Draco: The bane of literation (novelization, whatever) and like works everywhere. A plot twist of mind-screwing and/or heart-wrenching intensity must be honored in the form of cliffhanger or #InMediasRes; and yet, if the story is not known to damn near everyone already, an audience will self-mandate personal witness before observing the author's version and inevitable added flavour.
Rejected title for this chapter: The Growlithe Was the Mastermind.
Pokémon and all related properties © Nintendo and the Pokémon Company.
Chapter 19: Darkness and Starlight
"No..."
Nascour fell to his knees upon the battlefield that Lucario and Octillery stood upon; the crowd around them went silent as Lucario's Mega Evolution subsided. "No...! There's no way...!"
"It's over," Wes proclaimed. "You've lost."
"No, this can't be happening!" Nascour shook his head. "It can't be happening... I can't stand for this...!"
And then, of a sudden, a voice emerged from nearby.
"Don't embarrass yourself, Nascour! You've already lost!"
Nascour turned around, facing the elevator. "Sir...! Please-!"
Sir? Wes was dumbfounded. But isn't... He glanced at Rui, finding his confusion reflected on her face as he turned back to face him again. I thought Nascour was the leader? Everyone was insisting that General Nascour was worth pleasing...
The elevator rose up in the red corner... and a rotund figure emerged, with white hair that seemed oddly averse to growing atop his head, and was instead clumped together at the sides.
"That was certainly a battle worth seeing."
Wes jaw dropped. "Wha...?"
"Mayor Es Cade?" Rui sounded almost disgusted. "Of Phenac City?"
"I must be honest with you," Es Cade mused. "I never imagined that you would get this far." His brows furrowed as he sighed. "My finest General, defeated in front of all of Orre." He turned to face Nascour. "Run along, then. You've been defeated in this Colosseum - and the defeated are to depart."
"Y-Yes sir..."
A panicking Nascour dashed towards the elevator as Es Cade turned back to Wes and Rui; the Snagger closed his mouth in order to grit his teeth. "Don't tell me...!"
"Oh, my," Es Cade mused. "You're certainly picking up more quickly than I remember. Yes, I am the Mayor of Pheanc City, and yes, Es Cade is the name on my desk. But I am also the current Head of Cipher - who has been watching you wreak havoc on our plans from the moment you said you could see the auras of Shadow Pokémon!"
His eyes, which Wes assumed to have been trapped to the narrowest of squints, now shot open - and Wes was terrified to see what should have been the whites of his eyes were flooded with black. The clumps of hair that rested aside his head abruptly unclumped, forming sinister spiked arrays at the sides, and Rui yelped as a sudden darkness emerged around him.
"I am Evice, and I shall rule the world! Starting by putting an end to those who have meddled in our affairs so thoroughly!"
You are challenged by Cipher Head Evice!
Wes cursed as Evice spun, throwing out a Slowking and a Slaking to face Octillery and Lucario. Rui quickly touched her Key Stone again, Mega Evolution wrapping the Aura Pokémon as Octillery loosed an Octazooka in Slaking's direction; strange lights seemed to travel between him and Slowking, and as the attack connected, the Lazy Pokémon started to rise.
Oh, Mulch, Wes realized, he's stopped the big guy from being Truant.
Lucario's Mega Evolution shattered, and he hurled an Aura Sphere at Slaking, who was approaching Octillery as Rui started pumping Full Restores into the rest of the team. Octillery had no chance to evade before a wicked Crush Claw knocked her out; Wes quickly withdrew her, sending out Ampharos to take her place as far away from Slaking as he could; a Thunderbolt was launched towards Slowking, who was currently suffering from her companion's chronic laziness, and voltage ripped out around her as Slaking turned on Lucario instead.
A sharp Aerial Ace slammed into Lucario, who took the blow as best he could and hurled another Aura Sphere to finish him off. Evice yelled in anger, withdrawing the Lazy Pokémon and sending out a Scizor to take his place. The Pincer Pokémon quickly braced herself, unleashing a Silver Wind across the battlefield that struck both Ampharos and Lucario; Ampharos focused on her target, finishing off Slowking with another Thunderbolt as Lucario turned to Scizor.
He charged forward, and Scizor returned the favor; the two found themselves parrying Metal Claws as Evice withdrew Slowking, sending out Machamp to take her place. The Superpower Pokémon charged at Lucario, four arms crossed in two Xes before him; Lucario barely noticed him coming, narrowly evading a ferocious Cross Chop by leaping over Scizor; he flung an Aura Sphere at her from behind in mid-flight, leaving her reeling right into Ampharos' Power Gems.
