Chapter 33: Barrys Last Stand
Moka flew as fast as she could. After the quick trip to Lake Valor, then the battling immediately afterwords, I was starting to get concerned about how badly this would affect her body. When I brought it up as we were passing over Oreburgh for the second time today, she disagreed. "It's a part of that HM thing you gave me. I can carry you all day!" she explained, her voice sounding strained despite her words. I decided to let it go, but resolved to keep an eye on her after this was all over.
We flew over Littleroot Town as the sun began to set. As we moved closer to the Lake, the signs of a battle were getting clearer and clearer. Flashes of light, loud shrieks and battle commands were coming up from the banks of the lake, which thankfully, remained intact. Moka circled around, getting a better view of the shore where the fighting was taking place.
Professor Rowan was surrounded, three Croagunk and a handful of Zubat keeping him back away from the bank of the lake. His fists were bloody, as were the faces and bodies of a few of the pokemon. That crazy bastard, he's fighting them himself! I thought. I had to admire his guts. Catching sight of me, Rowan motioned to his right. "Help her!" he cried. I looked in the direction he was indicating and got one hell of a shock.
Dawn was battling the red-haired commander from Valley Windworks. The woman's pokemon were ganging up on what I had to assume was Lizbeth, though the Piplup was anything but now. Sometime between Veilstone and now, the little blue bird had evolved not once, but twice, turning into a large, imposing Empoleon. However, Lizbeth was still unused to battling, and the red-haired commanders pokemon had the upper hand. A Golbat and Bronzor flew in circles around the crowned head of Lizbeth, peppering her with attacks to keep her distracted. Her new steel typing must have helped, but she wouldn't last long under the assault. Meanwhile, the Purugly was attacking Dawn, chasing the girl around, slowly driving her towards the lake.
Anger rose up in me once again, and I acted on instinct. "Moka, fly low, drop me off near Dawn!" I ordered, reaching in my bag and grabbing a pokeball. Moka soared toward the frightened trainer, dropping me off into the shallows of the lake. "Go, help Lizbeth!" I shouted up at her as I released Kamina from his pokeball. The red-haired woman had noticed us by now, sneering at Moka as she nailed her Golbat with an Air Cutter attack, forcing it and the Bronzor back.
"You!" she spat. "You're that brat from the Windworks! Remember my name? You should. It's the name of the person who's going to take you down!"
"Sorry, I run into so many cowardly tramps I loose track of their names sometimes." I snapped back. Kamina swiped at the Purugly and it backed off as well, knowing it was no match for the fighting-type. Dawn ran over to take care of Lizbeth, who had dropped to one knee from her injuries.
"Tramp! I'll show you, you unforgivable little bastard!" the woman screeched. "Golbat, Supersonic! Take the Crobat down!"
Unfortunately for her, Moka was the superior pokemon in the sky. The Golbat shot attack after attack at her, but she maneuvered out of the way effortlessly. It seemed that I was wrong to worry about all the heavy flying she was doing. With a sharp turn, she neatly avoided one last Supersonic, before slamming into the Golbat with severe force, taking it down.
The Bronzor moved to attack while Moka was open, but an Aura Sphere knocked it spinning. Training it's eyes on Kamina, I approached quickly, confidently adopting an Iron Defense to ward off any potential attacks. "Please, don't make me laugh with that defense." Kamina barked, shooting it down with another Aura Sphere.
As Bronzor fell, I felt like I was missing something. A growling behind me cleared that up quickly. The red-haired woman smirked as I spun around, her Purugly creeping up on me, fangs bared. "That's it Purugly! Take out the trainer, and the pokemon are no problem!" she called encouragingly. Purugly leaped to hit me with a Slash attack, but a streak of purple slammed into it, bouncing the fat cat back into the water. It recovered quickly, growling at Moka, who smirked down from her hovering position.
Kamina moved to take Purugly down, but I held up a hand to stop him. "Let Moka handle this." I said calmly. "She seems like she's in the zone."
And in the zone she was. Purugly initiated the battle with a Fake Out, attempting to throw Moka off balance. However, the Crobat's Inner Focus prevented the move from being anything but a light tickle, and Moka countered with a Confuse Ray. The bright beam of light hit the cat directly in the eyes, temporarily blinding it. Purugly flailed about, splashing in the water and doing more damage to herself than anything else. Moka flew up high in the sky, taking advantage of her opponents confusion to set up for a Fly attack. Flipping in the air, she dove down on top of the cat. With the last of its strength, Purugly lashed out with its claws, nailing Mokas underside with a Slash attack. Moka cried out in pain and fell into the water, sinking into the blue.
