Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoy. If you REALLY like it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.
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Stuck deep underground in the Game Corner Team Rocket base and trapped inside their lab filled with cages and chemicals, while being threatened by a Team Rocket Executive and more and more Grunts arriving by the minute, things looked kind of grim.
It was hard to believe things weren't that far from the plan.
"So, this is some kind of drug research base? Man, you guys are so lame. You can't even get a Pokémon to join you. At least Sevii was doing some sick shit, not just trying to compete with literal children." I goaded, keeping an ear open for any sign of Ash and Brock. We needed them for the next part.
"Again, you are not wrong," Petrel sighed, straightening his mohawk. A faint trembling ran through the ground, glass clinking as it shook. So they were still alive, good. "For beings so proficient in violence, it's astonishing how often they refuse to engage in our type of operation. Distasteful to be sure, but better than the alternatives. Sevii…" The Executive drifted off, an expression of what seemed to be genuine remorse flashing across his face. "... needs must. The goal justifies the means, no matter the cost."
And there it was. Guy had me worried for a second, acting like a real person. Good to know he was as much of a scumbag as all the others, just a better actor.
"I'd been told you had a Growlithe. In fact, I saw as much in the video of your battle against Erkia. Guess you've prepared for this." Petrel continued, looking over Sol with appreciative eyes.
"You're damn right I have. Now do yourself a favor and tell me where Proton is, and we'll only break most of your bones." The words were as much to poke at Gary as a genuine demand. I needed him angry, too lost in the sauce to think about it too much.
Based on how he stiffened and almost took a step forward if not for Clefairy holding him back, I succeeded.
"As much fun as that would be, I'll have to pass, unfortunately, despite your… preparations." Petrel drawled. "But evolution takes some time to get used to. Let's see if it was a mistake." He spread his arms wide, gesturing to the test subject holding area with a small smile on his face. I tensed at the implications. "So crowded in here for such a large Pokémon. It would be a shame if one of the poor creatures got hurt in your eagerness." The Grunts released their Pokémon at the threat, 23 of the usual Poison, Dark, and Normal-Types that were so prolific among Team Rocket snarling and hissing at us. The temperature rose as fire smoldered behind a trio of Houndours gnashing teeth, the Denial tainted flames hot enough to melt right through the cages.
Fuck.
I didn't have the time to think about it, though, as taunting Gary turned out super effective.
"Enough! Enough out of your stupid, murderous mouth! You'll tell me where he is! Water Pulse, Thunderbolt!"
"Icy Wind! Swift!" Despite my reservations, helping was definitely better than standing around with my dick in my hand. Attacking while facing away from what were essentially hostages seemed wise.
Until that could be changed, anyway.
Petrel whistled and snapped his fingers, making six of the Grunts step forward alongside their Koffings, the cancerous-looking Poison-Types smiling dumbly as they gathered together.
"""""Koffing, use Protect!"""""
Instead of the five separate Protects I expected, I was shocked when the hexagonal slats merged, expanding to cover the whole group in a single, almost complete bubble of double-layered energy, the Rockets within nothing more than shadows behind the thick shield.
The attacks from our side merged together, Hercules throwing a Thunder Shock in for good measure. The swirling sphere of half-frozen water crackled with electricity, the stars of Normal-Type energy spinning around violently inside like a miniature tornado.
"Hydro Pump!"
When the combination move was almost upon them, Starmie hovered off the ground and spun furiously. The ruby in the middle of the starfish glowed brightly as eight streams of water shot from the purple arms and met in the middle before hurling forward in a torrential river. The Hyper Pump hit the super-enhanced Water Pulse right as it was about to strike the Protect and made it explode violently in a monstrous tidal wave that washed over the combined shield.
I didn't waste any time, immediately turning away before seeing the results.
"Break the cages, get them out!"
Green wasted no time following my orders, the pale-faced girl eager to do something that wasn't life and death combat. Misty had her Staryu help as well, while I patted a whining Sol, the huge Arcanine moving around nervously, bumping into a cage and then another when he tried to move away
"Flamethrowers, buddy, just stay by me." Up ahead, Gary snarled as his team spread out to surround the smoke and vapor hiding Petrel and the Grunts, making no mention as an eager Betty moved to join them, refusing to stay in the back. "Guess we're making sure nothing sneaks through. Vulpix, stay!" The fox-like Pokémon didn't respond, joining Clefairy's side eagerly, legs shaking and pupils dilated.
