Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or another other franchises referenced within this story.
/Forest Clearing/
Rio woke up in the middle of a familiar forest. It must be the same one he arrived in last time, but he didn't feel watched like before. He wasn't alone in his little forest clearing, however. The Lucario was there as well, in the same battered condition as before.
"Mornin' Sleeping Beauty. It's about time you got yourself up." The jackal said, uncrossing his arms. Rio smirked and stood up.
"It's not like I wanted to oversleep, cut me some slack." Rio joked, getting a small grin from his company. Before he could lose the chance, Rio decided to ask the Lucario somethings.
"Before we go do, whatever it was we did last time, I wanted to get your name." Rio asked, the Lucario shook his head.
"Sorry, I was trying to remember it myself. I can't recall it for some reason." Rio exhaled, a little disappointed at this unfortunate event.
"Well I gotta call you something. How about... hmm..." Rio couldn't think of anything, the only memories he has with this Lucario is watching those other two Pokémon through the forest. Not a lot of things to give him ideas.
"Oh! What about Ryan!" The Outlander exclaimed. The Lucario pondered for a moment before agreeing with the name.
"Alright, Ryan, my name's Rio!" Rio said happily, Ryan smiled back.
"With our greetings aside, how about we find that Pokémon now?" Ryan suggested. Rio nodded, and the two walked into the forest. Unlike last time, the forest seemed much thicker. The trees were bigger and their leaves let no light below them. The two walked for a several long minutes before coming upon the clearing with the tree stump in the middle. Much to their dismay, however, they weren't met with the same Pokémon from before. In its place was an odd Silhouette, bouncing in place and a toothy grin where it's face should be.
"Come, come! Masters Rio and —————! It is a pleasure to meet you." The silhouette said, its voice was a weird combination of a child and an adult, changing its pitch every few seconds. The figure bowed, its head dripping onto the floor. Rio and Ryan didn't really know how to take this strange new Pokémon, but atleast it seems friendly.
"My name's Ryan, atleast until I remember what it really is." The Lucario said, the figure rippled for a second before nodding its head.
"Wonderful! Marvelous! Master Ryan it is! What a wonderful new name!" The silhouette bounced up and down. After it calmed down, its real figure became more prominent. Much like the Pokémon before, it looked like multiple Pokémon taking up one place. Instead of it being bipedal, however, it walked on four legs and was much smaller than Rio or Ryan.
"Ah, yes, I was to tell you about this place before I helped you recall your past, Ryan." The figure said. "This place we reside in is called the Land of Rebirth. I am one of many that maintain this place, you can call me Third. I cannot tell you everything about what will happen, but by the end of it, the two of you will leave this place different than when you first arrived! Isn't that fantastic!" Third stated, jumping upon the tree stump.
"Rebirth? Like, being reborn?" Ryan asked, Third nodded.
"This is a very special place, there is no other like it! But the time for questions has passed, I have a job to do, after all." Third jumped unto the forest floor, a large circle appearing below it and the other two as it landed. "You can do whatever you want, as long as you stay within this circle." Third informed the two. The forest around the three spun and stretched, turning into stone and forming a stone hallway around them. Torches attached to the walls, igniting with bright orange and red flames. As Third walked, the circle went with him, so Rio and Ryan made sure to follow closely. Before long, the group arrived at a room with a table in the middle and an Alakazam behind it, and the Lucario from the haunted forest on top of it.
"—————, you reckless fool! Blast it all. If you ruined my work, I'll make you suffer for it!" The Alakazam grumbled, holding his hands above the Lucario's chest with a green light emitting from them.
"Don't worry Doc. I'm fine. And you don't have to worry a single whisker on your face, she doesn't know I'm here. By the way, your bedside manner is atrocious. It's not like I'm injured or anything." The Lucario replied, holding himself still. The Alakazam groaned and put his hands down.
"If it weren't for the fact I need you, I'd have sent you to the bottom of the deepest trench. How do you feel?" The psychic type asked. The Lucario sat up, holding his side for a second.
"Never better. Once we finish your experiment, you should become a real doctor. That healing thing you got really comes in handy." The fighting type joked, getting a disappointed sigh from his audience.
"Please, shut up."
