Chapter 09 – The Underground Arena
I had a dream that night, I was sitting on top of a hill sitting back against a tree with Latias beside me watching as the sun set over the horizon. Nuvema Town was at the bottom, lights from people's homes and the streets all lit up ready for the night.
"Isn't this peaceful?" Latias said with a sigh, resting her head on the grass as she stared straight ahead towards the setting sun. "I feel at peace here. No fighting, no evil teams threatening to destroy or to control the world, and no worries. This is the kind of life I want."
In the dream for some reason I couldn't speak, so I just stared in silence. "I wonder, what kind of life would I have had if you and I never met and became good friends. What kind of life would my sister Shiny Latias have lived if she never became the Pokemon she is today? I always thought I could at least try and help her, to stop the fighting and bring her back. She's the only living relative I have left in this world; I wanted her to be a part of my life."
Latias did want to at least try to resolve things peacefully with her sister. After she found out Shiny Latias was her sister after the first Team Annihilation was shut down, she always wanted to find her to bring back home so they could be a family. After I turned into a Dewott and after Shiny Latias had killed my mom, she still tried to help her, she wanted to settle things peacefully.
"I miss our friends a lot; Espeon always there for us, Totodile and Bayleef always having something to do, Golurk with its stories it likes to tell us, Lugia flying up high in the sky happily chirping away, Gardevoir with her um… obsession over dictionaries, at least they are fun for five minutes before it gets boring." She turned her head to me and asked. "What about you and Dewott, are you two still friends?"
I couldn't reply to that or anything she said, I could only watch. Dewott and I have kind of gone cold since I left Nuvema Town with the others to find Shiny Latias after she killed mom. Only after my memory loss and returning back home with Aqua and our children I had heard about Dewott acting all cold, I just never got around on settling things with him.
I turned my head away from her to look at the sun; almost about to disappear from behind the ocean we could see all the way up here. "The suns about to set any minute now, and soon we'll have to go back. I miss sights like this, the sun setting over our home town… I wish I could see it again. But I can't and never will…"
A sudden sense of sadness hit me, finding a lone tear down my cheek, turning one last time to find Latias resting her head on the grass and closing her eyes, I noticed she wasn't breathing, she was dead. Before I could reach out to her I woke up in the place Espeon and I were brought to last night.
Mistralton City – Underground Arena – Espeon's POV
I craned my neck after I had gotten up to stretch after an uncomfortable sleep on the cold metal floor these bastards had put us in last night before entering the city.
In the route after leaving Driftveil City we had a long uneventful walk throughout the route, hardly speaking not wanting to alert any trainer or wild Pokemon and instead wanting a peaceful walk and we would be in Mistralton in time… but then the two of us felt something touch our necks, a small pinch what it felt like pierce our necks. Using my moves and Zackary's paw to grab whatever touched us we found ourselves feeling dizzy faster than reaching for what we soon discovered was a needle in the side of our necks, and then we fell after our visions went all black and then waking up in this rusty metallic cell with a bowl of water in the corner. Drinking water I assumed, but with our mysterious kidnappers I didn't want to chance it, so I jest left it there, could be poisoned or something.
I glanced up at the wooden door and attempted to push, pull or slide it open with my paws at first but to no avail, it wouldn't budge an inch. I attempted to use my moves to pry open the locked door but found I either lacked the energy to use any moves or perhaps a Pokemon move restriction device was active preventing Pokemon from using their moves. A common device used with Pokemon hunters to capture the rare and pricey Pokemon so they wouldn't fight back during capture or escape. Well Pokemon do fight back in a way without any moves, but it's kind of flailing around and swatting around… it isn't really effective all that much.
I guess I would just have to preserve my energy instead of fight not wanting to get hit until I either get my strength back or the device has been shut off, then the kidnappers would know true pain. I walked over to Zackary still lying unconscious on the floor still wearing that black cloak Aqua gave to him before leaving on his five year search and the bag still filled with only empty bottles and Zackary's Savior Device… but it wasn't working since they had something to block out communications in here. Pressing my paw on his shoulder to lightly shake him, he woke up with a short gasp.
"You alright?" I helped him sit up after he found trouble doing so, still dizzy from the effects of the needle.
"Wh-where is this place? What happened?"
"I'm not sure. But I think we were captured by someone last night before we reached Mistralton, perhaps hunters, but I do know they shot at us with tranquilizers to knock us out cold and placing us in here in this metal room." I glanced up at the door, "The door is locked. I don't have any energy left in me to open it up. I recommend we conserve our energy for now. Who knows who or what is out there and how many we may face if we do try to escape."
I checked the room once more, searching in all four corners of the room. No cameras from what I could see or any electronical equipment in here besides the dim light humming and flickering above us. The walls had markings on the walls, mostly near the door, perhaps claw marks from Pokemon caught prior to us showing up. I couldn't hear anything outside the room, not a cry from another Pokemon or footsteps outside, or even someone talking. All we could do was to wait in here for our captors to open the door, perhaps figure things out from there.
Zackary leaned his back against the wall, the effect of the infection was still present within him finding trouble keeping his eye open or barely lifting up his arms.
Suddenly, the door of the room clicked before it was swung open as three men stood outside armed with weapons and knives as they watched another man without any weapons at all entered and knelt down at the door. This man had really long blonde hair with stubble on his mouth, wearing a white vest and cargo pants and boots. "The names William, owner of this fine establishment I have built with my own hard earned money. Every brick and cement I had used to build this place was from money I had earned. It is a place I have built to prevent Pokemon from escaping my establishment." He smiled at me and Zackary, pointing at us with his finger before pointing up at the light bulb. "You two can speak, we heard you both talk. Human language, not Pokemon language."
"What is this place?" I asked, trying to show him I wasn't afraid of him. If they were hunters wanting to capture us to sell us to the highest bidder or skin us for our fur after hearing the rumors on what these guys do to captured Pokemon then I wasn't going to go down without a fight. I still had claws; most would be directed right into the guys face and neck.
