Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story!
Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga
Chapter Eighteen
The Kanto Federation
"I don't know if this is really such a great idea..." Rina said to Ashley. She glanced around cautiously when she jumped down from the fence.
"Why not? I don't see why we need bikes anyway." Ashley replied, already starting off down the path. Both trainers had recalled their pokemon when they snuck onto the cycling road.
"I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this." Rina followed Ashley out onto the road. She stopped briefly to take Pippi's pokeball from her belt.
"Huh? Whats that?" Rina stopped what she was doing and looked up to see what Ashley might have seen. A cloud of dust could be seen rising in the distance and soon the roar of motorbikes approaching could be heard. "Oh! Hey, I wonder if they'll give us a lift?" Ashley said when the bikes came into view.
"I'm...not sure thats such a good idea..." Rina said to Ashley in response. "I heard bikers aren't very nice..."
"Oh come on, just because they have bikes?" Ashley ignored Rina's concern and waved her hand, trying to catch the bikers' attention. The bikers slowed down as they approached Ashley and stopped in front of her, grinning from ear to ear.
Both of the bikers looked to be in their late teens and were wearing stereotypical biker outfits consisting of chains, leather, and black sunglasses. Both bad spiked mohawks, one green and one purple
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The purple-haired biker sneered at her. The man's tone went completely unnoticed by Ashley but it made Rina nervous.
"My friend and I were on our way to Fuschia City and I was hoping maybe you could give us a lift?" Ashley asked him, smiling sweetly.
"Sure, we could give you a lift." The man replied. The two bikers snickered in unison. Neither of them seemed to take notice of Rina, even though Ashley mentioned her.
"Oh, thank y-ACK!" The man grabbed Ashley roughly and pulled her onto the back of his bike. The two bikers then drove off, cackling madly and leaving Rina in the dust.
"Did...did I just get ditched?" Rina wondered, watching them disappear in the distance. She quickly shook her head, realizing that wasn't the case. "No! Ashley was kidnapped! I have to go after them!" Rina reached for a pokeball but then stopped to think.
"Wait...how though? I know they went towards Fuschia...hmm..." Rina thought over her options in her head and then remembered Berry. "Oh! I could have Berry scout ahead from the air!" Rina reached for a pokeball to do just that, but hesitated again.
"Oh right...I deposited Berry..." Rina sighed sadly and settled for taking Pippi's pokeball. She held up the pokeball and released Pippi, the small electric pokemon soon materializing on the ground at her feet.
"-We're there already?-" Pippi asked, blinking in confusion as she looked around. "-Wait...this doesn't look like a city...and I don't see Ashley, or any bikes either...-"
"Its a long story..." Rina replied. "Ashley's been kidnapped by bikers, I need you to run ahead and see if you can catch up with them."
"-Leave it to me!-" Pippi raised her right paw in a salute. "-I'll find them in no time with my super sniffer and my Agility technique!-"
"Ok, but don't try to fight them. Come back and find me when you find them." Pippi nodded and took off down the road. Rina watched in amazement as Pippi seemingly picked up speed as she moved along, using Agility and Quick Attack to move down the road faster than the bikes had earlier.
"Wow...she can really move..." Rina said to herself in disbelief. "Well, guess I should start walking then..." Rina started walking down the road, wondering to herself why Ashley had been so stupid to get herself kidnapped in the first place.
"I wonder if, after dealing with more serious criminals like Team Rocket and the Grand Hunters, she just didn't consider those bikers dangerous?" Rina thought as she walked along. She continued down the road for roughly ten minutes before she could see Pippi racing back up the hill.
"Pippi! Did you find her?" Rina called out to her. Pippi suddenly jumped and slid across the ground, screeching to a halt next to Rina. She took a moment to catch her breath before responding.
"-They're hiding in some old building off the side of the road. Its not that far from here!-" She replied quickly, nearly running out of air towards the end. She took several deep breaths again.
"Ok, lead the way then!" Rina waited for Pippi to lead her to the bikers, but Pippi remained in place and frowned up at Rina. "What?"
