Chapter 29: Assassin
“It would seem we are a day early.” said Raiden as we arrived on Cinnabar Island. It turned out that Team Rocket didn’t know when to quit as they were now trying to import their drug cartel to Cinnabar after their Vermillion trade was breached last week, complements of us. We were currently on an isolated part of the island near the abandoned mansion as we had decided to take a shortcut to our hotel.
“Well I say if we’re a day ahead of schedule, then let’s take advantage of Cinnabar’s tropical climate and go to the beach!” Zack suggested eagerly. Lloyd nodded in agreement, equally eager to get in the water.
“W-We can’t! W-We’ll be attacked b-by Missingno!” protested Chane fearfully. I raised my eyebrow at her. She couldn’t possibly be serious about that.
“What?” snickered Eve trying to keep a straight face.
“Missingno! It’s a horrible shapeless monster that lives in the shoreline around Cinnabar Island. It causes horrible distortions and may even erase you and your Pokémon from existence! We can’t go anywhere near it!” Chane continued.
“Oh please. That’s a load of bull and you know it. If you’re shy about being seen in a bathing suit just come out and say it. Don’t make up such ridiculous stories.” Eve chided.
“She’s not making it up.” I put in. “But all it is is an urban legend, nothing but nonsense.”
“You don’t believe me either? I’m not making this up!” she cried. Before our debate could continue, Riolu’s Pokéball began shaking violently.
“Hey what’s wrong with Rio?” asked Axel worriedly. Just as I was about to let him out of his Pokéball so he could tell Axel what was bothering him, the answer came in the form of a small black ball that landed by our feet.
“Get back!” Raiden shouted seconds before the sphere started spewing a thick grey smoke causing the seven of us to start coughing. I heard a whistling sound and suddenly felt three ropes wrap around my arms and body. I was then pulled to the ground and dragged from the smoke cloud. I heard what sounded like cannon fire followed by the cries of my friends.
“What’s going on here!?” I demanded angrily breaking free of the ropes. I detached Aerodactyl’s ball from my belt and released the Fossil Pokémon. “Defog now!” I commanded. The prehistoric beast powerfully flapped his wings creating a strong wind. Once the smoke cloud was cleared, I could see my friends, including Axel, trapped under a huge iron net.
“Well lookit what I caught.” said a deep accented voice proudly. I turned around growling at the camo colored jeep that wasn’t there a moment ago. Sitting on the roof was a man dressed in forest green pants, black combat boots, and a sand brown longcoat overtop a red shirt. A brown wide rimmed hat with a long yellow feather in it was on his head obscuring his face. From his right shoulder going across his chest to his left hip was a brown belt lined with long golden bullets and from his left shoulder to his right hip was another belt with three dark metallic green canisters and three egg shaped devices of the same color that could only be grenades. In his right hand was a silver launcher that presumably shot the net and in his left hand was the other end of the rope that dragged me.
“Oi! You must be pretty strong to have broken through my bolo like that Mate.” he said to me. I looked around me and noticed that there had been three heavy orbs attached to the ropes that ensnared me.
“Who the hell are you and why have you attacked us!” I demanded glaring daggers at him. I was trying my hardest to suppress my inner Dragon’s desire to thrash this guy until I had answers. The stranger put down the rope and pushed up the rim of his hat revealing the face of a man in his mid to upper thirties with dark eyes, black hair, and a sinister grin that would make a Gengar shudder.
“Name’s Creed.” he introduced. “As for why I’m comin’ after ya, it ain’t nothin’ personal Mate, just a job. And let me tell ya, you’re a hard man to track down.” he continued casually. I narrowed my eyes into a fiercer gaze. Well I got my answers.
“Aerodactyl! Blow him away with Hyper Beam!” I commanded. The ancient sky king cocked his head back, then pushed forward launching a bright yellowish orange energy blast. Creed quickly threw one of his canisters in the way of the beam causing it to explode. More smoke engulfed the area but this one was painfully different than the last smoke bomb. My eyes stung and began tearing up from the irritation caused by the tear gas. Aerodactyl screeched loudly and vengefully from the smoke as well. The sound of skidding tires could be heard as our attacker drove off.
“Coward!” I yelled as the tear gas started to clear.
“Who’s a coward?” asked Creed’s voice followed by the sound of gunfire and a throbbing pain in the back of my right shoulder. I screamed as fell to my knees with my left hand over my wound. “Aw don’t be such a baby Mate. It was only a rubber bullet. Just a test for ya.”
“Bastard!” I snarled turning around. My vision was still hazy from the tear gas, but I could still make out his shape standing by the net that contained everyone holding a shotgun with the barrel resting on his shoulder.
“Leave Brian alone! He’s done nothing to you!” pleaded Chane from her prison.
“He told his lizard to blow me up. I don’t consider that to be nothin’ Sweetheart. Tear gas and shootin’ him are my ways of self-defense.” Creed justified.
“But that doesn’t justify singling him out and throwing a net on the rest of us!” Zack said irately.
“Like I said Mate, it’s just a job. It ain’t in my contract to off the whole lotta ya, just the freak. The net is to keep y’all from interferin’ with my sport.”
“You’re a dead man Creed!” I promised darkly.
“Maybe, but not before you.” he retorted reloading his shotgun. Then he looked as if he thought of something. “Tell ya what Mate. Why not make this more interesting? Y’already have yer lizard out, so why not have a proper Pokémon battle for the fun of it? Full battle, one at a time, whadaya say?”
“Or I could just kill you now!” I roared running forward. He turned the shotgun to the net stopping me dead in my tracks.
“No matter how fast you may be, you can’t out run a bullet at point blank. I may not get paid to off them, but if it subdues you I’ll do it. My game, my rules. Whadaya say Mate, ready to play?” I growled menacingly at the assassin. Damn him!
“Fine! But you’ll have to get rid of the net to set my Infernape free so that I can use him to fight. My teammates won’t get involved if we have a simple Pokémon battle.” I accepted unwillingly.
“Not takin’ that chance. You’ll use the Infernape last.” said Creed firmly. “Now let’s get on with the battle! Snipe ‘im Kingdra!” he called sending out a tall blue scaled seahorse with a yellow belly, an elegant white fin on its back, a white fin on each cheek, a long narrow snout, red eyes, and two antennae on its head. One thing unnatural about his Pokémon was the black collar around its neck.
“Bite Kingdra with Thunder Fang Aerodactyl!” I called. The Fossil Pokémon flew toward his foe and clamped down with his large maw which was crackling with electricity.
“I hope that ain’t the best ya got.” taunted Creed. “Show ‘em a real attack Kingdra! Bubble Beam!” Kingdra turned its snout to Aerodactyl and shot off a rapid fire barrage of foamy bubbles that exploded on impact. The revived dinosaur shrieked with disdain from the Super-effective hit.
“You want our best? You got it! Sky Attack!” I commanded. Aerodactyl let out a furious roar as his body began glowing red from the energy he was gathering for the assault.
“Leavin’ yerself vulnerable like that ain’t really the best idea Mate.” berated the assassin. How dare he chastise my method of combat! “Hit ‘em with Hydro Pump!” The Dragon Pokémon blasted a powerful stream of water at Aerodactyl like cannon fire, however the Sky King dodged the projectile with ease by flying into the sky. He then dive-bombed Kingdra at full speed causing serious damage.
“Now who said Aerodactyl was vulnerable?” I questioned cynically. Creed’s face contorted with anger. He pulled a strange black detonator like device from his waist.
“You missed!” he furiously shouted pressing the button on the detonator. The collar on Kingdra’s neck lit up sending electric shocks throughout the Pokémon’s body causing it to grunt and writhe in pain. “You know better Kingdra! I do not tolerate missing!”
“You bastard! You’re actually torturing you Pokémon over a miss!?” I yelled heatedly.
“What’s it matter? It’s my Pokémon, I can do whatever I like to it.” he responded. “Besides, it’s called disciplining them when they screw up!”
“But that’s cruel!” Chane cried from the net.
“You have no integrity as a Trainer! You are weak.” Raiden said hatefully.
“Oi! Pipe down all o’ ya!” ordered Creed pointing his shotgun at them.
“Your battle is with me, not them Creed! Aerodactyl! Take him Down! Attack the human!” I shouted. The Flying-type screeched in understanding and charged at the damnable creature with his mouth wide open ready to tear Creed to shreds with his fangs. Things didn’t quite go as I had expected as Kingdra willingly threw itself in Aerodactyl’s path to protect its Trainer.
“Good work Kingdra! Now redeem yerself with a close range Ice Beam!” While the Fossil Pokémon was still chewing on Kingdra’s abdomen, the giant seahorse turned its head at him and blasted him with a critical hit ray of frozen air.
“Aerodactyl!” I called as the winged beast was forced to the ground shrieking in agony. I glared at the assassin with a violent hatred burning in my red eyes. All I had to do was gather my Draconic power in my claws and I could end this in a heartbeat. But as much as I wanted to, this was still a Pokémon battle meaning it was up to our monsters to settle things, even if Creed was using that disgusting collar to “discipline” his Pokémon.
“Aero! Can you move?” I asked desperately. Aerodactyl weakly got off the ground and dizzily flapped back into the air with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. A little tired, but it looks like he can still fight. “Good. Now use Fly!” I called.
“Oi! Not so fast Mate! Trap ‘em with Whirlpool Kingdra!” called Creed before Aerodactyl could get airborne. The Dragon Pokémon shot a swirling vortex of water at the ground beneath the ancient tyrant’s feet that spiraled into the air after Aerodactyl as he flew up. Even from down here I could hear his screeches as the water struck him.
“Now before the lizard comes back down, use Dragon Dance!” Creed commanded. Kingdra began moving its body around in a rhythmic and foreboding manner which I knew was focusing its muscles to make it both faster and stronger. This was made even more evident with how easily the Dragon Pokémon avoided Aerodactyl’s aerial strike when he descended. On top of that, the Whirlpool had chased him down keeping him trapped in the vortex.
“Let’s see you dodge this! Use Aerial Ace Aerodactyl!” I called using way too many ‘A’ sounds in one sentence. The Fossil Pokémon moved rapidly and gracefully through the air until he hit his mark dead on. They don’t call him the King of the Skies for nothing. Both Pokémon were starting to look worn out, made worse by how Aerodactyl just couldn’t seem to shake that obnoxious Whirlpool.
“Finish this lizard off with Surf!” demanded the assassin. There was a sudden tremor as the ground split open erupting a huge tidal wave of water. The Fossil Pokémon gave one final shriek as the water wall crashed down on him knocking him out.
“Fainted, but still breathin’. It’s tougher than I gave credit. Finish it for real this time with Dragon Pulse.” Creed ordered. Bastard! I can’t believe he would actually go as far as to actually kill my Pokémon!
“I don’t think so! Dragon Pulse!” I yelled throwing my right arm forward blasting my own blue energy wave at the Dragon-type before it could launch its attack at my unconscious Pokémon. Kingdra cried out from the unexpected Super-effective attack and also fainted leaving Creed completely awe struck.
“What the hell was that Mate!?” he demanded anxiously.
“That was my own Dragon Pulse.” I said preparing another one in my left hand while returning Aerodactyl to the safety of his Pokéball held in my right. “And this one’s for you!” I shouted firing my attack at the assassin. He quickly dodge-rolled to avoid my attack which hit his jeep instead leaving one of the taillights destroyed.
“Petrel Lambda warned me to be careful around you. He said you had some inhuman abilities.” said Creed throwing another smoke bomb, the black orb variety this time.
