Chapter 29: Pure Terror
Roku's P.O.V.
Outside Ecruteak City
"Go, Luna! Use Quick Attack!"
Luna launched herself forward at her opponent at a speed that surprised the Fire-type legend, and slammed into him, knocking him back slightly.
"Ggh! Not bad, little one," Entei taunted. "But I'm no pushover. Fire Spin!"
Entei shot out a ring of fire from his mouth, surrounding Luna in a vortex of fire. But I could see that Luna wasn't afraid, and that she was waiting for the next order.
"Let's go with our new tactic!" I shouted. "Luna, Feint Attack!"
Luna's body grew dark, and she phased through the wall of flames, dashing at Entei and striking him with amazing force. The legend slid across the ground slightly, then looked at Luna in amazement.
"I see you're more than just brawn," Entei said. "But can you finish the fight?"
"No problem!" Luna said confidently, her rings flashing.
"Go now! Feint Attack!" I shouted.
"Ember!" Entei roared.
The Pokémon launched their attacks, both taking considerable damage from the other, but neither one of them were backing down. I could already tell that this was going to be a long battle.
Just then, the mood was broken by a call coming across on my P*DA. I looked down at my wrist, contemplating on whether or not I should take the call or not.
"You'd better get that," I heard Luna say. "It could be Reia."
I nodded and accepted the call. "Hello?"
A holographic picture of Reia shimmered into view and said, "Roku! You're OK!"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered.
"Well, you could've called me!" Reia shouted, her anger taking over. "I thought you were dead!"
"Sorry, I kinda got caught up in something," I said. "You weren't too worried about me, were you?"
"You're dead when you get back," Reia threatened. "Where are you, anyway?"
"Who are you, my mom?" I scowled. "I'm on a hill somewhere outside the city, having a battle with an Entei."
"With a WHAT?!" Reia shouted. "Where'd you find an Entei?!"
"Oh, he and Suicune came by and rescued me from the Burned Tower," I said. "The room was filled with a horde of Gastly and Haunter who were filling the room with a fatal gas. I blacked out, but once I woke up, I was on a hill outside the city."
"Wow, lucky you," Reia said. "Anyway, I'll let Cedric know you're OK. And remember, we still have a Gym Battle to go to."
"Oh, yeah, that's right!" I said. "I'll be down there in a bit."
I hung up and turned to Entei, saying, "Sorry, but I've gotta call off this battle."
"Your girlfriend calling you back?" Entei said calmly.
"She's NOT my girlfriend!" I shouted. Entei chuckled.
"Relax, human. I'm not trying to make assumptions," Entei said. "Anyway, we could take you back to the city if you'd like."
"Really? That'd be great," I said.
"OK," Entei said, turning to Suicune. "You, take the kid back to the city."
"Me?! Why do I have to do it?!" Suicune whined.
"Ugh, I'm not a kid! I'm 17!" I said defensively.
"I carried his weight out of the tower," Entei said. "So you can carry it to the town."
"Ugh, fine," Suicune said, stepping up to me. "Mount me, human."
I cocked my eyebrow and smiled at what Suicune said. Suicune caught on immediately and blushed.
"Th-That's not what I meant!" she said nervously.
I laughed and said, "I'm kidding! I know what you meant." I stepped up and climbed onto Suicune's back, and after hoisting Luna up as well, we bounded down to the western gate out of the city, where she dropped us off.
"Thanks, Suicune," I said, hopping off.
"You're welcome, Roku," she said, nodding. "Just be more careful next time. We could watch over you to make sure you don't get into any danger, if that's what you'd like."
"Uh, I appreciate the gesture, but I'll be fine on my own," I said. "Besides, if I had a mother figure watching over me all the time, it wouldn't be a real journey."
"Haha, very well," Suicune laughed. "Farewell, Roku. I wish you well on your journey."
"Farewell to you as well, Suicune," I replied. "I hope you stay safe."
We nodded at each other and went our separate ways, me farther into the city and Suicune bounding back into the forest. A few minutes later, we found Reia and a new Pokémon I hadn't seen before waiting beside the Gym. It was a tall and slender fox creature with lush golden fur and nine flowing tails.