Wes quickly withdrew Lucario as Evice sent withdrew Scizor; a Salamence was sent out in her place, and he sent out a freshly-revitalized Octillery. A ferocious Thunder came down on Machamp, the voltage paralyzing him when it didn't knock him out, and Octillery aimed an Ice Beam at Salamence instead. Wes pumped his fist as he saw ice form over the Dragon Pokémon's wings and maw - freezing him was almost better than knocking him out directly!
Machamp was trying to fight through the paralysis, and Wes withdrew both of his Pokémon, sending out Espeon and Umbreon. One look at the battlefield told them all they needed to know; Umbreon charged at Salamence for a Faint Attack, and Espeon loosed a Psybeam straight at Machamp.
Espeon's attack connected first; the Superpower Pokémon was knocked out, and Umbreon hit the Dragon Pokémon hard enough to crack through the ice, knocking him out as well.
Evice yelled, withdrawing his Pokémon. "You'll pay for that!" he snapped. "Taste this!"
He hurled his last Poké Ball forward; Wes hadn't even accounted for the possibility that he had a full six, after fighting so many Trainers in Orre who didn't have a full team. As the Ball struck the ground, Rui screamed; a Tyranitar appeared there, and the moment it saw Wes and Rui, it roared with enough force to shake the entire Colosseum.
"Wes," she warned, "maybe that Master Ball should've-!"
"Tyranitar aren't in the club," Wes insisted. "It's strong... but we can handle it."
He swept his hand aside. "Hold Back! This is the last one!"
Espeon and Umbreon charged at the Shadow Pokémon, and Tyranitar started charging at the Eeveelutions. The Armor Pokémon's larger figure meant it was in striking range before they were; darkness gathered around its every limb as it twisted around, its tail lashing ferociously across Espeon and Umbreon before it leapt up and brought its claws down hard into the battlefield, punching holes in its surface.
Wes saw the shadows dig into its body, exacting a most violent toll in exchange for that ferocious blow. It's hurting itself. Maybe they're not the only ones who can do this!
Umbreon connected first, and Espeon right after; their withheld blows connected, but the Rock-type didn't take as much damage as Wes would have liked. As they withdrew, Tyranitar charged after them again, and they had no chance to recover before the Armor Pokémon slammed another Shadow End across the Eeveelutions, knocking them out.
The recoil lashed Tyranitar as Wes was withdrawing them, and he sent out Lucario to counter. "Defensive!" he insisted. "We can do this!"
He seized a Timer Ball out of his Bag as Tyranitar charged the Mega-Evolved Aura Pokémon; Lucario braced himself as the Shadow End came his way, but even he wasn't prepared for the sheer force the shadows struck him with. He was sent skidding backwards, falling to one knee and driving a hand into the ground to support himself - but he wasn't knocked out, and his Mega Evolution still held. He raised his gaze, watching in shock as Tyranitar was struck by the darkness, and Wes prayed that was going to be enough.
His Snag Machine converted the Timer Ball, and he flung it forward; it opened around Tyranitar, and the light of a Snag Ball drew it in before it closed, falling to the ground.
Shake...
Shake...
Shake...
...Click!
Evice yelled in fury as the Ball bounced back towards Wes, who caught it with a sigh. "That was too ugly," he admitted.
Rui drew a Full Restore out of his bag as the Ball vanished, dashing up to Lucario; she lifted the cap open and aimed it at him, pulled the trigger so the healing spray would wash over him as his Mega Evolution subsided, and the Cipher Head raged. "No!" he cried. "Even my ultimate Pokémon?! How dare you?! How dare you!? What are you!?"
Wes stepped forward to join Rui as Lucario got to his feet.
"Better."
The lifts on either end of the battlefield rose up, and Rui glanced back at the blue corner as Wes turned his attention to the red. Two figures emerged from each lift - Rui was shocked to find Eagun (with Pikachu on his shoulders) and Duking emerging into the Colosseum, and Wes saw Chief Sherles and Officer Johnson dash out behind Evice.
"Grandpa?" Rui exclaimed. "Duking! What are you doing here?"
"Silva let us know Cipher was running around here," Duking proclaimed. "Told us to get here before they left."
Eagun nodded as Pikachu leapt down. "I'm just glad we made it here in time."
"Stop right where you are!" Sherles warned as Evice looked around. "There's no getting away for you!" Pikachu and Lucario both stepped forward to affirm the point.
