Secrets of the Night

DISCLAIMER: I Do NOT own Pokemon!

Chapter 1: Into the Shadows

The encounter...

"Name's Kiba," a guy with long brown messy shoulder-length hair, wearing a green military-type outfit with an open rolled up sleeves top introduced plainly before he gestured to his Hitmonchan that stood behind him. "That's the Champ over there."

"Excuse me for asking," Neo asked in his usual polite manner. "But where are you from, Kiba?"

"Born and raised in Vermillion City," Kiba explained with a proud expression. "I was fighting with wild Pokemon ever since I was three- and I caught my first Pokemon when I was ten!" Kiba laughed at his joke further, adding to the uneasy feeling coming from the trio. "I've been traveling around taking place in tournaments and league battles since I was a kid; now we're just preparing for whatever challenge we find next."

The eventual battle...

Neo took another good look at the unusually colored Drapion to figure out a strategy. But when he did, he was startled by the overall state of the pokemon. Scars littered its body and it was panting somewhat. Neo could hardly believe that Kiba would send a pokemon to battle in that state. Was the guy underestimating him? Or he just didn't care about the pokemon? Recalling the way the Hitmonchan recoiled earlier, Neo expected the worst.

"Your pokemon is not fit to battle," Neo informed, hoping that Kiba would change his mind. If he just made a mistake in taking it out and forgetting the injuries, then it was understandable. "You should take it to a pokemon center. Battle me with one that's fully healed."

"What? Are you talking about the scars?" Kiba asked in surprise. "Heh. He had those when I caught him in Sinnoh. Well... most of them. See, he was an Alpha, or a pack leader when I caught him. Most of those scars are from defending his title as King of the Rock. Only reason he's tired is because he doesn't like to listen when we train. But he will." Scourge's eyes seemed to look back at Kiba as a weak growl seemed to pass its mandibles but it turned its attention towards Neo exhaling once more before releasing a challenging roar at his opponent.

Clash of ideals...

Scourge growled angrily at Kiba before roaring threateningly right in Kiba's face. But the threatening roar suddenly turned into a roar of pain as he was instantly struck by Champ's Thunder Punch. The unexpected and explosive blow shocked Neo and the others as they stared in utter disbelief at what they just witnessed.

"All this time and energy I put into training you and you won't even follow orders!" Kiba threw a look at his Hitmonchan and it responded with another Thunder Punch into the red scorpion's flank, causing it to roar out in pain, once again.

"STOP IT!" Neo left Genbu with Chase and rushed to the Drapion's defense. His heart throbbed in pain but he ignored it. He wasn't going to stand there and watch helplessly. "You can't treat your pokemon like that."

"Lay off. This is none of your business" Kiba brushed them both aside as his Hitmonchan continued to pummel into Scourge. The two could only watch in horror as the boxing pokemon threw down punishing blows. Kiba was unfazed. He stepped towards Neo and spoke up in a sly tone. "I'll let you in on a secret Neo... Anyone with any skill in battling are twice as hard on their pokemon as I am. Do you think any gym leader or Elite Four member will tolerate anything short of perfection on their teams?" He let the notion sink in. "You either get stronger or get out of the way for our betters... Or in Scourge's case, how to follow orders or how to take a hit."

The rematch...

"You really know how to push a guy's buttons, Neo." Kiba shook his head plainly as he fingered his final pokeball idly.

"You can't win. We won't let you," Neo declared as Scourge's fierce screech backed him up.

"That isn't up to you, Neo," Kiba said with a snarl. "Its up to Bane!"

From the pokeball, the shining form of Kiba's Scizor emerged from its pokeball as its red armor seemed to glisten in the lighting along with what could only be a mega stone harnessed to its chest like a plate mail. Bane glared icily as he stood tall and imposing on the battlefield, the surrounding atmosphere plummeting to fear and dread.

"I came prepared after seeing you fight with Scourge in the first match," Kiba said with a vindictive smile on his face. "You can preach all you want about how your bonds keep you strong but just wait until my bond beats your pokemon to death!"

At that last word, the atmosphere in the arena suddenly took a nose-dive as Neo looked on with growing fear. Then those fears came to fruit when Kiba's next few words roared through the arena.

"Bane, Mega Evolve!"

Aftermath...

"I won't accept this!" Kiba protested with a snarl and a balled up fist. "Your over-sized Squirtle isn't even mega evolved! How could he have beaten Bane?! It's not freaking possible!"

They stared at each other for a tense moment before Neo spoke.

"You lack something when you mega evolved your Scizor," he replied calmly, earning an incredulous glare from Kiba. "Mega Evolution is something that is forged through bonds. And those bonds are founded by trust between trainer and pokemon. Without a true bond, you can't draw the full potential of Mega Evolution."

"How would you know?!" Kiba shouted furiously. "You've never Mega evolved your pokemon before."

"I had a good teacher and friends who proved to me that he was right," Neo answered, recalling Gremio's teachings and the battles he faced with Arc and Blaze. With those words, tapped his Blastoise, signalling him to leave. Genbu complied, ignoring the fuming trainer behind them.

