Sacrifice and Subjugation

by MetalDargon

Not just anyone can be the Champion. But what determines whether or not someone has the potential? How does one truly prepare? In a world fraught with danger both near and far, a boy pursues the answers to those questions. But the Pokemon League is a brutal institution, pushing trainers to their mental and physical limits . Only the strongest succeed...

35. Chapter 35: Nightmares Awaken

Chapter 35

Seeing my pack of hellhounds at the Fire Grotto was a welcomed sight. I went to greet them before I even let my parents know that I was home. When the hounds saw Rufus and I enter through the main gate, a few of them howled happily and bounded over to me. Before I knew it, I was gang-tackled by a bunch of year-and-a-half-old and even more two-month-old Houndour, accruing a few minor burns in the process on account of accidental discharges.

The howling must have alerted my parents because I heard my mother yell out somewhere behind me, "Zach is that you? You're early!" Indeed, I was about half-an-hour early, having left immediately after my shift ended on Tuesday.

"Yeah, mother. It's me," I replied, pushing away a couple of the large hounds and standing up. "Just checking on them before I come inside. They're getting big."

"Yeah, they are. And they eat A LOT," she told me with a smile.

A few of them ran over to my mother and nuzzled her hands. I looked at the group of larger Houndour, and it seemed curiously smaller. "Hmm, where are the rest? Some of them are missing."

"Good eye, Zach," My mother commended me. "I was actually able to sell two of last year's male pups. They brought in enough money to feed the rest here for a few months, haha."

I nodded in acknowledgment. It was good that they were bringing in some good money. After seeing the Blastoise in the pile of dead pokemon at the Battle Cell, I had made a promise to myself to avoid catching and selling wild pokemon for money when I could avoid it. "Who were the buyers?"

"Just a couple of budding trainers who wanted to have the same pokemon when they started their adventure," she said. "They were quite disappointed that you weren't here. They really wanted to meet you."

"How long ago was it?" I asked.

"Oh, about a week and a half ago. It's not even April yet, so they're probably still in school," she told me, while looking me over. "Are you alright? You seem… somewhat gloomy."

"It's nothing," I told her. In fact, I still felt discouraged by the status of the Battle Cell investigation but it was not something I wanted to discuss with her. "But I actually have an idea on how to market the Houndour."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" she asked, though she did not look any less concerned.

"I'm thinking I might challenge Cody Jayden of the Elite 4 sometime in the next couple months," I explained. "If I beat him, then I'll be able to draw a larger amount of attention. If the last two Houndour from last year's litter haven't been sold by then, I can guarantee we'll sell them after then."

"So you think you're almost ready to challenge an Elite?" my mother asked. Her brows were creased in worry. "There aren't many trainers who are better than them."

"That's right. But I'm only going to be challenging the first Elite. I have a long way to go before I can challenge all four. Don't worry, we're going to be ready," I assured her.

My words seemed to give her a little comfort, but she shrugged anyway and invited me inside. I left Rufus in the enclosure and followed my mother inside, where I made myself at home. I released Dante and I greeted both an excited Pako, the Numel, and Frieda, the newly evolved Combusken. Then I made a sandwich and noticed that my father was absent. "Where's father?" I asked.

"He's out working with the horses. He's recently taken on two new Ponyta, and the Rapidash always need work," she informed me.

I acknowledged her and carried my sandwich into the adjacent living room, where the television was showing the news and my mother was relaxing in an armchair with a book. My PokeDex chimed on my way into the living room, notifying me of a message.

Hey Zach, long time no see! I heard that you were in town, and I happen to be in Viridian City at the moment. If you have a few minutes tomorrow, it would be cool to catch up. Waddya say? – Keith.

I raised an eyebrow upon reading the message. It had been a long while since I had seen Keith, so the idea of catching up with a friend was appealing. I quickly typed out a response accepting his invitation and then sat down next to my mother.

Meanwhile, the news showed warships and a flying battalion on a screen behind two anchors. A couple months after being driven from the Sevii mainland by Sevii and Johtan forces," the female anchor reported, "Hoenn forces are once again storming the island from the sea. The attack began at roughly 5:00 this morning and has raged on since.

Sources say Hoenn is being aided by Unovan military forces, but our sources say such forces are operating under Hoenn regalia. Therefore, if Unovan forces are aiding Hoenn, then they don't want the rest of the world to know about it. We'll keep you updated as new information emerges.

"What is this world coming to?" asked my mother rhetorically with a sigh.

"A large bang, if you ask me," I replied facetiously.

My mother only shook her head to express her distaste.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

I woke up the next morning and somehow felt different. It was as if there was a weight on my consciousness. I did not recognize it, or know how to deal with it, but I eventually grew accustomed to it and wrote it off as just a weird feeling. However, I donned my ranger gear for the comfort it brought me.

Somehow and for some reason, word spread of my arrival back home this time. Despite my brief absence from the League fighting scene, I still carried a relative amount of fame due to my appearance in the Indigo Conference and my non-undercover achievements as a ranger in Cerulean City. By noon the next morning, multiple people were visiting the Fire Grotto with more interest in either challenging me or asking for training advice than in conducting business.

There was, however, one exception. A young girl accompanied by her mother purchased a newborn male Houndour after meeting me. She wanted to purchase a female Houndour, but when I told her that only the males were for sale, she accepted. Her reason was that she wanted to have a newborn pokemon that would imprint on her, making it easier for her to train once her training journey began. It made sense to me. I had, after all, trained Azrael from a newly hatched lizard.

Other than the girl, no one else visited with a legitimate desire to conduct business on behalf of my hounds that afternoon. It actually pushed me to leave home and go into town two hours before I had agreed to meet with Keith for a beer.

While in town, I visited the Pokemon Traders Guild and BioTech. At the Guild I wanted to see their pokemon availability. The rarer pokemon were more expensive, and the amount of pokemon in stock also affected their price. For example, there was an over-abundance of Pidgey, numbering over 500. As a result, they were cheap, though the larger and higher-level ones were more expensive. A level 1 Pidgey was only 250PB. But Pidgey were not what I was searching for.

I was searching for very specific pokemon for my last slot, and I only wanted to research the kind of prices that I could expect. The base evolutionary forms I was interested in, in order of priority, were Pawniard, Larvitar, Scyther, Aron, Magnemite, and Axew. I wanted a pokemon with a high defense, and which could take a large amount of damage while retaining some diversity. So, a Bisharp, Tyranitar, Magnezone, Aggron, Scizor, or Haxorus would be great. However, I knew that some were significantly rarer than others.

Of the pokemon I was interested in, I found that the Kanto Traders Guild only had one Pawniard, 12 Magnemite, two Aron, one Lairon, and six Scyther. Some were clearly more common than others. For 28,000PB, I could have a decent Magnemite. Or, for 125,000PB, I could have the Pawniard. A decent Scyther would run me 50,000PB.

The Pawniard was clearly the most expensive, due to its rarity and limited stock. Of course, I knew that I had a higher chance of finding a stronger pokemon from a breeder. I only knew of a single breeder in Kanto with any of the pokemon I was looking for, though, and I was not even sure they were for sale. That breeder was Aoro, and I knew he might have an Aron and a Larvitar. I made a mental note to pay Aoro a visit soon because even if they were not for sale, Aoro might make an exception for me. In the meantime, I would also research breeders in other regions.

When I visited BioTech, I browsed the TMs and trainer goods. I looked over the selection of TMs without the intention of purchasing one, but ended up buying the Focus Blast TM for Gilles when he eventually returned. I did not find any trainer goods to leave with. My ranger's combat knife and bow were of exceptional quality, but if I wanted the best quality, I would need to pay a lot – more than I was willing to spend at this time.

When I was finishing up at BioTech, Keith sent me a message that he was grabbing a table at a local bar called The Viridian Tabard. So, I quickly paid for my TM and then made my way to the medieval tavern-themed bar.

While he waited, Keith was talking to a couple of girls at the bar. Upon my arrival, he greeted me with a beer. "Zach! How's it goin'?"

"Alright, how about you?" I asked, smiling.

"Pretty good!" he replied cheerfully. "And this is Charlene and Lila. They're students at the Viridian City University." Both girls shook my hand, but could not take their eyes off my scarred face.

The girl named Charlene then said, "I feel like I know you."

"It's Zachariah MacAfee," Keith told her. "Trainer prodigy. Huge dragon guy from Viridian, ya know?"

"Ohhh!" she exclaimed. "I thought you looked familiar. My roommate watches LeagueWatch, so I've seen your face." Then she moved over and sat down next to me. In an overly flirtatious manner, she leaned towards me and said, "I've also seen a video or two of your dragon. It's amazing!"

"Uh… thanks," I replied. "I'd love to talk more about it, but I haven't seen my friend here in ages and we were going to catch up."

"Oh don't be like that," she told me, crestfallen. "Maybe we can join you?"

"I'm sorry, Charlene," Keith chimed in. "Maybe we can talk later, but I'm going to have to take my leave now."

Charlene gave an overdramatic pout but acquiesced. Keith and I then sat down at a table. "Still as skittish around women as ever, I see," Keith commented.

"Well, I'm still seeing Sheila," I replied, taking a drink of my beer.

