Ch.27
Closing the Loop
Pokemon is the property of its respective owners
"Druddigon, end this now!" Delia demanded as this battle proved to be a bit of a challenge at first, but it quickly became boring once she realized what Gardenia was up to.
Gardenia's pokemon were fast and her strategy was based all around speed and using the sun to power up her pokemon was a good strategy. If they were having a race then Delia would concede defeat, but this was a battle and she wouldn't give up so easily. Delia started by ordering Druddigon to take out all the lights in the area causing the battlefield to go dark, but the sunlight still illuminated a small part of the field and recalled Catherine telling her that Gardenia seemed to be terrified when she mistook Luka for a ghost type, so she decided to use that to her advantage. She ordered Druddigon to use revenge and scary face causing the cave dwelling dragon to be enveloped in demonic purplish-crimson aura that petrified the gym leader and caused her to go still as she was too terrified to give an order.
"(What's wrong, you're not afraid of the dark right?)" Druddigon asked his foe in a disturbed, contorted voice that sounded like three people talking after one another and played along with Delia's strategy causing Cherubi to whimper and cover its face with its petal.
Druddigon ended the battle with a hard punch straight in the face that knocked out his foe and sent it skidding back to its trainer's feet causing Gardenia to shakily raise a hand and recall her fallen pokemon.
"I…I may be scared, but that doesn't mean I'll admit defeat!" Gardenia shouted passionately as Delia stared back at her stoically while Druddigon awaited his next foe with the same blank expression as his trainer.
"Roserade, come on out!" Gardenia shouted as the elegant grass type materialized on the field and did a small, polite bow until she saw her foe causing her to unconsciously take a step back in fear.
"Roserade, I know you're scared, I am too, but we can do this!" Gardenia assured her pokemon who nodded and stepped forward with a determined expression while Druddigon brought his fists up and clenched them tightly.
"Roserade, get into that small patch of light and use weather ball!" Gardenia shouted hurriedly as her pokemon did just that while Druddigon slowly stalked towards it with his crimson eyes piercing through the darkness and staring straight at his foe.
Roserade fired the attack and it collided with Druddigon in a burst of scorching fire and just as Gardenia breathed a sigh of relief, sharp claws emerged through the smoke cloud and brushed it aside as Druddigon continued to stalk towards Roserade menacingly.
"Roserade, grass knot!" Gardenia yelled desperately as Druddigon's feet were entangled in a mesh of thick vines causing him to stop in his tracks and slowly start to hack away at them with his claws causing Gardenia to smirk.
"Roserade, magical leaf!" the gym leader boomed as Roserade summoned legions of sharp leaves and flung them at the immobile dragon who opened his maw and fired pulse of draconic energy at the leaves which burnt them all to cinders.
The beam continued to rush towards the shocked grass type who gave a loud shout of pain when the attacked collided with her and sent her sailing back until she righted herself and landed on her feet. Druddigon had since freed himself from the vines and once again stalked towards his opponent while Gardenia tried to think of a plan to win the battle.
"Roserade, use your speed to your advantage; fire off weather balls and move around him so he can't reach you!" Gardenia ordered as her pokemon complied and speed around her slower foe while firing off attacks powered by the weather while Druddigon knelt down and crossed his arms in an x to shield himself from the attacks while silently waiting for his chance to strike.
Delia eyes glowed crimson as she silently observed Roserade's hit and run tactics and then smirked; Roserade was developing a pattern in her movements and she relayed this to Druddigon by using her honed powers.
"She's going to stop right in front of you in a few seconds to fire another attack. Use that moment to rush her and end this match," Delia ordered Druddigon who continued to withstand the attacks until Roserade stopped right in front of him and began charging her attack, but Druddigon took the moment to speed towards his foe and slashed Roserade across the chest causing it to howl in pain and collapsed on its back.
"Roserade is unable to battle which means the challenger is the winner," the referee decreed as he walked off to try to repair the lights while Delia hugged Druddigon and thanked him for his efforts while she patiently waited for Gardenia to recall Roserade and give her the badge.
Gardenia recollected herself and approached Delia with a wary gaze as she fished the badge out of her pocket and gently handed it to her causing the battle ace to take it and give a polite bow in respect which the gym leader returned. Delia returned Druddigon to his pokeball and proceeded to walk out of the gym with one of her hands in her pockets while casting Gardenia a backwards wave as the gym leader shook her head and folded her arms.