"Looking for Pokemon. You see in my establishment the Pokemon here are getting tired, they're getting weak, and I need to bring in an audience with new fresh and healthier selection of Pokemon to fight right here in the underground arena." He smiled. "This here is my underground arena where Pokemon battle it out against other captured Pokemon, sometimes an audience member who wants to fight the captured Pokemon here to win huge cash prizes, or lose huge." The men behind him laughed. "We saw you and your mate here and saw an Espeon and white Dewott and caught you as it was a rare sighting, an unusual sighting, but when you and your mate opened your mouths to speak, we didn't here you and him talk in the language of Pokemon, but the language of man. I can just imagine it now; 'The Talking Pokemon' the title of the newest selection to the underground arena."He unsheathed a knife he had hidden within his boots, looking at me. "Nice title, huh?"
"Uh… sure, sounds good." I was about to correct him on that, Zackary wasn't my mate, but the way he had his knife out like that I immediately turned silent not wanting to be hurt by this man or killed thinking it would anger him.
He looked over at Zackary still too weak to move even in the slightest, but he was aware of the man named William. "Never seen a Dewott like that before. Regional variant? Must be. So we have a Psychic type, and a Water type, interesting team, but it will be an interesting matchup." He said as he pointed with his knife at me and Zackary, not knowing he was a Water and Psychic type, and then I thought does this man not know Zackary was wanted by Team Annihilation Reborn, that he had a bounty over his head? If we did fight in this underground arena then some audience member would definitely see us and alert the soldiers to come after us, we weren't safe here. This place would be crawling with the shiny bitches soldiers an hour or two after they noticed Zackary fighting in the arena. We had to buy some time to get out of here, but how?
"Wait, Zac- uh Dewott here is unwell to fight." I said quickly, almost letting Zackary's name slip out my mouth and instead gave him the name of Dewott. I looked at his scars and then at his bandages he had been given last night after we had saved Yuri from that underground base, perhaps I could use that so he didn't have to fight. "We had been attacked recently and stopped at a center in another city. He's still recovering, I am able to fight, let me do this. Dewott won't take too long to recover, he just needs some food and medicine and he'll be back on his feet in no time."
"Hmm, what do you guys think?" William turned his head to look at his men. "Should we let the Dewott rest for a day to two, or send him out to fight with his girl?"
One of the men wearing a mask over his mouth leaned into the room to get a closer look at Zackary. "Seems out of it. From the looks of it, he'll be stumbling around too much and probably bleed to death before landing a hit on the opponents. Nah, keep him out of the battle today I say."
The rest of the men agreed as William turned back to Zackary. "Hear that little guy? Your girl is going to be fighting today in the arena while you rest to regain your strength. The boys will bring you in some food and treat your wounds. So get comfy, rest up, 'cause this place will be your home depending on you and your girls battling skills. But I will only heal your boy and feed him if you can win today's match. Fail the challenge today and no rewards; food, medicine." William stood up staring down at me. "If you win today you and your mate will be given food and medicine to last for a day ready for tomorrows matches. With each match our Pokemon here win rewards should they come out as the victor here; win a match, you eat and receive treatment for any injuries suffered. Lose a match and you don't get anything." He pointed his knife at the bowl of water in the corner of the room. "All Pokemon do get free water. Should be good for your water companion, help keep his energy up. But I recommend you win today's match to heal up your mate and keep him fed or else he gonna die. My Pokemon here fight two times a day, they win a match they eat. The more they win, the more they get. Today there is one last match that you are going to be entering, a big offering I am willing to give you and your mate for the tag team battle I want you both in, oh it will be a blast!" He cheered before walking out of the room. "See you in the arena." He smiled before the door slammed shut.
"Bastards…" Zackary coughed, almost fell onto the floor in his attempt to stand, but I stopped him and helped him back down. "We are not supposed to be in here… The others…. We need to save them…" He attempted to use his moves, but like me failed to do so.
"You need to rest. I know you don't want to be here but it's all we can do for now. Why do we always face with weird guys with some insane motive every chapter?" I whispered, remembering William said he could hear us talk, but not talking to Zackary using human language like I always did, instead I used Pokemon language so the fool wouldn't be able to listen in on us. "This stupid arena thing they have us in, i'm going to participate, it'll help me get a view of this underground arena; corridors, doors, stairs, I'll see where everything is. And then we can plan out our escape. For now, you rest up while I plan our escape."
"C-can you… can you do this?"
"Heh, of course I can Zackary. I'll just scope out the area once I'm out as they lead me towards the arena and go from there. Once I have it all figured out, you and I will plan out our escape." I helped Zackary get into a more comfortable position by leaning his head on a smoother part of the wall instead a rougher one. "They don't know you are part Psychic Pokemon. Once you are good to go, you'll unleash your moves upon them and we'll fight them together. I'll win us some food and medicine, so for now rest."
Zackary sat back and closed his eyes to rest while I sat beside him, sitting patiently until the match begins soon. When William opened the door and I saw him for the first time, I noticed outside the room just behind the three goons there were stairs to the right, and I picked up the scent of the ocean. It was strong; perhaps that way was where we could go up to escape from the underground arena.
It had been two hours since William told me that I would be entering a match today, the last one being held, my last chance today to win us some much needed food and medicine and yet also a good opportunity to get a look what the outside of this cell looks like, where the exits are, the stairs, I needed to know this and win the match so Zackary could recover his strength and the two of us can escape from here.
The door opened up and two armed members of William's crew ordered me out, that it was time for the game to start. With one last pat on the shoulder, I told Zackary I would be alright and that I would scope the area out. All said in Pokemon language so the idiots behind me wouldn't be able to listen in.
So I followed them as they lead me down the corridor. The way I went from the room was to the left, so I didn't have the chance to see how far the stairs led up and what was up there, but going this way did give me a scope on the rest of the area should the stairs on the right be a fluke. I might find a faster, alternative way on getting out of there.
The corridor had other doors similar to the door Zackary and I was kept in on all sides but with numbers on them. The room number we were in was the number 40, the way we were going the number was going up until 60. Underground arenas like this were illegal. What William said to us was true for most underground arenas; win a round to eat and get treated. To win only to survive to see another day, to lose is to die from either starving to death or an injury left untreated. The long corridor finally came to a stop at a steel door. As it was opened I began to hear a feint sound of cheering further inside the dimly lit room we were in. They called it the 'waiting room' were many Pokemon about to or waiting to participate in the match, warming up and sitting in silence until they were called out. The only things in here were benches and water to get ourselves ready. When I stepped inside I felt as if a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, the effects of the Pokemon move negation thingy had been lifted off me. I didn't turn around and immediately attack the armed guards before they shut the door; instead I walked further inside until I sat up on a bench, scoping things out.
