Chapter 15
Restless

As the audience was still cheering, I was hurting all over, the bitter sting of pain surrounded me, but it wasn’t strong enough to stop my determination. If I was going to lose here, then I was going to lose everything, and I just couldn’t accept that. We came so close and to lose now would have made it all for nothing. If Randy won this, everyone would just forget this close call ever happened and nothing would change.

“It appears…” Jeff said in a calm tone, “Juno hasn’t given up. He still thinks he can fight.”

The audience had suddenly quieted down, only just realizing that it technically wasn't over and Jeff's call had been declared too early. A Pokémon is only considered unable to battle if it loses consciousness, and I was definitely still awake.

“Really!?” Randy asked in gleeful amazement, “Heh, Juno mustn’t be too smart then. Groudon, let’s prove to this little wimp that he didn’t stand a chance in the first place. Oblivion Razor Claw, now, Groudon!”

I couldn't believe Randy's lust for winning had gone so far that he was willing to go to this extent to destroy a once-fond memory and aspiration just to appease imaginary people he had created for himself.

But in the meantime, the audience was amazed I was still standing. However, I couldn’t bring myself to move. I could barely walk, and only moments later, Groudon came stomping forward, approached me, slashed me furiously across the chest, and in a split second I found myself thrown off the ground and flying into the air. I must have flown fifty feet before hitting the ground again, and rolling around and around until I hit the back wall. I felt weaker than ever before from the intense pain. This was insane. I felt like I was going to be reduced to ribbons and there wasn't a darn thing I could do about it. A Pikachu trying to fight a Groudon? It was almost a joke, but I had to keep telling myself there had to be something beyond this.

Meanwhile, the audience was rendered silent as they watched me get thrown across the stadium. It had all seemed so hopeless now. I had turned to Latias, who was now very far away from me. She had fainted, unable to help me now. I was alone, completely by myself. And right now, I didn’t see any hope for me to make it out of this alive. Then, even as I was lying on the floor, trying get back up, Randy decided to strike at me again. I told myself I had to move, or it might just be all over with.

But it was too late. Groudon had stood above me, bent down and grasped my body, and I screamed for him to let me go. But instead, I suddenly felt a great blast of wind rush past me as I was thrown again, flying out of Groudon’s grasp, and flying through the air before hitting the ground once again and rolling over and over again before stopping again.

I didn’t want to die like this, but I didn't want to give up either...

I had to expel the pain, or else it would never end. If I failed here, what kind of message would that send to Randy? That his delusion of victory was now the standard? That it was okay to abandon everything that had meaning in life just to win?

I had to win, because I wasn't just doing this for my own good now. I was doing it for his. Groudon had to be stopped and there was no question

“You haven’t had enough!?” Groudon growled humorously. “How much more pain do you want!? Please, keep trying, because I'm loving every minute of your prolonged defeat!”

“There is no attack Juno has that can hurt Groudon.” Randy remarked firmly. “That hope ended when he lost Latias. This will be over in seconds.”

Recommended Listening: James Paget - Together As One

And as much as I didn’t want to believe it, he was right. No electrical attack was ever going to hurt Groudon no matter how much effort and energy I put into it. I was scared at that moment. The only thing I could do now was just stand here and lose. Perhaps Randy had grown far too strong to handle. Maybe there really was no way to truly defeat him. I couldn't believe it. All because of a stupid necklace.

But, I could have smacked myself for thinking like that. I had turned to Latias, and I realized she hadn’t given up after she hit the ground. She worked as hard as she could so we would still have a chance at winning. The two of us had worked so hard to get so far together. The last thing I wanted was for her to wake up and find out we lost, and it was all for nothing. All the hell that David, Alex, and all of my Pokémon had done for all of us was going to be for nothing.

But Latias... even in the face of the biggest threats she's ever faced, remained cool, calm, and spirited. I wanted... no, I needed to be like that. When she woke up, what kind of news was I going to give her? How was I going to tell her how it all went down?

It would all start with a smile.

I had rushed toward Groudon, trying to think of some, even small, possible way of stopping him. But like Latias would, I didn't care about the details, I just needed to get there first and now.

There had to be something. I had a strong feeling it wasn’t meant to end like this.

And then, the perfect solution had come to mind…

Groudon had attempted to stomp on me several times as I made my way around his feet, trying to grab onto his back. He kept turning around and around, but I was far too fast for him to keep up. I didn’t care what pain tried to drag me down, I wasn’t going to accept it and my heart and will forced my nerves to stand down and cease fire. I leapt toward Groudon’s back, and latched on hard, determined never to let go until what had to be done was done.

“Get him off of you!” Randy shouted furiously.

