My winter break was cut short by early classes. They were the kind that just lasted two weeks long so you can imagine just how much work that was. Every other day, there was a test covering like three chapters of the textbook. orz I'm glad that's over.

Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 75
The Crystal System

Thunder rumbled threateningly in the silence, as if shaking the very air. Shady black clouds swirled in the sky, releasing small arcs of lightning, and Raikou seemed to be the center of it all from its spot on the jagged mountaintop. It glared down at the two men and their machines, giving off an extraordinary glow from the electricity emanating from the curly mane on its back.

"Raikou..." Marina uttered silently. Did it cause these storm clouds?

Raikou jumped down the hilltop with incredible dexterity and speed. It cleared the trees and landed with a heavy thump between Buson's robot and the herd of injured Pokémon. A screeching roar erupted from its mouth, which bared all of its long, sharp fangs. Granted with a sudden burst of energy, the wild Pokémon fled the scene in panic. The Legendary Beast then turned aggressively toward the two-legged robot. It tackled into the robot headlong and snatched hold of one of the mechanical limbs, ripping it off with an effortless tug. The robot's owner backed off and released the remaining entrapped animals, which fell out of the machine's claws and too ran desperately back into the forest.

Holding a protective stance, Raikou watched as they left. It tossed the broken steel appendage in Buson's direction, its piercing red eyes shooting a heatedly hostile glare at him and Bashou. The men didn't look troubled at all, and they communicated casually while not breaking eye contact with the creature. Marina strained her ears to listen.

"It has incredible power," Buson was saying.

"Interesting," mused Bashou. "Well then, let us capture it and record more detailed data."

Capture? She thought with a jolt. What?

There was sudden movement in her peripheral vision, and she nearly jumped; she was so enveloped in what was happening that she had briefly forgotten Kenta was standing beside her. With a sense of quiet wonder, the boy had pulled out his Pokédex. She returned her gaze to the stark yellow tiger as she listened to the information she had missed out on earlier.

"Raikou, the Thunder Pokémon. Type: Electric
A Legendary Pokémon. This rough Pokémon carries rainclouds that lets it fire thunderbolts at will. They say that it descended with lightning. It sweeps across the land while barking a cry that sounds like crashing thunder."

"No way. Is that really…?" Kenta trailed off before he could finish. With his eyes wide open and his composure stiff, he was nothing short of astounded. She was about to ask him if he was okay, but she stopped herself and realized that it was probably the first time he had ever seen a Pokémon of Raikou's caliber before.

"Ok! Let's go!" Buson shouted, and Marina looked back at the ongoing fight in front of her. The blond man made an eager sneer as his vehicle produced another set of extendable claws. Sparks showered across Raikou's form, and the beast fired a wave of lightning directly at him.

The attack, however, slowed and took a sharp turn toward the skeletal mechanism. It endured the assault without buckling, and all of the electricity Raikou released seemingly vanished.

"How about you try that again?" boasted Buson.

With a fierce snarl, Raikou yielded to the man's taunt and fired an even large lightning bolt his way. The odd machine redirected and absorbed the energy once again. The dark violet crystal in its center sparkled and released a peculiar, faint purple field that was big enough to envelop the saber tooth tiger instantly. Though Raikou flinched at first, it looked about in suspicion when nothing else happened.

"What was that?" Marina asked, surprised. "What is that?"

"I don't know, but this doesn't look right," Kenta responded with a troubled frown.

Raikou took a small moment of contemplation before attacking once more. Much of the electricity split apart, with most of it taken in by the machine. However, it rebounded back at Raikou with almost double the force. Raikou cried out in alarm and fired a thunderbolt in reckless response, only with the same result. Dazed, it shook its head wildly to recover as Buson made a hearty laugh.

"It worked! We've got it trapped!"

"The Crystal System attracts all electrical energy," said Bashou. Though not elated like his partner, he seemed self-assured. "No matter how much you shock it, it won't have any effect."

The beast turned back toward the skeletal device the man spoke of. It cautiously moved within the area of the purple field before lunging at the Crystal System, its fangs and claws ready to tear the feeble-looking structure apart. But as Raikou neared, it cried out and began moving away with great difficulty. Electricity began falling out of its mane and body into the machine at an alarming rate, and the supercharged Crystal System unleashed another merciless barrage at it. Raikou screeched in pain and, drained of energy, collapsed.