"This isn't over, you hear me?! THIS ISN'T OVER!"

Twist of fate...

At the hospital, after Arc and the others headed up the elevator, he ventured further inside and walked up to the receptionist but before he could make it, a tall redheaded woman with a violet-haired kid approached him.

"Heyah~!" The fiery redhead winked with a huge smile on her face. "How're you doing?"

"Out of the way," Kiba said quickly as he and Champ made to follow the others up in the elevator; but the redheaded lady stopped right in front of him, her smile still not leaving her face. "Look lady, I'll give you an autograph later just get out of the way!"

"Aww… That's cute~" The redhead giggled and leaned closer to whisper darkly, "Would that be written in blood?"

At the sound of the woman's words, Kiba immediately tensed up and pushed himself away from her as Champ took a defensive position in front of his trainer, sensing his sudden distress.

"Who are you?" Kiba asked, more curious than scared of the girl before him.

"So jumpy. I'm just teasing." The mysterious female straightened up and stepped forward, unafraid of the boxing pokemon keeping her away from Kiba. "My companion and I…" she gestured to the lithe built boy with the ponytail. "Are merely here to present a proposition."

"My question," Kiba said undeterred by her playfulness and silently cursing himself for not having noticed the boy with her. "Who ARE you?"

"You're really pushy." The woman laughed flirtatiously. "You'll get to know me more in the future. For now, you can call me Leiko." She tilted her head towards her companion. "Over there's Ikari-chan~"

"Ikari." The boy with the purple hair corrected with a calm tone.

"Well, Leiko," Kiba said looking down at the violet haired girl suspiciously. "Exactly, what is it you're trying to propose?"

"Hehehe… You make it sound like I want to marry you," Leiko teased, earning an unamused glare from Kiba. Giggling lightly, she circled around him. "You performed quite well in the tournament. Your battle style was really interesting. We were wondering if you would like to join us."

"My battle style?" Kiba asked confused by Leiko's words. "What the hell are you talking about? Join what?"

Leiko's amber eyes flickered like dangerous flames. "You know what I mean. The way you utilize your pokemon's moves and most importantly, the way you don't care about the lives of others and simply focus on the goal at hand."

"I care about some life," Kiba said defensively as he started pacing around Champ slightly, as if to look at the two at a different angle while allowing one of his cocky grins to cross his face. "And once you wrestle a feral Rhyhorn and live to tell about it, everything else seems pretty simple in comparison."

"Is that so?" Leiko eyed him curiously. "Hmmm… So about the proposal, hubby. You up for it?"

The new beginning...

"So what was this proposition of yours, darling?" Kiba asked, smiling at the word 'darling'.

Leiko giggled. "Now you're just playing with me. Anyway…" Walking away from Ikari, she reached behind her and pulled out two metal rings with blades and red accents. She spun them around skillfully and eyed Kiba's reaction. "What do you think of assassins?"

The test...

As the Darkrai came flying towards Bane the Mega-Scizor took off towards it where it grabbed one of the nightmare pokemons claws, crushing it in its own, and aiming it away from its body. Unfortunately, it was still struck by its freed hand but Bane took the attack without faltering.

"Hyper Beam!"

With an immediate reaction, Bane's free pincer opened up as a controlled blast of energy was launched at Nightmare at close range. Nightmare shifted to the side as the devastating beam shot passed his shoulder, scorching part of his red collar and tearing a portion of the tattered extensions. It didn't faze the Darkrai as much as it should have. Extended his free claw towards the Mega Scizor, Nightmare awaited the signal.

"Dark Void."

A pitch black sphere with glowing purple outline exploded in the middle of the red mantis' chest and formed into a giant black bubble that engulfed them both. Bane's hold on the Darkrai loosened and he fell to the floor with an echoing thud. Nightmare then quietly moved out of the ominous bubble and watched as the form of its opponent disappear in the darkness.

"That's not fair," Kiba argued meaning to sound hard but his voice cracking slightly. "That wasn't a fair fight! You put him to sleep!"

"In a battle, you use whatever you have at your disposal." Ikari then stepped forward, brandishing his black katana as his Darkrai raised his claw, eyes glowing brighter. Translucent tendrils of energy soon seeped from the black sphere and was absorbed by the reaper-like pokemon, healing the damage it sustained from the Mega Scizor. "Nightmare's specialty is just that…"

Kiba stood frozen in place as he watched his Mega-Scizor sleeping soundly and almost peacefully on the ground before the Darkrai. He had spent months perfecting Bane's defense using Sword Dance- but the chances of him fighting a Darkrai and coincidentally knowing the one move that couldn't be blocked was too much for him to fear.

Point of no return...

After Leiko sent out her Cloyster again, they Teleported away, disappearing from sight and leaving Kiba to ponder on the encounter.

Kiba looked at the spot where they vanished before turning towards the burning red sky. Since he was a young child he had fought with pokemon growing up as a means for survival and thought that he knew everything there was to staying alive, but after meeting those 'assassins' he realized that he didn't know anything in comparison to them.

