Assault on Jubilife Village!
There wasn't any further word on frenzied nobles just yet but Kamado wanted to keep Zach close at hand in case Adaman or Irida came seeking their aid, so he allowed the newly formed couple to seize the day and enjoy each other's company! Professor Laventon even backed out from their usual breakfast gathering to allow them to spend the entire day together with nobody else or any interruptions!
Akari let out a sigh of content as she sat next to Zach on the sandy shores of Prelude Beach, her head resting upon his shoulder while his left arm wrapped around her. Their Pokemon laid nearby but kept to themselves with Luxray and Gabite keeping watch over Piplup, Quilava and Goomy to ensure the three didn't get up to any trouble.
"This is nice..." Akari breathed out.
"Yeah..." The two stared into each other's eyes for a moment before pressing their lips against the other's as they met in a kiss. After enjoying some time at the beach, the two decided to go on a walk in the forest just outside of the village. The two remained rather close while holding each other's hands.
Akari leaned her head against her boyfriend's shoulder once more as they walked along the forest trail, feeling immense pleasure from spending time with him and for the first time in her life she felt whole! It brought her even more pleasure envisioning what the future held in store for them, she could see children that resembled Arezu and Rei playing with children that resembled Zach and herself! She let out a sigh of content while Zach affectionately stroked her long blue hair. Luxray followed after them, he was the only Pokemon outside of their ball and was a means of ensuring that nothing would sneak up on them! Zach may have quelled Kleavor's frenzy but there were still alpha Pokemon about that could be trouble, thankfully that wasn't the case as they managed to spend the entire day together with little interruption, wrapping it up with a meal at Beni's before Akari helped move Zach's stuff into her dorm. The two ended the day snuggled up in bed with their Pokemon laying in various positions throughout the dorm.
"I love you Zach..." Akari breathed while nestling her head against his neck.
"I love you too Akari," Zach breathed softly while holding her within his arms. The two smiled and closed their eyes as sleep began to take them.
"Close the gate, close the gate!" An injured guardsman shouted as he limped towards town. "Close the gate, danger's coming!"
"Danger?" Kamado scoffed as he turned to look at the gate. He stayed up late while discussing some important matters with his close friend Beni and had been on his way back to his own dorm when the shouting got his attention. "I won't let whatever it is destroy the town, keep the gates open! I'll face the Pokemon myself!"
"It's not a Pokemon, it's a hu-maaaaan!" The guardsman screamed as a blue glow surrounded his body, sending him flying towards the sky above before he disappeared in a twinkle of light!
"Human? Bah, you're talking to the strongest person in town both physically and when it comes to Pokemon battles! I dare this punk to try something!" Kamado flexed his muscles while giving a challenging stare towards the hooded figure that could be seen approaching the town. "Face me you coward!" Kamado didn't even flench as the individual raised a hand causing the two guardsmen alongside Kamado to choke as they were lifted into the air before being tossed aside, landing in motionless slumps next to the gate.
"You don't want to mess with a Psychic old man, I'm here to destroy the Skyguy's loved ones and based on what I see inside of you... that's not you."
"Of course not, the lad's nothing but a tool!" Though he didn't appear to mean those words, it was clear that ending him would have no effect on Zach's emotions. Shade scoffed as his eyes began turning a bright shade of blue, Kamado felt himself being lifted off the ground but he was able to break free of the grasp long enough to grab hold of a Pokeball!
"Snorlax!" The large Normal type came bursting from the ball before promptly body slamming Shade, crushing his body against the ground!
"Ack!"
"Heh, stay there..." Kamado crossed his arms as he gave the figure a defiant look. "If he means to threaten my villagers then I say put an end to him as long as I'm still conscious there will be no slaying of innocents!"
"META!" A blue blur blasted out of the bushes as Metagross performed a Meteor Mash attack upon Snorlax, blasting the large Pokemon off his trainer and sending the Normal type flying into the village!
