Insert
[Name]
- I -
Chapter V
**********
As I was thinking about which of my Pokémon I’d use
and all the usual battle related stuff, we neared the bend. Suddenly something
brown and furry shot out of the shrubs at high speed. I saw it just in time to
jump back a bit and it barely missed my legs. I heard an impact to my left and
the sound of wood splintering, and when I turned I saw a giant rat chomping
away on a piece of railing. I was about to shout at it, but I was cut off by
laughter. A man in black walked out from behind the bushes, still chuckling
slightly, and stood in front of us with his arms crossed.
“And where exactly do you think you’re going?” He
sneered at us. I was tempted to throw in an obvious sarcastic answer, but Rose
beat me to it.
“Forward.” She stated dryly. The Rocket frowned at her
and looked as if he was about to blow up. “What? Dumb question, dumb answer.”
“Why you! Raticate, Hyper Fang!” He yelled, to which
the rat dropped the wood it was chewing on and launched itself forward towards
Rose. I tried to act, but it was going too fast, and Rose herself seemed
shocked too. It would have her by the time I even reached my Pokéballs. Just as
it was about to clamp onto her leg an orange blur hit it right in the face.
Maxim, who was still holding his fish, had tossed his Magikarp right at it the
moment the Rocket had shouted the command.
“You guys go on ahead, I’ll deal with him.” He stated,
eyes locked with the Rocket. I resisted the urge to question his sanity and
started to round the bend. The Rocket tried block my path, but Gastly suddenly
appeared in front of him and Licked him on the kisser. As the ghost laughed
hysterically and paralysis kicked in, the Rocket fell to the ground in agony.
We watched it with wide open eyes until a loud bang ripped through the air. At
first I thought it was a gunshot, but after I ran around the corner I saw what
might just be an even more pitiful sight than the squirming Rocket. His boss
and a second grunt were trying to bump start a relic from a bygone era.
“I don’t even want to know…” I muttered while starting
to wonder if I’d overestimated Team Rocket and they really were just as
pathetic as Jesse and James after all. No offence to them, they were great
comic relief, but this was just bad with a capital B. Or maybe that had to be
in full caps.
“I should’ve known he’d mess things up.” The man with
the slightly fancier uniform said in an annoyed tone before abandoning their
scrapheap. “I guess when you want things done right you have to do them
yourself. What do you want? Can’t you see we’re busy?”
“Busy stealing Pokémon from innocent trainers!” Rose
snapped while Haunter hovered behind her. “Now give them back!”
“That’s going to be a bit hard. I can’t carry them all
in one go, but if you insist. The Pokéballs we’ve taken are in the truck behind
me. Beat me in a Pokémon battle and they’re all yours. If you lose, I’ll take
yours. Three on three, no time limit. So how does that sound?”
“You’re on.” I heard myself say. I knew Rose only had
Haunter, and Maxim, well, he only had Magikarp. So me with my five headed line
up seemed the most obvious choice. Still, it was only my second real battle. I
must’ve been out of my mind. The Rocket smirked as he reached into a pocket.
“Growlithe, let’s show these punks who they’re messing
with!” He snapped as the puppy Pokémon took form in front of him. It was a lot
larger than the average puppies I’d seen, its orange fur bristling as it
growled at me ferociously with bared teeth. Growlithe was a Fire type and as my
brain processed that information it spit out the answer. My hand searched the
right Pokéball and I quickly pressed the release.
“Alright,” I started while trying to remember the name
I gave my Diglett. The tiny brown mole quickly formed and chirped its name.
“Minimum, start things off with Magnitude.” I ordered quickly, knowing my
Diglett was one of the faster, if not the fastest, Pokémon on my team, and
knowing Growlithe was weak against that move.
“So that’s how you want to play, huh? Growlithe, use
Ember!” The Rocket said, probably knowing running was futile against Magnitude.
But it looked like luck wasn’t on my side. Magnitude’s power varies every time,
and this one was particularly weak. Growlithe withstood it easily and in turn
sprayed hot embers at Minimum.
“Dig!” I shouted quickly, with my Pokémon responding
immediately to my relief. Diglett disappeared under ground and the Ember attack
did nothing but scorch the earth a bit. The Rocket snorted in annoyance and I
half expected him to call me a coward, but instead he kept quiet.
“Wait for it.” He said to the dog, who was starting to
glance around frantically. I didn’t order anything, since Minimum wouldn’t hear
me anyway and it would only give away what would come next. I took a gamble and
hoped my Pokémon would improvise on its own. Suddenly the ground gave way
underneath the Growlithe, who yelped in surprise as the earth swallowed it. The
Rocket swore loudly as he realized he made a mistake by telling his Pokémon to
stay put where it was. Diglett had abused this by digging a pit underneath the
Fire type and having it cave in, trapping it.
“Magnitude again Minimum!” I ordered to take advantage
of Growlithe’s surprise. This one was a lot more powerful than the last, and
Growlithe was in pain. Suddenly a thin red beam sucked it up; the Rocket had
recalled it. “Good going, that’s one down!”
