Author's Note: This chapter ended up being a little longer than I thought because of the battle in it. It's not a good versus evil battle. Though this chapter does introduce this story's villain.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Chapter 2: The Moon Hunter
Marie found herself lying on the ground in a dark wasteland, her mask was broken and her Team Rocket uniform was tattered and torn. Surrounding her were the people she despised most in the world, her cousin Andre, the short fat man who was the warden of Scorch Gate Prison, her fellow inmate Sharon, Giovanni, and her old drill instructor, a large black man with an eye patch named Stone. They all stood over Marie with wicked smiles on her face. But suddenly a blast of flames came and vaporized all of Marie's enemies. The flames soon vanished and Marie found she was untouched.
Marie soon saw what had created the storm of flames. Standing a few feet away was a large brown lion-like creature with a cream-colored underside. Its paws were white and it had a pair of large spiked grey plates on the sides of its back. In between those plates like a cape was something that looked like billowing grey smoke. The creature had an almost mask-like face with a three-pointed yellow plate on its forehead, red plates on the sides, and a white mustache-like plate on the front of its snout. Marie recognized this creature as the Legendary Pokemon, Entei.
Marie quickly noticed someone riding on Entei's back, a young woman with long raven hair and emerald eyes. It was Lisa of course, and she was wearing a simple white dress. Entei walked over to Marie, and Lisa reached down and offered her hand to Marie. After a moment Marie took it and she was pulled onto Entei's back. Upon getting on behind Lisa, Marie suddenly found that the remains of her uniform were replaced by a white dress similar to Lisa's.
Lisa looked back and smiled at Marie, and in seconds Entei began to rush forward at incredible speed. Very quickly the scenery suddenly changed. The dark foreboding wasteland had been replaced by a lush green meadow under a shining sun. There were red and while flowers as far as the eye could see, and a sweet scent wafted through the air. Entei soon came to a very tall tree with lush green leaves.
The beast of fire stopped by the tree and sat down, allowing Lisa and Marie to get off. Lisa took Marie's hand and guided her over to a large bed with a finely crafted wooden headboard and clean white sheets. Lisa got onto the bed and smiled at Marie, at the same time patting the opposite side of the bed. Marie got on after a moment and got next to Lisa. Lisa soon cuddled up to Marie, and Marie found that she felt happy and at peace, something she had not felt in a very long time.
Marie slowly fond herself waking up in the large sleeping bag she had gotten into with Lisa the night before. She quickly found though that Lisa was not next to her.
"Good morning." Lisa's voice called, causing Marie to sit up. Lisa was crouched down a few feet away preparing something to eat. "Did you sleep well?"
"Uh, yes I did actually." Marie answered, finding that she felt refreshed. "What time is it?"
"Well, it's about noon." Lisa revealed. "So I guess saying 'good morning' isn't quite accurate."
"Noon?" Marie repeated with a look of surprise.
"Hey, you don't have to be embarrassed." Lisa told her. "I've done that a couple of times myself."
"I'm not embarrassed." Marie assured her. "It's just… I've never slept that soundly in a very long time…. You didn't try to wake me up?"
"Well you told me last night that you haven't had a goodnight's sleep in a long time. So I thought it'd be better to let you sleep." Lisa explained. "Besides, you just looked so cute."
Lisa's comment caused Marie to blush a little. She moved her shoulder and suddenly winced in pain.
"Are you okay?" Lisa asked in a tone of concern.
"Yeah, I'm just a little stiff." Marie assured her.
"Well that's no good." Lisa said as she suddenly stood up from where she was and went over to Marie. She then got down on her knees behind Marie and started giving her a backrub, causing Marie to moan slightly with pleasure. "Does that feel better?"
"Yes, it does." Marie answered as Lisa continued her work.
"You're so tense up here." Lisa commented. "But then when you think about the kind of life you've had for the last thirteen years I'm not surprised."
Marie found herself greatly enjoying the backrub that Lisa was giving her. Suddenly Marie began to feel herself becoming aroused. And then something in the back of her mind caused her to back away from Lisa.
