Chapter 22-Crime and Punishment

I sat on the grass, leaning against a rock. I was looking down at my Pokedex, studying the information on the screen about Charmeleon and munching on an apple. I had been meaning to learn as much info about my Pokemon for a while now, so that I'd be prepared for battle or in an emergency, but never really got around to it, mostly because I was always forgetting to.

Somewhere off to my right Karen was getting in some practice with Ivysaur and her Pikachu. Since she evolved Ivysaur wasn't as fast as she was when she was a bulbasaur, so Karen had been working on getting around the loss of speed by working on her defenses. Right now she was having Pikachu use a weak Thundershock while Ivysaur tossed out a bunch of leaves, hoping that the electricity would be mostly blocked by them and leave Ivysaur mostly untouched.

I tapped the screen on my Dex to take me to the next page of info. This one was about a charmeleon's diet.

Charmeleon, like most Pokemon, were omnivorous. Apparently the high-temperature heat they generate inside their bodies helps with their stomachs digest different kinds of food, from plant to fruit to meat to standard Pokemon food.

Charmeleon stepped around the rock to sniff at my face. I finished my apple and offered him the core. He happily ate it up.

Yep, he sure could eat fruit.

He finished the core of the apple, then licked his lips and plopped down next to me. I lifted my arm so he could rest his chin on my leg before putting it down on his head. We were in that position for another ten minutes while I continued to read, flipping back and forth between pages.

The average height of his species was three feet, seven inches, but they can be a bit shorter or taller. There were even charmeleon that were almost five feet tall, almost as tall as me. Hm...

I stood up, Charmeleon doing the same.

"Lessee..." Last time I measured, I was five foot two. I put my cap on the rock and put my hand in front of me, by the top of my head. "Charmeleon, stand up straight."

He was slouching a bit, like usual, but he straightened up at my command. I moved my other hand near the top of his head and moved it toward me. He came up to just below my sternum. So, he was about...

"Maybe... four feet? Guess you're one of the taller ones."

I rubbed his head as he huffed out a bit of fire.

I looked up at the sky. It was about eleven, so we should be able to go around Saffron, if the gates really were closed, and arrive at the southern gate, and make some progress toward Vermilion City by nightfall.

"Alright, that's enough for now, guys!" Karen's Pokemon relaxed their battle stances, Ivysaur recalling the three vines she had out. They scampered over to their Trainer for some water before she let them go off to do their own thing. My Pikachu was waiting for her's and they started chasing each other around. Ivysaur trotted over to the rock and curled up for a nap, Charmeleon laying down next to her.

"So how are the leaves working?" I asked Karen as she came over.

She sighed. "Well, they're doing something. They do block some of Pikachu's attack, but not always. Sometimes they block a lot, sometimes just a little. Maybe I'll try shooting leaves at the attack. That might be more... what's the word... consistent? Eh, whatever. Ivysaur being a lot slower is gonna take some getting used to. There are moves that can help with defenses, aren't there? What are they? Reflect Screen?"

"Light Screen and Reflect, for special or physical attacks."

"Yeah, those. Maybe I can teach them to her."

"That might be a good idea," I replied, putting away my Pokedex.

"Watcha doin' on that?" Karen asked, following me as I walked over to our dozing gyarados, whose eyes opened at our approach.

"Just reading about Charmeleon. Did you know they can grow to be almost five feet?"

"Wow, really? That's almost as tall as you!"

"And way taller than you," I said with a grin. I hopped onto Gyarados' head before she could punch me. I patted his head, saying, "Up."

He dutifully raised his head as high as he could, which was about thirty five, almost forty, feet up. I gripped onto his crest tightly as I scanned to the south.

"What's up?" Karen asked as she rose on her Gyarados.

"Look, over there." I pointed at a structure a distance away, maybe four miles. Behind it I could make out what looked like tall buildings. "Saffron."

"Oh, cool!" she exclaimed, her hand over her eyes. "You can see it from here! We're getting close."

"We should be able to get to the southern gate in a few hours, and make some headway to Vermilion, by dark."

"Then let's get going!"

It took a little longer than expected to arrive at the northern gate, mostly because Karen insisted on trying to catch an oddish, but it got away, and I had to deal with her pouting for the next three hours.

It seemed Kasumi was right. The gate was sealed shut, and the walls were way too high to try to climb over.

"Closed, huh," Karen sighed.

"Yup. Looks like we keep going."

