To say that the Illex Forest was creepy was definitely an understatement. Even during the brightest and hottest days of summer, the interior of the forest still remained dark and cool, all in thanks to the plentiful, lush foliage that made up the area. Though despite how innocent trees and bushes could be, the Illex Forest was a place more insidiously sinister than the Lake of Rage. It's twisting, scattered paths could put a maze to shame and the tricks that the deep shadows played could drive even a Gengar insane with fear and anxiety. And its high canopy, thick enough to completely restrict a quick, winged escape, was definitely of no help.
So to say that the Illex Forest at night was creepy… Well, what sort of statement was that? Eyes shut tightly and hands clasped together, as in prayer, at her chest, Otomé tried not to dwell on that useless mystery. Yes, the Illex Forest was a scary place, with its dark, baleful shadows, twisted by what little moonlight there was into scary shapes… With those echoing, scary sounds… It was so quiet, as if she were the only living thing now… So quiet…
"Quag?"
"Aiyeeeeeee!" The teenager screeched in a frighten manner, snapping her eyes open and trying to jump back from the creature—surely sinister!—who had addressed her. But her foot found unstable purchase on a slick, mossy rock and as a result, she lost her balance and ended up sprawled out on the roots of a tall tree, the bag she had had slung over one shoulder slipping free of her grasp and landing no more than a foot to her left (thankfully, it stayed closed). In concern, a light blue Quagsire waddled over and peered down at her.
"Quag?"
Shaking off her minute daze, Otomé stared up at the creature's beady, ebony eyes. "Oh… It's just you, Umi…" She concluded with a frown, unmoving for another moment before wearily pulling herself up into a sitting, cross-legged position. In a slightly defeated manner she sighed heavily and hung her head. "Oh Umi, I hate this forest. It creeps me out so much. Next time I see that Nightmare, I'm really gonna make him pay for this!" With a sympathy that bordered on pity, the Quagsire patted the girl's shoulder with a flipper-like hand.
"Sire…"
Still with her head bowed, the teenager slowly regained her feet and proceeded to brush the damp moss and dirt from her legs and backside before retrieving her normal-sized bag with another, though softer, sigh. After a thoughtful pause, she looked down at her Quagsire, who now stood beside her with its head cocked at an angle. "Well…," the girl began. "At least he didn't follow us here. By Suicune's spots, what a nightmare, no pun intended, it would be if the shadows weren't as harmless as they should be…."
"Qua… Si…." As best as it could, the Water/Ground-Type frowned. Giving her companion a pat on the head, Otomé regained a characteristic grin. "But let's get out of here as quick as we can," she suggested as she finally continued walking. "This place creeps me out more than blondie's grin did." Instinctively squeaking, the water creature waddled clumsily in an effort to keep the distance between it and its apparent mistress from growing any larger.
Unlike most, the resounding scream that reached his ears did not startle him. No, it didn't even faze him, nor strike up concern within him. Many years ago had he become completely desensitized to such shrieks. Slowly, he opened his eyes, sweeping his gaze to and fro below him to see if he could locate the source of the scream. In the severe lack of light, his eyes were almost a perfect black. The slender form such stunning eyes belonged to was crouched expertly upon a rather wide branch of one of the many trees that lined the single path that led to the Azalea Town entrance of the Illex Forest. Though he was hidden still a fair distance away from the only way out, he still had seen a decent amount of people pass. Fools. The lot of them; Coming into a forest that seemed to be known for causing disappearances that no one questioned… Bad for them, but delightful for him. If only Hoenn had had a place in which he could kill and the victim's absence would not looked into so deeply, if at all.
A soft growling from below, from the darkness that lay beyond the seemingly safe path, brought him from is viciously cruel thoughts. Gleaming, emerald eyes were staring straight up at him. "Hush you!" He hissed in a tone no louder than a whisper. "It was hard enough finding a hiding place big enough for your bulk! Don't make my work go to waste by giving yourself away!" When those same eyes rolled in defiance at him, he quickly snapped a thick twig from a near-by branch and took care to aim before throwing. The cloaked creature growled when the twig hit it right between the eyes.
"Be quiet!" He ordered again, more firmly this time. "Or else someone might hear you!"
