RE: Pokémon Nightshade: Birth Of A Master! Chapters 12-19 up, chapters 20-25 and epilogue in ten minutes
And Crash rocks
And Crash rocks
Writing Pokémon Nightshade: Birth Of A Master! Fin.
- Thread starter Max Shade IV
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RE: Pokémon Nightshade: Birth Of A Master! Chapters 12-19 up, chapters 20-25 and epilogue in ten minutes
Chapter Twenty: Love Is Sweet, Revenge Is Sweeter!
Max was in a training room in the Sinnoh hideout. He had instructed Ash not to let anyone disturb him. His six Pokémon stood in a line, and Max was about to speak.
“You have all been through hard times with me,” Max began, “I’ve relied on you to help me for fifteen years or longer…I know I’m your trainer, but I am also your friend. You have all charged into dangerous situations without ever hesitating or questioning my orders.
“The point is this: I don’t know how long we’ll be in this war, and it’s not fair of me to ask you to stay with me. So…”
Max layed out his six PokéBalls in front of their respective Pokémon.
“These are your PokéBalls,” he continued, “You all have the chance right now to leave. I’ll release you into a life of freedom…no more orders, no more risking your tails for me. If you choose to stay, I’ll be grateful, but if you wish to leave this life, I will not be angry.”
The Pokémon looked at each other with strange looks. Max was serious. They had the option of never fighting a war again. The first to make a choice was Rhyperior.
He approached his PokéBall and returned into it.
Marowak, Espeon, and Electivire followed suit!
Sceptile looked at Max. He wasn’t about to leave Max behind, Max had been his trainer since he was practically hatched from his egg. He returned to his PokéBall.
Charizard reached down and picked up his PokéBall, and looked at Max as though the offer wasn’t made to him.
“You too, Charizard,” said Max.
Charizard walked up to Max, and put the PokéBall back onto the chain Max wore around his neck, and held out his right claw. Max shook hands with his Pokémon and Charizard looked him square in the eyes with a, “I’m going nowhere,” look in his eyes.
“Well Charizard,” said Max, “Everyone’s made their decision…it’s payback time.”
With a smirk on his face, Max returned Charizard and left.
As Max walked through the lobby, his daughters watched him from the balcony, and Maddie called to him, “Dad?”
“Not now,” said Max.
Grant stopped his son, and said, “Why do I get the feeling you are about to do something stupid?”
“Because of him,” said Max, “My children and Sceptile almost died. That’s why.”
Max moved around his dad and walked into the elevator to return to the surface.
As he got to the surface, Abad and Shadow were returning, and Shadow said, “Max, where are you going?”
“Nowhere,” said Max without looking at them, “Go Charizard!”
As he mounted Charizard, Abad said, “Max don’t do it.”
“Try and stop me.”
“I’m still your superior.”
“Last I checked, I’m still the Pokémon Master. And as such, I hereby reserve my right to save the world in any way I choose…alone.”
Max kicked his foot into Charizard, signaling for him to take off. With a flap of his wings Charizard flew into the sky.
Max was headed towards Celadon, where he was planning an attack on Cody’s mansion.
He landed on top of the department store, and as he looked at the mansion, he then looked up to the east.
He saw the Silph building. Saffron was virtually untouched by this war.
“Time for an upset,” said Max.
Before you could say Maxamillion Shade IV, Max was in Saffron. He watched carefully, and saw a security guard of the building leave for a lunch break.
Being careful not to be seen, he followed the guard to a diner. The guard sat down at the bar, and Max sat next to him.
“Rough day?” Max asked him.
“Yep,” said the guard, “That Justin has been going nuts with security lately.”
“That blows. Speaking of security I thought I saw that psycho James outside the city.”
The guard ran off, and Max followed. When they reached the outskirts of the city, the guard said, “Where?”
“Right here!” yelled Max as he gave him a right hook.
Taking his clothes, Max was now dressed for security.
Max walked into the Silph building. He scanned his badge on the elevator and made his way to the top floor.
While going up, he grasped his Rhyperior’s PokéBall tightly. When the door opened, he was in Justin’s office.
Justin had his back turned and was facing the window, staring out of it.
“Rough day, sir?” asked Max, disguising his voice.
“Every second I’m anticipating his return,” said Justin, “I haven’t slept in days.”
“Don’t worry sir, he’ll show up, and when he does, you’ll get him.”
Justin continued staring out the window.
“Besides,” Max continued, “The only reason he got in last time was because it was an open party. With the security running through this place, he’ll never get in.”
“I may hate Max with a passion,” said Justin, “But he’s smart. He’ll find a way.”
“Hold on sir, I’m receiving a page.”
Justin waved his hand in the air, signaling to go for it, and Max said, “Sir, Max is in the building!”
Justin yelled, “WHERE?” and then turned around.
“Go Rhyperior!” yelled Max, “Rock Wreaker!”
Rhyperior began blasting down through the floors, destroying them one by one. Max ran past Justin and broke through the glass, and began falling to the ground.
“He’s crazy,” said Justin as he felt the building begin to buckle.
He continued watching as Max’s Charizard appeared and caught him just inches above the pavement, and at that same moment, Rhyperior walked out the front of the building, and Max returned him and flew off.
Justin began to run out of the building. By the time he got out, the building collapsed.
Upon his return to the base in Pastoia…
Max’s daughters ran up to him and hugged him, and Rich said, “You are crazy.”
“As opposed to when?” asked Max.
“Dad,” said Emma, “Mom always said you did a bunch of crazy things, why?”
“When you girls take over,” said Max, “You’ll understand.”
“Max!” yelled Ricky from the upper level, “I need you in the library NOW!”
Max ran upstairs, and Ricky locked the doors.
“Ricky, what’ going on?” Max asked worried.
By this time, the girls and some of the senior members were eavesdropping.
“Max,” said Ricky, “For years I’ve been doing research on the Pokémon Master.”
“Why?” asked Max.
“Because, Maddie, Hope and Emma were one: triplets and two: female.”
“So?”
“The legends I’ve come across regarding the Master have all confirmed one thing: The Master is always a male, and is always an only child…they’ve broken the chain.”
Max got this look on his face…he was terrified by this confirmation, but had no idea why.
“So,” said Max, “What will happen?”
“I’m not sure…” said Ricky, “From what I’ve gathered…someone will need to take your place, but not your daughters…sounds sexist, but the thing is, Celebi doesn’t want to endanger girls apparently, and I know you wouldn’t want your daughters doing what you have done for fifteen years.”
“My time is almost up, Ricky,” said Max, “Saving the world right now is my last mission.”
“I know.”
“So…what happens if I don’t find a replacement in time?”
“I can’t tell you that…I don’t know…”
Outside the room…
“Can you hear?” asked Hope.
“Not over your mouth!” said Emma.
Maddie had her hand on the door handle, and it began heating up rapidly. She let go will a scream, and Max, Ricky, and Charizard walked out.
“Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to eavesdrop?” asked Max.
“How did you?” asked Maddie.
“I may only have been a father for a short amount of time, but I got the intuition of one.”
“Told ya,” said Hope.
“Quiet,” said Emma.
Max clapped his hands together, and said, “Abad! What’s our next move?”
Chapter Twenty-One: The Beginning Of The End!
Crash walked down the halls of the base. Max had told everyone the dilemma of the Pokémon Master, and it had him worried.
Suddenly, he heard a voice from behind him call, “Joseph!”
He turned around; Max was walking down the hall towards him.
“Mr. Shade!” said Crash with respect.
“Call me Max, Mr. Shade is my father.”
“Yes Sir Mr. Shade…I mean Max…sir!”
“Chill, alright. Look, I’ve talked to my daughters, they know they aren’t taking over…they were rather happy about it. So, I talked to Jason. I had him give me his reports on the senior members of the resistance…Yours was especially remarkable.”
“Thank you! Ever since I joined the resistance a few years ago, I’ve been trying to give it my all!”
“That’s what Jason said. For a short period of time, you served as second in command for Jason.”
“It was an honor, especially considering the men who served in that position before me. Short-lived as it was, I’d trade nothing for that experience.”
“You are dedicated…I like to see that…Joseph…”
“If you don’t mind, Max, I prefer to be called Crash.”
“Then Crash, here’s what Jason said to me: He told me you aspire to be a Pokémon Master. Not the best trainer but the Master…my family’s position. After talking to some of the guys, they’ve said you are an amazing trainer, as well as a determined guy. That is coming from those of us who are in our mid to late thirties and they are talking about a twenty year old like that.
“My point, Crash, is that you’ve shown enough qualifications in the past couple years to earn a high spot in the Masters…I’m looking for a replacement…I’ve talked to everyone who I thought off right away; Rich, J.C., Abad, James…the first person who came to their mind was you.
“Crash, I’m going to make you the opportunity of a lifetime. You have no obligation to accept, you understand that?”
Crash nodded his head.
“Crash,” said Max, “I want you to take my place as Pokémon Master when this war is over.”
Crash looked at Max with joy in his face, and was so overwhelmed, he could barely make out the words, “How couldn’t I accept?”
Max held out his hand and Crash grasped it firmly in what was a very strong handshake.
“Joseph Fallen,” said Max with a smile, “Welcome to the beginning of the rest of your life. It’s going to be hard work, but in the end, you will accomplish things in life that will change your perspective of life.”
“Thank you,” said Crash.
“But, we’ll celebrate some other time. For now, we’ve got a war to fight!”
Max went into the training room with his daughters, and said, “Time to see how well you’ve kept them trained!”
“Furret, Feraligatr, go!” said Maddie, who had taken her mother’s Pokémon.
“Aggron!” yelled Emma.
“Nidoking!” yelled Hope.
Max smiled. His Pokémon seemed in shape.
“Charizard, Sceptile, Electivire, Espeon, go!” he called out, “This will be one-on-one. I’ll use a different Pokémon for each of yours. I’m not going to complete each battle, this is a practice, and as such, we won’t be knocking each other out.”
“Alright,” said Maddie, “I’ll go first! Furret!”
Max chuckled a little, and said, “In all my years, I never thought I’d battle Furret, even in a practice match. Go Espeon! Use Psybeam!”
“Dodge and use Sucker Punch!”
Furret swiftly dodged that Psychic-Type move and then landed a Sucker Punch on Espeon’s side.
“Hit her hard with Psychic!” Max ordered.
“Captivate!” yelled Maddie.
Furret used Captivate. Maddie knew that Furret was the only female Pokémon her father had ever trained, and all his other Pokémon were male. So, Espeon’s attack was severely weakened.
“Good job, Maddie,” said Max, “Espeon, return.”
