Chapter 17 - FOB
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A/N: It took a bit longer than expected, but I got it done. Welcome to the latest installment of the Rocket War arc. Please enjoy :)
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Ethan stared intently across the field as Zeus and Tsunami waited for his command. The Electabuzz's fur was sparking in anticipation. "Tsunami, now!"
The Milotic cried out and arced her long head towards the sky. A soft blue ball of light materialized in front of her, and then it shot into the cloudy sky and quickly disappeared. Tsunami's antennas began to glow bright white as Ethan looked towards the clouds, which had started to shift and darken. Within a minute, the field had grown dark as the sky had filled with storm clouds. Then, the rain began to fall, quickly drenching the area around them in a steady drizzle. Espy's shield kept the the water from reaching both of them, but he could still feel a slight chill in the air with the sudden change in weather. With Tsunami's Rain Dance now in effect, Ethan gave the order to the other member of the duo. "Zeus, Thunder!"
Zeus whirred and raised both of his arms to the sky. Ethan felt the small hairs on his arms rise as electricity charged the air. A strange, metallic smell filled his nose, and he instinctively felt the urge to find cover, somewhere, even with Espy's protective shield covering both of them. Zeus turned towards an empty spot in the field and roared, throwing both of his arms towards his target.
Flash. Even through his eyelids, Ethan was nearly blinded as a million volts of electricity, far more than Zeus could harness on his own right now, shot down from the sky and blasted the empty field. The ground exploded in a shower of mud, grass, and water like a giant earthen mushroom before raining down on everyone. CRACK. The thunder boom from the lighting bolt assaulted his ears milliseconds later, and after a moment Ethan lowered his arms away from his face.
A crater the size of a small house was smoldering in the field where Zeus had blasted the ground with Thunder. The smell of ozone was strong, and the Electabuzz roared in exhilaration and pride, pumping his fists into the air. He couldn't hear his thoughts like Espy, but he could guess. Hear me roar!
"Good job, Zeus," said Ethan. The Electabuzz continued to celebrate, and Ethan realized he couldn't hear him over the rain. "Tsunami, we're good! Shut it down."
After a few minutes when the rain had stopped, Ethan walked across the wet ground towards where his team was waiting for him. He scanned the large impact crater, and looked back at the Electabuzz. As he suspected, Zeus still had a lot of energy left in him after he used Thunder. Under normal conditions, electric types channeled energy from their organs and body to create electricity. Eventually, this would drain their stamina and leave them unable to move or attack. But, in a thunderstorm, electric pokemon only had to use the latent static electricity in the air and the clouds to attack, effectively acting as conduits for energy rather than producers. The act of channeling existing electricity took much less power—they only had to harness it and direct their attacks onto their opponents. An artificial thunderstorm produced by a Rain Dance had much less latent static electricity than a natural one, but it was still powerful enough to produce tremendous Thunder attacks like the one Zeus had unleashed. Fighting electric pokemon in the rain was almost like fighting an opponent with unlimited stamina and energy. Not that he could use Thunder forever—he still had to use energy to gather the electricity, which also had to be present for him to gather. Zeus could never use a technique like Rain Dance on his own, but with Tsunami he could access power he wouldn't be able to generate on his own for a while. At least until he evolves into an Electivire…at that point, I might have to stand a whole kilometer away to avoid getting hit by stray bolts.
A sudden vibration in his pocket startled him out of his thoughts. Ethan checked his phone—it was a message from his cousin. Hey Ethan, it read. Since we still have a couple of days until the mission, I figured I could show you some things to prepare you and Espy. I know Will was pretty helpful for you, but a whole day training with me might be more valuable.
"Convenient timing," Ethan commented aloud to no one in particular. Let's do it. I'm already training the team in a field east of Ecruteak. Just head towards my location. I'll see you soon. He sent the message, and called out to his team. "Hey everyone! Take a break. We're going to have company soon."
About 15 minutes later, a Pidgeot descended from the sky to where Ethan and his friends were standing. As his second oldest pokemon, the bird type was an impressive specimen on his cousin's team. She dwarfed Ethan's own largest team member Agni, standing likely close to two meters tall with an even larger wingspan. Adrian hopped off the huge bird and gave her feathers a friendly ruffle. She crooned back, and his cousin chuckled and smoothed the spot he had pet before turning his attention to Ethan. "Morning! I see you haven't wasted any time training."
Ethan shrugged. "Not like I've got anything else to do in town. Being a trainer in a war and all."
"Fair enough." His cousin looked at Zeus and Tsunami, who were waiting expectantly nearby. The Electabuzz seemed unimpressed by the older trainer and the Metagross, and Tsunami was bathing in the sun. "I'll get to the rest of your team later, but I figured we'd spend the first chunk of our session on your Alakazam, since that's where I can be particularly helpful. Psychic pokemon are a bit similar to fighting type pokemon in the sense that you really need some specialized training to level them up in their abilities. You can let your team out while we train if you want."
Ethan nodded, and began to release his friends into the field. Soon, Agni, Dancer, Ares, and Loki joined the rest of his team nearby, while Espy remained by his side. Adrian withdrew a poke ball from his own belt and released his Metagross.
If he thought his cousin's Pidgeot was large, Metagross was absolutely massive. The steel type's huge metal arms seemed to take up just as much space as its main body, its cool steel color reflecting the sunlight from the morning sun. Its red eyes were lively and blank at the same time, like a computer that had been turned on. It turned to face Espy, whose own eyes began to glow a light blue. If Ethan concentrated enough, he could probably pick up bits and pieces of the conversation, but psychic pokemon were on a whole other plane of ability from even the best of human psychics. The speed of information transfer between two psychic pokemon was literally inhuman.
After his friends had settled down nearby, Ethan walked over to where Adrian was waiting for him. His cousin raised a hand to stop him. "Hang on. Before we get into it, I want to see Espy in action. That'll better help me calibrate her abilities and how our training session will go."
"Sounds good." He nodded towards Espy, who levitated in front of him to face Adrian's Metagross. The huge, silver-colored steel type stared intently at his friend. Its expression bore no emotion or tone—it was like trying to read a wall.
"Also, one more thing," said Adrian, as began to back up to give the two pokemon space for their battle. "We only communicate with our pokemon via psychic links. So, no verbal commands!"
Ethan gave him a thumbs up. He glanced at Espy. Here we go. Are you ready? This is literally the strongest psychic pokemon you'll have ever faced. Albeit in a sparring match.
Unfortunately, I do not think this will be a spar. Perhaps more akin to a Growlithe pup attempting to subdue its mother. Her eyes flashed. The Alakazam raised her hands, and her three spoons levitated in front of her and began to rotate slowly in a circle. But I will use all of my power.
Ethan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The sounds of the world seemed to dull as he focused on Metagross, quickly wracking his brain for anything he could remember about their opponent. Metagross and its kind were originally from Hoenn, which was unfortunately a region that he didn't know as much about. He knew they were both physically and mentally powerful. Their steel armor was impervious to most physical attacks. Fire would hurt it and penetrate its armor, and ghost and dark type attacks could damage it much like any other psychic type. With its levitation, it was invulnerable to ground type attacks and was likely very fast, despite its size.
If Espy could land a Shadow Ball on it, they might be able to take advantage of a momentary loss in defense and mobility to focus fire. But Metagross would undoubtedly have incredibly strong shields. And on top of that, Ethan had heard that the steel types were like living supercomputers. They could calculate trajectories, potential attack vectors, possible move combinations, and the abilities of their opponents and create an entire plan of attack in response in fractions of a second. Whatever he could come up with, Metagross could probably predict it and be ready.
It was maddening. But it wasn't something he could control.
"You ready, Ethan?" shouted Adrian, smiling as he did. He could probably see the consternation on his face.
He clenched his fists. "Hell yeah!" Ethan looked at Espy. Create clones all around him. Use Flash to distract it, and then attack Shadow Balls. Don't even bother with psychic attacks, it won't even hurt it.
Espy blinked, and her figure suddenly winked out of existence. Metagross continued to stare impassively at him, as if it didn't even notice that she had disappeared. Then, over a dozen different Alakazams surrounded the steel type, each glowing bright blue with their shining eyes open in full threat display. Each clone crossed its spoons, and Ethan barely had time to close his eyes before a bright blast of light filled the field. He lowered his arms just in time to see each clone launch a Shadow Ball at the Metagross. The steel type rumbled—a deep, chilling sound that Ethan felt more than he heard—and a single, flat psychic shield only a meter in diameter appeared to its right. The shield easily caught the only real Shadow Ball a dozen meters away and exploded, but far enough that the blast didn't even touch it.
Adrian wagged a finger. Ethan gritted his teeth. Overwhelm him. Multiple Shadow Balls, lower power.
All but one Alakazam disappeared from the field, as it was pointless. Metagross knew exactly where the real one was, and Espy didn't need to waste the energy or metal capacity on maintaining the clones. She clasped her hands, and several Shadow Balls materialized in front of her before shooting towards the Metagross. The Hoenn pokemon moved faster than Ethan expected, levitating to the side to avoid the flurry of ghost type attacks and immediately launching itself towards Espy with frightening speed. She teleported away just as the Metagross smashed a bright, shining orange fist into the ground where she had stood. Espy reappeared barely a few meters behind her opponent and launched another Shadow Ball into its back.
