The alarm sounds on the radio-clock, playing the wake up music. But no one is in the room to hear it. Jack has been up long before the usual 8:00 alarm. Up since 7:00 actually. He's had too much to think about. This whole war idea changes his whole life and daily routine. One day left of normalness. One day left to prepare.
The living arrangements were awkward. Not everyone wanted to stay in Jack's house. Everyone had their own area they wanted to sleep in. Already, this team has separated from each other and they haven't even started the war yet. The three elites and the nephew were at the Pokemon Center; the nurse and Mallard were at a hospital in another city. Al obviously stayed at his own house with his dad, Barry. Scottie stayed at Jack's house because he felt the Pokemon Center would be overcrowded. Jack didn't mind the fact that none of his team mates wanted to stay at his house. He was annoyed, however, that Scottie stayed with him out of pity. Maybe it was because Jack didn't really want to join and there is nothing really �elite' about him. Whatever the case, Jack needs to prepare.
A door opens by Scottie as he enters Jack's room, "Wake up." He realizes only the radio is present in his blue room, with posters of his favorite movies all around. "Oh, not here." Scottie wanders back down stairs. He searches the kitchen for breakfast materials and scrounges up some pancakes with chocolate chips in them. And while eating breakfast, the phone rings...
Swaying, back and forth, the wind flows through, calming all the nerves. Jack opens his eyes from his concentration and lays upward. Six of his Pokemon all lay around him, resting. It's a technique Jack stole from either Tai Chi or Yoga. They all lay on the ground, feeling the wind and listening to nature with their eyes closed. It's meant to release their pressure and become one with themself. But now the session is over. Jack has been out here since seven in the morning, training his great team of six, and listening to each of them.
In the calmest voice, Jack speaks to them. "Ok, session over. Come on out." One by one, his six Pokemon open their eyes and get up. Who are his six Pokemon? They are as follows:
Ninetales, Dragonair, Muk, Gyarados, Haunter, and Stantler.
He loves his team. They are the best. Not that he doesn't care for all his Pokemon, these are some of the strongest of his, the one's he's trained and become friends with the most. And most importantly, they are his favorite Pokemon. Why bother being a Trainer if you don't use your favorites?
Through the trees north of Cherrygrove City, Jack wanders to his car and drives back home.
9:00
"Dude, you had like four calls for you this morning. Where were you?" Scott lays back on the couch, watching morning talk shows.
Jack throws his pack on the food table and sits down. "I was out with my Pokemon. We needed to relax before we get involved in something this large. This is the last day for all our regular lives you know."
"Yea." Scott returns to his subject and points to a piece of paper on the table. "Those are the notes I took for you on those phone calls."
Jack nods and looks at the paper in front of him.
1- Patricia called. Coming here at noon. Mallard fractured ankle; uses crutches one week
2- �Billiards and More' called. Asking about customer satisfaction on the billiard table.
3- Barry called. Wants to know what time to come over.
4- Mark called. Meeting at your house at 11.
Two hours. And the start of a long journey will begin. And what does he do in those two hours? Rest. A nice relaxing nap.
It's now a couple minutes past eleven. The meeting was sure to start but none of the members have showed up yet.
"What's taking them so long?" Scottie has to ask. "We need to start planning."
Jack turned the television on. "They'll be here."
11:30 rolls by.
Scottie gets worried. "What if they left us here? Or worse... they got captured already."
"If they take any longer, Patricia and Mallard will beat them here."
A knock at the back door is heard. "We're here." said the female voice. That could only be Patricia. Jack lets them in, watching Mallard crutch his way through his house to the couch.
"So Mallard, a sprained ankle?"
Mallard grumbles, "Yea. I wanted a cane instead of these crutches. A cane would make me more sophisticated looking. But I have to wait a week."
"Silly." Patricia sits next to the couch in her fashion. "Crutches will heal you faster." Always smiling. Nothing can seem to get her down.
When fifteen minutes go by, the group is finally all together. The group of six pile in the house, sitting in the television room and at the kitchen table. Why is Barry here? He's not officially on the team. Maybe Mark thinks he might be useful after all.
Mark stands in front of the television to get everyone's attention. "Ok, before starting, any more questions from anyone?"
Jack raises his hand. "I have a couple. What happened to the forth Elite?"
Mark started to speak but Kurt jumps in to answer in his aggressive tone. "He's a traitor. He joined another team saying he wanted to get away from us."
