The Radicals’ Road
Chapter 7
Battle at Ilix Forest
“Hey! You!”
Jack burst out of the undergrowth and stopped short at the edge of a wide, well-lit glade in the middle of Ilix Forest. The trees that surrounded them were hulking sentinels, with wide trunks and expansive, green canopies that filtered the sunlight from above. On the opposite end of the clearing stood the man in the black coat. He was facing away, but turned around when Jack called to him. Even the way he spun about on his heel seemed to be done with grace, and he ran a hand through his hair as he did so. Jack had almost forgotten how handsome he was.
“Oh, my,” Thaddeus remarked, coolly. “If it isn’t little Jack from New Bark Town.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Jack tried to make his voice sound threatening. Instead it came out meekly, almost in a squeak.
“I can do whatever I want. You don’t own Johto. You can’t stop me.”
“I’ll try, if you’re going around stealing things from good people.”
Thaddeus began to pace up and down the clearing, slowly and deliberately, his shoes crunching on the dry leaves on the forest floor. He clasped his hands behind his back and turned his face skyward, his expression in solemn thought. “Let’s see… it’s been a short while since the last time we met. Have you gotten stronger since then?”
Jack opened up his jacket and displayed the Bio Hazard Badge and the North Wind Badge. “A little.”
“And, your trip?”
“Eh?”
“I mean, how’s the trip so far?”
“It’s been okay. A little tough. But I’m having fun.”
Thaddeus smiled. “That’s good.”
Jack started nodding, but then caught himself. Anger took over again. “Wait a second, why the hell are we chatting!? Oh, don’t act like you care. Now give the Relic back.”
The man in the black coat stopped pacing, and then pierced Jack with the full intensity of his stare. Jack had to take a step back. Thaddeus reached into his pocket and produced a device that looked very much like a PokeGear, glanced at it for a few seconds, and then pocketed it again with a renewed smile on his face. “Interesting,” he said. “Very interesting. You have a Relic as well.”
Jack paused, remembering Team Radical in Union Cave. “What, do you want to steal it too?”
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” Thaddeus reached into his coat pocket, and this time he brought out the little bronze sphere that he’d taken from Professor Cedar’s lab. The grin on his face was deceptively friendly.
Jack wasn’t sure why he did it, but he replied by reaching into his bag and digging out the red orb that Candy had found in Union Cave. The ruby sphere in his hand glinted in exactly the same way as the yellowish one in Thaddeus’s.
“Give to me,” Thaddeus said, politely.
“No, you give me that one,” Jack answered.
“Afraid I can’t.”
“And you think I’m going to give this one up, too?”
“Looks like we’re at an impasse.”
The span of three heartbeats passed by. Some leaves rustled across the forest floor in the afternoon breeze. Somewhere nearby, a Caterpie crawled up a tree trunk. A Magikarp splashed away in a faraway brook, though its plop in the water was nearly audible.
“I’ll battle you for them,” Jack said. “Winner takes all.”
“Now that’s I wanted to hear.”
Both of them reached for their Pokeballs.
“I’m going to make you pay for what you did in the Professor’s lab.”
(Author’s note: Play in the background: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxOUWtduI5Q)
He’d had quite a few battles already, but Jack could not deny that his heart was beating faster for this one than any of them before. None had been quite so personal. Even as he threw Candy’s Pokeball into the air, he felt his voice strain harder than ever. “Candy, go! Thundershock!”
Thaddeus, on the other hand, remained calm and cool when he tossed his Pokeball and summoned a stallion with a fiery mane. “Go, Rapidash. Flamethrower.”
Jack’s Mareep and Thaddeus’s Rapidash exchanged bolts of electricity and streams of flame; the fire and lightning struck the trees at the edge of the clearing, leaving them smoking. The mane and tail of Thaddeus’s Rapidash were impressive: bright, blazing, beautiful. Her powerful hooves and lean hindquarters were clear when she trotted around the glade, her eyes focused on Candy. This was not a Pokemon to be trifled with.
“Thunder Wave, Candy!”