Boom. The Shadow Ball exploded almost as soon as it left her spoons, and Espy could barely blink before immediately teleporting away from the ghostly energies that shot out from the impact. The psychic type returned to the world near Ethan, and he could tell that she hadn't entirely escaped the blast. Her body seemed to shake a bit, and her eyes weren't as bright. All of that took place in a couple of seconds. Metagross turned back towards them, and Ethan could have sworn that its deep red eyes looked amused.
Damn it. Psychic link or not, the speed of their opponent's response made his commands nearly out of date by the time he could convey them to Espy. He had to trust that she would figure it out along the way. He stared hard at the Metagross as if it could give him some idea of a weakness. Then, a thought did occur to him. He grimaced. Might as well try it. Espy, trap him. Get him to charge you again. Use a combination of Charge Beam and Shadow Ball.
He blinked, and Espy disappeared again. A second later, the Alakazam materialized into the physical world again, this time closer to the Metagross. Two of her spoons were floating in front of her, and her eyes glowed blue. The left sparked and a beam of crackling electricity lanced out towards the steel type, followed by a powerful Shadow Ball. The steel type raised its massive arm, and two layered shields appeared in front of the attacks. The first barrier caught her Charge Beam attack and fizzled into nothingness, and the second barrier detonated the Shadow Ball. As Ethan thought, the Metagross noted the short distance between them and immediately charged after her, plowing through the ghostly energies from the explosion and barely noticing the residual damage. As it reared its right arm back, the huge pokemon suddenly froze.
Espy's third spoon floated just underneath the steel type, glowing blue as it ensnared its target in a debilitating Future Sight attack. Espy wasted no time and immediately fired off another Shadow Ball into the Metagross, who conjured another barrier between them and detonated the attack. The explosion sent the steel type floating backwards, gray tendrils of energy licking its armor. The Metagross groaned slightly, showing the first sign of damage Ethan had seen so far.
Adrian clapped. "Not bad, Ethan! But I've got a good idea of what your Alakazam is capable of now."
"No talking, Adrian!" Ethan yelled back, and then he yelped as the Metagross drilled its arms into the ground and the field began to rock and shake. Ethan fell to the ground with the force of the Earthquake. Espy had levitated above the attack easily, but before she could retaliate, the steel type ripped a huge lump of earth out of the ground with its metal claw and launched it straight at her. She teleported away, and the projectile crashed into the field with no target to stop it. Metagross spun around faster than he thought possible and thrust its arm forward, the limb glowing with a white aura. Espy reappeared just a few meters away from the arm, and suddenly she was ensnared by the same energy.
"No!" Ethan yelled as Metagross propelled itself forward straight into her. Before its half ton steel body could connect, a light gray colored barrier slammed into the Alakazam less than a meter between them. Espy flew into the ground and skidded across the grass, drilling a long fissure across the field before she finally came to a stop.
After a moment, the psychic slowly pulled herself to her feet, shaking quite a bit as she managed to stand up straight. The light in her eyes was dull. Although the Body Slam had definitely injured her, it wasn't quite as powerful as it could have been. The Metagross had conjured a barrier to hit her with instead of its massive body. Still, she was done.
Ethan's shoulders sagged. "All right, you win." He walked over to his friend and immediately pulled out a Hyper Potion from his bag, spraying the medicine over the obviously injured areas. Thank you. Even her mental voice sounded pained.
You gave it your best shot. Although he knew it was coming, the loss stung. He hadn't been soundly beaten like that in a while. Even his first battle with Olivine Gym Leader Jasmine was more of an even match than this. He clenched and unclenched his fists, exhaling slowly.
"She put up a good fight," said Adrian as he walked up to him. Metagross floated silently behind him, its armor plates barely singed from the battle. "Your Alakazam has power. Most of the time, its opponents can't even break Metagross's shields, ghost type attacks or not. Where Espy is really lacking is her versatility, which is abnormal given that Alakazams are one of the most versatile psychics out there."
"It's been tough," Ethan sighed. "Training her just based on content I've found online. But it's hard to figure out exactly what direction to go and how to do certain moves. I've used TMs too, like Charge Beam, but they're not a perfect solution either."
"I'll give you kudos for getting her this far without any formal psychic training." Adrian crossed his arms, his brow furrowing. "Fortunately, that's where I can be helpful today and tomorrow. Once she's healed up, I can let Metagross spend some time with her so they can communicate at their speed. It'll be much faster than what I tell you, that's for sure."
Ethan nodded. "Agreed." Although he was still disappointed at the loss, he felt invigorated at the same time. This was an opportunity to learn from someone much more experienced than him, and in an area he definitely need help in. He needed to put his pride aside. Let's get to work.
—
They found a shaded area near the tree line to sit and talk while Metagross and Espy remained in the field. Adrian sat on a rock, and Ethan remained standing. "What should we go over?"
"Let's start first with her moveset and abilities. Tell me what she knows."
Ethan concentrated. "She knows most of the average psychic moves. She can use Miracle Eye to track dark types. She can teleport of course. She can use Future Sight to trap her enemies, and she can produce clones of herself. She's able to use Flash to blind her opponents. I also taught her Charge Beam, Shadow Ball, and Focus Blast. And that's mostly it."
Adrian nodded. "Got it. So, to be blunt, that's not a lot, especially for the level you're at. I imagine training your other friends are a bit more straight forward, but with Espy you've needed some direction. The first thing I can help you improve is her moveset. Your Alakazam should be able to produce illusions on a greater scale than her clones. While pokemon like Hypno and Beheeyem are better at mental manipulation and mental combat, Alakazam can shape battlefields with telekinesis and illusory abilities."
He paused. "Let's start with illusions. When Espy creates a clone of herself, she's literally manifesting her image with psychic energy and creating an entire psychic construct. While some non-psychic pokemon can create clones as well, they're not nearly as "believable" as the ones psychics, especially Alakazam, can create. Powerful Alakazam can create clones that cast shadows, feel real to the touch, and even make sounds and talk. Your clones are decent, but they weren't real enough. That's why Metagross was able to tell which clone was the real one in the battle. That's something I've told it to instruct Espy on."
"Got it," said Ethan. "But is there a point to making it super real? It probably requires a lot of concentration and energy to make that quality of an illusion."
"Well, clones are just an example of an illusion." Adrian gestured with his hands. "And clones are an entire rabbit hole of a skillset you can build over time as well. Think of it like this: your Alakazam could create clones in conjunction with her Future Sight attack to create potential traps for your opponents. They physically hit one and, bam, they're caught."
"But more than that, she can create other illusions as well. Imagine she launches a psychic blast attack that, itself, is an illusion. Your opponent wastes his focus, time, and energy on avoiding or countering the attack. Meanwhile, you can reposition, attack from a different angle, recover, or do any number of things. Or, to get even more creative, she creates a clone of herself to fight her opponent while her real body is floating somewhere high above the battlefield. Her clone uses her foci to attack, so every move is almost as powerful as if she was actually attacking. But she's far away from the danger."
Ethan's mind raced. And, while doing that, she can do other things to manipulate the battlefield. It's like a chess game, almost. "I didn't think of her abilities like that."
Adrian patted his back. "It's all right. That's why having a good teacher is important as a trainer. You'll find that you're going to hit roadblocks with a lot of your team. Finding someone who knows how to get around those roadblocks will be key to your development as a trainer."
The older trainer pointed at the field, where Metagross was showing Espy something. The steel type drew its arm across the ground. As it did, a deep fissure appeared in the dirt and traced along the path to where it was pointing, far longer than its own arm could physically reach. "Metagross is an incredibly tough pokemon. It's got natural steel armor, and on top of that its psychic shields are bar none some of the strongest out there. But while most psychic types use shields, I've trained Metagross to create shields that are the perfect size and strength to counter attacks and projectiles. You may have noticed in the battle that Metagross never created a blanket barrier around itself?"
Ethan nodded. "Yeah, most of the time it created shields and stopped Espy's attacks mid-flight."
"Exactly," replied Adrian, snapping his fingers. "It wastes less energy and keeps the danger far away from Metagross. But beyond that, once Espy gets good at creating these smaller, more efficient shields, you should also learn how to layer the shields."
He frowned. "Isn't that the same thing as a particularly thick psychic shield?"
His cousin raised a finger. "Not exactly. Let me show you what I mean." With that, he reached into his backpack and rummaged around, eventually producing a few stray pieces of paper and a pen. He held up a single sheet of paper in one hand and the pen in the other. "Imagine this paper is a psychic barrier, and the pen is a projectile." He held the paper taut, and in one motion stabbed the pen through the paper. "The typical psychic barrier maintains a constant level of energy around the pokemon. That's fine, but it's inefficient. And it can be prone to focused, heavy attacks that can shatter your defenses. A thicker piece of paper could get the job done, but it takes more energy and concentration to produce."
