Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai
Chapter Three-hundred and eighteen: Endgame, part four
Kenny, Mina, and Carmine were with Lance who arrived in Goldenrod City to combat the expected Team Scorn attack that was set to happen. Lance, the Champion of the Indigo League which presides over Johto, looked around with a critical eye, hoping to find Team Scorn and deal with them before they could strike and do anymore damage to his home region. Surprisingly, Mina had picked up on Lance's unease.
"Lance, you aren't gonna do anyone any favors by showing up in one of the busiest business hotspots here in Johto looking fit to crap your pants out of paranoia," Mina said, "You need to chill thyself before the people notice and start to worry themselves."
"Considering that Goldenrod City is expected to be attacked by Team Scorn, can you blame me for being so worked up?" Lance replied.
"Oh wait, this is Goldenrod City," Kenny said, "We can get that Whitney girl with the fearsome Miltank to help out with repelling the Team Scorn attack."
"Ah yes, Whitney," Lance said, "You know, the Indigo League actually got a number of complaints about Whitney being tougher than what's expected out of who is typically the third gym leader challenged by challengers aiming to collect the Johto gym badges. She actually beats trainers who challenge her more often than the Indigo League would actually like."
"Gym leaders in Johto are supposed to lose to challengers more often?" Carmine asked.
"Well they aren't suppose to be as tough to defeat as Whitney has been proven to be," Lance replied, "The Indigo League actually had to take official actions against Whitney to sanction her so that challengers actually have an easier time against her. Whitney's record prior to the sanctions actually required it, she had a better overall win record against challengers to her gym than Clair."
"So Whitney proved to be such a terror for challengers to deal with that the Indigo League had to whack her upside the head with the nerfing stick so she isn't as bad to deal with," Kenny said.
Shrugging, Lance said, "That's one way to deal with it. For example, she's not allowed to use that Miltank of hers unless a challenger has at least four out of the eight Johto gym badges they need to qualify for the League Conference. Instead she uses a Furret."
Right away, Carmine shuddered out of fright involuntarily. "She actually has one of those monsters?" Carmine asked, looking fit to pee herself out of fright.
Arching a wry eyebrow, Lance said, "I... I fail to see how one can be scared of Furrets of all things. I mean, it's not like they're that terrifying Magmortar that belongs to Dawn Berlitz's brother Trip."
"Yeah, Carmine once saw a wild shiny Furret maul another random wild Pokémon to death over in her homeland of Kitakami," Mina explained, "We ended up finding that same wild shiny Furret which we saw maul a Team Scorn member to death because he threatened Dawn who the shiny Furret had taken a liking to because she fed it and was nice to it. Dawn eventually ended up catching that shiny Furret, and it ended up starring alongside Trip's Magmortar in the trilogy of survival horror films that Kenny made in his film studio."
Lance, with a look of consideration on his face, said, "Yeah, I saw those movies. To be frank, the horror element was gotten just right, if the aim was to scare watchers of the films into soiling themselves out of fright considering the fact that I pissed myself the first time I saw the two movies that Trip's Magmortar was in."
Chuckling a bit, Kenny said, "Yeah, yeah that does sou-"
*THOOM*
Kenny was cut off when an explosion went off, blasting the side of one of the buildings nearby and making a pluming pillar of dark gray smoke rise up to choke the blue skies above. Another such pillar of smoke rose up in the distance but still within view of where Kenny and the others all stood as they could tell that the Team Scorn attack on Goldenrod City had begun.
"We need to stop Team Scorn!" Carmine called out, "The sooner that we round up all of Team Scorn here in Goldenrod City and whoop their sorry rear ends, the sooner we can have them at our mercy so we can-"
"Wow, sis. You never change."
Carmine was cut off when she heard the voice of her little brother Kieran call out. Carmine turned to look, but the moment she did, she was slashed at by someone wielding a somewhat curved hunting knife large enough to pass for a straight up sword. It cut her from her right shoulder to her left hip, the sudden-ness of the attack and the sting of the wound taking her by surprise as time seemed to slow down to a crawl for her.
Carmine, utter shock on her face, slowly fell to her knees before falling over onto her back, laying there sprawled out on the ground as she bled from her freshly acquired wound. Kenny, Mina, and Lance were shocked to see it as Carmine was injured and fell to the ground. Furthermore, Kenny and Mina saw it as Kieran, wearing a yellow and dark blue pallet swap of his outfit from Blueberry Academy, leapt back while wielding a large curved hunting knife.
