DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon or any other brand, product, etc. I mention in this story. Does anyone even read these? Well, lawyers, I guess. Hi, copyright infringement lawyers! How's than new firm you're working with?
Pokémon: Zeta Advance
Chapter 6: Legacy of Legend
As we predicted, we managed to get through the forest in about an hour. But for the past fifteen minutes, I felt like someone or something was following us. I figured it was nothing.
"It's such a nice day!" Rain chimed happily. It was true. It was warm and sunny without a bit of wind or a cloud in the sky. There were a few Hoppip in the sky on a soft breeze from a flock of Wingull flying past. A perfect day for the beach.
"Mr. Briney lives by the beach. We could stop by there and change quick," I commented, pointing to the small, seaside cottage.
"Nooice!" Burns exclaimed. Suddenly, I heard a distant buzzing, followed by a sort of slurping sound.
"Did you guys hear that?" I asked.
"Hm? Hear what, George?" Rain asked back.
"I can't believe it. He's finally lost it. And so soon, too," Carburn remarked.
"Given present company, it's amazing he lasted this long," Chase quipped in response. The two had stricken up a friendship rather quickly. As a result, I referred to them as the "Dumbnamic Duo."
"Eevee Ee,-vee!"
"Oh, you heard it, too. So I'm not crazy," I said. "Well, not that crazy. Yet." We started towards the cottage, and Eevee, Furret, Dunsparce, and Yanma started singing an all-Pokémon, acappella quartet version of "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. Led by Eevee, of course. They sang so loud, we couldn't make conversation, and didn't shut up 'til we got to the old man's door.
"Wow. Pretty snazzy place," Chase admired.
"Yeah, if you come from a shotgun shack," Carburn said.
"I do come from a shotgun shack."
"Oh. Huh." I rolled my eyes and knocked on the door. Mr. Briney opened it with a wide grin.
"George, my boy! So nice of ya ta visit! Come on in, the lot of ya!" We all walked into the small house, and Peeko flew around us in greeting. "So! What brings you lot ta my cottage?"
"We were actually going to go to the beach, and we figured we'd stop by," Rain explained.
"Myah!" Espurr agreed. Furret climbed off of her shoulders and started sniffing around a bit.
"Well, if yer headed ta the beach, maybe ya can figure out why I've been unable to sail out! Some lot told me I couldn't. Said it had somethin' to do with storms, or somethin'."
"Actually, do you mind if we change here?" I asked.
"Go right ahead! The bathroom's right down the hall!"
I looked at Rain. "Ladies first."
To Carburn's and Chase's (and slightly my) dismay, when Rain returned, she was still in her hoodie and shorts. The only change she had made was from her running shoes to flip-flops. Espurr managed to lift himself up and into her hood. He was getting a lot better at controlling his psychic powers.
Next, I changed into a pair of dark green swimming trunks and a neon green t-shirt, as well as a pair of water-shoes. Carburn wore red trunks and a gray tank top, and Chase put on honey-yellow with a hive design, keeping his camo jacket and sandals.
We left Mr. Briney's house, thanking him for his hospitality. "No worries!" He said as we left. "Come back anytime ya feel like!"
The beach had been blocked off by official looking people in tan uniforms. Probably some kind of government investigation agency or something. "Sorry, folks," said one of them. "The beach is closed indefinitely. Ongoing investigation."
He had a gun, so I figured it was best not to argue. "Okay. We'll try again later," I responded.
"The Hell, you will!" I looked at the source of the voice. It was big, old guy with a thick, brown beard, and a matching head of hair, which appeared to form a mane that framed his face. His skin was tanned darker than mine, but marked with many scars. He wore the same color of tan the others were wearing, but he wore it as if it was all he had to wear. The scary part of which is it probably was.
"Kenny! How the hell are you?" I replied.
"Pissed as all hell that you think you can walk away from an old friend who needs a damn hand in this case." Though his tone carried no trace of positivity, I knew it was there. The guard saluted his superior, shaking in his boots. No, seriously, the dude was literally shaking all over except his boots! It was insane!
"S-Sir? You know this person?"
"I should hope so," Kenny said. "I was his grandad's best friend for almost fifty years."
"So what's the case?" I asked as the five of us (Pokémon excluded) walked along the beach.
"Radical weather changes and monstrous roars in tandem. We ain't got a clue," Kenny said. I smiled and chuckled.
"I do." I walked to the edge of the water, and watched the sky. Sure enough, dark clouds started gathering. "Watch this." I put my hand in the water.
Suddenly, a loud, monstrous roar sounded as a large shape leaped out of the water about a thousand feet from where we were, and rain started coming down. The shape swam right towards me, stopping mere inches away.
The Pokémon was enormous and blue. It had red, bioluminescent streaks along its body. It had large fins on either side of its body, and four smaller rear fins. I smiled. "Just as I suspected! Hey, big guy! What's up?" All of the others were in shock as I pet the enormous Water-type Pokémon, and as Eevee yipped happily to it.