Adrian took the remaining paper and stacked them together. "Now imagine if a pokemon created multiple shields in concert. Not a single, thick barrier, but many ones pressed together." He stabbed the pen at the paper, and this time it created a small dent in the stack, but it didn't penetrate. "Layered shields achieve this effect. They're more efficient at blocking attacks. They require practice and concentration, but slightly less energy. When Espy learns to create shields like this, it'll be much harder for opponents to break her defenses."
Ethan nodded. "That makes sense. But how do she do that without basically merging the shields?"
"Well, there's some fine control she has to exert in the area she's creating the psychic barrier. I'll tell you how I taught Metagross."
A couple hours later, Ethan's head was very informed but also very fried. Adrian was a patient but exacting teacher. They went over things in great detail, and he never answered his questions with a short answer. Ethan collapsed on the grass, groaning a bit. "Okay, that was good. But I'm going to need a break."
"One more thing," said his cousin, reaching down and grabbing him by the hand. Adrian walked over to the two psychics, who were still communing in the center of the field. Metagross's eyes pulsed a bit, and then the steel type turned towards its trainer. "All right, Metagross. I'm going to show Ethan one more useful technique." Adrian held his arm out, and Ethan backed up a bit. "Metagross, use Hyper Beam on that hill over there. Don't go too crazy, though."
The steel type made that strange rumbling sound, and it turned towards where his cousin had indicated. A small orange ball of light appeared in front of its maw, and a high pitched whine began ringing in Ethan's ears. The energy sphere began to grow until it was close to the size of his head. He felt a wave of heat wash over him. Then Metagross unleashed the Hyper Beam, and the sphere transformed into a column of pure energy that rocketed across the field and directly into the small hill at the edge of the clearing.
Boom. The hill basically evaporated in a tremendous explosion of light, fire, and smoke rocked the field, nearly causing Ethan to fall to the ground from the impact. Small pebbles and pieces of dirt rained down around then. As he recovered, he looked at the absolutely leveled area where the small hill had once stood, a blackened scar on the land that made the impact crater from Zeus's previous Thunder attack look like nothing. The crater was dozens of meters in diameter, a long, uninterrupted streak of charred dirt and ashes that eventually faded into browned, smoking grass. Metagross rumbled and turned back towards them, showing no sign of wear from using the powerful attack.
"Hyper Beam is a straight forward move," said Adrian, breaking the silence that had fallen after the explosion. "It's also one of the most powerful techniques a pokemon learn. Your Alakazam is probably strong enough to use it now, but it'll probably drain her and leave her unable to move for a little while after. I have the TM here"—his cousin withdrew a small disc from his pocket and handed it to Ethan, who held it with some reverence—"but I wouldn't recommend using the move unless you're absolutely sure you can hit your target. Eventually, she'll be able to use Hyper Beam and keep on battling, but like most things it requires constant stamina training and practice. We'll try it a couple times during our sessions. After that, be careful with it."
"Thanks, Adrian." Ethan looked at the orange disc in his palm for a moment before depositing it into his backpack.
His cousin clapped his hands. "All right, take a break! You get 5 minutes. Then, it's back to class for your whole team this time. And the two of us will talk more."
Ethan groaned.
—
It was a long two days of training. But it was worth it.
Adrian had a knack for calling out areas of improvement in his team despite the variety of pokemon types and fighting styles. Admittedly, he had also been a trainer for nearly a decade, and some of his own team were decently similar to Ethan's own team.
For one, Adrian's oldest pokemon Typhlosion was a big help for Agni. He demonstrated an awesomely powerful Overheat technique that left a massive circle of scorched earth all around him. Like Hyper Beam, it tended to deplete the user's stamina rapidly and wasn't to be used that often. But Agni had the firepower for it. By the end of the session, he was able to produce a smaller but no less intense Overheat that Ethan could feel even through Espy's protective barriers. Adrian also parted some advice on training Agni in lung strengthening and breathing exercises that would help the Arcanine produce larger and longer fire attacks over time.
Tsunami was also in desperate need for some versatility. That's where Adrian's Gyarados was helpful. The sea serpent taught her an interesting technique that Ethan wasn't even aware she could learn: Twister. It was based on the same draconic energy that Tsunami harnessed for her Dragon Pulse attacks, but directed into creating a withering tornado instead. Ethan could immediately see more than a few combinations with some of her other moves, and it got him thinking constantly.
Adrian's Ampharos was much calmer and reserved than Zeus. Their training sessions were mostly filled with the Electabuzz getting frustrated and his cousin's pokemon patiently teaching him. But by the end of the day, he could see the fruits of Ampharos's labor when Zeus slammed his fists into the ground and electrified the earth in a wide radius around himself. With himself powering the energy that now flowed through the ground, opponents that stepped into the Electric Terrain were slowed and disoriented by the attack. Meanwhile, the Electabuzz actually became faster when surrounded by the electrified earth. It wouldn't stop a beast like, say, Adrian's Hydreigon, or any pokemon that could levitate or fly, but it would stop speedier pokemon from outrunning Zeus and allow him to attack and close the distance to finish an opponent off before they could retaliate.
Dancer was a bit more difficult to work with. Adrian admitted the hole in his knowledge when it came to fairy type and their often strange abilities. But he was able to provide her with a move that wasn't in her toolkit: Fire Blast. And while the Clefable wouldn't be blasting opponents with Agni-level fire attacks anytime soon, it was a technique that would give her more of an edge when facing opponents like Metagross that naturally resisted her energy attacks.
Loki wasn't really in the mood for learning anything new, and Adrian didn't have much to suggest. "Ghost types actually creep me out a bit," he had said. "But I'm glad you were able to get one to listen to you. Gengar can be really powerful."
"Yeah, it's very interesting thinking of ways to use his abilities. He's versatile."
Adrian rubbed his beard, deep in thought. "Well, there is something that I've seen Gengar learn that's surprised me. None of my team's able to really use it in a way that would actually be effective, but I think it would suit a Gengar very well. Here, check out this video."
His team was very tired by the time they slumped back into Ecruteak towards the end of the day. They were all more than eager to hop back into their poke balls for a Pokemon Center recharge. Ethan waited in the lobby while the healing process began. There was no point to him returning to his room only to come back 20 minutes later to pick up his friends. The Pokemon Center was pretty busy, given that it was currently the League's command center on the frontline of the war. New trainers were constantly entering and leaving, from patrol or other numerous operations that were undoubtedly going on while Ethan was waiting for his own to begin tomorrow. Most of the trainers were older than him, of course. Some of them looked…scarred. Ethan could tell by the eyes. Many trainers in Johto were likely pressed into service to fight back against Team Rocket, and not all trainers were born battlers like him.
As he sat on the bench, a thought occurred to him. He tapped his phone screen and scrolled through his contacts until he found what he was looking for: Lyra. He sent the video call request, and 10 seconds later they were connected.
"Hey Lyra—" said Ethan before suddenly pausing. His oldest friend looked absolutely exhausted. Her eyes were rounded by dark circles and slightly red. Her skin was a bit pale and blotchy from lack of care. But her expression, normally bright and determined, shocked him the most. She just looked bone weary, and that hurt him. "Arceus, what happened?"
"Hey Ethan," she said, although her voice was so soft, it was almost a whisper. "Sorry, you caught me right when I got back from watch duty. It was rough. Well, it's been several rough ones. Team Rocket has been launching attacks nonstop for the last few days, and a couple of trainers that normally were on watch were recently killed, and the commander has had me doing double shifts—
"Killed?" interrupted Ethan, shocked. "That's horrible."
"Oh? Yeah, it was bad." Lyra brushed away her unkempt hair from her eyes. "Arceus, I really need a shower. I promise I'll be in a better mood tomorrow—I'm not on duty. I could definitely use the break."
"Don't worry about that," said Ethan. His stomach felt like it was twisted in knots just looking at the defeated expression of his friend. "Has it been that bad?"
The girl sighed. "Recently, yeah. I'm not supposed to know, but I've heard supplies are running low and we've been rationing harder. Commander Deston is just barely holding order around here." She paused. "One trainer I knew just deserted. She probably ran to somewhere in the mountains in the west. Sometimes, I feel like doing the same thing."
Ethan's throat was tight. "I…don't know what to say."
She sighed. "It's been a lot. It feels like we're just barely holding them back. Gym Leader Chuck has been fighting Team Rocket every single day, but he's not enough. There aren't enough trainers here to really do anything but sit back and wait for Team Rocket to come to us…so they do." She sniffed, and at that point her eyes began to water. "It's really bad, Ethan."
Damn it. Ethan pounded the side table next to him so hard, the trainers next to him looked at him sharply. "I'm sorry," he said. "I can't tell you too much, but we're making a push soon. We're going to take back Olivine at some point, and then, hopefully, you know, we'll get to you guys. And if we don't, I'm going straight there—
"Don't do that, Ethan." Lyra caught herself, and she wiped her eyes. "It's not going to change anything if you just ran out here on your own. Just stay safe and keep on doing what you're doing. Though if the League did get here a bit faster, I wouldn't complain." His oldest friend sniffed, trying to clear her sinuses. "I'm sorry, my thoughts aren't really coherent right now. I'm just exhausted. Maybe we can talk tomorrow?"
