Pokemon: Way of Life Chapter 58

Hi all,

Here's the next chapter. Lucas battles Jigglypuff but the Calamity members are not sitting back and watching their plans go up in flames.

There was nothing about Floyd Benson that would give an impression that he belonged to a cult. He had a fresh-faced look, making him look young and naive, but nothing was further from the truth. Nor did his mannerisms or behaviour suggest he was a psychopath with a twisted view of the world. He was only twenty-three but he had already killed over a dozen people. They all happened at the same time when Calamity decimated Stone Town. Surprisingly, he felt no remorse for his actions and slept the rest of the night with a clear conscience.

He wasn't aware of the reasons for the massacre, as he was still low in the pecking order within the organisation. One of his friends with more authority revealed a few details about their ultimate goal. Apparently, a lot of human blood had to be shed to achieve their objective, whatever that may be. He was on board with anything that brought chaos to the world. His influence would increase significantly after tonight. He would be able to learn everything that the organisation leaders had in mind at that point.

As he stared in the direction of the ruins, a smirk appeared on his face as he witnessed the giant Jigglypuff stand up, dominating the sky in all its pink glory. The Pokemon was still way too far back for the residents to see it, and it would be too late for them to do anything before they ever realised it was there.

The Pokemon was an oddity. Never had there been an oversized Pokemon like this seen anywhere else in the world before. What could have caused it to become this size? Was it the civilisation that built the city beneath this ground responsible for its creation? And how long had it lived there? The device in his hands seemed to suggest that they were a very technologically advanced civilisation. Something humans cannot match today despite some incredible progress made in technology.

He didn't know how strong it was, but a Pokemon's attack was usually influenced by its size, so the Jigglypuff must be incredibly strong at least. Stronger than a Legendary in attack and defence, but lacking in other areas. It was extremely slow for instance, and a Legendary would be able to run rings around it.

How did he know the giant Pokemon would appear here? Because he controlled it, albeit with very little precision. It was thanks to a chance encounter when he and his associates came to this town over a week ago. An archaeologist by the name of Roland made a discovery when he was exploring the eastern side of the ruins. His equipment broke through into a chamber where several strange artefacts were discovered. Most of them were useless and had decayed from the ravages of time. However, one device was still in working order.

When the archaeologist activated it inadvertently, he caused Jiggltpuff to appear briefly on the surface before he figured out how to send her back underground. The man was rushing back to town when he ran into Floyd and could not contain his enthusiasm and revealed his discovery. It cost the man his life.

He held the device in his hand. It could manipulate Pokemon to some degree by determining the general direction it could move in. In addition, he controlled the attacks that it had at its disposal. It sounded like a science experiment where the civilisation was trying to control a Pokemon without a need for a bond. It was an intriguing piece of technology that he would take back to his superiors to study. It ran on some kind of crystal technology, and he could only figure out a small part of its application. For his purpose today, it was more than enough. He planned for it to appear when the ceremony was underway so he could kill as many people as possible.

"My Xatu said that they are not serving ceremony bread to residents in the square. There is also a heavy police presence patrolling the crowd," Mason, his associate, reported.

"Then Taylor's plot was discovered and he was captured," Floyd smirked, not caring about the man's fate in the least. "That means all the credit for taking so many lives belongs to me."

"Are we not planning to rescue him from jail?"

"Why should we? That man was arrogant beyond belief, thinking he was better than us. Well, I will show him."

"I suppose," Mason replied doubtfully. "He may reveal information about us though."

"Unlikely," Floyd snorted. "Every member of our organisation understands the consequences of revealing our secrets."

"Are you going to put the crowd to sleep now?"

"That's right," Floyd nodded. "It's not as satisfying as stomping their bodies into the ground and tearing their limbs apart, but it will have to do."

"What effect will it have on them? Will it be lethal?"

"Who knows? If it isn't, well we can always finish them off."

Mason looked unsure of their plan for the first time. The man had followed his orders like a well-behaved puppet so far, but he didn't have any experience killing people, nor the stomach to do so. Floyd looked at him with narrowed eyes. It was unfortunate, but he might have to get rid of him before the day's end. There may be a chance the man turns against him.

