For the past week since she arrived in Noverus, Sera had dedicated two one-hour sessions to training with her team of three Pokemon in the Shady Acres Park. Every day she would come, allowing her Pokemon freedom from their stuffy Poke Balls, and time to improve their techniques. Fortunately the need for such training wasn’t demanding, but she still wanted to be prepared for anything. It had taken some getting used to, being in one place for this long. Normally Sera would stay in a town or city for only a couple of days, doing a few odd jobs to earn food and board, but this place was not like any other, and the change was almost welcoming, if not for the many rumours she had heard about people disappearing, all because of the conflict between Team Magma and Team Aqua. They weren’t new names to her, as since she started her trip through the Hoenn region, she had heard these names uttered a few times by locals in the various towns, how members of these two groups had stirred all kinds of trouble.
But, now was not the time to ponder over such thoughts, as they were quickly cutting into training time. Following the same routine as she had been all week, Sera trekked to the same spot she had been going to daily, a small section of the park that housed a pond, and plenty of open space for practice battles. Pulling three Poke Balls from her pocket, she tossed them upward into the air with a smile, and in a bright flash of light, saw her three Pokemon appear before her.
The first, being her oldest and strongest, was a Charmander she had long ago nicknamed ‘Cinder’, after the embers he spat out while using what was currently his only Fire-type attack. Following Cinder was a long blue serpentine Pokemon, Sera’s Dratini. She had been nicknamed Ryu long ago, named after an ancient translation of a dragon. Letting out a small sleepy yawn, Ryu looked up at Sera with greeting, eyes sparkling in the afternoon sun. Last came Sera’s newest team member, and easily the youngest: a Pichu. Nicknamed Spark, he always had the most energy out of the team, able to continue going when even Sera was tired out. She figured it was partially because of his inability to use proper use his Thundershock attack, which meant all of his electrical power was locked inside of him.
“Alright guys, you know the drill!” Sera cheered, Cinder and Ryu moving to one side of Sera, and Spark quickly moving to the other side, before facing one another. As every day, Sera would start off the three with some agility exercises, followed by working on new moves. Since Sera couldn’t find anything for Ryu to learn, she had her practice her combat skills against one of the local wild Pokemon, at least until they fled.
“Let’s start: Cinder, you’ll be using your Scratch attack, while Ryu uses her Wrap. Spark of course is the one who’s it. Whoever catches him first in five minutes wins!” Sera instructed, making it sound like a game more than anything. To Sera, her team was still fairly young, too young for serious training that would stress and exhaust them. But she wanted to see them improve more than anything.
With a smile, she called for the game to start, before sitting down and watching with a smile as her two Pokemon chased her Pichu around. Ryu would have to literally throw herself at Spark to attempt Wrap on him, but his rather skittish nature allowed him to dodge and jump out of the way. Cinder was a bit slower, so it took him longer to get to Spark, who was normally long gone by the time he arrived.
“Remember guys, it’s all about team work!” she smiled. In order to catch the elusive Spark, they would have to find a way to trap him, and keep him from getting away. Hearing her words, Ryu let out an odd cooing call to Cinder, before slithering into the pond, vanishing from sight. Seeming to understand, he proceeded to chase Spark down to the river, the Pichu unaware that his partner was hiding there. With a great splash, Ryu ambushed Spark, trapping him within the coils of her long body.
Seeing her Pokemon finish up, Sera clapped and stood up. “Great job everyone! Now let’s work on some move techniques, the break for a snack!” she called over, setting her bag down and rummaging through her belongings. All she had for them today were some rice balls she had made earlier, each one containing a berry at the center, accustomed to their tastes. They would enjoy those later, as she got out a couple of stakes with round pieces of wood attached, sticking a few into the ground as targets. Sera then sat back down, her Pokemon finally making it over to her.
“Alright, we’ll be picking up on where we left off last week. Spark, I think you’re getting close with your Helping Hand, as Cinder’s attacks definitely get stronger with you using it. And Cinder, you’re getting better with your Mud Slap, but you need to focus on your target, because your accuracy has been rather off.” She coached the two. Turning to her Dratini, she smiled. “We’re going to do something special today though. I figure that Spark should be fine taking a day off of his Helping Hand technique, and work on finally being able to use Thundershock properly. I think Ryu might be able to help, since she can use Thunder Wave.”
As Cinder proceeded to race forward to one of the targets constantly and fling mud at it, Sera took Ryu and Spark over several meters, having moved one of the targets over to them. “Okay, let’s see how this works. Spark, I want you to concentrate as much as you can on focusing your electrical energy, so that you can release it all at once in the same direction. Ryu will demonstrate with a Thunder Wave.” She spoke, gesturing to her Dratini, who in response closed her eyes, and shot out blue electricity at the target, encasing it in the bright blue light.
Rather startled by the display, Spark recollected himself as he adjusted his position toward the target, then hunching over in concentration, clasping his paws in desperation as he closed his eyes. The result of such a display was a bolt of electricity, though short lived, managed to hit its target and cause Spark to roll backward. With a small giggle, Sera scooped him up and set him back on his feet, patting his head. “That was great! With a little more work you’ll be able to do it more freely, and without knocking yourself over.” She smiled, watching with a sense of pride as her Pichu grinned happily, and attempted his electrical attack over and over with glee.
It's been two years since Richie Palmer first joined the Rebellion. Not being on many missions after the last few fiascoes, Richie pretty much felt as if he was rusty as well as his Pokémon. Putting his boots and his gloves on, Richie heard a loud voice blare from his left shoulder.
"All operatives," a voice blared loudly, "One of the four former operatives have been spotted around Noverus. I repeat, the first pf four operatives has been spotted."
"Falcon to base," Richie stated through his walkie talkie, "I request more intel on this operative."
“Please be on the lookout for ex-Rebel Gregory Ramirez,” the voice on the intercom says. “Sources say that he is very dangerous and should be trailed with extreme caution.”
“Understood,” Richie replied coldly, “I’ll use extreme caution…” After releasing the button on his radio, Richie’s features could be seen clearly. His hair was the same, but his face had more seriousness and anger on it, causing him to look rather vicious. There was a scar on his right eye, but his eyeball was still perfectly intact. Richie’s body was also a lot more toned and muscular, almost as if he had been dedicating his life to exacting his revenge on Team Magma. His name was finally well known within Noverus, even though he was still only an initiate. All of the upper ranks respected him as if he was just under the Elder. Richie began to humble himself at this point, being quite modest now. Backtracking to when he was still young, Richie was handsome, tan with pearly white teeth, no scars or unsightly blemishes of any sort, though muscular, was still small for his size. The biggest difference came from his attitude, however, going from being cheerful and sarcastic to serious and anger filled. After watching your friends disappear one by one for two years, how would you become?
Richie’s anger never clouded his judgment, making sure he always thought his plans through. He has become quite the Rebel ever since everyone left. Maybe they were the reason he was less focused. Without another thought of his past, Richie began to leave from the Sanctuary in order to go search for Ramirez.
“Palmer, wait,” a Veteran called to him, making Richie stop and turn around. Without a second thought, Richie saluted the Veteran, who gave him a salute back. The Veteran handed Richie a small device, resembling a micro SD card that is placed inside of phones to store data. “That has the mission briefing for you and everyone for your next three missions.”
“Understood sir,” Richie replied, giving the Veteran another salute before jumping inside of a car and revving the engine. Placing the chip within his phone, Richie read over all four of the names, becoming a lot more frustrated at each name. “Time to tie up loose ends, I suppose.” Pulling out from the garage, Richie began to drive towards The Black Dragon. Dialing a number from his phone, Richie put the car in park and waited for his call to be answered.
“Hello,” A gruff man responded to the blaring of the phone within the establishment.
“Yes, Mr. Blackman,” Richie asked, getting the dial tone after being so blunt. Calling once more, the same man answered the phone.
“If you’re a bill collector or a travelling salesman…”
“Relax, sir. It’s Richie Palmer.”
“Palmer? Hot damn, son. How have you been?”
“Been better, Randy.” He sighed heavily, letting Mr. Blackman know that it was about that time.
“What and how much do you need, Richie…”
As time drew by, Sera's training session had soon come to an end. As a treat for his success, Sera allowed Spark to remain out of his Pokeball for the journey back, recalling her other two companions as she made her way out of the park. She was still trying to decide how long she wanted to stay in this place, whether she would be leaving soon, or if there was more for her to do. She didn’t feel compelled to get entangled in the city’s conflict, but one could only do so much traveling without becoming sick and tired of it. Perhaps once she got back to the Pokemon Center and had her friends treated, she could dwell more on such things.
Walking through the streets, she took a quick glance around every so often, wanting to take a little caution during her trip that something didn’t go wrong. Her Pokemon were exhausted from their training, and currently not fit for battle. Even Spark, who was currently napping in her arms, had tuckered himself out from his earlier training. Sera took another quick glance, this time skyward, and frowned.
“I hope it’s not going to rain.” She frowned. While she was fairly close to the Pokemon Center at this point, she didn’t want to get cooped up inside while it rained outside. So, picking up her pace, she hurried toward her destination, when a flash of something caused her to halt in place. A car, coming from the direction of the Pokemon Center nearly flattened her, the driver obviously preoccupied with something. “That was too close...” she sighed, before picking up her pace once more, the Pokemon Center soon in sight.
Stepping through the doors, she smiled over at Nurse Joy, jostling Spark awake to let him know that they had arrived. Smiling down at him, she gave the nurse her two Pokeballs and her companion, heading over to sit on one of the nearby couches, and glance upward at the sky in a daydream state. Sera knew that there were a few empty rooms that she could potentially use for practice, but she much preferred if they went outside, so that she didn’t have to worry about breaking anything. Not like her Pokemon had such power though, at least not yet.
Sera dozed off moments later, only to be awoken by the sound of Nurse Joy calling her, letting her know that her Pokemon were healthy and happy. Slowly getting to her feet, she shook her blonde hair out of her face, brushing her bang aside before hurrying over to the desk to collect her team. Thanking the nurse, she dug out another one of her rice ball treats, offering it to Spark as he sat on her lap, chewing away at the treat with delight.
She had enough money for a few days of food, but then she’d have to find some work again soon. Until then, they would have lots of time to go out and explore. But that could wait, as they had only just gotten there after all. “We’ll go explore in a little while, okay?” Sera promised her Pichu, watching as the regular traffic of trainers trickled in and out of the facility. Sera could still remember when she first got her Pichu, which was not too long ago. The poor thing had been chased by someone's Houndour, for whatever reason she couldn't be certain. But by the time she had dealt with it, the Pichu had been rather hurt and tired, as if it was disoriented and unsure of where it was going. With some love however, he looked healthier and happier than she had ever seen him.
After driving back from a successful grab and go from the Black Dragon, Richie placed the car in park and grabbed the duffel bag that the materials he was looking for were in. Richie pulled out a Premier Ball, opening it and releasing Spunky, his first companion. Spunky yipped happily at Richie's feet, which made Richie smile, a rare occurrence. Richie had not smiled in quite some time now, so this feeling made him feel as if his face was beginning to crack. He didn't mind, however, seeing as how he smiled larger just to make his Growlithe happy. After a brief moment of playtime with Spunky, Richie began walking towards the Pokémon Center, noticing a small mouse sitting on a young girl's lap, eating a rice ball.
