The Fate of Big Red (ficlet)

The Fate of Big Red
One-shot Nuzlocke ficlet by Saikou/jollyGreninja
Content warnings:
· Pokémon Death
· Petrel's face reminds me of Costanza which I'm sure might bother someone

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	When Alice first laid eyes on the sparkling, crimson-scaled Gyarados in the midst of an outrage that stormy evening in the middle of the Lake of Rage, she knew she had to catch it. With only a meager supply of Great Balls, she and her Ampharos Osiris ended up weakening it just enough to catch it safely and quickly. From that moment she felt it was her destiny to work together with the newly-christened Big Red and dominate the tail end of the Johto League in glorious style.
	Now, though, things were looking grim for her new friend. After receiving a call from Ethan that Rockets had been spotted swarming Goldenrod City, she worked her way up the taken-over Radio Tower only to discover Petrel, a high-ranking Rocket Admin, waiting for her at the top. Tossing off his disguise – matching the appearance she was told to look out for, the Director of the Radio Tower – he challenged her to a battle immediately. Big Red made quick work of his first two Pokémon, summoning torrential waves of water that totally ruined the Koffing as well as the Director's office in collateral damage. Grumbling angrily, Petrel opted to bring in the big guns now, the star of his team – Weezing.
	Weezing coughed and groaned its name sickly as it was sent out in a blinding flash of red light. Big Red was quick to act on Alice's command, throwing out another devastating Surf attack sent crashing down on the ball of poison gas. It only barely managed to hang on by the skin of its teeth, and it spat a thick black Smokescreen that filled the room quickly, inhibiting the vision of all involved.
	“Finish it, Red!” Alice called. “Use Bite!” Big Red roared in agreement and went charging headfirst through the smoke, aiming as best it could through the obstructive cloud. She heard a loud slam on the other side of the room and pumped her fist in the air, sure that they'd come out victorious. Shortly after, though, a beam of light broke through the smokescreen accompanied by a high-pitched whine, and Alice only registered too late what was about to happen. Seconds later, a humongous blast rocked the foundation of the Tower and sent Alice to the floor with a shockwave. The smoke, too, was blasted away – as it cleared, Alice saw the charred husk of Weezing off to one side, and next to it lay Big Red, barely moving and writhing in pain whenever it did.
	“Red!” Alice cried. She rushed over to her fallen comrade, whose eyes were shut tight bracing against the pain. Its brilliant scarlet scales were tarnished now, charred black by smoke and brimstone, and they moved weakly as the Gyarados drew fast, shallow breaths. Tears welled up in her eyes; her plans were ruined. The two of them would not go on to conquer the League; her poor foresight had lead to their partnership being cut painfully short. Petrel reached for his next Poké Ball, and Big Red anticlimactically drew his last breath, slumped over against the wall. Caught between tears and rage, she recalled her partner for the last time and threw out Osiris, who had proven trustworthy before. “Osiris! Fry this son of a bitch!” she shouted through her tears.
	And so he did. Sensing his trainer's grief, the Ampharos put all the effort he could into the remainder of the battle, aiming each strike of Thunder carefully and hitting his mark every time. Petrel, unable to remain smug pinned against the wall by a raging teenage girl, panicked and promised his surrender, offering valuable information in a desperate attempt to calm her for his own safety. After she was satisfied enough with her lead, she tossed the Rocket Executive to the ground roughly and stormed away, clutching her departed friend's Great Ball tight.


	“Hello again, Alice!” Despite her cheery greeting, the nurse quickly lost her trained pep when she saw the look on her client's face. “Is everything alright?”
	“Another casualty,” she muttered, keeping her eyes to the floor. “My Gyarados. Could you send it through, please.” Having calmed down from her fury, she was left feeling tired and emotionally drained.
	“Certainly,” the nurse replied somberly. “I'm very sorry for your loss.” She only received some sort of vaguely pained noise in return as she set a black seal on the ball and placed it delicately in a transporter to be moved to the Lavender Town Cemetery in Kanto. “It's all set. If you ever get the chance to visit Kanto, you'll find a grave for each of your departed Pokémon there.” Silent but for a soft sniffle, Alice slid forward a tray containing her remaining five balls for her to heal.
	“Of course, dear,” she said in an almost-motherly tone. “Please, take a seat. I'll take care of them for you lickety-split. If you'd like to have a chat with me when I'm finished, I can go on break and talk it out with you if you want.”
	“It's fine,” Alice replied stoically. “I... I-I'm used to it by now...” Without another word, she left her team with the nurse and took a seat in the Pokémon Center waiting room, sobbing quietly into her backpack.