"Are we there yet?" Quilava asked as he kept looking over his shoulder with a nervous expression. The fur on the back of his neck was standing on end from sheer terror.
They didn't know how long they've been out here, but it felt like an eternity. Sometimes they felt like they were passing the same tree twice, even though they were given a map to lead them out on the right track to freedom. Granted, the trees do change periodically to throw off intruders, so they likely did pass the same tree twice, just not in the same area. It still felt like they weren't covering much ground.
Pansage, who had the map and was ahead of the group, looked back at the weasel. "Not yet. We have quite a bit of ground to cover. Still, everything's pretty quiet, so we should be good for now."
He whimpered. "Don't say stuff like that. Their invasion could literally be starting at any minute."
Pachirisu gave him a reassuring pat on the back with a bright, chipper smile. "Ah, don't worry your pretty little head, Quilava! We have nothing to fear!"
"You say that as if we AREN'T dealing with blood hungry savages!"
"Hey, some of us have to keep a positive outlook of the situation. Otherwise, we'd be all mopey and lose any hope of living to tell this tale we can all laugh back at with our future children."
Buneary chuckled awkwardly at the squirrel. "I don't think I want to remind Scarlet of her…adventurous experience here until she's matured enough. Like say…'when she becomes a mother herself' mature."
Pachirisu sniggered childishly. "Aww, come on! She'll be the coolest Pichu around! Imagine the popularity she'll get from her fellow friends and admirers!"
"As I said, when she's mature enough." She looked at the infant in her arms. "For now, you're my silly willy baby! Isn't that right?" She tickled her sides, which made her squeal before she wrapped her tiny arms around her left arm and nuzzled it. "That's what I thought."
Quilava looked back at the way they came. "How do you think they're doing?"
Buneary frowned. It was hard for her to think that something horrible could be happening to Pikachu or the others. If she could, she'd run back and help them in any way she can. However, her responsibility as a mother came first. Besides, she knew her beloved mate and her friends. She knew they can handle it.
"I'm sure they're fine, Quilava. We just need a little faith."
He gulped. "If you say so…"
Pansage looked up from the map. "Well, you can quell your worries because we'll be reaching the cliff soon. All we need to do is climb out and we're home free."
"Woohoo! That's great!" Pachirisu cheered. "I'm getting sick and tired of this place! It's way too dreary and depressing!" He rubbed his chin. "Although, if you hang a curtain or two up, it wouldn't look as bad…"
Buneary suddenly stopped walking, leading Quilava to bump into her. "Oof!" He shook his head and walked in front of her. "Something wrong, Buneary?"
"Shh," she shushed him as she extended both her ears. They twitched from the slightest of vibrations permeating the air. She closed her eyes to get a better read on these sounds she was picking up. "Did anyone else hear that loud boom?"
The others looked at each other, expressing confusion, yet worry. "Uh…no?" Pachirisu admitted with a shrug.
"Well, I heard it. It was coming from far away. I'm not sure what it was, though…unless…" Her eyes widened. "They've already started."
Quilava froze up. "No…a-a-are you saying they're starting their invasion now!"
Pansage glared at the map. "Dang it! We need to get moving before they find us!"
"Even if we do escape, they will too!" Quilava reminded, frantically flailing his arms. "Nowhere is safe anymore! We're going to die!"
Pachirisu slapped the fire weasel with his tail. "Get a hold of yourself, man! We still have time!"
"Uh…I wouldn't count on it," Buneary suddenly confessed, her face dropping into an anxious expression. "That's not the only thing my ears are picking up…"
Unfortunately for the Pokémon, they knew exactly what, or rather who, she was talking about. Pansage rolled up the map and pointed to a tree, which had a hollowed out hole. "Quick, jump into there!"
They quickly scrambled over to the hole and dived in. The space was cramped, but they were beyond willing to put up with minor discomfort to save their necks.
Scarlet whimpered. She didn't understand what was going on. Why were they huddling together in such a tight space? It was scaring her.
Her mother took notice and cradled her. "Shh, shh…don't cry, sweetie. You have nothing to fear." She bent her ears down and tickled her. This calmed and lifted the baby's nerves. Wanting to keep it that way, the rabbit placed the fluff of her ears against her daughter's to muffle out the frightening sounds soon to follow.
Pansage peeked out from the hole. He couldn't hear anything coming quite yet. "Buneary, are you sure you heard that right? I don't see any…thing…" Before he could finish his sentence, the ground slowly began to shake. "Never mind…" He sunk back down and huddled next to his friends.
Much like earlier, a stampede of Darkmon tore through the forest. This time, they were racing for the cliff. Now that they'll never have to worry about the sun again, it was time to destroy the humans and Pokémon.
The group shook in the tree. They tried to keep themselves still and not make an involuntary noise that would alert the beasts of their presence. Buneary kept a comforting hug around Scarlet so she wouldn't freak out from the shaking.
Pansage pressed his ear against the bark. That sounds like a lot. Getting out of here is going to be tougher than we thought.
Pachirisu placed his ear against the bark, too. "You don't think they can smell us, can they?"
Buneary shook her head. "I don't think so. We've been here for so long that we're beginning to smell like the forest. We should be safe."
"Yeah, but…Scarlet hasn't been out here for as long, so…"
The rabbit looked down at her daughter. That was something that didn't cross her mind. She figured with the Pichu being near her practically twenty-four seven would be enough for her own scent to be masked.
She shook her head again. "I-I doubt it. I've probably rubbed off some of the nature scent on her, too."
"If you say so…"
Pansage narrowed his eyes as the sound of stomping began to lessen. "Guys, I think the stampede's ending."
"That didn't sound like as many from before, though," Quilava pointed out. It's hard to forget such a frightening experience. It'll ingrain itself into your head, allowing perfect memory to be replayed over and over again.
Buneary narrowed her eyes. "I think he's right. That means most of them are still with Dark, which also means they're focusing their attention on the others."
The fire weasel shivered. "Poor them…"
Pachirisu waved it off. "Eh, they can handle it. Better than taking on all of them, after all."
"Well, whatever the case," Pansage said as he stood up, "I think we should get moving before another wave decides to come by."
"Y-Yeah," Quilava agreed. "Let's get out of-"
The tree suddenly began to shake, likely from a strong hit to the trunk. The group steadied themselves with worried expressions popping up. "W-What was that?!" Buneary shouted.
"That was too strong to be from a stampede!" Pansage yelled. "I think someone found us!"
A hand struck through the bark and grabbed his arm. With a strong tug, he was yanked out and thrown across the dirt. He slammed against a tree, then rubbed his head in pain. He opened his eyes to see someone he hasn't seen in a while.
"Well, fancy running into you here," his evil counterpart stated with a toothy smirk.
The others found themselves thrown out of the tree as well. They came face to face with their counterparts, including Dark Pikachu, Dark Krookodile, and Dark Axew.
Dark Pikachu smirked at Buneary. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to kill you." He cracked his knuckles. "Want to help me rip her head off, 8745?"
Dark Buneary, or Darkmon 8-7-4-5, snickered. "Only if I get to snap the Pichu's neck."
"Fine by me."
Buneary glared and covered Scarlet. "You are NOT touching my baby!"
8745 chuckled. "Oh, that's adorable. You think you have a choice." The two evils walked towards her.
Pansage, Quilava, and Pachirisu stepped in front of the counterparts. "You'll have to go through us, first!"
"Fine by me." Dark Pikachu snapped his fingers. "Kill them."
Dark Axew inhaled deeply and fired Dragon Rage at the group. They immediately dispersed, but the attack ended up creating a barrier of flames that separated all of them.
Pansage stepped away from the flickering ember. "Ugh…everyone, we need to regroup and-" His counterpart cut him off with a drop kick to the face.
