Chapter 76 - 12-13

Rainbow​

It's important to remember that battles are supposed to be fun. — Nimbasa City Gym Leader Elesa Kamitsure​

Good luck, Marcus! Whole bar is rooting for you! Wish I could be there!

I looked up from my gear, a confident smile etched on my face. I had this. I could win this battle. I had people behind me, people I didn't even know who knew my name.

The doors cracked open and the sweet smell of flowers wafted into the hallway. I exhaled one last time and stepped out into the arena.

I held up one arm, blocking the blinding stadium lights. I could barely see, but my feet knew which way to go. I crossed to my waiting platform, peering across the battlefield at my opponent.

Erika was already waiting on her platform, clad in a dazzling kimono that shimmered in every colour of the rainbow. Her smile was kind and genuine and I resolved to speak with her after the battle regardless of the result. She met my eyes with her own and nodded respectfully.

"WELCOME ONE AND ALL!" Boomed the announcer. "WE HAVE A TREAT FOR YOU TONIGHT!"

The crowd roared in answer and I felt my platform rise off the ground.

The lights dimmed and the announcer's voice quieted slightly. "Intermediate challenger, Marcus Wright has challenged Leader Erika Minwha for his fourth Indigo League badge."

The massive screen adorning one wall of the arena lit up, the league crest spinning into view. Erika's face appeared alongside four pokeballs. My own face appeared on my side of the screen, my four pokeballs appearing under my face.

"Both Leader and challenger will be using four pokemon today. The challenger may use two substitutions at any point while Leader Erika may not."

The lights flooded the field and even though I knew what was coming, it could never have prepared me. The ground split open, the two halves of the opening sliding apart to reveal the true battlefield beneath.

I gasped as a slice of tropical greenery rose into place. A canopy of leaves rose towards me, obscuring the battlefield floor. I fought to keep my jaw from dropping as the trees kept rising, stretching far above my head.

The battlefield ground into place with the heavy whirr of machinery. I closed my mouth and smirked across the field at Erika. I'd seen stadiums change battlefield's before but never in person, much less as one of the participants. It was truly awe inspiring.

I raised my first ball, already knowing who I was using as my lead. I pushed away the distractions, tuned out the crowd, and set my eyes on my opponent.

Erika imitated me from her own platform, her first ball ready and waiting. She nodded slightly, giving me the courtesy of releasing my pokemon first.

I tossed my ball up, watching it burst open with a confident grin. I had a heavy edge, with three of my four pokemon possessing type advantages over grass types. Typing wasn't everything, something that I had proved in spades during my challenges, but it definitely was an advantage.

Pride materialized from the flash of red light. He trampled a small path through the underbrush and looked up at me. My nidorino pawed at the ground and snorted impatiently, waiting for an opponent to appear.

Erika's pokemon appeared opposite Pride and I nodded in acknowledgement. The pokemon's signature stench filled the air, making my eyes water even at a distance. The strange little pod shook the flower on its head and I fought back the urge to gag on the smell.

"Leader Erika has chosen 'Gum' the vileplume to start the battle against the challenger's 'Pride' the nidorino."

I smirked. Erika's intermediate team had nothing that could hit Pride effectively. He would be immune to any poison effects and could effectively wall most of Gum's grass type attacks.

Erika bowed her head, ceremonially conceding the first move to me. I bowed my head in return as the crowd began to swell with excitement.

"Light as a feather!" I shouted, my voice booming over the field louder and more confident than any of my previous battles. "Get in close!"

Pride bounded forward, keeping his head up instead of lowering his horn and charging. We'd been working on his agility almost since I had caught him. He would never be as fast as Luna, or even Vector, but he was faster than he looked.

Gum pointed the flower on his head at Pride and I watched it bulge slightly. I waited carefully, watching the bulb of the flower quiver slightly.

"Sidestep turn!" I roared, knowing that the gloom was close to losing hold on the attack.

Pride leapt to the side mid-stride. Gum tried to compensate as my nidorino charged off on a different trajectory, but the vileplume couldn't follow fast enough.

A cone of paralytic spores nearly twenty feet long erupted from the bulb of Gum's flower, painting the forest floor with pale yellow dust.

"Take down!" I roared, spotting our opening.

Pride changed direction again, bearing down on Gum as he waddled away lethargically. The vileplume would never be fast enough to dodge effectively though. Pride slammed into his opponent, tossing the grass type into a tree with the impact.

"Follow up! Fury attack, keep up the pressure!"

Pride skidded to a halt, careening off a tree and bouncing through a particularly thorny bush. I heard him bellow in frustration and he burst out of the bush a moment later.

Gum closed his eyes, face screwing up in concentration. Nothing happened for a long moment and I counted the moments until Pride connected with the vileplume.

The sun hadn't completely set yet, still bathing the arena in a warm evening light. I had to shield my eyes as the sunlight grew harsher and hotter than a dry summer day. It nearly blinded me with the sudden intensity, but Pride knew what he was doing.

Again, my nidorino smashed into Gum. Instead of launching the vileplume with a toss of the shoulder, Pride had him pinned against a tree. My nidorino hammered Gum back into the tree a second time, then a third.

I heard the sharp blast of a whistle come from Erika and followed her eyes down to her pokemon. Gum hit the tree a fourth time and I saw a puff of yellow dust eke out of the pokemon's bulb

"Clear away!" I shouted, hoping Pride was fast enough.

He reacted before the words had even left my mouth. Gum's bulb exploded again, covering the place Pride had just been with another cone of yellow spores.

My nidorino came back around, pacing the vileplume just outside of spore range. Pride snorted, his eyes glued to the flower dancing towards him.

"Shit, look out!"

A storm of petals shook from the vileplume's flower. Gum's seeming clumsiness must have been feigned, because he dashed forward faster than Pride could react to.

The storm of petals wouldn't be overly effective against poison types like Pride, but Gum had sudden speed and surprise on his side. He thrashed my nidorino with the storm, growing closer with every step. Pride shied back, his eyes shut as he dashed through the storm.

We didn't have the advantage anymore. I needed to do something.

"Poison jab!" I shouted as Erika yelled her own desperate response.

Pride closed the gap, his horn lowered as Gum turned to face him. Pride buried his horn up to the base even as Gum opened his mouth and vomited a gob of putrid purple sludge in my nidorino's face.

Erika's vileplume shrieked with pain as Pride happily shook the toxic sludge off his face. Nidorino blood for all intents and purposes was poison. While vileplume could produce their own toxins, they were not overly fond of foreign toxins.

What that meant, was that Pride could practically bathe in whatever vomit Gum was producing. He happily would frolic through a lake of the stuff and probably come out smiling.

I saw Gum's bulb compress and quiver again and knew that we had moments. Erika wasn't going to let us do what we wanted, even if she was at a type disadvantage.

"Clear away!" I shouted.

Pride tore his horn free, bounding away as fast as his legs could carry him. He made it three paces before Gum lowered his head. A second cone of spores exploded from the vileplume, shimmering slightly in the bright stadium lights.

I inhaled sharply. The spores were different, falling slower than the first batch had. They were pale silver, with none of the brilliant yellow sheen that the paralytic spores possessed. Soporific, most likely.

"Pride, run!" I shouted.

He doubled his speed, plowing his way through the spores. I watched his head droop and he plowed off a tree trunk. He landed heavily on his side, snoring deeply before he even hit the ground.

I swore as Gum lumbered over towards Pride with all the time in the world. The round little pod pressed his bulb up against Pride as dozens of tiny vines grabbed hold of him. I watched helplessly as Gum lifted my nidorino into the air and began to drain the life out of Pride.

It was slow at first, watching the vileplume get a good hold on the larger pokemon while I shouted my lungs out. He couldn't quite get his vines all the way around Pride, even if Pride offered no resistance whatsoever.

Then I saw it. The telltale glow of fain green swirling around Gum's bulb that told me he had a hold. He would drain the life out of Pride before my pokemon could even wake up, erasing all the damage we had done like it had never happened.

I gritted my teeth. I had no clue when Pride might wake up. He was as good as useless to me until he did though. I raised his ball and did the only thing I could. I returned him, conceding my first substitution.

The crowd roared as Pride disappeared in the usual flash of red light. I slotted the ball back onto my belt, taking a long moment to select my next while the massive screen flashed with a thirty second timer.

Pride's eyes closed and his icon greyed out. The league's theme swelled over the dull roar of the crowd.

"Challenger Wright has used his first substitution! Looks like Gum is more than that nidorino can handle."

He paused for a moment, then continued droning on about Erika's invincibility. I tuned him out, tuned out the crowd, tuned out the lights. I shut it all out until it was just me and Erika. The noise and the light was still there, but it didn't bother me anymore.

