Chapter 53; Ecutreak city shenanigans part 3; Team Sonic on the run
"Pikachu thunderbolt!"
Pikachu unleashed thunderbolt as hard as it could. Ash was satisfied.
"Great now show me your quick attack. Strike heracross with everything you got!"
Pikachu obeyed and launched. Heracross was slammed so hard it was pushed back a few meters.
"Great job both if you" Ash congratulated his two pokemon "he won't stand a chance this time".
Brock and Misty, who was holding her togepi in her arms, observed his training.
"Should we remind him that the reason he got close to beating Sonic last time was because he was going against both Ash and Knuckles?" Misty asked Brock.
"I don't think it will make any meaningful difference" Brock surmised "at least he has the confidence to challenge Sonic again so soon".
Misty nodded as she petted togepi.
"Do you think Knuckles was hiding something yesterday?"
"Not sure" Brock said in deep thought "I believe that he was telling the truth when he told Morty he was keeping no secrets… but there is still something mysterious about him".
Misty nodded. She couldn't quite express the feeling but she felt as if Knuckles was indeed hiding a secret. And it also felt he was hiding it even from himself.
After another 3 minutes, Ash and his pokemon finished their training and packed up, heading back to town to find Sonic and his crew. A rematch was in order.
While this was trying place in the edge of the treeline west of Ecutreak city, Team Sonic was training on the south clearing one last time before returning to town to restock on supplies and set out for Olivine city. Tails was also training with his friends, as he had to start creating bonds with his pokemon as well as warming up to scyther, something that would take a while just like with Sonic and his Pinsir.
Eevee and butterfree had already begun warming up to Tails and sparred with Sonic's pokemon to get a simulated battle experience. Butterfree, although not the strongest, proved to be a rather annoying opponent with its confusion attack as well as stun spore. Eevee also grew in power at a rather quick pace which was to be expected due to its very adventurous nature.
Knuckles' team was also steadily growing in power, although not learning any new moves. Not that they needed new moves at this point in time.
Sonic's team was a similar case. His pokemon didn't learn any new moves but kept growing in power.
After wrapping up the training session they began to pack up to return to the city. There was a lot of silence amongst them.
The tension of the previous day was still very present. None of the three friends had fully digested the events yet.
"How long are we going to continue postponing the overdue discussion?" Sonic suddenly said.
"What overdue discussion?" Knuckles said as calmly as he could.
"Knuckles we awakened three legendary pokemon that have been in that statue form of slumber for 40 years!" Sonic said loudly borderline shouting "and it wasn't just your touch on Suicune's statue that caused it! When we came to your sides, Entei and Raikou were also awakened. It can't have been a coincidence! They were awakened because of our combined presence!"
"That doesn't make any sense Sonic and you know it".
"Then what is your opinion?" Sonic fired back obviously meaning "let's see you smartass".
"We have no opinion on this because we have no proof of anything regarding to the beasts Sonic" Tails tried to calm his friend down.
Sonic however hadn't revealed something.
"When they awakened… Entei looked straight at me. In the same way Moltres looked into my eyes every time we met".
"As if it was acknowledging you?" Tails guessed.
"Yes!" Sonic yelled in relief "but how did you know?"
"I had the exact same feeling. Raikou looked at me in the exact same way" Tails explained.
"That was also the case with me and Suicune" Knuckles admitted.
"It was?" Sonic exclaimed totally unprepared.
"Yes. Eusine wasn't entirely wrong in his assumption".
"But… this… I… how can any of this be?" Sonic muttered but got no response.
Team Sonic fell silent once again.
Was each one of them acknowledged by one of the three legendary beasts? And if that was the case why?
Why would the legendary beasts acknowledge them? Or more accurately how would they possibly know them to be worthy of acknowledgement when they were trapped as statues for 40 years, long before any of the three friends even existed?
With the three friends occupied by their deep thoughts, they were barely quick enough to dodge a flamethrower. Before they could even look at the direction the flamethrower came from, a familiar, ferocious roar filled the area.
"ENTEI!" Tails screamed.
Entei, with its majestic and glorious mane billowing in the calm wind, roared once again, this time at Sonic and Raichu. It then unleashed another flamethrower which Raichu was not quick enough to dodge.
