Rory and Aoki approached the cable car station, that sent people over Mt Moon. The two had split off from Giovanni who had received a message to report somewhere and the two were planning to do a few wild battles here and there in the fields in front of the cable car station until they can do the battle with Gravel. The two were only a number of meters away from the station when they noticed something was off. The usually busy station was eerily quiet, and the faint scent of smoke lingered in the air.
As they drew closer, they saw a small group of thuggish-looking men and women, were all surrounding the station laughing their heads off as they partied around a bonefire, which was placed mere feet from the entrance of the station. A giant log with the words 'Cabl-' was visible, torn out from one of the signs to be a makeshift firewood.
Every member in the group of thugs were all wearing reds and oranges clothings one would wear to the beach, and the words 'Ember Eye Gang' scrawled in lettering that resembled fire.
"Looks like trouble," Rory muttered, eyeing the grunts warily.
Aoki nodded, her eyes narrowing as she noticed one of the gang members releasing a Charmeleon, its tail flame flaring aggressively as it set fire to a garbage bin. "What is this?" She grumbled "Like the 3rd gang we met so far? Team Jet must be exhausted."
Before they could act, one of the grunts spotted them, a woman who was dressed as if she was about to go sunbathing. "Hey! What are you kids doing here? This cable car belongs to the Ember Eye gang now. We're taking control of this whole route!"
Rory stepped forward, unafraid. "The cable car is public property. You can't just take it over."
The grunt laughed mockingly. "Oh yeah? Who's going to stop us? You? We'll burn you to a crisp!"
With that, three of the grunts stepped forward, each throwing a Pokéball into the air. Out popped a Charmeleon, a Growlithe, and a Kantonian Vulpix, all of them growling and snarling, flames flickering at their mouths.
Rory and Aoki quickly released their own Pokémon, Rory sending out Silver the Froakie, and Aoki calling forth Blaze the Tepig.
"Looks like we're in for a fight," Aoki said, her eyes glinting with determination.
The battle erupted in an instant.
"Silver, use Bubble on that Charmeleon!" Rory shouted.
Froakie leaped into action, launching a torrent of bubbles directly at Charmeleon. The Fire-type snarled as the bubbles made contact, the water sapping its strength and forcing it back.
"Blaze, take on that Vulpix with Flame Charge!" Aoki commanded.
Blaze charged forward, engulfed in flames, slamming into the Kantonian Vulpix. The impact knocked the Vulpix off balance, but it quickly retaliated with a Confuse Ray, sending Blaze into a daze.
The grunt with the Growlithe smirked. "Growlithe, use Ember!"
Growlithe unleashed a flurry of flames toward Silver, but Rory was quick to respond. "Dodge it, Silver, then use Water Pulse!"
Silver darted out of the way, leaping gracefully into the air before launching a pulsating orb of water at Growlithe. The attack hit dead-on, and Growlithe yelped in pain, its flames sputtering as it struggled to stay on its feet.
Meanwhile, Aoki worked quickly to snap Blaze out of its confusion. "Blaze, snap out of it and use Tackle on Vulpix!"
Blaze shook its head, clearing the confusion just in time to charge forward, ramming into Vulpix with a powerful Tackle that sent it skidding back.
One of the grunts, seeing his Charmeleon struggling, growled in frustration. "Charmeleon, use Dragon Rage!"
The attack shot toward Silver, but Rory was ready. "Silver, block it with Bubble again!"
The two attacks collided in midair, causing an explosion of water and fire that sent steam billowing through the alley. When the smoke cleared, Silver stood tall, while Charmeleon was panting heavily, clearly worn down from the battle.
"Time to end this," Rory muttered. "Silver, use another Water Pulse!"
The orb of water hit Charmeleon squarely, and with a final growl, it collapsed, defeated.
At the same time, Aoki saw her chance to finish off Vulpix. "Blaze, use Ember!"
Blaze sent a barrage of fiery embers at Vulpix, which had no strength left to dodge. The flames engulfed it, and it fell to the ground, knocked out.
The grunts, now seeing their Pokémon defeated, backed away, their expressions twisted in anger. "You may have beaten us, but this isn't over!" one of them spat. As behind them emerged a woman.
Rory and Aoki stared at the woman unable to comprehend what they are seeing. To say that the woman was beautiful would be an understatement. She looked too good to be true. He firey red hair was so clean and smooth that it looked too good to be natural, her skin was in a perfect tan, and she was wearing a bikini that showed her skinny waist, and legs that looked as if it can crush bolders, but while she looked beautiful the expression on her face is what made it such a bizarre scene as she was looking at the two with a look of anger, frustration and bit of tiredness and joy.
"And who may I ask do you think you are?" The woman said as she looked down at the two like a teacher would to two students she didn't care much for but caught them cheating on their exam. She eyed them as she continued "I am Sparks." The woman said as all of sudden she transfured as if she was now a celebraty doing an interview on some glossy tv show "An executive in the Ember Eye Gang, and one of the best fire and grass type trainers in all of Cinbar Island." She looked on at the two as if half expecting applause but she looked on disappointed at the two.
"Well, if you don't know who I am. Then allow me to show you." She said with a grin as she sent out a Kantonian Brambleghast as it leaped out of it ball, looming menacingly at her side, flames flickering along its twisted vine-like appendages. The Pokémon's fiery aura blended with the surrounding rocks and trees that surrounded the cable car station, making it seem almost elemental in the harsh landscape.
Kantonian Brambleghast
Type: Fire/Grass
Description: Kantonian Brambleghast is a variant of the traditional Brambleghast, adapted to the volcanic regions of Kanto, particularly around Cinnabar Island. Its twisted vines glow with an inner flame, and it uses its fiery tendrils both for offense and to absorb energy from heat sources. The Pokémon's dual nature of fire and plant makes it a fearsome predator in both forested and volcanic areas.
