At the summit of Mount Ember, they found Lieutenant Miyazaki. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Logan gasped. Moltres. But Moltres wasn't alone–he immediately noticed the icy visage of Articuno too. Impossible. Yet… that would explain the weather, he thought, squinting up at the lightning-battered sky. The rain poured down, steam rising like tatters around Moltres' magnificent flames.
It was not immediately clear to Logan why Miyazaki was using the Freeze Pokémon to combat the Flame Pokémon. Isn't ice weak against fire? Still, he couldn't get over the fact that Miyazaki already possessed a Legendary Bird. The two were squawking, trading Flamethrowers and Hurricanes, and the entire summit was soon bathed in chaos: wind, rain, fire, lightning, thunder. They could hardly see Miyazaki standing upon a broken boulder, directing his bird against the wild one–the one Alex would have to stop all by himself.
But that's how he wanted it to be. He didn't expect two Legendary Birds, though. "Hey, Alex, don't you want my help now?! That Articuno looks fierce!"
"Just stand back, and if things go south, you can step in. I don't need you yet."
"Ugh."
Miyazaki noticed them. Lightning silhouetted against his back, and he looked to Logan like a demon in the night, his hair drenched from the rain, his clothes all black in the near darkness. What an evil-looking man. Granddaddy Clefable would know how to deal with him. I'm not sure Alex knows what he's up against…
"So, you've come to stop me, is that it?!" the man shouted at them. "That's why you're here?!"
Moltres roared, flaming the entire area, forcing all three humans to duck for cover. A moment later, another Hurricane shook the volcano violently, and Moltres let out a cry, falling back.
"Alex, you have to stop him!"
"I know."
The man scoffed. "You can't stop me. Moltres is mine! It is my right to capture any wild Pokémon I wish. I will have you two arrested if you interfere."
"I'm not going to fall for that," Alex shouted back through the gale. "Bring out your Pokémon already. Stop being a coward!"
"A coward?! Would a coward be in my position? Would a coward have captured two Legendary Pokémon… soon to be three, once I get back to Kanto? You are ridiculous. Underestimate me to your own peril."
With a bone-chilling cackle, the Painted Dragon threw four Poké Balls one after the other, pulling them like plucked eyes from his belt. They landed in front of Alex, making it clear what Miyazaki's plan was. He's going to try to catch Moltres as fast as he can while stalling us with his remaining Pokémon. If I used Chansey and Echo… it would be eight versus four. We'd crush him…
Miyazaki's fanatical four were Krookodile, Magnezone, Scizor, and Gigalith. Alex seemed unconcerned, throwing only three balls–releasing Selena the clutch Gardevoir, Radon the stellar Aerodactyl, and Gyarados, Dragons' bane. Krookodile growled a mean growl, and Logan thought it was a moderately intimidating gesture (and all of Alex's Pokémon seemed to concur). In response, Tsunami growled a bit, and made his presence all imposing and stuff, and he intimidated them back, bless his soul. I couldn't intimidate a newborn Octillery if I tried.
"Why aren't you fighting four versus four, Alex?!"
"Don't worry about it," the older boy replied.
He better have a plan… it's not like Echo or Chansey could take out that Moltres or Articuno if it comes down to that… not to mention Murr or Doodleface.
"Selena, Shadow Ball that Scizor. Tsunami! Waterfall the Gigalith. Radon, Sky Drop that Magnezone."
They all barked in affirmation and rushed off.
Miyazaki didn't seem to give his Pokémon any instructions, which was a pretty nifty strategy in Logan's opinion. Rule #2: Never pick a Pokémon's move for it.
The Shadow Ball materialized before Gardevoir, slamming into the enemy Scizor. Before anyone could retaliate, Radon swooped in, picking up Magnezone in his talons and rising in the air. Then came the Krookodile, whose body glowed white. Two rings of pointed orbs materialized around his body, spinning slowly. As the light faded, they turned to grey stone. This parlor trick encapsulated all of three seconds of their lives, and afterwards, Krookodile shot the stones one after another from the air right at Tsunami, who took the blows like a champ (though he howled a bit).
