Well here you go everyone, the next installment of my Rejuvenation fic, where Julius storms the hidden Xen base under Wispy Tower and confronts a most powerful foe. I'm fairly confident that you'll all enjoy it, so let's begin already!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, nor do I own Pokémon Uranium. They are the property of their respective creators.
Julius had spent the last half-hour relaxing by the Giratina statue, coming to terms with what was happening so far, between Narcissa's desire for change and the stubborn adherence to tradition that his friends showed earlier. Truth be told, he didn't expect everyone to agree to the change immediately but figured that they'll come to terms and accept it over time. Still, he did question whether Ren would be strong enough to defeat Narcissa, given how skilled she is with her Ghost type Pokémon. He had just finished his drink and discarded it in a nearby bin when he heard what sounded like bickering coming from in front of the library, and opted to check it out.
"—I've got a few choice words I want to say about how you and your people treat outsiders who just want to complete the Aevium—" Aelita began her small rant, before noticing Julius arriving on scene and quietened down a bit. "Oh, hi Julius!"
"Hey, Aelita. Look I get where you're coming from, but your little rant won't exactly leave a positive impression on the town regarding outsiders." Julius politely chimed in.
"The young man raises a point, though I can see where you're coming from." Narcissa replied to Aelita. "Now, as I was just saying, I grew tired of this town's attitude. I yearn for change; back to when this town was thriving and prosperous with outsiders coming and going."
"Well if you grew tired of this isolation, then why create the policy in the first place?" Aelita inquired, with the older woman sighing to herself.
"Young one…the only way you could feel the anger I felt when I made the policy if you were there that night; the night where the radio tower was set alight." She answered.
"O-Oh…" Aelita quieted down in response, before getting back to her original point. "Since you're the leader here, wouldn't it be easy to change the policy?"
"It's not that simple Aelita; as you saw in the Pokémon Center, the townsfolk still hold onto their anger, their hate. They've become so blinded by it that they won't take the time to listen to Narcissa." Julius answered.
"Exactly." Narcissa commented, directing her attention to the young woman. "One thing you must know about being a leader is that your decisions will not always be met with unanimous agreement. To force my will onto them would turn me into a dictator."
"I guess you're right…" Aelita replied quietly, thinking to herself. "We have to think of something we can do in the meantime, an assembly perhaps?"
"Not a bad start, but they could easily start a riot, jeopardizing our safety." Narcissa shot down the suggestion. "Oh I'm more than capable of fending them off…but I don't have the heart to lash out against my own people."
"I still think that the best possible solution is to have Ren demonstrate his strength to Narcissa, proving to the people that the outside world isn't all doom and gloom." Julius insisted.
"And how long do you think it'll take for him to be sufficiently ready; a week, a month? What happens if he loses the battle? Or if he does win, but they don't change their attitude? You're banking all your money on this slim chance, perhaps overestimating his abilities." Aelita disagreed passionately with the idea. "If anything, you should be the one to challenge her, given that you've spent a large part of your life outside this town."
"I can't do that! I promised him that I wouldn't get in his way." Julius retorted. "I know him; I'm confident that he'll succeed in his endeavor. You just gotta trust him!"
"Look, we can discuss this at a later time. Right now, I promised Julius that I'll open the path to Route 4. Luckily for you, the switch is inside the library lobby—" Narcissa began, with the trio making their way to the library when they suddenly halted their tracks, an unfamiliar man watching them from on top of the library roof. "…what are you doing up there? Wait a second…you look strikingly familiar." The older woman asked the strange man.
"Shut up, you annoying woman!" Geara retorted rudely, sending out his Haunter. "Haunter, silence her."
The goofy ghost cackled maniacally, lunging towards Narcissa and gripped her neck with its hands, squeezing the life out of her.
"Narcissa!" Aelita cried out, running over to the older woman, only for a shadowy copy of the Haunter to emerge from its body and begen choking the life out of her as well.
"You better let them go this instant, Geara!" Julius demanded, with the older man chuckling sinisterly.
"Ah, so good that you remember me from your little trip in our office. You already know who I am, but allow me to make a formal introduction; The name's Geara, an Executive of Team Xen." He introduced himself. "I can't say we appreciated your escapades down at Carotos Mountain."
"Oh boo hoo, you lost your precious Shadow Pokemon…" Julius mocked the villainous man. "Now give me back my mother or I'll throw you to the townsfolk. They've been itching to punish an outsider like—"
"Tough luck, little shit. I lived in this shithole as an official citizen, which means I get to avoid a lynching today." Geara smirked, hiding the seething rage boiling inside of him. "You think you can just go about your merry little way, without worrying about the consequences. Yeah, that don't fly with us homie."
"If it's trouble you want then that's fine my me; I choose you Vilucard!" Julius sent out his trusty companion, the nimble cat-bat landing gracefully on the ground. "Deal with that troublesome Haunter, please."
The Villainous Pokémon snickered mischievously and lunged at the Haunter, the ghostly Pokémon moaning in pain as it was flung towards the library, its prisoners freed from its deadly grip as Narcissa started gasping for air, with Aelita being knocked unconscious.
"Damn it!" Geara growled, recalling his fainted Pokémon and leapt down to the ground, before making a beeline out of town. "Can't stay around here any longer, I promised Nastasia to remain unseen. The next time we meet, I'll even the score!" He hurled out cheap threats, with the young man checking up on the two women.
"Are you to ok?!" He inquired, crouching down to their level.
