Chapter 59: Festival of monsters
Several weeks later, mid-morning
Sinnoh
Resort Area
"And so, we should devise a solid strategy should the police come knocking again. This time, we decided to include every member in the organization because input is precious...If the words coming out of your mouth are valuable and aren't simply nonsensical locution." Green announced and tapped on a board. "I want feedback from all of you and please...Keep your stupid ideas locked up in your brain." A hush of words arose from the mass crowding obediently in the common room, flanking him on leather wing backed chairs, Red stifled a yawn and Blue ignored his lectures in favour of texting on her Poke-gear. In light of their misfortune several months back, when the police came extremely close to catching them and putting them behind bars, the department supervisors agreed to gather together and propose a strategy to be used in such stressful times. And so, after a chaotic breakfast, the three factions squeezed together in Constellate's common room. The white divan disappeared under a mound of people, a few sat on the coffee table and looked the other way when Blue glared at them and the rest of the members made themselves comfortable on the velvet carpet. At first, every one listened with rapt attention and when Green, who liked to keep his diction clipped, asked for ideas, they all blanked out and opted for staring vacantly at each other or out of the large windows instead.
A fine day in Sinnoh and they had to be holed up in this stuffy room and subjected to rack their brains. White didn't want to think, she wanted to sleep and take a break from reality, if Black were here, he'd be churning out ideas and projecting the probable success or failure rates of his theories in a robotic manner and everyone would be falling over him and scribbling down his words. A buzzing feeling overtook her and she peered around the room and saw her fellow members ogling her, on looking up, she spied Musha lazily levitating over her head and a sudden flash of anger overtook her. Did her team mates think she could replace Black simply because the dream eating pokemon trailed after her? No! She is an organizer...And...And a generator of ideas. In the end, it dawned on her that she and Black were not so different after all, they both worked with one track minds and their friends admired them for it.
"Are you feeling okay White?" her superior enquired and she mumbled a reply, "If you want to say something, do not hesitate to speak up. If you don't want to participate, it's fine, you may leave the room." Muted whispers rose around her and she heard snippets of pity directed towards her...They felt sorry and for some reason, it made her feel weak and insignificant. Since Black and N's death, Green had been unconditionally kind to her and at times she wondered if someone rewired her commander's brain. Pulling out a pen and paper, she forced herself to think. Alas, her mind gave nothing, like a clean slate, it offered no concepts, opinions nor any solutions. She meekly listened as her companions spoke up; their conjectures either approved by the top trio or shot down by Green. Red chuckled at some suppositions and added one of his own and this prompted the spiky haired brunette to massage his temples vigorously. To her dismay, musharna crooned and hovered off, pausing for a short while at each person's head before lazily moving to the next. A trail of pink smoke hung in the air and at last, the drowsing pokemon came to a stop by Silver. The red head tried to wave it away and the beast smiled. With an uncharacteristic display of its viciousness, it swerved to the side and clamped down on the Johto native's head and he keeled over. His sister and friends rushed to his side and once Musha detached, instead of waking up, the silver eyed man fell into a comatose sleep.
"I guess...It can't break its habit of sucking dreams," Blue muttered and dragged her brother out, "Silver will be fine, I'll just leave him in his bedroom to rest, the rest of you please continue." Chirping cheerfully, the pink monster retraced its steps and blissfully plopped itself down on White's head, she felt guilty, occasionally, Musha would prey on her dreams and instead of doing so today, it clamped down on an unsuspecting individual. The meeting resumed and she forced herself to pay attention.
"I think...Cutting up the base is the best strategy." Platina's frosty voice commanded attention, "This time we should expect a more brutal assault because the police will not give up easily. The last time, we used Execution's common room's emergency exit in order to evacuate however," she held up a neatly drawn sketch of the current mansion, "this resort has too many exits and each one of them can be clearly seen, our escape routes will be the first targets of the police and it is laughable to think that they will wait for us to first secure the legendary pokemon and other necessities and simply let us leave. According to my calculations," the Berlitz heiress punched her Poketch a few times and wrote the figures down, "we have two priorities."