Floyd checked that the ear-cancelling earmuffs were securely fastened in place before activating the device and commanded the Jigglypuff to use Sing. He watched in anticipation of a good show. There were cameras set up to record the entire event, both in the ruins and in the square. His glorious achievement would be forever immortalised and watched by millions.

Where was the popcorn when you needed it?

The Jigglypudd opened its mouth to Sing when it rocked backwards as if something struck it, and was unable to complete her attack. Floyd was confused. What the hell was going on?

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Lucas flew toward the Jigglypuff at full speed. Just as he was about to strike the huge Pokemon, its eyes looked in his direction, as if it could sense him. But it was too late to react as it was struck in the cheek by Mewtwo's foot. There was no chance of missing the Pokemon, it was such a huge target.

Jigglypuff has taken 120 damage.

HP: 3480/3600

Jigglypuff recoiled from the impact and stepped backwards. Mewtwo flew around it and aimed for another attack. He still couldn't use any moves, as his aura was finite, so he had to rely on standard attacks to deal damage. Mewtwo was surprised that he could deal so much damage to Jigglypuff, but it hardly mattered because its HP was immense. There was no way he could reduce it to zero with the remaining time left to him.

Making a decision, he cancelled the Aura Cloak to conserve some aura. He was unaware that he was currently being observed and recorded by someone.

Mewtwo reared his arm back and struck a heavy punch to its back, sending it stumbling forward a few steps. He couldn't lie. The experience of bullying this gigantic Pokemon was satisfying.

Jigglypuff has taken 132 damage.

HP: 3348/3600

The Pokemon released a roar that sounded strange for such an adorable Pokemon. It was so loud that it was sure to attract the attention of residents in the town square. It swung its huge body around and tried to slap him out of the air, but he was able to dodge it easily enough. The wind generated by its arm was so powerful that he was buffeted by it as it passed by him.

Jigglypuff took a few steps forward, off balance from its wild swing. Mewtwo attacked it again, this time wailing on it with a half dozen punches to its side, causing more damage, before he had to dodge another swing. The Pokemon was getting really angry now, puffing out its cheeks in anger. If the situation had not been so dire, he would have been amused by the sight.

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"What the hell is that thing?" Floyd yelled in frustration. "It's ruining all our plans."

"Could it be a Legendary Pokemon?" Mason asked with shining eyes. "It certainly looks strong enough."

Floyd stared at the man with incredulity. The situation was already out of control, and the man was fanboying over some Pokemon that he knew nothing about. He hit the device in frustration, but the thing was no longer working for him. Jigglypuff stopped listening to his orders after engaging the mysterious Pokemon in battle. The odd thing was that it was invisible to the eye at first before appearing and attacking the Jigglypuff again. Hopefully, the cameras would capture the phenomenon so he could study it later.

Floyd shook his head. Now wasn't the time to be distracted. He grabbed two Pokeballs off his belt and released a Fearow and a Skarmory into the air. They greeted him over the bond before their attention was drawn to the battle. Their expressions showed dismay, as they got the sinking feeling that they would have to join the fight. Their trainer was not one to be kind to his Pokemon.

Floyd ordered them to attack the mysterious Pokemon, and they flew off reluctantly. The Pokemon emanated vibes of a Legendary Pokemon. Why did they have such a mean trainer? Were they too naive when they accepted the bond with this lunatic? Sometimes, they thought about breaking the bond and leaving, but it was harder to let go of it than they ever imagined.

It was the only two Pokemon that he had that were capable of flying in the air and reaching that Pokemon. Floyd knew his plans were going down in flames. However, that didn't mean he couldn't salvage them, or capture that Pokemon as compensation.

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Mewtwo's attention was diverted from the Jugglypuff when he noticed two Flying Pokemon heading his way. Their intentions immediately became apparent when they released attacks when they got close to him. Fearow fired off a Hyper Beam, while the Skarmory released a strong wind attack. Both looked like they would do serious damage if they connected.