Both Raichu and Sonic felt the searing heat engulf them. Entei's flamethrower was far more powerful than Sonic's Moltres' flamethrower.
Once the flames stopped coming g however, they immediately sprang into action.
"You want to fight Entei?! Raichu thunder punch!"
Raichu jumped towards Entei fist charged but Entei unleashed a powerful roar that pushed raichu back causing it to roll on the ground.
"Don't give up! Quick attack then brick break!"
Raichu sprang back up and with the speed of a bullet, slammed into Entei. Entei was barely phased but the fact that it was phased at all gave Sonic some confidence.
Raichu, having ricochetted from the attack, landed on its feet and jumped again, winding up its paw to use brick break.
Entei moved very fast, having its majestic mane absorb the attack. It then shook raichu off very easily. Raichu once again rolled on the ground.
Before either Sonic or Raichu could react, Entei was right in front of Raichu and momentarily stood on its back legs, preparing to use stomp Raichu down.
"NOOOO!" Sonic yelled as he felt energy gather into his body. He moved faster than Tails or Knuckles could have ever anticipated.
As Entei brought its huge paw down on Raichu, Sonic found himself holding the paw back, putting all of his strength into preventing the legendary Pokemon from hurting raichu like that.
Entei looked down on Sonic with a momentary look of deep impression. Sonic also met Entei's eyes at that very moment. The feeling of familiarity with this pokemon filled Sonic's entire being. But it was slightly different.
One thing felt obvious though; Sonic didn't know Entei. But Entei knew Sonic. And it was obvious Sonic was not ready yet. That Entei could tell.
Putting more force down, Entei overpowered Sonic resulting in both him and raichu being stomped down very hard.
That was the exact moment Ash and his friends chose to arrive.
Shocked beyond belief to see Sonic be utterly and literally crushed Ash immediately attacked.
"Pikachu use thunderbolt!"
Entei easily dodged the thunderbolt and fled the area. Its job here was done. It had to let its two brethren know that team Sonic was not ready and would need more time.
Ash, Misty, Brock immediately rushed to Sonic's side alongside Tails and Knuckles.
The two teams immediately rushed Sonic and Raichu to a Pokemon center to get the patched up. Along the way Ash demanded to know how they found Entei and how Sonic was momentarily overpowering it with his bare hands.
"It's just like I explained to you 2 days ago" Tails reminded him "Sonic and Raichu's bond connection empowers them. I wasn't kidding. Before you arrived Sonic moved like a blur to keep Entei from harming Raichu".
"But if that's the case how did Entei overpower him after all?" Misty inquired while togepi slept peacefully in her lap.
"Their bond is strong but when it comes to how long it has existed, it's still in its very early stage. It will develop more over time. Although we don't know if the bond boost can be actively triggered, Sonic could conceivably become as fast as a pokemon using quick attack or even extreme speed. And possibly even strong enough to go toe to toe with a Machamp".
Aah found that very hard to believe. He looked at Sonic laying down on the bed inside the healing room, Raichu by his side. Both were still without their senses from the stomp attack.
"As fast as extreme speed and as strong as a Machamp? Just who is he really?" Ash wondered. Sonic was just full of surprises, and apparently had only began to scratch the surface of those surprises.
Sonic and Raichu's confrontation with Entei as well as their hospitalization in the Pokemon center didn't go unnoticed throughout the city. Eusine arrived about an hour later and demanded to know all the details and if Suicune appeared alongside Entei. Knuckles assured him that Suicune didn't appear but expressed his curiosity as to why Eusine cared whether Suicune appeared. Eusine left without answering, merely requesting if they spotted Suicune they let him know.
"Sonic literally got stomped down and all this guy cares about is whether we saw Suicune?" Tails said in a disapproving disbelief.
Eventually Sonic and Raichu regained their consciousness and were healed just enough to be allowed to leave. Knuckles returned from shopping for the supplies for their trip just in time to see his recovering friend back to normal.
Leaving the Pokemon center however, they were met with a couple of guns pointed at them.
"Woah woah!" Sonic yelled raising his hands with Tails and Knuckles following suit. Thankfully Raichu was back in its pokeball cause it there was no way it would tolerate such an uncalled for action.
