Redemption or Retribution
Krestner and Reiji ran out into the open. Flames were scattered all over the place as fallen buildings. Reiji began to scout the area for any signs of life while Krestner began to walk through the flames to see who could've caused such an explosion. He walked over towards a fallen lamp and pushed it out of his way. He was about to walk in when a weak cry stopped him. He looked around for the cause of the cry and came across a little Phanpy that was trapped under a bunch of water pipes. It couldn't move because of the flowing water. It called again out again, sounding a lot more feeble. He released Blade from his Pokéball.
"Blade go over there and get that Phanpy out of there!"
"Sceptile" Blade jumped into the water and located the Phanpy. It slashed the pipes with Night Slash and delicately picked up the small Long Nose Pokémon. It shielded the Phanpy and jumped through the raging water and back to Krestner. Krestner wrapped it in his jacket and ran. He didn't stop until he made it all the way to the Pokémon Center. A Nurse Joy walked up to him and took the Phanpy into the Emergency Room. Reiji came into the Center with his pokémon in tow. They each held a corner of a Donphan that was badly injured. They carried it into the Emergency Room and five minutes later Reiji came out and began to talk.
"We found it in the alley by where you found that Phanpy. They must've been traveling together. We can only hope that it will be okay. They're all each other has left. Who would do such a thing?"
"Atilla and Hun would." He got up and through his sunglasses on the floor. "They're the only members of Team Rocket who would be allowed the firepower to take down the Veilstone Gym and the buildings around it."
"Who's Atilla and Hun?"
"They're rotten to the core Team Rocket officers. They tried to catch Raikou and then later tried to take my pokémon awhile back. I'd heard they escaped prison but I didn't thik they'd make it all the way to the Sinnoh region. Atilla has a Skarmory which is probably what hurt that Donphan and Hun has a Steelix which is probably what brought down the buildings. They're pokémon are as about as cruel as they are." Krestner spat out as if the information disgusted him. His eyes flashed red with anger as he thought about what they did to the two Ground-types in the Emergency Room. Reiji backed up some. He'd never seen Krestner like this.
"Why do you care so much about these two's survival. They're not even your pokémon."
"Because...ugh you wouldn't understand." Krestner stalked of into the waiting room, leaving Reiji confused in the vestibule of the Pokémon Center
Krestner's Thoughts
What is wrong with me? Why am I so affected by the attack here? No, not the attack on the gym. It was the attack on Donphan and Phanpy that's got me shook up. No pokémon should be dealt such a ferocious attack. They must've tried to fight back and were thrown into the building after building after building after building. But why do I care so much? What has me so worried about them? If they die they die together and will see each other on the other side. If they live they can go about their journey doing whatever they do best. But if just one of them were to die then...That's why I care so much! What ever happened on their outside is how I feel on the inside. Hurt and broken. As long as they have each other then they're okay but if one of them dies then the one left will end up just like me. Hurt, broken and alone. That's why! I won't let that happen and if it does, whoever did this answers to me!
BACK TO STORY...
Nurse Joy walked into the room, bringing Krestner back from his thoughts. " The two pokémon that came in will make a full recovery, but they won't be able to travel wild anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"When I was X-raying them I found chips under their skin. These are tracker chips placed by an organization known as 'Team Rocket.' If these pokémon go back out wild, they could just be found again and hurt even worse." Her face looked grave. Krestner got up from his seat.
" I'll take them. I'll find Team Rocket and make them remove these chips or shut them down."
"So you'll take them?" Nurse Joy stared at him. Suddenly the door swooshed open and in walked in Reiji.
"No, we'll take them. I've always wanted a Donphan. Krestner we'll come back tomorrow and pick these two up."
"Really, cuz we were just gonna take them now." Everybpdy turned arpund at the unfamiliar voice to see two Rockets standing before them. They both wore the giant "R" on their khaki jackets and both wore khaki pants and black boots. One had blueish hair that was semi-long and spiked up at each corner of his head. The other had spiky dirty-blonde hair and stood tall and was bulky-looking. He also wore sunglasses. Krestner tilted his head. He'd seen them somewhere before.
"Atilla and Hun? I'm gonna kill you two!" They looked at him curiously and as if suddenly remembering started yelling.
"That's that kid that got us demoted!" Atilla roared.
"Yea now we're stuck on stupid assignments like this. Tracking the only escaped Rocket pokémon left." Krestner moved towards the door that led to the two Ground-types.
"You're not gonna get them!" He threw a PokéBall and out came Ember, the Chimchar. "Ember, Fire Spin!" "Chimchar" Ember unleashed a tornado of fire at Atilla and Hun blowing them back through the door.
"So that's how you're gonna play it... Attila lets take this battle outside!" Hun grabbed Attila and they ran outside. Everything was calm for a second. The ground trembled slightly. Krestner realized what happened. He barked commands fast because he knew what was coming.
