Hello everybody! Yes, this is me updating this story after having been gone for practically the entire month of December. So sorry for that, but the holiday season along with finals for Fall quarter really made for no time at all to do any of these stories. On that note, Happy New Years to you all! Hope your last year was eventful and that the coming new one will be just as eventful if not more so.
But yeah, this chapter I'm sure is worth the wait since half of it consists of action scenes. I tried my best with it, but I know that this is better than when I first wrote "Star Force Adventures" five years ago which was my first bad attempt at writing action scenes. Hopefully, it flows as well as I wanted it to, although I do admit some points might have a bit more words during the action. Those points were unavoidable unless you wanted confusion as to why that particular moment was even happening to begin with.
Hopefully, I'll be able to belt out one more chapter before next Monday, but don't quote me on that. I have to get books for the next quarter and get things ready for my graduation that will hopefully take place within the next two quarters. This year is definitely going to be busy with the last of my major classes and making sure that I've got everything done in order to just graduate. I swear; the college guideline just to graduate is hell to fulfill if you don't constantly pay attention to it and make sure you're completing what you need to do. Nobody's going to remind you to take those classes; it's all on you if you end up wasting four years and just realize you had to take this one General Education class.
Yeah, that's enough about me griping on how crazy life will be for me in the next six months. Allow me to answer the reviewer's comments and concerns before I officially leave you all to read and do whatever it is you want to do next. Please don't forget to leave a review before moving onto the next story that you want to read. It's helpful for me to gauge how you as the reader are enjoying it, and the insight you provide from your critiques or the catching of my sometimes careless or unnoticed mistakes is always helpful. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on here everyone!
xider: I guess you could say it's Team Rocket whose causing all this trouble. I'm not overly sure about it, though. Actually, I am (for the most part). I just don't want to say too much about it right now. But as of now, your assumption of Team Rocket waging war in another dimension may or may not be right based on what I've already put down for you to read.
And in terms of Pikachu not powering up with the electricity in the fence. I'm not sure if I made it clear in the story, and I'm sorry if I didn't. Ash technically isn't a trainer yet. He's still training to become fit for a trainer's license. As such, he hasn't had any kind of on-hand field experience with on-the-spot tactics. Like with a rookie in any job, his thinking is kind of textbook style than outside of the box. As such, him telling Pikachu to use the electricity from the fence would make him too smart than he's supposed to be at this moment. That and the fence itself is a good distance away from the group. Pikachu wouldn't make it to the closest part of the fence by the time the Charizards made it to them.
Chapter 5: Reformers of the World
"If anyone's got any good ideas, I'm more than happy to hear it," Gary said as the two Charizards got closer. The sounds of their wing beats were getting louder by the second, and the wind generated from them only grew stronger.
"And what are we supposed to do, Gary?" Ash asked with a snarl. "You know all about this war stuff better than the rest of us combined. There's gotta be some way you know of to get out of this!"
"It may come as a shock to you, but I've never fought the enemy before," the brown haired teen sarcastically bit back. "I only know about being a Pokémon trainer; I know nothing about playing war!"
"Stop arguing, you two!" Brock quickly cut in as he motioned for his Vulpix to assume a battle stance. Nidoking and Arcanine quickly followed suit and stood protectively in front of the group. "We're wasting time. There's clearly no way we're getting out of this. We barricaded the door we came through, and I'm sure those two up there will torch us the moment we try to make a run for it."
"But why would they care about us now?" Tracy thought aloud while his Marill held onto his leg in fright. "If the Ruins of Pokémopolis really does hold powerful Pokémon, then why are they stopping their excavation efforts? I thought them sending their men here was just to serve as a distraction. …Unless the opposite is actually true!" he suddenly exclaimed, the wing beats now extremely close and the wind nearly drowning out his voice. "The Charizards were just for show to get a group of men to investigate what they were doing. That then made this town a lot much easier to take over!"
"Damn, you sound like you were a military tactician or something," Gary huffed as he shielded his eyes from the dust being kicked up. "And I hate to admit it, but I think you're right. Those two fire breathers are sometimes used as battlefield tanks. They can destroy everything at a drop of a hat!"
"Only if we're the ones to drop the hat," a woman's voice suddenly replied. As smooth and silky as it sounded, there was clear danger behind her words. "After all, such powerhouses need to be kept on a tight leash."
