Pokemon (Detective Pikachu)

A Legendary Search

48. Stampede

Tim leapt up. "I need a larger map!" he demanded. "I need to see the entire area, Rhyme City and Mornyen City included! Right now!"

He startled more than a couple of people, but Emilia responded immediately; standing, she raced out of the room and took off down the hall. Tim didn't see where she went, but she was back within minutes as Holiday started speaking to someone on the phone… only to be cut off as he tried to talk.

"What? What are you talking about? Slow down, I can't understand you." He said sternly as she raced back into the room, holding a tablet. She placed it on the table in front of Tim, a map of the area showing just enough to see both cities displayed on it.

"I borrowed it from the control room." She panted, and Tim grabbed it and showed it to Absol.

"The route?" he asked frantically, and Absol raised his paw, one claw extended, and carefully traced a line from Mornyen to Rhyme, ending it by making a small arrowhead. The tablet must have had a feature enabled on it to draw, because as Absol moved his claw along the map, a red line appeared on the screen to follow it.

Tim whirled around and put the tablet on the table as Holiday abruptly hung up.

"They just got reports of hundreds of Pokemon bursting out of the subway and swarming through town- and they're still coming out of the subway. It's chaos over there; people are getting run over by them and buildings are coming down." He said, face pale.

"Yeah, and they're coming here." Tim shoved the tablet to the middle of the table. "This is what Helding wanted… a stampede of Pokemon swarming toward Rhyme City, only so he could step in and stop them with Lugia. I don't know how they're doing it, or why he went through with it even when Lugia got away months ago, but they're all coming here. You need to get word to these two towns, immediately." Tim used his finger to draw X's through two towns that were directly in the path of the horde. "They don't stand a chance. The people there have to get out- no time to grab anything, just get out and get away. And Rhyme City needs to evacuate too."

"I'll contact them immediately and have everyone start. But Tim, evacuation won't work. Not for Rhyme city. There are too many people, and we have at most five hours. With the traffic that would form even in the best scenario, we wouldn't even be able to evacuate half the city."

Tim stood staring at the map, ears roaring.

"Then we slow them down." Absol said. Tim looked back at him. "Get word out. Everyone able to battle. There's nothing we can do for the two small towns in between except pray for them, but every Pokemon in Rhyme City. Call them to defend their home. We slow them down."

Absol stared at Tim. "Tell them. I will give my life to defend my friends, if it comes to that."

Tim swallowed. Then he looked at the others. "Then we slow them down. Get the word out. Every officer, every able person… everyone becomes a Trainer today. We stand between them and the city, and we slow them down so that people have a fighting chance to get out. Put out the call… now! Everyone able to put up a fight!"

Tim's father stood, pulling out his phone.

"Ethan, get on the air now." Harry commanded. "Every able Trainer willing to fight needs to meet here, at the northwest side of the city. Everyone else, evacuate in an orderly fashion. Get it on every station and play it on repeat. Emergency broadcast. Holiday, contact the office now, every police officer either helps with evacuation, or helps buy time. Get moving, now!"

Tim could hear his father speaking, but he had left the room already, Absol hot on his heels. "Once we're outside, I'll put out the call to the city's Pokemon!" Absol told him. "I just need a high place to carry my voice and I'll call on all of them! The smaller Pokemon may run, but that's fine; that's their best chance anyway. The strong Pokemon will answer the call- they will come, if they don't want their home destroyed!"

The speed at which Tim and Absol were moving clearly started the receptionists, but Tim had no time for that; they burst outside.

"Wait down here, I'll be back." Absol told him, and took off, leaping onto the nearest buildings, jumping to taller and taller ones until he got to the top of GNN, where he began roaring.

The sound made Tim briefly wonder what other people thought of this occurrence; he, of course, could understand the words, knew that Absol was calling at the top of his lungs for help facing a threat that would level the city. However, the other people around were all giving cries, some just startled and some outright afraid, at the sound of the roaring.

