Sorry for the already nearly two months delay, but I finally got this up! I'd just like to inform that this chapter gets a little bit…graphic.
Chapter 25: Fight at Dawn
Jill walked through the darkened halls of the ship with the only light coming from rooms that had their doors open, showing the outside sun rising. Darry followed behind and the small team of Pokémon they rallied rushed in a cluster to stay close, because now they knew that not only was the ship not working and they were in danger, but that the danger was completely extreme.
Jill already knew that Team Rocket was in on this, but why was still a mystery. She knew by the expressions on Charley before they were split up that he knew one of the teams was involved, but it was puzzling to her now that she thought about Team Rocket being in on this.
Team Rocket was part of Kanto, why were they in Hoenn? The question got to her and she was left thinking that maybe Team Rocket had moved to Hoenn, but then why?
For every question she thought of, she knew that Charley was the only one that knew the answer.
"Stop," said Darry. Jill turned to see Darry with his eyes closed listening intently. "Do you hear that?"
Smeargle jumped in-between them and listened too. He then pointed to where he heard it.
"I just wish this could all stop…" muttered Jill to herself. She was tired, but determination to find both her Sneasel and Furret kept her going.
Without warning, Smeargle bolted and ran down the hallway.
"Let's go, follow him!" said Darry, then he ran after Smeargle.
Jill turned her attention to the Pokémon. "C'mon, but silently."
They followed the two who had already turned around the corner. Jill could still here the running steps of Darry, and she followed them. If she lost the trace, she would use one of the Pokémon to help find them. Luckily though, that wasn't needed.
They stopped short as Smeargle and Darry were hiding behind boxes strewn on the floor everywhere. There was a glass window on the right side which showed the sea. The box were placed around on top of each other and looked perfect for hiding. And for the reason, Jill just had to look at the next room, where three Rocket members were talking.
"Right Giovanni," said one of members. Of course, Giovanni wasn't there, but she was talking to a small radio. Yes, the Rocket was a she.
"One question though," she said at the radio.
"This better be important," said a gruff voice on the other end, more likely the voice of Giovanni.
"It is—a little, sir. Apparently the Aqua's are still searching. However, it seems that they don't know why they're searching for it. I need an answer, if they find this thing; won't it drastically ruin our plans? I mean, you got to remember the incident a few months ago, and it was with the same thing. We know where it is, we should just take it and go rather than risk leaving it."
There was a silence for a moment. Then, Giovanni spoke. "That was more of a recommendation than a question, Venn. I realize that it was near our downfall before, but it's not needed anymore. Archie wants it because he knew we needed it, but he doesn't know what's special about it. That's why his troops don't know why they're searching for it."
Jill just wanted them to stop referring to the object 'it.' She wanted to know what it was already.
"Now do as I say, we have no more business here."
"Yes, two more things sir."
"What is it?"
"We didn't come here to mess with Team Aqua; we came here to kill any cursed. We haven't done so, do we still need to?"
"Legend is our top priority. Right now, we'll let the cursed go. Project Legend will begin soon, and we must prepare."
Is this the 'it?' thought Jill. Then what did they mean by wear it?
"Let's fall back," said the person called 'Venn.'
"Wait," said one of the Rockets. "I think I heard something over there."
Jill could tell the Rocket member was aiming in the direction of her and the rest. She stayed quiet and didn't make a sound. Darry made signs behind his crate to Jill and then moved out of her sight. The other Pokémon followed him. Jill started to wonder what he was trying to get across to her, that she didn't notice the Rocket Poke his head through the frame, and see him look at her.
"There's a—"
The Rocket didn't get to finish. At that moment, the huge window broke and a metal arm broke into the boat. Jill screamed and fell to the floor. The arm had grabbed the man's head, and crushed it. It pulled back bringing the man with it, and blood dripping.
"Team Aqua's here!" yelled the Rocket named Venn. Both of the remaining Rockets ran to the hall Jill was in and saw her.
"What are you doing down here, you shouldn't be here!" yelled Venn, but then another arm came in and grabbed her partner by the waist. Before he could speak, his lungs were crushed, and the arm planted itself on the ground of that floor.
The boat tilted a little and made Venn fall to the floor and slide next to the broken window, which now was a torn away wall revealing the ocean below. Along with her other partner floating dead.
Outside, there were many arms connecting to the boat. A submarine was connecting to the S.S. Tidal.
Jill saw Darry on the other side of the hall telling her to follow him, with a freaked out face. She looked at Venn, who was still looking out, then at Darry. She ran for Darry.
She passed the metal arm and looked into the room the Rockets were talking in. the boat hadn't tilted, but the side she was on almost broke away. That's why it was slanted.
"Wow, wait!" said Venn, "Where are you going! Get back over here!"
Jill ignored the Rocket's plea and continued running. As soon as she caught up with Darry, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into a door with normal stairs leading down.
"Where are we going?" asked Jill.
"Anywhere," said Darry, "just go!"
So Jill didn't protest. She ran down the stairs with the other Pokémon already down there. Nothing else left to do but run now.
Ghost was still conscious, but very little. He saw Team Aqua members all around him, and it seemed that they were helping him. Now why would they want to do that?
He decided not to ask, or attack. If they were helping him, he was better off letting them do their jobs.
Ghost lay on a table with a Pokémon life support system. Aqua members muttered silent words to each other and mumbled others, but Ghost didn't want to hear anything anymore. He just wanted out.
But out of what? There was another question for him. Ghost didn't trust these members, so why was he letting them do as they pleased to him?
Ghost question this and that, trying to find something to take his mind off the fact that he indeed was near death. At first he didn't want to believe it, but he knew that he, a ghost Pokémon, meaning he's already technically dead, was dying.
He didn't want to be near the Aqua's; he was always told they were dangerous. But he didn't do anything. For the most part, they were saving him. But to what extent? Would they leave him to be trapped with them forever, or would he return to his—trainer.
He tried not to remember. Alex was gone, and he failed to find him. His friends he met with Alex were also gone. He had no idea where Alex's Pokémon were or what would happen once they were found.
Or maybe they were already found by Team Aqua?
What ever question came up, Ghost tried to put a blame on Aqua for it. Yet they were the only ones saving him.
Now he didn't even care anymore. What was going to happen to him? He didn't know, or in fact care. What would happen to Charley and the rest? He didn't know, and he hated to say it, but he didn't care either. What was going on here? Why was he doing something like this, first putting blames on the Aqua's, and then putting them on the real people that saved him? It wasn't right, and he didn't know how these thoughts kept getting through his mind.
Across from Ghost, was an Aqua scientist, smiling. He was sitting on a rolling chair and was the one that put the life support system on the Sableye. And he knew the exact things that were going through Ghost's mind.
He saw Ghost struggling against himself, but he knew in the end, Aqua would win. And it was all because of his invention. Ghost was breathing through a tube, but what he was inhaling wasn't just making him better, but making him want to be with them.
His latest invention made trainer Pokémon go against their trainers. This is what they used to tame the stolen Pokémon. It was a lot more efficient than what Rocket did.
He kept his smile, because in a few minutes, he knew that the Sableye wouldn't struggle to Aqua. He knew that it wouldn't have feelings for its old life. He knew it wouldn't have feelings for its old trainer. And he smiled.
In a few minutes, the Sableye would not be a threat to Team Aqua. In a few minutes, the Sableye would refuse to leave Team Aqua. In a few minutes, the Sableye would be his…
The whole cave was much darker than Amy or Umbreon had assumed. There were many other cells that had Pokémon sleeping in them, and sometimes human too. As the Pikachu led them onwards, they saw other Pokémon go threw the veil and become human, where then they would be taken by other Pokémon away as they squirmed and were useless, as they were vulnerable now. Both Amy and Umbreon were lucky to escape, and even more lucky to have the Pikachu on their side. But they wondered every second if Houndour ever got out, or if he became human…
"Alright," said the Pikachu, "so who was it you girls were looking for?"
