Chapter 7
Tikam was surprised at the boredom she felt at shattering another Geodude in her way. The Rock-type Pokemon’s body breaking into dozens of pieces with a single blow used to thrill her to no end. Now the Makuhita felt no such joy in it. Tikam looked down on the Geodude that stood in her way to defend its home. It was her job these last few weeks to further dig a tunnel through this mountain and kill the Pokemon preventing them from doing so.
If she did a little imagining then she could mentally piece together the fragments of its face back into place. Tikam did the same with every Geodude and Graveler she was ordered to kill. She needed something new to entertain her now that the challenge had been completely sapped from the fight. During the early weeks of her training with Taylor, Tikam was ecstatic with the prospect of facing a challenge too hard for her to overcome.
Each day of the first two months was exhilarating as she had to ignore the pain in her body, grit her teeth through the pain and punch back against her sparring partner. When Taylor caught Tikam she was originally worried it would interfere with her training. Now that she was so strong a single blow could kill a weak or Pokemon super-effected by her Fighting attacks she had no challenge.
And she was left with the remains of her foes. The past several weeks she’d faced Rock or Normal-types almost unilaterally as she dug through the interior of the Rustboro mountain range. With the enemies crumbling around Tikam so easily, she no longer thought of herself as a prideful fighter.
Every wild Pokemon in her sights either cowered at her or attempted to fight what they knew was a losing battle for their own pride. Piecing these faces together during the boredom of slaughtering rows and rows of unprepared wild Pokemon was more than enough for Tikam to start questioning the point of what she was doing. With having to put so little effort into fighting, she began thinking about her agreement with her trainer.
I fight for you so that you make me strong. The Makuhita thought. So that I can one day become the strongest Fighting-type Pokemon in the world. The dream of every Fighting-type. But if this is what it means to be the strongest, what’s even the point?
“Great job, Tikam!” Taylor shouted. “You’re doing great!”
Is it great to have no challenge in your life? Tikam asked herself. I’m so bored...is this how it is to be normal? What did the Pokemon I killed feel like?
Every time Tikam pieced the destroyed faces of her dead enemies there were only two emotions she could see them having: utter fear and suicidal bravery. Fighting-types loved to elicit hopelessness in the face of their opponents. It was a compliment to their pride. But now that Tikam had lost interest in fighting altogether she was now left wondering what if she was on the other end of her punches.
To be honest, Tikam was so dissatisfied with her life at this point that she would rather be the one petrified in fear as it would mean she actually felt something. That thought brought her incredible sadness. That she had trained for all this time only to wish she was as she once was. Tikam became dizzy at the realization.
Their lives had more meaning than mine. She recognized about her opponents. And I killed them en masse.
“Alright!” Taylor shouted. “Let’s get going!”
But she didn’t move, the first time she directly disobeyed an order.
“Tikam!” the Magma grunt shouted. “Tikam!”
All the Makuhita did was turn around and face Taylor, her expression broken with sorrow. Her trainer made a face to show she was disgusted with the tears flowing from Tikam’s face. Tikam couldn’t hear Taylor shouting at her as the world around her felt distant as she looked at the fragmented remains of the Geodude at their feet.
Leif watched as a new trainer walked below the tree branch he sat in. He leaned against the trunk behind him while crossing his legs on the limb, peering down below him. He was basking in the early morning sun on the path Route 116 to soak up the light to nourish himself as most Grass Pokemon did. However, now that a new trainer crossed his path Leif narrowed his eyes on the trainer wearing purple.
He let out a screech that visibly disturbed the male human below. He looked around to not find the source of the noise visible. Leif watched in anticipation as he waited. Emerald came running into view below the tree the Wood Gecko Pokemon sat in. The young man pointed at the black haired adult trainer in purple.
“Let’s battle!” he shouted. “Right now! Rule of challenge!”
“Wh-what?” he asked. “I’m-I’m just-!”
“It’s the law,” Emerald said. “Now...let’s fight.”
“Fine,” the trainer said as he took a Pokeball from his waist. “But you’ll have to beat both my Pokemon, Emerald.”
“You know my name?” he asked.