As Absol began repeating his message, Tim heard more Pokemon voices take up the call. Every Pokemon nearby suddenly went into motion; several bird Pokemon whirled into the sky in a frenzy, shrieking, most of them intent on getting away by the sound of what they were saying, but a couple of bigger ones calling out for allies to come and fight. Bushes erupted as Pokemon like Sentret and Rattata and Zigzagoon bolted, all squeaking in fear, but bigger ones (and some that were just plain braver, like Growlithe and a few Machop) began calling to gather for fighting. Pokemon shrieks filled the air, calls to either escape or to fight, and Tim clenched his fist. It wasn't only people that would be in trouble. Even if the Pokemon who were trying to get away were starting now, with five hours or less, a lot of slower ones would not make it in time.

"Tim!" He spun at the familiar voice, seeing Emilia run up to him, Meiko not far behind. As soon as they got to him, he told them,

"Both of you, go. Get as far away as you can."

"We aren't going anywhere without you!" Emilia cried.

"Count me out! Plusle and Minun and I are going to help!" Meiko declared, both Cheering Pokemon shrieking their agreement. Tim shook his head.

"No! Plusle and Minun aren't used to battle. You have to go. Look, do me a favour, take my mom and my brother and get out of here while there's still time!"

"Not a chance! We're helping, and we're not leaving you!" Meiko snapped, the closest to angry he had ever seen the cheerful, easy-going girl.

"I am not leaving, Tim, not if you're staying." Emilia added.

Tim shook his head in frustration. "Guh!" he reached out and grabbed Emilia's shoulder- not hard enough to hurt, but firmly. "Listen, you have to go. If there's one thing I learned from having my father disappear, it's that what I hate most is the people I care about getting hurt or disappearing. I can't have you get hurt- either of you! Nothing would hurt me more than one of you getting hurt, or worse! You have to go, please! I couldn't stand it if anything happened!"

"Neither could I, Tim." Emilia's hand closed around his wrist. "I've been through so much with you that I can't imagine doing anything without you anymore. You promised, Tim. You promised you would keep me involved. If you're staying, so am I. I know I don't have any partners to fight with, but what would hurt me most is not being with you. I love you, Tim, and I'm staying."

Tim could see it in her face… if he tried to leave her behind, she would follow him anyway. And leaving her on her own… was the best way to get her killed.

He looked over at Meiko to see her smiling. "You're not convincing either one of us to leave." She warned. "I'm going to join the group of Trainers when they gather at the edge of the city. Whether you like it or not, we're in this with you to the end."

Tim sighed, his heart sinking.

"Then… you stay in with the group?" he begged. "Don't let the stampede separate you."

"I won't." Meiko promised.

Tim looked back at Emilia. "Then… you, Emilia… stay with me. Absol can carry two without a problem at his size."

Emilia smiled. "No place I'd rather be."

"Then let's get moving." Absol landed behind Tim. "The rest of the Pokemon will ensure that word reaches every corner of the city. We need to move into position to show everyone where to go." He crouched down.

"I'll take the car." Meiko said, and started to run off when Tim called her back.

"Wait! If you're really sure about doing this, then Absol can carry the three of us for long enough to get to the edge of the city… right, Absol? That won't be a problem, right?"

Absol shook his head. "If I were the size of most of my brethren, two would be my max, but I'm not. Everyone on."

Tim nodded, then looked back and Meiko. "That will mean one less car causing traffic. Let's go."

True to his word, Absol was able to carry all of them, though admittedly it was a bit awkward. Tim sat at the front, Emilia wrapped her arms around his stomach, and Meiko wrapped her arms around Emilia. Absol set a rapid pace, but kept to the ground, and as they got going, Tim realized that they seemed to be at the front of a charge; other Pokemon kept racing out from side streets to join the group behind them which got bigger, and bigger, until Tim felt like they were at the head of an army.

Which, in a way, he supposed they were.

