

"So you killed him!"

"I had nothing to do with it. But what you need to know is…he's not dead."

"What? If you're lying…"

"I'm not. The organization faked his death. They need him for…something."

"For what?"

"I don't know. I'm not in the loop for that kind of stuff. But I do know where he is being held."

"Tell me!"

"Not unless you take me with you!"

"So you can double cross me later. Forget it."

Dragonite pulled away, Fiorello screamed. "Alright, alright! I'll tell you! Ash Ketchum is being held at…" A pokeball from Fiorello's belt opened and a Pidgeot came out. "Pidgeot? What are you…"

Before he could finish, Glaceon froze him with icy wind. She glared at a surprised Iris before hopping on Pidgeot's back and flying off. Iris wanted to pursue but the plane burst into flames and pieces of it rained to the ground below. Iris ordered Dragonite to pull away, there was no saving Fiorello now. She watched in horror as the plane made its final descent in a downward spiral that ended in a humongous fireball and an ear shattering explosion.

"I hope no one down there got hurt," she said. "Fiorello, what a fool. So many died today because of him…including himself. Such a waste." She clenched her fist. "Ash is still alive, though. I won't let that kid die, no matter what." Dragonite nodded and Axew cheered. "Alright, I know we can do this. First, let's head to Saffron City. I think it's to the east. Let's go!"

Iris sped off to Saffon City with a heavy heart. There was one silver lining, and that was that Ash was still alive. Knowing that gave her the strength to move on and she was determined not to see any more bloodshed.

Not if she had anything to say about it.

To be continued…