//------------------------------// // Ch.5 - Dream of the Past // Story: Raichu for Hire // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// Raichu for Hire - Chapter 5 - Dream of the Past It has been more than two years since she was captured by the human girl, Astra Longshot. The first six months her trainer taught her how to read and write, a boring routine she disliked with all her passion. The next six months she spent on an island with her trainer, helping her capture three new team members while training hard and fighting against the local pokemon. Facing Orange Islands as their next step ended in failure as Astra limited herself to only four pokemon, outnumbered six to four against the local champion. With Ninetales joining Astra on the road for vengeance against criminals, the team faced the trials of Alola, mastering the use of the electric, and fire Z-move. Defeating four Kahunas in the Grand Trial didn’t bring them any fame, though. Kanto League ended up in failure during the semi-finals, losing against Astra’s self-proclaimed rival in a five vs six battle. The real victory however lay in Nica defeating an Alakazam, winning with massive odds stacked up against her. She earned her evolution that day, becoming a Pikachu. This very day they also met Team Rocket’s hitman, codename ‘Deathblow’, who become their greatest enemy. After failing over and over, the time to turn the table around had come in the Johto region. With a full team of six, four fully evolved, they teared through the tournament, defeating the less experienced opposition easily. It was an odd feeling for Nica. Two years of battling against more powerful opponents while being a tiny feeble Pichu, their team always handicapped and outnumbered, sent to face against opponents who had type advantages. The moment she and the rest of the team evolved, the moment all the handicaps has been lifted, nothing could stand in the way of their victory. It felt like climbing up a tall mountain for hours with a heavy stone tied to her back, only to take a long rest and get rid of the stone halfway. Reaching the peak suddenly became a breeze. Winning the tournament in Johto was only the first step, though, as it gave Astra the privilege of fighting the Elite Four. Only by defeating four elite trainers, would they be allowed to challenge the champion of Johto for his title. The first opponent to face was Bruno. Nica ignored the cheering crowd, her attention focused on the muscular man as trousers was the only piece of clothing he was wearing. According to the rumors, Bruno’s strength was big enough to challenge a pokemon in direct combat. By looking at him, Nica had a flashback of two other humans. Lt. Surge, whose size and muscles would no doubt give Bruno a challenge, and a tan Nurse Joy, who despite smaller size, had unimaginable strength which was still growing with each passing month filled with struggles. I wonder, if Bruno, Lt. Surge and the tan Nurse Joy ended up facing numerous competitions of strength and skills, who would get on the top? Now that would be interesting. The battlefield between both trainers was filled with numerous rocky hills and one pool filled with water in the middle. Not wasting a moment, Astra sent her Starmie into the battlefield. Being both water and psychic type, the large starfish had coverage to everything her opponent would deploy. Nica jumped from her trainer’s shoulder and looked up at her in confusion. Until now, Astra often used pokemon with a type disadvantage, purposely handicapping her team so they would learn how to win against the odds and get used to attacks they are weak against. Whenever she’s using strategy and is trying to gain advantage, it means she’s taking this battle very seriously. I can’t let my guard down. In response, Bruno sent a boxing pokemon, Hitmonchan. Despite being at a disadvantage, Hitmonchan jumped all over the battlefield, circling around Starmie while avoiding most of its attacks. His ‘Thunder Punch’ proving strong enough to overcome Starmie’s defenses. Even though he lost, Astra’s ace was now at its limits. Nica gulped. Starmie was the strongest member of the team and was on the ropes already. The Elite Four despite their predictable pokemon typing proved to be no joke. Gligar replaced Starmie in the second round, now facing Hitmonlee. Despite a type advantage, as a recently joined member of the team he lacked experience, not lasting long against the hard-kicking pokemon. “Nica, I’m counting on you. Your opponent is tired and you’re faster, so just keep your distance. Attack from afar and victory is yours.” Nica nodded, running into the battlefield. Using ‘Nasty Plot’ while staying at distance, she powered up her special attack temporarily. It came as a surprise when Hitmonlee was switched for an Onix. “Onix, use ‘Earthquake’!” Bruno commanded. “Nica, jump and use ‘Iron Tail’,” Astra commanded. Nica ran forward at full speed, seeing how the gigantic tail hit the ground, splitting it as the earth trembled under her paws. It wasn’t the first ‘Earthquake’ she faced, already experienced enough not to lose balance on the trembling ground. She jumped in time to avoid the attack, swinging her tail directly against the Onix’s face. Before she could land on the trembling ground, she was recalled into a pokeball. She rarely spent time inside her pokeball, most of the time following her trainer as the partner she was. While inside, she experienced a growing anxiety, worried and curious about how the battle was going. Not that being inside a pokeball wasn’t comfortable, especially after her trainer relocated all of her pokemon into Luxury Balls for their comfort. Comfortable