Chapter 30

"Go!" Red shouted. "Selven!"

Through eyes blurred with tears, Red watched as the Pokeball opened to materialize the Venusaur. Selven looked determined, his face a strong and courageous wall set before Blue. He then looked around to see the dead Nidoking beside him.

The Venusaur then shouted in surprise and burst into tears at the sight of Hurzer's half bleeding out. He turned back to Blue, his steady and calm demeanor now dyed with visible anger. Selven's body tensed up as he growled in fury.

"Hurzer…" he said. "Why…? Why couldn't I have died in your stead? I was supposed to die all that time ago. I was raised to be cattle…it's not fair. It's not fair!"

Blue merely shrugged, a confident smirk lining his face.

"It seems your Venusaur is just as poorly trained now as he was back when you faced Misty," he replied. "The first thing a trainer is meant to do is purge their Pokemon of emotions inappropriate for servitude. Your Pokemon really are out of control, aren't they?"

The Venusaur stomped his rightmost foot down onto the SS Anne, his weight shaking the battlefield.

"Hurzer was a Pokemon raised in the wilderness," he said as his eyes blurred with tears. "Just trying to stay alive all his life…it prevented him from pursuing the finer things in life…like friendship and calling…what gives you the right to take away one's life before they've figured out their purpose?"

"Pokemon have no purpose," Blue said. "They are merely engines of destruction or cattle to be harvested. Pokemon raised in the wild serve no real function until they are captured to be used by humans. So you moaning and groaning about your Bulbasaur being slaughtered or a wild animal butchered is of no consequence in the real world."

"Is that how you see all sentient life?!" Selven roared. "Tools to be utilized?! Or do you hold a bias for your own species that you're somehow superior despite having the same emotions that we feel? If Pokemon have the same desires, dreams and bonds that humans do, how are we any different from humans?"

"Because of the feats we can accomplish," Blue said. He plucked a Pokeball from his waist and held it forward. "Technology like this is impossible for almost any Pokemon to make. I mean…look at this ship we're on! Human beings have done something that almost no Pokemon aside from Water-types have accomplished! Marine travel. We even have what it takes to soar through the skies on the machines we construct. With such capabilities it proves without a doubt that we are another level from any creature. Even the strongest of our Pokemon must bow before us since we can capture them so easily."

Blue then fitted the Pokeball back around his waist, the adhesive center of the capsule sticking to the top of his pants.

"But if you must know," he said. "Pokemon are too dangerous to be left alone. They must be tamed and restricted for the safety of human beings or else be left roaming the world, destroying everything and turning the entirety of the world's environment upside down. You think we should just allow creatures like that to go unmonitored or unchecked?"

"You sound like a hypocrite," Selven replied. "You claimed it was unfair for the Kanto military to oppress and conquer the region of Johto but treat Pokemon like pawns too stupid to do anything other than your bidding."

"The people of Johto are different from a bunch of wild animals that run around using elemental powers to distort the natural environment to their liking," Blue stated. "The people of Johto were smart and methodical enough to construct cities, build roads and prosper with immense technology…something the Kanto government felt threatened them and wished to take away. A human's ingenuity combined with hard work and amazing intellect is far different from a thuggish Snorlax who only knows how to gorge, sleep and wreak havoc when awoken too early."

His smile then grew wider.

"Come to think of it," Blue went on. "It's not too different from the life cycle of a Nidoking. A thuggish purple monster that poisons anything that gets too close to it. A dumb animal with no other purpose but to stomp its feet and roar in the middle of nowhere."

Selven's face intensified in both sadness and anger. Even more tears streamed from his eyes, coating his face with trails of liquid. He looked angry enough to kill Blue. The trainer only took this opportunity to further insult the Venusaur.

"Or a runtish Grass-type that gathers in herds to be eaten by higher beings that won't waste their lives living in grasslands," Blue stated. "For you to become a Venusaur is truly a waste of your highest form of potential your kind can possibly hope to muster…food for something worth living."

As Selven began to sob out of sheer anger, Red interjected.

"His comrade just died!" the young man shouted. "Can't you have just the faintest bit of remorse for him?!"

Blue's expression hardened, no longer merely arrogant but showing pain in his own way.

"Faintest remorse?" he asked. "For what? A broken gun? Because that's what you're asking me to feel sorry for when I see that thing's body."

The opposing trainer's gaze shifted to the Nidoking's corpse.

"Pokemon have been nothing but tools of war for the entirety of our world's existence," Blue said. "Nothing but a means to an end to conquer everything as far as the eye can see. Raids, battle, assassinations…just playthings and means of operations. It's what the world's governments see them as at least and is very good at using them for such a thing. Almost no one aside from my sentimental grandfather sees Pokemon as anything different."

He then turned back to Red.

"You may think otherwise," Blue stated. "But if the entirety of our species uses Pokemon for no other purpose but as weapons then I see no reason to take your babbling seriously. Are you going to deny that's what Pokemon have been from day one?"

