Chapter Six- The Britney, the Bagon and the Introduction of Team Black
“HELP ME! BAGON ATTACK!”
Brendan spun around and started running to the northern part of Rustboro City.
“Come on! Let’s go May!” beckoned Brendan as May nodded and started to sprint towards where the scream came from.
Brendan looked around. It was getting very serious; people were screaming and running south as blood curling roars filled the city. Brendan sniffed the air carefully. The air smelt a lot like burnt wood. The Bagon seemed to cause serious damage. While May checked her pokebelt her pokemon, Brendan looked at his PokeGear’s watch; it said eight past two.
‘That’s weird; Bagons live in the deepest caverns of Meteor Falls, Bagon Cavern, and that much closer to Fallabor Town and they usual come out at night. Why would there be a Bagon at this place, at this time of the day?’
The two pokemon trainers ran past the Devon Corporation Headquarters and found a man in a Devon Researcher uniform crouching down, hugging the Devon Goods tightly. He looked very frightened and taken-back. He had a good reason to do so to. Behind him was a dark-blue pokemon which resembled a miniature dragon. He had no wings but a very tough rock-hard head. He had two fangs coming out from the sides of his mouth. The rock-head pokemon could only be-
“IT’S A BAGON! RUN!” yelled Brendan and the Hoenn duo screamed and ran for their lives.
The Bagon turned his head around and faced towards the direction May was running. He growled and shot a ball of fire towards May.
May ran as a ball of fire headed towards her direction. May’s hand groped around in her bag for a pokeball. May sighed as she found what she needed and she released her trusty Torchic from her pokeball to protect herself. The things of the all the City of York. Goths had Germanic Citizens
“Go Flare! Use Ember to cancel out that fireball!”
The chicken pokemon breathed a ball of fire and disintegrated the Bagon’s fire.
The Bagon narrowed his eyes as he examined his new adversary carefully. Flare glared back at the Bagon as she prepared to launch another attack.
“Go Flare! Double Team! Surround Bagon!”
Flare focussed her speed and she started to run around in circles around Bagon. Flare and her Multiple Clones soon surrounded the Rock-Head Pokemon.
May grinned. “Let’s get this rolling! Flare! Peck him!”
Flare and her clones nodded and all the Flares disappeared except the on from behind Bagon. The chicken pokemon then hard slammed into the Bagon with her beak, delivering damage.
“Well I just can’t let you have all the fun, Muddy come on out! Use Water Gun!” Brendan said as he released Muddy from his ball.
Muddy fired a powerful Water Gun at the Rock-head pokemon. But this time, the dragon was prepared. He turned around and countered the Water Gun with a –
“HYDRO PUMP?! That’s impossible!” yelled Brendan and May as Muddy struggled against Bagon. In the end, a Hydro Pump ALWAYS beats a Water Gun and Muddy was blasted into a near by Telegraph pole.
“Muddy!” yelled Brendan as he ran towards the mud fish pokemon.
“Flare! Ember Attack on Bagon now!” May commanded
Flare launched a powerful ball of fire from her mouth but the Bagon but the wild pokemon quickly spun around and countered the fire ball with a fire ball of his own. Brendan and May gasped. That Bagon was much stronger than they thought.
“Hyene! Come out and help Muddy and Flare! Iron Tail him!”
“You too Beau, use Poison Sting, go!”
The two young trainers released their pokemon, Hyene and Beau, to help Muddy and Flare. Hyene’s fist glowed with metal steel energy and tried to swipe the rock head pokemon with Iron Tail while the Wurmple filled his tail with poison and attempted to Poison String the Bagon. But Bagon was too fast; he summoned a deadly Twister which blew all four pokemon before they could attack.
“We need to think of a plan, FAST. Or else that Bagon is going to destroy Rustboro City,” said Brendan coolly.
“But the question is HOW?” hissed May as her eyes flickered towards the raging dragon who was now personally trying to set the Rustboro Gym on fire.
“Roxanne might be able to help but where is she?” May asked, now looking very desperate.