He wagged his finger mockingly. "Ah, ah, ah…this battle is between us. Mano e mano." The grass monkey pushed himself up and glared at the smirking dark monkey.
Quilava shrieked as his counterpart chased him with Flame Wheel while Dark Axew fired at him with Dragon Rage. "Can we talk about this?! Perhaps reach an understanding with each other?!"
Pachirisu dodged his counterpart's Super Fang, then avoided a shower of Stone Edge from Dark Krookodile. "Hang on, Buneary and Scarlet! We'll save you!" He yelped when his counterpart got a hold of his tail.
The dark squirrel smirked. "Oh, but who's going to save you?" He tossed him into the air. "Take him down!" Dark Krookodile fired Stone Edge, sending the electric squirrel flying through the air.
Buneary jumped into the trees as 8745 and Dark Pikachu fired Ice Beam and Thunderbolt at her. She quickly skipped between branches to find suitable cover. It didn't help that their attacks were cutting through the trees with ease, making it increasingly difficult to find somewhere to escape them.
8745 laughed. "Run, run, run as fast as you can, little bunny!" She looked at Dark Pikachu. "8744, want to have your turn?"
He stretched his arms. "You are too kind." He activated Quick Attack and scaled the trees in a matter of seconds.
Buneary tried her best to evade the Darkmon as he came close to grabbing her. She constantly switched her attention between the evil beasts and Scarlet, who was on the verge of crying from all the discord. She wrapped her arms around her tightly, yet comfortingly.
Don't worry, Scarlet. Mommy isn't going to let them hurt you.
At the cliff, Darkmon were climbing up, digging their fingers and claws into the face. Some were running up it like it was a horizontal surface, completely unaffected by the pulling force of gravity. The Flying-Types were easily the first to reach the top as they soared into the sky. They were high enough to touch the dark smog.
It was steadily spreading out, already escaping the perimeter of the forest. Crackles of lightning surged from the inside, then fired down a bolt that blackened a patch of grass instantly. Lighting periodically shot out, scorching the land as a mark of their approaching form.
The land restricted Darkmon, upon reaching over the cliff, gleefully raced across the grass, laughing like wild maniacs with the intent to party 'til they drop. As their lord said, this was a party that'll never end. Unrelenting chaos and destruction for all.
The Earth was fated to be in their control!
In their direct path of rampage was the Pokémon Center, armed and ready to combat against them. Hank could sense the vibrations in the ground. He opened his eyes and stood up from his meditative position. "They're here." He looked up the roof. "Jessie, James! Get the kids ready and prepare for battle!"
They saluted. "Sir, yes sir!" They ran to the roof exit.
Hank glared ahead as the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of red glowing eyes came into his line of sight. He slowly walked forward while reaching behind his back, pulling out four Pokeballs. "Heatmor, Salamence, Shedinja, Clefable! Engage!"
The four Pokémon were summoned from their Pokeballs and stood at attention, eyes narrowed at the foes coming over the horizon. They followed Hank's example and walked alongside him, joined by Lucario as well.
The Darkmon were nearing closer and could make out the single human and his five Pokémon. A Dark Galvantula snickered with glee as he quickly scuttled ahead. "Yummy, yummy! Our first victims!"
"It's that old fool who kept forcing us back!" a Dark Houndoom shouted.
"Then let's give him a nice, healthy dose of payback!" cried a Dark Staravia from above. The Darkmon cheered and picked up the pace.
Hank stopped, as did his team. He crossed his arms at the stampeding army. He glanced at his Clefable. "You know what to do?"
She nodded and stepped forward. She raised her finger, which glowed in a white light. Her team took a step back to get slightly out of range. The Darkmon grew nearer and nearer, meters from sinking their teeth into the Fairy Pokémon. Then Hank gave the order.
"Gravity."
Clefable flicked her finger down. The Dark Galvantula was close to leaping onto her and zapping her with tons of painful electricity, but a sudden increase in the force that kept him connected to the ground smashed down on him like a Snorlax body slam.
This same field of increased gravity hit the other Darkmon, too. They stopped in their tracks and stood stiff as the crushing weight of space sat on top of them. The ground beneath them broke from the force, sinking them into the ground.
Clefable smiled mockingly. "(All bark and no bite. I thought you freaks were tough.)"
"Don't…get…cocky…Pokémon scum!" the Dark Houndoom shouted, who was resisted the destructive gravity. He pushed through the field, stepping closer to the fairy. She narrowed her eyes and jumped back.
"(These things are persistent,)" she commented.
Hank nodded. "That'll be a problem." He lifted his arm and firmly pointed, shouting, "Shedinja, Hyper Beam!"
The halo floating over the Shed Pokémon lifted up and charged the beam, then fired into the massive crowd, tearing through half of them. The Darkmon who either weren't affected or endured the attack pushed ahead, nearing the edge of the gravity field.
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" The jackal threw miniature Aura Spheres that knocked them back. Hank glared. That won't buy us much time.
"(Sir, aerial team above us!)" Salamence shouted, pointing out the Flying-Type Darkmon that were circling around the gravity field while also carrying more of their allies.
Hank glared. "Shoot them down!"
Salamence fired Flamethrower at the squadron of airborne birds. They maneuvered neatly around the flames, then dropped their allies.
A Dark Donphan curled up and used Rollout, using the falling speed to bury Salamence into the dirt. The dragon roared in pain as the dark elephant spun in place on his back, burning his skin.
"HAHA! You smell delicious!" he chortled.
Lucario intervened immediately, grabbing the Dark Donphan by the sides. His hands burned from the momentum, but he pressed on long enough to slow him down. He then proceeded to grab him by the tusks, lift him in the air, and finally blast him across the sky with his Psychic.
Three Flying-Type Darkmon dived bombed above Clefable and viciously pecked at her, knocking her back forcibly. She clenched her teeth and stood her ground, enduring the bruising attacks. She grabbed them by the beaks and blasted Hyper Voice at closer range, shattering their hearing completely. Then, with a mighty swing, she threw them over her shoulder and into the ground.
Heatmor lobbed Flame Burst at the hoarding mass of Darkmon. Each hit knocked them back and forced them to retreat until they regenerated their damaged flesh. Two Darkmon leaped through his offenses and bit down on his arms.
"We'll tear you to shreds!" one of them grumbled, gnawing at the flesh.
Heatmor glared. "(Get your disgusting canines off of me!)" He used Stockpile to inflate his body, forcing their jaws wide open. Once released, he slammed two Focus Blasts into them.
Shedinja floated high in the air, out of reach of the many monsters chasing it. It kept its vision on them before firing off Confuse Ray, blinding the mongrels and leaving them horribly disoriented.
"Where is that freak?!" a Darkmon shouted.
"I see him!" another said before slashing their claws across the enemy's face…or rather, their ally's.
"AGH! A sneak attack, huh?!" He lunged at the attacked and bit down on his face.
This led to a massive fight of Darkmon tearing each other apart, all while the Shed Pokémon watched on silently.
A Dark Hariyama and Dark Luxray charged at Hank, who stood in a fighting position. The Gleam Eyes Darkmon leaped forward, but the old agent sidestepped and roundhouse kicked him across the jaw. The Dark Hariyama thrusted his palms fiercely. Hank crossed his arms and endured the strong hits that proved to be mighty, as they were pushing him back.
He ducked under one palm strike and threw his aura charged fist into the sumo's gut. The Darkmon heaved as the punch connected deeply. He could feel it almost reaching his spine. With a might shout, Hank fired the monster off his fist, sending his careening through the earth fast enough to uplift it.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw more Darkmon, ten or twenty, lunging through the air to pounce down on him with their teeth bared to tear his flesh apart. He slammed his fists together, spun around, and fired off a powerful aura wave that hit the attacking group like a violent windstorm. With them practically hanging in midair, he unleashed a flurry of punches with the force to shatter their skulls.