"Aww, what's the matter? Maybe you wanna be a gardener instead, after all, you got some pretty green thumbs!" The only laughter coming from the room was the Lucario's.
"Anyway, I need you to try out that technique you picked up on your way here." The Alakazam asked. The Lucario nodded and immediately started glowing a vivid blue aura. He then inhaled as much air as he could.
"Fortify!" The blue Pokémon shouted, and his aura turned smooth and looked almost solid. He was only able to hold that for a few seconds before wincing in pain and letting it go. Holding his chest and gasping, the Lucario laid back down on the table.
"D-damn. Guess you missed a spot, Doc." The fighting type let out a soft chuckle before laying back down. The Alakazam went back to the Lucario's side, focusing the green light from his hands on the fighting type's chest again.
"Incredible, you actually managed to not completely fail for once." The Alakazam said sarcastically. The jackal groaned.
"C'mon Max! I'm actually going out into the world as your active lab rat, fighting for my life with Diana, keeping the fact that I even know you a secret. The least, the absolute least you could do is show some damn gratitude!" The Lucario yelled, surprising the Alakazam. For a moment or two no one said a word.
"I know it's difficult to be in your position, —————, but you aren't showing as much progress as we need. We are running out of time, I fear I only have so many days before I'm killed." Maxwell sighed, putting a hand on the Lucario's shoulder. "I'm sorry about my words."
"No, no, I shouldn't have snapped. *sigh* It's just... what we're doing, I'm afraid of having Diana find out. It's safe to say that she won't be happy I'm off helping you whenever she sleeps. Speaking of which, we might have to wrap this touching moment up, it's almost sunrise." The Lucario hopped off the table, stretching his arms and legs.
"One last thing before I leave... she's started talking with that voice again. If it really is the Pokémon you believe it to be, then we probably won't see each other again peacefully..." The jackal warned.
"It's alright. If I am to fall any day, I'd happily fall to your hands, er, paws." Maxwell nodded, raising both hands and a purple and pink light started glowing around them. "Not that you'd actually be able to kill me, of course."
"We'll see, Max. See ya." The Lucario waved a short goodbye before Maxwell teleported him away in a pink and purple sphere. The Alakazam left the room soon after, unknowingly leaving the three spies to themselves.
"Well, wasn't that riveting? Hopefully, it helps jog your memory, Master Ryan." Third asked, hopping in place excitedly. Ryan was staring at the table before he even noticed anyone said anything.
"Hmm? Oh, yes. Could we, go closer to that table for a second? I wanted to see something." Ryan asked politely. Third happily obliged, moving the three right next to the table. Ryan laid both paws on the lukewarm tabletop, feeling all the little bumps and dips on its surface.
"Max..." he said softly to himself, slowly starting to glow a white light.
"Hey, are you alright?" Rio asked, snapping the Lucario out of whatever trance he was in.
"Yea. I-I'm fine. Let's go back." Ryan responded, getting a confirmative nod from Third. Within a few seconds, the trio were sent back to the Land of Rebirth. The trees had gotten much taller since they left, covering more of the sky. Third stood ontop of the stump, studying the surroundings, when he quickly turned to Rio and Ryan, it's toothy grin faded into a frown.
"You two must leave, immediately. Whatever happened while we were gone will jeopardize your safety if you don't go now." Third demanded, the peppy tone from his voice completely gone. Without asking any questions, Ryan and Rio ran back the way they came.
As they entered the forest, the shadows started to creep up beside them before shooting out at the two. They two did their best in avoiding the shadows, but as soon as they were within reach of the first clearing, Rio tripped.
"Rio!" Ryan shouted, sensing several shadows heading for the Outlander. As quickly as he could, Ryan picked up Rio and threw him into the clearing. Unfortunately, the shadows pierced Ryan's right arm as a result. The Lucario quickly jumped into the clearing, him and Rio reaching the a pillar of light in it's center and jumping in without a second thought.
/Kora's House/
Rio woke up on one of the rugs in Kora's house, sitting next to him was Zeke and Zen, and across from him was Diana. Diana and Zeke were talking about something, and Zen was only listening. Since he had just woken up, Rio couldn't quite hear everything they were saying, so he decided to get up and ask what they were talking about.
