Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.
I took some, ahem, liberties with the aspects of certain substances; err, you'll see…
When Gonzap had given Wes that offer to fight alongside each other, Wes had hesitated as if wondering what would happen if he said 'yes'.
However, it had only been a moment's hesitation.
"You know me better than that," he said smiling casually, "Some chicks may like bad boys, but everyone loves the anti-hero. What girl wouldn't want a gallant prince of thieves redeeming himself of his evil doing in his own charming and most likely illicit way?"
Rui inwardly giggled, so Wes did remember that comment she had made.
Gonzap smirked, "Humph. I figured you'd say something like that. But that doesn't matter anymore. There's no going back for you now." He stepped out of the way of the elevator, "Get going."
Wes smirked, "No going back, eh?" With that he turned with the intention of heading back down the stairs.
"Oi, where're you going, kid?"
Wes looked over his shoulder from where he stood at the top of the steps, "To heal, and to train. I'm not a fool, it may not have seemed it, but your Pokémon are powerful, I may not have won on a different day."
"Yeah, whatever, modesty doesn't suit you, boy, so don't try and make it. The only reason you had so much trouble is because you were tryin' to pinch my Skarmory."
Wes gave him a crooked smile, "It worked, didn't it?"
"I suppose you're right."
"I'm always right." Wes said as he started down the stairs.
Gonzap shook his head, "Same old Wes, some things never change. Still the best Snagger the world over, a born thief."
Rui shot a glance towards Gonzap at the man's words before beginning after Wes.
However, she was stopped before she could, "Hey, missy,"
She turned, "Yes?"
"I know it crossed through ya mind at least once, about when Wes blew up the hideout and wiped us out. Well, you see, he'd lured us all out trying to chase him down; made a big show of stealing the Snag Machine. He's a damn good thief and bomb placer, and a filthy traitor too, but that's about all he is." Gonzap crossed his arms, "That and a boyfriend apparently."
Rui blushed, "W-What?"
But Gonzap merely continued, "The reason I'm tellin' ya this is because he probably wouldn't have gotten as strong as he is without you. I may resent the little shit to hell for what he did but I'll be damned if he turned out to be a wimp afterwards." With that, he left, leaving a rather confused Rui in his wake.
"Rui!" Wes called from the bottom of the stairs as he hauled out a guy with spikey red hair out of the room he was just in by the collar, "You coming?"
Rui smiled, "Of course."
"Hey man, could you let me go? I got somewhere to be."
"Like where?" Wes said releasing him.
"The Colosseum, idiot, there's a special event and there's a discount on seats; though I might not have enough now that you took half my money, asshole."
"There wasn't a lot to begin with." Wes said shrugging.
"And now I have even less."
"What special event?" Rui cut-in—interrupting the boys' bickering—as she stopped at the bottom of the steps.
The redhead—who Rui recognized as being of the Chaser Trainer class—scoffed, "Like I'd tell you. Later, losers." With that, he hurried into the elevator.
The two tried to go after him but it was too late, the elevator was gone and so was their only transportation down.
They looked at each other, "Well, I guess our only option is to continue on." Wes said.
"I guess so."
They ascended back up the stairs and stopped in front of the elevator.
Rui took a deep breath and turned to him. "You ready for this?"
"I'm always ready." Wes answered confidently before they both stepped onto the elevator.
— — — — — — —
When the elevator opened, it was to a packed Colosseum arena. So filled, in fact, from what could be seen, sheer excitement wasn't the only reason the crowd was on its feet—all the seats had been removed to make way for more attendants of the event.
"What kept you, Wes? I worried perhaps Gonzap had beaten you." It was Nascour's voice over a loudspeaker, "The time has come for you to pay off some debts. We'll have you battle as payment towards the huge losses you inflicted on us."
So this was the 'special event' the Chaser was talking about.
This also meant all these people were Cipher supporters, if not members of Cipher themselves.
"I expect to see spectacular battling out of you. After all, you're here to entertain!" Nascour let out a laugh that reminded Rui of how, the more she encountered him, the more he seemed to display an underlying air of madness. It was becoming increasingly obvious the man was more than a little crazed.