"That girl, there's something not right with her," Gardenia muttered contemplatively as she saw Delia's crimson eyes track Roserade like a predator during the match and studying for weaknesses.
Later
After getting her team healed, Delia decided to recruit another pokemon to her team and faintly recalled how well that magikarp had taken her offer. Pushing that thought aside, she walked into the forest and observed the many forest dwelling pokemon going about their lives, but she took a particular interest in a Buneary that showed incredible striking and jumping skills and Delia decided she wanted to recruit this being into her team.
"Hello there, I'm sorry to interrupt your training session, but is it okay if I may ask you something?" Delia politely asked Buneary who was hiding up in a tree while folding its ears around its body for protection.
"(What is it human? It's not like you can understand me anyway,)" Buneary responded shakily as Delia put up her hands in an attempt to put the bunny pokemon at ease while inwardly pitying the pokemon she was trying to reason with; her body language around her showed that she must have had a bad experience with humans.
"Buneary, I understand that your previous experience with humans make it difficult to trust another one, but please hear me out. After that, you can flee from here and I will not pursue you or you may stay after you've heard my proposition," Delia said coolly as she tried very hard not to break the fragile, thin trust that Buneary was showing her by not immediately running off when she started to speak.
"(O..o-okay, I'll hear what you have to say,)" Buneary replied meekly as she still remained on the tree and clung to it for dear life, but her shaking stopped somewhat so that was a start.
"Buneary, I'm a pokemon trainer and as such I'm in need of pokemon who show great promise and I believe you're one of them judging by your training session. If you wish to come with me, know that my training will grueling and arduous, but you will become far stronger than you would if you stayed in the wild. I'm no slave driver; you will be treated with respect and love throughout the course of our journey if you decide to join me. The choice is yours Buneary," Delia finished as Buneary considered what Delia said carefully as her grip on the tree relaxed a little.
After her previous trainer had been attacked by another trainer for beating her, she had fled into the forest and struggled to make a new life for herself in the wild. She barely managed to live by scrounging up berries, but having to compete with bigger and stronger pokemon like Ursaring was proving to be a challenge. Even so, could she trust another human after that girl nearly killed her first trainer just for beating her in a match? She made an exception for her first trainer because he was kind and nice to her; never berating or yelling at her for losing, but offering suggestions on how she could improve and telling her to keep doing things she did right in a match.
"(Alright, I'll come with you, but can I please stay out of those pokeball things?)" Buneary said timidly as she slowly climbed down the tree and walked up to Delia tentatively while the much larger human knelt down and unclipped a pokeball from her belt.
"Of course, but I need you to be in the pokeball for a little bit so that way you can be on my team. After that, you may stay outside of the pokeball as long as you wish," Delia stated as Buneary timidly nodded which caused Delia to gently tap the pokeball to the bunny's forehead which sucked her in and started rumbling.
The moment it stopped, Delia released Buneary onto the grass and watched her shiver violently causing the battle ace to pull the bunny pokemon into a hug in an attempt to comfort her which caused Buneary to go stiff in her grip, but slowly returned Delia's hug.
"I'm sorry if this was too soon Buneary, but I have friends who don't like being in their pokeballs too so I know what it's like to be released from it," Delia comforted her new teammate whose ears perked up at what Delia said.
"(Friends; you have pokemon that are your friends?)" Buneary repeated confusedly as Delia nodded in confirmation.
"Yeah, the pokemon who're on my team are my friends and family, but the friends I speak of are on another team and they don't like to be in their pokeball's either," Delia finished firmly as Buneary cracked a small smile and jumped onto her shoulder causing the battle ace to gently pet her head and walk back to the pokemon center.
After they got there, Delia decided to go to the practice field where some other trainers were currently having a battle and walked to a separate part of the field and released the rest of her team who eyed the pokemon on Delia's shoulder intently.
"Guys, I would like to introduce to you your new teammate Buneary. Please make her feel welcome," Delia addressed her team as Delia gently set Buneary on the ground and scooted her towards the large, intimidating dragons, but the bunny scurried behind Delia's legs and dropped her ears over her face.
Dragonite, ever the cheery one, happily bounded forward and extended his claw to the little pokemon who tentatively took it into her tiny paw and shook it nervously.