"I hate this forest. I hate this forest. I hate this forest. I hate this forest…" He instantly froze when he picked up on the second voice, his breathing slowing greatly in an effort to minimize the chances of being discovered. Dark eyes transfixed on the end of the path further from the exit (or entrance. Whichever), he didn't have to wait long until the next potential prey appeared in sight, strolling casually but gingerly along the grassless route with a Quagsire at her side. Despite all the branches obscuring his gaze, he managed to get a decent look at her as she walked.
Like everyone else had, she paid no heed to the canopy above her, instead focused on the approaching exit in a tunnel-minded-like manner. Her oblivion to the danger above only caused a small grin to tug at the corners of his mouth. Foolish girl… Really! Was all of Johto so silly and naïve? He would've left Hoenn sooner, had he known things would be so easy!
But as much as he hated to admit it, the girl was somewhat pretty, in an innocent way. Her hair, the surrounding darkness not withstanding, was a vivid shade of blue—a shade reminiscent of the sky—and clasped into two Ponyta-tails, one each behind her ears. Though it was a strange hairstyle. Instead of falling down along her back, the Ponyta-tails curved up and outward from their bases, each one a good twelve inches long at the least. How the girl had managed this gravity-defying hairstyle was beyond him, but obviously it must have taken a great amount of the strongest hair gel.
Her hair aside, the girl seemed pretty normal. Late teens, maybe? With an indigo blue tank top that had some sort of star on the chest, faded jean shorts rolled up at the hems, and a pair of unimpressive running shoes. She probably didn't have many valuables on her, if any at all. Though bounty was simply an added bonus. He didn't need a reason, much less a valid one, to kill, especially when that voice in the back of his head bade him to. His grin slowly widening, a familiar growl abruptly brought him back from the plans of how he would murder the girl below. With disdain, he watched as the same growl brought said girl to a halt as well and silently he cursed. Stupid dragon. Why couldn't it just keep its mouth shut? Now they'd probably be discovered!
No, wait… He wouldn't be discovered. He was high up from the ground, well hidden in the shadows of the trees, while that dumb beast was down on the forest floor, mere meet away from the frighten-looking teenager. And while his dragon may unwittingly betray him, the night, the darkness, would not. It never had and it never would.
"Umi, what was that?!" In a slight panic poorly-disguised with calm, Otomé glanced around quickly, once again clutching her hands to her chest. Sure, there were all kinds of Pokémon in the Illex Forest—mostly birds and insects, though—but she was certain that none of them could growl so viciously like that.
"Quag!" The Wooper Evolute answered boldly as it waddled to stand before its mistress in a brave attempt to protect her from whatever might lie beyond. The figure above rolled his eyes at such a display. Well fine. They'd just die together. In a manner best to prevent drawing attention to himself, he leaned over the branch he was positioned on and as the duo below occupied themselves with wondering aloud, he murmured sarcastically to his beast, "Nice job… Since this is YOUR fault, YOU get to take care of it. Kill them both." Another growl, this time louder as there was no point to staying quiet any longer, was his answer. Fearfully, the teenager on the path squeaked.
"Ihatethisforest. Ihatethisforest. Ihatethisforest. Ihatethisforest. Ihatethisforest," she repeated over and over to herself in a chant-like fashion and almost jumped out of her skin when the bushes and trees a few feet ahead and to the left of the path began to rustle almost violently. "Eeeeeeee!!" Her frightened screech died away when the massive, azure beast lumbered from its hiding place and onto the path before them, turning slowly to face the two with a menacing glare and bared fangs. Such a look elected another scream from her. "By Suicune's spots, what is that?!" If only she had one of those PokéDex things! But only Professor Oak of Kanto gave those out and even then only to trainers who managed to make a remarkable impression on him.
Luckily, she could tell almost right away that the behemoth before her was a Dragon-Type. It would be shameful if she, all of people, was not able to recognize that spicy, dusty scent that was so characteristic of dragons. But it was a dragon she had never seen before… It was completely light blue, save for its underbelly and lower jaw, which were an off-white, and its throat and axe-shaped wings, which were both an orange-ish red. Eyebrow-like eye ridges were also this same red shade. And protruding from the sides of its head were fin-like spikes.
