Poke-genetics: monstrous last stand
Her mind was of a cold precision. Her whole thinking process was focused on finding a plan, one that would allow her to crush those annoying little furballs.
Right now, her wobbuffet and her alakazam were both panting out of exhaustion. It was the first time that it happened to them in battle. Then again, it had been a long time since someone had dared face her head-on. She could simply punish them later, but not too harshly. Right now, she had something else to take care of.
«Tyranitar… » She let go of her last pokeball, calling another powerhouse to the game. «So, it is a two-on-two battle then? » Janes snickered.
Both her pokemon followed her example, staring down at the two yellow mice. They ignored the glare that Pikachu sent their way, though the smile on Ash's face was a bit unsettling.
«No, it's a two-on-one. »
Janes's jaw drop, just like that of her dragonite and tyranitar.
«What I should have realized the first time we fought is that I'm a trainer. My role has always been to think of strategies from the sidelines. When I fight, I get in the way. »
Pikachu's whole body was tense. This was not a surprise; rather, this was what he wanted. Since the first time they had faced Team Blast, he had not been able to protect Ash properly. Now was his chance to set things right.
He shot a knowing look to his trainer, to which he replied with a wink.
«I know you can take them both, buddy. » Ash's voice was strong, unfaltering. He had no doubts.
From the other side of the clearing, Janes had returned from her stupor and narrowed her eyes at them. The boy was not acting like she had predicted. She did not like this.
Neither did her dragonite.
«DO NOT MOCK ME, MOUSE! » He roared, his body shaking with anger. «THIS PATHETIC LITTLE POKEMON WON'T BE ABLE TO TAKE ME DOWN! » His nostrils flared with fire, earning a smirk from his mistress. «I AM A DRAGONITE, AN APEX PREDATOR. YOU TWO DON'T STAND A CHANCE AGAINST ME! »
He beat his wing slowly, creating a few gusts of winds toward them.
Ash looked thoroughly unimpressed.
«So what? Pikachu has defeated legendaries before. Two of them. »
Janes saw her pokemon falter, shocked out of his mind.
Even as he yelled to cover the noise, there was a beaming pride hidden underneath those words that made Janes believe him and grit her teeth. She vaguely remembered that he had faced an opponent with two legendaries in one of his team and both had been knocked out, at the cost of his own team.
The reminder coldly washed away her hesitations. She had to crush them as fast as possible.
«Pikachu, use agility. »
Following the order, he dashed forward, his fur glowing faintly.
Janes shouted her orders immediately.
«Dragonite, Flamethrower, Tyranitar, Dark pulse! »
A stream of fire followed a stream of darkness and ripped through the distance. Even from where he was standing, Ash could feel the vibe of power the attacks gave.
«Agility again! » He screamed, his heart missing a beat.
Pikachu suddenly accelerated, running below both move just as they hit the ground.
They clashed with a frightening screech right before they exploded.
«Catch him! » She ordered, seeing the move had been unsuccessful.
«Pikachu, Agility again! » Ash repeated and she saw the pokemon eat the distance between them in a heartbeat.
Her movements frantic, she threw one knife right where his body should be, only for him to break his charge and change direction.
She only got a glimpse of a yellow blur as he ran past right between her two pokemon.
«Agility! » The other pikachu shouted once more.
«Draco meteor! » She yelled, trying to hide her anger.
The blast of energy flew straight toward the sky and exploded, scattering into a dozen fireballs.
Not losing a second, Ash stepped back and yelled.
«Now! »
He disappeared.
Pikachu was gone. It was not that she couldn't follow him anymore; he simply was no longer in the clearing anymore. Even his presence was nothing but a fading echo.
The meteors made contact with the ground. The clearing disappeared from her eyes, now thoroughly filled with dust and fragments of the now broken ground.
«Dragonite, blow the dust away! » She shouted, glancing nervously at her surroundings.
She knew… she just knew Pikachu was about to attack her!
