Chapter 5 - Uno, Dos, Tres - Part 4
"Hey, someone is trying to catch Zapdos!" a voice called from the mob called.
Henry's eyes widened as all of the trainers slowly turned away from him to look at Liliane and Zapdos.
"We shouldn't be wasting time with this chump anyway!" another voice shouted.
Henry's shoulders slumped momentarily, but he quickly gathered all of the confidence that he could. He grabbed the white brim on his blue baseball cap and spun it so that it was backwards.
"You ain't gonna ignore me! And if you are, then you'll regret it! Octillery, serve up a Surf! Alakazam, make it rain!" Henry ordered.
Only a few trainers looked back at Henry. However, most of them were now focused back on Zapdos.
Octillery spun, generating water around his body. Meanwhile, Alakazam's eyes glowed purple. He focused, managing to control the gallons of water. He lifted the water with his psychic energy, carrying it over the heads of the trainers.
Now, everyone was aware of Henry's actions, as the shadow of the attack loomed over. They all looked up, but before any of them could register what was happening, Alakazam let go of the water. It rained down hard on all of the trainers, drenching all of them in one fell swoop.
All of the trainers groaned in unison, and once again, they turned their attention to Henry.
"Get him!" someone shouted.
What followed were shouts and screams from the mob. They all made an angry dash for Henry, but the chef was prepared. He quickly withdrew his Pokémon, spun around, and darted as fast as he could in the other direction. The entirety of the wet mob followed him.
This left Liliane and Meowstic to battle with Zapdos at their leisure.
"Meowstic, use Nasty Plot," Liliane commanded.
Meowstic glared at Zapdos, and her eyes started to glow red.
Zapdos squawked. It had expected Meowstic to strike, and the fact that she didn't only seemed to make it angrier. It roared, and red energy swirled around its body as it slowly expanded in size.
"Bulk Up? Nice," Liliane said. "Go ahead. Attack us. Meowstic, use another Nasty Plot."
Zapdos watched as Meowstic's eyes turned red once again. This time, Zapdos was not going to charge up. Instead, it prepared to bound forward. It put all of its power in its legs, but as soon as it tried to leap, it instead fell forward, falling into a deep sleep.
Liliane smirked. "Great timing. Now, Stored Power!"
Meowstic howled and unleashed red energy from her body. The energy washed over Zapdos, throwing its large body backwards. However, the attack did not wake it up.
Liliane drew out an Ultra Ball from her brown leather bag. She examined Zapdos and cocked her head. "To be safe, let's use one more."
Meowstic's eyes widened as she unleashed the energy from within. The kinetic energy blasted into Zapdos once again, tossing it in the air.
Liliane aimed, reeled back, and threw the Ultra Ball as hard as she could. The ball connected with the airborne Zapdos before coming back to the ground. It started to rock back and forth in the grass. Liliane remained still, and Meowstic kept her eyes on the ball.
Then suddenly, the ball exploded, and Zapdos emerged. Unfortunately for the two of them, being sucked into the ball woke up the beast, and its red eyes met with Liliane's dark brown.
"Well, I didn't necessarily think the first ball would get the job done," Liliane muttered.
Zapdos reeled back, and electric sparks emitted from its legs.
"Don't think so! Use Thunderbolt!"
Zapdos bounded forward, but Meowstic was just as quick to unleash her attack. A violent flurry of electric shocks rained down on Zapdos, stunning it. The legendary Pokémon paused as it tried to process what had just happened. The attack was much stronger than it had anticipated, but Liliane knew her Pokémon's strength. Zapdos tried to take a step forward, but a sudden surge of electric energy stopped it from moving.
"Perfect," Liliane said as she drew another Ultra Ball from her bag. "You stay still." With that, she threw the ball in a straight line. It connected with Zapdos; all it could do was watch as it was absorbed into the Ultra Ball.
The ball fell to the ground once more. It paused momentarily before it began to stir. Liliane and Meowstic stood still, both refusing to blink. And then, the ball let out its signature ding. Zapdos had been caught.
"Good job," Liliane said as she walked to retrieve the ball. With her other hand, she withdrew Meowstic.
When she picked up the ball, she could feel its heat. Zapdos had made quite the fight to escape, but Ultra Balls were designed to catch even the strongest of Pokémon.
"Now, to go get Henry," Liliane said while she threw the Ultra Ball into the air. Zapdos emerged and shook its head. It squawked aggressively at Liliane, but it knew that it had been defeated. It was futile to fight back anymore. Liliane pulled a yellow spray bottle from her bag and spun it around on her finger. "Give me a ride? I'll heal you."
