Pride of Your Soul
Chapter 29: World of Ice
AN: Y'know it's strange. When I had all the time I could possibly have, the updates took a snails pace. Now that I have a job and actual meaning in my life, the updates became faster. I guess it was a motivational thing I suppose. I dunno. Having free time to work on the chapters during work helps too.
So new chapter. Not much else to say, really. Pokemon Direct on Wednesday and E3 next week is definitely going to be hype. Now onto review replies:
Guestt: Yeah they don't have the best luck with that not gonna lie.
Tony Anderson: Thanks man. I'm sure we all know just exactly what Eve evolved into.
FantasyLover88: Yeah a lot of people forgot about Genesect surprisingly. And maybe, just maybe Togekiss will become a Fairy-type now.
TheDarkMaster4000: I'm trying to stay in this alternative universe as long as I can. I'm trying damn it. Also not gonna lie, I kinda forgot it wasn't called the Weather Institute and instead called something else (Seasons Research Lab). Eh, it's the closest thing in Unova to a meteorology institution, so I guess I'm kinda right? But regardless, thanks again for the support. Glad you liked the chapter as always. And to answer one particular question, Nate did drop his grudge against Hilbert, but that doesn't mean he suddenly 100% likes Hilbert again. Of course he'll get triggered if you imply that he's below Hilbert.
Guest (May 30): Glad you liked the chapter! And no worries, take as much as you need to convey your thoughts. That's honestly more important than worrying about how long a review should be. The support and the discussions my stuff sparks is more than enough for me.
Jeck: Thanks! Glad you liked it!
Acethe69th: No problem! Glad my stories were able to help you out in your tough times.
Huh, not gonna lie, did not expect people to remember the Black Samurotts incident since it was rather small and off-handish in CoYS. Glad everyone liked the reference though.
Letting out a sigh, Cheren exited the Weather Institute, or the Seasons Research Lab, as they commonly went by, having all the information he needed to hear from them. From what he was informed, apparently the temperature for the entirety of mainland Unova was lowering at an alarming rate. While the outskirts of South Unova, or the more tropical Humilau City seemed to be safe at the moment, it would only be a matter of time before they too would fall victim to this sudden cold front. Although the meteorologists could not figure out what was the cause of the sudden cold front, Cheren was all but certain that Kyurem was involved in this.
Cheren scowled to himself. As far as he was aware, Team Plasma had just recently obtained Kyurem. It has not even been three days, if Hilda's information was accurate. And yet simply moving Kyurem from its domain was enough to cause a cold front of this massive scale? And it was not like Team Plasma did anything drastic with Kyurem yet; someone would have definitely noticed if Team Plasma made a move. Cheren could only shudder to imagine the effects of Team Plasma's actions once they actually do decide to make a move. And with Kyurem, Cheren could only imagine what they would start off with. And that Cheren could do nothing but wait for them to make their move frustrated him, because by the time he could respond, Team Plasma would have already left their calling card at the cost of innocent lives.
"...Their objective is to most likely use Kyurem to take over Unova," Cheren mumbled to himself. "And get Kyurem to fuse with Reshiram and Zekrom..."
What Hilbert revealed and Nate confirmed unnerved Cheren. While Cheren had known that Reshiram and Zekrom were portrayed as yin and yang, he did not expect it to be quite literally. Both were in fact yin and yang, created from splitting Kyurem apart. Given the circumstances, then Kyurem wishing to absorb Reshiram and Zekrom was understandable; one would want to regain a lost part of their body, especially if it was lost against their will. But Cheren shivered at what Kyurem–no, the Original Dragon, would be like, with all its powers regained. Reshiram and Zekrom were already mighty titans of power; he could testify to that. How much more powerful would Kyurem be if it returned to its original form? And could they even take on such a beast if it came down to it?
...At this point, he would have to hope that Hilbert would have a trick up his sleeve to deal with Kyurem. Perhaps even N might make an appearance; he doubted the lime-haired radical would not be idle with Team Plasma wreaking havoc. While sending Reshiram and Zekrom straight to Kyurem was perhaps a horrible idea, since those two are what both Team Plasma and Kyurem are after, currently those two are the only Pokémon within their forces strong enough to even consider taking on Kyurem. Even still, Cheren was formulating several other possible answers that did not involve putting the three dragons in the same room, as he would rather avoid that outcome at all cost.
As Cheren sent out Unfezant to fly him to his next destination, his Xtransceiver received a call.
"Hm? Who could that be?" Cheren asked as he answered it. "Hello?"
"Yo," Nate answered, much to Cheren's surprise.
"Nate?" Cheren asked. He did not expect to get a call from Nate of all people. To his further surprise, Bianca and Professor Juniper were also on the line via shared video chat.
"Bianca? And Professor Juniper too?" Cheren asked. If Nate gathered all three of them out of his own volition, then this must be important.
"So you're all experts on Pokémon and all that jazz, right?" Nate asked. "So y'all can explain stuff that we can't understand for the life of us, right?"
"Well, if there's something you don't understand, then we'll be happy to help," Professor Juniper replied.
"Oh yeah?" Nate asked, almost challengingly. "Then explain this."
Nate removed himself from the camera and showed the adults a...Pokémon. One that none of them recognized.
"What the hell!?" Cheren blurted out. "Wait, what is that!?"
"Eve decided that now and not literal months ago was a good time to evolve," Nate said. "And then she evolved into whatever the fuck this is. So what the fuck is this?"
"I-It's so CUTE!" Bianca squealed. "Are you saying that Eve evolved into that?"
"Okay first off, how?" Cheren asked. "She should have evolved into either an espeon or an umbreon at least!"
"How the hell should I know?" Nate asked. "She was sniffing some weird ass stone in my bag, and the next thing we know, she evolves into this pink monstrosity."
"A weird stone?" Cheren asked, even more confused.
Nate proceeded to take the strange stone he's had on him and showed it to the others. While the stone looked beautiful, there was nothing that indicated that it could have caused Eve to evolve into this unknown creature. Visually, at least.
"Can you tell what else changed about Eve?" Professor Juniper asked. This was a new discovery in Unova, and she wanted to learn as much as possible about it.
"We're figuring that out now," Rosa said as she joined in through Nate's screen.
"So? How do you feel Rosa?" Cheren decided to ask. "Eve finally evolved. And into a new species, no less."
"Honestly I don't know how to feel, Professor Cheren," Rosa admitted. "I mean...I'm excited, but at the same time, confused..."
"That's understandable," Cheren nodded. "But do remember that no matter what, that's still the Eve you've known and loved for so long."
"Of course, Professor," Rosa nodded.
"Where are you all currently at?" Professor Juniper asked. "I need to witness this firsthand!"
"We're currently at Route 9," Nate informed them. "We're probably gonna be here all day, so feel free to stop by, if you wanna see this shit."
"Alright, Cheren! Bianca! We're headed for Route 9 ASAP!" Professor Juniper declared; excitement evident in her voice.
"Yes ma'am," Bianca and Cheren replied.
Seemingly done with the conversation, Rosa seemingly hung up the call, ending it for everyone since Nate was apparently the host of the call. Cheren put away his Xtransceiver before riding on Unfezant.
"A new discovery, huh..." Cheren mused as Unfezant took off into the air to head to Route 9.
Eve could not help but feel a bit awkward as the four humans kept staring at her as if they were analyzing her, poking and prodding her. It made sense, since she apparently evolved into something they have never seen before. She did not feel any weird; in fact, she felt stronger than she could have possibly imagined. But she still did not know what she was. She was not an espeon. She looked too colorful to be an umbreon. She did not feel any electricity within her, so she could not be a jolteon. Nor fire, nor did she feel wet, so Flareon and Vaporeon were out of the question. She did not feel internally cold, or have leaves for appendages, so Glaceon and Leafeon were out of the question too. So what was she? Obviously, she was no longer a Normal-type so what type was she? She could no longer sense any anticipation, so her ability changed. So what ability did she have now? What is she even called now? Not her name, of course, because that was still obviously Eve, but species name? Does this mean she can come up with her own name?
The other Pokémon finally noticed the commotion and gathered around to see what was going on.
"-Wait who's that?-" Vire asked, pointing to Eve.
"Eve," Nate replied.
"-Look guys, I evolved!-" Eve barked, getting a shocked reaction from everyone sans Geno.
"-You evolved?!-" Ottavia gasped.
"-That's awesome!-" Nina barked.
"-But...into what?-" Flygon asked. "-Like what the hell is she even?-"
"We have no idea," Nate addressed. "We're gonna at least try to figure out what type she is. Or what ability she has. I highly doubt she has the same ability."