"I-I'm fine…but Aelita's in bad shape. She must have inadvertently breathed in some of Haunter's fumes." Narcissa replied, as she and Julius helped get the young girl's body off the ground, only for a familiar voice to run over to the duo.
"Narcissa! I heard a commotion going over by the gym, is everything alright?" Sariah called out, her attention directed to the unconscious Aelita. "W-What happened to her?!"
"Some crazy outsider tried to kill her and Narcissa with his Pokémon, and I intended to make them pay for what he did." Julius informed her, fabricating the story a little.
"Oh goddamn it! I'm sick of these outsiders thinking they can do whatever they want. You bring that asshole here, while me and the crew figure out what to do to him." Sariah ranted, demanding a solution to the problem.
"Retribution can wait…right now I need a hand if Julius is going off to find the perpetrator…" Narcissa requested, with Sariah lending her a hand to help Aelita, albeit it hesitantly.
"Don't worry, I'll see to it that justice is served!" Julius promised, with Vilucard hopping onto his shoulders as the duo ran off in the direction Geara went, unaware that Geara was watching the young man run off, his body invisible by some sort of mysterious force.
"And there goes the imbecile, running down the first path he sees. Oh my vengeance will be sweet…" Geara grinned ominously, his ears catching wind of Sariah's ranting.
"…when I get my hands on the vile outsider that hurt you, Narcissa, I'll bash his brains out with some debris from Wispy Tower. Oh boy, will it be fun." The young woman continued, with Narcissa choosing to remain silent as they duo made their way to her house.
"…that chick is nuts…" Geara commented, a look of genuine surprise etched on his face, before slapping his forehead in frustration. "Damn, how could I have forgotten about Wispy Tower?! Am I an idiot?" he asked himself.
The Xen Executive mulled over on how long it had been since he was here last, before a thought popped into his mind. "Is that thing still in Wispy Tower? If so, then looks like I'll be getting revenge quicker than I anticipated, and it'll be much, much sweeter than I said it would be. Hehehehehehe…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed maniacally to himself, quickly making his way to Wispy Tower.
Wispy Path
Julius had spent the last hour and a half searching the area for the fleeing Xen Administrator, but had no luck whatsoever. On top of his dedicated effort, he even had Vilucard's impressive hearing to help him out, which was able to pinpoint even the most minute of sounds within a 2-mile radius. Exhausted from his fruitless search, the young man sat down beside a tree, the cat-bat Pokémon slumping down besides its trainer and took a quick nap, with the young man plotting their next move. Just then, a familiar figure peeped out from behind the bushes, catching Julius by surprise.
"Hiya!" Mosely called out, emerging from the bushes and sat down besides Julius. "Something troubling you?"
"Yeah, I'm chasing after some asshole from Team Xen, but it's like he vanished into thin air; we searched this area thoroughly but weren't able to find a single trace of him." He answered, sighing to himself in exhaustion.
"Well if it helps, I did see someone heading towards Wispy Tower; fella had a real mean look in his eye." The young girl answered, Julius' eyes lighting up in response.
"Really?! Thanks for that Mosely!" The young man adamantly thanked the young girl. "But why help me out though, even after what my friends did to you?"
"You saved my hide by telling them to stand down, I figured it'll be impolite to not return the favor. Besides, it's not every day you get to help a stranger whoop some ass." Mosely grinned, eager to do a bit of exploring.
"Heh, some help would be appreciated." Julius appreciated the kind offer, something which was unusually rare for him to do. "Well that was a nice little break; wanna get started now?"
"Hell yeah, this'll do nicely on my resume!" The young girl cheered, eagerly running off in the direction of Wispy Tower. Julius tried calling out to her, but it fell on death ears, leaving the young man with no choice but to scoop his sleeping Pokémon and follow the young girl.
Julius had arrived at the ruined tower and noticed that Mosely was casually relaxing by the smoke-stained entrance, blowing her fingernails. "You took your time, mister." She commented.
"Well I wasn't the one who opted to run towards the tower as if they were being chased by a swarm of Beedrill." Julius playfully retorted. "So you found anything interesting while you waited?"
"You bet; there was this hidden entrance right where that big shrine was. You know the one I'm talking about, right?" Mosely reported.
"Yeah, I saw Narcissa tend to it earlier today. But there was nothing there that indicated the presence of a hidden entrance." The young man replied, recalled what had happened there earlier. "Now that we're together again, you want to check it out?"
"Obviously; I wouldn't have mentioned it otherwise." Mosely smirked, gesturing the young man to follow her inside. True to her word, there was a large, steel trap door on the floor, the stairway descending down to what ever lied below the tower. Mustering up the courage, the pair walked down the dark stairway, a meagre amount of light illuminating the pathway, holding a firm grip on the tattered railing to keep themselves from falling down. The descent lasted for a couple minutes before stumbling upon a most bewildering sight.
What they had stepped into was some sort of decimated, abandoned laboratory, with plantlife growing on the ground, as if nature herself wanted to reclaim this place. There were several tattered Xen flags plastered on the crumbling walls, as well as the remnants of machines that sported the Team Xen logo. There was no mistaking it; Team Xen had their hand in Goldenleaf Town, and Wispy Tower. Could it mean that they were responsible for starting the fire that scarred the town and its people?
"Woah…who would've thought this place would be here?" Mosely gasped in awe, intrigued by the ruins around her.
