Riot in Johto   von MiniMeani
                                 (Randaleeee!)
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                             Kapitel 11: The Storm
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Over the past week, Dawn had experienced a broad span of emotions, regarding the
huntress, fury being the most prominent. Also mild degrees of annoyance and
eye-twitching irritation. Most surprising were the moments, she had laughed in
the presence of J.
Dawn had almost forgotten, how terrifying J's glare could be, when she wanted to
be feared.
As soon as Braviary had ascended directly next to the hatch, Dawn opened her
mouth to pose a question, but J cut her short. She swiftly grabbed Dawn's arm
and yanked her inside. Yelping, Dawn stumbled and almost fell; only J's iron
grip held her upright.
"J, what in the world -"
"Quiet!" she snapped. Dawn could already feel the bruises that would blossom
over her skin, there where J's gloved fingers dug into her flesh. Any attempts
to pull herself free were rewarded with pain searing up her arm.
"You could have made us crash just now!" the coordinator screamed over the noise
the rotor blades caused. She caught a glimpse of Piplup and Braviary, still
behind her, outside the copter. The penguin was about to launch itself inside,
but J slammed a button on the wall. The door slid shut, cutting of the cold and
ruckus from outside.
"I'm doing what's necessary! Now give me the radio that ranger brat gave you!"
Dawn almost chocked on those words. "How - what are you talking about?"
"Don't act stupid!" J shot at her. "I am aware that you spoke to Kellyn; his
communicator has shown up on my radar miles before I saw you." Then she added
with a growl, "I'm almost disappointed, he didn't come with you."
Dawn trembled, but choose to ignore the threat. "I- I can't give it to you.
Kellyn wanted me to -"
"To what? Tell him all the information he needs to apprehend me?!" In the eerie
silence, J's yelling ringed particularly loud in her ears.
"You listened to our conversation, didn't you?" Dawn cried in a volume similar
to J's, yet she tried to keep her own bubbling anger in check. There wasn't just
rage twisting within J; Dawn sensed a whole tumult of emotions lurking. "I told
him that I'd never do that! This isn't about you!"
"Not about me? Then what is this about? You and him reminisce about old stories,
over a cup of tea perhaps?" J gave her a little shove, so that Dawn bumped into
the wall. It didn't hurt her much, but it was more likely that J opted for a
more threatening, captivatingsensation. Her strategy was quite effective.
"Enough of your little game," the huntress pressed out between clenched teeth.
"I am giving you one last chance to give it to me voluntarily; I don't have time
to meddle with you!"
Reluctantly, Dawn's hand slid towards the pocket containing the radio. She
couldn't avert her gaze from J's stormy blue eyes, felt the old fear return. Yet
she stood her ground. Something was off about the huntress and it worried Dawn.
"What are you going to do with it?" she asked, already dreading the answer.
"What is necessary," J repeated. Her attention was by then fully on Dawn's hand,
watching as the girl very slowly unzipped her pocket. Eventually, all the
stalling was for naught, because the instant a glimpse of red and yellow
appeared, J snatched it from Dawn's grasp.
Without as much as glancing at the temporary owner, J stepped over to the
control panel. A metal pipe lent onto it, stained and glistening in the lights
of the overhead neon lamps. When J grabbed it with her right hand and tossed the
radio next to a cracked monitor, Dawn's dread turned into icy horror.
"No!" She skid over to the huntress and threw herself against J's side as she
rose the pipe to strike. "J, stop!" She wrapped her arms around the huntress and
tried to move her away from the radio.
J barely budged under Dawn's weight, but she was irritated enough to halt in her
movements. "Do you want me to smash you along with this thing?"
"Please understand, I need it!" Dawn half pleaded with the woman, half wrestled
with her arm. "Kellyn is - was - my friend! I need to set things right with him.
This might be my only way."
"Set things right!" J finally shook Dawn off and stood there, scowling at the
girl. "Where does that leave me? In handcuffs or rather a straitjacket?"
"I'm not going to tell him everything!" Dawn argued. "Just enough for him to
understand."
"Just enough means everything!"
"All kinds of people start believing I'm your assistant, I have to do something!
Even if it's Mesprit, who wants me to help you stop Team Rocket; this mess is
going to far. He said the police wants to arrest me now -"
"Damn you!" J finally snapped. The pipe whizzed downward. There was a burst of
sparks and smithereens of electronic hardware, when the pipe smashed through the
monitor. Dawn jumped in surprise, all her muscles tense. The crash echoed in the
cockpit, until she couldn't tell, if it wasn't just her own ears ringing. She
didn't dare to move nor make a sound. All Dawn could do, was stare at the
huntress, disbelieving, terrified.