Mewtwo dodged the attacks easily, his eyes already searching for the person responsible for sending out their Pokemon to fight him. Off in the distance, he spotted two people standing in the shelter of a building. It was only due to his enhanced senses that he could see them at all. Who were they? Were they the remaining two Calamity members he had been searching for? It couldn't be a coincidence that they were here. They must be responsible for Jigglypuff's appearance.

Now he was facing threats from three sides, Mewtwo didn't have time to be distracted. Jigglypuff opened its mouth again, and he rushed forward in an attempt to stall it again. The two Pokemon behind him couldn't keep up with his speed, but they could still fire attacks at him. He hit the giant Pokemon on the cheek again, landing another clean blow.

Jigglypuff has taken 125 damage.

HP: 2789/3600

Mewtwo cursed as he swerved to avoid another Hyper Beam, but his tail was hit with the edge of the attack. He was sent spiralling to the ground, unable to control his flight. He hit a low crumbling stone wall, and skidded across the ground, coming to a stop with his face planted in the ground.

Mewtwo has taken 189 damage.

HP: 1061/1250

Mewtwo groaned in pain as he rose to his feet. He now knew what it felt like to get hurt in a battle, and he had more respect for Pokemon than ever before. It looked up and saw the two Pokemon approaching, while behind them, the Jigglypuff opened its mouth again. Why was it so obsessed with singing? Could it be a quirk of its species? Or was the Pokemon really being controlled by the cult members?

Having no time to fly up again and stop it, Mewtwo used up some of his dwindling aura and fired off a Psychic attack at the huge Pokemon. The beam of energy emerged from his mouth and rocketed upwards, almost hitting the Fearow who had been descending towards him. Just as the first notes emerged from Jigglypuff, it was struck violently by the beam and knocked off its feet for the first time.

Jigglypuff has taken 234 damage.

HP: 2555/3600

Mewtwo had no time to celebrate his success as Skarmory reached him, diving towards him, preparing to strike him with its beak. He flew upwards and dodged the Pokemon's attack before kicking it severely in the back, sending it to the ground with a painful screech.

39 damage dealt to Skarmory.

HP: 831/870

It was more damage than he expected to deal it considering it was steel-type. He didn't know what level it was, but he expected the members of the cult to have Pokemon with a certain level of strength.

Mewtwo's eyes widened when he saw the Jiggypuff generate a huge amount of steel-type energy before rotating its massive body rapidly until it became a blur. A huge grey ball remained, spinning in place and producing a high-pitched sound. He couldn't be sure, but it looked like the move, Gyro Ball.

It rolled forward rapidly and crashed into a crumbling building in front of it, crushing it beneath its weight. Mewtwo could only watch in awe as it laid waste to its surroundings like a wrecking ball. He was aware that there was little time left, but he did not know how to stop the out-of-control Jigglypuff. It didn't seem to target him anymore but it was more bent on destroying everything in its path. He kept an eye on the other two Pokemon as he tried to contact his Pokemon.

'Dante, can you hear me?'

'Lucas?' Dante asked in surprise.

Lucas had never tried to contact his Pokemon while in his Mewtwo state before, so he was happy it worked.

'What's going on in the square?'

'We are evacuating. Everyone heard the sound it made and some got a glimpse of it inside the ruins. Did you know you are visible to everyone?'

'No choice. I'm running low on aura reserves. How long will it take to evacuate? This thing is out of control.'

'The people are panicking and stampeding out of the square. The police are trying to calm things down, but they are ignoring them. Some people are getting trampled.'

'Is everyone in our group okay?'

'We were at the entrance to the square, so we avoided the stampede. We are almost out of town already.'

'Good.'

'A lot of people with strong Pokemon are heading in your direction. I suggest you get out of there while you can.'

'I don't have much time left anyway.'

The two Pokemon disappeared and Mewtwo spun around and saw that one of the men was fleeing after recalling his Pokemon. The other lay motionless on the ground. What the hell happened? He watched as the man summoned his Skarmory again. However, this time he climbed on top of the Pokemon and it flew away from the ruins. The man was trying to escape.

