A/N: A simple explination about this: Each of these stories have been put in my 'vault'. They all have potential, but I'm unsure of where to go to next with them, or they've stalled, and I've lost interest. There aren't any further chapters to be published unless I get back the spark that fuels the creation of them. Instead, I'm just releasing these stories for my own amusement, and for anyone who wants to look over these ideas.

If you want to borrow some of the things I do, all I ask is that you A: let me know, and it's a safe bet that I'll ok it, and B: give credit somewhere in your story about the concept being my work, rather than your own.

Notes about this story: Here's a list of attacks I came up with, but they're not fully used in this yet. Some of them are hinted at, others are used, but he only uses a few.

Dark-blast: in essence, a massive blast of dark energies. Similar in idea to a Hyper Beam, only a true dark type can sustain the blast

Darkstorm: Creates a mix of hail/rain dance that recharges dark pokemon, while it weakens non-dark types. Does increase water type attacks (+ 25, but also increases Dark type attacks slightly (non-contact by 15). Weakens fire.

Dark Shadow: creates a duplicate of the pokemon, composed of dark energies. It charges at insane speed toward the foe, and explodes in a whirlpool of dark energy.

Dark Blitz: Running tackle, covered in dark energy. Similar damage to Flame Wheel.

Phasechange: Upon physical contact, takes the foe to the Void. There, the pokemon fight on their own… though any dark pokemon, or dark-wielding pokemon gets a massive boost in vitality. Upon leaving, the boost disappears, and if the pokemon isn't a dark type, it'll pass out.

Howl of the Void: Similar in idea to a howl, except the move boosts attack and spec. attack.

Ties of Darkness: any dark type is forced to remain in combat

Dark-sense: disappearing into the void, the pokemon meditates, searching out its true foe. Once it finds it, bursts of darkness strike from nowhere, and the pokemon returns to the field, barely drained at all from the attack.

Void aid: Pokemon retreats into the Void, and inside, heals itself as best as able. Works best on dark types

Dark-bolt: Similar in essence to a Shock Wave (minus always hits), this mid-power attack can serve as an electrical attack, if the pokemon can generate current. Like a black bolt of lightning, this blast is attracted to metal or high objects.

Dark-corruption: Any electrical, fire, physical, water, flying, or ice attack, if the pokemon is trained correctly, can use dark energies to enhance the attack to a limited degree. Limited other moves can be enhanced as well.

Shadowtie: If hit by enough of Alexander's unique moves, a strange effect affects any non-dark type foe. They weaken as time passes, like they were poisoned, and their eyes take on a strange blackness. At times, they disobey their trainer, and fire out a Dark-bolt. If they fire enough, the effect halts

Dark shield: A shield made of dark energies. It weakens anything that a dark type resists, but anything else passes straight through it. Spherical in nature, any attack launched through it costs more energy, but automatically gets Dark-corruption, even if not of the right element (except psychic type moves, which cannot be used) Draining move, pokemon cannot take as many hits without needing a Void aid.

Containment grid: The pokemon must be able to generate either flame or electrical energy. Upon utilizing the attack, the foe is trapped in a sphere of flame/electricity guided by dark energy. The pokemon generating the field can concentrate only upon this

Ancient's curse: Only Gengar can use this attack. Gengar sacrifices it's ability to use dark type moves, as well as one other (poison/ghost), and in return, the opponent pokemon cannot use one of it's elemental type moves, determined at random.

Flames of Balrog: Dark and fire type only. Attacks with a black flame that causes burns almost guaranteed.

Black stone of the void: Tyranitars only. Tyranitar travels to the void (must know some way to get there), and inside, crafts a black stone that is tied to the void. This stone absorbs psychic attacks, but can shatter if super-effective against dark types attack it. While Tyranitar possess it, it gets increased power for its dark type moves. It can also be hurled, which will result in an explosion of dark energies, as a last resort.

Dark Dragon Rage: This attack can only be used by pokemon that can use Dragon attacks, and Dark attacks. The attack causes the foe to be confused and paralyzed. Needs to recharge afterwards

Void Weapon: Human / Absol hybrid only. The hybrid, using their ties to the void, creates a weapon composed of Dark energies. The hybrid can form anything from swords to shuriken, but ranged weapons are one shot only. This can be modified to form scythes on the edge of their arms, like a corruption of Leaf Blade.

Dark Double Team: Creates a double-team images, but if the foe uses a physical attack on one of them, they take damage.

I sat quietly in the field, as the league representative spoke. He was supposed to be a brilliant trainer… but all I heard was hatred toward 'evil hybrids'. It didn't make any sense as to why, besides the fact that we were 'abnormal'.

I sighed, and buried my face in my hands… earning a call from the rep. for volunteers for something. Since no one volunteered, I grinned darkly, and volunteered, earning startled looks, and a few apprehensive ones.

This was a practice battle, but it was obvious to me he was going to show off. He had a Charizard out, one that looked like it was a high level.

I absently looked it over, before looking over my outfit. The 'hat' I wore was actually cover for my scythe, while my tail/scythe was tucked in back, running up my back. I was conserving energy, and so my body, except for my exposed face and neck, was covered in white fur. My eyes were still red as hell, and my hair was white, but no one noticed that much.

I brushed aside a strand of white hair, and then pulled out one of my own personal pokemon, ignoring the offered 'school pokemon', who weren't trained to my preferences. I was tempted to release my Charizard and have them face off, but frankly, Charizard was still shaky on his dark moves that I'd taught him, so that left Tyranitar or Manectric… I chose Tyranitar, she had the best control of all my pokemon. I tossed the ball onto the field, releasing the dark/rock pokemon with a grin. She looked about, then her gaze settled onto the Charizard, with a dark snarl.

