Chapter 4:Vs. Metagross: The Guardian of the Gemstone
Camphrier Town, Kalos Region
"They are almost here, get into position. I will be nearby observing the data." Klaus said to a small squad of grunts.
"Got it sir!" They all said in unison. Then they hid behind various furniture and other things in the small home. Klaus nodded, and left the house.
"One day…" Klaus muttered to himself, "I will find you Opal. No matter the cost," he clenched his fist hard, "even if it costs my life." Klaus waited patiently until he saw the small boy and the Pokemon Ranger walk through the walls of the town, and head directly for the house of Cassius.
"Who are you?" Cassius had asked only a day earlier when Klaus burst into his home.
"I am here to warn you. Leave this city, and hide somewhere." He told the man. Cassius chuckled.
"And why sh-" He began to ask, but Klaus gripped his shoulders firmly and stared into his eyes.
"You are in grave danger, if you do not leave, you will most likely die!" Klaus growled. Cassius' eyes wided.
"W-wh...okay. Give me a moment to gather my things." The man said, scrambling to grab a few things from the shelves and the various tables.
"In the coming week, a boy accompanied by a Dratini will come to you for help. You must help him, he is also in danger. He isn't strong enough to stand against what is coming. You must convince him to put aside his views and become a powerful Trainer.." Klaus paused, "If you don't I fear what is to come for everyone."
"What is thi-" Cassius turned to look at the man but he had vanished.
"Skid, what are you doing?" He heard the Ranger ask his new Pokemon. The Skiddo had begun nudging the boy's rear end.
"Skiddo!" It bleated.
"Nini!" The small dragon Pokemon on his shoulder cried nervously.
"Skid, quit that!" Z, the subject told the small goat.
"Skid, what do want?" The Ranger, Trenton Klaus thought his name was, asked the
Skiddo.
"Trent, maybe Skid wants to ride in the Pokeball…We've been walking for a few hours after all." Z suggested. Trenton looked at the Pokemon, and then reached in his pocket and pulled out a red and white Pokeball.
"Skid, return." Trenton said, a red beam shot at the Pokemon and it vanished into the ball, "I still think that's weird…" He shrugged, placing the ball back into his pocket. Z and Trenton continued towards the house where the ambush would take place. Klaus turned and set up his laptop, making sure the cameras were working, and that the program to evaluate Z was up and running.
"Alright, let's just get this over with." Klaus sighed, typing on his keyboard. Trenton and Z opened the door to the home, and Klaus watched on his monitor as the battle unfolded. Klaus turned to his Pokemon, Metagross, "Don't let anything explode please." Then Metagross turned to the house and its eyes began glowing with psychic powers, preventing anything from exploding or getting too torn up.
A couple minutes passed, and all of the Neo Flare grunts ran out of the house, and into the nearby woods, defeated by the children. Klaus looked at the data, "Still not enough to be able to tell…" Then he turned to Metagross, "Let's go." and packed up his things, and headed towards the house.
"...llage City, is that nearby?" Trenton asked as the two boys exited the house, Klaus casually walked in by the boys, and stopped.
"You there…" He pointed to Z, "Would you kindly have a battle with me?"
Z was surprised by the sudden request, "uh, sure?" He said, gripping a Pokeball that hung at his waist. Klaus put on a convincing smile.
"Z, I really don't think that is such a good idea…" Trenton said, eyeing Klaus with suspicion.
"Come on, it's just a battle, no harm no foul," Z turned to Klaus, "Am I right?" Klaus responded with a nod. Z turned back to Trenton, "See?"
"I hope I am not causing any trouble." Klaus said nervously.
"Nah, you're fine!" Z told him, "Now, let's get this battle on!" He exclaimed, and threw a
ball into the air, "Hone! Let's show this guy all that we've got!"
"Metagross, let's go." Klaus said to his Pokemon. Metagross stepped in front of Klaus and faced the much smaller Pokemon.
"Hone, go! Use Fury Cutter!"
"Metagross, counter with Metal Claw!"
"Hone, use Protect!"
"Now, use Hammer Arm!" The battle quickly heated up, each trainer using their Pokemon's best abilities. Klaus was winning, that was obvious to anyone watching, but Z wasn't giving up whatsoever.
"Hone, try a Night Slash!"
"Metagross, Zen Headbutt!"
"Hang in there!"
"Now, attack it again with Meteor Mash!"
"Hone, go for Protect!"
"Smash that Protect with Brick Break!"
Z winced as his Honedge was thrown backwards by the blow from the mighty Pokemon of his opponent. Then, before Hone could hit anything and get really injured, Z returned it to its pokeball, "Alright mister, you win."
"Very good, thank you." He began to walk away but stopped, "Um...Z, may I offer you some advice?"
Z looked at the man, "Sure, what is it?"
Klaus cleared his throat, "Stay out of Team Neo Flare's way, they will crush you before you even know what hit you…" he told the child. Z was stunned for a moment, Klaus awaited his reply, but instead Trenton replied.
