I shouldn't be here.
This is a job only for the strongest of the strongest trainers Hoenn has to offer. So why am I here?
This is an absolutely bad idea.
"Why the long face, Vel?" Drake asked in his booming jovial voice from where he is flying on his salamence beside me. I am flying on Snap. Dad is riding on tropius and the rest of the Elite Four are all hitching a ride on one of Drake's dragons each.
Me and Dad with the Elite Four. We are going to take down the main force of Team Magma and Team Aqua with just six people, alone, with no backup. Reason? The Elite Four is the backup.
How did I get myself into this mess again?
Vance had to stay back at the Battle Frontier to help clean up the mess there. The same reason goes for Flannery, who is also helping out with the cleaning up. Vance is a Frontier Brain, and despite how much he wants to come with us, he knows that his duty dictates that his priority should be given to the Battle Frontier. I had wanted to stay with him, until Drake cuts in.
"Griff, your little girl is joining the… what's that called again? The international whatever thing?"
"Yes, she is going to. Why?"
"Then she should experience for herself what combating criminal groups are really like. At the very least, we are around to protect her this time. This is the safest scenario for her to learn before she goes out there alone without any experience or knowledge when it comes to taking down criminal organisations."
Dad was reluctant, but we all knew better than anyone that what Drake said holds merit. If my future job requires me to bust criminal groups and organisations regularly, then it will be beneficial for me if I shadow the Elites my region has to offer and see how they do things in our homeland. Furthermore, the entire Elite Four is here. Their collective firepower is equivalent to a small army. This is the best task force Hoenn can offer and they are capable of taking down the stronghold of Team Magma and Team Aqua by themselves without help. With this arrangement, the rest of the League's forces are now free to spread themselves and raid every single known base of these terrorists that Jarvis had mapped out for us.
Dad decided to tag along because he is worried for me. The rest of the Elite Four were sceptical about this arrangement at first, but the moment Drake mentioned that Dad used to be his right hand man in ACE until the both of them retired and when Kratos nearly tried to maul the three of them when they openly doubted my abilities, they changed their mind. They had thought that Kratos belongs to Dad. They weren't expecting me, a thirteen-year-old girl, to be able to command a tyranitar.
I have a feeling situation like this will be common when I finally join the international group that is going to be set up. Imagine trying to help plan a way to save the world as a thirteen-year-old girl but got yourself brushed off by the world's Elites simply because of your age. What a pain.
On a side note, Sidney seems to have taken a small interest in me the moment he spotted Kratos. Drake had told me that Sidney has been contemplating on whether he should train a tyranitar or a hydreigon and then add them onto his team for quite a while now.
Steven is linking up with the rest of the Thirteen Pillars to get them to organise their own army to take down the Aquas and the Magmas hiding in their city. The entirety of ACE is being mobilised, including those who are supposedly in retirement but had expressed interest in being called back to duty in times of crisis. Even the Rangers and the LSDF are in on this.
Due to the surprisingly large number of bases these terrorists have and how they are spread, our forces will be stretched thin. According to Jarvis's calculations, each base will probably just have a few members stationed there at all times. The Aquas and Magmas have spread their members out to reduce the likelihood of being totally uprooted if they were being found. They don't want to put all their eggs in one basket and risk a total wipe-out, a fate they almost suffered when the League launched a counterattack on their main base about half a year back.
Jarvis had also found out that Mirage Island is the most probable place for them to build their main stronghold. It is the place where their best and strongest members are being gathered and it is where most of their forces is stationed. I don't know how they found and entered the elusive place, but I have to admit that it is a good idea to build their HQ there. No wonder they were able to hide from the League for as long as they did.
What surprised me is that there are people who actually knows how to locate and find the place.
Tucker had very helpfully told us that there is an old man living in Pacifidlog who is able to calculate the exact day and time when Mirage Island will appear. No one knows how he did it, but word has it that he had spent years ever since he was a youth to find out more about the mysterious place. He claimed to have visited the place. Nobody believed him at first, but when he brought back a bag of Liechi berries one fine day after his supposed trip, people started to place some faith in his words. Liechi berries are rare, and the amount he had brought back would have cost him a bomb. In fact, there are no known Liechi berries to be picked in the wild in Hoenn. These berries are notoriously hard to grow and harvest. The oldest records our region has that documented such sightings had said that the only known location to be able to pick these berries in the wild is on Mirage Island itself.
Even so, many of the Pacifidlog townsfolk still believe that the old man is raving mad and that Mirage Island don't exist. The reason is simply because no one had managed to enter the island even with the directions the old man had supplied them. Even Tucker himself have no faith in the old man's words, but this old man is our best lead so far.
We had stopped by Pacifidlog to ask for the old man's assistance. According to him, Mirage Island should be accessible from now until tomorrow noon before it closes itself off from the outside world again. This gives us nearly 24 hours to annihilate and flatten Team Magma's and Team Aqua's stronghold. The old man had also mentioned that while Mirage Island can be accessed by surfing, it will be much easier to enter Mirage Island if we ride on flying types. Currently, Drake is leading the group at the front using the directions the old man had given us.