Mewtwo had a choice to make, and he needed to make it quickly. If he let the man leave, would that be considered failing the quest? He had stopped the cult members from enacting their plan, so he had completed it partially at least. Completing the quest wasn't really important, but should he let him leave and potentially cause more grief in the future? What if he killed more innocents and could have prevented it? How would he feel about killing someone even though they may deserve it? Could he live with himself?

He checked his aura. There were only fifteen seconds remaining in this, so if he fired an attack, he ran the risk of changing back into a human state in mid-air. Time to decide.

Mewtwo chased after the fleeing member at full speed to get closer so he wouldn't miss his attack. When he was in range, he stopped and executed a Psycho Cut. The ring of energy expanded outwards around him before he fired it in the direction of the Pokemon and its trainer.

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Floyd held onto his Pokemon as it escaped through the air, smiling. His plans may have failed today, but he managed to get some information about a fascinating new Pokemon. If it indeed was a Legendary, the information was invaluable. Unlike others, this Legendary didn't seem mature yet and was still weak enough to capture if they brought in the heavyweights. Although he would prefer to catch it himself, he would have to leave it up to the leaders to do so. At least he would get recognition for his contributions.

Skarmory screeched as if it sensed something, and turned its head to see what was going on. It called out a warning, diving in an attempt to avoid something behind it. It was only partially successful. Floyd managed to turn his head in time to see the expanding blade of psychic energy fill his vision before everything turned black.

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Mewtwo winced when the man's head was separated from his shoulders. A huge fountain of blood emerged from his decapitated body, painting the Skarmory in red. The Pokemon screeched as its bond with its owner was severed, which made him feel more guilty than the actual death itself. He didn't dislike the Pokemon, but its owner.

Mewtwo half expected the Pokemon to turn around and attack him, but it continued to fly away. Even in death, the man still had a grip on his Pokemon. In a moment of morbidity, he thought about making a joke about a headless rider or some such but decided to leave it be.

Realising he was out of time, Mewtwo sped towards the ground, angry at himself for getting distracted. Already he could feel him returning to his human state. He panicked as he lost his flying ability fifteen metres above the ground. There was also no aura left to let him summon his Armament either, so he was completely helpless. This was going to hurt.

Lucas hit the ground with a painful thud. He cried out as his arm snapped from landing on his side, and the breath was driven out of his body. His vision became dotted with black spots and he almost fainted.

Laying there for a moment, his body bruised and in pain, he contemplated the choices he made to arrive at this current situation. If he thought hard enough, he imagined that there were plenty of mistakes he committed that could have been avoided if only he had been smarter. He just couldn't think of them right now.

He expected the damage to be worse, though, even life-threatening. But he had forgotten about one of his perks.

Tenacious Vitality has been activated. The player avoided the worst injuries as a result.

Well, thank god for small mercies. There was a chance his physique would have saved him even if the perk hadn't been triggered. Lucas looked around to see where he had fallen. He landed in a small recess in the ground, so he was hidden quite well from the outside. Although that wouldn't help if he was rolled on by the Jigglypuff still rampaging outside. Surely, it's going to run out of steam soon? He was too sore to move anywhere at the moment, so he was helpless if the Pokemon came across him.

'Lucas, are you alright?' Dante yelled over the bond, sensing Lucas was hurt.

'Just a little banged up. I should be fine as long as those arriving take care of the Jigglypuff.'

'I'm returning to help you.'

'No, you cannot be spotted here. I will meditate to regain my aura and leave it undetected.'

Lucas closed his eyes and focused on recovering his aura. It actually was a lot harder to meditate while in pain, so it took longer to recover his aura. Furthermore, there were sounds of battle nearby, which distracted him further. He didn't think stopping Jigglypuff would be an issue, as long as there were enough high-level Pokemon among them.

After he had replenished his aura, the sounds of battle outside had finally ceased. He increased his hearing and listened carefully. Although he was able to hear some faint voices, he was not able to understand what was being said.

Shifting his body, he gritted his teeth. Although he could turn off his sense of touch, it was only limited to his hands. The rest of his body would still feel pain, so he would have to bear with it until he healed his body.