Zapdos squawked once again.
Liliane didn't flinch.
"Is that a yes?"
Ethan, Sonia, and Kona ran as quickly as they could through the Isle of Armor. The path to Challenge Beach required them to run through a small swamp. Ethan and Kona were more than prepared for their feet to get soaked, but Sonia was disgusted. Every step, she groaned, and Ethan lamented that he didn't just tell her to stay behind.
They passed a multitude of different Pokémon. The creatures had become used to trainees at the dojo, so they paid no mind to the three trainers. However, Sonia couldn't help but stare at every single one of them. If they had come to the isle for any other reason, she would have taken the time to research all of the Pokémon.
The swamp led into a heavily forested area. The Pokémon in the forest were all a little bit more shy than the ones that lived in the swamp. They chose to live in the shade of the trees, which meant that they preferred to be hidden. The three trainers were met with a multitude of Pokémon that froze up when passed. The trainers never noticed, but the Pokémon knew that they couldn't take too many chances. They had to be careful. It was life or death in the wild.
After a few rest stops for Sonia, the three finally made it out of the forest. Now, their destination, Challenge Beach, was within sight. This side of the isle was well known for Pokémon that enjoyed battling. Kona and Ethan intentionally made sure to stay on the path and away from any Pokémon that looked like they would want to pick a fight. Sonia couldn't keep up, and she dragged her feet while she ran. After one angry look from a large Pokémon, she hiked up her knees and dashed so that she was in between Kona and Ethan.
And in less than five minutes, the group arrived on the beach. As expected, they found Mustard and the black Moltres. But to their surprise, the two were calm, and Mustard stood next to the legendary Pokémon.
Mustard looked at the three incoming trainers and smiled. "Cheers."
"Wh-what is-is going on?" Sonia asked as she stumbled onto the beach. Her clothes were soaked with sweat. "Did you catch it?"
Mustard slowly shook his head. "No, Moltres doesn't need to be caught. It is now relaxed."
"How did you do it?" Ethan asked.
Mustard petted Moltres on its beak. "Moltres just needed someone to talk to. It needed to let off steam. It's not an easy task, but someone needed to listen to Moltres' soul if they wanted to calm it down."
Moltres quietly trilled. It looked at Ethan. The look of despise from when they had their first encounter was now gone.
"Ethan, it's been a while," Mustard said. "We were all rooting for you in the Champion's Cup. It's a shame. I said it then, and I'll say it now, I think you left our dojo a little bit too early. One of the students from our dojo has been doing really well in the tournament. You two would have had an exciting battle."
Ethan bowed. "I'm sorry."
"The past is the past. You are always welcome here if you feel that you need the training. On the other end, I can't get Kona to leave," Mustard said with a chuckle.
Kona put his hands on his hips. "Well, it's clear that you can handle everything if disaster strikes. Maybe you don't need me here."
"As long as you do our dishes, you're more than welcome, Kona," Mustard said before turning to Moltres. "My new friend, please don't make any enemies. The balance of Galar needs you to be in the Crown Tundra. Please go back and wait for your friends."
Moltres squawked and flapped its wings, sending itself into the air. It screeched once again and began to soar away, disappearing into the clouds.
Mustard continued to smile. "I hope it keeps its promise."
"Master Mustard, thank you," Ethan exclaimed. "It's clear that we have a lot to learn from you."
Sonia clicked her tongue. "Yeah, but now we can't study Moltres and get its Pokédex information."
Mustard gave her the side eye and shrugged. "Not everything can be learned by a machine. Listen to Pokémon and study them up close. You'll learn everything you need."
Sonia crossed her arms. "I got sweaty for no reason."
"Ethan," Mustard said as he approached the three. "I hope you're healthy. Do visit again soon."
"Dusknoir, let's go!" Finn shouted as he tossed his ball into the snow. His ghostly Pokémon emerged and eyed the legendary beast.
Articuno screeched angrily, and its eyes began to glow with kinetic powers.
"Shadow Sneak!" Finn ordered. He turned and looked at Croconaw and Seamus. The Pokémon attempted to saw through the ice with his massive jaws, but he wasn't making too much progress.
Articuno blasted two kinetic beams toward the ground. Dusknoir disappeared into his own shadow, and Finn was forced to jump out of the way of the beams. Dusknoir quickly manoeuvred across the small field, and when he was behind Articuno, he emerged from his shadow. He reached out his arms, which became surrounded with spectral energy. He clapped his hands together, sending the energy into the air. It blasted into Articuno's back, causing it to squawk angrily. It turned around and cocked its head to the side while it stared at Dusknoir.