"That Pichu is too familiar," Richie stated, but Spunky already made it his business to see who the Pichu belonged to. After sniffing around the girl for a while, he barked happily. Richie simply walked towards the small group, apologizing for his Growlithe for being so friendly. "I didn't mean for my Pokémon to come towards you like that, ma'am. I promise I'll keep him on a leash." Now getting a closer look at the Pichu, Richie began to notice that this same Pichu resembled Violet's old Pichu. Maybe it was the look in its eyes, or maybe it was the way it acted. Regardless, Richie couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Pardon me ma'am," Richie began, "what is your Pichu's name?"
Sera was quite surprised when the first thing she saw was someone’s Growlithe, flying in from outside and yipping at her, not in an aggressive way, but instead in a form of greeting. She giggled a little, before patting the Pokemon’s head carefully, almost as if she were afraid that he would suddenly turn and bite her. Of course it wasn’t that likely if it was a trainer’s Pokemon, but one could never be too careful.
“It’s no problem, he’s very friendly.” She commented, continuing to pet Spunky for a few moments more. Spark was slightly startled by the initial bark, but his ears quickly perked up upon seeing Richie walk in. “His name is Spark, I found him when I first came here a couple of weeks ago.” Sera explained, before watching her Pokemon with genuine surprise. “He was being chased around by a Houndour when I found him, so I adopted him after I got him treated.” Her inquisitive nature kicked in, if only for a few moments as she wondered why he would be interested in her Pichu, but perhaps he was just trying to make some conversation.
As he examined the familiar face, Spark was quick to stuff the rest of the rice ball in his tiny mouth, before jumping from Sera’s lap, running up Richie’s side before perching on his shoulder in greeting. In his excitement, he then slid down back onto the ground, offering Spunky a paw in greeting, cheeks sparking with electricity as he became overexcited.
After watching the display, Sera took her eyes from her Pokemon to look up at the stranger. “He really seems to like you...“ Sera noted, wondering if the two could somehow know one another. Spark was a bit shy around strangers, so his sudden change in attitude was rather surprising to the girl, especially if he was comfortable enough to sit on someone else’s shoulder.
“...anyways, my name is Sera. I’m sort of new around these parts, so I haven’t seen you around” she smiled, standing up onto her feet, careful not to step on the two Pokemon greeting one another, before offering her hand to Richie for a handshake. “May I ask for your name?” The least she could do right now was make a new friend, especially if it meant learning a bit more about the city she had been spending the past couple of weeks in.
Richie was awe-struck. Sparx was back within the city which meant that Violet was still alive. He could find her and bring her back to the Sanctuary to clear her name entirely. Things were beginning to look up for him entirely. He then redirected his attention to Sera, who actually looked like Violet slightly. He was completely off of his game today, but shook it off and returned to his regular stone-faced expression.
"My name is Richie Palmer," he responded, "This Pichu of yours use to belong to one of my friends." Richie simply smiled as the Pichu was reunited with Spunky and the pair began to converse as much as they could. "It's strange, since I never expected to see this Pichu without her around." His mind began to wander again. He began to think about Violet. She was a great friend, someone who he began to develop more than simply friendship feelings for...but that was only because she understood him.
That also was a thing of the past. Richie had to come back to the realization that this girl was not Violet, although her Pichu did belong to her. She was just another civilian who didn't know the truth behind this city. She only knew where she was from...which was a good thing. Richie didn't want her to be hanging around him and get herself into a mess.
"If you're looking for a tour guide," Richie told her. "I''ll be back in a second, I have to grab my watch." Without another word, Richie began to walk off, taking the escalator downstairs twice to reach the base. Not even ten seconds after he did that his phone rang.
"Hello," Richie answered, "hey mom...yes ma'am, I'm doing well...oh Katherine? She's fine...yes ma'am, I'll tell her...I love you too, mom...I miss you too...I'll be back to visit soon...bye." He never could get through a conversation with her without getting a little misty eyed, with today being no different. He grabbed his watch from off of his dresser, slapping it on his wrist and heading back upstairs.
Upon realizing that he was not going to respond to her handshake, Sera lowered her hand, allowing it to rest on her now free lap. She had no idea that her new companion had belong to someone else, and on top of that, someone he knew. Perhaps it would be possible to find the Pokemon’s owner and return him, but then another thought came to mind.
Why was he out on his own in the first place? No sensible trainer could simply let their Pokemon run around injured for days, or possibly weeks. Sera decided she would inquire later on about this friend of his, wanting to get to know a little more about them, especially why they could let such a young Pokemon get injured.
“Well it’s nice to meet you Richie.” Sera smiled. “And thanks, I’d really appreciate the tour. I’ve been wandering around here more than anything.” She explained, knowing that she never really got that lost or disoriented while trying to traverse the city. Rather, she wanted to see more parts of it that she had yet to see, wanting to know everything about it before she could travel onward to the next town. Mentioning something about a watch, she watched as he hurried down a flight of stairs, vanishing from sight. Sera had never been down to the basement, someone telling her that only certain people were allowed down there. She regretted not having inquired further.
After he had vanished from sight, Sera glanced down and gathered Spark, who had finally settled down. She noticed his almost saddened look, as if he was reminded of what he list. Sera hated seeing her Pokemon sad, especially her Pichu when his big eyes watered. Even Richie’s Growlithe, who had been bouncing around with joy earlier, seemed rather mellow, causing Sera to frown. She realized that they probably missed this friend of theirs, and Richie bringing it up during his explanation simply reminded them of this.
“Don’t worry...” Sera told him, not noticing Richie returning from the basement as she tried to cheer Spark up. Setting him down on the couch, she made an enthusiastic thumbs-up gesture. “I’m sure we’ll find your original owner. You can bet on it!” Almost immediately the Pokemon’s demeanour changed to a more pleasant mood, and as he crawled up onto her shoulder once more, Sera spun around and saw Richie, giving him a smile. “Did you get your watch?”
Flashing his wrist to show her his sports watch, Richie motioned towards the car that he had placed next to the Pokemon Center. Petting Spunky on his head once more, he walked to his vehicle and let Spunky hop in the back seat, wit the dirt on his paws and everything. He noticed this after his Growlithe kicked up more dirt than usual, placing it all on the seats. Although this aggravated Richie extremely, he still didn't let it show. Well, he thought to himself, that just gives me one more thing to do today... With a sigh, he also opens the door for Sera, waiting on her and her Pichu to get into the car. He began to think to himself about the older times, before this day.
"Daniel," he said while his mind frolicked through his life story, being sure to only include his events within Noverus. Ever since he had gotten here, he made a friend that was taken away. First it was Ramirez, then Daniel, afterwards Katt, and even Violet...somehow, he didn't think that when he saw them, it would be a happy reunion in the least. He already knew the story with Ramirez. He had become the enemy. Richie saw his face every night, taunting him, daring him to give chase. Richie struggled internally with maintaining his composure, clenching his fist and cracking his knuckles in the process. Because of Ramirez...
"Richie," A voice called out to him, making Richie jump and instantly lose his frustration. He heard her. He knew he did. Looking around, Richie saw nothing but fire...fire and falling lumber surrounded him, meaning only one thing...
He remembered it all.
Richie, Katt, and Violet were all sitting inside of a warehouse, tied down and at a disadvantage. This was part of their mission given to them by the higher ups, which was usually a good thing. This mission was a search and rescue, since the last one was a botched attempt and they ran out with their tails between their legs. Richie already knew the severity of this mission and was willing to do whatever it took to succeed. Getting captured was not part of the plan, but it "did" make it easier to get inside of the building.
"What should we do about these three," one Magma asked.
"These kids," the second responded, causing all of them to look kind of aggravated. All of them were older than eleven, so kids must have been for lack of a better term. "Let them stay here. 48 hours of pain oughta teach them not to step onto Magma territory without experiencing the repercussions. With the first Magma walking away, the second simply nodded and walked off. After pulling up a chair, the guard sat down and closed his eyes. The only good thing was the fact that they hid their Poke Balls somewhere for them to always use. The downside: Since they were tied up, no one could reach them.
"This could have gone better," Richie replied, getting a chuckle from both women. Slowly, but surely, he began to wiggle free from the rope, trying to bring it above his head in order to free himself and save his friends. With only one guard watching them, and him being asleep, this would prove to be a successful mission after all. After about ten minutes of moving, the ropes were over his head, and dropped to the ground. Afterwards, he snuck behind the guard, knocking him out and taking the pocket knife he had.
"Richie," Violet hissed as she was more concerned that he would be caught before they got a chance to escape. With Richie cutting her loose, she simply gave Richie the "You better not screw up" look. Richie flashed his usual smile that melted some girls hearts and then cut Katt loose.
"Relax," Richie told her, "I have everything under control."
That's only what he thought...
Snapping back to reality, he jumped into the car, turning it on and waiting on this new girl to get in as well. He felt as if this was going to be a long day, so he prepared himself mentally before anything else.
Sera picked up Spark as the two hurried off through the sliding doors, and toward the garage, picking up her pace as the two headed toward the parked car. It didn’t take her long to recognize their vehicle as the one that nearly ran her over earlier, leaving Richie to be the careless driver. She shrugged, leaving it in the past as she clambered inside of the vehicle, along with Spunky and Spark.
As she got herself situated inside, Sera heard Richie mumble something, causing her to glance over at him, seeing him in a trace-like state, as if recalling some old memory. She blinked a couple of times in confusion, and then shrugged. Perhaps she did something that caused some old memory to come back to him. Whatever it was, it couldn’t have been a pleasant one, based upon his slight facial and bodily movement. "I wonder what going on in his head... maybe it has to do with that friend which owned Spark before me... I hope I can actually find him, or her, soon enough. Maybe he misses them too..." she pondered
“Hey, are you okay?” Sera asked, having buckled herself in already while waving one of her hands in front of his face to gain his attention. She didn’t want to interrupt him or anything, but she was anxious to get a good look around the city, and he was the only one of the two that could drive. Seeing him return to the conscious world, the girl offered him a smile before relaxing back into her seat, Spark sitting comfortably on her lap, held in by part of the seat belt.
“Is Daniel the name of your friend?” she asked, having heard the name during his earlier mumble. She didn’t want to poke her finger into his old wounds, but her inquisitive nature always seemed to get the best of her. Sera always wanted to know everything, believing knowledge to be power when it came to everyday living. And knowing everything she could would allow her to better understand the world around her. That was part of why she had wanted to pick up on her travels, so that she could learn more about the different places of the world, and better understand why things the way they were.
Remembering his earlier facial expression, she added. “You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want.” After all, she had just met this man, and the last thing she wanted to do was to insult or bother him with things that may or may not be best left alone in the back of the mind. Plus she would be relying on him as her new tour guide of this sprawling city.
(Collab Post.)
Richie slightly twitched at the sound of Daniel's name, giving him an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He kept having flashbacks of their only mission together, realizing how miserably he failed then too. With a sigh, Richie revved the engine and took the car out of park.
"Daniel was my partner," Richie stated, "and we had a mission together a few years ago. Needless to say, it ended badly, since I was the only one of us to return." Sera frowned at the tone of his voice, realizing that it was probably a painful memory.
"...I'm sorry to hear. I could never imagine losing a close friend" she replied in a quieter tone. Sera was already starting to regret asking that last question, and the one that was about to follow. "...Who do you work for, if I may ask?" She didn't see him wearing a uniform, and his mention of a mission made her wonder if he was sided with Team Magma or Team Aqua in this whole mess.
"That information is classified," Richie exclaimed, "if I told you that, then that would be against code 104 in the handbook." He placed his eyes back on the road, driving slowly so Sera could focus more so on the buildings and surroundings and less on his past. The last thing he needed was another person getting tangled up in his web of a life.
