Pokemon: The PokeBrawler Chronicles (Chapter 3: Misery loves Company Part 2)

As Frank moved around violently, he had failed to notice that he was actually moving at an increasingly-slower rate until he found his movements stopped entirely except for his breathing. He also found his thoughts slowing as well, the raging emotion that had once boiled his blood subsiding as his thoughts did.

Though he could no longer move, he could still feel the various wounds and bruises healing themselves, the damage reversing as if the original event had been undone. It seemed like everything but the memory was being undone within the bubble.

Seeing this, Neos found himself fainting again onto the ground, his energy not yet having come back to him. His body relaxed greatly, he needed the nap...

Ditto now snoring, the time bubble lowered itself before popping, leaving Frank unharmed and much calmer than earlier with an arena that had appeared to have never been damaged by their fight.

Frank was still raging about when he felt his movements slow; as much as he tried to force himself to keep moving to futilely break his prison, his movements eventually ceased altogether. He just sat there, frozen and levitating as the bubble held him above ground. He then felt an odd sense of calm wash over him; almost like someone was sucking the rage out of him, clearing his mind and freeing it of the Berserker's control. The bubble descended as the rage left Frank's psyche, and finally touched ground and popped, causing Frank to fall onto his hands and knees, grunting heavily. Even though his injuries were gone, he still felt exhausted. He then looked up a bit to see a pink blob where Neos used to be; causing Frank to stare in shock as the realization dawned on him. "Neos? Is that you?" he asked hoarsely, only to be answered with a loud but exasperated, "Neos has been defeated. Match victory goes to Frank!" He looked to the sound of the voice to see the rather red-faced referee; the poor guy looked like he sat in the sun without an umbrella. Frank then looked up into the stands; everyone was staring at him and Neos with looks of fear, shock, and surprise. He couldn't blame them; he honestly didn't expect Neos to be a Ditto or be able to transform into a giant fire-wielding fox creature. And the crowd certainly didn't expect Frank to go savagely insane like he did. The announcer's voice then boomed, "Well, folks, I don;t really know what to say to this. In all my years of hosting this tournament, I never witnessed a battle quite like this."

Frank then saw a pair of medics rush out and tend to Ditto-Neos. One of them grabbed a small white Pokeball that was laying near his feet and recalled Neos into it, giving Frank dirty looks as they walked away. Frank grunted as he stood to his feet and walked silently out of the arena. Frank then started to make his way back to his little tree, hoping to catch some rest for tomorrow's fight. He was completely unaware, however, that a certain someone was tailing him. As he reached his tree and leaned up against it, he questioned why he was doing this; he asked himself why he was fighting in this pointless tournament while his clan-mates were getting tortured and experimented on. Eric's face then appeared before him, saying in a mocking tone, "Frank, you'll never beat me. Your clan-mates belong to us now, there's nothing you can do about it. And when I defeat you, I will present your head on a silver plate to our master. HAHAHAHA!" Frank angrily picked up a stone and chucked it, causing the illusion before him to dissipate. Breathing heavily from the sudden burst of rage, he calmed himself down; though it was mostly due to the fact that he just went into the first Berserker stage for so long. "Now I remember" Frank muttered as he looked at his forearm; the symbol of his fallen people become a source of inspiration for him. He then continued with "You have answers I need. And I'm gong to get them, even if I have to kill you."

With that, Frank sat down and leaned his back against the trunk of the tree, falling slowly into an uneasy sleep. He then awoke again; except now he was lying with his back on the ground in the middle of a clearing. "How did I....?" Frank asked himself, looking around in confusion. He then stood up and walked around, trying to find some discernible structure or land-mark. After finding nothing here, he descended into the thick brush and headed deeper into the forest. It was some time before he saw a large wall; a familiar-looking wall. His heart quickened its pace, with Frank saying to himself repeatedly "No, it can't be." He walked along the length of the wall until he found a gate, and that's when it hit him. This was Beacon, his home. Frank then said in a tone of combined surprise, shock, and confusion "My God, it's still here. But it can't be! I saw it burned to the ground, and I saw my own father die before my eyes. What the hell is going on here?"

