Welcome one and all to the next chapter; I hope you all enjoy it as it has an exciting tournament pitting Natasha against her two best friends. It's a high-stakes match that'll demonstrate just how powerful all three trainers are
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Insurgence; it is the property of its creators.
Midna Town
Having taken her first steps into the town, Natasha was taken aback by how large it was when compared to Telnor Town. Granted, it wasn't as large as a city, but it was still pretty large and packed with hundreds of citizens doing their daily business. Quickly entering the nearby Pokémon Center, the purple-haired girl placed her Pokéballs into the small machine to the right of the nurse's desk to get healed, sitting down on a nearby table as she overheard a pair of young women chatting about the Second Augur.
"Can you believe how strong the Second Augur is? They say that he was the hero who saved the Tandor region from nuclear Armageddon, without wearing a hazmat suit. It's like his very presence was able to dispel the radioactive air around him." The first woman, who had short blonde hair chimed in.
"I heard that he was able to crush Team Meteor and Team Xen at the same time, on his own! It's like he was blessed by Arceus itself." The second woman added, this one sporting long blue hair. But a slightly puzzled expression soon appeared on her face. "Then again, we barely hear anything about the First Augur anymore, so who knows how powerful they were."
"They couldn't have been all that strong, given that they disappeared during the war against the cults. But they did disband over half the cults plaguing our region, so I'll give them kudos for that." The first woman replied, a light 'ding' ringing out as Natasha went to the machine and received her Pokéballs back, offering the nurse her thanks before exiting the building. The small conversation she overheard raised a question in her mind; namely why are people hesitant on mentioning the First Augur? It's one thing to idolize the Second Augur, but an entirely different story to ignore the existence of his predecessor. It could be a successful propaganda campaign like those two cultists mentioned earlier in Telnor Cave, so that could explain the more…exaggerated details of his achievements. However, she chose to put the question aside for now and made her way to the Midna Trainer School to meet up with Damian.
Upon entering the vast school, she found Damian talking to an older woman, with Natasha assuming her to be the teacher. Soon enough, the teacher noticed the teenage girl enter the building and gestured at her to come over to her. "Ah, you must be the Natasha that Damian told me about. It's nice to meet you."
"Same here, miss. I wish to participate in the tournament." Natasha stated, the older woman raising her hand to her chin.
"That's wonderful; we're always happy to have new trainers join in, even if they don't attend the school. However, we cannot start the tournament yet until Nora arrives. If you can find her, I'll guarantee you a position in the tournament." She proposed an offer.
"Sounds like a plan!" The purple-haired girl agreed. "But where would I begin searching?"
"From what I've heard, she hangs around the Midna Mine from time to time. It's the cavern right near the school building; I'd check it out myself, but I need to keep an eye on my students. Thanks for helping me out on this!" The teacher thanked her, with Natasha promptly exiting the building and making her way to the nearby mine. Upon stepping inside it, she was taken aback by how small it was when compared to the rest of the town. The opening chamber was a vast circle of sorts with various trainers breaking the small, rugged rocks in the hopes of finding treasure, with a small opening laying in the center of the small crater at the bottom of the mine. Taking a guess that this Nora would be training in the area beyond this opening, Natasha slowly began her descent down the slope and towards the opening, creeping beyond it and entered a small chamber, where she promptly hid behind a nearby rock and watched the scene before her.
Standing in the center of the elevated platform was the most beautiful girl Natasha has ever seen. Appearing roughly the same age as her, the girl had long green hair that reached her back, shiny blue eyes and a modestly curvy figure; a headband with a white flower resting in her hair. Her outfit consisted of a short-sleeved green shirt with leafy patterns on it, a blue pleated skirt that reached her thighs, and a pair of white, thigh-high socks that were topped off with a pair of green loafers. Surveying the scene cautiously, the green-haired teen collected herself before surveying a set of four fossils before her. "All right, the fossils are in place! you can do it Celebi, I believe in you!" She declared.
"Celebi…?" Natasha mused to herself, her eyes widening in surprise as the legendary time traveler Pokémon appeared before the teenager and gaze at the fossils, the small Pokémon channeling its inner power as the fossils were soon surrounded by a temporal aura. Within a few moments, the fossils were soon transformed into their original forms; a Kabutops, Omastar, Bastiodon and Armaldo. But unbeknownst to the purple-haired teen, a familiar friend re-materialized right behind her.
