Hmm, there's not much for me to say right now. This chapter will wrap up the second Tag battle, as well as reveal a startling, horrible revelation among the heroes. Anyway, as most of you have guessed it or not, I get many inspirations from many places, even from the unlikeliest of them all. I just stumble upon them and powerful ideas start swirling in my head, but I digress.
So now, please enjoy…
The heated battle of four superior combatants within the isolated Relic Forest had come to a deadlock. The two brutish Admins of Reverse-Cipher stood tall and daunting, sneering behind their somewhat fatigued Pokémon. The vicinity was still bright overhead from Solrock's Sunny Day as a quick attempt for a SolarBeam. So far, there were three Pokémon worn out from their earlier altercations while the fourth was recalled back for fear of its safety. The fleeting concern over Walrein's health was coldly rebuffed by Paul as he fiercely glared at his optimistic rival and momentary Tag partner over his ephemeral retreat. Ash could feel his icy cold stares burn and sear right through his cognizant soul.
"What was the big idea recalling Walrein back?!" Paul demanded, baring a somewhat canine-toothed snarl by the side of his rough mouth. Ash firmly gritted his teeth, his expression palpably seething in low frustration. "Was it because it couldn't handle playing with Ursaring after we helped you? Get over it. What's done is done."
"Okay! I get it!" Ash retorted snappily, swiftly glancing back at the battlefield. "Besides, substitutions are allowed. I had to play it safe and smart because you were abusing Walrein!"
"It's called 'working as a team,' or have you already forgotten something you're so fond of?" Paul mocked, his tone heartlessly sardonic.
"I think it's more along the lines of 'taking advantage of your partner for your own selfish needs'!" Ash fumed back, unclipping a new Poké Ball from his belt. Paul disregarded his intense display of anger as always, opting more to defeat the two Reverse-Cipher Admins either with or without his help. As the surly Trainer observed Ursaring resuming another close ranged, unarmed confrontation against Primeape, Ash prepared to call out a healthier Pokémon to take Walrein's place. "Sceptile, I choose you!" With a strong throw of the Poké Ball, the young Aura Guardian watched as one of his great powerhouses took form out of the Poké Ball's white energy.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile grunted, adjusting the twig in his mouth to the corner and leered decisively at his new enemies.
"Since we're battling in a forest, it'll be your time to shine, Sceptile!" Ash called out, accompanied by a concurring cheer from Pikachu. "Sceptile, go!" Upon the command, the Forest Pokémon followed his first gut instinct and leapt up the nearest tree without another word, swiftly climbing up the durable bark with his clawed fingers and toes. He made his way up closer to the blinding solar light in the tranquil sky produced by Sunny Day. As he climbed to a significantly high point where he could launch an instant SolarBeam, Dakim's Solrock persistently hovered around the tree and made it up to Sceptile's current height level. They both were several feet from the ground, almost barely visible as the Sunny Day's light seemed to consume them.
"Solrock, blast Sceptile off with SolarBeam!"
"Sceptile, dodge it and grab onto Solrock!"
"Scep…!" Sceptile growled as he felt the concentrated solar power building behind his beck, agilely somersaulting off the tall, nearly boundless tree trunk while narrowly escaping a sudden SolarBeam passing by his tail. "Scep-tile!" He sailed over Solrock and recalling the second command after evading its attack, Sceptile grabbed the top corner rock shards and held onto the Meteorite Pokémon for dear life. The sudden increased weight threw off Solrock's balance, allowing the force of gravity to pull both Pokémon down to earth. As they slowly descended from Solrock's decreased levitation resistance, Sceptile noticed from the corner of his eye that Primeape and Ursaring were in another frenzied standoff with colliding Karate Chops and Slash attacks. "Tile…"
"Ursaring, Focus Blast!"
"Freeze that deformed teddy bear with Swagger, Primeape! Ook!"
As Ursaring concentrated its mind on creating the shining blue sphere of mental energy in its paws, Primeape stomped forward with a menacing glint in its furious eyes. It snorted out a roasting hot steam from the nostrils of its snout nose. A low grumble reverberated in the Pig Monkey Pokémon's throat as the outline of its body radiated a blood red glow. The anger vibes had reached out to Ursaring, effectively disrupting its concentration for a Focus Blast as its mind became consumed with unimaginable blind wrath boiling from the inner depths of its nature. Its warm blood coursed faster, speedily delivering uncontrollable adrenaline and raging hormones through its simple-minded, susceptible brain. The Hibernator Pokémon clutched its head, flailing and roaring uncontrollably as it was losing its self-awareness and willpower to its sudden, unpredictable infuriation.
"Ur-RAAAAAH!" Ursaring roared, thrashing about with feral Slash attacks all around itself and sending Primeape to the side with one nearly close swipe to the vein-protruding forehead. "Ring! Ring! UR-RING!" Paul bared his gritted teeth, frustrated by Ursaring's abrupt loss of restraint. He had to make a decision. He had to either recall Ursaring while losing the tremendous power boost from Primeape's Swagger or risk giving his volatile Hibernator Pokémon a command. He was not about to back away with such power at his command, and he was not about to let it go to waste because of a mere temporary status ailment.
"Ugh…! Ursaring, Hammer Arm!"
Ursaring lumbered about the field amidst everyone's view. Sceptile and Solrock were coming down to the ground; the former completely seized the side shards of the Meteorite Pokémon in his powerful grip, making sure Solrock was unable to levitate away. With Primeape resting at a tree and out of Ursaring's sight, that only left one possible target. Through the Hibernator Pokémon's burning red eyes, the dark silhouette of a large reptilian creature, otherwise known as the King of the Forest, had aggravated it the most within the blood red background of its blinded sight. With another deafening roar, Ursaring trudged forward towards Sceptile and the captive Solrock with thick glowing forearms radiating power above its head. Sceptile stood his ground, still holding onto a rather frantic Solrock as previously commanded.
"Sceptile, let go of Solrock and get out of there!"
"Scep," Sceptile grunted with a curt nod, throwing Solrock aside and immediately fled from his spot before Ursaring greatly slammed its arms on the pavement. The force of its newfound brute strength noticeably cracked the stone ground.
"Running away again, are we?" Paul scolded, his tone unnecessarily harsh. Ash winced from the severity over the reprimand of his noble action. "You had the enemy in your hands and you blew it for the both of us. Ursaring was about to attack your Sceptile out of blind fury and you could have had Solrock taken the fall, but instead you go off listening to your easily misled heart! You know they would have used you as a shield if given the chance."
"I don't use others as redundant shields for my own protection, including my opponents! That's not who I am!" Ash retorted offhandedly, causing Paul to step back, rather impressed by his backbone. "If their attacks are redirected to each other, then that's another thing." The young Aura Guardian, seeing as their banter was not going anywhere with their stubborn attitudes, disengaged himself from the senseless argument to resume concentrating on the battle. "Sceptile, use SolarBeam on Solrock! Let's go!"
"Sceeeeep…!" Sceptile growled, garnering the excessive solar energy from the Sunny Day with the bulbous nodules on his back before the artificial sun began to fade away from the clear, vibrant blue sky. He discovered Solrock attempting to fly away, having been weakened from its previous conflict with Walrein. "Scep-tiiiiile!" Sceptile released a powerful SolarBeam swift enough to capture the slow Meteorite Pokémon in its light and completely incapacitate it for the rest of the battle.
