RE: Pokémon Nightshade: Birth Of A Master! PG-13 WARNING! Chapter 12 is on it's way I'M BACK BABY!
Chapter Twelve: Meeting Up With An Old Friend!
Max was flying over the ocean towards Iron Island; an abandoned island where men once mined iron ore.
Max was almost there. Iron Island would be a great place to hide out for the time being. But then, he felt a sudden pain in his chest. He grabbed his chest right where his heart was, then blacked out and fell into the water.
Charizard began using Overheat to keep his flame so hot, even water couldn’t extinguish it. He dove into the water and grabbed his trainer.
Upon surfacing, he brought Max’s head above water and his tail, but could barely swim and couldn’t rise out of the water. Then, from Iron Island, an Empoleon came rushing out using Aqua Jet for maximum speed.
The Empoleon grabbed Max and Charizard returned himself.
Max woke up. He was in a bed in a small cabin. As his eyesight returned, he looked at the bed post, where his trench coat was hung over it.
To his right, he saw his Pokémon all out, sleeping. Then, on the left of his bed was a blonde woman a few years his younger. He looked at her, and tried to say something. He was so tired and she just placed her hand on his lips and said, “Save your strength, Max. You had a heart attack.”
Then, with what little energy he had, he said, “Emily?” in a soft voice.
“Glad you remember me.”
“How long has it been?”
“Since we were fifteen.”
It all came back to him. When Max went to Kanto as a child, his Aunt Delia was friends with a women from the Hoenn region, Sue. Sue often visited from her home in Slateport with her daughter, Emily.
When Max first left to take on the Hoenn League, he met up with Emily, a coordinator, and they traveled together. Last time Max saw her was before he was returned to the NPZ for the first time.
“Your Charizard is pretty brave,” she said to him.
“Yeah,” said Max.
“He dove in for you.”
Max looked at his oldest and most loyal friend sleeping at his bedside, and Charizard woke up, then put his head near Max. Max put his hand on Charizard’s head.
“You crazy idiot,” said Max, “…Thanks.”
Charizard made a growling noise, but with a smile.
“You two have barely changed,” said Emily, “Treecko on the other hand.”
Sceptile woke up. Last he saw Emily, he was still a Treecko.
“And your other Pokémon are amazing too,” she said, “You catch them all in the past?”
“No, Espeon belonged to my aunt…remember when I got her that Eevee? He evolved, and came with me then,” Max said. He finally gained some energy to sit up and look his old friend in the face.
“Is it me,” said Max sincerely, “Or have you gotten blonder?”
She punched him in the arm.
“Sorry,” said Max, “I couldn’t resist.”
“So what happened after you went home?” she asked, “I mean, I saw you in the news all the time, but you know how they twist everything.”
Max explained everything from when she last saw him walk onto an NPZ plane after he won the Hoenn Championship to, well, his heart attack.
“I still don’t get why she didn’t wait for me,” said Max in regards to his wife.
“She is impatient,” said Emily, “And I’d stop calling her your wife…she made it official four years after your departure…you were declared legally dead, and she legally divorced you…”
Max looked at the ceiling, and said, “I need to end this. I want to live out the rest of my life in peace, and these stupid people trying to rule everything are standing in my way.”
“You had all your friends and family at your side just two days ago and left, why?”
“The thing about friends and family is this: they are my weak points. I know they are supposed to make a person stronger, but they are the ones they will go after. The resistance was fighting because Cody because he was looking to take out what was left of me. Now that I’m back, he’s coming after me. As long as I don’t affiliate myself with anyone from my past, they’ll be safe. In fact, I shouldn’t be here. I appreciate you saving my life, now let me return the favor.”
“Max, you can’t do this on your own. Let me and my boyfriend help.”
“Boyfriend?” asked Max.
“Justin, we’ve been training together for years, we can help you!”
“I’ve been doing this on my own for fifteen years. I’ll be just fine. I’ve got my Pokémon and my wit, I’ll be fine.”
“Max!”
He looked at her.
“We’ve known each other since I was born. I’ve known you longer than anyone besides your mom, step dad, and aunt. I’m not going to sit around and watch you go on a suicide mission!” she yelled.
“And I’m not going to let you help,” replied Max.
“Wanna bet?”
“Espeon, Yawn.”
Espeon let out a Yawn that knocked Emily right out.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Sinnoh…
“Excellent,” said a man behind a desk after his assistant told him what he had heard from the bugged cabin on Iron Island.
“He still believes that bumbling idiot is behind this,” he continued.
“How should we continue?” asked the assistant.
“Let him have some fun, I’ve been waiting a long time for this. We’ll take his victory right as he has it in sight.”
“Yes sir!”
Emily woke up, and the phone was ringing.
“Hello?” she said, sleepily.
“Hey babe!” said a man’s voice.
“Hey Jus!”
“Just checkin up on ya, how’s everything?”
“Good, really good.”
“Enjoying your vacation?”
“Yeah…”
“You sound a little dazed, everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine.”
“Alright…well I’ll meet you in Canalave City tonight, we’re still on for dinner?”
“Of course.”
“Alright, well I gotta go, talk to ya later.”
“Bye,” she hung up the phone.
Max was in the middle of the Orre desert, and he was training his Pokémon for the war he was about to fight.
“Rhyperior, use Horn Drill on Charizard!” he ordered.
Rhyperior charged his comrade with a spinning horn set to KO and Charizard flapped his wings to jump over him.
Charizard then collapsed his wings and got Rhyperior in the head with Metal Claw.
Rhyperior got up rather quickly, and began shooting boulders with Rock Blast. Charizard got hit several times.
He then went to try and lift Rhyperior into the air for Seismic Toss, but to no avail, and then Rhyperior used a new move Max had never seen before; Rock Wrecker!
It got Charizard down fast and hard, and Charizard needed a rest.
“Great work Rhyperior,” said Max. Charizard growled in agreement.
Espeon, who was the lookout, began to say something frantic in PokéTalk, and Max rushed to his side.
“What is it?” he asked.
Espeon put the two tips of his tail to Max’s temples, and Max saw what his Psychic Pokémon saw. It was a van with three guys in it.
As the van approached into sight, it stopped, and the men got out.
“Who are you?” Max demanded. The three guys sent out an Electrode, Poliwrath, and Manectric.
“Manectric, Discharge!” yelled the first guy.
The attack hit everyone, even Max! But, Rhyperior and Marowak were unaffected and Electivire got a speed boost!
“Electivire!” said Max, “Earthquake!”
Electivire sent a ground breaking pulse through the ground, and caused a fissure between Max and these random enemies.
“Return!” Max said as he returned his Pokémon and got onto Charizard. He flew off, and Charizard dodged Thunderbolts and Water Pulses.
Once high in the clouds and out of sight, Max said, “Who were they…and what did they want?”
Chapter 13: The Ultimate Champions!
Shadow and Jay had returned to Pyrite, hoping Max had perhaps fled there.
“I think the fifteen years of solitary got to his head,” said Jay.
“There are people in the past moron,” said Shadow.
“Yeah, but don’t you know the whole, “Don’t touch anything don’t say anything” rule of time travel?”
“The whole point of Max being the Master IS to change the past.”
“Well, aren’t we little miss smarty pants.”