Pokedex Entry: "Kantonian Brambleghast thrives in the volcanic environments of Kanto, where it absorbs both heat and nutrients from the soil. Its burning vines can lash out with devastating power, while its ability to ignite nearby plants makes it a dangerous opponent. Trainers beware: Brambleghast's fiery temper is as wild as the flames it wields."
Rory tightened his grip on his Pokemon's Pokéballs, the determination in his eyes clear. "We'll see about that." He said as he sent out his Pikachu, Thor.
Aoki, with Blaze and Zip ready at her side, gave a fierce nod. "We will show you what we are made of!" As she sent out Zip the Beatling as she dug into her bag for some potions to heal up Blaze.
Without hesitation, Sparks commanded her Brambleghast. "Fire Blast, now!"
The massive Pokémon responded with an intense, scorching blast of flames directed at Aoki's Beatling, Zip. Aoki shouted, "Zip, dodge it!" But the flames were too fast, too powerful. The Fire Blast engulfed Zip, and with a pained cry, the Beatling collapsed, knocked out cold.
"Zip!" Aoki cried, recalling her fallen Pokémon with a look of determination. "Blaze, you're up!"
Blaze charged forward, eyes ablaze with resolve. But Sparks was far from finished. "Brambleghast, use Vine Whip!"
The fiery tendrils lashed out, striking Thor, with brutal force. Thor yelped in pain, thrown back by the impact. "Thor, hang in there!" Rory called, but it was too late. Thor struggled to stand before collapsing, defeated.
Rory gritted his teeth. "Silver, it's up to you now!"
Silver, leapt forward, dodging another Vine Whip with agile precision. "Water Pulse, Silver!" Rory commanded, but Sparks wasn't giving any ground.
"Brambleghast, hit it again with Vine Whip!" she yelled.
The vine-like tendrils lashed out, striking Silver with a crushing blow. The impact sent the Froakie tumbling across the rocky terrain, barely managing to stand, clearly on the brink of fainting.
Aoki, seeing Blaze as their last hope, ordered, "Blaze, use Flame Charge!" Blaze rushed forward, enveloped in flames, but Sparks had other plans.
"Brambleghast, Rollout!"
The Fire/Grass Pokémon curled up, rolling toward Blaze with devastating speed. The two Pokémon collided, and Blaze was knocked back, struggling to stay conscious after the powerful hit.
Rory and Aoki both stood frozen for a moment. They were on the verge of losing. Sparks smirked, her victory all but assured. "You put up a good fight, but this is where it ends…"
"AERIAL ACE"
The voice boomed through the air like a cannon, as out of thin air a Grookey flew out of thin air, shot forward with blinding speed, its small form a blur of green and brown as it slashed through the air, striking Brambleghast with pinpoint accuracy. The impact sent the Fire/Grass Pokémon staggering back, stunned by the powerful super-effective hit. Brambleghast tried to recover, but Grookey launched another quick Aerial Ace, knocking Sparks' Pokémon out cold.
The two turned around and stared to see Lief, standing mere feet away from them leaning on his bike and with a look that was impossible to read. "You hot headed thugs are something I must say." Lief said as he walked up to face Sparks who was looking at the young biker as if he had mortally offended her. "Why don't you just stay in that little rock of yours?"
Sparks recalled her defeated Brambleghast as she glared at Lief "You are just like your father." She spat.
"Who do you think you are?" Lief said as he practically threw his face towards Sparks "My mother?"
"Your mother is no better than you are if not worse" Sparks spat venomously "She is an unpredictable menace."
Lief threw back his head and laughed hysterically as if he heard the funniest joke in the world
"Oh, that's rich coming from the likes of you!" He said trying to compose himself from laughing "And how many leaders have you had in these past months may I ask?"
Sparks looked as if she had been slapped in the face "You think this changes anything? And tell your father that the door is still open, all he has to do is sign the dotted line, and you will be back on the top." With a final glance at Rory and Aoki, she turned and fled into the rocky terrain, her defeat clear.
Rory and Aoki, breathing heavily from the battle, looked toward Lief with a mixture of surprise and gratitude. "Thanks, Lief," Rory said cautiously. "You saved us back there."
Aoki, still catching her breath, added, "Yeah, we were really in trouble."
Lief, however, didn't seem interested in pleasantries. He crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. "Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't do it for you." He said as he petted his Grookey who was now playing in a small patch of grass "I did it for me."
"But why?" Rory said
Lief scoffed "I don't have all day to talk gang politics with you brother." He said "But we each have our own ways of making that dough, but unlike the others we are a bit more subtle than the two of them."
Aoki's eyes narrowed as she remembered their earlier encounter not more than an hour ago "The artifact…It belongs to the Pewter Gym."
Lief smirked, pulling the cardboard box from his bike. "Oh, this?" He held it up just out of reach. "Let's just say I have my own plans for it."
"Do you even know what it even does?" Aoki demanded
"I ain't talking about it." Lief responded.
Rory stepped forward, his voice tense. "That's not yours to take, Lief. You can't just take what's not yours."
But Lief was already backing toward his bike, swinging one leg over as he revved the engine. "You'll have to catch me first," he said with a wink, then sped off, the artifact in hand, disappearing into the distance.
Rory and Aoki exchanged frustrated glances, knowing they couldn't pursue him on foot. "He saved us, but he's still holding onto that artifact," Rory muttered, clenching his fists.
Aoki sighed. "We'll have to deal with him another time. For now, we've got to regroup."
As they recalled their exhausted Pokémon, the two trainers stood silently for a moment, contemplating the challenges still ahead. The battle with the Ember Eye Gang was far from over, and now they had to find a way to recover the stolen artifact from Lief.