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A la Vie, A la Mort
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"Fortune favors the bold."

— Popular Maxim

Chapter 1

     Thunder roared above the shoreline, sending tremor through the coast for tens of leagues. The calm waters turned into a maelstrom of blackness, and wave after wave blasted the white sands of Santa Laura, tainting them with a dark shade of brown. The skies above — matching the seas below — were equally sinister in appearance, and a single drop of water fell, followed by another... and another... and another...

     While the more self-conscious people started to retreat to the dryness of their homes, one individual stood tall, awaiting the oncoming shower. Sebastian rapidly felt his clothes becoming moist. His black leather trousers were starting to feel irritating. His voluminous red shirt was starting to look like blood-stained rags. In a matter of minutes, the rain became torrential, but he didn't flinch for one second.

     He waited a few more minutes for the locals to evacuate the premises. It didn't take very long, although many of them were giving him some rather curious glances. A little girl — a child not much older than six — even approached him and warned him of the storm. Before he could produce some sort of reply, the child's mother had come and taken the girl away, casting an angry glare at Sebastian. The young trainer sighed as he thought of the paranoia that assailed today's society.

     Dismissing the event into the far confines of his memory, he proceeded with his plan. A pair of sorrow-filled azure eyes found themselves fixed on the shifting shoreline as a white-gloved hand reached for something on his broad belt. A sextet of unusual Pokémon balls was attached onto it. Sebastian Drake grabbed hold of one of the small globes, and examined the inscription on it.

     Sebastian had his own Pokéballs specifically crafted to fit his needs for many years in his trainer career. Each was painted in black and silver, and the name of the Pokémon that dwelled in it was graved in golden letters, along the darker half of the monster orb. This meant that he often had to transfer his Pokémon from one ball to another, but he decided that the boost of confidence in his companions was well worth it. Others viewed this as eccentricity on Drake's part, but he just ignored those remarks.

     "Mayflower..."

     Although he didn't realize it at first, he had just spoken the creature's name aloud, as inscribed on the ball. He had lost track of what he was doing. His mind was filled of many memories of the Pokémon: he recalled the moment he captured it, the terrified look in the creature's eyes when he had sent one of his companions to battle with it, his immense pride when he had managed to catch the free-spirited monster. He swiftly dismissed the tears that were forming in his eyes as well.

     "Come, Mayflower," he said, with more control.

     From his outstretched hand, the sphere glowed an eerie mauve and slowly opened it. From it shot out a beam of golden light, and a creature appeared where the light ended. When the small being came into being, the ball had stopped glowing and the yellow light was no more. The little Pokémon just floated in mid-air, and gleefully looked at its trainer–no, its friend, as if awaiting some sort of command. However, both Sebastian and Mayflower knew that orders were hardly ever required. Over time, they had developped a sort of psychic bond, a shared empathy.

     The empathic bond had yet to fail, and proved to be successful once more. Mayflower's glee and joy were quickly overwritten by sadness and melancholy. Sebastian diverted his gaze from the Pokémon, and the creature did likewise. In their hearts, both knew that this may be the last time they saw each other again, and altough they were both attristed by it, they slowly came to accept it. Neither shed a tear, but neither drew a smile.

     "Mayflower, you are now free..." he simply stated. The next move was Mayflower's.

     The Pokémon stated its species name, as all Pokémon did. It was how they came to be identified, and rare was the monster that managed to pronounce any other word. Although Sebastian Drake could not understand the exact meaning of the statement, he felt Mayflower was asking him to reconsider. Regardless of his desires, he couldn't allow it and wouldn't allow it. He gathered his thoughts and adopted a more decisive outlook. He shook his head.

     The Pokémon looked back at its trainer once, and with all of its dignity nodded. It turned and started to float away. When Sebastian next blinked, Mayflower was nowhere in sight. Sighing with satisfaction, he turned back as well, and headed for cover.

     Although he knew he shouldn't think of such trivial matters at the time, he couldn't help but worry about his drycleaning bill.


     "Come on, Shade! We're going to miss the show!"

     A pair of teens just dropped from the Santa Laura boardwalk, and were running towards the amusement park by the beach, where a large mass of people were gathered. Today was a very special day. A very rare and special event was to occur on that afternoon, and Rumo was the last person who'd want to miss it.

     Pokémon Supreme is a renowned and hardcore information TV show about everything Pokémon, be it breeding, training, sighting, etc. The show was diffused worldwide in tens of different languages, to satisfy the monster-associated society, which involved nearly 70% of the planetary population at the present date. Needless to say, Pokémon Supreme was the most successful broadcasting, and in order to remain successful, they had to always stay in touch with anything and everything that goes on in the world, and that is even minimally related to the beloved pocket monsters.

     A few weeks in the past, Pokémon Supreme reported that there was a sighting of giant Gyarados that was traveling along the northwestern coast of America, and the people of Santa Laura, California, didn't wan't to miss out. Nearly five thousand people were amassed at the beach, and each person was eagerly awaiting for the mighty Pokémon to arise.

