Shiny Expert:Xander

[Xman96]

Ok, so here is the resolution to our cliff hangar. This also features my first attempt at a real battle scene.

Chapter 5: Putting the Spark Back in Xander​

“You’re mine!” Came a voice from behind the Professor and company. Over Xander and Raj’s heads flew a master ball, which promptly hit Latios head on!

“Laaaa!” He cried out before he disappeared into the poke ball. The ball blinked a few times, but everyone present knew what the outcome would be. The let out a ding sound and was still.

“Ha, this should be a powerful pokemon, and he will go great with his sister,” The man, with the odd eyebrows, said as he looked towards Latias.

*Brother!* She sent out telepathically.

“Gonzap! What the heck are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in prison!” Xander shouted angrily.

Gonzap raised his massive eyebrows at the eight teen year-old before him, “You remind me of someone who I hate.”

“If you mean Rui, then she’s my cousin. I’m taking you down just like she did!”

Gonzap laughed boisterously at the comment, “What are you talking about kid? Your cuz didn’t do squat, it was all Wes. She was a minor annoyance compared to him.”

“Don’t talk that way about my cousin!” Xander spoke coolly.

“Xander who is this?” Raj asked Xander.

Prof. Rowan interjected before Xander could answer, “He is a criminal from Orre, who is responsible for the Shadow Pokemon crisis.”

“Oh, I forgot about them,” Raj spoke uneasily, “Either way, you won’t be escaping with that Latios. Accelgor, let’s give him a taste of our power! Use Bug Buzz!”

Gonzap took the master ball that had returned to his hand and threw it, “Let’s see how powerful you really are, Latios.”

Latios came out of the poke ball confused. *Hey, what’s going on?*

Latias looked relieved, *Brother! You were just captured, run away!*

“Not so fast,” Gonzap responded, he moved his hand to a device that covered his hand, “This here is a more powerful version of the Snag Machine, it can even control the minds of pokemon that are captured with it. Latios, use Draco Meteor!”

At that moment, Latios’ eyes went red and he seemed to lose all reason. He shot a Draco Meteor directly at the three pokemon, that were now grouped closely together. Salamence was able to fly away, Accelgor simply dodged it at blinding speeds. Latias however, was overcome with shock, and was still unable to fly very fast. In an instant, she was at the bottom of a ten foot deep crater, knocked out, and seriously injured.

“Good, now to complete the pair,” Gonzap spoke sinisterly, “Come here,” He yelled as he threw the master ball.

“No! Salamence, attack the master ball!” Xander cried out as he saw the ball being thrown.

“Accelgor, destroy the ball with Final Gambit!” Accelgot began to glow orange and charged at the master ball. Salamence was close as well with its fangs on fire. The two reached the master ball at the same time, and Accelgor deflected it, right into Salamence. Salamence let out a cry as he disappeared into the containment device.

“Nooooo!” Xander yelled in sorrow as he saw his friend disappear from sight, and return to Gonzap.

“Well, it’s no Latias, but it’s valuable none the less. Latios, cover our escape!”

“Laaaa,” It droned on, almost robotically as it sent out a final Draco Meteor.
After the smoke cleared, Gonzap was gone. “Salamence!” Xander called out. A tear ran down his face. “All of this, because I’m not good enough…”

Raj glowered at Xander,”That’s enough!” This shocked Xander who wasn’t expecting such a harsh response. “You are a good trainer. I know this because I see how you care about your pokemon, and the way you battle. Prof. Rowan told me about your reason for acting sad for yourself, and it’s stupid. You came in 8th, and beat out hundreds of trainers. What’s so bad about that?”

“Who cares about that!? I just lost Salamence, my best friend and partner,” Xander lashed back at Raj, with a tone of anger mixed with sorrow, “I don’t need a lecture now!” Xander began to walk off in the direction of the lab.

“Are you just gonna run away from your problems forever, Xander?” Raj asked.

Xander turned around and actually charged at Raj, “Don’t insult me!” He yelled as he threw a punch directly at Raj’s stomach, which he took the full force of. “I’m no coward!”

Raj was sprawled out on his back, “Do you want to fight me? If so, then you had better be sure that you can win,” He spat back at him, as he rose to his feet, and clenched his fists.

“Oh, I know I can win,” Xander proceeded to throw a punch aimed at Raj’s face, but was blocked by Raj’s forearm. Raj capitalized on this, and sent a punch directly into Xander’s right shoulder.“Gahh!” Xander cried out, “You’ll pay for this!” Xander let loose a flurry of blows that struck Raj all over, and then sent him careening into a tree. “Don’t start a fight that you can’t finish Raj,” Xander mocked.

“Is this what you’ve been reduced to Xander? Beating up one of your friends to let your anger out?”

“Shut up!”

“No I won’t,” Raj spoke calmly as he got up, “You’re a good trainer, and a good friend. It hurts me to see you like this.”

Xander began to calm down as he saw how badly he had hurt Raj, there was a streak of blood coming from his mouth, and numerous bruises could be seen. “Raj, I-I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

Raj came over and put his hand on Xander’s shoulder, “It’s alright, that wasn’t you who beat me up. It was all of the emotions that you have gone through in these last two weeks coming out.”

Prof. Rowan spoke up, “You’ve been very depressed lately. I’ve been worried about you ever since you came back to check out Latias, that’s why I called Raj in, to snap you out of it.”

Xander regained the steely look in his eyes that he had before the Unova league, “I suppose you’re right Professor. Raj, thanks for the wakeup call, but I’m sorry that it came at your expense, now, I need to go find Salamence.” Xander began to walk off to the Lab, but Raj stopped him.

“You aren’t ready to face Gonzap.”

Xander just looked at Raj,”First you say that I’m a good trainer, and now you’re saying that I’m not good enough to save Salamence?”

Raj laughed, “It’s not that, I just think that you should have a battle to get back into the rhythm of battling a tough trainer.”

Xander pondered this for a second, but then Prof. Rowan broke in, “It would be wise idea Xander, perhaps use some of your new pokemon?”

Xander smiled and then nodded his head, “Alright, I will. Which field do you want to use Raj, and how many pokemon?”

“How about the rock field, and a three on three should do.”

“Alright, sounds good to me.”

***Rock Field, ten minutes later***

“I may not have Salamence here, but I’m winning this for him!” Xander called out across the field. The field had many pocks and protrusions in the form of rocks, and even a lake, right in the center of the field.

Raj called back, “Good to see that you have your fighting spirit back. I’m not going easy though, go Sid!” As he said that he threw a poke ball in to air, and out came an Archeops. “Your move.”

*Well, I guess it’s time to try out some of my new pokemon.* “Go Gorebyss!” He threw his poke ball out towards the lake in the middle of the field, and out came a fish like pokemon that was gold.

“Wow, that’s one stunning Gorebyss.”

“Thank you, now Gorebyss, use Shell Smash!” Gorebyss nodded in approval, and proceeded to smash the two shells that it had on a rock. The second that they broke, she moved at more than twice her original speed, and seemed to be much more powerful.

“Shell Smash? That’s a good move, too bad it lowers your defenses as well- what?!” Raj was surprised as he saw the Gorebyss’ shells return to normal.

“I gave her a White Herb before the battle, “Xander retorted, “Your move.”

Raj furrowed his brow, he hadn’t expected this, “Alright then, Sid, use Head Smash!” The Archeops nodded and flew up high. After he had reached about 200 feet, he began to glow blue, and descended at incredible speed.

“Gorebyss, dodge it!” She did, and it was all thanks to that Shell Smash earlier. Archeops kept descending, but at the last moment, Gorebyss dashed underwater, and Archeops simply hit with a hard thud. “Good job Gorebyss, now use Baton Pass!” She began glowing a whitish color, and then returned to her poke ball. “Good job Gorebyss.”

“Oh no,” Raj realized what Xander was doing.

“Oh, yes, go Hitmonchan!” Xander’s second pokemon was shiny as well, so as it came out of the poke ball, it shone. Right after Hitmonchan hit the field, it too began glowing the same off-white that Gorebyss had. After a moment, it disappeared, but Hitmonchan had a look in its eyes that said he could take on a dozen pokemon if he wanted to. “Hitmonchan, let’s give them a taste of our power with Thunder Punch!” Hitmonchan’s fist became charged with electricity. Bolts shot out of it as he charged forward, at what seemed to be an unnatural pace, “Aim for the water,” Hitmonchan barely had to change his course. As he got to the edge of the lake that Archopse was still struggling in he sent his electrified fist, right into the water.

“Aaaarch!” He cried as he was electrocuted from every angle.

“Archeops is unable to battle, the victor is Hitmonchan!” Prof. Rowan called from the side lines.

“Good move Xander, passing on that Shell Smash was smart.”

“Thanks Raj, your move.”

