Chapter 19 - Bincho Charcoal Cashews
A couple of days had passed since Yurie's contest. They had spent another night in Eterna City, enjoying the gym's garden. After that, they left for their next destination, Hearthrome City.
This led them to the cycling road, a path where bikers could commute from Eterna to Oreburgh in about an hour. However, the three trainers did not have bikes, so they opted to walk under the cycling road, a trek that would take roughly an entire day.
For our trainers, it would take two. Cyan was in no rush to get to his next gym badge, so he made sure to stop and scan any new Pokémon they came across. Yurie didn't mind. She had brought plenty of snacks, including bincho cashews. Phoenix was appalled at the sight of the black-coated cashew nuts, but he was surprised by how sweet they tasted.
The group sat down for one of many breaks. They set up a small camp so that they could properly rest and enjoy their food.
Yurie sat alone, reading a letter from the boy with the Mightyena. Phoenix sat with Cyan, introducing him to his castanets since the boy had taken such an interest in Iloha's music. Phoenix wasn't too great at playing the small, handheld instruments, but Cyan still encouraged him. Cyan enjoyed the sound, but his heart wasn't moved like with Iloha's fiddle.
Phoenix and Yurie teased him about this. They knew that it wasn't only the fiddle that moved Cyan's heart. Cyan was unsure of why they teased him. Yurie wanted to offer Cyan advice, but she felt like he had to figure out his feelings by himself. Phoenix told Cyan that he understood what infatuation looked like. Cyan didn't even know what the word 'infatuation' meant.
And while all of this talk about love and music was taking place, something much more sinister was happening in Eterna City.
"Are you sure we're not going to get sucked into this thing?" Mars asked while he eyed the small box that Charon fumbled around with.
Charon waved him away. "We are fine. I'm setting the coordinates to a few kilometers south. And, we're not trying to send anything from our time back. We're trying to bring someone from the past here."
"Who?" Mars asked.
"As I mentioned, she is a follower of the false God. This is just a test run. We can only guess as to where she would have been a hundred years ago. This process might take time," Charon replied. "Now, watch."
He slowly pulled on two levers on his machine, making it buzz loudly. Heat radiated off of the box, and Charon began to sweat. He wasn't bothered, and a devilish smile came across his face.
"Infatuation means, you are infatuated!" Phoenix tried to explain.
"Yeah, but what does that mean?" Cyan asked for what seemed like the fifth time.
Suddenly, the area became dark and the sound of thunder echoed throughout the area. The three trainers looked up, finding that the sky had turned a terrible shade of purple.
"Rain?" Yurie wondered as she tucked her letters back into her bag. "I didn't see any rain on the forecast."
Electric sparks emitted across the ground around them, forcing Phoenix and Cyan to jolt up and stand straight.
"I don't think this is weather-related," Phoenix said.
Cyan observed the sky and turned his head, taking in the area. It wasn't only the sky that had changed color. They were seemingly in a kilometer-wide dome. Then, there was a sudden surge of energy around the campsite. Items with a light blue glow materialized on the ground. Cyan approached one of the items, recognizing it as an ice stone.
"Stay away from that," he told his Vulpix.
"Cyan, watch out!" Phoenix shouted. He pointed behind his friend and at a large grey Pokémon. It had light blue markings, including a large dome-like crown on its head. It drooled at the sight of Cyan and his Pokémon. It lowered its head and bounded forward.
"Flamethrower!"
Yurie's Torchic jumped to the side and unleashed a stream of flames from his mouth. The grey Pokémon continued through the flames, barely affected by it.
"Dark Pulse!" Cyan instructed.
Vulpix joined Torchic and formed a ball of dark energy in front of her snout. She barked and released the ball forward. It exploded once it made contact with the ground, blasting out a dark wave of power. The wave connected with the grey Pokémon, knocking it backward.
Cyan grabbed his pearl-colored Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon.
"Rampardos, the Head Butt Pokémon. Its skull is as hard as iron. It is a brute that tears down jungle trees while catching prey," the Pokédex chimed.
"I think that might be an ancient Pokémon," Phoenix exclaimed.
"Looks like Cranidos," Cyan added.
The Pokémon slowly stood back up and started to growl. Its red eyes gazed at the trainers in a way that none of them had ever experienced. This was a wild Pokémon, but it was a wild Pokémon with the intent to kill.
"Excradrill, go!" Phoenix called while throwing his Poké Ball forward. "Use Iron Head!"
