I do not own Pokémon.

Shadows of the Past

Ash has been traveling in the Unova region for well over six months and had gotten seven badges before he met the one trainer that beat him in the Sinnoh region: Tobias. "Hey Tobias! Long time no see!" said Ash excitedly as he met the Legendary Pokémon Trainer. "Ash, good to see you. It's been a while" said Tobias. "Pika pi" said Pikachu. "Ash, who is this?" asked Iris as she saw Tobias. "This is Tobias. He was the one that beat me in the Sinnoh region during the Pokémon League" said Ash. "Oh? Did he use all six Pokémon to defeat you?" asked Iris. "Actually, he managed to defeat me with just two" said Ash. "Such a kid. Looks like that you weren't the great trainer that you thought that you were" said Iris. "Actually, he was the only one who was able to defeat my Darkrai and Latios" said Tobias. "Which Pokémon?" asked Cilan.

Tobias smiled before he called out Darkrai and Latios. Both Iris and Cilan were stunned to see two Legendary Pokémon, and what's more, owned by a trainer. "So, are you competing for the Unova league tournament with Darkrai and Latios?" asked Ash. "Whether you believe this or not, I'm here to visit the original trainer that caught Darkrai" said Tobias. What!

"Original trainer?" said a surprised Ash. "Yes. She's a very powerful trainer, and she wanted to get rid of Darkrai for some reason. She only said that her other Pokémon didn't get along with Darkrai, and that she never wanted to ever see him again. Of course, we do occasionally keep contact with each other, and Darkrai has been acting rather sad lately" said Tobias. Darkrai seemed to droop his head a little as Tobias was talking. Pikachu noticed Darkrai's sad behavior, and asked "Is something wrong?" Darkrai looked at Pikachu and said "I just…I need to talk to one of the Pokémon that my original trainer had. I've been thinking a lot of her lately, and…I just need to talk to her to set some things right."

Not too far from where Ash and his friends were, Team Rocket was watching them from the bushes. Jessie looked at James and said "Just imagine all of the rare Pokémon that trainer has if she was the one that caught Darkrai. That trainer must have zillions of rare Pokémon." "Yeah, but who knows what other legendaries she must have besides Darkrai. She could have Zekrom, Dialgia, Lugia, or some other rare legendary" said James. "Or even, she must be Arceus' trainer" said Meowth as the three imagined presenting Arceus to the boss Giovanni. "Team Rocket will be the most powerful force in existence" said Meowth.

Team Rocket trailed behind Ash, Tobias, and the others as they traveled to a place known as White Forest. They managed to get to a blimp airport terminal when they bumped into none other than…

"Paul! What is he doing here?" said Ash as he saw his long time rival there. Paul turned around and saw Ash with his friends. "So it's you again" said Paul "I'm here to train my Pokémon to become even stronger. I see that you're still hanging with that Pikachu of yours. Still haven't evolved it into Raichu?" "Oh come on! Pikachu is perfectly happy with the way that he is, and I won't force him to evolve!" shouted back Ash. "Still a loser, I see. Who are those two?" asked Paul as he saw Cilan and Iris. "I'm Cilan, a Pokemon connoisseur" said Cilan. "And I'm Iris, training to become a Dragon Master. And this is Axew" said Iris. "Axew" said Axew. "Why is Tobias hanging out with you anyway?" asked Paul. "It's because I'm here to see Darkrai's original trainer" said Tobias. "Original trainer? You mean that you weren't the one who caught Darkrai? He must have been a weakling if that trainer would give up a legendary Pokémon so easily" said Paul. "Truth is, I don't know why Darkrai's trainer wanted to get rid of him in the first place, but I do know that it wasn't because he was weak" said Tobias. "If you say that she was powerful enough to capture Darkrai, and then get rid of him so quickly, she seems like she only prefers powerful Pokémon. I'm willing to challenge her to a battle" said Paul as he shrugged. Ash looked irked to know that Paul only trained strong Pokémon (like he always did), but still refused to train any weaker ones.

It took several hours for the blimp to land in White Forest, when Tobias, Paul, Cilan, Ash, and Iris got off at the airport. Team Rocket was hanging out in the cargo bay area of the blimp, so they had to sneak out without getting caught or noticed by anybody. They continued to follow at a distance as Ash, Cilan, Iris, and Paul followed Tobias to where Darkrai's original trainer lived.

