The Trial of Juno Saga [PG-13]

[Avenger Angel]

Chapter 12
The Arrival​

It was all over with. Stuyvesant had recalled Haxorus back into his Pokéball, and the battle was finished. We had won, but this victory would only be short lived. The real battle was coming up, the one that would determine whether the three of us would finally reach home, or we would be doomed to stay in Randy’s world forever. After seeing all this, I knew nothing short of defeat would ever make Randy let go of this place.

Imagination. That was the ultimate force in Randy’s world. It would be the weapon of choice on the gray battlegrounds of Victory City Stadium. It would come down to one final test, one that meant everything. Someone was going to have to lose everything. Either Randy would lose the chance to live in his own world, or the three of us would lose our freedom and be under Randy for the rest of our lives. And it made me cold to think that Randy could be right, and that our lives would never expire in this bizarre realm of his. I absolutely didn’t want to live here forever. There was just something really wrong about this place.

The days that we fought Randy in the parking lot now seemed like a lifetime ago, even though it was little more than a week since those events had happened. Randy wasn’t thinking logically anymore. We didn’t belong here. None of this should have ever happened.

We were told by the referee to come back to the stadium tomorrow at 10 again. There was a total lack of enthusiasm on his face, and he seemed to show no interest in our effort whatsoever. It was then he told us that we would be confronting Randy in the stadium, really putting a lot of admiration into even just saying Randy's name. I really disliked this guy’s attitude. He almost made it seem like the real honor was losing to Randy and serving him for the rest of time. He looked at us like we didn’t have a chance in the world. Obviously, he really hadn’t been paying attention to the battle. Either that, or our cover-up was working pretty well. In fact, better he think we didn't stand a chance after all. We'd be much better off that way.

I could barely sleep that night with the anxiety that was surrounding me. Everything had built up to this moment. I couldn't stand Randy and this unnatural world he had crafted for himself. Instead of trying to become stronger the way he should have, he resorted to this, and that's the part that was concerning. Randy would never achieve true strength like this. This was all just an illusion meant to comfort him. But as much as I wished it would all go away, it didn’t. There was one thing I needed to do before it would.

Slowly, dawn had come. All this time, I had been sleeping in a cardboard box in an alleyway, which felt very miserable. That whole morning I spent preparing my Pokémon for that final battle. I was able to speak to them, telling them who I really was, and I told them that we were in Randy’s world. The only one I didn’t touch was the Pokéball I still had from Black. Something deep inside just told me to wait it out.

The others didn’t believe me at first, but I told them they would certainly believe it once they saw how powerful Randy had become. I told them that if I lost to Randy, they would most likely end up in his possession. They really didn’t like to hear that, but from the look of things, they were ready to believe that this last battle meant everything.

I had only gotten my rest during that afternoon. When I had awoken, the hours were counting down. I made my way to the stadium, and as I saw the many people gather to see this one last final battle, I learned of one sickening thing. They were only here to watch Randy. They only wanted to see Randy nail every trainer who confronted him in the most nastiest, merciless, and unfair ways of all time. Not a single soul in that crowd would be supporting me. They would hate every moment of victory I could ever taste, and they would roar in delight at every defeat I faced. Trying to keep one's morale up in the face of such a thing was a real, serious trial.

When I entered the stadium, they put me in a closed room behind a metal door. Just outside was the final arena. Another mirthless referee just told me to wait for an official. And then he left me alone. It was unsettling to think about how robotic and monotone their approach was. It all just seemed to be a routine to them.

I stood there for a solid five minutes before someone had actually come. And then I got a sick jump start when I realized the official he was talking about was Alex. While he no longer looked like a butterfly and was back to normal, he looked downright miserable. He just walked up next to me, looked down, and faced the metal door.

“You will be using four Pokémon in a two-on-two match.” Alex told me, not even realizing it was his best friend he was talking to, “Once one of your Pokémon goes down, you are to replace one of them as soon as possible. The battle ends once all four of one person’s Pokémon can no longer fight. Understood?”

But I said nothing, not that he would have understood what I was saying anyway. I left it with a simple nod and left everything else carry on. I could hear a loud cheering through the metal door, meaning Randy must have arrived, thinking he was going to get one more slave today.

And then, suddenly the metal doors opened, and Alex urged me to go out and meet Randy in the center of the stadium. I walked out, and the sight was sickeningly familiar, only now there were a million people watching us. I could swear this was all madness.

“Welcome into the stadium,” An announcer’s voice shouted loud and clearly, “Juno the Pikachu, Randy’s challenger!”

It was followed by a round of sarcastic clapping, everyone thinking I didn’t stand a chance. By now, I could guess Randy was shocked upon learning who his challenger was right now. I guess he didn’t expect he would be squaring off against his favorite Pokémon. Still, I had to play the part for as long as possible, and not reveal anything about once being Jake.

And when I got closer to Randy, he was still wearing his silly black leather jacket and his tasteless shades. He stood there at his respective side of the stadium thinking he was the world’s best hero. Still around his neck was the Quista necklace, the whole reason this misery had begun in the first place. Randy now depended on it, just like it was his lungs or his heart. Without it, this world was gone and shattered. It was a shame to think that instead of trying to grow strong, he relied on this necklace like a crutch. The truth was, anyone could be in Randy's seat with that necklace on, but it took real strength, training, and courage to become great and truly heroic on their own.

We had faced each other. Already, Randy was looking at me very strangely, and I could see from the look in his eyes that this was something he never would have expected and wasn't according to his plan or design. He obviously didn’t think he would be seeing the Pokémon he once longed for and now forgotten looking back at him, and he was becoming tense. Still, he had that impression on his face looking like he had already won. He definitely didn’t look as confident as he usually did when I was before him as Jake Kossak. But instead, I flashed him a small but simple Pikachu smile, as if to say everything was a-okay and this battle was supposed to be fun.

In only a few moments, we would be engaged in the most outlandish Pokémon battle ever. There practically were no rules now, no limits, no nothing to stop the two of us from spawning ultimate chaos. I couldn't imagine what this would be like if I had no protection whatsoever. I'd sooner take on a game of Russian Roulette before considering that.

And as luck would have it, I found out Jeff was going to be our referee. Not good. Randy’s Pokémon were going to have to on the verge of dying before Jeff would even consider taking them out of the battle. I could already predict there were going to be plenty of false calls and dirty tricks under the table. How was anyone supposed to win against Randy?

Regardless, Jeff stood between the two of us. Randy already had his Pokéballs ready, but I was going to wait to see which Pokémon Randy was going to chose before releasing my own.

“This is a match between King Randy and Juno, the challenger!” Jeff’s voice boomed all over the stadium, “This is a two-on-two battle, and each combatant is allowed to use only up to four Pokémon.”

The tension was making me sick and anxious, but I had to shrug it off and just play it like it was all one, big game. I couldn’t lose this battle no matter what, and I already knew Randy was going to play more tricks to try and win, just like he did last time. And then, at that moment, Jeff initiated everything.

“Let the battle begin!!” Jeff shouted loudly, his voice blasting all over the stadium.

Randy hadn’t waited a second longer, and tossed two of his Pokéballs into the air. With a smirk on his face, he looked on appreciatively as the two Pokéballs flew through the air and hit the ground and flared brightly with a blast of light. And then, his two Pokémon came out…

And I began to grow cold and tense when I realized the Pokémon he had chosen were Mewtwo and Arceus. The genetically created powerhouse of destruction and the god of all Pokémon across the planet. Obviously he wasn't pulling any punches here. Indeed, there they were all right, in the flesh, just staring me down and waiting to unleash their wrath. It was truly clear that Randy had access to any Pokémon that existed, and any Pokémon he wanted was his to own. But that wasn't even the end of it...

“King Randy has chosen Mewtwo and Arceus!” Jeff announced to the crowd. A loud applause had thundered out, and the audience was obviously anticipating a quick and very easy win.

I didn't even know where to begin when it came to taking on these two monstrosities, but I had to choose wisely. I didn’t have legendaries like Randy had now. That was already going to be my first disadvantage, but I had to keep smiling like it wasn't such a big deal. The moment Randy noticed anxiety on my face, he was only going to get stronger and let his arrogance be his power in this place. I just couldn't let that happen.

At that moment, I chose to rely on Jolteon and Weavile. They have always been extremely loyal to me, and have helped me pull through all this misery. Now, I needed them more than ever.

“There’s no way you can win…” I thought I heard Randy whisper to me.

I just had to keep on smirking and give him the look of "whatever." By now, he had probably become so accustomed to winning constantly that any thought of loss probably didn't even come to mind.

I prepared my two Pokéballs, and then hurled them far into the air, again, throwing them one by one like giant basketballs. And then, something really strange happened…

Both Pokéballs burst into flames, and looked like flaming fireballs. Forks of electricity were encircling them, and I winced as I thought they were going to explode and kill both of the Pokémon that were inside each one. However, to my relief, when the Pokéballs hit the ground, there were my Jolteon and Weavile, completely untouched.

Jeff and Randy just looked at them in disbelief. Jeff was shaking his head, as if something had gone wrong. Meanwhile, Randy was looking at the two Pokémon with the look of irritation on his face. A sense of shocked and surprised irritation, but nonetheless, he shrugged it off. To him, I imagined a Jolteon and Weavile still wouldn't be a match.

And then I realized what the fire and electricity were about. Randy had tried once again to change my Pokémon, but this time he had failed. I could have laughed at the just desserts, but I didn’t to keep it all a secret, keeping a very strict poker face. But in the end, Randy was going to have to expect way more surprises than that…

It wasn’t long before Randy had snapped out of his brief trance. He looked at his two Pokémon, and prepared to give his first commands. Now was the time I needed to be more prepared than ever. Right now, I had no idea what their weakness was, and I had a feeling that the only way to discover it was through battling.

“Mewtwo, use Silver Barrier!” Randy commanded, “Arceus, use Divine Protection!”

And then, both of Randy’s Pokémon were covered by two extremely powerful shields, raising their defenses extensively. Now, Mewtwo and Arceus had a translucent gold and silver wall in front of them. It was clear any damaging attack I used against them would end up doing nothing for damage. I couldn't imagine how demoralizing this would be to anyone who tried to fight Randy by the rules. First, get your Pokémon swapped in for something terrible, and then this? It was getting to the point where it wasn't a real battle at all.

“Try getting through that.” Randy taunted.

That would have been a serious problem if I wasn’t creative and didn't come prepared. I could admit, I was going to need to be resourceful in ways I never had to be before, but we hadn't even really gotten warmed up yet.

“Jolteon, use your Chain Lightning attack!” I shouted, “Weavile, use your Shadow Hurricane!”

But Randy understood nothing of what I said. The look on his face was quite priceless when all he could hear from my mouth was “Pi", "Pika", and "Pikachu” in a confusing and untraceable mix of syllables based on Pikachu's name. Still, he wasn’t at all worried and shook off the anxiety rather quickly. But I could see in his eyes that he had never dealt with anything like this before…

Meanwhile, I used my imagination to send my ideas of a "Chain Lightning" attack to Jolteon and the details of "Shadow Hurricane" to Weavile. As if sending a message, they suddenly learned how to perform such insane, unnatural assaults, and the power they suddenly experienced was unlike anything a Pokémon has ever felt before.

“Yeah, baby,” Jolteon snickered, just itching to strike with what he had just learned. “Give me a piece of these punks.”

Jolteon thrust his front paws into the ground, put his head down, and released a tremendous bolt of thunder and lightning, right at Mewtwo and Arceus. They didn’t know what attack it was either. Sure, they probably heard from the Pokéspeech that I called it "Chain Lighting," but it didn't tell them anything about the real nature of the attack. I had only just created it. Meanwhile, Randy himself couldn't tell whether I had given Jolteon an attack order or told him to stand on his head.

Chain Lightning came out exactly as I imagined it. Tremendous bolts of thunder and lightning bound together in a furious discharge of jagged electricity. Meanwhile, Mewtwo and Arceus were suddenly caught right in the middle of it. And to their surprise, both of them were inflicted with paralysis and tore their attack to pieces, as well as naturally murdering their speed.

Meanwhile, Weavile had just stood still silently, and the world around us had become pitch black. Then, all I could see was a suddenly storm of dark shadows burst from where Mewtwo and Arceus were standing in the dark. Both of them were locked in a storm of dark, wicked haunting, as if thrown into a vortex of eternal shadow. Mewtwo and Arceus were badly confused, and this time it wasn’t going to go away. It was really too bad for Randy that a simple and totally legal move like Safeguard could have saved him from so much misery.

“What the hell just happened!?” Randy shouted out in disbelief.

“How… could… they…?” Mewtwo moaned, his head and body throbbing with agony and torment.

