Pokemon Adventures: Where Legends Cross
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon Adventures/Special.
Phew, suffering from what Burgh would call an artist's block, although I think it's just the late-spring heat getting to me... gotta get outta this slump...
Hopefully, our new face's energy would give me the strength to write fast again. Let's hope!
Began writing on May 22nd, 2011. Currently drafting chapter 28, almost complete. By the way, you're gonna LOVE chapter 27! XD
Chapter 13. Vs. Weezing: Enter the Rogue Trainer
- Pinwheel Forest -
"Finish it, Houndoom. Use Fire Fang!" Archer ordered at the snarling (despite being severely exhausted) Dark Pokemon in front of him, who immediately darted forward at Pearl with its wicked teeth in flames.
"Hang on a little more, Torahiko! Thunder Fang!" Pearl cried in desperation, forced to send out his also-worn Luxray against the hell-hound with his fangs crackling in electricity.
The two Pokemon collided in middle ground with a single, savage roar; both Torahiko and the Houndoom quickly vanished under a whirlwind of fur and claws and teeth, sparks flying everywhere and fire and lightning met. Pearl would have stayed by his Luxray further, but the grunts surrounding the rest of his team chose that moment to rush in, for the umpteenth time since he first ran into them about half an hour ago.
"Saruhiko, use Fire Punch! Perahiko, Hyper Voice! Zeruhiko, Aqua Jet! Tarohiko, Double Edge! Diguhiko, use Dig! Pikahiko, Confuse Ray!" The commands shot themselves out of Pearl's mouth in a rapid staccato, as Pokemon after Pokemon rushed at his teammates, only to be knocked back by the flurry of ensuing attacks. This state lasted for quite awhile, and it wasn't until Pearl felt his throat being set on fire that a painful yelp slapped his ears.
"Torahiko!" He shouted, and whirled toward where the Gleam Eyes Pokemon was fighting, as Perahiko drove back another latge wave with a Swift attack. Torahiko was hobbling around the enemy, one front paw hanging limp in front of his body and many parts of his side cut and scorched. The Houndoom was in an even worse shape, static travelling along its heaving body as it struggled to move in vain. Finally, with a mournful howl of defeat it collapsed to the ground, where it lay ummoving.
"Tch," muttered Archer as he clicked his tongue in displeasure. Showing no other signs of warmth for his fallen Pokemon he wordlessly returned the Dark Pokemon, taking out a second Poke Ball immediately. "Weezing, use Sludge."
The Poison Gas Pokemon appeared in a flash, hovering over in front of the panting Luxray with its mouth (the larger one) wide open.
"Torahiko, jump back!" Pearl yelled out, but realized that the Gleam Eye Pokemon's injured leg prevented him from doing that as a thick glob of black filth ejected itself out of the Weezing's mouth, landing on Torahiko's eyes with a disgusting splat. The Luxray let out a howl of fury and pain as he waved his head this way and there, completely blinded (thankfully not poisoned) by the Sludge attack.
"Torahiko, return!" Pearl cried out at once, retrieving him before he went and hurt himself. Desperately turning to his other teammates, he was distressed to find that they were all worn down to wit's end with defending him against the endless wave of grunts, and most certainly in no condition to take on Archer's Weezing.
"You see?" Archer smirked at Pearl's helpless expression as the boy glared up at him defiantly. "You already know that it is useless to resist any further. Give up now, boy, and I may yet spare your life. Who knows, you might even make a good addition to the glorious ranks of Team Rocket!"
"To hell with your forked tongue!" Pearl snapped at the Team Rocket Executive, thoroughly pissed by the man's arrogant rambling. "Join you, a pack of worthless thieves? I'd rather die!"
Archer's expression frowned up in anger, but before he could make a reply a different, younger voice chuckled from behind the man:
"Ha! That's the spirit, kiddo! But leave this one to me."