"Raikou!" Marina covered her mouth. In her arms, Muu-chan growled quietly.

Even though those attacks shouldn't be very effective, it's still hurting Raikou! We need to stop this, but… What should we do? Fight them? Maybe go back and call the police? What if they're gone by the time we get help? Raikou's already so hurt! Thoughts rushed through her mind as she anxiously tried to form a plan.

If only Lance were here, this wouldn't be a problem. But…!

"No matter how legendary you may be, you're still just an animal." Nonchalant, Bashou placed a hand on his hip and turned toward his cohort. "It should be weak enough. If it struggles anymore now, it will only be easier to catch. Ready, Buson?"

"Yeah!" said Buson with ruthless glee. He moved his machine forward with its sharp claws open wide. "Just stay right there. As you are now, you might as well have a collar around your neck."

It was then that Marina's view of the scene was obstructed by a red blur. Kenta ran through the rest of the brush that hid them from sight, and Marina hesitated in conflicted response.

"Kenta!" she called after him, but knew there was no stopping him now. She followed and walked out of their cover in the forest as Kenta confronted the brutes.

"STOP!" he shouted with more force than she'd ever heard him muster. "Both of you release Raikou right now!"

Buson's robot came to a stop, and the man gave the boy an irritated look for interrupting his fun. Bashou took a couple of steps forward and observed Kenta and then Marina keenly, crossing his arms. Buson seemed to mimic him by folding his own arms with an arrogant air.

"We will not," the white-haired man replied.

"This is our catch, boy. Stay out of the way of our adult business, or you'll get hurt."

Their attitudes only angered Kenta more. He took out a Poké Ball and tossed it in front of him without a second to spare. "Then we'll stop you by force! Go, Typhlosion!"

"Bakuun!" his Typhlosion roared eagerly as it ignited the flames on its back. Buson seemed sneeringly amused by the prospect as both men released Pokémon of their own.

"Really, now. You're too young," barked Buson. The Steel- and Flying-type Skarmory cawed when it appeared before him, its metal feathers glimmering in the sunlight as it took to the sky.

"I guess I have no choice," Bashou commented with a swift throw.

The large clearing was suddenly dwarfed by the colossal form of a Steelix. The metallic snake lifted its head with a low grunt, casting a cold glare down at its opponents. The young boy Trainer and his Pokémon staggered a bit in shock, but bravely stood their ground.

"It's too late to apologize now, if you're having second thoughts," calmly declared Bashou. "You've started a fight with us. We will give you exactly what you wanted!"

How did this escalate so much so quickly? Marina worried as she eyed his foreboding Pokémon. She felt as though her feet were rooted on the spot. Kenta…

Her eyes darted up to Buson and then Bashou, the latter which was now standing with his arms free. She gasped when she saw Team Rocket's prominent red insignia displayed on his uniform.

I knew it! Geez, this is the exact thing I want to be wrong about! She fretted inwardly. I've got to help, but the only Pokémon that—.

Her inner monologue was cut short by an abrupt windstorm that tossed locks of her pigtails into her face. The gales picked up loose dirt that quickly masked the area, and Marina squinted and fought to both keep her hair and the sand out of her eyes. Steelix's giant silhouette showed the spiky steel segments of its body spinning rapidly, no doubt the one creating the sandstorm. While it and Skarmory were unaffected, Typhlosion struggled to push through the gusts. Skarmory swooped in and attacked before zipping back into the air, maneuvering Typhlosion's Flamethrower attack that yielded to the wind.

"Don't give up!" Kenta encouraged his Pokémon. "Take the straightforward approach, just as we always have! Use Flame Wheel on Steelix!"

Typhlosion released a roar in response, dashing ahead with a coat of tenacious flames. Before it could get close to the metal snake, Skarmory performed a treacherous dive into the Fire-type. Typhlosion tumbled backward, and its opponent swiftly executed multiple tackles and jabs with its sword-like wings to push it back further. Skarmory forced it to the ground with a final swipe, kicking off to fly again. It circled Typhlosion and its Trainer like a vulture as Kenta ran to his partner's aid.

"Typhlosion! Hey, you alright?" he asked and knelt before it. Covered in scratches and cuts, Typhlosion struggled to stand.

Just barely able to see and hear beyond the blinding sand and deafening wind, Marina bit her lip and glanced down at her belt of Poké Balls.