“Still smarter than you.”
“That’s right!......HEY!”
“See?”
The duo went to the news station, where they were going to examine footage of Max’s take off.
As they watched the footage, they knew the direction he headed.
“He’s going towards Sinnoh,” said Shadow.
“Maybe,” said Jay, “Or he’s going around in a big circle to mislead everyone.”
“Good point…for once. We’ll call Abad and let him know.”
As they walked outside, Shadow said, “Finding Max is gonna have to wait.”
“Why?” asked Jay.
She pointed to a bunch of officers charging the station.
“Maybe they’re here to arrest the producer?” asked Jay.
“I highly doubt it!” said Shadow as five Arcanine came rushing at them.
“Go Salamence!” said Shadow, “Use Hydro Pump!”
Salamence blasted them back, and the Jay said, “Go, Dragonair! Twister!”
The strange colored Dragonair send a tornado at the opponents, then the trainers mounted their respective Pokémon and flew off.
Jay whipped out his cell phone and then held the “1” key; His speed dial number for Abad.
“Abad,” said Abad as he answered.
“It’s Jay,” said Jay, “We got a problem: there are some kind of group attacking us. They aren’t Cody’s men, nor are they ours.”
“Where are you now?”
“Heading to Sinnoh. It the direction Max flew off in. But, knowing him, that may be a deception. I advise sending members to other regions to find him.”
“Alright, when you guys are safe, check in with me.”
“Ten-four!”
Jay hung up as he and Shadow flew off into the horizon.
Jay and Shadow landed in Pastoria City’s Great Marsh.
“Why here?” asked Shadow.
“There’s a branch of the resistance here,” said Jay.
“Where? This place has been crawling with Cody’s goons for five years!”
“Exactly,” Jay replied as he went deeper into the mud.
“What are you doing?”
Jay said, “Follow me,” and took a deep breath, and plunged into the muck.
“I’ve gotta be crazy for listening to him,” said Shadow as she followed suit. Of course, she couldn’t see in mud, and then she felt someone grab her hand and pull her deeper. Then, she heard a door right behind her shut, flowed by a buzzer as the mud began to disappear into a drain.
Jay and Shadow wiped their eyes and Jay opened a door in front of them, where they were greeted by Max’s cousin, Ash!
“Welcome to the hideout,” said Ash as his Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder.
“Is Max here?” asked Shadow.
“No,” said Ash, “He’s back?”
“Yeah,” said Jay, “And right after we found him he ran off.”
“I’ll get some people around Sinnoh to keep a sharp eye out. All the gym leaders here are in on the resistance.”
“Alright,” said Shadow, “I hope it’s alright to ask: Is there somewhere we can shower?”
After a nice shower, Shadow and Jay met with Ash, along with Misty of Cerulean City’s Gym.
“So,” said Jay, “You know anything about the goons that attacked us?”
“Yep,” said Ash, “But it’s not a lot. Basically, all we know is that whoever sent them out is above Cody in the chain of command.”
“Wait,” said Shadow, “Are you trying to tell us that for fifteen years Cody has only been second in command to an unknown leader?”
“Yes,” said Misty, “But whoever he is, he’s done a good job at keeping himself hidden. We believe that aside from us, only Cody knows of him.”
“So what are we going to do?” asked Jay.
“We’re going to expose him,” said Ash, “I’m actually glad you came here, you guys are perfect for a mission I have in mind.”
As Jay and Shadow returned to the surface (in a much cleaner fashion than they went under) Jay said, “He wants us to bug his house,” said Jay, “Great…”
“Shut up and get over it,” said Shadow, “Go Salamence!”
“C’mon out Altaria!”
They mounted their respective Pokémon and headed towards Celadon City.
All was quiet at the gym in Celadon. Because of Cody, challengers were extremely scarce; in the past year she had only had three or four.
She had just gone to lock the door for the night, when someone knocked. She turned around to see a silhouette in the glass door. She flicked a switch and saw it was Cody when the light shined on him.
She opened the door a crack, and before she could say, “How can I help you?” Cody slammed the door wide open, knocked Erika to her feet.
“Where are they?” Cody asked demandingly.
“Like I would know,” said Erika who now was putting her poker face on.
“Go Magmortar!”
Erika screamed as the large Fire Pokémon approached her. Suddenly, the ground began shaking.
As Magmortar looked down the hall, both he and Cody saw a very large Grass-Type Pokémon approach them. As the Pokémon drew closer, Cody identified it as a Torterra!
The massive Grass-Ground-Type began charging Magmortar with a Giga Impact, but before he could nail him, Magmortar shot a red hot Fire Blast, scorching his foe.
“I don’t like surprises,” said Cody, “Magmortar, grab her. You are coming with me.”
Suddenly, a Shiftry came from behind Cody and began using Leaf Storm to knock down his Magmortar.
Magmortar got up and began moving extremely fast, trying to get Shiftry with a super-effective Mach Punch.
Shiftry wasn’t about to give him that luxury. He began using Extrasensory which forced Magmortar to move his body in ways that weren’t possible.
But Magmortar stayed tough, and began shooting Fire Blasts like there was no tomorrow.
One was about to hit Shiftry but a Hydro Pump negated it, and then kept going and nail Magmortar hard. Then, the Salamence that had launched the attack landed next to Shiftry.
Jay and Shadow walked in, and Cody said, “You!”
“You know,” said Jay, “Why is it the bad guy always says, “You!”? I mean I know it’s me you don’t have to tell me ya half wit!”
“Go Bastiodon!” yelled Cody, “Use Ancientpower!”
The attack hit Salamence hard and Shiftry jumped out of the way.
“Fake Out!” ordered Jay.
Shiftry charged Bastiodon, then cracked him over the head, causing him to be stunned.
Then, Salamence used a massive Fire Blast to KO him.
Then, Jay sent out his prized Starmie, and ordered, “Psychic!”
Starmie used its psychic abilities to throw Cody and his Pokémon far outside the city.
Erika got up and wrapped her arms around Jay.
“Told you that you’d be alright,” said Jay.
“What are you doing here?” asked Erika.
“We were…” said Jay as he looked at Shadow, who shook her head not to say anything since all the gyms were probably bugged, “At the Game Corner cashing some coins for TMs,” he continued as he shook his head, telling Erika he couldn’t tell her why they were in Celadon.
“Oh!” she said, “Of course…”
“C’mon,” said Shadow, “We better go before the cops show up.”
Jay returned his Pokémon and sent out Dragonair. Shadow got on her Salamence and Jay and Erika got onto Dragonair.
As they flew from the skies of Kanto to Johto, Jay explained everything to his girlfriend.
They landed in Violet City, where Abad was visiting the leader of the gym there, Falkner.
Upon landing, Abad found them and said, “This way.”
He led them to the Sprout Tower, where Falkner was.
“Sorry we couldn’t meet in the gym,” said Falkner, “Sprout Tower is the only place in Violet not bugged or brimming with spies.”
“We understand,” said Abad, “So what is this news of yours?”
“Well, I watched the footage of you friends here being attacked, and recognized their uniforms.”
“You mean to tell us you know who did this?” asked Jay.
“Not entirely, but I saw them attack a trainer in the desert of Orre when I flew overhead…the trainer had an Espeon, Marowak, Rhyperior, Electivire, Sceptile, and…Charizard.”
