Disclaimer: This is a
disclaimer. Do you know what that means? Yes, it means I disclaim owning any of
this stuff, whether I wrote it or not. Now shoo, I don’t want to be reminded of
the fact that I don’t own my own story (even if I did blatantly nick the whole
universe it plays in).
But in all seriousness, this
story and all the places, names, and characters appearing in it, are entirely
fictional and ripped from various aspects of the Pokémon anime. All original
characters appearing in this story were created by me, and will not be used
without my permission. Taking things without permission is stealing. Stealing
is bad. Don’t do it.
Category: General
Rating: PG-13
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Fight For Freedom.
By: WeirdDutchGuy, email: swampthing1132[at]hotmail[dot]com
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Chapter Twelve: Chris versus Kane!
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He stared down his opponent,
not even seeming to take notice of the giant bipedal turtle taking form before
him. Or the two big-ass water cannons that were poking from
its shell. This wasn’t the first time he and his opponent clashed. They
had done so numerous times when he was still journeying, trying to become the
best, as all naïve children did at that age. The man standing at the other end
of the crater though had never tried to be the best. Yet for some reason the
two had always been somewhat evenly matched, depending on the situation. Some of
their fights had been ties, but most had never been finished. Not one fight had
had a definite winner. But this time, Chris told himself, things would be
different. This time Kane would lose, and the nightmares would end.
Kane, meanwhile, smirked as
he noticed Chris’s eyes drilling into his with a ferocity he hadn’t quite seen
before. Inwardly though, he was grumbling. It told him Chris was as determined
to win as he said he was, despite the threats to his friends and family. It
meant a hard fight, even with the huge type advantages he would have. Even so,
the time to end this petty feud was now. Too long had this kid been in his way,
a constant peril to his plans. Taking his eyes off his opponent for a moment,
Kane took in the battlefield. A desolate crater, devoid of vegetation, with
only little cover and a pleasant warmth underneath
their feet. The blasted thing was still active, Kane noted, and followed it by
noting he would have to make it quick. Keeping his cool or not, it wasn’t
exactly the most comforting idea to fight on top of an active volcano. If it
blew… but no, thinking that was silly.
Suddenly, after a fairly long
period of silence, both battlers sprung into action as if on cue. Kane tried to
take the initiative by ordering a Hydro Pump, but Chris countered the massive
jets of water by having his Arcanine use Agility and dodge
them, only to turn it into an offensive move moments later by yelling Extreme
Speed. The large fiery dog barked once before it practically vanished into thin
air, traveling faster than the human eye could follow and landing a quick but
powerful hit on the Blastoise’s head before it could
retract it.
“I see you haven’t lost your
touch,
“Arcanine, Flamethrower!”
Chris ordered as the large tank-like Blastoise fired
a powerful jet of fine bubbles from its cannons. The dog complied immediately
and let loose a giant flame, popping any bubbles it hit, but because of the
force of the attack it wasn’t able to push the attack back to the Blastoise. It was a stalemate, with both attacks
extinguishing each other. But it wouldn’t last very long, as Arcanine had to
breathe while Blastoise could just keep firing. Chris
realized this and raced for an answer. “Flamewheel!”
Arcanine stopped its attack and growled ferociously, setting itself alight
before dashing directly at the incoming Bubblebeam.
The sheer intensity of the fire around it evaporated the beam before it could
even get close, though the rush of air that came with it meant slower progress.
Still, Arcanine managed to pick up speed and leapt at the turtle’s slightly
softer belly plating.
“Big mistake
“No…” Chris gasped before
pulling himself back together. “Flamewheel again,
full intensity. Burn him off!” Arcanine complied again, its whimper turning
into a growl once more as flames engulfed it. This time it was Blastoise’s turn to be in pain as its face contorted in
agony while its belly got cooked. Despite Kane’s command to stay on, the large
turtle eventually caved and jumped off, rubbing its burned abdomen.
“Blast it.” Kane growled as
Arcanine picked itself up from the ground.
************
“Quick, this way!” John waved his
men in the right direction as they withdrew to their old positions. As the last
of them - Ash, Ritchie and Frank as it happened - passed, he turned to follow.
But something had them stop in their tracks. Lying on the ground in front of
them were two very familiar persons. Butch and Cassidy, and from the looks of
it neither was in a very good shape. Both had multiple gunshot wounds in their
backs, and they were only just breathing, or more like rasping.
“Are they… dead?” Frank asked
carefully as Ritchie checked them out.
“No, they’re still alive, but
barely.” He replied, not taking his eyes off the two Team Rocket agents. “I
don’t think they’re going to make it.”
“Good, let’s not waste
anymore time on them then.” John said cheerily, but with a hint of strictness
that wasn’t there before.
“Wait…” Cassidy croaked
suddenly, her throat dry from lying there like that.
“Who did this?” Ash asked,
genuinely concerned. They might be Team Rocket agents, but they were still
human and in his eyes that meant they were worth life.