     Well, almost everyone. The teenage duo would've been part of the crowd, if Shade hadn't forgot something. If there was one thing that was never far from the young sixteen-year-old, it was her most prized possession: her sketchbook. The hard, indigo leather covers, bound with black bronze, was the treasure chest to Shade Hoshiko's deepest thoughts and secrets. She adored drawing and writing, and her sketchbook was proof. Proof of her passion, and proof of her talent. However, she was very relucatant about sharing her art with others. Although Rumo had often caught her in the middle of some scribbling, she was swift to close the book when he got near.

     "Hurry up!" he shouted, half-breathedly. "You didn't have to bring your book, you know."

     "Yeah, well you didn't have to wait for me, you know." Shade's reply seemed satisfactory for Rumo King, and both kept running.

     The young boy halted his dash a few moments later. He complained to his friend about the sand irritating his feet as he proceeded to sit down, and empty his shoes of the uncomfortable residues. Shade felt a bit annoyed, although she was thankful to have a good excuse to catch her breath and relax for a few moments. She sat next to Rumo, and simply looked at the horizon.

     A few black clouds were forming in the far skies, a clear symbol of an oncoming thunderstorm. It wasn't very unusual for the season, but she was wondering if the school of Gyarados would surface under these conditions. The marine Pokémon were renown for their strong dislike of electricity, and their tall stature would make them effective lightning rods if they were to swim in their full splendor.

     "Well, if the Gyarados don't show up, at least it won't be my fault," she commented to her peer. He took a glance at the clouds. And he cursed. And he kicked the sand, slightly scraping his right foot and letting some of the dry grains enter the shoe he had just finished emptying.

     "Aren't you going to finish up?"

     Rumo had stopped working on his footwear, and invested his full concentration on the fact that he was not totally happy about the situation. With a sigh, she simply got up and began to observe the waters through her binoculars. Rumo resolved himself to get his shoes clean. If he had to be disappointed, he might as well take it as comfortably as possible.

     Shade had guessed right. Apart from a part of the reef that stood above water level due to the low tide, all that she could spot were a couple of speed boats bringing the stray swimmers back to shore, a few buoys in the farthern horizon, and a news chopper that was taping the event. That, and that one Gyarados that was rapidly swimming towards the beach.

     "Gyarados!?" Shade heard her thoughts escape through her mouth. The immense beast stood vertically straight as it sped through the waves, nearing a height of one hundred feet. It's massive maw was wide open, forming a gap that was threatening to swallow all into eternal darkness. It's big eyes were tainted with crimson and sent shivers down the young girl's spine. She felt the binoculars tremble within her graps, but she couldn't find the force of will to take her eyes off this overwhelmingly large creature. She never imagined that such a monster existed.

     "Gyarados!" she warned her friend. Shade repeated herself when she didn't get a response. A few more seconds passed until she finally decided to put down the binoculars and realize that Rumo was stricken with awe at the sight of the creature. His wide eyes saw to that. Both of them simply stood there for a few more moments.

     "Where do you think it's heading, Rumo?" wondered the girl aloud after regaining her composture. He walked up to her and examined the Gyarados' full trajectory through the binoculars. With nothing more than a simple "Shit!" he tossed the object on the sand and dashed towards the shore. "What's wrong? What did you see?" she inquired, but Rumo gave no answer and kept running. She picked up the lenses and looked for herself. Directly in the sea beast's course, some twenty yards in the beach, was standing a man, as if oblivious to the oncoming threat. "Shit!"


     Unnerved maybe, but Sebastian was certainly not oblivious to the 100-foot monster heading straight for him. Actually, he was trying to figure out how he was to get out of this. Grabbing his string of black-and-silver Pokéballs, he assessed his chances. Five Pokémon to fight one. Under normal circumstances, this would've been an overkill for Drake. However, that Gyarados was far from being normal. Odds were he would be overkilled.

     "Let's see... C-4, Paloma, Pyre, Medusa, and Umber Hulk... we're not dead yet, guys," he stated reassuringly. Grabbing the first one in the string, he brought the ball forth and called out the Pokémon inside. With a flash of golden light sprouted a round monster, it's white and red halve sections giving it the resemblance of a very large monster ball, were it not for the pair of eyes and sly smile that were giving an uncanny grin at the trainer. C-4 was an Electrode. C-4 was a proud and confident Electrode who couldn't wait for the opportunities to show off. Battling was a "blast" for C-4, so to speak. Pointing towards the Gyarados, Sebastian motioned the creature to move in the swimming creature's direction.

     "Go underwater, and shock the creature at 5-second intervals for exactly one minute. After that, I'm giving you liberty to do what you want," he told the ball Pokémon. The electric monster looked at the scene around itself, and then back at its trainer only to find him winking. Relatively content, C-4 made a loud buzzing sound and proceeded to roll towards the sea.

     Next in line was Paloma, a young and feisty, female Pidgeotto. As it rose from its confines, it made a few loops and whirls in the air before maintaining a steady altitude and awaiting orders. Her trainer raised his hand, pointing a finger at the sky and started to spin it around. Paloma nodded understandingly and began to mimic the hand's movements in mid air, emitting a loud cry every few loops. Slowly, but surely high winds started to pick up, forming a tall column of whirling air and sand.