After what felt an eternity, J relented and let the pipe slide down to the
ground, where it bounced of several times, cutting through the silence with that
horrible, hollow clang. She turned away and walked to the pilot seat at the
front.
The radio was still there. Undamaged and in its bright colours, it made the
break in the control panel almost look surreal. Dawn let out the breath she had
been holding, but didn't move until J asked briskly, "Why are you here?"
Dawn's eyes moved from the radio to the back of J's head and to the radio,
again. For a moment, she was tempted to secure the device back in her pocket,
but decided against that. While J acted as if she was through that topic, Dawn
didn't want to provoke the huntress any further. Instead, she stalked next to
her and looked outside the window. The storm didn't rage as bad as before; it
seemed much worse. Now, there were flashs of lightning cracking up the sky.
Strangely, though, she barely heard nor felt the rumble of thunder.
"I came here to..." Dawn choose the word carefully, "assist you. I mean, I- I
couldn't just sit around, when you called me and hung up a few seconds later."
J tensed. Dawn noticed that she was steering the helicopter with her left hand;
her right one was clenched to a fist on her knee. Even so, she couldn't stop the
blood drenching her dark glove. "What's this nonsense? I didn't call you."
"Yes you did!" Dawn took the radio J had given her and held it up, so the
huntress had a clear view on it. "If you'd just explained me, how I can call
you, I could have asked what's wrong. I was worried! Of course I'd-"
"Quiet!" J hissed all of sudden. She was focused on the display of a radar.
There were several dots visible. A flock of smaller ones zoomed around rather
quickly. "It's coming toward us."
"J you -" Dawn was fed up with her mood. "You can't by any chance tell, what
they-"
Suddenly, the whole aircraft jerked sideways, almost throwing Dawn of her feet.
She grabbed J's backrest to steady herself. Outside, white blurs darted around.
Dawn had to concentrate very hard to make out any shapes and when finally one of
the offenders stopped in front of the headlamps, she gasped. "Wingull? What the
-"
The Wingull she had been staring at rammed head first into the windscreen. It's
glowing beak penetrated the reinforced glass. Dawn could only gape at it. She
knew those things were sharp - but not to that extent!
J grabbed the microphone. "Salamence! Get those pesky things out of my - oh
no."
Now alarm signals added to the chaos. A triangular warning symbol popped up on
one of the displays; beneath it, Dawn made out the shape of the weather pokemon,
Castform. "J, what's wrong?"
The huntress didn't answer right away as she bombarded the keyboard of a nearby
computer. There, too, everything began to flash red. She slammed her fist on the
console. "Damnit! The Castform-Shield is going down! We'll lose out protection
from the storm." She pulled out a flash drive from the computer. "We have to
leave; you go first."
The hatch to their left opened, letting in cold air. Braviary already waited for
her along with Piplup, who stood on top of it and beckoned for Dawn to join
them. The girl was more than a little confused and the sudden quakes made her
stagger through the cockpit, first to her ranger radio, then towards the door.
She was about to hop on her eagle, when a burning chill clenched her stomach.
"Wait, where is the crew?" She turned to the huntress. "Where are the guys, who
flew this thing?"
J had already jumped up from the piloting seat, but returned to the steering
stick. "Are you out of your mind? Get the hell out!"
"What did you do to them?" Dawn persisted. Dread almost made her choke on her
question. "You - you didn't -"
"If I could, I would have!"
Dawn didn't have the time to appear shocked - it was hardly surprising, after
all. "So they're still here?"She nearly cricked her neck, looking for a likely
place to hide a handful of people. There was a door at the back of the cockpit.
She ran for it, when suddenly two screeching Wingull soared in through the
hatch. Their wings were steely as they aimed for Dawn's head. She barely had the
time to throw herself flat on the floor.
The flying types missed her, but instead slammed into each other. It made them
endlessly furious and when Dawn looked up again, they were tangled in a huddle
of feathers.
"This'll take forever," J roared over the noise and tossed a pokeball. At the
touch of a button, the door in the back slid open. "Ariados, get one of them
out! Preferably the pilot."
The huge spider clung to the upper part of the door frame as it spit out a
bundle of threads. A high-pitched scream sounded from what looked like a small
cargo hold and an instant later, a bound Missile grunt tumbled forward. J caught
him with ease, grabbed his collar and slammed him against the console. The
frightened men's eyes darted around the cockpit, white with terror and
confusion.
