Chapter 13: Softboiled They practically ran all the way there. When the old man started complaining of his arthritis, Thunders picked him up and carried him. "Ekans, Koffing, Grimer!" Erin shouted. "Let's clean out this place and find the Softboiled rock!" A Pincir assailed them in the wee light, but Koffing slammed into it and Grimer fired Sludge attacks. They knew their comrades were dying in the Pokémon Center, and they fought like the dickens to get to the Softboiled ability stones. "The rocks should be at the end of this tunnel," the old man announced. "Luckily, it's not too far." Ekans ripped through a Scyther that got in it's way, and Koffing pounded another one into submission. At last, they reached the chamber with the Softboiled ability stones. "Here they are!" the man declared. "Those blue pellets will teach those Chansey Softboiled. Take as many as you can carry!" Fire Strike filled their pockets with the pellets. "Now, let's get out of here!" Outside the cave, they had quite an unpleasant surprise. "I thought I'd find you here," Sunder declared. Sunder had expected to shout insults back and forth for a while, then battle with the Pokémon they had left. So he was quite unprepared when Uiru, Geoff, Alex and Matt simultaneously screamed 'YOU SON OF A BITCH!!' and rushed him. "We don't have time for this!" the old man shouted. "We have to get back!" Although Sunder had been sent to ensure they didn't, he wasn't in any condition to stop them after Uiru, Geoff, Alex and Matt were through with him. In seconds, he lay on the ground bleeding from several places, in worse shape then when Primeape and Abra had teamed up on him. "Let's go," the old man declared. The trainers ignored Sunder and walked right past him, except for Jessica. She wound up and gave him a brutal kick in the ribs. "That's for Staryu!" she shouted. As he groaned and nursed the side she had kicked, Jessica went around to the other one and kicked him even harder. "And that's for Marowak! I hope you burn in the pits of hell!" The others were sure she would have stayed and killed him if Uiru hadn't lead her away. "We got the rocks!" Patrick shouted. The Chanseys lined up to recieve the Softboiled power. "Hang on Venonat, just a little longer!" They quickly but efficiently administered the stones to the Chanseys. Now that there was a hope, the Chanseys shrilled their optimistic call and began using Softboiled on the Pokémon! Four of them circled around Sandslash and used Softboiled. The Chanseys glowed green, then transferred the glowing energy to Sandslash. It began to breathe again! "Sandslash!" Uiru shouted. The nurse looked at it. "It's asleep," she replied happily. "It'll be fine by morning!" "YES!!" Uiru jumped four feet in the air. The Chanseys then turned their efforts on Geoff's Kadabra. "Thank you so much!" Jessica said to the old man. "You have no idea what this means to us!" "Don't mention it," the old man replied. "Eternal Night owes the world a lot after developing Bleak Eternal. I'm just glad I could help counter it's terrible effect." "Ivysaur's recovering!" Matt shouted. "Vaporeon!" Showers started to cry, but this time they were tears of joy. "*Ganbare*, Starmie!" Alex cheered. "Kingler's getting better!" Nick announced. The nurse beamed as her Chanseys ran from Pokémon to Pokémon. It only took one Chansey to heal the small Pokémon like Psyduck and Venonat, but more were needed when curing Marowak and the Jynxes. The old man addressed the nurse. "Your Chanseys will require healing after they're done treating the Pokémon." "Why?" "Softboiled isn't a recover technique, it's an energy transfer technique. Since Chanseys have such high endurance, they can use Softboiled, but not very often." He pointed at one tired Chansey. "See, this one must be rejuvinated." The nurse nodded. "I understand. Come here, Chansey!" The nurse healed it, and it went to use Softboiled on Omanyte. Soon, all the Pokémon were asleep. They looked exhausted, but otherwise okay. The Chanseys were also wiped out, but happy. They began singing their annoyingly optimistic 'Chansey' cry. After a little while, the nurse got everyone's attention. "Okay, you lot. If you're going to be tearing after the Flame Force tomorrow, you have to get your sleep tonight. The dorms are this way." "But we want to stay with our Pokémon," Patrick said. "They won't be waking up anytime soon, so you might as well rest," the nurse replied. "Now off to bed!" As they passed him, the trainers shook the old man's hand and thanked him repeatedly. He grinned. "Just glad to be of help," he would reply. The Chanseys saluted him. At the sight, he laughed. "Almost dead?" Booster asked. He had come to pick up Fire Strike from Ivory Lake. "Yeah," Nick replied, holding his Psyduck. "They're all better now, though!" Booster looked around the room. Venonat and Staryu were bouncing around. Growlithe and Marowak were in the