Hey Everybody! It's a week late, but I hope you don't hold that too much against me. School's picked back up with full force as I now enter my finals week, and it's been hellish to say the least. Finding time to sleep, let alone write this chapter, has been near-impossible, and the honest truth is I'm almost surprised I was only a week late in getting this installment out. However, I do think that the large amount of action, along with progression, contained in this chapter makes up for my tardiness…and it hopefully also makes up for my lack of review replies. Again, I've been very busy, and it was honestly choosing between getting this out (almost) on time, or replying to your reviews. And if I know my readers, I'm pretty sure y'all prefer the next chapter to just a paragraph reply thanking you for your thoughts. However, to express my true thankfulness for your continued contributions and dedication to this story, I vow to respond to all your comments on this chapter…so let me have them! Ha,ha. Okay, that's it, so go ahead and enjoy the latest addition to this little epic!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or any of its affiliated companies including, but not limited to, 4Kids, The Pokemon Company, Game Freaks, or Cartoon Network. The characters written within this fic are soley based upon the fictional characters created by these companies, and the story is not meant to, nor will it, receive any monetary funding.
Characters' Ages:
Ash: 17
Brock: 22
Misty: 18
Delia: 41
Oak: 56
She was in a forest. She opened her eyes, and began apologizing. This didn't feel right. Something felt out of place…like this hadn't happened, or at least, it didn't happen like this, but she didn't care. She just started talking, and soon felt Ash's reassuring grip take her hand in a gentle caress.
"I really am sorry, Ash. I said I know you well, but I guess I really don't. I was just acting like a spoiled child who wasn't getting what she wanted. Even if you were too busy, I should have understood and stayed with you."
Ash gave a small laugh. "It's no problem, Mist. We're new to this relationship stuff. It'll take a while, but I'm sure we'll get it down eventually. No matter what though, remember that I'll always stick with you."
"I'll always stick with you too," she responded, smiling as she enjoyed the feel of his touch. It was nice to feel as if she weren't alone.
She turned to examine the milky gathering of stars mingled above their heads. Taking a deep breath, she inhaled the lovely scent of oak and pine trees which surrounded them. She closed her eyes and peacefully listened to the various rustlings and murmurings of nocturnal Pokémon waking from their daytime rest.
However, the serenity of the scene was suddenly shattered as she felt Ash's strong grip leave her. She turned to find him, but was surprised to instead see her sisters.
"W-what's going on?" she asked, bewildered. "Why-?" She cut herself off as the sound of her own pre-pubescent voice rang through her ears. She looked at the hands that she'd used to grab her neck in her shock, and noticed how small they looked…in fact, she seemed to have shrunk significantly as a whole.
"Like, Misty, shush." A much-younger Daisy motioned to her closed mouth quickly. Though it was dark, Misty could make out several brooms and dustpans, along with various other cleaning materials and she quickly realized she was back in the old broom closet of the gym.
"What's going on?" she asked again, surprised by the fear permeating her own youthful tone. She didn't even know what was happening. Why was she scared?
Lily cupped her hand over her mouth immediately. "Shush, we said!"
All four sisters remained quiet, and Misty began to feel herself cry. She looked around and saw that her sisters had begun to do the same.
This was insane. Why were they all so sad?
Her eyes widened as she suddenly noticed the sound of muttering outside the door. She couldn't quite tell what was going on, but the distinct tone of grown people penetrated the quiet in the closet. She tried to lean in closer to the door, tears still cascading down her cheeks in hushed sobs, and did her best to listen. It was no use, though. It was all just too distant. She thought she heard a woman's voice somewhere in the conversation, but any thoughts about who was talking, or why she was crying, or even how she'd gotten here instantaneously evaporated as a thunder-like roar pierced the dialogue.
"Ah!" She fell back from the door in the blink of an eye, her pulse racing and adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her sisters screamed too, and Daisy let out a low curse as all sisters backed as far into the corner of the closet as they could.
"Come here," Violet whispered, grabbing her redheaded sister around the torso and pulling her as close to the trio as possible. "It'll, like, be okay. Daddy said it will. Just stay quiet, okay?"
Tears fell heavier and with more frequency as she nodded silently. Her ears were screaming in pain from the sound, and her small hands covered them in a feeble attempt to make them feel better.
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"What's going on?"
The grunt panicked as his boss suddenly appeared in the doorway.
"Oh! Um, well, it seems Gengar's using Nightmare. I think he wants to eat her dreams or something…but I really don't know. I've only owned a Raticate since I joined, sir." He quickly pushed a few buttons on the small monitor in front of him, trying to appear as if he was handling the situation.
"Get that thing under control!" Giovanni ordered, his voice rising with each word. "We don't need her waking up prematurely, you idiot!"
The grunt trembled at the bellow of his employer, and he nervously shook his head while pointing to the ghost type. "I-I don't think it'll obey me, sir. I'm not strong enough to control it."
The Rocket boss gave a grunt of frustration before turning his eyes to the poison type. The malevolent ghost paid no attention to him, however; he was too busy shrouding the young water trainer in a black mist as his eyes glowed an eerie red.
"You there, stop it!" spat the boss, momentarily gaining the ghost's attention. Gengar seemed to understand the power of the man after a moment's glance and nodded before ceasing the mist. He resumed floating and waving his arms to keep her asleep. "Don't make me come back here again," threatened the leader to the two, walking out of the room. He still had a few preparations to put in place before the arrival of their guest.
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Chris clipped the small locator back onto the side of his jeans.
"Dragonite, come back out!" Lance cried, hurling the pokéball high in the air. "Do you need a ride?"
