Another mystery revealed in this chapter... and a bit of excitement
later on. I'll ask for C&C at the end - you'll see why! - but just a
reminder, I always like to see it!
Jellic�s Hateful Quest
Chapter 19: Villains and Cyborgs and Snares... Oh My!
The sunlight reflecting off of Jellic�s new Pokemon forced him to
shield his eyes with his hand. As he moved to a position where he could
see the Pokemon, he could hear Natalie�s enraged shout. �You�ve got one
of THEM too! I knew you and Vordekar were working together!�
�Actually, I stole this �� He stopped as he finally moved far enough
to the side to see his new Pokemon. Its squat metallic body was almost
completely built at right angles, and it stood perfectly still while it
waited for a command from its trainer. Jellic quickly aimed his Pokedex
at it.
�Bruiser, a Cyborg Pokemon. Bruiser was the first Cyborg Pokemon
created by Karddor Labs as a powerful weapon against Psychic Type
Pokemon. Cyborg Pokemon always follow the commands of their original
trainers, making it difficult to train a traded Cyborg Pokemon. Bruiser�
s attacks are: Arm Swing, Data Stream, and Boolean Boost.�
Natalie�s expression grew even angrier. �Mewtwo, Swift!� The Mewtwo�
s star-shaped projectiles bounced off of the Bruiser�s metallic armor,
leaving barely a dent. Jellic smiled.
�Bruiser, Arm Swing!� Bruiser�s metallic arm smashed into the
already weakened Mewtwo�s side, causing it to faint. Natalie recalled
the fallen Mewtwo. �It looks like victory is mine this time, Natalie.�
�Not quite,� announced Natalie with an evil grin. �I have four
Pokemon left, but you�re down to your last one.�
�My last one is immune to Psychic power,� Jellic pointed out.
�But I�m well aware of its weaknesses!� returned Natalie, calling
out a Pokemon that looked like a starfish with a large jewel where its
mouth should have been. �Staryu, destroy that machine! Hydro Pump
attack!� The Staryu blasted Jellic�s Bruiser with a huge torrent of
water.
�Bruiser, Data Stream!� The Bruiser, dripping wet, gave out a series
of high-pitched bleeps, then collapsed to the ground.
�Your robot is finished, Jellic! You�re defenseless! Staryu, Hydro
Pump again!� The Staryu fired its burst of water not at Jellic, but into
Natalie�s face, knocking her several feet backwards. �Staryu, what are
you doing? Attack Jellic, not me!�
�Data Stream is a Cyborg Type confusion-inducing attack,� chimed
Jellic�s Pokedex. �The afflicted Pokemon becomes unable to think clearly
and is just as likely to attack itself and its trainer as its opponent.�
�Staryu, snap out of it!� yelled Natalie, and this time the Staryu
seemed to respond. �Now attack Jellic!�
From out of nowhere, a Pokeball appeared in front of Jellic, and an
Electabuzz emerged. �Electabuzz, Thunder!� commanded Vesper. The
Electabuzz released a bolt of electricity that crisped the shell of the
Staryu. Natalie�s eyes grew wide when she realized who had attacked her
Pokemon.
�You�re a League trainer!� she shouted indignantly. �You�re not
supposed to attack your own boss!�
�Then consider this my resignation!�
�In that case,� replied Natalie, �you�re terminated. And I don�t
mean fired. Tauros, Rage!� A wall that was one of the few intact parts
of Karddor Labs exploded as the Tauros charged through it, snorting
steam from its nostrils.
�Don�t attack it!� warned Vesper. �That will only make it mad!�
�Not much chance of that,� bemoaned Jellic. �I�m out of Pokemon.�
The Tauros charged directly at Jellic, and for the second time he threw
Vesper aside to safety as he dived out of its path. The huge bull
stopped shortly beyond and turned for another pass. �We have to do
something!� he shouted.
�Electabuzz, Thunder!� shouted Vesper. The air crackled with the
force of the attack, but the Tauros barely faltered in its relentless
charge. Jellic pulled Vesper aside, but one of the Tauros� hooves landed
squarely on her arm with a loud crunch. Vesper screamed in pain as
Jellic helped her to her feet to prepare for the next charge.