The audience was in complete shock, and shortly after, clear displeasure about what they saw before them. They truly had never seen a battle of this magnitude before. But this was only the beginning. They had seen nothing yet. Still, they had more than enough confidence that Randy would easily find a way to trump this.

“Nice job, you guys.” I said to both of them, keeping that confident Pikachu smile.

“This is so awesome!” Jolteon said in awe, looking at the devastation he had just caused, "You're incredible, Juno, you know that!"

Randy sure wasn’t happy after that. However, now he was the one with the disadvantage. And since his poor Pokémon with twitching with pain, it was us who were going to get the first strike this time.

“Jolteon, use your Diamond Break attack on Mewtwo.” I commanded, “Weavile, once the barriers are down, use your Black Anguish attack.”

Again, I dreamt up the details of both attacks to both Pokémon, and sent it across to their minds.

Jolteon then rushed up to the gold and silver walls that surrounded Randy’s two Pokémon. It was just like an upgraded version of Brick Break, only much stronger. Jolteon tore his way through the shielding, and it shattered like broken glass. Then, he put his paws forward and slammed right into Mewtwo. The attack itself didn’t do too much damage, but Mewtwo's barrier was down, and his defenses were set to normal. Then, Weavile prepared an all-out nightmare attack on Mewtwo and Arceus.

Weavile gave them both a harsh, cold stare. He arched back his head a bit, and then unleashed a tsunami of darkness and pure, all-consuming night upon the two Pokémon that had purely suspected nothing like that was even possible. For a solid twenty seconds, Mewtwo and Arceus were swallowed alive by the nightmare. Randy’s face turned pale, and I tried hard to hold back the laughter. When the darkness cleared, Arceus was throbbing and ready to drop, but he still could hold on. I knew his barriers kept him up and shielded him from most of the damage, but I could take care of him later.

Meanwhile, Mewtwo hadn’t been able to bear it so well. So much was the case of a physic Pokémon up against the fury of the night...

 

[Darkened_Kingdra]

Made up attacks time? My favorite part!
Just one thing: when Jolteon used Chain Lightning, you said it was aimed at Mewtwo and Jolteon. Should that be Mewtwo and Arceus or was that intentional, cuz, you know, VoltAbsorb?
Overall, great chappie. Looking forward to the next one!

 

[Agent Tectonic]

You're already aware that I'm head-over-heels that this is finally here, but I'm popping in a comment for a few glaring problems.

Chapter 7:

I think three times you swapped out Liligant's name for Roselia.

And this last chapter, right at the end, you typed "Mewtwo and Weavile" when Weavile attacked instead Arceus. If time allows, I'll get a more official review up later this week!

 

[Avenger Angel]

Made up attacks time? My favorite part!
Just one thing: when Jolteon used Chain Lightning, you said it was aimed at Mewtwo and Jolteon. Should that be Mewtwo and Arceus or was that intentional, cuz, you know, VoltAbsorb?
Overall, great chappie. Looking forward to the next one!

...Oops.

Made the change, thanks for pointing that out.

You're already aware that I'm head-over-heels that this is finally here, but I'm popping in a comment for a few glaring problems.

Chapter 7:

I think three times you swapped out Liligant's name for Roselia.

And this last chapter, right at the end, you typed "Mewtwo and Weavile" when Weavile attacked instead Arceus. If time allows, I'll get a more official review up later this week!

Yeah, I can definitely tell in the process of swapping out some of the older Pokémon for the newer ones, I dropped the ball a few times. Thanks for pointing those out, kinda feel like a doofus for missing those. XD

I'll try to be more careful. Next time, Ctrl+F for the win.

 

[Avenger Angel]

Chapter 13
A Sickening Turn​

Mewtwo lay dazed and confused on the ground, not looking like he could handle any more. Meanwhile, Randy didn’t look too pleased, and seemed to be in complete denial that anything that happened during the last few minutes actually happened. And Jeff just stood there, and refused to acknowledge Mewtwo was out and unable to battle. I couldn’t stand this. Meanwhile, the audience was just looking on, some of them not really believing one of Randy’s Pokémon actually fainted. Randy and Jeff certainly didn’t believe it.

This was ridiculous. As if Randy hadn’t gone overboard enough with his absurd Pokémon team, he was unwilling to admit defeat. He just stood there in disbelief, not knowing whether to recall Mewtwo or not.

“He’s gone, man,” Jeff told Randy softly. “Look, just recall him and bring out your third Pokémon. We’ll just forget this ever happened. I’m sure it was just an accident.”

“I don’t know what Juno is doing to the point where he has the same powers I do.” Randy looked at him with disbelief.

Then, Jeff looked curiously at Randy. Something else seemed to be picking at his mind, and I knew I would be thinking the same thing I would have been thinking in his position…

“And that Pikachu?” Jeff asked curiously, looking at Randy with an odd look in his eyes, "There's something... weird about him, you know? Do you know him?"

“No…” Randy muttered back to Jeff, still trying to fight his disbelief, “never saw him before…”

I figured he couldn’t help but lie in this situation. Randy was just acting like he didn’t know me. Regardless, Randy decided not to squeeze blood from a stone. He pulled out Mewtwo’s Pokéball, aimed the red beam at the unconscious Mewtwo and returned him to his Pokéball. The audience had realized what had happened, and they had gasped. It was obvious Randy never had a Pokémon faint on him before, or at least in his world he hadn’t…

Instead, he went back to his belt holding his Pokéballs, underneath his black leather jacket. He fingered through his Pokéballs, pulled out the one he desired, and held in tightly in his hand. The battle wasn’t over yet. It was only just about to get worse. This manic was going to unleash another legendary, as if the two he had already sent out weren’t bad enough. He was on the verge of being insane.

“I’m not going to lose to you,” Randy whispered to me. “I created you. I am your master!”

Like hell you are. I couldn’t believe this guy. Now he was just plain losing it.

“Go, Groudon!” Randy shouted as he forcefully clutched his Pokéball and furiously tossed it into the arena.

Randy’s Pokéball struck the ground hard, and a moment later and after an intense flash of light, a great shadow appeared over the three of us. As a little Pikachu, looking up at a Groudon, a giant red and black colossus juggernaut, is like looking up at a skyscraper that hates you and would love nothing more than to utterly crush you. Groudon looked like a walking wall of destruction. We nearly fainted just looking at him.

“Oh man…” Jolteon remarked in hesitation, “this is going to get ugly real fast.”

“How are we supposed to conquer that thing!?” Weavile asked in shock.

“Randy may have powerful Pokémon,” I told them both, “but it’s not over yet. We still have a chance at winning this. A good chance if we stick together.”

But Randy wanted to have fun. And to him, having a Pokémon faint on him was exactly what he didn’t want. He wanted to win, and he felt like he was entitled to it just because he was the one wearing the Quista necklace. I couldn’t believe him…

“Go, Groudon!” Randy screamed loudly. “Use your Storm Chasm attack! Crush them both, and make them suffer!!”

Groudon let out a low growl, slowly took his foot off the ground, and slammed it into the ground. I instantly lost my balance and fell to the ground as everything around me shook violently and forcefully. I shut my eyes, not even wanting to watch the outcome. After a long phase and violent trembling, slowly, the terrible shaking decreased in magnitude, and everything became normal.

As if the attack Earthquake wasn’t bad enough, Randy had created the next worst thing, a ruthless and merciless ground attack named Storm Chasm. And the worst part was Jolteon had a weakness to it. As I slowly put my hands on the floor and lifted myself off the ground and stood back up again, Jeff was laughing hysterically.

“Jolteon is unable to battle, the victory goes to Groudon!!” Jeff laughed, announcing it to the whole stadium.

As soon as I heard that, I quickly turned to see Jolteon, on the ground, who had gotten hurt badly and had collapsed. Weavile was hurt very badly too, but he looked like he could still go on, even after a terrible attack like that. But Jolteon…

He had turned to me, with the last bit of strength he had left. He wasn’t looking great at all with his body covered with dirt, cuts, and bruises. I grimaced at the sight. He had never faced anything like that before, and it totally took him by surprise.

“I’m sorry…” Jolteon gasped to me, looking terribly exhausted, “I wanted to go further, further than this. I wanted… to win together, with you.”

“No, don’t worry about it,” I told him quickly, telling him he shouldn’t fear. “There will be other days. You did an outstanding job, Jolteon. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Jolteon was silent for a moment. He seemed really distressed…

“Thank you…” He said to me.

I then pulled out his Pokéball, held it with both hands, aimed the beam at him and returned him to his Pokéball.

Weavile was going to need a supporting companion, and soon. I needed to think of a new strategy, because Randy was going to think I would use the same one again. He was going to try and do all he could to stop me. It was obvious he wasn’t going to hold back now. I had defeated his Mewtwo in his world, and I could tell that was enough to drive him to insanity.

But I refused to lose, I refused. Not after all I had gone through…

They were all waiting for my next choice, the next Pokémon I would decide on to continue this tribulation. I took a glance at Randy’s Pokémon, his Arceus still trying to endure the pain my Pokémon had inflicted upon him while his Groudon gave me a cold stare, waiting for another victim. I had then turned to Weavile, who had taken the last attack very badly.

I turned back to the Pokéballs on my belt, and went through them one by one. I couldn’t use Raichu, since he was the electric type and Groudon would just knock the stuffing out of him, just like Jolteon. Ariados was poison and Mewtwo could just punish him with a simple Psychic attack, or something even worse…

And then, I came across one Pokéball too long neglected. It was the Pokémon Black had given me, untouched and reserved for the moment I really needed it. I didn’t even know what Pokémon was inside, and now I was going to face the choice of letting out a Pokémon I was unsure would survive the next attack, or decide to trust Black, and hope his Pokémon would come through for me.

I made up my mind. I took the Pokéball, released it from the leather strap, and prepared to launch it into the arena. I could only hope it was a Pokémon that would be able to help me through this nightmare. I put both of my hands firmly on the Pokéball, and then threw it forward.

They had all watched carefully, all of them, the audience, Jeff, and Randy. There was complete silence as the Pokéball flew gracefully through the air, and then began to fall toward the ground. Jeff and Randy watched it carefully and anxiously, as if it were a grenade about to explode into pieces. When the Pokéball struck the ground firmly, it opened with a flash of light. At that moment, I had summoned another ally to help me win the war against my greatest enemy of all time.

When the blinding flash had died down, I realized who Black had sent to me as a helper, a protector for all of us. It was none other than the powerful dragon and psychic Pokémon Latias. She was swift, an agile snow white and crimson red dragon with a jet-like appearance. She opened her beautiful topaz-colored eyes and smiled, ready for anything. She floated in the air before Groudon and Mewtwo, with a vigorous stare of confidence and trust. I knew just from the look in her eyes that she was not going to be an easy picking for both of them.

“Nice choice…” Jeff remarked, unable to hold back the admiration…

“Shut up, Jeff.” Randy growled bitterly at him.

She had turned to me, and was a bit surprised I was the one who was her trainer, but accepted it anyway. But it had not taken her long to realize I needed help more than ever. For a moment, I could tell… unlike Jolteon and Weavile, she too… was born from Randy’s dreams, just like Juno was…

“I am poised to strike,” She told me. “Give me your command.”

“Draconic Onslaught attack,” I told her, really happy to have a Pokémon like her as an ally. “Go for Arceus, he’s already taken a serious hit, and now just needs to be struck in the face…”

And then, at that critical second, she realized I certainly was no ordinary Pikachu. As I used my imagination and sent her the details of the attack in mind, which she was able to instantly learn, she had felt new power, and I was the source of it.

Then, she flew off the ground, and flew at a lightning speed toward Arceus, letting loose a loud screech from the wind that was blazing past her. All Arceus could do was look up, dazed and confused and unable to move. Latias stormed her way to meet her target, and in a split second, the air itself was sliced violently with a loud and furious screaming sonic boom, and Latias had hit her mark with flawless accuracy. The slash sounded like a sharp rake tearing into thick metal while green and jade-colored flames and embers were thrown violently in all directions. It sounded terribly painful.

“Ouch…” Jeff grimaced as Arceus took a nasty blow.

And in no time at all, Latias had returned to my side. I had just looked at Arceus, who just completely forgot about the pain in his chest and howled in agony over the terrible pain in his face. After he had staggered to stay up, he had fallen, and lost the will to fight. No one could believe what had just happened.

“This cannot be happening…” Randy growled angrily. “No... freaking way!!”