"Not me, that's for sure. Perhaps this might be a fruitful investigation—get down!" Julius called out, gesturing the young girl to hide behind one of the machines with him, footsteps echoing down the hallway. Julius gestured at the young girl to remain quiet, as the duo peeked from behind to eavesdrop on the third party.
"Goddamn…this place has seen better days, that's for sure. How long has it been since I last visited this place?" Geara asked himself, having explored deeper in the ruins. "At the very least that meddlesome brat hasn't followed me down here. Still I can't run the risk of him foiling my plans; thankfully I called for reinforcements earlier." He mused, reaching into his pocket and activated his walkie-talkie.
"You called, sir?" Sharon inquired, wondering why she was called to some ruined dump of all places.
"Sharlene, I need you to reboot the security system and ensure that no meddlesome brats get in my way; I've still got some things I need to iron out." Geara ordered through the device, his voice louder than usual.
"Ok, ok. I get it, you don't need to shout at me. And it's Sharon for crying out loud." The woman retorted, with Geara brushing her complaints aside.
"Details, details. Just close the damn gate behind me." He replied snidely, walking beyond the gates in the central pathway, which was closed soon after his order was made.
"Hmph, what a big fat loser that guy is…" Mosely commented to herself, the duo emerging from behind the machine. "That guy is the poster child for teenage angst and hostility. Hopefully I don't grow up to be like him."
"Here's some friendly advice; don't get caught up with villainous teams. That way you won't grow up to be like that asshole." Julius answered, with Mosely chuckling lightly in response. "Anyway, we better look around for a way to open these gates."
"Sounds like a plan!" The young girl smiled, with the duo heading down the hallway Geara had come from earlier. It was much longer then they had anticipated, the pathway spiraling off in various directions. The duo opted to pass the time by engaging in some small talk, as a means of getting to know each other better. "So…you got family back there?" Mosely inquired, referring to Goldenleaf Town.
"Not exactly…we left there years ago because my father got a new job over in Tandor, where he soon died in a workplace accident, or at least that's what the news described it as. Then when me and my mother came back to Aevium to start anew, she gets kidnapped by Team Xen for some unknown reason." Julius answered, turning to face the young girl. "How about you, do you have a family?"
"Kinda; see, I'm an orphan. There's a small orphanage ran by this nice lady named Maman; right by the path to Akuwa Town. And that's all I wish to say at the moment." She replied.
"As you wish." The young man concluded the discussion, the duo entering a small room at the end of the hallway. The room was empty for the most part, save for a couple bookshelves, a pool of water to the north, and a table that had the tattered remains of a journal on top. Mosely opted to investigate the bookshelves for any clues, while Julius directed his attention to the journal and began reading it. Apparently, it detailed the life of a worker over at Wispy Radio Tower, though what their position was is unclear. He talked about how he thought that he had the influence to change the world and expressed his interest in changing the minds of people. Additionally, he mentions a man named Sirius, who acted as the head of the tower and expressed that "one with a voice can change the mind of anyone who listened", a feat that can be achieved by using certain key words carefully strung together, though that was all he was able to ascertain from the tattered journal.
"Hmmmm…this may require further investigation on my end." The young man mused to himself. "Find anything interesting Mosely?"
"Nada. The books are too damaged to get a clear insight." She replied, resting her hand against a still functioning panel, the screen lighting up in response. "W-Woah! I did not intend to do that at all."
"Look on the bright side, you may have just found out ticket past those gates!" Julius responded confidently, filling the young girl up with a sense of accomplishment. "Still, I don't think that's the only one we need to activate. We better keep an eye out for any more suspicious panels."
"Sounds like a plan! Why don't we check the other corridor?" Mosely suggested. The young man agreed with the idea, thus the duo continued their exploration of the previously abandoned base.
Around half an hour later, the pair had arrived at another room, this one much larger than the first room they had found. Evidently it seemed as if the fire had barely affected this room, given how everything was in better condition than the stuff they found throughout the rest of the base. It was on the back wall that they spotted a second panel, right near a desk with another journal on it, however it seemed that the wiring was damaged as a result of the plant life growing within the room.
"This isn't good at all…we need a way to fix that wiring." Julius commented, gazing at the damaged wiring.
"Not a problem, I can handle this easi—woah, what is that?!" Mosely began, before being taken aback by a most unusual sight. Resting on a table in the center of the room was a device modelled after the 'ring' surrounding Arceus' torso. It gave off an eerie vibe, as if it spell disaster on any who would touch it. "What is this thing…?"
"Don't touch that! I'm getting seriously bad vibes from that thing." The young man called out, just as Mosely was about to touch the device.
"Yeah, on second thought you're right…anyway, I better fix those wires up." The young girl replied, sitting down beside the exposed wiring and took the time to prepare herself, before getting started on the repairs. Julius was impressed by how easily she was dealing with the difficult task, especially for one as young as her. Since it would take some time for her to be finished, he decided to read the tattered journal and see if he could gain a little more insight into this places' history.
Apparently, the writer was expressing his distaste for Sirius going around and performing experiments that weren't agreed upon, touching upon how he never explained with complete clarity on what his definition of a perfect world would be. However, he chooses to let Sirius do as he pleases, given that he seemed to know what he was doing, though the writer states that he wishes to know more about what exactly he's doing.