"That old man better not be lying." Sidney grumbled from where he is riding on the back of Drake's altaria. "This better not be a waste of our time."
"Even if Mirage Island don't exist, we know that the Aquas and Magmas have to be somewhere around the area." Glacia added her opinion. "It won't be a waste of time."
"Shush, we are getting close." Drake grunted out in a more serious tone. "Glacia."
Glacia released a vanilluxe from her position on one of Drake's flygon, who is happily conversing with Snap as they flew alongside each other. Snap's species is rare to spot in human captivity since they mainly hide themselves in the harsh desert. Snap hasn't seen another of his kind ever since he joined my team.
Glacia's vanilluxe used Mist which produces a dense white fog that surrounds our entire group.
"This will be able to disguise ourselves as a floating cloud." Glacia very helpfully informed me upon seeing the perplexed look on my face. "Mist can be used in many ways if you have enough creativity. My vanillluxe is even able to use the refracting properties of the fog to create simple mirages and illusions, although not as good or effective as Sidney's zoroark. Still, this ability is useful for tricking anyone who is not expecting such a thing to happen. Your lapras should be able to learn this trick given enough practice."
I nodded my head in understanding. No wonder Glacia is a member of Hoenn's Elite Four. Who would have thought about using Mist in this manner? Using it as a way to hide is a common tactic, but using it to refract light and create mirages? That is something new.
At the very least, I wouldn't have thought about it. How did her vanilluxe use it to create mirages anyway?
The sun had started to set and dusk will fall upon us soon. It is for this reason that I decided to ride on Snap instead of Toothless, since the Toothless's tail flame will easily give our location away in the dark night sky. Drake rose his right hand and gave a gesture, prompting us to all follow him in silence as our pokemon dove down with him and his salamence leading the way.
It seems that Drake had really managed to locate Mirage Island with the directions the old man from Pacifidlog had given us. On hindsight, Drake is a sailor, so navigation should be his forte.
Mirage Island is beautiful.
From what I could see after our group emerged from the clouds, Mirage Island is a single mass of land covered in mist and dense foliage. There are numerous whirlpools surrounding the island which prevents anyone from going in or out without pokemon knowing the moves Whirlpool and Surf, making it extremely inaccessible. The old man is right, flying is the easiest option if we can navigate our way through the clouds. Surfing would be a hassle and the terrorists would have spotted us coming a mile away. Realistically, flying is our best option for an ambush operation.
Glacia's vanilluxe started to emit more Mist from its body and I saw for myself how the fog turned from a dense white into a semi-transparent state.
"This is what I call the refractive mode, because the Mist refracts light away from us, making us invisible." Glacia spoke to me with pride colouring her voice. "Right now, we are cloaked in a transparent Mist that prevents anyone on the outside from spotting us. They still can, if their eyes are sharp enough, but it is dusk now. It will be near impossible to spot us through sight alone unless they are extremely lucky."
"Heh, this means Phoebe and I can go all out too." Sidney said this with a bloodthirsty grin forming on his face. "Our pokemon work best in the dark."
"Cut the talking, we are landing in hostile territory soon. Prepare yourselves."
Our group remained silent upon Drake's words and we landed on Mirage Island without much fanfare.
"I still can't believe that this place really exists." Phoebe spoke to no one in particular the moment she landed on the ground.
"Goes to show how little we know about our own home." Drake said as we gathered around each other. "For all we know, there may be more of such places in Hoenn."
We called out our smaller pokemon and recalled the bigger ones. We will only release them when our ambush starts.
"Remember the plan?"
"We attack from four different directions. The girl and her Dad will be monitoring the movements of the Magmas and Aquas with their pokemon and providing us with real-time updates. Missing anything else?" Sidney said in an impatient manner as he gave a shrug.
"Protocol M is approved. Go all out if you have to."
Protocol M?
The look on my face must have been obvious since Sidney facepalmed the moment he spotted it.
"Drake, you are blurting out highly classified information to kids."
"She is involved with the prophecy crap. She will find out sooner or later, better if she finds out now than later." Drake rebuffed with all traces of the Fuzzy-ness in him disappearing before turning to me. "Look, Vel. We don't have time to brief you on what Protocol M is about, but whatever you see that is going to happen later, no matter how unbelievable it looks, is top-secret. You get me?"
I can only nod. I will ask Dad later if he knows what Protocol M is about.
"Right, so if there aren't any questions, let's-"
The rustling of the bushes to our right got us and our pokemon on immediate alert.
A wobbuffet emerged from the bushes and landed in a heap in front of us. It is heavily injured.
"What the… gave me the scare back there." Sidney complained as the tension in his shoulders left him and he returned to his relaxed posture. I, on the other hand, am thinking about something else.
"Girl, what are you doing?"