"-Ok, its just through those trees there.-" Pippi pointed to a worn down dirt path leading through the trees. A small, worn down building with an old radar dish next to it was nestled deeper into the trees. Pippi had eventually agreed to show Rina the way, but she was doing it from atop Rina's head.
"This really doesn't qualify as nearby..." Rina muttered weakly. Though Pippi had managed to get to the building and back quickly enough the first time, it took Rina over an hour to get there on foot.
"-Well, it seemed closer than that...-" Pippi replied. She jumped down from Rina's head since they were finally there and followed on foot beside her. Rina approached the path and ducked behind the trees next to it when she spotted the same two bikers from before standing guard outside. The front of the building itself consisted of a worn-down concrete walkway and a pair of boarded-up doors.
"If those two are there then there must be more of them inside..." Rina noted quietly.
"-Ok then, so whats the plan?-" Pippi asked.
"What else? We go up there and battle them!" Rina replied. Pippi nodded in agreement and followed Rina down the path. Rina took a second pokeball in hand as she walked along, ready to release a pokemon to join Pippi in the inevitable battle.
"Hey! You two!" The two bikers turned to Rina, looking mildly annoyed by her intrusion.
"Whats the matter? You lost, little girl?" The green haired biker asked her, cracking his knuckles menacingly.
"I'm here to rescue my friend, so you can either stand aside or I'll have to beat you up!" Rina replied, challenging the two.
"Friend?" The green haired biker looked to his partner. "Any idea who she's talking about?"
"The girl we dragged here a while ago maybe?" Purple replied with a shrug. "She was alone when we found her though..."
"I was with her you jerks!" Rina called back. "Ok, that does it! Get out of my way!" Rina held up the pokeball she drew from her belt previously. "Ebil, go!" The pokeball opened up in Rina's hand and released the poisonous snake pokemon.
"-Do I get to bite something? Hssss...-" Ebil asked when he appeared, coiled and ready to strike. Pippi moved out in front of Rina as well, but kept her distance from Ebil.
"We're not moving an inch!" Purple called back. Both bikers reached for their pokeballs, hanging by a chain from their black vests. "Go Koffing!" Purple called out as he held up the pokeball and released his pokemon. The purple, poison-filled balloon appeared from its pokeball, floating in front of its trainer.
"-Yo...-" The Koffing said, sounding rather distant.
"Grimer, get them!" Green shouted as he held up his pokeball and released his own poison pokemon. What looked like a pile of sludge with eyes, hands, and a mouth appeared from the pokeball.
"-Sup?-" Grimer asked with a rather vacant look in its eyes.
"Both their pokemon look kinda...umm..." Rina tried to think up the appropriate word to use, but drew blanks. She quickly shook her head. "Grr! Whatever! Ebil, attack Koffing with Wrap! Pippi, attack Grimer with Thunderbolt!"
Pippi began to quickly charge electricity while Ebil launched himself at the floating Koffing. Ebil quickly wrapped his body around Koffing completely, flezing his muscles and squeezing tightly. Pippi then launched the electricity she charged up in a single bolt, zapping Grimer with a tremendous amount of electricity. Neither pokemon seemed to flinch from the attacks.
"Whoa! Either I'm getting in over my head or their pokemon are completely out of it!" Rina thought, hoping it was the later.
"Koffing, Tackle into the ground and knock that snake off!"
"Grimer, throw a Sludge attack at that Pikachu!"
Koffing threw its body into the ground, hitting Ebil's body off the hard concrete surface in front of the building. Ebil winced from the impact but was able to keep a strong hold on Koffing. Grimer, meanwhile, seemingly threw its own hand at Pippi. The sludge splattered as it hit Pippi in the face, knocking her over, and then began to crawl back towards Grimer and reformed into its hand. Pippi quickly hopped back up and shook off the blow.
