RE: Feral Twilight (PG-13/Revival Update: Chapter Three Posted In-Full)
III. No Country for Old Men
“Two entities whom never should have met,” spoke the stern voice of a man throughout the semi-darkened plane of Nostalgia, “Cross paths in the Space-Time Rift, their strife tears at the very boundaries of Leyi Quofyi, damaging the physical realm beyond even Golbania’s power to mitigate.”
Slowly the silhouette of a wolf’s head materialized, basically floating almost eight feet above the lavender tiles that paved the entire field. The creature’s visage was as black as coal, and his eyes were bloodshot amber. He possessed exceedingly sharp teeth, all virtual daggers polished scarlet from the countless victims he’d consumed in era past. Around his neck, the beast wore an extravagant collar forged of solid gold with iron rims at its top and bottom as well as streaks of silver that crisscrossed each other within the brace’s midsection. He also had a golden crest upon his brow, which extended up past his ears that in turn were adorned with five earrings apiece.
“What fools be these brothers born unto Arceus, the b*stard child of Watcher Humility. Neither aware of their heritage, and never to know of my claims on their souls… That is, until now.”
“What is it you wish of me, My Liege?” the somber voice of another man inquired.
A pitch-black phantom slowly emerged from the floor next to him. His shape crudely humanlike, the specter appeared as little more than a torso with scrawny arms and a squat head. Wavering wisps flowed from his shoulders and ash-white locks whipped backwards from his scalp. Glancing over his red jagged collar, Darkrai looked upon his master with unusual pleasure.
One of the wolf’s paws emerged from his invisible mane, an enormous foot with long red claws and a silver anklet decorated with golden studs. Suddenly a surge of terror overwhelmed the specter, and he withdrew to behind the beast.
“Yi cu-seth lyi qual,” his master reprimanded, the area quaking with every word. As I speak, your voice is treason.
They stopped for a moment. Silence set in as the canine gazed around and then skyward.
“For an eternity I have been imprisoned here, watching all that transpires throughout the multiverse via others’ memories… My hatred long-since waned, and now I wonder what will become of this domain should I leave it once again.”
“Your Majesty? I…I don’t under…”
The wolf’s ear twitched and he continued, “And that is why I need your assistance. As you are aware, I am never of a mind to forgive treason especially when it opposes the interests of my mother, Watcher Chastity. Such cases being your failed attempts to destroy Dialga’s Temporal Tower and then disrupt Palkia’s control over space in that one world in the distant future…”
“My King, again I apologize for…” His lord glared at him, and the wraith backed away once again.
“However, this opportunity is far too great to pass up. As we speak, the Traitors move evermore into position, drawn to Beyi-geyi’s previous emergence point as if insects to an open flame. My emissary is poising himself to strike them down the moment that they appear, and force them open a passage for me through the Nexus. Yet one thing remains unchecked.”
“And that would be?”
“The abomination… For over twenty years, an ungodly foe has existed outside of this domain, an enemy unfazed by my presence. Should Dialga, Palkia, or Arceus merge with it, my potential to lord over them shall vanish forever… Therefore, it must be eliminated.”
“Consider it done, My Liege,” Darkrai bowed.
“And, Darkrai,” the beast stated, more solemnly, “Should My Memories fade…”
“Understood, Milord!” The phantom finally vanished.
Once he’d gone, Otulp looked skyward once more and uttered, “Woe unto them, for they have gone the way of Cain…”
______________________________________________________________________________
The ferry to Maritide seemed packed by the time I got to port this morning. Pulling onto the boat’s rear, a middle-aged man helped guide me to a parking spot between a silver PT Cruiser and a sky-blue Grand Marquis. Like most employees of the Mouranx Cruise Lines, Inc., he wore the company’s signature uniform of a lime green vest with a small ship embroidered on the right shoulder, a matching cap, a white shirt, and black pants.
“Alright, sir. Stop!” he commanded when my truck’s hood was nearly on top of him.
I slammed on the brake, and Spunky fell forward. While he grumbled, I exited the trunk and went to its rear cargo area.
