Some Pokémon experience love, tragedy, and adventures. For some it's fun and enjoyable, whilst others have it terrible; death and misery follow them in their wake. And some take pleasure from these Pokémon's pain. Their maliciousness knows no bounds. What god could ever allow this to happen? They watch from atop their religious pedestal whilst the sorrow and afflicted beg before them. Many pay their tithe for safety, be it palpable or not, they pay it, through coin or blood—if they have to. Some gods are obviously devils; Giratina, the God of death, torture, and dishonour. Other gods are hidden devils; Arceus, the Law-bringer, God of purity, and Defender of Heaven.

All these thoughts swirled amidst others throughout Nero's mind as he stared at the church devoted to Arceus before him. It was pristine, the golden rays of the sun reflected off the white sun that symbolized the 'purity' of Arceus. The light of the day was receding though. Sadly the moon has yet to rise in all its glory, so it could rejuvenate Nero's mind and body. His rings have yet to glow their immaculate yellow. His black cloak billowed in the wind, the cool air crept underneath it, but thankfully his fur provided a decent protection from the cold breath of Tornadus, God of wind.

He entered the church through the engraved wood doors. This was a truly selfish church for they would rather lace the hinges with gold than provide safety to the poor and downtrodden. The walls were lined with torches, each one resting between the stain-glass windows. The windows depicted all the 'good' gods, but had a noticeable preference towards Arceus. Each torch had their own respective pew that connected the outer wall to the red-carpeted aisle that made its way down the church from the main doors. An altar sat at the end of said aisle. It was pure white; a symbol of Arceus. A burning incense laid atop the altar, it filled the room with a nose-twitching scent. Two mahogany doors were behind each side of the altar.

Nero continued forth from the entrance, along the aisle, until he came to the doors. The job poster said last door on the left, so he went to the left door and knocked upon the dark-wood door. *knock* *knock*

"Hello?!" Nero called out.

"Who's there?" a disembodied voice heeded Nero's call.

"I'm here for the job."

The door was suddenly opened, and Nero was hastily ushered inside. He stumbled in and saw his soon-to-be employer. An old, wrinkly Slowking stood before him. His eyes screamed paranoia, a stark difference from the normal wise stare that many Slowking possess.

"You don't look like much," the Slowking judged.

"Ha! Look who's talking," Nero snarked back.

"Whatever, you know what you're in for? Right?"

"Of course; something in your catacombs is causing trouble. Figure out who or what it is, if a threat subdue it."

"Yes—yes, good. Here's the key, best of luck."

"Whoa, hold on, I want some incentive before I go down there and I also don't know if you're gonna betray me. So, I think some prepayments are in order."

"Yeah, yeah, you mercenaries are all the same," and with that said the Slowking tossed five Poké Nero's way. Nero pocketed the coins in his side pouch. He gave a brief nod, acknowledging his compliance and with that he entered into the dark abyss of the crypt.

Nero focused as his rings lit up so they could provide a substantial amount of light. The stairwell was steep and seemed limitless as Nero descended the treacherous steps. Each step felt cracked, chipped, or broken in some way. The abyssal darkness of the descent felt suffocating as the mystical swirls of darkness coiled their way amidst the cobblestone walls of the burial grounds. No bodies, flesh or bone, have revealed themselves just yet, but Nero still had a chill creeping up his spine; a chill that felt more chilling than the chill of that above him on land.

At last leveled ground answered his hopeful thoughts as his feet met cold stone. Alcoves surrounded him, alcoves that contained the remains of a variety of unfortunate souls, or fortunate, seeing as their bodies were recovered. The ones at the bottom of the sea or left in ditches, now those were the unfortunate. Then, there was the smell; the smell of death. His nose curled as he smelt the acridic stench of rot and dust. His rationale screamed, "Leave," yet his body kept going deeper into the bowels of the earth. The deeper he got the more ruinous the burial chambers became, and, of course, the remains followed this trend. Skeletal remains were strewn about all along the centre route. He attempted to avoid them out of respect and a tinge of fear. Sadly, as Nero moved farther the pathway became a sea of bones and debris. Loose stones and remains laid strewn about everywhere, avoiding them was nigh impossible.

