Chapter 35

INSIDE MY HEAD

It's starting to feel like I can't be helped

At least that's what I convince mysеlf

Reminders of a past I can't erasе

That make me sick, that I can't face

- Until I Wake

I

"Sir, all of the supplies are loaded on," a grunt in green military fatigues reported to Lt. Surge, who towered over him.

"Very good." Lt. Surge's hands were locked behind him as he stood on the large cargo ship, overlooking Vermillion city harbor and his gym adding to its skyline.

"Every home and business was picked clean from the city. Should we unload a few crates for the people staying?" The grunt asked with concern, his hands shaking in his pocket.

"No. That will be all," Lt. Surge said.

"But, sir. Shouldn't we—"

"That will be all." The refugees of rural Vermillion flooded onto the ship below him, a mix of hatred and mostly fear pushing them up the ramp. He looked at the onlookers, noticing a young woman and her young daughter standing aside witnessing the wave of anxiety wash up into the ship.

II

“Well, Seth Conklin, can you entertain me as Red did?” Blaine threw his Pokéball into the air, releasing Arcanine before him. Its fur blew wildly as a strong gust of wind filled the beach.

Six months ago, Seth would have given anything to be in this exact position, but it felt so meaningless now. Without Erin’s cheerful smile shining up at him, what was the point of this? Ninetales stepped forward, anger covering her cloudy red eyes.

“Tell me, before we get started. Why risk everything to overthrow Team Rocket? If what you said was true about Johto, then wouldn't they just officially take over by that point?” Blaine’s face looked humorless again, a serious gaze hardening around his eyes.

Seth looked at his son and wife’s bodies on the beach and listened to their reminder of his complicity in their deaths. “They took my family from me. It is as simple as that.”

“So you have no plan to put out the fire of war after unleashing it in your home. I’m just supposed to stand by and watch the flames dance across the ocean to ignite Cinnabar.

“The fire is already raging. Help us stop it. Flamethrower!” Ninetales' blue flames overtook the sand, aiming at Arcanine.

“Fire Blast!” Blaine said. Arcanine held a growing ball of fire in front of him, and before the blue flames took over his body, unleashed the power of a small sun on the encroaching attack. A red inferno collided with the blue flames, exploding into a wall of fire.

“Extreme Speed.” Arcanine rushed the flames, unfazed, colliding with Ninetales, who was thrown to the other side of the beach next to Seth. The streak of its collision was marked into the sand.

“Show me, Seth! Show me that you care about more than just your selfish desires. Show me that Kanto is worth saving.” Emily sat in the sand, watching Seth’s face of pain and anger overtake him from Blaine’s words.

“Crunch.” Arcanine was closing the distance once more, its jaw unhinged.

“Extrasensory!” Seth called out. Ninetales, getting up to its feet, leered its eyes into Arcanine, who immediately stopped in place. It dug its head into the sand, desperately trying to avoid the cruel brightness that his heightened senses allowed him to bear. The sand provided no comfort as its coarse nature scratched at its skin, clinging to its fur.

“Zen Headbutt.” As Arcanine desperately tried to escape the cruelty of sight, sound, and touch, the space in front of Ninetales' forehead twisted and rotated violently. In a blur of gray and blue, the dense mass she created crashed into Arcanine’s side, blood trickling down as it howled in pain.

“Outrage.” Arcanine quickly recovered at the Gym Leader’s command, and a purple flame exuded from every pore of him, fluttering out of its fur like a violent storm. It took its first step, visibly anguishing through the pain, and began to run after Ninetales.

“Flamethrower,” Seth called out, hoping to slow it down, but it simply ran through the flash fire, gaining speed and power. Ninetales braced for the impact, but no preparation could defend against this power. Arcanine’s head collided with Ninetales' chest, and she flew in the air, smashing into the sand that half-heartedly cushioned the fall.

"Ninetales!" She moved, and Seth hesitated, wanting to check on her but scared of breaking the rules.

"Go to her," Blaine said, as if he had read Seth's thoughts. Her chest was rising and falling, but she was unconscious. Seth didn't see any visible injuries but worried about any bones being broken.

"Emily!" She ran up to Seth and Ninetales, gently placing a hand on top of her.

"I got her, Seth."

"Let me see Torterra and Metang," Seth asked Emily, holding out Ceruledge and Haxorus' Pokéballs.

"Why?"

"Erin is the only reason we have made it as far as we did. I win with his Pokémon," Seth said with a faint smile on his face. Emily didn't respond but just pridefully smiled back.