Directly behind the cab, there rested a five-gallon cooler that I had tied against the side with a couple bungee cords. Opening it, I took a long glance at several Glad containers that I’d stored inside, all of which were filled with different types of meat cutlets and fish fillets. Grabbed three that contained beef and another that had salmon inside, I went back around to the passenger’s door to let Spunky out.
Noticing a spare Wal-mart bag on the truck’s floor, I nabbed it quickly and stowed my Pokémon’s food inside it. Spunky licked his chops as he jumped out. As soon as he’d cleared the door, I locked the vehicle up and made a beeline for the ferry’s stairwell.
Visitors to Ronac found the region’s ferries a little bit odd due to their layout. Ones from Pawford to the nearby islands had three main levels: the lowest, of course, being for cars; the middle one was a leisure deck with a café, restrooms, and seating for passengers; and the highest strictly for the wheelhouse and crew. Atop the third floor, however, existed a small arena for friendly Pokémon battles. Rules for its usage were pretty restrictive, though, considering how well these vessels had been built. Pokémon that weighed over one thousand pounds and any attacks capable of causing collateral damage couldn’t be used, not to mention that only one-on-one battles were allowed.
When I reached the stairs, I opened the door for Spunky and followed him up. Once we got to the salon deck, the two of us stopped and looked it over. Round tables had been set out in virtual rectangles of four-by-six from the front of the ship to the end of the covered area and at least sixty people were on-board this morning. Not much of a surprise since the ship could easily handle up to one-hundred-fifty passengers or more.
“Loop?” Spunky queried, whipping his head around. He then barked loudly, scaring me.
“Damn it, Spunky!” I scolded him before turning to see what startled him.
For a moment, I felt a little dazzled at the sight I beheld. A husky six-foot-tall man dressed in a friar’s cloak stood several feet behind me, staring me dead in the eye no less. The garb appeared to be made from heavy gray material, wool perhaps, and draped over his entire form rather loosely. There was a thick rope tied around his waist to serve a belt, though I noticed he had no crosses dangling from where the ends were hanging loose. His cowl had been pulled over his head completely, hiding most of his face in shadow save only for his daunting amber-colored eyes.
“Pardon me, um… Father? Or Brother?” He folded his arms together and bowed respectfully.
Backing away, I continued, “Spunky, let him pass.”
“Poodle? Loop…” he grumbled, moving aside. The monk motioned sideways and headed out towards the veranda.
The wolf started to bark again when I hissed, “Show some respect.”
“Like I already said, as soon as we get to Maritide, I’ll be heading straight for the facility,” an Irishman spoke as he exited the staircase after the monk.
I turned to the guy to see that he was also a robust fellow, fairly shorter than the last man. Oddly enough, the middle-aged man with graying black hair had a build similar to a bear, evident with how his dark blue shirt that had a silk-screen print of three Vaporeon across its front appeared to be ripping at the seams because of his bulging muscles. The rest of his attire, though, looked a bit offsetting with a pitch-black pair of shades, dark pants that seemed more appropriate for a business suit, tan leather shoes, and a Rolex on his left wrist.
“Well, I don’t give a rat’s a*s as to what Cleo wants. Are ya hearing me?” he burst as he followed the monk. I noticed a Bluetooth in his right ear and that another Vaporeon was tattooed onto his shoulder.
“Damn! Why don’t they wait up when I tell them?” a youth barked from downstairs after the second man left.
Seconds later, the third guy emerged and jogged after the other two. Unlike the previous man, he looked a lot closer to my age and almost as tall as me too. He wore a black sleeveless shirt, blue-jean shorts that were cut off at the knees, blue socks, and gray shoes. Also the kid appeared to have a thing for snakes, judging by the Ekans tattoo that wrapped itself around his left arm, disappeared on the back of his shoulder, and then reappeared down his right arm.
Spunky and I watched as the three headed outside and around the corner, climbing the stairs to the battle deck. After a moment, I shuffled on over to the café.
At the counter, a young black woman dressed in the same getup as the man who guided me onboard cracked a modest grin and greeted me with, “Good morning, sir! How may I help you?”
“A Dr. Pepper, please.”
“Alright,” she said with a cute wink.
