"I really don't see why we have to sneak around," Derek grumbled to Damion quietly. Still, the infrared goggles over his eyes showed his acceptance of the plan, despite the fact he could see well enough without them. "We've been here for half an hour; maybe nothing's coming!"
"But they said that the Pokémon only shows up underneath the lighthouse's cliff!" Damion whispered back.
"That's too vague! How the hell are we supposed to know where near the lighthouse? And besides, that lighthouse isn't even empty, so maybe it's the person in there's Pokémon."
"...It isn't?"
"Of course not! The lights are on. Can't you see that?"
Damion looked up from the leafy cover. He moved around a couple of times, trying to see, but soon turned back to Derek. "I can't see because of the cliff!"
"The lighthouse is on the cliff you moron!" Derek snapped, pulling the goggles off in irritation to glare at the boy. "Just look out to the sea and you can see the reflection of the light being—"
A sound of a branch snapping broke the silent night. Dragging Damion back behind the bushes they had been hiding behind, Derek listened closely for any more noises. He held up a finger to his mouth before Damion could ask what he was doing, then turned back to the distance.
At first, it was silent. For a second, Derek thought he had imagined the sound, but then he heard another snap of brittle wood breaking. This time, Damion heard it too, and before Derek could stop him, the boy threw a Poké Ball into the air.
Light flashed from the orb, alerting whatever was breaking the wood. A sudden growl burst through the dark. Giving up on hiding, both boys jumped out from behind the bushes, with Derek shoving the goggles into his bag, throwing it behind him, and reaching for a Poké Ball himself. His hand clenched around Flare's, but Damion put a hand on his arm.
"Wait. Can't I try and fight this one?"
Derek scowled. "Is this really the time, Damion? We have no idea—"
"I recognize the growl of that Pokémon!" he cut in. "It's a Houndour."
Derek blinked. "You can tell by the sound of the growl?"
He nodded. "My old teacher taught me that. Sorari, Peck!"
Worried, but confident that Damion could do it, Derek let his hand fall from his belt. He took a few steps back, scanning the area. He could see the twigs they had laid out beforehand, several of them broken. He glanced towards the Pokémon, which was hard to see in the dark, but decipherable. Surprisingly enough, Damion was actually right; it was a Houndour. He, too, could tell that it was a Houndour, just from the aura it was releasing.
Similar to a dog, the darkly-colored Houndour was a sight to see. It had black fur that covered its four legs and short tail, as well as most of its face, all the way to its pointed ears. The area around its mouth was colored an orange-red, as was its underbelly. Sharp fangs protruded from through its mouth, and with the dark nose and sharp black eyes of the Houndour, they seemed even deadlier than usual. White bands decorated its ankles of each leg. They seemed to be made of a skull-like material that also covered its back, in two parallel half-bands, and the forehead, in a skull with two eye-shaped holes.
Derek swallowed with a forced smile as he felt the flaming and shadowy energy of the creature. This would probably be their biggest challenge yet, and Damion insisted on facing it alone. What an idiot.
The Houndour easily dodged Sorari's Peck attack, sliding aside with ease. It was much faster than Sorari, not to mention stronger. It leapt forward, glowing with a menacing aura, and struck Sorari down with a paw. The Spearow flew threw the air and crashed into the ground, skidding several feet.
Damion ran towards his fallen Pokémon, crying Sorari's name. Derek frowned, but said nothing, continuing to watch the Houndour. It wasn't as vicious as most Houndour, yet it was much stronger. Something about the way it was acting was odd.
Soran's Poké Ball popped open as it usually did when battles went on. He gazed at her when she jumped onto his shoulder. "This isn't our battle to fight," he told her. "But tell me: That Houndour is a girl, isn't it?"
Soran nodded. She turned slowly from Sorari's unconscious body being returned to his Poké Ball to the Houndour. A soft growl from deep inside her throat began shaking her body, and Derek's shoulder with it.
"Calm down. We have no right to battle."
"Ee," she hissed, but remained on his shoulder, her claws digging into his jacket.