"What?" Archer exclaimed as he tried to turn back, only to have a solid shape crash into his back, sending him tumbling down the ledge and flat onto the ground where his Houndoom lay just a moment ago.
"GERONIMO!" Shouted the same voice a someone leaped over the ledge and onto right in front of a grunt standing nearest to Pearl. Suddenly producing something long and hard from his hand, the figure - who was supposedly a boy, but the shadowy light of the woods hid him in a silhouette of green and black - struck the grunt with it straight in the back of the skull, sending him flying with a yell of agony.
"Get'em, lads!" Once grunt yelled, and soon everyone had forgotten about Pearl and began swarming around the boy along with their Pokemon.
"Aibo, need a little hand here!" The boy roared enthusiastically, whipping out a Poke Ball and releasing an Ambipom from it, who have an energetic screech before joining its Trainer in actively (and literally) beating the crap out of the grunts.
"Saruhiko, Zeruhiko! Go help him!" Pearl ordered quickly, dedicing that the stranger was saving his life. Yelling agreement despite their fatigue, the Infernape and Floatzel hurriedly rushed over to aid the boy as he and the Ambipom fought tirelessly against the black wave of thieves and their Pokemon.
"Uneeded, but thanks!" The Trainer told Pearl with a friendly thumbs-up, swinging the long stick around like he was a martial artist as he sent grutn after grunt flying.
"Weezing, use Toxic on the interloper!" Pearl whirled around in surprise, realizing that he had completely forgotten about Archer as the said man picked himself off the ground, his eyes blazing with fury. With a quiet growl the Poison Gas Pokemon began drifting toward the fighting boy, its body slightly expanding and contracting as it began brewing the deadly concoction of toxin stored inside its body.
"Hey, look out!" Pearl shouted the warning, only to find that the boy had already noticed.
"That's more like it," he said with a fierce grin, suddenly swinging the stick in a wide arc and causing all the grunts in range to leap back and give him space. Quick as a flash another Poke Ball shot up above his head, and in a smooth motion he struck it with the end of the stick as if he was playing billiards - it was only at this point that Pearl realized that the boy was indeed fighting with a billiard cue - , sending the ball straight out of the black circle around him and toward the incoming Weezing.
"I choose you, Exbo!" The Trainer bellowed as the grunts began closing in on him and Aibo again. The ejected Poke Ball burst open to reveal a mighty Typhlosion - Pearl could only gasp at its magnificence - that landed in front of the Weezing with a challenging roar, the fiery collar on its neck bristling and ready to attack.
"Roast 'em, buddy! Flamethrower!" The Trainer yelled, bringing the cue down - Hard! - on a grunt's head. With a wild bellow the Typhlosion unleashed a thick pillar of orange flame from between his jaws, completely engulfing the Weezing in a globe of fire.
And everyone knows what happens when you set gas on fire.
KA - BOOM!
Pearl was so amazed by the sheer power of a single Flamethrower attack that he almost forgot the need to dodge the explosion until Tarohiko hurriedly butted him with his hindquarters and sending him to the forest floor, just as an incredible heatwave swept over his head and nearly singed his hair. After it passed Pearl dared to raise his head, discovering the severely-charred Weezing knocked out on the floor. Quickly getting to his feet he saw in surprise that most of the grunts were knocked out by the explosion as well, and those that were left standing were quickly taken down by the boy and his Ambipom.
"Hell yeah!" The Trainer yelled out, pumping his fists in the air energetically. "That was some blast, Exbo! Hey Aibo, did you just see that? Did you just see the size of that blast?"
The Ambipom chittered excitedly, doing handstands while skipping around his Trainer in joy. Both of them looked none the worse for someone who were being ganged up on by a mob of criminals ten seconds ago.
"Well, now that we took care of that..." said the Trainer, his grin fading as he slowly walked over to a staggering Archer, who seemed appalled by the situation at hand.
