Pokemon Fight Back

Well, once again here I am, sitting at the computer with some vague ideas for a chapter. It is now time to expand these vague ideas (especially vague today because I thought up the ideas several days ago, and all of the specifics have drifted out of my head) into a story of chaos. This is specifically a good time to write, since I just got a new job working the live hang area of Granny's poultry (damn last job layed me off... was a nice job too). For eight straight hours, I take living chickens, slide their fragile, brittle legs between thin metal bars, often breaking the legs. Then, ten feet to my right, the chickens have their necks sliced open by a machine, allowing me to observe the blood pouring over their heads. What was once a living creature, held in my arms, shivering in fear, is now hung upside-down as its lifeblood pours from its limp body.

You can see how this job may get to you after a while. Hence, before I do anything irrational, I'm getting all of the thoughts in my head onto fanfic. Therefore:

Chapter 18: Wrath

Eric was stirred from his sleep from the wind rattling the window. Getting up, he crammed a crumpled up piece of paper into the loose board and crawled back into bed. Several minutes later, he realized that he would never fall back asleep, seeing as it was already 8:45 in the morning. Once again dragging himself from his bed, he headed downstairs to find Jane waiting for him.

"What're you doing up so soon?", asked Eric.

"It's not THAT early.", said Jane. "I might just as well ask why you're up so late."

"Touché.", said Eric. "Course, I would have slept later if it wasn't windy. I don't think I've naturally woken up since I started this damn quest."

"Oooohhh, we're on a quest now.", said Jane sarcastically.

"Well what the hell would you call it?", asked Eric.

"It's a journey of the body and mind.", said Jane in the same tone.

"Fine. Whatever the hell we're doing, I still haven't woken up good once.", replied Eric.

"Ok. This joke's been run into the ground.", said Jane. "Time for food."

After a short meal of 'Count Chocula' cereal, they headed out in search of the gym. In their wanderings, they biked over to the shopping center that dwelled in Celadon. Upon entering, they locked their bikes to a rack and headed upstairs. Perusing the various goods, Eric decided to splurge on a Protein for his Florin, which seemed only slightly stronger after eating it.

"Well fuck.", said Eric. "I thought he'd bulk up a little. He's not even opening his eyes any more than before."

"They kinda rip you off with that shit.", said Jane, trying to find any differences in Florin.

"For almost ten fucking grand, I expected some noticeable shit to happen.", replied Eric. *

"Piss on this place. Let's head upstairs.", said Jane, starting towards the stairs.

"God damnit.", said Eric, still ranting. "I'm down to about five grand now. There'd better not be any fancy shit coming up that costs more than that."

"Just waste some more trainers to get some more cash.", said Jane.

"Bah.", said Eric, heading upstairs with Jane.

Upon entering the top floor, they found many a vending machine strewn about. Upon looking at the selections, Eric decided to buy about five sodas to both drink and heal his Pokemon in mid-battle should the need arise. Jane just bought a lemonade and drank it on the spot. As they were walking towards the elevator, a small girl stopped them in their tracks.

"Can I have a drink?", asked the little girl.

"I don't give handouts.", said Eric, sidestepping the girl.

"I'm really thirsty though.", continued the girl.

"Try asking someone you know.", replied Eric, continuing towards the elevator.

"I'll trade you a TM for a drink.", said the girl, digging some TM's from her pocket. This made Eric stop in his tracks and turn around.

"Whatcha got?", asked Eric, suddenly interested.

"Depends what you give me.", said the girl.

"Damnit. Gimme a second.", said Eric, jogging to a vending machine, where he bought a single water and lemonade. Jogging back, he gave the girl a water.

"Thanks.", said the girl. "Here, you can have Rock Slide." **

"Shweet.", said Eric, taking the TM. "Wanna trade some more?"

"Yeah, but not for water.", said the girl.

"My turn, my turn.", said Jane suddenly. "Let me get some cheap swag."