So Lambda was the one who hired this guy. I guess he was still pretty upset about what I did to him at Tin Tower. Upset enough to put a bounty on my head. The skidding sound of the jeep’s tires told me that Creed was on the move again. By now I knew he wasn’t the type to give up on his prey, so I quickly sent out Riolu and Beldum.
“Riolu! Grab Beldum and use his metal body as a shield against bullets.” I instructed quietly to prevent the bounty hunter from over hearing my strategy. It was all I could say before I started coughing again. I really hope my ability to heal prevents lung cancer or I will be thoroughly pissed.
Riolu wasted no time in grabbing Beldum and holding it at the right side of my head. Once again I heard the sound of Creed’s shotgun going off followed by the pinging sound of metal on metal. No rubber bullets this time.
“Well that was unexpected.” Creed said when the smoke cleared. He had a pair of thick green lensed goggles over his eyes that I’m guessing are heat vision goggles so he can see me in the smoke fields. “Usin’ a Steel-type Pokémon to deflect my bullets is a smart move, but it won’t save ya for long. Why not recall one of them Pokémon so we can get back to our battle Mate?”
“No chance Creed! They both stay.” I said defiantly. The assassin only smiled, chuckling slightly at my remark.
“Then I’ll have to use two of my own! Take the field Sableye and Flygon!” he shouted throwing two balls at once. Materializing from the first was a small purple human-shaped Pokémon with large blue gems for eyes, a ruby on its chest, a sapphire on its back, long sharp claws on its hands and feet, three spikes on each elbow, and long pointed ears. From the second ball came a much larger green lizard-like Pokémon with darker green stripes on its tail, three green feathers outlined in red on the tip of its tail, large wings also outlined in red, short three clawed forelimbs, short hind limbs, two long green antennae, and transparent red lenses over its eyes. Both Pokémon also wore those damn collars.
“Whadaya think Mate? Sableye has no weaknesses for you to exploit and is immune to any attack your Pokémon can throw at it! Not to mention Flygon who has enough power to take on both yer li’luns at once.” the assassin bragged. That’s what he thought. “Fake Out the Riolu Sableye! And use Dig on the Beldum Flygon!”
The Darkness Pokémon went to attack Riolu with his claws, but at the last second jumped side to side then slapped the young bipedal canine while his guard was down. At the same time Flygon had burrowed its way underground out of view.
“Beldum! Since Flygon is temporarily out of reach, use Iron Head on Sableye! Meanwhile I want you to memorize its aura with Foresight Rio!” I told my Pokémon. The ball that made up Beldum’s head stated sparkling as the metal became denser. It then sped into the purple gremlin colliding into its torso. While Beldum attacked, the Emanation Pokémon concentrated on locking onto Sableye’s aura.
“How’s that possible? I was told that Beldum can only learn Take Down! Why does yers know Iron Head Mate?” demanded the bounty hunter.
“It knew the attack when I received it as a gift from the leader of Team Neos himself.” I said condescendingly. “Iron Defense!” I called abruptly when I realized that Flygon had yet to emerge. As soon as the words escaped my mouth, the Mystic Pokémon burst from the ground directly beneath Beldum making direct impact.
“Iron Defense too? Well now, yer just fulla surprises ain’t ya Mate?” commented Creed snidely. “Here’re a few surprises of my own! Flygon! Use Flamethrower on Beldum! Hit Riolu with Shadow Claw Sableye!”
“Zen Headbutt through the flames Beldum! Counter Riolu!” I commanded hastily. While Flygon opened its mouth blasting a long tongue of fire, the Iron Ball Pokémon surrounded itself in blue psychic energy and charged head first into the stream. Beldum pushed its way through, enduring the pain, until colliding with the desert dweller’s jaw. Flygon let out a loud cry as its attack was forcibly cancelled.
At the same time, Sableye’s claws had grown longer and were emitting a black cloud of ghostly energy. Riolu hung tough waiting for the attack. In one swift stroke, the goblin swiped Rio with its deformed claws causing the bipedal canine to yelp. However, Riolu had prepared himself, so while Sableye was off guard he landed several counter blows to its exposed torso and face.
“Oi! What the hell was that!? Sableye is a Ghost-type! Fightin’-type moves ain’t supposed to hurt it!” the bounty hunter yelled angrily.
“Don’t you know anything? Foresight negates that disadvantage which also means Sableye does have a weakness I can exploit! Without its Ghost-type shield, the Dark half will suffer all of Riolu’s Fighting-type attacks!” I berated. “Allow me to demonstrate! Riolu! Attack Sableye with Force Palm!” The Emanation Pokémon charged his aura into his paw before smashing his paw into Sableye’s chest sending a burst of blue aura through its body and causing it to scream in pain. Creed looked furious.
“Damn you!” he shouted pulling a grenade from his belt. Once the safety pin was removed, he hurled the explosive at us. In desperation, I shot a Dragon Pulse at it while it was still in midair. I figured it would be less fatal or catastrophic if it didn’t go boom directly on top of me and my Pokémon. I was only half right. I was still blown back by the force of the blast and I was pelted by shrapnel, but the three of us still made it out in one piece, just with a few cuts.
“Both of you! Go after that damn Riolu! Use Aerial Ace Flygon and you use Zen Headbutt Sableye!” I heard the assassin shout. Emerging from the smoke left behind by the explosion were both enemy Pokémon each targeting Riolu who was still off guard from the previous attack.
“Riolu! Detect Flygon! Beldum! Take Sableye’s hit!” I called. At the last second before the Mystic Pokémon was about to strike, Riolu rolled to the side causing Flygon to hit the ground instead. Unfortunately, Beldum wasn’t fast enough to get between Riolu and Sableye in time. The Darkness Pokémon pulled its glowing purple head back and slammed it into Riolu’s head.
“Flygon you missed! Don’t fuck with me! You don’t miss!” roared Creed pressing the detonator’s button again giving the Mystic Pokémon a horrible electrocution.
“I’m begging you! Please stop!” Chane cried. Creed lifted his shotgun and pointed it at the net.
“And I told you to pipe down over there!” he reprimanded. Now while he’s distracted…
“Flygon’s a Ground-type so how does that even work?” questioned Eve. I whispered my command to Beldum…
“Because the collar is connected directly to its nervous system. Just because the outside is resilient doesn’t mean the inside is. Anything is possible with technology Sweetheart.”
“You’re a monster!” yelled Zack. Beldum got into position…
“Your friend has the abilities of a Dragon Pokémon and I’m the monster? I think you need new glasses Mate.” Creed shifted his eyes back to me.
“Now Beldum!” I called. The Iron Ball Pokémon flew in a direct course for the assassin.
“Shadow Sneak Sableye!” he called. The Darkness Pokémon dove into its shadow, then almost as quickly jumped out of Creed’s just in time to cut off Beldum’s Take Down with an attack of its own. The duel Psychic/Steel-type fell to the ground stunned from the unexpected interception but quickly regained its composure by rising back to the air.
“You really thought I wasn’t watching you while I talked to yer teammates? Attack an enemy while their back is turned, not their head.” said Creed haughtily. “Flygon! Redeem yerself by using Heatwave on the lotta them. Attack the Riolu with Shadow Ball Sableye!”
Flygon turned its head to the sky then opened its mouth spewing hot air that contorted the scenery like a hot summer day. The air began to get very thick and heavy making it hard to breathe. Even though it was October, I was starting to sweat. Sure we were in the tropics, but that doesn’t change the fact that it felt like it was 90° out here with 100% humidity!
Meanwhile, Sableye charged up a sphere of pure darkness between its claws. It pulled its arm back before tossing the purplish black ball at Riolu. The Emanation Pokémon defiantly held out his arms to block the attack but it was no use. The Shadow Ball pushed through doing its damage.
“Counter attack time guys! Use Cross Chop on Sableye Rio! Attack Flygon with Take Down Beldum!” I called. Riolu crossed his arms in front of himself then slammed the X shape into the Darkness Pokémon’s throat doing great damage. Unfortunately, Sableye was coughing which meant that we hadn’t finished it off yet. My Iron Ball Pokémon put all of his effort into its Take Down granting it a critical hit when it impacted Flygon in the stomach. Regrettably the recoil damage fainted Beldum. I quickly returned it to its Pokéball before Creed got any more sadistic ideas for it.
“Well now that’s one down. Finish off the Riolu with Night Shade Sableye!” ordered Creed confidently. The goblin’s presence grew to the point where even I could feel it. The strain was too much for the young Emanation Pokémon to handle knocking him out as well. “This is fun Mate. Send out yer next two so we can keep this battle goin’. Unless of course, you’re done now and wish to die.” the assassin taunted.
“I only need one Pokémon to finish these two off!” I said firmly. “Let’s go Piloswine!” I called throwing out the Great Ball after calling back Riolu. “Use I--”
“My attack! Flygon! Iron Tail!” commanded Creed before I could call out my attack. The desert dragon’s tail turned a metallic silver color as it whipped my wooly boar with it. “Now Sableye!--”
“Earthquake!” I cut off displaying the same rudeness as him. In these kinds of battles you must play dirty to win. Piloswine lifted his front hooves of the ground, then threw all of his weight on them as he put them back down sending tremors in every direction. While Flygon evaded the attack thanks to its Levitate Ability, Sableye was helpless and was swiftly KOed.
“That wasn’t nice Mate, cuttin’ me off like that.” Creed said feigning disappointment. I knew better though that this was just an act to get me to drop my guard. “This is your punishment!” he shouted changing his tone quickly while lifting his shotgun at me. Without a shield I was helpless! He then causally moved the barrel from me to my trapped friends. “Yer punishment is one of their lives.”
“NO!” I screamed jumping in front of the shotgun as it fired. I fell to the ground with a searing pain running through my left leg. I looked back at my leg to see a tear in the back of my pants leg with blood leaking out of a gash in the skin. Damn him! He actually shot me!
“BRIAN!” Chane screamed. I held up my hand to calm her down.
“I’m alright. The bullet only grazed me.” I assured stumbling back to my feet. I could hear Creed laughing mockingly at me.
“What was that all about Mate? Lambda said you were a ruthless demon that cared for nothin’ other than killin’. And yet there you go throwin’ yerself in harm’s way to protect those people.” ridiculed the bounty hunter.
“I hate to lose. That includes battles and friends, and ‘those people’ are friends.” I told him straightforwardly. Creed made a disgusted face at me.
“Hideous. Well you were fun while you lasted Mate, I’ll give you that. Finish this Dragon boy with Draco Meteor Flygon! Give him a taste of Super-effective pain!” Creed said sadistically. Flygon opened its mouth and began charging a massive green energy ball with swirling blue streaks around it.
“You forgot something.” I reminded. Just as Flygon blasted the massive energy sphere, Piloswine charged between me and it to take the attack. The mammoth pig winced and cried out in pain from such a powerful hit, put it would take more than that to defeat him.
“Now finish Flygon with Ice Beam!” I commanded. The Swine Pokémon snorted before blasting a frozen stream of air point blank at the Mystic Pokémon which already possessed a double weakness to the attack. Needless to say, Flygon wasn’t getting back up anytime soon.
“If that’s how ya want it, I’ll be happy to oblige Mate.” said Creed shrugging. “I could just blow ya up with a grenade this very moment, but if ya want to continue this battle, fine by me. It’ll be fun humiliatin’ ya. Crush ‘em Tyranitar!”
