Act II: Heatran's Harold

"I knew we couldn't trust Stricker!" Harold was furious with the woman. There was no holding back.

The woman released a Noivern.

"Rock Blast!"

The Cincinno shot several boulders from the ground.

Harold's opponent seemed flabbergasted at his Cincinno's speed, and the Noivern collapsed under the barrage.

"My Cincinno is pure-bred," he rubbed behind her ear, fixing the Pokemon's tiara. "You'll never take her down."

"Go Blastoise!" she threw her second Pokemon out.

"Bullet Seed," Harold waved lazily.

The Cincinno obeyed, blasting green seeds from her mouth. The Blastoisse endured several hits, before succumbing.

"I'm growing rather tired of this," Harold patted his handkerchief his his bald forehead. Lava was becoming an issue.

Finally, his opponent unleashed a Drifblim. The mountain shook as Heatran roared. The floor was becoming lava!

"Cincinno! Finish it with Rock Blast!" Harold shouted as he moved to less heated ground.

The Cincinno nodded in obedience, rushing forward and blasting the Ghost-type Pokemon down with a few hits.

"I'm afraid it's your turn, my dear," Harold glared at Roxy, noticing a glowing pool of lava forming behind the trainer. "Cincinno, Bullet Seed that traitor!"

Roxy's arms went limp upon her defeat. She didn't say a word, didn't move as Harold commanded his Pokemon to attack her. Cincinno let loose a barrage of seeds with enough force to stagger the largest of people.

...
......
.........

...

The Bullet Seed, despite being on point, missed. Roxy wasn't there anymore. 

ROXY HAS EXITED THE THREAD

Looks like another successful legendary hunt for Alexander. 

But did he capture the Heatran? 

An amazing Destiny Bond tactic scores him +2 on his capture roll...

If Alexander scores a 10 or higher, he's captured Heatran.

If Alexander scores a 9 or lower... Well, Heatran may not be so happy.

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Heatran is exhausted, and angry.

+4 to its capture.

The ball shakes.

If Alexander scores a 10 or higher, he's captured Heatran.

If Alexander scores a 9 or lower...

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X leaped out of the way of the incoming Fire Blast as it split the air between him and Alexander.

“Alright Creep” He called as he took a pokeball from his belt. “Let's tag team this.”

X's legs trembled. He tumbled backwards and when he rose from his roll he was closed in against the near side of the chamber by a wall of narrow, pointed stones that now stood between him and the rest of the chamber.

“Smart bastard!” X swore at the Heatran somewhere beyond his prison. He needed to get back in the fight. He sized up what looked to be the least treacherous climb to make his escape. He crouched, breathed, then released, and kicked his way up between two adjacent pillars before he gave one last horizontal push and arched his body over the pointed stone teeth that threatened to shred him.

On the other side, Alexander's Gengar was being enveloped in a sea of magma, while Roxy stood defenseless, looking lifeless between Harold's Cinccino and the building pool of lava behind her.

“Roxy!” X called as he ran. He was too far away. He wasn't going to make it. The chamber filled with the sinister cackle of a Gengar and X glanced to see Heatran fall. At least one problem had been dealt with. But when X looked back Roxy was gone.

“You... Killed her.”

Anger and fear welled up inside him. Anger came with Harold's actions and Roxy's demise. Fear came with X's sense of the situation. He would surely be Harold's next target and would now face him alone. He was locked in a cage with a monster and the only way out was to defeat it. If he could do that, though, it occurred to him that he would also be preventing Harold from obtaining Heatran. Those were two birds he would gladly throw a stone at. Anger and fear mixed to produce adrenaline and X took a pokeball in hand. It seemed he was going to end the day with the same job he had at the beginning.

“Fight me you son of a bitch.”

X is challenging Harold to a singles battle, 6v6!

“I'm going to enjoy teaching you some humility.” Harold continued. “Cinccino, deal with him.”



Cinccino, who was still out of its pokeball, moved between the two trainers. Had this been the pokemon responsible for not only Roxy's death, but her defeat? X decided to neutralize it right away, and called out his Klefki.



“Jingles! Shut it down!”



Cinccino dashed forward and Jingles pulsed electricity. The rodent broke straight through the oncoming field of electricity and battered its target in a storm of blows. The Klefki was hardly phased, however. It moved to put distance between its aggressor, and the Cinccino winced at its spasming muscles as it turned to give pursuit.