'Hmm? Seems there's a few more pages that weren't damaged by the fire.' Julius thought to himself, carefully turning the journal page and continued reading. The writer goes on to explain how Sirius took him to the laboratory to show him something amazing, specifically the legendary Pokémon Giratina. A good portion of the page was dedicated to the writer's amazement over witnessing the legendary creature, how he never thought he would ever see a legendary Pokémon on his life, at least until that day. He then mentions how Sirius stated that their current influence wasn't enough, how it was impossible to change everyone with the radio tower in its current state with Sirius declaring how he wanted to destroy this world, to create a new one that is perfect in everyway possible. The writer notes that despite Sirius' delusional statement, he sounded completely sane, a bit hypnotic even. The writer ends the entry by stating that he chooses to stand by Sirius, to ensure that their dream world comes to fruition.
"Ahh…and done!" Mosely called out, having repaired the wires and getting up to stretch her arms.
"Ah, w-well done." Julius replied, still deep in thought over what he just read.
"I'm sure whatever's in that journal isn't all that interesting…" The young girl casually commented, with the young man handing her the open book, as if he wanted her to read what he just read. Mosely took the time to read the journal entry presented to her, her eyes widening in realization. "No way…they wanted to create a new world using Giratina's power?"
"That seems to be the case, but there's still a piece of the puzzle missing, namely what had caused the fire all those years ago?" Julius replied, making his way to the now activated panel and pressed it, the screen lighting up as a series of minor rumbles shook the area, though only for a brief period of time. "Well I guess that means the gates are open now. Come on, let's get going."
"Alright, this is getting good now!" Mosely cracked a grin, the duo making their way back towards the main lobby. It was while they were walking that an odd thought popped into Julius' mind; Geara had said that he had reinforcements supporting him, but the duo hasn't seen a single Xen grunt throughout their exploration. Were they all staging an ambush beyond the gates, knowing that the two of them would eventually make their way here? Whatever the case, Geara had to be stopped this instant, otherwise he would case a lot of damage with whatever was still hidden here. They had made it to the gates, walking past them and towards a flight of stairs down, when they saw someone who they didn't expect to see down here.
"Oh? I guess that explains why those gates opened just then…" Narcissa commented, with Mosely's face paling upon releasing who she was.
"A-Ah! Y-You're Narcissa!" Mosely cried out in a mixture of shock and fear.
"And you're the child who's been stealing from the residents of my town…Mosely, if I recall." The older woman replied calmly.
"W-Well yeah…I mean it's nothing personal but…" The young girl nervously confessed her trespasses, before quickly switching topics. "I-I heard that you were attacked recently. How are you feeling?"
"Correct. I was attacked alongside that girl, Aelita if I recall. She's seemed to have recovered rather well from the attack, but enough about that. What in the world is this place, and why is it underneath Wispy Tower?" Narcissa inquired.
"Well from what I've read, it was a laboratory owned by Team Xen. The tower was meant to influence and control peoples mind, but it wasn't powerful enough. Therefore, they were hoping to use Giratina's power in order to boost the building's signal, but that was all I found out so far." Julius explained. "However, I haven't discovered why and how this place burnt down to the ground.
"I see…perhaps we'll uncover the truth if we continued down these stairs." The older woman commented, walking down the stairs further into the depths of the former base.
"Aw man…Maman's gonna kill me if she finds out what I've been doing…oh well it's too late to turn back now." Mosely chimed in, following Narcissa down the stairs, with Julius walking down after her.
When he arrived down stairs, the young man was immediately caught off-guard by just how foggy the area was. It was so thick that he could barely see a foot ahead of him, let alone the opposite wall, the eerie silence not helping the situation one bit. "Hrm…this fog is most likely artificial in nature, possibly to keep their ambush hidden." The young man mused to himself, with Vilicard hopping up onto his shoulders. "You think you can find our way through this fog?"
Vilucard gave a quick nod and scanned the area, attempting to pick up the faintest of noises that it could hear. Its ears heard the sound of a door closing shut, originating from the opposite of the room; with the cat-bat pointing in the direction the sound came from. Giving a nod of appreciation, the duo quickly made their way through the oppressive fog, making sure not to trip over on any bits of debris scattered around the area. When they reached their destination, Julius spotted a familiar duo casually guarding a door with a red 'X' emblazoned on it.
"Oh look who it is, it's Julius…" Sharon said in an uninterested tone.
"Well if it isn't Sharon and Eli, I figured we'll see each other again after my actions in Carotos Mountain." The young man replied, a little surprised that they survived the bases' destruction.
"For the last time, it's—oh, you got it right…" The blonde woman complained, before realizing her mistake. "It's not like I wanted to be here; we're just stalling for time while Geara does whatever the hell his self-absorbed ass is doing."
"Hey! Is anyone out there?!" Another voiced called out, banging on the steel door from behind it.
"Mosely!" Julius cried out, glaring at the two Xen grunts. "What did you do to her and Narcissa?!"
"No get mad kid, we just follow orders." Eli called out in response, as he and Sharon brought out a Pokéball each. "That applies to you too, get ready for battle!"
"Since I've got no choice, I may as well deal with you as quickly as possible." The young man agreed, with Vilucard hopping off his shoulders and got into a combative stance, before selecting a second Pokéball and throwing it to the ground, a new Pokémon emerging from it. She was a bipedal creature, sharing similarities with sirens and mermaids from mythological folklore; her two arms ending in hand-like fins, and a tail ending in a golden trident-head. Her head sported a wave-like hairstyle, a golden trident-head hairpiece and two shiny black eyes. Additionally, she has a golden collar around her neck and two short fins for feet, with an additional fin on her back and tail. She is dark-blue in color, her whole body patterned like ocean waves, with seafoam patterning her wrists, hair and stomach, giving her a regal appearance. She stood proud and tall, if a bit haughty, with both Xen grunts mesmerised by the mysterious creature. "I see that you're drawn in by Syrentide's grace; understandable, she has a natural charm to her." Julius commented.