Two armed guards were inside near the entrance to what I assumed was the entrance to the arena where I could hear from where I was a match was already in progress. I thought to myself "How come they don't team up together and take them on?" Until I saw most Pokemon in the room shivering in fear, lack of food and medicine, bodies half treated. Either they were afraid to try and escape, or something else.
"Are you new here?" I turned my head to see a Joltik approach me, jumping up on the bench beside me.
"Yeah, just got here recently, last night I believe." I said using Pokemon language. I watched as the Joltik sat more comfortably on the seat, cleaning his fur.
"I thought so, these humans this week had caught over forty Pokemon to fill in for those who were unable to battle anymore… most I had called friends from the same clan united as one once a clan of three living in a mountain..." He sighed glumly. What he said 'a clan of three living in a mountain' I had heard that before, but couldn't remember where. "If you want to survive in here you have to win, otherwise they'll let you starve to death, let you bleed out because of your untreated injuries. There is no escape. Winning hundreds or even thousands of matches, they don't care, they'll just keep you fed and injuries treated ready for the next. Sometimes Pokemon here after a week, month, or a year of being here sometimes just… give up, they don't care about winning, they just wait until they either starve to death or die."
"Has anyone ever thought of escaping? I mean rallying all the Pokemon together to form up some kind of plan to escape?" I asked wanting to find a way to help the poor Pokemon locked in here. "This isn't a way how Pokemon should live, it's terrible."
"We have tried many times." He shook his head. "I have been here for three years almost, winning here, losing a match or two or three barely getting fed and treated well but somehow surviving to live to see the next day. The first year I remember there was this Golem who had formed a plan to get us all out of here, but it never worked."
"What happened?"
"He was caught, locked him in his room and never let him until he was on the brink of death. The leader of this arena brought us all to watch as the Golem was beaten to death by the arenas top Pokemon here, a Muk to teach us never to escape from the arena or else the same thing would happen to us. Since then, no one has ever tried to do so." He lifted up his paws, shaking almost stopping before reaching his chest. "And besides, most of us our all too weak to try and escape from here… it's hopeless." He turned his head, looking down at his paws almost at the verge of tears.
Suddenly, the door I came from opened up; the man entered causing all Pokemon to back away as soon as the light touched his face, even the Joltik. William knelt down in front of me and smiled a smile very similar to the one Shiny Latias makes when looking down on her victims, as if to say 'you are too weak to live, you are worthless!' and that kind of look almost made me use my Psychic to crush his head. "Good luck out there Espeon, just remember your mate is in the cell starving and needing medical attention. You have to win this or else he will die, and you too if you don't ever earn a win. We don't give out free meals and medical for those who try, it's survival of the fittest here in this arena."
"So there is no way Dewott and I can leave this place? Not even if we asked you nicely?" I said in human language, almost noticing most of the Pokemon cowering against the walls heard me talk.
"Nope." He plainly replied, almost chuckling as he stood up. "Here we don't care how well you do or how terrible you are at fighting. How much you win or how much you lose. If a Pokemon can speak our language or not, we earn a lot of cash on you guys. But Pokemon like you and the Dewott who can both talk will be a sight to behold when he is healed up as you two battle together to defeat your opponents and win or lose. Live as long as you two can, I'll attract a lot of customers and be incredibly rich in no time."
I stared right in his eyes and smiled before I said. "Fuck you." William reacted to this at first in silence before he chuckled and walked out of the room with the guards as the door was slammed shut.
"K.O.!" I was startled by the loud voice from the arena. Cheering erupted from the crowd as the semi-final match today had ended. "Zigzagoon couldn't quite handle its opponent Charmander. So that leaves Zigzagoon with a total of one victory today and Charmander with a total of two. But don't worry folks; we still have one last match for today, a special match that'll go down in history as the highlight of the underground arena. Place your bets before the game begins!"
"You can speak their language, how is that possible?" A female Glaceon had asked me as she and a few other Pokemon approached.
"Self taught. It was mostly due to me being a Psychic type that helped. It took some time but I learnt how. I can actually talk to humans in a full conversation."
"William said you were here with a Dewott, what happened?" A Sandslash asked.
"We were ambushed in the route near Mistralton. The effects of the needle had already been lifted off of me, but my friend is still out of it, plus he is injured from an attack recently."
"That's unusual. William always drags new Pokemon in, injured or not on their first day of being in the arena after the effects of their needles wears off." The Joltik raised an eyebrow… uh, if he had one.
"He can speak the language of humans, but Pokemon… eh not so much. Since he was too weak to move I asked that guy William if I could fight instead, he let me so here I am."
"Usually when Pokemon with alternative appearances such as shiny Pokemon or those with many scars and wearing human clothing or posses move sets unique never seen much, William sets up a special match for them, raises the winnings all to get more money rolling in." The Glaceon looked at the others, agreeing with her. "William will force your Dewott companion out tomorrow win or lose so the two of you will be out together in a special match against strong opponents."
"Strong opponents?" I repeated, glancing at the others in the room. "Even if I lose today's match we'll face strong opponents tomorrow? That seems unfair giving my friends condition, we only just got here."
"Special Pokemon against strong opponents. The audience watching don't know about our conditions here. William just wants a lot of money and that all that matters to him, not caring about me, you, your Dewott companion or anyone here except how much cash he rakes in." The Glaceon said, tilting her head to the side to show me her scars from previous matches. "The announcer gives the audience a false story about us saying we are wild vicious Pokemon seeking the toughest of opponents before we die, creating excitement for the audience I guess, anything to keep them entertained and coming back for more."
I glanced up to look at the guards by the arena door. They didn't look as though they had any keys or electronic devices on them, only equipped with weapons, and certainly not the stunning type either, mostly to injure or kill. Even if we did take them out we would still be stuck in this room until the guards showed up to open the doors. The device used to negate a Pokemon from using their moves wasn't active in there, might have been turned off or there wasn't one there. "After the match I can test it out. I can use one of my moves and see what the range is of this device. If Zackary and I want to escape from this arena, I'm going to have to try. I just have to be careful when using moves otherwise they'll see me doing so. Plus I have to conserve my energy while I am fighting in this match so I have enough energy to use moves while I am back here and walking back to my room." I thought to myself, looking back to see the Pokemon looking anxious as they sat down back against the wall opposite me.