It was the first time I'd used her for anything beyond training and all the intense emotions were overwhelming.
Sol huffed, moving in front of me and spreading his thick legs wide, ready to move in whatever direction was needed. Growly did the same, the smarter of the Arcanines understanding the issue.
And not a moment too soon.
WISSSHHH!
A barrage of glowing purple needles pierced through the veil, whipping it away to reveal a half a dozen Ekans, led by an Arbok, with their jaws wide open to expel a constant stream of Poison Sting. Clefairy did her best to shield everyone with a wide Light Screen, but quickly had to give it up in favor of a Protect around Gary, his Kadabara manifesting to join the defense.
That left the rest of us on our own. Squirty had his shell for protection, and Hercules was fast enough to dodge, but we weren't so lucky. Vulpix cried out as the needles ripped through her wispy pelt, her eagerness and inexperience leaving her too far forward compared to the rest. Betty roared with fury and simply trucked through it while storming forwards, infuriated at the venom spreading through her veins yet again. A pair of Koffings' use of Protect managed to block her Dragon Breath but shattered under the resulting Brick Break that smashed through and straight into one of the Poison-Types. The Koffing's face caved inwards and it went flying backwards, hitting a Grunt in the chest and smacking them both into a wall where they collapsed, unmoving.
Starmie caught another bunch of the Poison Stings with a soft sea-blue wall of Psychic power, however, that still left a lot that were headed straight for the captured Pokémon.
"NO, GUARD THEM!" Sol stayed rock steady despite me trying to push him, crouched in front of me, Siren, and Eevee. I felt a low growl rumble through him as the needles flew past us, and the sound of glass breaking and the shards chattering to the floor.
"CAREFUL WITH THE TEST SUBJECTS, THEY ARE WORTH MORE THAN ALL OF YOU COMBINED! DON'T LET ANYONE OUT! GET THEIR POKÉBALLS!"
A red, white, and black blur shot overhead, a Grunt screaming as the coked-up Pikipek I saw earlier did its best to jackhammer through his skull. Siren gurgled furiously when a Spearow tried the same with me, the larger bird falling to the floor as an ice cube with a solid thunk! from her Ice Beam.
A Rattata squeaked desperately as it ran straight into a wall, a bigger, male Eevee staggering up to my own drunkenly, yipping at her flirtatiously before Sol smacked him away cautiously. Farther away, I spotted a Dratini – I couldn't believe the Game Corner actually had them – trying desperately to drag another away, the second one blinking lazily at the ceiling completely boneless.
Feeling something bump into my leg, I looked down and frowned when I didn't see anything, despite the same soft thing hitting me again. However, I didn't have time to worry about the invisible Pokémon. Honedge responded to my need and leapt into my hand, my fingers barely touching the hilt before it left again, piercing through the large lab as I threw it. The air behind Gary flickered and something else previously invisible dropped the pretenses. Bone-white, razor-sharp claws sliced down towards Gary's back, Honedge getting there just in time.
CLANG!
For the second time that day, my Steel/Ghost-Type saved a boy's life, Gary whirling around and all the blood leaving his face as he stumbled back from how close to death he came.
Narrow, red orbs with black eye-lash-esque markings glared balefully at Honedge for getting in the way, sharp teeth bared in a snarl. The short ears of the bluish-black cat-like weasel twitched in agitation, a long, red feather on its left ear – matching the three from its backside – moving with the motion. On its forehead and chest were oval, yellow gem-like protrusions.
The Sneasel growled viciously, pressing down at Honedge with its four, long claws, two at the end of each long and lanky limb. The sword Pokémon shook with effort to keep the Dark-Type at bay, but was being pressed further and further back. A duo of Houndour backing up a quartet of Raticate engaged Sol with Siren and Eevee backing him up. Growly rushed past me to help her Trainer and it looked like we'd be fine-
-my senses screamed at me, my arm lashing out automatically at something on my left. Reality twisted as another Illusion dropped, my eyes landing on a round, smooth shape. The disk of silver material held at the end of a string jumped and shook with Psychic power, gluing my attention to the pendulum. Behind the focus, a large, bulbous nose twitched with satisfaction, sleepy looking eyes blinking lazily. Five thick yellow fingers gently swung the string side to side, the smooth rocking motion making my head feel fuzzy as the lab faded away until my entire world was the pendulum, while the other hand scratched at a white fur mane around the humanoid Pokémon's neck.