“Feraligatr,” said Maddie, “You are next!”
“Sceptile, let’s go!” said Max. Sceptile had helped Max train Feraligatr as a Totodile. Max and Sceptile were both anxious to see how much Feraligatr had grown over the years.
“Leaf Blade!” yelled Max.
“Aqua Tail!” yelled Maddie.
They hit each other with their attacks, and then Max yelled, “Blank shot range! Use Bullet Seed!”
Sceptile released tiny bullets of sunlight from his mouth, and they hit Feraligatr hard. But he wasn’t ready to give up yet!
“Ice Punch!” yelled Maddie.
Feraligatr got Sceptile in the side, and Sceptile jumped back, but was ready for more.
“Alright,” said Max, “Leaf Storm!”
Sceptile released a fury of leafs that almost knocked out Feraligatr.
“Hydro Cannon!” yelled Maddie.
Feraligatr shot a burst of high pressured water that sent Sceptile into the wall hard and fast.
“Return,” said Max.
“My turn!” said Emma, “Go Aggron!”
“Electivire,” said Max, “You’re up!”
“Dragon Rush!”
“What?”
Beginning to ignite into green flames, Aggron charged Electivire!
“Cross Chop!” Max yelled.
Electivire hit Aggron hard, but Aggron had a lot of momentum built up and just plowed through.
“Iron Tail!” Max ordered.
“You too, Aggron!” yelled Emma.
Their tail met with a bang, and Aggron overpowered Electivire.
“Return!” said Max.
Nidoking and Charizard both took their positions. As they stared each other in the eyes, both of them along with Max had a flashback to a very early point in Max’s career as a trainer…
Flash back…
Max, Rich, and J.C. were walking towards Mount Moon. The trio of friends had just come from Pewter City, where Max and Rich won their Boulder Badge.
“Wow!” said J.C., who was six years younger, “I can’t wait until you guys go head to head at the Pokémon League finals!”
“Don’t get us ahead of ourselves,” said Rich.
“Yeah,” said Max, “We’ve barely started. We’ll be lucky if we make it to the Pokémon League at all!”
Suddenly, a Pokémon jumped out of the woods and wouldn’t let them pass!
J.C. carried a PokéDex, and as he flipped it open, he exclaimed, “It’s a Nidorino!”
“Awesome!” said Max.
“Try and catch it!” yelled Rich.
“Alright!” said Max, “Go Charmeleon!”
Charmeleon, Max’s first Pokémon, came out of his PokéBall and Max ordered, “Ember!”
Charmeleon shot embers from his mouth that scorched Nidorino. But Nidorino was tough! He charged Charmeleon and began ramming his horn really fast at Charmeleon!
“Look out Max!” said Rich, “He’s using Fury Attack!”
“Charmeleon!” said Max, “Use Smokescreen!”
Charmeleon began shooting a thick black smoke out of his mouth. The gang could hear Nidorino coughing, and Max yelled, “Fire Fang!”
Charmeleon bit down on Nidorino and scorched his hide.
Nidorino went ballistic and combined his Fury Attack with Poison Jab!
“Look out Charmeleon!” Max yelled.
Charmeleon was getting more and more frustrated by the second. And suddenly, began to spew green flames from his mouth!
“What is that?” asked Max.
“That’s Dragon Rage!” said J.C.
The move knocked out Nidorino, and Max threw out a PokéBall. Nidorino had been caught.
“That was the last battle I had with Nidoking,” Max thought to himself, “Flamethrower!”
“Water Pulse!” yelled Hope.
The attacks negated each other.
“Thunder!” ordered Hope.
“Dig!” yelled Max.
Charizard dodged by burrowing into the ground.
“Earthquake!” yelled Hope.
Charizard got rattled pretty good in the ground. He came up a little disoriented.
“Poison Jab!” yelled Hope.
“Use Fire Punch!” ordered Max.
The two punched each other in the chest. Charizard got poisoned and Nidoking burned.
Both Max and Hope returned their Pokémon. Max didn’t want them to get injured any more than they were.
After a quick healing, Max sat his girls down.
“I’m proud of you girls,” said Max, “You have kept them in top condition…and they’ve definitely grown in strength since I left them.”
“We try,” said Emma.
Abad walked into the room, and said, “Max, you ready for your speech delivery?”
Max nodded, and left. Abad motioned for the girls to come with.
In the auditorium they had, Max stood at a podium on the stage. He looked at the front row. From left to right, he saw his daughters, Abad, James, Jason, Crash, Ricky, Yurei, Rich, J.C., his dad, Chris, April, and Ash. The row behind them sat the LPC.
Abad and Max arranged a setup so that every television station would play Max’s speech.
Max cleared his throat, and said, “For those of you who never met me personally, I’m Max Shade. I am the former third in command here. The world has been in a downward spiral since I left. My final mission as Pokémon Master is to see that this war ends in our favor.
“This is my final mission…and seeing as how my daughters cannot replace me, I was forced to find someone to carry on the legacy and responsibility of the Pokémon Master. It is my honor to announce that Joseph “Crash” Fallen has agreed to take my place.
“Some sources have informed us that Justin and his army will be taking an all out attack on us,” Max looked straight into the camera, “To every person in the world, whether you are a trainer or not, I’m making you this offer: Join us. Together, we can take our planet back…our home.
“I look at the people in the first row and see a group of dedicated trainers…but more than anything, I see my family. Upon the formation of the PMC twenty years ago, we made a pact. It was simple and not very original…All for one, and one for all. We will follow each other into battle without question; without opposition.
“Tomorrow, I will land on Mount Battle,” he looked into the camera again, and said, “And tomorrow, Justin, is the beginning…of the end.”
Chapter Twenty-Two: Ask Yourself, Do I Feel Lucky?
Max landed on Mount Battle with his Charizard alone. Max wore his cape and wrapped it around his front to keep warm as he dismounted Charizard.
There waiting for him was none other than Cody.
Max smirked, and Cody said, “Looks like all your family and friends have chickened out.”
The only part of Max that moved was his hair as it blew through the wind. He said no words, and Cody got a strange feeling from Max.
This was a side of Max he’d never seen. Max had always been serious about this war, but this was a different seriousness. Everyone knew Max was scared every time he went to battle, but there was no fear in him. Just anger, rage, and seriousness.
Within a few seconds, the Masters began to emerge to the summit of Mount Battle.
Rich and J.C. stood on either side of Max, and Rich sent out his Blastoise, and J.C. his Venusaur.
The others stood behind them.
Rich said, “If you fight, Max…”
“…We’ll be right there with ya,” said J.C.
“Trust me,” said Max, “We’ll be winning a big battle today.
Cody pointed at two of his men to join him for a three-on-three battle.
Cody sent out Magmortar, and the other two sent out a Weavile and a Dusknoir.
Max looked at his friends, they nodded, and Max said, “GO!”
The trio of Pokémon charged. Charizard began spewing embers out of his mouth, ready launch and Fire-Type move.
Blastoise locked his hydro cannons in place to launch his most powerful Water-Type moves.
As for Venusaur, he began absorbing as much sunlight as possible to power up his Grass-Type moves.
“Lava Plume!” yelled Cody.
Blastoise doused Venusaur in water to try and protect him while Charizard flew into the attack head-on and took most of the hit, which did little damage.
Weavile’s trainer then said, “Use Beat Up!”
Several red silhouettes came out and began pummeling the gang’s Pokémon.
“Blastoise, Withdraw!” ordered Rich. Blastoise was able to escape a lot of heavy damage.
“Grab Charizard’s feet!” yelled J.C.
Venusaur wrapped his vines around Charizard’s ankles.
“Spin!” he continued.
“Everyone, duck!” Max told his friends, “Charizard, use Fire Spin!”
The combination of Charizard’s attack with Venusaur spinning around caused Charizard to surround the entire mountain top in a wall of flames rocketing over one hundred feet high!
Max look up and saw a helicopter overhead…Justin was watching.
“Use Shadow Sneak!” the other trainer ordered his Dusknoir.
Dusknoir disappeared, and then, without warning, Blastoise shot into the air!
“Charizard!” yelled Max. Charizard needed no further instruction. He flew into the air and caught his old friend.
But, since Charizard’s hands were now full, Cody yelled out, “HYPER BEAM!”
The order was directed at all three Pokémon, and they all hit the gang’s Pokémon.
The attack hit hard, and they were barely able to stand.
“Rich,” said Max, “How high can Blastoise send Charizard into the air?”
“With what?” asked Rich.
“Hydro Cannon.”
“Pretty high but it’ll nearly knock him out.”
“Charizard isn’t going to be conscious much longer.”
“Alright…Blastoise, Hydro Cannon on Charizard!”
Blastoise looked confused, and Rich said, “Just do it!”
Blastoise shot Charizard as hard as he could, giving every last ounce of energy into the attack.
As Charizard shot twice the height of the helicopter, Max called out with more anger and rage than he had ever used in his voice before, “BLAZING KAMIKAZE!!!!”
Charizard went into a nosedive position and ignited his body into white flames, more intense than he had ever done before.
He began falling; slowly at first, but quickly accelerated until he reach terminal velocity. He was going to hit the ground, where, however, he had no idea. This attack would be so powerful that it didn’t matter where his opponents were, they’d be knocked out.
Right before he hit, Abad’s Alakazam’s both came out and used Light Screen to protect their comrades.
The blast and shockwave from the attack was so tremendous, that everyone fell to the ground. When the blinding light faded, Max, said, “No…”
Cody’s Magmortar Managed to use Barrier, and now had his magma blaster aimed at his Charizard’s head.
Max had tears in his eyes as he screamed, “Why you!”
He began charging at Cody. When his men tried to protect Cody, Cody brushed them to the side.
But, as Max released his cape and let it flow behind him, Cody noticed a shiny, metallic object in Max’s belt. Max grabbed the handle of it, and pulled out a .44 Magnum revolver.
Cody’s eyes grew wide and he yelled to his Magmortar, “Fire!”
But Rich wouldn’t allow that, and Blastoise used Aqua Jet to save Charizard.
Rich now saw the gun. He knew it didn’t matter which side Max was on, the gun was wrong. Both sides would get him for it.
“Max!” he yelled to his brother-like friend, “Charizard is okay!”
But, Max’s adrenaline was rushing. The only thing he could sense was pain and anger. He got right up to Cody, stuck the barrel at his left chest and pulled the trigger without a second thought.
Blood began spilling from both the wound and Cody’s mouth…he died within seconds.