Tsunami was none too pleased by this turn of events. Luckily for him, it was his turn to hurt someone bad. The pile of rocks known as Gigalith could probably be deconstructed as easily as legos, Logan speculated. Tsunami rammed into Gigalith, riding wave of water, pushing old boulder boy back several paces.
Scizor jumped forward, its claw glowing white, scratching across Gardevoir's chest harshly. Selena let out a cry of pain and fell back.
Then came that pile of rocks again. If Logan were designing a Pokémon (and as a breeder, he was certainly an intelligent designer), he would have designed a Pokémon exactly like Gigalith, down to the jagged rocks sticking out at random angles from the beast's legs and chest area. Like Krookodile, he glowed white, conjured two spinning rings of energy which soon cooled to rocks, and shot those floating halos one rock at a time into Tsunami's belly.
"Selena, same thing! Tsunami, Protect!"
The Shadow Ball hit Scizor again, weakening it severely. Though it was pushed back, it refused to fall, and Logan knew what that meant. Selena can't survive another hit. What's Alex going to do about that, huh? He's playing this so carelessly. He was broken from his thoughts immediately by Radon returning to the ground, releasing Magnezone, throwing his foe with a sickening crunch into a crater in the rocks.
The Krookodile was trying the same move again–Stone Edge, Logan recognized it as. Before its attack could hit Tsunami, a white shield appeared in midair, blocking the attack from hitting him. Snarling, the Krookodile retreated. Scizor shot forth next, its claw burning white, scratching hard across Gardevoir's body. Though it was weakened, its resolve had not wavered, and the attack hit with grim power. Gardevoir collapsed.
From behind the rest of the gang, languishing in the smoking crater, Magnezone suddenly shot up and with equal quickness fired a Thunderbolt into Radon's throat. The Aerodactyl cried out, losing altitude briefly, but regaining his hovering stance just before hitting the ground. That attack really hurt him… Alex's Pokémon are getting destroyed!
And there was Gigalith too, but he was quite late to the party–his Stone Edge attack, like Krookodile's, bounced harmlessly off Tsunami's Protect.
Things were looking dire. It was two versus four, and both Tsunami and Radon were not in good health. Why doesn't he take out his other Pokémon? Does he really think he can save them all for the birds? That's crazy. Alex is crazy. He's a crazy boy. Thank Arceus I'm not crazy like him!
"Radon, Rock Slide! Tsunami, use Waterfall on Gigalith!"
"Aero!" the Fossil Pokémon cawed, flapping its wings as boulders materialized in mid-air, then sailed down towards Miyazaki's Pokémon without pause.
Scizor and Magnezone were hit hard; Gigalith jumped aside at the last moment, the boulders crashing around it, but not one of them hitting the wonderful sentient pile of rocks. Krookodile, being the fourth Pokémon, invariably was too far away to be hit at all, as battles involving more than three Pokémon are merely figments of our imagination and cannot actually occur.
Alex raised an eyebrow at the Gigalith. "Lucky escape. But your luck won't last forever."
When the dust settled, Scizor was pinned under a boulder, unable to move. Krookodile jumped forward, the perfect croco-boy, and shot another round of Stone Edge at Tsunami. This time Tsunami did not block, but instead rode a second wave so hard that he crashed into Gigalith, sending his rocky foe spinning and twirling. Gigalith appeared battered and wounded, but he was not done yet.
Radon flapped his wings impatiently as Magnezone approached. It would have been so good had he been able to dodge that incoming Thunderbolt, but he was only an Aerodactyl after all (his kind went extinct for a reason), and he went down just like Gardevoir and Scizor. Gigalith's own Stone Edge was already warming up by the time Radon had fallen, and Tsunami could scant turn his attention back towards that tricky, wounded, yet still alive Pokémon before it railed him with a line of psychically-strung rocks.
Tsunami let out a cry and fell, and it was three versus zero. Just great. "Alex!"
"Don't worry, I've got this." He threw only a single ball, surprising Logan greatly. Out came Typhlosion amidst the salt and smoke and ash.