"-Lookie, lookie!-" Eve barked as she jumped over to Flygon and nuzzled against him. "-I evolved! Now we're the same!-"
"-Haha, that's great Eve...-" Flygon congratulated his friend, but a burning sensation slowly crawled over his skin. "-What the...ow OW OWOWOW OW OW OW!-"
Flygon panicked and pried Eve off of him, shocking her by Flygon's sudden aggressive action.
"-Huh?-" Eve asked. "-W–What's wrong, Flygon?-"
"-Sorry, but what the hell!?-" Flygon responded. "-Touching you legitimately burns!-"
"Hah?" Nate asked. "What does that even mean?"
"-I mean it literally burns!-" Flygon explained. "-Like a rash!-"
"-Hey! I am NOT rashy!-" Eve pouted.
"That's not a word," Nate retorted.
"What's going on?" Hugh asked.
"Apparently touching Eve burns Flygon like a skin rash," Nate reported.
"Huh?" Hugh asked, still confused. "Why? How?"
"Hell if I knew," Nate shrugged.
"Maybe it's like Flame Body?" Yancy offered.
Nate arched a brow and glanced down to Eve. No part of her indicated that she was a Fire-type or was on fire. If she was, then she would have been a flareon.
"Doubt it," Nate replied.
"Maybe it's an ability that changes a type?" Rosa offered. "I've heard of an ability that changes all their attacks to Normal-type attacks. Maybe it's something similar?"
"But to have it affect Eve's body to the point that Flygon gets a rash?" Nate asked. "If you're right, then that must be one hell of a potent ability."
"So, how do we test it?" Yancy asked.
"The only move Eve knows that she used to have a type bonus with was Hyper Voice," Rosa muttered. "Let's see if that got changed or something."
"Better than nothing I suppose," Nate shrugged. "Alright, the lot of you! Gather around, we gotta test some shit." At Nate's command, the Pokémon all lined up next to each other in front of Eve. Nodding, the boy gestured to Rosa. "Alright, you're up."
"Right," Rosa nodded. She did not know what was going to happen, but she was curious to see if her hypothesis was right. "Eve, Hyper Voice!"
"-Here goes...-" Eve said, before letting out her usual Hyper Voice attack.
The soundwaves felt stronger; way stronger than before to Eve, as the pink soundwaves shot straight for the group of target Pokémon.
"Wait, was that always pink?" Nate asked, before the results made Nate's widen.
The attack forced everyone to go on the defensive, while sending a select few flying and off the ground, crashing into the ground or on various trees, which surprised everyone at just how much more powerful the attack became. They would not have expected this much power from Eve previously, especially enough force to subdue so many of them. As they checked up on the Pokémon, the results were rather varied:
Deo, Zoro, Mandi, Flygon, and Heracross seemed to have taken the most damage, either outright knocked out or barely clinging onto consciousness. "-The fuck was that!?-" was Deo's response as he stepped on Flygon's unconscious body without realizing it.
Luca, Bo, Vire, Ottavia, Serperior and Carracosta seemed to have fared much better, although the damage they sustained looked rather deep. Meanwhile Brav and Tornadus looked to have withstood the attack much better.
And finally, Nina, Gustav, Geno and Magmortar seemingly suffered the least amounts of damage from the Hyper Voice. Geno, in particular, did not seem to have been fazed by the attack that much.
"...Okay," Rosa said. "That's definitely not a Normal-type move."
"So...you were right?" Yancy asked.
"Seems like it," Nate said. "I mean, the effects it had are way too different from a normal Hyper Voice."
"So, what type is it?" Hugh asked. "If the ability changed Hyper Voice's type, then odds are that the type is also Eve's new typing."
Nate glanced over to the Pokémon, noting on who took how much damage from the Hyper Voice. "Well for starters, it looks like Dragon's weak to it."
"Really?!" Rosa gasped. What luck! If that was indeed true, then she had just gained a powerful asset against Drayden!
"Dark looks weak to it too..." Nate muttered, noting how Mandi was barely conscious, while Zoro was indeed unconscious. "Fighting? Deo and Heracross got screwed over...but Bo and Luca look way better...maybe Fire and Steel resists it?"
That seemed likely, seeing as how the only Pokémon who seemed to have showed any signs of resisting it were either pure Fire-type or Geno, who was a Steel-type. Seeing as how Heracross was knocked out cleanly while Geno still stood, Bug was most likely neutral. The only exception to that seemed to be Gustav, who was the only one who resisted the attack while not being either a Fire or Steel-type.
After examining the rest of the Pokémon and had treated to those who were either comatose or near comatose, he went back to the group.
"Alright, so from what I can tell," Nate reported. "Dragon, Dark and Fighting are weak to it. Fire, Poison and Steel resist it. And everything else is neutral. We don't have a Ghost-type, but it doesn't matter how that would've turned out in the long run. Literally no other type so much as comes close to this type spread."
"So...It's a completely new type altogether?" Rosa asked.
"Seems like it," Nate said.
"Alright, we know what it does offensively at least," Hugh said. "But how about defensively?"
All the Pokémon heard Hugh's question, before all eyes turned to Eve.
"-...What?-" Eve asked.
Brav swooped down, before slamming his talon into Eve's gut. The fox gagged, before trailing on the ground rather comically.
"Did that feel like a super effective hit?" Nate called out to Eve.
"-My gut...-" Eve moaned.
"-I'm real sorry about that, lassie,-" Brav apologized.
"Eh it's probably neutral," Nate shrugged. "Nothing's weak to Normal. That'd just be plain embarrassing."
Normal: Neutral
"-DORYAAAAH!-" Bo yelled out as he charged at Eve with a Flare Blitz.
"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!-" Eve cried out as she exploded in one giant blaze of glory, before emerging with her entire body on fire. "-HOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOT!-"
"So Fire resists whatever Eve is, but Eve doesn't resist back," Hugh commented. "Is she weak to Fire?"
"Nah that looks neutral," Nate said.
Fire: Neutral
"-I'm sorry!-" Ottavia apologized as she shot a Hydro Pump at Eve, who was still on fire. The force of the Hydro Pump was more than enough to extinguish the flames that engulfed Eve's screaming body, but it also slammed her into a nearby tree.
"Are you okay, Eve?" Rosa called out in concern.
"-I'm good...-" Eve moaned.
"Yeah that's probably neutral," Nate noted.
"What makes something not neutral?" Rosa asked Nate incredulously.
"Don't worry, we'll know," Nate assured Rosa. "She'll be in more pain than usual."
Water: Neutral
Serperior said nothing before slicing a drenched Eve with a swift Leaf Blade. The fox silently collapsed onto the ground, as Serperior disengaged his Leaf Blade silently.
"-Was that super effective?-" Bo asked.
"-I regret evolving...-" Eve groaned.
"-So is that a yes?-"
Grass: Neutral
Vire charged electricity in his body, before letting out a strong Discharge at Eve, electrocuting the poor fox.
"-AHKKJHSAKJHASKJHSAKJHDSAH-" Eve sputtered.
Once the Discharge ended, Eve found herself charred once more, letting out a puff of smoke.
"-So how was that?-" Vire asked.
"-Just as painful as everything else so far,-" Eve said.
"So that's neutral," Nate called out.
Electric: Neutral
Carracosta lifted an arm, causing Eve to tilt her head in confusion. A Stone Edge then shot out from underneath Eve, slamming straight into her gut like all the other physical moves that they tested on her so far.
"-Why is it always the gut...?-" Eve gagged as she slid off the rock and onto the ground rather pitifully.
"-I mean we could have always gone for the eyes,-" Carracosta offered.
"-Please no.-"
"-Or the butt.-"
"-That's sexual harassment!-"
Rock: Neutral
"Good news, this one won't hit you in the gut," Nate announced.
"-Really?-" Eve asked, her face lighting up.
"Yep," Nate said as he gestured to Flygon. "It'll just hit everything else. And probably your gut again, I don't know."
"-Oh dear god no,-" Eve paled, her face doing a complete reversal as Hugh commanded a rather angry Flygon to go for Earthquake.
Ground: Neutral
Eve could only make unintelligent blubbering noises as her face was continuously pelted by Luca's Aura Spheres. To her surprise (and relief), the Aura Spheres did not hurt as much as everything else, despite the fact that it was coming from Luca.
"Oh look, finally something that isn't neutral," Nate noted. "So whatever Eve is does in fact resist Fighting."
"Well we got something," Rosa said. "So her type is strong against Fighting both ways."
"Seems like it," Nate said, before Luca shot a fully charged Aura Sphere at Eve's face just to be sure.
Fighting: Resisted
"Hurricane!"