"What does it look like I am doing?" I shot back a question of my own as I walked up to the wobbuffet and used a potion that I brought along with me to heal its wounds as much as I could. "Wobbuffet here might have information anyway, we can ask if it knows anything."
The looks everyone else sent my way told me that they are not following my train of thoughts.
"This wobbuffet is obviously a pokemon native to this island." I started to explain as the wobbuffet started to sit upright groggily as its wounds start to close shut from the potion's effect. "My espeon can converse with it and then inform me through telepathy what this wobbuffet knows about the Magmas and Aquas here. I know the four of you are strong, but having more information, no matter how insignificant, is still better than going in blind, don't you think?"
"Would you look at that, the little girl has a good head on her shoulders after all." Sidney said in an annoying condescending voice that makes me want to shave his head bald at that instant, not that there is much hair on his head to begin with.
"Shut up, Sidney." Phoebe pinched him on his arm in a forceful manner. "Be nice."
"I don't care if you guys are the Elite Four." Dad cut in as he crossed his arms at where he is standing at and glared at the Elite Four, his gaze lingering on Sidney more so than the others. "But speak to my girl in that tone one more time and you will find yourself having a problem with the Vera family. She is the only one who managed to pinpoint the location of every single Magma and Aqua base and lead us here, something that you Elites should have done months ago. Give her the respect that she deserves."
Thanks, Dad. You are awesome.
Sidney looked a little embarrassed at how everyone around him pointed out how rude he was, but he managed to squeeze out an apology.
"Uh… yeah. Sorry about that, girl. That wasn't very nice of me."
I guess this is the best apology I can get out of that prideful man.
"Name's Velda, not girl. If we are to work with each other, at least try to get my name right."
'Mistress. The peacekeeper has something valuable to share.'
I turned my head to Rena, ignoring the Elite Four. For some reason, I am a little disillusioned about the Elite Four after seeing our Elites' behaviour from when I first met them till now. Maybe it is just Sidney who lacks any form of tact and makes his opinion known in an obvious manner, but I can tell that most of them are also not taking me seriously. If it wasn't for his relationship with Dad, even Drake probably won't give me any time of the day either.
I am but a thirteen-year-old girl. Compared to them, I am nothing.
And I will probably be meeting a few members of the Elite Four from every known region in a week or two. Great. I can already see how much of a mess our first meeting will be.
I took in the information Rena had procured from the wild wobbuffet. From the looks of it, this operation shouldn't be too hard.
"According to the wobbuffet, it mentioned that humans have been clearing out the middle of the island to build their stronghold there. Many wynauts were apparently killed as well in the process, the wild pokemon population was not strong enough to defend themselves against them. It also said that the humans mainly congregated in the building and rarely ventured far away from it, so it should be easy for us to round them up since they are all gathered in one place."
"Bastards." Sidney growled out as his dark types followed his examples. "What kind of sickos will kill pokemon in this manner?"
A sableye emerged from Phoebe's shadow and gestured to her.
"What we learned from the wobbuffet seems to line up with what Gleams had found out as well." Phoebe said as I look at her sableye. Since when did it sneaked off to do reconnaissance without our knowledge?
Drake gave a clap to gather our attention onto him.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."
"You ok, Vel?"
"I'm fine, Dad."
The two of us hid ourselves in the dense foliage as Rena, Bigblue, and Snap collaborated with each other to use their sensing abilities to keep track of the movements of the Magmas and Aquas. With their abilities to sense our enemies accurately, they will be the equivalent of our enemy-seeking radar for this mission. Dolly, Kel, Lily, Joy, Ness, Hulk, Archer are spaced out around us as well. Their form is still considered small enough to hide themselves behind the huge trees and blend into the dark night. The rest of my team are kept in my pokeballs. Fuzzy is out of commission since using the Nuclear combo had took a lot out of him. He won't be participating in any battles for at least the next 24 hours given how exhausted he is.
Fang, Frosty, tropius, and Chewy are also out and they also hid themselves by blending into their surroundings. Dad stood beside me as Jarvis made himself comfortable in my xtransceiver. He will be helping me to communicate with the Elite Four as they do their job. If all goes well, Dad and I won't need to do anything other than to monitor the progress of our assault.
"Most Elites have their own pride and they can have a little attitude." Dad made conversation with me as we waited for the Elite Four to get into their position. The wobbuffet from earlier stood beside us as still as a statue. I guess that it wants to watch the Magmas' and Aquas' downfall with its own eyes given what they did to its kind. "Don't be too affected by what they say, they will realise their errors soon enough."
A blink of my xtransceiver brought our attention back to it. It seems that the Elite Four had all gotten themselves into their respective positions.
"Jarvis, give the signal."
A huge explosion shook the island as I saw the appearance of many furious dragons in the sky bombarding their attacks at a specific spot. Waves of dark and ghostly energies can be seen as well even with the night sky as our background. I spotted a storm of raging blizzard at the other end.
It has finally started. Hopefully, Team Magma and Team Aqua can be put down for good after this. We don't need them to terrorise our homeland any longer.