"Solrock, return," Dakim grunted, recalling his fallen Pokémon into the Poké Ball in his large, burly hand. With a brooding gaze upon the Poké Ball, he could not help but feel rather impressed of the speed and strength of their opponents. Reverse-Cipher is really underestimating these brats' potential. It's time I kicked it up a notch… Upset as he was for being the first Trainer to lose a Pokémon, Dakim took a deep breath and remained cool. He took out another Poké Ball, tensing his biceps as he glanced upon his steady young opponents. "Go, Swampert!"
"Swampert!" Swampert growled, narrowing its beady orange eyes on the active Sceptile and the fatigued Ursaring. "Swamp?" It heard Primeape approaching it, clutching onto the left side of its body with its tense right arm after the brutal survival against the violent Hibernator Pokémon.
"Prime-agh," Primeape grumbled, wincing forward with its eyes shut tight as the twinge on its side surged and the cross-shaped vein on its head bulged out rather grotesquely upon its temple. "Prime… Prime… Prime…" Swampert noted its current partner's heaving panting, as well as its thirst for retaliation against Ursaring.
"Let's give them another round to test them," Dakim suggested to his eager partner hopping in place. "Do you want to do the honors this time?"
"I thought I'd never get the chance!" Gorigan screeched excitedly, relieving himself of unnecessary energy with several hard pounds on his chest to slow his rapid heart rate. "Primeape, it's your turn for Earthquake!"
"Swampert, use Protect!"
"Swamp!" Swampert grunted, forming the impenetrable, shimmering green barrier around its body. "Swampert…" The Mud Fish Pokémon watched as Primeape mustered up its remaining strength to leap high into the air and send out powerful seismic shockwaves using only the tensed muscles of its entire weight. Stomping upon the ground furiously, Primeape sent out visible shockwaves identical to that of Solrock's earlier Earthquake spreading out throughout the battlefield. Swampert was safe as the glowing seismic waves collided weakly against its Protect. The only Pokémon that have yet to be affected by the powerful Earthquake were Sceptile and Ursaring.
"Sceptile, jump and dodge!"
"Scep!" Sceptile grunted, leaping high in the air and watched ardently as the Earthquake shockwaves forced the hopelessly confused Ursaring off its feet and into complete submission. The Hibernator Pokémon was completely drained of its power out of its exhausting frustration and tyrannical madness. Paul recalled it without another word, placing Ursaring's Poké Ball back in his pants pocket with a discontented look on his edgy face. Sceptile remained in midair, scanning over the entire field. So far, Swampert was still kept within its protective green bubble and Primeape was losing its enduring ability to keep up in battle.
"Now Sceptile, dive down and use Pound on Primeape!"
The keen eyes of the Forest Pokémon immediately narrowed upon his designated target. As instructed by Ash, Sceptile contracted his body into a sleek missile and dove down towards the weakened Primeape from above. The air brushed through his lustrous green body as he begun to involuntarily spin his entire body in a clockwise turn. He did not need to listen to Ash to know that he would want the extra spin for the increase of his tail's power. The memory reminded him of the time he was a Treecko that sought for a rematch with Seviper by training himself at a waterfall, ultimately destroying the rock at the bottom of the waterfall with a powerful spin. The technique was about to resurface as Sceptile neared Primeape. Swampert, however, was attempting to disengage its Protect. The Mud Fish Pokémon was too slow as Sceptile, with a mighty yell, brought his tail down and great slammed Primeape into a tree, rendering it incapable to continue.
"Ook! Primeape, return!" Gorigan yelled, recalling his defeated Pig Monkey Pokémon and seethed over its swift trouncing. "You'll pay for that one, brat. Primeape happens to be my favorite Pokémon!"
I can imagine why, Ash thought with a rather awkward look on his young face, slightly taken back by Gorigan's outrageous threats.
"That does it!" Gorigan screeched, winding up his arm for the throw for his second Pokémon. "Hypno, let's—!"
"Hold it, Gorigan!" Dakim interrupted, seizing his partner's lanky arm in his muscular grip. Gorigan was wild with vehemence and with only one loss, too. "Don't send out your Hypno just yet. After all, they won't survive if both our Shadow Pokémon are on the field."
"Then recall Swampert and send out yours!" Gorigan insisted through his flat teeth, screeching riotously as he tried to tug his arm out of Dakim's compact grip. Dakim sighed, shaking his head and taking in another deep breath to contain his mild irritation towards his Tag partner. Gorigan fumed, grudgingly calming down and ceased his erratic movements in attempts to take his arm back.
"When the time comes, but for now let's deal with these brats the old fashioned way," Dakim advised. With a reluctant nod, Gorigan resumed his horrible hunched position and switched his Hypno's Poké Ball with another. "Slowking, let's go!" With a meager toss in the air, the Poké Ball snapped open and released in a bright white flash a Slowking whose personality greatly contrasted against its Trainer's unpredictable demeanor.
"Wow, they have a Slowking," Ash commented, his tone sounding rather impressed. "This is going to be interesting."
"Pi-ka," Pikachu sighed in curiosity as well.
"Hmph, please," Paul scoffed coldly, taking out his second Poké Ball out from his pocket. Ash glanced at him, cautiously noting both the sheer disrespect and severity that weaved themselves in his low voice. "We're dealing with Water-types right now. If you and Sceptile actually do your part and attack like you did with Solrock, then we should be finished even sooner than possible." The young Aura Guardian was not sure whether to take his curt words as straight advice or another insult. "Torterra, stand by for battle!" Paul aimed his Poké Ball upon the spot next to Ash's Sceptile, throwing it with a rigid side pitch and watched as it opened up.
"Tor-terra!" Torterra growled upon its release from the Poké Ball into battle, landing upon the ground with a huge thud. Sceptile stumbled on his feet from the aftershock, inquisitively eyeing at his new partner, a fully evolved Grass-type Starter Pokémon just like he was. "Terra Torterra?" Torterra asked what the hell a Sceptile with a twig in his mouth was looking at it for. For a supposedly patient Pokémon, the Continent Pokémon was rather sulky like its Trainer.
"Sceptile Scep-Sceptile," Sceptile grumbled back, displeased by its attitude when he was just giving Torterra a quick scan to see how strong it was. "Scep Sceptile Scep." The Forest Pokémon also did not need the extra affront to his cool twig. Torterra rebuffed his interest, opting to wait for the perfect moment to strike its opponents once their guards have been dropped.
"Alright! Sceptile, use Leaf Blade on Swampert!"
"Swampert, counter him with Focus Punch!"
"Swaaaaamp…!" Swampert growled, gathering and focusing its strength within its two hands. Sceptile ran over to the Mud Fish Pokémon, twin Leaf Blades blazing from his wrists. "Swam-pert!" Swampert stopped the blades with every collision of its fists. Despite the supposed type advantage over Swampert, Sceptile discovered that his blades were not keen enough to slice through its rigid muscles as his Leaf Blades cancelled out every time they collided with Swampert's Focus Punches.
"Sceptile, switch to Bullet Seed!"
"Swampert, block them!"