"Whoa, who's the new partner?" I asked, impressed.
"Very funny, Roku," the Pokémon said, laughing.
"Whoa, Lyra, is that you?!" Luna said in surprise.
"So you finally decided to use the Fire Stone, huh?" I said.
"Ah, actually, I didn't do it," Reia said sheepishly. "Lyra did it on accident when I was digging around in my bag. The Fire Stone fell out right in front of her, and…well, you get it."
"Well, it's not such a bad thing," I said. "Lyra will be a hell of a lot stronger. The only problem is learning new moves."
"We've got someone to help her with that," Luna said. "I bet Braixen can teach her a thing or two."
"Anyway, we've got a Gym Battle to win," I said. "Let's move."
Reia nodded, and we stepped into the Ecruteak Gym for our fourth Gym Battle.
Darius' P.O.V.
Route 29
Darius sat out near the southern gate of Ecruteak City, out of view, making sure that no one had tailed him out of the city. Once he saw that no one was following him, he sat back and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phew…that's the last thing I need," he said to himself. "The cops to find me and find out who I am."
Darius looked back into the city from the tree he was perched in. As he did, he couldn't help wondering if Roku had made it out alive.
"I wonder if he's OK…?"
Darius shook the thought out of his head. Why was he thinking about that weakling?! He could die in a pit for all he cared! However, when he got to thinking about it, Roku was one hell of a battler. But how was he better? What made Roku stronger than him, the world's strongest Trainer?
"He won't be for long," Darius said to himself. "I will defeat him, and I will become the strongest Trainer."
Roku's P.O.V.
Ecruteak City Gym
We stepped into the Gym, and I began to feel nervous. The entire area was dark, but not enough to require Flash, and I knew that this would make the leader's Ghost-type Pokémon stronger.
But it's also gonna make my Dark-type Pokémon stronger, too, I thought, looking at Luna.
"Hiya, Roku, Reia!" Stan said, appearing from the darkness. "Here for your next Gym Battle?"
"That's right," I said. "Any advice?"
"Well, you know all about Ghost-type Pokémon, right?" Stan began. "They're weak to Ghost- and Dark-type moves, but Morty's Pokémon are also Poison-type Pokémon. Best to keep a Psychic-type Pokémon on you as well."
"Thanks," I said with a smile. "Let's get started."
"You got it!" Stan said, then got onto his P*DA. "Morty! You got two challengers for a Double Battle. Grab a partner and let's get started."
Reia and I walked onto the battlefield, where a blonde-haired man and a Medium stood.
"I take it that you are my challengers?" the man said, whom I assumed was Morty.
"That's right," I said. "I'm Roku, and this is Reia."
"I'm Morty, leader of this Gym," he introduced. "My partner here is named Lucia."
"Pleased to meet you, young one," the aged Medium said, locking her eyes onto mine. Then she gasped all of a sudden.
"Morty…these two…they're Legend Keepers!" Lucia said.
"Legend Keepers, eh?" Morty said, cocking an eyebrow. "That'll make this interesting. Let's get started."
We took our places on the battlefield. Stan stepped up on the sidelines and announced the start of the match.
"This will be a 3-on-3 battle!" Stan shouted. "The team with the most Pokémon standing is the winner! Only the challenger may substitute Pokémon! Are you ready?!"
We all nodded, pulling out our Poke Balls.
"Send out your first Pokémon!" Stan shouted.
"Go get 'em, Luna!" I shouted, sending my partner in.
"Lyra, spotlight!" Reia said, sending the gorgeous Ninetales into battle.
The two Ghost-type Trainers sent out two Gastly to start out. I wasted no time in making the first move, ordering Luna to use Feint Attack. Lyra was ordered to use Flame Burst, a move I didn't know she even had, to deal damage to both Pokémon. Lucia's Gastly was quickly defeated, and was replaced with a Misdreavus.
"Gastly, use Mean Look!" Morty shouted.
Morty's Pokémon bean to give both Luna and Lyra the evil eye, and I already knew what he was trying to do. Mean Look prevents the opponent from changing Pokémon, but I wasn't worried. Unless one of his Pokémon had something that could totally cripple Luna, we were going to win this match pretty easily.
