Hard Enough

With Zephyr allowing me a bird’s eye view of the streets of Saffron, I could see that the invasion of Silph Co. Tower was not restricted to just that building. Team Rocket grunts were on the streets in large groups, with people being robbed and chased off. I saw more than a few trainers battling against the tide of Team Rocket.

Surprisingly, I also caught sight of a number of Team Rocket grunts… fighting against Team Rocket grunts?

I had no idea what that was about.

Was it a case of them developing morals? I snapped a few pictures on my Xtransceiver, glad that it was night so that Zephyr could easily pass overhead without people noticing us.

Part of me wanted to dive in and take the fight to them on the streets. To get into the thick of things.

But, as bad as it was on the streets, it would only get worse if Team Rocket got a hold of a Masterball. If they could claim and wield some of the strongest pokemon around, like with the game mechanics, then they’d become the power-running Indigo.

Even if the Master Ball didn’t fully tame the pokemon captured within, the captured pokemon could become a ‘nuclear’ option with a trainer being sent to capture a pokemon like Empress or, or Arceus forbid… well Arceus… which I wasn’t actually sure was even possible.

A more likely and immediate example would be Moltres, Articuno, or Zapdos.

Releasing such pokemon within a City would cause untold devastation and allow Team Rocket much more power than they already had.

They were already surprising me with how openly they were attacking Silph Co. let alone people in Saffron.

Zephyr began to rise, and I turned my attention to the roof of Silph Tower that we were closing in on. I glanced around and frowned. “Seen Don?” I asked Zephyr. I’d released him just after we’d taken flight, and he’d run interference for me.

Zephyr’s head twisted around, and he hooted in one direction. I glanced that way and found Don grappling with a trio of Fearow. A few moments later, there was only one Fearow flapping away frantically while Don screeched in victory.

I turned away. “Right, he’s doing what he needs to then,” I said. As we got closer to the tower, a swarm of Golbat rose from the ground after us, only for Zephyr to sweep his wings and force a downdraft with Tailwind.

The Golbat slowed long enough for me to whistle.

Don turned his attention away from the fleeing Fearow and noticed his next victims.

“Screeeeee!” he screeched as he plummeted towards them.

The Golbat broke around him and stopped chasing us. Zephyr reached the top of the tower and landed quickly. I hopped off, and with a practised snap of some clasps his saddle was taken off, allowing him full mobility.

“Keep the skies clear Zephyr!” I ordered. “And keep Don pointed at foes as much as you can!” I called after him.

“Honchkrow, Skarmory, join them!” cried another voice from the shadows of a tower. I glanced over and found Karen striding out of the shadows.

“Karen,” I said with a nod.

“Brock,” she replied.

“Janine,” said Janine from behind Karen, causing me to grin as Karen jumped to the side.

“Shit! Arceus! Where’d you come from?” Karen swore.

Janine smirked, and a tired sigh sounded out behind her as a much older man stepped around a set of air conditioners. “I have to admit, it’s much funnier when you’re not on the receiving side,” he said before bowing his head. “Hello! I’m President Boris! Thank you for coming to my aid and securing my escape avenue!” he said, straightening up with a pleased smile.

Karen and I shared a glance. “Uhm… I think there’s been a miscommunication as to why we’re here,” I said neutrally.

Janine coughed. “Apologies President; a misdirection needed to be employed with how you were dithering in your office. If you hadn’t been willing to leave with me, I would have been forced to drag you,” she said with a scowl.

I could only imagine that a smaller girl like her would have had a much tougher time sneaking around with a knocked-out man.

The President blinked. “But… then… you lied?” he said, stepping back.

Janine shook her head. “No, your safety is still a priority for me, but we will not be escorting you any further.”

Before the man could even come to terms with this, an Arbok appeared behind him. It tapped President Boris on the shoulder, and he whirled around, only to have a cloud of gas blown gently into his face.

He crumbled, and Janine caught him. She then released a pair of Golbat that grasped the man by the shoulders while a crobat flitted about in an orbiting position.

Our group watched as the president of Silph Co was unceremoniously flown to safety.

I raised a hand. “Isn’t he going to be angry with you? And shouldn’t we keep an eye on him?” I said.

Janine shook her head. “I have secured his Keycard, which is what is actually needed. As was mentioned, a skilled enough Ditto can get through the rest of the security features.”

I hummed and nodded, while Karen grinned. “He will also serve as a golden Magikarp if they try and hunt for him, nice one girly!” said Karen.

Janine shot Karen a look that promised further jump scares. I decided then and there not to stand too close to Karen.

“Erika and a few friends are joining the fight in the streets; I’ve noticed there is some infighting between each other. What’s that about?” I said, prompting us to move along.

“Some of that is our doing,” Janine said. “We have tapped some of our plants to stop the fighting from spilling out too much, while others pretend to keep with Team Rocket’s orders.”

Karen frowned. “Only some of them?”

Janine nodded. “Sometimes, evil can perform good.” She brought up her transceiver and displayed a video link that showcased the streets around Silph Tower with Team Rocket members fighting each other. “Only four of the groups shown are due to us,” she said. She then flicked to other video feeds of trainers fighting off Team Rocket.

I frowned as I spotted some familiar faces. “Go back,” I said firmly. Janine did so, and I sighed as I recognised one of the faces.

“Damn it, Humphrey, you better stay safe…” I said before waving to her to show me the other angles. I found videos of Bugsy, Mia and Silly Mouse, Gary, Ash, Misty, and Forrest all entangled in battles.

I had half a mind to drop back to the street level, but it looked like Forrest was fine. If anything, he was beating back more than his fair share of people with his Onix and Beldum fighting well together.

Interestingly enough, I also spotted what looked like a rather frazzled Jessie, James, and Meowth leading a group of women to safety.

Evil can do good indeed, I thought as I shook my head in disbelief.

Don swept through the video feed showing Forrest’s group, and I could see Forrest perking up and looking around for me. I shot off a quick message to Forrest before hardening my heart.

Sabrina was trusting us to handle this situation. I needed to trust in Forrest and his friends, despite my big brother instincts demanding I drag him out of the fight.

Forrest had the training. Instead of hovering over him, I instead asked him to keep Don pointed in the right direction.

“What’s happening inside the tower?” I asked.

Janine switched to the internal feeds, and I saw people tied up. Team Rocket members patrolled hallways with pokemon. A few areas showed security groups forming a resistance that Team Rocket was trying to crush.

I frowned as a pair of Rocket Grunts suddenly appeared behind the Security group, only for a ninja to appear and engage the pair in a pokemon battle, turning the ambush into a counter-ambush as the security caught onto the threat.

I saw the ninja flash something at the security detail, and the group relaxed and returned to their original fight.

“You’ve got ninjas in the Tower?” I asked.

Janine nodded. “We’ve infiltrated the tower, but it is not a complete infiltration. We’re having issues getting around, and we’re having to save various groups such as this along with hostages where we can make it a much slower process.”

I nodded, only to pause as I registered another pair of Grunts Teleporting. “They aren’t using psychic pokemon…” I said with a hint of worry.

Janine grimaced and flicked through the video feeds to another that showcased the room that had been dedicated to teleportation pads. “A technician that had been fired apparently ran to Team Rocket. The man had enough knowledge to redirect the teleportation pads to other areas within the building. This has made it much more difficult to advance as we are being cut off or finding ourselves ambushed.”

Janine glanced away as though ashamed of what she had to say next. “Father has become bogged down. The Vice President’s choice of hiding spot was unorthodox and therefore relatively clever, but it has made extracting him much more difficult than it should have been. By the time we worked out what was going on with the Teleportation pads, Team Rocket had claimed the tower.”

“Ah,” I said, remembering the ranting and raving Technician that had been dragged out of Silph Co. Tower. I considered the layout of the building and realised that we, having arrived on top of the tower, had the best chance to stop the mobility of Team Rocket.

“So we need to get down two levels, then?” I asked.

“Three, you didn’t get the chance to look at the top level, which houses the President’s office. The second highest is still the Master Ball Research Lab.”

I nodded. “And the building is rated for calamities, right?” I said.

Janine nodded. “No building is allowed to be built more than two stories without being up to building code!” she said, with a strange zeal in her words. I decided to ignore that.

