Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Dawn of Life

by SharpEyLogic

After the Pokemon world has endured calamities that threatened time, its land and the planet itself, it seemed to finally be moving into an era of peace once and for all. However, the arrival of another human, Azri brings the warning of another calamity on the horizon. Alongside aspiring magician Eden, can Azri fulfill her destiny and save life itself? PSMD novelization

20. Chapter 19: Mask of Illusions

PMD: The Dawn of Life

Chapter 19: Mask of Illusions

"I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I dabbled too far into the occult and was punished for it. What I did was horrible and pushed the limits of alchemy. What I created… was too terrible for words. So much so that it disturbed-"

"Eden, will you stop reading that book out loud?" Deerling scolded. We were on the fourth floor now, having descended fairly deep into the desolate graveyard. The longer I was down here, the more claustrophobic I got. A creeping feeling went behind my back that should the barrow collapse or the dungeon somehow close, we'd be stuck in this haunting place and become the very ghosts we're fighting. Escape Orbs wouldn't help since the dungeon entrance was inside the actual barrow.

"Why? We're not in combat right now, so it's not like I'm being distracted," The Fennekin replied innocently, clutching the journal we found on Ashten the Magmar's grave, "Reading it aloud lets me understand it better too"

"Sure, but your voice is echoing across the entire floor. You might alert enemy Pokemon to our position," Espurr reasoned, "And considering we're going to confront that dragon at the bottom, we want to save as much energy as we can"

"Besides, have you seen the enemy variety here?" I wrinkled my nose, trying to not breathe too deeply. Even the air itself felt suffocating, what with all the dust and faint scent of blood. I wanted out of this place the moment we rescued Pancham and Shelmet, "I agree with Espurr that we should avoid fighting as much as possible"

"Fine. I'll read this silently then," Eden sighed, looking a little defeated before turning his attention to the old journal again, "I'll tell you guys if anything interesting comes up"

"Mm, thanks," I muttered as I turned my attention forward, scouting ahead for enemies. The variety was fairly easy to take down, but I knew more was to come the lower we went into the graveyard. A Honedge flew by and spotted us, growling. Drawing itself out of its sheath, it made an awfully loud sound across the entire floor, stunning us in our place. It sounded like nails scraping against metal.

"It's calling in allies! Stop it!" Espurr cried over the noise, clutching her ears. The Metal Sound continued to ring and emit from the Honedge and I suddenly felt the presence of plenty more enemies. As the sound died down, I released my ears and charged towards the possessed sword, swinging my own towards it. The Honedge simply glared at me and swung itself with Slash to counter my Leaf Blade. Our swords collided and an array of sparks flew, but the sword's strength was surprisingly overwhelming.

"Guys! Help me out here!" I called as I struggled against the Honedge's strength. I pushed with all my might, trying to overpower the ghostly blade, but suddenly its eye gleamed darkly.

"Azri! Behind you!" Eden called and I smartly disengaged my Leaf Blade from the Honedge as I ducked beneath it, avoiding the Shadow Sneak that was creeping behind my back. A Psybeam whizzed past me and struck the Honedge by surprise. The blade turned in the direction of Eden and pressed itself against its sheath, preparing to use Metal Sound again. That was when I jumped onto it, surrounding my hand with dark energy with Pursuit.

"Take this!" I shouted and slammed my forceful hand onto the Honedge, hard. The blade let out a haunting wail of pain before exploding into a rusted sword and shield, launching me off. I recovered quickly however and saw that the others were battling with Pokemon on our backs. I looked around myself and realized we were in a three-way room, "In here! We'll choke the points with two Pokemon each. Come on!"

"Dragon Breath!" Goomy called, firing a paralyzing wave of blue and yellow flames towards the enemy Pokemon while the others retreated into the room I was in. I was surprised by the tenacity of the Pokemon here to fight us. Normally dungeon Pokemon stayed away if we were a threat to them, but as ghosts, these Pokemon must've had no restraint. We invaded their home and they intended to make us suffer for it, "Boy, that Honedge invited a whole ghost festival in here!"

"I think you mean Monster House!" Eden replied as he took the right side of the room alongside Deerling, shooting down incoming Zubats with Psywave, "Because there's a bonafide ton here!"

I was about to ask what a Monster House was, but I didn't have time. I joined Espurr on the left side of the room while Goomy himself covered the bottom. I wasn't sure how long he could last against this onslaught, so we needed to break away quickly.

"Shatter!" Espurr pointed towards a Beldum charging at her with Take Down. The mechanical eyeball suddenly started convulsing before rupturing into a brutally bent piece of scrap metal. I shivered, not wanting to know how that spell affected Pokemon, "Azri, cover me. I'll launch attacks from behind you to assist!"