Kieran landed next to a uniquely dressed Team Scorn member. Said member was a fair skinned man with curly, chin length black hair, and his outfit consisted of a dark blue top hat with a yellow band around the base, a yellow long sleeved dress shirt under a dark blue sleeveless dress vest, dark blue dress pants held up with a yellow leather belt, and a pair of yellow boots. Overall, he gave off a bit of a dapper air.
The uniquely dressed Team Scorn member had with him a male Team Scorn grunt dressed in the standard male Team Scorn grunt outfit. The grunt was also fair skinned, but had straight chin length dark brown hair. "Me oh my, what do we have here?" asked the uniquely dressed dapper Team Scorn member, "We're dealing with more than one big name trainer here."
"Young man, how could you do that to the Carmine girl?!" Lance exclaimed at Kieran, equal parts alarmed and pissed off.
"Actually, Lance," Mina spoke up, "That there is Carmine's little brother Kieran, and we know enough about the history between Carmine and Kieran to know that... umm... Kieran ain't exactly the biggest fan of his older sister in the world."
"He's her younger brother?!" Lance practically exclaimed, "That makes it even worse! Why would he attack his own family like that?!"
"Carmine... has never been the nicest person towards Kieran in the world, if you catch my drift..." Kenny said, his tone and the way he trailed off at the end telling Lance that things are a hell of a lot more complicated that he could guess at.
Lance turned back to face Kieran, the uniquely dressed male Team Scorn member who gave off a dapper air, and the Team Scorn member in the standard male rank and file uniform. "And who are the others with the Kieran boy?" demanded the Champion of the Indigo League.
"Oh my, where are my manners?" asked the dapper uniquely dressed Team Scorn member, "Thanks for reminding me that I've yet to introduce my Assistant and I." The dapper Team Scorn member took off his top hat and held it in front of his chest as he bowed to the heroes while holding his free arm out at his side. "I am the mysterious man of prestidigitation known as Tsuguo, Third Captain of Team Scorn's Boss Sector," replied the now identified Tsuguo as he introduced himself, "A dab hand at appropriating possessions and acquiring currency."
Pointing at Tsuguo, Mina said, "I like your funny words, magic man!"
Tsuguo arched a curious wry eyebrow at Mina. "...Yes. Well anyway, the young gentleman with me and Admin's Assistant Kieran is my Captain's Assistant Furushima," Tsuguo went on.
Kenny scowled bitterly. "Admin's Assistant, huh?"
"To the Admin of the Mask Sector," Kieran clarified, "Being granted that position required that I give up my Incineroar, given that the only members of Team Scorn allowed to have Pokémon from evolutionary lines of regional starter Pokémon are Admins and persons ranked above them. It's a real rule in Team Scorn, actually."
"Yeah, Kenny and I did hear that you gave your Incineroar to that Helen girl in Unova," Mina remarked, "So only Admins and their superiors in Team Scorn can have starters, huh? Guess even Team Scorn recognizes that starter Pokémon are special."
Kieran shifted in his stance a bit, took out a washcloth to wipe the blood from his large hunting knife before returning it to its sheath. "I'll be at the top of the highest tower here in Goldenrod City," said Kieran as he called out his Dragonite, "If any of you wanna try to follow me, you'll know where to go." Kieran then hopped onto his Dragonite's back and flew off.
Right away, Kenny called out Black, his named Giratina, and hopped on to fly after Kieran. "Kenny, you're going after the Kieran boy alone?" Lance asked.
"Someone has to snap some sense back into Kieran," Kenny said, "And also you Lance would be the best choice to stay here to lead the ground forces against Team Scorn's discount dastardly deed doing here in the streets. Mina, can you back Lance up?"
Nodding once, Mina said, "Got it!" Lance and Mina saw it as Kenny flew up and took off after Kieran, going for the highest tower in Goldenrod City. Kenny was wanting to snap his worthy adversary from Kitakami back to normal. He wanted to snap his friend back to normal. He knew full well that Kieran was in a dark place because of Carmine and her unaddressed issues, which is was why Kenny was fully intending to be the light to shine on Kieran to illuminate his path back to... well, the good path.