“Rapidash, show them the meaning of speed.”
Candy let loose a cry and unleashed a cage of lightning at Rapidash, hoping to trap her in place with paralysis - but her attack only landed in an empty space. The Rapidash galloped around the edges of the clearing, stopping and pivoting with such agility that she kicked up dirt and twigs from the ground with every change of direction. Jack’s Mareep tried another Thunder Wave. Her lightning might as well have missed by a mile; the Rapidash was far, far away by the time her attack sizzled uselessly into a tree.
“Use Stomp.” Thaddeus voice was the epitome of chill. His Rapidash galloped at Candy and brought her hooves down hard on her so fast that the sheep-Pokemon had no time to respond. Candy’s face was shoved into the dirt under the force of the stomp attack.
Any of the confidence Jack had initially felt - his trust that he’d grown stronger, that his Pokemon had grown right alongside him - was quickly booted into the dirt as well. Desperation crept into his voice. “Thundershock, Candy!”
Even with her face under the horse-Pokemon’s hoof, Candy answered to Jack’s command: her fleece burst with yellow lightning, and the Rapidash trotted away backwards in alarm. The flaming mane around her neck danced wildly as she tried to shake off the Thundershock.
“We’re okay, girl,” Thaddeus said, soothingly. “Finish her off with Flame Wheel.”
The Rapidash let out a whinny, then leapt off her hind legs, impossibly high. She spun in an arc, mane and tail whirring together in majestic red streaks, and unleashed a spinning ball of flame at Candy. The Mareep didn’t stand a chance; she fell to the forest floor, fainted, with smoke rising from her burned fleece.
“CANDY!” Jack screamed. He bit his lip, and withdrew the Mareep into her Pokeball. “Candy, return!”
“Rapidash, return.” The Rapidash disappeared as well.
Jack had been so intent on the battle that he hadn’t realised that his friends had finally caught up with him. He noticed them now, standing there at the edge of the clearing. Bree was as still as the trees that towered around them; Charlotte had her arms crossed, and a furrow around her brow. And surprisingly, the Gym Leader Cloud was there as well.
“You can stop, Jack,” Bree said. “You don’t have to do this.”
Jack ignored her. “Go, Brandon!”
Thaddeus’s second Pokeball opened with a brilliant flash of light. “I choose you! Misdreavus!”
The ghost Pokemon that came forth hovered above Jack’s Geodude with a mischievous kind of grin. For the first time since Jack had caught him, Brandon’s eyes showed the beginning of fear. He raised his fists, ready to fight, but inched away from the Thaddeus’s floating Pokemon.
“Sand Attack!” Jack ordered.
“Lick,” Thaddeus said in response.
Brandon grabbed a huge fistful of dirt from the ground and hurled it in the Misdreavus’s direction. The ghost Pokemon seemed to fade in and out of reach, blinking in and out of the thin air, completely unharmed by Brandon’s attacks. Just as Brandon began to express his confusion, the Misdreavus appeared at his side and ran her tongue grotesquely over his face. The Geodude shuddered, his face transforming into one of disgust, and Jack almost shuddered with him.
“Brandon, Rock Throw now!”
The Geodude leapt for a large piece of stone protruding from the ground, near the massive roots of the trees lining the clearing, but just as he got his hands on it and lifted it, readying to throw it at his opponent - there the Misdreavus was again, at his side. Another Lick attack, and Geodude dropped the rock. His arms seemed to lock in place, and his expression froze in a look of horror.
Cloud called out to Jack: “Your Geodude is paralyzed, man!”
“Tell me something I don’t know!”
Thaddeus’s silky smooth voice carried the next direction for his Pokemon, loud and clear: “Misdreavus, Curse.”
A large nail materialized in the air in front of the Misdreavus - an ugly, ghastly thing. When the nail pierced the ghost Pokemon, she momentarily winced in pain - but then, that disturbing little smile crept back on. A purple glow surrounded Brandon, and his expression transformed from fear into pain as well. He cried out helplessly.