I chuckled. I couldn't understand all pokemon unless I forced myself, but I certainly could understand my own element… her profanities were quite amusing. I guess I was rubbing off on her.

The representative arched an eyebrow, and said, "Impressive pokemon. It looks well trained."

I chuckled, and said dryly in response, "Damn right she's well trained."

Several people in the audience winced. Tyranitar… has a bit of a reputation. So do I, really. Ever since they raised the legal age of pokemon trainers to eighteen, the 'trainer schools' have been making a lot of money. I really hadn't wanted to enroll, since it would strap me for cash, but without it, I couldn't really raise my (then) Larvitar legally, and I just didn't want to waste time hiding my training with her. Now that she's fully evolved, we've sort of decimated everyone's pokemon at least once, even pokemon like Breloom, who logically have a double type advantage over Tyranitar. But then again… we never play fair.

The pokemon league representative (I never bothered to remember his name) called out, "Alright Charizard, let's start out with Steel Wing!"

I remained silent, as the Charizard jetted forward, its wings glowing silver. Tyranitar waited for the exact moment, then grabbed the wings of the pokemon, being pushed back for a moment, before spinning around, a centerpoint with a spinning Charizard on the outside. I said lightly, "Now, how about a little electricity?"

Tyranitar let the Charizard loose, but fired a Thunderbolt at it as it attempted to regain its bearings, causing the high-powered pokemon to shudder.

The rep paused, then called out, "Earthquake!"

I laughed, as Tyranitar defended herself with her OWN Earthquake. And since the Charizard was on the ground to trigger the move… when its seismic wave lost the battle, it was knocked over. "Tyranitar, I think it's time for our cheap tricks, don't you agree?"

Tyranitar looked back, and smirked, before disappearing.

She reappeared above the pokemon as it started to get up, and landed a high-velocity Body Slam, before disappearing as the Charizard struck out blindly with Metal Claw.

We allowed the pokemon time to get up, and into the air, before I called, "Darkstorm."

Tyranitar looked back, and asked me "Tyranitar?"

I nodded. "I think you've got the second part down. If you don't, we can always work on it later. It's still a nasty move, either way."

Tyranitar nodded, and raised her head skyward, roaring at the sky. Dark, ominous looking clouds formed. The representative, guessing, called out, "Get above the clouds, and fire down Fire Blasts!'

The Charizard complied… pity. The clouds opened up, releasing a black-colored rain.

This was something I'd worked out on my own. Sort of a Hail move, mixed with Rain Dance. Except what it hurt wasn't everything that wasn't an ice type, or boost water moves that much. No, what it really did was damage non-dark types, and moderately recharged / healed dark type pokemon.

So when the rain fell on me, I didn't mind it at all. Neither did Tyranitar, despite the fact that it was water landing on her. She'd long since become immune to weak effects like that, she could even swim if need be, and the energy the storm gave her more than healed the miniscule damage. A Fire Blast landed nearby, but I ignored it, the Charizard was aiming blind. Besides, after going through all that moisture, they were really weak attacks, even a normal human could endure one with second degree burns afterwards.

However, I could hear other people shrieking about how it itched, or in one case, burned. I tuned them out, as Tyranitar did the next stage, and launched a lot of electrical energy into the sky… the stormcloud, already black, became even darker, and was filled with flashes of electrical energy.

The storm continued to whirl, with no signs of the Fire Blasts anymore. Finally, a plummeting figure told me all I needed to know, and I called out, "Tyranitar, end the storm! Sunny Day!"

She nodded, and the clouds cleared up, revealing the sun again. Some last trickles of rain fell, as the Charizard managed a rough crash-landing.

The pokemon league representative seemed to be in shock, as he returned his pokemon, battered and obviously defeated. I smiled slightly, and turned to the crowd, bowing mockingly (Tyranitar 'bowed' as well), before I returned my pokemon, and walked up to the representative. His pale skin was reddened… obviously, his natural alignment wasn't anywhere near Dark. I'd guess Psychic, if I had to…

The feeling of a psychic probe confirmed my guess, though I laughed at the effects to myself – he could probe all he wanted, he'd never get anything out of my mind. I said coolly, "If you're one of the League's more powerful trainers, then I'm really going to enjoy challenging Gym Leaders. Even with super-effective moves, you didn't land a single hit." I smirked at his expression, and added, "And stay out of my mind. I'm a Dark trainer, and I felt that. You don't want Tyranitar worried about my health, do you? She's really protective of me…"

The man paled, and went to speak with the principle. I yawned, and re-took my seat, ignoring the fact that people had moved far enough away that the area around me could define 'pariah'. Eh, not that I care.

Very shortly after that, the principle beckoned toward me. I knew it was ME – after all, few people were actually on a 'he knows my name' basis with the man.

He seemed to be annoyed, as he said to me, "Why did you do that, Alexander? You embarrassed that man, who has gone out of his way to come here."

I rolled my eyes, and responded in a similar tone, "Why did he come? To spread hate, lies, and misinformation? His pokemon league is a bunch of crap… the only reason I'm bothering is so I can get a license, then I'm outta here."

The man scowled at me. He's never liked my attitude – unlike most of my peers, I don't want to become a champion. Na, I just want to raise a little hell with Tyranitar and my other pokemon, and enjoy myself.

After all, I'm living on borrowed time. Sooner or later, someone'll figure out that I'm not human. And even if I end up killing whoever it is (Absol blades are so useful, in that respect), people will come looking, find me…

Finally, he sighed, and waved a hand. "You're suspended for a week. I don't want to see you in the halls."