"I see..." Sera replied, turning her attention from her driver to the buildings around them. She felt Spark squirm around in her lap, before climbing up onto her shoulder, hugging onto her head so that he too could see the vaguely familiar surroundings around them. "So I take it you've been in this city for a few years?" she questioned, wanting to steer to some cheerier conversation.
"Three so far," Richie nodded, "I actually like it here, minus the constant Magma and Aqua threat...one day that will be a thing of the past and peace will be restored." He made a right turn at the light, allowing her to see more buildings. "What about you? When did you get into Noverus?" Keeping her eyes on the buildings, Sera thought back.
"I’ve been here for just a couple of weeks. I used to live in Fuchsia City, but my family took up travel when I was 16. I worked in the Safari Zone there, probably one of the best jobs I ever took up. Saw tons of rare and cool Pokémon, and got to learn a little about taking care of them too. Someday I want to go back there, but only after I travel the world."
"The world is a big place," Richie told her as he continued to show off the numerous towers that surrounded them. "This is only the Hoenn Region, and there is only one more I'm certain about. I've heard about a fifth region, but I'm not sure that it truly exists yet." Richie paused for a moment before stopping the car at a red light. "Have you heard of or been to the Unova region?"
"Not yet. I went to most of Kanto with my parents, though we couldn't go to Cinnabar Island because the volcano went off. I started touring through Johto when I turned 18, but spent most of my time in Blackthorn City. I arrived here in Hoenn a couple of months ago, but I took a wrong turn and ended up here. I would like to explore a new region though, somewhere with lots of new Pokémon." Sera explained with a grin. "Ever since I was in Blackthorn though, I've always dreamed about become a Dragon Trainer, even though Dragon Pokémon are the hardest to train. I haven't given up though, especially with Ryu at my side."
"Ryu," Richie asked, becoming more intrigued now than he ever was before. "I have a Riolu named Ryu." Richie chuckled to himself before the light turned green. "Small world," he stated before making a second right turn and stopping at a large building.
"Ryu is my Dratini. I got the name after reading a few books on Dragon Pokémon. It's supposed to be an ancient word that means 'Dragon'" Sera explained with a smile, before pulling out her Poké ball. "I met her when I worked at the Safari Zone. Unfortunately most of our training hasn't been battle related, and since I've met so few trainers on my journey, I haven't had much practice in real battles. I was hoping to change that when I found this place." she smiled, gaining a somewhat dreamy look on her face as she imagined herself battling like a real trainer.
"I could battle you if you want," Richie told her, "it would be a way for you to get a full understanding of how a battle goes." Richie put the car in park and got out, waiting for Sera to follow suit.
"You mean that?" Sera asked, a little surprised that he would offer her such an opportunity. For him it probably wasn't a big deal, but for Sera it was a chance she had been hoping on since she began to travel on her own. She had battled a few times against weaker Pokemon, but a true challenge was what she and her Pokemon needed, especially since the weaker wild Pokemon she had encountered never seemed to put up much of a fight for her team. And if she wanted to become a Dragon trainer, she would need to ensure that her team had lots of training.
Sera had hoped during her solo travels that she could have encountered at least one other trainer willing to battle, but since she was never one to really consider traveling by road, no guess was needed as to her problem. She hated having to travel the roads anyway, as she saw so little wildlife compared to the deep lush forests. However in the city, it was nothing but paved roads. That was part of why she enjoyed the park, as it was the closest to nature one could get within the city, without going outside of the city of course.
Time and time again she had worried during her travels that she would encounter some danger, which would be too strong for her Pokemon to protect her. Even a scenario involving the total wipe of her team bothered her. This was why she had started to take the idea of training her Pokemon more seriously, so that not only could they protect themselves and her, but so that they could protect the weak and innocent, to become heroes of some sort. And from all the rumors she had overheard during her time in the city, she could not take any chances.
Looking out at their surroundings once more, Sera felt herself get flung forward slightly as the vehicle came to a stop. "What are we doing here?" she questioned, jumping out of the car and following him out as she fixed her hair, Spark still sitting on her shoulder as she exited the vehicle. She had expected that they wouldn't practice until much later, not now. However sooner would be better, as a battle during the day would be much easier to carry out than one at dusk, or well after the sun had set.
Richie walked towards the extremely tall building with the Poke ball on the front of it. He looked back at Sera and noticed that she had stopped and was looking confused. He heard her ask where they were headed, but forgot to answer until now.
"I'm going to give you a tour," Richie began, "of Noverus' shopping mall." He proceeded to walk through the door, but he stopped to see if she was following him. "Unless you just want to battle right now." Staring off into space again, he began thinking back to when he first came to the mall. Him and Ramirez came to give Richie a new look. Long hair was out, and short hair was in. Richie went to the barber, cut his long hair, and made it short and spiky. If Richie couldn't thank Ramirez for anything else, he could thank him for that. But that still didn't make up for what happened...
With Richie, Katt, and Violet all trying to find a way to escape, each exit looked like the last: filled with Magma operatives and only one way out. Getting rather aggravated at the situation that they were in, Richie stopped dead in his tracks. Utterly confused, Katt and Violet both looked at him.
"Why'd you stop," Katt asked impatiently.
"Yeah," Violet added, "we have to get out of here Richie."
"He's here," Richie replied, leaving a perplexed look on both Katt and Violet's faces. Suddenly, Richie ducked an incoming punch, leaped over a sweep kick, and returned with two punches of his own, both being blocked. Having his wrist grabbed, Richie was slung over the attacker's shoulders, dropping to the floor.
"What the hell, Palmer," a voice responded, causing Richie's eyes to immediately soften.
"Ramirez," Richie sighed. It was just him. A friend who was there to help.
Now he could escape this hellhole of a warehouse and complete the mission.
"Nah, there will be time later to battle, plus I'm sure I can wait." Sera grinned, catching up to Richie, and walking past him as she made her way toward the large building. However as she noticed he was no longer following, she paused and turned, noticing that he was daydreaming once again. Shaking her head lightly, Sera smiled. "Though at this rate we'll never get to battle before sundown." she commented, walking back over to him.
"I wonder if he always does this... maybe seeing Spark made him remember something..." Sera thought, continuing to wait until he finished his thoughts. Waiting for what felt like forever, she skipped off to the front of the building, examining the directory that had been posted beside the doors. She could at least find out what this place had to offer while Richie was in his little dream world. Suddenly Sera caught a whiff of something sweet in the air, causing her to glance around for the source of the delicious smell. Spark caught the scent as well, his ears perking up as he quickly became familiar with the smell.
Long ago, he and Violet would come to the mall on a weekly basis, to treat her entire team to some of the delicious baked goods they sold just outside of the mall. The street vendor had been rather generous, allowing Violet to pay only a portion of the price so that she could treat all of her Pokemon to his specialty: a sweet puffy pastry with an Oran berry cream in the center. And so that had become a tradition that he looked forward to.
Knowing where the vendor was, Spark raced down from Sera’s shoulder, scurrying off toward the vehicle parked not too far away, waving his small arms to Sera. The girl was quick to catch up, soon finding that the vendor’s pastries were the source of the smell. She glanced down at Spark, who was giving her the same look he gave other Pokemon when using Charm. Never could she say no to that face. Checking her funds, she figured that she had just enough for herself, her Pokemon, and both Richie and his Growlithe.
Thanking the man as they made the exchange, she gave one of the small pastries to Spark, before heading back over to Richie. “Hopefully he’s snapped out of it by now.” She thought out loud, as they hurried back over to the front of the mall, where he was standing.
Richie looked up and noticed that Sera had returned with three pastries in her hand. When did she leave, Richie asked himself, forgetting that he completely zoned out once again. Then he noticed that she only had three pastries. At least until he looked down and saw the Pichu stuffing his cheeks with the pastry, leaving blue filling to cover his mouth. Chuckling to himself, Richie waited for Sera to fully return to where he and Spunky were. Spunky yipped happily as he jumped around and chased his tail, waiting for Sera to come back.
"Obviously," Richie began, "Spunky has really taken a liking to you. Then again, he knows friendly people when he sees them." Spunky continued to bark cheerfully as they came closer. With him now half paying attention, Richie was able to thumb through the files that he was given by his superiors. Placing the headphones in his ears, Richie listened to the vocal recording placed on the micro SD card.
"Greetings, Initiate Palmer," the voice said into Richie's ear drums, making him turn the volume down slightly, "I take it that if you are listening to this message, then you have been informed about your former friends and Rebels." There was a pause for a brief moment before the briefing continued.
"Your mission is not a simple one...not because of it's amount of danger, but because of the situation you have been put in. It is required of you to locate and interrogate ex-Rebel Gregory Ramirez II to discover how much intel he has been funneling to his superiors about us. We need to know if he gave them the location to the Sanctuary, and if he did, then we need to have all of our defenses placed around the perimeter ASAP.
I know that Ramirez is your friend, Palmer, but in this firm, you have to make a choice between friendship and freedom. It sounds harsh, but that's the life that you have chosen, or rather, the one you have been shoved into. Be warned now, Palmer: you may still see Ramirez as your friend, but he sees you as the enemy. He will not hesitate to attack you if need be. Take the utmost caution on this mission and do not be hesitant to call in for backup.
One last thing, Palmer," Richie was listening exceptionally carefully to this next part to make sure he didn't miss anything. "Any friends you make along the way cannot and will not become a part of the Rebellion anymore. If you want them to live a carefree life, keep them in the dark about everything that has been going on for as long as you can...I don't want to see you become someone bent on strictly revenge. That's not what we stand for. As Rebels, we fight against the tyranny of both Magma and Aqua, mainly Magma for right now. Leave your personal grudges out of the mission." With a click and several beeps afterwards, Richie realized the transmission was now over. Placing his cell phone back within his pocket, headphones and all, Richie looked around the shopping mall with total awe.
The shopping mall was amazingly large on the inside, which meant the outside only told half of the story. Numerous stores that included a basic trainer store, clothing department, several restaurants, and a skating rink to entertain numerous numbers of people. Around the water fountain, some young skaters could be seen trying to cover their faces with their hoods.
"I bet you won't snatch that girl's Pichu," one of them whispered to the other.
"You're on," the second exclaimed, circling around the fountain like a hungry vulture. Things were about to get rather interesting...
“I figured I’d bring you guys a treat.” Sera smiled, offering one of the pastries. However he seemed to preoccupy himself with something on his phone, causing Sera to let out a small sigh. At least Spunky was paying attention, noticing that he was looking at one of her pastries. She had the others stored away for the rest of her Pokemon, so with a smile she knelt down beside the energetic Growlithe.
“I bet you would love one of these.” The girl grinned, extending her hand out, the pastry resting on her palm as she allowed Spunky to devour the pastry, and lick her hand clean. She gave him a brief pat on the head, before shoving the second pastry into Richie’s hand, gesturing to him that he could eat it, as she did her own.
Sera waited for Richie to finish whatever it was he was listening to as they headed into the massive building, Sera having to stop to glance around in awe at all of the stores surrounding them. Everything was made available, from food, to clothing, to Pokemon accessories, and so on. It seemed like there wasn’t anything they wouldn’t carry. A few meters ahead of them was a dazzling water fountain, shooting crystal clear water up into the air. It was obviously a rather popular hangout spot, as there were a number of kids standing around, talking to one another.
“This place is amazing! It could compete with Goldenrod or Celadon’s stores!” Sera gasped, Richie having finally removed the ear buds from his ears, and put his phone away. Spark followed behind closely, though with all of the people around them, he had become quite alert to his surroundings. Ears twitching and moving in every direction, he quickly raced up her back to rest on Sera’s shoulder once more, attempting to clean the blue berry juice from around his mouth.