Evice chuckled, drawing something out of his coat. "That's what you think!"
He raised it over his head; Wes started as the roar of a rotor echoed from above, and everyone looked up to find a helicopter soaring above them. It had no pilot - the thing was responding to a remote. "What?!"
It came to a stop above the center of the battlefield, and a rope ladder; Evice leapt up, showing surprising agility as he soared over Duking's height and seized a rung. "Don't forget what you've done here, Wes!" Evice warned, hitting a button on his remote to direct the chopper to fly away. "One day, I will get back at you for-!"
A glow emerged around the top few links of the ladder... which snapped.
Evice's support vanished; he yelped as he started to fall down towards the battlefield. Lucario quickly blitzed forward, circling around everyone with Extreme Speed so he was there to stop Evice from hitting the ground too hard. As soon as the Cipher Head was grounded, the Aura Pokémon pinned his arms behind his back, roughly bringing him towards Sherles and Johnson.
Wes felt a slap at his arm; he turned to Rui to find her eyes closed and braids wavering, even as she was facing the stands. Confused, the Snagger followed her gaze (or near enough), looking into the crowd to find someone standing near the rim in the blue corner.
A Gardevoir, and a girl in bright pink.
Lovrina?
The Cipher Admin had a grin on her face; she blew them a kiss before putting an arm around her Gardevoir, and the Embrace Pokémon picked her up bridal-style before Teleporting away.
+x+x+x+
Evice was carted off by the police; Duking collected Silva on his way back down, joining the police back to Pyrite Town, and Eagun returned the legendary Pokémon to Wes' PC, saying he was uncomfortable keeping such great beasts with him in Agate. "Pikachu and I can handle anything that comes our way!" the old trainer had insisted, and Pikachu had given an agreeing cry.
Rui insisted he head back to Agate ahead of her; once he had left, she turned to Wes.
"Do you mind if I drive?" she asked. "There's a place I wanna show you."
Wes raised an eyebrow. "Sure."
He climbed into the sidecar, and Rui mounted the bike proper, carrying them away from Realgam Tower as the sun set in the distance.
It was well into the night as they arrived at their destination; a strange cove on Orre's western shore. It was very cleverly hidden - reached by a very shallow decline leading to it, meaning one had to approach it from significantly south rather than come straight to it from the east. The cliffs reached out over the sands, obscuring them from above, and the beach was soft, without any unpleasant rocks to prick one's feet on; there weren't any boulders to obscure the beach from the sea, but Gateon Port was still a good bit west as well as north, and in the distance, Wes could see a boat riding straight north without looking at them.
Rui brought the bike to a stop. "Here we are."
Wes climbed out of the bike. "And where is 'here'?" he asked.
"A little secret place," Rui replied. "Grandma took Grandpa here when they were younger, and it became their little hideaway. A place they didn't have to worry about trainers barging in on them. When I was a little girl, they brought me here, too. A place I could hide away with Riolu if I felt I needed it."
"Shame you couldn't get here after you first saw a Shadow Pokémon in Phenac," Wes observed.
Rui jabbed him with her elbow. "I didn't have transportation," she mused. "And besides, that helped me find you. And you helped me do something about all those Shadow Pokémon."
"We've still got a lot of purifying to do," Wes insisted.
"I know," Rui insisted. "But Cipher's not making any more. Do you really think it would hurt to take a little break?"
She took Wes' hand in hers; the Snagger was caught off-guard, but a smile rose on his face.
"...No," he admitted. "I guess it wouldn't."
+x+x+x+
Unbeknowst to them, that boat carried a most unpleasant passenger - one who soon found himself in a certain laboratory in the Orrean sands.
"Are you sure that was for the best, Grand Master?"
Nascour's query earned an affirmative nod from the figure he was escorting. "I'm quite sure. Evice's capture will convince the authorities that any noticeable Cipher activity is that of stragglers. We should be able to move under the radar from this point forward."
The lift stopped, and the two of them stepped out. "And what of the other Administrators?" he asked. "They will be awaiting further orders."
"Leave them waiting," his escortee proclaimed. "They're not worth retrieving."
Nascour glanced at him. "Truly?"
"Miror B. serves our purposes in retrieving Shadow Pokémon, but with a Snagger in opposition, retrieval is unlikely. Dakim has become more interested in fighting strong opponents than using his strength to enforce our rule. Venus only distributed because she receives attention for it, not because it will achieve anything. And Ein would rather create new devices with new purposes than improve the devices used for existing purposes. They're of no use to us. Let us wash our hands of them."