"Fine! Swift, let's do this!" Damion called out, releasing the Wooper inside. "Water Gun!"
"Woopah!"
The water shot forward like a bullet, living up to its name as "Water Gun." Still, the Houndour dodged even more quickly, almost seeming to disappear into the darkness. She lunged forward with a Bite, though Swift managed to dodge narrowly by diving to the side.
Curiosity overtook Derek, making him pull out his Pokédex. He barely ever used it, except for checking his Pokémon's moves, but this time was special. He scanned the Houndour, then Swift. As the data popped onto the screen, he glanced at the contents. He nearly dropped the gadget in surprise.
"Damion, that Houndour is way too strong compared to us. Her stats are really high, compared to our mediocre ones," he said, reading off the information charts. "Plus, she's hardly using any of her strength. She's a Special fighter, not a Physical fighter!"
Damion turned from the battle for a moment to give Derek a shocked look. "You mean she's actually got stronger moves?"
"Ember, Flamethrower, and Smog—watch out for those two!"
The Houndour seemed to understand what they were saying. She shot an Ember straight towards Swift, who instinctively countered with a Mud Shot. However, she seemed to have known that Swift would use the move, and took the chance that Swift had left in shooting to lunge forward with another Beat Up. Swift was struck straight in the stomach by a flurry of black-and-blue blows of light and knocked back into Damion's arms, unconscious.
Derek bit his lip anxiously. "C'mon Damion," he muttered. "Come on."
"Thanks, Swift," Damion mumbled to the sleeping Wooper. He returned him to his Poké Ball, then turned towards the Houndour once again. "All right, Solar, let's do this! Vine Whip!"
"Bulbasaur!" he cried, immediately beginning the onslaught upon release. The Houndour easily dodged the vines, sidestepping as if it were child's play. She let out a Howl, which echoed in the night, causing everyone to cringe. In panic, Damion called out, "PoisonPowder!"
"Damion, don't!" Derek shouted, but he was too late; he could only watch as Solar released the dust-like particles into the air. They floated towards the Houndour, who glanced at them with a bored look. After what seemed to be an eternity, she opened her mouth—and let out a bloodcurdling Roar. The PoisonPowder was blown back by pure sound and shot back towards them.
"Damn it." Derek grabbed Flare's Poké Ball and released the Charmander inside as quickly as possible. "Burn the powder—Flame Slash!"
The Charmander pulled back his claw, holding it by his side. Flames burst from each individual nail, and as Flare swept his claw through the air, the flames left his hand, burning through the air as a wave of flames. The powder caught on fire, filling the air with tiny burning lights.
Soon, the flames disappeared. The only source of light was the moonlight and Flare's tail, which cast light on Solar and the Houndour. For a moment, she glanced at both of the trained Pokémon, and then lunged towards Solar.
"Damion, sorry!" Derek said, then commanded, "Flare, intercept—SmokeScreen!"
Black smoke filled the area, further darkening the night. The only light was Flare's tail, which glowed dimly in the SmokeScreen. As expected, the Houndour charged for Flare, who managed to hold off the Beat Up attack.
A sudden gust of wind blew away the smoke. Derek glanced at Solar, who was cleverly using a Vine Whip attack as a fan-like apparatus. The Trainer shouted, "Ember!"
Flare opened his mouth and shot ball-shaped flames at the Houndour. Instead of dodging, though, she jumped forward and swallowed them. She glowed the color of fire, then shot forward and slammed Flare in the side, knocking him away. Derek cursed himself for his stupidity; he had completely forgotten that Houndour had the Flash Fire ability, which completely absorbed Fire attacks and transformed them into energy.
"Catch that Houndour with a Vine Whip!"
"Flare, Scratch!"
The Houndour easily ducked under Flare's Scratch attack, then proceeded to catch Solar's Vine Whip with a Bite. She jerked her head up, tossing Solar into the air. She shot an Ember straight up towards the Bulbasaur with perfect timing. Before the flames hit, though, Flare managed to grasp Solar's vines himself and drag the Bulbasaur out of the way. The flames exploded in the air in a burst of orange light.