Red wanted to retort at the young man but he began to see his point. He remembered what Misty told him. That Pokemon were just tools of battle meant to be sacrificed for human ambitions. She even got over her favorite Pokemon's death rather quickly. Honestly, her view of Pokemon was little different than Team Rocket's. The only trainer Red had met along his journey that didn't have this view of Pokemon was Lt. Surge.

If the entirety of the world sees them all as weapons…Red thought. How can I be right if I disagree? Am I arrogant enough to think I know better than the entirety of mankind? Because that's what I'm saying if I say I disagree with Blue's logic.

"So you're dumb enough to think that's the truth just because everyone else does?" Selven asked. "If everyone around you thought something that was untrue you'd believe it because…because you think that many people can't be wrong? That's literally the dumbest thing I've ever heard!"

Red then snapped out of that mode of thinking. He shook his head, realizing his Venusaur had a better grasp of truth than Blue did. It was better for Red to listen to Selven than Blue.

"And how am I wrong?" Blue asked.

"Because you can plainly see that's not the truth," the Venusaur answered. "Pokemon are on par with human beings in terms of emotional bonds and intelligence. We may not be able to make what humans can but we still feel things…possibly more than you do. I haven't met many humans in my life but…if all humans are like you then I can conclude they're arrogant and disgusting…prone to only the cruelest of intentions as they always scheme their way through life. And let me tell you…most Pokemon I have met view humans that way. So…are they right because so many of them have come to this conclusion?"

Blue shook his head.

"Enough talking to cattle," he said. "Alakazam! Get ready for another Psychic! Your target is the Venusaur, a Poison-type, so you'll have about as easy a time killing it as you did the Nidoking!"

The Alakazam lifted his arm in preparation for the attack, moving slower than usual due to Leta's presence. Red took a deep breath, deciding what to do in the little time he had. The trainer weighed his options.

Alakazam has used a fair amount of Psychic-type energy. He thought. His psyfield must have been depleted to some extent between using the Cruel Armor, using Recover to regenerate a wound that was near fatal and using a Psychic. Especially considering Psychic's drawback in comparison to Confusion.

Red recited from memory another primary difference between Confusion and Psychic he read from the Pokedex entry on them.

Confusion is like throwing an object on a rope at the target. Red thought. The energy can be pulled back at any time so it's not depleted. However, Psychic is not only a larger quantity of energy used but more so like a blast of it that is let loose and can't be returned. However…Alakazam has such a large psyfield that using up this much of it wouldn't bother it much. So with that being said…the Psychic will be lethal to Selven.

He then thought of his options, knowing he was facing the Pokemon with the largest psyfield of any Psychic-type Pokemon.

If I can get Leta to attack the Alakazam it'd force Blue to make a choice. Red thought. Use Psychic to blow back Leta's attack or kill Selven. In the split second that the Alakazam tries to protect itself against Leta's attack, Selven can use his signature move. I know that Psychic, in contrast to Confusion, is too direct a move to be used in multiple directions. So Blue will have to choose.

But then Red remembered the disadvantages to such a strategy.

If Blue sees through the bait and decides to attack Selven instead… He thought. Selven's dead and Leta might be finished off rather quickly. But if Selven uses his signature move…it could quickly get out of control. I could have Selven used Razor Leaf as it's a ranged move that can't easily be deflected by telekinesis like Toxic Spear…but Blue's Alakazam could just Recover the damage like with Hurzer's attack. The signature move will be far stronger than an ordinary Razor Leaf but it's such a double edged sword…

Selven's signature move was the strongest out of Red's Pokemon. But it was so dangerous that Red was afraid of using it and would rather his other Pokemon battle instead. After Lt. Surge tutored him enough, Red thought he could further train Selven to use his signature move more efficiently but with Selven's current level of proficiency it was dangerous.

But I have no other choice. Red thought. I have to hope that Blue falls for the bait and that Quiver Dance's speed has enhanced Leta enough that she can use it this fast.

"Leta!" Red shouted. "Use Silver Wind!"

The Butterfree flapped her wings down at her opponents, faster than the Alakazam on account of using Quiver Dance. From her wings came powdery, dust-like particles that Red knew were scales. They blasted at the Alakazam and the Raticate trapped between the Toxic Spears. Blue looked up in shock at the sight.

Silver Wind was a move that Leta had learned not long after evolving. The move was formed by a Bug-type, usually one capable of flight, scattering scales their body naturally produced at high speeds. The speed they were released at was usually not enough damage to leave a significant dent in the opponent as that wasn't the point of the move.

The kinds of scales that these Bug-type Pokemon churned out were meant to irritate the opponent's skin upon contact. The fine substance was damaging to the epidermal layer of a creature's flesh as it soaked into their pores and gave the target a certain itchy feeling. Except it was no ordinary itch as the scales wormed their way into the user's body to cause pain by continuing digging into the body.

A Pokemon that didn't die from this irritation would be completely crippled and unable to do anything except writhe in constant agony. They would not be alright until the scales were either removed by washing them out or one's body pushed the fine substance out. The secret to the pain generated by Silver Wind's was that the scales were fine enough to bypass even thick skin. Red watched in anticipation as he watched Blue gaze at the Butterfree's attack.