"But Alex…" Logan said in exasperation, "your Typhlosion's outnumbered three-to-one!"
"Then it'll be an even fight… well, maybe that's being generous." He raised his arm, revealing a very fashionable and stylish bracelet on his left wrist. In Logan's estimation, he seemed to place a quarter or maybe a dime into the bracelet, and then the whole thing lit up like magic… just as Typhlosion did, in tandem. When the light faded, there were several new flames sprouting up from Typhlosion's body, and even better, he had a smoke cape!
Wicked cool, brah.
But more importantly, at this exact moment, a thick beam of intense sunlight broke through the storm clouds, evaporating the rain, quelling the wind, silencing the lightning. This sunlight, however, was only piercing through a small part of the cloudscape above Typhlosion, and while Articuno and Moltres continued to do battle, the storms around the rest of Mount Ember persisted with much force.
"Eruption!" Alex said stoically.
The Typhlosion roared, dropping to the ground, the flames around its mane growing brighter and hotter and larger and soon expanding outwards in a stream of flames, enveloping Krookodile, Magnezone, and Gigalith in an intense superheated blaze.
Then the heat dissipated again, Logan could see all three of Miyazaki's Pokémon collapsed and unconscious. "Oh baby, a triple!" Logan couldn't help himself from saying, his lip quivering like when his mother had put away the crème fraîche without offering him a sip.
"Good work, Perdition. Return."
Silence filled the peak now that the fighting was done. Miyazaki had returned to his rock, his hands on his hips, staring down at the two plebeians who had dared to stand in his way. The storm has subsided… the fighting's over… he's won!
"Now," Miyazaki said. "I see you've dealt with those petty rubes. They are nothing compared to my Legendary Birds! I will crush you both and take your Pokémon as my own."
"Then do it." Alex took out his other two Poké Balls and threw them towards Miyazaki, who now stood with a Legendary Bird on either side of him, each perched on a rock. Alex's Pokémon–an Excadrill and a Tyranitar–shifted on their feet impatiently. "Alright Janitor, Slammer, let's finish this fight."
At once, an irritating sandstorm was triggered, blowing about the peak with such fury that Logan had to pull his beanie down over his eyes. The lieutenant jumped off his rock, walking first over to Articuno, then to Moltres, spraying each of them in the face with some kind of potion (or voodoo witchcraft, as Granddaddy Clefable preferred to call it), and magically, each one was restored to full health.
"Now," said Miyazaki, "it begins."
"No," replied Alex solemnly. "Now it ends. Rock Slide!"
Above the birds' heads, a series of boulders materialized, dropping down with such suddenness that Articuno was caught in the midst of it all, battered terribly as a result. Moltres, who was a bit quicker, was able to dodge the falling boulders by taking to the air, circling around the peak of Mount Ember, and then racing back down towards Janitor, Alex's Excadrill.
One Flamethrower was all it took to reduce Alex's side to one. "Ice Beam, Articuno, what are you waiting for?!"
Emerging from the rubble and looking quite beaten, the Articuno nevertheless shrieked out a war-cry, flapping its wings indignantly, and spit its beam of energy at Tyranitar's chest. Slammer seemed to barely feel the blow; he was already conjuring up a Rock Slide of his own.
This time, neither bird was agile enough to get away, and Articuno collapsed as soon as the first boulder hit it in the neck. He's taken out one of them… incredible. A Legendary Pokémon felled by only a Tyranitar. It's absurd!
Moltres too had taken the brunt of that attack, and now it staggered to regain its footing on a rock-clobbered perch.
"Overheat, Moltres!"
"Tressssss!" the bird whistled, taking to the air again, flames building around its body in great quantity. As it turned and bore down upon Tyranitar, it opened its beak, and a flaming ball of fire shot out, washing over Slammer like a bucket of paint.
For a moment, Logan was sure Alex had lost. Then the flames died, and Tyranitar came back into view, looking hardly worse for wear. Without pause, it conjured another round of boulders above Moltres' head and dropped them, and so too did the Flame Pokémon fall.
"I-impossible… no way! I had both of them at my command… Those were Legendary Birds, you maggots!"