Carburn pulled out his Pokédex, and aimed it at the beast. "Kyogre, the Sea Basin Pokémon," it announced. "Kyogre is named in mythology as the Pokémon that expanded the sea by covering the land with torrential rains and towering tidal waves. It took to sleep after a cataclysmic battle with Groudon."
"It doesn't look very sleepy to me!" Chase exclaimed.
"Yeah, that Pokédex entry's a little out of date," I laughed. "They both woke up about six years ago, because of Team Aqua and Team Magma. A friend of mine, Brendan, helped them settle their feud. Now, then. Let's just see what this fuss is about..." I let Charizard out of his ball. "Help me with this, okay, bud?"
Charizard growled his agreement. He held Kyogre's mouth open while I found the source of its aggravation. I looked around and found a cracked tooth.
"Don't worry, Kyogre. We'll get you fixed up," I told it as I texted Brendan.
Brendan was there in five minutes. He flew in on his Salamence, which was smaller than my own, with a bag of specialized tools. "'Bout time. Where's Wally?" I asked. Brendan was a lean guy with brown hair and gray eyes. He wasn't out of shape in any sense, but he was lean, making him look more acrobatic than anything. He was 5'10 now, and he was six months older than me, but I had more experience. He was wearing a pair of shorts and running shoes, as well as a black shirt with an orange stripe from the collar to the hem, as well as his trademark oddly shaped knit hat.
"Wally had some business to tend to, so he told me how to fix Kyogre's tooth!" He said happily. He walked straight into the Pokémon's enormous mouth, pulled out a caulking gun, and applied a thick, white paste like substance to Kyogre's tooth, and used a flat object to smoothen it.
"So that'll do it?" I asked.
"Yep!" Brendan replied.
"Good. That means we can pack up and open the beach again as soon as tomorrow. Until then, place is all yours, kids. Consider it payment for helpin' with the case," Kenny said. He started walking toward the Petalburg City side of the beach. Brendan also took his leave, having "official Champion stuff" to take care of.
I'm 99% sure he meant "My girlfriend's horny."
We set up our tents, put some towels on the beach, and started hanging out. Since Kyogre had left, the sun came back out, and it was a perfect day again. Rain had gone into her tent a couple of minutes ago, but I was fishing to see what would bite. I put on a pair of sunglasses, and watched my bobber.
'Ah, nice day to hook a Tentacool,' Zyx quipped.
Hey, at least it's something to do, I retorted. I heard the zipper on Rain's tent door open, and turned around to see her wearing a black two-piece bikini.
'Hot. Damn.'
Agreed. I couldn't stop staring. I could sort of see something red dripping from Carburn's nose. Chase fainted.
"VEE!" Eevee smacked me in the back of the head with his tail. Hard. I, in turn, smacked Burns in the back of the head. A little harder than I meant to. Which was saying something, because the intended force was already pretty decent.
"I-Is this alright? It's not too revealing or anything, is it?" She asked.
"Noooooo, of course not!" I responded. "We have the beach to ourselves, so it'll be fine!"
"Okay then. If you say so. Uh... What's that?" I looked over my shoulder and saw some Lotad walking out of the water.
"Oh, those are Lotad. They're a Water and Grass-type Pokémon."
"I know, but what are they doing here?"
"Probably using the rain from Kyogre's Drizzle to heal themselves. Some Lotad have an ability called 'Rain Dish' that lets them recover HP when it's raining."
"That's so cool!" She ran over towards them with Furret running beside her and Espurr riding Furret like a Ponyta. The Lotad looked at her, but, being generally friendly Pokémon, greeted her like an old friend. "Awww! They're so cute!"
"But they're Grass-types. I thought you were terrified of Grass-types."
"Some Grass-types I don't mind."
"Like what?" She thought for a few seconds.
"Well... I like Hoppip's whole evolutionary line... Bellosom... Bulbasaur are generally okay... And dual Water and Grass I can handle... Oh, and Pumpkaboo and Phantump."
Maybe I can use that to help her get over her fear, I thought. For the next couple of hours, we sort of just relaxed, swam, and in general, had fun.
Then these assholes showd up. "Hey, brats! This is our beach!" Said some lanky guy with a leather vest, a pair of shorts, and a pompadour that added a decent foot to his height.
"Yeah, get lost!" Hissed the girl clinging to his arm. She was wearing a similar leather vest with a bikini top underneath, and a pair of frayed Daisy Dukes. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, but her bangs were loose.
"Locals only!" Claimed the biggest one of the three. He, too, had a vest and a pair of shorts, but his hair was buzzed. He was about as wide as he was tall. And that fucker was tall.
Being the genius that I am, I said, "How'd you even get in? There were blockades, 'n' guards, 'n' shit over there. And, uh..." I looked around the beach. "I'm pretty sure this place is open to the public, just like your girlfriend's legs."