There was a short knock on the door where the two guards were standing, one of them turned to the door as it opened and not long after the guard turned to me. "Hey Espeon! You're up. So get ready to fight." I hopped up off the bench and walked towards the door, the other Pokemon watched as I walked some wishing me luck, others silent.
"With todays match of the underground arena reaching its end, i present a promising new contender to the games!" I heard the commentators say over the microphone, his voice boomed the arena almost drowned out the cheering crowd. The guard opened the door wide and gestured for me to enter the arena. And so I did.
The arena was a large circular room with a huge monitor hanging above with lights shining down on the arena, that was the first thing I noticed when setting my feet into the sand used as the ground here instead of a flat surface, it made walking. There was protective strong glass to shield the spectators from the Pokemon fighting, or to prevent Pokemon from escaping or spectators from interfering.
"Making her debut appearance, I welcome you all for the special event. A new kind of challenger never before seen at the arena, a talking Pokemon!" The commentator shouted, and then I became a little nervous as the entire crowd were silent as a small microphone was lowered down to me from near the monitors hanging above. All I did at first was watching at the microphone swing back and forth before focusing on my surroundings, searching for a way to escape, but found nothing. "It looks like the Espeon is kind of shy." The commentator chuckled, and I heard a few spectators laugh as well. It seemed as though they were waiting for me to say something before the match began. I thought if I remained silent, the guests would think this whole special event was a joke or something. They would probably get angry and leave. It was a laughable thought on seeing these spectators all walk out leaving William with no money earned from this match. But if I didn't give them what they wanted, William might hurt Zackary or punish us for not playing along.
"My name is Espeon. So fuck you!" I shouted into the microphone before it was pulled away. It did give the spectators something to talk about, almost looked pale from the shock at what they had just heard and what said all that. But it then turned to excitement not too long after.
"Such foul language! Such a naughty Pokemon, you should be taught some manners!" The commentator said before the lights moved to another door on the opposite of the one I came from where the opponent was in. "Perhaps your opponent can help with that. The opponent of the day is one of our oldest, so he'll be able to put you younger generation into place!" The audience cheered louder at that, the spotlights had shinned down on a Pokemon I saw emerge from the shadows stepping out and into the light to reveal a Mankey stumbling out from the room opposite the one I came from. When he stepped closer to me, I could see that the Mankey was very old, looking tired with dark rings around his eyes, his stomach showing his ribs. He looked as though he hadn't eaten anything in a long time.
"R-ready to… fight… me?" He asked within short breaths in between each word, coughing at the end of the sentence almost stumbling back. I just stared at him unsure how to take all this in.
"Well look who it is folks; it's the arenas favorite Mankey finally coming back to the arena after two days of absence!" The Mankey did get some applause from the crowd, who in turn sighed sadly as he tried to keep his balance not wanting to fall down. "Will this match be Mankey's comeback after all this time? Will the Mankey we have all known and loved for many years be the top of his game and win another victory for the arena? Or will it be the new young Espeon making her debut in the arena tonight?"
"Hi, my name is Espeon. Hm, quite the large crowd wouldn't you say?" I said awkwardly to the Mankey in front of me, hoping to ease the mood, but he didn't react to it. He just stood there trying over and over again to keep his legs standing strong to prevent falling over into the sand.
"This is it folks, the final match begins." The cheering became intense as the spotlights all shinned down on us. Anymore to do so would give me and Mankey an unwanted tan. All jokes aside, I prepared to fight the Mankey remembering that I needed to help Zackary so we can get out of here. And with a voice almost destroying my ears announced the commentator the start of the round. "Round one; FIGHT!"
Mankey made the first move by using Low Kick righting my stomach, an attack which knocked me to the ground. The Mankey prepared himself to use Karate Chop by jumping up high in the air and raising its paw up high to strike at me, but I had used Psybeam to push him back, allowing myself some time to get back up. I attempted to dodge out of the way from another attack with a Low Kick, but his speed was too fast for me to dodge and I was hit by a few of them.
The Mankey then used Taunt, blowing a raspberry at me. This didn't affect me too much, perhaps not at all since I was trying to defeat him as fast as I could to hurry back to help Zackary. But on occasions I did attack the Mankey, 'accidentally' missing and hitting the glass separating us from the crowd to see how really strong it was or if there was any weakness in the structure. But it was too strong for me to cause a crack in the glass, let alone scratch it.
Suddenly the Mankey came from behind and grabbed my body before using Seismic Toss, throwing me into the air and I fell on my back with a heavy slam. Slightly dazed I saw the Mankey jump up in air preparing another move to perhaps finishing me off and ending the battle. But I wasn't going to allow that, before he could strike me I rolled out of the way and used Psychic to throw him into the metal walls with a heavier slam than when I hit the sand after he used Seismic Toss.
"K.O.! Espeon wins!" The commentator announced as the audience applauded and cheered as the spotlight shinned down on me. My face appeared on the monitor above with the words 'Winner' with a list of moves I knew and the odds of me winning were… which were pretty low, so fuck you game!
"What an amazing spectacle of a battle by the challenger. She came in, all too nervous and shy about her debut appearance, her opponents fearsome, but in her heart lies a brave but powerful fighter. Espeon today has showed us all her strengths!" The commentator said as his booming voice echoed throughout the arena. "Now you know who to place your bets on tomorrows match with her as she and her mate also a talking Pokemon faces…. The Poisonous Trio!" The crowd erupted in loud cheering and screaming as the monitor above showed a silhouette of three Pokemon I couldn't tell what they were from where I was, but it did excite the crowd a lot. "Perhaps a popular team there." I thought as I noticed the door where I came in from had opened up, the guards gesturing for me to return, and so I did. I looked back at the Mankey to see him carried through the doors were he came in from by three armed guards. Winners in this arena are fed and healed up; losers don't get anything unless they win, no charity, no begging, nothing. I felt bad for the Pokemon, but it wouldn't be for long. Zackary and I would escape from here soon along with everyone else captured by these idiots.