It took about three hours of walking to find the place, and they were surprised to find… "Roark!" exclaimed Ash as he saw the Gym Leader at the house. "Hey Ash. Long time no see" said Roark. He smiled before a Rampardos appeared and ran over. Before anybody could do anything, it was hugging Ash, Cilan, Tobias, Paul, and Iris within its arms and tail. "Mickael! Are you hugging our guests again?" said a mysterious woman as she appeared from the side of the house. "Will someone get this Pokémon off of me!" said Paul in a raspy voice as he felt his lungs constrict under Mickael's strong grip. "Mickael, put them down, now" said the woman as Mickael released everybody. He was wagging his tail happily as he sniffed the guests eagerly.

Roark couldn't help but smile at the Rampardos before… "Argh!" yelped Paul as Mickael slurped at his face "I officially hate this Pokémon now!" "Mickael, down. Why don't you go play with your brother in the back?" said the woman as the Rampardos wagged his tail before disappearing off to the side of the house. She looked back at the group and said apologetically "I must apologize for Mickael. He's always friendly whenever he meets new people." She looked straight at Tobias, frowned, then said "What brings you here? It's not because of Darkrai, is it?" He looked at her and said "I'm afraid that it is. He's been kind of sad lately, and I think that he misses you or one of your Pokémon." "I'm sorry, but Darkrai isn't allowed here. I can't allow Darkrai to see…" before the trainer stopped for a moment before continuing "I don't care about his feelings. He's not allowed here." Ash looked at the woman before shouting "What do you mean that you don't care about Darkrai's feelings? You were his original trainer, weren't you? You should at least be concerned for Darkrai's feelings, even if he is no longer your Pokémon!" "Not after what he did. I can't even forgive him for what that shadow did…not ever. Darkrai is the one that should be apologizing" said the trainer. Ash looked into her dark blue eyes and shouted "Of course you could forgive Darkrai for whatever he did to you! It couldn't have been…" "It wasn't what he did to me, but to my Dusknoir. And even if you knew what he did to…well, I think that it would make more sense if you all knew what Darkrai did that made me trade him in the first place. It would also explain why I can't forgive him…ever" said the trainer as she beckoned for the others to come inside.

They came inside the trainer's house, and they noticed a Dusknoir floating as she was talking to an Infernape. The Dusknoir looked at Tobias and looked frightened as the Infernape growled at him. "It's ok. He's here to know what happened since…" the trainer said "I think that's it's best if you two go outside with Mickael, Lunar, and Lilac." They nodded, then headed outside. Pikachu looked curiously at the two Pokémon before following them outside, followed by Axew. "Axew, where are you going?" asked Iris. "I think that it's best that they go outside while I explain to you about what happened with Darkrai" said the trainer.

They all sat down on the couches as they stared at the trainer. She had long, wavy hazelnut-colored hair (with a large light blue streak in it) and pale skin. She was wearing a short-sleeved black t-shirt with light green camouflage capriees. Her shoes were blue and white sneakers with pink-stripped black shoelaces. She had a silver-colored watch on, and she had silver-looped earrings. Tobias looked at the trainer, then said "Izzy, is everything alright?" "I'm sorry, but this all started to before I had my doubts as a trainer and…why I left Sinnoh in the first place" said Izzy. She looked up at all of them and said "This took place before my life turned upside-down, and it was all because of Darkrai."

Pikachu and Axew followed Infernape and Dusknoir outside to some other Pokémon. Mickael was playing with Roark's Rampardos as a Vespiqueein and a Mothim were talking to each other. They all stopped when they saw Infernape with Dusknoir. They all stopped what they were doing, and walked/flew over to the Dusknoir and Infernape. The Infernape was silent for a moment, before he looked at all of them and said "He's back." "I thought that she traded him so we wouldn't have to see that sick shadow again! Hasn't he done enough to Spectral? It's bad enough that he hurt her like that, but must he dare show his face around here, even after with what he's done?" said Mickael. Roark's Rampardos looked at Mickael and said "I'm confused with what's going on here, brother." Mickael looked over to his brother and said "It's part of a long story…" "He's not the only one who's confused around here" said Pikachu. Mothim looked down, sighed, and said "I guess that you might as well know since you're here. I'm Lunar, by the way." "I'm Lilac" said the Vespiqueein. "I'm Spectral" said the Dusknoir as she sighed. "I'm Corey, and you've already met Mickael" said the Infernape. He sighed, then said "This story began long ago, when our trainer wanted to become a Pokémon Master…

Eight years ago, Izzy was busy training her Infernape, Dusknoir, Rampardos, Vespiqueein, and Mothim against wild Pokémon. She had just won her sixth badge, and was training all of them so she could win her seventh. Rampardos was training so he could learn Dragon Pulse, but wasn't having much luck so far. Mothim and Dusknoir learned Psychic, while Infernape was trying to learn a few more fighting and fire type moves. In addition to training her Pokémon to become stronger, she was also training her weaker Pokémon to evolve. "Ok Mickael, use Zen Headbutt! Lunar, use Silver Wind!" called out Izzy as her Pokémon practiced their attacks.