Kenny landed on the top of the tallest tower in Goldenrod City a few moments after Kieran landed there. The troubled boy from Kitakami saw it as Kenny and his legendary Pokémon landed in order to confront him. "You know, I have been wondering something," Kieran began in an even, monotone tone of voice.
Recalling Black, Kenny looked to Kieran. "What is it?"
"How come you never used any of your special Pokémon in the battle that you and I had back at Blueberry Academy?" Kieran asked, "You didn't use any of your Pokémon commonly thought to exist only in lore, you didn't use any of your primeval or futuristic looking Pokémon. Is there a reason you decided to sandbag me that day?"
Kenny looked confused. "Carmine told me that it was forbidden by the rules of the League Club that was in Blueballs Academy for trainers to use such exotic Pokémon in battles," Kenny explained, "If it wasn't, I would have brought out some of the big guns like Black here."
Kieran went a bit wide eyed with shocked surprise, before he settled back down. "...There was never any such rule," Kieran pointed out, "Carmine lied to you about that. I bet it was a part of some big ol' fancy plan she had to get me back under her thumb, just like how she likes things to be."
Kenny got the gist of things when Dawn told him about the private talk she and Rhyanna had with Carmine, where Carmine basically revealed everything. But due to lacking physical evidence to show it, Dawn couldn't prove to anyone what Carmine had done. "Dude, please," Kenny said, "You don't have to be one of the bad guys. You still have a chance to do good. Just surrender and come with me, you can be cut a deal if you tell authorities what all you know about Team Sco-"
"No, I refuse to rat Team Scorn out to anyone on the same side as Carmine," Kieran said, "Any win that they score is a win that Carmine scores." His brows furrowed. "...And I refuse to let Carmine get any more wins, ever again," Kieran went on. Kenny could tell, to some degree of heartbreak for him, that Kieran couldn't be saved from the darkness that was consuming him. Not as he is right now. So Kenny resolved to do what he had planned to do back at Blueberry Academy before it shut down.
Snap Kieran back to normal by any means.
"Go, Politoed!" Kieran said as he sent out his Politoed.
"Alright, Lavenza!" Kenny said as he tossed up a ball to send out his first Pokémon for the battle, "Let's make it cringe!" To Kieran's surprise, the Pokémon that Kenny sent out turned out to be none other than Ogrepon, currently wearing its Teal Mask.
Kieran chuckled to himself as he looked right at Kenny. "Seriously?" Kieran asked, "You decide to bring out the Ogre NOW of all times?!"
Kenny worried for a second that he may have upset Kieran by using Lavenza in battle against him, a fact that made him glad that Carmine's (probable) lie that day back at Blueberry Academy kept him from using his more exotic Pokémon against Kieran. But still, Kenny figured on having Lavenza in his party; aware that Kieran had joined Team Scorn, Kenny hoped having Lavenza on hand and using her in battle against Kieran may help snap him back to normal, or at least get his attention.
...The latter part seemed to be the one working like a charm.
Gesturing forward, Kieran called out, "Politoed, use Ice Beam!"
"Lavenza, use Ivy Cudgel!" Kenny commanded.
Politoed fired an icy cold beam of ice blue colored energy at the named Ogrepon, who dodged it nimbly as she conjured a green, vine-y spiked cudgel before charging at Politoed and striking it hard across the side of its face. Politoed cried out in pain as it was thrown to the side, skidding to a halt where it laid defeated.
Kieran recalled his fainted Politoed and sent out his next Pokémon with a cry of, "Go, Dragonite!"
"Lavenza return!" Kenny said as he swapped his Pokémon around, "Okay, Shallot! Let's make it cringe!" Coming out into battle was Kenny's named Glaceon. Gesturing forward, Kenny commanded, "Shallot, use Ice Beam!"
"Dragonite, use Extreme Speed!" Kieran ordered.
Due to using a (very) high priority move, Kieran's Dragonite struck first, blitzing Shallot with a very striking full body tackle. But although it hurt well, it didn't take Shallot out of the fight. The attack had also put Dragonite within easy range of Shallot's Ice Beam that went on to blast right into the enemy Dragonite at point blank range.