"(I'm Dragonite and I'm very happy to have you here on this team!)" Dragonite boomed merrily causing Buneary to squeak and hide further behind Delia's leg.
Druddigon stepped forward next and knelt down next to Buneary and slowly extended his claw causing Buneary to close her eyes, but opened them when she felt her head being tenderly scratched and looked up at Druddigon who had a sheepish smile on his face.
"(I'm Druddigon; it's nice to have you on board and I hope we can get along,)" Druddigon spoke softly as Buneary managed a small smile and nodded and slowly stepped away from Delia's leg.
"(I'm Haxorus; if Delia chose you to join us that means you show great promise and Delia can unlock it for you if you're willing to put in the hard work. As long as you work your ass off for your team, for yourself, and for Delia, we'll get along fine,)" Haxorus told Buneary gruffly causing her to once again hide behind Delia's leg and tentatively nodded at the axe jaw pokemon.
Delia shot a death glare at Haxorus who put up his claws and backed off which finally left Hydreigon who barked at Buneary causing her to tightly wrap her arms around Delia's leg and tremble causing the battle ace to scoop her up and cradle her in her arms. Delia cooed at Buneary softly and wiped away her tears with her finger causing the bunny pokemon to wrap her ears around Delia's wrist tightly and hold it close to her for protection while glowering darkly at Hydreigon causing him to click confusedly before bowing his head in shame for what he did.
"Buneary, if it's okay with you, would you mind showing me the moves you know?" Delia asked Buneary who looked up at her and nodded causing Delia to gently set her on the ground and Buneary suddenly felt all eyes on her.
Buneary took in a deep breath and let it back out as she bent her knees and jumped high up in the air in the same position she started in causing Delia to smirk.
"That's an impressive splash attack Buneary; show me what else you got," Delia thought interestedly as Buneary zipped around the field like a streak of white light which caused Delia and Dragonite to look at one another and crack a grin; Buneary was showing very impressive speed, but Haxorus thought otherwise as he yawned lowly.
Buneary's ears glowed a shining white and thrusted them outward violently as if she were striking a foe causing Druddigon to tap his chin and study the tiny pokemon intently as Buneary jumped forward and extended her leg causing Delia to nod in approval. Buneary's eyes suddenly shined a light blue and focused her gaze on Delia who waved at her causing Buneary to blush and wave back while Hydreigon snorted at the display, but watched the little pokemon go at it. Buneary then shielded her body with her tiny arms and wrapped her ears around her head as if she was trying to withstand something and then wrapped herself into a ball causing Delia to chuckle and kneel down next to Buneary.
Buneary uncurled herself and stared up at Delia with a cheeky smile as Delia reached out and gently patted her head with a stoic expression on her face.
"(How'd I do?)" Buneary asked excitedly as Delia managed a small smile and gave her newest teammate a thumbs-up causing Buneary to cheer excitedly and bounce in place.
Gesturing to her shoulder, Buneary leaped onto it and gripped the side of Delia's head so she wouldn't fall off as Delia returned the remainder of her team to their pokeballs and began walking back to her room while noting that the trainers who were battling had stopped their battle and were talking to each other on the sidelines.
"What do you say Buneary; do you want a quick practice battle to get you accustomed to the battling style I employ?" Delia asked Buneary curiously as the bunny pokemon stared determinedly at the trainers before looking back at Delia and giving her a thumbs-up as Delia nodded back at her and approached the two trainers confidently.
Meanwhile
"Wow mom, it sounds like you had quite a day. I'm glad you're okay, but are you sure that letting the Swords of Justice live was the best choice? I mean, by what you said, it sounds like they're going to go on a murdering spree killing any and all trainers," Dmitri concernedly told his mom as he heard her sigh on the other line before she started speaking again.
"I know Dmitri; it was stupid of me to think that they would reform after what Cobalion said and if any trainer got hurt because of them I would never forgive myself. Now that Stephanie and the others are back at full health, we're going to put a stop to this," Karen responded determinedly as Dmitri sighed and looked away from the device as Maris put a paw on his shoulder and gripped it firmly.
"I understand mom; I hope you and Stephanie will be okay and I sincerely wish it didn't have to come to this," Dmitri replied solemnly as Karen sighed on the other line and responded in a tired, serious voice.