“I wouldn’t celebrate just yet, punk. Drowzee, time to
wake up!” I grunted at the Rocket’s words. A Psychic type. And a very weird
looking one at that, with some sort of small trunk and a lower body that didn’t
seem to fit the top. “Head butt!”
“Mud slap, quick!” Both Pokémon moved towards each
other, Drowzee lowering its head on the approach. Minimum made a quick dash and
stopped abruptly, spraying dirt ahead of him due to the momentum. Drowzee who
took a nice face full cried out in surprise and stopped its attack to rub its
eyes. “Good job, now follow up with Magnitude!”
“Didn’t think so, Drowzee use Disable!” Just as my
tiny Diglett prepared to shake the earth Drowzee heard its trainer’s command
and froze Minimum with its psychic powers. “Yes! That’s the way to do it! Now,
finish it off, Confusion!”
“Minim, move! Use Dig!” I shouted in a desperate
attempt to keep my advantage. Diglett were small and agile Pokémon, very fast,
but not very great in the stamina department. Minimum tried to move, but the
Disable wouldn’t budge. Drowzee didn’t waste much time and enveloped the tiny
mole with its telekinesis and started to up the pressure. I pulled out
Minimum’s Pokéball and was about to call him back, until he suddenly started
glowing brightly. I watched in awe as the tiny thing started changing shape,
becoming a bit bigger and seemingly growing two extra heads. The Rocket growled
in frustration at the evolution, not that I could blame him. Dugtrio would win
now. “Awesome.”
“Rats, I can’t believe your luck, kid! Never mind,
Drowzee, Poison Gas.” My eyes widened at the command, but Dugtrio was already
gone. I thought he’d be safe under ground, but as Drowzee released the
poisonous cloud I saw it stayed low instead of dissipating into the air like I
was expecting. In fact, to my surprise it followed Dugtrio down his hole, and
as I cursed under my breath I saw why. Drowzee was manipulating the cloud with
its psychic abilities. Suddenly Dugtrio surfaced a few meters to my right, and
he wasn’t looking very well.
“Dang…” I knew I had to finish this one quickly now,
or else I might lose Dugtrio. “Right, enough is enough, Magnitude!”
This one was even stronger than the last, and Drowzee
just couldn’t stay up. It fainted before the Rocket could recall it, meaning I
now held a fairly big number advantage. I was still on my first, while he was
down to his last. Victory was mine. “I have to admit that you’re a potent
trainer, despite having such a weak Pokémon. Play time is over, go Fearow!” The
Rocket tossed a ball straight up, and as it opened a massive brownish bird took
shape in the sky above. I was getting slightly worried now. I had nothing to
counter Flying types. And Dugtrio, despite his evolution, still wouldn’t stand
a chance since he just couldn’t hit the Fearow up there. The Rocket’s mouth
curled up into a smirk, and I knew then he was going to let the poison do its
job and wouldn’t risk his bird. Defeated, I recalled Dugtrio before the poison
sapped too much of his strength.
“Right, come on Mach, let’s show him who rules the
sky!” I said as I called on my Pidgeotto. It was the closest thing to a counter
I could come up with. Mach would actually be able to hit the Fearow and fight
it on even grounds; in the air. Mach was smaller than the large Fearow, but if
she could just stay clear of the beak and get in some hit-and-run Quick Attacks
thinks would work out.
**********
“I want my Pokémon back!” Maxim growled at the Rocket
while he was holding the poor paralyzed guy up by the collar. However, the
paralyzing effect of Gastly’s Lick attack was starting to wear off, and the
Rocket was able to actually speak sensibly again. “Now give them to me!”
“R-Raticate, Tackle!” Maxim’s eyes widened in
realization, but the small rodent slammed into him before he could act, causing
him to stumble backwards and drop the Rocket, who slowly rose back to his feet.
“Heheheh… You’re in for it now kid, I’m not happy!”
“Bring it!” Maxim glared before turning to the only
Magikarp he had left. “Alright number one, get ready and use Tackle!” The
Magikarp would no doubt have complied if it was able to, but all it could do
was flutter helplessly on the ground at his feet, muttering ‘karp, karp, karp’ over and over. The
Rocket lost it completely and nearly laughed himself to death at the pitiful
sight. Maxim growled in frustration. “Get in the water you idiot!”
“Raticate, help his friend would you? Slam!” The
Rocket chuckled as he wiped the tears from his eyes. However, to his great
surprise Magikarp number one actually Splashed itself out of the way of
Raticate’s tail which then slammed into the wooden jetty. Magikarp landed in
the water, and Maxim cheered inwardly before realizing a small problem. Both
Raticate and Magikarp were bound to physical attacks, but Magikarp couldn’t
attack on land, and he doubted the Rocket would risk trying to take him on in
the water, despite Raticate’s swimming abilities. ‘Oh man… This is going to be a very boring match…’
**********
I growled as Mach took another hit. She was trying her
very best to keep up with the Fearow, but it just hadn’t been good enough. Now
she was looking quite beaten up, and I was having trouble letting her go on
like this. Still, I had to try. “Mach, Quick Attack!”
“Again? You don’t learn, do you. Fearow, Mirror Move!”