"Change of plans!" Blue shouted. "Blow back that attack!"

Immediately, the Alakazam's target switched from Selven to the incoming Silver Wind. A telekinetic push from the Alakazam repelled the attack skyward rather than the downward flow the Butterfree had been flapping towards. However, Red saw this as his best opportunity to turn the battle around.

"Selven!" he shouted. "Use Biological Conversion!"

Blue's face then turned back at Red upon him ordering the signature move to be executed. Selven nodded before a seed about the size of a man's pinky finger sprung from the center of the Venusaur's yellowish-orange flower. The middle of the flower petals, colored yellow from pollen, produced the dark green seed that landed midway between him and Blue's Pokemon.

The seed buried itself deep into the deck of the SS Anne, a small hole visible where it bored through. Blue watched in confusion at the sight as the area directly around the hole in the wooden floor turned a deep green. Then the greenery spread.

The wood floor directly in front of where the seed had bored through turned green in what looked like a wave of the color. It began spreading forward as though someone had spilled green paint. Blue looked on in shock as the deck began to sprout not only leaves but large green stalks that came up to his waist that were decorated with thorns.

The spears of poison that Hurzer had furnished the battleground with were now dissipating as they were being absorbed into the newly minted environment. After the greenery spread to the wood at the base of the spikes, leaves grew atop and along the purple objects. They began to shrink and grow more narrow with each new leaf that sprung from them.

The green floor now replacing the deck of the SS Anne became moss-like. It was a soft green bed of green strands like the moss that would grow on trees. Red was relieved to see that the bed of greenery was only spreading toward Blue's Pokemon, his side of the field becoming botanical rather than Red's.

"Wh-What is this?!" Blue shouted.

Good. Red thought. The seed is only affecting the opponent's side of the field rather than mine…at least for now.

Once the deck beneath the feet of the Alakazam and Raticate was turned into a botanical organism, the stalks sprouting up began to wrap around Blue's Pokemon. From experience experimenting with the move, he knew the organism that Selven had produced could naturally sense which organisms were stronger and filled with more energy. It was relatively uninterested in humans that had less power to assimilate than Pokemon.

Blue's Raticate was the first victim of the organism that the boat's deck was now being turned into. The green stalks that had thorns growing alongside their length began to wrap around the Mouse Pokemon. The Pokemon screeched in panic as they clung to him.

The thorns dug deep into the Raticate's skin, its flesh pierced by the botanical stickers. As it shrieked in pain, Red could see a pulsating movement visibly spread across the stalks. The stalks were palpitating as they sucked the blood of the Raticate, their thorns visibly draining the creature like teeth latching onto a piece of meat.

In the same way that food in the mouth was mechanically digested to absorb the morsel's nutrients, so did the stalks sap the health of the Normal-type Pokemon. Red was surprised to see the thorns pierced through the armor guarding the Raticate as easily as a knife going through paper. He then remembered that the strength of Selven's Biological Conversion was dependent upon the Venusaur's special attack on not its physical strength.

The same happened with Blue's Alakazam. Leta was not letting up with her Silver Wind, beating down on Blue's Pokemon as hard as she could to scatter the fine scales. As a result, the Alakazam had to keep pushing the powdery substance away with Psychic. As he was telekinetically repelling the move away, the thorny stalks sprung up around him.

He looked down too late to find the thorns now latching onto his legs and digging into the lower half of his body. The Alakazam screamed in pain at the sensation, more fluid drained as the stalks pulsated with suction. It shut its eyes in pain and screamed as the stalks began slowly climbing up his body, gradually draining him of nutrients.

It was shortly after the plants had swallowed the Alakazam's entire body that Leta stopped using Silver Wind. She had flung her last bit of scales down at her opponents before it was blasted skyward by the Alakazam's telekinesis. The Mosaic she had created of Alakazam remained. Red looked up, displeased at the sight.

"Keep using Silver Wind!" he shouted.

But rather than continuing to attack, Leta floated back down to the ship. Red watched in frustration to see her wings flapping slowly, just enough not to crash land. Red ran forward to grab her before she hit the floor of the SS Anne, her light and graceful body carried in her arms.

"L-Leta!" he shouted. "What happened?"

"I-I just can't keep fighting," she said. "Butterfree aren't able to fly very well if they are sad and once Hurzer died…it really hit me. He never found a purpose to live for. Not to mention…I'm exhausted from completing two Mosaic Distortions."

"Okay," Red said. "I'll withdraw you-"

"No!" Leta shouted. "I still want to fight, just…give me a second to…to rest. I want to fight…because I don't want anyone else to suffer if they don't have to."

Fresh tears stung Red's eyes at the sight of the Bug-type Pokemon's bravery. Butterfree were often mocked for not being very strong or the fastest Flying-types around but Leta had been one of Red's most reliable Pokemon as she had access to all sorts of status inducing moves. And her spirit to keep going even in dire situations just to make people happy was beyond commendable. Red kicked himself mentally for not realizing how much he should have appreciated her earlier.