We started down the path snaking to the left, presumably around the city.

"So why do you think Saffron's got walls like this?"

"Not sure. I think I read somewhere that they were used a long time ago to protect against invaders. Something about Saffron being in a strategic position or something."

I thought it would take a long time to completely circle around a big city like Saffron, at least a couple hours, but it only took about an hour.

"Look, we're here!" Karen pushed past me when the southern gate came into view. "Now it's just all the way south to Vermilion and the next Gym!"

"So who's gonna challenge the Leader first? You or me?"

"Let's just flip a coin."

"Hm, okay."

Karen hummed tunelessly as we walked, our starters at our sides. Gazing out her Ivysaur, it hit me that we were so far from home, that we were on our own journey, with our own Pokemon and with two Gym badges during the League challenge, to compete in the League Tournament, to become the Champion...

But, wait.

I watched Karen. She was as perky and cheery as ever, but thinking about being away from home reminded me of her reaction when I said we might have to return to Pallet to get our Pokedexes fixed. She freaked out, got angry, she really did not want to return...

"Karen."

She turned, smiling. "What is it?"

I paused, wondering how to approach the subject. "Uh... look, remember on Route 4, after we fell into the river and our Pokedexes got busted?"

"Um, yeah, kinda hard to forget that. What about-"

"Why did you freak out when I said we might have to go back to Pallet Town?"

She closed her mouth, eyes widening. She pressed her lips together, then looked away.

"It's, it's nothing. Just... we were so far, going back and returning would take way too long, don'tcha think?"

I paused. She was looking down, grinding the toe of her shoe in the dirt. It was something she always did when she was lying.

"Karen."

It took several seconds before she looked up to meet my unflinching gaze.

"What's the real reason?"

She blinked, looked down, kicked at the dirt, looked to the side, down at Ivysaur, who looked back up. She swallowed, playing with her skirt. "I..." She suddenly turned on her heel to keep walking. "It's nothing, just-"

"It is not nothing," I insisted, following her. "There is a real reason you don't want to go back home, and-"

"Just drop it, okay? I don't-"

"I'm not gonna just drop it. This is obviously bothering you, and it wouldn't do you or me any good to just pretend there's nothing wrong."

"Don't go playing psycho-analyst with me, Jack. It's annoying."

"I wouldn't have to if you just told me what-"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Look, Karen," I said, grabbing her hand, "you're my best friend, and I want to help. And I'm pretty sure the only way I can do that is by you talking to me about what's got you bothered."

I looked into her blue eyes, willing her to not look away.

Three seconds, then seven, then ten, then twenty went by until she closed her eyes and sighed, almost shakily. She looked away and said softly, "It's my parents."

"Your parents?" She nodded. "What about your parents?"

She stepped away, adjusting her hat. She crossed her arms, looking down. I waited.

"My parents," she began, "they were... they were distant. Like, really distant. Ever since I told them that I was gonna go on a journey back in February once I got my license."

"Distant? What happened?"

"Nothing! Nothing happened! I didn't do anything! I told them about going on a journey and then the next thing I know they don't want to look directly at me and avoid saying my name! They said they were proud of their daughter going on a journey, but they got this look when they said that, like they didn't like calling me their daughter!"

"What the hell? Why?"

"I-I don't know!"

Her eyes had been filling up with tears, and now they were threatening to spill over.

"I... I never knew. Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Cause I didn't think it was a big deal at first! But... but it went on for months until I finally couldn't stand it any more. I'm just so glad that we finally left in July..."

A tear rolled down her cheek. Ivysaur whined softly. My lips turned in a frown.

After some silence I quietly said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pressured you to tell me. I should-"

She interrupted me by tightly wrapping her arms around me and burying her face into my shoulder. Her hat slid off her head when it bumped into my chin. I caught it with one hand, gently placing it back on her head, and wrapped my other arm around her. Normally, the moisture seeping into my clothes would've really irritated me, but I figured I could set aside that irritation this time.

After a minute or so she took a deep, shaky breath and pulled away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, trying to smile.

"Don't be."

She wiped her eyes, taking another breath. She gestured at my shoulder.

"Sorry 'bout that. I know you don't like that."

"Don't worry about it," I reassured her. "I'm just glad you told me about this."

She laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess it did some good. Thank you, Jack."

I took her hand, giving a light squeeze, and she squeezed back.

I was about to ask if she wanted to keep going when a voice behind us said, "Oh, jeez, get a room."

We turned.

