Chapter 130: Interlude - The harmony of water - (3)

Chapter 130: Interlude - The harmony of water - (3)

Surge bounced his leg and stared at the computer. He still hadnt heard anything from the situation in the west, but he was confident in his little buddy. Some of his old pals had informed him that Sabrina was with him, so he was sure to be safe.

Any moment now, he would hear from Brock. His eyes slid to a picture on his mantel of Brock, his platoon of little siblings, and Sabrina, in front of the newly created Pewter City Gym.

He didnt like to think about what might happen otherwise. It reminded him of darker times, hearing that his friends had been sent out to battle only after the fact. Unable to offer advice or see them off.

He scratched at a scar.

His knee continued to bounce with nervous energy. Hurry up and wait; he was used to this, but that didn't mean he had to like it. If his old RSM could see him, hed be running laps like a puke.

Raichu sat on the desk, curled up but with an eye open, watching Surge. Im fine, Raichu! Just keeping warm! Surge said, only for Raichu to continue to watch him. Surge huffed and stood to run his hands over his pokebelt.

Raichu, Jolteon, Electrode, Electabuzz, Magnezone, Ampharos, Lanturn and finally his transport pokemon in his Hypno. Check, all of them were ready and raring to fight. Sadly, he knew that a lot of the pencil pushers wouldnt call him into the Mt Silver kerfuffle.

Theyd take a look at his specialty and go, electric versus rock and ground type? Bad matchup. Keep Surge at home.

Never mind that he had a proven history of surviving against terrible odds. Against pokemon and their trainers with type and numerical advantages. And where were those punks?

They were in the ground.

Surge sat and bounced his knee again, only to stop when his transceiver buzzed. He answered it before he even saw the caller id. Hey bud

Instead of his favourite rock headed buddy, Brocks little brother, Forrest, appeared on the screen. Surge! We need help!

Surge opened his mouth to ask what the problem was, only for Forrest to point his transceiver around and reveal Damn that was a big pokemon. He hadnt seen anything like that before. Not even during the war.

Hed heard some rumours about Cerulean but

Where are you at, little man? Surge said standing and releasing his Hypno. Hed need to get there and do a proper sitrep.

Porta Vista! Forrest spoke quickly, only to gasp. Hey! Ash, whered Misty go?!

Surge whipped out a map and snapped his fingers to have Hypno approach. He stabbed a finger into the map where Porta Vista was. It was within teleporting distance. Easy. Heck, at a days walk from Vermilion, it was also well within his jurisdiction for the local area.

Hypno nodded and put a hand on Surges bicep as Raichu leapt onto his shoulder. A moment later, they reappeared in a different location. Surge glanced around. It was like hed been teleported back in time instead of space.

The buildings were wrecked, and people were screaming as pokemon struggled and fought. There wasnt any smoke or dust in the air due to the damage being caused by a wave, but that would come. Surge knew all about the aftereffects of a broken city from a battle.

From the position theyd teleported onto, they were atop a hill overlooking the town, Surge could see a lot.

He swept his eyes over the area and spotted an Onix that stood out for how it wasnt knocked out despite being what would be shin deep for some people. Forrest must have trained it alright to handle such annoyances, as it wasnt reacting like a puke.

Surge snapped his finger towards a still intact building. A building that was still upright but that was also close enough to the giant Tentacruel that was starting to lash out with powerful water attacks.

Once more, Surge vanished in a teleport. When he reappeared, he moved. Pokemon exploded off his belt and Raichu leapt to the front.

Alright team! Time to bring the thunder! Were gonna pack these fish up with a side of french fries!

His pokemon zapped either Raichu or his Magnezone. Both began building up their charges with their eyes locked on the enemy pokemon. Surge felt the hair all across his body prickle with the buildup of electrical energy.

It took him back to a darker, simpler time.

He was just about to punch forward and unleash the storm when a feeling swept into him, for lack of a better term. He stiffened in surprise and blinked, only to snap his eyes down to where the feeling was coming from.

There was a little girl down there.

Surge stared. Shocked, despite himself, as the girl stood with none of her pokemon to back her up and no one around her.

Her arms were spread like a silly non-com diplomat.

PLEASE! STOP THE FIGHTING! she implored with her shout.

Surge wanted to snort. He wanted to shake his head at the idiot girlie.

But he couldnt, cause her words... Theyd gotten through and actually stopped the fighting.

He gestured to his pokemon to hold instead of attack. His pokemon held, like theyd been trained to. They held and listened with him and half the damn town of Porta Vista to a girl, barely even into her journey, it seemed.