"I figured as much," Keith told me, sipping his own. "I was tempted to invite them to join us," he added with a mischievous laugh.

"Well thank you for refraining from such an awful idea," I told him humorously.

"They weren't that bad," he laughed, "Charlene was pretty hot and I'm sure she's smart. Y'know, university student and all."

"Not the point," I replied, shaking my head. "Girlfriend. This guy," I said, pointing to myself.

"I never said you had to cheat on her," he said with another laugh. "Just have a little fun with a random girl. Arceus knows you need the practice if your relationship with Sheila doesn't work out."

"Ha. Ha," I said sarcastically.

We proceeded to talk for an hour about our current lives. I told him about the Ranger Corps and the Battle Cells, and the differences between working in the wilderness and the city.

Keith had gone back to Fuchsia City after earning his last League badge and spent some time relaxing. He was currently training his team to eventually take on the Elite 4. He told me that he had multiple possible interests for his long-term career. Being a gym trainer like his mother was one possibility, and being trained by the Hannotate was another.

I was not particularly supportive of Keith's interest in the mercenary group, given their disregard for the safety of innocent people at the Pokemon Guild robberies. I let him know of my distaste for the mercenaries, but he merely shrugged and told me that if he did become part of the Hannotate, he would not sacrifice his morals.

While I was not completely reassured, I accepted his reasoning. Around that time, our meeting was interrupted by a call from my mother, who said, Zachariah? There's a man here who wishes to look at your Houndour for the purpose of conducting business. Just calling to see if you want to come home to conduct the prospective trade.

"Yes, mother," I replied. "Give me about ten minutes. I'll be there soon."

"Leaving already?" Keith asked. "That's too bad."

"Apparently there's a guy who wants to buy one of my Houndour," I told him. "Why don't you come along and see them?"

"Sure, that sounds fun," Keith responded. "Just give me a few. I'll catch up with you after I get those girls' numbers."

"Sounds good," I laughed. Then I paid for my beer and left the bar. With a little psychic help from Dante, I was back home in no time. When I arrived, I walked to the edge of the PokeWall, where I saw my mother standing next to a tall man. Both of them were facing away from me, so I simply walked up and announced my presence.

"Mother, I'm home," I said, and she turned around with a smile.

"Hi Zachariah," she said with a wave. "This man is interested in looking at the pups – Mr. Kostov."

At my mother's introduction, the large man turned around. My welcoming smile faded quickly and my heart sank when Sergei Kostov stared back at me. He shot me a smile and bowed slightly. "Mr. MacAfee, pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"What do you want?" I asked tersely, my hand hovering over Azrael's pokeball. I noticed Sergei's hand was hovering close to a knife on his hip, and he was standing close to my mother, so I refrained from acting rashly. Also, interestingly, I did not feel him trying to search my mind.

"That's no way to speak to a customer," my mother told me, abashed.

"Oh it's alright, ma'am," he said in dramatically feigned politeness. "Some people are just put off by my size and accent. I haven't seen many fellow Unovans around."

"That may be," she conceded. "But it's no excuse for us. So, would you like to take a look at the pups?"

"Absolutely, I've heard you're the only one in Kanto who breeds them," he told her conversationally.

"That's correct, we are," my mother responded happily, leading the way to the observation deck of the PokeWall. "You'd have to go all the way to Johto if you wanted to find another breeder. And there's no telling if they would be higher quality. You see, my son has bred them from his own Houndoom, with which he has beaten the Pokemon League. He did so without losing a single gym match, so you know we have a superior bloodline."

I found myself in a very tricky situation. So far, Sergei had not shown any signs of aggression, which baffled me. I was certain that he knew who I was. After all, why else would he be in Viridian City at the Fire Grotto? But if he knew who I was, why was he being so subtle?

I did not want to tell my mother who he was to avoid threatening him. However, I did not think she was safe. I could not understand why he was here at the moment, so I stayed cautious and attempted to discover his intentions.

"No kidding. That team of yours is pretty strong," he told me. "Not just anyone can beat the League without losing. But then, not everyone has a Garchomp as a starter, much less one that big."

So that's how he knew me? I inwardly cursed at myself for my carelessness. My disguise and use of non-recognizable pokemon for my undercover missions was enough to keep my identity a secret, but when I used Azrael outside of the Precinct, I must have jeopardized that secret. But that still did not explain why Sergei was not acting hostile towards me.

"The Ranger Corps? That's a noble profession," he commented, looking over my ranger uniform. "A Sergeant? You can't be more than 20 years old. I'm sure your prowess as a trainer has something to do with that."

"Something like that," I said, curious where he was going with it.

"Of course there's only so much your pokemon can do, right?" he continued. He looked into the enclosure to see many of the Houndour wrestling and running around.

"The Ranger Corps teaches self-defense, if that's what you mean," I told him.

"Of course. It must make your parents proud to know that their son is so skilled and offering so much to this city," he said, looking at my mother. I felt like he was getting at something.

"Of course we're proud of him," my mother chimed in, seemingly unaware of any subtle hints that Sergei was conveying. "But Zachariah doesn't work in this city. He actually works in Cerulean."

"Oh, Cerulean? So far away? That would make it difficult for him to protect you from hordes of wild pokemon out here," he said with subtle hints of malice creeping into his words.

There it was. He was here to threaten me. He knew who I was, he knew where my family lived, and he knew that I was not capable of guarding them at all times. My cover was blown.

"You needn't worry about us," my mother responded to him. "The Ranger Corps is just as competent in Viridian as it is in Cerulean."

"Oh of course," Sergei responded sheepishly. "I'm just surprised that Mr. MacAfee wouldn't work closer to home. Why did you choose Cerulean City?"

"These days, it's easy to get from city to city if you have the right pokemon," I told him. "I could be here to aid the rangers or defend my business in a matter of seconds if I needed to." I allowed the defensive threat to seep into my words. "I chose Cerulean because there just happens to be more scumbags there than here."

"I wish my son had the same attitude towards visiting us regularly," my mother laughed, still oblivious.

"Indeed," Sergei responded in a less jovial manner. "Still, though, I thank you for your service in the Ranger Corps." I suddenly felt the tickle of his consciousness trying to creep into my mind.

"It's my pleasure," I told him, making sure to avoid showing too much emotion physically and mentally.

Before either of us could speak again, I heard someone yell my name from outside of the PokeWall. I looked out to see Keith running over. I directed him to the entrance of the viewing platform and he was soon standing next to me.

"So this is your Fire Grotto, huh?" he asked as he approached. But he stopped in front of Sergei with a raised eyebrow. "Kostov? What are you doing here?"

"Just looking for potential pokemon to expand my team," he responded. "What are you doing here?"

I looked from one to the other in surprise. "You know each other?" I asked.

"Just meeting up with a buddy," he told Sergei. "And yeah, I know him. He worked with my mother in the Fuchsia City gym years ago before he joined the Hannotate," Keith told me.

"In any case, do you have any Houndoom available for sale?" Sergei asked suddenly.

"Houndoom? Unfortunately we don't," my mother told him. "The only Houndoom we have are our breeders, and we simply can't part with them. Are you sure you won't consider a Houndour?"

"That's too bad," Sergei responded, looking crestfallen. I knew it was a ruse, though. "I need a pokemon that can jump in with my team at around the same experience level. I don't think a Houndour as young as these could keep up unfortunately."

"Oh, that is too bad," my mother said disappointedly. Keith echoed the sentiment.

"But it was nice to meet you both," he replied. "Maybe one day I'll come back and you'll have older pokemon available." Sergei nodded to Keith as well.

"We'll see," my mother replied cheerfully. Then Sergei released his Espeon and they teleported out, giving my mother a shock.

"Oh geez, that was unexpected!" she exclaimed when they disappeared. "A little warning would have been nice."

I wasted no time addressing what had happened. "Keith can I ask you to give my mother and I a moment?" Keith nodded and left the observation deck.

"Mother, listen to me very carefully," I told her seriously. "If you ever see that man again, contact me immediately. Then call the rangers."

"What? Why!?" she asked, utterly bewildered at my sudden uproar.

"That man is dangerous," I said.

"How do you know?" she asked, skeptical.

"I've been investigating him and a group that he's affiliated with," I explained. "Believe me, he's dangerous. I need you to promise me that you'll tell me if you see him again. Promise me!"

"I promise," she yielded. "How serious is this?"

"Very serious. My cover has been blown," I told her. "I'm going to need a bit to report this to my superior officers. Be careful from now on."

"…Alright," she said, looking very nervous.

I hurried off the platform and met with Keith, who was sitting in the grass with his Luxray. "Keith, what do you know about Sergei?" I asked. Honestly, the investigation probably knew everything Keith could tell me, but I wanted to make sure.

"I don't know," he replied. "I haven't seen him in years. Why?"

"Because he's involved with some bad people and wanted by the League," I told him.

"Oh shit," he muttered. "I don't know what I can tell you. I only know him from the days he used to work with my mother."

"Alright. Well thanks, anyway," I told him. I would have to bring this information up to my commanding officer and hope that the investigation could learn something new about Sergei because of it. Until then, I called the office of Captain Jung.