"Nurse Joy go check on the pokémon! Reiji and Blade, go with her! NOW!" The two didn't hesitate and ran to secure the pokémon. "Ember ,Dig underground and use Flamethrower!" The little Chimp Pokémon dug under the floor and shot blistering fire down the tunnel. An explosion erupted from the ground outside as a Steelix flew up after the smoke. "Good job Ember, but it just gets harder from here." From outside Hun's voice could be heard.
"Steelix stop playing around and get back down there!" The tunneling began again coming harder and faster than before. Without thinking, Krestner grabbed his Chimchar and threw him out of the hole, jumping into it in the process. He raised a gloved fist. Steelix's head popped out of the ground and with one well placed punch Krestner knocked it back down through the hole and out the other side. Ember got up dazed and confused at what his trainer just did. Little did he know Reiji, having secured the pokémon, had come to make sure Krestner was okay and had saw the whole thing. "You okay Ember?" The Chimp Pokémon nodded and began to laugh. Attila and Hun were pissed. They could be heard screaming from outside.
"Who knew a Chimchar could learn Dizzy Punch?"
"I don't care! We need to get rid of those two pokémon before Giovanni finds out they've gone missing." Krestner bust through the front door. HIs Chimchar followed behind him.
"Get out of here now and I might not break too many bones." Krestner cracked his knuckles. Ember copied him. Attila walked forward and released his Muk and Skarmory.
"We're not going anywhere! Muk, Sludge Bomb and Skarmory use Steel Wing!" His Muk shot large blobs of sludge while Skarmory flew up into the air and came down with it's wings glowing. Krestner saw both attacks coming and had little time to react when Donphan and Phanpy charged out of the Center and took the attacks head-on. Blade ran out after them. The two Ground-types were thrown back into ground majorly injured from the attack before and the attack now. Steelix got up from its stupor and attacked the Donphan with a Dragonbreath and then aiming it at Phanpy.
(Now comes the part where you, the fans of my story think of the saddest song you can.)
The Phanpy dodged but didn't see Skarmory attack from the side with another Steel Wing. Blade tried to jump into the battle, but was stopped by the glare Phanpy and Donphan gave him. Phanpy got up off the ground slowly, having taken lots of damage. It evolved in a brilliant whitte light into Donphan. The two Donphans roared loudly. Krestner tried to stop the two ,but was blown back by a Hyper Beam from one of the Donphan. He hit the wall and realized that the blast hadn't packed much power at all. He came to the stunning realization that they couldn't go much longer like this. Nobody could stop them because they wouldn't let anybody stop them. They kept charging at the two Rockets who laughed at their pain. everytime being stopped by either Steelix, Muk, or Skarmory. Ember dug underground to shield his eyes from what was happening. Blade looked away and began to cry. Krestne just sat there and stared, wrapped in his own thoughts. The two Donphan looked at each other and smiled. They knew they weren't getting out of here alive ,but they'd at least be able to stop these idiots from harming the people who saved them. They charged forward as purple and gold energy flowed around them and struck the three pokémon with Giga Impact. The attack hit all three pokémon and triggered a massive explosion. The aftershock of the attack caused everyone to be blown back. When the smoke cleared. the Donphan wereon the ground unconcious and Muk and Skarmory were fainted with swirly eyes. Reiji burst out of the Center and looked at Krestner who, unlike everyone else didn't get blown back. In fact it seemed the energy had just moved around him. Attila and Hun got up of the ground, a look of terror on their normally calm faces. Attila returned his pokémon as Hun looked for Steelix. The Iron Snake exploded from the ground and charged a Hyper Beam. Ember flew up from underground and attacked with Fire Blast just as Blade fired his own Hyper Beam. The attacks fainted Steelix. Hun returned his Iron Snake.
"Get the Donphan. These guys have nothing left." He growled as he hit a button on his wristwatch. A large ship came down out of the sky and its shadow covered them all. It came about 200 ft. from the ground. Attila shot a net out of a net launcher and it captured the Donphan. Krestner broke out of his revelry and his anger began to show through. He dashed forward towards the Rockets but, Hun pushed another button and they were all transported into the ship.
"They're getting away!" Reiji yelled (what a way to state the obvious). Krestner's pokémon jumped into their Pokéballs as Krestner kept his momentum going."That ship must be at least 200 ft in the air and must be going as fast as a Rapidash. You're never gonna catch up Krestner!" But he just kept running. He came to a tree and jumped onto the first branch and began branch-hopping, his anger increasing with every jump. He reached the top of the tree and jumped up high into the air and onto the ship. ONTO THE SHIP!!! Reiji did a double-take and couldn't believe his eyes. Krestner had just jumped hundreds of feet into the air. He was now clinging onto the ship and was punching the outside of the ship pitifully trying to break through. Reiji couldn't bear to watch but when he turned his head away he didn't see Krestner's hand glow and pounded the ship harder creating a large hole. He slipped onboard undetected. Blade, Ember, Regal, the Staraptor and jumped from their respective Pokéballs.