"Although we're not afraid to let them loose on you poor brats," a man added with a light chuckle. "Still, it's a shame since you all seem to be a rather competent bunch. I wonder if you could be swayed to join us instead."
A woman with orange blond hair suddenly jumped off from one of the Charizard's back and was followed by a man with aqua green hair on the other. They were both dressed in clothes that were a combination of black, white, and gray; but the structure was similar to the combat clothing the soldiers in the lab were wearing.
"Who are you guys?" Brock demanded as Arcanine let out a warning growl.
"Isn't it obvious? Boy, and I thought some of our guys were clueless," the man snidely replied. "We're members of the Galactic Chronos Military, a militaristic and political group sent on reforming the world. We're right now here on a special job, and you four are in our way."
"I'll bet you're just here to steal the Pokémon!" Gary growled. "You guys have been capturing all the wild Pokémon in the world and stealing those already with trainers. Reserves like this lab are rare because of you, and I'm not gonna let you and those fire-breathing lizards take what's left here!"
"Well, I see our reputation precedes us!" the woman laughed. "If you already know so much about us, then you should also know that we don't show mercy. So why don't you kids move along and let us do our job?"
Suddenly, the door that the group barricaded a few minutes ago slammed opened. The Blaziken came running out first along with the two men and a few others that were most likely their backup. All had their guns at the ready and surrounded the teens.
"About time we caught up to your sorry asses!" the man exclaimed as he and the others pointed their guns at the gang. The Blaziken was angrily chirping and threateningly punching at the air. "Now it's time to pay you back for making me look like a fool! W-wait a minute," he stuttered after noticing the other two. "C-Commander Cassidy! Uh, Cassidy's second-in-command! I didn't know you two were already here."
"Why do you keep forgetting my name? It's Butch!" Butch angrily pointed at the group, and one of the Charizards aimed a thin stream of flames at them which forced them to scatter. "Commit it to memory or I'll have you fed to Charizard for insubordination!"
"I-I'm sorry, deputy commander! But what are you two doing here?" The men quickly recovered from the punishment attack and retrained their guns at the teens. "I thought the both of you weren't scheduled to be here until later?"
"And let you boys have all the fun?" Cassidy laughed. "We may be your commanders, but that doesn't mean we prefer taking the back seat in all this action. Why don't you take your men back inside and continue rounding up the rest of the rats in the lab? Butch and I will take care of these children."
"Are you sure, ma'am? I captured them earlier, but they're no pushovers. They managed to give me and Blaziken the slip."
"Is that so?" she thoughtfully hummed. "Perhaps you simply underestimated them and are to blame for your failure. But I digress; just do what I say and go back inside. I'm sure you know what happens if you make me repeat myself?" The other Charizard immediately started to inhale and arch its neck back.
"Yes, ma'am! Everyone, back into the lab!" the soldier quickly ordered. He along with the rest of his men retreated back inside to avoid becoming charcoal.
"What're you trying to do?" Brock asked, his stance suddenly shifting to being defensive. "You could've easily had your men take us in."
"Like Cassidy said, we want in on some of the fun," Butch replied with a twisted smile. "Those useless grunts can handle rounding up everyone in town. While they do that, the two of us will have our fun with you four. After all, it's rare to see anyone not affiliated with us in possession of Pokémon. We'd like to see if they can battle or are just for show."
"They might as well be for show against your overgrown lizards!" Gary spat with a snarl. "Hardly a fair fight if you ask me."
"Who said anything about them fighting?" With a snap of her fingers, the two Charizards took to the air. Their eyes never once left the group of teenagers. "They're going to be watching over you four and make sure none of you do anything funny. Instead, we'll be having our fun with these two which should prove better for you," she sneered as both she and Butch threw out a pokéball and released their respective Pokémon.
"…And those two are supposed to be better?" Tracy asked once the light dissipated and he was able to see the newly summoned Pokémon. "They're probably worse than if we fought your two Charizards!"
Standing before everyone were two large Pokémon. One was on all fours with beautiful blue scales covering most of its body. The red blade-like wings on its back looked to be as wide as it and gave off a powerful breeze when flapping. Its sharp teeth shone menacingly against the sunlight as it snapped its maw in a threatening manner.
