Darkness and Light, Into the Chaos!
Paul and Cera were at Dungeon Island training. Angle fifty degrees, distance two clicks. Use Psywave! Paul ordered. Cera did as instructed, firing and striking the pidgeotto, knocking it out. "Well done, we're getting better with the telepathic system." the purplette's tone was still cold, but the ghost of a smile told of his pride in his Pokémon.
"So, where are we heading next?" Cera asked, stretching her powers to see if there was any other hostile Pokémon around. "I can't sense any hostility. I think we've bled this area dry."
"Think you can teleport us to Amp Plains? It should be good practice." Paul suggested.
...
"P-Paul, what do we do?" Cera asked, sensing the black holes in the area that signified approaching dark types.
"Just stay calm, I brought Nidoking just in case something like this happened." Paul replied, reaching for the spare pokeball on his belt and cursing his luck. They had landed right in the middle of a Monster House and, while the mareep and elekid were easy enough to handle, there were still a considerable amount of luxio and Cera was of course in the beginnings of a panic attack. "Nidoking, standby for battle!" he called, the giant poison-and-ground type appearing with a roar. "Use Earth Power to take these Luxio out."
"Eat it you lynx-like brats!" Nidoking called, stomping his foot and making the ground erupt under him. The attack easily knocked out the luxio and Paul called for his Pokémon to move, scooping up Cera as he turned to the nearest corridor. Nidoking, just behind his trainer, looked at the shaking emotion Pokémon. "You gonna be okay kid?" he asked.
"I'll be fine. J-just give me a few minutes." Cera replied.
...
This couldn't have been worse. Nidoking stomped on the ground, using Earth Power to do as much damage as possible to the luxio tribe and their luxray leader. Paul was trying to keep an eye on all their opponents, berating himself for not bringing Electivire or Torterra as his Drill Pokémon fended off the electric-and-dark types. He was tiring, Paul could see that, but Cera was a mess, practically catatonic as the flashbacks overwhelmed her. All the pain, all the suffering in that room.
"Fire Dragon Roar!" a jet of flames smacked a luxio in the back, and Tails leaped into the clearing. "You guys look like you could use some help." she giggled.
"Tails? Then that means-"
"Shadow Claw." came the all too familiar hiss. Andre swung at the nearest luxio, knocking it out with the powerful ghost-type claws surrounding his hands. Turning to the others he asked, "Alright, who else wants a piece of me?" The battle resumed with a lot of pressure being lifted from Paul and Nidoking.
They had nearly won when the lead luxray lunged at Paul, intent on taking at least one down before falling himself. Cera sensed the movement, and the fear of losing her trainer overwhelmed the fear of her past. "Stay away from him!" the kirlia shouted, firing a Magical Leaf and smacking the luxray away. Paul spun around and saw how close he was to harm or worse before looking over to his kirlia.
Who was glowing. When the light faded, Cera had grown to a few inches shorter than Paul himself, her skirt now an elegant gown and a red spike protruding from her chest. "Cera evolved into a Gardevoir, huh?" Andre chuckled, batting a luxio away.
"Cera, can you teleport us out of here?" Paul asked, recalling Nidoking as he dropped the last of the luxio.
"I'll take Frozen back, so see you guys at home." Andre called, throwing his Dusk Ball and calling for the gigantic ice dragon, Tails hopping oh his shoulder before the trio took off.
...
"Cera evolved?" Brock asked as Andre landed in the courtyard. Paul and Cera had gotten a good distance from the clearing before teleporting, so they had only just beaten him back to the castle.
"Yeah, beating a luxray of all things." Andre chuckled, glancing at the newly evolved psychic-and-fairy type. "Which begs the question, has she gotten past her fear?"
"I can help with that." Clemont offered.
"NO!" Cera practically screamed, making everyone but Paul jump. Blushing and rubbing her hands together, she added, "I...I could only do anything because Paul was in danger. I went back to that shaking mess as soon as Andre left."
Clemont nodded his understanding and took his hand off of Luxray's pokeball. "Well, if you ever want to try just let me know."
Cera offered a small smile before feeling everyone's eyes on her, praising her for her evolution and complimenting her new appearance. The embrace Pokémon smiled shyly at the other's words, but inched closer to Paul. The purplette rolled his eyes at his friends' obliviousness before pushing Cera behind him(A gesture she very much appreciated). "Alright guys, that's enough. You know she's still nervous around people." he stated.
"People that aren't you." Bonnie added, pointing to Cera who was currently trying to make herself as small as possible behind her trainer.
"Well he is the one who saved her from that horrible luxray during the raid," Max pointed out.
Brock nodded his agreement. "Yeah, it would only make sense the one to save her is the one she's most comfortable around."
"Although Cera seems to be getting very comfortable around Paul recently." Tails whispered to Andre, who only chuckled as he left his guests to their devices.
And done! Well, what did people think? Don't worry, Cera will face her fear head-on eventually, just not in this side story. Otherwise how did I do? And what do you think of Tails' little comment? Well, find out if Cera realizes and acts on her feelings, as the journey continues.