"Keep up the pressure! Use Will-O-Wisp!" Finn instructed.
Dusknoir held out his arms and extended his fingers. Small blue flames appeared on the tips of all his fingers, and they slowly floated forward. However, Articuno was prepared. It aggressively chirped before it suddenly multiplied, encircling Dusknoir. The blue flames phased through the clone, and Dusknoir peered around, attempting to figure out which one was the real one.
"That's too many of them!" Seamus shouted. "Chew faster, boy!"
Finn felt sweat drip from his brow. He took in a deep breath and tried to focus on the battle. "Let's wait it out!"
Dusknoir responded with a slow nod. Articuno was not going to be as patient. All of the Articuno's eyes began to glow, and they simultaneously released their attack. However, only one surged with real kinetic energy.
"Into your shadow!"
Dusknoir followed orders. He quickly submerged himself into his shadow, and after the kinetic beams flew over his head, he turned his attention to the real Articuno.
"Will-O-Wisp!"
Dusknoir was much faster with his attack this time, opting to only use one hand. The blue flames were much larger. He unleashed them forward in a spiral, and they connected directly with the real Articuno, making the clones disappear. Articuno cried out as a tint of red energy surrounded its body.
"You're just making it angry!" Seamus exclaimed as he managed to sit up. Croconaw had eaten through the ice around his stomach, but his elbows were still frozen to his sides, preventing him from raising his arms.
"I don't need your commentary!" Finn shouted. "Dusknoir, use Thunder Punch!"
Dusknoir's fists crackled with electric energy. He floated down the small field while the electricity became more intense. However, Articuno was more than prepared. It flapped its wings, giving it more distance, and then a wind suddenly whipped up around the entire area. The wind carried grass and snow with it, and at a moment's notice, it became violent. Dusknoir disappeared from view, but that was the least of Finn's concerns, as he was lifted into the air. With no warning, Finn was thrown out of the miniature storm, and he landed hard on the ground.
Finn grabbed his previously broken arm as he tried to push himself up. Instead, he felt the ground below him give in, and suddenly, it sank, sucking him underground. He fell deep into darkness, but he extended his body so that it dragged against the walls of the sinkhole. Eventually, the hole expanded, and Finn crashed into a hard, concrete ground.
"Ow," Finn groaned as he rolled over. He could see nothing, but he could hear the battle continuing above, and the room he was in smelled like dust.
"I'm free!" Seamus yelled from above.
Henry ran through the wild area, flanked by the angry mob. His eyes darted from side to side as he looked for a way out of the predicament. But, the field was wide with no signs of escape, and he was beginning to lose steam.
He knew that at best, the crowd would rough him up. He'd get a black eye or two, and maybe they'd break his nose. However, he knew that at best was likely unlikely. Henry had to prepare for the worst. He had confidence that Liliane would be able to catch the Zapdos. He knew how skilled of a trainer she was.
But, would she get there in time?
Henry turned back to see the crowd gaining on him. He closed his eyes and began to pray to a god he didn't know. He needed a miracle at this point, or a new set of legs.
And then, he heard something that sounded like thunder. He opened his eyes, and he could feel the ground shake. The crowd stopped, and Henry was thankful. He decided to slow down as well, and his legs shook as though they were going to fall out from under him.
Like a bolt of lightning, Zapdos emerged from behind the crowd. They all watched on in horror as the legendary Pokémon ran past them and charged for Henry; the Pokémon was going to do to him what they had planned.
But then, a hand reached out and grabbed Henry by his green t-shirt. Liliane heaved as hard as she could, helped by Zapdos' speed, and she pulled Henry onto the large Pokémon's back. She shot one glance at the crowd before putting more pressure on Zapdos with her leg. The legendary Pokémon squawked and rocketed forward, quickly disappearing from the view of the mob.
The mob was quiet. They all exchanged looks with one another, stunned into silence.
"What?!"
"Lopunny, let's go!" Seamus shouted while throwing his Poké Ball forward. His Pokémon emerged, glanced at Articuno, and lowered his body to prepare for a fight.
Meanwhile, Dusknoir and Croconaw looked around their area for their trainer. Suddenly, the human had disappeared.
Articuno breathed heavily. It focused in on Lopunny and Seamus, prepared to freeze him to the ground again if necessary. Its eyes started to glow with kinetic energy.
"Bounce!"
