Hey all, Captain here with another update. I hope you all enjoy it since it's Team Plasma focused chapter and if my reviews are right, these are the most interesting ones. So without further delay, let's get to the chapter! I'll save you the author's note for the end of the chapter.
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pokemon. I own the OCs (Tom, Sparks, Sully, Eric, Roy, Alice, Langdon, Pierce, Clint), this story, and the idea of the story.
Chapter Summary: Pierce is called to an audience by Langdon to speak with Ghetsis and converse with his recent return to the team after being captured by PCTU. Ghetsis makes a decision to test Pierce's loyalty to the team and it is definitely not what Pierce expected. Will he succeed or will he fail?
Bold- Message Bulletins/PA System/Plaques/Books
Italics- Thoughts/Letters/Flashbacks
Bold Italics- TV/Radio/Pokedex (AKA Dexter) Descriptions/Xtransreceiver Messages/ Xtransreceiver Conversations
Pierce continued his walk through the large corridor towards the conference chamber after Liam told him about Ghetsis and Langdon wishing to speak with him. He was not feeling too comfortable with attending the meeting at all because he was sure that Langdon was going to put him on the spot in front of Ghetsis to see if he would crack under the pressure. Pierce pushed that thought out of his head and began to take a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. He turned the corner and his eyes fell upon two large double oak doors at the end of the hall. He strode to the doors and knocked on them upon reaching them to signal his arrival. If Pierce was not nervous earlier, he definitely was now. He felt his heartbeat increased dramatically, his hands began to feel clammy and some sweat began to form on his brow.
"Enter." Ghetsis called from behind the door.
Pierce swallowed nervously as his anxiety grew when he rested his hand on the doorknob. Taking another deep breath, he turned the knob and pushed the door open with a loud creak and strode to the desk on the opposite side of the room. He came to a stop when he reached the desk and stood at attention and awaited the order to stand at ease. He glanced at Langdon and could see his onyx eyes staring right back which immediately made him tense up.
"At ease, Pierce," Ghetsis said, leaning back in his chair.
Pierce folded his hands behind his back and relaxed his stance as he looked Ghetsis in the eyes. He could not detect any hostility in Ghetsis' voice and that helped lesson his anxiety but he still kept his mind sharp just in case Ghetsis would pull a one-eighty.
"Pierce, I have to say I'm impressed to see you here with us after what happened in Striaton City," Ghetsis said, folding his hands.
"I can't say I blame you, sir," Pierce replied. "I guess Melanie and Liam told you and Langdon what happened?"
"Yes they did, after Langdon managed to make Melanie crack from stress. They failed to mention your capture in their report."
Pierce couldn't help but feel betrayed when he heard that. He knew Liam was the main cause for his capture and more than likely the one that told Melanie to lie about his status, but he was a little hurt that Melanie failed to say anything until Langdon pressed the issue on her further. His own partner who he had backed up that entire mission and protected was willing to save her own skin by lying about him.
"I see," Pierce said, biting his lip.
"Now I wish to ask you something, Pierce, and I would like a straight answer from you." Ghetsis continued.
"Go ahead, sir."
"Langdon told me that he found you wandering around our old base and that you somehow managed to escape the Striaton County Prison. So I have to ask you. Why should I believe that you are on our side and not some mole?"
"Honestly, sir, you can't trust me. The only thing that I can say that has any form validity is that I have escaped prison and they have declared me an escaped convict on television. In truth, I don't expect you to believe me."
Ghetsis stared at Pierce and made him shift a little bit from the intimidating silence. He ran Pierce's response through his head and started to contemplate what he should do for his next move. The way he saw it was that he had two options. He could either have Pierce prove his loyalty by doing some tasks and have Langdon supervise him or he could have Langdon deal with him right now. The way he saw it was that Pierce was one of their strongest grunts aside from Liam and if he were to take him out, he would be wasting a useful asset. Coming to his decision, he leaned back in his chair once again.
"Your words are true, Pierce. I don't know what's going on in that head of yours and you could be working against us as we speak," Ghetsis said, closing his eyes.
"What do you wish to do, sir?" Pierce asked.
"Pierce, you're one of our strongest members and disposing of you would be pointless. So this is what I'm going to do. You will remain here with the organization and prove that you're trustworthy by doing missions and tasks I have that need to be accomplished. I will have Langdon keeping a keen eye on you to ensure that you are not working against us. If you are, well, let's pray that you're a good swimmer."