Acolyte was at a disadvantage to grass types and I wasn't keen on sending him to fight a suddenly empowered Gum. Luna was to be kept in reserve until I really needed her, which left me with only one choice.

I lifted my newest ball, a cocksure grin on my face. It was all fake confidence, false bravado that I prayed would win me the round. Vector didn't know any proper commands, barely listened to the simplest of order. But he could fight. He was fast. He was fierce. He was perfect.

"Go, Vector!" I shouted, tossing the ball up into the air. He materialized just above the treetops and disappeared into them with a flutter of his wings.

"Looks like challenger Wright has brought a new pokemon onto his team, folks!"

I smirked at the announcer's words. Erika hadn't been expecting another pokemon with an advantage over hers. She was going down.

I cracked my knuckles and blew a quick whistle blast. I hadn't had much luck with teaching Vector any proper commands, but he had at least learned to come when called. He buzzed above the treetops, looking up at me with his beady black eyes.

"That vileplume is hurt. It's fast. It'll try to take you by surprise. Wait for your opening and watch out for spores."

I didn't know whether he could understand my words. But pokemon understand intent better than any person I've ever met. He knew what I wanted. He knew that I believed in him. He buzzed his wings and disappeared back into the trees. He was on the ground in a flash, glowering menacingly at the vileplume.

The horn blared to signal the start of the battle and I leaned back with an easy smile on my face. Vector didn't need my help. Not yet.

"Gum, petal dance!"

The vileplume bounded forwards, racing towards my heracross as a storm of pale pink petals billowed out from the flower on his head. Vector buzzed his wings and took off before the grass type could close the distance. A few of the petals whipped against Vector's carapace, but the rest whistled harmlessly through the air.

Gum stumbled and tripped over his own feet suddenly. He flailed wildly, trying desperately to right his oversized head.

I howled an order to attack, but I didn't need to. Vector knew an opening when he saw one.

My heracross sliced through the air so quickly that I would have missed it if I had blinked. 'Aerial ace,' I thought to myself, recognizing the move from one of the videos on heracross' move pool. I leaned over the edge of my platform as Vector clipped Gum as he soared past.

The vileplume was catapulted from the force of the impact. He soared through the air, bouncing off a pair of trees before crashing heavily through a bush and out of sight.

Vector landed in front of the bush triumphantly and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. That had to have done it. No way Gum had tanked tha-

"Solar beam!"

I didn't have time to shout. I didn't have time for anything. The sun was still beaming down from above and Gum hardly needed any time to gather the necessary energy. A beam of pure sunlight erupted from the bush, blasting my heracross through the artificial forest.

Vector rolled to a halt in the dirt, hardly making a noise as a pair of trees clipped by the beam crashed down. He struggled to to rise, his limbs fighting the pain. He was resistant to grass type attacks, but something like that was going to hurt regardless.

I grimaced as I realized that Surge's words were painfully true. I had to tighten up and stop leaving myself open to counters. Forget clearing intermediate rank, I was in danger of losing this battle. Something that would get Curie killed.

I clenched my fists and stared down at the field. Vector hardly knew a single command. But I had a feeling that it was more him refusing to listen than a lack of understanding. I had to change that fast.

I did the only thing I could think of to slow the battle down and give me a second to talk to my pokemon. I lifted Vector's ball and returned him. The thirty second timer appeared on the screen again as I released Vector beside me.

"What's this?" exclaimed the announcer. "It looks like challenger Wright has burned his second substitution before Erika has lost a single pokemon! This battle is not going the way the challenger was hoping."

I reached out to my bug and tuned out the announcer, brushing my hand against Vector's still warm carapace. His chitinous exterior was still smoking where the solar beam had hit him. His wings buzzed warily and I swore a sigh of relief when I saw that they weren't damaged. He jumped at the touch but didn't move to fly away.

"Look," I started in a stern tone. "I know I didn't ask if you wanted to come with me. I know I didn't give you a choice in the matter, and you're smart enough that I'm uncomfortable with that." I softened my face and smiled warmly at my heracross. "Listen to me for this one battle. Let me prove to you that I can help you be stronger than you are. I promise you that I can help you be stronger than you would ever be on your own." I reached into my pack, pulling out one of the sugar cubes I'd bought to woo my newest pokemon over. "What do you say?" I asked.

His tongue flitted out, curling around the sugar cube. It disappeared into his mouth and he nodded at me.

"Good," I said as the horn marking the thirty seconds blared. "Don't get caught admiring your last attack. Always expect a counter and be ready to evade."

Vector nodded and his wings buzzed out. He took off onto the field, hopefully ready to listen to my direction. He landed in front of Gum, his wings buzzing as he tended for action.

Erika pointed forward, already mouthing her next order.

I did the same, drowning her order out with my own. "Aerial ace!"

Vector lifted off like he had been shot from a cannon. He weaved a jagged path through the trees as motes of sunlight began to gather in the bulb of Gum's flower.

The solar beam erupted with the same ferocity that it had before, carving through a half dozen trees as the vileplume tracked after my pokemon.

Vector changed direction suddenly as Gum's attack veered closer. My heracross cut directly across Gum's path, cutting under the solar beam as Gum failed to correct fast enough.

Trees fell in droves as Gum carved his beam after Vector. But he was too slow, too slow to stop my heracross from ending it.

The solar beam fizzled out just before Vector connected with his pronged horn. I saw the exhausted look on Gum's face and almost felt sorry for him. Then my heracross tossed his head and catapulted the beaten vileplume into one of the few remaining trees. The trunk snapped and slowly but surely, the tree toppled to the ground along with the unconscious vileplume.

Gum's battered body disappeared in a flash of red light. I finally let out my breath and caught the happy look in Vector's eyes. We had won the round. I almost didn't care that we were losing the battle. Gum was the strongest pokemon we had battled yet and I couldn't help the swell of pride in my chest.

A squat reptilian pokemon landed on all fours, the bulb on her back quivering in anticipation. I smirked as a tangle of vines emerged from the base of the flower. An ivysaur. We could take an ivysaur.

"Erika has chosen Lush, the ivysaur to battle against the challenger's heracross. Let's see if that tenacious bug can handle a real battle!"

I pointed forward, crowd roaring in my ears. "Horn attack!"

Vector buzzed off the ground, charging the squat ivysaur. She shook the flower on her back, casting a storm of razor sharp leaves at my heracross. Vector plowed through the razor leaf with his head lowered.

Lush attempted to bound out of Vector's path, but my heracross adjusted effortlessly. He buried his horn in Lush's left flank, drawing a spurt of blood that painted his face.

"Get above it!" I shouted. I saw the tensing up of Lush's bulb and I knew what she was about to do. We would only have moments.

Vector rose straight into the air, buffeting the ivysaur with wind from his wings. It wasn't strong enough to inflict damage, but that hadn't been the point.

Lush let loose with a spout of spores that would have put Vector out of commission. The wind off his wings caught them, pushing the stun spore back onto Lush and the surrounding area. The pale yellow dust painted the ground, coating Lush in such a thick layer that she was more yellow than green.

I knew the spores wouldn't affect Lush, but it was supremely satisfying to see the ivysaur's attack nullified so completely. Made me proud of my newest pokemon.

"Now, horn attack!"

Vector cut his flight, dropping back towards Lush like a rock. He led with his wickedly pronged horn, wings guiding him down onto the fleeing ivysaur. He skewered the grass type again, burying his horn deep into Lush's other flank and lifting her off the ground. The ivysaur struggled desperately as Erika shouted orders but there was no escape now.

"Now seismic toss!"

Vector tossed Lush off of his horn, smashing her into one of the fallen tree trunks. His wings buzzed and he took off again, a storm of yellow spores kicked up in his wake.

Lush stumbled to her feet, clearly dazed by the blow. A a pair of vines extended out from her flower but she wasn't moving fast enough to grab a hold of Vector.

My heracross slammed into the ivysaur bodily, bowling her onto her side. He wrapped both arms around her torso and grabbed hold with a crushingly strong grip.

I heard Lush wail in pain and realized that Erika had started with one of her stronger pokemon. Gum had been far stronger than Lush was and I was realizing that I wasn't quite as overmatched as I had thought. Perhaps I could still win this battle.

Vector buzzed his wings again, carrying the ivysaur up into the air. I saw Lush's vines flailing and whipping uselessly against Vector's armoured exterior and knew that the round was won. It was only a matter of time.

Vector turned in mid air, diving towards the ground with all the strength that he had. Lush's vines wrapped around him, desperately holding on for dear life. She would never be strong enough to hold.