"I think you should leave." His voice sliced through the warm spring air. Klaus internally was surprised, but externally showed no emotion.
"Then I have done all I can, I'm sorry for your loss." Klaus said before walking away from the two boys.
"What a creep." Trenton muttered once Klaus had left the scene. Z was still clutching Hone's Pokeball, where the fainted Pokemon now rested, "Come on Z, let's head to the Pokemon Center, figure out what to do next."
The two boys walked in silence through the small town as they made their way towards the Pokemon Center, Trenton replayed the battle with Klaus in his head, trying to find any sign of who the mysterious man was, or what he was like, but Trenton couldn't remember any details that made the man stand out, or could potentially reveal any information about him.
Z was still thinking about the Team Neo Flare ambush and how Klaus had warned him to stay out of their way. Was the man right? Would Z end up dead if he continued to stand in their way? He thought back to how the Pokemon Lab was destroyed, and wondered if maybe, had he and Trenton not fought back against the two members of the organization in the alleys, would the Lab still have been destroyed?
Meanwhile,
Somewhere in the Obiliva Region,
"Are you certain Murph?" A middle-aged man, with a Minun standing on his shoulder asked into his Capture Styler.
"I am a-hundred percent certain Lunick, your son is in the Kalos region, somehow he took on a rank 10 mission." The voice responded.
"Murph, get my son back now!" A woman, around the same age as Lunick, shouted into her Capture Styler.
"See, there is a problem with that…" Murph said nervously. The woman's face turned red with rage.
"What is it Murph?" Lunick asked, carefully eyeing the woman, as if she might kill him at any moment.
"Well...it seems your son has gotten involved in a pretty big battle, and his Styler was damaged. We can't track where he is, and he is no longer with Professor Sycamore." Murph replied, "I'll send you the article." Lunick and the woman turned their heads to the computer screen in the tent where they currently were staying. An article about the events at the Lumiose City Pokemon Lab showed up on the screen and the two adults scrolled through the article together.
"That's it, I'm going to get that little punk, and...and...I don't even know what I'm gonna do when I find him, but he is gonna regret his birth." The woman stood up and began walking out of the tent until Lunick grabbed her shoulder.
"Solana, come on. We're on an important mission and we'll just have to trust that Trent can handle himself, plus he's with Nini. I'm sure he'll be fine." He said calmly to his wife.
"Are you seriously saying that you trust a tiny worm dragon thing to protect our son, especially on their first mission?" Solana replied. The Plusle on her shoulder squeaked.
"Are you saying that you can trust a small mouse thing to protect us but you can't trust a dragon to protect our son?" Lunick countered.
"Are you being serious right now? Those two have zero experience!" Solana asked, still fueled by the anger and fear of her son running away to a different country to take on a mission that would be difficult for even a ranger of her own rank.
"When me and Minun started, we had no experience and we took down the Go-Rock Squad." Lunick argued.
"Yeah, but you had me as well as everyone at the Ranger Base to back you up! Kalos has no Ranger Bases!" Solana replied.
"Honey, he will be fine. He is our son after all." Lunick told her. Solana calmed down a little.
"Let's just hurry up with our work here so we can go get our son." She said, marching out of the tent.
Back in Kalos,
Trenton and Z had checked into a hotel for the night, before heading off to Cyllage city the following day. They were both settled into the two separate beds by nightfall, but neither boy could sleep. They still had a lot on their minds, Trenton was still trying to figure out Team Neo Flare's motives, who the mysterious Klaus man was, and what he was going to do when he got his Styler fixed. It was clear that Neo Flare wasn't going to stop trying to get Z's Mega Ring, and Trenton didn't know if it was okay to leave Z to travel alone.
Z was still trying to figure out what to do about Team Neo Flare, what would happen when Trenton left. Would Z be able to stop Team Neo Flare by himself? What if they did get his Mega Ring? What if Z wasn't strong enough to stop them?
"...Hey Trenton?" Z asked, staring into the darkness. Trenton shifted in his bed, presumably to turn and face Z.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think that Klaus guy was right and we should stay out of the way of Neo Flare?" Z asked. There was silence for a moment.
"No. I think that we shouldn't give in and allow them to do what they want." Trenton finally said, "and Z, I was thinking…"
"Yeah?"
"I think I'm gonna tag along with you for a bit longer after we get my Styler fixed...at least until we take down Team Neo Flare." Trenton said.
"Wait...take down Team Neo Flare?" Z asked, looking for clarification.
"Yeah, I mean...if you're up for it, I think we should try to take them down. They're obviously up to something and it's kinda my job to stop them." Trenton explained.
"What about your mission? For the professor?"
Trenton sighed, "Well, we'll have to deal with that when we get there…" Trenton responded, "So, whadda you say?"
Z thought for a moment, pledging to take down an evil organization was pretty stupid...or brave, "Yeah, let's take down Team Neo Flare."
Trenton and Z have met the mysterious Klaus, Trenton's parents have been revealed, Trenton and Z have agreed to take down Team Neo Flare. What'll happen next?