While she reached for a cup under the table, I looked back at Spunky and called, “Well?” He sneezed, approaching with his head down as if he was being punished.
“Stubborn dog, huh?”
“Oh, yeah. Not as bad as another one of my Pokémon, though.” I returned my gaze to the girl to see her filling a forty-four-ounce cup with soda for me.
“Well, the monk probably scared him a bit.”
“Yeah, but he didn’t have to bark. How much?” I said, reaching for my wallet.
“$1.25.”
I set two bucks on the counter and grabbed my beverage. She took the money, press a button on the adjacent cash register, and gave me back three quarters. Nodding I headed out onto the deck’s veranda with Spunky right at my side.
Outside there were several tables positioned right up against the ledge. Taking the closest one I saw, I sat down, setting my bag and drink down in front of me. Spunky squatted next to my seat and stared longingly at the containers of food.
“Here!” Opening a beef-filled one, I put it in front of him and he wolfed it down like nothing.
While he ate, I took out Orion and Apollo’s balls, opening them both right away. Spunky seemed too distracted to notice the eight-foot-tall ermine looming over him and drooling, nor the glowering skunk holding his bowstaff overhead.
“About damn time,” Orion said, swiping another of the beef containers and taking the seat across from me.
“Finally!” Apollo screamed telepathically. The ferret immediately levitated the remaining box of meat overhead and forced it open with his psychic power. Afterwards, he emptied its contents and held the cutlets over his open maw. Then I heard the sound of the meat sizzling as he cooked it with his pyrokinesis and watched the juices drip slowly into his mouth.
Orion snorted at the ermine as he sat down, commenting, “Can’t eat it raw?” The morsels finally dropped into Apollo’s mouth one at a time and he ate them.
“Orion?” I asked the skunk huntsman.
“What?” he barked, dropping his weapon on the floor and clawing his food box open.
“Um. Nothing…” No point in asking him anything when he hadn’t eaten since last night.
After eating a couple bites, my Skunter grumbled, “You know what’s been bugging me lately?”
“Hmm?”
Apollo asked, “Oh, Lord. What now?”
“Well, fighting that Destail a bit ago really got me thinking. We need to get back in the game. I’m tired of just BSing around the woods all the time like we’ve been.”
Apollo grinned and then threw his head back in a full-on laugh. Spunky just sat there, staring at the weasel as he chuckled.
“Hey! I’m just saying it like it is!” Orion shouted before returning to his meal. He had a point…but then it wasn’t really like him to care what we accomplish during the day anyhow. The times that he did ended as soon as he evolved into a Skunanne, and oh how I longed for those days again. Back when he was still that childlike critter someone could just love-and-hold.
It must’ve been about thirteen years now since I first got Orion. It was around ten o’clock on Christmas morning. My family had finished cleaning up after unwrapping presents an hour beforehand and started preparing for the party we were going to have that afternoon. Mom and Grandma cooked in the kitchen, while my dad was downstairs trying to get liquor together. Meg and I sat alone in the living room watching cartoons on Nickelodeon.
The two of us were still dressed in our pajamas, not exactly ready for what the day was going to bring. Meg wore a hooded outfit that resembled a Buneary; I had a two-piece suit with random pictures of baby Pokémon all over it. However, considering myself the victor of the day, I clung greedily to the big Raichu plushie that I’d received as a gift from ‘Santa Claus.’
Suddenly the doorbell rang. I remained seated quietly, much too preoccupied by the mindless antics of Rugrats to mind my mother’s first request to answer the door.
After it rang again, Mom called more harshly, “Jay, could you get that? It’s Felicia.”
“Who?” I asked but only to get no response.
I stood up and reluctantly headed to the front door. The bell rang again as I approached, grumbling about having to leave my show.
When I got to the entry, I grabbed the knob and the door swung open widely to give me the shock of my life. Wrapped in a heavy black coat as well as a matching muffler around her neck and earmuffs on her head, a brunette giant glowered at me with a criticizing pair of deep blue eyes. Or at least at the time, she looked like a giant looming over me at a height of five-ten.
A few moments passed before she finally blinked and whispered, “You are Jay, correct?” Her voice sounded as frigid as the air outside that winter. Then I moved aside as she strode in.