"*yaaaawn* Hey Miss Diana, what're you and Zeke talking about?" The Lucario asked, rubbing his eyes. It was then that he noticed his arm was hurting like crazy! He also realized he had bandage wrapped around his chest and stomach, and Zen had his chest and part of his head wrapped.
"Oww. What happened to us?" Rio questioned, holding his right shoulder.
"You happened, actually," Zeke said, looking rather fine for whatever happened earlier that required Zen and Rio to be bandaged, "We were barely able to start training before you flipped out on Zen and attacked us." The Blaziken explained.
"You knocked me out, but I'm assuming you couldn't do much against Zeke." Zen added, gesturing to the bandage wrap on his head and body. "Diana said not to exert myself too much. I'm not gonna be fighting for a while," The Bisharp turned and glared at Zeke, "Although, I probably could've been in better shape if some bird didn't wait for me to wake up and make me help carry you back!"
"Look, I'm sorry about that, but now's not the time to be blaming anyone for anything." Zeke's attempt to avoid an argument almost immediately backfired.
"I'm only blaming you! If I was out any longer I'd be dead and you wouldn't have known!" Zen shouted, holding his head afterwards and leaning back on a wall. Diana went over to the Bisharp and gave him some berry juice.
"Despite the fact that some Pokémon made a bad decision, I believe it's more important to find out what made Rio snap." Diana spoke, standing in front of the three.
"I did, several times already in fact. Zen hit Rio with a Dark Pulse, then Rio overreacts and attacks us!" Zeke answered. Diana still didn't like that answer, feeling that there was something missing.
"Rio, what did you do before you went training with Zeke and Zen?" Diana asked the groggy Lucario.
"Um... I fell asleep in the Square, and before that I bought a pie for Minerva. Before that I fought Zeke, and before that me Kora and Minerva had pies at the bakery." Rio replied, his normal answer not exactly what Diana was looking for.
"I find it weird that all you did was fight and eat pie before you went berserk on us at the beach. You might have serious issues to look into." Zen said, reminding Diana of something from earlier.
"Berserk... like when you fought them in the springs today?" Diana asked Zen, the Bisharp catching onto what she might have been implying.
"Rio, did you eat any black berries today? It might've looked like a black Oran berry?" Zen asked, him and Diana both staring at Rio. The Lucario thought for a second before responding.
"Yeah, actually. It was at the bakery. They said that a weird berry plant started growing in their garden and asked me Kora and Minerva to try the pie recipe they used it in. The taste was amazing! It felt like everything I loved about fruit was mixed into the perfect berry just for me." The Outlander smiled at the memory of the delicious berry and excellent pie. Diana and Zen both froze, leaving Zeke and Rio puzzled.
"Y-you said..." Zen stuttered.
"You, Minerva, and my son ate a pie..." Diana stammered.
"With a black berry in it..?" The two finished, worry drenching both of their faces. Rio slowly nodded yes, wondering what was they were going on about.
"I know you didn't know this, but the reason why Zen went berserk at the springs earlier was because he ate a black berry after he first fought you. He also said that he can't remember what happened after he ate the berry, so it might not be the berry itself that does it." Diana said, holding her forehead.
"If the berry is the cause of me going berserk, then the last Pokémon you want to eat a pie made of it would be Kora and Minerva." Zen added, standing up slowly. Zeke and Rio both jumped to their feet as well.
"We have to find them, before something bad happens!" Diana exclaimed, grabbing Zeke and running out the door.
"If this gets too out of hand, you are the one that's going to fix it. You do realize that, right?" Zen asked Rio, the Outlander gave a nod.
"I figured, but if I have to fight either Kora or Minerva, I'm gonna need your help. If we fight together, maybe they won't kill us." Rio said, getting a smirk from Zen. The two ran outside as fast as they could, their drive to stop a disaster pushed aside the pain from their injuries.
/Sunset Square, Outside the Bakery/
Zen led Rio to the Bakery, on the way there the two planned to get the black berry plant removed from the bakers' garden and to remove any pastries that might have the berry in it.
"You sure this is what we should be doing? You don't think we should head to Minerva or Kora first?" Rio asked.