“That’s Max’s team!” Shadow exclaimed.
“Right, it was Max they attacked. He flew off and by the time I landed to investigate, the goons were gone. However, the people who attacked Max were the leaders. Their uniforms were distinct and custom. The leader was a short, redhead guy.”
“What do we do?” asked Jay.
“Well,” said Abad, “If the leaders attacked in Orre, it is likely they’ll still be there. I’ll take James with me to check it out. You guys stay here, if anything happens in Johto, you guys are in charge.”
Abad walked out, hopped onto his Togekiss, and flew off.
Chapter Fourteen: Fraternizing With The Enemy!
As James and Abad flew over Orre on their Flygon and Togekiss, respectively, they took some time to catch up while looking for any suspicious signs.
“Well,” said Abad, “To say the least, it’s been a little more “gloom-and-doom” without you. Glad to have you back.”
“Well,” said James, “Thank Max if we see him again. First thing he did was bust me and my friend Yurei out.”
“Sometimes I wonder exactly how much trouble finds him and how much he seeks out.”
“Well, Max has dealt with controversy his whole life. If there is something he doesn’t agree with, he fights it. Respectable and dangerous at the same-”
A capture net flew right between them, missing their Pokémon by mere inches!
“What the-” Abad exclaimed. The Pokémon turned around to face where the projectile had come from, and on the ground in the sandy desert were the three men Falkner had described. Another net launched.
“Reflect!” Abad ordered without hesitation.
Togekiss flew in front of Flygon and James creating a barrier to block the net.
“Looks like we’ve found our new enemies!” Abad exclaimed.
The redhead sent out a Manectric, who began shooting off Thunderbolts at the duo.
They descended, and James called out, “Go Tyranitar!”
As the gold and purple Tyranitar appeared, a vicious sandstorm followed.
“On my turf now!” yelled James, “Tyranitar, use Hyper Beam!”
Tyranitar quickly released all her power into one beam of energy that hit the enemies and injured them severely. Almost instantly, cars and choppers began flooding around Abad and James.
“Uh-oh,” said Abad.
“Where is your resistance?” yelled the redhead at Abad. He and James were both being detained, and James was Arceus knows where.
“Paul Abad: First in Command: Two, three, six, three, three, seven, two, six, five, one, five, six.”
The short creep grabbed Abad at the collar and yelled, “Tell me before I-”
Abad hawked a huge ball of spit and snot into his face, and said, “I’ll die before I tell you.”
“That can be arranged!” he replied wiping the spit off his face.
Then, there was a knock on the door.
“WHAT?” the redhead exclaimed. One of the two guys who were with him walked in, and said, “Justin, Emily is here. She insists on talking to you.”
“Tell her I’ll be right out, Nick.”
“Got it boss.”
Justin looked at Abad, grabbed his hair, and said, “I’ll deal with you later.”
As he left, Abad stood up and looked at the mirror glass. He knew he was being watched.
On the other side of the glass was Emily, who was talking to Justin.
“So I heard you caught the leaders,” said Emily.
“Yep,” said Justin.
“I still don’t get why you are doing this.”
“Because these guys have caused way too much war on this planet, and I’m finishing them…Now if you don’t mind, I’m just going to finish up with him and we can go to dinner, like I promised.”
“Alright.”
Justin walked in and slammed Abad into the glass, screaming, “Where are they?”
Abad had some blood trickling off his lip now, and refused to give in. Justin slammed his face even harder, and a piece of the mirror that covered the glass chipped away. Abad then saw Emily. He didn’t know why she looked so familiar, he’d never met the blond before.
Then, it hit him! An old picture Max used to have of the friends he traveled through Hoenn with! This was Max’s childhood friend!
Justin had let him go. Abad spit out some blood, and said, “Who’s the blond? You arrest her for no reason too?”
“That’s my girlfriend. Now I’ll be back after dinner. Maybe a few hours to yourself will give you time to think about what you should do.”
Justin left.
Abad sat in the room alone, and thought, “How could a friend of Max be with a guy like this? I mean, I know Max has had some odd friends over the years, but they were all at least sane.”
James, however, was going through a different experience than his teammate.
“Now James,” said Nick, “You tell us where they are, and here’s what we’ll do for you: Your prison record wiped. The fact you broke out will be forgotten, and you can live on freely for the rest of your life.”
“If not revealing my friends means losing my life, then to this world I say, “Greetz”.”
“Look, I’m trying to help you here, and-”
James whipped out his Garchomp from his shoe, who then grabbed Nick by the throat.
Cops came pouring in with guns cocked, and James said, “Make so much as a twitch and I’ll have Garchomp decapitate him! Now slowly put your weapons onto the floor!”
The cops did as they were instructed. James pointed at the one closest to him and said, “You will take me to Paul.”
After blasting out of the police station, they flew straight to where Justin and Emily were having lunch. Abad, who still had dried up blood on his face, slammed his fist repeatedly into the window yelling, “HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!”
“What the-” Justin said in disbelief.
James and Abad walked in, and when the waitress said, “How many?” Abad replied, “We’re with them,” and walked to Justin.
“You guys are going to be locked up for a long time for this,” said Justin.
“Heard that before,” said James, “Didn’t turn out how they planned. Hi,” said James as he held out his hand to Emily, “We haven’t been formally introduced. My name is James, second in command of the Masters. This is our leader, Paul Abad. I believe we have a mutual friend.”
Emily looked confused.
“Oh come now,” said James, “He’s only been your friend since you were born.”
“Max?” asked Emily.
“Hit the nail on the head,” said Abad.
“Wait,” said Justin, “You are FRIENDS with MAX SHADE?”
“Yeah, why?” she asked.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“It never seemed important.”
“Oh no!” said Abad dramatically, “Conflict!”
She punched Abad and split his lip back open.
“Max wasn’t kidding when he said she was violent,” said James.
Suddenly, Abad’s shiny Alakazam popped out, and began using his psychic abilities to levitate a hair off of Emily, a metallic blue hair to be exact!
“That’s…” said James, “Max’s…Emily, you met with him?”
“He had a heart attack on Charizard and fell into the ocean. I rescued him but then he put me to sleep and left. I tried to keep him on Iron Island with me until he recovered more.”
“You RESCUED HIM!?!?!?” Justin said, spastically. He ran out the door and down to the station.
“Emily,” said Abad, “I know we don’t know each other but we both know Max. He’s a good guy, and carrot top is trying to kill him. You gotta help us. There are three fifteen year olds who only ever met their father once…I don’t want it to be their last either.”
Before she could say anything a Manectric burst through the door and tackled Alakazam!
With Justin was Nick and his Poliwrath.
“Go Ninjask!” yelled James, “Protect!”
Ninjask covered Alakazam, giving him time to use Recover from the cheap shot.
“You want to mess with me punk?” asked Abad, “Bring it on! Alakazam! Psychic!”
Alakazam began levitating his opponents and bashing them into each other.
“Manectric, Discharge!” yelled Justin.
Sparks went flying, literally, and knocked Emily down!
Justin ran to her, and James ran up to him and jacked him so hard in the face he went tumbling backwards!
“You shouldn’t even be allowed a license for Pokémon the way you handle them!” yelled James at Justin and his carelessness.