I shrugged, and turned, walking towards the pokemon center. Nurse Joy wasn't expecting me until later, but I don't think she'd mind. That one Houndoom had been making a fuss, and I was one of the few people that could get practically any dark type to calm down… and subdue any Psychic type, if need be.

&&&&&

I came in to the sight of pandemonium. Some idiot kid had let loose a Murkrow, and the thing was picking fights with everything, cawing / laughing as it wove through the angry pokemon attacks.

That was, until I grabbed it by the neck, and yanked it out of the air. Absols have very good reflexes… and I liked to use mine, so I'm fairly fast on the reflex. I glared into the bird's eyes, and said, "Don't… do… it… again. Understand?" I growled under my breath, "Sol, Absol Ab…"

The Murkrow started to caw, until I glared, and it meekly nodded. I released it, and it flew to its trainer, nearly hiding behind him. I glared at the trainer, and said coldly, "Are you an idiot, or just plain stupid? A Murkrow that young is going to do something like that." I caught Joy frowning, and said apologetically, "Sorry. But that Murkrow is young, grabbing it out of the air was the quickest way to stop it."

The student trainer looked outraged (ten year old, probably his first pokemon), but the other trainers (some of them looked old enough to be licensed) were sending me thankful looks. I added to Joy, "I'll be out in a minute, gotta get cleaned up. League rep, and Tyranitar wanted a fight."

Joy shook her head with a sigh, as I went into the employee only area, got changed out of my school uniform (nearly a suit in my opinion), and into a more comfortable white shirt and pants. Something about 'traditional' for a nurse to wear these colors, or something. Not that it mattered, I was really just an aid. Though it was a pain, because I had to shift my scythes away… and I liked being in my 'natural' state.

I walked back out, and checked on the Houndoom in one of the recovery rooms. He looked up as I approached, before growling, "You're early."

I replied lightly, "Yeah, I got kicked out of class for starting a fight again. How's your horn coming along?"

The Houndoom looked pained, before sighing. "It is healing, but my pride is still severely damaged. What is a Houndoom without their horns?"

I sighed, and rubbed a spot between his ears, saying gently, "One who had a horrible human as a trainer."

Bitterly, the Houndoom went down the same line… "And yet he walked away with no punishment. If this happened in the pack, he would be shamed."

I smiled slightly, and leaned down, whispering in his ear, "He is shamed. He's castrated."

I stood back, as the Houndoom shot me an incredulous look, before it bellowed with laughter. Knowing he'd probably be a far better patient now, I left the room after looking over the other pokemon – a Scyther with a bad scythe, a Pidgy with a broken wing, and several other pokemon.

I went up to the counter, and ducked under it, saying, "I think the Houndoom will be a better patient now, I told him about what happened to his trainer at the hospital."

Joy bit her lip, before sighing. She rubbed her temples, and said, "Alex, can you take over? I'm going in back, I need to take a break. Chansy, you stay here."

Chansy eyed me warily (she's never liked me, since she knows I'm part Disaster Pokemon), before nodding, as Joy staggered into the back room. I winced inwardly – damn, she must have pulled another long shift.

I minded the counter, but there wasn't a lot to do, really. Knowing the old fart, he'd called off battle training for the day, and was instead covering 'official pokemon league attacks' again. Every time I used one of my unique techniques, like Dark-bolt or Darkness Storm, he tried to head off other people trying to do the same.

A younger kid (Aprilbe eleven or so) came up, carrying an injured Eevee. He looked at me in confusion, and asked, "Uhm… where's nurse Joy?"

I responded in a far gentler tone than my usual 'I will eat your soul' type thing, "She's taking a break. I'm her assistant… you want your Eevee healed?"

The sandy-haired eleven year old nodded weakly. "She fell from kinda high, and can't walk."

I nodded slightly, making a note on a pad of paper, and said, "Can you return her to her pokeball?"

He nodded, and produced a pokeball, returning the Eevee. I took the ball from him, and turned around. I flicked the healing machine into analysis mode, and placed the single pokeball inside of it.

After a few moments, it spat out a printout. I looked it over, and blinked. Huh… no broken bones, just some torn muscles that would heal so long as it took it easy for a week or so, and a very lightly bruised bone, which would heal in about four days. I re-read the printout, and then set the machine to healing mode. It wouldn't do much, but it would shorten the recovery time by a few days or so.

Just to be safe, I released the Eevee, and what it did fit – it immediately winced, and stood on three legs. I picked it up, probed her leg carefully with a finger. I could feel the same signs – the muscle didn't feel right, and it felt like I could almost touch the bone. I extended a tendril of dark energy to probe, and the bone felt fine, though the nerves around it were screaming bloody murder. I asked the pokemon, as I came out of my trance, "How bad does it hurt, Eevee?" I had to focus hard, since normal type language was difficult for me to understand… "It hurts when I put weight on it, but I think the bone isn't broken… though why I'm telling you this…"

I nodded, and said softly, "You'll be alright. No battles or such for a week, you take it easy. By then, your muscles will be fine. If you feel better sooner, let your trainer know. And if it gets worse, you get him to take you here immediately."

The Eevee looked at me curiously, before asking, "You can understand…" it took a breath, sneezed, and said, "Oh…" It shivered slightly. I shook my head, and returned it into the pokeball, handing it back to the student/trainer. It looked like he went to the more prestigious one… I thought they taught pokemon language there. Guess they're doing a crappy job of it. "She'll be healed fully in a week. Until then, no battles, and she generally takes it easy. And try to get her to sleep as much as she can, she tore a lot of muscles, sleep helps them heal faster." I scribbled down what the damage was, and handed it to him, adding on, "Come back in about five days to get a checkup, or give that slip to your school's pokemon healer. They'll be able to make sure Eevee's back to full strength. And if she shows signs of being worse off, bring her in quick."