"Me too sweetie; I'll give them one chance to stop what they're doing and if they don't take it, then they sealed their fate," Karen stated remorsefully as she tried to sound happy for the news she was going to tell him.
"Dmitri, a package should be arriving for you any minute now and it contains a new teammate for you; a pokemon that should help you take a step in coming to terms on what happened that regrettable day," Karen told her son comfortingly as Dmitri thanked her for what she did as a minor struggle could be heard on Karen's line as Stephanie spoke into the pokegear.
"(Dmitri, look, your new teammate may come as a shock to you, but you need to give her a chance. Since I know Maris is listening too…look I'll stop calling you ragamuffin okay? I realize that must have hurt you every time I said it so I'm sorry about that. You guys watch each other's backs out there and just in case something happens during our second fight, know that I'm proud of both of you. Tell Delia I said hi,)" Stephanie concluded sincerely as Dmitri heard Karen whisper to Stephanie before talking to him again.
"Dmitri, I researched Catherine Wayne so I know about her past and her Lucario's past and I just want to say that…I'm glad someone like her and her Lucario is traveling with you," Karen strained to get out as Dmitri thanked her while the former champion wiped off some sweat from her forehead.
"Well Dmitri, I'd better get going. Time to put an end to this," Karen stated solemnly as she hung up the pokegear leaving causing Dmitri to sigh and ran his hand through his dark hair.
"(Geez, to think I use to look up to those guys; there no better than those Team Plasma creeps Karen took down a few years ago,)" Maris mused offhandedly as Dmitri nodded in agreement and laid down on the bed.
A sudden knock at his door caused Dmitri to jolt and sit upright as he made his way to the door and slowly opened it to reveal a delivery man with a small, box like package.
"Dmitri Long?" the deliveryman stated bluntly as the battle ace nodded and handed the man his pokedex for verification.
"I.D. checks out; here you go," the man said dully as he practically shoved the box into Dmitri's hands while the battle ace managed a smile despite the rudeness this man was showing.
"Thank you, have a nice day," Dmitri said calmly as the man was already walking away the moment the battle ace took the package causing Maris to lean against the wall and fold her arms.
"(What a nice guy,)" Maris sarcastically stated as Sparkplug growled in agreement and bit on Dmitri's pant leg and dragged him back into the room.
Dmitri hopped on one foot to maintain his balance until the electric lioness released him causing him to sit down on the bed and looked at the small, brown box when he opened it, he found a pokeball and small note on the side so he took both out and examined them.
Dear Dmitri,
I know what happened back in the forest all those years ago was terrifying, but it's time to move on son. Here's a pokemon that will help you do just that and help you get on with your life.
P.S. I got my old team back together and we'll be waiting for you stronger than ever at the end of your journey so you'd better be ready or you'll be crushed. Love mom
"Thanks for the confidence booster mom; it really helped," Dmitri laughed softly as he flung the pokeball onto the floor and what materialized in the white light startled him and caused his breath to hitch, but he remained calm and slowly knelt down next to his new teammate.
"Hi there, I'm Dmitri, this is Maris, and that's Sparkplug. What's your name?" Dmitri tentatively asked the spiky, tire like pokemon who clicked and screeched lowly causing the boy to smile and nod.
"Kiera huh; I like that name and now that you're part of my team I hope we get to know each other better," Dmitri said kindly as Kiera rolled back and forth and grunted frantically causing Dmitri to nod and put his hands in his pockets.
"Okay, I'll prove that I'm worthy to train you first by having a battle. Sparkplug, are you ready to go?" Dmitri asked his feline friend who snarled in determination and crouched down as if she was on the hunt.
Dmitri opened the door to his room and led the pokemon to the practice field where he saw Delia having a practice match against another trainer with a…Buneary? Shrugging, he found an open space big enough for a battle and gestured to the opposite sides of the field to Sparkplug and Kiera as the lioness took her place on the right and glared at her foe while Kiera wheeled over to the left and stared blankly at Sparkplug.
"Sparkplug, start this off with shockwave," Dmitri ordered as the lioness complied and fired a quick stream of lightning at Kiera who grunted when the attack made contact and cried out when she was suddenly struck by Sparkplug's tail which caused her to roll backwards.