"Ok...they must be just really out of it then." Rina thought, rolling her eyes. "Ok, now attack with Bite, Ebil! Use Thunderbolt again, Pippi!" Ebil moved its head into position to bite down on Koffing, again hardly getting a reaction out of it. Meanwhile, Pippi quickly charged up electricity and fired a bolt at Grimer. The electricity passed through the poison pokemon, but Grimer again didn't even seem to flinch.
"Lets take out both of them!" Purple called out with a grin. "Koffing, Selfdestruct!"
"-Dude...not coo...-" Koffing muttered. Its body began to glow and then suddenly erupted in a burst of energy that engulfed both Pippi and Grimer.
Grimer and Pippi were tossed out of the attack from the force of it, Grimer knocked out and Pippi barely conscious. Both Koffing and Ebil could be seen to be knocked out once the dust and smoke cleared. Ebil, having been wrapped around Koffing, was unfortunately at ground zero for the attack. The two bikers recalled their pokemon, neither looking particularly worried by their defeat.
"We've weakened her! Lets get the others!" The two bikers quickly opened the door and ran off into the building, slamming them shut behind them.
"I can't believe someone would just sacrifice their pokemon like that!" Rina held up Ebil's pokeball and recalled him. Then she took a potion out of her backpack and kneeled down next to Pippi to spray her with it.
"-Ow...I hate those things...-" Pippi whined as Rina applied the potion to her. Though the potion healed her wounds almost instantly, it stung a bit.
"We might have to fight a bit by the sound of things. You can sit the next one out though." Rina put the potion away and stood up when she was finished and then reached down to take a pokeball from her belt. "They probably locked it, so I'll have Berg bust down that door..."
Suddenly, the door flew open. Two more male bikers came through, almost indistinguishable from the last two. Their most distinguishing feature was, again, their hair. This time one of them had orange hair and the other had black. Rina quickly took a second ball in her hand when she saw the two, realizing she had another double battle on her hands already.
"You're going to pay for messing with us, girl!" The black haired biker said to her while drawing a pokeball dangling from a chain.
"Yeah! No one messes with the Kanto Federation!" The orage haired one added, also reaching for a pokeball.
"Oh give me a break..." Rina muttered, quickly holding up her two pokeballs. "Berg! Clyde! Go!" Rina released both her pokemon at the same time. The Blastoise and Clefairy appeared in front Rina, both adopting determined expressions as they readied themselves for battle.
"Dang! This scout's packin'!" The orange haired biker exclaimed in surprise. "Aight then, Machop go!"
"No kidding!" The black haired biker added. "Koffing, go get 'em!"
The two bikers released their pokemon almost simultaneously. The first sent out a gray-skinned humanoid pokemon, Machop, and the second sending out another Koffing. Rina knew she'd be focusing her attacks on Koffing first in an effort to take it out before it can use Selfdestruct.
"-Dude.-" Both Machop and Koffing said when they appeared. Both pokemon likewise had vacant expressions on their faces.
"Why do all their pokemon seem like drug addicts?" Rina wondered. "Clyde, put both of them to sleep with Sing! Berg, use Protect!" Clyde nodded and began to sing, prompting all humans present to cover their ears. Machop slowly raised its hands to do the same, but didn't even come close to covering its ears in time. Koffing and Machop quickly fell asleep from Clyde's lullaby while Berg protected itself with a blue, impenetrable bubble.
"Clyde, Doubleslap! Berg, Water Gun! Aim for Koffing!" Clyde moved towards Koffing but stopped near it, keeping out of the line of fire as Berg blasted Koffing with a quick burst of water. Clyde then moved in and began slapping the sleeping pokemon repeatedly, striking with one hand after the other.
"Follow it up with a Pound, Clyde! Then move out of the way so Berg can use Water Gun again!" Clyde stopped his assault and raised one hand back, then lunged forward and hit Koffing with a strong Pound attack. Koffing was knocked back from the blow and opened its eyes, but it was too late for it to do anything. Another blast of water fired from each of Blastoise's cannons, striking Koffing and blasting it back until it smashed into its own trainer.