"I'm feeling generous today, so I'm giving you a fighting chance," she explained
and whipped out a knife to cut the threads, which pinned his arms to his body.
With the same blade, she pointed between his eyes. "But I'm warning you. Any
attacks and you will find out what joy it is to crash in a whirlpool and feel
the salt water fill your lungs. Understood?"
"Y-yes..." he stammered.
"Yes?"
"Yes, Ma'am!"
"That's still wrong!"
"J, I think he is about to pass out." Dawn had to pull J away from the poor man.
Now it was Salamence hovering in front of the hatch; Ariados was already
clinging to its neck, when the two trainers jumped on its back.
Rain greeted them as Salamence hurtled away form the air craft. Dawn shot a
glance back at the helicopter. It staggered, winds pushing it from side to side.
Ogi Isle seemed so far away, barely visible in the darkness. Dawn couldn't even
be sure that the black patch to their right was the isle, or just a random spot,
where most waves crashed.
She wanted to help the crew, but when half the flock surrounding the aircraft
parted and sped towards her group instead, she regained her focus.
"Um, J?" Dawn called out for the huntress. She tugged the back of her cloak and
noticed several tears in the fabric. "Do the obnoxiously yelled words 'Mine!
Mine!' ring a bell?"
J frowned at the girl over her shoulder. "No."
"That's great! Then this battle won't be as annoying for you."
She blinked, obviously wondering whether Dawn still had all her wits about her.
As the Wingull further gained on them, however, J noticed them, too. She told
Salamence to hold a steady course. "I suggest you get on your Braviary, but wait
for my instructions, understand?"
Dawn nodded, without arguing and waved at Braviary. Once it was at their side,
she tried to swing her leg over Salamence's back, but with so little space, J
sitting in front of her and soaked pants clinging to her skin, she bumped with
her knee into something. Dawn shrieked, when she lost her balance and almost
slipped of the dragon.
Just in time, J grabbed her collar and thrust the girl onto her eagle.
"Don't try anything stupid," she reminded her and promptly, Slamence veered
around and ascended higher. A large portion of the Wingull followed, while the
rest held their course and advanced in direction of Dawn.
Although she hadn't quite enough time to calm herself, Dawn adjusted her
position, so Braviary had as much freedom in its movement as possible. "Nothing
stupid, huh?" she mumbled. "I'll try."
In an instant, the Wingull were upon them. They pecked at anything within reach
and made Dawn understand, just how one of them managed to crack the copter's
window. There seemed to be a hundred stings all over her arms at once and she
had to roll into a ball, so they couldn't reach her face. The noise itself was
enough to pierce her ears.
"Piplup, whirlpool!" she yelled and tried to catch a glimpse of her partner.
Colourful light appeared in front of her and, with a determined cry, Piplup
chased the assaulters off. More water splashed down on her, but by then Dawn
didn't care anymore. "You guys alright?"
Both nodded, but had their attention focused on the Wingull. They were even more
agitated and it started to pinch Dawn's mood. "Why do we have to battle in the
middle of the sky, above the sea? Piplup, see that you trap them in bubbles!"
The penguin shot out wave after wave of its bubble beam. It succeeded once,
twice, five times, but more often than not the Wingull soared past the
projectiles.
"Braviary, tailwind! Let's try and shake them off."
Dawn felt the shift of the winds; they were now pressing against her back and
Braviary used their support to charge right into the flock of Wingull. Like a
channel, the gusts followed the eagle, bending as it turned. The Wingull had no
chance to follow them as every curve threw them off course.
Quite quickly, however, the wild pokemon grew so annoyed that they started to
spit water guns at them. Water guns that forced their way through the chaotic
currents of air. Braviary was so startled, it couldn't get away in time. One jet
of water struck it right in the chest, hurtling it several feet backwards. Dawn
felt a lurch in her stomach and clutched to Braviary's shoulders for dear life.
Piplup was somewhere squeezed underneath her body.
They fell. She couldn't tell, how far, but it felt too long, before the eagle
stretched out its wings again and regained height. Dawn's first glance was
towards the waves, still crashing far below them, then towards the Wingull,
diving for another attack.
Dawn just about had enough of them.
A strangely green water pulse flew past them, missing her right ear by inches,
but Dawn paid it little mind. "Braviary, fly us below them, and Piplup, I want
you to round them up with a whirlpool."