Tornadus flapped his wings, before shooting several blades of air at Eve. The Hurricane formed violently, ravaging Eve in the violent winds and throwing her up into the air. Once the storm dies down, Eve fell back to the ground on her face.
"-Ow...-" Eve moaned.
"-At least it wasn't the gut this time,-" Tornadus shrugged.
"You wanna try the Brave Bird?" Nate asked, gesturing at Brav to get ready.
"-Please no,-" Eve whimpered.
They tried the Brave Bird anyways. The results did not change.
Flying: Neutral
"I think I can help here," Yancy offered as she sent out Audi. "Audi, Ice Beam!"
The audino nodded, before shooting an Ice Beam at Eve, encasing her in a giant block of ice
"-C-C-C-C-Cold...-" Eve shivered inside the ice block.
"That looks neutral," Nate said. "Thanks Yancy."
"N-No problem," Yancy blushed, happy at the praise.
"...We should probably thaw her out," Rosa commented, pointing at the frozen Eve.
"Oh I can help with that!" Yancy exclaimed, eager to get more of Nate's praise. "Fire Blast!"
"Wait Yancy no–!" Rosa blurted as Audi shot a Fire Blast at Eve.
"-OH MY GOD!-" Eve screamed as the Fire Blast not only melted the ice instantly, but ignited her on fire again.
"Okay maybe a bit too strong," Nate commented.
"Ah–S-Sorry..." Yancy mumbled.
"Someone put her out!" Rosa yelled. Nate sighed, before gesturing Deo to blast Eve with a Hydro Pump.
Ice: Neutral
Fire: Neutral, again
Water: Neutral, again
"-Why is this happening to me?-" Eve asked.
"Because we have no idea what type you are, and apparently it's a type that doesn't exist as far as we're aware," Nate said. "Oh by the way, think fast."
"-What?-" Eve asked before a Sludge Bomb from Gustav hit her in the face, knocking her down to the ground once again.
"-So how was that?-" Gustav asked.
Eve struggled to get back up, before proceeding to puke her guts out.
"Oooh, some of it got into her mouth," Rosa cringed at the sight of her Eve vomiting without a care in the world.
"Now that looks like a super effective reaction," Nate noted. "So she's weak to Poison. That's so random."
Poison: Effective
"Megahorn!"
Heracross charged at Eve with a strong Megahorn, straight at the gut once more. Eve spat out some saliva as she was rammed in the gut yet again.
"How was that?" Nate asked as Eve skidded across the ground.
"-Getting jabbed in the gut hurt more than the actual the attack...-" Eve moaned.
"Okay, so Bug is resisted," Nate noted, before noting Eve's rather pitiful state. "Eh, we should probably give you a sitrus berry."
A sitrus berry was then tossed at Eve, which hit her on the head while she was limp on the ground.
"-Ow...-" Eve groaned as the berry rolled onto the ground.
Bug: Resisted
Berry: Neutral
"Wait do we even have any psychic moves?" Nate asked.
"Oh, I do!" Yancy said as she sent out her togekiss. "Toge, Psychic!"
"-Oh please no...-" Eve paled.
At the command of her trainer, Toge emitted a psychic aura, lifting Eve up with strange, psychic powers.
"-Huh, this doesn't seem so bad,-" Eve commented. "-Still hurts though.-"
"So is that a neutral?" Nate asked. "What felt worse, this or the Megahorn?"
"-This,-" Eve said.
"Okay so it is neutral," Nate said. "Next!"
Toge nodded, before releasing Eve from the Psychic, where she landed face flat onto the ground.
Psychic: Neutral
"Nate!"
Nate perked up to the call of his name and looked up to see that the adults he had talked to earlier had finally arrived.
"Professor Cheren!" Hugh called out.
"We came as soon as we heard," Cheren said as they all landed.
"So where is she?" Professor Juniper asked with eagerness. "Where's Eve?"
Nate pointed his thumb over his shoulder. The Eve in question was currently being treated from the Psychic test, with Rosa tending to her and feeding her a sitrus berry.
"Apparently she's a new type, and her ability changes all Normal-type moves into that type," Nate explained. "So far we know that she's weak to Poison, resist Bug and Fighting, strong to Dragon, Dark and Fighting and that's about it."
"Fascinating," Professor Juniper noted, jotting down everything Nate said into a journal. "Have you tested all the types out yet?"
"Nope," Nate said. "Oh that reminds me, does anyone have a Ghost-type?"
Confused, Cheren ended up obliging and sent out Jellicent. "Perfect!" Nate exclaimed as he pointed to Eve. "Now Shadow Ball Eve. We need to test Ghost, and no one has that here."
"Fair enough," Cheren said. "Rosa!"
Rosa looked up to see Cheren and Jellicent, and immediately knew what was going to happen.
"Sorry, Eve," Rosa apologized as she set Eve back onto the ground. "But break time's over."
"-Huh?-" Eve asked, before spotting Jellicent forming a Shadow Ball. "-...Oh no.-"
Afterwards they tested Eve's amplified Hyper Voice on Jellicent, and determined that her type was neutral against Ghost. Although Eve put a bit more gusto into the Hyper Voice.
Ghost: Neutral
"Night Daze!"
Zoro growled as he charged ominous energy into his claws, before unleashing a giant burst of crimson energy that enveloped Eve. Everyone else had to jump back to avoid getting caught by the Night Daze. Unlike the previous few attacks and certainly unlike Sludge Bomb, Eve managed to withstand the Night Daze decently in spite of its power.
"Hm, so Dark is resisted," Nate noted. "Good work."
Zoro nodded as Eve sighed in relief, seemingly glad that the attack was not neutral.
"Fascinating," Professor Juniper said, studying Eve. "The physical structure certainly resembles something that an eevee would evolve into... Are those ribbons aesthetics or are they a legitimate part of her body?"
"-Uh, I mean I can move them like this,-" Eve said as she moved the ribbon-like feelers easily.
"Ugh, they're like tentacles," Nate muttered. "...Yeah that's kinda gross."
While Cheren and Bianca were quite curious about Eve and her new form, along with the mysteries surrounding her type and ability, they were also equally curious about Zoro.
"...So that zoroark used to belong to N?" Bianca asked. Supposedly that was the case, if what Hilbert had told them was accurate. According to Hilbert, Zoro was a particular zorua that he had encountered in the past, with his mother being the zoroark that N had carried with him. The zorua interfering with Hilbert was what allowed Team Plasma to obtain the Forces of Nature in the first place.
"Seems like it," Cheren said. "...You'd think Nate would be the last person a Pokémon that knew N would go with, all things considered."
Up until recently, Nate had wished for wanton destruction and the collapse of a whole region out of spite. Something drastically different from N's view of Pokémon harmony. Even if the basis was somewhat similar (a distrust for humans), Nate and N were radically different.
"It feels kinda surreal having one of N's Pokémon be on our side," Bianca commented. She remembered rather vividly the trouble and pain having to fight N with his wild Pokémon was. "There's gotta be something he sees in Nate to stick with him even after hearing everything about him."
"...True," Cheren agreed. Even after finding out about Nate's true agendas and feelings, Zoro, like the rest of Nate's team, still stood by him. Clearly there was something about Nate that Zoro found himself attracted to. If anything, it showed a testament to Nate's character, regardless of his past.
Dark: Resisted
"Wait, do we have a Steel move?" Nate asked, before turning to Geno. "Don't you know anything? What about that laser beam of yours?"
"Techno Blast is a Normal-type move by default, and changes type depending on the Cassette Drive installed," Geno replied. "Currently I do not possess any of the five Cassette Drives Professor Colress designed. However, I can download attack data to replace a move with a Steel-type attack."
"You can do that?" Rosa asked, genuinely surprised.
"Affirmative," Geno said, before his eyes began to flash rapidly and then stopping. "Download complete. Iron Head data installed. Now engaging Iron Head."
"-Wait, hold up–,-" Eve said, before getting cut off by Geno ramming his head into Eve's face at a blinding speed. Eve was sent flying like a rock, before crashing into a tree.
"Okay how was that?" Nate asked as they approached Eve. "Eve? Eeeve? You alright?"
Eve's eyes were both swirling patterns, indicating that Eve was in fact not alright.
"Okay so she's probably weak to Steel," Nate noted. "Weak to Poison and Steel...that's kinda weird."
"Whatever type she is, it does have a rather short and unconventional list of weaknesses," Cheren commented.
Steel: Effective
"-NONONONONONO!-" Eve cried out after she was revived by a Revive that Rosa had, as they prepared Flygon.
"Look, it's the last type we need to test," Nate said. "So quit acting like a bitch and take the Draco Meteor like a man."