"You did it! I'm so proud of you! after all the hard work we've put in, it finally paid off." The green-haired teen praised her companion, with Celebi chirping happily as it proceeded to revert the Pokémon back to their fossilized forms. But as they were about to leave, the duo were soon caught off-guard by a second chirping, turning to the side to see Mew approaching them, a starting Natasha seeing her companion and making her way towards it.
"Mew, what are you doing? They're busy with their own busi—oh, hi…eheheheheh." The purple-haired girl chuckled uneasily, realizing that she was caught red-handed.
"W-Who are you and how much did you see?!" The green-haired girl demanded, eyeing her up suspiciously as the latter raised her hands in surrender.
"I-I saw all of it, but I mean you no harm, honestly." Natasha admitted, watching Mew and Celebi float closer to each other and chirp to each other, as if they were old friends catching up with one another.
"Well a mythical Pokémon like Mew wouldn't travel with a liar, so I guess it's safe to trust you. The name's Nora, and as you can see, I was chosen by Celebi, just like how you were chosen by Mew." She introduced herself.
"The name's Natasha, but what do you mean by chosen? From what I remember, Mew chose to save me from the clutches of some cult hiding in Shade Woods." The purple-haired girl introduced herself back.
"In that case, an explanation would be beneficial. See, a long time ago there was this prophecy written about the Torren region, and it mentions the cults and the Augur. It is said that a trainer chosen by a mythical Pokémon would be the one to save the region from the cults. Mythical Pokémon are a subcategory of legendary Pokémon, that include Pokémon such as Mew, Victini and Hoopa. When the cults learned of this prophecy, they formed a temporary truce of sorts to rid the region of this trainer. Which is why I train with Celebi in private, to avoid any unwanted attention from the cults. Thankfully, the first Augur was able to make things a lot easier by disbanding over half the cults plaguing the region, before his unfortunate disappearance. Some people thought the prophecy was about him because his partner was Hoopa; but as you know he disappeared a year ago." Nora explained the prophecy to Natasha, a look of intrigue appearing on her face.
"Fascinating…do you this the Second Augur is friends with a mythical Pokémon?" She inquired, with Nora shaking her head back.
"No, I don't think he was chosen by anyone. Keep this between us, but I think he's absolutely useless. He talks big about saving the Torren region from the cults, yet he hasn't disbanded a single one. Now that I know I'm not alone, I guess we can train together in order to hone our skills." The green-haired girl replied.
"I'll be more than happy to train with someone as cute and talented as you." Natasha smiled back at Nora, a faint blush creeping up on the latter's soft face.
"T-That sounds like a good idea." Nora replied, quickly shaking her head to dispel her blushing cheeks. "Anyway, it's best if you keep quiet about your friendship with Mew; I don't want you to get hunted down by the cults."
"Don't worry, I'll keep quiet about Mew, though given that I escaped their base, I'm afraid that at least one cult is already after me. It's a long story, so I'll explain it on the way back to school." The purple-haired girl took her advice into consideration.
"Back to school…the tournament! I completely forgot about that. We better head up there and fast, lest we miss out on the tournament!" The green-haired girl exclaimed, gesturing at Natasha to follow her quickly, with the duo beginning the quick trek back to the school building.
Midna Town Trainers School
Having arrived at the school in time, the teacher turned to face the newcomers, a look of relief on her face over seeing Nora safe and sound. "You're a little late Nora, is everything alright?" She inquired.
"Yes, I'm fine. Sorry for being late, but I was getting in some last-minute training for the tournament. On the plus side, I met this lovely young trainer and encouraged her to join the tournament as well." Nora chimed back, gesturing at Natasha.
"I figured that this tournament should provide me with some additional training, and it never hurts to have extra training." Natasha commented, with the teacher giving her a slow nod.
"Wonderful; you two are just in time to join the tournament! Come this way." She called out to the duo, who made their way to the small crowd as the adult stepped upon a small battlefield at the back of the classroom. "Welcome one and all, to the next Midna School tournament, and it'll be the biggest one yet! We have two new contestants from outside the school; Damian and Natasha from Telnor Town. How will they fare against our students? There's only one way to find out!"
The students all cheered eagerly, curious to see just how well the newcomers would fare against them. One by one they took their places on either side of the arena and duked it out against one another, hoping to win and secure the secret prize for first place. A few battles later, it was down to only four trainers with Natasha and Damian being called out, the students curious to see how the former would fare given that she hasn't been called out yet.