After informing Captain Jung of Sergei's intrusion and what we discussed therein, she told me to hold tight while they figured out what to do about it. I was facing an immediate withdrawal from the undercover investigation in the short term, but they needed to decide how to handle the situation in the long term.

When I finished speaking with Captain Jung, I called Marcus and informed him of the events that had transpired. Understandably, he was concerned. He was also angry at Sergei for tracking down my family, and offered an unhealthy dose of expletives directed at the mercenary.

I was completely on edge as a result of Sergei's visit. I was given a little comfort in knowing that he would likely not attack my family immediately. His visit seemed to be one of intimidation – to show me that he could destroy me if I gave him sufficient reason. To his credit, at least he gave me the chance to back down. Whether or not I would was dependent on my Captain's orders, though I felt like I might quit if she ordered me to continue provoking Sergei.

I was overwhelmed with stress, so I made a quick run to the store for some headache medication. On my way out, I heard a pair of PokeDex alarms. I looked over to see a pair of young trainers looking at their PokeDexes with dismay. Curious, I walked over and peered down at them, which made them flinch once they realized I was there. "What's going on? I know that sound."

"We're being called on to defend Viridian City," the boy told me.

"We've never been called on before," the girl told me, distressed.

Wanting to alleviate some of my stress by working with my pokemon, I decided to offer a little help. "How many badges do you have each?" I asked out of curiosity.

"We each have two," replied the boy.

"Good, so you aren't helpless. Now where do you need to report?" I asked, assessing them.

"The Viridian Forest Outpost A, right outside of the Viridian Forest," the girl informed me.

"Alright, the let's head over," I told them, taking out Dante's pokeball.

"Excuse me, sir," asked the boy. "But are you Zachariah MacAfee?"

"Yup," I replied simply. Their nervous expressions faded and their faces lit up.

"And you're going to help?" the boy added.

"Yup," I repeated. Then I released Dante.

"Sweet!" the boy exclaimed before we teleported to the outpost.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

"Sergeant?" asked a Corporal, last named Gibbes. He and his partner, Private First Class Campbell, were looking at my insignia.

"Yeah, but I'm not going to take over the operation. I'm technically off duty from another city but I want to help. Just let me know what you want me to do," I told the ranger. He seemed to ease up with the reassurance that his authority was not about to be usurped.

"Great. And thanks for your help. I thought I might have had to call on additional rangers. We don't have many trainers. Hold on a sec while I address them." The ranger turned to the group of nine trainers and proclaimed, "Here's the situation, trainers. Outpost B has reported a swarm of Combee and Beedrill heading our way. Something riled them up and we need to make sure they don't reach the city. We're going to move back towards the city where the trees aren't as thick so we have enough room to act. Let's go!"

Corporal Gibbes started running south, and everyone fell in line behind him. While he ran, he yelled, "There will be three teams of three! Sergeant MacAfee will be his own team. Figure out whose team you're on now." Private First Class Campbell ran behind him while checking his PokeDex. He was tracking the movement of the swarm being updated by other rangers in the forest.

By the time we ran about a quarter of a mile, the trainers had coalesced into individual groups. The trees were fairly distant from one another so we had plenty of room to spread out. When Corporal Gibbes stopped, he addressed us once more.

"Our primary form of communication now will be with our PokeDexes, so keep them handy. Keep each other safe and take out as many of the bugs as possible. Watch out for their poison; if you get stung, do not act tough by keeping it from everyone. You will need medical attention if that happens, so let us know." Then, he assigned each three-trainer group a group number.

"Group 1 will run a hundred yards that way, and Group 2 will run a hundred yards the other way. Group 3 will stay here. Sergeant, back them up where needed," he told us. Then he and Private First Class Campbell moved back, releasing pokemon as they went.

"Fire and rock, everyone!" I yelled. "They are weak to both, so if you have a fire or rock pokemon, use it. Fliers and electric pokemon are also good!" I then took position between groups 1 and 3 and released Azrael, Dante, Rufus, and Ceto. They looked around confused until I addressed them. "Everyone, we have a swarm of bugs headed our way. Azrael, take the area between the two groups over there. Use Flamethrower, Aerial Ace, and Hyper Beam," I told him, pointing to the area between groups 3 and 2. "Dante, head over there as well. Use Psychic and Thunderbolt at range, but if they get close, use Brick Break. Use Calm Mind, Bulk Up, and Double Team before they get here and establish a mental link."

Yes, J'Kun, he responded, and teleported over. Azrael roared and flew over there as well.

"Ceto and Rufus, stick close to me. Rufus, use Nasty Plot twice. Ceto, use Agility twice and Focus Energy." They both prepared with my instructions, heightening their abilities while we waited for the swarm. I refrained from using Saraph due to the amount of young trainers nearby.

Before long, I heard the distant sound of buzzing gradually growing louder. "Get ready!" I yelled to the other groups. I saw a variety of pokemon readied for action, including a Graveler, a Pikachu, a Magneton, a Quilava, a Hoothoot, and a Doduo. Many more littered the area. "Ceto, I want you to snipe the largest ones out of the sky with Ice Beams, and Rufus, I want you to use Solar Beams until they get close enough to use Flamethrower."

By the time I finished giving them orders, I could hear the buzzing clearly. I mentally told Dante to give Azrael the go-ahead, who launched into the sky seconds later. Just then, I caught sight of a multitude of Combee surging through the trees like foot-tall gnats. Five-foot-tall Beedrill with two-foot-long stingers on both of their front limbs were intermixed within the swarm

"Now, Ceto and Rufus!" I ordered. A beam of ice blasted from Ceto's mouth, and impaled a Beedrill nearly one hundred yards away and froze three Combee. Rufus drew in an immense amount of energy from the sun and launched a massive beam of greenish-yellow energy that seared through a Beedrill and about seven Combee at the same distance.

"Good aim, both of you," I commended them. With Rufus's Attack power significantly strengthened, his normally powerful attacks were now devastating. Similarly, Ceto's aim was focused, which gave her pinpoint accuracy at great distances and surgical precision up close.

A quick glance over to the other side of the battlefield showed Azrael releasing a bright Hyper Beam into the trees. I saw a couple carcasses fall far ahead in the forest. About 20 seconds later, the bugs were upon us. Fire, lightning, rocks, and other attacks flared out into the swarm, washing over the insects in a chaotic melee.

Azrael flew around his area, breathing fire over the larger concentrations of bees. Dante sent out bolts of lightning that sent the bees plummeting to the ground as charred carapaces. Rufus stayed beside me and breathed flames into the sky, lighting multiple insects on fire at a time. And Ceto used a Twister to take out multiple foes at once.

Unsurprisingly, my team was doing better than the other groups of three trainers. Not more than thirty seconds into the battle, I saw a larger concentration of Combee and Beedrill descend on Group 1, so I told Ceto to rush over and use Blizzard on them. Her heightened speed allowed her to blast over with a Waterfall move at nearly three times her normal speed. When she landed, a swirl of frost wrapped around her and whipped forward in a mini hurricane that washed over the swarm and flash-froze many of them in mid-air.

At the same time, a group of Beedrill surged through the trees towards Azrael. He used Dragon Rush to slam into them and continue through, ripping some of them to shreds but sustaining a few stings in the process.

After a quick mental order, Dante teleported onto Azrael's back and released lightning bolts from his saddle, with the order to teleport Azrael over to me if he sustained too much damage. So far, no trainers had been injured, but I noticed that many of their pokemon had been switched out for uninjured ones.

But then the battle changed. The massive swarm of insects retreated momentarily and grouped into multiple smaller swarms. Then they targeted the most threatening pokemon on the field. Those included Azrael and Dante, Rufus, Ceto, and a couple other pokemon in the trainer groups.

"Ceto, protect yourself with a Twister and come back!" I yelled to her. "Rufus, Smokescreen and Flamethrower. Dante, have Azrael use Sandstorm a hundred feet ahead of us and then come back to me. There's something directing these bees!"

Then I got on my PokeDex and radioed Corporal Gibbes. "There's something directing these pokemon!" I exclaimed into it. "I need eyes on whatever it is so I can take it out."

Roger that. Stand by, came the response. Thanks to the smoke around me, not many insects could see us. Furthermore, with a jet of fire constantly spewing from within the smoke, most of the bees simply flew around the top of the smoky cloud and dipped down into it sporadically. I was barely able to make out the things going on around me, including Ceto's Twister getting closer.

By having all of my pokemon converge on me, I would lure a lot of the swarm into a smaller space and have a chance to take many of them out. About 20 seconds later, I heard Azrael roar as he approached. The sound of buzzing was accompanied by the sound of a sandstorm which enveloped a large area within the trees.

Ceto also entered the smokescreen, and I saw her bleeding from multiple wounds. "Hold out for a little bit, Ceto," I told her, and she sent an Ice Beam out of the smoke. Then, Azrael landed 10 feet to my side with a loud thump, and another roar. He had a few stingers embedded in his tail and arms. Dante teleported to my side, and healed himself of his wounds. Then I asked him to heal the rest of the team, which he did without hesitation.

