Chapter Eight: Razor Leaf A small number of Rock trainers broke through the defence and attempted to assail the gates. But Uiru and his crew were waiting for them! "Graveler, go!" "Omastar, go!" "Marowak, go!" "Dugtrio, go!" "Rhydon, go!" "Onix, go!" Allison stepped behind Matt. "Those... are really big, you know that?" Curtis laughed. "They're still Pokémon, and all Pokémon have weaknesses. Grass and Water, specifically." "Yeah," Matt replied. "Call out your Kabuto. Bulbasaur, Paras, Bellsprout, go!" "Sandslash, Dig!" Uiru shouted. "Slow down that Onix!" "Uiru!" Nick shouted. "Omastar is part Water type! My Pokémon can't- Krabby, return!- can't fight it!" "I got it," Uiru replied. "Go, Pikachu! Thunderbolt Omastar!" With Nick's Tentacool and Psyduck backing it up, Pikachu shocked Omastar until it fainted. Knowing the rest were all part Ground, Uiru recalled Pikachu. "Staryu, use the Surf power!" Jessica ordered. Staryu wound up and delivered a gigantic blast of water right in Rhydon's face. Sandslash had been aggrivating Onix for some time now, but Onix struck it with a counterattack! "Sandslash, return! Squirtle, go!" "Bellsprout, Vine Whip!" Marowak now had to contend with Grass-type lashes from the diminuitive Bellsprout. It tried to use Bonemerang, but Bellsprout caught it with a Whip! Dugtrio, master of the Dig ability, tunneled underground and then blasted Kabuto from below. Weakened, Kabuto countered with Absorb, sapping it's strength and replenishing it's own. "Do it again!" Allison shouted. Soon Dugtrio was out of it. "Is there something wrong with your Bellsprout?" Nick asked Matt. "I don't think so..." "It's glowing." "Oh... It's gonna evolve now! Bulbasaur, protect Bellsprout while it evolves!" Bulbasaur took over Bellsprout's Vine Whipping duties as it evolved into Weepinbell! "Bulbasaur, Weepinbell! Double Razor Leaf!" Using their needle-sharp leaves of fury, Weepinbell and Bulbasaur knocked out the already weakened Rhydon and Marowak. Staryu geared up and launched a huge stream of water at Graveler, who fainted because of it. "Now it's only Onix," Uiru shouted. "You think we only have one Pokémon?" the Rock trainers shouted. Another wave of Ground and Rock types were sent to the front lines, but Weepinbell and Bulbasaur kept them at bay. "Rhyhorn, attack!" Curtis sent out the unevolved form of Rhydon to battle Onix. "Rhyhorn, Rock Throw!" Rhyhorn jumped up in the air and crashed into Onix's rocky hide. It bounced off Onix and landed with an incredible crash, but not without doing some damage first. Squirtle jumped on Staryu and they hovered up to Onix's head to spray it with Water Gun. But Onix let out a deafening roar that paralyzed them with fear! Staryu slowly floated to the ground behind Bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur and Weepinbell are running out of energy!" Matt shouted. "Call them back!" a voice shouted. "Fire Strike! Call all your Pokémon back!" "What? Who are you?" Uiru asked, looking around. A young man about Uiru's age came out to the front lines. "Call your Pokémon back. My Ice types may damage them by accident. Jynx, Starmie, go!" "A Starmie?" Jessica asked. "Is that evolved from a Staryu?" Nick nodded. "Jynx, Blizzard! Starmie, Hydro Pump!" Not only did the superpowerful attacks take down Onix, they literally washed the Rock trainers down the street and almost out of Sapphire City entirely. Uiru turned to the Ice type trainer. "Wow, you really showed them! What's your name?" he asked. "My name's Alex," he replied. "Jynx, Starmie, return." "Let's chat after we clean up this mess," Uiru decided. "Booster might need our help at the front lines." As it turned out, the Rock Brigade got whipped. Fire Strike dumped them all in one spot. Curtis, Patrick and Nick got stuck with guard duty. "So, your name's Alex," Booster said. "Thanks for helping out my squad today." "No problem," Alex replied. "What's your affiliation, soldier?" Booster asked. "Freelance. I fight anything dumb enough to attack my town." "Fair enough," Booster replied. "Your Pokémon seem to have extraordinary skills. We could use a trainer