So yeah… I nearly had a heart attack on August 29th, no kidding! So you remember how I said that I will be busy last chapter? Well, it was true! So I decided to write the draft of this chapter in the Notes function of my phone, not realizing that the notes were linked to an e-mail address. So what do you think happened when I found out the e-mail address was wrong? Yup, I changed it… before I realized that my notes were gone… at over SIX THOUSAND words! And I did not back up my phone because every Mega Byte on my laptop that I can save is ultra valuable (for some reason it is almost full now :/). So what's the point of me saying all this? It was a pain to get softwares to recover bits and pieces of my notes (even then, I only managed to recover bits and pieces of the first part of this chapter), so it isn't as good as my original draft (but then again, I have my awesome beta reader who helped me out and did not laugh her ass off for more than four hours!)… I'm basically doing most on memory and filling up what is left open right now (though it's definitely not as good as my original :(). I just created a new e-mail JUST to send in my backups every night to prevent that incident from ever happening again xD other than that, real life has been pretty good (though for some reason my traffic stat has been frozen from the 24th of August to the 31st :/). Okay, that's all life story for now xD
Now, I promise I'll try not to bore you with a long Author's note or anything, but there are still a few things that I absolutely need to write down, so please… don't just skip over them but read through them also…
First of all, special thanks to, in order of sending them in, Namitaa776, joycewu333, DaPokemonMadster and GTheTecher for sending in their OCs last chapter! I know I already said this before, but I'll say it again: thank you! I hope I put your characters in character this chapter! Sorry to DaPokemonMadster and GTheTecher as their OCs won't be coming out… yet… But I promise your OC will come out soon!
Next up, review responses! Six reviews from four different people since the last time I updated this story! You guys are awesome!
Namitaa776: You should know, seeing that you've been my (unofficial) beta reader for all my stories for a while now xD anyway, thanks for being the first to review this story (it looks kind of empty without a review ya know?). I know I said this before, but I'm just going to keep on nagging ya xD when are you making an account already? It's much easier that way! Also, let's see if this chapter really did live up to your expectations, shall we?
Painted Lady Bug: Thank you for reading and taking the time to review Night of the Black Sun, I really appreciate it. I can tell that English isn't your first language, so please forgive me if I misunderstood your wording (you have very long, unsystematic sentences making it so that I can't really pick up what it is you really want to say (sorry for being so blunt and direct)). Anyway, I'm afraid I don't get the joke, but I can see why you think that way of Mirza… It's actually quite a popular writing technique, so look it up! I'm well aware he's depicted as invincible, but I made him that way for a reason. Why? Only Namitaa776 and I know, and neither one of us will reveal the answer until the right time comes! Ah, you're a sharp one, I admit that much! You got several possible answers. Unfortunately, I can't answer which one is correct (if any at all) without spoiling most of the story, so yeah… You're just going to have to wait and see like every other reader out there! Maybe this chapter will answer some questions! At the same time, maybe it'll just give you more questions; who knows? Wait, I do xD
DaPokemonMadster: Wow… That's seriously all I can say knowing that you reviewed EVERY. LAST. CHAPTER. OF. EVERY. STORY. I. HAVE! Except the first two chapters of Specialventure Academy and my SoulSilver one shot Melting a Silver Soul, what gives xD? Just kidding xD I appreciate it, I really do! I know I already responded to you personally, but I feel like I have to write something down here for you xD anyway, just like Painted Lady Bug, I can't tell which theory (if any) is correct without spoiling the story. Are they good theories? Absolutely! Are any of them right? Let's find out!
GTheTecher: Thank you for your OC submission, I already have an idea of how to incorporate him in the story even though you submitted him the latest from the ones who have submitted an OC (as a matter of fact, you submitted him when I was already editing this chapter). You put quite a lot of detail in the Pokémon description if I may say so myself! As for the story with Yu-Gi-Oh… I honestly dunno… I already said that I'm really busy and I barely have enough time to update the three that I have going already. If I do decide to do one (or a story from a different fandom for that matter) it probably won't be until the holidays… I'm actually planning an Inazuma Eleven one shot and thinking of a Digimon or Pokémon and Inazuma Eleven crossover right now, so maybe after that I can consider it…? I'm not that confident with Yu-Gi-Oh, though it seems to be an interesting choice to write a fanfic about. I can't promise anything yet though…
Disclaimer time! Other than OC Mirza and the plot, I don't own anything! This includes anything related to Pokémon, the newly added cover image (source of that is in the first chapter!) and the OCs submitted by Namitaa776 and joycewu333!
-= Yellow's POV =-
"I'm glad I could be of some help," I heard Mirza say. I wasn't focused on him, I was more focused on my Pokédex, and on all the new entries I had now, just like everybody else was. They found two new evolutions for Eevee and they were so cute! I wonder what would happen if Red's Vee had evolved into one of them… I suddenly felt the air tense up and, when I looked up, saw that Mirza was both breathing heavily and trembling greatly. I was about to ask him what was wrong when all of a sudden he pulled me and Silver to the ground, shouting to the others, "EVERYBODY GET DOWN!"
The second I hit the ground, multiple Hyper Beam attacks blew up the lab, sending all of us flying out. If it wasn't for Mirza's sharp senses and quick reflexes, Silver and I would be in a whole lot more pain than we were now. I looked around and saw to my shock that Silver, Mirza and I were the only three left unhurt enough to even stand! Mental note of to do things: thank Mirza for his quick thinking.