My heracross let go of Lush as he flipped and put everything he had into gaining altitude. The ivysaur's vines would never have been strong enough to hold on. Erika's pokemon lost her grip and plummeted down into the earthen field. I didn't watch the impact, but I knew from the cold stare Erika gave me that Lush was down for the count.

"How the tables have turned!" boomed the announcer. "Challenger Wright seems to have turned this battle back onto our dear Leader with a single pokemon. Can that heracross keep it up?"

Erika tossed her next ball into the air. A sweet scent filled the air as the victreebell bounced on its leafy feet. A tangle of vines snaked out from the bell-shaped pokemon and it locked its unfeeling eyes on Vector.

"Leader Erika is bringing out the big guns for this challenger! Ronin the victreebell, one of Erika's original league challenge team, has joined the battle here today!"

I clenched my fists. I'd seen Erika's challenge run six years ago, watched her crush team after team with seemingly frail grass-types. Ronin might have been getting a little softer with age, but an elite level pokemon never really forgets those skills.

Vector landed in front of the victreebell, waiting for my order. He was ready. I closed my eyes for a moment, listening to the roar of the crowd. I let the smile cross my face. We could do anything.

Erika pointed forward as the horn blared to start the round. "Leaf blade!"

"Aerial ace!" I answered.

Vector buzzed off the ground, accelerating towards Ronin. The victreebell bounced himself into the air, extending a wickedly sharp vine. The two pokemon collided in a vicious crash, both of them bouncing through the brush.

Ronin popped back up like nothing had happened, already slashing at Vector as he regained his composure. He bounded forward at an unnatural speed, looking almost comical on the leafy appendages he used as feet.

My heracross launched himself off the ground, pushing through a whipping vine and burying his horn as deep as he could in the victreebell's body.

The victreebell recoiled, swinging another leaf blade at my heracross as he pulled himself off my Pokémon's horn. Ronin caught Vector in the shoulder, hewing through the chitin armour like it was nothing and spraying green-blue blood across the forest floor.

Vector shrieked in pain, his wings buzzing and carrying him out of harms way. He looked at me fearfully and I knew that Ronin had likely just dealt my heracross the worst blow he had ever received.

"Aerial ace!" I roared again. We could still take him, but we had to be aggressive. Ronin was too skilled, too experienced to let him have the initiative. We had to force him on the defensive.

My heracross dove back in, trying to hit Ronin before he could set up another attack. We were not fast enough.

A beam of vibrant sunlight erupted from Ronin's mouth just as Vector made contact. The solar beam went wild, clipping Vector in the side as Ronin tumbled away from the impact. My heracross crashed heavily into the dirt, unable to control his flight after such a heavy blow.

I grimaced. The sun was speeding Ronin up, just like it had for Gum. Except this time, Ronin had all the learned experience of an elite level pokemon.

Ronin came up swinging, his vines slashing at Vector's armoured exterior as my bug drove a fist into the grass type's side. Both pokemon leapt back, smarting from the blows and giving the other space.

"He's fast in the sun," I shouted. "Use your power!"

Vector's wings buzzed out and he lifted off the ground. Ronin bent towards my heracross and belched a stream of leaves that smote him in the side.

Vector flailed and wobbled as the leaf storm battered his wings. He struggled to gain some altitude, but he was tiring and couldn't rise as fast as he had before.

Ronin bounced up at my heracross, slashing with his vines again. Vector bobbled and dropped out of the air, bouncing off the ground and landing heavily on his feet.

Vector groaned, retreating towards me slowly. His armoured hide was cracked and bent in a dozen places. He held his fists up, still committed to the fight.

I knew Vector couldn't finish off Ronin right then and there. The grass type was just too fast in the sun. But we could still do damage.

"Get in close! Don't let up!"

Vector charged, leading with his horn. Ronin deflected his horn away with a vine but my heracross followed up with a vicious cross punch.

The victreebell jerked back, surprised by the quick follow up. Vector kept up the assault, swinging wildly with his other arm. Ronin was ready though and we'd gotten greedy.

The victreebell caught the wild punch on impact with a vine and seized hold. Another vine whipped out, wrapping around Vector's horn and pulling him closer. More vines curled around my heracross as he thrashed wildly, trapping him in a tight wrap even as he hammered his free arm into the victreebell's side.

"Seismic toss!" I roared, knowing this was our last chance to deal damage. Vector's wings were still free, but it wouldn't be long until he was completely entangled in Ronin's vines.

Vector's wings buzzed out and he rose a few inches off the ground. More of Ronin's vines whipped out, wrapping around Vector's free arms but missing his wings.

My heracross struggled with all his might, rising higher and higher as more vines worked their way around him. His legs were tangled in vines, crushed closer to Ronin's body.

Then it happened. One of Ronin's vines curled around his back, crushing Vector's wings against his body and cutting their thrust. The two pokemon rose a few more feet in the air, carried higher by the momentum Vector had been building. They hung above the ruined treetops for a long moment, suspended in the air at the top of their arc. Then gravity asserted her control over the two pokemon.

They dropped like a pair of imbalanced stones that had been glued together. The two pokemon tumbled through the air, flipping end over end in an inescapable embrace. I lost them in the mangled forest and heard a sickening crash as they landed. A puff of spores spewed into the air from the impact and I knew that Vector was down for the count.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I don't believe it! The challenger's heracross has taken Ronin down!"

I peered through the cloud. Sure enough, both pokemon were splayed out on the ground. I smirked and lifted Vector's ball. He had proved himself stronger than I had ever imagined. I only hoped that I had proved myself a worthy trainer.

I returned him to his ball, hand hovering over my three remaining balls. Erika had ended Blue and Red's challenges with a tangela. There was no reason to assume that would change. My smirk widened. Even if Pride was still fast asleep, Luna alone could probably take a tangela.

Erika raised her last ball, a smug looking smirk on her face. She tossed the ball, the beam of red light growing into the shape of a tangela. It kept growing. Arms sprouted from the sides of the tangela and it tripled in size.

A full-grown tangrowth raised its arms, thick vines all over its body writhing erratically. I felt a shiver run down my spine as my smirk died and immediately knew that I did not like this pokemon.

"LOOK AT THIS SURPRISE!" The announcer's voice was booming, nearly drowning out the ecstatic crowd. "Bramble, the tangela, seems to have evolved since Erika's last match! Erika seems set on crushing this newest challenger!"

My hand dropped to my belt. I only had one pokemon who stood a chance against a tangrowth at full strength. Luna was my only choice. I raised her ball. I tossed it up and lost it in the scorching hot evening sun.

Luna materialized in the midst of the destroyed forest. She padded carefully over a patch of spores and looked up at me. I nodded and she looked back at the tangrowth with no fear in her eyes.

The horn blared for the start of the match. Erika pointed forward as Bramble began to charge. "Poison jab!"

"Agility!" I shouted in response. We couldn't win on strength alone. We had to tire out Bramble, exhaust her as much as possible and only then would we be able to overpower her.

Luna slipped away through the tangled underbrush, practically made for this kind of battle. She was damn near impossible to see, let alone catch. She was born for a test of speed like this.

Bramble charged anyways, barrelling through the underbrush that Luna would slip under or around. Luna was faster, but the tangrowth was larger and heavier. With the sun beaming down, she was even faster still. It would only take one mistake.

"Confuse ray!" I shouted. We had to give ourselves an advantage. We had to slow Bramble down. Or Erika would turn the battle around in a flash.

Luna skidded to a half, her eyes glowing. A spinning vortex of light shot from her eyes and sank into the side of Bramble's head. The tangrowth stumbled suddenly, then tripped over a fallen log. The mass of twisting vines crashed to the ground, crushing the log underneath.

"Flamethrower!"

Luna leapt atop of a tree stump, giving herself a bit of elevation. She sucked in a breath and exhaled a stream of blindingly hot flames.

Bramble shrieked in pain as her vines ignited. She flailed her arms, attempting to put out the fire. The spores coating the ground burst into flame, racing along the ground as the underbrush began to catch.

I smirked. All those spore attacks hadn't done a whole lot to my team, but they had coated most of the forest in a layer of flammable dust. A layer that was now catching alight.

"More fire!" I shouted to Luna.

She was already sucking in another breath. I had barely finished my command when she let another flamethrower loose.

The jet of flames washed over Bramble, igniting mores spores and drawing another shriek of pain from the thrashing tangrowth. The forest floor was alive with fire and I lost both pokemon in the smoke.

"Solar blade!" Erika roared over the fire.

I sucked in a breath as a blade of pure sunlight pierced the smoke. I could hardly see Luna, could only see Bramble by the blade of light she wielded.

