The Rainbow Gang
Chapter 3 - A Hero's Welcome
By Mega Raichu

The two brothers stared in disbelief, their previous argument forgotten, at their older brother who now stood in the doorway. The older Raichu entered the room and took a seat in the room and looked over to his two younger siblings with a warm smile. Pikachu and Raichu sat down as Pikachu opened the conversation.

"Brother. We missed you." Pikachu said.

"Of course. I missed you all too." The older brother said.

"Where were you big brother?" The younger raichu asked.

"Yes. Where did you go?" Pikachu asked.

Raichu leaned back in his chair and looked up to the ceiling.

"I went on a most fantastic journey. I traveled all over Kanto, I saw the Orange Islands, and I even journeyed all over Johto." The older Raichu said. "In fact, while I was in Johto, I found something very interesting."

"What did you find?" Pikachu asked.

"I found a gateway to another world." The older brother said.

The two younger siblings leaned forward as their older brother started his story.

Standing outside the exit of the Ice Path, Raichu stared at a sign that read "Welcome To Blackthorn City". The skies then opened up and the rain fell, soaking him to the bone. Raichu walked around town a bit before finding refuge in a large, secluded cave on the other side of a lake. He had heard that this cave was home to many dragon type pokémon. He walked a ways away from the entrance to the cave and approached a large body of water that seemed to be almost the entire floor of the cave. Suddenly, from a short distance ahead of him three objects shot out of the water. Raichu stepped back to give himself room if he needed to fight. He looked at the three objects hovering just above the water and recognized them instantly as three dragonairs.

"Intruder." The first dragonair said aloud.

"It's an electric type." The second said.

"Just a raichu. Nothing to worry about." The third said.

Raichu stood in silence, not knowing what to say. The first dragonair approached him. Raichu held his ground. The dragonair hovered around him, inspecting him. It then rejoined the other two.

"The raichu is no threat to us." The first said.

"Why are you here?" The second asked.

Raichu stood, for the first time in his life, at a loss for words. He had never actually stood face to face with dragons before.

"Well?" The third asked. "Is there a reason you have trespassed here?"

Raichu cleared his throat before he spoke.

"I apologize for intruding, but I came here seeking refuge from the storm." Raichu said.

"Who are you?" The first dragonair asked, eyeing him curiously.

"I am Raichu. Former boss of the Electric gang of Lavender town, in Kanto."

The second dragonair sighed audibly.

"A gang Pokémon." It said while shaking its head.

"So uncivilized." The third said in the same tone. "Always warring."

The first did not respond to the other two's comments.

"We were told of your arrival. We've been expecting you." The first said after a short silence.

"Told by who?" Raichu inquired.

"Are you sure it's him?" The second dragonair asked.

"That's what they said." The first responded.

"But they never said he'd be a 'gang' Pokémon." The third said, with a slight, unpleasant, emphasis on the word "gang".

"Because they knew that we'd never accept if they told us that he's in a gang." The first said, glaring at the third.

The third shrunk down, chagrined.

"Who is 'they', if I may ask?" Raichu asked, his curiosity peaked.

"Two Pokémon that you know quite well." The first said.

"Actually, you know them through your youngest brother." The second replied.

"You don't mean... Mew and Serebii, do you?" Raichu asked anxiously.

"The very same." The first responded.

"But what did they ask you to do?" Raichu asked, his curiosity showing clear through.

The three dragonairs did not answer, but instead began to fly around in a circle. As they flew, a funnel formed in the water underneath them. The funnel rose up to become column of water. The column then began to bend and stretch until it took the shape of a perfectly round disc. The disc moved towards the edge of the lake so that Raichu could approach it. The dragonairs stopped flying around and approached Raichu and the disc.

"This is a gift from Mew and Serebii, for your help in saving the world from Mewtwo." The first said.

"What do I do with it?" Raichu asked, making no effort to hide his curiosity.

"They know how much you like adventure and the quest for knowledge." The second said.

"This is a gateway to another world, one that is very different than our own." The third said.

"What kind of world is it?" Raichu asked excitedly.

"We don't know." The first responded.

"All we know, is that it is a parallel universe to our own Earth." The second said.

"We don't know what you will encounter." The third said. "All we can guarantee is that it will work."

Raichu stared at the disc. It seemed very thin and transparent. He wasn't sure if it would work, but if what the dragonairs said was true, then he was sure that he would be safe. Mew and Serebii wouldn't steer him wrong, would they? He gathered himself and stepped into the gateway. There was a sudden flash of light. Raichu closed his eyes as to not be blinded by the light. He felt his entire body become enveloped in water. The water started at his feet and worked its way up his body. Once it reached the top of his head, he blacked out.

Raichu woke up in a small grassy area next to a small body of water. He looked around at his unfamiliar surroundings. It all seemed normal to him. Grass under his feet, clear water in the pool next to him, and a few trees scattered around. He looked and saw a city in the distance. He could make out several high rise buildings and a large dome structure. Suddenly there was a rustling behind him.

