Chapter 78; Final preparations
"Quagsire! Earthquake!"
"Pupitar earthquake!"
The two pokemon used the move simultaneously, causing the earth to tremble, accidentally bringing down a small building in Aero town.
"Awesome! Again!" Sonic instructed Quagsire.
Before it could fire the move however a metal claw came out of nowhere slashing against Pupitar.
The aggressor, a scizor, took a battle stance challenging Pupitar.
"You want another beating foxboy?" Knuckles playfully challenged his friend who descended to the ground.
"Come get me! Scizor! Metal claw!"
"Pupitar crunch!"
The two pokemon collided with extreme force impressing their trainers who smiled with wild confidence.
"Join the fray Sonic!" Tails invited him.
"You bet! Go pupitar!"
The shiny pupitar emerged in sparkles, attacking with a rock slide first, then following up with a crunch of its own.
"Not gonna cut it! Scizor bullet punch!"
Scizor moved like a blur striking at Sonic's pupitar. Tails grinned.
Scizor was a very powerful pokemon indeed.
As Jasmine had promised, she had found a metal coat for him and had someone bring it along, claiming Pryce wanted it. She and Tails then traded back and forth, causing Scyther to finally evolve into scizor.
As the three friends' battle raged on, Jasmine and Clair arrived and chose to observe before greeting the three friends.
The growth the three heroes had undergone in such a short amount of time since Jasmine last saw them was unimaginable.
Their pokemon had picked up even more, stronger moves than the last time she saw them and was in fact very surprised as to how they had learned some of those moves. One example was Knuckles' victreebel learning sludge bomb which wasn't a move it could learn naturally despite its poison typing.
Another one was his heracross finally learning megahorn. Unlike Victreebel that was a move it could learn so now it the literal definition of a battering ram, only it only had to strike once.
There was also Sonic's Quagsire, the two Pupitars learning earthquake as well as Tails' Espeon learning shadow ball. Jasmine was very impressed and had begged Sonic to reveal the secret of how their pokemon had learnt such powerful moves without tutoring.
Sonic had gently and jokingly denied her this knowledge. Because it involved Mewtwo.
During their first day in hiding, Sonic had contacted Mewtwo via Alakazam and asked for the rest of his Kanto team to join them for a day.
Mewtwo had agreed and helped Alakazam teleport Nidoking, Pinsir, itself and Moltres to the ruins of Aero town. Sonic was overjoyed to be reunited with his Kanto team, feeling even more gratefulness for Ho-oh saving his life.
Of course after Sonic's Kanto team had gotten acquainted with the three trainers' current pokemon, Sonic asked them for their help in tutoring their pokemon with whatever moves they could, explaining they would need all the power they could get.
His Kanto team of course agreed and got to work immediately. Mewtwo did agree to leave the pokemon there for a day but would then need to take them with him for a couple of days as he was about to pull a big stunt against some traffickers and would need their help as well. Team Sonic had no problem with it and just asked Mewtwo to kick some butt for them as well.
Of course while the Johto teams were getting tutored into more moves by the Kanto pokemon, team Sonic filled Mewtwo in on everything that had transpired this far and asked him if he had come across any leads on its old master.
"No" he had replied "Kanto is peaceful. If I had discovered anything, you three would be the first to know. And you will be in the future should that time come".
"Good to know" Sonic nodded, grateful for Mewtwo as an ally.
Eventually the end of the day came and Mewtwo had to take Sonic's Kanto team back home to prepare for his own mission. Sonic bid his pokemon goodbye, him and raichu having a moment with Moltres, before the Kanto pokemon disappeared in a huge flash.
Back in the present, as the three friends' pokemon continued to clash, Jamsine looked at Sonic giving his Pupitar instructions dreamily.
Clair of course picked up on it.
"Have you told him yet? Or is it still an unspoken thing?"
"I will… eventually".
"Jasmine… you do know time is running out right? Tails and I figured out the plans yesterday after the 3 versus 3 battle".
The previous day, before Pryce and Chuck left, the former alongside Jasmine and Clair fought against team Sonic in a three on three battle. One pokemon each.
Sonic of course went with his Raichu, Tails with his Espeon and Knuckles with Typhlosion.
Their aces against the gym leaders' aces. Steelix for Jasmine, Piloswine for Pryce and Dragonair for Clair.