Raj thought for a moment, and then grabbed a poke ball from his belt, “Okay then, go Mr. Socky!” A pokemon, that was far more fearsome than its name implied, appeared from the poke ball. It was a Hydreigon, “Good luck taking down Mr. Socky. Ok, use Fly!” The Hydreigon flew up high into the sky and descended so quick that HItmonchan didn’t have time to react, and he took a full force attack.

“Hitmonchan! Are you alright?” The Hitmonchan looked in its trainer’s direction, and nodded. “Okay, good. Use Close Combat!”

Hitmonchan began pounding Hydreigon until it got off of him. “Mr. Socky, fly out of its reach,” It began flapping its wings, but Hitmonchan was too fast, and swung up on the Hydreigon’s back.

“Finish it with an Ice Punch!” It sent a single icy cold punch directly at the Hydreigon’s main head. It felt the cold surge throughout its entire body as it was encased in ice, and crashed to the ground, unconscious.

“Why won’t Hitmonchan just go down!” Raj cried as he began to lose his cool, “Go Snowcone!”

“Sammmmuurrrott !” The pokemon called out as it emerged from the poke ball. The pokemon stood up on its hind legs, and grabbed the two swords out from its fore arms.

“Hitmonchan, let’s take him down, Thunder Punch!”

“Chan!” The pokemon nodded in agreement. Hitmonchan’s fist began to course with electricity as he sped right up to Samurrott.

Raj smiled, “Perfect, now Snowcone, block that attack with your greaves!”

“What!?” Xander yelled, dumbfounded as the Samurrott lifted up its fore arms and blocked the electrified fist that would have spelled doom for the water type, with its shell like greaves.

“Now, finish him with a Razor Shell!” As Samurrott held the fist up in the hair, he came in with his other sword hand and delivered a wicked Razor Shell attack. Hitmonchan stood there for a second, and then fell over.

“Hitmonchan is unable to battle,” Prof. Rowan said, just as shocked as Xander at the maneuver.

“Wow, never seen that before,” Xander replied, still in shock. “Ok then, go Gorebyss, and use Shell Smash!”

“You won’t get away with that a second time, Samurrott, intercept Gorebyss, and take it out with Megahorn!” Gorebyss did get off the Shell Smash, but that turned out to be a detriment. Its White Herb was gone, and so it suffered from a loss of defensive power, which is exactly what Raj had planned on. Gorebyss took a direct hit from Megahorn and fainted.

“Gorebyss is unable to battle. Each trainer has only one pokemon left,” Prof. Rowan reffed.

“Accelgor, you’re my last hope!” A shiny Accelgor came out of the poke ball.

“You didn’t tell me that you had a shiny Accelgor!”

“Did I forget to mention that? Sorry bout that. Accelgor, use Acid Spray!” The grey and yellow pokemon spewed acid from its mouth and the Samurrott was covered in it. Samurrott wasn’t hurt much because of its armor, but it did look weakened.

“Snowcone, shake it off, and use Razor Shell!” The large, sea lion like pokemon charged with surpising speed towards the ninja like pokemon.

“Your Samurrott is no match for Accelgor in speed, dodge it!” Accelgor seemed to disappear just as Samurrott lunged forward with its blade-like shells, and Samurrott missed.

“You know how Donnie fights. Use your backhand!” Samurrott immediately understood, and spun around to score a direct hit on Accelgor, who had reappeared behind him.

“Accelgor, are you okay?” Xander asked the pokemon, who nodded, “Good, then use Giga Drain.”

“Oh, no,” Was all Raj could say as he saw Accelgor reach his hands out and shot a green beam at Samurrott, who immediately began looking weak. “That’s what Acid Spray was for, to weaken Snowcone’s Special Defense.” After Raj’s realization, Samurrott fainted.

So there we are. This is the half-way point of the Shiny Latias arch.

 

[Firebrand]

Not a bad chapter, though Xander bounced back a bit too fast after losing Salamance. Raj probably should have coaxed him a little more, and there should have been a bit more emotion. Just sayin'

 

[Xman96]

Not a bad chapter, though Xander bounced back a bit too fast after losing Salamance. Raj probably should have coaxed him a little more, and there should have been a bit more emotion. Just sayin'

Yeah, that was somehting that I wasn't sure of. I started thinking about it after I posted it, and reread it. I think I will add a few more lines in their about Raj and Rowan getting him back into the swing of things.

 

[Xman96]

So I edited the chapter so that Xander actually is violent towards Raj! I think it shows how Xander handles the grief better.

 

[Xman96]

Here's the next chapter! This starts to lead up to the climax, and Jerry returns!

Chapter 6: A Stupid Cop, and a Good Lead​

Raj returned his Samurrott to its poke ball, “That was a good battle, wouldn’t you say Professor?”

The Professor smiled through his beard, “Yes, I would have to agree with you Raj. I do believe that you’re back Xander!”

Xander laughed at this, “Yeah, I guess I just needed a wakeup call. Thanks guys, I owe it all to you.”

Raj smiled, “It was in you the whole time. You just needed a kick in the butt to get ya going.”

“Well, either way, thanks. Now…what do we do?”

The Professor and Raj pondered this as well. It was the Professor that spoke up, “We should check to see if there have been any incidents similar to this in any of the other regions.”

Raj nodded at this, “Sounds like the best idea, I wonder if Johto has been hit at all?”
Xander made a quizzical face, “Why would you say Johto?”

“It’s the closest region to Orre, that’s where Team, uh, Sangem, right, came from, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right, but a lot of the pokemon that I rescued were from other regions. Heck, there was even an Accelgor. In all honesty, I’m surprised that Team Snagem is this far reaching. It really doesn’t matter though, we should be contacting the other Professors instead of standing around here talking.”

Rowan nodded in agreement, “Xander’s right. I’ll contact Juniper, and Birch. Xander, you should talk to Oak, and Raj, you take Birch.”

The two young men shook their heads simultaneously and the three headed off to the lab.

***Rock Field***

“Wow, you did a good job guys for your first battle,” Dragonite was speaking to Gorebyss, Hitmonchan, and Accelgor.

“Well, I, thanks,” Gorebyss said in a shy manner. She was obviously not use to this kind of attention.

“Thank you,” Hitmonchan said politely, “It was an honorable battle.”

Accelgor simply watched the world go by, not responding to any of the praise.

It was a half hour until the pokemon were left alone. There were a few nasty remarks made by the likes of Garchomp and Hydreigon, but both were put in their place by Hitmonchan.

After talking with the winners of the battle, Dragonite went to go find Latias, *Poor girl, first she’s nearly poisoned to death, and then her brother is captured. I hope Salamence is okay. I’ve only known him for a few days, but he was a good friend.* Dragonite found Latias just sitting under a tree with tears in her eyes. Dragonite sat down next to her, “Everything’s gonna be okay Latias. Xander will find your brother.”

Latias brushed a tear away from her eye, and managed a weak smile, “That’s not what I’m crying about, I have full confidence in Xander’s abilities. I’m upset that Salamence had to be taken in order to save me…” She began to break down in tears again.

“There, there, it’s not your fault. Salamence did what he did so that you wouldn’t have to suffer. Don’t torture yourself because of his decision, that’s not what he would’ve wanted.”

“*Sniff* I supp-suppose you’re right…but-“

“No buts! This is the last thing he would have wanted you to do, and you know it.”

Latias was shocked and just stared at Dragonite. Then she had a look in her eyes, that same steely gaze that Xander just got back, “You’re right Dragonite. Now, what can I do to help?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure yet. Xander hasn’t come out of that Lab in a while. I wonder what’s going on-oh, look, here he comes now.”

All of Xander’s pokemon assembled before him. “So we have decided that the best course of action is to search around this area for Team Snagem’s base. There have been no other reports of their activity in any other region. Dragonite, Mienshao, Volcarona, Emboar, Shiny Lucario, and Poliwrath are coming with me.” He grabbed their poke balls and sent the red beams at each of the pokemon and they went into the storage devices.

*Wait, I’m coming too.* Latias thought.

Xander smiled sadly, “Sorry, but no. You aren’t fully healed yet, and that Draco Meteor didn’t help with your recovery.”

*But I can-*

Xander’s voice was calm, but firm, “No Latias you aren’t coming.”

*I’m not your pokemon!* She spat back angrily.

“You may not be, but what will you do if you don’t listen?” He pat her head
gently. “We’ll be back soon enough.” Xander let out Dragonite, there was a look of sadness on his face, as he had never flown on any pokemon other than Salamence, “Alright Dragonite, to the skies!”

Dragonite began beating its wings, and soon they were off. Raj let out his Hydreigon, and soon they were off too. As the Hydreigon reached Dragonite’s height, Raj yelled at Xander, trying to be heard over the wind, “So how do we want to split the region up?”

Xander also had to raise his voice to be heard, “I’ll take this side of Mount Coronet, and you take the other?”