And of course upon entry in the waiting room I was met with the main idiot himself; William smiling as though he had won a million cash or whatever. "Congratulations Espeon on your first victory. I was nervous on letting you out there on your first match, but it all paid off and you showed promise of being an excellent challenger in the arena. You and your Dewott mate can participate tomorrow once you and him are properly fed and treated. How do you feel now that you have won?"
"Okay I guess… but what about the Mankey? He looked really bad when we fought, even worse when I defeated him-"
"In here, it's all about survival. Some like you are strong to survive, and those like Mankey may not." He chuckled. "The Pokemon hasn't won a match in some time, three days almost. But who cares about that weak loser. What matters is that you and the Dewott are getting fed tonight." William left the room leaving me standing there looking back at the arena door. I hoped once we do plan out our escape soon, we still had time to save the Mankey.
The other Pokemon once in the waiting room had already gone by the time I had arrived, so I was just left in the room until the guards were ready to take me back to the cell. I made sure before entering the waiting room to bring a small grain of sand back with my using Psychic at all times to see for how long I can use my moves once leaving the arena. William didn't notice and neither did the guards as I had the grain of sand levitating over my right paw.
When the guards had opened the door leading out towards the long corridor, they gestured me to follow to escort me back to the cell, all while keeping my Psychic active for as long as I could. It was a short walk, maybe like ten or so steps out of that room until my Psychic ceased and the feeling of heavy weights were set on my shoulders again. So leaving the waiting room was a good opportunity to strike, they wouldn't see it coming. The next thing I did was search the corridor for camera, but I couldn't find any so I moved onto the next step which was search for possible escape routes. I didn't get a chance to look to my right after leaving the waiting room because of the guards surrounding me, but instead I looked up the corridor to see it was a long corridor with a dead end, the stairs opposite our cell was another way we could us to try and escape. The scent of the ocean was still up there, but I couldn't just walk over there and investigate with the guards surrounding me, so once the door to the cell opened up I walked in up to Zackary to check up on him. He wasn't doing well at first, but an hour after Williams medics appeared treating up all our wounds and giving us food his strength recovered. The food wasn't that bad, it was alright and did give us our strength back if not more for tomorrows match we would have with this 'Poisonous Trio' whoever they were.
I thought back to when we were in the hospital waiting for updates on Yuri. Devon told us about a Latias reportedly being sighted leaving Driftveil City to somewhere up north. "Hey Zackary, I've been thinking about the underground base when the informant told us there would be thirty soldiers inside, but most of them were all unconscious." I said realizing I never brought it up since leaving the hospital in Driftveil. "A Latias was reported to be seen within the area. You think it was Shiny Latias?"
"But why would she attack her own soldiers? I'm thinking this 'Latias' they saw was something else… maybe another Pokemon like a Flygon or something." He shook his head. "Devon said there weren't any tracking devices or anything on Yuri or any of the prisoners we had saved. If Shiny Latias was there she would've stopped us."
"So how did those soldier's end up like that?" I asked, more to myself than Zackary. The guards outside were the same as the ones inside, all knocked out and back to their original ways before being controlled. I wanted to talk about the supposed Latias that was seen around the city some more, that maybe the Latias was our Latias helping us out after she had escaped somehow or some crazy thing like that. But if I did say that to him, I don't think he would take it well, so I just left it there.
Zack took off his bag and we used it for a pillow we shared and took off his cloak and used that for sheets to try and get warm in since this room was colder at night. We lie down next to each other and looked up at the ceiling as the light bulb flickered on and off still. "So Zackary, what kind of pizza would you have right about now? The cheesy kind or the spicy kind, or what?" I asked him. Something we did a few times before we slept when we were out on missions many years ago, anything to kill the silence, the tension before sleeping. I think it kind of helped us sleep better; something to look forward to once the mission was over. I missed having conversations like this; it was before the dark times, before Team Annihilation Reborn.
"I have to say Pizza with nice vegetables on it. A good amount of cheese and the sauce has got to taste really good, perhaps somewhat spicy I'd say." I saw him smile in the dark. It had been a long time since I last saw him smile, and I smiled too. "It has been a long time since I had a slice or two. I used to eat at a pizzeria in Castelia City during my human years. What about you, what Pizza would you like?"
"Four kinds of cheese pizza, can't go wrong with that. Let's order that once we are out of this place, that'll be nice. Us in a hotel room for the night, ordering a good amount of pizzas as we watch a few good movies or whatever… that would be really nice." I smiled as I patted his belly with my paw. "Then come retirement from the fighting, you and I will eat Pizza nonstop and we'll both end up fat… that will be nice."
"Know any good hotels with room service that has good pizza?" He asked, but I shook my head. "I'm sure the one we get to will have pizza available for us. The good kind and not the terrible ones without much taste to them."
"Burnt crusts, bland flavors… we have been there. I'm also sure we'll get one of the good ones." I nodded my head agreeing with him. We had been to a few pizzerias in our time that have had bad pizzas. I guess it was our reward for a job well done after a mission. Just pizza and nothing else. And perhaps a few fries if we wanted to. "Just got to get out of here first…" I whispered, remembering these guys could be listening in on our conversation, but didn't when I switched to Pokemon language. Zackary was aware of this too after I told him during our feeding time. I had already explained the plan to him, how we would escape come tomorrow. After the match we would wait until the door opened up, the one leading out towards the long corridor. Once we are outside we'll strike and make a break for it. The device preventing us from using our moves had to be taken care of while we escaped, should we be cornered by William's thugs we won't get far. Why leave after the match and not before it? I noticed when I was walking down the corridor before the match began the guards were more focused on me, and when I was being returned I noticed they were less focused when returning me to the cell. Probably because I looked tired and out of it to try to escape.
"Let's hope tomorrow." He turned his head towards me, and I looked at him and nodded before sleeping to prepare ourselves for tomorrow.
Underground Arena – William's Office
An hour after the final match of the arena had ended for the day William had returned to his office with his men, celebrating the new challenger's victory, or just mine instead of Zackary since he wasn't there to participate. The amount of money he received in the game was more than what he got in almost a month. He sat behind his desk, feet on the table before pouring his men a drink. "Look at this boys; a whole lot of cash all in one day when it would usually take us an entire month. All thanks to that talking Espeon and her fighting strength, I can see it now; those talking Pokemon will rake in the cash." He laughed.