"Got it!" I nodded and leapt towards the line of Pokemon barreling through the hallway, cutting down the Baltoy with ease. The rest of the Pokemon caused me some troubles however, like the Spinarak and Venipede. I needed to rely on Espurr or weak Twisters and Pursuits to take care of them. That didn't stop them from being reckless when fighting me however, "Gah! Something stung me!"

"Fall back and heal that. I'll take care of this!" Espurr called as she launched a weak Charge Beam towards the approaching group of Pokemon. Glowing with a pink aura, the psychic cat then extended both paws outward, firing a wide Psybeam that crushed the minds of everything in her path. I stared in awe as I opened my dungeon bag to find a Pecha Berry or Heal Seed. Sometimes I really wish I was anything but a Grass type, "Clear. How are the others doing?"

"Just fine. We're about done here!" Eden nodded from Goomy's area. He and Deerling must've already cleared out their hallway, "With me on an alliance attack, Goomy! Psywave!"

"Dragon Breath!" The slimeball called and Eden's wave of psychic power combined with the ethereal dragon breath wasted the remaining threats. Anything left standing was Double Kicked to dust by Deerling, "Phew. Tough one"

"This isn't good. We need to be more careful in the future," Espurr frowned as we regrouped to catch our breath, "I'm not sure if the other Pokemon can do it, but these Honedge seem to have the ability to summon all the Pokemon living on the floor to their aid"

"We'd die from exhaustion if we have to endure that for every floor," Deerling agreed, panting a little. Eden politely handed her an apple to replenish her hunger, "Thanks"

"Indeed. We should try to skirt around Honedge or take them out before they have the time to use Metal Sound," Espurr suggested, "Though with our large numbers, I doubt we can do the former"

"We wouldn't have this problem if we sent in a group of three," Eden muttered, which made Goomy shiver a bit. I frowned, knowing Goomy never wanted to be in here in the first place and frankly, neither did I, "There's a reason why three is the generally accepted limit of a dungeon group. Anymore attracts more wild Pokemon"

"But we need all the back-up we can get to rescue Pancham and Shelmet and beat the dragon," Deerling argued, "We couldn't have gone with only three Pokemon"

"I know, I know, but still," Eden sighed, "We need a strategy around the Honedge. It's hard enough avoiding Pokemon, but one that can summon ALL of them to fight…"

"Well, it's like Espurr said. We could take them down before they emit that awful noise or…" I closed my dungeon bag after healing the poisonous sting, "We could disable them with seeds or wands"

Eden's eyes lit up at the last part, "Oo, good idea! Wands can keep them down and we won't need to risk getting in close range with them. I'll have some on hand"

"Alright, that's settled then. Let's get moving," Espurr encouraged, "We wouldn't want to tally for too long"

"Hey Eden, what's a Monster House?" I asked as we got moving, heading towards the right hallway, "You mentioned it when the onslaught began"

"It's mentioned in my mom's dungeon manual. You can read it for yourself," The Fennekin replied and I frowned. I forgot I had the handbook in my dungeon bag, along with the copy of Fateful Saviors. I needed to find more time to read those, but I didn't want to read in the middle of a dungeon.

"I'm not you, Eden. At least tell me a brief description of it," I grumbled, "Otherwise I'll ask Espurr"

"Okay, okay. Monster Houses are weird phenomena in dungeons. They're rooms where once you enter, a bunch of enemy Pokemon appear out of nowhere and begin attacking," Eden explained, "Usually the rooms are filled with treasure to signal it's a Monster House but…"

"Well, there wasn't any treasure in the room we were fighting in," Deerling chewed her lip as we descended the staircase, going into the fifth floor, "So it wasn't a Monster House"

"The quantity of Pokemon begs to differ," Eden argued, "Then again, all the Pokemon came rushing in through the hallways rather than fall down from the ceiling…"

"I'm sorry, but what? They fall out of the CEILING?!" Goomy gasped before staring up at the earthen walls in newfound fear, "How does that-"

"Good job, Eden. You scared Goomy," I muttered sarcastically and Eden snorted, "Though I agree with Goomy. Pokemon live in these dungeons, so if some wayward explorer steps into a Monster House, are you just warped into and made to fight even if you didn't want to?"

"Who knows? I'm not a dungeon Pokemon," Eden frowned, "I suppose if we recruited a Pokemon to our side, we could ask"

"Well, no chance of that here. It's all ghosts and skeletons," Espurr gave us a small smile, which was a little unnerving when combined with her glowing purple eyes and eerie atmosphere, "Anyways Eden, keep your eyes open. We need to disable any Honedge we see before they spot us, remember?"