Justin got up and punch James in the jaw. James cut the inside of his mouth, and when the blood trickled onto his tongue, James took the taste of his own blood like a Sharpedo would and went ballistic.
With quick jabs and kicks in strategic locations to immobilize him!
Abad and James returned their respective Pokémon and sent out their flyers. James held out his hand to Emily and said, “Now or never.”
She shook her head, she wanted nothing to do with this.
“Let’s go!” yelled Abad. The duo flew off.
Upon their return to the Under, Abad and James explained their travels to Jason, Ricky, and Crash.
“She’s fraternizing with the enemy?” Jason said in disbelief.
“Fraternizing, no,” said James, “She’s his girlfriend!”
“I didn’t think Max would’ve kept company with someone who kept that kind of company,” said Ricky.
“Keep in mind that she hadn’t seen him since they were in their mid-teens,” said Abad, “Lot has changed in that time.”
“Abad,” said Crash, “Sir, I’d like to ask you a question.”
“Sure.”
“I want a mission. I want to go and search for Max on my own.”
“Well that’s quiet noble,” said James, “But a bit crazy.”
“Why?” asked Abad.
“Well sir,” said Crash, “It had been my dream to become a Pokémon Master. Obviously that can’t happen, but I want to be the best. I know this war comes first, but that is my dream. If I can find Max, the Pokémon Master, then I can show him that just like him, I can handle myself on my own. I want to prove I can be the best, and he’s who I want to prove it to. So, permission to go?”
Abad looked at him, and said, “I remember when we all felt the same way you do. Permission granted.”
“Really?”
“Get outta here before I change my mind,” Abad said with a smile.
“Yes sir!”
Crash ran off.
“Sure he’ll be okay?” asked Jason.
“He’s got that same ambition we all had when we started the Clan. I’m not going to deprive him of trying to live his dream. And speaking of missions, Jason, Ricky, I got a job for you.”
Chapter Fifteen: Double-Crossed!
Saffron City was the last place any resistance member wanted to be seen. It was the first city captured fifteen years ago. It was now a place of rest for Justin’s men.
Justin had gone to a local restaurant where his friend, April, was a singer. After her performance, she sat with Justin.
“I heard what happened,” said April.
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” said Justin.
“I heard some resistance members are going to try to take Saffron.”
“They’ve tried before, they’ll fail.”
“With Max back? Do you not remember what he did?”
“What?”
April and Justin went to the back, and April put a tape into a VCR to show Justin footage of Max and his Charizard versus Arceus.
“His Charizard used Aura Sphere, which is in the first place impossible, and he beat Arceus in one hit. And you aren’t worried that he’ll beat you?”
“Look!” Justin screamed, “That guy is weak! He had the chance to defeat me and ran away!”
“Max is a strategist. He doesn’t jump into things like you do!”
Justin sighed.
“What do you suggest I do?” asked Justin.
“I’m just a singer, not a military strategist,” said April, “Just don’t rush into things…They’re playing my song,” she said as a soft tune began playing. She left for another performance.
Crash had been on his personal mission for days now. Since he had kept fairly quiet as a resistance member, he walked busy streets unnoticed. He had thought long and hard about the move he was about to make. He thought to himself that if he was on the run, he’d have to find a good hiding place where no one would look. He went to Saffron City.
He knew there were no resistance members, so he was on his own if he got into trouble. It was getting late, and he found a restaurant that served as a rest stop as well.
He checked in and got a room key. He sat down for his dinner, which was included with the price of staying the night.
A beautiful girl came onto a stage and began singing. When she looked at Crash, he realized his pendant, which had a “Ώ” on it, the symbol of the resistance was showing.
He tucked it into his shirt, but he feared it may be too late, since even though the singer kept going with her performance, her eyes never left Crash. She must’ve seen his pendant.
Crash got up and left as she finished her act. He went to his room.
All was quiet for several hours. Crash had let his Staraptor, Manectric, and Floatzel out to rest outside the confines of a PokéBall.
Then, there was a knock on his door. Crash got up, and flicked the light switch, temporarily blinding him. He looked through the tiny hole in the door; it was the singer!
She then held up a “Ώ” pendant, and Crash quickly opened the door.
“Who are you?” asked Crash.
“My name is April,” said April, “I’m the only resistance member in Saffron.”
“And how exactly have you been getting away with that?”
“Justin trusts me.”
“You mean you’ve been getting “buddy-buddy” with this guy for fifteen years?”
“Exactly.”
“Sounds like something Max would do.”
“I’ve been following his career since he went to the Indigo League. I lived in Viridian City, so it was awesome to see someone from nearby actually win.”
“I’m actually out to find Max. He hasn’t come through here, has he?”
“Unfortunately, no. I’ve been keeping a watch out for him all the time, but so far, not a trace.”
Crash walked to the window, looked out it, and said, “If we are going to win this war, we need all five Shades to fight side-by-side. Three of them are ready and willing. One is coming around, and Max is on his “one-man-hero” thing again.”
“Can you blame him? Everything he’s had to deal with always ends up in his friends and family getting hurt.”
Crash was about to say something when his eyes grew wide and frightened.
“What is it?” asked April. Crash didn’t need to answer as red and blue lights began flashing across the room.
“Get out!” said Crash, “You can’t be seen with me.”
April ran out the door with Crash and they took separate paths. Crash ran straight into Justin.
“Look what the scum dragged in,” said Justin, “Go Electabuzz!”
“Go Staraptor!” yelled Crash.
“Thunderpunch!”
“Use Featherdance and then Endure!”
Staraptor first used Featherdance to lower Electabuzz’s attack then Endure to survive it. Staraptor was barely holding on. Justin said, “Finish him with Discharge!”
Then, a Leafeon came out of nowhere and took the damage, which for a Grass-Type, wasn’t a lot.
“What the?” Justin said. Then, a Rattata used Dig and hit Electabuzz from below!
April ran to Crash’s side.
“April!?!?!” Justin exclaimed.
“Use Leaf Blade!” April ordered. Electabuzz went down.
Then, a couple of cops began shooting capture nets at Crash and April. Before the nets hit, they stopped in midair and began glowing purple. There was an Espeon using Psychic that came up from behind Justin, being followed by a rather angry Charizard.
Justin immediately turned his attention to Charizard.
“Go Manectric!” he yelled, “Use Thunderbolt!”
“Light Screen!” a man called from down the hall. Espeon blocked the move with ease.
“Flamethrower!” the man called.
Charizard blasted a fiery breath, but it was a blinding white! In fact, it was so bright that everyone passed out!
When Crash woke up, he was in a forest. Looking around, he could see that he was between Saffron and Celadon from all the lights. April lay next to him, and he then realized he was holding a piece of paper.
“I applaud your effort,” it read, “But don’t go back to that city. He may be in hiding, but that isn’t where he is.”
“Who was that?” asked Crash out loud. He looked up to see a figure of a flying Pokémon in the night sky with a blazing tail and a human riding on his back. Next to that figure was the outline of another man riding a Staraptor. They both disappeared suddenly into a strange vortex.
April came to, and said, “What’s going on?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” said Crash.
The newly formed duo headed south to Fuchsia City. As they walked through the densest part of the forest to avoid notice, Crash said to April, “How’s it feel to be a double-crosser?”