“Pity. A boy your age shouldn’t be cuddling stuffed Pokémon like an infant,” she continued, reaching in her left pocket.
“H-hey, I j-just…” I stuttered as the woman handed me a Poké Ball.
“Merry Christmas.” Afterwards Felicia went into the kitchen to chat with my mom.
Once she was out of sight, the sphere jiggled in my hand. I dropped it immediately and the orb popped open. A small quadruped instantly emerged from its released flash.
I didn’t know what to make of the creature at first. It looked like a cute enough mammal, barely a foot-and-a-half tall. He had silky black fur all over his body with a puffball of hair resting on the twin stripes that crept over his head and then down his back, as well as a pair of shimmering green eyes that were simply adorable. For the moment, he even seemed to be grinning at me.
The skunk then hopped upright, almost as if he were a baby trying to stand for the first time. When he got his balance, the critter put one of his forepaws out.
“What? You want me to shake?” I asked him. He nodded and I shrugged.
Grabbing his paw, the Pokémon suddenly spoke, “Hi! I’m Orion!”
“What?” I muttered, both scared and confused.
The Skunette closed his eyes and giggled, “I said I’m Orion. What’s your name?”
“You…you can talk? No! That can’t be right… Pokémon can’t…” I stuttered as I broke into tears, feeling like part of a sick joke.
“No, don’t cry!” he then said, reaching out to hug me, “I’m friendly, see?”
Wrapping his small arms around me, I started to calm down. After a couple seconds, I did the same to him. Sadly, that was probably one of the few times in my life that he’d been honest about his feelings. Since then, that Pokémon grew into the brutal savage that everyone in Ronac knew to fear.
“Ermean!” Apollo yelped into my right ear, followed instantly by a burning sensation thanks to him pressing his ember-hot nose against the side of my neck.
“Damn it, Apollo! What was that for?” I scolded him, snapping out of my daydream.
“Erm… Aside from you forgetting to feed Sheila, I think we might have company…” he whimpered.
“Dude! Those are some awesome Pokémon ya got there,” the voice of a teenage guy commented from behind my Incinermyn.
“Mean…” the creature whined and then floated off to the side by Spunky. It looked like Orion was about to get his wish after all…
Glancing up, I saw that the kid was a rather scrawny guy who looked to be about Meg’s age. He couldn’t have been more than five-foot-six, even with the dark-green baseball cap he word that actually seemed to just be sitting atop of his thick black locks instead of covering them up. Even with his face fresh shaven, his attire gave me more the impression that he as if he were someone trying to appear more thuggish than he really was; he had on a sleeveless leather jacket over a black AC/DC t-shirt as well as black overhauls with apparent patches in random spots on the legs.
“Sweet! You mind if I check their stats with my Pokédex?” the youth asked as he came closer to us. Spunky and Apollo just looked at him awkwardly when he stopped in front of them. Orion just went back to his meal, what little was left of it.
“Knock yourself out, kid,” I calmly stated. If that’s all he wants to do, I’m not going to stop him.
Setting his backpack down, the guy reached into its main pocket and took out an electronic device reminiscent of a handheld gaming system. Opening it, he focused the iris on its side at Apollo, then Spunky, and lastly Orion.
“Whoa! Tough guys, aren’t ya?” he then complimented them, Apollo cracking a bit of grin while Spunky and Orion tried to look uninterested, “You must be a top-notch trainer then, huh?”
“I was the Regional Champion until last year, kid. It’s old news. If you didn’t hear about it then, you won’t now.” I took a long drink from my pop after that.
His jaw dropped and he slurred, “R-really? Damn, that must’ve been awesome! I’d sure like to battle you, if you don’t mind.” Orion glanced at the guy, then at his tote bag, and scoffed.
“Did the words ‘Regional Champion’ elude you, by any chance?” God, I’m really not in the mood for this right now…
“No, Jay, wait!” Orion bellowed out in a full laugh, “I want to see what pathetic excuse for Pokémon this kid’s got on him. Apollo can sense it, too, that they’re not good. Right?” I slapped my hand against my forehead.
“Mean?” Apollo whined turning to face the trainer, Please don’t mind him. He doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.