"Oh right! I gotcha," Eden reached into his dungeon bag, pulling out his collection of wands: wooden sticks engraved with faint yellow runes. I sensed that he wanted to pull out the journal we found earlier though, "I'll be on the lookout. But I don't have eyes all around me, so just warn me if you spot one, alright?"

We proceeded silently from that point on. We were hoping the sounds of fighting weren't alerting the Honedge, but they luckily stayed away from the few Pokemon prowling the grounds of the barrow. They remained isolated, which made it easy for Eden to nail it with a Slow or Sleep Wand, letting me nail it with a Pursuit. I silently cursed Pancham for getting himself captured because if he was here, he would've made the experience a whole lot easier.

"Ironic how the one Pokemon among us who could fight ghosts got himself captured," I muttered to myself as we snuck past the fallen sword and sheath and entered the sixth floor. With us focusing more on stealth, the floors breezed by a little faster, "Poor Shelmet though…"

"Hey guys, listen to this," Eden said, breaking the silence. It was the first time anyone said something in a while, which made me feel uneasy, " According to this-"

"Eden, can you put that journal away already? You're on Honedge removal duty," Deerling hissed, but Espurr in front of us shook her head lightly, holding up Eden's wands in her hand, "Huh?"

"Anybody can use wands, Deerling. I can assure you they won't explode in your hands," The psychic cat said half-jokingly and Eden laughed nervously, "So let the fox speak. We've all been uncharacteristically silent for a while now"

"Wouldn't we want to do that to avoid detection…?" Goomy murmured, but nobody paid him attention. Eden returned to his journal, finding the musty page he was on.

"Okay, as I was saying… listen to this," The Fennekin took a deep breath, ""Day 76: I descended into the Ancient Barrow to assemble the creation of my dreams. From the gods came fire and fire began creation. With the gift of fire within me as a Magmar, I thought I could create life too. Thus alone in the graveyard, my work began-""

"Wait a sec, you're saying this Magmar tried to create life? Alone?" I was amnesiac, but even I knew that trying to create life was against the laws of the very universe. Especially alone. This didn't seem right, "How could it do that?"

"Well, when a girl and boy Pokemon love each other very much…" Goomy mumbled and Deerling shut him up with a sharp hiss. The slimeball must've picked up some habits from Pancham and Shelmet.

"That's the question I'm asking too. While a union between a female and male Pokemon can produce life, creation of life like how this journal describes sounds extremely well… illegal," Espurr said curiously, "What happened next?"

Eden flipped the journal's pages a bit, ""Day 90: I collected all the body parts I needed and stitched together my creation. Fire created Pokemon in the primordial times and it shall be done again. However, something was wrong. My lifeform… my creation angered something…""

"Why would it not? This Magmar's grave robbing for body parts," Deerling chewed her lip in discontent, "It's taboo to do that. I'm sure the gods punished him, right?"

"... No, actually. The reason I brought this up is this," Eden cleared his throat before reading again aloud, ""Day 133: I've been on the run for days, unable to leave this accursed hell. The ghost king hounds me, angered at my sins. Life is fleeting and the dead I fight remind me how short life is compared to the inevitability of death. The dead shout at me to return the crown, but I don't understand. My days are numbered""

"The ghost king, huh? You're wondering if he still exists around this dungeon?" I asked Eden and he nodded slowly. He was about to speak before Espurr cut him off.

"If I know anything about ghosts, both in the world and in folklore, vengeful spirits like the ghost king don't rest easy," The cat said slowly, "It's possible he could still be found, though given the Magmar, Ashten's dead, I'd imagine he wouldn't bother us"

"Hopefully…" I muttered, though the more I thought about it, the more questions rushed into my head, "Hey, hold on. If this Ashten was chased through the dungeon and killed, who buried him and got his journal on the gravestone?"

"Well, you can't ask the journal. The entries end apparently on the day before Ashten expired," Eden chewed his lip, "I guess someone burying their own here stumbled across Ashten's body and put him to rest too"

"Possibly…" I pursed my lips. All this talk about death and being on the run was starting to fray my nerves. It didn't help that a faint noxious fume was populating the air now. I wondered if it was from the decaying bodies we were close to, but that was present throughout the entire dungeon. Could something more sinister be up ahead?