Chris shook his head. "Nah, I got that covered, but there's one thing we need to do before leaving."
Lance gave him a quizzical glance. "What? Lock up?"
"No. Before we go, I better check up on our little prisoner," Chris motioned back to the gym. "I need to make sure she stays put until we get back."
Lance shook his head. "There's no time. Your Blaziken did a good job of tying her up. I'm sure she's not getting away anytime soon."
"I dunno…" Chris hesitated, looking back at the glass doors of the entrance. "She's supposed to be one of Giovanni's top advisor's, right? I just need to make sure she doesn't have a chance at escaping before the police get here. It'll just take a minute, alright?"
Groaning, the redhead relented. "Hurry up, though!"
"Right!" The blond ran back into the building, and Lance looked up at his Dragonite.
"You ready to beat up some Rocket grunts?" he asked, petting the top of the dragon's head as it happily bellowed at his touch. "This'll be fun, actually. We haven't broken up a Team Rocket ring in a while, have we?"
The dragon made another guttural noise and shook his head.
Lance stood there a moment longer, tapping his foot against the ground, before looking at the closed doors. "What's taking him? He was just going in to check on her."
He walked through the entrance and called out to the hazel-eyed agent.
"Chris, come on! We've gotta go!"
Finally, after another moment of silence, the agent's voice emerged from within the structure. "Lance, get over here, quick!"
The redheaded dragon-tamer turned and gave his monster a confused look before running towards the back of the building.
"In here!" Chris's voice came from inside the supply closet they'd been in just minutes before.
"What's-" Lance cut himself off as he noticed the cut wire and small knife laying on the ground where Mallory had once sat, tied up by Starfire. "Oh, you're kidding me," he muttered, covering his eyes in frustration.
"Looks like we underestimated her," Chris noted, getting on one knee and picking up the knife. He slid it in his jeans pocket and stood back up. "This is why I came back. I knew something was up. There was no way one of the premier agents of Team Rocket would have given up that easily."
"Well then, where is she?" Lance asked, turning around and examining their surroundings suspiciously. "Do you think she's waiting to ambush us?"
"Why would she do that?" Chris pointed to the broken back door. "She'll want to complete her mission."
"Then we need to get to her before she gets to Ash!"
Chris shook his head. "Not Ash, Lance. She's gonna warn Giovanni. It wouldn't make sense to catch Ash, since Giovanni wants him alive, but telling the boss himself will give him time to plan a counter to our strategy."
Another groan came from Lance, and he angrily threw his Rocket cap to the ground. "How the hell did she even get out? We've been standing outside this whole time! She couldn't have flown!"
"The building had a Light Screen and Barrier…probably used the psychic Pokémon to Teleport," Chris reasoned, rubbing his chin.
"Well that's just great!" Lance kicked the hat now. "What do we do?"
"First, don't panic," the hazel-eyed agent replied coolly, reaching for the monitor again. "A healthy psychic Pokémon normally can't normally teleport outside of a fifteen-mile radius, and the van holding Ash is already six miles away. Chances are that whatever psychic type she has is weak after battling those grunts from earlier and from holding up those shields. I have her phone, so she's not getting anywhere quickly. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she just used the Teleport to get just outside the building without our notice. She'll probably take to the sky soon to beat the van back to base."
Lance took a deep breath. "So what now, then? Do we just follow Ash like before, or…"
"We can't. Our best bet is to go searching for Mallory first. We need to be there when they unload Ash, but we can't follow him until we find her. Who knows what could happen if she got to Giovanni before he did?"
Growling angrily, Lance stomped his foot. He seemed to be taking the snag in their plans rather hard, and the blond flashed him a confident smile.
"Don't worry. It'll all work out…it always does for me. Get Cynthia and Steven on the phone and tell them to head this way via Pokémon. Make sure they stay on the lookout for any trainers flying around over the city."
Sighing, the former champion nodded. "Right."
Chris watched him walk off with the phone in his hand.
We better find her quick, though.
"Pikachu?" The small mouse Pokémon tugged at the leg of Chris's jeans, interrupting his thoughts. "Pika?"
The agent was surprised for a moment. The mouse had remained relatively quiet up until this point, and he'd almost forgotten he was there. "Don't worry Pikachu. Everything's going according to plan. You'll be back with Ash in no time."
"Pika," replied the Pokémon somberly as his ears fell and a small shiver ran up his spine. He could feel that something bad was about to happen.
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Delia was busily sprucing up the flowers in the front of her small shop. She took a step back and smiled in admiration at her own skill. The roses, daisies, and tulips all complimented each other perfectly and gave her store on the street corner of Pallet's small town square a quaint, friendly appearance. It was always hard keeping the flowers healthy as the weather began to grow chillier in the early autumn, but over the years she'd perfected the formula to keeping her plants alive and well both indoors and outdoors despite the temperature.
After another moment of admiration, she sighed and began to make her way back to the store entrance. However, as she reached out for the door's handle, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Surprised, she turned.
"Yes?" Though it took a moment, her eyes shot wide open as she recognized the familiar face from so many years ago. "It's-it's you!"
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Ash did his best to remain silent as the trip progressed to the secret Rocket hideout. Though the grunts were making it difficult with their terrible driving skills, he forced himself quiet as they hit each and every pothole and speed bump in Cerulean, and he didn't even make a noise when he accidentally rolled onto the gun which was pressed into his side by the rope.
Throughout the entire trip, he kept thinking about why he was doing this, as Chris suggested. He found that it really did help, but he still couldn't quell the slight nausea he felt when he thought of using a gun, or even facing Giovanni at all. The man was, after all, the most powerful crime boss in Johto and Kanto, and if they did meet before his former champion friends and Chris could bail him out, he knew it would be a scary moment despite his resolve to save his girlfriend.