His daughters began crying, they couldn’t believe what had just happened. Maddie broke down and ran to James, who wrapped his arms around her as he stared on trying to comprehend what had just happened. Hope fainted and Crash caught her before she hit the ground. All he could think of is that he could’ve stopped Max if he had know that was a gun he had dropped on the rocks just weeks earlier. Emma just stared…
Max fell to the ground. He looked around and saw Charizard was alive and Magmortar was knocked out…
“What did I just do?” he thought to himself.
April was in shock…Max had never resorted to such extreme violence, everyone knew he had a temper, but nothing like this…nothing that could’ve hinted at this!
Rich walked over to Max while J.C. went to check on Charizard.
Rich knelt next to Max, and Max was muttering, “What have I done?” over and over again.
“Max…” said Rich. Max wasn’t listening…Max had just used a gun, and object that no longer existed in today’s society. What would happen to him?
The helicopter landed, and Justin got out. He grabbed Max by the cape and lifted him to his feet. Two officers handcuffed him, and Justin then said, “Max Shade, you are under arrest for possession and usage of a firearm to commit murder.”
Chapter Twenty-Three: Eye For An Eye!
Max was at a trial…Justin was the judge so he knew this would end up horribly.
“Max,” said Justin, “Of all things you could’ve done, this was by far the stupidest. The jury has found you guilty, and it’s my job to give you your sentence.”
“Then just give it me you short little creep!” yelled Max, “There is nothing more for me! You’ve arrested my family! You’ve taken my Pokémon, my friends! You’ve destroyed a world that I gave my whole life to protect!”
“Then you won’t be too upset with the death sentence.”
Someone in the room shrieked, it was Emily. Max turned around and said, “This is the kind of guy you want to be with? Well say goodbye to me now cuz I’m going to join the Ghost-Pokémon!”
Max was thrown into solitary confinement. His room was padded so much that there was no echo, so he couldn’t hear anything he said. He was in a straight jacket.
Then, the door to his cell opened, and Steve walked in.
“Don’t worry about your girls, Max,” said Steve, “I’ll be a great father to them…unlike you who left them their whole lives!”
In a regular cell, the other Masters sat.
Rich kept punching the wall every four minutes, exactly. There was a stream of blood running down the wall from his raw knuckles.
April was trying to pick the lock of the cell, while Shadow was trying to get a good vision…with no luck.
Jay and Abad were contemplating how save Max if they could get out. As for J.C. he was talking to Ricky, Crash, and Yurei about why Max could’ve possibly thought of doing that.
Then, the guard said, “You idiots have a visitor.”
Emily walked in, and got the cold shoulder.
“Look,” she said, “Before you guys hate me, hear me out…” she then looked at the guard, basically telling him to leave.
He did so, and said, “I knew about the gun…”
Abad stood up and said, “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“When Max had his heart attack, I rescued him…in his bag was a gun…if I had taken it, he would’ve known and freaked on me…if you guys knew you’d never find him, he’d be sure of it…I knew he’d use it no matter what the cost. I’ve been acting this way so you have someone to help even now.”
“Why should we believe a word you say?” asked Yurei.
Emily walked over to her, grabbed her hand and said, “You’ll have to trust me.”
As she let go of Yurei’s hand, she left a key in her hand.
“You guys get out,” said Emily, “I’ll get Max out.”
The door to Max’s cell opened. He had his back to it, so he didn’t know it until someone put their hand on his shoulder.
Max spun around as quickly as his straightjacket would allow and saw Emily. Max looked at her. Then she did something strange; she hugged him.
Max suddenly felt his jacket loosen up, and Emily left.
Max then watched the door close and he saw that there was a PokéBall she had left him. With it was a note.
Making sure no one was looking into his cell; Max pulled out his hands and began reading.
“Dear Max,” it wrote, “You’ve known me for as long as I’ve been alive. You know I’d never do anything to hurt you. I knew about your gun the entire time, and knew no one, not even myself or Rich, could stop you. That is why I’ve acted this way. And now, I can finally do my part for the resistance. I’ve given you one Pokémon…if you have to ask who it is, you can’t be as smart as they say you are.
“I hope we are still friends, I love you like a big brother, and don’t want to see you hurt anymore…Emily.”
Max slid the note into his pocket, and then throwing the PokéBall out he said, “Dragon Rage!”
Before Charizard’s body had fully materialized, he was shooting green flames out of his mouth, crashing the door down.
Max and Charizard walked towards the doorway and saw the guard was trapped under it. Max and Charizard walked right on top of the door.
“Charizard,” said Max, “This is our war now…no one else’s.”
Charizard growled in agreement.
As Max walked out, guards tried to stop him, but Charizard set any opposition ablaze.
Max walked to the storage room, where all the personal belongings were. After five minutes he found his clothes. He got out of the white clothes they made him wear and put on his jeans and white t-shirt, and then slipped the note into his jeans. After this, he strapped his gloves on and laced his boots. He put his cape on last, and then took the necklace that held his Charizard’s PokéBall. He put the chain around his neck and clasped it together, then attached the PokéBall.
The Masters had escaped and were now running for their lives from a horde of cops.
“Keep running!” yelled Abad to his friends.
Then, he suddenly stopped as he stared into the sky.
“Wow,” said James, “That looks like a bunch of angry Pokémon.”
As the others looked up, they saw Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, Ho-oh, Celebi, Latias, Latios, Rayquaza, Rekkuza, Jirachi, both Deoxys, Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Dialga, Palkia, Cresselia, Giratina, Darkrai, and Arceus.
As the legendaries attacked the cops, the Masters were able to walk instead of run.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Take The Past, Burn It Up And Let It Go!
Charizard was angry beyond all reason. As he flew, he flew near the ground. The anger made the flame on his tail white hot and trail off ten feet, and as they headed through the Orre desert, there was a wide strip of glass behind them as the flame melted the sand.
They flew right through Phenac, and the speed Charizard flew at was so fast it caused people to fall off their feet from the energy he produced.
There was a funeral for Cody at Agate Village. Lindsey and Steve were there, and Steve said some kind words about him…none of which were true.
Suddenly the funeral came to a halt as someone came running up to Steve, and said, “They broke out…all of them.”
Steve ran to his truck and drove off.
As he rolled through the desert, Steve got a phone call on his cell phone.
“Now is not a good time!” Steve yelled.
“Now is the only time!” yelled Justin on the other end, “Max escaped!”
“Where is he?”
“Several kilometers heading straight for you!”
Steve dropped his phone and came to a halt. He now noticed that there was a sandstorm coming. But it wasn’t a regular sandstorm, it was almost as though something moving at an alarming rate was moving towards him, kicking up the sand.
He tried to turn around but the sand wouldn’t let him do it fast, and suddenly, from the sandstorm, a blast of red-hot flames shot at him and lit his car on fire!
He tried to get out, but the flames were so intense that the doors had welded shut. Then, he saw Max and Charizard. Max jumped off and Charizard kept pressing forward.
He was waiting for Charizard to stop, but he wasn’t stopping, he was accelerating!
Charizard busted through the windshield, getting glass shards stuck everywhere on his body, then grabbed Steve and went out the back windshield, in which Steve became covered in glass shards.
He slammed Steve into the sand, causing the tiny grains to become embedded in his wounds.
Charizard held him there, and Max slowly walked over to them. He saw a rather large shard in Charizard’s shoulder, and told his Pokémon, “Hold still.”
Max tore a piece of his cape off, and then removed the shard swiftly. Charizard winced and Max bandaged the deep wound. Then, he knelt over a barely conscious Steve.
“You won’t win, Max,” Steve managed to utter.
“I’m not here as the Pokémon Master anymore,” said Max, “That is my past. You can have this stupid war. But your life will belong to me. But I’m going to be kind…Charizard, get off him.”
Charizard did so, and began picking pieces of glass out of his hide.
“Stand up!” yelled Max, “Come on tough guy!”
Steve struggled onto his knees, and it made Max impatient. He grabbed Steve and hoisted him to his feet.
“Not so strong now?” asked Max, “No one here to back you up? No one to fight your battle? You are on your own! Welcome to the life and times of Maxamillion Shade IV! On my own for fifteen years! Fighting my own battles with only six Pokémon. When I was in a pinch I had my wits not an army of trainers! Now you son of a female Arcanine you and me! One on one battle! Charizard, let’s do this!”
Charizard, though injured, had so much adrenaline pumping through his veins that it almost replaced all the blood. The only emotion Charizard could feel was hatred towards Steve and honor for his trainer…no, not his trainer, his best friend.
“Go Swampert!” said Steve, “Mud Shot!”
Charizard dodged. For a Pokémon who was almost sliced to pieces, he was in amazing fighting condition.
“Charizard,” said Max, “Use Frenzy Plant.”
Steve stared at Max. He had truly lost his mind with that one.
But Charizard’s claw began glowing as he used Metronome. And, with that, Charizard used the powerful Grass-Type move.
But Swampert dodged, and used Hydro Cannon. It almost knocked Charizard out.
Then, a Solarbeam blasted Swampert.
“SAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRR!!”
An angry Venusaur came charging in and used Tackle on Swampert.
Max looked to see J.C.
“If you thought you were in this alone,” said J.C., “Think again!”
From all over, Max’s friends and family appeared with their most loyal Pokémon. But not just them, trainers Max had never seen came in with their Pokémon by the hundreds!
Rich and Blastoise came to his side. Rich began talking in a voice only Max was able to hear, “Right now, you finish the war…but that death penalty will still stand…I advise you figure something out.”
“I already have it figured out…” said Max, “I need you to find something out: What happens if a Pokémon kills a human.”
“What?”
“Just do it, leave Blastoise with me.”
Rich ran off. He talked to Jay, who lent him his Altaria. Rich flew off.
Justin came in from a helicopter and sent out Manectric.
“You think that’ll stop us?” asked Max.
“No,” said Justin, “THEY WILL!”
Hundreds of officers came rushing in, and an all out Pokémon battle began!
Ricky’s Feraligatr and Rukario were double teaming as many Pokémon as possible, and in the chaos, almost hit Jay’s Starmie and Shadow’s Jolteon!
After hours of fighting, the only Pokémon left were Charizard, Venusaur, Blastoise, along with Furret and Nidoking, who had gone back to listening to Max for his superior battle experience over his daughters.
They were surrounded. Max’s friends and family were captured, when suddenly a Hitmonchan punched way through with Rich.
“Well?” asked Max.
“Nothing can happen,” said Rich, “Unless a trainer orders the Pokémon. Tell me you can deal with that.”
Max nodded.
“Good,” said Rich.
The six Pokémon were standing with their backs towards each other in a circle around Max, Rich and J.C.
“Any bright ideas?” asked J.C.
“Not too many,” said Max, “They would all get us killed.”