"Scep-tiiiiile!" Sceptile shouted, spraying an innumerable amount of luminescent yellow seeds to shower his opponent with. Swampert raised its arms up to defend, feeling the sharp pain pummeling through its arms. It would have felt the pain through the rest of its body if its arms were not durable enough to withstand the bombardment. "Tile!" Sceptile began another barrage of Bullet Seed with a fierce grunt, firing them out of his mouth like a machine gun. The Mud Fish Pokémon was trapped and immobilized by the relentless shower. What either Pokémon did not know was that Gorigan's Slowking was watching them with a rather relaxed look in its wide eyes.
"Slowking, use Confusion to remove that annoying Sceptile!"
"Slowking Slow," Slowking mumbled, lightly tapping a hand to its spiral Shellder crown. The gleaming red jewel at the front center of its crown lit up in blue psychic power. "Slow-king!" The mental trap captured the unwitting Sceptile as apparent as the astonished look in his eyes. He was still showering Swampert with Bullet Seed, but was unable to move a single inch of his body.
"Sceptile, no!" Ash cried, gritting his teeth and glared at Paul. His surly rival just stood there next to him inertly, not having given Torterra a single command since its release into battle. "Aren't you going to help us or what?!"
"Hmph, the last time I helped you, you cried over the fact that your Pokémon took damage as well," Paul stated without even facing him. "I thought you can get out of messes on your own since you simply recalled Walrein from 'abuse' and substituted with Sceptile." Ash was taken aback by his emotionless, uncaring response, fuming a lot more than before over his lack of cooperation. Even Pikachu had a look of disappointment on his adorable face, narrowing his deep eyes on his best friend's rival.
"Come on, Paul! We're supposed to be a team! Have Torterra stop them before Sceptile gets totally creamed out there!" Ash pleaded, his tone irate. A few seconds had passed and Paul remained stationary. It was only when he finally blinked and exhaled calmly that Ash was able to gain peace of mind.
"Fine," Paul muttered darkly, lifting his head up and tensing the hardened muscles of his dour face. "Frenzy Plant! Go!"
"Tor!" Torterra roared, attaining a bright green glow around its entire body. Its forest power surged within its huge shell as it lifted itself up on its hind legs. "Tor-terra!" With a lumbering growl, the Continent Pokémon stomped forward and called forth several tree roots coated with thick thorns to slither about and eliminate its opponents. The tree roots flailed upward, designated towards the Slowking occupied in manipulating Sceptile like a puppet while Swampert was practicing its Focus Punches against the Forest Pokémon's face and stomach. Both Dakim and Gorigan were absolutely single-minded upon Sceptile, intent on brutally making him pay for the elimination for their first Pokémon. "Terra!"
"Slow… K-King?!" Slowking stuttered, discovering the Frenzy Plant looming overhead. The Royal Pokémon lost its concentration over Sceptile's body out of fear from the impending tree roots that were about to pierce into its body.
"Swampert, get in there and help Slowking!"
"Swamp!" Swampert grunted, leaping next to its Water-type partner. With no other command from their not-so-bright Trainers, Slowking and Swampert simply stood there as they took on Torterra's powerful Frenzy Plant head-on. The explosive collision caused the forest dust to erupt and brisk winds to blow across the humans' faces from different directions. The winds were strong, preventing an accurate read of the outcome as everyone braced themselves from the aftershocks. Soon enough, though, the winds eventually died down and the dust settled in. The roots had retracted back into the ground, leaving Torterra in a vulnerable, immobile state after having used its most powerful attack.
It was discovered the both Swampert and Slowking were completely devastated from the vicious Frenzy Plant; the fruits of Paul's training have allowed Torterra to knock out the Water Pokémon together with one hit. Both Pokémon writhed in agony on the stone ground, scuffled and nicked by the unforgiving thorny roots. Having been deemed unable to continue and possibly critically injured, Dakim and Gorigan simultaneously recalled their fallen Pokémon, only for a burning rage of hatred to rise from within their attempted cool veneers. From where Swampert and Slowking were last seen, Sceptile was found at a corner, his left knee badly wounded.
"Hey! Your Frenzy Plant also harmed Sceptile!" Ash protested, fuming at Paul's cold carelessness. Paul's hollow black eyes glanced at him without a pretense of denial.
"I thought you said you didn't care if your Pokémon got hurt when they happened to get in the way of my rescue," Paul muttered coolly, deeply frustrated and irritated by his supposed partner's contradicting demands. He was right. The concern over his own Pokémon was driving Ash into insensible matters. "Hmph, this is what I was talking about a long time ago."
"What?!"
"You're allowing your pathetic concern and 'friendship' with your Pokémon to cloud your mind and judgment as always," Paul explained, baring an austere snarl. Ash was strangely intimidated by his affront, considering that he went through his insults for more than a year by now. "I thought you said that you knew what real power was like. So, where's all that power your faith and your friendship is said to give you, huh? Hmph, I was right all along."
"Shut it, Paul," Ash warned, his temper rising and his entire body trembling in revulsion. Pikachu sensed his boiling anger, instantaneously hopping off of his shoulder as a precaution and watching the two rivals at each others' throats with shimmering concern in his eyes.
"It's not my fault that you've lost control of many things, including yourself to your girlfriend," Paul sneered, hissing the last word in utter detestment. "Throughout our time in the Orre region, you've done nothing but slack off with that good-for-nothing, needy wh—."
"Don't… say it!" Ash threatened in a harsh whisper; even Pikachu cringed from the sudden icy tone of his voice. "Don't you dare… call Anabel that word…!" A rather cruel smirk curved up the side of Paul's face, underneath his bitter, piercing eyes. It was just so easy to lead his fevered emotions around; he was just as weak as ever. The surly Trainer could not believe how he managed to attain greatness and victory from the most powerful Trainers from the four main regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh.
"Hey!" an abrupt yell roared from the other side of the battlefield.
Paul and Ash broke out of their rather extreme quarrel, discovering that both Dakim and Gorigan were seething out of impatience and the fact that they were completely brushed aside for their own matters. Dakim's muscles trembled in ferocity, pointing at the two young men for their unintended disregard to their opponents. Tensions were rising to a restless pitch. Both sides were feebly trying to restrain their unbridled wrath, but such emotions had erupted out for different reasons. Ash was furious at Paul's callous and indifferent treatment towards his own Pokémon despite having come to an armistice. Paul was fed up with Ash's pathetic contradictions and allowing his feelings to cloud his thoughts. Finally, both Dakim and Gorigan were not known for their patience throughout their earlier services in Cipher. Their tolerance for many things often dove into the red zone quickly. No matter how much they meditated in prison to keep their cool, their dangerous tempers were what made them who they were.
"This battle's not over yet! Ooh ooh ooh!" Gorigan declared, pounding his chest to relieve himself of the extra stress. "You've still got our final, strongest Pokémon to deal!"
"And to top it all off, they've finally embraced the ShadowPokérus lifestyle," Dakim added, smirking aggressively and bared his huge teeth. Both Reverse-Cipher Admins reeled their arms back and began the simultaneous throws to call out their Shadow Pokémon. "You've finally got our full attention and anger to deal with, you brats! Dusknoir, come forward!"
"Hypno, let's go!"