The battle was epic, with many surprises, twists and genius moves on both sides. One such moment was when Steelix trapped Espeon in a bind.
Tails chose the moment to reveal Espeon's knowledge of shadow ball, firing at point blank range. The opening was seized by Knuckles, as Typhlosion unleashed a devastating flamethrower, beating it and knocking Jasmine out of the fight, demonstrating just how well team Sonic worked off of each other.
Piloswine had then taken Typhlosion out with an earthquake of its own balancing the scales once again.
Tails had unleashed a powerful barrage of psychics and shadow balls along with using quick attack to keep their opponents on check, eventually knocking out Piloswine before getting trapped in a bind this time by Dragonair. Unlike Steelix however, Dragonair immediately let go, firing a hyper beam at the immobilized Espeon taking it out in one move.
Now it was just Raichu and Dragonair.
Clair quickly realized all the things Lance had said about Sonic, even if it was just him reciting Agatha's opinion of Sonic, were true.
They were not just a gifted duo when it came to battles but to their bond as well.
She had battled Raichus during gym challenges. But Sonic's was nothing like them.
Its physical combat prowess and the quick thinking of both its part and Sonic's, made them a duo you'd want to be on your toes when facing.
But it was what happened at the end of the battle that truly earned them, not only victory over Clair as well as her respect, but her admiration.
Dragonair managed to pull off the same combo of attacks it had on Espeon, on Raichu. While Raichu clearly took the brunt of the assault, it was more that obvious Sonc also felt the attack.
Clair immediately offered to stop the battle but Sonic refused. And not just refused but outright stated it would only end when one of their pokemon fell.
"A true trainer and pokemon bond is one that can go the distance!" the hedgehog had declared with a gleam of determination in his eyes.
Clair was impressed and somewhat unnerved, a first time for her ever since mastering her emotions to become a dragon trainer.
And then there was something else.
When Sonic declared his belief, Clair could swear the pupils in his eyes were not his usual green.
They were red.
The next moment lightning bolts fell from the sky slamming down on Sonic and Raichu.
But the sky was clear.
Tails was about to tell Clair not to be worried as he had seen that before.
But this time wasn't like before.
The lightning bolts suddenly leaned until they met and converged, become a singular lightning bolt connecting Sonic and Raichu.
Before anyone could get a grasp on this phenomenon, a thunderbolt came out of nowhere from where Raichu stood and struck Dragonair with such force that it instantly fainted.
Clair was left with her jaw hanging open. Dragonair downed with a single move and a not very effective one at that.
Shortly after the lightning dissipated and Sonic and Raichu were back to normal. Tails was ecstatic, claiming that Raichu had somehow used thunderbolt which Clair deemed impossible as Raichu already knew 4 moves.
Of course eventually they let it go but before that, the gym leaders handed Sonic and Knuckles their respective g badges, claiming a full gym battle was unnecessary for them. Thru clearly deserved them.
Sonic and Knuckles had fist bumped when they realized they were set for the Johto league. But team rocket came first.
Back in the present Jasmine nodded in response to Clair's reminder. The prospect terrified her but she was right.
"I know. I know".
"Then do it quickly or you may regret it. Things might be on our side for now but you saw how easy it could turn ugly. Make sure you have no regrets".
"Have you ever considered becoming a psychologist?" Jasmine teased her.
"No" she answered without using humor.
"You're no funny".
"I don't claim to be" Clair countered.
Jasmine turned her gaze back to Sonic. Clair may have been kind of too serious in the moment but she was right.
Especially if she was telling the truth about discovering team rocket's plans with Tails.
As Tails had explained to them 2 days ago, when they first found them, what he had come into his possession was team rocket's grand plan designs. It was however drawn in symbols instead of common language. Tails assumed this was a failsafe in case the plans fell into their hands which was obviously the case.
But he had spent an entire day studying them and still couldn't figure out what was coming.
That was until Clair took a look at the symbols.
As she had explained, the plans were not in some sort of code or ancient language but merely inferring what was to come. And after identifying one of the symbols, she became personally invested in helping Tails figure it out.
For the symbol she had identified was the symbol of the dojo she and Lance were a part of, home of a clandestine dedicated to the use of dragon type pokemon.