Lucario and Heatmor formed Aura Sphere and Flame Burst respectively and slammed them down, sending them forward like a tidal wave. The energy waves washed over the Darkmon and knocked them back. Clefable pushed them back further with Hyper Voice while Shedinja furthered the damage with Hyper Beam.
This, however, didn't stop their advances. One Darkmon, a Dark Scrafty, leaped out of the crowd and struck Lucario across the face, then punched him in the gut with Fire Punch. The jackal skidded back and held the burning wound. Dark Scrafty tried to go in with another one, but Lucario retaliated with a blank point Aura Sphere, cancelling his attack and knocking him out.
Heatmor slashed three Darkmon before shouting, "(Hank, there's too many of them! We need to fall back!)"
Hank dropped kicked a couple, shouting back, "Negative! We can't let one of them get passed us!"
"(More of them will be doing that with the rate they're coming!)" Salamence yelled, firing Flamethrower between the two sides to separate them.
They had a point. They may be trained to fight them, but their numbers greatly surpassed theirs. That, and he wasn't in the best shape himself. He could already feel shortness in his breath.
A Darkmon pounced on his back, but he peeled it off and socked it across the face. "You may be right. Team, fall back now!" They nodded and withdrew from the battle.
The Darkmon dashed through the fire and chased after the retreating agents. "You'll never escape us! We'll hunt you down like the vermin you are until we feast on your marrow!"
Hank glared over his shoulder before looking at the fortified Pokémon Center. He held his hand up and gave a signal.
Ash saw it through the boarded windows and signals his friends. "He gave the go!"
They nodded, then stepped back for Mamoswine. They tore apart parts of the center made of metal and tied them onto the mammoth's body, making makeshift armor to protect him from the next phase of this crazy plan.
Mamoswine stomped the ground in anticipation. Dawn gave the commanded, pointing to the wall, "Mamoswine, Take Down!" The mammoth stomped again wildly and charged toward the wall.
Outside, the Darkmon were nearing the building and flexing their claws. Some of them at the front of the crowd stopped when they heard the loud charging coming from inside. That's when the walls busted open with flying debris raining down over them.
After that, they were treated with a "delightful" greeting from the rampaging Mamoswine that barreled through their forces, tossing them everywhere with his massive tusks.
Mamoswine raised his forelegs and echoed a battle cry before slamming his massive feet down on another group. He used Ice Fang and jabbed his tusks through them, freezing them into icy statues.
Dawn ran up to the gaping hole in the center and cheered. "Alright! Keep it up, Mamoswine!"
The Darkmon growled. They will not be bested by some wannabe, second rate mammoth!
A Dark Ursaring grabbed the mammoth by the tusks and hoisted him into the air effortlessly. He spun him around, then flung him through the air. His path of flight sent him careening into the center's roof.
"Mamoswine!" Dawn cried.
The Darkmon charged at the center to eviscerate the annoying trainer, but Togekiss and Woobat intervened with a barrage of Air Slashes, keeping them at bay slightly.
The Flying-Type Darkmon joined together and flapped their wings, using wind based attacks at the center. A massive storm of wind picked up instantly, lifting earth and rock from the ground. Togekiss and Woobat ceased their assault to block the debris from hitting their faces. However, this led to a perfectly timed distraction as a group of Electric-Types used a combined Thunder and rained down punishment to the two Pokémon. They screamed in pain and fell out of the sky.
Excadrill ran out and caught the two safely. Some Darkmon tried to ambush him, but he blasted them back with a Focus Blast to the ground. He ran back to the center and rested the two injured Pokémon on the ground.
Dawn crouched down with a panicked expression. "Togekiss! Are you alright?!"
Her face scrunched up, wincing from the slightest of facial movements. She tried her best to smile. "(My apologies for my failure, Dawn…)"
Jessie held Woobat in her arms. "How are you holding up?"
He winced. "(Not well, honestly.)"
Cilan clenched his fist and pointed out, shouting, "Crustle, force them back with Rock Wrecker!"
The crustacean formed the massive rock and flung it through the hole. It crushed a few Darkmon underneath, but the rest kept coming. After using Rock Wrecker, Crustle wouldn't be able to attack for a moment.
"Alright, Stunfisk, Thundershock!"
The ground fish flopped wildly before firing off the bolt of electricity. A Ground-Type Darkmon intercepted the attack and charged through it for his allies.
The connoisseur stepped back with a frightened expression. "It appears this course has a stubborn bite to it!"
James growled. "I'm not letting them through here! Yamask, use Night Shade! Full blast!"
The ghost took a deep breath and shouted out a hauntingly loud wail, firing off the ghostly energy that, for the moment, stunned the Darkmon in their place. It didn't help that there were Normal-Type Darkmon mixed with the crowd, rushing pass their petrified allies.
Ash clenched his fist. "We're running low on options! What do we do?!"
"Cower?" James suggested.
Jessie bonked him on the head. "We're not quitting now!" She pointed at Woobat. "Get up, Woobat! I know you still have some fight in you!"
It pained the bat to move, but the only other alternative was to be killed, so…putting up with some soreness was worth it. He flapped his wings with some minor difficultly, but he managed to hover to Jessie's height.
"Great! Now use Air Slash!"
Woobat let out a battle cry before firing off the wind blades. The Darkmon slithered through them, with one of them extending their claws out and stretching out to meet them in the bat's face.
He was almost certain they were going to make contact, but Jessie, in an act to protect her Pokémon, threw a strong uppercut into the Darkmon's chin and knocked it back.
"You're not going anywhere near my beloved Woobat!" she cried with rage. The bat gasped in delight, happy to hear such affection from his trainer.
Back with Yamask, his Night Shade was slowly losing power while the Darkmon continued to push through it. James pumped his fists encouragingly. "Come on, Yamask! You can do it!"
As nice as the words were, there wasn't much left the ghost could do. He ended his attack and flew limply, exhausted from overusing so much energy.
The Darkmon lunged into the center, laughing gleefully. "We got you now, humans!"
"Clefable, Gravity!"
The monsters stopped in their tracks and turned around in time to see the fairy increasing the gravity over them. One of them, having enough with this same trick, slammed her hands down and used Earth Power. The earthy energy spread under Clefable and blasted her back, ending her Gravity.
However, this was nothing more than a diversion as Hank and Lucario, hands cupped at their sides, formed Aura Sphere and fired them into the crowd. The gang, Team Rocket, and their Pokémon ducked as the building immediately filled with smoke from the explosion.
Hank panted heavily and held his right side. "I need to work out more…"
A shadow loomed over him and grew, meaning something was freefalling above him. Not bothering to look, he jumped out of the way as a Dark Garchomp made impact with the ground, forming a massive crater in his landing.
Lucario got into a fighting position, but Hank stopped him. He threw his thumb over his shoulder, directing him to the Darkmon the blasted that were rising back to their feet, showing once more how stubborn they were about staying down. "They're going to need your help. The others will handle the other Darkmon out here." He cracked his knuckles as he walked up to the dark land dragon. "It's been a while since I've been in a straight up fist fight."
The jackal was concerned for his master, but nodded in approval and ran to the trainers.
Hank ripped his tattered shirt off and raised his fists. "Come on! Hit me with your best shot!" The Dark Garchomp smirked, then kicked off the ground. He glided through the air like a jet and slashed his claw at the old man.
He sidestepped it and smashed his fist down on his skull. "Is that all you got?!"
The Dark Garchomp straightened himself up and growled. The two threw punches at each other and collided. Hank's aura protected him from the land dragon's claw, close to piercing his skin. The two traded blows before unleashing a flurry of punches, too fast for normal eyes to keep up with.
The Darkmon rose back up and growled. "Cheap trick, humans! Now you're really going to get it!" They dashed forward, claws and fists ready to destroy.