"I see, so there are some trainers who were able to avoid getting critically damaged," a female voice rang through the area. All three of us looked up to see three trainers standing on a nearby hill. All of them had one Pokémon with them that I recognized instantly and another one that I didn't. I quickly pulled out my Pokédex, thanking Mirza mentally for updating the data, so I could check on the Pokémon I didn't recognize. So these were the ones who attacked us huh? They hurt my friends and destroyed Professor Oak's lab! I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists, already feeling my blood boil. The girl, who seemed to be of around Blue's age, started talking. Her jet black hair was tied into a low ponytail and her brown eyes glinted with… Anger? I shrugged, instead focusing on her attire: a white T-shirt and long, black trousers. I mentally thanked Arceus that Ruby was knocked unconscious right now, as her clothes were slightly torn and muddy, "I admit I'm impressed. I had not expected people to come out of that explosion alive. Guess we got a real fight this time!"
"Who are you?!" Silver demanded, basically asking the girl the question we all wanted to ask. My attention, however, was more on the male in the center. Even though I've never met him, he seemed so familiar… where have I seen him before? My train of thoughts was broken by an angry Silver, who continued shouting questions at the trio, "Why did you attack us?! Answer me!"
"You know… You talk too much…" the male in the center said. I flinched. I recognized that voice, but from where? Silver seemed to have been caught off guard as well. Was that man somebody Silver and I both know? "I'll silence you myself and finish you off for goo —"
"Hold on!" the ponytail girl shouted, interrupting her male partner and getting the attention of everybody in the area who was standing. She turned to her male companion, and bowed slightly before continuing, "With all due respect, please allow me to take care of them. They are hardly worth your time. Go on ahead and I promise I will catch up."
"Very well… don't keep us waiting though." The male finally sighed, giving in to the request of his partner. He returned the Pokémon my Pokédex identified as a Roserade and got on his Salamance, while the other girl had already returned her Tyranitar and gotten on something known as a Garchomp. I shuddered. Whoever these trainers were, they sure are powerful! Are these the trainers Mirza was talking about earlier? The other girl had already left on her Pokémon, but the male took a moment to look down at me first. It was only when he turned around and set off that I finally recognized him.
"WAIT!" I called out, releasing Kitty from his confinement in his Poké Ball and flying after him. I need to reach him! My eyes and thoughts were so focused on the male in front of me that I didn't focus on my surroundings. Big mistake Yellow! I suddenly felt the air heat up and, when I turned to the source, looked in horror as a Hyper Beam attack was launched straight at me. I couldn't move.
"SKARA!"
The next thing I knew, something hard crashed into me from my left, before the Hyper Beam exploded and sending me flying. I landed surprisingly softly and saw to my surprise that a Skarmory had taken the hit for me.
"T-Thank you…" I muttered, as I stroked the bird's beak. She tried to reassure me she was fine, but grimaced instead. It was only then that I noticed her wings were folded in an unusual and painful angle; her left wing was also charred significantly, probably from the attack she took head on earlier, "I'm sorry… you got hurt because of me… at least, let me do this to make it up to you…"
I placed my hands on her wound, receiving a confused and pained look from the metal bird, but she didn't withdraw her wing. Closing my eyes, I felt the power of the Viridian Forest flow through me, from my chest to my shoulders to my arms to my fingertips and, finally, to Skarmory's wings. A few seconds later, I opened my eyes to see a fully recovered yet confused Pokémon. I smiled, happy that she had recovered. I thanked her again, before hearing another explosion. I looked up just in time to see Silver and his Sneasel being thrown back, thankfully caught by Blue's inflated Wigglytuff. I then looked around, glad to see that more people had regained consciousness and had started facing off against the girl who attacked us.
"Golduck! Hydro Pump!"
"Scorch them Explotaro! Flamethrower!"
"Arckee! Use Flamethrower!"
"Hey! We use the same move! Awesome!"
"S-Shut up and focus on the battle in front of you!"
"Blasty! Avenge my brother! Hydro Pump!"
"Zzz… Zzz…"
"Pilo! Use SolarBeam! GO AND WAKE UP PRISSY BOY!"
"WAAAH! What was that for you barbarian?!"
"For pretending to sleep when our seniors are fighting for our lives!"
"WHAT?! I did NOT —"
"STOP FLIRTING!"
"WE'RE NOT FLIRTING!"
"Whatever… Dusclops! Shadow Punch!"
"Well? Aren't you going to help us out and fight, Prissy Boy?"
"Fine! Zuzu! Muddy Water!"
"Alright Pilo, go! Use Magical Leaf!"
I watched in awe as everybody was combining their attacks to hit that girl. I'm sure that with everybody's effort, it will do the trick! I then saw, to my horror, that a yellowish green screen of light was around Bronzong and a greenish transparent bubble was around Altaria. They were using Light Screen and Protect! But that meant… that meant that none of our attacks was doing much to them at all! I ran back to the group, prepared for a showdown like none we've ever faced before, as that girl has already proven to be very strong.
"Who are you?!" Green demanded, trying to convey as much rage in his voice as possible, even though I could still hear that he, too, was shocked that none of our attacks was doing anything to her Pokémon at all, "Why did you attack us?! Answer me!"