"Ew… does anybody smell that?" I turned behind me and saw that Deerling looked green, her pink colouring looking faded. It was like she was trying not to throw up, "Such a putrid scent. Like… I can't even describe it"

"Hmm…" Espurr sniffed the air experimentally, "I don't smell anything. Maybe you're more sensitive to smells as a Grass type and the underground air is getting to you. Try to eat a Pecha Berry or Heal Seed"

"Do you smell anything odd, Azri?" Eden asked me, a little troubled. I frowned, trying to sniff the air harder, but I got nothing substantial. The noxious fume was faint, but I couldn't tell where it came from.

"A little bit, but I think we should be on the lookout just in case," I decided, "We might be dealing with more than the Honedge"

We continued on a little more cautiously. We were on the seventh floor now and I was hoping we were close to the end. The lack of sleep was starting to get to me and I found myself scarily drowsy. Goomy looked to be the same, slacking behind us.

"Come on, Goomy. Speed it up," Deerling encouraged, watching the slimeball itch forward slowly, "Or do I have to carry you on my back?"

"That would be nice…" Goomy muttered before letting loose a big yawn, "Ugh, I'm sorry for falling behind, but like… I'm soo sleepy…"

"Can't blame you. We all squandered sleep tonight to go to the school…" Espurr frowned, "Who knew that this adventure would ensue from it?"

"Nobody," Eden replied, shaking his head vigorously to try and keep himself awake. I didn't think it was an effective countermeasure, but anything works, "Man, we were all gung ho about conquering our fears and stuff going in, but we forgot-"

"How limiting our bodies are," Espurr agreed. Miraculously, the psychic cat didn't look too fazed, but I saw a bit of a sag in her walk, as well as bags under her gleaming eyes, "Regardless, we should be finished soon. The end of the dungeon is within reach"

"Halt…"

"Huh?" Eden looked around himself for the voice, but there was nobody but us in the hallway we were in, "Who's there? Did anyone say anything?"

Everyone shook their heads, instantly on guard. The voice reminded me of the ghosts in the classroom, which didn't bode well.

"Do not dare… enter the king's tomb…" The voice whispered through the still, humid air, "Do not disturb his rest… like the others…"

"The others… is this king you mentioned the Ghost King?" Eden asked nervously to the air.

"Ghost King… that's… that's what the trespasser referred us to. You… you must be here to finish his accursed business!" The voice suddenly grew in intensity and a white flash of power overwhelmed my eyesight. When the flash wore off, we found ourselves in a flat room like an arena. Did the voice break the dungeon itself? "The crown will be protected!"

"What?! No!" Eden cried, "We're not here for your crown and we're not associated with Ashten! We just want to pass through to save our friends!"

"Folly! I sense the primordial flame inside you, child. Flame is consumption, one that swallows life and death to ash! For that, you must be extinguished!" The voice cried in anger, sounding more solid now. A mass of shadows formed in the air in front of us and materialized into a gold and silver sword, slamming into the ground with a shield covering it, "I am Aegislash, protector of my king's tomb! Prepare to die!"

"Oh for Arceus's sake, we don't have time for this!" Eden fired a Psybeam straight towards Aegislash, but it deflected it easily with its shield. Rushing towards us, it brought its powerful blade down with Shadow Claw. I lunged towards it in a counterattack, clashing with Leaf Blade.

"Then we'll wrap this one up quickly. It's only one enemy and there's five of us!" Deerling rallied, "Let's go! Dogpile it!"

"Oh, I don't think so!" Aegislash growled, pushing me away and slashing me fast with Slash across my chest. I tumbled to the ground, blood flying out of my cut as Aegislash fell back, sheathing itself back into its shield, "Servants of this ground, heed my call!"

"No! Stop it!" Espurr cried, but it was too late. With Metal Sound, the Aegislash cast a screeching noise throughout the entire floor, announcing our presence to all. Aegislash alone was already tough enough to deal with from the one clash me and it did, but now it had allies.

"Servants of the old king, be it faithful knights or trashborn peasants, fight on my behalf!" Aegislash roared through the screeching noise that forced us back. I clutched the wound on my chest and held onto my ears, trying to resist the Metal Sound. I felt the screeching tear away at my mental defenses, making me feel dizzy and vulnerable, "Come!"

The sound died down, but I took one whiff of the air and suddenly, I puked. The most atrocious and revolting scent ever conceived was in the air and I felt my vision go green purely from it alone. Combined with the Metal Sound tearing my mental defenses and my blood loss stealing away my consciousness, I felt dead already.

"G-gaahhh! What… the heck is…" Deerling groaned, plugging her nose. Her pink colouring went sickly green with disgust as she hit the ground, trying to suppress the scent. The others similarly looked plagued, but where was it coming from?