They tensed up, but Azumarill flew pass them unexpectedly with Aqua Jet and crashed into them. She appeared to have also powered herself up with Belly Drum beforehand. She uppercutted two, then slammed her foot into another, then slapped four across the face with her tail, before finishing it off with drop kick to the head.
The group raised their fists and cheered. "Alright! Way to go, Azumarill!" Ash cheered.
Azumarill landed and dropped the veil of water. "(Would have been here sooner, but I had to check on Mamoswine.)" She smirked. "(He'll be up in a moment.)"
To answer the humans' confusion, a loud, rumbly bellow echoed on the roof. Dawn smiled. "Mamoswine's okay!" She then saw Togekiss pushing herself up. "Togekiss?"
"(I shall protect you and your friends, Dawn. If my teammate can find the strength to continue, then so can I!)"
One of the Darkmon sneered. "Pathetic! Weaklings like you should just die!" He lunged forward and threw a flurry of blows at Togekiss. "It's all pointless! You're all useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! USELESS!"
The Jubilee Pokémon glared furiously, enduring the attacks through her own willpower, fired a blank point Aura Sphere to his face, singing it badly before she knocked him back further with Air Slash.
The Darkmon bared their teeth and prepared to attack all at once, but Lucario came in, unleashing Close Combat from the back. Bodies flew across the center one by one. He then finished off with Psychic and made some room for himself as he blasted them out of his way.
The trainers and Rocket grunts looked at each other and nodded, determination burning within their eyes. It was time to crank up the intensity.
As if the havoc above ground wasn't already chaotic, the group inside the forest was a whole other story. Let's just say, there was much fighting.
Oshawott combated a Dark Bisharp and Dark Farfetch'd as they slammed their respective weaponry against the otter's Razor Shell. He forced their blades back and slashed them across the chests, black blood dripping from their healing wounds.
The otter used Aqua Jet and rammed his body against Dark Bisharp, then spun around to fire Hydro Pump into Dark Farfetch'd. The Wild Duck Darkmon slammed against a tree, then gripped his weapon tightly before slashing through said tree. He touched down on the ground, caught the falling tree in his wings, and swung it at Oshawott like a baseball bat.
Oshawott sliced through it with Razor Shell in the nick of time. He turned around quick enough to stop a Night Slash from Dark Bisharp. The collision of the attack fractured the ground under his feet. He pushed hard before knocked him back, then firing him off with Hydro Pump. After that, not forgetting his other opponent, he threw his scalchop behind him, nailing Dark Farfetch'd right between the eyes. The disoriented duck danced dizzily, which gave Oshawott the chance to ram his body against him and bash him across the dirt.
He picked up his scalchop and activated Razor Shell once more. "Okay, who's next?" He saw purple energy flying at him. He reacted and clashed with it. The attack was a Darkmon's Razor Shell. His counterpart.
He sneered at the Pokémon. "I'll give you a little credit: you've gotten tougher since our last confrontation."
Oshawott gritted his teeth into a smirk. "I've been working out…a lot…" The two pushed against the other's blade.
"In that case, stimulate my lust for battle," he demanded before raising his foot and kicked him back. He jumped high into the air and came down spinning.
Oshawott parried the slash, then slashed his chest. Dark Oshawott skidded back, then immediately lunged at him. The two clashed blades once more, repeatedly swinging with the furious intent to defeat their opponent.
Snivy pulled herself into the trees with Vine Whip, constricted them around the branches to snap them off, then slingshot them down at the two Flying-Types chasing her. The branches slapped them in the face and knocked them out of the air, taking a sharp nosedive with the ground.
She sensed something to her right and ducked. A purple vine whizzed over her head. It effortlessly cut through the top half of the tree. It ended up crashing down on four Darkmon who were chasing Axew. The dragon took a sigh of relief for the save, but it didn't last long as two other Darkmon picked up on the chase.
Snivy wanted to help him, but she had her own problem. Her evil twin.
Dark Snivy cracked her vines with her arms crossed. "Ready for round two?"
Snivy glared, glancing back down at the others. Emolga, despite focusing her attention on her counterpart and some other Darkmon, was keeping vigilant watch of Axew and Scraggy. Oshawott was handling himself pretty well, not requiring her backup at the moment. Everyone else was holding their own to their best ability.
She turned her gaze back at her counterpart and extended her vines. "I'm ready to send you back to where you came from: six feet underground."
She smirked. "Feisty."
The two dashed at each other, whipping their vines. They clashed wildly with the random, yet precise swings to try and throw the other off. They both knew how the other fought, so it was a matter of outwitting each other.
Down below, Pignite used Flame Charge and rammed himself against a group of Darkmon. With his speed steadily rising, he barreled his way through massive crowds of Darkmon.
He snorted smoke with a prideful grin. "HA! I must be getting stronger! This is a walk in the park!"
He spoke too soon as a fist slammed against his face, flipping him onto his back. He glided across the dirt, then spun himself back to his feet. He rubbed his aching snout.
"Ow, ow, ow…" He turned to his counterpart, the one who clobbered him in the face.
He flexed his muscles. "You sure about that? Seems to me you're still second rate." He chuckled. "Then again…" The Darkmon Pignite thought he took out were getting back to their feet. "…that's only if we were comparing the two of us."
The fire pig stepped back with a worried expression. Pikachu and his group have been training for this for over a week. He wasn't sure what Emolga, Axew, and Scraggy have been doing with their time. Dragonite, who hasn't received special training, was dominating the Darkmon challenging him. All he has been doing was toughening himself in a significantly shorter time than the others.
Even with his worry, the pig refused to throw in the towel so early. He has been called weak back when he was with his old trainer. It hurt him, a lot. When Ash took him onto his team, he never felt that way again. He felt mighty, even mightier after confronting his ex-trainer.
He wasn't going to let them bring him down. He was strong, no matter what they say.
He punched his fists together and spewed Flamethrower upwards. "Alright, bring it! Ten, one hundred of you! Doesn't matter! I'll take you all on if I have to!"
Dark Pignite glared. "…kill him." The Darkmon behind him sprinted at the pig.
Pignite growled, then slammed his fist on the ground, firing off the chain of flames erupting from the earth, surrounding the crowd and engulfing them in fire. Before anyone could gain a second of relief, Pignite immediately charged into the crowd and punched the Darkmon who were barely standing from his attack out of his way. He threw his body against his counterpart and tackled him against a tree.
"You're me, so you'll no I'm not letting a little power gap get between this!"
Dark Pignite's lips formed a disapproving frown. "I'll make sure your funeral has a closed casket." He nailed him with a left hook, but the fire pig endured to throw his own into the evil clone. They pushed their fists against each other, trying to get the edge in strength.
Emolga fired off Discharge and stunned a large number of Darkmon around her. She turned her head around to see Axew fleeing for his life.
"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" he screamed, desperately looking for cover. All the Darkmon did was laugh at his fear. The taste of it roaming through air was a tantalizing flavor filled with only the finest nuances of crippling cowardice.
Emolga glared at these brutes and jumped into the air, gliding overhead. "Hey, pick on someone your own size!" She formed a collection of Hidden Power around her. "Or better yet, you can deal with me!" She fired them off at full force, briefly creating a small boom in the air.
The orbs rained down on the Darkmon, clouding them in a colossal explosion. She ended up using more power than intended. She only meant to use enough to stagger or distract them to give the fleeing dragon enough time to find a hiding place. Only goes to show how much she cared for the little guy.
She floated down and took Axew's hand. "Stay close to me!" He nodded with a short whimper and followed her. "Where's Scraggy?!"
He looked around frantically before pointing him out. "He's over there!" Emolga followed his finger and gasped.
Scraggy does a lot of stupid things, but he was asking for trouble now. He was purposely gaining the attention of any Darkmon passing by him and headbutting them in the face. "Come on, take me on! I've got some fight right here!"