I knew that Dante's healing would be helpful, but if they were poisoned, the healing would only do so much. With all of my pokemon nearby, I ordered Rufus to use Inferno above the smoke and Dante to use Light Screen on me to protect me from the heat. A barrier formed over me while I backpedaled away from him, and then Rufus's body erupted in flames. The fire swirled around him, similar to a Blizzard, and surged straight up. Seconds later, the sounds of insects screeching and the smell of burnt chitin consumed my senses before countless burning insects rained down on us.

I was expecting more bees to be hit by the Inferno, though. It seemed as if the swarm had backed off when they started to converge, and most of it had avoided Rufus's attack. But before I could order a follow-up, my PokeDex rang. Three hundred yards from your position. Vespiquen inside a denser swarm of Combee and Beedrill.

"Thanks!" I replied. Then I returned Ceto, Rufus, and Azrael to their pokeballs. "Dante, teleport us northeast 350 yards. We're going after the queen."

Dante nodded with glowing eyes, and teleported us away. When we appeared, I returned him to his pokeball and released Azrael. His breath was a little ragged due to the poison in his system and the amount of exertion he was expending, but he could last a while longer. "Okay Azrael," I told him. "We're going after the queen and ending this horde attack. How does that sound?"

Azrael huffed and shook his body in response. So I put his saddle on his back and hopped on. We jumped into the sky, breaking through some of the tree branches in the process, and set a course for the coordinates I was given.

As we approached, I saw a black cloud hanging just over the treetops and realized it must have been the queen's cloud. Before the cloud detected us, though, I ordered, "Azrael, Draco Meteor on that swarm."

Azrael hummed with delight. His neck arched up and the blue meteor formed ten feet above his head. Then, with little warning, it shot forward towards the swarm. It hurtled through the air, forming a tail behind it, and just before it reached the cloud, the swarm shifted. An explosion rippled through the insect cloud, destroying the tops of the trees below and disintegrating at least a third of the swarming bees. Azrael's breathing became much more labored, and the flames coming from his mouth were much weaker.

I saw in the momentary lull after the explosion an almost humanoid yellow insect retreating into the trees. But a new swarm of Combee was headed right for us. "Azrael, turn around and get us out of here!" I commanded.

Our course altered to the right as Azrael turned, but before we could gain any speed in the opposite direction, the bees converged on us. I pulled out my knife and sliced several bees out of the air as they attacked, but was stung a couple of times in the process. Azrael soon gained enough speed to put some distance between us and swarm, and we did not slow down until we reached the battle zone.

When we arrived, the bees had retreated back into the woods, leaving the trainers battle worn and relieved. When I landed, I dismounted and immediately recalled Azrael to his pokeball. Then I made sure all of the trainers were all right. Most of them had been stung at least once, and two of them had been stung many times. When Corporal Gibbes and Private First Class Campbell arrived, they assessed the situation.

They found only two trainers without sting wounds, and released them from duty. They ordered the rest of us to report to a hospital right inside city limits immediately. To help further, I escorted the trainers to the hospital where we were all given antidotes for the bee stings. While the antidotes were administered, many of the trainers talked amongst themselves excitedly. It was all of their first missions in the Pokemon League, and it had been a success.

The boy and girl I had originally accompanied also gushed excitedly to me. "That was amazing!" the boy exclaimed. "Your Seadra froze a metric crapton of those bees! And your dragon was flying around with A GALLADE ON ITS BACK! Easily the coolest thing I've ever seen."

"Well I only helped. We couldn't have succeeded without all of your help," I told him.

"I'd hate to see what would have happened without you there," the girl remarked. "I don't think it would have ended so well for most of us."

"The rangers would have gotten involved if that was the case," I explained. "Don't worry, the League has procedures in place for scenarios where the trainers aren't capable of defending on their own."

"That's good to know," the girl replied.

"Yeah… But it was sooo sweet!" the boy exclaimed, segueing back into excitement.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

Most of my team was in need of medical attention, but Rufus had miraculously escaped harm. So, after I was finished at the hospital, I made a trip to the closest Pokemon Center to admit them for treatment. When I arrived, the sun was setting. The Nurse Joy looked in shock at my wrists with bloody sting wounds and asked, "Are you okay, mister?" I only nodded. Rufus sat down on the floor beside me.

The Nurse Joy did not take her eyes of me as I showed her my PokeDex. "Are you really alright, Ranger? Do you need anything?"

"A room, please," I croaked out, feeling uneasy from the antidote.

"Sure thing," she replied, still a bit apprehensive.

Minutes later, the Nurse gave me a room key and a little baggie holding two pills. She saw me look at them and said, "It's just some Tylenol. You look like you could use some."

I thanked her and checked into my room. I swallowed the pills without water as soon as I closed the door behind me, and then started a shower. While I waited for the water to start steaming, Rufus curled up inside the bathroom, preferring the hot and steamy environment to the cool bedroom.

I chose to keep Rufus out of his pokeball for the time being. He gave me some peace of mind. Also, on a side note, the Banette had not shown up in a while. Fred was always watching from somewhere nearby, and for some reason, today I felt like I could feel his presence. But one of my team being nearby was much more comforting to me. Right before I stepped in the shower, I thought I heard the familiar giggle of Gilles in the distance, and hoped it was a sign that he was on his way back from wherever he was.

I took my time in the shower, and when I stepped out probably an hour later, I felt a little better. However, I also felt like something was amiss. I walked out of the bathroom and Rufus moved past me towards the door. He was standing next to it, alert, with his lip slightly curled.

"Rufus, what's going on?" I asked. Rufus looked at me, and then back at the door. I walked over and looked out the peephole, but saw nothing. Curiously but cautiously, I donned my clothes and grabbed my combat knife, which I put on my hip. Then I motioned Rufus to my side.

I opened the door to reveal an empty hallway. Letting out a small breath of relief, I eased up. Wanting to check on my pokemon at the front, I walked down the hall and down the stairs towards the lounge. From there, I walked through the entry to find myself in a shocking and dangerous situation.

"Return that Pokemon!" I heard someone yell, and a gun was leveled at my face from the right. "Hands up, fucker!" the one with the gun commanded. Four other masked individuals had also aimed their firearms at me. Rufus was snarling. "I don't have his ball on me!" I yelled, lifting my hands. "I left it in my room!" Then I sent Rufus a look that calmed him down. I did not want them to escalate the situation.

In all, there were five people clad in black in the lounge, three of them holding handguns. About seven trainers were on the floor cowering and another was lying in a pool of blood. I recognized a couple of the cowering trainers.

"Wait! Hold on!" the man in the middle yelled, turning to look at me. He was holding a Recall Gun. "No fucking way!" He was obviously in charge by his positioning amongst the other men and the way he held up his hand. "Bring him here!"

The man on my right motioned me forward. Rufus bared his teeth at the man, so I gave him another look to quiet him down. Then I walked slowly towards the leader with Rufus at my side. We were outnumbered, there was no place to take cover, and there were hostages that could be killed, so I did not want to create any trouble. I reached the man, who was looking at me with hatred, and waited for him to speak.

"Well if it isn't the sonofabitch who ruined my life," he said.

I did not recognize him, so my face conveyed perplexity. "I think you have the wrong person."

"I wouldn't expect you to remember me!" he spat. "But I remember you, motherfucker. Maybe this will jog your memory," he pulled up a pant leg to reveal a round scar on his thigh.

Still, I did not recognize him or the wound. He looked pissed. But then his face turned menacing and an evil grin spread out over his face. "I would steal your pokemon to show you how it feels to have them taken away from you but I have a better idea." He motioned to one of his men, who stepped towards him. Then he grabbed the man's firearm.

Without a moment's hesitation, the man pointed his gun at Rufus's head and pulled the trigger.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

The sound of the gunshot was deafening and time seemed to slow as Rufus dropped to the ground twitching, a hole in the side of his head.

Utter shock, misery, and despair seized me as I looked down at my fallen companion, shock keeping me from dropping to his side. His jaw was opening and closing erratically and his legs were twitching while blood started to pool. As I looked at him, it felt like my heart stopped. My limbs and chest burned, and I felt like my head would explode. I blacked out, but not before I heard the familiar hysterical giggle of Gilles once more. I let my rage and grief take hold, and I saw the face of every criminal in the room immersed in a red fog.

When I came to from my quasi-blackout, I was immediately aware of an unnaturally loud shrieking. It was high-pitched and hysterical. The lights were dimmer, and I was holding my knife. Its edge and my hands were coated with a layer of blood. All of the criminals were lying on the ground squirming, their throats cut.

The shrieking was coming from the man who had shot Rufus. He was on his knees, gripping the sides of his head so tightly that bloody gouges had appeared under his fingernails. I watched him, curious but frozen still, as blood leaked from his nose and his ears. Then, his screams suddenly died in his throat. His hands fell from his head, which fell forward to his chest, but his body remained in a kneeling position.

A dark swirling cloud seemed to be sucked into his shadow, and a couple seconds later, a thick shadowy claw reached out and grabbed onto his back. It pulled itself out of the shadow like a Feraligatr crawling out of a pond. Bright red eyes glowed brilliantly above a grinning maw of countless needle-like teeth. Terrified screams rang out amongst the hostages as they took notice of the Gengar pulling itself from the lifeless criminal.