"Confuse wisp!" I shouted.

An eerie light appeared in the smoke. It split in two wisps of blue flame, spinning around the tangrowth. It split again, then again. Bramble roared and raised her blade as the wisps of flame circled closer.

Bramble swung her blade, tearing into the mangled and burning forest with a blade of pure sunlight. Shards of flaming wood and chunks of molten earth spewed into the air as the sunlight blade tore into the arena floor.

Luna hit the arena wall hard, catapulted out of the inferno by her opponent's attack. She slid down the wall and limped a step away as she attempted to get her bearings. She collapsed in a heap, her rear legs giving out on her.

Bramble rose from the flaming forest, her vines aflame. It had to be excruciating, but the tangrowth stood strong. She bellowed furiously and charged towards my prone starter.

"Luna, get up."

My vulpix whined in pain, struggling to get her feet under her. She had been tossed headlong into a wall by the solar blade, to say nothing of the damage by blade itself. She attempted to rise, but whimpered in pain

"Luna, please get up."

She planted her feet, hauling herself back up. I could see she was hurting. I scowled at Erika. She had brought the strongest intermediate team I had ever seen. She was playing for keeps. It was something I would make her regret.

I set my feet as the sun dipped below the edge of the stadium. Bramble lost a step as she charged headlong into the shade. I saw her vines burning, saw that her arms were just a braid of vines that was beginning to fray.

"Tear off her arm," I ordered coldly. We hadn't used her newest abilities in battle yet, but she had proved she could manage in practice. "Use psychic."

Luna's eyes flashed purple and time seemed to stop for half a moment. A flash of purple light tore across the field, taking Bramble at the base of her right arm.

The arm tore free effortlessly, spinning off into the ruined forest. Bramble continued her charge unperturbed.

"Again!" I roared as Bramble raised her good arm.

Luna's eyes flashed as the tangrowth swung her good arm like a club. The psychic attack hit dead centre, catapulting the tangrowth across the arena as she smacked Luna back into the wall.

Luna hit the wall with a thud and slumped to the ground. She stirred slightly, looking up at me in pain.

I felt something touch my mind, felt a strange presence intrude for half a moment. All I could feel was sorrow and the crushing pain of failure. My eyes widened as I realized that Luna had finally figured out telepathy. The sensation faded and Luna slumped back to the ground.

I raised her ball, swallowing the lump in my throat. The announcer was booming and the crowd was roaring, but I shut it all out. I returned Luna and prayed that she would be alright.

I lifted my next ball, knowing that the match was coming down to the wire. It would be decided here, decided by my next pokemon. Pride wouldn't be able to do a damn thing to Bramble, leaving me with only one choice.

"Acolyte, go!"

My marowak appeared in the ruined forest, his club already spinning at the ready. He didn't waste any time, locking eyes on the tangrowth and planting his feet.

Bramble strained herself for a moment, and I watched the vines covering her side shift and twist around themselves. A new arm braided around itself and extended to the length the old one had.

Bramble bellowed a challenge, spotting her new opponent. She flexed her arms and I saw a glimpse of blackened skin through a gap in the vines.

I couldn't help the smug smirk. I had just seen the path to victory. Erika had just shown me how to win without even knowing it. The horn blared and I let the smug smirk fade.

"Acolyte, get in close! Bone club!"

Erika pointed forward. "Intercept it with power whip!"

The tangrowth reared back, raising both arms. It snapped the vines forward like a pair of whips, snagging both vines around Acolyte's swinging club.

My marowak grunted as the tangrowth attempted to tear the bone out of his hands but he held fast.

"Tear off those vines," I ordered, a cold calmness coming over my voice.

Acolyte tugged back, spinning his club deftly. He tore the vines from the tangrowth's body at the base, watching as the larger pokemon shifted and braided more of her vines into new arms.

More patches of blackened skin peeked through the tangrowth's vines and I knew that we weren't far off from ending the battle. We just needed to expose a little more.

"Again!" I roared, letting the roar of the crowd fuel me. It was intoxicating. "Bone Club!"

Acolyte raised his club again, ready to deliver a decisive blow. Bramble's arms whipped forward, grabbing at my Pokémon's ankles before he could swing.

Acolyte went down, his club swinging wildly at empty air. Bramble descended on him like a feral beast, arms whipping forward as a dozen more vines extended themselves to strangle the fight from my marowak.

Acolyte got his club up in front of him, intercepting most of the vines before they could snare him.

"Headbutt!" I shouted, hoping that Acolyte had enough room to pull off the attack.

Acolyte thrust his head forward with as much force as he could muster while Bramble attempted to get a few vines around my marowak's club. He connected just between Bramble's eyes, drawing a sickening crunch that I could hear clearly over the crowd.

The roar of the crowd died as Acolyte pushed the dazed tangrowth off him. He got to his feet, tearing his tangled club away along with a half dozen vines that were still holding on.

"Finish her," I ordered.

Bramble staggered to her feet, vines shifting to cover the new gaps that had been created. The tangrowth's body shape was half visible through the gaps in her vines and I could tell that she was humanoid for the most part. She had no arms to speak of and was thicker than I was where her shoulders would have been.

Acolyte charged, raising his club. Bramble shifted her vines into a pair of arms that were barely half the length than she had started with. She raised her arms and charged, a futile exercise at this point. The battle was done, barring any unexpected surprises.

Acolyte swung his club to intercept the tangrowth's arms, tearing them off the grass type in the same movement. He followed up with the butt-end of his club, driving it into the tangrowth's face and knocking her flat.

He planted a foot on the tangrowth and raised his club, ready to deliver a final blow. Bramble disappeared from under him and a horn blared to end the match.

I stood there in stunned silence for a moment, unwilling to believe that it was really over. Then the crowd erupted and I felt the cheers shake my platform. I let my fists relax and breathed out. I had done it. I had won.

I scrubbed at the impurity, squinting my eyes as the stubborn speck of dirt refused to leave the boulder badge. I sprayed it with another squirt of the polish solution and picked up the rag again for another go.

After another several minutes of scrubbing, I held up the badge and scowled at the stubborn speck of dirt. Resolving that Brock must have purposely marred the badge with a bit of dirt, I reluctantly placed my badge back into the case I had bought for them. My other badges shone brightly at me, all spotless and reflecting light gorgeously at me.

I leaned back in the comfortable chair, looking at the vibrant rainbow on the badge Erika had given me. It twinkled in the low light, seeming to change colours before my very eyes. I closed the badge case and smiled happily to myself.

A hard knock at my door shattered the calm scene. I got up, slipping the badge back onto the table beside the polish kit. Luna stirred, but I shook my head and let her lay back down.

"Hello?" I said as I opened the door.

A pair of hooded boys in black outfits pushed in past me, shoving me back a few steps. I opened my mouth to protest as Luna growled a warning and rose to her feet.

"Mister Wright, if you would please return your vulpix."

I turned my head to the door and nearly let my jaw hit the floor. Her kimono was gone, replaced by form fitting body armour that was darker than anything I'd ever seen her in. Erika closed the door behind her, folding her arms across her chest.

She cocked her head to the side and looked at me inquisitively. "I have an infestation in my city," she started. "And you're going to help me wipe it out."

I looked over at the boys and nearly did a double take. Blue pulled his hood down, a cocky grin worn on his face. The other boy did the same and I recognized him as the boy who had been standing beside Blue when he'd set his record.

I looked back at Erika with a knowing look on my face. I knew what infestation she was referring to. "What do you need from me?" I asked, finally ready to face Team Rocket, and Domino, on my own terms.

Pokédex Entry #465 – Tangrowth

Tangrowth were long thought to be a myth, simply due to the rarity of discovering them in the wild. Tangela are exceedingly rare even in their home grasslands of southwest Kanto, and Tangrowth are even more scarce.

They are a large bipedal pokemon with a fuzzy black body. Their arms are formed from masses of vines that are braided together. It is unfazed if these arms are torn off, as it can easily braid more vines into a new arm.

Intermediate Trainer KT# 07996101, Marcus Wright, current team

Luna, Vulpix

Pride, Nidorino

Acolyte, Marowak

Vector, Heracross

13

Reunion​

The big boys, the ones who are a step above the others? Don't fight them until you're ready. Or else. — Petalburg Gym Leader Norman Maple​

"So, let me get this straight." I stood up, pacing the end of my room. Luna looked up at me lazily, unconcerned by my panicked tone. "You want me to walk in, demand to speak to the crazy bitch that's already kicked my ass, demand my pokemon back, and pray that I don't get executed for my attitude?"

