Chapter 66 - Escalation

--------------

Pulling up my phone I browse the Battle Tower homepage to find the pro-view streams, Naomi's is right at the top. Interestingly, the cameras are bȧrėly affected by the fog, I can see an over the shoulder camera angle from Naomi's battle platform. Also interesting is the live chat section blowing up about both her shiny Mienfoo and the double terrain.

I can hear Llina across the way, "Blow it away and charge!"

An echoing howl fills the mangrove battlefield as I spot the pink bulldog jumping across the roots while blasting apart the mist with his voice.

I can hear Naomi and the howling from both the stream and ten feet in front of me, "That'll get annoying fast."

Putting away my phone I watch both Granbull and the Azumaril riding a wave reach the island of roots where Froosh was meditating.

Naomi shouts, "Let's go, harass and attack!"

A gust of leaves and flower petals knocks Azumarill off balance and back into the water while the lavender ninja weasel smoothly spins underneath the lunging dog. Froosh gracefully uses the spin to power up a palm attack at the passing opponent who lands in a stumble. She has to back off from pursuit as a water gun attack cuts her off.

Llina can bȧrėly be heard through the remaining mist, "Keep up the pressure, find the right angle!"

Azumaril leaps from the pool with a trail of water coating it's tail only to slam into a floating shield in the form of a rotating lotus bloom. The petals scatter and whip around the water fairy to once more send it away.

Granbull howls away the mist again to finally catch Naomi's flower fairy in the open.

Why didn't she hide in the trees?!

Naomi's quick command, "Tearful Look!"

The bulldog actually hesitates to chomp down on the sad little Floette.

Llina cries out, "No! Bite it!"

Ninja weasel to the rescue with a leaping round house that rockets the dog into the water below.

Azumarill blasts out of the water for another attack in the form of a flying head buŧŧ only to again slam into a shield of flower petals.

Naomi's Mienfoo lands just in front of the Granbull climbing back out of the water and adds insult to injury by sweeping the legs and palm thrusting the dog right back in the water.

Both of Llina's pokemon are either out cold or just done with this one sided beat down.

Naomi cheers, "That was great guys!"

The mist starts to clear but the ref hasn't called the match and I don't hear anything from Llina's side.

I glance at my phone to check the stream and see a signal lost screen depicting a crying Porygon.

Not good.

Whispering, "Blue, Tess, stay out of sight for the moment." I release both my pokemon into the closest tree and step towards Naomi.

"That's far enough, tough guy." The purple haired ref steps out from behind another tree.

"Kurt!" Naomi squeals as a five foot purple ghost steps out of her shadow and grabs her by the hair. Gengar, definitely not good.

Walking along the dock I see Llina carefully being guided by a living oil sludge, Alolan Muk.

Need intel and time, "You one of those Ultra nut cases?"

The woman snorts, "Nah, but they'll help us get you foreigners off our islands all the same. Now move towards the stairwell. Little girl, return your tiny pokemon."

Naomi slowly complies and then the ref looks at me.

"I'd rather not," I smirk, "Balls and webs."

Her brow creases, "What?"

"Rapp!" Gengar bȧrėly voices a warning before disappearing in a flash of light along with the Muk as Blue floats away from the woman's shadow carrying her pokeballs.

"No!" Any further protest is muffled as she gets coated in spiderwebs that spark with electrical energy. Like getting a full body taser effect, she drops to the deck.

Llina immediately returns her pokemon from the match and kicks the woman for good measure while Naomi runs over to me.

"Well," I've got two young ladies and a hell of a problem, "We can't stay here,"

I'm interrupted by alarm sirens going off in the building shortly before I hear the stream on my phone flick back on to the network broadcast.

"Good morning Alola and the rest of the world." An older male voice comes over the image of the battle tower exterior.

"For a decade now, this monolith to the league's usurpation of our islands has been a symbol of everything poisoning our culture. They insult our Kahunas, spit on traditions, harbor the children of traitors, and disparage our local trainers. Yes, no finer example can be found than the team from the Wattson family."

I groan, "Ah shit."

Naomi grips my arm while the local girl just whistles in surprise.

Mr. Mystery Villain continues, "Today, we shall free the sacred bird Zapdos from the Wattson family's shackles, and tear down the Battle Tower. A message to the league that we don't need their poisonous gifts."

My phone cuts the stream as I receive an incoming call from Lacy, thank god.

"Kurt?!" She sounds nervous.

"Oh good," Her voice trembles, "I'm with Director Lillie."

I hear another woman's voice, "Give me the phone."

The camera switches on and I see the blonde doctor, "Did you catch that message?"

Nodding, "Yup, I think we need to get to the big yellow gal."

"Exactly," I can hear her typing on something and a mini screen shows up with a map indicating our position on the 14th floor, "We're with Zapra in the hospital wing. Sophacles hasn't been able to take back control of the tower systems remotely. Team Ultra's targets include Miss Wattson, they know she has Zapdos' ball. They're also trying to access the League Database terminal in Guzma's office."

Right, "Where are Jane, Citro, and the other teams."

I hear Citro's voice, "I'm here Kurt, but Jane took off when we saw the real Guzma brought into the broadcast studio by his wife and Ultra Guzma tried to use the Pike Queen as a hostage! That lady caved in his nose before he pulled out a Buzzwole!"