As the ghost pulled itself out of the shadow, the man's body fell forward, tearing away from the shadowy ghost. It locked eyes with me and cackled. The nightmarish sound of baritone male laughter intermingled with a high-pitched childlike screaming, and it reverberated around the lounge. I cannot explain how I knew it was Gilles, but it was him. The peculiar feeling that had gripped me that morning had become more palpable, and without knowing how to explain it, I could just surmise that it corresponded with Gilles trying to find me.

Gilles had finally evolved and he looked at me with penetrating eyes. Suddenly, his smile turned menacing and I could see him target me. He melded into the floor, and he shot towards me in a circular path. However, I could see him! I traced the mass of shadows that would normally have been invisible to the naked eye along his second-long approach, and just as he jumped out of the floor at me, I jabbed my hand forward defensively and caught him.

Gilles' surprise was as tangible as my own. I could feel him. His 'skin' felt almost like whispy fur. I tightened my grip around his arm and his grin disappeared, replaced with a scowl. But before he could react, I threw his arm to the side and grabbed him by the throat with my other hand.

A frenzy overwhelmed me. I had never felt so angry at and betrayed by Gilles now that he had attempted to turn on me. I squeezed his neck and thrust him down to the ground, pinning him with one arm. I could see him struggling beneath my hold to disappear into the shadows, but he could not tear away from my grip.

Gilles lifted a shadowy mass of claws to rake my arm, but I slapped him across the face with my free arm, shocking him. "We are NOT doing this right now! We have more important things to worry about!" I said through clenched teeth.

Just then, I heard the screeching of tires coming from outside, followed by a lamenting cry from one of the hostages saying, "Noooo! My pokemon! Nooo!"

A quick glance out the window showed me a large van peeling out. Determining that the criminals were at the Pokemon Center to rob it, I realized that my pokemon were probably in that van. Thinking of my pokemon made me suddenly aware of what had happened to Rufus. I looked back at Gilles and commanded, still seething, "Follow them! When you find out where they go, come back. They are going to pay!"

Gilles' struggling ceased. His angry, frustrated look changed to a maniacal grin, and I let him go, whereupon he nodded. "Good," I stated, and he took off through the air, superficially running as he flew before he disappeared through the wall. I did not even think to shiver at the significance of Gilles' method of evolution, which had been him killing a person via nightmare.

I looked around and saw all of the hostages looking at me with horrified expressions. But the Nurse Joy who had helped me earlier kept her cool and rushed over to me. I looked to her, fury still in my eyes, and for some reason I had to decline my head to look her in the eye. I could see fear in them but she sternly told me, "If we have any chance of saving your Houndoom, we need to take him NOW! Go get his pokeball!"

Hope that Rufus could survive motivated me faster than putting a barrel of donuts in front of a Snorlax. I sheathed my knife without responding and started running to my room. I ran fast. So fast that I tripped going up the stairs. Frustrated and cursing, I picked myself up and continued. I made it to my room quickly, but was running so fast that I slid into the wall next to the door. Now confused as to why I felt so uncoordinated, I walked into my room, noting how the top of the door frame seemed to come a little too close to my forehead.

The room's light was off, but I could see as clearly as day - as if the lights were turned on. However, I did not take note of that fact until later. I had simply forgotten that I had turned off the light, so I did not notice. After I found Rufus's ball, I quickly left my room.

Everything seemed off about the world around me. The world seemed to have more detail and I was able to move through areas of dimmer lighting more easily. It was almost as if the air around me was pushing me forward. On the way back to the lounge, I focused on my footing and keeping my balance, and found myself in the lounge not long after.

I was trembling as I gave a Nurse Perry Rufus's pokeball. "Thank you, sir," he said. "We are doing what we can, but it doesn't look good. He was shot in the skull and we are still assessing the damage." The Nurse was composed, but I could sense that he was shaken.

I nodded and stepped back, finding myself at a momentary loss at what to do. Feeling the need to prepare, I ran back to my room and equipped the rest of my ranger gear. That included my utility belt with my knife and rounds for my bow, as well as Gilles' pokeball which I kept with me in preparation for his return.

When I finished, I headed out to the lobby to wait for Gilles, and when I arrived, two police officers were interrogating some of the hostages. One of the hostages pointed at me, and the police officers hurried over immediately, their hands hovering over their holstered stun guns.

"Sir, we're going to have to ask you to come with us," one of them told me.

"I am a League Ranger," I declared. "I am still performing my duties and am in the middle of an operation."

"Be that as it may, we are going to have to ask you to drop your weapons and come with us," he said, not backing down.

"I think not," I said, growing frustrated and annoyed. "I'm going to have to ask you not to interfere with League operations."

The police officers looked frightened for a second, but after a quick glance around the room wherein they did not see any pokemon, their faces hardened and they started walking towards me. Before they reached me, though, one of them stopped with a shadowy claw materializing around his throat. The most terrifying laugh I had ever heard from Gilles accompanied his grapple. It was like the intake of a breath in its subtlety, but it was comprised of multiple tones of overlapping laughter.

The police officer's face paled instantly, and a wet spot formed at his crotch. The other officer stopped to look at his partner to see a pair of glowing red eyes peering at him from over his partner's shoulder.

"Like I said," I told them sternly. "Do not interfere." Inwardly, I reveled at the feeling of power I held over the situation. The police officer subject to Gilles' terror put his hands up slowly in defeat. "Let's go, Gilles. Take me there now," I told him.

Gilles released his hold and the man fell to his knees. Gilles cackled and zoomed out the door. I ran to follow, but once again, I stumbled. This time I caught myself and kept going. The night felt oddly good around me. The darkness of twilight felt so inviting that I sped forward effortlessly. But it was then that I realized how clearly I could see everything.

On top of my peculiar night vision, I could see Gilles flying through the air as if in a river's current. He occasionally looked back to see if I was keeping up but he never slowed down. I followed him for many blocks, weaving around cars occasionally until I reached an industrial part of town where the railroad tracks bordered many warehouses. There, Gilles stopped in front of a large garage door down a concrete decline which led underneath one of the warehouses.

"Good job, Gilles. It's time to get our family back. And anyone who gets in our way…" I trailed off, letting my anger flare. Gilles laughed maliciously and his claws extended to a foot in length. I looked up and saw a security camera scanning the area and said, "Gilles, take out that camera with a Shadow Ball." He gathered up energy from the shadows, amassing twice the amount he had previously been capable of gathering, and launched it at the machine. It instantly turned to dust, as well as a good portion of the wall around it.

I moved to the corner of the building and looked around the side. A side door with no handle was the only notable characteristic of the building aside from a few barred windows. No doubt they were aware of the camera no longer working, so I moved around the building to find a different angle. On the far side of the warehouse was an adjoining smaller building. The smaller building was made from a less durable material than concrete, so that was where I would need to enter.

The front of the smaller building had a heavy door and a few windows. Knowing that there would certainly be guards in the front of the building, I decided to take a less conventional approach to entering.

At the middle of the side of the building, I told Gilles to create a hole with Shadow Ball. Gilles took in energy to form the shadowy orb, and struck the side of the building. A circle three feet wide turned to dust with a small whumpf, leaving some piping exposed, which were also damaged in the attack.

"Keep going," I told him. Gilles struck with another shadowy orb, which turned the other side of the wall into dust, and bent most of the metal piping inward. Now I am sure that Gilles could continue to pummel the pipes until they broke, but that would create too much noise. As it was, I had already made some noise, so I told Gilles to Shadow Sneak us through the pipes.

Gilles seemed to struggle, but he was able to drag me through the shadows to the other side of the pipes. There, I assessed my surroundings. I seemed to be in a small empty room. "Gilles, see if there's anyone on the other side of the wall. If there is, Shadow Claw."

His immeasurably creepier laugh rang out and he shifted through the door. I waited five seconds before walking through the door myself. On the other side was a hall with doors on each side, like a basic office suite. At the end of the hallway, Gilles had ripped a man's throat out and was flying back to me, leaving the man squirming on the floor. The man was dressed in darker clothing, and a baseball bat was lying nearby.

Okay, it was time to act. I drew my bow and hurried to the end of the hallway, where I nearly ran into another man. I turned the corner to find him walking quickly towards my end of the hallway with a handgun drawn. I instinctively kicked my boot into his stomach, and to my surprise, I hit with so much force that it sent him flying ten feet away onto his back. While that happened I could hear multiple bones breaking. Curiously, while I was struck with surprise and a subsequent jolt of adrenaline, the lights in the hall flickered and dimmed.

Gilles was instantly on the man, raking his face with his horrible claws and sending blood flying everywhere while the man tried, but failed, to scream. I chose not to stand and watch, but I did notice a pokeball on his belt. Instead I ran forward, re-collapsing my bow and drawing my knife. I figured it was probably more effective in such close corridors. Gilles flew beside me when he finished with the man.

The hallway blurred as I ran, but I still had not gotten used to how fast I could run. Near the end of the next hall, I stumbled and fell forward onto the ground. I picked myself up in frustration and moved to a door hanging slightly ajar. I peeked in to see nearly fifteen people milling about in front of another door. Some had pokeballs and others had firearms, so I backed up and pondered for a second on how to proceed.