Erika smirked and I couldn't help but think that this woman was more than just the pampered rainbow princess she presented to the world. "Yes," she said "that's the entire point. You're the distraction."

I shook my head. "There's got to be another way. I'm not risking Curie's life like that." I turned to look at the boys. "Would either of you risk one of your own pokemon like this?"

"That's not the point," Blue retorted. "We don't have the opportunity to get our foot in the door. You do."

I raised an eyebrow. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

Erika stepped in, taking my attention back. "It means that I can't set foot in that game corner without my every move being watched by Rocket and these two are underage and can't even get in. You are literally our only way in that doesn't involve fighting our way through an army. All you have to do is find a washroom or something and activate that beacon. Then, my exeggutor can teleport us in."

I closed my eyes and calmed myself. "If you're wrong, Curie is dead."

Erika rolled her eyes. "If I'm wrong, then we're all dead. I understand that you're in this for your happiny, but try to understand that we need your help for this to work." She sighed. "My city is dying, Marcus. These people are bleeding it dry and I can't get close to them. They have the police in their pockets, the mayor as well. They have every angle covered except for one, except for you."

I grimaced. I could feel myself agreeing with her, even if I didn't want to. "Trainers help each other," I said. I knew I couldn't back out of this, not when they'd all put their lives on the line to even bring it to me.

Red turned, his pikachu squeaking suddenly. He offered me a weak smile as he attempted to calm his pokemon.

Erika's hard scowl faded slightly. "Trainers help each other," she affirmed. "We'll have backup coming, but we will be on our own until they can clear the game corner of civilians."

"There's the other thing," I said. "How do you plan on doing that?"

"The second an emergency call goes out, I'll have my gym trainers ready to respond. They can be inside the game corner in under two minutes." She shrugged. "It'll be up to us to create that emergency."

I sighed and massaged my temples. She was asking a lot of me. "Why can't the league do anything? Shouldn't they be stopping Team Rocket?"

"They should," Erika responded. "But Lance is stubbornly narrow-minded. He doesn't view this as his problem and thinks it should be left to the local authorities. He refused my request to deploy the Elite Four, he wouldn't even give me access to the Aces." She scowled and I saw resentment in her eyes. "So, as the only local authority not in Rocket's pocket, it's up to me to deal with this shit."

I nodded slowly. "Do you think we can pull it off?"

She nodded. "I wouldn't have brought it to you unless I did. We have a chance to-"

Red yelped and jumped back as his pikachu sparked angrily. "I'm sorry," he half-shouted. "He doesn't normally-"

The pikachu moved faster than I could track. Luna growled and leapt to intercept him, but the pikachu was just too fast.

He slammed into my stomach, driving the wind out of me. I doubled over as the pikachu tore madly at my jacket pocket, bolts of lightning haphazardly flying off the little pokemon. My pokegear tumbled away, smoking, as Luna telekinetically flung Red's pikachu off of me and into the far wall.

"What the hell was tha-" I started, but a digital scream drowned me out before I could finish.

The pokegear twitched, echoes of the artificial shriek still coming out of the device's tiny speakers. It shook once and the screen seemed to spasm with pixelated light.

Spears of jagged light erupted from my pokegear's screen. Something screamed in pain as my pokegear shook itself to pieces. The lights in the room flared and died as something unnatural forced itself into being, sparking erratically from the pieces of the pokegear.

Strange pixels shifted at the creature's jagged edges. It turned its head, reality crackling and pixelating as the artificial creature strained itself into being. Electrostatic noise whined and static electricity raised the hairs on my neck.

"A porygon!" Erika shouted over the digital scream. Her hand was dropping to her waist, but there was no time.

White-hot light erupted from the artificial pokemon. I saw a blinding flash as I dropped to the floor and felt a sudden rush of hot wind blow past me. A thunderous crash came from behind and I was suddenly aware of fresh air streaming in through the gaping hole in the wall.

I rolled onto my back, scrambling away from the ruined remnants of my pokegear. Red and Blue were shouting over each other and the porygon kept shrieking that same digital scream.

Luna leapt at the porygon, flames already dripping from her jaws. The porygon turned, strange light shining in its artificial eyes. A shimmering wall of light appeared in front of her, stopping my vulpix in mid-air.

Red's pikachu surged forward, taking advantage of the opening Luna had created for him. A bolt of electric light erupted from the little yellow pokemon and I threw my hands up to shield my face from the light.

The porygon screamed in pain, electricity coursing through its form. It seemed to glitch, digital spasms running through its program as Red's pikachu pumped untold amounts of electricity through it.

Luna dragged herself to her feet as Blue released a kadabra beside her. The psychic pokemon bowed his head immediately, the air growing thick with psychic energy. My vision swam as my mind fought to cope with the surge of mental power. Luna's eyes flashed as she added her strength to the kadabra's.

The porygon turned towards the gaping hole in the wall, making a desperate play to escape. It let out a shriek and exploded in a violent maelstrom of electricity just as Luna and Blue's kadabra loosed their combined psychic power.

I rolled over again, shielding my face and curling into a ball as the discharge of lightning tore apart my room. The air rippled with psychic power, both of our pokemon struggling to manipulate the electricity away from us all.

My bed exploded into flames, spewing tatters of flaming fabric into the air. Sparking, smouldering furrows were carved into the walls and I could do nothing but cower in fear.

The porygon slammed into the floor, an unseen force smashing the artificial pokemon through to the floor below us.

I clambered to my feet, my hand finding its way over Pride's ball. Red and Blue did the same, looking around at the destruction. The air was thick with dust and smoke, burning my lungs as I coughed madly. I tripped over the broken remnants of my bow and silently lamented the loss of my weapon.

"Everyone ok?" I asked between coughs. I scanned the room as the boys answered, looking for Erika. "Erika?"

She sat up, looking over at me with a dazed smile. "Did we win?" She asked deliriously.

I scrambled over to her, helping Celadon's Gym Leader to her feet. She slumped against me, suddenly losing her strength. I barely caught her before she collapsed into my arms.

"Shit," I said dumbly. I looked up at the boys as I laid Erika down. "Get her to the gym," I ordered, taking charge of the situation. Both the boys were stunned into silence and someone needed to step up.

Blue nodded. "I'll teleport her there. I'll be back in a minute."

He knelt beside her, touching one hand to her shoulder and the other to his kadabra. They disappeared with a pop, leaving Red and I alone in the shredded room.

The porygon had blown a massive hole in the side of the hotel, knocking out the walls to adjacent rooms with its opening attack. It must have been extremely powerful to have done so much damage with a single attack. I crept towards the gaping hole in the side of the hotel, ready for anything.

A half dozen people were looking up at me from the hotel courtyard, with more being drawn by the second. Part of the building was aflame and I could hear movement from the room above us. The porygon was struggling on the floor beneath us, its body glitching erratically as it tried and failed to rise.

"We can't let it get away," I started, turning to look at Red. "It'll tell the Rockets what we were doing." My fists tightened and I looked back down at the struggling pokemon. "And Curie will die."

"What do we do?" Red asked. I heard the fear in his voice, and remembered that he was just a kid.

I looked down as the porygon finally rose off the floor and began floating down towards the courtyard. We were on the third floor, and I could see a clear path down after it. I turned to look at Red with a serious scowl on my face, slinging my pack over my shoulder. "Follow me," I said.

I slipped down through the hole, landing heavily on the ruined carpet. The couple that had been in the bed when the ceiling had collapsed shrieked as I landed. Luna lithely slipped down from the floor above and leapt out after the porygon.

"Official League business!" I half-shouted as Red landed beside me with his pikachu perched on his shoulder. "Stay back!"

I didn't wait for them to answer before I vaulted myself out the ruined window. I hit the roof of the hotel's covered courtyard and kept after the fleeing porygon. Luna was already halfway across the roof, moving faster than I had any hope of catching.

"Confuse wisp!" I roared, fear creeping in as the porygon floated towards the street. If it got away, Rocket would come crashing down on us, our families, anyone we were close to.

Luna spat a spinning helix of blue flame, hardly even breaking stride as she gave chase. She leapt off the end of the roof, the air distorting in front of her as she reached out for the porygon with her mind.

The porygon spun in mid-air, erecting a barrier of light that absorbed the spinning helix of blue flame. The barrier split open and I gasped as I realized the porygon was already building up some terrible energy in front of it.

Luna's eyes flared purple and I saw her psychic attack manifest physically for the first time. My heart swelled with pride and I knew she had the damn thing.

The porygon loosed its attack, a swirling matrix of elemental energy that defied explanation. A spear of ice smashed through Luna's attack, wreathed in crackling electricity. It drove into Luna's lead shoulder and ignited into a roaring explosion.

