I decided not to make any changes for now.
Not nearly as long a wait this time. Enjoy!
Chapter 5
Let's Get Rocked
"You look really stressed out," Savanna said. "Krait and I don't scare you that much, do we?"
The snake, Krait, gave an angry hiss at Draco.
"Chill out!" Savanna scolded it. "If I need your help, I'll ask for it."
Krait slithered off to the side, eyes still on Draco.
"Sorry again. Like I said, he doesn't like strangers, especially if they get close to me."
You could have told me that before I walked over here.
"It's not a problem," Draco said.
"So, what's got you so down?"
A nearly all-powerful dark wizard has my family at his mercy, and failing him means death.
"It's hard to explain."
"Anything you want to talk about?
Help me!
"Not really, no."
"Okay then, let's get the introductions out of the way. I'm Savanna. It's nice to meet you."
"My name's Draco, Draco Malfoy."
Savanna winced at the sound of his name.
"Whoa, you scared me for a second there," she said. "I thought you were about to call for a Draco Meteor attack."
"A…what?"
"Draco Meteor. You know, the strongest Dragon-type move there is."
Draco could only give a blank stare, but Savanna seemed to not notice his confusion. She looked like she was studying his appearance.
"You know, you kind of look like a Dragon-type user," she said. "But judging from that barrier one of your friends threw up, I'm guessing you're Psychics. Am I right?"
"It's something like that. Where exactly are we?"
"Oh, right. We're a few miles away from Mossdeep City in the Hoenn region."
Draco gave her another blank stare.
"So you did come from the ring?" Savanna continued.
"Yeah, yeah we did."
"Great! There's something we want to show you. Come on, follow me."
She turned and started walking away, but Draco felt everything was moving too fast.
"Wait, hold on a moment!"
He grabbed her arm before she could get out of reach. Almost immediately, he heard an aggressive hiss, and released Savanna and pulled his arm back just in time to narrowly avoid a pair of red fangs.
"Krait!" Savanna shouted. "I told you to…"
She didn't finish. A streak of blue light struck the snake and knocked him backwards. A stunning spell.
Neither Draco nor Savanna said anything. They both stared at the unconscious Krait, then at each other – probably with the same stunned expression – still silent.
Then Draco swore as he turned around for an explanation. He looked at his father and aunt first. They seemed as shocked as he was. He turned his attention to Crabbe and Goyle, who…pointed at each other.
Draco groaned. Of course they would do that.
"I'm so sorry!" he said quickly as he turned his attention back to Savanna. "Don't worry, I can fix…"
He didn't get a chance to finish as Savanna grabbed his shoulder and shoved him aside. He caught a brief glimpse of her face as she passed him.
She's on a warpath.
She tossed a red and white ball in front of her.
"You're up, Badger."
A flash of white light, then a horrible odor filled the air. A purple skunk appeared in front of Savanna, its attention – as well as hers – focused on Crabbe and Goyle.
A brief second of silence, and then…
"Flamethrower."
The skunk shot a steam of fire from its mouth at the pair. Draco didn't say anything else. She probably wasn't going to listen to reason at this point. He readied his wand.
"Oh, no you don't!"
Another red and white ball landed in front of Draco, and what emerged from the light looked like a large frog. It stood on two legs, and had a bulging sack on its throat as well as a pointed spike on each of its hands.
"That should keep you occupied for a while."
He had forgotten about Savanna's companion behind him.
"Toxicroak, use Poison Jab!"
The frog leaped at Draco so quickly that he only had time to instinctively throw up a Shield Charm. It threw a punch at him, only to bounce harmlessly off the shield.
"Try it again!"
The frog obeyed, only to come up with the same result.
"That's one effective barrier," the man said. "But we have ways to deal with that. Brick Break!"
The frog attacked again. This time it broke through the shield, much to Draco's surprise. He tried to sidestep the attack. The spike on the frog's palmtop tore through the sleeve of his robe, but did not pierce the skin.
Draco stumbled backwards, but managed to keep his balance. He fired a stunner at the frog. There was no time to dodge from such close range, and it crumpled to the deck instantly.
One down, Draco thought as he regained his footing. Now for the other.
But almost right away he found himself staring at another obstacle. The frog disappeared in a red light, and another creature took its place. This one was much more "normal" looking – a purple colored big cat with yellow outlined scattered about its fur.
It's beautiful. I almost feel bad about having to do this.
He cast another Stunning Spell at the cat. It connected, but the cat remained standing. He tried it again; same result. The cat growled after a third attempt, almost as if it was getting impatient with him.
"You shouldn't waste your effort like that," a different male voice spoke. This one sounded older and spoke with authority.
The man it belonged to was dressed in in a long purple robe with the same icon as the other man on his chest.
"Liepard is a Dark-type," he said. "Your powers won't work on it."