While the group was training, a shadow was on the ground watching the group. The shadow took notice of Spectral sparing with the Infernape. The shadow slipped away as the Pokémon continued to train. That Dusknoir would be perfect for the shadow.

Night fell, and Izzy was asleep with her Pokémon. She was having a dream that she was in the Pokémon league with Mickael defeating Cynthia's Garchomp. Suddenly, the whole arena became dark. "Mickael, where are you?" called out Izzy, but nothing answered her back. She felt the temperature drop as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms to keep her warm. Something didn't feel right about this place.

Mickael was dreaming of being with Spectral in a field of flowers. He was relaxing under a tree with the ghost resting her head on his chest, with his arm draped around her shoulders. It was sunny, and a number of bird Pokémon were singing. A dark line appeared along the horizon, and it spread until it darkened the entire sky. Mickael held Spectral close to him, but he felt something trying to drag her way. He held on tightly to Spectral's hands, but the other force trying to take her away was stronger. "No!" he screamed as he lost his grip on Spectral's hands as the ghost disappeared into the darkness.

Corey the Infernape was having some nightmares as well. He was swinging through the trees at night, but something was wrong. The jungle seemed unusually quiet, but something was following him. He couldn't see or smell what it was, but he knew that something was there. He tried to swing faster through the trees, but no matter how far he swung, whatever was following him was keeping pace.

Lilac was having her own dreams where she was queen of a hive, but something was poisoning her babies. She screamed in agony as she watched her offspring die.

Lunar dreamt that he was flying in a forest, searching for flowers, but something was wrong. The forest was too quiet, and the trees were dying. Something was killing his world.

Mickael was the first one to wake up screaming. His screaming woke up Izzy, Corey, Lilac, and Lunar from their sleep. "Mickael, what's wrong?" said Izzy in panic. Mickael was breathing hard, as he tried to recollect himself. That nightmare really scared him; he just wanted to hold Spectral close to him. Thinking of her, he raised his head and looked around. He made a whining sound, as Izzy looked around as well. "Hey, where did Spectral go to?" she asked in confusion.

Spectral groaned as she woke up. This isn't my pokéball. Where am I? thought Spectral. She pushed herself up, and something pushed her back down. Darkrai materialized out of the darkness as his lone eye looked at her as he said "Relax, my pet. You are now my mate, where you'll stay with me forever." Spectral's eye widened as she screamed.

"Where could she have gone?" said Izzy as she searched the area for her ghost Pokémon. Mickael was searching alongside her, sniffing the ground as he tried to find Spectral's scent. He was just as worried as Izzy was for not finding the ghost Pokémon. She was very special to him, but he still couldn't reveal his true feelings for her. How could I have been so stupid to not to tell her that I loved her in the first place? thought Mickael as he sniffed the ground.

"I was such a fool for not telling her on how much I loved Spectral back then" said Mickael as he stared down at Pikachu. "But, that doesn't explain how you found her. Here she is, but what happened between you and Darkrai?" asked Pikachu. Mickael sighed, then looked at Spectral. She looked away in shame, then Mickael looked down at Pikachu. "Izzy, myself, Lilac, Corey, and Lunar all continued to search for Spectral for several months. We eventually managed to find Darkrai's cave in the area of Mount Coronet" said Mickael as he thought back to that day…

Both Mickael and Izzy were staring into the yawning cave that wound itself into Mount Coronet. Izzy had heard stories on how big the mountain was on the inside; that if you got lost within that labyrinth within the mountain, you would never find your way out. She turned to Mickael and said "Lead the way." Mickael nodded, then lowered his head as he sniffed the trail that he was on.

"It took us several days, but we managed to find Darkrai's lair" said Izzy to the group of trainers before her. "Did you manage to capture Darkrai then?" asked Ash. Izzy shook her head, then said "Actually, I used all five Pokémon that I had on me, including Mickael. We lost to Darkrai easily. He used Dark Pulse, Dark Void, and Dream Eater on all of my Pokémon, making them all faint. I had to retreat and leave Spectral behind; I couldn't help her if something terrible happened to me." She looked down as a few tears fell out of her eyes, then looked up as she said "All of my Pokémon had to be taken to the emergency room, where they were hospitalized for several days. I knew that I had to make them all stronger, and by that, I had to travel around and defeat some of the toughest trainers within the region. I had no choice but to leave Spectral behind with Darkrai until I became stronger. I abandoned her!"