“What are the floors made of?” I asked.

“Reinforced materials and pokecrete! You can’t break through them, Brock,” Janine said firmly.

I hummed. I severely doubted that, but I wasn’t going to argue right now. “And the glass isn’t glass, so we can’t punch through from the sides,” she said.

I waved her off. “I know that. I suppose Agatha doesn’t want to reveal herself just yet?”

“No, she’s maintaining radio silence... not that she can communicate with us.”

“She won’t be able to because she’s incorporeal,” Karen said, speaking up for her mentor.

I crossed my arms. “Soooo we’re… going to have to go in hard and fast?” I said. Karen perked up at this, and Janine twitched.

“I was actually thinking we need to get as close as possible first; I can sneak in, and then you can come in,” she said.

I hummed. “Or I can dress up like a Rocket Grunt?” I said reaching into my travel bag—which I never left home without—to pull out the Team Rocket uniform I’d stolen a while ago.

Karen raised an eyebrow, but Janine perked up. “Yes! Two of us fighting in close will work out!”

I nodded and began to get changed. Janine blushed, and Karen wolf-whistled. I rolled my eyes, knowing they would have seen as much skin simply by going to the beach.

When I had my Rocket outfit I rolled my shoulders and adopted a thuggish leer. “Alright, let’s go,” I said walking towards the stairs.

Sabrina could feel the power thrumming through Xatu.

Xatu, the pokemon most capable of glimpsing the future, had a potent ability that one had to be extremely careful about if you already possessed psychic potential.

Witnessing the future was like balancing on a knife’s edge while lifting the heaviest of loads. You needed to be extremely careful. Despite that, Sabrina knew it was worth the risk.

She had long known that today was important.

Today would determine so much in such a short space of time on many levels. But it was more than that. Her premonition had told her that, and Xatu had only further reinforced her suspicions.

She didn't fully understand what would happen or how events would play out, but she knew a moment would arrive.

A moment with her at the centre of it all.

In the books she’d read on psychic abilities, seers had termed this a nexus of fate, or shatter point.

Something important was about to happen, and she knew she was in the right place.

For now, she simply committed to the fight, knowing this was part of the buildup. She’d scouted Will and strategised for this match.

So far, her expectations matched the reality of how Will had attempted to use Jynx against her.

It had been extremely versatile against Brock, but it would not have the same impact against her.

Against Brock, it had been novel and new.

Against her, it was nearly a month old, and she had more than enough time to prepare for it. She'd considered all the variations in her team. Stantler’s evolution had caused her to re-evaluate her team, but she eventually determined that despite his evolution, Wyrdeer had not made it into her strongest team.

He would make it into her top twelve, but he’d need to go a long way to make the top six.

No, the true surprise had been that Girafarig evolved after she’d followed up on one of Brock’s comments about unique moves being factors in evolution.

She’d carefully reviewed all of her pokemon and discovered a few outliers. Of these, Twin Beam had stood out for Girafarig.

Twin Beam, which could be used by both heads, and enough mastery of the move had resulted in Girafarig evolving.

More than that, Farigiraf had demonstrated some unique abilities that Oak had quickly discovered when she reached out to him.

Armoured Tail. A skill where the missing reverse head still kept its eyes to the rear, despite where it might be looking.

It allowed Farigiraf to intercept any moves that typically would strike it in the flank. Attacks could still slip through, but any move that relied on sudden acceleration, such as Quick Attack, Extreme Speed, or Aqua Jet to be denied. Professor Oak had surmised that there was perhaps more to this innate skill of Farigiraf but that would take more time to tease out.

She’d decided she knew enough about her pokemon though, and decided to copy Brock’s initial plan with the reveal of an unknown pokemon.

Unlike Brock after the Moltres incident, Will could not simply match her with a Medicham. That would not work against her and to deter such options, she’d chosen to have Xatu on her team today.

It would neutralise Medicham and Exeggutor wonderfully.

Will had to be aware of this, which was why he’d sent Jynx out. He planned to lock her choice of pokemon and give him more freedom later in their match.

Sabrina planned to make it a costly lockdown. She’d endured Jynx, she knew what would come next.

Will shifted. His hand ran across his options and Sabrina was more than happy to have Xatu contemplate the future.

Xatu relaxed into the flow of time, her pokemon’s inner eye opening as she stilled, preserving her energy. Sabrina could see snippets of how connected they were.

Brock cuddling her.

Alakazam fighting with Will’s Alakazam.

Brock with an armoured fist reaching towards—

The last almost broke her connection, as she felt her mind stutter as she mentally rejected what had been foreseen.

Xatu, however, caught her emotions and showed her that the first image had been deliberately shown first. While the sequence of images might make the layman consider them sequential, that wasn’t how visions of the future could work. They could be disjointed and confusing.

Sabrina allowed herself to relax. She would trust in Xatu. Xatu knew what she was talking about. A feeling of amusement wafted from her pokemon.

Sabrina settled herself and refocused her pokemon.

Will made his selection. A pokeball rose in mimicry of her earlier feat, to reveal his Starmie.

As expected.

Sabrina commanded her Xatu, and her pokemon glowed.

Then, Xatu vanished in a flash of light, appearing next to Starmie even as the starfish pokemon unleashed a bolt of Thunder where Xatu had been.

Xatu’s wings lashed out and stabbed into the ground, even as a large, sickly purple orb built up in front of it.

“Thunder!” Will shouted hurriedly.

With a flex along their connection, Sabrina committed her pokemon to the attack with Shadow Ball.

Shadow Ball slammed into Starmie even as it sparked up and unleashed a close-range attack. Both moves were super effective, and both pokemon were rocked by the hits.

Xatu emerged the victor, however, with her wings embedded into the ground with steel Wing. smoke wafted off her form as she glowered at Starmie.

“Ice Beam!” Will said, selecting a much better option. Starmie unleashed the attack only for Xatu’s Future Sight attack to slam into it, knocking it off balance and into the dirt.

Sabrina and Xatu, with their minds together, both knew this was the perfect moment to strike. Xatu unleashed yet another Shadow Ball before Will could respond, and this time Starmie faltered.

Sabrina allowed herself a little smirk as Will growled.

He’d so far played his hand very close to her predictions.

With Jynx and Espeon fairly injured and now down one pokemon, Will wouldn’t feel confident in bringing out Exeggutor. That meant he would have to bring something stronger.

Sabrina flicked her eyes towards her viewing box.

She could see her mother and father, along with the observers. Mother was arguing with them, rather redundantly, in Sabrina’s opinion, for not demanding that the match be cancelled. Sabrina didn’t want the match to end.

She knew what was going on outside of the stadium, and it might be seen as selfish on her part, but she didn’t want to leave. She wanted to beat Will. The Mayor, could, of course, formally request her assistance, but he didn’t yet know himself.

Team Rocket’s speed in taking the tower was working against them there.

That, and the Mayor liked to put his transceiver on silent and off his wrist when he watched Sabrina fight.

A habit that had gotten him into trouble before, but one that Sabrina was thankful for tonight.

Sabrina was glad that no such order had yet been given.

Will, as he had demonstrated against Brock, would slip away if granted the chance.

Sabrina hadn’t predicted Team Rocket attacking Silph Co. which in itself was worrying, but that did not mean Saffron was undefended.

Saffron was currently hosting no less than seven Gym Leaders, two Elite Four, three trainers that Sabrina foresaw as being future Gym Leaders, a small horde of bored but well-intentioned trainers, and Karen.

While she would certainly help, she didn’t think she would add enough to turn things decisively.

If anything, she was better here, acting as a focal point for Will, and Team Rocket’s Legendary to run interference. The better she did the more more that pokemon would be forced to intercede on Will’s behalf.

Unless they were merely using Will as a patsy?

Possible, but unlikely, especially with the Jynx. The Jynx that she’d surmised was not, in fact, Will’s pokemon. It was too focused on denying a trainer the ability to withdraw their pokemon.

Sabrina turned her eyes away from her mother and locked eyes with her father. “Has anyone informed Surge?” she projected to her father.

