2nd Installation or 3rd -_- intsallation in my fan-fiction. All reviews are welcomed.
Anyway that's a taste of my dry humor.
I think it really takes off in this chapter, but let me noe. (Know.) Damn it, I need to stop ammusing myself. lol.
Chapter Two - Not everyone can be a Pokemon Master.
"Your world is nothing more than all the tiny things you've left behind" - from Gran Torino.
I
It took four years before Izaya Saito could qualify for the
Saiyu Conference. It was truly a magnificent achievement for any Pokémon Trainer. The ash-blonde boy sat in the locker room deep within the stadium, slowly tying a white wrist band around his right hand. A little bit of sweat slowly flowed from his forehead down to chin as he grinded his teeth.
The only thing on his mind was the crowd outside in the stands. Most people only came to the stadium to see a show, that's all they care about. To him, the stark reality was that Pokémon battles were just a mere form of entertainment. A bulky bald man wearing a small but noticeable Bluetooth swung the door open to the locker room and approached Izaya.
"Your battle won't be long now. I hope you're ready." He said stolidly. Izaya stood up and didn't look at the man. He grabbed a brown belt that held three small Pokéballs on each side and wrapped it around his skinny gray jeans. He then grabbed a white shirt and placed it over his sleeveless black undershirt.
"I noticed you didn't have the television on. Don't you want to watch the battle that's happing right now?"
Izaya replied blankly, "no."
"Well, it's your lost kid. I think you know this but it helps to know about the strategy of other trainers in the competition."
"Thanks for your insight." The man started at Izaya for a second before he turned around and exited the room. Izaya had made it to the preliminary rounds, also known as the round of 32. These battles take place in the Pokémon Stadium and are viewed live by hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of people around the world.
This wasn't qualification rounds anymore. 256 trainers from around the region registered to take part in the Hoenn Pokémon League.
He liked the qualification battles because they took place in somewhat crowd-less arenas where official Pokémon league judges recorded the winner of the battles. Trainers where randomly selected to battle other trainers in a stadium with ten battlefields. There were nine different battles taking place at the same time. Trainers were only allowed to use two Pokémon. It was something in the range of mass producing Pokémon battles.
A trainer that lost in the qualification rounds at least had there dignity and pride intact. To him, it would be nerve wrecking to lose in front of a large live audience.
He never once thought he would be trying to become a Pokémon Champion or at the very least a member of the Elite Four. Izaya never really grew up wanting to battle Pokémon like most kids. Although, unlike most kids, he received an official starter Pokémon from the region's famed professor.
The current champion of the Hoenn region also received a starter Pokémon from Dr.Odamaki when he first began his journey. His name is
Yuki Masuda, a former child prodigy and hero. He became the Saiyu Conference's youngest Pokémon champion ever and on top of that he saved the region from being destroyed by the legendary Pokémon Groudon and Kyogre.
If that wasn't enough he also challenged and became champion of the Battle Frontier (a small island off the coast of Hoenn that was dedicated to the art of battling).
The bulky guard popped his head into the room and yelled. "Kid, let's go, show time!" Izaya inhaled deeply from his nostrils and slowly exhaled from his mouth. He shut the locker door and walked out of the room. Maybe he could beat the child prodigy. They met before, but it was brief. The bulky man closed the door to the locker room behind him and crossed his arms.
"Good luck Mr.Saito." Izaya turned his head to the man and smiled nervously.
"Thanks", he replied. Izaya continued walking straight into the dark blue corridor. His heart began beating faster with every step he took he took on the brown, glossy tiled floor. His mind began flooding with worry.
What if I lose? He couldn't help but think about his upcoming opponent. As he was, his opponent was also walking a similar walkway across the stadium. Step after step he could hear the cheers of the crowd get louder and louder. Finally he was stopped by another man who wore the same security uniform as the bulky man. He stood in front of a double steel door exit. Izaya could hear the chants of the crowd as they revved up for the next battle.
The man in front Izaya put a finger on his Bluetooth and nodded. He looked at Izaya, before he opened the door. A small chill went down his spine as the warm air from the outside entered the room. Izaya slowly steeped outside and found himself at the far edge of the battlefield. The roar of the crowd was completely clear and louder than he had ever imagined. He took a quick glance around the field and saw cameras around the stadium recording and taking pictures of his entry. It was overwhelming and he hated it.