"My name is Clara," the girl, apparently named Clara, finally sighed. Alright, at least we know her name! That was a start… Now why did she attack us? "And I'd rather not fight you —"
"Then why ARE you?" Gold shouted, interrupting the girl. Normally I'd ignore Gold's outbursts, but this time, I had to admit he made a solid point: why did she attack us if she didn't want to fight us? "Why?! If you don't want to fight us, then just go and leave us alone! We didn't disturb you so you had no right to attack us out of the blue like that!"
"But to obtain what I need to obtain, I will do anything that I need to do," Clara finished, eyes closed. She seemed completely unfazed by the fact that Gold had just interrupted her. Her Altaria and Bronzong landed on either side of her, and Clara took her time to lovingly pet both of them. I frowned. Although I agree that Pokémon should be treated well, did she really had to do that while she was in the middle of a battle? She was looking down on us! I was so deep in my thoughts and frustration that I didn't realize that she was glaring at us, "Even if it means destroying every last one of you!"
"You know… truth to be told, I don't want to fight you either," Mirza shrugged, as he walked up to her, hands in his pockets. What was he doing? He was going to get hurt! Wait… did he just say he didn't want to fight her? Now I'm really confused… "I don't have any business with you but with your two partners that just flew off. I don't really have a reason to fight you either, so why don't we make a deal? We promise that we won't stand in your way if you promise not to stand in ours. It seems pretty fair to me, no?"
"You don't get it, do you…?" Clara muttered, as she shook her head in annoyance. I gulped, as I was starting to get a bad feeling about this. She wasn't messing around here! Clara snapped her fingers at her Altaria and Bronzong, who both went in front of her as a response, "Show him what I mean. Dragon Pulse! Flash Cannon!"
Wait what?! Dragon Pulse and Flash Cannon? I've never even heard of those moves before! Well, guess I'm about to find out what they are… Her Altaria opened her mouth wide, condensing a bluish purple energy within her mouth, before releasing that energy in a stream towards us. Her Bronzong, in turn, charged up a silvery white energy beam and fired it straight at us. We all tensed, not knowing what to do or how to counter it. Before any of us could dodge it, however, the two beams curved upwards and, to all of our shock, collided with each other, exploding in a blinding flash of light.
-= 3rd Person POV =-
The flash of light blinded the Pokédex holders and Mirza for a good and solid two minutes. When they finally regained their vision, however, they were shocked to see that one of them was missing.
"PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!"
The teens would recognize that voice anywhere, but even so, looked up to see Clara's Altaria circling forty meters above the ground, having Gold caught in her talons, who was struggling desperately to break free. Although the Pokédex holders knew the situation was dire, they didn't quite know what to do to help Gold.
"Skara!" Mirza called out. His Skarmory let out a battle cry and took the skies. Seeing this, Mirza grinned, glad to see that she wasn't all that hurt after taking that Hyper Beam attack head on before, "Brave Bird Theta Thirteen! Take down that Altaria and get Gold down!"
The Pokédex holders looked in awe as Skara had her entire body enveloped in a bright red flame while picking up speed. Soon after, she spread her wings and the red flames turned a sky blue in color, with the metal bird spinning as she got closer and closer to the shocked Altaria. Cheers of encouragement were heard from the Pokédex holders, and Mirza himself had his hopes high for his Pokémon's success.
"You're way too naïve if you think a simple, head front attack like that will defeat me," Clara announced loud and clear, gaining the shocked attention of the Pokédex holders. She turned to her Bronzong and nudged it forward, "Go. You know what to do."
Bronzong's eyes lit up a light blue color, a color that also covered Skara's entire body, extinguishing the flames. Numerous gasps from the Pokédex holders, Skara herself was unable to move and Mirza gritted his teeth as he realized what exactly was happening. Skara was turned around one eighty degrees and send plummeting down to the ground.
"Skara!" Mirza cried out as he was forced to watch his Skarmory come crashing down to the ground, unable to break free from Bronzong's Psychic attack.
The next thing everybody knew, Skara crashed into the ground, raising a huge dust cloud. When the dust had settled, everybody was shocked to see that Mirza had somehow managed to get under Skara, cushioning her fall.
"I'm glad you're not as hurt as I was afraid you'd be," Mirza grinned, as he petted Skara's beak lovingly. The metal bird cooed in concern, but her trainer shrugged it off, "I'm fine… now… get some rest and leave the rest to us alright?"
Mirza petted Skara one more time, before he got up, albeit slowly, and returned to the Pokédex holders, who were discussing worriedly about what had just happened.
"There's no way around it, she's strong… really, really strong…" Crystal muttered, receiving silent nods of agreement from the other Pokédex holders, who were all still dumbstruck from what had just happened, "Not only did she took all of our attacks head on and left without a scratch, but Mirza, who defeated senior Green in just three moves, had his Skarmory grounded in just one… if anybody has a plan on what to do, please speak up now…"
"Not like I'm trying to rush you guys or anything," an irritated voice rang through the area. The group of teenagers looked up to see that Gold had ceased his efforts in struggling free from Altaria's grip for a moment to glare down at them, "But could you guys quit the chit chat and GET ME DOWN FROM THIS THING!?"
Everybody sweatdropped at Gold's outburst, but could understand his discomfort all the same. A few people looked like they wanted to suggest a plan of action, but shut their mouths again once they remembered the urgency of the situation at hand and not sure whether their plan would be a good idea or not. Finally, Green swallowed his pride and turned to the person who had just defeated him earlier, "You've faced her before right? What do you say we should do?"