Still a little stunned, the penguin waddled forward onto Braviary's head, where
it had a much better aim. Dawn grabbed its back, so Piplup wasn't thrown off by
the next gust. Together, they dove. The Wingull followed suit, but they weren't
as fast, since they showered them with more attacks. Some projectile flew close
enough to Dawn's hat to almost knock it off, so she spun around and looked for
any more. There was one, soaring right towards her head.
With no other way to block it, Dawn tore her hand from Braviary's shoulder and
swatted the water pulse aside. A burning sting made her skin tingle.
"Okay, now!" Dawn yelled, wobbling back into her semi-safe position. Just in
time, she managed to hold on again, before Braviary twisted in the air. They now
faced the Wingull head-on and Piplup drew in one huge breath. "Go!" Dawn cheered
it on.
A huge whirlpool emerged from Piplup's body. It enveloped all the charging
Wingull, then twisted into a tight current that whirled around for another few
moments. Finally, Piplup ceased it's control over the move and trapped the
hostile pokemon in bubbles.
Dawn couldn't help a little grin at their victory, but a glance at the waves
rolling right beneath them sobered her up quite quickly. "We have to get the
Wingull higher up... I'm counting on you, Braviary!"
Once again, the flying type conjured the winds for a speeding boost. It
ascended, rotating, so the Wingull were pulled up as well. As soon as they were
high enough, Braviary relented, much to the relieve of Dawn's stomach.
Gradually, the spinning in her head subsided and she could look at the cluster
of bubbles. They reminded her of pearls - twitching pearls, which radiated fury.
"What is wrong with them?"
Just then, for the third time that day, a beeping interrupted Dawn's puzzlement.
"Hi J," she answered. "You know, it said the same thing during my break at the
contest. J called. Are you sure you didn't accidentally dial me?"
J's voice came with a crack. "I am sure. You're absolutely certain it displayed
that?"
Dawn couldn't resist to answer with a "Positive!".
There was grumbling. "Just what I need. More broken gear." A sigh. "Have you
taken care of your pests?"
"The Wingull," Dawn corrected her, "are safe in Piplup's bubbles. They shouldn't
be able to break out, before we put some distance between them and us." She
watched as one of the Wingull bore its beak through the bubble, but it didn't
get any further and when it pulled its head back, the membrane closed again. It
shrieked in frustration.
"J, there is something wrong with them. Kellyn said they had some sort of
machine to manipulate their behaviour, but..." she inspected her scratched arms.
Her jacket had now tears as well and some of the cuts in her skin appeared to be
bleeding. Rain kept pouring down on her. "That's not all there is to it, is
it?"
"It's not a machine, more like a drug. They threw a few tanks of it into the
ocean a couple of hours ago. I couldn't find out what it's made of, but the
effects are quite... potent."
"One of them attacked me with a water pulse, but it reminded me more of your
Salmence's dragon pulse!" Dawn's hand tingled. There, were she had hit the
sphere, an angry red bruise was forming.
For a while, there was no reply from J. Dawn scanned the sky and spotted a
shadow soaring towards her. Once they were close enough, she could make out
Salamence, with J sitting on its back.
"That sounds problematic." Despite their closeness, J continued to speak through
the radio. "We need to get going. There is another helicopter -"
"We're just going to leave the Wingull?"
Dawn could feel the scowl the huntress directed at her. "Dawn," J began, her
tone sounding strained, "how are you going to help them? Tell me, what do you
think you could do right now to safe them?"
Dawn's immediate thought was Kellyn - but he, she remembered, already had his
hands full. Catching them was another idea, but she had packed her emergency bag
with medicine, not with loads of spare pokeballs.
Full of regret, she had to avert her eyes from the scrambling Wingull. "Nothing.
Let's move."
Braviary flapped its wings and followed Salamence. "Our possibilities are
limited right now. The best approach would be to hijack as many of Rocket's
choppers as we can, bring them over to the Ogi Isle and hope the police actually
does their job for once. Whatever you do, hold back with your attacks." J threw
a glance over her shoulder. "I can't allow any causalities. Courtesy of the
guardians."
Next to Dawn, Piplup was comforting her with tiny rubs on her arms. "What's with
Lugia?"
Once again, the huntress glanced over her shoulder. "So you know about -"
"Of course I do! I must have been in deaf and blind not to notice all the
legends around the Whirl Islands! If you'd told me from the beginning that
they're trying to catch Lugia, I would have never let you go on your own!"
"Oh, I see. You're meaning to tell me you don't care about the target as long as
its not a legendary, eh?"
