Chapter 13

Even though Red was doing the majority of the work to drive off the Electric-types, it wasn't as though they were much of a problem. There were twenty-four of them near the power plant in total. A group of Pikachu, Magnemite and Voltorb approached the large, skyscraper-sized building near the edge of the river the power plant was next to. While the rest of the trainers were busy fighting one half of them, the other half were being taken care of by Red's Pokemon. And boy was it a one sided fight.

The newly evolved Nidoking's Mega Punch shattered the metal exterior of every Magnemite, sending them crashing to the ground in pieces from facing the super-effective Fighting-type move because why would a move called Mega Punch be anything other than a Fighting-type move? The newly evolved Pokemon was no longer quadrupedal but stood on two stout legs with even stronger arms, it's horn longer than ever and bearing a fierce expression with its newly grown fangs. When struck by the many Electric attacks like Thundershock and Thunderbolt, Selven merely shrugged them off as Grass-types resisted the element of thunder before proceeding to Vine Whip any wild Pokemon in sight.

Cinder, who was able to burn to a literal crisp any of them with a Flamethrower, chose to use Ember to non-mortally wound them before making them run away. Even Leta who was super-effected by them due to her Flying-typing was able to stay back and cause them to disperse with Supersonic or subdue them with a Sleep Powder. Red loved the entire spectacle as he felt, for one of the few times in his life, proud of his accomplishments. The other trainers around him watched in very apparent envy of his Pokemon due to his months of training and battle experience.

Wonderful. Red couldn't help but think. I may have lost to Brock but it's not over yet. I can see myself going back to his gym one day and challenging the leader again with my Pokemon newly strengthened. All I have to do now is prove I'm strong enough to beat Misty. Now...which of these Electric-types is good enough to capture?

Just as he was observing one of the last few Pokemon fleeing, a slightly burnt Pikachu running off into the grass that grew to the side of the river, something else appeared from the cliff to the side. Walking down the sloping mountain that walled one into the thin strip of earth between itself and the water was a Pokemon that Red had trouble recognizing at first. It was tiger-like in nature, a bipedal beast with black stripes and a fairly lengthy cat-like tail with large hands. It didn't seem to want to approach the power plant that was behind the row of trainers' Pokemon as it stopped not far from Cinder and Selven. Red narrowed his eyes at it as the Pokemon calmly watched them.

"That's…" he said. "An Electabuzz...the Electric Pokemon. Be careful as...as it seems to be acting odd."

The Pokemon reached out both its arms to send one small jolt of white electricity at Cinder and Selven each. The attack was too insignificant to hurt them, something both his Pokemon seemed to understand as the Bulbasaur and Charmeleon seemed to relax. They both turned back to Red.

"Red," Selven said. "Throw a Pokeball."

"What?" he asked. "But-but it's not weakened-"

"It doesn't matter," Cinder explained. "The Electabuzz wants to be caught. She won't resist."

Red looked at him with absolute shock.

"What?" he said. "Pokemon don't want to be caught!"

"This one does," Selven said. "For...for some reason she couldn't explain."

"But-" he said.

He then looked back at the Electric-type. It was just standing there awkwardly, as if expecting him to make the first move. The silence between them began to grow so tense that Red eventually just gave in to the apparent want of the wild Pokemon.

I think I remember Electabuzz can transmit messages to others with electricity. He thought. Must be the case.

He took off his backpack, produced a Pokeball, took aim at the Electabuzz and threw it at her. The Pokeball bounced off before clicking. Red looked around to see a dead Voltorb lying at one of the trainer's feet after being defeated by the human's Sandshrew and various other corpses of Electric-types near the humans' Pokemon. A female trainer with an Oddish and Bellsprout at her side and the trainer with an Onix looming over him waved at Red from afar.

"Thanks!" the girl said.

"We couldn't have done it without you!" the Onix's trainer shouted.

The pair walked off through the grass as the rest of the trainers followed them, leaving the area. After they did, Leta flew back towards Red while Hurzer walked up to him. The Nidoking gave a ghost of a smile.

"You added a new slave to our ranks?" he asked.

"Shh! Hurzer!" Leta said. "You need to be more appreciative and less argumentative!"

Red sighed before opening the Pokeball. The Electabuzz appeared in a flash of light, her expression unusual for a newly caught Pokemon. She was not angry or surprised, only saddened. And not emotionally sorrowful either, but merely complacent as she readily accepted her role. She looked at Red with a heavy expression.

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"How do you do?" the Electabuzz asked.

"Um…" Red said. "Fine...why do you ask?"

"Just making conversation," she said. "Testing the waters, I guess you could say. I wanted to see if you were the talkative type."

"Oh…" he said. "Well...I'm not, really. Honestly, back home, I'm kind of known as the shy and quiet type."

"So, I'm your servant now," she said. "I don't know if I can do everything you tell me to but I'll certainly try."

Red felt really awkward with her. It was obvious that she was willing to be a trainer's Pokemon but almost too willing. He almost expected her to just say "Just kidding" and start attacking him. It was so odd as the number one thing that Red had been drilled over and over is that Pokemon don't want to be caught. And, for the most part, he'd witnessed that in most of the Pokemon he'd caught. So why was this one different?

