A Little Adventure in Alola

by CommanderX5

Ch.4 - Search Party - Pt.3

“Your opponent is recharging. Attack now!” Astra commanded.

Pikachu didn’t need to be told twice. He charged forward and jumped at his opponent’s head, his tail glossing over with a durable, metal sheen. One strike after another, he swung his ‘Iron Tail’ against Rhyperior’s face, some strikes blocked by his opponent’s massive hands. While his opponent was unable to fight back, his defenses were still solid enough to hold his assault and stand his ground. The moment he landed on the rocky ground, as most grass was blown off, a beam of ice flew over his head, striking Rhyperior’s face and hands.

With another ‘Iron Tail’ charged and ready, Pikachu jumped, striking the pokemon’s ice-covered face. The frozen hands failed to move, unable to block any of his oncoming strikes. The massive pokemon fell onto his back, losing consciousness from the stream of attacks, as a loud tremor followed.

Pikachu and Ninetales ran back towards the trainers, taking a fighting stance next to each other after shooting the other a cheerful glance.

<You’re really strong and durable for an unevolved pokemon. My trainer often mentioned a trainer she admires and his Pikachu partner. To think I would get the honor of fighting alongside you!> Ninetales gushed, looking to the side and down with a proud smile.

“Thanks. I’ve overcome many opponents without the need to evolve.” Pikachu looked back at Astra’s pokemon, staring back with a mutual respect. “And I must say, you’re really good too. All that speed and agility was solid, and it was one strong ‘Ice Beam.’ Knocked that Rhyperior out cold!”

Ninetales chuckled, ignoring the few bruises speckled across her back, outside of Pikachu’s view. <Thank you, but you are overestimating me. I am the weakest of Astra’s pokemon actually. I was the last pokemon she caught and I am years behind the other veterans in terms of experience.>

“Oh…” Pikachu muttered as his ears drooped. If this Ninetales was the weakest one, it was no wonder why Astra’s partner was so amazing.

<Still, why haven’t you evolved into Raichu yet? With skills like that and so many heroic achievements, you deserve to be a Raichu as much as Captain Nica. Maybe even more.>

Pikachu took a step back and looked at Ninetales with a sheepish smile. Even the most recent recruit in Astra’s team seemed to agree with her ideology.

“Muk, how are you holding up?” Astra asked in worry as she peeked into the hole. “Do you need a break?”

The Alolan Muk climbed up through cracks in the ground. Bruises littered the battered pokemon’s body and chipped fragments of hard rock were stuck in the creature’s goo, yet his fighting spirit was far from extinguished. Hypno remained unconscious in between the cracks.

Rainbow Dash landed between Pikachu and Muk, rubbing the ground with her hoof while giving the opposition a teasing smirk. “What’s the matter? We’re just getting started, and you guys are already on the ropes.” She rubbed her muzzle arrogantly. “Go on, send out more pokemon. We can defeat them one after another without breaking a sweat.”

Cassidy and Butch looked at their boss with worry.

“Sir… I hate to say it, but their team barely received any damage. Even Ninetales and Muk seem fine despite being struck by your amazing Rhyperior,” Cassidy commented, looking at her boss with a nervous smile.

“Should we keep fighting with our pokemon? Or…” Butch paused, hesitant to finish his sentence.

The boss chuckled, and then laughed, his arms still crossed while a confident smile stayed glued to his face.

Pikachu looked away from the boss, glancing at the trainers instead. Astra was now standing next to Rainbow Dash, whispering something into her ear. The pegasus nodded in return. What is she planning?

“From what my spies have reported, your partner and your best pokemon vanished a week ago, yet the leftovers of your team still crushed our pokemon effortlessly,” the boss praised with a mocking grin, while taking a step forward and slowly applauding the huddled trainers, pokemon and pegasus.

Pikachu titled his head to the side as he tried to read the man’s face. He saw a sliver of respect and admiration in his eyes, though it was heavily overshadowed by his hatred for them. Pikachu instinctively moved closer to Astra, putting himself in front of her, before muttering under his breath, “Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming?”

