Deadly alliance (Pokemon fan fiction) [Pokewatty Award 1st runner-up 2013]

Chapter 8 - Last minute

Chapter 8 – Last minute

<Route 30>

“I don’t think so. Deerling, use Take Down!” A voice from the woods yelled.

Immediately, a deer-like Pokémon ran forward and rammed into Weezing, throwing it off balance and making it miss its attack completely. The stray flame hit the ground harmlessly.

“Isaac, you’re here!” Emma was never this happy to see Isaac. She immediately started to hit him in the arm repeatedly. “Why didn’t you come sooner? You… You… Idiot!”

“Hey, a hero always arrives at the last minute, isn’t that right?” Isaac replied and smiled. “You better return Aron back to its ball. It’s in no condition to continue fighting.”

Emma wanted to protest but she knew Isaac was right. Aron couldn’t even move now. Parts of its armour had dissolved away, revealing its inner rock body.

“Aron, good job! Now is time for rest.” She held out its pokeball and a red line of energy came out and reached Aron. Immediately, the Pokémon was converted into energy and the pokeball opened, sucking it all in before closing.

“Weezing, Sludge Bomb!”

Isaac quickly turned back to the battle. “Hey, it’s not nice to attack when your opponent is not ready. Deerling, retreat and dodge it!”

Deerling ran backwards while Weezing spewed some ball of muck at it. Deerling managed to dodge it, but once the attack touched the ground, it exploded and flew everywhere, some of it hitting Deerling, who cringed.

“There’s a reason why they call it bomb, you know.” The scientist chuckled. “Finish it. Tackle!”

Deerling flinched when it got hit and was still dazed. It looked around in circles, trying to get its bearings.

“Quick, dodge it!” Isaac yelled but it was too late. Weezing’s massive body crushed into Deerling before it could escape.

“It’s over.”

Isaac smiled, like he had a secret no one else knew about. “Are you sure?”

“Oh no!” Emma gasped. “Come on, Isaac. We gotta run! The guy is crazy!” She tugged at his sleeve and tried to pull him away.

“Don’t worry, Emma. I got this completely under control.” Isaac winked.

Weezing started shivering, just as it always did when it is preparing its attack, but this time it was different. No poison came out when it opened its mouth.

“Weezing, what’s wro-”

Weezing’s body started to lose its levitating abilities as it moved closer and closer to the ground. The scientist quickly went forward to check on his Pokémon, only to see numerous long, glowing vines growing out of Weezing’s body.

“Leech Seed.” The scientist cursed. “When..?”

The seed finished absorbing and flew back to Deerling, which quickly recovered all prior damage and emerged from the rubble.

“During Take Down, my first attack.” Isaac smiled. “I knew at a glance that I would lose to your Weezing, and the only way to win was to absorb some of your strength. When I saw the opportunity, I took it. Luckily, you didn’t notice, which was a big plus.”

“WormaDAMMIT! I was careless.” The scientist cursed again. “You’re good, boy. No hesitation, no time to question your own moves and you still managed to pull this off. And yet, so green… What you need, is experience. Tell me your name, and I’ll let you pass this time round.”

Isaac narrowed his eyebrows. “My name is Isaac.”

There was an awkward silence for a while before the man spoke again. “Isaac… what?”

Isaac stared at him suspiciously. “I-Isaac Faraday.”

“Isaac Faraday…?” The man repeated and had an odd look of astonishment on his face. “Oh, how much you’ve grown... Fancy meeting you here, of all places.” He snapped one of his pokeballs from his belt and pointed it to Isaac.

Isaac positioned himself for his next Pokémon, putting one foot forward in an aggressive motion.

The scientist sniggered and sent his fainted Weezing back to its pokeball. “You don’t trust me?”

“Well, you attacked us first…” Emma muttered.

“Bye.”

“W-Wait a moment!” Isaac yelled. “Those balls on your belt… They're your remaining Pokémon, right? Why are you just letting us pass through?”

He looked back and laughed,”Haha! I’m just a scientist. I don’t do fighting. Anyway, you’re an interesting specimen. I shall look forward to our next meeting, Isaac. Adios.”

With that, he tapped one of his pokeballs on his belt and sent out a big yellow Pokémon holding two silver spoons on each hand. The Pokémon stared at Isaac and Emma through its emotionless eyes.

“Let’s go, Alakazam.”

His Alakazam nodded and raised its spoons and coated the both of them in a weird purple sphere. Soon, the both of them vanished into thin air.

“An Alakazam.” Isaac yelped. “He had an Alakazam. He would’ve beaten us, easy. Why? Is he a spy?”

Somewhere at the edge of his mind, Isaac knew that it was not true. No, the man was loyal to Rocket. But why did he let Emma and he pass? There was one more thing – What did he mean by his last statement? Did he somehow have a connection to Isaac?

Emma tugged his shirt to get his attention. “Umm, Isaac… Team Rocket… We would never understand them or their ambitions, but we should focus on the matter at hand, namely, protecting Professor Pokémon!”

Emma’s words jolted Isaac back into reality. “Professor Pokémon. Right! Let’s go, we’ve got a whole lot of route to cover, and route 30 isn’t exactly short.