The second had orange scales that shone like a barely forming sunset. The blue wings seemed small in comparison to its body, but the fact it had just taken to the air proved they were very powerful. It had a face that was admittedly cute, but its eyes shone with determination and experience akin to that of a seasoned fighter. Its nostrils flared as wisps of smoke escaped from them. Scars could be seen marring the Pokemon's white belly, some of which looked as though they were still healing.
"A Salamence and a Dragonite!" Brock exclaimed. Despite the sudden rise in danger, he could not help but stare at the new Pokémon in awe. "They're supposed to be extremely rare and can be a one-Pokémon army in battles!"
"I see you know your Pokémon," Cassidy said in an impressed tone. "That's saying something considering how our organization has made such knowledge near impossible to come by these days. Fortunately for you boys, these haven't undergone enough training to be what you call a 'one-Pokémon army' powerhouse. However, the two of them should be more than enough to decimate you and your weakling Pokémon."
"Who're you calling weak?" Gary and Ash shouted in unison. Both stared at each other for a second before Ash commanded, "Thunder Shock the Dragonite, Pikachu!"
"Don't do it, Ash!"
Brock's warning was a second too late. Pikachu quickly charged up and let loose a strong bolt of electricity. The Dragonite was hit dead on while the Salamence nimbly dodged any stray bolts. However, the orange dragon hardly seemed fazed by it. In fact, all the shock seemed to do was piss it off.
"Why isn't it working?" the teen growled. "Dragonites are classified as flying types!"
"But they're also dragons, and those in that type classification are naturally resistant to electric attacks," the gym leader quickly explained as he and his Vulpix quickly stepped into the battle. "I thought you said you were training to become a Pokémon trainer? Those're the basics you should've memorized!"
"Oh, I forgot about that." Ash then remembered watching the championship battle last night when Lance's Dragonite withstood an electric attack. Pikachu apparently remembered the same thing as he hesitantly retreated from his opponent. "But then what are dragons supposed to be weak against?"
"To a move type that I'm sure none of your Pokémon are able to do," Butch explained. "Now if you're done playing kiddie games, let me show you what true power's supposed to look like. Take a Bite out of that rodent, Salamence!"
"Uh, dodge it and use Quick Attack!"
Pikachu barely managed to pull off the move when the large blue dragon encroached on his space. He had moved so fast; nobody saw him travel the few yards away from the offending mouth. However, the opposing Pokémon seemed to have noticed and immediately changed its course with its mouth wide open at the unsuspecting Pokémon.
"Watch out, Pikachu!"
"Combine Agility with Flare Blitz, Arcanine!"
Gary's Arcanine moved even faster than Pikachu did. Even when the ball of fire made contact with Salamence's exposed side, the large canine was nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, the attack was a second too late as Pikachu was already in the dragon's grip and pushed away along with the opponent. Thankfully, it was short-lived as the heavy Pokémon fell with a heavy thud and loosened its jaw. Pikachu used this to his advantage and quickly scampered away, his side bruised but thankfully without puncture wounds.
"Thanks for that, Gary," Ash thanked with a half-smile. Gary merely grunted in response to him. "Alright, let's try this again! Quick Attack!"
"Hail, Dragonite!" Cassidy commanded at the same time.
With a mighty roar, the Dragonite tilted its body upwards and began to beat its wings. The two Charizards quickly distanced themselves from the battlefield but still kept close watch over the teenagers. In a matter of seconds, a chill descended towards the ground, and large chunks of ice fell from the sky a second later. Salamence shielded both Cassidy and Butch with its wings and took the pelting, but everyone else was forced to find shelter and keep from being knocked out by the large chunks. Pikachu was forced to abandon his attack and instead try to avoid getting pelted by the ice.
"Use Flame Charge to protect yourself!" Gary commanded as he covered his head with his arms. Arcanine quickly complied and used the same attack from before but as a way to melt any ice that would have fallen on him.
"Stay next to Arcanine, Pikachu!" Ash commanded before following Gary to a nearby awning for shelter. "How're we supposed to stop this?"
"We could wait it out, but those two would probably kill us during that time," the other explained. Both noticed Nidoking curling into itself and using Iron Tail to swat some chunks away from him. "The next best thing is to try and cancel out the attack, but I doubt your Pikachu can pull something like that off. God, of all the times for both my Pokémon to only know moves that're primarily for attacks or offensive support!"
