"Earthquake!" Erika commanded while shooting multiple arrows at the group of Muk which spread a powder that attracted them before Gogoat defeated them. Looking up, she quickly grasps the goat's horn, dodging a barrage of Sludge Bomb while Exeggutor retaliated with Psychock and Grass Knot. Not missing a beat, she shot another arrow which exploded, causing the Muk to attack each other before she goes to Exeggutor. Getting off Gogoat, she let the Pokemon keep watch while she picked some berries from Exeggutor. "Come on, Harvest. Don't fail me now."
Seeing a Dark Pulse coming towards them, she skillfully gave her Pokemon a Maranga Berry which helped them to easily withstand the blast before the Muk were knocked away by a Brutal Swing, much to Erika's glee as her Tangrowth appeared beside her. "Nice one, Tangy."
Hopping on Gogoat's back with Exeggutor and Tangrowth by her side, she faced off against the horde before she and her Pokemon bolted towards them to continue the brawl, the woman unaware of Hun watching them with a smile on his face.
Leaf could only watch as Gothitelle hovered in front of her, a wicked grin adorning the Pokemon's face that caused her legs to shake when she remembers the things that the Pokemon did to her and Red before she took a few steps back. 'Why? I could deal with anyone. Anyone but her!'
'Don't worry...I'll make your death quick.' Gothitelle smirked before creating an orb of electricity in her hand then launching it towards Leaf, her Wartortle able to shield her with Protect. "Thanks, Wartortle."
Leaf could not get the chance to counterattack when the Psychic type appeared in front of her, about to attack her but got punched in the face, seeing nothing which confused her. 'What the hell?'
Suddenly, she received another strike to the face, this time seeing Buneary who continued attacking her until Wartortle hit it with Water Gauntlets which managed to push it back, much to psychic goth's surprise. Getting up, it then used Psychock at Leaf who quickly dodged before vines popped from the ground and wrapped around Gothitelle.
'Wrong choice.' Her body then crackled with electricity, about to release the attack until it subsided, much to her confusion. 'What the?'
Bursting out of the vines, the Psychic quickly creates another blue orb only for the attack to vanish when she received a punch to the stomach, noticing Buneary.
'Ughh! Will you stop INTERUPTING ME?!' Gothitelle shouted, releasing a shockwave. Feeling an intense pressure, Leaf freezes in fear as she watches the Psychic type hover in the air before it attacks again.
"And…that's the last of them…" Erika panted, patting her tattered kimono and wiping her forehead while looking at the group of unconscious Muk. "Alright…c'mon guys. It's gonna to take a lot of work to get them back to the wildlife."
She then quickly shot an arrow towards Hun, the man watched in amazement as his Lucario catches the arrow then snaps it in half. "As expected, you have amazing reflexes, Erika. Your title is not all for show."
"Who are you?" Erika asked, readying her next arrow as her opponent let out a chuckle. "As you can see, I'm a member of Team Rocket. A high ranking officer in fact. Greeting, Ms. Erika. My name is Hun."
"What's your group doing here in this city?"
"A mission, nothing more. But you should be worried about is the wellbeing of your people." Hun said while pacing around the roof. Looking at the unconscious slimes surrounding him, a smile came to his face before he turned to Erika. "Where did you think all the Muk came from?"
"So you're the cause of all this. What do you gain from this?"
"That's a good question. Well, we're just running a little test and your city sadly is where we have to do it. I just wish to speak to you." Hun said while checking his phone, Erika telepathically telling Exeggutor to defeat the remaining Muk which did not go unnoticed by the grunt. "Which reminds me. Where are you planning to take those Muk? Do you know where they come from?"
"Usually in garbage sites. Or places with a lot of filth and waste."
"Good answer. Now another question for you, Ms. Erika. Do you think you're able to protect this entire city?" Hun questioned which made the woman lift a brow at the weird question. "Don't play with me, Hun. What do you guys really want?"
"Like I said, nothing special. Just a mission." Hun said, snapping his fingers which made his Lucario attack with an Aura Sphere only to be countered and knocked out by a Horn Leech from Gogoat. "Don't bother. Gogoat is one of my strongest Pokemon."
"Hmmph! Never had I once underestimated your strength. In fact, I planned for this." He pressed a button on his watch which made the ground started shaking as Erika tried to keep her balance, hearing sounds from the sewer covers that made her nervous before Hun spoke again. "Now Erika. Where do you think those Muk could come from?"
The woman's heart nearly stopped before she quickly turned to her Pokemon. 'Exeggutor! Pro-'
In that moment, all of the openings to the sewer erupt with sludge, causing everyone in the city to run in fear as groups of Muk and Grimer come out of them and roam the streets. The scene looked straight out of a horror movie, people running away as they are being mercilessly attacked by the Pokemon, the trainers trying their best to fight against the horde. During this, Erika hopped onto Gogoat before she fought against the horde while Hun watched them with a smile.
"Now. Let's see if you can protect the citizens of Celadon."
'Rrrrraaaaagghhhhh!' Gothitelle unleashed a Thunderbolt which Buneary absorbs using Thunder Punch before using Agility to strike it in the gut, much to the Psychic type's dismay. Reeling from the attack, the Pokemon starts screaming, releasing a barrage of energy orbs which Buneary nimbly avoids. 'Stop moving around and let me hit you!'
'Uhhh no thank you!' The rabbit answered snarkily before landing on Gothitelle's head, battering it with her feet then hopping off and ending its assault with Jump Kick. Watching the fight, Leaf's body shook in fear when she saw the Pokemon using Gravity to trap Buneary but was stopped when it had to dodge Watortle's Aqua Tail before sending it back into a tree. "Wartortle!"
She ran to the Pokemon, seeing it heavily bruised but it quickly stood up, ready to fight again which made Leaf worried. 'Wartortle, you-'
Suddenly she saw energy blasts coming towards her, her Wartortle's Protect shielding them from the attack as she tried to take out a Pokeball.
'Resistance is futile but please try to delay your death!' Gothitelle flies towards Leaf, using Gravity to trap all of them before shooting a Psychock which is immediately redirected by a shockwave, making the orb hit a tree behind Leaf. The girl turns to a light post, noticing that it has a tail which gave her an idea.
"Snarl, Zori!" She yelled, her attacker confused by the command until she got knocked back by a Snarl, cancelling the attack with Dark Pulse before stopping a barrage of Water Pulse from Wartortle.
'Hmmph! You think this can stop m-' Her sentence was cut off when she received a Thunder Punch to the face before two more strikes followed, causing Gothitelle to become lightheaded before it blasts away Buneary, the bunny barely able to get up from the telekinetic wave, much to Leaf's dismay.
"Buneary, are you ok?" She received a nod from the Pokemon before turning to Gothitelle who is rubbing her bruised cheek while trembling in anger. Feeling the Pokemon's aura, Leaf flinches upon the Psychic type's gaze before deciding to close her eyes and taking a deep breath. 'Alright, calm down, Leaf. Calm down…calm down…'
Meanwhile, veins appear on Gothitelle's head before she lunged towards the black fox with an orb of lightning in her hands which missed when Buneary immediately kick away the attack. She then opened her eyes, quickly commanding her Zorua to use Snarl which launched the Psychic type back before they both retreat to Leaf's side. Taking another deep breath, she thought to herself before telling Wartortle to use Protect, looking around to see a frozen Kim behind her.
'Calm down, Leaf…just…calm down…' She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself before she slapped her cheeks. Watching Gothitelle's attacks, the brunette tried to force back the fear growing in her chest as she looked at her Pokemon.
"Buneary, you able to handle your current speed right now?" She asked, getting a thumbs up from the Pokemon. Turning to Wartortle, she asked her next question. "Wartortle, how long can this Protect last for?"
The Pokemon lifted a finger which she nodded to before turning to Zori. "How many Substitutes do you have left?"
Zori lifted a paw which made her put a hand on her chin. "So one. Hmm…"
'Damn. Red makes this look easier than expected.' After a while of thinking, she noticed cracks forming on the shield which made her panic until she noticed her Pokemon looking at her with confident expressions which calmed her down a little before she took a bottle of water out of her bag and splashed it on herself. "Alright, go time!"
Meanwhile on the outside of the veil, Gothitelle unleashes her attacks on the bubble that caused it to crack. 'Well, you've gotten much stronger from the last time. I'll give you that much but that means nothing to me.'
Using Psyshock, she breaks the veil before gleefully shooting a Thunderbolt that destroyed the area. 'Well, that finishes the mission.'