"Ladies and Gentleman, the third battle of the day will now commence." The announcer said over the stadium wide speaker. "Standing on the blue corner is a young trainer all the way from
Kanazumi City, Izaya Saito!"
The crowd cheered, but Izaya didn't feel like the cheers were directed at him. It was like the crowd only cheered because the environment demanded they did. Izaya walked over to the battlefield and stood on his trainer box, which was merely a drawing of a box of white paint on the grass. Izaya nervously stared across the battlefield and anxiously awaited his opponent. His attention then briefly shifted up at the stadium battle screen.
On one half his picture was displayed with six empty boxes blow him. The other half was the same, although the picture of his opponent wasn't displayed since he hadn't entered the arena. Izaya refocused his attention back across the battlefield and saw the doors swing open. A man quickly ran out while waving and blowing kisses to the crowd. His entrance seemed flamboyant at best, although, to Izaya he didn't look like the type of guy who played around.
"Introducing our next trainer on the red corner, from the town of
Fuen, Jun Kurasaki", the Announcer said. The crowd's predictable cheer followed.
The man walked up the judge who stood dead center in the field and greeted him. The both men turned to Izaya and quickly waved at him. In the confusion, Izaya had forgotten he was supposed to greet his opponent before the battle would start. Izaya ran towards the men at fast as he could, he hoped nobody other than the men on the field noticed his awkward mistake.
Izaya bowed to his opponent and the judge.
"I'm . . . sorry, I didn't . . . I mean I forgot about the thing." Izaya said nervously, under the sound of the crowd.
"Are you okay kid, you look tired", said the judge. Izaya became even more nervous after the man told him that.
"No, I mean yes, I didn't sleep much and I-". The judge turned to Jun, uninterested in his small talk. In reality though, there wasn't time to talk, things needed to advance as swiftly as they could, even the battles.
"Okay, you know the rules. No substitutions, so choose your Pokémon carefully. You both will pull out a Pokeball at the same time and throw it. It is my duty to forfeit a Pokémon if it's badly injured and won't give up due to the trainer. You have the right to forfeit a match-up or the entire battle."
The judge turned to Izaya. "A Pokémon will be unable to battle if a stays on the ground for more than five seconds. Keep it clean. There will be no cheap shots while the Pokémon is down. Use good judgment to keep your Pokémon safe, good luck."
The judge turned from the trainers and walked over to his own box on the side of the battlefield.
"I'm going to pummel you to the ground, kid." Jun said confidently before he turned around and ran to his trainer box. Izaya was shocked by the man's statement, but he didn't care. The only thing on his mind was the crowd of thousands that stared at him from hundreds of feet away, the tens of thousands of eye balls rotating from Izaya to Jun.
II
He stepped in his trainer box and turned to face Jun who stood roughly 100 yards away. Izaya pulled out a Pokéball from his hip as soon as Jun did. Izaya extended his hand backward and stepped forward. Jun thrust his Pokéball as far as he could. Jun's ball, while airborne, released a flash of white light before it landed. A hefty Golem stood on the field thereafter. The crowd roared.
Izaya took another step to get his aim just right and tripped. He fell to the grass and dropped his Pokéball. It slowly began rolling into the field. The crowd gasped for a moment. Some began laughing while others felt bad for the young trainer. Izaya quickly got his bearings, picked up the ball, stood up, and then threw the Pokéball as far as he could into the field. It landed and popped opened a few yards from the middle, releasing a Blaziken.
The Blaziken lit it's wrists in a fierce red-orange fire and growled at the Golem ten yards in front of it. The Golem snarled back and stomped the ground, shaking the floor around it. The judge lifted his hands. "Begin!" The crowd roared again, the battle was on.
"Golem use roll out!" Jun swiftly commanded. Izaya froze, he was afraid to do anything. Blaziken instinctively jumped over and dodged the rolling Pokémon. Blaziken then turned to his trainer anticipating a command.
"Blaze-Blaziken!" Izaya's Pokémon cried. Izaya was trembling in fear, his hands and legs shaking. His heart was beating so hard if felt like it was about to burst out of his chest. The Golem continued to roll, trying to hit the Blaziken as it evaded its maneuvers.