"Bah, fine.", said Eric, guzzling his lemonade.

Jane went to the machine and bought five of the next cheapest thing there... lemonade. Bringing it back, she gave one to the girl, who in turn gave her the Substitute TM.

"Thanks.", said Jane, stuffing the TM in to her backpack. "More?"

"Not lemonade anyway.", said the girl.

"Damn.", said Jane, looking at the four remaining cans in her backpack.

"Here's a Soda.", said Eric, grabbing a can of soda from his backpack. ***

"I'm pretty full, but I think I can drink that.", said the girl, gulping it down. "You can have Tri-Attack."

"Can we jam any more fluids into you?", asked Jane. "I can run outside and find some ditch water or piss in a cup or something."

"Uhh, no thanks.", said the girl. "I'll be good now."

"Damn.", said Eric. "Well, enough here. Let's beat it."

With that, they headed into the elevator and headed for the exit. As they grabbed their bikes and left the building, they began to talk about the strange little girl in the store.

"What the fuck was wrong with that kid?", said Eric. "Gotta have some kind of drinking disorder or something."

"That, or they were thirsty.", said Jane.

"Noone can drink three six hundred milliliter drinks in one shot unless they have one hell of a big stomach to hold it.", replied Eric. "And she traded us TMs, which she could have just as easily sold for a couple thousand and bought a dozen drinks."

"That's what I was thinking of.", replied Jane. "If I can't use this shit, I'll sell it and pocket the money."

"Best exchange I've ever made.", said Eric as he biked around yet another corner, looking for the casino.

"So what're you going to use the TMs on?", asked Jane.

"Dunno.", said Eric. "I'll just keep 'em for a while until I eventually decide to commit to using it."

"Yeah.", replied Jane. "That was my general plan of action too. Besides... I don't think Substitute is very good anyway. Probably sell this thing."

"Whatever.", said Eric, dropping the subject.

As they eventually wandered over to the casino, the entered it, looking around cautiously. They saw noone that looked suspicious, except for a poster of someone in a Team Ricochet uniform on the wall. Locking up their bikes, they wandered over to the poster, seeing it curve out slightly from the wall as if something were behind it. Peeking behind, Eric saw a switch and turned it on, expecting the lights to go out or something. To his surprise, as he hit the switch, the wall made a hollow sound as his hand hit it, and the wall pushed open.

"That was the shittiest excuse for a hidden switch if I've ever seen one.", said Eric.

"Indeed.", said Jane. "Time to enter."

"Hey...", started Eric. "I should probably destroy the gym in this town while we're here."

"Oh yeah.", said Jane. "How's this... you take the gym, I'll take the casino."

"Think you can take this place?", asked Eric.

"I wouldn't mind a good challenge.", replied Jane, smiling slightly.

"Lemme check out the first room with ya.", said Eric. "If things look pathetically easy, I'll split."

"Screw that.", said Jane, wanting to get anything Team Ricochet related alone with her. "If I can't take it, you can find me at the pokecenter."

"Good enough.", said Eric, starting to leave. "How leveled are your Pokemon."

"Inferno and Blade are pretty damn sweet right now.", said Jane. "And I've got a mess of lemonade from the store to top me up."

"Ok, good luck.", said Eric, taking off.

"This should be fun.", said Jane, starting through the secret door.

As Eric left the casino, Jane rubbed her hands together in glee. Today, she would attempt to make her greatest conquest to date. Heading inside, she saw a Team Ricochet guard half-asleep, guarding the entrance. Sneaking up close to him, she decked him in the jaw as hard as she could.

"FUCK!!!", screamed the man, suddenly fully awake. "What the fuck was that all about?!?"

"More coming!", said Jane, kicking him in the nuts as hard as her leg would let her.

"AAAAUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!!!", screamed the man, falling to the ground in extreme pain.