"We were looking for our friend," said Umbreon. "He's a Houndour."
"We have many Houndour working for us you know, be more specific. All of us have a work number, do you know his?"
They should have prepared for a question like that. This type of question was going to blow their cover, and they might again be put in a cell, or worse.
"We don't know," said Amy making up an excuse, "we just got here."
The Pikachu stopped. He turned and faced Amy with a stern look. "Just got here?"
Amy was beginning to think that was the wrong thing to say.
"How long ago?"
Umbreon cut in with another excuse. "What she meant was that we haven't really paid any attention to his number. We just met him a couple of days ago, and we've been here for about six months."
The Pikachu seemed to sigh, and Umbreon knew she said the right thing. Amy tossed her a 'nice save' glance and waited for the Pikachu to say something.
That's when she noticed that the Pikachu was calculating something in its mind. She didn't know what he was thinking, and she never thought she would until she got out of there, but now she needed to know. The tension inside her grew, and it slowly tore her apart.
The Pikachu turned to face them again, this time with more relieved of a look than he lad before.
Amy wished she could understand more, but she couldn't make out his mind. She just had to go with the flow if she wanted to get out of there.
"If we can't find your friend due to unknown number, we'll just have to get him from the main room. Please, follow me."
So they did just that, unable to do anything else. They were too afraid to do anything else, so just hid it.
The three Pokémon walked down the halls and turned in each corner. Each time they would pass cells with more Pokémon stuck in there and guards guarding. They were lucky to have no guards guarding their cells, if not, they probably wouldn't have made it out of those things.
More halls led to more halls and Amy and Umbreon were getting tired of just walking around, they felt that they weren't going anywhere. But then their concern washed away as they entered the biggest area of the cave, with many other Pokémon working on anything.
There were different Pokémon working on tables and some working with some mechanical machines on walls and floors. The whole cave seemed to be wired from here. There were shouts coming from Pokémon, screaming in pain, but the rest of the Pokémon working paid no attention and continued their job. On the ceiling were words spread in poem form, the only thing that no one worked on. It read:
Keep me close, then feel my wrath
Avoid me, then die in one path
Stay with me, then suffer your fate
Forget me, then bring my curse
Save me, then take my soul
Kill me, then never speak again
It was strange to them, but they didn't take much of it into notice.
"What you are looking at is the Central Room, where all of the cursed are taken to further the test," said the Pikachu.
Amy and Umbreon were struck with the sense that they weren't supposed to be there; ever. Different Pokémon passed them, but they said nothing.
"This place… I don't think I can live with something like this…" Umbreon was saying what was quite obvious to Amy. She didn't like it either, but like she kept telling herself, it was the only way out.
The Pikachu led them past the room and into another hall, which was built more and more like a scientific building. They stopped in front of a wall. The Pikachu said something, but it was not understandable to either of the two Pokémon it was escorting. The wall opened and there was a big room, and in the center was a big machine.
There were two tables with a Pokémon struggling through bonds on one and on the other there was a human in the Team Aqua clothing struggling through the same bonds. Umbreon noticed something, and she knew Amy noticed right away. The experimenting Pokémon was Houndour.
Before they could do anything,Ursaring came and attacked them. They were pushed against the ground, and the Pikachu smiled.
"I knew all along that you two were the celled," it said. "You left me no choice, girls."
"Let us go!" said Umbreon, "We didn't do anything to harm whatever it is you're doing here!"
"But you planned to."
Umbreon didn't want to answer that, but she knew that she didn't plan to ruin their plans, so she asked, "What are you talking about! We were lost!"
"Don't play dumb, I know that Pokémon in the operating table is your friend. We all know. And we all know you were born as a Pokémon."
"Yeah, so?"
"We work here because we are victims. We aren't Pokémon, we were all humans. Everyone that is not in a cell, was once a human."
Amy was shocked; the face on Umbreon was the same.
"And now," he continued, "Since someone killed the leader of this, we were all stuck in these bodies. The only thing we can do now, is have revenge." He got closer to Umbreon's face. "You do know a fellow named Charley, don't ya?"
Umbreon didn't want to tell him anything, but she had lost all her senses, and answered, "Yes…"
"He destroyed the real curser, and made us stuck in these forms for eternity. Do you know how much shit we feel like!"
Again, Umbreon tried to avoid answering, but answered with a shake of her head.
"And no one will anymore. That's why we've banded together, to do one last thing."
Umbreon didn't want to hear what was coming, but she knew that the Pikachu wouldn't stop.
"We're going to kill Charley." The Pikachu walked away and leaned against the walls as the two were brought by Ursaring's to the table near Houndour. "Unfortunately, even though the curse is dead, it had a thing for fairness."
Suddenly, the huge machine in the room roared to life. It had a tip pointed down at Houndour and the Aqua member, both struggling hard trying to get out.
"You two can go ahead and watch, and then you can become victims yourselves."
"No, please don't!" pleaded Amy.
"Oh no?" said Pikachu, "Now why wouldn't you want to become a victim? This is now my curse, and according to the rules, I'm in charge here. And whatever I say, will happen. And I say you are going to be my victim." He turned to Umbreon. "You too." Then, he added, "As a matter of victims, I think I'll take your trainers in too."
"Don't you dare hurt my trainer!" said Amy.
"All you had to do, was say so. But unfortunately for you, I don't give a damn." With that, the Pikachu was surrounded in dark mist and transformed into it. He was lifted, until he himself was part of the curse. The liquid smoke rose high and disappeared into the walls.
The machine looked like a weapon and aimed down on the Aqua member.
"NO! HELP ME! I NEED HELP!" the Aqua member screamed and screamed, but the beam hit him covering his voice and completely disintegrating him into the light. Quickly, the beam was swinging to Houndour.
"No!" Umbreon broke free of the Ursaring who wasn't holding on tight from the shaking the machine made. She jumped and bit the restraints just as the beam was seconds away, and then both of them jumped back almost hit. Amy took this time wisely. She pushed the startled Ursaring who was easier to push than she thought, and he fell into the rays as he yelled in pain.
The machine's beam hit the wall behind the Ursaring and made a crack. The crack spread and the room shook. An earthquake took place in the small room leaving only one thing for the three Pokémon to do: run out of the room. They ran out into the hall that both Amy and Umbreon came in through.
All of them heard the machine breaking down and stood on the other side. Maybe that was a bad idea, because now all of the Pokémon—or maybe they should say humans—were staring at them with glares.
"Thanks for saving me, but now what do you have planned?" asked Houndour.
"Shut up," said Umbreon.
The three got ready in fighting positions, ready to fight any Poké—human—that got near them.
Suddenly, they did something unexpected. The others started to shift away into smoke and then band together. They were forming a huge wall of shadow. Liquid shadow. And then the darkness attacked them.
"What now, Archie?" asked an Aqua member. "Our members are disappearing rapidly. Should we even be doing this?"
A Flareon stood right next to the Aqua member's feet. She had her eyes closed, and unfocused.
Archie stared at the many miniature TVs in front of him. He was looking at the holding cell for the people he had locked in. sparks flew around in there, and he could see a Jolteon trying to bring the door down as many other trainers rebelled on the bars. They weren't going to give up. It would be dangerous to leave the Jolteon in there, but it would be even more dangerous to let it out now that all the trainers wouldn't let an Aqua get near them.
"Archie?"
Archie, leader of the Aqua members, sighed and turned to the Aqua member.