"There we go, let's all calm down," Petrel's voice came to me as if underwater, my eyes growing half lidded as they lazily tracked the pendulum, a trail of afterimages left behind while I fell further and further under the Hypno's sway. I couldn't see it, but the Petrel standing behind the Grunts and giving orders shimmered and wavered before the illusion faded away. "That Honedge is more annoying than I'd thought, but we figured it out. Now, recall your Pokémon, if you'd be so kind-UGH!"
Something hit the Hypno in the face, sending the Psychic-Type back into its Trainer and falling on top of him. As the two scrambled to get up, I shook my head, dizzy. A soft thud! alerted me to the invisible Pokémon dropping to the floor. A flash of Grey and pitch-black appeared for a heartbeat, greenish-blue eyes looking around blearily before the air shimmered and it disappeared again.
"Absolutely not! It was funny when you did it to Proton, but I won't let you do it a second time! Haunter, Sneasel, grab the special specimen!"
Steel-like claws screeching as it slid against metal, Sneasel disengaged with Honedge and jumped back towards us. Honedge instantly dipped into the shadows, a large pool of black spreading and speeding across the ground, but even the Shadow Sneak was too slow. Hercules swung a Thunder Punch at the Dark-Type as it ran past, but the agile weasel easily slid under it. The Sneasel flickered with a white glow I recognised as Quick Attack, vanishing from my eyes and reappearing right in front of me.
Meanwhile, Petrel's own shadow undulated and darted off, intercepting Honedge, the two shadows colliding and freezing. The puddle of Distortion vibrated and quivered, an extra-dimensional battle taking place on the border of the material plane and the Distorted World.
The Sneasel barely seemed to care about me, not even sparing me a glance. Instead, it lashed out with its sword-like claws at the spot where the illusion-using Pokémon was last seen.
"ARRRGHH!"
The claws carved through my flesh with ease, slicing deep into my ribs as I grabbed the fluffy, invisible Pokémon and cradled it to my chest, spinning around to protect it. I felt my bones bend under Sneasel's strength, threatening to snap them, but thankfully, the angle was off. The claws slid off my ribcage and exploded out of the side of my back in a spray of blood, barely missing my spine.
I collapsed to the floor, still holding the drugged and squirming mammal close to me. Above me, Sneasel squeaked in fear itself as with a thunderous roar that made the ground shake, Sol ignited – literally – and tackled the Dark/Ice-Type off of me, the ground shattering under the force as he went to town on it.
A foot kicked me in my new wounds, rolling me over to lie on my back, blood leaking from between my teeth as I tried not to scream. Hands fumbled with my own, trying to bend my fingers back to get me to let go, Petrel scowling down at me.
"I tried to be polite, tried to have some manners, but no. You just wouldn't go for it. Fine. What's one more regret added to the pile? I'll-ARRGHH! BRAT!"
"Shut up," I groaned, the Executive falling next to me with my foot in his crotch. It hurt to breathe, and I was probably going to bleed out at some point if nothing was done, but I wasn't dead yet.
Something Petrel regretted when I let go of the invisible Pokémon and rolled on top of him.
"Wait, wait, wai-AW!"
CRACK!
I got off one, two, three good ones with my right fist, splitting the purple-haired man's lip and eyebrow open on my knuckles, blood spraying out of his nostrils. It hurt like hell to move my left arm, but I didn't let that stop me. Petrel was a skinny guy and his attempts to defend himself didn't amount to much; his hands were easily brushed aside.
Unfortunately, he was still conscious when an intangible force seized me, like an invisible giant had grabbed me in its fist and lifted me off the Rocket Executive. A muffled whimper escaped my throat as the force encompassed my whole body, squeezing tightly.
"PERI!"
Somebody screamed my name, but I couldn't tell who, too distracted as my bones creaked. Feeling like my eyeballs were about to burst, I forced them open, seeing the Hypno shuffle towards me with murderous eyes. One stumpy hand was held out towards me while the other held the wildly spasming pendulum, the whole tapir-humanid lit up with purple Psychic energy.
"AAAAHHH!" I couldn't hold my scream as the telekinetic crushed me even harder, my wounded ribs holding on for dear life. Black spots began dancing in front of my eyes, mixing with the brightly shining, white light that filled the room.