A girl, about our age, was walking in our direction. I had seen her before. She had teal hair, pulled up in a long ponytail, with an orange jacket with black sleeves, navy blue skirt, black leggings and orange boots, and a pack hanging around her waist.

Yup, no doubt about it. It was the girl I had bumped into as she was leaving the Pokemon Center in Cerulean.

I scowled at her as I remembered how rude she was, but she either didn't notice or ignored it, strolling on by with an eevee on her shoulder.

"If you wanna hold hands do it somewhere you won't get in anyone's way."

Karen noticed me scowling and nudged me. "You know her?"

The girl turned to look at us, then did a double take. She smirked. "Hey, I remember you. Yeah, yeah, you were the chump that brought that abra into the Center." She laughed, continuing to walk.

I felt a light nudge in the back of my head. Abra was reaching out to me.

Old Master.

I looked down at his Pokeball on my belt. Hm?

Old Master. Old Master left me, almost died. Old Master.

An image suddenly appeared to me. It was the same image that Abra first showed me when I visited him the day after I brought him in. A girl with long hair. That was all the detail it had, just like back then. But then the image shifted, changing, slowly filling in. The hair, which was black, began to lighten. The face began to actually show features-her lips were thin, her nose small and kinda cute, eyebrows were long and thin, eyes were wide and slightly slanted. Her hair hung over one eye, but I could see that, despite the hazel coloring, her eyes had a dark, almost cruel glint.

It was the girl that walked past us.

Old Master.

It took a couple seconds, but I put it together, my heart seized up, and my stomach twisted. I slowly turned around, a sudden cold fury welling up in my chest. I grit my teeth hard, clenched my fists, and took three steps forward.

"It was you!" I roared.

The sudden loud noise sent nearby pidgey flying away.

The girl stopped and turned around.

"What?"

"Jack, what's-"

I moved toward the girl, who only stared. "You did it! You're the one who left Abra to die!"

Karen gasped.

The girl stared at me for a moment longer before she turned to walk away. I stepped around in front of her to block her way. She stopped and glared.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? How could you do that to him?"

"Is it true?" Karen asked her.

The girl glanced back at her, looked at me, and scoffed. She pushed past me.

"So what if it is? What's it matter to you?"

"You left a Pokemon, your Pokemon, to die," I answered lowly. "That's why it matters."

She glared at me. Then, "You kept him, didn't you." She wasn't asking.

"Yeah, Abra's with me now." I lightly touched his Pokeball on my belt.

Her face was calm for a bit before she smirked.

"Figured you would. A weakling for a weakling. It's only fitting."

"So that's why you abandoned him like that? Cause he was 'weak'?"

She turned around to face me, crossing her arms. "Yeah. He couldn't keep up, couldn't handle the training, so I cut him loose."

"So you just leave him to die?"

I was down shouting. My voice was like ice now.

"If he died, he was just too weak. I only have use for the strong ones, and he wasn't strong."

"Well, he survived," I spat out between gritted teeth, "no thanks to you."

"I wasn't asking for thanks."

With that, she whirled, her ponytail, and walked away.

My fists were trembling, blood rushing, heart pumping.

What the hell was wrong with this girl? Is she serious? Did she seriously just leave Abra, bleeding from a gash on his leg, to die? Who the hell does that? How can anyone do that to their own Pokemon?

Before I could stop myself, I let out a snarl, took a Pokeball, and sent out Charmeleon.

He picked up on my anger, because he took a lower stance, snarling.

The girl stopped, turned, glared.

Then she smirked. "What? You wanna battle?"

I glowered at her, trembling with rage.

She paused for a moment. "I'm sure you were at Cerulean to get a badge there," the girl said, "so tell me, how many badges you got?"

"What's it to you?" I spat.

"Oh, I was just curious. Wanted to see whether I should take you seriously."

I growled. "Two."

She laughed curtly. "Only two? I have four!"

"Shut it!"

She laughed again. "Alright, okay, you wanna battle? We'll battle. Raine."

Her Eevee jumped off her shoulder to face Charmeleon.

"I'll show you weak," I growled. "Flamethrower!"

Charmeleon shot the flames at Raine, who jumped over it at its Trainer's command.

"Quick Attack."

"Iron Tail!"

The eevee dashed forward as Charmeleon swung around, his tail glinting metallically.

"Stop!"

Eevee abruptly slid to a stop just out of reach of Charmeleon's attack, and it swung by harmlessly.