"Oof!" Black was struck in the stomach by his pokemon and knocked over, hitting the ground hard. He growled at his pokemon as he sat up. "Stupid thing! Watch where you're going!" Realizing his Koffing was unconscious he recalled it and stood up.
"Looks like you're on your own, bro." Black said to his partner.
"Feh, my Machop's got a type advantage against one a 'em!" Orange spat. His Machop was starting to wake up just then as well. "Machop, attack that Clefairy with Karate Chop!" Machop raised its hand back, holding it flat vertically, and then charged towards Clyde.
"Clyde, quick! Block it with Protect!" Clyde threw out his arms and formed a blue, impenetrable bubble around himself. Machop's hand came crashing down towards Clyde, hitting off the bubble with enough force that Machop staggered back a foot.
"Now, Berg! Attack with Water Gun!" Berg trained its cannons on Machop and let loose with a quick burst of water. Machop, already off balance from its attempt to attack Clyde, was knocked onto its rear by the burst of water. It sat through the attack and shook it off when it was finally over, then slowly climbed back onto its feet. Too slow, however, as Clyde was ready to go on the attack.
"-Something's really not right with this one.-" Berg commented to Clyde.
"-I agree entirely.-" Clyde replied with a nod and smirked to himself. "-His pokemon seems rather off as well.-"
"Clyde, attack Machop with Pound!" Clyde dropped the barrier and jumped towards Machop. Clyde's fist connected with Machop's face, sending the fighting pokemon staggering back and falling onto its ass again. Machop looked a bit out of it for a moment, from a combination of the attack itself and generally being slow overall.
"Now lets hit him hard! Berg, use your Blizzard attack!" Berg made a slight adjustment to aim his cannons at Machop's new position and then opened fire, blasting Machop with twin cone-shaped bursts of ice and snow. The ice built up around Machop while it sat through the blast, slowly encasing the pokemon's body until it disappeared completely under a coat of ice.
"What? Its frozen?!" The orange haired biker cried out in dismay. "Damn it! What are the odds?!"
"Its probably an improvement..." Rina thought dryly. "Clyde, use Pound again!"
"-I believe we'd be doing him a favor by leaving him in the ice, but if you say so...-" Clyde walked towards the frozen Machop and raised his hand back. He struck out at Machop, aiming one strong blow square in the chest. The ice shattered, freeing Machop. Machop fell back as soon as it was free, however, and it was impossible to tell whether Clyde's Pound or Berg's Blizzard was the attack to knock it out.
"Dang it! We didn't do a damn thing!" Orange growled, quickly recalling his Machop. "Fall back to the throne!" The two bikers hurried back into the building, leaving the door open behind them this time.
"The throne?" Rina wondered, blinking in disbelief.
"-Are we attacking a kingdom? Or a crime group?-" Pippi wondered aloud, scratching her head.
"I'm pretty sure its just a crime group." Rina said to her. "Anyway, great job you two! Return!" Rina held up Clyde and Berg's pokeballs and recalled them, then placed their pokeballs back on her belt.
"-Do we go inside now?-" Pippi asked Rina.
"Doesn't seem like anyone else is coming out, so lets go!" Rina replied. Pippi nodded and followed behind Rina as she ran into the building.
Rina ran straight through the main corridor, ignoring all the abandoned offices and other rooms she passed by. She could still hear the bikers running up ahead until she reached the final room. Rina hesitated outside for a moment before going inside.
The room Rina and Pippi found themselves in looked as though it could have once been some sort of broadcast room, where a news anchor would have been filmed from. Now, however, all that remained was some dusty old equipment and a raised platform at the far end of the room. There was a desk on the raised part of the room which would have likely been where the newscaster would have stood.
Sitting behind the desk was a rather fat, bald headed man with a girl dressed in leather standing on either side of him. One of the girls was a brunette and the other a blonde, both dressed like the bikers Rina had run into earlier. The bikers themselves were standing behind him, though Rina hardly took notice of anyone else in the room when she saw Ashley sitting in front of the desk.
