Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or any of its affiliated companies. The characters in this work are all loosely based on those created by Pokemon and its companies, and this story will never by no means be used to make monetary profit or gain.
CHAPTER NINE
Death of a Trainer:
The tale of the legendary beasts of Brass Tower predated the merging with Johto, even the unification of Kanto. It was one of those bedtime stories that taught you in life sometimes second chances were given, and they should be used wisely. A popular fairy tale with a morale ending set to inspire children based on ancient local legends, it was a true classic.
However, the story had been watered down for children, the original tale was somewhat grimmer. In the earlier days, way before Arceusm had spread worldwide, during the times when the cities were independent and separated, when the Ceruleanians worshiped the rivers and the Pewterians the mountains, unlike Kanto, Johto was known to have a somewhat central and common religion accepted by all her settlements, and today's Ecruteak City used to be a holy capital where pilgrims would journey to pray, ask, and worship. The main attraction point of Ecruteak was of course Tin Tower, a tall tower erected in honor of their god, the guardian of the skies, the rainbow pokemon Ho-Oh. The priests occupying Bell Tower would preach from their high balconies to their crowd of followers, speaking of doing good and fighting evil, accepting truth and denouncing lies, and never forgetting to give thanks to the all mighty Ho-Oh. Like all religions, they mostly gave good advice, in betterment for the community.
Like all religions, it was exploitable as hell.
Overtime, as the story went, the priests grew greedy and confident in their power, ignoring their own textbooks. At first, an entrance fee to the city for those who wished pilgrimage was introduced, a rise in taxes for those who had already made bed there followed next. Soon the priests couldn't be bothered to give sermon multiple times a day, and instead limited themselves to once a month, making worshipers wait and hang on their words. The context of their readings began changing subtly, and the always open doors to Tin Tower were shut down, forcing any who wished entrance to pay massive amounts of riches. The religious leaders grew fat, ignorant, and lazy; but their worst act of defiance was to come yet.
Ecruteak was a common resting spot for spice traders from Fuchsia, Kanto. These traders, armed to the teeth and protected by trainers, would face all the perils of the wild to reach Olivine City in Johto on foot - one had to remember these were the old days where cities were independent kingdoms, and each asked separate taxes for safe passage, and sea travel to avoid payment was risky due to the pirates of Vermilion ruling the open waters. However, the increase of taxes in Ecruteak was the last straw for the Fuchsians, simply put, it was no longer worth the expenses to trade spice for Olivine metal and steel. They began seeking alternating routes, and the nine-hundred-ninety-nine priests of Ecruteak rubbed their greasy hands in worry, for they did not wish to lose this annual income. Then one of them had a solution, which all of them approved.
They decided to erect a second tower, not in honor of Ho-Oh, but in honor of the Fuchsians' own god, Lugia - an entire opposite to Ho-Oh, a sea god that had power over the tides and shores. Their idea was, by offering them both a safe resting spot and religious sanctuary, the Fuchsians could be drawn back. Their plan worked, the traders were delighted by this Brass Tower built for them, and even if most Johtons grumbled, naming this heresy, no one was mad enough to oppose the priests. The problem was, the Fuchsians only passed through the city once a year for about a month, the remaining eleven months this new, shiny, comfortable tower sat empty. So, the priests, fed up with their own old and squeaky tower, had another brilliant idea: Why not move in to this new, better one?
And as far as legends told, that was the last straw. As soon as all nine-hundred-ninety-nine priests moved, they were mysteriously locked in during one particularly stormy night, and lightning hit the top of their tower - a gift from their guardian of the skies. No one could escape, the tower burned from top to bottom, and the city residents heard never ending screams of anguish all night. By morning, a pleasant breeze had swept up the ashes, and rain had calmed the last smoking embers.
But in all its anger, "god" had made a mistake. Not all lives taken that night were those of guilty, three innocent souls were perished as well; a vaporeon, jolteon, and flareon, companions left by the travelling Fuchsian traders to be picked up on their return journey, these three met their untimely end unjustly as well. And maybe because of the jealousy it felt towards its counterpart Lugia's three emissary birds, maybe because of the coincidental similarity these three types had to the natural disasters that had brought their end, or maybe simply because of guilt and pity, these eeveelutions were granted an afterlife as something more than what they used to be; they were reborn as Suicune, embodiment of the rains and winds, Raikou, representing the speed of lightning, and Entei, the roaring fire of earth. The three became known as Johto's legendary beasts, a trio of pokemon opposed to Kanto's and Fuchsia's legendary birds, and had never been seen since then, supposedly emerging only to punish mankind's sins on occasion.
I personally never believed in any of these stories, but that did not make me a skeptical special beatifly, the point was nobody believed these tales. That was why they remained as stories. True, there were some historically accurate elements to them, like the priests building a second tower and it burning down. And I supposed the culprit could have been some form of pokemon or another, more likely a thyphlosion or camerupt than some god.
But the existence of the likes of Ho-Oh, Lugia, Entei, Raikou? All of that used to be nonsense to me, and even if we were to hypothetically accept that pokemon with beyond omega level power like them could exist, I was sure they had better things to do than involve themselves in human lives and resurrect dead pets. It was one thing to theorize a common ancestor and come to the logical conclusion of the existence of an unseen pokemon like Mew based on the few same genetic traits all pokemon shared, and something completely other to believe in a mon like Zapdos because somewhere, someone, many millennia ago had seen a shadow of it from a distance and had no proof to back it up.
Key note in my rambling: used to.
Because after I stepped out of Melanie's old hideout, the pokemon unmistakably similar to the drawings in my childhood books was still there at a small distance away from me, miraculously standing on the canal waters of Cerulean without sinking. It had an impatient expression on its face, and it urged me forwards with a giant paw.
For once in my life I was actually speechless not by choice. I glanced down my right at Pikachu, who was vehemently shaking his head sideways. Then down my left, and saw Callidora also saying no by discreetly trying to bind my legs with vines. Seeing my look, she sheepishly retracted them, but still shook her head.