�Are you okay?� asked Jellic.
�I�ll live,� answered Vesper. �At least it was my bad arm.�
�It will be more than your arm by the time my Tauros is finished
with you!� taunted Natalie. Jellic�s reply was cut short as he had to
dive once again out of the Tauros� path. Vesper bit her lip to keep from
crying out as she landed, jostling her injured arm.
�You can�t move around with your arm in that condition,� Jellic
insisted, and Vesper nodded, gritting her teeth against the pain. Jellic
stood up and moved away from Vesper, waving his arms to attract the
Tauros� attention. �Hey, bull! Over here! Attack me!�
�Jellic, no!� shouted Vesper as the Tauros charged once again.
Jellic stood still until the last second, leaping straight up to land
right on the Tauros� back. He grabbed the beast by its horns and wrapped
his legs around its neck before it could react. The Tauros, realizing
that it had an unwanted passenger, began to buck like a wild bronco.
Jellic held on, wishing that he�d included rodeo experience in the list
of disciplines that he regularly practiced to stay in proper heroic
form.
All was going well for Jellic until the Tauros, in a glimmer of
intelligence uncommon to large, slow, and furious animals, realized that
it could dislodge the rider attached to its back by swiftly bringing its
back into contact with the ground. The huge bull rolled onto its back,
but Jellic was off in a flash, quickly tying the Tauros� legs up in true
cattlehand fashion. �Good thing I remembered to buy rope this time,�
said Jellic.
�You�ll need more than rope to deal with all of us,� announced the
all-too-familiar voice of the leader of the Pokemon League Enforcers.
Jellic whirled to face Natalie, who was now surrounded by Enforcers
armed with full Pokebelts. The leader�s long sleeve was wet with the
tears of the girl around whose neck his arm was tightly wrapped.
�Ashley? You let her go right now!� ordered Jellic.
�You�re in no position to make demands, Jellic,� replied the leader.
It was all Jellic could do not to hurl himself at the man. Instead,
he forced himself to remain calm. �What do you want?�
�I want the Mewthree, Jellic. And no tricks this time. Whatever you
did to the Pokeball last time won�t work twice.�
Jellic shrugged and tossed the Pokeball to him. �Whatever you say.�
The leader caught the Pokeball in his free hand, which was insulated
with a rubber glove. With a scream of pain, he threw the ball to the
ground. The unconscious Mewthree remained in its Pokeball, which Jellic
scooped up and replaced in his belt.
�What sort of trickery is this?� shouted the leader, staring in
disbelief at the hole in the glove. Ashley suddenly sprang to life,
kicking the leader in the knee and running toward Jellic as soon as the
leader released his grip. The Enforcers all grabbed at their Pokebelts,
calling out hundreds of Psychic Pokemon.
�Electabuzz, Light Screen!� shouted Vesper. The powerful barrier
filled the air between the Enforcers and their quarry. �The screen will
halt their Psychic attacks for a while,� explained Vesper. Jellic
reached down to help her up, but she adamantly shook her head. �I won�t
be able to move with my arm in this condition. You have to get Ashley
out of here!�
�Where can we go?� asked Jellic.
�I came back here to tell you that I saw Droll Vordekar while I was
checking out the rest of the building. He went around back and ducked
into some kind of secret passageway. It�s probably not a good idea to
take Ashley there with you, but it will be safer than staying here. At
least you can hide from the Enforcers there.�
�I�m not going to leave you here,� insisted Jellic.
�Broken arm or no, I�m still a Gym Leader. I can take care of
myself.� The Light Screen flickered as the Enforcers sent their Pokemon
forward, physically pushing through the barrier. �If you don�t get out
of here, we�re all finished! I�ll cover you! Just go!� Jellic and Ashley
sought shelter in the ruins of the lab as Psychic power began to build
up in the surrounding air. Looking over his shoulder, Jellic caught a
brief glimpse of a Machamp tossing an Alakazam through the barrier;
Vesper�s Pokemon would fight to the end to keep the Psychic types from
crossing the screen, keeping their disadvantage at a minimum.