Hot blood rushed to Dawn's cheeks. "N-no! That's not what I -"
"Anyway, Lugia has not yet appeared, though I'm fairly sure it's nearby. Drugged
or not, I doubt any of these pokemon could create this kind of storm, even with
all their powers combined."
Dawn had to agree with J. "Are they summoning it like Ho-Oh? From one of the
helicopters?"
"No," J said. "Their air unit is for capturing Lugia as it was often observed
emerging from the sea, when there was any kind of trouble. They have submarines
for luring it here. Needless to say, there is no way of reaching them." J
snorted. "I'd say good thinking, if it wasn't so damn -"
"We could."
J visibly froze on Salamence's back. "What?"
Her heart thumping, Dawn shared a look with Piplup. They both glanced at the
waves, their rumbling more prominent than ever. The penguin nodded. "Piplup and
I, we could go down there and try to hinder them. I'm sure they won't be -"
"Are you mental?!" J nearly screamed into the radio. Salamence swiveledaround
and brought its trainer on eye level with Dawn. "You are not going down there!
Under no circumstances whatsoever, understand?!"
"So, you just want us to keep flying around and wait for Lugia? What do we do
then? How are we going to calm it down, if we don't even know how to deal with a
Wingull?" Once again, Dawn could feel the unusual pressure of J's emotions. She
would almost dub the sensation as fear, if she didn't know the huntress any
better. "Last time, Ho-Oh immediately backed down once the copter stopped
working!"
"Who is going to protect you down there?!"
"We'll be fine!" Dawn insisted. She had another look at the waves. Though they
did scare her, she hoped J wouldn't notice. "I've got Mantine and Piplup; I'm
confident, they'll handle it."
"That's a lot of tough words for a girl, who was fretting about her contests
just a week ago!"
"This is different!" Dawn huffed. "If you're so worried, why don't you come with
us?"
For a second, just an instant, J's eyes widened as if she was terrified.
"Enough!" she yelled. "It's ludicrous enough, what we're risking here - I
already have doubts we'll actually live to tell the tale! So, no matter what
pokemon's neck is at stake, there is no reason for you to drown deliberately! Do
you understand me?!"
"Okay, okay!" Dawn leant away from the huntress, as far as her position allowed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to upset you! Don't jump over here and throttle me,
alright?"
"No - I just -" J shook her head and returned to a more relaxed seating
position. She brought the radio back in front of her mouth, as both had
forgotten all about it, for a moment. "Let's just proceed with the plan - my
plan," she added with a glance at Dawn. "There is a copter south of us."
The two flying types began to move, but Dawn hadn't quite recovered from that
shock. Eventually, once her breathing slowed a little, she spoke into the radio.
"J, what's wrong..?"
Suddenly, the sky flashed in blinding light and a violent jerk shook Braviary.
The eagle screamed, a beam of energy crackled at her left and over it all, the
roar of thunder erupted.
For a moment, Dawn couldn't move. She felt herself hanging in the air, then
falling. We were hit! was her only thought, but somehow she managed to grab hold
of Braviary once again. The eagle stopped and brought itself into an upright
position. Gravity now pulled her towards her legs.
Her eyes darted over the sky, searching. It occurred to her that they must have
been struck with lightning - but that was absurd, since they were still alive.
So where did it come from?
The answer jumped right into view. A Mandibuzz charged at them in a storm of
blue energy. Dawn wanted to deflect or at the very least slow it with a hydro
pump, but J intervened.
Salamence steered in front of the assaulting dark type, roared and breathed
fire. Mandibuzz relented and ascended higher. A flash of lightning, somewhere
behind Dawn, illuminated the flying type and the trainer sitting on it.
"Pierce..." Dawn mumbled.
The agent must have noticed her used a megaphone that easily carried over the
howling winds. "I am disappointed, Dawn. No introduction, no farewell, a
remarkably malicious handling with other people's property - that's bad form,
even for a third-class coordinator like yourself."
Dawn clenched her hands to fists; next to her, Piplup sprang up, ready to take
on Pierce himself, if necessary. "Oh, I'll show you bad-"
"Dawn!" J suddenly called out to her. She and Salamence had flown over to her
side. "Where is your radio?"
"Radio..?" Dawn echoed. A glance to her empty hand confirmed - she didn't hold
it anymore. Frantically, she began to search for it, but it was neither in her
pockets, nor anywhere on Braviary's back. "I'm so sorry J! I must have
dropped-"
"Never mind! Are you hurt?"
"N-no. I'm fine. Braviary seems okay, too..." She brushed over its head and for
a moment, Braviary nuzzled against her palm.