“Arceus is unable to battle…” Jeff said calmly. “The victory goes to…”

“Shut your rotten mouth, Jeff!!” Randy furiously shouted at him. “I can’t lose, remember!? Just who do you think will be getting this victory, huh!? I’m not going to lose to a pathetic… little… Pikachu…”

There was complete silence as Randy recalled Arceus, not even thanking him or telling him he did a job well done. I felt a very cold aura of anger and darkness as Randy decided on his final Pokémon. What freaked me out the most was he chose it very quickly. He yanked one last Pokéball from his belt, and held it with a tightening fist, almost to the point of crushing it. Randy was brimming with fury.

“Now you’re dead,” Randy snickered with dark fury in his eyes. “You, him, her, everybody. All of you are gone! You won’t exist anymore!!”

Randy then grasped his Pokéball, and then angrily threw it into the area. The shiny Pokéball struck the ground hard, and after a brilliant flash, we lay eyes on yet another, towering titan. The three of us looked up in shock and bewilderment as we saw seventeen feet above us was one of the most powerful legendary Pokémon of all time, Lugia. The massive silver and blue aquatic bird looked down at us, using his long neck to glare at us with his sharp, blue-pronged eyes.

“This... is not going to be easy…” Latias remarked. “I’ve never fought anything like this before…”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” I reminded her. “We still have a good chance at winning this.”

Lugia had looked down at the two of us. I couldn’t stand the way his dark, menacing eyes glared at us. Between him and Groudon, it felt like I was seconds away from being stepped on and reduced to nothing but a puddle a goo.

“You really think so?” Lugia taunted, almost laughing at our feelings of hope. “I’m about to show you a whole new revelation in suffering and pain. I’ve never fallen to anyone before.”

Merciless Randy hadn’t been paying attention to us. Only seconds after Lugia had been let out, he turned to Weavile, who was barely hanging on.

“Go Lugia!” Randy shouted loudly. “Destroy that Weavile with an Ultra Nova Blast!”

Lugia just turned his back to us, looked at the suffering Weavile, and just looked curiously at him.

“Well,” Lugia remarked, “this doesn’t look like much of a challenge…”

Lugia opened his mouth, and a brilliant, white sphere of power and energy took form in his mouth. As the sphere accumulated more energy, it become larger and larger until Lugia released his power, and fired a tremendous white beam at Weavile. He really did try to dodge it, but there was too much to evade. It was like trying to doggie paddle away from a tidal wave.

“NO!” I shouted as I hopelessly watched the massive beam slam into Weavile.

Weavile cried in pain, just before the massive and deafening explosion silenced everything. Torrents of white energy created a shockwave and rocked the entire stadium. I couldn’t even see Weavile anymore, buried somewhere in that blazing white, explosive chaos. When the explosion died down, I looked everywhere for Weavile, hoping there was anything left of him besides ash and dust. And then, I saw him, on the ground and completely motionless, crumpled up into a heap. Randy had just pulverized my second Pokémon. Even after all this effort, we were only even now.

"Weavile is unable to battle, the victory goes to Lugia!" Jeff cried out, seemingly relieved he had something to celebrate now.

As the audience roared in delight, I pulled out Weavile's Pokéball and returned him. He had done the best he could, and that was all. Now, he needed time to rest more than ever after that level of anarchy. I secured the Pokéball in the leather loop and then decided on my next Pokémon, the last one I could use.

And then I made a choice I won’t long forget. I couldn’t grab the courage to send either Ariados or Raichu into a battle they could easily get clobbered in, but I couldn’t let Latias fight alone. She needed someone to help her…

I decided that if in the end I was going to lose to Randy, I wanted to know that I couldn’t have done it any other way. I reached for the buckle that held the leather straps of my belt together, and separated the straps. I then grasped the belt with my Pokéballs, and threw it aside. I knew what I had to do…

 

[Agent Tectonic]

XD Alright, this time Mewtwo was accidently substituted where Arceus was supposed to be. I believe it started right after Groudon was called out.

Overall, nice chapter in terms of description. Some sentences are worded awkwardly (which I'll point out later today as I'm on my iPod right now). I know you're wanting to get every chapter of your four stories up, I believe, as quickly as possible but just make sure you take time to make sure your additions don't look sloppy.

Can't wait for the next chapter!

 

[Avenger Angel]

XD Alright, this time Mewtwo was accidently substituted where Arceus was supposed to be. I believe it started right after Groudon was called out.

Overall, nice chapter in terms of description. Some sentences are worded awkwardly (which I'll point out later today as I'm on my iPod right now). I know you're wanting to get every chapter of your four stories up, I believe, as quickly as possible but just make sure you take time to make sure your additions don't look sloppy.

Can't wait for the next chapter!

Oh drat... there I go again! XP

You're right, definitely need to be more careful next time. Thanks for picking that up, definitely fixing that mess before other poor set of eyes has to see that!

 

[Avenger Angel]

Chapter 14
Into the Breech​

Randy and Jeff looked at me with a bizarre look in their eyes, wondering what I was doing. Then, Jeff had suddenly realized what I was actually going to try and pull off.

“Juno wants to fight the battle himself…” Jeff said in disbelief, “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“Well, if he really wants to suffer too, that’s fine with me,” Randy growled.

Then, Latias had looked at me, with an odd look in her eyes. Everyone was looking at me like I was nuts, but to me, it seemed like the most logical choice.

“You’re crazy!” She told me. “You can’t enter this battle yourself!”

“Yes, I can,” I told her. “Hey, I'm still a Pokémon, right? Better we both go down at the same time then letting him crush us one by one. He’s already obliterated my Weavile and my Jolteon! You saw what he did!”

“But this is extremely dangerous,” Latias warned me. “You must be sure this is really what you want to do.”

“I’ve made up my mind already,” I told her seriously. “The two of us working together is the only chance we have at winning this battle. I can’t afford to lose this, but if I do, I want to know that I tried the best I could... no, the best we could…”

Then, Latias looked forward back at our adversaries. It was going to take both of our greatest efforts to take down two of the nastiest Pokémon of all time, two of the strongest legendary Pokémon I’ve ever encountered.

“Who cares, let's get on with it, because boy, is this going to be fun,” Randy said with admiration, just pushing the battle onward. “Groudon, let’s show Juno how painful a Storm Chasm attack is!”

“With pleasure, my master.” Groudon spoke in a low growl.

I began to look frantically for a way out, but I saw none. Then, Latias frantically leapt off the ground, and flew toward me, effortlessly levitating in midair.

“Get on my back, or you’re finished!” Latias shouted to me.

I then quickly jumped off the ground, and landed on Latias’s back, and held on tight. We then flew off the ground and went up into the air. I felt the wind blazing across my face, coursing through my yellow fur and causing my long ears to be whipping in the wind. Groudon slammed his foot onto the ground, shaking the ground tremendously, but we were totally untouched with the two of us now airborne. We circled around Groudon until we were able to see his back.

“Go for his head,” I told Latias as we flew at an intense pace. “Hit the back of his head with a Draconic Laceration attack!”

And then, Latias flew at Groudon, and everything became a blur, everything inspired by what I dreamed of what a "Draconic Laceration" attack would look like. After I focused through the blur, everything around us began to move slowly again while we kept flying at normal speed, just like when I fought Haxorus. It seemed like Groudon couldn’t even move, and then Latias moved in for the strike. For a split second, I heard an ear-splitting shriek as Latias’s claws sunk into Groudon’s rocky armor, and tore into it effectively and mercilessly.

Groudon attempted to try and hit us by wildly swinging his arm. Latias dodged with finesse as he encircled around Groudon again. Really, instead of trying to attack where we were, he was going to need to attack where we were going to be. But like hell I'd ever tell him that.

“Lugia, get after those two!” Randy shouted furiously, “Destroy them both!!”

Then, Lugia spread his giant, silver wings, jumped off the ground and flew into the air, vigorously flapping his wings to stay afloat, blowing dust in all directions from the furious wind gusts. It didn’t take Lugia very long before he was on our tail, relentlessly chasing us as we circled around the stadium. Latias had looked behind her for a moment, and saw we had serious trouble right behind us. Our only advantage was Latias was smaller, more nimble, and not as easy to hit. But I was sure being bigger, stronger, and more endurable in Lugia's case wasn't such a bad deal.

“You’re going to have to get rid of Lugia,” Latias told me with anxiety. “You’re the only one who can. I can't even get my eyes on him with him chasing us down from behind.”

And then, we attempted to move at blitz speed again, only Lugia had been catching on and easily kept up the pace. I didn’t think he would be able to follow us at this tremendous speed. It felt like we were going to need a miracle to win this one…

Lugia was now attacking on his own free will. He had been blessed with Randy’s intensive Ultra Nova Blast, and he was already preparing to unleash another beam of destruction on us. After seeing what that thing did to Weavile, I seriously didn't want to share the same experience. Lugia had an extremely aggressive look in his narrow eyes, and he almost seemed to smile while the extreme onslaught he was about to let loose upon us was only growing more powerful and intense by the second. Then, I saw he was about to fire another devastating beam. And it was aimed right for us…

“Pull up!” I shouted to Latias frantically.

We ascended just in time, as a giant torrent of white, blazing energy blasted below us at a thunderous pace. A moment later, there was an intense explosion under us, sending dirt and debris scattering everywhere. I swore, the blast was deafening and I felt like my ears were ringing. Getting hit by that would probably be even worse than getting hit by a flaming train.

Again and again we circled around the stadium at a feverish pace. If I wanted to get Lugia off our tail, I was going to have to return fire, and now. But how was I going to do it when I needed to hold on?

I slowly turned around, carefully holding onto Latias’s wings tightly with my hands to avoid being flung off. After carefully getting repositioned, I was now facing Lugia straight in the face, and it wasn't exactly the most pleasant and welcoming sight I've had to lay eyes on. I knew that if we got struck by just one of those beams, that was going to be the end of everything real fast. Already, Lugia was fully charged with another shot. I hated to say it, but he was getting better and faster at doing this...

“Bear right!” I shouted to Latias.

She did just that, and just in time. Just only five feet away from us was a torrent of absolute carnage. We made it just in time, to the point where I could still feel the force of the attack rushing past us, but thankfully it was mostly harmless.

“You’re going to have to make these calls sooner!” Latias complained, still flying around the stadium furiously.

I then looked at Lugia, trying to think of an idea. The only way we were going to get Lugia off our back was if I kept attacking him. Otherwise, we could be flying around forever... or until Lugia got lucky. I gritted my teeth, held on tighter, and my cheeks began to flare up with intense electrical power. Then, I looked toward Lugia, and aimed for the area between the eyes. I then let loose a powerful Thunder Strike that forked its way violently toward Lugia, and struck him right on target. It stunned him for a moment, but he was able to get back on target very easily, now bearing a dark and angry smile that was just thirsting for revenge.

I prepared to strike again, this time aiming for Lugia’s abdomen, hoping it would hurt him more if I hit him there. At the same time, Lugia was preparing another Ultra Nova Blast. It was going to all come down to who hit first…

I let loose my attack, and the blazing thunder struck Lugia furiously. I thought he was going to go down for sure but he just fought off the pain yet again. And then, he fired his beam of destruction, and I didn’t even have half a second to warn Latias…

It blasted its way right under us, and for a sickening moment it felt like we were riding on top of it. I could feel the intense heat even stronger now. And then, Latias’s had started to lose control of her flying, and all I could think was that she just got hit by the beam. We had done a barrel roll almost three times, and I looked ahead to see we were about to crash right into the ground.

“Latias! Are you okay!?” I shouted frantically. “Pull up, or we’re going to crash!”

But there was no response. I tried to get her attention, but she didn’t say anything. All I could do was just watch the ground get closer and closer to us.

“LATIAS!!!” I screamed loudly…

I couldn’t believe this was how it was all going to end. It was going to be so quick and furious, even when we had been doing so well. We blazed faster and faster toward the ground, and I could tell the impact was going to be extremely painful for Latias, as well as myself when I was going to go flying right off of her.

But then, at that last critical second, Latias slowly began to arc upward, but I realized it might just be too late. Just as she regained control of her flight, we made contact with the ground, and I heard a loud scrape. Latias shut her topaz yellow eyes and winced with pain. At that moment, we started to head upward again. But I could tell Latias was hurt.

“Latias…” I said in dismay, hoping she wasn’t injured too badly. "I'm sorry..."

“I’m fine... I... think I can keep going...” She told me, trying to endure the pain. “But we’re going to have to keep moving if we want to win.”