They all watched on as the girl spoke with a monster from the depths, and the monster listened to her.

Surge had never seen or heard of anything like it before. Pokemon respected power, speed, cunning, and intelligence.

This this was something new. Something surreal.

While his trained instincts were telling him to neutralise the threat his other thing, was telling him to wait. He scratched at his chest and sniffed. Maybe he ate something funky?

Still, he held. And so the girlie kept talking with Tentacruel.

A tank tread whine working its way through town had him stop listening to girlie. He quick marched it over to another side of the building to spot an ugly old hag with a bunch of fuckboys marching around in fake army fatigues. Surge disliked her straight away. Then she brought out some machine guns, which he knew were illegal.

Never mind that he might have a stash or six furretted away for a rainy day. Hags like this shouldnt have access to that sort of equipment. Magnezone, Thunderwave on them pukes, I dont want them ruining a good thing.

Magnezone unleashed a powerful paralysis onto the group. Surge grunted in satisfaction when they all collapsed, twitching from the attack.

The hag got shocked a little worse, but if she wanted to ride around in a tank, she could handle a bit of rougher behaviour. Electabuzz, Ampharos, detain those pukes. he ordered before marching back to watch the damn giant Tentacruel leading its swarm of Tentacool back into the ocean while the girl watched on.

Huh, well, look at that; she did it. Surge rubbed his chin and watched the girl turn and receive a standing ovation. He nodded.

Girlie

No. The little Miss, deserved it and more. Hypno, teleport me to that little pier shes standing on. He returned his pokemon but left Raichu out, just in case.

Hypnos teleport was off, and it landed slightly off to the side. Surge returned it before it could fall into the water. The little miss whirled around and then tilted her head back to take him in.

He grinned down at her. Little Miss, Ive seen some crazy things in my time and that just now? Easily top three. He put a hand on her shoulder. I used to think water-type specialists were all weak woo-woo types. Like those sisters of hers, or those street performers, or those people that were basically beach bums!

Damn beach bums, coming into his gym with surprisingly powerful fighting types. Dude had flowers in each hand that were tens easy!

Damn Woo-woo water-type trainers.

The little Miss looked a bit off balance and unsure, so Surge carried on. But I aint never seen someone calm down a rampaging pokemon like that. Never like that. That was impressive as all shit. Heck, this girl, she was better than some of the officers hed served under. She had balls, thats for sure.

He clicked his heels together and performed a picture-perfect salute for the Little miss.Youre a credit to Kanto young Miss! and he meant those words. You seriously impressed me, ask me a favour and Ill think about granting it. Obviously, he wouldnt do anything too illegal, but he'd still entertain her if she asked for something.

Maybe after we save everyone in danger first? she said hesitantly.

Surge glanced at the water and nodded. Right you are!

He stood and inhaled before shouting in a voice that swept over the entire beach. What are all of you yuppies looking at! A hero?! Damn straight, but there are people in danger! I want people with water pokemon on rescue! I want people with flying types doing search and rescue! Only got pokemon that can walk or crawl? There are wrecked buildings! Get searching!

It was all about having the loudest voice, and being able to be big and intimidating. He tossed out his Lanturn to help out and the little Miss sparkled with interest at his powerful pokemon. Surge grinned; she had good taste!

Misty! Are you alright?! shouted little Forrest from the shore, atop his Onix. Surge flicked his eyes between the two. Oh? Oh ho ho ho! Well, if little miss grew up anything like her sisters, Forrest was in for a treat.

With someone who had half a clue setting the crowd to work, they had a good chunk of the danger settled and most of the trainers fixed up. The others Surge had them put under some sheets and away from all the kids' sight.

No need to spoil their mood, they thought everyone had gotten out fine and dandy. During all the chaos, Surge made sure to set aside the tank and the machine guns for safe storage in a container that he marked to be transported to one of his storage facilities. Nastina herself was placed in cuffs and was going to get multiple counts.

The sheets over bodies made his instincts start acting up, and he had his pokemon scouting out the Town, making sure that everything was safe. That no Tentacool were still in the town.

When a crowd formed up of disgruntled locals, Surge marched up, towered over them, and gave them an unimpressed snort. Yall look like good folk! I know youre hurting, but youre not going to be taking justice into your own hands today! Make sure you write down what you saw and what happened, though, cause the police will be mighty interested in any written testimonies.

Forrest nodded slowly at that, his jaw clenching.

Ash crossed his arms. We handled it though!

Surge nodded slowly and looked towards Misty. Yeah, this time you did. But maybe it will be different next time. Who knows? You cant prepare for everything, but you can sure handle the stuff that you know might be coming your way.