Emerging from the sphere was a large green two legged dinosaur-like Pokémon with long spikes running down its back, a long thick tail, a mouth full of sharp teeth, long sharp claws on its thick legs and arms, a blue diamond on its chest, and black stripes on its chest and legs. Like its previous brethren, Tyranitar wore a black collar. The Armor Pokémon threw its head to the sky giving a fierce roar that summoned a cloud of sand and dust to surround the area.
“Now Tyranitar! Attack with Rock Slide!” commanded the bounty hunter. Lifting its massive feet, the Pseudo-Legendary stomped at the ground several times to break it apart creating dozens of loosened rocks that went flying at Piloswine. The Swine Pokémon grunted in annoyance as each boulder hit its mark.
“Even up the playing field with Hail Piloswine!” I called. The mammoth boar shot a large ball of ice into the sky which served as a magnet to draw in thick white clouds. The clouds completely obscured the sun giving the battlefield a pale grey color. The fall of massive chunks of ice completely decimated Tyranitar’s Sandstream. With the Snowcloak Ability, Piloswine was able to completely fade into the scenery.
“Damn!” Creed spat. “Kick up a Stealth Rock to keep it from getting too far away Tyranitar!” The Armor Pokémon roared while giving the ground a powerful stomp that sent dozens of sharp spears of rocks shooting up to surround the arena. Too bad that didn’t protect it from a large chunk of ice smacking its back.
“No problem! Earthquake!” I called. Where ever Piloswine was in this storm, I heard him rear up and stomp the ground with incredible force. I winced as tremors tore up the earth beneath us. I had experienced the shockwaves of Earthquake many times, just never with an injured leg before. It was definitely not pleasant. Tyranitar roared as its own leg got caught in a small fissure created by the Earthquake.
“Quit yer whinin’! Counter attack with yer own Earthquake!” commanded the assassin. Oh not this again! The Pseudo-Legendary jumped in the air and landed with such intensity that the ground was once again shredded to pieces. My eyes widened and rolled at the obnoxious pain shooting up my leg.
“Alright Piloswine, time for Blizzard!” I decided. The Swine Pokémon inhaled deeply then blew a heavy wind that gathered several chunks of falling hailing. The frozen gale found its mark much to Tyranitar’s and Creed’s annoyance. To add insult to injury, Tyranitar also got hit in the head with a large chunk of hail.
“Oi! Find that blasted pig and use Stone Edge on it!” Creed ordered. Tyranitar roared as three blue rings surrounded its body. The rings magically turned into dozens of pointed rocks. With one final roar, the Armor Pokémon’s eyes glowed green and the rocks were sent flying. To my dismay, some were even heading right for me! I quickly jumped to the side to avoid them, but landed on my bad leg wrong and fell over again.
“Piloswine! Use Ice Fang!” I commanded struggling to get up again. Coming at the Pseudo-Legendary from behind, the exact opposite direction the Stone Edge was fired, was the wooly boar with his long tusks covered in ice. Piloswine made a slight turn in his charge to avoid the target’s back spikes and stabbed his tusks directly into Tyranitar’s vulnerable right flank.
“If Piloswine came from that direction, then you missed Tyranitar!” Creed shouted violently pressing the detonator again. Electric shocks were sent through Tyranitar’s body causing it to howl in agony. With his tusk still embedded in the Armor Pokémon, the only thing that saved Piloswine from getting shocked as well was being a Ground-type.
“Either way, now we got it up close! Hit it with Super Power!” the bounty hunter commanded.
“Get out of there Piloswine!” I yelled as Tyranitar’s body started glowing red. The wooly pig tried to retreat back into the safety of the storm, but the Pseudo-Legendary was faster and was able to attack Piloswine with a powerful glowing punch.
“We got it now! Use Iron Head!” shouted Creed triumphantly. Tyranitar gripped the Swine Pokémon tightly as its head shimmered metallic silver. Then it delivered a swift and merciless headbutt to Piloswine.
“Don’t let them win! Avalanche!” I called. Piloswine howled into the hail storm summoning a large pile of snow and ice to fall on the Armor Pokémon completely burying it. Not even two seconds later, the hail storm ended.
“Tyranitar! If ya ain’t fainted under all o’ that snow, use Dark Pulse!” commanded Creed. The pile the tyrant was buried under started shaking, then exploded in a burst of darkness as all that dark energy was focused into Tyranitar’s claws. The pseudo-legendary blasted the gathered dark energy at Piloswine causing the mammoth boar to fall over on his side unconscious. I quickly returned him before Creed could order anything terrible to be done to him.
“Well now, are ya ready to call it a day Mate, or do you want to keep up this charade?” Creed asked uncaringly. He knew that I only had one Pokémon left against his three. And I knew full well by now that he had no intention of freeing Axel so that I could use him in a fight.
“I’ll keep fighting until all my enemies are dead or until I am! Take over Snorlax!” I said confidently summoning the rotund bear. The Sleeping Pokémon plopped down on the ground and yawned as he left the comfort of his Ultra Ball. He was quickly woken up in a grumpy rage from the cuts he sustained from the Stealth Rock.
“So be it then Mate. Tyranitar! Take care of that thing with Giga Impact!” the assassin ordered. With orange streaks of energy flying off of its body, the tyrant charged at Snorlax. The collision was strong enough to move the half ton Sleeping Pokémon to the point that Snorlax was forcefully flipped over on his belly.
“We need to finish Tyranitar now while it recharges! Use Surf Snorlax!” I commanded. He had plenty of moisture to use for the tidal wave attack. There were dozens if not hundreds of hail balls still littering the field, not to mention the ground was still damp from Kingdra’s Surf earlier. All of those remnants were swiftly gathered underneath Snorlax allowing him to rise up with his massive wall of water. The Pseudo-Legendary was powerless to stop the tidal wave from crashing down on it. When the water receded and sank back into the sand, Tyranitar was knocked out on its side.
“Useless beast.” Creed berated as Tyranitar was dematerialized into a red light and summoned back to its ball.
“Die now!” I shouted. Before I could even move, Creed shot the ground in front of my feet leaving a small round hole where I was about to step.
“Oi! Stay where you are Mate!” he warned leveling the shotgun so that it was aimed at my chest. “You even think about attacking me again like that, and I’ll throw a grenade over at that net. I know how you ‘hate to lose’ and how sickenin’ly you care about those mongrels over there.”
“Curse you!” I snarled. The moment this guy drops his guard I will rip him apart.
“Now whadda ya say we get back to business. I am still on the clock here.” the assassin said casually. “Rhydon! Pierce!” he called sending out his next Pokémon. Materializing from the red light was another dinosaur like Pokémon, this one with a thick stone grey hide, thick legs and arms with three clawed hands and two clawed toes, a long powerful tail, a tan belly, massive spikes on its back, and a long tan horn on its nose. As usual, Rhydon also wore a collar. The Drill Pokémon let out a deep roar while giving two stomps to the ground.
“This could be treacherous. Take a Rest Snorlax!” I told my Pokémon. Stealth Rock and Giga Impact had not been kind to him, and I had a feeling Rhydon would be a tough opponent. Snorlax yawned in preparation for his mid-afternoon nap. I watched as his breathing slowed until he was almost completely motionless.
“How stupid of you. Yer Pokémon is completely helpless now that it’s asleep!” Creed groundlessly criticized. “Rhydon! Take care of this thing with Rock Blast!” The bipedal rhino smashed its hands to the ground tearing out two large boulders. It then threw them at the sleeping Snorlax, who simply rolled over at the disturbance.
“Rhydon! Only two? You know the rules! Four or more times Dammit!” yelled Creed delivering electric shocks to the Drill Pokémon as punishment. “Four or more!” he shouted giving a second torturous shock to the already suffering Pokémon.
“Enough of that! Snorlax! Sleep Talk!” I commanded. No matter what attack Snorlax did, it would be better than what Rhydon had already endured. The still snoozing bear lifted his arms and started shaking them side to side in Metronome. He then got up to his feet and spun in a circle with his arms out stretched to clear away the Stealth Rock. Nice Rapid Spin. Too bad it did minimal damage to Rhydon.
“So you know Sleep Talk eh? Big deal!” spat the bounty hunter. “It won’t help ya beat me Mate! Redeem yerself with Hammer Arm Rhydon!” The Drill Pokémon lifted its arm over its head then slammed it onto Snorlax’s rotund belly. The Sleeping Pokémon choked from having the air knocked out of him.
“Keep up the Sleep Talk Snorlax!” I called. The half-ton bear stirred in his sleep before beating on his chest. Crap! Not Belly Drum! While a very effective move, Snorlax still has roughly another minute before waking up, and anything can happen in that minute to finish him off!
“Guess the odds just ain’t in yer favor Mate. A shame really.” Creed taunted. “Finish Snorlax off with Earthquake!” Rhydon did as told by jumping up only about a foot or so, and landing with enough force to shake the whole arena. The tremors caused the Sleeping Pokémon’s flab to jiggle, but gauging how he simply yawned and shifted in his sleep again, I could honestly say he wasn’t down yet.
“Ok Snorlax! This will be our last Sleep Talk before you wake up again. Let’s make it count!” I encouraged. To my surprise, Snorlax got to his feet and ran right into Rhydon without hesitation. The Drill Pokémon roared in anger from the attack while Snorlax yawned and fell on his belly unconscious. And Double Edge. Of all the battles to have that kind of bad luck. At least with the attack boost, it did considerable damage to the two legged rhino. I returned Snorlax to his Ultra Ball while contemplating what to do next with Axel trapped. Any attempt I make to free him will result in one of us getting shot at or grenaded.
“Looks like yer outta usable Pokémon Mate. Tough break.” mocked the man hired to eliminate me. “You were fun while you lasted, but I have a job to finish and a paycheck to collect.” No choice! I’ll have to fight myself! To my horror, Creed pulled a grenade from his strap then yanked the pin out!
“Catch!” he challenged throwing the explosive at me. I began charging a Dragon Pulse in my hands hoping that I’d be able to blow it up in midair again. Creed then lifted his shotgun and pointed it at me! A diversion! I heard the gun fire, then not even a second later the grenade exploded right above me! His marksmanship is either highly accurate, or this is the most interesting coincidence ever! I instinctively held my arms over my head to protect from any falling shrapnel while temporarily blinded from the light of the explosion.
“I got one more for ya!” I heard the assassin call. There was a clanking noise under my feet as another canister rolled up to me spewing out more smoke making it impossible for me to see anything. “Now finish the job with Horn Drill!” The sound of a spinning drill could be heard along with heavy stampeding footsteps. Emerging from the smoke came Rhydon with the horn on its nose spinning rapidly and aimed right for my heart. Was this the end? I held my arms out in front of me in one last desperate attempt at survival!
“ATTACK!” A golden blur flew past me delivering two swift kicks to the Drill Pokémon’s face while avoiding the dangerous horn completely. Rhydon fell to the ground unconscious from the unexpected ambush. Standing at my side now like he had always been was a gold Infernape looking triumphantly at his felled opponent. “Miss me?” he asked cockily.
“Axel? H-how? How did you escape the net?” I asked in confusion.
“I know Dig, remember?” he responded superiorly.
“Hey! Are you alright?” asked Zack running up behind me with everyone else. Obviously they used the hole Axel made for their escape as well.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m glad you guys are safe too.” I said with a sigh of relief.
“I don’t believe this! How dare all o’ ya escape my trap!” yelled the assassin angrily.
