Pokemon: Radical Redux-Chapter 353: The Black Tyranitar

As the Black Tyranitar raised its head, it roared and fired a [Hyper Beam], randomly attacking anything and everything. It had no reason, no motivation or goal, it was just destroying for sport.

People were starting to run away, while over near Chuck, Bea, Liko, Dot, and Roy, Chuck was still in shock.

"Back then, it took nearly all the Pokémon on this island just to weaken it, and it was sealed inside a Poké Ball 500 years ago... If it's out, it means that the Poké Ball has been opened!"

"Hey, why can't we just catch it in another Poké Ball?" Roy said frantically.

"NO!" Chuck exclaimed. "The PokéBall that was used was a special one, and even if we tried, I don't know if we have enough strength to weaken it..."

"S-So what are we supposed to do?" Liko stammered, looking around at the chaos as she hugged Sprigatito tightly.

Chuck looked down, clenching his fists. "I don't know... we can't win!" he exclaimed. "Even if everyone in the city works together, I don't think we can do it."

But Bea narrowed her eyes, stomped over to him, and smacked him on the head. "Snap out of it, Chuck," she said, pointing to the giant monster. "You said it yourself, that was 500 years ago. People and Pokémon have gotten stronger since then. We are hundreds of times stronger now, so snap out of it and be a Gym Leader!"

Just then, a blast of water shot from a nearby building and struck the Black Tyranitar, making it stumble back. When they looked for the source, they saw Misty commanding her Politoed to fire a [Hydro Pump].

In the next moment, Brock's Steelix slithered up and slapped Tyranitar in the back of the head, making it stumble forward. It growled in rage and turned to attack, only for Heather's Salamence to swoop down from the sky and unleash a [Flamethrower], then dart away before Tyranitar could retaliate.

As it tried to open its mouth, another attack came from a rooftop: Cain and his Alolan Muk stood tall, Cain pointing confidently. "Use [Gunk Shot], now!" With a deep, gurgling roar, the Alolan Muk launched a massive, sludgy glob that struck the Black Tyranitar right in the eye, making it reel and flail in anger.

Meanwhile, while helping civilians escape, Shelly threw out her Poké Ball, releasing a Yanmega. She nervously pointed upward. "U-Um, Heather... please use [Bug Buzz]!"

The Yanmega, nicknamed after Heather, buzzed her wings, unleashing waves of energy that hit the Black Tyranitar directly.

"Don't stop!" Misty shouted from her vantage point. "If we can't beat it, we can at least stall it!"

"You don't need to tell me," Heather huffed, sounding far older than her age. "Just try to keep up, and don't blame me if I take this thing down myself."

"What did you say!? I'll have you know I can probably deal more damage than you!" Misty snapped through gritted teeth.

"Ha! Oh, please, you probably can't even do half of what I can. Some people are just inherently worse."

As Misty and Heather bickered mid-battle, their Pokémon continued raining blows on the rampaging Black Tyranitar.

Back near Chuck and the others, Liko looked to Bea, noticing her hands shaking. If Chuck had been wearing a shirt, she might have grabbed it. "Can't you see? Everyone is fighting except you! So snap out of it and fight! You're a Fighting-type Gym Leader, aren't you!?"

Chuck looked around at everyone doing their best, not just their group, but others too. "I... you're right," he said, clenching his fists. "That creature's goal is to destroy Johto... so even if I can't win, I will not let it cross the sea!"

Roy pumped his fist. "Yeah, and we can help! I can—"

But Chuck held out his hand to stop him. "No. Your power is far too low. If you go out there, you'll only get yourself and your Pokémon hurt."

"But if we can't fight, what are we supposed to do...?" Roy asked.

Chuck looked him in the eyes and pressed a finger to his chest. "You kids, remember our workouts? When you ran, you three were pretty fast. So run. Run as fast as you can and get as many people out of the way as possible."

Roy flinched slightly. "U-uh, really?"

"Okay, I think I understand!" Liko nodded from behind.

"Do we really need to run more..." Dot mumbled, but she didn't say she wasn't going to help.

Chuck nodded. "Alright. Stay safe, and let's take this legend down!" he said, taking off running, with Bea following not far behind.

Liko looked at Roy and Dot. "Okay, let's do this!"

[Time until Ash returns: 15 minutes]

—

Back at the battle, the Black Tyranitar thrashed, slamming its tail into a building and knocking a huge chunk of the wall down. Steelix intercepted the falling rubble, shielding a crowd below with a growl of effort.

"Politoed, one more [Hydro Pump]!" Misty cried, barely catching her breath.

Politoed released another jet of water, this one knocking the beast back another step.

Heather's Salamence dove again, this time ramming its body into Tyranitar mid-air. "[Dragon Claw], now!"

SLASH!

The hit connected, but the monster grunted and swung its arm, landing a brutal [Stone Edge] on Salamence that sent it spiraling off course, crashing through a rooftop.

"Heather!" Cain shouted.

But she waved from the rooftop's edge, hurt but conscious. "I'm fine!"