He walked over to his sleeping Scizor and took a seat next to it, trying to think of some way that they could counter the Dark Void attack. Sword Dance wouldn't deflect it and short of ripping off the Darkrai's arms there'd be no way of keeping it from using the attack. The only way Kiba could think of a way to even stand a chance was if he had a Pokemon that couldn't fall asleep, or at the very least could fight while sleeping.

Pulling out a mini encyclopedia of pokemon he kept on his person he started reading the traits and abilities of specific pokemon and circled several of them promising to somehow catch at least one of these pokemon knowing that he would be forced to fight Ikari and his Darkrai again. Returning Bane to his pokeball, he looked up to the Champ who was looking down at his trainer worriedly.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked the boxing pokemon.

"Chan…" Champ said worriedly as he took a seat besides his trainer.

"Yeah I know, but we'll figure something out. We always do."

Behind the front...

As they made their way to Semira, Leiko laid on the back of the Wailord and trailed the path of the stars with a finger. "Master Tristan just has an eye for people. He thinks you're… interesting."

"Huh," Kiba said plainly, unsure if being special in this case was a good or a bad thing. He decided that it would just be something he'd have to wait and see. "Well a deal's a deal; anything you want to ask me?"

The redhead rolled over so she could lie on her belly. "What do you think makes you interesting?" She asked in a teasing tone, her legs swaying back in forth in the air.

"Me?" Kiba asked surprised by the question. "I don't think I'm interesting at all. I never stay in one place for more than a few weeks. I sleep outside when I can, away from the cities, and I do whatever I have to to survive… it's been like that for most of my life," he added almost quietly.

Strength and fortitude...

"You up for a climb to test your new strengths?" Kiba looked to his Nidorino as they stood in front of a huge wall of rock.

Tyrant shook in excitement as Kiba touched the stone to the Nidorino's horn. Instantly a bright light surrounded the Nidorino and the moon stone as Tyrant grew in size within the evolutionary glow as he became taller and thicker standing a good foot taller than Kiba. When the light finally settled the Nidoking roared with power as it looked down to its trainer gratefully.

"That was for what happened in Sinnoh," Kiba said apologetically as Tyrant growled, remembering the encounter. "Don't worry, we'll have our revenge. But for now- we climb."

A softer side...

"Is there something I can help you with?" Kiba asked the Noibat exhaustedly as the pokemon flew around him playfully.

The Noibat continued to do as it pleased but after a few rounds, the fuzzy bat chirped and landed on Kiba's head where it let out a screechy purr. Given that evening breeze was chilling, the flying purple ball seemed to have decided that it was the warmest place to rest. That, or it was purposely doing it to troll Semira's newest arrival.

"Well, as long as you're having fun." Kiba sighed, deciding to leave the pokemon alone for the moment.

Fears...

"How about you rest for the night? We'll talk more later in the future."

Lord Tristan concluded and then with a wave of his hand, a Beheeyem floated from behind his seat in a greenish glow and floated over to Kiba who flinched at the sight of the Psychic pokemon and reflexively took a step back, a motion that wasn't missed by the Black Scythe commander.

"Aren't fond of psychic-types, are we?"

New allies...

"It's important that you work on his guard but at that size he's better off avoiding an attack rather than trying to block it. If he fails he hurts himself and the opponent gains an advantage. If you dodge and get in close you'll be able to inflict some heavy damage before your opponent can retaliate. Thus the disadvantage of larger Pokemon," Kiba advised the young teen in the dojo after stepping in to inquire about weapons.

"Seems like you know a thing or two about fighting." The teen shifted to a more relaxed stance. "Honestly, Ryu and I have got speed and flexibility covered. We're working on endurance and close range. My father has a Lucario and he's very well trained in each aspect." The Riolu nodded in agreement with a proud smile.

"I'm not surprised," Kiba said looking back to the trainer. "Lucario are some of the strongest fighting types out there- even if they are weak to their own kind. But even the sturdiest pokemon can be whittled down over time. An agile pokemon that can't get hit can't fall down."

"True. But one has to be prepared. You don't know how strong your next opponent is gonna be. A real fighter has to be prepared for any opponent." The black-haired teen patted his pokemon affectionately. "That means Ryu and I will just have to get stronger every day."

A small smile formed on Kiba's lips at the kids words as he remembered his purpose for coming to the dojo in the first place. He then explained why he had come to the dojo to the boy and his Riolu and asked if he knew someone who could help him.

"So you're looking for one of these?" Corbin, as he had introduced during their conversation, gestured to the brown leather armbands that he wore. "If you want, I have a few extra pairs lying around."

"Are they leather as well?" Kiba asked surprised at the boys generosity.

"I have various pairs depending on the situation. For training, I simply use Bouffalant hide. It's lighter and durable. For hard hitters, I've got Steelix encrusted ones, Haxorus and Garchomp scaled. If you're looking for defensive, I've got Bastiodon hide and Aggron. Got any preference?"

Kiba thought about how he fought and, considering how most of the people he had met already carried blades around with them he put that into consideration as he thought of a design. "I'd like something that could be used as a weapon: sharp and precise for the finger tips but strong and sturdy if I need to fend off an attack from blades. But at the same time it needs to be flexible to work with… that'd probably be a custom order though wouldn't it?"