"Not her specifically, but I have faced people like her. The thing is, there are a lot of things to consider here right now," Mirza replied while deep in thoughts. The others turned to him in the hopes that he had a solution, "From what I've seen of her battling so far, she's experienced in double battles. That fact alone makes her stand out from the trainers I have faced before, who all were experienced in one on one battles. She got one of us hostage, so we obviously can't act rashly or he'll get hurt. From the way she has attacked us so far, it looks like her Altaria is her main Pokémon, while her Bronzong is her back up and support."
"So if we can at least take out one of them, we can easily take out the other one right?" Sapphire exclaimed, receiving enthusiastic murmurs in response. Apparently, most of them thought just like the Hoenn native girl did, "Which one should we take out first though? The stronger one or the back up one?"
"Would it really be that easy? I honestly doubt it," Ruby suddenly came up, much more serious and focused than what most people had seen him. This, naturally, shocked the other trainers, but none were more shocked than Ruby's rival herself, "We've seen just how powerful she is. All of us attacked her together and we didn't even leave a scratch! Her Altaria knows Protect, and although it is likely her Bronzong knows it too, we at least know for a fact it can use Light Screen. In short, neither will be taken down easily. And did you guys forget how easily she took care of Mirza's Skarmory? I don't think beating her will be that easy… I'm not even sure if we're ready to face somebody like her in our current state…"
The other Pokédex holders fell silent as they begun to realize just how big the gap between them and Clara really was. Although nobody was willing to admit it, they all knew that Ruby was right: they wouldn't stand a chance against her how they are right now.
"I'm getting tired of waiting and just sitting around!" an angry voice interrupted the Pokédex holder's train of thoughts. Clara, who had been sitting on her spot on top of the hill, had sprung up and to say that she was angry would be the understatement of a lifetime, "I came here to finish you guys off and that is exactly what I'm going to do! Altaria!"
Clara snapped her fingers loud and clear, getting the attention of the Pokédex holders. Her Altaria, who had been circling high above the ground until then, began a nosedive. Gold, who was still trapped in the Pokémon's talons, screamed in horror as he plummeted down to his doom. Some gasps were heard from the group of teenage Pokémon trainers, but three boys had a determined look on their faces.
"We only have one shot at this. In other words, we mess up here and Gold's a goner," Mirza announced, grabbing and enlarging a Dive Ball from his belt. Green and Silver both nodded while enlarging a Poké Ball of their own. The others could just look on, hoping desperately that the three boys had a plan that could actually work and save Gold, "Alright let's do this! Lapereo! Ice Beam Epsilon Two! Shoot down her Altaria!"
Mirza's Lapras appeared with a large thud and, as soon as it had fully materialized, shot a high powered and fast beam of ice straight towards Altaria. Most of the Pokédex holders cheered, seeing that Altaria was moving too fast to dodge the Ice Beam, but Blue groaned, already having a feeling what was going to happen and cursing Mirza mentally for forgetting.
"You never learn…" Clara muttered while shaking her head. Blue's fears were realized as the raven haired girl nodded once at her Bronzong, "Go."
Clara's Bronzong floated in front of its trainer, eyes turning a light blue color. A light blue color that also surrounded Lapereo's Ice Beam, curving it around and sending it right back to where it came from. Yellow, Crystal, Ruby and Sapphire tensed up while Emerald started panicking as he saw the attack come back at them, but Blue was fuming.
"Oh COME on Mirza! You should've seen that coming! Why didn't you see that coming?!" Blue exploded, turning to said boy. She was shocked not to get a response from him when she started shouting. She was more shocked, however, by the fact that the older boy was grinning, "What are you…?"
"You're wrong Blue, I did see that coming. As a matter of fact, I was hoping that she would do that again. Now we can finish this and save Gold," Mirza grinned, completely unfazed by Blue's outburst. Glancing sideways, he continued, "You're up!"
"Right" Green threw his Poké Ball in the air and, together with the Pokémon he already had out, commanded the two at the same time, "Go! Use Psychic on that Ice Beam and redirect it straight to the ground!"
Once again shocking the poor brunette, Blue could only watch as Green's Alakazam materialized and, together with Green's Golduck, had his eyes turn a light blue color as well. The Ice Beam shook a bit before turning around once again and striking the ground, forming huge and sharp pillars of ice. Pillars of ice that Clara's Altaria was heading straight into.
"… I admit that was impressive. Not only did you redirect an attack that my Bronzong had just redirected, but you created ice pillars like those with just one Ice Beam… However…" Clara smirked as she said that last word. Blue and Crystal bit their lower lip, realizing one aspect the boys had overlooked from their plan of action, and were sure that their opponent had realized it as well, "Looks to me like you forgot: your friend is still held by my Altaria! If my Altaria goes down then so will your friend. You actually made my job a whole lot easier!"
"Oh really? You might want to check again then!" a taunting voice suddenly came up, and everybody turned to see Silver's Sneasel and Murkrow land graciously beside their trainer, holding a still shivering Gold, "The move Thief isn't all that uncommon and really useful! Your attention was so distracted with what was happening below Altaria that you didn't see what was happening to Altaria!"