"This is why you need to be careful, idiot!" Misty scolded her.

"Who are you calling the idiot, idiot!?" Heather shouted back.

But at that moment, Tyranitar raised its tail to strike again. By the time they noticed, it was too late to move—

CRACK!

Two Pokémon rushed in, Poliwrath and Machamp, catching the tail mid-swing. The ground beneath them split, but they held it up with raw strength.

From behind them, Chuck and Bea ran into view and stood ready.

"You all did well," Chuck called out, "but now it's our turn!" He pointed forward. "[Waterfall]!"

Poliwrath narrowed its eyes, twisted on top of the tail, cloaked its fist in water, and sprinted up Tyranitar's back before slugging it across the face.

Bea looked at her wrist, where a bracelet glowed faintly. "Tch, not enough charge. Fine," she said, pointing forward. "Machamp, [Submission]!"

Machamp gripped Tyranitar's tail, muscles bulging, and began to twist and squeeze it, making the Black Tyranitar roar in pain.

It reared its head, letting out another furious bellow, then started charging energy in its mouth, aiming to blast them all with another [Hyper Beam]

When suddenly, from the sky, a Pokémon came shooting down.

A Charizard, It crashed into Tyranitar's jaw with a blazing [Blaze Kick]!

From a rooftop nearby, Friede walked to the edge with a grin, chuckling. "Hope you guys didn't plan on hogging all the fun. Ain't that right, Cap?"

Captain Pikachu smiled as well. "Pika!"

Friede pointed forward. "You heard him, let's do this! Use [Volt Tackle]!"

Cap began running, then jumped off Friede's arm, his body engulfed in electricity. He soared through the air like a missile and slammed into Tyranitar's face, then flipped back and landed on Charizard.

The impact of Cap's [Volt Tackle] lit up the battlefield in a flash of yellow lightning. The force sent shockwaves through the air and knocked the Black Tyranitar off balance once again. The beast staggered back, letting out a guttural, furious roar that echoed across the coast of Cianwood.

Brock frowned. "Even after all that, it doesn't look like it's even close to going down."

"I'll never complain about Ash doing these things alone again," Misty muttered. "I wonder what he's doing."

—-

{Meanwhile}

Ash, Yellow, and Jasmine were casually sitting in the gym after getting lunch and grabbing some ice cream.

"Do you ever feel like you should probably be doing something?" Ash asked Yellow.

"Hmmm... no, not really," Yellow replied simply.

"Yeah, me neither," Ash said, just as Pikachu stole the rest of his ice cream. He stood up and walked over to check on Jasmine, who was in the gym field with Ash's Crystal Onix.

"So, how are things looking?" Ash asked, leaning over her shoulder. She was still seated in her wheelchair, polishing Onix's body.

Jasmine looked up from her work. "Oh, well, I think I have a way. I've heard some legends about the Crystal Onix, but I never thought it was real." She wheeled over to a table where a book lay open.

"So, if it is real, I assume you found it in a crystal cave, right? Do you have any of the crystals from it?" Jasmine asked.

"Yeah, I have a bit," Ash said, digging into his bag and pulling out a jar with some of the cave crystals. He handed them to Jasmine.

Jasmine took them and smiled, then reached for a Metal Coat and placed it on the table. "I think I can do this for you. It'll take about five minutes, but it's the least I can do after everything you've done for me."

"Well, need any help? Maybe we can finish it a little faster," Ash offered.

"Nah," Jasmine shook her head. "It's not like we're in a hurry... unless, of course, you want to get away from little old me so soon."

"Ha, you've got a point. Not like there's some giant Godzilla-level copyright infringement we need to go fight. Sure, we've got time," Ash said, pulling up a chair and sitting down. Pikachu climbed onto his lap.

Yellow stretched and slouched in her seat. "I think I'm going to take a nap. Do you mind?"

"Yeah, go ahead. I'll wake you when it's time to meet up with everyone," Ash said, stretching his arms. "I think I'ma go pick up some more desserts. You want anything?"

Yellow's eyes shot open. "Ooh, and get some cinnamon rolls!"

"Yeah, yeah, Yellow, I know, cinnamon rolls are your favorite." That wasn't even a tease. Yellow's favorite foods were Zenzei and cinnamon rolls.

"If you don't mind, could I get some pudding?" Jasmine asked.

"Alright, I'll be back in like five minutes," Ash said, picking Pikachu up and placing him on his shoulder as he walked out of the gym. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

[Time until Ash returns: 10 minutes]

—

Down in the evacuation zone, Roy, Liko, and Dot dashed through the streets, guiding panicked civilians toward boats and safety zones.

"There!" Roy shouted. "There's an alley behind the Pokémon Center, it leads straight to the docks!"

The rest of the Rising Volt Tacklers were helping load people onto their ship, taking in every group Roy, Liko, and Dot sent their way. They weren't built for battles like this, but they could help.

"Seriously, are we just bad luck? That's two towns in danger now..." Orla grumbled, jogging up with a box.