"Hmmm…" Corbin hummed thoughtfully. "You can upgrades later on but we can maybe get the base gauntlet first... So Haxorus it is?"

Interference...

Kiba approached the boy and was immediately snarled at by the shiny Flygon which he ignored with a roll of his eyes, now used to other people's pokemon disliking him on sight. "I do have one piece of advice for you though- Aeron, isn't it?"

The boy narrowed his silver eyes as he stared at Kiba observantly. "...What?"

"From what I can tell in my whole 18 hours of being on Semira I've learned that, for whatever reason, a few people of power find you interesting." Stretching up so his mouth was by Aeron's ear he added in a stern whisper, "So if you're going to have your pokemon deliver messages to and from people, you may want to tell him not to fall asleep on someones shoulder. A dishonest person may decide to take advantage of his trusting nature." Kiba returned to the ground with a smile looking up at Aeron's look of annoyance on his face as he added in a cheery tone, "Just my advice anyways- do with it what you will."

"And my advice to you… Mind your own business," Aeron answered back with restrained agitation as his Noibat lowered its ears apologetically. With an inward sigh, he placed a hand on Noir's head, settling him down while keeping his stare focused on the older boy.

"Temper. Temper," Kiba scolded playfully. "Otherwise I may let my intrest get the better of me. Anyways, I'll see you around Aeron; thanks for your help today Noir, I appreciate it."

With his final words, Kiba turned around and walked back towards his awaiting Mandibuzz as he was no doubt aware of the silver eyed teen staring at him angrily. When he mounted on the vulture-like pokemon, he suddenly found the bird not wanting to take off.

Aeron, on his Flygon hovering overhead, looked down on him. "Good luck walking, " he said up and with that he took off.

Treading dangerous waters...

"I have a job for you."

After he was alone, Kiba sent out his Scizor and approached it, promptly removing the mega-stone armor from its body much to the crimson mantis' confusion.

"There is a boy," Kiba whispered so quietly that Bane himself could barely hear him standing directly in front of him. "With black hair and silver eyes who should be flying a shiny Flygon and have a purple bat like thing on his shoulder. He's supposed to meet with our… new friend," Kiba declared unsure of what to address Tristan as. He took the armor and mega stone and stored them inside his bag. "They're supposed to be meeting near a fortress in the center of the island built into a mountain. Listen to what they're saying and report back; do not be seen."

Understanding his mission Bane raised one of his pincers and made several tapping sounds like Morse Code on a tree beside him as he looked to Kiba expectantly.

"No- don't try to kill them if you're found out, I don't know if you could anyways on your own. If you do get caught act like a wild and get out of there." Bane nodded solemnly before making several more tapping sounds before disappearing into the tree tops. Waiting a few more moments after his disappearance Kiba grabbed Tyrant's pokeball and sent him out. "Now to see what you're made of," Kiba said with a smile as his Nidoking growled readily.

Confrontation...

After Bane returned to Kiba's room and reported the events that transpired at the Main Fortress, concerning the assassin lord and the silver-eyed boy. Kiba took in the info and concluded that they should stay low to avoid getting found out, however.

"Such a curious one, aren't we?" A dark chuckle reverberated through the room, causing Kiba and his two pokemon to jolt and take defensive positions. "Yet very resourceful... it's not everyday you see a pokemon use Morse Code." The sound of footfalls bounced off the walls. "But I do have to question your escape tactics." A hum. "A pokemon only capable of evolving through human intervention, using a TM move like Hyper Beam, not to mention using Sword Dance in a manner to deflect a move... well. Its pretty obvious, don't you think?"

Kiba stood cautiously behind his Hitmonchan and Scizor as the leader of the Black Scythe assassins ventured further towards the center of the room with a Banette and Beheeyem floating behind him. Kiba could only guess that they teleported into the room using the psychic pokemon's power.

"I..." Kiba tried to speak but otherwise was tongue tied from the situation.

"Honestly, you should have used a more stealthy pokemon, one that hasn't been seen in the tournament. Afterwards,your Scizor could have just translated."

"Yes, because a Nidoking hiding in a tree isn't conspicuous at all," Kiba said finally finding his voice and regretting his choice of words.

The lord of the tower chuckled in amusement at the humor. "That aside, on to more pressing matters..." He stared at Kiba expectantly through his round shades, awaiting an explanation for his actions. "Well?"

A little friend...

After leaving the main office and heading back to his room with the caged Noibat, Kiba approached and looked at the panicked pokemon. "Look calm down, alright? Someone with a sword is going to come in here and try to shut us up when you wake them up."

Noir snorted and then let out a Screech attack, forcing Kiba and his pokemon to shield their ears as the glass panel windows cracked. He then relented and huffed exhaustedly.

"Look I can see you're upset," Kiba said trying to calm down the tired pokemon. "And I'm sure you're worried about Aeron, right?"

Noir lowered his head and abruptly struck the bars with another Steel Wing, but like before the metal was unbreakable.

"Look, I'll make you a deal alright? Once Aeron wakes up I'll take you to him myself, that way he can recapture you and everything is back to normal. Deal?"