"I haven't been expecting to see you TR scums here," the boy's tone was suddenly a hundredfold deadlier as he faced Archer, billiard cue swinging dangerously in one hand. "Run back to whatever hole you came from and tell your pals: Gold of Newleaf Town, Dex Holder of Johto is here, and any black-suited bastards caught in my way are as good as DEAD. Got that?"
"Dex Holder, huh?" Archer grunted as he pulled out a Poke Ball from his belt. "I'll remember that, then. Crobat, use Haze!"
Immediately upon being released the Bat Pokemon whipped up a thick, black fog around itself and its Trainer, completely shrouding them in.
"Perahiko, use Defog!" Pearl cried out quickly, having the Chatot blow the Haze away with a swift blast of wind. However, Archer was already gone by the time the fog cleared completely.
"Dang," Pearl muttered, but quickly let it go and looked at the other Trainer who called himself Gold as he walked over to him with a friendly grin. Now that he could obserbe his features a bit more properly, Pearl could see that Gold was a tall boy around the age of seventeen, wearing a red jacket and black pants, along with a pair of yellow goggles and a black cap worn backwards with an Ultra Ball's design on it. His amber eyes were large and mischievous, but also possessed a fierce edge that made it look as if he was constantly glaring.
"You look fine for a guy who's just been mobbed," the Trainer chuckled as he stopped in fornt of Pearl, looking up and down on him with an inspecting look. "Well, should've known. You did put up a good fight back there."
"Not as good as you," replied Pearl as he returned all his worn-to-the-bones Pokemon quickly. "Thank you for saving me. It feels as if nothing has gone right since I came to this region."
"Nah, don't mind; happens all the time," said Gold with a nonchalant shrug, only to suddenly look at his bag with sudden interest. "Say, is that a PokeDex you're keeping there?"
"Huh? Oh, er, yes," said Pearl, hastily taking the Dex out and showing it to Gold. "I'm Pearl, Dex Holder of the Sinnoh region. I'm looking for my friend Diamond right now; we were in a shipwreck, and I think he might be somewhere around here."
"Is that so?" Gold muttered thoughtfully, closing his eyes as Aibo and Exbo walked over to him in curiousity. "Huh, Sinnoh. Guess I'm not the only one who's had a weird d - hey, what's that noise? The ground's shaking."
Gold's words got Pearl alert all over again. While he wasn't sensitive enough to know that the ground actually was shaking, his sharp ears could hear a distant sound of... someone running? It sounded too fast to be a person, though. Pearl quickly looked around to locate the source of the sound, but the mossy floor of the Pinwheel Forest muffled up the noise and made it difficult to keep track.
And then, as the running noise suddenly grew a lot louder,
"YA - "
Pearl thought the roar - a voice? - sounded oddly familiar, but that was the last though allowed to him before something smashed REALLY hard into his back, for a moment causing utter blackness to cover his vision.
She had to admit, the feeling of her foot digging into Pearl's back was rather satisfying; how long has it been since she began chasing the stupid bastard all the way from Nuvema Town?
" - IDIOT!" Sapphire finished her little exclamation as Pearl shot forward from her kick (she made sure not to break a bone or two) straight into a nearby tree, where he slid onto the grond with a dazed look.
"There!" She huffed, looking down at the semiconscious boy with her hands on her hips. "The kick was for hurting Rono, and the shout was for havin' me track ya halfway through Unova fer a whole damn day!" (#1)
"Sa - Sapphire-san?" Pearl exclaimed incredulously, managing to stagger to his feet after receiving a flying kick straight in the spine. Impressive. "What are you doing here? Did - did you run all the way from that town to here?"
"I rested once, happy?" Sapphire snapped back (Dang, it was hard to keep her temper cool without Ruby around). "I came to look for ya, obviously. 'd ya think we'd leave an idiot like you running around the entire region without even knowing the way around?"
"Er," Pearl looked as if he was trying to make a lousy excuse, but a hearty laughter from their side had both of them look left to see a familiar person (to Sapphire, that is), basically in the process of laughing his hat off.