“Now I see why my best men fell before you, Pokemon Master Astra.” He shook his head, giving an annoyed chuckle. “I would offer you to join me as my right-hand man, or woman, but I know you would refuse on the spot.”

Pikachu rolled his eyes. “There it is…”

Astra grit her teeth, but her face softened a moment later. She aimed her sword at the man in distance and spoke, “It is unusual… No, it is extremely rare for the boss of Team Rocket to go into the field personally and put himself at risk. What can be so important to bring you out of your little lair, Giovanni?”

Giovanni stopped clapping and instead put his hands into pockets in his suit. “You are clever. How about you figure it out yourself.”

Pikachu looked between the boss of Team Rocket and the Pokemon Master as he relaxed his tense muscles. It seems they’re pausing this battle to take a more diplomatic approach. He looked at where Rainbow Dash stood a moment ago, only to notice that the pegasus was now standing next to a line of trees in the distance. Something was going on behind the scenes for sure.

Astra glanced at the tall walls in distance. “Po town is where Team Skull is located. Were you trying to make a diplomatic relationship with Team Skull or recruit them?”

Giovanni laughed, taking a few seconds to calm down. “Well… you are almost right. While incompetent losers like Team Skull are worthless, even when compared to my weakest subordinates, I heard their leaders are more salvageable. I was considering giving their best a chance to join the winning side… or eradicate them if they tried to get in the way.”

Astra rubbed her chin with an armored hand. “You are behind this invasion, that is obvious. Considering how powerful the Ultra Beasts are, it must be very important for you to ensure that this invasion succeeds.”

“That’s correct.” Giovanni narrowed his eyes as his confident smile shifted into one of disappointment and resentment. “In the past, your parents and their subordinates hindered me and other underground bosses. After we finally got rid of them with assassination and false accusations, we slowly recovered over the years.” He took hands from his pockets and spread them. “My organization was growing more powerful and influential by the day.”

Giovanni pushed his men aside before stepping forward, pointing at Astra accusingly. “But their cursed daughter hid from my assassins and plotted her revenge. Not only have you slowed our attempts in finding Lugia and prevented us from capturing Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno. Not only did you put three of my best men behind bars away from my territory and influence where I couldn’t free them, but you used your title as Pokemon Master to inspire naive trainers to rise up against us. Even the Elite Four in Kanto and Johto and their champions no longer ignore us.”

Giovanni took a deep breath before shouting, “You endured everything the underground bosses threw at you and relentlessly hunted our elites!” He gestured at Cassidy and Butch, who trembled in fear from their boss’ outburst. “Because of you, those two are the best that my organization has to offer. You turned a respected and feared mob into nothing more than a joke.”

“T-thank you boss,” Cassidy said as she held hands together in front of her face, hearts seemingly visible in her eyes. “We are the best of the best, such an honor!”

“Ummm… Cassidy. I don’t think it was meant to be a compliment,” Butch said, only to get slapped aside

“Don’t ruin this for me!”

Giovanni raised his hands as if praying to the heavens. “However, this project of mine will revive my worthless organization. Even my weakest grunts will be able to defeat the strongest trainers in the world when in command of such powerful creatures. But most importantly…” He turned to the side, not taking his eyes away from Astra. “I can use all this power to kill you once and for all.”

“So that’s what this is about. You want to eliminate me personally,” Astra said before swinging her sword against the air. “You wanted to strike me down when I am at my weakest and you are at your strongest, or am I wrong?!”

“You are not wrong.” Giovanni turned around, now showing his back to the trainer. “Ever since we started using the technology from the Aether Foundation to explore this so called ‘Ultra Space’ in search for powerful creatures, I was unsure if we would actually win. With your presence in Alola, I feared you would once again ruin our plans.” He laughed, taking a few seconds to display his satisfaction. “However, my informants told me that your trusty partner is no longer with you, which caught my interest. The moment I heard about the accident on the beach where most of your team vanished without a trace… Well… I am sure you get the idea.”

