Clive squinted, protecting his eyes from the relentless rain, as he watched Yulia and Valkyrie soar towards the top of Mt. Mortar. The feat did not look easy, the winds and the torrent of rain water battered the young detective and her Pokemon. A chill ran down Clive's back, and he turned to peer back towards the mysterious mound out in the middle of the lake. Was it an escape vehicle? Phoenix himself would not have a need for that, as he had proven he had access to teleportation before. Back up Avarice grunts, perhaps? Could the white mound be some sort of vehicle they would use to transport the captured Raikou? If so, why not capture it in a ball?
One officer that joined as part of the mission hurried over to Clive. "It's just you?" Clive asked, already anticipating the answer.
"There's not many of us, sir. It did not seem wise to leave the the researchers short on protection."
Clive remained silent, not that he would be heard over another one of Raikou's barks, booming like a thunderclap. There was another loud noise, one that came from the lake behind him. The mound, bulging amongst the waves, began to grow. Clive found that the mound was not white, not even most of it. In fact, it was blue, and its size grew larger and larger at an exponential rate. Soon, the figure of a massive Wailord appeared in the center of the lake. However, it did not end there. The Pokemon's tail began to raise up in the air, so high that Clive could have sworn that the Wailord was completely vertical with its face under the water.
"Fuck fuck fuck!" Clive turned, grabbing the officer that recently joined him. They ran, away from the beach, and more importantly, away from the crash of the Wailord's tail smacking against the water. Away from the massive wave that the impact created, the plumes of water and foam that soared above and came crashing down. Despite their efforts, the wave was catching up with them. Clive clutched at his belt and his breast pocket, doing what he could to ensure he did not lose any of his Pokemon as the waves overtook them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the police officer grab a Pokeball and release a Pokemon.
Clive gasped for air when he finally emerged from beneath the wave, which drew back into the lake. His body ached, having been battered and buffeted as the wave crashed over him and dragged him all the way back towards the beach. He wiped his wet hands on his face to clear the hair and water away from his eyes, belching as he did so. In the distance, a disturbingly far distance, he saw the officer standing with his sturdy Poliwrath. The Pokemon must have been able to grab its master in time and, using its profound strength, prevent him from tumbling back towards the beach in the way that Clive did. The officer shouted something while backing away, but Clive struggled to hear what it was. Suddenly, he heard another crash from the lake behind him. When he turned, he saw it: another large wave folding over the lake's surface and rolling towards him.
In that moment, Clive heard a loud cry from above him. A red figure was descending towards him from the dark sky above, at an impressive speed. It was Yulia's Braviary, Valkyrie. Clive ground his teeth, shifting his glance between the bird Pokemon diving towards him and the approaching wave. None of Clive's usual tricks would be able to help him out of this situation. So, there was no time to think, only act. He turned and began to run up the beach's sandy banks, waving an arm to Valkyrie as they neared each other. As the Braviary approached, so did the large foamy wave threatening to sweep them both away. Clive only slowed to a stop once the Braviary was close enough that he could make out the outline of its eyes, underneath the drenched white feathers on its crown.
As soon as Valkyrie landed, Clive hopped onto his back. The Braviary pounded its wings heavily, sending water and sand in every direction, before taking off. Clive grunted at the sudden jolt, and clung on tightly as they quickly ascended. The rain stung his skin as they soared against it, and each beat of Valkyrie's wings sent plumes of water every which way. Once Clive acclimated to the speed of the flight, he glanced down towards the ground below, and witnessed the second wave washing over the shoreline he had just escaped.
From his new vantage point, he could see small dots zooming near the Wailord in the center of the Lake. They zipped, zigged, and zagged around the water, moving towards the shore. "Unidentified persons are approaching the shoreline from the lake... Anyone copy?" After a pause, he only heard static, and he stifled a curse. He would just have to hope the boots on the ground could take care of things there, while he and Yulia took care of things at the top of the mountain.
The visibility near the top of the mountain was worse than what Clive had experienced so far, and the thunderclap sounds of Raikou's barks were deafening. When they finally reached the top, Valkyrie quickly landed, shakily planting itself on a flat section of land. Clive just about rolled off of the large mount, resting on one knee as he caught his breath. As he did so, he observed Yulia's powerful Braviary, which showed visible signs of exhaustion from its flight up and down the mountain, against turbulent winds and heavy showers. The creature was panting harder and faster than Clive was, and would occasionally shake off the water from its feathers.
Clive hardly felt like he was in much better shape. He was covered in scratches and bruises from being tossed around like a rag doll from the Wailord's Surf down below, and did not have a chance to recover before clinging onto Valkyrie for the flight up the mountain. Regardless, he had to move. Raikou was up here somewhere, and presumably Yulia was as well. He needed to catch up to her so that they could calm Raikou and find a way to protect it from Avarice's greedy clutches. He drew a long breath before rising to his feet. Another bark sounded, and Clive could feel the ground beneath of him shake as it did. There was no mistaking which direction it was coming from, and so he began to head that way.
Eventually he could make out the markings of a battle through the torrential rains. He recognized Yulia's figure first. She was tense, focused on the battle. There was clearly a struggle, and her opponent was not to be taken lightly. The lack of visibility made it difficult to tell how much time had passed since the battle began, but there was clearly a struggle. More importantly, Yulia was definitely not taking her opponent lightly. As Clive continued to make his way closer, Yulia's opponent came into view. It was unmistakable who it was, given away by his mask and gaudy cape.