Pearl shot his hand up and after face palming, his superior motioned him to speak. "The legendary pokemon holding cell and the red chain creation room. Senior Blue froze it the last time since we can't run with those machines..."
Nodding at Platina's words, Green scribbled the options down on the white board and quickly drew up a map of the mansion, he crossed out all the exits and entrances, "thank you for your insight Pearl, none of us noticed," he jibed and added, "Platina is right, this time, we will have to split up in groups and do our work before withdrawing from the base. Previously, we had all the younger ones leaving in one congregated mass. This time, you will split up and leave from different exits, this will reduce visibility and make it easier on you." Oak listed the members of each department and noted down their dormitories, "write this down," he ordered, "you will have to take the exit that is closest to you."
"And who's gonna do all the work?" Lack-2 drawled, "The seniors again? Let us help you for a change, if my mind is preoccupied, I won't feel so scared..." he pleaded, "I threw up the last time because I was worried sick!" Whi-2 whole heartedly agreed to his proposition and Saph nodded her consent as well, sensing a revolt, Red stood up.
"No!" Dia opened his mouth to deliver something and his superior cut him off, "and I want no arguments either. As your elders, it is our duty to protect you and make sure that the police do not get their hands on you; you will listen to Green and follow his instructions precisely okay? As for the Johto trio, they are well adapted in working under stressful conditions and they have the authority to step up as the next in command should something happen to us." Gold coughed and Crystal shifted uncomfortably, "they will work with us and we will keep you safe." Saying this in a penetrating tone, the ebony haired male sat down and implored his friend to keep on speaking. Green divided the tasks amongst him and his companions. Since the base had to be cut in two entirely different places, two teams were designated to the job. Also, a new problem arose, the villa was at least three storeys and the target chambers were situated in the lower areas. Their pokemon might run out of PP before their objectives were met and thus strategy's leader mused on the possibility of assigning Yellow to help them. He drew a little stick figure in the middle of the mansion map and tapped it.
"Alright, first of all I'll designate the teams. Gold and Red, you two are the most gifted in terms of battle prowess and therefore will be situated inside the centre of the mansion, your job is to prevent the Police from arresting our team mates and interfering with our job." Oak drew a few dotted lines and brought their attention to those marks, see these? They are your boundaries; do not cross them or else you will be cut up along with the base." Red scrunched up a piece of paper and threw it at Green's head who dodged it calmly, "next, Blue and Crystal, your station is on the west side, near the south end and it is your duty to sever the red chain base and freeze it. Do what you want with Cyrus and Charon. You could ask them to help you if you want." Under Constellate's list of members, the spiky haired brunette added two more names and Blue twisted her face in offense, "Thirdly, Silver and I shall take care of the legendary creation room, as Berlitz pointed out, it is improbably to gather them up in capsules and flee with them...The process takes too long and if the mythical beasts are not drugged correctly, they might break out and cause more chaos." He etched two more figures on the layout, "if our formation is like this, we can cover each other perfectly and the Johto natives can provide accessory assistance. Hmm, Yellow...You...stay with Red and Gold, they are the ones most prone to danger and may need their pokemon's levels to be raised if the opposition is great."
"I'd like to be with you." The blonde plaintively stated and her superior blinked. A lull descended on the conversation taking place in the room and Blue whistled purposefully. Yellow's cheeks tinted pink as she understood the implications of her words, "what I meant was...the legendary holding cell is in the basement right so...You need your pokemon to-"
"Ohohoho! How bold Yellow!" The Kanto native interrupted, grabbed the petite blonde and enforced a hug, "we could all learn a lesson or two from you right Green?" She leered at the lab coat wearing male and he hissed under his breath. "Sure you can be with Green, why not? I mean his pokemon needs to be reinforced if they need to cut all the way to the basement."