Activating his First Aid skill, he raised his unbroken arm and started healing any part of his body that he could reach. As the aches slowly faded, he felt marginally better. While he didn't think the skill was strong enough to fix his broken arm, the rest of his body could be treated. After spending most of his aura healing his body, he meditated again to replenish his aura again. When he was ready, he shifted back into his Mewtwo state. He expected something to go wrong, considering his injury, but the Pokemon was fine.

After activating the Aura Cloak, Lucas rose in the air to briefly scope out the situation, although he did not want to linger long. His invisibility wasn't flawless, as the Jigglypuff demonstrated, so it was possible he could still be spotted by an observant Pokemon.

Lucas saw the giant Jigglypuff lying on the ground in a dead faint, surrounded by people and their Pokemon. How would they deal with that situation going forward? He wished he had found out how the cult member had controlled the Jigglypuff, as it was possible it could be used again. But he couldn't solve everything, so he would leave it up to the authorities to deal with.

Lucas slipped out of the ruins to rejoin his friends outside of town. He was sure Faith would give him an earful about his reckless actions.

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"What did you do to yourself?" Faith fussed over his broken arm, upset that he had gotten hurt. Not angry yet. Maybe that will come later.

"I ran out of aura and fell out of the sky," Lucas said with a brave face. "Not a big deal."

"Do I even want to know? Ignorance is bliss," Faith muttered. There was nothing she could do for his arm until they returned to town.

"Things have gotten crazy around here," Jason observed, watching the town residents standing outside in the parking lot in their own splinter groups, discussing what had just happened. After panicking and fleeing the town, everyone calmed down after the giant Pokemon had not followed them. Now it was just a fascinating story to share with everyone.

Lucas listened and heard snippets of conversations mentioning the mysterious Pokemon they saw fighting Jigglypuff, and he grimaced. Maybe it had been a mistake to show himself, but he really didn't want to risk running out of aura. Thanks to the interference of the cult members, that scenario did happen, although he was lucky it was not worse.

Thoughts of the cult members brought to the forefront of his mind his actions, and he felt disgusted. It wasn't because he felt guilty, but because he didn't feel guilt at all. Was it because of his mental resistance, or was he discovering a side of himself he never knew before? Could it be that he had the potential to take a life and not feel anything?

"Lucas, are you okay?" Faith asked in concern, waving a hand in front of his face.

"I'm fine," Lucas said faintly.

"No, you're not," Misty said. "You're going into shock. Sit on the ground."

Lucas was about to say he was fine, but his girlfriend pushed him to the ground and told him to take some deep breaths. Humouring her, he focused on his breathing. To his surprise, he felt better after a few minutes.

"When will they open the town back up?" Jason demanded. "The incident occurred in the ruins. People can't stay out here all night."

"Who knows?" Lucas shrugged. Now that he was feeling better, he was getting really frustrated by his broken arm. While he waited, he may as well level up his First Aid skill by trying to heal it. Honestly, he should have levelled the skill sooner. It could be a literal lifesaver, depending on how far he could level it before it maxed out.

Two hours later, Lucas looked up from healing his arm, as a roar of an aircraft could be heard approaching. His eyes widened when he saw the familiar sight of the Three Enforcers aircraft. He stopped his practice and stood up. After attempting to heal his arm a couple of hundred times, and levelling the skill thrice, the pain had faded considerably. It wasn't completely healed, as the arm still couldn't be used for anything strenuous, but he wasn't far off.

"Why are they here?" Lucas asked.

"Giru!" The robot stayed invisible, so he didn't reveal himself to residents nearby.

"Did you contact them? Who do you work for, Giru? I feel betrayed," Lucas muttered.

"Giru!" The robot bumped his shoulder in apology.

"I suppose this was a major incident," Lucas conceded. "They needed to know."

"Giru!"

"Yes, I forgive you."

"Dude, that is freaking me out. Stop it," Jason protested.

The aircraft landed near the road, and there was a swarm of people who rushed over in curiosity to see who disembarked. Lucas watched as all Three Enforced appeared and walked down the ramp. They were mobbed by the people, but Gideon easily pushed his way through with his huge physique.

"Did your grandfather send them?" Faith asked.

"Of course," Lucas replied. "They are the only ones with an aircraft that can get here so quickly from where they are located."