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"I don't see anything, do you?" Chris asked from atop his own Dragonite. He and Lance were both hovering over the gym, checking all directions to see if their target would pop up.
Lance checked a moment longer before shaking his head. "Nothing but buildings all around." He was about to suggest they give up when his phone began to ring.
"Hello?...Really?...Okay! Hold on till we get there!"
Hanging up, he gave Chris a knowing glance. "Let's go!"
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"You clearly don't know who you're messing with," taunted Cynthia from atop her Togekiss. The two hovered directly in front of the blond Rocket agent, who had been surprised by the Champion's sudden appearance. "You really thought you were getting away?" She smirked as the young woman remained speechless atop her Fearow.
"I'd suggest you give up now and come quietly," Steven offered, floating up behind her on his Metagross. "You're in the presence of two Pokémon Champions, you know."
She looked back and forth between the two of them for a moment, appearing thoughtful.
"I don't think it matters how much you think about it," Steven finally said, breaking the odd silence. "There's no way you're getting out of this, so just-"
"Wing Attack!" She kicked her heels into the chest of her bird Pokémon who, before either former champion could react, successfully smacked Steven off the top of his flat-headed steel and psychic type. He gave a yelp as he began falling, and Cynthia immediately left her spot to swoop to his rescue. He was picking up speed as gravity pulled him toward the earth, and she decided to pull him next to her instead of risking injury by letting him fall directly on the Pokémon.
"Down, Togekiss!" she ordered. The wind began beating against her ears loudly as they gained momentum themselves, and she felt her eyes water at the sensation. Steven was just out of reach, calling out for her, and she ordered her Pokémon to go faster. Finally, after falling quite a distance already, he came within grasping distance, and she shot out her hand to reach his outstretched arm. Their hands missed the first attempt, but at the second try they're palms clapped with perfect sync and she took hold.
Gripping her hand for all it was worth, he quickly combined his strength with hers to pull himself closer and saddle in behind. Cynthia could hear his labored breath even over the roar of the wind, and she gave him a thumbs-up after hearing a shout of thanks. Feeling that he was completely on, the Pokémon abruptly pulled upwards, and Steven yelped in pain from the sudden movement.
"Oops, sorry about that," Cynthia apologized, as Togekiss began to ascend once again.
He shook his head embarrassedly. "No, I'm sorry," he apologized, quickly settling in behind the blond former champion. "I didn't see that coming."
"Don't worry, neither did I." She looked upward at where the original confrontation had taken place, and was unsurprised to see that the blond agent had used the opportunity as a chance to escape.
"Wait, there she goes!" Steven yelled, his voice a little hoarse after the falling experience. He pointed to the distance, where the young woman was zooming away as her Fearow used Agility. A streak of white light was all that remained behind of the two.
"Grab your Pokémon," Cynthia suggested, motioning to the concerned-looking Metagross which was now flying beside the trainers. "We're gonna have to catch up with her."
"Don't worry about it, Metagross," forgave the champion, recognizing the guilty appearance of his Pokémon. "You didn't know she was going to do that, and I know you would've saved me if Cynthia hadn't gotten there in time."
"Metagross," agreed the Pokémon, appearing relieved.
"Now return." The creature withdrew into its pokéball, and Steven nodded. "Let's go!"
Togekiss gave a small cry before flapping her wings rapidly and soaring towards their foe as fast as she could manage. Unfortunately, the weight of the two champions was causing her to tire quickly, and they were soon slowing down once again.
"She can't use Agility for long," Cynthia reasoned loudly to her partner as they watched the gap between themselves and the Team Rocket agent grow. "That bird'll get too tired. We just need to stay on her heels."
"I dunno, it looks like it's still going strong right now," mentioned Steven. "Wait, why don't you use Garchomp to catch her?"
Cynthia looked surprised for a moment. "Why didn't I think of that?" She reached for her loyal dragon's pokéball and threw it in the air.
"Garchomp!" announced the Pokémon, shooting out of its pokéball and doing a fast loop before catching up with its master and Togekiss.
"Bring that woman to me Garchomp!" she ordered, pointing to the now-distant silhouette. Being known to fly at speeds exceeding the sound barrier, she knew it would take her loyal Pokémon little time to overcome their foe.
"Gar!" he roared, zooming off into the distance.
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What a couple of morons, Mallory thought with a smirk as she watched the two champions fade from view.
"Keep going, Fearow. Don't stop till they're completely outta sight!" She kicked her heels into the bird's chest again to get her point across.
"Row!" He sped up immediately and she smiled.
"Now if only that blond freak hadn't taken my phone," she thought aloud. Though, she figured it wasn't a real problem. Fearow was trained for getaways, and she knew his Agility would hold for at least another minute or so. She would beat the van by ages.
And when he finds out… She grinned at the thought of what her boss was likely to do to everyone involved when they reached the hideout. This will be a good day for Team Rocket.
"Garchomp!"
"Huh?" Before she could even react, she felt body being pulled upwards and away from Fearow. "What's going on?" She grimaced as two sharp claws dug into her shoulders. She looked up and found two beady yellow eyes staring back at her.
"Ah! Fearow, save me!" Unfortunately for her, before her Pokémon could move, Garchomp sped hastily back to his own master, barely holding a grip on the woman with his two clawed appendages.
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Though they were too far to see the specifics, Cynthia gladly recognized Mallory's disappointed figure hanging limp in her Pokémon's arms as he sped back.