Unfortunately, while the blue-haired girl was distracted by her terrified awe, the beast used the lowered defenses to attack, rearing up slightly to spit a long column of flame at the duo. With battle-driven reflexes, while its mistress still had yet to register the Flamethrower, the Quagsire sprang into action and warded off the scorching assault with a huge wall of translucent white that sparkled; Protect. Having been snapped back her wits by the counter, Otomé was already rummaging around in the bag for the rest of her team. "I have no idea what you are, but I'll turn you into a dragon popsicle if you insist on getting in my way! I've got to get to Blackthorn as fast as I can or you will be the least of my worries!" Such brave words for someone who seemed to be afraid of the darkness. Though much to her surprise, such words only provoked the blue beast further.
"Sire!" Her Pokémon's startled cry brought her to attention once more.
"What is it, Um-" She silenced herself immediately when she caught sight of the small flames now beginning to take home in the fauna around. The Protect had not dissipated the fire on contact, but rather shielded against it and forced it in a different direction. "Gah! The forest! Umi! Bub-"
"'Blackthorn'?" A dully voice from above interjected before she could finish giving the command. There was another rustle, this time bringing the girl's eyes to a branch placed at the side of the path and nearly twice her height up. The meager light was dim, but she could still make out a form. "Now what would someone like you have to do in Blackthorn?"
With indignance, she shot back tartly, "I'm Otomé Yumé OF Blackthorn City and I've been summoned. If I don't make it back as soon as I can, I'll be murdered by Gymleader Clair!"
"'Otomé'?" The voice—she could tell it was masculine—echoed again in a bored tone. "Perhaps I'll remember that name… Perhaps I won't… But I'm afraid you have a bigger problem on your hands than being murdered…" Almost as an afterthought, he added, "By a Gymleader, anyway."
Annoyed and frightened but refusing to show the latter, she pulled a minimized Luxury Ball from her bag. "Fine! If you and your overgrown lizard won't get out of my way, I'll have Miho prove I wasn't kidding about the popsicle remark!" With a frown, she restored the ball to its appropriate size and hurled it at the fearsome dragon before her, the creature batting it away with a powerful swipe. The sphere hit a tree to the right of them and cracked open, almost as if broken, but once a crimson beam of light had escaped from it, the ball resealed itself and dropped harmlessly to the mossy ground. The light, now free from its constraint, shot up and arced above the dragon's head, slamming into the ground a few feet away before it and instantaneously beginning to take on shape.
Thickening and elongating, it was mere seconds before the light dimmed to leave a massive, snake-like creature in its place. A good two-thirds of the new beast was a light tan color, the last third patterned in the fashion of blue and red stained glass and ending in a fan-like fin. It was more huge than the dragon; at least twenty feet in length, most of its body folded into a coil to permit it to fit into the small space that was the tree-lined path. At this sight, he narrowed his dark eyes.
A Milotic! How had she gotten a hold of such a rare creature? He had seen almost no Hoennian Pokémon since arriving in Johto and it seemed only foreigners carried them. Regardless of how she obtained such a prize, he had to be more wary now. He had doubted that that puny Quagsire knew any Ice-Type attacks, much less strong ones, but the Milotic was now a different story. It was quite capable of learning the art of summoning and controlling a deadly Blizzard.
"Overconfident, are we?" He remarked in an arrogant manner as he stood on his branch and carelessly jumped down, landing perfectly on both feet without being forced down by momentum too much. Straightening, he was now standing beside his beast, the ever growing fires around them illuminating him. And as much as Otomé hated to admit it, he was somewhat cute. The complete black that he wore contrasted almost violently with his pale skin, but it matched so well with his dark eyes. His hair was an odd silver and spiked, and it was hard to tell his height, as that dragon of his made him look small. But surely, he was not much older than her!
"I doubt you'll defeat me, no matter what you do," he stated with an arrogant confidence that provoked her further. "If you're from Blackthorn, I'm sure you know the power of dragons…"
"And being from Blackthorn, I also know their weakness!" She threw back in heated annoyance. Before the girl could issue forth a command to her water serpent though, the blue dragon had launched itself straight at its new opponent, dagger-like claws bared and glowing softly. Unable to dodge due a combination of the confinement of the path and her own bulk, the Milotic was forced to take the blow and howled beautifully in pain as the Dragon Claw made contact with the soft scales that covered the tan part of her body. But having foreseen such an outcome, the Tender Pokémon had begun to charge up her first attack, her thick tail glowing a silver by the time the assault landed. And before the blue dragon could jump away, she swung her hardened tail at him, the fan on the end looking sharp and fatal.