“It’s over Creed! You don’t stand a chance against all of us!” Eve declared confidently. The bounty Hunter responded with a look of anger mixed with contemplation. Just like how I was a few moments ago, he was trying to figure a way out of this predicament.
“Actually, I’d like to finish this guy off myself. It’s me he wants, so it should be me who finishes him.” I resolved.
“A-are you sure? We’re all together now. You don’t have to fight alone anymore.” offered Chane.
“I understand. We are here for if you need us.” said Raiden in understanding. The others tried to argue but there was nothing they could do now. My mind was already made up.
“Well ain’t ya a gentleman. Sparin’ the man who was about to kill ya.” Creed mocked readying his last Pokéball.
“I wasn’t sparing you. I just want to be the one to kill you!” I clarified.
“Whatever Mate. Finish the job Togetic!” he called summoning a small white Pokémon with tiny wings and hollow blue and red triangles on its body. Like all the others, Togetic wore a black collar, but unlike the rest, there was nothing fearsome about this Pokémon at all. In fact, the so called Happiness Pokémon looked to be anything but.
“How did a creep like you end up with a Togetic?” questioned Zack heatedly. “I’ve seen the way you treat your Pokémon so there is no way a Togepi would evolve in your care.”
“That’s because I stole it from my last target!” Creed responded proudly. “This Pokémon showed remarkable power in battle so I decided to acquire it for myself!”
“You have to save Togetic! They…. They get dispirited when they’re around someone mean!” pleaded Chane. In other words, it’s especially bad for this particular Pokémon’s health to be in this kind of situation.
“Axel! As soon as you faint Togetic get it away from Creed! This is a rescue mission now!” I commanded. “Flame Wheel!” The flame on Axel’s head went wilder than normal. Being an indication of an Infernape’s fighting spirit meant Axel was extra passionate about this fight. The monkey jumped in the air and spun himself into a large ball of fire that struck the Happiness Pokémon dead on.
“Ya wanna see the move that made me want this monster? Use Extrasensory Togetic!” Creed ordered. The chicken hesitated with a nervous expression. “Are you defying me?” the bounty hunter threatened holding out the remote with his thumb over the trigger as a warning. Togetic winced in fear, then held out its hands to initiate the attack. A pink aura surrounded Axel causing him to fall to his knees screaming with his hand on his head.
“Make it stop! Make it stop!” he screamed writhing around.
“Hang tough Monkey! Use Hidden Power!” I called. The Flame Pokémon got back to his feet panting with a pale icy blue glow to his eyes. He held out his arms creating an orb of light the same color as his eyes in each hand. Then Axel spun his arms in a clockwise directing creating twelve identical orbs which quickly became balls of ice. He swiftly uncrossed his arms to send the dozen ice spheres at his opponent. Togetic cried out as each of the twelve balls hit it.
“The Infernape didn’t seem to like Extrasensory, so give ‘im another!” commanded the assassin sadistically. All Togetic did was whimper. “I order you dammit!” he yelled pushing the trigger. The not so happy Pokémon wailed in agony as the electricity coursed through its body. “Now attack!” The sobbing Togetic unwilling complied once again giving Axel another dose of psychic torture that had him rolling on the ground in pain.
“I bet you’ve had enough of that move, haven’t you?” I asked rhetorically.
“Damn right I have! Give me the order to use Torment!” the Infernape confirmed. All I had to do was nod and Axel was running at Togetic. The monkey then back handed his opponent while making irritating noises. “Torment Bitch!” he yelled with a laugh.
“I don’t know what you just did, but it won’t save you! Another Extrasensory!” shouted the bounty hunter. Togetic whimpered as it instead sent dozens of unavoidable rainbow colored leaves flying at Axel.
“Burn them away with Ember!” I called. In a few short seconds the leaves were smoldering piles of ash.
“You damn creature! I ordered you to do Extrasensory, not Magical Leaf!” Creed growled rapidly smashing the detonator with his thumb sending countless shocks through the angelic Pokémon’s body.
“Stop it! Please stop hurting Togetic!” cried Chane practically in tears.
“Dumbass! That move Axel used was Torment! It means you’re Pokémon can’t keep using the same moves over and over again!” I clarified wrathfully.
“*Tch* Why didn’t you just say so then?” he responded in a light voice as if he hadn’t just been torturing his Pokémon. “Fly Togetic!” The chicken could barely flap its wings, but out of fear it managed to get airborne.
“This may sound unreasonable, but I want you to take the hit.” I instructed somberly.
“So Togetic doesn’t suffer another electrocution right?” Axel questioned knowingly. I nodded. “Gotta love being a destroyer of evil.” he sighed sarcastically. The unHappiness Pokémon swooped down but, horrifyingly enough, missed us anyway!
“You worthless Pokémon! Don’t you miss! Don’t you ever fuckin’ miss!” roared the assassin bestowing yet more unjust punishment to the hapless Pokémon. The screams were probably the most painful sounds I ever heard.
“You’ve done enough! Stop it now!” Chane continued to beg.
“Oi! Pipe down Girlie! This is how I train my Pokémon. If ya don’t like it, then don’t watch!” Creed spat.
“Enough of this now!” I shouted. “Axel! He can’t avoid both of us! Attack!” I command running at the assassin.
“Yeah, but he sure as hell can shoot one of us!” Axel threw in even though he was doing exactly as I was.
“I thought you were smarter than that Mate!” mocked the bounty hunter pulling his last grenade from his sash. “Oh well, mission accomplished.” he said casually throwing it at me one the pin was out.
“Not so fast!” called my partner batting the explosive back at Creed with Iron Tail.
“What the!?” he cried in alarm jumping out of the way. The grenade landed in the back seat of his jeep just in time to blow up the vehicle. “My car!!” he roared furiously. You’re a dead man Mate!” assured the bounty hunter getting his shotgun out to reload.
“Maybe, but not before you.” I retorted using the same words he had used on me earlier. In the time it would take him to prepare his gun, both Axel and I would be all over him. What we didn’t count on was him throwing his last gas canister at us to buy time. Of course it just had to be another dose of tear gas!
“Gah my eyes!” Axel cried with his hands over his eyes. Through the smoke and the water my eyes had released as a defensive shield, I saw the barrel of the gun pointed right at me. I know I had told the others not to get involved, but really? I would think in this kind of situation they’d be all over him by now.
“G’night Mate.” I heard Creed say gently as if he were talking to a child. All of a sudden, Togetic came out of nowhere tackling Creed to the ground.
“No Togetic!” Chane cried knowing full well what was going to happen next.
“Who the hell do you think you’re attacking Togetic!?” yelled the bounty hunter kicking the angelic Pokémon. “I am yer master! Don’t you forget that!” Creed showed no mercy squeezing the controller to administer his punishment. “You defy me! You miss! You’re also probably so stupid you’d hurt yerself in confusion!” With every sentence he sent another heartless shock through the Pokémon’s body.
“Stop! Please stop! Don’t do this anymore! Togetic has suffered enough!” she continued to appease.
“I said shut up!” the bounty hunter yelled turning his shotgun to Chane and not even hesitating to fire. In a cruel twist of fate, Togetic jumped in the path of the shot to protect her at the cost of its left wing.
“TOGETIC!” screamed Chane running to the fallen Pokémon.
“Useless waste.” Creed spat.
“No no no! You can’t die! You shouldn’t die!” she begged with tears falling from her face. Chane kneeled down picking up Togetic in her arms. “It’s not breathing… There’s no heart beat… You killed it. How could you be so cruel?” she sobbed.
“Because I don’t care about that worthless thing. You see this gold feather in my cap? It belonged to a shiny Pidgeot, the last Pokémon to defy me.” Creed said matter-of-factly. “But if you’re gonna be so bent outta shape over it, I’ll gladly send you to join Togetic.” With that he got a remorseless smirk and pointed the shotgun at Chane once more. “G’night Sweetheart.” Before he could even attempt to touch the trigger, I had my hand wrapped around the barrel.
“Have you forgotten who your real target was?” I growled vehemently. With all the strength my Dragon-Forme gave me, I bent the barrel upward so that it would never be able to fire another shot. The look on the assassin’s face was one of fear, and I would make sure he felt more fear, more pain, in his last remaining moments to make up for everything he’s ever done. My first act was to slam my wrist into his nose.
“Aw hell!” he screamed falling to the ground with his hands over his now broken and bleeding nostrils. In the fall his hat fell off showing that he was balding in the front. He instinctively reached for his useless shotgun, but I just kicked it away and smashed his hand under my feet getting another scream from him.
“Creed, did you know that if you get on my bad side I’ll destroy you?” I inquired not expecting an answer. “Let’s go over everything you’ve done to piss me off and get on that bad side! Pokémon theft!” I yelled kicking him in the face. I reached down picking him up by the collar. “Pokémon abuse and torture!” I punched him in the face followed by a swift kick to his stomach.
“Pokémon murder!” I grabbed him again and smashed his knee caps with kicks to the legs. I then threw him to the side like the trash he was. “As a bounty hunter, surely you’ve taken the lives of innocent humans as well!” I jumped up to deliver a kick to his rib cage. I chased him while he flew back, spun him around, grabbed his wrists, and planted my right foot on his back. “Associating with Team Rocket!” I pressed as hard as I could until I heard the popping sounds of his shoulders dislocating, then threw him to the ground again.
“But probably your greatest crime of all, the one I most absolutely will not forgive…” I reached down, grabbed his face, and lifted him up while digging my claws into his flesh. Draconic energy flared into my palm illuminating the terror in Creeds eyes. “Making Chane cry! Be gone now!” I yelled blowing his head off with a violent Dragon Pulse. The headless body fell from having nothing to hold it up anymore. In front of me was a triangle of splattered blood littered with fragments of bone. My entire body still trembled with rage.
“Damn you Creed! That wasn’t enough! I hate you so much I wish you were still alive so I could kill you again!” I yelled furiously. I forced myself to relax. Creed was gone and there was nothing that could be done about it now. Besides, I had a much more important matter to take care of. I walked back to Chane who was still crying over Togetic’s body. I crouched next to her and put my hand on her shoulder. “Are you going to be okay?” I asked worriedly.
“It’s not fair. Why do bad things happen to the ones who don’t deserve it?” she responded sadly. “It’s not fair!” she cried turning around to bury her face in my chest. I could already feel the tears soaking through my shirt.
“I know it’s not. It’s a crap sack world out there full of crime and corruption. That’s why we do what we do. The reason I’m in Team Neos is to eliminate people like Creed and Team Rocket. While we haven’t gotten any missions like this yet, I would also like to one day get rid of this corrupt government and legal system that lets those kinds of people exist. Maybe then people and Pokémon can live happily without fear.” I told Chane in an attempt to console her.
“I want to do that too.” she responded in a grieving whisper.
“Hey. What happened?” Eve asked us with concern.
“You don’t know?” I questioned with slight annoyance. I didn’t even bother to look back at her since she should know this already.
“The police showed up to investigate reports of gun shots while you were still fighting. Kaguya, Raiden and I went to stall them. After molesting some female cops, Kaguya got arrested so Raiden has to go to the station and bail him out. I came back to check on you guys.” she explained.
“Creed’s dead but so is Togetic. As you can see, Chane isn’t taking it well.” I informed. From the corner of my eye, I saw Eve crouch next to us.
“It’s been a rough day. Let’s go to the hotel and rest.” she suggested kindly. Highly out of character for her, but in these situations it would seem even she can be nice.
“No. I… I want to give Togetic a proper funeral first.” said Chane pulling away from me wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Of course. Whatever you need.” I accepted.