“Holy crap! I knew that Skunter could talk, but you can use telekinesis?” the kid barked at my Incinermyn.
“Oh, Jesus Christ… Well, I guess now we don’t have a choice. What’s your name, kid?”
“I’m Chase. I’m on a journey here from the Hoenn Region,” he explained.
“Never been. Usually warm there, isn’t it?” I asked and he nodded in response, “Ronac’s a complete contrast. Wilderness everywhere and lots of snow in the winter.”
“Yeah, interesting climate you guys have here.”
“Listen. I still have to feed my Lapras, but after that we’ll join you on the battle deck. A three-on-three match okay with you?” Chase nodded, then picked up his bag, and headed for the stairwell to the highest level of the ferry. A few moments later, Orion finally finished his meal so I could recall Apollo and him into their balls.
Standing up, I tried to push my table as far off to the side as I could without drawing too much attention to myself. Lapras were common enough sights in Ronac, but the sheer girth of one appearing on deck would probably raise some ire if anything got knocked over.
“Spunky. Over there,” I ordered, directing him to the side of another table. The pooch nodded and immediately got out of the way.
Taking Sheila’s ball in hand, I threw it into the air and then the sphere opened downward to release a dark blue flash. In the burst appeared the distinct silhouette of a large turtle-like creature with a long neck similar to that of a plesiosaur. The mostly azure Pokémon was nearly as tall as Apollo from her crème-colored belly up to the small horn atop her brow and her curly bun-shaped ears, though her body looked a little wider due to her flippers. Her grayish half-shell seemed rocklike and craggy with its numerous bumps and bulges.
Yawning, my Lapras looked towards me with a slight glint in her eyes. Then she stared at Spunky and lastly the sole container of food that remained on the table.
I said, “Morning, Sheila.” She grumbled as I grabbed the box and took its lid off. When it came to enjoying their food, Orion and her were pretty much the same way.
With barely a flick of her tongue, the turtle dragon grabbed all seven pieces of fish to clean the carton out and swallowed the morsels whole. She belched after a few seconds and suddenly nuzzled my cheek affectionately. In return, I petted her on the nose and rubbed my face against her. Unlike the rest of my team, she wasn’t really a harden athlete though she could hold her own versus practically any opponent.
“Sorry to cut this short, but we’ve got a battle.” Sheila pulled her head away and tilted it inquisitively. Next, she turned to look at the upper deck and nodded.
After recalling her, I packed the empty containers back into my Wal-mart bag. With Spunky tailing behind me, we headed upstairs to the battle deck, where Chase waited right at the top of the steps.
“What’s up?” I asked him.
“Those three guys right there…” he pointed across the wide open arena to the opposite side of the deck threesome, “Doesn’t something strange about them?” Looking up, I saw that the men from a little bit ago were standing right near the edge of the platform, gazing listlessly across the seascape toward Maritide Island in the distance.
A whistle blew from the deck below and the boat slowly started to move away from port. Noting the position that the threesome had taken at the far end, I did sense something a bit off about them now. The monk stood dead center with the Irishman at his right and the punk on his left. What surprised me, though, wasn’t how they stood but rather the air that emanated from around them…or, more specifically, the holy man and the Poké Balls that were no doubt in the other two men’s pockets. It seemed as though just being near them made me want to run off and hide in a closet.
“Well, we can’t just stand here all day. You want to battle or not?” I inquired, snapping out of my momentary trance.
“Sure,” Chase said as he headed for the far side of the battlefield. Likewise Spunky and I went a short distance from the stairs to the front of the arena.
“Zomborg, front and center!” he shouted, taking out a Poké Ball and chucking it forward once he was across the way.
Emerging from the sphere, an almost seven-foot-tall ungulate dropped heavily onto the deck, causing a mighty clang as its feet hit the floor. Overall, the Pokémon looked mechanized with a large boxy body, long metallic legs bolted somewhat into its sides, cast-iron hooves, and a solid but curved neck. It had odd triads of concaved parts serving as joints in the bends of its legs, as well as bulgier ones at the base of its neck and the backside of its head. The machine’s head was somewhat elongated and cylindrical with three horns jutting outward, one sticking straight out of its forehead while the others were where its ears should have been. A hinged bowl-like plate covered the area where its mouth should’ve been, and his eyes glowed malevolently just a hue off scarlet.