He let them think about that for a bit before sniffing. Some things will take you by surprise, however, he said, glancing back out. Zapdos knows that these people are gonna struggle for a while now. The government is going to make a big heap of noise about Mt Silver and Porta Vista might get the short end of the stick. He crossed his fingers out of sight from the kids, and hid his smirk as they accepted the lie.

He pointedly didnt look at the suitcase in the Meowths grasp. Shame that money Nastina was toting never got secured. People around here could sure use it.

The younger trio nodded sadly while the older pair and their Meowth squirmed in their seats.

Jessadia and Franko shared a look, and then shot the Meowth one. He clenched onto the case tighter.

Be a lot of hungry people sad little faces, all dirty with tears Surge said, shaking his head and clicking his tongue in faux sadness. Well! Its a shame! But theyll struggle on I suppose!

Meowth slumped and handed the suitcase over. Surge made a show of opening in. Oh my goodness! The missing money!

He shot them a wide smile. Youre too kind! he announced loudly, causing some of the other people in the cafe to look over. Look everyone! The Heroine Misty and her friends found the money Nastina offered!

The people started excitedly whispering, only for the cafe owner to sidle up to him. You realise theres not enough in there to fix the town right? said the man out the side of his mouth.

Shut up, Ill cover it. Dont tell anyone, though. In fact, pretend it was thanks to this group, make em a statue even, Surge said furtively.

The cafe owner shot him a look and nodded slowly. Surge sniffed pointedly; it wouldnt do for folks to think he was a charitable sort. Otherwise, hed have freeloaders and bootlickers crawling out the woodwork.

He turned to Misty and her friends. They were all being patted on the back and praised. Surge nodded to himself, feeling good. When he glanced down, he noticed the Meowth eyeballing him.

Good kitty, Surge said, leaning down and pawing at its head to give it a rub.

Blah! said the Meowth as its hair came away all mussed up. Surge straightened and clapped his hands together.

Righto! So heroes like you folk deserve some recognition! Im willing to give you my badge if you want it! Otherwise, I can gift you something from my Gym! He scratched his chin. Shame I gave away all my S.S. Anne tickets; I could have gotten you a week trip onboard, but that ship is mighty popular these days.

Ash and Forrest perked up and shared a look, only for Misty to cough shyly. Mr Surge sir?

Lieutenant Surge, sir he corrected gently.

Lieutenant Surge, sir! I, uhm, noticed that Brock had some pokemon that were water type that he was giving away to trainers that earned his recognition do you think is it possible to get one of your water types?

You want one of my Chinchou? Done! he said happily. Girl like her would do well with a proper pokemon in her team. Train it well, and itll take you far! Misty danced on the spot with glee.

Surge turned to Ash and Forrest. What about you two?

An early battle! Ash shouted. Surge grinned widely and nodded.

I can do that! Right now work for you? Ash beamed and Forrest nodded, Jessadia coughed.

May I join in on that?

Surge shot her another wink. Anytime, for a lady like you!

Jessadias grin wobbled a bit, but Surge ignored that, instead focusing on the excited kids in front of him.

Time to spank some babies and show them how far they had to go. Hed keep their current bookings, but a quick throwdown wouldnt take too long.

Ash quickly got them a space that would work. Surge had to laugh when the punk sent out his Pikachu. Just to show him how big the world was Surge sent out his own starter with Raichu.

It took one slap of the tail with Iron Tail to knock out the little mouse. Surge just smirked as Asha gaped. Heh! Whos next! Surge said. Forrest licked his lips and seemed to realise how bad an idea this was. He still stepped forward though.

When he was done with Forrest and Jessadia, they were all staring off into the distance, shocked. He clapped them on the shoulders. It wasnt bad for a bunch of rookies, but youve got a ways to go before you can challenge me, ya hear?!

You could have gone easy on us with your Elite team you know? Forrest grumbled at him.

Surge rubbed Forrests head in a noogie. And not show you how far you have to go? Nah! Next time bring your A game! I know youre all booked in for a weeks time! Get good and Ill see you then! he said before marching off.

Surge didnt feel at all bad using his strongest pokemon against them. In reality it was all he had on him, kids should have realised. Still Theyd impressed him. It was a rare sort of trainer that stood up to an army of Tentacool, let alone a giant. Surge glanced back at the now laughing group.

It was a strange feeling to know that maybe just maybe, the future was in good hands.

Surge rubbed at his chin. Urgh, he was getting feelings or something. He shook himself and marched off to see if he could find anything like those barrels that had been mentioned. He reckoned he knew a man or two thatd be interested in those.