"Snorlax!" The Normal type cried out as he came crashing straight through the roof belonging to Cyllene. Cyrus uttered out a terrified shock upon nearly getting crushed but he was quick to collect himself, getting dressed up before rushing on out to investigate. Upon seeing Kamado engaged in conflict with a mysterious hooded individual and their Metagross he wasted no time in rushing forward to give Kamado's Clefable, Metagross weren't discovered in Hisui at the time so he wasn't aware of the disadvantage, some much needed support!
"Gyarados!"
"GYA!" Gyarados fired off a familiar orange-yellow energy beam at Metagross, knocking him back while Clefable performed a long lingering kiss on the metallic Pokemon that appeared to drain his energy. However much to Kamado and Cyllene's shock, Metagross didn't appear to be the least bit affected by their attacks!
"Heh, Metagross let the hate flow through your body so we can show them the power of hatred!"
"META!" A shadowy aura surrounded Metagross' body as his metallic blue skin turned a dark shade of purple, the x upon his forehead was now glowing a fiery red-orange color while his eyes were even redder than before! "META!"
"What the...?!" Cyllene stood visibly stunned by the sight as he'd never seen nor heard of anything like this! The Shadow Lugia incident occurring years after his own disappearance.
"What witchcraft is this?!" Kamado exclaimed.
"Bullet Punch!" Metagross blasted forward, striking both Clefable and Gyarados with his shadowy arms which proceeded to take both of them out on the spot! Gyarados and Clefable laid in defeated slumps before their trainers, Cyllene was still too stunned to move but Kamado was rather brave and bold as he immediately reached for two Pokeballs.
"Right then, Braviary and Go-AGH!" Kamado was sent crashing straight through the city wall, the direct impact with his head made him fall into an unconscious state. Shade's eyes reverted back to their usual purple color as he turned to face Cyllene.
"I wonder, what is your relationship to him?" Shade slyly smirked as he began scanning Cyllene's mind. Cyrus gasped and quickly clenched his fists, having taken training during his early days to resist the control of Psychic's as they were still around in the present day as evident by Sabrina just very rare to come across. But even still, he didn't want to just give away his plans to the first person or Pokemon to read his mind! "Heh, resilient... what are you hiding?" Shade narrowed his eyes.
Crash!
Zach and Akari shot awake as a distant crashing sound could be heard.
"W-What was that...?" Akari couldn't help but shake as she had a bad feeling about this.
Zach masked his concerns and forced a reassuring smile as he planted a quick kiss on her cheek. "I'll check it out, you stay here. It could just be a Hoothoot crashing against a window..."
Akari flashed her boyfriend a grateful look before tilting her head with a curious expression as she watched him getting dressed. "What's a Hoothoot..?" She couldn't help but ask as he raced out the door.
Zach closed the door to their dorm and shot a quick look around for the potential source of the disturbance before spotting a Snorlax laying atop a crushed dorm. He tilted his head before rushing to investigate and upon getting closer he heard the familiar sounds of a Pokemon battle wrapping up.
"Trouble, let's go Luxray!"
"Lux!"
Luxray raced down the street alongside his trainer as they went to investigate the source of the disturbance.
"Hm if you won't tell me then that must mean you're trying to protect something or rather someone! I'm guessing you must be his mother figure or a mentor?" Shade smirked.
Cyllene went pale as Metagross began charging up an attack without further word from his trainer, it appeared Cyrus would finally meet his end. Either he let himself get killed and spare the universe from potentially getting destroyed or he lets Shade read his mind and learn all about the future, which would most certainly create a space-time rift capable of ripping the universe apart! Cyrus clenched his fists as he tried determining which option to choose.
"Discharge!"
"LUX!" Multiple bolts of blue electricity came flying out of the village, striking the Shadow Metagross and delivering quite the electrical shock to his body!
"M-Meta..."
"Huh?" Cyllene's eyes widened as she turned her gaze towards the inner village, shock and awe visible upon her face as she saw the fellow time traveler saved her despite the fact they weren't close in the slightest!
"You!" Shade growled, a blue glow surrounded Cyllene's body as she was quickly tossed aside by Metagross. "I should have expected you'd come out to face me, that won't be a problem though. If I can't find the person you love most then I'll simply kill the Pokemon you hold dearest!" Thankfully Rei was currently out of the village otherwise he'd likely have ran out and gotten himself killed by now. Laventon was simply a deep sleeper, oblivious to the going on outside of his sleeping quarters.
