Chapter 57.1- Oak

XXXXX- UNKNOWN

The entire thing had been insane. I couldn't even believe what was happening right before my eyes. I had released Hypno from his ball to make sure I wasn't stuck in some sort of illusion. First of all, Donnell Oak had lost control of his Pokemon, which had viciously maimed another competitor's Pokemon, and then Agatha had appeared out of nowhere like a vengeful spirit.

The crazy old coot had gone toe-to-toe with an actual Pokemon, and she hadn't just survived. She had won. She actually won. She beat Donnell Oak's Ghost-type and killed it. I didn't even know you could kill ghosts. As if that wasn't insane enough, she had then gone on to lay into Oak with the ass-whooping of the century. It was comedic and terrifying at the same time. Something about watching the old woman fight was tickling me the wrong way. She was too strong, too fast, and much too agile. I had a grandmother who had to be around her age, and there was no way Nanny Jill would be able to do any of that stuff. Any of the stuff we had seen Agatha pull off in this contest, really. I mean, I didn't actually know how old Agatha was, but she had to be in her seventies, at the very youngest, right?

I wouldn't believe her to be any younger, and this kind of fuckery at seventy should be impossible. Should be. Hmph. The more I watched elite trainers mess around, the more certain I became that they were all certifiably insane and most definitely inhuman. Now, the latest bit of insanity was the fucking shadow that ripped itself out of the ground before heading for Agatha with outstretched hands. It looked like a fucking angel of death or something. The woman noticed the attack, somehow, and abandoned her slow approach of the prone Oak to dodge out of the way. Her attempt failed, as it just stretched its hands, catching her in its grip and making her suddenly scream in pain as a black light flashed from it.

Fuck. Was I actually going to see an elite die before my eyes? The answer to that question seemed to be leaning towards the affirmative as Agatha's screams got even louder. I gulped audibly as her jaw looked to unhinge itself to give her more room to scream. And then, something ridiculous happened. A black cloud began to force itself out of her mouth. It looked grotesque and misshapen as it finally made its way out. The strange shadow Pokemon took a look at the cloud before stretching its hand and touching it. The entire thing imploded into itself in a flash of dark light. Huh, dark light. Well, that's an oxymoron.

The shadow Pokemon suddenly set its sights on Donnell Oak, ignoring Agatha as she slumped to the floor. I was actually beginning to feel bad for the guy. First Agatha, and now this fucking Grim Reaper thing. If there was ever anything that could discourage me from working to become an elite trainer myself, it was watching Donnell Oak's journey through the forest. Ma was right. More trouble than it was worth. I'd settle for a simple life with Jane down in the city. Much less stressful than all of this, I would say.

I watched Giovanni, my scowl deepening by the second. The man had been fighting everyone in the forest with his Rhyperior at his side and seemed unlikely to be stopped. Virtually everyone and their mother's cousin had sought him out, and virtually everyone and their mother's cousin had been sent packing to lick their wounds. It would have been impressive if it were anyone else. I had come here wanting to try my hand against him, but after watching him destroy Pokemon much stronger than mine, I was content to wait for someone with a true shot to approach him.

I mean, both Bruno and Agatha were here, along with that Donnell Oak kid. I had heard whispers that it was his Pokemon that created this forest, so he had to be packing some serious firepower. Hopefully, enough to deal with Giovanni. I didn't think I'd ever be able to forgive the League for just letting him get away with everything he did simply because he was a powerful trainer.

I had taken the people on Pokedit who first said it for fools, but now I was beginning to come to terms with the truth of the matter. We lived in a military dictatorship where might makes right. Giovanni had directly and indirectly killed thousands of people. He was the leader of the largest terrorist organization in our nation's history. He created Mewtwo, the greatest threat to our existence as a species since legendaries roamed the planet. He had done all that and still managed to get away with it because Kanto needed all the strong trainers it could get.

He was being pardoned for his role in ruining our society simply because he was a strong trainer, and it disgusted me. I watched his Rhyperior bait in his opponent's Blastoise by feigning damage from its Hydro Pump. It was a good actor, just like its master. I would have fallen for it if I hadn't seen it use the exact same trick against a dozen other Pokemon. When the Blastoise made the mistake of wandering too close, Rhyperior capitalised.

It shed its pretense of being harmed by the attack and pounced right on the attacking water type. The creature’s scream, as a single drill hand smashed into its chest, was grating to my ears. It moved backward, ceding ground to the attacking rock type. And there, it made its third mistake of the battle. The first had been agreeing to fight the monster at all. The second was believing it could ever be harmed by an attack like its Hydro Pump. The third was letting it take a meter of space. Fucking insatiable, it was. If you gave that thing an inch, it would take a mile very comfortably. I’d seen it happen in real-time to so many challengers; it was beginning to turn into a routine.

I could practically imagine the fight in my mind's eye without even looking at it. Left punch, right hook, uppercut, body shot, swerve out of the line of sight, and move in with a trio of left-handed jabs. I predicted every move before it happened. It wasn’t even bothering to try to hide what it wanted to do next. It was only a matter of time before the Blastoise was thoroughly overwhelmed, and what little defense it relied on crumbled like stones in an Onix's mouth. It slumped to the ground, knocked out, and the challenger didn’t even bother with words as he returned his Pokemon to its ball and fled the presence of the rogue gym leader turned terrorist turned pardoned criminal.

I sighed to myself. I hadn’t had high hopes, but some part of me had dared to dream. “Giovanni!” I heard a voice boom through the forest and was shocked to look up and see Bruno himself leaping from tree to tree like a monkey as he ran towards the Rocket leader. Yes. Finally.

A/N; First half of the new chapter.