"No, I doubt that you were the only one training. Assuming either of your companions are with Jax or Nate, I'm sure we aren't currently needed. Besides, if we don't get this cursed berry out of circulation, who knows who else could eat it and go berserk?" Zen replied, entering the bakery with Rio close behind him.
Ben jumped as the two bandage-wrapped Pokémon approached the counter, both with determined looks on their faces.
"Oh my, what happened to you two? You weren't fighting, were you?" Ben asked.
"That's not important. We need you to throw out anything you baked with that black berry you found in your garden." Zen said firmly.
"We also gotta get the plant out of your garden! Whatever that berry is, it makes you crazy and attack anyone around you!" Rio added, not making Ben anymore comfortable.
"The black berry? Oh no, Clara!" Ben quickly ran into the kitchen and was heard running down some stairs. Not wasting anytime, Zen hopped over the counter.
"I'll go and get the plant. You get rid of any pastries with the berry." Zen comanded, running into the kitchen and into the garden. Rio nodded and started sorting the pastries in the open.
/The Bakers' Garden/
The Bisharp was met with a surprisingly large garden, tall berry plants with plenty of fruit growing from their branches. A sweet scent lingered in the air, and the assorted colors of the berries helped create an extremely relaxing atmosphere. Without the time to sight see, Zen ventured deeper into the garden.
After what seemed like several minutes of walking, Zen noticed that something was wrong. He'd been walking in a straight line the entire time, he should have came to the wall of the tent or the open area outside the bakery by now. Come to think of it, some of the plants look very similar to the ones near the entrance. The Dark Steel type turned around, seeing nothing but more plants.
"This doesn't feel right." He said, running back the way he came. Zen ran and he ran, but he didn't seem to be going anywhere.
"Kora? Is this one of your illusions?" Zen shouted, looking into the shadows of the garden for any sign of movement. He didn't get a response.
"Rio? Ben? Clara? Anyone?!" He shouted as loud as he could, but to no avail. The Bisharp sighed and held out both arms.
"Forgive me, Ben and Clara, but I can't afford to stay here." Zen said to himself, slashing through any plants near him. The Bisharp slashed through plant after plant, eventually cutting the entire garden to the ground. Much to his dismay, however, the plants grew back immediately after being cut.
"... Why must you destroy the plant, Zen?" A voice spoke from the greenery, surprising Zen.
"It is a danger to anyone who eats it and all the Pokémon around them." Zen replied, not being able to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. If he didn't know better, Zen would say that the voice belonged to a child.
"A danger? Perhaps at first, but you grew stronger from it. Didn't you?" The voice asked. At first, Zen didn't respond, not knowing what the voice meant exactly. After some thought, Zen did remember feeling somewhat more powerful after he recovered from his fight under the Berry's influence.
"What exactly is the berry, if you seem to know so much about it?" Zen questioned the voice.
"It's called a Dark Berry. It only effects Dark-Type Pokémon. The berry grants whatever Dark-Type Pokémon that eats it a massive power boost, at the cost of also massively boosting their emotions. After they are subdued, fortunately, some of the extra power will remain inside them." The voice explained.
"That... There's no way that's natural. What did you do to make these berries?!" Zen shouted. The voice giggled.
"All I did was make them, Zen. No need for such aggravation. I planted these berries for the greater good, just because you can't see it yet doesn't mean it isn't there." After that last sentence, the voice didn't speak again. The Bisharp hoped that meant he could finally leave the garden. As the Dark-Steel Type turned to wear he thought the Bakery was, he was met with the Dark Berry plant, with a singular berry left.
'The Dark Berry grants any Dark-Type Pokémon who eats it a massive power boost, at the cost of also massively boosting their emotions.' The words the voice spoke repeated in Zen's head as he approached the plant. A massive boost in power to any dark type...
/Inside The Bakery/
Rio finally finished getting rid of all the treats made with the black Berry. The Outlander was worried about how long it was taking Zen to return from the garden. Rio was just about to head into the garden when he heard some commotion from outside. Peeking his head out the tent opening, Rio saw Kane towering over Kai and Mia. There was no mistaking it, Kane had that distinct black and red aura around him.
