Welcome to the next chapter of Delta Whisper, I hope you all enjoy it as it'll contain an exciting rival battle. But which rival will it be? You'll have to read the chapter in order to find out.

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

Having spent the previous night taking care of her Pokémon alongside Monika and her friends at the Scientists Club, Natasha was more than ready to head into the Rezzai Desert and continue her journey. Having packed her bag for the perilous trip, she waved her friends farewell before leaving the small town, taking her first steps into the desert as she was soon bombarded with a hot blast of wind.

"Gah! They weren't kidding when they warned me about how hot this place is." Natasha exclaimed, wiping the sweat off her forehead as she continued to trek through the desert, the sand sticking to her shoes. While she was walking, the purple-haired girl began mulling over her friends, namely how they were doing on their respective journeys. From her experience, Xavier was no joke in battle, especially that Mega-Beedrill of his; it would be an especially tough hurdle for Celebi or Shaymin to surpass. But then she remembered that neither Nora or Damian would risk exposing themselves to the cults for the sake of gaining an advantage in a gym battle, the purple-haired girl confident that both of them would've defeated him by now. As she was making her way into the small cave that connected both sides of the desert, she accidentally bumped into someone making their way out.

"W-Woah!" Damian cried out, the duo falling to the ground before slowly picking themselves up. "Ahh…sorry Natasha. I didn't mean to bump into you like that."

"No, I should be the one apologizing. Had I been just a bit more careful, I wouldn't have bumped into you." Natasha apologized to her friend. "So, how did your battle with Xavier go?"

"Pretty well, all my training paid off in the end. His Mega-Beedrill was tough though; hits hard and hits fast." The white-haired boy replied, showing off the red scarf he wore around his neck, the pattern resembling the red flower on Shaymin's body. "So, do you like my scarf? I figured I'd get something that shows the bond I've formed with Shaymin."

"I love it! Truth be told, I wish I had something to wear that shows my bond with Mew, but I like what I'm wearing so much." The purple-haired girl chimed in, an idea soon forming in her mind. "Hey, why don't we have a battle? It's been quite a while since we last fought."

"I was just about to suggest that!" Damian chuckled lightly, reaching for a Pokéball. "Don't worry, I won't send out Shaymin. Wouldn't want another cultist to find out about us, eh?"

With a quick flick of his wrist, the young man sent out a Crawdaunt, the vicious lobster snipping its large claws in the air menacingly. Natasha, a calm smile on her face, retaliated be sending out her Delta Blastoise, the large tortoise staring down its opponent. It's body was a lot larger than its pre-evolution, with a few sharp spikes shining atop its massive shell. A small red bandana was wrapped around its head, its tails floating idly in the air as it stretched its stubby arms. It started off by channeling it's fighting spirit into a ball of orange energy, the ball growing until it was the size of a small boulder with the tortoise flinging it at the Crawdaunt. The large lobster braced itself, using its claws to shield itself from the attack, but was pushed back a few feet from the blast. Wiping the dust off its claws, it's star-shaped horn began glowing a vivid blue, the Crawdaunt taking it off to fling at the Blastoise, the attack sending the tortoise flying back as the shell returned back to its owner, the lobster shooting a smug look as it popped it back on its head.

Now annoyed at its foe, the Blastoise retracted into its shell, spinning on the ground rapidly as it spun towards the Crawdaunt, striking it head on and pushed it into a set of small rocks. The Blastoise then spun deeper into the cave, turning back around to strike its foe again, only for the Crawdaunt to hold the spinning shell in place with its claw, the Rouge Pokémon holding its ground. However, the Blastoise was busy charging up a second Aura Sphere, the Crawdaunt too late to realize what it's foes back-up plan was as it soon given a powerful blast of energy to the face. The poor lobster was sent flying back several feet, crashing into the rock wall as it slid down to the ground and collapsed, a few small rocks falling onto its sturdy shell.

"Ah, Crawdaunt!" Damian called out, quickly running over to check on his injured companion. "Phew, thank goodness you're alright…" He sighed in relief, recalling his Pokémon as the victorious Blastoise made its way back to Natasha.

"How'd you like that?" She called out, an idea soon forming in Damian's mind.

"Not bad, not bad at all. But allow me to even up the playing field." Damian replied, sending out his Luxray. The Gleam Eyes Pokémon let out an intimidating roar, glaring at the Blastoise with its foe glaring back. Soon enough, the Blastoise got on all fours and emitted a sinister aura from the cannons in its shells, striking the Luxray head on though it was able to take the attack. The Luxray stood its ground, cloaking its body in electricity and tackled the Delta Species, electrocuting it before following up with a swift Iron Tail to the head, knocking the Blastoise to the ground as the victorious lion made it's way back to its trainer. "How do YOU like that, Natasha?"