The teenaged trainer replied nonchalantly. “She’s said she was going to the Rusturf Tunnel to make sure Wally Wood is well on his way to his new home over the mountains. She had lent me this pokemon just in case something bad happened in Rustboro City”.
“Then use it!” cried May urgently. Brendan then threw the pokeball in the air and released the pokemon inside it. The pokemon was a –
“CRADILY?” Brendan and May cried in disbelief.
“Latias, how did she get her hands on a Cradily?” murmured Brendan in mutinous fashion.
“Must be from helping out the Devon Corp for a long time. Now use the pokemon Brendan!”
Brendan nodded. “Cradily! Use Ancientpower on Bagon!”
The Fossil Pokemon summoned a few rocks and showered them down on Bagon. The Dragon-Type cried in pain as the rocks belted him hard, causing many bruises and much damage.
May then saw her chance. “Flare! Use Flamethrower on Bagon!”
The Torchic took a deep breath and then unleashed a long powerful stream of fire onto the Bagon, causing the Bagon much pain.
“Muddy! Help Flare and Cradily out, Rock Tomb Bagon!” ordered Brendan.
The Mudkip stomped on the ground, and summoned the ground to surround Bagon in rocks which emerged from the ground. The rocks hit Bagon hard, causing even more damage. Then Bagon used his last strength to hide behind the pile of rocks the Rock Tomb had created. Brendan grinned and threw pokeball at the Bagon. The Bagon entered the pokeball and the entrance continued to flash red until it stopped, showing that the pokemon had now been captured.
“Oh yeah! I could a Bagon! Yes!” cried Brendan in joy as he held his newly caught pokemon in his hands. May grunted. “I could have caught that but I left my spare pokeballs at the Pokemon Centre,” she muttered angrily and returned Flare and Beau back into their balls. Brendan smirked. “You’re just jealous that I have a rare Bagon and you don’t!”
“Am not!”
“Am so!”
“Am not!”
“Am so!”
“Help me! Please!”
Brendan and May suddenly stopped their bickering to find the Devon Corp Worker Brendan had encountered the day before, sobbing idiotically on the ground.
“What’s wrong?” asked Brendan and May with genuine concern.
The Devon Corp Worker sobbed some more and then answered, “The Devon Parts, they’ve been stolen! That Magma Grunt from the Petalburg Woods stole them!”
Brendan groaned. ‘Not that guy again’ he thought
“Where did he go?” asked Brendan almost exasperatedly.
“Hush Nad Nerb, calm down, relax. I know you are mentally unstable but you don’t have to go beserko, right?”
Brendan chose wisely to ignore this comment for May’s sake but he smiled while he mentally planned to diabolically dissect May with a spoon. “Don’t worry May, at least I’m so fat I needed oil to get out of the swimming pool.”
May shrieked and unlike Brendan, tried to dissect him in real life but Roxanne’s Cradily held May off. “Obviously Roxanne thinks of everything,” muttered May angrily as the Cradily let her down again.
“Now where were we? Oh yeah, I asked you where the Grunt went. So?” inquired Brendan.
“Over there! He ran off toward the construction site for the Rusturf Tunnel! Please! You need to get them back!” pleaded the man.
May had then returned to her “normal” attitude again. “Of course, we will DEFINITELY get the parts back RIGHT BRENDAN?” asked May sweetly.
But when May turned around, Brendan had already started walking towards the Rusturf Tunnel.
“Hey wait for me!” May cried as she ran towards Brendan.
“Young couples these days,” muttered the Devon worker as he watched the two young trainers ran off into the distance
(Later)
“Muddy! Use Water Gun! Flare! Use Ember!”
The Mudfish pokemon and the chicken pokemon both shot their respective attacks at the enemy Pluse and Minun. The electric mice pokemon then fainted from the attacks. Their owners, John and Michael, then paid Brendan and May their money and left with their fainted pokemon.
“I swear this is getting easier everyday,” said Brendan as he patted Muddy. He then looked at May who was patting Flare. Brendan stared at May. May had the softest looking chestnut-brown hair which was usually hidden by a red bandanna. Her shapely body had the right curves at the right place; boys couldn’t resist her. But it was her eyes that got Brendan the most. Her eyes were cobalt with swirls of cerulean in them; they were like sapphires, so gentle, so sweet, and so caring.