“ZOMBOOOOORG!” the mechanized horse shrieked loudly, its cry bellowing like a siren. Its makeshift mouth also opened wide as it screamed and fumed like a smokestack.
“Spunky, you’re up!” I said and the wolf took the field.
“Zomborg, Shadow Sneak!” Chase immediately ordered. Zomborg’s shadow suddenly extended from beneath the machine towards where Spunky stood. Once it reached him, the poltergeist tried to manifest to strike him with a black tendril, which passed right through him instead.
Chase looked stumped for a moment until I explained, “Lupudle are Normal-and-Fighting-type Pokémon, meaning Spunky’s immune to Ghost attacks. Reciprocally, his attacks would be useless against a Steel-and-Ghost-type one like Zomborg…unless he uses Odor Sleuth.” Standing at attention, Spunky snarled at Chase’s Pokémon, trying to take in its scent. Once he picked up on it, the wolf barked to make his enemy shutter momentarily.
Spunky then charged at Zomborg without my say-so, heading straight for the machine’s right leg. His enemy screamed again and unleashed a stream of silvery sparks from his horns at the wolf. Even though he was hit, Spunky continued to dash until he got to the enemy’s feet. He slung his body so he could slide across the deck, aimed his feet for Zomborg’s appendage, and then forcibly kicked the front one as he slid under to cause it to buckle.
To avoid getting pinned under Zomborg, the wolf wrenched his teeth around the Pokémon’s left leg and swung himself back around towards me. Jumping to his feet, the dog watched patiently as the machine slowly toppled over onto its side.
“The thing I like about fighting Zomborg is the little problem they have getting back up once they’ve been tripped up like that!” I pointed out.
Zomborg screeched loudly in frustration as it moved its legs awkwardly trying to force itself up. Their blocky bodies made them completely immobile if they were turned on their sides. This was exactly what I’d explicitly taught Spunky to do whenever he fought one, and it never got old.
“Spunky, show him what I mean with your Thrust Kick.” The wolf barked joyfully, dashing around to Zomborg’s front.
“Zomborg, use Shriek Clang!” Chase ordered.
I then heard the gears inside of the machine’s body smashing against one another, creating an awful sound. Afterwards, the monster opened its mouth and released terrible shriek that forced Spunky to back off momentarily. The noise continued to echo for several moments after it actually ended, and my dog started to walk around randomly in a hypnotic daze.
“Snap out of it and strike Zomborg down already!” I shouted at the wolf, but he didn’t listen.
Meanwhile, Zomborg cackled to itself in excitement. Apparently it finally figured out a way it could stand back up, given the loud banging noise now coming from inside it. Clearly the spirits that possessed the machine were trying to force the shell upright again. If Spunky didn’t come to his senses quickly, they’d probably succeed too.
“Spunky, back in your ball!” I ordered, making him go back into his Poké Ball. I then sent out Orion as a replacement.
“Enough bullcrap!” he commented, jabbing Zomborg repeatedly in the head with his staff. Though the angle was off, I could tell that Orion’s Run-Through still had a significant impact on the machine’s stamina. Under normal conditions, the attack dealt serious damage because of its raw power; but onset by his Belligerence ability too, the skunk’s raw fury made it virtually deadly.
After a couple moments of striking, Zomborg started to cackle at Orion. With monstrous bump, the machine forced itself into the air at a slanted trajectory and landed back on its feet. Orion jumped back several feet with a grunt.
With brutish fling, my Skunter threw his weapon spinning through the air at Zomborg’s head. The stick whacked one of its horns and then flew away on an arced path that made it wiz past Chase to just behind the threesome on the far end of the battle deck. Circling back, the attack hit Zomborg alongside the head, somehow causing it to fall over but onto its left this time.
Catching his staff, Orion snorted, “Now stay down!” Zomborg let out a painful-sounding moan in apparent response, no doubt a sign of surrender.