“That’s right!” he shouted as he held the pokeball forward. “As soon as I heard someone was challenging Norman’s daughter I was definitely ready to see if she would meet her match! And boy...did she. My dream is to be Drake’s replacement as the strongest Dragon-type trainer in Hoenn. So beating another of Norman’s kids is a bare minimum for that goal to be completed.”
He then opened the Pokeball for a Swablu to appear. It was a bird Pokemon whose white wings resembled fluffy clouds made of something like cotton rather than feathers. Its blue body and short beak made it a rather cute sight that Leif recognized when they flew into Petalburg Woods during migration.
“This is the guy who beat Ruby!” the Swablu’s trainer shouted. “Rough up whatever Pokemon he sends out good! Got it?!”
“You got it, Nicolas!” the obviously female Flying-type said.
Emerald took from his pocket dollar bills to show he had more than a thousand dollars on hand.
“I say we bet two thousand dollars,” he said. “It’s all my money. You got that much?”
“Sure do!” Nicolas shouted. “Now...where’s your Pokemon?”
And on cue, Leif descended down from his position on the tree branch. He landed on his feet between Emerald and the enemy Flying-type. Upon jumping down the human and his Swablu got a good look at his newly evolved body.
He had grown to be slightly taller than Emerald. His limbs had grown longer and formed into angular elbows and knees. His somewhat thin body was still mostly lime green with a red underside but the leaves growing from Leif’s body were a much darker green that he was proud of. A single long, grass-blade like leaf grew from the top of his head to trail behind him. His tail was no longer a thick lobed appendage but two long leaves. Most importantly, Leif had three new leaves on each wrist.
“Ah-you’re Grovyle!” Nicolas shouted.
“Leif’s grown far more powerful after his evolution,” Emerald said. “You probably need to surrender.”
“Not a chance!” the opposing trainer shouted. “Swablu, Aerial Ace!”
Just as the Flying-type attempted to move, the Grovyle lunged forward. He immediately caught it in his right claw with one swift motion, his sharp ended fingers tightly gripping the Swablu’s face. His speed had considerably improved since evolving.
“Mega Drain!” Emerald ordered.
Leif grew tendrils from his palm that penetrated the blue Pokemon’s skin to seep into its bloodstream. The Grovyle then began absorbing nutrients from the Flying-type’s circulatory system into his own body. The Swablu’s light blow skin began to wither and grow gray. Nicolas screamed in panic.
The Grovyle immediately let go of the Flying-type and retracted his viney tendrils to see her fall to the ground. The Swablu’s wings flitted up and down a little as it barely managed to get airborne. Leif was careful only to absorb enough nutrients from the Pokemon to make it immobile.
Unlike Treecko, Grovyle were omnivorous as they had to gain sustenance from both plants and Pokemon to survive. However, they did not do so from the latter by eating them like carnivores would. Instead they used draining moves to parasitically drain their targets of health. Most Grovyle were careful to not kill their prey as they would see it as destroying the forest ecosystem their species worked to maintain. Nicolas returned his Swablu to her Pokeball before glaring at Emerald.
“You lurk here waiting for unsuspecting trainers to show up,” Nicolas said. “You’re a highway trainer!”
“Only if I do it for a month or longer,” Emerald explained. “It’s only been two weeks so I’m still just legally challenging trainers.”
“I think I might report you,” he said as he took his next Pokeball.
After opening it, Leif found himself facing a Pokemon he did not recognize at all. It was little more than a large, white sphere of a shell that shielded all its body save for its two yellow eyes and four short gray legs. The Grovyle tried to recall the knowledge that had been given to him after being captured but found none to supplement it. Apparently it gave him knowledge of human speech and concepts but not information on Pokemon. However, regardless of its name, Leif could tell that its shell was thick enough blunt force alone wouldn’t be able to pierce it.
“Shelgon!” Nicolas shouted. “Dragon Claw!”
The Pokemon raced at him on all fours before raising one of its legs when near him.
“Leaf Blade!” Emerald shouted.