"Sure is a massive haul in one day boss. How are ya gonna make them popular in the arena? Any fighters you plan on challenging them come to mind?" Ask another of Williams's henchmen sitting in the back.
"Just the top contenders this arena has to offer put the talking duo up with them." William shrugged. "I want to find more rarer Pokemon for the two to challenge to draw in more, bet more, I just need to know what it is for the crowd to really enjoy themselves with, what do they want to see?"
"Perhaps up the battle arena a little more?" Suggested one of the last of the four henchmen in the room near the front door of the office. "Instead of sand, how about add a few pools of water, a few hazards the Pokemon need to avoid so they don't lose a lot of health, power ups on the field the Pokemon can use?"
"I have been meaning to change the arena a little. Decorate it… but I don't know, we only have the one arena so it'll take a long time for the arena to be changed per match. The hazards however are interesting though, I may think about it. Eh for now, I'll just throw the top fighters at them every day for the week and wait until my boys find a rare Pokemon to bring in."
"But boss what if them talking Pokemon lose too many times in the arena? If they can't win matches they won't get fed or get their wounds treated." One of the four henchmen in the room asked remembering what happens to Pokemon in the arena if they win or not. "If you want to keep them around bringing in the cash they'll have to be fed and treated after each game."
"I suppose I could rig the game so they win a lot. Not too often so it doesn't draw suspicion. With the game tomorrow, the talking duo will face The Poisonous trio. My Muk is the best in the arena, hardly losing a match. Losing tomorrows match will mean the duo will have to win the next game they are in so it'll draw the crowd in to find out if they will defeat their new rivals 'The Poisonous Trio' I will give them a story; the talking duo defeated by The Poisonous Trio struggle to fight and win the match until finally after many battles they come face to face with their rivals in an all out brawl!"
"That sounds good boss, but what if they defeat The Poisonous Trio? The Espeon was strong enough to defeat one of the oldest Pokemon in the arena, what if the Dewott is strong like the Espeon? The trio may not stand a chance against the duo." Asked another henchmen after drinking up all his drink.
William smiled, "Let's just say we have added something in their rewards. They may not feel its effects right away, but come game time tomorrow afternoon they'll feel like they have been run over by a truck. And the trio will easily defeat them and money will be raining down upon me!" William laughed manically as his plan was set in motion.
Underground Arena
"Ugh… I feel as though I have been run over by a truck…" I groaned as soon as we walked out into the arena in the middle of the day. My eyes stinging as they stared directly into the many spotlights shining down at us. It had been a sleep at first that had been alright but halfway through it we were constantly waking up, finding trouble on getting back to sleep afterwards, tossing and turning, that kind of thing. And then after we thought we could sleep all of our muscles from out of nowhere startled to ache for some reason. "I could barely eat much this morning…"
"It feels like after I woke up from that coma after I turned into a Pokemon… only worse… ugh!" Zackary groaned before he stood beside me in the arena. He looked up at me, looking worried. "Espeon… you remember what my ability does, right?"
"I do. So don't you worry, I'll deal the finishing blow." I said to him, remembering about this ability, how it can absorb the life energy of Pokemon he defeats in battle, making him stronger but rendering them dead in the process. The Pokemon here didn't want to be here, they wanted to be free. "I don't want anyone else to die either. We need to get these guys out of here."
"And now making their debut appearance together in the arena; The Talking Duo with Espeon from yesterdays match looking all ready for a second round, and her teammate the mysterious white Dewott with an ominous red eye, covered all over from head to two with scars." The commentator shouted into the microphone as the crowd erupted in loud cheers again every time he announced the start of a new match.
"Why is he wearing an eye patch for? What's the deal with the robe and bag?" A guy yelled out, expecting an answer from the looks of him, but never got one.
"Aw, he thinks he's people!" We heard a young woman shout amongst her group of friends. Zackary looked away from the crowd, not that he was shy, but anxious of people in the crowd recognizing him because of his wanted status across the region by the shiny bitch.
"Yes, yes, yes! I know you are all excited to see what they can do, the challenges they will face in the far future of the underground arena, but first they must face the Poisonous Trio!" He shouted into the microphone once more, his voice booming throughout the arena almost deafening to the ears. The door on the opposite sides opened and three Pokemon could be seen through the open door. The spotlights moved slowly towards them as the commentator announced their presence to the cheering crowd. "Making their third debut appearance the first time this month, with four hundred and eighty two victories, the three Pokemon once begun as three Pokemon up against the arenas first top Pokemon as newbie's struggling their way to the top face the talking duo. Ladies and gentlemen, The Poisonous Trio!" The spotlights shinned down on the three Pokemon emerging slowly from the door; an Arbok, a Muk, and Gulpin as they made their way towards the center of the field ready to start the battle.
They stood not too far from us preparing to strike the moment the commentator announced the start of the match. He amped up the crowd, but right now our focus was on the Pokemon we would face, but we weren't ready to face them, instead Zackary noticed the three Pokemon in front of us, and The Poisonous Trio recognized us. "Hey… it's you!" The Muk said as he moved closer to us along with the other two. "Zack and Espeon."
Six years ago when we were searching for Shiny Latias after she had killed Zackary's mother, we encountered three clans of Pokemon all living in Chargestone Cave. They were at war with one another or were about to start one. We wanted to pass but they were against it, so we would either have to wait or turn back. But Zackary went off into a small tunnel were the caves only water supply flowed down from. Through there he found Muk injured by Team Doom's tranquilizer bullet. Muk's toxins got into the water and poisoned the Pokemon that drank from it. Zackary prevented the clans from fighting and the three clans became one. Zackary told me he and Aqua returned to Chargestone cave, reunited with the three clans hailing him as a hero and offered to help them pass through the cave while avoiding Purrloin and her gang. The last Zackary had heard from Muk was before he and Aqua escaped the cave fighting Purrloin's gang so they could escape.
"Never thought I'd see you two again. Did the little lady make it?" Muk asked Zackary referring to Aqua when she was still an Oshawott. She had been injured during the Chargestone Cave escape, but after reaching Mistralton City Pokemon Center she received treatment in time.