“It would seem we are a day early.” said Raiden as we arrived on Cinnabar Island. It turned out that Team Rocket didn’t know when to quit as they were now trying to import their drug cartel to Cinnabar after their Vermillion trade was breached last week, complements of us. We were currently on an isolated part of the island near the abandoned mansion as we had decided to take a shortcut to our hotel.
“Well I say if we’re a day ahead of schedule, then let’s take advantage of Cinnabar’s tropical climate and go to the beach!” Zack suggested eagerly. Lloyd nodded in agreement, equally eager to get in the water.
“W-We can’t! W-We’ll be attacked b-by Missingno!” protested Chane fearfully. I raised my eyebrow at her. She couldn’t possibly be serious about that.
“What?” snickered Eve trying to keep a straight face.
“Missingno! It’s a horrible shapeless monster that lives in the shoreline around Cinnabar Island. It causes horrible distortions and may even erase you and your Pokémon from existence! We can’t go anywhere near it!” Chane continued.
“Oh please. That’s a load of bull and you know it. If you’re shy about being seen in a bathing suit just come out and say it. Don’t make up such ridiculous stories.” Eve chided.
“She’s not making it up.” I put in. “But all it is is an urban legend, nothing but nonsense.”
“You don’t believe me either? I’m not making this up!” she cried. Before our debate could continue, Riolu’s Pokéball began shaking violently.
“Hey what’s wrong with Rio?” asked Axel worriedly. Just as I was about to let him out of his Pokéball so he could tell Axel what was bothering him, the answer came in the form of a small black ball that landed by our feet.
“Get back!” Raiden shouted seconds before the sphere started spewing a thick grey smoke causing the seven of us to start coughing. I heard a whistling sound and suddenly felt three ropes wrap around my arms and body. I was then pulled to the ground and dragged from the smoke cloud. I heard what sounded like cannon fire followed by the cries of my friends.
“What’s going on here!?” I demanded angrily breaking free of the ropes. I detached Aerodactyl’s ball from my belt and released the Fossil Pokémon. “Defog now!” I commanded. The prehistoric beast powerfully flapped his wings creating a strong wind. Once the smoke cloud was cleared, I could see my friends, including Axel, trapped under a huge iron net.
“Well lookit what I caught.” said a deep accented voice proudly. I turned around growling at the camo colored jeep that wasn’t there a moment ago. Sitting on the roof was a man dressed in forest green pants, black combat boots, and a sand brown longcoat overtop a red shirt. A brown wide rimmed hat with a long yellow feather in it was on his head obscuring his face. From his right shoulder going across his chest to his left hip was a brown belt lined with long golden bullets and from his left shoulder to his right hip was another belt with three dark metallic green canisters and three egg shaped devices of the same color that could only be grenades. In his right hand was a silver launcher that presumably shot the net and in his left hand was the other end of the rope that dragged me.
“Oi! You must be pretty strong to have broken through my bolo like that Mate.” he said to me. I looked around me and noticed that there had been three heavy orbs attached to the ropes that ensnared me.
“Who the hell are you and why have you attacked us!” I demanded glaring daggers at him. I was trying my hardest to suppress my inner Dragon’s desire to thrash this guy until I had answers. The stranger put down the rope and pushed up the rim of his hat revealing the face of a man in his mid to upper thirties with dark eyes, black hair, and a sinister grin that would make a Gengar shudder.
“Name’s Creed.” he introduced. “As for why I’m comin’ after ya, it ain’t nothin’ personal Mate, just a job. And let me tell ya, you’re a hard man to track down.” he continued casually. I narrowed my eyes into a fiercer gaze. Well I got my answers.
“Aerodactyl! Blow him away with Hyper Beam!” I commanded. The ancient sky king cocked his head back, then pushed forward launching a bright yellowish orange energy blast. Creed quickly threw one of his canisters in the way of the beam causing it to explode. More smoke engulfed the area but this one was painfully different than the last smoke bomb. My eyes stung and began tearing up from the irritation caused by the tear gas. Aerodactyl screeched loudly and vengefully from the smoke as well. The sound of skidding tires could be heard as our attacker drove off.
“Coward!” I yelled as the tear gas started to clear.
“Who’s a coward?” asked Creed’s voice followed by the sound of gunfire and a throbbing pain in the back of my right shoulder. I screamed as fell to my knees with my left hand over my wound. “Aw don’t be such a baby Mate. It was only a rubber bullet. Just a test for ya.”
“Bastard!” I snarled turning around. My vision was still hazy from the tear gas, but I could still make out his shape standing by the net that contained everyone holding a shotgun with the barrel resting on his shoulder.
“Leave Brian alone! He’s done nothing to you!” pleaded Chane from her prison.
“He told his lizard to blow me up. I don’t consider that to be nothin’ Sweetheart. Tear gas and shootin’ him are my ways of self-defense.” Creed justified.
“But that doesn’t justify singling him out and throwing a net on the rest of us!” Zack said irately.
“Like I said Mate, it’s just a job. It ain’t in my contract to off the whole lotta ya, just the freak. The net is to keep y’all from interferin’ with my sport.”
“You’re a dead man Creed!” I promised darkly.
“Maybe, but not before you.” he retorted reloading his shotgun. Then he looked as if he thought of something. “Tell ya what Mate. Why not make this more interesting? Y’already have yer lizard out, so why not have a proper Pokémon battle for the fun of it? Full battle, one at a time, whadaya say?”
“Or I could just kill you now!” I roared running forward. He turned the shotgun to the net stopping me dead in my tracks.
“No matter how fast you may be, you can’t out run a bullet at point blank. I may not get paid to off them, but if it subdues you I’ll do it. My game, my rules. Whadaya say Mate, ready to play?” I growled menacingly at the assassin. Damn him!
“Fine! But you’ll have to get rid of the net to set my Infernape free so that I can use him to fight. My teammates won’t get involved if we have a simple Pokémon battle.” I accepted unwillingly.
“Not takin’ that chance. You’ll use the Infernape last.” said Creed firmly. “Now let’s get on with the battle! Snipe ‘im Kingdra!” he called sending out a tall blue scaled seahorse with a yellow belly, an elegant white fin on its back, a white fin on each cheek, a long narrow snout, red eyes, and two antennae on its head. One thing unnatural about his Pokémon was the black collar around its neck.
“Bite Kingdra with Thunder Fang Aerodactyl!” I called. The Fossil Pokémon flew toward his foe and clamped down with his large maw which was crackling with electricity.
“I hope that ain’t the best ya got.” taunted Creed. “Show ‘em a real attack Kingdra! Bubble Beam!” Kingdra turned its snout to Aerodactyl and shot off a rapid fire barrage of foamy bubbles that exploded on impact. The revived dinosaur shrieked with disdain from the Super-effective hit.
“You want our best? You got it! Sky Attack!” I commanded. Aerodactyl let out a furious roar as his body began glowing red from the energy he was gathering for the assault.
“Leavin’ yerself vulnerable like that ain’t really the best idea Mate.” berated the assassin. How dare he chastise my method of combat! “Hit ‘em with Hydro Pump!” The Dragon Pokémon blasted a powerful stream of water at Aerodactyl like cannon fire, however the Sky King dodged the projectile with ease by flying into the sky. He then dive-bombed Kingdra at full speed causing serious damage.
“Now who said Aerodactyl was vulnerable?” I questioned cynically. Creed’s face contorted with anger. He pulled a strange black detonator like device from his waist.
“You missed!” he furiously shouted pressing the button on the detonator. The collar on Kingdra’s neck lit up sending electric shocks throughout the Pokémon’s body causing it to grunt and writhe in pain. “You know better Kingdra! I do not tolerate missing!”
“You bastard! You’re actually torturing you Pokémon over a miss!?” I yelled heatedly.
“What’s it matter? It’s my Pokémon, I can do whatever I like to it.” he responded. “Besides, it’s called disciplining them when they screw up!”
“But that’s cruel!” Chane cried from the net.
“You have no integrity as a Trainer! You are weak.” Raiden said hatefully.
“Oi! Pipe down all o’ ya!” ordered Creed pointing his shotgun at them.
“Your battle is with me, not them Creed! Aerodactyl! Take him Down! Attack the human!” I shouted. The Flying-type screeched in understanding and charged at the damnable creature with his mouth wide open ready to tear Creed to shreds with his fangs. Things didn’t quite go as I had expected as Kingdra willingly threw itself in Aerodactyl’s path to protect its Trainer.
“Good work Kingdra! Now redeem yerself with a close range Ice Beam!” While the Fossil Pokémon was still chewing on Kingdra’s abdomen, the giant seahorse turned its head at him and blasted him with a critical hit ray of frozen air.
“Aerodactyl!” I called as the winged beast was forced to the ground shrieking in agony. I glared at the assassin with a violent hatred burning in my red eyes. All I had to do was gather my Draconic power in my claws and I could end this in a heartbeat. But as much as I wanted to, this was still a Pokémon battle meaning it was up to our monsters to settle things, even if Creed was using that disgusting collar to “discipline” his Pokémon.
“Aero! Can you move?” I asked desperately. Aerodactyl weakly got off the ground and dizzily flapped back into the air with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. A little tired, but it looks like he can still fight. “Good. Now use Fly!” I called.
“Oi! Not so fast Mate! Trap ‘em with Whirlpool Kingdra!” called Creed before Aerodactyl could get airborne. The Dragon Pokémon shot a swirling vortex of water at the ground beneath the ancient tyrant’s feet that spiraled into the air after Aerodactyl as he flew up. Even from down here I could hear his screeches as the water struck him.
“Now before the lizard comes back down, use Dragon Dance!” Creed commanded. Kingdra began moving its body around in a rhythmic and foreboding manner which I knew was focusing its muscles to make it both faster and stronger. This was made even more evident with how easily the Dragon Pokémon avoided Aerodactyl’s aerial strike when he descended. On top of that, the Whirlpool had chased him down keeping him trapped in the vortex.
“Let’s see you dodge this! Use Aerial Ace Aerodactyl!” I called using way too many ‘A’ sounds in one sentence. The Fossil Pokémon moved rapidly and gracefully through the air until he hit his mark dead on. They don’t call him the King of the Skies for nothing. Both Pokémon were starting to look worn out, made worse by how Aerodactyl just couldn’t seem to shake that obnoxious Whirlpool.
“Finish this lizard off with Surf!” demanded the assassin. There was a sudden tremor as the ground split open erupting a huge tidal wave of water. The Fossil Pokémon gave one final shriek as the water wall crashed down on him knocking him out.
“Fainted, but still breathin’. It’s tougher than I gave credit. Finish it for real this time with Dragon Pulse.” Creed ordered. Bastard! I can’t believe he would actually go as far as to actually kill my Pokémon!
“I don’t think so! Dragon Pulse!” I yelled throwing my right arm forward blasting my own blue energy wave at the Dragon-type before it could launch its attack at my unconscious Pokémon. Kingdra cried out from the unexpected Super-effective attack and also fainted leaving Creed completely awe struck.
“What the hell was that Mate!?” he demanded anxiously.
“That was my own Dragon Pulse.” I said preparing another one in my left hand while returning Aerodactyl to the safety of his Pokéball held in my right. “And this one’s for you!” I shouted firing my attack at the assassin. He quickly dodge-rolled to avoid my attack which hit his jeep instead leaving one of the taillights destroyed.
“Petrel Lambda warned me to be careful around you. He said you had some inhuman abilities.” said Creed throwing another smoke bomb, the black orb variety this time.