At this point, Izzy just broke down crying as Roark held her close as he tried to comfort her. At this point, Iris asked "Just what did happen to Spectral while she was with Darkrai?" Roark sighed, then looked at Iris and said "I have a few hunches, but it's best if we wait until Izzy calms down. This is the first time that she's telling me about what happened to Spectral as well." "You mean, she hasn't told you either?" said a shocked Cilan. Roark nodded, then said "All I know is that she seemed sad whenever I brought up the subject, and she really doesn't want to talk about it much." Tobias slowly turned around to face his Darkrai and said "Just what did you do?" in a serious tone. Darkrai scratched the back of his head as he looked away.

While Izzy was crying inside the house, Team Rocket was outside hiding in the trees on the other side of the stream that ran alongside Izzy's house. "Just look at all of those rare and powerful Pokémon that are in her backyard" said Meowth. Sure enough, besides Mickael, Pikachu, Axew, and the other Pokémon telling of what happened, there was also a Fraxure, a Cranidos, and many other Pokémon. "Just imagine if we capture all of those Pokémon and present them to the boss" said James. "I know what he will say when we present all of those rare Pokémon" said Meowth. "Just what will he say?" asked Jessie.

Meowth painted a picture for them as he spoke: "Just imagine the boss waking up and walking outside. He sees a yard-full of Pokémon standing outside before him." A Chibi Giovanni is standing out on the balcony and looking at all of the rare Pokémon from the Unova region before him. "He will be so filled with joy that he will say 'Meowth and friends have given me all of these rare Pokémon. For that, I shall reward them with a big promotion and a huge raise.'"

"Yes, that would be wonderful, but only after we get the Pokémon from that Tobias person first. He has a Latios and a Darkrai, and we can't pass up what other legendary Pokémon that he has as well" said James. "Just imagine the raise that he will give us if we present him with legendary Pokémon" said Jessie as she imagined the boss' delight at receiving Latios and Darkrai. "But first, we need a plan to capture all of those Pokémon in the yard as well as Tobias' Pokémon" said Meowth "And I have just the plan."

Meanwhile, inside the house, Izzy finally managed to calm down. "I'm sorry, but I get so emotional when I think on what Darkrai did to Spectral. Like I said, it took me a long time to train my Pokémon until they were strong enough to even attempt to defeat Darkrai" said Izzy. She was silent for a moment, then she said "Mickael trained the hardest out of all my Pokémon for the next three years. He pushed himself hard to make himself stronger. I did become concerned for his health, but he refused to listen to me. It wasn't until much later that I found the reason why he trained so hard to defeat Darkrai."

"What was the reason why Mickael trained so hard? Was it to prove himself that he could be stronger than Darkrai?" asked Ash. Izzy shook her head, then said "No. He trained so hard because Mickael actually loved Spectral. Don't ask me why or how a Rampardos and a Dusknoir could love each other, but mine do. After all of our training, we headed off for Mount Coronet. It took us a few weeks to find Darkrai's cave again, but Mickael ran ahead of me without giving him an order to charge. It took me several hours, but I did manage to find Darkrai's lair." She breathed in, then said "You wouldn't have believed the battle that had gone on. I missed most of it, but Mickael was able to tell me a few years later on what happened in that cavern."

As Izzy told the group what Mickael told her, Mickael was outside telling Pikachu and Axew the battle that he fought with Darkrai.

"The day that I fought Darkrai a second time wasn't an easy battle. I really goofed up on the first move by using Zen Headbutt. It wasn't until that attack went right through him that I remembered that dark types aren't affected by psychic attacks. He then used Dark Pulse on me, which sent me flying into a wall. I fired Ancient Power at him, but he dodged it. We traded blows for hours, but he used Torment on me during the battle. I was very exhausted near the end and low on health when he grabbed hold of one of my head horns and said to me 'Dusknoir is mine.' That's when that shadow hit me with a Shadow Ball at close range. That's when I blacked out. The next thing that I knew, Izzy was there trying to wake me up. I've never seen her so frightened before in my entire life. She was holding on to me and crying on how she didn't want to lose me to Darkrai too.