When his phone rang as they were almost at the edge of the town, Tim tightened his grip with his left and tried to get it with his right, and failed. Emilia realized what he was trying to do, and reached into his pocket for him, pulling out his phone, answering, and putting it on speaker, turning up the volume so it was easier to hear.

"Tim, we just got more information from Mornyen! The numbers of Pokemon stampeding towards the city is easily in the thousands, maybe the tens of thousands! From what they've been able to see, all of the Pokemon that were in the, well, let's say army coming out of the stations all had some sort of metal circlet around their heads, and the ones from the underground tunnels were joined be even more rampaging into the city from the nearby forest. They also apparently shipped some Pokemon from Galar for the group coming out of the ground, and it seems that one of those Pokemon has done something that they call "Gigantamaxing."

"What's that?" Meiko called.

The speaker, Tim's father, didn't ask why Tim wasn't alone, instead simply answering. "According to the people we were able to contact in Galar, Gigantamaxing is something certain Pokemon are able to do with an immense amount of energy. The Pokemon grows in size astronomically, gains a lot more power, and changes form somewhat. The strange thing is, this phenomenon is only supposed to be possible in very specific places inside the region of Galar… certain "energy spots", apparently, that provide the immense energy needed. And it's supposed to be temporary. This Gigantamaxed Pokemon, a Duraludon according to the Pokemon Professor of Galar, crashed its way out of the ground in Mornyen City. They've given us as much information as they can, now… Mornyen City is all but gone. It's been razed to the ground. It's… very bad."

Emilia gasped, and behind her, Meiko muttered, "Arceus help us…"

Tim swallowed. "If… if Gigantamaxing is only doable at specific places in Galar, how is there one here?"

"No one knows. Everyone is shocked. But it's there, and it's coming. You'll probably see it from miles away. The thing is huge. It's- what?"

"What? What now?" Tim asked.

"One second Tim- there. Holiday, what were you saying? Tim's on the other line, he's on speaker."

"Tim, Harry, we got something from Helding. When he found out that his stampede is coming early, he laughed. We demanded to know why he was going through with this when Lugia was gone, and he said he had a back up plan. He said it was trickier, but doable. We haven't gotten us to tell us what that back-up was yet, but we'll work on him. If we can get it out of him, we might be able to use it, depending on what it involves."

"Right. We'll be on standby, then, to use it if we can." Tim told him.

"Good. Tim, what's going on on your end? We're getting reports of Pokemon racing through our own streets, what's happening?"

"Absol is calling all of the city's wild Pokemon to defend it. Some of them are fleeing, but it looks like lots of them are following us to the edge of the city to defend their home."

"Good! I'm going to be heading there now, there's nothing more I can do here. I'll meet you there."

"Wait! Have you contacted mom and Jake? They need to get out of here… um… Cappucci Island! Amanda and Fletchling could take them to Capucci, they should be safe there!"

"I did tell them to get out, but I did not think of that. I think Mike will be joining us with Accelgor, though I'm a little worried about Accelgor being capable in battle… uh, don't tell him I said that. But Amanda and Fletchling should be going. I'll get in touch with all of them and arrange that. It sounds like Meiko and Emilia are with you?"

"Yes! We're helping!" Meiko called. "We're not changing our minds!"

"You're sure you won't just be in the way?" Tim's father's voice turned cold. For a moment, Tim wanted to make an angry retort… then he realized what his father was doing.

"No way! Plusle and Minun are going to help!" Meiko snapped. "We're going to fight!"

Emilia, on the other hand, stayed silent. Tim's father sighed. "Very well. Good luck. I'll meet you there."

The line went dead as the group finally reached the edge of the city. Absol kept going, ground disappearing under his paws, another mile or two before stopping in the road, few buildings in sight.

"We make our stand here." Absol announced. "If we try closer to the city, things will just be more damaged in the fight. If we can't stop them here, then… well, we just have to hope that we can buy enough time for people to get out."