Both Tracy and Brock were still out in the open and were trying to make their way to the awning. Tracy had Marill on his shoulders while Vulpix was followed behind them.
"Use Sun – Ow!" Brock was knocked to the ground by an exceptionally large piece of ice hitting his head as he tried to follow the two teen's actions. The sketch artist, who was right behind him, quickly checked him out before dragging him the rest of the way to safety. The gym leader was bleeding a bit, but he ignored the pain and continued on with his interrupted order. "Use Sunny Day, Vulpix!"
Vulpix quickly made her way to her trainer while dodging the falling ice. Once there, her body began to radiate an intense heat. However, she was somehow able to manipulate the warm energy and make it travel up towards the sky. As it was insinuated by Brock, she was trying to use the move to cancel out Dragonite's attack.
"Snuff out that little fox with your Dragon Breath!" he shouted, immediately figuring out what was going on.
Salamence merely moved its head as it continued to use one of its wings to protect Butch and Cassidy from the Hail. It then opened its mouth, and a faint purplish blue light started to glow from within its throat. It steadily grew brighter until a visible ball of energy began to form in-between its sharp teeth. A few seconds later, it let in a quick burst of air before releasing the energy right at the group!
However, Arcanine quickly jumped in front of the attack just before it reached them. The contact caused a minor explosion which created thick smoke that enveloped the battlefield and destroyed part of the awning. Ash and the others were now blinded and being mercilessly pelted by both falling debris and ice. Thankfully, their misfortune was short-lived as the barrage ended quickly and was replaced by a pleasant warmth. Once the smoke had settled, they all saw the orange lupine standing strong before them underneath a fiery orange glow. A pale green aura surrounded him and left the grass around him safe from the blast. He looked a bit tired from the effort, but he was clearly far from being put out of commission.
"That's my Arcanine; always thinking fast on his feet!" Gary complimented with a cocky smile, his face slightly bruised from the Hail. Arcanine barked proudly as a pale green aura that was around the group disappeared. Butch was clearly irritated at seeing his impromptu plans so easily dismantled.
"H-How did they survive that attack?" Ash asked. His mouth was open in shock at what he just saw, his lip slightly cut from the ice. Pikachu was at Ash's feet trying to keep an eye on the two opposing Pokémon for any ongoing action.
"It's Protect, buddy; the same move Vulpix used in the lab earlier. As you can see, it can deflect attacks as strong as that stupid Dragon Breath. And it's thanks to that we were able to put an end to that damned Hail storm."
"But then why does he look hurt?"
"Its recoil damage from Flare Blitz, you idiot. Now stop making me explain everything!" The brown haired teen quickly shifted gears and looked at his Nidoking which had been huddled to the side braving the earlier ice barrage. "It's time we stopped just being defensive and start throwing our own attacks at them. And I know just the one to use. Shoot that Dragonite down with your Ice Beam, Nidoking!"
"That beast knows ice moves?" Cassidy exclaimed. A hint of panic slipped through her usually sadistically calm demeanor. "Counter with Flamethrower, Dragonite!"
"Team up with him on this, Salamence!" Butch commanded. "Ice Beam's no joke, but let's see if your tank can handle two Flamethrower attacks at the same time."
With the Hail storm now over, the blue dragon moved a few feet away before gathering warm energy towards its mouth. The Dragonite was also doing the same while hovering in the air. At the same time, the pink Pokémon was busy collecting cool air towards the top of its horn where a bluish white ball was beginning to form.
"Stop that Salamence with Volt Tackle, Pikachu!" Ash suddenly commanded as Arcanine was preparing for another Protect.
"Don't you remember what happened the first time around, you dumb kid?" the green haired man laughed as Pikachu began running towards the blue dragon Pokémon while emitting an electrical charge. "Electric attacks hardly do anything to Dragon-types. And even if it did, there's no way such a pitiful move can hurt my Pokémon!"
"But who says I'm actually trying to hurt it?" he asked with a wide smirk. That comment caused everyone to cast a confused look at him. At the same moment, the attack connected with the Salamence that was still in the process of letting loose a Flamethrower. Its legs buckled and forced it to kneel, but it still maintained its attack position.
"We told you your attack was hardly going to do anything," the woman replied amusedly shaking her head. "All you did was stall by making Salamence lose balance. Now go ahead and burn that Nidoking to a crisp, you two!"