"Come and fight as the sword and shield of the king!" Aegislash yelled as I spotted them: flanking from two hallways, four piles of gutter trash, mud, decayed corpses and litter shambled towards us. I briefly saw eyes and mouths attached to the mass of garbage. I didn't dare to take another breath or else I feared I would collapse instantly.

"Garbador…!" Espurr covered her nose and forehead, trying to focus, but the sheer combination of the Garbador's stench alone polluted the already-musty air, "Eden, heal… Azri! She's gonna-"

"On it," Eden said and stumbled over to me as he dug through his dungeon bag with one hand. Luckily, the Garbador were slow, otherwise they'd rush over and finish me off already, "Please stay alive…"

Feeding me an Oran Berry, I felt my wound heal and I got to my feet, facing the Garbador and Aegislash.

"I'm not above kicking those who are down. I will repel intruders with honor," Aegislash said, which felt strangely uncharacteristic, "Now come and join the ghosts of this graveyard! Garbador, with me!"

"We need to take out the Garbador first! Eden, we'll shut them down with our Psychic moves!" Espurr called, "The rest of you, fight off Aegislash! Weave around the Garbador's slow speed!"

"Hi-yah!" Aegislash came down with another Shadow Claw, but I deflected it with my Leaf Blade. I tried to go for a follow up attack, but Aegislash raised its shield and blocked, my sword bouncing off of it. In the moment I was stunned, Aegislash unsheathed and dove straight towards my neck.

"Dragon Breath!" Goomy shouted and a plume of blue fire scorched the Aegislash out of nowhere, battering him away. A Garbador tried to attack me with Poison Jab, but I darted out of the way, trying not to breathe in any of their scent. I knew the moment I got within close contact, I'd be knocked out instantly, so it was best to avoid them.

"Guys, come together for an alliance attack!" Deerling cried as she galloped behind Aegislash, who was still reeling from the Dragon Breath, "Faint Attack!"

"Pursuit!"

"Dragon Breath!"

"King's Shield!" Aegislash yelled as the three of us fell onto the ghostly sword and shield. A mystical blue barrier formed around the enemy Pokemon, making all of our attacks bounce off it. I fell back, the dark energy of Pursuit fading before I felt a curse spike onto both my arms. Suddenly, even lifting my hand felt heavy and I could barely summon my Leaf Blade. What did King's Shield do to me?

"Azri!" Suddenly, Goomy tackled me away, which was surprising strength from the slimeball dragon. The Garbador that was about to strike me grunted and tried to attack again, but that was when Eden and Espurr's attack struck.

"PSYWAVE!" Both Pokemon shouted and a wave of psychic power rippled across the room and sundered the very air itself, striking the Garbador and making them crumble to lifeless heaps of garbage instantly. For their size and putrid smell, they were surprisingly easy to fight and defeat. Now all that was left was Aegislash.

"GAHHH!" Deerling screamed as she was knocked into a wall by Aegislash's Flash Cannon. The ancient guardian levitated towards the fallen doe, preparing to finish her off when a blast of Eden's Flame Burst scorched it across its back.

"Hrm?! My Garbador was defeated so easily?" Aegislash turned towards the rest of us, looking surprised, "No matter, I'll end you all myself, starting with this upstart doe!"

"Not if I end you first!" Deerling cried, leaping at Aegislash despite her injuries, slamming it with a Faint Attack. The attack left Aegislash rearing, letting me batter it with Pursuit. I was about to use it again, but Aegislash called up King's Shield, forcing me backwards. Deerling fell back, glowing with Synthesis to heal her wounds.

"Pressure the shield! Goomy, Eden, help me out!" Espurr commanded and she fired a Psybeam towards Aegislash's King's Shield, alongside Eden and Goomy's Dragon Breath. Aegislash was forced to keep up the barrier, lest it get overwhelmed and that was its prime weakness.

"Urk… you're strong… but I won't waver!" Aegislash groaned under the pressure of all the attacks, "As long as I stand… my shield will… NEVER FALL!"

"Then try this! Hahh!" Eden took a deep breath and fired a powerful Flamethrower towards Aegislash's shield, blowtorching the guardian in vibrant, primordial flames.

"GAAAHHHH! FLAMES!" Aegislash roared in agony, "JUST LIKE… JUST LIKE…!"

"Yeah! Just like Ashten!" Eden cried, "Now leave… us… BE!"

The sound of glass breaking filled the air and Aegislash's King's Shield finally broke, leaving the ancient guardian scorched, battered and vulnerable. It was time to finish it off.