"I should have taken better care of you," he said quietly.

Red then turned to look on as the carnivorous botanical organism was absolutely massacring Blue's two Pokemon. His Raticate was now swallowed in thorn stalks to the point it was no longer visible and the Alakazam was now swaddled in the plants from his waist down, the stalks climbing further up its body. Blue tried to recall his two Pokemon into their Pokeballs but the flash of light emitted from the open capsules merely bounced off the two of them.

"What?!" he shouted. "Is it like Wrap?!"

Red remembered that one of the advantages to Biological Conversion was that if the stalks that grew from the newly grown organism were sufficiently bound to the Pokemon then they couldn't be withdrawn back into Pokeballs, similar to Wrap. Blue's Alakazam's now appeared visibly withered, as if it had suddenly aged in the span of a few seconds with its frame becoming visibly more gaunt and skeletal while the stalks continued to pump more of the Psychic-type's fluid out of its body and into the organism. Its once stoic gaze was now replaced with a tired and worn expression as its arms hung limply to its side, nearly dropping its spoons it held them so loosely.

To Red's relief and fear the organism that Selven had produced was now growing at an incredible rate. The bed of moss-like strands that formed the floor of the organism were now budding, small bulbs of bright green appearing across the deck of the SS Anne. The leaves growing from the withered and blackened remains of the Toxic Spears began to become a darker and deeper green. Even the thorn stalks themselves were growing thicker and larger with every second of absorbing life fluid from Blue's Pokemon.

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As the organism that had been converted from nonliving matter to living matter drained its targets it became stronger, able to drain more. This had a self-perpetuating effect that caused the move to only become stronger with time. It was even better to use against multiple targets as it only gave Biological Conversion more victims to parasitically assimilate the nutrients from. The organism only expanded with each target.

But that was the exact problem. The organism would only spread indefinitely as a result of absorbing energy and health. The Biological Conversion could easily get out of control and start to spread in places it wasn't meant to. The seed it grew from would move forward originally, but as it expanded and got bigger it would inevitably attack targets it wasn't meant to.

Red watched as the moss-like terrain slowly inched forward to convert more of the SS Anne's deck into a bed of green. He was afraid of what would happen if it reached the end of that side of the SS Anne. From practice with Selven he knew that once the botanically mutated organism had expanded far enough in one direction it would inevitably spread everywhere else. There was no end as far as the organism was concerned, every territory on earth belonged to it.

The only target Red was sure the organism's stalks were safe from was the progenitor of the plant, Selven. Under no circumstances had he ever witnessed Selven being attacked by the organism even when standing in the center of it. He supposed it was because the organism felt it was still a part of its creator and felt attacking that host would be an attack on itself.

This disadvantage could be mitigated by having the seed land on a smaller object, such as a rock or even a building. Once the seed had consumed all of that object's space it would eventually stop growing. It apparently couldn't expand past the original object it was planted on.

However, when Biological Conversion was used on the ground or the place that acted as such anyone not named Selven was in danger of being eaten alive. Selven exerted some mental control over the organism and could prevent it from spreading in certain directions but in doing so he couldn't move much and couldn't execute any other attacks. And even with this mental control used to stunt its growth, the organism had enough autonomy to bypass this control or at least give Selven trouble controlling it.

This is bad. Red thought. I wish I wasn't forced to use Selven's signature move but I had no choice. I need to kill the organism before it grows too far.

"Alakazam!" Blue shouted. "Psychic to kill this plant!"

The area of botanical greenery around the Psychic-type vibrated intensely before the thorned stalks were ripped out of the ground. Holes along the Alakazam's legs bled out, the armor surrounding it riddled with them as well. The Alakazam quivered in pain, looking as if it was barely able to stand up. It looked gaunt and skeletal, as if it had been starved for days on end.

After draining the Pokemon of its nutrients, the carpet of green, moss-like strands of the deck were now beginning to bud. Small flower bulbs had grown on the end of the hair-like strands, as bright green as a new life in spring. Now it was turning more of the formerly unconverted deck of the ship into greenery, the mossy hairs spreading in number before being topped with flower bulbs. Red was worried at this sight.

The botanical organism has grown stronger. Red recognized. After absorbing the nutrients of Raticate and Alakazam it matured. With this increased strength it will be harder to control as it could get out of hand.

"Now Recover!" the trainer shouted.

Just as the cavities in its flesh began filling in, sinew growing within its wounds to look as though they'd never appeared to begin with, more stalks at its feet sprung up. The greenery at the Alakazam's feet erupted with newfound enthusiasm.

Just as the Alakazam had healed itself of its wounds, the new thorns pierced it as the stalks wrapped around its body. The Alakazam screamed as it was adorned with a new pain. However, these new plants were somewhat different.

They were a darker green than the ones the Alakazam had just ripped out of the deck of the boat. The stalks were thicker around and the thorns were not only longer but sharper looking. They subsequently reopened the new wounds in the Pokemon to elicit gasps of pain.

"Psychic again!" Blue shouted.

