In the last adventure, Pugno, Pelame, and Loyal faced an Outlaw who had accepted the "Dark Blessing." During the battle, the Outlaw Crobat tried to use too much of its power, causing a life-taking rebound to happen to him. Pugno and Pelame decide to seek Cresselia's help in neutralizing the "Dark Blessing" before things get any worse than they are now.

Chapter 4 – The Progenitor of the "Dark Blessing"

"Look at all of these Pokémon," said a human-like figure. "Playing games, having fun. How disheartening to see that this is what the world became."

The figure tossed evil energy around aimlessly as she continued down the Boiling Forest path.

"The world needs to know pain once more." She turned to a scared Staravia and handed him a note. "And if this note doesn't reach Treasure Town by the time the Exploration Teams disperse to their jobs, you'll be short one family," she threatened, holding up three Starlies by energy threads coming from her fingers tied around their necks. "Get going, and I promise your children will be safe."

"Understood," said the Staravia, leaving on his errand.

The figure turned to the three scared Starly children. "Don't worry about your father. He'll be fine, until he reaches his destination. Good thing, too, since he'll be spared the sight of your deaths."

With that, she shot an evil laser out of her right index finger through all three of them at once. With the sound of a laser and a gunshot going off simultaneously, the three Starly children died instantly.

From their beds in Sharpedo Bluff, Pugno and Pelame woke up, and started thinking about their new mission. Unfortunately, since Cresselia was a wanderer, they didn't know where to begin looking for her.

"How about here?" Pelame suggested, pointing at the Dark Crater's spot on the Wonder Map. "That's where we fought Darkrai. It's a natural paradise for evil."

"Or, if not there, then here," Pugno said, pointing at Mount Travail's on the map. "Plenty of strong Pokémon live there, and the 'Dark Blessing' likely flocks to strong Pokémon like them. After all, it tracked down that Crobat."

"We should report to the Guild," Pelame said. "We should give them a rough idea of where to track Cresselia down. She should be anywhere the 'Dark Blessing' strikes."

In the Guild's audience room on the second subfloor, Grovyle and Celebi had just finished explaining their situation to the Guild and to Cresselia. The three of them had also offered their help to the Guild's effort to stop the "Dark Blessing."

"This is great!" Loyal said, overjoyed. "The 'Dark Blessing' will be history in no time at all with their help!"

"Fortunately," Cresselia said. "The 'Dark Blessing' is easy to track. I can feel its power no matter where I am."

"It's as though it's everywhere we go," Grovyle said. "I just wonder what it's trying to do."

"I wonder if it has anything to do with the creature that destroyed our world," Celebi said. "It may be the exact same power."

"And you have to fall back on some stranger's help just to win?" Sneasel taunted from the back of the room. "Explorers have sunk to a new low."

"Just ignore her," Chatot advised to the visitors. "She's the bratty sister of one of our members. She's been hassling us about our jobs for a long time."

"No one knows what her problem is," Sunflora said.

"Anyway," Cresselia continued. "The 'Dark Blessing' appears to seek out strong Pokémon, or Pokémon with weak will. From what I've heard of the events recently, that appears to be the case."

"That makes sense, then," Chatot said. "I know some places where frighteningly strong Pokémon gather. Everyone get your Wonder Maps out."

The Guild crew did as told.

"Chatot and I have experiences the dangers of these places before," Guildmaster Wigglytuff said. "The 'Dark Blessing' could very well strike here." He pointed at Mount Travail. "Or here." At that, he pointed at Power Cave.

"Power Cave?" Chatot asked. "Isn't that place off-limits to Explorers who are below the Hyper Rank?"

"The Exploration Team Federation has authorized members of the Guild to enter that area," Guildmaster Wigglytuff said.

"Then that's where I'll go," Loyal said. "Grovyle, Pugno, and Pelame can come with me."

"Excellent," Chatot said. "The rest of you go where you please. Now, LET'S GET TO WORK!"

"HOORAY!" shouted the Guild crew, except for Sneasel, who shouted, "Heroo."

Pugno and Pelame were on their way to the Guild to present their suggestions. On the crossroads, they met up with some Pokémon they never thought they'd see again: Grovyle, Celebi, Dusknoir, and the Sableye soldiers. The latter few they weren't happy to see.

"Excuse me, Grovyle," Pelame said. "Come with us for a moment."

"You too, Celebi," Pugno said. They both led the two into the Spinda Café.

Once the four had taken their seats, Pelame popped the question.

"What in the world are you two doing with Dusknoir and his lackeys?!" she demanded. "Did you forget they're the enemies?!"

"Sorry to sound rude," Pugno said. "But Pelame has a point. After two years missing you two, we find you two like this."