The student trainer nodded, but he looked curious, for some reason. I waited patiently (after all, it was dead-hours until school ended – most the time, the student/trainers used the school's facility to heal their pokemon), until he blurted, "How did you understand her?"

I smiled slightly, and asked, "Don't they teach pokemon languages at your school? I'm sort of… self-taught. Dark types I can understand best, but I usually get an idea at least of what they're saying."

The student/trainer nodded, and walked away. The other trainers lounging about though, was… odd. I didn't recognize most of them… one or two I did, they came to visit their injured pokemon. But the majority of them, I had no clue about.

I shrugged, knowing I'd find out soon enough.

I had no idea how right I was…

&&&&&

I couldn't help it, I whistled, as Joy explained. A festival, where the League was offering any student the opportunity to get a trainer's license early, if they could prove their knowledge.

Joy, knowing my thoughts, said, "I expect you'll want that day off?"

I shrugged, nodding. "Yeah. I'll take a pager with me, if you get any problems with some of my pokemon specialties, I'll drop what I'm doing and help out. But I think that the nearby schools will have their temporary pokemon field healing stations setup, so you shouldn't get that many people."

Joy nodded, with a slight shiver. She was a nurse, but that didn't mean that she liked every pokemon. She'd had a bad experience with a Houndour, and when she found out that I could handle any dark type under the sun (after all, they could sense that I was one of them, in a way), she passed off handling the few seriously injured dark types off to me, while she supervised. "I just don't understand how you can control them so easily… it's like you were born to handle dark types."

In a way… she was right. I was born to manage dark types… or was it reborn? The original idea had been to have a human sensitive to the ebb and flow of nature… and what better pokemon than Absol, who sensed upcoming disasters? Dunno who made me what I was, but I knew why, at least.

That's why they changed me… whoever they were. I blame the pokemon league, it's something that they'd do. But for all I know, it was Team Rocket or something.

After all, no one cares about one street-kid.

&&&&&

It was the day of the festival, and I was wandering around it, since the battle-trial wasn't for awhile yet. There was a massive amount of students, but since I was suspended, I didn't have to dress in my uniform… so I wore my favorite color. Blue-black T-shirt, vest (white, for the sheer amusement of flashing my Absol colors in people's faces), pants, and a pair of modified shoes that were sized roughly to my paws, so I could walk around 'normally'. Hell, I'd even worn gloves today, just because I was in the mood. They were fingerless, but it still suited my mood.

I'd even managed to find my black scythe-hat that I thought I'd lost in the Void.

A few people recognized me, but no one could really keep me out, it was a league sponsored event, and adult trainers were wandering around… they could hardly stop me, just because I had a little suspension.

I paused, spotting some evolutionary stones, and walked over to the display. Oddly, they had a black stone that wasn't a moonstone on display as well…

'Unknown stone. While this stone holds power that science can detect, none can guess what sort of energy fills it.'

I reached my hand out toward it, earning a suspicious glance from the woman managing the stall, and 'felt' the energy coming off of it, before pausing to stare at it.

Without thinking, I released Tyranitar. She looked about in confusion, until I tapped her, and said, "Take a gander at that stone. You feeling something from it?"

Tyranitar looked toward where I was pointing, and leaned in close. Her eyes narrowed, before she leaned back, nodding. "Tar, Tyranitar."

I nodded as well, saying, "Yeah. It feels like some sort of focusing tool for dark energies."

The woman, who obviously had been listening, asked me, "Excuse me? What did you just say?"

I looked the woman over. She had purple hair, a pair of blue jeans on, and some basic shirt… she didn't exactly look comfortable in the outfit. A white lab coat hung from nearby… damn. This looked like one of the pokemon professors, though I couldn't for the life of me guess. "I said it feels like a focusing tool for dark energies. Aprilbe someone left it in the Void or whatever the pokemon professors call it to soak up some energy, because this thing is radiating enough dark energy, even I can feel it."

The woman looked surprised, and I chuckled, adding, "Though I'm very strongly tuned to dark energy, for a human. Tyranitar told me she felt the same… can she hold it? Between the two of us, we might be able to guess…"

The woman whipped out a clipboard (yup, professor), and said, "Go ahead, but that thing has a tracking device on it."

I nodded, and palmed the stone. One I touched it, I felt bathed in dark energies, almost like I was back in the Void. I held out my hand to Tyranitar, who gently touched it with her claw...

To my eye, she took on a radiating black aura. It wasn't evil, just a sign of increased power. When she does her Faint Attack trick (true, most Tyranitar can't, but I know Faint Attack, and I've taught her how to use it), she gains a similar aura…

"Tar, Tyranitar, ran, tar, Tyranitar…"

I blinked, then said, "Huh. Aprilbe."

The professor sent me an expectant look, and I translated, "She guessed something like a magnet for an electric type. But it's more powerful than those… damn, feels like it doubles your dark energies."

Tyranitar looked at me in surprise, then growled, "Tyranitar Tyranit, Tyranitar Tyran."

I nodded, but countered, "Well, you're part rock type. If I was a pokemon, I'd be pure dark type. And you're already very powerful… try to draw on your dark energies, and compare it to your normal levels."

Tyranitar nodded, and then shut her eyes, giving off an aura I knew even human eyes would see. The female professor was scribbling away, while we were getting an interested crowd, who were trying to figure out what was going on.

She re-opened her eyes, and said, "Ranitar, Tyranitar, ranitar, Tyranitar."