Well if both my pokemon are disapproving this, I thought. It makes sense to listen, right?
As if I ever did what made sense.
Gritting my teeth and ignoring my pokemon's protests, I took one assured step forward, then another. Seeing me move, Suicune - I still couldn't believe it was Suicune - turned its back and began walking, out from the backside streets where we were located and more towards the city center.
I followed it, and seeing me not likely to give up the chase, Pikachu gave a sigh and darted in front of me, positioning himself between me and the legend in preparation for any surprise attacks. Callidora too tried keeping up with us, but she was a heavier pokemon and her short legs didn't help much when it came to journeying. But her enthusiasm to stick to my decisions despite obviously disapproving of them was rewarding in itself for me, she was a pokemon I had only had for just longer than three weeks. Grateful, I recalled her back to her pokeball.
So began the journey of us three odd fellows; the legend, the starter, and the trainer. I had to admit I was curious where Suicune was leading me and how the citizens would react when we reached the more densely populated areas of the city, even though it was night, I was sure the main streets would be filled with people. Cerulean was known for its active night life after all.
Suicune turned one final corner, and we reached the city square where one of the main rivers separated the city in two and multiple small bridges lighted in many different colors allowed crossing. Everywhere I looked there were people, eating, chatting, drinking, taking full advantage of the attractions Cerulean had to offer. I half expected the screams to start about now from the shock of seeing a large, wild pokemon like Suicune, but to my surprise, nobody gave a second glance at the unbelievably limber canine pokemon, who was making his way through small crowds of people without making contact. At further inspection, I realized it wasn't that the people didn't look at the space Suicune occupied, it was that they did not see it.
How-? Oh. Ohh. The mane, I realized. Suicune's fluid, gas-like mane had spread wide, and was covering his entire front body; by changing shape and color rapidly, it was creating multiple reflections, bending the many different colored night lamps of Cerulean and making the people see only what was behind the pokemon, or what they would normally see in that place.
But then how did I see it? My question was answered when Pikachu stopped walking in front of me and looked up questioningly. I didn't understand why he wasn't moving until I noticed he too didn't see Suicune, he had lost sight of our target despite it being only a small distance away. This meant I was currently the only one who saw Suicune.
And that's when I stopped and began questioning my decision. Almost expecting this, Suicune too stopped and sat on its bottom, turning its face back towards me with lips on the upper jaw curled open, flashing sharp teeth, almost smirking at me.
The truth was, up until this moment I hadn't realized it, but now, now I noticed that this beast was something beyond my, beyond any human's capability of understanding. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people, and not to mention a few pet pokemon also, were currently out on the street, and not one of them seemed to realize a wild legend was standing among them. If this were a zoroark whose temporary illusions worked on a psychic level, or a kecleon changing color, that I could understand, but this, this, the complex mathematics required to anticipate, block, reflect, and refract the line of sight of one human in an instant was already blowing my mind, I couldn't even move on to the mental capacity required to calculate the same equations on thousands of people, on an ongoing time scale, not to mention the analytical and instinctual approach necessary in adapting the misty mane to counter the superior senses of the pokemon present, and leaving an open angle for my own sense of sight, it, it...
This is impossible.
I was nailed still, my body crushed under multiple realizations at once. This is not the first time this beast has done this, I thought. For all I know, it could be prowling human streets every day, every night going unnoticed. No trainer's pokemon can detect its scent in a city, it's silent on its feet enough to avoid being heard, and agile to prevent contact. Sight, smell, hearing, touch, it has covered all fronts. It's definitely powerful enough that no psychic barrier can hold, and...
Every analysis I was making, it was useless. I was trembling where I stood. This was simply unfair, this changed everything. If a pokemon like this existed then, then...
What if there's more than one? What if all the legends are true?
I, well, then, nothing meant anything. All the progress humans had made was for naught, any chance we had against the wild was wiped clean. Our lives, all our lives were simply due to the mercy these beasts, these legends, these gods granted us; they could have wiped out our species, made us extinct anytime they had wanted to - and still could. There was no meaning to existence, free will and freedom were only jokes. All titles were empty, nothing could save us, protect us, not any leader, any four, not...
Not the champion.
Because the champion meant simply being the best. And right now in front of me stood the very proof that no one could ever be the best.
Not one single one of us. Not even all of us. Even if all of humanity were to unite, there was no way to win against a beast undetectable and unmatchabley powerful.
So what was the point of living?
I began uncontrollably giggling in my place and felt tears leaving streams on my cheeks. My mind was a mess, my heart was empty, my will was broken. Pikachu sensing me in distress came near, bit my ankles, even shocked me slightly, but there was nothing he could do to cure me.
I was a spectator of my own sanity simply taking leave.
The aurora is what made Melanie, Melanie.
I began laughing, and people began pointing fingers, but I didn't care, it all made sense now, why Melanie was the way she was, crazy, alone, and misunderstood, she clearly had met Suicune before, maybe even multiple times, and nobody could stay normal after that.
And I'm on my way joining her, I happily thought.
But surprisingly, my cure came from the disease itself.
Almost as if sorry, and sighing, Suicune approached me, and as usual no one bat an eyelid. I was still swaying back and forth in my place when it came near and touched me on my forehead with its muzzle.
A gift, I realized, and that was the last conscious thought I had. For everything was drained from me; my memories, feelings, ambition, hate, love, everything that made me me, all gone.
There was only submission.
Follow.
Follow.
Follow.
And so I did, or I thought I did, the external world was cut from me. A blank screen, I felt and saw nothing, and existed only through the sense of motion, the sense that I was doing what was asked.
Follow.
And I did.
))(())((
Pain.
Incredible, internal, unimaginable pain.
My blood was burning; it was eating me from the inside, building up in pressure, heating up my organs, expanding in volume, preparing to blow me up.
My blood was screaming, go away, leave, nothing is worth this, abandon the mission.
