Sorry for the delay everyone, but I was a little busy with my Valentine's Day one-shot. Now that I've finished it, I'll be able to continue with this story. This chapter will have a nice gym battle in it, so that's something to look forward to.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Insurgence; it is the property of its creators.

After hours of exhausting training, Natasha and her crew of capable Pokémon finally entered the vast Vipik City, shrouded from the intense rays of the sun by the tall trees that sprouted from the ground. It created an atmosphere that while dark, was still able to be traversed through safely during the day. However, there was a city-issued curfew at 9pm, stating that all citizens should be inside their homes and are not allowed back outside until 6am the following day. From what she heard; it was issued to protect the people from the nocturnal hunters that roamed the jungle at this time. Checking the time on her watch, she saw that it was thirty minutes until curfew would be enforced, so the purple-haired girl made her way to the nearby Pokémon Center in order to rest for the night.

But as she was making her way to the Pokémon Center, she heard what sounded like something chewing noisily on a candy bar, causing the girl to grow cautious. Turning her head to the source of the noise, she saw what looked like a mysterious figure sitting on a tree stump, minding its own business as Natasha crept up towards it. Once she had approached it, the purple-haired girl was able to get a better look at it and was a little surprised at the sight. The culprit responsible for the noise was a Wooper, but it looked a lot different from its regular counterparts. For one, it's head was a vivid orange and was shaped like a pumpkin, its toothy grin covered in small bits of chocolate. Its torso was a deep purple, with a pattern on it that resembled a content, if bored face. Finally, it's tail was big and red, resembling a treat bag that a kid would bring with them during Halloween. These signs indicated to her that it was another Delta Species, the purple-haired girl thinking of a way to win it over.

"Is somebody hungry?" Natasha inquired, digging through her bag and brought out a second candy bar, attaching the Wooper's attention as it leapt off the stump and snatched it up in it's jaws, greedily consuming it as the girl gazed at it in awe. "You liked it, didn't you? I've got plenty more where that came from."

"Woooooper!" It chimed happily, jumping to her side and nuzzled her as she scooped it up into her arms. Gently petting it on the head, she promptly made her way inside the Pokémon Center, making her way to the front desk to book a room for the night as well as giving her other Pokémon a rest. With the nurse at the front desk informing her that her Pokémon will have recovered by the next morning upon handing her a key, the purple-haired girl made her way to the room she was renting, quickly getting changed into her pajamas as she got into the soft, plush bed.

"My journey so far has been interesting. I met so many friends, got out of my comfort zone, and I even discovered something about myself. It may have been smooth sailing at the beginning, but this is where things start to become tricky…" Natasha chimed to herself, watching her Wooper make itself comfortable on the bad. As the purple-haired girl started to drift off, her last thoughts were that of Nora. What was it about her that she found so…interesting? Was it her skills as a trainer? Was it her bond with Celebi? Or could it be that she was in…nah, it was too soon for something like that. After all, they had only met each other a few days ago. Still, there was the old saying 'love at first sight', so perhaps it could be that after all. But her feelings regarding Nora can wait for a moment, she had a Gym Battle to win tomorrow.

The next morning

The alarm started blaring loudly, with Natasha wearily moving her arm to stop the alarm, as she moved her head up and saw that it was quarter-past seven in the morning. Slowly getting out of bed, the purple-haired girl did a little stretch to wake her body up before making her way to the bathroom to freshen herself up. Twenty minutes later, she got out of the bathroom and began to redress herself, with the Wooper waking up a few minutes later and saw its trainer straightening out her cape.

"Ah, good morning. We'll be leaving her once I've tidied up the place. Wouldn't want to leave it a mess for the next trainer to rent this place…" She smiled, brushing her hair and put her crown back on. As she said she would, Natasha spent the next ten minutes tidying and cleaning up the place, a small sigh of satisfaction escaping her mouth as she gazed at her handywork. "That ought to do it. Now to hand the key back."

