Chapter 360: Invisible Attacker (2) [Bonus]
~Third POV~
[Kanto Region, Vermillion City – Seagallop Ferry]
The sea air of Vermilion City was thick with salt and the roar of industry. Alongside the bustling port, the towering form of the S.S. Anne dominated the skyline, but it was the sleeker, faster Seagallop ferry that drew the quiet attention of a figure standing on a discreet upper deck of a nearby warehouse.
Azure waited above the ferry, calmly gazing at the sky. Beside him sat two of his oldest companions: Pikachu, its tail twitching with controlled energy, and Eevee, who nestled securely against Azure's leg, eyes wide and observant.
Azure wasn't just observing the port traffic; he was waiting for the inevitable. His partner questioned, tilting its head toward the inbound sky, "Pika? Chu? (Something up?)"
Azure murmured, his gaze fixed on two swiftly descending forms in the distance, "Nothing yet, partner. The chaos is about to begin."
The chaos arrived in the form of two legendary Dex Holders. Red's Aero and Blue's Charizard swooped low, their sudden descent onto the port shocking the attendant Sailor so thoroughly that he nearly dropped his clipboard. After a blustering confirmation of their Tri-Passes, the Sailor shoved the two young men aboard the Seagallop, just as the mooring lines were being cast off.
Azure smiled faintly. The Sailor's quick realization that he had just dealt with two Dex Holders, and the ship's subsequent announcement that the Seagallop ferry was heading to One Island, confirmed Azure's timeline.
He murmured calmly, "Things are in place."
*Swf*
Beside him, a shadowy ripple coalesced into a physical form: his Shiny Gengar, its coat a striking, ghostly pale. Gengar floated silently, its massive red eyes locked onto the departing ferry.
Azure instructed, his voice barely a whisper that only his Pokémon could hear, "Keep a tight observation, Gengar. Don't interfere. We wait for the main event."
/////
[Kanto Region, Meanwhile, Vermillion City – Seagallop Ferry]
As the Seagallop pulled away from the coast, the third member of the Kanto trio was already deep within a struggle. Leaf Green, the skilled third Dex Holder, was battling a ghost—or something far worse.
She was alone on the ship's uppermost viewing deck, her eyes narrowed in fierce concentration, sweat beading on her forehead despite the cool sea wind. She hissed, sending out her Jiggly, who immediately began bouncing erratically, trying to determine the opponent's location, "Stay still, you coward!"
Green knew she was up against something highly advanced, something capable of complete invisibility. She needed to identify it.
She reached for her Pokédex, intending to scan the area, but paused as she recalled, 'Drat. I gave the original unit back to Professor Oak…'
Instead, she pulled out a pair of specialized lenses—her modified Silph Scope. This wasn't merely the standard Ghost-type surveillance device; this was a refined piece of espionage gear, tuned by a network of friendly scientists to detect energy signatures across all known types, even those theoretical and highly unstable.
She clamped the scope over her eyes. The world dissolved into static and interference. Then, a blurry, terrifying shape began to resolve itself: a red, segmented, humanoid silhouette, glowing faintly with alien energy.
Green's eyes widened seeing the figure, but she couldn't recognize what that Pokémon was as the Silph Scope recognized the spectral signature from the vague reports she had received. She didn't have time to react. The invisible force acted instantly.
*SMACK*
A searing blow knocked the goggles from her face, sending them spinning across the deck. Before she could recall Jigglypuff, the invisible entity had wrapped a crushing, telekinetic grip around her throat.
Green gasped, scrabbling desperately at the air, her vision tunneling. The force was astronomical, designed to incapacitate, not merely subdue.
As the struggle continued, unnoticed by the general passengers below, a shimmering, localized vortex of darkness abruptly appeared on the polished wooden deck near her feet. It was a gravitational anomaly, a pinpoint black hole.
With frightening precision, the vortex inhaled a piece of the shattered Silph Scope—the complex optical sensor—before vanishing as quickly as it came. The Invisible Pokémon was gathering intel, consuming materials, and learning…
/////
[Kanto Region, Meanwhile, Seagallop Ferry]
Far below the tense battle, Red and Blue were settling into the ship's cramped lounge. Red wondered aloud, leaning back against the vinyl seating, already feeling restless, "You think this One Island place will have a gym?"
Blue scoffed as he uttered, "Beats me."
*Pop*
Before Blue finished his sentence, a flicker of yellow interrupted their conversation, and he cried out, "Pika! (Freedom!)"
Red's Pikachu burst out of its Poké Ball, ignoring Red's call to stay put, and bolted across the crowded room. Pika stopped suddenly, tugging fiercely on the cuff of a man's casual white jacket.