"Yep." Mark nods. "Shant was offered from another team to join and he did. A girl, none the less. He seems to want to follow them rather than doing his duty as an Elite. But we can win without him."
Jack understands. He remembers Shant. He was one of the top Elites he had a hard time to beat. But he managed to do it with time. "Second question. How did you find out about this secret war?"
Mark smiles, "Shant was offered a position, I over heard it and became interested. I talked to Kim and Mr. E about joining when I got the info from the girl persuading Shant. Thus, I came up with Team Elite. But Shant didn't want to deal with us any more. He threw it all away for one person."
"Even though he has like three girlfriends, what's one more to him?" Clark smirks out of his mouth and everyone laughs.
Mark regains control of the meeting; no one has anymore questions. "Now it's time to look at the pamphlet and the box left for us yesterday."
Jack was in possession of these items and he was going to open them up. Starting with the pamphlet, he starts to read page one.
"Welcome to the Team Wars. You have formed a Team to withstand the others and become champion. You will have to brave other Teams in order to fulfill this task. May your journey's around the four leagues (Kanto, Johto, Orange, Hoenn) be vast and adventurous.
Thanks to Kim and Mr. E, the two men in charge of this league."
That was it for page one. The rest was a picture of the two organizers. Next page.
"First things first. You have a box. Open it..." Scottie was next to the box, so he opens it with his switchblade he keeps with him. "In the box, there are ten electronic items. These are to be worn at all times. They keep track of where a person is anywhere in these leagues. Any person not wearing there's for a number of time, will become disqualified from the team."
Scottie has emptied the box now, all the small electronics on the floor. Mallard's eyes open up with awe as he likes what he sees. Ten quarter size devices.
"Marvelous!" Mallard has to say. "So small, yet they have great range over four leagues. These guys know what they are doing."
Mark speaks up, "Think you can analyze them and possibly duplicate for our own use?"
"I can try."
Jack continues reading.
"Any disqualified persons are reported to the leader. If that disqualified person wants to re-join, it's another $5000 payment. Replace any broken devices, as they will count as D-Q's. It is part of the game. These devices must be turned on at most one hour after the team is announced over the news. You must also contact Kim which team mate has which number device.
You start with ten, if you need more, it takes one day to deliver."
"The News Cast. News about the war will be shown once a day for fifteen minutes with no commercial interruptions starting at 6:30 on our secret channel 3000, TMWR. These news cast will not give away much detail, just general information on what is happening out there.
All new teams are announced: their team name and the leader. The later a team joins, the less knowledge they will know. Like how many teams joined before yours? This fifteen minutes will be the only information we give out. Anything else is up to the Teams to find. All major announcements will be done over the news."
"So someone has to watch the news everyday? I can do that." Mallard is house restricted so he would be the best to sit on a couch and take notes. That was settled quick.
Jack switches to the last page on the back of the pamphlet.
"Special Events. Teams will be tested periodically with special challenges from the war administrators. The purpose is to challenge the team to see how they function. The further along the war you get, the harder the challenge. Why should you take the challenges? They will help you in the war. Prizes may be information on other teams, or special items used on future challenges. It can also be money prizes.
These special events will happen at any time, which is why you must wear the devices so the administrators know where you are. The first event will happen on your first day in the war. Be prepared.
"Any uniforms or banners are up to your team. These are not required."
Thanks for joining and may your Team do well." Jack's regular voice says, "Then it's signed Kim and Mr. E at the bottom with a web address listed below."
Clark sighs, grabbing some food from the kitchen, "That was a waste of time."
But Mark has to disagree. None of them knew any of that. The pamphlet really helped them. Plus, they know this war is more than teams beating against each other, but they have challenges to go for. They have a lot more planning.
12:30
Mark asks one question at a time, each getting a discussion from the group.
"Where is our Base going to be?" All the Elites strongly say to have it at Indigo Plateau since that is the most elite place in these parts. No one else could think of a better place.
"What should we do first?" No two answers were the same. Clark wants to go home, Kurt wants to go out and beat people, Mallard wants to work on the device...etc. Again, this team is not unified at all. So this question was put to rest to answer later.
"We have six hours until the news. Anyone want to go anywhere before we all head to Indigo Plateau?" Of course everyone did. They wanted to go to their home, or lab for Mallard, and grab some things for the war. Jack and Al were already home, so they didn't need to go anywhere.
More question were asked, but they aren't that important. "Do we need a banner? Uniforms?" No one wants them. Too much of giving away the war plus they aren't organized enough to do that yet.