Frank then backed up as the gate opened; he stared in shock when he saw himself and Tommy standing behind it. "What?" Fran said hoarsely, before he realized he was dreaming. "Oh, great, now I'm having guilt dreams." Frank then say himself and Tommy run off into the distance; he then turned and that the gate was closing. Cursing, he ran underneath it, doing a power-slide in the dirt just as the gate closed behind. He then saw Bill making note of Frank and Tommy's departure. He then heard a familiar voice, and turned to see that it was his brother Ryan. Frank almost wept with joy at seeing his brother free; he then slapped himself and brought himself back to the realization that he was dreaming. He saw Bill and Ryan talking for a while before Ryan paused, saying something about a presence beyond the gate. Then, the gate exploded, sending Bill and Ryan flying and revealing a large tank. It fired another round; leveling a nearby building. Frank stared in horror as the armored behemoth tore down another building. He then saw several shadowy figures, almost Frank's size, enter the village. Frank rushed to the center of the village, his awareness of the dream completely gone. "Gotta save them!" he said through tears of pain as buildings collapsed around him. He saw several of his kind fighting off the shadow creatures and tanks, only to be defeated. He tried to rush to help them, but felt something tug at his arm. He looked down to see it was a chain; no matter how hard he pulled it wouldn't break. He then tried going into the Berserker state to get free; this only made the chain pull tighter. He then felt more restraints hold him down; he looked around to see that all four of his limbs were now restrained, and the harder he pulled the less he could move. Explosions rang out, dirt and bodies flew everywhere, some of the men who were fighting off the tanks and shadow creatures fell back to try and get the women and children out of the village, only to be cornered and tranquilized

He was now forced to watch as his village was torn apart and his comrades were slain. He tried shutting his eyes, but that didn't block the blood-curdling creams of terror. Outside his dream, Frank's eyes now streamed tears as he watched himself struggle helplessly to break his restraints. He wanted to wake up; he knew deep down it was a dream, no, a vision. But he couldn't bring himself to realize it was a dream and snap out of it.

Gardevoir felt herself collapse for a few seconds after the powerful energy left her body, looking back up to see that the arena had somehow been restored and the combatants still living. Relieved at the sight, Gardevoir looked over toward the Ditto and shook her head in disbelief.

"Why did you reveal yourself?" she projected toward the sleeping Pokemon.

"I was tired of hiding," was the reply she had received as she moved out of the way of the paramedics, tilting her head as she did. Then she saw Frank coming and used her power to make herself invisible to sight, allowing herself to be passed without notice.

Cautiously following Frank at a safe distance, she found herself near a decent-sized tree where the Brawler had attempted to make himself comfortable and get some much-needed rest. Watching him for a little bit, she noticed he was fidgeting in his sleep, a sure sight he wasn't gonna wake any time soon.

Kneeling down next to him, Gardevoir's eyes began to glow as she attempted to peer into his mind, her body frozen so she wouldn't fall over.

The scene that played in front of her was horrible.

"Garde?!" Everyone around her was either being taken as a prisoner of war or outright killed where they stood, Gardevoir dodging every incoming person out of fear of being struck. As she moved, she saw Frank chained heavily to the ground and made an attempt to break them. However, her hands moved right though the chains, causing her to realize that anything she did would have no effect. It almost seemed that in the vision, Frank could not see her at all.

Unbeknownst to Frank and Gardevoir, they were being hunted. Two figures were lurking in the dense underbrush, searching every inch of the area around them. One of the figures, a short man with piercing green eyes, was checking behind every bush; whatever he was looking for seemed to be very good at hiding. This man was dressed in the standard Rocket grunt outfit; his head capped by a black beret, a black shirt with a large red 'R' on its chest, black pants, and white boots and gloves. The other figure, a larger and overall more muscular man, was dressed in the same way as the smaller one. This man grunted heavily as he walked, his footfalls heavy as his massive form broke even the thickest of tree branches just by brushing past them.