Draco could only stare, dumbfounded. Indistinct shouting broke him out of his stupor. He looked around and saw the ship's deck was now swarming with people and more of the big cats. The rest of his group had been separated and surrounded. Savanna had Crabbe cornered against the side. Draco guessed he was the one to stun Krait. None of them were attempting any spells.
"By now you should have realized there's no use in resisting," the man spoke again, this time louder. He was addressing all of them at once. "Put down your weapons and surrender. I shouldn't have to explain what will happen if you refuse."
Draco heard Bellatrix laugh. A surrender was not going to happen, at least not yet.
The man side and made a signal with his hand. Draco suddenly felt a breeze blow by him. He took a quick look around him, but did not see any changes. The cat was still in the same place.
Then he realized he no longer held his wand, and, judging from the surprised gasps, the same thing had happened to the rest of his team.
In the next instant three identical looking men appeared in front of the man in the robe. They each had long white hair and faces mostly obscured by masks. One of them held Draco's wand, the other two holding the rest.
Where…how…what just happened?
"Perhaps now you'll be more reasonable."
Draco hesitated for a second, and then put his hands up.
"Good choice."
Stephanie stepped into the trainer's box with Lynx and Kuro at her side. It was early in the morning, so there was not much of a crowd in the Gym. And that was just fine with her.
"Two Pokemon each, no time limit," said the referee. "Good luck to you both."
"Alright, Geodude, you're up first!" the Gym Leader, Roxanne, called out.
"Lynx, go for it!"
Lynx eagerly jumped onto the field. She and Geodude stared each other down, neither of them moving.
Rocks all over the place, Stephanie thought. Plenty of cover from long-distance attacks. Let's start off by getting in close.
"You know what to do!" she shouted at Lynx.
"Espurr!"
Lynx darted at Geodude. She closed the gap between them quickly enough that Geodude had no time to respond. She clapped her hands together and sent a shockwave at it. The attack connected, temporarily stunning Geodude.
Fake Out worked perfectly. Now let's go in for the knockout.
"Energy Ball!"
Lynx's ears opened as she fired the Energy Ball. Geodude, still stunned from the Fake Out, could do nothing to avoid it. Lynx scored a direct hit, but…
Not quite enough to finish it off.
"Get away from it, Lynx!"
Lynx jumped back several steps until she felt she was a safe enough distance away.
"Geodude, take cover!"
Geodude ran, or skipped, to be more accurate, behind one of the rocks on the field.
"That was a good idea, Stephanie," Roxanne shouted at her from the other side. "Against a normal trainer, that probably would have been enough. But a Gym Leader won't go down that easily. Rock Polish!"
A bright glow started behind Geodude's hiding rock.
Powering up? We can do that, too.
"Calm Mind!"
Lynx closed her eyes, and she began to glow. It faded when her eyes opened again, but the effect remained.
Next hit should do it, no matter what the attack is. Then I'm set up for her last Pokemon.
"Rock Tomb!"
Geodude emerged from its hiding spot. It punched the ground, causing the field to shake.
"Purr!"
Lynx swayed on her spot. After a few seconds she lost her footing and tumbled to the ground.
"It's alright, Lynx! Just get back up and…"
Giant rocks shot up from the ground all around Lynx before before Stephanie could finish.
"Purr! Espurr!" Lynx cried out in panic.
She's trapped!
"Use Confusion! Turn those rocks into dust!"
But Roxanne wasn't waiting around.
"Magnitude!"
Crap!
Geodude punched the ground again. This time, it felt like the entire gym was shaking. Many of the rocks on the field shattered, including the ones trapping Lynx. The Rock Tomb caved in on her.
"Lynx, no!"
Stephanie watched the pile of rubble for several agonizing seconds. Then she felt a surge of energy from beneath it. The whole pile was blasted away, revealing a battered but still standing Lynx.
She can't take much more. Gotta end it now!
"Psybeam!"
"Dodge it!"
Lynx did as commanded, but Geodude managed to evade it thanks to the speed boost from Rock Polish.
"Keep firing! Don't let up for a second!"
Lynx continued with the Psybeam barrage. Geodude's increased speed allowed it to escape again and again, but its earlier Magnitude attack had destroyed most of its cover, and Lynx wasn't giving it any time for a counter attack.
Finally, one of the Psybeams connected, and Geodude went down in a heap.
"Call it," Stephanie whispered to herself without daring to look at the referee. "Come on, call it!"
"Geodude is unable to battle. Espurr wins!"
Stephanie exhaled. Geodude had made it difficult with Rock Polish, but over the course of a battle, fast eventually slows down.
Half way there! Stephanie could barely contain her excitement. Let's bring this one home!
There was no one else in the room when Hermione woke up. She correctly guessed Harry and Ron were with Marcus, since she figured they would not go anywhere around the city without her. She did notice someone else's absence when she met up with them in Marcus's room.
"Where's Stephanie?"
"She's challenging the Gym Leader," Harry said. "Heard she left first thing in the morning."