"-But I'm a girl!-" Eve cried back.
"Gender doesn't matter in the face of science," Nate retorted. "Now let it rip!"
"If you say so," Hugh sighed. "Flygon, Draco Meteor!"
Flygon nodded and charged energy from inside his body. Eve cowered in fear as Flygon began to glow, indicating that the attack was slowly building up.
"-We can talk about this!-" Eve begged.
Flygon did not seem to oblige, as he shot the orb of energy into the air, before dispersing into a shower of meteors that rained down upon Eve. The fox trembled, before cowering in fear as she could do nothing but withstand the Draco Meteor shower to the best of her abilities. The meteors rained down upon Eve with no mercy, detonating the area around her in savage explosions.
"Damn, that's pretty strong," Nate whistled at the Draco Meteor.
"Gotta thank Iris for teaching Flygon Draco Meteor before she left," Hugh nodded.
"So...what's the verdict...?" Rosa asked, concerned over how Eve handled the Draco Meteor. She felt so much pain from the other neutral attacks. She could only imagine how much more pain she must have felt from something as devastating as Draco Meteor.
The smoke died down, as everyone went over to inspect how well Eve took the Draco Meteor from Flygon. Once Eve became recognizable, everyone was left with mouths agape.
"-...Huh?-" Eve asked. "-...Did it happen yet?-"
Dragon: Immune
Final results:
Eve is:
Neutral to: Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Rock, Ground, Flying, ice, Bug, Psychic, and Ghost.
Weak to: Poison and Steel
Resistant to: Fighting, Bug, and Dark.
Immune to: Dragon
On the flipside, Eve's type is:
Neutral against: Normal, Water, Grass, Electric, Rock, Ground, Flying, Ice, Bug, Psychic and Ghost.
Effective against: Fighting, Dark, and Dragon.
Resisted by: Fire, Poison and Steel.
"That is a very, very good type," Nate said as he skimmed through the notes Professor Juniper had written down based on what he had told him and the remainder of the experiments on Eve.
"You're telling me," Rosa said. "She's immune to Dragon-types. Dragon-types."
"Regardless," Hugh said. 'This is a huge boon for us. Having a type that outright counters dragons makes dealing with Drayden significantly easier."
"Makes our lives easier," Nate admitted.
"Yeah..." Yancy nodded. "Maybe with Eve, we can even take on Kyurem!"
"Oh if only it were that easy," Nate muttered. He doubted that taking on Kyurem would be any easier even with Eve's newfound advantages.
"Still, it's better than our current situation," Rosa offered. "Any more advantages we can take against Team Plasma, the better."
Nate conceded, giving into Rosa's point. Any advantage they can take, they should. Like he said earlier, it was no time to be stubborn about anything.
"Regardless, we can't move forward unless we make Drayden acknowledge us," Hugh said. "He has the thing we need to see, so we need to defeat him no matter what."
"I don't know why he's requiring this from you," Cheren sighed. "But I do suppose it's so that he can confirm whether or not he can trust you three or not."
"I mean we were going to have to face him eventually," Rosa said, before sporting a smirk on her face. "This just gives us a better incentive!"
"I suppose so," Cheren chuckled.
"Alright, it's getting late," Nate said, pointing to the sunset that painted the route a rather pleasant orange color. "Let's call it a day."
"-Yaaaaaaay...-" Eve moaned, exhausted from all the trials and errors.
"C'mon, let's go to the center," Rosa said as she recalled Eve. "You deserve a nice rest. We're counting on you tomorrow." The kids proceeded to recall all their Pokémon to head back to the pokécenter.
"So is that all?" Nate asked the professor.
"Yes, you've all had a long day," Professor Juniper nodded. "The data you provided is still more than I could have asked for. I'll definitely take a look at the data and see if I can find anything on my end."
With that confirmation, the kids bid their farewells to the three adults, before heading back to Opelucid City to rest at the pokécenter for the night. Cheren and Bianca saw them off, noting how the four interacted with each other rather festively, like a group of friends.
"...They really did come a long way, huh," Cheren said, remembering how the trio was originally back when they were about to leave Aspertia City many months ago.
"Right?" Bianca agreed with a smile on her face.
"All the adjustments have been completed."
Colress narrowed his eyes in boredom as he reported to the Shadow Triad the completion of one of the many assignments Team Plasma made him do as their head of the technological department. They were currently in one of the many unique rooms of the Plasma Frigate; this one housing a large core reactor underneath the grid floor. The room itself was frigid; no doubt due to the power source within the core reactor.
"Good," Ein nodded. "With this, gaining control over that city should be no problem."
Colress found himself curious on how the Shadow Triad were not cold in their sleeveless tunics. The place was probably colder than being inside a freezer, and they were acting as if it were room temperature. Zinzolin's ridiculously bulky coat would probably still not be enough for the poor insane bastard. Perhaps it is due to a difference in background; these three were trained to be Ghetsis' loyal dogs after all. Weather or terrain would most likely have been accounted for in their training.
"So? How goes the Battalion?" Zwei asked.
"Ah yes," Colress said as Beheeyem handed him his PDA to look over the data. "Everything has been completed. All I need to do now is some final adjustments and calibrations and they should be ready to go."
"Excellent," Drei replied. "Once we reach the apex of our plans, the Battalion will surely prove to be useful to Lord Ghetsis."
"Yes, yes," Colress drawled, earning him the annoyed glares from the Shadow Triad. "I built them after all. I would be disappointed if they did not reach peak conditions."
"Hmph, that's what you said about MKI," Zwei shot back. "And look what happened to that."
"First models always have their kinks and flaws," Colress retorted. "They serve as a model for more improved version since I know what exactly went wrong."
"You better hope so for your sake," Ein threatened.
"I know so," Colress said as he glanced over to the core reactor. "But still, this is a rather unorthodox way of utilizing a Pokémon's potential. I say, it would make the old Team Plasma cry in shame."
"Do not bring up the old Team Plasma," Zwei spat. "It did not live up to Lord Ghetsis' expectations...this new Team Plasma, and Kyurem's might will!"
"Oh no, I'm not going to criticize the methods of tapping into a Pokémon's power," Colress defended himself. "That would make me a hypocrite. I'm merely commenting on the whole thing, and the irony of it all."
Colress walked over to the core reactor, staring directly down onto it from the grid floor.
"I am and still a firm believer that humanity is the key to unlocking the full potential of Pokémon," Colress said. "The Colress Machines, which revitalizes dormant Pokémon, and the genesects, fossilized apex predators that were revived and further enhanced with the technology of humans, are all proof of such a theory. However...I do wonder at what point is there a line to be drawn between advancement and unnecessary cruelty?"
"That doesn't sound like you," Drei commented.
"I was just curious is all," Colress shrugged. "At what point is advancement considered inhumane?"
"If you have time to spew drivel like that, then finish the battalion preparations," Ein ordered. "We will go inform Lord Ghetsis and make the preparations."
"Do as you please," Colress waved the triad off. Ein shook his head in response as the three disappeared from the room. The scientist glanced down to the core reactor beneath them. "Now then...just a little bit more...And then..."
Beheeyem merely eyed his master, before eyeing the camera within the room.
Nate stepped on the final switch, where the giant dragon statues let out a mechanical roar, before violently slamming their heads into each other. Everyone braced themselves for the impact, where the connected heads made a new path. The path led straight to Drayden, who was waiting for his new challengers with arms crossed, with the connected heads forming a surprisingly spacious arena.
"Finally," Nate muttered as the group headed over to Drayden.
The kids had arrived at the gym at 8 AM sharp to immediately start their gym challenge to have Drayden acknowledge them. What they did not expect was the gym to house two gargantuan black and white dragon statues, with the gym leader waiting at the very apex of the white dragon. They had to ride on the black dragon statue, where the task was to use the switches on the dragon's head to lead them to the gym's trainers who awaited on the parts of the white dragon's body, who fought them in a variety of battle formats. As they defeated each trainer, the black dragon was allowed to move up a level. After defeating three trainers, they reached the top of the white dragon.
"So you arrived," Drayden addressed the kids as they walked onto the battling arena. "Thank you for coming."
"So? What're the rules?" Nate asked Drayden as they all got settled. "You want us to prove ourselves. So what's the catch?"
"Time is of the essence," Drayden replied. "As such, we shall settle this similar to how the previous gym leader took on the Black Hero of Unova and his companions."
"The previous gym leader...? What do you mean by that...?" Hugh asked cautiously.
For a moment, Hugh though Drayden gave him the slightest of amused glances, before proceeding to explain himself in his usual imposing tone. "A triple battle. You three with one Pokémon each, against myself, with three Pokémon."