"Everyone associated at Team Rocket are idiots," he said, "if what they're looking for can kill them, then I see no sense in not letting them kill themselves. We should get everyone to return, let's not meddle with the Rockets for now."
"And the trainers?"
"They seem to attack anyone that goes near them, so let's not bother them. When they're out of energy to fight back, we'll drop them off in Slateport."
There was a knock on the door. Archie looked at one of the TVs and saw a member outside the office waiting. He let him in.
The Aqua member walked up to Archie.
"Archie, something really weird is going on in that ship." Said the member.
"What is it?" asked Archie.
"Remember when I told you I worked for Team Rocket? Well, not only did I find what they were looking for, but I found something else." he searched his pockets and took out two small orbs. One was blue, while the other was red. "Sir, for every new recruit at Rocket, we had to study a lot about Expedition Snowfall, ever heard of it?"
Archie gave a nod, but was getting bored with the Aqua member. "Just say what you need to say, soldier."
"These two orbs played a very important plot in this expedition. At Rocket, we spent time stealing Pokémon, but it was all because of this. This is what Team Rocket was looking for; it was the final product in their research.
"There are a couple of people in this world that have a gifted talent, and then there are some that were cursed. The cursed talent can be removed, but only by a spiritual stone that is only known by Rocket. I tried to find out more, but I couldn't. Sorry.
"Anyways, according to one of the books at Rocket, if the cursed person sees this, then they're cursed forever. So here's my question: what would such an item like this be doing at a place like here? The answer is quite obvious. Someone on board that ship was cursed, and if that person thought he could un-curse him or herself, then they were wrong. By just holding these orbs, they ruined their chances."
"Alright," said Archie, "what's the point. You said something weird was going on, what is it?"
The Aqua member went silent. After a few seconds of silence and one stare from Archie, he continued. "Sir, the weird part is where I found them, and how I found them."
Archie sighed. "What's so strange about how you found them," he said, bored with the conversation.
"When I came up here with a stab in me, I was immediately sent back down there. When I found these orbs, and grabbed them, I swear that I felt my hands go through them. I felt my hands not only go through them, but through the floor. It was very strange, and when I grabbed them again, nothing happened."
"Is that it?"
"No sir, there's more. Out of all of our partners in the room, we felt a presence. A very…strange…feeling. Sir, there's something on that ship that is not human, not Pokémon, and for all we know, not dea—"
Suddenly, an Aqua member opened the entrance door. "Leader Archie, the trainers are breaking through the cell!"
Archie looked at his screen and saw the cell room. The holding bars were getting slanted and trainers were pushing against it. Shocks of electricity were seen flowing through the cell, probably from the Jolteon, and Mightyena from Aqua were pushing the cell wall back into place taking the shock from the Jolteon.
"Henry," said Archie, talking to the Aqua that had just reported for him, "Call back our remaining members into our sub. You two," he was now talking to the other Aquas, "help push back the trainers. Tell them they'll be taken back home."
"You realize they hate our guts, right?" said Henry.
"You do your job and I'll do mine," said Archie. "Go!"
Henry walked off the submarine and into the settling crowd. The people weren't trying to stop them anymore; they were actually scared of Team Aqua. Henry had to grin at this, but concentrated on his assignment. Not his assignment with Archie, but someone else entirely.
He walked in a fast pace passed the many people that were pushed against the walls by Team Aqua's Pokémon full force. He passed them, and entered into the ship and went in search.
He searched around calling out his partner's name, trying to find her, but nothing came. After yelling, he started turning over furniture lying around the ship and continued to call, except a little louder than he had been. After quite awhile, a Rocket member appeared behind him. His partner.
"That was long," said Venn, "why don't you try removing some troops now?"
"I don't have command of Team Aqua, Venn," said Henry.
"Still you could have reduced the number here." Venn rolled her eyes. "By the way, not all trainers are above deck. There was one I ran into just a few seconds ago before your sub attacked this place. Henry, I think this place is falling apart." Venn began to explain the situation with the part of the ship she was on. "The section that your sub attacked almost fell away, anymore recklessness and it'll collapse."
"Relax," started Henry, "I was just given the order to retreat everyone back. We're taking some trainers though."
"What?" Venn was shocked. "Are you nuts! Forget it; Team Aqua is always doing crazy things."
"And when I was a permanent Rocket, what did you think I was thinking?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," said Henry. "We're going to leave these trainers at Slateport. You however were capturing those you thought were cursed and most of the time slaughtering them when you found out they weren't." Henry emphasized the word 'cursed' to Venn.
"You have no idea what is going on with Rocket, do you?"
"I was in it long enough to know."
"Only to betray us."
"It was my job. And now my job is to retreat."
"Fine, do what you will. Giovanni has ordered me to retreat my group too."
"So, has the old fool cracked yet?"
"Try saying that to his face."
"I did once."
"When you were supposedly 'dead.'"
"Alright, back to business." Henry pulled out a piece of paper from his back pocket. It was dabbed in red ink of some sort, but still good enough to read. "Our newest course of action is very simple. And with these," he took out the two orbs that he found earlier.
"Where did you get those?" Venn said, jumping back startled to find him with those in possession.
"Not important right now," said Henry. "Anyways, with these in hand, Team Aqua will surely succeed to their intentions. The problem is that they don't know it yet."
"Hey, that's blood," said Venn, pointing to the red ink.
"I had to do something for old friends, and it involved me getting hurt, but nothing big. Back to what I was saying, Team Aqua has no idea how these orbs can get into a big advantage to their plan. I even explained to Archie himself what happened when I found them, and he brushed it off like nothing, not even bothered by it. He doesn't know, and he'll only know if I tell him face-to-face."
"Hmm, the members of Team Aqua were always idiots."
"Alright, enough of that," said Henry, "what about on Rocket's end?"
"Giovanni knows what we're dealing with, and he knows we can't stop this now. We're too weak. We'll have to wait longer. As for project Legend, it's gone far. It might even be done by the next week. Henry, I'm getting really scared now."
"Okay," said Henry as if she didn't say anything important. He knew what Project Legend was, and deep inside, he too was scared. "Did your team manage to—kill—some cursed victims?"
"My team's dead." There was a short silence.
"My god, are you alright?" asked Henry.
"I'm fine. We did receive reports that others managed to capture one of the cursed, but nothing else came from them. It's as if they vanished into thin air."
"I wouldn't be too surprised if they did."
"What?"
Henry kept a paused silence for a second, then started to talk again. "I've been through many close encounters with this curse that curses others. I was lucky never to be caught by it. Out of my experiences, I've seen how this curse captures its unlucky victims. However, it seems to be acting differently, different than before."
"What do you mean?"
Henry sighed. "If you remember, about maybe a month ago or more, the curse attracted its victims by other victims."
"Yeah, so what about that?"
"Lately, which I mean just yesterday, I saw something happen quite different. Venn, someone on this ship was cursed. A trainer, he didn't look like much, but I knew he was cursed."
"How?"
Henry pointed down the hall while holding Venn's shoulder. "Look, down the hall to your left, there's a security room. I kept close watch in there and even set up my own cameras where there weren't any. The curse, I saw it. It appeared right after a boy appeared with a girl out of nowhere on screen. Even more strange was that I knew this boy."
"You did?"
"Yes, I did. And that was only because I knew his brother. When this boy appeared, he destroyed everything in the room. The camera was barely even intact. I informed some teammates about it and they said they would check it out, but they didn't. After that, I just kept watching. It was a stupid thing to do, and I could have saved this new boy that entered the room. After a few seconds, a grown man whom I helped a long time ago helped the boy get out. After that, the curse appeared; full form of misty darkness."
