Chapter 2: Ferrovax
Unova so far, had been fantastic. Maggie and Ahti had never felt so invigorated. They had their wins and losses, met many new friends, and it felt just like old times. By the time they made it to Victory Road, they were almost sprinting. They were eager to meet the Elite Four, and face the champion.
That is, until they ran into a very familiar scene.
A small, green Deino appeared before them, weak and covered in blood. He stood before them, panting; Deino couldn't see, but it was like he felt a presence near him. He took one step forward, and all seemed quiet for just a moment.
Suddenly, the dragon was violently pulled backward, screeching as something had grabbed hold of his leg.
The metallic bug shimmered in what little light was in the cavern; it looked at Maggie and Ahti, and let out a furious hiss as it clamped down even harder, on the Deino.
"Hey! You let go of him!" Maggie shouted, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth. "Alright Ahti, let's go!" she commanded her Nidoking. "That Durant won't make a meal out of him, so long as we're here!"
Ahti bellowed a ferocious roar, stomping one foot on the ground, which made the stalactites shiver and pebbles fall to the ground. The Durant hissed once more, dropping the Deino and turning its attention to Ahti and Maggie.
"Good. We have its attention. Now, use Earth Power!" Maggie shouted.
Ahti roared again, slamming his fists into the ground, causing it to crumble and crack. As the cracks shot toward the Durant, the ground began to give way, causing a sinkhole into the level below, dragging the Durant down.
The Deino scrambled to climb to safety, as the sinkhole threatened to take him down as well. As he began to fall, Ahti reached out a clawed hand and grabbed the injured dragon by its feathered tail, ensuring his safety.
The Deino panted, and collapsed on the ground.
"That could've gone better." Maggie sighed, kneeling down beside the injured Pokemon. Ahti scooped him up, and nodded at Maggie. Deino were small, but just a little bit too big to carry through a cave to the nearest Pokemon Center. The scene mirrored the one in which Maggie met Ahti, and he was well aware of that. She didn't even have to say anything, for him to know what they had to do.
Thankfully, the wait at the Pokemon Center wasn't nearly as long. The nurse came out with a smile; "He wasn't badly injured. Looks like you got there, just in time!" she beamed, as she brought out the Deino. He only looked away, in a huff.
Maggie smiled, and the trio walked outside. "Well, I guess this it is. You should be more careful, next time!" she patted the Deino on the head, to which he replied with a snarl. It didn't faze Maggie, in the slightest. She waved him off with a smile, and turned to head back toward the league.
She quickly noticed the footsteps following quietly behind her, and smiled. The Deino gave her a gentle headbutt, wanting her to stop.
"So, you wanna come with us after all, huh?" she grinned, holding out a Poke Ball.
The Deino turned and snorted, but accepted her offer. He pressed his nose against the ball, his energy being sucked inside of it. As soon as it clicked shut, she smiled and gently cupped the ball in her hands. "Welcome to the family, Ferrovax."
Of course, not every league challenge can end in a win. Maggie and her team failed to defeat the champion, and were, of course, disappointed. They knew they couldn't win every battle, but they agreed they would give it another go, when they were ready. They would train harder, be smarter about strategies, and try again.
The little Deino, however, was not so much disappointed as he was, angry. He wasn't going to let these…these humans, push him around. He was going to become strong, no, the strongest he could possibly be, and he was going to win. Not for Maggie, not for her team, but for himself. No more weak little dragon. Ferrovax was going to demolish this champion, and soon everybody would fear him.
And train, they did. They trained and trained, all year long. The little Deino grew up into a powerful Hydreigon, and Ahti grew close to Ferrovax, regarding him as a brother. Ferrovax respected Ahti, as well as others on Maggie's team. A Gallade, named Aidan. A Noivern, Laila. And a Gliscor, Lasciel. Ferrovax was especially fond, of Lasciel.
Ahti, Aidan and Ferrovax would frequently spar together, though Ferrovax had rather brutal tendencies. He held nothing back, and oftentimes it ended in Maggie having to intervene. Despite this, she kept him as part of her team and went on to face the league, once more. A decision she would come to regret.