"Sand Attack."

Charmeleon turned to face Raine and it turned, kicking dirt at him with its hind legs. Charmeleon hissed and stumbled back.

"Flamethrower!"

"Quick Attack!"

Raine dashed to the side, away from the fire, and circled around.

"Iron Tail!" we shouted at once.

Charmeleon spun around to try to hit Eevee with his tail, but Eevee hopped over the attack and whirled. It slammed its tail into his head, sending him stumbling away.

"Metal Claw!"

Charmeleon lunged forward, swiping at Raine . It dodged, and the girl called, "Skull Bash!"

Raine ducked another slash, then jumped, slamming its head into Charmeleon's stomach.

"Flamethrower!"

"Double Team."

Charmeleon spewed out flames as Raine split into four, then six, then eight, then ten. The Fire attack hit one, causing it to disappear, and the others spread out to surround him.

"Skull Bash."

The nine eevee rushed forward, and I shouted for Charmeleon sweep them with Iron Tail. He swun his tail around but only managed to hit three because the others jumped over it toward him, like I expected them to.

"Flamethrower!"

Continuing to spin, Charmeleon spit out the flames, covering the air above him in fire.

Five of the eevee fizzled out, three managed to escape the worst of it, and one fell.

"Iron Tail!"

Charmeleon's attack struck its mark, and for a moment it seemed that he hit the real one, right before it faded.

The remaining three regrouped and began to slowly approached Charmeleon.

After a moment's pause the girl said, "Skull Bash."

The Raines rushed forward rushed again.

"Smokescreen!"

Charmeleon opened his mouth, except instead of fire what came out was a thick, black smoke. The smoke enveloped the multiple Raines and they slid to a halt, coughing.

"Now, Iron Tail!"

Charmeleon dashed into the smoke, and there was the sound of some strikes before a breeze came through to clear out the smoke. Charmeleon was backing toward me, with two eevee on the ground, injured. I waited for one of them to disappear to finish off the real one.

Instead, both disappeared, and I realized with a jolt that there were only two eevee there. When they disappeared, I saw that one of the them had been lying on top of a hole in the ground, covering it up.

"What the-"

The ground under Charmeleon cracked, pushed upward, and Raine burst out, slamming into my starter. He spat a lick of fire in pain as he was knocked back and down. Raine trotted back to the girl, and Charmeleon was struggling to get up. He collapsed, breathing heavily.

"Looks like your charmeleon can't go on," the girl sneered.

This whole time I held onto his Pokeball, and now I squeezed it so hard I was afraid I might break it. I recalled him with a growl, gritting my teeth, and sent out Pikachu.

If she was gonna use speed, so would I.

"A pikachu, huh? This should be at least kind of interesting. Raine, Double Team Quick Attack."

"Double Team, Pikachu, and Iron Tail!"

Both of our Pokemon split into several clones and ran toward each other. The two groups of Pokemon starting attacking each other, and among the fighting it was impossible to make out the real Raine or Pikachu.

But then one eevee hit one Pikachu, and that Pikachu disappeared.

"Thundershock!"

One Pikachu jumped away from the group and shot electricity from his cheeks, except this attack was way bigger than before and made a loud crack. It hit the eevee, sending it flying back, and it fizzled out.

"Crap!"

"Take Down!"

One Raine suddenly dashed out and slammed into Pikachu. He squeaked in pain, getting knocked away, and the other Pikachu disappeared.

I don't know how she did it, but one fake eevee hit a fake Pikachu, and somehow in the same move the real one hit the same Pikachu, dealing damage and making it disappear, and when I commanded Pikachu to attack I revealed which one the real one was, and she attacked.

Whoever she was, she was good.

"So your Pikachu learned Thunderbolt. Hope it does you some good," she taunted.

"Shut your damn mouth," I growled. "Thunder Wave!"

Pikachu's cheeks sparked, and a weak shot out in an arc toward Raine.

"Crap, Quick Attack!"

Raine dashed to one side, but had to jump to be able to avoid Pikachu's attack. As soon as it did I shouted for Pikachu to use Iron Tail. He ran forward as Raine landed, and it, too, used Iron Tail, spinning around to try to deflect Pikachi's attack. Their tails slammed into each other, and they ended up locked together, both Pokemon trying to get the advantage.

Seeing a chance, I shouted, "Thunderbolt!"