Their first opponent was one of those female Bodybuilders that were frankly disturbing and Rui saw the slightest of cringes Wes gave at the sight of the woman.
The woman sent out two Pokémon, a Zangoose and a Miltank.
Rui's eyes widened, "Wes! That Miltank's a Shadow Pokémon!"
Wes gave a sideways smirk, "So that's his game." He withdrew two Poké Balls from where he kept them attached to his belt behind his waist—so they wouldn't get stolen or fall off when he was riding his motorcycle.
Wes threw the Poké Balls out, releasing Flygon and Mantine onto the field, and the battle began.
Rui was initially worried about the Miltank—she'd heard rumors of a very powerful one in a distant region—but she needn't have been concerned, Wes was having no trouble at all.
Rui had first noticed when she had watched him fight at Phenac City Stadium—Wes looked so much in his element when he battled.
However, Pyrite Colosseum was where he really shined.
Calls of encouragement from the Stadium's visitors was all well and good, but it was the cheers and jeers from the Colosseum's crowd that brought out that special zeal and excitement in Wes. In his opinion, the Phenac's clean, pale stone had nothing on the rusted metal floor of Pyrite. To him, the elegant strikes and graceful dodges could never compare to the sharp feints, the smooth evades that slid into brutal counterattacks, and the small thrill of getting away with pulling a dirty trick.
Even when he was knocked back by an unexpected blow, both he and his Pokémon grin just as wide as the opponent before responding with tenfold the strength of the foe's hit. The unpredictability was one of the things so great about the Colosseum.
Anywhere else, sending out a Cleffa means Pound or Doubleslap.
At the Colosseum, sending out a Cleffa means using Metronome to give the opponent devastating burns by means of Sacred Fire.
Though most would be uneasy that their traveling companion was more at home in a shady thug town than a peaceful oasis, Rui didn't care—Wes was her gallant prince after all.
Wes withdrew an Ultra Ball from his bag, shaking his bag slightly for good luck like he always did.
He captured the Miltank on the first try.
It was fairly easy from then on; Wes breezed through the next three challengers, capturing their Shadow Pokémon along the way.
Rust, dust, dirt, and grime weren't the only places that he thrived.
Though they had to use a few Full Restores as they went along for they were given no chance to heal between matches. However, right after the fourth defeated opponent disappeared down the elevator; Wes's Poké Balls momentarily glowed in the tell-tale sign of the Pokémon within being completely healed, just like after a Colosseum or Mt. Battle fight.
Wes and Rui did not have time to ponder this occurrence before their attention was drawn elsewhere.
They looked around in puzzlement as the crowd suddenly started cheering a single name in unison.
It took a moment to identify but it soon became apparent, "Nascour! Nascour!" They all chanted as one voice, "Nascour! Nascour!"
The reason for their sudden change from the previous great blend of many various cheers made itself known somewhat quickly.
Or rather, made himself known.
"Bravo! Bravo! Well done!" Nascour said as he entered onto the battlefield. Wes narrowed his eyes at him and Nascour stopped a small distance away from the two—a distance Wes knew well—before continuing, "Why not become a Cipher show-battle trainer? Would you even consider it?"
The thought flashed through Wes's mind that yes, he would gladly consider it—if it was anyone but Cipher or Snagem offering.
"I'll vouch that you will become a top star in no time. It wouldn't be long at all before it is your name that the crowds are cheering."
Rui could feel that undertone of madness of his becoming more pronounced and sure enough, "…I wouldn't have minded making that proposition, but I'm afraid I'm not that bighearted."
Slight unease crept into the teens' minds, both thinking of how his words hinted at Gonzap's earlier actions.
"I will destroy you in battle right now. You will know the humiliation of total domination before this crowd!"
Wes smirked and began to reach for his Poké Balls, "My name will echo through these stands far sooner than you think. I stomped the competition that came before you; you can't be that much harder."
But while Wes had fallen into his battle mode, Rui had her reservations, Nascour's words were disconcerting and they caused the hairs on the back of her neck to prickle.