"Don't you move a muscle" the one of the two men aiming their weapons at them said in a somewhat pleased tone "we got you now, hero of Kanto".
"Team rocket?" Tails asked aloud before he could stop himself.
"No. We work with the police" the second man corrected Tails in an almost apologetic way.
"And what do you want from us?" Knuckles asked with a hint of fury in his voice.
Sonic on the other hand immediately realized the answer to the question as soon as that second guy mentioned they were working with the police. Looking at the first of the two, he took a guess.
"Detective Looker I assume?"
Looker was momentarily shocked by the fact that Sonic knew of him and wondered how it was possible that those three vigilantes could stay consistently one step ahead of the police. He however regained his composure almost immediately.
"Yes. And you're coming with us".
"What for?" Sonic asked to know.
"Assault on team rocket executive Proton and financial destruction of silph co".
Tails looked horrified. Had they in fact left clues at the slowpoke well? Knuckles cursed on the inside for allowing his emotions to get the better of him back then.
Sonic too was wondering on what grounds they could possibly arrest him. Keeping cool he spoke up.
"My actions in Kanto have been pardoned detective. You can't arrest me for that. As for the alleged assault you're talking about, we have absolutely no idea what you'referring to".
"We're not going to play 20 questions here. You will come with us to the station now".
At that exact moment a young girl and her oddish came out of the pokemon center and she screamed her lungs out when she saw the guns.
Looker and Morrison panicked as their arrest of team Sonic was not by the book. And to top it off, two international detectives frightening a little girl with guns wasn't a good look on either of them.
Immediately pointing the guns in the air, Morrison tried to comfort the little girl claiming everything was ok. And this momentary distraction was all team Sonic needed.
"GO GO GO!" Sonic yelled.
The three trainers ran off as fast as they could, with Looker and Morrison in pursuit.
"STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!" Looker's voice could be heard over their shoulders but neither of the three friends looked back.
Taking a sharp right turn into a crowded street, team Sonic hid into an alley to their right behind a dumpster. As Tails and Knuckles took deep, silent breaths to calm down, Sonic peeked over the side of the dumpster to see Looker and Morrison run past the alley, thinking team Sonic was trying to lose them in the crowd.
The team then went deeper into the alley before Tails went off.
"This is the worst possible development!" he said loudly but not loudly enough for his voice to reach the streets "pursued by the cops?! I'm too young to rot in jail!"
"Nobody's rotting in jail Tails. Not today anyway" Sonic assured his friend, sounding strangely calm and confident.
"Sonic, do you even understand the magnitude of this?" Tails asked him dumbfounded by his friend's lack of worry.
"Of course I do. But it's ok".
Knuckles wasn't one to panic but Sonic's statement was just reckless if not panic inducing.
"Sonic do you realize that we are wanted by the law?"
"No. Because we are not".
Tails looked at him as if he was insane.
"You're the one who yelled at us to go. Literally three times".
"I did. And what did our pursuers do?"
"They hunted us down" Knuckles responded.
"Indeed. But that action reveals more that you think".
Tails and Knuckles looked at each other and then back at Sonic.
"Riddle me this" Sonic said with a smile "why didn't they call for backup?"
Tails and Knuckles gasped.
"Holy cow you're right! It's standard procedure!" Tails said in realization.
"So wait" Knuckles asked "you're saying that we are not being pursued?"
"Yes that is exactly what I'm saying" Sonic smiled even more.
"But then why would these 2 guys pursue us? Who even are they? If they're not police, how did they know about the slowpoke well?" Tails rumbled on trying to make sense of it all.
"That is a good point" Knuckles agreed "for them to know about the slowpoke well, they have to be with the police. But if they are with the police why didn't they call for backup? Those are two major contradictions that just cannot add up".
"They were international police" Sonic told them "and one of the two was Looker, the detective Mr Pokemon suggested we meet up with".
"Wait so he's the lead detective in team rocket's Kanto case?" Knuckles asked confused "but then why didn't he bring more forces to arrest us? I mean if he suspects you… and also… the slowpoke well. He knew. And yet again he didn't call for backup… i'm so confused".
"It is a weird situation indeed" Sonic also agreed "at least without the required context".