"Moka!" I yelped as Kamina surged forward, the water impeding his movement. He got to her side quickly, however, and dragged her above the surface. I waded over, fishing a Hyper Potion out of my bag. I sprayed her with it, not bothering to check my PokeTech to see if I had wasted the medicine. She has to be alive. She has to be. I just kept repeating that over and over in my head. She didn't look the part. Her purple fur was soaked, and her wings were waterlogged so much that they slumped down at her sides, not moving. Her eyes were squeezed shut, a pained expression still on her face.
A few seconds after I had I had administered the potion, Moka stirred. Both Kamina and I grinned in delight, happy that we hadn't lost yet another teammate. She opened her eyes wearily, blinking in the setting sunlight. "I haven't felt this bad since that time I tried to use Toxic to early." she moaned.
"Well have a rest then. You've definitely earned it." I said, returning her to her pokeball. A similar red light caught my attention, and I saw the commander standing at the banks of the lake, recalling her pokemon and looking absolutely livid.
"Stupid, useless pokemon! I should have stolen something stronger, but I guess it's to late to go back now." she growled. Looking up at me didn't make her expression any lighter. "I'll get you for this. That's twice you've humiliated me, and there won't be a third time. I'll pay you back tenfold, or my name isn't Commander Mars!" she threatened.
"Mars is it?" Rowan asked. I glanced over just in time to see him step over the unconscious body of the last grunt. Holy shit, he's a badass! I thought. Rowan didn't seem to notice me gawking. "Well Miss Mars, you'll excuse me if I say you will do nothing of the sort. You will remain here with me until the proper authorities can collect you." He cracked his knuckles to emphasize the statement.
Mars chuckled darkly. "I'd love to stay, believe me, but I'm afraid I've got other plans." she said. The sound of an engine roaring to life accompanied two bright lights coming to life behind her. All of us, human and pokemon alike, threw our hands up to shield our eyes from the sudden brightness. As I blinked the tears away, I looked through my fingers to see that a jeep had roared into the clearing. Mars climbed in, waving at us. "Bye now! Thanks for letting me distract you long enough to snatch up this cute little thing!" she teased, tapping the seat next to her. Strapped in was a large glass box, and trapped inside it was Mesprit, the legendary guardian of the lake.
"No!" I roared, running towards the vehicle. To late, however, and it roared away, crashing through the forest. I knew there was no hope of catching it on foot, but I continued after it for a few more yards anyway, trying desperately to save the helpless pokemon. When the reality of the situation hit me, I fell to my knees, pounding a fist into the dirt with a shout. "Dammit! That's two they have now!" I yelled.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up, seeing Kaminas blue and black face peering down at me. "It's not over yet. Barry's still in Aucity. We can still save Uxie." he said, helping me to my feet. I nodded before we made our way back to Dawn and the injured Lizbeth.
"She's going to be okay." Dawn said as soon as we got close. "Thank Arceus she evolved recently, or she'd be in much worse shape." I had to agree with Dawn's diagnosis. Lizbeth's sleek blue and black patterned wings were cracked and dented in places. It was weird seeing a pokemon that had once been a feathery bird have wings made of metal, but I didn't reflect on it to much, concern for the pokemon herself taking up most of my thoughts.
Rowan came over, hanging up a phone he had pulled from his coat. "I've called Interpol, they're on the case now." he said. "They know about Azelf and Mesprit, but unfortunately, they refuse to move to secure Lake Aucity."
"What!?" Dawn, Kamina and I all shouted at once, although I'm sure Kamina sounded like a growl to the others.
"Why would they do that!?" I added. "They know she's in danger, why not help?"
"They argue that if Mesprit and Azelf have been taken, that Uxie is most likely already taken as well." Rowan explained, an edge to his voice that showed he did not approve of this train of thought. "As it stands, they are preparing to an assault on Team Galactic HQ in Veilstone, and intend to recover the guardians there."
"But what about Barry? If he's made it to Aucity, he's in danger!" Dawn pointed out.