Out of the ordinary Poké Balls, they came out in a bright flash. The dreading feeling of apprehension slithered up Ash's spine; Paul noted that this showdown was bound to happen. Ash's opened aura senses could see the horrible black aura vibrating and blazing out like wildfire out of the materializing Pokémon as the white energy of their Poké Balls dissipated and sparkled away. From Dakim's possession was an ominous Dusknoir whose face-like pattern on its abdomen resembled a frightening scowl. As for Gorigan, the unpredictable Admin owned a sneering Hypno whose back was almost as hunched as Gorigan's. Sceptile limped away from them as quickly as he could upon the revelation of the Shadow Pokémon, making his way back to a stern Torterra.
"Scep Scep-tile," Sceptile muttered unobtrusively, swearing at Torterra's lousy aim for also injuring his left knee. Torterra had not heard him as it glared upon its final two opponents whose hearts were consumed by shadows.
"Sceptile, can you keep going?" Ash asked, to which Paul rolled his eyes into the back of his head. Sceptile replied with a raised arm lazily swaying in the air, along with a rather shaky thumbs-up. "Awesome! Let's start off with Leaf Blade on Dusknoir!"
"Sceeeeep…!" Sceptile growled, charging in on his designated opponent as a green aura emanated out of his body. To everyone else, the effect of Overgrow had taken root in the Forest Pokémon. His Leaf Blades grew to twice their size and sharpness. One hit from his Leaf Blade would completely obliterate an estimated half of Dusknoir's stamina. Dakim was not about to let such a travesty of his strength happen, not on his pride and honor anyway. With a concurring nod from Gorigan, it was time to resort to more drastic and more brutal methods. It was his turn to deal out the heavy damage.
"Dusknoir, Shadow Quake! Now!"
"Hypno, use Shadow Dome!"
"Noir!" Dusknoir moaned hauntingly, curling its huge arms around its torso. The black aura became visible around its body, uprising as the Gripper Pokémon gathered its power for the Shadow equivalent to Dakim's favorite move. Sceptile did not cower, but instead quickened his pace in order to take Dusknoir down before it would attack. "Dusk-noir!" Dusknoir had spread its arms out, unleashing a terrifying, ghastly black shockwave that seared right through Sceptile's abdomen merely inches away while bouncing off Hypno's Shadow Dome. The powerful Shadow move wiped out Sceptile's remaining strength while scorching through Torterra's powerful defenses. Even the stable Continent Pokémon did not have much tolerance against Shadow moves, yet it still endured the hit.
"Sceptile, no!" Ash cried, flinching out of frustration for their inability to foresee the misfortune. That was a new Shadow move closely resembling Earthquake, yet it's so destructive to non-Shadow Pokémon… and many others. Ash scanned the short forest area that the Shadow Quake reached out to. There were disfiguring black bands burned into the trunks of harmless trees. There was even a noticeable black smudge on Torterra's face, yet the Continent Pokémon pretended that it was not suffering from its lingering anguish. The young Aura Guardian recalled his Sceptile; his and Pikachu's expressions were somber. "Great job out there, Sceptile. Take a nice, long rest."
"And just what did Sceptile do out there that was great anyway?" Paul's cold voice intervened. Ash placed the Poké Ball back on his belt and glared at him, much to his complete apathy.
"Torterra wasn't the only one who took out two of their Pokémon, Paul," Ash explained, attempting to remain as collected as possible without throwing another fit. Paul raised a skeptic eyebrow and grunted brusquely. "Sceptile took out both Primeape and Solrock while you were still deciding on your second Pokémon after Ursaring's fall."
"Maybe so, but did you knock them out when they were still at full strength? I didn't think so," Paul replied curtly, disregarding Ash's incensed mood and resumed his singular focus on the battle. "Torterra, Stone Edge!"
"Tooooor…!" Torterra growled, using its inner power to conjure two glowing rings around its large body. The rings broke apart into several rock shards, circumnavigating at a slower pace around its shell. "Tor-terra!" With a mighty bellow, the Continent Pokémon unleashed its Stone Edge at Hypno, having used its better judgment that the Hypnosis Pokémon had disengaged its Shadow Dome and thereby left itself defenseless.
"Dusknoir, intercept with your Shadow Dome!"
"Noir!" Dusknoir grunted, hovering in front of Hypno and produced its own jet-black spherical barrier. It held its hands up, securing the Shadow Dome's efficient defenses in front of Hypno. Paul remained as blasé as before; he knew another way around the Shadow Dome.
It only protects Dusknoir because it's in the way, Paul thought, a subtle smirk creeping up on his face. "Torterra, redirect the Stone Edge around them!"
"Tor!" Torterra grunted. Its eyes lit up, asserting its control over the flying rock shards it personally created from its own minerals. Before they collided into the impenetrable black bubble produced by the Gripper Pokémon, Torterra separated the shower with an abrupt nod. The Stone Edge had split into two paths that left Dusknoir as the fork, much to both its and Hypno's incredulity.
"Dusknoir, get behind Hypno! Quick!"
"Too late!" Paul barked, thrusting his arm down as the signal to finish the deed. "Torterra, go!"
"Tor!" Torterra growled, redirecting the gliding rock shards with its patient mind into Hypno's back. The Hypnosis Pokémon was forced onto its stomach, reeling from the inconceivable power Torterra had pelted into its back. However, this had only enraged Hypno as it leapt back on its feet as though the Stone Edge barely touched it.
"Excellent!" Gorigan hooted, hopping in his spot excitedly. "How about you repay that Torterra with interest? Use Shadow Storm, Hypno! Ooh ook!"
"Hyp-no!" Hypno shouted. Combining its natural psychic powers with the contemptible black aura that gave it corrupting power, Hypno called forth frigid gales from different directions to form a dark twister in front of it. The Hypnosis Pokémon used the tempo of its swinging pendulum to regulate the swirling dark winds before sending it off into a destructive rampage against its enemies. Dusknoir floated away into safety, gazing sinisterly with its single red eye upon the portentous tornado.
"What are you waiting for?" Paul queried, sneering at Ash. "Where's your Pokémon?" From watching Paul's Torterra in action right after his surly rival's criticism over Sceptile's performance, Ash nearly forgot to send out a Pokémon into battle since. Fumbling about as Paul swore under his breath, the young Aura Guardian snagged a Poké Ball from his belt and threw it into action without another word. He did not know what Pokémon he had sent into battle, but hoped it was for the best.
"Walrein!" Walrein bellowed, returning into battle before wincing forward from the wounds it received earlier in the Tag battle. "Wal…!" The numbing sensations from Ursaring's Hammer Arm and the brilliant collision against Dakim's Solrock still remained in its blubbery body.
"Walrein, hang in there!" Ash cheered, his tone becoming even more unyielding by the minute. Thinking quickly on his feet, there were several moves he had yet allowed Walrein to use. He had to try its entire repertoire of attacks, defenses, and supports if he and Paul were to have a chance to stand against Shadow Pokémon that belonged to a pair of fearsome, loutish Reverse-Cipher Admins. "Walrein, Surf! Let's go!"
"Wal-rein!" Walrein barked, clapping its flippers together and conjuring a tidal wave of water from the fertile forest ground underneath it. The surprising display had apparently caught both Dakim and Gorigan off guard as the gigantic wave was suddenly pulled along towards the Shadow Storm. Torterra, who was in the center of the action, braced itself to endure the pressuring water while observing the clash between Walrein's Surf and Hypno's looming Shadow Storm.