“Hey Brendan, what are you staring at?”
Brendan blinked then he violently shook his head. A deep crimson blush started to creep up his cheeks. ‘What’s wrong with me? Jeez, I was daydreaming and fantasising about May Maple! Get a grip of yourself Brendan, this is May! May Maple, you can’t possibly fall for her! No way, this isn’t true, I’m probably tired from all that battling, that’s all.’
May raised an eyebrow as she returned Flare back into her pokeball. “No, I was just looking at the bushes behind you! I thought I saw a, um, a Skitty there just a moment ago!” replied Brendan nervously, hoping May would accept his answer. All of a sudden, May looked excited.
“A Skitty? A real live Skitty! I MUST catch one! There are so pretty! Where are they? Where?” asked May eagerly.
“Over there, it went to your left”
Then May thought for a second. “Then how about this! See that pathway over there? It now splits into two pathways, one’s going left while the other goes right. I’ll take the one on the left, while you take the one on the right. Both lead to the Rustuf Tunnel. So yes?”
Brendan thought carefully before answering. “Okay, but don’t get yourself lost Yam, I don’t wanted to lose you.”
May looked into Brendan’s sincere eyes that were filled with genuine concern.
May then sighed. “Okay, I promise”
(Later)
Brendan walked along the grass pathway. ‘I hope May’s doing alright… Why am I thinking of her so much, why?’ he thought inquisitively. Then suddenly, Brendan saw a bug pokemon with whiskers who looked very dull, a Nincada, emerge from the ground. ‘I’ll distract myself from my thoughts on May by concentrating on catching that guy,’ thought Brendan decisively as he enlarged a pokeball.
(Somewhere else on the other pathway at the same time)
May Maple grinned excitedly as she looked carefully for any Skitties in the area. She always wanted a Skitty, with its cute pink fur, adorable little face, kawaii stubby legs… May kept on daydreaming when she saw a flock of Tailows fly above her head. May gasped. A Tailow! She always wanted a Tailow as well, with its cute beak, pretty black feathers… May grinned as she enlarged a pokeball.
(Back to Brendan)
Brendan looked at the pokeball. It was the Bagon he caught before with Roxanne’s Cradily’s and May’s help. “I’m going to call you, Rocky. ‘Cause you have a rocky looking head and a thick skull, not literarily though,” said Brendan as he released Rocky from his pokeball.
“Go Rocky! Dragon Claw, now!” commanded Brendan to the blue skinned, titanium headed, dragon pokemon. The Bagon grunted and his paw glowed with Dragon energy as he ran towards the Nincada, striking it down with his Dragon Claw. The Nincada cried in pain but retaliated by Slash-ing Rocky.
“This is going to be one long battle, Bagon! Dragonbreath!” ordered Brendan.
Rocky fired a powerful breath of a greenish blue flame, laced with Dragon Energy at Nincada but Nincada then used Safeguard to protect himself. Nincada then opened his mouth up and sunk his teeth into Bagon, using a-
“LEECH LIFE? This is going to be bad! Bagon! Headbutt Nincada into a tree!”
Bagon Headbutt-ed Nincada into a tree, as he was told to, nearly fainting the bug type pokemon, making it perfect to catch. Brendan sighed in relief as he threw a pokeball at the Nincada, thus catching it. “Well was nice, hey Rocky?”
(Somewhere else at the exact time)
“Beau! String Shot on Tailow!” cried May.
The Wurmple shot a stream of string at the Tailow, who got tangled up, but angry now the less. “Good job! Return Beau! Come on out Flare! Ember Tailow!”
Flare emerged from her pokeball and she fired a ball of Ember at the String, burning all the String off but burning Tailow as well.
“Go pokeball!” May said as she threw an empty pokeball she picked up from the Pokemon Centre after the Bagon Ordeal. The pokeball’s entrance turned red while it beeped wildly then it stopped; it had been caught.