Pierce swallowed at the end of Ghetsis' threat and was now even more nervous that Langdon would be watching him every waking moment of the day which would make it hard for him to give Clint updates on Team Plasma. He glanced at Langdon and could see his onyx black eyes bearing into him. Not wanting to appear distracted with his thoughts, Pierce stood up straight and looked Ghetsis in the eyes.
"Yes, sir," Pierce said, bowing to Ghetsis.
"Good, now I have a job that I believe only you can do." Ghetsis replied.
"What would that be, sir?"
"It concerns your partner, Melanie."
"What about her?"
"Langdon has told me her sob story about why she joined us and her attitude to working with Pokémon. This needs to be rectified."
"So what can I do to help, sir?"
"I want you to battle her and bring out her aggression. She needs to get over her pathetic phobia if she wants to be of use. If she doesn't show any improvement, we'll take her Pokémon and disband her. We have goals to achieve and her fragile state is not what we need to ensure our goals succeed."
"I see."
Pierce lowered his head as his thoughts drifted to Melanie and how she acted towards her Pokémon. From his recollection, he saw how she battled and her skill was mediocre at best. She also lacked confidence in herself because of her second guessing nature and that was another thing that was acting as an anchor to her reaching success. He personally had to help her out so she could have slight success on their missions since she was usually the one that came up with the plan. Pierce scratched the back of his head as he thought about how to approach his task. His best bet was to use Melanie's phobia and passion against her. His stomach churned at the thought of the cruel tactic, but it needed to be done.
"I'll do it, sir," Pierce said, cupping his chin.
"Good," Ghetsis said, opening his eyes. "Go and find her and make your way to the staging area. Inform her of what's going on and then I want you to do whatever it takes to make her start acting."
"Yes, sir!"
Pierce gave a salute and turned on his heel departing the room. The doors closed behind him, leaving Langdon and Ghetsis alone.
"Langdon, why do you believe Pierce is the only one who can break Melanie from her fear?" Ghetsis asked.
"Although she won't admit it, Pierce is her friend. She needs someone she can rely on to set her straight and he's the only one that can do it." Langdon answered.
"Why didn't you have Liam face her, or even yourself?"
"Aside from the fact her Pokémon aren't strong enough to take on me or Liam, she's afraid of us. If I were to face her, chances are she would freeze up before the battle even started. I see it in her eyes. She is afraid of me."
"I see. Now how do you think she'll fair against Pierce?"
"I believe Pierce may play a mind game with her and pull off some reverse psychology."
"What makes you say that?"
"It's what I would do."
Melanie was sitting in the library reading through one of the many books that she had stacked on the table she was sitting at. She had always hated reading copious amounts of composition and literature, but she only did it to grow out of her childish nature in hopes of advancing in the ranks by creating a pseudo persona to appear more mature and gain respect. The only issue with this was it was not the real her and her conflicting personalities would clash and get her in sticky situations. The most recent example that she could recall was when she was on the latest mission with Pierce when he was captured by the police. She would adapt the personality of a strong and serious leader, but she wouldn't be able to maintain it. Her doubt and second guessing would cause her to fail and mess up a simple task, which in turn, made her look pathetic.
Her hands trembled at the thought of shifting back and forth between personalities. No matter what she tried, she was never able to stick with one and that severely hurt her chances of increasing in rank which she wanted desperately to do. She was broken from her thoughts when she heard dull footsteps echoing around the silent room. She glanced around as she wondered who else was in there with her since she was usually the only one in the library the majority of the time.
The footsteps came to a halt and Melanie glanced up and looked around. In front of her table stood N as he held a book in his hands and looked at it intently. Melanie had only been in N's presence a few times and she had been fond of him. She had heard him speak a few times and she admired his ideals as he preached about wanting to create a peaceful world between Pokémon and humans by eliminating the use of trainers. Deep down, Melanie believed that N had the potential to make his dreams a reality and that made her respect him.
N placed the book down on the table and looked down into Melanie's eyes. She felt her cheeks warm up a little as she looked up and the handsome teen.
"King N, what are you doing in here?" Melanie asked.
"I was just taking a stroll and decided to come here. I haven't been in the library for quite some time and felt as though I could find a good book to read." N replied.
"Ah, I see. Is there a specific book you were looking for? Maybe I can help you find it?"
"Can you now?"