Then a return to, �What should we do first?'
Jack retorts, "You're the leader, shouldn't you be figuring out what to do?"
All Mark could do was smile, realizing Jack was right. "Ok, we are going to separate and meet at the Elite Suites at six o'clock for the news. Choppers will be on the way to pick people up for their destination."
And just like that, the meeting is over. A few go out and play Billiards; some continue talking about the war. Jack goes to his room and calls the �Billiards and More' company but is put on hold.
Mallard crutches around the house, to each person, asking them one question: "What is your PC Box number?" He wouldn't tell anyone why he needs it, just that it will be a surprise.
1:04
The helicopters arrive, three total. They are the type of helicopters that can fit six people in the back. They are the long and luxurious helicopters that the Elite Four use for long travel. It's a wondrous thing to ride in one of these. They might be a little late, but no one seems to mind.
Jack has all his things together in his backpack. Same old fashion grey hat; slick black sunglasses so dark no one can see his eyes; and grey colored clothes cover him, except for the dark blue shoes he wears. He is ready to go. Although he wishes he could stay- never really got much time to play on his Billiard table. But it will be here when he returns.
Copter one will carry Mark, Kurt, Mik, Clark and Al. They are headed to the Indigo Plateau because they don't have anywhere else to go. Helicopter 2 will carry Mallard and Patricia. Mallard wants to go to his small lab and grab some things while Patricia needs to pick up medical supplies and take care of Mallard. The last helicopter holds Jack and Scottie. Scottie wants to visit home one last time. Jack goes with him because they are going to pass by his house near Cerulean City. He doesn't want to stop by, just pass over and see it for inspiration.
The helicopters each go off in their different directions. One to Mahogany Town, the other to Indigo Plateau, and the last to Lavender Town. The sound of the helicopter receive views from the townspeople, having not seen one of these around here very often. Cherrygrove is a quiet city, and something this noisy to visit brings talk among the citizens about how the city is growing more popular. Not many are pleased with more population- which is why they live in this town in the first place.
The trees and the mountains below are a marvelous sight to behold. Scottie and Jack constantly point out Pokemon down below and even some flying in the air. Seeing all these Pokemon reminds Jack how many he had caught and wishes he could spend time with each and every one of them. But now he doesn't have that kind of time. Only his stronger Pokemon will get a taste of this war.
An hour of the trip floated by. They never even passed over Jack's house like he thought they would. Oh well, at least he will get to meet Scottie's family again. He had visited Lavender Town for only one day, where he happened to have caught a Cubone which is now a strong Marowak. Scotties family is interesting and very unique.
2:10
The helicopter lands a good bit from the small town. Earphones off, the blades slow down, Jack and Scottie march out and into town. There is something with small towns that Jack likes. Lavender Town has this eerie tone of being haunted but at the same time is located away from popular cities. It's smaller than Cherrygrove, almost too small. But Jack enjoyed this town very much.
"Welcome home Scottie." one person would say. Another would say something else along those lines. Scottie was famous in this town. His travels and stories kept the citizens in such shock about how much he has accomplished.
"You're back Scottie. I missed you so much." His mom says standing out in front of their two story house watering the garden. A simple dress and hair style- she is the ordinary one of the family. "Everyone, come out, Scottie is back. And he brought someone with him that looks familiar." One by one, people walk out the sliding door of the Japanese style three story house.
The father and two younger brothers stand next to the mother. The father wears some dark goggles on his head and a light blue uniform with a picture of a pipe on the front. He has been a plumber all his life and the only one in town. "Good to see you back, son." He smiles at the guest putting a wrench in his uniform pocket. "And who is this?"
"This is Jack. He stayed here once when I was away on a journey. He helped lift the curse on the Bezelman's family."
The father tips his head back in laughter. "Oh, haha, that curse. I remember. That was a while ago. Haha..." He regains control. "Welcome back then. My you've both grown so much since I last saw you." The two children lay restless and run back inside the dojo type house. "You may not remember, but those are my sons..."
Scottie interrupts, "Dad, we've had a long flight. Let's go inside."
His mom was already next to the sliding door. "Ok, come on in. Then walk to the back. We were just about to have a picnic lunch."
The afternoon lunch was nice of his family to have Jack partake in the eating. Grilled burgers over the barbeque and eating in the niceness of the outside- a perfect combination. Everyone enjoyed the meal except the two smaller brothers whom were more interested in playing around the yard than eating.