The man turned, startled, with a kind, slightly bewildered expression on his face. The man asked, looking down at the insistent electric mouse, "Hey, now! What's the big idea, little guy?"
Pika, already annoyed, responded in the only way it knew how: a short, sharp burst of electricity straight into the man's leg.
*Zzzzaap*
The man jumped high, shaking off the jolt, but quickly realized, "W-wait a second! That static... that attitude... it can't be! Red's Pikachu?"
Red and Blue arrived at the scene, recognizing the man immediately. Red exclaimed, genuinely pleased, "Bill!"
Bill massaged his calf ruefully but greeted the two Dex Holders happily, "Red! Blue! I can't believe it's you two. Looks like Pika still hasn't learned proper manners."
Blue cut straight to the chase, looking around, asked bluntly, "Where's Daisy? Is she traveling with you?"
Hearing that, Bill shook his head as he explained himself, greeting old friends, "No, no. Daisy's home, thank goodness. I'm heading to One Island to meet up with my friend, Celio. We're working on the final stages of the Pokémon Transfer System—we need a field test location far from Kanto's network."
*Beep*
Just then, Bill's specialized Rotom Phone rang. He flipped it open, answering, "Celio, I'm on the Seagallop now."
Celio's frantic, tinny voice crackled through the receiver, "Bill! It's the network! It keeps cutting out! Not just connection loss, but data subtraction. Something is eating the transmission lines. I can't get a clear port for the Transfer System, and I think I saw something—"
Bill interrupted, his voice suddenly firm as he sighed, "Hold tight, Celio! Wait for me to arrive. I'll run diagnostics manually. Don't touch anything."
As Bill hung up, the group waited for a while. Till eventually the ship's metallic voice announced out loud to the people on board as they arrived, "We have arrived at our destination! Welcome to One Island!"
/////
[Sevii Islands, Meanwhile, Seagallop Ferry – One Island]
The Seagallop docked smoothly at the small, remote pier of One Island—a haven of tranquility that was about to be destroyed. On the upper deck, Green was still struggling against the choking grip.
Her vision swam, and she knew she had mere seconds before she lost consciousness. She needed to warn someone; this creature or Pokémon was not merely a threat to her, but a threat to the region.
She tried to wheeze out, desperate to prevent the enemy from exiting the island and reaching the mainland, "G-get back to Kanto!"
Suddenly, her eyes locked onto the small group of figures waiting on the dock below the passenger ramp. Two figures stood slightly apart from Celio and the island's sparse residents as she thought, 'Mom? Dad?'
A wave of dizzying hope, then crushing horror, washed over her. Her parents had been missing for years, kidnapped during her childhood.
They were here. They had noticed her struggle on the ship's rail.
Azure shifted his position, moving to a part of the warehouse deck that gave him a clear, unobstructed view of the island's small port. His Gengar phased partially out of view, its enhanced senses focusing on the psychic and orbital energy signature of the invisible attacker.
Azure mused as he kept Scizor's Poké Ball tight in his own hand, ready to unleash if the situation spiraled completely out of control, "It's almost time. It would've been fine if I had intervened, but better let Deoxys handle this. If I had to interfere, it would be after, as dealing with a Pokémon is easier than a Trained Rocket Admin."
Then, Azure saw them—Green's parents. They emerged onto the dock, clearly having coordinated this rendezvous.
Green struggled, desperate to warn them, but the invisible entity held her fast. To Azure, observing through his position, the tragedy unfolded in agonizing slow motion. Green's parents ran toward the ship, their excitement turning to confusion as their daughter screamed futilely.
Her mother screamed, recognizing her daughter suspended in the air, "Green!"
Her parents started running toward the ship, rushing the length of the pier. They stepped onto the dock's threshold…
*Swf*
The black hole of darkness from the ship's deck expanded violently, swallowing the ground beneath their feet. Azure felt a cold knot in his stomach. He knew this moment was coming, but witnessing the horror of true, unrecoverable loss always stung.
Green choked out, her voice a desperate, strangled sound, "NO! STOP! DON'T COME ABOARD!"
They didn't hear her. They only saw their daughter dangling impossibly. They ran right onto the pier, past the customs officials, and toward the bottom of the gangplank.
Then, the second, larger vortex of darkness ripped open on the pier itself, perfectly timed to intersect their path. It screamed open—a soundless, terrifying rip. Green's parents stepped directly into the void.
*ZOOOP*
The vortex consumed Green's parents entirely, leaving behind only the echoing silence of absence. The black hole closed instantly, leaving nothing behind but the scent of ozone and the slight tremble of the dock's wooden planks.
The invisible entity, having completed its horrific task, released its grip. Green fell to the deck, gasping for breath, her hands flying to her throat. She stared at the space where her parents had just been, the reality of what had happened crashing over her.