"Great job!" she congratulated. "Let's get her to a jail before she can slip away again." She directed Garchomp towards the ground, but before her Pokémon could make another move, the agent's head suddenly snapped up and she gave the former champion a sneer.
"You're gonna have to do better than that to outsmart Team Rocket." She turned and bit into Cynthia's Pokémon's finely-scaled arm.
"Chomp!" he cried in surprise, accidentally letting his grip on the young woman slip. She began falling toward the ground, and Cynthia ordered her Pokémon to go after her. However, before he could make it, an explosion of light appeared from the agent's hand.
A Pokémon! Cynthia realized as the light dissipated to reveal an Alakazam.
"Later you two!" she cried, still falling. "I'm sure we'll see each other again soon!"
Before the former champion could retort, another flash of light surrounded the two falling figures, and in an instant they were completely gone from view.
"She teleported!" Steven cried, shocked. "Did you see that? She just disappeared mid-air!"
Cynthia grit her teeth. This one was tougher than she'd assumed.
"She's definitely no ordinary grunt."
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"Did you see that?" Chris asked as the two approached Cynthia's Togekiss from a distance.
Lance nodded. "Looks like she teleported again…and the only place she could have gone is towards the ground." He pointed at the Fearow, which was now cawing and flying in random directions looking for its master. "She didn't go back to her bird."
"If that psychic Pokémon was weak, then chances are she headed for the ground directly beneath her, so let's go check it out!" He and his Dragonite began to descend along with Lance towards the bustling metropolis of Cerulean City.
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When the two reappeared, Mallory quickly took note of their location. Her tired psychic type had landed them safely, but she was disappointed to see he had chosen the roof of a large corporate building to bring them to.
"What are we doing up here?" she screamed at the tired Pokémon. He was panting heavily, but she was too frustrated to care. "Get me to the ground!"
"Zam," replied the weakened Pokémon, shaking his head before falling backward.
She rolled her eyes. "Worthless." She sucked the creature back into his pokéball. "Sharpedo may have a small psychic dessert after those stupid grunts."
She examined her surroundings and noticed a door jutting up from the plain concrete top floor.
Must be stairs, she reasoned, running towards the door.
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"That's her!" pointed Lance. Though distant, the agent's black uniform stuck out in the midst of the grey concrete. "Let's get her!"
"Not without us!" Cynthia cried from above. The two looked up and saw the blond and grey-haired ex-champions approaching fast on top of Togekiss. "We figured she'd be around here somewhere."
"Right there," motioned Lance towards the roof. "Let's get to her before she figures out how to open that door." It appeared from above that the entrance to the stairways was locked, keeping the Rocket agent out. She kicked it in frustration.
Chris shook his head. "Go without me. Someone needs to keep following the van before it gets to the hideout."
Nodding, Lance agreed. "Good luck! We'll meet you there after we catch her."
"Right." With another bellow, his Dragonite spread her wings to their fullest extent and took off in the direction of the monitor.
"Come on!" Cynthia cried, grabbing Lance's attention as she and Steven headed towards the roof.
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"Why would this be locked?" screamed the aggravated agent. Finally, she lost her patience completely and threw out her next Pokémon.
"Tyranitar, take it out with an Iron Head!"
With a roar, the powerful Pokémon rushed the door, his head shining. Like a twig, the metallic door snapped and flew backwards.
"Stop right there!" Cynthia jumped off of Togekiss moments before it reached the ground, a pokéball held at the ready. "Make another move and Garchomp will take you out."
"That's right," Lance agreed, landing on top of Dragonite. He slid off the Pokémon and motioned to his Pokémon. "Dragonite's ready to crush some Rocket skulls."
Steven stepped off the Togekiss, grasping his own pokéball. "Or maybe you'd rather go quick and have Metagross blow you up with a quick Psychic?" He gave her a dark smirk, and she shot them all a hateful glance in return.
"You just don't give up, do you? Why even waste your time with me? Ketchum's already there, probably."
"No he isn't," Lance disagreed. "Chris is tracing him right now. You've lost, so just give up and come with us."
"Not until I complete my mission!" Before the three knew what was happening, she ducked and the large green reptilian creature appeared from behind her. "Hyper Beam!"
With another strong growl, the Pokémon gathered light energy in its opened jaw.
"Look out!" Steven and Cynthia jumped to the side, but Lance stood strong.
"Hyper Beam, Dragonite!" he ordered, pointing at the Tyranitar.
With a cry his Pokémon gathered its energy quickly. As Mallory's creature shot off his attack, Lance's did the same, and the two powerful beams of light temporarily blinded the three former champions.
"Ah!" The roof rumbled as the two attacks met in the middle, creating explosions that seemed to rock the entire building.
"Hang in there!" Lance encouraged his Dragonite as Tyranitar continued its assault.
"Togekiss, take it out with a Water Pulse!" Cynthia cried above the roar of the two attacks. She covered her eyes to protect them from the brightness of the explosions, but her Pokémon remained aware of her enemy's location as she shot of a powerful orb of water at the Tyranitar's side. Unaware of the incoming attack, the Pokémon was slammed sideways and forced to end his attack.
Tired, Dragonite ended his assault as well.
"Now come with-" Lance cut himself off as he saw that the doorway was empty.
"How'd she do that?" Steven cried angrily.
Cynthia shrugged. "She must have been using the Hyper Beam as a distraction."
"Rawwrrrr!" The growl of the dark and rock type instantly gathered the trio's attention once again. He stood up and began to slowly approach them, breathing heavily. He appeared very angry, and Cynthia felt herself take an inadvertent step backward.