Drayden offering a triple battle as the gym challenge could not have been a better gift from the gym leader. That meant all three of them had access to each other's strengths and cover each other throughout the battle. And they could settle the matter faster if all three of them went at him at once.
And unknowing to Drayden, the proposed format gave them a huge advantage; even more so than what they already had. Rosa could not help but smirk at that revelation.
"Fair enough," Nate said as he gestured Yancy to get back.
From Drayden's side, he sent out a bird-like dragon that resembled a giant cloud, his own flygon, and the druddigon from yesterday. Each looked powerful and imposing, patiently waiting for their opponents.
"An altaria?" Rosa mumbled, taking out her pokédex and scanning the new creature.
"Altaria, the humming Pokémon," it read. "On sunny days, it flies freely through the sky and blends into the clouds. It sings in a beautiful soprano."
Rosa stepped forward, assuming the middle position, while Nate and Hugh took the positions besides her. Smirking, Rosa sent out her fighter, while Nate and Hugh did the same. Out on the field came out Eve, with Luca and Hugh's Flygon taking their respective places.
"What's this?" Drayden asked, eyeing Eve in surprise. "I've never seen a Pokémon like that before! What Pokémon is that?"
"That's for your surprise!" Rosa declared confidently.
"I mean yeah it's a surprise since we don't know either," Nate retorted with snark.
"Quiet you!" Rosa shot back, where Nate merely whistled and looked away from Rosa, before recomposing herself. "Anyways, now it's Eve's time to shine! Prepare yourself, Drayden!"
"Such gusto...I like it!" Drayden remarked back. "Very well! No matter the opponent, we will not back down!"
Altaria and Drayden's Flygon took to the skies, as Druddigon let out a roar of his own. Luca brandished her Bone Rush staff, as she darted for Altaria, while Hugh's Flygon flew to Drayden's Flygon for a mirror match. Eve, meanwhile, stood her ground as Druddigon began to charge at her.
"Druddigon, Fire Punch!"
"Calm Mind!"
Eve closed her eyes and focused her mind as Druddigon charged forward with his claws ignited on fire. Eve managed to avoid Druddigon's brutal strikes as she backed up.
"Shadow Ball!"
Eve created a shadowy orb as she jumped back and shot it at Druddigon while the dragon tried to strike her down once more. Druddigon raised his arms up to block the attack, but the Shadow Ball had enough force to push him back quite the distance.
"Not bad!" Eve cheered as Eve sported a confident grin. "I knew teaching her Calm Mind would do wonders! It was lucky she could even learn it too."
"So why the hell did she have Charm this whole time then?" Nate asked with a snarky tone.
"Shut up and focus on your part!" Rosa shot back, embarrassed.
"Yeah, yeah," Nate sniggered as Luca slammed the staff against Altaria's head.
"Altaria, Sky Attack!" Drayden yelled out.
"Iron Tail!" Nate yelled.
Altaria cloaked himself in a harsh light, before consuming a red leaf he was carrying with him. The light suddenly exploded around Altaira, before the bird-dragon swooped down upon Luca. Luca steeled herself as he tail glowed a brilliant silver luster. Luca jumped over Altaria as he swooped down to strike her, before bringing her tail up to slam it against the head.
"Cotton Guard!" Drayden quickly commanded. "Then fire back with Fire Blast!"
Altaria dispersed the light quickly, before the white, fluffy feathers surrounding his body rapidly grew, forming a wall of cotton that absorbed the impact from the Iron Tail. Luca had to jump off to avoid getting hit by Altaria's incoming Fire Blast. Lucario landed facing behind Druddigon, and blocked his incoming Fire Punch with her staff.
"Superpower, Druddigon!" Drayden commanded. "And Altaria, assist with Fire Blast!"
"Eve, stop it! Shadow Ball!" Rosa yelled out.
"Aura Sphere!"
Eve shot a Shadow Ball at Altaria's Fire Blast aimed at Luca, while Luca charged an Aura Sphere and shot it at Druddigon's Superpower-induced punch. The resulting explosions covered the field with smoke, where Luca and Eve jumped back to their trainers' line of sight. Meanwhile, the flygons were duking it out. Drayden's Flygon tried to strike Hugh's Flygon with a Dragon Tail, but Hugh's Flygon evaded the attack, before grabbing the opposing Flygon's tail and hurling him to the ground. The flying flygon cleared the smoke and landed straight onto Druddigon, slamming the dragon to the ground.
"Nate! Get Altaria over there!" Hugh called out, pointing to the other two dragons.
"You heard him!" Nate called out to Luca, who immediately got the message and sprinted for the last dragon.
Altaria shot another Fire Blast at Luca, but the jackal swiped her staff, erasing the blazes and charging straight at the bird. Altaria panicked and set up another Cotton Guard, but Luca instead grabbed the forming wall of cotton.
"-Thank you!-" Luca said as she lifted Altaria by the cotton and hurled him into the other two dragons.
"Now, Flygom!" Hugh yelled out once he saw Altaria crash into Druddigon and Drayden's Flygon. "Draco Meteor!"
High above the arena, Hugh's Flygon revealed a dark blue gem in his claw and crushed it, releasing a blue energy that surged around him. He then charged the energy inside, before releasing it out in one large blue orb. As the dragons recomposed themselves, the orb scattered into a meteor shower that rained down upon them at an alarming pace. Druddigon got in front of the other two dragons, shielding them from the barrage of Dragon-type meteors that rained down upon them mercilessly.
The smoke cleared from the Draco Meteor, revealing Drayden's team having withstood the Draco Meteor, albeit with Druddigon having taken the brunt of the hits.
"Impressive..." Drayden commented.
"They withstood a dragon gem-boosted Draco Meteor...?" Hugh asked, somewhat shocked.
"Guess being the gym leader's Pokémon isn't just for show..." Nate muttered, before he noticed Hugh's Flygon suddenly dropping to the ground. "Wha–Oi, Hugh!"
"Huh?" Hugh blurted, noticing his flygon crashing onto the ground. "Flygon!?"
The dragon crashed onto the ground. Upon closer inspection, Hugh's Flygon's eyes were closed; the dragon having fallen asleep.
"What!?" Hugh gasped. "But how!?"
Nate darted his eyes towards the group of dragons. Among them, he noticed Altaria, who had a smirk on his beak, seemingly pleased about something.
"...He used Sing," Nate deduced. "Probably while they were huddled together and Flygon was in the middle of Draco Meteor. We didn't notice it because the meteors obscured our sights and hearing, but they were able to get it through to Flygon."
"Great..." Hugh grumbled. Until Flygon woke up, he was essentially dead weight. Since they were all limited to one Pokémon, Hugh was effectively dead weight as well.
"Don't worry, I got you covered!" Rosa told the two, gesturing to Eve, who was in the middle of performing Calm Mind. "She'll take care of the rest!"
"Stop her!" Drayden yelled out, pointing to Eve. He did not know just what exactly that pink Pokémon was, but he knew not to give any unknown factor the opportunity to become a problem.
"Too late!" Rosa yelled out triumphantly as she pointed to the dragons. "Eve, Hyper Voice!"
Altaria shot a Dragon Pulse at Eve while Druddigon and Drayden's Flygon rushed at her with Dragon Tails ready to strike her down. To their utter shock, the Dragon Pulse connected cleanly on Eve, but she did not even seem to be fazed by it.
"What!?" Drayden gasped, finding himself shocked for the second time in the battle. How did this Pokémon feel nothing from his Dragon-type attacks!? It was as if it was practically immune to them!
"There's no escape now!" Rosa yelled out triumphantly as Eve let out the Calm Mind-boosted pink Hyper Voice. The soundwaves blasted all the dragons with an excruciating pain like they have never felt before and sent them flying across the arena.
"What in blazes!?" Drayden groaned in pain as he covered his ears from the Hyper Voice.
"How's that!?" Rosa exclaimed. "Now you know Eve's true might!"
"Um...Rosa?" Yancy asked from behind Nate. "I don't wanna rain on your parade, but..."
"You're kinda hitting Hugh's Flygon too," Nate pointed out.
"Eh?"
Nate pointed to the field, where the Hyper Voice not only blasted all three of Drayden's Pokémon, but also Hugh's Flygon was caught in the Hyper Voice while still asleep, falling victim to the merciless attack that ravaged the Dragon-types with its unknown typing.
"Ah..." Rosa let out, refusing to acknowledge Hugh's irritated glare piercing daggers into her conscience.
With all the Calm Mind boosts Eve was able to obtain throughout the fight, none of the dragons could withstand the Hyper Voice, wiping every single one of them unconscious.