"What's going on? It seems that Blaziken's trainer has frozen!" The announcer exclaimed.
"Damn, that Blaziken is a swift one, alright, screw the roll out attack. Use rock blast now!" The Golem stopped suddenly and began firing huge sharp boulders at Izaya's Pokémon. Blaziken evaded some and kicked the boulders, it couldn't dodge, out of the way. After the onslaught Blaziken turned to face its trainer again and bellowed. As it was turned a bolder hit the Blaziken, casting it towards its trainer. Izaya didn't pay attention to any of it as he blankly stared forward with wide eyes.
Blaziken got up and spit an ember to the ground. The Pokémon re-lit its wrists and a faced its trainer hoping for a command, but Izaya didn't say a thing. He was lost in his mind. Blaziken clinched his fists and became frustrated. It stomped the ground and unleashed a powerful flamethrower at the Golem.
Jun laughed. "Are you really going to try to superheat my Golem?" Golem took the flame attack directly. "Now roll out!" Jun commanded. The golem hid in its red-hot rocky shell and fiercely rolled toward Blaziken. The fire/fighting Pokémon charged toward the rock as it rolled toward. Its feathers began shining a bright and fiery blue hue. Blaziken hit the rock Pokémon head on but was tossed away like a rag doll. It was no match for the one ton of superheated rock.
"Time to wrap this match up, Golem! Use rock tomb to trap it then crash straight into it with a roll out attack!" Golem stomped the ground hard with both feet and emitted a powerful blast wave into the floor. The ground cracked toward the Blaziken and four sharp like rocks suddenly burst out of the ground below Blaziken. The Pokémon was trapped, held in placed by the slender rocks. It struggled to get out and fired a badly aimed flamethrower into the air. The Golem quickly seized the opportunity and rolled full speed into the Pokémon.
It crashed, flinging chunks of rock and dust away. Blaziken was sent spiraling into the wall of the stadium past Izaya. The Pokémon hit the thick stadium wall and fell down to the floor, hard. It didn't get up.
The judge began counting, "1…, 2…, 3…", Blaziken on its stomach struggled to get up, its arms shaking violently. It mustered up all it strength and managed to rise up with the help of its knees. It was standing, but barely. Dirt smudges were lined all over its body. Small pebbles were stuck in its beige hair. A significant amount of crimson blood began flowing from its eyes and mouth.
"Call off the match Izaya!" A girl yelled from the front row stands. Izaya turned and looked up. He saw a sandy brown haired girl standing worriedly near the railing. He had enough, he took a few steps backwards and shook his head. Izaya cried out before he ran back into the corridor of the stadium, leaving his Pokémon on the field.
Everybody in the stadium was astonished the boy ran away from the battle. His Blaziken was not only badly injured but also dismayed. His Pokémon battling days ended just like that.
III
Haruka Odamaki sat in the cabin's living room attending the young baby Articuno. The Articuno had hatched with small bright blue feathers. The Pokémon flapped its young frail wings and happily chirped up at Haruka who held the baby Pokémon in her arms.
"Do you have any Pokémon food?" She questioned Dylan.
"I have Beartic's, but I don't think it eats adult Pokémon food."
"It doesn't matter just cut it down to size." Dylan sighed and ran into the kitchen to grab a can of Pokémon food. Izaya looked on. He had his hands in a green bucket of hot water as he sat on the table. He then gazed at the baby Pokémon and smiled weakly.
"Well, we did get to see an Articuno after all." He said. Haruka turned her head to Izaya and amiably nodded. The baby Pokémon then jumped from Haruka's arms and attempted to fly, instead it fell on the soft cushions of the sofa. The baby Pokémon began chirping out of frustration but then smothered itself into Haruka's jacket. Dylan walked into the room holding small bits of Pokémon food in a large gray food bowl.
"It really likes you. I wouldn't be surprised if it thought you were its mother." Dylan said.
Izaya chuckled. "Haruka isn't the motherly type, that's for sure."
"Hey that's not-" Haruka's statement was cut short when the baby Articuno popped its head out of Haruka's jacket and fired a very weak ice beam near Dylan's feet.