The Alakazam weakly crossed its spoons over one another to prepare another Psychic. However, the stalks surrounding the lower half of its body merely vibrated and wriggled under the pressure of the telekinetic attack. This only slowed them down as they advanced further and further up the Pokemon's body.

As they did, the flower buds on the deck began to open into bright yellow petals. With the thorn stalks now threatening to consume the upper half of the Psychic-type's body as well, Blue balked at the sight. He was no longer staring at his Pokemon but the deck he stood on now becoming greener and greener, the ripening flower buds creeping closer and closer to his feet.

"No!" he shouted. "This is impossible! H-How could this be?!"

Red felt pride in his Venusaur for a brief moment, the fear of the organism growing stronger dampening that joy. The organism that Botanical Conversion created grew stronger and more developed with each bit of nutrients it absorbed from its victims. Even if the Pokemon was able to escape from the plant's grasp, it only was harder the next time to fend them off since they were now even more ripened. Blue, recognizing this, took a new Pokeball from his belt.

"Go, Pidgeot!" he shouted.

The Pokeball opened to reveal a beautiful bird with cream colored feathers and sunset colored plumage trailing behind its head. It stood as tall as a grown man with a wingspan even wider than that. It flapped its wings overhead, the force of such enormous and powerful wings pounded the air and whipping Red's clothes as he stood several dozen feet below it. Pidgeot, one of the strongest Flying-type Pokemon in existence and certainly the strongest in Kanto, was a force to be reckoned with, the reason Blue probably kept it on his team.

"Pidgeot, use Feather Whip on the deck of this ship!" Blue said. "Cut this overgrown hedge down to size!"

The Flying-type whipped its wings a little harder to produce an abundance of feathers. The extra plumage fluffed between the Pidgeot's already existing feathers before spiraling down to the ground. Except they weren't shot downward like projectiles.

Red looked up to see they were all connected by a single shaft, the solid strand holding the lighter material together a long rope. The lengthy lines of feathers reached down several dozen feet to the ship's floor to slice into the green portion of it. To Red's surprise the feathers actually began slicing very cleanly into the organism Selven had created.

With each beat of the Pidgeot's wings the several strands of feathers slashed into the organism to leave increasingly deep gashes in the greenery. The ropes of sharp feathers then cleanly cut away the thorns tightening around both Blue's Alakazam and Raticate. The vines were cleanly sliced away without harming either of them with accuracy that Red was shocked at.

The Psychic-type was revealed to be so gaunt and skeletal, riddled with holes that it was in no condition to battle. When Blue's Raticate was freed from the stalks it was revealed to already be dead. Its nutrients had been so thoroughly drained of its body that it looked more like a skeleton shallowly draped with flesh.

The holes in its body were larger than Red's balled fists, its corpse pathetic and stationary. Blue did not even bother returning the Raticate to its Pokeball, knowing it to be dead. After the Pidgeot had used its Signature Move, Red was surprised to see the botanical organism dead. No more thorn stalks grew to replace the slashed ones and the flower buds stopped ripening.

"Feather Whip can slice organic matter at the cellular level," Blue explained. "To such an extent that the organism cannot regenerate. And the only move I had to sacrifice for its creation was Feather Dance. Looks like that was enough to destroy that mutant vine or whatever you created."

"Yeah," Red said with a smile. "But now look at your team. One dead and the other not far from it. I'd say we're pretty evenly matched at this point."

"Dream on," Blue shouted. "Pidgeot, use Feather Whip on his Venusaur! Alakazam…try to use Recover!"

The Pidgeot beat its wings forward with enthusiasm, now swinging them at Selven while the Alakazam used its remaining psyfield to heal itself.

"Selven, use Vine Whip!" Red shouted.

The Venusaur grew several leafy vines from the base of its flower stem that parried the Feather Whip. The counter was mixed in effectiveness. Some of the vines would be slashed in half as they intersected, forcing Selven to withdraw them. However, some of the vines would actually tear the strands of feathers out of the Pidgeot's wings. Upon closer inspection, Red noticed the difference in effectiveness.

When the edge of the wings attached to the whips would strike the tall vines, they would be cut away. However, if Selven's vines struck the flat portion of the wings the plumage would be ripped away. It didn't seem to him that the whips were very strong.

The Feather Whip must be made of very thin material in order to cut that deeply into an organism. Red thought. Cutting on a cellular level must mean the edge is thin and the thinner the feathers, the less strong they are. Material like that is not meant to be durable but sharp.

Red thought of a way to take advantage of this before Leta in his arms began fluttering her wings.

"Red," she said. "I think I can fight again."

The Butterfree flapped her wings to fly out of Red's arms before falling gracefully back into his open embrace. She kept flapping her wings, getting airborne a little bit at a time before landing back into her arms. It was apparent to him that she was getting stronger with each attempt to fly again.

"Hurzer's death was painful to watch…" she said. "But…but Selven fighting…it gave me hope. If I'm brave enough I can help win."

Red nodded at her.

"Go," he said. "We'll need you to defeat that Pidgeot's of Blue."