"S-stop it! Leaves us alone, o-or I'll go get Kora!" Kai yelled, standing guard infront of Mia.
"Do it then! I'll just bet the chance to beat the three of you at once!" Kane pounded his foot on the ground, making Kai shake a little. Rio quickly ran outside to help the two kids.
"You won't get the chance to beat anyone!" Rio shouted, kicking Kane in the side. Unfortunately, the attack did practically nothing, leaving Rio wide open for a Karate Chop to his attacking leg. The Scrafty grinned devilishly as he lifted the Lucario from the ground by his leg.
"I got me a whole gang of Pokémon worth beatin up! I've been waiting to put you in your place, dog!" Kane laughed, throwing Rio into the air a good distance, kicking the Lucario in the chest before he hit the ground. Rio slid across the dirt, stopping a few feet from the Bakery entrance.
'What the hell...' Rio thought to himself, picking himself up while his aura started to flare up, 'He wasn't always this strong, was he?'
The jackal didn't have much time to think as Kane was turned back to the two smaller Pokémon. His adrenaline and determination fueled Rio to ran back and attack Kane again. This time, slamming both palms into the berserk Pokémon's back. The results were mostly the same, Kane not being effected, Rio getting a hefty blow to his body. Instead of being thrown away, Rio tried to attack Kane again, head butting the lizard as hard as possible.
"Ahh! You damned dog!" Kane shouted, his tainted aura flaring up even more. Before the jackal could react, Kane's fist was placed very deep into Rio's stomach, sending the Outlander flying backwards. With the wind knocked completely out him, Rio crashed into the ground. Despite the attack, however, the Lucario didn't feel as hurt as he expected. In fact, Kane started holding his fist in pain.
"GRRRAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" The berserk Pokémon roared, Kai and Mia talking this chance to get as far away as possible. An overwhelming sense of danger filled Rio's mind. With remarkable speed, Kane charged towards Rio, not giving the Outlander a chance to defend himself.
"High Jump Kick!" The Scrafty jumped and slammed his knee directly into Rio's head, sending the Lucario into the Bakery. Once again, the attack didn't do as much damage as expected, but it still stung a bit. Hoping to keep the fight outside, Rio picked himself up again and ran outside. As fast as he could, the jackal made a sharp turn straight to Jax's Gym, hoping to god that's were Kora and Diana were.
"Runnin ain't an option for you, mutt!" Kane roared, appearing right next to Rio and punching him in the jaw. The Lucario slammed his shoulder into Kane's side, getting grabbed in the process. Rio was thrown right were he needed to go, right into the gym, however he did hit someone as he entered.
"What's the rush, rookie?" Jax asked, picking Rio off the ground. The Outlander didn't have a moment to respond as Kane already rushed in.
"You're just as pathetic as the cat! Can't even beat me without company, huh?" Kane mocked. Something in the air shifted. Rio felt that sense of danger growing rapidly.
"I should've known that a friend to that worthless excuse for a 'Mon would attract useless scum like you." Kane continued, the pressure around them grew noticeably heavier. Rio and Jax turned slowly, seeing Kora standing at the entrance to the field.
"Say. That. Again." The fox growled. Kane frowned, his aura flaring again.
"Here comes the weakling son of the retired hero. Here to boast about your 'strength' before I send you and your garbage to hell?" Somewhere in that sentence was the wrong thing to say, like, the absolute wrong thing to say. Rio instinctively ran to cover, pulling Jax with him. Kora raised his head, his eyes vacant and empty until they laid upon Kane. At that moment, they turned a deep red.
"Who the hell do you think you are..." Kora muttered, the ever-so oblivious Kane cracked his knuckles and roared.
"I'm a real Pokémon! I don't need to surround myself with trash to make myself feel better for being weak!" Kane ran towards Kora, ready to attack the Zoroark. Upon reaching Kora, unfortunately, Kane was stopped in his tracks by the fox's glare.
"You aren't a real Pokémon. You're dead." Kora's own aura exploded as he uttered those words to Kane, pushing the Scrafty back. Rio and Jax ran outside, leaving the two berserk Pokémon to their battle.
"What's gotten into them?!" Jax shouted. "I've seen powerful Pokémon before, and I've actually seen Kora's aura before, but whatever that was wasn't Kora!"