The times four super effective attack ended up defeating Dragonite, prompting Kieran to call it back and send out his next Pokémon. "Go, Grimmsnarl!" Kieran said as he sent his Grimmsnarl out next to battle Kenny's Pokémon.
"Shallot return!" Kenny said as he called back his named Glaceon, "Okay, Cell! Let's make it cringe!" Coming out to battle was Kenny's named shiny Scizor. Pointing forward, Kenny said, "Cell, use Iron Head!"
"Grimmsnarl, use Reflect!" Kieran ordered.
Because of Prankster, Grimmsnarl was able to get Reflect up before Cell slammed his head into Grimmsnarl itself, lessening the blow from Iron Head. But the attack still stung a bit. "Not bad, my good chum," Kenny remarked, "Your battle instincts are sharp."
Kieran gave Kenny an even, unamused look. "...Don't try to flatter me. You're obviously trying to butter me up to make me more willing to sell Team Scorn out to Carmine's side. It won't work."
Kenny wasn't even thinking of trying to make Kieran more willing to dish on Team Scorn, but what all that Kieran had suffered, what all he'd gone through, because of Carmine had done more damage to Kieran's psyche than Kenny could have imagined. Kenny would try to argue that he wasn't trying to 'butter Kieran up' like what Kieran was claiming, but right now that would be a lost cause due to how Kieran is still in the darkness.
So the battle had to resume. "Cell," Kenny called out as he gestured forward, "Use Brick Break!"
"Grimmsnarl, use Sucker Punch!" Kieran commanded.
Grimmsnarl threw a quick sucker punch at Cell, striking the named shiny Scizor in the armpit of its right arm which was raised up to strike down with Brick Break. But Cell endured quite well, even more so due to how that Sucker Punch wasn't a strike to Cell's schmeat. The Brick Break went on to not only shatter the Reflect, but also strike Grimmsnarl in the face over one of its eyes, making it cry out in surprise and a bit of pain as it covered its eye and stumbled back a bit.
Cell's strike made an opening that Kenny intended to take advantage of. "Cell, use Iron Head!" Kenny commanded.
"Grimmsnarl, use Reflect!" Kieran called out.
Grimmsnarl was too surprised and stunned by the strike to its face to be able to focus on setting up a Reflect, and as such it took a un-nerfed Iron Head from the named shiny Scizor, scoring a super effective hit that was a critical hit, resulting in Grimmsnarl going down. Frustrated, Kieran recalled his fainted Grimmsnarl.
As Kieran got ready to send out his next Pokémon, Kenny spoke up. "You don't have to do this, Kieran," Kenny said, making Kieran take pause and look at him. "You don't have to be a bad guy, you know," Kenny went on, "A deal can be worked out for you. You just have to stand down and come in quietly. You can still-"
"-Wind up as nothing more than a beast in a cage for Carmine to visit and lord over while going on how she's better than me and that I being the fuck-up of the family can't do anything without her," Kieran interrupted, "Yeah, no thanks. Even IF I willingly surrender, I'll still be thrown behind bars due to what I've done. And who will be among those who will be visiting me while I'm in jail or prison or, given how old I am, juvie? Carmine, rubbing it in my face how I had failed against her while she had succeeded against me. Mark my words, that's what will happen if I'm brought in."
Kenny was getting more broken hearted over how far gone Kieran was, due to what all he had suffered under Carmine's unchecked and unrestrained bullying of him. Kenny could tell that things had to be set up to ensure Carmine can't do what Kieran was claiming she'd do if he's caught and brought in, Kenny had a feeling that Kieran's paranoia fueled claims about his older sister held some degree of merit.
But that had to wait as Kenny still had to snap Kieran back to normal.
Back in the main area of Goldenrod City, Lance and Mina were both stuck battling Tsuguo and Furushima. Luckily for Lance and Mina, Whitney the Goldenrod City gym leader came over to help Lance as she recognized him as the Champion of the League responsible for the Johto region, so she was asked to get the wounded Carmine to safety. Although Whitney freaked upon seeing Carmine's wound, she still got the Kitakami native to safety so that her wound could get at least some treatment.
This gave both Lance and Mina the freedom to battle Tsuguo and Furushima without having to worry about the girl who was bleeding from a wound inflicted by her own younger brother who had turned to Team Scorn's side. They could discuss the finer points of what came about due to Kieran having joined Team Scorn at a later time, but for now the present heroes had to deal with the Team Scorn Captain and Captain's Assistant that were right in front of them.