They all realized who Jack really was now, remembering when he came here once before. The two brothers were much smaller and always getting into trouble; but now they just play around the yard with their toys. Jack didn't feel right being here with Scottie's family. It reminds him too much of wanting to visit his parents.
One of the brothers walks up to Scottie during his �catching up' with his parents, "Look at the rock I found when we hiked to Rock Tunnel yesterday." It was a medium size red colored rock with some round holes in it.
"We think it might be from a volcano," adds the mother.
Scottie looks at it weirdly, as does Jack. "This isn't a rock. It's a sleeping Shuckle."
"No it's not." He refuses to believe it and drops the rock to show it's not a Pokemon. He then picks it back up. "See! No Pokemon."
Then a long tan colored head pops out of one of the holes and looks at the child. "Shuckle?"
The child stares for one second and throws his hands in the air, throwing Shuckle at the same time. "Ahhh!!!" He jumps back and falls down to the ground.
Shuckle lands across the yard- good throw. It's head pops out and looks around dazed at where it was. "Shuckle?"
The other brother jumps up in the air. "Oh, a Pokemon. Can we keep it Mommy?" He runs over to touch it but Shuckle hides in the rock shell.
"No way young man. Pokemon are too much to take care of at your age." The mother pulls her son back from the rock-like Pokemon.
But Jack has to contradict. "Not to tell you what is right from wrong, but a Shuckle isn't that hard to raise. It feeds from the ground and under rocks so food wouldn't be hard. Plus Shuckle are one of the kindest Pokemon around. I should know, I have one at a resort."
"Yeah Mom, and it would help get the bugs out of your garden," Scottie adds in.
The two brothers are now sitting around the �rock', having gotten away from their mothers grasp, waiting for the Shuckle to come out. "I think it's broken."
"No, just scared." The other brother pokes it with a small stick.
The mother nods, "They are so peaceful now, not running around the yard like animals. I guess this one Pokemon wouldn't hurt."
"And to think," the father points to Jack, "When you were here last time, they were both afraid of Pokemon. But they saw how you dealt with them and became fascinated." Jack smiles. "I don't know whether to appreciate what you've done, or despise you. Either way, I know you mean well."
Jack sits back in the chair he has been sitting in for the last hour of the picnic. "Thanks, I guess."
Two hours left before the two of them have to be at the hotel for the news conference. Jack is utterly bored sitting in the backyard in the same chair he had been in for the lunch. Once in a while he would smile at the two boys playing with Shuckle. It had come out from the shell realizing that there is no danger here and it couldn't be happier either. Two young children can bring out the best personalities in anybody or thing.
"Murkrow!"
Huh? What was that? comes to Jack's mind. He looks over the yard to see a Murkrow had landed near the children, looking straight at them with lean eyes.
One of the brothers throws his hands around the air, trying to shoo the bird away. "Go away. You're a dirty bird."
Murkrow flaps to the air but only a few feet above the ground and swoops down at the Shuckle. The claws go out, Shuckle retreats to the shell, and both Pokemon become airborne. Murkrow has caught Shuckle and flies to get out of here.
Jack jumps to his feet, feeling sore from sitting for so long. He has to stretch before doing anything. He regains sight of the bird heading south, shouting out, "Shuckle is gone. I must go get it."
Scottie runs out from the dojo house with parents in route. "What is..." then they see Shuckle being carried away. "Oh." Scottie watches Jack run in the same direction, to give chase of the bird. "Jack, you won't be able to follow it on foot." Scottie follows Jack, shouting at him to stop.
And the children start crying...
"Crobat." The bat soars to the sky and Jack runs down the empty street. It was getting dark in a hour and people like to be home before then in this town. Mysterious things happen at night, as Jack found out in his last visit here to the cemetery.
Crobat moves in chase to get the Murkrow far ahead of them. Crobat is much faster, by far, especially since Murkrow has some weight to carry but Murkrow had a great head start.
Jack shuffles across the dirt ground, switching from the cement sidewalks of the town to the outskirts. The forest lie in front of him now, Scottie still following from behind.
"Jack, please stop. It's getting darker out. Shuckle is lost."
But Jack remains his speed. I'm getting tired... but those children need Shuckle. They were so happy. Just like when I first got my Pokemon...
*FLASH*
"Well Jack, go ahead and open it."
A box is opened and a small animal, orange in color, rushes out to the boys' arms. "What is it Dad?"