“So where should we start? This place seems almost too big to cover in one day.” Sera noted, heading over to another one of the directories, which was just in front of the fountain. As they approached, Spark hopped down on the ledge of the fountain, pawing at the water with both of his hands to try and clean himself a little better, then staring at his own reflection in the rippling waters. Dozens upon dozens of coins could be seen just past the surface of the water, left there by people who wished for good luck.
With a swipe of his hands, the second young skater had grabbed Spark, dashing madly towards the left side exit. Richie, not knowing exactly what the young man took, simply took off after him, letting Spunky chase after as well. Just now realizing that he had one of the pastries in his hand, Richie took it and threw it as hard as he could at the skater's head. With a loud splat, the pastry covered the back of the kid's head, and hurt him slightly. Without thinking, he stopped and turned around, only to see a very angry Richie storming after him. Almost like how deer get caught in head lights, the young skater was stuck staring at Richie barreling forward until...
BAM! Richie knocked the trainer over, which sent Spark into the air. While it wasn't very high, it was still high enough for a Pokemon like Spark to be startled. Catching him within both of his hands, Richie made sure that Spark was properly cushioned so that he could prevent the young Pichu from being harmed.
"I'm surprised that he didn't use Thunder Wave," Richie replied to himself, placing Spark on Spunky's back. "Take him to that girl we met today named Sera." With a nod, Spunky walked to Sera with Spark in tow, growling at anyone or anything that wasn't her. Meanwhile, Richie looked at the young trainer that he knocked onto the ground, glaring at him to basically try and make the kid say something.
"I don't want any trouble, dude," the skater replied. Holding up his hands in surrender. Richie, who was rather agitated at the fact that this young punk just tried to steal a Pokemon, claimed that he doesn't want trouble. "I was dared by those other guys over there." Pointing towards the fountain where the other skater punks were watching, the young man on the floor began shaking terribly.
"You cold, kid," Richie asked, looking at the other skaters as he asked this. Looking back, Richie noticed the skater shaking his head no in response. "Then quit shivering." Now making it his business to teach the other punks a lesson, Richie stormed towards the small group of them, consisting of about five. They all looked at him and got extremely quiet. Richie simply pointed to the young man that he tackled while still looking at them.
"What about 'im," The one in the front asked. "Did he do something illegal?"
"Did you dare him to steal a Pokemon," Richie asked, making everyone become uneasy. Richie already knew that he did, but it would make him become less aggressive if he nodded yes. With a lack of an answer, Richie moved closer to the skater, who looked sheepishly at Richie's dark stare. "Answer my question, 'dude'." The skater nodded, trying to make sure he didn't get himself injured. "Next time you do that, I won't be so nice, got it?" All of them nodded, including the one he knocked onto the ground. Regaining himself, Richie walked towards Sera, Spunky, and Spark. "Let's look around, shall we?"
Sera was rather bewildered as someone suddenly ran past her, nearly knocking her off her feet as they snatched something right by her. It took her a few moments to realize that her Pichu had been stolen, and as this dawned on her, she immediately sprung to her feet. Looking a little lost at first, a mixed expression of fear and anger passing over her face as she stared daggers at the kid's back. How dare he try to steal her Pokemon? This had been what she was afraid of, feeling like she was unable to do anything as someone got away with such an act, as if she were helpless in the matter.
“GET BACK HERE!” she shouted, nearly screaming as she started to run after the kid, only to find Richie passing her fairly quickly. She came to a halt as she saw him take out the kid through his collision, worry clear on her face as she watched Spark sail through the air, only to be barely caught by Richie, and sent back with Spunky. She could see on his face that Spark was terrified of what had just happened, paws over his eyes, and cheeks sparking with electricity. Sera rushed over to the pair and hugged Spark right off of the ground, holding the Mouse Pokemon fairly tight.
Unfortunately for Sera, with Spark’s eyes closed he interpreted the tight hug as being stolen once again by one of the kids. With sparks flashing from his cheeks, he finally released the stored power, shocking Sera with a Thundershock in the process. This time it was Sera who became startled, blinking a couple of times in surprise.
“...Spark... it’s me...” Sera groaned, releasing the baby Pokemon from the tight grasp, so that he could see who was holding him. Upon opening his eyes, Spark grinned slightly and scratched the back of his head with an apologetic smile. Sera managed to smile back, though she could still feel her heart race from nearly losing her poor Pokemon. To her, Richie seemed fairly calm about everything that had just occurred as he was walking back over to him, but it was clear from her eyes that Sera was still scared stiff, though she soon relaxed into a more easy state as he came close again.
“Thank you so much!” Sera told him, more than grateful for his action. “Spark’s been through so much already... I don’t know what I’d do to think of him being thrown back into some awful situation.”
Richie blushed at how he was being made out to be a hero. All he did was stop a couple of skaters from stealing what didn't belong to them. Nothing too major, really. He noticed how Sera was still kind of sparking, which probably came from Spark going a little overboard on her. The really surprising part was the fact that Spunky didn't get hit. Looking to his left, he noticed that all of the skaters had left, including the one who tried to actually take the Pichu, making him breathe easily. With less people like that around, Richie could give a tour and not have to worry about anything else. Escorting her towards the escalator, Richie began to feel like an actual tour guide, giving Sera the grand tour of the building.
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"You sure it was him," a Magma Grunt asked. His mid-length black hair moved out of his stone black eyes. All of the skater kids nodded, making the Grunt scoff in disbelief. "Unbelievable. This is why you never send boys to do a man's job." Cracking his knuckles, the Grunt signaled for two Recruits to follow him. Both nodded, walking behind their leading officer towards the upstairs floor.
"Why don't we just take those skate rats' Pokemon instead," One of the recruits asked.
"Because they don't have any to take," The grunt answered. "And that Pichu belongs to a prisoner that is currently in our custody. We aren't going to cause a scene, just grab the girl and the guy and leave." Both recruits nodded before looking at each other and smiling darkly. Things were looking up for them.
To ensure that a further incident didn’t occur, Sera made sure to keep Spark within her arms so that nobody else could take him away. It was obvious that Spark wasn’t too pleased by being held down in that manner, but his squirming didn’t get him any closer to freedom. So hanging on he went along for the ride, as Richie and Sera took their own tour of the massive mall.
For the most part, Sera was able to compare this mall to the ones she had visited in both Johto and Kanto. She had heard that somewhere in a city called Lilycove City within the Hoenn region, there was a massive mall, making her wonder if every region had its own giant marketplace. It would have been interesting to Sera if each mall was different somehow, though the variety tended to be more in the view from the rooftop.
Still, Noverus’ mall was beautiful regardless, making her somewhat glad that she could actually spend enough time in the city to explore it more, rather than staying a couple of days before moving on. As time progressed and more of the mall was covered, Sera made sure to check on Spark, who seemed to have recovered from the earlier capture. However she noticed that he kept looking around, as if afraid that someone was going to take him again. Reaching the entrance they had originally taken, she patted him on the head.
“You might feel a little better if you got in here.” She told him, pulling out his Pokeball for him, though he shook his head, wiggled free from her grasp and perched on her shoulder. She had noticed his dislike toward staying in the Pokeball, which she figured meant that he was too used to his freedom. Despite his dislike she had managed to convince him on several occasions to get in, but she had figured that by letting him stay out more, that he would warm up to her quicker. This seemed to be true from what she could decipher.
“So, do you think we could have that practice battle before the sun completely sets?” Sera asked, nodding toward the skyline, or rather what could be seen between the neighbouring buildings. The sky was slowly sinking into darkness, as the orb of light was sinking below the buildings before them, slowly creeping out of sight. It would only be a couple of hours until it got completely dark out anyways, and Sera had been looking forward to her first battle during the entire tour.
"Of course," Richie stated, "fortunately, this mall has the one thing that the others don't which is an indoor dojo." Leading her towards the battle facility, Richie began to crack his neck in anticipation. "It's been a while since I've battled, but I think I remember how this place is set up. Depending on the season, the arena will use different terrain. Since it's summer, I'm pretty sure it would have a beach like lay out right about now." Richie knocked on the door of the building, walking inside afterwards. Sure enough, the floor of the room was made of sand, leaving the outer edges to show plenty of water and the last little bit of sunlight. Richie grinned widely as he stared and admired the scenery. He allowed Sera to step inside and see exactly what he used to see on a daily basis. The room never changed. He saw everything just like he remembered it. The walls were so chameleon like, changing with the time and seasons as well as the weather. He kept thinking back, which made him begin to reminisce again. He kept a very large smile on his face, seeing as how he and Violet used to come here to become better Rebels than they already were. He also remembers himself and Katt coming here for "alone time"...then his fantasy twisted...
Ramirez, half startled, half relieved, helped Richie up to his feet, who dusted himself off and gave Ramirez a hug(a rather manly hug). After letting Ramirez go, he simply looked around to see if he was trailed.
"Man am I glad to see you, Ramirez," Richie exclaimed, hoping that his friend would and could say the same thing. "We need an escape route, and fast. We really don't have the time to hear your wisecracks either, so please just save it for when we all get back to base."
"Richie," Ramirez mumbled, grasping the young Rebel's attention entirely, "I'm not going back...I'm a member of Team Magma now." Richie, Katt and Violet all looked at him, awestruck and non believing, but only Richie laughed and took it as a joke.
"Okay, see," Richie chortled as he patted Ramirez on the back, "that's one of those wisecracks I was asking you to hold onto." Richie looked at Violet and Katt, who, instead of laughing with him, were both glaring at Ramirez. Richie, finally getting the picture, looked at Ramirez, who in turn, looked away from the three of them. "It isn't true..." Richie grabbed Ramirez by his collar aggressively, giving Ramirez his tearful rage. "Tell me and them that it isn't true. Say it right now." Ramirez sighed, grabbing Richie by his wrist and pushing him away.
"Unfortunately," Ramirez responded, "it is true...I'm no longer a Rebel, Richie...I'm sorry." Without another word, Ramirez left the three of them, just standing there. His eyes no longer able to hold the tears back, Richie simply collapsed onto the floor. The very man that he was trying to save, simply sided with the same people that did the most damage to him? Why? His friends would never leave him stranded, never leave him needing or anything like that. But it didn't matter...he'd get his for turning his back.
Walking towards another small group, Ramirez looks behind him at the other three Magmas
"What are the commander's orders," One of them asked as Ramirez simply stared off into space. He paused for a moment, stating very clearly the next five words.
"...Burn it to the ground..."
At first Sera didn't believe his words, trying to understand how such a place could have a dojo for fighting. Surely it would be damaged and destroyed by people getting carried away? However as they walked toward part of the building and stepped inside, Sera let out a small gasp. As the scene changed to that of a beach, she looked around, awestruck as her feet crunched against the sand underneath. The sounds within the room even sounded like a beach, the distant echo of waves rolling, crashing against the shoreline before retreating back toward the endless blue.
Of course, this was nothing new for Spark, who jumped down onto the warm sand, flopping onto his back to feel the warm summery sand. Sera let out a small giggle, before commenting: "Now this is something I've never seen before.", before looking up at Richie. Yet again he was off in his own little world, so she decided to take the opportunity to show the place to her other two Pokemon, so they could take things in before their practice round.
Throwing up two Pokeballs, she released Ryu and Cinder from their captivity, the two Pokemon stretching out, before realizing that they weren't at the park, as they had always been before. Rather they appeared to be at some kind of beach, much to their surprise. Cinder was a little anxious, knowing that sand normally meant water, the one thing he feared most of all. Meanwhile Ryu buried herself in the sand, taking the opportunity to relax.