"A-Ashley?!" Rina stammered in surprise when she saw her. Ashley had a chain around her ankle, connected to the desk, and wearing an outfit that consisted of a metal 'bikini' with a long cloth draped down in the front and back. In a way, the bottom half almost covered more than Ashley's skirt did. Rina still couldn't help but blush at seeing her friend dressed in such a way.
"Its about time you got here!" Ashley yelled at her. "This outfit is cold and there's no heating in here!"
"This...is the trainer you clots were worried about?!" The bald, fat man shouted at the bikers. The four men gulped in fear. The man raised a pool cue and tapped it on the desk. "Ladies, take care of this brat."
"Heh...right away, Cueball." The brunette replied. The two ladies stepped off the platform, each taking a pokeball in hand as they moved out in front of Ashley, blocking Rina.
"Your luck is, like, totally out girlie." The blonde said to Rina. "We're not pushovers like those guys!"
"-So close too...-" Pippi muttered, snapping her fingers.
"Fine! Have it your way then!" Rina quickly took two pokeballs from her belt and released her pokemon. "Felicia! Sarge! Go!" Felicia and Sarge soon appeared before Rina, ready to battle it out in the old news room.
"Grimer, get 'em!" The brunette called out, releasing a rather mean looking Grimer. Rina wondered if maybe these two would be tougher competition afterall.
"Cubone, like, go for it!" The blonde then called out, releasing her own pokemon. A brown furred pokemon wearing a skull over its head and holding a bone club in its hand appeared.
"-Eww...I don't want to get sludge all over my beautiful fur...-" Felicia whined.
"-Then leave the dirty work for the real fighters.-" Sarge snapped.
"Cubone, sweetie, attack that Flareon with Bone Club!"
"Grimer, poison that Sandshrew with a Toxic attack!"
"Felicia, dodge with Quick Attack! Sarge, Metal Claw! Block the Toxic and attack Grimer!"
The battle began swiftly with Cubone charging towards Felicia, club raised, and Grimer throwing a purple blob of poison at Sarge. Felicia shot off to the side, moving away from Cubone too fast to follow. Cubone's club struck the floor, cracking the old tiles Felicia had been standing on.
Meanwhile, Sarge struck out with his claws towards the incoming poison attack. His claws gained a metallic coating and sliced through the blob, scattering it and keeping it from hitting any part of his body but his hand. Sandshrew then charged towards Grimer and slashed it with that very same claw. Grimer growled and winced in pain, taking a painful hit despite its body being made entirely of sludge.
"Felicia, attack Cubone with Fire Blast now! Sandshrew, Slash attack!" Felicia turned on Cubone and spat out a small fireball. The fireball expanded almost instantly, taking the shape of a typical Fire Blast attack, then finally struck its target. Cubone tried to stand its ground but was pushed back several feet by the attack until it finally exploded, knocking Cubone to the ground. Cubone struggled back to its feet, wincing in pain from a burn the attack inflicted on it.
"Cubone, like, don't miss this time and use Bone Club again!"
"Grimer, smash that Sandshrew with Pound!"
Sarge struck first, already maneuvering to attack again when Grimer's trainer called out the command. Sarge struck Grimer, claws extended to inflict maximum damage. Grimer winced in pain but didn't let that dissaude it, quickly striking back at Sarge with a fist made of sludge. Sarge hardly flinched from the hit, easily shaking it off.
While Sarge and Grimer duked it out, Cubone raised its club and struggled towards Felicia. Felicia tried to move, but Cubone saw this and quickly jumped towards her to smash her in the face with his club. It was a hard blow and Felicia reeled back, falling onto her side. Cubone fell to his knees after making the attack, the burn and the damage inflicted on it slowing it down.
"Ok, Felicia should be able to take out that Cubone now!" Rina thought. "Felicia, finish Cubone with Shadow Ball!" Felicia quickly rolled back onto her feet and formed a ball of shadowstuff in front of her. She flung the ball at Cubone, knocking the weakened ground pokemon off its feet in a shadowy burst. Cubone briefly struggled to get back on its feet but fell back to the floor again as it fainted.