On command, the Dragonite let loose the energy built into its mouth and exhaled a thick cylinder of flames. At the same time, Gary's Nidoking released its Ice Beam and shot it at the offending heat. Both made contact in the middle of the sky and fought for dominance, but the Salamence's attack was oddly absent.
"What're you doing, you stupid dragon? You're supposed to use Flamethrower!" Butch shouted overdramatically pointed at the pink armored Pokémon. "Do it now!" However, the large blue Pokémon made no indication to enact the command. In fact, it seemed to be shaking as though it were cold and became more violent the more it tried to move. "I don't understand! Why the hell aren't you doing anything, you damned Pokémon? Listen to me!"
"You can think of me as a dumb kid all you want, but I still understand some important points about Pokémon moves," Ash said as his smirk grew wider. "They're not only used for attacking but also for support and defensive tactics. I know that electric attacks have a chance to cause paralysis, and that's what I was hoping for. Looks like I got lucky this time!"
"Geez, talk about gambling with your life," Brock murmured, the praise in his voice clear despite his frown. He then shifted his attention back to Nidoking and saw that he was struggling to keep his attack from being overwhelmed.
"So you managed to compromise Salamence's usefulness; that doesn't mean Dragonite isn't able to beat you by himself!" Cassidy cockily exclaimed. "Throw all your power into that Flamethrower! Show these brats why they should fear us!"
With a mighty beat of its wings, Dragonite managed to strengthen its attack. The flames were much fiercer and nearly covered the offending Ice Beam. Nidoking was clearly struggling to keep up his end of the battle, but his attack was slowly being overwhelmed by the intense heat. Not even Vulpix's Confuse Ray, a move her trainer shouted during the chaos, did anything to distract the dragon. It was only a matter of time before the pink Pokémon would lose his strength and be defeated.
"Damn it; he can't keep this up!" Gary growled as he watched the battle slowly going downhill. His usually cool demeanor was quickly crumbling away, and an unusual panic was starting to take over. "It's too late for him to stop and get away. But if this keeps up, he's going to be burned to a crisp! God damn it; why is this happening again? It's just like before when Umbreon was trying to…!" His voice cracked before he could finish, and he fell to his knees as he tore his eyes away from the dire scene before him. "I-I don't want someone else I care to be gone because of me!"
"Gary, are you–"
"Use Helping Hand to support Nidoking!" someone commanded, effectively drowning out Ash mid-sentence.
In a quick second, Tracy's Marill took to the battlefield and started hopping around in a dance-like fashion. An ominously translucent aura soon surrounded her before getting absorbed by Nidoking. Suddenly, the Pink Pokémon seemed to have more energy and used the boost to strengthen the intensity of his Ice Beam.
"He's…getting stronger!" Ash exclaimed in awe after seeing the once drained Pokémon suddenly able to match the Flamethrower's strength. "So that's what Helping Hand's supposed to do."
"Now weaken Dragonite's attack with Water Sport!"
Once again, Marill started her dance-like hopping. This time, a blue aura surrounded her before changing into a thin sheen of water that quickly expanded around the battlefield. Gary looked up just in time to witness this as a moist sensation passed through him and everyone else. However, their skin did not have any visible water on it despite the wet feeling. Dragonite was not as lucky with this as his fire attack was surrounded by an aura of water that diminished it in both size and strength. With this perfect storm in play, Nidoking's Ice Beam was able to cut through the flames and land a direct hit on the surprised Pokémon.
"What the hell?" Cassidy exclaimed as the orange dragon fell to the ground with a loud thud that caused the earth to tremble. His body was covered in a thin sheet of ice, and he could barely move in his frozen condition. "This doesn't make any sense! The Pokémon you have shouldn't be able to stand up to Dragonite. We had our reconnaissance team make sure of that before we attacked!"
"Brute strength isn't everything," Brock said. He had since recovered from his injury and was standing alongside Tracy. Both Marill and Vulpix were also together and ready to continue the fight. "Teamwork and strategy can be just as effective in a battle if not more so. As you just saw, your Dragonite's raw power couldn't match our combined strength!"
"So you think relying on teamwork and dumb luck will to be enough to for you to make a fool of us?" Butch growled. His teeth were audibly grinding as he tried to compensate for their setback. "Let's see how smug you'll be once I've done this! Hyper Beam those brats and their Pokémon into oblivion, Salamence!"