"OH COME ON!" I recognised Petrel's voice screaming as I suddenly dropped to the floor. I looked up in time to see a bunch of arm-thick vines wrap around Hypno, encompassing it like a cocoon. It was soon shredded as Petrel's Haunter abandoned Honedge to replace Sneasel as Sol's chew toy. The Dark-Type was like a blender, vine after vine turned to mulch on the ground, yet more kept coming.
"VEEEE!"
A deep, trumpet-like roar accompanied a large shadow as my saviour stepped over me, a massive, squat shape of solid blue-green, bumpy skin. From beneath, I could see the triangular head with a wide mouth, two teeth poking out of the upper jaw, and four from the lower. On top of its head, two small, pointed ears with reddish-pink insides twitched at all the new sounds.
It was quadrupedal, with three clawed toes on each massive foot as the amphibian stepped forward. As it moved past, I could see that a large pink, white-spotted flower had bloomed on its back. The flower was supported by a thick, brown trunk surrounded by green leaves from which dozens of vines emerged.
"Peri!" Green shouted again, running over to me. I groaned as she rolled me over, ripping my shirt to expose the two long cuts from the Sneasel. I tried to protest, but she ignored me, pulling out a 'special' Celadon Potion – uncaring that we were out in the open, surrounded by enemies.
She trusted her newly evolved starter to keep us safe.
Venusaur roared again as it overwhelmed the Sneasel, ensnaring it completely. A frost cone of air blew from the slim predator's mouth, freezing the closest vegetal tentacles, but it was too late to stop it from being slammed up into the ceiling with force. The frozen vines shattered and were replaced with new ones to whip the Sneasel down into the Hypno.
BOOOOM!
A shockwave blasted through the room, more than a few cages falling over and breaking on the floor. From my position, I could see a Clefairy – not Gary's, thankfully – convulsing on the floor, a number of Poison Sting needles sticking out of it. A little further away, half of a Gloom's flower lay on the floor, the cut bisecting it surgically smooth. The Dratini I had seen earlier cried out mournfully as its fellow stopped moving completely, mouth open and eyes glassy.
I grit my teeth and struggled against Green's grip, feeling the numbing agents in the Potion kicking in and doing absolutely nothing against my anger. Especially when a jagged, ice-blue lance flew from the crater Venusaur had made with Sneasel. The large Grass-Type groaned as half its front froze over from the Ice Beam, straining to shatter it with its thick muscles as Sneasel leapt out of its hole, glaring at the dinosaur-toad-thing. Venusaur had a thick layer of insulating fat under its rubbery skin, making it less sensitive to rapid temperature shifts than most Grass-Types, but it didn't make it immune.
"This is getting annoying, children!" I couldn't see Petrel anywhere, and based on the whining and licking I was suddenly subjected to from a fretting Sol, he had taken his Haunter with him under his illusion. "If you're quite done with the unexpected helpers and sudden evolutions, I'll-!"
"GUYS, WE'RE HERE!"
I closed my eyes with a sigh of relief. The high-pitched yelling had never sounded quite so sweet.
A forking bolt of thunder cracked through the door, striking two Grunts and their Raticates and sending them screaming to the ground. It was quickly followed by a jet of water and a plume of fire as first a yellow mouse, then a blue turtle, and finally a red reptile ran through the door. The Koffing tried to turn around to deal with the pincher attack, but a flurry of rocks shot through the air, hitting each of the Poison-Types with precision as Brock's Geodude, Brock himself, and Ash ran into the room.
Appearing in the middle of the room with his Hypno, Petrel closed his eyes briefly and rubbed his forehead.
"...I got nothing."
"YOU'RE ABOUT TO HAVE THIS FIST! GET THEM, PIKACHU, THUNDERBOLT!"
"PIIIIIIIIII!"
Yellow lightning exploded as the combat started once more, Gary and Misty attacking from our direction and Brock and Ash from the other.
I supposed it was up to me to get the last ones out of their cages.
"Peri, you've gotta stay down!" Green tried to push me back down without hurting me, accomplishing little in the process. My heart ached as a high-pitched whine reached me, Vulpix limping over to me. Purple spots shone through her ethereal fur, beads of sweat freezing even as they formed on her forehead. I didn't even wait for her to reach me before snatching her up in her PokéBall.
"Help me with the last," I grunted, ignoring her words and starting to work on the first cage. The Hoothoot within spun its head around so fast I could almost hear it while I messed with the lock, cursing when it refused to cooperate. My bleeding had stopped, but the drugs in the Potion had taken my left arm completely out of action.