"We're up to the semi-finals, and it's between the two newcomers; Damian and Natasha. We already saw how Damian defeated his first opponent, but what skills does Natasha possess? Let's find out right away!" The teacher called out, with the crowd eagerly watching the duo make their way to the arena.
"You may have beaten me in our first battle, but I've grown a lot since we last fought. Allow me to show you the fruits of my training!" Damian declared, sending out his Corphish with Natasha sending out her Dwebble, causing the crowd to murmur at the sight.
"Woah, that doesn't look like an ordinary Dwebble…"
"Could it be one of those Delta Species I've heard about?"
"This is gonna be so great!"
"D-Deltas Species? C-Could it be…?" Nora mused to herself, the teacher impressed over the crowds' reaction.
"Let's start off with a simple Powder Snow, Dwebble!" Natasha called out, the small hermit crab rearing its claws in the air and breathed a small gust of cold wind at the Corphish, the lobster's body tensing up over the cool breeze as its claws started to freeze solid. But it wasn't deterred by the attack, merely scuttling towards the Dwebble and slammed its frozen claws onto its hard shell, breaking free from its icy prison as the Dwebble quickly spun to the other side. The small crab emerged from its shell, staggering on the spot in confusion momentarily, before scuttling towards its foe and leapt into the air, landing on top of its foe and pounded its back with its claws. The Corphish let out a low chirp of pain, shaking its body in an attempt to get its foe off its back. It was able to successfully shake the Dwebble off, only for the small crab to charge at its foe and hoist it into the air, twirling it around a few times before throwing it to the ground, the lobster skidding back a few feet, only for it to crumple into a pile, unable to continue battling.
"Talk about a quick finish! How will Damian respond to Natasha's Delta Dwebble?" The teacher announced, watching the young man recall his Pokémon.
"Don't worry, I've got a way to deal with that Dwebble. Luxio, kick things off with a Spark!" He called out, sending out his next Pokémon as the Luxio calmly trotted onto the field, shooting a glare at the hermit crab before cloaking its body in static electricity and charged at it. it soon collided with the Dwebble, causing it to chirp in surprise as it was flung back a few feet before slowly getting right back up. It then released a sweet scent from its cream-encrusted shell, captivating both the audience and the enemy Luxio. However, the Spark Pokémon soon recovered from the smell and began collecting static electricity in its fur, the hairs on its back standing up straight. It then proceeded to lunge at the Dwebble once more, only for the latter to leapt up in the air, its body surrounded by a glowing gold aura that formed a five-pointed star before swooping down towards the Luxio. The two combatants collided with one another, kicking up a sizable cloud of smoke that blanketed the field, only for it to die down a few moments later and reveal that both Luxio and Dwebble were knocked out.
"And we have a draw! How will Damian recover from this pinch he's in? What other amazing Pokémon does Natasha have up her sleeve? We'll find out soon enough in the Midna School Tournament!" The teacher commentated, the duo recalling both their Pokémon as they promptly made their selection, with Damian sending out his Eevee and Natasha sending out her Charmander.
Almost immediately, the Eevee turned around and wagged its tail fervently, catching the Charmander off-guard as it was confused by the sudden display of affection. However, it wouldn't just take the attack standing and opted to spew a draconic gust of wind from its mouth, the gust forming a twister that lifted the Eevee up in the air before dropping it onto the hard ground. Wincing to itself, the Evolution Pokémon, shot a quick glare at the Charmander before lunging at it and bit its arm, the skeletal Pokémon crying out in surprise as it ran around the arena for a few sends to shake its foe off, but the Eevee held onto it firmly. Eventually, it opted to scratch its foe, causing the Normal-type Pokémon to let go before Charmander followed up with a barrage of small flames from its mouth, the attack striking the Eevee head on as it was flung back towards Damian's feet. It attempted to get back up and continue fighting, only to collapse onto the ground as the teacher blew into her whistle.
"Talk about a spectacular way to end the match; Natasha emerges victorious with her amazing Delta Pokémon! But will she be able to defeat Nora to secure victory, or will Nora add another notch to her long list of victories?" The teacher called out, a slight hint of boredom in her tone as if she wasn't all that interested in the previous battle. Upon recalling their Pokémon, Damian and Natasha shook hands with one another in respect for the other.
"That was a great match! Seems I need to train harder in order to defeat you one day." The young teen smiled at his friend.