And the only way to deal with them was to best them in battle. "Go, Dragonite!" Lance said as he sent out his Dragonite.
"Go, Espeon!" Mina said as she sent out her shiny Espeon.
"Go, Klefki!" Tsuguo said as he sent out a Klefki.
"Go, Weezing!" Furushima said as he sent out a Kantonian Weezing.
"Dragonite, use Fire Punch on Klefki!" Lance ordered.
"Espeon, use Psychic on Weezing!" Mina commanded.
"Klefki, use Light Screen!" Tsuguo called out.
"Weezing, use Sludge Bomb on Dragonite!" Furushima saif.
Klefki went first out of all of the Pokémon due to its Prankster ability, setting up a Light Screen that ended up curbing the sting of Espeon's Psychic on Weezing, allowing Weezing to endure (albeit it was only just) and go on to hit Dragonite with Sludge Bomb. Luckily for the heroes, Sludge Bomb had failed to inflict poison on Dragonite.
Dragonite's Fire Punch went on to strike Klefki and damage it enough to knock it out. Tsuguo was forced to call back his fainted Klefki before he sent out his second Pokémon, a Drifblim. "It would appear that I need to compress things here," Tsuguo remarked, "Drifblim, use Minimize!"
"Dragonite, use Aerial Ace on Drifblim!" Lance ordered.
"Espeon, use Psychic on Weezing!" Mina commanded.
"Weezing, use Sludge Bomb on Dragonite!" Furushima called out.
Espeon went first this time and blasted Weezing with Psychic before it could attack. Even with the Light Screen up, Weezing still went down to Espeon's second attack on it. This left Dragonite free to strike at Drifblim before it used Minimize to reduce its size and raise its evasion. Not, of course, will evasion boosts matter as Lance's Dragonite he has out knows Aerial Ace.
Furushima called back his fainted Kantonian Weezing and sent his second Pokémon out, showing it to be a Galarian Weezing. "Weezing, use Sludge Bomb on Dragonite!" Furushima ordered.
"Dragonite, use Aerial Ace on Drifblim!" Lance commanded.
"Espeon, use Psychic on Weezing!" Mina called out.
"Drifblim, use Minimize!" Tsuguo said.
Espeon went first again, blasting the Galarian Weezing with Psychic. But Light Screen was still up, so Weezing was able to endure and go on to hit Dragonite with Sludge Bomb. Luckily again, it failed to inflict poison. Dragonite then struck Drifblim with Aerial Ace, and the evasion boost Drifblim had did not help, nor would the second evasion boost it got.
The song and dance was repeated in the next round, only Weezing was defeated before it could attack, and Drifblim was defeated before it could get off a third (useless against Dragonite) Minimize. Tsuguo and Furushima recalled their defeated Pokémon and sent out their next ones each, Tsuguo a Kantonian Muk and Furushima a Revavroom.
"Muk, use Minimize!" Tsuguo ordered.
"Revavroom, use Iron Head on Dragonite!" Furushima commanded.
"Dragonite, use Aerial Ace on Muk!" Lance called out.
"Espeon, use Psychic on Revavroom!" Mina said.
Espeon went first, and its Psychic didn't do as much as Mina would have liked, mostly because Light Screen was still up. Dragonite struck Muk with Aerial Ace, then Revavroom struck Dragonite with Iron Head, then Muk used Minimize. After that round, the Light Screen finally wore off, which told Mina that Espeon's attacks on the enemy Pokémon would have more of a kick now.
The next round saw the same moves repeated and on the same targets. Espeon struck Revavroom with a Psychic that did more damage thanks to Light Screen being gone, Dragonite struck Muk with Aerial Ace, Revavroom who was getting worn out struck Dragonite with Iron Head, and Muk used a second Minimize that against a Pokémon that knows Aerial Ace was moot.
The round after that saw Espeon defeat Revavroom and Dragonite defeat Muk, forcing Tsuguo and Furushima to call back their respective Pokémon. "So you would be heroes have defeated me and my Assistant here," Tsuguo said, "It is of little matter. The numbers Team Scorn has here in Johto are legion. Team Scorn taking or wiping Johto isn't a matter of if, it's a matter of when."
