Chapter 13: “Improper Capture”

  The Cerulean Caves echoed with distant sounds of battles and frantic footsteps. The atmosphere had become even more oppressive since Aspen, in an act bordering on madness, drank the poison his own Alolan Grimer—Dozy—had spit into a glass jar. Around him, horrified and incredulous stares rose; even Kara, the dark-skinned fighter who moments ago had been battling the ninjas and their Pokémon, froze in shock, letting out a stifled laugh that halfway turned into a look of bewilderment. Many trainers, including the sinister Vera, the psychic with the Abra and Mime Jr., watched Aspen with open mouths. How could he still be standing after drinking such pure venom?

  Aspen didn’t appear stronger or more powerful. He wasn’t emitting any special aura. In fact, his breathing seemed normal; there were no signs of pain. He simply planted himself with his legs slightly apart, trying to mimic the karate stance he had seen Kara Auralis use. He looked clumsy, lacking the natural elegance that the fighter exuded. With a hesitant movement, he raised his fists, as if unsure how to properly hold a martial arts guard, and snapped:

  “Stupid ninja, you dare approach me?”

  The ninja leader, a medium-built student with bloodshot eyes filled with anger, stared at Aspen with contempt. A trickle of blood dripped from his ear due to the intensity of the sonic attack the Zubat had unleashed moments before. Nearby, his shorter and slimmer companion writhed on the ground, his arm swollen from one of Kara’s blows. Meanwhile, the Weezing floated with its vapors half-dispersed, and the Ekans coiled, hissing ferociously.

  Kara threw a punch that struck the jaw of the higher-ranking ninja. He managed to block part of the blow with his forearm but took a few steps back, a flicker of surprise in his gaze. Still, he was quick enough to slip past and close in on Aspen, delivering a spinning kick in the air to distract the fighter.

  “I’ll kill you right now!” he growled, wielding a silver kunai that gleamed under the cave’s dim lighting.

  Time seemed to stop for a moment. Kara was busy with the other ninja and the Pokémon, trying to counter the toxic gas and dodge their assaults. Dozy didn’t react quickly enough to intervene. Aspen, with his fist raised in a “beginner karateka” pose, saw the blade coming straight for his forearm. He braced for a bloody slash, but what echoed instead was a metallic screech, like a weapon scraping against a block of diamond.

  A bright flash reflected in the ninja’s eyes. Aspen’s shirt tore, revealing, instead of skin, a crystalline formation shaped like a thick diamond, covering his forearm like an improvised shield. The kunai’s metal clashed against the transparent surface, producing tiny sparks. The ninja hesitated for a moment, stunned, and Aspen took advantage of the proximity to extend his right arm, whose index finger ended in a hardened, whitish nail. He aimed for the ninja’s side, clumsily but effectively driving the tip in.

  “Gah…!” the ninja gasped, his face contorting from the sudden burning sensation coursing through his blood, the effect of the condensed toxin.

  In a defensive act, he tried to pull away and retreat, but just then, a pink psychic energy enveloped him, immobilizing him with an invisible force that lifted him off the ground. The ninja let out a scream, flailing his arms, and in the blink of an eye, he was hurled against the cave wall, hitting it with his back and collapsing at the feet of his stunned Weezing. The crash mingled with the sound of cracking stone.

  Aspen turned his head, panting heavily, in the direction of the psychic energy’s source. He hadn’t done that. He noticed a quick movement, like a teleportation, and instinctively took a step back. Just a few feet away, Vera, the dark reddish-haired psychic girl who had recently stormed into the school, materialized. She floated inches off the ground, an Abra beside her with a sleepy gaze and a Mime Jr. clutching her arm like a small clown with curious eyes. Her expression was filled with anger, and the tension in her jaw was visible even under the dim light.

  “You…?” Aspen stammered, his voice barely audible.

  His heart pounded furiously. He remembered Vera from when she had torn through library shelves and nearly killed him. And now she was there, just a few meters away, staring at him as if he were the source of all her troubles. The adrenaline coursing through him mixed with deep terror; the scene felt like a hellish déjà vu.

  Vera floated forward two steps, her Abra “Sage” obeying her mind without verbal commands, teleporting further back to keep watch. Mime Jr. clung to Vera, observing everything with wide eyes. She didn’t speak, merely surrounding Aspen with that psychic energy that seemed to press down on the atmosphere. Aspen swallowed hard, fearful of a mental assault. But then, Vera raised her voice:

  “Give me back my books,” she spat, her tone harsh, as if she wanted to pour her anger into every word.