Just then, Pierce resumed his attacks. An airslash cut through the gusts, aiming
for the girl. That time, they dodged and flew directly towards their opponent.
Dawn leant forward and shared her plan with her partners. Piplup's response was
a devilish grin.
"Good," Dawn muttered, when they closed in on Pierce. "Just a bit closer, then
-"
They never got the chance, though. From the direction they had come from,
another flock of flying types rushed toward them. The screeching had a deeper
ring to it and when one of their water pulses nearly smashed into Dawn, she
noticed that those were Pelipper.
"Braviary! To the right! Quick!" Dawn urged and pressed her body closer to its
back. Braviary made a sharp turn and their pursuers rushed past them. There was,
however, another tiny white pokemon already awaiting them. Tynamo seemed to
flash her a smile, before it launched itself in the spot between Braviary's
eyes, sparkling with electricity.
The eagled cried out, mostly in annoyance. The electrical current surged through
its body, towards the tips of its wings. Braviary had visible trouble to move
its limbs.
"Oh no, you didn't!" Dawn glared at the little electric type. "Piplup, take care
of Tynamo - I need to look after Braviary."
In her haste, Dawn almost spilled a few items from her emergency belt pouch.
"There it is!" she exclaimed as she fished out the paralyse heal. Out of the
corner from her eyes, she noticed another spark. Piplup pressed its flippers
against Tynamo's hind fin, while the electric type desperately tried to wiggle
free. "Piplup, I said take care, not catch! I can't have you paralysed, too!"
Her stubborn partner, however, wouldn't give up, not until Dawn herself grabbed
Tynamo. Needless to say, it was quite the shocking experience. And from behind,
the Pelipper approached.
"Salamence, flamethrower!" J bellowed as they soared right over Dawn's head. The
fire seared through the rain, creating a cover of mist. The Pelipper baulked at
the heat and scattered. "And the rescue spree continues," J added, raising an
eyebrow towards the girl.
"Thanks, J." Dawn breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Tynamo. For a moment,
she could see a ruby, no bigger than the tip of her pinkie, strapped to its
body. Another surge of electricity jolted up her arm - it was enough to numb her
hand and set the tiny pokemon free. It zipped right towards J's back. "Look
out!"
J, though, seemed completely unfazed. "Salamence, snack."
In one movement, Salamence spun around and completely locked its giant jaws
around Tynamo. It made a satisfied rumble noise, even as sparks crackled between
its fangs.
"J!" Dawn cried. "You can't just -"
"It's alright, Dawn. Salamence likes sashimi -"
"That's not what I meant!"
J allowed a smirk to tug at her lips, before she returned to her pragmatic self.
"Heal that Braviary of yours. I need you to help me abduct Pierce. He should do
nicely in questioning."
Finally, Dawn sprayed the medicine on Braviary's head, near the spot, where it
had been hit. The eagle stretched its wings, savouring the feel of fluid
movements.
"Fine by me, but - you can't just snack on pokemon!"
"Oh, don't worry." The smirk was back. "I have something better in mind."
As fast as they had arrived, Salamence and J shot away again. Dawn focused on
Pierce, who was seated on top of Madibuzz and overlooked the brawl. "Let's
resume our plan," she declared, much to the joy of her water starter.
So, once again, they flew. Pelipper still tried to get in their way, but with a
combination of water attacks and evasive manoeuvres, none of them posed a
threat.
Pierce merely observed their approach, cocking his head to the side as Braviary
rolled to dodge a water gun. He didn't seem to bother participating in the
battle himself, nor did he react, when they sped directly towards him.
Dawn could only guess what he plotted, but she wouldn't relent in their
approach. Instead, she crouched lower and kept a close stare on his expression.
Twenty meters to go, nothing. Ten meters and Piplup began building up power.
Dawn held it back. "Braviary, aerial ace! Be ready for anything." Wind whipped
by as Braviary gained speed for the move.
They were almost within arms reach, when Pierce made his move. His Mandibuzz
dropped down and cleared the path for Braviary. Suddenly, a blue wave of ice
streamed towards them.
"Rock slide!" Dawn cried and clung to Braviary's back. It strained its wings in
an attempt to halt them. The boulders it created were frozen within seconds and
burst into pebbles. Braviary managed to stem most of the attack, but once they
were above their opponent, Dawn noticed it shaking.
"Braviary, you okay?" she yelled and inched forwards, hoping to glimpse the spot
where it had been hit. Her partner nodded, though she still sensed its pain.