"Alliance attack, GO!" I shouted and me, Goomy and Deerling all flew towards the fallen guardian, slamming it with Faint Attack, Pursuit and Dragon Breath.

"NOOOOOO!" Aegislash wailed as the dark energies and draconic fire dissolved it to nothing but dust. Dust that quickly flew away in the nonexistent wind, almost like the spirit of Aegislash still remained. What a fight.

"... Phew. That's finally over…" I gasped for breath as I slumped on the ground, letting loose a yawn of my own, "Hope that was… the last of them and the Honedge"

"Probably, though the bigger worry is that we exhausted ourselves on Aegislash. I wonder how we'll fare against the dragon in our condition," Espurr said worriedly as the rest of us took a breather while pulling out apples to snack on.

"SO… YOU'VE PREVAILED OVER MY GUARDIAN SWORD AND SHIELD…" A godlike voice rumbled through the area suddenly, startling all of us. That was the voice of the dragon in the school classroom, "PERHAPS YOU HAVE A CHANCE AGAINST ME AFTER ALL"

"You're… you're that exiled dragon from the classroom!" Eden realized, "The "god banished from reality""

"INDEED. GOOD THAT YOU RECOGNIZE ME," The voice boomed back, "SO, DO YOU INTEND TO CHALLENGE ME? YOU MAY HAVE DEFEATED AEGISLASH BUT I AM FAR ABOVE IT!"

"Will you release Pancham and Shelmet if we ask nicely?" Goomy asked feebly and the cavern shook as if the dragon was laughing, "Eep!"

"HAND BACK MY PREY?! NOT A CHANCE!" The dragon boomed, "LAST CHANCE TO RUN. UNLESS YOU WANT TO DIE BY MY HANDS?"

"No way!" Eden yelled valiantly, "We came too far to be stopped now. We will rescue Pancham and Shelmet, no matter what!"

"HA, WELL SAID. THEN YOU JUST SIGNED YOUR DEATH WARRANT," The dragon cackled before suddenly, a rift of darkness appeared in front of us, molding itself into some sort of portal or doorway, "COME THEN. MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME"

The dragon apparently wasn't interested in giving us free will to go in though as dark ropes lashed out of the portal at breakneck speed, binding all of us instantly. Before any of us could even scream, we were pulled into the portal and everything was black.

"It was a trap… we lost before we could even fight…" I thought to myself as the darkness surrounded me, impenetrable and everlasting. I couldn't sense the presence of anyone around me, but I still felt the rope of darkness binding over my waist. Drifting through the gloom, a sudden flash of white light overwhelmed my vision and I found myself in an elaborate chamber. A purple floral pattern ran across the ground while the walls were made out of bone.

"Where are we…?" Eden asked to nobody, "Is this the dragon's chamber or the king's tomb Aegislash talked about?"

"Eden…? Is that you, Eden?"

"That voice…!" Goomy looked around frantically, but there was nobody here but us, "Pancham, is that you?!"

"Goomy, you came too…?" Pancham's voice was distant and faint. I had a hard time discerning it entirely, "Please… get us out of here…!"

"We're so scared… we can't take it any longer!" Another voice wailed and Deerling perked up.

"Shelmet? Is that you, Shelmet?" The doe realized, "Where are you two right now? What's happening?"

"I… don't know. We seem to be imprisoned in darkness," Pancham muttered faintly, "Please find us a way out of here…"

"We will! We just need to uhh…" Eden looked around curiously, "Find where you are. Maybe there's a switch here or some-"

"HA HA HA. YOU THINK THIS IS SOME MECHANICAL FOLLY?!" The dragon's voice boomed across the chamber suddenly, making Goomy and Eden jump, "TO FREE THEM, YOU MUST DEFEAT ME!"

A large shadow cast from behind us and I got a horrible flashback when I witnessed the dragon in the classroom. That memory brought back the bloody nightmare, making my legs jitter and heart beat rapidly in fear.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Both Goomy and Eden screamed, which forced me to look at the dragon's true form. And when I did, my heart leapt out of my throat myself. Towering over us, the dragon's body was a mix of ghostly grey and gold, with shadowy spiked wings growing from its sides. The beast donned six legs and a large tail swished from behind it. An aura of power and death befitting of a god radiated from it.

"You're- That-" Eden stuttered, trying to form the words. He looked to be on the verge of fainting again, with his legs trembling beneath him. Goomy was shivering so much, he looked like a door-stopper.

"WELL? DO YOU STILL INTEND TO FIGHT ME?!" The dragon roared in challenge, "I AM GIRATINA, EMISSARY OF THE DARK LAND. THE GOD BANISHED FROM REALITY. THE DRAGON OF DISTORTION!"