Pride welled up in Leif when hearing his trainer’s orders. After nimbly side-stepping the enemy Pokemon’s strike with his claws, the Grovyle raised his right arm. He willed the three leaves on that wrist to grow long enough to be the size of his arm. The dark green foliage also stiffened from its comparatively flimsy texture to harden. The leaves also gained a sword-like edge and tip that Leif used to slash into the Shelgon’s right side.
Upon slashing with the Leaf Blade a thin cut was carved into the enemy Pokemon’s hide. While still thick, the slice was so sharp the Grovyle felt almost no resistance as if cutting through something soft. It was such a fine and graceful cut that barely any red blood leaked out. However, Leif could feel the Leaf Blade had cut right through its white coat of skin and into its innards. The Shelgon fell after the Grovyle removed his Leaf Blade from its body, unable to even squirm as it grunted in pain.
Nicolas immediately returned the Shelgon to his Pokeball before placing it around his waist. He walked toward Emerald to take a bunch of dollar bills from his pocket and place it in the trainer’s waiting hand. Emerald gave a guilty expression to the losing trainer.
“Can you safely make it back to the Pokemon Center?” Emerald asked.
“Don’t act like you pity me!” Nicolas said. “Hardly any wild Pokemon show up on this route now that it's been reduced to a meadow path and you know that.”
“I was just wonder-” Emerald said.
“Yeah well don’t,” Nicolas said. “Highway trainers like you are parasites to society. I wonder why a trainer as strong as you needs to root around taking on a random passerby. Join a Gym, Team Magma or Aqua.”
He gave a sarcastic wave before running off. Leif turned to see his trainer looking very worried. Emerald was easy to make nervous but right now he looked downright scared. He turned and walked back into the forest.
“Don’t let what he said faze you,” Leif said. “You’re not a parasite. You could have taken more-”
“That’s not what bothers me,” Emerald said. “We’ve been here half a month and can’t stay here another half without potentially facing legal consequences. We’ll need to head out soon and...and I don’t know where we’ll go from here.”
“Hmm,” Leif nodded. “Does sound like we will run out of options. The most logical course of action would be to leave this route for another. But if we settle down in one location then won’t we just have to eventually leave there as well?”
“Of course,” Emerald said. “That’s what highway trainers are known for. They leave the route they’ve been challenging trainers on for a month before leaving for a fresh area so that they can't be caught or face legal consequences. Either that or they kill the trainers they challenge after beating them so less find out.”
“I know you won’t do that,” the Grovyle replied.
“I know,” he admitted. “But even if we did do that it could make things worse. Most law enforcement is not just going to track down rogue highway trainers that leave the area for another unless they’re too much of a danger to the public. So...heading out for another route is our only option.”
The Grovyle nodded. Emerald had been asking trainers they’d challenged about the legal repercussions of training out in the wilderness. They’d told him quite a bit of information.
The Grovyle had to be constantly reminded of information Emerald gleaned from the trainers as he was too busy battling to pay attention. But one thing that struck Leif as awful was that one of them apparently explained why it was illegal to be a highway trainer. It wasn’t to protect travelers but to pressure trainers into joining Team Aqua or Magma.
The trainer explained the Hoenn government needed a way to strengthen trainers as Pokemon grew stronger through battling but for the ends to serve their nation. It was pretty manipulative but made sense to Leif. Giving a time limit to how long one could stay in the wilderness to beat trainers out of their money would prevent them from using the rule of challenge to serve themselves.
Emerald looked at the orange device that opened in his hand. He’d stored it in his bag before producing it to look down at the interior screen. It was apparently called a PokeNav and Leif had been informed it was used as a map and communication device. Emerald had bought it the other week in Rustboro City with the money they’d won from trainers.
“I’d like to head to Route 117,” Emerald admitted. “It’s close to Verdanturf and the region around there is somewhat remote, so it’ll be hard to find us if we choose to stay longer than a month. But we’ll have to cross the Rustboro mountain range and that could be problematic as that’s some rough terrain.”
“Well we’ll just have to tough it out,” Leif sighed. “I think I’d prefer to leave now rather than wait any longer. Are you thinking about what Tikam offered?”