The teens' Pokémon immediately formed a defensive line in front of their trainers, most of them tired but ready to take on the next attack. However, that was all they did as they kept watch over the blue dragon and noticed it was still the same as when Pikachu attacked it. It was still randomly shivering every time it tried to move and unable to do more than turn its head to stare at Butch.
"You're still paralyzed?" he shouted. He then ranted while punching the poor Pokémon, "Our military's trained you to be stronger than this! You snap out of it now or you'll be paying with more than just your lost meals!"
"Pokémon can't break out of paralysis just like that," Ash explained, wincing at each hit that landed on Salamence's neck. "They need medicine to get better."
"That or they need to be pretty determined to snap out of it on their own," Tracy added as he carefully watched the abused Pokémon. "Just because they're strong doesn't mean they'll be able to pull it off. Either way, you can't beat up on your Pokémon just because you neglected to prepare for it!"
"As if you have the right to talk!" Cassidy angrily spat out. She immediately recalled Dragonite into his pokéball without bothering to hurl verbal and physical abuse at him. Her partner gave one last punch before begrudgingly recalling Salamence. "We had the upper hand thanks to our careful planning and surprise attack. It should've been impossible for your inferior Pokémon to have beaten our superior ones! How you managed to get the better of us is beyond me, but we're done playing around. Come to us, Charizard!"
With a pair of mighty roars, the Charizards flew back onto the battlefield. The teens had completely forgotten about them, and most of their Pokémon visibly hesitated at the large forms landing before them. Their wings were flapping so powerfully that dust was picked up from the ground and obscured the area.
"If you really think your dumb luck and precious teamwork is all that great, then let's see if it can help you fight your way out of this," she cackled as the air cleared. "But don't think that you'll last as long as you did in our last battle. These two are much stronger than Dragonite and Salamence. After all, we don't put them out on decoy missions for nothing. To demonstrate, I think a couple of Infernos will suffice."
"Commander Cassidy; Commander Butch!" an enemy soldier shouted as he suddenly ran out of the laboratory. His clothes were pretty damaged, and his hands were devoid of a weapon. He shoved his way past both the teens and their Pokémon before coming to a stop before the two commanders. "We're in trouble, sirs!"
"What is it?" Butch irritably demanded. "Can't you see we're about to take care of a few brats? Go back to your post!"
"But this is important, sir!" the soldier implored despite the death glares that were shot at him. "Our position's been heavily compromised. We can't continue to hold our own without the aid of reinforcements!"
"What did you say?"
"How did this happen?" the woman exclaimed, the two Charizards casting a Scary Face at the petrified newcomer. "The crew we brought was supposed to be enough without having to waste resources. Where did things go wrong?"
"Well, we severely underestimated one of them. He's a lot stronger than–"
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning cut through the sky and struck the soldier. He was knocked unconscious in an instant. Everyone else was either pushed back from the force of the electricity or managed to barely hold their ground. The Charizards immediately used their wings to protect the two commanders from any harm. When most of the electricity cleared the air, a Raichu was seen standing on the downed soldier with its arms crossed in a smug fashion, its cheeks sparking dangerously as it stared down Butch and Cassidy.
"I think your man was going to say that I took down your occupation force," a familiarly gruff voice said. Turning around to see the newcomer, the teens were instantly relieved to see Surge walking out of the lab. "Then again, that Thunder did shut him up before he could get there. Oh well, that's one last enemy to take care of."
"Well, if it isn't Lt. Surge," Cassidy said in a voice of both surprise and contempt. "I'm surprised to see you here. I never thought you'd still be around after our last little skirmish on Mt. Moon. In fact, our intel said that you died there protecting your fat rat!"
"Then perhaps you shouldn't believe everything your men tell you," the lieutenant simply replied while flashing a cocky smile. "Although I don't blame them for handing you the wrong information. After all, it was hell to make sure the skills I learned from the Lucario of Cameran Castle would work in faking my death. I really must thank you for that opportunity; it gave me a chance to work on things behind the scenes. I must say, you watching every little move I made was starting to get real annoying."
"Even with Cameran Castle defeated, you still manage to use their techniques to make fools of us!" Butch growled through gritted teeth before flinching at the small spark of electricity Raichu aimed at him. "Why can't you just die along with the rest of the Cameran legacy? Your powers are in the way of our boss's plans!"