Gesturing her Wooper to hop up onto her shoulders, the teenage girl exited the small room and made her way to the front desk, exchanging the key for her Pokémon. With a quick thank you, she exited the Pokémon Center and made her way to the gym, a building that was nestled by the stump of an incredibly large tree, easily towering over seventy-five feet in the air. But as she was making her way to the gym, Natasha soon noticed a familiar figure chilling beside the entrance.

"Heya, Natasha! I see you're here to take on the Vipik City Gym." Damian chimed, the duo giving each other a firm handshake.

"Damian! It's good to see you again. I take it you already won your badge?" The purple-haired girl inquired.

"Not yet, I plan on getting in some additional training this morning. From what I've heard, the path to the leader would require you to go through some dark tunnels, so it's worth preparing for." The white-haired boy replied, noticing the Wooper resting on Natasha's shoulders. "I see you found another Delta Pokémon?"

"Yeah, I found this little cutie the other night. They were looking for food so I offered it a candy bar and they gobbled it up." She replied, with the Wooper letting out a quick chirp in response.

"I'm sure you and Nora can handle this gym easily, what with your bond with Mew and Celebi respectively. Then there's that special gift you have regarding Delta Pokémon—" Damian began, neither of them aware that an Abyssal Cultist had eavesdropped on the conversation, intrigued by what he was saying.

"Excuse me, but did I hear you correctly when you were talking about Mew? Or that part about the Delta Pokémon?" The cultist inquired, causing the duo to jump on the spot in surprise.

"N-No, of course not! We were joking around and stuff; neither of us are worthy of such a bond." The white-haired boy stammered quickly, hoping the cultist would fall for the bluff.

"I see, my apologies then. I'll be on my way." The cultist replied, making her way past them as a small smirk grew on her face. Once the cultist was out of earshot, the two teens let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Phew…that was a close one. Hopefully you now know why you must keep quiet about Nora and I at all costs. Who knows what would've happened if they found out." Natasha told him firmly.

"Y-You're right…I'm sorry about that." Damian apologized to her. "Anyway, I won't keep you waiting on your challenge. Good luck in there!"

"Same, good luck on your challenge as well!" The purple-haired girl replied, the duo going their separate ways as she made her way towards the gym and entered it.

0000

"Gaahhh…Damian wasn't lying when he said this place was dark." Natasha commented, crawling out of a hole in a tree as she rested on the soft grass below. The purple-haired girl had gotten lost in the various underground tunnels for around twenty minutes, exiting out of holes carved into trees, only to find herself at a dead end. She had managed to learn a bit about Xavier and his team, from the gym trainers, stationed at these dead ends. The man himself was once a ranger, hence the close bond he has with all his Pokémon. As for the team he uses, it's a Jungle-themed team with Bug and Poison being his main choices. They also mentioned a surprise he has that establishes him as the first real challenge in the Torren League, but opted to keep it a secret so as to not ruin the suspense. It was during her rest that Natasha saw that she finally above the ledges that stood before the entrance, a quick 'yes!' she got back up and made her way down the small dirt path and towards the gym leader, who she saw sitting casually on the ground.

Xavier himself was a fairly tall man, with light-brown skin, medium length green hair that was done up in a way that resembled the tip of a pine tree and piercing brown eyes. His outfit consisted of a short-sleeved black and yellow striped shirt, a pair of brown trousers that had a little wear at the pant helms, and a green jumper that was wrapped around his waist. Upon gazing at the approaching teen, he shot her a small but soothing smile at her. "What's good, young lady? The name's Xavier; I assume you're here for a gym battle?"

"Indeed; I'm more than capable of taking you on." Natasha replied confidently, a vigor in her step as the older man chuckled lightly.

"I'm sure you are, I've heard plenty of good things about you from Orion. However, there's a reason why I'm dubbed the first real challenge of the Torren league; my Pokémon can hit hard and hit fast, utilizing the terrain to their advantage. I also have a—well, I'll let you see for yourself…" He smirked, the two trainers moving to position as they began pondering on what Pokémon to start off with. "Time to get this battle rolling, Shuckle!"