The small Rocket was crouched as he walked, his eyes focused on the ground beneath him. He then decided to stand up to stretch his back, only to knock his head hard on an overhanging branch. He rubbed his head in pain. The larger man chuckled deeply before saying in a low-growl of a voice "Dumbass". The smaller man turned his head and whispered in a snappy tone "Shut up, Ox. You're the one causing a fucking earthquake to happen every time you take a step. Can't you walk more quietly?" Ox simply shrugged his enormous shoulders in response before saying "Not my fault, Chris. Master made me this way. But hey, if we run into trouble, you'll be happy I'm here." Chris simply snorted in derision; he hated being a low-level Grunt. His new boss always sent him and one of his 'creations' to clean up after others' failures. Chris shot back as he continued to trudge through the dense brush, "I don't get why you think there'll be trouble. The only ones who could give us trouble were wiped out or captured by the boss. So, quit worrying." He then parted a bush, only to find what at first glance appeared to be a human female kneeling under the cover of a large tree. He then looked again and noticed she had green and white skin, a loose-fitting white dress, large breasts and a red torso spike. No way! There she is!" Dex shouted in his mind, grabbing a Pokeball from his belt and starting to go forward to throw it before he felt a massive hand clamp on his shoulder.

"You might want to look again, Chris. She's got company." Chris then noticed something to his right; it was a large man, even bigger than Ox himself, sleeping under the tree where Gardevoir knelt. However, the real surprise came when he looked at the man's forearm that was draped across; he almost pissed himself in fear. The symbol of the Brawlers stood out against his rather tanned skin. "N...no...way" Chris stammered; how was one of THEM here? "But.....they were all wiped out!" Chris said in a fearful tone. Ox simply chuckled, "Well, whaddaya know? One of them made it." Ox then grabbed a needle from his back pocket and said to Chris, "Brawlers wake real easily. This'll put him out till morning." He then chucked the needle at Frank, causing it to stick in his chest. The impact actually made the tree creak from the force. "What the hell?" Chris shouted, but then put his hands to mouth. Ox chuckled, "Don't worry, it didn't kill him. Now let's get that Gardevoir and get out of here." Ox then emerged from the brush and walked towards Frank and Gardevoir. "Ox, what're you doing? Get back here!" Chris whispered, waving his hands to Ox.

Ox finally reached where Gardevoir was and knelt down to take a look at her. Ox then turned his head and said with a grin, "Chris, you should take a look at her. She's a beauty." Chris then groaned and walked over to where Ox was. He then took a good look at Gardevoir. "Holy shit" he said in a hoarse voice. It was no wonder why he mistook for a human at first glance. She literally looked like a human female. She had the body of a normal woman. Her feet, hands, breasts,and even her hair were that of a normal human woman. "God damn, she's gorgeous." Ox then moved behind her and put his large hands on her breasts, saying "Hey Chris, look" He then squeezed his hands lightly twice, uttering "Squeeze squeeze". Chris face-palmed, "Damn it Ox." Chris then took his Pokeball and tapped Gardevoir on the head, causing her to become a beam of energy before disappearing into the orb. Chris then minimized it and put it back on his belt saying, "All right, we're done." Ox then retrieved the needle from Frank's chest before leaving with Chris.

As they walked away from Frank's now-unconscious form, Chris then got an idea. This Gardevoir must be worth a fortune, so why the hell would they give it to their boss? Chris then turned to Ox and said "hey, let's keep her for ourselves. We could make a fortune." Ox then recoiled before saying 'Are you nuts? If Master finds out, he'll kill us for sure!" Chris then snickered, "How would he find out? By the time he does, we'll on our own private island sippin' martinis. Besides, aren't you sick of how he treats you like nothing more than a pawn? Isn't time you got what YOU wanted for once." Ox then said "I don't know. Master seems to know about everything." Chris then walked over to Ox and tried to pat Ox on the back; no easy feat considering Ox had a good foot and a half of height on Chris. "Listen, Ox. I got friends that run an 'auction' business. We can sell her for so much money. You saw how human she looked right? Do you realize how much people would pay for a Pokemon like her? You wouldn't have to worry about a thing. And besides, even if he discovers her on the auction site, we can say someone got to her first. The Giovanni Rockets did it." Ox then smiled and said "All right, Chris. I trust your judgment. Let's go make some money."