“You couldn’t save him.” Sarah screamed in his ear, dripping blood from severed feet into the sand below.

III

Holly watched her home recede into the horizon. An image of her mother playing with her daughter flashed in her mind as she could barely make out the building that once held her family. She gripped the railing of the ship watching Vermillion forever disappear from her sight.

IV

Torterra braced for the attack from Arcanine, whose purple flames coated its body and crashed into Torterra's powerful shell. The tree on top shook violently, and Torterra smashed his front legs into the sand. The roots from the mangrove that bordered the beach swam towards them, jumping out and diving back into the sand. One root struck Arcanine's leg, gripping it and pulling it down.

"Flamethrower!" Blaine called out. As the flames washed across Torterra's feet, a wall of sand and earth erupted below Arcanine, slamming into its stomach, extinguishing its outrage and its consciousness.

"The Torterra is well-trained," Blaine said, returning Arcanine.

"He was my son’s first-ever Pokémon," Seth smiled, tears filling his eyes as he reminisced about the memory in the hills outside their home in Cerulean City.

"You should be proud," Blaine smiled at Seth while resting his body weight on his cane and reaching for another Pokéball. Talonflame began to soar through the sky, circling overhead.

"Aerial Ace!"

"Stealth Rock!"

V

"How do you know Giovanni will be at Viridian?" Sabrina asked, standing next to Lt. Surge on the deck of the ship, with Cycling Road just coming into view on the horizon.

"Water team, unleash Mist now." A thick cloud of vapor rose from the gulf, climbing the steel hull of the ship. The bridge in the distance soon disappeared, along with everything else. "I got this letter the day Red left for Saffron City. Did you receive it as well?"

Sabrina took the paper, holding it close to her face due to the thick mist surrounding them. Even Lt. Surge, who was standing right next to her, became obscured.

Team Rocket High Command,

I am writing to inform you of a mandatory meeting scheduled to take place in Viridian City three months from today. It is imperative that each member of the High Command attends this gathering. This meeting has been called to unveil a significant development that is crucial to the success of our endeavors and the continued dominance of Team Rocket. The details of this development will be disclosed during the meeting, and its importance cannot be overstated. Make the necessary arrangements for maintaining control over your assigned regions in your absence.

Giovanni

"Yeah, I did. I didn't think you would be as smart as myself but you are truly dumber than I could have conceived. Attacking the city while the entire High Command of Team Rocket is present! What are you thinking?" Sabrina yelled, outraged.

"Killing Giovanni is not going to end this war, Sabrina." He couldn't see her anymore, so instead, he stared into the white void that covered him. "We need to remove every head that dares replace Giovanni’s. Additionally, this attack rests on its surprise; I won't witness another failure like Mt. Silver."

"You might have to. He sent that letter before yours or my treason was known. Why wouldn't he move the date or prepare for us?" Sabrina said.

"I think something else is going on. He had every opportunity to take back or even attack us at Vermillion. Yet there was nothing. No resistance, no stopping the flood of refugees. Nothing. There is something happening that we're not seeing, and I am going to take advantage of that." The bridge creaked and groaned overhead as the ship fell into silence.

"You're going to create another massacre, and I will not die for your idiocracy. As soon as the battle turns against us for your poor planning, I am fleeing." Sabrina turned away from Lt. Surge’s arrogance disappearing further into the mist.

VI

"Torterra!" Talonflame's fire-coated body blitzed into Torterra’s head. The sand absorbed the crash as Torterra lost the strength to stand up. As it returned to the Pokéball, the crater from its body weight dipped down and filled with water from the rising tide.

Talonflame hopped in the sand around the new pool of water, blood trickling off its forehead and chest. Rhydon appeared out of his Pokéball, centered around the thick black rocks from Heatran’s attacks.

"Are you ready, Rhydon?" His Pokémon turned his head towards him, admiring the similarities between Seth and his father before nodding and turning back to Talonflame.

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“Talonflame! Flee now,” Blaine yelled. But it was too late.

“Rock Throw!” The igneous rock slammed into Talonflame’s side, forcing her to the ground, unmoving in front of her trainer.

“Type difference alone won't save you from this fight,” Blaine said before releasing Houndoom.

“Rock Throw.”

“Double Team,” Rhydon picked up another rock, throwing it at incredible speed at his new enemy. However, Houndoom began running into the sand so quickly that new images of its presence began to dance around Rhydon. The rock smashed into the sand close to the water.