'Mistress, some of them are escaping underground. Snap sensed them, to the west of the island.'
I quickly brought my xtransceiver closer to my face and spoke to the device. Communications between me and the Elite Four are open the moment the operation had started.
"Drake! Some of them are escaping underground to the west of the island!"
"Got it! Sidney! You are the closest! Do something!"
Another explosion was Sidney's answer as a massive Dark Pulse blew up an area from what me and Dad can see where we had hidden ourselves far away from the fighting. I don't know what Sidney and Phoebe did, but they claimed that teleportation is now impossible after they quickly scouted the island by themselves, saying that they had did something to prevent the use of Teleport in and out of the island. From what they let slip, it is something similar to what the Magmas and Aquas had done when they lay siege on the Battle Frontier.
I wonder how? Is it a combination of pokemon moves, or the use of technology? Maybe a combination of both?
"Watch out! They have ghosts as well! They are trying to escape with Shadow Sneak!" Phoebe's voice can be heard through my xtransceiver as she yelled out a warning.
"I'm on it! Absol, Pursuit!"
I can feel myself frowning. Ghosts? Since when did Magmas and Aquas decide to use ghosts?
"Where are the admins? Or Shelly and Courtney? I haven't seen them!" Glacia's reminder rang through as we witness another icy storm covering a huge area in a blanket of frost.
"Me neither!"
"Same here!"
"No signs of them! Vel, can your pokemon find them?"
I can see Rena focusing as the psychic glow in her eyes got brighter and brighter. She had seen the two new leaders of Team Magma and Team Aqua and remembered their psychic signature back at the Battle Frontier. Tracking them down should be a doable job for her. It only takes time to filter their presence out from the number of people currently on this island.
'The north of the island! They are making their escape!'
I cursed in my mind before relaying the information to the Elite Four. HOW did they sneak past the Elite Four unnoticed?!
"There's too many of them! We will be stuck here for a short while! You and Griff have to stop and delay them for as long as you can! We will be there soon!"
I turned to look at Dad. Battling two of the most dangerous criminals of Hoenn is not what I had been expecting, but I should have prepared myself for this possibility.
"No point staying here, let's go. We are strong enough to at least delay them." Dad gave a reassuring pat on my shoulder as I finally released the rest of my team except for Fuzzy.
"Rena, pass on the location of Shelly and Courtney to Dolly. Dolly, Shadow Sneak us to them. Everyone, we are entering combat immediately, so prepare yourselves."
Dolly shrieked out a reply as she commanded the shadows around us to slowly embrace our group. It will take some time for Dolly to transport us there due to how big our group is, but it won't be long. I quickly swing myself onto Flamel's back at the same time as Dad mounted tropius, who had walked up to stand beside him.
I really hate to find myself fighting in a life-or-death battle, but if I don't do this, many more may get injured or killed if Shelly and Courtney managed to escape. Dad and I have to stop them.
"Vel, just checking, are you wearing the pendant I got for you for your birthday?"
I blinked my eyes in confusion. Why the sudden question?
"Yeah, why?"
"Make sure it stays on you at all times. Kratos, come here for a sec."
Kratos's confusion rivalled mine, but he walked up to Dad anyway as Dad passed him something that I cannot make out in the darkness. All I can tell is that whatever Dad gave Kratos, it is small.
"Hold onto this item, Kratos, you may need it."
I idly pulled out and checked the pendant Dad had got for me for my thirteenth birthday. It is a simple pendant with a small jewel embedded in it. The jewel has a rainbow hue to it, looking almost like some sort of marble ball. I wear it around my neck at all times although I mostly kept it hidden underneath what I'm wearing. Dad had said that he got it for me as a good luck charm.
It also looks like a Key Stone too, the one I remembered about from my previous life, but I don't see any DNA markings on it. If it wasn't for the colour resembling those of a Key Stone, I wouldn't have suspect that it could be one. I still have no confirmation though, since the jewel doesn't react to anything no matter what I do.
'Mistress, Dolly is ready.'
"Bring us there, Dolly."
Griff gave a quick glance in his daughter's direction as his team fought against Shelly's. Velda seems to be doing fine so far. Hopefully she won't have to resort to using Mega Evolution in this battle. He doesn't even know if she and Kratos are capable of invoking it yet.
He had wanted to introduce her to this highly confidential information after their visit to the Battle Frontier. During the visit he had with the President, the President had also given his permission along with Wallace to allow Velda to have a Mega Stone. A Tyranitarite was what he had chosen for her from the list of options he was given. Their family had always held a few keystones in their possession since centuries ago, so he didn't need to get one from the League. He gave one of it to Velda in the form of a jewel embedded in a nicely crafted pendant as her birthday present, one that his daughter had taken to wearing it on her person at all times. Thankfully, she seems to like the present.
He should have taught his daughter how to utilise this power the moment he got permission from the League. He wanted to put off shoving the burden of keeping another highly guarded secret onto his daughter for as long as possible, but it seems that the unexpected invasion had caused the effect of his actions to backfire.