"That's impossible, only the first victim was visited like that, or so says the myths."
"Yes, and I still think I could have saved the boy, but it was too late. The curse stole his Pokéball and cursed him, and then the camera broke. And even after that, I did nothing." He was silent again for a moment, then continued. "But that's not important. The important fact was that the curse got to him without the usual ritual of having another victim curse someone. Strange, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is strange."
There was a noise above deck. The two turned and looked. Nothing. After a few seconds, they dismissed it as trainers struggling against the Aqua members.
"I think we should be leaving now," said Henry.
"You're right," replied Venn.
"I'll be waiting for you at Rustboro, like we promised. Get whatever members of your team that you can to leave and I'll try and keep the Aqua's from seeing your escape. I'll also be getting my members out of here as well."
"Okay."
Henry was about to leave, but was stopped by Venn. "You will be alright, right?" she asked.
"I can't keep a promise, but I'm a professional babe, you know I can do this."
"Yes, but I always worry about you."
"I'll be fine," said Henry, shaking away from Venn. "Look, I'll lead my men to exit from the front of the ship and keep most Aqua members there too. You can escape through the back. Now my question is can you handle that?"
Venn gave a slight nod.
"Good girl. I'll see you in Rustboro in a week." And so Henry left Venn standing alone in the darkness of the ship. She gathered her strength to get the remaining of her teammates.
Light seeped through her eyes. She gathered her strength, but just enough to open them. All she could see was a wall straight ahead covered in moss. She looked around her and saw she was suspended in the air. She was still in the cave. And she soon realized she was upside down.
Amy kicked at an invisible rope and tried to break free. Down was about a hundred feet of emptiness. She didn't want to think about that, all she wanted to do was get out of there. She tried and tried to break free of the ropes, but it was no use.
"Where am I!" Amy screamed, but more as a cry. She kicked and kicked but only succeeded in swinging herself in circles making her dizzy. She had no idea where she was and she didn't know what happened to her friends. That's when a dark liquid-y mist formed up around her.
The mist circled all around her as she struggled against the vines unseen by her eyes. And then it formed right in front of her.
It was a Pokémon, more specifically, an Alakazam. It was strange to have a creature stand before her, when she was over a hundred feet in the air. The Alakazam was floating; nothing was holding it.
Making swift swipes, Amy tried to slash the Pokémon, but it was no use. That's when the Pokémon's eyes started to glow, and Amy felt pain surge through her body. It wasn't the normal pain; this Alakazam was using a psychic attack on her. And to her horror, it was hurting.
"Ahhh!" Amy yelled. "How is this possible!"
Why was a psychic attack hurting her so horribly? She's the one that had the advantage, so why was she being hurt by something that was supposed to be shrugged off by her type?
"I say your part poison," said the Alakazam. "And whatever I say, goes." He continued and Amy screamed even louder. Was it possible that the Alakazam changed her type? The answer seemed apparent, but there was only one way to find out.
Amy used some strength she still had from the psychic attacks and tried to conjure a dark type attack. Nothing happened. When she tried again, the Alakazam kicked her, making her real dizzy.
"How—how—"
"How did I change your type?" said the Alakazam. He gave a short grin. "as long as I'm part of the curse, I have all its powers." He raised his hands with the spoons pointing towards her. They started to bend.
"No—please—! Ahhhhh!" her screams echoed through the entire room, and Amy saw she was defeated. She was still a Sneasel, but she was no longer a dark type. A dark…type?
Amy grew infuriated. This Alakazam had just pushed her over the edge. She gave all she had, and shot a powerful Blizzard at the Pokémon.
The Alakazam made a muffled cry as he was hit, and with this loss of concentration, the only thing that was holding Amy broke away, and she fell.
Amy screamed as she fell down the long hole down. It seemed to be curving inwards to make a spike point at the bottom, and a deadly one too. Tears came to her eyes as she knew she wasn't stopping, and she knew that there was no way that she could be saved by anything now. The ground was coming really fast and Amy lost all hope in surviving. That is, until she stopped three feet above ground.
"Huh—wha—?" Before she could say anything else, she was brought back up. She was going much faster than she was when she fell. She started trying to attack anything to find the strength of whatever was pulling her, as it seemed to be pulling from her leg. She was being pulled upside down.
She stopped when she was level with the Alakazam again. The Alakazam gave an evil grin floating in front of her. Amy tried to attack again, but she couldn't use any ice attacks anymore.
"Unlike you naturally born Pokémon," said the Alakazam, "I learn from my mistakes."
"How did—" Amy struggled with the invisible ropes before speaking again, "—you do that? No psychic I've ever seen could change a Pokémon's type."
"Then again," continued the Alakazam for her, "I'm not your average Pokémon." The Alakazam shot a weak Psychic attack and made Amy yelp in a small surge of pain. "I've been cursed with this thing. And as long as I am," he caused her more pain and then continued, "I have every piece of its power." He stopped making Amy gasp trying to breath.
"No—you're not Pokémon," said Amy. "As a matter of fact, you're not even human you freak-of-nature!" she spat.
The Alakazam's eyes started glowing, but Amy didn't let him get full with power. She was close to him, and close enough to grab a hold of him now. So she did exactly that.
The Alakazam was shocked at the sudden and Amy, knowing now that the Alakazam told her, bit into him as hard as she could. She didn't know if it was work, but if what the Alakazam said was true, then her plan would work. Alakazam's eyes stopped the glowing, and with a jolt, they descended slowly down, then faster and faster.
She was right. According to the Alakazam, she was now a poison type. And poison types weren't poison types without poison. She let go of biting him and felt wetness within her mouth. It was the first time she ever tasted blood that wasn't her own, and she hoped it would be the last.
Amy tried to steady herself on the Alakazam. Each time, he would try and grab Amy with the spoon still at hand, but Amy dodged. She was good at that.
The Alakazam pushed in the air and made the two collide with the wall as they sped towards the ground level. Amy could tell that the Alakazam didn't have enough strength to hover above ground. They were going down.
They crashed at ground level, Amy flying off of him as they bounced. She landed on the floor and hurt herself, and hurt a bone crack. A small tear appeared in her eye as she slowly felt pain jolt. When she turned around, already falling to the floor and lying barely able to stand, the Alakazam's spoon hit her in her forehead. A beam of light shot out and surrounded her as she fell to the floor, finally blown unconscious.
"Uh…"
Words failed him. Charley stared at the crowd of mixed trainers staring back at him. He tried to think of a good excuse, but couldn't come up with any.
Finally, a male trainer stepped up to him. "Dude, what were you doing?"
"Talking," said Charley, rather fast.
"To a Pokémon…that's not even yours?"
"Lay off him," said Nini, stepping in-between them both.
"Just asking a question," said the trainer defensively.
"Well it's not helping the situation."
"Wait Jenny," Charley cut-in. "I've been thinking; maybe it's not such a good idea to keep this curse a secret."
Nini turned to Charley. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm saying that if we keep it a secret, this curse could attack more and more people. They won't be able to stop it, because they won't even know what it is."
Zap entered the conversation at the same time the male trainer did.
"This is true, Charley."
"What are you guys talking about?"
After the trainer said that, the remaining trainers also started to wonder too by giving in their nods.
Charley didn't lose eye contact with Nini. "Come on, the right thing to do is tell."
Nini had to think about this for a moment. A few seconds went by before she sighed, and turned to the crowd.
"My name is Jenny," said Nini, "I am not what you guys may think I am. In other words, I am not human."
Confused voices were heard through the crowd as different trainers said different things like, "is she serious?" or "She's nuts!"
"Believe it," said Charley.