As if on cue, Walrein led the tidal wave on as a king against the insidious tornado that threatened its friends and gruff allies. At first, the conflict between the two wide-ranged attacks would end up in an unstable stalemate. But with Walrein under Ash's guidance, the Ice Break Pokémon's astonishing power over water had managed to not only match the Shadow Storm in terms of power, but gave Walrein full mobility to move out from the crash and into a new maneuver. As the Trainers from the sidelines watched speechlessly, Walrein moved into an automatic Body Slam over a rather panicky Shadow Hypno.
"H-H-H-H-Hyp-NO!" Hypno cried, attempting to shuffle its way out of Walrein's impending shadow and blubbery weight. The evading attempts of the Hypnosis Pokémon ended in failure, feeling the full weight of its inability and Walrein crushing its damaged back. Hypno could not even struggle to get out of under Walrein.
"Ook! Damn it all!" Gorigan screeched in fury, panting heavily to the sky before swiftly pulling out Hypno's Poké Ball. "Hypno, re—!"
"Walrein, Ice Ball! Let's go!"
"Wal!" Walrein grunted, coughing out the smallest Ice Ball it could conjure up and spat it at Gorigan's hand. From that instance, Dakim realized how the heroes managed to obtain the Shadow Pokémon from the late Hexagon Brothers Ω. The Ice Ball collided into Hypno's Poké Ball and disarmed Gorigan, who only hooted and swore incoherent curses in his colorful vocal tirade of the abused English language as he waved his aching hand in the air. The Poké Ball was sent into the air, only to be caught by a rather dainty hand by the Relic Cave entrance. At that moment, Ash, Paul, Dakim, Gorigan, and the rest of the Pokémon glanced at the same direction. The delicate hand was attached to a lightly lavender-shaded sleeve that was connected to a formal blouse with gold trimming; the blouse was worn by a young, lilac-haired, and somewhat androgynous woman roughly Ash and Paul's age that also bore a cute smile on her pale face.
"Anabel!" Ash exclaimed, greatly ecstatic from her reappearance. Paul rolled his eyes in apathy as usual.
"How did you get in here past all the Peons?" Dakim demanded, his tone even. Anabel leaned against the cave entrance casually while examining the craftsmanship of Hypno's Poké Ball in her hand. "Well? Answer me!" The giant Admin's impatience got the best of him again, yet his answer came in the form of Eagun and his granddaughter appearing out of the Relic Cave.
"Your men never stood a chance against us since they did not own a Shadow Pokémon to their name, Dakim," Eagun explained, chortling to himself. "You see, you should really thank this visiting young lady for scaring them off. Her temper was even scarier than yours."
"Seriously," Rui began. "Those Peons of yours kept mistaking Anabel for a boy, so she and Shiftry eliminated most of them quickly before coming to our aid." She glanced at the Salon Maiden, who merely gave the redhead an innocent smile as she took care of Hypno's Poké Ball. "Anyway, Grandpa Eagun's Pikachu did a fair job and all, but man! Anabel is an amazing Trainer!" Rui carefully glanced at Ash and winked. "She's also a great catch." The young Aura Guardian got the hint and smiled back at both her and Anabel.
"Come on, Paul, let's finish this battle," Ash urged, feeling a new wave of exhilaration put him back on action. The Reverse-Cipher Admins, satisfied with the intruders' explanations and quite impressed of their scaring off their men, had also resumed their attention to the Tag battle. The ambience of the forest had calmed down. A gentler wind blew across the trees. It was now Walrein and Torterra against the lone Shadow Dusknoir, the finishing battle of two against one. Walrein had flopped back to its Trainer's side, having just enough endurance to last the fight against Dusknoir. As many great battles have started off, the beginning was nothing more than an agonizing stare-down. With no other choice but to break the silence, Ash hastily called out for the first move since the pressure had reached its boiling point. "Walrein, use Ice Ball!"
"Torterra, Giga Drain!"
"Dusknoir, dodge them all and use Shadow Quake!"
"Noir!" Dusknoir grunted, swiftly flying about as Walrein's second Ice Ball was launched and missed it. The Gripper Pokémon weaved itself through the incandescent green tendrils that erupted from Torterra's back mountains. Both Pokémon's attacks had failed to capture the rather elusive Pokémon despite its size. "Duuuuusk…!" Dusknoir began to garner the subtle power of its black aura within its core; its now solidifying black aura had given the Gripper Pokémon protection from Walrein's and Torterra's attacks. "… Noir!" With an appalling roar, Dusknoir unleashed another trembling Shadow Quake; its sleek black waves were both super effective and overwhelming to the large Pokémon. Walrein and Torterra tumbled backwards by the horrific force, rendering incapable of continuing.
"It looks like I'm not the only one down to his last Pokémon," Dakim commented, smirking. He heard abrupt cheers coming from Anabel and Rui, to which he nodded to Gorigan to shut them up. As the wild Admin was about to intimidate the two girls to keep them quiet, he came face to face with a Shiftry who had an even fouler disposition than he did. Anabel's Shiftry kept Gorigan at bay, unable to say or do a thing now that all his Pokémon were out of commission and his Hypno was no longer under his ownership. At the meantime, Ash and Paul recalled their Pokémon; the former thanked Walrein for all that it had done for its first battle with him while the latter exhaled sharply and rolled his eyes in irritation. Now began the final round of the Tag battle with a hefty Shadow Dusknoir with much black vigor in its heart.
"Lucario, I choose you!"
"Weavile, stand by for battle!"
Their final Pokémon appeared at the blink of an eye after the bright release from their Poké Balls. Without another word or grunt, they took their formidable battle stances and prepared for Dusknoir. The Gripper Pokémon merely glowered at them with its intimidating red eye. It started off at another standstill. This round truly mattered as their last Pokémon stood at full height, waiting for the first attack. This time, Paul struck first with the cast of his arm out in front.
"Weavile, Swords Dance! Go!"
"Wea!" Weavile grunted, extending a sort of sharp violet glow from its claws. "Wea-Wea-Wea-Vile! Wea-Wea-Wea-Vile!" The Sharp Claw Pokémon began some sort of strange dance with the protruding violet extensions frenetically slicing the air around it. Lucario looked at it from afar skeptically, brushing the weird feeling off and resumed attention on Dusknoir.
"Dusknoir, Shadow Ball!"
"Noir!" Dusknoir bellowed, firing the only non-Shadow attack from its hands towards its desired opponent, Lucario. The purple, blob-like sphere flew at a rather slow pace, much to the Aura Pokémon's relief.
"Lucario, get close to Dusknoir with ExtremeSpeed!"
"Rah!" Lucario grunted, disappearing in a blue blur to everyone's surprise. "Ru! Ru! Ru!" Lucario sprinted from corner to corner. It became enormously difficult to tract the movements of the Aura Pokémon, from blue flash at one corner to another blur at the next. Dusknoir became perplexed, panicking over where Lucario might be next, not knowing that another Pokémon had ganged up on it while the Gripper Pokémon was distracted.
"Weavile, Metal Claw!"