If things do take a turn for the worst, then he will do everything he can as a father to keep his daughter safe.
Frosty and Chewy are doing a great job thus far in downing many of Shelly's pokemon with Fang and tropius providing backup. Right now, the greatest threat on Shelly's team is her massive gyarados, who is able to fight Chewy on equal ground. On Velda's side, she seems to be able to make the same progress with a little difficulty. It is to be expected. She doesn't have as much experience as him or Vance when it comes to fighting in a mob battle like this. She had trained herself for this possibility, but she did not go through the same rigorous training that he and Vance were put through during their time in ACE. The fact that she can hold her own against Courtney on a battle of this magnitude of chaos already speaks volume about her skill and adaptability on the battlefield as a trainer.
Kratos is currently facing off a garchomp as the rest of Velda's team are systematically destroying Courtney's team little by little. Individually, it seems that Courtney and Shelly aren't that talented as trainers even if they are definitely Elite level in strength. What makes them dangerous are their ideologies and their ability to plan and carry out terrorist acts without anyone the wiser. What makes them a thorn on League's side is their ability to gather fanatic followers that fight for their cause and lead them effectively in battle.
They may not be as strong as him and his little girl in a straight-on battle, but their ability to lead their respective little cults is certainly terrifying. They certainly have what it takes to be an effective leader.
If only they can use their skills for a good cause.
"Courtney, I am going with that!"
Shelly's words got Griff's attention back to the battle. Courtney didn't reply to whatever Shelly had said, but what the two females whipped out next got his eyes widening in fear.
Key Stones.
No, anything but that. Velda isn't yet ready to face something on this level. She didn't have the time to prepare for something like this.
"MEGA EVOLUTION!"
No way, Mega Evolution is real?
A massive Earth Power split the ground as my team and I are forced to run for cover. We were making good progress in slowly wearing Courtney's team down until this happened.
Mega Garchomp charged its way through while slashing violently with the scythes on its arms. Kratos moved to intercept the enraged dragon with Toothless backing him up, the both of them had immediately sensed how big a threat Mega Garchomp is the moment Mega Evolution was invoked. I don't know how much of a power boost Mega Evolution will give garchomp, but two of my powerhouses should be enough to at least stop it temporarily.
"Bigblue, Chill, Surf! Snap, Ness, trap them!"
Bigblue and Chill pushed back the rest of Courtney's team with a crashing wall of water as Snap and Ness used this chance to create a massive area of quicksand with their ground type techniques. The rest of my team picked off any of Courtney's pokemon who attempted to make their escape and threw them back into the sandpit. Kel, Rena, Joy, and Archer positioned themselves around me as my guards while I rode on Flamel's back.
Once I took out the rest of Courtney's team, we can then focus on taking the Mega Garchomp down. I don't know for sure how strong Mega Garchomp is, but I don't think it can take down my entire team by itself. From what I can see, Dad seems to be doing fine against Shelly's Mega Gyarados as he commanded Chewy. I am worried about him. He has only four pokemon on his team.
I need to end my battle as fast as possible so that I can go and help Dad.
"Jarvis, Lock-On. Chill, Mimic, then Fissure."
This is the combo that I thought of that will ensure that Chill's one-hit KO moves will always hit through copying Jarvis's Lock-On with Mimic. Chill isn't as strong as Courtney's Mega Garchomp, but Chill should be able to take out the rest of her team with this move alone. Sheer Cold can work as well, but in this case, Fissure is better suited for taking out an entire group at once who are already trapped in quicksand.
Chill gave a cry, and the ground opened up to swallow the rest of Courtney's team that is trapped in the sandpit before closing shut. They won't be getting out ever again. We had just sent them to their graves.
"Dual Chop!"
Mega Garchomp gave a violent slash that forced Kratos and Toothless to back off. Snap flew in and blasted Dragon Pulses repeatedly at it, only for Mega Garchomp to explode the ground surrounding it in a violent manner and forcing my team to scatter once more.
"Dolly, Lily, Confuse Ray!"
Our attempt to confuse Mega Garchomp was foiled as it fired a large beam of Dragon Pulse in our direction, destroying the attack at the same time. Mega Garchomp followed up with a Double Team, hiding itself in a sea of illusory copies.
"Dolly, Feint Attack! Find it!"
Dolly shrieked a reply before diving in to seek out Mega Garchomp, who easily repelled the attack with its huge scythes. Kratos charged back in to engage the Mega Garchomp, who used a Dragon Tail that actually managed to send Kratos flying away.
I have underestimated how much power Mega Evolution bestow upon a pokemon capable of undergoing that process. As of now, it seems that Mega Garchomp is more than enough to handle my entire team on its own when it can barely match Kratos earlier as a normal garchomp.
"Aim for the girl! Dragon Rush!"
Bigblue and Lily immediately rushed to stand in Mega Garchomp's way as Flamel dashed off with me on his back to safety. The rest of my team bombarded their attacks on the Mega Garchomp, but it doesn't seem to have any effect.