He stiffened for a moment before shaking his head. Sabrina avoided rolling her eyes. Despite being a skilled Psychic her father always resorted to speaking with his mouth first.

“No, not yet,” he said.

“Do so; he will be inconsolable if someone doesn’t inform him and he misses out on beating down Team Rocket.” With that done, Sabrina turned her attention to sending her mother calming waves of reassurance that all was well. Her mother calmed instantly.

Her seeming ‘defeat’ in the argument worried the auditor more than the arguing as he seemed to think her mother had ‘given up’ on the League.

‘Oh! My baby is down there!’ but she’s so strong! Oh no, should she be out there with her friends? What’s happening!? Oh blast it! I should have kept training with my Kadabra!

It didn’t stop her mother from fretting.

Sabrina mentally shot both Jenny and the auditor quick messages of “I’m alright with the situation as it stands. I can trust in my friends to handle the situation.”

Both of them jolted and whirled around in surprise. It’s like they’d forgotten her earlier display.

With that done Sabrina turned her attention to the message Brock had left her.

‘Gotta go, bad guys turned up, sorry! Love Brock.’

She telekinetically tore it down, folding it up and putting it in a bag she had in her viewing box. She could use that later, and if any more people noticed it Brock was liable to become embarrassed when asked about the ‘note’ he’d left for her.

Sabrina made a mental note to tease Brock about the love hearts he’d drawn on the message.

Perhaps she’d bring it out during her press conference after the match?

She accomplished all this in a handful of moments. People often underestimate the speed of thought, and as a psychic, she could think very quickly indeed.

Xatu projected her amusement back to Sabrina, and Sabrina inspected Xatu.

Her pokemon was hurt, tired, and not in a good position.

Sabrina raised her hand as Will selected his next pokeball. “I withdraw my Xatu!” Sabrina said, using her voice specifically for this.

Will faltered at the announcement, and Sabrina allowed herself a smile. She wasn’t going to give Will the time to get a free move off by withdrawing her pokemon as she had.

There would be no chance for him to finagle the rules. With this call and interruption, she also remained the sole pacesetter for this match.

Xatu wasn’t likely to be able to get another move in, not against what Sabrina knew was coming next.

The referee from the League raised his flag. “Sabrina withdraws her pokemon from combat! Xatu is unable to battle! The match is now one to one!” he announced.

A murmur of surprise broke out from the crowd, and Sabrina could feel how their minds warred with the idea of not getting everything she could from Xatu.

Sabrina knew that wasn’t going to play out well for her. So instead, she nodded to her pokemon and Xatu vanished in a teleport to appear next to her mother.

“Take care of Xatu,” she projected to her fretting mother.

Mentally, Sabrina nudged her father to look after her mother. He should have been on top of that, but sadly, he could become hyper-focused on what was right in front of him.

He took so much looking after sometimes.

Still, with Xatu up there to be cared for, her mother would have something to do with her anxiety instead of cycling through a negative mental loop of thoughts that had been getting rather loud.

With her mother calmed, Sabrina turned her focus back to the battlefield as her next pokeball rose up and shot forward.

“Go, Espeon,” she said with a small jut of her chin to antagonise Will. Sabrina knew he saw the gesture as his lips thinned conspicuously.

Will, much to her annoyance, clapped his hands and inhaled. Sabrina hissed in surprise, and Espeon, feeling her annoyance, lashed her tails side to side in a frenzied manner and yowled angrily.

It shouldn’t have been so annoying to see.

Indeed, other trainers had begun adopting it more this year after facing Brock, which made it seem charming as they emulated Brock.

Brock himself always said it was merely a method of controlling anxious thoughts, but Sabrina had seen it in her own family’s training manuals as a method of ‘clearing the mind’ for allowing better focus before attempting a psychic exercise.

But… seeing Will copy Brock’s technique was not something Sabrina wanted.

Sabrina tossed her hair in agitation as Espeon growled again. When Will released the technique, he had a much calmer expression.

Sabrina resolved to crush him once more to herself, and Espeon nodded in agreement as her small pokemon shifted from foot to foot.

Will smirked, obviously knowing what he’d done.

“Go, Slowking,” he said with his annoying smirk.

Sabrina inspected the newly arrived pokemon. So, that was his next play was it?

Sabrina readied herself to give the next order. As she did so, she hoped Brock was doing alright.

Surprisingly, the stairs themselves weren’t patrolled. When I exited the stairs three stories down, I encountered a pair of guards that started to glare at me only to relax.

“Why are you using the stairs?” said one suspiciously.

Thinking quickly, I blinked back at him. “My… superior said to?” I tilted my head and took a shuddering breath. “You mean I didn’t need to run up six flights of stairs?”

The guards shared a look and laughed at my expense.

I mentally fist-pumped as my deception worked.

Ah, organisational bullying; you could always be counted on as an excuse to make people lower their guard.

One of the guards waved me on and pointed at the fully operational elevators. “We’ve got control of them, but I think your boss wants you to be sent through the pads. Go see the nerd; make sure you praise him as well, 'cause otherwise, he might send you into the sewers!” he said with a smirk.

I nodded quickly, pretending to be worried as I moved into the room. With my gaze sweeping over the room I spotted clusters of Team Rocket Grunts sitting around waiting for a man in a lab coat. Off to the side, a group of tied-up scientists and technicians glowered as the man ranted at his computer.

“—thought you knew better than me!” he said as he hit a button, and another pair of Rocket Grunts were sent off with a flash of light. “You couldn’t fathom my intellect, you smooth-brained Primeapes!”

I moved up to the hostages and looked them over. None of them looked injured. Scared? Yes. But then again, the ones that didn’t look scared were the ones that were more heavily tied up, with looks of abject fury on their faces despite the gags. I calmly untied a few without anyone really noticing what I was doing.

Sometimes I find that not drawing attention can be as simple as not acting in a guilty manner. I had zero guilt untying them, miming for them to be quiet as I raised up my cap. Their eyes widened, and after I had three of them fully untied, I motioned to untie the others.

“Hey! What are you doing?” screamed someone as a hand dropped onto my shoulder.

I glanced up at a giant of a man. “Oh, I’m providing a distraction,” I said with a smile.

The man blinked, processing my words. I felt his hand clench down harder, but with my Rock aura, I was easily able to stand and punch him in the gut.

He folded around my fist easier than Suzie’s bedsheet, sinking to his knees with a loud wheeze. I stood and grinned as other Team Rocket Grunts pulled out their pokeballs.

“Shit! That’s Gym Leader Brock!” “How’d he get here?” “Who cares? Take him down!”

I tapped my own pokeballs. Selene, Shin, Gawain, and Shrek appeared before me.

“Defensive actions team!” I ordered.

The Grunts around me grinned at me; they must have been scenting blood in the water. All of them turned and started to close in on me. The few technicians and hostages that had freed themselves stood to glower back, but that wasn’t enough to deter Team Rocket.

They completely missed Karen waltzing in and chopping both the door guards in the throat while they were looking at me. Her pokemon team was released with a sweep of her hands. I was interested to notice eight pokemon appear around her.

While this was going on, a wave of attacks splashed against the Protect and Barrier in front of my pokemon. I didn’t mind, and neither did my Pokemon, as we held out a few moments more.

I saw a flicker of movement and shifted my attention. The scientist, who had been ranting and raving about his brilliance, suddenly found himself wrapped in rope as Janine shot me a thumbs up. I grinned as her pokemon team also appeared around her in set positions.

I clapped my hands together and caused a loud clap to echo through the room. In the ensuing silence, I spoke up. “Alright team! We’ve distracted them long enough!” I shouted.

Some Rocket Grunts snorted in derision. “Oldest trick in the book!” one even said.

Others couldn’t help themselves, and they looked behind them. “Shit! We got trouble!”

This caused a wave of confusion to ripple through the ranks of Team Rocket.

I pointed straight forward and smirked darkly. “Attack!” I shouted, and my pokemon switched from being on the defensive to attacking in a heartbeat.

The cluster of Rocket pokemon, numerous as they were, were taken by surprise by the sudden shift in aggression.

They fell in droves, Ekans and Arboks were hurled into the clusters of Rocket Grunts, forcing them to become tangled and tripped up.