"Yes I can. I've spent countless hours in here reading a lot of books and I'm sure I've read over half of them."
"Well then I guess you can help me."
Melanie nodded and marked her page in the book before closing it and standing up. She walked around the table and stood in front of N as she awaited his request.
"What book are you looking for, sir?" Melanie asked.
"I was looking for a book on Unova's legendary dragons. Do you happen to know where the book about Zekrom and Reshiram is?" N replied.
"I do, sir. If you follow me I can show you where it is."
N nodded and followed Melanie as she led them around the bookshelves. She turned down the aisle at the far end and continued until they reached the center of it. There was a ladder that rose up to the top of the bookshelf and the book that N was looking for was halfway up. Melanie climbed up the ladder and her eyes began scanning the covers as she looked for the book. After seconds of searching, her eyes fell upon a burgundy colored book with the title reading, "Unova Legends: Reshiram and Zekrom, the Dragons of Truth and Ideals."
"What could N possibly want with this? It's a good read, but it's nothing more than a fable." Melanie wondered.
"Ah, you found it!" N smiled.
"Yeah, here you go."
Melanie slid down the ladder and handed N the book. He took it from her and thumbed through the pages before giving a nod and snapping it shut. N thanked her and walked away with the book tucked under his arm. Melanie's curiosity got the better of her and she decided to go and ask N what his goal was to reading the book. She hurried after the young king and was able to catch him as he exited the doors of the library. N looked a little confused about her sudden approach and looked down at her.
"Is something wrong?" N asked.
"No, sir, not at all," Melanie panted. "I was just wondering why you wanted to read that book. It's more of a myth than anything."
"Ah, well, it's because the book discusses the story of the two dragons and what each of them represent after being split. Zekrom, the black dragon, represent ideals and Reshiram, the white dragon, represents truth. I feel if I read this book I can gain the knowledge I seek towards my goal of creating a realm of harmony."
"Do you believe that this will help you in your search?"
"I believe it will."
"That's good, sir. I hope you find what you're looking for in that book."
N was about to speak but another voice interrupted the two of them. Melanie turned to her left and saw Pierce walking up to her. She folded her hands behind her back as she avoided her partner's gaze. Pierce stopped a few feet in front of her and folded his arms. He gave a bow towards N as a greeting before returning his focus to Melanie.
"Melanie, grab your Pokémon and get down to the staging area," Pierce said, looking at her.
"What for?" Melanie asked.
"Ghetsis and Langdon tasked me with evaluating you and want me to get you to start battling."
"Pierce, can we do this some other time? I'm a bit busy with other matters."
"I'm sorry, you seem to think you have a choice in this. Get down to the arena, Melanie. Or do you want me to have Langdon come and fetch you?"
Melanie's face turned pale at the mention of Langdon coming to retrieve her against her will. She was not fond of the way Pierce was talking to her, but she understood why he sounded bitter and commanding. This would put off her curiosity about N's dream until later.
"Okay, I'll be right there." Melanie nodded.
Pierce nodded back and retreated back to where he came from. Once Pierce vanished from sight, Melanie turned back to N. He looked a little curious about the conversation that she and Pierce had.
"I'm sorry, sir. I have to go and report to the arena for something." Melanie bowed.
"It's quite alright," N replied, holding up a hand. "What's your name?"
"I'm Melanie, sir. Melanie Rhouth."
"Well, good luck with your evaluation, Melanie. I trust you'll do well."
With that, N turned on his heel and vanished around the corner leaving Melanie alone to her thoughts. Melanie looked at the spot where N was standing and gave a sigh. Her hands balled into fists as she began to grow nervous at the thought of being evaluated.
"I hope so, N," Melanie thought, marching down the hall to her room. "I really hope so."
Melanie had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she failed to detect the other presence that was in the premises. Liam exited the library with a large grin on his face. He relished in the information he heard and was eager to see Melanie tested in a battle. He was still bitter about her caving under Langdon's mind game and ratting him out. Now he was eager to see Melanie get pulverized for a little payback.
"Let's see how badly you struggle, Melanie," Liam thought, his grin threatening to split his face in two. "This ought to be one heck of a show!"
Pierce's fingertips tapped against his Poké Balls as he waited for Melanie to show up. He started contemplating his strategy to use against Melanie in order to break through to her. His best bet was to be highly aggressive during the fight and hopefully the damage her Pokémon would take would stimulate a reaction out of her. Nodding to himself as he came to a decision, he glanced out of the corner of his eye. He could see Ghetsis and Langdon standing on the balcony observing the field and prepared to carry out his job. Footsteps echoed around the arena as Melanie entered the room and walked to the opposite end of the field. She stopped when she reached her place and turned to face Pierce.