Thank the heavens above Latias was alright. I saw my life flashing right before my eyes at that moment. I turned back to face Lugia, who hadn’t given up the fight at all. I was furious at that moment. Any ally of Randy was my worst enemy, and right now Lugia was my worst enemy, trying to take away all of our freedom and trying to keep us bound in this forsaken world. I was not going to let him do that to us, not after all we had done to try and get out of here…

Now was my chance for revenge. As we flew at a furious pace, I kept my eyes steadfast on my target, and Lugia had no chance for my forgiveness. It was time for him to be punished…

Lugia then began charging up one more Ultra Nova Blast, trying to make it as huge as possible to the point where trying to dodge it would be almost laughable. I waited patiently for the moment to arise. Then, as the white, glowing sphere of energy was large and filled with a tremendous amount of glowing, white power, I focused hard on my own energy, and my cheeks flared up with more electricity than ever before, and I could feel the intense power surge throughout me. Lugia was within moments of firing off a beam that was so giant that we had no chance to avoid it. It was now or never. I released the most powerful Storm Crusher attack I could, and aimed for the one spot that was going to change everything. I aimed right for the gathering energy in Lugia’s mouth. When the intense thunder and lightning clashed with the charging energy Lugia was storing for his attack, there was a massive explosion, starting from Lugia’s mouth.

The white explosion was so massive that Lugia’s entire body looked like it had exploded, and the wave of white energy slowly crept toward us as we tried to race away from it and just barely managed to outrun. Moments later, the explosion died down, and Lugia recklessly slammed right into the ground, violently tumbling over and over several times as white fire blazed all over his body. When Lugia stopped tumbling, we saw he lay unconscious, never suspecting his own intense power would be turned against him. He absolutely refused to move, regardless of how much Randy demanded for him to get back up.

"No! " Randy shouted, angry about Lugia's defeat. "Get up, you dumb birdbrain! Come on, what are you waiting for!?"

“Nice shot!” Latias congratulated me, flashing a satisfying smirk.

Despite his shouts and tantrums, Randy had no choice but to recall Lugia. In all honesty, I had never seen his face turn so red with angry and unending rage.

I turned around and then faced the same direction Latias’s was facing, preparing to finish this. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, a giant, spiked pillar made of chrome metal with razors on its end suddenly threw its way upward right into our faces, and forcefully slammed right into us. Latias was struck in the head extremely hard, and I was immediately thrown off of her, and then I crashed into a stadium support column head first, which hurt tremendously.

I shut my eyes from the pain as I fell backward, and all I could feel was a soft wind blow from underneath me as I kept falling and falling. Then, moments later, I slammed right into the ground hard, and I was pulsing with hot, burning, crippling pain all over my body. I rolled over a few times, and lay on my back. I opened up my eyes slowly, and gazed up at the stars in the black sky as hot, boiling pain continued to cripple my body. I couldn’t move it was so bad. Then, seconds later I heard Latias cry out in pain as she hit the ground and tumbled close by. I heard the tumbling get closer, and she stopped only a few feet away from me. I could hear her moan in pain, never suspecting to be hurt so badly...

When I slowly turned my head, I saw it was Groudon who was responsible for hitting us. In trying to take down Lugia and deal with his nearly apocalyptic Ultra Nova Blasts, I had totally forgotten about him. He had hit us with his massive tail, right at the point when he has used a similar attack to Iron Tail, only it felt like we crashed into something far more durable and stronger than even that. I was breathing hard, hoping I could get back up and try fighting again, only it seemed so distant. Jeff had just looked at the two of us fallen on the ground, and he just smiled.

“Juno and Latias are unable to battle!” Jeff shouted out with hideous glee. “The victory goes to Groudon, making Randy the winner!”

After I heard those sick words, there wasn’t any sting of pain that was going to stop me from getting back up and continuing this. Anger and adrenaline kicked in and I felt a second wind come over me, refusing to accept the consequences of losing. I slowly rolled over onto my chest, thrust my hands firmly into the ground, and pushed myself off the dusty floor, and stood right back up again. I told the pain and agony coursing through my nerves to shut up and sit down.

I was going to enter the fray once more…

 

[Avenger Angel]

Chapter 15
Restless​

I was hurting all over, the bitter sting of pain surrounded me, but it wasn’t strong enough to stop my determination. If I was going to lose here, then I was going to lose everything, and I just couldn’t accept that. While we were on the verge of losing, we were on the verge of winning as well. I had decided at the moment that I didn’t care anymore. I would rather bleed to death on this gray battlefield than find myself in Randy’s possession until the end of time.

“It appears…” Jeff said in a calm tone, “Juno hasn’t given up. He still thinks he can fight.”

“Really!?” Randy asked in gleeful amazement, “Heh, he mustn’t be too smart then. Groudon, let’s prove to this little wimp that he didn’t stand a chance in the first place. Oblivion Razor Claw, now Groudon!”

The audience was amazed I was still standing. However, I couldn’t bring myself to move. I could barely walk, and only moments later, Groudon came stomping forward, approached me, slashed me furiously across the chest, and in a split second I found myself thrown off the ground and flying into the air. I must have flown fifty feet before hitting the ground again, and rolling around and around until I hit the back wall. I felt weaker than ever before from the intense pain. This was insane. I felt like I was going to be reduced to ribbons and there wasn't a darn thing I could do about it. A Pikachu trying to fight a Groudon? It was almost a joke, but I had to keep telling myself there had to be something beyond this.

Meanwhile, the audience was rendered silent as they watched me get thrown across the stadium. It had all seemed hopeless now. I had turned to Latias, who was very far away from me. She had fainted, unable to help me now. I was alone, completely by myself. And right now, I didn’t see any hope for me to make it out of this alive. Then, even as I was lying on the floor, trying get back up, Randy decided to strike at me again. I told myself I had to move, or it might just be all over with.

But it was too late. Groudon had stood above me, bent down and grasped my body, and I screamed for him to let me go. But instead, I suddenly felt a great blast of wind rush past me as I was thrown again, flying out of Groudon’s grasp, and flying through the air before hitting the ground once again and rolling over and over again before stopping again. I didn’t want to die like this. Not like this…

And then, I must have let all the hate and anger I had out. Randy could never be forgiven for this. I pulled myself off the ground once again, refusing to lose to my worst enemy, yet again. I looked at Groudon like he was the devil himself.

“You haven’t had enough!?” Groudon growled humorously, “How much more pain do you want!? I can do this all day, if you'd like!”

“There is no attack Juno has that can stop Groudon.” Randy remarked firmly, “That hope ended when he lost Latias.”

And as much as I didn’t want to believe it, he was right. No electrical attack was ever going to hurt Groudon no matter how much effort and energy I put into it. I was so scared at that moment. The only thing I could do now was just stand here and lose. Perhaps Randy had grown far too strong to handle. Maybe there really was no way to truly defeat him. Couldn't believe it. All because of a stupid necklace.

But, I could have smacked myself for thinking like that. I had turned to Latias, and I realized she hadn’t given up after she hit the ground. She worked as hard as she could so we would still have a chance at winning. The two of us had worked so hard to get so far together. The last thing I wanted was for her to wake up and find out we lost, and it was all for nothing. All the hell that David, Alex, and all of my Pokémon had done for all of us was going to be for nothing.

All for nothing… Those sick words made me more furious than ever before. I wasn’t going to stand here hopelessly and wait for Randy to win a battle when he didn’t deserve the victory. I had rushed toward Groudon, trying to think of some, even small, possible way of stopping him. There had to be something. I had a strong feeling it wasn’t meant to end like this.

And then, the perfect solution had come to mind…

Groudon had attempted to stomp on me several times as I made my way around his feet, trying to grab onto his back. He kept turning around and around, but I was far too fast for him to keep up. I didn’t care what pain tried to drag me down, I wasn’t going to accept it. I leapt toward Groudon’s back, and latched on as hard as I could.

“Get him off of you!” Randy shouted furiously.

Groudon had attempted to hit me with his tail, but struggled to avoid it. I slowly and carefully used the black grooves on his back to make my way upward. As I drew closer to the top, Groudon had struck me successfully, and it made the pain even more agonizing. I had to go slower then, struggling and twitching to try and reach my target as I climbed higher and higher.

And finally, at last I had reached the point where Groudon could no longer hit me, or be able to reach for me. Then, I had come across the one way I could have a chance at winning this battle. I had found the area where Latias had struck Groudon in the back of the head, and the claw slashes had gone deep. I then approached the cuts in the back of Groudon’s head, and realized in one small area, his rock armor had been cut away to reveal the softer skin area behind it. I placed my hands on the soft skin, and then focused my energy.

My cheeks had once again flared up with incredible electric power, and I sent the harsh amount of electricity right into the exposed area where my hands were with an attack I decided to call "Heaven's Thunder." The powerful electric attack had bypassed Groudon’s armor and had begun to electrocute him within his own rocky skin. He had tried to shake me off, but I held on as tight as I could. I wanted my revenge for what he had done to us. I continuously poured in as much electrical power as I could into the open cut, not even once caring about Groudon’s pleas to make me stop. I poured in everything, all until there wasn't a single spark left in the electric sacs in my cheeks.

The onslaught had lasted almost two minutes, and by the time I had finally stopped, Groudon had begun to collapse. Just before he slammed face-first into the ground, I quickly jumped off, and landed back on my feet, utterly exhausted. Behind me, Groudon had fallen, no longer able to fight, and I had turned around to face my fallen enemy. Randy didn’t want to believe what had just happened. But while Groudon had fallen, I struggled to keep standing. I knew as long as he was down and I still stood, victory would be mine.

“Groudon, get up.” Randy shouted, “Get up! Get up you useless lug!!”

I stood there, silently, still trying to fight and endure all the bitter and crippling pain I had been though. I was, however, able to flash a tiny Pikachu smile.

“Randy…” Jeff told him, “There isn’t anything he can do anymore…”

“Jeff,” Randy told him, “Groudon will be getting up, I know it.”

But Jeff shook his head, not believing the totally unpredictable result either, but still acknowledging the fact that Groudon had been finished. There was nothing that could help him. All four of his Pokémon were down.

“I’m sorry Randy…” Jeff said calmly.

“No!” Randy shouted, “NO!! This is not supposed to happen to me! Never! This should not be happening!!”

And then, Randy let loose a hideous scream of agony and frustration. It seemed to get louder and louder, and then seemed so loud it was unreal. Then, everything when instantly black, and I heard a tremendous shattering sound, as if a million panes of glass had been broken. Everything was gone. The stadium, the gray battlegrounds, Randy's Pokémon... just like that.

When the awful sounds had ended, there was only the silence of darkness…

I had woken up to find I was no longer Juno the Pikachu, but as my own identity, Jake Kossak. I had my normal clothes on, as well as my belt with my Pokéballs, all five of them. I looked around me and saw I was on the gray asphalt of the school parking lot. I checked my watch and saw it was still 2:18, only a minute after we had met them on that last day of school before the incident. Alex and David had gotten up, and were right besides me.

“Man, what the hell happened?” Alex asked, “For a moment, I heard this hideous scream and then it felt like…”

“It’s over with.” I told them both, “I never want to go through anything like that ever again.”

I had seen Frank, Jeff, and Randy only a short distance away. When I looked at them, they only began to walk away even faster. They said nothing, and Alex and David didn’t want to pursue them, and neither did I.

"That was..." David muttered, still in shock. "Damn, that was no dream, was it?"

"It was..." Alex said, but never finished that sentence.

There was nothing left to do. After standing there for a few moments, trying to process everything that had happened, I knew it was time to leave it all behind and head home. After looking at each other, Alex and David had simply turned around, and began to head home, still overcome with a million different thoughts. Meanwhile, I stood there for a few seconds, just content to see the normal world again. The air had never smelled so good.

And then, tiny red glints from the asphalt had caught my eye, and I realized it was the Quista necklace, only now it was in pieces. As I continued to stare at it, it slowly crumbled even further, and turned into dust that was gone with the wind. I was glad that hideous torture device was finally out of my life. I then turned around, and headed home.

It had seemed like months had passed by, when only it had all happened in a minute of real time. The three of us had run into Randy, as well as Jeff and Frank on other school days, but we no longer said or did anything to them. We no longer played the same tricks we used to. And I never did tell Randy that it was really me who was actually Juno. I could have, but it would have gone too far. None of us have ever said anything to anyone. No one but us would ever know all that actually happened.

In essence, it felt like a part of me had completely changed from that day on, as if I took something out of that strange realm Randy had created. I wasn’t the same bully I used to be, and I never was one again. I felt far more comfort in what I found familiar, my family, my friends, and my Pokémon. There was a piece of me that had been changed, and I realized how precious it is to belong to something, and to be a part of it, and to contribute to it as much as you can. I began to see it in everything, as a family, a community, and a brotherhood.

I had arrived home, and my belonging to my family seemed to be more real than ever before. I had lost them for some time, but in the end I had gained them back, as well as something new and different that I had realized was there all this time…

My own room seemed like something that had been a part of me that had been taken away. I had approached the doorknob, grasped it firmly, and opened the door to reveal the one place where I could be myself and not feel ashamed. I had looked around, seeing my bed, dresser, and my desk, as well as all the other things that were a part of me, and I was glad I could be in my own world now.