Phany must've hurt Typhlosion more than I thought, she thought with a pang of guilt. But if it's having a difficult time, I doubt King would fare any better in the condition he's in. Um, Phany's Magnitude would hurt Raikou and Typhlosion, and—oh who am I kidding? Frustrated, she closed her eyes in anguish. The only option I've got is Lapras! She'd be able to handle Steelix, but…

But then Kenta would see her. No, there has to be another way!

Looking away from the wind, her eyes met with her Misdreavus. Muu-chan had been wriggling the entire time trying to slip out of her grip, and her cool composure was broken as she gave her Trainer a heated look. She seemed very much cross with her for not jumping into the fray straightaway like Kenta had.

"I know," said Marina desperately, "I'm thinking, I'm thinking… But I can't use Lapras. How else can we end the fight quickly?"

"Muu," her Pokémon huffed with insistence. They stared intensely at one another for a moment before Marina's eyes widened.

That's right. A smile crossed her face, and she gathered her courage as she looked back up at their enemies. We have that move!

"We're wasting time," Bashou's stolid voice rose above the gusts. The sandstorm was beginning to wane, and the girl could see them now. He turned to his accomplice. "Buson! Seize Raikou now."

"Got it!" Buson jumped back into the seat of his robot.

"Don't you dare get any closer!" Kenta shouted.

Typhlosion released a quiet, dry growl in agreement. It warily stood and attempted to walk toward them, only for its legs to buckle. Kenta held onto it with a supportive grip.

"Typhlosion! Hang in there, come on!"

Without regarding them with even a glance, Buson neared the distance between him and Raikou. The beast, unable to move, released another Thunderbolt from where it rested only to have it redirected back at Raikou. The young boy Trainer gritted his teeth bitterly, reaching into his hoodie for another Poké Ball. Deft footsteps approached him from behind, and he froze in surprise as Marina dashed past him.

"Marina!" he quickly called out. "Be careful!"

I'll be fine, don't worry, she responded to him mentally and focused on the task at hand.

"Try get as close to them as possible," Marina whispered to Muu-chan as she released her from her arms. "Go!"

"Muu!"

Muu-chan flew out of her arms and toward Steelix and Skarmory. They turned to her warily as she approached with surprising speed, and Bashou took action at once.

"Crunch!" he ordered.

Steelix reared up to Muu-chan's level, causing the ground underneath it to shake violently. It released a malevolent groan and opened its enormous jaws just as the nimble Ghost-type circled around the slow behemoth. Skarmory flew out in front of her so that she was trapped between the two Pokémon, but she kept a poised glare.

"Muu-chan, Perish Song!" Marina shouted as loudly and evenly as she could muster. She stood in anxious wait, and a radiant light glistened from Muu-chan's necklace. Steelix and Skarmory gave quiet gasps and jerked away in response. Hauntingly familiar bands of dark light entrapped the three Pokémon, and Marina shivered a bit as she could still hear the chilling echoes of her Pokémon's sacrificial melody.

Buson stopped his advancement upon hearing the shrill cry of his Skarmory, which began to struggle to stay in the air from its painful constraints. He looked over his shoulder and, after processing the situation, gasped loudly. "Perish Song?!"

"A troublesome move," Bashou muttered with a troubled frown.

Steelix closed its mouth and shirked away unwillingly from Muu-chan, who only inched closer toward her enemies so that they heard the full brunt of her attack. She began to lose altitude as she too began to succumb to it, but continued to sing at a very low tone so that neither Raikou nor Typhlosion could be afflicted.

Buson quickly turned in his seat, grabbing hold of the controls of his robot and extending its claws so that it latched onto Raikou. The tiger hissed weakly, but closed its eyes as a violent wind gust blew between the two. The air formed razor sharp edges that sliced into the robot's joints, causing loud sparks and sputters.

"What?!" He struggled with the machine's sporadic movements and glared through his sunglasses at the cause of the attack.

Kenta returned the look formidably from afar, now standing beside Marina with another one of his Pokémon out before them. It was a grand bird with brown-tan plumage and great wings that caused gusts just to keep it airborne. Marina eyed it in awe.

"A Pidgeot? Is that the same Pidgey you had at home?" she almost whispered, not even realizing she had spoken quietly.

"Sure is," Kenta said and cast a brief smile in her direction.