A sound tore from her throat—a raw, sustained scream of absolute anguish and horror, "Why…? Dad! Mom! WHY?!"
Red and Blue, exiting the main cabin below, were among the first to hear the sound. They looked up and saw Green stumbling blindly toward the railing of the upper deck.
Red started, racing toward the staircase, "Green! What in the—"
Green reached the rail, her body trembling violently, her eyes fixed on the spot where the vortex had vanished. The shock was too severe.
She pitched forward, fainting, and began to fall over the edge of the ship and onto the stone pathway below, uttering, "Dad… Mom… how could this happen…?"
*Thud*
She was falling toward the water, her body limp and lifeless. A moment of frozen panic seized Red and Blue as they watched their friend plummet. It was in that split-second of crisis that another presence intervened.
*POOF*
The air beside the railing shimmered, not in the distorting way of the invisible attacker, but in a controlled, purposeful manner. A swirl of deep purple smoke materialized, followed by the slick, pale body of a shimmering figure: a Shiny Gengar.
*ZOOOOM*
Before Green could splash into the bay, the Gengar shot downward with impossible speed, its large, red eyes fixed on the falling trainer. It caught Green gently in its ghostly grasp, cradling her head against its shoulder, stabilizing her descent before phasing gently back up to hover just above the deck.
Red and Blue wheeled around, startled, their eyes locating the trainer in command of the powerful Ghost-type. Standing a short distance away, leaning against a storage container, was someone they recognized. By his feet sat a healthy, powerful Pikachu and a vibrant Eevee, both gazing with concern at Gengar and its unconscious charge.
Both Red and Blue's eyes widened, yelling, "Azure!"
Azure's expression was hard, stripped bare of any casualness. He met the startled gaze of Red and Blue unflinchingly.
His eyes, usually calm, were clouded with the shared weight of what they had all just witnessed. Red and Blue knew instantly: they were not the only ones who had seen the horrifying end of Green's parents.
Azure had seen the vortex, the disappearance, and Green's subsequent breakdown. He couldn't pause any longer, seeing that. Azure commanded, his voice low and firm, "Gengar, be careful of her."
Azure's Gengar floated Green gently onto the deck, laying her flat. Azure stepped forward, kneeling to check her pulse quickly.
Blue, however, had shifted his focus back to the immediate threat. The invisible destroyer was still present. Blue yelled, scanning the ship's upper deck with narrowed eyes, "It's still here! It hasn't left the scene!"
He didn't hesitate. Blue hurled a Poke Ball, declaring, "Go, Scizor!"
*Pop*
Blue's metallic Bug/Steel-type flashed onto the deck, its enormous pincers gleaming. Blue ordered, "Scizor! Capture the invisible enemy! Steel Wing!"
*ZOOOM*
Scizor's antennae twitched, processing the faint, lingering energy residue. It aimed its attack at a specific patch of air near the ship's mast, launching forward with a devastating, metallic wing slash.
*K-CLANG*
The attack struck nothing but air. The metallic ring echoed across the silent deck. Scizor turned, frustrated, its opponent having vanished completely amid the chaos and the landing.
On the ground, Bill rushed over, tending to Green. Red looked at Azure, his eyes conveying a silent question about the bizarre attack. Azure stated, standing up, his tone entirely professional, "She needs a hospital, immediately. One Island should have a medical center."
Bill, meanwhile, had spotted something small and leather-bound lying next to where Green had collapsed. He picked up her diary, flipping it open to the last entry written in frantic, hopeful script.
His face drained of color as he read the entry mentally, his voice trembling, ''Today, I meet them. Mom and Dad are finally here. The first day of the rest of my life."
Red stepped forward, his fists clenched, his youthful outrage battling against the crushing reality of what had occurred. He ordered, "We need to move. Now."
Azure nodded curtly, recalling his Gengar and turning toward the gangplank where the Sailor was now staring in bewildered silence at the scene. Bill led the group as he stated, "I'll lead the way. I know the island layout better than most."
As the group—Azure supporting Green's unconscious weight, Blue and Red scouting the perimeter, and Bill leading them to Pokémon Net Center—left the Seagallop and hurried toward what resembled a town center, the dock was left eerily silent.
The invisible fighter was gone, taking with it the sickening vortex and the soundless scream of lost parents. But back at the Seagallop Ferry, a shadowy silhouette watched them go. The outline was distinctly humanoid, and though its form could not be clearly resolved, the air around it thrummed with residual, disruptive energy.
It watched the Dex Holders, Bill, and Azure disappear down the island path, its unseen eyes fixed specifically on Azure Sky. The mission was complete for now, but the true threat had only just begun to reveal itself on the Sevii Islands.
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A/N: Reach the goal of 300 PS to get a Bonus Chapter!