"That was a sheer cold," Dawn mused and set her sights on their new enemy.
Cryogonal scowled at her as if reproaching them for dodging its attack. Glancing
to the side, she also saw Mandibuzz gliding closer to them.
With one hand on Braviary's back, Dawn grabbed her ultra ball from her belt.
"Hang on there; I'll clear our way!"
Mandibuzz launched another dark pulse at them, while Cryogonal prepared an ice
beam.
"Piplup, protect us against Mandibuzz's attack! And Ninetales," she said and
could have sworn that a tiny jolt of energy tingled her skin. With all her
might, she tossed the pokeball over to the ice type. Cryogonal nearly fainted,
when it came face to face with the fox. "Fire blast!"
A blazing cascade engulfed Cryogonal, while next to them, Piplup's ice beam
collided with the approaching dark pulse.
For a moment, Dawn could feel both a chill and heat licking at her cold skin;
she hadn't been aware how numb her fingers were. However, as much as she wanted
Ninetales to stay, gravity's merciless pull was already upon it and Dawn had to
recall it.
"Quite impressive," Pierce applauded her from below. Once again, he spoke in his
megaphone and Dawn noticed a long bag strapped to his back. "You wouldn't care
to join us?"
"Is that a joke?!" Dawn yelled. "I want to see you guys in jail!"
He seemed to hear her. "Your help with our research was excellent. A brilliant
idea to confine the Wingull! We hoped our drug would aid the evolutionary
process, but you were the first to force a satisfying amount of evolutions."
Dawn's insides froze, as if Cryogonal's attack had hit her. "Y-you mean those
Pelipper were..?"
"That's not the only wonder our scientists have achieved," Pierce continued.
"Take our aircrafts; protected by a new species that we derived from Castform.
They are weather repellent, though a bit more... fluid, for transportation
reasons. It's a shame you paralysed them."
"That's horrible!" Dawn shouted. "I knew you don't care for pokemon - but that's
low, even for you guys!"
Braviary stirred and cried out. In a response to its trainer's boiling anger, it
charged at Mandibuzz. It's steering was clumsy though and their target dodged
with ease. Piplup spat out a hydro pump, but it, too, was clearly tiring and
missed.
Seemingly more amused than anything, Pierce tossed something in Dawn's
direction. It hit her temple, before it fell in her lap. Rubbing the sore spot,
she looked at the object, which turned out to be a ruby, similar to the one
Tynamo had held. Instantly, she felt that something was missing; the winds
stopped blowing and even the patter of rain was gone.
"Better than any umbrella," Pierce said. "The Cloud Nine Gem, guaranteed to help
you weather any storm. Pure organic, of course. Harvested from the best Golduck
in the region.
"What do you say, Dawn?"
Dawn was shaking as she glared at the stone in her hand. It looked exactly like
the gem's embedded in Golduck's forehead and for what she could tell, it was
real. All of sudden, the red seemed a few shades darker.
Overcome with disgust, she clenched it in her fist so hard, she hoped it would
crack. There was nothing she wanted more, than fling it away.
Except for one thing. There was a long list of words Dawn knew, but was
uncomfortable using. This situation called for one and she yelled at the top of
her lungs, "I say, I want to shove it up your -"
An explosion right next to Pierce's head cut her short; first green energy, then
a jolt of electricity flashed. Salamence soared by, with J and Aridaos standing
on its back.
"I am interested," the huntress declared. They hovered higher than Pierce, and
Dawn had to crane her neck to see her. Even from so far away, she meant to make
out a faint glow of red in J's hand. "However, this three meter radius is
pathetic."
Pierce seemed shaken, but he straightened quickly enough. Whatever had hit him -
and Dawn assumed it was a slightly gnawed Tynamo - he called it back in a
pokeball. "I believe that one is still a prototype."
Suddenly, Dawn felt a chill creep up her spine. A melodious cry resonated
through the darkness, reaching out to her very core. Next to her, Piplup winced
and pointed towards the sea, horror-struck. Dawn leant over Braviary's side. It
was nearly impossible to make out anything in that swirling black mass, but even
so, she could sense it.
"Oh no, please, no..." she whispered.
Pierce held a palm to his ear, where his hair hid a headset. As his expression
lit up, Dawn's heart sank. Once again, he lifted his megaphone to his lips. "I
dare say it won't be enough to withstand this storm."
And the whole world erupted. Rolls of thunder shook the sky and lightning
cracked. The ocean thrust a fist into the swelling clouds, its roar completely
drowning the rest of the sounds.