“Yes! The second pokemon I have caught! Yeah!” cried May as she did a small victory dance with Flare and Beau.
“Now let’s meet you properly, shall we Tailow?” asked May as she released the tiny black bird pokemon. The Tailow chirped happily and suddenly flew around in the air, very energised, at a fast speed.
“Wow! You’re a fast! I’ll call you Swift, is that okay?” May asked. The Tailow chirped in agreement. Then Flare saw a pink cat like pokemon move into her sight. Flare urgently chirped at May. May noticed as cried out loud, “It’s a Skitty! I must catch it! Swift! Use Gust while Flare, you use Ember!”
The respective pokemon launched a windy and fiery assault respectively at the Skitty who cried in alarm and Safeguard-ed herself. The Torchic and the Tailow looked at May.
May bit her lip before ordering, “Swift! Flare! Both of you use Peck!”
While Swift dived down at Skitty, beak first, Flare ran at Skitty with her beak out in front. The Skitty yelled in pain as both pecks hit her back.
“Now Swift! Use Wing Attack! Flare, use Body Slam on Skitty!” commanded May, now with a slight boast of confidence.
Swift hit Skitty hard on the face with his wing, sending Skitty flying a good few metres before she gains her posture again. Then Flare tried to Body Slam Skitty when the pink cat pokemon used Fake Tears, crying wildly, making Flare and Swift stop in their tracks and feel sorry and more vulnerable. Then Skitty grins and slaps both Flare and Swift with her tail via Double Slap, sending THEM flying a good few meters.
May gritted her teeth. She couldn’t lose. She couldn’t stand the fact that Brendan Birch, her crush, would laugh at her. ‘Just a minute, my crush?’ thought May. ‘No way is that insensitive idiot MY crush, not in a thousand years!’ May then looked at the Skitty and then formed a plan.
“Swift, return! Beau! Come on out! String Shot Skitty!”
As the Tailow returned, May’s Wurmple appeared and fired a surprise String Shot at Skitty, tying her up.
“Now Flare! Finish this off! Flamethrower! Go!” commanded May.
The Torchic took a deep breath then fired a great stream of fire, a Flamethrower, at the tied up Skitty, nearly fainting it. May then grinned and threw a pokeball at the Skitty, catching it.
“Yeah! I caught a Skitty! Two pokemon in one day! What good luck!” said May as she pocketed the Skitty’s pokeball and ran towards the Rusturf Tunnel.
(Somewhere else at the exact time)
Brendan looked up and saw the construction site in the distance. He started to run towards the Rusturf Tunnel Construction Site, as he spotted two familiar figures, one with a red uniform on, the other with a black one. Brendan raced towards them, while enlarging a pokeball.
“Go Muddy! Use Water Gun on those guys!” ordered Brendan.
The blue water pokemon launched a Water Gun at the two figures, blasting the red one, who was now on the ground while the black one remained unharmed and continued to escape. The man with the red uniform gasped as he released a pokemon. “Go Poochyena! Use Poison Fang on Mudkip now!”
The Poochyena’s fangs glow with poison energy and it bit hard on the dorsal fin Muddy. Muddy yelped in pain but luckily, he wasn’t poisoned.
“Okay Muddy! Use Tackle on Poochyena!”
“Counter it with a Tackle of your own!”
The two pokemon tackled each other, growling angrily. Then Muddy took the initiative and fired a Hydro Pump at Poochyena, blasting it into a telephone pole, fainting it with a powerful stream of water. Brendan then walked up to the Magma Grunt.
“Where are the Devon Goods? I know you have them, tell me now,” hissed Brendan as he held the Magma Grunt by the neck.
“The other guy as them, the Team Black Grunt…” choked the Magma Grunt who then fainted from sheer exhaustion. Brendan then heard a scream. He turned around. There stood a man, well into his seventies, bald and judging by his old fisherman’s clothes, was a veteran from sailing and fishing, crying loudly.
“What’s wrong?” asked Brendan gently.
“That guy in black stole my beloved Wingull and took it into the unfinished Rusturf Tunnel with him!” cried the man.