The blonde extracted herself from Blue's gasp with some difficulty and faced her, "now that I think about it, senior Blue, you also have the same duty...so I guess, you need help as well. That's it...I'll come with you," she abruptly decided and the brown haired woman furiously shook her head. The two females divulged into a petty squabble and the more Yellow spoke, the redder she became till Gold interjected that he and Red won't need Yellow's help and she could go with whomever she liked. Sensing her opportunity, Blue hammered the last nail in the coffin and outright ordered the girl to stay at Green's side. The spiky haired brunette hummed, shrugged his shoulders indifferently and hurriedly glanced away when Blue gave him a knowing smile. In the midst of it all, Red sported a confused visage, what was all this fuss about? He pondered and sunk lower in his chair.
"So is everyone clear of the plan?" Every member in the room bopped their heads in affirmative and some waved their handwritten notes about, "excellent. Memorize these protocols and the layout of the mansion in case of an emergency...the Police are getting craftier and we cannot rely on hacked material any longer because it could be a trap." Blue tossed her hair backwards, "trust me, I know. Well...we are still busy with the creation of the red chain and the project is in its semi-last stages, once one is complete, I'll bring it and show all of you. Another thing...If any of you are having problems," her cobalt irises rested for a brief moment on Whi-2, "please be sure to talk to us. We do not want our members sinking in a depressive slump, your health and problems are a big concern to us and I've discussed this with Red and Green in detail...If anyone of you wants to leave this organization, you may do so." A heavy silence seized the air, "we only ask that you keep quiet should the police come knocking." No one said anything and some of the members held their breath, afraid of shattering the dreadful silence. "We are altogether now and we have to depend on each other to survive," she smiled, "right people, you are dismissed, be sure to study up on the map of this resort!" The Dex-holders poured out and the mood lifted as they moved off into groups and muttered about the latest orders. Pearl grumbled about how the meeting felt more like a lesson at school rather than a measure to protect themselves and White agreed with him. For the first time since Black and N's death, she cracked a genuine smile and immediately, the Sinnoh natives set to work and dragged her with them to the kitchen.
Afternoon
Resort area
Dex-criminal's base, common room
Crystal pored over the gleaming spheres sitting on the table and gingerly picked one up. The DNA in the marble shone turquoise and pink. Setting the stone down, she peered at the accessories and smiled to herself. Her superior even went through the trouble of fixing those keystones, or whatever he called it, into fancy jewellery pieces. She beheld an intricately designed necklace, no doubt for Blue, a black and red cuff for Red and a bracelet probably for himself. The top trio entered through the door and she dipped her head in a greeting. Green pulled up cushion and sat behind the coffee table whilst Blue, Red, Dia (who ambled in with his senior), Silver and herself made themselves comfortable on the divan set against the wall. Picking the accessories up, he tossed them over to his friends.
"How much did this cost?" Constellate's leader fired and her co-worker mumbled the price, both of his best friends paused in their actions to stare at him. "Seriously? Red's cuff too? Wait, are those real garnets lining that thing? Oh my Green! Since when were you this generous?"
"Now I'm a bit afraid to wear this..." Red admitted and fiddled with the cuff, "what if it breaks and Green goes for my neck?"
"I bought the real things so that it won't be easy to break Red...And yes Blue...Those are real diamonds on your necklace" Oak curbed the urge to toss the mega-stones and let his friends figure out the intricacies, "if I didn't buy them, I'm sure you would never allow me to live the rest of my life in peace." The chocolate haired female fixed the chain around her neck and sincerely thanked him, "I emptied my savings for that so...Be grateful." next to Red, Diamond reverently traced his chubby digits over the rhodolite encrusted cuff and tapped the keystone set in the middle. "Let me explain how the process of mega-evolution works and for Red's sake, I'll try to keep this simple." The occupants in the room snapped to attention, "There are two key factors into triggering this evolution, first are the stones. The pokemon capable of mega evolution has their prehistoric DNA fixed into irradiated evolutionary stones known as mega stones. Mega stones are kept by the pokemon and they activated by their corresponding keystones which are held by the trainer. Instead of carrying them around in a pocket, I thought having them as an accessory might be more...fashionable as Ruby would've said it." Said teenager snickered whilst entering the room and joined the posse listening to Green, "the other factor is the bond between a trainer and their partner. The more the pokemon trusts you, the faster the evolution occurs. The keystone has a stop and start activation code which is necessary fo-"
Red snored.