My blood was calling me, instinctively I knew, just knew that whatever was torturing me, it was familiar, close, part of me.
And in my pain I was free, free from that cursed Suicune who had meddled with my life, who was staring at me across river, on the other side of the shore between the two largest trees of the forest, who was ignoring every piece of thunder the left behind Pikachu was sending his way like they were nothing more than pieces of confetti, who had sent me here to my doom by controlling my heart, body, and soul.
But blood, blood was stronger than all of them, blood was legacy, blood was life, blood was destiny.
And it was through blood my hidden opponent had awakened me from the legend's control, and it was through blood my opponent was inflicting upon me pain.
And as I laid on the solid ground, my mouth in foam and eyes rolled back in their whites, the last sight I saw was the disappointed look on that blasted Suicune's face, as if I had let it down somehow. Its twin white tails extended all the way across, and picked me up, pulling me back.
For some reason, the attack stopped, and the pain subsided.
For some reason, my mind registered only one piece of information out of this experience, one crucial point that held the most importance.
For some reason, now relatively safely next to Suicune and away from the danger with a passed out Pikachu curled next to me, the legend was once again kneeling and about to touch this time both of us on our foreheads.
For some reason I knew this would be the end, and I desperately held on to the one thing I had gained from this.
Suicune was afraid to go where I had. It had sent me, for it had feared for itself.
The legends I had been so quick to name god, there were horrors that even frightened them.
And if the gods felt fear, they could be no gods of mine.
No, I thought weakly as Suicune's head came closer and closer.
It means they are not gods. Not legends.
Only pokemon.
And I am a trainer.
I am a champion.
))(())((
The dark-haired prodigy lies on the roof of Pallet Training School. Beneath him, on the school's yard, is a party ongoing, this term's end of the year festival. Music is playing, couples are dancing, students are generally having a good time, but he, he is on the roof, gazing at the stars.
"Yo."
The call doesn't surprise him, the last two years this has been a gathering spot for the two. He is curious though why the spiky haired boy would join him in solitude.
The newcomer carefully adjusts his position, and lies next to him. Together they stare down at the people partying.
"Last one," the blonde boy begins. "One more year. Then we're out of here Red."
Red nods, he need not speak, but is surprised that his friend would bring up the obvious. And is more surprised that he is sitting next to him up here when there are opportunities for boys interested to "score" down there.
"Blue-" Red begins, but is interrupted.
"Yeah, I know, not like me." Blue grins. "But... Not today, okay? Today I have to pay respect for those I've barely even known."
Red looks confused, so Blue explains in one word. "Anniversary. It's their death anniversary."
Ah. Red looks uncomfortable, but Blue does not care, he has never been one to keep his thoughts bottled up for the sake of others. "Can't stay at the house, too dark - gramps has opened a new bottle for the occasion, and Daisy is wearing all black and lighting up candles. I think she actually likes the drama of mourning. So I thought of coming here to take my mind off them, but... well, I couldn't and it felt... wrong? Despite not remembering them, just couldn't enjoy myself today, I don't know." He shrugs.
A minute of silence passes. Then Blue continues. "Look, I gotta ask something. Personal. And I know you hate that, but you're the only other kid in town I can ask this. Soooo... Do you, you know, ever think of-"
"No," Red sharply interrupts. He ignores Blue's shocked look and continues. "I never knew him. Mother never speaks of him. There are no records or photos of him. All I know is he was a trainer, and he's dead. That makes him weak."
"That's... harsh to say," Blue comments, but Red isn't finished.
"You know your parents Blue, if not personally, through their deeds. You also have your grandfather and sister who love and remember them both enough to mourn, I bet they've shared memories of them with you. Me, however..." Red's eyes are stone cold. "I don't even know his name and there's no way of me knowing it - everything about him has been wiped clean on the net. I'm not dumb, I know the league only does that for high ranking officials, undercover cops, or... traitors to their country."
"I'm sure your dad wasn't-" Blue begins but is interrupted.
"That's not the point. The point is, he failed whatever he was busy with, and died. That makes him weak." Red looks at his friend. "I am not weak Blue. I will not die before succeeding."
Sunlight interrupted my dream, and I woke up to the sounds of pidgey and taillow chirping. I stretched long and hard, then stood up, trying to recognize where I was. There was a lazy river flowing in front of me, and a small cave entrance could be seen across. Behind me stretched a forest of trees, I was obviously somewhere off the routes.
Pikachu's snoring distracted me, and I looked down laughing at the funny shape he had slept the night in, he was holding his tail in his mouth and drooling. "Wake up you giant rat." I playfully nudged him with my foot, he gave a whimper but did not get up. I didn't blame him really, after visiting Melanie's place for the last time before we moved on, a festive mood had suddenly stricken us, and we had spent the night drinking to our victory against Misty from a weak ago. Well, I had, but Pikachu and Callidora had slurped down quite a number of those aguav berry juices.
Speaking of, where was Callidora? I didn't remember recalling her back to her ball, but I guessed I must have, seeing as her pokeball was buckled on my belt and all. Deciding she too would enjoy this fine morning, I released her. I was surprised to see her ecstatic and concerned, she was looking at Pikachu and me with unbelieving eyes, and her vines were extended long.
"Woah, slow down girl," I muttered, kneeling down and scratching her head. This calmed her a little, but something had excited her greatly and she was still panting and giving suspicious glances to her surroundings - especially at us. I wondered what riled her all up, hadn't we all spent a merry evening last night?
"Easy girl," I whispered. "Easy." My soft tone and the continuous scratching finally made her take breaths normally, and the vines retracted slowly. "Yeah? You okay now girl?" I kept asking, until she finally gave a grouchy growl. "Great. Now. How about helping me wake up Pikachu - by throwing him in the river?"
Needless to say, she was in for it - and soon I was rolling on the floor with laughter as I watched Pikachu slowly climb out the water, his fur soaked and ears dropped, shivering from the sudden chill and wetness he was dropped in. My laughter was cut short when I noticed another set of vines lifting me in the air.