Electricity arced from Pikachu's cheeks down his body to his tail, and to Raine. It jumped back at the shock, and I ordered Pikachu to hit it with Iron Tail. He spun and landed a direct hit against Raine's flank. It managed to stay standing, though, sliding to the side, kicking up dirt.

It jumped back when Pikachu attacked again.

"Quick Attack!"

Both Pokemon dashed at each other. Pikachu's cheeks sparked, and the girl must have seen it, because she commanded her Pokemon dodge to the side. Despite the dodge, Raine still got a shock. Pikachu skidded to a stop and turned, to fire Thunderbolt at my command.

"Damn, Shadow Ball!"

The Thunderbolt shot forward, but Raine was fast-it jumped up, a ball of dark energy forming in its mouth, and it fired.

"Bounce it back!"

Pikachu swung, Iron Tail active, and hit the Shadow Ball, sending it back to its sender.

"Twist!"

Raine twisted, the Shadow Ball flying by, and, without needing to be told, fired another Shadow Ball.

"Thunderbolt!"

I was hoping to get the Shadow Ball to blow up in Raine's face, but it was fast and ended up exploding closer to Pikachu. Some smoke billowed out, and dirt was thrown into the air. There was a constant breeze, and the smoke was again blown away, revealing our Pokemon standing, facing each other.

"Your Pikachu's quick," the girl said.

"Save your compliments," I snapped.

She smirked. "Raine, Double Team."

Raine split into three and moved to surround Pikachu.

"Hit them all, Thunderbolt!"

The attack split into two, hitting two of the eevee, which immediately fizzled away. The last one rushed Pikachu. He dodged to the side on command and slammed his tail into its face.

To my shock, this Raine also disappeared.

Only then did I see the hole where Raine had stood.

My eyes widened. "Sh-"

The ground beneath Pikachu broke and Raine jumped out, slamming into Pikachu like it did with Charmeleon. This time, though, with Pikachu being much lighter, he was sent up into the air.

"Shadow Ball."

Raine jumped up high, coming above Pikachu, who was beginning to fall, and fired the Shadow Ball from its mouth. It crashed into Pikachu's stomach, sending him plummeting to the ground with great force. Raine landed lightly, going back to stand in fronts of its Trainer, while Pikachu lay, unable to get up.

"That's two," the girl said.

"I'm not gonna lose to someone like you," I snarled. "What you did to Abra is unforgivable. You will pay."

"Bring it on, then."

I recalled Pikachu, took Gyarados' Pokeball, and sent him out.

He sensed my anger, my rage, and felt the same, the same anger that his comrade was put through something so horrible, was left to die, and he let loose a powerful roar, long and loud. The sound echoed through the wilderness, sending any Pokemon in range scattering. It reverberated through my body and bones, sending a satisfied chill down my spine.

Raine didn't even flinch at the sight of the huge serpent.

The girl smirked. "Alright, going up against a big opponent will do you some good."

Raine looked at her, then back at Gyarados, spreading its legs determinedly.

"Hydro Pump!"

I suddenly felt that I had the upper hand. With a powerful Pokemon like Gyarados, there was no way I could lose.

That eevee was still fast, though, because it used Double Team and three of them scattered.

Gyarados' attack exploded into a short geyser where they were standing. It lightly rained on the girl, but she only turned her head slightly. When the water reached me it was just mist. I only blinked a couple times, not wanting to lose sight of Raine.

The three clones spread out as they ran toward Gyarados and I thought over what to do. I could go for Hydro Pump, but it was a single attack that could only hit one, leaving the other two free to attack. The best option would be to use a move he had just learned.

"Water Pulse!"

A ball of water the size of my chest grew in his mouth and he shot it at the ground between him and the eevee. It ruptured, sending out three-foot-tall waves splashing away in a circle.

The eevee tried to jump over it, but the waves slammed into them. One disappeared, but the otehrs hung around, one crashing into the ground and the other rolling back onto its feet, firing a Shadow Ball at Gyarados. He lowered his head, the attack hitting him just below his crest.

The attack was so powerful the force of it threw his head back.

He roared as the girl shouted, "Trump Card?"

Trump Card? What kind of move is that?

Before Gyarados recovered, Raine dashed forward and leapt, head down, toward his abdomen. It crashed headfirst, pushing Gyarados slightly before bouncing away.

"Again!"

Raine crashed into Gyarados again, but this time the attack seemed stronger, if only a little, because it pushed him back further.

"Again!"

This time the attack knocked the breath out of my Pokemon, sending him sliding back.