Pains of the past...

Kiba laid his head tiredly on the bed but due to the tenseness in the air and the knowledge that something was about to happen soon, he found it difficult to sleep or even keep his eyes closed.

With a sigh Kiba sat up in his futon and looked over to Champ, a small smile formed on the trainer's lips. "Times like this make you miss Melody, huh Champ?" He said trying to change the thoughts in his head.

The Hitmonchan answered in agreement as the boxing pokemon took a seat next to his trainer. Bane rested on the other side of the room but he was listening intently to his trainer's words.

"I loved that one song she used to play in the evenings; it was so peaceful and relaxing. Made sleeping easier too." Kiba looked over to Champ and smiled as he ruffled the boxing pokemon's head gently. "We lost some friends that day didn't we? I know it's hard to talk about it but..." The Hitmonchan smiled to his trainer as he put his gloved hand on his chest endearingly.

A whimper sounded from the cage as the purple bat's form sunk deeper into the pillow. Noir shifted once again but this time he rolled over and his large golden eyes peered through the dim lighting, slightly narrowed with a sign of cautiousness but there was a glint of interest in his eyes from the mentioned pokemon.

"It's just... I should have known better," Kiba said in part to his Pokemon and in part to himself. "We'd heard Drapions were powerful, and had staked a claim to that desert in Sinnoh, but when had we ever backed away from a challenge?"

His Hitmonchan nodded in agreement while Bane's eyes suddenly opened as he listened intently to his trainer.

"We hunted in that desert in Sinnoh for almost two weeks before we found that Drapion colony- dozens of em, all fighting to be the leader of the pack." Kiba sighed as his two Pokemon looked at him sadly, knowing where the story was going from there. With intrigue, Noir inched closer to listen better.

"And then we found the Alpha."

He relayed the story of how they encountered the shiny Drapion in the middle of the desert and how he had tragically lost his three pokemon; a Kricketune, an Electabuzz and a Rhydon to that merciless pokemon.

"If Bane hadn't been with us we all could have died that day," Kiba said solemnly as the room went quiet. "You guys, Tyrant and Arrow are all I have left. Electabuzz and Rhydon were too poisoned to move on their own and Arrow couldn't get us to the Pokemon Center in time. Then there was Melody..." Kiba had grown silent as he relived the memory and scowled at the thought of Scourge. "He nearly killed us all and we're the monsters. I hope Neo realized what he has now; a blood thirsty killer."

Eventful night...

"No time for explanations, hubby!" Leiko grabbed his forearm and bolted out the door and through the hallway, heading further downstairs. "Mass evacuation. Just think of it as a Fire Drill."

The walls and floor once again shook violently, knocking the two into a wall. Recovering quickly, Leiko jerked Kiba up and continued to head further down the floors. Other residents were also rushing down the hall, some escaping through the open window where they were carried off by their flying pokemon.

"I am never letting Arrow out of my sight again!" Kiba complained as he watched the others flying off away from the crumbling tower.

Just as soon as they reached another stairway, the wall in front of them exploded, flinging broken pieces of wood and metal into the air. Leiko reacted quickly, grabbing Kiba and pushing him to the floor seconds before a massive green tail swiped the stairway, decimating it entirely.

"Talk about your second night, huh?" Leiko chided between breaths as she wiped the dust from her face.

"Are you alright?" Kiba asked Leiko while checking on Noir who was still firmly gripping his hair with his claws.

"I'm tough as a Bastiodon, hubby~" Leiko winked as she stood up and peered through the large gaping hole. A Hydreigon hovered nearby with a familiar brunette with a cold stare and a white haired lolita on its back. "Great timing!" Leiko grinned as the seemingly most mature of the three females shot a groan. Turning towards Kiba, Leiko yelled at him."Hurry up!" With that she jumped on the dark dragon.

Not bothering to worry about if the Hydreigon could support all the weight, Kiba lept onto the dragon's back while keeping a supportive hand on Noir to keep him from falling. "Let's get out of here before that giant tail comes back!"

"Yay! Kiddie ride with Leiko-nee's hubby~" The smallest female threw her arms around the boy, threatening him to fall off the Hydreigon.

"Leave him alone, Alice!" Leiko scolded, grabbing them both and prying the two apart, shaking their ride in the process.

"ALL OF YOU JUST SHUT UP AND SIT STILL! BEFORE I PERSONALLY THROW YOU OVERBOARD!" The brunette yelled furiously as she steered the Hydreigon through the air, away from the tower and past the chunks of debris that were falling all around.

Alice pouted quietly on her side while Kiba instinctively held on to Leiko's arm as he looked back at the black tower that now had a massive green serpent-like dragon coiled around it.

"Holy Arceus- is that a Rayquaza?!" Kiba shouted in shock.

"Apparently, one of the former heads decided to stick around longer than planned," the brunette deadpanned.

"The one night I let my guard down and a legendary monster nearly kills us! From now on, I'm back to sleeping in the woods!"

Companions...