“I’m just happy I finally did something against him,” said April, “But on the plus side, I know things that he’s been doing over the past fifteen years. I’ve got so many things I need to tell Abad.”
“You know him?”
“Yeah, when the takeover first began, I was a new recruit in the Masters Clan. I was on a mission with Ricky Raptor. We got separated and took on some aliases. He became a corrections officer, and I got my job at the restaurant. I lost contact with Abad at the same time Justin began winning lots of territory. I’ve got so much dirt that we can bring a serious shift in the war.”
“In that case, you’ll need to get to the Under. Koga should be able to help you get there.”
“You aren’t coming back?”
“I’m on my own mission.”
“May I ask what it is?”
“I’m going to find Max.”
“He flew off towards the Johto Region, according to Justin. I know Max has a bond with Ho-oh, maybe he’s going to find him?”
“It’s a good lead…thank you.”
As they continued walking, they approached the border of Fuchsia, and Crash said, “This is where we part ways. Send the Masters my regards.”
“Will do,” said April. As she headed off towards the city, Crash sent out his Staraptor and flew off.
Chapter Sixteen: Crash Landing!
Crash was flying towards Ekruteak, where Ho-oh is known to roost. He knew that if Max was there, he would’ve met up with the gym leader, Morty.
“He left last night,” said Morty, “Ho-oh wasn’t here, I’m not sure if he wanted to see Ho-oh as a pit stop or if he was trying to find him.”
“Where was his heading?”
“South of Olivine, towards the Whirl Islands.”
Without a second thought, Crash was flying to the islands where Lugia slept.
After an hour of flying, it began raining. Crash thought nothing of it, until the drops of water became the size of his fingers.
The winds began to pick up speed, and Staraptor was using most of his energy trying to fly straight.
Then, they began moving in a gigantic circle, and Crash called out, “We’re in a hurricane!”
Crash held onto his Pokémon for dear life, and eventually, his grip slipped! Without hesitation, he aimed his PokéBall and returned Staraptor as he was being thrown around the vortex.
Crash was at the top, and it was actually sunny out above it. He was able to see that he was moving inward, and realized he was hundreds of feet in the air, and if he hit the eye of the storm, he’d fall to an inevitable death.
Eventually, he was no longer in the storm and began falling. Then, a blast of flames broke through the wall of water that surrounded him and a Charizard flew in, caught him, and then flew to the top of the storm, where they exited the eye.
Charizard flew to a small island, barely big enough for a battle, where Max stood, waiting.
When Charizard landed, Max returned him and said, “Name’s Max Shade.”
“I know who you are,” said Crash, “I’m Crash Fallen, fifth in command of the Masters, currently serving as forth in your absence.”
“Might I ask what you were doing in a hurricane?”
“Searching for you.”
“Go back to the Masters, I know what I’m doing.”
“I’m under strict orders not to leave you,” said Crash, even though it was a lie.
“Very well,” said Max, knowing it was a lie, “You can stay. Give me your communicator.”
Crash did so, and Max smashed it onto the rocks.
“Why’d you do that?” Crash asked.
“If Abad knows where I am, he’ll try to help. Honestly, I don’t want to bring anyone into this.”
“But Max, how can you expect to take on an entire army by yourself?”
“It’s my fight. I’ll either win or die trying. You want to help, fine. Make yourself useful and keep an eye out for enemy planes.”
“So we can hide if they come right?”
“So we can hijack it.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way Max, but won’t that get us into more trouble?”
“If we get caught, hijacking or not, we are looking at life. It doesn’t matter what we do, we live outside the laws until we’re caught, so just do me one favor: don’t get caught.”
Crash then realized that Max had a bit of crazy in him. He couldn’t blame him. In the past couple weeks he’d lost everything. He realized that Max didn’t want his friends’ help because then he’d have nothing to lose and everything to gain. And if he lost, it’d be less painful.
Max was sitting down, laying on his back watching the hurricane as it moved farther away.
“It’s strange,” said Max, “How someone can start of at birth, so innocent, and get sucked into a lifetime of hatred, ridicule, and war.”
“I was born only five years before the war,” said Crash, “It’s all I’ve ever known.”
Max stood up and looked at Crash, “You picked the right side, son. I’m not saying this war will end before my time, but one day, it will end and my side will win. You were young when all this happened and you probably grew up thinking this was alright. The fact that you realize the truth is an amazing quality in someone so young. You will go far, and I’m looking forward to watching your career. Remember that no matter how bad things get, you still have hope. Maybe only a little, but it’s always there. Don’t ever let it go.”
“Max?”
“Sorry to ramble on like that,” said Max as he brushed his hand through his blue hair, “I never had anyone to tell me that growing up. I figure you have the right to hear it.”
“Thank you, I’d have it no other way than to here it from you.”
“That means a lot. Look up there!”
Max pointed to the skies as a small jet passed overhead. Max grabbed his bag and something fell out. Crash didn’t see what it was, but it made a scraping sound against the rocks as Max picked it up and put it away.
He turned to Crash and said, “You see anything?”
“No sir,” said Crash as he shook his head.
“Good. Get out your Staraptor and let’s go.”
The duo flew hi into the skies above the plane, and gently landed on top of it. Max and Crash held onto their Pokémon otherwise the wind would knock them off. Max sent out his Espeon and said, “Use Psychic to transfer my voice into the P.A. system.”
The gem on Espeon’s head began glowing, and Max said, “Attention captain, this is air traffic control.”
“Go ahead control,” said the pilot.
“You are about to head into a hurricane,” Max nodded and Espeon made the hurricane change paths, “And it’s at an alarming rate headed towards you. there is a rescue boat below, please eject all people on board and await rescue, it’s too late to turn back. There is no saving the plane.”
“Alright,” said the captain.
Within seconds, Max and Crash watched people jump out of the plane with parachutes. Once the pilot jumped, they got in.
“Not to shabby, eh?” asked Max.
“Max,” said Crash, “Can you fly a plane?”
“No, but Psychic can,” said Max as his Espeon began flying the plane, “Take us to Celadon.”
“Max, what’s in Celadon?”
“My girls.”
Maddie and her sisters were in their room at Cody’s mansion. Steve, their mother’s new boyfriend was over. They sat around their father’s PokéGear, when it began to ring.
Maddie picked it up, and said, “Hello?”
“It’s your dad,” said Max, “Get out of the house.”
“What?”
“NOW!”
The triplets ran outside, and their mother followed with Cody and Steve.
They looked at the sky and saw a man jump out of a plane on a Staraptor, and a Charizard on top of the plane, with Max on him! The plane was taking a nose dive at the mansion!
Max grabbed a loudspeaker out of the cockpit and used it as they rapidly approached the multibillion dollar mansion, “ATTENTION PASSENGERS!” he screamed into it so the city could hear, “THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING! PLEASE FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS AND PREPARE FOR A CRASH LANDING!”
With that, Charizard spread his mighty wings which caused him and Max to fly off, and the plane went straight through the middle of the mansion!
Max and Crash landed, and Max said, “Honey I’m home!”
Steve and Cody stepped forward. Steve sent out a Swampert and Cody his Magmortar.
Max was about to send out his Sceptile for good measure, when Charizard stopped him.