Melanie's stomach had butterflies in it as she pulled out a Poké Ball containing her first Pokémon. Her eyes met Pierce's and she felt intimidated when she saw the cold look he gave her. Her hand subconsciously tightened on the Poké Ball as she waited for the signal to start the battle.
"Alright, Melanie, this will be an elimination battle but we'll end early if one of us has a three to one ratio." Pierce said.
"Oh, okay." Melanie replied.
Pierce threw his ball out into the field and it opened with a loud snap, revealing Kuno standing strong. Melanie's trembling hand threw her ball out and it opened, allowing a Herdier to materialize in front of her. They stared each other down for a moment before Pierce crossed his arms.
"I'll allow you to make the first move, Melanie," Pierce said. "Now don't lose your focus and come at me."
"Herdier, use Take Down!" Melanie ordered
Herdier crouched down and pounced at Kuno. His speed began to pick up as he prepared to do the diving tackle. Pierce watched the attack come closer and closer before finally making his move.
"Kuno, Fire Blast." Pierce said calmly.
Kuno's mouth opened wide and flames began to build up inside it. Taking a deep breath, Kuno released the monstrous star shaped fire attack at Herdier. Pierce watched as he prepared for Melanie to do a form of counterattack, but what he got was something else different. He saw a look of fear appear on Melanie's face as the attack was upon Herdier. It was as if she was lost in thought about a possible memory. The attack engulfed Herdier, earning a loud howl from him as the blistering heat began to eat away at him. Melanie flinched at Herdier's cry of pain and began to tremble as she watched the attack die down.
When the flames diminished, Herdier was lying on his side covered in burns and struggling to get up. Melanie covered her mouth at the sight and felt tears threatening to build in her eyes. Pierce saw her petrified state and decided to pull out his next card.
"What happened, Melanie? Why didn't you attack back?" Pierce demanded.
"I-I froze up! I'm not done yet!" Melanie shouted back.
"Then prove it!"
Melanie flinched again at Pierce's tone and it reminded her of Langdon's a little bit when he was angry. She shook her head and glared back at Pierce as she tried to come up with another move.
"Herdier, use Retaliate!" Melanie barked.
Herdier pushed himself off the ground and lunged at Kuno to score a hit. As he was upon Kuno, Pierce moved again.
"Kuno, dodge and counter with Crunch!" Pierce ordered.
Herdier just narrowly missed Kuno with his attack and landed on the ground gingerly. He whimpered as his burns stung him upon contact with the floor. Kuno crouched down and jumped at Herdier with his jaws wide open. He closed his mouth down on Herdier's back, getting another howl of pain in return as the sharp fangs buried themselves into his back. Herdier went limp as blissful unconsciousness took him. Kuno released Herdier from his mouth and let him fall unceremoniously to the ground. He walked back to Pierce and sat down after receiving a pat on the head.
"How do you expect me to show you my skill if you don't allow me the chance to display it?" Melanie yelled.
"I'm doing you a favor, Melanie," Pierce said, glaring back. "Do you think our enemies are going to allow you to attack them?"
"Obviously not, but at least give me a chance!"
"I did and you failed to react when I had Kuno dodge your attack! Your mental agility is very poor when it comes to battling. Pick up the pace!"
Melanie growled as she returned Herdier to his Poké Ball. She was not fond with the way Pierce was treating her during the battle. It was as if he was trying to get her mad.
"Send out your next Pokémon, Melanie." Pierce instructed.
"Woobat, come on out!" Melanie commanded.
The ball opened and Woobat appeared flapping his wings wildly. Pierce looked at Kuno and nodded back at the field. Getting the message, Kuno gave a bark of acknowledgement and ran back in. His eyes fixated on the small bat as it flew high in the air. Pierce had the advantage over Melanie with Kuno being a Dark-type making him immune to psychic attacks.
"Your move, Melanie," Pierce said, looking back towards the field.
"Woobat, use Calm Mind!" Melanie ordered.
Woobat's eye closed as it began to meditate and gather its power. Pierce nodded at the status boosting move, but he knew it would not matter because the only move that could harm Kuno was Air Slash. He decided to wait for Melanie to make a follow up order before making his move.