loving arms of their owners. And a Kadabra high-fived a giant Kadabra. "Where'd that big Kadabra come from?" Booster asked. "Abra evolved," Uiru replied. "It's Fighting training has been good for it, hasn't it?" "Sure has," Booster said. "All right everyone, I bet you're all ripping to go after Flame Force, right?" "We sure are!" Allison shouted. "Tell me we got a mission, Booster!" Alex asked. "We're gonna blitz 'em good!" "We do," Booster replied. "Come with me, guys." The trainers followed him to the near-empty lounge. "We've got a mission, all right. We're gonna lay seige to the Flame Force fortress, find their boss and give him the boot." "Their base?" Patrick asked. "The entire PLM is gonna be there, aren't they?" "Sure are," Booster replied. "But I want you to know something." "Yeah?" Uiru asked. "This is gonna be dangerous," he started. "Your Pokémon have been on death's door once already, and this time you'll all be in danger. There's no guarantee you'll all come back." The trainers were silent. "So... I want you guys to think about this. You're all just kids. You've got a lot of living left to do. If you don't want to battle, just say so and you can be home by tomorrow. I won't hold it against you if you leave." The trainers looked around at each other. Uiru stood up. "Booster, we've fought the Flame Force this far. I, for one, am going to finish what we've started." "That's right!" Alex declared. "Someone's got to stop them, it might as well be us." "This will be the last battle, won't it? I'm not gonna miss it!" Geoff announced. "Besides, we owe you for saving our town," Erin added. "And mine," Allison spoke up. "I'm not gonna run away. I'm gonna show Flame Force not to mess with Bug power!" Patrick said. "We gotta cream them for what they did to our Pokémon," Matt stated. "And everybody else's," Jessica added. "They've done terrible things, and we wanna punish them for it." "We've done this much as a unit- no, as a team," Nick finished. "I say we go wipe Flame Force off the map as a team." Fire Strike cheered it's agreement. At this point Booster- the big strong army soldier sonofagun- had to wipe his eyes. "I knew you guys wouldn't back out. You're the best bunch of trainers I could ever hope to get stuck with." He grinned. "The PLM specifically requested Fire Strike to be one of the strike teams that infiltrate their hideout and attack from within. The higher-ups are proud of you... and so am I." Fire Strike was touched. "Hey, come on!" Uiru shouted. "There's no time to get emotional about this! We've got a job to do! What're our orders, Booster?" Booster laughed. "You never cease to amaze me, Uiru. All right, soldier, here's our mission! Fire Strike is gonna fly out to one of Flame Force's bases- it's called 'Ruby Torch'. After destroying Ruby Torch, we're gonna take an underground tunnel that leads straight to the Flame Force fortress. Then we find the Boss and smash him flat. Got it?" "Got it!" they shouted. "When are we leaving?" Alex asked. "Right away, I hope!" "Nope... The attack isn't for one week," Booster replied. "So how are we gonna kill a week?" "Simple," Jessica answered. "There's a lot of rare Pokémon around here, isn't there? We'll go catch some new ones!" Booster nodded. "Good plan. Let's head out, then!" As Thunders and Showers passed Booster, they clapped him on the back. "Don't worry about us," Thunders stated. "We're not letting YOU have all the glory!" Booster laughed. "Good to know, my friend," he replied. "Come on then, we got Pokémon to catch." Their Pokémon safari trip would last three days. The first Pokémon they came across was a Magmar. "It's mine," Booster declared. "Charmeleon, go!" Charmeleon quickly creamed Magmar. Booster caught it in a Poké Ball. "Kickass." Later on, a team of Scyther was discovered in a clearing. "Scythers are bugs! I want one!" Patrick declared. "I want one too!" Geoff added. "I get the other one!" Jessica stated. "I'll use my Magmar to weaken them, then you three catch them," Booster offered. The three nodded. "All right, Magmar! Fire Spin, now!" Magmar wrapped the three Scyther up in flame. After a second, the flame disappated. The Bug types were severely weakened by the flames, and were easily caught. Patrick called out his Kakuna and Metapod, and had them battle with wild Paras. It wasn't long before they evolved into Beedrill and Butterfree! "All right!" he shouted. "Hey, guys!" Nick shouted. "There's a big cave over here." The trainers peered down the tunnel. "Dark," Alex stated. "I'll use Charmeleon," Booster stated. "Come out!" Charmeleon's burning tail lit the way as the curious trainers headed down the tunnel. It wasn't long before they reached a huge underground lake. Alex gasped. "Look over there!" he pointed. "A Lapras! I want it!" "Hold on," Uiru inturrupted. "You've got to do this carefully. None of your Pokémon are strong on Lapras, and you'll have to weaken it considerably before a normal Poké Ball will catch it." "I know," Alex replied. "I've always wanted a Lapras. That's why I have this!" Alex pulled out a blue Poké Ball. "This is an Ultra Ball. Best kind of Poké Ball available. I had to order it from some faroff place called Celadon. Took forever to get here." "So it's guaranteed?" Allison asked. "It'll catch it easier. It's still not foolproof though." "I'll use Pikachu!" Thunders declared. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Pikachu emerged from Thunder's Poké Ball and struck Lapras with the awesome power of Thunderbolt. It counterattacked with Ice Beam! Pikachu was frozen! "Ah, damn!" Thunders cursed. "Return!" "I'll finish it! Pikachu, go!" Uiru summoned his Pikachu. "It should we weaker now. Use Thundershock!" Again, Lapras got fried. When it shot an Ice Beam, Pikachu dodged it! "Return!" Uiru shouted. "It should be weak enough now! Ultra Ball, go!" Alex threw the Ultra Ball! Lapras was sucked inside. It bounced around for a good 20 seconds- the longest 20 seconds in Alex's life. Then, it was still. Lapras was his! "YES!!" Alex shouted. "I got Lapras!" "Hey, look over there!" Jessica pointed. "It looks like a Horsea." "It's so cute!" Uiru stated. "It looks like it's hurt," Patrick announced. "Nick, you're the Water expert. Catch it and we'll heal it." "All right," Nick agreed. "Poké Ball, go!" Horsea was caught! "Horseas aren't fighting Pokémon," Nick explained. "But they make really good pets. And like Uiru said, they're cute." "I've got some Super Potion on me," Patrick stated. "Call it out and I'll cure it." "Horsea, come out!" Nick shouted. Horsea appeared, and Nick caught it. "It's so adorable! The poor little thing," Allison said as she looked at it. "Hurry, Patrick! Cure it!" "All right, hang on," he said. He pulled out a potion bottle. "Here we go!" He sprayed Super Potion on Horsea's wounds. "I wonder what happened to it?" Showers asked. Thunders pointed to another part of the lagoon. "Those Magikarp over there must have been bullying it." "What? That's so mean!" Jessica declared. "Uiru, Thundershock those worthless fish." "Don't waste your time," Geoff inturrupted. "A Thunder Wave could kill one of them." "How do you know?" Thunders asked. "Because I have one. I've heard Magikarp evolve into a fearsome beast, but making them evolve is really difficult." "I seriously doubt it," Matt replied. "Magikarps can't even hurt their opponents. Why should they evolve into something really good?" "Do you know anything about it, Showers?" Erin asked. "Not a thing," Showers replied. "I'm more interested in Water Pokémon that learn Ice abilities." "I've never even seen a Magikarp before," Nick replied when asked. "Anyway, let's go," Booster spoke up. "There's nothing else down here worth catching." The next day, a sole Diglett popped it's head out of it's hole. "Oh, look!" Allison pointed. "It's one of those adorable Diglett things. I'll catch it! Primeape, go!" Primeape soundly thrashed Diglett. Before it fell unconscious, Allison caught it! As Allison was celebrating the capture of her sixth Pokémon, a Tangela bounced into the clearing. "It's a Tangela!" Matt shouted. "It's the last Grass Pokémon I need to complete my collection! Ivysaur, go! Vine Whip, now!" It took a few shots but at last, Matt caught Tangela. While this was going on, Erin had spotted two Poison Pokémon she didn't have- a male and female Nidoran. Ekans and Koffing quickly weakened them and Erin caught 'em. "There's only one place we havn't been," Geoff declared as Erin and Matt collected their winnings. "They've got a few Electric Pokémon in a cavern west of here." "I could use a new Electric Pokémon," Thunders said to himself. On the way, Uiru's Squirtle evolved into Wartortle, and Jessica's Machop evolved into Machoke. Patrick's Venonat evolved into Venomoth, and Geoff's Nidoran evolved into Nidorino. Two Electabuzz awaited Fire Strike when they entered the cave. Jessica summoned Marowak. "Bonemerang, now!" The dual-hitting Bonemerang struck twice- one and then the other. Marowak gave each a good shot with it's Bone Club, and they were ready to capture. Jessica and Thunders threw Poké Balls, and the Electabuzzes were theirs. On the way back to the Pokémon Center, a Pincir appeared on the path. It snapped it's pincir menacingly. "It's mine!" Uiru declared. "Wait!" Patrick shouted. "Pincir is a Bug type. Let me take it!" "But-" "You want a balanced team, right? You already have a Bug type." Patrick was right. Butterfree was a Bug type. "All right, you can have it." "Thanks! Venomoth, Butterfree, go!" Pincir quickly got pounded by Venomoth's PSY Beam and Butterfree's Confusion attacks. It tried to strike back with Seismic Toss, but the two flying Pokémon simply fluttered back and retaliated. Patrick had to attempt to catch Pincir three times- it was a tough one, but he eventually succeeded. "Now