"Um, excuse me." Marie said as she quickly stood up and walked away. Lisa as Marie walked off.
A few moments later, Marie stopped on the small beach along the ocean. Suddenly Zoroark and Darkrai emerged from their Pokeballs. The two Pokemon both gave Marie a look of concern.
"I'm fine you two." Marie said with a reassuring smile. "I guess… I'm still a little conflicted about how I really feel about Lisa. For a long time I've hated her for what she did to me all those years ago. But what happened in Lilycove with Andre has shown me that I'm still in love with her. That I have been for all these years."
Zoroark tilted his head a bit at Marie while Darkrai narrowed its eyes. This showed Marie that she had their full attention and wanted to hear more.
"You know… I think I started to realize how I really felt about Lisa when she first left on her journey to become a Pokemon Trainer." Marie continued. "But… I think fully realized how I really felt about Lisa when she betrayed me to the police. Because I was so hurt by what she did…. Sounds crazy, right?"
Zoroark responded by making a short enthusiastic barking noise that told Marie that the monster fox didn't think what Marie said was odd. Darkrai didn't seem to make any visible response. It had always been a little hard for Marie to tell what Darkrai was thinking sometimes.
"I guess people fall in love differently." Marie sighed. "But my problem is that I'm not sure if I can get past all the anger I've felt towards Lisa all these years. And until I can… I don't think I'll be able to get close to her."
Meanwhile in a dark ally in Veilstone City in Sinnoh, a short slender man with a wiry mustache wearing a plum colored suit and green tie looked nervously at his watch. The man he was supposed to meet was running late. Suddenly the man heard a large footstep, causing him to flinch.
"Yew look a little jumpy there Trent." A voice said from the darkness of the ally. "I hope I didn't startle ya."
"You're late Trapper!" the man known as Trent scolded. "I've been waiting here for ten minutes!"
"Hey now, I'm here aren't I?" the man known as Trapper said as he stepped out of the shadows. "Yew know Trapper Jack never fails to deliver. Besides, this ain't the first time I've been late."
Standing before Trent was a very large and imposing man standing at seven feet tall. He was very muscular and had a beard of stark white hair on his face. Running down the left side of Trapper's face were two long scars. He wore a brown leather vest and no shirt, which showed off his muscular physique, as well as the three diagonal scars on his chest that looked like claw marks of some kind. The rest of Trapper Jack's outfit consisted of slightly baggy khaki pants, black mud-covered boots, a pair of leather wristbands, and a large brown hat.
"Look, I'm just nervous because the cops are starting to crack down harder on operations like ours." Trent explained. "Ever since Team Rocket started to crumble it's been chaos."
"What're yew talkn' 'bout Trent?" Trapper asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I guess you wouldn't have heard from whatever hole you've been hunting in." Trent observed. "But almost a week ago, Giovanni was arrested."
"Well dang! How'd the hell that happen?" Trapper asked in surprised.
"All I know is that the cops caught him making a shady deal in Lilycove with some guy who killed his father and got his cousin sent off to jail." Trent answered hurriedly. "Look, I don't know the details! All I know is that doing business has gotten a lot more dangerous. Now do you have the Lapras my boss asked for?"
"Yew got my money?" Trapper asked back.
"Yeah, here! Count it on your own time!" Trent said impatiently as he threw Trapper a black briefcase. "Now do you have it or not?"
"It's in a cage at the docks." Trapper said with a grin as he examined the large amount of money in the briefcase. "Should be easy fer yew to find. Yew got any other jobs fer me since I'm here?"
"Well there is one." Trent replied. "Lately my boss has been interested in the Legendary Pokemon, Cresselia. If you could get that Pokemon, I'm sure my boss would be willing to pay you ten times what's in that case. But I doubt that even you could catch a Pokemon like Cresselia."
"Hey, ain't nothin' on this planet that Trapper Jack can't catch!" Trapper declared with a smug expression. "If yer boss wants a Cresselia, I'll get ya one. In fact I think I know a place where I can find one real quick."