“Sounds good, check uninhabited areas, I doubt the base is in a city.”

Xander laughed, “Okay, no problem Raj, see you soon.” With that Raj veered off to the east. “Well, Dragonite, any idea where to start looking?” Dragonite sniffed the air, and then shrugged its shoulders. “Oh well, looks like we’re gonna have to do it the old fashioned way,” He said as the flew low, Dragonite almost touched the trees on the tree tops.

***One Week Later, at Prof. Rowan’s Lab***

“Still nothing?” Xander asked Raj who had just entered the living room of the lab. Xander himself was sitting on the couch in the room and drinking some water.

Raj fiddled with his hair, which was in complete disarray from flying around the region at high speed, “Nope, I’ve checked all over. Nothing.”

Xander let out a defeated sigh, “Well, this isn’t good news. We’ve been searching for a week, and not even a sighting of Snagem. It’s like they just disappeared off the face of the earth.”

Rowan barged in suddenly, “Xander, Raj, you have to come see this news broadcast!”

Xander and Raj entered the kitchen where Prof. Rowan was preparing himself a sandwich, some of which was on the floor. The TV was on the regions number one news station, and on the screen was a green Salamence. “Salamence!” Xander exclaimed.

“Wait, shhh,” Prof. Rowan said as he turned up the volume.

The reporter, a female in her mid-twenties with short, auburn hair, was reporting in a stunned fashion, “For those of you just joining us, we are in Snowpoint city, where this oddly-colored Salamence is attacking any pokemon it sees. It seems to have berserk, but we aren’t sure what caused it. We will keep you updated as we-LOOK OUT!” She screamed as Salamence careened near her. The feed was cut.

“What the heck!? This isn’t something that Team Snagem would do, as far as I know. They aren’t into mass destruction. God, it pains me to see Salamence suffer like this.”

“Hmm,” Raj wondered to himself, “I wonder if that mind control technology hasn’t been perfected yet. I didn’t see any Snagem members controlling Salamence.”

“Let’s hope you’re right Raj,” Rowan spoke as he picked up his sandwich that he had dropped on the floor in his excitement. There was a knocking sound at the door, “Who’s that?”

Rowan walked over and answered the door, a policeman in uniform was there with his Hand-Cuffs out, “Sorry to bother you Prof. Rowan, but it seems that you are harboring a fugitive of the law.”

“Jerry, what are you talking about?” The Professor sounded exasperated.

“I’m talking about that Xander guy that came over to the police station last week and threatened me.”

Xander walked into the room, and saw Jerry standing in the doorway, *Oh no, what does this idiot want now?* “Hello village id-I mean, officer,” Xander hurriedly covered up the mistake he made. “What seems to be the problem?”

Jerry didn’t seem to notice the near insult and just kept going, “The problem is you!” He said accusatorily, “You are wanted for, uhhh,” He grabbed what looked to be some sort of warrant out of his pocket, “For citing a riot in the streets of Snowpoint city, causing property damage, and causing general disturbances in the vicinity of Snowpoint.”

“What do you mean, I’ve been here the whole time that was going on.”

“Ah, but if a trainer’s pokemon commits a crime, then its trainer is held responsible.” Jerry sidestepped Prof. Rowan, and undid his hand cuffs, “You have the right-“

“Hang on a sec, can I see that warrant?”

“Huh? Oh, a, sure,” He said as he handed over the crumpled piece of paper.

Xander took a moment to look over the official looking document. It sure did look like the real deal, except for the bottom of it, “Uh, at the bottom of this “warrant” it says that it was printed off of www. fakewarrants.com.”

“Of course it was, that’s where I get all of my warrants.”

Prof. Rowan’s and Xander’s mouths were wide open. After he recovered from his shock, Rowan asked, “Jerry, does Officer Jenny know you’re here?”

“Why no she does not!” He said proudly, “She said that I needed to take initiative, and do better, so that’s what I’m doing by arresting this criminal,” He raised an accusatory finger at Xander.

Xander closed his mouth, still in shock, he responded to the accusations, “Not to be rude, but did you get your degree at fakedegrees.com, or something?”

Jerry’s face lit up happily, “Oh, so I see you’ve heard of it! Not many people believe me when I tell them. It’s so much easier than going to the Police Academy. I simply, paid fifty bucks, and printed out my degree.”

Xander and Rowan had a look of horror on their faces, “So you mean to tell me,” Xander spoke in an almost shaky voice, “That you never went to the academy, you printed off your degree, and the police force didn’t even notice?”

“Yep, that’s right. I really don’t know what more people don’t use fakedegrees.com, it’s much less expensive than paying for college.”

Xander’s left eye began to twitch, “Jerry, get out.”

“But I need to arrest-hey!” He exclaimed as Xander’s Dragonite picked him up and threw him out.

“Drag.”

Xander breathed a sigh of relief, “Thanks Dragonite, perfect timing.”

“Dragonite!” She smiled, and flew back to the other pokemon.

The Professor turned to Xander, “I, um, will talk to Officer Jenny about getting Jerry removed from the force. I always knew he was an imbecile, but to think that he didn’t even go to the academy.”

Xander shook his head, “What makes me even more worried than that, is the fact that he’s been able to pass as a real cop for as long as he has.”

“Makes me wonder where are police system is going.”

“Yeah, it does,” Xander said simply. “Well, back to the matter at hand, should Raj and I go to Snowpoint city to investigate?”

“That’s probably our best course of action for now. I’ll stay here to see if any of the other professors call back. I can also update you guys on other situations from here.”

“Sounds good, Raj and I will head out now.”

Raj walked in, “What was that cop doing here?”

“Long story, I’ll tell ya on the way.”

“What do you mean? Where we going?” Raj asked in bewilderment.

Prof. Rowan turned to Raj, “You two are going to investigate Snowpoint city, and see if anyone knows anything useful.”

“Oh, well why didn’t you just say that! Let’s go Xander!” Raj yelled as he ran out the door.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Xander yelled back as he finished packing. “Dragonite, come on!” Dragonite flew over to him, and he jumped on her back. “We’re going to Snowpoint city girl,” He informed her as she rose. It took only seconds for Raj and his Hydreigon to catch up to them.

“So what was with the cop?”

“We got time to kill, I suppose. It all started last week…”

***A Few Hundred Feet Behind Them***

*They aren’t leaving me behind.* Latias thought as she followed the two trainers. *They’ll realize how helpful I am once a battle starts.* She kept flying behind them, silent, and invisible.

Well, only about 3-4 more chapters until the end of this arch. The next arch will feature Heatran!

 

[Displeased Owl]

Right I've finally read it all. Never thought I'd see myself using violence anytime soon. And darn it your Gorebyss brings back painful memories of that battle we had yesterday haha.

I. LOVE. JERRY. He's a legendary in his own right, next time I catch a Bibarel I'm calling it Jerry straightaway. But seriously a review:

Few minor grammar issues but they're getting better. Switching between tenses has become a thing of the past, you're learning well. Just try not to make the action move so fast unless that's your style. It's okay to drag it out over a few chapters. Other than that you're getting better!

 

[Xman96]

Right I've finally read it all. Never thought I'd see myself using violence anytime soon. And darn it your Gorebyss brings back painful memories of that battle we had yesterday haha.

I. LOVE. JERRY. He's a legendary in his own right, next time I catch a Bibarel I'm calling it Jerry straightaway. But seriously a review:

Few minor grammar issues but they're getting better. Switching between tenses has become a thing of the past, you're learning well. Just try not to make the action move so fast unless that's your style. It's okay to drag it out over a few chapters. Other than that you're getting better!

Thanks for the review. I love Jerry too, and he will return later. To be honest, I think that the pace is just how I write. On the whole Raj violence thing, he was more defending himself than anything. Sadly, I couldn't get the chapter finished tonite because of open houses and stuff. It will be up tomorrow though...maybe. I really hope that the pace isn't off putting or anything.

 

[Xman96]

Sorry that this took so long to get up. Things have been busy.

Chapter 7: We are Reporting a Massive Blizzard Above Mount Coronet​

*Man, it sure is cold here,* Xander thought as he and Raj got closer to Snowpoint city. They’d been traveling for about 3 hours now, it would have been faster, but their pokemon needed to rest multiple times because of the cold. They also had to stop and buy some winter weather gear. After an hour of ridding their pokemon they were kinda cold. *We probably should have grabbed some gear before we left. I blame Jerry for that though, I can’t believe that he was able to pass as a cop for, what did Rowan say, four years? Yeah, that sounds right. Someone should really train those cops better.* Xander was snapped out of his thoughts as a gale knocked him off his Dragonite. “AHHHHHHHHHHH,” he screamed as he began falling.

“Drag!” She called as she dived after Xander.

“AHHHHHH-Humf,” Was the sound Xander made when he hit the snow. “Uhh, what the heck?”