I've got all my Bug types!" Uiru kicked a rock. "Now I'm behind! I've still only got five." "Yes, but you've got Kadabra," Jessica reminded him. "That more then makes up for it, doesn't it?" "I guess you're right. Oh well. I'll wait until something special comes along." On the third day, only three Pokémon were caught. The others simply fought their Pokémon against the wild creatures to power them up. Nothing evolved, however. First was Geoff's sixth- a Growlithe. His Dratini made short work of the puppy Pokémon. Next, a rare Drowzee happened to be found on the path. Erin sent her Nidorans to battle it, and in a few moments, she had her last Pokémon. The last catch of the day was made by Nick. "Yeah! I caught Squirtle!" he shouted. Omanyte had given the cute turtle Pokémon a beating, and Nick had captured it. With Squirtle, Nick also had six Pokémon. Back at the Center, the mood was jubilant. Most of the trainers now had their six Pokémon. Since Uiru's Abra had evolved, the new cutie of Fire Strike was Nick's Horsea. Since being treated, Horsea seemed to be making a great recovery. "What kind of attacks can Horsea use?" Nick asked. "I thought you weren't gonna use it for fighting," Jessica reminded. "Not serious fighting, but it might help in a jam," he replied. Uiru pulled a book off a shelf. "I'll look it up," he announced. "Ah, here we go. Horsea learns Bubble, a Water attack, Smoke Screen, a very powerful Accuracy lowering maneover, Water Gun, a more powerful Water attack, Agility, a Psychic move which will increase speed, and Hydro Pump, the most powerful Water move available. Horsea may also learn moves like Bubblebeam, Take Down, Ice Beam and Double Team. When it evolves into Seadra, it can use it's razor sharp fins to Scratch and Slash the enemy." "But for now, all it has to do is look cute," Erin replied. "And it's doing a great job of it." "Hey Uiru!" Matt shouted. "What are you after for your sixth Pokémon?" "Get an Ice type," Alex suggested. "They're really powerful!" "No, get a Poison type," Erin replied. "The right one will make a powerful addition." "Try a Dragon type," Geoff stated. "Even though they're really rare..." "I don't know what I want yet," Uiru replied. "I've got Bug-Flying, Electric, Water, Ground, and Psychic. Whatever I get, won't be one of those." "Mebbe a Fire type?" Booster asked. "Like Flareon?" Uiru shrugged. "Maybe. I want something special though. Not just a regular Pokémon you can find anywhere." "The Pokémon around here are rare," Geoff replied. "I know. But everybody's already caught them. I'll know what I want when I see it." Booster stood up. "Okay everyone. Tomorrow we're heading back to Charteruse to prepare for the invasion. So if you've got something major to do, do it now, okay?" The trainers nodded. Jessica was in the lobby, getting a drink from the vending machine. Uiru knew now was the time to make his move. "Hi," he started. Not the most original pickup line in the world, but hey, it works. "Hey," Jessica replied. She knew what was coming, but acted like she didn't. "You know, tomorrow we're heading back to prepare for war, and then we'll be having one big battle after another. It's gonna go on for days." Jessica nodded. "So, I was wondering," he continued, "if before all hell breaks loose around here, you wanted to come get some dinner with me?" "Oh, you mean like a date?" "Yeah." "Sure. And yes, you have to pay for it." "Ah, damn." They passed Showers on the way out. "And where are you two off to?" she asked with a smile. "Nowhere in preticular," Uiru replied. "See you later," Jessica added. They headed out the door. Showers went to the lounge with the others. "Where'd Uiru go?" Booster was asking. "I need to talk to him about something." "You won't be talking to him anytime tonight," Showers replied. "I just passed him and Jessica on the way out of here." Thunders heard this. "Damn, man," he complained. "Jessica's the kind of girl that makes me wish I was 10 years younger." "Why?" Booster asked. "So I don't look like a perv if I ask her out," he replied. Showers laughed. "Yes, society looks down upon adults who ask teenagers out." "Quiet, you." At the stroke of midnight, Uiru and Jessica slipped back into the Center. The nurse caught them. "You two are late," she scolded. "I was just about to lock the place up." "Sorry," Uiru replied. "I hope you two weren't doing anything you shouldn't be," the nurse warned. "No, of course not!" Jessica answered. "Good. Now get to bed." The nurse herded them to the dorms. "And keep it down, your friends are all asleep." They climbed into bunks across from each other. "I hope you two weren't doing anything you shouldn't be," Jessica mimiced. "Geez. Who does she think we are?" "A pair of infatuated adolescents," came Nick's reply from a top bunk. "Reason enough to suspect you both." Uiru and Jessica got up and hit him. "Shut up!" they hissed.