"Scraggy, behind you!" Emolga and Axew shouted.
It was too late. Two arms wrapped under his and suplexed him overhead, slamming his face into the dirt. The offender, Dark Scraggy, stood up and dusted his hands off. "Boy, aren't you stupid. A scrawny weakling like you is wasting his time."
Scraggy pushed himself up and growled. "Weakling?!" He angrily used Headbutt against his face, but the blow ended up staggering HIM, not Dark Scraggy. "O-Ow! What the heck?!" He wheezed out when Dark Scraggy suddenly socked him in the gut.
"Not even a scratch on me. Have you been wasting your time since we last fought? I've been getting stronger, but you're clearly the same shrimp that I curb stomped."
Scraggy pulled himself up, still holding his stomach. He glared furiously. "Don't call me a shrimp!" He raised his hands, formed two Focus Blasts, and slammed them between his head.
He thought a blank point blast like that would give him some damage, but it only resulted in making the Darkmon angry. He made this very clear by reaching out of the small smoke cloud around him and grabbing his face. He formed his own purple Focus Blast.
He spat some blood, which vaporized upon hitting the ground. "…shrimp." He wound his arm back and…
"Giga Impact!"
…never got a chance to use it. He took a furious blow to the side of his head from Axew. The surprise hit disoriented the Dark Scraggy, giving Scraggy the opportunity he needed. He grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder. Then, after doing a spin on his heel, he planted his High Jump Kick into his gut. The momentum of the throw worked alongside the kick and sent the Shedding Darkmon into another group of them.
Emolga ran over to the briefly stunned Axew. "Axew, that was reckless! You could have gotten hurt!"
He pouted. "I was only trying to help…"
She sighed. "I know…" Her eyes widened, remembering something. "Oh! Right!" She reached into the bag and handed them both a leaf. "Quick, eat these!"
They recognized them as the enhancer leaves Chloe gave them. They, plus Emolga who took one out for herself, shoved it into their mouths and swallowed.
Emolga shivered from the bitterness. "Ugh…those should give us a fighting chance. But still, I want the both of you to stay out of trouble, understood?"
Scraggy knew she was directing that mostly at him, to which he rolled his eyes and replied, "Yes ma'am."
Axew saluted. "Okay Emolga!"
Dark Scraggy pushed himself up and glared. "Cheap trick…that's our thing!" He sprinted back into battle.
The Shedding Pokémon turned towards him and cracked his knuckles. "Let's see how effective these leaves really are!" He made a mad dash and met Dark Scraggy halfway.
They reared their heads back and slammed them against each other. The shock created a brief gust of wind, waving the bits of grass around them. Dark Scraggy sneered. "Pathetic! You actually need enhancer leaves to beat me?!"
Scraggy smirked. "That sounds like a Darkmon that's losing!" He slammed his palm against his chest and fired off Focus Blast.
The blast sent the Darkmon skidding back, which he stopped by digging his heels into the dirt. He placed his hand over the scorch mark present and narrowed his eyes. "Okay…perhaps I can get some entertainment out of this."
Everyone seemed to be struggling with their opponents. Dragonite, however, didn't seem to have that exact problem. As Pignite thought, the dragon was going to town on the weaker Darkmon. They may have increased power compared to the originals, but that doesn't mean all of them are superior in strength and speed to the brutish dragon.
He grabbed the head of a Darkmon and smeared his face through the dirt. His wing was back to functioning condition, which made fighting easier. He lifted the poor Darkmon up and slammed his body through several trees, the former completely unaffected by the shock.
"This all you weaklings got?!" he shouted before taking a spin through the air and throwing him down, the sudden impact uplifting the ground. "Come on, I can take any of you jokers on!"
Multiple Darkmon jumped out from the trees and clung to the airborne dragon before biting down on his skin. He flinched slightly, then used Dragon Rush. The draconian energy created a strong ripple off his body, forcing them off. Combined with his Thunder Punch, he rocketed them away with destructive force.
He ended his attacks, keeping his fists clenched. "I need a real opponent! Someone who can actually put up a fight!" He got his reply through a Thunder Punch nailing him in the left cheek. He was knocked away, but he used his wings to stopped slow his momentum. Floating through the air, he looked up at someone he was hoping to come across. He smirked. "Perfect."
Dark Dragonite smirked. "Will I suffice?"
Dragonite cracked his knuckles. "You have no idea." The two activated Dragon Rush and propelled towards each other with the heat of battle burning in their souls.
Koda dashed across the field, searching for Dark, all while a group of Darkmon chased him from behind. "Lord Dark! I must speak with you!" He looked around vigilantly, but nothing.
He remembered Dark standing on his stage before his subjects ran amuck. He distinctly recalled Ryder and Pikachu making their move and going after him. They must have been somewhere away from the main battle. He groaned sadly.
He wanted to have a chance to speak with his lord. He may be a traitor, but he wanted to offer his own words of wisdom. Despite fighting against him, he respected the Darkmon ruler highly, even now. He looked up to him as a symbol of power, something he wished to become himself. Instead, he was the joke of the forest. No one respected him. He was only seen as a tool for his powers. He doubted Dark viewed him with the same respect. It'd be a miracle if he found anyone he considered his equal, whether in strength or standing.
Even so, he wanted to at least give his own side of the story, to see if there was truly a chance to be redeemed. It wasn't too late. They were still a well-kept secret from the world. If they changed now, they could be accepted into society with, arguably, some hesitance. He didn't want someone as amazing as Dark to be destroyed.
He sighed. "I just want a chance…"
"ARE YOU IGNORING US?!" the Darkmon chasing him shouted in irritation. They could clearly see that, while he was paying attention to the path in front of him, he paid no mind to the monstrous creatures tailing him with the deep desire to run their claws through his throat.
Koda blinked. "Oh…right, I'm being chased."
"SERIOUSLY?!"
He stopped and did a high backflip over the group. They tried to dig their heels in and turn around, but it was too late. Koda slammed his palms down, uplifted some earth, and blasted it off his palms with his aura pulse. The sailing rocks either knocked them back, knocked them out cold, or decapitated them because some of them were sharp.
He dusted his hands off. I can easily avoid these guys. Point proven, he foresaw a Darkmon coming from his right and countered with a swift grapple and elbow jab to the gut. Though, something about all of this doesn't feel right. He flipped the Darkmon over his shoulder and sent him flying with Force Palm. I don't know what, but something just feels…off. He shook his head. Maybe I'm still tired from this morning. Who knows?
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "One thing does puzzle me. What the heck tried to attack us in the trees? I've never seen any of the Darkmon pull a move like that." Another Darkmon tried to sneak attack him, but he threw his fist back and smashed his face casually. "It could be one of Lord Dark's higher ups. But Savage can't fly, so it's not him. That just leaves Fang, but he's never fought like that before."
"Doubting my abilities, are we?" Koda snapped his head around and spotted Fang hanging upside down by his tail. "I'm hurt that you think so lowly of me, even after last time."
The precognitive Darkmon narrowed his eyes. "You seem awfully calm."
"When am I never?"
"Yeah, but you're in the middle of a war. I thought you'd at least be with Lord Dark and helping him fight off my friends."
Fang rolled his eyes. "Don't bring up that cynical tyrant of a ruler. I've had quite enough of him for a lifetime."
Staying true to his thoughts, the Dark Riolu was rather appalled by the show of disrespect to their leader, even if he himself was on the opposing side. He pointed accusingly at the second in command. "How dare you speak to Lord Dark in such a rude manner?! Have you no respect?!"
Fang unhooked from the tree and landed on his feet gracefully. "Oh dear 6746, one must give credit for your devoted, yet utterly blind, loyalty to our powerful and incompetent lord."