"It's a Pokemon, a Vulpix to be more exact. Your mother and I though you deserved it for your sixth birthday after all your hard work in Pre-School."
"Vul.."
Little Jack looks at the little orange fox in his arms. "It's so soft." He smiles petting the little fox on the head. Vulpix smiles, nudging little Jack in the stomach. "Hehe... it likes me."
*FLASH*
No, I can't let this ruin those two brothers of Scottie's lives. They most likely aspire to be like him and a Shuckle would be a great start to help them.
They are all out in the forest, the orange light of the setting sun shines through the trees to give some idea of direction.
"Krow, Murk..." Crobat lands a check into the bird like hockey causing it to lose control of grip. Shuckle is let go and plummets into the forest. Murkrow turns around but Crobat lands on it, as they both spin holding each other in a hug and decline to the forest ground.
Jack rushes faster, using his strength to get to the landing spot. Crobat has nailed Murkrow to the floor, but Crobat was injured as well. "Return." Jack looks left and right and finally hears a faint call.
"Shuckle?"
Scottie catches up and stops to take a breath. "Jack... please... stop.... We need... to get back.... before the news..."
Jack ignores and moves further south to the faint sound. Hopping over one last bush, Shuckle appears. It was in the middle of a slow moving river, on top of a rock. The river itself is fairly wide and the rock happens to be closer to the other side. Shuckle hides in the shell with fear.
"I'm coming Shuckle. Just stay there and don't move." Jack stands at the edge of the river with Scottie joining him on his side. "I wish I had someone with vines to grab it."
"I do." Scottie sends out his Pokeball, releasing a Meganium. Chikorita was his starter Pokemon back in the day and now his fully raised, fully evolved Pokemon comes to his aid.
Alas, it was not to be this easy. "Tang...?" A Tangela on the opposite side jumps up and down, as if for joy or something.
Jack points to it, "Look, a Tangela I think. Can't really tell since it's darker on that side."
The Tangela reaches its vines out and grabs the Shuckle, and runs downstream.
"Hey. Come back here." Jack shakes his head looking at Scottie. "Where was your help?"
Scottie stares down at the ground, feeling sorry for not doing anything.
A new chase begins- follow the Tangela. But this chase is shorter as the end is already here. The chase stops when Jack sees the moving Pokemon run into an old building on the other side of the river. The water wheel on the side turns from the flowing water, creating electricity inside. The lights were on and as Jack gets closer, he can tell what it is. A watermill.
"That used to collect electricity for Lavender Town before the Power Plant was built near the Rock Tunnel area. It's abandoned now."
It couldn't be abandoned. Tangela ran straight inside it. "Let's go." Jack moves but...
...Scottie grabs Jack's arm. "Look, we only have an hour left and the helicopter ride will take that long. Just forget it."
Jack twists his arm from Scottie's grip, looking stern. "What's more important? Some stupid war or knowing the fact that your brothers will be happy? Leave without me if you want to." With that, Jack leaves Scottie there to think about it.
He crosses a rickety old wooden bridge that can barely withstand being touched. Arriving to the door, he knocks on it. The light shines through the weather beating wood cracks, flickering a little bit as no juice flowed to the bulbs. Jack tries looking inside but decides to open the door and walks in. "Hello? Anyone here? I'm looking for a Shuckle." The watermill was larger than it looked from the outside. Everything contains that wood characteristic to it except for the machines on the other side which contain the flow of the electricity that the water wheel produces from the moving river. The middle of the room holds a couple long wooden tables and chairs. Left of where Jack stands is a wooden staircase going up along the wall that leads to the second level which was practically a walkway around the mill, leaving the middle of the mill wide open with no ceiling. What disturbs him is the fact that the wood looks like it's about to break and collapse the mill. Notches and deep cracks affect the soiled wood.
"This place is unsafe." Stepping around, the floor creaks with each foot. "I feel like I'm going to fall through." But he has to continue. Tangela is in here somewhere with the Shuckle and he must get it back. He can't fail; he is an Elite!
The stairs are even worse than the floor boards. Weaker and louder creaking, Jack grips the side rails hard just in case. After the twenty or so steps, he makes it to the top. The second floor is a good place to be because he can see both levels and not have to move very much. Straight down below are the machines covered in dirt and tiny hints of moss surrounded by dying leaves and puddles of dried water spots. It is still a wonder how this place manages to stay lit with electricity.