"Just then, we heard a sinister cackling as Darkrai appeared from the shadows and said 'So, it seems that there will be another trainer and her Pokémon that I can add to my victories.' Very weakened, I still stood up as Izzy said 'Mickael? Are you even sure that you can fight?' I nodded, then stood between Izzy and Darkrai, as she said 'Mickael, even though you're weak, I still know that you can defeat Darkrai.' It was then and there that I used the most powerful attack that a Pokémon can use if it really trusts its trainer" said Mickael. "What was the name of the attack?" asked Pikachu. "It is a move used by very few Pokémon. That attack is known as Return. I charged at Darkrai, but as he tried to block my attack, I managed to defeat him. Ever since that day, I haven't used that attack. I'm not sure if even Izzy knew that I'd used Return. All I know is that, ever since that day that Darkrai took Spectral from us, she has questioned her ability as a trainer. That's why she hasn't been in a gym battle or a tournament since then. Darkrai still haunts her morals and conscious to this very day. That's why we all hate him" said Mickael. Pikachu was silent as he heard all of what Mickael said. Axew, on the other hand, had passed out from Mickael's horror story on life's experiences.

Inside the house, Izzy was finishing her story as well. "After Mickael defeated Darkrai, I was standing in shock for a few moments when I then realized that I could catch Darkrai. I then threw my pokéball at him, and I caught him without a struggle. Mickael was panting hard, so I called him back. When I ventured further into Darkrai's lair, I saw Spectral, but she…" said Izzy before she broke down crying. Roark then comforted her again, but this crying went on for a lot longer.

"What did Darkrai do to your Dusknoir? It's not like that it killed her" said Paul. That's when everybody glared at Paul. "What? She's dead anyway. She's a ghost Pokémon!" said Paul. Darkrai, on the other hand, looked away in shame. He really started feeling awkward in the room with Spectral's trainer.

"Did Darkrai torture Spectral?" asked Tobias after a while. Izzy shook her head as she continued to cry. "Did Darkrai…rape Spectral?" asked Roark. With that, Izzy nodded. Tobias glared at Darkrai as he said in a harsh, cold voice "You did what?" Darkrai avoided eye contact with Tobias, but a small voice said "Darkrai?" Everybody then looked towards the stairs as a small Darkrai appeared. "Is that another Darkrai?" asked Iris. Roark nodded, then said "That's Night Shadow. Spectral is in fact his mother. When I first came here, I was afraid of him at first, but as it turns out, he's really gentle." "I'm a father?" shouted Darkrai before he passed out. "My Darkrai's a father?" said a very shocked Tobias. "Darkrai?" said Night Shadow again before he floated down the stairs and came towards the trainers.

"It's so cute!" exclaimed Iris as she picked up Night Shadow and pinched one of his cheeks. "I detect a rather sour and bitter recipe that has a sweet aftertaste in a very long and complex preparation of a meal that requires an acquired taste" said Cilan. Roark, Tobias, and Paul all looked at Cilan as if he had two heads. "What on Earth is that supposed to mean?" said Paul. "It means that Cilan is being annoying" said Iris. "Ha ha ha. That was funny! Say more funny things" said Night Shadow.

"It seems that Night Shadow isn't afraid of you two" said Izzy as she stopped crying. "So, how long did this baby Darkrai take to hatch?" asked Iris. "Well, it took two years for Spectral to even lay Night Shadow's egg, and it took another three years for that egg to hatch" said Izzy. "Three years to hatch!" exclaimed Ash. Izzy nodded, then said "During those two years it took for Spectral to even lay that egg, my life went from bad to worse. It wasn't until after I captured Darkrai that I found out that my mother died. I had to go back for the funeral, and then a few months later, the lab where I received my first starter Pokémon was robbed. All of my Pokémon that I kept there were stolen. During that time, I quickly found out that all of my Pokémon hated Darkrai. I left town for a few weeks, and it was there that I met Tobias. I traded Darkrai for his Torterra. On my way back to my home town, I found out that Team Galactic tested a bomb of some sorts there, and the whole town was destroyed. I decided that I should leave the Sinnoh region since there was nothing there for me there, so I came to the Unova region. My life was nothing but a constant torment ever since I met Darkrai. I wanted to put as much distance between that Pokémon and myself, so I came to Unova to start a new life" said Izzy.

Everybody was shocked at what Izzy said, so Ash asked "So, are you ever planning on returning to the Sinnoh region again?" "Ash, that's a rather childish thing to say!" exclaimed Iris. "Actually, that was a rather good question that Ash asked. Within the last two months, I found a reason to go back to Sinnoh" said Izzy as she smiled at Roark as she held his hand.