"I'll try to keep this short, but there's a berry that makes you go berserk when you eat it, and we had a pie with that berry in it. Diana, Zeke, Zen and I were trying to find Kora and Minerva before someone got hurt, but unfortunately it seems Kane might get a lot more than hurt." Rio explained, something telling him to get down. As the Lucario pushed him and Jax to the ground, Kane came flying over them.
"..." Kora walked out the gym, his aura was so thick you almost couldn't see him in it. Kane caught himself before he landed, his face drenched in fear and his aura small. Rio could sense more regret and fear coming from Kane than he felt any emotion besides rage coming from Kora.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!?" Kane screamed, not getting any response from Kora. The fox held up his palm, and several balls of energy shot out at Kane. Going against his instinct, Rio got in front of Kane and blocked the attacks. Even seeing that he hit his friend gained no response from Kora.
"You have to calm down, Kora! If you don't you'll kill him!" Rio shouted, getting silence from his friend.
"..." Kora launched himself forward, not able to be seen from any Pokémon around, and slugged Rio in the side with his arm. The Lucario was sent flying away, leaving the cowering Kane to Kora's fury. Before the beserking Zoroark could attack, Jax managed to throw a weighty rock at his back.
"C'mon Kora, you're better than this!" Jax tried to convince his little buddy to calm down, but got the same result as Rio did. Kora approached Jax, pushing him back with just a paw, sending the Machamp back towards the gym. Kora turned back to Kane, seeing again his friend standing in front of his target.
"I won't let you kill him! Please Kora! Stop this!" Rio shouted.
"..." Kora got down on all fours, his aura expanding even more than before. With blinding speed, Kora jumped over Rio and landed, claws first, onto Kane. Without hesitation, Kora slashed at Kane's chest. The Scrafty screamed in agony, trying to run but Kora had him pinned entirely. Before the fox could get another attack in, he was hit with a Dark Pulse coming from the Bakery.
"Zen? Zen!" Rio exclaimed, his relief replaced with fear at seeing the Bisharp again with a tainted aura.
"Don't worry, Outlander. I'm focusing everything on thinking clearly, and sedating your friend." Zen reassured Rio. The Bisharp got to the Lucario's side, not caring for the panicking Kane below him.
"I hope you have a plan of some sort, because I sure as hell don't!" Rio spoke, getting ready to fight.
"We just have to calm him down, or die trying." Zen responded, flaring up his aura.
"Please, don't ever say that." Rio said, flaring his aura up as much as he could. This time, he noticed, his aura stayed more intact than usual. Kora got back up and faced Zen and Rio. With no warning, Kora jumped at the two opposing Pokémon with his claws bared. Zen quickly slashed downwards, catching Kora off guard and hitting his shoulder. As the fox landed he pushed himself back with his other arm, aiming his body for Zen.
"..!" The fox's leg was caught by Rio before he could reach Zen, getting himself thrown behind the Lucario. Kora hit the ground hard, but it didn't seem to hurt him in the slightest. The mindless fox put both paws up, red and orange sparks flickering infront of them. Zen quickly pushed Rio to the left, readying a Dark Pulse to counter Kora's Incinerate.
"Hahhh!" The two attacks exploded upon hitting each other, pushing the two Dark-Types back a few feet and pushing Rio to the ground. Before the dust could settle, Kora jumped through the smoke, getting to slashes in on Zen. The Bisharp's aura appeared more unstable after the attack, Rio could feel Zen was starting to lose his control.
"Leave him ALONE!" Rio shouted, slamming his shoulder into Kora's back. Not giving the fox a chance to attack, Rio slams his palm into Kora, sending the fox to his knees. Zen quickly recovered and hit Kora with a powerful Dark Pulse. The thick aura around the Zoroark started to shrink, a good sign to Rio that they were doing something!
"Nngggghhh..." Kora groaned, Rio gained a hopeful smile after hearing something finally come from his enraged friend. "Wh...what..? Wh..y?" The Dark-Type groaned, holding his head.
"Kora please! You have to stop!" Rio yelled.