"Also…" Mirza smirked, seconds before Altaria, despite her efforts to avoid them, crashed into the pillars of ice. Clara's face hardened as she realized that she had just been outsmarted, "Your main Pokémon has just been defeated! Do you really think we are that blind? You focused your attacks with Altaria and Bronzong was always there to back her up! Now that your Altaria is down, move out of the way and let me go to your two partners who are too afraid to face us!"
A full twenty seconds of silence followed after Mirza finished talking. Twenty seconds where nobody dared to move, feeling how tense the air around the jet black haired boy was.
"I SAID MOVE!" Mirza snapped. He pointed straight at Clara, and everybody rushed out of the way, overwhelmed by his anger, "LAPEREO! DO IT NOW! OMEGA ONE!"
Lapereo hesitated for a split second, obviously not used to the command, but obliged nonetheless. From his mouth came a stream of ice and snow which even made Sapphire shiver as a result, even though she was a full fifteen meters away from the attack. The powerful attack was heading straight towards Clara, who was visibly shocked at the huge power surge from her opponent.
"Bronzong!" she cried out frantically. Said Pokémon quickly got itself in between its trainer and the stream of destruction from Lapereo, creating a solid barrier of light around itself. Lapereo's overwhelming attack broke through the Light Screen as if it weren't there and struck the Bronze Bell Pokémon hard, creating a huge explosion, throwing Clara back a bit. Once the smoke cleared, everybody saw that, despite the power of the attack, Bronzong was still holding on, albeit only slightly. Clara gritted her teeth, before turning back to Mirza, "That attack… a trainer commanding a Lapras and Skarmory and who can change his battling style in an instant… don't tell me…"
"I am not going to say this again," Mirza shouted, trembling in anger. The other teenagers had backed away in fear at the power he had just displayed, "I only have business with those other two who had left the battlefield! Move aside now or I won't hold back the next time I attack you!"
"I know you're hurt but I really need you now," Clara turned desperately towards her Pokémon who was still struggling to remain conscious, "Use Hyper Beam!"
Staggering quite a bit to remain conscious, Bronzong finally managed to charge up and fire a dense orange colored beam. When seeing the attack of his opponent, Mirza sighed exasperatedly before turning to his Lapras, "You know the drill… Hydro Pump Gamma Four."
With a loud shriek Lapras fired a high pressured stream of water at the ground which, in turn, bounced off and created a barrier that stopped the Hyper Beam in its tracks. The moment all the water had cleared from the scene, Mirza was glaring at his opponent.
"Any last word?" he asked in a dangerously low and threatening voice, taking a step forward to emphasize his point. Clara gulped, already aware that she wouldn't be able to defeat him in his current state, "Or do you want me to end this right here and now?"
The raven haired girl looked around desperately, seeing her unconscious Altaria laying on the ground near the shattered remains of the ice pillars, the Pokédex holders who were all watching the scene intently but had taken their distance, her Bronzong who was barely holding on and Mirza himself. After making up her mind, she recalled Altaria and turned to her Bronzong, "I'm counting on you! Flash Cannon!"
Bronzong charged up again, this time a silvery white energy, before firing it at the skies above. The Pokédex holders, having already seen her strategy, quickly shielded their eyes or turned away to prevent themselves from getting blinded by the bright flash of light that followed. When they could look up and see again, there was no sign of either Clara or her Bronzong.
"She got away!" Sapphire shouted while punching a nearby boulder, crushing it to smithereens. Like the others, she was still angered after seeing the huge power difference between them and Clara. Taking a few breaths to try and calm herself down, she turned back to the group and asked a question to nobody in particular, "So what do we do now?"
"I'll tell you what we're going to do," Mirza announced with confidence while recalling his Lapereo. Green, Blue, Crystal, Silver and Yellow all nodded, although the last one was a bit hesitant. Turning back to Sapphire, he continued, "There were two other trainers with her right? We're going after them and give them a piece of our mind! Skara!"
With a loud battle cry, Skara spread her wings and took to the skies. Mirza ran after her a bit before jumping on her back, flying off in the direction Clara's partners had run off to. One by one, the Pokédex holders recalled their Pokémon and send out their flying types, following Mirza into what all of them knew was going to be the fight of their lives.
It took the Pokédex holders fifteen minutes of flying just to catch up with Mirza and Skara. Despite all of their injuries, they didn't slow down or hold back in their speed while chasing Clara's partners. They knew Mirza was right on this one, and if they wanted to find out more about them, it was all or nothing then and there.
"H-Hold up Mirza!" Emerald called out, being the first to voice his complaints. Mirza didn't look back but slowed down slightly all the same to allow them to fly alongside him, "I get why we have to chase them but shouldn't we rest up and make sure our Pokémon are in the best state possible?"
"You know… you don't have to join me, so turn back now if you're scared," Mirza deadpanned, causing shivers to run down some people's spines just from hearing his tone, "There are some things where we can't just go into them relaxed and expect to come out of it victoriously! The battles with them are the real thing! And they're powerful… you saw for yourself just how powerful one of them is. If you're not into this wholeheartedly then turn back now Croissant Head!"
"Don't call it a croissant!" Emerald yelled angrily once he heard his nickname. When he saw that nobody paid attention he got even angrier.