"Exactly." Rowan agreed. "I tried to point this out to them, but they wouldn't listen. They even tried to condemn me for sending the boy in the first place."
"I'm going." I announced, reaching for Mokas pokeball once again. "Barry's strong, but he's going to need backup."
"STOP!" Rowan commanded. The force of the shout made me jump, freezing in place. Kamina half moved to stand between me and Rowan, probably expecting the Professor to attack me. "Listen to me carefully Nick." Rowan said, lowering his voice back to its normal gruff tone. "If you wish to help Barry, you need to rest for the night and travel tomorrow morning."
"How could you say that?" I asked accusingly. "I need to get there as soon as I-"
"Are you fit to fight? Did you not encounter anyone at Lake Valor?" Rowan asked suddenly. I stuttered with my answer, but I guess my face said enough. "I thought so." Rowan nodded. "Your pokemon need to heal. Your Crobat is in no condition to fly you across the nation, and I'm sure the rest of your team is not in top form. You will need everything you have just to travel through Route 216." My mouth opened to interrupt him, but he held up a hand. "Please understand. I am not asking you to abandon your friend. I am asking that you trust in Barrys strength and support him when you would be more than a liability. It is not just your life at stake here." he added, eying Kamina briefly.
As much as I hated to admit it, as much as it felt like betrayal, Rowan was right. Moka may be at full health again, but she was still half-drowned. There's not telling how far she would make it. The others were in better shape for the most part, but a rest and healing at a PokeCenter would do them wonders. I sighed deeply before nodding. "Alright Rowan. I'll wait 'til morning, but I'm leaving as soon as the sun rises."
"I wouldn't expect anything less." he replied.
True to my word I was already in the air, Moka clinging to my shoulders by the time the sun had fully risen over the horizon. We flew north, heading to Eterna City in order to enter Mt. Coronet. We arrived at the city in record time, and I quickly headed into the mountain. The night before, I had planned as much as I could in order to make it to Lake Aucity as fast as I could. I had taught Cerberus Strength, sacrificing his Bite move in order to move the large boulders that littered the inside of the great mountain. Pushing them around, we managed to work our way through the maze and arrive at Route 216.
The first thing I felt was cold. The inside of the mountain had been pretty chilly, but the route itself was covered in at least a few solid inches of snow. The air was practically frozen, and my breath came out in small clouds of vapor. I pulled the long blue coat I had borrowed from Rowan around me tighter, grateful for its warmth. Cerberus, on the other hand, was completely unfazed by the chill. "What's the matter? Can't handle a little snow?" he asked snidely, knocking a bunch of it at me with his tail.
"Quit it Cerberus, we're on a mission here!" I snapped. "And for the record, I actually like the cold. Just, not this much cold." Cerberus chuckled but obeyed and we set off down the snow-covered trail. Our progress was hindered not only by the weather, but by the assorted trainers and wild pokemon. I managed to capture a male Sneasel I spotted, but didn't take much time thinking about it as the pokeball was sent to the box. The trainers, on the other hand, bugged me to no end. Because of the stupid challenge, I was forced to accept any and all battles, which meant I couldn't just claim to be in a hurry and pass them. Luckily, Cerberus was more than enough for the ice-types that the local trainers favored, taking them down swiftly and brutally.
It wasn't long before we reached the bend in the path, finally heading north instead of west. That was also around the time that a large blizzard swept in, completely obscuring the path. I recalled Cerberus, not wanting to loose him in the storm, and forced myself to continue on. The cold was incredible, numbing my limbs even through the insulated coat. I hugged my torso tightly, trying my hardest to keep my body temperature high. Visibility was practically zero, I could barely see what was in front of me, and was I could see was nothing but white. Still, I pressed forward, praying that the storm would end as suddenly as it began so I could find the path once more.
Just as I felt like my legs were going to ice over and break apart, I walked face-first into a wall. Bouncing back, I fell into the fresh powder, making a wonderful impression of a cold dumbass in the snow. Digging myself out, I moved towards the wall, hand outstretched to catch myself before I hit it this time. It was oddly shaped, made of numerous large half-circles apparently. I shimmied down the wall until my fingers caught on a small gap. Tracing around it, I realized that it was a door. Fumbling around for the handle, I wrenched it open and dove into the shelter within, slamming the door shut behind me. Immediately the cold started to fade away, no longer being constantly fed by the wind. I took a few moments to catch my breath before looking around. I was in a log cabin, which explained the odd shape of the wall earlier. The wall in front of me was decorated with numerous pictures and memorabilia.