"Calli, wait, waiit, just-" My speech was cut short as I swallowed water, and I pulled myself back up to find both my pokemon making gurgling sounds, laughing.
I rolled my eyes. "Great seeing you two get along. But," I started mischievously. "No point in only one of us staying dry, is there?"Callidora's eyes widened in worry, and soon Pikachu and I were double teaming her, wrestling our way to the river and trying to pull her in.
That was how we spent our morning, fooling around and enjoying ourselves, but I did want to start journeying again. As soon as I found out where exactly we were, we would be making our way to Saffron for our third badge. I tried checking my pokedex, but realized the screen kept flashing the words 'Error UP' and would not open. That brought my mood down, I didn't want to have to explain the professor I was having problems with the dex again.
I decided to follow the river downstream, sooner or later all water around these parts reached Cerulean City. I kept both my main two members out, and we walked together, though Callidora and Pikachu kept bickering - despite our morning fun, those two still did not like each other much. At one point the river curled north, and we had a small lunch break. I caught some remoraid for Pikachu and me, while Callidora dug out some tree roots and feasted on them. Afterwards we kept walking at a slow pace, and by the time we reached a small hill where the city lights of Cerulean could be seen, it was already night.
"That's where we started." I pointed my finger at a point upriver. "By following the river, we actually made the walk longer, we could have cut straight through the forest. But no harm done, there was no other way of determining our position." I checked the sky. "Since the stars tonight are bright and I can't see any clouds, how about we skip camping, and just power on and reach the city instead?" I offered. "We'll probably make it in three to four hours."
Pikachu growled his approval of my idea, but Callidora remained silent. Her eyes were concentrated on something in the dark, something up at the tree tops. She gave a silent, warning growl, and bent her fore legs, aiming her bud up.
"What's wrong girl?" I asked. She's acting really strange toda-, before my thought was finished, Callidora launched a number of seeds at incredible speed, and suddenly her actions became clearer when her invisible target swooped down, easily avoiding all her bullet seeds.
The noctowl was large, and judging by its reaction time, definitely trained. It flew half a circle above us before diving, the sharp claws aimed directly at Callidora.
Damn it!
I jumped on reaction, Callidora was a slow, stationary target for the night predator, and the claws would leave permanent damage if connected. I collapsed on my ivysaur and heard a protesting squeal, but I was determined to shield her from harm even at the cost of my own body. Though Pikachu showed it was not needed. I felt the air crack, then heard one painful hoot. A soft thump followed, then a final snap.
A bit embarrassed from my dramatic overreaction, I looked over my shoulder to see my quite proud of himself starter standing atop the carcass of the owl pokemon, his jaw was bloody from where he had bit the noctowl's neck after shocking it down. Feeling red in the face, I rolled over to my back on the soft grass and reached over with my arm to still keep in contact with Callidora.
"Good job noticing a trainer's pokemon." I blindly scratched her side. She gave a pleasant growl, but avoided eye contact, probably also feeling embarrassed at me trying an unnecessary rescue attempt. "But you suck at shooting, noctowl aren't even the fastest of flying species. We're going to have to train you in aiming better. We can't always rely on a trick room."
"As for you." I got up, giving Pikachu a half annoyed, half amused grin. "You can't just kill everything you know, that's a trainer's mon, now we have to find the guy and explain why his bird is dead."
Pikachu twitched his nose.
I rolled my eyes. "Doesn't matter if it deserved it. Just get a good sniff, let's track it back to its owner. Looks like we're going to have to camp tonight after all."
We cut through the trees and dwelt deeper into the forest, Pikachu in front leading us with his nose. My initial amusement was quickly being replaced by irritation, I didn't want to have to talk with a, judging by the way that noctowl was left by itself, obviously incapable trainer and inform him of his pokemon's death, but in this case, since it was my team responsible for the kill, trainer's etiquette demanded at least an explanation being given. Though I was halfway there to saying "screw it all" when a tree branch left a scratch on my right arm; now that we were walking under the shade of the trees, it was harder to see.
I was relieved when Pikachu came back from running point and grabbed my sleeves with his teeth, tugging me forwards. We were obviously near where the scent was strongest. To my confirmation, not much longer I saw lights at what seemed to be small clearing ahead, and I hastened my steps but suddenly tripped on something. Groaning in pain, I realized my mouth was stuffed with a thick vine and I couldn't let out a sound. Turning my head back, I saw what had tripped me was another set of vines, originating from Callidora's back.
Pikachu didn't like her hurting me. He jumped at action and bit the vines binding my legs, simultaneously sending a surge of electricity towards his teammate. To my surprise, Callidora didn't hit back, or even let out a slight whimper of pain as the bolts hit her mid-face, leaving small burn marks. Then I noticed her position, she had crouched extremely low, her legs and face were almost half buried into the soft dirt.
I pulled on Pikachu's nose sharply, signaling him to stop attacking. He looked at me in disbelief, but obeyed. Callidora, with a grateful expression, slowly began moving forwards. I followed her behind crawling, trying to make no sound. Pikachu stood still for a few seconds, and then he too followed example and lowered his ears and tail, but judging from his face, he saw no need for this erratic behavior.
And I agreed with him, except for the fact that today I was not myself and had made too many mistakes. Maybe because last night's alcohol still affected me; but not recognizing us being watched by a trained flying pokemon, not analyzing its flight pattern to build counter strategies and instead reacting in a silly manner, and not taking notice of the fact we were off routes, in the middle of the night, with a predatory pokemon separated from its mysterious trainer, were slip-ups I normally did not do. Furthermore, something about Pikachu also seemed wrong, his charge was less than usual, as if he had spent the entirety of last night battling when I knew that couldn't be true. Normally he should have had brought down a flying pokemon like that noctowl in a single blow without resorting to a second bite, and the attacks he had launched on Callidora should have left more of an effect.