"Well, I'm, uh," Ethan caught himself, unsure if he could reveal the contents of their mission. "Tomorrow I'll be gone. I'm on a team with my cousin Adrian and some others, and we're taking on an important target. I don't think I'm allowed to say anything else."
Lyra smiled, and it was like seeing a ghost. "Sounds pretty cool. Well, good luck then. Stay safe, Ethan."
"You too, Lyra."
The call ended. Ethan didn't move for a while, just sitting there in the lobby while the pokemon center slowly began to clear out. Eventually, he heard someone stop behind him. "Excuse me, Mr. Rider?"
He slowly looked back. One of the nurses was holding a tray of poke balls in her hand, pushing them towards him. As her eyes met his own, she seemed to flinch a little at the haunted expression on his face. "Your friends are back to full health."
"Thank you." Ethan took the pokeballs without another word. For a moment, the nurse seemed like she was going to say something. And then she, too left, leaving him alone in the lobby save for a couple of trainers near the entrance. A broil of emotions was swirling in his head. Despair, disappointment, hopelessness. And then, anger.
Team Rocket is going to pay. He clenched his fists. Images, unbeckoned, flashed through his mind.
The Muk slowly enveloping him, blocking his vision until he was nearly surrounded by darkness.
The Lake of Rage surrounded by fields of fire, filled with screams of terror as Gyarados after Gyarados screeched and unleashed their attacks on anything that moved.
Riku's glassy, empty eyes staring at him as he laid on the ground, covered in thick, red blood.
Ethan closed his eyes, breathing deeply. He slowly unclenched his teeth, and his jaw felt a bit sore. It was time for him to head back to his room and go to bed. It wouldn't help anyone if he showed up tired and unrested.
Tomorrow, I'm going to make Team Rocket pay.
—
Spruce Town was a small settlement, relatively unremarkable save for its conveniently strategic position near Olivine City. But while the route between the two towns was rocky and almost entirely downhill, the one between Spruce and Ecruteak was nearly flat. It was kilometers of grassy plains marked by pockets of forest, which made it very easy for quick transportation. It also made it easy for anyone on a high enough of a hill to spot people moving in the lowlands. The League's primary force opted for a slower, less obvious route north of the main route, moving through the wooded areas to avoid detection by Team Rocket scouts. But Ethan's team had to get there first to set the stage for the attack, and that meant they had to move much more quickly.
Unfortunately, that meant flying.
"Just don't look down!"
"I think I already know what's down there!" Ethan gripped onto Charizard's saddle like his life depended on it—and it did. The fire type was barreling through the sky at a blistering speed. The ground was several hundred feet below them, so far that his vision was frequently obscured by dense clouds. While Alice may have been used to flying on the dragon like creature, Ethan certainly wasn't. Teleportation is way safer!
"Relax!" Alice patted his shoulder, trying to instill some comfort in him (and failing). "Even if you somehow fall off, you're attached to the saddle. And if that doesn't work, he's fast enough to catch you! He's done it for me before!"
"That means I could definitely fall off!" Ethan kept his eyes closed shut as he laid down against the cold leather, his arms hurting from holding them rigid for several minutes. He could hear the faint laughter from his older cousin, who sat atop his Pidgeot nearby as they all headed towards Spruce Town. Going by vehicle would have been too noticeable, and going on foot would have meant days worth of traveling. That left flying, though Ethan could have certainly made an argument for traveling on foot had they had more time. If he had been paying attention to anything but the saddle, he would have noticed the gorgeous sunset at nearly eye level. It wasn't like he could have this experience regularly. None of his team were true fliers that he could ride for transportation.
"I see the town!" He could hear Sophia call out. She was actually riding her Altaria bareback, but the inherent danger of it didn't seem to perturb the blue-haired woman in the least. Ethan suspected she had been flying since she was very young.
"Start taking us down," Adrian ordered. "Find the observation point just south of town. From our scouts' reports, there aren't any landmines in this direction. On that hill, we should be pretty hidden."
20 minutes later, the team had set up tents and made camp at the observation point. Their position was somewhat elevated over Spruce Town, allowing them to see many of the buildings. But trees blocked most of the rest of town, and they needed binoculars to see any details. Thus, they laid prone near the edge of the cliff, trying to make out enemy targets through zoomed-in lenses.
"All right, I've got at least 5 Team Rocket agents alone in the town square," reported Adrian as he scanned the town. "Some agents are posted on building rooftops as well, I count 3 so far."
"Those rooftops have a pretty good view of the square," noted Ethan, his mind flashing back to his first battle in Spruce Town. "There won't be any hiding from them once we're in the open."
His older cousin nodded. "All right, I've spotted our mission objective. Jamming tower right in the center, parked next to the fountain. Looks as tall as the buildings around it." He paused. "And we've got our first snag."
Ethan looked over to where Adrian had indicated the position of the tower. As he did, he immediately noticed the problem. There were 4 Team Rocket agents in various resting positions around the fountain and tower, which they had expected as much. But an Alakazam sat right next to the machine, its eyes glowing blue as it was undoubtedly scanning the area around them, looking for intruders. Behind the psychic, a few Gengars patrolled around the square.
"Sneaking inside is basically going to be impossible with that Alakzam looking for us," said Ethan, frowning. "He's going to alert his trainer the moment he detects our minds."
"I didn't think Team Rocket could actually use psychic type Pokemon well." Adrian sat down and put his binoculars away, thinking. "But our mission is still on. We just need to figure out a way around that Alakazam."
"If it's anything like most evolved Pokemon they've been using, it won't be very experienced." Ethan recalled how long it took for him to train with Espy as she navigated her newfound abilities post-evolution. And it took training with someone like Adrian to really understand how to use her powers. "Loki could probably take it down easily. But it'll still notice him on the way in. Alakazam do have a radius, though, of what they can detect."
"Thankfully, not large enough to notice us here," muttered Adrian, brooding. "Also depends on how powerful the psychic is. A forcefully evolved one from a wild pokemon? Probably could detect us within a couple dozen meters, tops—it'd also have to recognize that we're enemies and not random town residents. On top of that, the ambient energy from the Genders will impact its powers a bit."
"Is there a way we could distract the Alakazam without telling them we're coming?" That was Alice, who sat next to Ethan.
"Even if we take out the Alakzam, they'll still notice we're there," said Adrian. "We need to get close enough to the tower to destroy it. Ideally, we sneak in without having to fight our way through the entire town."
Alice raised her hand. "My Weavile could sneak in without being detected."
His cousin raised an eyebrow. "That could work." He thought about it for a moment, his brow furrowing. "But just because they can't detect a dark type, that doesn't necessarily mean they couldn't just detect our minds right next to it."
"If we're standing very close to a dark type, the Alakazam probably wouldn't notice us," said Ethan. "When Espy and I have battled dark types before, there's like a gap in space in her psychic vision. If you know what you're looking for or are using Miracle Eye, you could find it. But it's basically just empty space to a psychic. And most of their fully evolved pokemon are going to be strong, but inexperienced. They may not notice us."
"That's a lot riding on a maybe." Adrian sighed. "But we don't have another option. So, Alice, you're lending your Weavile for our mission tonight."
"All good with me." Alice withdrew the poke ball and twirled it in her hands for a moment. "I'll have to let him know what to expect."
"Please do." His cousin stood up, putting his binoculars back in his pack. "Everyone knows their roles. Alice, Sophia, move in only when you see the flare in the sky. When that happens, all hell is going to break loose. Once we can clear the area, we need to fall back towards the League position before we're completely surrounded by Rocket forces. They'll begin their assault the moment they see my flare."
Nods all around. Adrian clapped his hands. "We move out in an hour once it gets dark. Stay safe, everyone, and let's give Team Rocket hell."
—
Spruce Town was dark when they reached the outskirts of the town.
As in, completely dark. Not a single house had lights on, and the moon was partially covered by clouds, leaving very little visible as Ethan and Adrian crept through the wooded area adjacent to the main road. Ethan noted the utter lack of sounds, more so than what would have been normal for a small town of this size. Their footsteps on grass and fallen leaves seemed to echo, and every now and then he would wince when he snapped a twig.
"No one's awake?" Ethan muttered. "It's not exactly that late."
"Probably curfew," Adrian replied back curtly.
They walked for several minutes before finally encountering signs of life—a Team Rocket patrol. It was just a pair of agents with a floating Magneton next to them. Its bright electric glow sent beams of light streaking down the road and into the trees, bisecting Ethan and Adrian's positions as they froze. The "R" on their shirts shone bright red next to the steel type's light. The agents continued walking down the road and made idle conversation, unaware that two Ace trainers—well, an Ace and a deputized one—were hiding behind cover just a couple meters away. Ethan could hear snatches of what they were saying.