"The point that I'm trying to make here," Mirza continued in a slightly less demanding tone than before, "Is that the battles from here on out are all or nothing battles. Clara was determined to kill us just to defeat us, and I'm sure that there are stronger trainers than her out there waiting for us…"
"But we have you on our side, so what do we really have to worry about?" Gold shrugged while being supported from either side by Silver and Crystal. A sudden turn and Gold, who hadn't fully recovered from his near death experience, fell to the side. Fortunately for him, he fell into someone. Unfortunately for him, that someone was Crystal, "OW! What gives Super Serious Gal?!"
"That was for clinging onto me Gold, and how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" Crystal replied angrily while readjusting her shoe. Calming down almost instantly, she turned to Mirza with a worried expression on her face, "What I want to know is what happened? I thought you were confident facing them one on one, but it took all of us combined just to overpower her."
"Correction, Crystal, I was confident facing them one on one… until we faced her that is," Mirza clenched his fists in frustration and it took a while before he had controlled his voice enough to prevent it from trembling, "Their trainers have gotten a lot stronger than what I'm used to, so if Clara was that strong, that would only mea — oh crap! SKARA! RETURN!"
In front of everybody's surprised eyes, Mirza recalled his Skarmory in mid air, surprising even the metal bird herself. Numerous gasps were heard, and Crystal and Sapphire were about to dive after him before Mirza made a move of his own.
"STARLIGHT!" the black head called out loud and clear. A strong gust of wind came from the back of the Pokédex holders and from out of the dense curtain of trees below a majestic, light green dragon like Pokémon rose up. Its green, rhombus-shaped wings were outlined with a yellowish orange outline, and each flap of them sounded as if it was singing. Its teal colored antennae swayed in the wind and its long, thin yet powerful tail lashed through the air. The eyes of the dragon, however, were focused on Mirza through the teal covers that protected them. The Pokémon swiftly grabbed him by the lower arms and flipped him on its back. Mirza grinned as he petted his Flygon, "Thanks girl. A little change of plans: more targets, stronger than what we prepared for. I'll need your help, you up for it?"
"You had such a beautiful Flygon waiting in the trees just to catch you?!" Ruby cried out frantically at the eldest trainer in the group. Even through his anger, Sapphire, who was sharing her Tropius with him since Ruby lacked a flying type, could hear his fascination in the Pokémon's looks and facepalmed.
"What I want to know," Blue added, as she looked admiringly at the Hoenn native Pokémon, before turning back to her rider, "Is why you recalled your Skarmory all of a sudden. There wasn't really a reason to recall her now was there?"
"Actually there is, and you'll find out what that reason is soon enough!" Mirza replied back, smiling grimly. He then turned to his Pokémon and petted her encouragingly, "You ready? Starlight go! Dragon Rush Phi Four!"
With a loud battle cry, the Pokédex holders watched in shock as Starlight, and Mirza as he was still riding her, was enveloped in sapphire blue flames, before rocketing off into the distance in a zigzag pattern, leaving the other teenagers dumbstruck and at a loss for words.
"Wow…" Yellow finally managed, being the first to regain her voice after seeing that move for the first time. She laughed nervously before continuing with "You have to give him credit: he knows how to make an exit!"
"But there are a lot of things we don't know about him yet…" Green thought out loud. When the others turned to him, he elaborated, "You know, like who he truly is, what he's fighting for and, more importantly, whether we can trust him or not. Sure he has worked for the other regional professors, but what if that was all an act and he is actually part of them?"
"I understand… but I… I still choose to trust him!" Yellow finished, as confident and determined as she could. When she saw her former teacher's face, she quickly added, "I mean… he has saved Silver and Gold! And me… twice… I don't think he would go to such extremes to make sure that we're safe if he wasn't on our side to begin with. Also, when I healed his Skara, I read her thoughts… She would be willing to take on any kind of attack to protect him! And, according to her, all of his other Pokémon would do the same! A Pokémon wouldn't be willing to do that if they don't trust their trainer with all their heart! Mirza at least cares for his Pokémon, so I don't think he can be that bad. That's why I trust him!"
"I trust him too," Silver added seriously. He received a few perplexed looks but shrugged them off, instead choosing to fly off in the direction Mirza had gone off to, quickly followed by both Yellow and Blue. Over his shoulder, he shouted his explanation, "You saw it too right? How he battles? Until he gives me a real reason to not trust him I will trust him. We have a common enemy and, no matter how much I hate to admit it, we need his help!"
Hesitantly, the other Pokédex holders followed the red head's example and flew off after him. After just two minutes, Green was the only one left. He sighed, before spurring his Charizard on to follow the others, muttering, "If you can't beat them, might as well join them…"
Not surprisingly, Mirza and Starlight had put quite the bit of distance in between them and the Pokédex holders, but the teenagers had no idea just how much distance Mirza could have covered in so little time. After twenty minutes of nonstop, high speed flying, the Pokédex holders came to an open field, and were shocked speechless after seeing the setting.
All the trees in the area had been uprooted and looked more like large toothpicks than trees. Many patches of grass were charred, as if a fire had just burned the area, and in the middle of the open field stood the girl who was with Clara earlier, Magnezone on her right and Tyranitar on her left. She looked as if she was either deep in thoughts or bored out of her mind.
"So that is why Mirza recalled Skara!" Crystal exclaimed suddenly after she looked up Magnezone on her Pokédex. The other trainers turned to look at her, confused, so she explained it to them, "Magnezone's ability is Magnet Pull, so Steel type Pokémon like Mirza's Skara wouldn't be able to move freely at all! But… how did he know she had a Magnezone… that girl didn't use that Pokémon before right?"