"Fine, go nuts! If you catch it, contact me. But for now I'm out of here!" Trent said nervously before rushing off.
"Cresselia huh?" Trapper chuckled to himself. "This hunt should be fun."
Meanwhile, Lisa and Marie were back out on the road riding Rapidash. There had been little conversation between the two of them since the awkward incident from earlier in the day. And the tension had started to become a little uncomfortable.
"Hey, Marie?" Lisa finally spoke up. "I'm sorry about… what happened earlier. You know I wasn't, you know… trying to get any off you, right?"
"Yeah, I know." Marie told her. "I just… wasn't fully prepared. Not that I thought you were trying to… you know…. But if it makes you feel better, my shoulders aren't stiff anymore."
"Good." Lisa said nervously.
As they continued forward on Rapidash, two young men suddenly stepped out from behind a nearby tree and got in their path. One of the young men had short brown hair and hazel eyes, and wore a light-blue t-shirt and jeans. The other had short blond hair and brown eyes, and wore a red long-sleeved shirt and black jeans. Lisa stopped Rapidash when the two young men appeared.
"Look what we have here Troy." The brown-haired young man said to friend. "A couple of young ladies riding a Rapidash. That's kind of a rare sight, isn't it?"
"It certainly is Malcolm." The blond known as Troy replied. "And I think it's a safe bet that they're Pokemon Trainers."
"We are actually." Lisa told them. "I'm Lisa, and the girl with me is Marie. We're on our way to Half Moon Bay right now."
"That's cool." Troy told them. "But before you head on, we can't let you leave without having a battle with us. What do you say? Think you ladies can take us?"
"You up for it Marie?" Lisa asked.
"…Yeah, I think so." Marie answered after a moment. After a few moments, Lisa and Marie dismounted Rapidash and stood ready to face Malcolm and Troy.
"I'll go first." Lisa announced. "Go Phoenix!"
Coming out of Lisa's thrown ball was a six-foot tall humanoid creature with a red bird-like face and body. It had grey talons for hands, yellow feet, and long blond hair-like feathers that split down the middle like a V.
"A Blaziken, nice." Malcolm commented. "In that case, go Empoleon!"
Emerging from Malcolm's ball was a large penguin with wings rimmed with blue blades. It also had a blue sort of collar with a piece that extended down the length of its torso, giving one the impression that it was wearing a tuxedo. Extending up from its upper beak was a trident-like crest that made the bird look like it was wearing a sort of crown.
"Go!" Marie called as she threw out her own Pokeball.
Emerging from the thrown ball was a large black dog with a red snout and underside. In place of ears the dog had two long white curved back horns, and it had a slim tail that ended in a point like a demon's. On its back were white bands that gave the impression of ribs, and there was another white band around its neck with a small skull on front like a collar.
"A Houndoom." Troy observed. "Looks like you ladies are a couple of those trainers who train only Fire Pokemon. Well then, go Politoed!"
Emerging from Troy's ball was a large light-green frog-like creature with pink cheeks and a single curled hair on its head. Its stomach was yellow and had a green spiral pattern on it.
"This battle should be a piece of cake." Malcolm said smugly.
"Type advantage isn't everything you know." Lisa pointed out. "Use Bulk-Up Phoenix!"
Phoenix cried out and began to glow with a blazing red aura. Veins began to bulge on the Fire Pokemon's arms and legs.
"Trying to beef up your Blaziken's attack and defense, huh?" Malcolm observed. "Well it won't work! Use Hydro Pump Empoleon!"
"Quick, intercept!" Marie commanded.
Just as Empoleon shot out a powerful stream of water from its beak at Phoenix, Houndoom leapt in the way and took the attack. But when the attack stopped, Zoroark was standing in Houndoom's place snickering.
"Hey, what?" Malcolm asked in surprise. "Did you switch out?"
"I never said I sent out Houndoom." Marie pointed out with a smirk.