"Ambipom, show them who rules the roost around here!" The purple-haired girl called out, the trainers sending out their Pokémon as they shot each other a determined look. Hours of dedicated training had honed the Ambipoms' body, it's ghostly arms reaching towards the ground and hoisted its light body in the air as it's non-ethereal arms were crossed over its chest. It's head had become detachable, which enabled it to play a variety of mischievous pranks.

The Shuckle started the battle by retracting into its shell and spewed several strings of sticky webbing from the various holes in its shell, coating the various trees in the hopes of leaving the Ambipom vulnerable to a follow up attack. However, the ghostly monkey wasn't going to fall for such trick, it's spectral arms grabbing the branches carefully so as to not get caught in the webbing. The Ambipom perched itself up high in the treetops, calling forth a series of ethereal chains to snag the small bowl of Berry Juice that the Shuckle kept to itself, the Mold Pokémon letting out a cry of despair as it's treat was taken away for the duration of the battle.

Now annoyed at it's foe, the Shuckle retreated into its shell and began spinning rapidly, charging towards the tree and crashed into it, with the Ambipom staggering on its feet before falling towards the ground. But just as it was about to crash-land, it managed to save itself and stare down it's foe, who spun around and rolled towards it. Standing its ground, the Ambipom used its ghostly arms to snag the incoming Shuckle, spinning on the spot rapidly before flinging it towards a second tree, causing it to crash into it as bits of bark fell to the ground. The Shuckle slowly slid down the tree before falling to the ground, unable to continue battling.

"Woah, now that was a neat move. That Ambipom of yours is something special…" Xavier commented, recalling his Pokémon before selecting his next one. "But this pal of mine will put an end to it's winning streak; Heracross, ready yourself for battle!"

The large Bug Pokémon emerged from its ball, an invigorated roar escaping from its mouth as it stared down the spectral monkey, it's thick horn shining in the morning light. The Heracross' wings started to buzz quickly, as it began flying towards the Ambipom at surprisingly quick speeds. It was able to dodge the initial charge, but a faint black aura started to envelop the Single Horn Pokémon, who quickly turned its head and knocked the Ambipom aside with considerable power. The monkey let out a cry of surprise as it rolled on the ground for a few seconds, picking itself back up and brushed the dirt and grass off its body before taking to the treetops once more.

From there, it proceeded to yank some fruit off the branches and began flinging it at its foe, with Heracross dodging half of the fruit, but was struck on the side by the rest. Once the barrage was over, it kicked its foot back and charged towards the tree its foe was nestled on, causing the Ambipom to stagger as it fell down to the ground. Seeing that it's foe was charging towards it at quick speeds, the Ambipom's eyes began to glow a purplish-red, accepting the incoming tackle as it was knocked towards the tree. The Heracross let out a small cheer for victory, unaware that a spectral shade had emerged from the Ambipom's body and dove towards the Bug Pokémon, going right through it as it was soon drained of energy and collapsed to the ground. Seeing that it was a tie, both trainers went over to their Pokémon to check up on them.

"You did your best out there, now it's time for a nice long nap…" Natasha cooed, recalling her fainted Ambipom with Xavier recalling his Heracross. "I see how you earned your claim to fame, those were some impressive tactics back there."

"During my time as a Pokémon Ranger, I was taught to use the environment to my advantage. But if there's none present, then I had to make my own advantage, like I'll show you now. Tentacruel, time to submerge our foe!" The former ranger called out, the large jellyfish emerging from its ball and shot a blast of water into a small crater, creating a small pond for it to rest in.

"Alright then, I'll send out my Gardevoir in response!" The purple-haired girl retorted, throwing her ball to the ground as the Nuzzle Pokémon emerged from its ball before bowing politely. She had changed considerably from its pre-evolution, having grown a lot taller than before, her billowing white dress now decorated with various blue patterns. Her trademark yellow hair crackled with static electricity as the Tentacruel gazed at her in intrigue.