"So... loud... shut, shut up..." Kora looked like he was in pain. "Shut up..! Shut up!!! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!! SHUT THE HELL UP!!!" The aura expanded dramatically, swallowing Kora whole in its blackness. A powerful wind formed from the massive aura, pushing Rio and Zen away and causing the tents to shake. Unfortunately, Zen's own aura faded and he fell to a knee.
"Not yet. C'mon, I can't give up now!" Zen said, trying and failing to stand. Rio felt a whole lot more danger coming, not a single thing was going right at the moment.
'What am I supposed to do? How do I stop this?!' Rio's mind was filled with worries and fear. Thankfully, the Lucario was soon joined by Nate and Minerva, both relieved to find Rio.
"What's happenin?! Where's Kora?" Minerva asked. Rio pointed at the large void of darkness.
"Kane started saying some terrible things to Kora and he just exploded into this aura. I'm certain it has something to do with the black berry pie we ate earlier." Rio explained.
"Actually, the Black Berry only effects Dark-Types. Minerva should be fine. Once we knock him out or have him run out of energy, he should get back to normal." Zen added, panting heavily. The Bisharp's previous injuries and new ones finally caught up to him. "I can't... I can't fight anymore. You two have to stop him."
"How? You two got any ideas?" Nate asked, not getting a positive answer from Rio or Zen.
"I think I have one. It sounds really dumb, but I think it'll work. Hey Rio, what can ya feel from him?" Minerva asked the Lucario. He closed his eyes and tried to focus.
"It's difficult to tell, there's so much noise coming from the aura. I can feel bits and pieces of anger and sadness but I can't be sure." Rio answered. The Meowth took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Then it's worth a shot, ain't it." She said to herself, walking to the massive black mass.
"What's worth a shot? We don't know what your plan is!" Rio shouted, but the feline already walked into the aura. Rio couldn't understand what idea could have possibly been going through her head. The three Pokémon stood staring at the aura, waiting for something to happen. A few moments later, Diana and Zeke joined the three.
"What's going on?" Zeke asked calmly.
"She just, went in... she's crazy." Zen spoke, staring still at the darkness before him.
"Who?" Diana questioned. No one answered, more distracted by the shrinking aura. It slowly grew smaller and smaller, bits of aura floating away into the wind like embers from a flame. It took a good minute before the aura dispersed entirely, leaving Minerva hugging a passed out Kora in its center. Rio was about to go and join the two, but his injuries hit him almost instantly after his aura faded, making him fall on his chest.
"You did it. Your crazy plan worked and you did it!" Rio exclaimed, unable to get himself up. Diana rushed over to her son, not knowing what happened but not really caring either. The mother held her son, thanking Minerva, and lifted Kora up in her arms.
"We have to get rid of those berry plants, immediately. Zeke, Nate, I'll handle the plants. I, no, everyone needs you to train these kids to be as strong as possible. Whatever or whoever made these plants needs to be found ASAP." Diana stated, "Go find Jax as well, after I treat my son's wounds, we will meet at the gym." Diana walked off onto the forest path leading to the houses.
"One more thing. Zen, they need you. I don't know if they proved themselves to you yet, but we both know that you can't keep being uncooperative with them. From now on, you will help Zeke train Rio without being an ass about it." The fox ordered. Zen couldn't find the strength to object, and even if he had, Diana wouldn't be so kind taking a "no" after this incident anyway. He figured it'd be best to not get beat to a pulp after today.
"Hey Rio, wanna go over to the springs and get yourself fixed up? We can bring the metal head too if ya want." Minerva offered, helping Rio off the ground. She went over to the Bisharp and offered him her paw. With some hesitation, Zen raised his hand and rested it in the feline's paws.
"Can either of ya walk? I'm not gonna lie, the both of ya look like ya could pass out anytime." Neither of The heavily injured Pokémon could move all that much. Nate lifted the two and carries them over his shoulders. Zeke left to find the Machamp, and the others walked down to the hot springs.
/Much Later, SV Hot Springs/
The sun was setting, giving the sky an orange and pink hue that made the leaves seem to glow. No one had really spoken on the way to the springs, apart from Rio explaining what had happened. Upon reaching the springs, the first thing that caught everyone's attention was the only Pokémon inside the springs.
