Chapter 61.1- Oak

Lance's Pokémon fought like monsters. That was the first thing I noticed as Drakloak was almost trampled by Charizard while it fought off the aggressive Igneel. None of my team would have been so uncaring. The ghost dragon had no difficulties escaping the situation, though, and headed right back for Ino and Kenpachi. Ino remained still, drawing it in and teleporting away at the last possible second. Instead, it found itself meeting a barrage of shadow balls that Kenpachi had fired like bullets from a Gatling gun. It took the ghost-type attacks head-on and was sent reeling from the impact.

Ino slashed her spoon through the air, and a bolt of rainbow-colored light slammed right into the would-be pseudo-legendary. At this point, I was sure Lance was torturing his Pokémon for no reason. It showed none of the signs that were common among all species when evolution was near. It didn't even hint at what Lance thought it would be capable of. Of course, I wasn't surprised by that. Even if Lance had captured it the moment Mewtwo announced the tournament, he would have had it for less than four months. I suspected he had it for even less time. If he understood aura, then maybe I would have given him good odds, but he didn't.

Drakloak took Ino's dazzling gleam to the head and was sent spinning again. Yet, it came back, persistent. If I had to describe it, that would be the word I'd use. Having let the ghost Pokémon capture my attention for too long, I turned to the fight against Dragonite. It was still standing, but the truth was that it stood no chance in the battle it found itself in, against four of my Pokémon. I stretched out my aura and deepened my connection with the rest of them while casting my mind into the ether, searching for Sabrina's. Drakloak would not be evolving today; it was impossible, so I had to plan my escape.

Snorlax, who had previously been sending wild punches at its opponent, suddenly stepped back, allowing its adversary to nearly overextend itself. Broly had been briefed and was waiting for the opportunity. A stone axe cloaked in a steel-type aura clashed against Dragonite's extended arm with bone-crushing force. It grunted in pain and was suddenly sent reeling as seven ice beams crashed against it in quick succession.

Gai appeared in front of it, his body glowing with the energy of dragon dance, and began to unload whatever frustrations he might have felt with the day on the Pokémon in front of him. Punch after punch landed in quick succession, and when he was done, Kisame's ice beams continued to land as I used an otherworldly awareness of each of my Pokémon to aim the attacks perfectly at the gaps Gai left to give her the space to land her attacks.

Occupied as it was, the Dragonite could do little as Snorlax weaved around its form to attack it from behind. Caught between a rock and a hard place, it could do little as it was quickly overwhelmed. Broly remained by my side as I came up with a strategy for escape. Once the Dragonite fell, I turned to the laughing Lance and noticed him holding a Pokéball in his hand, about to release it but unable to do so. I smiled at Ino, who had teleported away from her battle with Drakloak to trap Lance in her psychic wiles. This was neither an official nor a friendly battle. Why should I bother obeying the codes of honor when both my Pokémon and our lives were on the line? And don't get me wrong, if Lance had released that Dragonite, someone would have died. Noticing the state of its trainer, Charizard let out a roar and slammed Igneel away with a fiery backhand before diving this way.

I had no idea what it hoped to achieve against my entire team. An icy wind from Kisame slowed down its flight towards us, and Snorlax bent its legs before jumping straight into the air and slamming into Charizard. It wrestled it to the ground, and with Gai’s help, was able to hold it off from approaching its trainer until Igneel was able to slam into it from behind and fly right into the clouds with the dragon clutched between his hands. I watched in pride as they flew higher and higher until Igneel suddenly erupted in flames.

The explosion cranked up to the max, taking advantage of the flame resistance Igneel had racked up after using the move so many times over the last few months. The light in the sky erupted so brightly that I was forced to cover my eyes, lest I actually go blind. Even a Charizard would be hard-pressed to take that one head-on without suffering some serious damage. I watched with pride as Igneel remained in the air after the explosion, and Charizard was sent falling to the ground. That was the move we’d been preparing by having Igneel remain in the sky for so long. It was supposed to be used in case any of the ACE trainers had a Pokémon that proved to be difficult to deal with. When Lance came in, I’d decided to save it for Dragonite. Using it on Charizard like that might have been a bit of overkill, but we needed to leave, and leave quickly. Broly returned to my side, and I smiled as I felt the barrier that had covered us begin to fall. His mission had been simple. Use extreme speed to scout the area and take out the Dark-type Pokémon that had been keeping up the blackout field. Now that everything was done, it was time to leave.

