Oak looked over the data again. There was simply no mistaking it. The glitch on Bronze's Pokedex data was on all the other Pokedex's as well. The same dark, undefined mass existed on all the devices.

Yanese had pored over the code, and had discovered that the error appeared only right after the Battle of Anthien City. The devices seemed to have picked up on a unidentified entity, although what it was Oak could not understand why.

Rowan had spoke his view on the matter. "We must understand, Cypress is not totally under his own free will. Perhaps a Pokémon indwelt him, and the Pokedex's picked up on it. This sort of possession has happened before, such as with the Red and Blue orbs, or with certain Pokémon. When we defeat this menace, we will be able to get to the bottom of whatever this anomaly is."

Oak booted down the servers, and grabbed a cup of coffee. Just as he was about to take a sip, a few researchers burst in, along with a Pokémon Ranger. "What is this?" Oak barked. "I hope you have a good reason for interrupting me!" The researchers were still panting. "Sir, sorry, sir, we have some news you will like to hear." The ranger stepped forward, at attention.

"Greetings, Professor. I am Ranger Bryon of Fiore, sir. I encountered a few Eclipse solders on the trail of Deoxys Organism No.2, and I subsequently repelled them. Although they escaped on advanced speeders, I was able to triangulate the position of the escape route with the other ones we rangers have encountered, and have determined, with Professor Elm's assistance, that Team Eclipse's headquarters is located somewhere in the Aborille Mountains on Crescent Island."

Oak immediately shook the Rangers hand, beaming. "What rank are you, Ranger Bryon?" Bryon was still shaking Oak's hand. "Sergeant Second Class, sir." Oak let go of the mans hand, and slapped him on the back. "Well, Ranger, you are promoted to Ranger Captain. If your superiors have a problem with that, tell them to take it up with me! You have done a great service to the Pokémon Association!"

The Ranger saluted, and left with the other researchers. Oak immediately phoned the Chairman. "We have a breakthrough! Get all our patrols to the Aborille Mountains! If we find the base, we will destroy the core of Team Eclipse!" Oak also called the other researchers, the Commissioner, and the other regional Chairmen. He then sent a message through the Pokedexes to notify their bearers.

Oak swiveled in his chair, realizing that this war could be over soon. Of course, Cypress would have to stand trial, despite Oak simply wanting to throw him into a dark cell forever. The other members of Team Eclipse would not be hard to deal with, except for that sorcerer, Emrett. Oak assumed that he would have to be restrained with Pokémon specialized for the task.

And, there was the Pokedex Holder Bronze. He had been selected due to his intelligence and skill, even though no one as old as him had ever received a Pokedex. Oak saw that he had skills that could be described as similar to Green, or possibly Red. He also seemed to have great expertise with items, but that could be said of Emerald or Moon. And Jake...it seemed that he had turned to the darkness. Perhaps that was part of Cypress's plan in selecting Jake to bear a Pokedex.

Oak was concerned about Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald as well. After the confrontation at the Draconid village, they had gone off to find Rayquaza. Oak expected them to return within a day or two, as Rayquaza couldn't be too hard to find. However, they and Zinnia had not contacted him for over four days, and their Pokedexs seemed to be malfunctioning, preventing Oak from being able to trace their location.

Oak put aside his fears, and continued to analyze a few Elekid markings. After another half-hour, Oak felt his head start to hurt, as if something was trying to enter his mind. Oak resisted this possible psychic attack, and he was met with a vision of Cypress shrouded in darkness, with a massive, winged shape behind him.

The shape behind Cypress spoke through its puppet to Oak. "Foolish man...the last thing you shall see will be my power overcoming the One's. Do not think you can defeat me so easily." Oak strained at the pain. "I know what you are! Get out of my head!"

The shape did seem to diminish, but it still spoke. "Do you? I know that your knowledge of me is quite limited. You will see all my power and greatness very soon! As a man of science, you avoid fighting wars on the spiritual plane, as I do as well as the physical."

Oak was gaining ground in pushing the form out of his mind. "Magic is simply a illusion! I will not fall for your lies about you commanding spirits, and demons! Your sorcery is simple trickery!" The shape was almost gone. "I will leave now, Son of Earth. But keep in mind, I thank your ignorance. Denying my authority only gives me power. Perhaps you will not be so doubtful when the world is desecrated. The image erupted into darkness, and Oak was again in his right mind.