As soon as Excadrill emerged from his Poké Ball, he bounded forward. His iron thorn extended, and a steel-coating materialized around his head. He rammed into Ramparados, throwing the larger Pokémon backward. It landed in a heap, and its body went limp.
"That oughta take care of that," Phoenix said.
"Thanks, Nix," Cyan said. He observed the fainted Pokémon closely, and suddenly, with a flash of light, Rampardos disappeared. "What is happening?"
Behind the group, there was a multitude of loud popping sounds. They turned, finding a gang of orb-like Pokémon resembling Poké Balls. They were maroon on their top halves and dark yellow on their lower ends
"Voltorb?" Yurie wondered.
Cyan nodded and scanned the Pokémon.
"Data not found," his Pokédex chimed. Cyan's eyes widened, and he tried to scan them again. "Data not found."
"What do you mean?" Cyan wondered.
"Vol-torb," one of the Pokémon muttered. The group of Voltorb eyed the three trainers and their Pokémon. Three of the Pokémon rolled forward, and they started to glow white, charging up their powers. Cyan raised his eyebrows as he observed the small holes in their heads.
And then, the three Voltorb imploded, sending dust, dirt, and smoke into the air.
"Definitely a Voltorb!" Cyan exclaimed.
And through the dust, more Voltorb emerged. They bounced up and down as electricity sparked from their round bodies.
"They're not friendly. We'll take care of this! Earthquake!" Phoenix ordered.
Excadrill raised his arms before driving his claws into the ground. He focused, and the entire area began to shake violently, concentrating on the Voltorb specifically. They groaned, and a few more of them exploded, but when Excadrill finished his attack, there were still a few of the gang remaining.
"That should have defeated them," Phoenix exclaimed.
Cyan looked at Vulpix and Torchic, who were wobbly from the attack. It appeared as though Torchic took more damage than any of the Voltorb did.
Two of the Voltorb rolled forward, and green energy surrounded them. The energy focused into two balls before the Pokémon blasted them directly for Excadrill.
"A Grass-type move?" Phoenix said with a gasp.
"Ice Beam!"
Vulpix ran forward and released a jagged beam of ice from her mouth. The beam froze the ground below it before destroying the Voltorb's attacks. It continued forward and struck the two Voltorb, freezing them instantly.
"Interesting," Cyan muttered.
More light flashed behind the gang of Voltorb. Yet again, another Pokémon materialized. However, this one was much larger. It was still round, like the Voltorb, but its colors were reversed. The Voltorb moved out of the way for it, allowing it to slowly roll to the three trainers.
"And, I'm assuming this is some kind of special Electrode," Phoenix said while observing the Pokémon.
"Sneeze!" something cried from behind the trainers. They looked back, finding a pack of bipedal, light-furred Pokémon. They had dark claws and purple feathers sticking out from a single ear.
"If I was a gambling man, I'd say those are Sneasel," Phoenix said. "However, I wouldn't put a lot of money on it, because all the Sneasel I know have darker fur."
"No data found," Cyan's pearl Pokédex informed him.
"Great," Cyan muttered. "Yurie and I will take on the Sneasel. Can you handle Electrode?"
Phoenix glanced at the round Pokémon as it slowly came forward. "I hope so! Hone Claws!"
Two of the Sneasel leaped forward, sticking out their sharp claws.
"Dark Pulse!" Cyan ordered.
Vulpix responded by blasting a ball of dark energy from her mouth. The ball exploded against the ground, creating a black wave. The Sneasel continued their attacks, easily breaking through the wave. Their claws began to glow with orange chi.
"Aerial Ace!" Yurie shouted as soon as she saw the color of the attacks.
Torchic rocketed forward, carried by his beak. He didn't need to do anything, as his attack could not miss. He slammed into one of the Sneasel, throwing it back with ease. Meanwhile, the other one tried to bring its hand down onto Vulpix, but she narrowly avoided the strike.
"Interesting," Yurie said. She looked to Cyan to confirm that he was thinking the same thing that she was.
He nodded. "Extrasensory!"
Vulpix's eyes started to glow purple. She howled, and the air suddenly shifted. Kinetic energy seemingly forced the matter in the air to rip apart, and purple lightning rained down on Sneasel. It let out a cry as it instantly fainted.
Cyan smiled at his Pokémon, but his smile quickly faded away as more Sneasle began to run their way.
"Aerial Ace!"
"Extrasensory!"
What followed was an explosion of kinetic and aerial energy.
"Now, Earthquake!" Phoenix ordered.