"Johto will never fall to Team Scorn," Lance declared boldly, "Nor will it ever be taken by Team Scorn either! We and the other defenders of Johto will fight to our last breath, and we will win! Team Scorn has met a force that it can never overcome!"
Arching a wry eyebrow, Tsuguo said, "Oh? You think that any of you would be heroes can stand up to the might of Pariah? And keep in mind that to even get a shot at fighting the leader of Team Scorn, you will have to go through his Assistant Ayane first. Can anyone claim they have what it takes to best the gargantuan dragon Pokémon that Lady Ayane has at her beck and call?"
"Ayane is only one girl," Mina said, "With only one Pokémon that Kenny and other top trainers on our side have to worry about! And those top trainers have multiple big name Pokémon each! We got quality and quantity on our side! Ayane will be overwhelmed before she can ask what in the hell had just happened to her Eternatus!"
"...Do not be so sure," Tsuguo said, "Team Scorn also boasts multiple top trainers. You would be heroes are going to be very hard pressed to keep up with us." There was some ease in the fighting for the heroes, so they were able to spare a few people to apprehend Tsuguo and Furushima. Unlike with past instances of Team Scorn members being taken into custody, the heroes fully intended on making sure Tsuguo and Furushima didn't get out of custody.
Lance wanted to make it a point on how justice always reached criminals like Team Scorn.
Back over to the top of the tallest tower in Goldenrod City, Kenny's battle with Kieran was still going strong. Kieran had sent out his Porygon-Z, to which Kenny swapped out Cell and sent out Godzilla, his named Tyranitar. Pointing forward, Kieran called out, "Porygon-Z, use Ice Beam!"
"Godzilla, counter with Brick Break!" Kenny commanded.
Godzilla charged right at Porygon-Z with a hand raised up to come down to deal a chopping strike, and the force of the hand being brought down parted the Ice Beam cast at Godzilla. He then got up to Porygon-Z and struck it hard with Brick Break, dealing a super effective hit that ended up taking down the Porygon-Z.
Kieran recalled Porygon-Z and sent out his fifth Pokémon. "Go, Furret!" Kieran said as his fifth Pokémon turned out to be a shiny Furret.
Kenny perked up at this. "Oh yeah, I heard you caught a shiny Sentret around the time you were seen giving that Helen girl your Incineroar," Kenny said, "I'm guessing this is that Sentret but evolved."
"I would like to see Carmine try to make me get rid of it," Kieran snarled, his tone making it clear that introducing his hunting knife to Carmine again wouldn't be off the table if Carmine tried to control his life in such a way again. Gesturing forward, Kieran called out, "Furret, use Fire Punch!"
"Godzilla, use Brick Break!" Kenny ordered.
The two Pokémon rushed at one another, and reached each other at roughly the same time. But the named Tyranitar was slightly faster, and its Brick Break landed right on Furret's head, stunning it and making it sway around a bit from side to side until it fell over onto the roof of the tower that Kenny and Kieran were battling on top of. Furret was clearly knocked out.
Kieran scowled bitterly in annoyed frustration as he recalled his fainted shiny Furret, before sending out the last Pokémon that he had. "Go, Hydrapple!" Kieran called out as he sent out his Hydrapple to face off against the might of Godzilla.
"Oh yeah, Hydrapple has the fighting Tera Type," Kenny said in noted mild concern.
"But unfortunately Terastallization can't be triggered outside of Paldea, Kitakami, or Blueberry Academy," Kieran said, "Team Scorn had admittedly kind of shot itself in the foot by wiping out two of the places Terastallization can occur, and the third is no longer a valid option because of the petty upper class of Paldea." Gesturing forward, Kieran called out, "Hydrapple, use Gyro Ball!"
"Godzilla, use Rock Slide!" Kenny commanded.
As Hydrapple tried charging at Godzilla in a spinning motion, the named Tyranitar made rocks fall down from the air above Hydrapple, striking it and making it stop mid-attack. After it came out from using Gyro Ball, Hydrapple was shaking somewhat, as if stunned, and clearly unable to move. It was clear that Godzilla's Rock Slide had scored a flinch on Hydrapple.
Wanting to seize the opportunity as he knew that Hydrapple was Kieran's last Pokémon, Kenny called out, "Godzilla, use Rock Slide again!"