Sparkplug suddenly glowed purple for a brief moment causing Dmitri to narrow his eyes as the feline pokemon continued her assault on Kiera only for the tire like pokemon to bring up a green dome of energy causing Sparkplug to grit her teeth as she tried in vain to penetrate it. Poisonous, sharp spikes suddenly materialized around Sparkplug causing her to widen her eyes and roll to the side just as the spikes thrusted towards and jutted into the ground. Sparkplug coughed and tried to maintain her balance as the world suddenly became blurry causing Dmitri to put a hand to his chin as he wracked his brain for a solution.
"Sparkplug, shockwave once more!" Dmitri shouted as the feline complied and shot her foe with a sudden burst of electricity causing the bug type to click in surprise and shut her eyes tightly as if she was trying to block off the pain.
Sparkplug hacked once again as she struggled to stay on her feet causing Dmitri to clench his teeth as he told Sparkplug to move in on Kiera while she was immobile. Sparkplug did just that and slowly advanced upon her foe while keeping up her stream of electricity and as she entered striking distance she spun around and attempted to strike Kiera with her metallic tail. The nimble bug type rolled backwards to avoid it and smashed right into Sparkplug causing her to cry out in pain and Dmitri saw Sparkplug get knocked to the side where she struggled to get back onto her feet only for Kiera to ram into her like a bowling ball causing the lioness to give a low shout of pain as she collapsed on the ground once more.
This continued on for a while as Sparkplug continued to try to stand only to be knocked back onto the ground by Kiera as Dmitri thought of a strategy that might help Sparkplug win.
"Sparkplug, I know it's hard to focus right now, but when she gets near you, hit her with an iron tail," Dmitri yelled as Sparkplug nodded and saw Kiera speeding towards her like a runaway train and just as Kiera nearly ran her over, she spun to the side and narrowly avoided the attack.
Sparkplug slammed her tail right onto Kiera's eye causing the bug type to let out an inhuman screech as she wobbled around unsteadily due to the attack and then fell onto her side, unable to roll like a tire anymore. Sparkplug took a deep breathe in and tiredly collapsed onto her belly as Dmitri administered an antidote and a super potion onto her wounds causing Sparkplug to snarl and clench her teeth, but knew this would help her so she put up with it. Dmitri then approached Kiera and gently applied a super potion onto her wounds causing the bug type to grunt in displeasure, but let him do it as she saw her foe's wounds heal because of the strange device. Once he was done, Dmitri helped her get upright so she could properly roll forward and back as Maris and Sparkplug approached them and expectantly started at the bug type.
"So Kiera, would you like to join my team?" Dmitri asked the bug type curiously as he held out a standard red and white pokeball to his potential new partner.
Kiera answered by rolling into the pokeball causing the device to suck her in a flash of red light causing Maris and Sparkplug to raise a brow and watched as the pokeball stopped rumbling after only just one shake causing Dmitri to grin and release Kiera back onto the field.
"Thank you Kiera; I promise I will treat you well and help you get stronger and in return I hope you can help me learn more about myself and get strong too," Dmitri told the bug type who looked up at him blankly before rolling back and forth slowly as Maris folded her arms and stared down at the bug type while Sparkplug warily approached her new teammate and nuzzled her.
Kiera didn't seem to object as she closed her eyes and leaned into the lioness's touch causing Dmitri to grin at the display while a small smile formed on Maris's lips as they watched their teammates cuddling with each other. Out of the corner of his eye, Dmitri saw Catherine approaching him with an elated smile on her face as Luka was trying and failing to keep a grin off of her face as the former heiress happily skipped towards him humming a tune while Floatzel, Graveler, and a pokemon that Dmitri didn't recognize followed close behind.
"I take the tour of the city went well," Dmitri observed as Catherine vigorously nodded with a wide grin on her face as the unknown pokemon stared up at Dmitri intently before shifting its gaze back to Catherine causing her to bop her head and put her hands on the unknown pokemon's shoulder.
"Dmitri, Maris, Sparkplug, Dmitri's pokemon whose name I do not know, this is Kricketune and he's my newest teammate to join Team Catherine. Look what he can do!" Catherine gushed excitedly as she urged her pokemon to do the thing that caught the former heiress's interest and to Dmitri's and Maris's amusement, the cricket started beatboxing.