"Damn, you suck at shooting." Gothitelle slowly turned to the sound of the voice, veins appearing on her forehead when she saw Leaf and her Pokemon with smirks on their faces. "You should work on your aim!"
'How the- You should be? How are you not dead?'
"I dunno. You're the psychic, you should've foreseen this. Or are you a fraud?" Leaf teased which made Gothitelle more furious as her body glowed intensely, firing an orb of lightning. 'I will kill you!'
"Wartortle! Water Pulse! Buneary, kick it!" Wartortle quickly creates the move over its head before Buneary kicks it with all its strength which made it collide with Gothitelle's Thunderbolt. As both attacks created a cloud of smoke, Gothitelle emerges from it with a wicked smile until it got hit by a Snarl from Zori that sent it into a tree. Without a second to rest, it had to dodge a Jump Kick from Buneary which snapped a tree in half before it had to use Thunderbolt to stop Wartortle's Water Pulse, the electricity immediately absorbed by Buneary who then landed an uppercut unto the Psychic type. Dropping to the ground, she gets up only to see Leaf who is folding her hands with a smug grin on her face.
"C'mon! Here I am, still kicking! You are so bad at your job!" Leaf teased the Pokemon, receiving a murderous glare from before she sees a Psyshock coming towards her which Buneary speedily intercepts with Jump Kick, redirecting the attack back to the ground to create smoke then smacking Gothitelle into a tree.
"Woo... That…was very scary…" The brunette put her hands on her knees, keeping her eye on Gothitelle while she congratulated her Pokemon. 'I just noticed. Her attacks sucks now. Red did say that Psychic type moves require a lot of mental fortitude so pissing her off is working.'
Getting over to Kim, Leaf was about to reach for her Pokeball until a blast connected to her stomach, causing her to cough blood as she dropped to the ground. Looking up, she didn't see Gothitelle which confused her. 'How? I had my eyes glued on her! She couldn't have-'
Turning to her left, she saw Kim in Gothitelle's grasp, a menacing scowl on the Pokrmon's face. 'Let's stop with this game. This is getting annoying…'
"Leave her out of this! Your target is me, right?" Leaf pleaded, the gothic Pokemon's grip tightening on the bluenette's neck before levitating her in the air. Gothitelle then outstretched her arm, electricity crackling from it as she aimed at Leaf.
'Yes. And if I have to make the census one name lighter to do it, so be it.' After saying that, the Pokemon immediately appeared in front of Leaf, about to put her hand on the girl's head before hearing laughing from the brunette, much to her confusion. 'It seems someone's very suicidal. I expected this from red cap, not you.'
"Heh! For a Psychic type, you're bad at being 'all knowing'." Gothitelle was taken aback by this before the brunette continued with a huge mocking grin on her face. "I mean, look at your hostage. You must be blind or something."
'What?!' She then looked at Kim in her grasp only to get hit by a Snarl, seeing a substitute that transformed into Zorua. Gothitelle snapped before turning to Leaf who is hollering, patting her stomach which shows a protective vest. "Hahahaha! Like my acting? No. What about Zori's Substitute? It was pretty good, right? I think I might go into showbiz if I'm bored of being Champion."
Leaf then noticed various Muk roaming the city in the distance, some of them approaching them which made the brunette ready herself before something unexpected occurred. Within an instant, a huge wave of energy was released that easily defeated the horde.
'I need no assistance.' Gothitelle said silently, raising from the ground before lifting her hand, an intense gravitational force pushing Leaf to the ground, the girl feeling her limbs digging through the ground.
"Owww…my body…this hurts so much…" She cried, feeling her body getting pierced by the small rocks underneath her before hearing her Pokemon screaming in pain which broke her heart as she tried her best to push against the gravity with her teeth clenched.
'I…I gotta be strong for them…' She said, seeing Gothitelle walking over to Wartortle while charging Thunderbolt, making her worry more as she tried again to push herself from the ground. 'Oh no! Think quickly! Think quickly! Think think think think!'
"Quick! Create a shield with Water Pulse!" She said out of panic when the bolt of lightning came towards her, her starter quickly summoning a thick shield of water which managed to absorb the attack before she got an idea. "Send the water towards her!"
Wartortle then quickly sent the electrified tidal wave towards Gothitelle who effortlessly split it in two until it got hit by Zori which sent her hurdling back, seeing Leaf, Zori and Buneary mocking her which made the Psychic type grit her teeth angrily.
'No more.' Gothitelle whispered, a ball of black lightning forming in her hands that caused a shockwave through the area, the force pushing back Leaf and her Pokemon as they all watched the attack getting bigger by the second. Leaf's body trembled in fear while she witnessed the display of power, the girl trying her best to calm down as she thought about her options. Racking her brain for a solution, the girl tried to escape while taking Kim but it failed when she was stopped by a bolt of electricity which caused one of her Pokeballs to fall, releasing Swablu who took off into the air which gave the girl an idea. "Swablu, fly above Gothitelle and use Mirror Move!"
She then turned to Buneary, commanding it to attack Gothitelle before fighting her anxiety while she takes up Zorua, running towards her opponent with it as she struggles to push through the force of the blast. "Just…a little more…"
As soon as she got close enough, she lifts her Zorua and commands it to use Snarl which hit the goth telepath. Quickly recovering, her eyes glowed before it unleashed a wide area Gravity, Leaf feeling pain throughout her body until Zorua used Taunt which caught Gothitelle's attention. As she tries to ignore the fox, the Pokemon was caught off guard when it received multiple kicks to the gut by Buneary before retaliating against it with Thunderbolt. 'Get off!'
The orb then got bigger, Leaf noticing the livid expression on her opponent's face before it unleashes a huge shockwave. "Ok…get angrier…"
'That's it! All of you! All of you are dead! Bon voyage!' Gothitelle immediately hurled the sphere, Leaf running away with Zori behind Wartortle who shot a Water Pulse at the attack which was destroyed. Seeing the Pokemon continue to shoot its attack to no avail, the Psychic Pokemon starts cackling maniacally as she watches the brunette walk away only to realize something as she looked at her attack.
'Wait. What the?'
The orb did not move, Gothitelle wondering why until she saw droplets of water forming around the attack, not noticing Swablu on the other side helping Wartortle with holding the move in place.
'Again…again?!' Gothitelle lashed out angrily as she shot a Dark Pulse to the orb, making it larger as it burst from the Water Pulse's grasp. 'WHY DON'T YOU ALL JUST DIIIIIIEEEEE!'
Leaf watched as her opponent tries to control the move, a hardened expression on her face while she heard the screams of the Psychic Pokemon. Despite her racing heartbeat, she clenched her fists and readied her next attack in a calm voice before hearing Gothitelle's crazed laughter as it charged a Psyshock in its hands. 'Stay right where you are! Forget throwing this, I'm going to just blast you with it. Hope you say your prayers because the curtains closing right now!'
As it is about to attack, she got hit in the face which made her fall to the ground, Leaf watching the Pokemon before she lifts her hand.
"Swablu now!"
Swablu immediately used Mirror Move which copied Dark Pulse, shooting a black beam from its mouth that send the orb towards Gothitelle who was quick enough to push against the attack with veins pulsating on its face.
'Damn it! Damn it! Damn iiiitt!'
As it struggled against the move by using Thunderbolt, Leaf watches the scene as the ball slowly descend to the ground, the Pokemon screams echoing through the street as the girl made Swablu shoot the move again. 'Move! Move! Move! Moooooooooooovvvvvvveeeeeeee!'
It tried to teleport before it got shot in the face which made it disorientated, barely able to stop the attack as it made her fall to her knees. 'No! NOOOOO!'
In that moment, Gothitelle became too exhausted to withstand the attack which made the ball exploded, Leaf commanding her Wartortle to use Protect as the entire area was covered by the darkness.
"Huh?!"
Red woke up, feeling a mild ache on his back while getting up only to be greeted by a stench that made him pinch his nose. "Eugh. What's that smell?"
He then checked his body, noticing that he has no lingering injuries from the previous battle. "How am I ok? I'm pretty sure I had frostbite on my hands…and also poisoned."
After a while and getting his bearings and inspecting his injuries, Red then felt an intense pain through his head, clutching his hair as he fell to his knees.
'H...help...he...lp...h...elp...'
Hearing voices, the teen's vision became blurry as he tried to alleviate the pain by massaging his temples. As the sounds subsided, he then realized that he was in a dark room, the only source of light coming from the window. He approached it, his eyes widened when he looked out of the opening.