“I told you it’s dangerous,” Emerald said. “I warned you she’s obsessed.”
“And I told you,” Leif said. “That the only way you can gain my respect is if you agree to her demands.”
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
He sighed before looking away from him. After venturing far enough into the forest, the two of them came across the two Pokemon that Emerald let outside their Pokeballs. Dangler was scraping bark off of after he had climbed midway up the trunk to scrape against it with his scales. The tree was coated with sticky fluid that Dangler was spitting to adhere the bark to his body. After the Pineco lost the majority of its bark in his battle with the Torchic he was desperate to recover from his injuries. Only now was his truly teal body brown from the bark he had clothed himself with.
Even a trip to the Pokemon Center was not enough to grow back his scales. Leif had been informed that not only had the Pineco taken a Flamethrower but also had many of his scales cut off with Razor Leaf. While all the sliced away scales had been replaced by new ones, most of them were not as long as the older ones are. Dangler would have to wait for the new scales to grow back to full size.
But Leif felt more sorry for Tikam, the Makuhita Emerald had apparently won in the battle. For the entire time that she’d been with them, Tikam had been sulking near the pond they used as a source of water. Emerald also used it to let Madelyn swim in while he watched. Most days she merely sat near the edge of the water with her arms wrapped around herself, shaking her head.
Emerald had been attempting to help Tikam come out of her shell. The trainer constantly put his arms on her shoulders like a parent would their child. Tikam wouldn’t usually speak and rarely ever turned to face Emerald. While Emerald never pressured her to battle, he sometimes mentioned that Leif was the only one of his Pokemon that could fight at this time. It was the seventh day after winning her did she begin to open up even a little.
“He’s strong but he’s only one Pokemon,” Emerald said. “I don’t want you to kill but protect-”
“I don’t want to fight,” the Makuhita would say. “Never again.”
Pity welled up inside the trainer as he walked around to kneel in front of her.
“Tikam,” he said. “I know you’re very strong. Taylor even mentioned you were nearing evolution. If you were to battle just a little more then you’d become a Hariyama so strong that you wouldn’t need to use but a fraction of your power to survive.”
The Makuhita began crying from her thin eyes. Emerald recoiled, afraid he had offended her somehow. He began pressing his hands against her shoulders as if about to hug her.
“I wish I was never born a Fighting-type,” Tikam said. “Taylor said she caught me specifically because our type is known for our absurd physical strength. Makuhita are no different, just able to absorb more punches than other Fighting Pokemon. I liked fighting, at first and she knew that.”
“Makuhita like to increase their physical prowess like all Fighting-types,” Emerald said. “Getting stronger doesn't mean you’re a monster.”
“It did in my case,” she admitted. “I was glad to be caught by a trainer who would let me grow to my full potential. I thought I would be the strongest Makuhita ever with a human trainer. And yes...I was a monster. I even enjoyed killing.”
Emerald was surprised to hear that, even a little disgusted.
“I enjoyed slaughtering Pokemon because I felt it proved I was strong,” Tikam explained. “Taylor said that I was doing humanity a service by killing Pokemon and destroying their homes. I was even instrumental in destroying the forest on this very route.”
The Makuhita stood up and walked away from Emerald, all while staring down at the ground. He followed after her as she sullenly tried to get away. He knew he couldn’t stop her, Tikam’s strength beyond anything he could hope to compete with but Emerald couldn’t allow her to keep feeling this way.
“I also killed many Rock-types defending the mountains around here,” Tikam said softly as she cried. “My natural advantage over them turned me into a virtual killing machine as I tore through Geodude after Geodude. They’ve halfway completed the tunnel to Verdanturf Town because Pokemon like me dug it for them.”
“What?” Emerald asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “It’s called Rusturf Tunnel. It’s part of the expansionist project that the Rustboro City Gym has been trying to accomplish. I forcibly removed the wild Pokemon blocking our path and dug through the mountain range. It destroyed lots of wild Pokemon’s homes but...but I couldn’t care less so long as I was killing.”
“But you’re not doing it now!” Emerald said. “That’s enough, Tikam!”