To disgrace Wes in front of a packed stadium of witnesses had been Nascour's intention all along.
What's more, the madness she sensed before that had once laid under the surface like a snake poised to strike now thoroughly soaked his words.
He casually tossed out his Pokémon and the sounds of the hundreds—perhaps thousands—of people seemed to have become muted to Wes and Rui as the battle captured their full attention and they appeared to hear nothing else.
The Pokémon Nascour had thrown out were a Gardevoir and a Walrein.
— — — — — — —
He had vastly underestimated him, his entire party had been taken out without even bringing one of his opponent's opening Pokémon down with them.
As Umbreon stumbled and collapsed, retreating back into his Poké Ball, Wes too fell to his knees.
Was this what all the trainers he'd beaten had felt like? Was that why they all looked like they'd been dealt a physical blow?
It couldn't be; sometimes they were smiling from the rush of battle and what he felt was worse than any external force could cause.
He felt a pair of hands wrap around each of his upper arms and was pulled roughly to his feet.
He struggled as the men holding him dragged him towards where Nascour had originally entered the arena, leading to a downward flight of stairs that Nascour was now smirking at him from where he waited at the top of them.
Wes's attempts to break free increased with the new vigor brought on by the hatred he felt for Nascour.
"Hey, come quietly unless you want your girlfriend to get hurt." The men holding his right arm said roughly.
Wes turned his head around to see Rui being pushed forward by a woman from what looked like the Hunter Trainer class who held Rui's arms behind her back.
"Tch," He turned back around, "bastards." He said under his breath as they were lead down the steps.
"Now watch your language." Nascour mockingly chastised, earning a glare from Wes.
Rui watched Wes worriedly as the stairs leveled out into a hallway; though this seemed to make her subconsciously walk slower as she was given a sharp push, "Pick up the pace, girly."
"Careful with the lady."
The Hunter nodded, "Right, my apologies sir."
Rui glared at Nascour, who gave a pleasant smirk in return.
The hallway ended in a door that opened when Nascour approached it. He stepped inside and stopped in the middle of the room before turning around to face them.
The woman shoved Rui forward into the room, causing her to stumble, but she managed to remain standing.
The men restraining Wes, however, practically threw him to the ground, causing him to land harshly on his knees as the door closed behind them.
Wes saw two feet enter his vision before he felt fingers entwine themselves in his hair and force his head up to look into the red demon-like eyes of Nascour.
"My, my, my, how the mighty have fallen. But you know, my dear Wes," Wes flinched at the use of his name; he knew he should fight back, Nascour stood in a relaxed position, left arm hanging loosely by his side—he was the picture of a man expecting no resistance—however, Wes didn't feel like he was able to do so.
Nascour continued, "this is where you belong, at the feet of all those stronger than you. The strength of Cipher is far beyond your understanding. Well, I suppose that's not so true now." Wes winced when the grip on his hair tightened and his head had been tilted up more, "Nevertheless, Cipher may still have use for you yet."
It was then that Nascour's head snapped sharply to the side.
Not lowering her hand, Rui glared acidly at him and said with uncharacteristic hatred, "Get away from him, you scum."
Nascour let out the smallest of smiles as he slowly turned his head back, all while a hand-shaped mark was becoming more and more pronounced on his cheek.
He took the wrist of her lifted arm in a gentle but inescapable grip with his left hand and brought it to his lips to place a light kiss on the inside of her wrist.
Rui tried to dig her nails into the underside of his chin, attempting to pierce where his head met his neck, with any luck, scratching his throat.
However, it was not meant to be as he pulled away before she could do so.
That's when she noticed where his fingers touched her skin, indigo powder the same exact shade as the material covering his hands had been left on her.
As her focus suddenly began to drift in and out, she realized with dread what was happening.
Nascour had coated his left hand with Sleep Powder.
As she lost consciousness, she fell to the ground; however Wes almost wished Rui had collapsed onto the metal floor—it would have been more preferable than Nascour catching her around the waist to keep her from doing so.