"...S-sorry for that." The man stirred and rubbed his eyes when Dia jabbed him, "all this explanation is..." he yawned heartily and wiped tears from his eyes, "putting me to sleep and I didn't understand half of what you said...Apart from that fact that you emptied your savings for us. Can't we have a practical demonstration in one of the underground rooms? Oh HEY!" Suddenly, his crimson irises lit up, "why don't the three of us have a duel? Man it's been fossil ages since we last brawled with each other! Come on! What do you say Blue? Please Green?" Red animatedly pleaded and turned from one friend to the other. "It'll be a blast. Dia, ask the others to get the training room ready." The boy sprang up and zoomed out of the chamber.
"I suppose...why not..." Green exhaled and offered a wry smile. "Sounds like fun and I can finally avenge myself from the time you humiliated me at the league."
"Heh..."
"Boys!" Blue cut in before they could stir up their ancient rivalry, "let's all enjoy this battle okay...and this is the first time many of our underlings are watching you battle in flesh Red. Do try to restrain yourself please." Her tone dripped saccharine, "Let's agree on using our starters which can mega evolve and keep this clean? Alright?" The two nodded and vacated the room.
"Arceus, he looks beautiful..." Red exclaimed; the trio were alone in one of the unused rooms and Green took the opportunity to show them how to trigger the mega evolutionary process. Charizard morphed into charizard X and sent a bone chilling cold billowing through the room. The midnight black dragon pranced around the undecorated chamber and eventually came to a stop near its trainer. Red cooed and ran his fingers down the dragonoid's velvety fur and rubbed its turquoise belly. The drastic change in the wyvern's personality did not go unnoticed by the others and Blue grinned fondly on seeing the creature pressing and butting the professor affectionately. "Was Charizard this friendly?" the ebony haired man queried and got a playful snort of blue flames to his face, "I dunno...He seems less, how do I put this? Reserved?" Gleefully, the dragon glomped on its master and the jade eyed man irritably implored the others to reveal their mega evolved creatures. Execution's commander didn't need any prompting but he stopped abruptly when Blue beat him to the punch. The female leader held her breath and let it out in one rush when her newly evolved creature towered over her. Articulating a delighted scream, she bounced over and engulfed her Blasty into a hug. Once more, Red's mouth hung open and forgetting about venusaur who stared coolly from its pokeball, the human twirled gaily around the tortoise and examined him from all angles.
"Blasty has some neat cannons, a huge one replaced the two on its back and it has two smaller ones on his arms...Oh my...his stats" The azure eyed female tapped the screen of her Pokedex and looked up, "he has the ability mega launcher which powers up pulse moves...I can demolish entire buildings with a measly water pulse! And his hide and shell became extra thick as well." She ran her hands over its back and tapped the pockmarked shell, "guess he doesn't have any personality changes...My Blasty is still the same old pet I know and love!" Stowing her electronic encyclopaedia away, she gave her monster another hug and the creature spat out a tiny fountain of water and patted her head with a scaly claw. Done with ogling his friend's mega evolved beasts, Red finally turned his attention to his saurian grass monster and let it out. Holding the mega-cuff proudly and childishly up, he mutely beheld the transformation. Like all evolved creatures, venusaur bulked up in size and underwent a few changes, when the light shroud peeled off; the three leaders stared at it impassively.
"Nice flowers Red..." Green couldn't supress the mocking undertone lacing his voice.
"Cool!" Blue agreed and returned to petting Blasty. Crimson irises regarded Saur with a bit of apathy and the tiniest hint of disappointment. Unlike charizard x or blastoise, mega venusaur still looked the same save for additional blossoms sprouting over its bumpy blue-green skin and the large flower growing taller in size. The foliage on its back increased in density and its owner noted a curious mark on its snout. Shrugging, Red put the Pokedex away and fondly stroked his starter. Picking up its master's sorrow, the seed pokemon shuffled backwards and grunted.