"Starlight, let's go! Dragon Rush Theta Nine!" a familiar voice rang through the area. The Pokédex holders turned to the direction of the voice and saw Mirza still riding his shiny Flygon, both looked a bit bruised and battered but otherwise were unharmed. Starlight enveloped herself in the same sapphire blue flames like before and darted straight towards the girl, who didn't move a muscle. All of a sudden, both Starlight and Mirza disappeared, shocking the Pokédex holders. The next moment, they reappeared behind the girl and continued their attack.
"Defense formation YH7, go."
Without even turning around, the girl's Tyranitar and Magnezone made a move. The Tyranitar shot out a barrage of Stone Edge attacks in all directions while her Magnezone charged up a bit before releasing an overwhelming Discharge attack. Magnezone's attack charged up the very air itself while at the same time giving Tyranitar's Stone Edge a boost. Both Mirza and Starlight were caught off guard and had to pay the bitter price for it. Neither one of them could stand up directly after that.
"Your attacks are interesting; you deviate from the usual head on attacks other trainers seem to enjoy and try to find openings in your opponent's defenses. An admirable attack pattern, but one that is useless against YH7," the girl said in an almost monotone, glancing back at her opponent. Despite obviously having battled for a while with Mirza, her sky blue shirt and dark brown pants didn't even have a speck of dirt on them. Her dirty blonde hair that reached slightly under her shoulders swayed in the wind, but even her pale skin was clear of any visible injuries. It took a while before she realized that the Pokédex holders were watching their battle, "Looks like there are more trainers Clara let go unharmed than what was originally planned…"
"She's… strong… no, more than that…" Emerald clenched his fists after seeing the display of power the girl had just shown, "She makes Clara look like an amateur! Mirza's Starlight is obviously much stronger than either his Skara or Lapereo, but she dodged an attack like that without batting an eye!"
"There's only one chance of taking her down, and I'm sure you guys realize what it is," Green said, taking command of the group while having his hand rest on his Charizard. The others nodded, fully aware what Professor Oak's grandson wanted to do, "Don't hold back! Use the ultimate attacks in three… two… one… NOW!"
"BLAST BURN!" Green, Gold and Sapphire called out as their starters shot out a white hot inferno straight at their opponent.
"HYDRO CANNON!" Blue, Silver and Ruby commanded, followed with their starters firing a high pressured and high powered stream of water.
"FRENZY PLANT!" Crystal and Emerald yelled on top of their lungs, sending out their starters who attacked without holding back.
The eight ultimate attacks converged and headed straight at the girl as a single destructive beam. The Pokédex holders cheered, certain that that much power would do the trick, as even without Red's Saur backing them up, it was stronger than when they used it against Guile's sea monster. The girl, however, didn't seem impressed at all, as she sighed and turned to her two Pokémon.
"Defense formation SF17"
Tyranitar roared, as he stomped the ground and, to the utter shock of the Pokédex holders, flipped a huge chunk of earth and soil to act as a barrier. It then fired off several Stone Edge attacks to fortify the natural shield. When the ultimate attacks did break through, however, a transparent bubble formed around both Tyranitar and Magnezone, protecting both of them from the attack. When she saw what happened, Blue cursed loudly.
"Why do all of their Pokémon know that move?!" she cried out, half in anger and half in desperation. The others gulped, not expecting her to have blocked off their ultimate attack as if it were nothing, "We need more power to break through that Protect but we're already attacking with everything we've got!"
"No we're not Blue! We're not attacking with everything we've got just yet! Chuchu!" Yellow called out as her electric mouse escaped from her confinements in Yellow's Poké Ball and jumped in front of her trainer, cheeks sparking with electricity and ready to go. Gold grinned, realizing what his blonde senior was planning, and called out his Pichu. Yellow punched the air in front of her and commanded the fourth ultimate attack, "Chuchu! Pich! Volt Tackle! GO!"
The two electric mice darted off at incredible speeds, body crackling and completely covered in electricity, as they joined the converged beam of the Pokédex holders' ultimate attack. The attack connected, causing a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, the bubbles around Tyranitar and Magnezone had vanished and the teenagers could see just how much damage they had inflicted in their last combined attack. Magnezone seemed almost completely unharmed, and Tyranitar, although heavily injured and sparks appearing around its body, was still standing as well.
"WHAT?! NO WAY!" Gold yelled in shock as his Pichu jumped back on his shoulder. The other Pokédex holders were shocked as well. Their opponent took their strongest combined attack head on and left with both her Pokémon still standing!
"The ultimate attacks… the moves said to have no equal when it comes to Fire, Water, Grass and Electric type moves…" the girl muttered, completely unfazed by the attack. She looked around a bit to see just how powerful the previous attack was, it had made a deep trench in the ground, before turning back to the Pokédex holders, "To think trainers like you actually managed to master such powerful moves… but in the end, it was all meaningle —"
"Don't forget about me!" Mirza suddenly shouted, interrupting her words, appearing in front of her Magnezone on top of Starlight, "Starlight go! Flamethrower Omicron Nine!"
From out of Starlight's mouth a jade green flame appeared, as she fired it as a huge stream at Magnezone at very close range. The Pokémon on the receiving end struggled to escape the wrath of Starlight's attack but was unsuccessful. After being hit continuously by the emerald flames for half a minute, Magnezone collapsed, completely unconscious. Starlight flew back backwards to the Pokédex holders and Mirza jumped off his Pokémon, smirking at the results of his attack.