Excadrill stuck his claws into the ground once again, and the field below Electrode and its gang of Voltorb started to shake. The Pokémon were forced to grit their teeth as they withstood the attack. A few of the Voltorb responded by imploding in on themselves, but Electrode chose to do something else. Its body started to glow green, and before Phoenix could figure out what was coming, a beam shot from Electrode. The beam had a concussive power and exploded upon contact with Excadrill. The Ground-type landed in front of Phoenix and instantly went limp.
"No," Phoenix muttered. He looked to his friends, who were seemingly having trouble with the pack of Sneasel.
There was another flash of light, but this time, a singular Pokémon emerged. It was canine, stood on all fours, and had thick, dark red fur. It looked up at Phoenix, but not with the intent to attack. Instead, it looked curious.
"Howdy," Phoenix said, but before he could say anything else, two of the Voltorb imploded near the new Pokémon. It was sent backward but quickly landed on its feet.
The new Pokémon growled, and fire formed at its fangs. It bounded forward and latched onto one of the Voltorb, who responded by imploding in on itself. The canine Pokémon was tossed into the air, landing directly in the middle of the Voltorb gang.
Phoenix eyed the canine Pokémon and then Electrode. The round Pokémon had seemingly been stunned by its previous attack.
"I think I have this figured out. Risky, but here we go! Talonflame, use Flame Charge!" he called while throwing his ball forward.
Talonflame burst from the ball. Star-shaped energy sparkled from his body before he was engulfed in flames. He rushed Electrode, colliding and rolling it backward, forcing it back to its gang. The Pokémon physically couldn't go limp, but the way that it stopped intentionally moving told Phoenix all he needed to know.
"Super-effective!" Phoenix exclaimed. But then, his eyes went wide as all of the Voltorb started to glow white. He quickly grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt and threw it into the group. The ball connected with and absorbed the canine Pokémon into its red light.
All of the Voltorb exploded, causing the ball to fly into the air. Phoenix didn't mind if he couldn't catch the Pokémon, but he hoped that it didn't break out while airborne. But, to his relief, he heard a faint ding before the ball came back to a soft patch of grass.
"They're not stopping!" Cyan shouted. He looked on in horror as one of the Sneasel pummeled his Vulpix.
But then, the Pokémon did stop. They turned as light flashed behind them and one more Pokémon emerged. This one was much larger. The feather on its head drooped down almost to the ground. It had long claws, and its eyes glowed red. It roared with enough power to knock back Cyan and Yurie.
"That is not a Sneasel!" Yurie shouted.
The Pokémon heard Yurie's shout, and it turned its focus onto her. It ran forward, raising its claws into the air.
"Urshifu!" Cyan yelled while throwing his Poké Ball forward.
In an instant, Urshifu materialized. He stuck out his hands and managed to stop the oncoming Pokémon. Urshifu looked up at the Pokémon's red eyes. No Pokémon ever towered over him, but this one did. The Pokémon shifted and broke away from Urshifu. It swiped, hitting Cyan's Pokémon with its large claws. Urshifu took the attack and immediately tried to respond. However, small sparks of electricity emitted from his body, and he was frozen in place.
"What the?" Cyan said. "Urshifu, no!"
The larger Pokémon raised its claws once again, and the dome began to rumble. It brought its claws down, but inches before it could strike Urshifu a second time, there was a blinding flash of light.
The trainers remained still. Everything became quiet. They slowly opened their eyes, and it was as though none of the Pokémon had been there. Urshifu slowly collapsed to the ground, out of breath. Cyan rushed to his side and reached into his bag for some medicine.
"What just happened?" Yurie asked.
Phoenix approached the patch of grass that his Poké Ball landed in. He slowly knelt to pick it up. "I have no idea, but I do know someone that might."
"Is she here? Did we get her?" Mars asked. He looked over Charon's shoulder, which he knew the scientist hated.
Charon observed his monitor. "No signs of human life, but it appears like a single Pokémon did not go back with the distortion. Interesting."
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
What Pokemon did Phoenix catch?
What do you think Team Galactic is up to?
REVIEWS:
pokemonking0924 - "Another fantastic contest win for Yurie. Sakura might have been a bit intense during the finals of the contest but she was a good sport afterwards, her Budew evolving into a Roselia during the contest was great. She'll be another great friendly rival for Yurie." - Yeah, I think that Sakura will be a good rival! I'm trying to not go with too intense of rivals for Yurie this time around! But, I still want them to be strong.