"Saur...it's okay buddy, I like you just the way you are and besides, we all know you are a mean beast without evolving into your mega form. Lift me up will you, there is a forest growing on your back!" Only when Saur revealed his vines did the three look at it with renewed curiosity. The tendrils hung above Red's head as the beast contemplated on wrapping its beloved owner with barbed vines. "Barbs..." The Kanto native warbled and took a few steps backwards as the turgid vines oozed fat droplets of potent poison. Myrtle green creepers rose one by one in the air and the humans inwardly agreed that if nature ever produced an ugly weapon of mass destruction and pain, it'll look exactly like the coils of death venusaur currently wriggled about. Thinner shoots tentatively grabbed Red by the waist and pulled him upwards and the ebony haired trainer dissolved into a fit of laughter and jubilant shouts. "Come on guys" he urged his friends as the grass beast carried him out, "let's go! It'll be a festival!" Shaking their heads, the two companions followed him out.
"Place your bets here!" Gold screeched and stood still as the rest of the organization ran haphazard circles around him. They rushed to get the training room ready and to their utter delight, White took the stage and organized the entire process. The entire organization worked seamlessly under the guidance of Platina and White, the former bribed Lack-2 with a handsome sum of money and the brat could be seen toiling away with Pearl, Silver and Sapphire near the back of the enormous chamber. The three of them painstakingly shifted a large circular dais as Emerald meticulously lowered a second platform on the base. Click. With a smooth pop, the pieces slid into one another and the stage was complete. Wiping sweat from her brow, Sapphire ducked past Ruby and nimbly climbed up the metal graters with a heavy bag of equipment slinging from her back. Carefully, she set up the lighting and under Rald's strict instructions and angled them accordingly. Ruby and Diamond, their faces covered in cloth masks, dusted the auditorium and pulled up a mismatch of chairs, couches and recliners. The team worked feverishly and akin to ants; scurried about enthusiastically to get ready for the most anticipated battle. Shifting to let Yellow, who had her arms crammed full of scrolls and a box, aside; Gold called out again: "Place your bets here!" The blonde paused and placed her load down.
"Here," She handed him a slip and some money, "I'm betting for Green."
"...Seriously? It's obvious Red's going to win" the amber eyed trainer rolled his eyes as Crystal came up to him, "hey Crys, wanna bet for Red? He's soo gonna own this."
Crystal eyed him with scorn before handing her slip over, "I'm betting for senior Green as well," her comrade's mouth hung open, "what? It shows loyalty, he is our department head you idiot! Besides, I'm looking forward to the battle itself, I'm sure whoever wins, it's going to be lovely spectacle to behold." The two females ambled off to their duties and Gold did a quick count of his money...Still not enough, he needed more people to vote for Red if Execution needed to improve their budget. Thanks to Gold's gambling tendencies, the funds took a sharp dip and he hid the papers when Red asked for them. Spying Whi-2 balancing precariously on the outer edge of a metallic catwalk, he grinned devilishly and set off. They were going to be rich today.
To him, it felt like standing on the league arena again as thousands of people cheered from the stands. Although the champions had an unofficial rule amongst them, he broke the regulation by showing and allowing all his pokemon to flank him. His beasts did a spectacular display of power and pride and this sent the audience cheering up a storm. Red didn't hear them; he used earplugs to drown out the cacophonous roar. Standing on the stage, he beheld White furiously dictating last minute orders as the underlings scattered to comply with her orders. Smiling, he showed a thumbs up to the hardworking girl and the heavy weight in his chest dissipated on seeing her cheerful yet sweaty face. The teen pushed up her damp shock of hair and jumped off, Musha trailing behind her faithfully all the way. The setup looked impressive and lavish as the younger ones did their best to emulate a fantastic stage. Powerful spotlights beamed down on six figures who stood on the platform and Red spied the tiny audience spaced around the length of the circular arena. Beautiful. Waving at them and feeling a tad foolish, his spirits soared when Diamond and Pearl sprang up from their seats and upended a bucket of popcorn between them. The indolent boy and his hyperactive friend cheered and waved with all their might. Facing his opponents, he blanched on seeing Green.