Nevertheless, something was off with both my starter and me, and perhaps it was her many years of experience acting a guardian to Melanie on the streets, or for some other entirely different reason, Callidora was the only one acting sharp tonight. So if she felt like we should handle this approach carefully, I wasn't going to go against her instincts.
And as we quietly crawled near to the clearing, hiding from sight in the bushes and tree shades, my ivysaur's instincts proved indeed right.
Four men, three of them dressed in black and standing, and five pokemon were there; a glowing volbeat made the group visible, and the two marowak stood at both sides of the forcefully knelt down fourth person. A kingler, within whose pincers lied the final pokemon, a charmeleon, completed the group.
"We warned you Nolan," began one of the men in black. He was quite tall and wide, had blonde hair and an incredibly thick same color mustache. Upon closer inspection I noticed his black clothing was actually body armor. His tone was authoritative, making me guess he was the one in charge of this band.
"Look, Butch, look, just give me anothe- AAARGGHG!" the man kneeling, Nolan, screamed into the dead of the night when one of the marowak hit his right side with a thick bone club, effectively breaking his arm. The charmeleon growled in response, but the kingler squeezed its claw just enough to quiet it.
"Meew damnit, Butch," another of the standing men said. "Are you purposely making him scream that loud? We ain't that far off from the city gates."
"Relax Al," the third one answered. "Proxima is on watch. Nobody's coming here without her warning us."
"You hear Rex, Nolan old boy?" Butch leaned forward and I saw Nolan's face lit up in terror. "Nobody's coming to save you. So you better start explaining where our money at."
"I... I don't have any money, please, please, AAAAAARGH!" The second marowak hit Nolan's other side. I bit down on my tongue not to cry out with him, his cries and whimpers made the pain all too relatable. The charmeleon who I assumed at this point belonged to Nolan let out a wilder, more threatening roar.
"For Arceus' sake, shut that fucking thing up Al." Rex complained. Al clicked his tongue twice, and the kingler raised one meaty claw, and hit the charmeleon on the back of its head, knocking it down.
At my sides, both Callidora and Pikachu gave silent growls.
"Thanks," said Rex, then turned to Nolan. "Really? No money, you say, eh? Funny thing, I bet you have some money though, don't you? About five thousand credits worth, maybe? Eh? Or maybe you prefer the term a nugget's worth?"
And as Nolan stood quiet, it finally dawned upon me who he was. This was my opponent during Cerulean's Nugget Bridge Tournament, Trainer Nolan Tucker, the winner of the tournament, the trainer who had won the five thousand credits prize with the help of his starter, Dante the invincible charmeleon.
"No use in trying to skim Team Rocket, you fucking piece of river trash," Butch spoke in disgust. "We know everything going around these parts, and you my friend, you ain't the brightest bulb around, winning a publicly recognized match, going on news, all the while your useless mon was on our product."
Team Rocket! The "rockets" Melanie warned me about! These guys are with Jessie and James...
Wait... product?
"Let's not make this any harder than it needs to be Nolan," Al gently said. The volbeat buzzed over his head as he continued. "Where's our money?"
"I, I spent it all, please, please, please, I'll pay you back, please, oh Arceus, please," begged Nolan desperately. His arms stood in uncomfortable angles, both of them clearly broken. One marowak slightly brushed against his right arm with its club, and Nolan's voice rose in fear. "I swear I don't have it, please, please, give me time, take Dante, take Dante as compensation, leave me, please!"
My lips curled in disgust, and Butch heartily laughed. "Oh, we gonna take your worthless lizard alright, despite the fact he's nothing without ex. Maybe he'll make some good lab mon. But that still doesn't bring us close to the debt you owe us asshole."
Both marowak hit Nolan's knees, and the cry was earth shattering. His face was a mask of pain, completely covered in a mixed slobber of tears and drool. He now laid on the ground, trying to worm away in escape. All the while he kept begging mercy. "Butch, please, Butch..."
"This is a waste of time." Al sighed. He gave an order to the kingler. "Rip his fucking head apart Grim."
Grim the kingler began his species' known sideways walk towards Nolan, and apparently the giant slicing machine that was Grim's pincer provided the final push necessary in making him confess.
"My parents' house! I still have a room there in Cerulean, under the mattress one of the floor panels is loose, it's all there, the prize money, and the remaining ex! Please, please just take them, and Dante, and even my parents, but please, let me live, please..." Nolan was yelling, begging for mercy in the most demeaning way possible, but I could already tell his cries were falling on deaf ears.
"Much obliged Nolan," Butch replied pleasantly. "I appreciate you also offering us our own product back, next to the money you already owe. And I must say it takes to be a real man's man to ask us to kill your pokemon and parents like that, just to spare yourself. Really, I respect you."
Al and Rex both laughed at Butch's sarcasm, and Butch continued. "But... Here's this teeny tiny thing Nolan. Our bossman can't forgive you cause, well, man you went public with a doped up mon. You know the rules, ex is only for underground tournaments, not for festivals where there are cameras and viewers. Can you imagine the league being notified of ex?"
Everything was starting to make sense to me, these Rockets, they were drug dealers, and with my experience against Nolan's charmeleon, their product, this ex, was definitely something too potent. I had suspected it; but Blue had outright said it, and he was right. It was impossible for a charmeleon to take that much of Pikachu's thunder without some chemical back up, Nolan had outright cheated during the tournament by feeding his pokemon ex. But he hadn't paid them back, and apparently the dealers also had clear rules about how their product was being used. I understood why, I had never heard of a drug like ex that bypassed control measures and had no visible aftereffect before, and if this was brought to light, the league would sure have an interest, something criminals could not afford.
And I could also guess how these Rockets punished those that strayed from the rules.
I closed my eyes as I heard a scream cut short by the sickening sound of the blow the marowak caused against Nolan's skull. The thumping sounds continued for a short while, and finally after a quiet "snip", all was silent.
I dared opened my eyes again. Nolan's face was unrecognizable, being hit over and over again, and his head had been severed from the body by Grim the kingler. I barely managed to hold my vomit in.