"Not bad at all… you finally broke past my defenses and, more surprisingly, managed to take down Magnezone… I left my guard down… however," the girl smirked darkly, the first sign of emotions displayed by her so far, as Mirza gritted his teeth. The next moment, Starlight collapsed, having lost consciousness, surprising all of the Pokédex holders, "You approached me carelessly and let your guard down as well. Your Flygon paid the price for your mistake, and seeing your face, that Pokémon was your ace, was she not?"
"A combination of poison and Magnezone's Hidden Power… I'm sorry," Mirza reluctantly returned Starlight back to her Luxury Ball, before turning back to her opponent, "Why are you doing this? Why are you battling like that? Answer me! Demetria!"
'Demetria?' Blue wondered, intrigued by the name after Mirza said it. She glanced at their opponent and scowled in thoughts, 'Isn't that the girl who…'
"Demetria…" the girl repeated almost lifelessly, before she exploded, "I have no idea who this 'Demetria' is! Don't confuse me for somebody else! Tyranitar!"
Tyranitar roared, firing multiple Stone Edge attacks at the Pokédex holders, missing all of them, albeit barely. The young trainers gulped after seeing the speed at which the stones travelled at. Some of the stones travelled too fast for them to see them!
"Earth has a saying that goes like this: a frog in a well does not know the great ocean…" the girl muttered darkly, enlarging an Ultra Ball from her wristband. Mirza's eyes widened in horror as he realized what she was about to do, "Learn how powerless you are! Offensive formation MD19!"
"EVERYBODY GET OUT OF HERE!" Mirza shouted, even though he knew he was already too late. The Pokédex holders took a fraction of a second to realize the urgency of the situation, but quickly grasped on as they recalled their Pokémon and made a run for it.
From out of the girl's Ultra Ball appeared a dark blue, bipedal dragon-like Pokémon with an appendage that resembled a jet's engine. Its fins, which grew out from either one of its arms, back and tail, were long and powerful, and there was a notch on the one on his back. Because of these features, the Pokémon looked a lot like a land shark. The Garchomp immediately opened its mouth as wide as it could, gathering a bright orange colored sphere of energy, before firing it straight up in the air. Once about fifty meters up, the sphere exploded, raining down huge chunks of it straight at the Pokédex holders. While all of this happened in the air, Tyranitar was charging up a dense orange colored beam, before firing said beam straight at the Pokédex holders. The combined power of Garchomp's Draco Meteor and Tyranitar's Hyper Beam created an explosion like none other, sending the Pokédex holders flying in different directions…
What is with the huge gap in power between the two trainers the Pokédex holders have faced this chapter and the Pokédex holders themselves? What is the source of Mirza's power, being able to fight head to head with these trainers? What happened to Clara? Who is this 'Demetria' girl and what is her connection with Mirza? Scratch that thought, how does Blue think she knows her? Where is the male who was with them and, more importantly, how does Yellow (and possibly Silver) recognize him? Who is he? Why do I love huge explosions, both in the middle of the chapter and as the ending? Can Mirza truly be trusted or is Green right for a change? When will the last Pokédex holder, Red, make his appearance in this story? And the question that was on everybody's mind: if Yellow is here with the Pokédex holders, who was the girl in chapter one? Or was it really Yellow in chapter one? So many questions, so little answers…
Hooray for cliffhangers! Which cliffhanger is better, this one or the one in the previous chapter xD? Also, a reminder: my poll is still up and we are at a complete tie between the Lyra lovers and the Wally fans! In other words, please vote!
Anyway, the exploded lab last time was inspired by the amazing fanfiction Enter the Fans by DaPokemonMadster (as it was correctly pointed out by DaPokemonMadster herself). I dunno… I know you didn't approve of me using that idea, but you didn't say I couldn't so… Please don't sue me xD I gave you an indirect shout out after all xD! As a matter of fact, here's a direct one: go check out DaPokemonMadster's works before she sues me xD! No, don't do it for that reason but do it because her works are awesome xD! Also, Starlight is the nickname of the female shiny Flygon of my friend (who hasn't responded to my e-mail in three years or so…). I kind of took the Pokémon and nickname from her without her consent (come on! She doesn't respond for three years! What do you want me to do?) xD! The visual description of moves was taken from when they were used in the XY anime (if any) or in either the Sinnoh or Unova arcs. Except Starlight's Flamethrower, that was purely imagination on my part xD! The names Mirza and Demetria are a reference to something also! Though except for Namitaa776 and myself, I doubt anyone knows to what xD! More trivia is good right? Also, loads of hints and references if you squint hard enough! As a matter of fact, I lost track just how many references I made in this chapter...
That is all for now… I hope you like this extra long chapter (it is the longest chapter that I've ever written!) as I don't think any of my following chapters will be anywhere near this chapter's length (without the AN the word count is a massive 7.335 in Microsoft Word and the page numbers, with the AN, is a staggering 22) xD to put it in perspective, with the AN and everything, this chapter is almost three times the length of a typical chapter from Crimson Sunlight! I'm going to work on Specialventure Academy seeing as the tension is rising in that story… In the meantime, please feel free to follow, favorite and review this story! You have no idea how much it means to me especially when people do it with this story!