"Their legacy is dead. You saw to it two years ago right after my training with them was completed. Right now, I'm nothing more than one of their last successful students who is hell bent on making sure you stop killing destroying innocent people's lives and to free every single Pokémon you've captured!"
"What are they talking about?" Tracy whispered as the three adults continued with their heated discussion.
"They're talking about some castle in Rota," Ash answered. "I've only been there once on vacation, but it's somewhere here in Kanto. I never heard of the place ever having Lucario or that they were able to train people in things, though."
"That's because it was supposed to be a secret from people outside of the high-ranking military," Gary explained. He had since recovered from his breakdown and was keeping an eye on the two Charizards. "All humans have a certain energy in them, but it's rare to find one who has a high concentration of it. It's even rarer for one to be able to harness that energy and to do things any ordinary person would consider superhuman."
"And how do you know about that?" Brock questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Didn't you just say that this secret lesson was only known to those in the military of high ranking? I somehow doubt you're of that rank."
"That's because I'm one of those rare humans who's able to harness this power."
"I've had just about enough of this!" Cassidy shouted, bringing the teens' attention back to the matter at hand. "First it was those kids who managed to take out two of our top Pokémon. Then we come to learn that you, one of the organization's top enemies, is still alive and managed to ruin our plans. I've heard just about enough bad news to last me the month!"
"Then how about you take you and your men out of this town?" Surge suggested in a stoic tone. "You've already failed in trying to both steal the Pokémon; there's no reason for you to be here now." He then added in a sarcastic tone, "And besides, all this stress can't possibly be good for your complexion."
"Don't think you can gloat just because you survived yet another day!" Butch spat out as he hopped onto one of the Charizards's back. Cassidy quickly followed his example. "Mark our words; we will destroy you and the last of Cameran Castle's surviving remnants. After that, our boss will turn this world into a place fitting for his vision!"
"Unfortunately, none of you will be around to see that happen," the woman jeered as the two stopped flying upwards. "Let's see if you can fake your way out this time. Use Blast Burn on those fools!"
"Those two know that move?" the lieutenant exclaimed, his once confident and cocky tone now riddled with panic. He then quickly turned to Gary before saying, "I know you're not that good yet, but I can't handle the attack on my own!"
"You don't have to ask twice," Gary coolly replied as both he and Arcanine stood by the man's side. At the same time, the two Charizards were charging up a ball of fire in their mouths that was steadily growing bigger with each passing second. He then commanded Tracy, "Have that Marill use Water Sport again. We'll need all the help we can get!"
"Okay," Tracy dumbly replied. He and the rest of the group were completely confused as to what was going on. Still, Marill did as she was instructed and once again covered the area in the strange dry-yet-wet-feeling aura. At the same time, Arcanine began surrounding itself with a greenish-blue aura of Protect. Gary and Surge were also surrounded by the same barrier, except that it looked more like they were generating it themselves rather than being fully covered by the canine's abilities!
"You two can use Protect!" Ash and Brock both exclaimed. Tracy merely stared at the sight in stunned awe while their Pokémon looked on in amazed confusion. Then Ash shouted, "How're you able to use Pokémon moves?"
"Cameran Castle!" Gary shouted back just as the two Blast Burns finished prepping and came at them. Because of the three-man barrier set up, the flames stopped short of reaching the group. However, the intense heat was a completely different story and caused some to instantly pass out with others quickly losing consciousness.
"Th-This's insane!" Tracy gasped, his body clearly having a hard time coping with the drastic temperature change. "This is the weakened version with Marill's Water Sport? I hate to think how it'd be without it!"
"You think some measly fire dampener's going to be enough to stop this attack?" Cassidy cackled. "You've obviously never seen any of our Charizards in battle before. Consider this to be your first and only opportunity!"
"I think…I'm getting a burn!" Ash hissed as he looked at his arms. Sure enough, the heat was causing his skin to start blistering. He then collapsed from a combination of the increasing pain and heat with most of the other Pokémon following suit. Even Vulpix was reaching her limits despite being a fire Pokémon herself. His vision was starting to blur, and he could barely hear Gary and Surge over the roar of the flames and his fading consciousness.