"Blast!" Oak said. "He got into my head! I'll should be taking precautions now..." Oak stumbled over to a old shelf, and mulled out some earplugs that seemed to be made of silk. Putting them in, Oak felt the residual stress melt away. "Perfect..." he muttered. "Medicham silk ought to keep him out."

Oak relaxed, trying to purge the memory of the demon from his mind.

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Bronze and Tess waited for the formers opening in the entrance of the Frostville Gym, watching the participants come in and out. It should be only another half hour, even though the usually wait for his slot was over half a day. Perhaps that was because so many people left almost as soon as they started. As far as Bronze knew, only one person had even completed the puzzle and fought Zephan, and then lost.

Bronze was puzzled why, as he could only watch the battles, not the puzzle. What he did know, was that almost everyone came out either near fainting or vomiting. Bronze had asked one contestant what had frightened him so much, and he simply replied with, "reality." and then ran out of the Gym.

The suspenseful minutes ticked by, and eventually Bronze's turn rolled around. As Bronze walked got up, waved goodbye to a concerned looking Tess, and walked through the double doors into pitch blackness.

Bronze then was in a small, comfortable room. Turning around, Bronze expected to see some horror, but was meet with Gym Leader Zephan sitting in an armchair, a pale, dark-haired man with a uncanny resemblance to Grimsley.

"Welcome, contestant. I believe your name is Bronze, no?" Zephan said, in a surprisingly oily voice.

Bronze was confused. "What is this place? Aren't I supposed to do the puzzle?"

Zephan shushed him. "Please, listen. This Gym's puzzle is not anything you have encountered, as I see you have beaten all the Gyms south of Frostville. I do use Dark-types to fight, but I am quite skilled in the training of Psychic and Ghost-types as well. The simple goal in this puzzle is to escape, whatever obstacle or fear may manifest."

"Wait, so you have made random obstacles? Then why are people so afraid when they come out?"

Zephan had not smiled at all, and continued his lecture. "The entire complex as a incredibly advanced illusion, aided by actual physical obstacles. The dangers that you see will be a manifestation of your fear, whatever form it may take. Be warned, strength of body will not aid you whatsoever in this challenge. What you see is almost certainly not a basis of reality, as the subconscious works in unpredictable ways. As I said, the illusion will have a certain way to escape, but you will need to control your emotions. Do you confirm your agreement to the risks of this challenge?"

"Yes," Bronze replied.

Zephan still stared. "Very well. To begin, please step through that doorway." A doorway appeared on a wall, into complete blackness so thick it seemed to be a solid surface. Bronze looked at the gaunt Gym Leader again, before jumping with all his might into the portal.

Bronze felt him falling for a split second, and then he hit the ground with a 'oof.' Bronze opened his eyes, and found himself in a spartan bedroom, with a bed with brown sheets, and two more doors to his back and left. Bronze turned and opened the door behind him, and saw a very long hallway with identical doors all along its walls, with one black door to the end. Bronze had his suspicions, and closed the door to venture into the other door.

Inside was a clean bathroom with only a single sink, without any toilet or shower. Bronze raised an eyebrow, and turned back to the bedroom.

What Bronze did not expect was the bedroom to be completely blue. The bed was blue. The floor was blue. The ceiling, walls, the door, everything was blue. Bronze was disoriented, and decided that this was just another trick of the illusion. He blinked, and walked out into the main hallway, which was also blue.

Bronze heard thumping noises behind him, and suddenly the room became very dark, with a red glare coming from somewhere. Some words materialized infront of him, simply saying: Run.

And Bronze did run. The thumping behind him was now laughing and screaming. Even worse, it was getting louder, and the hallway was getting longer. Sometimes the command to run appeared again, but more and more frantic, becoming distorted. The doors along the hallway opened, and people popped their heads out, but they had no faces, and Bronze ran even faster.

The noise behind him was getting to a fever pitch, and then Bronze slowed down. What was he doing? This was clearly a illusion. His brain was telling him to see what it wanted to see.

"This isn't real." Bronze muttered, as he started walking backwards as fast as he could.