"Damn it! This Houndour just won't go down!" Derek turned towards Damion. "Any bright ideas, Mr. Rare Pokémon Finder?"
"U-um...Maybe...I know! Solar, return! You too, Derek!"
"What? You don't have any Pokémon to switch to—are you kidding around?"
"Trust me! Now return Flare!"
Derek scowled, but pulled out the Poké Ball. He grasped it in his hand tightly, activating the pressure mechanism. The red light reached forward and returned Flare to his energy form, narrowly avoiding the Houndour's Bite attack. Solar, too, disappeared in a flash of red.
"Switch to Zorro, Derek! Let's do this, Swift!"
He switched Poké Balls, tossing Zorro's out into the air. As soon as the Magnemite formed, Derek turned to look at Swift, who was panting and had only just woken up from his concussion. He felt a pang of sympathy, but turned away.
"Next?"
"Swift, Water Gun!"
Derek got the plan as soon as he heard water. "Zorro, ThunderShock!"
The two attacks merged, electricity coursing through the water current. Swift pulled back from the attack before he, too, got electrocuted. They watched as the sparking water shot towards the Houndour, who was too surprised to dodge. It was a direct hit, an explosion of water and electricity that burst through the darkness.
The Houndour hit the ground, eyes closed. Derek saw Damion hesitate and nudged him. "Use your Great Ball, and hurry."
"R-right. Go, Great Ball!"
It soared through the dark air, catching the moonlight and reflecting it. It sparkled as it flew towards the Houndour. On contact, it burst open, absorbing her in a bright light. It shook several times, and with every shake brought a pang through each Trainer's hearts.
Once...
Twice..
Thrice...
Both of them backed away when it burst open, sending the Great Ball flying back to Damion, who caught it in surprise. The Houndour shot towards them with a blinding speed, scoring a successful Ember on Zorro before either of them could so much as turn. The Magnemite hit the ground in an instant, its coat even darker than before.
Though he returned the Zorro quickly, the feeling was different from a normal defeat. Something about this was too much for Derek—and Soran. She was starting to glow with a white light. In a split second she had jumped off his shoulder and shot through the darkness, crashing into the Houndour with a bursting Quick Return attack. The Houndour skidded backwards, panting from the effort of fighting for so long and receiving such attacks. Soran, on the other hand, was completely fresh and raring to go.
They clashed, Return versus Beat Up, neither side letting up. It was true that the Houndour was stronger, but she lacked the energy to keep up with Soran's consecutive combos. The Eevee leapt backwards, her white aura dissipating as the Quick Attack faded. From inside her mouth came a black light, and in an instant she shot several Shadow Balls at the Houndour, who tore through them with a Bite.
"Soran, just finish this: Shadow Ball and Quick Return!"
She raised her head to the sky and began to glow; first with white, then a split second later purple, then finally black. She sped forward and struck the Houndour with a resounding crack, sending both Pokémon rolling in the dirt.
"Now, Damion!" Derek shouted to the boy next to him.
"S-sure!"
Again, the Great Ball was thrown through the air. It knocked the fallen Houndour and absorbed it once more and began shaking. This time, though, almost immediately it stopped. It let out a flash of sparks to signal its success.
Damion took a few hesitant steps forward and picked it up, staring down at it oddly. He then turned towards Derek. "This...doesn't belong to me, does it?"
"What are you talking about?" Derek asked, not looking at him. He picked up Soran, a painful memory of how she had looked when she had fought against Brock flashing into his mind. It struck him that the Houndour had never used Flamethrower. "Soran was only able to win because of your electric current idea. The Houndour's yours, Damion. But do you mind if I name her?"
"What'd you have in mind?" Damion asked, sitting down on the ground with a breath of exhaustion.
Derek sat down next to him. "Why not...Serin? It's an unusual name, but I think it fits."
"What's it mean?"
"It's not a word with meaning, as far as I know," Derek answered. He gazed up at the moon, patting the fur on Soran's head. He returned her to her Poké Ball after a moment, gazing down at his lap. "It's a character from a story I once read. Or really, was read. About some lady with dark powers who shaped the world's savior, though neither of them got acknowledged for it."