“Impressive. Did you learn that in Trainer's School?” Harold seemed indifferent at what had been done to his Cinccino. “Alright.” He withdrew his pokemon and in its place he released a Pyroar. X knew his Klefki's limitations, so he himself switched to his Jellicent to thwart the Fire-Type, confident that it could take the heat. Instead of flames, however, Plasm's entrance to the battle was greeted by an intense light. The basalt passageways that had been dimly lit by the warm glow of smoldering magma were now illuminated by the Pyroar's Sunny Day.



“Solar Beam!” Harold commanded. His Pyroar briefly charged energy. X again swapped Plasm and Jingles. The beam of concentrated light that had been meant for his Jellicent instead bore down on the Klefki.



“Sorry buddy!” Jingles shook off the blow, then inflicted another pulse of electricity upon the Pyroar. The lion retaliated with a stream of flame, burning the Klefki to the ground. X solemnly returned Jingles to his pokeball and hoped he wouldn't need him again.



“Alright, Plasm! Now you can take it down!” X recalled his Jellicent. “Douse him!”



The Jellicent sprayed the Fire-Type down with a stream of hot water. Pyroar reeled, howling in pain, then regained its stance and, through the rising steam, turned a violent glare on Plasm. Harold smirked victoriously. Pyroar began to charge.



“Ah shit.” It released its concentrated beam of light to lance into Plasm. The Jellicent whined in distress.



“Hunker down!” X called to his pokemon. Plasm obeyed and put all her focus into regenerating herself. Meanwhile the Pyroar continued its attack, converting light directly into one continuous beam and burning the Jellicent away. Plasm weathered Pyroar's attack as though she were under a magnifying glass, reconstituting nearly as much as she suffered. But she was slowly losing ground.



“Come on Plasm! You can make it! Just a little longer!” X encouraged. All the while, Pyroar, a conduit of power, proudly stalked closer to his victim as his master looked on. Plasm would not last.



The room dimmed to the warm glow given off by magma and the Pyroar's beam of light fizzled. Plasm inflated, its regeneration finally overcoming its pain. Shadows fell on X's face and he grinned triumphant.



“Finish him.”



The Jellicent felled the beast with another geyser of hot water.



“You insolent!” Harold started before he calmed himself. “Fine. Cinccino will finish the job.” He declared as he brought back his opening pokemon.



“No.” X replied. “It won't.” He returned Plasm and called out his Espeon. “Prism! Take it down!”



The Cinccino lurched towards the Espeon, but was stopped short by a powerful blast of invisible force and collapsed at Prism's feet.



“What a powerful Espeon. I wonder what it could do in the hands of a truly skilled trainer?” Harold said in condescending tone. The next pokemon he brought out was momentarily a shapeless blob of pink clay before the Ditto formed up to become Prism. “Shadow Ball!”



The Ditto turned to give its owner a quizzical look. Harold blinked in surprise.



“Any good Espeon should have Shadow Ball! You are so disappointing.”

“You'll be even more disappointed by the time we're done. Psychic!”



Prism lashed out at the Ditto with her mind, but her target evaded her and returned the blow, sending her sprawling. X brought forth his Bannette, activating its keystone as he did. The mega evolution released Creep's full power, and along with it, the creature inside the puppet.


“It's not Prism! Bring it down!”



Creep focused on the impostor as it focused an attack on him. The Bannette reeled and dropped to a knee, then uttered a rattling cackle before collapsing. As it did, so too did the Ditto deform into putty once more. X returned Creep and felt at the three remaining pokeballs on his belt.



“We're even.” He declared

“No,” Harold sneered. "We're not."



X released his Gengar to combat whatever the Normal-Type Elite Four would muster next. Harold pitted a Noctowl against it.



“Put it down Haze!”



X's Gengar threw its arms forward and enveloped the Noctowl in a hypnotic force that took on the appearance of distorted air. Noctowl lashed back with a sharp, focused blast of air, sending haze sprawling through the air.



“What the hell was that?” X pleaded.

“Trying to hypnotize a Noctowl? You must be awfully inexperienced.” Harold chided.

“Aw, damn it!” X exclaimed, returning Haze in favor of his Jellicent. “Plasm! Let's wear it down!”