“Flamethrower,” a pillar of fire overtook Rhydon, its arms protecting its face from the heat.

“Solarbeam!” Houndoom fixed its feet in the sand, and the sun rays magnified onto its body as if it was collecting all of the energy the sun had to offer.

“Rhydon, you have to knock it out here. Hammer Arm.” Rhydon struggled through the sand, lifting his immense weight from the gripping ground, inching towards Houndoom. The sunlight was collecting so much on that one spot that the sand beneath Blaine’s Pokémon began to glow a deep red and turned into a liquefied mass.

Rhydon’s arm finally fell atop Houndoom's head, the horn on top cracked and split beneath the power of Rhydon, impaling the molten sand beneath it. The skin on his skull sliced on impact, with blood running over his eye, but no matter how powerful the attack, it failed to stop the assault in time.

In a roar of pain and anger, Houndoom unleashed and redirected the intense sunlight. A beam of bright yellow and orange shot out of Houndoom’s mouth. The ground beneath Rhydon turned to molten sand, creating a dark red line that ended in the ocean. Rhydon’s screams overcame Houndoom’s; its rock body glowed in an intense red.

“Rhydon, get to the ocean!” Seth took the field, running after his father’s Pokémon. Charizard emerged out of nowhere, gripping under Rhydon’s arms, and with a powerful flap of his wings, sent a gust of wind colliding with Seth and Blaine, lifting Rhydon into the air. Twenty yards away, he dropped Rhydon into the shallow water as the waves washed over Rhydon, softening his screams of pain and dulling the glow of his skin. The sand that was under the ray of the Solarbeam solidified into an opaque path of glass.

“Houndoom, are you still okay to battle?” The left side of his face was now lopsided with the absence of his horn and clotted blood that matted its short fur. He nodded furiously at Blaine and turned his piercing gaze towards Seth. Rhydon made his way up to Emily before collapsing next to her and Ninetales.

“Is he okay?” Seth called out and was thankful to see Emily lift up her hand with her thumb up.

Seth held Noivern and Annihilape's Pokéballs in each hand, looking back and forth between the two.

VII

Erika took another hit from the top of her Gloom, her senses dulled, and the anxiety of the oncoming attack dissipated. She hated herself; six months completely sober faded away with the toxic fumes filling her lungs.

The knock against the steel door of her quarters bounced off the walls, but it seemed so distant and unimportant now.

“Lt. Surge requests your presence on the bridge,” a voice called out.

“Okay,” Erika tried to respond pleasantly. But no words came out; her body was simply too at peace to be bothered with exerting any form of work.

She finally managed to get dressed and make her way down the narrow hallways of the cabin. All the faces around her looked so downcast. The random age of men and women clutching their one or, at most, two Pokéballs, looked at them as if believing hard enough would protect them from the incoming slaughter. But Erika wasn't bothered by any of that. Her worries and anxiety were gone.

“We're coming up to the Pallet Peninsula,” Lt. Surge said, standing in front of the windows that looked out at the water with a faint line of trees in the distance. Sabrina looked at her disapprovingly and faced back to Lt. Surge.

“I have made a list of all the trainers that have support and healing Pokémon; you will be leading the units behind me and my vanguard. Train them on our march from the forest outside Pallet Town to Viridian City, do you understand?”

She nodded and drifted back to the need to take another hit from Gloom. The reality of this assault was becoming too much of a reality.

VIII

“Shadow Punch,” Annihilape disappeared into a shadow on the sand.

“Get ready, Houndoom. Look at the shadow.” The black spot that was racing along the beach circled Houndoom. His left eye was completely closed shut from the blood raining down from the top of his head. The shadow circled faster and faster, waiting to get to his left side.

“Now!” Houndoom attempted to get ready when Annihilape emerged inches from him. His grey fist slammed into its ribs, lifting its feet from the ground until it crashed into the beach a moment later.

“Well done, Seth. Three left each. Let's see how you handle this,” Blaine said, releasing a Tauros. The usual brown coat was replaced with black as it coated every inch in the new color except for a few faint lines on its mane that stood out as a deep red.

“Flame Charge.” Fire raged around its body while it sprinted down the sand.

“Annihilape, dodge it.” He attempted to transform back in the shadows. Just as it was finishing transforming its body back into the shadow, Tauros’ horn dragged along the sand, connecting with the top of Annihilape’s head, ripping it out of the ground and flinging it across the battlefield.