"Scream this.", said Jane calmly, stepping on his neck with full force. A sudden crunching sound was heard, and the man's voice suddenly stopped. Little damage had been done to the man, but she had much work to do, and little time to do it. Stepping over the corpse, she headed down a hallway, where there were another two guards standing. ****

"Oohh, two on one odds today.", mumbled Jane, grabbing Blade's pokeball. "GO BLADE!"

With that, the two guards looked towards the source of her voice and headed towards her.

"Looks like we got ourselves a battle here.", said the first guard.

"Let's see what my Seadra 'Centuro' can do to this little shit.", said the second guard, beginning to reach into his pocket. *****

"Bug type???", said the first guard. "Those things are hurt by most anything."

"So are humans.", said Jane as the first one arrived. "Go to work Blade."

"Huh?", said the guard as Pinsir ran towards him.

"What the fuck are... AAAHHHH!!!!", was all he could say before Pinsir swiped his right leg apart at the ankle. Blood poured from the new wound, soaking the cloth on his pants and spilling onto the ground. Jane stood back to avoid being splattered.

"Jesus Christ!", said the second guard, dropping his pokeball. "I'd better call backup."

"Not while I'm alive.", said Jane, grabbing Inferno's pokeball. "Go Inferno! Bake him like a forest ham!"

"SHIT!!!", said the guard as Inferno landed in front of him. He turned to run, but Inferno blew a stream of flame towards the man's back, instantly engulfing him.

"MY SKIN!", screamed the man as he dropped to the ground and rolled to try to smother the flames.

At this point, Blade had managed to slice the remainder of the first guard's leg in half lengthwise, showing the muscles slit in half and the bone shattered into thousands of fragments. The screaming was intense from the two guards as Jane stood to the side and reveled in the sheer anguish of the guards.

"Pin-PIN!", said Blade, deciding to end the screaming by driving his claw into the man's neck, severing his larynx. The screaming stopped as the man's head was nearly sliced clean off of his head. Blood spouted from the jugular vein onto Blade, who by now was quite used to being covered in blood. However, some of the blood had managed to land on Inferno, who stepped away to avoid the rest.

"You sick BASTARD!", screamed the remaining guard, having smothered the flames and was lying on the ground facing the carnage. He was in a state of shock from what he had just witnessed.

"Take these sights to your grave old man.", said Jane. "Inferno, finish the job."

"Char-charm!", said Inferno, turning once again to the guard. Gathering all the heat he could muster, Inferno blasted flame directly into the man's face.

"AHHHHHHHUUUUUUU", screamed the guard as the skin melted from his face. The molten flesh began to turn into a fiery liquid flesh, which poured down the man's throat, stopping his screaming. Behind the skin, the muscles connecting the jaw burst into flame, snapping apart and leaving the jaw to fall from his skull.

His eyes burst open from the head, spattering the surroundings with pieces of eye, covered with a thin, translucent fluid.

The bone began to blacken as Inferno blew another burst of flame towards his head. The bone slowly seemed to turn to ash and crumble into a heap at the ground. Because of Inferno's accuracy, the rest of the body was still nearly untouched. Blood barely seeped from the man's neck, as the wound had been beyond cauterized. As he turned towards the body of the guard, Jane waved him away.

"We don't want to be wasting our time with petty things.", said Jane. "We merely want to complete the job of annihilating Team Ricochet."

"Char.", said Inferno, stepping back in comprehension.

As Jane called back her Pokemon, she sniffed the foul stench of both overcooked and undercooked flesh in the air and headed to the next room. After navigating through some annoying conveyor belts, she went to the next floor. # After devastating several other Team Ricochet members in a likewise manner, she saw some form of lift key around his neck (or was around his neck before Blade sliced his head off). Taking it, she headed for the elevators and entered the last floor. Inside, she found another guard protecting a large set of doors.

"Took me about ten minutes to get this far.", said Jane out loud. "I think I have a little time to play around here."

"Little cocky, aren't you?", asked the guard.

"I know what I'm doing.", said Jane, grabbing Blade's pokeball. "Go Blade. Break his legs!"