“CHAAAA-RRRRRRRRRRRR-RRRRRRRRR-OOOOOO-AAAAAA-RRRRRR!!!!” cried Charizard with a blast of flames in the air.
“If that’s what you want,” said Max.
“Mud Shot!” yelled Steve.
“Dodge and use Flamethrower!”
Charizard did as he was ordered, but the attack had little effect on his opponents. Both had resistance to Fire-Type moves. But Charizard wanted this battle.
“Iron Tail!” Max ordered. Charizard nosedived at Swampert and then swung around and slammed his mighty tail into Swampert’s gut. But Magmortar came up from behind and delivered a powerful Cross-Chop to the back of Charizard’s neck.
Maddie wasn’t going to watch this, she went for Furret’s PokéBall, to realize it wasn’t on her!
“Where are my Pokémon?” she cried out.
“Locked away, as they should be,” said Cody.
Charizard was taking a beating, taking everything his opponents had, and still refused to allow his trainer to send out aid.
Charizard was on his claws and knees, barely awake.
“Charizard!” yelled Max as a Hydro Pump hit his Pokémon hard.
“Face it,” said Steve, “You’ve lost everything!”
Then, a Frenzy Plant hit Swampert and a Hydro Cannon hit Magmortar. Everyone turned to where the attacks came from, and saw a Blastoise and Venusaur. Behind them were Entei, Suicune, and Raikou. Riding to of the legendary Pokémon were two silhouettes that they couldn’t make out in the setting sun.
But, Charizard recognized them, and looked at Max with a smirk.
Chapter Seventeen: Shade Family Unite!
Justin was in his office, the former Silph Co. building, and saw a massive explosion from Celadon. He left to investigate.
In Celadon…
The mysterious trainers dismounted the legendary Pokémon and walked to each side of Max.
“You owe me again,” said Rich.
“What else is new?” asked Max.
“You guys can pay each other back later,” said J.C., “Right now, what do you guys say to an old fashioned butt-kicking!”
Blastoise and Venusaur helped Charizard to his feet. Charizard looked at Max, and nodded his head.
“HYPER TRI-ATTACK!” the old friends yelled. Their respective Pokémon let lose their own elemental Hyper Beam, almost knocking out the opponents.
“Almost got them!” yelled Rich.
Then, a cheap shot Frenzy Plant from a Meganium blasted all three of the trio’s Pokémon!
They turned to see Justin!
There were no words. It was three-on-three, and it would be a cataclysmic battle.
The six Pokémon stood and stared each other down. Charizard’s claw twitched, and Swampert’s head turned to watch him.
Max was about to call the first move, when a blast of blue flames ignited between the two sides.
They looked up, and saw Lizardon and Grant.
Grant landed and yelled, “THAT IS IT!”
“Dad!” yelled Max, “This isn’t your battle!”
“It is now son!” yelled Grant, “After you nearly killed Cody, he stopped paying me visits for a few weeks. Which meant he stopped having his Magmortar use Psychic on me to control my mind! Here you go girls!”
He tossed his granddaughters their Pokémon, and they ran to their father’s side.
“Furret!” yelled Maddie.
“Nidoking!” yelled Hope.
“Aggron!” yelled Emma.
“GO!” they yelled in unison.
As Max’s old Pokémon came out, max called out, “Go Sceptile and Espeon!”
“Hitmonchan, Pikachu!” yelled Rich.
“Primeape, Hypno!” yelled J.C.
Lizardon landed next to his son as Grant took his place next to his own son. Before they knew it, another Charizard and Pikachu came up, along with a Squirtle and Bulbasaur, followed by a Mr. Mime! It was Delia and Ash!
Cody got nervous, and Justin said, “Go Electabuzz and Manectric!”
“Go Floatzel and Torkoal!” yelled Steve.
“Steelix, let’s go!” yelled Cody.
Nidoking and Furret came up to Charizard, letting him know that this wasn’t just his battle anymore.
Crash looked on, and realized exactly why he admired Max so much. It wasn’t just any trainer who came to his side to fight, it was his family. And it wasn’t just any Pokémon they used, it was the Pokémon that had the closest bonds with them.
In Violet City, Shadow had just woke up after passing out.
Jay helped her sit up, and said, “What happened?”
“Big vision,” said Shadow, “The Shade’s are together…and Rich and J.C. are with them…but it’s all of them, Delia, Ash, rich and J.C.!”
“The last to are Spades not Shades.”
“They are like Max’s brothers, they might as well be!”
“Give up now!” said Max, “You don’t stand a chance!”
“Really?” asked Justin. He pulled a communicator out and said, “Send ‘em in.”
Within minutes, a slew of various Pokémon and their trainers dressed in uniform came charging Max and his family.
“Get outta here!” yelled Max. Any non-flying Pokémon was returned, and Max threw his daughters onto Charizard. Ash and Delia got onto his Charizard, and Lizardon, being the largest, was able to carry Grant, Rich, and J.C. Crash got onto his Staraptor and said, “Max! What about you?”
“GO!” yelled Max. He threw his belt which carried his other PokéBalls to Crash.
“Justin approached Max with handcuffs, and said, “Well, well…the mighty Pokémon Master has fall-”
He was cut off by a Noctowl who used Air Slash on his wrist! Upon closer inspection of the Noctowl, it was wearing a green scarf, a sign that it was a contest Pokémon!
But it wasn’t just any scarf, it had once belonged to Max! Justin also recognized the scarf, and went to Cody and said, “Find Emily, lock her up, NOW!”
Max grabbed onto Noctowl as he came around and Max said, “Find my family!”
Within minutes, Max caught up with his family.
“So,” said Max, “Lovely day for a flight.”
He looked at his daughters, who were so overwhelmed they had fallen asleep.
“We’ll land in the Under,” said Grant, “We’ll be relatively safe there.”
“Crash,” said Max, “Call up my mom’s side, tell them to meet us there.”
“Ah-hem,” said Crash.
“Oh, right,” said Max recalling now that he had destroyed Crash’s communicator.
“I’ve got it,” said Grant.
After two hours, they landed in the Under.
Abad walked right up to Max, and said, “I’ve seen some crazy things, most of those things are what you did. But crashing a plane into someone’s house? That is just plain mad…
“You would’ve done the same,” said Max with a smirk, “And you know it.”
“Well if the opportunity ever arises, I guess you’ll find out?”
Chris was there, and seeing Grant was a bitter moment.
Max looked at them and said, “Cool it guys, this is no time to squabble over a girl. Now shake hands.”
“Great to see you Grant,” said Chris through gritted teeth.
“The pleasure is all mine,” said Grant in the same manner. They were both squeezing each other’s hands so hard that both of them lost feeling in their right hand.
Max rolled his eyes.
“Well!” said Jason, “Not to poop the party, but we got some issues. It’s a matter of time before they come down here to search for us.”
“Here’s my problem,” said Max, “IF a big fight is going to break out, the legendaries will come to our aid. We’ve helped them in the past, and some of them have close bonds with us. If we are going to make a move, we need to keep them away, the last thing we need is to have them all in one place for Justin to get his grubby hands on.”
“Agreed,” said James.
Ricky came into the room, and said, “I’ve got an idea!”
Everyone looked at him with anticipation.