While that is going on, Raj is still in the air, unable to see what happened as a freak blizzard falls upon him. *Boy, this blizzard came out of nowhere! I hope Xander is keeping warm back there.*

***On a Plateau of Mount Coronet***

Xander hit the freshly fallen snow hard. Luckily the snow broke his fall. Unfortunately, the trade off was that Xander was buried up to his waist in snow. Xander wiggled and wretched to try to get his waist free, but to no avail. “Of course, my poke balls would be buried by the snow, that’s just my luck,” He looked around him as snow began piling up around him from the blizzard, “And now there’s a possibility of being buried alive, great.” He continued working for the next half hour, there was no sign of the blizzard letting up, and his hands went numb. “Gal, darn it! I gotta get out here!”

As he said that he heard the call of his Dragonite, “Draaaaaaag, Dragonite!”

“Dragonite! I’m down here!” He called out multiple times, but Dragonite couldn’t hear him over the howling blizzard.

Xander looked at what he was wearing, “It was a good thing we stopped to buy these clothes. I probably should have bought a different color than white though.”

***Prof. Rowan’s Lab***

“Flight is not advised over Mount Coronet currently,” The news reporter spoke, his voice sounding extremely disinterested.

Prof. Rowan turned up the volume, “Uh oh.”

“There is currently a blizzard across all of Mount Coronet, due to the yearly Abomasnow gathering. Once per year these pokemon gather into their 15 tribes, and see which one is the strongest. The victor is not chosen based on battling strength, but instead by which tribe creates the biggest blizzard. Abomasnow have the ability to create blizzards at will, so all of the males of a tribe will gather together, and attempt to create a massive blizzard. It takes 15 days, one day per tribe, for this ceremony to run its course. This is the seventh day of this, and it’s the biggest blizzard ever recorded, spanning the entirety of Mount Coronet.”

Rowan turned down volume, “I sure hope that they made it before that blizzard kicked in.” Rowan looked worried, “Perhaps Latias and I should go looking for them, what do you think, Growlithe?” He reached down to pet the pokemon that was lying next to him.

“Growww,” It said drowsily, before falling asleep on the couch they were both located on.

“Alright, I’ll go get Latias,” He got up from the couch, Growlithe didn’t even notice, and walked outside. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky, and just the slightest breeze. It was hard to imagine that just a little ways away, there was a massive blizzard going on. “Latias!” He called, “Latias, come on, I need your help.” He waited for a few minutes, and then went looking for her. He called for her as he went through his habitats, but didn’t find her. “Where did she go?”

***Somewhere Above Mount Coronet***

*Brrr, it’s cold up here. Where in Sinnoh did this blizzard come from?* Latias thought this as she was flying through the blinding blizzard. Latias had fallen behind about fifteen minutes ago, when she had to land due to the blizzard freezing her wings. *Hmm, I can still sense Raj in the air, and his Hydreigon, but where’s Xander and Dragonite?* As she flew, the bitterly cold and plentiful ice shards pelted her face, and eyes, but she kept going. She flew low, searching for Xander’s thought patterns, but couldn’t find them. After twenty minutes of searching, she still had no idea where he, or Dragonite, was.

***Somewhere Else Above Mount Coronet***

“It’s been awhile since we’ve seen any sign of Xander or Dragonite, Mr. Socky,” The Hydreigon nodded its three heads. “Let’s stop for a sec and see if they pass us,” At its trainers suggestion, Hydreigon stopped. Because of the near-gale force winds, it was hard for him to remain aloft when he wasn’t moving, but he tried his best. Five minutes passed and Xander and Dragonite hadn’t shown up yet. “Something went wrong,” Raj spoke somberly, “Mr. Socky we have to go back!” The Hydreigon shook its three heads, and sped forwards. “Socky, no, we have to find Xander!” But Hydreigon wouldn’t listen.

*I’m sorry Raj, but I don’t know how much longer either of us can survive in this blizzard,* Mr. Socky thought sadly, *I hope you’ll forgive me…*

*** Somewhere on Mount Coronet***

Xander had been digging for the last 20 minutes, his hands had gone numb five minutes in. “I think…I…almost,” He said excitedly as he pushed away the last bit of snow that covered his poke balls, “Got it!” He shouted excitedly. He grabbed one of the poke balls off of his belt and looked at it in dismay, “It’s frozen.” He was right. The ball was covered in an inch of ice, all the way around. Xander wasn’t sure what to do now, he couldn’t dig anymore, because he knew that there was a strong possibility of nerve damage if he continued. “Dragonite! Where are you?” He yelled.

***Somewhere Above Mount Coronet, Near Xander’s Location***

*I can’t believe I dropped Xander!* Dragonite thought in dismay. *After he saved me form Arceus knows what, the least I could do is keep him in the air!* Dragonite was flying though the blizzard, tirelessly searching for Xander, but she herself had gotten hopelessly lost. She had spent twenty minutes looking for Xander, and her wings were beginning to accumulate a layer of ice. She kept flying though, and only landed to break the ice off of her wings. As she did so, they bled quite a bit, and eventually, she had to find cover in a cave.

Once inside the cave, Dragonite found some large sticks late she broke the ice off of with her Stone Edge attack. After that, she dried them out by beating her wings, to create her Hurrican attack. To finish her work, she lit the sticks into a heat source, by striking them with a Thunderbolt. “Good, and it only took me an ten minutes to do that,” She said to herself as she warmed up by the heat source. “I’ll spend ten minutes warming up, and then I have to get back…out……to………find……………….zzzzzz” She fell asleep.

***Somewhere Above Mount Coronet Near Xander’s Location***

*He’s close, I can sense him, but he’s fading fast!* Latias rushed on towards Xander’s location.* She had picked up his thoughts a few minutes ago, and they were faint at best. *He must be freezing, and if I don’t get there soon…* Latias couldn’t finish that thought. She had only known Xander a few weeks, but she had already made up her mind. After this business with Team Snagem was over, she was going to go with Xander on his travels. She was sick of not leaving their forest in Hoenn, where her brother, Latios, had sequestered them. Heck, she hadn’t even met a human until she was captured. She thought that all humans were like that, until she met Rowan and Xander. Those two showed her what many humans were, kind, loving, and compassionate.
He was close now. Very close. She went slower now, and meticulously, searched her surroundings. Xander’s thoughts were growing fainter by the second. His thoughts were focused on his family now, and how he wished he could see them one more time. She would make sure that he would see them again. “There he is!” She shouted as she saw Xander buried in the snow. He wasn’t conscious and was slumped at a weird angle. Latias dove down, and nuzzled Xander awake.

“Uhh…Latias? What are you doing here? I told you to stay at Rowan’s,” He just barely muttered.

Latias rolled her eyes, *If I had stayed behind, you would be dead now. Let’s get you out of here,* as she thought that, she used Psychic to lift the snow away from Xander, and to lift him onto her back. She grabbed his arms with her hands, and held on tight.

Xander was just barely conscious, “Wait, we can’t leave Dragonite!”

Latias extended her Psychic abilities, and she found Dragonites thoughts, she was thinking about food of all things. “She’s fine Xander. I think she’s in some sort cave, and has a fire going. We’ll come back for her later.”

Latias sped towards the nearest area with the most thought activity. It turns out that she was in a town that was full of flowers. *It sure is pretty here…* Latias thought as she flew over the Floraroma Town. *At least, I assume it would, if it weren’t for all this hail.* The storm had extended beyond Mount Coronet, and now all of the flowers that Floraroma was famous for, were being killed under the force of the hail. *What in the world could be causing this storm?!* She wondered to herself.

Latias searched for a building that looked like what the humans called a “Hospital”. She looked for something that had a giant “H” somewhere on the building. After looking for ten minutes, she found what she was looking for.

When she flew through the doors she got the strangest looks form people in the waiting room. She heard thoughts of, “What the heck is that?”, “Is that a Latias?”, and “That kid looks ill.” *At least some of these people aren’t shocked at my appearance, and are actually worried about the lethargic young man that I’m carrying.* Latias calmly floated up to one of the receptionists, and laid Xander out on the desk.

The receptionist was shocked, at the sight that lay before her; a young man that was obviously in hypothermic shock, and a golden Latias that just lied him in from of her. She pressed a button on the intercom, “Uhh…Dr. Uriah, I think you should see this.”
The doors at the back of the room opened, and a short, grey haired man in what must be his sixties, came in. “Sarah, what is it that I had to rush out here to see? We are very busy and…” Uriah stopped mid sentence as he saw Xander on the desk, and the Latias next to him. He walked up to Xander and looked him over, and checked his pupils and his pulse. Uriah’s face was grave after he felt Xander’s pulse, “Sarah, get every available doctor to the ICU. If we don’t do something with this guy fast, he won’t make it through the night…”

Another cliff hangar. I know my chapters are shorter than everyone elses, but it seems to work for me. Tell me your thoughts on that subject.