“No,” she said. “I can never replace the lives I killed or rebuild the home I destroyed. I may have stopped killing after...after the hundredth time or so but...it doesn’t matter if I’ve changed. Doesn’t make up for what I’ve done.”
“Well-” Emerald said as he walked out in front of her, kneeled and put his arms around her. “I still am glad you’re a better person!”
She then grabbed his wrists, wrenched him free of her and threw him to the ground. Emerald stood up, taking the dead leaves out of his hair and leaned to her again. She glared through her tears.
“I don’t care what kind of person you think I am,” Tikam said. “It’s useless to think that being a better person is the answer to your problems. Wanting to be a better person is selfish because it means you’re just thinking about yourself. You don’t truly care about others...you’re just worried your reputation won’t be soured or you’ll want to avert punishment.”
“I-I-” Emerald said. “That’s wrong!”
“Well count me out,” she said. “I wanted to complete my destiny as a Fighting-type and become the strongest Pokemon there is. Only now do I regret the mountain of corpses I stand upon to achieve that goal. I’ve accomplished nothing but leaving a bloody trail in the wake of my greed.”
“Maybe you were just confused about what you really wanted out of life,” he said.
“I wasn’t confused,” she answered. “I was brainwashed by all the Makuhita and Hariyama I grew up with to push myself harder. All the Fighting-type cares about is an increase in power and more victories to brag about. It’s not just our species that is evil...it’s our very type that is. I can tell you from learned experience that Fighting-types will kill as many opponents as they can before they try to compete against other Fighting-types. All senseless ambition for strength...I got caught up in it and felt I had no choice but do the same thing.”
“So what will you do now?” Emerald asked. “You have to continue living. We all have to accept our mistakes, no matter how big they are.”
“I don’t ever want to kill again,” Tikam told him. “Order me to kill and I will never fight for you.”
“Is that all?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “I may be inherently destructive as a Fighting-type but I can still do one thing to possibly make up for that. I can destroy the Rusturf Tunnel.”
“Destroy it?” Emerald asked. “But I thought the Gym leader Roxanne and Team Magma were trying to construct it. How are you going to convince them to stop it?”
“I will stop them,” the Makuhita answered. “Even if it's by force.”
“But I’d get in trouble with the law if I allowed you to do that!” Emerald shouted. “And Roxanne’s a Gym leader! She’s a new one...but she’s powerful for that alone!”
“I’ve decided to take down Roxanne while I was still with Taylor,” she replied. “I tried to escape from her but she returned me to my Pokeball every time I got far enough away. Now that I’m with a new trainer that will all change.”
“Well you’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you fight a Gym leader,” he said. “It’s illegal for me to do that, and even if I did...it’s too dangerous for my Pokemon. Including you.”
“Then I suppose I’ll never battle for you again,” Tikam said. “I will never attack even once unless you first allow me to defeat Roxanne and cave in Rusturf Tunnel. And after I kill them I will never do so again.”
Emerald gritted his teeth, biting his tongue. As he tried to think of something to say, he saw a Grovyle jump from the tree above. He landed beside Emerald and walked up to them.
“I agree with the Makuhita,” Leif said. “We need to stop the construction of Rusturf Tunnel and put an end to the gym leader’s reign of terror.”
“Not you too!” Emerald said. “I agreed not to join Team Magma...what more do you want?!”
“For you to do the right thing,” the Grovyle answered. “For you to try not to try to escape the possibility of helping others just because you want to be a coward. To not let your fear get in the way of your morality.”
“Kind of a big request,” Emerald said. “As you can tell...I don’t have much room to be squeaky clean.”
Leif gave him one of those leers filled with more disappointment rather than anger.
“Hasn’t stopped you before.”
After the battle with Nicolas and stowing away his PokeNav, Emerald walked up to Takim and placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned to give him a glare. While not crying, the Makuhita’s eyes were perpetually sullen.
“I’ve thought about your offer,” Emerald said. “And I’ll do it.”
“What?” Tikam gasped. She was crying but he could tell it was tears of joy. “You will?”
“Yeah,” he said as Emerald gave a side glance to Leif. “Pokemon are suffering under this expansion project. But I have two conditions.”