Janine’s pokemon exhaled smog that had the Grunts coughing and gasping for their breaths. Karen’s pokemon shot forth and rather than relying on tricks they simply overpowered any pokemon sent against them.

“To the pads!” shouted one Grunt.

He led a wave of Grunts away with a flash and the hostages that I’d rescued growled in annoyance. “They’ll warn the rest of the building that we’re free and you’re here!”

I clicked my tongue. “That’s not ideal, but not unexpected.” I looked over the group. “We need to get you to safety; is there any chance we can calibrate the teleportation pads to deposit you on the ground floor?”

The scientists quickly nodded. “We can; we hadn’t listened to Harvey’s claims as they were only theoretical and highly unethical. He wanted to force the testing early, which was extremely risky, but with the number of Rocket Grunts going back and forth, we have enough indicators and data of it working to do it ourselves.”

Another technician stepped up. “We can do more than that! We could detach one of the pads and then set it up in the foyer! Send the police up here!”

I considered that for a second, only to feel something fall on my head.

I looked up and frowned. “Hey Janine…. Are buildings that are up to code supposed to crumble like that?”

Janine appeared at my side and glared at the slightly broken section of pokecrete—a highly prized super material, she’d said—used for most buildings that were typically the most expensive part of building anything big.

“No, they are not,” she growled, like the crack in the roof offended her. She levelled a look at the men. “Explain this violation of building code!” she snapped.

The men stepped back with their hands raised in surrender. “I don’t know anything about that!” said one. “We had nothing to do with the construction!” the other said.

A polite cough saw Janine’s wrath snapping towards the intruder, a noise escaped her causing the older man to falter.

I blinked in surprise. Did she just growl?

The man licked his lips. “The top three levels were recently added, and I think the President might have... finagled some cheaper options for these levels,” he shrugged. “I can’t say that I’m surprised... Shortcuts have always been the new president’s preferred choice.”

Janine snarled, and her hand whipped up. For a moment, I thought she was going to strike the man. Instead, her transceiver appeared, and her fingers blurred as she wrote out a message, or rather, what looked like a short report. “The OHSA and Building Standards Commission will hear about this!” she said, snapping a few pictures of the roof.

Karen snorted. “You’re a hoot short stuff. Only you could care about poor building standards when terrorist action is occurring.”

“This matters!” Janine said.

I coughed. “It might actually be a stroke of luck for us.”

“There is nothing fortunate about shoddy building practices, Brock!” Janine snapped, apparently unable to see the positives of this situation.

I merely grinned and pointed at the roof. “What’s directly above us?” I said conspiratorially.

Janine blinked, her mind refocusing on our actual objective and I nodded. “Here’s my plan,” I started to say, laying out what I was thinking.

Sabrina narrowed her eyes. So, he’d brought Slowking out against her?

Agility: Sabrina commanded her Espeon. Espeon vanished in a blur of speed, and Will gestured.

His pokemon raised its arms, and a small box appeared in front of it. Sabrina knew precisely what that could be, and she had her answer ready.

With a flex of her mind, Espeon appeared close to Slowking, the gem on her forehead glinting before a red flash of light shot into Slowking.

Will staggered as the move he was attempting was Disabled.

He shook his head but smirked. “Psychic Terrain!” he said, causing Sabrina’s good mood to sour. He must have tried for Trick Room earlier in a gambit to force her hand.

So, he had a modicum of talent that didn’t rely on trickery and sponsors, she thought to herself as Slowking slowly formed up the next cube.

Sabrina narrowed her eyes, and Espeon crouched. Sabrina channelled her energy and fed it into her pokemon to empower the blast as much as she was able.

From Espeon’s mouth, a dense beam of energy blasted forth as Espeon unleashed a close-range Hyper Beam straight into Slowking.

Slowking was blown back and out of the battlefield.

When he landed, he blinked dolefully, rose and trotted up to the edge while Espeon regathered her scattered aura that was what actually caused a pokemon using Hyper Beam or Giga Impact to become exhausted after using it.

Sabrina could only glower as the obviously weakened Slowking formed up the Psychic Terrain onto the battlefield.

Sabrina instantly felt something lightly touching the field psychically, empowering it from afar while bolstering Will’s Slowking. Espon herself buckled as a slight weight was added. Sabrina wanted to rage at the interference that only she could feel.

She raised her eyes to find Will now looking much more confident and self-assured.

Sabrina merely flicked her hair once more. Fine, if that was how he wanted to play things, Sabrina would simply put her confidence in her friends... and Karen, in finding and engaging the Legendary while its focus was on her.

Slowking glowed red despite Will not touching his pokeball. Which, in truth, wasn't required for psychics, but the method was different enough to make it appear like it was performing Baton Pass.

Something that Slowking couldn’t learn.

“So, do you stand by your claims that you just used Baton Pass?” she said, speaking for the first time throughout the match to just Will. She needed to buy herself and the others some time, she could feel an itch forming in her mind. Soon, it said to her.

Will tilted his head as the pokeball he had been holding out disgorged his Alakazam. “For some people, perhaps that would be a challenge, but I have taught my pokemon many abilities,” he said.

Sabrina allowed a few moments to pass without comment or action as she and Will locked eyes. People around the stadium began to lean forward, straining to hear every word they said.

For them this was a tense moment. For Sabrina, this was a delaying tactic.

“Hmmm, yes, some people,” Sabrina said, knowing that Will would never be such a person. She instead had her Espeon begin to move now that her energy had regathered.

Espeon leapt to the side just in time to avoid Will’s Alakazam as it teleported behind her. Sabrina barely needed to note the vanishing and reappearing Alakazam; this was a tactic all of her pokemon were extremely well versed in. While it was difficult, it wasn’t impossible to overcome.

At least it would have been, were it not for the interference slowing Espeon while bolstering Will. Still, the movepool of Will’s Alakazam was relatively known.

Espeon dove into the ground and hid with Dig, leaving Will to impotently glower at the hole. When he raised his gaze at her, Sabrina raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

He snorted and waved a hand, bolstering his Alakazam with Calm Mind.

Sabrina allowed herself a smile as Espeon appeared only a moment later, with stars forming around her to unleash Swift upon her foe.

Alakazam vanished in a Teleport only for the stars to pause midflight and then snap back onto their target.

Excellent. Continue the attack, she projected to her pokemon.

Espeon strode forward, stars forming around her as Swift was unleashed upon Alakazam.

Alakazam countered by forming Barriers where it could. Alakazam continued to step back slowly, as though it were being forced back.

Sabrina held in her scoff. She could see what was coming easily enough.

Alakazam was continually pressured until it was in a corner of the battlefield. It appeared like it was about to be forced out. Sabrina made a chopping gesture like she was committing Espeon forward to end the exchange.

Espeon hopped forward only to leap backward as Alakazam appeared behind her with his spoons flashing out with dark energy. Foul Play, how predictable. With Espeon moving as quickly, she should have been able to evade the blow, only for the pressure placed on Espeon to cause her to falter.

Foul Play lashed across Espeon in a glancing blow, and Sabrina clenched her jaw as pain flashed through the bond.

Sabrina didn’t allow it to cloud her mind, however, and she ordered Espeon to dodge.

Espeon responded, despite the pain, flipping through the air to avoid a follow-up attack.

From there, it was Alakazam’s turn to pressure her pokemon back into a corner that was all too close, thanks to Will leading them there earlier.

Thankfully, she only had to Dig to evade Will’s ambush. She rather enjoyed his faltering expression.

He’d forgotten she had that option.

Once again, Espeon popped up, this time in the middle of the battlefield, where she flashed a red light, returning with Baton Pass.

In her place, Farigiraf appeared with a shake of his long neck. Both sets of eyes locked onto Alakazam, who lifted his chin in challenge.

Will eyed the pokemon and the dark outer head. With a flick of his eyes, Alakazam Teleported first to the left and then to the right.

Farigiraf’s eyes tracked the movement, and Will paused to consider his options.

Sabrina used his hesitation against him to let her pokemon perform Calm Mind. Will clicked his tongue as Farigiraf glowed with strength.

Will gestured, and Sabrina felt energy build up around Alakazam’s spoons. Sabrina had spent more than enough time around Alakazam to know precisely which move was about to be unleashed.