"Oh no! Like, my Cubone fainted?" The blonde haired girl whined, recalling her Cubone.
"Serves you right for being weak." The brunette snapped.
"She's really setting a bad reputation for blonde's..." Rina thought with a sigh, remembering she shared the same hair color. "Ok, Sarge! Your turn now! Attack Grimer with Slash again!" Sarge raised his claws up and then broguht them slashing straight down the front of Grimer's body, leaving a straight cut in the sludge right down Grimer's face. Grimer cried out and its body seemingly melted into a thin pool as it was knocked unconscious.
"Damn it! No way!" The brunette growled. She cursed under her breath as she recalled her Grimer.
"Interesting...seems you're tougher than you look..." Cueball slowly stood up, grunting with the effort. He then made his way around the desk to face Rina, tapping his pool cue against the ground. "Lets see just how tough you are then, girlie. I'll be your next opponent."
"-No way!- Pippi growled back. "-Rina, don't take that from this guy! He still doesn't have any pokemon out and you've got three of us! Tell him to back off.-"
"Thats not how we do things..." Rina whispered to Pippi, taking two pokeballs in her hand. "Felicia, Sarge, good job! You two can sit this one out!" The two pokemon nodded, allowing Rina to recall them. Rina placed the two pokeballs back on her belt and took another one in hand.
"You want to try your luck too? Fine! Lets go!" Rina said to Cueball.
"You're quite eager. But I'm not going to lose to some brat. I have too much at stake here." Cueball replied, taking a pokeball off a clip on the side of his pants. "You see, no one takes our group seriously anymore. With guys like Team Rocket and the Grand Hunters around, we're considered small fry!" Cueball growled.
"But that will end here. Even though they're complete idiots, seems these boys have managed to fetch something worthwhile." Cueball grinned maliciously, casting a glance over his shoulder at Ashley. "Seems this pretty little thing has had a few run ins with those hunters themselves." The gang snickered and Cueball turned back to Rina to explain his plan.
"We'll use this girl as bait. The hunters will no doubt want to get her after sending ten of their's into the slammer!" Cueball said to Rina, grinning from ear to ear.
"Ten? Where did he hear that from?" Rina wondered, casting a glance to Ashley. Ashley grinned sheepishly, providing Rina with her answer. "Oh..." Rina thought, narrowing her eyes at Ashley.
"When they take the bait, we'll crush them. With the hunters ground underfoot, and the trainer who helped cause their demise as our personal slave, people will recognize our group at long last! They will fear us! You will experience why we are to be feared first hand!" Cueball held out the pokeball he was holding and released his pokemon. A brown pokemon with a skull on its head appeared, which Rina immediately recognized as a Marowak from her previous encounter with one.
"You're delusional, the only one going to learn something here is you!" Rina shot back, holding out the pokeball she grabbed before. "Berg, go!" The pokeball opened up, releasing the Blastoise to face off against Cueball's Marowak. The two girls immediately backed away, taking refuge behind the desk.
"Seems you have some real power afterall!" Cueball said to her. "Marowak, attack that Blastoise with Bonemerang!"
"Berg, block it with Protect!" Berg held out his hands defensively, forming a protective blue bubble around himself as Marowak let its bone club fly. The club spun through the air and bounced off Blastoise's bubble, deflecting it off to the side. The bone came back around and made another attempt just to bounce off again. After two failed attacks, the bone club flew through the air back to Marowak's waiting hand.
"Now, Berg! Attack Marowak with Blizzard!" Berg dropped his barrier and took aim at Marowak. A blast of ice and show shot out from each of Berg's cannons, spreading out in a cone from each gun to spray Marowak. Marowak growled and staggered back from the hit but shook it off as ice began to form on its body, breaking free before there could be any buildup.
"Marowak, use Bonemerang again now!" Cueball called out with a growl, realizing now how powerful his foe was. Marowak gave another strong toss of its strange bone. The bone spun through the air and smacked Berg on the head, causing him to stagger back. The bone continued off past Berg, flying over Rina's head and then coming back around to strike Berg from behind, knocking him forward slightly. The bone continued straight ahead, returning to Marowak's hand.