  Aspen was utterly confused. He didn’t even clearly remember those books. But something clicked in his brain: yes, a couple of old volumes had appeared in the library during that confrontation, and he had grabbed them in a moment of panic, thinking they might help him learn more about his Alolan Grimer’s evolution and the world of poison. He had never looked at them again, too engrossed in his problems since becoming a “student” of his grandmother’s technique.

  “I… I’m sorry,” he managed to say, breathing heavily. “I can give them back. I didn’t know they were yours. But… let me finish this test and… capture the Zubat.”

  The girl continued to float in a posture that, though still, exuded restrained fury. Her eyes glowed with a reddish hue, and her clenched teeth never relaxed. She was about to say something when a sudden screech echoed through the air. It was the Zubat, hovering at a distance, as if intrigued by the scene. The remaining conscious ninjas tensed, but their half-conscious leader couldn’t issue orders. The Zubat seemed curious about what Aspen had just done with his poison crystal.

  The ninja who had been hurled against the wall groaned, clutching his poisoned side. He looked up with terror on his face, watching as the Zubat descended several meters, seemingly ignoring his desperate pleas. He tried to stand, pointing a trembling finger at it:

  “Zubat, get back here! You belong to young master Niko!” he shouted, adrenaline barely keeping him upright.

  The bat glanced at him indifferently and unleashed wind blades (Air Cutter), slicing through the ninja’s clothes and leaving several bleeding cuts. Then, it turned its attention to the battle Kara was still fighting against the other ninjas. It was clear the fighter was beginning to pick up on her opponents’ tricks, anticipating their moves with astounding skill. Her kicks and punches not only maintained their strength but became more fluid as the seconds passed, as if she were memorizing each action and incorporating it into her technique. One ninja grumbled, “Damn… copycat!” before taking a direct punch to the jaw that knocked him out.

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  The Zubat, perhaps tired of the uncertainty, perched on a fallen rock, flapping its wings with a faint hum. Aspen exhaled, clutching the Poké Ball he had previously attempted to use. He hesitated to move with Vera floating so close and Kara wreaking havoc, but his determination pushed him forward. He took a step, and the bat didn’t immediately flee, as if waiting for a resolution. For a moment, they seemed to size each other up.

  “Do you think you can catch it this time?!” one of the ninjas growled, clicking his tongue in frustration.

  Vera, her anger still simmering, glanced at the Zubat and snapped her fingers. She could have teleported it away if she wanted, but she didn’t seem interested in the Pokémon, only in recovering her books. Kara, meanwhile, kept the ninjas at bay with the precision of a whirlwind—knee strike, elbow jab, flying kick—neutralizing one after another. When one tried to release another Pokémon to reinforce the attack, the girl closed the distance with her blue aura, knocking him out with a powerful elbow.

  Time seemed to freeze for an instant. Aspen raised the Poké Ball. The Zubat glanced at him with curiosity. With a single motion of his arm, Aspen threw it with as much precision as he could muster. The ball traced an arc through the air and struck the Pokémon’s side. A red flash absorbed it, transforming it into a scarlet beam that entered the sphere. Silence fell, broken only by the pounding hearts of those present. The Poké Ball hit the ground, bounced a couple of times, and shook. Once… twice… three times, until a soft “click” echoed. It was caught.

  The conscious ninja let out a groan of despair and tried to lunge at Aspen. However, the poison coursing through him from the earlier scratch weakened his legs, forcing him to collapse to his knees. He was too drained to stop the capture. Kara glanced at Aspen and asked:

  “Did you do it?”

  He swallowed hard, feeling a mix of exhilaration and guilt, his muscles trembling from the accumulated tension:

  “Yes… I think I… caught it.”

  Vera raised an eyebrow and let out a bitter laugh. She wasn’t impressed by Aspen’s accomplishment, as her books were still her priority. With an exasperated sigh, she approached him without needing her Abra to teleport her. As the atmosphere began to relax slightly, several trainers injured by the Weezing’s gas crawled away to escape the area.

  Aspen tried to move to pick up the Poké Ball, but he realized his feet were stuck to the ground, anchored by a crystal that had sprouted from his soles when he drank Dozy’s venom. Apparently, by absorbing the toxin in massive amounts, his body had unconsciously begun condensing the poison, expanding it beneath his feet to stabilize him. It was as if he were bolted to the floor.

  Kara approached, muttering, “Hey, genius, why aren’t you moving?” She examined him in amazement, noticing how the skin of his ankles and calves had formed a veined, purplish crystal layer fused with the rocky ground.

  “I… I can’t…” Aspen stammered, struggling to break free.

  Kara sighed with a mix of incredulity and annoyance:

  “Guess I’ll have to yank you out.”