“I think not.”



Harold withdrew his Noctowl to replace it with an Ursaring, which was immediately dowsed in a jet of scalding water that Plasm had built up for Noctowl. Ursaring stood soaked and steaming, looking unamused. In nearly an instant, though, it dried and the water was quickly replaced with flames originating from an orb encapsulated on the pokemon's collar. An expression of rage gripped its face and the burning bear charged Plasm.



“Holy shit Smokey! This is not how you prevent forest fires!”



Ursaring grabbed hold of the Jellicent and began thrashing it about, hammering on it, slamming it on the ground and inflicting various other methods of harm upon it. All the while the jelly fish stung its assailant mercilessly and spewed water in its face. The Ursaring was eventually forced to let go and Plasm tried to shuffle away from it while it collected itself. The Ursaring came back around and took a swing at Plasm, but Plasm's attacks coupled with the duress the pokemon was under from the flames had taken their toll, and it only swung through air before dropping to the ground. Free of pursuit, Plasm fell to the ground as well. She'd had enough.



“Still even.” X antagonized

“Your delusions are starting to wear on me,” Harold was not amused.



Harold returned his Noctowl to the battlefield and X brought out his Chandelure.



“Flicker! Burn it down!”



The Chandelure blew a stream of flames on the Noctowl, who descended to the ground and shielded itself under its wings to weather through the attack. Flicker pressed the attack, continuing to rain fire down on its foe. The stone around the hunkered bird began to glow red under the heat, but the Noctowl remained solid. They stayed like this for some time, Flicker pouring fire upon Noctowl and Noctowl remaining unmovable.



"You won't break my Noctowl!" Harold declared proudly. "But please, keep trying."

"Keep it up Flicker!" You can win!"


X was then reminded of the situation just moments before in which Harold's Pyroar pressed its attack on Plasm, and Plasm eventually overcame its aggressor. It became obvious to X that this exchange wasn't going anywhere. It was time for a change in strategy.



“Hold up! Focus yourself and wait for it!” X coached.



The Chandelure yielded its attack and hung motionless in the air, summoning its concentration. After the fire had dissipated and Noctowl had fully recovered it peaked from under its wings.



“Now!” Both trainers commanded similtaneously. Noctowl lashed out with a blast of air and Flicker loosed a jet of flame. The fire blew through the wave of air, which dissipated lightly off its target, and overtook the Noctowl, who fell limply to the ground.



“You're right. We're not even.” X said with a smirk.

“YOU DAMN PUNK!” Harold's forehead burned red. "Go, KANGASKHAN!"



Harold threw his last pokeball, bringing out his famous Kangashan. The pokemon came charging out of its ball in full fury, quickly delivering a jab that dazed the Chandelure before following up with a punch that sent the pokemon careening. Flicker caught herself in the air, regained her focus and belched fire over Kangaskhan, which was lost in the flame. When the it cleared, Kangaskhan was lying motionless.



Harold returned his pokemon to its ball in a moment of stunned silence. X walked menacingly up to him as he retrieved Flicker.



“It seems I underestimated you," Harold was sweating, and not from the magma in the room. "You know, I can offer a man of your talents a great deal of wealth and priv-”



Harold's sentence was cut short when X gave him a strong punch to the gut. The Elite Four held up his arms to block the next incoming blow, but it was obvious he was no fighter in his own right. X grabbed his shoulders and struck a swift knee into his ribcage, putting the man down. X then sat over Harold, knees pinning his arms, and proceeded to pummel his face.



“You! Killed! Her! YOU! KILLED! HER!”

All Guy did was blink and Roxy vanished. The Professor panicked, rushing to where she was standing moments before. He gazed into the lava pool, looking for any trace of her. One of the people present fought the legendary Heatran while the other engaged Roxy's killer. He watched X and Harold go at it, growing increasingly angry that he couldn't do anything to avenge her. One Pokemon after another fell on each side, a fight the Professor would surely have been into if the situation was different.

"SHE! IS! NOT! DEAD!"

Guy focused on Harold. 

"She disappeared. Something Teleported her away." Harold explained. "People don't just sink into lava, you idiot! It's too dense."


He stood up, and walked toward Harold, grabbing him by the collar. "Better tell me what you know before you go in the lava... or it is magma? Because it's still technically underground." His sense of humor returned as well.