"But-!"
"Green, just fucking help me here!" She jumped at my scream, yet started on her own cage anyway, hands shaking terribly as she kept glancing back at the action.
She just needed to keep her shit together for a little bit more. We were almost there.
"Sorry, little guy," I mumbled to the Hoothoot, pulling my knife from its scabbard. Striking the pommel against the glass, I looked away as it splintered and fell apart. The Normal/Flying-Type didn't even wait for the glass to fall, jumping up through the hole instantly, leaving blood and feathers behind on the jagged edges.
I was quickly surrounded by my Pokémon, Siren glaring alternately at everyone else and at me, clearly distressed at my injury. Still, they helped get the cages open and fended off the most aggressive of the Pokémon. I couldn't blame them for lashing out after everything that had happened to them over who knew how long they'd spent in Team Rocket's captivity, but that didn't mean that it wasn't annoying.
I also noticed that some of the cages seemed to open on their own, with the latches and locks popping without anyone touching them. Or, at least, visibly.
Guess my sneaky friend was still around.
I left the Glooms to Green, at her own insistence, and watched her release a Gloom of her own. The captive Grass-Types seemed to have most of their faculties intact, and she managed to get them to stop releasing their pollen before opening the cages.
There was still quite a cloud released with each opened, air-tight box, but it definitely helped.
And then, as I was looking around, I couldn't see any more captured Pokémon. Most of them were huddled by the back wall, those with the least chemicals in their systems helping care for those who could barely walk.
The rest were up by the fighting. And I did mean, 'by' the fighting, as most of them were lying on the floor, unmoving. The majority was still alive, but accidents happened, and a lot of the Pokémon were too hopped up on whatever the Rockets pumped them full of to care about their own lives.
Still, it was as good as we were going to get. Which meant that it was time for the last part of the plan.
"BROCK, NOW!"
The former Gym Leader didn't have time to answer verbally, but I saw his hand move down to grab the new PokéBall on his waist.
But the most telling reaction was that Petrel saw the same thing and widened his eyes, his Hypno's pendulum bouncing wildly with light purple energy to bring up a Barrier while they backed up frantically.
"MOVE BACK, MOVE BACK!"
Brock's face fell even as he pressed the button and unleashed the Pokémon within, fury and grief battling. If Petrel knew about the Pokémon Brock had gotten sent over from Pewter – while trying to keep it quiet – then there was no doubt about it.
High-ranking members of the Pebble Clan were working with Team Rocket.
The implications of that would have to wait, however. First, our ticket out of the secret underground base had been released.
The red light of the PokéBall grew and grew, rising to rival even Sol in height and surpass him in width. The energy shattered with a careless motion of the titan beneath. Brownish-gray skin peeked through thick, orange plates of rock that covered the behemoth's head, shoulders, arms, waist, and knees, each enough to withstand a Snorlax's best efforts. A pair of blades protruded from the elbows of the bipedal Rock-Type, three blunt, grey fingers on each hand that spun as the Pokémon looked around idly. A massive tail tapped the ground with its huge, club-like end, a ripple running through the earth like it was water. On top of the enormous shoulders, an elongated head curiously looked around. A large horn extended from the nose, divided into three sections by two slanted rings that made it resemble a drill, with another, smaller horn set above it. Red eyes peered around with a surprisingly gentle look, a pair of orange rectangles acting as eyebrows above the orbs.
"Rhyperior!" Brock yelled in the sudden silence that followed the emergence of the huge, final evolution of Rhyhorn. I wasn't sure how rare the enormous Pokémon was, but it had been hard to find anything on it on the PokéNet.
The Rock/Ground-Type groaned, the ground shaking at the sound as it scratched at its belly. I knew Brock said the old Pewter Gym Pokémon was pretty strong, but I felt like he undersold it. "Rhyperior, listen to me!"
"TELEPORT, YOU DUMB FUCKS, GET OUT OF HERE!" Whatever veneer of calm and almost-sane behavior Petrel put on slipped away as the Executive saw the writing on the wall, screaming at his subordinates while running towards his Hypno.
He had just enough time to recall his Sneasel and Haunter before Honedge pierced through his thigh, and a Shadow Ball from Eevee struck the Hypno in the face, both of them hitting the ground.
Meanwhile, Brock finished the mission off.
"Rhyperior, find an empty spot in Celadon above us and bring this room up!"