With that Chris hopped on Ox's shoulder and said "Head east. There's a compound we can drop her off at. They'll have everything we need to make sure she can't cause any problems." Ox nodded and leaped, jumping considerable distances with every jump. After about forty-five minutes, they arrived at what appeared to be a large fortress. Chris hopped off of Ox's shoulder and walked to the gate. He pressed a button, prompting an annoyed sounding, feminine "Who's there?" to come form the speaker above it. Chris then saw a camera above the gate move to look at him. "Oh, it's you. What do you need, Chris?" The camera then looked at Ox, causing the voice to say "Who's that?" Chris then said in reply, "I have something for the Dealers. And, I need you to take care of some baggage for me." He nodded his head back ever so slightly towards Ox. "Very well" the voice said responded before going offline. A crack was heard, and Ox's head exploded. His now lifeless form crumpled, landing with a hard thud. Chris said "Sorry, friend, but I don't like sharing" and went inside. He entered through a large set of double doors that closed behind him as soon as he was inside. The building itself was obviously massive; the ceiling looked to be over a hundred feet high. The walls were lined with large glass chambers, some containing Pokemon and some empty. Each chamber had a different set of devices on the inside, these devices were assembled and used with respect to the Pokemon itself. It was obvious the Dealers had been at this for a while. Chris had done business with the Dealers in the past; he often lifted Pokemon from shipments to sell in private auctions.

Upon entering the fortress, he found several cloaked people standing before him, their faces hidden by hoods. "Well, you said you have something for us?" one of them said. Chris nodded, then replied "I need a Psychic containment chamber first." "Very well" they said, then led him over to one of the glass chambers on the floor. Inside the chamber was a chair; above it was a dome and around the inside of the chamber were devices that kept any Psychic Pokemon's power from being used. Chris took the Pokeball containing Gardevoir and gave it to one of the hooded figures, who took it and released Gardevoir in the chamber. Several members gasped, one even said "Wow, she's beautiful. She'll command a high price, that's for sure." They then moved in, securing the dome above her head and strapping her down to the chair. They then set up the various devices to limit her power. After stepping back outside the chamber, they saw she was beginning to stir. Chris then chuckled before saying, "Oh yeah, this is gonna be sweet."

It wasn't until the containment field was sealed and she was the only one alone within that she opened her eyes, not yet realizing where she really was. Her thoughts had wondered to the nightmare she had witness and her sudden ejection from it, physical drowsiness preventing her from raising question about it just yet.

Then she realized she couldn't move her hands to rub the sleepiness out of her eyes. "Garde?" she mumbled as she opened her eyes, her vision cloudy at first from having them closed for so long. As it focused, however, she realized one thing.

She was not where she was supposed to be. "Voir!" Eyes glowing bright, she tried to pull herself out of the chair's bindings, panicking more and more as she realized she wasn't even budging, nor were her psionic abilities proving effective. "Gardevoir!" Her whole form glowing now, a small black hole started to bud in the middle of the containment field in hopes of destroying her prison.

"Stop her, she's gonna destroy the equipment if this keeps up!" she heard someone yelling right before a sudden surge of electricity went through her. Gardevoir screamed out in pain, which caused her concentration to shatter and the black hole o dissipate harmlessly into the air.

"Crap, we're gonna have to warn anyone who gets her that she can do that," one of the cloaked spoke with a feminine voice, making the girl a rarity among the many males in the operation.

"Gar..." The electricity drained her energy for the time being, and it looked as if she may not get another chance to try that trick again...

"That little trick makes her even more valuable, but you're right, she needs constant watch to keep her from trying that again," spoke the same hooded figure that complimented on the Gardevoir's beauty. "You just may get a higher cut on this Pokemon's earnings than normal, Chris."