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Pokemon, Asylum of the Damned

Chapter XI

Saga III-Infernobadge Saga

Chapter IV- The Chapter with no Name Returns!

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It had been a few months since Tom caught Hitmonlee at the cost of breaking 
his left hand. Tom had tried to bring Hitmonlee out of his Pokeball once and 
awhile, but whenever Tom let him out, Hitmonlee would go back on his rampage 
before being swiftly caught again by Tom. Once he even tried to break Tom's 
other hand. Tom remembered zapping Hitmonlee in his Pokeball once saying, 
"Fine then! You're not coming out until you learn to behave!" Tom had never 
opened Hitmonlee's Pokeball for the whole two months since.

Tom was beginning to think that life was treating him well. Tom had spent 
one thousand dollars of the reward money paying off all his debts, and spent 
the next two thousand in New Cinninbar's fanciest resort, ThePokeMasters, 
and spent fifty dollars on a new system adjustment for Porygon. Machop, 
Pinsir, Kangaskhan, Doduo and Cyndaquil were in the downstairs spa, no doubt 
exercising, training, and getting massaged countless times a day. To Tom, 
life now was perfect. However, there was one tiny detail that stuck to the 
back of Tom's mind. Tom felt like, amongst all this luxury, something was 
missing.

Tom heard a familiar voice once he stepped outside the resort call to him, 
"Hey, Tom!" Tom shivered. Life sucked again, Tom thought as he turned around 
to see Jen running to him. When Tom looked at her face, Tom thought that he 
saw something different about her.

It wasn't until Jen ran up to Tom and grabbed him by his jacket sleeve that 
Tom saw something he never thought he'd see from Jen. She was crying, with a 
look of utter desperation in her eyes. Jen tried to speak, but her stress 
conflicted with her tongue, leaving her lower lip trembling and lost for 
words. Tom put his hands on her shoulders and held her at an arm's length. 
"Jen, just calm down," Tom said in efforts to subside Jen's panic, "What is 
it?"

Jen took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Her reddened face burned the 
tears that were streaming down her face. "Tom," Jen said between breaths, 
trying to control her panic, "have you... seen a... Kabuto... fossil...?" 
Jen panted, short for breath.

Tom racked his brain for awhile. After retrieving no answers, he said, 
"No..." Jen broke down again. "Jen, what's with this Kabuto fossil anyway?" 
Tom asked, trying to calm her down.

Jen controlled her bawling. "My Grandmother... she died a few months ago, 
and left her Kabuto fossil to me in her will," she said.

"And...?"

"When I finally got here," she panted, "The law office had been robbed... 
and the... the fossil..."

Jen sobbed on Tom's shoulder, again. If not for Tom's jacket, Jen would have 
cried an ocean on his shoulder. "Poor Jen," Tom thought, showing pity for 
his archrival. Tom put his hands back on Jen's shoulders, and put her at a 
distance. "I'll keep an eye out for it, okay?" Tom said. Jen sniffled, and 
wiped a tear that was trickling down her cheek off her face.

"Thank you, Tom," she sniffled. With that, Jen walked by Tom, wrapping her 
jacket across her. Even though Tom hated her, something deep within him felt 
sorry for her.

*******

Tom had just checked out of the resort for a few hours for a walk. Staying 
in a fancy resort all day since he captured Hitmonlee was not what he 
considered fun. Tom was just walking past an alley down a deserted, lifeless 
street between when a large, shadow of a man bumped into him. Before Tom 
could speak, the man shoved something into his chest. "You didn't see 
nuthin'," the stranger grumbled, as he dashed off in to the street and out 
of sight.

Tom looked down at the lump of substance that the stranger had given him. It 
was wrapped in a kind of pale tan cloth, and whatever was inside was hard 
and heavy. When Tom unwrapped it, he saw the shell of what was once a 
Kabuto. Tom wasted no time in dashing off to find Jen.

*******

Tom didn't find Jen until two hours later on a lonely street corner. "Jen!" 
Tom called out. Jen turned around to see Tom casually walking up to her with 
the shell underneath his arm. When Jen saw what Tom was carrying under his 
arm, she could hardly contain her joy. Tom caught up to Jen and held out the 
fossil to her. "Was this it?" Tom asked rhetorically with a grin. Jen let 
out a gasp of relief as she quickly took the fossil from Tom, swung her 
backpack off her back and unzipped it quickly, slipping the fossil inside. 
"Found it," said Tom. Jen didn't say anything. Instead, when she zipped up 
her backpack and put it back around her shoulders she threw her arms around 
Tom.

"Thanks," Jen said.

"No problem, Jen," Tom said, placing his hands behind his back. Then, Jen 
stepped back from Tom. Their eyes connected for only a few seconds, but to 
them it seemed like hours.

Then, Jen put her hands into her jacket pocket. She closed her eyes and 
smiled. "Maybe you aren't such an asshole after all."

Tom grinned. "Maybe you aren't such a jerk, too," Tom said.

After a few more silent minutes, Tom asked, "Hey, Jen, how about we put this 
little rivalry aside, okay?"

Jen smiled and nodded once. The two exchanged goodbyes, and then went their 
separate ways once again. Tom went back to The PokeMasters, to pick up his 
Pokemon, and get the Infernobadge.

-End

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