Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ The Forgotten Son ❯ Evolution ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Luke allowed only one brief respite so that his pokemon's wounds could heal before he set off toward Goldenrod. His pokemon weakly followed, marching on through fields, forest and mountain. Every wild pokemon that crossed their path was fought and taken down, from the most insignificant zubat to the experienced raticates. Everybody had their turn; everyone but miltank, who solidly still refused to fight, much to Luke's dismay. By the time they had finally arrived in Goldenrod two days and two painfully brief nights later Luke's pokemon were a wreck, feeling like they hadn't stopped walking and battling since they left Mahogany.
 
Goldenrod was exactly as Luke remembered it; dense and tall with dark golden-colored bricks and streets that gave the town its name. Despite his pokemon's ragged demeanor, Luke was still sharp and focused on the task at hand. They marched on, stopping at the pokemon center for a blissful moment of rest and healing before making their way through the town.
 
Red-hair had mentioned to Luke that rocket members were assembling in Goldenrod gradually. Luke was going to find out where and why and take care of them long before anyone else had to. He was going to prove that he had changed, that he was no longer weak, not only for the others but for himself.
 
* * *
 
Finding the rockets was much easier than it seemed. There were a few crowding the entrance to the famous Radio Tower, the tallest building in all of Johto. Its black, metallic walls set it apart from the gold-colored bricks of the rest of Goldenrod. Luke approached the darkly clad rockets without any caution, but not exactly boldly either. “Hey.” He said, calling their attention.
 
The rockets looked at him, squinting, trying to understand why he looked so familiar. The way he stood, his expression, those eyes… they didn't realize and never would have time to realize how much he resembled his own father, who had been known by just about everybody in team rocket. Luke beckoned for his gyarados to come forward.
 
The rockets looked up at him, curious.
 
“Hydro pump.”
 
* * *
 
Luke stepped into the lobby of the radio tower, his gyarados stuck outside because of his enormity. The glass doors leading in had been shattered and the carpet at the doors soaked by the high-pressure blast of water that had just wrecked through team rocket members and into the Radio Tower's base. The room was bare, all the civilians and workers gone. All that remained was the carpet floor, the staircase across the room leading up, a few vacant counters and walls laden with awards and certificates.
 
Luke heard the sound of a pokeball and noticed another rocket standing at the foot of the stairs, a newly released arbok beside him- this pokemon was a large cobra-like beast who wielded dangerous poison attacks.
 
“Woop—mud bomb attack!” Luke called out, pointing at arbok.
 
“Glare!” he man responded.
 
Woop, the lovable little blue water pokemon known by specie as wooper, belched out a mass of liquid mud that lazily flew at the snake. The snake in turn glared at wooper with a power that constricted every muscle in his body. But the impact of mud bomb broke arbok's hold and Woop avoided a major paralysis, sliding out of the way while excreting a fine Mist attack hat helped it keep its speed despite arbok's glare.
 
“Poison fang!” The rocket commanded, and arbok complied, slithering quickly toward Woop and standing tall over him, its shadow engulfing him before it snapped down and bit at him.
 
And it landed. Arbok's mouth snatched up wooper, secreting poison into his system. “Don't let it off… use crunch next!”
 
Arbok lifted Woop off the ground, crunching the little blue guy in its jaws heartlessly.
 
“Now, Woop… muddy water!”
 
At that close range there was no defense. A blast of disgusting, thick brown water enveloped arbok, spreading into his eyes and down his throat. The cobra flung wooper away in pain, reeling from the sickening feeling left by wooper's last attack. It wanted to vomit.
 
With one last charge wooper flung itself at arbok, spinning quickly and slamming it with his full weight packed into his tail. The cobra slid back, dazed, then wobbled dizzily before he collapsed in a heap on the floor.
 
“You…!” The man growled, “I won't let you past me! We can't fail our mission!”
 
Luke eyed him threateningly, daring him to take it back. The man stared back, unyielding. “Woop…” Luke said, coldly, “Would you mind taking care of him?”
 
Woop looked at Luke in horror. It couldn't be. Did he expect Woop to attack a human?
 
“Woop.” Luke said through his teeth, “I told you to take care of him. Are you going to obey me?”
 
Woop looked at Luke, then at the man. Then at Luke again. Luke began to open his mouth but before he could so much as inhale Woop turned and sprayed the main with Water Gun, knocking him off his feet. He fell backward onto his head and consciousness drained from his face.
 
Luke gave one last look of respect to Woop, then stepped forward coolly, followed up the stairs by his pokemon. Woop, seeing his appreciation, smiled back.
 
* * *
 
Luke ascended past vacant room after vacant room. Finally, he was beginning to reach the top. He entered what appeared to be an office; a nice, ruby red rug was laid on the floor. Potted plants populated each of the four corners of the room, and an excellent wood desk was against one of the walls. Standing by the desk was another rocket trainer; this one wore a green headband instead of the black hat rockets were generally attired in. Beside the man was a scyther; a praying mantis pokemon whose green skin matched his trainer's green headband. It wielded two intimidating sharp blades for arms.
 
“Welcome,” the rocket said to Luke; “This is the vice president's office. I got word from below you were coming.”
 
Luke glared at him, curiously. He was mildly familiar.
 
“Who are you?” Luke asked.
 
“I'm the Blade Master, one of the commanders of this operation. I've risen through the ranks of tem rocket in a matter of weeks, and now we make our glorious return!”
 
Luke was jolted with surprise. “I know you,” he said; “We fought before, in the Slopoke Well.”
 
The man, in turn, was struck with surprise as well. “Oh, is that you? I hardly recognized you anymore!”
 