"End of the line, man. What you did here was not only greedy, but craven. You can't just attack One Island with the rest of your lackeys and expect us to roll over like the French Baguettes."
"Actually, Alex, I think he's from Kanto, or maybe one of the other regions!" Logan interjected helpfully.
"Officer Jenny would like to have some words with you. She'll be here any moment, now that the storm has subsided."
"You aren't taking me anywhere. Moltres! Articuno! Get up! Turn these two brats into ash!"
He reached out his hand, a spray revive clutched in it. Alex noticed at once. "Slammer, stop him!"
It was a bad idea for Miyazaki to try that, for Slammer did to the lieutenant then what the spring does to the cherry trees, but to go on about that any more would be rather pedantic, so let's just say that as soon as Slammer grabbed ahold of Miyazaki, he never let go until Jenny got there and cuffed the man herself.
Alex used his own revives to revive all of Miyazaki's abandoned Pokémon; as soon as Articuno was brought back to full health, it screamed wildly, its beady eyes darting back and forth, suspicious of all of them, and it took to the skies, flying off towards the mainland.
Moltres too was revived, though it did not fly off. Instead, its eyes studied them with gravely, and after they took their sweet time reviving the other four 'mons, it suddenly grew impatient and began shooting flaming balls of fire into the air, causing everyone to run away, much like those Painted Dragon lackeys had in the previous chapter.
But we're the good guys, Logan thought, so that means we're not fleeing, we're just setting off on a new adventure in a new direction!
They never saw Miyazaki again, and the Painted Dragons never troubled One Island thereafter. But it appeared to Logan, as they trekked back to the beach, the policemen and women calling from their boats just off-shore, that all anyone cared about was Alex and his feats of great accomplishment.
Logan was, to his fault, someone who liked to argue and whine at people when they failed to recognize his great achievements. But today–or tonight, rather, as the sun had already begun to set (a fact they had not realized until the storm had cleared)–he needed to get back to the hotel as soon as he could so he could get enough rest so as to remain sharp in the morning for his meeting with Granddaddy Clefable. He was so mad about those missing cookies. I gotta make it up to him somehow. Maybe I'll get Ryan to buy him a new knitted sweater. His old one has a few holes in it…
They came to a stop on the shore, Alex releasing Tsunami again into the water (having revived him atop the mountain, of course). "You coming?" he said to Logan.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
"What's the matter with you? Why are you so grumpy?"
His mind was on Granddaddy Clefable, and he didn't want to indulge in the general jive Alex so often did. "Well, Alex, I was just thinking about how I really like Lucario, but I can never seem to be able to SHFFL with him."
"Oh, that's a shame."
"You're a Poké Smash god, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Well, come on, teach me the Way of Poké Smash!"
"Nah."
Logan was taken aback. "B-but why not?"
"Because you're an idiot."
Tsunami roared, and Alex leaned against his neck, and they were racing the waves before Logan could reply.
Night was fast approaching, though the cloudscape had cleared somewhat. In what had seemed little more than the blink of an eye, the storm had broken and given way to the more usual tropical climate that she was accustomed to. The starry sky was still cloud-pocked, yet even those few remaining were quickly being carried away by the seawinds.
There was no time for her to quell the Painted Dragons on either Five Island or One Island. No matter. I've cleared two islands today. I've been productive. There's always tomorrow. Ryan and his gang will be here for two weeks… I have plenty of time.
Her parents' Gyarados submarine was pulled up onto the beach. Her mother paced before it, tapping her shoulder impatiently; her father was nowhere to be seen. She half-wanted to jump on Salamence and fly back to Resort Gorgeous, leaving them here to their folly throughout the night. Knowing them, they could be here till morning. But at the same time, Jessica felt several pangs of anxiety in her chest at the prospect of returning to the hotel alone. She did not think much of Ryan or his lowly band of followers, and yet… Four against one could be dangerous. I have to remain focused. Until I have Mewtwo at my side, I need to be more cautious than usual.
"Are we nearly done, mother?" she asked at last, after having waited for what she deemed a reasonable amount of time (approximately three minutes). "Can't we get going? It's getting cold… night is coming."