"Don't worry," Grovyle said. "There's an explanation for all of this."

"Well, start by saying why you've all come back here," Pelame said. "By the way, it's good to see you again. Don't get me wrong."

"Good to see you, too," Grovyle said. "As for why we're back, it's because our world, that is, the future, fell victim to a disaster."

"The planet didn't get paralyzed again?" Pugno asked, concerned.

"No, even worse," Celebi said. "Paralysis is a gift compared to what actually happened. Better a paralyzed planet than no planet at all."

"No planet at all?" Pelame asked, horrified. "Something outright destroyed your world?"

"Exactly," Grovyle said. "We all escaped just before the planet collapsed, but the creature responsible for the destruction attacked us. The attack reached us just as we exited the Passage of Time, while the attacker remained in the future to complete the destruction."

"Cresselia found us in the Mystifying Forest where we landed," Celebi said. "She sheltered us and then led us here to Treasure Town."

"Wait, Cresselia is here?" Pugno asked. "We need to see her!"

"She's at the Guild right now, preparing to accompany Wigglytuff and Chatot to Power Cave," Grovyle said. "They think that place is a target of the 'Dark Blessing.' Celebi, Loyal, and I were also planning to accompany them. And as for Dusknoir; I advised him to stay behind for the time being, since he may likely not be trusted by the others."

"Good choice," Pelame said. "And speaking of whom, start talking about why he's here now."

"Very well," Grovyle said. "It happened when I took him back to the future with me during our quest at the Hidden Land. While we were there, the Sableye soldiers started hunting both of us down since Primal Dialga had been notified of Dusknoir's failure. We both partnered up to defeat Primal Dialga in order to keep him from interfering with you two while you scaled Temporal Tower. Though Dusknoir seemed to be using me at first, he soon came to understand my motivation and will. My trust in him reached him, and he joined up with me and Celebi for real. Together, we reached the top of the Vast Ice Mountain and defeated Primal Dialga just as you two placed the Time Gears in the Tower and put time back to normal."

"We had heard from Arceus that you and the others hadn't disappeared from history," Pelame said. "I'm glad to see that he was right."

"He was the one who spared us," Celebi said. "He spared me, Grovie here, Dusknoir, and the Sableye soldiers so we could rebuild the world."

"And just when we finished," Grovyle said. "That was when it happened. That creature attacked and destroyed the planet. It probably even destroyed the whole world, which is why we returned here. Not only was there nowhere else to go, but there may be a chance to prevent that disaster from happening."

"Just like when we came back here to keep time from stopping," Pugno said. "But now, even more is at stake."

"Which is why we should get going soon," Celebi said. "The sooner this 'Dark Blessing' is stopped, the sooner we can focus on stopping the planet's complete destruction."

"Wait a minute," Pelame said, stopping the others on their way out of the café. "Dusknoir really isn't coming with us?"

"Not at this time," Grovyle said.

"Good," Pelame said. "I don't trust him. Someday, I'll give him a chance to show me if he's really changed for the better. But today isn't that day, so please tell him to stay away from me until then!"

"Whatever you say," Celebi sighed. "Can we go now?"

On the crossroads, the group was stopped by a Staravia carrying a note. While Pugno, Pelame, and Celebi read it, Dusknoir took that time to question Grovyle, away from Pugno, Pelame, and Celebi.

"Why did you leave out the part about my plan?" he asked, having overheard the entire conversation in the Café.

"If I did that…," Grovyle said. "…if I were to have told them about what you tried to do, then they would have been inclined to never ever give you the time of day. If they knew about that, then they'd never allow you to show them that you're on our side now."

"One way or another, they're going to know about it," Dusknoir said. "There's no keeping a secret that big from your friends."

"I know that," Grovyle said. "I'm hoping that will be after they're convinced. Until then, don't mention it near them. With this 'Dark Blessing' on the loose, the last thing they need is another conflict of interest."

"Fine then," Dusknoir said. "I'm not at all supportive of that decision, but for your sake, I will."

Just then, Pelame went back to fetch Grovyle, having decided on their course of action. She made a special effort not to even look at Dusknoir while doing so. The four went back up to the Guild to meet with Cresselia.

"Lord Dusknoir," said a Sableye. "She should come to her senses sometime."

"She's just being rightfully cautious," Dusknoir said. "That's different from being unreasonable."

In the Guildmaster's Chamber, a new plan was being put together.

"I got this note from a Staravia that was visiting," Pelame said. She read the note aloud.

"To the founders of Team Space-Time,

There is a special mission in the Boiling Forest just for you. The Dark Blessing has decided to rest there, and it wishes to see you. Be warned, however. The Dark Blessing is not happy with either of you, so if you accept this mission, don't expect your chances of returning alive to be too good. If you accept this mission, you'd best prepare for the worst.