"In that case, we've got the perfect strategy to deal with you!" Sharon retorted confidently, as she and Eli sent out a Mismagius and Honchkrow respectively, catching the young man off-guard. In terms of typing, he had the clear advantage; perhaps they taught moves to them that countered their weaknesses. Or it could be that they're throwing the match in order to get out of here as soon as possible. Regardless, he could tell that it wouldn't be a total walk in the park.
"Alright; Vilucard, use Knock Off on Mismagius. Syrentide, use Sing to immobilise your opponents!" The young man called out. The Villainous Pokémon lunged towards Mismagius, smacking its Spell Tag off with a quick slap, annoying the ghost who retaliated with a swift Magical Leaf, sending the cat-bat back a foot or two. Meanwhile, Syrentide took in a deep breath and began singing a most enchanting melody, with both Mismagius and Honchkrow mesmerised by the tune. The two enemy Pokémon were soon struck by a bout of drowsiness, with Mismagius managing to retain consciousness and stay awake. Honchkrow on the other hand wasn't so lucky and drifted off into sleep, though how long it would last is not certain.
Realising that it was at a disadvantage, Mismagius unleashed a blast of repulsive wind that struck its foes for tolerable damage, with the Magical Pokémon gaining a surge of power from the ghostly gust of wind. "Nice, just what I was hoping for…" Sharon smirked, deciding her next move. "Now use Thunderbolt on Syrentide!"
The magical ghost let out a quick chirp of approval and charged up a ball of electricity, before launching a wicked bolt of lightning towards the Siren Pokémon, who winched in pain as electricity coursed through her body, yet she stood strong and broke free of it, before quickly charging up a Moonblast and fired the lunar energy at the Magical Pokémon, causing it to stagger on the spot. This gave Vilucard an opportunity to follow up with a second Knock Off, sending Mismagius hurtling towards the ground, kicking up a sizable amount of dust and small debris, the ghost knocked out from the attack, though the noise caused Honchkrow to wake up.
"Eh, you lost Sharleen?" Eli inquired, his partner recalling her fainted Pokémon.
"I've still got another Pokémon I can use." She retorted, ignoring her partner's obvious mistake. "Besides, I didn't expect that thing to tank a Thunderbolt that well."
"That can be attributed to Syrentide's amazing bulk; she can take several hits and dish out some pain in return." Julius smirked confidently, with Syrentide basking in the praise.
"Two can play the bulk game; I choose you, Rhydon!" Sharon retorted, the massive Drill Pokémon emerging from its ball, roaring to psyche itself up. "But first…that bat needs to be dealt with. Use Hammer Arm!"
The Rhydon snarled at Vilucard, barrelling towards it with it's large fist in the air. The cat-bat saw the incoming attack and attempted to fly to safety, only for Honchkrow to knock it down with a surprise Night Slash, crashing into the dusty ground. Vilicard looked up from the ground and squeaked in fear, with Rhydon slamming its fist down on it, kicking up a large amount of dust in the air.
"Urk…sorry Vilucard." Julius winced sympathetically, recalling his fainted Pokémon and making his next selection. "Brainoar, time to start things off with Rain Dance!" The young man called out, the oarfish emerging from its Pokéball and let out a low moan, as a heavy rain soon started pouring in the area, the two Water type Pokémon letting out cries of joy. Immediately after that, the Brainoar used the rain to generate a large wave and send it crashing towards the two hostile Pokémon, with Syrentide riding the wave at impressive speeds. Honchkrow was barely able to stay above the relentless waves, though Rhydon wasn't so lucky, the Drill Pokémon roaring in pain from the watery barrage and slipped beneath the waves. A few seconds later, Syrentide hopped off the wave and charged up lunar energy once more, firing it directly at the distressed Honchkrow, who squawked in pain as it plummeted towards the water and fell in. When the wave died down a few moments later, it revealed that both Honchkrow and Rhydon had fainted from the relentless barrage.
"Uh…this bad right?" Eli asked out loud, the duo recalling their defeated Pokémon.
"No kidding, the rainfall boosts his Pokémon's speed! And to top it off, I'm out of battle-capable Pokémon!" Sharon retorted, looking at Eli's second Pokéball. "You've still got one left, use it!"
"O-Ok…Tangrowth go." The man sent out his next Pokémon, the large Vine Pokémon stomping on the field, happily absorbing the rain with its body, with Julius sporting a small frown. He knew that Tangrowth were a tricky foe to deal with, despite their lacklustre speed; hoping that the rain would last enough for him to end this. Indeed, the rain was still going, albeit at a slower rate than before, the pool of water reaching up to the trainer's knees.
"Brainoar, use Ice Beam! Syrentide, go for another Sing!" Julius called out. Like before, Syrentide attempted to hypnotise her opponent with her mesmerising, though Tangrowth was able to withstand the hypnotic lullaby and swing its thick vine towards her, the siren narrowly dodging the powerful attack. Though unbeknownst to her, there was sleep-inducing pollen coated on its arms, a few spores landing on her body. Having noticed them, she quickly brushed them off in an attempt to resist their effects, but it was too late, with the Siren Pokémon proceeding to doze lightly on the spot. Realising that it was an even fight now, the Brainoar chilled some water in its mouth, before firing an icy cold beam of energy from its mouth, the Tangrowth groaning in pain as its body was assaulted by the chilly attack, it's stubby legs frozen on the spot.