Things went exactly as they had before. Mach darted towards Fearow almost
faster than my eyes could follow, but Fearow mirrored the move perfectly, using
it to dodge the attack and land its own attack on Mach as she passed underneath
it. I flinched as they made contact and the Pidgeotto’s cry ripped through the
air. I spared her the impact with the ground and recalled her before she
reached it on the way down. What did that leave me with? Blaze, who wouldn’t be
able to hit the thing, Caesar, who was at a type disadvantage, and the recently
caught Gastly, who I didn’t know yet and who could just as well disobey my
orders. I frowned as I tried to think of a strategy that would work. The Rocket
would probably use Blaze’s own attacks against him, use Flying moves on Caesar,
… or Pursuit on Gastly. I had completely forgotten about Pursuit. Surely Fearow
knew the attack, especially if it knew Mirror Move. That ruled out Gastly.
“Well?”
“Take it easy, I’m thinking…” I replied to the
impatient Rocket. Suddenly an idea hit me, and I reached for a Pokéball. “Come
on Caesar!”
“What?! Rick, what are you doing?! That’s a Bug type!”
Rose screamed as the Butterfree took form, even though she was right next to
me. It seemed I’d forgotten about her as well. I had been told before that I
completely cut myself off from the world when reading, but this was insane.
“I know. Just trust me on this one.” I said to calm
her nerves. Or calm my own nerves; I definitely wasn’t sure if this would work.
“You made a big mistake, boy! Fearow, use Peck!” The
Rocket shouted, practically able to physically touch his victory. Fearow was
just as eager as its master and launched itself forward in a frontal attack. I
bided my time with the command I was about to give until it was almost there.
“Now! Confusion!” Caesar responded immediately and hit
the Fearow dead in the face with a psychic blast, sending it reeling backwards
until it was able to regain control of its own flight. Slightly dazed, it
hovered for a moment to shake off the impact. Its master then called for a
Mirror Move, something I was expecting, and I countered with Double Team, a TM
I knew I had taught it in my game. Soon the sky was filled with Butterfree
copies, and Fearow’s Confusion passed right through a false one and harmlessly flew
off into the distance. “Follow up with Supersonic!”
“Oh no you don’t, Fearow use Aerial Ace, now!” The
alarm bells in my head went off louder than ever at that command as Fearow
suddenly swooped around in a large circle, quickly taking out all the copies it
ran into. The real Caesar was only a handful of fakes away when he emitted the
supersonic wave, sending the Fearow off course as it hit the invisible wall of
sound, causing it to miss by a hair. I didn’t hear a thing, and I doubted
Fearow did either, but it sure felt the effects. The mighty bird looked fairly
sick already, and Caesar wasn’t letting up.
“Give up, you can’t win now.” I said, and meaning it.
“You have to be kidding me!” The Rocket snorted at
what he must’ve thought was a ridiculous suggestion.
“Well, it’s about to hit the water.” I pointed out,
causing him to look up. Fearow let out a wimpy cry before going into a steep
dive, aiming directly at the ocean in an impressive spiral. The Rocket cursed
loudly as his bird crashed into the water, sending a large splash up into the
air. The bird fluttered in the water as it desperately tried to keep its head
above the waterline. After a few seconds of this I scowled at the Rocket and
snapped at him. “Hey, are you going to recall it or what? You’ve lost, there’s
no reason it should drown!” My comment seemed to snap him from whatever he was
thinking about and he reluctantly called his Fearow back into its Pokéball.
“This isn’t over yet, boy. Mark my words.” He snarled
at me before turning to his comrade. “Jason, Billy, we’re- Where the hell is
Jason?!”
Just then a loud scream of terror came from behind us
and the third Rocket ran past, roughly pushing me out of the way while babbling
incomprehensibly. Soon after a deafening roar followed and a large blue sea
monster looking like one of those mythical Chinese dragons swam past in the
ocean at tremendous speed. The Gyarados seemed to be after grunt number three,
who by now was well on his way to the town in the distance. After a few moments
of speechless awe, his boss and the second grunt ran after him, abandoning the
antique, Pokéball-laden truck. Maxim suddenly appeared behind us, laughing
loudly while pointing at the retreating Team Rocket. His Magikarp must’ve
evolved…
**********
- II -
Author’s Note
And one pointless
feud with a Team Rocket member for monsieur/madam. So first contact has been
made. Fear the grudge! *cough* Anyway, I didn’t think the battle would be this
big. If I had left this chapter as part of the last one it would’ve been quite
a massive chapter. Though I doubt you’re all very happy with it, I’m pretty
glad to have cut it in two after all.
By the way,
I’ve been nominated for the BIC, so everybody vote for me! >O
Chapter six:
Finally reaching
**********
- III -
Legal Gibberish
I do not
in any way own Pokémon or any of its copyrights and rights of other merchandise
related to it. All characters and places in this story are entirely fictional
and taken from or based on various aspects of the Pokémon universe. Any form of
copying and/or misuse of this story by others will be reported. Please respect
the imagination and effort made by others. Stealing is bad, don’t do it.
WeirdDutchGuy