 

[Displeased Owl]

Another good chapter, your vocabulary is getting better. You've clearly listened to Feral's advice about finding new ways to say stuff. However I say you still gotta get to grips with making stuff flow more. Short chapters work fine especially if they flow well. Other than that nice one

 

[Xman96]

Sorry for the long wait everyone! Things have been really busy right now, but I finally sat down and wrote out chapter eight!

Chapter 8: Where’s Xander?​

“What do you mean he’s not here?” A young woman was talking to Prof. Rowan.

Rowan and the girl were sitting in his kitchen, “Rui, I am sorry that he’s not here, but Xander went to Snowpoint City to help combat Team Snagem.

“I wish he would have told me and Wes that he was going to do this. We could’ve helped.”

“Speaking of Wes, where is he?”

Rui looked around, “Uh, I’m not sure. Where did he go?” She got up and went out the door and called out, “Wes, where are you?”

“I’m over here,” A young man’s voice was heard from the forested area. Rui and Rowan walked in that direction.

Wes was seen petting an Arcanine. The Arcanine its self looked like the picture of bliss being petted by Wes, and looked confused when Wes stopped scratching its belly, “Haha, I’ll come back later Arcanine, I promise.” Arcanine looked happy at that prospect and trotted off. Wes stood up and looked Rowan, “It’s good to meet you sir, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“The feeling is mutual Wes. I have heard quite a lot about you as well.” Wes looked slightly embarrassed at the complement.

“Thank you Professor, but Rui, I thought we came here to make sure Xander was okay?” Wes inquired.

“Well dear, there’s the problem; Xander isn’t here.”

“Well, then where did he go? Do you know Professor?”

Prof. Rowan looked somber, “Yes, I do, but I have not heard from him in quite awhile.”

Wes raised an eyebrow, “How long is ‘awhile’?”

Rowan thought for a moment, “I suppose it has been maybe, three, four hours.”

Wes and Rui both looked surprise, and it was Rui that spoke first, “That doesn’t sound like a long time, especially for Xander.”

“Normally it wouldn't be cause for alarm, but they have gone to Snowpoint city to chase a lead on Team Snagem.”

Wes spoke up, “He went after Snagem alone!?”

“Do not be ridiculous, he has back up in the form of Raj.”

Rui looked shocked, “The champion of the Unova region?!”

Rowan smiled, “Yes, that’s him. He and Xander go back a ways, and I brought him out here to lift Xander’s spirits.”

Rui looked confused, “Why did Xander need his spirits lifted? He didn’t seem depressed when I talked to him a few weeks ago.”

Rowan smiled sadly, “He was able to hide it pretty well, but I know him. Raj noticed it right away as well.”

“Is he okay now?” Rui looked worried.

“Do not worry my dear, he’s fine now. Raj got through to him after Xander’s Salamence was taken by Snagem, long story there, but we do not have time for it. I need to find out if Xander’s okay.”

Wes spoke up, “Why can’t you just call Raj or Xander on their Xtrancievers? I assume that two elite trainers like themselves would each have one.”

“Normally I would, but there is a massive blizzard around Mount Coronet right now, and it is blocking any transmissions.”

Wes looked worried, “Is there any reason why Xander got caught up with Team Snagem? I thought that they had totally disbanded.”

“All I can say is that they have been stealing shiny pokemon. I wish I could tell you more, but what Snagem is after needs to be kept a secret.”

“Rowan, I don’t like secrets.”

“Neither do I Wes, and that is why you must trust me that it is important.”

“Alright Professor, I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

Rui looked indignant, “And what about me?”

“I think you should stay here honey,” Wes said in a coaxing tone.”

Rui had a cross look on her face, “Nice try, but I’m coming with you.”

Wes put on a mock dejected look, “Alright you win. So what am I supposed to do with
this?” Wes asked as he pulled out a small mechanical looking glove.

Rui gave an odd look, “Uh, dear, what is that?”

Wes gave a cocky smile, “Something that I’ve been working on for awhile. I’ve been worried that Team Snagem, or some other organization would attempt to take over the world, so I took the tech from the old Snag Machine, and miniaturized it.”

Rui looked horrified, “Wes, I thought you destroyed that horrible machine!”

Rowan looked hard at Wes, “I know what you are trying to do, but I have to agree with Rui. That machine is too powerful for anyone to have.”

Wes looked abashed, “I’ve used this before to save Orre, and I think we can use it again to stop Snagem.”

“I will be honest with you, I do not think this is a good idea, but I will trust your judgment.”

Rui had a long face, “I don’t like this at all.”

Wes was honest, “I know you don’t Rui, that’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“I should be able to trust you Wes. I don’t like that you went behind my back like this.”

Wes gave her a small kiss, “I’ll make it up to you later, right now, your cousin is in trouble, and needs our help.”

Rowan cleared his throat, “Yes, well, if you two are done, we should probably go to Snowpoint City.”

Wes turned his head away from his wife, “You’re right Professor, we should go.”

Rowan cocked his eyebrow, “If you think you are going to leave me behind, you’ve got another thing coming.”

Wes looked confused, “Professor, you’re coming with us?”

“Yes, I am. I may not look it now, but I was a pokemon trainer when I was young, and I have not let myself go either when it comes to battling.”

Wes simply shrugged and said, “Okay, we could use all the help we can get.”

Rowan nodded, “No offense Wes, but it would not have mattered what you said, Xander’s like a son to me, and nothing is going happen to him on my watch.”

Wes nodded, “Fair enough, let’s go,” he let out his Skarmory. *Wow, it seems like it’s been a life time since I snagged Skarmory from Gonzap, looks like I might have some more snagging to do.* Wes gave a sideways look at Prof. Rowan, “Need me to lend ya a pokemon?”

Rowan just smiled at the jest, “No, I think I have this covered,” slyly he took out a poke ball and out came a Hydreigon.

Wes had a blank look on his face, “Uh, k, looks like you’re covered.” Wes jumped onto Skarmory’s back and flew off.

Rowan laughed after Wes was out of ear shot, “Your husband is a nice guy Rui, but he has got a lot to learn when it comes to old pros.”

Rui was apologetic, “I’m sorry for my husband, he can be a bit cocky.”

Rowan gave her a knowing smile, “It is nothing to be sorry about, in fact, he reminds me of myself when I was his age. Well, how about we get going?”

Rui gave a smile that stretched from ear to ear, “Sure, let’s go!”

***Snowpoint City***

Raj was huddled in a blanket, in the pokemon center of Snowpoint city. The nurse came over and gave Raj a cup of hot cocoa, “This should warm you up Raj. What exactly happened?”

Raj shakily grabbed the cup of warm liquid, “I-I simply got c-c-caught in that m-massive blizzard.” He took a sip of the cocoa and was able to calm his shaking after a moment.

“Why were you travelling in that storm in the first place?”

Raj took a deep breath and calmed himself, “We didn’t mean to be there at all. A friend and I were travelling up here to investigate that Salamence that attacked a few weeks back. We got caught in that blizzard, and my friend…well…fell off of his pokemon. I was about to freeze to death, and my Hydreigon, Mr. Socky, pulled me outta there before I froze to death.”

Nurse Joy looked somber, “I hate to tell you this, but if your friend was stuck out in that blizzard for three hours…he’s dead.”

Raj felt like he had been hit by a brick wall, “Three hours?! What are you talking about?”

“You showed up unconscious and showed signs of hypothermia.”

“I know that I just woke up, but three hours?”

“I know it’s hard to believe, but, yes.”

Raj got up quickly, “I need to go find my-ahh, “he gasped as he fell. He had a sharp pain all over, and had trouble getting back on his feet. The nurse had to help him up.

“You need to rest. I can send out a search party for your friend if that would make you feel better.”

Raj just nodded his head dejectedly and went to lie down on the couch.

***Outside of Snowpoint City***

About one kilometer outside of Snowpoint, hidden in the forest, was Team Snagem’s
base. The base was nothing more than a few haphazardly shelters set up. All of them looked inadequate to stand up against the bitter cold, and winds of the northern part of Sinnoh. In the middle of camp, there was a small gathering area that was currently occupied by only two people: Trudly and Folly. Neither of them had any sort of gear to protect them against the weather.

“W-w-we p-p-probably should’ve g-g-grabbed some g-g-g-gear before we l-l-left,” Folly stuttered.

“N-no ki-kidding,” Trudly stammered in response.

Gonzap came out of his tent, which was completely heated and wind resistant, with no coat on, and his abs displayed out in the cold, although he seemed to be oblivious to the weather. “What are you two doin out here?”

Trudly looked confused, “We were told to wait out here until our tent was ready.”