He turns around to an area of much larger space on the second floor. There's a separate room across the open space with the door wide open. It is barely hanging on to the door frame, almost rotted away.
*CREAK*
Jack freezes to listen to the noise. It was a very loud sound, nearby. "Is someone in this room?" Continuing momentum, he steps into the doorway of the room. The wooden roof slants down the room, making the ceiling uneven and one side was taller than the other. He could see through the small patches of the roof at the darkening sky. But that wasn't the most interesting part. There, in the corner, Shuckle is stuffed between two thick wooden polls which go from the roof to the floor. Small pieces of rock lay next to the poles and a chair is leaned up against the back wall. Tangela sits directly next to it, forming the poll into position with its vines.
For a moment, Jack wants to go over and rip Shuckle away from the death squeeze. That must be a load bearing pole, holding this end of the roof up. Shuckle is holding it all together. If Shuckle isn't there, this roof might collapse.
"No Tangela, that isn't a rock," Jack begins to say, surprising Tangela into almost losing grip of the poll. The roof shifts a moment but regains stability. "Phew!" Now the problem has arisen, as if there weren't enough. How to get Shuckle?
Jack tries reasoning first. "Tangela, that is a Pokemon, not a rock. A Shuckle. Please, I need to get it home. Two children will be very sad when I return. I can find another rock."
Tangela looks at the human with no sympathy in its eyes. It was determined to remain with this hold.
"Ok, uh, now what...?"
A small tan head pops out of the �rock'. "Shuckle?"
Tangela shutters and jumps back from the shock of the �rock' talking to it. The vines retreat as Tangela backs away from the pole. It then stares at Jack, blocking it from coming closer.
*CREAK!!!*
Shuckle opens its legs out and twists around to get loose. The pole moves wildly around Shuckle's back, not being able to remain stable. Tangela turns around to witness the roof's downfall. Jack takes this opportunity to move in and grab and go. The pole slides down Shuckle's side, releasing it from captivity and Jack quickly swipes it and dashes out of the room, closing the poorly held together door behind him. Moments later, vines shatter the door and Tangela jumps out. Smoke piles out as the wood caves under itself and the roof collapses down in the room. The walls on the outside of the room crack under the heavy pressure but it seems to be holding itself. The roof above also cracks, exposing more open areas to the sky.
"Oh man. I am deeply sorry. I hope Tangela is ok."
"Shuckle?"
The wood continues to pile out the room and a form of vines stands up, shaking the dust off. Tangela! It was ok. But its eyes are beady and form straight at the trainer. Everything settles- Jack holds Shuckle looking at the ruined room and Tangela stares in complete anger at him. Jack walks backwards on the open area of the second floor with Tangela taking steps at the same time.
"Now come on Tangela, I didn't mean to." Like that is going to change a mad Pokemon's action. Jack turns quickly and kicks up his pace, running to the stairs to get out.
*SNAP* *CRACK*
"Aaaa..." The wood below Jack cracks from the extra pressure of running and the floor caves down. Dust piles up and wood is flown about. The falling causes Jack to throw his arms up, tossing Shuckle into the air. Jack lands hard, cracking the ruined floor boards below him. He covers his face and head and takes the hits of falling objects.
Tangela looks down the new hole of the second floor then hops over it going to the stairs.
"Oh man, that was a rush I don't want to go a second time." The dust keeps falling but Jack is already up from the fall. He feels his arm bruised but manageable. He picks up the Shuckle rock and walks for the door a short pace away.
"Shuckle?"
He stops. That sound didn't come from what he was holding. He takes a closer look, "This is a rock! Hey!" The rock is dropped to the floor, denting the board. "Where's Shuckle?"
"Shuckle?" Shuckle was running around the room, under and around the table legs, dodging vines from a chasing Tangela. It didn't want to be used like a rock again.
"Hey, get away from the Shuckle!" Jack yells out. Tangela stops the chase and faces Jack. It starts shaking blue particles into the air, flowing through it toward the human. Jack grabs for a Pokeball but there is no time.
Then a feeling of wind rushes through the cracks of the house, blowing the particles around the room. The door behind Jack breaks loose and falls down from the gusts. He looks to see a helicopter has landed nearby. It's the Elite helicopter.
Scottie stands near it, holding his ears from the loud noise, yelling to the watermill. "Jack, once we get Shuckle, we really need to go."
Yelling back, "No, stay there. It's too dangerous in here for any more weight. I've got control."
The wind calms down as the propellers of the helicopter slowly stop.