Recalling Zomborg, Chase immediately sent out a Pokémon I didn’t recognize at all. The creature was overall humanoid, though his incredibly slim body gave off the impression of a stick figure. He stood at a height of five-foot-three from the soles of his feet to the tip of an ornamental frill that arced upward from the back of his head. His arms, head, and upper torso were mostly teal save only for the whitish area around his reddish eyes. Unlike the rest of his body, the Pokémon’s white legs and waist appeared relatively thicker and, perhaps, muscular. Taking up a leftward fighting pose, I noticed another heart-shaped frill protruded out of his chest and back.
“Gallade!” the humanoid declared, causing the swords in his elbows to eject outward.
“Orion, use Kamikaze Leap!” I ordered. The skunk looked back at me and snorted at first. Seconds later, he vaulted skyward with his staff held overhead.
“Get him with X-Scissor!” Suddenly the Gallade jumped into the air after Orion with his forearms crossed.
“You son of a b*tch!” Orion barked as he neared the peak of his jump and flipped his body upside-down.
With his staff pointed right at the oncoming Gallade’s forehead, the huntsman plunged headlong upon his enemy in a kamikaze dive. Chase’s Pokémon tried countering by hacking at Orion with a crossed midair slash from the blades on his elbows but missed due to the offset angle, only to get struck down by Orion’s attack and knocked out instantly. Right before he hit the floor, Orion twisted around so he landed feet-first atop his unconscious victim.
The skunk quickly turned to Chase and growled, “You’re not the first idiot who’s tried to pull a stunt like that, kid. So don’t even think about trying that again.” Afterwards, he jumped back over to my side of the arena huffing. I’d recalled him for a momentary break.
Likewise, Chase recalled his Gallade and sent out his final Pokémon. The reptilian creature stood authoritatively on the far side of the battlefield at a height of five-foot-seven. He had smooth forest-green skin covering most of his body, from the grooved area atop his brow that separated his yellow eyes all the way down to his kangaroo-like legs save only for his reddish lower jaw and a matching band around his belly. There were long leaves growing out of his forearms as well as more from his dark-green tail. Likewise the lizard had several orb-shaped seeds that grew from his backside.
“Sceptile!” the Pokémon declared as he stretched out his lithe form so it was parallel with the floor.
I sent out Apollo as my final combatant, given the Fire-and-Psychic Pokémon had an obvious advantage over this apparent Grass-type. As he appeared levitating over the arena’s floor, the ermine gave out an unexpected yawn.
“Hey, just because your Skunter beat down my other Pokémon, that doesn’t mean you’ve got the right to get smug!” Chase said, clearly taking that as an insult rather than Apollo having gotten too relaxed after being in his Poké Ball for the past few minutes.
“Coronal Gaze!” I ordered in response.
Apollo’s eyes twitched a bit as he prepared to open them. Then a sudden flash of intense light consumed the area in front of him. Both Chase and his Sceptile screamed terribly because of the gleam. Once Apollo shut his eyes again, the burst immediately ended.
“That attack blinds anyone who stares directly into it for about a minute or two. Incinermyn have the arcane power to control solar flares and UV rays, which are what Apollo just used to hurt your retinas briefly.”
Angrily, Sceptile began sprinting off in the direction opposite from where we were, probably thinking that’s where Apollo was. He got close to the three men standing on the far side of the deck when he suddenly lashed at the man in the friar’s cloak with his Leaf Blade.
“Hey, get the hell out of here!” the Irishman scolded the lizard after the attack and then socked the Pokémon alongside the head.
“Apollo, use Psychic and bring Sceptile back over here!” I said. He did so, lifting his opponent into the air and dragging him back into the arena.
“Watch where that Pokémon goes, Boyo, or I’ll come over there and keelhaul both of yer as*es!” the man went on to say and then gave us the finger.
“Let’s get this over with, Apollo. Take Sceptile out with Fiery Gale!”
Crying to the heavens, Apollo pointed his head upward and began rotating his body on a wobbling axis. As he body spun faster around, he began blowing flames out of his mouth and the jewel in his forehead. The fires started to swirl around his body in a tornado-like funnel. Once the twister grew large enough, Sceptile got forcibly sucked up into the vortex and was severely burned by the attack. When Apollo was finished, he dropped his unconscious opponent onto the floor and caused the tornado to disappear.