With a lot of research and brainstorming on both trainers' parts, they were able to piece together team rocket's endgame.
They were planning to attack the dojo and loot all the dragon types living in the cave and the surrounding area of the dojo.
There had also been a small explanation on Clair's part as to why the clandestine used a cave for their dojo which basically was due to the dojo's first grandmaster meeting his partner, a very powerful dragonite, in that cave and spent weeks in there trying to tame it.
That was until he realized a dragon pokemon could never truly be tamed. He then resorted to creating a strong bond with that dragonite which he had succeeded in doing already in his attempts to tame it as Dragonite had grown closer to him without him realizing it.
Tails of course agreed it had to be the case. A dragon pokemon by itself was a deadly opponent. An army of them would be virtually invincible.
Therefore a plan was put together. Clair sent some of the other trainees in the dojo to investigate the surrounding area for any suspicious movement, or any stranger seemingly strolling around the area without a real goal.
At the same time, arrangements were made to secretly transport team Sonic to Blackthorn city and provide them with a safe house for both before and after their final clash with team rocket.
In other words as Jasmine surmised remembering all of it, her only chance to talk to Sonic before everything went down, was today.
Not just today but right now. After all the only reason team Sonic was out here practicing was because they were awaiting their transport vehicle to leave for Blackthorn.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she jumped up in reaction when Scizor using bullet punch on both Pupitars at once, one claw striking each of the two rock pokemon.
The two pupitars pushed up against the steel type move, letting out a loud cry before both started glowing.
"NO WAY! " Jasmine exclaimed.
"Again?!" Tails stumbled back.
"Both?" Sonic and Knuckles said at once.
The glow blinded them, causing them to avert their gaze. Raichu and Espeon observed undeterred in awe as their Pupitar friends' bodies grew exponentially.
The glow stopped as unexpectedly as it began. And when it did, two tyranitars, a normal green one with a blue section on its belly and a shiny very light brown one with a purple section instead, pushed back against Scizor, roaring loudly as they did.
"Unbelievable" Clair was filled with awe.
"They evolved together again" Tails muttered.
"Like the first time" Sonic completed his thought.
A huge grin was etched on his face.
This was a sign.
They were ready to finish this once and for all.
The sparring stopped as the other pokemon approach the tyranitars and interact excitedly with them, allowing the members of team Sonic to interact with Jasmine and Clair.
"How are we doing?" Tails immediately questioned Clair.
"Our ride is on the way. I will ride with you to Blackthorn. After we get you situated in the safe house we will start finalizing the details of our counter-plan".
"Excellent. This time it has to go flawlessly. Ho-oh might not be there next time".
Clair nodded.
"Well we have some time left here. I suggest you wrap up any loose ends you have".
Jasmine's eyes met Sonic's. He knew instantly.
He started walking towards his spot where he and Raichu went to relax by the lake, motioning for Jasmine to follow.
Watching its trainer walk away, Raichu decided to also just chill by the lake until it was time to go.
As it sat down and observed the Magikarp, jump over the surface before diving back in, its mind returned to its earlier realization when it was near death.
"Entei was right about me back there".
It had allowed fear of history repeating itself to consume it.
And there was a way around it.
But instead of taking it, instead of making the brave choice, Raichu behaved with cowardice, choosing to hide the truth from its friend.
"We haven't talked about it. He needs to hear the whole truth" Raichu concluded.
"You got that right" Espeon said in Raichu's ear.
"Will you stop doing that?" Raichu was caught by surprise. Espeon had developed the harmless but bad habit of reading the thoughts of anyone it would talk to in order to scare them.
"Nope. But don't try to evade this again" Espeon got serious.
"Did you mean it that night? Did you really know my brother?"
"… yes".
"And he is really…"
Raichu nodded sad.
"Yes. He's gone" it confirmed as a tear streamed down its electric cheek, causing a small bolt to crackle "buried in a beautiful beach across my homeland's coastline where we had our first battle".
Espeon laid down as it allowed itself to feel the loss.
Its brother was gone. All the hopes that had been building inside its heart for years crumbled in with those words.
Raichu allowed itself to feel Jolty's loss again. He missed its energetic personality that blossomed after Mike had his hope restored when he met Sonic. Its unbending will to fight and support its friends. And of course its incomparable courage.