“It… it was Kane…” She
hacked. “We were o-on our way to the mountain… with a p-prisoner… His men shot
us… in the back…”
“Kane?” John suddenly
asked. Cassidy nodded weakly from the ground before continuing.
“He… he’s planning…
rebellion… Wants to o-overthrow the Boss…” She said while her face went paler
by the second. “Then he went up… the mountain. Said… he was
expecting… someone.”
John’s eyes widened at this
before he frowned deeply. His brother had said he wanted to get a clear view,
and the top of the volcano was the highest place around. It was like Kane could
read minds… Suddenly determination flashed across his face as he turned to the
mountain, ready to leave. “Come. We’re leaving.”
“Huh?” Ash said in confusion
before it changed to anger. “You mean you’re going to leave them here? They’ll
die!”
“They’re Team Rocket, they
deserve it.” John responded bluntly, waving the complaint away. Ash stared at
him dumbfounded.
“Hey, look at it this way!”
Ritchie tried desperately. “If you keep them alive now, they’ll be able to give
information later!” John stopped walking.
“Yeah, like in that saying.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Frank added. John turned and glared at
them, which took them by surprise. None of them had ever seen him act like
this.
“Those two will never be my
friends. Team Rocket made my real friends disappear and these two here are
responsible for most of it. You win, we keep them alive, but if they can’t get
us any useful information… Let’s just say they would’ve been better off here.”
He responded coldly. Franky gulped under the stare.
This was a side of John he’d never seen before. “Frank, you’ll take them to
Just as they all started
moving, Cassidy’s hand grabbed Ash’s leg as he went past. Ash looked down into
the frowning woman’s eyes and saw a fire burning in them as she spoke to him
through gritted teeth. “Hey… g-get him for me… twerp!”
Ash nodded, and Cassidy smiled softly before she slumped back down on the
floor. Ash could’ve sworn he saw the lights go out right before she closed her
eyes… but he kept moving, ignoring the lump in his throat. John sped forward,
intent on saving his brother. ‘Though, knowing Chris…’ he thought. ‘He
probably won’t need saving…’
************
Chris growled as Electabuzz
hit the dirt and stayed down. Kane’s Dugtrio seemed to take it lightly. This
was the third Pokémon in a row Chris had lost, meaning he was halfway to
defeat. His hand nearly grabbed Golducks’s Pokéball before he realized Golduck
was already out from its battle with Kane’s Raichu.
It was funny; the Raichu had seemed incredibly
familiar somehow. Now that he thought of it; so did the Blastoise.
Was Kane using stolen Pokémon? And if so, why did they obey him? However,
instead of lingering on that Chris forced himself to focus on the battle.
Arcanine, Golduck and now Electabuzz were down. That
left him with Steelix, Venomoth,
and Gengar. His hand closed around Steelix’
ball.
Kane snorted as the steel
giant formed. “Poor tactical choice, mister
“Iron Defense!” Chris countered
immediately. Steelix stiffened its body and endured
the attack, as Chris had hoped, and then focused its vicious eyes on the tiny
mole in front of it. He decided to waste no time with his own attack. “Crunch!”
“Dig, dig!” Kane shouted as
the metal snake let its head drop swiftly towards Dugtrio. The little Pokémon
obeyed its master immediately and shot into the ground, causing Steelix to get nothing but a mouth full of dirt. But it was
what Chris had been hoping for, and Kane growled in realization.
“Earthquake Steelix, now.” Chris ordered calmly. Steelix roared as it slammed its tail into the ground,
causing a massive tremor. As everybody braced himself to just stay standing,
Dugtrio reappeared from its hole, screeching in pain before passing out. It was
the first KO in Chris’ favor, and Kane was not pleased with it.
“Luck!” He spat.
“Keep thinking that.” Chris
smirked smugly.
“Enough! Blastoise, time to finish this one
off!” Kane roared as he released Blastoise
from its Pokéball again. The burn on its belly was
still there, and Chris hoped it would be severe enough to handicap the large
tortoise. If not, Steelix didn’t stand much of a
chance. “Blastoise, Hydro Pump!”
“Dig! Steelix
Dig!” Chris shouted, but the massive blasts of water had almost reached Steelix before it could move. Chris watched in shock as the
massive Steel giant was lifted by the force of the water and shot past on his
left, only to be dropped a fair distance away, out cold. “Damn it!” He cursed
as he went over his options. What did he have left? Electabuzz, Golduck, Arcanine, and now Steelix…
they were all downed so easily. He growled as it dawned on him that he only had
two more chances; Gengar and… “Venomoth, come out!”
“Still not using Gengar, are
you?” Kane chuckled as he tried to find a reason for this choice. Gengar
would’ve no doubt made short work of Blastoise, but
yet Chris had chosen to use Venomoth. Though neither
choice would’ve meant a type advantage, Gengar’s
speed, combined with its insane attack power would’ve been the end for the
strong but sluggish Blastoise. But Venomoth held no advantages at all… “Very well, so be it. I
guess losing must be messing with your psyche. After all, it’s such a strange
sensation, isn’t it? Hahaha!”
