Some sort of thick string shot out from a small, dark laneway beside the library and the next shop, wrapping tightly around Lisa’s chest. Aipom, and the book still held in his tail, were wrapped up too. Gavin cried out, and saw Andrew come running to see what was happening, when Lisa felt her body lurch, and the thick string pulled her down the laneway, like a kind of elastic that swept her off her feet. It seemed like a minute or so later when she slammed into the ground in a heap Aipom and the book went flying off somewhere.

“So, Lisa Walters, thought you could escape, huh?”

Lisa didn’t need to look up. She knew who it was. That malicious voice, slicing through the air and grating on her ears venomously … Lenina. Slowly Lisa peeked up, to see Lenina, her hair blackened, and much of it missing – burnt off by the fire at the observatory.

“Thought you could kill me, eh?” growled Lenina.

“Thought you could kill ME, eh?” shot back Lisa.

Lenina’s eyes sparked with anger. “I’m not only accompanied by my normal pokemon now … I have someone new to show you.”

Lisa sat up slowly, and gasped with fear. A thing began to emerge from the shadows which lined the wall of the warehouse nearby. Lisa realised she was in a kind of square clearing, and the library was behind her. The ground was gravelled with weeds coming through at odd places. A barbed-wire fence ran around the other two sides of the clearing, and a long way behind her, Lisa could hear Gavin calling, and what sounded like a squeal from Jessica.

The thing which appeared beside Lenina was hideous. It was not a pokemon … not a normal species anyway. It was malformed, very long (about three metres) and about a metre high. Its head resembled a massive Caterpie, with the pinkish red antennae on top, but the face was like a Dunsparce. Lisa thought she could see wings folded up somewhere on the bright orange and green body, and the end looked similar to a fish tail. A thick, sticky string came from the antennae – and it was the same one which wrapped around Lisa.

“That thing is disgusting,” stated Lisa, shivering with apprehension. Somewhere behind her, Lisa could hear Gavin’s shouts getting very close behind her, and also Andrew, Jess and Phil. The loud popping noises signified the pokeballs opening. They were preparing to fight Lenina.

“This is the result of four years of experimentation,” said Lenina proudly. “It took four years of genetic research, four years of intense splicing, four years of evading the STUPID police … to produce this.

“Along with many other genetic researchers, I discovered some of the pokemon with the simplest DNA, and through intensive programs we created test-tube pokemon … we grew them from Stem Cells. And then, we spliced them together. To produce CYDMH #19.”

“CYD… what?”

“The Caterpie-Yanma-Dunsparce-Magikarp-Hybrid Number Nineteen. It took eighteen failed attempts and failed enlargements before we managed to create a surviving specie,” said Lenina slowly, drawing a gun out of her pocket. Then she placed it back in the folds of her singed lab coat. “I won’t need it now,” she muttered.

“That’s just weird!” Lisa cried, struggling against the String Shot, which was enhanced due to the creature’s size.

“The hybrid needed intelligence … at this stage it cannot use any of its attacks without being ordered around … except for one,” Lenina’s eyes winked mysteriously. “That’s why we needed to splice in a human … to enable it to become indestructible. I had to kill you anyway, so I thought I should kill two birds with one stone.”

At that moment Gavin arrived beside Lisa, after running all the way to see her and organising the battle stations. He held Natu’s Moon Ball in his hand very tightly.

“Ah, good morning, Gavin Luper,” called Lenina lightly, speaking as though Gavin was an acquaintance.

Lisa turned in the web awkwardly to see Gavin glaring loathingly at her.

“Give Lisa back now, Lenina! Or we’ll fight you.”

Lisa couldn’t turn completely behind, but she heard Girafarig call out in anxiety, and Staryu squirt out a soft jet of water with a “Hi-yaaah”. Beside her, a Dragonair slithered up and a Mr Mime strode up determinedly. A Seel teamed up with a Clefable and a rowdy-looking Mankey as a Wigglytuff – Jess’s – stumbled up beside Lisa, grabbed the pokeballs off her belt, and released them. Jess’s Chikorita and a Sunflora waddled out onto the gravel. Fiskmire, Dratini and Elekid also appeared, ready to fight.

Aipom was lying the the long weeds near the barbed-wire fence, the book was somewhere a few feet away. The last stringy fragments still stuck to him … but he needed to get back to Lisa. He had to help her. But gradually, the darkness closed in on him, he was unconscious.