But even after seeing all this, it still felt like I had been away for a long time…

 

[Avenger Angel]

PART II – THE TWISTED FIELDS

Chapter 16
Odd Reoccurrence​

Only a week had passed since the incident involving the Quista necklace, but it felt far longer than that. Surprisingly, I was able to focus more on school and less on screwing around, but the experience still lingered in my mind. My whole mentally changed around, and I was no longer the nasty, little creep I used to be. And Frank no longer stayed around Randy like he used to. He kept to himself, and we in turn kept our distance from him as well. But I could see in his eyes he wasn’t the same he used to be either. He ate less, talked less, and stayed away from people like they were a plague. I never bothered him anymore, but something else must have been bothering him. In truth, I resented how much of a jerk I had been, but I figured it was just a part of growing up.

Jeff was too much involved with sports now, always saying to Randy that he had to get to practice for one of the many sports he had signed up for. I had looked at him for the longest time, and all the while it looked like nothing had ever happened. And then again, maybe it was because he was the one least affected by the whole thing after all. The rest of us… we really weren’t the same anymore.

But I would never forget the awful mistake Randy made only a week ago, using a strange, magical necklace to create his own world. I didn’t believe anything of it at first, but all that quickly changed when I found reality torn to pieces in ways I could never imagine. Supposedly, Jeff’s father had found this necklace, once owned by some guy by the name of Quista. After Jeff gave it to Randy, he used its power to create his own world, just for one purpose…

Randy never used to be good at Pokémon battling, and the three of us, Alex, David, and I, used to brutally pick on him and shamefully beat Randy’s inexperienced Pokémon for sheer pleasure. Once Randy had created his own world, he gave himself the most powerful Pokémon he could think of, as well as giving them the power to use any attack, even ones purely created from his imagination. After Alex and David had lost to him, he made the two of him his servants, leaving me alone. The only way I could get the three of us out of Randy’s world was to prove to him that even in his dream world he couldn’t beat us. The only one who had helped me with this was Coldblood, who gave me the power to put me on the same level as Randy. It was then decided that I would go in disguise, so Randy couldn’t tell who I really was. Coldblood had decided I would disguise myself as a Pikachu, the one Pokémon that Randy had always wanted but had been unable to catch.

But in Randy’s world, this Pikachu already existed, created from Randy’s dreams and imagined to be arguably one of the most powerful Pikachus in existence. Randy would have called his Pikachu “Juno” if he had ever caught one, though in the real word, any caught Pikachu would never be as powerful as the one that Randy had imagined. But since Juno already existed in the realm of Randy’s dream world, when I took his place, I was stuck as Juno until Randy’s world was destroyed and the real world returned. But Randy never knew I was Juno when I fought him face to face in what had to be the most outrageous battle of my life. I didn’t tell him either, because I knew the consequences of him finding out would be awful.

After a brutal battle, I had won against Randy and it was all over with. I would never forget what I had done, putting even myself into such a harsh situation just to make sure the brutal nightmare would end for all time. But it was over with now, never to happen again. I would never battle Randy ever again after that. I still had thoughts of that brutal experience, and the last thing I needed to do was give myself a reminder of it. However, thoughts and dreams of Juno still lingered on even after that…

In fact, for a week I had completely avoided Pokémon battling altogether. For some reason I wasn’t ready to do it again. Still, I kept telling myself that I would get back into it soon enough. I definitely didn’t want to completely retire from it, but there was too much on my mind for the moment.

It wasn’t until I had gotten home one afternoon that things really went wild. For once, I hadn’t even been thinking of the incident only a week ago, I was just trying to get back on my feet and keep going on with life. For once I was able to grab the time to be by myself.

I had gotten home, grabbed my belt with my Pokéballs, and had headed out to the small, grassy backyard we had in the back of the house. Then, when I reached the white, stone patio, I had looked at my belt. While I had all five of my Pokémon, something confused me. I had originally had four while I was in Randy’s world, but while I was there, I had obtained another one, a Pokémon totally part of Randy’s dreams. I remembered it contained a Latias, a powerful Pokémon that greatly helped me when it came to beating Randy. But, I couldn’t help but think of a single, beckoning question…

How was I able to pull something from Randy’s dream world into the real one? It just didn’t make sense. It made me question just how much I really did pull out of that bizarre place. Regardless, I had grabbed my fifth Pokéball, and tossed it into the air, where it hit the patio stone and released the Pokémon inside, my Latias. A Pokémon created by dreams, now somehow materialized into reality. Something just felt eerie about all this.

She had emerged from the bright flash, and immediately looked around, checking out the backyard, the patio set, and the outdoor pool we had, not ever seeing it before. She then found me, standing only a few feet away, this time as a human and not as the Pikachu named Juno. She looked at me curiously for a moment with her shiny eyes.

“Where… are we?” She asked in question, looking around her and noticing the surrounding was quite different.

“This is my home, as well as yours.” I told her, hoping that in time she would get used to it. "And... this is how I really look. I'm not actually a Pikachu."

And I could have slapped my mouth at that moment. How on Earth was I still able to understand what she was saying…? No, that was far too strange. I knew she didn’t have a natural ability to talk. Normally, I should have been totally obvious to how to interpret Pokéspeech. There was something else that had to be going on…

But I kept myself quiet and just tried to go along with it. I simply showed Latias around, and then put her back into her Pokéball, and didn’t say another word. Oddly enough, I only made things worse. How was it even possible? Something was seriously wrong. Nothing of any of this was right…

I then, I thought of something. If I had pulled something from Randy’s world, Randy must have had to as well. I had decided I would talk to him tomorrow, yes, the very person that had once been my worst enemy. But something was telling me he wasn’t going to be anymore considering what had happened. I just had to know something.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted, and I didn’t know what it was from. I hadn’t been running around, everything had seemed normal. When I finally settled down to go to sleep, I tried to get my mind off the events of last week. They shouldn’t have been haunting me like this, but I couldn’t get my mind off of it. And to think, I should have been satisfied enough to just be in a real bed again, for once. After I got comfortable and just put it aside, I shut my eyes…

And suddenly I felt like I had been thrown on the floor, which felt like cold, hardened metal against my back. I couldn’t see anything for a harsh, chilling moment as everything was bathed in black, but then I was able to open my eyes.

All around me was metal, cold and dark. It had felt like I was in a normal hallway, only I could barely see anything. And then, in trying to get up, I quickly realized I was not myself anymore. I was Juno, as if I had been Juno this whole time and never once was a human being. I didn’t understand it, but I never thought anything was wrong in my dream trance than just accepted everything that happened.

Then, a bright, red light had emerged from the end of the hallway, and a silhouette of a dark, tall figure was slowly walking toward me, holding some sort of large, blunt weapon in his hands. I put my tiny hands behind me and slowly crept away on my back in a hopeless retreat, and begging that he wouldn’t notice me or I wasn’t worth his time to kill anyway.

Pipes mounted on the ceiling were blowing steam in front of him, and I had trouble trying to recognize who it was. Still, I frantically tried to crawl away, but I wasn’t getting very far. Then, I had stood up, and began running in the opposite direction, but I was met with a nasty surprise. I had been running in pitch black darkness until I slammed right into a wall. I frantically looked behind me only to see the figure move closer and closer.

He was going to kill me, and for reasons I didn’t know why. I had stayed in the darkness, thinking he wouldn’t see me, but it seemed like he already knew where I was, and he began to approach me, slowly just to keep my anxiety rushing for a longer amount of time. Then, he was standing right above me, and he took his weapon, raised it in the air, and it forcefully came toward me at a feverish pace.

I nearly woke up screaming. I kicked and had thrown off my bed covers, and looked at my hands to make sure I still wasn’t Juno. I had sighed in relief when I realized I was still normal, and more importantly, untouched despite the fear. I simply turned and I checked the clock by my bed and it was only four in the morning.

But I didn’t dare go back to sleep…

 

[Avenger Angel]

Chapter 17
The Meeting​

That next morning, I got dressed, ate breakfast, and walked to school all in complete silence. I barely said anything to the rest of my family, though it was pretty much that way all the time. Dad was just reading the paper, mom was cooking bacon and eggs, and my sister was just fiddling around with her cell phone. When the bus came around, I just went to school and wanted to keep quiet. I didn’t want anyone to assume anything by looking at my face either, so I tried to keep a calm and neutral expression. Thoughts were constantly stabbing at my mind, and the last thing I wanted to do was talk about it or say something that would only make it worse. I already knew that trying to act like nothing ever happened was going to be impossible. But the least I could do was to avoid making it look so obvious…

I barely paid attention in class, now unable to get my mind off of just trying to meet Randy when we were let out. After four long classes of complete bore while my head was swimming with thoughts and barely paying attention, I dashed out the back exit. I couldn’t wait another second to get it out.

“Man, aren’t you in a hurry…” I heard a familiar voice say right behind me.

I turned around and looked back into the stairway to see Alex, one of my best friends. He seemed a bit shocked at the mess I had become.

“You were dozing off in class this morning, Jake,” Alex told me, seeming a bit concerned. “Have you been thinking about something?”

“It’s about Randy,” I told Alex, knowing exactly what that would remind him of. “I think it’s about time we talk to him, and find out how exactly this all happened. Something about it still bothers me.”

He was silent. His only response was a simple and quiet nod, and then he followed me. The two of us headed out the door and found Randy in the one place where he always hung out after school: on a black, metal bench completely by himself. The two of us approached him, and he looked up at us with hesitation and anxiety in his eyes.

“Randy, we need to talk,” Alex said firmly to him. “We could really use some answers.”

Randy had already known what Alex was talking about, and he didn’t look like he wanted to fight about it. Everything had gotten awkwardly silent about all this. Only we knew about the "incident" that happened a week ago, but to us, it was a pretty big deal. He looked up a little bit disdainfully at Alex, and then just wanted to avoid eye contact.

“Look, let’s go some place where no one is going to see or hear us, okay?” Randy asked Alex, already knowing what this was about. “I don’t want this to go floating around. I... I already feel terrible about it.”

“Fine, Randy,” Alex agreed, still keeping it quiet. “How about we talk in one of those dugouts in that old, abandoned baseball field?”

Only about a half a mile away was an old baseball field that hadn’t been used in nearly a decade. After Randy had said yes, we simply walked our way over there, totally out of sight by anyone. Randy walked in a very downcast manner, seeming like he was very uncomfortable at the moment. I knew he didn’t want to talk about this but if I didn’t say anything about it, it would haunt me for months to come.

When we had arrived, we stepped inside one of the concrete dugouts and sat down on the old, wooden bench inside. Meanwhile, Alex sat down on the concrete stairs leading out into the dusty field.

"So... what is it that you wanted to know?" Randy asked, looking like he just wanted to get out of there.

“I want to know something, Randy,” Alex told him, not wasting another second. “You know what happened just last week. You gave us the nightmare of our lives. You had a power trip and we barely got out of there.”

“What… is it that you want to know?” Randy asked Alex, feeling very uncomfortable.

“Who is Juno?” Alex asked coldly. “How was a normal, everyday Pikachu able to beat you?”

I was silent, and felt incredibly sick at that moment. I already perfectly knew the answer to that one, but I didn’t want to say anything at all. Neither of them knew it was me, and I really wasn't sure jumping up and raising my hands was the best idea.

“I really don’t know,” Randy asked, trying to fight off the pressure. “I couldn’t understand his commands, and after he decided to enter the fight himself, he just never seemed to go down despite the serious beating I gave him. I hit him with everything I could, but nothing ever stopped him. I just don’t know how Juno was able to do it…”

“No, really, Randy,” Alex asked him, believing there was more than just that. “It was your world, shouldn't you know at least something about that Pikachu?”

Randy looked at Alex for an instant, and then started to look toward the ground by his feet.

“I always wanted a Pikachu,” Randy said sadly, totally avoiding any eye contact with either of us. “Juno is the name I would have given him if I ever caught one. And I’ll admit, I imagined him to be way more than a normal Pikachu would ever be. Juno was a side of me that was a burden that wouldn’t go away no matter how hard I tried. It wasn’t any surprise he decided to battle me and he was the one who won. It seemed like he was always doing that in some way. I was always losing against him. Could never catch him, could never trade for him, could never get him as a gift. It's... so overwhelming.”

Interesting. I never thought of it that way. I was just about to say something when…

“You’re about to see the truth…” I heard a cold voice say out of nowhere.

Randy and I had looked up in complete shock, and Alex frantically turned around to see who had snuck up on us. In a feral instinct of paranoia, I suddenly became very defensive. Before us stood a pale-skilled, brown haired man in black cloak, who seemingly just came out of nowhere. He was wearing sandals, and had a very stiff and aggressive look on his face, as if he was ready to fight at any second. He spoke very quickly and aggressively.