Pikachu frowned at Giovanni, glaring at him in disgust. With Nica and most of Astra and Emily’s team out of the picture, there was little they could do against an invasion of Ultra Beasts, opening up a perfect opportunity for Team Rocket to realize their plan. Trying to hunt Astra and Emily while they are weak. Coward! He looked at where Dash stood not long ago, only to notice that she was now gone, no sign of her rainbow mane. When did she...?

“Technology from the Aether Foundation? Did you have a mole or spy who sabotaged the beastballs and stole tech for you?” Emily asked, picking up another pokeball, ready to throw it. “The Aether Foundation put a lot of effort into finding and combating Ultra Beasts, yet the results of their research were less than impressive. Were your spies behind it?”

“Spies? Nothing of the sort. Let’s just say… that a somewhat greedy friend of mine sold the Foundation’s secrets while sabotaging their work. I should thank the scientists from the foundation. Thanks to their efforts my men could travel through the Ultra Space with ease.”

“I see. Now it all makes sense,” Astra said. “I must say, you are quite open with information. Are you really so sure that we won’t get out of it alive and use it against you?”

“To be fair, I merely confirmed what you came up with yourself.” He walked forward, bypassing his men. “It was nice talking with you in person, Astra. It’s a shame, but your skills, your talent, and your powerful team will perish. Cassidy, Butch, take them to a world of pain.”

“Yes, boss!” both rocket members spoke in unison before grabbing beast balls from their belts.

“Pikachu, hit Cassidy with ‘Quick Attack’ and use ‘Iron Tail’ against her belt,” Astra called.

Pikachu glanced at Astra in confusion, wasting a precious two seconds before following her command. His speed increased in an instant while his tail slowly changed from yellow to a metallic grey.

Rainbow Dash flew from behind the line of trees, grabbing the beast balls from the rocket members hands.

“Wait, what?” Butch said, now staring at his empty hand. He looked at the pegasus who shot him a raspberry. “How could you!”

“Ninetales, ‘Dazzling Gleam!’” Astra commanded as a bright light emerged from the pokemon’s tails.

Both trainers raised their hands over their head, cowering from the blinding light as the force of the attack pushed them backward.

With a quick jump, Pikachu struck Cassidy with ‘Quick Attack,’ slapping against her belly. With a swift swing, he cut the belt and it clattered to the ground.

“Cut Butch’s belt as well. Dash, steal those belts,” Astra commanded, pointing at the rocket members with accusing finger.

“On it!”

Pikachu leaped towards Butch, slicing the belt before Dash grabbed it. He yelped as Rainbow Dash grabbed him by his belly and pulled him towards the trainers. The belts ended up thrown towards Astra’s hands and all that was left in their wake was a rainbow trail.

“Great job, Rainbow Dash, just as planned,” Astra praised.

“That was nothing,” Rainbow Dash bragged as she hovered over the ground, rubbing her chest in pride, her head raised arrogantly. “Just wait until I show them my Rainboom! This will totally blow your mind.”

Pikachu pushed himself free from Dash’s hold, now looking at the Pokemon Master in confusion. If he was with Ash, he would no doubt allow the rocket members to deploy the beasts into the field and fight them head on. Astra’s methods were so different, though he wasn’t complaining.

“I suspected that you were just toying with us, so I used Dash’s speed and blinding light from Ninetales’ attack to protect us,” Astra said before looking at the belts, noticing six beastballs in total. She threw them towards Emily. “I’m not planning to die today.” She glanced at Pikachu. “And I still have an important task to fulfill, no matter the crisis.”

“So you’re not afraid to fight fire with fire and play dirty, I can respect that,” Giovanni said before turning around, now facing Astra once again. “Unfortunately for you, that was just half of my forces.”

Pikachu’s ears perked up as he looked around at the lines of trees and bushes, hearing movements from all around. He narrowed his eyes as bolts started escaping from dots on his cheeks.

Rainbow Dash, the Alolan Muk, and the Alolan Ninetales took a defensive formation around Emily and Astra, scanning their surroundings warily.