"What on earth?"
Cries and yells filled the air as an army of Muk wander about the streets, their stench filling the air while the residents of the city stay within their households, the police officers helping some of the injured ones. As Red noticed some children being surrounded by the wild Pokemon, he quickly sprung to action, taking out Poli and Vulpix to defeat the group of Muk.
"T-t-thank you, sir!" One of the kids stuttered while the other hid behind her before he opened his mouth. "Yeah, twank yuu!"
Smiling, Red patted their heads before checking the street, pointing the kids in a direction where he saw the police force taking up hostages which made them happy as they sprinted off. "Twanks agin swir!"
"Alright now…how long was I out? And what happened…and that voice…" He thought aloud before he had to quickly dodge a Sludge Bomb from a Muk, another coming out of the ground and attacked with Brutal Swing which Red barely dodged. Quickly retaliating, he put them to sleep with Poli before knocking them out with Vulpix, inspecting the area until he heard the voice again. 'He…eeelp…pleeeaaaassseee…'
Fighting through the pain, he fought through groups of Muk while trying to look for the source of the voice. After a while of searching, Red found himself in the red light district, noticing something strange as he entered the area. 'Odd. The Muk are roaming everywhere of the city. Why are they not here?'
He then slowly start to check the area, making sure to avoid being on the street. As he did his search, he noticed that most of the building were the same, people were in their enjoying themselves with no care in the world. 'What the? It's almost like they don't care that there is an invasion going on?'
He then resumed treading through the street, noticing something else which made his eyes widened as he saw the insignia. "Those are Silph Co. workers but…I didn't know they had another logo…it looks familiar though."
Red took a moment to analyze the place until he was able to get a better look at the emblem. 'It's my uncle's company brand…'
He was about to take a picture before he heard someone coming, quickly hiding behind a dumpster as he heard voices, seeing a bunch of Team Rocket members.
"Damn it, you bastard! Did you have to take that long? What the hell? Were you takin' a shit?"
"Hey! Sir Archer said that he wants this to be as perfect. Plus, you know how Hun is like when he doesn't get his way."
'Hun?' Peering from behind the dumpster, Red saw the group entering the sewer entrance, gritting his teeth at the sight of an insignia on the chest. 'Team Rocket…'
He waited for a few minutes before he dashed to another entrance, using Vulpix and Dusclops to scout the area while he sneaked around the place.
"The place is hu-aggghhh-" He used the wall as support before he made Poli soothe his headache with Ice Beam. Noticing the group around the corner, Red clicked his teeth as he searched the area, finding a pipe. "Alright, this will do. Hope it works."
As the grunts are pacing around the area, they heard a loud sound which lured a few of the grunts. While they check for the source of the sound, Red bolted forward and swiftly knocking them out before pulling them out of sight and looting them. Continuing, he realizes one of them having a baton which made him use Beedrill's String Shot to pull them into a smack across the head. "Two down. Poli, stick him to the wall with Ice Beam."
Hearing footsteps behind him, his Pokemon quickly lunged forward and took out the two grunts' Pokemon before he tied them up with an Escape Rope. Seeing more of them approaching him, he flexibly dodged their strikes before retaliating with a punch to the members' gut then using him to tackle the rest of them.
"What the hell is going on?"
"It's this kid, he-ahh Fuck! He-"
Suddenly, a loud banging sound echoed through the area, the woman of the group fell to the ground before Red rushed forward, suffering a punch before he spun around and slam his weapon to the side of one of the enemies' head. Resuming his assault, he quickly subdued the grunts before he heard other noises in the area, one of them giving him a terrible headache. 'Heeelllllllpppp…'
"Uggghhh…damn. Why does it have to be louder? Feels like my head is getting smashed by a jackhammer…" Red clutched his pain before he treaded further, marking sections of the sewer to not get lost in the maze. After a while of exploration, he found himself at the end of the tunnel, looking out to see a large room, seeing a light shining down in the middle of the water. "What the?"
'Whooooaaaa...' Poli and Vulpix said in unison as they took in the place. Red inspected the place before using Meowth enhanced vision when using Aerial Ace to examine the area. 'There are some guards up ahead. Looks like they're dealing with some machines or something.'
"Ok." He wandered further, using Beedrill's String Shot to jump between pipes, noticing a couple machinery set up around the room. After a while of travelling, he then saw a bunch of grunts by the corner, quickly perching on top of a pipe to listen to their conversation.
"Damn! This got out of control. I feel like a few explosions could've done it. But Four eyes just had to go overboard."
"I honestly don't care. Anything to get this over with. If the entire city's gonna get leveled, then tough shit." One of the female grunts stated which enraged Red before he tried his best to calm down, letting out a heavy sigh.
"But did you see that…thing that the scientists created? It was…uggh!" She shivered before a guy putting his hand around her and hugs her. "Thanks, love."
"No problem, baby."
"Sheesh! Get a room, you two!"
Red let out an exhale before he noticed a few scientists going into a different room, following them until he saw something that made his eyes widened. "What the hell?"
Within the room was an army of Grimer roaming the place, one of the scientists dumping a batch of chemicals on them which cause them to evolve. Hearing the blood curdling screams of the Pokemon made Red feel nauseous, his vision blurring as he tried his best not to vomit until he slipped on a pile of sludge and fell, Beedrill barely able to save him as he landed in front of the group.
"Uh oh."
"It's that kid! Get him!" The group immediately released their Pokemon and attacked Red who tried retreating until he noticed a Rhydon behind him, quickly ducking underneath it before Poli appeared out of his bag and shot a Bubble Beam that sent it into the group, knocking them out.
"Beedrill, attack!" Seeing the rest went on the offensive, Beedrill lunged forward and fought against the opposing team, quickly defeating two Machoke before it body slammed a Hypno, trapping them all with String Shot. Continuing its assault, it took out a few more Pokemon, Poli helping out by putting them to sleep as Red tried his best to hold his own against the guards.
"Fuck!" A male Rocket grunt said before he took out his baton and smacked the teen across his face. One of the women then grabbed Red by his hair as they all started to gang up on him, kicking him mercilessly which knocked the pipe out of his hands. As one of them took out their knife and swung it at him, Red's heart begun to race before he starts flailing about which made it difficult for his attackers when one of them got kicked in the eye. "Damn it! Just stay still aaaaaannnnnnnndddd…"
The group suddenly feel drowsy, Red noticing this before he took action and kick the dagger out of the man's hands, sending another kick to his gut which pushed him off the teen. Not losing momentum, Red then bashed his head into the woman behind him, making her drop him before he spun around and land a fist to her nose. They were about to attack him again until one of the Pokemon fell on top of them, Poli finishing them off with Hypnosis.
"Phew…my life flashed in front of her eyes." Red said, a feeling of exhaustion coursing through his body. After a while of being able to take his breath, he looked around the place, getting up as he noticed a couple flight of stairs and a few tunnels. He heard the voices again ringing in his head as he went up the stairs, massaging his temples to soothe his aching head as he continued.
"What on earth is in here?"
The entire south street of Celadon was covered in burns, smoke erupting from various places and vehicles being toppled over and badly damaged and some of the trees uprooted. Within the far end of the street near the entrance of the gym was a large crater, a veil in front of it that dissipated that made Leaf fell out of it, panting heavily as she tried to get up from the floor.
"Owwww…" Leaf groaned in pain, clutching her stomach before she starts to cough. "That attack from earlier did a big number on me. It still fucking hurts…"
She looked at the crater with a pitiful expression, ignoring her quick heartbeat. "Rest in shit, you damn goth!"
Leaf heard groans, turning to see Kimberley who is having issues keeping her balance, much to the brunette's joy. "Kim! You're ok!"
"Huh…Leaf? Wha-what happened?" Kim groaned, feeling uneasy before she went behind a tree and vomited. Holding her head, the two girls then sat down, the bluenette looking around the place with a confused expression. "Seriously, what happened? One minute I saw Erika gone and the next minute, the place looks like a train wreck."
"Yeah. The whole city's been attacked by Muk." Leaf said while checking her and Kim's wounds along with healing her Pokemon. She then checked her Pokegear, trying to get to Red only to get an alert that he is out of signal. "Damn! Of all the time to be MIA, Red! Where on earth is he?"
"You can walk?" Leaf asked, getting a nod from Kim before they both get up, seeing the multitude of Muk in the streets. "Let's get to the Center! We might find people there. Plus, I hear sirens in the distance. We need to go!"