"What the-"

"Once more!"

"Hydro Pump!"

Gyarados spat out the attack at the incoming Raine, hitting it dead on. At least, it seemed dead on.

Three eevee dashed around the point of impact, rushing toward Gyarados, slamming into him.

This time the attack sent him careening back, crashing into a nearby tree, and Raine kicked off of him onto a branch. Gyarados righted himself and the girl called for Shadow Ball.

The Ghost attack exploded when it hit his face. He roared, backing away.

"Hydro Pump!"

Gyarados turned back, firing the powerful jet of water, and Raine jumped to another tree, the Water attack following it.

"Finish it! Last Resort!"

Raine jumped higher up the tree, behind a thicker amount of leaves, and burst out, bathed in a light orange glow.

"Gyarados, Aqua Tail!"

Water suddenly started whirling around his tail and he swung it around, hoping to hit Raine before it could hit him.

But it was too fast.

Raine slammed into him so hard that all the air was knocked out of him, actually sending flying across the flooded path, crashing into the trees. He collapsed.

"Gyarados, Hyper Beam!" I roared.

He only growled.

"Gyarados!"

He only stirred.

"Gyarados! Hyper Beam!"

He was gasping, trying to get up.

"Hyper Beam!"

"Jack, stop!"

I whirled on Karen. "Stay out of-"

"No! Don't go forcing Gyarados to continue when he can't! You'd be no better than her!" She pointed at the girl, who stood, unfazed by the insult, arms crossed. Her eevee went back to her, panting.

"Is that all?"

I snarled, withdrawing Gyarados to his ball, and sent out Abra. He levitated in front of me. I could feel something rolling off him, some emotion, but I couldn't tell whether it was anger, fear, resentment, or all of them.

The girl watched her eevee. It was panting and trembling. It must have been exhausted.

"So you kept the thing, huh?" she jeered, recalling her eevee. She sent out a machop in its place.

"You sure you want to send out a Fighting-type against Abra?" I asked, teeth clenched.

She laughed. "I could be at a type disadvantage and still kick your ass. Cross Chop!"

Machop rushed forward and leapt, crossing its arms in front of it in an X pattern.

Wait, then dodge back.

Machop descended, ready to strike, and I though, Now.

Abra teleported back. Machop kept going, its attack hitting the ground, cracking it slightly.

Psychic.

Abra reached out an arm, his eyes glowing blue, and Machop was lifted into the air, grunting in pain.

Shadow Ball.

With the other hand Abra fired a small black ball. It hit Machop dead-on, knocking it away. It landed on the ground on its back, groaning.

The girl was speechless. After a short moment she smirked and recalled her Pokemon.

"Ha! I guess he's not as useless as I thought! Now let's see how he does with this one."

She sent out a gastly.

A Ghost. You still wanna continue?

Yes.

Calm Mind.

He crossed his legs, brought his hands together, concentrating.

"Shadow Ball!"

Teleport behind it and use Shadow Ball.

Gastly's attack zoomed through the spot Abra had been. It couldn't turn around fast enough, and Abra's attack hit it hard. It hissed, disappearing into a light mist before it was completely gone.

Stay focused, it's here somewhere.

The girl didn't wait long before she said, "Sludge Bomb!"

A blob of purple gunk suddenly flew toward him from his left.

Catch it, Psychic.

He extended his left arm. The blob stopped in mid-air, outlined in a slight blue, then flew back the way it came, right into Gastly's face. It hissed, falling to the ground. The girl recalled it. She wasn't smirking any more. Her eyes were narrowed.

"What are you doing?"

"What are you talking about?"

"How does your Abra know what to do?"

I curled my lip in contempt. "You'd like to know, wouldn't you."

She glared for a second longer before grinning cruelly. She sent out Staryu.

Calm Mind.

"Bubblebeam."

Like Misty's Starmie, the girl's Staryu bent the top three arms forward and fist-sized bubbles shot from the ends as Abra returned to his cross-legged pose.

Normally I would have told Abra to Teleport away, but I could tell that this attack was weaker than Misty's Starmie's. The bubbles struck Abra, popping violently, but Abra barely moved.

"What the-"

Double Team, Teleport close, then Shockwave.

Abra split into five, then disappeared, popping up surrounding Staryu.

"What- crap, Ice Beam!"

Staryu turned to float horizontally, pointing its legs at each Abra, and readied to fire the Ice attack, but Abra was faster. Him and his clones raised their arms, sparks jumped around the limbs, and electricity arced from their hands to the enemy.