"Don't worry Cinder, it's not a real beach, so you don't have to worry about getting wet." Sera explained, crouching down to his level before patting him on the head. The Charmander seemed to ease slightly, though held his tail up, as if some wave of water was going to crash over him.
"Change of plans, we're going to have a real battle today!" Sera told her team, giving her two Pokemon the same treats that she and Spark had enjoyed before. "I think we have a good chance of putting up a good fight, so don't be afraid to give it your all!"
Richie was astonished. No, Astonished wasn't a good enough term to describe how he was feeling at this very moment. He almost saw history repeating itself right before his very eyes. He and Tikal used to come in here almost everyday and practice. She would pick her Charmander named Cinder and her Dratini named Tikal. Richie would usually use both Snap and Ryu, but since Sera didn't have the proper experience, he decided to take it easy on her. Pulling out the Dive Ball from his belt, Richie tossed it into the air, revealing Snap, his trusty Totodile. Bouncing around like a rubber ball, Snap flapped his arms up and down like a bird, trying to see if he could float in the air. Richie walked up to the Totodile, placing his hand on his head to make him calm down.
"Listen," Richie whispered, causing Snap to...well...snap into attention. "These two Pokemon aren't on the same level as you are. I want it to be fair, but I don't want her to feel like I'm just taking her lightly. I need you to partner up with Spunky and just use light attacks, okay?" With a nod, Snap began to bounce around, heading for the center of the dojo, soon followed by Spunky. Snap, who was very serious when it came to following orders, told the same thing to Spunky, who nodded in reply. Having a playful look on their faces, they were awaiting the first move of the Charmander and the Dratini.
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Coming downstairs from the seventh floor of the mall, the three Magmas looked around in frustration.
"Where the hell are they," one of the recruits asked, looking around everywhere.
"No idea," the Grunt responded, "let's check every store from this floor down. With a nod, the three split up, checking every store on the sixth floor, planning to make their way downstairs. Time was not on their side from the looks of things.
Turning, Sera took note that Richie seemed to be ready, already having two of his Pokemon ready for the practice battle.
”At least he wasn’t out of it for too long” Sera thought to herself, shaking her head with a smile. Returning to her team, Sera couldn’t hold in her excitement, hands clasped together before her, and a big grin on her face. She just hoped that she could do well enough, to give her some sort of encouragement to try again, and hope that she could do better in the future.
“I think this would be a perfect opportunity for you two to try out your new moves.” Sera told Cinder and Spark, who were still relaxing at the ‘beach’. After all, this was technically training time, still having some form of schedule to follow, and it was their turn to start first. Both Pokemon nodded toward their trainer and hurried off to face against Snap and Spunky.
This left Sera with Ryu, who was still bathing in the sand, not seeming too bothered by the fact that she was going last. “I’ll let you get your chance later, I promise.” Sera smiled, patting the Dratini’s head, before returning her to her Pokeball. After the earlier incident, she didn’t want to turn her back on any of her Pokemon. Straightening up, she walked over to the rest of the group.
It was obvious that her Pichu and Charmander were already excited for their first match. Cinder’s tail-flame was burning brightly in anticipation, while sparks flew from Spark’s cheeks. He even released the stored electricity, though shocking himself in the process, while scaring the daylights out of his partner. Rolling backward from the resulting shock, the Pichu quickly rolled back up onto his feet and waved at Sera, letting her know that he was fine, unlike his partner
“So how does this work? Are we just going to do a two on two match?” Sera asked, clearly oblivious to what Richie had whispered to Snap, believing this to be the real thing. “I thought I’d give Spark and Cinder a shot at the fight, because they each have a move I need them to try to use.” It was one thing to simply hit idle pieces of wood, but a battle would be the real test, with the additional stress and moving targets to worry about. And with the opportunity Richie was giving her, she knew that it was now or never.
The sight of Spark shocking himself and dropping to the floor was a rather hilarious sight. Stifling back a laugh, Richie regained himself and focused on Sera's question.
"Yes," Richie responded, "this will be a two on two battle." He paused for a moment, hearing that she wanted to practice a couple of moves that she had them pick up. Richie nodded, giving her his way of approval for the battle. "As you already know, this one goes until one of us quits, both of the moves are used perfectly, or...your Pokemon are K.O.ed." Richie, who always highly anticipated a battle, licked his lips and cracked his knuckles. Snap and Spunky both let their playful demeanor slide from their faces and got into their battle ready mode.
Upstairs at about the fifth floor, a little boy was walking with his Bulbasaur and his mother. The boy stopped, noticing that a battle with two trainers was about to take place downstairs, immediately wanting to watch it.
"Ooh, ooh, mommy," The little boy hopped around, resembling a small Spoink that just couldn't sit still, "I wanna watch the trainer battle!" The little boy pumped his fist into the air and then put it forward. "Go Charizard!" The Bulbasaur sighed, shaking his head at the excited youth.
"Okay," the boy's mother replied, "we can watch the battle, but only for a little while. Daddy's at home waiting on us."
"YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY," The little boy triumphantly screamed, immediately rushing to the steps, running into the Magma Grunt. Colliding with him and then the floor, the little boy simply looked at the strongly built Grunt. While he smiled at the boy, knowing that something must have had him very excited, the Recruits began to torment him.
"What's wrong with you, punk," one of them asked, glaring at the little boy, making him cry. "You had no business running over here!"
"Go on to your mother," the second recruit added, which brought the mother right in front of all three of them.
"How DARE you," she hissed angrily at the trio, "talk to my son like that." Getting only one look from the Grunt, the woman instantly felt something dark in his eyes. Sheepishly, she took her son and walked back towards their belongings, including the Bulbasaur. The Grunt, who was now rather upset that the woman would actually come to him like that, ordered the recruits to grab the Bulbasaur. As they walked towards them, they said nothing, picking the small dinosaur up off of the ground and walking away.
"Hanoko," The boy cried out, reaching for his only Pokemon, "give back my Hanoko!" Without another word, the three disappeared.
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"You ready Sera," Richie asked before smirking to himself. He hadn't battled for a while now...time to see if he still was able to coordinate them well.
(ooc: extra long collab post between myself and Protoman)
For a brief moment, Spark’s ears twitched as he heard something not far away, someone yelling. He didn’t have time to focus too much on it however, as Sera took a step forward, clenching her fists. “Sounds good, I’ll go first!” she smiled, her Pokemon readying themselves for battle.
“Spark, use Helping Hand, and Cinder use Mud Slap on the Growlithe!” Sera commanded, both of her Pokemon leaping into action. Focusing on his partner, Spark concentrated on lending his partner power, a flicker of blue light was emitted from the Pichu, transferring to Cinder, who only felt a slight tingle. While Spark had managed to use the move, it wasn’t quite as effective as it should have been.
With Cinder going next, he dug one of his claws into the ground, before throwing it upward, a ball of mud flying from his grasp. However the projectile had a considerable arc to it, causing the attack to glide around Spunky, and hit the wall behind him. This caused Sera to frown slightly. “This might not go so well...” she whispered to herself.
Spunky, who was anticipating a direct hit to avoid, simply watched as the mud smacked against the beach like wall. After face-palming for a moment, Richie decided to focus on the battle at hand.
"Okay then, Spunky, use Leer to hold Cinder in place. Snap, Water Gun to knock him down." Almost like clockwork, Spunky held the Charmander at bay, which left him wide open for Snap to attack.
Snap's Water gun collided with Cinder, but since he held back quite a lot of pressure, it wasn't as devastating.
Even though Snap was holding back on the Water Gun, the water attack still caused Cinder to recoil noticeably, quite startled by the spray of water. Sera realized that if she wanted to win, she’d have to make sure her Pokemon would use attacks they knew, while working in the new moves.
“Spark, use Charm to stop Snap’s attack, and Cinder, get out of the Water Gun and Leer right back!” Sera called, watching as her Pichu raced forward, before proceeding to cuddle up next to Totodile, and give him a cute look. Cinder simply ran around to dispel the water from his face, before giving a glare back at Spunky. Since he didn't know Leer however, all he really ended up doing was simply staring at Spunky
With Cinder now in a dead lock stare down with Spunky, Snap had Spark to worry about. Just because he was small, didn't mean he couldn't hurt him with one well placed Thundershock. Looking at the small mouse as he nuzzled his arm, Snap raised an eyebrow, confused as whether he should attack or just let the Pichu have his fun. Meanwhile, Spunky's eyes were not leaving Cinder's, making this a very interesting stand down.
"Use Bite," Richie exclaimed, before Spunky began to run towards Cinder, zig zagging so that he couldn't keep up.
Now things were getting interesting, as what was a two on two battle started to seem more like two one-on-one matches. "Cinder, use Embar to slow down Spunky!" she called, watching as her Charmander began to spew red-hot embers toward the charging Growlithe, in some hope that it would either slow or stop the oncoming attack.
"Spark, Thundershock!" she added, turning her attention to the second half of the battle. Spark's cute expression turned to an almost sinister look, as he blasted the Totodile with a well placed Thundershock
With the embers hitting the body of the Growlithe, Spunky continued to barrel forward, maybe even faster than he did before. Richie already knew about the ability that Spunky had: Flash Fire. Because of the numerous fire type Pokemon that were out there, Richie was glad that he had the one that could absorb fire type moves and get stronger off of them. Finally reaching his destination, Spunky, though not very powerfully, bit Cinder's tail.
Right when Snap was about to smile and pat the Pichu on his head, Spark's look changed. With a large zap, the once friendly Totodile was now quite angry. His body began to turn red with anger and he set his sights on the culprit for this. Running towards the Pichu, he no longer had any intentions in holding back, since this was now war.
Spark blinked as he saw Snap grow outraged, and grinned sheepishly before turning on an angle and retreating from the angry Totodile, back over toward his partner. If it weren't for his agility, he wouldn't stand a chance.
“Uhh... wait... Cinder, use Mud Slap while he’s close!” Sera called, knowing that he needed to break out of the attack. Digging his claw into the ground once more, Cinder flung the mud right into Growlithe’s face, before trying to pull away from the Bite. It was then that Sera took note of Spark’s current situation as he was chased around by the Totodile. “Try using another Thundershock!”
With the Mud-Slap connecting directly, Spunky let go, trying to wipe his eyes in agony. Whimpering, Spunky continued to remove the mud from his eyes to continue his battle. His ears, however, worked perfectly fine. He heard everything that was going on, from Pichu's Thundershock on Snap, to Snap's enraged pursuit.
Snap was getting angrier by the second, anticipating his grasp of Spark, but it seemed that no matter how close he got to Spark, he kept getting knocked farther away. Each Thundershock took its toll, but it also made him that much angrier. His mouth began to glow blue and he dove forward, trying to catch the Pichu with his Ice Fang.
Readying another Thundershock, Spark stopped to gather the energy to release the attack, which proved to be a critical mistake as Snap caught up. With a yelp, the Pichu was caught in the Ice Fang attack, succumbing to the flinch.
Upon hearing his companions cry, Cinder saw the Totodile with Spark in his mouth. Ignoring the Growlithe, he hurried over toward the two. Sera saw this as well, the girl looking almost horrified as she saw what Snap was doing. “Cinder, use Scratch and save Spark!” Sera shouted, watching as the Charmander collided into Snap, slashing with both of his claws to get him to drop Spark.
Richie, who was not expecting Snap to use that move at all, immediately pulled out his Luxury Ball, releasing his Riolu. The Riolu began to bounce up and down, standing in his usual Shotkan fighting stance.