"Are you scared of the dark, snookie-pooh?" her mother responded, high, flittery sarcasm drenching her voice.
"Very much so, Mother," she replied, equally sarcastic, "but I thought you already knew that?"
Her mom pivoted, apparently bored by this conversation. "Hmmm… James?! What are you doing in there?"
There was a loud crashing sound, followed by the sound of several dropped tools clanging against the metal walls and floor inside. What a klutz… but that's where I get it from, she thought, smirking to herself. "Eieieiaaaah… just a sec, Jessie!"
"Ugh, your father can be so useless sometimes," Jessie replied. "Are you looking for the fireworks?!"
"Ye-yea…!" he replied sheepishly, his voice muffled.
"I put them behind the portable fridge! Don't you remember? I showed you yesterday, James."
"O-oh, yeah! There they are, heheh!"
The blue-haired man popped up like a Diglett on LSD, soot spread messily around his chin and left cheek. "Here!" he said, holding up several wrapped-up fireworks on sticks. "I found them, I found them!"
Jessica raised an eyebrow."That's your big plan? Shooting fireworks into the sky…?"
"That's just step one, darling." Her father jumped out of the submarine, slipping on the hatch and face-planting in the sand. Sitting up awkwardly, he shook the sand from his hair and showed Jessica what he was holding in his other hand, which, to her, looked like a blue towel with little black straps spread across it. "This… is a motion capture suit!"
"Okay."
"All I have to do is put it on, and then turn on our projection device, and I'll be able to project my movements as a Mewtwo!"
A frisson overcame Jessica. "Like back in Kanto… I tried a similar technique to capture a Mew."
"And we all remember how that went, don't we, Jessica?"
"I caught it–it worked. There were just… complications afterwards."
"That boy," her mother smiled poisonously. "That miserable thief who didn't even get us a mini fridge for our room…"
"I'll never forgive him for that, awooheehee!" her father laughed maniacally. "Once we have Mewtwo, we'll be able to crush his dreams like I've always wanted!"
Once I have Mewtwo, not you. I wouldn't trust you with my Klefki. "Dad, you're getting ahead of yourself. First we have to make sure we can lure the Mewtwo to a safe location and then ambush him…"
"Which island would you like to try this out on, dear?"
"Five Island will do… after I've taken out the island's marketplace… run by the Painted Dragons scum…!" She paused, letting the anger disperse throughout her, warming her blood. Don't get carried away. "We'll try this tomorrow."
Her parents giggled evilly, and Jessica allowed herself to indulge, just a bit. As long as Mom and Dad don't slip up and reveal my plan to Ryan tonight, I'm invincible. I've already won. The moon was bright and yellow. In a day or two, it would be full. And by then, she would have already won.
Don't get ahead of yourself. This method isn't guaranteed to capture Mewtwo. She knew that, but still Jessica's mind returned to the past, to Kanto, to Lavender Town. That Mew was pathetic. It was not suited to be my protector. Giovanni's notes indicate that each of the Mewtwo his scientists created was many times more ferocious than any Mew… and more powerful, too. Power is all that matters; it's truth. Nobody will be able to stop me, and if they even try, I have a secret weapon… one not even Giovanni was able to try out before all the Mewtwo escaped.
She felt the smooth stone in her pocket, cold as ice. Its spherical perfection comforted her. A Mantine was crossing lazily over the water towards the shore. In the moonlight, a Magikarp breached, and then another, and then another.
"Don't say anything to those idiots," she cautioned her parents. "The less they know, the better. I want this to be a big surprise for that blue-haired brat who thinks he's champion of Kanto."
"He'll crumble before Mewtwo," Mom said. She rubbed Jessica's head briskly, a rare move. "Don't worry about us. We won't say anything."
"That's right!" her father agreed. "I've never let you down, my sweet little snookie-pooh! You can count on us!"
That is exactly the opposite of what I know to be true. And yet she nodded and smiled and said nothing.