Lenina was looking at all the pokemon and the five trainers. “Very well then, we will see how a bunch of weak trainers matches up against renowned Professor Lenina Johnson. Cydm, attack them!”

It was the beginning of mayhem. All the pokemon began to attack, bursts of light and electricity soared through the air. Chikorita was wrapped up in the string within seconds. The ‘Cydm’ also went into action. It broke off the string which was spun around Lisa, and instantly shot out a fresh one, which slammed into Staryu, who was wrapped up in it instantly. But Lenina hadn’t counted for its sharp skin, and the string shattered into pieces beside Staryu.

“STARYU, THUNDERBEAM!” roared Gavin.

Staryu was more than happy to oblige. He spun for a moment, during which time Cydm had shot string at Elekid and wrapped him up with ease. However, Staryu’s body crackled with electricity and a blinding yellow beam shot out at Cydm, hitting its antennae. Everyone watched, and goggled in shock.

Nothing happened at all! “Did I mention this is a super-strong hybrid?” gloated Lenina.

“Everyone attack! Staryu, Psychic it. Lanturn, Water Gun – Girafarig, Shadow Ball – Natu, Psybeam – Ditto … just hang on a sec.”

Andrew yelled out instructions to his pokemon too, and soon a thunderbolt shot through the air, followed by a wave of purple by Mr Mime, and a beam of ice from Dragonair. Phil and Jess began ordering attacks, and after a few moments, a flamethrower from Andrew’s Cyndaquil collided with the Haze which Lisa had been trying to get Fiskmire to produce, resulting in a huge explosion. Smoke billowed through the gravelled clearing, and Lisa could see nothing at all. But she could sense – she could almost see, through the smoke, flames leaping up onto the wall of the library. Screams came from the librarians, there was crackling of flames, and Gavin and Andrew were hastily dousing the fire.

Dust and smoke whooshed at Lisa’s face, when a thin jet of water shot past her face, and Fiskmire ran up to her – it had been fighting the fire. There was sudden screaming of pokemon everywhere – Lenina was yelling out instructions to Cydm, and it was obeying, there were flames everywhere and bursts of elemental attacks, but Lisa realised nothing was being accomplished by the trainers; Lenina was winning because her Cydm was unaffected by their attacks. They needed a new angle …

Fiskmire watergunned the string around Lisa, and the sharp blast of water sliced through the bonds, freeing Lisa. The thick smoke was everywhere, and Lisa dropped to the ground again, coughing.

“Cydm, use Tackle!” cried Lenina from somewhere.

Lisa cringed as there was a huge thud, and a pokemon screamed in intense pain. The Cydm roared with rage, and began slamming the ground everywhere, resulting in the earth vibrating slightly.

“Dodge it, Eevee, Double Team!” squealed Jess from somewhere in the clearing, as the smoke began to subside. Lisa could see Fiskmire before her now, and the ground she was on.

“Charizard, Ember it!” ordered Phil.

There were a few more pokemon’s screams, and a sudden spark of light rushed through the area, dissipating the smoke. Lisa blinked, coughed, and looked around. The Cydm was attacking Gavin’s Lanturn, slamming it into the ground. A Wartortle was wrapped up and also being slammed relentlessly. Lisa could see her pokemon – all three of them – leap with war-cries at Cydm. Maybe they were hoping to overpower it.

“We just have to use our numbers to beat it!” cried Lisa.

“Right!” Gavin answered.

“OK then,” Jess agreed.

All the remaining pokemon that weren’t flattened and knocked out or wrapped up in string charged at the Cydm, while Lenina grinned. “NOW! NOW!” she bellowed, as the pokemon all came at Cydm. It blinked its massive eyes at her and disappeared into thin air – reappearing at her side obediently. As Lisa knew only milliseconds before, the pokemon all crashed into the ground, grazing and bruising themselves. And then, something in her mind clicked.

As the Cydm raged at Dratini, still using Tackle, Lisa realised that Lenina had given them a very big chunk of information – the key of how to beat the Cydm. She had said that it could not use attacks unless ordered around by her. So, if they could first rid of Lenina, Cydm would be easier to defeat.