“Hm…” said Rich, “So our options include: Death, more death, death with a side of death, or death.”
“Pretty much.”
“Time to make it out alive!”
“As always,” said J.C.
“Seismic Toss!” Max ordered Nidoking.
Nidoking grabbed Hitmonchan and threw him into the opponents, which he used Ice Punch to begin forming a wall of ice.
“Help out with Ice Beam, Blastoise!” yelled Rich.
They were just about finished with what had become a protective dome of ice when Manectric and Swampert along with Justin and Steve jumped in.
Before the opening was entirely closed, Charizard shoved the other five Pokémon out, and Max shoved his friends out as well.
“Time to serve your sentence,” said Justin, “Discharge!”
The electricity was aimed at Max, and Charizard got in the way, taking the entire hit!
Charizard was on his claws and knees, when Steve said, “Put out that flame!”
Swampert aimed a Hydro Pump at Charizard’s tail, when suddenly, Charizard’s Blaze ability kicked in.
He began emitting a bright red aura, and all the cuts from the glass became a bright red as his body temperature rose significantly.
The heat being emitted was scorching hot and the ice literally began melting so fast you could watch it.
Once the dome was completely melted, Charizard let out a giant roar with a spew of white flames.
Max got onto Charizard and took to the air. No words were going to be spoken between them. Charizard knew what Max wanted him to do, and although it would work perfectly, Charizard knew something was going on in Max’s head that wasn’t right…it worried Charizard, but he knew that he’d have to trust the man who had been there since day one.
“Go Fearow!” yelled Justin. Justin took off after Max.
The two exchanged many attacks, until finally, a Flamethrower by Charizard knocked Fearow away, and the time was perfect.
Steve watched from below, and he was standing alone. The troops had begun taking the prisoners away. But then, something disturbing.
Charizard ignited on fire. He took his nosedive position.
Charizard began falling right towards Steve. The troops began running as Max’s friends and family watched in dismay.
Lindsey then arrived, she had walked the whole way from Agate, and couldn’t believe what she was looking at.
“Guys,” said Grant, “That Is a Blazing Kamikaze.”
“Yeah,” said Chris, “We see that…”
“Those flames are white, and Max didn’t order it…a Pokémon can only use a Kamikaze if ordered…”
“Max is full of surprises,” said Rich.
Maddie shrieked, and Yurei said, “What’s wrong?”
“D-D-Dad’s cape!” she replied nervously, “It’s on fire!”
“What the heck?” said J.C.
“Why isn’t he jumping off?” asked Abad.
On Charizard, Max said to his Pokémon before the impact on Steve, who was like a Stantler in front of a car, “Charizard, this is where we part ways…for good. Take care of my daughters like you have me for so long…I love ya, buddy…and make sure I’m buried in Lilycove…I always loved it there…Look after everyone for me.”
Charizard couldn’t stop the attack…it wasn’t possible, it was too late…Max’s plan involved serving his sentence while taking out Steve. Charizard’s eyes began to swell with tears that evaporated from the intense heat.
“It’s like someone once told me,” said Max, “Take the past, burn it up, and let it go. Take me out with a bang, Charizard.”
Crying at the top of his lungs, Charizard released a Fire Blast before he hit. The combo of the two Fire-Attacks was going to cause an enormous blast.
“We gotta get outta here!” yelled Ricky, “We’re to close!”
Then, Grant sent out Mew, who created a psychic barrier. Maddie, Hope, and Emma looked at their grandfather as tears streamed down his face.
“What’s Dad doing?” demanded Emma.
“He’s going to…” said Shadow.
“No!” yelled Jay.
Impact. A huge blast of flames erupted all over the desert, turning it to glass up to four miles deep. The smoke cleared rather quickly, and they saw three things: Steve’s charred corpse, which caused Lindsey to faint.
The second was Charizard, who was struggling to stay conscious.
The third was Max…lifeless.
Everyone ran out to him. Rich got there first and dropped to his knees, and lifted Max’s upper body into his arms, checking for a pulse.
“No,” said Rich as tears swelled up in his eyes, “He can’t be dead…HE CAN’T BE!”
His daughters ran to James, who tried to comfort them. Emily fell to the ground…Max was her oldest friend…
“Why…” said Grant.
Shadow began crying and Jay put his arm around her and she buried her head into his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.
Then, Charizard stood up, and began growling and roaring in sorrow. He began shooting flames everywhere; he was lost and confused. Everyone backed away as Charizard approached his friend. He knelt down and held Max, hoping somehow, someway, he wasn’t dead.
Blastoise came up to Charizard with tears in his eyes, and put his arm onto Charizard’s shoulder. Charizard looked at Blastoise, and Blastoise closed his eyes as he shook his head…he couldn’t bare to look Charizard in the face.
“CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!” Charizard cried as he spit flames high into the air.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Give And Take!
It was Max’s funeral in Lilycove. They held the wake outside on the beach…Max loved it there.
Charizard sat on a hillside nearby, staring at the sunlight. He had been there for days without water, food, or sleep.
“What can I say about Max?” asked Abad, as he began his eulogy, “He was a crazy guy, that’s for sure…When I first met him, it was during the first war against the NPZ. We fought alongside each other, and then formed the PMC sometime afterwards…He was a great man, a little unorthodox, but a good person…”
James took Abad’s spot, and began, “I knew Max the same way Abad did…he had a passion for what he did…even before he knew about being the Pokémon Master, he acted as one…there are no words to fully describe him…Greetz, my friend…”
“I trained with Max for two and a half years,” said Jason, “His Aggron wouldn’t leave me alone…but Max taught me a lot about Pokémon battling, and in the end, I was a leader of the Masters…he was always a good man…and I wish he had more time with his daughters…after all he did, he deserved it…”
“I’ve known Max since I was born,” said J.C., “He had been living in Pallet for a year, and was like a second big bother to me. He convinced Rich to let me go on their journey with them, that way I could learn about training before I got my first Pokémon…but he then convinced Oak to give me a Bulbasaur…It’s not fair…he was a great man…he cared deeply for his friends, family, and Pokémon alike…why he did this, I just don’t know.
Rich was next to speak, “I met Max when he first moved to Pallet…He was always the one trying to think ahead when I wanted to rush into things…whenever we listened to me, it usually blew up in our faces…We parted ways for a while and met up in Hoenn, and traveled through even more hard times…fifteen years ago, I saved his butt, and though we hadn’t talked in years, things never changed between us…he was like my brother. And even our Pokémon shared close bonds, especially Charizard and Blastoise…they were just like us, if not then they got along better than me and Max…Charizard…Max loved Charizard. He met him when he was five, and Oak saved him for Max for six years. Those two have never been apart…I wish there was an easy way to make him cope with the loss of Max…”
They asked Emily to say something, but she was too upset…so, April decided to talk instead.
“Well,” said April, “I never got to know Max that well…I followed his career for years. It was him who got me into training Pokémon, and then I joined the resistance to hopefully meet him, and it took fifteen years, but my choice paid off…I wish I had more time to get to know him, but I can at least say that in the short time he got to be a father, he cared more about his daughters than anything else…an-”
She suddenly stopped and gazed at the sky.
Everyone followed her line of sight, and the sun became blocked out almost entirely by a large Flying-Type Pokémon. Seconds later, Ho-oh landed next to Max’s casket.
Grant tried to approach him, but Ho-oh let out a cry that told everyone to get back.
Ho-oh wrapped his large wings around the casket and set himself on fire with Sacred Fire!
Though everyone thought this was insane, no one stopped him…and no one knew why no one was stopping him. The flames became so bright no one could see inside of them, but as they died down, Ho-oh was gone.
“What just happened?” asked Crash.
Then, Max sat up out of his casket!
“Where,” said Max, “Where am I?”
His daughters and father ran over and all hugged him tightly, and Rich said, “Ho-oh took his own life…”
“To give Max his back,” said April.
“Maybe this was Ho-oh’s destiny?” asked J.C.
“How so?” asked Abad as they watched the family continue to rejoice.
“Max and Ho-oh have had a close bond for years. I was always puzzled by it until now…just before Max was about to go six-feet-under, Ho-oh brings him back.”
“And,” said James, “Max died, which means he served his death sentence.”
Then, Charizard came flying in at top speed and tackled Max to the ground, licking his face, something he hadn’t done since he was a Charmander!
Furret and Nidoking popped out and also rejoiced with Charizard.
Then, Celebi appeared, and it flew over to Crash. Crash was now the Pokémon Master, and he could communicate with Celebi now.
“Are you sure?” asked Crash.
Walking with his Pokémon and family, Max approached Crash, and said, “What’s going on?”
“Celebi is making you an offer Max…” said Crash.
“What?” everyone asked eagerly.
“The chance to live a different life…the way it was meant to be lived…he says that all your friends and family and Pokémon will return throughout this new life…except for…”
Crash looked at Maddie, Hope, and Emma.
Max was about to decline, he couldn’t take away his daughters’ lives like that. But, the triplets said in unison, “He accepts!”
“WHAT?” asked Max.
“Dad,” said Maddie, “You deserve a good life…when the time comes for you to really die, you should remember a good life, not a life of war…”
“Dad,” said Emma, “We love you, and want you to be happy.”
A time portal opened up, and Hope shoved her dad inside, and the beginning began all over again…
Epilogue
“Max!” yelled Delia up the stairs, “Come on! You’ll be late for picked up Charmander at the professor’s!”
“Coming Aunt Delia!” yelled Max. He was twelve, and today would begin his journey with Rich to become a Pokémon Master!
As he got dressed, he found a note in his pocket. It was all charred up, but he could make out, it read at the end, “I hope we are still friends, I love you like a big brother, and don’t want to see you hurt anymore…Emily.”
Max was wondering how it got there, he hadn’t seen Emily in months. She had visited over the summer and returned to Slateport City in the Hoenn region towards the end of summer, and the pants he put on were just washed yesterday.
“Whatever,” said Max.
“MAX!” yelled Delia.
“COMING!”
Few things:
1. I ditched a lot of new characters for several reasons, including the fact it was too hard to keep up with them, and I added some characters based off of people who have come into my life this past year.
2. I've been working on this for two weeks, and decided to post it all at once.
3. Sorry it took so long, the breakup with my girlfriend threw me into one hell of a downward spiral, and my friends and family have been bringing me back up, slowly, but surely
4. Yes, I never gave Justin a fate at the end.
5. The next story is going to be crazy because up until now, I've written about Max being in a war, and now, I'm going to write about his adventures from the beginning.
Thanks for reading and keeping me going,
-Max Shade IV
Chapter Twenty: Love Is Sweet, Revenge Is Sweeter!