"Anyways," continued Nini, "I've been cursed. So has this trainer here. His name is Charley." Charley waved but didn't smile. "Please listen to me as I'm giving you information that could save your life in the future. You're right," she said pointing to the trainer that first spoke to Charley, "that Jolteon isn't ours. It belonged to a trainer that is in the last stages of the curse, and he could be cursed forever. Charley and I have both surpassed the entire stages and have entered stages we didn't even know existed. Well, at least Charley. I'm still not in my normal self, but I have gotten farther than the curse's first two stages."
A female trainer spoke up. "And what are these so called 'stages?'"
Nini sighed. "The first stage takes you and a selected Pokémon on a rivalry. It fuses you together."
"A hybrid?" said a boy.
"Not exactly. It takes your mind and soul into either the Pokémon or yourself, leaving the dominant living thing to take the form, which means if the Pokémon you're cursed with has a stronger sense of emotion, which it usually does, then the form you take is the Pokémon."
"We turn into Pokémon?" asked the same female trainer before the boy spoke.
"Yes and no. What I mean is that even though, let's say you do become a Pokémon, you can't control the body. It's your Pokémon, so the Pokémon controls his or her own body. You are just pushed into the very back of the brain and are forced to see, feel, and do whatever the Pokémon does. The Pokémon gets tackled in the chest, you feel the pain too. The Pokémon stands alone in the rain; you feel the water dropping on the Pokémon skin, or fur…or scales."
"And if it's the other way around?" asked another trainer.
"Then it's the other way around. The Pokémon is forced to the back of your mind and feels everything you feel."
"How do you know if you've been cursed?" asked the first trainer that had spoken to Charley.
"You'll know. Not all Pokémon pushed to the back of the mind will be very quiet, they'll be anxious. And so would you if you were in the mind of the Pokémon. You'll know because you can hear them when they speak, but only you."
"Right; and what's stage two?"
"I'm not done with stage one yet. Not only will you be put against your own Pokémon, but you will each have to be braver than each other. You'll get nightmares in your sleep, both of you, and the one that cracks first loses."
"Huh?" asked another girl trainer.
"You'll get a nightmare," repeated Nini.
"That doesn't sound too hard to beat," said one trainer.
"Yeah, out of all five hundred human victims of the curse that failed, it probably isn't too hard," said Nini sarcastically.
"Well—I mean—how hard can it be?"
"Extremely," said Charley.
"Well you beat it."
"No," said Charley and Nini in unison.
"What?"
"We didn't beat anything, if we did, then we would've never met each other. I would have no reason to be with him. And I would be me again…" she trailed off. She took a moment of silence and then continued. "Usually, you would get cursed during the day. Then, you would be in fear for the rest of the time until you went to sleep. Then you would have your nightmare. When you're cursed and the sun is going down, the Pokémon you're cursed with can get more emotional than you. That's what makes sure that you lose. If your Pokémon's stronger in emotions, then it's very easy to say you lose. Unfortunately for me, I was cursed during the night, so I went to sleep during the day. I had the nightmare first, so I let my trainer live."
"Your trainer?"
"I was never a human, I was a Pokémon," she said. "A Ninetales to be precise." Murmurs went on, but Nini didn't stop. "When I was in control of my body, amazingly during the day, I left civilization with my trainer trying to talk me out of running, and telling me to go back." She paused again, then continued. "The curse leaves a weapon hidden wherever you go. Not a power, but an actual weapon. It's a shotgun. It makes sure you find it, and when you do, you only have one thing in your mind. If you're the human in the first place, it's that you don't want the Pokémon you're cursed with to suffer. If you're a Pokémon in the first place, which I'm the only one in this room besides Zap," she pointed to the Jolteon behind Charley, "obviously, then you don't want the human to suffer. If you've never met, the bond grows stronger than if you have. When you see this weapon, you will kill yourself."
"Wait a minute," said a trainer, "so if you lost to it, then why are you still alive?"
"It's the second stage," said Nini. "After you're 'dead,' you are transported to the place you were cursed. Only, you aren't you…you're the Pokémon you were cursed with." Charley could barely see it, but to him it looked like Nini was getting to a more emotional part.
"I'll take it from here," said Charley.
"No, I'm fine," countered Nini. "Okay, anyways. Since I was a Pokémon to start with, I was transformed into my trainer, which is exactly what you're seeing." She pointed to herself. "I'm not sure if I'm still cursed or it just forgot about me, but I want to take this thing down before it curses anyone else. And for that, I needed someone who managed to survive the second stage, which is Charley."
"I don't know what's going on," said Charley. "I thought I destroyed the curse, but it's back. I don't know why, but it is."
"Yes, and that's a problem," said Nini.
"So…what did you plan on doing?" asked the girl trainer.
"I don't know," said Charley, "but it at least helps if you guys know." Then, he added, "Oh, and by the way, when you're cursed on the second stage, not only are you now a Pokémon, but the curse will hunt you down to either enslave you," he gulped before saying the rest, "or kill you."
"Okay…" started the first trainer that had talked to Charley earlier, "suppose we believe you."
"You don't believe me?" asked Charley.
"You're giving us a weird story, what do you expect?" there were nods passed in the other trainers as they too said the same. "If this curse is so dangerous and no one could beat, how did you beat it?"
Charley stayed quiet. It wasn't that he didn't have an answer; it's that he didn't want to answer. After a period of silence, the trainer continued.
"Figures, you lied." He turned around and started to walk to the back of the cell. That's when Charley's eyes started glowing. At first, only Zap noticed this, but then the crowd got surprised as suddenly, a card was lifted from the trainer's back pocket. He too was shocked. The card flew towards Charley and he caught it. His eyes stopped glowing and he looked at the card.
"Ralv Voyles?" asked Charley. "What kind of name is that?" Ralv didn't answer. He was too shocked at what he saw. Charley continued. "It says here you only got to battle Sidney of the Elite Four."
"…Th—that's right—how did—?"
"Since I survived the curse, the powers of it came to me. After that, it continued to hunt me, and when I finally supposedly destroyed it, my powers went away." He looked at the card again and sighed. "And now it's after me again. After I destroyed it. Someone I hardly knew was cursed, and I'm not looking forward to having more victims here."
The other female trainer looked at the cell than looked at Charley. "So, you have all this power, and you're not going to break the cell?" That started an uproar in the crowd.
In truth, no, Charley hadn't thought about breaking the cell door. He directed his hand and pointed to the metal bars. His eyes started glowing again and the bars slowly moved by centimeters outward. Charley let out a gasp and the bars slowly came back.
"No!" yelled Ralv, and he jumped to the bars and started pushing against them. Then, he called to the others, "Let's break this thing. Come on!"
The other trainers got together and started to push against the wall and Charley used his powers harder. The door at the other end of the hall opened and an Aqua member walked in.
"'Tha hell?" he said silently, then left the room running. A short moment later, Mightyena came in and started to bark at the trainers, and push against them. More Aqua's rushed in, but didn't do anything. The Pokémon were doing all the work.
"Zap!" yelled Charley," Fry them!"
Zap got behind the crowd of trainers. Yellow sparks flew and coursed throughout his body. In just seconds, Zap let out a Thunderbolt. It hovered and moved fast over the trainers and circled the bars, then went down dodging the trainers as they assaulted the bars and attacked the Mightyena, and they backed away.
Team Aqua members were screaming for their Pokémon to get together and keep the cell from breaking, and they slowly got charged with their own dark attacks. A portal appeared in front of each of them and they jumped in, and seconds later, they jumped out inside the cell.
One of the five Mightyena jumped and lounged at Charley, but right before it could reach him, Nini kicked the dog Pokémon and it flew to the wall.
"Zap, again!" said Charley.