"Lance, go down to the base of the building," Steven instructed, releasing Metagross again, who quickly unfolded his thick metallic legs and pounded them into the ground as it noticed the frustrated rock type. "Me and Cynthia can handle this guy."
"Okay," he agreed, jumping back onto Dragonite. "I'll-ah!" Another Hyper Beam barely missed him as Tyranitar continued approaching. He seemed to be holding a grudge against Dragonite.
"Water Pulse!"
Another shot of liquid pounded into the reptilian creature's side, and it angrily turned towards Togekiss instead. Climbing back on top of her normal and flying type, Cynthia waved her hands at Lance. "Go!"
Nodding, the champion ordered his dragon off the building.
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Mallory smiled to herself as she rushed down the flight of stairs. She could hear her monster releasing another attack all the way down the stairwell, and she was sure he would keep them busy long enough for her to get away.
Finally reaching the first floor, she took the emergency exit which set off an alarm throughout the building. However, she ignored it and stepped out into a dark alleyway where the sun's light was completely blocked by buildings on both sides. She smiled as the faint sound of sirens in the distance met her ears.
The perfect distraction.
She quickly ran out the alley and began to move against the flow of foot traffic that was gradually moving towards the corporate structure to see what the problem was.
"Stop right there!"
No way. She looked up and groaned at what she saw, realizing she should have released two Pokémon to insure they all stayed busy. Hurriedly, she increased her pace and Lance yelled after her, flying behind as the onlookers to the crisis in the business district noticed their Kanto Champion.
"I said stop!" he cried. He knew he couldn't use an attack while she remained mixed amongst the throng, but he continued calling out anyway.
"Outta my way," she grunted, shoving her way past what seemed like an endless stream of people. In the distance, she heard her Pokémon shoot off another Hyper Beam, and several people cried as part of the building began to fall in the wake of the attack.
In the distance, she saw a police motorcycle approaching, lights and sounds blaring. Smiling, she reached for her final fresh Pokémon. "Nidoking, get that motorcycle for me!" In a flash, her purple Pokémon appeared and gave a roar, startling everyone around it and causing several to scream in surprise and fear at the unusually tall and bulky version of the poison and ground creature.
Roaring again, it charged the motorcycle, and the officer on top appeared too scared to do anything as the monster approached. Skidding to a stop, the officer jumped off and ran away as Nidoking picked up the vehicle as if it were nothing and carried it back to his master.
"Return," she ordered, quickly jumping on and speeding off down the street. The lights and sounds continued blaring and people immediately jumped out of her way as she raced down the center of the city and towards the van. She knew its route, and was worried she'd still be too late.
Looking down at his Pokémon, Lance shook his head. "She just refuses to quit, huh?" He ordered his dragon after her, and with the street clearing to make room for the rumbling contraption, he closed in on the woman until he was directly on top of her. Dragonite's speed easily matched that of the overheating motorcycle's, and he ordered his Pokémon to pick her up.
Reaching down, Dragonite made to pull the young woman up by the arms, but right before he could, she swerved, causing the orange creature to miss. Moving to his right, he tried again with the same result.
"Come on, Dragonite. I need you to focus!" Lance ordered as his Pokémon's arms came up empty once again.
Nodding, his Pokémon almost grasped her collar, but was surprised when she came to a screeching halt.
"Huh-whoa!" Lance was caught off-guard by the move, and before he could prepare, Dragonite abruptly stopped to turn around. The immediate halt bucked him off the back of his loyal battling partner and shot him several hundred feet forward.
As his body hit the street, his Pokémon cried out in worry and raced with all the speed he had to catch up. Though his body had already hit the cement hard, it was continuing to bounce and roll wildly down the road as people cried out in surprise and ran out of the way.
With a great cry, Dragonite shot to him and grabbed his collar, picking him off the street and preventing his crumpled figure from taking any more of a beating from the unforgiving pavement.
Embracing his bloodied and unconscious master close to his own chest, the Pokémon forgot about their target and shot off towards the sky, beginning to give low sobs of remorse. He knew of only one person in the area who could help his trainer, and he put that priority above all else.
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With another battle cry, Togekiss shot off a Water Pulse as Metagross tried, unsuccessfully, to lift Tyranitar into the air with its psychic powers.
"It's no use, Metagross," Steven warned. "He's too powerful a dark type to be stopped by your psychic attacks."
"Look out!" Cynthia warned as more light gathered within the great beast's jaw.
Steven rushed out of the way. "Shadow Ball!"
"Metagross!" His Pokémon jumped in the way of the attack and unleashed the dark type move at the same time as Tyranitar let off another beam of light energy. The two attacks collided, and Tyranitar was knocked back several feet, but appeared steady.
Cynthia narrowed her eyes, realizing that something about this entire situation wasn't right. She had never seen a rock type that could withstand so many water attacks in a row, and she couldn't comprehend how this particular dark type continued to fire Hyper Beam after Hyper Beam without needing to rest or recharge.
Team Rocket must have altered this one.
"Meteor Mash!"
Metagross's fist glowed brightly as it rushed to meet its opponent. In response, Tyranitar gave a loud battle cry and lunged forward with its own fists suddenly ablaze.
"Fire Punch too?"
It's been trained to prevent weakness to steel types, Steven realized as the two attacks met, sending both Pokémon flying backwards. Unfortunately for his Pokémon, Metagross seemed to be weakening while Tyranitar simply gave another battle cry and prepared yet another Hyper Beam.
"I got him this time!" Cynthia assured, swooping back down and standing between the Pokémon and her comrade. "Aura Sphere!"