"Here." Tim said, pulling out his phone. "This is the best place to put up a fight. I'll call Inspector Holiday… he should be able to track my phone and direct everyone to come right here. We have a little bit of time… get ready."

Meiko nodded and hopped off Absol's back, letting the two Cheering Pokemon down on the ground.

"Stay close, you two." She warned. "Get ready. We have some time, but don't wear yourselves out beforehand by running around."

"Got it!"

"Right!"

Tim glanced at the two little Pokemon. It almost hurt that the two normally energetic, nonstop-chattering, racing-in-circles Pokemon were so serious. But they knew the situation. They knew how bad it was.

Mornyen City was destroyed. Both towns between it and Rhyme City would be flattened as well. Tim could only pray for them, as Absol had said.

But Rhyme City… Rhyme City he could stand and fight for.

He called Holiday and let him know about the location. As soon as he hung up, his phone was ringing again. He answered it to find his father frantic on the other end.

"Tim? Tim! You haven't seen Jake on your way there, have you? Your mother said he's gone missing- he ran off!"

Tim felt his blood freeze. "No… I'll find him! I'll look!" Tim promised.

"What?" Emilia asked. He looked at the two of them.

"My brother- he's missing. He and mom were visiting… he'll be coming here. He was talking about joining in. Please, I need to find him and send him back before that stampede gets here! Can you help me?"

"Of course!"

People began to arrive, sending out their Pokemon after seeing police officers arriving on scene do the same. Time passed in a blur for Tim as he searched for Jake, but as more and more people arrived, the harder the search got. Not only was he unable to find Jake… but he suddenly realized he'd gotten separated from Emilia!

As the horror set in, he heard someone in the crowd shriek, "What is that?"

Spinning, Tim could see a towering figure in the distance. He wasn't able to make out features, but the sun shone on it and it glinted, like it was reflecting the light. Panic set in. The creature was a couple miles off, but Tim could see something spread out in front of it, all advancing. While searching for Jake, hours had passed, and they had almost no more time.

"Jake? Emilia!" Tim cried. He had to find both of them, now! He had to get to Absol as well; Absol he wasn't as worried about, but he would need to worry about himself if he wasn't on his back when the stampede reached them!

A short, loud blast of sound blared through the area, getting everyone's attention. Tim recognized it as an Exploud, and then remembered that the person who had been temporarily shoved into the position of acting mayor had one as a partner.

"Everyone, listen up!" The woman shouted, seeming to have a pretty loud voice herself. "We have to prevent that stampede from reaching the city at all costs! All of the Pokemon in that stampede have been reported to be wearing metal circlets on their heads, so Pokemon with those circlets are your targets! Thousands of people are still in Rhyme City! We are our city's last line of defense! I know that battles are not generally permitted in the city, but they are still part of all the world's cultures! Let's defend our homes and do our titles as Trainers proud!"

Through the people, Tim caught sight of the acting mayor, and next to her was…

Not having time to be polite, Tim elbowed his way through the cheering crowd to race up to his father and Inspector Holiday.

"Tim! Have you found Jake?"

"No, and I lost Emilia and Meiko in the crowd!"

Tim's last word was almost drowned out as one of the Pokemon in the stampede roared, causing some of their group to shriek in response.

"Oh, this isn't good." His father muttered.

The gap between the stampede of thousands thundering toward them and the line of trainers and Pokemon standing firm to defend the city and those still in it shrank smaller and smaller.

Tim was just about out of time, and he had lost sight of the people he most wanted to protect.

A/N: Had to get in one more bad cliffhanger. Come on.

The stampede charges toward Rhyme City, demolishing three other towns on the way. And somehow there's a Gigantamax Pokemon? Now how is that possible so far from Galar? How? And how are these people, whose Pokemon are very much not used to battling, going to manage to hold off the horde?

I guess we'll find out in the coming chapters. Despite Rhyme City's rule against traditional battling... there's no other choice. Everyone becomes a Trainer today.