Additionally, I received a new OC: Rex, submitted by LevelNineCPU! With his arrival, Kyurem is no longer an option.
Let us begin! (-o-)
"You're not getting away with this!", shouted Aaron, "Go, Dracula!"
"Go, Ferris!", added Daren.
They sent out their two signature Pokemon, but the middle person simply pointed at them, and the Pokemon and their owners were frozen in crystallized smoke.
"There.", stated the middle figure, "That makes our two groups even."
"What in the Distortion Realm was that!?", exclaimed Clara.
The middle figure chuckled. "Marvelous, isn't it? That was just an example of the glorious power of our master. The Legendborn were the only ones capable of resisting it...but they're gone now. Or at least, they were supposed to be." He glared pointedly at Clara.
She frowned. "What are you even talking about?"
"Oh, please, don't play dumb with me.", replied the man, "You know what you are, don't you? I can sense Celebi's power on you. Why she chose you...I have no idea."
"Clara? What is he talking about?", asked Professor Cypress.
"Uh, I think I know, but I hope I don't.", Clara answered.
"You're correct on that one.", agreed the man, "Because now we need to get rid of you."
He readied a Pokeball, but before he sent it out, he said, "You know, it is considered polite here in our region to announce who you are before you start a challenge. I already know about you, but you know nothing about me."
He spun the pendant around on his finger, and stated, "You may call me Midnight. My two compatriots are Smoke and Dust. We are proud members of Team Shadow, descendants of the Darkened Ring!"
Ray snarled, "The cult of the Darkness!? You must be stopped immediately!"
"You're already too late.", replied Midnight, "We have been gathering strength for years. Now these archeologists have led us right to our master's prison, and we will release him once again! There is only one Legendborn here right now, and they can't even recognize what they are. There is nothing you can do to stop us!"
He sent out his first Pokemon, which was a Honchkrow. It screeched a cry of triumph, and was joined by Smoke's Mismagius and Dust's Mightyena.
Ray said, "Alright then...go Checkmate! Hone Claws, then barrage them with your attacks!"
His Corviknight screeched and sharpened its claws on the stone. It took to the air and began diving in, pecking one of the enemy Pokemon, then flying up. But it was quickly met in combat by the Honchkrow.
"Nimbi! Help him out! They're all Dark-types, so use Dazzling Gleam!", called Clara.
Her Altaria dove into the fray, lighting up with magic that she then fired off at the enemy, blasting them back and blinding them.
"Alexandria, I know you don't like battling, but I'm going to need your help here if we're going to survive this.", said the professor, "Use your electric attacks to knock the Honchkrow out of the sky."
"Pharos!", replied Alexandria, and she began charging up energy. With a rumble of thunder, she unleashed it, zapping the Honchkrow and causing it to hit the ground, fainted.
Now it was Midnight's turn to be surprised. "What!?"
The professor replied, "Oftentimes the oldest Trainers are the strongest ones. Alexandria and I have been on many adventures, you see. That was a critical hit, seeing as your Honchkrow is lousy at dodging."
Midnight growled, "You may have gotten lucky this time, but I am not defeated yet! Go Scrafty!"
He sent out a very odd-looking Pokemon, which immediately saw the battle and growled.
"Let's show them the power of the Darkness!", declared Midnight, and both he and his Scrafty were surrounded in a smoky aura.
Ray looked worried. "Watch out! That smoke...I believe it's boosting his Pokemon's power in some way!"
He glanced at Clara. "If you're really a Legendborn, then you should probably start trying to use some of your powers about now!"
She replied, "But I don't know how! Celebi didn't tell me anything!"
Midnight ordered, "Scrafty, take it down."
His Scrafty charged at high speeds into Alexandria. With a flash of light, the Ampharos stumbled back, before her eyes rolled up and she fainted.
The professor looked startled. "Oh no, Alexandria! Return at once!"
The Ampharos disappeared back into her Pokeball. The professor slipped out a yellow crystal to revive the Pokemon with, but then Smoke shouted, "Mismagius! Steal that Revive!"
The ghost Pokemon dissolved into the shadows, then with a malicious grin appeared and snatched the crystal right out of the professor's hand. She tried to grab it, but the ghost disappeared once again.
"This is growing tiresome.", commented Midnight, "Dust and Smoke could probably handle you themselves! I have more important things to be doing."