Max was in a training room in the Sinnoh hideout. He had instructed Ash not to let anyone disturb him. His six Pokémon stood in a line, and Max was about to speak.
“You have all been through hard times with me,” Max began, “I’ve relied on you to help me for fifteen years or longer…I know I’m your trainer, but I am also your friend. You have all charged into dangerous situations without ever hesitating or questioning my orders.
“The point is this: I don’t know how long we’ll be in this war, and it’s not fair of me to ask you to stay with me. So…”
Max layed out his six PokéBalls in front of their respective Pokémon.
“These are your PokéBalls,” he continued, “You all have the chance right now to leave. I’ll release you into a life of freedom…no more orders, no more risking your tails for me. If you choose to stay, I’ll be grateful, but if you wish to leave this life, I will not be angry.”
The Pokémon looked at each other with strange looks. Max was serious. They had the option of never fighting a war again. The first to make a choice was Rhyperior.
He approached his PokéBall and returned into it.
Marowak, Espeon, and Electivire followed suit!
Sceptile looked at Max. He wasn’t about to leave Max behind, Max had been his trainer since he was practically hatched from his egg. He returned to his PokéBall.
Charizard reached down and picked up his PokéBall, and looked at Max as though the offer wasn’t made to him.
“You too, Charizard,” said Max.
Charizard walked up to Max, and put the PokéBall back onto the chain Max wore around his neck, and held out his right claw. Max shook hands with his Pokémon and Charizard looked him square in the eyes with a, “I’m going nowhere,” look in his eyes.
“Well Charizard,” said Max, “Everyone’s made their decision…it’s payback time.”
With a smirk on his face, Max returned Charizard and left.
As Max walked through the lobby, his daughters watched him from the balcony, and Maddie called to him, “Dad?”
“Not now,” said Max.
Grant stopped his son, and said, “Why do I get the feeling you are about to do something stupid?”
“Because of him,” said Max, “My children and Sceptile almost died. That’s why.”
Max moved around his dad and walked into the elevator to return to the surface.
As he got to the surface, Abad and Shadow were returning, and Shadow said, “Max, where are you going?”
“Nowhere,” said Max without looking at them, “Go Charizard!”
As he mounted Charizard, Abad said, “Max don’t do it.”
“Try and stop me.”
“I’m still your superior.”
“Last I checked, I’m still the Pokémon Master. And as such, I hereby reserve my right to save the world in any way I choose…alone.”
Max kicked his foot into Charizard, signaling for him to take off. With a flap of his wings Charizard flew into the sky.
Max was headed towards Celadon, where he was planning an attack on Cody’s mansion.
He landed on top of the department store, and as he looked at the mansion, he then looked up to the east.
He saw the Silph building. Saffron was virtually untouched by this war.
“Time for an upset,” said Max.
Before you could say Maxamillion Shade IV, Max was in Saffron. He watched carefully, and saw a security guard of the building leave for a lunch break.
Being careful not to be seen, he followed the guard to a diner. The guard sat down at the bar, and Max sat next to him.
“Rough day?” Max asked him.
“Yep,” said the guard, “That Justin has been going nuts with security lately.”
“That blows. Speaking of security I thought I saw that psycho James outside the city.”
The guard ran off, and Max followed. When they reached the outskirts of the city, the guard said, “Where?”
“Right here!” yelled Max as he gave him a right hook.
Taking his clothes, Max was now dressed for security.
Max walked into the Silph building. He scanned his badge on the elevator and made his way to the top floor.
While going up, he grasped his Rhyperior’s PokéBall tightly. When the door opened, he was in Justin’s office.
Justin had his back turned and was facing the window, staring out of it.
“Rough day, sir?” asked Max, disguising his voice.
“Every second I’m anticipating his return,” said Justin, “I haven’t slept in days.”
“Don’t worry sir, he’ll show up, and when he does, you’ll get him.”
Justin continued staring out the window.
“Besides,” Max continued, “The only reason he got in last time was because it was an open party. With the security running through this place, he’ll never get in.”
“I may hate Max with a passion,” said Justin, “But he’s smart. He’ll find a way.”
“Hold on sir, I’m receiving a page.”
Justin waved his hand in the air, signaling to go for it, and Max said, “Sir, Max is in the building!”
Justin yelled, “WHERE?” and then turned around.
“Go Rhyperior!” yelled Max, “Rock Wreaker!”
Rhyperior began blasting down through the floors, destroying them one by one. Max ran past Justin and broke through the glass, and began falling to the ground.
“He’s crazy,” said Justin as he felt the building begin to buckle.
He continued watching as Max’s Charizard appeared and caught him just inches above the pavement, and at that same moment, Rhyperior walked out the front of the building, and Max returned him and flew off.
Justin began to run out of the building. By the time he got out, the building collapsed.
Upon his return to the base in Pastoia…
Max’s daughters ran up to him and hugged him, and Rich said, “You are crazy.”
“As opposed to when?” asked Max.
“Dad,” said Emma, “Mom always said you did a bunch of crazy things, why?”
“When you girls take over,” said Max, “You’ll understand.”
“Max!” yelled Ricky from the upper level, “I need you in the library NOW!”
Max ran upstairs, and Ricky locked the doors.
“Ricky, what’ going on?” Max asked worried.
By this time, the girls and some of the senior members were eavesdropping.
“Max,” said Ricky, “For years I’ve been doing research on the Pokémon Master.”
“Why?” asked Max.
“Because, Maddie, Hope and Emma were one: triplets and two: female.”
“So?”
“The legends I’ve come across regarding the Master have all confirmed one thing: The Master is always a male, and is always an only child…they’ve broken the chain.”
Max got this look on his face…he was terrified by this confirmation, but had no idea why.
“So,” said Max, “What will happen?”
“I’m not sure…” said Ricky, “From what I’ve gathered…someone will need to take your place, but not your daughters…sounds sexist, but the thing is, Celebi doesn’t want to endanger girls apparently, and I know you wouldn’t want your daughters doing what you have done for fifteen years.”
“My time is almost up, Ricky,” said Max, “Saving the world right now is my last mission.”
“I know.”
“So…what happens if I don’t find a replacement in time?”
“I can’t tell you that…I don’t know…”
Outside the room…
“Can you hear?” asked Hope.
“Not over your mouth!” said Emma.
Maddie had her hand on the door handle, and it began heating up rapidly. She let go will a scream, and Max, Ricky, and Charizard walked out.
“Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to eavesdrop?” asked Max.
“How did you?” asked Maddie.
“I may only have been a father for a short amount of time, but I got the intuition of one.”
“Told ya,” said Hope.
“Quiet,” said Emma.
Max clapped his hands together, and said, “Abad! What’s our next move?”
Chapter Twenty-One: The Beginning Of The End!
Crash walked down the halls of the base. Max had told everyone the dilemma of the Pokémon Master, and it had him worried.
Suddenly, he heard a voice from behind him call, “Joseph!”
He turned around; Max was walking down the hall towards him.
“Mr. Shade!” said Crash with respect.
“Call me Max, Mr. Shade is my father.”
“Yes Sir Mr. Shade…I mean Max…sir!”
“Chill, alright. Look, I’ve talked to my daughters, they know they aren’t taking over…they were rather happy about it. So, I talked to Jason. I had him give me his reports on the senior members of the resistance…Yours was especially remarkable.”
“Thank you! Ever since I joined the resistance a few years ago, I’ve been trying to give it my all!”
“That’s what Jason said. For a short period of time, you served as second in command for Jason.”
“It was an honor, especially considering the men who served in that position before me. Short-lived as it was, I’d trade nothing for that experience.”
“You are dedicated…I like to see that…Joseph…”
“If you don’t mind, Max, I prefer to be called Crash.”
“Then Crash, here’s what Jason said to me: He told me you aspire to be a Pokémon Master. Not the best trainer but the Master…my family’s position. After talking to some of the guys, they’ve said you are an amazing trainer, as well as a determined guy. That is coming from those of us who are in our mid to late thirties and they are talking about a twenty year old like that.
“My point, Crash, is that you’ve shown enough qualifications in the past couple years to earn a high spot in the Masters…I’m looking for a replacement…I’ve talked to everyone who I thought off right away; Rich, J.C., Abad, James…the first person who came to their mind was you.
“Crash, I’m going to make you the opportunity of a lifetime. You have no obligation to accept, you understand that?”
Crash nodded his head.
“Crash,” said Max, “I want you to take my place as Pokémon Master when this war is over.”
Crash looked at Max with joy in his face, and was so overwhelmed, he could barely make out the words, “How couldn’t I accept?”
Max held out his hand and Crash grasped it firmly in what was a very strong handshake.
“Joseph Fallen,” said Max with a smile, “Welcome to the beginning of the rest of your life. It’s going to be hard work, but in the end, you will accomplish things in life that will change your perspective of life.”
“Thank you,” said Crash.
“But, we’ll celebrate some other time. For now, we’ve got a war to fight!”
Max went into the training room with his daughters, and said, “Time to see how well you’ve kept them trained!”
“Furret, Feraligatr, go!” said Maddie, who had taken her mother’s Pokémon.
“Aggron!” yelled Emma.
“Nidoking!” yelled Hope.
Max smiled. His Pokémon seemed in shape.
“Charizard, Sceptile, Electivire, Espeon, go!” he called out, “This will be one-on-one. I’ll use a different Pokémon for each of yours. I’m not going to complete each battle, this is a practice, and as such, we won’t be knocking each other out.”
“Alright,” said Maddie, “I’ll go first! Furret!”
Max chuckled a little, and said, “In all my years, I never thought I’d battle Furret, even in a practice match. Go Espeon! Use Psybeam!”
“Dodge and use Sucker Punch!”
Furret swiftly dodged that Psychic-Type move and then landed a Sucker Punch on Espeon’s side.
“Hit her hard with Psychic!” Max ordered.
“Captivate!” yelled Maddie.
Furret used Captivate. Maddie knew that Furret was the only female Pokémon her father had ever trained, and all his other Pokémon were male. So, Espeon’s attack was severely weakened.
“Good job, Maddie,” said Max, “Espeon, return.”
“Feraligatr,” said Maddie, “You are next!”
“Sceptile, let’s go!” said Max. Sceptile had helped Max train Feraligatr as a Totodile. Max and Sceptile were both anxious to see how much Feraligatr had grown over the years.
“Leaf Blade!” yelled Max.
“Aqua Tail!” yelled Maddie.
They hit each other with their attacks, and then Max yelled, “Blank shot range! Use Bullet Seed!”
Sceptile released tiny bullets of sunlight from his mouth, and they hit Feraligatr hard. But he wasn’t ready to give up yet!