"Outrage!"
I watched on in horror as even Bigblue and Lily were blasted backwards from the sudden explosion of draconic energy emitted from Mega Garchomp. Lily quickly healed herself and barely managed to get out of the way of Mega Garchomp's scythes. Toothless tried to stop Mega Garchomp's advance with his flames, but it doesn't have any visible effect. Hulk dashed forward and rammed into Mega Garchomp with a Body Slam, managing to get it to stumble for a short moment, but a slash of its claw slammed Hulk back into the ground in the next second. Hulk would have been done for if it wasn't for the combined efforts of Jarvis and Ness in firing their attacks at Mega Garchomp, buying some time for Hulk to get back to his feet and to safety.
"Hyper Beam!"
Mega Garchomp shot out a large beam of condensed energy and swept it in a wide arc around itself as we all scurried to get out of the line of fire. The ground underneath Mega Garchomp cracked and Kratos reappeared with an angry roar before closing his jaws around Mega Garchomp's right arm with a Crunch, hoping to render its limb useless.
A Brick Break from Mega Garchomp struck a critical blow on Kratos, whose armour actually dented from the impact. Kratos roared in pain but he wasn't deterred, instead opting to retaliate with a Payback. A Water Pulse from Bigblue slammed into Mega Garchomp at the same time as Chill unleashed an Ice Beam.
"Mega Garchomp, Incinerate!"
The combined attack was evaporated from the heat of the flames as Mega Garchomp zoomed out of there and crashed into Bigblue with another Dragon Rush. Bigblue fought back with a Counter, but it was defended against with Mega Garchomp's Protect. Lily tried to get her tentacles around Mega Garchomp but it dove into the ground with a Dig to make its escape before emerging behind me and Flamel in just a few seconds.
Flamel sensed the danger and immediately avoided the slash from Mega Garchomp's scythe with a powerful jump. Archer put himself in harm's way to buy time for Flamel and I to escape as he used an X-Scissor to hold off the Mega Garchomp. Kel unleashed her Prediction combo that managed to get Mega Garchomp to skid backwards slightly.
"Sand Tomb!"
"Kratos! Ness! Snap!"
My three pokemon immediately wrestled the control of the sand away from the Mega Garchomp as Bigblue flew in with a Battering Ram and knocked the Mega Garchomp off its feet. Seeing the opportunity, Hulk used a Superpower that punched the Mega Garchomp into the ground. Chill unleashed a Blizzard this time, hoping to freeze the dragon and take it out for good.
However, the crater where the Mega Garchomp once lay didn't have any signs of the dragon. It was then we realised our mistake.
It was a Substitute. We were all fooled.
Kratos immediately raised walls of stone when a barrage of Draco Meteors rained upon us from the sky. Each and every of my pokemon got into their defensive stance and pulled off a combined Protect. It was just in time too as the Draco Meteors broke through Kratos' rocks and blasted at the greenish shield they had put up with full power.
How can we bring this Mega Garchomp down?!
'Below! Watch out!'
Rena's warning to us was a little too late as the ground below us suddenly exploded in a violent fashion that threw us all into the sky, forcefully scattering us. I was thrown off Flamel's back and I watched as another garchomp burst out from the ground and head towards me with its jaws wide open.
I had miscalculated. I forgot to account for the fact that Courtney may have more pokemon than she had used to battle me.
The only thing I can do is to close my eyes and wait for my impending doom.
Torch really hate interacting with humans. They are a bunch of conceited beings that think that they are smarter and above all others. If it wasn't for the fact that he was born and raised in human captivity, he might have razed any humans he sees on sight.
Despite his personality and dislike for humans, Griff had never shunned him or treated him differently. For some unknown reason, Griff chose to train him out of the other torchics that were available and helped him grew into what he is today. For that, he will forever be grateful to this one human that he made an exception to his dislike for Griff's species. However, he had made it known to his trainer that he does not want to interact with any other humans if possible, something that his trainer obliged.
In the end, Torch ended up helping to guard the sanctuary on the farm, a place where his species alongside several others are kept on the farm in secret and away from others. The current leader of the sanctuary is an aged but extremely powerful sceptile, who accepted him and his quirks. According to Griff, his descendants' own sceptile and swampert will one day join them after countless moons after they had all passed on, just as their family tradition had dictated for generations.
It is what all of their forefathers had sworn since the founding of the land that they are raised in. Torch had taken the oath as well the moment he is able to understand words, so did the aged sceptile and the other little younglings here who will one day be given out to other humans before returning here once their future trainers passed on and their journey had ended. It will be a long time before that happens, but they will all return here eventually. Every single one of them will, no matter who they are given out to. They are all bound to their oath to do so.
Torch had never bothered to meet Griff's offspring although he had seen his mate before, but he had heard enough from passing rumours around the pokemon on the farm that Griff had two children and each of them are talented trainers. His dislike for any interaction with other humans surpassed the curiosity he has for the two children that Griff is so proud of. He can sense it from the way his trainer talks about them whenever they spend some time together on the farm.