I smiled at her weakly. "So, it did double your energies, when you checked your pool of energy?"

Tyranitar nodded. I dropped my hand, making her loose contact with the stone, and she added thoughtfully, "Tyranitar, Tyran, Tyranitar, Tyranitar."

I asked in confusion, "What do you mean, the energy didn't disappear? Does it feel like it's recharging?"

Tyranitar shook her head, and I slowly said, "Ahh… that makes sense… it's a link to the Void itself. It doubles a dark type's energy, and as long as they hold it, they can't run out of energy… but when they let go, the doubled energy remains until the pokemon burns it off… Tyranitar, get rid of that excess, I don't want to know what happens when you have too much dark energy stored inside of you for too long."

Tyranitar's eyes widened, and she nodded, firing off a beam of pure dark energy skyward, like a Hyper Beam. A dark-blast, I called it.

While she drained away the excess, I put the stone back down (I drained my excess energy into the Void – I have an innate connection to it), but the woman / professor wasn't interested in it apparently, she was looking up from her clipboard, to Tyranitar, and then back to her clipboard, scribblings increased even more.

I waited for Tyranitar to finish up draining away her excess energy. She eventually shut off the beam, and shut her eyes, looking tired. She sent me a look, before I said, "Your body's adjusting. Give it a minute, I'm not returning you yet."

Tyranitar nodded, and stood there, her tail idly waiving. Some students, even my age (near-trainer age, 17 in my case) were gawking.

The woman eventually said, "What was that beam of dark energy she used?"

I blinked, and said, "Dark-blast. We use it all the time in battles. What, didn't the school let you know about that? Or Darkstorm? Or the other dozen-odd moves I've been using in pokemon battles?"

The woman, looking mad, shook her head. I said lightly, "Well, I'm still suspended, so I'll talk to you later…"

She blinked, and said, "Oh. Professor Ivy. It's a pleasure to meet you..." "Alexander Dark. You can guess where the last name comes from."

Ivy gave a tinkling laugh (for once, it didn't irritate me), and nodded, offering her hand. I shook it – she had some interesting calluses. I looked Tyranitar over analytically, noting that her aura was back from wavering, and held up her pokeball. "You good, Tyranitar?"

She grumbled, and shook her head. I nodded, and said dryly to Ivy, "I'm a student at Rustboro pokemon academy. Dr. Fillswalp is the one who is in charge, you'll probably see him later today, when he tries to get me…"

"Alexander Dark, what are you doing here? You're suspended!"

I muttered quietly, "Speak of the Salamence." The comment wasn't lost on Ivy, though. As Fillswalp tried to drag me away, she intervened, saying, "Doctor, I just saw your student's pokemon using an attack I, in my years of pokemon research, have never seen before. Yet, as I understand it, it is your job, as principle and league representative in charge of Rustboro Pokemon Academy, to inform the scientific community when events like this happen. From what your student tells me, he has been using moves like these for some time… so WHY have I not heard?"

She was PISSED. I exchanged a grin with Tyranitar, as she continued to chew him out. She was also ranting at him, something about how I was a natural dark affined human, something he should have also informed the league about. Something about being of use to professors, and how I could have helped them unlock the stone's secrets months ago. I was too busy trying not to laugh, to hear what she was saying.

Eventually, she wound down, and turned to me, asking, "Would you be interested in serving as an aid in my lab? Your talent would be quite an aid in my research, since I've been delving into the myths about dark pokemon…"

I sighed, and said, "Well, if my challenge fails, sure. But I'm fairly sure I have a shot at winning…"

That's when the idiot had to speak. Fillswalp said smugly, "Unfortunately, only student-trainers of a certain caliber might participate. And you're not one of those students, Alexander."

I rolled my eyes, and sighed. I've crushed EVERYONE in the school with one of my pokemon or another, and I know that Tyranitar has done a beatdown on practically every student trainer in the school at least once. "And the requirement is… what, exactly?"

"Having a good record. The league does not want troublemakers."

I sighed, and said, "That's it, I quit. Fillswalp, you're an idiot in every sense of the word. And since nothing's formal, I don't hand over my pokemon, since they're registered to me…" At that, Fillswalp winced. I'd gotten Tyranitar myself as a Larvitar that no one wanted from the pokemon center, Flygon from a unwanted pokemon auction, Charizard as an egg from a friend as a 'thank you'… Gengar I could keep because I captured him (as a Haunter), and Manectric was my 'starter' pokemon. The academy registered them to the trainer, not to the academy, and encouraged student-trainers to capture other pokemon… so even if I quit, they were now my 'pets'. I couldn't legally capture any more pokemon, or get into official battles unless I got my license (I'd just take that damned test later), but no one would be able to touch my pokemon. Just as well, they'd probably just escape to the Void, and return to me anyway.

I turned to Ivy, and said, "Professor Ivy, can we talk about that aid position?"

Ivy nodded, looking daggers at Fillswalp. She gestured for me to follow her, and then led me behind the counter / into the booth. She took a seat, while I remained standing. I chuckled as Tyranitar effectively drove off the onlookers by using small dark-bolts aimed toward the staring crowd.

It got them moving. Ivy was back to writing on her clipboard, before she looked back up at me, and said, "At eighteen, assuming you have been working with a professor for most of the time, you can get a trainer's license. Now, can you tell me just how many attacks your pokemon have perfected, of your own making?"

I blinked, and shut my eyes, thinking. "Somewhere around fifteen moves or so. Some aren't offensive in nature… there's a shield that absorbs anything a dark type is resistant to, and Void aid, which is a recovery move…"

I opened my eyes again – Ivy was looking at me in frank shock. "I heard about the storm-attack you produced, what was that?"