Our onslaught continued with Lyra running in with a Feint Attack of her own, removing Lucia's Misdreavus from the picture. Lucia replaced it with a Haunter, and right once that happened, Luna had slammed Morty's Gastly with another Feint Attack, defeating him.
"Well, then…time to amp this up," Morty said, sending out his Haunter. I took the opportunity to switch Luna out with Braixen.
"Go, Braixen! Psybeam!" I ordered.
"Haunter, Shadow Ball!" Morty shouted.
The two attacks connected and caused an explosion, giving Braixen a cover as he prepared his next attack. He burst through the cloud with Flame Charge, but Haunter was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Lyra had her hands full, for Lucia's Haunter was moving quick and attacking with Shadow Claw.
"Lyra, get out of there!" Reia said frantically.
"Braixen! Switch targets!" I shouted. "Cover Lyra!"
Braixen nodded and dashed to the side just as Morty's Haunter fired off another Shadow Ball, and tackled Lyra out of the way before Lucia's Haunter's attack connected. Braixen stood up and helped Lyra to her feet.
"Thanks…again," Lyra said, blushing.
"No problem," Braixen said.
"You will not escape!" Haunter shouted, flying at Braixen with Shadow Claw.
"Braixen! Psy—"
"Lyra, Flamethrower!" Reia interrupted.
Lyra stepped in front of Braixen and blew a mighty breath of flame at the unsuspecting ghost, engulfing him in fire and frying him to unconsciousness. That meant Lucia was out of the battle, and all that was left was Morty.
"Lyra…where'd you learn to do that?!" Braixen said, impressed.
"I had a bit of help from the Dragon Master and his Charizard," Lyra said.
I looked at Reia for some enlightenment, for I didn't know what Lyra was talking about.
"She means Lance," Reia clarified. "Right after Lyra's accidental evolution, Lance gave me a quick training exercise before I headed out to the Gym. He managed to help Lyra 'awaken her true flame', as he called it."
"Well, then, I guess we don't have anything to worry about," I said, smiling. "Let's fry us some ghosts."
Braixen and Lyra nodded and faced Morty's Haunter before launching their attacks, Lyra razing him with Flamethrower and Braixen smashing him with Flame Charge. Haunter slammed into the stadium wall, fainted.
"Yeah! Only one more left!" I shouted.
"I'm impressed that you got this far," Morty said, smiling. "But I'm afraid I must defeat you now. Beating Trainers like you will get me one step closer to meeting the Legendary Pokémon!"
"As cool as that sounds, I'm afraid the odds are a little stacked against you," I countered. "We didn't exactly plan to lose when we stepped in here."
"That's right!" Reia said aggressively. "If you wanna win, you've gotta work for it!"
"Very well…" Morty said, pulling out his final Poke Ball. "Gengar, battle stance!"
Morty threw the ball and released one of the most feared Ghost-type Pokémon in the world. I wasn't afraid, however, since Braixen could still force out a win even against a strong Pokémon like Gengar.
"Now, Gengar! Mean Look!" Morty shouted.
The field locking move took effect once again, and Lyra and Braixen made their moves, firing off their beam attacks, Flamethrower and Psybeam. Gengar used Shadow Sneak, however, and slid underneath the attacks, completely avoiding damage.
"Now, use Hypnosis!" Morty shouted.
The Shadow Pokémon's gaze sharpened, and soon enough, our Pokémon dropped to the ground, fast asleep. I pulled out Braixen's Poke Ball, but then I realized that Mean Look was in effect, and we were practically sitting ducks. Reia and I watched in horror as Gengar repeatedly attacked our Pokémon to the point where we weren't aware if they were fainted or dead.
"Braixen!"
"Lyra!"
Just then, the doors burst open with a roar and a Dragon Pulse, searing between Reia and I to connect with Gengar and knock him back to his side of the field. I looked back to the direction the attack came from to see Latias, her mouth smoking.
"Latias!" I said in surprise. "You shouldn't be moving around just yet. You need to rest."
"Oh, can it. I'm fine," Latias said, showing me her neck, which surprisingly didn't have a scar. "Cedric didn't want you taking advantage of my power to defeat Morty."