"...My bad..." Rosa mumbled guiltily as Hugh merely grumbled under his breath.
"I don't think I've seen a careless team kill like that," Nate said, deciding to prod at Rosa's blunder for kicks.
"Uh...didn't I knock out Luca back when you and I fought Elesa at Nimbasa?" Yancy asked, taking Rosa's side and trying to make her feel less guilty.
"Yeah but I planned that. Rosa fired it off without even considering that our Flygon was still there," Nate countered. "You see there's a difference there. I strategically sacrificed Luca so that we could take out Elesa. She on the other hand blasted Hugh's Flygon without a care in the world."
"Okay I get it! I'm sorry, alright!?" Rosa yelled, getting frustrated at Nate's mocking; tone and expression and all; before turning to Hugh with a much more guilty expression. "...I'm sorry."
"...Whatever. At least we won," Hugh muttered indignantly, clearly irritated that she ended up taking out his own flygon as collateral.
"-Rosa! I did it!-" Eve barked, running up to Rosa happily. "-I won the gym battle!-"
"G-Good job, Eve..." Rosa replied.
"-Huh? What's wrong?-" Eve asked, noticing Rosa's discomfort. Luca walked up to Eve and got her attention, before pointing to the two defeated flygons. "-Wait, why's Flygon over there...oh...-"
Frantically, Eve ran over to Hugh's Flygon, worry and guilt consuming her thoughts. "-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! A-Are you okay, Flygon?-"
"-I–It's fine...-" Hugh's Flygon muttered. "A–At least that woke me up...-"
"-Oh look, you're still hanging,-" Luca noted.
"-I dunno why..." Flygon groaned.
"Would you look at that," Nate said, observing Hugh's Flygon's barely conscious state. "He's still alive."
"Really?" Rosa looked up, feeling less guilty.
"-H–Here, I can help!-" Eve offered, wishing to be of Flygon's aid as she tried to lift him up with her appendages. She forgot about her mystery ability, however, as the appendages burned Hugh's Flygon upon touching the dragon's skin.
"-AGH THERE IT IS,-" Hugh's Flygon yelped, before fainting.
"-Ah...-" Eve blurted, realizing what she had done. Luca proceeded to rub Eve's head in an attempt to comfort her.
"-You didn't mean it,-" Luca told her. "-I'm sure he'll understand.-"
"Never mind," Nate said, watching Eve unintentionally finish off Hugh's Flygon.
"Goddamn it..." Hugh grumbled.
"I'm so sorry..." Rosa mumbled.
The trio went over to collect their Pokémon, before facing Drayden. The man had his eyes on Eve the whole time, before glancing to the children in front of him.
"Wonderful," Drayden said. "I'm grateful that we had a chance to meet and battle. It reminded me that Pokémon battles are about working with others to meet our challenges together."
"So you acknowledge us then?" Rosa asked hopefully.
"Of course," Drayden nodded. "I feel relieved knowing that I can entrust the role of defeating Team Plasma and saving Unova once more to the hands of such capable trainers."
"Yes!" Rosa cheered as she pumped her fist.
"Pray tell, however," Drayden said. "That Pokémon of yours...what exactly was it? I have never seen such a creature before. And how was it able to withstand my Dragon-type attacks with ease?"
"Honestly, we don't know either," Rosa admitted, glancing down to Eve. "She used to be an eevee, but then she evolved into what she is now. We don't even know what type she is; it doesn't match with any of the existing types we know of."
"And you are implying that this new typing is effective against Dragons?" Drayden inquired.
"That's what we found after trial and error," Rosa answered.
"Intriguing..." Drayden said as he knelt down to tend to his fallen Dragon-types. "You all did well out there. Take a good rest."
Everyone recalled their respective Pokémon, as Drayden presented the three of them each with a gray badge that resembled a dragon's head, along with a blue disc.
"Take this, the Legend Badge," Drayden said as the three challengers accepted their rewards. "And the TM contains Dragon Tail. It forces your opponent to switch Pokémon."
"Thank you," Hugh said as they put the badge and TM away.
"To think I was defeated so easily," Drayden muttered. "In all my years of being a trainer, I doubt I've ever had such a one-sided loss like that."
"I mean in your defense, we just got lucky with Eve," Nate offered. "It definitely would've been in your favor if we didn't hit the jackpot."
"Regardless," Drayden said. "This bitterness that floods me after a defeat… The heart that does not succumb to such a feeling is filled with energy and life! It motivates me to improve myself and to be ready to overcome such a challenge in the future!"
"...Well you're taking the loss better than I thought," Nate muttered.
"I wouldn't be suitable as mayor or the gym leader if I let a loss get to me like that," Drayden replied, before his expression turned serious. "...Now then. I do believe there is business we must take care of."
"This way, inside."
Drayden led the four kids to his home rather hastily. The interior looked just as impressive as the exterior of the modernized house, with four statues of dragons adorned in the living room. A machine sat in the corner of the room, presumably meant to heal his team. A tiny axew was playing around with a ball in the living when it noticed Drayden arriving with his guests.
"I assume you are all aware of the origins of Kyurem, correct?" Drayden asked as he walked over to the machine in the room and placed his team in there to heal them, while the kids all nodded in confirmation. "Very good. That saves me from having to explain it to you all. Forgive me for asking you all to come to my home, but the information I am about to reveal is far too dangerous to be left to careless ears."
"I-Is it that bad?" Yancy asked.
"Indeed," Drayden nodded as he collected his team once they were healed. "The relic that is tied to Kyurem...the treasure that has been passed down my family for generations...the DNA Splicers."
"The...DNA Splicers?" Hugh asked.
"The relic may be proof of Kyurem's existence in the era of ancient Unova," Drayden explained. "From Professor Juniper's research determined that the materials in the splicers date back to the same era as the materials used in building the Dragonspiral Tower, the tower where Reshiram was sealed. As seeing as how neither Reshiram nor Zekrom were linked to such a relic, then it would be safe to assume that the Splicers are linked to Kyurem."
"So what does is do?" Rosa asked. "Seeing as how you're calling it the 'DNA Splicers', is it supposed to, I don't know, combine Kyurem with something?"
"I do not know," Drayden replied. "The Splicers have never been used before, and for good reason. However, it would be safe to assume that the relic is the key to fusing Kyurem to Reshiram and Zekrom, and recreating the original dragon."
'If such an important thing existed this whole time, then why didn't Kyurem tell me about it?' Nate thought. 'Without this thing, then how would he have fused with Reshiram and Zekrom if I had brought them to him? Would he have kept them prisoner and told me to go hunt it down?'
"So, where is the thing?" Nate asked.
"It is guarded in a safe location," Drayden replied. "There is no telling what kind of power it possesses...and what devastation it could bring in the wrong hands."
"I think I can take a wild guess at that..." Nate muttered.
"...Indeed," Drayden agreed grimly. "The two dragons, Reshiram and Zekrom, are obscenely powerful by themselves. To think that there exists a being even greater than those two...and that Team Plasma is after such power...I cannot help but shudder at the implications."
The mood felt heavy after he said that, making everyone else consider the implications. Everyone could not help but feel immense dread at the thought of the original dragon being under the control of Team Plasma. That was something they had to stop at all costs.
Suddenly, a low, rumbling noise cut off the heavy mood like a hot knife through butter, startling everyone in the house.
"What was that?" Nate asked.
Everyone rushed out of the house to find out what that noise was. When they got outside, they saw quite the number of people outside as well, looking up to the sky.
"Hey, what is that?" someone asked in concern, pointing up to it. They all looked up, and to their horror, spotted a large, airborne ship; one that was all too familiar to the kids.
"That's Team Plasma's ship!" Rosa gasped. "What're they doing here!?"
Before her question could get answered, the front of the ship began to open up. From its depths, a cannon slowly emerged from it, before moving down to aim at the city below and began to charge immense, light blue energy.
"You gotta be fucking kidding me...!" Nate swore, panic flooding his face and everyone else's.
"EVERYONE TAKE COVER NOW!" Drayden practically roared, catching everyone by surprise, before the townsfolks went into a mass panic and scrambled for whatever cover they could find.
The ship let off a powerful light blue beam that struck the center of the city, before a white smoke and an unholy cold air quickly overtook the entire city in an instant, enveloping everyone and everything in its energy within seconds.
Nate and the others had covered their heads with their arms instinctively, before the boy slowly looked up to see a large green barrier having covered them and protected them from the blast.
"The hell...?" Nate asked, before he looked behind him. To his surprise, the barrier was from none other than Yancy, and her Audi who she had sent out at the last second to shield everyone with a large Protect. "N-Nice save..."