"Awake now, hubby?" Leiko's head emerged from the opposite side of the large tree. Her gaze wandered down and she giggled amusingly at the sight of the pokemon. "Seems you found yourself a blanket for the night. And quite a rarity too. Not many Slakoths are seen around these parts. Must've wandered off from its hiding place during the commotion."

"A Slakoth, huh?" Kiba asked with a tinge of excitement as he looked down at the sleeping form on his chest. Reaching into his pants pockets he reached for one of the two empty pokeballs he still had as he took the shrunken capsule out and had it expand with a click of the trigger. Before Leiko could question him, he bumped the pokeball onto the Slakoth's head as it was surrounded in a bright light and taken into the pokeball where it started shaking. After three shakes, the light died down and a ping sounded, indicating the successful capture.

"What's with the Slakoth? You've grown fond of the blanket?" Leiko asked, eyeing the now inhabited capsule.

"With time I'm sure I will," Kiba said as he released the Slakoth to rest beside him, hanging on the branches. "Slakoth evolve into Vigoroth, right? And Vigoroth don't ever sleep. Once this little fella evolves and I've trained him, I'm going to have a few words with your junior Ikari and see how he fares in a fair fight."

"Found quite the rivalry, I see." Leiko giggled and then yawned. "If only a Vigoroth's energy is contagious… the squabble ended sometime after sunrise. Bellatrix's Mismagius is scoping the damage. It'll be back soon with news."

"What'll we do in the mean time?" Kiba asked as the furry Slakoth suddenly leapt back onto his chest where it wrapped its arms around Kiba's neck.

"Dunno about you, but I wanna catch some more Zs," Leiko answered and climbed further up the tree where she then leaned on her side against the thick tree trunk.

"Hey wait, have you seen the Noibat anywhere?" Kiba asked worriedly. "I haven't seen him anywhere."

"That oversized Zubat?" Leiko opened an eye and answered sleepily, "I think it flew off a few hours ago. It was heading towards the pagoda. Why? Was it that important?"

Instead of getting an answer, Leiko heard a thump hitting the ground. As she leaned over the branches to see what had fallen, she was surprised to see Kiba running towards the Shadow Pagoda with the Slakoth wrapped around his bare back.

Temporary circumstances...

Noir watched them enviously before once again looking to the Sky, waiting for Aeron to come for him. Unconsciously, he fingered his collar and tapped the white round stone with the tip of his claw.

Noticing Noir's expression, Kiba disengaged from Arrow and sat back down to look the Noibat in the eyes. "Don't worry bud we'll find him, and in the mean time you can bunk with us... Unless you've got somewhere better to go." He added with a playful smile.

Noir looked far into the east before he fluttered off the stump and perched on the free space on Kiba's head that was no longer occupied by the Slakoth. Kiba smiled before reaching for the pokeball that Slakoth had nailed Leiko with and held it up for Noir.

"I wouldn't want anyone to accidentally catch you before we find Aeron, so for safety reasons how about you let me catch you? I won't even keep you in the ball," Kiba offered.

The Noibat looked at the capsule warily. Shaking with doubt and hesitation, he stopped to consider what it meant. Aeron would be upset, no doubt but it was a temporary precaution. If it was anyone else, would they return him to his rightful partner? Bracing himself, Noir shut his eyes tight and bumped the pokeball. His form materialized into red matter and he was engulfed into the capsule.

After shaking three times and hearing a ding, Kiba tossed the pokeball back into the air as Noir flapped in the sky momentarily before plopping back onto his head while Kiba pocketed the ball.

"And that's that," he said with a smile as he returned his Slakoth, who was still sleeping on his shoulder, to his pokeball. He then walked back to the pagoda to help with the clean up.

Bonds between warriors...

"We all have different circumstances. My dad's from Humilau City. I grew up there with him in his fighting dojo until my mom suddenly came. She works here in Semira and since I was old enough, she asked if I would live with her. And so, here I am." Corbin stood up after making sure his Luxio wasn't going to attack. "It's been a few years since then and I can't say I didn't choose wrongly."

"You ever want to go back?" Kiba asked curiously.

"I do. I miss my dad and the guys at the dojo," Corbin answered as he looked up at the radiant blue sky, his black dreadlocks billowing in the passing breeze. "But here, there are plenty of fighters. Strong ones, the head included. When I go back, I want to hold my head high and show my father that I'm just as strong as them, perhaps even more. That way, I'll show the world just how good a fighter I am and how great teachers my parents are."

Kiba could tell that Corbin felt strongly about what he was talking about and he admired that, but upon hearing that he was doing it for his parents Kiba felt a twinge of regret and anger deep within him as his head hurt slightly deep in his mind. The onslaught of feelings Kiba was feeling was not missed by the young martial artist.

"Hey, you okay?" Corbin asked as he took a seat on the ground, back leaning against the massive rock. "Wanna sit for a while?"

"Yeah... Sure," Kiba replied as he brought a hand to his head as it began to pulse as he sat down beside Corbin, Noir and Wrath watching Kiba worriedly. "Sorry... Old scars, I guess."

"It's not like I have stuff to do. Ryu and I have been meaning to take a break." Corbin ushered his Luxio to his lap as his Riolu sat beside him. "I'm all ears if you want to share."