"Now use Psychic!" Melanie hollered.
Woobat's eye began to glow blue as he glared at Kuno. The only problem was that Kuno was unaffected by the telekinetic attack. Melanie's expression changed to one of confusion when the attack failed to do anything and looked at Pierce for clarification.
"Kuno won't be affected by Woobat's psychic attacks because he's immune to them being a Dark-type. You should know that, Melanie!" Pierce said.
Pierce snapped his fingers gaining Kuno's attention and pointed at Woobat. Kuno nodded back and looked up at Woobat with the intent to take him down fast.
"Kuno, use Flamethrower!" Pierce yelled.
"Woobat, dodge and use Air Slash!" Melanie countered back.
Kuno unleashed a continuous searing flame at Woobat who dodged swiftly and began to beat his wings wildly. Little sickle shaped blasts of wind soared at Kuno and hit him head on. His face scrunched up as the razor sharp wind cut into him, leaving a stinging sensation. He shook off the attack once it ended and glared up at the smaller Pokémon.
"Kuno, Fire Blast!" Pierce yelled.
"Woobat, dodge the attack and use Air Slash again!" Melanie barked.
Kuno used Fire Blast once again and the large star shaped wall of fire went straight for Woobat. Woobat obeyed Melanie's command and swerved to the left and began to flap his wings at Kuno again. More sharp blasts of wind hit Kuno in rapid succession and made him flinch in pain.
"Kuno, fight through it and use Flamethrower!" Pierce shouted.
Kuno's eyes snapped open in concentration and he looked up at Woobat. He opened his mouth and a blazing spray of fire left Kuno's mouth and shot up through Woobat's Air Slash. The Flamethrower engulfed Woobat in and blocked him from view. Melanie had a horrified look on her face and it was honestly starting to annoy Pierce that she was freezing up and showing no effort to save her Pokémon from taking a hit like that. The attack he used could easily have been dispersed if Melanie's Woobat was stronger with using its moves, but due to Melanie's fear and lack of training it was a given outcome. The fire vanished and Woobat fell to the arena covered in burns. He hit the ground with a dull thump and the arena fell silent once again.
Melanie pulled out Woobat's ball and returned him to it. Her head was hung as the creeping thought of defeat and humiliation began to enter her mind. Her hands balled into fists and she pulled out her next Pokémon.
"Melanie, what's the matter with you?" Pierce called out. "Are you really that pathetic when it comes to your Pokémon that you can't even give them the decency to become stronger?"
"Shut up, Pierce! I do care for my Pokémon! I just don't like seeing them get hurt!" Melanie snapped back.
"If you truly cared for your Pokémon then you'd have them become stronger through battling. I'm currently making mincemeat out of you due to your lack of training! You're truly the thing that's hurting your Pokémon!"
"That's not true! I'm not hurting my Pokémon! Not everything has to be solved through violence!"
"And that's precisely why you cannot bring out your full potential! I mean look at you! You are shaking in the mere presence of your Pokémon! What's the point of having Pokémon if you let your fear rule you?"
Melanie now had fresh tears trickling down her face as Pierce ripped through her with his criticism. She refused to believe that she was the main cause for her Pokémon getting hurt. Deep down, she knew Pierce was right with what he said. Her entire being had been trembling throughout the battle so far and she let her fear prevent her from putting up a good fight.
"I'm currently winning, Melanie. If I take out one more Pokémon of yours without losing one of mine, the match is done. Shape up and fight back!" Pierce yelled.
Melanie reeled her arm back and tossed in her next Pokémon to face Pierce. The ball opened and a large Pokémon took shape and the glow vanished to reveal a Gigalith. The large Rock-type stomped its feet on the ground, making it tremor with power. Pierce gave a whistle and Kuno returned to his side to receive a scratch behind his ears. He returned Kuno to his ball and pulled out a fresh one to release his next Pokémon.
"Let's go!" Pierce declared.
The ball opened and a Swampert emerged from it, giving a loud cry as it prepared for battle. Melanie swallowed nervously as she looked at the Pokémon she had to face next and it didn't boost her confidence that it was a strong one. Pierce shook his head as he saw Melanie cower from the anticipation that built up in her. Just from her body language alone, he knew that she had given up.
"Melanie, make a move!" Pierce yelled.
"Gigalith, use Stone Edge!" Melanie barked.