"Do...do you have a name?" Red asked.

"My name is Kurer," she answered. "In Electabuzz it means 'approaching storm clouds'. You can name me something else if you like."

She then turned to the other Pokemon surrounding her.

"Do these Pokemon carry their names they bore in the wild?" Kurer asked. "Or have they been replaced?"

Cinder shook his head.

"No," he replied. "I'm the only one with a human name. And it wasn't forced on me...I chose to accept a human name. It's Cinder, meaning to burn to ashes."

He gestured toward Red.

"This is Red," he said. "He's our trainer."

She bowed to him.

"Hello," she said in a voice that was filled with forced respect.

"You don't have to address me like that," Red said. "But I do need to know something."

"Anything," she said.

"Why…" he said. "Why are you acting this way? I've never had a wild Pokemon act this way to me before. Do...do you want to be caught and subjugated? What do you want?"

She smiled faintly.

"To survive," Kurer answered.

"Why can't you do that in the wild?" Red asked. "Is it because you're weak? Because I need you to know...if you can't survive in the wild then don't expect to make it here."

"I'm very strong," she said. "I just...I just can't survive in this place. I would never want to leave this place but...it's no longer the area I was born in. It was changed by you humans."

Red could feel himself deflating. Leta shook her head in midair while Selven could be heard gasping in surprised. Hurzer just laughed.

"The wild Pokemon in this area have always been struggling against the habitat you humans have been creating for yourselves," she explained. "Ever since I was young, you humans have been radically destroying the natural wilderness and warping it to your advantage. The river here, the sea not far from here...even the very grass has been stripped away by the Pokemon your kind capture."

Red began to tense up at her words, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

This happens everywhere. He thought. Humans use Pokemon to change the surrounding environment to tailor make it for their own needs. It often brings them into conflict with the wild Pokemon. Kurer must have been a victim of that.

"The Electric-types that flourish here were a particular target," she said. "My family was kidnapped from the wild until I was the only one left. From the few that managed to escape I know that they're used to power huge constructions that you humans live in. The only reason they don't capture us with the fervor they used to was that, now that they have enough Electric Pokemon, they can just breed them for new batteries. You can conjure light and other strange wonders with our power at your disposal. In all honesty, the wild Pokemon around here have just chosen to accept their plight and either flee at the sight of humans or leave the area. With none of my family around me and much of my home now flooded I decided there was no point in living here anymore."

Red began to feel sorrow for the Electabuzz. It began to remind him that he once did wonder how human activity affected Pokemon when he was young. Professor Oak would try to get the children of Pallet Town to think of Pokemon as sentient beings rather than just wild animals. But Red had discarded that when he saw that even Oak's own grandson hadn't taken to heart anything the old man had taught.

I guess I did pursue power to the exclusion of everything else. He thought.

"All I ask is that you keep me safe," she said. "The trainers who live in the city closest to here have made my life hell and I wish to leave this place. Before they flood the plains I used to live in any further."

"Well," Red said. "I hope you know that if you join us that you'll probably be facing the person responsible for that. Would that bother you?"

The Electabuzz's meek disposition transformed into a face of cold rage.

"Who?" she asked.

"Misty," Red answered. "The gym leader responsible for all the waterways in Cerulean City. You'll be facing off against her when the time comes considering you're strong against the Water-types she uses ."

Kurer's expression became incredibly angry.

"When?" she asked.

"In the six months I've decided to train you all up before we leave to face her," Red answered.

The Electabuzz began grinding her teeth until it looked painful. Her hands began to ball into fists while static electricity began to course around her body. The air between Kurer and everyone else began to grow incredibly hot and tense, as if there was a tightened rope between them. Red almost felt repulse from the force emanating from Kurer, stumbling back a little. It wasn't long before bolts of static electricity blasted from her in different directions. The five of them stepped back as the Electabuzz's eyes seemed to glow with a certain hatred.

"Can you train me?" she asked. "Train me to kill? Train me to destroy and rip asunder anyone I so choose?"

The trainer was quivering in fright.

"Ye-yeah," Red said. "Just-just don't hurt the gym leader."

"There won't be any need for that if I vanquish her Pokemon," Kurer replied. "Then she will not harm anyone. Tell me...does this girl have red hair?"

"Uh-uh," he said. "Yeah...how'd you know?"

"I've heard tales of a Water-type trainer with red hair so powerful that even Electric-types run from her," the Electabuzz said. "She apparently has a hair trigger temper and is a menace to the wild Pokemon, driving them out with impunity."

Her electric energy she was emitting had become less wild and more reserved, acting like a coat around her as Kurer began to regain control of her emotions. However, the hatred in her eyes was no longer wild and uncontrollable but more calm and collected, more direct and targeted. She seemed more dangerous in control of her temper than ruled by it.

"Raise me to be a powerful warrior," Kurer said. "Let me kill these Pokemon Misty uses and I'll serve you for life."

Red was honestly not sure what to do with his newly caught Pokemon now. He thought of releasing her in case Kurer proved to be too dangerous but he was afraid to let go of what could potentially be such a powerful ally. Only one thing raced across his mind.

I'll just have to control her. He thought.