Bronze fell into darkness, and then was inside a small laboratory control room. He heard Zephan talking from somewhere, congratulating him on his success. "Very good, Bronze. First illusion escaped from! If you had kept running, you would have eventually collapsed from exhaustion, and would have asked to leave. Fear of distortion is what I would base that vision on...anyway, onto the next test."

The laboratory still remained, and Bronze simply wandered around, trying to figure out what was going on here. A door led to a room full of Poke Balls, and Bronze picked on up and opened one. Of course, there wasn't a Pokémon inside. Bronze then heard some scuffling, and turned to see a concrete room with a clear window before him. Bronze saw that the door behind him was also gone.

Bronze decided to look through the window, and saw a testing chamber almost completely identical to the one he was in, except that this one had a door in the right corner. Two faceless guards forced a man with a hood into the room, and set him down in a chair, restrained. The faceless men left the room, and as Bronze blinked, the hood disappeared to reveal none other than Cypress.

"Hello, Bronze, surprised to see me here? WELL, THINK AGAIN! Be careful, Bronze. I am at the bottom of a large black hole. I didn't ask for those clothes! What large Caterpie... You dread me...facing me...you are a slave to what has power over you!" Cypress broke the restraints and started pounding on the glass. "The took my head of and stuffed a new one on, it's fine. JAKE MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE, NYAHHHH! Mad, you call me? WHY THANK YOU, SIR! It's not fair, it's not fair. They say you get used to the heat...Goodbye, hello, YOU BRAT! HAHAHAHA!"

Cypress was frothing now, and seemed to be about to break the glass. Bronze sized his foe up, and simply said, "You are not real."

Cypress screamed, and melted into nothing. Bronze then fell through a hole that appeared in the floor, and found himself in a spacious lounge. Zephan was once again speaking from somewhere. "Well done! Fear of insanity in a foe, it seems. That is a bit rare, to be afraid of something so specific like that. You simply had to reject that he was real. Next test!"

Bronze blinked, and saw that there were suddenly many people in the lounge, laughing and chatting. Bronze recognized them as the Pokedex Holders, many Gym Leaders, Professors, Team Eclipse admins, many others, and even Jake, Tess and his parents.

Bronze was shocked to see his parents after so long. "Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?"

Bronze's mom came to see him, and smiled. "What a grown boy! This is what things could be, and what you could make! Isn't it great? Everyone is happy! You did it yourself, too!"

Bronze smiled stupidly, and saw that his father was talking to someone who Bronze couldn't quite make out. Bronzes' father saw him, and grinned at the person he was talking to. "And this is my son! I thank you for giving him such a great responsibility, he carried it out perfectly."

The person turned, and Bronze saw that it was Cypress once again.

"Ah, hello Bronze! You made good use of the Pokedex. Thank you, for your successful dismantling of Team Eclipse. It is all over now, you might as well enjoy yourself. Your father was just telling me about the time in which he ran into a nest of Diglett while searching for artifacts! It's really quite a tale." Bronze shook his head, and then saw that Tess and Jake were waving at him to come over.

Jake beamed. "Thank you, Bronze! With you becoming Rorian Champion, me and Tess are glad that we could share in some of the credit for supporting you!" Bronze was getting nervous. "Jake, how did you get out of Team Eclipse? I thought you believed in Cypress!"

Jake was puzzled. "What do you mean? I never joined Team Eclipse. You convinced me not to at the Logarian Ruins, and then we cleared Cypress's mind together!"

Bronze realized what was happening. This was what he could have done, not what was real. "Stop! Stop! This is all a lie!" He pointed at Jake. "You are in Team Eclipse!" Then he pointed to his parents. "You've been kidnapped! This is fake! It's just a illusion."

Bronze noticed that everyone was looking at him, glaring. Even Yellow seemed judgmental. But Bronze wouldn't stop. He looked straight at Cypress., and yelled. "And you, I know that you are evil! You are a traitor to this world, and everyone in it! I know that you would never come to someplace as pleasant as here, ever! Even if you did, your very presence would ruin the place!"

The room was getting very dark, and everyone's eyes seemed to be gleaming with hate.

A strong wind pulled up, and blurring out everyone with dust, except Cypress. He was now in his Eclipse uniform, eyes glowing red. He drew his flaming blade, and rushed forward, ready to cleave Bronze in two. Bronze closed his eyes, saying over and over again, "It's not real, it's not real."