"The Commander is just covering his ass—"
"—authorized more raids to meet the quota—"
"—enough agents to cover patrols, let alone for—"
And then they were gone, disappearing into the distance. Ethan and Adrian didn't dare move until Magneton's light was dimmer than the moonlight, and then they were off again. "Did you catch what they said?" Ethan asked.
"Partially. Looks like Team Rocket has been using this town to launch raids. It might be more heavily defended than we expected."
"Here's hoping it's not."
They didn't run into any more patrols along the road until they finally reached the town entrance. Spruce Town, like most old settlements, had a formal town arch constructed over its main road. Two large wooden pillars flanked each side, with a Rocket agent leaned against them respectively. Another Magneton floated silently between the pair, providing light that illuminated everything around them within 5 meters. Ethan could see two long chains stretching across the road, attached to the arch beams. The biggest problem was that the wooded area ended abruptly at the town entrance, transitioning into neat rows of houses and other buildings with no cover between them.
He turned his head around to face his cousin. "Should we hit these two?" he whispered.
Adrian shook his head. "Too much attention. We need to sneak past them."
The two of them silently crept through the trees, taking pains to avoid any fallen branches or leaves. It was excruciatingly slow, but they managed to navigate much farther to the left of the entrance, where there was a smaller road that led through the town. With no Team Rocket in sight, they left the cover of the forest and into the open. Adrian immediately slid into a small alley between buildings, with Ethan following closely behind.
"Not a lot of Team Rocket at all," he muttered.
His older cousin nodded. "I think we're ready for Weavile to accompany us." The poke ball flashed, and Alice's Weavile appeared between them. The ice type was a classic specimen of its species, a sleek, dark-furred creature with viciously sharp claws and bright red fringe on its head. It almost seemed to meld into the shadows that they stood in, and Ethan felt a slight, instinctive note of unease as he looked into the creature's eyes. The pokemon took a moment to take in its surroundings, and then it turned to Adrian, silently waiting for his command.
"Let's go."
The trio walked along the side of the road, keeping their eyes out for any more Team Rocket. Weavile seemed to know where they were headed, preferring to scout ahead of them after the first minute of walking. It was a truly fast pokemon, almost a blur as it flitted between buildings effortlessly without spending more than a second in the open. Ethan could almost feel the air getting thicker as they closed in on the town center, and a slight headache pulsed at his temple. Hanging out with Espy might have made me more sensitive to ghost energy, he realized. Well, hopefully I won't be surprised by any ghosts in the future.
They reached an intersection. Adrian consulted a town map briefly, and pointed to the right. Together, the two cousins made their way down the next road until they encountered their third Team Rocket patrol. These two agents were actively looking into the houses and between the alleys, and Ethan cursed under his breath as he realized that there was no way through them this time. A tap at his shoulder, and he looked up to see Adrian jerking a thumb behind them through the alley they were in. He nodded, following the older Ace trainer to the other side of the building they were using for cover.
The parallel road was clear, and they proceeded down without further incident. Ethan could see the Weavile in an alley ahead of them. Its ears were pinned back, and it was looking at the two trainers. The ice type waved its claws at them, and pointed ahead of them. He looked down the road, but didn't see anything…and then he could hear the faint rumble. The rumble quickly became a thundering roar as beams of light pierced the darkness towards where they were standing.
Adrian grabbed his shoulder and immediately hauled him back behind a building, hitting the ground. Ethan's head lay against the dirt, and he could just see over his chest as a truck drove through where they had been standing. The sound of its engine slowly faded away as it drove off, and then the night was silent again. He exhaled.
They peered down the road, and Alice's Weavile was waving its claws towards itself, as if to say "come on". The two trainers proceeded once again, their senses on high alert after the truck had passed. A minute later, Ethan could see another group of Team Rocket agents next to a store. There were 4 of them, with a floating Magneton for light. One Rocket agent was sitting down on the porch steps of the building, facing the other three who stood on the side of the road. He could hear them talking as they crept closer, careful to avoid the tendrils of light that streaked through the night from the electric type.
"—you think we'll ever get off night watch? I don't think my sleep schedule has been right for the last month." That was the one sitting down.
"Just be glad this is all we have to do," replied another Rocket. "The League's been guarding their convoys. My old partner Chase got clipped on one of the raids, haven't heard from him since."
"The League's closest base is all the way in Ecruteak. We haven't seen any of them anywhere near here."
"I heard we're getting some support from Olivine soon. They've been bringing in new soldiers from the port."
"Who? You mean they're hiring mercenaries now?"
"Well, recruiting local is obviously pretty hard right now."
Ethan felt another tap on his shoulder, and it broke him away from the conversation. His cousin was waving him to the other side of the building, and he crept away from the road into the alley. They were close to the town center now, he could feel it. Weavile was waiting at the end, not daring to move too far away from them with an Alakazam on the lookout. Ethan peeked over the edge of the building.
Well, that's as close as we can get.
Beyond the shadow the building was a wide open clearing that stretched out farther than he could see at night. He could see, however, the familiar stone fountain in the center. Next to it were around 5 Team Rocket agents and a tall, black metal machine that jutted into the sky far above their heads. The hum of the jamming tower filled the town center with ambient noise, enough to let him relax slightly. Not very much, given the floating Gengar that hung in the air just above the tower. Lights dotted the town center, illuminating the space and making it near impossible to sneak across. I guess this is where stealth ends.
Then, Ethan spotted it. The Alakazam was perched at a nearby bench, sitting cross-legged facing the Rockets. Its right hand held a single spoon, and its eyes were closed. It was undoubtedly projecting its psychic power through the town center and the surrounding buildings, looking for anything in the darkness that its human compatriots couldn't detect. One spoon means it's not very experienced at all, thankfully. Still, even the weakest Alakazam had strong psychic abilities, untrained or not. Ethan was suddenly grateful that Alice had had a dark type to lend to them for this mission. He looked up at this cousin, who glanced back at him.
Adrian nodded, slowly withdrawing a poke ball from his belt. Get ready, he mouthed. He turned around, and released his pokemon with a small flash of light. The alley suddenly felt small as his cousin's huge Metagross filled the space, barely fitting between the two buildings that flanked it. The steel type blinked, and it looked towards the jamming tower.
Ethan took out his own poke balls. He took a deep breath.
Adrian didn't even have to say anything as his eyes began to glow slightly, communicating silently with the pokemon. The Metagross opened its maw, and a familiar bright sphere of orange light materialized just a foot away. Ethan could feel the heat and its intensity of the energy as the pokemon took aim at the jamming tower and fired off the Hyper Beam. The attack shot through the clearing and straight into the machine. For the briefest of moments, the orange energy beam smashed into an invisible psychic barrier surrounding its target. Then it carved right through the shield and hit the tower.
BOOM.
The world erupted in flames and smoke as the explosion rocked the town center. Rocket agents were tossed like rag dolls away from the blast, and Ethan winced from the sudden brightness. The jamming tower disappeared in a ball of fire and acrid smoke, and he knew they had destroyed their target.
Ethan felt himself being pulled back as his cousin yanked him by his shoulder next to him, just as a wave of blue psychic energy crashed into the shield that Metagross created. The enemy Alakazam had immediately spotted them, shooting beams of psychic energy that bounced harmlessly off the steel type's formidable defenses. Next to them, the Weavile snarled and leapt into action, darting across the clearing at the psychic type. Ethan saw the Alakazam's eyes widen momentarily before the dark type was upon it, slamming its body into the psychic and knocking both of them over the bench.
Ethan looked back at Adrian, who withdraw a red flare gun from his backpack. The Ace trainer pointed it towards the sky and fired. Crack. The flare whistled as it flew into the air and exploded in a bright red explosion of chemical light, visible for miles in the utter darkness of the night.
"Over there!"
Ethan jerked his head back towards the ground, and he could see a mix of the exploded Team Rocket agents and patrolling ones several meters away. They immediately released their pokemon, and Ethan did the same. His friends filled the clearing, an impressive team that faced the increasing army of Team Rocket pokemon on the other side. Behind him, he could hear Adrian speak into his radio. "Target destroyed," he reported. "Command, you are clear to begin the assault."
Then, the battle was upon them.
Two Magnetons immediately blasted their position with blistering bolts of electricity that left spots in Ethan's eyes even as they crashed harmlessly against Espy's instantly conjured barrier. "Espy, hang back with us," commanded Ethan. "Relay my thoughts to the team. Everyone else, get them!"