After once more defeating the Elite Four, Maggie was facing the champion once again. She was down to only two Pokemon, Ahti and Ferrovax. The path of destruction Ferrovax left, had led other trainers to call him names. Deathbringer, the Corpse Taker, even the Grim Reaper. He was violent, and Maggie knew it. She was sure that it could be trained out of him, and kept her beloved dragon on her team. Surely after the win today, he would settle down.
She was wrong.
The champion's fist Pokemon to be sent out, was an Accelgor. Maggie commanded Ahti to unleash a Thunderbolt, but before he could make a move, Ferrovax burst out of his Poke Ball and incinerated the Pokemon with a powerful Heat Wave.
Ahti stood, stunned, and looked back at Maggie.
"Alright. If he's so eager to fight, let him." She said, as Ahti retreated back beside her.
The champion sent out his next Pokemon, a Bouffalant. He shouted for it to use Mega Horn, a move that would surely deal a large amount of damage to the Dark-type dragon.
The Bouffalant stomped its feet on the ground, and bellowed. Its horns glowed a bright green, and it began to charge. Ferrovax, of course, was having none of this. He flew up high, letting the Bouffalant continue to charge, and nearly hitting Maggie.
She yelped as Bouffalant bellowed and nearly tripped over its own hooves, trying to steer itself away from the girl. She grasped her chest, her heart pounding so hard that she felt like it was going to explode out of her.
Bouffalant snorted and regained its footing, only to be pelted with a Focus Blast that rained down, from above. It skidded across the floor, and before it could even get back on its feet, it was hit by another. The force of the blast even knocked the champion and Maggie, off their feet.
Ferrovax slammed back to the ground with a resounding THUD, and hissed as he watched Bouffalant twitch and struggle to get back up. With a deep growl, Ferrovax bolted toward Bouffalant, and grabbed it by the neck, with all three heads. He began violently shaking it, slamming it to the floor again and again.
"FERROVAX, STOP!" Maggie shouted, getting back on her feet. Her pleas went unheard. She knew she shouldn't have taken him on this journey. Others were talking about him, behind her back. He had a violent and bloody reputation, but she knew in her heart that he was capable of being good. That was, until this moment.
The dragon continued shaking the limp Bouffalant, until finally, something slammed into his back. Ferrovax fell to the floor, and looked up in shock, to see Ahti standing above him, his horn glowing a bright green.
Ferrovax got up and attempted to attack his friend, but Ahti gave him another Mega Horn. This went on, until Ferrovax was finally unconscious. Ahti panted and fell on all fours, ashamed that he had to hurt his dear friend. Angry that it had to come to this. Afraid, of what was going to happen to him, now. When a trainer's Pokemon kills another, those actions do not go unpunished.
"I'm sorry…" Maggie whispered to the champion, who was knelt down beside the lifeless Bouffalant. "I'm so sorry…I shouldn't have-"
The champion held a hand up, stopping her from speaking any further. Tears welled up in her eyes; She knew she was no longer welcome in any league. She should have just stayed in Kanto, at the daycare where nothing bad would have ever happened. She recalled the dragon back into his ball, and turned to leave.
Ferrovax was dangerous. He was a danger if he was kept in captivity, and a danger if he was released into the wild. There were only two options: put him down, or keep him locked away in a Poke Ball, for the rest of his life. Neither option was preferable.
She stared at his ball, barely visible through the tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, but you've gone too far. I can't release you… it won't stop, if I did. It's cruel to keep you locked away in a ball, forever. There's only one humane thing to do…" she winced, hating that the thought even crossed her mind. She held the Poke Ball close to her, and let out a soft sob.
Ahti put his giant, clawed hand on her shoulder, for comfort.
"Are we doing the right thing?" she whispered.
Ahti heaved a heavy sigh. He didn't know what the right thing to do, anymore, was. He certainly didn't want to hurt his friend again, but he also didn't want his friend to hurt anybody else. This whole ordeal was just one big mess that he wished would just go away.