Zap charged his body again, but aimed for the Mightyena in the cell. Charley yelled a last cry and the cell wall fell over. The trainers ran out, some went to the Aqua members to get into a fistfight, while the others headed for the door and hauled ass out of there.
Charley's eyes stopped glowing and he regained himself, then looked around. Just then, a Mightyena jumped on his back and tried to bite him. Before it could even clip him, Zap shocked it.
Charley moved the Mightyena away and got to his feet. "Zap, Nini, let's get out of here!"
Without hesitation, they followed.
Charley ran out the door and stopped. He looked around and then let Nini and Zap out.
"Get out of here!" said Charley, yelling at the trainers still fighting with the Aqua's. Reluctantly, each of the four trainers there ran out of the room, and Charley closed the door. He stepped back and broke the emergency glass that was holding an axe, and then jammed it against the door and the floor, keeping the Aqua's in there from getting out.
Aqua members appeared from either end of the halls surrounding the trainers and Zap. Each was holding an assault rifle. They aimed at the trapped trainers. With quick thinking, Charley's eyes glowed again.
A white flash swam across the room blinding everyone, including the trainers and Zap. Charley pointed to the ceiling at the lights, and darkness consumed the hall.
There was silence. The only light was from Charley's eyes, and they slowly dimmed out.
Then an uproar occurred. Not of screams, but of bullets. From each sides of the hall, flashes of lights illuminated shortly, flashing on and off. Charley pulled Nini to the ground. He could barely see her face. Zap stayed right beside both of them. There were screams of terror from the trainers. Charley couldn't believe how cold Team Aqua was.
He grabbed Nini's hand tight, then reached out for Zap's paw. His eyes started glowing again, and the room got brighter. Charley was concentrating so hard, that he couldn't even see anything anymore but a white blur. He heard Nini gasp, and he felt Zap turn away and bury his head into Charley, but couldn't see.
The white light surrounded them, and Charley teleported Nini and Zap, along with himself, out of there.
He appeared in the next hall above, with the lights on. And now, he didn't want to see a thing. Because he saw now, that covered all over Zap, Nini, and even himself, was a soft spray of fresh human blood.
Houndour groaned. Slowly, he opened his eyes. Again, he saw horror. He yelled a howl of pain. He was pined against a spike filled wire frame, suspended in the air. His fur was stuck to the sheet, and every time he moved he hurt himself. But he fought the pain, and stood on all fours over the sheet, struggling.
Below him was a long distance down. He could hear machines churning. The wire frame connected to the walls to create a firm ground. Firm, but painful. Spikes stuck up giving him limited options to run, or else he would hurt himself.
Where am I, was his first thought. That was even the thought he had when he was being strapped to the machine that tried to kill him.
Houndour looked up and saw a tunnel of darkness. There were no exits; it was just a room with death written all over it. Rocks and other sharp turns were everywhere. It was just another caveish entrance.
Sss—sss—ss.
Houndour looked around startled, searching for the sound. He tried very carefully to make sure that he didn't hurt himself in the process.
He felt movement. There was obviously something else in the room.
"Wh—who's out there?" he called out.
That's when he saw it. A purple shadowy figure slithered down the walls. Each time it got closer, it got clearer.
Houndour tried to see through the darkness, then used instinct. He used Leer to scare the thing away. Or, that's what he told himself. What he probably really wanted to do was find out what it was.
Finally, it showed its huge body. Seeing it, Houndour would've skipped back, but he was standing on a sharp floor and didn't want to get into even more pain incase he had to get a getaway plan. It retracted back into darkness.
"Ss—sss—soooo, how do you like it here?" asked the creature.
"Sh—show yourself," said Houndour, shakily. He stopped using Leer and stared into the darkness, not moving.
The creature used its own Leer, and then jumped out of darkness. It crawled and slithered on the floor, ignoring the pain from the spikes, and wrapped itself around Houndour. It was an Arbok
Before Houndour could try anything, the Arbok bit into his fur, poisoning him. He screamed at the pain, then let loose his own fire attacks.
The Arbok threw him to a wall and he collapsed on the barbwire floor. Very painful.
"Ah!" Houndour yelped, but tried to hold the pain in.
"You know—sss," said the Arbok, "you would've been out of here—sss—, but you decided to go again—sss—t u—sss."
Houndour didn't want to waste his energy talking. He tried to avoid talking. But, the Arbok wouldn't let him get out of it.
It slithered all the way to him and wrapped him again. It started to squeeze him tightly. He could barely breathe anymore.
"Maybe it wa—sss—n't a good idea to bring your friend—sss—into your sss—plicing room."
Houndour coughed. "My what?" his energy was going away. He felt the poisoning taking a great effect. It didn't help when the Arbok tightened itself around him. He made a soft groan.
No, he thought. I'm not gonna die here. I'm getting out of here no matter what!
He had to make a decision, fast. It was either he bit the Arbok, or he fired it. He already tried burning, and it somewhat worked.
So that's what he did. His eyes ran with fury and he blasted fire out of his mouth and ignited the cave. The Arbok loosened its grip on him and he fell to the floor. Painfully.
He stopped and looked around, not trying to step on top of the barbwire. The fire caught on everything. The floor was now a torch with fire blazing. The Arbok had extracted back into darkness above, but it was still visible. And then it pounced again.
It gave a screech and sprung itself from the ceiling to the wire floor. Houndour jumped out of the way just as it hit the floor of the barbwire, and broke through it.
The whole lit stages of fire broke away making Houndour lose his balance and also fall into the darkly lit bottomless pit.
He was barely able to see, and that was from someone who stayed in darkness for most of his time. Though, he did see something clearly. It was the Arbok.
He tried moving out of the reaches of the Arbok's snaps. They fell and weren't stopping.
Using its aerodynamics, the Arbok made itself straight and pushed itself to the wall. It was able to slither at a high speed once it gripped it. It stayed at the distance and speed that Houndour was falling.
Then, it pushed itself against the wall and sprang out to Houndour. They squirmed in the air for awhile, and then light started to appear from the bottom.
There was a sound of a machine churning below them, and it got louder and louder the more the two squirmed and fell.
Right below them, metal chains crossed each other over and over again. Houndour and Arbok fell right into the chains.
The chains acted as nets. Right when both of them hit the chains, they were caught in them.
Ow, thought Houndour. At least it's better than being stuck in the barbwire.
The Arbok regained its composure and shot out for Houndour, with its teeth reached out ready to sink into him. Houndour didn't really have a chance to run or fight back, so he dug under.
Using his paws, he brought one of the chains up and with the other paw did the same. He was only able to bring three chains up when the Arbok came and charged a bite, but he managed to dodge the bite using the chains as a shield.
He kept digging and managed to get his whole body under the chains and safe from the reach of the Arbok. That didn't last long.
The Arbok snatched the chains and broke through them. Houndour had two options: fight, or keep digging. So he chose to keep on hiding.
He shoved the chains up with his paws and kept going under. Again he was covered by the mass of chains and again the Arbok tried to reach for him. He dug and dug, until finally, the chains began to swing loose.
A hole was made big enough for the Arbok to fall in, so it did so. Houndour was no longer trying to go under, the chains were pulling him too fast. They were hurting him.
Using his dark powers, he tried to break the chains, or at least get out of them easily.
The Arbok gave one bite to reach for Houndour, but was caught by the chains. Instead, it got more tangled by the metal.
Houndour wasn't doing so well either. Each of his tries got him more stuck with the chains.
Then, the Arbok used its Acid and broke free of the chains. It started to fall downward to more chains, but got a hold of Houndour by the mouth.
Houndour screamed in pain and got himself untangled and they both fell through the chains and went down to more chains.