So Lambda was the one who hired this guy. I guess he was still pretty upset about what I did to him at Tin Tower. Upset enough to put a bounty on my head. The skidding sound of the jeep’s tires told me that Creed was on the move again. By now I knew he wasn’t the type to give up on his prey, so I quickly sent out Riolu and Beldum.
“Riolu! Grab Beldum and use his metal body as a shield against bullets.” I instructed quietly to prevent the bounty hunter from over hearing my strategy. It was all I could say before I started coughing again. I really hope my ability to heal prevents lung cancer or I will be thoroughly pissed.
Riolu wasted no time in grabbing Beldum and holding it at the right side of my head. Once again I heard the sound of Creed’s shotgun going off followed by the pinging sound of metal on metal. No rubber bullets this time.
“Well that was unexpected.” Creed said when the smoke cleared. He had a pair of thick green lensed goggles over his eyes that I’m guessing are heat vision goggles so he can see me in the smoke fields. “Usin’ a Steel-type Pokémon to deflect my bullets is a smart move, but it won’t save ya for long. Why not recall one of them Pokémon so we can get back to our battle Mate?”
“No chance Creed! They both stay.” I said defiantly. The assassin only smiled, chuckling slightly at my remark.
“Then I’ll have to use two of my own! Take the field Sableye and Flygon!” he shouted throwing two balls at once. Materializing from the first was a small purple human-shaped Pokémon with large blue gems for eyes, a ruby on its chest, a sapphire on its back, long sharp claws on its hands and feet, three spikes on each elbow, and long pointed ears. From the second ball came a much larger green lizard-like Pokémon with darker green stripes on its tail, three green feathers outlined in red on the tip of its tail, large wings also outlined in red, short three clawed forelimbs, short hind limbs, two long green antennae, and transparent red lenses over its eyes. Both Pokémon also wore those damn collars.
“Whadaya think Mate? Sableye has no weaknesses for you to exploit and is immune to any attack your Pokémon can throw at it! Not to mention Flygon who has enough power to take on both yer li’luns at once.” the assassin bragged. That’s what he thought. “Fake Out the Riolu Sableye! And use Dig on the Beldum Flygon!”
The Darkness Pokémon went to attack Riolu with his claws, but at the last second jumped side to side then slapped the young bipedal canine while his guard was down. At the same time Flygon had burrowed its way underground out of view.
“Beldum! Since Flygon is temporarily out of reach, use Iron Head on Sableye! Meanwhile I want you to memorize its aura with Foresight Rio!” I told my Pokémon. The ball that made up Beldum’s head stated sparkling as the metal became denser. It then sped into the purple gremlin colliding into its torso. While Beldum attacked, the Emanation Pokémon concentrated on locking onto Sableye’s aura.
“How’s that possible? I was told that Beldum can only learn Take Down! Why does yers know Iron Head Mate?” demanded the bounty hunter.
“It knew the attack when I received it as a gift from the leader of Team Neos himself.” I said condescendingly. “Iron Defense!” I called abruptly when I realized that Flygon had yet to emerge. As soon as the words escaped my mouth, the Mystic Pokémon burst from the ground directly beneath Beldum making direct impact.
“Iron Defense too? Well now, yer just fulla surprises ain’t ya Mate?” commented Creed snidely. “Here’re a few surprises of my own! Flygon! Use Flamethrower on Beldum! Hit Riolu with Shadow Claw Sableye!”
“Zen Headbutt through the flames Beldum! Counter Riolu!” I commanded hastily. While Flygon opened its mouth blasting a long tongue of fire, the Iron Ball Pokémon surrounded itself in blue psychic energy and charged head first into the stream. Beldum pushed its way through, enduring the pain, until colliding with the desert dweller’s jaw. Flygon let out a loud cry as its attack was forcibly cancelled.
At the same time, Sableye’s claws had grown longer and were emitting a black cloud of ghostly energy. Riolu hung tough waiting for the attack. In one swift stroke, the goblin swiped Rio with its deformed claws causing the bipedal canine to yelp. However, Riolu had prepared himself, so while Sableye was off guard he landed several counter blows to its exposed torso and face.
“Oi! What the hell was that!? Sableye is a Ghost-type! Fightin’-type moves ain’t supposed to hurt it!” the bounty hunter yelled angrily.
“Don’t you know anything? Foresight negates that disadvantage which also means Sableye does have a weakness I can exploit! Without its Ghost-type shield, the Dark half will suffer all of Riolu’s Fighting-type attacks!” I berated. “Allow me to demonstrate! Riolu! Attack Sableye with Force Palm!” The Emanation Pokémon charged his aura into his paw before smashing his paw into Sableye’s chest sending a burst of blue aura through its body and causing it to scream in pain. Creed looked furious.
“Damn you!” he shouted pulling a grenade from his belt. Once the safety pin was removed, he hurled the explosive at us. In desperation, I shot a Dragon Pulse at it while it was still in midair. I figured it would be less fatal or catastrophic if it didn’t go boom directly on top of me and my Pokémon. I was only half right. I was still blown back by the force of the blast and I was pelted by shrapnel, but the three of us still made it out in one piece, just with a few cuts.
“Both of you! Go after that damn Riolu! Use Aerial Ace Flygon and you use Zen Headbutt Sableye!” I heard the assassin shout. Emerging from the smoke left behind by the explosion were both enemy Pokémon each targeting Riolu who was still off guard from the previous attack.
“Riolu! Detect Flygon! Beldum! Take Sableye’s hit!” I called. At the last second before the Mystic Pokémon was about to strike, Riolu rolled to the side causing Flygon to hit the ground instead. Unfortunately, Beldum wasn’t fast enough to get between Riolu and Sableye in time. The Darkness Pokémon pulled its glowing purple head back and slammed it into Riolu’s head.
“Flygon you missed! Don’t fuck with me! You don’t miss!” roared Creed pressing the detonator’s button again giving the Mystic Pokémon a horrible electrocution.
“I’m begging you! Please stop!” Chane cried. Creed lifted his shotgun and pointed it at the net.
“And I told you to pipe down over there!” he reprimanded. Now while he’s distracted…
“Flygon’s a Ground-type so how does that even work?” questioned Eve. I whispered my command to Beldum…
“Because the collar is connected directly to its nervous system. Just because the outside is resilient doesn’t mean the inside is. Anything is possible with technology Sweetheart.”
“You’re a monster!” yelled Zack. Beldum got into position…
“Your friend has the abilities of a Dragon Pokémon and I’m the monster? I think you need new glasses Mate.” Creed shifted his eyes back to me.
“Now Beldum!” I called. The Iron Ball Pokémon flew in a direct course for the assassin.
“Shadow Sneak Sableye!” he called. The Darkness Pokémon dove into its shadow, then almost as quickly jumped out of Creed’s just in time to cut off Beldum’s Take Down with an attack of its own. The duel Psychic/Steel-type fell to the ground stunned from the unexpected interception but quickly regained its composure by rising back to the air.
“You really thought I wasn’t watching you while I talked to yer teammates? Attack an enemy while their back is turned, not their head.” said Creed haughtily. “Flygon! Redeem yerself by using Heatwave on the lotta them. Attack the Riolu with Shadow Ball Sableye!”
Flygon turned its head to the sky then opened its mouth spewing hot air that contorted the scenery like a hot summer day. The air began to get very thick and heavy making it hard to breathe. Even though it was October, I was starting to sweat. Sure we were in the tropics, but that doesn’t change the fact that it felt like it was 90° out here with 100% humidity!
Meanwhile, Sableye charged up a sphere of pure darkness between its claws. It pulled its arm back before tossing the purplish black ball at Riolu. The Emanation Pokémon defiantly held out his arms to block the attack but it was no use. The Shadow Ball pushed through doing its damage.
“Counter attack time guys! Use Cross Chop on Sableye Rio! Attack Flygon with Take Down Beldum!” I called. Riolu crossed his arms in front of himself then slammed the X shape into the Darkness Pokémon’s throat doing great damage. Unfortunately, Sableye was coughing which meant that we hadn’t finished it off yet. My Iron Ball Pokémon put all of his effort into its Take Down granting it a critical hit when it impacted Flygon in the stomach. Regrettably the recoil damage fainted Beldum. I quickly returned it to its Pokéball before Creed got any more sadistic ideas for it.
“Well now that’s one down. Finish off the Riolu with Night Shade Sableye!” ordered Creed confidently. The goblin’s presence grew to the point where even I could feel it. The strain was too much for the young Emanation Pokémon to handle knocking him out as well. “This is fun Mate. Send out yer next two so we can keep this battle goin’. Unless of course, you’re done now and wish to die.” the assassin taunted.
“I only need one Pokémon to finish these two off!” I said firmly. “Let’s go Piloswine!” I called throwing out the Great Ball after calling back Riolu. “Use I--”
“My attack! Flygon! Iron Tail!” commanded Creed before I could call out my attack. The desert dragon’s tail turned a metallic silver color as it whipped my wooly boar with it. “Now Sableye!--”
“Earthquake!” I cut off displaying the same rudeness as him. In these kinds of battles you must play dirty to win. Piloswine lifted his front hooves of the ground, then threw all of his weight on them as he put them back down sending tremors in every direction. While Flygon evaded the attack thanks to its Levitate Ability, Sableye was helpless and was swiftly KOed.
“That wasn’t nice Mate, cuttin’ me off like that.” Creed said feigning disappointment. I knew better though that this was just an act to get me to drop my guard. “This is your punishment!” he shouted changing his tone quickly while lifting his shotgun at me. Without a shield I was helpless! He then causally moved the barrel from me to my trapped friends. “Yer punishment is one of their lives.”
“NO!” I screamed jumping in front of the shotgun as it fired. I fell to the ground with a searing pain running through my left leg. I looked back at my leg to see a tear in the back of my pants leg with blood leaking out of a gash in the skin. Damn him! He actually shot me!
“BRIAN!” Chane screamed. I held up my hand to calm her down.
“I’m alright. The bullet only grazed me.” I assured stumbling back to my feet. I could hear Creed laughing mockingly at me.
“What was that all about Mate? Lambda said you were a ruthless demon that cared for nothin’ other than killin’. And yet there you go throwin’ yerself in harm’s way to protect those people.” ridiculed the bounty hunter.
“I hate to lose. That includes battles and friends, and ‘those people’ are friends.” I told him straightforwardly. Creed made a disgusted face at me.
“Hideous. Well you were fun while you lasted Mate, I’ll give you that. Finish this Dragon boy with Draco Meteor Flygon! Give him a taste of Super-effective pain!” Creed said sadistically. Flygon opened its mouth and began charging a massive green energy ball with swirling blue streaks around it.
“You forgot something.” I reminded. Just as Flygon blasted the massive energy sphere, Piloswine charged between me and it to take the attack. The mammoth pig winced and cried out in pain from such a powerful hit, put it would take more than that to defeat him.
“Now finish Flygon with Ice Beam!” I commanded. The Swine Pokémon snorted before blasting a frozen stream of air point blank at the Mystic Pokémon which already possessed a double weakness to the attack. Needless to say, Flygon wasn’t getting back up anytime soon.
“If that’s how ya want it, I’ll be happy to oblige Mate.” said Creed shrugging. “I could just blow ya up with a grenade this very moment, but if ya want to continue this battle, fine by me. It’ll be fun humiliatin’ ya. Crush ‘em Tyranitar!”