I had no idea where the entrance to the warehouse was, but I felt like I was on the correct side of the building. I also figured that more people would be near the entrance, so I surmised that the door behind them was likely the entrance to the warehouse. I peeked once more and saw that seven of them had pokeballs in plain sight. They were a greater threat to me, since they could add more enemies to the fold. I also did not have enough arrows with paralyzing tips for all of them, so this would get dirty.

Instead of being averse to the prospect of killing them, though, I felt indifferent. I even felt a little giddy at the thought of taking revenge on those who would use my pokemon for Battle Cells. I felt different than usual; stronger, more furious, more aggressive. I also felt like my senses were dramatically heightened. I heard their conversations clearly despite my distance from them, my vision was filled with more detail than I could ever remember, and the subtle scents that normally would have only tingled my sense of smell were potent and heavy in my nostrils.

I retreated quickly and thought some more before finally coming up with a crude plan. "Gilles, let's see how powerful your Hypnosis has become. We need to hypnotize everyone in that room at the same time, so I'll draw their attention to us. That's when you'll do it. Target the people with pokeballs first and retrieve the pokeballs. We're going for speed here, so use quick attacks, and only incapacitate them. If any of them fight back, kill them. Wait for my signal." Gilles' grin widened and he waited for me to take my bow out once again. I extended five arrows with paralyzing tips as well.

"Ready?" Gilles nodded, and I moved through the door with a shout. "Hey assholes, League ranger here. You're all under arrest!"

All of the people in the room looked at me in surprise, and as they did, they were trapped in Gilles' hypnotic gaze. I immediately took aim at one of them and shot him in the chest. Gilles flew forward as well and sliced the side of a man's stomach. He then swallowed the pokeballs on the man's belt. I resisted the urge to shudder and shot another man who held pokeballs, and then another. All the while, Gilles moved from one criminal to the next in time with my shooting, carving lines into the hypnotized people's bodies and eating the pokeballs.

But before I could shoot my fourth arrow, movement caught my eye from across the room. The door opened slightly and a Machoke came charging through, straight towards me. I only had enough time to yell "Gilles!" before it closed the distance between us. It swung a clawed hand at me, and my reflexes kicked in. Time almost seemed to slow down as I dove to the side to avoid the strike.

I was not safe when I landed, though. The Machoke gave chase, and I found myself performing a series of dives to evade the Machoke's attacks just in time. I did not need to evade the fighter for long because Gilles stepped in to help.

After a diving roll, I saw Gilles reach up out of the Machoke's shadow, sink his claws into its shoulders, and pull it down backward. The Machoke slammed backwards into the ground since it could not enter into Gilles' state of being. Then he appeared above the Machoke and released a ball of shadows directly into its face.

Gilles flew up and away from the headless fighting type with a hysterical giggle while I rose to my feet. I looked at Gilles and smiled at the thought of how powerful he had become, but my silent praise was cut short when a gunshot sounded in the room and my left shoulder exploded in pain.

With the gunshot wound came an inexplicable flare in my emotions; not of fright or anger, but of an emotion akin to frenzy. Another gunshot sounded and my lower right abdomen erupted in pain as well. In a similar way to how I felt in the Pokemon Center, my body reacted. The room darkened as the lights dimmed completely, but through my clear vision I saw two men with guns aimed at me and more reaching for theirs.

Then, with incredible speed and a bewildering emotional numbness, I surged forward towards the men who had shot me, dropping my bow and drawing my knife in the process. With two efficient strikes, I slit one man's wrist and then his throat, causing him to drop the gun and fall forward. I turned to the other man to see him attempting to point his gun at me and struck his hand which was holding the weapon. There was an audible crack as the bones in his hand broke, and I followed up by stabbing down into the top of his shoulder at an angle. I yanked the blade out and the man fell back.

Another bullet hit me in the back on my right side, but instead of going down, I became more frenzied. I turned around to retaliate but saw the man being pulled into his shadow on the ground. Upon impact with the hard floor, I heard the man's neck break.

Without waiting, I moved to the next person with a gun who happened to be a woman. I closed the short distance between us in less than a second, managing to keep my balance, and broke her arm which held the gun with a strike to her elbow. Then, I whipped my blade across her neck to finish her off.

With the woman down, I moved to another man. My heightened senses allowed me to move out of the way of his aim before he pulled the trigger, which effectively dodged the bullet. I was upon him before he could do much, but he reflexively kicked out at me. I caught his boot in my stomach, which caused my gunshot wound to flare painfully, but my surging adrenaline dulled the pain and I stabbed the end of my blade into his armpit. With a reverse yank and a quick spin around, I slit his throat.

When I turned to look for the next person, I saw two other people lying on the ground with blood pooling around them. One had massive lacerations on his throat and across his chest, and the other had three half-inch-wide gauges in her neck and her arm was missing. The rest of the people were either paralyzed on the ground, or writhing from Gilles' initial attempt at incapacitation.

With no more immediate threats, I rushed through the open door behind the people. I saw the same van that I saw driving away from the Pokemon Center at one end of the large warehouse. In front of it were a few unloaded crates and three people attempting to return them into the back of the van. The garage door was also open. Our presence had apparently created enough commotion that the people had sent their Machoke to investigate while trying to escape with their hauls.

When the two men and one woman saw Gilles and I enter the warehouse, they panicked. The woman released a Koffing that began to spew gas while the two men rushed to the doors of the van. "Shadow Ball," I ordered while I moved into the warehouse. Gilles sent a basketball-sized orb of shadows bulleting across the area to strike the Koffing in the center of its mass. On impact the orb expanded, turning an area three times the size of the orb into dust. The attack deflated the Koffing and it fell to the ground without moving.

The woman gasped and tried to get in the van while the driver turned the key over. As soon as it started, the van peeled out towards the garage door, leaving the woman behind. Before Gilles and I could give chase, the man in the passenger seat stuck a hand out the window holding a pokeball and released an Electrode behind the vehicle.

The enormous electrical ball looked at me with flat eyes and its body began to glow. With a curse, I turned to run behind the closest and largest structure, which happened to be stack of wooden planks. Once I ducked behind the wares, the area lit up brightly and the deafening sound of its explosion reverberated everywhere around me. The wooden planks protected me from the initial surge in heat, but did not save me from the shockwave which propelled me back and blew out the concrete walls of the building. I blacked out momentarily.

When I came to, I was lying in a pile of rubble in the center of the road outside of where the building had been. There was a fine dust covering me and Gilles was floating nearby. His form was blurred and lethargic, indicating that he had suffered major damage from the explosion. As for me, my entire body hurt, and the pain from my gunshot wounds was starting to overpower my senses.

I quickly took out my PokeDex, which had miraculously survived the explosion apart from some dings, and called the first person who came to mind: Sheila. When she answered, I choked out, "She-eila… Help." Then I pressed the button to send her my GPS coordinates. I returned Gilles to his pokeball as well to keep him from interfering or taking advantage of my weakened condition.

I tasted blood and my vision was starting to fade when Sheila appeared nearby with her Gardevoir, Shade. I heard her cry out in surprise and horror, and then saw her face appear over mine. "ZACH! ZACH! WHAT THE HELL!? DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON ME!" she yelled. The last thing I remember was Shade attempting to teleport me away but strangely finding herself incapable of doing so, before losing consciousness.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

My vision was initially blurred when I awoke and the light hurt my eyes, exacerbating my impaired vision. I heard the redundant beeping of a heartrate monitor and smelled the sterile scent of a hospital.

I shifted, wincing when my wounds cried out in pain. I reflexively moved my hand to clutch my stomach, but found that it was handcuffed to the railing on the side of the bed. Confusion took hold of my mind and I attempted to make sense of my situation.

I was lying handcuffed to a bed in a hospital, where I seemed to be alive. I also saw two people standing outside of my door with the insignia of the Ace Trainer Corps emblazoned on their shoulders. There were no other people in the room with me at first. However, my heartrate must have elevated when I awoke, because a nurse entered the room soon after. When the door opened, my senses were barraged with the sound of beeping medical equipment from the rest of the ward and the smell of disinfectant.

She checked some of the monitors and began asking mundane questions such as my name and age to gauge my state of mind.

"Why am I handcuffed to the bed?" I asked when she finished.

"According to the ace trainers outside, you are being detained and investigated for criminal activity," the nurse replied emotionlessly. "Your injuries currently prevent you from immediate action, but when you are sufficiently recovered, you will be facing some serious charges. Your family was notified and is currently in the waiting room."

My situation hit me and I felt out of breath. "What about my pokemon?" I asked.

"Your possessions and pokemon have been confiscated," she answered in the same monotone. "They will be returned to you pending your investigation."

"But what about my Houndoom!?" I exclaimed. "Is he alright?" I felt the sting of tears begin to creep at the edges of my eyes.

"I don't know, Mr. MacAfee," she replied.

"I need to know if he's alright!" I yelled in response.

"I'm sorry, that's not something I would know," she replied, a little flustered at my changing demeanor.

"FIND OUT!" I yelled at her, tears now flowing freely.

I heard the door of the room open and an ace trainer hurried in. "Is everything alright in here?" he asked.

"Is my Houndoom alright!?" I yelled at him.