He studied the pendant in his hand, then began to chant in an ancient dialect not even Ray recognized. However, Clara somehow understood it, even though she knew she shouldn't be able to. It sounded like a spell, an unbinding spell.
"We have to stop him!", she cried, "Nimbi, try to get that pendant!"
Nimbi flew towards Midnight, but was intercepted by the Mightyena. It growled and drove her back, clearly trying to defend the pendant.
The Scrafty began charging up a move, and Ray commanded, "Checkmate, use Aerial Ace! Take it down fast!"
The Corviknight did a few fancy maneuvers, then dived at the Scrafty, plowing it into the ground. Yet the Scrafty was not unconscious; in fact, it still seemed to be going strong. Then Ray glanced at Midnight, and noticed he was wincing, as if a giant metal bird had just rammed into him.
Somehow, he'd taken the damage dealt to his Pokemon!
But it did not interrupt his concentration. He was chanting louder now, and tendrils of smoke were rising off of the pendant. Ray knew he could not let the spell finish.
"Checkmate, use Pluck and get that pendant! Let's give them a taste of their own tricks!", Ray shouted.
The Corviknight zoomed towards Midnight, and with a snarl the Mightyena tried to block him. But just then he was tackled by a giant green dinosaur with a flower around its neck.
The professor had sent out her Meganium.
Checkmate flew in and triumphantly snatched the pendant. Midnight reached out, but the Corviknight was already flying out of reach. Ray grinned...then froze when he saw a Flamethrower attack knock Checkmate out of the air.
Midnight's Houndoom strode boldly out of the shadows, where it had been lurking the entire time for an opportunity to strike. As Checkmate smashed into the ground, it walked over and dragged the pendant away.
Then it did something completely unexpected. It stomped on the pendant and shattered it.
With a loud explosion, everyone in the cavern was flung into the walls. A swirling vortex of shadows arose from the pendant, and the entire room was plunged into impenetrable darkness. Ray struggled to get to his feet, but the shadows forced him to his knees.
"At long last...", boomed a strange, chaotic voice, one that sounded different on every letter, "Freedom belongs to me."
Ray returned his Corviknight, making sure that whatever happened, it wouldn't kill his Pokemon. "You will not enjoy it for long.", he called out boldly.
The voice chuckled menacingly. "What position are you in to say that? Only the Legendborn could resist my power. But you are just a village whelp, ripe for the slaughter. In just a few seconds, I can and will sever your soul from your body, and use it as fuel for the next great reign of terror."
"I will not let you do that so easily.", Ray replied, silently praying that the others would hear him distracting the fiend so that they might leave and live to warn the world.
"Such honorable intentions...", mused the voice, "Your mind is an open book, Ray, at least to me. Why sacrifice so much for people you only just met? You didn't even like them all that well."
Ray replied, "One of them is Legendborn, and I will ensure that she survives in order to defeat you, just like you were defeated before."
The voice laughed. "I suppose that's reasonable, but alas, she is doomed to failure. There is no way she can learn her powers before I eradicate her as well. Your sacrifice will be meaningless."
There was a distant rumble of thunder, and Ray felt the darkness lessen slightly. "Scared of a storm, are you?", Ray taunted, "I suppose that makes sense."
Suddenly a huge force of pressure slammed him into the wall, and held every inch of him there. "Silence! There is no way you will be saved. That storm is-"
Suddenly, the cavern roof was blasted open by a furious gust of wind, and rain immediately began pouring down. The shadows hissed and retreated into a solid form, as an emerald sky serpent descended from above.
"You will not cause harm to this world again!", screeched the serpent, "The original Legendborn may be gone, but that does not mean you have won!"
A swirling tornado wrapped around the shadowy demon, binding him temporarily. The sky serpent turned towards Ray, and said, "You will be my champion, Ray. Find the other Legendborn, and unite them, before it is too late! The Darkness cannot be permitted to retake this world!"
Glowing winds wrapped around Ray, and he felt a relaxing warmth flow into his body. It reminded him of all the good things in the world, and it filled him with strength.
"Now, I will get you out of here, before the Darkness breaks free!", cried the sky serpent, and suddenly Ray found himself being thrown through the sky, wrapped in winds that were rapidly approaching supersonic speeds. There was a loud boom, and everything went black. (-o-)
AN: That's another chapter done! Feel free to review, and there is still room for twelve more submissions! Until next time, happy Pokemon hunting!