Leta then flapped her wings and took off into the air. As she did, Red looked to see that Alakazam had slowly been healing itself. It was still in bad shape but looked less gaunt and withered, some of its open wounds closed now.

"Now use Psychic on that Venusaur of his!" Blue shouted.

The Psychic-type attempted to cross its spoons together but struggled to do so. After several painful moments of lifting the utensils together it finally managed to cause a little vibration in the air but nothing more. It's trainer glared at the sight.

"Looks like I picked the wrong Pokemon," Blue said.

The battle between Pidgeot's Feather Whip and Selven's Vine Whip looked to be a stalemate. Just as many strands of feathers that it produced were torn off by Selven's vines that Selven lost fighting it. Soon both Pokemon had stripped away each other's extensions and stared at each other in tense silence. Just as Leta reached the former altitude in the air that it had when first battling, Blue changed his tactics.

"Pidgeot use Gust!" Blue shouted. "A Flying-type attack like that should work well on a Grass-type!"

"No!" Red shouted. "Leta, use Stun Spore!"

Leta, still having the stimulation of the Quiver Dance, was faster than the Pidgeot. With her optimism restored she flapped her wings with intense ferocity to spread bright yellow powder at the Bird Pokemon. The Pidgeot was caught by surprise.

"Alakazam!" Blue said. "Use Psychic on that Butterfree before it can!"

Just as it began to whip up a strong gust of wind with its wings, the Pidgeot caught a face full of yellow powder. As it was forced to inhale the huge amount of fine yellow its wings stopped in midair and its body fell several feet. The Pidgeot attempted with all its might to flap its wings in spite of the paralysis but it did little more than keep it from falling faster to the ship than it already was.

"Now hit it with Gust!" Red shouted.

The Butterfree beat its wings with every bit of power it could muster to send the Pidgeot crashing into the deck. With a flurry of yellow petals it slammed right into the remainder of the dead plant that Selven had converted from the dead wood of the boat. The crash was heavy enough to leave an imprint of the Pidgeot in the dead botanical matter, as evidenced when Blue recalled the Bird Pokemon back to its Pokeball.

"Woo-hoo!" Leta shouted loud enough everyone could hear. "I did it!"

"Way to go!" Red cried.

As Leta acrobatically spun in the air, she was suddenly blown out of the sky by an invisible force. Red shouted in surprise to find the Butterfree falling down, half her left wing torn off and part of her purple body bleeding. He ran toward where she was falling to barely catch her, some of her blood smearing on Red's arms.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't do good…enough," Leta said weakly.

After examining her wounds, he turned to see the Alakazam that had attacked her wobbling. It was very apparent that Psychic took everything out of the Pokemon and it was now struggling to keep standing. Red recognized the Psychic that hit Leta was very weak as Butterfree were very fragile, not able to take a lot of damage so nearly any attack she survived was a substandard one.

It's used up too much of its psyfield to do anything else. He thought.

It apparently used up the last of its psyfield because as Blue ordered it to attack again, the Alakazam just stood there. It weakly raised its arms before falling down facefirst, its spoons clanging against the softened moss plant floor with it. Blue returned the Psychic-type Pokemon to its Pokeball, the capsule blinking blue to indicate Alakazam was close to death, before quickly grabbing another.

"I-I-I'm just so we-weak," Leta said. "I could have-"

"No," Red said. "You did more than enough. Everything you did allowed us to not only us to survive but to free these innocent Pokemon with us. You're among the bravest I've ever met as the ability to stay positive and upbeat in this much danger…it's inspiring."

"You r-really think?" she asked.

"I know for certain," Red said. "Now…"

He took the Butterfree's Pokeball from around his waist and opened it for the light to swallow her. While Red felt bad that Leta was injured, Red knew her wings could regenerate. Spray medicine would enable that to grow faster than normal.

"Take a good rest," he said as she disappeared. "You've earned it."

Red then put away her Pokeball to see that Blue had called out his final Pokemon. Selven and Red stared determined at the Blastoise standing before them. As he looked at Tulvir, Red mentally went over the information regarding the Shellfish Pokemon he'd studied from its Pokedex entries.

Blastoise is the strongest known user of Hydro Pump. He remembered. The Pokedex said that without a doubt as its power of using the strongest known Water-type move is uncontested. The force Blastoise's cannons can launch water is amazingly powerful as its biology is specifically oriented for exclusively that purpose. Blastoise is not only revered for using the strongest Water-type attack of all known Pokemon but the incredible durability it has. That shell isn't quite as thick as a Golem's but it's still tough to break through. Not to mention that unlike many other Pokemon with a shell like that, Blastoise can quickly withdraw all exposed flesh back into its shell to resist many different kinds of attacks. It can't use Hydro Pump while withdrawn like this but can certainly use Rapid Spin to hit a Pokemon. It's one of the strongest known Rapid Spinners in existence. These combinations of biological offense and defense mean Blastoise is rarely the loser in battles.

He then looked to Selven.