I could see Petrel swearing even louder while clutching around the wound on his leg. He knew his Pokémon and refrained from actually grabbing Honedge, but that didn't really help him.
Rhyperior groaned again and looked up towards the ceiling. A couple of Rocket Grunts managed to release Abras or similar and Teleport away, but the vast majority was forced to watch as Rhyperior stilled for a second and then jerked its arm upwards.
"WOAH!"
Everyone was forced to the ground as the surface suddenly surged beneath us. The ceiling undulated and flowed like mud, forced to move out of our way as the several-hundred-square-foot room was ripped through the earth as if it was liquid. The rumbling was incredible, machines falling over and breaking on the floor, whatever cages were left intact after our breakout crumbling, chemicals and drugs spilling everywhere. It was hard to breathe for a moment, and with my wound, it felt like I was getting no oxygen. I began wondering how deep the base had been buried, when all of a sudden-
"WOAH!"
-We were airborne as the lab came to a stop as suddenly as it started moving. The momentum carried us up a few feet before gravity reasserted itself and we fell back down. I groaned pityfully into the dirt, squinting at the sudden sunlight and coughing up some blood.
Man, I'd gotten my ass kicked. But, gathering myself enough to look around, I had to smile when I saw that we were surrounded by stunned pedestrians, a lot of them sitting on the ground where they had been thrown when Rhyperior moved them aside.
The plan had worked. Fuck yeah.
I winced as the remaining half of a store collapsed onto the newly brought up Rocket Lab, the other half of the building buried under us.
Okay, so the plan mostly worked. Still a fucking miracle.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"
I looked over to see a bunch of people come running over, a horde of Pokémon following them. It took me a minute because of my condition, but I recognised them as Gym Trainers. Feeling a chuckle wheeling up, I grinned at Petrel, feeling high as the realization set in.
We did it. I did it.
I finally got a win over Team Rocket.
"End of the road, dickhead. Better not drop the soap, they love little, twinky bitches like you in-"
"YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!" Hands grabbed my own and forced them behind my back, a pair of cuffs tightening around them. It took me a stunned second to register that everyone, including us, were being arrested.
And then I exploded.
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN I'M UNDER ARREST, CAN'T YOU SEE THAT THEY'RE-UUUHHHHHMMMMMM!" Something soft and expansive was shoved into my mouth, muffling me.
"My, my," a voice cut through all the bedlam, the crowd parting to allow a figure through. Colorful kimono, bowl cut-esque hair, and sleepy eyes, Erika, the Celadon Gym Leader, took in the scene before locking onto me, "When I called you unpleasant, I didn't think you were going to attack one of my establishments."
I stared at her incredulously, unable to believe my ears. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a smirk briefly cross Petrel's face before he hid it.
Son of a bitch. They were gonna sweep it under the rug. Just someone assaulting the Game Corner's underground facilities. At worst, the Rockets were led by me.
No. No. Where were Officer Jenny or the normal police? There had to be someone who would ask some questions.
"Now," Erika continued, a faint noise reaching my ear before it was buried under the spectators, "you will be coming with me-"
-oooooOOOM!
A faint boom in the distance cut her off, the Gym Leader looking around for the source with a frown.
She didn't have to look far.
BOOOOM!
Another explosion, much closer as something hurled out of the sky, faster than the sound barrier could handle. A large, orange blur shot towards the ground and pulled up at the very last second, a hurricane being carried in its wake. A sandstorm was kicked up from the force, everyone covering their eyes as the flying Pokémon – for what else could it be – landed, and a shadow hopped down from the massive silhouette.
Stepping forward, a long cape flapped in the wind his mount had stirred up. Spikey, pink hair, swept back from the wind. A pair of crimson orbs that gazed around, meeting and holding everyone's eyes until they looked away. As they met my own, a pressure fell on my shoulders, the air growing heavy as I could've sworn the black pupils turned into slits for a moment.
I'd felt it a couple of times. Champy and Oak's other Pokémon. The Leviathan of Cerulean. Walter's team. There was a weight to strong Pokémon.
None of them had felt like the man did. None made my heart seize with a glance.
Behind me, Betty whined and cowered as the red eyes landed on her next, unquestionably becoming slitted and draconic.
I didn't need introductions. Nobody in Indigo – fuck, most of the world – did.
Lance Blackthorn, Champion of the Indigo League, had arrived.
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Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.