Butch lit up a cigarette and inhaled deeply. "Those things'll kill you, you know," Al commented.
"Shut up." Butch took in another breath. "What's the orders on the body?"
"None given, left to us. Can't burn it in a clear night like this, it'll attract rangers, and the Ceruleanians will for sure find a body dropped in their rivers, so..." Rex pointed the ground. "Order your knuckles over there to dig a hole, I guess. Any other ideas?"
There were none, and soon the two marowak began clawing their way into the earth at Butch's orders. Having seen enough, and deeming it way too risky to intervene, I decided on slowly making a retreat, reaching out and touching my two pokemon softly.
"So... how's your brother doin?" asked Al.
"We don't have to small talk, you know." Rex said.
Butch didn't mind the question however. "Which one you askin?"
"Umm, all, I guess. How many were there again?"
"Four," Butch answered. "Duke's on the Anne mission, with, what's his name, the guy with the stupid goatee-"
"Kevin."
"Yeah, Kevin and him are on Anne, with the VP too. Good mission, Dukie's hoping for a promotion after. As for Ron and Ace-"
"Al," Rex interrupted. "When was Proxima supposed to return from patrol?"
"Half an hou- shit. It's been forty-five minutes." Al put two of his fingers in his mouth and blew a loud whistle. His kingler took a defensive position in front of him, while he took out a small machete. "If she doesn't return in two minutes after that order, we have to assume she's been made."
"Or your bird just got hungry for some rattata," Butch muttered, but his two marowak stopped digging and moved near him, and he loosened the lasso attached to his belt. Rex stood quiet but revealed a crossbow in his hands, and his volbeat began aiming its shine towards the trees, almost near where I was hidden.
Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Proxima was definitely the noctowl we had killed, and it had been placed there to deal with trespassers. Despite the unlikelihood of a random encounter off route during night, these rockets had remained professionals during their questioning and execution, never letting their guard down and taking security measures. And now they were too close to finding us.
Think damn it, think!
I needed a strategy out of here. Both my pokemon stood stiff, trying to not make any movement and noise that would lead to our discovery, and eventual death.
Think!
My brain was moving too slow, I swore to myself I would never drink again if we made it out of here alive. The volbeat pointed its light further from us, masking us again in the shadows.
If we run for it, they'll shoot us from behind... We have to fight, take out a few of them, then scram while they're surprised. I forced myself to analyze the scene. Threat number one: Butch. Large man with lasso, probably adept in pulling enemies close for his two marowak to finish up. Effective in close to mid-range. Number two: Al and the kingler. Like all sea bed pokemon, superb physical defense, but weak to elemental attacks, especially considering its body is mostly conductive. Pikachu should be able to handle it afar. Can't get close. Final threat: Rex. Long range weapon. Plus a volbeat to light the dark.
A plan was beginning to formulate itself in my mind. The volbeat. We take it out quick and run away, making it harder for them to track us and impossible to shoot at in the dark. Then again, we won't be knowing where we're heading either, and-
"Time's up," Butch said. "Move out. Rex, that way. Al, towards base. I'll check the river." He began walking directly my direction.
Now or never.
"Calli, the marowak!" I yelled as I suddenly emerged from my place, surprising Butch. I managed to dart past him, and saw Callidora's vines reach out to bind the two marowak. They would break free, but for now slowing them down was enough. "Pikachu!" I didn't need to finish the order, his battling instincts had caught on the plan. A blinding thunderbolt hit the stationary kingler, and the smell of fried insides filled the air. A second one was sent loose towards the firefly pokemon, when suddenly, incredibly, the bolt changed direction mid-air, and instead redirected itself towards one of the tangled up marowak. The lightning hit and dissipated against a thick club, thrown and stuck perpendicularly in the soft ground.
Damn it. This was an incredible mistake on my part, I never took into account the special clubs marowak made from the bones of their dead parents. Lightning always followed the path of least resistance, and it was only due to the elemental powers electric pokemon possessed that they were allowed to direct that force in a path of choice. But when something grounded and much more conductive than even air, like the ancestral bones of a marowak or the horn of a rhydon, came into the picture, thunder would disobey its master and revert back to obeying the laws of physics.
Meaning, currently Pikachu's distant attacks were entirely useless. And with the volbeat still keeping the lights on us, we were sitting ducklet.
Rex took a shot at Callidora and hit her in the leg. In pain, her vines loosened up, and the two marowak were free to pin my starter down. I tried tackling Rex, but Butch threw his lasso and bound my legs, tripping me. Almost at the same time Al held his machete to my throat, and Rex moved closer to my ivysaur, aiming at her head.
"Fucker killed my Grim!" yelled Al, and I felt the pressure of his blade increase against my skin. "I'm going to kill you dead, you motherfuckin-"
"Stuff it Al!" barked Butch. "We're all professionals here." He turned to face me. "Who the fuck are you kid?"
The situation was entirely hopeless. The volbeat was up in the air, glowing and lighting the area. Butch stood in front of me, my legs were trapped in his lasso and behind me Al was pulling down my hair, revealing my throat. The two marowak held Pikachu in their claws, and even though my starter was thrashing around, he was no physical match for the two ground types. One bone club erected in the center of the clearing made sure Pikachu's electricity would be useless. And Callidora was taken hostage by the giant bolt pressed against her skull by Rex.
I stood quiet. I wasn't going to give these murderers the satisfaction, nor was I going to demean myself like their previous victim Nolan... Wait! Nolan! Nolan's charme-
Butch shrugged his shoulders at my silence. "Suit yourself." Next thing I knew, a giant fist made me count the stars. I tasted blood in my mouth, but the pain, the pain also cleared my head, as if the fog that had shrouded my mind all day was suddenly wiped clean. My body broken, but my mind revitalized, I once again looked up defiantly at Butch, while this time more carefully observing my surroundings.
"Let's start simple, kid. Who do you work for?"