"Ryu," Richie said, still maintaining his composure even in a time of crisis, "use Force Palm and paralyze Snap. I know it sounds ridiculous so don't give me that look(Ryu's facial expression had the usual human way of asking if someone is crazy)." Without any questions, Ryu immediately made it towards the trio of Pokemon, hitting Snap in his side.
Before Ryu got over to Snap, he didn't realize what he just did. Snap simply caught the Pichu with his Ice Fang technique to try and freeze him, but instead, hurt the poor Pichu. Though he was still in a rage, he knew when he took things overboard. Before he got a chance to let go of the Pichu, Cinder continuously clawed at Snap, which began to fuel his rage once more. In a flash, Ryu was underneath Snap, hitting him with a force palm and making his jaw drop. Out came the poor Pichu, collapsing on the ground in front of all of them. Without anymore anger fuelling him, Snap passed out and fell to the floor, knocked out.
The moment he was released from the grip of Ice Fang, Spark rolled out onto the floor, immediately running over to Sera and hiding behind her leg. He then proceeded to climb up her, whacking one of her Pokeballs with his tail, and releasing her Dratini in his place. It was clear that he didn’t want to continue the fight, causing Sera to shake her head with a small smile.
“I think he wants me to switch him out.” She explained, patting her exhausted Pichu before looking over to Richie. “Do you still want to continue the battle, or should we call it a day?
"I'm done," Richie stated, "that Rage ordeal was just entirely too much for me to continue." He called Ryu and Snap back into their Poke Balls, letting Spunky stay out and walk freely. "We can probably use some of the items that we got from the stores." Richie pulled out a small diamond like item from his bag and released Snap, who was still highly unconscious. Placing the diamond in Snap's mouth, Richie moved the Totodile's jaws to make him chew it thoroughly.
With his eyes snapping open, the Totodile looked apologetically to Spark, Sera, and Richie. Richie, who knew that Snap meant no harm what so ever, patted him on the head and smiled.
“No problem, I think it was a great learning experience.” Sera smiled, plucking her Pichu from her shoulder and setting him down. She dug through her pocket and found the Potion she had bought from the money she had left over, making sure to give Spark a good douse so that he could recover properly. Wincing a little from the stinging spray, Spark shook himself off before slowly approaching Snap. He offered him a paw and smiled, wanting to forgive his earlier outrage.
“So where are we off to next?” Sera asked with a smile, watching as Spark made peace with Richie’s Totodile.
With Snap and Spark both shaking hands and letting the past stay in the past, Richie looked at Sera, smiling back.
"Well," Richie began, "unless we have any other obligations, I say we can get out of here."
"Help," a woman cried out, "someone stole my son's Pokemon!" Without any further delay, Richie ran outside, Spunky and Snap soon following suit. Richie ran to the panicking woman, offering his assistance.
"Which way did they go, ma'am," Richie asked, beginning to think that the skate punks were at it once more. The woman pointed upstairs, leading Richie to the fifth floor, where three Magma's were holding the child that owned the Bulbasaur upside down by his ankles. "Put the child down, you cretins." Hearing this, the two recruits glared at Richie, who glared right back.
Sera blinked, watching as Richie suddenly took off as someone cried out for help. Sera grabbed Spark, immediately taking chase after Richie, trying her best to keep up as he was faster than her. The girl nearly bumped into Richie as he stopped upon the fifth floor, encountering the three men holding the boy by his ankles.
Upon seeing the three men, Sera felt Spark shiver in her grasp, trying to hide behind her head to keep out of their sight. She might not have known better, but her Pichu did.
With the boy and the Bulbasaur in tow, the three Magmas looked at both Richie and the girl holding the Pichu. Instantly, they dropped the boy onto the ground, standing next to their superior.
"Boss," one of the recruits stated, "I think it's them."
"I know it is," the Grunt replied, cracking each of his knuckles in anxiety. Richie, who didn't know one Magma from another, simply glared at all three of them.
"I'll ask you three one time," Richie began, scowling at the trio. "Where is Ramirez?"
Sera looked a little confused as Richie started demanding someone from the three Magma’s able to tell who they were right away from the uniforms. It wasn’t the first time she had seen a Magma member, having recalled seeing quite a few of them when she landed in Slateport city awhile ago. Noticing that Spark was freaking out over them, she held the Tiny Mouse Pokemon close, to try and calm him down, though without much success as his cheeks proceeded to spark in anxiety.
"We don't answer to the likes of you," the first recruit stated, becoming a lot braver since he had backup. The Grunt signalled for him to stop, but to no evail. "We're gonna crush you and take your pathetic Pokemon too, Richie Palmer!"
"Enough," the Grunt stated, "you can't do anything, Jamie." Making the first recruit feel as if he was being challenged, the Grunt glared at him, making Jamie turn away in detest. Richie, who still had no idea what was going on, simply watched as both recruits stepped back behind the Grunt.
“Who are you?” Sera demanded, feeling a little braver despite Spark’s struggling. She let out a small gasp as the Pichu squirmed free from her arms, running out in front of her and Richie before clenching his paws, growling angrily at the Grunt before him as his cheeks sparked even more. He had gotten a little braver before, but Sera still feared that he would get taken away.
The Grunt, who was a lot more patient with civilians than the recruits he had with him, simply removed his hood, revealing his face and hair. Richie's demeanor went south. Entirely south. He could only let one word escape his lips.
"Ramirez," Richie stammered, all of his focus finally leaving him. He remembered the whole battle that they had.
Richie wasn't sure if Ramirez actually was serious about being a Magma, and wanted Richie to escape, or if he was playing dress up and had to sell the role. It didn't seem as if he was attempting to harm him, true, but at the same time, he wasn't trying to assist them out either. Richie knew that he had to figure out something that made sense. At that point in time, nothing made sense. With Katt and Violet not too far behind him, Richie played the ninja role, placing his back against the wall in order to hear exactly what was going on with Ramirez and who all these people were. He couldn't make out all of the conversation, but he heard Ramirez's voice clear as crystal. Burn in to the ground...surely he was joking. He couldn't have meant burn the warehouse to the ground. Not while they were still in there.
"Richie," Katt whispered, getting the signal to hold on as Richie continued to listen.
"There are three prisoners that got loose because of a clumsy guard's mistake," Ramirez scowled, causing the rest of the operatives to stand in attention. "Find them before the building burns down and collapses. If you do find them, either call for help or attack with extreme prejudice."
"What if they find us," one of them asked patiently, getting a look from Ramirez.
"If they all find you," he replied, "then you're already of no more use to us." Walking away from them all, Ramirez took an elevator down to the bottom floor. Richie already knew that things were going to get hectic, so he prepared himself in advance.
"Violet," Richie stated, hoping that she would be ready, "do you think Storm could distract them long enough for us to catch up to Ramirez?" Violet nodded, but Katt stopped her from releasing him.
"I'll do it," Katt replied, trying to get Richie's attention. "I can stop these punks." With a nod, Richie allowed Katt to go be a distraction while Violet and Richie rushed down the stairs. Right when the pair reached the bottom floor, Ramirez was about to leave. Giving him a hard shoulder charge, Richie knocked Ramirez onto the ground, turning him around to deliver a hard right hook. Richie went for another one, but his arm was stopped by Ramirez, who in turn headbutted him. Knocked senseless, Richie staggered to get up, releasing Ryu when he came to his senses. In turn, Ramirez released Tyrogue, who flexed his muscles before beginning to do battle against Richie's Riolu. The pair of them were in a dead heat, neither letting the other get in any direct hits...
"Spark, get back here!" Sera called, not wanting her Pichu to get too close to these people. She had nearly lost him once, and the last thing she wanted was another repeat of that incident. Spark had wanted to exact his revenge on these people, especially Ramirez, as he knew him to be the reason that Violet was gone. He wanted so badly to see his trainer and friend again, as well as his other human friend, and simply being in the presence of the cause of his loss was almost too much for the young Pokemon to bear.
As Sera ran past Richie to grab her Pichu, she noticed his change in attitude, causing her to be a little worried. His once confident and demanding expression had changed, which made her worry that they were getting into something that they would regret. Could this man be part of his history, the reason he kept looking back to old memories time and time again? Despite being pulled away from his spot, Spark continued to glare daggers at Ramirez, cheeks crackling violently with electricity.
She knew she probably wouldn’t get an answer if she asked, because it would probably violate some protocol that he had to uphold, but she needed to know what was going on right now. If this man meant trouble for the two of them, then Sera wanted to know, especially if he had something to do with his friend’s disappearance. Spark was surely being worked up over his appearance, so it must have had something to do with his owner. Anything to fill her in on the situation, and give her some chance to help out her new friend in his time of need.
“Richie...” Sera started, turning to face him while turning away from the Magma members, her face reflecting a strong sense of concern toward their well-being. “...What’s going on? Who is this?” she asked, before turning to face the man named Ramirez once more
“And what did you do to Spark’s owner?!” she added in anger, almost forgetting the situation as she advanced toward the three Magma members. Never before had she seen Spark act with such animosity. It hurt to even look into Spark’s eyes, a mixture of anger and sadness within them as he continued to stare down at the former Rebel, who had taken away everything from him.
"What's wrong, Palmer," Ramirez asked, adding a cocky smile to his demeanor, "Katt got your tongue?" This made Richie snap out of his trance, bolting towards Ramirez at full force. Drawing his fist back, he launched a full powered hay-maker towards Ramirez's face. With the punch being caught, both Recruits knew that it was that time again, circling Richie entirely. As the three of them continued to walk around Richie, Ramirez began to seriously focus on an ending strike early. Meanwhile, Richie's serious attitude returned to him, making him become entirely focused on countering each attack thrown at him. He already saw one of the recruits flinch towards him. Tell tale signs of anxiety and discomfort. He would make the first mistake.
"What's wrong, Ramirez," Richie finally responded to Ramirez's statement, "ran out of people to manipulate?" Laughing at Richie's attempt to anger him, Ramirez stopped moving around, deciding to back out of the circle. Richie already felt the pair of them acting like sharks in the water, with he himself being the bait. Pulling out his Luxury Ball again, Richie released Ryu, who decided to exit the circle as well, only to be surrounded by two Poochyenna and a Mightyenna. This Mightyenna, however, differed from most others. His fur color and body structure were the same, but his eyes and his paws showed that he had been in numerous battles. His left eye, while it was covered in a scar, showed signs of his war skills and past experiences. Meanwhile his paws were all rugged and weathered, meaning that he had been outside of his Poke Ball for quite some time. Ryu, while not underestimating the Mightyenna, wasn't afraid of what it could do in battle. Standing in a battle ready pose, Ryu awaited both Poochyenna to stop circling him and close in for an attack.
Sera couldn’t stop Richie as he threw himself toward the Magma members, unable to help but watch as he became surrounded by the three men, looking almost ready to pounce on him. She couldn’t just leave him to fight by himself, but what could she do? Surely her Pokemon weren’t strong enough to take out any of their Pokemon, especially with what had happened earlier.
“Pi!” Spark snapped at the girl, jumping down in front of her with a look of determination, little paws clenched and sparks showering from his cheeks. Sera could tell by the look on his face that he wanted to help their friend, even if it meant their own defeat in the process. Sera was a little surprised, knowing that Spark was usually more timid than this, as part of his survival instinct. But she also knew he was right: they needed to help their new friend, even if she was completely clueless on what this was all about and their past together.