"You...are not serious are you?" a quiver ran through his voice.
"Oh...I'm very serious." The spiky haired brunette smirked and rolled up his sleeves, "I'm going to beat you to a pulp." Saying this he moved a few paces backwards and dropped into a defensive stance.
"Relax Red," Blue chimed in, "Green is probably rusty...He hasn't been practising his martial arts for ages."
"Yes..." a low voice agreed, "I'm probably rusty." Red didn't believe his friend one bit, those lean muscles lining his arms were all the evidence he needed, besides, even if their sessions were sporadic, Green still trained Sapphire to some degree. Taking up their positions on three corners of the stage, they waited for Crystal, who doubled as the referee, to give the signal. The indigo haired female got up on stage and all the attention fixated on her as she introduced the challengers and their mega evolved pokemon. As was the norm, the trainers first dismissed Saur as nothing flashy but gasped when it displayed its venom dripping vines. Bowing and earning a whistle from Gold, she rung a bell and immediately hopped off the stage. And in good time because in the next second:
The stage exploded
Venusaur went into hyper growth; its barbed vines tunnelled underground and blew the quickly constructed podium apart. One of the creepers snaked outwards and caught the flying piece of metal before it hit anyone else, crushing it and eroding it to nothingness in a few mere seconds; the mega evolved beast focused its attention on the blue-black charizard who commanded the air. The two leered at each other and completely forgot about blastoise. To remind them of his existence, the shellfish pokemon announced its presence by firing several water pulses in rapid succession. Vines, a sensory net concealed beneath the ground alerted Saur to the move before its execution. Blasty shifted, crouched and aimed its cannons at the grass monster. The first pulse of water jettisoned out of the three cannons and instantaneously the seed pokemon fashioned a protective net of brambles and protected itself. Charizard X wasn't so lucky and a throb of highly pressurized water blasted the dragonoid out of its aerial formation. It hit the graters and involuntarily spewed a rush of ice-cold flames. A sharp command from its trainer had it sweeping down and grabbing a persim berry in its talons. Jade eyes regarded the water type critically before Green charged over and barehandedly slugged the turquoise reptile in its unprotected jaw, Blue screeched something incomprehensible before witnessing her Blasty being subjected to a roundhouse kick. To everyone's astonishment, the kick sent the bulked up water monster skidding to the other end of the stage.
Red and Blue collectively cursed under their breath. The raven haired man snapped his fingers and Saur complied with is orders. From above, keen eyes noted a swirl of razor sharp leaves heading straight for its owner. Diving steeply, charizard froze the deadly projectiles with its flames and then churned the air with a wing attack. Obeying the series of rapid fire orders issuing from Oak's mouth, the dragon followed up and sent out a heat wave. Hot wind billowed outwards and Saur recoiled from pain, Red watched as the tumid vines shrunk and ripped, spilling corrosive acid all over the platform. Seconds later, he heard a female call out and a swell of water washed the area clean.
Charizard and Saur resumed their glaring. The seed monster contemplated on the new bit of information. So his nemesis could spew both hot and cold flames. Next to the saurian grass type, his trainer mused over the same thing. "Saur...Use sweet scent." Red finally ordered and his partner complied, the flower on its back convulsed and released a sickly sweet aroma. Both charizard and blastoise stopped in their preparing and stumbled closer to the pleasant whiff emitting from venusaur. Green sensed a major problem and after gulping in a lungful of untainted air he advanced aggressively, with a nimble leap, he climbed on to the grass type's back, holding on to the dense foliage for support. Once on top, the tore off several large leaves and proceeded to stuff them in the pores of the humungous bulb growing on venusaur's back.
"Blasty! Use hydro pump!" Blue commanded and the seed pokemon did not bother blocking the attack. The tortoise-esque pokemon crouched low and let pillars of water rip out of its cannons. A wall of freezing water hit them and the spiky haired brunette gasped before being flung away. The force lifted Saur off the ground; however the monster kept itself anchored with its vines. Constellate's leader noted this and briskly ordered her partner to stop.