“Fiskmire!” Lisa yelled to her last fighting pokemon – Dratini was being battered, Elekid was wrapped up and Aipom was nowhere to be seen – “Use Ice Beam … on her!”

Lisa pointed her finger at Lenina, and Fiskmire let out a rapid ball of ice. Lenina leapt aside instinctively, but it barely missed, instead freezing a large lump of ice to the warehouse wall.

“Ignore the Cydm! Aim for Lenina!” barked Lisa.

“How do we ignore it, it’s trying to kill us!” yelled back Andrew, but his pokemon began aiming for Lenina. At the same moment, Jessica’s Eevee was crushed drastically into the gravel, injuring it badly. Jessica looked like she was going to explode, but she remained silent, and walked rigidly towards Lenina, ignoring the attacks firing past her head. She walked directly up to the startled Lenina, and without hesitation;

“YOU …..!” screamed Jessica, kicking Lenina sharply in the shins. Lenina doubled over in pain and moaned, but Jessica was not going to end. Her Eevee had just been hurt badly. The kicking went on for a minute before everybody’s numbed body’s began working again, including Lenina, who slapped out at Jess wildly.

Dust was being kicked up by all the pokemon, who were recovering and scrambling back to their feet to fight, some attacking the Cydm and others going for Lenina, so that there was so much going on, nobody noticed Gavin rubbing his temple, concentrating every particle of energy in his body … and then, feeling that rush of psychic power surging to his brain, flowing through, until …

Lisa felt the beam of azure whoosh past her and rage dead on-course for Lenina. She was so busy countering Jessica’s kicks that she didn’t see it coming, and so the beam of blue hit dead centre.

Lenina’s body went into spasms, and Gavin was glad; not just because he was overpowering the evil woman, but because he had attacked her with the Psychic Power; he had been trying to paralyse her, and from the spasming it semed to have worked. But The Cydm appeared before Lenina, and absorbed the beam at once. Gavin felt the energy flowing out of him, and the beam stopped.

“What was that?” exploded Andrew.

Gavin pointed at Girafarig, who looked surprised. “It was Girafarig. See, do it again Girafarig.” Gavin couldn’t bear to have somebody else know he was psychic. Girafarig looked nervous, but obliged. A beam of azure light shot out of his mouth, and Andrew watched as it hit Cydm, which actually flinched for a moment, before the beam died down. Girafarig looked disappointed, and Andrew nodded curiously. “Right then …”

He and Gavin began ordering the other pokemon’s attacks, not noticing the glow on Girafarig’s tail.

Lisa was watching the attacks on the stupid Cydm from a distance. It would teleport to block any incoming attacks from the pokemon, protecting Lenina always. Lisa couldn’t think of any other way to attack her … suddenly, her eyes fell on Aipom, who was emerging from the long grass. If he could use Swift … Cydm could not block it, as Swift never missed. Aha!

Somewhere, she could hear sirens … police cars, fire engines? They were a fair way away, though, so Lisa put her plan into action and screamed at Aipom across the gravelled clearing. “Aipom, use Super Swift attack – your strongest Swift attack ever! – on Lenina!”

Aipom still booked dazed, and it had picked up the book, but none-the-less, obeyed. He focused on Swift attacking not the Cydm, but Lenina. If he didn’t specifically focus on the Swift hitting her, it would miss.

Golden stars shot out in a long volley from Aipom to Lenina. They were so incredibly bright that they took the attention away from all the other pokemon, and everyone turned and stared at the stars, as they flew whistling through the air, but obediently, the Cydm reared up, looking like it would block the stars, but they flew up over its body and slammed in a relentless trail into Lenina.

She screamed as the stars flew into her body, draining her life just like they drained the power of pokemon. After a minute or two, Lenina’s body dropped to the ground. Nobody was sure if she was dead or just unconscious – it would seem the latter, as Aipom wasn’t a particularly strong pokemon.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief … but there was still the Cydm to deal with. It roared with anger and reared up at the group. Instantly, everyone was snapped out of their ‘trance’ from looking at Lenina. Volleys of fire, water and electricity launched at Cydm, along with purple waves and a very large lavender beam from Girafarig. Somehow, Cydm spat out a ball of acid, which landed directly on Girafarig’s back, sizzling at it’s smooth fur.