The sudden rush of wind cleared the battlefield, allowing her to see what her instinct had screamed to her.
Janes dove to the ground just in time to dodge a bolt of lightning.
«Tyranitar, Iron tail! » She growled.
The armor pokemon swung her tail dreadfully fast, but it only went through thin air. Ash had jumped backward, to the other end of the battlefield already.
Gritting her teeth, she glared at the pikachu.
«I thought you said you were not going to fight, boy. »
Her anger turned into fury as the boy dared smiled.
«I did? » He looked uncharacteristically surprised. «Silly me. My tongue must have slipped. » Ash grinned smugly at the horrible woman. It felt incredibly nice to see her lose her cool, to see her annoying smiles get replaced with scowls.
Janes stood up, her body tensed and ready for battle. Her opponent could not help but feel a cold shiver of fear when her eyes fell on him again. There was no trace of silliness or of any mockery left. It was only full, unaltered power.
«Dragonite, burn that runt to a crisp. » She pointed to Ash and her pokemon turned to him.
Ash saw the dragon type leaped in his direction and his pikachu instinct took over for a split second. He sprinted to his left, running away from the flames that were heading his way.
He tried to glance toward Janes, but another wave of fire made him jump away instead.
This was bad.
How long had it been? How long had it been since the last time she had actually faced an actual challenge?
A few months ago. That was surprisingly close. After all, the time before that had happened years before.
Staring down at that black dragon had been an enlightening experience. Giovanni had been wrong to send her to Marco. Losing in a one-on-one fight had been a great surprise to her. To think that man held such a ferocious creature.
Her view of him changed from sickeningly sweetheart to sickeningly sweetheart with the power of a monster.
It had been a game at first: to see if she could outwit him, to see if she could take him by surprise.
He had won a certain numbers of times, she'd admit it, but she kept her own victories hidden. Each of them had been secrets she hid away. She could not let him guess when.
Both of them knew the inevitable betrayal was going to happen sooner or later, all that mattered was to see if it would be successful.
She struck at the exact time he'd be the most distracted and the taste of victory had clouded his judgment. Or perhaps he believed her when she said she would not betray him to Giovanni.
That had been the truth. She had not lied; she found that petty man boring. Money this, money that, power this, power that…
Where was the place for what truly mattered?
Fun.
And this was fun, in its own way. All she needed was to do a bit of twisting.
Janes smiled and opened her eyes.
It was all clear, the brat's plan, the way this battle would end. She could see it all.
«Tyranitar. » She called her pokemon and raised a thumb, pointing behind her.
Said beast whipped her head toward her mistress and nodded.
She fired an Ice beam toward the cave and the hole in the mountain disappeared behind a thick layer of ice.
«That's what you were aiming for, weren't you? » She raised her voice to be heard over the rumble of the flames created by her dragon-type. «Too bad that you can't get there without breaking the ice now, don't you think? By all means, feel free to try to break it before Jonathan's little monster comes to this world. As for me, I'll watch in delight as you- »
She cut her speech and threw a thunderstone right over her head.
Janes turned around and drew her knives.
She had the pleasure of seeing a pikachu about to attack her from the air.
«…walk right into my trap. »
Her first knife diverted the Iron tail he had intended to use against her. Her second went straight into his guts.
The yellow mouse mouth filled with blood. This… this feeling of… it was all too familiar…
«Nice try, Pikachu. That was an enjoyable fight. » She congratulated, dramatically waving her arm around, driving the knife deeper and deeper. «Of course, it would be a bit merciful to let you die now. The best would be to let you survive just long enough to see your precious trainer suffer a long and needlessly cruel agony. »
«PIKACHU! » Ash's voice broke into a horrified scream.
Janes shivered in pleasure.
«Yes… that kind of horrified realization in which a person's happiness shatters. Of course, for poor little Ash, it will be our little furball of a son. I can't wait to get my hands on him and play like a good mother. »
The pikachu's eyes were getting cloudy with the pain and the blood loss. Nevertheless, his fear was so transparent she could practically read his mind.