"You have other things to worry about right now!" the ace trainer snapped. "Like the deaths of about 15 people. The status of your pokemon is the least of your worries now."

"Bullshit!" I yelled. "I need to know if they were able to save him! TELL ME!"

"I think it's about time you settled down," the ace trainer told me sternly while releasing a Hypno. I struggled with my bindings, but soon found myself drifting asleep in front of the hypnotic swinging of its pendulum.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

I awoke later to find my parents standing next to the bed. My mother had tear stains on her cheeks and my father looked pensive. Both were staring at my face with intense interest.

"Zachariah, how are you feeling?" my mother asked when she noticed me open my eyes.

"Like I've been shot," I groaned.

"What happened, Zachariah?" my father asked. "They're saying you killed a bunch of people. Is that true?"

I did not know what to say to them, but I did not want them thinking I was a murderer, even if I flirted with the line and might have crossed it. "I defended myself. I would have died if I hadn't."

"So you did kill people," he replied with some shock in his voice. "Does that mean this is you?" he asked, holding up a small video screen with a News recording playing.

The video showed a shaky video – obviously recorded on someone's phone – of the outside of the Pokemon Center. It was far enough away that the people's faces were unrecognizable. As it progressed, there were bright flashes of gunfire, pokemon being released, and then returned by the Recall Gun.

Video footage surfaced today of the robbery and gruesome deaths of the robbers that took place at Pokemon Center 2 yesterday, a reporter's voice narrated. As you can see, the robbers established control of the Pokemon Center violently. But here's where things get ugly for them.

After a couple minutes, the attention of the robbers shifted to a different side of the lounge as a figure entered the room with a Houndoom – me. The video recorded the exchange between the robbers and I while the reporter continued.

This unidentified person enters the lounge and there seems to be some communication before the leader of the robbers shoots the newcomer's pokemon. Inexplicably, the lights go out and you can see a fast-moving dark figure from the window taking out every robber in the room.

True to the reporter's word, the video showed the lights going out, but there was just enough light to make out my figure blurring around the roomand the robbers dropping. Apparently, since no blood could be seen, it was acceptable to be shown on television.

Soon after, you can see a van speeding out of the Pokemon Center parking lot. But here's where things get even more interesting! The video paused. If you look at the side of the Center, you can see a blob of shadows following the van away.

At that point, the video resumed and the person recording it ran off. We don't know anything about the identity of the unidentified trainer, but we have reason to believe he or she might have played a role in the downtown explosion and subsequent discovery of more deceased people in the wreckage. The person who recorded the video has called the person "The Viridian Shade."

"I don't know who that is," I lied. "But I did defend myself against some criminals."

My father seemed to relax a little. "Then you shouldn't be worried about your trial, right? If you were defending yourself, you'll get away with self-defense."

I nodded. "I hope so." Then I switched topics. "Do you know if Rufus is alright?"

My parents looked confused and shook their heads. "Did something happen to him? Was that him in the video?" asked my mother.

Tears started leaking again. "He was shot," I told her. Honestly, I was concerned about my entire team, but since Rufus had been shot in front of me, and since the Nurse Joy had given me a smidgen of hope, my focus was centered on him.

My mother gasped and brought her hands to her mouth. My father's expression hardened as well.

"How long have I been here?" I asked.

"About six days," my father replied. I balked inwardly. I had been asleep for six days? What of my pokemon? What of my job and Marcus? What about Sheila? What about Rufus?

Before I could launch a volley of questions, the nurse entered the room. "Mr. and Mrs. MacAfee, I'm going to have to politely ask you to vacate the room momentarily."

"What? Why?" asked my father.

"Because the Cerulean City Gym Leader and the Indigo League Champion are here to talk with Zachariah," she replied businesslike.

"Oh," my father replied sheepishly. "Ok."

The nurse led my parents out of the room and before long, the door opened again. In walked Katherine Holmes, Bruce Volker, and a woman I did not know. She looked to be in her early thirties, was tall, lithe-looking, had black hair, and gray eyes. The former two approached the side of my bed. I was actually pretty nervous. It must have been bad if the Champion himself was showing up.

"Mr. MacAfee," commented the Champion. "I trust you are feeling well?"

"Hardly, sir," I responded. "Thank you for asking, but can we just get to the point?"

Leader Holmes shook her head in distaste. "You really need to learn more respect, MacAfee. Especially given you circumstances."

I sighed, but Champion Volker held up a hand to her. "It's alright, Katherine. I'd rather not waste our time with pleasantries either." Then he looked back to me. "MacAfee, you have some serious explaining to do. Your future will be decided in part by what you tell us today. First of all, did you kill those people in the Pokemon Center?"

"Sir, I honestly don't know," I told him. "When they shot Rufus, I felt weird and sorta blacked out. I have vague memories of seeing each of the robbers flash through my vision, and when I came to, I had my knife in my hand and it was bloody. Not to mention all of them had their throats cut, so I'm inclined to believe that I did. But, my Haunter evolved and killed the man who shot Rufus."

"What do you mean you felt weird?" asked Leader Holmes.

"It was like my body was on fire," I explained. "Rufus just died, so I thought it was just my mind and body reacting in shock."

Champion Volker nodded his head seemingly understandingly. "On that note, you'll be pleased to know that your Houndoom is making a recovery." My heart caught in my throat at his words, and tears began to fall. "Either the shot was fired at an incorrect angle, or your Houndoom had managed to tilt his head in time. Either way, the bullet entered just in front of his horn and became lodged where his horn met his skull. It caused him to have a seizure, but other than that, it appears that he suffered no brain damage. He was very lucky."

I leaned back into my bed with tears of relief streaming down my cheeks. But the Champion was not finished.

"MacAfee, did you kill those people in the warehouse?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied. "I followed the robbers back to retrieve my pokeballs that they stole. My Gengar killed two in the hallway. One of them, I ran into and he had a firearm. Then, I tried to take out as many as I could without killing them using paralysis-tipped arrows, incapacitation, and Gilles' hypnosis."

"But you didn't," stated Leader Holmes.

"No," I acknowledged. "I knew I did not have enough equipment to incapacitate them all, and while I tried not to kill them, a Machoke attacked us. During that time, the people snapped out of their hypnosis and opened fire on me. I reacted to the attack and sorta went numb. I killed them before they could kill me. Everyone I killed had a gun and was in the process of trying to kill me. My Gengar helped with that."

"And the woman inside the warehouse?" asked Leader Holmes.

"She's dead?" I asked. I was unsurprised, though. I had barely made it out safely from the explosion and the woman had been closer to the Electrode. "I made it to the warehouse to find them trying to escape again in their van. We took out a Koffing they released to guard their retreat, and then they left the woman and released an Electrode, which exploded soon after."

"And, of course, you didn't think to call for backup," stated Leader Holmes.

"I honestly don't know why I didn't think of it," I told her. "It was like I was so focused on getting them back that I didn't think to ask for help. I felt like I would have, but I've felt weird ever since the moment I thought Rufus died."

Leader Holmes looked at the Champion when I finished and nodded. Then she turned back to me and said, "MacAfee, I told you that I would bring the law down on your head if you ever tried to exploit it to get away with murder. But it seems things aren't so simple."

"And, MacAfee," Champion Volker added, "I've told you in the past to avoid becoming the monsters you presume to defend humanity against - that I would be forced to act if you ever became a danger to humanity. The evidence of what happened indicates you have gone too far, and has forced my hand."

I braced myself for promises of prison time or worse, but what I received was unexpected. "As Leader Holmes told you," Champion Volker explained, "things aren't so simple. So, your case will be handled internally. Do you know who this is?" he asked, motioning towards the woman.

I looked at her and shook my head.

"This is Juliette Ayer," the Champion told me. "She is the 4th Elite of Sinnoh."

Juliette walked over to me and peered over me quizzically. She appeared to be in her late 30's.

"What do you think, Juliette?" asked the Champion.

"Due to his account of what happened, the video you showed me, and the results from his Psychic Memory Extraction, I'd say you were correct," she told him.

"Wait, correct about what? And when were my memories extracted?" I asked.

"Two days ago," answered Leader Holmes. "Or more accurately, they were attempted to be extracted. We couldn't crack you even in your sleep."

"And, in case you haven't realized it yet," Champion Volker added. "We believe that you have undergone the Shift. That is why Juliette Ayer is here. She is the highest ranked dark-focused trainer in the League – the only other person who has undergone a dark-type Shift that we know of."

I was taken aback. I tried to make sense of it, but all the signs suggested he was correct. I had suddenly been able to move at inhuman speed, unleash more power in my attacks then I had been capable of, and been able to see in the dark. But what did that mean for me? What more could I expect?

Juliette nodded. Champion Volker looked at her again and said, "That is all then. Thank you for coming. I will be in touch."

"No problem. Anything for an old friend. I will prepare," she told him. Then she left the room.

When she left, Champion Volker spoke to me again. "Normally, we would strip you of your pokemon and send you to prison for your actions. However, due to your Shift, it makes things a little more difficult given the violent nature of the Shift. As of now, you will be undergoing rehabilitation. Your pokemon are being confiscated and will be returned to you upon your successful completion. However, unlike conventional rehab, yours will require a different approach. That is why, once you are able to leave the hospital, you will be transported to Sinnoh indefinitely where you will work with Elite Ayer to establish some control over yourself."