I lost Luna in the flames, a tan blur that might have been her soaring off the roof and into the courtyard. The roof shook and I stumbled to one knee, steadying myself as it swayed dangerously.

A bolt of lightning smote the porygon in the side. It shrieked again, its angular body glitching and spasming wildly. Red's pikachu was there, moving so fast he was nothing but a brown and yellow blur. The little yellow pokemon leapt off the roof, spinning and leading with his tail.

The porygon sailed through the air, smashing down through the roof and landing heavily in one of the flowerbeds in the courtyard. It whined sharply, struggling to rise out of the dirt.

I felt the roof shake violently again and stumbled as a terrible crack ripped through the air. Red looked at me, terror wide in his eyes. The roof shifted and part of it dropped half a foot as the cracking noise ran down the rest of the roof's supports.

"Run," I said breathlessly.

The roof dropped out beneath us, plunging us towards the ground before we could even move. A cloud of dust rushed up to meet us, rising into the air as the rest of the covered courtyard collapsed.

I hit the ground, landing hard on my side. Something jabbed into my side and I sucked in a breath sharply. I could hear people screaming, the kind of screams that you only get when someone is really hurt. Sirens were blaring in the distance and I could hear the sound of water splashing off of something.

I groaned and sat up, clutching at the aching pain in my side. Red did the same a couple feet away, looking around at the carnage surrounding us. Flames were eating away at the hotel, more of it coming down onto the pile of growing rubble. I looked, but I couldn't see into the room the couple had been in or even mine. The smoke and dust was obscuring everything and flames painted the entire scene in hellish red light.

I clambered to my feet, trying to block out the pain. Luna was picking her way towards me, looking around cautiously for the porygon.

I heard it before I saw it, whining faintly from under a pile of rubble. I pulled a chunk of concrete away, grunting from the strain. The porygon was utterly trapped, eying me with one pixelated black eye.

"What do we do with it?" Red asked. "We can't leave it here."

"I know," I replied. I reached into my bag, pulling out one of the empty pokeballs at the bottom. I offered Red a weak smile and tapped the ball against the side of the porygon's head. "I'll take it with me."

Blue appeared behind us with a small pop, already talking a mile a minute. "We gotta get out of here. Rockets got word Erika was hurt. They're already surrounding the horticultural quarter and blocked the route to the hospital. There are already more Rockets marching in force. Won't be long before they're all over the streets." He looked around incredulously, then back at us as if he couldn't believe that we'd caused all of it. "I missed it all?" he asked.

"No," I replied coldly. I turned to face them both, the pokeball completing the capture as I dropped it into my pack. "If the Rockets are moving in force against the gym, then their hideout's gotta be close to empty."

Blue grinned, already seeming to guess where my mind was heading. "And you want to hit them while they're away?" He nodded to himself. "It'll work." He held out one hand, putting his other on his kadabra's shoulder.

I put my hand on his, Curie's face in the forefront of my mind. If I did nothing, she died. If I went now, she had a chance. My choice was made for me. A chance was better than nothing, better than knowing that I killed Curie because I was a coward.

Red faltered. "Guys," he started, fumbling over the word. "We could die."

I looked over at Blue, unsure of what to say. The cocky little shit was grinning. "Yeah, we could. But we won't. We're too good." He looked over at me. "We have twelve badges between us. We can take a few two-bit thugs on a power trip." His smile seemed to grow even larger and he slapped me happily on the back as he riled up his friend. "I took down a tyranitar with this guy, Red. Remember what we did on the S.S. Anne? We can do this!"

Blue's cocksure confidence was infectious. I found myself grinning, looking back at Red who couldn't help the small crack of a smile starting at the edges of his mouth. "C'mon," I started. "It'll look good on the resume for champion."

Red cracked. He looked down sheepishly in a vain attempt to hide his grin. "Let's go kick some ass." He touched his hand to ours and we disappeared with a pop, leaving the burning hotel behind.

I strolled through the front doors of the game corner, my rugged travelling clothes clashing terribly with the posh and elegant outfits that the rest of the patrons were wearing. I walked with purpose, ignoring the girls beckoning me over to slots for a game. They were just in the way.

I scanned the casino, looking for anyone or anything I recognized. Our entire plan hinged on a tiny chance that I could get us into whatever secret hideout that the Rockets apparently had beneath it. I hadn't seen anything the first time I had been here, but there was always a chance that I'd seen something without realizing.

Try as I might though, the casino floor was far too chaotic. I would never be able to find a damn thing in here, not before the Rockets wiped out the Celadon gym trainers. So I did the only thing I could. I went somewhere that I knew would attract attention.

The lights in the restaurant were darker than the rest of the game corner, probably for the ambience or something. I walked through, ignoring the derisive looks that I got from the service staff. I saw Nadia disappear into the back and knew I had gotten the attention I was looking for.

There were only three tables seated at the moment, so I did the most provocative thing I could. I sat down in Archer's booth, warily watching out for anything or anyone suspicious.

I hardly had to wait. It had barely been five minutes when Domino stormed out of a nondescript door that I would have overlooked. The sheer dress was gone, replaced by combat pants and the same smoothed jacket with an R emblazoned on the chest. Her eyes were locked on me and her expression was murderous.

I stiffened my spine and turned towards her, refusing to let myself act on the fear racing in my mind. "What are the odds I find you here?" I asked, feigning a smile.

She had me in a flash, one of my arms twisted up against my back as she disguised the movement by pressing herself against my side. She slid into the booth beside me, keeping my arm firmly twisted behind my back. "What did you do?" she growled.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I hissed through gritted teeth. "I was coming back to give Archer what he wanted. Why do you think I sat here?"

She relaxed her grip slightly but didn't let go. "You being serious?" she asked. Her tone was different, softer even. It took me by surprise.

"Why else would I be here?" I asked incredulously. "Did I really look like I enjoyed my last visit?"

She got me up without a word and steered me through the nondescript door she had come from and down the hallway. For a moment, I thought that we were looking out a window onto the casino floor until I realized that the walls were one-way mirrors that gave an almost perfect view of the entire floor. We made two left turns at branching hallways and came to a stairwell that led under the casino floor. She led me down the stairwell and whisked me down a second flight to a lower floor. She stepped out of the stairwell and led me straight to a room down the hallway, just before a massive freight elevator. It took me a moment, but I realized that it wasn't some torture room. It looked more like a break room than anything else.

"Sorry, had to get you away from prying eyes. Too many people up there." She smiled at me and for the first time it felt genuine. She let go of me and walked over to the coffee machine. "So, you decided to join us after all? Can't say I'm surprised. They have you by the balls. Almost as bad as they had me."

I raised an eyebrow, almost dumbfounded by her change in demeanour. "What do you mean?"

"Gods, you're dumb," she started, shaking her head. "You really think that you're the first trainer they coerced into working for them? That you were the only person they did this to?"

I sighed. "I wasn't sure, but I figured you were all a bunch of criminals and thieves." I smirked, trying to keep my composure. "Can't say that you haven't given me that impression up until now."

She shrugged, but I caught her mixed expression. "Orders are orders," she said quietly. She looked at me, her eyes studying me hard. I stared back, trying to mask my own churning emotions.

It was a long silence, both of us staring at each other. I was trying to get a sense of her, trying to understand what was going on underneath her impenetrable mask. "You follow all the orders?" I asked cautiously. "Even the bad ones? That's a dangerous line to walk."

"You wouldn't understand what it's like, what they do to you. You don't get a choice," she said. She turned around and gestured to the coffee machine and I got the sense that she was hiding her face. "Want anything?"

I nodded, casually unzipping my jacket. "So, you really do have an underground lair?" I said with a smile, trying to defuse the tension.

She laughed as she turned back towards the coffee machine. "What secret organization would be complete without one?" She set about making a pot, emptying the filter into a trash bin and grabbing a new one out of the cupboards.

I slipped my hand into my interior pocket, feeling for the tiny beacon that Blue had taken from Erika. I gently squeezed it, feeling it click satisfactorily. I pulled my hand back out before Domino could turn around and got to my feet.

Domino turned to look at me, an eyebrow raised. "No sarcastic retort?" she asked. "You're slacking." She took a step towards me, leaving the coffee machine for a moment. She had a warm smile on as she crossed the room and seemed to look straight into my eyes. "Want anything to ea-"

A loud pop broke the tension in the room as Red and Blue appeared at once. I wrapped an arm around Domino's neck as she turned, dragging her down to the floor and pinning her right arm underneath my body weight. She bucked wildly, hissing and spitting as the boys jumped into action and helped me pin her to the floor.