«Oh my, this is a rather serious wound. To heal this, there is only one way, you know? » Her eyes glittered with joy. At the end of her weapon, the pikachu was panting heavily, his face strained under the pain and the fear.
The stone fell right on him.
Panicking, he shot a look of desperation toward his trainer.
Then his whole body glowed white and Janes dropped him to the ground.
«I recall you wanted to avoid evolution even if it cost your friend his moral integrity. I wonder how long you will be able to live with yourself after this much needed evolution. » She questioned her enemy with a morbid curiosity.
The pikachu's shape started to blur, growing bigger and its structure changing.
It grew big. Bigger than the usual raichu.
Her eyes widened as she stared down at a dragonite.
«What? »
The dragon's mouth opened and she saw an orb of orange light form.
The realization hit her like a thunderbolt.
«NO! I FORBID YOU! THIS IS AN ORDER! »
The impact cut her breath and her body suddenly felt very light.
She was sent flying against the rocky wall of the mountain.
An eruption of pain dulled her mind and she fell to the ground, unable to move.
«MISTRESS! » Her dragonite roared in anger and dashed her way without a second thought for his prey.
It was halfway there when a torrent of lightning stopped it in midflight. The dragon-type spat out streams of fire and ice in a desperate attempt to hit its attacker. To no avail.
The dragonite's body fuming, panting, it stood there, on the verge of collapsing.
Smiling from ears to ears, Ash smugly walked up to it.
«Do you still think Pikachu is just a ridiculous little mouse? » He asked, teasing.
The dragon-type tried to swing its tail at Ash, but it flinched in pain before that.
«You're not the strongest, Pikachu is. » He smiled fondly and walked past the infuriated pokemon without a second thought.
The dragonite tried to take its revenge, but just as it was about to launch itself toward the arrogant trainer, a blow to its head rendered it unconscious.
Pikachu graciously landed on his feet, just behind Ash.
«Alright, Ash, this has to be the most unbelievably stupid plan of yours to ever work. » He commented, not quite sure it really had worked.
«It went great, because of you. » Ash fondly looked back to him. «I knew you could pull it off, though I'll admit that when Genno attacked her, I was really panicking. »
He was hit on the shoulder for his trouble.
«Come on, buddy, we did it. It's over. »
They reached Genno's dragonite body, who was seemingly shocked.
«Genno? » Pikachu asked with concern.
«I… went against… her order…» His voice was very faint, which was worrying considering the sheer size of a dragonite. « It's against the rules… »
At that, both his friends winced.
«I did it. » Genno finally sighed in relief and Ash and Pikachu's hesitation turned into a full-blown joy.
«Yes, you did, Genno. You stood up to her! » Ash hugged his now much bigger friend.
«We did it… » He whispered, tears threatening to fill his eyes.
Their joy shattered when they heard a crystalline laugh coming over from the lying body near the cave.
«Aren't you forgetting someone, boys? » Janes taunted.
Before they could make any sense to her words, a wave of sand hit them and clouded their vision.
«Her tyranitar!» Pikachu warned them over the screeching howl of the wind.
«Can you locate it? » Ash shouted back, desperate trying to find Janes's last pokemon.
«Not in the middle of a sandstorm! »
Ash bit his lips with despite. It was going so well so far!
He backed away slightly, resting against Genno's new body. What should he do?
He could not see far ahead of himself, nor could he hear anything other than the wind carrying the sand, nor could he smell anything other than sand. It was the first time since being turned into a pokemon that he truly felt blind.
«Look out! » He heard Pikachu screamed and pushed him away from a pair of sharps claws.
In seconds, the shape of the tyranitar faded away behind the veil of sand again.
«It's going to keep attacking us like that until it defeats us all. » Ash's mind provided him with an extremely clear summary of the next attack. «Genno, transform! »
Just in the nick of time, the ditto shrank down to the size of a pikachu and a glowing tail swoop harmlessly over his head.
