Chapter 37

He sat in a substance of some sort. He didn't know what it was. All he knew was that it

was holding him up, and fueling him. Purpose was unknown, but with each fidget or

twitch, he felt more madness forcing itself into him. He couldn't breath. Each time he

tried, the liquid seemed to suffocate him, while at the same time not. He couldn't help but

sit perfectly still. It was a wonder he was still awake. The deep red liquid distorted his

view. He could make out very little past the windowed cage he was in. The only thing he

could watch day in, day out was a gray lump directly across. It seemed to be another

cage: contents unknown. He flexed his fingers, stopping as the tube burrowing its way

into his arm made him feel uncomfortable. His head hung heavily, weary from living. He

unwillingly observed the heavy silver bracelet attached to his arm, before heaving his

eyes back up. He just couldn't be bothered anymore. He wanted to end existence now and

never look back. Closing his eyes, he felt at peace, sweetly floating off into a land that he

had promised to himself, waving good-bye to himself. Darkness set in, and he stopped

feeling the numbness of his limbs. He fell into his last sleep.

"It's gone again! Quick, someone wake it up! Hurry!"

With a burst, the dark faded, and the chamber returned. He would have cried, but he

couldn't. Despair ruled him, lynching him where he stood. He was trapped past life.

------

Ditto howled demonically, hurling its entire body towards Medicham. Without a seconds

thought, the fighter hurled his remaining stone, hurtling straight into Ditto, throwing it to

the ground once more. In a violent scribble, Ditto flung itself around uncontrollably,

pressing itself into a new shape: a new body. It slithered backwards, allowing more space

for movement, chunks of its body bubbling up and exploding, as if boiling. Each bubble

of liquid that escaped Ditto's overall mass dribbled back, sliding over the cracks in the

ground, determined to become whole again.

Ditto squealed painfully, its body growing in size and shape, becoming rounded and

smooth. A stump protruded from its face, forming a neck, extending longer and longer,

reaching up past the heads of the buildings around it, as if pining longingly for the clouds.

Screeching again, two small wing like growths spat out powerfully, flexing and flapping

until their form became solid, the rest of the body still humming into shape rippling

almost hypnotically as a pair of thick clawed arms and feet took their respective places.

"What is it turning into?" admired Setijin, gazing up at the blue throbbing mass.

"It seems that Ditto is ready to try out a more complex shape…" the boss giggled with

delight. He beamed, as his creation grew larger and larger before his very eyes. The lump

squirmed some more, a tail smoothly forming out of the back, thick at the base, thinning

out as it reached the tip. Then the head formed, blue bile layering over itself to reinforce

the overall shape, the forehead largely round, the nose blunting off severely at the end,

that too very spherical in shape. Finally, two thick antenna like limbs slithered out of the

peak of the heads slope, flopping backwards through lack of lift.

Ditto Dragonite roared in a way which no other Dragonite ever had before, a malicious

hiss encasing the loudness, suggesting rage, and lots of it.

"Behold, Dittonite!" the boss introduced, Setijin and the others backing away nervously.

With this, Medicham and Ninjask were called to order by their trainer, Lucia and Winona

introducing their contributions to the fray. Plan one of Setijin's had been obliterated, so

now it was all down to brute force.

Winona's Pelipper and Oddish leaped from their pokéballs alongside Lucia's Staryu and

Minun. Ampharos and Cyndaquil willing stepped forward, the defensive force bracing

themselves for the worst. Watching and waiting, nerves tingling and crumbling like tin

foil, they stood perfectly still, Dittonite dancing around energetically in front of them.

Ditto's interpretation of the legendary dragon was a lot larger in scale than the real thing.

Beating its tiny wings vigorously, it lunged forward, thrashing around with its almighty-

clawed mitts, batting Medicham and Pelipper aside, churning through the corner of the

pack. Pelipper flailed desperately, in an attempt to remain airborne, Medicham simply

twisting himself in mid-flight, skidding comfortably on the floor, flipping back into

action. Without orders, he leapt up, curling a swift kick into Ditto Dragonite's back.

"What exactly did you do to Medicham?" Setijin asked Winona, quickly jerking his neck

back to listen.

"I don't know…I did drop the pokéball on the way there, but other than that…" she

replied.

"Whatever you did, it's made a big difference. I've never seen him so determined." AS

he finished, Winona returned to observing Medicham's assault, quickly spying something

of interest.

"The bracelet!" she exclaimed, pointing up at the mysterious device still strapped to

Medicham's wrist. They watched more, Medicham pummeling his fists and feet into

Dittonite at every given opportunity. He was almost possessed. Medicham finished,

dropping back to the floor, Dittonite following his every move, drawn away from the

crowd. Medicham pranced and flipped effortlessly as Dittonite chased, Lucia calling her

two pokémon up.

"Work together! Hit it with everything you've got!" Obeying her order, Staryu spiraled

into the air, its core shimmering vibrantly with all of the colors under the sun. As quickly

as Staryu had leapt up, the sky's clouded over, the heavens opening and rain proceeded to

torrent down, littering the floor with thousands upon thousands of tiny dead water

soldiers, shattering like glass upon impact. Minun darted forward next, wallowing

gleefully in the rain. The whole area dropped into a thick darkness, as if nighttime, the

veil of water blurring all vision. Hopping around aimlessly Minun's small blue cheeks

fizzled with energy, thick streams of lightning flashing out. The berserk strips of

electricity twisted around each other, the tiny sparks jumping from raindrop to raindrop,

handfuls dancing away before returning to the bulk, the bolts curving towards Dittonite.