“Ice Punch!” yelled Maddie.
Feraligatr got Sceptile in the side, and Sceptile jumped back, but was ready for more.
“Alright,” said Max, “Leaf Storm!”
Sceptile released a fury of leafs that almost knocked out Feraligatr.
“Hydro Cannon!” yelled Maddie.
Feraligatr shot a burst of high pressured water that sent Sceptile into the wall hard and fast.
“Return,” said Max.
“My turn!” said Emma, “Go Aggron!”
“Electivire,” said Max, “You’re up!”
“Dragon Rush!”
“What?”
Beginning to ignite into green flames, Aggron charged Electivire!
“Cross Chop!” Max yelled.
Electivire hit Aggron hard, but Aggron had a lot of momentum built up and just plowed through.
“Iron Tail!” Max ordered.
“You too, Aggron!” yelled Emma.
Their tail met with a bang, and Aggron overpowered Electivire.
“Return!” said Max.
Nidoking and Charizard both took their positions. As they stared each other in the eyes, both of them along with Max had a flashback to a very early point in Max’s career as a trainer…
Flash back…
Max, Rich, and J.C. were walking towards Mount Moon. The trio of friends had just come from Pewter City, where Max and Rich won their Boulder Badge.
“Wow!” said J.C., who was six years younger, “I can’t wait until you guys go head to head at the Pokémon League finals!”
“Don’t get us ahead of ourselves,” said Rich.
“Yeah,” said Max, “We’ve barely started. We’ll be lucky if we make it to the Pokémon League at all!”
Suddenly, a Pokémon jumped out of the woods and wouldn’t let them pass!
J.C. carried a PokéDex, and as he flipped it open, he exclaimed, “It’s a Nidorino!”
“Awesome!” said Max.
“Try and catch it!” yelled Rich.
“Alright!” said Max, “Go Charmeleon!”
Charmeleon, Max’s first Pokémon, came out of his PokéBall and Max ordered, “Ember!”
Charmeleon shot embers from his mouth that scorched Nidorino. But Nidorino was tough! He charged Charmeleon and began ramming his horn really fast at Charmeleon!
“Look out Max!” said Rich, “He’s using Fury Attack!”
“Charmeleon!” said Max, “Use Smokescreen!”
Charmeleon began shooting a thick black smoke out of his mouth. The gang could hear Nidorino coughing, and Max yelled, “Fire Fang!”
Charmeleon bit down on Nidorino and scorched his hide.
Nidorino went ballistic and combined his Fury Attack with Poison Jab!
“Look out Charmeleon!” Max yelled.
Charmeleon was getting more and more frustrated by the second. And suddenly, began to spew green flames from his mouth!
“What is that?” asked Max.
“That’s Dragon Rage!” said J.C.
The move knocked out Nidorino, and Max threw out a PokéBall. Nidorino had been caught.
“That was the last battle I had with Nidoking,” Max thought to himself, “Flamethrower!”
“Water Pulse!” yelled Hope.
The attacks negated each other.
“Thunder!” ordered Hope.
“Dig!” yelled Max.
Charizard dodged by burrowing into the ground.
“Earthquake!” yelled Hope.
Charizard got rattled pretty good in the ground. He came up a little disoriented.
“Poison Jab!” yelled Hope.
“Use Fire Punch!” ordered Max.
The two punched each other in the chest. Charizard got poisoned and Nidoking burned.
Both Max and Hope returned their Pokémon. Max didn’t want them to get injured any more than they were.
After a quick healing, Max sat his girls down.
“I’m proud of you girls,” said Max, “You have kept them in top condition…and they’ve definitely grown in strength since I left them.”
“We try,” said Emma.
Abad walked into the room, and said, “Max, you ready for your speech delivery?”
Max nodded, and left. Abad motioned for the girls to come with.
In the auditorium they had, Max stood at a podium on the stage. He looked at the front row. From left to right, he saw his daughters, Abad, James, Jason, Crash, Ricky, Yurei, Rich, J.C., his dad, Chris, April, and Ash. The row behind them sat the LPC.
Abad and Max arranged a setup so that every television station would play Max’s speech.
Max cleared his throat, and said, “For those of you who never met me personally, I’m Max Shade. I am the former third in command here. The world has been in a downward spiral since I left. My final mission as Pokémon Master is to see that this war ends in our favor.
“This is my final mission…and seeing as how my daughters cannot replace me, I was forced to find someone to carry on the legacy and responsibility of the Pokémon Master. It is my honor to announce that Joseph “Crash” Fallen has agreed to take my place.
“Some sources have informed us that Justin and his army will be taking an all out attack on us,” Max looked straight into the camera, “To every person in the world, whether you are a trainer or not, I’m making you this offer: Join us. Together, we can take our planet back…our home.
“I look at the people in the first row and see a group of dedicated trainers…but more than anything, I see my family. Upon the formation of the PMC twenty years ago, we made a pact. It was simple and not very original…All for one, and one for all. We will follow each other into battle without question; without opposition.
“Tomorrow, I will land on Mount Battle,” he looked into the camera again, and said, “And tomorrow, Justin, is the beginning…of the end.”
Chapter Twenty-Two: Ask Yourself, Do I Feel Lucky?
Max landed on Mount Battle with his Charizard alone. Max wore his cape and wrapped it around his front to keep warm as he dismounted Charizard.
There waiting for him was none other than Cody.
Max smirked, and Cody said, “Looks like all your family and friends have chickened out.”
The only part of Max that moved was his hair as it blew through the wind. He said no words, and Cody got a strange feeling from Max.
This was a side of Max he’d never seen. Max had always been serious about this war, but this was a different seriousness. Everyone knew Max was scared every time he went to battle, but there was no fear in him. Just anger, rage, and seriousness.
Within a few seconds, the Masters began to emerge to the summit of Mount Battle.
Rich and J.C. stood on either side of Max, and Rich sent out his Blastoise, and J.C. his Venusaur.
The others stood behind them.
Rich said, “If you fight, Max…”
“…We’ll be right there with ya,” said J.C.
“Trust me,” said Max, “We’ll be winning a big battle today.
Cody pointed at two of his men to join him for a three-on-three battle.
Cody sent out Magmortar, and the other two sent out a Weavile and a Dusknoir.
Max looked at his friends, they nodded, and Max said, “GO!”
The trio of Pokémon charged. Charizard began spewing embers out of his mouth, ready launch and Fire-Type move.
Blastoise locked his hydro cannons in place to launch his most powerful Water-Type moves.
As for Venusaur, he began absorbing as much sunlight as possible to power up his Grass-Type moves.
“Lava Plume!” yelled Cody.
Blastoise doused Venusaur in water to try and protect him while Charizard flew into the attack head-on and took most of the hit, which did little damage.
Weavile’s trainer then said, “Use Beat Up!”
Several red silhouettes came out and began pummeling the gang’s Pokémon.
“Blastoise, Withdraw!” ordered Rich. Blastoise was able to escape a lot of heavy damage.
“Grab Charizard’s feet!” yelled J.C.
Venusaur wrapped his vines around Charizard’s ankles.
“Spin!” he continued.
“Everyone, duck!” Max told his friends, “Charizard, use Fire Spin!”
The combination of Charizard’s attack with Venusaur spinning around caused Charizard to surround the entire mountain top in a wall of flames rocketing over one hundred feet high!
Max look up and saw a helicopter overhead…Justin was watching.
“Use Shadow Sneak!” the other trainer ordered his Dusknoir.
Dusknoir disappeared, and then, without warning, Blastoise shot into the air!
“Charizard!” yelled Max. Charizard needed no further instruction. He flew into the air and caught his old friend.
But, since Charizard’s hands were now full, Cody yelled out, “HYPER BEAM!”
The order was directed at all three Pokémon, and they all hit the gang’s Pokémon.
The attack hit hard, and they were barely able to stand.
“Rich,” said Max, “How high can Blastoise send Charizard into the air?”
“With what?” asked Rich.
“Hydro Cannon.”
“Pretty high but it’ll nearly knock him out.”
“Charizard isn’t going to be conscious much longer.”
“Alright…Blastoise, Hydro Cannon on Charizard!”
Blastoise looked confused, and Rich said, “Just do it!”
Blastoise shot Charizard as hard as he could, giving every last ounce of energy into the attack.
As Charizard shot twice the height of the helicopter, Max called out with more anger and rage than he had ever used in his voice before, “BLAZING KAMIKAZE!!!!”
Charizard went into a nosedive position and ignited his body into white flames, more intense than he had ever done before.
He began falling; slowly at first, but quickly accelerated until he reach terminal velocity. He was going to hit the ground, where, however, he had no idea. This attack would be so powerful that it didn’t matter where his opponents were, they’d be knocked out.
Right before he hit, Abad’s Alakazam’s both came out and used Light Screen to protect their comrades.
The blast and shockwave from the attack was so tremendous, that everyone fell to the ground. When the blinding light faded, Max, said, “No…”
Cody’s Magmortar Managed to use Barrier, and now had his magma blaster aimed at his Charizard’s head.
Max had tears in his eyes as he screamed, “Why you!”
He began charging at Cody. When his men tried to protect Cody, Cody brushed them to the side.
But, as Max released his cape and let it flow behind him, Cody noticed a shiny, metallic object in Max’s belt. Max grabbed the handle of it, and pulled out a .44 Magnum revolver.
Cody’s eyes grew wide and he yelled to his Magmortar, “Fire!”
But Rich wouldn’t allow that, and Blastoise used Aqua Jet to save Charizard.
Rich now saw the gun. He knew it didn’t matter which side Max was on, the gun was wrong. Both sides would get him for it.
“Max!” he yelled to his brother-like friend, “Charizard is okay!”
But, Max’s adrenaline was rushing. The only thing he could sense was pain and anger. He got right up to Cody, stuck the barrel at his left chest and pulled the trigger without a second thought.
Blood began spilling from both the wound and Cody’s mouth…he died within seconds.
His daughters began crying, they couldn’t believe what had just happened. Maddie broke down and ran to James, who wrapped his arms around her as he stared on trying to comprehend what had just happened. Hope fainted and Crash caught her before she hit the ground. All he could think of is that he could’ve stopped Max if he had know that was a gun he had dropped on the rocks just weeks earlier. Emma just stared…
Max fell to the ground. He looked around and saw Charizard was alive and Magmortar was knocked out…
“What did I just do?” he thought to himself.
April was in shock…Max had never resorted to such extreme violence, everyone knew he had a temper, but nothing like this…nothing that could’ve hinted at this!
Rich walked over to Max while J.C. went to check on Charizard.