"Damn it; this is stronger than I thought!" Surge grunted as he tried to keep the Protect up. His arms were shaking from the effort, and he was starting to show signs of being burned. Gary was also suffering through the same thing while Arcanine slowly fell to the ground. "I-I don't think we're making it this time!"
"Says the guy who's always cockily optimistic!" Gary half-chuckled before chancing a glance behind him and saw the rest either unconscious or barely hanging on. "And what about them? They weren't supposed to be dragged into this mess!"
"Nobody was supposed to be! It's because of this goddamned war! If only this whole thing never started…!" The Lieutenant let out an agonizing yell as the flames slowly pierced through his barrier and engulfed his hands. "Damn it! I-I can't…!"
"Oh, shit; did we really win Pallet Town's safety just to die from this?" the other growled through gritted teeth as his body was slowly consumed by the flames. He then said in an oddly calm tone with no hints of pain, "I guess…it's time for me to see him and Umbreon again. Damn; I hoped to be older than now for that," he added with a strained chuckle just before being completely swallowed by the fire.
"You deserved better than this…," Surge murmured with a heavy sigh. "I wonder how much time I've bought everyone by screwing with the enemy's plans. If only we knew then the things we know now."
That was the last thing Ash heard before his dwindling consciousness took his hearing. His eyes barely registered both Surge and Arcanine being surrounded by the fire as the world grew dark. The heat rising to completely unbearable levels and further blistering his skin was the last thing he felt before completely succumbing to the serenity of sleep, his right hand falling onto his near-unconscious Pikachu's fur-singed arm.
Well, this was definitely an action-packed chapter with a sort of cliffhanger ending! I hope you all enjoyed reading it. I tried to make it obvious that Dragonite and Salamence are much stronger than the group's Pokemon just by the fact that the two hardly have to move to overwhelm them. Everyone else is basically playing defensively until Gary decides to chance it with Nidoking who's probably the strongest they got but still not good enough on his own. The one thing I liked about the anime was that the moves Pokemon used could be used strategically and together, not like the game where it's one move at a time and moves (like Arcanine with Flare Blitz and Agility) can't be combined into one move.
In that respect, I was trying to go for a fire-based Quick Attack and created it when I found none. You know how the water move classification has Aqua Jet which is basically Quick Attack with water? The fact that Gary could think fast and combine moves on the spot was also meant to show how experienced he is out of the group. it was also a chance to show that Ash is just a beginner since he had to ask about a move he's never seen before. I was planning to do something like that with Brock and make him seem experienced, but I just couldn't see Vulpix being that experienced at this particular moment. And yes, I know Flame Charge is an attack. Like I said earlier, the anime allowed for attacks to be used in ways they were not originally intended to be used. In this case, it was a defensive technique against Dragonite's Hail.
And yes, aura powers will be making an appearance in this story. I've only just finished watching "Pokemon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew" and saw the power of aura. It's an interesting concept, and I thought I'd give it a try to interpret it in my own way. I haven't watched any episodes from the ninth season onwards since they moved the show to cable television, so I don't know if they ever elaborated on Ash's usage of aura. Either way, I'm going to input aura for this story in my way.
One more point. I'm going to try and have each Pokemon play a designated role. For those of you confused as to what I mean, think on the days of Final Fantasy before the PS2 was invented. Each character in the games had their own role, be it thief or white mage. I'm not sure if you noticed, but Marill was primarily playing support by boosting Nidoking's strength and weakening Dragonite's. Nidoking played the role of a character with high defense since he was fighting in the last chapter and now has to fight again. And Pikachu was more of some kind of magic user whose role was more on the debilitation of the enemy (Salamence) via status effect (paralysis). They will all play a certain designated role based on the current battle scene I'm showing and made known to you from the moves they use. However, it's not like Marill will once again be purely supportive next time she makes an appearance (that's just an example, not a promise; Tracy's Marill wasn't exactly a battler in the anime, after all).
Well, I hope I covered everything that's important. If there's anything else that you're confused about or felt I failed to mention on here, feel free to PM me or leave it in the review. I just want to make sure you understand how this story is being formatted, and I can't exactly explain all this in the story itself without breaking the fourth wall. On that note, please don't forget to leave a review before leaving with your thoughts on how this new chapter was. I really tried my best with all the action here, and I hope that it flowed well enough to be considered a good read. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on this site everybody!