But Miho had timed it too poorly and thus gave her opponent the few seconds it needed to spring into the space above her and the canopy, its momentum carrying it over her and closer to her trainer. There was enough of a distance between Otomé and her Milotic to allow the beast to land between them and out of instinct to prevent any harm from befalling her mistress, the Feebas Evolute lashed out once more with her Iron Tail. How strange it was to hear such a behemoth whimper but that's exactly what the dragon did when the attack not only made contact, but the momentum of the lash forced the Iron Tail around its neck. Quickly, the beast recovered and dipped his head, bending his neck at strange angle in an attempt to sink his fangs into the poorly-protected tail.
Caught up in the fast-paced fight between the two reptiles, the blue-haired girl didn't seem to take heed of the absence of the dark-eyed boy. Lucky for him, as he traversed amongst the shadows of the forest surrounding the path as silently as a ghost, one hand on the hilt of the sword that hung sheathed at his side. Stupid girl, always letting her guard down. Such an easy kill seemed almost boring, but he was not picky. Blood was blood. With only the slightest sound, he drew out his sword as he stepped back onto the path from the forest, now behind the girl so enthralled with the match before her. Her Milotic was actually putting up a decent fight… For that, he'd kill her relatively quickly. In a way reminiscent of the Grim Reaper, the silver-haired boy stalked closer to his prey, stopping less than a foot behind her. He could've easily rested his chin on the top of her head, had he been so inclined. But he only wanted a single thing and before Otomé could register the presence behind her, she felt the edge of his sword press against her throat.
Nothing else mattered now, as time seemed to slow. He didn't notice that both her Quagsire and Milotic had turned their attentions to him, each one crying out with rage. They were unimportant. For the moment, it was just him and the blue-haired girl, the terror he sensed emanating from her tense body starting to give him a sadistic high. But for some reason, he couldn't press his blade closer to her throat, much less rip it away in an action that would result in a fatal wound. Nothing was holding him back but his own will, yet he, a wanted serial killer, could not seem to bring himself to slice the girl's soft throat. Distracted by this puzzling turn of events, the boy still did not pay heed to the two Water-Types. Both had launched themselves at him, but the dragon had grabbed Miho's tail and pulled her back, leaving the Quagsire the only one left to defend their mistress.
Had he continued to ignore them for a second longer, that damned Water Fish Pokémon would've surely knocked him away with a fierce Headbutt. But at the last second, he had snapped from his thoughts and jumped back, pulling his sword away and only leaving a thin line of red on his would-be victim's throat. Though before he had time to dispose of the annoying Quagsire, there was a 'crack!' sound and a second beam of light appeared, this time shooting out of the top of the girl's bag. It, too, arced over head before landing squarely between the killer and its mistress, the materializing Pokémon growing to be quite bulky and looming. It stood on two feet yet seemed to be hunched over, rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth lining its open maw.
The thing was quick for its size, though. While he was still racking his brain for any knowledge of what this new creature might be, it drew back an arm, its clawed fist suddenly starting to glow with an icy-colored fire before it lunged forward a single, massive step and launched its fist forward, growling savagely as the Ice Punch connected dead-on with the dragon trainer's chest. From far away, he heard his blue dragon scream angrily at the underhanded assault, but all his mind could focus on was pain. Pain and cold. He hated the cold, with a passion. A passion surpassed only by his hatred of the water. With luck, though, the ice numbed him just enough to prevent him from feeling the pain of being sent tumbling backwards and slamming into the compacted ground. The impact forced the breath from his lungs and for a few seconds he was too dazed to remember to breathe.
Another angered scream from his beast snapped the teenager to his wits again and loudly, he gasped, coughing once or twice as he struggled to sit up. He did not enjoy the sight that lay before him now. That damned Quagsire and what turned out to be a Feraligatr were now standing firmly between him and their mistress and behind them, he could see his Pokémon still wrestling with that Milotic. A single Salamence could not distract or even defeat three Water-Types, especially when they all stood a chance to know Ice-Type attacks that could KO. He was caught between a rock and a hard place now, but stubborn, he would not give up.