"Thanks..." Yancy said, breaking out a small smile in spite of the situation. "I-Is everyone alright?"
The other three looked up to see the green barrier that had saved their lives. Seeing that all her friends were safe, Yancy had Audi dispel the barrier. The pink Pokémon dropped the shield out of exhaustion, but the sight that welcomed them did nothing to mend the issue.
Opelucid City had been reduced to a frozen wasteland. The ground, the buildings, everything was covered in a thick layer of ice. Gargantuan icicles decorated the city. The temperature which was once on the warmer side was reduced to a temperature which would not be uncommon to find in the coldest depths of Unova's winter. And worst of all, the townsfolks who were unlucky enough to have been outside and failed to take cover, were frozen solid, with a coating of the same ice marring their skins.
"N-No...!" Yancy gaped in horror. "E-Everyone's...!"
"A-Are they...?" Rosa asked in equal horror.
Nate quickly sent out Bo, who gaped at the frozen hell he was welcomed to. Nate gestured to one of the frozen civilians, where Bo quickly rushed over and ignited his flames to try and defrost them. With some time, the ice slowly melted, and the man covered in ice fell to the ground. Nate rushed over and checked his pulse. To his relief, there was one; albeit faint.
"They're still alive," Nate reported. "But for how long, I don't know."
"I see," Drayden nodded. "Please, save as many as you can!"
"Audi!" Yancy said to the audino. "See if you can help them out with Heal Pulse!"
Audi nodded, before running up to the man Bo had resuscitated and emitted a light pulse over him. Rosa and Hugh also quickly sent out Nina and Magmortar, before ordering them to go thaw out as many people as they can as fast as possible. As they were doing that, Drayden took out his Xtransceiver and quickly contacted the pokécenter's nurse, checking in on the situation over there, before ordering her to get an emergency team out to help the people outside with post haste.
Drayden then looked to the side and examined one of the giant pillars of ice that had formed as a result from Team Plasma's attack. He sent out Druddigon, who shivered uncontrollably upon entering the scene.
"Dragon Tail!" Drayden commanded, pointing to the pillar of ice.
Nodding, Druddigon roared as his tail glowed bright blue and slammed it against the pillar. The attack merely bounced off, catching Druddigon by surprise.
"Not even a scratch?" Drayden asked in disbelief. "Curses..."
Druddigon lowered his head in shame, obviously disappointed in himself for not being able to so much as make a scratch on the pillar.
"No, you did excellent Druddigon," Drayden assured his dragon. "If anything, this just shows that what we are up against is something like never before..."
Drayden glanced over to the others. The emergency team had arrived, before they went over to assist the kids in their revival efforts. As the kids were doing their best to revive everyone who had been caught in ice, Drayden silently lamented at his uselessness in the situation. His Pokémon were not suited for delicate procedures such as thawing out a frozen person without outright killing them, nor did they possess the capabilities to heal them like that pink-haired girl's audino. And not even his strongest effort made a dent to the ice that plagued his beloved city. He could do nothing to save the people of his city, nor the city itself from the hell it was forced to face as they spoke.
"Quite the sight, isn't it?"
Drayden's wrath earned itself a new target, as he glared at the source of the new voice. Everyone stopped what they were doing to spot Zinzolin approaching them from the east.
"You!" Hugh snarled in rage.
"I remember you..." Drayden said, his tone barely containing the anger that radiated from him. "You were from N's Castle..."
"I'm honored that you remember me from back then," Zinzolin replied. "But...this world of ice...it's bitter cold. I'm shivering. I'm suffering. But I'm alive!"
Zinzolin lifted his arms up, gesturing to the frozen city that took up the entirety of everyone's views. "This extreme cold is what the essence of life feels like! It's proof of my very existence!"
"This perverse bastard..." Nate grumbled as he immediately sent our Deo and Luca, not wishing to fall for Zinzolin's Colress Machine trap again.
"Oh, so you seemed to have learned," Zinzolin commented as he moved forward, not flinching in the slightest as his attention was fully directed to Drayden. "As you have noticed, your attacks fell to impunity to the ice. This ice was specially created by our technology; while I have no doubt you can save these poor fools, the ice that encases your town will never melt or break! It is doomed to be confined to the depths of Cocytus!"
Drayden's glare only further augmented from his ever-increasing rage at the Team Plasma member in front of him.
"Now, Drayden...Would you be so kind as to hand over the DNA Splicers?" Zinzolin asked. "Because if you don't, then I assure you what happens next will be far more unforgiving than what I could ever do."
"So you are after the relic..." Drayden growled. "Do you think someone who knows what you did two years ago will just hand them over quietly?"
"Hmph, that's what I thought you'd say," Zinzolin responded. "However..."
At a snap of his fingers, several dozens of Team Plasma grunts, riding on levitating metangs appeared from the skies, presumably from the ship that still hovered above the city. "I do believe you have your work cut out for you this one time," Zinzolin commented.
Without warning, all the metangs aimed at the group and fired off a volley of Flash Cannons.
"Audi, Protect!" Yancy cried out.
Audi dropped what she was doing and summoned yet another large green barrier, this time big enough to protect not only them, but the people of Opelucid from Team Plasma's attack. Once the attack stopped, Audi took down the barrier, where Tornadus and Geno were sent out from Hugh and Rosa, where they immediately bulleted towards the flying army.
"Heat Wave!"
"Flamethrower!"
Tornadus released a huge blast of blazing wind at half of the group, while Geno released a stream of fire from its cannon and the remaining half.
"You've obtained MKI?" Zinzolin asked in genuine shock.
"Their name is Geno!" Rosa shot back as the metang army crashed to the ground.
The Team Plasma grunts got back up from their fall, before sending out their land-based Pokémon to attack them. Luca and Deo charged forward, swatting away the hordes of sevipers and zangeese with a wide swing of their Bone Rush and Secret Sword. Some more who evaded the strike did not relent, where Luca and Deo intercepted them.
"-Boss!-" Bo cried out.
"You all focus on the civilians!" Nate ordered to not only Bo, but to Nina, Magmortar and the emergency team. "We'll take care of this!"
"-R–Right!-" Bo nodded, trusting his trainer and teammates.
As Tornadus and Geno descended down to help out Luca and Deo take on the slew of Team Plasma's Pokémon, Zinzolin merely chuckled at the sight.
"You all handle this," Zinzolin said as he sent out his cryogonal, which wrapped one of its chains around his arm. "I'm heading for the gym."
"Yessir!" some of the grunts responded.
"No!" Drayden cried out as Zinzolin headed for the gym. He recalled Druddigon and sent out his flygon and chased after him.
"Hugh!" Nate yelled at the blue-haired boy. "We'll take care of things here! Go after him!"
"Right!" Hugh nodded as Tornadus flew back down. The boy rode on Tornadus and gave chase to Zinzolin and Drayden.
"Cryogonal, Ice Beam!"
Cryogonal turned around and shot a beam of ice at Drayden and his flygon. The flygon evaded it expertly, before firing off a Flamethrower at the snowflake. The flamethrower connected, shooting down Cryogonal and Zinzolin. The man landed on the ground as Cryogonal crashed to the ground, where Drayden jumped off of his flygon and landed on the ground.
"You will pay for what you did to the city and its people," Drayden growled as he swapped out his flygon for Druddigon.
"How quaint," Zinzolin commented as he sent out Weavile.
"Druddigon, Fire Punch!"
Druddigon's claws burst in flames as he rushed down Weavile. Weavile sharpened his claws, before shooting an Ice Beam at Druddigon. Druddigon punched through the Ice Beam with a Fire Punch, before blocking Weavile's incoming Ice Punch with the other fist.
"Night Slash!" Zinzolin commanded.
"Superpower!" Drayden countered.
Weavile jumped up into the air and fell down with razor-sharp claws, ready to slice down Druddigon. Druddigon blocked the attack with his arms, before powering through and grabbing Weavile by the head and slamming him into the ground. The force was enough to defeat Weavile in one hit, leaving the weasel unconscious on the ground.
"As expected of you, I suppose," Zinzolin commented as he recalled Weavile, while Cryogonal recovered from the blow it received earlier.
"You'll never get the DNA Splicers," Drayden declared. "You'll have to pry it out of my dead body!"
"I'd advise saying things like that," Zinzolin commented. "You just might jinx yourself there."
Cryogonal floated towards Druddigon, putting Drayden and Druddigon on guard. Zinzolin merely smirked, causing Drayden to go in unease.
"LOOK OUT!"
Drayden shot up and looked behind him to see Hugh riding Tornadus, suddenly swooping down and striking another cryogonal that was behind him.