“That’s the Curse attack,” Bree called out. “Get Brandon out of there, Jack! He can’t even move!”
The Misdreavus hovered up and down and all around Brandon, taunting him with her wide, knowing grin. The Geodude tried bravely to throw another rock at her, but it was no use - the purple glow surrounded him again, and look of pain on his face said it all. It was too much. Brandon’s eyes drooped, his fists dropped in defeat, and he rolled over, fainted.
Jack was getting frustrated. “Return, Brandon!”
“Misdreavus, return.” Both Pokemon were withdrawn into their Pokeballs. Thaddeus chuckled with genuine amusement. “Well? Shall we continue this game, or will you give me the Relic?”
“GO, CHESTER! IT’S PAYBACK TIME!”
“Fine. Go, Hitmonchan!”
The Chikorita and the Hitmonchan appeared before their respective trainers, and then began to circle around the glade, eyes focused squarely on each other. Chester’s leaf was erect and battle-ready; Thaddeus’s Hitmonchan raised his boxing gloves in a ready fighting stance. Jack swallowed hard as he fought to push memories of what happened in Professor Cedar’s lab out of his mind.
“Chester, Razor Leaf!”
“Hitmonchan, on your guard. Mach Punch!”
Chester cried an impressive,
“Chiko-ri-ta!!!” and unleashed a flurry of razor leaves straight at his opponent - a trick that he hadn’t known during their first meeting, practically a lifetime ago. The Hitmonchan and Thaddeus were, however, unfazed. As the leaves flew at the Hitmonchan, he began to punch them out of the air with fists that moved at the speed of sound; one by one, he blocked each leaf with his boxing gloves. His quickness was jaw dropping. Jack heard Charlotte gasp behind him. After a few seconds, every razor leaf that Chester had let fly had fallen uselessly to the ground, not a scratch on the Hitmonchan.
“Ice Punch,” Thaddeus ordered.
The Hitmonchan rushed at Chester with a look of ferocity, one of his boxing gloves glowing ice-white. Chester dodged the attack, leaping out of the way, and the Hitmonchan’s fist connected instead with the patch of dirt where the Chikorita was previously standing. That patched of dirt was suddenly covered with a sheet of ice.
“Ice Punch, again!”
“Tackle him, Chester!”
Chester tried to ram his body into the Hitmonchan. Jack felt the blood drain from his face - Thaddeus’s Hitmonchan was simply too fast. This Ice Punch smacked into Chester full on the face, sending him careening across the glade.
“Game over,” Thaddeus said.
Jack feared he was right. But only for a moment - Chester, although collapsed on the forest floor and with a bruised face in the dirt, was glowing. It was faint at first, but steadily the light grew brighter. The leaf on his head turned toward the sunlight streaming in through the trees above, and it shimmered.
“He’s using Synthesis,” Charlotte observed.
“You’re both right and wrong,” Cloud said. “Watch.”
Jack was stunned. “Chester…”
The glow of Chester’s body was so bright, Jack had to shield his eyes. For the first time ever, Thaddeus’s face hinted at surprise, his calm demeanour faltering. By the time, the glow disappeared, the Chikorita was gone, replaced by a bigger Pokemon with a more mature face, verdant leaves around his long slender neck and a sharper leaf twitching from his head - a Bayleef.
“Evolution,” Cloud remarked.
Jack wasn’t wasting any time. “Show him what you’ve got, Chester!”
The leaves around Chester’s neck, as well as the one on his head, began to flash brilliant colors: red, blue, purple. When the colourful leaves flew at the Hitmonchan in the same way that the Razor Leaf attack did, Thaddeus’s Pokemon quickly put his hands up, ready to ward them off with his blindingly fast punches. This time, though, the colourful leaves seemed to have a mind of their own: they assaulted the Hitmonchan from various directions, zipping in and out of reach and then slashing at him in mind boggling patterns. They became unpredictable, and the Hitmonchan found himself outmatched. Flustered, he continued to try to punching these leaves away. A futile effort. They struck his body, his arms and legs.