The lights in the hall began to dim from the high power draw of the next room, and as they crossed a sensor on the floor, an automated voice rang out around them. "Warning. Endarkenment in process. Please equip protective eyewear before entering."
"Fortunately, Lovrina has proven far more dedicated to the Shadow Pokémon project." The shorter individual glanced at Nascour as he seized a pair of protective goggles from a nearby rack. "I trust she will have a general to give her instructions, Nascour?"
"Always, Grand Master."
They opened the door, stepping into the Endarkenment Chamber. None of those present were sensitive to auras, and so were oblivious to the darkness that was flowing in the larger portion - but the subject of the darkness was all too visible. A great white avian Pokémon stood upon the stage, standing too tall for the cages to contain; its wings, which ended with almost finger-like segments, were crossed before it, and its eyes - at the base of a pair of deep blue fins - were closed. Other black fins rested upon its back in two rows, and two more extended from the end of a long, pointed tail; its underbelly was the same hue as its fins, but still feathered like its torso.
It was not thrashing in response to the endarkenment process because it was already a Shadow Pokémon; without opponents, it would not act, and their objective was to deepen the endarkenment as best they could.
Lovrina was sitting at the computer, her hand on the lever that triggered the endarkenment (currently in the forward position), and her attention on the screen; on hearing the door close, she leaned her head back with a groan. "What is it, Naps?" she demanded, looking over her shoulder. Then, on seeing who was standing there; "Oh, Nascour!" She quickly released the lever, letting it remain in its current position as she got to her feet with her face red; only once she was facing them properly did she see who was with him, which didn't owe as much to his small stature as it should have. "And the Grand Master. To what do I owe this honour?"
The Grand Master huffed. "Do not ignore your work, Lovrina," he insisted. "How is the XD Project coming?"
"Y-Yes, sir," Lovrina insisted, taking the seat again and putting her hand back on the lever; the light coming in from the stage gleamed off her goggles, which Nascour noted were not over her eyes. "The endarkenment is deepening, but we're not seeing any new effects. I'm starting to think Ein's theory was just completely wrong."
"Keep at it all the same," the Grand Master proclaimed. "If there is any possibility that-"
"Wait..." Lovrina shot to her feet, her hand staying on the lever. "Do you...?"
A darkness was beginning to appear around the Pokémon positioned there - a darkness visible even to those who could not see the auras. Nascour stepped forward. "Something is happening."
Lovrina quickly brought the lever back, further than its neutral position, setting off what normally finalized the endarkenment process.
The unseen darkness gathered upon the projectors in the corners of the room for a moment, and then blast forward; as it connected with the Shadow Pokémon, the darkness that they could see began to wash over the subject. Its white body began to change, black extending across its feathers like a stain; as it crossed the Pokémon's fins, they acquired an almost metallic sheen, becoming dark silver. The darkness arced over its head as though consuming it, and as it crossed the fins around its eyes, they began to warp, becoming metallic, acquiring jagged, sharp edges and tapering to far more threatening points.
Its eyes opened - bloody red, and glowing.
"New stage endarkenment achieved."
Lovrina grinned at the sight; an input window appeared on her screen, and she quickly tapped out XD001 to log it.
"Well done," Nascour praised. "It seems the theory held ground after all."
"But its heart is not yet lost," the Grand Master observed. "I trust you to continue this process until it is completely impurifiable - that it has no heart to unlock."
A giggle emerged from Lovrina as she confirmed the text entry. "Oh, I'd be happy to," she assured him, raising her gaze to the window.
There was a darkness in her eyes - creeping in from the whites just beyond her eyelids.
Draco: Shadow End is the closest second to Mind Blown in the "holy frickin' Mulch, recoil" category. That fricker takes a full 50% of the Shadow Pokémon's current HP in recoil, and after seeing what Blacephalon can do to itself, I seriously think that's just to make it possible to Snag a Pokémon who's using Shadow End. That the equivalent of a Dualcasting mage in Final Fantasy sending a Flare at the opponent and then casting Gravity on themselves. That is some Dark Knight effects right there. Holy frickin' Mulch.
...Have you ever had a moment where you suddenly realize the inspiration for something that you yourself have done? I got a Pokémon Colosseum strategy guide I had no use for in Generation III, and came up with Umbra Hearts for a (rather unthought) Pokémon fanfic I wrote in Generation IV. I totally based Umbras on Shadow Pokémon. It just hit me.