"Swampert, use Ice Beam!"
Gigalith gave a roar as two rings of sharp stones began to appear around his body. Swampert stood up on his hind legs and readied his arms to break the stones when they reached him. Gigalith launched the rocks at Swampert and watched as they soared towards him. Swampert's mouth opened and began to glow white and just as the stones were upon him, he released a chilling continuous blast of ice. Each of the rocks froze and turned into balls of ice as they fell to the ground and shattered. Melanie watched as her attack failed to meet its mark and balled her fists.
"Swampert, use Earthquake!" Pierce ordered.
Swampert crouched down and then sprung high into the air. He smashed into the ground hard and sent a strong magnitude through the field. The ground from under Gigalith began to crack before finally exploding upward and causing some of the floor to cave in. Gigalith gave a roar of pain from the destructive attack and clambered out of the hole to glare at Swampert.
"Gigalith, use Sandstorm!" Melanie shouted.
"Swampert, use Curse!" Pierce said.
Gigalith gave a loud roar and the wind began to pick up a little bit in the chamber. The powerful gusts kicked up dirt and sand and began to surround the stadium. The small sandstorm the Gigalith whipped up had dropped all visibility to zero. While Gigalith was busy summoning the sandstorm, Swampert began to glow a dark red as he channeled his energy to strengthen his attack and defensive power. Melanie decided to use the cover of the sandstorm to use her next attack.
"Gigalith, use Power Gem!" Melanie ordered.
"Swampert, counter back with Surf!" Pierce yelled.
Gigalith heard Melanie's order and began to form large rocks that were glowing white with power. The rocks finished forming and shot forth at Swampert in the whirlwind of dust and sand and collided with Swampert. Swampert grit his teeth as the attack hit him and shook it off as it finished. Now it was his turn to dish out some payback on Gigalith for hitting him. He stood on his hind legs again and held out his arms to gather all the moisture that was in the air. Swampert bounded in Gigalith's direction and jumped up in the air just as a large wave of water appeared under him. Swampert glided towards Gigalith and crashed into him headfirst with the water slamming into him full force. Gigalith gave a loud cry of pain again as he sunk to his knees.
Swampert bounded back to his end of the field and waited for Gigalith to get back up and attack. The sandstorm finally subsided to reveal Gigalith trying to stand up after being soaked to the core with Swampert's devastating attack. Pierce looked at Melanie to see how she was holding up but there was no visible change from last time. He sighed as he was now down to his last card to play and if this one did not work, he would not be able to help Melanie.
"Melanie, how much do you care for your Pokémon?" Pierce asked.
"I care for them deeply," Melanie replied, looking at Pierce.
"Then why is it you've failed in keeping them safe in this battle? I've given you ample amounts of tries to fight back and take me out, but you didn't."
"I can't stand them getting hurt!"
"Pokémon get hurt all the time! Both Pokémon that belong to a trainer and those in the wild! What makes that so different?"
"Trainers are barbaric animals that get pleasure at pitting Pokémon against each other for entertainment! I can't stand seeing that and that's why I want to make trainers vanish off the face of the earth!"
"Then why is it the Pokémon don't leave the trainer if they are being abused as you say?"
Melanie opened her mouth and then closed it. She had been anticipating a question like that, but now she was not sure how to answer it. Her first thought was that they had been brainwashed through capture, but that alone sounded preposterous. She lowered her head as she failed to come up with an answer.
"That's what I thought. You have nothing to support your belief and it just makes you look foolish." Pierce sighed.
"I do have something to support my view!" Melanie snapped back.
"Enough talk! I'm going to give you three seconds to pull yourself together and attack Swampert! If you fail to do that, I'll attack Gigalith and end this battle now!"
"Pierce, why are you doing this?"
"One!"
"Pierce, please stop!"
"Two!"
"Stop!"
"If you won't attack then I will! Swampert, use Ice Beam!"
Swampert opened his mouth and a blue and white ball of frigid power began to form in it. When the power finished storing, the beam of ice shot at Gigalith and smashed into him. Gigalith gave a loud roar of pain as the ice began to cover him and encase him inside of it. Swampert ended the attack and Gigalith's legs collapsed out from under him.