“Who the hell are you?” Alex asked in surprise.

“I want to know who the three of you are, first,” The pale-skinned man replied firmly. “Only now have I been able to track down the location of one of my most prized possessions, only to find it has been completely destroyed…”

He was obviously talking about the necklace. I don’t know how it ended up breaking, but there was something else I really wanted to know.

“You’re Quista, that powerful Kavaskian sorcerer?” I asked the man, not even wanting to guess of what he was capable of unleashing on us.

He started snickering. Instantly, at that moment, I felt like I had said something extremely stupid.

“So that’s who they think I am?” He asked mockingly. “My real name is Zander. I’m not Kavaskian either, or whatever that drivel is supposed to mean. Someone had stolen that necklace from me thousands of years ago, and I didn’t even get the chance to use it.”

Now we were beginning to freak out. Obviously this guy wasn't an ordinary human, or he would have been stone-cold dead a long time ago. I thought this guy was going to murder us after we smashed his necklace, but for some odd reason, I couldn’t even bring myself to fight him…

“But then…” Randy stuttered in total fear, “…how could you still be alive…?”

“I don’t care about that right now,” Zander replied with a cold stare, looking right back at Randy. “One of you used my necklace, and created your own world, born from your own imagination and reflected the feelings and desires within your soul. That necklace was meant for me. My long search for it has ended with it being hopelessly destroyed, and I want to know who’s responsible!”

This was far worse than getting sent to the principal’s office for getting into a fight. This guy looked ready to kill us, and no one would ever find us here for days if he did it. Still, we were silent. Something in me said to point to Randy, but I never ended up doing so. Yet, just a week ago with my nasty personality, I would have been fingering him like crazy. It was really strange how much I had changed on the inside…

“So who was it!?” Zander shouted angrily.

We were still silent. Then, he gave us a really sick stare, and I was quivering. I thought my life was over at that moment.

“I can make you all become sunken with fear,” Zander glared with fury. “You think I don’t know what happened!? One of you became frustrated enough to use it in the first place, another created an alter-ego for himself, and the third became a servant for the first. The first of you used my necklace to create your own world, for only one pathetic purpose.”

“Stop it, please…” Randy begged, finding out the hard way this guy already knew the truth about us.

“You couldn’t tolerate your companions’ endless defeats, so you created your own companions and made yourself a champion,” Zander growled at Randy. “Can you possibly fathom how much of a waste you made of that necklace!? You used it as a tool to make up for your own incompetence! How pathetic!”

Randy was shaking his head. He didn’t want to believe this was actually happening.

“I couldn’t stand losing all the time at Pokémon battling,” Randy complained. “I needed something to help me win for once.”

“But that isn’t all,” Zander growled, looking angrily upon Randy. “That necklace had the power to pull things out of your dream world into reality, and you wasted that opportunity! You gave it all up simply because even in your dream world, you were still defeated!”

So that's what happened to Randy's legendaries. Randy gave them all up simply because they didn’t win that last fight for him. Meanwhile, Jeff, Alex, David, and Frank didn’t look like they managed to pull anything out of Randy’s dream world either. Was I really the only one that actually did? I didn’t even know how I pulled it off.

“I was going to use that necklace to go to the place of my desires so I could summon them into reality, but instead it was wasted on you!” Zander shouted angrily out of frustration, “I could have had endless power, wealth, and empires, but instead it was wasted on you! Your purpose for using it was meaningless and you gained nothing form it! It took me nearly a lifetime to craft that necklace!”

I kept my mouth shut. Now I knew why he had come to us from out of nowhere. Randy used his necklace for a stupid reason, stupid compared to what really could have been done with it. Hell, Randy could have created an endless amount of whatever the hell he wanted and pull it back into reality if he figured out how to do it before the whole thing crumbled down. Yet now… it was way too late for anything like that. I could see what was making this guy so angry.

“You…” Zander spat harshly, now facing me. “You are a completely different story. You wanted to free yourself from this maggot’s world by defeating him. The only way to do it was to hide yourself.”

Now Randy was looking at me in curiosity. As I gritted my teeth from the realization of this all, I knew Randy was going to find out everything in a matter of moments. I really didn’t want it to turn out this way, but like hell I had any choice about it.

“You disguised yourself from this maggot by turning yourself into his own, living desire,” Zander said with a hint of cynical laughter in his tone. “So you became a Pikachu by the name of Juno, and you defeated this maggot with the help of a Latias that bonded with you. When his world had vanished, you awoke to find yourself as normal human being. But by becoming another living creature in his world, you took assimilated his essence with you, also taking along that Latias you found. The only reason why you’re not Juno any longer is because your purpose in this world is to serve it as Jake Kossak, but in the end, you're still soulbound to Juno. In the end, those were the only things pulled out of this wretch's imagination. A pathetic electric mouse and miniature dragon! Words cannot describe the obscene amount of blasphemy that is!”

“Jake, you were actually Juno!?” Randy asked me in complete shock.

“Randy…” I whispered to him, “…just shut up…”

Well, it was true, we definitely did waste the power of the necklace on things that really didn't compare to what it could have been used for. I didn't understand what it meant to be "soulbound" to Juno, but it didn't sound good. Did I... really have the soul of a Pikachu now? What was that supposed to mean?

In the end, that was really only just the beginning to a whole other undertaking...

 

[Avenger Angel]

Chapter 18
The Only Solution​

As if Randy’s first mistake hadn’t been bad enough, we were about to suffer a whole new kind of aftermath for it. I was really wondering what the hell I had done to deserve this. I didn’t even know what Zander was if he wasn’t truly human, and my guess was as good as anyone else’s. The only thing I was aware of was he was angry at us for destroying his priceless necklace. True, somehow, we could have found a way to dream stuff up and make it a reality... if we had figured out exactly how that worked while we were in there. Still, what was to stop Zander from just making another one? Besides, making our lives a complete misery wasn’t going to help him get it back anyway. But then, trying to pry some people from a chance of revenge was impossible.

“So what is it you want from us?” I asked Zander honestly, shrugging at seeing any real solution to us besides just dropping it and moving on. “It’s not like this is going to change anything. Why don’t you just make another necklace and be done with it?”

“It took me thousands of years to make that one!” Zander shouted in fury, despising how little I knew about these things. “I would force you to make a replacement, but you wouldn’t last long enough and you don’t even have a fraction of the power to do it. The only thing I can get from you is revenge.”

I thought Randy was going to be furious when I told him I was actually Juno. Instead, he had looked at me, and almost began to feel sick.

“I can’t believe…” Randy stuttered softly, “…you went through all that trouble to just beat me. You almost killed yourself out there… I’m really sorry, Jake. I… never meant for you… to go that far.”

He certainly wouldn’t have said that a week ago. It seemed like when we were in Randy’s world, all the suffering we encountered wouldn’t have been enough. Now, it seemed like he was truly beginning to regret it. Better late than never I suppose. At least we finally got over brutally hating each other…

“That doesn’t matter now,” Zander said in a serious tone. “You’ve taken something from me that I’ve spent my whole life making and looking for. And here, after all these years, I find the three of you are the reason why that necklace no longer exists. And for reasons even an imbecile wouldn't understand!”

“Hey, man,” Alex told Zander in a casual tone. “I wasn’t any part of this. I’ll tell you right now…”

“You were an accomplice!” Zander shouted, totally interrupting Alex. “You’re no better than the others. For this, all three of you will be punished. I know only of a few torments that would accurately represent the pain and frustration you have given to me.”

From my side, this all sounded like serious lunacy. He obviously sounded like he had no interest in actually killing us, acting like that was just an easy way out of it. I couldn’t imagine what this guy was thinking. Death seemed too easy and quick, and not doing anything just wasn't enough. So where was he going to try and meet midway?

“I don’t know what the hell you’re even talking about,” Alex said straight to Zander’s face. “Let’s face it, the necklace is gone, pal. It’s over with. Maybe you should have made it more durable, ever think of that, genius?”

Zander stood there looking very infuriated at Alex. He honestly didn’t fear this guy from what I could tell. I could see it in his eyes. he had stopped feeling so afraid, and knew there was little this guy could really do to us. This guy didn’t have his necklace anymore, so what did I care?

“You destroyed my only possession, utterly wasting it on mere, pathetic desires that you didn’t even bother of preserving by making them real,” Zander growled in fury. “You wasted it completely! Now, I’m going to make the three of you suffer for what you’ve done. You’ll see what happens to those who infuriate me!”

Then, he outstretched his arm, opened his hand, and showed us his bare palm. Almost immediately, a strange, gothic-looking symbol appeared on his hand, glowing with an eerie violet-colored light. Seconds later the whole sky went black and the whole baseball field became a sick, crimson red.

I felt nauseous and shaky as everything in front of me swirled like mixing paint. I wanted to get up and move, but all I could do was just sit there, paralyzed as we were just like puppets to this guy's incantations. Everything slowly became black, and I passed out…

* * *​

I had awoken, but had not opened my eyes. The air around me was cold, and I could feel a faint breeze coming from above. The floor felt frozen and stiff, and only then did I open my eyes and take a look around me. For a moment, I felt paranoid. I knew it wasn’t long ago that I had felt this same feeling.

I then realized it was completely impossible for me to still be back at the old baseball field. The room was completely made of metal, mostly rusted scrap. Everything seemed so giant to me until I realized why that was…

I looked down at my yellow paws and feet and realized had become Juno again, a sight and feeling far too familiar. Again, that word "soulbound" came back to me, and I was really beginning to wonder if this was a really bad move on my part when it came to how I was going to spend the rest of eternity.

Those moments of horror were slowly coming back to me now. The fighting, the suffering, the loneliness were felt all over again. My long, yellow and black tipped ears, my thunderbolt-shaped tail, my posture, and my tiny, yellow hands, all of it made me immediately question if I was to spend the rest of eternity like this. Soulbound. Man, what the heck did that really mean? But, I knew I couldn’t run away from it anymore. I took Juno and all his amazing powers out of Randy’s dream world, but little did I know this confirmation of acceptance and assimilation of his soul would drastically change my destiny forever. Now, Juno’s essence was locked inside my soul, and I had a feeling this was something that could never be undone now…

The room was a jail cell as I quickly realized the only window to the outside had bars around it, and the only exit was a circular, reinforced steel security vault door. There was no chance of ever getting past that thing. After looking around, I saw I was alone in this cold cell with no one but myself. No one but my persistent thoughts and fears…

My curiosity had taken a hold of me as I slowly climbed on top of the single, rickety metal bunk bed and made my way toward the window. When I slowly approached it, I had seen what was outside. It looked like Hell itself, like I had been condemned to this miserable place of damnation for all eternity to spend it as a Pikachu, of all things.

The sky was a horrid mixture of red and gray with passing black storm clouds that were constantly moving and mixing at unnatural, violent speeds. Thunder and lightning were occasionally lighting up dark patches of sky, and I could feel the rumbling from far away. Despite how long I looked at it, it never once stopped. Seeing that nightmare sky definitely cued me in that I had to be somewhere far, far away from home.

Meanwhile, on the ground it looked like fields upon fields of a wasteland of twisted, dying trees had covered the landscape. In some places, fissures had opened up, seeming to be endless pits waiting to swallow up anything unfortunate enough to fall in and then never release them ever again. But nothing was moving, except for the flashing thunder in the skies above, the swirling of dark clouds, and the swaying of dead trees from a lonesome wind that quickly came and quickly passed. I had to look away.

Randy’s world was a joyful play land compared to this place. I sure didn’t want to stay in this miserable prison, but something kept asking me if going outside was any better. From what I saw, it seemed I was probably better off inside within the safety of my own cell. Even if Randy, Alex and I had gotten out of here, there wasn’t any chance we could possibly travel on that type of landscape. It seemed the land itself had gone mad…

As I looked at my tiny, yellow hands again, and I tried to wonder why Zander thought it was better for me to be a Pikachu. Did he think the whole thing was amusing or something? Or was this actually something he didn’t have control over? But no matter what, that wasn’t going to change anything. There probably was no place for Jake Kossak in this world, whatever this place was. After all, my strongest belief was that this was a representation of Zander’s mind, though I couldn’t be sure. I couldn’t see why anyone would want to tear up their own world like this… unless it wasn’t really his own-created world after all. Why oh why did I feel like I’d rather be off in Randy’s world, despite how incredibly awful it was? I had only been here for a few minutes, and I already wanted to get out of here.

I already knew the cast iron bars blocking the window were too thick and too close together to bypass, but even if I could, I don’t think I wanted to be walking alone in that geographical nightmare. I was hoping the other side of this prison wouldn’t be as freaky as the other, but I wasn’t going to place my bets on that.