"And how do you propose we find said context to make sense of the situation?" Tails asked him.
"That requires planning" Sonic said as the smile was wiped off his face "and us risking an actual breaking of the law to figure out what those two wanted. Or rather, how much they know".
"What are you thinking?" Knuckles asked hesitantly not liking where this was going.
"I'll give you one clue. The plan requires a rope and a crowbar. And a way to access the police station's vents".
Knuckles nodded without an ounce of agreeing.
"It's official. You've lost it".
"Breaking and entering? Into the police station?!" Tails almost screamed "if we aren't already wanted by the law you can bet your ass we will be after that!"
Sonic was caught by surprise at Tails cursing, he was usually a wall flower.
"Look" Sonic said seriously "I'm gonna be honest. I'm not entirely sure myself that we aren't actually wanted. This is why we need to do this. We need to know how we're going to go about our mission from now on. Which means we need to know what the police knows. And if necessary, destroy evidence on us".
Tails grabbed his head with his hands, feeling a little dizzy.
"Do you even realize we're talking like criminals right now?"
"I know. But there is no other way" Sonic concluded.
Knuckles nodded slowly. As dangerous as it was they needed to know what the police had on them, if they even had anything at all.
Tails argued once more then about the insanity of the idea, but relented.
For the rest of the day team Sonic found refuge in an abandoned building, laying low, waiting for the sun to set so they could execute their plan. Knuckles also went out and managed to find a crowbar to use to break into the vents.
After a long and painful day of patience, the sun finally set and team Sonic, under the cover of the night, slowly but steadily made their way to the building opposite the police station.
Jumping from building to building, they made it to the roof of the police station. Tying the rope to a pipe on the roof, Knuckles climbed down to the level of the vent and used the crowbar to open the hatch. There was a near miss when he almost dropped the hatch when he climbed back up to put it on the roof and help Tails and Sonic climb down.
The vents of the Ecutreak city Police Department were large for them to squeeze through but they had to be one behind the other. It was also very hot in there.
Regardless team Sonic started navigating the vents with Tails memorizing the turns to make sure they wouldn't get lost in the vents.
They passed over several rooms, including but not limited to the main lobby, an interrogation room where a man was interrogated for a supposed theft of a bike, over a cell corridor and finally made it to their target; the team rocket case room.
Once above there the three friends argued about who would go down there and look at the case facts and documents to get an idea of where they were in the police's radar.
In the end Sonic and Knuckles made Tails go down with the argument that since he was the lightest of the three, he would be the easiest to pull back up if there was a need to make a quick escape.
Tails objected heavily until he was tricked into tying the rope around his waist and thrown out of the vent by Knuckles. The latter made sure Tails wouldn't crash down by holding the rope firmly.
Tails, regaining his composure after the rush, touched down gently and started quietly pacing around the room looking for clues.
The first thing that attracted his attention was the huge bulletin board with all the pictures of the people involved in the case. There were pictures of Giovanni, pictures of his admins, Archer, Petrel and Ariana, abs many other known rockets including the iron masked marauder though still with his mask on.
The weirdest of all however about this board was that Sonic's picture was pinned in the middle. And worst of all it was a picture of all three of them.
"They got a picture of us from New Bark Town" he whispered in a panic to his friends in the vent.
"Ignore it" Sonic instructed him "they know our faces so it's pointless to take it. What else is there?"
Tails then made his way to the table with the case files. Most files were about team rocket's activities. However there were also several files on Sonic and Mike as well.
Tails quickly grabbed one of each and was relieved to find the police didn't have much on them. But what worried him was the amount of effort they were going through to get those files. As if pursuing Sonic was personal for Looker.
"They got files on Sonic and Mike" he whispered as quietly as he could "nothing major but do we leave them here?"
Sonic pondered about it and asked Tails what the files contained. Tails explained it was mostly reports of the police's investigation in Kanto but most of them were fruitless as the locals had refused to indulge information about Sonic after his heroic actions. Sonic relieved as well that the police didn't have any actual leads on them told Knuckles to pull Tails up, it was time to go.
When Knuckles started pulling Tails up however the door opened. Panicking he used so much force that Tails almost crashed into the ceiling and then ended up hanging upside down.