Koda wasn't amused by his discourteous words. "I respect Lord Dark with every ounce of my soul, no matter what side I'm on!"
The Dark Gliscor walked up to his side and threw his arms around him. "You're not seeing the bigger picture, runt. Do you truly believe he's this magnificent symbol you've painted him as?" He jabbed his forehead. "That's just your tiny mind putting him on top of a pedestal like the blind fool you and the rest of these idiots are."
Koda shoved him off. "Lord Dark IS amazing! That's why I want him to see the error of his ways!"
Fang shook his head in disappointment. "A sad delusion you've weaved into your little world. Then again, why should I be surprised? You're the only happy-go-lucky runt who wants to spread sunshine and rainbows, a literal sin on our parts." He chuckled. "Do you truly think anyone is going to listen to you? You are nothing. A low class Darkmon that only got attention because of your powers AND for speaking out of line."
He poked the Dark Riolu's chest. "If I were leader, I would have had you executed on Day 3 since your creation. The Darkmon race has no need for a positive morality. Our strength comes from the fear we bring out from our victims. We are evil incarnated. We are the literal personification of all that is sinful and malicious, even a deluded traitor like you."
The Dark Riolu pressed forward, jabbing his finger against him. "I'm. Not. Evil."
Fang scoffed with a wry smirk. "That's not what I saw when we fought. You became consumed in the evil that festers inside you. It hurts you, doesn't it?" Koda didn't answer, but the Dark Gliscor knew from his body language that he was right. The Dark Riolu gripped his shoulder uncomfortably and bit his lip. "Heh…I know I'm right. You know I'm right. You can't control it when it peeks out from those walls you set up. It leaks out in tiny streams, drizzling down and weathering them bit by bit. The leaks grow stronger and quicker over time. That dam you created is breaking. Once it's gone…the build up with fully consume you."
Koda clenched his teeth. A dark aura surrounded him. Red light could be seen peeking through his clenched eyes. "Shut…up…"
Fang hissed amusingly. "You're losing control, aren't you?"
The future seer stepped back. "S-So what? I can learn to control it!" He opened his eyes. His irises were glowing red. "I'm not like you!"
Fang walked around him, pincers behind his back. "You'll snap eventually, 6746. You'll snap and you'll kill all that you cherish. There's nothing you can do about it." He hissed quietly into his ear, "No Pokémon, human, or Darkmon will EVER respect you."
Aura pressure built up around the agitated dark jackal's hand. "You don't know that…"
The Dark Gliscor shrugged. "Well, you're not wrong…" He then smirked. "You won't be alive to witness it."
Koda's eyes narrowed confusingly. "Wait, wha-" His eyes opened fully as a large glowing pincer snapped down on his arm, cutting through with a clean snip.
His arm was gone, only his severed hand left. In the time it took for the hand to fall to the ground, which felt like an eternity to the Darkmon, he turned his head with an expression of alarm taking over. Eventually, his eyes met Fang's.
The glowing red eyes illuminated in his face, the color of blood. Within this deathly stare was a vision the Dark Riolu could plainly see, as if those eyes were playing his attackers thoughts for all to view upon. Those eyes…they reflected murder. No…murder wasn't the right word. This was much more than murder. It was something grander. Something that could match the vile monster lurking behind that calm façade, awaiting to be unleashed to quench its bloodthirsty desires. Not murder but…
Genocide.
He wasn't sure how, but an unnerving silence surrounded the two. He wasn't sure if his hand had touched the ground or not. Did any time even pass during their exchange of stares? He felt like he relived an entire life through the eyes of a true Darkmon, one that fulfilled its goal to kill.
Koda was afraid to break the stare, like his life was tied to this single exchange of vision. He only broke it when he got a sudden vision of the future. A pair of pincers wrapping around him and snapping shut, devouring him entirely. He broke the stare and saw his vision was coming true. Fang's pincers increased in size, glowing purple, and positioning themselves around the frightened jackal.
Taking a sharp breath, the Dark Riolu sprung off the ground and narrowly avoided the deadly pincers, a single snap echoing loudly for all within range to hear.
Koda landed on tree branch far up in the air and, while unsteadily, kept his balance. As his arm regenerated, one thought shot through his mind:
What! The! HECK?!
He placed his hand over his heart. A wild, painful thumping punched at the inside of his chest. His breathing was quick and sharp. It felt as if fear was laced within each exhale, trying to escape his quivering body to regain composure.
"I-I…I…what was…" He held his breath as a low chuckle sounded behind him. He slowly turned his head, eyes shaking in panic.
Fang snipped his pincers. "You could have gotten respect if you just accepted your role as a Darkmon. If you choose do stray from our path, the price for betrayal and ignorance…is death."
Koda shakily raised his hands, getting into a sloppy fighting stance. "What…was that? Since when can you…?"
The Fang Scorp Darkmon smirked. "You're not the only one with a personal quirk. You have your future vision. Me?" He snipped his pincers. "These babies can cut through anything…and consume it."
Koda's eyes widened. Consume? As in…devour?
"You don't know how useful these things are. I'm still learning how to use them. However, I do know a few details. That consumed matter I eat up becomes part of me and boosts my own power." He smirked. "I'm not as weak as you idiots claim."
The Dark Riolu let out a light gasp. "B-But…you don't feel strong…I can't sense…"
"I don't flaunt my power around like an egotistic, power mad tyrant. I can collect and store it…then boost my power all at once." He chuckled. "It's funny how different Dark and I really are. He's powerful and consumes energy. I'm intelligent and consume matter, living or not. One clean swipe. Sometimes with no blood.
"Though, it can do quite a bit more. If I consume a living victim, I have a chance of gaining one of their abilities or skills. For instance…Dark's Rule of Darkmon."
Koda gasped lightly. It suddenly clicked. "You're the one who made me lose control that one night…"
"You're not as stupid as I thought." He chuckled. "I wonder if I can gain that future vision of yours. Might be useful."
Koda clenched his jaw. "Why…Why have you been hiding this power?"
"Playing the role of the weakling gets me close to Dark. His pride would never consider me a legitimate threat." Fang narrowed his eyes. "I want to destroy this forest…and every single Darkmon here, with only me standing over your ashes."
"Destroy…all of us? Wha…WHY?!" He placed his fist against his chest. "You call me a traitor, yet you're the only one between us who wants to kill our people?! You're a hypocrite!"
Fang shook his head. "Far from it. I intend to rule over the Darkmon."
"You intend to rule over a pile of ashes with your ludicrous plan! You boasted about being intelligent just a moment ago! Are you that stupid?!"
"I don't need to explain my motives to you. Just know that after today, I'll be one of few Darkmon left."
"One of…few?" Koda questioned. Only a few would survive?
"In due time, my rightful position as lord of the Darkmon will be realized. In this new order, I shall rule with no mercy. Any incompetence is instant death. Only the most loyal and devoted of my Darkmon shall live." He snipped his pincers at him. "I'm starting off early by killing you."
Koda stepped back. "You…You plan to betray your own people so easily? Betray Lord Dark?" His eyes frantically looked around for signs of intense fighting. Yes, it wasn't that hard to find, but he was looking for someone in particular. Lord Dark needs to know about this! "You…You won't win! Even if you kill me, I'll tell Lord Dark about this once I complete my Full Regeneration!"
Fang snickered. "I've already accommodated for that little contingency." He reached behind his wings and pulled out the teal orb he kept on himself. "Now what do we have here?" He waved it in front of an alarmed Koda. "Recognize it, 6746?"
Koda could sense the familiar energy around it. "My life force…"
The Fang Scorp Darkmon smirked. "Correct." He lightly applied pressure to it.
Koda's eyes widened. "NO! Don't break it!"
Fang closed his eyes and smiled wickedly with a nostalgic expression. "Brings back memories. To think you'll be the seventh Darkmon to be executed by my pincers."