accommodations or not, she didn’t like not being by her trainer’s side, especially during important battles. Her worries didn’t last long as she was send into the battlefield, facing a big boulder with two hands and two legs. A quick glance at the large screen above the crowd provided her with informations she needed. Astra’s Blissey, Starmie, Gligar and Venusaur were defeated, as well as Bruno’s Onix, Machamp, Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, leaving her and Ninetales to defeat the Golem. A quick look at the numerous scratches on the sturdy shell told Nica that he wasn’t at full power. “Nica, attack with ‘Iron Tail!” She did as she was told, running towards her weakened opponent while charging power into her tail. It didn’t surprise her that the Golem used ‘Earthquake’ against her, the very ground becoming her enemy. “You know what to do.” Nica narrowed her eyes and jumped, landing on her opponent’s shell while grabbing his head. After enduring and evading ground type attacks over and over, she learned that the best counter against them is to jump very high or to jump onto her opponents. They couldn’t target her with ground attacks as long as she wasn’t on the ground after all. She followed up with ‘Iron Tail’, pushing the Golem into the cracked ground. “Keep attacking!” Nica nodded and delivered another ‘Iron Tail’ before landing on the ground in front of the trapped opponent. “Golem, use ‘Steamroller’!” Bruno commanded as his pokemon climbed up from the crack, hid in his shell and rolled, crushing any rock which got in his way. Nica gulped. She already ended up rolled over by a Golem while still being a Pichu. Even after her evolution increased her size, the Golem who was now charging at her still looked bigger than the last one. It was gigantic. Using her speed, she jumped to the side, evading the attack. “Don’t slow down, crash into the hill!” Nica looked behind, only to see the Golem hit the hill, filling the stadium with a rain of stones. Caught off guard, she braced herself for the impact, closing her eyes as a few stones twice her size struck her. The moment she pushed the rocks off her body, she gasped, the pupils in her eyes shrank. Her body sank into the ground as she ended up rolled over by the gigantic ball of destruction. “Use ‘Earthquake’.” Nica whimpered, unable to evade while stuck in the ground. The following pain was indescribable as she screamed for several seconds, bouncing against the cracked ground. “Heavy Slam!” Nica’s legs trembled as she struggled to stand. Her body covered in bruises and cuts with sweat dripping from her head. I must fight… I can’t give up… I need to prove myself… worthy of my evolution! She pushed herself forward, her ears twitching at the noise of Golem crashing behind her. Ignoring the pain in her muscles and bones, she sent power into her tail quickly and backflipped, hitting the Golem with ‘Iron Tail’ fast enough to push him deeper into the ground. “Golem, use ‘Steamroller’!” Bruno commanded. Golem hid in his shell and started rolling, trying to climb up from the ground he was trapped in. Nica didn’t wait for her trainer’s command, nor giving her opponent a chance to climb up. She kept attacking the golem with ‘Iron Tail’ with whatever strength she had left, keeping him trapped. She bounced against the hardened shell after her fourth attack as her tail was no longer covered by metal. She breathed heavily and turned her head, glancing at her trainer who just gazed back in confusion. Why isn’t she giving me any commands… why is she not coming up with a new strategy? Nica thought. Until now her trainer always trained the team to prepare it for every opportunity, to make her pokemon strong against opponents who had the advantage. Astra predicted how the battle would go before it even started and shared her strategy with her pokemon in advance. Yet the moment Golem caught them off guard, the situation turned for the worse. Nica sighed, now understanding her trainer’s limits. While Astra had a lot of theoretical knowledge and came up with many great strategies in advance, she was terrible at improvising. Creative strategies formed in the middle of combat, using terrain for their advantage, this was what she struggled against. “Nica, return!” Astra commanded as she recalled her with a pokeball once more. After a night of recovery in the Pokemon Center, Nica learned about the result of the fight from her trainer. Thanks to Ninetales speed and experience which he used against the weakened Golem, Astra defeated her first Elite Four member, yet winning only thanks to a six vs five number advantage. Other Elite Four members who watched the battle from the VIP seats picked up on her weakness quickly, defeating her while taking away her opportunity of becoming a Johto Champion. The loss didn’t break their resolve, quite the opposite. More determined than before, they set up their eyes on the Hoenn region. After besting a member of Elite Four, no badge proved enough of a challenge to slow them down. Nica stretched her limbs and yawned, quickly welcoming the new day. Her newly recovered memories still fresh in her mind. Any bruise from yesterday was no longer present on her spotless fur. Much to her surprise, a rat she befriended a week ago climbed onto her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek. She returned the friendly gesture with a smile and next glanced at the sun on the horizon, feeling a pleasant warmness in her heart. Not only were her memories more and more complete with each passing day, but today she had another opportunity to prove herself useful. As long as it didn’t involve foalsitting, she was looking forward to her next jobs.