However, I have a type advantage. Red thought. Selven having access to Razor Leaf and Vine Whip means I won't have to brute force its way through Blastoise's defense. Grass attacks will just naturally absorb the water in Blastoise's body, including its shell. That way even if they can't penetrate its tough exterior, I'll still have the greatest chance of winning. Not to mention a Grass-type's body is naturally absorbent of any water it interacts with. Most Grass-types can drink with their entire body rather than just their mouth, unlike most Pokemon. No matter how forceful that Hydro Pump is, much of the water will be quickly assimilated into Selven's body upon impact.

"Are you ready to end this?" Blue asked. "Looks like the end of the battle is coming quicker than I thought."

"You're right about that!" Red shouted. "Selven, prepare a Razor Leaf!"

"Dry Cannon," Blue said.

Red expected the Blastoise to be faster as its body being so specialized for Hydro Pump meant it could produce one rather quickly. However, what he did not expect Blue's choice of attacks. Just Selven grew more leaves from its body, the Blastoise fired something that wasn't water.

It almost looked like telekinetic, a wave of invisible force blasting from the openings of Tulvir's cannons. However, upon closer inspection, Red recognized it not as an invisible psychic force but air. It was almost like a gust of wind before it neared Selven and Red found it looked more like a heat shimmer. The closest thing he could compare it to was something like a mirage on a hot day, the weird sheen from sun heated asphalt waving in the air.

When the twin streams fired from each cannon hit Selven, Red gasped in shock at what happened to Selven. He couldn't grow any more leaves as his body began to shrivel and wither. The green skin of his front legs and the thick stem of his flower began to brown, like they had been exposed to intense heat.

The Venusaur cried out in intense pain before his knees buckled underneath him. Once the streams of shimmering air caused the Seed Pokemon to be taken out, the twin currents of heat seemed to retract back into the Blastoise's cannons. However, when Red looked closely at them, he found there seemed to be a good chunk of liquid being carried with each stream. Water retracted back into the cannons on its back, like a Hydro Pump in reverse.

When the attack was over, Red was shocked at what he saw. The places that the two streams of superheated air had dried Selven's body so much his body was now more brown than green. His flower stem now bent over to the side as much of it was withered and weak. Red ran over and knelt down beside Selven, running his hands across the withered portion of the Venusaur's body.

"Wh-What happened?!" he shouted.

"I-I f-f-feel w-weak," he said. "I-I feel so…hot. And dry. Like…like there's no water left in my body."

As Red examined the injured Venusaur he found Blue laughing, causing Red to face him and glare.

"What's so funny?!" he shouted.

"You still haven't learned your lesson," Blue said. "That type advantage can be overcome with proper planning and strategy. I bet you felt real confident that my Blastoise, a Water-type, was facing your Venusuar, a Grass-type. I'd thought after Misty's battle with you of all things you'd understand Pokemon battling has more dimensions than type advantage alone. In fact…type advantage is one of the least deciding factors in a battle with two professional trainers."

"That still doesn't explain the move you used," Red said. "Was that your Blastoise's signature move? That-that Dry Cannon thing?"

"It sure was," Blue said. "You see, I knew that as powerful as Blastoise's Hydro Pump was, it did substandard damage to Water and Grass-type Pokemon since both those kinds can absorb water through their skin. And in the case of Grass-types, it only makes them stronger. So I prepared a way to counter that."

"You mean…" Red said. "You…you taught your Blastoise a…a Fire-type move?"

Blue laughed.

"Yes!" he shouted. "That's precisely the type that Dry Cannon is! A Fire move that my Blastoise can learn to punish any stupid trainers thinking throwing a Grass-type out against me is a safe bet. But that's not all Dry Cannon can do. Tulvir…show them by using it on this plant thing on the ground."

Tulvier nodded before launching twin beams of shimmering heat at the deck it stood on. Red watched as wherever the Blastoise aimed it's attack the botanically converted plant at his feet. The entirety of the deck that Selven had converted was now shriveled into a brown, withered husk. And after doing so, Tulvir withdrew the water sapped from the plant back into his cannons, the air it shot out no longer dry but carrying great heaps of liquid. Red shook in fright at the sight.

"Yes," Blue said. "You saw right. It cannot only dry up plants and organic bodies carrying lots of water but suck it back up into its body. This way, Tulvir can replenish its water supply when using Hydro Pump."

"Th-That's-" Red said. "That's unreal."

He plucked Selven's Pokeball from his waist to return him to the capsule and placed him on his waist. Red shook with fear, not knowing what to do. He was aware that his only choice was relying upon a Fire-type Pokemon to defeat a Water-type. Even if type advantage was a fringe factor in battle between professional Pokemon trainers, Red questioned if he was willing to risk it.

Maybe if he's feeling up for it… He thought. If Cinder has just the right emotions…

He then bowed on his hands and knees before Blue, the opposing trainer chuckling at the sight.

"Please!" Red said. "Please I'll give myself up! I surrender and ask only that you give Leta and Selven proper medical attention! That's all I want…and please…just let these other Pokemon get to the wild safely. They're too weak to battle…please provide them medicine and-"

"Shut up," Blue said.