"I'm warning you, don't you dare-!" Koda stopped his threat midsentence. He blinked slowly. "S…Seventh?"
"Oh, that's right, you don't know. I've killed quite a bit of our people. That Dark Mightyena we assigned to that Meowth was personally executed by me, under Dark's orders."
"But…the other five you killed? What did they do to deserve death? Who were they?"
Using his other pincer, he tapped the side of his head. "Use your brain, genius. Five Darkmon mysteriously dying doesn't ring any bells?"
Koda narrowed his eyes, then gasped, jumping back fearfully. "W-W-Wait…it was…YOU?!"
The malicious Darkmon flashed a toothy grin. "Oh, you have NO idea how much fun I had tearing them apart. Dark made many mistakes, but not punishing traitors for their treasonous acts was something I would not allow. They deserved every ounce of pain and suffering I inflicted onto their miserable existence. I don't allow traitors to live."
Koda pointed at him accusingly. "What is wrong with you?! How can you be so cruel?!"
"I told you I don't allow traitors to live. I'm sick and tired of you and Dark twisting our philosophy, our purpose, for your own pleasurable needs and goals. We are Darkmon. There's only one thing we should look towards: total annihilation of the world." He grinned sadistically. "I don't want to rule this miserable planet. I want to destroy it! I want to watch this world burn up in flames!"
The shaky Dark Riolu clenched his fists. "You're insane!"
"Maybe I am, but I'm only setting the world straight. All happiness and positivity is rooted from the deepest of desires. I seek to destroy and restore the world to its primal glory. A world where only death and evil reign supreme. I'll be the one that tips the balance and allow evil to win! We're the incarnations of evil! We've been oppressed for far too long! I will set everything straight!
"That's why I killed those five idiots who fought against us. They are a disease to our people. No Darkmon who thinks differently is allowed the right to live!" He threw Koda's life force in the air. "Including you!" He widened his pincers and, once the orb was in, snapped shut on it, devouring the fleshy goop in one bite.
Immediately, Koda felt a pulse throughout his body and sudden headache. He stumbled, nearly falling off the tree. He held his head to get his bearings in order. He couldn't feel his connection to the flower anymore.
He was…
"Free?" he muttered. He suddenly saw a vision of the future. A pair of pincers snapping down on his head.
"Now you're dead!" Fang shouted, raising his enlarged pincers and lunging them at Koda.
The dark jackal immediately regained sense and flipped out of the way, kicking Fang across the jaw. He turned on his heel and jumped to a different tree, then continued to dash across the branches to get away from the psychotic Dark Gliscor.
"LORD DARK!" Koda shouted. "Fang! He's trying to kill everyone! All of us! You need to-AGH!" A purple streak slashed through his torso. He went tumbling onto a tree branch while his legs vanished into black smoke. He bit his lip in pain as his blood reshaped into a new pair of legs. "Agh…man, that hurt like heck…"
He looked over his shoulder and saw Fang land on the same branch. His wings were blazing with purple energy. He raised his enlarged pincers and snipped the air intimidatingly. "I'll make sure I finish the job before the sun does."
Meowth and Chloe were running through the mass of chaotic battling. Chloe saw a Flamethrower on her left and shoved Meowth down to help him avoid it. "We need to get you out of here now! You're unfit for a real fight!"
Meowth clenched his teeth as he pushed himself up. "Okay, hurtful, first off!" He stood up. "And second, I'm not completely helpless!" He reached into his leaf sack and pulled out a wooden arm brace. He placed it on his arm, then reached back into his bag to pull out the second arm brace. "You've been giving me training. Might as well put it to good use."
Chloe slapped his across the face with her tail. "Don't be an idiot! You could barely cut through a tree without whining like a baby! There no way you're fighting!"
Meowth rubbed his cheek in annoyance before placing his wooden chest piece on. "We don't have time to argue over this! We can't get through the Darkmon without fighting our way through first!" He took out an enhancer leaf and ate it.
The dark cat gripped her head. "Ugh! You're so stubborn!" Her ears twitched, picking up a noise. She turned around and parried a Dark Stunky's claws with her own. She sank her claws through his throat and flung him away. "We're leaving, now!"
Meowth narrowed his eyes through the crowd of Darkmon. "We're not leaving yet! We still need to find Laura!"
Chloe growled angrily, then exhales her frustration. "Erg…fine! But stay close to me, no matter what! If anything happens to you, I can guarantee you I'll go on a bloody rampage!"
Meowth blinked. "You really care that much about me?"
"Of course, you idiot! I…I…well, I feel something about you, I just don't know!" She growled angrily as her chest pulsed with pain. "ARGH! Come on!" She raced off in the direction of the stage where they last saw Laura.
Meowth ran behind her, trying to stay close. His eyes wandered to the right and quickly reacted to a Dark Cacturne that swung his Needle Arm at him. Meowth caught the arm, feeling the force of the attack sink his feet into the ground. He felt the pain, but it was almost a numb feeling. The armor he was wearing must have been applying properties that absorbed the shock.
The cat clenched his teeth and sweep kicked under the Dark Cacturne. The evil cactus was suspended in the air for a moment before Meowth punched him in the gut and sent him flying.
He blinked in surprise, then looked at his balled up fist. "Did I actually do that?"
Chloe stared at him, equally surprised. "Yeah…you did."
He flexed his fingers, then turned to her. "See? Told you I could handle myself."
She relaxed herself and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just stay close to me and DON'T bite off more than you can chew."
He nodded. "I won't, don't worry." The two continued to charge through the army of Darkmon in search for their robotic friend.
Everyone was fighting their own battles. Oshawott was proving himself against his counterpart. Emolga was keeping her eye on Axew and Scraggy while fighting for her life. Koda was fighting a mad Darkmon who was clearly insane. Everyone was getting their chance to fight and show the Darkmon their might.
Ryder and Pikachu weren't having that same luxury.
The two managed to chase Dark into a secluded area so they were away from any backup. Well, Dark wasn't exactly chased. More so, he was playing with the two rebels, an irritating grin of amusement constantly showing itself across his smug face.
Pikachu used Quick Attack to get in close, but Dark sidestepped, not even bothering to attack the electric mouse. Ryder threw an explosive at him, to which he just flicked his claw to the right and psychically redirected it, destroying a tree.
Ryder growled and lunged at him. "Take this seriously!" He threw a flurry of punches.
Dark dodged them perfectly without moving his feet. "I'm only showing you the end results of your foolish revolution: pointless fighting."
Pikachu ran up behind Dark and lunged at him with Iron Tail. "You really think it's that easy to get rid of us?!" He threw his tail down on his head, but the Darkmon lord shadow stepped at the last possible second, letting the Iron Tail smash into the ground.
"Of course it's that simple," Dark replied once he reappeared, hovering in the air. "Someone has to set the record straight. It's futile. It always has been. You two will never beat me, regardless of how strong you become."
Ryder ran up a tree and kicked off towards him. "That won't stop us from trying!"
Dark moved out of the way, watching the Charmeleon's claws fly pass his face. "Go ahead, keep trying. I have an eternity to wait."
Ryder planted his feet against a tree and landed. He fired off Inferno immediately after. Dark held his hand out and absorbed the flames. He suddenly took notice of the bolt of lightning flying at him. He used his other hand to absorb it. Ryder used this opportunity to lunge at him, using Aerial Ace to increase his speed.
I got him this time! He threw his fist at the Darkmon's face and…it phased through. Ryder's eyes widened as he passed through Dark's body. Once he was completely through, the Darkmon brought his foot up and axe kicked him back to the earth.
The agent groaned and pushed himself out of the impact crater. "I can't…put up with this…"
Pikachu helped him up, glaring at Dark. "Why isn't he fighting us?"
Ryder rubbed his lip. "He doesn't think we're a threat."