The blade fell with a scream, and then everything was silent.

Bronze opened his eyes, and saw Zephan standing in a arena. "Looks like you beat the tests. Get ready to fight me." Bronze was still skeptical. Some things seemed off, as one side of the arena was larger than another, and Zephan only had one Poké Ball.

"Hey, wait, something's off here. Why are you-" Bronze only just managed to dodge the spinning blade that Zephan threw. The Gym Leader was screaming. "Fight me! Fight me! COWARD!" Bronze ran, zigzagging, trying to confuse Zephan shots.

Bronze realized what he had to do. He ducked, dove for a blade, and threw it with expert precision at Zephans chest. The illusion vanished with the blade sinking in, and there was the actual Zephan, in the real arena, smiling for the first time.

"Amazing! You hardly reacted with fear whatsoever. The last one was pretty fun for me. Most people assume that there will be three illusions, not four. Then they let their guard down, and my Pokémon create a illusion out of violation of normalcy. A Gym Leader simply doesn't attack people!"

"And for the one before that, I think you are afraid that you can't help everyone in the world. Let go. You can't save everyone. Thinking you can may lead to you doing things in the name of good that you would consider unthinkable. Do not be tempted by a false future."

Bronze nodded, and tried to cut to the point. "Okay, battle time? Please? My Pokémon saw the illusions through their Poke Balls and are a bit confused." Zephan laughed, and agreed. "I will be using three Pokémon, and for your sake, I will not be using any attack that induce illusions. You already came through that challenge. Alright, Standard battle, single-item, three Pokémon, berries allowed. Go, Umbreon!"

Bronze sent out Magnezone, and the two Pokémon circled in the arena center. Zephan gave Bronze wry smile, and reached for a switch near his side of the arena wall. "I may have forgotten to mention the last condition for this battle. Let the dark wash over you!" Zephan pulled the switch, and the arena was plunged into complete night.

"These are the rules of my Gym, you see. The dark teaches a very powerful lesson. 'Thou shalt be warned if thou stare into the uttermost depths of the Abyss, for the Abyss stares back unto thee.' When fighting monsters, do not also become one...it also saves on the electric bill."

Bronze grimaced. "Magnezone, put your lights on! Looks like you have the advantage now, huh?" Zephan was talking from somewhere. "Don't be so sure. Your Pokémon should have night eyes, even if you don't think so. The real challenge is simply to navigate in the dark. This, and the past test, is what makes this Gym the hardest in Roria! Umbreon, Shadow Sneak!"

Magnezone swerved around with its lights, trying to pierce the blackness for the approaching attack, but Umbreon slashed it from below. Umbreon escaped before Magnezone could counterattack. Umbreon melted into shadow, ready for another attack.

Magnezone used Flash, temporarily blinding everyone. The Umbreon was forced out of shadow form, and Magnezone locked on to the enemy's staggering form, and blasted it with a deadly Charge Beam. The Umbreon smashed into the arena edge, unconscious.

Zephan sent out some another Pokémon, but Bronze couldn't see what it was. "Magnezone, find it! Use Flash again!" Magnezone attempted to use Flash, but it didn't seem to work. Another Pokemon rushed at Magnezone, who had thrown its flood lights at the sudden motion.

Bronze could see that it was a Zoroark, but this knowledge was far too late to stop the Baneful Fox from hitting Magnezone with a flurry of unexpected punches, before finishing it off with Flamethrower.

Zephan laughed from the darkness. "My Zoroark used Grudge on the Flash move before, and Will' o' Wisp as well before it attacked. Your Magneton didn't stand a chance!" Bronze grinned. "Don't be so sure that you are going to beat me! Charizard, go!" Bronze sent out Charizard, who immediately lit the arena ablaze with burst of fire, quenching the darkness.

Bronze could now see the entire battlefield, and also Zoroark straining from the heat. Charizard use Air Cutter, but the enemy dodged, and jumped onto Charizard's back, slashing and cutting. Charizard turned over, and flew straight down, crushing Zoroark to the ground. Charizard whipped around and used Iron Tail, throwing the Pokémon away. Zoroark managed to hit Charizard with a Sludge Bomb, but Charizard doused the Pokémon in flames one last time.