Staryu hissed, its attack fizzling away, and fell.

"Dammit!" The girl recalled her Pokemon and took another Pokeball from the ones on her belt. "Alright, let's see how you like this one!" She thrust her hand forward, pressing the button on the ball, and out came her next Pokemon.

The graveler landed heavily on the ground, readying its four arms.

Crap, last time I fought a graveler, Brock's, it really gave my Pokemon a beating. But this one was smaller, and Abra could Teleport away if it got too-

"Rock Blast!"

Graveler extended its arms, chunks of rock breaking out of the ground and into its palms, and hurled them at Abra.

"Psychic!" I shouted.

Abra caught the rocks in mid-air, but then the girl called for Fire Punch.

To my shock, Graveler actually jumped up, high enough to be able to punch Abra with a fist covered in fire.

Shadow Ball!

Abra dodged to the left, shooting off the Ghost attack. It crashed into Graveler's face, throwing off its aim. The Fire Punch just barely missed Abra, and he Teleported away.

"Rock Tomb!"

Graveler raised two arms toward Abra, the ground underneath him rumbled, then Graveler jerked its arm up. Chunks of rock as tall as me jumped out of the ground, hurtling toward Abra.

He Teleported away at my command, then used Psychic. Graveler suddenly went stiff, trembling as it tried to move.

Shadow Ball.

While Graveler was immobilized Abra fired three Shadow Balls. They hit Graveler in the face, each one's explosion knocking it back a few steps.

Another one, strong as you can!

Abra again went into his cross-legged pose, bringing his hands together, and between them a Shadow Ball materialized, but this one grew from the size of an apple until it was the size of my head, if not bigger.

"Rock Tomb!"

The attack went for Abra, but he dodged to the right, just as Graveler lunged with Fire Punch.

"Abra!"

He saw it, and just managed to dash back, firing the Ghost attack as he did.

It hit Graveler and exploded, splashing water and throwing it back. It groaned as it rolled onto its back, into the couple inches of water.

"Dammit!"

The girl recalled Graveler, sneering. "Where was this when you were with me, huh?"

Abra hovered silently, no reaction to her question.

Abra?

I okay. Old Master mad I beat other Pokemon. Feel... satisfied.

I grinned. You should feel satisfied. She left you for dead because she thought you were weak. You're sure as hell not weak.

Thank you Master.

"And you!" The girl jabbed a finger at me. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing!"

"And what am I doing?"

"Telepathic communication with a Pokemon in battle is against League rules!"

"Nah, it isn't." It was my turn to sneer. "I read through the rulebook after Abra joined me. It doesn't say anywhere about Trainers not being allowed to speak telepathically with their Pokemon."

The girl's eyes widened, before her face contorted in rage, her lips twisting into a snarl. She took a Pokeball.

"Raine, destroy Abra!" she shouted as she sent out her eevee again.

Raine didn't even land before it fired a Shadow Ball.

Catch it!

Abra raised his arm to use Psychic, but nothing happened. It kept going, slamming into him and knocking him out of the air. He cried out, but managed to hover again before hitting the ground.

"Double Team Quick Attack!"

Double Team!

Raine split into four, and Abra into five. All Raines rushed forward, leaping to attack. Abra Teleported away, letting them fall through the spot where he had been, then reappeared, each one in a different spot, far away from each other.

"Hit them with Shadow Ball!"

Calm Mind, and find the real one

Abra took his usual pose as the eevee fired off a volley of Shadow Balls. After the ninth attack Abra said Found.

Hit it, Shockwave.

All the Abra disappeared, showing up surrounding one Raine.

"What the-"

Abra loosed the Electric attack. Raine convulsed and shrieked, its clones fizzling away, before whirling to fire Shadow Ball. All the Abra Teleported away, to different spots.

We paused, thinking over what to do next.

There was no way she could hit all the Abra at once to find the real one, and she knew that Double Team wouldn't do any good because Abra would be able to find the real Raine right away. She might have to rely on her Pokemon's speed to take Abra down, but even so, Abra could Teleport away and make more clones of himself to confuse her.

Yeah, I had this.

Shockwave.

Each Abra shot the electricity from raised arms, and Raine used Double Team before dashing away. The attacks hit one eevee, letting the others get away. All Abra suddenly disappeared, turning up to surround one Raine.

Hit it!