"Fuck! Ow!" Nero yelped. He examined the paw that gave him the sudden jolt of pain, a bone jabbed outwards from the paw pad like a Combee's stinger. Blood poured from the new wound, the red ichor flowed from the crevice like a geyser and tainted the surrounding plateau of paw pads. Nero psyched himself up as he bent down to grip the sharpened bone in his maw, and he yanked it free from his possessive foot. He grunted and hissed as the pain beckoned his ripping of the bone. He shook off the pain and continued forth down the dirt-ridden path, a bloody footprint accompanying him every metre or so.

Dust had been flowing through the air this whole time, a cloudy miasma of death and dismay. It began to interfere with Nero's sight as he delved deeper into the crypt, it crept into his nostrils and tickled the hairs within. "A-choo!" Nero sneezed, the noise reverberated off the tunnel's walls, an alarming sound to whatever creatures may call this crypt home; alive or dead. The dust and, now constant, sneezing made seeing a daunting task, twas this new difficulty that led to Nero's sudden new descent into an ever-darkening madness. As he sneezed a big sneeze he missed his next step and tumbled down upon the new set of stairs. He began to roll upon his side, his limbs sprawled about as he tumbled. Nero's rings faltered and soon dimmed slowly into pitch black amidst the struggle of finding a footing. Pain shot through him throughout the fall, the pain reached its apex at the end of Nero's descent when he heard a crunch and pain seared through his front left leg. It refused to move, now a crumpled, bloody mess. He laid there for a couple of minutes, slowly breathing in and out as he grinded his teeth together, with a slight hiss of pain slinking between the ivory walls. He miraculously managed to get up, albeit with a lot of help from his remaining intact legs. Nero hobbled along down the hall, fearing that this may be the end of his depressing life; freedom at last from the horrors that called his memory home.

Ominous noises filled the tunnels as Nero continued down them. The creep factor only increased when whispers began to beckon to him, "Leave and never come bacckkkkk..."

A cool, wispy fog crept across the long-forgotten remains of the unfortunate. A nippy breeze sent shivers down Nero's spine. He ignored the whispered demands and persevered through the creeping fog, his cloak billowed and flowed unceremoniously behind him. The cool air was unnerving, yet it still contained a brief hope for his leg still felt the cold breeze, a sign it wasn't fully gone, but mobility was obviously quite hindered. He sighed a sigh of relief as hope re-emerged within him. This respite was short-lived however for a shadow ball caught him straight in the side.

"What the?" He grunted out as he recovered from the attack, his dark typing providing a decent defense. A second shadow ball struck his other side. "Ugh, pieces of shits!" he cried out. He mustered up his rapidly dwindling strength and released a strong dark pulse. The energy pumped out, surrounding him with a wave of darkness. A high-pitched wail responded to his attack. Nero's attack proceeded to blast energy from within him and into the surrounding pokémon. Its black tendrils sought out weak prey and found their feeble bodies as screes screamed throughout the crypt; music to Nero's ears. As the screams faded, Nero promptly ended his dark pulse, he took a breather and recuperated himself. A deep laugh bellowed amidst the heaving breaths of Nero, "Ha ha ha… what a bunch of weaklings."

"Who—where are you?!" Nero desperately gasped out.

"Oh, stupid, weak Umbreon. I suggest you leave before you die!" A purple mist shrouded the crypt. Nero prepared himself for the dangerous Pokémon that crept amongst the mist, retreat not even an option with his weakened body. A repetitive stomping assaulted Nero's ears, vibrations shook the dust upon the cobbled earth as each step brought the giant creature closer. Nero prepared a dark pulse as the steps grew near. The enemy revealed itself; an Eevee.

"Wait? What?" Nero confusingly questioned.

A giant shadow ball caught the off-guard Umbreon. Despite Nero's natural resistance to the plasmatic ball it still hurt like a bitch. He hissed in pain as demonic laughter heeded his questioning.

Nero's focus was hindered, and the readied pulse dispersed back within Nero. He recovered and recomposed himself and began to route energy towards his rings. Yellow light began to brighten the once pitch-black catacombs. The Eevee was shrouded in a purple miasma as it prepared a second shadow ball. Just before it released its attack, Nero released his own; a blinding light. The Eevee screeched as the light assaulted its eyes.

"You brat!"

Nero took advantage of the opening and attacked the mon with a shadow ball of his own. As Nero suspected the ball traveled straight through the Eevee dragging a Gengar all along the way until the Gengar collided with the back wall. The Gengar just laughed again and disappeared into the wall, the Eevee, on the other hand, collapsed; passed out. Nero was quite tired from the skirmish, but he had to persevere for this Eevee. Something just compelled him to save and protect this Eevee, he rushed forward and stood over the Eevee in a protective stance, a low growl rumbling from within his throat.