I had approached the vault door, and tried to see if there was any lock whatsoever, but instead, all I saw was the back of the circular vault door, no keyhole or anything. Still, I couldn’t pick a lock for the life of me anyway, especially with only my bare hands. Obviously, the only way to get out of here was if someone opened the door from the other side. I had no idea how long it was going to take before that happened, but waiting around for that to happen wasn’t going to help anyway.

After looking around, I truly saw no way out at all. I knew I wouldn’t get out of this nightmare if I just stayed here and waited to rot away. Someone was going to have to come and at least feed me something, or I would just die of starvation. Then I thought rationally. If Zander really wanted us to die, he would have killed us in that abandoned baseball field. He wouldn’t have waited for us to fall over, rot, and stink up his whole jail, or whatever this miserable place was. That wasn’t our purpose here, so there had to be something else involved.

The floor was made up of solid metal panels of an array of grays, browns, and silvers, all secured with extremely heavy bolts. They were nice and tight on the floor, and they weren’t going to come up without some sort of heavy construction tools, which of course I didn’t have. Plus the bolts were mostly rusted over, which meant they were pretty much stuck in there for good…

I had looked up at the ceiling, now seeing smaller square panels of a deep bluish metal, with smaller bolts on each corner that hadn’t been rusted over like the ones on the floor. I had looked up at all of them, and saw out of the corner of my eyes, there was a panel in the corner on the right side of the window, with one of its bolts missing on the right corner next to the wall.

If I were to remove that panel, it might just be a way out of here…

 

[Darkened_Kingdra]

Oh yes. I just found the old version of this on here and read it, and the many events that transpire after this are epicly epic epic. Good thing I popped in sI can see the improvements you've made.

 

[Avenger Angel]

Oh yes. I just found the old version of this on here and read it, and the many events that transpire after this are epicly epic epic. Good thing I popped in sI can see the improvements you've made.

Oh, it gets better. I haven't posted the full, completed version yet on this forum. The amount of twists and turns this story takes is bewildering.

Anyway, you might notice that there are a few differences between this one and all other previous, outdated versions. For instance, instead of ending up as a pair of Pichus, Randy and Alex become a Pachirisu and a Zorua respectively. Meanwhile, I've changed the name of Achilles the Vigoroth to Kamax. There are a bunch of others if you look carefully enough, but generally, the flow of the story remains the same.

I know that Juno might seem a bit Gary Sueish at the start with his special powers, but trust me, boy does he get his butt challenged quite a bit, especially later on. But, I'm not spoiling anything.

Still, thanks again for reading this. Hope you're getting a kick out of it.

 

[Darkened_Kingdra]

I am getting a kick out of it. Don't worry.
I'm even advertising for you n my sig! NOW ISNT THAT GREAT!
Are there going to be any other major changes besides above?
Wanna let you know that you should write other stories onhere. You're really good

 

[Avenger Angel]

I am getting a kick out of it. Don't worry.
I'm even advertising for you n my sig! NOW ISNT THAT GREAT!
Are there going to be any other major changes besides above?
Wanna let you know that you should write other stories onhere. You're really good

Awesome, free marketing! Thanks for that.

As for major changes, there might be more, still haven't decided yet. And about writing other stories, not sure. If any, they probably wouldn't be nearly as huge as this one is. But we'll see.

 

[Avenger Angel]

Chapter 19
The Midnight Struggle​

The only problem with removing that panel was it was fifteen feet in the air, and there was nothing for me to even get close to it. I had turned to the bunk bed unit, which would reach high enough for me to remove the panel, but how would I be able to move it? If I were still human, it wouldn’t have been a problem, since the metal bunk bed wasn’t exactly the sturdiest thing in the room. But as a little Pikachu, it might be next to impossible.

Suddenly, to my surprise, the vault door had clicked, and slowly swung open. By the time I had turned around, I had seen a red, clawed hand holding a pewter bowl just suddenly drop the bowl it was holding by the door, and then just like that, it was quickly shut again.

Just for curiosity, I had walked over to the bowl, and I could have gagged. It looked and smelled like hot, salty vomit. It was a musty brown and orange color, like somebody tossed their cookies in it, as well as took of dump of diarrhea all over what was there already. I didn’t care if it took me the rest of the week to move that bunk bed, there was no way in hell I was going to stay here.

I had grasped one of the metal poles supporting the upper deck and tried to pull as hard as I could. At first, I thought I was making absolutely no progress whatsoever, but I did notice that when I looked down, I made a little bit of progress and moved the bunk bed unit a few inches. After hours of struggling, I must have pulled it five feet away from the metal wall before falling on my hands from exhaustion. I then tried pushing to see if that would change anything. It was a bit better, and I went a few more feet, but it was still at least twenty feet away from the wall, and I needed rest. It felt like pushing a truck in neutral…

After a few hours of rest, I gave it another shot, only to go seven more feet before my hands and feet were aching. I couldn’t go on, and I needed to stop for a while or my hands were going to start bleeding. But for now, I needed to get rid of that vomit soup, before they began to assume I was going to try and starve myself…

So, I grabbed the bowl, held my breath after getting a small but appalling whiff of the nausea-inducing soup, walked with it across the room, and dumped the stuff out the window. It was disgustingly lumpy and it smelled even worse as I poured it out. I then promptly took the bowl, put it by the door to make them think I finished off the whole thing, and then headed for the lower bunk of the bed. I didn’t care for the fact there weren’t any pillows and only one sheet. I was too tired…

I woke up around midnight, still feeling a little disoriented. However, after I came back to my senses and remembered what I was trying to do, I quickly headed back to try and move the bunk bed. I pushed as hard as I could for as long as I could hold out, and soon enough, I finally made it to the other side of the wall. I then climbed my way up to the top bunk, which wasn’t any better than the first. I had made my way to the loose panel, and saw there were only three bolts I had to remove since one of them had already fallen out. I had put my hands on the first of the three, and turned it counter-clockwise. This one hadn’t been in too tight either, and after about twenty spins, it came out. The other two were a bit harder, but after I tried hard enough, all the bolts came out, and the panel fell from the ceiling and onto the top bunk, revealing a hole in the ceiling.

The hole that was left was only a foot by foot square. While I might have had an easier time pushing the bunk bed as a human, there was no way I could fit through that hole as one. But now, being a Pikachu made all the difference. I ducked, positioned myself under the hole, and looked up.

It appeared to be some sort of ventilation duct of some sort, which was surprising since I didn’t see any vent grates in my cell. How considerate of them…

I put my hands on the edge, and hoisted myself into the duct. It was very dimly lit, so I had to first get adjusted to the darkness, and use the dim light coming from the other vents to see. I slowly crawled my way through the vent, making sure to be as quiet as possible. As I made my way about twenty feet, I had come across a vent leading to another room. When I looked through the vent grill, it looked like a guard’s lounge. I took a quick glance around the room and noticed the only ones in the room were an Ampharos and a Skarmory just standing by the table, talking to each other.

The room was completely metal as well, only it looked much cleaner than my cell. The table didn’t look in that great of a shape however, having rust patches all over the surface. The metal seats were crudely made, and two vending machines in the corner were on and humming but duct tape was all over the plastic window of the snack machine.

“I can’t believe they’re going to do it again…” The Ampharos said with doubt to the Skarmory, looking exhausted for some odd reason.

“Doesn’t matter,” The Skarmory quickly replied. “You know what happened to The Bend and Cyphex. Those cities lie in ruins now. This used to be their city too, until we trashed it and took it over…”

I was deeply wondering who and what they were talking about. I kept away from the grate so they wouldn’t see me, and I listened in…

They kept talking for over an hour, and I sat there listening to every bit of it. It sounded like they were talking about a war, one between a league called the Silver Rebellion and the Crimson Stars. It turned out this was a jail run by the Crimson Stars. It made me wonder for a moment. Why would Zander want to wage a war in the realm of his mind? Or maybe I was assuming the wrong thing? Maybe this wasn’t his world at all… But if that was the case, then where was I really and why did he bring me here of all places?

“When do you think we will fight again?” The Skarmory asked, looking curiously at Ampharos.

“Maybe soon, since it won’t be long before it’s all over,” Ampharos told him with pure confidence. “The Silver Rebellion doesn’t have any real leaders left. The only ones that actually posed any kind of threat are all dead or in jail. Once we attack their capital of Symarix, it isn’t even going to matter any more. The rebels are fading.”

Who were these rebels, and what were they rebelling for? Regardless, I checked down the vent and this was as far as it would go. The only other choice was to head back the other way, or barge in on these two. I was just about to check down the other side of the vent when I noticed something. Among some of the junk on the table was a Pokéball. Normally, that wasn't very out of the ordinary until I realized that was the same Pokéball Black gave me while I was in Randy's world. From what I could see, all the stuff on the table belonged to the prisoners that were here.

"Latias..." I muttered to myself, realizing who they had kept on the table.

"So what's all this junk?" The Skarmory asked, glancing at each of the items on the table.

"Most of these are Silver Rebellion weapons we confiscated off of the prisoners..." The Ampharos said disdainfully, picking up what looked like a grenade. "This looks like one of those two Inferno Grenades I've heard about. As for this..." he continued, picking up a strange, metallic tube-like object, "...still trying to figure out. And this thing..." he said, picking up the Pokéball containing Latias, "...again, beats me. Never saw anything like this before in my life."

Interesting... Pokémon that didn't know what Pokéballs were. Regardless, I needed to get that Pokéball back. I wasn't sure where my four other Pokémon were... if they were even here at all. Still, I needed to hurry before they took all this stuff away. I moved right up to the grate, and kicked it as hard as I could. Perhaps a little too hard…

The grate popped out like it was only leaning against the vent hole’s rims. I didn’t care. I needed to get Latias away from these guys before they did something terrible to her. I had looked out the vent, and jumped out, landing on a metal shelf unit that was right below. The Ampharos and the Skarmory immediately looked up at me.

“Who the hell are you!?” The Ampharos exclaimed, looking up at me in shock

“That's mine,” I told them both in a firm voice, pointing to Latias's Pokéball. “I don’t take anyone stealing anything from me lightly.”

“Oh man,” The Skarmory snickered, not taking anything of it seriously. “You are so dead for picking a fight with me.”

Almost immediately, the Ampharos charged up his own electric attack, and just before he fired it at me, I jumped off the shelf unit, and landed firmly on the table. Just a second later, the shelf was blasted with electricity, sending dozens of metal cans flying in all directions.

I shielded myself from the barrage of metal cans, and seconds later they had all hit the floor, creating a loud, clanging noise. When it was all over with, Ampharos had turned to me, not looking very happy at all.

“Boy, you are one dead puppy,” Ampharos sneered. “Do you really think you can take us down?”

“Yep, simply for the fact your electrical power can’t hurt me and your Skarmory friend can’t even take flight in here, so it’s going to be your loss,” I told him, saying it right to his face.

“That’s what you think,” Skarmory said in a cold tone, spreading his silver blade wings, and leaping right at me with steadfast determination.

And I don’t know what happened right after that, but I instantly felt myself go flying backward right of the table, and I saw the table was sliced in two equal pieces. I had hit the wall, and soon slid down the wall and onto the floor. I looked down and saw my chest had been badly scratched. I could feel the burn of pain all over me.

The two halves of the metal table had laid flat on the floor, and the Skarmory had been right between them. I then realized what he had done. I never imagined a Steel Wing attack to be so strong…

“You are nothing,” The Skarmory told me, looking at me in the corner, “I’ve fought much tougher Pokémon from the Silver Rebellion than you.”

“I’m not part of the Silver Rebellion.” I told the Skarmory as I got up off the floor.

For a moment, they actually seemed shocked that I wasn’t. But nonetheless, it was the truth. I didn’t even know who the Silver Rebellion was…

“Really?” The Ampharos asked in surprise, “Then where the hell are you from?”

“Heh, don’t bother asking,” The Skarmory smiled to his companion. “I swear, these Rebellion idiots have gotten even worse at lying.”

I immediately charged up as much electricity as I could and directed it right toward Skarmory. He only had a split second to react as he saw the incoming thunder, but it wasn’t fast enough…

Skarmory had been struck hard, and he glowed like a light bulb from the blast. After about ten solid seconds of generous toasting, I released my power, and Skarmory stumbled over and fell to the floor, landing on his chest with his thin, metal wings spread out.

But, even as that happened, the Ampharos looked to his fallen companion, and knew Skarmory had the disadvantage and couldn’t help it. But taking down Ampharos wasn’t going to be as easy…

 

[Avenger Angel]

Chapter 20
The Hostile Conflict​

Everywhere, the room was a mess, with cans laying all over the floor, as well as the three metal chairs that had been knocked over and the two pieces of what as left of the metal table. I had looked over to the shelf unit and saw it was still smoking from Ampharos’s lightning blast.