"I'm sure that day will come eventually; just don't expect me to be a complete pushover." Natasha replied, watching Damian make his way back to the crowd as Nora soon stepped up to the plate. "Guess this is it; may the best trainer win."
"Indeed, this battle will be a good way to see if my hunch about you is correct." The green-haired girl smiled, with both trainers making their way to the respective sides before sending out their first Pokémon, with Nora choosing her Sewaddle and Natasha choosing her Diglett.
The fuzzy mole spent a few moments sniffing the air around it, before gazing at the Sewaddle and blew a chilling gust of wind from its mouth, the small caterpillar shivering on the spot as small shards of ice formed on the leaf surrounding its head. However, the Sewaddle was able to break free of the gust and lunged at the mole, its tiny jaws clamping down on the Digletts' head as it shook itself fervently to get the caterpillar off its head. Once it was free from its foes grasp, the mole charged towards it, its paws emerging from the ground as it began scratching the Sewaddle fervently, the caterpillar letting out a quick chirp of pain as it was sent flying back a few feet before crumpling on the floor, unable to continue battling.
"Talk about a head start; Natasha was able to defeat Nora's Sewaddle easily. But if she thinks its over, then she couldn't be further from the truth!" The teacher called out, with Nora promptly returning her Pokémon to its ball.
"Not bad, not bad at all. But how will it fare against my Trapinch?" The green-haired girl called out, sending out her next Pokémon as the antlion stood its ground against its powerful foe. Like before, the Diglett opted to go for the first move, circling the Trapinch as it breathed another chilling gust of wing from its mouth, freezing its foes legs in place. However, the latter wasn't phased by this drop in mobility and slammed its large head down onto the mole, causing it to stagger in place momentarily and enabled the Trapinch to clamp down hard on it with its impressive jaws. This had caused the Diglett to panic, causing it to shake on the spot as it mustered up all its energy to spew a much harsher gust of wind from its mouth, the attack strong enough to send both combatants flying back as they fell before their trainers feet, unable to continue battling.
"Seems that Natasha has a thing for drawing with her opponent if her battles are to be taken at face value. But what will she send out next? There's only one way to find out!" The teacher called out to the crowd, generating sufficient hype for the last battle as Nora opted to go for her ace Pokémon.
"It was a great battle, but I'm afraid that this is where it ends in your defeat. Take flight, Zubat!" Nora called out, throwing her ball onto the ground as the small bat began flapping its wings fervently. Natasha calmly gazed at the bat before selecting her next Pokéball, throwing it to the ground as her Bulbasaur emerged from its ball and calmly gazed at the Zubat.
Within an instant, it projected hypnotic waves from its eyes in an attempt to lull the Zubat to sleep, however the bat countered by emitting a supersonic cry from its mouth, dispelling the hypnotic rays. The Zubat then followed up by swooping down onto the Bulbasaur and struck it with its wings, causing the quadrupedal Pokémon to stagger back a few feet. However, it was soon able to recover and fire a barrage of seeds onto the bat, the seeds breaking open and ensnaring the Zubat with their vines as they began draining it of its energy. The Bulbasaur then followed up by using its mental power to hold its foe in place, lifting it up in the air slightly before slamming it down onto the ground. Once the dust died down, it showed that the Zubat was unable to continue battling.
"Alright, way to go Bulba—huh?" Natasha began, only to get caught off-guard as she saw that her Bulbasaur was glowing a bright light, its body growing larger as the crowd were watching in awe. Once the light died down, it was revealed that it had evolved into Delta Ivysaur. Its body was larger but still retained its pink hue, it had dark blue leaves growing from the bulb on its back, and the bulb itself took on a more crystalline appearance. "Y-You evolved Ivysaur, I'm so proud of you!"
"Ivy!" The newly evolved Pokémon chimed with joy, with Nora recalling her Zubat as a pleased look appeared on her face, as if her question was answered.
"Looks like I got what I came here for…" She mused to herself, the teacher promptly approaching the duo.
"That was a fantastic battle, you two; one of the best in Midna School history! You've more than earned this prize, Natasha!" She praised the purple-haired girl, handing her what appeared to be a thick white disk. "This is the TM for Return; a move that grows stronger the more the user likes you. It's arguably one of the best Normal type moves out there, so I expect it to get plenty of use. Don't worry about it breaking; TM's are a multi-use item."
"Thank you very much! I'll make sure to put it to great use." Natasha replied, recalling her Ivysaur and put the TM away in her bag.