"She's alright. She's a Dewott now. We uh… we're a couple now with two children." Zackary nodded, sounding a little unsure how much to reveal about Aqua and the children. Not wanting to give away too much information about them should Shiny Latias and her team discover their location.
"Two children, how nice. So I'm taking that you and Espeon here were travelling before you two got caught by these guys?" Zackary nodded again, hoping they wouldn't ask too much about why we were out here in the region. But to prevent that as much as I could, I asked them wanting to know why they were in the arena.
"Zackary told me about when Purrloin and her gang attacked Chargestone Cave, how did you end up here?" I asked. The three Pokemon looked at each other before the Arbok spoke first.
"After Purrloin attacked the cave, her human soldiers came and captured us, separating us throughout the region and beyond." He sighed sadly. "Families were separated, friends taken from each other by the soldiers. We were sold, traded to hunters and the scientists. For a year of that we ended up here in the arena. We learnt about the consequences of win or lose here, you win you eat, you lose you starve, and die as we have seen with most of those who came with us."
"The first years were the roughest for us; we had team battles, us three against several teams all at once in a battle. A few we knew died in the arena. They were against a stronger team, the first top Pokemon here before we came and took the spotlight. Because of the conditions here, despite how many times they won a match or lost one, they couldn't take it… they let themselves be killed by the opposing team." Gulpin said, almost looking teary eyed. "I knew them well, we grew up together…"
"We have tried to escape at one point; I mean plan to escape at one point." Muk said after comforting Gulpin by pacing a hand around his shoulder. "But we were scared to after what they do to those who try… I don't know why we do this, why we fight day after day only to survive to fight some more when there is no hope of an escape… we're too afraid to end this ourselves…"
"We're trying to escape from this place after the match." Zackary whispered as he stepped forward. "I don't have time for this; I need to be somewhere else soon. I can't waste too much time in here."
"Not sure if you know this already but to escape from here is impossible." Muk grunted, looking away slightly. "All of us have given up on trying, so there is no need. It is hopeless."
"We can get out of here." He said, a little louder this time, but the commentator spoke too loud for anyone to listen in nearby. Zackary wanted to stop the fight, perhaps William or whoever was in control of this match would take us off the arena. Better to walk away without injury at least.
"We have tried." Arbok hissed. "There is nothing we can do, let alone hope someone will come and save us. In here winning is all that matters to keep us going. Losing will mean our deaths."
"We're sorry for this Zack and Espeon, but we must do this." Muk sighed. "We have lost hope on escaping from this place as horrid as it is. But it is our home now and until we die. And if you are both here now, then that means there is no hope for any of you. Accept it!"
"Round one; FIGHT!" The commentator announced really loudly into the microphone starting the beginning of the match. And all three Pokemon used their moves to attack us; Gulpin with his Acid Spray, Muk with a Sludge Bomb, and Arbok with a Poison Sting. We attempted to dodge the attacks, but two we avoided by sidestepping out of the way, but one touched out legs as the move Sludge Bomb exploded as soon as it exploded upon impact on the sand, the attack hitting the both of us. This was a Poison based attack but thankfully none of us were afflicted by this status and could fight without carefully watching out for our health. Arbok moved in and used Wrap, squeezing me with his tail almost choking the air out of me.
Zackary was careful when fighting, careful not to expose himself that he could use Psychic, so he had to focus solely on water based attacks for the duration of the battle. He had used Scald on the Gulpin after he used Yawn attempting to put Zackary to sleep, but failed. Muk used Harden before moving in to protect his pal Gulpin upon seeing Zackary move in to attack him with a Razor Shell, but Muk countered the move with a Mud-Slap, the two moves colliding and pushing both Pokemon back from the strength of both moves.
Using Psychic I grabbed Arbok and threw him off of me into the glass window causing the crowd to gasp and cheer or boo, probably either wanting their team to win and the other to fail.
I noticed at the corner of my eyes Arbok quickly slithering towards me, using Screech before I had time to react. The move hitting me and I fell somewhat dazed by it and weaker in terms of defense. Preparing another move, I acted first focused my energy and used Confusion hitting him right in his face as he stumbled back into the sand. He was confused, stumbling around as he got up and hitting himself. I then used a Psybeam and blasted him across the room, and that was the end of him. And with that I quickly made my way over towards Zackary to assist him before he accidentally used his ability on the last two standing Pokemon.
Zackary was fighting the last two Pokemon; Muk an Gulpin. But upon seeing me I used Psychic to throw the Gulpin up high, not too high to kill them from the height but enough to do some damage that'll render them defeated. Zackary moved in and slashed at Muk once or twice, trying his best to push him back.
"What an incredible fight!" The commentator applauded over the microphone, playing some kind of music like fanfare over and over again after everything he said, and loud might I add! "The way they fight, it is incredible! Truly one of the most spectacular fights we have seen in this arena in a while! Am I right folks!? Am I right? Am I?"
"Shut the fuck up! Jeez!" I growled as I tried a few times to hold Muk in place with Psychic to throw him into the wall with a Psybeam but had no luck in doing so, so I am going to blade the commentator for over using the annoying sound effects over the speakers.
Muk then grinned and prepared another Mud-Slap, only this time Zackary never saw it coming and was hit, knocking him back down on the sand. Preparing once more to use another move, I moved in fast and used Psychic, holding him up in place for a short while before slamming him down on the sand. He wasn't knocked out, he was still hanging on.
Zackary stood up and approached Muk, trying his hardest to get up but found difficulty doing so. "Finish him off you two! Victory awaits!" The announcer screamed into the microphone with excitement. The crowd then to our surprise chanted 'Finish him!'
"Kill Muk off! Show the others in this arena these Poison types are suckers!"
"C'mon Muk, get up and waste these two!"
"Woohoo! C'mon and hurry up! I got seven hundred on you two! Finish it off!"
"You can do this! Just think of all the good rewards you'll both receive!" The commentator chuckled into the microphone. But that just about did it for Zackary. His eye had glowed signalling the start of his rage burst or whatever it was whenever the voices inside his head attempt to control him should his anger get a hold of him. With his paws clenched tight, he shouted;
"Shut up!" Zackary shouted at the top of his lungs, shutting up both the commentator and the crowd. The Pokemon still conscious watched as Zackary growled staring up at the crowd and the cameras all watching him. "Now that I have got you attention, I want to ask you something, watching these Pokemon fight like this, sometimes to the death, do you think this fun!?"