“Magical Leaf!” Jack cried, recognizing the attack. “Go Chester! Magical Leaf!”
Thaddeus shook his head, and then, in a curious move, raised the yellow Relic into the air. The orb, too began to glow - a hazy pulse of colour.
The Hitmonchan’s eyes changed colour - they melted away into a kind of molten gold. Exploding out of the storm of Magical Leaves, the Hitmonchan rushed at Chester and delivered a blazing Fire Punch, so hard that the Bayleef flew like a ragdoll, slamming into a nearby tree; his Magical Leaves instantly froze in mid-air, and then harmlessly fluttered to the ground, where they lay as motionless as Chester. He didn’t get up anymore after that. Jack felt like he couldn’t breathe.
Thaddeus put the Relic back into his coat and withdrew his Hitmonchan. “Well,” he remarked, as if they were having conversation over dinner, “That was interesting enough. You’ve grown stronger, my boy. I’m impressed. But a deal’s a deal, isn’t it? You owe me your Relic.”
(Battle music ends here.)
“What the hell was that?” Bree wondered. “When he held up that yellow ball…”
“It was like… something happened with his Hitmonchan,” Charlotte observed. “He suddenly got stronger. But not like using an X Attack, not even like Mega Evolution. What was that?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Thaddeus said, steadily walking toward Jack and his group. He caught Charlotte’s eye and winked. Charlotte giggled for a second, blushing - but then she caught herself and put on a stern face. She couldn’t believe she almost wanted his number.
“The Ruby Relic, Jack. I’ve won fair and square. Give it to me.”
“Excuse me,” Bree stepped in front of Jack, protectively. “But would you mind telling us what’s so important about these things? They look just like decorative little balls to me.”
“You wouldn’t understand girl. A change is coming. A change so big, so important…” He smiled at Bree too. “You could say it’s a… radical change.”
“Alright, that’s enough. FEAROW!” Cloud tossed his Pokeball before Jack or the others could speak again. “USE WHIRLWIND, NOW!”
Cloud’s Fearow appeared in a white flash of light, and at his Trainer’s command, beat his wings so furiously that a gale whipped up the clearing. Thaddeus covered his face and eyes, his coat blowing about wildly. The wind was so strong he thought he might get lifted off his feet. After a few moments, though, the wind died down, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that Jack, his Bayleef and his friends were all gone.
Thaddeus let out a sigh, a little disappointed by the broken agreement. Still, when he walked out of the clearing to find the forest path heading north, he was smiling again. A good fight, he thought. That kid will get better yet. And maybe next time… maybe next time, a real challenge.
==
“Out of your league,” Cloud was telling Jack. They were in a well-shaded part of the forest now, quiet spot by a large pond, far away fem the main forest path. “I was watching his Pokemon. That Misdreavus, that Hitmonchan - they must be very well-trained. I wasn’t sure if I could’ve handled him, either.”
“Yeah,” Jack muttered, listlessly. He caressed Chester’s head, giving him a few loving pats on the face. His Bayleef was coming around. They’d still need to find a Pokemon Center soon. “How are you doing, little guy? Although… you’re not so little anymore, huh? Ha, ha, ha…”
“Thanks for getting us out of there,” Bree said to Cloud.
“No problem. That dude looked like trouble anyway.” Cloud faced Jack sternly. “What were those Relics you guys were talking about?”
Charlotte held up the Jack’s red Relic. “No idea. But I think Thaddeus was able to use his Relic to somehow power up his Hitmonchan. You saw it, too, right?Jack?”
He shook his head. “I think? But I’m not sure what I saw. I… all I saw was that I wasn’t strong enough. That’s it, wasn’t it…? Hmm. I… We need to get stronger. I need to fight some more. Where’s the next Gym?”
“Goldenrod City,” Cloud answered.
“Then that’s where I’m going.” He turned to his two friends. “Coming?”
“Does night follow day?” Charlotte asked sarcastically.
“Is two plus two four?” Bree followed, smirking.
Jack finally broke a smile again.
“Okay. I’ll take that as a yes. Let’s go.”