Hermione would have been lying if she had said she wasn't a little relieved after hearing that. She looked over at Ron, who was fidgeting uncomfortable and tapping Mia's Poke Ball.
Now that Ron had a Pokemon of his own, he was going to need some pointers on training. Hermione knew she was probably being irrational, but she could not help feeling uncomfortable knowing Ron would be getting help from Stephanie.
"So we're just waiting for her to come back?"
"Yeah, hopefully with a Stone Badge," Marcus said.
"And hopefully soon," Ron chimed in, a little too eagerly for Hermione's liking. "We made some big plans for the day while you were sleeping."
"Oh, really? What did you come up with?"
"Not telling yet," said Harry. "We'll wait until Stephanie gets here. She doesn't know about it yet either."
Hermione was a little annoyed at that as she took a seat on the couch. She could tell whatever they had planned had them excited.
But she did not have to wait long. A click followed by the sound of the door opening meant Stephanie had returned. Hermione did not look at her right away.
"How'd it go?" Marcus asked.
Stephanie groaned in response as she sat down next to Hermione, her hand pressed up against her forehead. Kuro curled up by her feet. She did not look happy either.
"Not well, I take it?" Hermione said.
"Beat like a rented Numel," Stephanie answered. "I got past Roxanne's Geodude, but her Nosepass, ugh!"
She let out another frustrated groan.
"I can see why Kiara had so much trouble, and she even had a type advantage!"
"Sounds like you need to do some more training or get some more Pokemon," Hermione said.
"Probably both."
"Then on that note," Marcus cut in. "We came up with an idea while you were away."
"Oh, really? What do you have in mind?"
"Yes," said Hermione. "Please tell us."
"Well, Ron has a Pokemon now," Marcus said. "But there's no reason for him to have all the fun. So, we figured you and Harry could get in on the action. If you're up for it, that is."
"That sounds good," Hermione said immediately. She could still remember most of the important information Stephanie had given them yesterday, so she could help out Ron with training Mia.
"Yeah, let's do it!" she said eagerly.
"Alright then," said Marcus. "I'll take Harry and Ron up to Route 115."
"Wait," Hermione said, her excitement fading a little. "Just you three? What about us?"
"By splitting up, there's a better chance at least one of us will get a Pokemon," Harry said. "And we thought you two could use a girls' day out."
"Hold on!" Hermione and Stephanie said in unison, but the other three left the room before they could get another word in, leaving the two girls alone.
Several uncomfortable minutes of silence followed.
"So, uh…" Stephanie tried to speak, but could not find the words.
"Just say where you want to go," said Hermione. She kept as calm as she possibly could.
"W-well, Lynx and Arrow are at the Pokemon Center. I thought maybe checking out Route 116 after they've healed. Maybe go down to Route 105 after that?"
"Fine."
More silence.
"They should be just about done. We…uh…we can probably go now."
Hermione quietly sighed and followed Stephanie out the room.
It's going to be a long day.
Draco drummed his fingers on the table in his cabin. Or maybe "cell" was the more appropriate term since he was a prisoner. This group, whoever they were, had separated his team, locking them each in a different room. It had been hours since he had last seen someone. He was alone with his thoughts.
And the creepy meerkat-gopher animal like the one he saw on the deck.
"Stop looking at me."
"Watch!"
"Can you say anything else?"
"Watch! Watchog!"
"Forget it."
He snapped back to attention when the door opened. The robed man from before entered first, followed by Savanna. She did not have her snake or her skunk with her.
"My name is Zinzolin," the man said. "I am one on the sages of Team Plasma. Am I correct in assuming you are the leader?"
Draco said nothing.
"Perhaps you would be more willing to talk to Savanna?"
Draco still did not reply.
Savanna took her seat at the opposite end of the small table. She was holding several sheets of paper.
"I'm, uh, sorry about that little dustup earlier," she said nervously.
A little late for that, don't you think?
"Krait and I have been through a lot together," she continued. "He doesn't like anyone touching me. I'm kind of the same way with him."
"I noticed," Draco answered flatly.
"We'll get straight to the point," Savanna said. "I told you before things got crazy I wanted to show you something, and I have it here."
She handed the papers over to Draco.
"Have a look at them. We got these images from one of our camera traps in Petalburg Woods."
Draco examined the first image. It was a ring, just like the one that appeared in his family manor. He moved on to the second image.
Is that…Weasley?
He took a closer look. Sure enough, his eyes were not playing tricks on him.
If Wesley's there, then maybe…
He flipped over to the next one. Another picture of the ring. Onto the next. The ring was gone, but Draco was more focused on what was there. Weasley was back, along with Potter, Granger and someone else.
"The look on your face says it all," Savanna said. "I can tell you know them. They friends of yours?"
Draco was unable to suppress a laugh.
"So, enemies then? You want to tell us about it?"
And that's the end of Chapter 5! Hope you liked it. I can't say thanks enough to everyone who has kept coming back despite all the earlier delays. Really, I appreciate it.
See you all next time!