Catherine started dancing along to the beat much to Luka's embarrassment as she looked away and put a paw to her face while shaking her head. Floatzel and Graveler looked at one another and shrugged as they made their way over to Catherine and started dancing along with their trainer causing Luka to blush heavily while Maris grew a smirk on her face and stared at Luka with a smug stare.
"(Fuck you sis,)" Luka breathed out softly as Maris shrugged and grabbed Dmitri's wrist as she dragged him over to where Catherine was and started dancing along with her causing Luka to grow a mortified expression on her face and huff irritably.
"What's going on here?" Delia asked with a small snicker as Luka shook her head and turned her back to the spectacle until she felt something grab her wrist and pull her towards the crowd of pokemon dancing.
"C'mon Luka, dance with me!" Catherine yelled happily as she wrapped one arm around Luka's waist and gripped the other one and extended it outwards causing Luka to flush red and look away while Maris laughed her ass off.
Delia shrugged and released her team and grinned at their reactions as they all were perplexed by the scene in front of them except for Dragonite who eagerly joined in causing Druddigon to grin a little and join him.
"What about you two, don't you want to get in on the fun?" Delia asked Haxorus and Hydreigon causing the two of them to snort in disdain and look away.
"(I'd rather not look like a buffoon Delia,)" Haxorus grunted as he folded his arms and shook his head at his teammate's idiocy while Hydreigon held a similar sentiment and just watched them all dance with a small scowl on his face, but when he saw some trainer's recording it on their pokegears with evil grins on their faces, he destroyed their devices with a blast of flames causing all of the offending trainers to run for the hills.
Delia suddenly felt something tugging at her pant leg and saw Buneary shifting her gaze from the dancing pokemon and back to her causing Delia to smile a little and allowed herself to be dragged over to her crowd of friends by the small pokemon who eagerly hopped in place. Delia smiled a little and began her own little awkward jig consisting of brief head and limb movements which caused Buneary to giggle and tried to mimic Delia's dance movements as the battle ace knew she was a bad dancer, but she tried to make all her pokemon happy so she went along with it. Maris had her arms wrapped around Dmitri's waist from behind and pulled him closer to her so her chest was pressing against his back causing Dmitri to chuckle as the two began moving their hips in sync with the beat.
Hydreigon looked at Haxorus and clicked bluntly as he floated over to where Delia was and began moving his arms in what he assumed to be dance movements causing Delia to chuckle and rub his head while Haxorus sighed and eventually joined in; not wanting to be the odd one standing off to the side not joining in on the fun. Kricketune's beat changed to a slow, melodic tune causing most of the pokemon with partners to slow dance with them as Sparkplug stood up on her hind legs and placed her front ones on Kiera's shell as they both moved forward and back at the melodic tune while Luka and Maris changed dance partners at Luka's insistence. Hydreigon was slow dancing with Haxorus as neither would look the other in the eye while Delia awkwardly squatted as she gripped Buneary's tiny hands and slow danced with her.
"(Dmitri?)" Luka whispered causing Dmitri to look up at her with a confused, expectant gaze while the aura pokemon slowly pulled him closer to her chest while being mindful of the chest spike.
"Yeah?" Dmitri replied as he saw Maris's eye twitching angrily at how close Luka was holding Dmitri so he waved at her to ease some of the tension causing her to smile and wave back.
"(Thank you for letting Catherine finally be herself,)" Luka gratefully stated as Kricketune finished up his wondrous song and took a small bow as the entire crowd of pokemon clapped and cheered for him as Delia took out her pokegear and played an upbeat song causing the dancing to start anew as Kricketune began dancing with his teammates.
Dmitri grinned at the aura pokemon who rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile back as she twirled him around and sent him careening right back into Maris causing the martial arts pokemon to send Catherine stumbling towards Luka with a gentle shove. Maris and Dmitri chuckled as Catherine accidently sent both Luka and herself falling to the ground as Luka glared at her friend, but put up with it as she picked Catherine back up and resumed dancing with her while Dmitri and Maris did this as well.
"You know what Maris?"
"(What?)"
"Even though this dance party came out of nowhere, I really like it. We all need a moment just to have fun and knowing Delia, that battle she had with Ash is still on her mind so maybe this will help her.
"(Delia will let it go eventually and move on Dmitri, but this will definitely help her take her mind off of it and I agree that we all needed a moment to just goof off and have fun.)"