Almost as if on cue, Cedric ran in, breathing heavily.
"Damn, you can fly!" he huffed, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "I didn't expect you to be THAT fast!"
I facepalmed and said, "What do you expect for a Pokémon who can overtake jet fighters?"
"Either way, I'm involved in this fight now," Latias said, hovering to the field.
"I can't let you," Cedric said. "Not yet."
"It's fine, Cedric," Morty said, stopping him. "Besides, it'll be the first real challenge I've had since…well, forever."
"You sure, Morty?" Cedric said. "Roku beat me on his first try, something few Legend Keepers can boast. He's good."
"I'll leave that for fate to decide," Morty said. "If Latias wants to fight beside her partner, she's free to. But I'll be bringing something new to the table as well."
With that remark, Morty held up a wrist to reveal none other than a Mega Bracelet. I laughed and held up my Mega Bracelet as well, causing Morty to raise his eyebrows.
"What, you thought you were the only one who could use Mega Evolution?" I asked.
"No, I just didn't expect one so young as you to have already mastered it," Morty said. "You just keep surprising me, young Legend Keeper."
"Then let's cut the surprises and get down to business," I said coolly.
Morty nodded, and we touched our Key Stones, unlocking the amazing power within our souls and Mega Evolving our partners. Reia sent out her Eevee as a backup, but I could already tell that she wasn't going to get a chance to fight.
"I know I'm not going to be able to match his power," Reia said, "so Eevee and I'll provide support as best as we can."
"Thanks," I said. Then I faced Morty and his Mega Gengar, smirking.
"Let's see who really deserves to walk with the legends!" Morty shouted.
"You took the words right out of my mouth!" I shot back. "Latias, Mist Ball!"
"Gengar, Shadow Ball!"
Latias and Gengar's energy attacks slammed into each other, causing another massive explosion and another cloud of smoke, allowing for both Pokémon to prepare for their attacks. Latias wasn't wasting any time, though, immediately flying through the cloud to fire a Dragon Pulse at the unsuspecting Gengar.
"Gengar, use Shadow Sneak!" Morty shouted.
Gengar recovered and sank into the ground, sneaking over to Latias, who just said "Neener neener" and floated out of his range.
"Hey! No fair, you can't just do that!" Gengar shouted kiddishly.
"I'm not breaking the rules of engagement, am I?" Latias said, smiling devilishly.
I just laughed and said, "OK, Latias, quit screwing around and let's end this."
Latias looked down at me and huffed. "Aw, come on! I'm just having fun!"
"Well, how about we have fun destroying our 4th Gym Leader?" I said, thrusting a hand forward. "Finish it with Mist Ball!"
Latias nodded and charged up her attack as best as she could before firing the orb at Gengar. It slammed into the Mega Evolved Ghost Pokémon, dealing massive damage and knocking him unconscious. Morty was absolutely astounded, his expression becoming one of disbelief as Gengar devolved.
"Mega Gengar is unable to battle!" Stan shouted. "The winner is Mega Latias! The victory goes to Roku Kimura and Reia Sakurai!"
"Aw, yeah! That's how we do it!" I shouted victoriously.
"We did it!" Reia cheered, sharing in the moment.
Morty eventually composed himself and walked over, handing us our 4th Gym Badge, the Fog Badge.
"It seems like I'm not truly ready to walk alongside the legendary Pokémon yet," Morty said. "But you, Roku, are a different story. I will be training, and I hope you come back one day to fight me." Morty held out a hand, a smile on his face.
"I'll take you up on that," I said, shaking his hand. Morty and I nodded at each other, and we left, Latias in her human camouflage. The evening sun lit up the town a little bit, giving it a slight orange glow.
"Cedric says we can stay at the HQ tonight to get some R&R before we continue our journey," Reia informed me.
"Yeah," I agreed. "It wouldn't be a wise idea to take off in our condition." I thought about our Pokémon as I said this, and I knew that Reia was hoping Lyra was OK. I was hoping the same thing for Braixen.
We continued to the HQ, the feeling of victory still fresh in our minds.
Author's Note: Not much to say now. Just read and review, I guess.
Strato Abyss signing out.