“I don’t plan on losing.” Chris
said as he slid Venomoth’s Pokéball
back in his pocket. “Try to get under my skin all you want. All it is, is a waste of time! Venomoth, use Toxic!” The
large moth buzzed forward and showered Blastoise in a
poisonous substance. Kane stamped on the ground in annoyance.
“That was a cheap shot!”
“Cheap or not, you should
keep your head on the battle, not on smooth talk! Venomoth,
Psybeam!” Chris countered, taking even more advantage
of Kane’s distraction. Venomoth fired and scored a
direct hit, throwing the pained Blastoise on its
back.
“What are you doing?! Get back up on your feet!” Kane ordered, and Chris almost
felt sorry for the Rocket’s Pokémon. Amazingly, Blastoise
managed to turn itself around again after a few tries, despite its burn and
being badly poisoned. With a long grunt the powerful Pokémon rose back to its
feet and turned to glare at Kane. “You’re looking the wrong way! The enemy is
over there!” Blastoise didn’t budge. “Remember what
we discussed earlier. You would be wise to follow my orders. If not, I’m afraid
I cannot guarantee the safety of certain people…” With that, Blastoise finally turned around with a sad look on its
face. So, Chris thought, Kane really wasn’t fighting with his own Pokémon. Even worse, he was using Pokémon that
he stole from good people, and forced them to fight for him, and against anyone
who might be their potential rescuer. The idea alone was sickeningly evil, but
Kane didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.
“Venomoth,
use…” Chris trailed off. He knew now that he had to hurt otherwise friendly
Pokémon to stop this madman, but it felt wrong. Unless… this
could be used in his advantage. He knew Kane had leverage over these
Pokémon, but if he could somehow convince them to stand up to him, like what Blastoise had just tried… But Blastoise
would not try again. It had made its decision. ‘I don’t want to fight you. Not like this. This
isn’t fair. If we must battle, then it will be after you’ve been reunited with
your own Trainer.’ Chris said in his mind. ‘But I’m out of options…’ He was about to
order his attack, when Blastoise suddenly fell
forward. The poison and the burns had done their job. But Chris wasn’t cheering
this time. “Bring out your next, Rocket. So we can end this.”
“Heheh,
oh we’ll end this alright.” Kane was smirking again. “I’m sure you must’ve
realized by now what you’re up against. Even if you’re willing to fight them
with full strength, they’re still some of the most powerful and well-trained
Pokémon around. After all, Gym leaders and would-be Champions tend to be
tough…”
“You… Even for you, this is
cruel.” Chris glared at the Rocket as he tried to calm himself. “I will not let
you get away with this.”
“But mister
************
“I don’t have time for you!”
John yelled in frustration at the Rockets above him, knowing it probably
wouldn’t make them disappear.
“Make time! You’re not going
any higher up this mountain, pal!” One of the Rockets shouted back. “Wouldn’t want you to disturb the boss! I mean, it’s not
every day that he gets the chance to deal with him!” They were just stalling. John knew they were. Else
they would’ve attacked long ago, but instead they kept in hiding behind the
rocks above. Just running up there would be suicide, but going around them was
not an option either. Normally Chris wasn’t one to worry about, but if there
was a man out there that could break him, it would have to be Kane. ‘And every minute we waste here
helps him do it!’
“John,” Ash whispered,
careful not to let the Rockets hear. “can’t Alakazam teleport?” John looked back for a moment with a
stunned look.
“Ash… You’re a genius.” John
grinned as he slapped Ash’ shoulder. “Hey Al, get over here for a sec!” Alakazam trotted over and listened. “Think you can Teleport
us to the top of the mountain?” The Pokémon closed its eyes for a moment as it
gave the plan some thought, then shook its head. “Too dangerous, eh?” Alakazam
nodded after consulting its mental image of the area. Being psychic was a
strong advantage to have, and the Pokémon probably had quite a bit of the
island mapped, including the presence of friend and foe. John trusted its
judgment. “How about right behind that lot over there?”
He asked, pointing at the still taunting Rockets. Alakazam
thought again and nodded.
“Alright guys, get ready.
We’re going to be right behind them and catch them by surprise… hopefully. Use
it!” John’s quick summary had Ash and Ritchie exchanging worried looks, but it
was too late now… Alakazam had started glowing.
************
To Be Continued…
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AN: Alright. So not as active as I’d like to be. I still want to finish
this thing though, so bear with me.
Kudos to whoever
can figure out which Pokémon Kane has used so far belongs to whom. Keep in mind that
Dugtrio is his own! That leaves a Blastoise,
a Raichu and a Slowbro,
plus two more blank slots. The next chapter will finally see some more Gengar
action, for those who liked the earlier battles. I’ve had some more practice
now in writing battle scenes, so I’ll make sure some sparks fly!
WeirdDutchGuy