Togekiss opened her mouth and shot several small blue orbs to meet the normal type attack head-on. For a moment, the two attacks appeared equally matched, but the combat came to an abrupt halt when they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of helicopter blades slicing through the air.
"This is the Cerulean Police Department," announced an Officer Jenny through a speaker system as the helicopter approached the top of the building. "Desist this battling immediately!"
"What do you think we're trying to do?" Steven shouted in annoyance, the heavy wind of the blades beating down upon their impromptu battlefield and forcing him to raise his voice.
The Jenny didn't seem to hear him, however. "We have the area surrounded. Turn yourselves over-"
She was interrupted as Tyranitar seemed to grow irritated at the blades' noise. Turning his attention to the flying object of annoyance, he shot off another quick beam at the propellers, which in turn caused the vehicle to suddenly spin wildly as it headed for the ground. Thousands of screams could be heard from below as the pilot desperately tried to get the helo under control with only one remaining blade.
Steven was the first to take action. "Metagross, save them!" He jumped on top of his steel Pokémon and the two flew off the building's top and floated towards the ground, out-speeding Jenny and the pilot. "Psychic, now!"
"Meta!" The creature raised its head towards its target and suddenly the helicopter quit spinning as it was shrouded in a dark blue hue. After another moment, enough space had cleared in the street for the Pokémon to safely lower the two. As soon as it touched ground, Jenny and the pilot stumbled out, coughing and appearing near death from fear.
Steven approached the two on Metagross. "You two okay?"
Shakily, the officer nodded. "I-I think so. What's going on up there, though? And why are you here?"
"There's not enough time to explain, but the Tyranitar's from Team Rocket. We're trying to subdue it, but you need to get these people out of here. We can't use our Pokémon's full strength as long as we're worried someone will get hurt."
"No need for that," Jenny replied, reaching for her walkie-talkie. "I n-need someone to take out the Tyranitar. Use tranquilizers."
Steven shook his head. "That won't work, officer. Tyranitar's skin is tougher than rock. A needle won't do any good here."
She appeared thoughtful for a moment. "Would a bullet do any better?"
"Well, it would certainly aggravate him more," Steven answered sarcastically. "His hide's too thick, and the last thing we need is his anger getting more out of control. Right now he's just concerned with me and Cynthia, but if people start shooting at him, he's liable to take his anger out on all these buildings with a Hyper Beam."
"Do you think you can take care of him then?"
"Yeah. Like I said, get these people out of here, and we can finish him."
She stood quiet for a moment. It was certainly against protocol to leave a crime scene and allow civilians to take charge of the situation, but at the same time, Pokémon Champions were certainly not average civilians. Quickly weighing the possible consequences, she gave the steel trainer a nod. "Okay, then. We're counting on you." With a quick salute, she ran off to grab a megaphone to get everyone's attention, and Steven ordered his Pokémon back to the roof. More explosions were appearing from above, and he wondered how his friend was faring.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"We've almost caught up, Dragonite," Chris cautioned his Pokémon as the dark van suddenly came into view off in the distance. They had been very careful to stay out of the sight of the drivers in order to avoid suspicion, and at the statement, Dragonite decelerated once again. "Good girl." He smirked as he watched the vehicle slowly lead them to the hideout. Team Rocket was in for a rude surprise.
However, his thoughts of revenge were disrupted by the sound of a motor and a blaring siren coming from behind.
"What?" He turned around and saw a police motorcycle racing down the road. They were now out of the city, and he knew that the police's appearance couldn't have been a coincidence.
How did they find Ash so quick? he wondered, almost impressed.
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Is this some kind of cruel joke? Mallory almost refused to believe what she was seeing as a Dragonite began to lower next to her, with the blond agent from the gym riding atop the beast.
She hit the accelerator hard and began speeding past the orange dragon. However, as was the case with Lance, the Pokémon proved too quick and was soon beside her again.
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"No way!" Chris shouted aloud as he recognized Mallory. "How did you get past them?"
She gave him a small smirk, still accelerating. "Your friends are easy to distract."
He narrowed his eyes, worried about what she had done to his friends from the League. "Well, you're not getting away from me!" He reached for one of his firearms tucked safely inside his short sleeve. Pulling it out, he fired a warning shot above the woman's head and she swerved.
Whoa! He's serious! She couldn't help but smile at the thought of a real challenge.
Skidding to a quick stop in the grass, she kicked her leg over the seat and reached for Nidoking's pokéball. "Go!"
"Huh?" Chris jumped off Dragonite and landed in front of the two, his weapon still at the ready. The Nidoking was very large for its species, appearing well over ten feet in appearance, but Chris stood firm. "Hate to tell you, but not even a gigantic monster like that can stop me. Now return that thing and turn yourself over."
She gave another smirk as his Dragonite landed and took a protective step next to her master. Though the Nidoking was much larger, she could see the dragon was ready to fight anyway.
"You'll have to get through my Nidoking before you can get to me," she taunted from behind the behemoth. "Think you've got what it takes?"
If I can't get to Giovanni, I can at least stop this guy from getting to him.
Chris narrowed his eyes as the wind blew across the empty field they found themselves in. He knew she was just trying to distract him.
Turning abruptly, he pointed the gun at the motorcycle. Before she could react, two holes were shot into the tires.
"I know I've got what it takes…I just don't want to waste the energy on scum like you." He gave her a cocky grin before climbing back atop Dragonite. "Good luck getting back to the hideout now!"
He began to laugh as his Pokémon's wings expanded and she started to take off.