I gritted my teeth as another hit came. Before my vision blackened, I noticed a few other details in the clearing I had missed, like how the charmeleon's flame on its tail was still burning, indicating him alive but passed out, and how close Al was to the half dug out hole by the marowak behind me.
"Are you alone?"
I spat the blood in my mouth, and braced myself. Butch raised his hand again, but then stopped, looking at me thoughtfully. "Al," he called out. Behind me Al grunted.
"You heard that shit storm in Mt. Moon? With Captain Jessie?" Butch asked curiously. "A lookout warning was issued, for a trainer with a pika-"
"Pikachu. A pikachu!" I could hear the excitement in Rex's voice. "You don't reckon?!"
"Man, we're so getting promoted tonight," muttered Al behind me.
"You bet your ass on it. Hello, Pokemon Trainer Red," Butch greeted me with a grin. "Also, goodbye. Al, cut him."
Having no other choice, I yelled with as much authority as I could, "Dante! The bug!"
My sudden outburst surprised our captures and delayed the inevitable for only a second, but it was enough.
One thing I had noticed about Nolan's charmeleon; it was a loyal pokemon. It had been loyal to Nolan during our match in Cerulean; where Nolan had drugged him, left him to take hits, gave him no orders, Dante had still come through and won for his trainer. Tonight, when Nolan was shamelessly offering his starter's life in place of his own, Dante was still defending him, roaring and growling at his enemies. And though I wasn't willing to bet my life on it, having no other choice in these circumstances, I asked myself: If a monster like Dante always obeyed his trainer despite the incompetence and abuse, what would he be willing to do for a trainer that would actually care for him?
In my voice, I desperately tried to reflect on my need for him, on how we were at the moment allies, how we could both fight against those that had killed his master. I knew he was a starter, meaning he was trained beforehand to recognize and understand limited human speech, just like Pikachu, but it was not my words I wished him to hear. It was my unsaid promise that together we would escape the trap we were in, and we would be free to live, but only if we worked together.
And incredibly enough, Dante the charmeleon not only heard my call, my plea, he answered it.
His eyes opened alive, he rose on his feet and roared. The flames were not as strong as I remembered, they did not have the intensity they had burned with during our match, but they were enough to roast the bug pokemon above us. Like the curtains on a window pulled, the bright, flashlight-like glow of the volbeat replaced itself with the dim, smoking embers of the ashes remaining as a light source.
In one second, surprised and distracted, Al's grip on my neck lessened, and I kicked back as hard as I could.
In one second, Rex' moment of hesitation to turn back and glimpse at his surroundings allowed Callidora to extend one vine to pull the bone club out of the ground and another to wrap Rex's ankle.
In one second, Butch acted on reaction, and loosened the lasso on my feet to bind the new threat's fire bursting jaw, as both Al and I fell down the hole, him landing first and me dropping on top, making an awful, awkward crunching sound come from his neck.
And at the end of that one second, Pikachu let thunder crack in the air. Lightning rushed, first through the bone club suspended in air by Callidora, then through the extended vine to her main body, and finally through the second vine to Rex.
In one second, it was over.
I pulled myself up from the hole I was in after grabbing the machete from Al's lifeless hand. The scene in front of me was disorientating, the only light remaining was the small fire on the charmeleon's tail, and it barely let me see Butch's lasso moved on to Dante's neck, with Butch reeling the rope in, leaving Dante breathless.
I didn't bother attacking a physically superior foe even with the blade in my hand. Instead, I jumped and yelled in a crazed frenzy, and cut the lasso in half. The pressure gone, Dante burst fire once again, directed towards Butch's direction, but he was a far too agile man to be caught off guard by a second stage evolution. He rolled to his side and disappeared in the dark, but the sudden flash Dante's flames provided made me see Pikachu trying to get away from the two marowak close to his tail, and Rex struggling to his feet - the lightning being conducted through Callidora's resilient grass type body, he hadn't taken any fatal injuries. I blindly threw my pokeball where I last saw my ivysaur, with her hit in the leg by a crossbow bolt and having suffered through Pikachu's electricity, I knew the battlefield was no good place for her right now. A click I heard confirmed my aim to be true, and left me free to reveal my trump card.
I dropped my last pokeball, and a familiar tingle in my brain greeted me, a psychic type had entered the field. Paul, I tried thinking in images. Stop them.
A pink glow surrounded my slowbro's eyes, and then everything quieted. Out of breath, I cried "Dante, light!" In an act of perhaps ritualistic importance, Dante set flame to the body of his former owner, building an almost campfire like atmosphere. The increase in light gave me the much needed precious seconds to glance at the field.
The two marowak were holding their heads, Paul's psychic attack had hit them hard, but I knew it wouldn't be soon before they got up, Paul's psychic powers weren't the best. Rex was already on his feet, aiming his crossbow, but Pikachu's sudden leap in front made him retreat back to the trees. I followed, but only to find and take back Callidora's pokeball.
There was no sign of Butch, and the two marowak were already on their feet again. The bad news was, my current roster could never take out these two ground types. Pikachu and Dante were both too frail to tank their hits, Paul was offensively near useless, and I wasn't going to go into a battle of strengths against two members of one of the toughest pokemon species at once.
But the good news was, marowak, like almost all ground types, were too fucking slow.
"Scram!" I yelled as I called Paul back, and Pikachu, Dante, and I ran in the opposite direction the two rockets had disappeared.
We kept running and running, I wasn't sure for how long, but the marowak were no longer in sight and we had left the clearing long behind us. Out of breath, I signaled Pikachu and Dante to stop, they both did. Tired as I was, I was in far better condition than those two. Dante had already been injured by the kingler, a nasty looking bump was growing on the back of his head, and Butch's lasso had left a ring-shaped mark on his neck visible in the dim fire of his tail. Pikachu was even worse, he had already started the day with less than usual charge, and the marowak drained the rest of his supply. Plus, he was walking funny, skipping on one of his short legs. I suspected one of the marowak had gotten a hit in.