"I smell a rather sweet combination of two opposites: a sour flavor mixed with a sweet dessert to make a rather smooth and succulent taste" said Cilan. "Does he always talk like this?" asked Paul. "Yes he does" said Ash as Night Shadow laughed at Cilan's words.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, as Izzy got up to answer it. Outside, were a woman, a man, and a short "man" who had a really fuzzy face. "Hello, madam! We're from the Pokémon Medical Association, and we're here to check if any of your Pokémon are healthy!" said the woman. "Thanks, but I had all of my Pokémon tested for diseases last week at the Pokémon Center" said Izzy as she closed the door on them. The trio was standing outside as Jessie looked down at Meowth and said "Great idea, Meowth. Now, what are we going to do?" "Just leave it all to me-owth, I still have more ideas" said Meowth.

"Who was that at the door?" asked Roark. "Just some people with the wrong address" said Izzy as she walked over to the couch and sat down. "Cran?" said a gray Pokémon as she hopped down the stairs. "Is that a Cranidos?" asked Cilan as he saw the little dinosaur. "Yeah, she's my Pokémon" said Roark as Cranidos hopped up on the couch. "She's so cute!" exclaimed Iris. "Did you bring her back to life from a fossil?" asked Ash. "No, rather, my Rampardos is her father. She hatched from an egg laid by Izzy's Cranidos" said Roark. "Is she strong?" asked Iris. Roark shook his head, then said "No, in fact, she doesn't know any attacks." "Then why are you keeping such a weak Pokémon around? I don't see on why any trainer would have a weak Pokémon, especially if it doesn't know any attacks" said Paul. Roark looked very offended that Paul said such a thing about his Cranidos as he narrowed his eyes.

Seeing that Roark was very angry at Paul, Cranidos cocked her head as the purple-haired man continued to talk with Roark as the two voices became louder. Daddy is not happy with mean purple-headed person thought Cranidos. She lowered her head, then hit Paul in the stomach with her hard head.

"Did Cranidos just use Headbutt?" asked Izzy. "I thought that you said that Cranidos doesn't know any attacks?" said Iris. "Looks like that I've been mistaken" said Roark with a shocked look on his face. "Cran!" exclaimed Cranidos happily. She hopped happily to Roark, when he said in a disapproving voice "Cranidos, as much as I am proud that you learned an attack, I don't want you to attack people." "I'm sorry, daddy" said Cranidos as she looked down. He then placed a hand on her head and said "Now, why don't you go play with the other Pokémon out back and practice Headbutt with your uncle?" "Cran!" she said happily, then ran out back. Ash looked at Cranidos, and said "Hey Cranidos!" "Cran?" she said as she turned around. "Why don't you play with Snivy? I'm sure that she'll love to play with you. Come on out, Snivy!" called out Snivy from her pokéball as she appeared. "Snivy" she said as she held her pose up straight. "Hey, why not Emolga plays with Cranidos as well?" said Iris as she called out Emolga.

"Now, I want you to play nicely with Cranidos, ok Emolga?" asked Iris to her flying squirrel Pokémon. "Emolga" said Emolga as Ash asked the same thing to Snivy. "Snivy" said Snivy as the three Pokémon headed out back. When they got out back, they saw Mickael having a practice battle with Corey the Infernape. Corey used Fire Punch, but Mickael countered with Take Down. "Hey Uncle Mickael! I learned Headbutt!" shouted Cranidos. Mickael stopped his battle, looked at Cranidos, and said "Congratulations, Cranidos. I am very proud of you. Have you learned any other moves?" "Well, no" she said as she looked down. Snivy and Emolga looked at each other, then the grass snake said "Well, we could try to teach you a new move." Cranidos looked up and said "I would love to. Um, what kind of new move?" Snivy and Emolga looked at each other, then looked at Cranidos and Snivy said "We could try to teach you Attract." "Uh, what is 'Attract?'" asked Cranidos. "Come, we'll show you" said Emolga as she led both Cranidos and Snivy to an area by the river, away from the rest of the Pokémon.

While Cranidos was talking to both Emolga and Snivy, Team Rocket was hiding in the trees, with their latest battle plan. "Ok, Team, prepare the Gigantic Vacuum Eelektross" said Meowth as Team Rocket began powering up their machine.

Inside the house, the trainers felt the ground rumble as Roark asked Izzy "Uh, Izzy, do earthquakes happen in White Forest often?" "No, in fact, there's not a lot of seismic activity in Unova at all" said Izzy before they all heard a lot of Pokémon screaming. "What the?" said Izzy before Tobias said "It's coming from outside!" They all rushed outside and they saw Team Rocket in a gigantic robotic Eelektross, with all of the Pokémon out back in its stomach. "Who are they?" asked Izzy. "They're called Team Rocket; they're these annoying bad guys who steal other people's Pokémon" said Ash. She looked over at Ash and said "You mean, you've met them before?" "All the time" said Ash before Team Rocket began their team motto.