"You can contemplate your life choices later," Mollie snapped, hoisting another crate. "Right now, do your job."

"What about Murdock or Ludlow?"

"Does it matter? They're doing theirs. We need to do ours."

"Fair," Orla groaned. "Give me that box,"

—-

Back at the front lines, the battle was slipping.

Even as Poliwrath hit it again with [Waterfall], Tyranitar only shook its head and retaliated, slamming the ground with such force that it triggered a localized earthquake. Cracks split the pavement. Trainers and Pokémon staggered and fell.

"Steelix, [Dig], now!" Brock commanded.

The massive serpent dove underground, emerging just in time to catch a collapsing rooftop. It hurled the debris clear of the crowd, while Brock tossed out his Crobat to launch fresh attacks from above.

"It's trying again, Gyarados, your turn!" Misty shouted, returning her fainted Politoed and releasing her next battler.

Gyarados launched a fierce [Hydro Pump] right into Tyranitar's mouth to interrupt a charging [Hyper Beam]. The beast coughed, momentarily stunned, but then roared with fury and shook it off.

"How much longer can we keep this up?" Brock asked, watching as Steelix finally slowed, panting, its body chipped and scorched. He brought out Golem to take its place.

"No idea," Cain muttered, having finally set Heather and Shelly down at a safer distance. He stepped up beside Brock.

"If you kids need to go, then go," Chuck called out, stepping forward. "But it's my duty as Gym Leader to stay!"

He drew a deep breath and raised his arm. "NOW!"

From the Gym, all of Chuck's disciples came running, each grabbing one of the Gym's reserve Pokémon and throwing their Poké Balls into the fray. One after another, they materialized and surrounded the Black Tyranitar, launching attacks in tandem.

"Back then, it took all the Pokémon in this Gym just to push it down," Chuck growled.

Bea clenched her fists. "We're stronger than the trainers from 500 years ago."

"Then maybe we've got a chance!" Friede called from above, pointing forward. "So we'll fight until the very end!" Cap and Charizard nodded in sync, launching forward to keep going

—-

Back at the Gym

Yellow had dozed off peacefully, curled up like a contented Jigglypuff in her chair.

Jasmine, meanwhile, had just finished polishing the Metal Coat. She carefully mixed in the powdered crystal, creating a shimmering, silvery paste that glowed faintly under the lights, "It's... beautiful," she whispered. "And it might actually work."

The door creaked open just then, and Pikachu perked up on Ash's shoulder as he walked in, holding a paper bag full of sweets.

"Got the pudding, cinnamon rolls, and even snagged a few Lava Cookies," Ash said with a grin. "Man, it's weird. Everything's too quiet, y'know?"

Yellow's nose twitched at the smell of cinnamon and sugar. She stirred, yawning, "Mmm... how long was I asleep?"

Ash didn't answer. He just placed a warm box of cinnamon rolls on her lap with a smile, then crossed the room to Jasmine and handed over her pudding.

"So," he asked, "how are we looking?"

Jasmine accepted the pudding with a small smile, then held out the modified Crystal Coat. "This should do it. I'm a little excited to see how it turns out."

Ash nodded and popped a cookie into his mouth. "Yeah. But I think we're heading back after this. I told them I'd be gone thirty minutes, it's been thirty. I'll teleport back another day to check on you."

He walked over to his Onix, holding up the gleaming Crystal Coat, Onix looked at Ash, then at the coat, and slowly, took it.

As soon as it touched his body, a brilliant glow started to shine

—-

At the Battlefield

The tide had turned, and not in the Trainers' favor.

The Black Tyranitar was relentless. With every second, the battle grew more desperate. Many Pokémon had fainted, returned to their Poké Balls so their Trainers could throw out the next one. But the momentum they'd fought so hard for was slipping, and fast.

From the edge of the city, Liko, Roy, and Dot stood among the last of the evacuating civilians. They could see the monster now, see it forcing back every last fighter with brutal, earth-shattering swings.

And then...

Just as the beast raised its tail to bring down a final, crushing blow—

CRACK!

A new pokemon appeared out of thin air, teleporting right in the middle of the battle slapping Tyranitar across the face, this was a Steelix, but not just any Steelix, this one was made of Crystal.

With a roar, Crystal Steelix whipped its shining tail forward and slapped Tyranitar across the face so hard it staggered back, roaring in fury and confusion.

Riding on its head were four figures: Ash, Yellow, Pikachu, and Abby. Ash leaned down and whispered something into Abby's ear, then the Psychic-type teleported away again

The Crystal Steelix let out a deep, echoing roar, and smashed its tail down with another [Crystal Tail], hammering Tyranitar again and cracking part of its armor.

Ash stood with arms crossed atop Steelix's head, his expression unimpressed as he looked at everyone.

"I leave for THIRTY MINUTES," he shouted across the chaos, "And THIS is what happens?!"

He threw his arms out, "WHY DIDN'T ANYONE CALL ME BACK?!"

---

Ok, remember as soon as we hit 1000 stones you'll get another extra Chapter