"Domino," I growled, all the friendliness gone from my voice. "where is Curie?"

"Not going to work," she squeaked out. "You're so dead."

I crushed my arm tighter around her throat. "Wrong answer," I said coldly. "where is Curie?"

She choked on her words, trying and failing to say something through my crushing grip. She tapped on my arm and I loosened my grip slightly. "Bottom floor," she gasped. "She's with all the other prize pokemon."

"Prize pokemon?" Red asked. "The hell are those?"

She looked over at him, her eyes judging him harshly. "Don't be naïve, boy. You think that the rich pricks of the world don't want rare pokemon to brag about to their rich-"

I didn't give her the satisfaction of an answer, just squeezed hard enough to cut her off mid-sentence. "Put her out. She's not gonna help us," I said calmly.

Red moved slightly, letting his pikachu creep up his shoulder. The little electric pokemon sparked slightly and tapped his tail against Domino's temple.

I felt a small jolt and released Domino suddenly. She went stiff, her joints locking up and her muscles going stiff. I turned to look at Red, feeling a moment of pity. "She gonna be ok?"

He looked back at me with a reassuring nod. "Just scrambled her nervous system for a bit." He smirked and I realized that he'd regained his composure before they'd teleported in. He'd been a nervous wreck after teleporting away from the hotel. "She should be back up to terrorize you some more in a few hours."

Blue shot me a look of derision. "Why do you even care?" he asked. His thought on the matter were perfectly clear, glancing at Domino with barely disguised disgust. "It's not like she'd do the same for you."

"She already did," I replied. "She could have let Vicious do what he wanted and make an example of me, but she wouldn't let him." I looked down at her, a pang of pity in my heart. "It was something she said. I don't think Team Rocket gave her a choice of joining or not."

Blue shrugged and crept open the door. If my conscience bugged him, he wasn't going to let me see that. "C'mon, Amadeus can sense something big below us." He turned back and looked at me. "This place won't stay empty for long."

"Hold on," I said. I dove into Domino's pockets, looking for anything useful. I pulled a keycard from one pocket and tossed it to Blue. "There you go. Stairwell is down the hallway and on the right. Wait there, I'll be right behind you."

Blue raised an eyebrow, but Red ushered him out of the room without a word. I turned back to Domino and crossed my arms. She was staring back at me, eyes following me.

"You know, I don't know how much of what you said was true…" I trailed off for a moment. Slowly, I knelt beside her and put my hand on her shoulder. "But you don't have to be this. You don't have to be on the wrong side." I stood up, trying to offer her a hopeful smile before I left. "You always have a choice."

I turned and left the room, closing the door quietly behind me. I turned, looking down the hallway and towards the stairwell. The boys weren't there. I turned to the left and saw them just as Blue swiped the keycard in the freight elevator's card reader.

I jogged over, tearing the key card from Blue's hand. "Are you an idiot?" I hissed. "How the hell do you think we're gonna sneak in if we take the elevator?"

"Relax, there's nobody here." He gestured around. "We haven't seen a single soul."

I shook my head. "Domino was here. If she was here, then I doubt she was alone." I motioned for the boys to follow me and turned towards the stairs.

I took two steps and the freight elevator dinged upon arrival. The doors scraped open with a loud grinding of gears that was impossible to ignore.

"Hold it right there!" shouted a man's voice. "Identify yourselves."

I swore under my breath and turned. Four men, clad in black outfits with clean red trim, were standing in the freight elevator. A crimson R was emblazoned on their chests. Even as I turned, the pair in the back carrying a large crate dropped it in between them.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and found my voice. "I'm a new recruit, just joined up. Domino gave me her card, told me to get downstairs to help out."

He raised an eyebrow. "Where is Domino?" he asked cautiously.

I glanced to my left. Blue's hand was waiting on his ball belt, just waiting for an opportunity. "Said something about going back to grab something off the casino floor. She told me she'd catch up with us in a few minutes."

He scratched his chin, seeming to mull over my words. I couldn't read his expression, couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Why would Domino send you downstairs?"

I opened my mouth, mind racing for an explanation. I never got the chance to give it. Blue tapped a ball, already roaring an order to attack. His arcanine bounded forwards as a half dozen pokemon appeared behind the Rockets.

My hand dropped to my belt, releasing Acolyte as a hulking machoke charged towards me. My marowak intercepted the machoke with his club, beating the fighting type back with a flurry of devastating blows.

I caught a flash of lightning as Red's pikachu leapt from his shoulder, bathing an arbok in electricity. The serpent writhed for a moment and fell still, Red's terrifying pikachu dashing away through the battle. Red pushed forward with his pokemon, his poliwhirl pummeling a sandshrew into the wall with a devastating punch. The little ground type crashed through the drywall, leaving a perfectly shaped hole behind.

A door behind us burst open, a trio of uniformed thugs pouring out of the room. My hand dropped to my belt, releasing Pride and Luna as the Rockets released a raticate and a pair of koffing into our only path of escape.

"We gotta move!" I shouted, straining to be heard by the boys over the battle. My pokemon stood in front of me, glaring daggers at the Rockets as they waited for an order.

The boys backed towards me, realizing we were trapped and cut off from our only way of escape.

Blue turned suddenly, pointing at the newcomers with a vicious grin. His arcanine separated from a prone machop, seeing her master's intent. "Flame charge!"

"No fir-"

His arcanine shot past me, abandoning her battle with the pair of raticate that were surrounding her. Living flames wrapped around her body, leaving a trail of fire that spread behind her as she ran. I turned and covered my ears as Blue's arcanine bore down on the pair of koffing.

Koffing and their evolution are basically shells of highly pressurized, highly volatile, highly toxic gas. They were unstable at the best of times, prone to detonation when threatened. In the wild, it was a defence mechanism to keep predators away from their home colony. In an enclosed space like this, it was a devastating.

Heat and smoke blasted over me and I heard the familiar sound of groaning supports as the building above us buckled and threatened to fall. Rubble landed on me, pieces of smouldering drywall knocking me onto the floor

I struggled to rise, my ears ringing and my head spinning. The pile of rubble on top of me shifted slightly, but I couldn't lift it. I tried again, grunting in pain and desperation. A thick bone appeared, wedging underneath the sheet of smouldering drywall that had trapped me. Acolyte grunted, heaving with everything he had as I wiggled free.

A grey fist connected solidly with Acolyte's jaw, sending him tumbling. The machoke was on him in a second, following up with blow after blow as Acolyte flailed at it with his club.

Pride was there, intercepting the machoke with a horn attack to its midsection. The hulking fighting type whined in pain, as my nidorino withdrew his horn and stepped in front of Acolyte. I felt a swell of pride as I watched the two rivals on my team stand side by side against an enemy.

I looked away for a moment, forcing my eyes to move past the grisly aftermath of the explosion and focus on finding us a way out. Red and Blue were both struggling to their feet, their pokemon already back on their feet and keeping the Rockets from the elevator engaged.

"Let's go!" I shouted, grabbing the boys by their collars and dragging them along with me. We didn't have a choice. We couldn't stay here and the elevator wasn't an option. Fire was already licking up the walls that were still standing, and the temperature was rising by the second. This place would be an oven in minutes, if the roof didn't cave in and drop the casino on top of our heads first.

I raised Acolyte's ball, returning my marowak as the machoke intercepted a body blow with his arm. Pride seized on the confusion, burying his horn into the machoke's thigh and dropping it to one knee. The beast bellowed angrily at us as we retreated towards the stairs, unable to rise.

We burst into the staircase, Red and Blue racing ahead of me as they overtook me. Blue's arcanine disappeared into her ball, too big to fit through the doorway. The boys bounded up a pair of steps before turning and dashing for the stairs deeper into the basement. I bounded after them, stealing a glance up the stairwell as Luna and Pride ran past me.

Another trio of Rockets stormed down the stairs from the casino, joining the group from the elevator as they gave chase. We took the stairs in twos and threes, but the Rockets kept on our asses.

I glanced down at Luna, a suicidal plan rapidly taking shape as I ran. "Flamethrower! Block their way!"

She stopped, inhaling deeply. Agile as ever, my vulpix spun, a jet of flame superheating the concrete stairwell just behind me. The first Rocket skidded to a halt, too slowly to avoid Luna's flamethrower. He dropped to the ground, screaming in pain as he clutched at his burning face.

"Keep going!" I shouted, leaping down the last few steps to the bottom floor. The air was hot and dry, ripping at my throat as I sucked in breath after breath. It was rapidly becoming harder and harder to breathe. "Luna, on me!"