Lightning flashed, illuminating the entire area for what felt like an eternnity. Clive's eyes quickly scanned the field in front of him, and he saw Raikou on the opposite side of the battle, struggling to stay upright. He counted the two trainers, gridlocked in battle, and Yulia's Pokemon... but what of Phoenix's?
The light faded, but Clive still got his answer. An orange blur descended and crashed into the ground near Yulia and her Pokemon with a loud crash. The impact sent shockwaves up Clive's legs.
The Dragonite roared with a loud Baroo! Clive felt his shoulders and back stiffen when he saw the dragon Pokemon, but he tried to wrench himself from the thought. It was no surprise that Phoenix would have strong Pokemon at his disposal, so his possession of a Dragonite was hardly shocking... Except Clive did not recall any Avarice activity taking place in Blackthorn City, which would be the first place he would expect a Pokemon from the Dragonite evolutionary line to originate from.
Speculation aside, Clive had a job to do. While Phoenix was distracted with Yulia, Raikou was suffering, and more importantly, unattended. He had no idea how many Pokemon each trainer had left, but he had to consider the very real possibilities that Yulia would lose the battle or that Avarice would take control of Raikou prior to the battle's conclusion. After taking cover behind a boulder, Clive released his Zorua and carried it in his arms. "Time to go dark for a while," he said. Almost immediately, the pair became invisible thanks to Shadow's illusion abilities. "If something happens, you need to hide," he whispered to his Pokemon, before starting his trek towards Raikou.
He took a path behind Yulia, away from the battle, using the boulders to help hide his footprints. He knew his Zorua would not be able to cover up every clue of their presence, so even when invisible it was best to exercise caution. Occasionally, he would stop and brace himself at the sound of a strong attack landing, or when he saw a stray attack strike something nearby. Regardless, he had approached Raikou with only minor difficulty. Here, he could see the contraption attached to the Pokemon's back, which was presumably the source of its suffering. Clive did not recall this kind of device being used before, but wondered if it was fundamental in creating beastly Pokemon like the Excadrill that attacked Jean. He would need to find out how to safely remove the device.
Phoenix frowned, and placed his hands on his hips. "Dragonite!" he called. "Return to me!" With a beat of its wings, the Dragonite leapt backwards and landed next to him, pausing the battle. "I supposed I should not have expected the both of you to play fair, eh Yulia?" He swiped his finger along the right side of his mask, activating a specialized set of lenses. He squinted as he peered through the bright green, blue, yellow, and red infrared map, in which he was able to clearly see the form of a man holding a small quadruped Pokemon in his arms, even though he was not clearly visible before. "There!" he said, pointing squarely in that direction. "Direct a Thunderbolt there, Dragonite!"
Clive's eyes widened, surprised to have been suddenly rooted out despite everything that was going on. There was no time to react to the sudden flash of light that originated from the top of the Dragonite's antennae, which illuminated the Pokemon's fearsome face. What a face it was to behold. Just through and below the Pokemon's right eye was a terribly long scar, which extended down its snout. The right eye itself appeared to look normal, despite the disfigurement that passed through it. A sudden wave of recognition overwhelmed Clive, sucking the air from his lungs. Dad's Dragonite? he thought, before his vision was obscured by the white hot flash of a Thunderbolt.
The Thunderbolt attack was fast, instantaneously unleashing damage in the direction Phoenix directed it towards. Dirt and rocks were sent flying in random directions as the lightning bolts carved up the land, and a chorus of cries echoed when the attack landed. Clive shouted in pain, his voice hoarse, scratchy, and deeper than usual. Accompanying him was Shadow, who let out a shrill cry just before fainting. Above both of them was a loud bark from Raikou, who had been hit also. When the dust cleared, Clive and Shadow had become fully visible again, in much worse shape then they had been when they vanished. Clive teetered in place as he struggled to keep his balance, staring down at his fainted Zorua. His clothes had a dusting of black soot on their surfaces and even some flakes of char on the edges of his sleeves and collar.
"Aha, there he is!" Phoenix declared, reverting his mask back to normal to get a good look. "Come to put me in cuffs, have you? Come to show me how much of a coward I am?" He held up a black and gold phone, pointing the camera towards Clive. "Well? Anything to say?"
Clive could not hear anything. The world around him was spinning, fast. Both of his ears rang, the sound like a knife going through his skull. For a moment, he seemed to mumble a sound, a question perhaps, but his shock prevented him from articulating any type of proper speech. Slowly, painstakingly, he reached behind him, drawing out an Ultra Ball. Just as slowly, and painstakingly, he raised his arm arduously, aiming the ball towards Raikou.
Suddenly, Raikou let out a long howl, quite easily the loudest cry it had let out the entire night. A burst of lightning shot out in a circle around the legendary beast, sending anything in the immediate vicinity flying, including Clive and his Ultra Ball. Clive landed on the ground with a thud, with Shadow sprawled out a few feet away.
Phoenix shielded himself behind his cape as debris flew passed him. It's almost time, he thought. He turned back towards Yulia and her Pokemon, bidding his Dragonite back into the fray. "Let's wrap this up, Yulia."
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