Emerging from the sphere was a large green two legged dinosaur-like Pokémon with long spikes running down its back, a long thick tail, a mouth full of sharp teeth, long sharp claws on its thick legs and arms, a blue diamond on its chest, and black stripes on its chest and legs. Like its previous brethren, Tyranitar wore a black collar. The Armor Pokémon threw its head to the sky giving a fierce roar that summoned a cloud of sand and dust to surround the area.
“Now Tyranitar! Attack with Rock Slide!” commanded the bounty hunter. Lifting its massive feet, the Pseudo-Legendary stomped at the ground several times to break it apart creating dozens of loosened rocks that went flying at Piloswine. The Swine Pokémon grunted in annoyance as each boulder hit its mark.
“Even up the playing field with Hail Piloswine!” I called. The mammoth boar shot a large ball of ice into the sky which served as a magnet to draw in thick white clouds. The clouds completely obscured the sun giving the battlefield a pale grey color. The fall of massive chunks of ice completely decimated Tyranitar’s Sandstream. With the Snowcloak Ability, Piloswine was able to completely fade into the scenery.
“Damn!” Creed spat. “Kick up a Stealth Rock to keep it from getting too far away Tyranitar!” The Armor Pokémon roared while giving the ground a powerful stomp that sent dozens of sharp spears of rocks shooting up to surround the arena. Too bad that didn’t protect it from a large chunk of ice smacking its back.
“No problem! Earthquake!” I called. Where ever Piloswine was in this storm, I heard him rear up and stomp the ground with incredible force. I winced as tremors tore up the earth beneath us. I had experienced the shockwaves of Earthquake many times, just never with an injured leg before. It was definitely not pleasant. Tyranitar roared as its own leg got caught in a small fissure created by the Earthquake.
“Quit yer whinin’! Counter attack with yer own Earthquake!” commanded the assassin. Oh not this again! The Pseudo-Legendary jumped in the air and landed with such intensity that the ground was once again shredded to pieces. My eyes widened and rolled at the obnoxious pain shooting up my leg.
“Alright Piloswine, time for Blizzard!” I decided. The Swine Pokémon inhaled deeply then blew a heavy wind that gathered several chunks of falling hailing. The frozen gale found its mark much to Tyranitar’s and Creed’s annoyance. To add insult to injury, Tyranitar also got hit in the head with a large chunk of hail.
“Oi! Find that blasted pig and use Stone Edge on it!” Creed ordered. Tyranitar roared as three blue rings surrounded its body. The rings magically turned into dozens of pointed rocks. With one final roar, the Armor Pokémon’s eyes glowed green and the rocks were sent flying. To my dismay, some were even heading right for me! I quickly jumped to the side to avoid them, but landed on my bad leg wrong and fell over again.
“Piloswine! Use Ice Fang!” I commanded struggling to get up again. Coming at the Pseudo-Legendary from behind, the exact opposite direction the Stone Edge was fired, was the wooly boar with his long tusks covered in ice. Piloswine made a slight turn in his charge to avoid the target’s back spikes and stabbed his tusks directly into Tyranitar’s vulnerable right flank.
“If Piloswine came from that direction, then you missed Tyranitar!” Creed shouted violently pressing the detonator again. Electric shocks were sent through Tyranitar’s body causing it to howl in agony. With his tusk still embedded in the Armor Pokémon, the only thing that saved Piloswine from getting shocked as well was being a Ground-type.
“Either way, now we got it up close! Hit it with Super Power!” the bounty hunter commanded.
“Get out of there Piloswine!” I yelled as Tyranitar’s body started glowing red. The wooly pig tried to retreat back into the safety of the storm, but the Pseudo-Legendary was faster and was able to attack Piloswine with a powerful glowing punch.
“We got it now! Use Iron Head!” shouted Creed triumphantly. Tyranitar gripped the Swine Pokémon tightly as its head shimmered metallic silver. Then it delivered a swift and merciless headbutt to Piloswine.
“Don’t let them win! Avalanche!” I called. Piloswine howled into the hail storm summoning a large pile of snow and ice to fall on the Armor Pokémon completely burying it. Not even two seconds later, the hail storm ended.
“Tyranitar! If ya ain’t fainted under all o’ that snow, use Dark Pulse!” commanded Creed. The pile the tyrant was buried under started shaking, then exploded in a burst of darkness as all that dark energy was focused into Tyranitar’s claws. The pseudo-legendary blasted the gathered dark energy at Piloswine causing the mammoth boar to fall over on his side unconscious. I quickly returned him before Creed could order anything terrible to be done to him.
“Well now, are ya ready to call it a day Mate, or do you want to keep up this charade?” Creed asked uncaringly. He knew that I only had one Pokémon left against his three. And I knew full well by now that he had no intention of freeing Axel so that I could use him in a fight.
“I’ll keep fighting until all my enemies are dead or until I am! Take over Snorlax!” I said confidently summoning the rotund bear. The Sleeping Pokémon plopped down on the ground and yawned as he left the comfort of his Ultra Ball. He was quickly woken up in a grumpy rage from the cuts he sustained from the Stealth Rock.
“So be it then Mate. Tyranitar! Take care of that thing with Giga Impact!” the assassin ordered. With orange streaks of energy flying off of its body, the tyrant charged at Snorlax. The collision was strong enough to move the half ton Sleeping Pokémon to the point that Snorlax was forcefully flipped over on his belly.
“We need to finish Tyranitar now while it recharges! Use Surf Snorlax!” I commanded. He had plenty of moisture to use for the tidal wave attack. There were dozens if not hundreds of hail balls still littering the field, not to mention the ground was still damp from Kingdra’s Surf earlier. All of those remnants were swiftly gathered underneath Snorlax allowing him to rise up with his massive wall of water. The Pseudo-Legendary was powerless to stop the tidal wave from crashing down on it. When the water receded and sank back into the sand, Tyranitar was knocked out on its side.
“Useless beast.” Creed berated as Tyranitar was dematerialized into a red light and summoned back to its ball.
“Die now!” I shouted. Before I could even move, Creed shot the ground in front of my feet leaving a small round hole where I was about to step.
“Oi! Stay where you are Mate!” he warned leveling the shotgun so that it was aimed at my chest. “You even think about attacking me again like that, and I’ll throw a grenade over at that net. I know how you ‘hate to lose’ and how sickenin’ly you care about those mongrels over there.”
“Curse you!” I snarled. The moment this guy drops his guard I will rip him apart.
“Now whadda ya say we get back to business. I am still on the clock here.” the assassin said casually. “Rhydon! Pierce!” he called sending out his next Pokémon. Materializing from the red light was another dinosaur like Pokémon, this one with a thick stone grey hide, thick legs and arms with three clawed hands and two clawed toes, a long powerful tail, a tan belly, massive spikes on its back, and a long tan horn on its nose. As usual, Rhydon also wore a collar. The Drill Pokémon let out a deep roar while giving two stomps to the ground.
“This could be treacherous. Take a Rest Snorlax!” I told my Pokémon. Stealth Rock and Giga Impact had not been kind to him, and I had a feeling Rhydon would be a tough opponent. Snorlax yawned in preparation for his mid-afternoon nap. I watched as his breathing slowed until he was almost completely motionless.
“How stupid of you. Yer Pokémon is completely helpless now that it’s asleep!” Creed groundlessly criticized. “Rhydon! Take care of this thing with Rock Blast!” The bipedal rhino smashed its hands to the ground tearing out two large boulders. It then threw them at the sleeping Snorlax, who simply rolled over at the disturbance.
“Rhydon! Only two? You know the rules! Four or more times Dammit!” yelled Creed delivering electric shocks to the Drill Pokémon as punishment. “Four or more!” he shouted giving a second torturous shock to the already suffering Pokémon.
“Enough of that! Snorlax! Sleep Talk!” I commanded. No matter what attack Snorlax did, it would be better than what Rhydon had already endured. The still snoozing bear lifted his arms and started shaking them side to side in Metronome. He then got up to his feet and spun in a circle with his arms out stretched to clear away the Stealth Rock. Nice Rapid Spin. Too bad it did minimal damage to Rhydon.
“So you know Sleep Talk eh? Big deal!” spat the bounty hunter. “It won’t help ya beat me Mate! Redeem yerself with Hammer Arm Rhydon!” The Drill Pokémon lifted its arm over its head then slammed it onto Snorlax’s rotund belly. The Sleeping Pokémon choked from having the air knocked out of him.
“Keep up the Sleep Talk Snorlax!” I called. The half-ton bear stirred in his sleep before beating on his chest. Crap! Not Belly Drum! While a very effective move, Snorlax still has roughly another minute before waking up, and anything can happen in that minute to finish him off!
“Guess the odds just ain’t in yer favor Mate. A shame really.” Creed taunted. “Finish Snorlax off with Earthquake!” Rhydon did as told by jumping up only about a foot or so, and landing with enough force to shake the whole arena. The tremors caused the Sleeping Pokémon’s flab to jiggle, but gauging how he simply yawned and shifted in his sleep again, I could honestly say he wasn’t down yet.
“Ok Snorlax! This will be our last Sleep Talk before you wake up again. Let’s make it count!” I encouraged. To my surprise, Snorlax got to his feet and ran right into Rhydon without hesitation. The Drill Pokémon roared in anger from the attack while Snorlax yawned and fell on his belly unconscious. And Double Edge. Of all the battles to have that kind of bad luck. At least with the attack boost, it did considerable damage to the two legged rhino. I returned Snorlax to his Ultra Ball while contemplating what to do next with Axel trapped. Any attempt I make to free him will result in one of us getting shot at or grenaded.
“Looks like yer outta usable Pokémon Mate. Tough break.” mocked the man hired to eliminate me. “You were fun while you lasted, but I have a job to finish and a paycheck to collect.” No choice! I’ll have to fight myself! To my horror, Creed pulled a grenade from his strap then yanked the pin out!
“Catch!” he challenged throwing the explosive at me. I began charging a Dragon Pulse in my hands hoping that I’d be able to blow it up in midair again. Creed then lifted his shotgun and pointed it at me! A diversion! I heard the gun fire, then not even a second later the grenade exploded right above me! His marksmanship is either highly accurate, or this is the most interesting coincidence ever! I instinctively held my arms over my head to protect from any falling shrapnel while temporarily blinded from the light of the explosion.
“I got one more for ya!” I heard the assassin call. There was a clanking noise under my feet as another canister rolled up to me spewing out more smoke making it impossible for me to see anything. “Now finish the job with Horn Drill!” The sound of a spinning drill could be heard along with heavy stampeding footsteps. Emerging from the smoke came Rhydon with the horn on its nose spinning rapidly and aimed right for my heart. Was this the end? I held my arms out in front of me in one last desperate attempt at survival!
“ATTACK!” A golden blur flew past me delivering two swift kicks to the Drill Pokémon’s face while avoiding the dangerous horn completely. Rhydon fell to the ground unconscious from the unexpected ambush. Standing at my side now like he had always been was a gold Infernape looking triumphantly at his felled opponent. “Miss me?” he asked cockily.
“Axel? H-how? How did you escape the net?” I asked in confusion.
“I know Dig, remember?” he responded superiorly.
“Hey! Are you alright?” asked Zack running up behind me with everyone else. Obviously they used the hole Axel made for their escape as well.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m glad you guys are safe too.” I said with a sigh of relief.
“I don’t believe this! How dare all o’ ya escape my trap!” yelled the assassin angrily.