The Alakazam's eyes glowed blue as his team leapt into the fray. Agni blurred across the town square and slammed into the Magnetons in a fiery ball of fire, easily knocking them into the ground. An Arbok slithered out from behind Team Rockets' ranks and charged straight at the Arcanine with its glistening fangs outstretched. Before the poison type could reach him, it froze, bathed in blue light as Espy caught the poison type in a powerful psychic grip. Zeus roared and leapt onto the poison type, battering its face with his sparking fists until it was a bloody mess. A loud roar to the right—a huge Ursaring lumbered into the light of the town square. Agni breathed a plume of fire large enough to burn a small house, covering the Usaring in flames. The normal type roared and charged through the fire with its arms to cover its more vulnerable face, reaching the Arcanine and slashing the fire type with glowing claws. Agni yelped and was thrown into the side of a building, his fur matted and bloody. Zeus whirred and began to windmill his arms, charging his body with a huge amount of electricity before blasting the Ursaring with all of his might. Thousands of volts charged the bear's fur as it growled and stumbled its way towards the Electabuzz. Before it could reach him, it collapsed to the ground. Ethan jerked his head towards Dancer, who was pointing at the normal type and pinning it in place with a powerful Gravity attack. Helpless, the Ursaring could do nothing as Zeus pumped a relentless amount of electricity into the pokemon until it was nothing more than a burnt, quivering lump of fur.
Loki growled and took to the skies to meet the descending enemy Gengar, who attacked the ghost with flurries of Shadow Balls. Loki expertly maneuvered around their attacks and caught the closest Gengar readying its attack. It grinned wickedly as it slashed the Rocket pokemon with dark glowing claws, instantly destroying its corporeal form. The remaining Gengar screeched and dove after Loki, who disappeared into the night sky with the ghosts right behind it.
Ethan felt a rush of air to his right as something red blurred past him into the battle. A Weezing spat a blob of toxic sludge at Dancer, who quickly blocked the attack with a light pink barrier. Before she could retaliate, the Weezing was smashed into the ground by a red armored creature. The tall pokemon picked up the poison type with one pincered claw, reared back, and smacked the Weezing into the air with its second glowing claw. Dancer squeaked at the pokemon, and it took Ethan a few seconds to realize he was looking at a Scizor. Adrian used to have a Scyther. He looked back at his cousin, who gave him a thumbs up before he ran towards his Metagross, who had begun to battle an Umbreon.
Near the fountain, Tsunami was battling a gang of Raticates and a Machoke. The rodent pokemon leapt at the serpent, who was blasting them out of the air with scalding jets of water and leaving them squirming and burning on the ground. The Machoke closed in and smashed its fist into Tsunami's face, wrapping its burly arms around her neck in attempt to squeeze her. Quick as a flash, the Milotic recovered and coiled her tail around the fighting type's body, reversing their position and rendering it immobile. Then Tsunami began to spew water around herself, her head fins and eyes glowing white as she manipulated the liquid into a thick sphere around herself. The Machoke was caught by her tail and struggling to break free as it was entombed in her Aqua Ring. Several seconds later, the fighting type's eyes closed and it went limp, the last bubbles of air leaving its mouth. Tsunami finally released the drowned Machoke.
"Get that kid!" Ethan's head snapped towards the Rocket who had yelled that. A huge Rhydon was standing next to the man, and the creature's eyes narrowed as it locked in on the young boy. Then the rock type charged, closing the distance between them at a frightening speed. Every step shook the ground, and Ethan unconsciously stepped back next to Espy, who looked dispassionately at the incoming pokemon. Do not worry. The Rhydon was suddenly shrouded in blue light and lifted into the air, who thrashed around as it looked for the offending pokemon. Espy held the powerless Rhydon with both arms outstretched.
Could use someone's help to finish this thing.
The ghost has heard your call. Ethan looked up just in time to see Loki return from the skies. The Gengar looked tired, but then he noticed the rhydon and grinned. A large orb or dark purple energy appeared in its claws, and it quickly compressed into a sphere the size of a tennis ball. Then the Gengar whipped the Power Ball at the Rhydon, blasting the creature out of the air in a thunderous explosion of ghostly energy and sending it sailing back at its owner, who yelped and barely leapt out of the way before it crashed into the ground. The rock type roared and climbed back to its feet, smoking but still raring to fight.
SMACK. The Rhydon disappeared in a cloud of smoke and dirt as something green slammed into it with incredible speed. "Need some help?" Ethan looked around, and then he saw them. A Charizard and Altaria were descending from above towards their position, with Alice and Sophia in tow.
Ethan grinned. "We're handling it, but you're welcome to join!"
Alice hopped off her Charizard and released the rest of her team into the clearing: Heracross, Lapras, Jolteon, Exeggutor, and her huge Steelix who immediately filled their side of the town square. "I will battle in the air," Sophia called out, and her Altaria crooned and flew off. A second green figure joined her in the sky, having recovered from its attack on the Rhydon. Then the Flygon and the Altaria disappeared.
"It's the brat!" Ethan's head jerked back towards the ground. A truck had arrived on the scene, flooding the town square with more Rocket agents who began to release their own pokemon. A large man clothed in the usual Rocket gear but with a single star on his black beret stood in front of the vehicle, his face twisted in a snarl. He towered over the other agents, whose pokemon immediately began to engage Alice's team. "Steelix, sweep the field!" Alice yelled. The steel type screeched and swung its armored body across half of the square, knocking aside half a dozen pokemon and launching the truck into the air. There was a distant boom once the truck landed somewhere out of sight. The rest of her pokemon immediately took after the disoriented Rocket army. Alice looked back at Ethan. "You got this?"
He nodded. She clasped his shoulder once, and then she ran to join her team.
Then it was just Ethan and the Rocket.
"I heard you're the one who took down Proton and Arianna." The Rocket released his own pokemon, and suddenly Ethan felt very uneasy. A sinister-looking Weavile larger than Alice's own pokemon appeared in front of the man, its eyes leering at him and Espy. Next to it, a Jolteon anxiously pawed at the ground. The electric type was jittery, and Ethan could see small sparks crackling around its needled fur. A bulky Donphan uncurled its body just to its right. Its ivory tusks glistened in the light bouncing off them from the Jolteon.
The fourth pokemon was a Ninetales. Its lithe, elegant body looked out of place next to the more brutish Donphan, but the creature was no less menacing. Its eyes glowed red in the dark, and its yellow tails were fanned out in a full threat display behind it.
Above the Ninetales was a strange purple creature. Its face was ringed by a large "hat" that ended in a small pointed tip on its head. Its body was made up of folds of skin that looked like the pokemon was wearing several cloaks draped over itself. Its yellow eyes eyes peeked out from under its hat, and after a moment Ethan recognized the pokemon: Mismagius, another ghost type.
Ethan looked up and up at the last pokemon. A truly massive Snorlax sat next to the Rocket, dwarfing even him. Its eyes looked shut, as if it was asleep, but that didn't calm Ethan in the slightest. Snorlax were awesome creatures, capable of rampaging and destroying entire towns on their own if put in a foul mood, whether by hunger or sleep deprivation. Their thick fat and muscle insulated them from heat, cold, and many attacks. They were known to be very docile unless provoked, but Ethan had no doubt that Team Rocket would have trained the creature to be the exact opposite. It was a monster of a pokemon, and it didn't look recently acquired.
Espy's eyes glowed, and his team quickly returned to their position at the other side of the square. Most of them were fine, albeit tired, but Agni looked battered and still injured from its encounter with the Ursaring. He withdrew his pokeball, ready to return him. The great dog shook his head and bared his fangs at the enemy pokemon. Ethan didn't need Espy to translate that one for him.
"I beat Team Rocket here before," said Ethan with more bravado than he felt. He remembered his call with Lyra and her haunted eyes, and anger and determination surged through him. "I've beaten dozens of Team Rocket goons. If you know what's good for you, you'll surrender now."
The man laughed, a short, harsh sound. "You've got guts, kid. I still can't believe Petrel issued a kill order for a fuckin' ten year old. I guess we'll see if you're worth it." He looked at his Ninetales. "Heat Wave."
Ninetales eyes glowed bright red as it opened its mouth. For a moment, Ethan wondered if an attack was coming. Then, the bricks in front of the Ninetales blackened and cracked, and Espy and Dancer conjured a dual layer of shields just as the wall of heat reached them, blistering the ground around them.
Espy, immobilize that Ninetales and knock it out. You've got stronger psychic powers than it does. Dancer, you have to shut down that Weavile with Gravity before it gets close. Zeus, that Mismagius is going to try to attack us from the air where we can't see it. Hit it with Shock Wave attacks while Dancer and Espy hold here. Tsunami, use Twister and split them up. Follow it up with Dragon Pulses on open targets. Agni, you've got speed—catch that Jolteon and take it down. Loki, you've got distract that Snorlax as long as you can.
A battle plan communicated at the speed of thought. Ethan blinked. Espy raised both of her spoons towards the Rocket team and the Ninetales yelped as it was ensnared in a shroud of blue psychic energy. The Alakazam's eyes flashed, and the fire type glowed red in return as the two were immediately locked into a mental battle. The air around them returned to normal temperatures.
Tsunami's fins glowed white as she craned her neck towards the sky. The wind around them picked up immediately, and within several seconds a powerful tornado was barreling towards the enemy pokemon, made visible only by the dust and debris it picked up along the way. The Rocket dove behind a house, and the rest of his team leapt away to avoid being hit by the Twister attack. Although Ethan couldn't hear him over the howling winds, he could see the Rocket mouth something. Then he heard the the crackle of electricity to his right.