"Alright, got it! Mawile! Let's go!" They both went into an alleyway, Leaf checking her Pokegear one more time but not getting any answer as one thought crosses her mind.
'Please be alright, Red! Please!'
"I feel like I'm in a sci-fi movie." Red commented as he slowly entered a huge room which was surrounded by machinery, the sounds of beeps and clicks filling the air. Walking up to one of the tables, he noticed a blueprint, gripping onto it as he noticed the rest piling. 'Weapons? Blades? Armor? These are plans to turn Pokemon into living weapons. Literal living weapons. This…this is inhumane.'
"Hands up!" Red heard a voice behind, instinctively lifting his hands before he was advised to turn around, seeing a bunch of Team Rocket grunts who were chuckling as they entered the room, a group of scientists behind them. "This is no place for kids. What an unfortunate situation that you're in. Guards, dispose of him."
"Nothing personal, kid." The guard said as he walked up to Red about to attack until a barrage of spheres hit them, knocking them to the ground, much to the teenager's confusion. He then looked at the entrance of the room to find Erika walking with her arrow raised and her Bellossom beside her.
"Erika?" The teen thought aloud.
"Hmmm? You're Miss Green's friend." She spoke to herself. Returning her Bellossom, she searched around the room with a focused expression, gaining a glare from Beedrill. 'Jeez. What's her problem?'
"It's ok, Beedrill. Let's go. We need to find those…" He then heard the voices coursing through his head, noticing a huge door at the other end of the room. "Is that where it's coming from?"
Meanwhile, Erika checked the place, her eyes widened at the blueprints and notes splattered on the tables. She checked through the files, her face changing that of disgust as she dropped the papers. "Who could have known such disgusting things were done down here? But this doesn't explain the army of Muk though."
Suddenly Erika heard something, quickly taking out her bow as they both see several grunts with a scientist behind them appear from one of the entrances of the room. Seeing the group surrounding them, they all released their Pokemon which were quickly defeated by Bellossom, much to Red's surprise. "Oh! Where are my manners? Greetings, Erika! I'm just a simple scientist."
"They were making experiments on some Grimer here. Using some substance to force evolve them into Muk." Red explained to the woman which surprised her, this catching the scientist's attention before he turned to the teen and came to a realization. 'Isn't he the target that Hun was supposed to assassinate? Ohh, I see. Good.'
Smiling and reaching into his lab coat, he quickly pulled out a remote but it was immediately knocked out of his arm when an arrow went pierced his hand. This made him scream in pain on the ground while Red and Erika swiftly dismantled the group coming towards them before the gym leader snapped her fingers, various vines came from the sewer opening and slammed them into the wall. As the grunts were being taken out, Red noticed the scientist crawling towards the remote. "Oh no!"
"My salary will surely increase when I can be able to kill you with my creation. Now!" The man said, Vulpix about to attack him until she heard her trainer grunting in pain, Erika noticing this as well. "W-what's wrong? Hey!"
'Help us…h-help us…help…help…' The voices rung in Red's head more intensely causing him to fall to the ground and clutch his head as he shakily pointed to the big door that is opening. "Something…something's in there…"
'Heeeeellllllpppp uuuusssss!'
The ground began to shake violently, the city folk above ground feeling the tremors as the police tried keeping the peace.
"What on earth?" Erika said before she sees glowing, soulless eyes within the darkness glaring at her. "What the hell is that thing?"
She then heard screaming, a distorted voice echoing through the room before a huge wave of sludge spouted from the darkness, Erika commanding her Exeggutor to use Protect to shield them from the acid. After a while, Erika could only see a purple fog around the veil, quickly making her Exeggutor take them out of the room before it releases the move to let them catch their breath. The gym leader was about to go to check on Red until her expression changed to one of shock when she notices two large hands grabbing either ends of the entrance. "Oh my God…"
In front of them was a huge behemoth whose body was obscured in its toxic fumes. It glared at them with its bloodshot eyes, a mindless look in them as it slowly approached Erika and Red. "I-is that a-"
In front of them was a Muk.
However, it was different from the original Pokemon. It was bigger. Its black hardened skin had various rainbow colored crystals protruding from it that looked like armor, some of the crystals forming rows of needle-like teeth in its mouth. As the creature started to roar again, Erika made Tangrowth bring her and Red to higher ground on one of the pipes before they hear the scientist. "Attack!"
Muk launched a punch, its arms lighting ablaze as it headed towards them but it was quickly blocked by Exeggutor's Protect before it attacked again, this time its strike was evaded. 'Woah! Watch where you're putting that thiiii-'
Beedrill could not finish when the monster unleashed a wave of fire, the Bug type quickly moving Red out of range. Fighting against the headache, Red released Vulpix to reflect the flames back to Muk, who used its sludge to stop the attack only to receive a blast to the face by Vileplume that send it crashing into the wall. As the battle continued, Red went to attack the scientist but the man was able to stop them with his Hypno before he pointed at the teen. "Attack! Kill the boy!"
Muk immediately swings its arm which shot multiple balls of sludge towards the duo who dodged the attacks, Red making Beedrill taking Red with her while doing so. Seeing this, Erika took the opportunity to hit the slime with Hidden Power only to notice that the move had no effect, much to her dismay. 'So it's a Dark type.'
During this, Red grunted in pain as his headache starts to get worse, trying his best to stay focus and command his Pokemon to fend off against the Muk. As they went over a fist that collided into the wall, Vulpix burned its arm which caused it to scream in pain as Red pointed at its face. "Beedrill…its eyes…hit them with String Shot…"
The Bug type obeyed, shooting the silks to its eyes which made the giant Pokemon lash out, Red dodging the tendrils popping out its skins before evading another strike from Muk, making Poli freeze its arm which made it stuck unto the wall. Not giving the Pokemon a chance to recover, Red was about to use Vulpix until the monster released various crystals from its body that he and his party were able to dodge, one of the shards grazing his arm before he made Beedrill dashed forward to Muk at the moment it removed the String Shot on its face to take out Poli. "Hypnosis!"
The tadpole quickly used the move, causing the behemoth to become drowsy until its eyes shot open, much to his surprise until he heard the scientist. "It's no use, kid! Don't bother with the statuses! You're just delaying the inevitable!"
"That's just unfair…oh well…" Red said as he and Beedrill darted around the place to avoid another barrage of Sludge Bomb before Muk tried another Sludge Wave, Erika commanding her Tangrowth to wrap its arms around the Muk and use Shock Wave to stop it. Not losing a beat, Vulpix shot a huge Flame Burst which hit the monster causing it to scream in pain as its sking starts burning, the teen noticing the crystals on its back glowing before one of its arms starts to be cloaked in lightning.
"What did you do to the Muk?" Red questioned, dodging an electrified punch from the slime as it tries to brush off the flames from its body. The scientist simply shrugged before he smiled wickedly. "A simple test. Since you're gonna die, I don't mind telling you a little bit. We just wanted to know the biology of Muk's body and how far we can push their body."
"Their?" Red was in disbelief, looking at the monster as it screamed in horror until he realized something when she looked at Muk. His stomach churned, feeling the vomit to his throat before he heard Erika. "H-h-how many?"
"Hmm?" The scientist raised a brow.
"HOW MANY?!"
The man chuckled darkly that echoed through the tunnels until he said one word. "Enough."
"That's inhumane! Didn't it ever run through your mind that it could die?" Erika questioned as she shot an arrow that exploded in front of the Muk which made it start moving groggily before it glowed, shooting shards from its body which Erika was able to shield herself against.
"That's easy. If it dies, it dies. I just use another pawn." Erika was surprised at how heartless the man is as he looks at the monstrosity with a disappointed expression.
"I see Pokemon as just tools for our every whim. They do what we want, when we want it. And if they don't…well, you know." He pressed a button that electrocuted the Muk, Erika making Tangrowth attack the man but it was stopped by the Pokemon. Seeing this, Red gritted his teeth before he made Beedrill fly towards the man, taking out various stones from his bag before he noticed the monster being stagnant until various Muk spawn out of its skin, much to the teen's surprise.
'It can multiply?!' Beedrill said in disbelief, dodging projectiles from them until a hand leaped towards them, the teen realizing the situation until voicing his next command. "Vulpix, Fla-"
A crunch echoed through the room which horrified Erika, silence followed before she heard the scientist laughing. "One down! Now to deal with-"
Flames burst from Muk's hand, the Pokemon screaming in pain before the appendage exploded, the embers from the explosion burning its spawns. Taking the opportunity, Erika made Bellossom hit Muk with Nature Power which turned to Mud Bomb before Tangrowth brutally strike it and its spawns with Brutal Swing, using Seed Bomb along its arms exploding upon each hit.