Groudon had attempted to hit me with his tail, but was left to strike at random as he could not see me. I slowly and carefully used the black grooves on his back to make my way upward. As I drew closer to the top, Groudon had struck me successfully, and it made the pain even more agonizing. I had to go slower then, struggling and twitching to try and reach my target as I climbed higher and higher. I refused to let him stop me here...

And finally, at last I had reached the point where Groudon could no longer hit me with his tail, or be able to reach for me. His tail couldn't reach the spot I was at and neither could his claws. Meanwhile, he couldn't try to shake me off either.

Then, I had come across the one way I could have a chance at winning this battle. I had found the area where Latias had struck Groudon in the back of the head with the Draconic Laceration attack, and the claw slashes had gone deep. I then approached the cuts in the back of Groudon’s head, and realized in one small area, his rock plate armor had been cut and broken away to reveal the softer skin area behind it. I placed my hands on the soft skin, and then focused my energy.

My cheeks had once again flared up with incredible electric power, and I sent the harsh amount of electricity right into the exposed area where my hands were with an attack I decided to call "Stormbreaker Thunder," the most powerful electrical attack I could imagine. The powerful electric storm had bypassed Groudon’s armor and had begun to electrocute him within his own rocky skin. He had tried to shake me off, but I held on as tight refusing with all my will and power to not let go as I was determined to channel as much of this attack into him as I possibly could.

I continuously poured in as much electrical power as I could into the open cut, not even once caring about Groudon’s pleas to make me stop. I poured in everything, all until there wasn't a single spark left in the electric sacs in my cheeks.

The onslaught had lasted almost two minutes, and by the time I had finally stopped, Groudon had begun to collapse. Just before he slammed face-first into the ground, I quickly jumped off, and landed back on my feet, utterly exhausted. Behind me, Groudon had fallen, no longer able to fight, and I had turned around to face my fallen enemy. Randy didn’t want to believe what had just happened. But while Groudon had fallen, I struggled to keep standing. I knew as long as he was down and I still stood, victory would be mine.

“Groudon, get up!” Randy shouted. “Get up! Get up you useless lug!!”

I stood there, silently, still trying to fight and endure all the bitter and crippling pain I had been though. I was, however, able to flash a tiny Pikachu smile.

“Randy…” Jeff told him. “I don't... I don't think there's anything he can do anymore…”

“Jeff,” Randy told him, “Groudon will be getting up, I know it.”

The audience was silent and struck dumbfounded, standing quietly, as if suddenly rendered quiet at the sound of a funeral dirge.

But Jeff shook his head, not believing the totally unpredictable result either, but still acknowledging the fact that Groudon had been finished. There was nothing that could help him. All four of his Pokémon were down.

“I’m sorry, Randy…” Jeff said calmly. "It can't...

“No!” Randy shouted, “NO!! This is not supposed to happen to me! Never! NEVER!! This should not be happening!!”

And then, Randy let loose a hideous scream of agony and frustration. It seemed to get louder and louder, and then seemed so loud it was unreal.

It was at that moment that Randy's world had begun to collapse. The starry sky suddenly shattered like glass, and all the fragments were sucked into the void. And then, suddenly everything in Victory City was starting to crumble into rubble, including the stadium itself, piece by piece. It all floated upward into the void sky, and suddenly, my heart sank in ways it had never done before...

I ran frantically toward Latias in desperate tears. I knew... as a part of Randy's dreams, if the rest of Randy's world was going to crumble apart and fade away, so would she. For that moment, nothing else mattered. As the world crumbled down to nothing and Randy's scream still rang on, I just leapt toward Latias, and hugged her in what I knew would be those final moments. As the void swallowed every last fragment of Randy's world and the only thing remaining was that crumbling stadium, I held onto Latias.

She had suddenly woken up and opened her bright, topaz-colored eyes. She was weak, tired, and worn, but deep inside, she knew we had won. She had this way about her that could just tell.

"Stay... awesome," She smiled to me.

"I still..." I muttered, tears running hard and hot down my face. "...he still... owes me a wish..."

He did. That was part of the deal.

"I wish..." I spoke as the last bits of the world around us were falling away and being sucked away into the void, "...I wish... for you... to come with me..."

...I had finally found a friend that knew how to reach out to my heart and make me happy. To guide me toward being better. And as this world faded away, I could not bear to lose her...

I didn't think about the details or what was possible and what was impossible. I didn't think about how it would all turn out for real. I didn't think about anything but her, and how she deserved a chance to carry on, away from this place, and live on. I put my tiny, yellow paws on her body, closed my eyes, and just wished and prayed with all my heart...

I felt an incredible chime of light and hope come over me, and for a split second, I felt like we had been bound together. I was lost in a sudden moment of uncertainty, but something, someone, somewhere... assured me at that crucial moment that it would all be as it was meant to be...