*SMACK*
Back to Shuckle, Jack watches it get smacked hard by a vine attack and knock it near the machines on the other side. Tangela takes a quick glace at Jack, only to see him holding a Pokeball out with seriousness written all across his face.
"I don't have time for this anymore. Enough games." Without throwing, the red beams sends out a Pokemon. Battling would be his last form of negotiation.
The tri-Magnemite forms, juices flowing. "Magneton" it says in the mechanical voice.
Tangela starts wiggling all its vines around, like a jiggling mass of worms struggling to get out of a box. It's almost, hypnotic to watch. And that's when Tangela strikes the distracted Magneton. Full body shake, the powder is let loose. This time, the helicopter won't be able to blow the particles away. Magneton is about to be enshrouded in the blue misty powder...
...but Jack's snaps out when he realizes what is going on. "Magneton, start spinning." Hearing the words brings Magneton back and to obey commands. Round and round, twisting the body of metal, the particles spin around not getting near Magneton and only fall to the ground with the other particles from the last attempt. "It's going to take much more than that to get powders to affect it."
"Mag!" Magneton stops spinning, and aims toward Tangela.
Pointing to Tangela, Jack counters back, "Thunderbolt!" Yellow sparks jolt from Magneton and with lightning speed hit Tangela dead on. Tangela cringes, holding the pain of the mild attack. The electricity shakes off the grass Pokemon; it's eyes get even more mad as it charges forward. Vines extended all the way, it swaps right, then left, Magneton dodging all the attacks.
Jack backs to the door, the remembering about Shuckle. He looks over at the machines to see it sitting there, exhausted from all this action. Slowly, Jack puts his back to the wall and side steps left toward the machines.
"Gaaa!!!" Another vine misses the floating magnet. Magneton floats to the backside of the recovering Tangela.
Still paying attention to the battle, Jack knows what to do. "Now, Tri Attack."
Magneton's end magnets glow white and form a triangle of attack. Tangela moves away and ducks under one of the tables, pushing it over on it's side. The triangle of white swirling energy flies at the table, shattering it in half. Through the damage, Tangela jumps over it and quickly grabs Magneton with two vines in a death grip. It then twirls around once and lets Magneton go flying across to the right side of the mill. *SHATTER* Magneton cracks a support pole holding the second level up. A rubble starts then the open area where Jack was at earlier comes crashing down to the first level. Not only that, but the room on the second floor, having already been severely weakened, collapses in on itself and the roof follows. The whole right side has falling in on itself. The door is now blocked by fallen boards and the walls are cracking from the new pressure being put on them.
"Magneton, are you ok?" Jack covers his eyes from the dust floating around the mill.
As the air clears, Tangela stands holding Magneton in it's grip again with the vines.
Jack stops along the wall to help the battle first. "This is going to hurt. Shock it."
Waves of electricity circulate around the vines and like a current zap the host body with might. Tangela cringes again, and manages to hold on to Magneton, not letting grip go one bit.
"All right, let's try Metal Sound."
The sound of metal moving and scraping against other metal pieces is heard, giving a loud piercing shout throughout the mill. Jack has plugged his ears already but Shuckle is taking the hit. Tangela also feels the shrill sound as disturbing and loosens grip a tiny bit.
"That's good enough for me. Sonic boom."
A radius of energy beams from Magneton, pushing everything around it away. Tangela slams to against the broken table and shakes its head.
Jack takes a quick jump to the machines, blinking red and green lights. There, he picks up the frightened Shuckle and holds it in his arms. "Don't worry. You're safe now."
"Shuckle?"
A chair breaks against the right side cracking wall, while another crashing into Magneton. Tangela wanders over and grabs another chair and tosses it. Magneton juices up and zaps the chair down, breaking to pieces on impact.
"Swift."
Magneton lets the little white stars loose at Tangela whom tries picking up the final standing chair. Instead it retracts its vines and closes its eyes.
Jack smiles. "You did it Magneton."
"Shuckle?"
Tangela glows green like the forests of many Jack has traveled in. The mill lights up with this color then it suddenly stops. Tangela stands back up, ready to go.
Jack rolls his eyes with a heavy sigh. "Magneton is getting weak. We need to do something."
The vines rush out, faster than before and entwine Magneton once again. This time, Tangela twirls around twice and releases it to the left side. The dazed Magneton slams into the machines lined across the wall, next to where Jack is standing. Sparks fly from the now busted machine, still trying to generate electricity. The lights in the mill begin to flicker more often, leaving near darkness for at most a couple seconds.