"Your efforts are futile! Muk's way too strong for you! Now di-" The scientist was interrupted when he barely dodged a Flame Burst, about to use the remote but he got hit by an Ice Beam that froze his hands. "Damn you, boy! Kill him or else!"
Muk attacked Red and Beedrill, the duo avoiding its strikes as they move around the sewers, Erika slowing it down with Tangrowth while Vileplume and Bellossom shot a barrage of bullets that send it into the wall, much to the scientist's displeasure as he clicks his tongue. "Damn it! Useless tool! Kill them!"
Red dashed away from the behemoth, dodging the tendrils as he flies between the pipes in the sewer, navigating Beedrill around the place until he collided into a flaming fist that made them crash into a wall. Falling to the ground and returning Beedrill, the teen immediately got up and sprinted towards the Pokemon, taking out another capsule before throwing it with all his strength, much to the scientist's amusement.
"You're just wasting your time! You can't catch it, you foo-" He was caught by surprise when another ball connected to the first Pokeball, flying behind Muk which made the scientist laugh as he was barely able to get his hands thawed. "What were you trying to accomplish, you brat? Those so called 'trick shots'? Won't matter if you're dead! Muk, attack!"
Muk summoned a huge wave of sludge which Red tries to run from the move until Tangrowth grabbed him, taking him up to higher ground while the sludge travel through the tunnels. Noticing the crystals on the Pokemon's back starting to glow, Red released Luxio as Muk creates multiple arms that emit fire and electricity but its punches were stopped by Exeggutor's Protect.
"Darn it! Exeggutor can barely hold on!" Erika said, noticing cracks in the shield before she made Tangrowth slam its arms into the slime monster then stunning it with Shock Wave. Spawning several Muk on its back to stop Tangrowth, the Pokemon formed a huge ball of lightning in its mouth, the gym leader seeing the orb getting bigger. 'That attack's gonna destroy the sewer if it fires. Bellossom. Sola-'
Before anything could happen, Muk got hit by a blast that froze its arms before a huge fireball collided into it, causing it to accidentally swallow its blast which exploded, knocking it back into the wall.
"What the?" Erika and the scientist said surprisingly as they see the creature's body start to lose form as one of its crystals on its back starts to break.
"Awesome!" Red whisper shouted, Erika noticing him making hand gestures, surprise once again when she realized something.
'The Pokeballs!' She thought, seeing Poli and Vulpix being carried by Beedrill as they attacked the sludge behemoth. 'He purposefully threw them like that to catch them off guard. But I have to say, his aim is amazing. Ms. Green was not lying. He's not one to be messed with.'
Seeing one of the crystals on its back falling down, Muk quickly attacked the three Pokemon with Sludge Bomb, the move almost hitting them before Vulpix sent out another Flame Burst that pushed back the giant before it got hit by another Solar Beam. Everyone could only watch as the monster stop attacking and beginning to pant, Red wearing a pitiful expression upon seeing the creature. 'I think this can be reversed but…it's too hostile. If I can just get rid of that collar, I could be able to catch it. Professor Oak could help it somehow…or Bill's machin-'
'Pllleeeeassssseeee…killlll meeee…' He heard it say, feeling pity for the Pokemon as he crouched in front of it. "We don't need to fight anymore. I can help you. I can help you take the pain away."
'Yooouuu caaaannn heeeelllppp?' Muk asked, receiving a nod from the teen as he brought out a Pokeball but the collar around Muk started to glow, making the capsule stop working which did not go unnoticed by the teen. "Yes. I need to get rid of that collar and I can help you. I have a friend that would be able to revert you back to normal. So pleas-"
He was interrupted when a shot that grazed his cheek, seeing the scientist with a gun, gritting his teeth as he tried again, only for the weapon to be knocked out of his hand when an arrow pierced his palm. The teen rubbed his cheek, hissing at the wound before he noticed Tangrowth holding down Muk who looked at him with a pleading expression before he sprinted towards the man. 'I need to get that remote.'
"Fuck! Get up, Muk!" The scientist yelled, taking out the arrow from his hand before taking out the remote, about to use it until he was tackled by Red, knocking the device out of his hand. Red did not waste any time as he dashed towards it, the scientist releasing a Magneton that immediately attacked with Thunderbolt which was countered with Luxio's Discharge. The teen then noticed one of the magnets going towards the remote, him dashing towards it but was stopped when a Machoke came in his way but he dodged it, Erika's Bellossom shooting the Fighting type with Hidden Power which quickly knocked it out.
"Kill him! Flash Cannon!" Red watched as the small magnet turned to him, releasing a white blast that he ducked under before a fireball came down and hit the magnet, Red looking up to see Vulpix. The scientist was about to run towards his gun but he was stopped when a cloud of spores covered his vision which caused him to drowsy. "What the?"
"My deepest apologies, sir. But I need that Muk to calm down. It's causing too much problems for us. Worse if it's controlling the army of Muk in the city." He turned to see Erika approaching him, a smile on her face as Vileplume's flower starts oozing spores. The man started to drink an Awakening, a smirk on his face before he started to get up and run towards the woman.
"Paralyze." He then fell down when he was hit with a gust of yellow spores, his body twitching as he could barely lift his head to face Erika who gave him a menacing glare before he turned to Muk. "Get up! You should be honored to fight for our means!"
"Override!" He screamed to the top of the lungs, the collar around Muk's started glowing until an intense bolt of electricity electrocuting it, making it scream in pain which shook the area. Red dashed towards the remote, pressing on it to realize that it's making no reaction. "Stop it!"
"Shut up, you dumb child! Now listen to me, Muk! You exist because of ME! You are nothing without me! I am your creator, you mindle-" In that single moment, the man was crushed by the Pokemon, its pained roars filling the silent sewers as Red and Erika would only watch in shock. Lifting its hand, all the two could see is a pool of blood and body parts dissolving within a puddle of sludge. After this was done, Red noticed the Pokemon starting to laugh before its laughter turns to crying, the collar around its neck glowing red, releasing a high pitched sound which caused Muk to scream in pain. "What's happening?"
"It's not just it, look at the rest!" Erika looked down to see the spawns roaring as well, looking up to the surface. "Oh dear. I hope it's not the same up there. Tangrowth, call Gogoat!"
"Stop! We can help you! We can reverse this!" Red tried to plead with the Pokemon only to be rewarded with a punch which missed him, thanks to Beedrill. They flew over another punch before barely dodging a wave of flames as he saw the mindless look in the monster's eyes. 'Damn it! If I can get that collar off…'
"It's too late! It won't listen!" Erika shouted, her Tangrowth using Shock Wave to stun the Pokemon when it started wreaking havoc. Red tried to aim for its collar but was stopped when Muk unleashed a thick miasma to cover its body, Red having to retreat after seeing it dissolve Tangrowth's arms.
'We have to take it out of its misery.' Beedrill said, clenching his eyes shut as he ordered Poli to freeze the incoming Sludge Bomb before it used it again, this time the attack being empowered with lightning and fire as Red and Erika shield themselves against it.
"Red! I need you to buy some time." Erika said, the teen making Vulpix create a shield of fire in order to stop the barrage of sludge before it let out a stream of flames that hit Muk, Luxio absorbing the electricity from the Pokemon with Charge. As the behemoth cried again, the crystals on its back start illuminating, the spawns protecting it by launching bullets of sludge at the teen who made Poli freeze them before Vulpix reflecting them back to hit the minions.
"Now Will O'Wisp!" The fox then unleashed a barrage of fireballs that burned the spawns before Luxio went between them and use Discharge which knocked out the group. Muk then slammed its hand to the ground, Poli freezing it before Tangrowth broke its frozen hand. Taking this opportunity, Red and Beedrill dashed forward then repeatedly striking the crystal with Twineedle and Assurance until Muk let out another cloud of miasma which was quickly stopped when it started to lit ablaze.
"Finally, the Will O'Wisp worked! Now Beedrill!" Beedrill did not waste time before it landed one last strike which broke the crystal, resulting in a blood curdling scream that echoed through the sewers.
"Alright, I'm ready! Move away please!" Red heard Erika, looking at her direction to see a huge ball of light illuminating the sewer, seeing Bellossom holding it with a focused look on its face as it started to shrink in size. Beedrill immediately shot two String Shot into Muk's eyes, the Pokemon unaware of the Grass type whose eyes started glowing as it outstretched its arms.