While Team Rocket was saying their motto, Mickael tried using Skull Bash to break down the glass separating them from their freedom, but it was too thick. "Hmm, maybe I should try something else" said Mickael before he used Screech. All that he did was hurt the other Pokémon's ears. "Oops, sorry" said Mickael.

Nearby the river, both Emolga and Snivy have both successfully taught Cranidos how to use Attract. They all heard the commotion, then the three of them headed for the clearing. They saw Team Rocket with all of the other Pokémon inside their machine. "Oh no, it's Team Rocket" grumbled Snivy. "Who's Team Rocket?" asked Cranidos. "They're the most annoying humans that we've ever met, and they've got a Meowth who thinks that he's human" said Emolga.

They watched as Team Rocket turn their vacuum to maximum power, and watch as they sucked up the trainers as well as Darkrai. "DADDY!" screamed Cranidos as she ran up to the machine.

Team Rocket was feeling very triumphant when they saw Cranidos run out in front of their machine. "Oh look, a Cranidos, should we catch it?" asked James. "A Cranidos? We've got its evolved form, so we have no use for such a pipsqueak" said Jessie as she programed the Eelektross to smash Cranidos. She just kept on running around, screaming in fright. "Hold still, you runt" said Meowth before both Emolga and Snivy flew up to the head of Eelektross. "What is this? More tiny Pokémon?" snarled Meowth before both Snivy and Emolga winked, and used Attract. Jessie and James were unaffected, but Meowth had hearts in his eyes.

Inside Eelektross, Roark was panicking that his Cranidos would be smashed, so he kept on trying to ram into the glass. "Uh, Roark, Mickael said that he tried that already. It looks as if that glass is unbreakable" said Izzy. Roark looked at Izzy and said "Then what is it that you propose that we do? I can't have Cranidos smashed out there." Izzy thought for a moment, then looked at the trainers and said "Mickael knows Rock Climb, so he will be able to get us out of here. Now, I just need all of you to recall back your Pokémon so Mickael doesn't have to make too many trips to get us out of here." Tobias recalled back Darkrai, while Roark recalled back all of his Pokémon as well as Izzy. Mickael, Axew, and Pikachu were the only ones out of their pokéball, and Mickael approached his trainer. "Ok Mickael, I need you to use Rock Climb to get up, and use Hyper Beam when you get to the top" said Izzy. Mickael nodded, then began climbing.

It took a little while, but Mickael managed to reach the top, and he used Hyper Beam to blast open the top. While Mickael was climbing up, Team Rocket were busy trying to snap Meowth out of his attraction when they all got blasted by a Hyper Beam. They all got fried, and the machine collapsed in a heap. One minute, Mickael knew that he was facing up, the next, he was facing the river. "Rampar?" he said before all the trainers rushed out from behind him. "Come on, Mickael. Now is not the time to enjoy the sights" said Izzy. "Oh" said Mickael before he headed out.

All of the trainers were outside, before a charred Team Rocket climbed out and they said "We've" "had" "it" "with" "You!" while taking turns. "Go, Woobat!" called out Jessie as James called out Yamask. "Daddy!" called out Cranidos as she ran to Roark and clung to his leg. She was crying hard, before she felt Roark kneel down and stroke her head. "Shh, Cranidos. The machine was destroyed" said Roark.

Meowth, Jessie, and James glared at the trainers, before Cranidos turned her head and shouted something back at them. Meowth had this look of horror on his face, before Jessie looked down at him and said "Meowth, translate! What is that Cranidos saying?" Meowth turned his head slowly and said "That is one really messed up Cranidos. She says that the Gym Leader Roark is her father." Both Jessie and James looked at Cranidos and Roark and began laughing hard. They fell down while laughing hard, with their arms and legs moving around so fast, they were nothing but blurs.

Cranidos walked out in front of the trainers and said "He is my daddy, and I love him. I'm…I'm willing to fight all of you to protect him!" Just then, Meowth began laughing hard and said "Now that little runt says that she wants to fight all of us!" It didn't take too long for Team Rocket to stop laughing as they said "Ok, runt. We'll take your challenge. Woobat, use Air Slash! Yamask, use Shadow Ball!" Both Yamask and Woobat fired their attacks at Cranidos. "Cran!" she exclaimed as she was thrown back. "Cranidos!" called out Roark. Mickael saw all of this, and he got very angry. He stepped out in front and snorted. He fired off a Screech attack to lower the opponents' defenses.

While the battle was going on outside, Night Shadow was inside the house when he heard the commotion. "Darkrai?" he said before he floated outside. He saw Mickael battling both Woobat and Yamask, before the two of them began glowing.