Still, he stands by his dislike for the human species. He will not interact with any of them other than his trainer unless it is strictly necessary. He will not battle unless his strength is needed, that was the agreement he had with Griff.
Hence, it was a huge surprise when he suddenly found himself sent out for battle in the dark of the night in an unknown place. He knows how strong Fang, tropius, Frosty, and Chewy are. Griff is a capable trainer, he trained them so well that their strengths are at the pinnacle of their respective species. They are not weak. Why is his strength needed? Why is he being called upon?
"Torch! Save my girl!"
Torch immediately turned to where Griff is pointing at and saw a small human child being thrown into the air from an attack. A dragon is trying to snap her into two with its powerful jaws. The pokemon around her tried to get to her in time, but from what he can see, they were all forcefully scattered far away from her. They will not make it.
But he can.
With the use of Agility, Torch leapt after the young human child and immediately caught her in a split second, pulling her into his chest and away from harm before landing back onto the ground. Even for a pokemon like him that dislike humans as much as he does, harming a child is something that he will never do. His honour will never allow him to harm an innocent child no matter if they are a human or a pokemon.
"Bla-Blaziken?"
The young human child had a visible look of surprise on her face. Upon taking a closer look, Torch realised that she looks a lot like Griff's mate. This must be one of Griff's offspring.
The roar of the angry dragon behind him got his attention once more as Torch glanced backwards. The same dragon that was attempting to eat Griff's offspring earlier is now charging at him. The rest of the pokemon around them, who he assumes belongs to the girl, are trying to hold off another dragon of the same species but had Mega Evolved, trusting him to protect their trainer even if they had never met before.
Torch frowned. Mega Evolution is not something to be used lightly.
The pokemon of Griff's offspring seems to have things covered for now as they battled with what he finally identified as a Mega Garchomp, if his memory serves him right. In that case, he will handle the other one charging straight at him. He alone is enough to crush the dragon.
With the young girl still in his arms, Torch stood motionlessly and waited for the other garchomp to come closer. The moment the dragon got within striking range, Torch turned around and unleashed a powerful roundhouse kick empowered with scorching flames, sending the dragon crashing into the nearby trees with a single strike.
Torch let out an amused huff when he saw the awestruck expression on the face of the human child. He is sure that Griff had told him her name before. What was it again?
A large sea serpent, a Mega Gyarados, was slammed into the area near where the garchomp is. Griff rushed over with the rest of the team and Torch let the child down from his arms.
"Dad? What-"
"No time to explain. This is Torch, I just never got the chance to introduce him to you and Vance." Griff placed a hand on the child's shoulder before turning to him.
"Torch, we are doing it."
Torch dove in and punched the Mega Gyarados with a Sky Uppercut, throwing it into the air while shooting a Flamethrower downwards at the garchomp on the ground. He can feel the power from the Blazikenite he is holding onto getting stronger and he lets the power wash over him.
With a howl, Torch completed his Mega Evolution and used his new ability, Speed Boost, to continuously battle garchomp and the Mega Gyarados simultaneously. His newfound speed is enough for him to outspeed his opponents as the rest of the team supported him with attacks of their own.
A Blizzard from Frosty got their foes temporarily stuck to the ground in ice. An opening.
"Blast Burn!"
Torch unleashed the most powerful fire type attack in his arsenal and destroyed the two pokemon instantly, leaving them a charred and blackened mess. Even without the next command from his trainer, Torch knows what Griff will want him to do next.
"Vel, get your team away from the Mega Garchomp! Let us handle it! Torch! Engage it!"
Ah right, her name is Vel. That is the name of the female offspring that his trainer had told him about.
"R-Right! Guys, get back!"
The child's pokemon team immediately parted for Torch as Torch covered himself in scorching hot flames and collided into the Mega Garchomp with a Flare Blitz. The dragon screeched in pain and tried to bisect him into two with its scythes, but Torch's speed is too fast and Mega Garchomp's strikes are too slow. The dragon's attack will never connect onto him.
Torch rained a series of Fire Punch on the dragon, who is now forced to be on the defensive from the number of attacks hitting on it. A powerful Double Kick from Torch sent it skidding back to the dragon's trainer and another female human, who were about to escape and leave the dragon behind.
"Fire Spin! Don't let the other trainers get away!"
Torch unleashed another fiery hell upon the two female humans and trapped them in a circular wall of flames, cutting off their escape but not harming them. It will be enough to prevent them from going anywhere else. He dashed back in and knocked the dragon away from its trainer, preventing it from going back in to save them.
"End it!"
Using his speed to gain momentum, Torch smashed the dragon's head in with a High Jump Kick before wrapping his arms around its neck and slam it back down into the ground with a Seismic Toss. To be doubly sure that it stays down, Torch fired a Focus Blast on the fallen dragon, killing it with a single move.
Torch roared his victory into the night sky as he felt the power from his Mega Evolution receding. His battle is over, it is time for him to return back to his pokeball.