"Solar Beam." The ball in Bellossom exploded which unleashed a blast that nearly covered the entire tunnel before hitting Muk. Red had to seek refuge in another tunnel as the attack sent Muk crashing into a wall, squishing it while vaporizing the spawns forming from its skin in the process. 'Woah! Is an attack supposed to be that powerful?'
As the light subsided, Red and his Pokemon were frozen in shock when they laid their eyes on the demolition created by the Solar Beam, seeing everything in the path of the blasts in ruins, smoke oozing from the debris. 'And there're others stronger than her? I'm scared to know how the others are like.'
"Oh my! I didn't mean to change the sewer tunnel system that much. I will have to apologize to the construction workers about this." Erika said, blushing and giggling while her Pokemon look at her with judging expressions. Meanwhile, Red landed on a pipe as he checked on Muk's condition. "Everywhere I look, all I see is fainted Pokemon. You find anything, Vulpix?"
'No. Just slime…eww…' Vulpix shuddered before they were able to find it on the floor, completely unconscious and badly damaged. 'It took that hit hard…'
"Yeah. The good thing is that the collar's destroyed so I should be able to catch it and get it to-"
Suddenly, Muk screamed loudly, creating a blast of wind that knocked the group that pushed them back as it started to get up.
'How is it still kicking? It took the Solar Beam the power of a nuke head on!' Beedrill said while holding on with String Shot, Red barely able to keep his balance until he felt the winds changing in direction, turning to Bellossom who is surrounded by a tornado before wind scythes burst from it, hitting Muk which made it flinch in fear. Before they could continue, it unleashed an army of Muk, Red noticing the numbers are fewer than last time. 'It's less this time. That Solar Beam really did a number on it.'
"Poli, use Hypnosis!" He commanded, Poli putting the entire group to sleep before Tangrowth and Luxio defeated them. In desperation, Muk attacked the teen with its tendrils which were immediately stopped by a volley of energy blasts from Bellossom until it sliced the pipe that Erika was on, the woman and her Pokemon losing their balance. "Tangrowth!"
Tangrowth quickly catches Erika before going towards Bellossom, not being quick enough to catch the Flower Pokemon who was about to fall into the sludge, the gym leader quickly taking out her Pokeball but it was too slow to reach the Grass type.
"Ice Beam!"
A huge blast hit the pool of toxic waste, freezing some of it and the wall to create a huge ice platform for Bellossom to land on, Erika making a sigh of relief before she made her next move. "Quiver Dance!"
Bellossom started dancing, glowing while Poli was able freeze another section of the sewer, Red landing on it before an Alolan Muk made a swipe at him, the Pokemon quickly defeated by Luxio. Looking at the giant Muk, Red put Vulpix and Poli on his shoulders as he outstretched his arms.
"You see where I'm pointing?" Both Pokemon nodded before he made them charge their attacks, not taking his eyes off their opponent. "I'm going to need you guys to hit there when I give the signal. We need to destroy those crystals. Luxio, you got my back?"
'Sure, Red! I got this.' Luxio said before using Discharge to take down a few more Muk, one of the lightning bolt nearly hitting Red. "Try to focus Discharge on your claws, you may be able to hit them harder."
During this, the crystals around Muk glowed before it unleashed a lightning-fueled Sludge Wave that got frozen by Poli before it fired another Ice Beam at the monster's arm, instantly freezing it until the limb got destroyed by a Flame Burst from Vulpix. The slime's mouth then lit ablaze, the fire getting bigger until another blast hit its face which froze its mouth along with the sea of sludge surrounding it, much to Red's surprise. 'How did…'
He turned to see Bellossom who was slightly panting while Erika gave it an Energy Powder before turning over to the Muk, seeing Luxio blocking a punch from it with Discharge then focusing the electricity to its paws.
"Ice Beam, Poli! Vulpix, Flame Burst after! Go after its crystals, Luxio!" The Pokemon did as told, Poli and Vulpix destroying the other hand before Luxio unleashed an assault on the back crystals, having difficult in breaking them which made it frustrated until it heard Red. "You can do it, Luxio! Just swing harder!"
'Easier said than done.' The Electric type grunted as it bounced off each crystal, using its lightning to boost its speed until it made a dent in one of them while Tangrowth slammed its arm onto the Pokemon's mouth, the seeds from it exploding which destroyed its frost covered mouth.
As the battle continues, the lynx was able to break one of the crystals which made the Muk scream in pain, sending its tendrils to attack Erika but it was shielded by Exeggutor and vaporized by Bellossom. It then unleashes a barrage of Sludge Bomb at Red, Beedrill grabbing him and dodging the move until a hand outstretched towards him.
'Again?!' Beedrill complained, Red directing Vulpix to look down. "Flame Burst now."
Using Flame Burst, the trio jettison themselves upwards, evading it before Muk shot a fireball which hit them, causing them to fall. "Beedrill! Are you ok?"
'Yeah…it's just a slight burn.' The bee said, much to Red's relief until he noticed the behemoth hand coming towards him from below as he braced himself. "Alright, Poli! Let's go!"
'I won't disappoint.'
"Ice Beam on its arm!" He said, the tadpole obeying as it froze the arm which Red landed on before he starts sliding. "Don't stop using Ice Beam. Watch my hand and shoot it in that direction."
'Got it!' The teen pointing in front of them as he continued going down the Pokemon's arm, Muk about to set the arm ablaze until it screamed in pain, Red surprised by this until he saw Luxio and Tangrowth destroying the gems around its body which made him smile. "Nice!"
He then noticed Muk about to hit him with a Thunder Punch but the Pokemon got pelted by various mud balls, turning to Erika as she made Tangrowth come towards but it was stopped when it was pushed back by the slime giant. Continuing down the arm, he notices some crystals coming out of the Pokemon's arm, making him quickly change his pathway to avoid the crystals until one appeared in front of him. Thinking quickly, the teen flipped over it, the shard barely grazed him as he found himself in the air.
Trying to reach for Tangrowth's arms, using Vulpix to propel themselves to the limbs. 'C'mon! Almost there.'
Suddenly, its arms got severed by tendrils that came towards Red who tried his best to evade them using Vulpix's Flame Burst until he noticed Muk underneath him with its mouth open which made him panic when he realized that Beedrill is out of stamina. 'Oh no oh no oh no!'
Returning Beedrill and getting out his other Pokemon, a tendril immediately knocking away the Pokeballs before another dragged him towards its mouth. Thinking quickly and looking around in panic, Red checks his bag for any items, unable to find anything until he closes his eyes and took out as much items as he could. 'I wish I was able to help you but…'
He takes off his bag, seeing Luxio break another crystal as he throws the bag, seeing it fall down as it gobbled the bag, pulling him down with more strength as he pointed his finger to its mouth. 'I'm sorry…'
"Flame Burst." He uttered those words, Vulpix unleashing a huge fireball which descended to the black slime. Within a moment, the bag immediately exploded, the shockwave pushing everyone back including Red who crashed into one of the barely hanging pipes. Watching the Pokemon's roaring in pain, Red felt pity for the Pokemon until he noticed some of the tendrils and crystals coming at him. "Oh no!"
"Get away!" Erika said before the Pokemon screamed once more, its skin inflating as it lashed out at him. Trying to climb up the pipe, Red was about to jump to another pipe but was stopped when a tendril destroyed it until he noticed smoke surrounding him. Coughing profusely, he then noticed something that made him horrified. "O-oh no…"
What he saw was completely out of a horror movie. Muk was glowing, its eyes hollow as it lifts its swollen hand to punch him but was stopped by Luxio's Discharge before it took Red away from the behemoth.
"Come on! Quick!" Erika said, returning most of her Pokemon as Luxio was able to get to her in time for her Exeggutor to use Protect to shield them as Muk self-destructed. The demolition shook the city, everyone feeling the tremors it created before the quakes starts to subside. The entire sewer was covered in rubble and debris as a veil popped out, revealing Red and Erika as they witness the extent of the damage done.
"My goodness. We were lucky I had Exeggutor. Oh, thank you by the way." She thanked her Pokemon who nodded in happiness while they wander around the place. Meanwhile, Red picks up a burnt yellow strap, his Pokemon seeing it as they tapped the piece of fabric. "I worked so hard at the Pokemart for that bag too…you will be missed…"
Walking down the crater, he then notices a pool of boiling sludge, seeing two eyes looking up at him. 'Thhhhhaaaannnkkk…yoooouuuu…'
"I wish it could've been different for you." Red said, letting out a shaky sigh as he could only watch Muk's last moments as its body starts dissolving. 'Thhhhhhhaaaannnnkkkkk…y…'
Hearing nothing more, the teen lifts his gaze to the sky as he clasped his hands. "Rest in peace."