Jellic threw aside a mangled pile of metal and plaster to reveal a
Rejuvenator. �At least something survived the destruction,� he said as
he slid his belt into the machine.
�It will take too long to heal your Pokemon!� warned Ashley.
�Not in this baby,� replied Jellic, refastening the Pokebelt around
his waist. �I saw this new Instant Rejuvenator while Vesper and I were
exploring the building. Your Pokemon are healed in no time at all.�
�If it works so well, why don�t they use these in the Pokemon
Centers?�
�Because Droll Vordekar is the Dark Lord Elvor. He�s not creating
useful things for other trainers; he�s creating the technology that will
allow him to take over the world.�
Ashley�s eyes grew wide, and her knees buckled. �Vordekar is...
ELVOR?�
Jellic handed her the sheet of paper on which he�d written the
names. �See for yourself.� Ashley shook her head to decline the offer
and grabbed the Rejuvenator to pull herself to her feet. Jellic grabbed
her arm and supported her.
�Are we going to fight him now?� she asked. Jellic nodded and
sullenly led the way through the crumbled corridors. Pokemon of all
types and sizes scattered as they pushed the wreckage out of their way,
proceeding slowly toward the place where Vesper had last spotted
Vordekar. �How do you know where we�re going?� asked Ashley.
�I can feel his presence,� answered Jellic, stopping in front of an
exterior wall. He pushed on one of the stones, which moved under his
hand. A trapdoor in the ground swung open, revealing a staircase that
descended sharply into the darkness. �I�ve tracked Elvor to his hideout
hundreds of times, and after a while, I�ve developed a knack for finding
him.�
�You and Elvor must go way back.�
�I�d only recently become a hero when I met Elvor for the first
time,� said Jellic, leading the way down the staircase. �He�s not the
first evil being to master interdimensional travel, and he�s hardly the
most dangerous of those who have, but...� He quickly ducked as an arrow
split the air where his head had been. �He�s very cunning,� Jellic
finished. �He�s a master at laying traps.�
�I don�t want to be here, Jellic!� whispered Ashley, afraid that the
very sound of her voice would set off a nearby trap.
�It�s too late now,� replied Jellic. �If you go back, the Enforcers
will get you. At least here, you�ll be �� � he hesitated, afraid to use
the word �safe� � �with me. I�ve gotten much better at spotting Elvor�s
traps over the years.� He pointed to the step in front of him. �Don�t
touch this step. It�s the activator for another trap.� He stepped over
the trigger and continued downward.
�Well, at least you seem to know where the traps are. As long as you
can steer us around them, we�ll be fine, right?� Jellic reached back and
shoved Ashley against the wall, knocking the breath out of her. Before
she could protest, an axe suspended from the ceiling swung through the
center of the hallway, barely missing Jellic as he pressed himself
against the wall next to her. They carefully edged their way along the
wall until they had passed the range of the axe.
�I almost didn�t catch that one in time,� said Jellic, once he had
caught his breath.
�Jellic, there�s a cut on your arm.� Ashley bent down to inspect
Jellic�s forearm, which had apparently not entirely escaped the axe.
�It�s nothing,� was Jellic�s verdict after a brief self-examination.
�I�ve survived worse.�
�But you�re bleeding bad! It�ll get infected if you don�t cover it!�
�I wasn�t aware there were pathogens in this dimension.� Jellic
stopped on the bottom step of the staircase and made a giant leap over
the floor beyond. Ashley followed suit, but landed short. As the floor
gave way beneath her, Jellic grabbed her arm and hauled her up to safe
ground. The floor, however, continued to collapse, forcing both of them
to run as the stones behind them dropped out of sight into the infinite
darkness below.
�Down!� shouted Jellic, and both he and Ashley fell to their
stomachs as a wall of blades sliced the upper half of the hallway. They
quickly crawled beneath the knives and resumed their run, mere feet
ahead of the collapsing floor. Jellic leaped over a tripwire, and Ashley
barely cleared it as she began to lag behind, tired from the exertion
after only a partial recovery from her prior injuries.