"Weavile!" Weavile shouted as it leapt in the air with extended, silver-glowing claws ready to pounce. One quick slash greatly harmed Dusknoir as it anxiously reeled back from the vicious scars it received from the Sharp Claw Pokémon.
"Don't take that!" Dakim roared. "Send that Weavile packing with another Shadow Quake!"
"Lucario, it's your turn to use Metal Claw!"
"Raaaaah!" Lucario shouted, sweeping past through Dusknoir with the three steely blades protruding out of the bone spike on his right wrist. It added a lot more injury to the Gripper Pokémon as the extra momentum came from Lucario's ExtremeSpeed. While no one had truly considered it, Ash and Paul were finally working as a team with both agreeing on disagreeing, in a sense. The very thought of it was staggering. In other words, they kept their mouths shut and strong opinions to themselves. In terms of communication, their Pokémon's attacks were the perfect means of relaying their thoughts to one another.
Dusknoir is being overwhelmed, Dakim thought, his expression solemn and arms folded across his buff chest. He noted that his sole Shadow Pokémon was losing the fight now that Lucario and Weavile had begun to willingly cooperate with one another. Weavile pushed and immobilized the Gripper Pokémon back with Blizzard. Lucario charged in at it with Bone Rush, smacking it around expertly with a green aura staff shaped like a long bone. There's nothing more my anger and I can do. I've lost the battle… for now.
This was a first step for Dakim, the stubborn hothead. In surprising humility in full view of everyone, the giant Admin purposely dropped Dusknoir's Poké Ball at the same time Lucario's and Weavile's combined Metal Claws had finished it off. The seconds were passing by slowly. Everyone's eyes had widened over Dakim's act. The Poké Ball was drifting towards the ground while at the same time Dusknoir fell back out of complete exhaustion. Both the Pokémon and its Poké Ball fell onto the ground, shattered and free. There was nothing more that could be said for a man that had seen many things throughout his life, a man whose temperament had greatly changed throughout all those years in prison. A man that richly desired power and greatness through any means available, Admin Dakim had made his decision. It was one small step backward in Reverse-Cipher, but a huge step forward in his personal goals.
"What the hell?! Ooh ooh! Aah! Aah!" Gorigan screeched, outraged by his surrender and flailed his lanky arms about. Dakim grabbed both his partner's wrists as tightly as he could, forcing the wild Admin to calm down.
"We're not kicked out of Reverse-Cipher, Gorigan," Dakim stated, leering into his trembling Admin's eyes. "We've got better things to do other than knocking down a Relic Stone."
There was nothing out of the ordinary in the lavish dining hall within the base of operations in Citadark Isle. There was a long dining table that expanded out meters, yet it looked empty and unoccupied. The reason for that was because it was Ardos' dinner time. The mad, psychotic leader of Reverse-Cipher had been discharged out of the medical ward, sporting a new look that was destined to instill endless fear into the hearts of all beings. The right side of his face was covered in a sort of jet-black machinery, replacing the flesh that was supposed to protect his cold blood flowing between his face and skull. The right half of his shades had spikier corners that concealed a menacing, analytical, lifeless red eye underneath. Ardos had even become an amputee with his useless right arm replaced with a cold, jet-black mechanical limb that was supposed to function as his normal arm. His accident had taken a toll on his physical being. His mentality, however, was another story.
"Dinner, sir," a Reverse-Cipher Peon mumbled, pushing a cart with a spherical lid on top towards Ardos' seat at the far edge of the table. The Peon was accompanied by Stein, who merely wanted to see his leader's progress on adapting to his new improvements, in a sense.
"I'll take it from here," Stein said, sliding the lid and plate in his stead and place the meal in front of Ardos. He unveiled today's dinner to be a rare Tauros steak, still dripping with fresh scabby blood. "Ardos, sir, I've come to report Dakim and Gorigan's failure at destroying the Relic Stone."
"No matter," Ardos growled, picking a fork up with his new mechanical arm. Stein and the Peon got the hint that he wanted to be alone when he dined. Together, they pushed the cart back out and left for their leader to enjoy his raw steak in peace. With a sinister smirk and gleaming sharp teeth, Ardos forced his fork right though the center of his juicy steak. He held the dripping piece of raw meat in front of his face. His ferocious appetite caused him to snap his head forward and viciously rip a huge bite out of the meat as the blood and his own saliva dripped in a vile mixture down his chin. He chewed the meat rather sadistically, torturing the dead carcass of the Tauros that wound up to be today's dinner. "Blood's not enough!"
"A Nosepass, huh?" Ash mused, glancing at Pikachu. The Mouse Pokémon on his shoulder gave a zealous smile, nodding once. "Okay then. Pikachu, I choose you!"
"Pika!" Pikachu yelled, leaping off and joining the lone Nosepass in the battlefield. Nosepass' nose accurately pointed at Pikachu. The emotion from the Compass Pokémon's eyes changed from relaxed to fierce. "Piiiii…" Pikachu stared back, his red cheeks eagerly discharging static.
"Go for it, Pikachu!" Anabel cheered with a sparse amount of Trainers that support Ash. They were mostly young boys that admired him for standing up with that speech of his. The remaining Trainers, the female majority of the Pre Gym, were diehard Justy admirers. Paul was the only one who remained silent and neutral at the side lines, glaring upon the chosen Pokémon for battle.
'If you were actually serious about showing him that you can handle your responsibility, you should have sent out Sceptile or Tyranitar,' Paul thought, an irate sneer marking his face. 'You still talk and act like a goddamned little kid. Pathetic…'
"The battle's over!" a young Trainer from the side declared. "Both the Pre Gym Leader's Nosepass and the visitor's Pikachu are unable to battle! It's a tie! A tie it is!"
"Nosepass, return," Justy said, holding up the Poké Ball and retracting the Compass Pokémon back into his possession. "Thank you for the wonderful battle." He gingerly walked towards Ash, who cradled Pikachu in his arms and also thanked him for an awesome job well done. "Though it was a tie, I would definitely give you a Badge for your troubles since I loved the battle. I can see now that you do have what it takes to save Orre with your friends, Ash."
"Thank you very much, Justy," Ash replied, standing back up. They both shook hands to officially cement their friendship and trust. Their audience, save it for Paul, had applauded loudly and cheerfully.
"Let's not keep them waiting," Justy suggested, motioning towards the side exit with his thumb. Ash nodded and followed the Phenac Pre Gym Leader out of the elevated battlefield, down the steps to meet with everyone else. They were all content and satisfied with the brilliant display of their great battle.
"You did wonderful, Ash," Anabel complemented.
'Pathetic…,' Paul thought, his eyes closed and expression unapproachable. The seeds of bitter dissention had sowed themselves within him the moment Ash had engaged in battle with Justy. Not only did he disapprove of Ash's tactics, but he was violently against it. His battle with the Pre Gym Leader, in his eyes, was another waste of time for him to act like a kid. "Well, I—Aah! Oh!"
Paul had tripped over something, landing face first into the floor. The entire staff of the Phenac Pre Gym was laughing rather lightheartedly over his little mishap. The laughter did not last long, however. The moment they heard something of a demonic growl coming from the throat of the dark Trainer, the young Trainers silenced themselves immediately and resumed their duties. Determined to find out how he tripped over, Paul lifted his head up and noticed Anabel kneeling down, conversing with a Diglett. He deduced the situation as another pathetic attempt by Anabel to get him to acknowledge her as an actual threat like Ash somewhat posed to him.