"Hey Erika. What's happening? I'm seeing smoke from your city." Erika hears a voice in her head while she is getting ready to come out of the sewer which did not go unnoticed by Red whose eyes start glowing as he looked around. 'What was that?'
"Brina! It's nice to hear from you." Erika smiled as she got to the ladder, hearing an annoyed sigh.
"Oh, for the love of…it's Sabrina! Even Professor Oak gets it right! What's going on? Why did you call me?"
"We're kinda in a predicament. Team Rocket suddenly launched an attack and they're being quite the problem. They managed to get a gang of Muk on the streets. Think you can help, Bri?"
"Fine…give me one minute." Sabrina sighed before she cut off, much to Erika's relief as she returned her Pokemon as Red approached her. "We just got a big helping hand."
Throughout the city, screams filled the air as the police were escorting the last group of civilians trapped within the city. "Damn! These Muk is not making it easy."
"Exactly! I heard from B team that they're trying to get the people out of the borders but they were stopped by a group of them. It's like they're making sure that we're trapped here. But why?"
Meanwhile on the middle section of the city, a couple took refuge behind a truck, barely dodging a Sludge Bomb that melted part of the vehicle which made them shake fearfully.
"Are we gonna be ok?"
"Yes, we're-" Their conversation was cut off when the truck was thrown across the street, their attacker lifting its hand to punch them until it got smacked in the face by a blast of water.
"Are you ok?" They both look up to see Leaf and Kim as Kim commanded her Mothim to push back the group with Psybeam. Leaf then motioned them to follow her, escorting them into one of the buildings, the three of them being introduced to the Nurse who checked on their wound. Seeing they are ok, the two girls went back outside to be on lookout before one of the trainers noticing something which made him drop his binoculars. "Dear God…"
"What's wrong?" Leaf asked as she picked up the binoculars and checked, she almost froze in shock as she could barely hold the binoculars. What they saw was an army of Muk coming towards the building, the trainers all starting panicking with some of them running away from the building.
"So many…" Leaf muttered in fear. They all stood their ground, getting her Pokemon ready until she noticed one of the Muk hitting an invisible wall which made her confused. "What the?"
Leaf could not believe her eyes when she saw a white and pink Pokemon sitting on air as it makes hand gestures like its drinking tea, looking through the binoculars which made her scratch her head. "A Mr. Mime?"
Mr. Mime slowly outstretched its hand, shooting a blast that took out the Muk, much to everyone's surprise. Kim and Leaf stood awestruck at Mr. Mime's strength before seeing it get up and look up with a goofy expression. Everyone followed its gaze until they see a woman in the sky, her long black hair flowing in the wind as she looked around the place.
"That's Sabrina!" A girl said excitedly as she starts jumping up and down with a huge smile. This did not go unnoticed by Leaf before she looks at the gym leader, the woman looking at them before she flew somewhere else, her Mr. Mime walking to another direction. "So that's her? Saffron's gym leader."
Sabrina then saw Erika coming out of a pothole, dusting off her kimono before the Grass gym leader noticed her.
"Oh! Hey, Brina! Down here!" She waved which made the telepath's eye twitched before she sighed and descended, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Seriously, Erika. I'm this close…"
"C'mon! We've been friends for so long." Erika said, hugging Sabrina who pushed her away and pinched her nose. "Ugh. At least let one of your Pokemon use Sweet Scent on you. You smell horrible!"
Meanwhile, Red looks at the destroyed street, noticing several Muk laid unconscious on the streets. "This is awful…"
"How are the civilians?" Erika asked worriedly as she called her Gogoat.
"They are ok. Some are caught in rubble but I sent Alakazam and Mr. Mime to help them." Sabrina said emotionlessly, her eyes glowing yellow before flying towards the roof. "Wait here, Erika. I'll be right back. There's some people trapped in rubble over there."
"Got it!" Erika nodded as she and Gogoat search the area for any civilians. Meanwhile, Sabrina flew up to see a bunch of grunts who were surprised of her presence, Hun frowned upon seeing the telepath. "It's been a while…Sabrina."
"Yes, it has been, Hun."
As she floated in front of the group, the woman gave them a cold glare while floating an Ultra Ball beside her, the Team [Rocket soldiers readying themselves as they face the gym leader as she continued. "What do you want and what are you doing here?"
"The same as always. World Domination."
"Hmph! And you think things are going to go your way?"
"Yes but you being here was not within my calculations but it's alright…there's no such thing as a perfect plan." Hun pushed his silver hair back until he made a small grin. "That's why backups are created."
He snapped his fingers, the grunts rushed to attack the gym leader who released a Pokemon that redirected their attack at them, resulting in the group being knocked out except Hun who is protected by Gothitelle. Gothitelle could barely stay on her feet as she looked up, seeing an Espeon sitting in midair and looking at them with a disinterested look. 'Don't you look down on me!'
She immediately shot a Thunderbolt that was instantly reflected back, hitting the group. Hun watched the fight with an annoyed before he was pushed back to the edge of the building by a collision between Gothitelle and Espeon's attacks. Looking over the cliff, his eyes widened when his eyes landed on Red who is helping out an injured civilian. 'Isn't that…? But how?'
In that moment, Espeon easily took out his Gothitelle, Hun realizing he is alone before Sabrina telepathically lifted him up in the air. "What's your purpose here? I'm pretty sure 'world domination' isn't the only reason you would attack this city."
Hun simply laughed which made Sabrina sigh before her eyes start glowing, the man feeling an immense pain going through his head. "What…the hell…are you doing?"
"Reading your mind." She said emotionlessly, her eyes widened before Espeon blocked a blast from Gothitelle while she searched around the place. Finding Erika, she starts to sweat before she spoke. "Erika, the kid near you? Does he have black hair and red eyes?"
"Yeah…what's up?" Erika answered, looking down the street to see Red helping some civilians from the rubble.
"Protect the kid, Erika! He's their target!"
Hun clicked his teeth before turning to Gothitelle who nodded as it created a portal. "I took that psychic power of yours for granted and for that, we will accept defeat."
"You think you're in the position to say that?" Sabrina said before she was caught off guard by a blast that made her drop the Team Rocket grunt. Sabrina then followed him, the man took out a Pokeball which exploded into a flash of light that blinded and pushed back Sabrina but she commanded her Espeon to follow them, the Pokemon going through the portal along with them before it closed.
"Don't let me down Espeon."
Hun dropped out of the portal, rubbing his eyes while Gothitelle let out a temper tantrum by crushing various machinery in the area. 'Damn it! Damn it! How?! So many eyesores! I can't believe it! Aaaaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhhhh!'
"Gothitelle, calm down." Hun said but the Pokemon still continued.
'Seriously?! Great, nothing going right! This mission is a damn failure!' She screeched, pulling her hair like organs while Hun took out a phone and dialed a number. "Professor, the situation went south. We lost the experiment and the target is still alive."
"It's not a problem. Sufficient data has been collected.
"What about the Muk?"
"Leave them. They have done their purpose. I will dispose of them once you leave!"
Upon hearing this, Espeon felt a chill which made its fur stand, noticing Hun and Gothitelle going through a portal before it returns to Sabrina.
"That's all of them." Red said as he defeated another Muk, making Vulpix throw it in a ditch that Gogoat created. Meanwhile, Sabrina was searching for the leftover Muk in the city, sharing her mind with Erika who was travelling around the city and defeating them. 'It's weird. There's hardly anything in this city. Why would they attack here?'
'I don't know fully but it seems that their boss wants something to do with this boy.' Sabrina explained, seeing Red who was excited as he saw his Luxio's learning a new move. She then approaches him while he checks the Pokedex. "Your name is Red Fires, right? What are your relations with Team Rocket?"
"Well…I battled them a few times. So not much." He stated, scratching his head which made Sabrina raised a brow until her Alakazam appeared beside her. 'Miss, he is telling the truth. However, I feel like I've seen him before. Should I read his mind?'
"Please don't. The last person who tried that made my head hurt." Red said nonchalantly, surprising Sabrina before she cleared her throat which earned a few giggles from Meowth. 'This never gets old.'
"Y-you can understand Pokemon?" Sabrina asked, baffled when the boy nodded before tapping his shadow which revealed Dusclops. "Yeah. I'm a Channeler. I actually came to train with you but Saffron is closed."