Abra readied himself to use Shockwave, but then the girl said, "Iron Tail!"

Raine jumped toward the Abra to its right, and swung. That Abra stopped charging his attack and dashed back.

The girl smirked. Her eevee found the real Abra.

But how? How did it know which one was the real one?

The other Abra dashed toward the original, quickly surrounding him and shuffling around, before Teleporting a short distance away.

"Again, Iron Tail!"

Raine rushed forward, its tail glowing dully. It was looking between the five, trying to figure out which one was the real one, and I figured that that had been a fluke.

My eyes widened when I glanced at its nose.

They were flaring.

It smelled him!

Raine jumped toward the Abra second from the left, already swinging around.

"Psychic!"

Abra stopped Raine in mid-air just before it would hit him. Raine struggled to escaped the mental grip.

"Shadow Ball!"

Raine twisted around, charging up the attack in its mouth.

Teleport!

Abra dashed away just before Raine fired. He appeared a short distance away, and Raine immediately rushed at him.

Psychic.

Abra raised his arms and an invisible force slammed into Raine. It was knocked to the side, but in the same move fired Shadow Ball.

It caught us off-guard.

The attack hit Abra. He fell a few feet before catching himself. He turned around to use Shockwave at my command, but Raine was already coming at him with Skull Bash. He wasn't able to Teleport away in time, and Raine's head smashed into his stomach.

"Abra!"

He began to fall.

The girl smirked, no doubt thinking she won, and said, "Trump Card."

Raine ran at Abra.

As it was about to crash into him, he suddenly whirled, an arm out. Raine suddenly stopped, then from Abra's other arm came Shockwave. Raine squealed in pain, before it was hit with Psychic. It flew back, landing with a light splash on the ground. It lay there, panting, unable to get up.

The girl was speechless.

I was breathing hard, my fists shaking.

Then the girl started laughing.

"Oh, oh, wow! Oh, wow! The little weakling beat me! I got beat by two weaklings!"

"You got a pretty twisted definition of weak."

"No, not really." She pointed at Abra as he floated back toward me. "That Abra couldn't keep up with my other Pokemon! He couldn't even do anything when they came at him! Not even when it was just two!"

I narrowed my eyes. "What?"

The girl finished laughing. She took a breath, recalling her Pokemon before crossing her arms. "My Pokemon train by defending against the others when they attack. They always do good, so I keep them with me. But Abra there couldn't. So, I had to drop him."

"Are you serious?" I stepped toward her, the fury from earlier coming back. "You call that training? That's not training! That's just attacking your Pokemon!"

"Oh, please, I don't need any of that pansy crap, if they can handle four or five Pokemon attacking they can handle just one."

"And if they can't you just leave them to die?!"

We glared at each other for a few tense moments. My lip was curling in a snarl, my fists were shaking, my breath was coming faster, my vision was getting... red, just a little. The girl's features were calm, undisturbed. Her eyes, though, were glinting cruelly.

Her lips split into a sneer. "If I have to. I have no use for weakness."

The redness sharpened.

Before I could stop myself, my fist came around, aiming for her face.

To my shock, the girl was able to react in time. She blocked the blow, then threw a jab at my face. Her knuckles struck me just below my left eye, then she hit me with another punch, this one striking my nose and splitting open my lip. I reeled my head back as the girl grabbed my wrist, took a step forward, and rammed her knee into my stomach hard. My eyes bulged and I wheezed as the air was knocked out of me. I struggled to breath while the girl stepped back, yanked me forward by the arm. She lowered one shoulder so that it was level with me about below my ribcage, and I leaned forward over her. She placed a hand just beneath my navel, and using my forward momentum, she tossed me up and over her, throwing me onto my back.

I landed heavily, still trying to take in a breath.

"Crap, Jack!"

Karen, who I had actually forgotten was here, ran over. She kneeled next to me as I raised my head, hand over my bloodied lips.

The girl moved away, eyeing me critically.

"Maybe you're not as weak as I thought. But you've still got a long way to go with my eevee can take out three of your four Pokemon by himself."

She walked nonchalantly down the path a few steps before stopping. She turned.

"I'm Erica. Erica Marshall. Remember that name, cause I'm gonna be the Champion."

With that, she continued down the path toward Vermilion, leaving me and Karen to wonder how someone as skilled as her could be so cruel.

Author's Note: I can't guarantee I'll have another chapter up soon, but I hope you liked these ones. Again, I'm sorry about the ungodly wait.