  She extended her arms and grabbed him by the shoulders, giving a firm pull. A crackling sound echoed as the crystals shattered, and Aspen broke free from the stone, leaving behind several jagged spikes that broke like thick glass. He collapsed forward into Kara’s arms, and she pushed him upright. Aspen let out a muffled cry of pain but felt relieved to be mobile again.

  “Thanks…” he whispered, his face flushed. The tingling from the toxin still coursed through him, but he seemed stable.

  Vera approached, her narrowed eyes fixed on him:

  “Enough of this nonsense. Tell me where my books are.”

  “C-calm down. I’ll return them as soon as I can. I didn’t mean to steal anything. I just… found them in the library when…” Aspen’s words tumbled out.

  Kara joined the conversation, shrugging:

  “You two know each other?” she asked, surprised by Vera’s furious expression and Aspen’s fearful demeanor.

  “Not exactly,” Vera grumbled. “He stole my books. Or took them. Or has them, whatever. I need them, and I’m not leaving without them.”

  “And I… won’t leave without… the Zubat,” Aspen retorted, holding up the captured Poké Ball.

  Kara tilted her head, intrigued, and smirked. She seemed amused by the chaotic situation. For a few seconds, the two girls stared at each other: one with dark skin and a barely contained laugh, the other floating slightly with her Abra and a faint psychic aura surrounding her figure. They didn’t know each other, but in a strange twist of events, they both exhaled simultaneously, as if realizing there was no need for hostility.

  Aspen, meanwhile, simply rubbed his sore shoulders, grateful not to be anchored to the ground anymore.

  “Well, Aspen, if you’re lying about my books…” Vera threatened, her voice so firm that, for a moment, it felt as though the entire cave had chilled.

  “No…” he stammered. “I’ll return them, really. Just… I don’t have them here. They’re at my house, I think. I had to leave them in a drawer.”

  “Then you’ll have to survive this race to get out of the cave. I’ll be watching you,” Vera replied.

  Kara let out a mocking snort:

  “Haha, I like your style, psychic girl. And maybe we’ll make an interesting team. Though I don’t trust people with teleportation powers.”

  “I could say the same about someone who copies ninja moves in five minutes,” Vera hissed, a slight curve appearing on her lips.

  Oddly, there was an air of camaraderie forming that surprised Aspen, who tilted his head like a confused Bidoof. It seemed these two had the potential to get along… somewhat.

  At that moment, a new commotion made them turn. From the depths of the corridor, an enraged voice boomed:

  “Who dares to steal what belongs to me…?!” roared a boy.

  ———————————————-

  In the observation room, Janine watched in disbelief as Aspen remained alive and, worse yet, had captured the Zubat her father Koga had designed for Niko. She observed helplessly as the psychic girl neutralized the leader of the henchmen, and the dark-skinned fighter blocked the other ninjas. The chaos was total. Several instructors were left speechless when it was revealed that Aspen drank concentrated venom. Janine, furious, bit her lip, muttering to herself that her brother wouldn’t take this well. She immediately grabbed the communicator:

  “Niko?” she said, her voice tense. “If you’re listening, your ninjas failed. The kid… the fat one… has captured the Zubat. You better go recover it unless you want to look ridiculous. I’ll notify Dad as soon as I can.”

  She ended the call, and one of the technicians murmured something about the brutality of the scene. Janine gritted her teeth. She had no doubt that her brother would head to the site in a murderous rage.

  —————————————

  In the cave, Aspen had just stepped forward to pick up the Zubat’s Poké Ball when he heard the footsteps of three people. A dark and powerful aura filled the space, like a harbinger of impending tragedy. A boy dressed in strange ninjutsu clothing with purple hair appeared, venom reflecting in his eyes. Beside him, a muscular orange-haired figure with arms wider than a Machoke’s, and a girl floating with pink-red hair, her psychic power glowing faintly violet.

  Niko’s voice rang out with cruel mockery:

  “So, a plebeian with no background dared to steal something that belongs to me…”

  Aspen felt offended but then froze. A cold shiver ran down his left side, and a fiery heat on his right, recognizing at a glance that Kara and Vera had assumed fierce combat stances, both with furious expressions. The fallen ninjas on the ground groaned in fear upon seeing their supreme leader, Niko, and his two Class A companions. The Zubat in Aspen’s Poké Ball might have been the source of the venom clan heir’s rage.

  Aspen heard two voices hissing with unimaginable hatred:

  “Alex…”

  “Lisa…”

  Aspen noticed how Kara on his left ignited her blue aura, while Vera on his right intensified hers, the pink hue growing more vibrant. Both seemed ready to erupt in rage. Aspen swallowed hard, seeing the fiery determination in the two girls’ faces, and could only whisper in fear:

  “Oh… shit.”

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