Annihilape struggled to get back to its feet. Its grey arms pushed into the sand, forcing it to prepare once more. A black blur rushed over the sand, and before Annihilape could even get ready, Tauros' head smashed into its body, throwing him into the wet sand and oncoming waves.

“Annihilape, he is coming again!” His trainer's cries were washed away by the waves, submerging him in the defining silence. A sharp pain dug into his right shoulder, and the next moment, the cries of his trainer and the reality of the battlefield flooded back. Tauros, its body so covered in flames that it was hard to believe it had any black on its fur, flung Annihilape once more. The sand cushioned the fall but did very little for the pain raging down his arm.

“Flame Charge!”

“Final Gambit!” Tauros came inches from impaling Annihilape again, However, he gripped Tauros’ throat, the flames scorching his dead-like grey skin. Annihilape using all his remaining strength jumped in the air, carrying both of them before falling backward. Tauros was flailing attempting to get free of his grip. Both their heads were facing downward as the power of Annihilape flung them on the solidified thick glass.

Tauros lay motionless in the sand, its flames now extinguished from its body. Annihilape stood up and stared at Seth. The scar hung over his left eye which looked more of pride than the usual anger, and even though his fur covered his mouth, Seth knew he was smiling. He collapsed just feet from Tauros, completely exhausted.

IX

The fire crackled in the woods, mixing with the sounds of Hoothoots and Kricketune. The moon failed to penetrate the thick canopy of branches over Lt. Surge’s army. Every trainer was quiet, eating their rations and flinching at every unusual sound outside the campsite, as if Giovanni was going to descend on them at any moment.

“Emily, Seth, would you follow me for a moment,” Holly asked, petting Ninetales.

The fog of anxiety rested thick over each campfire. Seth saw an old man attempting to tell a story to boys and girls no older than fourteen, trying to calm their nerves. Very few people were in their late 30s or 40s, as their bodies still lay below Mt. Silver. Would they be the next to walk into an ambush? Seth was content with that; he couldn't imagine what life would be like for him, no matter the outcome of this battle. Dying in the field would be preferable, as he could finally be at peace and no longer surrounded by his mistakes that Sarah and Erin kept reminding him of.

“Sit down,” Lt. Surge requested. The fire centered between himself, Erika, who looked completely spaced out, and Sabrina sat ordinarily as the rest of the troops.

“Well?” Emily asked, annoyed, as she sat on an open log around the flames. Ninetales lay down next to her, placing her head in her lap.

“I need to go over the plan for you two,” Lt. Surge said.

“Attack Viridian, what else is there?” Emily shot back.

“You two will be assigned to Red and sneak through the city during the chaos to kill Giovanni.” Lt. Surge didn't meet their looks of horror but stared into the flames.

“He is a fucking kid!” Emily yelled out.

“I will go alone. Leave Red here,” Seth said. He felt Emily's hand grip his arm in a gentle squeeze.

Red stood up and started signing so quickly that Seth couldn't even comprehend the few words he had picked up in his time with him. However, his facial expression looked the exact same as when Erin was throwing a temper tantrum.

“Giovanni is the most powerful gym leader in Kanto. I don't think I could beat Blaine, but Red annihilated him. You can lecture me on morals after we win,” Lt. Surge stood up, looking down at Seth.

“And how do we know he won't escape as soon as we attack?” Holly asked, cutting the tension between the two.

Lt. Surge relaxed and turned towards his soldier. “That's actually where you come in, Holly. You will be leading the aerial units. Not a single Pokémon is to flee; you have never failed me. Now is not the time to start. We will be there in two days, get prepared.”

“Yes, Sir.” She disappeared into the darkness of the camp.

“What of Blaine?” Sabrina asked, only getting a small smirk from Surge.

X

“Metang!” The blue steel body glowed a bright red, emanating from Blaine’s Camerupt erupting liquid fire from its back. Its eye began to shine brighter than its body, and a swirling vortex surrounded it. Sand was sucked around the ball of bending light, mixing with the lava raining down on top of it.

“What a treat to witness. Camerupt, get ready for the offensive as soon as its evolution finishes,” Blaine said, twisting his white mustache with his free hand.

The light turned back to normal, and the sand and solidified rock fell to its four steel feet, submerged into the sand.

“Earthquake,” Blaine commanded, causing the beach they stood on to shake beneath their feet.

“Magnet Rise, Metagross.” Seth fell to his knees, finding it hard to stand up as the sand beneath him moved violently, with the ground shaking and cracking apart.

“Flamethrower,” Blaine said.