Sincerely,
The one who will soon be your mortal enemy"

"Pelame and I are going to the Boiling Forest," Pugno said.

"WHAT?! REALLY?!" Chatot squawked loudly. "Even though the writer of that note, who explicitly called itself your mortal enemy, and also basically threatened to kill you both, you're going to take on this job?!"

"Yes, Chatot," Pelame said. "Better there than here, where there's lots of Pokémon to corrupt or kill."

"I'll go with them to keep them safe," Cresselia said. "The three of us should at least stand a fighting chance against the 'Dark Blessing' together."

"Which means I'll be going with the Guildmaster, Chatot, Grovyle, and Celebi," Loyal said. "The Pokémon there will be a challenge, but we should be fine."

"Talk about counter-intuition," Sneasel said. "Send the small group after the 'Dark Blessing' itself, and send the larger group to some place to do reconnaissance. Were you all born stupid?"

"Cresselia is all we need to properly fight the 'Dark Blessing,'" Pugno said. "She can banish darkness."

"You're not getting it at all," Sneasel said. "I can't believe I'm doing this, but I'm going with you three." She pointed at Pugno, Pelame, and Cresselia. "You three could use some brains on your team, and I've got one."

"Please don't do anything reckless," Pelame said. "We'll let you come with us, but you have to keep yourself in check."

"No problem at all," Sneasel said. "I'll just save my wisecracks until after you get your hides kicked."

"Then we've got a plan," Chatot said. "Pugno, Pelame, Cresselia, and Sneasel will go to the Boiling Forest to confront the 'Dark Blessing.' The Guildmaster, Loyal, Grovyle, and Celebi will be going with me to Power Cave."

"Then let's get going," Celebi said. "Good luck to you all."

"You too, Celebi, and the rest of you," Pelame said.

"And you keep my sister safe, get it?!" Sneasel roared at Loyal's group.

"Got it," Celebi said.

"GOOD!" Sneasel shouted.

Per the note's instructions, Pugno's party arrived at the Boiling Forest located on a previously uncharted area of the map, east of Treasure Town. It was named such as a result of its humid climate and its abundant ponds of boiling water. In such conditions, it was hard to breathe, but the group persevered.

They soon heard a cry of panic coming from deeper in the woods. When they arrived at the area where it came from, they found the Staravia who gave them the note.

"Get away from here!" he said, completely panicking. "She's crazy! She's deadly! She's—"

Before he could finish, the simultaneous sound of a laser and a gunshot was heard, and a laser of evil energy killed the Staravia where he stood. From behind him came forth a creature. It looked unmistakably like an elderly human. She stood with a slouch, and she had a satisfied look on her face.

"I hate it when Pokémon live," she said. "They're so much better dead. Don't you agree?"

The group was horrified to hear those words, as well as the sight of a cold-blooded murder happening in front of them. Pelame was the most horrified of them all, since she recognized the person's voice.

"You," Pelame started. "You broke into my mind and entered my dream. You were at the beach. It was YOU ALL ALONG! You're the 'Dark Blessing!'"

Everyone looked at Pelame, stunned.

"Well, maybe," the person said. "The Dark Blessing is just my method of communication with the world. It can function on its own, but it prefers to mess with life forms like yourselves. Pelame, you've gained its favor."

Pelame couldn't move. It was like the beach incident all over again, minus the cold. The person approached Pelame and knelt down to look her in the eye.

"The same can't be said for me," she said. "You're too much trouble for me to allow to live a moment longer. You'll only mess things up for me, like you ruined everything for Primal Dialga and Darkrai before me."

"Wait, how do you know about that?" Pugno asked. The person didn't acknowledge Pugno's question. She formed the "K" sign with her right hand and pointed to Pelame's face, almost poking her nose.

"Nice meeting you," she crooned, preparing a laser blast.

Pelame couldn't move, despite the peril she was in. Fear seemed to conspire to have her killed by this new enemy.

An Aura Sphere thrown at the person's hand by Pugno spared Pelame an early grave. Unfortunately, she instantaneously tossed it back and hit him directly with it. The force of the rebounded move was overwhelming.

That was a Demon-type attack, Pugno thought to himself. Did she just transform my Aura Sphere into that?

"Iron Tail!" Pelame shouted, finding the courage to move again. The person simply stood to the side to dodge it, and then countered with a stream of energy coming from her right wrist above the back of her hand, which she used as a whip. Pelame couldn't escape it. It felt as though she was hit by about twenty Vine Whips at once, but since this was a Demon-type move, it hurt like a super-effective move.

"Ice Beam!" Sneasel shouted, launching an attack that did nothing to the assailant.