For a second, the dark shape of the tyranitar stopped moving, as if surprised by that turn of event.
«Pikachu, Thunderbolt! » Ash called.
The lightning dispersed harmlessly in the sand, without hitting anything, as Janes's pokemon was already gone.
«Guys, we have to find out who it's going to attack next and aim for that moment to counter. » Ash said, both of the other pikachus nodding. «Alright, concentrate. »
His eyes narrowed and focused on the single pathway in front of him.
A single grain of sand flew right under his nose, another brushed against his fur, another gently stroked the end of his tail, another lodged itself between his claws.
«The sand… » Ash thought. «It's going around in circle. It's not going in a single direction. We're right in the middle of the sandstorm and it's revolving around us… No! It's revolving around that tyranitar! »
Struck by the inspiration, going by his instinct, Ash turned to his friends.
«Pikachu, use Thunder to your left! »
Electricity filled the air and the sand slowed down imperceptibly. It was as if everything was going in slow motion. Ash saw the power surged out of his pokemon's body and toward the location he had indicated. He heard a slight growl of annoyance when the tyranitar realized it was being attacked. Just like before, the wave of lightning was incredibly loud, so it probably was the reason why he felt more than he heard the start of the earthquake.
Pikachu lost his footing and with it, the attention needed to attack. The energy faded in the sandstorm while all three pikachus fell off their feet.
He lost sight of them all.
What he did suddenly gain sight of was a massive tyranitar looming over him.
Ash jumped to his right just as a ray of pure darkness was about to hit him.
«Pathetic little pokemon… » The tyranitar said with a strangely feminine voice. «Do you honestly believe you can win? Dragonite got careless; I won't. »
«Then I will just beat you the direct way! » Ash shot back, accelerating.
His Agility strategy had worked well before, didn't it?
The ground started shaking once more and he lost his balance unceremoniously.
«I told you I wouldn't get careless. » The tyranitar repeated her statement. «I won't let you do the same thing as your companion. I may not be as fast as you, but I can still catch you. »
Before Ash could stand up, he was hit by a pale blue beam and his legs got encased in ice. With a grim satisfaction, the tyranitar walked to his level.
«This is the end, » she declared, her voice as cold as the ice maintaining Ash in place.
No! It was not going to end now! Not after everything that they had went through! They would win! They would win this and go back and get their lives back and he would raise his son, he would love Misty, he would see his mother again, talk with his father, have fun with his friends. And to do that, he would WIN!
The lightning erupted from his body and, the ice shattering, he lunged at her.
He grabbed the first part of her armored skin he could and bit it, still covered in lightning.
The tyranitar roared, much like the dragonite before her. Putting all her strength in it, she trashed her body violently, trying to shake off the pikachu that was holding on to her.
Ash felt his grip loosen just before he was sent flying.
«Don't stop… » He thought, his body still emitting electricity. «Before she can counter, run to her. »
The tyranitar's eyes fell on him and they narrowed with the promise of a swift death.
«Don't hesitate. Run. » Ash sprinted.
He knew what was coming, he had seen it once.
Ash jumped, dodging the Earthquake entirely. A look of shock painted the tyranitar's face as the pikachu dove toward her. Right before the impact, she saw a furious determination glitter in her opponent's eyes and, just then, she knew she had already lost.
Ash used the last of his momentum to flip forward once and rammed his tail into the tyranitar's shoulder.
Unable to see through the veil of sand, Pikachu and Genno suddenly felt their bodies get blown away by an explosion.
The impact on the ground was harsh, but could not hold them down. Though when they did stood up, the sandstorm was gone and Ash was staring at an unconscious tyranitar.
«Ash! » They yelled as they ran to him.
Ash was finally taken down, from Pikachu's hug.
«I thought she might have… »
«You did that? » Genno eyed the massive monster lying next to them.
«Yeah, I beat her. » Ash grinned.
He had won, by himself, no less.
An oppressive feeling of dread descended upon them and they turned around toward the cave.