"It's nice to see you acting confident and all that…" Natasha smiled, recalling her fainted Pokémon before quickly making her next selection. "But my Muk shall deal with your Luxray within a few minutes!"

Sending out her next Pokémon, the Delta Muk emerged from its ball and let out a low groan, the large sentient pile of sand rearing up its hand before slamming it down on the rocky floor. The Muk started to expand momentarily before spewing a large ball of mud at the Luxray, who managed to dodge the attack but was struggling to keep its footing on the floor, now slippery due to the wet mud over it. Seeing that its foe was at a disadvantage, the Muk opted to slam its arms down on the ground, creating a sizable tremor that shook up the cave, causing a few stalactites to fall onto the Luxray, striking it on its back as it soon fell to the ground. Wearily getting back up, the Luxray lunged at the Muk, biting down on it with ice-cold fangs as its foes' sandy body was freezing up very quickly. Satisfied with its victory, it made it's way back to Damian once more, only for a quiet cracking sound to put it on edge. Turning around quickly, it saw the Muk break free of its icy prison, the Quicksand Pokémon letting out a low moan as it slammed its fist onto the Luxray's back, the Gleam Eyes Pokémon crashing into the ground as a small blanket of dust emanated from the impact site. When the dust died down, it showed that Luxray was unable to battle.

"Oh my…" Was all Damian could say, quickly recalling his Luxray before pondering on what Pokémon to send out next. As much as he really wanted to use his friend, Shaymin, the risk was just far too great to make it worthwhile. Luckily, he did have a back up option he could use in this situation. "Metang, I choose you!"

The Iron Claw Pokémon emerged from its ball, a metallic groan escaping from its body as it stared down the powerful Muk before it. The Muk let out a low moan, regurgitating another ball of wet mud and hurled it at the Metang, its shiny body now coated with the slippery muck. However, it didn't faze the Metang at all, its right fist glowing a lustrous silver as it punched the Muk in its face, pushing it back several feet as it crashed into the rock wall. A low moan of annoyance gurgled from the Quicksand Pokémon, who quickly rematerialized and reared its head as it slammed its hands down on the ground harshly to create a powerful tremor, with both trainers struggling to maintain their footing. Dozens of stalactites fell from the ceiling, striking both the Metang and the Muk as they were soon buried beneath the rubble, with both trainers quickly running to the rock pile to dig their friends out of it. they sighed in relief a few moments later when they were able to rescue their friends, who were knocked out, but otherwise unharmed.

"Phew…that was scary. Remind me not to use Earthquake in a cave again." Natasha commented, recalling her Pokémon with Damian doing the same.

"I'll make sure you keep to your word." The white-haired boy replied, quickly selecting his last Pokéball for this battle. With a swift toss, the Pokéball fell to the ground, opening up to reveal…Eevee?

"Opting to finish things with your starter, eh? Don't worry, I've got a nice surprise in store for it." The purple-haired girl smiled, throwing her Pokéball and sent out her Larvesta, the vengeful grub eying up the Eevee carefully. "The Eevee before you wasn't the one who hurt you back then, so there's no need to go all out, ok?"

Giving her a small nod of compliance, the Rage Pokémon reared back and fired a barrage of sludge at the Eevee, who nimbly dodged the incoming attacks before tackling the larvae harshly, sending it flying back a few feet. Once it managed to regain its footing, the Larvesta let out a quick huff before disappearing into a wormhole, causing the Evolution Pokémon to halt in its tracks momentarily, surveying the nearby area in search for its opponent. However, it would soon get the surprise of a lifetime as it was struck from the side by the Rage Pokémon, the latter having appeared from a second wormhole, and was pushed back a few feet. Brushing the dust off its shiny fur coat, the Eevee pounced at its foe, its tail glowing a bright silver as it smacked the Larvetsa with it, sending it tumbling a few feet back as the former landed on the ground perfectly. But the Rage Pokémon wasn't done yet, the small larvae channeling all its anger into power as its body began glowing a harsh orange, before lunging at the Eevee. From there, it assaulted it with a barrage of powerful tackles, pushing the small Pokémon all over the place before an especially powerful strike sent it flying towards Damian's feet, with the Larvesta staggering on the spot in confusion.

"E-Eevee!" The young man exclaimed, crouching down and gently scooped up his Pokémon in his arms. "Thank goodness you're alright; I don't know what I would do if the worst had happened."