Melanie fell to her knees and tears began to trickle out of her eyes. Pierce returned Swampert to his ball and tucked it away on his belt. He crossed his arms and sighed in defeat. He had failed to get Melanie to act and because of that, she would be kicked out. He glanced up at the balcony where Ghetsis and Langdon were located to see what they thought of the fight. Both of them looked indifferent and Pierce was positive that they expected the outcome to end with him as the victor. He sighed and tucked his hands in his pockets as he walked out of the arena.
Ghetsis watched as Pierce departed the room and then turned his gaze to Melanie who returned Gigalith to his Pokeball. He turned back to Langdon and nodded before departing the room. Langdon looked down at Melanie and crossed his arms as he thought of what to do with her. He felt that she had potential to be decent, but he just had to find a way to bring it out of her. Pierce attempted to try and he had no success, but Langdon felt he knew what needed to be done in order to get her to act. He turned on his heel to leave the room but came face to face with Liam.
"What are you doing here?" Langdon asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Aw, you need to lighten up there big guy. Maybe some friends will do you good." Liam grinned.
"Well if that's the game you want to play, then fine."
Langdon walked past Liam and ignored the taunt that Liam baited him with. He was not going to allow an inferior kid get under his skin that easily. Liam sighed when Langdon didn't snap back at him for being a smart-ass and peered over the balcony down at Melanie. She had not moved from her spot and he heard her sobbing. A grin worked its way across his face as he watched Melanie suffer and break down in front of him it filled him with satisfaction to see her in this state after she ruined his plan from earlier.
"Ah, those sweet tears of failure are so satisfying." Liam smirked.
The girl moved to the top of the hill that overlooked the city and looked down at it. Her goal was to take all the Pokémon that she could and return to her hideout. The girl looked no older than seventeen. She had long sea foam green hair that was worn in a high ponytail. Her eyes were navy blue and looked more defined under the contacts that she was wearing. She stood around five foot five with an average figure and pale complexion. She was garbed in a black uniform consisting of a skirt, shirt and boots that was hidden under her long black trench coat.
A hiss came from her side as a purple snake Pokémon wrapped around her ankle. The girl looked down and smirked at her companion.
"We're here, Ekans. Tomorrow we'll get to work." The girl said.
Alright folks, that's the chapter! I had the time to write it since Wisconsin's been having weather that has, in turn, had my classes canceled/delayed all week because of the snow and single digit temperatures "It's freaking freezing up here!" I had the luxury of getting into a car accident because of snow and ice, thankfully I'm in one piece and I wasn't held responsible since there was minimal damage and I'm just awesome at driving in general. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and that you will give me your thoughts about it via review. Just below here I have the usual announcements and story shoutouts. Till next time guys. Later.- Captain
Announcements:
1.) I have a new SYOC up for the Pokemon category that is about the special forces. Drop in, give a read and if you want to submit a character, look at the rules at the bottom of the first chapter.
2.) Character popularity poll. It's still up and going and I'm going to close it after the next chapter is posted, so get in and vote if you haven't done so already.
3.) Pokemon X and Y. I meant to bring this up last chapter. What are your thoughts on it and what starter looks the most appealing to you? Knowing me, I'm probably going with Chespin, but Fenniken looks like a possible go as well.
Story Shoutouts: (Contains stories that I recommend my readers to read since they're good. So it's the title of the story and the summary.)
"Unova Eclipse: Bringer of Change" by bluemagesfairytail
Fey didn't want this to happen. Not again. Now they're seventeen, and brought together again. But this time, instead of Galactic, Plasma lurks, and a traitor surfaces. New faces, new chances, new possibilities. But it's hard to believe one of them has the intent to sabotage them all.
"Crossroads" by Cyclone20
After losing in the Sinnoh League to Tobias, Ash has returned home to realize that he has come to a crossroads in his life; continue to Unova or stop and get stronger so he doesn't have to feel the pain of defeat again and he can finally become the master that he has been destined to become; AshXAnabel.
"Time of Courage" by FiammaJoule:
When there's nowhere left to run, where do you go? When the government is after you and everyone appears to be your enemy, who do you turn to? Not your friends and not your family. After all is said and done, you only have each other and your Pokemon. It's time to step up and steel your courage if you want to survive.
"Thieves of Ordia" by FallingSunset
Steampunk AU. Ordia: a region full of marvelous inventions and booming with all sorts of Pokemon. Erin begins her journey in the industrious city of Ironstead. Soon she finds out that all is not right in Ordia as thieves have been showing up everywhere, stealing Legendary Pokemon and causing chaos to the world. Can Erin and defeat the league and the thieves?