"Jax? When did you get over here?" Nate asked, putting Rio and Zen into the water.
"Kora did a lot more damage than I thought he did. I tried to get back up after he pushed me, but a sharp pain went through my chest. I was thinking about getting someone to help Rio, but I thought this pain would make that a whole lot harder on me." The Machamp explained.
"From the sounds of it, Rio wasn't exactly on the top of your priority list. I don't know if you noticed, but these two were fighting Kora while they were already beat up. You've handle much worse than sharp pains before, muscle head." Nate retorted, making the Machamp sink into the water a bit.
"N-no it's not like that at all! I'm serious, it was getting worse by the second I had to come here!" Jax attempted to defend himself. The Feraligtr sighed and went into the water. Rio and Zen floated aimlessly in the spring, both having their eyes closed and breathing softly. It was almost as if they were sleeping.
"I guess it's been a long day for everyone, huh?" Minerva said, messing up the serenity of the springs.
"If by long you mean painful, then yeah." Rio joked, trying to laugh but it came out strained.
"I've been knocked out twice today and almost killed once. I can't catch a break." Zen sighed. "But at the very least, I can say that it ended rather nicely. Just like it started, in the springs."
"Shame that the twerp couldn't join us. Ya really messed up our mornin, Zen." Minerva said, splashing a bit of water in Zen's direction.
"I hope we didn't do that much to Kora, we couldn't exactly hold back when fighting."Rio asked.
"He may not look it, but Kora can take a beatin and a half and still have the strength to spew out unfunny jokes. I wouldn't be surprised if he was somehow a Steel-Type this whole time." The Meowth joked. The five Pokémon floated in refreshing and relaxing silence for around half an hour.
"I don't know what's in the water, but it's ability to heal you is extraordinary!" Zen exclaimed, jumping out of the springs and stretching out his body. "It's almost like I didn't get beat up several times today."
The group left the springs and started walking towards Diana's house. When they arrived, Jax and Nate left for the gym and the other three went inside to check up on Kora. The Zoroark was sitting in front of the fire with no bandages or anything. He was completely fine. Kora turned his head to see who walked in, but after seeing who it was redirected his eyes back to the fire. Without saying anything, Rio and Minerva sat to either side of Kora.
"I'm sorry." Kora muttered, not looking to either of his friends.
"It's alright dude. It's not like you could have stopped yourself. Besides, Kane deserved it." Rio said, putting his paw on the fox's shoulder. Zen eventually sat opposite to the three.
"Why's mister up-tight with us? Though he and Kane were teammates." From his choice of words, you'd assume Kora wasn't pleased to see the Bisharp, but the fox didn't show any sign of bitterness to him.
"He helped hold ya off 'till I got there. If it weren't for him, you'd have blasted Rio and the rest of the Square out to dust." Minerva said. Kora looked directly at Zen with some surprise showing.
"Then I guess I owe you one. Never thought of you as someone that would help me of all Pokémon."
"Any sane Pokémon would have done the same, you don't owe me anything." The Bisharp spoke. The four sat in silence for the remainder of the day. It's safe to saw that everyone was worn out from the constant drama they faced. A cold breeze swept through the house, making Rio and Minerva huddle closer to Kora, who didn't notice.
Zen sighed and laid on his back, somewhat regretting his decision to rival Rio and his friends with Eva and Kane.
'It's a bit too late for regret now, I have to train Rio, and because of his part in enraging Kora, I gotta keep my eyes on Kane.' The Dark-Steel Type thought to himself.
After half an hour passes, everyone but Kora falls asleep. The fox was lost in his thoughts and the dance of the flames before him. It's not like he hasn't heard insults about Minerva before, and even with the effect of the berries, why did he blow up so much? What is he going to do if it happens again? What if he hurts his friends,well, more than he already did?
'No, I've been able to keep her safe for forever. Some jacked berry isn't gonna stop that.' He reassured himself, a small smile appearing on his face. Kora looked over at Minerva curled up next to him, and over to Rio who was leaning on his shoulder. Satisfied with his goal to continue protecting these two, Kora joined them in slumber.
/End Of Chapter/
Fusion: This chapter was a bit delayed but I hope it was worth it. See you guys in the next chapter!