"Sorry about that; my Larvesta still has some pent-up anger issues from when it was abandoned and takes it out on my opponents Pokémon at times. It's not as ruthless as it was before, so some progress has been made. Hopefully, it would be able to recover from its trauma soon." Natasha apologized, scooping up her Larvesta in her hands. "That said, I'm a little curious why you haven't evolved your Eevee yet. It's not a criticism, but an inquiry."

"Funny story, I was thinking about evolving my Eevee into a Sylveon before the Xavier fight; not the best typing, I know, but it's natural bulk should give me an advantage. But as I was thinking it over, I caught up with another one of my friends from Telnor Town. He told me not to evolve my Eevee just yet, as there's an elderly woman in Helios City who can teach it some powerful moves; moves that when combined with a special item, can awaken its full potential. I don't know what this item is, but the mere thought of it gets my blood pumping!" Damian rambled, his excitement evident in his tone of voice.

"Well we'll have to stop off at Roggan Town to give our friends some rest, before we continue to Helios. Don't worry, it's not too far from here." The purple-haired woman replied, the duo making their way through the small cave. But just as they were about to reach the end, they were soon alerted by the sound of a heated argument up ahead. Making their way to the source, the duo spotted an unnerving sight before them; there were seven cultists surrounding a hiker, the villains sporting multicolored hair ranging from purple to red to royal blue. Their outfits consisted of lavish purple robes with gold trimming, giving them all an atmosphere of nobility. Pausing in their tracks, the duo hid behind some rocks and eavesdropped on the conversation.

"W-Who are you people? Where did you come from?" The hiker inquired nervously, not wanting to pick a fight against them.

"Now, now, there's no need to panic. We're all friends here. Nothing to be afraid of." The woman with the royal blue hair reassured him, the two teens determining her to be the head of this little group.

"What do you cultists want?" The hiker asked inquisitively, eyeing the group up suspiciously.

"A little bird told me that you and your family found something very interesting while mining. How wonderful! I was just thinking about what I could give you in return for it; I'm sure I could offer you a great deal." The head cultist stated, bringing out a small checkbook from her robe. "Name your price."

"Y-You mean that scroll I found? W-We can't just hand it to you; my children found it! It belongs to them and not you!" The older man retorted, with the woman before him sighing in disappointment.

"I see…in that case I'll have to resort to more drastic measures." She replied, putting her checkbook away. "Which do you value more, the scroll or your children's lives?"

"W-What?!" The hiker exclaimed, with a pair of cultists turning him around briefly to reveal that the ladder leading down to his home was surrounded by various explosives.

"See those explosives around the ladder? If you don't give us that scroll, we'll detonate them and trap your family inside. It'll be pretty hard for them to get them out of such a predicament." The head cultist explained to him.

"What do you even need the scroll for, to the point where you're threatening my family?!" The hiker demanded.

"As agents of the Sky Cult, our mission is to summon the almighty Rayquaza. That scroll contains all the details surrounding the ritual required to summon it. with it, we will be able to usher in a perfect utopia." She informed him, staring down the man before her. "Now, have you made your decision?"

"H-Here, take it!" He rambled, quickly handing over the scroll to her. "J-Just leave me and my family alone!"

"Thank you for your generosity. Have a good day!" She smirked at him, watching the older man hastily make his way back down the ladder. "Oh, one more thing…"

Bringing out a small detonator from her robe, she pressed the button, a quick tremor rocking through the cave as the opening was soon caved in by falling debris, trapping the hiker down there. "Now that we've dealt with that loose end, it's time to head to Helios City and use the Augur's energy to summon Rayquaza."

"W-Would Jaern really do such a thing?" A second cultist inquired.

"Oh yes he would. Let's just say that I'm very good at convincing other people to do something for me, especially since he has a few very good reasons why he should help us. Now let us make haste!" The head cultist ordered, with her and her followers quickly exiting the cave, but not before shooting a small glance at the group of rocks the two teens were hiding behind.

"S-She just blew up that man's home; trapping him and his family inside." Natasha whispered, shocked over what she just saw.

"The Sky Cult are no joke; they're often considered to be one of the most ruthless cults out there. We need to warn the Augur about their arrival as soon as possible!" Damian informed her, the duo quickly making their way from behind the rocks and made their way towards the next town as soon as possible.