Brendan smiled. “Don’t worry old man. I’ll get your Wingull back for you”
The man had stopped crying but Brendan wasn’t quite sure if it was because Brendan promised to get his Wingull back.
“WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN OLD MAN? ARE YOU CALLING ME OLD?” bellowed the man.
“No,” answered Brendan nervously. “Well you’re not exactly well, at your best”
“Who gives you the authority to decide that?! I am much younger and healthy than you are, you old white haired man!” shouted the man. Now it was Brendan’s turn to get angry.
“Me? OLD? For your information, it’s a BANDANA, NOT white hair! And I’m only fourteen so I have MUCH longer time than you do, OLD man!” replied Brendan in an equally as agitated voice as the man.
“You insolate brat! Where have you learnt your manners, SNOWFLAKE?” shrieked the man, waving his fist in the air.
“I AM NOT SNOWFLAKE! It’s a bandana you crippled old man!” screamed back Brendan, who had already lost his patience. If he was old, which was true, why didn’t he just accept it?
“GET AWAY FROM ME SNOWBALL!” screeched the man
“WHO ARE YOU CALLING SNOWBALL, YOU OLD, SELFISH, CRIPPLED-”
“BRENDAN BIRCH! WHERE ARE YOUR MANNERS!”
Brendan paused and looked behind him. There stood May Maple, who had now, Brendan noted, two more pokeballs by her waist. He was dead now.
“Well, um, well-” stuttered Brendan.
“APOLOGISE! NOW!” commanded May.
The old man tried to hold back a laugh. May turned to him as well. “YOU APOLOGISE TO BRENDAN AS WELL!” The old man quivered as he faced May’s true wrath.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you an ‘old man’”
“No, I’m sorry for calling you ‘snowball’ and ‘snowflake’”
May’s attitude suddenly changed. “Good,” she smiled warmly. “Now we can all be friends!”
‘Sometimes I really don’t understand her,’ thought Brendan. ‘One time she’s do gentle and naïve, you can honestly go and hug her. Other times, she is like Hell’s Empress on Earth’
“Anyway, I’ll go and get your Wingull, Mr-”
“Mr Britney”
“Yeah, I’ll go. I have some business to take care of anyway,” said Brendan as he headed towards the inside of the tunnel.
“I’m coming too!” cried May as she clinged onto Brendan’s arm. Brendan blushed when he saw May cling on his arm but he ignored it and walked into the Tunnel with her.
“It’s pretty dark in here,” May said as she observed her surroundings. Brendan nodded as they continued into the darkness of the cave. Then they saw a man wearing a black uniform consisting of a black short sleeved shirt with the symbol “B” in the middle, a pair of black cargo pants and a silver belt. Also, the man wore a bandana, much like May’s but black in colour of also having the letter “B” in the middle.
“How did you get here?” asked the man.
“We walked,” said Brendan simply while he enlarged a pokeball.
“Don’t expect me to hand over the Devon Goods! That measly Magma Grunt may have failed and handed them over but I, a Team Black Grunt, will NEVER hand them over!” cried the Team Black Grunt.
“Then I have no choice, go Rocky!” shouted Brendan as he released his Bagon.
“Go Snorunt!” cried the Grunt, throwing a pokeball, releasing a triangular shaped Ice Pokemon.
Brendan checked his pokedex for information on Snorunt.
SNORUNT: SNORUNT live in regions of heavy snowfall. In seasons without snow, such as spring and summer, this POKÉMON steals away to live quietly among stalactites and stalagmites deep in caverns.
“Okay, this is going to be a tough match, Bagon, use Dragonbreath,” shouted Brendan.
“Snorunt, Powder Snow!” ordered the Grunt.
Rocky fired an incredible breath of Dragon Energy at Snorunt who dodges it and uses Powder Snow by spraying a freezing snow from its mouth, covering Bagon lightly. The snow did little damage, but it chilled Bagon extremely.
“Bagon! Use Headbutt!” commanded Brendan
“Snorunt, Ice Beam!” screamed the Grunt.
Bagon tried to Headbutt the enemy Snorunt but the Ice Pokemon fired a dazzling Ice Beam at the pokemon, freezing it into a block of ice.