“What are they?” the Makuhita asked.
“First,” he said. “That you train until you evolve.”
“But I want to do as little fighting as possible!” Takim said. “I have to-”
“You say you want to defeat Roxanne,” Emerald replied. “But you won’t even do your best to ensure that victory can take place. I doubt we can defeat her without you becoming a Hariyama.”
She sighed, clearly holding back anger.
“Fine,” she said. “And the other?”
“That you battle for me after this is over,” Emerald said.
“What?!” Takim shouted. “But I don’t want to fight anymore! You don’t understand! To Fighting-types like us...battle isn’t for survival! It’s a way of life! A life I want to abandon! We see it as a means to an end to grow infinitely stronger! If I fight for you, for anyone...I’ll be betraying myself.”
“You won’t fight for power anymore,” Emerald said as he shook his head. “You will fight for survival and our protection. For no other reason will you battle. And we will not kill.”
Takim began crying again before sitting down and returning to her sullen position.
“Alright,” she said. “Fine...but don’t...don’t expect me to put my best foot forward battling for selfish reasons.”
“Alright,” Emerald said.
He then took the remaining Pokeball from his side and fished out the food he bought at the PokeMart for Madelyn. He opened the Pokeball for the Magikarp to appear in the water. She smiled up at him.
“Hi, Emerald!” she said. “What are we going to do today?”
“Well…” he said. “It’s time for you to evolve.”
“What?” Madelyn asked, her smile turning to a confused expression.
“Yeah,” Emerald said. “While looking through my PokeDex I researched Magikarp and found out what they evolved into. And the food I’ve been giving you...the PokeDex entry said that it's full of stimulants that accelerate growth in certain Water-types. And from a little more research...”
He took out his PokeDex and pointed the glass eyepiece at her. After taking Madelyn’s picture with it he found the PokeDex had a function where it could give information about individuals of a specific species. Emerald read what the entry said about Madelyn.
“By your estimated weight and size…” he said. “Just a little more of that food will make you evolve.”
The Fish Pokemon looked fearful.
“But…” she said. “I-I don’t think I should-”
“Why?” Emerald asked. “You don’t want to?”
“I-” Madelyn said. “I would like to do what is best for my friends. And...knowing what I become...would it be best for all of you?”
He kneeled down to pet her.
“It would,” Emerald said. “Don’t worry...just remember that I’m right here. Now...do you want to evolve?”
“So long as it’s what’s best for the five of us,” she answered. “I just...I just hope that I’ll be the same as I am right now. On the inside at least.”
“Good,” Emerald said. “I’m sure you will.”
After stowing the PokeDex away in his bag, he then brought out the bottle of food. Emerald stocked up on some the last time he visited the PokeMart. He opened the bottle and lifted it to Madelyn’s mouth to dump the entire container inside. The Magikarp devoured it all before the transformation took place.
Her body began to violently seizure. Madelyn’s eyes rolled into the back of her head as she screamed in pain. The instantaneous growth Pokemon experienced from evolution was incredibly painful.
Fangs sprouted from her mouth before her body lengthened. Her fat, wide form snaked both backward and forward. Emerald lunged out of the way as Madelyn nearly fell on top of him, her once quiet yells of pain now transforming into roars of agony with its mouth now as wide and tall as a door.
“What is that?!” Dangler shouted.
He was no longer attached to the front of his body to the trunk of a tree and turned around in fear. Takim and Leif gathered around at the sight, careful not to get in the way lest the enormous snake-like creature roll over them. They screamed in panic at the sight.
“The deity of destruction evolves from a Magikarp?!” Leif screamed in shock.
“It couldn’t!” Takim yelled. “Magikarp is too weak to evolve into that Pokemon!”
As she roared in pain through its new fangs and jaws its body finally stopped lengthening once Madelyn reached about the size of a school bus. Half of her once red scales soon turned blue. Her head became surrounded by white fins sprouting from around her face and mouth.
Upon completing her transformation, Madelyn rose into the air to tower over them with a yellow underside. A wide, white fin sprouted from the end of her tail to complete her serpentine body. Her evolution was completed upon her fangs growing as long as knives.