“Girafarig!” Gavin cried, rushing over to it. But now he had noticed the soft glowing on its tail, and stared at it suspiciously. “Girafarig, what’s with your tail?”

“Giraa!” bellow Girafarig, glaring at Cydm with fury in its eyes, its back still burning. Just as Jess had called her Wartortle to watergun the acid off, Girafarig squealed out – not in pain, but in fury, and charged at the Cydm. As it ran, the glow spread over its body, and it was a white shadow of light which hammered into the Cydm, knocking it over flat on its bright orange back.

“It’s evolving!” stated Phil excitedly.

“Girafathingys don’t evolve, do they?” asked Andrew in surprise.

“Apparently they do,” Gavin breathed, and they looked on it awe. Girafarig’s shape grew only slightly, but it’s ears grew and shaped considerably and its head-tail shrank a little into itself. The glow receded quickly and before the injured Cydm stood a proud looking pokemon, similar to a Girafarig, with the same colour and patterned fur, and just as cute, but at the same time more mature looking and wiser.

Andrew whipped out a silver device – unmistakeably a pokedex.

“I thought only yuppies had those,” said Lisa bitterly, as words spilled out of the contraption.

“Girafury – the wise Psychic pokemon. It is a matured version of its baby form, Girafarig, and has an advance Psybeam attack, as well as having very special telekinesis and telepathy. Girafury has the speed to rival that of its distant cousin, the Rapidash, and its tail, which before possessed a psychotic and aggressive mind of its own, has become calm and intelligent like the other head, and merged with it, making Girafury twice as smart, however, adding a small amount of physical ability and aggression. The other head disappears, leaving a normal tail.”

Gavin stared at his new Girafury, who looked at him with kind dark eyes. “Gira.” Its ears very pulsated dimly.

“Congrats, Girafury,” began Gavin, but the Cydm wasn’t finished. It reared up as Girafury, who stepped away uneasily. The attacks launched again with minimal talking from the ‘good guys’, but with no orders, Cydm used its one attack that it used without orders – Reflect.

The transparent barrier appeared and shatted straightaway by the attacks, but Lisa had guessed one more thing. Lenina’s created ‘Synthetic’ Slowbro had no idea of secrets or which side to stay on; no loyalty. What would make this thing any different? It could be dangerous if it got into the wrong hands …

Andrew suddenly spoke up, but it sounded like he’d thought it through. “Jessica … recall Cydm to its pokeball!” he called urgently.

Jessica, who was still beside Lenina’s body, called to the thing with a look of deep disgust. “Cydm! Come on, time to go back to your … uh …” Jess turned around to Lenina’s body, where a Ultra Ball lay. Perfect.

“Ultra Ball,” she finished. It complied and in a flash of white returned itself. Everyone looked stunned, and Lisa and Jess grinned at them all.

“Come back to the resort …” said Lisa, a weak, exhausted smile on her face as she bent to the ground and picked up the battered book about Suicune. The last day had been a rush of danger, fear and excitement. Lisa needed a rest.

*

Lisa stroked Aipom’s soft purple fur – for once, it was being calm and peaceful. She looked at the smiling faces around her – Gavin, Andrew, Jess, Phil, Glenys and Ripper. Yesterday had been a very dangerous and exhausting day – after Cydm was recalled the police arrived and apprehended Lenina, everyone had to make statements. Then afetr all the pokemon were healed finally, everyone had been treated to a feast at the hotel resort before a very long sleep.

Lisa didn’t like accepting a free flight back to Ecruteak, because although Glenys and Ripper had a lot of money, she felt it wasn’t fair. Still, they had insisted to pay for all expenses. And what other choice did they have?

As the bus rattled on, Lisa smiled to herself. Everything had turned out alright in the end, really, Lenina was locked up for a long time, but -

“So what happened to the Genetically Engineered Pokemon?” Lisa asked suddenly, pushing her bandana back on properly, it was sliding off a bit.

“Well I heard they were all found at the burning observatory?” replied Andrew quickly, fiddling with a pokeball on his belt.

“Yeah, I heard that too, but I heard the Steelix had died from the fire,” said Gavin, sounding pleased that the evil creature had been killed. Lisa frowned at him – it wasn’t its fault. But still … it would have killed her otherwise.

“Well that’s all fine and well, but what happened to the mega worm of disgustingness?” demanded Jessica furiously.