“There is going to be a masquerade ball at the old Silph building in Saffron, being held by our favorite Carrot Top. My guess is that he HOPES Max will show up. But if he’s as smart as I hold him to be, he’s probably sure Max wouldn’t show up.”
“Which is why I’m gonna go,” said Max.
“Didn’t think you could dance, bro,” said Rich.
“I had some time in last eighteenth century. Masquerades were pretty popular, so I know my stuff.”
“Alright,” said Yurei, “But for good measure, I’m going with you.”
“Same,” said James.
“Any other girls?” asked Abad. Shadow wasn’t there, and Max’s daughters were too young to be going with either James or Max.
“April,” said Crash.
“Who?”
“April…you sent her on an assignment fifteen years ago.”
“My old partner,” said Ricky, “You found her?”
“Right now I think she’s still in Fuchsia with Koga. She helped me escape Justin, and it blew her cover. She’s a dancer, so I’m sure she knows a thing or two about ballroom.”
Then, the LPC walked in, and Whiro said, “I heard there is a party.”
Realizing the LPC were half men, half women, it worked out perfectly, and Max had plenty of backup.
Chapter Eighteen: Pokémon Masquerade!
Max flew down to Fuchsia a few days early to meet April. They stayed in a cabin just south of the city, near the beach.
“Pleasure to meet someone so devious,” said Max.
“Pleasure to meet my idol,” said April.
“Well, as flattered as I am, we got work to do. First, I need to know everything about Justin possible.”
“Well,” she began, “It started after you left. Justin was at first an alright guy. See, Kanto thought it needed some kind of leader, an authority figure.
“Things actually went pretty good. He banned all guns that fired bullets, and every region followed suit. It was during that time he met Emily. The two of them have been together for a while.
“Of course, Abad, being, well, Abad, was suspicious. He sent me on assignment with Ricky to get close to Justin and find out anything and everything. The problem was, he recognized Ricky as part of the PMC.
“When he realized what Ricky was up to, he sent out his arrest warrant. Ricky went into hiding as a corrections officer. I however, managed to stay friends with him.
“He went psycho after the incident with Ricky, and turned the world against the PMC. Eventually, they disbanded.”
“So then how’d the resistance come about?”
“Well, Justin began laying down strict laws that were unjust. Abad was furious and began the Masters, a group mostly made up of former PMC members. On the first resistance mission, James tried to prevent Cody, Justin’s second in command, from taking a chuck of Johto. James was caught in the process and ended up confined to a padded room until you came back.
“And to sum it up, Justin has been confiding in me for over a decade. The last thing he really told me was about Steve.”
“Steve?”
“Lindsey’s new boyfriend. He used to be a firefighter, which is why he has mostly Fire- and Water-Type Pokémon. This guy was a great designer, and he came up with ideas for a safe.”
“What kind of safe?”
“One that was more secure than the PMC’s legendary vault by a factor of forty. He’s got legendaries in there. That is why he went after Mewtwo and Ho-oh.”
“And where might this safe be?”
“Basement of Silph. My suggestion is have your family create some kind of distraction.”
“Which will give me the chance to get into the safe and rescue and legendaries in there.”
“Exactly. Now, for the next order of business…we need to get you a suit.”
Max had completely forgotten he only had two identical sets of clothes, both being jeans, a t-shirt, and his cape.
“Yeah,” said Max, “Not really the right look I got, huh?”
The night had come. Everyone met outside Silph, and Max had bought the Pokémon masks they would wear.
For each of his cousins, he got them a Pokémon of their respective Type. For James, a Garchomp. For Yurei, a Mewtwo. For April, a Rattata, and as for himself, a Charizard, naturally.
He then handed out tiny earpieces and microphones to everyone. Max walked away and said, “Can everyone hear me?”
Everyone nodded.
“Ricky,” said Max looking at a van across the street, “If you can hear me, wave.”
The window rolled down and Max saw Ricky inside, waving hi hand.
“Alright,” said Max as he held out his arm to April, “Shall we?”
April hooked her arm with his, and the group followed suit. Once inside, they saw that the party was already going. There was no dancing quite yet, but everyone was mingling, having something to eat or drink.
“Alright everyone,” said Max quietly into his microphone, “Fan out. Stay with your partner. Find any of the three stooges, and report their locations immediately.”
Nineteen voices all said at once, “Ten-four.”
Max and April walked across the floor, and saw that there were many people gathered in a certain section.
April whispered to Max, “There’s Justin, in the Manectric mask. Looks like Emily is with him, in the Piplup mask, maybe they reconciled.”
“Probably,” said Max, “Follow my lead.”
Max walked up to Justin and while altering his voice slightly, said, “Hello Mr. DeMont.”
“Hello,” said Justin, “I’m afraid I don’t know you.”
“My name is Xam Edahs of the Gateon Trading Port. You see, they have sent me to offer you a deal.”
“I’m listening.”
“We’ve noticed your planes flying over the sea a lot to islands in the south. Seeing as how we have extra cargo room on our ships, and we go to those same islands, we would like to offer you our services. As for cost, it will be three-quarters of whatever it costs to have your supplies flown to the islands.”
“Can’t argue with that,” said Justin happily, “Mr. Edahs, do you know my girlfriend, Emily?”
Max looked at her, took her right hand to greet her, and said, “I’ve seen her around before,” all the while, slipping her back her Noctowl.
She gave him a look, and said, “Enjoy your evening Mr. Edahs.”
Max and April turned away, and April said, “Nice work. How’d you get Xam Edahs?”
“My alias in the past. That way if my name went into history, I wouldn’t read about myself centuries later. It’s simply Max Shade spelled backwards, I’m surprised no has caught on yet…now that I think of it, I read about Xam when I was five…I hate time travel…take my advice and never do it.”
She laughed. Music began to play, it was a waltz.
“Can you waltz?” she asked.
“I’ve done it a few times,” said Max.
As they began, Max saw a man in a Swampert mask dancing with a redhead in a Squirtle mask.
“Steve,” said Max angrily.
“Easy Max. Remember, you are on a mission. Then you can take care of your personal vendettas,” said April.
“Yeah, yeah.”
Max made eye contact with Whiro, who nodded at his partner, Calypso, who made eye contact to Thorn who nodded to her partner Spike. Spike then nodded as he made eye contact with Yurei, who nodded at James.
“Show time,” said James, “GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!”
James pretended to have a heart attack. Max did the research, there were no defibrillators within a mile.
Justin and Steve immediately came to asses the situation, and Max and April snuck out. As they made there way into the elevator, Max went to push the button to the basement.
“It’s missing,” said Max.
“Must be a special access room,” said April.
Max pressed to go to the ground floor.
“Max?” she asked.
“Didn’t come this far to blow it,” he replied. When the elevator stopped, Max said, “Get in the corner and hold on,” said Max, “It’s going to get a little claustrophobic in here.”
Max sent out Espeon, Sceptile, and Marowak. Then, he sent out Charizard. The combined weight made the cables supporting the elevator creak.
“Your going to bust the elevator?” asked April.
“Um,” said Max, “Yeah!”
Next was Electivire. Marowak climbed on top of Charizard’s back while Electivire picked up Espeon. Max then had April climb onto Sceptile’s back while he joined Marowak on Charizard.