My vulpix cut the flames and dashed down the stairs towards us. I could still hear screams of pain, but more shouts were coming closer down the stairs. I'd bought us seconds, a minute at most.

Blue was already at the end of the hallway, frantically waving me over. I dashed the length of the hallway as more frantic shouting echoed down the hallways branching off of ours. We were trapped, the building coming down on top of us.

"The elevator?" I asked incredulously. I slammed into the doors as I skidded to a halt, sucking down ragged breaths as I dug in my pocket for the key card.

He practically tore the card from my hand. "You have a better idea? The stairs ended!" He swiped the card. I didn't answer him. "If there's anyone inside when it opens, we swarm them."

Red nodded grimly, raising one of his pokeballs in preparation. I'd barely seen him use another pokemon, but he hadn't needed one. His pikachu sat proudly on his shoulder, waiting for another opponent. His poliwhirl was gone, returned to his ball.

I took my place beside them both, stealing a glance behind me. I could hear the shouting getting closer and knew we didn't have much time.

The elevator door slowly opened, gears grinding as the massive freight elevator opened for us. It was empty.

The Rockets streamed out of the stairwell, six of them running headlong down the hallway. We stepped into the elevator and I turned, taking cover behind the crate the Rockets had dropped in the elevator as Blue madly mashed at the bottom button.

The heavy metal doors ground slowly shut, moving agonizingly slowly. I closed my eyes, praying that the doors would shut in time. We were dead if they didn't.

The door slammed shut, sealing us away from the angry Rocket grunts. I opened my eyes, breathing a heavy sigh of relief.

"Well, that went well." Blue sat unceremoniously on the floor, leaning back against the elevator wall. His chest was heaving and he hung his head in exhaustion. "Let's not do that again. Like ever."

I plopped down opposite him, Luna curling affectionately into my side. I struggled hard to catch my breath, my hands shaking as adrenaline coursed through me. Pride sat dutifully in front of me, panting heavily.

Red did the same, his pikachu nuzzling his cheek affectionately. "Agreed," he replied, his voice hoarse. "This was a bad idea."

I shrugged, still trying to catch my breath. "Any idea how we get out of here?" I asked. "Not to spoil the fun, but we just set our only way out on fire."

Red sat in silence, looking dumbly at me. He looked at Blue as if he were unsure and deferring to him.

The young Oak got to his feet, finally seeming to catch his breath. "We worry about that after. Right now, we have to shut this place down. They're storing prize pokemon down here and that stops today." He held out a hand to Red, hauling the smaller boy to his feet. He looked at me with a quizzical look. "You said that you dealt with a pokemon poacher that worked for the Rockets?"

I nodded. "Vicious…" my voice trailed off and died at the thought of facing him again right now. "The name fits him. He's not a pleasant person."

Blue's face went cold and I got the feeling that the young Oak wouldn't soon forget the masked trainer who had killed his raticate. "I remember him," Blue answered. His eyes were dark and I saw the fury clearly in them. "We're gonna burn it all down," he continued. "Whatever this Team Rocket is, whoever they are, they're evil. They hurt people. They hurt pokemon. They act all self-righteous, like they're the good guys in all of this." He paused and his expression faltered slightly.

Red turned and put his hand on Blue's shoulder. "We'll do it together," he said. He was smiling warmly, offering Blue some small comfort. "These people need to be stopped. We'll stop them."

Blue offered a weak smile in return. "Thanks, Red."

The elevator ground to a halt, stopping as it finally reached the bottom floor. I got to my feet, Pride and Luna taking up places in front of me. I turned to look at the boys, ready for whatever fresh hell was waiting outside the elevator.

The doors opened and nothing greeted us. No angry shouts, no furious pokemon, just deafening silence.

I stepped out, scanning the room quickly. It was a large cavern, seemingly carved from the surrounding rock. Various cages lined the walls of the cave, a veritable menagerie of pokemon stuffed into them like some sick kind of zoo. There were pokemon from all across Kanto, even a few Johtan pokemon mixed in.

"This is wrong," I said, walking out into the cavern. I couldn't take my eyes off the cages, eyes racing along them as I looked for Curie. I passed by a charizard that regarded me coldly, its jaws chained shut and its wings tied together. Red stopped to help the fire drake, but I kept moving, looking for my pokemon.

"It's barbaric," Blue said. He stopped in front of a smaller cage, an eevee looking up at him with soft brown eyes. "How can someone do this to pokemon?"

I ignored him, my heart leaping into my throat. A happiny was seated miserably against the wall of her cage. My happiny was alive. She looked up at me, hope filling her large round eyes.

My hand dropped to my belt and I released Acolyte. Curie shied back from the unfamiliar pokemon and I felt my heart break just a little bit as Luna nuzzled at the cage in an attempt to calm my precious child. "Stay back," I ordered to Curie. "We're gonna get you out of there."

I pointed at the padlock holding the cage shut. "Get it open," I ordered, looking to Acolyte.

He raised his club, smashing the lock with ease. The cage door swung open and I saw hope flicker in Curie's eyes.

"It's ok, Curie." My voice was low and I kept my eyes locked with hers. "I'm here now. You're safe. I'll never let anybody take you from us again."

She took a step towards me, her eyes filling with tears. She was thin, thinner than a little round pokemon like her should ever be. I pushed away my anger at how she'd been treated, just happy to have her back.

My hand went into my bag, wrapping around the small stone that she had dropped on my lap in the helicopter. I didn't know why the stone was so important to her, but she was inconsolable without it. I pulled out the small, white, oval stone and held it out in my palm.

"You dropped something," I said, getting down on one knee. I held the stone out to her, smiling as best I could. "I kept it safe for you, until I could rescue you."

She looked at the stone, then up at me. I saw tears glistening at the edges of her eyes and held the oval stone out to her. My happiny reached out, taking the stone in her tiny hands.

A stunning white-hot light shone from Curie's hands as she touched the stone. The light enveloped her, growing in size until she was just over half my size. The light faded, leaving my chansey looking at me with an expression of sheer adoration.

I clapped my hand over my mouth, trying and failing to suppress a joyful sob. Tears of pure joy ran freely down my face as my pokemon looked at me. "You evolved!" I said hysterically. I threw my arms around her, pulling my chansey into a crushing hug. "I'm so proud of you! You're so strong."

A door slammed shut, echoing loudly through the cavern. I pulled Curie's ball from the cage and returned her as I swivelled around to look for the source.

He was tall, broad at the shoulders and built like a tauros. He barely fit into his expensive-looking suit, muscles practically bursting through his sleeves. His face was half obscured by shadow, his eyes cold and calculating. He stopped at the end of the cages, a single pokeball in his hand. He studied the three of us coldly and I got the feeling that he was deciding exactly how he was going to kill us.

Luna and Pride shied back, standing defensively in front of me while Acolyte raised his club warily. Red and his pikachu stood at my side, Blue and his arcanine on the other side of them. Both the boys had another ball in their hands, waiting for the man to make a move.

He looked down a hooked nose at us. "It is rare when one person stands up against my interests. Rarer still when it is three people standing in my way." His expression morphed into one of pride. "I know that you have all been offered positions in our organization. I will make our last offer now. It will be your last chance to call off your little crusade before I end it."

"Save your breath," Red spat, finding his voice. He stepped forward, locking eyes with the man. "This place is proof enough, the things your organization does is proof enough. We will not join you. Let's settle this now."

The man smirked, and I caught a proper look at his face. Realization hit me, and I couldn't help the shiver running down my spine. We were alone underground, outclassed by our opponent, with no hope of escape. We needed a miracle.

Giovanni Sakai, gym leader of Viridian City, stepped into the light. He tossed his ball up into the air, a kangaskhan bellowing as she was called out. The walls of the cave seemed to shake and the pokemon in the cages

His calculating gaze bored into me, lingering for a moment on Blue. Then he settled his gaze on Red and I saw something akin to respect flicker in his eyes.

"Then let's settle this," Giovanni said. "Like adults."

His kangaskhan roared and the room erupted into pure chaos.

Pokédex Entry #113 – Chansey

This pokemon has adapted almost completely to humans, taking to a domesticated role marvellously. These pink ovoids are often found in hospitals and pokemon centres, using their eggs as an emergency salve. They posses immense strength, but are reluctant to use their power for violence.

Before their domestication, they were hunted to near extinction in the wild for their eggs. As such, they are exceedingly rare in the wild. However, happiny eggs are not uncommon among beginning trainers and non-training sectors.

Intermediate Trainer KT#07996101, Marcus Wright, current team

Luna, Vulpix

Pride, Nidorino

Acolyte, Marowak

Vector, Heracross

Curie, Chansey