"Here's a piece of candy for your troubles, Diglett," Anabel said, presenting the reward to the little Mole Pokémon. The Diglett sang happily with the candy on tow, burying underground to rejoin with its Trainer. Paul narrowed his piercing eyes on the Salon Maiden, who then approached the Veilstone City Trainer lying on the ground. His eye level was up to her ankles. "That's a good look for you, Paul."
"Stuff it if you know what's good for you, little girl," he threatened, looking up at her smiling visage.
"What? You didn't like the trip I gave to you?" Anabel asked in false innocence. She turned on her heels before Paul could grab them and was about to go off to join Ash and Justy. "Just consider this for now, Paul. You were just owned by a dainty, little wallflower." She gave him a playful smirk and winked back before running off. Paul stood back up and brushed off the floor dust on his chest and stomach region.
"These two are pathetic," Paul muttered, enunciating each syllable of his favorite word in a deadly whisper.
"Hmph… If you wanted to save yourself some grief and some brain cells, you should have just taken their Poké Balls along with you… like me," Paul taunted, presenting the two Poké Balls containing his acquired Shadow Pokémon as proof. Ash stepped back, surprised that Paul managed to attain the Poké Balls without much of a struggle with their captors.
"Wait a minute… What happened to the Hexagon Brothers you fought, Paul?" Ash queried; his auburn eyes wide. Paul released a brisk grunt, looking away from his demanding inquirer. "Paul?" The surly Veilstone Trainer closed his eyes tightly, refusing to look at him and answer him back because he would rather not face the outcome of it. Ash was so predictable with learning bad news. "Paul, you're not going to make this easier."
"If it'll get you to shut up, then it looks like you've got me," Paul grumbled, slightly raising his arms up in surrender. "But first…" He enlarged the two Poké Balls in his hand and tossed them in the air. They promptly opened up and revealed the Shadow Pokémon he rescued in a bright white flash, Ampharos and Claydol. The Shadow Pokémon materialized on the ground, their stomachs pressed against it and their expressions asleep somewhat in pain.
"I'm guessing you had Darkrai's help in putting them asleep," Ash pointed out with Paul's confirming nod. The latter began to smirk from remembering about everything that went on in his last battle, up to its gruesome finale.
"That… and something else," Paul added darkly, his smirk exuding an eerie vibe. Ash was bewildered about what his rival meant about using Darkrai's power on something else. The answer slowly dawned upon him after considering Paul's rather brutal battle tactics and his lack of remorse towards lowlife criminals like the Hexagon Brothers Ω. His mouth gaped, breathing out in small gasps of horror-struck incredulity.
"I'd probably figured out what you did, but please tell you did not," Ash begged, his body trembling slightly. Paul's smirk turned into a scowl, unimpressed on his sickened reaction.
"Let's just say those two lowlife losers are going to need a lot of therapy once they wake up," Paul simplified cryptically, folding his arms across his tough chest and turning away gruffly from his supposedly greatest rival. 'Childish fool doesn't understand what measures must be taken to teach these criminal scum a lesson. If he keeps going easy on them like he always does, nothing will ever be done unless I take charge! How pathetic…'
"Age before beauty, son," Eagun declared, pulling his arm back for the toss. "Pikachu, come forth!"
The dusty looking Poké Ball spun from the flick of his surprisingly agile wrist, snapping open with a loud crackle of white energy bursting forth. The light took form of the Pokémon he called out in his battle yell, a Pikachu; Ash, Anabel, and even Paul were stunned to see that he reached mythical greatness with the help of a Pikachu. Upon closer examination of Eagun's Pikachu, it looked slightly larger than Ash's Pikachu with several messy tufts of yellow fur sticking out around its body. Its loose fur tufts drifted in the wind's path like Eagun's long robes. Its deep eyes no longer shimmered with the brilliance of youth and passion; they were dull with wisdom and age. Despite its fragile physical looks, Ash could see its aura blazing at random intervals from its old body.
"His Pikachu's been through as much as he has," Ash murmured quietly to his buddy. "Pikachu, I think this will be the true test of our friendship and the trials it went through. We may not have as much experience as they do, but we're just as strong as they are, right?"
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, his affirmative arm curled up to his body.
"Then let's get in it to win it, buddy!" Ash proclaimed, casting out his pointing arm to the battlefield. His Pikachu ran off his arm like a bridge and joined Eagun's Pikachu in the ensuing One-on-One battle. The Mouse Pokémon exchanged determined glances and a few words in their language; it was like giving each other good luck.
"What are you doing?!" Paul chastised harshly, interrupting the onset of the battle. "If you were serious about wanting to go to see the Relic Stone, you should have sent out Tyranitar or Sceptile to take on his Pikachu instead of matching him move for move. You can be so boneheaded at times that it's really pathetic!" He felt a swift, but somewhat weak smack by the side of his head. He felt the painful heat burning upon his right ear. He roughly turned to see Anabel retracting her hand back to her side, glaring into his eyes with what seemed to be her most serious disposition.
"I'm not going to warn you again," Anabel advised; her tone calm, yet threatening. Her lilac eyes narrowed gradually, yet kept the seriousness to a low level as she promised Ash. "If you have something useful to say, then don't put your own feelings in it just to force it down others' throats. If it hasn't helped you, it's not going to help Ash." The brusque Veilstone Trainer scowled at her with a dark look, only to rebuke her off with a disdainful grunt and resumed waiting for the battle between Pikachu to start.
"You're a bright girl, so you should now know why you're the reason Ash is falling behind in his training," Paul sneered, intensely narrowing his cold, hollow eyes upon the distressed Salon Maiden. "I wouldn't even be here right now if he wasn't the one carrying greatness. Once this whole 'Shadow Pokémon and Giratina apocalypse' blows over, I'm immediately challenging him to a battle where I shall finally triumph over him."
With a smug look composed of a pair of calmly shut eyes and etched with a distasteful smirk, Paul felt rather content adding more insult to injury to the situation. Instead of taking pity on the accident that had befallen his rival, he opted to cruelly castigate the Salon Maiden who started the accident in the first place. What he did not expect, however, was a frigid splash of sticky orange juice and ice cubes showering his face and part of his hair. His disturbed eyes jolted wide open in detestation, discovering that in a brief fit of rage, Anabel had poured Ash's morning drink on him. The empty glass cup slightly trembled in her hand as she breathed heavily over the done deed; she glared upon Paul with intensely focused lilac pupils.
"Is battling the only thing you ever care about, Paul?" Anabel asked, her tone suddenly icy.
"Hmph, I wasn't the one who ordered the tea. Anyway, I was right about you and him. You've done nothing but hinder his potential with your insatiable need for romance. And apparently, his abs was too good for you."
"What I've done?! Why would you even care about Ash? You've made it a point to everyone, including weird strangers, that you and he are not friends."
"Yeah, so what if I did?" Paul scoffed, grabbing a nearby napkin to absorb the remnants of the orange juice on his face while brushing melting ice cubes off his head.