As Articuno unleashed its dangerous kinetic beams, Lopunny leapt into the air. He extended his body, and when he descended, he came down with a violent kick. Articuno cried out, and its flight pattern was knocked off balance.
"Keep it goin'! Use High Jump Kick!" Seamus instructed.
Lopunny didn't give an opening to his opponent. He bounded forward and stuck out his knee. He drove his leg into Articuno's face, forcing the legendary Pokémon into the ground. Articuno coughed and choked violently while Lopunny gave himself some distance from the legendary Pokémon. Articuno tried to use its wings to push itself up, but its body shook, preventing it from getting back into the air.
"Yeehaw! Them's the lemons!" Seamus shouted. "Finish this with Double-Edge!"
Lopunny tucked in his arms, and white energy exploded off his body. He was rocketed forward, and he crashed into Articuno with no care for his safety. The two Pokémon fell to the ground, but it was only Lopunny who managed to get back up.
"Time to get 'er done! Go, Timer Ball!" Seamus shouted while throwing a grey Poké Ball forward.
The ball connected with Articuno and absorbed the Pokémon with a bright red light. The ball hit the snowy ground and started to rock back and forth. With every motion, it ticked and tocked. Until finally, it stopped moving, and let out its signature ding.
"We did it!" Seamus shouted while he hopped into the air, clapping his feet together. He ran through the cold snow and picked up the Time Ball. He playfully blew on the steam that wafted off of the ball. "Hey, Finn! We did it! Good job?"
He looked around the field, finding no other human.
"Finn?"
Dusknoir and Croconaw had searched the area and found nothing. However, they did spot a suspicious hole only a few meters away from where Finn had once stood. They moved to the hole in the ground and looked into the darkness. They shared looks with one another before Dusknoir slowly floated down the hole. Croconaw peered back at Seamus, observing the boy as he furiously moved his head back and forth.
"Hey, buddy," Finn said as he saw Dusknoir's eye glow in the dark void above him. "I think we found something. Mind giving me a light?"
Dusknoir lifted his hand and extended his fingers. Blue fire formed at his fingertips, illuminating the area around them. In front of the two were stone steps, and behind them was a cave that was seemingly blocked off by boulders. Finn couldn't tell if it was intentional or not.
Finn turned to focus on the steps. He could see that they did not go up too high. They led to a massive wall that had been built into the cave. Engravings of what looked like divine Pokémon were chiselled around a door made of stone. A few stone pillars held up a roof, but one of them was destroyed. The roof remained intact, proving that the pillars were only an aesthetic choice by the ancient people of the Crown Tundra.
Finn slowly walked up the stairs, the sound of his steps echoing off the walls. He approached the stone door, finding an ancient placard with beautiful cursive text. It was not in English. However, Finn was well-studied with his heritage. He was proud to be born and raised in the Crown Tundra. It was in a language that Finn understood. He read it aloud.
"Nuair a bhailíonn tú an trí fathach, osclófar dores na cinniúint."
Finn put his hand to his chin and thought for a moment. Dusknoir looked at him with a confused expression.
"When you gather the three giants, the door of destiny shall be opened," he translated for his Pokémon. "What does that mean?"
"Noir."
"I don't know either," Finn replied. He gazed up at the engravings, observing the three divine Pokémon. "Giants? What kind of giants?"
"Hey, Finn! You down there! Where are you? I caught Articuno!" Seamus' voice echoed from the ceiling. "You need help?"
Finn paused momentarily. He looked at the text once again, finding him entranced by its words.
"Finn! Did you die?" Seamus shouted.
"N-no! I'm fine!" Finn yelled back.
"Thank goodness. You need a lift? I got a rope!"
Finn backed away from the door. He pulled out his Pokédex and scanned the text.
That night, the group gathered at the Freezington Inn, piling into Sonia's room. Finn, Liliane, and Henry were exhausted from their nonstop battles. Ethan was silent since meeting with Mustard. Seamus, despite the fact that he was the closest one to death, remained energetic.
Sonia placed the Ultra Ball and Timer Ball on a small machine. The machine scanned the balls' data, and small holograms of Zapdos and Articuno were projected onto a screen.
"I still want to get data on Moltres, but it looks like that is for another day," Sonia muttered to herself. She looked back at the five. "Good job, team! With this data, we're another step closer to understanding the Crown Tundra!"
"What are you going to do with them?" Finn asked with a groggy voice. He tried not to yawn after opening his mouth.
Sonia grinned and held her finger up. "Don't worry! Once I'm done studying them, I'll release them back into the wild. It'll be nice to learn their abilities and what kind of moves they can do. I'm sure we'll learn a lot! I'll make sure to call on you again when I need help wranglin' another legendary Pokémon!"