"Hey! Here's one boss!" A man's voice shouted.

Two men with rifles were approaching him. Raichu backed off.

"Hot damn. That's the biggest nutria I ever did see, I guarantee!" The man with the rifle said.

Another man came up behind the man with the rifle.

"Well what are ya waitin' for boy? Shoot it!" The other man said.

Raichu wasn't sure what a nutria was, but apparently they though he was one. Raichu turned and bolted.

"Look at 'im run! Shoot boy! Shoot!" The other man said.

The man with the rifle took aim and fired his gun. The bullet struck the ground next to Raichu as he ran. Raichu took cover in some bushes. Another shot rang out and struck the ground next to Raichu. He bolted from the bush and hid behind a tree.

"Why would these humans be trying to kill me?" Raichu asked himself.

He knew that he was in a fight for his life, and he had to defend himself.

"He went over there! Behind that tree!" One of the men shouted.

A shot rang out and struck the tree. Raichu resisted the urge to run.

"We got 'im cornered now!" The other man shouted.

Once Raichu heard their footsteps in the grass, he turned to face them. He began to charge himself with electricity. The two men stopped dead in their tracks. They looked like they had never seen a raichu charging for an attack. The man with the rifle dropped his gun as Raichu let loose with a thunderwave attack. The electricity struck both men on their chests, throwing them back a ways. Raichu went over to inspect them. They were both paralyzed. Without another word, Raichu turned and ran towards the city.

"Boss?" The rifleman asked.

"Yeah?" The boss responded.

"Are nutria supposed to do that?"

"I don't think so, but that was the darndest thing I've ever seen."

Raichu ran alongside a large four lane highway. He had seen many of these before in his lifetime. He followed the highway into the city. The city was really large. The buildings were overwhelming and the sounds were deafening to his sensitive ears. There were so many cars speeding by and a lot of people walking around. Raichu looked to see if one of them was a pokémon trainer, but none of the people even noticed him, and no one even carried pokéballs. Raichu walked around, hoping to find a pokémon center, but he couldn't find one. Raichu walked along, hoping to find someone, anyone, who could help him, but no one seemed to care. Raichu sat down in a small park. He then heard a radio broadcast.

"Two New Orleans police officers were found today in a state of temporary paralysis." The voice on the radio said. "The only explanation they could give was that a nutria hit them with a lightning bolt."

The voice on the radio chuckled.

"This is why you don't do drugs, kids." The radio announcer said.

Raichu stood and walked around for a bit. He attempted to cross a street, but a car sped by, honking its horn. Raichu ran into a nearby alley. Through an open window, he could hear a television.

"Could you explain, exactly what had happened, officers?" A voice asked.

"Well, we saw this big ol' nutria." Raichu recognized the voice of the rifleman.

"It didn't look like a nutria though." Raichu also recognized the voice of the boss.

"Some kinda mouse, I guess."

"Yeah a mouse. A great big one. Anyway, it hit us with some kinda lightning bolt."

"So you're saying an 'electric mouse' attacked you?" The first voice asked.

"Yeah, something like that." The rifleman said.

Without listening to the rest of the interview, Raichu ran off and found himself in a larger park. Some large green cars passed by in the middle of a large road. He paid it no mind as he walked on, wishing that he could go home. He approached a small fountain and stared at his reflection in the water. Suddenly, one of the dragonairs appeared over his reflection.

"Want to come back now?" The dragonair asked.

"If it's at all possible." Raichu responded. "I'm quite tired of this place now."

"Alright then." The dragonair responded, and then disappeared.

The water in the fountain then formed a funnel, which became a column, which became the gateway. Raichu quickly leapt into the gateway. The water enveloped his body once again and he blacked out. When he woke up, he was on the outskirts of Lavender town.

"I still don't understand why you left in the first place." Pikachu said.

"Does it really matter?" The younger Raichu said.

"I left because you are in charge. I'm too old to be bothering with the gangs anymore." The older Raichu said.

"But I... we need you here!" Pikachu said. "You're important to us."

"And the kids look up to you." The younger Raichu said. "You're family."

"Alright. If it means that much to you, then I'll stick around." Raichu said. "But I'll get up and leave again if I don't like how things are going."

"Deal!" Pikachu said, happily.

"This could pose to be a small problem." The voice in Pikachu's voice said in a quiet tone.

"What do you mean?" Pikachu thought.

"Oh, nothing." The voice responded, then remained silent.

Pikachu had an uneasy feeling that something was wrong. But he put the feeling aside as he turned his attention to more important things. A letter was delivered to him while Raichu was telling his story. Pikachu now opened it. All that was written on it was "A Boss council has been called". Pikachu knew only too well what that meant. He had to appear in council with the other bosses of the gangs.

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