Nobody answered, backing up slowly from Giratina as a wave of pure fear shot through us. How could we possibly fight something like this? Aegislash was enough of a challenge, but this… it was hopeless.

"I'M FEELING MERCIFUL TODAY HOWEVER," Giratina rumbled, "I'LL SPARE YOUR PITIFUL LIVES ON ONE CONDITION"

"H-huh…?"

In front of Giratina, two small cages made of darkness appeared. Inside was Pancham and Shelmet, suspended in the air.

"Help us, guys! Get us out of here!" Shelmet cried, "Please!"

"SILENCE!" Giratina roared, "I'LL SPARE YOUR LIVES IF YOU GRANT ME THESE POKEMON'S SOULS. BY CASTING THE BONDS OF MORTALITY AWAY, I CAN CONSUME THEM"

"WHAT?!" Pancham screeched, "You're going to eat us?!"

"WELL?! CHOOSE!" Giratina roared, challenging us, "EITHER YOU GIVE UP YOUR FRIENDS' SOULS AND WALK FREE OR FIGHT ME AND DIE. CHOOSE!"

"It's a lose-lose situation, but we…" Even Espurr was at a loss for words. Everyone's eyes darted between one another, daring someone to speak up before suddenly, Eden shouted:

"Not on your life!"

"HM?! NOT ON… MY LIFE?"

"We won't give up Pancham and Shelmet without a fight!" Eden yelled courageously. I noticed the Fennekin's legs were still shaking, but his voice was true and valiant, "They're our friends and what friends would we be if we left them to die?!"

"Y-yeah! He's right!" Goomy cried, stepping up, "Pancham and Shelmet were mean to me in the past, but they're still our friends! Only a selfish jerk would leave them be!"

"HA! BOLD AND CHEESY WORDS!" Giratina cackled, "DO YOU TRULY INTEND TO FIGHT ME THEN?!"

"Yes! No matter how many times you ask!" Eden shouted, a bright aura of flame burning around his body, indicating his passion and newfound strength. I stared in awe at the Fennekin's courage before taking a deep breath, resigning myself to fate. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I let Eden or anybody else die today, so I had to fight. I summoned my Leaf Blade and pointed it towards Giratina.

"VERY WELL. YOU ASKED FOR THIS!" Giratina's shadow grew and covered the entire chamber in inky darkness. Not even Eden's fiery aura penetrated the dark when suddenly, four spectral orbs of blue flame appeared. The ghosts that haunted the classroom, "COME, MY LITWICK BRETHREN!"

Giratina's expansive shadow went back to normal and we could see again. Now four small, live wax candles surrounded us, each bearing a blue, ethereal flame.

"TRY ME AND BE DAMNED TO ETERNITY! GRROARRRR!" Giratina roared and the battle sprung, with the Litwick charging towards us, "ALL OF YOU… SHALL BE ERASED! OMINOUS WIND!"

A repulsive purple gale blew through the chamber, billowing us with screams of the damned. I blocked my ears and eyes to try and resist the attack, but it still stung. The Ominous Wind let the Litwick smack into me with Astonish.

"Gah!" I tumbled to the ground as the Ominous Wind died down, but the Astonish luckily didn't do too much damage. I got up and lunged at the Litwick who struck me with Pursuit. The sudden strike made the candle stagger away, but it was still alive. I tried to go for a follow up attack, but it formed a barrier with Protect, blocking me. Not again.

"Buuurrnnn to cinders!" The Litwick growled, firing an arrow of flame towards me with Flame Burst. I was prepared to dart away to dodge, but the flame suddenly redirected itself towards Eden, who swallowed the flame easily.

"My fire is my own. I won't let anyone wrestle it away from me or use it to hurt my friends!" Eden cried. I didn't understand a word the Fennekin said, but what mattered was he stunned the Litwick with the absorption alone. I lunged at the enemy Pokemon, hand outstretched with Pursuit and slapped it backwards. The Litwick staggered, more angry than hurt and began to melt into a puddle before reforming.

"Pierce my Aaaccid Armor! Try it!" The Litwick taunted and I leapt at the candle, smashing it with more Pursuit attacks. The more blows I dealt, the weaker they got and the Litwick laughed in my face about it. I boiled with rage. Something so small couldn't be such a threat, "Stop trying! It's hooopless!"

"Oh yeah? Try this, you twerp!" In one motion, I opened my dungeon bag, grabbed a random seed and tried to slam it onto the Litwick with my Pursuit.