“Yes!” hissed the Grunt. “I have won now, Bagon cannot battle now”
Brendan smiled mysteriously. “Really? Are you sure? Rocky! Flamethrower!”
Suddenly an orange light shined from the frozen Bagon and then after a bright flash of light, Bagon was unthawed and ready to fight some more!
“Now finish Snorunt off with Headbutt!” said Brendan.
Rocky lunged at Snorunt and his owner, head first, smashing them into a wall and fainting both of them.
“Wow Brendan! I wish I was good as you,” commended May.
“Thanks May but you’re pretty good as well,” smiled Brendan. May’s face flushed red and she avoided eye contact. Brendan then saw a gagged Wingull, picked it up and tried to pick up the Devon Goods when-
“EARTHQUAKE! EVERYBODY RUN!” shouted a construction worker.
The earth shook violently and the cave started to collapse. “Quick! We got to get out of here!” cried May urgently. “The whole Tunnel is about to collapse!”
“Take the Wingull then!” said Brendan, thrusting the Wingull to May.
“But the Devon Goods-”
“We got to go now!” said Brendan and they rushed out of the cave. Everybody stood in horror as they saw the whole Tunnel collapse, with the Devon Goods inside. The Grunt was still inside as well. Everybody just stood in awe and disbelief.
“What do we do now?” cried a worker in anguish.
“We’ll have to close the Rusturf Tunnel Project. This project is too dangerous; we never knew this area was Earthquake Active,” answered another worker.
“Brendan, what about that poor grunt, however as much as a jerk he was, he’s got trapped under there!” cried May, sobbing wildly.
Brendan held her in his arms and let her cry. “It’s alright, it’s alright,” he said, trying to comfort her.
May then pushed herself away from Brendan and wiped her face. “I have to do something,” she said smiling. May walked up to Mr Britney and handed him his precious Wingull.
“Oh thank you, young girl! You are MUCH kinder than your boyfriend over there-”
“HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!” May screeched, so loudly that Mr Britney swore that reached the Supersonic Level.
Mr Britney smiled then asked May, “Is there anything I could do for you?”
“I don’t think so, anyway, Brendan and I can’t be wasting time, we have to get to Dewford Town or Mauville City to challenge either Brawly or Wattson,” chortled May in a cheery voice.
“Dewford you say? Across the sea? Well I am a retired sailor but if you want, I can get you and your friend across the sea by my boat. It’s at Petalburg,” the old man suggested.
“You really can do that! For us! Then definitely!” said May happily.
“I’m not going on any boats with that old man,” commented Brendan, calmly chewing on an apple.
“I AM NOT AN OLD MAN, SNOWFLAKE!” retorted Mr Britney.
“WHO ARE YOU GOING SNOWFLAKE YOU SENILE OLD-TIMER!” shouted back Brendan.
“This is going to be one long trip,” sighed May as Brendan and Mr Britney continued to argue all the way back to Rustboro City.
A young woman wearing a black uniform consisting of a black short sleeved shirt with the symbol “B” in the middle, a pair of black cargo pants and a silver belt watched Brendan, May and Mr Britney. She wore a bandana, much like May’s but black in colour of also having the letter “B” in the middle. But unlike the Grunt, she was an Admin and her clothing differed from the Grunt; her shirt had indigo strips incorporated with them and she also wore a grey Admin’s Vest. Her auburn hair went to her shoulders and her eyes were ice-blue; sharp and cold. She took out a pokeball and returned an enormous hog like pokemon, a Pilloswine, back into her pokeball.
“Good job Pilloswine in causing that Earthquake so we can get those Devon Goods later, I knew that miserable slim Rodrigues wouldn’t be able to do it,” she said as she returned her pokemon. Then she took out her PokeGear and answered it. “Hello Laura here. Yes John, I’ve taken care of it. Don’t worry about it. Could you cover up for me, I have some business to sort out,” she answered. Laura then released a Murkrow and it grabbed her shoulders. “Dewford City Murkrow,” she said and she flew into the distance…