Lillie pushes back the excited lad, "Get here Kurt, Kukui and The Pike will be fine. Reinforcements are arriving every minute."

Okay, "I need options, I don't trust the elevators if we don't have system control, and I expect more grunts from the stairs any moment wondering what happened here." I look at the glass window wall, "How strong are the windows?"

A high pitched whɨnė rings our ears before a floor shaking boom rocks the girls off their feet, every last pane of glass shatters into tiny fragments.

I help up the girls before running over to the edge of the room to see what just hit the building with a sonic boom.

"Oh Fuck!"

Floating in the air in front of the building are two horribly familiar forms. A buff version of Mewtwo is in a standoff with another, smaller Mewtwo, this one in a set of High-Tec black armor.

Looking at my phone, "We're in deep shit."

A blue blaze arrives next to the Armored Mewtwo, Alain riding his black Charizard, "You can't stop this, we'll be taking everything today, and unless you want everyone, including your daughter, to die, you'll step aside."

Gusts of wind blow into the building as a form descends, a rainbow of feathers, "That's not gonna happen."

Ash Ketchem arrives in style astride his Ho-oh.

The armored Mewtwo waves his arm, "Enough," a gravelly male voice, "Continue the plan, we'll keep these two out of the way."

Pulsing spheres of blue light from in the iconic pokemon's hands, "Come, Mewtwo of this world, show me what you've learned beside this perpetual pest."

While the bulky Mewtwo coats his body in blue energy, both Alain and Ash point forward, "Fire Blast!"

Hot air and a sickening pulse hit the building as blue flames meet golden and balls of physic energy are boxed away by similarly coated fists. The battle seems even at the moment as the four dash about the sky.

"Alright, first task is getting to Zapdos, next is backing up our friends," I take Naomi's hand and release Shaks ball while looking at the local girl, "Got a way out of here?"

My ever growing, flying beast, growls at the feeling of sunlight on his skin while Llina pulls a pokeball from her belt, releasing a large Pelipper.

"I'll be fine as long as I can break past those monsters."

I nod while climbing up Shak with Naomi, "Good luck kid, just head opposite of us, they'll probably ignore you."

Naomi clutches my waist, "Are you sure about this Kurt?"

Carefully waiting until the fighting reaches a suitable distance, "Not much of a choice kiddo."

The brute Mewtwo collides with a crystal barrier around the Armored Mewtwo sending them both away towards the beach in the distance while Ash and Alain ascend high into the sky.

Behind us the door to the stairwell opens up to reveal some guy in a ninja outfit with a Bisharp.

"Yippee ki yay!" I heel kick Shak's sides.

He gallops right out the window and dives, Naomi squeals.

We rocket down a dozen floors, straight towards the grassy front lawn.

I jerk up on the harness and lean back at the second floor to pull out of the dive. A heat on my neck hair is all the hint I need to turn it into a barrel roll. Blue flames smash into the building where we just passed.

An ear piercing caw proceeds a pained roar but I'm focused on aiming towards the front of the hospital wing where I spot Kahuna Kiawe and his big fire tortoise fending off a pair of Liepard belonging to a woman in a black beret and combat fatigues.

"Shak," I adjust our flight path, "land on her."

My poor behemoth is already showing sunburns around his ears so he doesn't bother hesitating before we crash land right on top of the battle. One of Shak's wings smashes the woman away while his left claw stomps one cat and his fanged maw chomps down on the second.

Cat yowls are silenced as even Kaiwe grimaces at the brutality of my monster bat. What is a three foot cat to an eight foot nightmare? A snack.

The Kahuna turns away from the blood as we dismount, "There's more fighting inside the lobby, hurry. We've got the remaining grunts held off on the stairs."

I return Shak while keeping ahold of Naomi and run into the shattered front doors of the hospital lobby.

It's open chaos, metal screeches and more glass breaks, shouts echo everywhere. At the stairs leading up into the battle tower, Brock and Misty have their Aerodactyl and Blastoise fending off a flying giant squid commanded by some tubby guy in an orange jumpsuit and a bȧrė ċhėsted dude in nothing but a half mast blue dive suit. His sumo sized frog pokemon, Siesmitoad, tanks Blastoise's hydro pumps while his Greninja does a wall run to slip past the Kanto gym leaders.

I spot Brock's daughter, Crystal, point over a balcony from the third floor, her Sceptille launches itself off the railing to slam down the Greninja just ahead of us.

With a crash, a massive Tyranitar busts through the front of the building, Kiawe's Turtonator barrels into it to stop the wannabe godzilla.

"Kurt! Up Here!" Crystal yells.

Running that way we find among the interior gardens is a whole nother battle covering the halted escalators. Grace and Iris are fending off an older male teen with short purple hair wearing a suit with a red R pinned to the ŀȧpel.

"Come now ladies, we've done this dance dozens of times, you know I always win."

Grace growls out, "Can it Jason! Getting away hardly counts as winning."

The Royals' Mightyena and Glaceon face off against this guy's Alolan Persian and Toxicroak, his strange fiery, giant centipede hungrily eyes Crystal's Breloom.

I reach the base of the stairs, "You're in my way kid."

"The bodyguard arrives," He fixes his cufflinks while looking down at me, "I think it's time you got removed from the board."

A flash of light reveals a five foot bird of sleek metal blades, Skarmory snaps it's steel beak in my direction.

-------------------------