"Yo, cavegal!" He chuckled, his Ambipom and Typhlosion laughing alongside him. "Always knows how to make an entrance, eh? Some show! So you and the loverboy are both here, too?"
"Gold-senpai?" Now it was Sapphire's turn to exclaim in shock. "Wh-what are you doing here in Unova?"
"Might ask the same of you," said Gold as he walked over to the two younger Dex Holders. "Though I've a feeling we're all here for the same reason. I'll get right to the point: are you here because, for some reason, that this region is in danger and you feel a need to save it?"
Sapphire's eyes grew wide in shock, and she glanced briefly at Pearl to see that he wasn't much different. He had the dream too! No... we've all had the same message in our dreams!
Just then her Pokenav beeped into life, bringing the conversation to a halt. Sapphire quickly fished up the device out of her belt in anticipation, knowing there was only one person who would call her here in Unova...
"Ruby?" She asked, bringing the PokeNav close to her ears. "What is it? Where are ya?"
"I see the art of saying hello is dead," replied Ruby's cool, controlled voice from the other side.
"Get to the godamn point, sissy!" Sapphire snapped at once, feeling a vein pulsing on her forehead. "Why. Did. Ya. Call?" Why'd ya always have to make things so difficult?
"Aww, isn't there a chance of me calling you just because I miss you?" As Ruby said this, Sapphire thought she heard an exaggerated puking noise coming from behind him.
Sweet of him. "I said get to the point, Ruby."
"Okay, okay," said Ruby placatingly, his voice becoming serious again. "As for where I am, I'm nearing Nimbasa right now. What about you? Caught up to Pearl yet?"
"I did, actually," replied Sapphire, hoping she didn't sound smug. "We're in Pinwheel Forest right now, along with Gold-senpai. Apparantly there's been Team Rocket activity around here."
"Gold-senpai? Really?" Asked Ruby, sounding surprised. "Wow, that's... coincidental. 'cause we also met Em on the way, and some guys Diamond here calls Team Galactic."
"Team... Galactic?" Sapphire repeated the unfamiliar word, frowning in confusion. Beside her Pearl flinched upon hearing the word. "Wait... you're with Emerald? And did ya just say Diamond? You found him?"
"Yes, he was with - "
"Diamond! You found him?" Pearl exclaimed, his head shooting up at the very mention of his friend.
"Hold your Rapidash!" Saphire told the younger boy sternly before telling Ruby: "Don't mind, that was Pearl yelling."
"Yeah, similar thing happening here." Ruby's voice was a little louder than before, trying to block out a babble of words on the other side as well. At least Diamond spoke more quietly than Pearl. "Anyway, that's great! You said you're in Pinwheel Forest, right? Wait there for us; we'll come and get you, then we can continue our journey together again!"
Sapphire was about to agree happily when Gold suddenly spoke from behind: "Hey, cavegal, wait a moment." In a louder voice so that people could hear him from the other side as well he continued: "Ruby, Emerald, and hey Diamond - can I just call you Dia? This is Gold. I suppose you know what we're here for, right?"
"Gold-senpai!" There was confusion in Ruby's voice as he answered. "Er, yes. Dia just told me. It looks like all of us had similar dreams warning us of danger in Unova. We're all here to stop whatever disaster that's about to happen here, right?"
"Right-O. And it sounds as if you've already had your share of battling thugs too, eh?" said Gold as a chill went down Sapphire's spine. Her little revelation was right after all; besides the common title they shared as Dex Holder, they were all bound by the same destiny. "So by now, you should know how urgent the situation is, right?"
"Yes," said Ruby, sounding uncertain now. "What are you telling us to do, senpai?"
"I'm saying that there's no time for you to wait for us, let alone double back," replied Gold a-matter-of-factly. With a sinking feeling Sapphire realized he was right; Team Plasma would make their move any moment now, despite the Unova Dex Holders' efforts. They had to act, and they had to act quickly.