Not ready to throw in the towel yet, Tangrowth raised its thick, viny arm once more and smacked Brainoar in the head, the oarfish groaning in pain as it was sent down below the waves. Though the attack dealt a large amount of damage, the subsequent submergence meant that the spores had been washed off its body, enabling a potential counterattack to happen. Swimming rapidly in the water, the Brainoar leapt out of it and charged up another Ice Beam, firing the chilly energy at the Vine Pokémon, striking it with impressive ferocity, as the large Pokémon broke free of its icy constraints and fell backwards to the ground, knocked out from the attack.
"Heh, guess the waves were too much for you two!" Julius smirked confidently, with Syrentide awakening and noticing her fallen foe, before celebrating alongside Brainoar as Eli recalled his fainted Pokémon.
"Oh no, we lost…whatever shall we do?" Sharon asked rhetorically, not caring at all that the two of them were defeated. "I guess we have no choice other than to bail, right? Better open the door for them since they earnt it."
"Yah, Sarah." Eli chirped, gingerly pressing a few keys on the keypad beside it.
"For the last time, it's Sharon. How hard can it be to remember such a simple name?!" She groaned in annoyance, with the metal door opening. "Anyway, the door's open, so let's beat it while we can."
Julius chose to let the two go free, after all it wasn't them he was here for. Having recalled his Pokémon, he soon directed his attention towards his fellow teammates, noticing the pale expression on Mosely's face.
"My, my. Those two were certainly interesting individuals…" Narcissa commented, watching the two fleeing figures.
"Interesting or not, they're jerks for locking us up in here. I hate small spaces!" Mosely exclaimed, with Julius taking notice of the alcove they were locked up in. Indeed, it seemed to be quite cramped; a troublesome spot for a person with claustrophobia to be stuck in.
"Regardless, it's still somewhat admirable that they were following orders, even if they personally opposed it." The older woman replied, offering some small comfort to the frightened child.
"That aside, these stairs must lead to Geara and whatever he's got cooking down there. Unfortunately, those two managed to buy some time for him, so we've got to prepare for the worst." Julius commented.
"Correct. Based on what you told me earlier, it can be deduced that Giratina must lurk below here. If Geara has finished with what he set out to do, then he could very well have Giratina under his command. Caution is highly advised." Narcissa added, maintaining her air of calm composure despite the terrifying scenario.
"No problems, the three of us can handle that chump, Narcy." Mosely replied confidently, the older woman intrigued by the pet name she had been bestowed. The trio walked down the flight of stairs, through one last hallway and beyond a small lobby before arriving at the final room in the underground lair. There, they saw the legendary Renegade Pokémon, in its Origin Forme, strapped to a machine of sorts, with the detestable Xen admin watching it with pride.
"Beautiful, isn't it…" Geara commented, turning around to face the trio, stunned out of their minds at the sight of the legendary Pokémon. Julius did have to admit something; that journal writer was spot on when describing Giratina's sheer majesty, despite the poor creature being strapped to those machines. "Behold, the so-called protector of Goldenleaf Town. Did you know that it's been propped down here for decades?"
"…I did not know about all this at all." Narcissa admitted.
"Heh, since you all managed to make it this far, why don't I reward you all with a little story?" Geara smirked, clearing his throat as he began the story. "Once, there was a prosperous, wealthy, and intelligent young man named Sirius."
"H-How do you know that name?!" The older woman blurted, demanding an answer.
"…This man was ambitious, knowing what exactly he wanted in life. He desired a world where he could create everything in his own image. A so-called perfect world, one without a god. One day, he learnt about the legendary Pokémon Giratina, discovering that it was named the protector of Goldenleaf Town. From there, he proceeded to MANIPULATE the leader of that village, marrying her to gain a substantial amount of power." The twisted man smirked, adding emphasis on 'manipulate', the icy cold word inflicting pain on the older woman.
"…Stop it, please…" Narcissa adamantly requested, not completely ready to hear the truth.
"Oh you want me to go on? Why I'm delighted to." Geara retorted nastily. "Anyway, he was able to convince his wife to let him build a radio tower, a place where he can conduct his studies without ever being suspected of wrongdoing, and he succeeded!"
"Hey, asshole! She asked you to cut it out." Mosely snapped at the older man.
"Yeah, you heard them. Shut your trap, or I'll do it for you." Julius threatened, though a small part of it figured it would be best if the truth came to light.
"Can it you two brats! I'm going out of my way to tell a story, and this is how you repay me?!" Geara hissed in anger, glaring at the duo.
"I don't understand; why are you telling me this?" Narcissa wanted an answer.
"Hmph, because I can." The man retorted. "As I was saying, he succeeded. He was able to capture Giratina and bring upon the start of a new era. Unfortunately, a mysterious fire set the tower ablaze, burning him and his research down with it, trapping Giratina in this dark shell of the past."
"M-My husband would never keep…how do you know this much?!" The older woman demanded answers once more.