The spotlights remained in place shinning a light down on him as the arena remained silent, only Zackary spoke. "Pokemon fight in this arena every day. If they win, they get rewarded; if they lose they don't anything. Rewards for winning a match are food and treatment for the injuries they receive in battle. If they lose a match they won't get anything, no food or treatment unless they win!" Zackary glared up at the camera's watching him. "You watch Pokemon in this arena struggle to survive. Long ago I met Pokemon in a cave, they were almost at war with one another… but I stopped them preventing more bloodshed." I noticed a tear in Zackary's eye, he hated the fighting. What William did, forcing the very same Pokemon who had been at peace, helped him escape from Purrloin and Shiny Latias to fight, it angered him. To them they were his friends. "These Pokemon you force us to fight, they saved us, only to be captured by the Pokemon and soldiers who were after us. They separated families and friends from each other perhaps never to be seen again, forcing those captured to fight each other as prisoners!"
"This arena is disgusting. Let's go Espeon." He said after calming down, turning towards the door as they slowly opened up. The arena still remained silent even after the doors closed once we were inside.
Once we were in the waiting room, the doors opened up and entered William with two of his flunkies both armed with weapons all pointing them at us, but William instead of being cheerful and with that stupid smiling face approached us with but a stern look, like a parent scolding a child, or whatever. "That was some speech; revealing to the crowd as you opened your mouth about what goes on here, the conditions of the victory and loss of each arena match, Zack Raines!" Zackary nor I reacted to this on the outside, but inside we were kind of surprised at them finally figuring out who we were. "Oh yes, I know who you are. Last night I was curious as to what region or variant you are since Dewott's should be blue, but you are a white furred Dewott with a red eye. As soon as I typed your description in… Zack Raines, wanted by Team Annihilation Reborn for one million in cash. Allies of Zack Raines including your little Espeon companion is a two hundred thousand extra."
I saw at the corner of my eyes the guards behind us were slowly approaching us, carefully drawing out their stun batons. "In the battle today I watched every move you used, but I found you didn't use Psychic since you are a Psychic type. Why didn't you use it? Were you… waiting for something?" He asked, almost on the verge of chuckling.
"Yeah, I was." Was all Zackary said before in one swift movement by sidestepping out of the way from William, he used his Psychic and pushed the guards including William into the metal walls and door while I jumped to the opposite side to dodge the two guards behind us before they could attack us with their own weapons before using Psybeam to push them into the doors of the arena knocking them out.
William crawled to reach for his machete but Zackary levitated it from Williams reach and used Psychic on his jaw crushing it slowly. William screamed through his bleeding mouth as Zackary slowly crushed the bones of his jaw, almost cutting it off before he calmed back down and brought him closer to his face. "I was waiting for the moment you and your men to be closer to us." before slamming him into the wall knocking him out cold.
"Nice going Zackary. I'd say he deserves much more than a broken jaw, but watching as his underground arena is shut down and William being locked away is good enough for me. But he was really foolish going up against us without using the Poekmon move negation device like that, it only ended with him getting beat up… huh." I'm guessing William let his guard down at that moment before Zackary defeated him and all his guards quickly. Perhaps we were lucky on that when others who had tried to escape were not so fortunate on succeeding.
"This arena has been running for far too long. Let's get out of here and end this." We left the waiting room and immediately made our way over to the corridor where I picked up the scent of the ocean up top.
The long stairs after several flights ascended had leaded us to another wider corridor with a few rooms with hardly any guards, just staff who worked their monitoring the computers and security feed. They did a pretty bad job at that, barely noticing us before we entered knocking them out with ease. The Pokemon negation device was located and quickly taken care of before we left towards the door where the scent of the water had been strongest.
I'd like to say that on the way towards our escape we thought a giant enemy Krabby or some other giant robotic thing or army before the light of the outside touched our furs, but the only thing we got was a parking lot filled with many cars and nothing much else. And immediately we called Devon and told him all about the underground arena and what they did to the Pokemon here.
It wasn't long until Devon sent a team over and nabbed all of William and his henchmen. Seeing him on that stretcher being taken to the hospital for his broken jaw, and that look he gave us as we watched him being hauled away was more than good. The Pokemon were taken and treated by the Pokemon Center filling up Mistralton and Driftveils centers almost to full capacity. The last we ever saw of Muk and the duo once known in the arena as The Poisonous Trio was when they were put inside a Pokemon Centers truck ready to be taken away, but before casting one last look at us, a smile at us before taking them away to be healed and as free Pokemon once more.
Zackary and I never saw them again, only given updates that they found somewhere peaceful to live. The memory of the underground arena remained with them, but together they helped each other along the way, the suns light and the moons light always touching them as they faced their troubles together.
As for Zackary and I, we made it to Mistralton City hotel, got ourselves a room to prepare for the next day when we would meet two old friends, and the four of us together would save Zackary's dad Henry in Team Annihilation Reborn's underground base.
We were on the bed watching TV and waiting for our pizzas to arrive when I noticed Zackary looking up at the ceiling deep in thought, so I asked worried if he was thinking about what went down inside the arena, but that's what wasn't on his mind. "Hey Zackary, you alright?"
"I guess…" He shrugged. "Just thinking about a dream I had the first day we were taken inside the arena. I was on a hill, a really tall hill on the edge of my home town. The sun was setting, one minute I was alone, the next Latias was there sitting beside me. We were watching the sun set together. She said that we used to do that when we were young… That dream I had of Latias, it reminded me about the others… it got to me a lot…" I could see it in his eye, so I moved closer to him and hugged him. He was sad, trying all he could to find Latias and the others. I just wanted to help; I wanted all of this to be over.
"It'll be over soon, I promise Zackary. We will save her, we will save them all."
Tomorrow we would go together to the underground base and save Zackary's dad, and soon Shiny Latias will be defeated once and for all.
To be Continued…
Trivia:
Zack and Espeon originally stayed in the underground arena for seven individual matches before they would leave. Each match would bring up memories for Zack since the Pokemon faced in each round were Pokemon Zack had faced before. This was cut down to two matches to save on time.