Finn glared at her. His eyes had sunken in from stress and exhaustion. "Please don't. Leave me out of this. I'm just gonna stick around to make sure that you stick to your word and release them. Legendary Pokémon don't belong in Poké Balls."
Sonia shrugged. "You're missing out on being a part of history."
Without another word, Finn pushed himself through the crowd and left the room. He started down the narrow hallway, but before he could reach the smallest lobby in Galar, Seamus came chasing after him.
"Hey, buddy! I'm sorry about today!" Seamus said. He put his hand on Finn's shoulder. "I was just messin' around! We make a pretty good team."
Finn gave him a shifty look. Seamus gave off the appearance of someone who would smell like a farm. Instead, he smelled like expensive cologne.
The others shuffled out of the room. Sonia did not follow them. They dragged their feet down the hallway until they came to the lobby. The five trainers all exchanged looks with each other. They didn't need to speak, but they were all thinking the same thing.
"I'm famished!" Seamus exclaimed while slapping his belly. "Anyone want weenies? I got a whole package of 'em in my tent."
Henry's eyes widened. "Weenies? I'll have you know that I'm a world-class chef. With me, you won't be eating weenies, nor will you eat in a tent!"
Seamus' smile slowly faded. "I love weenies."
Liliane shook her head. "Henry, don't overwork. We have more raids tomorrow."
The tired look on Henry's face disappeared, and he smiled from ear to ear. "No! Everyone here did a good job! I say that I make us all a meal! Peony rented out a small house for us to use while we're in the Crown Tundra! Everyone, let's go, get a good meal, and rest!"
Finn and Ethan exchanged tired looks. They closed their eyes and shrugged simultaneously.
"Okay."
Henry decided to go with something simple for the group. While he let white rice cook, he sliced up a large fish into small, bite-sized portions. He prepared small strips of seaweed and fresh cucumber slices. When the rice finished, he neatly padded it in his palm, making dozens of small beds for sushi. On about half of the rice beds, he placed the pink fish. And the other half was wrapped along with the cucumber by the seaweed. He presented the food to the group on a large wooden tray.
The five trainers sat around the coffee table, all basking in the excellence of Henry's food. Simple bread would have been enough to fill their stomachs, but with high-quality food, the feeling was tantric. It was as though it was the first time that any of them had food.
"This is amazing!" Seamus exclaimed.
Finn nodded. "I agree. This is the best thing to happen to me in a while."
"How did you make it? I want to try to make some for myself!" Ethan said.
"So, many compliments? Will you remain humble?" Liliane wondered.
Henry put his hands behind his head and chuckled. "Oh, Liliane. I'm never humble!"
The group smiled at one another.
"This is fun," Finn muttered. "It's been a while since I've sat around with other trainers."
"I've been travelling alone since I left the dojo, so I feel it too," Ethan added.
"What are we gonna call our group?" Seamus wondered before stuffing a piece of fish into his mouth.
The four trainers all gave him quizzical looks.
Seamus finished swallowing and grinned at them. "I know that Sonia only hired myself and Ethan, but she said that she'd give everyone else a call if needed. I don't see why ya'll don't join us on our hunt for legendary Pokémon. It could be fun!"
"The word hunt is one reason I would rather not," Finn responded.
"It's just an expression! We're trying to figure out the mysteries of the Crown Tundra! Ain't that excitin' or what?" Seamus exclaimed excitedly. "So, what'll be? Group name?"
Ethan sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. Nothing comes to mind."
"What about the Sushi Squad?" Seamus suggested.
Liliane crossed her arms and glared at Seamus. "If you're going to suggest something absurd, then you can count me out."
"Absurd? Alright. Uh. Tundra Tunnelers?" Seamus said as though he was asking a question. The group knew that he instantly regretted the suggestion. "Ah! The Fiercesome Fivesome!"
Finn shook his head.
"Seamus and Friends!"
"No."
"Seamus and the Rocketeers?"
"No!"
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
So, I've been on a hardcore Galar kick as of recently. I really enjoy writing this story.
However, I want to take a slightly different approach for the next few chapters. Because of how I'm planning this story to be written in arcs, I'm going to first write out the next few chapters before I actually post them. That way, I can post them a little bit closer to one another. This chapters take a bit more brain power than a gym battle or contest.
That being the case, the next chapter probably won't be released for a couple of weeks or so (I hope this doesn't age poorly). To give you a small preview, it is going to be the Regi family arc!