"K-Kill my loved ones...? But I've never seen you in my life!" Even if he could remember him, he sure wouldn't recognize Shade due to him resembling Sabrina rather than having grey hair and eyes. While Shade wouldn't remember Zach in the future because he still had his eyes and wasn't reliant on his psychic powers to see the world around him like he was in the future.
"That may be true but you've been interfering in my master's plans for far too long, I have strict orders not to kill you or your Pokemon... but I'm sure that he'll let it slide if I simply destroy the one you most hold dear and I know exactly which one that is!"
"Lux..." Luxray snarled out as he got into a defensive position. The lion's fangs turned a fiery shade of red as he rushed forward to sink his teeth into Metagross but the Psychic type froze him in place and tossed him aside before he could even get close! Luxray went crashing into Zach's former dorm before landing in a slump beside the plates which Zach had unintentionally left behind. "Lux..." Luxray groaned, his eyes reduced to swirls as miniature Torchic ran around his head.
"H-How could you even know which one I'm closest to?!" Zach couldn't help but shake from nerves at how fast Luxray had been dispatched, after Gabite Luxray was the strongest Pokemon on the team! However he soon got his answer as Quilava's ball levitated right off of his belt before bursting open!
"Quilava...?" Quilava looked up at her trainer with a questionable look as he wondered what was going on.
"Quilava use Flame Wheel quick!"
"Quilava!" Quilava encased her body in flame as she curled up into a ball and began spinning in place before rocketing across the field, slamming her body up against Shadow Metagross! Metagross groaned out before his eyes shot a bright blue color, a similar blue glow surrounded Quilava as she began choking before a snapping sound could be heard as her lifeless form fell to the ground!
"Quilava!" Zach felt his heart shatter as life left Quilava's body, his spirit crushed as tears began to fall while he dropped to his knees.
"GAB!" Gabite roared out as he burst from his Pokeball in a furious rage, the Dragon promptly blasted Metagross with a powerful stream of fire causing the Pseudo to utter out an enraged cry as it lashed forward with a bullet punch! Gabite swiftly flew up to dodge before raising his arms as sandy grains started spiraling around his body before catching fire as he unleashed the attack upon Metagross!
"Meta!" Metagross grunted out from pain, his eyes shot a bright blue color as he tried freezing the alpha in place but Dartrix was quick to come soaring in from the village!
"Hooot!" Dartrix slammed his body against Metagross, stopping the attack before Gabite could get hurt but unfortunately for Dartrix he wasn't so lucky! Metagross uttered an enraged cry as he delivered a powerful punch, sending Dartrix flying back into the city before a thud sounded in the distance!
"Hoot..." Dartrix's eyes started to spiral as he swayed back and forth upon reaching the ground. He quickly shook it off before taking a deep breath as he watched Gabite engaged in heated combat with Metagross once more, strong as the alpha was he wouldn't be able to take Metagross on alone especially with their trainer's crushed spirits! Dartrix let out a shout as a bright blue glow surrounded his body, his body stretched out until he came to about his trainer's shoulder in height while his body began morphing into that of a Decidueye however his upper feathers were a darker shade of brown and even contained red ones around the scruff of his neck and rather than an archer hood, red feathers aligned atop his head in the shape of an ancient Hisuian hat not unlike those worn by the guardsmen!
"Hoot!" A sphere of aura charged between his wings and flew towards the distracted Metagross, nailing him in the back of the head!
"M-Meta...?" Metagross turned to see who fired at him only to receive another shot from behind as Gabite unleashed another Flamethrower upon him! Metagross snarled before turning around, striking Gabite's stomach with Bullet Punch! Gabite let out a groan as he collapsed to his side, swirls formed within his eyes while much like Luxray and Kamado before him he was left alone.
"Huh?!" Shade was momentarily stunned by the sight of the newly evolved Decidueye. "I thought you were archers... but whatever, foolish move becoming a Fighting type against me! Metagross use Psychic!"