     Without wasting a moment, Sebastian reached for Pyre's Pokéball and brought out its resident. On a nearby dune appeared an elegant Ninetales, locking a never-flinching gaze upon her trainer through shining eyes that bore no pupils. Its nine tails whipped around, making the Pokémon seem as if it were standing before a flickering bonfire. Small whisps of smoke escaped from the creature's nostrils, her inner flames literally burning to get out. Drake was very proud of how Pyre turned out after the intense training they shared in Cinnabar Island, while he was journeying through Kento, in Japan. It was said that being near a large source of searing heat provided great strength for Pokémon of the fire type. All in all, everything turned out excellently for Pyre.

     Sebastian got distracted from his reverie by a loud roar, followed by a beam of very bright light. The ray was aimed in his general direction, but nobody was hit. Paloma seemed a bit disconcerted, and Pyre stood still. Turning back towards the Gyarados, Sebastian realized that they were all lucky to have been spared from the destructive force of the Hyper Beam that the beast had unleashed. Spotting the sparks of electricity coming from the water below the monster, he was very glad to have brought along C-4 on this outing. Although the sea monster threatened to destroy everything with its powerful attacks, its movement had stopped, and the creature was thrashing around from the pain of the shocks emitted by the Electrode. Sebastian sighed with relief, and turned back to his Ninetales.

     "Ok Pyre, on my command, use a Fire Spin on that whirlwind," he commanded, pointing to the tower of wind that the Pidgeotto was gathering. The firey Pokémon nodded, and waited. Sebastian directed his attention towards the whilwind, and raised his hand. "Now Paloma! use a Gust!" The bird suddenly stopped spinning around, and aiming towards the sea demon, she unleashed a series of wind blasts at the whirling mixture of air and sand, sending it towards the gigantic monster. Seeing the whirlwind rapidly growing distant, Sebastian quickly lowered his hand, and then heard a loud boom coming from behind him, followed by a whirling column of flame going straight for Paloma's whirlwind. Both interlocked, and headed towards their target with the added speed of the piggy-back effect. The new whirlwind burned rapidly, leaving a moving tower that glowed an eerie orange for a few more instants.

Paloma's Demise     "Yes!" he exclaimed, as he saw flashes of light reflect a nearby lightning bolt. The air and sand, melted with the heat of the Fire Spin, merged into a shrapnel of glass that would put the Gyarados out of comission if it reached its mark. Almost immediately, Sebastian called back Pyre, and reached for Paloma's Pokéball, seeing the energetic bird fly back towards him. Out of nowhere, another beam of searing light was shot in his direction. Luckily, he wasn't hit, but Paloma found her flight cut short. Falling a few tens of yards behind her trainer, her charred-black carcass twitched for a few instants and then remained still. Fumes escaped from its lifeless body, imbibing the salty air with the stench of death.

     Sebastian's heart raced. He felt the deepest concern for his deceased Pokémon, but couldn't afford to waste another precious moment, lest he suffer a similar fate. Turning towards the Gyarados, he saw his plan worked effectively. The twirling shards of glass hit their target dead on, splashing aquamarine blood around the creature. It shrieked in pain as silicon daggers pierced its eyes, promising a most permanent blindness. Raging and roaring, the creature lashed about, only to be met with more shocks and more glass. Resolving itself to its prominent fate, the Gyarados decided that the best way to make the best of it was to destroy everything. Its head then turned to the sky above, and it produced an ear-splitting cry.

     Sebastian's heart stopped for what seemed like an eternity as became aware of the tidal wave that was surreally forming a few hundred yards behind the aquatic monster. This was the dreaded Dragon Rage. Each Pokémon capable of calling forth the Dragon Rage brought on devastating effects individual to the Pokémon itself. He had once seen a Dragonite produce a hailstorm of green icicles, and he heard that some Arcanine spat gouts of black flame. No matter which Pokémon used the Dragon Rage, it was always extremely destructive, and few managed to survive it. Drake's only consolation was that this attack was only used when the said Pokémon was at a very weak state. "At least it's going down with me," he thought aloud.

     Just then, a great explosion englobed the entire marine monster, temporarily blinding the young trainer. When he finally managed to get a good look at what happened, he was caught in a storm of blue-green blood and large azure chunks of scales. Reaching for a Pokéball on his belt, he pointed it at the sea. "C-4! Return!" he shouted, hoping the Electrode would heed its call. The tough little ball had done it! It had put a permanent end to the colossal serpent with its favorite attack. A cardinal ray of light went directly from the carved ball to where the Gyarados formerly stood, and the sphere swiftly opened to accomodate the exhausted Pokémon.

     Even though he was tired himself, and the tsunami was certain to engulf him in a watery demise, he persisted still. He thought he saw a couple of silhouettes running towards him. Dazed and confused, he gestured for them to run away, yelling warnings about the tidal wave, but they didn't seem to hear him. Sebastian cursed and kept running. And all of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head, and everything became dark.