Almost immediately, the Gardevoir charged up static electricity in her body and fired a bolt of lightning at her foe, with the jellyfish quickly forming a wondrous barrier of light to protect itself from the attack. Following the attack, the Tentacruel retaliated by spewing a glob of viscous green fluid, coating the Nuzzle Pokémon as she shivered in discomfort from the toxic sludge. As the Gardevoir was busy wiping the green fluid off her body, the Tentacruel reared its front tentacles and spewed a dark-purple fluid at its foe, the poison striking the Gardevoir as a burning sensation coursed through her body. Staggering back in pain from the attack, the Gardevoir managed to collect her will and call forth a giant thunderbolt, the attack striking the Tentacruel head-on as it let out a low groan of pain as electricity coursed throughout its body. A few seconds later, the lightning died down, with Tentacruel's unconscious form bobbing up and down in the water.

"Oh my…" Was all Xavier could say in response, recalling his Tentacruel as he began to form a new plan of attack in his mind. "If the water's a no-go zone, then I'll have to take a page from your book and utilize the spirit world. Haunter, make them shiver in fear!"

"Haunter-Han!" The mischievous ghost cackled, floating in the air and poked it's tongue out at the Gardevoir. Unamused by it's shenanigans, she held her arms out and formed a ball for ice-cold energy in her hands, before channeling it into a beam and fired it at the Haunter. The ghost Pokémon conjured up a series of spectral flames in response and fired it at the Ice Beam, weakening its power greatly and enabled it to take the hit. Shaking off the attack, the Haunter conjured up a ball of ominous energy, flinging it towards the Gardevoir at rapid speeds as she was pushed back by the powerful attack. Shooting a quick glare at the ghost Pokémon, she began to collect her mental energy and gather it in a vivid pink ball, the Haunter eyeing her up curiously as it began to understand her plan. It shot the Gardevoir a sinister look, its eyes glowing a purplish-red as Natasha caught on to its wicked scheme.

"W-Wait Gardevoir!" She called out, but it was too late. The Gardevoir had launched her ball of psychic energy at the Haunter, who let out a quick cry of pain as it was sent hurtling towards the ground and crash landed. As it had planned, a spectral shade emerged from its body and dove towards the Gardevoir, draining her of all her energy as she collapsed onto the ground as well. "Oh no…"

"Seems that you're not the only one who has mastered Destiny Bond." Xavier quipped, the duo consoling their Pokémon before recalling them as he quickly selected his next Pokémon. "Don't worry, this next one doesn't have the move, but it'll still cause you plenty of trouble!"

Natasha gazed quietly at the Croagunk that emerged from the ball, the frog Pokémon hopping up and down on the spot as she decided on what Pokémon to send out next. With a quick flick of her wrist, she threw her ball to the ground and sent out her Grimer, the Quicksand Pokémon letting out a low chirp in response. Almost immediately, the Croagunk lunged at the Grimer, causing it to flinch only for the frog to clap its hands a few inches from its face. It began chuckling to itself, only for the annoyed Grimer to retaliate with a swift punch, causing the Croagunk to stagger back a few feet. The Grimer kept up the tempo by burrowing into the ground, causing its foe to pause on the spot as it searched around for it. Just then the ground began to tremble, with the Croagunk struggling to maintain its footing as it soon collapsed onto the soft dirt floor. But as it was about to get back it, the Grimer emerged from the ground and tackled it, sending the frog flying back several feet as it crashed into the ground, unable to continue battling.

"Yes, only one more to go!" The purple-haired girl cheered, watching Xavier recall his Pokémon before fishing something out of his pocket.

"That may be the case, but I did warn you about my trump card. Now it's time for you to get a taste of the Torren League; Beedrill, time to Mega-Evolve!" The green-haired man called out, sending out his final Pokémon as he placed the Mega Ring over his wrist and pressed it. The large bee was enveloped in a wonderous ball of light, breaking free from it a few seconds later as it let out an ear-piercing buzz. The Grimer was a little unnerved by its foe, but wasn't ready to back down yet, coughing up a ball of mud and flung it towards the Beedrill, who promptly shattered it with its large stinger.