Dawn and Braviary were hurtled back by the sheer gusts blowing about. She and
Piplup clung on for dear life as the eagle strained itself to stay airborne.
Once again, rain lashed down on them; Dawn felt as if it had turned to hail.
She squinted her eyes, but at first, all she could see was one dark grey mass
stretching over her whole vision. Her heart skipped several beats, when Dawn
realised that the column of water was that vast. And close, impossibly close.
Dawn wanted to scream that Braviary should move, but the shock still paralysed
her bones, when she spotted Salamence. The dragon was rocked from side to side,
yet it didn't appear to fly away, even though it looked like it was about to be
swallowed by the whirlpool. J crouched on its back, facing the deadly force.
"J! What are you doing, move!" Dawn tried to shout, but the winds forced every
syllable back into her throat. Salamence's roar got carried over to them; still,
those two wouldn't budge.
The girl wanted to urge Braviary in their direction, when movement at the right
corner of her eyes caught her attention. Mandibuzz flapped its wings, desperate
to take flight, but Pierce forced it to stay. From the bag on his back, the
agent pulled out a long, black object.
It was a rifle and the barrel pointed directly towards J.
Dawn almost threw herself of Braviary's back, trying to call out to the
huntress. Salamence flexed its body; she guessed it tried to force J to hold
onto it.
Meanwhile, Pierce kept aiming, intent on firing at the right timing.
"Guys!" Dawn finally managed to choke out. "Ice Whirl Jet on Mandibuzz! GO!"
Mustering all the strength it had left, Braviary shot towards Mandibuzz. The
winds were unforgiving, but Dawn's emotions propelled the eagle forward
nonetheless.
Suddenly, a fierce cry sounded from within the watery inferno. At first, Dawn
could only see a huge shadow shifting; the creature didn't emerge, yet.
But it had unmistakably spotted the figures closest to it. Energy crackled
within the twister. Then, it fired a vortex that ripped through the side of the
column and headed directly for Salamence and J.
With no other choice left, Salamence unleashed its own black hyper beam. The
attacks collided in an explosion.
It took Dawn all of her willpower to avert her eyes and focus on Pierce. The
agent, it seemed, was so captivated by the chaos unfurling he didn't even notice
Dawn. In fact, he smirked.
"NOW!" she yelled - but it was too late. The bang of the shot ringed impossibly
loud in her ears. In the distance, Salamence roared. Piplup pressed itself low
against Braviary's head as it first created a whirlpool and then froze it into a
ram.
Shadows were the only way of orientating themselves, but it was enough. Pierce
only noticed the attack, when it was upon him. There was a satisfying shatter of
ice shards; Mandibuzz and Pierce yelped and fell backwards, out of sight. Dawn
only saw how the gun was knocked out of the agent's grip, but whether or not
they recovered, she couldn't tell.
Her eyes were on J only. The huntress finally seemed to have returned to her
senses as she clutched to Salamence's back. The dragon was twitchy. It growled
and tried to rub its chest with its head. Dawn wasn't sure if that was because
Salamence was irritated, or in pain.
"J!" she tried to call, but the wind scattered her voice across the sky. They
were still out of earshot, when the great water column burst into cascades. Dawn
almost choked as she caught sight of the silver body and black eyes.
"Lugia."
Wings reaching out to tear the world apart, Lugia let out a howl of rage.
Whether it was luck or not, its attention was quickly grabbed by a helicopter
buzzing around its head. Again, Dawn had to force herself to look at her target
and not to see what moronic method Missile would be using to try and capture the
legendary pokemon. She just hoped they would keep Lugia busy for long enough.
"We're almost there Braviary!" She cast a glance at Salamence, swaying above
them. "Hang on just a little more!"
And so, Braviary kept fighting on, until once again, Pierce voice sounded over
the rumble. "Salamence, finish off Hunter J!"
Dawn couldn't trust her ears. "Is - is he insane?" she shot at Piplup. It was
ironical, but she had experienced J and the dragon to have a strong bond - after
all, their favourite past time was flying breakneck stunts, while the huntress
stood on its back. "There is no way Salamence would -"
But then, a red aura appeared around Salamence. A bloodcurdling cry ringed from
its massive lungs and, eyes burning with malice, it twisted its body. One
moment, J had been crouching on its back, the next she hung in the air, almost
unmoving.
Salamence's talons flared in a screaminggreen. It rose the claw high. And
struck.
For the life of hers, Dawn couldn't remember a louder noise, than the clash of
the dragon claw against J's chest.

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