Jack takes a step to the right to head for the blocked door. A vine shoots across the room and through the side wall, blocking Jack from moving any further. He then moves back only to feel another vine behind him. Trapped.
Tangela looks at Jack with anger still in it's eyes. The lights flicker off. Then back on. Tangela is now closer to Jack, still with the same face.
"Uh, I'm sorry." Jack fakes a smile, meanwhile going for another Pokeball. Tangela smacks Jack's arm going for the Pokeball. "Ok, ok."
Tangela retracts its vines, then swings them at Jack for an attack. Jack ducks, barely dodging the vine as it cracks the wall behind him.
*ZAP!!!*
The light bulbs explode and darkness is enshrouded. Jack blinks, not seeing any difference in darkness but then notices a light near the machines. A floating light. The light gets brighter and brighter and shapes form around the mill. Electricity is definitely in the air as Magneton shines above the machines, sparking electric currents from them. The electricity of the machines has revived Magneton.
Scottie looks down at his watch. 5:20. "There is now way we can make it at six like was planned. We will barely get there for the start of the newscast." He looks back up at the dark destroyed mill, now shining light throughout the whole building. "Whoa!" Electric bolts of energy spark out of the wall cracks, producing a bright light of electric energy. The left side of the mill explodes in a cloud of energy, throwing everything out of the mill in one shot, as the light disappears. The roof and walls crack from the pressure of losing a wall. Through the cloud of dust, Jack wanders out, stepping slowly with darkened clothes and sizzled everything else. He kneels to the ground, still holding a hiding Shuckle. Magneton falls down at his side also.
"Prepare to leave." Scottie tells the pilot. He rushes over to Jack and kneels by him, ready to help him up. "Come on, let's go.
Soon after, Tangela crawls out from the smoke. Wait, smoke? Yes, the mill sparks into flames and the dark smoke pours out of the building. Tangela turns on it's back, looking at the mill is disbelief. It closes its eyes so it can't see the mill be destroyed.
Scottie brings Jack to stand up, coughing from the rush of the explosion. "What happened?"
Jack breathes in deeply. "I think Magneton absorbed the stored energy from the machines and over electrified a bit. *Cough* I did get Shuckle."
"Yes, you did."
Jack turns around to see the mill totally ablaze in fire. Everything is red and orange from the color and in the nearing darkness, it's even brighter than the setting sky. "We must stop the fire."
"Already on top of that." Scottie releases and his Dragonite comes out. "Twister the water into the mill."
Dragonite moves to the water quickly and flaps its wing to form a tornado. But since it's over water, it's called a water spout tornado. The water flows up the tornado and Dragonite moves it into the mill. Repeat.
Jack looks at the fallen Tangela. "This must have been its home. *Cough* Tangela thought Shuckle was a rock and used it to prop up the roof. But I destroyed the home. It has no where to live now." He shakes his head. "I must give it a home. It's the least I can do." Jack feels around but doesn't have what he's looking for. "I left my pack on the helicopter, do you..."
Scottie holds his hand out and drops a Pokeball to Jack. "You owe me." He smirks letting Jack go so he can do this.
The Pokeball grabs Tangela in one swipe, and the flashing red dot...disappears. Momentarily, the Pokeball vanishes to his PC.
"Now we can go." Jack recalls Magneton after telling it what a great job it did.
By now the mill is only a smoldering pile of broken down burnt wood. The whole thing has collapsed and the fire is out thankfully from Dragonite. Scottie turns his Pokeball at the helpful dragon and recalls him.
The two get into the helicopter already at high winds. The blades spin faster and take off. Jack closes his eyes and asks for rest the whole trip. He deserves it.
A short stop away, the helicopter parks close to Scottie's home. He runs out, holding Shuckle. The father and mother come out of the house, holding their clothes from flying away.
"You came back, again, son." The father yells over the blowing wind.
"The children won't stop crying. I didn't realize how powerful Pokemon connections are." The mother has signs of crying in her but the wind from the blades dry them before they can be visible.
Scottie nods and hands Shuckle to them. "Jack was the one who believed. I will tell him how thankful you are. Now I must go."
The father smiles, while the mother almost faints. "Son, thank you."
"I'll be back. This isn't goodbye."
Back to the helicopter, it takes off again. They have little time to get to the Elite Suites at the Indigo Plateau.
~Graded: Tangela Caught!