Gonzap cocked one of his impressive eyebrows, “Uh, your guys’ tent are right over there,” He pointed at a tent that was twenty feet away, and had a group of guys bent over in laughter.

“Hey Trudly, whadda think those guys are laughing at?”

Trudly looked angry, “They’re laughing at us you idiot!” Trudly smacked Folly alongside the head.

“Ow! That hurt!” Folly rubbed his head, “Why would they be laughing at us anyway?”

Trudly almost strangled Folly, “Because we’ve been sitting out here in the cold for the last three hours!”

Gonzap shook his head, “Why did I bring you two with me again?”

Folly looked up, “Cause we asked to?”

“You idiots I should throw your-“

“Gonzap, we have an intruder!” a guard came running up and interrupted Gonzap.

“What!? How did he get past our guards?”

“We aren’t sure, but he must be an elite trainer!”

“Why do ya say that?”

“Our guards had three Dragonites, and they’re all knocked out.”

“It must be Xander or Raj, I’ll take care of this,” Gonzap walked towards the gate, but the culprit was already on his way. Gonzap was confused, this wasn’t Xander, “Who are you, and why did you attack my guards?”

“Well, my name’s Jerry, and were those your guards? Sorry about that, but I had heard that you guys were Team Snagem and that you guys had cool uniforms. I’ve always like uniforms, that’s why I joined the police force, but that idiot Xander got me discharged. So can I join you guys.”

Gonzap was confused, *I just got this guys life story, and he wants to join us? Plus he was a cop, and he doesn’t sound very bright. Oh well, this might be worth a laugh.* “Alright Jerry, tell ya what, if you can beat me in a one on one pokemon battle, your in.”

Jerry beamed, “Do I get the uniform?!”

“Uh, yeah, yeah you get the uniform, “*What’s with this guy and his obsession with uniforms?*

“YES!” Jerry shouted, “Alright, let’s do this. Go Bidoof!” Jerry’s Bidoof materialized out of the poke ball.

“Biidoooof,” it growled cutely.

The crowd that gathered up roared in laughter, and Gonzap nearly fell over laughing, “Why in the world would you use a Bidoof? What happened to the pokemon that you used to get past the guards?”

Jerry was confused at Gonzap’s question, “This is the pokemon that I used to get past your guards.”

Gonzap was horrified, “Uh, okay. Let’s see if your Bidoof can beat this!” He threw out a Masterball, and out came a teal colored Latios.

“Tios,” it said in a monotonous voice.

“Alright Jerry, you can make the first move,” Gonzap had to stifle some laughter at the thought of Latios stomping all over this Bidoof.

“Okay, let’s do this Bidoof! Use Super Fang!”

“Bii,” he nodded and blitzed forward at blinding speeds. It was so fast that Latios couldn’t react, and was struck hard on the head.

Gonzap’s eyebrows fell from their majestic spot on his head, and he quickly propped them back up, “Latios, recover from that, and finish this annoying rat with Thunderbolt!’

“La,” Latios sent out a wicked lightning bolt from in between his hands.

Jerry smiled, “Bidoof, dodge and use, Ice Beam!”

Bidoof deftly dodged all of Latios’ Thunderbolt attacks, and left up onto Latios’ face. Latios tried to shake Bidoof off, but failed to do anything before Bidoof got off an Ice Beam attack. Bidoof quickly leapt from Latios’ face, and onto the ground. Where Latios was hit, ice began to form outward, and quickly encased him into an ice cube.

Gonzap’s mouth was wide open, “Latios, break outta the ice!”

Jerry was jumping up and down, “Yes! Now finish it with Superpower!”

“Biiiiiiiiiiiiii,” Bidoof yelled as its body began glowing a brilliant white, “DOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFF.” Bidoof lifted the ice block off the ground, and hurled it 300 feet into the air. After a few moments the ice came crashing down and Latios was unconscious.

Jerry was jumping with joy, “Yeah! Go Bidoof! Now I get my uniform!”

Jerry's back with a vengance!

 

[Firebrand]

Not a bad chapter overall. I must say, that is one sassy bidoof.
However, one minor gripe. You have professor rowan talking in contractions and slang. I sort of cringed when I saw that. It's all well and good to have young characters like Xander and Raj talk like that but when it comes to Rowan... I wouldn't.
The development he got through the games and anime (while minimal) showed him as a gruff older man. I can't picture someone like that using any contractions. Especially since his dub voice actor enunciated all his words clearly...

 

[Xman96]

Not a bad chapter overall. I must say, that is one sassy bidoof.
However, one minor gripe. You have professor rowan talking in contractions and slang. I sort of cringed when I saw that. It's all well and good to have young characters like Xander and Raj talk like that but when it comes to Rowan... I wouldn't.
The development he got through the games and anime (while minimal) showed him as a gruff older man. I can't picture someone like that using any contractions. Especially since his dub voice actor enunciated all his words clearly...

Yeah, I was torn when I was doing that. I think I'll change that. I wasn't too sure, I think I was trying to base him too much off of my own grandfather. I'll go and switch that.

 

[Displeased Owl]

I have a Bidoof called Jerry in my diamond file that I'm raising because of this BEAST. I loe Gonzap's amazing eyebrows too, I can see you're getting better Feral what did you mean by Rowan using contractions? I couldn't see it...unless you meant 'old pro's and such...

 

[Xman96]

I have a Bidoof called Jerry in my diamond file that I'm raising because of this BEAST. I loe Gonzap's amazing eyebrows too, I can see you're getting better Feral what did you mean by Rowan using contractions? I couldn't see it...unless you meant 'old pro's and such...

You didn't see them, cause I fixed them right away...

 

[Xman96]

This story arc is almost wrapped up. At most there will be two more chapters. That's not the end of this book though, as this is only one part of his journey. Enjoy.

Chapter 9: Mounting Tensions​

“Uhhh, wha-, where am I?” Xander asked weakly. Xander was in a standard hospital room, it had a bed, that he was laying, an IV unit, white washed walls, and he was hooked up to a multitude of machines. A nurse walked in, and set a meal in front of him.

“You’re at Floraroma Town’s hospital,” She flashed him a genuine smile.

“Oh, I was gonna say heaven, but now I see the food…”

The nurse laughed, “Yeah, well, we aren’t known for our food. So, how are you feeling?”

“Okay, I guess, although, I can’t feel much from the waist down.”

The nurse nodded her head, “That’s to be expected when you had the degree of frostbite that you did.”

“Frostbite?” Xander asked surprised.

“Yeah, you had it pretty bad.”

Last thing I remember, I was stuck in a snow bank, and was trying to get out…after that it’s a blank.”

“Memory loss is not uncommon with this kind of traumatic incident.”

“Wait, how did I get here? I was on Mount Coronet last I remember.”

“I wasn’t here the night that you were brought in, but I heard a shiny Latias brought you in.”

“Really! Where is she now?”

“Uh,” the nurse, whose name tag read ‘Angela’, looked around, “She should be around here somewhere, she’s been visiting the children’s ward for as long as you’ve been here. The children absolutely love her, and she enjoys herself too.”

Xander was confused, “Wait, did you say a week? How long have I been here?”

“Nine days, she stayed by your side until you came out of the ICU, and then we told her that there was nothing else she could do. Even so, she spent around three hours a day watching over you.”

Xander smiled, he hadn’t realized how much Latias cared about him. A horrible thought interrupted his happiness, “Wait, where are my poke balls?”

Angela held up a finger, and went over to a corner of a room, “You had five poke balls on you when you came in. They’ve been worried about you.”

Xander gladly took all five poke balls from Angela, “Wait, five? I had six pokemon with me.” He let out each of his pokemon from their poke balls, Scrafty, Braviary, Starmie, Volcarona, and Gorebyss. They all ran up onto his bed, and he hugged or pet them all, “It’s good to see you guys, sorry ta worry you.” He looked up at the nurse, “Was there a shiny Dragonite with me when I came in?”

Angela frowned, “No, there wasn’t. Are you sure your Dragonite was with you?”

Xander’s brow was furrowed, “Yeah, I’m sure, she was flying when I was knocked off of her. Where could she be?”

***Above Jubilife City***

*I can’t believe I fell asleep!* Dragonite silently scolded herself. After she woke up in the cave, she looked for Xander, but all she found was a hole where Xander must’ve been. *Where could he be? I’ve already checked Oreburgh, Hearthome, and now Jubilife. If he got hurt because of my mistake…I don’t know what I’d do.* Dragonite decided that it was time for a rest. She had been looking for nearly a week, and she hadn’t taken as many breaks as she should have. How could she though, when her trainer was who knows where. She looked for a decent place to land and take a quick break. Dragonite wanted to avoid any public places if possible, she had had enough of people trying to capture her, only to have the poke ball bounce off. The only decent place to land that had water though was a public fountain. *Oh well, hopefully no one will try to catch me this time. I’ll only be landing for a minute.*

When she landed a throng of people surrounded her, deciding that if she didn’t give them any attention, they might just go away. Unfortunately, they didn’t, *Perhaps if I send a Hurricane their way…* She lost her train of thought when she overheard two trainers talking.