“You’re right, we can’t let him do this alone!” Sera told her Pichu, making a fist and smiling. “Let’s give it all we’ve got!” And with that, she released her Charmander, who upon seeing the three opposing Pokemon, let out a small gulp of anxiety. However after a short speech in a tongue that Sera could not understand, Cinder was filled with determination, just as Spark had displayed. Wasting no time, the three of them ran over to Richie to lend him a hand. Spark and Cinder quicky ran over to join Ryu in the stare down with the three dark Pokemon, while Sera skidded to Richie’s side.
Before he could offer any protest, Sera flashed him a small smile and a quick thumbs up.
“There’s no way I’m going to let you stand here and fight them by yourself. What kind of a friend would I be if I let you do that? I’ll take care of the others while you go for the head.” She told him. This time, no would not be an option, as she refused to let him do this by himself. It was time to pay him back for what he had done for her. “Don’t worry about what happens to me. They aren’t going to get far.”
With Spark and Cinder backing him up, Ryu stared down the Mightyenna, half expecting him to attack. The Mightyenna scoffed at Ryu and his friends, making Ryu's nose twitch.
"No amount of friends can save you," the Mightyenna growled, causing Ryu to tense up a lot. "None of you can stop the might of Beowulf!" Without another word, the Mightyenna attacked Ryu, who used Low Kick to slow him down. Knocking his feet from under him, Ryu jumped over Beowulf, landing behind the confused Mightyenna. Ryu didn't need to be given direct orders for him to understand what he was required to do. He and Richie always practiced their fighting strategies before they even got into a battle. The only time it was necessary for them to make new plans is when they are using new moves. So far, Ryu has used each move at least once, and didn't plan on leaving anything out of the fray. Beowulf got off of the ground, snarling and motioning for the two Poochyenna to attack the other Pokemon. Both Poochyenna dashed towards Ryu, breaking around him and aiming for the Pichu and the Charmander.
-----------
"Sera, I want you to listen closely," Richie stated as the pair of them were standing back to back, facing the pair of recruits. "When I say now, haul ass towards the kid and the Bulbasaur and grab them both." He looked at Ramirez, knowing he would be a major road block. "I'll hold off these idiots and then stall Ramirez while you get the boy and his Pokemon back to the woman downstairs, got it?" Richie clenched his teeth, knowing that his anger was going to get the best of him pretty soon. "Don't argue with me, and don't try and improvise. Follow my instructions to the letter." Richie punched the first recruit in the nose, making him instantly grab it and writhe in agony. He reached around Sera to grab the second recruit, who made a mad dash towards her, and threw him at the first recruit, knocking them both to the ground. Nodding his head quickly, Richie signaled for Sera to grab the boy and his Bulbasaur, leaving Ramirez to him. Once more, Richie threw a solid punch at Ramirez, getting it caught once more, but this time, he followed it up with a side kick to his midsection. Not expecting this, Ramirez skidded back a few inches, patting his stomach with one hand.
Spark was a little startled by the two Pokemon suddenly racing toward them, quickly realizing that they would be on their own for this fight, as their trainer was busy with other things. Tensing up, Spark started to concentrate twice as hard, the blue spark of Helping Hand connecting with Cinder, making him glow with blue light as energy coursed through his entire being. Even is eyes glowed, as he dug both of his claws into the ground. Mud forming on his claws, he whipped them toward the two charging Pokemon, each Mud Slap hitting its mark. While the two Poochyena were blinded by the mud in their faces, Spark made a mad dash forward, leaping onto one of the dark Pokemon, which spun and thrashed as it felt the Tiny Mouse Pokemon on its back. Spark didn’t stay long, the Pichu letting out a quick Thundershock before landing in behind. Despite being blinded, both of their foes had a keen sense of smell. The un-shocked Poochyena let out a fierce Howl, causing both Cinder and Spark to cover their ears. It then managed to locate Spark through the baby Pokemon’s scent, before slamming into his side with a Tackle.
Sera frowned a little as he dismissed her from the battle, not wanting to leave his side for fear of something going wrong, but the child did need to get back to his mother, before he or his Pokemon got hurt in the process. It seemed like Richie could handle himself anyways, but the girl still worried about his well being, especially as the fight became more fierce.
“Alright, but I really hope you’ll still be here when I get back.” Sera told him, before spying his nod – the signal. She quickly ducked out of the fight and ran over to the watery-eyed boy, his Bulbasaur staying close to his side to protect him. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.” She told him calmly, taking the child by the hand, escorting him down the escalator. She didn’t waste any time, running down the moving steps as the Grass Pokemon followed closely. As soon as she got off the steps, she spotted the worried woman and ran over toward her. She too saw them, and upon seeing the boy, ran over to them and hugged the child. Sera barely stayed for a ‘thank you’, before running up the escalator once more
Richie and Ramirez were originally close friends. Pretty much the closest friends within the Rebellion. They had a fierce rivalry, true, but that was as far as it went. Richie never wanted it to come to this, but he had no control over how this went. Their friendship went downhill the moment Richie's first punch connected.
BAM! Richie slugged Ramirez with all of his might, knocking him slightly off balance, but pissing him off more than anything. In response, Ramirez threw a hard left hook, knocking Richie clean off of his feet onto the ground. Meanwhile, Ryu and Tyrogue were in a fierce battle as well, both Pokemon countering the other one's attacks the entire time. Neither seemed to be letting up, but when the time came, that would make that attack that much more devastating. Knowing they would get nowhere soon, Ryu countered once more before using Feint, to trick Tyrogue into believing that he was attacking immediately. As the Tyrogue attempted to counter, Ryu paused before he struck, knocking Tyrogue to the ground....
Richie kipped up, dashing towards Ramirez the second he was back onto his feet. After faking a punch, Richie threw a knee to Ramirez's face, making the Grunt step backwards. Becoming very agitated, Ramirez noticed the girl had returned from leaving the battle. Being distracted, Ramirez soon caught a left hay-maker from Richie square in the jaw. Being sent farther backwards, Ramirez growled at Richie, who was breathing lightly for now. Ramirez wiped his mouth, noticing blood on his hands. Aggravated to the highest, Ramirez decided that Richie deserved to be punished. Cracking his knuckles, Ramirez threw a right cross, which was barely caught, a left hook, which dazed Richie entirely, and a hard uppercut to send Richie sprawling backwards.
Meanwhile, Ryu and Beowulf were still in their deadlock battle. Ryu may have been very agile, but Beowulf was faster. Ryu continuously had to use Quick Attack to outmaneuver the larger Beowulf. Beowulf used a powerful Tackle attack, knocking the Riolu to the ground. Springing up shortly after being knocked down, Ryu began to tense up, knowing that this might be one of his hardest battles to win. Looking back behind him, Ryu decided to give assistance to Cinder and Spark before continuing. As the first Poochyenna charged towards Spark, Ryu jumped over the Pichu, landing in front of both of them and connecting a well placed Karate Chop to the head of Poochyenna. As the second one was still shaking the mud out of its eyes, Ryu was sure that Cinder could handle that one alone.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Spark grinned at Ryu, though heard a loud growl as Beowulf was starting to get closer to the group. Seeing that the Riolu and Cinder would be fine, he hurried over toward the stirring Pokemon, leaping onto his back and grabbing handfuls of fur to keep on. He felt himself getting bucked around as the Mightyenna struggled to dislodge the Pichu from his back, but it gave Spark the opportunity to get in a well-placed Thundershock.
Meanwhile, Cinder ran at the other Poochyena, taking in a deep inhale before letting out a red-hot Ember attack, searing the blinded Pokemon. As his foe’s vision started to return, he closed in quickly, bringing both of his claws down against the Poochyena’s head, knocking it back with two well-placed Scratch attacks. Now able to see once more, Cinder’s foe retaliated with another tackle, pushing the Charmander toward the railings of the floor’s edge.
Sera came up to the floor just as she saw Ramirez delivering the uppercut to Richie, causing her to clench her jaw as she saw her friend get knocked to the ground in a bloody heap. Her knuckles white from her tightened fists, she stormed toward the two, breaking into a run before throwing herself at Ramirez’s backside. Before he had the chance to react to what she was doing, Sera quickly wrapped both of her hands around his eyes, to at least try and keep him from landing another hit on Richie.
“Let’s see how well you fight now, tough guy!” Sera hissed, digging her toes into the arch of his back as well, her style of combat not very elegant in the slightest. In fact, she resembled something more along the lines of a cat, trying to claw at some unfortunate target’s leg in what it considered a playful manner. However this was nowhere near playful as she struggled to maintain her hold on the larger, stronger man.
“Richie? Are you okay?” Sera asked, her voice full of concern as she saw the condition her friend was in. She wanted to help him up, but she knew that there would be consequences if she were to let go now, especially since she could feel Ramirez’s current state of anger, causing her to cling on even tighter as she denied him his sight.
Richie, who was aching especially in his jaw area, sat up, shaking his head in an internal struggle to make everything stop rippling. He vaguely heard Sera asking him if he was okay, but very soon snapped into reality. Looking around, Richie noticed that the two recruits were stirring, which made him worry extremely. He signaled for Sera to get down and move quickly so he could get a running start and drop kick Ramirez through the clothing store window.
Ryu, on the other hand, wanted nothing more but to end all of these battles at once. He knew he couldn't but he just had to do something. The ominous threat of Beowulf and his Poochyenna cohorts still loomed over the three of them...well the four of them. Without another word, Spunky decided to join Ryu in battle against the odds. Looking back at Cinder, Spunky began to assess the situation at hand. For now, there was a downed Poochyenna, but there were also the two other Pokemon right in front of them. Spunky looked at Cinder once more.
"Cinder, I need your help," Spunky told the Charmander that was backed into a corner. "Ryu, clear a path for Cinder to get through!" Almost like Ryu did for Richie, he immediately sprung into action, knocking the Poochyenna away, allowing Cinder to escape the rest of the group.
Richie, who was struggling to make a decision as far as whether or not he should just kick them both through the glass. Eventually, he didn't have to, since Ramirez grabbed both of her hands and threw her to the floor. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity, Richie began to run towards Ramirez.
"Now you're gonna learn not to screw with Team Magma, you arrogant little bi-" unable to even get the last word out of his mouth, Ramirez went flying through the display window, being covered by the mannequins and the curtain that framed them. Lying there motionlessly, Ramirez was pretty much too tired to continue fighting all together. He wasn't the only one, since Richie simply laid on the ground after the devastating drop kick took its toll on him and his back. Grabbing the middle of his back in agony, Richie simply rolled onto his face, hoping that the recruits didn't get up before he did.
"This is Initiate Palmer," Richie coughed, "I'm in need of back up within the shopping mall located in the suburb area. I've found and incapacitated ex-Rebel Gregory Ramirez." After making that statement, Richie simply placed his face calmly onto the floor, hoping he would no longer have to deal with Ramirez.
As Spark continued to cling onto Beowulf’s back to keep him busy, Cinder was entangled with the last standing Poochyena, trying to fend him off while help arrived. Fortunately before his foe could engage with another Tackle, Ryu had entered in, and knocked him away to allow the Charmander to head over to Spunky. It didn’t take Cinder much to realize what the Growlithe’s plan was, recalling their earlier match when he had attempted to fend off his attack with Ember. Taking in a deep inhale, he spewed forth a hail of embers at Spunky, watching as they clung painlessly onto the Pokemon’s fur.
With one last thrash, Spark was dislodged from the rampaging Mightyena, landing right by the pair of fire Pokemon. He was a tad dizzy, though shook it off as Cinder approached him.