BZZT. A bolt of lightning slammed into their shields, leaving the smell of ozone and scorched earth around them. Agni snarled and immediately dove after the offending Jolteon, who yipped as it barely dodged a blazing Arcanine pouncing on the spot where it had just been standing. Ethan blinked, and the Jolteon disappeared from sight. Agni shot jets of fire at seemingly empty spaces, but as Ethan looked more closely, he could see faint blurs of yellow appear and reappear right before the Arcanine's blasts of fire struck their targets. Agni growled and gave chase, blurring into Extreme Speed and disappearing as well.
Across the square, the Mismagius levitated high into the air as he predicted. The strange ghost type conjured a flurry of Shadow Balls and sent them flying towards Ethan and his team. Before he could say anything, Espy's eyes flashed. Every Shadow Ball exploded in the air mid-flight—Ethan barely caught the slightest flash of blue energy appearing before becoming subsumed by the explosions. Behind her, Zeus whirred and clapped his hands together, firing off a beam of electricity that arced across the square straight at Mismagius, who shuddered as thousands of volts coursed through its body. Then the ghost melded into the night, and Zeus scanned the sky furiously for his target.
Below them, Ninetales was still locked in its metal battle with Espy. The fox's tails were floating as it focused its power on its superior foe. The Alakazam had been juggling with the physical battle and the mental one, but now she was able to bear down on the Ninetales. The Rocket pokemon winced, and, sensing it was about to be overwhelmed, breathed a huge plume of fire from its mouth at her and the team. Dancer raised another barrier and blocked the flames, which battered against the shield and pushed them to their absolute limit. Espy raised a hand, and Ninetales's eyes closed. The fire type fell unconscious to the ground.
Behind the Ninetales, Loki descended upon the Snorlax. The normal type swiped at the ghost with a meaty paw like a giant swatting at flies. It giggled at the lumbering beast, confident in its immunity to anything it could attack with. The Gengar launched a Shadow Ball at the Snorlax, striking it squarely in the chest and exploding across its face. A moment later, the huge creature roared and waved away the smoke and dissipating energy. A familiar sphere of dark purple energy materialized in front of its maw, and Loki blanched as it realized the normal type actually knew moves that could hurt it. It fired off the Shadow Ball, whistling just over Loki's head as the ghost dodged the attack.
"Don't bother with the small stuff!" The Rocket trainer yelled. "Use Hyper Beam!"
Snorlax opened its mouth wide, exposing its huge, sharp teeth. An orange ball of energy formed just inches away, and the beast unleashed a shimmering beam of light into the air at the ghost, who ducked again. Snorlax moved its head, and the beam swept across the sky and actually followed Loki's path, whose eyes widened before the Hyper Beam cut straight through its body and destroyed its corporeal form instantly. Snorlax ended the attack and lurched forward, taking a deep breath after the taxing attack. A second later, Loki reformed directly in front of the Snorlax and slashed at the beast's face with its glowing claws. The Shadow Claw didn't penetrate its thick skin, but the normal type felt the pain anyways and roared, grabbing at the air furiously. Loki floated off, a bit more weary than before as it circled the Snorlax again, looking for an opening to hurt the creature.
Ethan watched the fight in consternation, seeing none of Loki's attacks do any visible damage to the Snorlax. Then, he felt a mental pang of alarm from his friend. He immediately looked around, but there was nothing. Suddenly, a dark figure appeared less than a meter in front of them, slicing through Espy's shields like paper. Dancer raised her hands, but the Weavile immediately leapt at the fairy and slashed at her body with its icy blue claws. Its attack blunted itself against a hastily constructed barrier, but it still cleaved through the shield and sent the Clefable flying into the wall of the house behind them. The fairy dropped to the ground in a widening pool of blood, twitching. Weavile hissed and turned on Ethan. Espy immediately fired off a powerful Focus Blast, but the dark type ducked underneath the attack and raked its claws into Ethan's chest—
BAM. A yellow-furred fist crackling with the power of a small power plant smashed into Weavile's jaw, knocking the pokemon to the ground instantly with its sheer force. Tsunami descended upon the dark type and coiled her serpentine body around the dark type before it could react. The Milotic cried out in anger and unleashed a torrent of boiling water directly in her victim's face. Weavile screeched and waved its claws wildly around, slashing the Milotic and cutting through her scales, but the sea serpent was unrelenting in her fury. The water blasted into Weavile's face with incredible force, ripping off fur, boiling its eyes, filling its lungs with liquid. After several seconds, Tsunami uncoiled her body and flung the creature bodily into a tree, where it smacked into the trunk with a crunch before sinking to the ground, unmoving. Zeus looked at Tsunami and nodded at her with something akin to respect. She crooned back at him.
"Zeus, Tsunami! Loki needs your help!" Ethan shouted, and the pair immediately took off after the ghost, who was still floating around in the air and dodging periodic Shadow Balls from the Snorlax. He can't use Inferno here, we'll probably set the whole town on fire. But maybe we can just burn the Snorlax? He looked towards Espy. Loki, run into that thing as fast as you can and set it on fire with Will-O-Wisp. Tsunami, make it rain. Zeus, hit with the most powerful Thunder you have.
Loki raised its claws, igniting them with otherworldly purple flames. Then it flew straight at the Snorlax, weaving between its attacks and crashing into the the creature and spreading the fire across its blue-and-white fur. The normal type roared, batting at the fires like it could extinguish with force alone. While it was distracted, Tsunami launched a sphere of blue light into the sky. Soon, clouds rolled and gathered through her mastery of the weather, and rain followed after that, drizzling all across the scorched, ruined town square. Zeus raised his arms high above his head, feeling the latent static energy in the air build and build as he channeled every stray volt into his horns and fists. A loud hum emitted from his body, so powerful was the current rippling through his fur. His body glowed, dimly at first, and then it transformed into a shining nova that left Ethan squinting at him through the crook of his arm. Zeus roared into the sky, a challenge that even Snorlax heard through the rain and burning fire on its arms as it slowly turned to face the Electabuzz. He took a deep breath, and then cried out with all of his might as he unleashed the rain-powered lighting bolt at his target. There was a boom of thunder, and the world flashed as if they were in a real thunderstorm.
Over one million volts of electricity slammed into the Snorlax. The creature was briefly seen only as a shadow in a brilliant flash of light, and a deafening CRACK rolled through the clearing. Ethan lowered his arms, and Zeus did the same. The Electabuzz shuddered and panted hard, shaking from exhaustion. Then Ethan's eyes reverted back to the Snorlax, where it had been reduced…
…to absolutely the same condition it had been before lightning struck. The beast was smoking, and sizzling, black burn marks scarred its belly and arms, but it was very much still standing. And incredibly angry.
The Rocket laughed. "That all you got, kid? Snorlax, Hyper Beam!"
Snorlax roared, in pain and anger, as it fired off another incredibly powerful Hyper Beam. Espy erected a psychic barrier in front of Zeus, but it wasn't enough. The beam blasted through her shield and shot the Electabuzz, knocking him clean through the building behind him and into the next, his yellow form disappearing in an instant. "Zeus!"
Tsunami hissed and formed another withering Twister attack that crashed into the beast, blinding it temporarily but not hurting it in the slightest. It was far too heavy to be lifted in the air, and the debris that struck it was no more damaging than being hit by balls of paper. Still, Snorlax waved its arms and looked for its enemies, roaring loudly.
Then Mismagius reappeared just above Tsunami, casting a blistering bolt of electricity that coursed through her serpentine body and left the water type screeching in pain. She immediately retaliated with jets of scalding water, missing the ghost by inches as she tried to keep it too busy to attack again. I must help! Espy teleported in front of Tsunami and blocked the next Thunderbolt with a psychic barrier. Then she cast her spoons into the air, which floated towards the Mismagius. Each spoon suddenly emitted beams of blue psychic energy that scythed through the air and nearly hit the ghost, who dodged those attacks and launched another Shadow Ball in the midst of her acrobatic movements. Tsunami fired off two Dragon Pulse attacks in quick succession—the first detonated the Shadow Ball, the second found its mark and struck the ghost, exploding in a haze of draconic energy and sending Mismagius crashing into the ground.
A guttural roar to his left. Ethan turned just in time to see the Donphan, which had been circling around the edge of the battlefield, roll itself into a ball right towards him. Time slowed down. There was no conscious thought, just an instinctive move as Ethan reached for the last poke ball at his belt and threw it in front of the Donphan.
A flash of light.
THUD. The bulky creature slammed into the equally dense Larvitar that appeared between them. Ares groaned as the spinning creature's tusks sliced at his arms, but the rock type held firm against the sheer force of the Donphan's Rollout. It was an awesome moment to behold as the small, unassuming Larvitar held back the Rocket's pokemon. Ethan turned to his other friends. Espy—
BEGONE. Espy's mental voice echoed throughout his mind as if she had spoken through a megaphone. Deep black notes in his head. Blue psychic energy surrounded Donphan's form, and within seconds the creature stopped spinning, running its legs in vain as it was trapped in the air. "Ares, hit it with Outrage!"