"Ice Beam!" ordered the blond woman from behind. Before he could think of a counter, Chris felt Dragonite moan beneath him as the two instantly lost altitude and landed in the street. Looking behind, he saw that his dragon's tail had been frozen solid, weighing down her entire body.
Growling in frustration, Dragonite looked at her trainer with regretful eyes.
"It's alright." He reached for another pokéball as Nidoking looked down on him from a distance. Quickly creating a plan, he called back out his Blaziken. "Starfire, take care of Dragonite's tail while I battle this Nidoking, okay?"
"Blaze!"
He looked back across at the poison type, and realized he needed to call out a new battling partner fast before it decided to just attack him. Running back onto the grassy area, he reached for the nearest pokéball.
"Let's do it, Milotic!" The twenty-foot serpentine Pokémon raced forth from the capsule, eyeing his opponent immediately and beginning the fight with a Hydro Pump; no hesitation or fear in his eyes.
As the rush of water raced towards her Pokémon, Mallory ordered her Pokémon to stand firm. "Giga Impact!"
Giving a roar, the purple Pokémon smashed its fists together. As the water hit his body, it was deflected by a white and orange shield that surrounded his body.
"Go!"
Giving another cry, Nidoking practically flew off the ground as he rushed the water type, splitting the powerful stream of water in two as his body crashed into Chris's Pokémon's.
Milotic flew backward as he called his name in pain. Ending the attack, Nidoking remained on top of the water type, and Chris took advantage of the awkward positioning.
"Ice Beam!"
Suddenly a rush of bright white and blue light struck the poison and ground type directly in the chest, forcing him to move backward and slowly encrusting his body with ice.
"Keep it up!"
"Use Ice Beam too!" Mallory retaliated.
Opening his jaw, Nidoking released his own ice attack, which met and matched Milotic's in strength.
How could a Nidoking have such a powerful Ice Beam attack? Chris questioned within. The species was not known for its special attack stats, but this one seemed just as capable as his water type with the freezing move.
"Milotic, move out of the way and use a Blizzard instead!"
"Blaze!" Blaziken suddenly called out, grabbing his attention. It appeared as if all the ice on Dragonite's tail had thawed, and he grinned.
"Starfire, use Flare Blitz! Dragonite, Ice Punch!"
Milotic swerved out of the Ice Beam's range and approached Nidoking from the side, beginning to unleash a barrage of frozen fury. As he turned to face the powerful ice attack, Blaziken lined up to the Pokémon's left, and Dragonite flew to his right. Starfire's body glowed as fire consumed his appearance, and Dragonite's fist was instantly covered in frozen water particles. At once, the two charged the creature, but Mallory didn't seem worried.
"Seismic Toss!"
In the blink of an eye the Nidoking somehow managed to grab both charging Pokémon, Dragonite by the icy fist and Blaziken by the leg, with his massive claws, stopping both their assaults and causing them to cry in pain. It then threw them into the pestering Milotic and forced them backward with a victorious cry. As the three lay devastated before his towering form, Nidoking turned his attention away from them, and instead faced the blond G-Men agent.
Gritting his teeth, Chris reached for his remaining three Pokémon. Enlarging the pokéballs, he simultaneously threw them into the air.
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"It looks like they've cleared out the street," Steven called out, looking down from above as his Skarmory tried his best to distract the Tyranitar.
"Then let's finish this!" Cynthia cried, dismounting and returning her tired Togekiss. "Garchomp, come out!"
"Garchomp!"
"Pick up Tyranitar and throw him over the edge," she commanded, pointing to the green monster.
Without a second wasted, the ground and dragon type rushed down to meet his opponent. Using all of his strength, he managed to grab a hold around the dark and rock type's torso, and he slowly used the grip to drag him near the edge of the roof.
Unfortunately, Tyranitar was still too healthy, and he began to thrash about.
"Weaken him with Toxic, Skarmory!" Steven commanded to his flying type.
Spewing out thick purple liquid, Tyranitar became even more irate as the attack hit him directly. Finally, after a lot of resistance, he finally found himself free of Garchomp's grip. Turning around, he fired off a quick Hyper Beam which hit Cynthia's Pokémon directly, prompting a cry as Garchomp was shot clear off the roof.
"Garchomp!" Cynthia cried, running to the edge of the building with her pokéball in tow. However, as she recalled her fighter, Tyranitar took her lack of awareness as his opportunity, and he slowly raised his right foot high into the air.
"Cynthia, watch out!" Steven cried, already too late as an Earthquake attack suddenly shook the entire structure. The building swayed dangerously from side to side, as if it were made of cards, and Cynthia fell off the side.
"Save her!" Steven cried, releasing Metagross again, who was beginning to tire after so much fighting. "Psychic!"
Seeing the blond woman's falling form, the steel and psychic type responded with a quick grunt and a blue aura, bringing her back to safety behind Steven, atop Skarmory.
"Why does it seem the only thing we've accomplished today is narrowly avoiding death?" she asked dryly as the two floated around the building, watching their green opponent's breathing grow steadily more labored. It looked like the Toxic was the secret to finally wearing him down.
Steven shook his head. "I know. This thing is way too powerful. You thinking what I am?"
"Genetic alteration? Of course. I mean, look at how tall he is!"
Steven noticed how close to the edge the dragon-like Pokémon was. "Maybe we had the wrong idea with Garchomp. Why waste energy trying to pick him up when he's already that close to the edge?"
Cynthia frowned, understanding her counterpart's logic. "I hate to do this, honestly. Hurting any Pokémon in such an abused and tormented state seems so wrong…"
"But if we don't he's gonna keep rampaging," he reminded, pointing to the corner of the building which had already been sliced off by one of the dark creature's Hyper Beams. "You saw how powerful that Earthquake was. He's only gonna get angrier the lower his health goes. It's the city or the Pokémon."