like you." "I'm not sure I want to join an army." Just then Curtis came in. "Sorry to barge in, but the Rock Brigade leader insists on talking to you." "Hm. I wonder what he has to say. What do you two think?" Uiru and Alex shrugged. "All right, send him in." The Rock Brigade leader was a tall, thin man. He glared at Booster, Uiru and Alex. "Who do you people think you are? Invading Charteruse and now Sapphire?" "We didn't invade either!" Uiru shouted. "We liberated Charteruse and we came to Sapphire to defend it from you!" "Liberated Charteruse? Who are you?" the Rock leader demanded. "We are Fire Strike unit of the Pokémon Liberation movement," Booster replied grandly. "We're here to clean up trash like Flame Force," Uiru added. "And anything that threatens Sapphire," Alex finished. "You mean you're fighting AGAINST Flame Force?" "Yeah, what did you think?" Uiru asked. "So you were... And we were... ARRGH! Those idiots screwed up big this time!" "What do you mean?" Booster asked. "You're the ones who screwed up." "Not us, our management. They're all morons. None of them can tell up from down. When they heard a group called 'Fire Strike' was headed for Sapphire, they assumed it was part of Flame Force and sent us to deal with it. That's why all our Pokémon are Ground and Rock type, we were expecting Fire resistance!" Uiru looked at Booster. Booster returned the glance. "So you guys are fighting the Flame Force," Booster asked. "In that case, I'll cut you a deal! If Rock Brigade joins the PLM, we won't arrest you and release all your Pokémon." "Are you sure about that?" Alex asked. "Hey, I thought you weren't interested in joining," Booster replied. "Yeah, well, now I am," Alex answered. "Can I discuss this with my troops?" the Rock leader requested. "Go right ahead," Booster answered. "You have until tomorrow to decide." Curtis took him back to the holding area. "I want to join Fire Strike," Alex declared. "I want to beat the enemy before they attack my town, instead of waiting for them to come." "Good plan," Booster replied. Behind him, the phone started to ring. "You know, I really hate the noise these things make. Booster," he stated when he picked up the reciever. "Yeah boss, we beat them. Actually, there was a bit of a mixup, and they joined us." Uiru and Alex could hear shouting. "I'm getting to that. They didn't mean to attack us, they were battling the Flame Force and thought we were them." More shouting. "I know it was stupid, but we're all on the same side and we can use all the help we can get." The boss must have been calming down, because Uiru and Matt couldn't hear him anymore. "Right, boss. What's our next move?" A pause. "Back to Charteruse? All right, we're on our way." He hung up. "Uiru, go tell the troops we're heading out. Alex, I hope you don't get airsick, because that's just what we need." Curtis decided he was gonna join up with Rock Brigade. "What can I say? I'm a Rock trainer. I want to run with my own crowd." Rock Brigade became a seperate unit under the PLM. Their leader, John, contacted the Boss and worked everything out. The Boss wanted to keep them close by for a while, so he ordered them to return to base and aid with the defence. Although small, Rock Brigade was full of powerful Pokémon and highly skilled trainers. They returned to their own base and prepared to move it all over to PLM HQ. "See you Curtis!" Allison waved. "Give 'em hell!" Matt shouted. "Good luck!" Nick added. "I had a blast with you guys. Keep it up! See ya!" Curtis and the Rock Brigade headed out. Fire Strike and the other units headed back to Charteruse. The Boss reported that the whole area around Charteruse and Sapphire had been wiped of the Flame Force, so they could take a break. "Hey Booster, doesn't that mean we won't be fighting for a while?" Alex asked. Booster shook his head. "The Boss likes Fire Strike. I'm sure pretty soon he'll call us up to go bail him out, so don't worry. Enjoy this little break while you can, troops." Uiru and the others headed to the Pokémon Center to recuperate. Thunders and Showers came in. "So, boss. How was your