That very same courage was the reason Raichu was still alive.
And now it owed to Jolty, even if it was long overdue, to show the same courage and bring the truth to Espeon, facing it in the process.
"Can you tell me how…?"
Raichu took a deep breath.
"I don't have to. You saw it happen".
"What do you mean?"
"What that rhydon did to me… it was the exact same thing that happened to your brother".
Espeon was horrified.
"Only difference is in his case the horn went through its body and came out on the other side".
Espeon could no longer show signs of shock. It was its default for now.
Raichu tried to pet Espeon.
"What you feel right now… I can't possibly imagine it or really grasp it…"
"Does it ever go away? This pain?" Espeon asked ignoring the attempt to comfort it.
Raichu looked down.
"So far it hasn't for me".
"How do you do this? Live your life without being affected?"
"I was. When me and my trainer battled Entei in the safari zone, it read right through my inner conflict. That same conflict almost got me killed. I was a coward for not facing what happened back then and sharing it with you. I wanted to avoid this scenario. But… it was wrong. You had the right to know that your brother… that he died a hero. That it's ok to be sad by his passing. And that you can be proud of the Jolteon he was".
Espeon closed its eyes in deep sadness trying to find a semblance of peace.
But it was impossible. A part of it was gone.
"How am I going to tell my sister when… if… I see her again?"
"That's… that's something you need to figure out yourself. All I can advise you is, do not hide it. The guilt will eat you up. That much I know".
Espeon stood up to leave.
"There are no hard feelings just so you know" it told Raichu without looking it in the eyes "it wasn't your fault. But I need some space right now".
Raichu understood. And Espeon didn't need a reply to tell it did.
Coincidentally on Sonic's quiet spot, he was explaining those same truths he had learnt that night to Jasmine.
"Dude" she uttered under her breath in disbelief "that day changed the destinies of so many… and intermingled the destinies of so many others. Yours, Mike's, Raichu's Jolteon's, Espeon's, that detective's… and I have a feeling this is just the surface".
"That's what detective Morrison said. Everything changed that day. And what is taking place here in Johto right now is a direct result of that day".
Jasmine looked at him with puppy eyes.
"So it's settled? After everything you and your friends went through, after literally almost dying, you still are going to chase them?"
"I have to".
"What if you went to the police?"
"Looker will simply arrest me for faking my death. And plus… taking down team rocket now feels like something I need to do personally. After nearly dying… I feel like I've got to be the one to end it. It started with me that day at silph co. It needs to end with me wherever it's going to go down".
Jasmine nodded. She didn't agree, not in the least.
But Sonic's destiny was now completely entangled with team rocket's. It had to be him. Alongside Tails and Knuckles of course but it had to be him who ended them.
Neither side would stop until the other fell.
Sonic could tell she didn't want him to go.
"I can't promise you that nothing will go wrong. We both know it can. All I can promise you is that I will do whatever it takes to stop them. Whatever it takes for Johto to be safe".
He caressed her cheek.
"Whatever it takes for you to be safe".
Her lips met his before he even finished the phrase. And the feeling was intoxicating.
Once she broke the kiss, she was met with a smile.
"You taste like candy" Sonic complimented.
Jasmine grinned before kissing him again.
Tails and Knuckles, observed quietly behind a tree, having come to inform Sonic their ride was here.
"Pay close attention foxboy. You need to know the ropes for when your time comes".
Tails blushed while looking away.
"I haven't contacted her in days Knuckles. She may think I'm dead just like everyone else. How do I know she's going to forgive me for the deception?"
Knuckles shrugged.
"Beats me. Same way Jaz forgave Sonic I guess".
"Are you guys done over there?" Sonic called out to them.
Both friends were now blushing. Out of shame.
Jasmine giggled.
"They're pure gold aren't they?" she joked, having no hard feelings about them observing her and Sonic.
"I'd say diamonds in the rough" Sonic smiled grateful for them.
Having wrapped up all the loose ends, team Sonic and Clair hoped into the back of a delivery truck, their incognito ride to Blackthorn.
Jasmine kissed Sonic goodbye and watched as the truck set out for Blackthorn city.
"Be careful Sonic" she thought with a lot of adoration and just as much anxiety for what this day had in store for the heroes and for Johto.