Madelyn finally looked down on them, no longer a weak Magikarp but a ferocious Gyarados that’s very appearance made Emerald’s knees knock together. Dangler had turned his face away from facing her while Leif glared in determination as if ready to fight while Takim cowered in terror. It was only Emerald who gritted his teeth and held his breath as he approached the Atrocious Pokemon. Leif rushed forward to stop him but upon placing his hand on Madelyn’s back he gasped in surprise.
“It’s too danger-” the Grovyle stopped himself. “Why isn’t she attacking?!”
“Gyarados is supposed to be the most violent and destructive Pokemon of all time,” Takim said. “It eclipses most Pokemon in power as I’ve heard it said to be the strongest Water-type that exists. Why doesn’t it show that power?”
“Because,” Emerald said. “Gyarados are not inherently violent.”
“What?!” Leif and Takim said.
He smiled up at Madelyn who looked down at him with a rather guilty expression.
“I’m-I’m sorry,” she said. “I would act that way except...except for you all.”
“Come again?” Leif asked.
“From my research I did through looking through all of Gyarados’s PokeDex entries I found there to be some very interesting information,” Emerald explained. “It was at one point thought the reason Gyarados acted as violent as it usually does was because of a cellular transformation its brain cells underwent. However, upon dissecting deceased Gyarados, it was found that most of its gray matter was the same as that of a Magikarp.”
“So then upon evolving it doesn’t change that much?” Leif asked. “That doesn’t sound right. Every Gyarados encounter I’ve been told of records it as a violent creature with no end in its appetite for carnage.”
“Gyarados are capable of wiping entire populations from certain areas,” Takim said. “Which it does every time it's spotted. If Gyarados aren’t inherently violent, then why isn’t Madelyn attacking us?”
“Because it’s revenge for how we were treated,” Madelyn said.
Her voice, while still feminine, was loud enough to rustle the leaves of the forest floor.
“Magikarp are the bottom of the food chain,” she said. “We are eaten by everything since we’re so weak. That’s why Gyarados are so rare and all Magikarp dream of becoming one. That way we can destroy all that is in our way upon evolving is our way of telling the world there is a price to be paid for stepping on us so much.”
“Really?” Takim asked. “But-but...so you’re saying Gyarados would not act that way if Magikarp was not so weak?”
Madelyn nodded.
“We live not with fear as Magikarp,” she said. “But with the expectation we will live short lives. Us Magikarp dread our existence as we live with too little time on our hands to make friends and to watch our brethren devoured by everything. I only even knew what a Gyarados was because that is the legend that is passed down to every generation.”
“Abuse only breeds more abuse,” Emerald stated. “And after a life of abuse as a Magikarp, Gyarados decides to wreak havoc on everyone else.”
“But then how did you know Madelyn wouldn’t attack?” Leif asked.
“I kind of took a chance on that one,” Emerald said. “I hoped that Madelyn wouldn’t attack us because she was our friend. Isn’t that right, Madelyn?”
“Because Emerald was my first ever friend,” she replied. “He treated me well. And so did all of you. I admit to wanting to become a Gyarados originally but after being caught by Emerald I gave up that goal. Honestly...I’m just glad I have friends. And I’ll fight for you guys any day for that reason alone.”
Emerald hugged the Gyarados in response.
“Well…” Takim said. “This is touching and all but...we’ve got to get to Rusturf Tunnel as soon as possible. Team Magma lost a lot of grunts and their Pokemon trying to dig their way through it. Last time I was there...Roxanne was doing most of the work with few supporting trainers. If we’re going to destroy it...now’s the time.”
“Well then,” Emerald said as he turned around. “Then that means we better hurry up and get you evolved.”
Takim nodded. She then turned to Leif with a stoic expression. The Grovyle gave her a peculiar expression.
“I need you to strike me with as much force as possible,” the Makuhita urged. “Storing up force from enemy attacks in our body accelerates a Makuhita’s growth. And I’m close to evolving so hold nothing back.”
“Understood,” the Grovyle answered before lunging at her at full speed.