Dylan was startled. He leaped backward, letting go of the bowl. The bowl fell to the ground and spilled the bits all over the hardwood floor. The baby Pokémon happily jumped down onto the floor and began pecking on the fallen Pokémon food.
"Hey, you can get cuts on your feet if you stand on the shards!" Dylan exclaimed. The baby Articuno shook its head at Dylan and fired another weak ice beam at him. Haruka laughed as he tried to evade the cold light blue beam.
"Alright, alright you're the boss." Dylan said. The baby Articuno joyfully chirped, loudly and puffed out its tiny feathers. It then resumed pecking at the small bits of food. Dylan felt a bit defeated and walked over to sit near Izaya on the table.
"So, what's next?" Izaya questioned.
"Not sure." Dylan put his hand to his face. "This complicates the whole situation. I need to get in touch with my operator."
"Your who?"
"An operator is a person who assists a Pokémon Ranger. Thanks to the crappy satellite coverage I can't get contact even with the local town."
"Artic Village" Izaya whispered. "Don't mean to sound nosy or rude, but how did you get such a delicate and dangerous operation?"
"I'm not too sure myself. I was approached one day by my base leader. He told me they needed a Ranger in Antarctica and so here I am. I first I thought It was just an excuse to get rid of me. At first glance there isn't much here. It wasn't until I got here two weeks ago I was informed to watch over the Articuno. Anyhow, never mind me. I'm still scratching my head on how you guys found out Articuno live down here."
Haruka approached Dylan and said. "My father told me there was a huge possibility that there was some sort of a natural Articuno sanctuary here. We had looked into the idea of months so I decided I'd come down here and experiment our hypothesis. Turns out it was true. Antarctica is secluded, cold, and barren, perfect living conditions for Articuno world-wide."
Dylan turned his head to Izaya "What about you, kid? Is your dad some sort of Pokémon Researcher?"
Izaya put his face down and stared at his submerged hands in the warm water. "No", Izaya replied.
"Are you here on research as well?" Dylan questioned.
"No, I'm just here to accompany Haruka."
"So are you're a Pokémon trainer?"
"No."
The room fell silent for a few seconds before Haruka blurted out, "I'm starving! How about I cook us up a nice morning meal?"
"Sorry Haruka, all I have is canned food." Dylan said.
"That's alright", Haruka smiled. Beartic walked into the living room on all fours and began tugging on Dylan's coat.
"What is Beartic?" The Pokémon looked troubled like it there was something wrong. Beartic walked over to the entrance of the cabin and stared sniffing the floor. It stood up on its hind legs and turned to Dylan. It pointed to the door and grunted.
"I think we might have company." Dylan said bitterly. He quickly jumped from his chair and pulled out his capture stylus from his under his coat. He slowly crept to the door and waved at Haruka.
Dylan whispered, "Get the Articuno and take it to the room. Stay there until I come back." Haruka slightly nodded and promptly picked up the tiny bird Pokémon as it ate. The Articuno let out a loud chirp as it was picked up suddenly. It was startled. Haruka tried to calm it as she ran into the room.
Dylan made eye contact with Izaya for a brief second before he opened the door and stormed out into the Arctic tundra with Beartic.
"Wait what about me!" Izaya exclaimed as Dylan ran out. It was too late. Dylan was already out of sight. Izaya took his hands out of the bucket of warm water ran over to the room.
"Haruka, open the door." Izaya would do it himself but his hands where still tightly wrapped in bandages. Haruka slowly turned the knob and opened the door.
"Hey be quiet somebody could hear you."
"I need you to un-wrap these bandages from my hands."
"Izaya that isn't important right now. Get in here and hide. There could be bad people outside." Haruka said as she held the baby Pokémon in her arms. Izaya groaned, he turned around and ran towards the open entrance.
"Izaya, where are you going? Stay here!" Izaya ignored her and continued outside into the barren wasteland of sleet snow. What was a cabin in the middle of nowhere doing in an open icy plain? Izaya looked around and didn't find Dylan. It was like he disappeared of the face of the earth. There was nowhere to hide for miles.
As Izaya took his first few steps outside, a bird shaped shadow fell on him, and as quickly as it came, it left. He looked up at the sky and saw two Articuno looming over the cabin.