'Wow. A channeler? That's surprising. But that's the least-' Her eyes widened when she crouched and check his face, squishing his cheek while she inspects his face. "Hey! Red, right? Who are your parents?"
"Umm… Helen and Jack Fires." That answer made the woman and Alakazam shocked as they slowly step away from Red which he noticed. "You can't be…"
Sabrina is about to speak but is interrupted when she sees Espeon running out of a portal towards her. Its eyes glowed, relaying a message to its trainer which her gasp before she closed her eyes and fly into the air, her Alakazam doing the same. 'Citizens of Celadon! We need to evacuate the city ASAP! However much of you still in the city need to go! Whoever is disabled will be escorted out by my Pokemon!'
Erika was surprised by the woman's panicked tone. 'What's wrong, Brina?'
'Espeon said that the Muk are gonna explode!' Sabrina said, immediately noticing the Muk starting to glow. 'Don't you have any Paras, Erika?'
'No. I had to give them to Bugsy.'
"Damn! There goes using Damp." Sabrina flew up into the air as she levitated all the Muk to the sky with the assistance of Espeon as Alakazam and Mr. Mime escorted the people from either ends of the city. Meanwhile, Red was running through the city, fighting multiple Muk as he made his way to the Pokemon Center. "Darn it. Why are there so many of them?"
As he got himself around a corner, he was hit by a cloud of miasma that made him start coughing as he tried to escape the smokescreen. Desperate and losing air, he tried to make Vulpix blew away the Poison Gas but it failed, his Pokemon getting weaker before he had to return them and tightening the handkerchief on his face as he bolts through it. "I gotta…get through. I don't like the fact that I've…been dealing with a lot of poison recently."
As he continued through the smog, he intercepted a Muk that slammed him into a wall which knocked the wind out of him, looking up to see multiple Muk surrounded him. Crawling on the ground, the teen started coughing as he struggled to escape from them as they started to glow. "I…gotta…"
"Leaf! We gotta go!" Kim said as she got herself ready, seeing the people in the building running out of the city. Leaf searched the place, making sure that there is no Muk pursuing them and starts sweating when she found no signs of Red. "Look, I know you're not only looking for Red but he's not here obviously! He probably might be at one of the exits!"
"You know how he's like. He has a tendency of getting into trouble!"
"I'm pretty sure he's ok and he would rather you be safe than here looking for him. Didn't you hear Ms. Sabrina?"
"Darn it! Alright, let's go!" Leaf clicked her tongue before the two left the building. As they made their way to the rest of the crowd, Leaf noticed a bunch of glowing Muk coming towards them which frightened her before she pushed Kim into an alleyway, making her Wartortle use Protect as the slimes jumped on the veil. In a single moment, panic ensued throughout the city as a single Magnemite watch from the air, a scientist speaking into a microphone with a sadistic grin on his face.
"Self-Destruct."
At that moment, the entirety of the Muk population exploded, engulfing the city and streets in a flash of light before an intense earth tremor shook it. In the surrounding routes, trainers could only watch as smoke erupted from Celadon City, sounds of fire and screams in the distant as they could see several people running from the place.
"Woah!"
"What was that there quaking?"
The explosion was also noticed by the employees of Silph Co. as the group witnessed in horror as some of the buildings in the city were crumbling slowly. Keeping a calm composure, Giovanni snapped his fingers which made Thalia crouched to his ear and then whispered to him, making the man sigh in annoyance. "Those scientists…so eager to try out their experiments without consent from the Admins. Well, it's alright."
"Are you sure, Giovanni sir?"
"Yes because they forgot about one thing…" The man said, smirking as he watched the leaf danced around in his teacup.
"Erika is no pushover."
"Mom! Wake up! We're ok!"
"We're…alive?" One of the civilians opened her eyes, seeing everything in shambles apart from the place that her and her daughter was standing on before she looked up into the air. "Leaves?"
Leaves flew throughout the city, protecting people and buildings from the explosion, Sabrina watching in surprise as the leaves picked up people. "Erika…"
Erika's Victreebel was glowing intensely, leaves spewing from its mouth as it protected its trainer who is badly bruised, part of her kimono burnt while holding a few children in her grasp. "…thank you…Victreebel…are you all…okay…?"
"Yes, Ms. Erika but…" The child was interrupted when the woman fell down, a calm expression on her face. "Thank…goodness…"
"Ms. Erika! Ms. Erika!"
Meanwhile in another section of the city, Sabrina flew around the area, looking frantically as she held her bruised shoulder. She was searching the place along with Alakazam and Espeon for Erika and Red. "Erika's knocked out. And I can't feel the kid's presence anywhere…darn."
She leaned by a wall while panting, checking her injuries. "I can't believe this. Those explosions scratched me in the air. It's one thing if they kill him but if they capture him…"
Noticing a few Team Rocket grunts patrolling the street, she decided to follow them with Espeon, arriving to the red-light district section of the city. As she entered the street, she noticed that the street was undamaged, much to her confusion. 'Why does this place feel so familiar?'
'Yeah. I felt the same thing…' Espeon said before they both continued down the lane until they followed them behind a huge building, tracing her hand against the sign. "The Celadon Casino? Celadon…Casino…"
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a group of vehicles arriving in front of the building, a blonde-haired man with a beard and a scar on his face along with a woman with purple hair that covers one of her eyes coming from one of the cars. 'Isn't he the heir of Silph Co.?'
Suddenly an alarm set off, surprising Sabrina who looked around until she noticed a Magnemite that was looking straight at her, knocking it out with Espeon before they both teleported at the same moment that the guards arrived, the men looking around in confusion as they found nothing. "Guess it was a stray Pokemon."
Within a room was Hun who had an ice pack on his head, speaking through a walkie talkie while Gothitelle angrily paced around the room. 'Damn it! Why couldn't you have given me more time?'
"We're here to complete a mission, not play around. Plus, we had to give a demonstration of how lethal we can be." Hun said with a grin, watching the destruction created by the Muk's attack through the computer until he heard something on his walkie talkie. "We got her, Hun! Over!"
"Good. Bring her here." The man said, much to the confusion of his Pokemon. After a few minutes of waiting, several grunts entered the room, some of them carrying hostages, Gothitelle's expression changing to anger when she noticed one of them. 'That bitch!'
"Calm down, Gothitelle. Ms. Green here is our guest. We must show her our hospitality for her father's sake." He said with a smile, watching the destroyed street where Red was on the monitors. "We even succeeded in the assassination of Red Fires."
As sirens blared through the air, a group of people dressed in hazmat suits patrolled the area, one of them noticing several capsules on the ground. A smile plastered on his face as he took up some of the capsules. "Hell yeah! Easy pickings!"
As he took up the capsules, something tackled him to the ground, the man looking around only to come face to face with a Meowth. He did not get a chance to react when the hand that he was carrying the capsule with fell to the ground, the man screaming in pain while the cat took the bag and sprinted away. "My arm! Damn it! Someone! Get that fucking Pokemon!"
The Pokemon sprinted into the direction of an alleyway until it was attacked by a bunch of Pokemon which made it lose some of the capsules in the bag, one of the Pokeballs showing Luxio which made it grit its teeth as it had no choice but to run away. 'I'm sorry, Lux. I'll get you soon.'
As its pursuers give chase to the Normal type, reaching a dead end before it vanishes, confusing its attackers who looked around before their trainers arrived, one of them being the man who held his severed hand. "Fuck, it escaped! Just take up what you can get!"
Meowth sprinted for a while, ignoring her aching feet as it was able to arrive to a safe alleyway, panting as she looked around the place. 'There's nothing here. There's…no one here anymore…'
The Pokemon could only see nothing but ruin as it walked through the city, only the sounds of the howling wind accompanying its ears as it found itself in front of a familiar red building as she went inside and fell asleep on one of the couches.
'It's cold…I don't like being cold…'
For anyone wondering, Kee Berry increases Defense when hit by a Physical Move while Maranga increases Special Defense when hit by a special move. So yeah, as expected of Erika when you're fighting an army of Muk, you gotta make sure you last if you're by yourself. This whole chapter took…I'm not even gonna say how long but I did enjoyed thinking through the madness and the events. I'm not making no excuse about the hiatus either. I was busy so it was hard. Honestly, I'm just glad to finish this chapter and sorry for taking so long, guys. Let me know your thoughts on this please. Well, hope that you guys are safe and ok. See ya later, guys. Enigma out!