With a flex of her will and a small boost of her own energy, Farigiraf matched Alakazam with his own Psybeam.

Both moves slammed into each other and a clash ensued. Both sets of eyes on Farigiraf narrowed as they committed themselves wholly to the attack. Alakazam leaned forward and Sabrina felt the power in both Psybeams grow.

Sadly Alakazam’s attack grew more.

It overwhelmed Farigiraf’s attack and blasted straight into her pokemon’s chest hurling it into the back wall where it struggled to rise.

But rise it did.

On trembling legs, Farigiraf rose, conviction to continue filling the bond and Sabrina found herself re-evaluating her newest Elite. This was more heart than she had been expecting. Farigiraf strode back onto the battlefield, determined to fight on.

Alakazam straightened and sniffed haughtily, but Sabrina could see the way its limbs quivered.

Ah, that move had cost Alakazam, she thought to herself. Interesting.

She sent a plan to Farigiraf and her pokemon wholeheartedly agreed. She smiled coyly. “Care to try that again?” she said with a challenging lift of her head.

Will sniffed and gestured and once again Alakazam prepared to unleash a powerful Psybeam.

This time Sabrina punched forward, her glee at baiting Will matching that of her pokemon’s as it unleashed a Hyper Beam straight at Alakazam.

Alakazam went from cocky arrogance to frightened in an instant, and Sabrina didn’t need to see Will’s face to feel the sudden fear that exploded out of him as he realised she’d baited him into another exchange, not understanding what her Farigiraf was capable of.

Alakazam dropped the Psybeam assault and raised his spoons. It shouldn’t have had enough time. And yet it raised Protect, the pokemon interfering bolstering its efforts to raise a shell just before the beam slammed home.

Emotions of shock and elation surged through the crowd, laced with Will’s fear that he hadn’t been quick enough. Only to die away as Alakaam emerged unscathed but extremely tired from the exchange. Sabrina let herself smile with amusement.

Farigiraf had done well. “I withdraw Farigiraf from battle, he is too tired to continue,” she announced, halting Will from getting a vindictive counterattack in while her pokemon was exhausted.

His lips flickered into a grimace, his face reflecting the sourness of his mind before he adopted a mask of stoicism.

“Hmmm a cheap shot there Gym Leader,” he said patronisingly.

“And something which you fell for,” she said, pokeball rising to return her pokemon. Will inspected his own exhausted Alakazam and flicked his fingers, ‘Ally Switch’ once more working as it shouldn’t, Sabrina noted.

With her own proximity, Sabrina could now feel how Mewtwo interlaced his own energies to bolster the move and allow it to overcome its shortcomings to make it more like Baton Pass.

Sabrina stared at Will when Exeggutor appeared on the field. He raised his chin and Sabrina sniffed. With a flex of her power, another pokeball was thrown forth.

Her own Exeggutor, much taller and more vibrant thanks to Erika’s support, glowered at Will’s.

Multiple eyes locked on each other and Sabrina shared her plan with the multitude of minds that made up Exeggutor.

Exeggutor surged into action, its mouth open as seeds began to fire straight at its counterpart.

“Sludge Bomb!” Will ordered, falling back on verbal orders with his pokemon.

Sabrina’s pokemon sidestepped the danger of the move and continued to pepper Will’s Exeggutor with a seemingly ineffective move, only for the seeds to suddenly sprout and reveal themselves to not be Seed Bullet but rather Leech Seeds being planted.

“Again!” Will ordered, forcing Sabrina to have her pokemon leap to the side, duck low and then skid forward. Her mental link with her pokemon allowing her to guide her pokemon with a deftness unmatched by others.

The crowd cheered at the show of dexterity from the typically lumbering pokemon as it evaded a rain of poison.

Sabrina waved her hand, and from the fronds of her pokemon’s canopy purple power wafted out towards the enemy Exeggutor. Unlike Sludge Bomb, Posionpowder wasn’t as easy to evade and soon Will’s pokemon was being sapped from both poison and Leech seed.

“Tch!” Will barked as he returned his pokemon.

Sabrina didn’t hesitate to have her pokemon plant itself into the ground with Ingrain, a move that had required Erika herself to teach Exeggutor.

Will worked his jaw back and forth, only for his frustration to build as the Psychic Terrain flickered. Sabrina tilted her head as she felt the weight slip off her.

The attention that Mewtwo was giving to their battle had waned…

What was Brock doing?

I marched up the stairs, Rocket shirt thrown off and through the stairs once more. This time when the Rocket Grunts saw me, they moved to attack, only for Janine and my pokemon to launch from behind me to intercept them.

The fight was short, sharp, and sweet.

It still caused a lot of noise and when I looked up I wasn’t surprised to see two white-suited Rocket Executives rounding a corner with six other Rocket Grunts. The woman was tall, thin and silver-haired. She matched the description of the woman who had fought with Koga and Agatha when they encountered Mewtwo.

The other was a hulking brute of a man. His eyebrows were thick enough to cast his eyes into shadow such that it looked like he glared out at the world while his arms swung back and forth.

“Well, well, my dear Orm, it seems the Grunts were correct and we have been entrapped,” said the woman we knew to be Cird.

Around her, Starmie, Arbok, Arcanine, Banette, Persian, Nidoqueen, and a Raichu appeared.

“Hrn,” said Orm, each hand fisting around a trio of pokeballs. “Let’s get rid of them,” he said. Around him, a Jumpluff, three Hoppip, a Vileplume, a Sunflora, and a Shuckle appeared.

I did a double-take. That hadn’t been the type of pokemon I’d been expecting from the guy who looked like he wrestled Slaking for fun.

I swept across the pokemon and frowned. “You’ve been expecting me, haven’t you?” I said eying the Grass specialist.

Cird snorted. “It was obvious that you would stick your nose into matters far beyond your understanding! Orm!” she said snapping her fingers. Orm grunted and gestured with his hand, causing his Grass type pokemon to bristle in preparation.

I nodded. “Hmmm Grass type, my weakness,” I said with a smile.

Orm nodded. “Obviously! Team! Vine Whip!”

“Team! Brace!” I shouted causing my pokemon to lock down and kneel for what was to come.

I grinned as Cird’s eyes narrowed while Orm committed to the strikes.

As they charged forward the floor gave way underneath them as Bertha’s fist ripped through the weak material. With a swipe of her hands, the floor opened up and the floor below suddenly revealed itself.

Shin glowered at the Grass-type pokemon and I only had to point for him to unleash an Ice Beam upon them.

“Tch! Bannette! Get down there!” Cird ordered. She then snapped her fingers at the others.

Orm, held out a hand. “Countermand that!” he said with a glower.

He eyed my pokemon both in front of us, and underneath us shooting up. “Retreat, He’s going to bring the floor down on us!” he said before turning and lumbering away as quickly as he could.

I huffed, annoyed that he’d correctly guessed what I was planning. “Bertha, do it,” I said leaping down to her. Bertha thrust her fist into a nearby support pillar. Her fist clenched upon the pillar and then shook.

The floor above us collapsed, but I merely waved to Jormungandr, who was already laid out in a loop around our group. Janine glowered up at the collapsing floor. “This! This shouldn’t be possible!” she said as she held up her transceiver.

“Are you… recording this?” I said to Janine. She nodded and I raised a finger before deciding to just ignore it. Karen howled with laughter as Janine steadfastly documented the OHSA violations in progress.

The laughter stopped when the collapsing floor suddenly stopped collapsing and instead began to hover as a blue glow surrounded everything.

The debris lowered gently to the ground and a number of Rocket Grunts, along with Cird, and Orm were revealed with some of their pokemon.

I wasn’t looking at them, however. My gaze was raised to the pokemon hovering in front of the locked vault that was the only segment of the floor above us that hadn’t collapsed.

Mewtwo’s helmet looked back, offering nothing of how he might feel or where he was even directing his attention.

Janine swallowed loudly, her transceiver held up recording the first sighting of Mewtwo.

I swallowed and wet my suddenly dry lips.

I’d suspected Mewtwo was here, and I’d been proven right.

It didn’t make sense for Team Rocket to act this brazenly. Not without something that made it worth the absolute chaos they’d release with this assault.