"Hoot!" A golden-orange glow surrounded Decidueye as he shot across the village before throwing himself at Metagross, slamming his body up against him! Metagross let out a pained grunt as he was pushed back, both Pseudo and trainer unaware of what was going on beside them as Zach's tears began splashing on top of Quilava's body. A bright purple flame soon engulfed Quilava's body causing Zach to let out a shout while falling onto his back though he oddly didn't find himself affected by the flame, the flames that were on a Pokemon's back wouldn't hurt those it loved after all!
"Q-Quilava...?"
Quilava rose to her feet as her light blue fur shed away, being replaced by a dark purple shade while her head and tail flames disappeared and in it's place formed a long fiery purple-red flame! The newly evolved Pokemon leered at Metagross while offering it a mocking smirk.
"What?!" Shade exclaimed.
"T-Typhlosion... y-you came back?" Zach's body shook while a smile was quick to form across his face!
"Your love for each other brought her back, she won't let you down!"
"Phlo!" Typhlosion let out a fierce cry before attacking without command, utilizing an attack that Zach never saw before as several ghostly flames flew from her fiery mane and surrounded Metagross before closing in on him, delivering a powerful fiery blow to his body!
Decidueye meanwhile fired up an array of arrows and sent them flying towards his target with a fierce kick, piercing Metagross' skin as the Shadow Pokemon unleashed an unholy wail! The shadows began slinking away from his body before fully dispersing as they evaporated into the air!
"N-No! Nononono!" Shade clasped his hands against his cheeks as a look of terror filled his eyes. "Y-You can't have... No!" Shade snarled. "I knew he was strong but I certainly didn't expect him to actually best Metagross, once somebody with a pure heart beats a Shadow Pokemon they lose the ability to Shadowize forever! How was I to know that stupid Quilava would come back from the dead?! Master is going to kill me when he finds out Metagross can't do that anymore..."
"Way to go Typhlosion, you too Decidueye! You were both amazing out there!" Zach praised the Hisuian starter Pokemon. Typhlosion and Decidueye let out pleasant cries while Shade gritted his teeth, his eyes glowed bright blue as he began scanning Zach's mind.
"Yes... now I know... Alakazam, I need you!"
"Ala!" An Alakazam suddenly appeared, teleporting Shade away before a loud scream rang out from within the inner half of the village!
"Akari!" Zach quickly turned around with a fearful expression before bolting into the village as fast as he could, Decidueye and Typhlosion raced alongside him while Gabite and Luxray slowly got back to their feet to follow! "Akari!"
"Zach!"
As he neared their home, Shade stepped on out, one arm wrapped around Akari's stomach as he held her close to him while in his other hand laid a knife. A sadistic grin appeared on the man's face as he began moving the knife forward before slashing it across Akari's throat!
"Akari!" Zach quickly raced towards his girlfriend as Shade dropped her, his hand instantly pressed against her neck while he began tearing off part of his robe to try and help stop the bleeding.
"LUX!" Luxray let out an enraged shout, baring his fiery fangs as he lunged towards Shade with the intent of ending him. Gabite opened his mouth as he rushed forward, wanting to do the same while Decidueye fired off an arrow of fires and Typhlosion blasted him with fire. Shade remained rather calm however as Alakazam sent the Pokemon and their attacks flying back with a singular Psychic attack! Luxray, Gabite, Typhlosion and Decidueye all flew through the air in slow motion before landing in defeated slumps.
"GOOMY!" Goomy burst out and bravely lunged towards Shade as he turned to take his leave, Shade glanced out of the corner of his eye and scoffed before delivering a light punch to Goomy, knocking the sludge across to street where he'd lay in a defeated slump beside the others.
"Akari..." Zach cried as he attempted to stop the bleeding but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't! Akari tearfully looked up at her boyfriend and smiled at him, one hand reached up to caress his cheek one last time while the other rested on his hand, wanting the man she loved to be both the last thing she saw and touched. "Don't go Akari, I'm not sure I can go on without you!"
"Zach, I'm so sorry... I know it's not fair, the two of us just got together and had our entire lives ahead of us..." Akari breathed, uttering out a light grunt as she moved up in an attempt to give him one last kiss but she wasn't able to move enough. Zach saw what she was trying to do and moved forward to press his lips against hers, Akari moaned into the kiss as she returned it before pulling away as she felt the last of her breath leaving her.