"Hydrapple, use Gyro Ball!" Kieran ordered.
Right as Hydrapple came out of flinching, Godzilla made it rain rocks down upon Hydrapple again, striking it yet again rather hard. The Rock Slide did not score a flinch this time, but then again it did not score a flinch because it actually knocked out Hydrapple. Kieran, stunned as things got through to him to remind him of what reality was like right now, simply recalled his fainted Hydrapple.
Kenny, keeping Godzilla out, stepped forward to stand next to his Pokémon but still face Kieran. "You had put up one hell of a fight," Kenny said, "Carmine if I was battling her here instead would of folded like a house of cards."
"...She's a bossy sore loser who won't take losing to those she sees as her lessers very well," Kieran said in a somber tone as, after putting Hydrapple's ball back onto his belt, he took it off, "As such, she won't take losing to anyone period very well."
"Kieran, you still have a chance to do good, still have a chance to return to the path of good," Kenny went on, "Just... just come in peacefully with me to the autho-"
"All that will happen in that case is me being put back into a spot where Carmine will lord over me while proclaiming how she's in the right and I'm in the wrong," Kieran interrupted, "I will end up being stuck in Carmine's shadow, yet again, and not be able to get out." Kieran sat his belt with his on hand team on it down in front of him.
"...Carmine had made it her life goal to never let me be my own person," Kieran said somberly, "To never let me live my own life. I'm... I'm not even human as far as she cares, I'm just a possession of hers that she wants to own." Gently shaking his head, Kieran said, "I... I can't go with you, Kenny. If I do, the only path following that choice is me eventually going right back to being under the thumb of my older sister. And I can't go back to that."
Kenny was growing concerned by what Kieran was saying. "What do you-"
"You're familiar with Helen in Accumula Town, right?" Kieran said, "You heard how I gave her my first Furret and my Incineroar." Gesturing to the belt with Pokéballs attached to it that he laid down on the roof of the tower he and Kenny stood on, Kieran said, "Make sure Helen gets all of my Pokémon here. The ones I have in storage, too."
Kenny looked to the belt that Kieran had laid down on the tower roof, gave it a look of consideration. "...Well someone will need to take care of your Pokémon while you're in detainment," Kenny said, "No matter how good of a deal can be cut for you, you are with all due respect going to have to serve at least some time in custody." Turning to look to Kieran, Kenny went on, "I'm sure Hel-"
Kenny stopped short when failed to see Kieran anywhere. Alarm and fear instantly settling into his heart, Kenny called out, "Kieran?! Kieran my good chum, where did you-"
*Splat*
Kenny stopped short yet again, only this time he did so due to being cut off when he heard a rather sickening noise of something hitting the ground with a splat. Kenny, fearing the worst, ran to the edge of the roof and looked down to the ground. When he did, Kenny saw that his worst fears had just been made manifest.
"KIERAN!"
Within due time, the Team Scorn attack on Goldenrod City had been settled, and the heroes had won the day. Granted, there was quite a lot of damage to the city, many of the defending heroes had been injured and or worn out, and there even a few heroic lives lost. But Team Scorn had still failed to either take or wipe Goldenrod City, meaning that the heroes were victorious.
Lance spoke with Mina and Whitney as defeated Team Scorn members were rounded up and detained. The Captain and his Assistant who were bested by Lance and Mina were already being grilled for what info they knew, and as such Lance was really hoping that some info of relevance is gotten from those two as it'd go a long way go besting Team Scorn as a whole.
It was as Lance talked with Mina and Whitney that Kenny, a tear streaked look of grim anger on his face, came walking up to them. He was also carrying the hunting knife, in its sheave, that Kieran used to wound Carmine. Kenny was also carrying an extra belt that had Pokéballs attached to it. Mina, ever the faithful girlfriend to Kenny, immediately saw it that Kenny had been crying. "Kenny, sweetness, what's wrong?" Mina asked.
"How is Carmine doing?" Kenny asked, sounding a bit pissed off at the girl he was asking about.
"Oh, Mina told me that's the name of the girl I helped pull to safety," Whitney said, "Yeah, the doctors here in Goldenrod City were able to save her. She'll live, but she'll have a nasty looking scar for the rest of her life."