Dark smirked as he flexed his claws. "You're a waste of my time. I'm not wasting my energy just to slap around weaklings. It's beneath me to consider lower level creatures as true competition." He floated down. "Just give up and accept your fates. All hope is lost."
Ryder shrouded himself under his hood, grinding his teeth hard enough to create a spark. "You're a bane to my existence. You've ruined everything because of your shortsighted philosophy. You can grow stronger all you want. I said I'll get my revenge on you and I'm fulfilling that goal, here and now!"
Dark sighed, shaking his head. This was almost pitiful for the Lord of Fear. "Spare me the sermon. I'm tempted to cave your face in with my foot."
Pikachu stepped forward. "Listen here! I'm not standing by and letting you toy with us! You can call yourself evil all you want! In the end, good always prevails."
Dark smirked amusingly. "Life isn't a fairytale, idiot. Fighting for someone doesn't give you strength. There's no hero coming to save you. Courage and determination blind you from your inevitable demise." He placed his hand over his heart. "There's nothing special about being good! In the end, all life is naturally evil!"
"We're not evil!"
"Oh really? Let's break it down, shall we? Evil is opposing a higher power. Evil is that selfish desire to survive and succeed. Evil is the instinctive drive to win! Don't you get it?! Your morality system isn't as black and white as you believe! All your intentions have a hint of evil in them!" He pointed at Ryder. "You being the prime example! Tell me, how many of my subjects have you destroyed? Was it for justice? Or was it your own violent reaction to all the harm I caused you? I thought heroes were supposed to be these symbols of peace and justice! HA! Don't make me laugh! Everything you've done up to now was nothing more than your anger being taken out on us!
"But why stop at the Darkmon? What about your harsh treatment towards Laura and her little friends?"
Ryder's eyes widened. "How did you know about that?"
"Laura told me quite a bit about your last encounter with her." He counted off his claws. "Destroying her, stealing money from her idiot friends…heh, you call yourself a hero? All you care about is yourself! Selfish evil!"
Ryder's scar glowed, so he covered it with his hand. "You…don't know what you're talking about."
"Give me a break. Do I even have to bring up how WILD Pokémon act? They'll gladly attack each other for territory control. What about humans? I've learned about quite a few selfish ones who just want the title of Pokémon Master, including your lousy trainer, Pikachu."
"H-Hey!" the mouse shouted.
"It's pointless to say you can only be good or evil. Everyone is a mix of both!" He pointed accusingly at them. "It's self-entitled has-beens like you who oppress the other side. In your perfect little world, everyone should be happy and get along. No arguing, no hatred, no negativity!"
The Darkmon lord took a moment to throw his head back and unleash an uproar of cackles, greatly unnerving his two foes. "You can't define one side without the other! But since you're making it your personal mission to eradicate the incarnations of evil…"
He glared right at them, eyes glowing red. "Then I'll have to tip the scales so we can have our time to shine."
Pikachu tried to argue back, but he couldn't find the words. Was it Dark's fear inducement causing this? Or was he stunned that the Darkmon might be onto something?
He would never harm anyone. Then again, when first starting out on his journey, he was unnecessarily cruel to Ash. He despised all humans. He didn't ignore them or paid no mind. He went out of his way to get his message across by purposely shooting lightning at them. He couldn't even recall the amount of times he zapped Professor Oak with lightning. But…that doesn't mean he's cruel now. He would never hurt anybody.
Pikachu clenched his fist. "I'm…we're not like you. WE don't go out of our way to harm others. We help people."
"You're missing my point," the lord spat indifferently. "No matter how you say it, good always trumps evil, because that's how society wants it. No one cares what happens to us. We were made to be evil. You'll gladly destroy us to preserve your peace." He raised his hand, creating a small flame around it. "Just try and say there's room for monsters like us. Do you mighty heroes believe evil beings like us are truly worth life?"
Pikachu bit his lip. "I…I don't want to, but…"
Dark chuckled lowly. "That's what I thought. It's all about you and your precious morality. The world isn't allowed to experience negativity from your lens." He bared his claws. "That's why we're setting this world straight, starting off by killing you lot."
Pikachu stepped back, but Ryder took a step forward. Dark raised a brow in curiosity as his counterpart spoke, "Maybe I am selfish to think there's hope for peace. Maybe I'm just fighting for nothing. Maybe there's nothing I can do." His cloak shifted slightly. "Regardless of whatever you believe, though…" He raised his right arm and detached his weight. "I can't afford to quit now. I've gone too far."
Dark narrowed his eyes. "You're willing to end your life over a petty cause?"
"No. I'm putting my life on the line for a better tomorrow." He detached the other bracelet before going to the ones on his ankles. "My friends are putting themselves in danger to fight for what they care about. I'm doing the same." The bracelets fell off his ankles. "So I'm going to give it my all. We're finishing this, here and now."
The Darkmon lord closed his eyes and smirked. "Spoken like a delusion warrior fated to die. Very well, I'll humor your little goal. Maybe I'll give you a free shot, right in the-"
Dark opened his eyes to address his offer, but Ryder beat him to the punch with his own. The Charmeleon's fist, coupled with a boost using Brick Break, smashed across the Darkmon's jaw. The burst of speed delivered through the attack created a gust of wind that pushed against his counterpart. He kept contact with his jaw for as long as possible before firing him off.
Dark slammed through a tree that collapsed on itself and fell on top of him. Thankfully, he shadow stepped just to the right of the tree. He pushed himself up and rubbed his jaw. Before he could retort in anyway, he saw two bombs attached to his chest, which detonated in his face.
Ryder panted heavily, eyes narrowed into a glare. While he looked furious, underneath that expression was one of surprise. He didn't expect to hit him with that much force. Then again, the lord was so caught up in his arrogance that he was completely caught off guard. Still, that was the first hit he got off on him all day.
Pikachu stood next to him with a shocked face. "Oh my Arceus…"
Ryder looked at his fist for a moment, then looked to Pikachu. "Take your weights off. The winds are changing…" He tightened his jaw. "…and I think I awakened the beast."
The smoke cloud blew away from Dark, who stood still with his hands behind his back. He had his eyes closed, yet he didn't express silent fuming or rage. He appeared…content.
He opened his eyes and examined the smoldering wound on his chest, which was healing up. He stared blankly, then flashed his trademark smirk.
"So…you do have some fight in you?"
Pikachu finally got his weights off as Ryder replied with, "I'm not the same Charmeleon who fought you five years ago. I've spent these last few years preparing for this moment. I don't need my aura's full potential to beat you." He glanced at Pikachu before looking back at their opponent. "We'll both beat you."
Pikachu pulled out his staff. "Yeah!"
Dark grinned wildly. "I can sense your energy surging to its max. You truly are prepared to fight." He stepped forward. "Perhaps I'll give you the honor of dying by my hands." He walked slowly to them. "After all, you're the only one who has ever given me a real challenge. We've both grown in the last five years. Now it's time to see who has truly learned…"
He stepped once more before vanishing. Ryder and Pikachu's eyes widened as a gush of wind blew pass them. Standing between them was Dark, who moved so fast that it took a moment to register his presence.
"And who will come out on top."
They both finally caught up to his person and swung their fists, but they weren't properly prepared to tank his own attacks. Dark slammed his fist across Ryder's cheek while delivering a pick to Pikachu's gut, knocking the wind out of him. The moment the blow register, they were fired off with a blast of wind exerting around Dark.
The two, thankfully, had the time to brace themselves and endure the impact against the trees. They rolled across the ground before dragging their claws into the dirt and halting their momentum. The attacks hurt, but they were still standing. They glared at the Darkmon as they readied themselves.
"Still standing, eh?" Dark closed his eyes and laughed his menacing aura projected around him. He raised his claws, the left burning with heat and the right crackling with electricity. "Not for long."