Buson's robot continued to malfunction, causing the blond man to swear when a couple of its claws fell clean off onto the ground. Skarmory fell from the sky with a croaking cry, and Steelix followed suit causing a significant tremor to shake the area. Everyone braced the small earthquake, and Buson turned toward his partner violently in frustration.

"Bashou!" he bellowed. "This is fubar! We can't seize Raikou in this state!"

From the other side of the clearing, Bashou muttered something too quietly for Marina to hear at first. Though he appeared calmer than Buson, she could have sworn that she saw a hint of brazen vexation in his eyes.

"Retreat separately," he ordered stiffly, recalling his Pokémon and turning tail toward the vehicle behind him.

"Right!" Buson replied.

He operated his machine, which managed to lift its tail end which then spewed a thick cloud of black smoke. The Crystal System's field dissipated, and the nefarious device collapsed and folded in on itself as everything was covered in the smokescreen. Kenta's Pidgeot kept some of the smoke at bay by beating its mighty wings, but even the sun above was blotted out as darkness overtook the area.

"Wait!" Kenta shouted as he and Marina coughed. "Pidgeot, Whirlwind!"

With a twittering squawk, his Pokémon flew ever higher and caused a great blast of air to sweep over the area. It took a couple anxiously long minutes before everything was cleared, but the young Trainers gave a sigh the very moment Raikou was seen—still lying down, but free from its captors. Bashou, Buson, and their devices were nowhere to be seen.

"They escaped," he said with a clenched fist.

"But Raikou's still here," Marina replied, "Thank goodness…"

"Muu…muuma…"

She looked up to see Muu-chan floating weakly toward her. Marina rushed out toward her, catching her as she fell and hugging her tight.

"Thank you, Muu-chan. You did really well," she praised gently. Giving her a comforting pat, she pulled out the little Pokémon's Poké Ball. "Take a rest now, okay?"

"Muu…" The Misdreavus put on a small, forgiving smile and closed her eyes as she was recalled into the sphere. Marina placed her other hand over it, taking a deep breath.

At least everyone's okay, she thought and clipped the ball back onto her belt. She glanced behind her at her backpack. I've got some Hyper Potions on me; hopefully Raikou will just need a couple to get back on its feet and on its way.

Optimistically, she giggled to herself. Maybe I can even tell Raikou to say hi to Suicune—I'm sure it would be happy to hear that we ran in to help its friend.

"Raikou!"

At Kenta's distraught tone of voice, she turned toward him at once. The boy was sprinting toward the said Legendary Pokémon, who had stood and turned sluggishly away from them. Despite its incredibly frail and battered state, it was attempting to leave.

"Where do you think you're going, hurt like that?" Kenta asked as he approached.

Raikou turned its head, its tired eyes wild and hostile, and fired a wave of energy at the boy. Most of the attack struck at the ground before his feet, but its remnants and impact shoved him mercilessly away.

Marina cried out as Kenta landed hard on his back. Pidgeot swept in with an angry call only to be struck instantly out of the sky by another defensive Thunderbolt.

"Kenta! Kenta, are you okay?" Marina immediately ran over to him in a panic, but Raikou let loose a vicious snarl that stopped her in her tracks. Electricity showered its form, and it eyed her with a fierce, wary scowl. This look seemed to fade slightly after a moment as the girl stared back in disbelief, conflicted between helping her friend and heeding Raikou's warning.

"Why would you do that, Raikou?" she asked, her voice trembling. Her worried eyes glanced over at Kenta, who quivered as he recovered from the blow, and she pursed her lips and put on a daring, serious face. "Those men that just left are the bad guys, not us. We just want to help you! Honest!"

Raikou continued to give her a very guarded stare.

Kenta leapt to his feet. "What do you think you're doing?!" he asked and rushed toward Raikou once again. This resulted in another quick electric attack, but aimed solely at the ground in front of him this time. He stopped, making stubborn eye contact with the beast for a few intense moments.

He took another step forward.

"Kenta, stop," Marina pleaded uneasily, "Raikou doesn't—."

Typhlosion suddenly ran by her, the flames on its back ablaze. Just as Raikou released yet another Thunderbolt, Typhlosion fired a blast of fire that intercepted the attack and caused a deafening bang. Kenta shielded himself from the surge of heat and opened his mouth in surprise as his weary Pokémon stepped in front of him protectively.

Growling, Raikou shuffled its heavy paws to turn toward them. Typhlosion responded with a hiss of its own, lowering its head with its ears flattened back.