"Don't you get it man? That Zoroark used its Illusion ability to fake us out." Troy explained to Malcolm. "Don't worry though, I'll handle this. Politoed, use Bubble Beam!"
Politoed fired off a barrage of bubbles at Zoroark. Zoroark stood and took the attack to protect Phoenix.
"Charge through the beam and use Night Slash!" Marie commanded.
Zoroark roared and ran through the barrage of bubbles as its claws began to glow with a red light. When it got close enough to the frog Pokemon, Zoroark slashed it across the chest. Politoed was knocked back a few feet as a result.
"Dang!" Troy exclaimed. "That was gutsy!"
"You're gonna pay for that!" Malcolm declared. "Empoleon, attack Zoroark with Aqua Jet!"
Empoleon suddenly jumped down and glided across the ground as its body became shrouded in water. The armored penguin came at Zoroark like a torpedo.
"Oh no you don't!" Lisa exclaimed. "Phoenix, attack Empoleon with Blaze Kick!"
Phoenix jumped up in the air and extended its right leg forward. Its foot set on fire as it made contact with Empoleon, striking the penguin only seconds before it hit Zoroark and knocked it off course. In moments, both Empoleon and Politoed got back on their feet.
"Let's finish this Phoenix!" Lisa declared. "Hit Empoleon with Sky Uppercut!"
'Let's end this too Zoroark!" Marie commanded. "End Politoed with Night Daze!"
Phoenix charged at Empoleon with its right talon curved into a fist. The fist began to glow with a blue light as it punched Empoleon in the jaw, knocking it a few feet in the air. When Empoleon hit the ground it was out cold. At the same time as Phoenix attacked Empoleon, Zoroark's eyes began to glow with a blue light as a powerful red aura that cracked the ground. The monster fox quickly brought up its arms and swung them back down, sending a wave of red energy at Politoed. The frog Pokemon was knocked out cold by the blast.
"Whoa, you two are hot stuff!" Troy declared as both he and Malcolm called back their respective Pokemon. "Say, maybe you ladies would like to go out with us."
"We're flattered, but we're…" Lisa began to say.
"We're a couple, Lisa and I." Marie quickly finished. "A close couple, if you catch my drift."
"Oh…" Malcolm and Troy said together.
"Um, we'll be off now." Lisa said to the two crest fallen young men. "Thanks for the battle."
With that, Lisa and Marie got back on Rapidash and rode off at a gentle trot. Both Troy and Malcolm just stood there for a moment and sighed as they left.
"So… we're a couple?" Lisa asked Marie in a hopeful tone.
"More or less." Marie told her. "Plus telling them that was the fastest way to get rid of them."
"Well, in any case we make a pretty good team." Lisa observed.
"Yeah, we actually do." Marie agreed. "Thanks for protecting Zoroark back there."
"Anytime." Lisa replied with a smile.
The two rode in silence for some time after that. Marie soon became lost in thought about both the battle and the dream she had had the night before. She thought about how Lisa protected her in that dream and how Lisa had Phoenix protect Zoroark. Marie also thought about how at peace she felt in that dream with Lisa, and she began to wonder if she was still truly mad at Lisa for what she did all those years before.
Author's Note: Trapper Jack was just a villain I pulled out of the air for this story. And I thought that without a villain of some kind this would be a pretty thin story. Anyway, Trapper Jack is your basic big game hunter type villain, which is the kind of antagonist you see a lot of in Pokemon. He ended up being from down south when I pictured him. One of the hardest parts of this chapter was writing his accent. Incidentally, there will be another villain showing up in the next chapter, though she is somewhat minor but still significant.
The other hard part of this chapter was writing the battle. Double battles were a good addition to the games, but boy if they aren't hard to write. So I'm sorry if the battle in this chapter wasn't the best one you've read. Another hard part of it was coming up with Lisa and Marie's opponents and deciding what Pokemon they would use. It's safe to say though that Troy and Malcolm won't be showing up again.
Please review and let me know what you think.