My mouth was hanging agape. "But… What about my partner, Corporal Bradford? And what do you mean indefinitely?"

"Corporal Bradford has been assigned a new partner," Leader Holmes informed me. "As of now, you are suspended from the League and the Ranger Corps. As for your indefinite detention, you will not be released until Juliette has determined that you are capable of functioning in society without posing a threat to it."

"Do I at least get to talk to the people important to me before I go?" I asked.

"That's up to you," answered Champion Volker. "Your actions at the warehouse are being classified. You may use your PokeDex to contact your loved ones but must refrain from mentioning what happened, even if the news showed a glimpse of it all. Your PokeDex will then be confiscated when you leave and returned to you once you've made significant progress with Juliette."

I let everything sink in. It was as if my life was being turned upside down. Everything was changing and I had no way of knowing how it would turn out.

"Before we leave, I have some bad news," Leader Holmes told me. "The explosion from the Electrode destroyed many of the pokeballs that had been stolen. Yours were not found among those that had escaped the explosion unharmed."

The news hit me harder than anything we had discussed so far. I could not think or say anything as despair started to wash over me. I tried to tell myself that maybe they had not been unloaded, and had been clear of the explosion. Or maybe, they had just been overlooked. There was no possible way that half of my team had been killed. Azrael, Dante, and Ceto could not be dead! I could not accept that possibility. Nonetheless, I could not control the flow of tears that inevitably followed.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

Understandably, my parents, Sheila, and Marcus were all very angry at me and my situation. My parents did not like that the League was taking punitive measures against me. My father was severely disappointed in me and wasted no time telling me that I should have listened to him when he told me to leave the League. My mother was disappointed in me as well, and wasted no time in making me feel guilty for essentially abandoning my hellhounds.

Sheila was utterly dumbfounded when I called her. She was also very angry with me for getting into trouble. Even though our different lives made it difficult to see each other often, it was a functioning relationship that worked for both of us. Since we were both unwilling to compromise our careers, which were both very ambitious and took a majority of our time to foster, seeing each other was a welcomed respite from our busy lives. And now I was going to be denying Sheila that pleasure.

Furthermore, Sheila was angry with my decision not to tell her why I was being sent to Sinnoh. Legally, I was incapable of telling her what exactly had happened. Emotionally, I did not want her to know about the atrocities I had committed. The most I could tell her was that the League was sending me to rehabilitation. The fact that I was upending our relationship without a full explanation took its toll on her, and she ultimately suggested that we suspend our relationship for the time being.

Sheila's decision to take a break hit me hard, but I accepted her choice because telling her what happened was unacceptable to me. I wanted her to remain ignorant of the cruel things that had transpired because deep down, I knew that she would forsake me if she knew of them. I was sympathetic to her in that scenario, because somewhere even deeper within my conscience, I considered the likelihood that I was becoming a monster who should not be forgiven.

Separating from Marcus was almost equally as heartbreaking as my crumbling relationship with Sheila. I could hear in his voice utter shock, confusion, and depression when I informed him that I would not be his partner anymore. He attempted to make sense of it all, but he fell short of a satisfying answer since I was forbidden from telling him. As far as he was concerned, I was abandoning him, and I could hear how hurt he was.

So, with regrets, guilt, and sadness, I was transferred to Sinnoh. Since my Shift had somehow rendered me incapable of being teleported, I was transferred on a cargo ship in the company of an ace trainer, who kept an eye on me to ensure my safe arrival. I did not have to be kept in detention because I had opted to cooperate, but the ace trainer was present in case I went back on my word.

The smell of saltwater assaulted my olfactory senses in a way I had never experienced before. It was actually painful before my senses grew accustomed to the sea. It was also a long voyage. The Sinnoh port town of Cape Piotta was 1200 miles from Azul City. At a modest pace, it took us a week and a half.

I spent most of my time mulling over the loss of my team. I still could not fathom that they were gone. Granted, even though I knew that Rufus and Gilles were alive, I would not be able to see them until after my rehabilitation was finished. Even Fred had been repossessed by the League, leaving me defenseless against the Banette whenever it decided to show up again.

I spent a lot of time contemplating my alleged Shift. After a little introspection and self-assessment, it was not too difficult for me to believe. Physically, I had changed. I had grown nearly three inches taller – a fact that I did not realized until after I had been released from the hospital.

I had also put on between 20 and 30 pounds of muscle, and most of my scars had faded. What was left of the scars on my face were shallow, dim lines beginning an inch above my jawline and fading into my chest. On my chest, the scars were thinner and less noticeable, making me look less like a checkerboard and more like a human.

The injuries on my body had mostly healed when I underwent the Shift, which I associated with pokemon who have had the same effect. The larger scars were still visible, albeit much smaller, and the smaller ones were gone entirely.

Mentally, I could feel that something was off about me. I did not feel like myself. I felt moodier, angrier, and more morally apathetic. The fact that Gilles and I had slaughtered more than a dozen people should have weighed heavily on my mind. Contrarily, I felt complete apathy for their deaths. I felt like I should have been afraid of that indifference, but could not bring myself to care.

The last thing that I concluded was that I felt significantly better at night, or even when the lights were shut off. To gauge how much it affected me, I started conducting physical experiments. I performed pushups and pullups in my room with the lights on and off. When they were on, I was able to do 25 pullups in a row before tiring. When I shut the lights off after a break, I could do 38 pullups before tiring. It was almost as if the darkness helped me along. Or maybe my body was using the lack of light as a stimulant. I had no definitive answer, so I hoped that the Sinnoan Elite would have more answers for me.

The farther we sailed, the colder it became. In the mornings after the first week, I could see my breath in the cold. And when we finally saw land for the first time, enormous pines and firs dotted the shoreline.

We followed the coast until the temperate vegetation turned into civilization, which started to include a couple skyscrapers and large buildings in the distance after a few hours.

We arrived at a dock full of warehouses, and waiting for me were a pair of ace trainers. Their uniforms were much different from those worn by their Kanto counterparts. They seemed to be more focused on warm attire, making them look bulkier. Furs were incorporated into their shoulder-pieces, though their insignias were the same.

They met with the ace trainer escorting me, and all of them released flying mounts, which they used to escort me over land. We flew to the closest large city from there – Twinleaf City – which was about 30 miles to the north. From there we boarded a plane to the coastal city of Wailord Bay on the southern tip of the continent, where the enormous central mountain range was lowest. Then, we transferred to another flight headed northeast along the eastern side of the mountain range to the massive City of Hearthome.

From what the ace trainers told me, Hearthome City is a bustling metropolis. It is the center for pokemon contests, international relations, and business. There was also, unfortunately, a concentration of homeless people and crime due to the sheer size of the population.

I learned that in general, Sinnoh has much softer restrictions on pokemon in cities than Kanto. While it is up to the individual cities to decide what those restrictions are – as opposed to Kanto where the national government decides universal laws for the cities – they tend to be more lenient than Kanto.

Hearthome is one of the stricter cities in Sinnoh, given the amount of people who live there. A trainer is only required to have three badges to be able to release their pokemon in the city. There are also breed restrictions based on threat level to city infrastructure, such as Onix and Loudred. But some cities only require a trainer to have one badge to release their pokemon. So, no one was surprised when the ace trainers released their flying mounts outside of the airport.

Due to the proximity of ascending and descending commercial air travel, there were established pokemon flight zones. Flying pokemon could not be used within 250 feet of the airstrips. For another 1,000 feet, flying pokemon could only fly up to an altitude of 500 feet. After that, they could fly at an altitude of one mile until they left the city.

Our ascent was gradual, and gave me a clear view of Hearthome city, which was more impressive than any other I had come across except maybe Saffron City. I saw several flying mounts in the air with trainers and rangers on their backs, countless towering skyscrapers, and cars abound. After what seemed like an hour, we finally started to exit the city.

Our course was north westward, taking us into the foothills and outer peaks of the largest mountain range known to the League, the Coronet Mountain Range.

We flew for another couple of hours in relative silence while I shivered behind the ace trainer, until we reached an isolated compound in the cliffs. It was nestled in the side of the mountain with sheer cliff faces on most of its sides. The three large buildings in the compound were mostly concrete, and a wide field stretched between them.

We landed in the center of the field and dismounted. As if on cue, the woman I had met at the hospital, Juliette Ayer, walked out of one of the buildings with a set of large double doors followed by a gargantuan Bisharp and an Umbreon.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

Author's Note: Hey everyone. So I have finally gotten to the point in the story that I have been waiting for, for a long time now. Gilles finally evolved, and I commend many of the ideas that were given in hypothesis on that topic. Furthermore, Zachariah finally evolved as well; and dark type? Who saw that coming… Since Zachariah is currently not a part of the League, there is no pokemon list for this chapter.

For those who are wondering why Sergei did not do more, it was because he did not want any more heat from the League than what he currently has. He wrecked the undercover investigation well enough by showing himself to Zachariah. And it would be better to do that sooner instead of waiting for Zachariah to thwart him again. Anyway, I hope you like the new direction. Let me know what you thought with a review! Thanks!