"Wha?", said the man as Blade appeared and swung the side of his claw into the man's leg.

"GAAAHHHH!!!", screamed the man as his ankle bent sideways. Instantly, he dropped to the ground, rolling to his side. Jane took this opportunity to kick the man in the back of the neck. Hearing a dull snapping sound, the man's movement instantly stopped, but the screaming continued. The man's spine had been severed at the neck, causing him to be paralyzed and unable to defend himself.

"JESUS CHRIST YOU FUCKING FREAK!!!", screamed the man hysterically. "PLEASE LET ME LIVE!"

"Let me think about that.", said Jane, tearing off a piece of the man's jacket. "Let's see... joy of torturing you, or let you live... hmmm... this is a tough one."

"Oh Christ no!", screamed the man as Jane crammed the cloth into the man's mouth.

"No more talking for you.", said Jane. "Now, what would be nice to see right about now..."

"Mmmfff mmm ggmmmfff.", mumbled the man, tears streaming down his face.

"Let's stop those tears for one.", said Jane smiling. The man closed his eyes in fear at these words. At this point, Jane pulled out a folding hunting knife from her pocket, which had sat by her side since she had been attacked in Bill's gym. Opening it up, the man looked at the source of the click as the blade snapped into place, slightly covered in old, dry blood. Wiping off the dry blood, she ran her thumb along the edge, feeling its sharpness.

"This will do quite nicely.", said Jane, looking back at the man. "Blade, return. Your job is done."

"Pin.", said Blade, returning to the pokeball. Jane held the knife several inches above the man's head, waving it between her thumb and index finger. Then, she held her hand against the man's face, pulling open his eyelids. The guard attempted to close his eye, but it was unable to overpower Jane's fingers. He stared at the blade, which was now inches from his eye.

"MMM MMFFFMM GGMMMMFFF!!!", mumbled the man loudly. He was now sweating profusely in fear.

"It's ouchy time.", said Jane, running the edge of the blade along his eyeball. A thin slit appeared over the surface of the eye. The man's eye darted upward at the feel of the blade, causing the slit to peel open. Tears streamed down his face, mixing with the clear liquid which was now free to run from the man's eye.

"MMMMMMMM!!!!!!", screamed the man through the cloth in his mouth.

"What's that?", asked Jane. "You want more?"

"Mmm mmm.", mumbled the man, trying to shake his head.

"Yay, more fun.", said Jane, opening the other man's eyelids with her fingers. She then grabbed the upper eyelid and slit it off, allowing blood to run over his now unprotected eye. With that, she pointed the knife straight towards his pupil, which was staring at the approaching knife through the blood. Slowly, she inserted the razor-sharp tip into the pupil of the eye. The man turned his eye in pain, causing the knife to once again slit the eye wide open.

"Well, fun's over.", said Jane, standing up. "If someone ever finds you, maybe you'll live... if you're lucky."

Stepping over the man's body, who was still screaming intensely through the cloth, she stepped through the doors, seeing a man standing in the back of the room. She expected to see a more surprised look on the man's face, assuming that he had heard the screaming. But upon glancing back at the closing door, she noticed that it was made of a thick wood, sealed against the wall when it closed. Soundproof. The man knew nothing. This would be sweet.

"You've made it quite far.", said the man. "Do you know who I am?"

"Some lame-ass excuse for a member of Team Ricochet?", replied Jane.

"Not quite.", said the man. "I am Vladmere. Leader of Team Ricochet."

"Must be my lucky day!", said Jane enthusiastically, grabbing Inferno's pokeball."

"Don't even think about it.", said Vladmere, taking out a gun from his pocket and pointing it at Jane. "I DO have video cameras set up in here. I've been monitoring you." ##

"WHAT?!?", said Jane surprised, dropping Inferno's pokeball back into her backpack.