The one on the left was a young girl, probably about thirteen, she was talking to a boy the same age, “Hey look at that!” She pointed at Dragonite. “I wonder if that’s Xander’s Dragonite?”

When Dragonite heard that she flew over in a flash. Both of the trainers were shocked, they had never seen a Dragonite up close, much less a shiny one. “Drag?”

The two had a quizzical look on their faces, the girl spoke first, “I’m sorry, but we can’t understand you.”

Dragonite hung her head, and was about to fly away, when the boy called out, “Jenny, I have an idea. Dragonite! How about we ask you yes or no questions, and you shake your head?”

Dragonite thought for a moment, she then shook her head up and down enthusiastically.

“Ok good,” The boy tried thinking of a good question to ask this Dragonite, “Let’s start with a basic question, is Xander your trainer?”

Dragonite shook her head in an up and down pattern, which among humans meant “yes”.

Jenny’s face lit up, “You’re really Xander’s Dragonite?! Wow, this is so cool Gerald!”

“I know, but let’s focus Jenny, Dragonite looks like she’s in a hurry. Do you know where Xander is?”

Dragonite rolled her eyes, and shook her head side-to-side, which meant “no”.

Jenny’s eyes were all aglow, she had never seen a Dragonite up close before, and a shiny one was a sight to behold, “I wanna ask the next question! Do you know that Xander’s in the hospital?”

Dragonite was shocked, *Oh no, I can’t believe this! It’s all my fault, if I hadn’t droped Xander, he would be safe and sound at Snowpoint City, instead of who knows where.*

Gerald and Jenny felt for Dragonite. She had apparently not known about Xander being in the hospital. “Well, don’t worry too much about Xander, he’s okay. He was taken to the Floraroma hospital and just got outta the ICU this morning according to the news-hey where’re ya goin?” Gerald yelled as Dragonite flew off towards Floraroma town.

*I have to get there. I gotta make sure Xander’s okay.*

***Snowpoint City Pokemon Center***

Raj was sitting with the crowd of trainers in the pokemon center. Everyone was watching the TV because of the special news report that was playing. The news reporter was a petite, young woman in her twenties, and was in front of a hospital, that was surrounded by battered flowers. “We’re outside the Floraroma City Hospital, where world renowned trainer Xander, is being treated. So far, all we know is that he is out of the ICU, and that he was being treated for severe frostbite all over his body. When asked for an interview, he declined. Xander has entered three pokemon leagues, and has placed eighth in all of them. For his age, that’s an accomplishment in it of itself. However, what he is most known for is his paper on shiny pokemon. No one is sure how long he’s been working on it, but it was sent to all major pokemon professors in the world. Xander kept his work a secret from everyone, including his publisher, mentor, and friend Prof. Rowan. When asked about how long Xander had been working on his paper Prof. Rowan response was, and I quote, ‘I had absolutely no idea he was working on something of this caliber. We just talked a few weeks ago, and I suggested that he should research shiny pokemon, because he has such a passion for them. It seems like he wanted to keep it a secret until he was done. His response to my suggestion was that he had thought about it, and was flattered, but didn’t want to do that right now.’ End quote. His paper has received critical acclaim. Some of the papers biggest fans are Professors Ivy, Rowan, Birch, and Oak. Oak has called Xander’s paper, ‘A comprehensive encyclopedia of everything that we knew, and didn’t know, about shiny pokemon.’ Extremely high praise from perhaps the most esteemed Pokemon Professor in the world.”

“Once we get an interview with Xander, we will be giving a special repor-what the heck is that?!”The reporter was looking off to the left, and the camera panned to the direction she was looking. In the distance were four pokemon, and all of them had riders. There was a green Salamence which was a massive man with equally massive eye brows; they were fighting a Skarmory, whose rider had white hair, and a blue trench coat. These two were fighting fiercely in close quarters combat and the Skarmory was reinforced by a Hydreigon, which was commanded by an older gentleman, and a orange haired girl.

“Daisy, we should get outta here!” The camera man shouted frantically.

“No, we aren’t leaving! We have a duty to-,” She was cut off as a Hyper Beam landed mere feet away from her. “Time to go!” She said quickly, and the duo dashed off as the camera cut to static.

Raj dropped his blanket and got up quickly. *Well, at least I know where Xander is now, if only Gonzap hadn’t found out where he is. At least, I can only assume that was Gonzap. Without a doubt that was Rowan on that Hydreigon, and I think that was Wes. If there’s gonna be a battle, I need to be there.*

Raj headed for his room, but was stopped in the hall by a nurse, “Raj, you need to rest. I know that you hate to sit around, but you need more rest. In a few days-“

She was cut off by Raj, “In a few days what? In a few days my friend, who’s lying in the hospital, could be dead, a criminal organization that can capture other people’s pokemon, and control their minds, could have two legendary pokemon, and we could be facing a crisis that hasn’t been seen since Team Galactic. A few days can make all the difference, and my health isn’t worth all that could happen.” He pushed his way past her, and packed up.

When he got back out to the common room of the pokemon center, he was surprised to see that all of the other trainers had done the same as him. All at once, everyone looked to Raj as if he were their commander. One of the taller boys spoke up, “I speak for everyone here. We’re ready to follow you Raj. You need our help to combat Team Snagem.”

Raj shook his head, “Thank you for your offer, but I think Xander and I are more than capable of taking on a single man.”

“I wish it were only a single man. After you left, they got the camera back online for a minute. They caught an army of people in Team Snagem uniforms marching on Floraroma Town. They must be serious about getting something in Floraroma town.”

“It doesn’t matter. I won’t willingly put all of you in danger. Xander and I can take care of Team Snagem. You guys just sit tight and wait for all this to blow over.”

A girl with golden hair stood up, “I’m not going to ‘sit tight’. I fought with Cole against Team Galactic, and I don’t plan to surrender to some glorified pokemon thieves.”

“We’re gonna fight whether or not you want us to. The only question is, will you lead us?” The boy asked.

Raj thought about it for just a moment, “If you guys are gonna help, you need to have coordinated movements. Fine, I’ll lead you.”

There was a chorus of applause, and after a moment Raj motioned his hands for them to quiet down, “If we’re gonna stop Team Snagem, we should start the flight now. For those of you who don’t have a pokemon that can fly, you will pair up with someone that does. I will be giving out instructions through my Xtranciever. Everybody got that?” Everyone shook their heads. “Alright then, let’s move out!”

 

[Firebrand]

Not bad, but I need to note a few spelling errors. In the first sentence, "weekly" should be "weakly", and right before the scene shift, it should be "got outta" instead of "gout outta". Minor errors, really, but because they are actually words, spell check won't pick them up.

Other than that, a very good chapter.

 

[Xman96]

Not bad, but I need to note a few spelling errors. In the first sentence, "weekly" should be "weakly", and right before the scene shift, it should be "got outta" instead of "gout outta". Minor errors, really, but because they are actually words, spell check won't pick them up.

Other than that, a very good chapter.

*Facepalm* I have no idea why, but I was doing that alot tonight. I caught myself doing that on at least three other occasions. Thanks for catching them, and I'm glad you liked it.

 

[Xman96]

So I've decided to set up a PM list for anyone that wants to know when the next chapter is up. Just post here saying you'd like to be put on the list.

 

[Xman96]

Alright, so this is the second to last chapter of this arc, and I'm toying with a chapter that'll act like a bit of an epilouge. After that we're moving on to Hoenn and Heatran.

Chapter 10: The Battle of Floraroma​

The hospital was in a general panic, as nurses and doctors tried to medivac the most seriously injured patients to the Eterna City Hospital. Xander was getting dressed in his room, and had just put his white T-Shirt on, when Angela came into the room, “What are you doing? You can barely stand.”

Xander attached his poke ball to his belt, “No matter. Gonzap of Team Snagem is on his way, along with every grunt that he has. Floraroma is going to be a battlefield within the hour. Where’s Latias?”

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think you should go anywhere. We need to evacuate you along with the others.”

Xander pushed his way past her, “I’m not going to be evacuated.” He continued down the hall to the elevator. *Latias, Gonzap is coming, and I’m sure your brother is with him. Meet me outside, it’s time to end this.*

Xander exited the elevator, and Latias was there to greet him, *I got your thought message. Are you sure you’re up to taking Gonzap on?*

“It’s not a choice Latias. He has Salamence, and is threatening you, and the world.”

*Speaking of Salamence, how are you going to get him back?*

“To be honest, I’m not sure. Hey, is that Rui?” Xander stepped outside and saw Rui running up. She gave him a hug, “What in the world are you doing here?”