"SAFEGUARD!" Giratina roared, erecting a shield in front of the Litwick I was about to strike. My seed collided with the candle's head and the sleeping agent went off, but nothing happened. The Litwick grinned darkly and lunged at me with Astonish, but I darted backwards. This wasn't going anywhere.

"Any luck?" I called as I fell back, summoning my Leaf Blade to ward off the Litwick. Luckily, it was slow like the Garbador, so it couldn't pursue me to attack. Any Flame Bursts were warded off by Eden. Giratina meanwhile was strangely not attacking us. Maybe it was content with watching us struggle with the Litwick.

"Their Acid Armor is too thick to pierce! We need to strike with special attacks!" Deerling stomped on a Litwick with Faint Attack, but it lived the attack with ease before returning the favor with a Flame Body burn, "Gah!"

"Huddle up! We need to fight these Litwick together!" Espurr called and the rest of us fell back until our backs were against each other, watching the candles slowly approach with their flickering Safeguard shields. It was frustrating how Acid Armor made these wax rats as tough as steel.

"HA! DO YOU GIVE UP?" Giratina cackled, watching us intently without action, "IF YOU CANNOT BEAT MY LITWICK, HOW CAN YOU BEAT ME?!"

"If you are truly as strong as you say, then why don't you show it?!" Espurr demanded, which shocked me. Was she insane? "You say it's so easy to defeat us, so do it! Devour our souls!"

"WHAT?! Espurr, what are you saying?" Deerling cried, but Espurr shot her a wink, implying she knew what she was doing. I had no idea what Espurr's plan was, but maybe it'll get us a victory.

"Master.." One of the Litwick slowly said, but Giratina shook its head, stepping forward. There was a strange way it moved, with it levitating forward rather than walking and there was a weird sag in its posture, like it was tired.

"I ALWAYS ENJOY WILLING SACRIFICES. STAND ASIDE, LITWICK," Giratina commanded and the four candles ceased attacking, "WATCH AS I BLOW THEM AWAY WITH MY ULTIMATE MOVE!"

"Espurr, are you sure about this…?" Eden asked as Giratina began gathering power, light itself condensing into a growing energy sphere before it. Wait, light? Why would an all-powerful shadow dragon use that?

"If my theory is correct, then this move wouldn't hurt us at all," The psychic cat replied flatly as Giratina's strength started to shake the chamber around us, "Just wait and watch"

"And if it doesn't…?"

"Then well, we'll just accept our deaths then," Espurr gave us a rather morbid smile, "Doesn't everyone need to take risks to be successful?"

"GGGRRRRRRRR! TAKE THIS!" Giratina roared as the sphere of light condensed into a bright shockwave, "HIDDEN POWER!"

The shockwave rocketed towards us and I braced myself for the end. Covering my face and eyes, I was prepared to go lights out when suddenly… nothing happened. Briefly, I saw the Hidden Power crash against us and scatter into harmless wisps of lights. Barely a scratch.

"HRM?!"

"Checkmate," Espurr grinned darkly, "Alliance attack!"

Instinctively, me and Deerling moved towards the sides of the stunned Giratina, easily out-maneuvering the Litwick. Forming shadows into my hand, I prepared myself to use Pursuit, with Deerling using Faint Attack.

"All together now! Strike!"

All at once, my Pursuit, Deerling's Faint Attack, Eden and Espurr's Psybeams and Goomy's Dragon Breath collided with Giratina, making it emit a satisfying roar of agony.

"GRRRAAAHHHH!" Giratina screamed, trying to bear the brunt of so many attacks at once, but it was hopeless. Today's victory was ours, "WAIT… NO… STO-"

"I surrender!" Giratina suddenly cried once our attacks ended and it was left a smoldering, bloody husk. I stepped back, shocked at the sudden voice change. The voice sounded… normal. Like an actual Pokemon, "Please don't kill me! I beg you!"

"WHAT?!"

Our team:

- Azri, Snivy: Lunar Warrioress

Level 19

Abilities: Overgrow and Contrary

Moves: Leaf Blade, Pursuit, Twister and Attract

- Eden, Fennekin: Brave Magus

Level 18

Abilities: Blaze and Magician

Moves: Flame Burst, Psywave, Psybeam and Ember

- Espurr

Level 20

Abilities: Keen Eye

Moves: Psybeam, Fake Out, Covet and Charge Beam

- Deerling

Level 18

Abilities: Chlorophyll

Moves: Feint Attack, Double Kick, Synthesis and Sand Attack

- Goomy

Level 12

Abilities: Sap Sipper

Moves: Dragon Breath, Tackle, Absorb and Bubble