Taking flight, the Beedrill lunged at the Quicksand Pokémon, jabbing it relentlessly with its stingers as the Grimer was pushed back by the assault. It then attempted to swing at the large bee with its fist, only for it to dodge it and retaliate with a quick jab from its fore-stingers. It then took to the skies and dove down on the Grimer, jabbing it with its stingers and sent it flying back towards Natasha, the Quicksand Pokémon attempting to get back up, but was unable to do so.

"G-Grimer!" She called out in concern, running towards it and check up on it to see if it was alright. Sighing in relief that it was alright, she recalled it to its ball before pondering on what to send out against the Mega-Beedrill. She knew that as it had a wide variety of moves, her next Pokémon would need to resist all of them to the best of its capabilities, and there was one who could do that job. "Larvesta, time to save the day!"

The small larvae emerged from its ball, eyeing up the Beedrill confidently as it soon formed a plan in its mind. The Beedrill proceeded to take flight and dove towards the Larvesta, but the small Pokémon was able to enter a wormhole in time, halting the bee in its tracks. The Mega Pokémon surveyed the area cautiously, awaiting its foe to re-emerge from its hiding place. It would soon get its wish as the Larvesta emerged from the wormhole it had created and tackled the Beedrill, knocking it to the ground. The large bee floated back into the air and brushed the dirt off its body before striking the larvae with its abdominal stinger, sending it flying towards a tree and crashed into it. The Beedrill assumed its foe was knocked out and flew towards its comrade, only for it to shiver on the spot as it felt an intense rage in the air. Turning around slowly, it saw the Larvesta crawling towards it, its eyes glowing a piercing red as its body was cloaked in a reddish-black aura. Letting out a quick chirp of anger, the Rage Pokémon lunged at the Beedrill and assaulted it with an onslaught of charges, juggling the bee multiple times before it crashed into the ground.

"T-That's enough, Larvesta. No need to go overboard!" Natasha called out, her voice halting the larvae in its tracks as it ceased its assault on the Beedrill, who reverted back to its regular form as it was unable to continue battling. Making her way to the Larvesta, she gingerly picked it up before shooting an apologetic look at Xavier. "I'm so sorry, Xavier. I didn't think Larvesta would be that…relentless."

"No need to worry, my Beedrill should be fine after a good night's rest. But I do recommend you take care of that little critter; it clearly has some pent-up anger issues." The former ranger replied, recalling his fainted Pokémon.

"Considering how it's previous trainer experimented on it, before abandoning it and left it to die, it'll take some time before it can recover from the trauma." The purple-haired girl chimed in.

"Yeah, that sounds like a surefire way to get your Pokémon to hate you. That aside, I greatly enjoyed our Gym Battle. Here, you've earnt the Stinger Badge." Xavier replied, handing the young girl a metal badge which depicted a rather large bee flying over a green shrub.

"Thank you so much!" Natasha smiled, placing the badge on her trainer card before putting it away. "So where's the next Gym Leader?"

"The next Gym Leader? That would be East of Helios City; if you thought I was strong, then he makes me look like a joke. I'd advise extreme caution when battling him." The green-haired man replied, the duo waving each other goodbye as the purple-haired girl made her way outside.

"Larvesta, I thought I told you to be gentle towards other Pokémon. I know you need an outlet to release your anger, but attacking others relentlessly isn't the way to go…" She told it, a quiet chirp escaping from the small larvae as she began petting its head gently. "There, there…I'll stay by your side no matter what happens."

But as the duo were minding their own business, they soon heard someone calling out to them. Turning to the source of the voice, they saw what appeared to be a hiker approaching them. "Excuse me, but would your name happen to be Natasha by any chance?" The hiker inquired.

"Yes, that's me. Why'd you ask?" Natasha inquired, with the man reaching into his pocket and handed her an envelope. Opening it quickly, the purple-haired girl was taken aback by the contents of the letter.

'To the one that was chosen by Mew. We have your friend. We will be waiting in the city dump for your arrival. Come alone, or he dies.'