For that, they needed a sure thing, which came in the form of Mewtwo. My estimation of the dark inhibitors around the Masterball creation lab went up a few more notches.

Karen merely stepped forward, her gaze locked on the Legendary pokemon. “So, you’re the pokemon that injured my mentor?” She cracked her neck while glaring up at the hovering pokemon.

Cird laughed. “Oh, you petty fool! Do you think your little trick will stop us? We don’t even need to fight, with Agent M here!” she crowed gleefully.

I pursed my lips and directed my gaze up at the floor that housed the President’s penthouse office. “Shame about the top floor,” I said conversationally. Selene drifted up next to me as Cird frowned.

“What are you—” Cird began to say even as Orm looked up.

He was the only one to notice Titan and Empress burrowing through the final floor, causing it to crumble above Team Rocket.

Agent M, or rather Mewtwo, had all of a moment to realise how much danger he was in before Empress tackled him out of the air, dark energy radiating off her.

He slammed into the ground with Empress roaring her rage right into his helmet. Titan landed next to her and both of them detonated the Dark Pulse they’d been holding, to help them remain hidden.

I’d suspected Mewtwo was here… and I’d planned accordingly.

Was it being pressured? Whatever Brock was doing, it seemed to be working, as Mewtwo's attention vanished for a moment before returning, albeit greatly weakened.

Sabrina checked her energy levels and resolved to pull back on the amount of energy she committed to the fight, knowing that she would need it soon.

Sorry. She mentally apologised to Exeggutor. The multitude merely bobbed their heads, eyes forward as Will inspected the Psychic Terrain.

He growled before releasing Slowking once again.

As Brock had mentioned, Slowking appeared to be in better health than when it had returned. Regeneration through withdrawal was an interesting quirk, one that her own Slowking did not possess.

Will waved his hand and Slowking began to channel the needed cube in his hands.

Sabrina countered by unleashing Leaf Storm.

Exeggutor’s leaves whipped as glowing green leaves shot forth and slashed into SLowking cutting through in a furor. Slowking failed to react. It completed the Psychic Terrain, repowering the faltering field only to blink and yawn in pain as it toppled over.

When it hit the ground its eyes closed as unconsciousness claimed it.

“Slowking is unable to battle that makes it two all!” proclaimed the referee.

Sabrina felt the anticipation build in the crowd. They knew as well as her that she still had pokemon to play, while Will was being forced into a corner. His pokemon fatigued while she still had options.

A feeling of anticipation swept over her and Sabrina felt herself stir and glance up at the Viewing box where her Xatu was, staring towards Silph Co.

Soon, her pokemon projected to her.

Sabrina nodded and prepared herself to fight as hard as she could.

Her influence on the shatter point was building, and like a man caught in the flow of the river, she would need to act quickly to determine the outcome.

Will sent back out his Exeggutor.

Sabrina raised her chin in defiance. “Stand your ground!” she said aloud to make Will commit. This wasn’t it. This wasn’t the moment.

It would be soon, though.

“Sludge Bomb!” Will shouted.

Sabrina reached forth, projecting her next order for Psyshock to her pokemon.

Exeggutor lashed out and his foe stumbled back even as the super-effective move landed. Both Exeggutors blanched as poisons took effect.

Then Will’s pokemon stumbled further as green energy wafted off it towards Sabrina’s Exeggutor.

Sabrina crossed her arms and committed herself and her pokemon.

Exeggutor drained the ground around him even as he continued to unleash Psyshock after Psyshock at his opponent. The interference and weakening of her attacks began to falter more and more.

Will continued to barrage her locked-down pokemon with Sludge Bombs that hammered at her pokemon. Despite that. Her Exeggutor held on, fighting on until the moment he saw Will’s Exeggutor collapse.

Then he gave Sabrina a pained look as he began to tremble. Sabrina inclined her head. “You have fought well, rest now,” she said projecting the pride she felt in her pokemon. With her permission. Exeggutor allowed himself to topple.

Sabrina returned him, and felt her spine tingle in anticipation.

Like the static of a storm heralding the lightning, everyone unknowingly leaned forward in their seats.

Sabrina raised up her Greatball before her and nodded. “Go, Alakazam,” she said, announcing her intentions to all.

She hoped Brock could keep Mewtwo’s attention, as she needed all her focus for the part to come.

“Shit! When did Brock get two Tyranitars?" screamed a Grunt as he was clutching onto a wall.

“Agent M! Get up and fight!” roared Cird before she pointed her pokemon at us. “Team! Rip and Tear!”

Her pokemon promptly went wild. Lunging at the nearest pokemon with fang or claw turning the tower into a proper battleground.

I was suddenly extremely glad that we’d evacuated all of the people who had been with us before we’d enacted this plan.

Chaos filled the room as suddenly pokemon were lunging and moves were flying.

Janine, Karen and I reacted. “Shin and Gawain work with Janine to take out those Grass type pokemon! Gawain stay wide!” I barked before chopping my hand to Shrek.

“Take out that Persian!” I called as it fired off a Swift at Janine’s Muk which was trying to minimise.

“Gengar! Back up Brock’s pokemon! Take out that Legendary!” Karen roared. “Houndoom push them back!”

“Brock move!” Janine shouted, causing me to react.

I ducked into Bertha’s kneeling form to evade a Blizzard that tore through where Janine and I had been standing moments before.

“Janine?” I said peering around Bertha’s form to see a Glalie glaring at me from one of the Grunts.

“Jormungandr!” I said pointing at the pokemon. Jorm twisted and slapped his tail into some rubble, unleashing a Stone Edge that was intercepted by a Machoke.

The Machoke tried to close on Jorm only for Janine to intercept it with a Venomoth whose wings were glowing with light.

I turned my head in time to catch Mewtwo exploding out of the crater that Empress had smashed him into.

His eyes glowed through the cracked helmet and Empress was clenched in a Telekinetic grip that she struggled against.

“Dark Pulse!” I shouted at her. She exploded once again with dark energy and Mewtwo had to zip back to evade the attack. Gengar appeared with a Shadow Ball overhead.

“Titan! Box him!” I shouted, making Titan keep Mewtwo on the back foot as much as we could. Another Gengar appeared and I grinned, knowing that had to mean Agatha was nearby.

I felt a chill race up my spine and without knowing why I channeled Dark energy and spun.

Two large arms swept towards me as a Banette materialised behind me.

Its grinning visage loomed large as it closed with me. I knocked one fist away with only my bare fist, causing it to almost falter as it carried through with the other.

A cane intercepted the fist aiming for my kidney, and a wizened old voice spoke. “Oh my, Brock, that was nearly a bad ending for you there!” Agatha cackled.

I exhaled. “Thanks for the save.” Banette twisted and tried to leap away, only for Agatha’s shadow to distort.

From the shadow, an arm appeared to latch onto Banette.

“Oh, no little one, you’re not leaving so soon,” Agatha said as her shadow gained red eyes. Banette was dragged into the shadow, and from there I could only watch as Agatha’s shadow undulated and writhed as though a fight was playing out.

A roar tore me away from the strange sight and back to where Mewtwo had raised a metal pillar and swung it telekinetically to bat away Empress from closing once more with him.

Titan threw himself into the pillar to help his mother, forcing Mewtwo to give up and hover upwards.

Agatha tutted. “That won’t do, time to join the fray properly, my sweets!” she said.

Floating in the air behind Mewtwo, another Gengar appeared, along with a Mismagius. In the fights taking place on the ground, a Froslass appeared and swept in with an opening Icy Wind to turn things more in our favour.

I only peripherally noticed this however, as I kept my gaze on the main threat, which was Mewtwo hovering above us.

I saw him turn his head back and forth, assessing the situation. The glow of his visor shifted and a robotic voice sounded out. “Orm, Cird! Salt the earth!” said a voice that I just knew had to be Giovanni.

Orm reacted by having his pokemon suddenly unleash huge amounts of pollen into the air, while other pokemon began wafting it towards us.

I and Janine stiffened, knowing how this combination move could be used even before the Arcanine on their side inhaled.

“Surf!” I ordered all of my pokemon capable of it.