Then, everything went instantly black, and I heard a tremendous shattering sound, as if a million panes of glass had been broken. Everything was gone. The stadium, the gray battlegrounds, Randy's Pokémon, and his entire world... just like that.

When the awful sounds had ended, there was only the silence of darkness…

* * *

It all felt like the worst dream ever.

When I came into consciousness, I felt myself face down, cheek pressed against the hot, black tarmac. I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw were cars in a parking lot in the middle of the afternoon sky, simply waiting there like nothing ever happened here. I then realized where I was.

I was back at school, lying in the parking lot. After pushing myself up off the ground, I quickly realized from the length of my arms and legs and the shape of my body that I was no longer Juno the Pikachu, but instead as my human self, Jake Kossak. I had my normal blue jeans, white t-shirt, and all my regular clothes on, as well as belt with my Poké Balls. I then felt them with my human hand and fingers to make sure it was all real.

And then something stopped me as I suddenly recalled something. I quickly got up and did a head count on the belt with the Poké Balls.

I counted Raichu's, Ariados's, Weavile's, Jolteon's, and...

...I could not believe my eyes when I saw the fifth. I took it out and looked it over, not sure how it was possible or if I really did pull that Latias out of Randy's dream world. Did that wish... did... did it really happen? It trembled in my hand, but I knew... I could not open it until I was alone. If the others knew...

I checked my watch and saw it was still 2:18, only a minute after we had met them on that last day of school before the incident. Alex and David had gotten up, and were right beside me.

“Man, what the hell happened?” Alex asked, getting up off the ground. “For a moment, I heard this hideous scream and then it felt like…”

“It’s over...” I sighed, still barely able to talk.

I had seen Frank, Jeff, and Randy only a short distance away. When I looked at them, they only began to walk away even faster and had no intention of saying anything. They simply walked away from it all, and Alex and David showed no desire of pursuing them.

"That was..." David muttered, still in shock, "...damn, that was no dream, was it?"

"Whatever it was..." Alex said, watching Randy, Frank, and Jeff walk away.

There was nothing left to do. After standing there for a few moments, trying to process everything that had happened, I knew it was time to leave it all behind and head home. I

After looking at each other, Alex and David had simply turned around, and began to head home, still overcome with a million different thoughts and not sure how to interpret it all. Meanwhile, I stood there for a few seconds, just content to see the normal world again. The air of real reality had never smelled so good.

And then, tiny red, blue, and black glints from the asphalt reflecting the afternoon sun had caught my eye, and I realized it was the Quista necklace, only now it was in pieces. As I continued to stare at it, it slowly crumbled even further, and turned into dust that was gone with the wind. I was glad that hideous torture device was finally out of my life. Never did I think something like that could ever exist.

But still, I had once again held the Poké Ball containing Latias, not sure if the wish I should have been promised actually did come to pass. Was it really possible that I could pull something out of a world of dreams and imagination into the realm of reality? If that was true... what else had come with me?

It had seemed like months had passed by when it had all happened in a minute of real time.

The three of us had run into Randy, as well as Jeff and Frank on other school days, but we no longer said or did anything to them. We no longer played the same tricks we used to. And I never did tell Randy that it was really me who was actually Juno. I could have, but it would have gone too far. None of us have ever said anything to anyone. No one but us would ever know all that actually happened.

In essence, it felt like a part of me had completely changed from that day on, as if I took something out of that strange realm Randy had created or if being Juno for that short while had opened my eyes to something new, different, and better.

I wasn’t the same bully I used to be, and I never was one again. I felt far more comfort in what I found familiar, my family, my friends, and my Pokémon. There was a piece of me that had been forever changed, and I realized how precious it is to belong to something, and to be a part of it, and to contribute to it as much as you can. I began to see it in everything, as a family, a community, and a brotherhood.

I had arrived home, and my belonging to my family seemed to be more real than ever before. I no longer shouted back at my mother, and I didn't get into fights and arguments with Vicky anymore. I had lost them for some time, but in the end I had gained them back, as well as something new and different that I had realized was there all this time.

They didn't understand what had happened or why I was acting so different, but they never complained and they took a much better liking to the new me.

My own room seemed like something that had been a part of me that had been taken away. I had approached the doorknob, grasped it firmly, and opened the door to reveal the one place where I could be myself and not feel ashamed. I had looked around, seeing my bed, dresser, and my desk, as well as all the other things that were a part of me, and I was glad I could be in my own world now. When I stepped back into it, I saw it was in disarray, and I spent the rest of that afternoon just setting things right and wiping away the bitterness, the chaos, and the anger aside. I wanted home to be something to look forward to, and this whole time, I knew it had to start with me.

But even so, it still felt like I had been away for a long, long time…