"Eh? That sounds like a cool story. Could you tell it to me?"
Derek glanced at him curiously. "'Course not. It was a chapter book; I can't tell you something like that in one day."
"That sorta stinks."
"It does, doesn't it?" Derek leaned back onto the grass, laying Soran next to him. "Well, we should get back up the cliff and set up camp soon. Unless you wanna do it here."
"Sure. It's not so bad here, eh?"
"I guess not," Derek agreed.
"You guys better not be thinking about sleeping; I want a battle. Now."
Derek jerked up into a sitting position. He got to his feet a moment later, staring at the girl leaning against one of the trees in the field who had spoken to them. She had light-colored hair tucked underneath a baseball cap and was wearing a short-sleeved jacket over a plain white t-shirt and jeans. If he hadn't heard her voice, he would have thought she was a guy.
A very cute guy.
"W-what are you doing here?" he asked, taking a step back. If she challenged them to a battle at that moment, he would have to battle her with either weakened Pokémon or Pokémon he hadn't trained much yet. He would have no chance at winning. "This isn't really a place that most people would come to."
She laughed. "It's not really any of your business kid, but if you want to know, I was trying to find somebody."
"So you're a stalker?"
She glanced at him. "Is that a joke or are you just an idiot?"
"It's neither a joke nor am I an idiot. It's called asking a genuine question to someone very suspicious." Derek cast a glance towards Damion, who was sitting up and looking rather scared. "Well, how about a one-on-one single battle match?"
"Are you kidding? There are two of you, so why not a two-on-two double battle match? Of course, I'll be battling by myself."
"A double match?" Derek echoed. He studied her complexion, but it was hard even for him to see her in the dark. "Are you from Hoenn or Sinnoh?"
"Johto, actually." She took a step towards them. "Though yes, I have happened to go through Sinnoh."
He blinked. Something flashed into his head—etiquette? Damn it, Yuki. "Well...I'm Derek, and this is Damion. Mind telling us who you are, then?"
"Emily." She rolled two Poké Balls—a Quick Ball and a Heal Ball—both made in Sinnoh. "So? What's it gonna be?"
Derek cast Damion a glance. "Are any of your Pokémon in battling condition?" he whispered.
Damion frowned. "I don't think so...unless you want me to use Serin. But I doubt she would even listen to me already, much less be able to fight."
"Fine. I'll handle this battle, then." He mustered up whatever courage he could and stepped forward. It was only at that moment he noticed how much taller Emily was than him. "I think I'm more well-suited to this sort of thing, so why not just us? I'll still go with a double battle if you want."
The Johto girl laughed, the sound resounding in the dark night. "Really, now? Double battles are my specialty; there's no need to sentence yourself to your own death."
Her attitude was beginning to piss Derek off. "I formally challenge you, Emily, to a two-on-two double battle match." He pulled Flare's and Soran's Poké Balls from his belts and swallowed back his fear and anxiety. This was a battle—he needed to get serious.
The two tossed their Poké Balls. For a moment, everything seemed to freeze. Derek's eyes caught something dark against the night as the light from the Poké Balls spread, like a shadow in a shadow. For that split second, he could see some human-shaped figure watching them, as if in curiosity. Then, as if knowing it had been noticed, it receded, disappearing into the shadows.
The instant ended, and the battle was on.
A/N - God, I wanted to upload this a few days ago, but FF wasn't letting me log in. Was that for everyone, or just me?
Either way, there's chap 12 (or on FF, 14). In the original series, Derek and Damion tag-teamed, but I tweaked the situation a bit, and suddenly this happened. But it's still a double battle, so I had fun writing that.
A question, though. Am I rushing these chapters? I'm uploading a lot because I'm writing a lot, but I know speed-updating isn't a smart thing to do. So should I slow down or just keep up this pace of every two/three/four days?
See y'all! =)
(Btw, Serin is a reference to Legendary Legacy. You'll understand what she does when I get to writing that, lol.)