Zephan called back his fainted Pokémon, and sent out Honchkrow. Bronze noticed that Charizard seemed to be a little shaky, and realized that it was steaming. Poison, from that Sludge Bomb, Bronze thought. The trainer tossed a Pecha berry to his Pokemon, but it was slammed down by some iron material. Zephan smiled. "I don't think your Charizard is any condition to fight. You could use your berry as a item to heal it, but my Honchkrow Embargoed it. One to one!"

Bronze called back the fainting Charizard and sent out Onyx. The rock snake curled threateningly around the arena, ready for a battle.

Honchkrow darted around Onyx, although it didn't seem to be actually attacking it. Rather, it was goading the rock snake around, while also blasting torrents of air at the arena floor.

Bronze figured out what it was doing only when it was already done. Onyx was being slightly harmed by the enlarged flames, but also crushing them under its body. The stadium was being shrouded in darkness once again. Bronze couldn't make out what was happening as the enemy bird flew around and around.

"Onyx! Keep using Rock Tomb, and you'll weaken it!" Onyx spouted piles of flying stones, which went every way. Sometimes, a squawk could be heard, signaling a successful hit. Eventually, though, Onyx was nearly as exhausted as Honchkrow from continuously using its most powerful move. The bird kept ramming into Onyx again and again, and the rock snake continued smashing it to the side, expending energy at a rapid rate.

Onyx finally rested on one side of the dark arena, while Honchkrow, flapped wearily on the other. Zephan and Bronze yelled their commands at the exact same time.

"Onyx, Headbutt!"

"Honchkrow, Giga Impact!"

The two Pokémon raced at each other with deadly force, and with a blast of energy, both Pokémon fell to the ground, fainted. It was a draw.

The lights came on again, and Zephan and Bronze simply stared.

Zephan broke the silence with the sound of his footsteps. "Bronze, I have never actually been faced with this situation before. The Rorian Gym Challenge is quite new, and I am at a impasse. Normally, with a draw, the Gym Leader claims victory. But, seeing that you have actually completed the trial of illusions in record time, I am motivated to give you the badge. But this simply could be due to a relative lack of contenders..."

Zephan scratched his head for a moment, and then his face lit up. "I have a compromise. I will give you one half of the Contrast Badge, and then I will come with you on a certain task I need to complete with another strong trainer. Upon completion of the task, I will give you the other half. How does that sound?"

Bronze though it sounded reasonable, although he was skeptical about the task. "Okay, I'll go along with it." Zephan smiled and presented the Contrast Badge. Instead of giving it to Bronze, Zephan finely cut it in two with a small plasma knife, and gave him the dark side of the badge. Bronze took it, and attached the half-badge to his bag.

"Alright, what could you possibly be doing around here that you need my help with?" Zephan slapped him on the back. "Come on, Bronze. We'll talk about it when we get out of the Gym. Your girlfriend is waiting, anyway."

The voice of Bronze went very low and dangerous, so much that Zephan was alarmed.

"Listen, buddy...say what you will about me, but know this: Tess. Is. Not. My. Girlfriend. My only romances are with books, and my girlfriend is knowledge. Got it? I treat Tess as my sister. I have passed through evil and death, and I am not going to bandy petty words with a ignorant worm! If you think otherwise, I think I will introduce you to my friend, a concrete floor. Maybe I'll also have you meet my other buddy, the charged fists of a Electivire. How does that sound?"

"Hey, I was just messing around." Zephan said. "If you are serious about it, just tell me." Dang, that kid can get intense. Reading can certainly have interesting effects...

Zephan sent out a Sableye, and it created a portal straight to the Gym entrance. The people on the other side looked with surprise to see the Gym Leader and contestant come out, and Tess got up and ran to meet him.

"Bronze, uh, what happened at the end of that battle? Both your Pokémon fainted, but you...have half a badge? Why?"

Bronze felt a bit overwhelmed by the whole event. "I'll get the other half to the badge if I help Zephan with something. I still don't know what, though."

Zephan glowered at something, a abnormal change in mood from his jovial post-battle personality. Bronze turned to see what he was looking at, and saw Grimsley walking through the doors.

Grimsley spotted the three, and waved. "Bronze! I see you have met my brother!"