“I have changed a little,” Luke conceded. “If you plan to stand in my way then I'll eliminate you like the others.”
 
“You've got quite an attitude now, boy. But you'll fail against my scyther, just like before!”
 
On that note, the scyther charged forward, propelled by madly flapping wings and dangerously fast footwork, holding its arms at the ready. Before Luke even had a chance to open his mouth Kenshin dove forward to meet it; Kenshin was the small, green lizard pokemon known as a treecko.
 
With a swing of its arm Kenshin generated a leaf blade in its hand and struck at scyther, but the praying mantis was still faster. It brought up one of its scythes, blocking the strike; and while parrying, it stabbed forward with its other arm, hitting and throwing Kenshin back.
 
Kenshin slid across the floor, an arm over the wound on its stomach now. Before it had a chance to recover scyther was already upon it, swinging its arm in a wide arc. It narrowly missed cleaving Kenshin's neck as the lizard pokemon ducked just in time, then struck back with a sword stab to mirror his opponent's earlier attack. Scyther slid back, but it clearly was less affected by Kenshn's blow than Kenshin of its.
 
“Kensin!” Luke muttered to his lizard pokemon, “Listen to me. Scyther is too tough for you take on your own. I'm going to give you orders, and you'd better follow them!”
 
Kenshin scoffed at Luke, preparing to charge again. But his opponent appeared to be busy receiving instructions from his trainer. Kenshin glanced back at Luke.
 
“Listen to me, dammit!” Luke said in a loud whisper. “Stop being such a little b|tch! Unless you start taking commands from me you'll never get anywhere. Like it or not, I'm helpful.”
 
Kenshin blinked at him, and then nodded. Fine. Luke would have it his way, for now.
 
But when Kenshin turned back to face his opponent he was surprised to see scyther already rushing at him. The praying mantis released an X-Scissor attack, attacking Kenshin with both blades simultaneously and forming an imaginary X in the air with its attacks. With a great deal of reaction speed Kenshin was able to defend itself, stopping the two blades at once by pushing his blade into the point of scyther's attack's intersection. Now the two struggled against each other's strength, pushing in with all their weight.
 
“He's stronger than us, Kenshin! Use his own weight against him!”
 
Kenshin stared up at the scyther, hesitating, then followed his orders. He let out a deep sigh, letting scyther push him back; and then, with all his might, lifted scyther up and flipped the praying mantis over his back using his opponent's own momentum. The green bug slammed into the floor behind Kenshin with a dull thud.
 
He didn't waste any time. For the first time scyther was truly wide-open, lying face-forward on the ground with his limbs spread out. Keshin struck at him, then followed that strike with another, then another. By the time scyther had managed to regain his footing and push Kenshin back the green lizard had landed a combination of 7 slashes. The damage was starting to show in scyther's movement.
 
“Keep up the offense, Kenshin- use your hidden power!”
 
Luke's training with the karate king was beginning to shine; his excellent use of counter-attacks was growing on par with the best there was. And he hadn't just learned technique, but specific attacks too, like his treecko's Hidden Power. His evolution from a timid battle-fearing wimp to a hardened, skilled fighter was truly amazing, and that's why the Blade Master could only stare with an open mouth while Kenshin charged up his next attack. Luke really had become a completely different person.
 
With calm, closed eyes, Kenshin tapped into his deepest, most inner strength. Immediately he was flooded in an aura of dragon-flame; blue-and-yellow fire billowed out from him, intimidating. And when he opened his eyes scyther saw they were now glowing yellow. The green dragon-like lizard then rushed forward at it, fire trailing behind it like the tail of a comet.
 
“Scyther, uh… avoid it for now!”
 
The order didn't come a moment too soon, as just when scyther leapt back Kenshin had swung its sword. But dragon flame engulfed its sword too, stretching beyond his reach and burning scyther as well. The praying mantis fell down from the air, intercepted by the fire attack but still landing on its feet.
 
Kenshin prepared another blow after that, which scyther was able to parry; but the fire spewing from Kenshin's sword engulfed scyther's arm and burned it still. Recoiling in pain, scyther was left open for a full-on dragon fire boosted sword strike that sent the green bug flying back and into the opposite wall.
 
Kenshin prepared for another charge at him, but the fire began to die off. It sword burned away in its hand along with the flame around him, leaving him exhausted and unarmed.
 
Before he had a chance to generate a new blade, scyther was already rushing at him with a mischievous grin on his face. The praying mantis landed a sharp blow on Kenshin, the lizard pokemon gurgling in pain as it stumbled back, another leaf blade just having formed in its hands. Scyther stepped forward, following its first strike with another, this time landing an X-Scissor attack that left Kenshin on its knees in pain, blood dripping from the slash wounds on his chest and abdomen. It stared up at its opponent, unable to bring itself to move.
 
“Finish it slowly, and painfully,” the blade master commanded, “Use fury cutter!”
 
But as scyther lifted its arm, preparing to strike, something happened. The green lizard, on the ground before it, began to glow yellow. It started dull and then flooded the room with golden light. Scyther stepped back, intimidated. Because when the glow settled it wasn't a treecko standing in front of it.
 
The green lizard had grown taller, and more limber. A long, wavy green leaf trailed out from his head while sharp, dagger-like leaves pointed out from its wrists. In its two hands it held two separate leaf blades, each longer and more sturdy than the ones it had wielded as a treecko. It appeared rejuvenated; still wounded, but it had gained more stamina too, now able to continue fighting. It's cold, sharp stare matched its trainer's glare exactly.
 
Kenshin had evolved into a grovyle; and with a loud gurgling sound it struck back.