Sonic helped Knuckles stabilize Tails while silently shushing him. As Tails tried to his best to remain calm, they started pulling him closer to the hatch in order to get him back in when they heard Looker's voice.
"How is it possible that they escaped?!"
Sonic again brought his finger in front of his mouth to keep his friends quiet while they tried to time their efforts to pull Tails back in with the two detectives' phrases to cover any minor sounds they made.
"Looker please just relax. It was a stupid idea to try and catch them like that in the first place".
"We had one chance to make progress with the case and we kicked it!" Looker yelled punching a wall, hurting his hand. Undeterred he started pacing around the room.
"Looker even if we arrested them we would achieve nothing other than angering the locals. Sonic the hedgehog is a hero and after the recent re-emergence of the legendary beasts which presumably have acknowledged them upon awakening… arresting the hedgehog and his allies without any proof of their wrongdoing… it would be a suicidal move".
"Oh so we just let them roam free? Terrorizing team rocket?"
Sonic was perplexed. Why was Looker so sympathetic of team rocket?
"Looker had it not been for them we wouldn't have even ever known of the slowpoke well operation. Team rocket would have made off with the harvested slowpoke tails. If anything the hedgehog and his friends stopped them from gaining any momentum for the foreseeable future".
"What did I tell you about bringing your emotions to our work?"
"It's not emotions. It's a logical conclusion. Their ways are not by the book…"
"Exactly. A trio of vigilantes is making fools of us".
Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other in confusion. Was Looker after team Sonic out of spite?
"Is that what matters more to you Looker? More than the downfall of team rocket? You care more about bringing them down yourself?"
Looker took a deep breath.
"No. I care about bringing them down by the book. Giovanni and Sonic the hedgehog have been turned into mythical figures throughout Kanto, one because of the fear he spread throughout the region and the other for standing up to that fear. No one. I mean no one, not one person looks past then, to the damage they left behind after their clash".
Sonic felt a touch of guilt up in hearing why Looker was after him. That guilt caused him to loosen his grip on the rope.
Tails dropped a few centimeters, dangling like a Christmas ornament for the detectives to see. If their attention was to his direction that is.
Silently cursing at Sonic and telling him to get his shit together, Knuckles put his back into pulling Tails back up, pulling far enough up just quick enough for the detectives not to see him when they turned to that direction.
"Looker" Morrison began saying before momentarily stopping "I understand what you're saying. Really I do. But have you tried wondering how Sonic the hedgehog feels about that? About being seen as a mythical figure? As a hero?"
Looker observed his partner silent wondering where he was going with this.
"Him and that other kid fought against the mafia all on their own and beat them at the cost of the other kid's partner Jolteon. Can you imagine how that kid felt? How the hedgehog probably felt for failing to save it?"
Looker looked down in deep thought.
"Do you think the hedgehog views this as a necessary sacrifice for glory? That he even looks for glory in the first place?"
Looker couldn't disagree. He had personally interrogated many known associates of Sonic throughout Kanto during his investigation, including the gym leader Blaine and Elite Four Agatha. Both had only the best time say about Sonic. And of course both had refused to divulge any info about him.
"So let's let them be. They might not be by the book but they are clearly allies. Let's focus our efforts on finding Guicanni instead what do you say?" Morrison suggested.
Looker was ready to agree. His partner was actually making very valid points.
But then a bang was heard from above them.
Looking up both of them saw a leg disappear into the vent and its hatch close quickly behind it.
"Looks like we got company" Looker said in glea sure it was Sonic and his friends.
The bangs coming from the vents as team Sonic was making their escape confirmed his theory.
"I blew it I blew it I blew it!" Tails whispered over and over in panic as they quickly made their way to the hatch from where they entered from.
Quickly exiting the vents and jumping down instead if climbing down, they were faced with headlights of a police car waiting for them at the exit of the alley.
"RUN!" Sonic screamed.
And as if their legs had been set on fire, team Sonic fled the scene.
Looker exiting the station to see the three friends flee towards the west of the city opened his radio.
"Attention all units. We got 3 male suspects on the loose heading west of the city. Capture at all costs" he spoke into the radio before turning back to Morrison.
"Looks like your hero isn't as much an ally as you want to believe".