Soaking wet, Green limply hung from charizard's talons. The lizard pokemon opened its cavernous maw and bombarded the occupants with a brilliant blue flamethrower. Ice rimmed the platform and froze Saur and Blasty on their spots. A sunny day burned the ice and the frost turned into steam and wafted up in the air. The audience grumbled, they couldn't see any the battle properly any longer. In the haze, Blue listened intently to the sounds and plotted, Saur could predict their attacks due to the mesh of veins buried underground, she needed to break up those vines and disorientate the creature before her next move. Whispering a command to her monster, she beast hefted her off the floor with its beefy arms and then created an artificial earthquake. The ground rippled and cracked, charizard took to the skies with its trainer and a vine seized Red and held him up. Saur felt its appendages crack and tear one by one and the pain blinded him. Its owner his snapped fingers and instinctively it let a solar beam loose. The viricent blast headed straight for the water type and here the brown haired woman barked another word:
"Negate it!" A pulse of water clashed with the beam and rendered it apart. Scarlet irises widened and reflected pearls of emerald light as they scattered across the air. Minutes later he felt venusaur shift unnaturally and to his greatest astonishment, another hydro pump lifted his unanchored beast in the air and sent it soaring out of the arena. Red blinked as he flew through the air and glimpsed the aghast faces of his subordinates. Gold appeared distraught and Dia had his mouth half crammed with a rice ball. Returning to the realm of reality when charizard hooked its claws in his shirt, he fumbled for a pokeball and recalled venusaur. His match was over.
He lost.
"And...Red is out of the ring!" Crystal announced from her seat much to the shock of everyone, on the podium, Constellate's leader tossed her hair back and waved enthusiastically. Silver and Ruby's grin widened and the former threw Gold a diabolical smirk. Depositing the ebony haired male in the stands, Green patted his dragon and the duo dropped on the stage. He grinned, with Red out of the way; it'll be easy to take down Blue. Charizard X had the fortune of having dragon type genes, despite having water as its weakness; the professor knew his beast won't bow so easily. Unfortunately for his mega evolved dragon, Blasty shot a dragon pulse and decimated the area near Green's feet. The male sidestepped, swung forward and smashed the palm of his hand into the water type's face. A second later he ducked to avoid another pulse attack and cursed when it hit the floor and splintered the already damaged stage. The wyvern took to the skies and apprised its opponent with calculating eyes.
"How on earth did that happen? You were supposed to win!" Gold leaned and hollered over the din of the battle, Red sat two seats away from him and chucked popcorn into his mouth. "Seriously? how did this happen? I bet on you to win! Now our funds are going to be in the red!" The amber eyed youth moaned and tore up his slips.
"Green and Blue took advantage of each other's strategies. When he created the steamy screen, Blue used earthquake and disabled Saur's vines. Unable to see or sense what's going on, he used solar beam and it hit Blasty's water pulse...then she commanded for a hydro cannon and we went flying." Red grinned, "I'd never thought Saur would fly, I mean he is a heavy creature. Heh, they played well."
"I'd accuse them of cheating." The Johto native grumbled, "if you knew they worked together, why didn't you do something?"
The older male shrugged, " I lost myself in the thrill of battle. To be honest I didn't pay much attention, I simply revelled in the fun."
"Well you can revel in your misery after one of them wins all the money. I'm telling you, we are seriously lacking resources!" Muttering lowly under his breath, he turned his attention back to the stage.
In a spectacular imitation of its trainer, charizard X shoved an ice cloaked claw into blastoise's face. The water type absorbed the attack and skittered across the bumpy surface of the ring. It came to a harrowing standstill right at the edge of the arena and Blue held her breath as Blasty gingerly poked its arms, legs and head out. The moment it stood up, Green and his monster went charging after it again. In retaliation, it fired another pulse of water and forced the intruders to reroute. The backward thrust sent the reptilian monster skidding off stage and it fell.