It didn't take long for Charlie to spot their group, and the Three Enforcers made their way over to them. At the same time, an old friend in the form of Captain Mark Bark Bowers and some police officers made their way over to him. The man looked angry and Lucas realised he was about to get a lecture.

"There you are, Mr Walker," the captain's moustache bristled. "Imagine my surprise when I returned to the station to evacuate the building and found you missing."

"Well, I asked nicely to be let go," Lucas replied with an innocent expression. "It's not like I was arrested for something, so you couldn't stop me from leaving."

The man looked even angrier and was about to respond when the Three Enforcers arrived.

"What's the problem?" Gideon asked simply.

"Hi, Gideon. Long time no see," Lucas waved.

"Lucas," Gideon nodded.

"Who are you?" Captain Bowers asked sharply.

Charlie took out his wallet and showed him his identification. "We will take control of this scene until the Minister of Defence and his soldiers get here. Can you tell us what happened?"

The captain examined the identification before nodding his head to them in respect. Everyone knew who they were. They were the Minister of Defence's attack dogs, and their authority was very high. You didn't question why they were here, only that you were no longer in charge of the situation.

The captain summarised the day's events from his perspective. He started with how the baker had come to the police station with the poisoned bread. Then continued up to the moment when he and a group of twenty others battled the Jigglypuff until they managed to knock it unconscious.

"Lucas, why am I not surprised that you are caught up in this?" Charlie grinned. "Although it was pretty stupid of you to leave the station when you were told to stay."

"You're injured," Sonya exclaimed, coming forward to inspect his arm. "How did this happen?"

The captain paled. He could easily imagine his career being over after the Minister of Defence learned his grandson got injured on his watch.

"We don't hold you responsible," Gideon assured him. "Lucas is well known for disobeying orders and doing his own thing. You did your job as best you could."

"I am standing right here you know," Lucas said childishly, before responding to Sonya's query. "I fell when the crowd stampeded. It's nothing major, as it already doesn't hurt that much anymore."

His friends stayed quiet, not revealing what he was really up to a couple of hours ago.

"Is the Jigglypuff secure?" Gideon asked the captain.

"She is guarded by over two dozen of our strongest Pokemon," Captain Bowers responded. "We tried to use an Ultra Ball to capture it, but that failed, and there is no way we could tie it down. It's too strong."

"Good work," Gideon nodded. "Did you get a good look at the other Pokemon that appeared? The one battling the Jigglypuff?"

"One of my men did," the captain replied. "But it is unnecessary to ask him. There is video footage. We believe the Calamity members were responsible for setting up the camera that we found. It captured the entire event up until the Jigglypuff went crazy and the camera was knocked out of position."

Lucas almost had a heart attack at that piece of information. He had almost given away the fact that he was Mewtwo, all because he was careless. It was only a matter of luck that his secret wasn't uncovered Then again, the Lucky Hour perk was still active at the time. Still. it didn't prevent him from being hurt, but it saved him from more severe or even fatal injuries.

"Excellent. We will need to see that footage," Gideon said. "We will assess the situation in the ruins first before allowing people back into their homes. However, we are declaring a curfew for seven pm tonight. No one is allowed outside after that time. Also, no one can leave town until we question them first."

"Very well," Captain Bowers nodded. "I will show you where the Jigglypuff is located."

"Stay out of trouble, brat," Sonya ruffled Lucas's hair. "Faith, keep Lucas on a tighter leash. He is too impulsive."

"You're asking for too much," Faith said wryly.

Lucas sat down with his friends as the Three Enforcers walked off. He opened his menu and checked the notifications to see if he had completed the quest.

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Jigglypuff (Gigantean) has been defeated!

Mewto has earned (35%) 665 experience for his contribution. 

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The player has completed a quest!

Those with Evil Intentions.

Rewards: 10000 experience, +3 Charisma.

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Lucas frowned. It seemed that the rewards didn't reflect how much effort he put into the quest. In any case, the rewards weren't the main reason he completed it.

He saved many lives today. That was reward enough.

So what do you think? Next chapter, the group is back on the road, and Max finally enters pre-evolution.

Thanks for reading.