"Any lawyer can claim we are framing them Looker".
Looker's smile didn't waver but he knew Morrison was right. They had to capture them before they got too far away from the city. Otherwise they would be painted as the bad guys for pursuing them.
Team Sonic ran frantic through the curious crowd looking at them dash through them like lunatics. And even weirder was officers following shortly after.
After a good run, the three friends stopped in the midst the dark trees to catch the breath.
"Well…" Sonic began saying trying to be positive "on the bright side, now we know they have no real reason to chase us"
"We're not out of the woods yet Sonic" Tails berated him "we need to make sure we lost them".
"Come on. There is no way they have followed us this far" Knuckles patted him on the back sure they had escaped.
That was until another headlight pierced the darkness pointed at them through the trees.
"You had to go and jinx it didn't you?!" Tails shouted as they again started running.
The chase was on and was very real. For a moment too, Sonic was sure he had heard growls of growlithes and another growl he didn't recognize.
The police was coming hard for them.
"Guys I think they've let the dogs out" Sonic managed to say after jumping over a bush.
"Now's not the time for jokes Sonic!" Tails shouted over his shoulder.
"Don't worry guys" Knuckles shouted to keep them focused "we will lose them eventually. The trees will cover us".
At that very moment the treeline suddenly ended leaving only open fields ahead.
"Knuckles" Tails managed to say as they coughed from all the running "do me a favor and don't say another word please".
"How do we lose them now?" Sonic asked while looking around frantic.
Knuckles looked around a bit calmer and saw it; a small wooden bridge over a wide trench used for watering the crops.
"There! That bridge!" Knuckles said excitedly "it's the official border between the city region of Ecutreak and the fields! We cross it, they have no choice but to abandon pursuit, lest they turn the whole Johto region against them!"
"Let's go!" Sonic yelled as searchlights could be seen waving through the woods looking got them.
Team Sonic dashed like there was no tomorrow towards the bridge. The police walked out the woods and saw them heading for the bridge.
Looker screamed that they stop them. He then screamed the same thing into his radio.
A chopper then appeared over the woods. Attached to it by a chain was a wrecking ball, heading straight for the bridge.
"GO GO GO GO GO!" Knuckles screamed at his friends as he made it to the bridge and crossed it.
Tails was the next to cross it.
"Sonic come quick!" he said momentarily stopping and looking back at his friend who was essentially racing the chopper.
Sonic however had started becoming exhausted. His fight with Entei and subsequent short hospitalization and right after that their daring breaking and entering into the police headquarters had started draining him.
He tripped.
As he rolled on the ground, he looked up to see the chopper destroy the bridge with the wrecking ball seperating him from his friends.
Thinking fast he took of the belt containing his pokeballs and threw them as hard as he could on the other side. Tails caught them in question.
"Get out of here!" Sonic called out to his friends before turning to face the police.
Detective Looker came out from the formed wall of officers. A smile of triumph was sketched on his face.
"End of the line hero".
Sonic gritted his teeth.
"Why are you doing this detective? We're all on the same side here".
"Wrong. You are on your side and I'm on the side of the law. You're coming with us and you are going to help us find and stop Giovanni. You will then be tried for causing the financial collapse of silph co".
Sonic looked over his shoulder. His friends had not escaped yet. But Looker seemed focused only on him. That was good for them. But his friends would have to finish the mission if he didn't manage to talk his way out.
There was a huge chance he wasn't coming out of this alive.
"Detective I had to do what I did. If I didn't team rocket would have just lived to fight another day and win".
"If you're going to lie to an international detective who has been finding reasons to pursue you for weeks, you should at least actually try to" Looker answered not believing Sonic.
"Team rocket was developing a weapon at silph co. Or rather a tool that would allow them to use their real weapon. The master ball. The ultimate pokeball powerful enough to capture any pokemon. Including legendary pokemon".
Looker smiled mockingly still not believing Sonic.
"Where's your evidence then? Oh wait you destroyed it".
"I had no other choice. The master ball was too dangerous to exist. I had to erase all evidence of its existence, digital and material".
"Material?" Looker repeated caught off guard "what do you mean material?"
Sonic cursed inside his head. He didn't want to reveal this info but now he had no choice.