He did not appreciate that. I could tell because he pulled a gun on me. "What'd you say, motherfucker?" I hadn't flinched at all when he pulled the gun, and I was staring down the barrel with the same unimpressed expression.
"Oh, you mean about the beach, or about your girl being open day or night to anyone like a temple?"
"I could kill you by just squeezing my hand-"
"Then do it. Go ahead and blow me away." His hand shook, but came no closer to ending my life. "You can't do it. You were hoping for an intimidation factor. But I've stared down the barrel of a gun more times than you could imagine."
The girl looked at the leader. "Don't listen to him, baby. He's trying to psych you out," she told him. He turned his attention to her, giving me an opening. I grabbed his arm and spun around, putting him in an arm bar hold, which put the gun's barrel directly between his eyes.
He started to freak out and cry in fear. "It's amazing how quickly and radically someone changes when they're staring down the barrel, isn't it?" I asked. I had my finger on the hammer to keep it from falling.
"P-P-Pleeeeaaaase! I-I'll never bother anyone ever again! Just please let me live!" He cried. I managed to get the gun out of his hands and walked back to my friends.
"Tell you what. I'm in a sporting mood today. We'll have a battle to settle this. One-on-one. You win, we'll leave and forget you threatened us. We win, we get to stay. And you devote yourselves to protecting this beach for everyone. Not just yourself."
He got off the ground. "Deal," he said, a newfound respect for me in his eyes. He threw a Pokéball into the air. "Tentacruel! Let's do it!" Behind me, Charizard roared.
"Tentacruel, Poison Jab!" The large blue Pokémon launched several tentacles and a claw like appendage at Charizard, all glowing purple. Charizard dodged them all with ease. "Now Hydro Pump!" Charizard dodged once again. "Ice Beam!"
"Flamethrower!" The two attacks collided, and exploded into a cool haze.
"Confuse Ray!" Tentacruel released a burst of light which reflected off of the ice particles in the haze, creating a cloud of brainwashing light. I shielded my eyes, hoping the others would be smart enough to do the same. Rain was, at least. Chase and Carburn stood there, as if they were zombies, with their minds temporarily fogged by the Confuse Ray. I already knew Charizard had been hit. Mostly because he flew straight at me.
I did the only thing I could think of. I tapped into our spiritual bond, and reached out to him with my aura. Charizard! Stop! Charizard stopped not six inches from me. The force caused a gust that hit Rain and I, almost causing her to lose her balance. Good boy! Now let's teach these guys a lesson in battling. I could feel Charizard's agreement.
"Tentacruel! Hydro Pump!"
In the air! Charizard flew into the sky, narrowly avoiding getting hit by the powerful stream of water. I tapped my Mega Ring, which caused it to glow with a rainbow aura. "Mega... Evolution!" Charizard Mega Evolved into Mega Charizard Y, and, thanks to his Drought ability, made the sunlight suddenly harsh. Solar Beam. Charizard absorbed solar energy, and fired it at Tentacruel, blasting it into the water and knocking it out. My opponent smiled and called back his Tentacruel.
"Great job, Tentacruel... After the way I've been treatin' you, you deserve a long rest."
"Ah, now that's what I call 'relaxing!'" I said once Charizard changed back and landed at my side.
"Yeah. It was fun. And a deal's a deal! From now on, the three of us'll do better for the community. Hopefully, the people in Petalburg'll forgive us for what we did," he said back.
"Well, I'm not exactly one for gang activity, but a community service organization is something I can get behind," Kenny stated as he walked up to us. "C'mon. I'll teach you what I can. I got a place in Petalburg with some spare rooms you can use. And you'll need funding. And a mentor."
"R-Really? A place to call our own? Oh, thank you!" The girl cried. Kenny smiled and chuckled warmly.
"It'll be nice to have some young folk to help out around the place again. C'mon. We got good work to do!" With that, they walked away.
"So..." Rain chimed in. "How'd you do that with Charizard?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's like he did exactly what you wanted without you saying anything."
"... He and I have a deep bond on a spiritual level. We can communicate without speaking. Sort of like telepathy." She smiled and looked up at him.
"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" She scratched him right behind his right horn. His face changed to an expression of pure ecstasy, and his foot started involuntarily slamming against the ground repeatedly.
I laughed. "That's his favorite spot to be scratched." Charizard suddenly wrapped Rain in a hug. I laughed even harder. "I think he likes you!"
"Duuuuude..." I heard Burns say behind me. "I think... I think the earth might be moving!"
"I really hope that wears off soon. Last time I traveled with a stoner, I almost starved."
Oh, wow. This one took longer to write than I thought. Hopefully, I didn't leave you with too many feels last chapter. This one got a little dark, too. But it got a little better.
Maybe I should start talking to a therapist again... Well, whatever. See ya next time!