Red looked up at the trainer through tear stained eyes. Blue's expression looked remorselessly proud and satisfied. His arrogant grin looked like it was on the verge of breaking out into a full on laugh.

"Wh-What?" Red asked.

"I said shut up," he said. "Get up…and battle."

"B-But-" he said. "I thought th-this…was what you wanted. T-To…have me be helpless so you could turn me into the Kanto government."

Blue snorted with laughter.

"I want more than that," he said. "I want to end you."

"End?" he asked.

"No," Blue said, looking out of the corner of his eye. "End…end isn't the right word. I want you to…to suffer. I want everyone involved with my parents's death to suffer."

He looked a little relaxed, his shoulders shrugging as he became less tense. A wistful expression broke out over his face, a few tears appearing in the corner of his eye. One that soon morphed into something between intense hatred and bitter sorrow.

"I-I-" he said as though it was hard for him to say. It was almost like his words were caught in his throat by the sorrow he was reliving. "I can't explain to you the intense emotion one feels knowing that someone confessed to killing your dad. The dire confusion you feel at someone evil enough to take your father from you admitting to it…as if there's some humanity left in that monster. What confusion I had at my age attempting…attempting to make sense of it."

Red could tell that Blue was close to crying and was doing his best not to break into full on sobbing.

"And you couldn't understand what it was like knowing…" he said. "Knowing your mother killed herself. As if her husband was so much more important than anyone else, including you…that she decided she couldn't live anymore."

He then turned back to Red for the young man to see his rival was crying.

"And all this…" he said. "Transpired…because my father did the right thing. All of it…all of it from…"

He broke out into a great sob that hurt Red's ears.

"From him doing the right thing!" Blue shouted.

He then turned back at Red to glare with intense hatred.

"All of it was because he decided to risk his life defending the innocent rather than cave to the evil of his allies and supposed friends!" he shouted. "And to think Lance called him a friend! How…how could your wretch of a father call mine a friend when he was able to kill him for defending those who had no defense?!"

Blue then balled his hands into fists, looking down as it seemed he was unable to look any longer at Red.

"I hated you so badly…" he said. "So badly…that you were allowed to live in peace while the domino effect of my father's death forced my mother to kill herself…and forced my grandfather out of the most profitable part of his research. Lance was hailed as a hero to…to be carried on by his family's legacy…while mine was destroyed."

His entire expression was no longer collected and calm. His entire face was so red it was as though someone had grabbed Blue's face and twisted it into this. His handsome features were distorted by anger and sorrow to look ugly, like some kind of piggish expression. Red was afraid of how ugly the equally aged man looked.

"So don't you dare lie on your knees and beg for mercy when the legacy you inherited contains with it the destruction of everything not only good in my life but that of so many others!" Blue shouted. "Lance killed so many and left ruins of the cities he attacked in their place! And both you and him were for that! I will tell you this Red…I haven't climbed my way into the military's good graces for nothing. I haven't made them trust me for nothing and grown stronger for nothing…I have done it all to destroy the very legacy of your father and everything he cherished!"

He smiled maniacally.

"Both the empire he built to create and the son he bore will fall by my hands and I'll wallow in the tears shed in my wake!" Blue shouted. "So stand up! Stand! Stand or I won't leave anything remaining of your Pokemon!"

At the threat of his Pokemon being killed, Red got to his feet, shocked that his childhood bully that had always been so placid was now apparently aching in some unspeakable pain.

"Stand up as the last of our Pokemon face each other!" Blue shouted. "Just as it was when your father killed mine! Stand up and let us decide your fate!"

Red took Cinder's Pokeball from his waist, pain running through his arm at the idea of his Charizard dying from this battle.

"I want this last battle to mirror the final moments of my father!" he said. "I don't just want to avenge him by bringing down Kanto…I want him to be avenged by bringing you to the utmost intense suffering possible!"

His expression became more crazed.

"I want you to watch as your Charizard is killed in front of you!" Blue shouted.

Red felt like Blue had stabbed him through the heart.

"Yes," he laughed. "You gained a friend in that pesky little lizard of your's while my heart was still wounded years later from my parent's death! And it was a Pokemon of all things! One of those little demons that makes our world worse! The cause of so much destruction…you befriended one of them. What gives you the right to have something like that become your tagalong friend when they cause suffering to everyone else?!"

He began to laugh.

"I won't be satisfied until I see that engine of destruction killed and to savor the look in your eyes!" Blue shouted. "Then you will know what true pain is! The pain of losing everything because of doing the right thing!"

Red just stared at Blue in fear and shock, afraid of doing anything.

"S-So…?" Red said. "Y-You were jealous of-of me and Cinder…?"

"Did I ask you a question?!" Blue shouted. "No I did not! Now…call out your engine of destruction so that I can put a rest to the legacy of the Drakes! Now! Now before I lose what sense I have left and murder everything out of sheer frustration!"

Red uneasily opened the Pokeball in front of him, his eyes blurred with tears as he called Cinder out to his death.