All these wearisome memories, as well as those from the Tag battle with Ash earlier today, had made Paul's mind up. It became clear to the cold, surly Trainer of Veilstone City that nothing was ever going to be accomplished as long as he stayed in the group. It was troublesome for him to deal with his rival's romance, but earlier today, he had to save his ungrateful behind several times. Ash should have been satisfied enough that his Pokémon were free from the Reverse-Cipher Admins' traps. They were merciless, and yet Ash still displayed a sort of nobility and honor. It was no doubt from Dakim's speech about how even they would abide by Tag battle rules. One clear example was having his Sceptile release Solrock out of his grip as the hopelessly bewildered Ursaring thrashed about on the field. They could have taken the Meteorite Pokémon out on the spot, but no. He did not want to use Solrock as a disposable shield, and Solrock was the enemy. Another example that greatly disgusted him was his insistence that they allowed Dusknoir and Hypno to stay behind and free after their purification, releasing them back into the wild just so that they could protect the Relic Stone. They did not understand what prompted them to take on such a task, but it was in their nature as benevolent Pokémon that have been freed from the abrasive shadows.
It was not like it mattered anymore to Paul. He could only take so much of his and Anabel's shenanigans to know that they were losing sight on their main goal. Paul never really wanted to be a hero to begin with anyway, but he despised cowardly criminal organizations with a passion. He knew that if they were allowed to do whatever they want, his career as a Trainer would have come to a bleak, disastrous end as there would be no one else to test his own power against. The battlefield was where he sought peace. It became his second home, no doubt. His own family was weak. His mother died giving birth to him. His father was unable to stand up to Cyrus of Team Galactic and thereby lost his life. And then there was Reggie, the last person he would have suspected to turn out as weak as the rest of them. That one loss against Pyramid King Brandon was the straw that broke the Camerupt's back, the final reason that made Paul into a cold-hearted Trainer with extremely high standards and expectations. To think, he once idolized him, but that was all in his past. He was independent since his family was weak. He led himself to his future when they could not guide him.
It was precisely midnight in Agate Village. The populace had retired quickly, needing the rest they richly deserved after the startling invasion from Reverse-Cipher. Even by now, Dusknoir and Hypno were asleep by the Relic Stone, promising to guard the sacred monument with their lives since their purification. The moon was full, watching over the now peaceful forest village with its wistful gaze. The ambience was rather celestial as the moon was joined by several twinkling stars in the night sky. Near the wooden bridge that led out of it, Paul stood watching over the cold, dark horizon south from where he stood. He was on the final hill, the last obstacle in his way to search for himself. The desert nights did not bother him much. It was not because he had the powers of Darkrai swirling within his body. Instead, it gave him comfort, knowing that through the bitter, icy loneliness of the night, there was some sort of warmth hidden within. He just had to find it, to work for it as always. Every surrounding of Agate Village was silent. Even the river and waterfall snored in tranquility. Paul ultimately knew what he had to do.
I'll stop them myself if it comes to that, Paul thought, continually staring into the boundless horizon with a melancholic look in his black eyes. He opened his mouth and exhaled, feeling the warmth of his breath isolated within the cold atmosphere. He took a step forward, a step closer to being free from the ones who held him back for so long.
Are you sure you want to do this? a mysterious, yet temperate voice asked within Paul's mind. The surly Trainer knew who was speaking to him at a time like this. There was no being on the outside world like Paul, but there were two beings inside his body. There was him and the dark lunar Pokémon.
You know it as well as I do, Darkrai, Paul replied in his head for the Pitch-Black Pokémon to understand. I've made this decision out of all the fact presented in the past. I'm stopping Reverse-Cipher myself.
What about me? Darkrai queried.
As long as we both don't agree on breaking that Aura Fusion, your powers are still mine to command, Paul explained, closing his eyes wistfully. You can't stop me. No one can.
I can feel your inner regrets, from both the past and the present, Darkrai spoke with a satiating growl. And while they are delicious to me, it's not good for you to keep your emotions bottled up all the time.
Just get to the point, Darkrai, Paul demanded impatiently, sneering. We're wasting moonlight.
Whether you like it or not, you've come to accept Ash and Anabel as your second family, Darkrai explained rather sagaciously. The Pitch-Black Pokémon heard him sigh; he was right. Even with their bothersome imperfections of romance and foolishness, you've come to tolerate them and admire them who they are. You've been alone, even when you still had an older brother on this mortal realm. Are you sure you want all of them behind? Paul's breathing rate was regular. Paul looked down to the lush green ground with a forlorn gaze. Darkrai's reckoning, no matter how logical and sentimental they sounded to him, no longer mattered to him. He made up his mind. He was going to leave tonight and take on Reverse-Cipher by himself. He never trusted anyone to help him nor did he expect anyone to save him. Paul did all the action. It was time for him to make another independent move. Darkrai's presence faded back within the confines of his soul; the reasoning having failed to change his stubborn mind.
"Where do you think you're going, Paul?" a different, familiar voice demanded lightly. Paul grimaced, wishing he had left sooner when his snores overtook all other noises in the village.
"What do you think, Ash?" Paul replied, hissing his name in acid. He turned around to face his rival fully dressed, but was missing his hat on his head, his Pikachu on his shoulder, and his lilac-haired maiden by his arms. "So, you're all alone?"
"No, I left Pikachu and Anabel to sleep because this matter's now in my hands," Ash explained, his tone rather curt and expression serious. "However, I did take the rest of my Pokémon with me… just in case." Paul sneered, no longer amused by his games. "You didn't think I was going to let you leave without a fight, huh?"
"You couldn't hold your own against those Admins," Paul began, growing a smirk by the side of his face. "What makes you think that you can actually hold your own against me?"
"That was then… and this is now," Ash stated darkly, unclipping two Poké Balls and prepared to toss them in the air. Paul was not amused by his rashness now, nor was he ever impressed by his critical faults. "Lucario and Tyranitar, I choose you!" Both of his Pokémon materialized out from their Poké Balls with fearsome grunts, each taking a side next to their Trainer for their greatest mission yet. "We're not letting you go. Don't you even remember the Divine Prophecy Cresselia kept advising us about?"
"Hmph, a descendent of the Hero of the Wave accompanied by a maiden and a 'foe once mean'?" Paul condescended, once again infuriating his brash rival and his two loyal Pokémon. His contemptuous smirk fell into a grim scowl as he took out two of his own Pokémon to counter Ash's. "Screw that damned prophecy! I make my own destiny! Weavile and Aggron, stand by for battle!"
Paul had changed his team lineup earlier, opting to switch out Ursaring for Aggron upon calling Reggie. He had a feeling he was going to need a resilient Steel-type for the journey into the unknown sands of the Orre region. However, he did not think he would use Aggron's abilities this early on. Then again, it was never too early to start anything at all, considering the matters pertaining to Reverse-Cipher. After all, it has been a while since he and Ash last battled each other.
So what have we learned from this chapter? The Tag battle became the final straw for Paul, Ardos viciously ate a rare Tauros steak and was not satisfied enough with its blood, and now Paul's abandoning the trio for his own reasons. If you all recall the strangely wise words of Dr. Kaminko at the end of Chapter Eight, you'd realize that he had foreshadowed the tension that would break apart the group. This is only the first step of the drama so brace yourselves.
If you would please review, it will be appreciated. Your feedback to this chapter is welcome. I won't bite… much.
Ciao!