The rock type shouted, his body becoming shrouded in bluish draconic energy. Untrained as it was, the Larvitar was still a heavy creature. Born deep underground, its species' thick hides were as unrelenting as solid rock. So when Ares slammed bodily into the Donphan in the air, it was enough to send the beast spinning right back where it had come from. Tsunami followed up the attack with a Scald attack that seeped between the cracks of its natural armor and found the sensitive points, literally boiling the creature's skin. Donphan screeched and rolled away from the attack, spinning until it disappeared behind a house and reappearing on the other side. It roared, raising into the air as it readied itself for another Rollout.
Then it disappeared in a wall of fire.
Agni showed up just several feet away, unleashing a torrent of flames from his maw and cooking the already weakened ground type. After about 10 seconds, he shut off the attack and watched proudly as the smoking beast collapsed against the wreckage of a nearby house. Ethan then finally noticed that the Arcanine's right paw was standing atop the Jolteon. Its fur was singed black and missing in many places—clearly down for the count.
We're not done yet.
The remaining members of his team turned their attention to the Snorlax, who had finally been freed from the dwindling Twister that had prevented it from seeing anything. "You're fucking delusional if you think you can beat Snorlax!" yelled the Rocket, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head. "Earthquake!" The huge beast roared and jumped impossibly into the air.
Then it slammed into the ground, and the world shook.
Ethan's vision went sideways. He couldn't see anything as everything around him was shaking. His ears were filled with the sounds of cracking bricks and deep rumbling as the earth fissured and ripped apart. He covered his face with his arms to protect it. Then, he felt his body lift into the air. The shaking stopped, and he looked out again.
Espy was levitating in the air, and she held Ethan firmly as he floated onto the rooftop of a nearby building that hadn't yet been destroyed. He landed on his feet, in a position eerily similar to his last battle in the town.
Agni was collapsed on the ground. He was clearly unconscious from the violent earthquake that rocked the field. Tsunami was slowly slithering back to her regular height, her scales cracked and bleeding from the fighting. Ares was just sitting against the ruined fountain. The attack had thoroughly rung his bell and left him dazed.
Snorlax grunted as it gazed upon its foes, looking almost angry that they had survived. The Rocket snorted, and he looked for the boy amongst the wreckage. "Now you're hiding? I can't believe you're the one that they're all complaining about. But I'm going to finish this." He turned to the huge beast. "Snorlax, use Hyper Beam again!"
The beast reared back. Its face lit up as it conjured the orb of energy with the technique that had crushed all of his other teammates.
We can't let it attack again! Tsunami, blast it! His friend obliged, launching a shimmering sphere of draconic energy that smashed into Snorlax's face a moment before it was about to attack. The normal type roared and turned to face the serpent.
"Espy, Hyper Beam! Hit him with everything you've got!" Ethan yelled, not even bothering to send it over their psychic link. The Alakazam clasped her hands, her three spoons spinning incredibly fast until it looked like a silver disc in the air. A familiar sphere of bright orange energy materialized in front of her. It wasn't nearly as large as Snorlax's own Hyper Beam, but it was the most powerful technique a pokemon could learn. A beam of pure energy, converted from the user's energy straight into an unstable form that would outright kill weaker pokemon and humans. Espy's eyes snapped open, glowing solid white. Then she launched the Hyper Beam.
Boom.
Everything around the Rocket and Snorlax disappeared in a flash of light and smoke as the beam exploded against the beast's body. Espy collapsed to the ground almost right after, her body exhausted from the constant battling and her most powerful attack. After several seconds, the Alakazam stood up slowly, her limbs shaking. Her spoons clattered to the ground. You did it! Good thing Adrian taught us that move.
Then he heard the roar.
Snorlax reappeared from the smoke, swiping at the air so it could see its opponents again. Its eyes were actually open and bloodshot. Its fur was matted with dark blood, but it was still standing tall despite the beating it had taken. The huge pokemon was breathing heavily, finally showing some semblance of its seemingly unlimited stamina slowing down. It had been burned, exploded, poisoned, and electrocuted, but it had taken it all.
"No fucking chance, kid." The Rocket crossed his arms. "Snorlax, kill it."
The beast roared again and began to charge, crossing the square with frightening speed for a creature of its size.
"No!" Ethan screamed. Tsunami immediately spewed another jet of scalding water at the pokemon, but Snorlax just ignored the boiling liquid and pressure as it closed the gap between itself and Espy. The Alakazam tried to raise her arms, but she no longer had the energy. Snorlax snarled as it batted aside the debris in its way, making a clear path towards her. She looked at Ethan, and closed her eyes. Be well, Ethan.
There was absolutely nothing he could do. His friend was about to die.
"ESPY!"
Then Snorlax slowed for a moment as a dark purple figure slammed into its chest. It looked down its body as it ran, and its eyes fell on the familiar form of Loki. The Gengar gripped its fur with its claws, and the ghost had a toothy white grin as it stared up at the beast's face. Then its body glowed, a brilliant ball of white light that illuminated the beast's bloody face in the darkness.
Gengar were different from many other pokemon, even ghosts. Their bodies could be destroyed in battle, but were able to be reformed with even minimal amounts of energy. They could create fire that burned even when doused with water. They were truly otherworldly creatures with strange abilities. Loki had learned one such ability after Adrian's lessons.
"Loki can already reform itself," said Ethan. "How is this different than that?"
"With this technique, Loki isn't just destroying its form," his cousin patiently explained. "It's taking all of its energy and focusing it into a single attack. But it's not like Hyper Beam, which is outwardly directed and concentrated into a beam. This is breaking every natural lock and instinct a pokemon has and unleashing all of its power. A pokemon like Arcanine has a technique like Overheat." He pointed at Loki, who was floating at nearly the other side of the field. The ghost's body began to glow bright white.
"A pokemon like Loki has Explosion."
BOOM.
Loki exploded. Dark purple gases and pure energy covered everything within 10 meters as the ghost self-immolated right on top of Snorlax. The explosion actually sent the huge beast flying through the air, even if only for several meters as it crashed into the earth and tumbled over and over. Ethan was frozen, not daring to even breathe. His eyes were riveted to the Snorlax's form, waiting for the creature to rise again.
Seconds passed. Snorlax remained unmoving. Its back slowly rose up and down, indicating life—but it didn't stand back up.
They had won.
"What?" The Rocket muttered. "How the fuck?"
Ethan looked towards the man. His head filled with dark memories. The cave. The Lake of Rage. Lyra's face. And then his oldest friend almost dying. Black creeped in at the edge of his vision. I'm going to make Team Rocket pay.
"Tsunami, Dragon Pulse." He could hear himself say the words, but it was like he was speaking in third person.
His remaining friend looked at the Rocket, whose face was suddenly filled with fear as he turned to run. Tsunami hissed and unleashed a powerful Dragon Pulse attack that whistled as it sailed through the air and straight into the Rocket's back.
Then the energy sphere exploded, detonating harmlessly against a glowing white barrier that had appeared just behind the man. The Rocket was frozen, his form shrouded in the same white energy.
Ethan frowned. "What?"
A large, gray figure floated down in front of the Rocket, and it took Ethan a couple of seconds to realize it was Metagross. Silver-gray armor. Adrian's Metagross.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. He whirled around to face his cousin, who was standing behind him with his Pidgeot. His face was calm, which was nothing close to what Ethan was feeling.
"What are you doing?" He shouted, feeling wetness on his cheeks. "We're in the middle of a battle! That Rocket is dangerous! We have to stop him!"
"He's done," replied Adrian. His eyes were a bit sad, but tender. "You beat him, Ethan. The League is moving in. Team Rocket is being routed."
Ethan ripped his shoulder away from Adrian's grip. He looked back at the Rocket, who was now unconscious as he was levitated back onto the ground by Metagross. Tsunami slithered over to where Espy was now sitting, rubbing her head against the Alakazam's body.
Please calm yourself. He could hear Espy's soothing mental voice in his mind, which was in conflict with the roiling emotions he felt. His temples pulsed, aching from the tension. The battle is over.
"But…" said Ethan. He braced his arms against the edge of the roof, and now he could feel the tears flow. I shouldn't feel guilty. So why am I crying? "Team Rocket has to pay."
The hand was on his shoulder again. This time, Adrian pulled him into a hug. Ethan's shoulders shook as he felt his anger slowly subside. The exhaustion and tension finally hit him, and he felt himself sag into his cousin's embrace.
"They will. But not like that. Don't worry, we'll talk about it later." Adrian held up his arm with radio in hand. "We've routed Team Rocket from the town square. We need immediate medical evacuation for pokemon here."
After a moment, Ethan released himself from his grip. He looked back at Espy and Tsunami, who were looking back up at him. His vision blurred. I'm sorry, guys.
Adrian appeared next to him, leaning against the edge of the roof. Don't be. I'm sorry about everything you've had to go through in this war. It's nothing someone your age should have ever had to deal with.
Ethan closed his eyes. Fuck Team Rocket.
Adrian patted his back. "That, we can agree on."
….
A/N: Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated :)