"B-But for... what it's worth, today was the best day of my life!"
"M-Mine too..." Zach sniffed, his gazed locked with hers as he didn't dare break away from her. "I love you Akari..."
"I love you too Zach, I always will... I'll be.. waiting for you..." Akari's eyes lost their color as she fell limp in his arms, Zach buried his head against her as he began shedding waterfalls of tears. Unable to pursue her killer as he was left completely broken.
Shade smirked to himself as he looked back before taking note of the plates that laid within Zach's destroyed dorm. His eyes lit up as he shot a quick look back before looking towards Zach who was too busy crying to notice, while his Pokemon were all unconscious!
"Alakazam, take those to our master immediately!"
"Ala!" Alakazam picked up the plates before teleporting away. Shade was about to continue walking out when he noticed a familiar figure walking into town.
"You! I thought that I killed you?!"
"I got better, Raichu use Thunderbolt!"
"Rai rai!" Raichu's cheeks crackled with electricity before sending an electrical blast towards the Psychic!
"Hypno, Slowbro!" Shade was quick to act as he threw a series of Pokeballs forward.
Slowbro's eyes glowed a bright blue as he locked Raichu's attack in place while Hypno began to swing his pendulum in a hypnotic fashion. Satoshi and Raichu tried resisting but soon found themselves falling asleep.
"Heh, all too easy!"
"Metronome!"
"Huh?!" Shade exclaimed before crying out as Mai's Snorlax slammed onto the ground in front of him, waking Satoshi and Raichu back up as Snorlax's fingers wagged back and forth before the Normal type uttered out a loud roar as a large purple beam that matched the time distortion rifts came firing from Snorlax's mouth! Hypno and Slowbro immediately fell into an unconscious state while Shade shielded his eyes and let out a pained shout as his hair turned to a white shade, the color soon leaving his eyes as the attack turned him into an old man! "I-I can't see! I can't see! W-What did you do to me?!"
"Weavile!" Satoshi's Weavile suddenly appeared behind Shade, smacking the back of the Psychic's head to knock him unconscious.
"Ugh..." Shade groaned as he landed against the ground in a defeated slump.
"That was Roar of Time, an attack Almighty Sinnoh is said to have utilized in times of old!" Mai exclaimed.
"Huh... well whatever it is, I'm not sure that I'd have made it if it weren't for you so thanks." Satoshi offered Mai an appreciative gaze. Mai couldn't help but blush as she gazed back at him.
"Rai rai!" Raichu's tail flicked as he glanced towards the direction of Prelude Beach.
"So I guess the three of you will be heading back to Kanto now?" Mai asked with a saddened look.
"Right you are, I'd love to stay but I can only hold him in my possession for so long. We've constructed a prison deep within the Kanto region where he'll never escape and be forced to live the rest of his days from within, he'll never get out!"
Mai bit her lip as she gazed towards her feet before looking up at Satoshi. "D-Do you think there's room for one more on that boat?"
Satoshi's cheeks turned a bright shade of red before giving her a quick nod. "I'd love that, though you'd have to either catch Snorlax or leave him behind. There's nothing man made that Pokemon won't sink."
"Heh, no problem! I'm sure that Snorlax won't mind a bit of enclosure if it means my happiness being fulfilled." Mai nervously rubbed her arm before giving Satoshi a quick kiss which the aura trainer returned, the two didn't keep at it for long though as they soon broke apart to drag Shade off to their boat.
Adaman and Irida placed their hand on Zach's shoulder as they stood in front of Akari's gravesite the following morning, neither were exactly close to her but they came to show her their respect while also being there for Zach as he was there when they needed him. Rei had his hands buried in his hands as he mourned his cousin while Arezu softly rubbed his shoulder and held his hand as she gazed towards the grave with a saddened expression. The entire village had shown to pay their respects to her as both her and Zach helped make it a lively place to be.
A mixture of emotions could be visible on Kamado's face as he leered towards Zach. 'That monster came from him, all those guardsmen, those civilians, Akari... they'd all be alive if he didn't reside here!'