"What!?" Drayden gasped. When did that other cryogonal get there!?
"Tch," Zinzolin clicked his tongue. "Getting in my way..."
"You were planning to take out Druddigon with a sneak attack, huh?" Hugh accused Zinzolin.
"I will take any advantage I need to make the fight more successful," Zinzolin shrugged. "Cryogonal, Blizzard!"
"Tornadus, Heat Wave!"
Cryogonal spewed out a frigid blizzard at Druddigon and Tornadus. Tornadus, in response, unleashed a huge blast of burning wind to counter the Blizzard. The two attack clashed with each other, but Tornadus' strength proved to be stronger, overpowering the Blizzard and consuming Cryogonal in its intense heat.
"Damn...!" Zinzolin muttered as he shielded himself from the Heat Wave. "Such an annoying heat!"
Cryogonal fell down to the ground, unable to battle any further for Zinzolin. Letting out a sigh of frustration, he recalled the two cryogonals.
"I has sent out my other Cryogonal beforehand knowing that you would follow me here," Zinzolin explained. "If the boy hadn't shown up, then this would have had a much different outcome."
"You bastard..." Drayden hissed as he approached Zinzolin, ready to bring the man to justice. "You will face the consequences of all the lives you endangered."
"Unfortunately I'd rather not get arrested just yet," Zinzolin said as he took out a new pokéball, this time releasing an elgyum.
"The hell?" Hugh asked, confused. What would something like that do for him now?
"I'll take my leave now," Zinzolin said. "I know when to fold them, and frankly, I'm starting to have my limits with this cold. But imagine this… A Unova region…completely…covered…in…ice. An even greater Cocytus than this! One ruled by Team Plasma at that! To achieve that splendor, we'll do whatever it takes to obtain the DNA Splicers! Now Teleport, Elgyum! Get me out of here already!"
"Wait–!" Hugh blurted as he made a dash for Zinzolin, but the elgyum acted first, and teleported itself and Zinzolin out of the city. "Damn it!"
In hindsight, Hugh should have seen that one coming. There was no way that weak-looking elgyum could take on both himself and Drayden, so the only other explanation was that it was a means of escape.
"I'm sorry Drayden...I let him escape..." Hugh mumbled dejectedly.
"No worries," Drayden assured him. "In fact I should be thanking you, Hugh. If it were not for your timely intervention, then the outcome would have been much different indeed. For that, I thank you for having my back."
"Ah...no problem," Hugh mumbled, somewhat surprised. "Huh? Wait, how do you know my name? I don't think I've actually introduced myself to you."
"Iris has told me many things about you," Drayden explained.
"You know Iris?" Hugh asked.
"She is my ward, and the previous gym leader of Opelucid," Drayden explained, shocking Hugh. "When she defeated Alder and became the new champion, I took over as the Opelucid gym leader. She thinks very highly of you. You would get nothing but praise every time she speaks about you. And from our gym battle, I can see why. You exude potential, young man."
"W-Well geez thanks..." Hugh mumbled. He had an idea that Iris liked him, but he did not expect that much praise from her; the champion no less. The boy could not help but feel flattered by her and Drayden.
It was there when Hugh's Xtransceiver rang. Hugh answered it to find Nate on the other end.
"Yo, we took care of the grunts," Nate reported in. "They're all retreating back to the damn ship. Everything alright on your end?"
"Yeah, we stopped Zinzolin," Hugh answered. "He ended up getting away though..."
"Eh, don't worry about it too much," Nate told him. "We'll get his ass next time. Stopping him from doing whatever it was he was trying to pull is more important."
"Right..." Hugh nodded, feeling somewhat better.
"Anyways, Rosa and Yancy are helping the rest of the city folk recover," Nate said. "I'm heading over there now."
"Got it," Hugh confirmed before closing the link.
"You're all even better than I had hoped," Drayden said to Hugh. "Thanks to you all, not only did we drive off Team Plasma, but you also saved the people of Opelucid who got caught in their attack. I'm grateful to all of you."
"Anything to help," Hugh smiled.
"Wait here a moment," Drayden told Hugh. "I'll be right back."
Drayden quickly entered the gym for a moment, before rushing out not a moment later.
"Harrumph..." Drayden panted. "That's a new record for making it there and back..."
"That was fast," Hugh commented, before noticing the cloth-covered box in Drayden's hands. "What's that?"
"This is the relic of Kyurem; what Team Plasma was after," Drayden explained as he removed the cloth and opened the box. "These are the DNA Splicers!"
Hugh took a look inside the box. Inside, resting on old leather was a small triangular stake that was mostly gray, black and white, with a smaller, yellow crystal protruding from the top.
"That's the DNA Splicer?" Hugh asked. He could not imagine something so small be the key to unlocking Kyurem's original form; the original dragon of Unova's ancient history.
"Indeed," Drayden nodded. "We were fortunate that we were able to stop Team Plasma from obtaining it."
"Right," Hugh nodded. That was the important part. Without the DNA Splicers, Team Plasma could not restore Kyurem back to his original form. They would be able to stop their plans for sure!
"YOOOO!"
Hugh and Drayden looked ahead to see Nate jumping off from one of the pillars of ice, along with Luca and Deo accompanying him.
"You guys alright?" Nate called out as he jogged up to the duo.
"Nate!" Hugh called out happily. "Yeah we're fine! We were able to protect the DNA Splicers–!"
"So that's where it was."
It happened all of a sudden.
Out of nowhere, an all-too familiar black-garbed man with white hair suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of Hugh, with the all-too familiar figure of a crazed Cobalion, with a sword of energy already brandished. Nate's eyes widened as he cried out a curse and sprinted for the boy, with Luca and Deo doing the same. But there was no way they could make it in time. Without any warning, Cobalion glared at Hugh, before bringing down his Sacred Sword upon the boy.
Hugh did not register what was going on. One second he was staring down one of the Shadow Triad and Cobalion. The next second he found himself being pushed on the ground, which was accompanied by the sound of flesh being teared.
Hugh looked to where he was pushed away from to see Drayden. He had been the one to push Hugh out of the way of Cobalion's strike. Drayden found himself taking Cobalion's Sacred Sword head on; the sword slicing across the man's chest. A huge gash spread itself across the man's body, easily tearing through his clothes and through the muscle that made up his body. Blood spilled out from it as if it was air escaping from a balloon. Drayden did not even let out a scream of pain as he fell to the ground a bloody mess, the DNA Splicers falling out of his hands and into the air. The Shadow Triad grabbed the box out of the air and examined it, noting that the DNA Splicers were still in, completely intact.
"As we suspected..." the man said as he removed the Splicers from the box. "The hiding place was in the gym. Well thought out. If Drayden isn't there, we can't get in. But if he is there, then he would be the strongest guard we could possibly face. That also explains the remodeling. But whatever; none of that is important now."
Drayden fell with a thud, his blood splattering around him, staining his ruined white shirt, and onto Hugh's horrified face.
"No!" Nate cried as he realized he was too late.
"The DNA Splicers..." the Shadow Triad declared, holding the item in his hands. "It is indeed in our hands now."
To be continued
AN: Y'know, I feel like I can actually finish this story before the year ends. Hopefully. Don't hold me to it.
But to wrap it up, plot moves some more, they figure out what Eve's typing does (through trial and error), beat Drayden, learn about the DNA Splicers, Team Plasma freezes Opelucid, and they end up taking the Splicers. Yeah just like the game. Whaddaya mean there weren't any gory cliffhangers?
But I would like to apologize in advance if the Drayden fight seemed underwhelming or anti-climactic compared to the usual battles and in spite of all the hype that was built up around it last chapter. In my defense however, any mono-dragon type fight would be easy if you had a Fairy-type with God knows how many Calm Mind boosts. Drayden could prepare for many things, but he couldn't prepare for something he didn't even know existed until now. In a sense, Rosa and co. lucked out. Had Eve evolved into anything else, then this would have been without a doubt the hardest gym battle yet.
Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Bo (Emboar) / Vire (Electivire) / Brav (Braviary) / Deo (Keldeo) / Zoro (Zoroark)
Rosa: Eve (?) / Ottavia (Samurott) / Nina (Arcanine) / Mandi (Mandibuzz) / Gustav (Amoonguss) / Geno (Genesect)
Hugh: Flygon / Serperior / Magmortar / Carracosta / Heracross / Tornadus-Therian
Yancy: Audi (Audino) / Teddi (Ursaring) / Snor (Snorlax) / Toge (Togekiss)
Next time, they try to stop the Shadow Triad and make their next move!
See ya then! Now to look forward to the Pokemon Direct and E3 season!