"Hey, calm down," Kenta tried to placate it. However, the bipedal badger let out a roar and released another barrage of flames in Raikou's direction. Raikou defended itself once more, causing another explosion as their attacks collided.

Kenta stepped over to his Pokémon and grabbed its arm. "Quit, Typhlosion!"

It turned to look at him, meeting the boy's reassuring grin.

"Don't worry." He glanced back at Marina, who watched on nearby while clutching the sleeves of her jacket. With that same smile, he nodded. She couldn't hide the worry on her face, but she returned the gesture half-heartedly. "It's only warning me off."

Facing Raikou, Kenta began walking toward it with his arms out peacefully. "Marina's right; we're not your enemies. And besides, you need medical treatment, right?"

The stubborn tiger breathed a heavy, weakened growl.

"There's a Pokémon Center just down the road," he continued, "They'll fix you up and release you as soon as you're better. Okay?"

Raikou stared quietly for a few moments. It released a rasping bark along with another bolt of lightning, and Marina and Typhlosion tensed as it flew past Kenta's head.

He stood unharmed and without flinching, his expression resolute. The beast continued to watch him, fangs still bared. A slow minute passed by, and its crimson eyes glazed over. Raikou took a couple of cumbersome steps before its legs gave out, collapsing onto the ground.

"Raikou!" He started toward it, but chose to tend to his fallen Pidgeot first and dashed over to his teammate.

After a moment's hesitation, making sure Raikou had passed out for certain before getting any closer, Marina made her way over to them. She took off her pack hurriedly and handed him a healing potion.

"Thanks," Kenta said as he took it.

"I'll check on Raikou!" she said, slinging her bag over her shoulder and sprinting over to Raikou's injured form.

She slowed to a gentle walk and sat down in front of the tiger. Sighing, she placed a cautious hand on its head. Its muscular body was completely limp, and if Marina didn't know better she would've thought it was sleeping. "Oh, Raikou…"

It looks exhausted. That Crystal System…thing must have really sapped a lot of energy out of it.

Marina watched it quietly with a sorrowful frown. Her mind wandered back to when she had initially woken the Legendary Beasts in the Burned Tower. Though Raikou didn't seem so upset when she first made eye contact with it, she couldn't say for sure; it had been very dark and her memory was foggy.

"We'll need to take him to the Pokémon Center," Kenta said.

She looked over her shoulder with a start. His Pidgeot nuzzled its Trainer with great relief that he was safe, and after giving it a brief pat Kenta knelt beside her. He gave back her Hyper Potion, which still had over half its healing solution left.

"Yeah, but how?" Marina asked. "Can't we just heal it and wait until it wakes up?"

"It's too hurt and exhausted for just Potions to work," he shook his head, his expression grave and his tone adamant, "Electric-type Pokémon get incredibly weak when they use up too much of their electricity. If we heal it and leave now, Raikou won't have the energy to defend itself if those guys come back."

"I… guess so," she said as she looked down at her lap, fiddling with the fluorescent pink bottle in her hands.

"I'll stay here and guard Raikou. You can take my Pidgeot and fly over to the Pokémon Center and tell Nurse Joy what happened. We'll need help getting Raikou there without putting it in a Poké Ball," Kenta told her. He paused and added, "I'd do it myself, but it would bother me to leave Raikou behind. Are you okay with that? …Marina?"

"Yeah! Yeah, that's fine," replied Marina with a small smile. Stowing her healing item and putting back on her bag, she stood and faced the bird Pokémon in a determined, perky manner. "Let's not waste any time!"

Moments later, she took flight on the back of Kenta's Pidgeot—its bulky frame giving her a more comfortable experience compared to her scrawnier Fearow. Her cheerful façade faded away as she thought to herself.

That look it gave us was so angry and painful, she recounted with a frown. Raikou wanted nothing to do with us, even though we clearly stopped those guys from catching it… It even went so far as to attack Kenta and almost me, too. I can't imagine it'll be happy to wake up in a cage at the Pokémon Center.

She released a sigh as the red-roofed building below grew ever closer. We'll just have to see and hope for the best.

Marina's Current Pokémon:
King the Quilava (Male)
Phany the Donphan (Male)
Muu-chan the Misdreavus (Female)
Prince the Espeon (Male)
Amber the Plusle (Female)
Lapras (Female)

Available via PC:
Kenya the Fearow (Male)
Etc.