”Quickly, use your Helping Hand on Spunky! We have a plan!” he told the younger Pokemon as he helped him up. With a nod, the Pichu focused deeply on their Growlithe friend, passing on his power through the same blue electricity that he had used earlier in their fight.
Hitting the ground hard on her back, Sera let out a small groan, staring up at Ramirez as he loomed over, before he could lay another hand on her however, she saw a blur above her, Richie having thrown himself hard into Ramirez and knocking him away. She scrambled up onto her feet as she noticed the two of them, laying against the ground. Fortunately Ramirez didn’t seem in any condition to get back up, but neither was Richie. With a small gasp, she hurried over to her friend to see if he was already, using her backpack as a pillow to prop up his head.
Hearing a couple of groans, Sera glanced around to see the two recruits beginning to stir, getting to their feet. Pulling out her Pokeball, Sera tossed it forward, releasing her Dratini, Ryu. Shaking herself awake from her slumber, the long blue serpentine Pokemon glanced toward the two approaching men, letting out an odd growling noise.
“Ryu, use Thunder Wave to incapacitate them!” Sera called, refusing to leave Richie’s side. The Dratini’s body lit up with blue electricity, which she launched straight at the two recruits. Both were shocked by the attack, before crumpling to the ground, paralyzed.
“Great job! Now use Wrap on the third one to make sure he doesn’t get away!” Sera added, still kneeling by her friend. Slithering over to Ramirez like a snake, the Dratini proceeded to coil her long elegant body around his, before tightening her muscles to keep him in place, and prevent him from budging at all.
With the embers finally sinking into Spunky's fur, the Growlithe grew four times as strong before the increased boost. With the increased charge, he noticed Beowulf charging in to finish Ryu, but he was hit by a charged Flamethrower coming from Spunky. Collapsing to the ground from the increased power of the Flamethrower, Beowulf no longer could stand up and battle. Unfortunately, neither could Spunky, seeing as he completely fell to the floor. Richie, still feeling pain in his back, struggled to even place his hands in front of him to push himself up. After what felt like an eternity, Richie got on his hands and knees, breathing heavily as he mentally prepared himself to stand up. Knowing that his Pokemon were concerned about him, Richie looked to see Spunky had collapsed from over working himself, but he had protected both Spark and Cinder. With a smile, Richie continued to struggle to get up before he heard several footsteps coming towards him.
"Not more of them," Richie sobbed, since he pretty much couldn't take another battle with any Magmas...neither him nor his Pokemon. "I need to rest more." Luckily, it was the cavalry that he had called in prior to his collapsing onto the ground. Richie sighed in relief as the rest of the Agents and Initiates came in to clean up the remaining problems. Ryu, Spunky, Spark, and Cinder were all escorted back to Richie and Sera by a tough looking Stoutland. The lone Veteran that was escorting them helped Richie up, making sure that he was stable enough to stand.
"Nice work, Palmer," The Veteran stated, "because of you, Ramirez is captured and can be brought in for questioning." Richie nodded, pulling out the Premier Ball and the Luxury Ball, making the fainted Spunky and his tired out Ryu go back into the spheres for safe keeping. One of the Agents saw Ramirez being wrapped tightly by a Dratini, who was struggling to keep his grip on Ramirez. As they all looked at Ramirez, Ryu the Dratini finally let go of Ramirez, making sure he couldn't move. After all three of the Magmas were made to stand, Ramirez broke away from the Agent, elbowing him in the face and taking off after him. Richie tried to join the chase, but he heard something go "pop".
Upon seeing the last opposing Pokemon go down, both Cinder and Spark sighed in relief, before flopping over in exhaustion. Today had been far too long for them, a far cry from the days of simple training. However they were not given long to rest, as a large intimidating Pokemon ushered them over towards Richie and Sera. Immediately they raced over toward Sera, hugging her briefly before passing out again in exhaustion. Patting her two Pokemon gently, she returned them to their Pokeballs for a well deserved rest.
Sera let out a sigh of relief as she saw their help arrive, slowly getting up to her feet as she tried to help Richie up as he struggled upright. As the Agent arrived however, her assistance was no longer needed. “That was too close...” Sera commented, looking around to notice how they barely got through that scuffle, though Sera felt a little bad that she didn’t help more. After all, Richie was badly injured, and here she was walking away without a scratch or bruise. It just didn’t sit well with her.
Watching as the Agents and Initiates crowded around to grab the Magma members, she heard a scuffle and saw Ramirez break free, bolting off as fast as he could to get away. It seemed as if nobody else was giving chase, so she broke into a sprint after him. But as he turned a corner, Sera skidded through to see that he had apparently vanished into thin air. She continued a small ways ahead, before finding that there was no longer any sign of him. With a small groan, she walked back to the rest of the group, her palm over her face. All of that work, and he still managed to slip away.
Sera couldn’t help but feel a little left out as the Rebellion members conversed with one another, unsure who any of them were, what group they belonged to, and so on. It didn’t help that Richie couldn’t tell her anything, leaving her in the dark with the current situation. Quietly, Sera returned Ryu to her Pokeball and approached her friend, unsure what exactly she was supposed to do at this point.
“...He got away... I couldn’t catch him.” She told him with a frown.
Richie sighed deeply, aggravated at the fact that Ramirez was so slippery and evasive all the time. Collapsing onto the ground once more, Richie noticed that the Pokemon that they had battled were still there, obviously belonging to other trainers and were no longer necessary for their mission. Richie then looked around to see just how much damage had really been caused. Minus some broken glass and a damaged railing, the mall was still intact and people were still able to shop. Struggling to get back up, Richie finally was able to stand and place his hand on Sera's shoulder.
"You did your best," Richie replied, "which is a lot better than doing nothing if you ask me." Richie tried to walk on his own, but heard a sickening pop and crumpled once more. One of the Agents saw as Richie fell to the ground, picking him up as he complained about his knee hurting now. Apparently, the drop kick made him hurt himself more that Ramirez. With a depressing sigh, Richie decided to try and hop on his left leg, which helped to an extent, but he was soon given a pair of crutches. Looking at the ominous escalator, Richie placed one foot on the moving stairs.
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As everyone began to walk downstairs, the little boy and his mother were both watching as the Magma operatives were being escorted out. The little boy, who had his Bulbasaur taken from him at first, stuck his tongue out at the Magmas, who wound up getting free. Both of them took off, the one named Jamie actually grabbing the boy's Pokemon once more and heading for the eastern exit. Meanwhile, the other recruit, who had nothing, went towards the western exit. Richie wanted to chase after them, but instead...
"Snatch this," Richie yelled, throwing one of his crutches at the Magma to the east. As the crutch hit the recruit in the back, two agents tackled the recruit onto the ground. The Bulbasaur bounced onto the ground, landing on its back. As the operatives apprehended the recruit once more, Richie picked up the Bulbasaur, taking him back to the little boy that owned him. As the little boy jumped in excitement at the fact that this man saved his Pokemon, Richie simply walked off.
"Wait mister," the boy called out, causing Richie to stop and turn around. The small boy pulled out a blue Poke Ball with yellow stripes coming from the center. calling back his Bulbasaur, he then proceeded to give the Poke Ball to Richie. "Take Hanoko with you!" Richie was speechless. Never had he been offered a Pokemon by someone so young. He didn't want to ruin the child's experience.
"No," Richie said, "I can't accept your Bulbasaur without feeling as if you aren't getting anything out of this experience." Richie began to hobble away, but the child was obviously much faster than he was.
"You have to, mister," the small boy replied, "otherwise the bad men will try and take him again. He needs a strong trainer like you to take him." Richie couldn't believe it. He looked at the boy's mother, hoping she could talk some sense into him, but she told Richie the same thing. Struggling to do so, Richie squatted down and placed a hand on the boy's head.
"What's your name, kiddo," Richie asked, smiling warmly.
"My name is Tommy," the boy replied, grinning widely.
"Well Tommy, what's your favorite Pokemon?"
"Charizard!" Without any further ado, Tommy began to flap his arms and roar like a Charizard, causing Richie to laugh.
"I'll tell you what," Richie told Tommy, grabbing the Quick Ball lighly. "Next time I see you, you'll get to meet a Charizard, okay?"
"You mean it," Tommy asked happily, jumping up and down in excitement. "I'm so happy! Thank you mister!" Without warning, the boy gave Richie a hug, who hugged the small boy back.
"You can call me Richie," he responded, almost shedding a tear before letting his mother take Tommy by the hand.
"Thank you so much," the woman responded, getting a nod and a smile from Richie. "Both you and your girlfriend are so helpful." Immediately, Richie's face became flush, knowing she was referring to Sera. Hopefully, she wouldn't react like Violet did.
Fortunately for Richie, Sera had been out of earshot of the woman’s comment, only now just heading down the escalator to meet up with Richie and the others as they made their way out of the mall. She thought about what he had said, and decided that next time she would do more, regardless of what he said.
Making her way over to Richie as they saw off the only remaining Magma initiate, she looked him over. He looked as if he was ready to pass out, and after everything that had happened in the shot span of time, she couldn’t blame him.
“Perhaps we should leave the rest of the tour for another day.” Sera suggested, offering him a small smile as she added: “After all of this, you could really use a good break from... whoever it is you work with.” She could only hope that she would see him again after all of this, since he seemed like such a nice guy. After a few moments of though, she let out a small sigh, and shook her head. Sera had to ask him.
“Listen... I know you can’t tell me anything about what you do, or who you work with, but after everything that’s happened today... I’d like us to be friends. If that’s alright with you, of course.” Sera asked, offering Richie a fond smile.
She hoped to be able to forge a friendship, and with any luck perhaps the group he belonged to would allow such a thing, seeing as how he kept her in the dark about quite a bit. To her it didn’t matter who he worked with, but he seemed like a nice person, and someone who would be a loyal friend. And being in a city where she didn’t know anyone, that was what she needed more than anything else.
“And if not... I would still like to help in any way I can to get Spark back to his original trainer. I know it would mean a lot to him if I could reunite the two sometime in the future.” Sera explained. Either way she wanted to help him find this friend of his, even though she had no idea where to begin looking. After all, the last person who had actually seen the Pichu’s owner was the Pokemon himself. And without Richie’s help, she would probably never find his owner.
Richie, who was pretty much used to getting banged up during these kinds of missions, nodded in response, giving her a smile back. She was a very nice girl. She just didn't need to be in the Rebellion, regardless of how tough she was physically and mentally. This was a war that she happened to get into the middle of, and unfortunately, she'd have to pick a side soon...
But not now...for now, she was just a civilian that knew nothing about the Rebellion. Richie wanted to keep it that way for as long as he could, seeing as how he did ruin the whole tour today. It almost seemed as if his job was never done, but it made it worth while in the end. The Veteran, who already knew that Richie at least tried to complete the mission, simply asked how he felt about it.
"It wasn't a complete success," Richie responded, "I was supposed to find and interrogate Ramirez about what he knew, but I only did half." Richie began to walk towards the front exit of the large mall, realizing that he probably couldn't drive in his condition. Regardless of whether he could or not, Richie was about to try his hardest. With a failure of a mission behind him, Richie really wondered if he could complete a mission without getting injured. Still, he admitted to himself that each of the missions were extremely fun and always had him moving. Pulling the Quick Ball off of his belt, he looked at it, thinking back to his promise to the young boy. He honestly didn't know if he would see him again or not. Richie just made a promise to make the little boy take his mind off of being so generous. After he got inside of the car, Richie noticed Sera already in the passenger's seat, fallen asleep on the seat belt. Sighing deeply to himself once more, Richie simply put on his seat belt and drove as slow as he could to enjoy the new friendship.
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