I shrugged. "Darkstorm, literally. It's something of a composite of Rain Dance, and Hail. It makes the sky rain down dark-charged water. Water types get some advantage out of it, but anything that isn't a dark type gets damaged, while dark types are healed slightly, and reenergized by the water. Tyranitar charged the cloud with electrical energy after that… the rest is just natural."

Ivy nodded, looking thoughtful, before she said, "People said it caused them pain, though… why? Natural types?"

I sighed, and rubbed my eyes, before saying, "It doesn't bug me, the water feels good to me, but… yeah, that sounds right."

Ivy nodded again. "Hmm… well, do you have any experience with pokemon research?"

I shook my head. "Pokemon center aid, I took over Nurse Joy's dark type cases when she found out I like them."

Ivy blinked, and said slowly, "I have been needing someone who knows basic pokemon healing… I'll talk to nurse Joy. How can I reach you?"

I grinned weakly, and said, "Send a dark type to find me. If I'm not in the Void with one of my pokemon, it'll be able to at least get my pokemon's attention."

Ivy looked surprised by my comment, for some reason. Why, though, I didn't get. I was supposedly a dark-affined human… so what was so surprising about my staying in the Void?

&&&&&

I was resting in my 'house', as it was. In reality, it was the Void. Since no one but pokemon could come here, I was in full hybrid mode, which meant my tail was out, my scythe was visible, and I glimmered slightly in the dim light of the Void. After all… it wasn't like I needed clothing to sleep. When I enter full hybrid mode, there's nothing that really needs to be hid. My hair covers up my privates well enough.

Besides, it's too tiring to wear clothing. The Void is different from the world… it doesn't like humans. I'm tied to it because I'm part Absol, so it doesn't mind me, but if I wear clothing, I get the feeling of a dark presence weighing on my mind. So… I go without.

One of the advantages I'd gained for becoming a hybrid was the ability to go without. I didn't need sleep. I could just slip into the Void, and meditate within it. The place helped me undo the stress of daily life, which is why I'd given up on relying on normal sleep most of the time. On occasion, I slept in the Void because my mind screamed at me that I needed it sometimes, but that was the limit.

A canine figure approached, then it resolved into… Houndoom? The one from the center… what was he doing here?

He walked up to me, looking… almost normal. He didn't even seem surprised… he commented dryly to me, "Somehow, I should have known you would rest here."

I shrugged, saying simply, "Absol."

Houndoom chuckled, and said, "Joy and another woman want you at the pokemon center. From the sounds they're making, apparently the other woman wants you to desperately come to work for her. What did you do?"

I shrugged. "Remember all those dark type moves I invented?" At Houndoom's nod, I grinned, saying, "She just found out about them. Principle at the school I was at didn't report them. And we discovered what one of the things she was studying does…"

Houndoom nodded, then disappeared. I sighed, and released Tyranitar, before suppressing my hybrid traits to a great extent, so my hands were human, not paws… and the rest of it, even re-growing my nose. I put on the loose hat that covered up my scythe, then got dressed. The whatever-it-was seemed to realize I was human, its mind seemed to turn toward me. I looked toward Tyranitar, once I was fully dressed, and touched her arm. With a blurring of reality, we were back in the real world, in the pokemon center reception center.

Joy waved for me to join her, and I walked up to her. "There a problem?"

Joy smiled weakly, and said, "Not really. I knew this was coming… but could you take Houndoom with you? His trainer won't come back for him, and he seems to be fond of you."

I blinked, saying, "Actually, you might want to consider keeping him with you. He's been less bitter, right?" At Joy's nod, I said quietly, "Keep him as a guard pokemon. He'll be able to communicate with the injured pokemon, and… well, if things are bad for a dark type, knowing him, he'll try to get me to help. You do know that Faint Attack can be used to carry messages, right?"

Joy looked surprised, then thoughtful. "You know, you have a point… go in back, Ivy's waiting for you. I don't know what you did, but she's nearly desperate to have you…"

I smiled, and went to the back door, going inside. Like Joy had said, Ivy was there. She was looking over the injured pokemon, though apparently she was just trying to burn time or something. I coughed, and she turned around. "Ah, mr. Dark… good to see you."

I smiled weakly, and said, "So… what's up?"

She smiled faintly, and said, "Well, assuming you're still interested, I'd like you to take that aid position. It does mean that your pokemon will be studied, but I'm a firm believer in pokemon being studied in their natural state, so they won't be… stuffed up in a lab."

I laughed, and said, "Sounds good. So when am I expected?"

She produced a pair of airline tickets, and handed me one. I looked over the date – wow, she moved fast. It was scheduled for later today. I could have just used the Void to cheat, and get there well before an airline could (the Void was a realm where distance in the real world didn't matter). I nodded, and then checked my wallet. I'd hit my bank a few days ago for food, so I had enough money for the time being, and I could access it later at this Valencia Island… assuming they had Pokemon First National Branch… which was likely.

&&&&&

I shoved my bag into the overhead storage, and took a seat besides Professor Ivy, as she now wanted me to call her. After she got settled, she said to me, "You know, you can take off your hat…"

I shook my head, grinning. "No, I like this hat. I'll keep it on." Besides, this was going to be a long flight. Ivy apparently was holding off on announcing what I'd told her about the black stone until she had done some tests, reconfigured for dark energies, though she had told me she'd contacted the other professors (all the tree-named ones), and supposedly, Professor Oak was going to be arriving at the island the same day we were… I didn't really want to know why. Hopefully, he just wanted to know about the black stone, or the custom-attacks I'd developed. Because I was getting leery of the 'natural dark alignment' that Ivy occasionally questioned me about. True, it was how I managed to get away with 'sleeping' in the Void…

It was a quiet flight… Professor Ivy slept through most of it. Apparently, she was used to this, and traveled a lot. I didn't sleep a lot, but I did let my mind wander, and zone out. The horror stories I'd heard of squalling children and whining were true, though I was surrounded by bored adults who wanted to sleep, so at least I didn't have someone kicking my chair.