Swift and precise in their movement, the threads of electricity drove themselves into the

delicately shaped blob, ripping through its torso, leaving a gaping hole as remembrance,

fading away as it lost the urge to burst any further.

"Great work you two!" Lucia congratulated, her silky brown hair growing dark with wet,

streaming down over her head, sticking to her face. Her clothes dripped, as did Setijin's

and Winona's. Jasmine's dress seemed to be resilient to fall, starched up at the sides, only

her hair damp and baggy.

Dittonite bellowed at the sky once more, struggling as the hole filled itself back in. The

burnt streaks of body gel cooled themselves off, smearing over the gaps in a paler shade,

creating a scar in specs across the mutations back. Setijin stepped backwards, dogging

avidly around each team member, leaning over to Jasmine.

"Get the other two to distract Ditto…I need to get Eevee back…" he whispered. Jasmine

pushed him backwards, causing him to almost trip over Oddish and Cyndaquil.

"Are you nuts? You'll get flattened!" she quietly barked in return.

"You sound so much like Winona when you do that," he replied. "Anyway, its either me

or them."

"That's an unfair decision."

"Please, just trust me!" he begged, Jasmine profusely refusing.

"I want them to be safe as much as you, but you cant just risk your life like that," she

explained. Off in the distance, Medicham was charging once more, leaping into the air

directly at Dittonite's face. The beast simply held up its hands, blocking the attack,

Medicham dropping heavily to the floor. Dittonite waddled forwards, nudging Medicham

over with its gargantuan foot. The fighter struggled to rise, the dragon shape's arms

weaving out into two stretched tentacles.

"He's going to absorb Medicham's energy!" cried Winona, calling Pelipper to action.

Upon her trainers command, Pelipper unleashed a concentrated stream of water towards

the pair, Staryu imitating the sea bird. The first water gun struck the tips of the tentacles,

snapping them off to the side, the second forcing Medicham aside, the pressure of the

attack helping him up. Fumbling back to his feet through a complex series of flips, twists

and hops, Medicham was back on his feet, apparently injured more severely from the

failed attack than first expected. Dittonite stomped forward yet again, Setijin attempting

to return Medicham to his pokéball. The red streak of light simply dissolved as it

barraged into Dittonite's back, Setijin desisting and looking down at the ball. Clasping

tightly, he called to Cyndaquil, and burst off into the center of the battlefield.

"Setijin, don't!" called Jasmine. "You'll be killed!" Obeying his masters command,

determined Cyndaquil forced the flames to ignite on his back, causing the rain beating

down onto him to fizzle away under the sheer roar of heat emanating off. Angling

forwards, the tiny mouse launched a strip of flame past Dittonite and off to the side of the

action, Dittonite flicking his attention away. Rubbing its stomach, the experiment

groggily followed the light, leaving Medicham free to hobble towards Setijin, who was

frantically sprinting towards the fallen Eevee. He skidded on his knees once near the,

scraping away the material of his trousers and grating his legs on the cold, drenched and

filthy floor. He crawled forward, removing his red jacket, wringing out as much moisture

as possible. His black t-shirt stuck to his well structured build, Setijin leaning over to slip

the jacket beneath both Eevee. Adjusting the jacket beneath them like bedding, he twisted

to his side, watching as Medicham feebly staggered towards him. Slowing his approach,

Medicham paused, his eyes growing dim and glazed, his face dripping miserably as the

rain continued its heavy down pour. Medicham seemed to crying, and he didn't know

why.

Setijin stared back, tears wallowing in his eyes. His pointed brown locks had lost their

hold, and were now sagging over his eyes, raindrops streaming down onto his nose, his

face growing red from the biting cold. As he watched, Medicham's face seemed to flare

up with each illuminating blast of flames from Cyndaquil. Grudgingly raising his banded

arm, the fighter appeared to reach out, opening its lips as if pleading. Setijin remained

still, the roar of the fire fading, the drone of the beating rain taking over.

"Help me…"

Setijin's eyes widened in panic. Where had that voice come from? What on earth was

going on? Why was he still sitting in the middle of the mayhem? His sight dissipated and

shone black once again as the words repeated themselves.

"Help me…"

This voice was different from the last one. It was lighter…calmer…but no less sad than

the first. He gazed down at the Eevee resting peacefully in his jacket, the material

staining thanks to the purple puddle they sat in. He cushioned them back onto the floor,

using two pokéballs to return them to safety, slotting said balls back into his pocket. He

turned back to the permissive Medicham, waiting desperately and miserably. His eyes

blurred longingly, stretching his arm closer and closer to Setijin. He nodded in return.

He whipped his hands up, snatching Medicham's arms. With a violent tug, the

mechanical bracelet was removed, shattering as it hit the floor, the fighter collapsing in a

heap.

"Medicham…"Setijin whispered sweetly, closing his eyes as he hugged his partner.

Surroundings faded and Setijin felt…happy.

"Setijin!" the rest of the group cried, pokémon screaming in their own unique ways.

Setijin remained still with Medicham as Dittonite tilted its head forwards, its mouth

gathering energy into a small ball.

"Hyper beam…" Lucia whimpered, calling out to Setijin again. The ball grew into a

cone, spitting with power. As it charged, the sky sparkled with a blinding light, Dittonite

concentrating on its present state. With a twitch and a roar, the cone erupted into a beam,

spiraling down at Setijin and Medicham. Drilling into the ground, the whole town shook

with an almighty rumble, a terrific explosion lighting up the whole area. Shards of energy

spurted away from impact, fizzling out in the rain. The dust kicked up fell from damp,

splinters of rock stopped flying forcefully and Dittonite stepped backwards from the

smoldering crater.