“Gotta make some room,” said Max, “Go Rhyperior!”
The quarter-ton plus Pokémon caused the breaking point. The cable snapped and sent them tumbling. Max returned his Pokémon except Espeon, who used Psychic to lower the elevator gently.
He returned Espeon and sent out Electivire, who used Thunderpunch to knock the door down.
When they walked out, they were in a tunnel about one-hundred feet long by ten feet wide. And the end of the tunnel were six PokéBalls.
“Latios, Latias, Jirachi, Darkrai, Articuno and Moltres,” said April, “But when he told me vault I thought something a bit more secure.”
“You have a Bulbasaur, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Send him out.”
She followed Max’s directions, and Max realized that it was still a baby.
“Cute,” said Max, but quickly got to business. He tossed April a rag, and said, “Cover your mouth with it,” as he pulled his shirt over his face.
“Bulbasaur,” he continued, “Use Poison Powder!”
April realized why she had to cover her mouth, and as the poisonous spores flew throughout the hall, red beams of light appeared everywhere.
“This is going to be impossible to get through,” said Max.
“Why not use Rhyperior to dig a hole into the ground?” suggested April, “We are in the basement.”
“Good idea. Go Rhyperior!”
The massive Pokémon emerged from his PokéBall, and began drilling his horn into the ground.
As he disappeared below the surface, Max sent out his Marowak to follow Rhyperior. A few minutes later, Rhyperior’s horn emerged, and once the hole was just big enough, Marowak slipped up and grabbed the PokéBalls.
Then, the alarm sounded.
“Pressure sensors,” said Max disappointed for not considering it.
Marowak just jumped across the hall and Rhyperior busted out of the floor.
“Return!” yelled Max.
They ran into the busted elevator, and Max said, “Go Sceptile, Leaf Blade!”
Using the powerful blades on his arms, Sceptile busted the top hatch of the elevator open. Max pulled himself up, then reached his hand down and hoisted April up. Then, Max sent out Charizard, who flew April up, and then Max held onto his Sceptile who wall jumped to the first floor.
Charizard used his claws to open the door, and they were greeted by Justin in his mask along with several security guards, and Emily.
“Hi Max,” said Justin.
“Hello!” said Max in an obnoxious voice.
People from the party began swarming in to catch the action. Max saw his family arrive. Whiro nodded, and Max and April dismounted his Pokémon, and Max threw his hands out with his wrists touching and said, “I know, clap ‘em in irons, right?”
“Right,” said Justin.
“What?” asked April.
“Wrong,” said Whiro, “Dragonite, use Outrage!”
Dragonite slammed into Justin, and Max yelled, “Dragon Rage!”
Green energy blasted from Charizard’s mouth and knocked the security back.
“I should’ve known!” yelled Justin.
“Sceptile, return!” yelled Max. He mounted Charizard, and helped April get on. He continued, “It’s been fun,” and held up four PokéBalls between each finger on his right hand, “And now, I bid you farewell…Flash Fire!”
“Huh?” asked Justin, never hearing of the move.
Charizard released a small burst of flames that had a high energy concentration. When it hit the floor the energy turned into light and blinded the room.
The light faded, and when Justin’s eyesight returned, the room had twenty less people in it.
“No!” he cried out.
Back in the Under.
The group was coming down the massive elevator, and Abad awaited them at the bottom. Once the gat opened, Max threw him the PokéBalls.
“Nice,” said Abad, “Would’ve been better if you hadn’t got caught.”
“Stop your whining and be grateful,” said Max sarcastically.
Abad stuck his tongue out. Max laughed, and Abad said, “You guys look ridiculous, get changed.”
Chapter Nineteen: Becoming A Father!
Max had gotten so caught up with the last operation, he sat down with his daughters for the first time.
They all sat on a couch across a table from a chair, where Max sat.
“Um…” he said, nervously, “Anything you want to know? I mean, I know there is no real good explanation for never being with you three.”
Emma broke into tears, while Hope tried to comfort her.
Max got up to go, but Maddie sprung up and hugged him, crying. Max wrapped his arms around his daughter for the first time, and said, “If I had known, I never would’ve gone.”
“Don’t apologize,” she cried. His two other daughters came up and all wrapped their arms around him.
They were in a lounge in the old coliseum, and from a balcony, Rich watched his old friend finally become complete again.
Rich walked to Abad’s office, and Abad said, “How’d it go?”
“Well,” said Rich, “I watched them since they were little…after all the anger they built up towards him, they forgave him without a word.”
“Looks like a happy family again.”
“I think this will make him more focused…his attention has been divided between them and the war, it’s clouded the way he thinks. I think Max is going to perform beyond what he thought was the best of his abilities.”
“Good.”
A red light began flashing in Abad’s office as a siren sounded.
“They’ve found us!” Abad exclaimed.
Max and his daughters were surrounded, and Steve was leading a group of cops.
“Girls,” said Steve, “Your mother is worried, just come with me and we’ll leave.”
“I never gave up custody,” said Max, “And if she wants them then she can come down here herself and TRY!”
“We’ve got more man power. We’ll take them willingly or by force, your choice.”
Max sighed, and looked like he was going to give in, when he flung his Charizard’s PokéBall and the red dragon tackled Steve.
“Get them!” yelled Steve.
Before the cops even got close, a green blur swiped the girls. It was Max’s Sceptile, who along with his other Pokémon were relaxing until the intrusion.
“Go Torkoal!” yelled Steve, “Flamethrower!”
Torkoal took aim at Sceptile, but before he could fire, a Water Pulse nailed him.
Rich and his Blastoise joined the fray.
“If those girls go anywhere with anyone besides Max it’ll be me. Got it? Good.”
“If that’s the way you want it,” said Steve, “Everyone, retreat! Torkoal, when we leave, use Overheat and burn this place to the ground!”
Max’s eyes grew wide, and the police exited while Torkoal began using Overheat.
“Rich!” yelled Max, “Begin evacuation of the Under!”
Rich ran to the wall and slammed his fist into a blue alarm. Everyone began evacuating, but there were so many people, that it was hard to get out!
Abad rode his Togekiss through the air to try and direct traffic, and when he saw Max on the ground running the elevator up, he said, “Where are the girls?”
Max got worried and ran off. Abad took over the job Max was doing.
Inside the building where the fire was, Sceptile was trying to escape. But the fire was getting to him. As a Grass-Type, anything but fresh air was bad for him, and smoke was definitely something deadly.
The girls had passed out, and the building was engulfed in flames.
Max ran to the building, and just putting his hand close to the door told him there was a fire on the other side.
Max obviously was only thinking of his daughters, because rather than have Charizard or Rhyperior knock the door down, he busted it off the hinges with his shoulder!
Max couldn’t see anything. He got onto the ground below the smoke and swiftly began his way across the floor.
After crawling for several minutes, he saw a green claw sticking out of a doorway on the floor.
“Sceptile!” he called with the little breath available. He crawled frantically to his Pokémon, and he could see his girls were unconscious, but still holding onto Sceptile.
Max grabbed Sceptiles PokéBall and returned him. Then, he took off his cape, and layed his daughters on it. He then tied the collar of the cape around hi ankle and began crawling out.
The Under was completely evacuated except for Rich and Abad, who were outs