Apparently regaining his sight, Chase gawked at the sight of his Sceptile having fainted from a single attack. I smirked, while Apollo blurted into a full-on laugh. It wasn’t often, but once in a great while, Fiery Gale became strong enough to knockout targets in one hit like that.
“Okay, I give! You really were Champ at one point,” the kid said as he recalled his final Pokémon, “My only question is how did you loose that title?”
“Simply put, his sister beat him,” the Irishman commented as he and his associates came over by us.
“Hey, a*shole! Why don’t you just mind your own business?” I told him off, considering how he’d just insulted us not but a few moments ago.
“My apologies for that little outburst there. I didn’t realize it was you, Feral, at first.”
“Back off! Only my friends call me ‘Feral!’” He passed by Chase while his friends stayed by the youth.
Taking a business card out of his wallet, he suddenly introduced himself, “My name is Jonathon Kyles, a CEO of the Zenith Corporation. Surely you’ve heard of us?”
I took his card and read it. It was printed on a light blue background with the symbol of a circle surrounding the outline of a Dragonite soaring upward on the left side. He had his name and title printed in large letters across the top as well as several phone numbers and email addresses listed below it. Finally, I noted there was the second insignia of a Vaporeon’s tail in the card’s lower-right corner.
“Yeah, I know all about Zenith Corp in Darwin City. You guys were one of my sponsors until I lost my title. And to be frank, I was a never much of a satisfied costumer anyways, even before I was paid to endorse your merchandise for trainers.”
“Aye, ‘twasn’t my area of supervision anyways. I’m in-charge of Research and Development. Part of that includes scouting trainers to test our products, a recent one of which may interest you.”
“Whatever it is, I don’t want anything to do with it. Sorry…” I told him, handing back the card. He pushed it at me again with a sinister grin.
“What if I told you it involved a new breed of Pokémon so damn that even Arceus himself would afraid of them?”
“Listen, I spent several years working to raise my Pokémon to be as good as they were before even going to the Ronac League Championship. I don’t need or even want new creatures to raise. Leave me alone!”
“A pity, but I guess yer mind is made up. My offer stands, so call my cell number if you decide to take me up on it since I’ll be away from the office for the time,” he shrugged and then motioned to his companions to follow him downstairs, “I just hope for your sake nothing changes between us before then.” Jonathon and the kid traveling with him left almost immediately, whilst the monk dragged his feet as he headed after them. For some reason, he was giving me a blatant stare as he walked away.
Once they’d all left, Chase came over by me and asked, “What the h*ll was that all about?”
“I don’t know nor do I want to.”
Sighing, I recalled Apollo and headed for the far end of the deck. On the horizon, Maritide Island slowly grew into a sprawling metropolis situated on the ocean. Despite being one of the cultural hubs in the region, the place’s setup literally contrasted itself from the northernmost neighborhoods to the southern ghettos. The north third of the island had been built up with some of the sleekest-looking buildings imaginably, while the central area possessed a conglomerated mixture of semi-modern homes and businesses, and the south district was comprised mostly of old factories and warehouses.
“So what are you going to Maritide for?” I asked Chase as he came over and leaned against the ferry’s guardrail.
“Mostly checking out the sights and seeing if I can’t find people to battle.”
“Best bet for the latter is downtown near the Pokémon Center. They’ve got a Battle Bar next door just for roughnecks and ne’er-do-wells hankering to fight other trainers. It’ll also be a good place to train your Zomborg since the guys there like to use Poison Pokémon.”
“Where are you heading, though?”
“The International Institute of Pokémon Science. Dr. Barnes, the head biologist at the school, wanted me to swing by today because she had something important she wanted to discuss…I guess anyways…”
“Well, maybe we can meet up after you’re done?”
“Doubtful.”
“Oh, alright, then.”
I didn’t want to burst his bubble, but I honestly wasn’t in the mood to deal with him right now. In either case, I had better stuff I could do than hangout with him all afternoon, presuming that Felicia wouldn’t keep me at IIPS until nightfall.
<End Chapter Three>