Zach was rather silent, having not uttered a word since Akari had passed.
"Zach do you have any final words...?" Irida questioned her friend.
Zach sniffled and stared at the gravesite for a moment as if he were about to say something before bursting into tears once more as Irida and Adaman gave each other a look of concern.
A few days had passed since the funeral and true enough, he appeared to be having difficulties going on without Akari. He was still taking excellent care of his Pokemon but when it came to his own needs? He was neglecting them. He spent the past few days within his and Akari's dorm, barely eating or drinking anything while keeping to himself. Not even responding when Arezu and Rei came around to check up on him. The two persistently tried each day only to get the same result!
Zach stirred lightly in his sleep on the fifth day as he heard a knock upon the door, thinking it was Rei and Arezu again he was quick to ignore it.
"Kamado you can't do this, he'll never survive on his own out there!" Professor Laventon tried pleading.
"Sir I really do insist you reconsider this," Cyllene spoke up, Cyrus having grown some respect towards Zach after he saved his life.
Kamado let out an annoyed huff as he ripped the door right off it's hinges. "Enough, Zach's getting banished from the town and that's final! That monster came for him, if Zach didn't live here then those guardsmen would still be alive! Those civilians and Akari too!"
"Kamado, don't say that. You know Akari would have left with Zach wherever he went, she always loved him!"
"Hmp, that may be so but those civilians would be spared." Kamado huffed.
"But sir, the monster's gone now. The last Aura Clan member dragged him to Kanto nearly a week ago, we don't have to worry about him anymore." Cyllene tried reasoning with Kamado.
"Enough, if you two don't drop it I'll banish you as well!" Kamado growled. Laventon and Cyllene shared an uncomfortable look before going silent as Kamado approached Zach before rudely shaking him awake.
"LUX!" Luxray snarled in response as he gave Kamado a powerful electric shock!
"Gah!" Kamado shouted out causing Zach to stir awake.
"Huh?"
"Finally," Kamado grabbed Zach by the scruff of his neck before tossing him off the bed and in the direction of Luxray so the lion wouldn't shock him again. "Zach you and your Pokemon are all banished! You are to never step foot in Jubilife Village again or I'll have you executed. Is that clear?"
"Executed..?" Cyllene raised an eyebrow while Laventon tilted his head.
"How will they do that? He already proved himself to be stronger than Kamado..." Professor Laventon thought.
"But where will I go..?" Zach tried to question only for Kamado to rudely dismiss him.
"I don't care, so long as it's far away from here!" Kamado grabbed the back of Zach's kamado and proceeded to drag him out of town with quite the surprising strength before tossing him, the five Pokeballs and his satchel out after him. Luxray gave Kamado yet another electrical shock as he leaped after his trainer. Kamado growled out before gesturing for the gate to close, the large gate soon bolted shut leaving Zach on the other side all alone.
Zach clenched his fists lightly before turning to Luxray. "Come on, let's go."
Mew had been watching from a distance, merely observing until now. The blue feline scratched his chin for a moment before a light bulb went off, the feline quickly flew across the Obsidian Fieldlands before transforming into Kleavor. The now disguised Pokemon rushed towards Lian and began frantically motioning for him to follow.
"Eh? Acting weird again are we? Ya ain't going to go all frenzied on me are ya?" Lian asked.
"Kleavor!" Kleavor shook his head while pointing off into the distance.
"Very well, I'll humor ya." Lian followed Kleavor across the fieldlands before pausing as Zach came into view, the former Galaxy Member could be seen setting up a tent with the help of Luxray though he appeared to be less energetic and hopeful as usual. Lian tilted his head as he sensed something was wrong. He heard about Akari and with the obvious depressed state Zach was in, there was no way he'd last more than a few days. He needed a friend, though Lian could only consider himself one as the two only met once. "Irida will be interested to learn about this..." He turned to take his leave while Rei and Arezu similarly walked to meet with Adaman, seeking his help.
Originally Luxray was going to perish alongside Akari but as time progressed I just couldn't go through with it. So the replacement, Sneasler, went to Ash instead. Next time, Celebi!