Agent Morton shifted his weight to the other foot. He was uneasy—the battle was going well for Stryker. He touched the cold steel of his knife blade. It was reassuring. He wasn’t nervous, and certainly not scared. He just wanted to accomplish his mission and get the hell away from the masses of people. People had always bothered him. That’s one of the reasons he became a covert ops agent—minimal contact, and sometimes you kill ‘em. Beautiful.

“Blue Wolf, do you read?” he asked. A moment of silence passed. Morton turned his eyes to the battle—Articuno was delivering the final blow to Nagoya’s Charmeleon. When the pyrotechnic display was over, the radio crackled.
“I read,” replied the voice. “And I’m busy. Do I have permission to execute?”
“Wait until the ball is secure,” Morton told him. “Permission denied.”
“Very well,” retorted Blue Wolf. “Yet I grow weary.”
“Maintain radio contact,” his senior officer commanded. The line was cut. Asshole, Morton thought.

Shensuke stood still and gracefully slung another Pokeball into the arena. Apollyon finished its low sweep and soared sharply into the sky. The bird glided over Nagoya’s new Pokeball, ready to take on its next challenge. The heavy metal ball snapped open, and a new creature materialized from the blinding flash of light. The Pokemon resembled a large wolf with lemon-yellow fur. It had a thick band of white, spiked hair around its neck and chest. An unusual, snowy strip ran across the ankle of its left hind foot. The rest of its fur was needle-like, making it look almost as though the thing had been electrocuted. No sooner had I thought that than thin, crackling bolts of electricity danced over its body, arcing and branching wildly from place to place. Jolteon I thought. Dammit. I’m in trouble. Jack and Heather each gave me worried looks. Jolteon has, to put it simply, a big-ass advantage over Articuno. The wolf snarled furiously, baring truly frightening teeth. As its wrath grew, so did the arcs of lightning flashing over its spiky fur. They built in intensity as Jolteon stalked Apollyon with its eyes…

Jolteon snarled viciously at the angel flying high above it. Growling, curling its lips back over fearsome teeth, it hunched back and bristled its fur. The pupils in its gray eyes dilated as its ears flattened down on its head. Arcs of electricity crackled over its intimidating form, building swiftly. Shaken, I glanced down at the image of Nagoya in the console monitor. He stood motionless, eyes closed, whispering into his microphone. Here it comes… “Apollyon!” I screamed. “BLIZZARD!” The bird, high above the arena, turned its head toward me to confirm my choice. Blizzard was its strongest attack. My Articuno beat its wings powerfully and came to a hovering stop in midair. The crystals on its head shone with the cold, and rapidly freezing droplets of rain and water vapor swirled about it in a deep blue vortex.

It was too late. Jolteon leapt forward, howling insanely. Bolts of lightning crackled over its surface, snapping out and electrifying the rain-soaked ground. The bolts fused together, rapidly forming an aura of white light over the creature’s powerful body. The blanket of power surged over it, with long, hair-thin arcs breaking away and flying wildly. Without warning, the crackling form flowed upward and with a dry, explosive roar blasted off the wolf in terrifying bursts. Thick, jagged beams of fatal voltage leapt into the sky in an instant. My Articuno was still charging up its Blizzard attack…

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