"Not really," Kiba admitted with a sigh. "It's just something I have to deal with, a part of life for me I guess."

"It's not good to bottle things up, that's what my dad always said. Negative energy is bad for the body. It only builds over time and blocks the passage for the rest of the positive energy to flow throughout the body," Corbin said, thinking back on his father's teachings with his Lucario.

"Yeah well I'm the exception to that rule then," Kiba said tensely. It wasn't aimed at Corbin but merely from his condition. "If I don't bottle it up I go psycho and lose myself, and it's not easy getting back under control."

"Your inner demons are that bad?" Corbin looked at him observantly. "But I still think dad was right. The more you keep the bad stuff in, the stronger they will be. Soon enough, they'll overpower you and it'll be even harder to control them in the end."

Kiba sighed and looked down at Corbin objectively trying to decide if he was someone he wanted to open up to. Looking away from the younger man, he absently rubbed Wrath's back who, at sometime, crawled into his lap as he closed his eyes consideringly.

"My parents were both psychics," Kiba explained as he continued to look away from Corbin. "They were employed in the Saffron Gym in Kanto for awhile before moving to Vermilion after they were married. My mother married my father because she loved him at the time. My dad married her because of her bloodline- powerful psychics for the last several generations. He wanted to marry into that and create a more powerful line of psychics. Instead, they had me."

"I reckon you're not the psychic-type, huh?" Corbin tried to alleviate the conversation.

"Can't so much as bend a spoon," Kiba said with a small smile. "My mother didn't care, she even went back to Saffron's fighting Dojo to get me a Tyrogue for my tenth birthday. I was happy the way I was but... Daddy dearest had other plans."

At that tone, Corbin fell silent but continued to listen well.

"They started off as 'nature walks', walks in the most serene areas that other psychics would go to for meditation. He insisted that I had the power, dormant he called it, and vowed to bring it out. At first I just wanted to make him happy. Then he started to get rougher with the lessons."

Corbin didn't want to imagine what they could be. By the way Kiba was saying it, it was nothing but bad to say the least. "Didn't your mother have anything to say?"

"She didn't know at first," Kiba said plainly, but his hand shook out of Corbin's sight. "By the time it was bad enough there was nothing she could do. He had gone too far- he was desperate to make a psychic out of me. So he had his Hypno put me into deep hypnotic trances and messed with my mind when I was unconscious. It didn't do much at first, but then it started to hurt and I complained that I wanted to stop. He told me he'd stop when I wasn't such a failure. For two years, he did this and soon I was dependent on the hypnotic trances to keep the pain from destroying me. When my mother found out..." Kiba was silent as his arm shook and Noir and Wrath were looking up at him worriedly.

Corbin was having trouble taking it all in. He was rather fortunate when he looked back at his own circumstances. Taking a deep breath, he asked the dreaded question. "What happened?"

Kiba was silent for a few minutes before answering as his body continued to shake involuntarily. "She tried to stop him," he said quietly. "Her Starmie and Scyther against his Hypno and Magmar. She was a stronger psychic but he had stronger pokemon. I was entranced and couldn't do anything- I didn't even realize what was happening. I just sat there as they fought outside. I don't know how long they fought but my mother... She never came back into the house. He came back in with his Hypno and one of my mother's pokeballs and kept trying to awaken dormant power that wasn't there. When my mind finally had had enough I snapped- I went into a wild rage that even he couldn't have predicted. I nearly killed him on my own before I was knocked out. When I awoke, I was at the old power plant near Cerulean City, I was lucky to have my Tyrogue at the time and Arrow followed my father when he abandoned me there. If it wasn't for them I would have died for sure. And that was without the sporadic mental breakdowns."

"From then on, you've been on your own? I mean you and your pokemon," Corbin concluded with a quiet tone.

"No," Kiba said quietly. "An old codger found me sometime after I was abandoned, he brought me to his home and did his best to treat me medically. When he figured out my mind was in tatters he had his Natu erect a psychic barrier to keep me sane. Forced all of the experiences my dad put me through on the other side to protect and save the rest of my mind. It worked for awhile, and I even recovered after a while... But then I learned later on that the effects can still be 'triggered'."

"Triggered?" Corbin looked at him with concern.

"The barrier isn't as stable as it was before, it was tampered with a few years after I left the codger's house. When a psychic or a psychic pokemon tries to pry into my mind the barrier can leak. The same thing can happen if I lose my temper, which happens... Periodically. When the barrier leaks the rage and pain from the other side takes over- and I can't even control myself until it's run its course."

Corbin pondered thoughtfully. "Maybe a psychic's power isn't the solution…"

Kiba looked down at him quizzically as he gestured for him to continue with his train of thought.

Corbin looked to his side, earning a surprised look from his Riolu. "I'm no aura master but maybe, just maybe Ryu's kind can help," he said with a tinge of optimism as the blue jackal pointed at himself in disbelief. "If we can use aura to somehow purge all the remnants of the psychic-type's powers, then there would be no need for a barrier to hold all that stuff back. We can just get rid of it all together."