Yamask and Woobat had evolved into Cofagrigus and Swoobat. Swoobat fired Energy Ball while Cofagrigus fired off Dark Pulse. The both of them hit Mickael hard, before he countered with Hyper Beam. It went through Cofagrigus before Meowth laughed and said "Looks like pointy-head had forgotten that normal attacks don't affect Ghost-types." Mickael had forgotten that, and now his energy was depleted. Both Cofagrigus and Swoobat attacked again, this time knocking Mickael out. "Uncle Mickael!" exclaimed Night Shadow before he ran out of the house and headed for the battle.

"Well, that was easy" said James. Suddenly, a little Darkrai zoomed in front of Mickael. "Darkrai" it said angrily. "Is that a baby Darkrai?" said Jessie. "Let me emphasize if we capture that little Darkrai and we present it to the boss…" said Meowth as he began one of his crazy fantasies.

While Meowth was telling his crazy story to Team Rocket, Izzy looked at Ash and asked "Are they always this crazy, or did Mickael's Hyper Beam fry their brains?" He looked at her and said "They're always this crazy." "Darkrai!" exclaimed Night Shadow. Meowth stopped his crazy story, then looked at Night Shadow and said "You're saying that you want to fight us?" "Darkrai" it said as it nodded. "Ok, squirt, if you win, we'll leave. But, if we win, we get to take you to the boss. Is that understood?" said Meowth. "Darkrai" it said as it nodded its head. Meowth inhaled to make his chest bigger as he thought (with an evil look on his face) That little squirt doesn't know that I managed to learn the scary Night Slash move. Plus, with Cofagrigus and Swoobat helping me, it'll never win. "Attack!" commanded Meowth as both Cofagrigus and Swoobat joined in battle. Meowth started with his Night Slash, but Night Shadow dodged. Both of Night Shadow's little arms began to glow purple as it did a Night Slash back at them.

"Huh? Izzy, I thought that you said that Night Shadow doesn't know any attacks" said Roark as he looked at Izzy. Izzy was just as confused as Roark as Swoobat did Energy Ball, which hit Night Shadow. Night Shadow used Energy Ball back at Swoobat, knocking it out. "Let Me-owth handle this little pipsqueak" snarled Meowth as he tried Fury Swipes, but Night Shadow did a Fury Swipes back at Meowth, scratching up his face. "Me-ow, ow, ow!" called out Meowth as he held his face as he ran around in circles. "Did he…? Ok, Night Shadow, use Mimic on Cofagrigus' next move!" called out Izzy as Night Shadow prepared to use Mimic on Cofagrigus.

James looked angry, then said "Ok Cofagrigus, use Hyper Beam!" "Cofagrigus" said Cofagrigus as it prepared to use Hyper Beam. "Cran!" called out Cranidos as she entered battle. "Cranidos?" said Roark in confusion. "Cran" she said as she winked and spun around, releasing a lot of little pink hearts that floated around and surrounded Cofagrigus. "Cofa-gri-gus" said Cofagrigus as he became attracted to Cranidos. "Did Cranidos just use Attract?" said Paul. Roark just stood there, confused on how Cranidos learned Attract.

Meowth got annoyed at Cofagrigus, then used Night Slash on the ghost Pokémon. This, in turn, made Cofagrigus angry so he used Hyper Beam on Meowth. Meowth got fried, so he fainted. Cofagrigus was exhausted for a turn, then used Hex on Darkrai. Being a Dark type, this didn't affect Night Shadow, so he countered with a Mimic on Hex, making Cofagrigus faint. "Daarrk-rai!" called out Night Shadow as he used Hyper Beam to blast off Team Rocket. "Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again!" they called out as they flew off into the sky. "Did Darkrai just learn Hyper Beam?" said Iris. Izzy was shocked, then said "Yes, I guess that he did. Didn't you Night Shadow? …Night Shadow?" said Izzy as she went to check on her baby Darkrai. She tapped on his shoulder, but he fell over, fainted from the usage of energy. "Well, it looks as if Night Shadow is exhausted from learning Hyper Beam" said Izzy, before she heard everybody falling to the ground behind her.

Later that evening, both Roark and Izzy bid goodbye to Iris, Ash, Cilan, Paul, and Tobias as they left for the Pokémon Center (they were all heading for Black City the next day.) Inside her house, Izzy was sitting with Roark on the couch, with the Gym Leader stroking his girlfriend's hair. The both of them were impressed with their baby Pokémon learning so many new moves today.

Author's note: Surprised that my story had a sequel? Well, this isn't the last of the story either. I have a whole series planned with both Roark and Izzy.