“It’s over Creed! You don’t stand a chance against all of us!” Eve declared confidently. The bounty Hunter responded with a look of anger mixed with contemplation. Just like how I was a few moments ago, he was trying to figure a way out of this predicament.
“Actually, I’d like to finish this guy off myself. It’s me he wants, so it should be me who finishes him.” I resolved.
“A-are you sure? We’re all together now. You don’t have to fight alone anymore.” offered Chane.
“I understand. We are here for if you need us.” said Raiden in understanding. The others tried to argue but there was nothing they could do now. My mind was already made up.
“Well ain’t ya a gentleman. Sparin’ the man who was about to kill ya.” Creed mocked readying his last Pokéball.
“I wasn’t sparing you. I just want to be the one to kill you!” I clarified.
“Whatever Mate. Finish the job Togetic!” he called summoning a small white Pokémon with tiny wings and hollow blue and red triangles on its body. Like all the others, Togetic wore a black collar, but unlike the rest, there was nothing fearsome about this Pokémon at all. In fact, the so called Happiness Pokémon looked to be anything but.
“How did a creep like you end up with a Togetic?” questioned Zack heatedly. “I’ve seen the way you treat your Pokémon so there is no way a Togepi would evolve in your care.”
“That’s because I stole it from my last target!” Creed responded proudly. “This Pokémon showed remarkable power in battle so I decided to acquire it for myself!”
“You have to save Togetic! They…. They get dispirited when they’re around someone mean!” pleaded Chane. In other words, it’s especially bad for this particular Pokémon’s health to be in this kind of situation.
“Axel! As soon as you faint Togetic get it away from Creed! This is a rescue mission now!” I commanded. “Flame Wheel!” The flame on Axel’s head went wilder than normal. Being an indication of an Infernape’s fighting spirit meant Axel was extra passionate about this fight. The monkey jumped in the air and spun himself into a large ball of fire that struck the Happiness Pokémon dead on.
“Ya wanna see the move that made me want this monster? Use Extrasensory Togetic!” Creed ordered. The chicken hesitated with a nervous expression. “Are you defying me?” the bounty hunter threatened holding out the remote with his thumb over the trigger as a warning. Togetic winced in fear, then held out its hands to initiate the attack. A pink aura surrounded Axel causing him to fall to his knees screaming with his hand on his head.
“Make it stop! Make it stop!” he screamed writhing around.
“Hang tough Monkey! Use Hidden Power!” I called. The Flame Pokémon got back to his feet panting with a pale icy blue glow to his eyes. He held out his arms creating an orb of light the same color as his eyes in each hand. Then Axel spun his arms in a clockwise directing creating twelve identical orbs which quickly became balls of ice. He swiftly uncrossed his arms to send the dozen ice spheres at his opponent. Togetic cried out as each of the twelve balls hit it.
“The Infernape didn’t seem to like Extrasensory, so give ‘im another!” commanded the assassin sadistically. All Togetic did was whimper. “I order you dammit!” he yelled pushing the trigger. The not so happy Pokémon wailed in agony as the electricity coursed through its body. “Now attack!” The sobbing Togetic unwilling complied once again giving Axel another dose of psychic torture that had him rolling on the ground in pain.
“I bet you’ve had enough of that move, haven’t you?” I asked rhetorically.
“Damn right I have! Give me the order to use Torment!” the Infernape confirmed. All I had to do was nod and Axel was running at Togetic. The monkey then back handed his opponent while making irritating noises. “Torment Bitch!” he yelled with a laugh.
“I don’t know what you just did, but it won’t save you! Another Extrasensory!” shouted the bounty hunter. Togetic whimpered as it instead sent dozens of unavoidable rainbow colored leaves flying at Axel.
“Burn them away with Ember!” I called. In a few short seconds the leaves were smoldering piles of ash.
“You damn creature! I ordered you to do Extrasensory, not Magical Leaf!” Creed growled rapidly smashing the detonator with his thumb sending countless shocks through the angelic Pokémon’s body.
“Stop it! Please stop hurting Togetic!” cried Chane practically in tears.
“Dumbass! That move Axel used was Torment! It means you’re Pokémon can’t keep using the same moves over and over again!” I clarified wrathfully.
“*Tch* Why didn’t you just say so then?” he responded in a light voice as if he hadn’t just been torturing his Pokémon. “Fly Togetic!” The chicken could barely flap its wings, but out of fear it managed to get airborne.
“This may sound unreasonable, but I want you to take the hit.” I instructed somberly.
“So Togetic doesn’t suffer another electrocution right?” Axel questioned knowingly. I nodded. “Gotta love being a destroyer of evil.” he sighed sarcastically. The unHappiness Pokémon swooped down but, horrifyingly enough, missed us anyway!
“You worthless Pokémon! Don’t you miss! Don’t you ever fuckin’ miss!” roared the assassin bestowing yet more unjust punishment to the hapless Pokémon. The screams were probably the most painful sounds I ever heard.
“You’ve done enough! Stop it now!” Chane continued to beg.
“Oi! Pipe down Girlie! This is how I train my Pokémon. If ya don’t like it, then don’t watch!” Creed spat.
“Enough of this now!” I shouted. “Axel! He can’t avoid both of us! Attack!” I command running at the assassin.
“Yeah, but he sure as hell can shoot one of us!” Axel threw in even though he was doing exactly as I was.
“I thought you were smarter than that Mate!” mocked the bounty hunter pulling his last grenade from his sash. “Oh well, mission accomplished.” he said casually throwing it at me one the pin was out.
“Not so fast!” called my partner batting the explosive back at Creed with Iron Tail.
“What the!?” he cried in alarm jumping out of the way. The grenade landed in the back seat of his jeep just in time to blow up the vehicle. “My car!!” he roared furiously. You’re a dead man Mate!” assured the bounty hunter getting his shotgun out to reload.
“Maybe, but not before you.” I retorted using the same words he had used on me earlier. In the time it would take him to prepare his gun, both Axel and I would be all over him. What we didn’t count on was him throwing his last gas canister at us to buy time. Of course it just had to be another dose of tear gas!
“Gah my eyes!” Axel cried with his hands over his eyes. Through the smoke and the water my eyes had released as a defensive shield, I saw the barrel of the gun pointed right at me. I know I had told the others not to get involved, but really? I would think in this kind of situation they’d be all over him by now.
“G’night Mate.” I heard Creed say gently as if he were talking to a child. All of a sudden, Togetic came out of nowhere tackling Creed to the ground.
“No Togetic!” Chane cried knowing full well what was going to happen next.
“Who the hell do you think you’re attacking Togetic!?” yelled the bounty hunter kicking the angelic Pokémon. “I am yer master! Don’t you forget that!” Creed showed no mercy squeezing the controller to administer his punishment. “You defy me! You miss! You’re also probably so stupid you’d hurt yerself in confusion!” With every sentence he sent another heartless shock through the Pokémon’s body.
“Stop! Please stop! Don’t do this anymore! Togetic has suffered enough!” she continued to appease.
“I said shut up!” the bounty hunter yelled turning his shotgun to Chane and not even hesitating to fire. In a cruel twist of fate, Togetic jumped in the path of the shot to protect her at the cost of its left wing.
“TOGETIC!” screamed Chane running to the fallen Pokémon.
“Useless waste.” Creed spat.
“No no no! You can’t die! You shouldn’t die!” she begged with tears falling from her face. Chane kneeled down picking up Togetic in her arms. “It’s not breathing… There’s no heart beat… You killed it. How could you be so cruel?” she sobbed.
“Because I don’t care about that worthless thing. You see this gold feather in my cap? It belonged to a shiny Pidgeot, the last Pokémon to defy me.” Creed said matter-of-factly. “But if you’re gonna be so bent outta shape over it, I’ll gladly send you to join Togetic.” With that he got a remorseless smirk and pointed the shotgun at Chane once more. “G’night Sweetheart.” Before he could even attempt to touch the trigger, I had my hand wrapped around the barrel.
“Have you forgotten who your real target was?” I growled vehemently. With all the strength my Dragon-Forme gave me, I bent the barrel upward so that it would never be able to fire another shot. The look on the assassin’s face was one of fear, and I would make sure he felt more fear, more pain, in his last remaining moments to make up for everything he’s ever done. My first act was to slam my wrist into his nose.
“Aw hell!” he screamed falling to the ground with his hands over his now broken and bleeding nostrils. In the fall his hat fell off showing that he was balding in the front. He instinctively reached for his useless shotgun, but I just kicked it away and smashed his hand under my feet getting another scream from him.
“Creed, did you know that if you get on my bad side I’ll destroy you?” I inquired not expecting an answer. “Let’s go over everything you’ve done to piss me off and get on that bad side! Pokémon theft!” I yelled kicking him in the face. I reached down picking him up by the collar. “Pokémon abuse and torture!” I punched him in the face followed by a swift kick to his stomach.
“Pokémon murder!” I grabbed him again and smashed his knee caps with kicks to the legs. I then threw him to the side like the trash he was. “As a bounty hunter, surely you’ve taken the lives of innocent humans as well!” I jumped up to deliver a kick to his rib cage. I chased him while he flew back, spun him around, grabbed his wrists, and planted my right foot on his back. “Associating with Team Rocket!” I pressed as hard as I could until I heard the popping sounds of his shoulders dislocating, then threw him to the ground again.
“But probably your greatest crime of all, the one I most absolutely will not forgive…” I reached down, grabbed his face, and lifted him up while digging my claws into his flesh. Draconic energy flared into my palm illuminating the terror in Creeds eyes. “Making Chane cry! Be gone now!” I yelled blowing his head off with a violent Dragon Pulse. The headless body fell from having nothing to hold it up anymore. In front of me was a triangle of splattered blood littered with fragments of bone. My entire body still trembled with rage.
“Damn you Creed! That wasn’t enough! I hate you so much I wish you were still alive so I could kill you again!” I yelled furiously. I forced myself to relax. Creed was gone and there was nothing that could be done about it now. Besides, I had a much more important matter to take care of. I walked back to Chane who was still crying over Togetic’s body. I crouched next to her and put my hand on her shoulder. “Are you going to be okay?” I asked worriedly.
“It’s not fair. Why do bad things happen to the ones who don’t deserve it?” she responded sadly. “It’s not fair!” she cried turning around to bury her face in my chest. I could already feel the tears soaking through my shirt.
“I know it’s not. It’s a crap sack world out there full of crime and corruption. That’s why we do what we do. The reason I’m in Team Neos is to eliminate people like Creed and Team Rocket. While we haven’t gotten any missions like this yet, I would also like to one day get rid of this corrupt government and legal system that lets those kinds of people exist. Maybe then people and Pokémon can live happily without fear.” I told Chane in an attempt to console her.
“I want to do that too.” she responded in a grieving whisper.
“Hey. What happened?” Eve asked us with concern.
“You don’t know?” I questioned with slight annoyance. I didn’t even bother to look back at her since she should know this already.
“The police showed up to investigate reports of gun shots while you were still fighting. Kaguya, Raiden and I went to stall them. After molesting some female cops, Kaguya got arrested so Raiden has to go to the station and bail him out. I came back to check on you guys.” she explained.
“Creed’s dead but so is Togetic. As you can see, Chane isn’t taking it well.” I informed. From the corner of my eye, I saw Eve crouch next to us.
“It’s been a rough day. Let’s go to the hotel and rest.” she suggested kindly. Highly out of character for her, but in these situations it would seem even she can be nice.
“No. I… I want to give Togetic a proper funeral first.” said Chane pulling away from me wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Of course. Whatever you need.” I accepted.