"Go and find the Donphan and get them out of here. I'll handle the ones who messed with me"
"Scep?"
"I mean with them, the Donphan" The three Pokémon saluted and spread out throughout the ship. Krestner walked up to a door and punched through it. He opened the door from the inside and walked inside. The ship wasn't as big as it looked and he'd walked into the control room where Attila and Hun stood confused.
"How'd you get in here?" they asked shocked. Krestner raised a gloved hand and ripped a control panel of the wall and threw it at them. Hun dodged it and jumped over a chair. Attila, not reacting fast enough, was hit hard in the head, but didn't seem too phased by it.
"Non provocherà con l'impunità" (Thou shalt not provoke me with impunity) Krestner walked towards the Rockets and the door mysteriously closed behind him.
BACK TO THE POKÉMON
Regal and Blade found the Donphan in a small room and busted them out of the ship. Ember went back to make sure his trainer wasn't hurt. He found the control room just as the door closed. A strange light shone from the room and screaming could be heard. And it wasn't the manly kind of scream either. It was that high-pitched scream that stays with you until you leave the dreadful place that you're in. But one thing could be heard over it all.
"WELCOME TO MY RETRIBUTION!"
BACK TO POKÉMON CENTER
Reiji watched the front part of the ship fill with light and soon it disappeared. The ship began to turn around as out of the forest came Blade and Regal carrying the two Donphan. The ship landed safely in front of the Pokémon Center. The glass covering the cockpit was melted by a blast of fire and Krestner walked out with Ember on his shoulder.
"Where are Attila and Hun?" Reiji asked. Krestner raised a hand and gestured to the Donphan. A Chansey burst from the Center with a humongous stretcher and the Donphan were placed on it and wheeled inside. Reiji walked over to Krestner who now seemed to be at peace. Reiji could only guess at what had happened aboard the ship.
"What was that strange light up there? " Reiji inquired.
"Ember used Heat Wave up there." Krestner walked inside the Pokémon Center and Reiji turned and went home wondering if maybe just maybe Krestner might have a new job. The day grew old and turned to night and the notes of an ocarina could be heard in the distance. The notes carried out into the wind and reached out to the regions of the world.
Three Weeks Later…
Krestner woke up inside the Pokémon Center, refreshed. Today was the day. The day the Donphan would be released from the Center. He quickly took a shower, got dressed, brushed his teeth and ran down the steps taking two at a time. A lot had happened since the two Rockets had been captured. They'd been stripped of their pokémon and shipped back to Kanto. Veilstone Gym had been rebuilt and the damage to the Pokémon Center was repaired. The Donphan's chips had been removed and they'd made a full recovery. Reiji offered to take one while Krestner would take the other. At first, they had been afraid to split them up only to find that the pokémon were trying to get away from each other. And now today he knew he'd have to leave. There was much to prepare for as he only had a few months left before he actually had to go back to Trainer School. But, this year he was going with a new pokémon. He walked into the vestibule and spotted Reiji. He seemed overly excited.
"My brother Paul is coming home soon from Hoenn and plans on taking on the Sinnoh League. Maybe you'll try out this year."
"Yea, maybe." Nurse Joy walked out of the back room and the two Donphan accompianied her while Ember sat on one of their heads. Ember, spotting his trainer, jumped up onto the lights hanging from the ceiling and into his Pokéball. "It's time then. I'll take the one on the left, you take the one on the right."
"Why the right?"
"Because I've already named the left one Wrecker." And with that Krestner took out a Pokéball and tapped it on Wrecker's head. It descended into the capture device in a flash of red light as Reiji's did too. They stabilized and Krestner placed the ball on his belt.
"Oh I forgot!'" Reiji walked over to Krestner. "Ghost called and said that they were all home and ready for some training. That Umbreon of yours is talented if it an use a videophone."
"Well then,I guess that means I'm off. It was nice of you to let me stay here. Goodbye everybody." He walked out of the Pokemon Center and down the road as his friend waved back. Krestner got down the road and let out Wrecker.
"Donphan!"
"Thanks Wrecker."
"Phan?"
"You helped me gain redemption and I helped you get retribution. We both are now contet with our lives and are free to try new things. It's for that that I thank you." Wrecker's eyes welled up and he trumpeted for joy. He jumped back into his Pokéball and Krestner released Regal. He hoped onto his back and Regal took flight towards Harvest Moon Island.
Chapter 5 is where the storyline picks up again and if you've paid attention then things will start to add up. And if any of you ask Ash will be in the story somewhere as will Paul and the rest of them. I may even introdce a love interest for Krestner.
And if these chapters left you with a lot of questions remember that I'll answer them all in time as the story progresses.