She then turned to Sneasel and cast her whip toward her, catching her by the neck. She tightened the whip's grip, effectively strangling Sneasel. She tried slicing the whip with her Slash attack, but to no avail. Fortunately, a Psychic attack from Cresselia saved Sneasel from suffocating.

In response to this, the person opened a Dimensional Hole right on top of Cresselia and warped her away from the battle. She then continued her assault by catching Pugno by the neck with evil threads coming out of her fingers. She then pulled him toward herself and kicked him in the face. Pelame then used Crunch on the thread, severing them.

Suddenly, the assailant unleashed a move that did something strange to the three remaining Teammates. After the world went dark for a split-second, the Teammates felt as though they had suffered every single status ailment simultaneously.

"I sincerely wish I could finish you off myself," the assailant said. "Especially since my Lethargy move left you like this, prime for killing. But I have an appointment at Power Cave."

"Who…are you?" Pelame asked with what remaining energy she had left. "What are you?"

"I am what this world needs to be the way it once was," said the person. "If it's a name you want, settle for Unod, the World Destroyer."

"What…is the meaning…of what you're doing?" Pugno stammered.

"None of your business," Unod said. "I've arranged for your deaths already. It was a pleasure meeting you all." With that, she left.

At that moment, a bunch of the local Pokémon came and abducted the three Explorers, as they fell asleep as a result of the Lethargy attack they were hit by earlier.

"Loyal…" Sneasel said, drifting off. "Someone…help…"

Guildmaster Wigglytuff, Chatot, Grovyle, Celebi, and Loyal hadn't made it too far into the cave before encountering trouble. Trouble struck them in a round room in the cave. Unod arrived as she had promised Pugno's team. She banished Wigglytuff, Chatot, and Celebi away from the cave with a Dimensional Hole just as she did with Cresselia earlier.

"So you followed us after all," Grovyle said, recognizing Unod's power.

"Followed?" Unod said. "I'm only first meeting you, but I already hate you."

Immediately, she launched a blast of evil fire at Grovyle. Loyal launched an Ice Beam at Unod, which got rebounded back at her. She started teleporting in a zigzag pattern around Grovyle, never holding still.

Before Grovyle could do anything, he suddenly lost the ability to move. He was now suspended by evil threads, effectively becoming a living puppet.

"Too bad, Loyal," Grovyle said as a result of Unod speaking through him. "You're going to become a dead body."

Loyal tried to slice the threads controlling Grovyle, to no avail. Her claws were as effective against the threads as wood was against metal.

"Loyal, get away from here!" Grovyle said, momentarily regaining his free will. Loyal was stopped in her tracks when Unod unleashed a move that paralyzed her and suspended her in the air with her arms splayed to her sides as if she was being crucified.

"Grovyle," Unod said. "Use Leaf Blade."

"Never!" Grovyle shouted.

"You leave him alone!" Loyal shouted.

"That was no request, Grovyle," Unod crooned. Grovyle soon unleashed his Leaf Blades against his will and began slicing at Loyal.

"Stop it! Leave her alone!" Grovyle shouted as he kept attacking Loyal under Unod's control.

"Shouldn't have trusted me at all, you little nothing," Unod said through Grovyle's mouth.

"Grovyle…" Loyal said. "Tell my sister…that…I love her."

"I will, Loyal," Grovyle said. Under Unod's control, he finished Loyal off. Unod then released her control over him.

"It was her own fault for trusting you, Grovie," Unod said, using Celebi's pet name for him as an insult. "That's why it's a fatal mistake for any living thing to call you a friend. You're dangerous to all you know."

Loyal's body caught fire. In a few seconds, the pitch-black flames destroyed her body, not even leaving ashes behind.

"For those rare times I don't feel like keeping a body," Unod said. "My Pyreflame takes care of that problem. But at least you now have nothing to remember your friend by, you little murderer."

"You're the murderer," Grovyle growled. "LEAF BLADE!"

Unfortunately, Grovyle's attempt to avenge Loyal was responded to by Unod catching him with her energy whip. She spun him around the room and threw him toward the wall. She then teleported to where he would have landed and kick him back. And then she teleported behind him and then kicked him in the rear end. She finished by pelting him with energy orbs at point-blank range.

"You…monster…" Grovyle muttered.

Unod tied him up with evil threads and blasted him with a Silence Orb. She then used the threads to sew his mouth shut.

"I had lots of fun with you, Grovyle," Unod taunted. "Have fun dying." At that, she blasted him with one last shot. As she teleported away, Grovyle found himself surrounded by the Power Cave's residents. Tied up, gagged, and beaten to a pulp, he was completely helpless.

I'm sorry, Loyal, Grovyle thought to himself. Sneasel, please, forgive me.