“Yeah!?” chorused Andrew, Gavin and Lisa. She wondered how she could have overlooked that!

“Its been given to scientists” said Phil suddenly, and all eyes turned to him, but he said no more, just smiled peacefully.

“Oh, I think it should be put down personally,” said Andrew.

“Definitely,” agreed Gavin quickly, but Lisa was quick to contradict.

“It was still a living creature, it had no choice what it was ordered to do!” she cried.

And they argued cheerfuly all the way to the airport terminal.

*

“We will keep in contact, right?” asked Lisa earnestly, staring up at the small TV screen mounted up near the ceiling. The flight was due to leave in about twenty minutes.

Lisa held the Legendary Suicune book under her arm – no longer did she feel even a sliver of guilt. After Lenina was taken to Jail in a city nearby, the blonde librarian ran out to see Lisa and thanked her for putting out the fire, even though it had actually been Gavin and Andrew’s pokemon. At any rate, she thanked the entire group of trainers and offered them any reward. Everyone had taken a money reward – but Lisa remained content. She requested to keep the Suicune book, and they allowed her to. So she did.

Andrew nodded fervently. “Sure … we have your pokegear number, and you have our mobile numbers. We’ll ring you sometime to catch up again.”

“For sure,” chimed in Phil, signing Gavin’s plaster cast.

Jessica shook Lisa’s hand. “Thanks for … well … saving us.”

Lisa shook her hand back. “Thanks for … doing my hair,” she giggled. “And for battling with me. With each other, as well as against Lenina. Glad she’s in jail now. But yeah, thanks for battling with me.”

“Who would have won, do you think?” Jessica asked, brushing a stray strand of chestnut hair from her eyes. Lisa shrugged, and the question remained unanswered.

Gavin was still trying to pay Glenys and Ripper for the flight, but the elderly couple flatly refused.

“It’s the least we can do for you, after your poor buggy being broken down, and you being stranded here, and kidnapped, and nearly killed. You deserve it, Gavin,” insisted Glenys.

“Besides, we’re rich,” said Ripper happily. “We won the lotto, we have all the money we need.”

Gavin shrugged, as Phil finished scribbling a message on his plaster cast. A call over the Gate lounge sounded out.

“ALL passengers on flight EKA07 to Ecruteak City please finish boarding … this is your final boarding call …”

Lisa hoisted her overstuffed backpack onto her back. Gavin picked up his, and Andrew came over to shake his hand. “Seeya Gavin. And sorry I didn’t believe in the legendaries before.”

“You still don’t, do you?” said Gavin slowly.

“Well …” Andrew didn’t say anything more, but his eye twinkled. He shook hands (left hands, because of Gavin’s broken arm) firmly with Gavin.

“Seeya,” replied Gavin finally.

Then, Gavin and Lisa stepped up to the desk at the entrance to the jetway, profusely thanking Glenys and Ripper and promising to see Phil, Jess and Andrew again. They handing their boarding passes to the hostess, who nodded them on and wished them a pleasant flight.

Lisa and Gavin walked quietly down the runway, hand-in-hand.

“I really just can’t wait to get back home,” said Lisa firmly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next up on Lisa the Legend

While Lisa and Gavin have had their own exciting experiences lately, so have some of their friends.

“If I’m one of the first trainers to fight the Elite Four …” Hiro whispered to himself. “It’ll be tomorrow when I win the league!”

Hiro is getting close to his goal …

“Venomoth, Sleep Powder!” yelled Hiro, as Gengar charged it’s arms up with lilac energy.

Of course, Nurse Joy is having her share of problems, too.

“Get in there, go on!” urged Joy, her hair flailing around like a limp Ekans’ body, as she tried to shove a Sandshrew into it’s bed. Beside her, Issechu flapped its icy, scaled wings to stay aloft. “HURRY UP!” she yelled, frustrated.

Evidently, things aren’t exactly rosy behind the scenes.

Joseph’s eyes were filled with annoyance and confusion. His executive rocket – dead. The girl, escaped! And now she knew too much – she would surely recall the situation in Goldenrod now? If not she would now have some evidence that rockets were following her. But did she know why?

And there’s one other enemy left to contend with.

//I can do anything// replied Entei, his words burning with fury and arrogance.

Chapter 30 – Juxtaposition.