I did nod off for a little bit, but a baby's cry woke me up.

We set down, and I nudged Ivy awake. She yawned, and gathered her bag from the overhead storage compartment (I'd taken my backpack down). Once we'd gotten through the terminal, she looked about, then gestured for me to follow her. She led me to a group of three teenaged girls, who were waving. The three said gladly, "Professor!"

Ivy smiled, and said warmly, "Hello, you three." To me, it seemed like the three were almost like her children. Not biologically, but… well, it was like she'd raised them. One, a redhead, asked me curiously, "Are you the Alex that the Professor mentioned was going to be with us for a year?"

I nodded, grinning weakly. "Yeah, that's me."

She grinned, then frowned. I looked at her in confusion, and she asked, "What happened to your hair?"

I blinked, then brushed aside a white strand of hair. I didn't get why she asked… "What about it?"

She looked at me in confusion, as the other three fell silent. Apparently, even professor Ivy wanted to know about it… eventually, the redhead said, "You're hair's white… I'm sorry, but was it always like that?"

I blinked, then shook my head. "No. It's just… gotten like this. I guess from exposure to the Void, ever since I first went there, it's been white."

The redhead blinked, then said slowly, "Oh… wow, I'm surprised you can stand that place. I accidentally went there once, and nearly went crazy after two minutes of exposure."

I smiled slightly, and responded quietly, "I sleep in there these days. It's better than sleeping on the street, which was my alternative."

She winced, while I shrugged philosophically. I didn't remember much from my pre-hybrid days. Just that I'd been a street rat… whoever it was who took me, did me a sort-of favor, really. Because I'd settled in Rustboro, with a pile of stolen cash from whoever-it-was, cash that they'd squirreled away in the same place I was kept. Bad move, when the would-be escaper knows how to use Faint Attack from interacting with various dark pokemon.

I shut out my memories, and instead just let the three aids and Ivy's talk wash over me. I wasn't sleepy, I just didn't feel like joining in that much.

One of the aids nudged me, and asked curiously, "Is it true you've invented moves? I heard Oak how excited he was to hear about someone inventing about fifteen new dark moves…"

I chuckled weakly, and said, "Yeah, that's me alright. I like dark types, so I developed moves that don't require physical contact to deal damage. It's one of the flaws with the current moveset."

She blinked, and asked curiously, "Well, what's one of the moves?"

I chuckled, and said softly, "Well, Dark-bolt's one of them… there's about fifteen moves in all, with one side effect to them that I haven't been able to pin down yet." I shrugged in the cramped space (there wasn't a lot of room, so even though I wasn't in the middle, I was still cramped).

She blinked, then rejoined the others in their conversation. I went back to zoning out.

&&&&&

I released Tyranitar, as we walked up to the building. Ivy's lab was actually on a separate island. Her lab was fairly impressive to my eye, especially since I hadn't really seen any professor's lab before. I followed the four women inside… it was surprisingly a mess. A really BAD mess.

Tyranitar growled, "Amazing, how sloppy some humans are."

I shot back, "I resent that, Tyranitar. I'm human."

Tyranitar looked at me levelly for a moment, then snorted, staying quiet. Well… she was right, I'm not exactly human, I just like to act like I am. I returned her, after giving her a spiteful look, then followed them on the grand tour of the building… that ended at a battlefield setup.

I blinked, and looked in confusion at it, before one of the aids (Sarah, I think – she's the redhead, the other is blond, while the third is nearly black-haired – easy way to tell 'em apart) stepped into one trainer box. "Come on! We always have a battle to test how good someone is with their pokemon! It's tradition!"

I sighed, and stepped into the other box. Sarah released a Cloyster, while I paused to think, before pulling one black and red colored pokeball, and throwing it onto the field, catching it as it returned.

Charizard, in all his black, red, and cream-color glory, stood opposite the Cloyster. Due to his additional type of dark (somehow, his Tyranitar father passed that on), he was a 'shiny' pokemon, though I suspected all his brothers and sisters would be like that. Charizard looked over his black wing at me, then roared lazily, looking over his foe. I shook my head at his antics, and said, "Focus, Charizard. Just how many times have you gotten hit with water because you don't focus?"

Charizard growled, and then nodded. Another aid (April, the nearly-black haired one) stood in the judge's box, and said, "Ready… begin!"

Before the Cloyster could make a move, Charizard made the sun become intense, thanks to Sunny Day. Sarah looked a bit taken aback, but ordered, "Cloister, use Ice Beam!"

I called out, "Dodge with Aerial Ace, and then switch to a DC Flamethrower!"

Charizard launched himself into the air, and disappeared. He reappeared behind the Cloyster, and then launched a black burst of fire at the Cloyster from behind. The pokemon took the hit without passing out… she wasn't bad. I was better, but there weren't many people who could beat me once my pokemon got rolling.

Sarah called out, "Use Surf to defend yourself!"

Charizard launched himself higher into the air without a word, while I scowled at the incoming burst of water. Discretely, I used a Thunderbolt just as the water was about to hit, causing most of it to split into oxygen and hydrogen. The stuff that did hit me went the same way, when I used a Dark-bolt to fake electricity, and ran it across my body, ignoring the tingling and slight itching it gave me.