"How cute," the invisible ghost heckled out at Nero, "sadly, it's futile," and with that the Gengar clawed Nero's back, a deep painful gash now present there. Nero ignored the pain and whipped around to face the Gengar; nothing.

"Fight me coward!" Nero demanded the mist. As blood seeped from the gorge in his back, he prepared for any attacks the Gengar might enact upon him. Three orbs materialized ten metres away from him and rushed towards him and the unconscious Eevee. He conjured a mystical barrier in front of him, blocking the flaming, purple orbs. Whilst distracted by the orbs, Gengar attempted to attack Nero from his left and swung its wretched claw in a sideways arc towards him. Nero nimbly evaded it, but sadly heard the tell-tale sound of cloth ripping and coins clinking upon rock. The Gengar smiled a devious smile and moved quickly towards Nero's wealth. Nero fearing the loss of his money he ran towards the Gengar, sadly he had to protect the Eevee which was now in the line of fire of a shadow ball that the wretched Gengar fired, not a care in the world for the safety of the Eevee. He leaped and shoved the Eevee from the incoming fire and took the hit himself. As he recovered from the weaker shadow ball and got to his feet, he grumbled for all his wealth was gone, all his savings stolen in the span of ten seconds.

He was mad. He was infuriated. "All my poké and for what? This stupid Eevee!" The dark purple miasma dissipated into nothingness, much like the unnerving sounds that once pierced his eardrums. He limped towards the Eevee, his anger dissipating as he saw her pitiful form shivering and faintly breathing, Nero also checked her area just to confirm that the Eevee was indeed a she. He grumbled once more, gripped the Eevee's scruff and hoisted her onto his back. She was really light; a pang of concern took root inside his mind as he felt her ribs rub against his back; she was so malnourished.

The return back to the Slowking was not painful, just uneventful. The stairs were difficult, yet Nero persevered, seeing giving up as a selfish display of incompetence. He followed his red paw prints back to the point of pain that started this whole descent into madness. He finally returned to the cathedral's entrance and knocked upon the door just before he collapsed.

Light graced his eyes as the door opened, the hinges whining from their abuse. The Slowking stood before him, the light shining behind him, shrouding him in a dark shadow. Nero sighed with content upon seeing a friendly face in what felt like years. The happiness was—yet again—short-lived as the Slowking's face displayed a hint of anger and aggression.

"Give me that Eevee!" he demanded. Pain shot through Nero's ears as the bellow echoed off the cold stone walls.

Nero slowly responded, "Why?'

"It's a demonic spawn of the unholy Giratina," he stated with a matter-of-factly attitude.

"How would you possibly know?!"

"Her fur; pale like a ghost. It's a demon that is plaguing our world! Hand IT over!"

"No! I risked my life to save her, so fuck you!"

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you, you Darkrai scum!"

"I don't care what you call me, I'm leaving."

"Oh, no you don't!" The Slowking then stepped in between Nero and the door to freedom.

"You're kidding," Nero sighed, "fine let's just get it over with, ya old man," and with that Nero shot a shadow ball at the zealot.

Slowking manifested a barrier blocking the purple ball. The Slowking then answered with his own shadow ball. Nero sidestepped it, shots of pain stung his already injured leg, he gritted his teeth and pushed through. He pulsed light towards his rings and unleashed the energy from within himself. The Slowking yelled amidst his blind rage as Nero disappeared from the room, between the pews, down the aisle, and the wooden doors that started this whole mess. He slowed to a trot and, eventually, a walk as the church diluted into nothing but a speck amongst the shining stars that graced Nero's eyes.

He heaved and hacked, his lungs burning, his legs burning, his whole body simply burning from all the strenuous activities he had done in the past hours. "Slow and steady wins the race, Nero," he mumbled to himself, "You better be worth it," he regarded the resting Eevee. He walked for what felt like hours and soon trudged his way into a side alley on the other side of town. He rested the Eevee on the cold, stone pavement. He soon laid down beside her and wrapped his legs around her. He enjoyed the one solace he was going to get this horrendous day. He sighed in content as his consciousness dwindled into a faded ember amongst the dank stones of the alley.