"Marowak hits hard, but Berg can hit Marowak hard too." Rina thought. "Berg, attack Marowak with Blizzard again!" Berg quickly regained his composure and brought his cannons to aim at Marowak again. Berg fired another blast of ice and snow at Marowak, which the ground pokemon dove forward to try to avoid. Even low to the ground, though, Marowak found itself being pelted by a bit of ice and snow from the attack. Marowak slowly stood up when it ended, looking as though it were barely able to do so.
"Grr...we'll go with a direct approach, then! Marowak, attack with Bone Club and knock it onto its back!" Marowak raised its bone back and charged across the room towards Berg, jumping as the gap between them closed as to aim a high strike at Berg.
"Berg, quick! Protect!" Berg quickly protected itself, forming a blue barrier around it. Marowak's attack came down hard on the barrier but bounced off harmlessly, knocking Marowak to the ground at Berg's feet.
"Now lets finish this! Water Gun!" Rina called out. Berg seized the opportunity to attack while Marowak was down. Berg fired a quick burst of water from each of his cannons. The water splashed against Marowak, pushed Marowak into the floor. Marowak growled and tried to raise its head but collapsed as it fell unconscious.
"Damn it...that thing really is packing a lot of power..." Cueball grumbled as he recalled his Marowak and took a pokeball from another clip. It seemed to be the only one he had left. "But our reputation is at stake here, so don't think I'll back down!" Cueball held out his pokeball and released a muscular, humanoid pokemon wearing a gold belt around its waist. It was a Machoke, evolved form of Machop.
"You're either stupid, don't care about your pokemon, or both." Rina accused Cueball. "I have five pokemon left to your one, I've beaten every one of your lackeys, and now you've seen how strong my pokemon are first hand! Why keep going when you have no hope of winning?!"
"SHUT UP!" Cueball yelled at Rina. "I will NOT be talked down to by anyone! Don't you realize who you're dealing with here?!"
"A bunch of losers..." Rina muttered quietly, taking Berg's pokeball in hand. "Berg, good job. You can rest again." Rina recalled Berg and placed his pokeball on her belt, then looked over her shoulder at Pippi. "Pippi?" Pippi nodded and ran out past Rina, taking up position in front of her to battle Machoke.
"-If this is how we're doing in, then I'll give it my best!-" Pippi said to Rina.
"You're battling with that pipsqueak?" Cueball grinned. "This won't take long. Machoke, stomp it flat with Karate Chop!"
"Couldn't agree more..." Rina thought. "Pippi, Double Team!" Pippi stood up on her hind legs as Machoke approached her. Machoke brought its hand down vertically toward Pippi in a chopping motion, but its hand passed through Pippi and struck the floor instead. Pippi vanished as she was seemingly hit and Machoke took notice of several more Pippi's beside and behind it.
"Now, Pippi! Use Thunderbolt!" The images all disappeared, leaving the real Pippi standing several feet behind Machoke. Sparks danced around Pippi's cheeks as she charged electricity. Twin bolts fired out from each electric sack, combining into a single bolt as it raced towards Machoke. The Thunderbolt attack struck Machoke head on. Machoke growled in pain and barely managed to catch itself from falling as the electricity passed through its body.
"Damn it! Hit that thing already!" Cueball growled at his Machoke. Machoke gritted its teeth as its own temper started to get the best of it as well. Machoke raised its fist and charged towards Pippi to make another attack.
"Pippi, use Volt Tackle now!" Pippi channeled electricity around her body and took off towards Machoke as well. Machoke tried to time its attack to intercept Pippi but attacked too soon, putting its arm in Pippi's path instead as she jumped at him. The two collided with Pippi toppling Machoke as it continued to move forward, knocking the fighting pokemon onto its back. Pippi herself was knocked back from the impact, landing on her side at Machoke's feet.