Bertha, Shrek, and Shin all unleashed the move together but stayed on our side of the wave, which we used as a shield against the resultant explosion.

Team Rocket, when they emerged, were slightly worse for the wear but they’d gained some breathing room. “Get that vault open!” said the voice of Giovanni.

Mewtwo turned his head to said vault and suddenly a white burst of energy manifested itself in his hands.

“Brace!” I shouted as Mewtwo unleashed a Hyper Beam straight at the vault.

Dark energy erupted from the room as it burst, knocking Mewtwo back. The Gengar that had been attacking him redoubled their efforts. Karen twitched and suddenly her pokemon unleashed their own moves on the staggered Legendary.

I decided to add my own powerhouse to the equation. “Empress! Unleash!” I shouted.

Empress blinked once at me, before remembering what that command meant.

She inhaled and Mewtwo twitched towards her, as some psychic instinct warned him of what was to come.

His armoured form snapped into a protective curl as a Protect formed around him.

Empress unleashed her own Hyper Beam and a bright light filled the room, making most people shield their eyes.

I didn’t though. I pointed and continued to shout orders that couldn’t be heard, but my pokemon knew what to expect. More of Team Rocket’s pokemon went down and the noose slowly tightened on them.

A crack began to form in one of the windows, and a moment later it burst outward.

When Empress finished unleashing her Hyper Beam I wasn’t surprised to find Mewtwo had endured through the use of Protect. It spoke volumes that he’d weathered the storm of hits from other pokemon but when Empress had gotten a clear shot at him, he’d known to use Protect straight away.

Titan stepped close to his mother, his fist raised to ward off any potential threats while she regathered her energy. If Mewtwo hadn’t been in the air I might have suggested having him follow up in his mother’s wake with a Giga Impact.

Honestly I wasn’t game to risk him getting into a charge and not accidentally being thrown over off the tower. It was too great a risk and all too probable. If Empress's Hyper Beam could break the windows, the same would be true of Giga Impact.

I chopped a hand forward. My pokemon reacted, with Jormungandr unleashing a wave of Dragonsbreath while Hydro Pumps and Stone Edges leapt forth.

Mewtwo swept his hand and they all clashed with each other causing a cloud of dust to obscure him for a moment.

Once again, I felt a chill race up my spine, and this time when I turned, I found not another Banette but rather Mewtwo reaching out and grabbing me by the throat.

He was much faster than Banette, and while I raised a hand to hammer a punch into his side he merely ignored the hit. I suddenly felt like a child in the grip of a pro wrestler.

“You!” snarled a robotic voice as we rose into the air.

I stared into the helmet and was surprised to see that part of it was no longer there. An eye stared out, but instead of anger, only blank emptiness met my gaze.

My pokemon cried out in shock, only for Mewtwo to evade them. He turned and held his arm with me hanging, my back facing towards the now destroyed window with nothing but a free fall awaiting me should Mewtwo throw me.

I called up my dark energy and snapped a kick, only for his tail to catch the blow

“You’ve interfered for the last—” The robotic voice started to say, only for light to explode from behind me.

“What?!” squawked the voice.

At first, I thought it was one of my pokemon coming through with a surprise attack. Selene being the most likely, but then a moment later I felt a Psychic power sweep past me, and I stiffened.

I recognised that feeling.

Sabrina?

Sabrina knew her window of opportunity was coming, every part of her being knew this.

Will glowered, his attention flickering to the Psychic Terrain that would help hide how he was being bolstered while she was being suppressed.

She was gambling her fate now, knowing that a moment would arrive where she would be able to flip the table and dominate this match.

Will’s Alakazam appeared and both pokemon locked eyes. Sabrina’s pokemon straightened, while Will’s tossed its head, its moustache and skin marred by the earlier fights.

This shouldn’t have been an equal match.

It all came down to the interference she had been feeling pressuring her for most of the match, a faint touch. A sensation that was just slightly off.

She needed a moment of true inattention, where she could be guaranteed to able to focus on herself and Alakazam.

As if hearing her plea, a powerful blast of energy rippled across the night sky tearing the final dregs of Mewtwo’s attention away from the match.

Like a comet racing across the night sky, it flashed brilliantly.

People in the crowd shifted and a moment of fear poured through them, wondering what had caused such an attack.

For Sabrina however, it was a signal.

Now, it said to her.

Now was her moment.

She clenched her fist and focussed herself entirely upon her old friend.

Around her, psychic energy began to build rapidly. Her hair whipped about as psychic energy built to a crescendo.

Without Mewtwo’s attention on her, she could weave her energy through the bond without interference.

Alakazam raised his spoons and from the base of one, where a small, seemingly insignificant gem was attached, a bright glow began to form.

“What is this!?” Will snarled as he staggered back at the feeling of power that began to emanate from Sabrina and her Alakazam.

Sabrina felt her awareness expand slightly.

She felt Erika fighting alongside Flannery, Brawly and Roxanne through the streets wiping clear the blight that had been Team Rocket.

She felt minds, familiar and new, struggling throughout the city.

She felt Janine in the tower of Silph Co. Fright sweeping through her as she felt Sabrina’s mind touch her own.

Sabrina felt her power grow again, like a heartbeat growing in tempo within the next moment and she felt Agatha and Karen.

And she felt Brock as he was snatched up by Mewtwo.

A pokemon that held no anger, no guile.

His mind was empty of thoughts and emotions… so very much like hers had once been, through no fault of his own.

Sabrina could feel Brock’s fear and her heart ached with worry.

Please. Don’t hurt him. She thought as her power grew again. Mewtwo turned and a feeling of curiosity washed across her.

What are you? What.. is this feeling? He asked.

Sabrina smiled, projecting herself fully, and in doing so allowed her bond to deepen with Alakazam even further..

When she spoke she did so with not just her mind but also her mouth, microphones all about the stadium catching her words as Alakazam’s glow reached its peak.

“This is the power of friendship,” she said, answering Mewtwo as she reached up to the sky for the stars and beyond.

Brock had once mentioned during their journey that was where the limits of friendship lay.

She thought he’d been being facetious.

Now she understood.

Her power blossomed.

She felt herself grow as she never before.

She’d trained with Alakazam but the feeling of the power radiating through them had never been this strong.

Perhaps it was the emotions, perhaps it was the urge to be more. Perhaps their connection was more unified than ever before, but the result was that her power expanded throughout the entire city.

She felt herself washing through people’s minds and perhaps for the first time, they felt what it was like to experience her sense of empathy.

Wonder and awe filled her. Around Saffron people turned without thought to the stadium, their mouths open and tears pouring down their cheeks.

Those who were her enemies flinched and cowered, like Rattata caught in the light that her mind gave off; they began to scurry and flee, knowing they were not welcome.

Mewtwo alone stood tall. “Beautiful,” Mewtwo said to her, with all the wonder of a child discovering the joy of a field of flowers during a summer day as emotions more complex than anything it had ever experienced were shared freely.

Sabrina smiled and reached out to Mewtwo.

“Beautiful,” said a deep, resonating voice.

“Yeah, she is,” I agreed. I blinked as I realised that hadn’t been the robotic voice but rather the deep, resonating voice of Mewtwo himself speaking. I turned from the light and saw Mewtwo openly staring at the pillar of light.

“What… this? What is this? Feeling?” he said in open wonder.

“...” I floundered; I had no idea what to say to that. What was he feeling? “Could you put me down gently so we could talk about it?” I decided, trying my luck.

Mewtwo blinked and his gaze shifted to me. “... yes?” he said as though unsure of himself.

He released his grip and my heart lurched only to settle as I floated back to the ground.

“Mewtwo! What are you doing? Destroy them!” snarled the robotic voice of Giovanni. His helmet sparked and Mewtwo twitched.

Mewtwo shook his head and then stiffened. “I will not!” barked Mewtwo.

A robotic hiss sounded through the speakers before the voice spoke properly. “Retreat now!” barked the voice.

Mewtwo stiffened.

“Now Agent M!” snarled the voice.

Mewtwo glanced at where I knew Sabrina was, in the stadium before twitching again. Then he stiffened, and a roboticness appeared in his movements as his arm raised and the Team Rocket group in the room with us was lifted away.