"But that's hardly - " Ruby began protesting, but Sapphire quickly cut him off.
"No, he's right," she said sadly, despite the choking feeling clotting up her throat. "Nimbasa's too far off from here. We don't have time fer detours, Ruby. You'll have to move on to the Pokemon League without us."
"But - "
"No buts!" Snapped Sapphire, although the lump in her throat refused to go away. "We have a duty to fulfill here; we can't act like kids anymore."
Ruby must have heard the disappointment in her voice, for he stopped whining like he would usually do during their arguments.
"Are you going to be okay, though?" When he spoke again, there was a deep sorrow in his voice that clawed at Sapphire's heart.
"Whaddya take me for, a sissy like you?" She tried to feign a snort, insteading making a weird noise that sounded like an animal dying. "And besides, we're all quick on our feet. We'll catch up to ya sluggards in no time!"
That, if nothing else, appeared to please him to no end.
"I've no doubt of that, barbarian," he chuckled. "So how long can I expect, next week?"
"Three days," Sapphire corrected, smiling genuine this time.
"I'll be counting on it," he told her softly. "Until then... au revoir."
The PokeNav went dead.
By heavens, had he just used French on her?
"So we're gonna catch up to them now?" Pearl's voice made her turn at the younger boy, who looked surprisingly ungrieved for someone who had been worried sick for his best friend just ten minutes ago.
Noticing her questioning look, the Sinnoh Dex Holder managed a thin smile and spoke: "As long as I know that he's safe... and that we'll meet again, that's fine with me."
"Good for you, kid," said Gold cheerfully, tapping his shoulder lightly with his billiard cue. Turning to Sapphire he continued: "Well, let's get goin' ourselves! Hey cavegal, can I hitch a ride on your flyer? Mine's a bit bushed."
"Sure, I can manage three," replied Sapphire with an inviting look at Pearl.
"Thanks," he said quietly, looking down at one of his Poke Balls with a shamed look. "Perahiko's in no condition to carry me anywhere, either."
"No problem," said Sapphire, taking out a ball and lightly throwing it into the air. "Come out, Pilo!"
The Tropius appeared with a flash, stomping his large feet energetically as he greeted his Trainer with a deep bow with his long neck. Returning the gesture by patting his head softly, Sapphire gingerly climbed onto his wide back before motioning the other two with a wave. Gold quickly clambered onto the seat behind her, while Pearl hastily scrambled up on the rear.
"We're ready!" The wild girl told Pilo, who gave a mighty flap of his four wings, lifing (rather clumsily) off the ground and soaring above the trees before speeding toward their eventual destination, the Pokemon League where their answer awaited.
You'd better hurry up, Ruby, Sapphire couldn't help but think. While I'm giving ya a head start.
No, Ruby! You can't leave your girl with that pervert of a Dex Holder! ROFL XD *gets shot* Yes, Gold shows a perverted side at times... remember how Silver beat the crap outta him when he tried to touch Blue's butt?
#1. An exaggeration, of course. She didn't even cross a quarter... but that's still a friggin' lot.
So there, now Gold's out. Only four left, right? To give you a little hint, generally the more I like them - and the older they are - the later they come out! Though that doesn't mean I don't like the ones that came out early, of course.
Pikachu127, thanks for the info... dang, when did I make that typo? These days I'm so addled that I can't even spell properly...
Well, that's that. So the Dex Holders slowly begin to group together, and new bad guys just keep popping out! XD Can you guess who'll play as the badass in the next chapter? I'll give you two hints: the next chapter returns to Black (after he gains the Light Stone, as I've told you in Chapter 9), and the place is: Opelucid City. Feel free to guess!
Hm, I think that's all for today. I'm waiting til those two lovebirds Ruby and Sapph will rejoin; keep your fingers crossed, and R&R!
Writing completed on May 23rd, 2011. This is Yowl of Time, out.