"I must say that the battle between you and Nora was once of the best I've ever seen, and I'm not joking about that!" The teacher told them, the rest of the students dispersing as Damian approached the trio.
"I agree, that was a pretty intense battle. But the one between me and Natasha was just as good, right?" He asked her enthusiastically.
"Eh, it really wasn't that great. I was merely hyping you up for the sake of the crowd." She knocked him back bluntly.
"O-Oh, ok…" Damian replied quietly, a little upset over her response.
"Hey, there's no need to be that harsh to him." Natasha called her out.
"I was merely telling him the truth; if he can't handle it, then he has no business being a trainer." The teacher replied, promptly returning to her duties as the purple-haired girl consoled her friend.
"Don't worry, I enjoyed the battle between us." She reassured him. "If you want, I'll let you borrow my TM."
"Thanks…" The white-haired boy thanked her as Nora approached the duo.
"May I offer you a suggestion on how to get stronger? Taking on the Torren League challenge; the first gym leader lives in Suntouched City which is on the other side of Cyan Cavern. The leader there is a young boy named Orion, and his team revolves around the sun, hence you might want to prepare in advance for the battle." She recommended to them, a thoughtful expression appearing on Damian's face.
"Sounds like a plan; I'll race you two there!" He chimed in eagerly, quickly running out the school with Nora watching him go.
"He's quite the enthusiastic young man, isn't he?" She commented to Natasha.
"Yeah, but that makes him so endearing. Why don't we take things a little slower and explore the route for a while? I'm sure we can find something nice to capture." Natasha proposed.
"I'd like that, thank you very much. Gives me the chance to ask you a question that's been on my mind for a while." Nora agreed, the duo promptly exiting the school and began their journey to Suntouched City.
Ancient Ruins
Having explored Route 2 but finding nothing of interest, the duo promptly took the time to check out the Ancient Ruins to the north of the route, the ancient structure standing firm and tall as various statues depicting various legendary Pokémon lined up alongside the path. "So, Nora, what is it you wanted to ask me?" The purple-haired girl inquired, enjoying the time she was spending with the green-haired girl.
"I saw how well you trained your Delta Pokémon, and it got me thinking; do you by any chance have the Delta Call?" She inquired.
"Delta Call? I'm sorry to say that I haven't heard about it." Natasha replied.
"Remember that prophecy that I told you about back in Midna Mine, about how a hero who befriended a mythical Pokémon would save the region from the cults? Supposedly it also mentioned someone blessed with a gift to soothe the weary souls of the Delta Species, a variety of Pokémon who are of a different type due to a genetic mutation. They say the Delta Species migrated to what is now known as the Holon region to keep themselves safe from their judgmental kin and have lived there for hundreds of years. The prophecy states that a person with the Delta Call is incredibly knowledgeable on the subject of Delta Pokémon and is able to befriend them very easily." Nora explained, as the purple-haired girl pondered to herself. Given her experiences, it seems that she does indeed have this Delta Call, but if that was the case, then why did that cult from before want it erased from her mind, as opposed to harnessing its power?
"Based on what you've told me, and my previous experiences, it appears that I do possess this Delta Call. But why was it gifted to me in the—" Natasha began, only for the duo to get caught off-guard by the rustling of grass beside them. Turning around, they saw what appeared to be a Delta Geodude, its face a black pit with a glowing yellow eye in the center. Its rocky body was covered in runic inscriptions and had some moss growing on it arms and was floating above the ground courtesy of the big blue crystal on the bottom of its body. The Geodude casually floated towards the duo, with Natasha getting onto one knee and extended her arm, with the Delta Pokémon floating towards her as she scooped it up into her arms.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you aren't lonely ever again." She reassured it, slowly petting its head as it let out what sounded like a low moan of content. "I guess that answers your inquiry."
"It does indee—" Nora began, only for a cry of fear to echo out from the large structure, putting the duo on high alert. "Someone's in trouble! Quick, we need to save them!"
"Got it!" Natasha replied, holding onto her new companion firmly as the duo promptly ran towards the desolate ruins.
I figured I'd end things on a bit of a cliffhanger for the sake of building up tension. I hope my explanation on the whole 'Delta Whisper' deal was satisfactory. Thank you all for reading and supporting my story, I'll see you in the next chapter.
Acquired Delta Pokémon:
D. Ivysaur
D. Charmander
D. Squirtle
D. Diglett
D. Dwebble (Cake)
D. Geodude