"The president of silph co tried to entrust me with the prototype master ball. I broke it to destroy it for good".
Looker couldn't believe his ears. Still…
"So I take it you surrender?"
"What?"
"The master ball, if it really existed as you claim, was not legally yours to destroy. You just confessed to destroying a completely legally created corporation product entirely" Looked raising his gun targeting Sonic.
"Come quietly or we will open fire".
Sonic raising his hands looked back for a moment, sizing the trench as best he could. If he pretended to surrender he could try to get enough momentum to jump over to his friends.
"If they don't get me with their bullets that is" he thought grimly.
"Ok detective. I'm coming slowly. Just don't shoot".
He started taking slow steps towards the line of cops.
"Sonic don't be an idiot! Your Pokemon need you! Raichu needs you!" Tails called out to him.
Sonic resisted the urge to turn and tell them it would be ok. He had to try and make this work.
"Come faster" Looker egged him on eager to place the hero of Kanto in handcuffs.
Sonic slightly sped up. This small increase in walking speed gave him an idea.
Just as he was about to be grabbed by an officer, he pushed him back and kicked dust into the faces of the officers. He then sprinted towards the trench.
"So be it" Looker said disappointed "Fire!"
At that moment a powerful flamethrower which came out of nowhere, created a huge wall of fire between them and the running Sonic.
"Fire!" Looker yelled, this time out of fear for the wall of fire in front of them.
Sonic didn't register the sudden appearence of the wall of flames as he jumped with all his remaining energy over the trench, landing roughly next to Tails and Knuckles.
Looker observed Sonic jump over the trench. He was now legally outside of Ecutreak city but he wasn't just about to let them escape.
"After them!" he ordered.
The police immediately rushed through the now smaller flames and started climbing down the trench planning to climb to the other side and capture team Sonic.
When several officers reached the bottom of the trench and were about to cross it and start climbing the other wall, they all felt the trench rumble. Looking to their left they saw a huge wave of water coming towards them.
Screaming in fear the officers tried to run away, climb out of the trench on either side. Very few made it out before the wave swallowed them and took them away from the scene. Sonic hoping whatever had caused that flood didn't kill those officers, ran away with Tails and Knuckles following.
The chopper was also following, and it had released the wrecking ball to be able to keep up with them and keep the searchlight on them.
"Sonic how do we outrun a chopper?" Knuckles asked as they sprinted through the fields.
Before Sonic could answer a bolt of lightning fell from the sky, striking the chopper and destroying 3 of its rotors as well as its tail being seperated from it. The pilot bailed and used a parachute to survive as the chopper crash landed, creating a fireball that illuminated the night. As team Sonic observed the flames while trying to make sense of what happened, Sonic caught a slow movement with the side of his eye. Turning, he witnessed a scene of true awe.
On a small hill nearby stood Entei, Raikou and Suicune observing their work.
"Guys…" Sonic muttered.
Tails and Knuckles also looked towards the legendary pokemon. Realization hit team Sonic as they figured that Entei created that wall of flames to slow down the police, Suicune flooded the trench to stop their pursuers and Raikou brought the chopper down.
The legendary beasts took notice of team Sonic looking at them. The pairs that had locked eyes at burned tower locked eyes again for a moment that felt like eternity.
"Guys we have to go" Tails brought them back to reality "the authorities won't be far behind".
Sonic and Knuckles nodded.
The three friends then took one last look at the beasts.
"Thank you" Sonic shouted.
Entei nodded and fled.
"Thanks for the save" Tails also thanked them.
Raikou roared as if it was saying any time and fled as well.
Now there was only Knuckles and Suicune. The two locked eyes silently as if no words had to be exchanged.
"See you around Suicune" Knuckles said in the end.
Suicune remained still for a while with its mane and the ribbons protruding from its back billowing to the night breeze. Knuckles thought he saw the edges of Suicune's mouth move slightly upward though he was sure it was just his mind playing tricks because of all the shadows created by the fireball. Suicune then turned around and jumped high into the air majestically, still looking down at team Sonic before it disappeared into the night.
Team Sonic also took their leave from the scene heading west. The path forward would take a long while now. But that was all the better with Ecutreak city now off limits to them for a while.