Charizard came back down, looking mad. I said lightly, "Charizard, you think you're up for a Dark Duplicate?"

Charizard growled, and then blurred into the Void. Two Charizards blurred back into existence. Ivy called in surprise, "What is a Dark Duplicate?"

I grinned, as the fake Charizard flew at headlong speed toward the Cloyster. Sarah called out, "Hit it with Ice Beam!'

The Charizard whirled around the attack, and ran headlong into the Cloyster, before exploding in a whirlpool of black energy that made the Cloyster pass out.

Charizard crashed to the ground from the after-effects, but still looked able to fight. I called to him, "Use Void Aid, and take your time. Battle's over."

Charizard nodded, and disappeared. Sarah returned her passed out Cloyster, then looked at me in surprise. "What were those attacks you ordered? DC Flamethrower, and Dark Duplicate… you made them up?"

I nodded, and responded, "DC stands for Dark Corruption. It works for most physical attacks, and most elemental attacks. It adds on dark energies to the attack, and some extra damage, though it reduces the effectiveness of the attack if it's normally super-effective against a pokemon. And Dark Duplicate is literally an energy-clone of the pokemon, that suicide-rushes the foe, and explodes. Only a dark type can pull it off."

Ivy interjected, "But Charizards are not dark types, they're flying and fire types."

I shrugged, and grinned slightly. "Charizard is… different. I've tested him myself, as has Tyranitar. He's a dark type pokemon… his father was a Tyranitar. I don't have a clue how he inherited the type, but he has."

Ivy looked surprised. Another voice, an older man's, said, "Well, I expected to see some new attacks, but I never expected to be proven wrong like that…"

I whirled, and spotted a white-haired man with a labcoat on. This had to be Oak… I said lightly, "If it helps, no one at my school believed me, or anyone else except for the nurse Joy at the pokemon center, when he tested positive for being a dark type. Kept on saying that it was impossible, according to Professor Oak."

The man smiled slightly, before sighing. "I suppose it is fair to assume you are Alexander Dark?"

I nodded, grinning. I added, "Charizard will be back soon, he's off recovering in the Void right now. The ambient dark energy there lets him recover quickly."

Oak looked surprised by my comment, before nodding. He seemed to look me over, and nod to himself, before asking, "How long did it take you to develop those moves? I've never seen anything like them before."

I blinked, and started thinking. I'd come up with Dark-blast by sheer accident, when I was panicked and on the run. Dark-bolt was a derivative of Dark-blast, so I didn't wear myself out from unleashing so much energy… Darkstorm, and the specific moves I'd developed for my pokemon were last… "It depends. Would it help if I told you I developed Dark-blast from sheer accident?"

The older man looked at me in surprise, as I let my human side fade away, replaced by my Absol side.

Cue screams of shock… now…

"What… what just happened to him!"

"EEK! He's a hybrid!"

I turned, and looked at the two, taking off my hat with a twinge of my scythe. I said in human language, "What, that makes me sub-human, like the League says now?"

One of the aids… April, I think, flinched, as did Sarah. Christina, however… her jaw was down, but she sure as hell wasn't screaming.

Charizard reappeared beside me, and growled out, "You sure about this, brother mine?"

I nodded, replying quietly, "If it doesn't work, we can always escape." Charizard nodded, and shifted his stance so it was protective of me.

Oak, however… he looked torn between joy, and fear. Ivy looked to be the same. "You can control your form, and you haven't gone insane?"

I brought up my paws that had replaced my fingers, and rubbed them to the place where my human nose had been. I replied lightly, "Sol, Absol Sol." (Of course)

I freed my tail, and looked over at Ivy, adding on, "I hope this doesn't change things."

Ivy blinked, then shook her head. "I've never believed what the League claims. They have never let one of us pokemon professors speak to or examine any of the hybrids they capture… so most of us doubt their actions. And besides, now I have an assistant who can give me a dark type's perspective on the stone."

I shrugged, nodding.

&&&&&

It took awhile, before April and Sarah came within yards of me, after I pulled my stunt. Even then, they were suspicious of me, even though Ivy admonished them to keep my state a secret.

I ignored it, and instead focused on working with Ivy and Oak. They took my abilities in stride, surprisingly, and were focusing on the dark stone.

I held the stone in my hands, charged it with a bit of Dark energy, and then passed it to professor Oak. He placed it in the machine, and then pressed a few keys. Thus far, none of the machinery they had could really pin down the dark energies, so instead, they were analyzing it by a standard of comparison. Since I could charge stones with dark energy temporarily, it meant they had a nearly unlimited supply of temporary black stones.

The machine's screen flickered, and showed a chart of information. Oak frowned, looking at the display. He turned to me, and said, "This is… odd. It's obvious your charging is temporary, and the Void won't accept a human's presence… so how did this happen?"

I blinked, and said slowly, "Uh… professor? So long as you're nude, the Void doesn't care. I'm perfectly fine in there, but the… whatever it is… drives me nuts if I'm wearing clothing. I suspect the same applies for full humans."

Oak looked at me in surprise, then said slowly, "Well, that's interesting… I wonder… can your Tyranitar charge stones as well? Her type would make it the most likely to produce the largest output."

I shrugged, and released Tyranitar. She had already heard, and held out her arm. Oak passed her another stone, and she disappeared. Ivy arched an eyebrow at the sight, and asked, "Did you teach her Faint Attack, somehow?"

I nodded. "Yup. She had to be fully evolved to manage it, but I taught her how. Same goes for all of my pokemon, even Manectric."

Ivy nodded slightly. I'd already shown her that I could walk the void to skip distances, when it was my turn to pick up groceries from the nearby island.