My investigation of the house was interrupted by a young voice. "Wow, didn't expect to get any visitors on vacation, especially during this storm." I wheeled around, trying to spout out an apology, but my lips were numb. My eyes locked onto the speaker, someone who I surprisingly recognized.
"M-m-mey-maylene?" I managed to shiver out. The pink-haired gym leader from Veilstone smirked, sitting cross-legged in front of a roaring fire, wearing her usual leotard and sweat pants despite the storm raging outside.
"Yep! This is my training cabin. I come here every once in a while, battle the native pokemon, exercise, that sort of thing." She patted the floor next to her. "Come on over, you look like you're about to freeze to death."
I certainly felt like I was freezing, so I took her up on the offer, getting comfortable on the hard floor of the cabin. "Thanks." I muttered, my lips starting to unfreeze.
"No problem, it's common courtesy up here." she said, waving my words away idly. "Besides, I'm curious what you're doing up here. On your way to challenge Candice?" My curious stare must have tipped her off to my confusion. "Oh come on, a Nuzlocker challenges my gym, you think I'm not going to remember him?"
I shrugged. "I guess. As for why I'm here, I might challenge the gym now that you mention it, but I'm actually looking for a friend of mine Barry. He's up at Lake Aucity on his own right now, I need to back him up if things get bad."
Now it was Maylenes turn to look confused. "If things get bad? What's the worst that can happen, he runs into a pack of Sneasel?" she scoffed.
I stared at her. "You mean you don't know about what Team Galactics' been doing at the Lakes? You're the gym leader of Veilstone for gods' sake, their hometown! How can you not know!?" I blurted out.
Her eyes narrowed slightly and she puffed out her cheeks, pouting. "I told you this is my training cabin, right?" she asked. "I've been up here for..." she paused, glancing up at the ceiling and counting her fingers. "...a week, give or take? I've been totally cut off from the outside world."
After an initial pause of astonishment, I realized she wasn't joking. Quickly, I filled her in on what had happened in the last few days. The attempted bombing at Solaceon, Rowan's theory about the guardians, Lake Valor exploding, everything. By the time I was done, Maylene's eyes were wide in shock. "I've certainly missed a lot!" she exclaimed. "I'm glad you got here when you did, or I would have stayed up here another week while all this bad stuff went on in my city." She got to her feet, moving to the door.
"Hold on, it's still storming out there isn't it?" I asked, hurriedly getting to my feet to follow her. When she opened the door, I braced myself for the wind to kick up again. Only, nothing happened. Maylene marched outside and I followed her, looking in wonder at the surrounding clear landscape. "Wow, it's passed by already?" I asked.
"Yeah, those storms never last very long." Maylene explained. She started to trudge through the snow, her bare feet apparently unaffected by the cold. "I'm heading back to Veilstone. Aucity isn't far north of here. Go help your friend!" she called over her shoulder, already a fair distance away.
"I don't know if she's tough or crazy." I muttered, closing the door to the cabin and heading north. Like she had said, it didn't take long at all to reach the lakefront. I spotted a sign that pointed down a break in the trees, claiming it was the path to the lake. I hurried through the snow, hoping I wasn't to late. I didn't get far, however, before a large cliff blocked my path. And at the top of the cliff was something I did not expect to find when I got here.
"Hey Nick! I thought you were supposed to be guarding Lake Valor?" Barry asked quizzically. He looked fine! Totally, completely unharmed. It appeared that nothing had happened yet at the frozen lake.
"Barry! I'm glad you're alright!" I breathed. "Look, I'll keep this short. Team Galactic managed too get Azelf and Mesprit, this is the last lake they need to hit!"
Barry's face darkened. "So they're coming here, huh? No problem! I'll defend Uxie with my life!" he announced. He grinned down at me. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. But if you want to help, you'll need to beat Candice first. Then use this HM to climb up the cliff here, it's the only way into the lake." he said, tossing me a small disk before walking away.
"Barry! Barry, wait! Why can't you-" I stuttered, juggling the disk before getting a good hold of it. I shoved it into my bag when I realized he was long gone. "Freaking idiot's going to get himself killed." I muttered, crashing through the snow towards the city.