The Group from Team Rocket soared through the open window and began to flee. Empress snarled at this and lunged to the edge, where she unleashed another Hyper Beam at their backs.

I could only stare as her attack was evaded, despite how she tried to force it on target. When she ran out of energy, Titan dragged her away from the edge, where she collapsed from overexertion.

I sat down as my own legs gave out from underneath me.

Mewtwo had been about to… I shuddered and put my hands out to support myself. I shook my head and repressed what I knew my mind wanted to think about.

I couldn’t deal with that right now. I instead needed to focus on other issues. Like clean up.

I started checking over my pokemon and fellow Guardians. “We all okay?” I said.

Karen grunted her eyes, locked onto the retreating forms of Mewtwo and Team Rocket. Agatha nodded, her eyes sweeping the room looking for something, only to click her tongue as she nudged aside a piece of rubble to reveal a destroyed Masterball.

I felt my inner child wail in despair at the loss of the overpowered pokeball even as the adult within me sighed in relief. That's good; that should allow things to settle down for a while.

Janine swallowed. “What just happened? Mewtwo was about to…throw you off the building.”

I nodded grimly. “Yeah, I’d have needed to think quick if he had eh?” I said darkly.

I shook my head and sighed looking to the arena, a smile on my lips. “Sabrina saved us,” I said, knowing it was true. I could still feel her radiating power, even from here.

“How though?” Karen said, her head snapping away from tracking the night sky. “She’s in the stadium! It doesn’t make any sense!”

“She went Mega,” I said like that explained everything.

Only Agatha reacted with a hitched breath, while the others merely looked more confused.

I chuckled and decided to let Agatha determine where to go from here. I was spent. I instead turned to Selene, “Think you can get me back to the show?” I said, waving a hand towards the stadium.

“Leaving us to do the clean up Brock?” Agatha said with an arched brow.

I smirked. “I learnt my lesson from the last big incident,” I said with a grin before I returned my pokemon and vanished into a Teleport.

There was no way I was missing Sabrina beating down Will, just to help with paperwork.

Sabrina felt herself smile as Brock was lowered back to the ground at her and Brock’s urging.

Sabrina felt something begin to lock down in Mewtwo’s mind, shutters he had no control over that had to be implanted into his subconscious, causing the emotions he was experiencing to be locked out.

Sabrina made sure to slip in a few small, wonderful memories of how good the world could be, before his mind fully closed off.

To use her friend, Erika’s metaphor, she planted a few small, delicate seeds.

Sabrina could feel through her awareness as Mewtwo was ordered away. Giovanni suddenly growing fearful of losing not just his chance at a Masterball, but also his strongest tool no doubt.

As this played out in Silph Tower, Sabrina directed her physical gaze upon the cringing form of Will.

Sabrina knew this smile would not ever be considered friendly by those who saw it. But she would be forgiven as she directed it at a single person.

Will could only stand in fear.

His mind was just barely capable of grasping how out of his depth he was.

With her power, Sabrina could punch through the mental defences he possessed and leave him a gibbering child.

A younger, lesser Sabrina, might have done that. But that Sabrina would never have built the bonds necessary to achieve this power in the first place.

“What are you?” he said.

“I am your vanquisher,” Sabrina said as the light around Alakazam died away to reveal his hovering form. Where once two spoons were. A host now hovered around his head like a halo. His moustache had grown into a beard and his forehead gleamed with the Alakazite.

Sabrina and Mega Alakazam nodded then and from the spoons, beams of energy shoot forth, racing into each other to form a more cohesive, singular beam.

Will’s Alakazam Teleported away only for the beams to break off and suddenly jerk about like they were stars from Swift rather than Psybeams being unleashed.

“That’s not possible!” Will screamed. “Get out of there Alakazam!”

Sabrina shook her head. “You fail to understand the power my pokemon now possesses; you are a small Magikarp that thought itself large in it’s pond, now you come into the ocean and fail to understand the depths,” she said as her Psybeam clipped the fleeing Alakazam.

Alakazam went down only, for the other strands of the Psybeam attack to slam into it and blast it out of the arena. The barriers around the edge flared at the impact but didn’t break.

Will grit his teeth. “This … isn’t how it was supposed to go.”

“Nothing is supposed to go anywhere. The future is not completely fixed, it can always change,” Sabrina said. She could feel how this resonated with all the people that could feel her power at that moment.

Oddly, it seemed to resonate the most with the youngest around Saffron.

Will considered his next pokemon and Sabrina could see how his mind scrambled for some method of salvaging this disaster. “You must have had help! This must be interference!”

The referee shook his head. “Despite this never being seen before, it is still valid. It is merely a mid-match evolution… an evolution never seen before,” he muttered, staring at Sabrina.

Will’s fist clenched and Sabrina saw him decide to attempt something else. Sabrina decided to not let him ruin her victory.

“So, this is how you react when you are defeated? Will you run now? It says a lot about a man who can’t dig deep,” she said, gladly slapping him in the face with how Brock had fought back to get a draw.

“You will never be worthy of being one of the Elite Four, let alone Champion,” Sabrina declared.

Will felt himself go still, as possibilities and chances suddenly seemed go up in smoke for him.

Sabrina had no sympathy, he had burned those bridges himself. A flicker of slyness raced through him as he eyed Alakazam hungrily.

Ah, she could feel his thoughts without delving into his mind, he was that rattled.

She almost laughed. He thought he might one day be able to match her.

He reached for his next pokeball, his intent to drag the match out and learn as much as he could about this mega-evolution clear to Sabrina.

She smiled. The Will that stood before her would never achieve Mega evolution.

“Go Jynx!” Will commanded, his senses focussed on her and Alakazam. She could almost feel how he couldn’t begin to feel the bond even as she pushed more energy through it.

Disable, she thought to her pokemon as Jynx attempted to use Perish Song on her. Jynx gagged as the move was denied. With that taken care of, Sabrina went for the kill.

Alakazam flashed in close to Jynx and unleashed a close range Psybeam that hurled Jynx into the air. Jynx spun through the air and Sabrina, without looking, pointed right at it to unleash another Psybeam and end the exchange.

Jynx hit the ground with an audible whump. It did not get back up, and Will swallowed loudly as he returned it.

Sabrina raised an eyebrow as he delayed in his final choice.

The crowd didn’t mind, they were more than happy to observe the new form her Alakazam had taken on. Flashes of light flicked from them as more and more people took pictures. Sabrina could feel the jubilant mood soaring through them, along with the confused awe.

Without intending to, she had touched their minds and let them feel true psychic energy for what would have been, for most, the first time in their lives. It would make many of them wonder, she had no doubt.

“Go… Espeon,” Will said sullenly as the countdown began to end.

Sabrina smiled as she felt Brock reappear in the viewing box with her parents.

Sabrina didn’t hesitate to use Psychic to lift Espeon up into the air. Will broke Alakazam’s grip with a dark move only for Sabrina to snap her hand forward and Alakazam to unleash a Hyper Beam that tore through the sky and ended the match.

Espeon landed with a finality to it. No one was surprised when it opened an eye as through her connection, Sabrina reassured them that she and Alakazam were perfectly in control.

The referee raised his flag for the final time and the crowd around her drew in breath as jubilation began to thrum through them, unleashing as the referee shouted the result for all to hear.

“Espeon is unable to battle! The score is now Six to three! Sabrina is therefore the victor!”

Around her, the crowd rose to their feet and roared as one.

Sabrina felt her powers slowly begin to wane as the Mega-evolution dispersed. Despite that, she revelled in the feeling of the crowd as they cheered for her and her pokemon.

Brock lowered his mental shields and offered up his love, and Sabrina felt herself lock this moment into memory stronger than any before it.

She might not have the Mega-evolution trading energy through her, but she’d never felt so alive.

She stared up at the crowd, where in the past she’d have been overwhelmed by the mass of noise and thought, now she could feel, and not be swamped.

She raised her hands out wide and basked in the moment of her victory.

Will and Team Rocket had thrown everything they could, and despite that, she, and her friends, had emerged triumphant.

She eyed Brock, now she just had to get him down to her for the kiss she’d promised when she won, and the moment would be perfect.