"One more attack should do it now." Rina thought. "Pippi, finish it off with Thunderbolt!" Pippi quickly jumped back to her feet, shaking off the recoil while Machoke slowly tried to get back up as well in its weakened state. Pippi, seeing its weakened state, fired off a rather quick bolt of electricity.
It was a relatively weak jolt, for a Thunderbolt, but that one small blast from Pippi was enough to knock Machoke out for good. Machoke grunted and fell back to the floor as its body gave out, losing consciousness almost instantly. Cueball cursed under his breath and quickly recalled his Machoke.
"Damn it! Our entire gang is beaten by a single child?!" Cueball growled in disbelief.
"What now, boss?" One of the bikers asked him. Cueball seemed to think it over carefully for a moment.
"We'll move somewhere else and start over, somewhere we won't be overshadowed by guys like Team Rocket." Cueball said, shooting an angry glare at Rina. "We're abandoning this hideout, rear exit."
"Don't think for a second I'm just going to let you leave!" Rina called out. The biker gang ignored her. Though they were reluctant to leave, they all started filing through a back door with a broken 'Exit' sign over it. Cueball, too, slowly hobbled towards the door.
"HEY! Get back here or else!" Rina yelled. Cueball stopped near the door and turned around.
"Or else what?" Cueball shot back. "The goody-goody trainer brat is going to get her pokemon to zap us? Ha! You don't have the guts, kid." Cueball stepped through the door and slammed it shut behind him.
"-Hmph! I could have at least Thunder Waved the fat one.-" Pippi said disappointedly.
"Don't worry about them, Rina. I doubt they'll last long wherever they end up going." Ashley reassured her. Rina looked over at her and noticed she was standing up and had removed the shackle.
"Wait a minute! You could have gotten free anytime you wanted, couldn't you?" Rina asked her.
"Of course I could." Ashley replied with a wide smile. "Cueball is the only one with any brains in the group and he's lazy so he gets his lackeys to do everything for him. They didn't even take my pokeballs from me." Ashley pointed to the belt around her waist. Rina noticed it before, but she was so caught up in the moment that she didn't realize what it meant.
"Then why didn't you free yourself sooner?" Rina then asked her. "You would have saved us a lot of trouble you know!"
"I figured you would come by eventually, and I definitely wasn't worried about those idiots. Even if they made me wear this..." Ashley looked down at the outfit she was wearing. "I don't know where they found this...probably an old costume or something..."
"But why? And weren't you even worried they might try something funny while you're dressed like that?"
"Well, I thought beating up an entire biker gang on your own would help boost your confidence since you've been down in the dumps..." Ashley explained, then gestured to her belt again. "And if they tried anything, I would have sicked Charizard on them."
"Knowing they were so incompetent isn't much of a confidence boost though..." Rina sighed.
"-Hey! Speak for yourself!-" Pippi said to her. "-That Koffing's Selfdestruct really hurt you know! And if that Machoke actually hit me it wouldn't have tickled either!-"
"Well, I guess when you put it that way...we did fight seven trainers, and we hardly broke a sweat!" Rina smiled for the first time in a while and nodded to Pippi. "Yeah! We kicked their butts!"
"-Right!-" Pippi nodded enthusiastically. "-See? We're pretty tough, you just need to believe that and next time we'll rescue your parent's pokemon for sure!-"
"Thats the spirit!" Ashley said to her, giving her a thumbs up. "Now I'll just go get changed and then we can head to Fuschia. I think I saw some stolen bicycles in the building too." Ashley walked off towards a door at the side of the room. There was a worn-out sign on the door labelled 'storage'.
"Stolen bicycles?" Rina blinked. "But don't we have enough stolen property?!"
Author's Notes: With two stolen pokemon each, you would think someone might notice. But then again, they do have people 'on the inside'...
Anyway, few obvious references to a certain movie here. Mostly because everytime I pictured Cueball the image in my mind ended up looking like Jabba the Hutt.
Also, sorry about the lateness. Couple reasons for this, topping off with a caffeine-induced headache, but I'll leave it at that.