"Oh my god…where is the city dump?!" She demanded, catching the older man off-guard.

"I-It's at the easternmost point of the city. Y-You aren't thinking of going—" he began, only for Natasha to run off towards the dump, hoping that she wasn't too late to save her friend.

0000

Having made her way to the dump, she was taken aback by the noxious smell that emanated from the area, the scent of hot garbage causing the Larvesta to bury its head into the girl's arms. However, she opted to brave the stench for the sake of her friend and traversed through the large dumping ground. Eventually, she made her way to her destination, where she saw Damian standing precariously on a small piece of land, surrounded by what looked to be corrosive, polluted green water.

"N-Natasha!" Damian called out to her, with the purple-haired girl attempting to run towards him, only for a trio of Abyssal cultists to block her path.

"Ah, you decided to come. Good, now we can get down to business. I overheard you two talking about Mew while I was taking a walk; for someone who has a chance of being the hero of the ancient prophecy, you sure know how to spill the beans." The cultist taunted, the two grunts beside her sporting twisted sneers. "I'll be quick here, you give us Mew in exchange for the boy."

"Don't do it Natasha, I'm not worth it!" The white-haired boy called out to her.

"Oh shut up!" The female cultist shot back at him, turning towards Natasha once more. "So, what will it be…?"

"W-Well, I…" The purple-haired girl stammered, unsure on how to deal with the ultimatum presented before her, only for a quiet chirp to echo out through the area. Turning to the side, she saw Mew hovering beside her shoulder, floating towards Damian as a smirk grew on the cultist's face.

"M-Mew, what are you—" Damian began, only for the Mew to chirp quietly into his ear, the white-haired boy seemingly understanding what it was saying.

"Predictable…mythical Pokémon like Mew would always come to help those in distress, even at their own detriment. Now come to us Mew, unless you want these two to—" The cultist demanded, only for a second chirp to echo throughout the area. Quickly swooping down from the air and towards the Mew was the mythical Shaymin in its Sky Form, it's body glowing a light green as it floated above the polluted pond. It then proceeded to unleash its energy, purifying the pond of its corrosion and toxicity as the cultists stepped back in fear.

"S-Shaymin?! W-What's it doing here?!" One of the grunts called out.

"I don't know, but I'm not sticking around to find out. This mission is a complete bust!" The cultist replied, the trio quickly retreating from the area as Natasha watched them go.

"You knew Shaymin was nearby, didn't you?" She spoke to Mew, the New Species Pokémon nodding in confirmation as it helped Damian get back onto dry land.

"Th-Thanks for the save Mew. And thanks for saving me as well Shaymin, I owe you—" Damian thanked the two legendary Pokémon, only for the Shaymin to nuzzle him affectionately. "E-Eh?! What's going on?"

"I think Shaymin wants to travel with you; it knows you're a good person who wishes to make the world a better place." Natasha told him, with Mew returning to her side as the white-haired boy gazed quietly at the Shaymin.

"I-Is that true…?" He asked, with the Shaymin nodding in confirmation. "T-That's incredible! I'll make sure to take very good care of you!"

"I know you will, Damian. But you need to keep quiet about this; after all you nearly lost your life today." The purple-haired girl warned him.

"I-I will; I'll tell Nora the good news and that's it." Damian pledged, making his way out of the dump but not before turning to his friend one more time. "Thanks for coming to save me Natasha, I really appreciate it."

"No need to thank me, I'd do anything for my friend." She replied, the duo proceeding to leave the dump and its wretched smell behind them.

Sorry for the long wait, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it. The next couple of chapters should be slow, so that's a nice change of pace from the last three. Thank you all for reading my story, I'll see you in the next chapter.

Acquired Delta Pokémon:

D. Ivysaur

D. Charmeleon

D. Wartortle

D. Dugtrio

D. Dwebble (Cake)

D. Graveler

D. Ambipom

D. Grimer

D. Solosis

D. Scyther

D. Larvesta

D. Sunkern

D. Gardevoir (female)

D. Kirlia (Male)

D. Wooper