Hesitating, she sighed and relented. "I know you're right. Let's just make this quick."
She once again called out her Garchomp who, though thrown off the building only moments earlier, appeared ready for another shot at his rocky opponent.
"Garchomp, just use a Dragon Rush to push him off the edge," she ordered, still melancholy in her tone. The creature gave another roar and caused the building to sway even more from side-to-side as she gave the command. "And hurry!"
"Gar!" Turning around, the two appendages on the dragon type's head began to glow a dark blue. Positioning his body directly at the opponent, his entire body suddenly became surrounded in the same-colored light, and in a flash he was flying directly at the Tyranitar.
From a distance, it appeared that the Pokémon was surprised from the sudden intruder, and it even appeared ready to start another Hyper Beam, but before it had a chance, Garchomp made direct contact with the Pokémon's large chest. The sudden impact caused him to stumble backward before falling completely off the structure.
Cynthia's eyes widened as she watched the creature fall over the edge and out of sight. A moment later, an unbelievable "thud" reverberated throughout the city streets below, and continued echoing for several moments.
Both former champions were quiet for a moment. "…well, I guess that did it," Steven noted, no sign of joy in his voice.
"Yeah, I guess it did."
For another moment, the two stayed quiet. Steven was the first to jolt from his reverie.
"It had to be done. Let's go make sure the job is…finished, and then we'll catch up with Chris."
"Right."
Skarmory flew over the building, and slowly began to hover lower towards the ground. As the two trainers approached the mangled body of the rock type, Cynthia did her best to restrain a cry of regret which tried to force its way out.
The Pokémon was laying motionless, its arms and legs bent in impossible directions. Its skin, likened to stone, was cracked and completely split apart in several places, allowing crimson liquid to spill forth from the open wounds and onto the cement.
She felt her eyes tear up, and Steven couldn't help the pang of sadness he too felt for the creature.
"This is why I hate Team Rocket."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"You've gotta at least make this interesting," Chris taunted as his Sceptile deftly dodged another Ice Beam. "Leaf Blade, Scimitar!"
The leaves on his forearms glowing a light green and rapidly expanding, the Sceptile took one last step backward before springing forward and knocking back the poison and ground type with a blow to the shoulder.
"Lucario, follow it up with an Aura Sphere!"
Holding his arms in front, the fighting and steel type shot a large blue orb at the ground type as Sceptile backed away, knocking the Nidoking even further back and forcing Mallory to sidestep her stumbling monster.
Chris narrowed his gaze, seeing his chance.
"Starfire, grab her!" he commanded to his now-standing Blaziken. The fire type rushed Mallory and quickly tackled the woman to the ground.
Taking notice, Nidoking turned to help his master, but Chris's Luxray stepped up with a Giga Impact to the beast's side, forcing him to topple over, and shaking the very earth as he did so with his weight.
"Good job, guys!" he complimented, pumping his fist in the air. Blaziken stood up, but held a firm grip on the Rocket member's wrists as she writhed and struggled to free her hands from behind her back.
"Nidoking, help!" she cried. As her monster began to stand up though, he was brought back to his knees as Milotic suddenly interjected with another Ice Beam attack. The water type had appeared dazed from the damage taken earlier, but now seemed determined as he continued to spray lustrous icicles at the weakened Nidoking.
"Yes! Keep it up, Mil!" Chris commanded, watching as ice began to cover his enemy's Pokémon's left arm. Slowly, the encrustation of frozen water started to spread, and he shot Mallory a wicked grin. "Doesn't look good for you, does it?"
He beckoned his Dragonite, who instinctively hunched over to allow his master to jump aboard. Returning all but Milotic and Starfire, he hopped aboard. Before he ordered his dragon type to take flight, he assured the two Pokémon that he would return to take Mallory back to Cerulean, and ordered them to stay there.
Nodding, Milotic continued his work of freezing the now-despondent purple Pokémon, and Blaziken replied with a sharp "Blaze!" while holding onto Mallory's wrists.
Looking up at him, she surprised him with a malevolent smirk of her own. "You realize you're too late, right?"
Author's Notes: I liked it. Ha,ha. I mean, it was really fun to finally write some decent action scenes after having to do without for a while now. However, I know you're all mad because I really didn't cover Ash or Misty at all in this chapter except for those little blurbs at the beginning. Don't worry, though, since next chapter is going to cover nothing but those two. I had to have this chapter though to explain what happened to the champions and Chris and Mallory. Most of y'all already knew something was weird after last chapter when Mallory went down so fast, but I had to clarify in this chapter that she really wasn't as helpless as she seemed…and obviously our group's plan isn't exactly hashing out like they expected. Also, since I know this question is coming, I don't know if Lance is dead or not. I've planned almost every twist and turn in this story, but I've never been able to come to a decision concerning what happens to him, so any thoughts would definitely be appreciated. Just so you know, though, the heavy-handed stuff isn't anywhere near over yet, and we have plenty more heartbreak (honestly, I'm saddened even thinking about what I have to write in the next couple of chapters) before this whole ordeal is complete.
Also, for those of you who undoubtedly shouted "What the crap is he talking about Delia for? You can't seriously be adding another twist! Rawwwrr!", first: You should probably keep your voice down if you're reading this story indoors. But second: Yes, yes I am. You'll find out about our mystery woman (or man) before this is all over with, though, so stop roaring and be patient.
Alright, I better let you get back to your lives. Until two weeks from now, later days!