Wes gritted his teeth in a snarl and was going to stand up and maim the bastard when he found that he couldn't move anything from below the neck.
"Funny, isn't it?" Nascour began, "The effect Stun Spore Powder has on a human being." Wes's eyes widened, Nascour really had planned on winning, had intended on doing all of this from the very beginning. Why else had Nascour entered that arena with Stun Spore and Sleep Powder on his hands—for he had not left their presence since—unless he had been absolutely sure of his victory and had planned on doing exactly this to Wes and Rui when they lost?
Nascour chuckled softly at Wes's look of realization before continuing, "Everywhere but one of six major areas that it is applied to is paralyzed. I touch your torso and you can't bend your elbow or move your fingers, but you can still lift your arm up and down as it is attached to your shoulder. Just a theoretical example, of course—Ein always liked to experiment on misbehaving subordinates and he told me all about this discovery of his; unfortunately his underlings learn fast and I've never had a chance to see for myself."
Wes always got that kind of vibe from Ein, his annoying little peons that kept dropping from the damn ceiling of the Shadow Pokémon Lab always did seem to be just a little bit too eager to please that creepy guy.
"But the time has finally come for me to witness it in practice. You're the one experiencing it though, so why don't you show me if you can break free in any way? Perhaps some incentive will really motivate you to test the full strength of the effects." Nascour removed his hand from Wes and brought Rui's unconscious form closer to himself and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, "Tell me, are you in love with this very beautiful girl?" Wes paled. "I wonder, what that beauty would look like tarnished, hmm?" he finished, turning his head to give a small smirk down towards Wes.
"Get away from her, you scum!" Wes growled.
Nascour chuckled, "How you phrase your demands is even the same, though your insults are a bit lacking in creativity." He mocked, "Oh, I almost forgot," he knelt down next to Wes, letting Rui fall from his arm. He pulled the Snag Machine off of Wes's shoulder and wrist, uncurling it from the teen's arm and fitting it on his own.
Wes felt like a part of him had been ripped away.
Smirking, Nascour turned his attention back onto the glowering Wes. "You probably won't be needing these anymore now, will you?" he reached behind Wes to open the flap of Wes's bag that covered the pocket that contained his Poké Balls. Extracting them, Nascour rolled them between his fingers, "Only one of each, and here I thought you had an infinite supply. Though a Master Ball, you did come prepared it seems."
Wes sneered, "Trade secret; now are you quite done fondling my Balls?"
Nascour gave him a patronizing smile, "Not quite yet." He said, acknowledging the petty insult, as he reached back around Wes with his free hand. Nascour leaned in to say softly in Wes's ear, "I believe there are six prime candidates for a new Shadow Pokémon program." He stood, the Poké Balls of Wes's beaten team held casually in his hand.
And as Nascour walked past him and out the door, the façade crumbled and Wes truly understood the feeling of defeat.
I began writing this after, much like Wes, having steam-rolled the guys leading up to the Nascour battle, only for him to lay me out. In fact, there is a little bit of meta in here in reference to the Infinite Poké Ball Glitch and my own battle with him—like the Pokémon used in the final battle and the fact my Umbreon was the last to go down too—among other things.
However, because I started this story before winning the Nascour battle, I hadn't known how much of a sub he was to Evice. Nonetheless, I still think he's a creeper and finished the story with that theme despite winning the game before the fic was complete. Why? Because, except for the 'It wouldn't be long at all before it is your name that the crowds are cheering.' line I tagged on, every single creeper-ish word he spoke before the battle—including the ones said over the loudspeaker—was taken directly from the game—I checked, double-checked, and cross-checked to ensure absolute accuracy; except changing 'GONZAP' to 'Gonzap' and 'CIPHER' to 'Cipher', everything is exactly the same as in the game.
Oh, and that trainer Wes pulled out was Chaser Rugen, a Non-Shadow Pokémon Trainer, from the room with the healing machine located near the elevator you initially arrived in, next to the stairs leading up to where you battle Gonzap. Also you'll just have to take my word for it/dredge up those faded memories about the being a female Hunter class as it's not on the wiki.