Added to the fact that Callidora's injuries were even worse in her pokeball, I really didn't trust myself enough to go against these seasoned killers with only Paul in my pocket. "You smell anything?" I asked Pikachu. "Or hear?"
To my surprise, both Pikachu and Dante shook their heads, apparently Dante was feeling like listening to me even outside crisis scenarios. Pikachu gave a jealous growl, and Dante hissed back, but I hushed them both, I wasn't in the mood to deal with this at the moment. First, we had to successfully leave this forest and reach the city where we would be relatively safe.
I cursed my luck again that my dex had chosen today to malfunction.
Dante's head suddenly rising was the only warning I got. I rolled on my back, and screamed as an arrowhead aimed at my head hit me in my shoulder from above. Pikachu's fur sparkled and crackled, he aimed his tail high and... Nothing happened, he collapsed on his trembling legs as his electric potential was now completely depleted.
This was enough of an encouragement for Butch and Rex to swoop down. They were being carried by two crobat, all this time we had thought we were avoiding them, they had been tracking us from the skies, and like professionals, had waited for the best time to strike. Dante opened his mouth to spit fire, but all that came out was smoke, and once again Butch's lasso caught him by the neck. I did try tackling him, but a well-aimed kick forced me down.
To my right, something much more horrifying was happening; Rex was aiming his crossbow at Pikachu's head. Hating myself for the decision I was making, I desperately threw Paul's pokeball. "Cover him!" I yelled, and my slowbro dropped on Pikachu, effectively shielding him from the crossbow bolt but receiving it in his own back instead. Rex looked up surprised, then chuckled.
"What are you waiting for? Finish the rat," said Butch, all the while he was pulling on his lasso. Dante croaked, I could see his face change color and there was nothing I could do about it.
"Nah man, the slowbro's on it, protecting it, can't get a killing shot. And I ain't gonna waste more ammo on a slowbro. Common misconception, people think they're sturdy as fuck, when actually it just takes one arrow to kill them, the pokemon are just too stupid to realize they're already dead and keep moving," Rex explained casually, as he loaded another arrow. "I'll just wait till it bleeds out."
"The fuck you know so much about slowbro?" Butch asked, interested.
Dante's flame was about to die, it was so small, so dim.
"One was my starter."
"Yeah? What happened to it?"
"Cut the tail off and sold it to the highest bidder." Rex smirked, and Butch genuinely laughed.
This was it then. Me and my team's end would come at the hands of these scum. I prepared myself to at least look death in the ey- what in the holy flames of moltres is that?
My shocked expression must have amused Rex when he aimed his weapon at my head. "Any last words Trainer Red?" he asked.
"Foul, wretched villains, thou shall ask thyselves that!" was the reply that came behind him.
Both Butch and Rex turned at once, and their faces mirrored my own.
In front of us stood a giant clefairy, a clefairy the size of Butch, maybe even larger. And next to it stood a regular sized second one.
It took all of us a second to understand that the voice had come from the giant pokemon.
"What in the fucki-" Rex pulled the trigger without finishing his sentence, but the arrowhead just broke against the talking clefairy's hide.
"Your weapons can nay touch justice, fugitives of law!" cried the clefairy. "But justice can aye touch thee!"
And from the outstretched palms of the pokemon erupted flames, catching Rex in their fire.
Rex screamed, and dropped down, but there was nothing he could do, the flames were still pouring down. Butch seemed to ponder on what to do for a second, then - in my opinion - chose the wisest option. He grabbed his crobat's claws and flew away.
"Nay, thou shall not pas- oops sorry, escape, evil of hell!" yelled the giant pokemon. "My faithful sidekick, Graviton shall stop thee in thy tracks!"
The smaller clefairy wiggled her fingers, and the larger one screamed enthusiastically "Fists of Justice - GRAVITY ATTACK!"
And to everyone's surprise, the crobat began descending lower and lower at an incredible pace.
I swore, I next heard the pokemon whisper to itself "Damn it, I had decided to name it 'Call to Justice'. Whatever, it's out now."
Butch, making the second wisest decision of tonight, jumped before the crobat could fall. He landed too far away from us, and ran away, disappearing.
"Worry not, fair citizen! I shall be in pursuit!" The pokemon attempted chase, but a hum from his, ehe, sidekick stopped him. "Ah, thank you for remindi- I mean, thank thee for reminding me a superhero's number one rule, Graviton! Civilians first!"
"And then maybe he can help me..." it whispered to itself again.
I was so much in shock that I barely even felt my open wound. But the giant talking clefairy leaning forward and taking its own head off was too much for me to handle. As I passed out, the last thing I heard was a voice in the darkness.
"Ummmm, hello dear citizen, I was wondering if you could help me out of this suit here. Oh, where are my manners, my name is William "Bill" Stein, and- hello, can you hear me? Hello? Oh dear me, Graviton, I believe he's blacked ou-"
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Author's Note:
Sorry for the late update, but a feral dog bit me and I spent the week at a hospital getting checked for rabies and receiving multiple shots. My life is almost as exciting as Red's.
About this Chapter: Weird one, I know. Let's see, the legend of Brass Tower is a story in the games, I just wrote my own version of it. Also, Suicune is much more dangerous here, I like depicting legends as the great powerful gods they are and not toys at the hands of ten-year-olds.
A team rocket grunt with four brothers, anyone caught that reference? If you did, great! In the games, one of the rocket brothers uses two cubone, here he received an upgrade to marowak. Also tried explaining their "lightning rod" ability realistically.
In yellow, route 24 and 25, north of Cerulean, is where Red meets a charmeleon, has a small Rocket event, and finds Bill. I changed Bill drastically from the game version. Never really liked the whole changing-minds-with-a-pokemon thing to be honest.
Next chapter: Sometime in two weeks, too busy visiting the hospital. Did you all know that if there's a chance for rabies, you need to take multiple shots multiple times in the following 20 days? I certainly didn't.