Rich knelt next to Max, and Max was muttering, “What have I done?” over and over again.
“Max…” said Rich. Max wasn’t listening…Max had just used a gun, and object that no longer existed in today’s society. What would happen to him?
The helicopter landed, and Justin got out. He grabbed Max by the cape and lifted him to his feet. Two officers handcuffed him, and Justin then said, “Max Shade, you are under arrest for possession and usage of a firearm to commit murder.”
Chapter Twenty-Three: Eye For An Eye!
Max was at a trial…Justin was the judge so he knew this would end up horribly.
“Max,” said Justin, “Of all things you could’ve done, this was by far the stupidest. The jury has found you guilty, and it’s my job to give you your sentence.”
“Then just give it me you short little creep!” yelled Max, “There is nothing more for me! You’ve arrested my family! You’ve taken my Pokémon, my friends! You’ve destroyed a world that I gave my whole life to protect!”
“Then you won’t be too upset with the death sentence.”
Someone in the room shrieked, it was Emily. Max turned around and said, “This is the kind of guy you want to be with? Well say goodbye to me now cuz I’m going to join the Ghost-Pokémon!”
Max was thrown into solitary confinement. His room was padded so much that there was no echo, so he couldn’t hear anything he said. He was in a straight jacket.
Then, the door to his cell opened, and Steve walked in.
“Don’t worry about your girls, Max,” said Steve, “I’ll be a great father to them…unlike you who left them their whole lives!”
In a regular cell, the other Masters sat.
Rich kept punching the wall every four minutes, exactly. There was a stream of blood running down the wall from his raw knuckles.
April was trying to pick the lock of the cell, while Shadow was trying to get a good vision…with no luck.
Jay and Abad were contemplating how save Max if they could get out. As for J.C. he was talking to Ricky, Crash, and Yurei about why Max could’ve possibly thought of doing that.
Then, the guard said, “You idiots have a visitor.”
Emily walked in, and got the cold shoulder.
“Look,” she said, “Before you guys hate me, hear me out…” she then looked at the guard, basically telling him to leave.
He did so, and said, “I knew about the gun…”
Abad stood up and said, “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“When Max had his heart attack, I rescued him…in his bag was a gun…if I had taken it, he would’ve known and freaked on me…if you guys knew you’d never find him, he’d be sure of it…I knew he’d use it no matter what the cost. I’ve been acting this way so you have someone to help even now.”
“Why should we believe a word you say?” asked Yurei.
Emily walked over to her, grabbed her hand and said, “You’ll have to trust me.”
As she let go of Yurei’s hand, she left a key in her hand.
“You guys get out,” said Emily, “I’ll get Max out.”
The door to Max’s cell opened. He had his back to it, so he didn’t know it until someone put their hand on his shoulder.
Max spun around as quickly as his straightjacket would allow and saw Emily. Max looked at her. Then she did something strange; she hugged him.
Max suddenly felt his jacket loosen up, and Emily left.
Max then watched the door close and he saw that there was a PokéBall she had left him. With it was a note.
Making sure no one was looking into his cell; Max pulled out his hands and began reading.
“Dear Max,” it wrote, “You’ve known me for as long as I’ve been alive. You know I’d never do anything to hurt you. I knew about your gun the entire time, and knew no one, not even myself or Rich, could stop you. That is why I’ve acted this way. And now, I can finally do my part for the resistance. I’ve given you one Pokémon…if you have to ask who it is, you can’t be as smart as they say you are.
“I hope we are still friends, I love you like a big brother, and don’t want to see you hurt anymore…Emily.”
Max slid the note into his pocket, and then throwing the PokéBall out he said, “Dragon Rage!”
Before Charizard’s body had fully materialized, he was shooting green flames out of his mouth, crashing the door down.
Max and Charizard walked towards the doorway and saw the guard was trapped under it. Max and Charizard walked right on top of the door.
“Charizard,” said Max, “This is our war now…no one else’s.”
Charizard growled in agreement.
As Max walked out, guards tried to stop him, but Charizard set any opposition ablaze.
Max walked to the storage room, where all the personal belongings were. After five minutes he found his clothes. He got out of the white clothes they made him wear and put on his jeans and white t-shirt, and then slipped the note into his jeans. After this, he strapped his gloves on and laced his boots. He put his cape on last, and then took the necklace that held his Charizard’s PokéBall. He put the chain around his neck and clasped it together, then attached the PokéBall.
The Masters had escaped and were now running for their lives from a horde of cops.
“Keep running!” yelled Abad to his friends.
Then, he suddenly stopped as he stared into the sky.
“Wow,” said James, “That looks like a bunch of angry Pokémon.”
As the others looked up, they saw Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, Ho-oh, Celebi, Latias, Latios, Rayquaza, Rekkuza, Jirachi, both Deoxys, Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Dialga, Palkia, Cresselia, Giratina, Darkrai, and Arceus.
As the legendaries attacked the cops, the Masters were able to walk instead of run.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Take The Past, Burn It Up And Let It Go!
Charizard was angry beyond all reason. As he flew, he flew near the ground. The anger made the flame on his tail white hot and trail off ten feet, and as they headed through the Orre desert, there was a wide strip of glass behind them as the flame melted the sand.
They flew right through Phenac, and the speed Charizard flew at was so fast it caused people to fall off their feet from the energy he produced.
There was a funeral for Cody at Agate Village. Lindsey and Steve were there, and Steve said some kind words about him…none of which were true.
Suddenly the funeral came to a halt as someone came running up to Steve, and said, “They broke out…all of them.”
Steve ran to his truck and drove off.
As he rolled through the desert, Steve got a phone call on his cell phone.
“Now is not a good time!” Steve yelled.
“Now is the only time!” yelled Justin on the other end, “Max escaped!”
“Where is he?”
“Several kilometers heading straight for you!”
Steve dropped his phone and came to a halt. He now noticed that there was a sandstorm coming. But it wasn’t a regular sandstorm, it was almost as though something moving at an alarming rate was moving towards him, kicking up the sand.
He tried to turn around but the sand wouldn’t let him do it fast, and suddenly, from the sandstorm, a blast of red-hot flames shot at him and lit his car on fire!
He tried to get out, but the flames were so intense that the doors had welded shut. Then, he saw Max and Charizard. Max jumped off and Charizard kept pressing forward.
He was waiting for Charizard to stop, but he wasn’t stopping, he was accelerating!
Charizard busted through the windshield, getting glass shards stuck everywhere on his body, then grabbed Steve and went out the back windshield, in which Steve became covered in glass shards.
He slammed Steve into the sand, causing the tiny grains to become embedded in his wounds.
Charizard held him there, and Max slowly walked over to them. He saw a rather large shard in Charizard’s shoulder, and told his Pokémon, “Hold still.”
Max tore a piece of his cape off, and then removed the shard swiftly. Charizard winced and Max bandaged the deep wound. Then, he knelt over a barely conscious Steve.
“You won’t win, Max,” Steve managed to utter.
“I’m not here as the Pokémon Master anymore,” said Max, “That is my past. You can have this stupid war. But your life will belong to me. But I’m going to be kind…Charizard, get off him.”
Charizard did so, and began picking pieces of glass out of his hide.
“Stand up!” yelled Max, “Come on tough guy!”
Steve struggled onto his knees, and it made Max impatient. He grabbed Steve and hoisted him to his feet.
“Not so strong now?” asked Max, “No one here to back you up? No one to fight your battle? You are on your own! Welcome to the life and times of Maxamillion Shade IV! On my own for fifteen years! Fighting my own battles with only six Pokémon. When I was in a pinch I had my wits not an army of trainers! Now you son of a female Arcanine you and me! One on one battle! Charizard, let’s do this!”
Charizard, though injured, had so much adrenaline pumping through his veins that it almost replaced all the blood. The only emotion Charizard could feel was hatred towards Steve and honor for his trainer…no, not his trainer, his best friend.
“Go Swampert!” said Steve, “Mud Shot!”
Charizard dodged. For a Pokémon who was almost sliced to pieces, he was in amazing fighting condition.
“Charizard,” said Max, “Use Frenzy Plant.”
Steve stared at Max. He had truly lost his mind with that one.
But Charizard’s claw began glowing as he used Metronome. And, with that, Charizard used the powerful Grass-Type move.
But Swampert dodged, and used Hydro Cannon. It almost knocked Charizard out.
Then, a Solarbeam blasted Swampert.
“SAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRR!!”
An angry Venusaur came charging in and used Tackle on Swampert.
Max looked to see J.C.
“If you thought you were in this alone,” said J.C., “Think again!”
From all over, Max’s friends and family appeared with their most loyal Pokémon. But not just them, trainers Max had never seen came in with their Pokémon by the hundreds!
Rich and Blastoise came to his side. Rich began talking in a voice only Max was able to hear, “Right now, you finish the war…but that death penalty will still stand…I advise you figure something out.”
“I already have it figured out…” said Max, “I need you to find something out: What happens if a Pokémon kills a human.”
“What?”
“Just do it, leave Blastoise with me.”
Rich ran off. He talked to Jay, who lent him his Altaria. Rich flew off.
Justin came in from a helicopter and sent out Manectric.
“You think that’ll stop us?” asked Max.
“No,” said Justin, “THEY WILL!”
Hundreds of officers came rushing in, and an all out Pokémon battle began!
Ricky’s Feraligatr and Rukario were double teaming as many Pokémon as possible, and in the chaos, almost hit Jay’s Starmie and Shadow’s Jolteon!
After hours of fighting, the only Pokémon left were Charizard, Venusaur, Blastoise, along with Furret and Nidoking, who had gone back to listening to Max for his superior battle experience over his daughters.
They were surrounded. Max’s friends and family were captured, when suddenly a Hitmonchan punched way through with Rich.
“Well?” asked Max.
“Nothing can happen,” said Rich, “Unless a trainer orders the Pokémon. Tell me you can deal with that.”
Max nodded.
“Good,” said Rich.
The six Pokémon were standing with their backs towards each other in a circle around Max, Rich and J.C.
“Any bright ideas?” asked J.C.
“Not too many,” said Max, “They would all get us killed.”
“Hm…” said Rich, “So our options include: Death, more death, death with a side of death, or death.”
“Pretty much.”
“Time to make it out alive!”
“As always,” said J.C.
“Seismic Toss!” Max ordered Nidoking.
Nidoking grabbed Hitmonchan and threw him into the opponents, which he used Ice Punch to begin forming a wall of ice.
“Help out with Ice Beam, Blastoise!” yelled Rich.
They were just about finished with what had become a protective dome of ice when Manectric and Swampert along with Justin and Steve jumped in.