«We need to get to the egg now! » Genno screamed, his voice cracking in fear.
«And what will you do if you get to it? » They shivered when they heard Janes's exhausted voice. «You won't be able to prevent the birth of Jonathan's monster. »
«We will. Stan found a way. » Genno had the pleasure to see Janes's eyes widen in surprise.
«Impossible! »
«It is. » His body started shaking, locking his gaze into hers. «A pokemon will hatch only if it isn't facing conditions unfavorable to its type. A fire-type egg will not hatch in the middle of an ocean, nor will a flying-type comes to life in a blizzard. We need to put it into a stable condition that will forever prevent it from seeing this world. » With each passing word, he seemed to gain confidence.
«No! »
«You know we're telling the truth, Janes, because it hurts you. » Ash's expression was that of a savage triumph.
«However what conditions could be unfavorable to a Legendary? Well, we need to go to plan B, which is to provoke an artificial stasis. We probably wouldn't have made it in time if it had not been already invented. » Genno felt a burning anger ravage his mind. «If Jonathan had not created a stabilizer, you would have won! »
She was going to fail… because of Jonathan? She was going to be defeated because of a chemical that man had invented on a whim?
«NO! I WON'T LET YOU! » She screamed with fury.
«Don't worry, Janes, we are not that cruel. We won't give you any choice. » Pikachu's traits hardened and the woman felt the very tangible threat hang over her head.
«ALAKAZAM! PARALYZES THOSE BRATS! »
The psychic broke free of his pokeball and appeared, his eyes already glowing with power.
Their body stopped responding.
«You… will stay… motionless… until it comes to life… » She panted in pain, her body aching all over.
Ash's jaw started hurting as he was clenching it so hard just to try to move. He shot a murderous glare at the psychic-type and it faltered.
It was those eyes, again, the same ones he had seen when he had taken his mistress back, the same ones that promised him a world of pain. It just knew that if it let go, it would die. Either it would be killed or it would delay them enough.
The blood thirst grew and so did the alakazam's anxiety.
It could not afford to let it get away; it had to kill him, now!
Ash's body started floating and the alakazam started panting with the effort. Nonetheless, its psychic grip did not loosen. It was as if it considered it a lifeline.
The alakazam lifted Ash higher and looked at the rocky wall to its right.
Pikachu understood the pokemon's intent in a flash. It wanted to hurl him at the mountain!
«NOT THE KIDS, YOU FILTHY HYPERNEUROTICALLY-DEVELOPPED BEAST! » A cry of rage startled them all.
The alakazam was tackled to the ground by a very angry looking dragonite.
«Don't you dare… touch a single piece of their fur… » it whispered threateningly.
The alakazam was rendered unconscious by a blast of blue energy to the face.
«Huh? » The dragonite jolted back in surprise. «How did I do that? »
Ash, Pikachu and Janes were staring at the unconventional dragon with very freaked out expressions, even if Janes herself could not make out the meaning of its words.
Pikachu's memory flashed in his eyes and he suddenly remembered being carried to a pokemon center by that very same dragonite.
«You made it! » Genno sighed in relief.
They turned at him, blinking. He knew that weird pokemon?
«Of course I would. I told you it's not the first time I use a DNA sample. We had to test the antidote somehow, didn't we? » The dragonite put both hands on his hips and smiled playfully at the pikachu-shaped ditto.
«Can someone explain to us who's that? » Ash finally asked, the confusion eating the inside of his mind.
«You don't recognize me, Ash? I admit I changed a lot in the last fifteen minutes. »
«Stan, we need to get at the egg now! It's about to hatch! » Genno shot a very worried look at the cave behind them, still blocked by the ice.
«STAN? » Pikachu and Ash yelled.
«Of course. » Stan nodded. «I have the stabilizer in my backpack. » He pointed to a very small bag tied behind one of his shoulders.
Just then, the ice shattered under the effect of a much stronger earthquake than before.
Janes started laughing.
«Too late. »