“I don’t know who you are, but you’re asking for a lot of trouble.” Ampharos sneered, “This is a prison for the Silver Rebellion with one of the highest security levels out there. They're unimaginable. Do you really think you can get out of here alive?”

“If it’s composed of worthless thugs like you and this other chump, it shouldn’t be a problem.” I told him, looking right into his black eye.

Ampharos sure hadn’t taken that comment lightly. He had frowned upon that, showed his gritting teeth and was twitching with anger.

“I am going to tear you to pieces, you runt!” Ampharos shouted angrily. “You’ve had it!”

Ampharos charged at me in a berserker fury, and lunged toward me, and I jumped into the air to avoid his grasp, sailing right over his body and landed right behind him as he slid through the slick of coffee on the floor. Ampharos had realized he had missed me, and after he got up, and turned around, I jumped into the air, turned myself in the air and smacked him right in the face with my sharp, jagged tail. Ampharos was sent stumbling backward, trying to grab on to something before he fell on his back.

Ampharos quickly got back up again and gave me a nasty glare. He began to sway his tail back and forward, quickly gathering up a harsh amount of electricity. Then, he released it, and I was surprised when practically the whole room lit up with an intense electrical power. Everything in the room except for the two of us had been deep fried. Behind me, the two vending machines had exploded, and a barrage of soda cans had blasted right out and went rolling onto the floor. The floor was suddenly dripping wet with root beer, cola, and orange soda. A can that hadn’t been destroyed had rolled right next to me, and I thought of an idea.

“You just messed with the wrong people pal.” Ampharos growled, “I hope you enjoy pain.”

Ampharos came rushing toward me, and I quickly grabbed the nearby soda can and shook it as hard as I could. I then pointed the mouth of the can at Ampharos and pulled the tab, spraying him with a cloud of amber-colored root beer, blinding him for an instant. I tossed aside the half-filled can and struck Ampharos with the hardest punch I could muster, right between the eyes. Ampharos was sent flying backward, and then violently hit the back wall with his head. After he slid down, he landed flat on his face, and he didn’t get up again. After a sigh of relief, I was glad that mess was over with.

I had no idea where Alex and Randy were being held, and I still needed to find a way out of here. After checking around the room, I eventually located Latias's Pokéball. I quickly tied it around my waist with a piece of duct tape I swiped off the vending machine. As for all my other Pokémon... there was no sign of them anywhere. I searched throughout the room, but I found nothing. Still, I was rapidly running out of time. Any of the other guards could come any second, and I was sure sooner or later someone would notice I escaped from my cell.

After realizing the door handle was much higher than it used to be, I jumped up to grab the metal latch, pulled it down with my weight, and kicked against the wall to swing the door open. Once it fully opened, I then moved my way into the dimly lit hallway.

The hallways were completely metal, as if this was a submarine. Pipes and wires ran across the ceiling, while metal panels similar to the ones in the cells covered the floor. My first objective was to find Alex and Randy, and hopefully get our butts out of here. I headed to the right, knowing I would be heading back in the same direction that my cell was. I had made my way down, knowing if anyone were to come down this hallway, there was no way for me to hide, and I would have no choice but to fight. I had come across another rusty, metal door that had a pull latch for a handle. I jumped, grabbed the metal latch, and kicked back to open the door.

My assumption was correct. I had seen rows upon rows of heavy steel, circular vault doors. The room was much larger than the hallway, but I saw something that made me jump. A Primeape, Beartic, and Seviper had been on patrol, and when I opened the door, they spotted me. Both the Beartic and the Primeape were wearing light blue uniforms. While the Beartic was bulked up and burly, the face of the Primeape was scarred and ugly. Both of them looked and smelled like the word “bathing” was never a part of their vocabulary.

“Well, it looks like we have an escapee.” The Primeape laughed, looking at me, “I’ll show you what we do to anyone who thinks they can get away from us!”

“Let me handle him, Captain.” The Beartic snarled with a wicked smile, “Imagine these fists down his throat!

Great, I really didn’t need this. The Beartic looked me over as he took his sharp-clawed fists and punched them together, illustrating what would happen if I got between then. Meanwhile, he was covered with stark white fur and had razor-sharp icicles hanging from his chin. Looking up at the ferocious beast of a Pokémon, I couldn’t help but feel that hard lump in my throat.

I could tell this wasn’t going to be pretty…

The giant, white polar bear with his night-black claws and razor-sharp teeth had growled at me, even though I hadn’t even done anything to infuriate him yet. The Primeape had rubbed his fists together, thinking this was going to be an easy picking.

“Make it quick and just tear him apart.” The Primeape captain grinned in sadistic pleasure.

Oh no…

Beartic came stomping toward me, and outstretched his arm. I felt paralyzed with fear, and suddenly and swiftly, I thought I saw everything in front of me suddenly split in three as Beartic’s claws tore into my face, and I found myself flying backward, and smacking my head right against the metal door. Boy, did that hurt like hell.

“Heh, heh heh.” The Primeape snickered.

I quickly got back up, however. After getting hit with Skarmory’s Steel Wing and Beartic’s Slash, I was cut up pretty badly, but not enough to stop me. I had been through far worse than this. I had to keep reminding myself I had taken down a Lugia and a Groudon at one point... but then again, that was with a little extra help, after all.

I focused my attention, and began charging electricity. I then sent the massive wave of electricity right at Beartic, and struck him in the chest. The giant polar bear Pokémon staggered back, grasping his torso and moaning in pain as forks of electricity coursed around him. Oddly enough, it seemed to hurt him more than the average Thunderbolt. Again, I wondered... was it because I was Juno and not just an ordinary Pikachu? I seriously had to keep practicing at this.

Then, I had crouched down and lowered my head. This Beartic wasn’t going to move now that he was paralyzed. After he had shook off the pain and began to approach me, I blasted right off the ground and everything around me became a white blaze. I slammed right into Beartic’s chest once again, sending him flying backwards. After he had hit the metal floor and landed on his back, he appeared too weak to get back up.

“Ugh, how humiliating,” The Primeape spat at his fallen comrade before looking at me. "How does a guy like him get so pummeled over by a Pikachu of all things?"

Maybe not just an ordinary Pikachu. I was Juno, after all. A Pikachu born from a kid's dreams and imagination. I figured maybe the signs weren't so obvious on the outside.

He gave me a glare, and then he looked over to the Seviper waiting impatiently besides him. When the Primeape Captain gave a nod, the Seviper grinned wickedly, licking his lips.

“Yessss…” The Seviper hissed with sadistic glee. “I ssshall make ssshort work of him…”

The black snake with a yellow diamond pattern running along his body slithered his way across the floor, moving with an unpredictable advance. Seviper had one hell of a face, with long fangs and menacing eyes, along with a tail end that looked like a knife.

“You are finisssshed!” The Seviper hissed at me, just before blasting toward me like a bullet.

I couldn’t even see Seviper it was so fast. For a moment, it seemed like it just disappeared, and then a split second later, I felt an intense spark of pain suddenly slide down my back. Only then could I see Seviper, only it was too late. I felt so much pain coming from all directions. And then, I started feeling terribly sick and nauseous, and it only got worse every passing moment. I was too weak to continue fighting, and I could barely move.

“Get me the chains, I want the little maggot wrapped in them until he chokes.” The Primeape captain grunted.

“Yesss.” The Seviper began to obey.

I tried to focus, doing my best to ignore the pain that was beating all around my body. After managing to get back on my feet, I looked back at him, letting him know I wasn’t about to give up yet. I gave him a dark stare, and then Seviper looked back at me, ready to start fighting again. Yet, despite what had happened, again the Primeape had just snickered and was ready to start again.

“Forget that.” He said, shaking off his anger, “Put the maggot back on the ground!”

Seviper had lunged toward me like a bullet, and then I had remembered something. Even with Seviper dashing toward me with its mouth open as it readied its fangs, I concentrated and began to focus. I remembered I managed to pull off this feat back in Randy's world as Juno. It hadn't been that long, I figured I could give it another shot. With some concentration, I grew faster and faster as the rest of the world around me just suddenly slowed down.

Suddenly, Seviper’s speed had slowed to crawl, and then I dashed toward him, still rushing at my normal speed. Seviper moved around like it was crawling through tar, so it made it easy for me to get right on its back. I then charged my electricity, and sent the forking thunder and lightning right into the back of Seviper’s head, and kept it tearing through him, coursing through all his nerves until I figured he couldn’t stand having his brain continuously fried.

Then, everything had returned to normal speed, and I jumped off of the collapsing Seviper, and faced the Primeape, who just stood there in disbelief.

“What the...!?” The Primeape asked in shock, “How did a little Pikachu like you just suddenly move so fast!? That was no Quick Attack…”

No, it certainly wasn’t. Not even close. It was something far more powerful than that. Without a doubt, Randy definitely had given Juno an arsenal of some pretty powerful attributes and moves. I figured I might as well use everything he gave me.

He had ignored the fallen body of his comrade, suddenly beginning to reveal his true nature. Suddenly, as I saw he was without his friends, he began to panic, revealing he was more of a coward after all.

“No,” He said as he backed away, “Don’t do anything funny…”

I needed him out of my way if we were going to have any chance of getting out of here. I focused my energy, and my red cheeks flared up again with electricity. Just as he turned around to try and get away, I directed the wave of thunder right into his back, shocking him powerfully just before he collapsed and was out cold. He lay there, completely still and unable to fight back. Really, a normal Pikachu's Thunderbolt attack wouldn't have hurt a Primeape that badly, but Juno's... definitely seemed to be a heck of a lot more effective.

I had approached his fallen body, and found a cloth bag he had been carrying. Since I couldn’t pull it off with him lying on the floor, I opened the flap and looked inside.

Inside was a stockpile of healing items, antidotes, potions, and loads of other stuff. Right now, I had no choice but to use them, or otherwise I was going to collapse because of the harsh poison that Seviper injected into me. They seemed to be a little different from the medicines that I typically gave to my own Pokémon, but they were simple enough to figure out how to use them.

Ugh, I hated using antidotes on my Pokémon, just because the things look so darn painful. It was a hypodermic with scarlet liquid it, not the most comforting of things to see. All I could do was expose the needle, prick myself with it, and inject the scarlet liquid by pressing down on the plunger. Never once did I ever imagine I was going to have to one day use this on myself. Despite that, I had to hurry, or I wasn’t going to make it…

I removed the plastic covering on the needle, tossed it aside, and pricked myself with the sharp needle right in my side. Well, without a doubt, it sure was painful. Next, I put my tiny yellow hand on the release button on the top of the hypodermic, and pressed down. I didn’t want to watch as the scarlet liquid left the hypodermic’s container and entered into me.

But, amazingly, the sting from the poison was quickly flushed out and gone within only a few seconds. I pulled the hypo’s needle out from my side, and tossed it away. After quickly taking a glance at the empty hypodermic, I was not looking forward toward ever doing something like that again.

I had gone back to the bag and looked around for something to heal the cuts with. After digging around for it, I found a medical spray that looked easy and simple enough to use. Mostly similar to the potions back home, but with a differently shaped bottle and a clear liquid. I removed the cap that stopped the potion from accidentally releasing the spray within the bag. I then pointed the nozzle at myself and pressed down on the spray lever, showering myself with tiny, revitalizing droplets. I was amazed how this stuff worked, it healed cuts and bruises within seconds, though there was still some scarring and damage that would take a little longer to fully and naturally heal over time. When it was finished, I felt completely refreshed, almost as if nothing had happened, though there was still some aching. Still, I couldn’t always rely on these things. I was definitely going to have to be more careful about it.

Next, I found the Primeape’s belt along with the ring of keys he had been carrying. I unloosened his belt, slid the metal key ring along his belt and removed them.

Now I just needed to find Alex and Randy…

 

[Darkened_Kingdra]

You said Ursaring at one point instead of Beartic.
So no Pokéballs this time around? I kinda liked the old version of the Primape guard better.
Keep up the good work, bro!

 

[Avenger Angel]

You said Ursaring at one point instead of Beartic.
So no Pokéballs this time around? I kinda liked the old version of the Primape guard better.
Keep up the good work, bro!

Sigh, and here I thought I changed all the instances of Ursaring.

But yeah, I'm nixing the Pokéballs this time around. One, a major plothole that I kept getting asked was what happened to Jake's Pokémon, besides his Latias. I never did account for them in the previous versions, so really, the only solution I could come up with was they were lost and he never ended up finding them again.

But hey, thanks for reading and catching those pesky mistakes!