Pokémon: Midnight Blue

The Events of Cinnabar: Part 3

Kylie flung a Ball out at me, eager to put this to an end, "Kabutops! Rock Throw!"

Her new Pokémon had at Gyarados with nearby boulders. Gyarados evaded as much of the attack as possible, but some rocks still pelted against it. I set Gyarados aside and sent out Raichu, who delivered a massive Thunderbolt and fried Kabutops to a crisp.

"Primeape! Thrash!" I heard Kylie's voice over the commotion in my mind.

I shoved Raichu to the sidelines and summoned Gengar. Primeape could thrash about all it wanted, but it would not be able to lay a finger on Gengar in the meantime. Gengar put Primeape to sleep using Hypnosis, then drained out all its energy sinisterly using Dream Eater. Primeape was no match.

Kylie sent out Butterfree. I commanded Gengar to step aside and sent out Charizard. It stood warily as it waited for me to speak.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" I barked at it, "Have at it!"

Charizard glanced back at me, and in one swift motion, it spun on it heel and craned its next, sending a scorching flame flying in my direction. It roared ferociously and furiously as it flapped its wings violently and took to the skies.

That was all I needed. One of my strongest and most dependable Pokémon had rebelled against me.

"No matter," I growled, "I have other factors in my favor. Dragonite!"

Dragonite flew out of its Pokéball and said nothing. It simply shot a Blizzard attack at Butterfree and watched patiently as it suffered defeat.

Kylie was getting angry and desperate. She sent out Jigglypuff and commanded it to use Sing, but before it could get a single note out, Dragonite pelted it with another Blizzard attack.

Kylie stopped. Her last Pokémon was Venusaur, and she knew that its fate would be similar to Butterfree's and Jigglypuff's.

"Brian," she spoke softly to me, "You win, alright? You're the better trainer, and you're going to win the Pokémon League. Just calm down, okay? No matter what happened in the past, no matter what happens now, we're still your friends."

I looked up at her, the first time I had made sincere eye contact with her since arriving at Cinnabar, and replied coarsely, "No, Kylie. You're not my friend. You never have been. The only reason you've ever spoken to me is because I was always with Robin. And I was foolish to ever believe otherwise. Now send out your Venusaur and accept what is due to you."

Something seemed to have broken inside Kylie as her face went from desperation to pure melancholy. She reached into her jacket and dropped her final Pokéball on the ground. Venusaur was released.

Dragonite rose into the air and brought down another Blizzard attack. A snow storm brewed stronger than any attack Dragonite had used prior to this moment. The thick powder became blinding and everything around me seemed to disappear.

In what seemed like a distance, I could hear Robin's voice trailing through the storm, "Is this the end of it, Brian? Are we not your friends anymore?"

Kylie's voice followed, colder than the blizzard itself, "Maybe you didn't hear him the first time, Robin. We never were."