"I already tried that," Kiba said disgruntled. "I went all the way to Johto for a former ghost gym leader to have his Pokemon Dream Eater the crap away. Apparently, I made his Gengar sick and he said there was nothing he could do. And Ghosts are supposed to be strong against psychic abilities- anyone trying to use Aura would immediately be at a disadvantage."

"You won't know if we don't try!" Corbin stood up, jolting the Luxio who scrambled back to its feet just as the boy's Riolu joined him in his stand. "But first…" Corbin turned to his first partner. "There's not much we can do if you're still a Riolu, Ryu." The blue and black dog gave a huff as the Luxio snickered.

Kiba stared in awe at Corbin and his Riolu and asked what he thought was an obvious question. "Why are you so intent on this? You barely even know me and now you want to try and remove something that's been cursing me for almost a decade. Why help me?"

Corbin stared at him back. "Why not? Besides, Ryu and I are always up for a challenge." The Riolu punched the air in determination. "And when all this is over, maybe I can ask Master Ragnorr to have you reassigned," he added.

Kiba was shocked by Corbin's statement and was brought out of his thinking by a squawk from Arrow who gestured towards the two as if Kiba was an idiot for not agreeing with them. Kiba was frozen for a few seconds before standing up and walking away. Before Corbin could respond however, he was met by a flash of bright light as he was suddenly met by a massive Nidoking staring him and Ryu down.

"I'm not much of an optimist about being switched from my division," Kiba stated as he looked back to Corbin as Noir and Wrath went to watch by Arrow who were joined by the Luxio and the Braviary. "But if we're going to get that Riolu the juice it needs to evolve we're going to have to take the lead out. No holding back!"

At that, Corbin grinned widely and nodded before flipping back and grabbing a new set of gauntlets, his Riolu following stead and standing readily in front of him. After sliding on his light Skarmory gloves, his Riolu placed his paws together and Corbin used him as a springboard to launch into the air while his partner bore underneath the solid rock.

"If we're gonna battle, you're gonna have to join in." Corbin flipped overhead of the Nidoking and rolled out of the way of its swinging tail before charging at Kiba. "It's customary as Warriors of Semira."

Moving forward...

The light faded and a Vigoroth now stood in place of a Slakoth.

Kiba and Corbin both watched in surprise, having expected it to have been Ryu who had evolved and stood baffled as the Slakoth was replaced by a Vigoroth. Kiba looked at his Pokemon with an ecstatic smile while Corbin also looked at him impressed as well. Ryu, however, was not amused.

Wrath looked at his claws again. And found himself bounding in place, unable to stop moving. Looking to the Riolu with a more threatening looking grin, Wrath seemed to laugh at his new form as he danced in place.

The Riolu's face grew red with frustration. If he thought the Slakoth's lazy look was annoying, the Vigoroth was plain-out mocking him this time. With fists shining brilliantly, he charged in with Bullet Punch.

Catching the motion of his opponent, the Vigoroth stopped dancing and avoided the attacks with its newly enhanced speed and launched its own series of Bullet Punches into Ryu's chest before grabbing his tail, as Wrath's body once again coated in pink light, and brought him to the ground with a hard thud. The Vigoroth screeched excitedly as it danced again, no longer suffering from the need to rest after every attack.

Ryu groaned and accepted his faith on the cold hard ground. Corbin also ended his battle with Kiba with neither one emerging as the absolute victor, even though Corbin walked away with less bruises than Kiba did. Making his way over to the sprawled out blue and black jackal, the Corbin picked his partner off the ground and patted his head fondly.

"Better luck next time, buddy." He then flexed his wrists and turned to Kiba who was praising his now energetic Vigoroth.

"Great Wrath! Now the real training begins! Ikari better watch his back now!"

"That was a great fight." Corbin extended to shake hands with Kiba. "And congratulations on your pokemon's evolution. Too bad it wasn't Ryu's though."

"Well, if it was that easy it would have been a big motivational speech for nothing," Kiba joked as he took Corbin's hand and shook it tiredly. "And thanks."

The two shared pleasantries at Corbin's house whilst further discussing the matter. The first biggest hurdle was making the Riolu evolve. According to Corbin's mom, their kind evolve through bonds and happiness. And for Ryu, the thing that would make him happy was for his partner to get a girl but Corbin was too nervous around them, hence the obstruction.

Kiba chuckled as he agreed to meet with Corbin tomorrow, also thinking about his friend's girl situation. He'd have to do something to help about that. After bidding goodbye and thanking his newfound friend and ally, Kiba mounted on his Fearow and headed back to the western side of the island where he met up with Leiko and got lectured by an angry Bellatrix.

It wasn't all that bad, considering what Kiba had accomplished during the day. He got himself a temporary safe house, Wrath evolved into a Vigoroth and he had a chance to heal over a decade's worth of negative psychic build up within his mind. All in all, it was his first great day on Semira.

End of Chapter 1

Here is a small recap of Kiba's character before he takes the spotlight and gets his own story. A spin-off of Secrets of the Night. There will be violence, angst and romance. There are also highly suggestive scenes but we're making sure to stay borderline.

And I mean 'we' cause this is a collab between me and Dead Bones Sam.

Hope you like it. XD