From the northwest and southwest jumped two identical figures, ones with some sort of balls without eyes serving as their heads.

“Hey, their heads look like what was thrown at me before it just exploded.” Dash flew into the air, pointing at both beasts in aggravation. ”Were you clowns the ones who pulled that lame prank on me? Stick to whoopie cushions, not blowing up your own heads!””

The beasts picked up their heads with their hands, now holding them like basketballs ready to be thrown.

“Okay… that answered my question,” Dash said as she rubbed her neck nervously. “I expected weird stuff, but not this.”

Pikachu looked away from the Ultra Beasts, now staring in the opposite direction as he felt trembling under his little feet. He gulped as the noise of crushed trees followed with each passing second. At least five trees fell aside as two large beasts emerged from the forest. Is that a walking building? Pikachu thought as he looked up, staring at towering beast made of grey bricks. Wait… those legs have eyes… what the heck! He looked to the left, seeing an identical beast emerging further away.

“I ordered four of my Ultra Beasts to ambush you while you were busy fighting Butch and Cassidy. I hoped to surround and ambush you with ten beasts, letting you experience despair before taking your life,” Giovanni said as he gestured at both pair of beasts. “Unfortunately, you were clever enough to cut that number down to four, but it seems that was my mistake for allowing someone so incompetent to hold the beastballs. Make no mistake though, those beasts are more than a match for you.”

Astra stepped from between her pokemon, now looking at the beasts with explosive heads. “You no longer need to listen to them. That gigantic Ultra Beast, Big Buzz… he has been defeated.”

“You won’t lie yourself out of this one,” Giovanni said with a smirk. “Your silver tongue has no effect on these creatures.”

The beasts approached, indifferent to her pleas and ready to attack.

Astra took a step back and raised her shield, summoning ‘Light Screen’ into the field. “They aren’t listening. This is bad.”

“Crush them, my lovelies. Show them the might of the revived Team Rocket!” Cassidy shouted, dancing as if being a cheerleader.

“But go easy on that pegasus. I still want Rainbow Dash on the team,” Butch added.

“That again? I am not even a pokemon!” Dash shouted as she spread her wings, ready for another round.

“Your partner has been missing for a month and you’re already trying to replace her,” the boss said, sneering at the cornered trainers. “So much for your rumored loyalty to your team.”

Pikachu looked at Giovanni in confusion, who now stared at him with growing interest.

“If you still had Nica by your side, she would have sensed this ambush from a mile away. Trying to replace her with a Pikachu is worthless,” Giovanni mocked, giving the small pokemon a challenging glare.

“I am not a replacement!” Pikachu shouted.

“Exactly!” Astra shouted, catching everyone’s attention. “This is a battle between us, Giovanni. This Pikachu and pegasus Rainbow Dash were just tagging along. Can they leave?”

Pikachu and Dash looked at Astra in disbelief. No way were they going to run with their tails between their legs.

Giovanni shook his head. “No witnesses, no survivors. You’re smarter than that Astra.”

“That pegasus will work for us,” Butch cut in, ignoring the mare’s murderous glare as she fumed in the background.

“Well… it was worth a try.” Astra threw her other pokeball, sending Haxorous into the field. She raised her sword at the closest Ultra Beast and added, “It seems the real battle is starting now, but no one is going to die on my watch.”

Emily threw her two remaining pokeballs. The first pokemon being a large dog-like pokemon with rich fur, standing proudly on four paws. It growled at the living buildings, intimidating them as both stepped backward. The other one stood on two legs with a mole-like body as two massive, metal claws laid at its side. A large steel tip pointed from the creature’s head, acting as an impenetrable hood.

“Arcanine, Excadrill, I’m counting on you!” Emily shouted as she unleashed her own sword. “All of our pokemon are out. This is our final stand, and those beasts won’t break us.”

“We will see about that,” Giovanni said as he deployed pokemon of his own. “Nidoqueen, Nidoking, support the beasts. The destruction of my greatest enemy and revival of my organization is at hand’s reach and failure is not an option.”