"Heh, that doesn't matter anymore. The only thing I want is revenge; revenge on Julius for meddling in our affairs." Geara shot back, directing his gaze to Julius. "Imagine, being trapped in this tower for decades, without anyone knowing you existed in the first place. In a way, I can empathise with this Giratina behind me. I can feel it's rage, it's lust for destruction."
"Yeah, the emotions that you and your experiment forcefully injected into it." Julius retorted, crossing his arms.
"Shut up! I'm going to give it what I—it wants, staring with you—" Geara began.
"Just stop this already, Gregory!" Narcissa demanded, the Xen admin's ears pricking up upon hearing that name.
"Gregory?!" He snapped, his eyes blazing with fury. "Don't you dare call me by that name, you bitch! I haven't been called that for a long time, and there's no way in hell I'm going back there!"
"Pffft…Gregory…" Mosely giggled quietly under her breath.
"I heard that you little shit!" Geara snapped, turning back to face Giratina. "Giratina, lend me your awesome power. We can benefit from each other!"
The Renegade Pokémon let out an ear-splitting roar, the three heroes covering their ears as the massive Pokémon broke free of its restraints as Geara walked triumphantly to it's side. "Hehehehehehe…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Together, we'll destroy everyone who would dare cross us!"
"Not on my watch!" Julius declared, selecting his first Pokémon. "Gararewl, I choose you!" He called out, the graceful Steel type emerging from its ball, flinching at the sight of the legendary Pokémon. "Look, I can empathise with you; its not everyday we fight a legendary Pokémon, especially one as powerful as Giratina. Know that we stand together, no matter the circumstances." The young man informed his Pokémon, a sense of valor coursing through the Iron Beast Pokémon.
"Aw, ain't that cute…" Geara mocked the young man, cringing at his motivational speech. "Annihilate that thing with Shadow Claw!"
The serpentine deity lunged towards its much smaller foe, swiping down at it with three of its streamers which resulted in a sizable amount of dust being kicked up. From within the dust cloud, Gararewl leapt out of it, smacking the massive Pokémon with its metal whip, tying up all six of its streamers up. Giratina screeched in anger, violently thrashing its body in order to break free, resulted in the giraffe getting flung onto its back, where it galloped towards the back of its head and began smacking it with its whip. But the attacks served to only anger the Renegade Pokémon even further, as it flung its head back to get Gararewl off its body, before turning around at quick speeds and proceeded to fire a barrage of Aura Spheres, without the need to charge energy. Julius could only watch in horror as the barrage of power assaulted his companion, who was sent hurtling towards a nearby wall and crashed into it, knocked out from the relentless assault.
"Sorry about that…" he apologised, recalling his fainted companion, though he was not going to throw in the towel yet. After all, he was able to deal some damage, however minute it might be to it, which is more than can be said for the fight against Shadow Mewtwo. "Alright…you may have won that round, but it's not over yet. I choose you, Alpico!"
Geara sneered at the sight of the nimble rabbit emerging from its Pokeball and freezing the floor with Ice Beam, enabling it to ski around much easier. "Your little Playboy bunny doesn't stand a chance against my Giratina." He bragged, oblivious to the glare that the Renegade Pokémon shot at the Xen admin.
"Oh we'll see about that. Alpico, start things off with Ice Beam!" Julius declared, the rabbit hopping on its tail and began skiing all over the place, twirling in the air and fired a beam of chilly energy at the serpentine dragon, causing it to shriek in pain as the cold air sent chills throughout its body.
"Brrrr! Nice strat, but now the air in here's all chilly." Mosely commented, shivering on the spot, while Narcissa seemed to be handling the cold much better than the young girl.
"Hmmm…something seems a little off about Giratina, but I can't put my finger on it yet." She mused to herself, maintaining her focus on her town's protector.
"Argh, a lucky hit. Use Dragon Pulse; I'm hunting rabbits tonight!" Geara grinned, eager to shed some blood tonight. The massive Pokemon charged up a ball of draconic energy and fired it at the Alpico, with the Xen admin smirking at the direct hit, only for his jaw to drop as he saw that it didn't affect the rabbit one bit.
"Sorry, forgot to mention that she's part Fairy, Gregory." Julius taunted, the older man's blood reaching a boiling point at this stage. "Use Moonblast, please."
The nimble rabbit nodded, skiing around the area and charged up lunar energy from within, gracefully dodging Giratina's attacks as the icy terrain started cracking up from repeated blows. Eventually it leapt up into the air and fired its attack, striking Giratina head on as it crashed into the wall near Geara, the Renegade Pokémon moaning lowly in pain.
"Shit, shit! This isn't how I thought it would go!" Geara panicked to himself, knowing full well that the rest of his team had virtually no chance against the experienced trainer. "U-Use Shadow Force!"
Giratina wearily rose up from the ground and rose up in the air, its entire body turning black momentarily as it slipped out of this dimension, catching Alpico off-guard. She stopped moving a few seconds later, looking to her sides in an attempt to find her opponent once more. Then as if appearing out of nowhere, Giratina re-emerging into this dimension and struck Alpico hard with its gargantuan body, the rabbit squealing in pain as it was sent hurting towards a wall, knocked out in a single blow.
"See, I told you she wasn't a match!" Geara taunted, smirking confidently as the exhausted legend floated beside the man.
"She fought hard and valiantly against a most powerful foe; an admirable performance if I say so." Julius chimed in, recalling his fainted companion and reached for another Pokéball. "But as the saying goes; third time's the charm. I choose you, Fafninter!"