“Light Screen,” An opaque wall grew out of thin air, causing the incoming flames to crash and splatter in every direction but forward.

“Psychic.” Camerupt lifted up, confused and struggling to find footing on thin air.

“Eruption!” Camerupt's back exploded with a bang, shooting lava in every direction. Blaine jumped out of the way to avoid his Pokémon’s attack. His cane, still left in its original place, was bathed in the lava and incinerated at its touch.

“Meteor Mash.” Metagross floated at incredible speed, getting hit by the lava as it got closer and closer to its target. With all its power fighting through the pain of Camerupt's eruption, one of Metagross’s steel legs slammed down on the top of Camerupt and sent him flying into the ground. Lava leaked out from the top of his volcano-like back.

Metagross screamed in pain trying desperately to find the ocean, and finally submerging in its cool water. Metagross's defined lines on its face and legs smoothed out from the intense heat of molten rock.

“Metagross, are you okay?” Seth said, approaching him. The water ran up his feet and legs before receding back over Metagross and into the sea. His red eyes looked up at Seth, and all four legs dug into the ground, lifting himself up in visible pain.

“Go relax over by Emily. Noivern has got this, okay.” Metagross walked slowly by her and the other Pokémon before dropping like a heavy weight, displacing sand in every direction that Emily had to shake off her face and clothes.

“Seth Conklin. I must say I am impressed. I used most of my strongest Pokémon against Red, that is true, but pushing me to my last Pokémon. You should be proud of yourself,” Blaine said. He was looking at the small remains of his wooden cane. Only the loop at the top remained.

“My son raised most of these Pokémon, including this last one.” Seth looked down at Noivern’s Pokéball with admiration that brought a smile to Emily.

Erin’s body laid on the beach waves crashing over it undeterred. Attacking higher up the coast through the hallucination of Erin. “I’m fine, Daddy.”

“I love you.” Seth muttered to himself, looking at his dead son.

“Well, I will tell you this is my second strongest Pokémon behind Heatran. But let's make it interesting. I will bring attention to the attack on Viridian City to my people. I am not a tyrant like the leaders of Kanto so often are. However, if you beat me, showing me that there is actual hope in defeating Team Rocket, I will support your cause. But I say this to you, when Lt. Surge regains control of your country, he needs to leave Cinnabar alone.” Seth nodded seriously to Blaine’s request.

“Great, you will deliver my demands to Lt. Surge. When he sends an agreement to what I have asked, you will at a minimum have me during the assault.” Blaine smiled, bringing 10 years of youth to his face. “Then Seth, all that is left is for you to beat me.”

XI

The full moon faintly illuminated the field of grass that rushed up against the Viridian City wall. The tall skyscrapers, shining with their inner lights, stood under a large red "R" that the largest building wore like a crown.

"Professor Oak perished a year ago while attempting to kindle the very flame we now bring to their doorstep.” Lt. Surges gripped Red’s shoulder firmly standing outside the treeline of his forces. Your lives have been at their mercy for too long. If you want to save those you hold dear, now is the time! " Lt. Surge's voice echoed with resolute determination.

"Aerial Unit, go!" Lt. Surge commanded. The hundred trainers atop their Pokémon took flight behind Holly, who rode on top of her Fearow.

"Vanguard, march!" He took his first step towards the attack, Electivire walking at a pace next to him.

XII

Blaine's final Pokéball soared through the air, releasing Volcarona. Noivern hissed loudly, the summer sun shining through the holes in his cyan wings.

"Flamethrower!"

"Dragon Pulse!" The explosive clash of attacks erupted between them, and both Pokémon took to the sky, racing around each other, unleashing attack after attack. No longer guided by their trainers but driven by their rigorous training. Fortunately, Noivern's training was overseen by Erin.

XIII

The Viridian City wall loomed over Lt. Surge and Professor Oak's army. Fire coming out from a Team Rocket’s Honchkrow along the ground, incinerating the grass below as it advanced toward Lt. Surge. Before the flames could reach him, Holly on her Fearow smashed into Honchkrow’s side, immediately extinguishing the pillar of flames as it pecked its long beak through its left eye. Honchkrow and its trainer crashed into the bottom of the wall sliding down slightly before hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

“I thought you said that Fearow was weak.” Emily said to Lt. Surge who smirked.

"Heatran, Earth Power!" Blaine commanded in front of his Cinnabar troops. The ground beneath the wall first bubbled, then exploded, with earth and molten rock raining into the city as the section of the wall fell into the depths of the city.