Officer Jenny had told him all about it, but Logan and Alex had already returned to Resort Gorgeous by the time they eased into One Island's port. Everyone was already there when he returned, which was really convenient. Logan was cooking pad thai in the kitchen, while Alex was slicing himself a little more than less than half of a cucumber for his bowl of dumplings. Even Jessica was there, picking at her fingernails as she heated up three cup of noodles in the microwave.
"Yo."
"Yo. Where've you been Ryan?"
"I dunno. There was an island and some boats and a lot of water and tons of annoying dudes, but in the end I beat 'em all, ya know?"
"I'm really proud of you," sneered Jessica. "Look at how dry your lips are."
"Well yeah… I was lost at sea for several hours. That kinda thing happens, ya know." He was too tired to argue with her further. "So, Alex, how'd that thing at Mount Ember go? Jenny kinda gave me the spoilers, but I thought I'd rather hear it straight from you."
"We defeated Miyazaki and he was arrested."
"Oh." No flourish at all. That's just his style. "Well, cool. So I guess there's no more Painted Dragons on One Island?"
"Nope."
"Hang on… what?" Jessica butted in. Her noodles were done and in her haste, she had torn open one carton, using chopsticks to pull out a huge clump of steaming noodles. Impatient as a Snorlax, she downed the noodles in one gulp and then proceeded to fall on the ground, sucking in air, moaning. It was really weird, but nobody else said a thing about it because that would be rude.
"Man, this was a long day," Ryan yawned. "Still no sign of Rahul?"
"Nope. He's gone for good," Logan said. "I've seen it a hundred times before. They never come back, man, they never come back!"
"Alright, settle down," Alex snapped. "In a week or two, or maybe even sooner, he's going to get bored, and he's going to want to play some Pokéfight with Ryan and me. As it just so happens, I've just put my finishing touches on the newest Legendary Platinum Pokéfight gametype, and he promised he would test it out with us. So he'll be back, no question."
"You think you're a bit of a connoisseur of Pokéfight gametypes, don't you?" Ryan said wryly. "Always with your Platinum Pokéfight. That's all you ever want to play."
"Well yeah. It's the most realistic gametype for any Pokéfight scenario," Alex shot back. "And besides, I'm the champion of Sinnoh, so I can do whatever I want. All I want to do is play my own gametypes, and all of yours suck. Mine are the best; that's self-evident. I prefer it when you and Rahul play the same Platinum Pokéfight with me over and over, and it never gets boring for me. That's the only thing that matters."
He took his bowl of cucumbers and walked off to his room, shutting the door behind him.
"He's kidding, right?" Ryan asked, doubt plaguing his voice. "He's like… he's not serious, is he?"
Logan shrugged. "After I send Granddaddy Clefable safely back to Alpha Centauri, I'm going to spend three to five years training in Poké Smash just so I'll be able to four stock that guy blindfolded."
"Okay, well good luck with that."
Ryan was feeling mighty sleepy himself, and instead of feasting with Logan, decided to head in for the night. Katagiri, who had been perched upon his shoulder, however, was eyeing that pad thai hungrily, and he jumped onto the table to snip at some. Logan'll bring him back to the room when he's done, Ryan thought vaguely, yawning again.
At the door to his room, he was met by Jessica, who was holding all three steaming cups of noodles as if she'd done this at least fifty-seven to seventy-three times before.
"What do you want?" he asked her sullenly, suppressing another yawn.
"You're not going anywhere tomorrow, are you?" she asked him sharply.
"What do you care?"
"Oh… it's nothing. It's just my sweet mama's birthday, and I was going to bake her a cake. Party's at three, alright?"
"Whatever."
"Don't be late."
"Or what?"
"Or I'll hunt you down myself."
"Sounds real interesting."
"Yeah, well you better be here at three tomorrow."
"You can't tell me what to do, Jessica."
"Hmph. I'm not surprised a kid with dry lips like you would say something like that."
"Hey! I can't help it if they're dry… my parents never gave me chapstick when I was a baby!"
She smiled sardonically. "They look weird… a little misshapen. Heheheh. Pity."
And with that she turned and walked off back to her room, leaving only the odor of cheap styrofoam and freeze-dried carrots in her wake.