trip?" they asked. "It was all right. We got a new member on Fire Strike, an Ice trainer named Alex. Curtis left though." "An Ice trainer, you say?" Showers asked. "Hmm... Some of my Water Pokémon have Ice powers. Maybe we should talk shop later on." "I want to know what the deal is with this Uiru kid," Thunders asked. "He's practically your first lieutentant. What's the deal?" "Jealous, Thunders?" Booster asked. "That kid happens to have a ton of potential, and some really powerful Pokémon to boot. You should pay attention to him- he may be young but he knows a lot." "Calm down, Thunders," Showers chuckled. "Some little kid isn't gonna outrank you anytime soon- unless of course you lose your edge." "I'll show you my edge!" he shouted, clutching a Poké Ball. Showers laughed again. "We both know your Electric types would blow my Water types off the planet." "Then be quiet," he growled. "And I've heard them talking. Matt knows more then Uiru does. Matt's practically teaching Uiru how to train." "Is he now?" Showers asked. "It may have started that way, but I've seen them both in action. Uiru took command of a squad of adorable Sandshrew and blasted a Charizard out of the skies with them!" "Yeah, I remember that," Booster replied. "We heard the crash from inside the Center! That's why most of the Flame Force took off. Sandslash's Rock Slide scared them." "And Matt's very good too," Showers continued. "Even though he's only got a puny Bellsprout and Paras. His Bulbasaur has promise though." "Weepinbell," Booster corrected. "It evolved fighting Rock Brigade. And don't forget his Exeggcute." "That's right, I forgot," Showers admitted. "I wish I had seen Matt in action at Sapphire," Booster stated. "Uiru tells me his Grass types ruled. Bulbasaur and Weepinbell kept a squad of Rock types at bay while they fought the Onix." Thunders growled. "Just wait until we get assaulted by something that uses Water Pokémon. Then you'll see my skill!" He stormed out of the room. Showers laughed. "Do you think we should remind him there are no Water Pokémon up here?" Booster laughed louder. "I think we should let him calm down," he said afterwards. "He likes to battle but hasn't been able to dominate anywhere lately." Showers nodded. "You know what we havn't done in ages?" Matt asked. "We've been so busy battling, we havn't had time to catch new Pokémon!" "That's right!" Jessica agreed. "We should go have a serious training session. Are there any good places to catch Pokémon around here, Allison?" "There are some Grass, Ground and Bug types in the mountains west of here," Allison replied. "Grass, Ground and Bug," Uiru echoed. "Sounds like Turcott Park all over again." "I have a feeling they'll be a little stronger then those Pokémon," Matt spoke up. "After all, we are a long way from home." "That's right," Allison realized. "Guys... You aren't mad at me for dragging you into this, are you?" "Hell no!" Jessica answered. "We've been having a blast. Right Uiru? Matt?" "Yeah," Matt agreed. "We came up here to help you take back your hometown. Now that we've done that, we can make a vacation out of it." "Let's go then!" Uiru declared. "Mind if we come along?" Patrick asked. "We need some new ones too," Nick added. "Sure you can," Allison agreed. As they were leaving, Alex came up to them. "May I come too?" he asked. Uiru nodded. "All right then." "What Pokémon do you have, anyway?" Jessica asked. "I've got four Pokémon: Jynx, Starmie, Seel and Shellder," Alex declared. "How about you?" Uiru held up a Poké Ball. "I've got five: Butterfree, Sandslash, Pikachu, Abra, and Squirtle." Jessica was next. "I have four: Gastly, Machop, Cubone and Staryu." "I've got four too," Matt announced. "Bulbasaur, Weepinbell, Exeggcute and Paras." "I also have four," Nick stated. "I've got Tentacool, Omanyte, Krabby and Psyduck." "My five Pokémon are Beedrill, Mankey, Kabuto, Growlithe and Magnemite," Allison declared. "I only have two: Venonat and Parasect," Patrick admitted. "But I'm gonna catch more!" "Now that the exposition is over, we should cure our Pokémon before we head out," Uiru suggested.