�Jellic, I can�t make it,� she panted.
�Yes you can!� Jellic grabbed her arm and pulled her along behind
him. For a few seconds, he was the only thing holding her up as the
floor fell away beneath her, and then they were on solid ground once
again.
�That was TOO close...� Ashley�s sigh of relief was cut off as she
looked up to see eight large Cyborg Pokemon lining the walls. �What type
of Pokemon are those?� Jellic aimed his Pokedex at the nearest one.
�Smasher, the evolved form of Bruiser. Smasher is slower than
Bruiser, but its increased power more than makes up for the loss of
mobility. Quicker Pokemon easily tire themselves out trying to dent
Smasher�s tough armor.�
�I�ve seen Cyborg Pokemon in action before,� said Jellic. �In fact,
I have one. They�re tough, but weak against Water.�
�That�s not a problem for Smasher,� announced the voice of Elvor
from an unseen source. �Smashers, attack!� Suddenly, the Smashers began
to emit the dull hum of circuitry in action, as their processors started
up. As a unit, they moved forward to confront the intruders.
�Go Blastoise!� shouted Ashley, tossing out the only Water Pokemon
the two trainers had between them. �Water Gun!� The pressure of the
water blast threw the Smashers against the walls of the room, but it was
the moisture that was taking its toll on the machines.
�Use Auto-Repair when you have to!� commanded Elvor. With a grind of
machinery, the drenched Smashers continued their advance. Tiny exterior
fans began to dry the beads of water off of their metal bodies before
they could rust.
�Don�t give up, Blastoise! We can beat them!� Ashley turned to
Jellic. �Don�t you have any Pokemon that would help here?�
Jellic shook his head. �Psychic attacks won�t work, and physical
attacks are next to useless. None of my Pokemon know anything else.� One
of the Smashers got close enough to slam Ashley�s Blastoise on the back
with its massive arm. It got a Water Gun full in the face for its
troubles. �You could always try your Vulpix,� Jellic suggested. �Its
fire attacks would be pretty effective.�
�But fire won�t keep them away like the water will,� Ashley pointed
out. �It takes a high-pressured attack to force them back.� One of the
Smashers managed to catch the stream of water from the wrong angle and
was sent flying into the floorless hallway through which Ashley and
Jellic had come. It plummeted into the endless blackness without making
a sound.
�That might work! Try to knock them all into the pit!� shouted
Jellic. The Blastoise lumbered around to get a good angle to blast the
remaining seven Smashers.
�Smashers, Hyper Conversion to Electric mode!� countered the
disembodied voice of Elvor. Small panels in the shoulders of each
Smasher opened to reveal miniature electrodes crackling with
electricity. As the Blastoise knocked a second Smasher into the pit, the
remaining robots unleashed a simultaneous Thundershock attack that made
Jellic�s hair stand on end. When the last sparks had faded, the
Blastoise looked slightly cooked, but it was still conscious.
�We can�t keep this up for long!� warned Jellic. �We have to get out
of here!�
Ashley nodded and recalled her Blastoise. �The next hallway is too
narrow for them all to follow us. They�ll have to come at us one at a
time!� She dove between two of the cyborgs and made a beeline for the
hallway beyond.
�Ashley, be careful!� shouted Jellic. �That hallway might be ��
Jellic didn�t even have time to get out the word �trapped� before the
ceiling of the corridor came crashing down to meet the floor,
instantaneously crushing Ashley�s helpless body out of existence.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, it is quite an evil place to end the chapter, isn't it? Now...
don't force me to hold the rest of the story for ransom! Let me know
what you think, or even just let me know that you've read it!
MOM: I'm getting rid of this TV before the mindless garbage rots your
brain!
JOHNNY: Mindless garbage not rot brain!
(SHAMPOO: Mindless Johnny not got brain to rot!)
"There's a billion places like home. But only one of them's where you
live." - Granny Weatherwax, "Witches Abroad" by Terry Pratchett
JACKIE CHAN: Oh, sorry. I broke your spy camera! (pause) SPY CAMERA?!
My webpage: http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~katinamp