The young man sent out his next Pokémon, a large creature emerging from the small capsule. It was a quadrupedal dragon, it's rotund body covered in a layer of thick, white fur. It's legs were tall, thick and ended in black paws, its fluffy tail wagging lazily behind. Its snout had a tuft of white fur hanging down from its chin, while a pair of antlers rested on top of it's head. The Fafninter let out a low, roar as a gust of cold air soon repaired the cracks in the icy floor, with Geara spitting in disgust.
"Tch, another Ice type. You can't keep relying on type advantages, chump. Use Shadow Force again!" He ordered, with Giratina floating towards Fafninter before disappearing from this dimension once more. Rather than look around for its foe, the Snow Guardian Pokémon took the time to recollect its thoughts, tensing up the muscles in its body to prepare for an incoming attack. A few moments later, Giratina emerged from its realm and struck Fafninter full force, however the attack only send the gentle Pokémon sliding on the ice as it let out a quick bellow in response. "H-How?! How did it withstand a Shadow Force?!"
"Fafninter's fuzzy coat does more than keep it warm, it helps reduce incoming damage from physical attacks due to how thick it is." Julius answered, knowing that it was time to end things. "Why don't we repay the favour with a quick Ice Shard?"
The towering Snow Guardian stomped on the icy terrain, kicking up several chunks of ice before hurling them towards the Renegade Pokémon, the legendary being assaulted by the relentless barrage as the shards left several scratches all over its body. Fafninter then glared at its foe, its body coated in a harsh orangey-red aura as it charged at its foe, assaulting it with a barrage of powerful tackles which sent the Renegade Pokémon hurtling towards Geara and slumped down on the ground, too tired to continue fighting.
"T-That's impossible!" Geara screeched in anger, a wave of relief coursing through Julius.
"Well we did it, Fafninter! We defeated the legendary Giratina." Julius smiled at his friend, the Snow Guardian happy over its victory, though exhausted after its powerful assault. A mixture of horror and anger was etched on Geara's face, the man seething as he saw Julius recall his Pokémon and confront the man alongside his companions.
"T-There's no way an ordinary trainer can best a legendary Pokémon…" Geara commented in disbelief.
"Oh, I'm not some ordinary trainer; after all I'm sure Madelis and Zetta can attest to this, can they? Oh wait, I forgot, Zetta can't help you out now." Julius smirked confidently, with Narcissa talking a few steps towards the defeated Geara.
"Greagory…I haven't seen you since that day. To see you again this way only breaks my heart. You don't have to do this; you can still be loved by everyone." The older woman attempted to get him to see reason, with Julius wondering what relation the two had with each other.
"Shut up! I don't want your sympathy! I don't want anything from you!" Geara screamed at the older woman, stomping his foot on the ground. "All I want it to kill you all, slowly and painfully!"
*sigh* "I'm not sorry to say that no one will be killed today." Narcissa retorted calmly, looking him directly in the eye. "And that includes you. So please…come with us."
"…Giratina…kill Julius." Geara calmly ordered, the exhausted legendary Pokémon slowly rising up off the ground. However, Geara was soon hoisted up in the air, turning around and noticing a Dusknoir holding him up in the air.
"You always were so stubborn…" Narcissa commented, the Xen admin glaring at her. "Take him away Dusknoir, I don't want to look at him anymore…"
Geara, realising that he couldn't leave his most important tool behind, quickly recalled Giratina in its ball, shooting the three heroes a sinister smirk before being taken to whatever dimension Dusknoir chose to take him.
"Well that was something alright. Geara's gone, just like that." Mosely commented, turning to face Julius. "Talk about some serious skills you've got there."
"Yes, they were quite admirable." Narcissa chimed in, pondering something in her mind.
"But there's one thing I wanna know; did the two of you have some prior history with each other?" Mosely inquired.
"If you wanted to know, then why didn't you ask him before the battle?" The older woman asked a question, with Mosely taking the time to think up an answer.
"Well…it seemed that you two were having a moment, so I decided to suck up my pride for once and stay quiet." The young girl admitted.
"A most admirable choice you made, Mosely." Narcissa praised the girl's respectful decision, the latter blushing lightly in response. "Personally, I don't feel like being here any longer. Why don't we go to my house, didn't you mention something about missing dinner earlier?"
"A-Ah yeah, I might've mentioned something like that…" Mosely chuckled sheepishly. "Maman was supposed to cook tonight, but she got caught up in other affairs."
"In that case, why don't I lower her burden tonight, then?" The older woman offered, with Mosely's ears perking up in response, eagerly accepting the proposal. "Wonderful! Will you be joining us, Julius?"
"…no thank you." He solemnly rejected the kind offer, turning his back and began making his way back to town, leaving the young girl utterly confused.
"What's his problem? His mood did a complete 180 once he heard your offer." Mosely inquired.
"I'm not too sure myself, perhaps he's got an inner demon he wishes to deal with. Come on, let's head back together." Narcissa replied, the duo proceeding to follow Julius out of the underground ruins.
I was planning on putting the upcoming battle with Ren in this chapter, but I figured it would be best to save it for the next chapter. Anyway, I heard that the next episode of Rejuvenation is being made and is already halfway finished. Once it's released, I'll take a quick break from writing my fanfictions so that I can play it myself. Additionally, the last episode of Reborn is in the works, so you can expect another hiatus when that comes. Asides from those two periods of time, I should still be able to write regularly. I'll see you all in the next chapter.