"I'm worried about Mom and Stephanie though."
"(Don't be; we both know how strong Stephanie is and Karen can handle herself. She learns from her mistakes so don't flipping worry you dork.)"
"I guess you're right."
"(Of course I am; now let's just enjoy this while it lasts.)"
Meanwhile
Stephanie huffed and puffed as she tried to catch her breath and spat violently when some blood got on her lips. Though the grass snake couldn't see the liquid, she was sure was covered from head to tail in the life giving substance as her lips quivered and allowed a single tear to flow down her face as she pitifully looked at the mangled body of Cobalion littered with nasty, brutal gashes and bruises. Upon further inspection, Stephanie knew the big, nasty wound that seemed to sink in on the legendary's head finally caused Cobalion's life to end causing Stephanie to close her eyes tightly and shake her head in pity as Cobalion's face was permanently stuck in one of horror and shock causing Stephanie to gently close her eyelids with her vines.
"(I truly wish there was another way, but you left me no choice,)" Stephanie lamented somberly as she continued to look down at the corpse of her dead foe until the communication device Karen gave her started to ring causing the floral serpent to use her vines to pick it up from behind the bush.
"(…It's done,)" Stephanie tersely stated causing Karen to sigh deeply as if she was in distress.
"Terrakion genuinely seemed remorseful of her actions and even apologized to us, but she said she was bound by honor to follow Cobalion's orders to the end. Rhyperior…made it quick," Karen struggled to get out as Stephanie sighed and scoped out the landscape for a moment before returning her attention back to the evice.
"(I know, I'm covered in the stuff right now and I haven't found Keldeo yet. Call me when you get close to home,)" Stephanie said bluntly as she hung up and was about to slither away until the crunching of leaves caused her to stop in her tracks and slowly turned her head to look back at whoever made the noise and narrowed her eyes at the offending being.
"(Will you continue Cobalion's vendetta against pokemon trainers Keldeo?)" Stephanie hissed viciously as she sharpened her tail to a razor's edge and advanced upon the helpless pokemon who backed up in fear until he hit a tree causing him to look up at the imposing python as she pressed her blade against his neck and glared at him darkly; daring him to try to move.
"(You won't get away with this powerful one; I'll start the Swords of Justice anew and we'll hunt you down,)" Keldeo defiantly grunted as Stephanie made a little cut across his neck causing him to gasp as blood dripped down the blade and onto the ground.
"(I'll give you one chance Keldeo; stop Cobalion's ignorant quest of revenge and I'll let you live,)" Stephanie stated calmly as the legendary pokemon glared at her, but seemed to contemplate his enemy's words carefully.
After what seemed like an eternity, Keldeo nodded just the slightest bit causing Stephanie to snort and release her hold on Keldeo causing him to suck in some air and try to calm his nerves after the life-threatening situation. Stephanie turned her back to Keldeo and began slithering away and tensed her muscles, expecting a surprise attack, but it didn't come which surprised the grass snake. Turning her blood caked face back to Keldeo, she nodded in respect and Keldeo returned the sentiment while Stephanie watched him walk away into the bushes to parts unknown. Letting out a giant sigh of relief, Stephanie blasted a massive hole in the earth with a sphere of nature's energy and gently placed Cobalion's body into it and began the process of piling dirt on top of it with narrowed eyes.
Stephanie, wanting to clean herself of the blood, encased her tail in a swirling vortex of water and ran it down her whole body which cleaned off the blood and caused it to drip onto the ground. Stephanie thought back to the battle she had with Cobalion and frowned as she finished cleaning herself and stared down at the ground deep in thought.
"(You were too damn slow Steph; pick your game up girl,)" Stephanie scolded herself as she picked up the pokegear with one of her vines and began slithering back to Karen's house until a sudden increase in wind caused her to frown and think which of the legendaries decided to come.
She knew the Kami trio would probably be heading over to where Karen was, but Kyurem and Genesect were still battered from the battle hours ago so they would likely be out of commission for a while. Victini and Meleotta probably sensed Cobalion's passing and were most likely heading over here, but none of them could cause this intense increase in wind. The only candidates were…
Without looking back, Stephanie addressed the newcomers with barely hid disdain.
"(So, you guys finally decided to show up huh? Did you bring your heroes with you?)"