As they fell and tried to hold the swinging chains, they saw machines on all sides. There were oversized gears, even bigger than them, everywhere and turning at a fast pace. Small sparks of fire emitted from each grind that the gears sounded.
Just as they passed another wall of chains, Houndour grabbed one and got himself tangled again. The Arbok let go of him and got itself onto one of the chains. It glared at Houndour from its spot, then sprang itself up to him.
Houndour moved in the chains and managed to dodge out of the way, but the Arbok caught one of the chains next to him. It got ready to charge again.
Houndour struggled to get out of the chains doing whatever he could. He shot a Flamethrower attack and broke the chains holding him. The Arbok jumped.
At the same moment, Houndour let himself fall and was caught by more chains. The Arbok got tangled into the chains and pushed itself to the other side. It landed on the gears.
The Arbok looked down at Houndour and again tried to do another spring. It didn't work this time. The chains kept it held, and they were being squished into the gears. The Arbok suddenly realized its situation and started to panic. It started to throw Acid, but by then, it was too late. The chains pulled the Arbok into the gears, and it was squished into it, throwing whatever it had inside, out.
Houndour thought he was safe. He thought he could finally get out of there and find a way back to the girls. But unfortunately, the little bits of Acid that the Arbok had thrown, fell to his chains, and on him.
He moved and screamed as the pain struck him. The chains broke loose and he fell again, but like before, was caught. There was still poison inside him, getting him tired by the minute.
The chains got caught in a gear, and started to pull him in. he could do nothing now. He was barely able to move not only because of the poison, but the chains were keeping him in place.
No, he thought, I must fight this! I can't die here! I can't!
So he gave one last struggle. The chains pulled him closer. He tried and tried. Hope didn't disappear from his eyes, but he knew it was helpless. The chains pulled him closer, and closer, and then…
Ghost struggled through his restraints. It wasn't as much as a struggle before. His mind was already being taken away, and being replace by a mind that would forever be on Aqua's side. An Aqua grunt ran in, followed by a Flareon.
"Sir," he started, "the trainers are getting out."
"What?" asked the confused scientist.
"The trainers, sir. They're breaking out of their cell."
The Aqua scientist got out of his seat and walked to the Aqua grunt. "What are you talking about?"
"Take a look for yourself; I'm just here to tell you. And of course, use the current Pokémon that you've got on our side."
"There are currently no new Pokémon here, you'll have to wait. How's the Flareon?"
Rachel looked up at the scientist, with a face showing uncertainty. The scientist sighed, and said, "She wasn't fully transferred to our side, you know. I'll have to do it again with her later."
Suddenly, there was a sudden shake. It lasted for just a second, but it left the two silent for a bit.
"Shit," said the Aqua member, "I'm guessing something bad just happened."
"Ya think?" said the scientist sarcastically.
The Team Aqua grunt looked at the scientist straight in the eye. "Okay, when that Sableye is fully converted, but this Flareon to finish." He started to walk away.
"Where are you going?" asked the scientist.
"I'm on duty," the Aqua grunt replied, "gotta stop some trainers now, later!" he ran off.
Rachel was about to follow the Aqua grunt down the hall, but the scientist picked her up. "Come on, you're coming with me."
The Flareon struggled, but the scientist kept a firm grip. He closed the door to his little office and turned to the Sableye on the table.
The scientist walked passed the table and went to a desk, where he got a leash and tied it around Rachel's neck and then walked to a chair and tied the other end of the leash there.
"Alright," said the scientist. "Uh, just stay put."
Rachel didn't move. The scientist smiled.
He brought the rolling chair and sat next to the table with the Sableye on it. The lights flickered for a bit, then became a more violent flicker.
"Huh?" he said out loud. He turned sharply and accidentally knocked over the life support system that was helping Ghost. It pulled and the strings attached to him were pulled off forcefully because of the fall.
"Shit," said the scientist. He reacted quickly. Ghost struggled for a bit saying some words in his language, but the scientist ignored them. He picked up the cases and put them on top of the table just as the flickering stopped.
Ghost's jewel eyes flashed and gleamed coldly at the scientist.
"What—?" the scientist didn't get to finish. Ghost flipped himself into a standing position and then kicked the scientist in the face when he was helpless.
The scientist fell over the chair and landed on the floor, holding his nose as it started to bleed. He looked into the Sableye's eyes, and saw that something was wrong. Ghost was cured, but he wasn't fully on their side yet. He was just given his top notch strength. This was bad, not only for the scientist, but for the owner, if they ever met.
Rachel looked at the scientist then jumped to him, but was held back by the leash. She growled at it, then growled at Ghost. She had the face of 'If you hurt him your dead.'
Ghost paid no attention to her. Instead, he jumped to the other side of the table and grabbed one of the many scalpels there. He turned around, with the sharpest one in his hand, and looked dead cold at the scientist.
"No—don't!" pleaded the scientist.
Ghost ran over the table and was near the scientist, then jumped, with the scalpel aimed right at his head.
Rachel due to not having the full dosage like Ghost, but still having more of it, only had one thing crossing her mind. Master…in danger…must…protect.
She threw a Flamethrower attack at Ghost right before he hit the scientist, and Ghost was pushed by the force to the wall. He quickly got up and stared with dead eyes at Rachel. Then, he leaped.
Rachel jumped to the side and Ghost crashed right beside her. Her eyes showed fiery as again, he was getting up. This time, he was in her range, so she tackled him to the ground.
They struggled, and the scientist was getting a Pokémon cage ready along with a Pokéball to capture the Sableye. He didn't want to do that, because then it would interrupt the Pokémon just as it was getting to their side. So he only had the Pokéball incase an emergency did happen and he needed something to save him, fast.
He got besides the two fighting Pokémon. Ghost noticed this, and got up to face the scientist. Rachel was about to tackle Ghost again, but was kept back by the leash. She started to bite at the leash, hoping to get loose.
"St—stay there like a good Pokémon," stammered the scientist.
Ghost growled. Quietly, the scientist opened the cage. He opened it very carefully so the hinges didn't make any sound. Ghost started to make a light ball on his hand. He had it there, and the room was soon washed once with the light. The light filled with darkness. Ghost was making a Shadow Ball.
He got ready to toss it, but seconds before, Rachel jumped right on him. She had cut through the leash. Ghost pushed her a good two feet away with his legs and the Shadow Ball faded into him. He stood up and the scientist jammed the cage down.
Ghost dodged the cage and slide to the scientist's knees. He scratched one of them on the patella, making blood ooze out, and the other he kicked.
The scientist screamed an agonizing pain and fell to the floor. Ghost stood and was ready to finish him. That's when Rachel came to the rescue again.
She pushed Ghost and they collided with the table wall. The table was on rolling wheels, so it moved as they crashed into it.
Ghost again pushed Rachel aside, but she regained her balance easily and charged again.
Meanwhile, the scientist crawled out of the way of the two fighting Pokémon and tried to get to the door. His wound was swelling up and more blood was visible on his torn slacks. He did a sort of crab-walk to stop the pain from getting worse, but it kept hurting him.
Finally, he reached the door. He used the wall to get up and saw the two Pokémon's fight getting closer to him. Right when he stood on his two feet, he opened the door, to find two trainers and a Jolteon right outside.
"What are you—?"
"Duck!" yelled Charley, interrupting the scientist. He pushed the scientist to the floor and made his knee hurt even more. His two companions got out of the way and a huge firewall emitted from above them. The scientist screamed in pain, not of the fire, but because of his knee.
The fight had just gotten more dangerous.
Quickly, Zap jumped over the scientist and ran over to the two Pokémon, which now stared at each other positioned triangular stile from each other.
Zap tried to utter the words Ghost, but ended up staying quiet for finally being able to be close to Rachel, again.