"I've seen you destroy my team members, and don't particularly like the idea of you trying to take out our organization.", started Vladmere. "However, I WOULD like to try to persuade you to join Team Ricochet."

"The fuck you will.", said Jane. "How about I kill you first, then we'll talk."

"A sense of humour.", said Vladmere. "I like that. But even if you kill me, Team Ricochet would live on."

"Wanna test?", asked Jane, staring at the .357 magnum in his hands.

"Tell you what...", started Vladmere. "What if I offer you ten thousand dollars a month to fight by my side."

"I kill for pleasure, not money.", said Jane. "Now are you going to kill me, or is anything going to happen here?"

"I won't kill you unless necessary.", said Vladmere. "I think that in time, you will wish to join Team Ricochet. You just need to realize that we ARE the future."

"Not if I have anything to say about that.", said Jane, stepping forward.

"Think about it.", said the man, tapping his foot on the ground. Suddenly, the floor dropped out from below him, and he disappeared from sight. ###

"FUCK!", screamed Jane, running over and jumping into the hole. But it was no use. It had sealed itself up several inches into the ground. "So close!"

Dejected, Jane looked around the room. Rifling through Vladmere's desk, she found a set of strange looking glasses with the word 'Silph' imprinted on the side of it. Snagging the glasses, she tossed them into her backpack and left the building. As she left the casino, she met Eric, who had coincidentally just beaten the gym and was headed towards the pokecenter.

"So how'd you make out?", asked Eric.

"Got the Silph scope.", replied Jane, patting her backpack.

"Sweet.", said Eric. "Any trouble in there?"

"Fuck, if anything it was fun.", said Jane, reminiscing.

"Pretty sweet for me too.", said Eric. "Florin couldn't do much with plant attacks... slowed me down a heck of a lot... but Quake did some pretty nice ass-kicking in them thar hills."

"I'll assume you got the badge then.", said Jane.

"Oh yeah.", said Eric. "I'm happy, you're happy, let's call this town quits and head back to Lavender."

"Sounds good.", replied Jane, hopping back onto her bike.

As they began to bike, they headed towards the tunnel to Lavender (not yet knowing of the Saffron way). The rest of the day would be filled with beating the living tar out of ghosts and finding Mr. Fuji. Only time would tell if Jane would get another chance to beat Vladmere, who had managed to escape her wrath. At least, she knew what the leader of Team Ricochet looked like, and was prepared to kill him if she saw him on the street.

* : Yes, I too was severely annoyed that Protein/etc. only raised the stats by one or two. That shit's expensive. Course, after ten of them, it makes a noticeable difference... but that's ninety-eight thou right there. Ouch captain... ouch.

** : Not sure which drink gives which TM, but I've got a one in three chance, so let's hope I get lucky. 33% chance isn't TOO bad odds.

*** : Sorry, my train of thought was broken... twice... at this point, and the story may not mesh together as well as I may have wanted. However, there's a 99% chance that it won't affect the story anyway.

**** : Again... I'm not sure how many there were, or where they were, so I'm just winging it now.

***** : Not completely sure what these guys have, so I'm cramming a Seadra into him, seeing as it's the first one I thought of. And hey... that's a pretty kick-ass name for a Seadra.

# : Well, they gotta be conveyor belts of some sort, or what the hell are those arrow-like ground things?

## : You can guess that this isn't quite like the game, but I found this more entertaining.

### : Well how the hell else would he disappear?

Will Jane kill Vladmere? Will Jane join Team Ricochet? What will happen when they see ghosts? Was it really a ghost that I saw about ten years back? Personally, I think it was. Scared the shit out of me too. Was late at night, half-asleep... bah... you don't care. Will Joseph or Jamie meet the same fate as the other members of Team Ricochet (thus far)?

Answers to... let's see... four of these questions, seeing as several of them were comments anyway, in the coming chapters.

Afternote: I was planning on putting both the Team Ricochet trio as well as Kris into here, but it got too long, so next chapter.

Kabutroid