Only to angle its cannons downwards and propel itself with a volley of water. The front row audiences screamed in delight and annoyance as a jet of water splashed over their form. Spotlights followed it high up in the air; the water type withdrew and curled up into a ball. With frightening accuracy it cannoned straight down into an incoming charizard. Oak swore, he heard the crunch of his wrym's hollow bones before mega evolution undid itself. A bruised vermillion dragon torpedoed into the stage, sending up sheets of concrete, dust and metal and lay deadly still.
Silence.
"I WON!" The female Kanto native hopped gleefully and giddily danced around the ruined stage with her blastoise. "Take that you two!" She childishly pointed at her dour faced friends, "they need to crown me as the new champion of Kanto!" Her team mates rushed onto the stage and showered her with congratulatory phrases and words. Little by little, the clamour in the makeshift stadium increased and soon everyone chanted her name. Silver smirked at Gold once again and took a commemorative photo of his crushed expression. Red laughed mirthfully whilst Green stabbed his tablet in an effort to recalculate the percentage of him winning against the pesky woman. When the figures failed to add up, he hissed and rubbed his sore knuckles. Hitting a mega evolved beast with his bare hands...Was not such a good idea after all.
"Cheer up will you."
"Cheer up?" the professor turned to his crimson eyed friend, sighed and offered a lopsided smile. "I guess...Although I'm not sure whether to be happy that I managed to win against you...Or curse the fact that the pesky woman out of all people managed to defeat me. Either way, letting out stress felt really good."
"Ahahaha! Let's have a one on one the next time Green." Red chirped, "how about tomorrow?"
The brown haired man listlessly took in the battered room and eased up from his chair. "How about not? If we keep on destroying things, we'll spend most of our money on reconstruction. Bear in mind that our budget is on tight strings, we squandered a lot of money when we moved from base to base and then by splitting up. Gah! The thought of asking Blue for money. Just...You know what," the male shuddered, "I'd rather not think about it...I hope my payment from Sycamore comes soon..."
Middle of the night
Unknown location
The screen lit up with an incoming message and the device emitted a ditty. Roused up from a deep sleep, an individual extracted a hand from underneath warm covers and grabbed the communications gadget. Eyes peered tiredly at the liquid crystal display before a finger tapped down gently and opened the note. The message contained within was short and simple, it told him that Team Plasma has been disbanded once and for all, the remaining members are on probation or sent to rehabilitation centres. Also, the authorities suspect that the Shadow Triad took the dark dragon stone and fled to Ransei. Snorting, he left the rest of the message unread and shut the gadget off. He knew what they wanted already, the police wanted him to come back and peruse the Shadow triads. The male sniffed in indignation, stop the investigation on the Dex criminals and return to Kalos is it? Why should he do that?
When he was this close to catching them?
A/N: And Blue won the match. For those who are a bit disappointed, let me just put out that Blue/Leaf is severely under-rated, it's always about Red and Green/Gary and I wanted her to win for a change. In terms of cunning and cheating people, I think she'll top both her male counterparts. Hopefully everyone enjoyed this chapter, I had a lot of fun when writing this. At Jack54311: …I meant condemn, thanks for pointing that out, one word can change the entire meaning of a sentence. I'll have to remember that from now on :) Red wanted to make up to Whi-2 because she first hand witnessed the desperation in Hugh's actions. It must have been traumatizing to see your best friend try and take on someone way out of their league. At Boss Salamence: Let me happily inform you that it keeps on getting darker, hope you enjoy the later chapters and let me know what you think. At AceTrainerLeaf: Heh, school is hard work; make sure you crush it and not the other way around. I'll really miss you if you don't review once every few chapters. Speaking of school, it's completely understandable, just make sure not to stress too much. After this chapter, it starts getting crazier again so look forward to that. The last time I had and injection was when I was five. Not that I have anything against needles, but I prefer to let my immune system take care of me. And if I'm sick…I can sleep all day long so it's a bonus.
Anyway, keep on reading and reviewing people. Thanks for all the reviews, when I first started writing this story, I didn't dream of having this many so it's pleasantly overwhelming and hugely motivating. I'll try my best to keep on upgrading my standard of work. Much gratitude to all.