Torch turned around to face his trainer and saw the looks of awe that the child's pokemon team -Vel's pokemon team- are giving him.
'What? Never see a blaziken before?'
'Wha? How? How did you evolve even further? How did you and that damn dragon do that?'
'It's called Mega Evolution.' Torch briefly answered the question posed by the rock lizard and pointed to the item he saw the rock lizard held. 'If you have that with you, you can undergo the process as well. I know your kind is capable of doing it. You will need the power of your trainer to achieve that though.'
'I have been on the farm for many moons and yet I have never seen you before.' A fire horse commented from where he reunited with his trainer and stood by her side protectively. 'Yet, you obviously are Griff's pokemon.'
'I dislike humans. The only human who I respect is Griff. The only reason why I saved your trainer is because she is his offspring. If you guys still call yourselves your trainer's pokemon, learn how to better protect your trainer.' Torch scoffed and turned back to the rock lizard. 'If you have that item, then learn how to use it. As of now, all of you are not ready to be facing a Mega Evolved pokemon. All of you are still too weak.'
The rock lizard snarled angrily upon his words, but Torch didn't bother to bring himself to care. What he said was the truth. They are obviously well trained, but none of these pokemon can defeat him in a fight, he can easily tell that from a glance. He walked back to Griff's side, who got the cue and took out his pokeball.
"Thanks a lot, Torch."
'You better start on teaching your offspring how to invoke Mega Evolution properly. I won't always be there to save her.' Torch snorted a reply, although he knows that his trainer won't be able to understand him. Oh well, he should be smart enough to figure out his message.
Torch let his mind rest as he returned to the confines of his pokeball. He is still a little disgruntled at being called out for battle, but at least the battles were worth his time. Taking on two Mega Evolved pokemon today is a new record for him.
He just hopes that the girl's pokemon won't go and search for him on the farm to bug him further about Mega Evolution. The swampert might probably know how to seek him out in the sanctuary, but it knows that it is a secret that it is not allowed to divulge to anyone just yet, not even its trainer and the rest of her team. Hopefully, Vel and the other two opposing human trainers that they were fighting against will be the last humans he will see in a long while, his trainer not included.
His participation in battle today confirmed it once again, he still dislikes humans in general.
AN: First of all, I would like to apologise for taking close to a month to update. It wasn't my intention for this to happen, but no matter how I write this chapter, I am just not satisfied with it. In the end, I decided to put off writing IJWTTTW for a while and tried to focus on my other stories, only to find that I have hit a dry spell for all of them as well. For some reason, I just lost all inspiration and motivation to write anything for all of them and I don't know why.
I still want to continue writing as the next month is probably the only relatively free month I have to write whatever I could before my life gets busy again. I decided to try and write some more new stories or plot bunnies I have in my head to get my inspiration and motivation in writing back. I wrote chapters for six new stories, but in the end only two of them are good enough for me to deem satisfactory and it was what I decided to publish and share to my readers. One of them is a new pokemon fanfic, "The Sun of Sunyshore", featuring Volkner as the oc. You guys can check it out if you are interested. The other one is a bleach fic titled "To Defy".
I still regret the fact that it took me one month to get this out and I don't know if it is good enough. It had always been my intention to introduce Torch and Mega Evolution (to Vel) in this chapter and somehow the way I write it always turns out clunky. I think the way this chapter is now is probably the best its going to get at my current level. I decided to just go ahead with this because if I don't publish this chapter, then the story of IJWTTTW will never progress.
On a totally unrelated note, not sure how many of you had gotten wind of the Pokemon Masters game, but I personally cannot wait for it to be released. The game looks extremely fun to play.
In any case, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry for the late update and many thanks for your continuous support in me and my stories.
Character and pokemon list:
Velda Vera, Age: 13, Female, Pokemon Trainer, Runner-up in the 528th Ever Grande Conference
Pokemon on hand:
1) Rapidash (Flamel), male
2) Swampert (Bigblue), male
3) Banette (Dolly), female
4) Flygon (Snap), male
5) Absol (Kelsa), female
6) Charizard (Toothless), male
7) Cradily (Lily), female
8) Espeon (Rena), female
9) Pachirisu (Fuzzy), male
10) Tyranitar (Kratos), male
11) Cleffa (Joy), female
12) Nidoqueen (Ness), female
13) Pangoro (Hulk), male
14) Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless
15) Scizor (Archer), male
16) Lapras (Chill), female
Griff Vera, Age: 42, Male, Owner of Vera Pokemon Breeding Farm, Husband to Hanna Vera (formerly Springfield), Father to Vance and Velda Vera
Pokemon on hand:
1) Mightyena (Fang), male
2) Tropius, male
3) Hydreigon (Chewy), male
4) Glalie (Frosty), male
5) Blaziken (Torch), male
5) Ninjask (deceased)
6) Ludicolo (deceased)
7) Zangoose (deceased)
8) Ursaring (deceased)