Before the opening was entirely closed, Charizard shoved the other five Pokémon out, and Max shoved his friends out as well.
“Time to serve your sentence,” said Justin, “Discharge!”
The electricity was aimed at Max, and Charizard got in the way, taking the entire hit!
Charizard was on his claws and knees, when Steve said, “Put out that flame!”
Swampert aimed a Hydro Pump at Charizard’s tail, when suddenly, Charizard’s Blaze ability kicked in.
He began emitting a bright red aura, and all the cuts from the glass became a bright red as his body temperature rose significantly.
The heat being emitted was scorching hot and the ice literally began melting so fast you could watch it.
Once the dome was completely melted, Charizard let out a giant roar with a spew of white flames.
Max got onto Charizard and took to the air. No words were going to be spoken between them. Charizard knew what Max wanted him to do, and although it would work perfectly, Charizard knew something was going on in Max’s head that wasn’t right…it worried Charizard, but he knew that he’d have to trust the man who had been there since day one.
“Go Fearow!” yelled Justin. Justin took off after Max.
The two exchanged many attacks, until finally, a Flamethrower by Charizard knocked Fearow away, and the time was perfect.
Steve watched from below, and he was standing alone. The troops had begun taking the prisoners away. But then, something disturbing.
Charizard ignited on fire. He took his nosedive position.
Charizard began falling right towards Steve. The troops began running as Max’s friends and family watched in dismay.
Lindsey then arrived, she had walked the whole way from Agate, and couldn’t believe what she was looking at.
“Guys,” said Grant, “That Is a Blazing Kamikaze.”
“Yeah,” said Chris, “We see that…”
“Those flames are white, and Max didn’t order it…a Pokémon can only use a Kamikaze if ordered…”
“Max is full of surprises,” said Rich.
Maddie shrieked, and Yurei said, “What’s wrong?”
“D-D-Dad’s cape!” she replied nervously, “It’s on fire!”
“What the heck?” said J.C.
“Why isn’t he jumping off?” asked Abad.
On Charizard, Max said to his Pokémon before the impact on Steve, who was like a Stantler in front of a car, “Charizard, this is where we part ways…for good. Take care of my daughters like you have me for so long…I love ya, buddy…and make sure I’m buried in Lilycove…I always loved it there…Look after everyone for me.”
Charizard couldn’t stop the attack…it wasn’t possible, it was too late…Max’s plan involved serving his sentence while taking out Steve. Charizard’s eyes began to swell with tears that evaporated from the intense heat.
“It’s like someone once told me,” said Max, “Take the past, burn it up, and let it go. Take me out with a bang, Charizard.”
Crying at the top of his lungs, Charizard released a Fire Blast before he hit. The combo of the two Fire-Attacks was going to cause an enormous blast.
“We gotta get outta here!” yelled Ricky, “We’re to close!”
Then, Grant sent out Mew, who created a psychic barrier. Maddie, Hope, and Emma looked at their grandfather as tears streamed down his face.
“What’s Dad doing?” demanded Emma.
“He’s going to…” said Shadow.
“No!” yelled Jay.
Impact. A huge blast of flames erupted all over the desert, turning it to glass up to four miles deep. The smoke cleared rather quickly, and they saw three things: Steve’s charred corpse, which caused Lindsey to faint.
The second was Charizard, who was struggling to stay conscious.
The third was Max…lifeless.
Everyone ran out to him. Rich got there first and dropped to his knees, and lifted Max’s upper body into his arms, checking for a pulse.
“No,” said Rich as tears swelled up in his eyes, “He can’t be dead…HE CAN’T BE!”
His daughters ran to James, who tried to comfort them. Emily fell to the ground…Max was her oldest friend…
“Why…” said Grant.
Shadow began crying and Jay put his arm around her and she buried her head into his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.
Then, Charizard stood up, and began growling and roaring in sorrow. He began shooting flames everywhere; he was lost and confused. Everyone backed away as Charizard approached his friend. He knelt down and held Max, hoping somehow, someway, he wasn’t dead.
Blastoise came up to Charizard with tears in his eyes, and put his arm onto Charizard’s shoulder. Charizard looked at Blastoise, and Blastoise closed his eyes as he shook his head…he couldn’t bare to look Charizard in the face.
“CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!” Charizard cried as he spit flames high into the air.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Give And Take!
It was Max’s funeral in Lilycove. They held the wake outside on the beach…Max loved it there.
Charizard sat on a hillside nearby, staring at the sunlight. He had been there for days without water, food, or sleep.
“What can I say about Max?” asked Abad, as he began his eulogy, “He was a crazy guy, that’s for sure…When I first met him, it was during the first war against the NPZ. We fought alongside each other, and then formed the PMC sometime afterwards…He was a great man, a little unorthodox, but a good person…”
James took Abad’s spot, and began, “I knew Max the same way Abad did…he had a passion for what he did…even before he knew about being the Pokémon Master, he acted as one…there are no words to fully describe him…Greetz, my friend…”
“I trained with Max for two and a half years,” said Jason, “His Aggron wouldn’t leave me alone…but Max taught me a lot about Pokémon battling, and in the end, I was a leader of the Masters…he was always a good man…and I wish he had more time with his daughters…after all he did, he deserved it…”
“I’ve known Max since I was born,” said J.C., “He had been living in Pallet for a year, and was like a second big bother to me. He convinced Rich to let me go on their journey with them, that way I could learn about training before I got my first Pokémon…but he then convinced Oak to give me a Bulbasaur…It’s not fair…he was a great man…he cared deeply for his friends, family, and Pokémon alike…why he did this, I just don’t know.
Rich was next to speak, “I met Max when he first moved to Pallet…He was always the one trying to think ahead when I wanted to rush into things…whenever we listened to me, it usually blew up in our faces…We parted ways for a while and met up in Hoenn, and traveled through even more hard times…fifteen years ago, I saved his butt, and though we hadn’t talked in years, things never changed between us…he was like my brother. And even our Pokémon shared close bonds, especially Charizard and Blastoise…they were just like us, if not then they got along better than me and Max…Charizard…Max loved Charizard. He met him when he was five, and Oak saved him for Max for six years. Those two have never been apart…I wish there was an easy way to make him cope with the loss of Max…”
They asked Emily to say something, but she was too upset…so, April decided to talk instead.
“Well,” said April, “I never got to know Max that well…I followed his career for years. It was him who got me into training Pokémon, and then I joined the resistance to hopefully meet him, and it took fifteen years, but my choice paid off…I wish I had more time to get to know him, but I can at least say that in the short time he got to be a father, he cared more about his daughters than anything else…an-”
She suddenly stopped and gazed at the sky.
Everyone followed her line of sight, and the sun became blocked out almost entirely by a large Flying-Type Pokémon. Seconds later, Ho-oh landed next to Max’s casket.
Grant tried to approach him, but Ho-oh let out a cry that told everyone to get back.
Ho-oh wrapped his large wings around the casket and set himself on fire with Sacred Fire!
Though everyone thought this was insane, no one stopped him…and no one knew why no one was stopping him. The flames became so bright no one could see inside of them, but as they died down, Ho-oh was gone.
“What just happened?” asked Crash.
Then, Max sat up out of his casket!
“Where,” said Max, “Where am I?”
His daughters and father ran over and all hugged him tightly, and Rich said, “Ho-oh took his own life…”
“To give Max his back,” said April.
“Maybe this was Ho-oh’s destiny?” asked J.C.
“How so?” asked Abad as they watched the family continue to rejoice.
“Max and Ho-oh have had a close bond for years. I was always puzzled by it until now…just before Max was about to go six-feet-under, Ho-oh brings him back.”
“And,” said James, “Max died, which means he served his death sentence.”
Then, Charizard came flying in at top speed and tackled Max to the ground, licking his face, something he hadn’t done since he was a Charmander!
Furret and Nidoking popped out and also rejoiced with Charizard.
Then, Celebi appeared, and it flew over to Crash. Crash was now the Pokémon Master, and he could communicate with Celebi now.
“Are you sure?” asked Crash.
Walking with his Pokémon and family, Max approached Crash, and said, “What’s going on?”
“Celebi is making you an offer Max…” said Crash.
“What?” everyone asked eagerly.
“The chance to live a different life…the way it was meant to be lived…he says that all your friends and family and Pokémon will return throughout this new life…except for…”
Crash looked at Maddie, Hope, and Emma.
Max was about to decline, he couldn’t take away his daughters’ lives like that. But, the triplets said in unison, “He accepts!”
“WHAT?” asked Max.
“Dad,” said Maddie, “You deserve a good life…when the time comes for you to really die, you should remember a good life, not a life of war…”
“Dad,” said Emma, “We love you, and want you to be happy.”
A time portal opened up, and Hope shoved her dad inside, and the beginning began all over again…
Epilogue
“Max!” yelled Delia up the stairs, “Come on! You’ll be late for picked up Charmander at the professor’s!”
“Coming Aunt Delia!” yelled Max. He was twelve, and today would begin his journey with Rich to become a Pokémon Master!
As he got dressed, he found a note in his pocket. It was all charred up, but he could make out, it read at the end, “I hope we are still friends, I love you like a big brother, and don’t want to see you hurt anymore…Emily.”
Max was wondering how it got there, he hadn’t seen Emily in months. She had visited over the summer and returned to Slateport City in the Hoenn region towards the end of summer, and the pants he put on were just washed yesterday.
“Whatever,” said Max.
“MAX!” yelled Delia.
“COMING!”
Few things:
1. I ditched a lot of new characters for several reasons, including the fact it was too hard to keep up with them, and I added some characters based off of people who have come into my life this past year.
2. I've been working on this for two weeks, and decided to post it all at once.
3. Sorry it took so long, the breakup with my girlfriend threw me into one hell of a downward spiral, and my friends and family have been bringing me back up, slowly, but surely
4. Yes, I never gave Justin a fate at the end.
5. The next story is going to be crazy because up until now, I've written about Max being in a war, and now, I'm going to write about his adventures from the beginning.
Thanks for reading and keeping me going,
-Max Shade IV
THAT WAS AWESOME, EVERYTHING WAS AWESOME! I can't believe you finished this this early! Thats awesome! Great job as usual max! Man I can't wait for the next one! If there are character apps let me no! (I'm sure there wont be so don't worry about that, just being sure) So awesome! Can't get over it!!
) So awesome! Can't get over it!!I loved it all. This took me by complete surprise Max. There was so much and it was all so good. I can't wait to see the next fic.
Joseph Fallen-------------> Pokemon Master.
OMG!
OMG!
Thanks guys....I've already started the new one, and I'll be sure to post some of it soon.