Rachel snapped out of her Aqua mind, shaking her head, and saw Zap. She was unable to move. The fighting had subsided. Even Ghost didn't know what to do anymore. Silence from the three.
Groggily, she awoke. She looked around her. Slowly, she got up on all fours, but slipped to the floor again. The ground was slippery.
"Uh…" she groaned. She felt the floor with her left paw, and started to rub. Wetness.
She brought her paw up to see clearly, and saw a dirty brown covered paw. For a moment, she had memory loss, but then regained it. She was Umbreon. She had no idea how she got there.
A low growl emitted from the shadows. Quickly, she turned a full tilt and looked to find anything that could even speak.
"Hello?" she called out. "Who's there?"
That's when she heard something. It started off small, but it gradually grew stronger. She didn't want to be caught in some kind of death trap, so she moved as fast as she could. She stood as much as she could, and tried to run to the sides.
The noise became louder. What's that sound? she thought. She pondered on what could make such a resonance.
Wet grounds. What happened; was she put there with the wet, or was she dumped along with it?
Wet.
Wet meant water.
Where was there water?
She made a wry face as she found out what exactly was the noise. It was rushing water.
She looked all around her and searched for the invisible water. There was none. Yet, the noise got louder and louder.
Umbreon looked this way and that, trying to find the source. There still was nothing. So she did the only logical thing. She ran.
Slightly slipping, she ran across the wet muddy floor. The hall seemed to stretch on forever, but alas, she reached an intersection.
Here, the water was the loudest. She looked in each direction, trying to spot any sign of water. That's when a drop of water tapped her on her forehead.
Slowly, she looked up, and gasped. There was a wall of water thrashing in every corner of the ceiling. It was a whole current, except it was flowing upside down.
Umbreon backed away into one of the corner walls, and kept staring up. Piles of water flowed against each other in the ceiling. She turned away, and looked in the different halls.
Darkness was starting to pack up the halls. Suddenly, all the lighting that had been illuminating all the rocks closed, and she was alone in a four way intersection, with only one stream of light shining down on her.
The water stopped thrashing. For a second, everything was quiet. Until the water started to slam each other. Not like the way they were moments ago, but crashing in fallings. She looked up.
The water fell from the ceiling. Umbreon gave a silent cry, and was about to be crushed under the pressure of the water. She gave out a Faint Attack. A dark portal appeared above her and water lapsed in, but the rest of the chunks of water fell in all corners. She was surrounded by water.
She let go of her Faint Attack and was thrust to the wall by the water. She was lucky for the faint attack, if not, she would have been crushed.
She paddled away in the water trying to grasp air. She was tugged under by the force of the water, but she swam back up.
She reached the surface and made another grasp for air. The water steadied and Umbreon was able to relax a little. The halls had been filled with water halfway up. She couldn't touch the floor.
Quickly, she looked at her surroundings. She wondered what she was going to do next.
There was a slight splash in the sudden silence. She turned around, and looked in the darkness. Nothing.
Light filled the halls again, showing more and more rows of halls. The water was becoming a dark brown color due to the mud.
Umbreon felt something. She felt that there was something in the water with her, but she couldn't see it. She didn't have frustration; she was too busy getting feelings that were part of being scared.
She tried to see if she could catch a glimpse of anything in the water, but still, there was nothing. She turned and looked down one corner, and gasped. A bump in the water down one hall was coming straight towards her.
Umbreon swam hard. She thrashed in the water and swam as fast as she could. She got to one of the other halls just as the wave passed her, but it stopped right in the middle, and disappeared. Because of the dirty water, she couldn't see what it was.
She didn't turn away from looking at the spot. There was nothing else happening in the water. Still, she refused to stare away.
She felt heat go through her entire body. She felt a warm sensation on her back, but mostly in her head. She shook it away, but she couldn't. That's when she realized, it wasn't a feeling. Something was breathing down on her.
She frantically turned around and saw a big mouth with razor sharp teeth partnering besides her. It rose and Umbreon screamed, trying to swim away. It was a Gyarados.
It gave out a loud roar that shook the place, then jumped back into the water. Umbreon swam as fast as she could to get away from the creature. Normally, she probably would have beaten it, but she was in the water, and couldn't fight.
She swam down the opposite hall and passed the lights shining down on her. Again, the bump of water started, except way behind her. It was coming, fast. So Umbreon did the only thing she could do: swim faster.
The fact that she was a four legged animal wasn't helping her. But nonetheless, she didn't give up.
A few feet before the Gyarados reached Umbreon, the wave disappeared. Umbreon turned around and didn't see anything. But she felt the water behind her rise.
The Gyarados rose from the water and roared again, ready to strike. It headed right for the water, and Umbreon just nimbly got away from the splash. She caught the Gyarados's top horn by her teeth, and was pulled underwater along with the beast.
She could barely see underwater, but she climbed by holding on harder, and gripping as hard as she could onto the Gyarados with her paws. Her rings began to glow. A fury was growing inside of her.
The Gyarados rose above water in a jump and at that second, Umbreon got the time to give out a loud screech at the monster, then breathe again as they went back into the water.
Under the water, Umbreon kept her eyes closed. When she opened them, they were purple. The brown muddy water also became purple. Umbreon couldn't see it, but the Gyarados was getting worried. It jumped out of the water again, but unsuccessful. It slammed into the wall, and fell down again, almost knocking Umbreon off, and crashing into the water.
She had given it a Confuse Ray.
As it slammed into the water, she was scratched around her right leg. For a second, the Gyarados just drifted, but then dove back into the water in life. Umbreon bit into the horns and grabbed on tight.
At this point underwater, the rings became the most brightest they've ever been. When the Gyarados jumped out of the water, through the cut on Umbreon's right leg, she released something she kept hidden most of the times. Umbreon swung herself in front of the beast, right in front of the mouth, and released her poison.
Quickly, she jumped out of the way, and into the water. The Gyarados jumped into the water too. When Umbreon looked down, she realized what was happening.
Her cut, little by little, gave out poison into the water. Whatever would happen, she knew that the Gyarados wouldn't be able to defeat her. It was dying because of the poison in the water. Then, it jumped out of the water.
The Gyarados crashed into the walls of the hall and made rocks fall over to the floor. It jumped back into the water.
It jumped out and Umbreon had to swim away as it crashed into the walls some more, and made more rocks fall. It continued this process.
In and out, in and out, it made a long rampage. Each time, Umbreon had to dodge falling rocks. She swam for her life.
Jump after jump, the halls were breaking down. The water had gotten very rough, making it hard for Umbreon to swim away from falling rocks.
She dodged and dodged, until one rock finally was going to be a direct hit. She had no time to dodge the rock, she had no time to save her life. So she did what she thought would be her last move. She used Faint Attack.
The portal appeared in front of the rock and disappeared. Umbreon concentrated on where it was going to be released. She let it go, and at the right time.
The Gyarados was about to fall back into the water, but the rock smacked right into the head, breaking all three horns.
It fell into the water, and didn't move. Gyarados couldn't survive without those horns. It slowly drifted into the water, and Umbreon knew what was going to happen next. It would bleed to death.
The water was calming, but as it did, she slammed into a wall. She screamed in pain as her leg was caught in one of the rocks. Then she heard movement above. She looked up.
There was a boulder size rock, and it was about ready to fall. Umbreon tried hard to get out, but couldn't. the boulder got looser and looser, and then, fell over.
Hah! Finally done! Just a little something though for those who are wondering about Umbreon being able to unleash poison, look at the Pokémon: Gold version Pokedex entrée. This is what it says:
When agitated, this Pokémon protects itself by spraying poisonous sweat from its pores.