Steven Stone swirled his tumbler of Shuckle wine as the yacht he was on began to pick up speed. Hed accomplished much of what he desired upon being drawn to Kanto. Blaine had been muzzled, and Devon Corp wasnt likely to see any mysterious firebombings with Lance leaning on the man. Hed identified a number of promising sites for acquisition for future mining operations with his hikes around Kanto, and met some truly remarkable people.

Flint was a positive treasure trove if he could ever get the man to open up about where he found some of the stones and minerals he had on display. Sadly the man was a humble sort that also knew the worth of some of his goods.

Perhaps a private investigator could piece together his ramblings of journey and distance to locate the sites that Flint identifies in his blog. Surprisingly, a good deal of the content saw the man wandering into the wilds.

And not the wilds that saw people walking through tall grass, but rather the deep wilds, so that would be a tall order for any investigator.

Steven waved a hand towards a steward for another fill of his tumbler as he loaded up his laptop. Hed need to do some work while they travelled, but then again, the work of a CEO never truly ended, did it?

He took another sip from his tumbler and nodded to his steward in appreciation. Inform me when we are an hour out from the Orange Islands, he told the man as he began perusing the list of sites that his representative had sent through to him.

Mandarin Island north and south would need to be on the list, as well-developed city centres for offices, while mines could be established for phosphate on Butwal island. The island was a veritable goldmine with its phosphate readings. This had been one of the few sites that Steven had been able to secure from Flint during a brief discussion. It took a phone call to have a representative sent out to conduct soil samples on the island to discover that this was a source of huge amounts of phosphate.

Steven worked through a few other islands that might hold promise, only to pause when he realised that local Gyms held the rights to the island. A not insurmountable task but there could be issues. Hed need to talk with the local Leader to feel out how open they were to business development.

With that done, he sat back and considered other tasks. Lance had gained Salamencite from him and now had had a few months to work with it, however, he suspected that Brock would be the first to build up the necessary bond, albeit in a few more months.

Brock seemed to have a good handle on his aura and was prone to demonstrating rare pokemon and abilities without fully considering what he was doing.

That gave Steven a deadline.

He needed someone worthy to challenge him to allow himself to be shown as the modern master of Mega-evolution. The first reveal would always be the most memorable in peoples minds.

Steven swirled his glass and stared out at the waves as the yacht swept past them. He could admit to himself that he had a small stirring of fear in his stomach, what if Brock used Steelix in his match against Will?

What if hed been able to create the bond already? What if Brock just forced the evolution and unleashed an enraged Steelix? No, no. He was confident in his assessment of Brock, he wasn't that big a risk-taker. It was a risk but Steven considered it a low risk. Yes, that was all it was, a low risk.

Indeed, it had taken Steven a year but that wasnt a guarantee it wouldnt happen quicker for others. Lance was able to focus on just the league and working with his pokemon. He had the advantage of an entire clan also supporting him.

Brock seemed no less confident in himself, and it had made Steven somewhat unsettled, but hed made the deal and was going to stick to it.

As soon as he had the Lileep, he would be sure to have it bred with others of its egg group to create his own breeding group, something that would be sure to earn him a good deal of favours with certain types, such as the Rustboro Gym leader, or their eventual successor.

Still, the matter remained that he needed someone who could create a narrative that forced him to reveal his ace. Karen shed been good, but Steven hadnt wanted to reveal his hand against a Kanto trainer.

Perhaps Drake would suit his needs. The man was getting rather agitated under his rule and it would be good to show that he wasnt Champion just due to his business acumen, but also his own power and skills as a trainer.

Steven snapped his fingers. Send a message to the League that I want to schedule a match against Drake for when I return to Hoenn.

Sir, Drake will be scheduled for a trek during that week; will a month and a half suit your needs? We can use the founding date as the reason for the match.

Steven snapped his fingers at the steward. Yes, that will work, lock that in my schedule and set aside some time in the lead-up for me to work with my pokemon for an extra hour Steven rubbed his chin. Make that an extra two hours a day with them to shore up their skills. Drake is formidable, after all.

Ill make the adjustments to your schedule, sir, said the steward before fading back.

Steven nodded to himself and sat back in his chair as he took a final sip of his wine before setting it aside. Yes, that would suit his needs well. In six weeks, he would face Drake as part of the Founding Day ceremony of Hoenn and reveal Mega-evolution to the world.

Which would handily be months before Lance or Brock were capable of the act. Steven nodded to himself before turning his attention to the next item on his schedule.

Lunch.