“Well, we were going to Snowpoint City, when we noticed a large movement towards Floraroma. Wes headed straight for them, and he got into a flight battle with Gonzap, and Rowan and I backed him up.”

“I know, you were on the news.”

“I was! Cool, did ya get a video tape of it?”

“Uh, no, sorry, I was kind of worrying about my Salamence being used for evil, and them heading here to get Latias.”

Rui hit him in the arm, “I was kidding. Anyways, here comes Rowan and Wes.”

Rui was right; Wes and Rowan were walking up the hill to the entrance of the hospital. They both had worried looks on their faces. Wes walked up to Xander and extended his hand, “Hey Xander, it’s good to finally meet you.”

Xander shook Wes’ hand, “It’s good to meet you as well. Thanks for coming, and giving us a hand.”

Wes nodded, “I need to talk to you in private.”

Xander arched his eyebrow, “Uh, okay. Let’s talk over here.” Xander and Wes walked off to the other side of the hospital.

“What could Wes wanna talk ta Xander about?” Rui asked Rowan.

“I am not sure Rui. Whatever it is, it must be important. Let’s not ponder that right now, let’s go and help evacuate people.”

“Alright, that sounds like a good idea,” The twosome went into the Hospital.

***The Back of the Hospital***

“Alright Wes, so what did you wanna talk to me about that you couldn’t mention in front of the others?”

“I know that this might be weird considering I just met you and all, but there’s something I want you to have,” Wes took out the glove that he had shown Rui and Rowan earlier.

Xander was confused, “What is it?”

“It’s a snag machine.”

“I thought you destroyed it?”

“Not so much destroyed, more, miniaturized.”

“This is too dangerous for anyone to have.”

“People keep saying that, but I saved an entire region thanks to this thing.”

“There were extenuating circumstances though.”

“There are extenuating circumstances now. Look, you need to get Salamence, and
Latios back. You know that you have no chance against both of those together.”

Xander mulled it over for a minute before answering, “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. Please, use it to save Salamence and Latios.”

“No Xander, I won’t be the one to use it,” Wes tossed it to Xander, who caught it instinctively.

Xander just looked at it for a moment before putting it on, “Fine, I’ll do it, but just for the record, I don’t like this.”

Wes smiled, “I didn’t expect you to, and that’s why I know you’re the best candidate to use it. Come on, let’s get ready, I only slowed Gonzap down temporarily, and he doesn’t give up easily.”

Xander nodded, and the two walked off to get ready for the inevitable battle.

***Team Snagem Base***

“Well, this is a much nicer location than our last base,” commented Trudly.

“There’s the understatement of the year,” Folly said dryly.

“Everyone, report to the main gathering area, for a briefing,” was heard over some megaphones, that were strategically placed throughout the camp to make sure that no matter where you were, you could hear them.

“Well, looks like big boss man, and his new sidekick Jerry want to talk to all of us,” Trudly said as he got up. “We’d better get going before Gonzap’s pet-never mind, here he comes,” Trudly sighed.

Jerry walked haughtily in his pristine uniform, and approached the dim-witted pair, “Trudly, Folly, why aren’t you guys reporting for the briefing?”

“Uh, maybe because the announcement was just, uh, announced,”

“Fine, I’ll let you two off with a warning, but just this once.”

“Uh sure,” Folly had an idea-which was rare for him, “Hey Jerry, I think those guys over there,” He motioned to the group that had told them awhile ago that their tent wasn’t ready, “Are saying how lame Bidoof are.”

At this Jerry looked furious, “Thanks for telling me Folly, now, to set those guys straight.” He stormed off, and let his Bidoof out. Trudly and Folly couldn’t quite here the exchange, but they did see the Ice Beam, and the ensuing Superpowered throw into the air.

Trudly and Folly were laughing all the way to the briefing. When they got to the briefing, Gonzap had already started speaking, and Jerry was at his side. How in the world he got their before the partners in crime, they would never know. The other thing they would never understand, is how Jerry rose to be Gonzap’s right hand so quickly. Almost immediately after the battle, Gonzap asked Jerry to be his second in command, Jerry accepted on the spot, and things have gone downhill since. Gonzap never really made good decisions, but he seemed to be enthralled by the power of Jerry’s Bidoof, but when Gonzap tried to command the Bidoof it just attacked him. You could still see the damage of the attack on Gonzap’s face, in the form of his left eyebrow partially missing. It had only been a week since the incident, but it was nearly back to its former glory.

Gonzap was briefing the group, his eyebrows moving with the wind, “…and so, our target is the Shiny Latias, this must be the priority above all else. We have a few secondary objectives though that whoever completes them will receive a raise.” There was an uproar of barks, and whooping at this, Gonzap waited for it to calm down, but when it didn’t immediately, he got impatient, “Shut up!” Gonzap had a short fuse, and when he yelled like that, everyone got quiet real fast. “Alright, our secondary targets are these four,” He pointed to a screen that was set up behind him, and the screen flashed four pictures. There was one of Xander, one of Wes, one of Rui, and one of Raj, “These four are to blame for much of the damage done to us. For every one that is captured, I will give everyone five-hundred dollars.” There was more whooping at this, but all Gonzap had to do was stare really hard at his henchmen and they shut up. “Um, well, besides that, just attack!”

***At the Hospital***

“Are you sure you are feeling okay?” Rowan asked Xander.

Xander was taking one of his medications that he had been prescribed for his frostbite, “Yeah, I’m not too bad. Stuff sure does look horrible,” He was right, the skin that had been affected on his legs has hundreds of black blisters all over them. It was amazing that he was even able to stand, let alone defend a town. “Thanks for coming, and helping Professor.”

Rowan wondered how Xander could even stand in that condition, “Please, do not mention it. I have to ask though, do those blisters hurt?”

Xander looked down at his legs and rubbed them gently, “A bit, but it’s a dull pain, and I don’t mind. I find that it keeps me alert,” Xander managed a smile. “Sorry to cut this short, but I really need to go to the rehab gym to get some help with my legs cause they’re still a bit stiff. You said that you wanted to give me something?”

Rowan smiled, “It is something that I have owed you for, oh about a year now.” Rowan reached into his pocket and pulled out a small purple sphere with two red knobs on the top. He clicked a button on the front of it and it enlarged. He tossed it to Xander, who caught it with one hand.

“A master ball?” Xander was surprised to see something this rare, “Are you sure about this? I mean, this is worth a small fortune.”

“No, you deserve it. I thought you deserved it when you placed eighth in your first league competition. I apologize for not getting it to you earlier, but I kept forgetting.”

“No worries, heck, better late than never right?”

Rowan chuckled, “Quite right. Now, we had better get ready. There are some patients here that said they would help us in the upcoming fight, and they need a leader.”
Xander stopped before they left the room, “Rowan, I’m worried about Latias.”

“Why, what is wrong?”

“She’s wearing herself out. She’s been trying to put on a happy face, but she’s
obviously worried about her brother, and Salamence.”

“How do you know this?”

“I’m not sure, but she communicates to me through telepathy, maybe she can’t shield her thoughts from me as well as she used too.”

“Hm, sounds probable. I hope that she gets better just like you do, but right now, our minds need to be focused on the upcoming battle.”

“You’re right, let’s go.”

***An Hour Later, At the Hospital***

Many of the patients that were in a critical state had been moved, and all that remained were people with minor injuries. Many of these people had pokemon of their own, and volunteered to help. Xander and Wes took charge of the situation and organized the thirty or so people into groups, each with a leader. There was calm, when everything seemed surreal to Xander, like none of this was real, like he was back at home. That wasn’t the case, as the silence was broken by an army of nearly 500 marched up the road to the hospital, and Gonzap was at the lead.

“Are you ready to do this?” Wes spoke solemnly.

“Am I ready to face my best friend, and partner Salemence? Yeah, I think I am.”

“Don’t forget, all of you do is grip a poke ball in the snag machine, and you’ll be able to capture Salamence, and Latios.”

“I got it Wes.” Xander turned to the group behind him, “Alright, you all know the plan, Gonzap is mine. The rest to of you need to distract his grunts.”

A short man stepped forward, “How are we supposed to do that? There have to be more than 300 of them. There’s only thirty of us.”

“I’m of the belief that quality beats quantity, each one of you guys are worth ten of Gonzap’s men. We can do this.” Just as Xander finished his mini speech there was a loud sound from behind the opposing army. A large force of pokemon and trainers were flying in. “What the hell…” Xander was stunned, there was no way he could take on an aerial force as well as a ground force, and things just might be hopeless.

I'm nt sure if this chapter has been up to snuff, and if it isn't please tell me. I've been distracted because of the flooding so close to my house, and have been working on this to keep my mind off of it.

 

[Displeased Owl]

Hey finally caught up, it's getting better, darn you for a cliffhanger! Can't wait to see the battle.