Roggan Town

The duo had arrived at the town in record time, making their way to the Pokémon Center first to heal their injured friends. After all, they would need to be prepared for anything if they were to stand a chance against the Sky Cult. They also informed the local police about what happened in the cave, with the officers informing them that they'll have to make a call to the Helios Police Department for back-up before a rescue effort could be conducted. Natasha told Damian that she was going to explore the town for a while, with her friend promising to call her back once their Pokémon have been healed. Going their separate ways, the purple-haired girl began making her way to the southern part of town, her eyes fixated on the large cave overlooking the area. Approaching closer towards it, her eyes glossed over a sign near the entrance that read 'Battle Frontier – Coming soon!'

"Huh…how interesting. If I get the time, I'll check it out later…" She mused to herself, turning around to check out the Roggan Game Corner, only for her ears to pick up the sound of fighting within the cave. Looking around to see if she was alone, the purple-haired girl stepped over the sign and stepped inside the cave, only to be met with a most baffling sight. There was a wild Machoke fighting a wild Golett, with the latter looking a lot different than usual. It's body was a mixture of gold and red, with a crest of sorts on its head, making the small Pokémon look as though it was wearing a set of Greek Hoplite armor. But despite the size difference, the Golett was able to go toe-to-toe with the Machoke, delivering a powerful punch that knocked it to the ground.

Following its victory, cheers of victory could be heard from behind it, the Golett turning to see a Plusle and Minun cheering in support. The Plusle had vibrant red wings on its back, its ears a similar shade of red with a small fire on the tips, while the Minun had baby blue wings and its ears appeared to be cold to the touch. It was evident to Natasha that all three Pokémon were Delta Species, who opted to use this cave as their home for the time being. With a sigh of disappointment, the Machoke slowly got back up before making its way out the cave, brushing past Natasha as the three Pokémon turned to face her.

"Hey…how's it going?" She inquired, the Golett starting to chirp and groan at her as she started to understand what it was saying. "Y-You wish to challenge me to a battle? I'm afraid I myself can't do that, but I do have a substitute that would suffice."

"Go-Go!" The Golett accepted, preparing itself for battle as Natasha made her selection, opting to send out her Delta Sunflora. The Sunflora's entire body was made out of a toxic sludge, poison dripping from its leafy hands as its petals were burning fiercely. The combination of fire and poison produced a foul-smelling smoke emanating from behind its head, with the Plusle and Minun covering their noses in disgust. A wave of exhilaration coursed through the Golett, its fists shining brightly as it launched a barrage of punches that were as fast as a speeding bullet. The Sunflora winced in pain as it used its arms to shield its face from the barrage but was able to persevere in the end. Jumping back a few feet, the Burning Sludge Pokémon channeled it's energy to create a ball of red energy, lifting up in the air as it soon exploded, showering the room with a light like that of the scorching hot sun. The Plusle was over the moon with joy over the attack, though the Minun opted to seek some shade beneath a sizable boulder.

The sun however, did not deter the Golett, the Gladiator Pokémon challenging all it's might into its fist and dealt a wicked punch to the Sunflora, pushing it back several feet and kicked up a small amount of dust. With a quick huff, the Sunflora leant forwards and breathed a stream of intense fire from its mouth, the heat from the sun boosting its power. The powerful flames struck the Golett head on, causing it to let out a quick shriek as it was sent flying backwards and crashed on the floor, with the Plusle and Minun quickly running over to check on their friend. With a small smile, the Golett got back up, more than impressed with Sunflora's strength and began chirping at Natasha.

"What's that? You want to know how Sunflora became as strong as it is? If you want, the three of you can come along with me. That way, you can become twice as strong as you were before." She offered, with the three Pokémon chirping amongst one another. Soon enough, they ceased their discussion and chirped happily at Natasha, indicating that they were all more than happy with her proposal. Smiling at them, she bought out three empty Pokéballs and pressed the buttons, capturing the newcomers effortlessly and recalled her Sunflora as well. With that business sorted out, the purple-haired girl made her way out of the cave, opting to check on Damian to see if everything is ready.

Sorry for the delay in updating; as I mentioned in Rise from the Ashes, I had a bit of a stomach bug that killed my motivation and energy. Now that I'm all better now, I'm more than capable of writing future chapters. Thank you all for your understanding.

Acquired Delta Pokémon:

D. Ivysaur

D. Charmeleon

D. Blastoise

D. Dugtrio

D. Dwebble (Cake)

D. Graveler

D. Ambipom

D. Muk

D. Solosis

D. Scyther

D. Larvesta

D. Sunflora

D. Gardevoir (female)

D. Kirlia (Male)

D. Quagsire

D. Pichu

D. Deino

D. Pidgey

D. Golett

D. Plusle

D. Minun