"That must be..!" A huge blast erupted a few yards in front of Izaya flinging him backwards. He landed and quickly rose up. The two Articuno landed near Izaya, one in front and one behind him. There was nowhere to escape. The Pokémon had him pinned.
That was a powerful ice-beam. He thought to himself. The Articuno behind him flapped its wings and began hovering over Izaya, its wings stirred up powerful gusts with each flap. The Articuno screeched intensely before it grabbed Izaya with its sharp talons.
Before it ascended any higher another blast exploded near the Articuno. Only this time it wasn't caused by the Pokémon. A giant net tangled itself around the Pokémon's wings. Articuno, along with Izaya in its talons, fell to the ground. The Pokémon released its grip from Izaya as it hit the floor. Izaya crawled out from the Pokémon's feet and got up.
He ran from scene in order to get a better view of what was happening. The Articuno on the floor was struggling fiercely to free itself. Without its wings it could not balance itself let alone fly. The other Articuno flew overhead deeply enraged. It screeched out with such in intense velocity it shattered the windows in the cabin.
The free Articuno turned its wings to steel and swooped down to the captured Articuno. A strong blue electric shock suddenly electrified both Articuno as the steel wings hit the net. Both Pokémon were now on the ground. Before the free Articuno could get up another blast erupted near it. A net wrapped around its wings soon after. Both Pokémon, badly weakened, laid before Izaya. He was completely astounded of what just happened.
Haruka ran out of the cabin with the baby Articuno is her arms. She was shocked at what she saw.
"Izaya, what's going on? Where's Dylan." She said nervously. Izaya stood silently and shook his head.
"Unreal, that couldn't of just happened." The tiny baby bird began chirping loudly, reawaking both parents. Somehow the sound of the baby surged more life and energy into the Pokémon. Before they could struggle out of the nets the Pokémon where electrocuted again. This time the legendary Pokémon could not handle the intense blue shock and fainted.
"Who could do such a thing?" Haruka said with her hand over her mouth.
"Honestly they're just animals." An unknown man calmly said as he walked toward the fainted Pokémon. "Besides, I just saved that man's life. That Articuno could have ripped him in half if I didn't intervene." The stranger wore a heavy white snow jacket, the hood covered his scalp. The man held a white camouflage rocket launcher on his shoulder, although, it didn't appear he had any more rounds.
"Release them this instant!" Haruka demanded furiously. The hooded man grinned at Haruka and dropped his weapon on the snow.
"Allow me to introduce myself young lady, I am Katashi Akiyama." The man removed his hood, revealing a shiny baldness. "I am deeply saddened you had to see such violence occur. Nevertheless, I'm only doing what I was sent here to do, and you are?"
The man spoke very gentleman like. He seemed very professional and elegant. Haruka angrily started at the man, she didn't say a single word.
The man laughed. "Well I guess they're some people who dislike you for doing such", he paused, "rash things."
"Let the Articuno go!" Haruka demanded. The baby Articuno noticed Haruka's distress and jumped off of her arms. "Articuno wait!" The baby Pokémon fired a weak ice beam at the man. It hit the man's chest and covered it in frost. Katashi was appalled. He looked down at his chest and became furious.
"Now you've done it! This jacket was a gift from my grandfather! How dare you, you insignificant excuse of a legendary Pokémon!" Katashi's eyes had turned from tranquil to hostile. The man reached into his jacket and pulled out a diamond crusted Pokeball. "Flareon teach them a lesson!" The ball popped open in mid-air and released a bright red and orange Pokémon.
"I'm going to give you five seconds young lady. Five seconds to hand over that little Articuno, if you don't . . .I'm going to kill you."
"You're a manic!" She exclaimed as she ran over to cover the little Pokémon with her body. Izaya stood helplessly a few yards away, he never felt so useless in his life. It was hard for him to show his anger, in a situation like this it should be the easiest thing in the world to do. Izaya rushed the man and tackled him to the ground.
Flareon turned around to face its trainer and ignited it's fangs in fire. Katashi quickly kicked Izaya off of him and stood up. He proved to be of better physical capacity than Izaya hoped for. His body was slender and from the outside it appeared like he had no muscle at all. Unlike Dylan he appeared five-foot ten, only a couple inches taller than Izaya.
"I'm done playing games! Flareon, burn that man to a crisp!" Katashi ordered furiously.
-Chapter end