Nodding once, Kenny said, "Good. I'm aiming to add a broken nose to the list of Carmine's injuries."
Looking concerned, Lance asked, "Kenny, what happened? Where is that Kieran boy?"
"Dead."
Lance, Mina, and Whitney all went wide eyed out of stunned, shocked surprise when Kenny told them that Kieran was now dead. "He took a Swanna dive off of a roof to avoid being taken into custody and made to spill what all he knew about the inner workings of Team Scorn," Kenny went on, "He mentioned it that those who were on the side against Team Scorn were allied with Carmine, meaning if he ratted Team Scorn out to the authorities, he'd be ratting them out to Carmine."
Lance looked shocked and grim at the news of someone dying, and both Mina and Whitney looked fit to cry. "...He'd sooner kill himself than betray Team Scorn to anyone allied with his older sister..." Mina said, "...Aww geez..."
Gesturing to what Kenny held, Whitney asked, "Where did the belt with Pokéballs attached to it and the blade come from?"
"Kieran took the belt off and laid it on the rooftop he and I battled on before he jumped while I was sadly distracted," Kenny began to explain, "He asked that all Pokémon he owned be given to a girl that the lads and I am familiar with. Said girl lives in Unova, in a city that celebrates Furrets for some odd reason. As for the knife, it's the weapon Kieran used to wound Carmine, I figured that it ought to be recovered because it could be evidence."
"...How are we going to break this news to Dawn, Trip, and the rest of the crew?" Mina asked, "How are we going to break this news to Rimu and his friends? How are we going to break this news to Kieran's family? His grandparents and his older sister who ultimately is the reason that Kieran took his own life?"
"I can't imagine Carmine being happy with learning what her actions had ultimately led to," Kenny said, his tone and expression equally grim, "But hopefully, this if nothing else will be what it takes to finally convince Carmine that her ways were wrong, that being controlling and possessive was not the way to go to keep her remaining family together."
"...What's done is done," Lance said, "We got Goldenrod City secured from Team Scorn, hopefully we'll be able to hold it from being attacked again. We'll... focus on telling others of the Kieran boy's death AFTER things here in Johto are settled and Team Scorn is stopped for good. For now, let's see what all here in Goldenrod City needs fixing in the wake of the Team Scorn attack."
Kenny, Mina, and Whitney all nodded in agreement before they went off with Lance to see what all in Goldenrod City needed to be fixed in the wake of the Team Scorn attack on the city. They did have a need for something, anything at all, to take their minds off of the fact that Kieran is now gone.
END, CHAPTER THREE-HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN
Author's notes;
This chapter sees Lance the Indigo League Champion lead efforts in Goldenrod City to repel the Team Scorn attack there. During said attack, Kieran shows up and wounds Carmine with a knife to lay her low, but he also lures Kenny away for a battle as Captain Tsuguo and his Captain's Assistant Furushima stay behind to occupy the time of Lance and Mina.
Kenny battles Kieran on the roof of the tallest tower in Goldenrod City while Lance and Mina battle Tsuguo and Furushima in the streets. The Captain and his Assistant are defeated, as is Kieran who takes his belt with Pokéballs attached to it off and lays it down to distract Kenny long enough so he can take a Swanna dive off of the roof, letting him keep Team Scorn secrets.
When the Team Scorn attack on Goldenrod City is settled and the heroes won the day, Kenny returns to Lance, Mina, and Whitney to tell them the bad news about Kieran. They have no idea how they'll break the news to everyone else, but that's a problem that can be tackled later. The next chapter will see the others help lead efforts to repel Team Scorn attacks in Johto. Until then, take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Tsukune (Palkia), Odin (Arceus), Fangfang (Yveltal), Zyuoh (Solgaleo), Veldora (Koraidon), Lincoln (male Latios)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Black (Giratina), Shallot (male Glaceon), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Lavenza (female Ogrepon; Teal Mask), Armstrong (Regigigas), Godzilla (male Tyranitar)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Deelia (Dialga), Villetta (Miraidon), Cameron (Kyogre), Tetsu (Xerneas), Alucard (Lunala), Rogers (Zamazenta)
Mina's Pokémon: (on hand) Scar (male Eevee; scared over one eye), Dragonite (male), Lucario (female), Umbreon (male; shiny), Espeon (male; shiny), Jolteon (male; shiny)