Of course, with that statement in my head, I’d managed to jinx the entire thing. I’d taken my eyes away from Drakloak, and when I returned them, I was surprised to find that it had been able to worm through Kenpachi’s guard and was heading straight for Lance. A thought to Broly had my starter outrunning the Pokémon and slamming it into the ground with a slash from one of his stone axes. I smiled as the Drakloak refused to be cowed and dove for Lance once again, only for Kisame to snipe it away with an ice beam. Lance attempted to struggle against Ino’s hold, but it was fruitless. Even Sabrina probably wouldn’t have been able to escape. Months of training with Alakazam meant I gave Ino good odds at being one of the top four Psychic Pokémon in the world, only behind Mewtwo, and the two monster Alakazams partnered with Oak and Sabrina, respectively. ‘I’m stronger than that geezer,’ Alakazam said in my mind, piggybacking off the connection I shared with his trainer, and I just nodded while mentally chuckling. I guess my vocabulary was infectious.

Drakloak tried to get up again, but Tsunade was in its way, shaking her head. Wait. Tsunade? I turned to my side and found Magnezone also staring at me in confusion. I almost found myself ordering her back to my side, but I was forced to remember that she was a fully evolved adult member of the team as she sent Drakloak flying with a single punch that created an audible shockwave. I nearly pinched myself for forgetting the monstrous strength her species was blessed with, and I silently decided to spend much more time training with her when we made it out of this.

Drakloak came flying back, but she cupped her hands and fired a Moonblast at him, which he jumped right over. He weaved through her attempts to stop him but was sent flying as he was suddenly punched in the side. Gai only looked at the younger Pokémon and shook his head while saying something in the language all Pokémon seemed to understand. From my impressions, it was clear the words he’d used were 'stand down' or something along those lines.

Like every Ghost-type ever, Drakloak did not listen to orders. It came again, and this time was blasted by a bolt of lightning from Magnezone. When I turned to him, I found my Pokémon shrugging at me as if to say, 'why not?'. Of course, he then proceeded to fly off to do something or another. I would have been more concerned if he wasn't heading straight for the gym. Sabrina was his favorite person in the world, and I trusted her to look after him while I was on the run. I wasn't sure he understood exactly what was happening, but I trusted him to figure it out in time. The Viridian City Gym would be the safest place for him in the meantime. Besides, with my carry limit, I couldn't have taken him with me anyway. Even fugitives of the law were bound by pesky things like carry limits. I turned back to Drakloak and found it being tossed back by Kenpachi. It was relentless, but even it was beginning to slow.

Persistent as it was, it was beginning to tire. It was beginning to flag as time went on. Besides, it was also acting as some sort of stress relief for the team. We'd be in hiding for the foreseeable future, so I allowed them to vent. It moved for Lance again, and Igneel blasted it back with a Flamethrower. It went right back, but with a hand on its tail, Snorlax tossed it right back. It was pitiful and a bit sad.

Of course, all those assessments disappeared as I got the strangest feeling that something was about to go wrong. It ran for Lance again, and Kenpachi seemed to take a deep breath before blasting it with a beam of Ghost-type energy. As it approached again, a Moonblast from Tsunade sent it reeling. When it came again, I shouted for my Pokémon to stop, but Kisame was the last to get the message and blasted it with an Ice Beam. This time, it flew back and landed on the floor, unmoving. It was still, for the first time in the fight, completely unmoving. Lance thrashed against the hold he was in, as I felt the anguish overtake and overcome him. His Pokémon was dead, but even with that, the feeling that something had gone fundamentally wrong refused to dissipate.

I stared at the body as my Pokémon let down their guards, and that was the only reason I saw it begin to harden and turn to stone. What was going on? I asked myself as I began to step closer to get a better look. Of course, that was the moment that the stone shell began to crack. I watched, gobsmacked, as more and more cracks began to appear on its body. When the cracks covered the entire shell, it exploded outward, and the Pokémon that flew out was completely different.

Its head had become more triangular, shaped like a wing, almost. Its body remained short, but now its tail was much longer and ethereal. It could fly too, did I mention that part? It floated in the sky, staring at me with visible malice, and I resisted the urge to step back as I gulped audibly. Its coloring had also changed. Most of its body was navy with a few visible yellow and pink areas, like its underbelly, which was yellow, and its claws, which were pink. It also had pink arrow shapes running through the aforementioned underbelly. Its smile had also changed, along with its presence. It was nearly overwhelming. A pseudo-legendary Ghost-type Pokémon was something else; it leaked malice from every pore. It was almost tangible in the air around us. It seemed to take a look around the clearing before deciding on a course of action.

It dove right at me, but Kenpachi somehow appeared between us in time. This time, when they crashed into each other, Kenpachi was no longer the one with the clear advantage. They wrestled with each other.

A/N: First bit of the new chapter. Let’s go, I guess.