For those of you who missed the announcement, chapters 2 and 3 have been rewritten to a state with which I am far more comfortable. Check them out if you haven't, and either way, enjoy chapter 54!

Chapter 54: A Relatively Average Pokemon Battle

The moonlit settlement of Blahtown was met with the most excitement it had ever seen, its central area crowded by two full teams of six Pokemon, each one belonging to a human trainer, with Broshi being the odd one out. It helped that the town seemed to be deserted otherwise, save for Nurse Joy, who watched the scene nervously from the window of the Dorkemon Center.

Both sides waited for the other to make the first move. Seraphina took the opportunity to communicate with Bob and his Pokemon.

"So, Bob," began Sera, "I am anxious to hear what sort of plan you may have for dealing with these legendary Pokemon."

'I'll get back to you on that,' Bob answered. 'I guess we can just wing it for now... a battle is a battle, right?'

'Well, you better come up with something, smart guy!' snapped Phaunt the Butterfree. 'Those monsters'll tear me to shreds if I get anywhere near them!'

'Not if I blast them first,' insisted Zheil the Typhlosion. 'Just stick with me and you'll be fine.'

'I'll focus on Darkrai,' Tryder the Togekiss decided. 'Franz, you should use your Ice Fang on Rayquaza.'

'I know, I know,' assured Franz the Floatzel. 'I don't need advice. You just do your thing and I'll do mine.'

'Watch out, they're attacking!' Saucha the Ampharos announced.

Dialga and Palkia were the first to act, both of them summoning a legion of stones via Ancientpower and hurling them at Phaunt. Bob's team was prepared for such a barrage; Sera's heightened sense of spatial awareness aided the Butterfree to dodge, though the number of projectiles made this difficult even for her.

Deoxys was next, focusing directly on Tryder with a supercharged orb of electricity. As Sera was preoccupied, Tryder had to rely on his own speed to avoid the Zap Cannon, which he managed with relative ease at the cost of his own ability to retaliate.

Darkrai hovered to Franz ominously, and the Floatzel was enveloped in darkness. He eventually fell over, succumbing to sleep. Rayquaza chose to open with a Dragon Dance, bolstering his strength and speed. Mewtwo simply stared down his opponents.

Bob weighed his options. In that moment, the only members of his team who were free to attack were Zheil, Saucha, and Broshi. 'Saucha, use Power Gem on Rayquaza!' Bob instructed. 'Zheil, throw down a smokescreen in front of Darkrai, and Broshi, use that for cover to attack him before he punishes Franz!'

'Hey, I don't normally take orders,' Broshi dissented. 'But it's not like I have anything better in mind.'

A sparkling beam fired from the gem on Saucha's forehead at the serpentine dragon, who coiled around it easily. Zheil reluctantly launched a dark projectile near Darkrai which exploded into a giant cloud of thick smoke, Broshi dashing close behind with his sword drawn. He slashed the space behind the smoke, only to connect with thin air where Darkrai had been moments before.

'I would inform you of Darkrai's position,' Sera broadcasted, 'but the minds of Dark-types are invisible to me.'

'See if you can wake Franz instead,' Bob suggested.

'It is impossible,' lamented the Kadabra. 'The darkness is too strong. Franz is as untouchable as Darkrai.'

'Fine, then focus on Deoxys. We need all the firepower we can get.'

Tryder sprang forth with an Extremespeed, heading for Bob's preferred target, only to be intercepted by an even faster Mewtwo using Me First, knocking Tryder to the ground. Deoxys then charged up for a powerful psychic attack on the downed Togekiss. A Shadow Ball, flung by Sera herself, crashed into the genetic Pokemon, causing it to lose its focus and stumble backwards. Rayquaza took the opportunity to lunge at the exposed Kadabra, though she was more than prepared for such an attack, teleporting to safety at the last moment. Saucha immediately fired another Power Gem at the confused Rayquaza, this time landing the hit.

Zheil, unable to wait any longer, unleashed an Eruption attack at Dialga. Seeing this as a challenge, the temporal legendary countered with a Roar of Time. The attacks collided, leaving naught but a weakened roar for which Zheil braced himself. Phaunt saw her chance to assail Dialga with a Sleep Powder, but the beast resisted. Palkia aimed a potent Hydro Pump at Phaunt to shoot her out of the air, but once again Sera was able to lend her reflexes, letting the Butterfree move away in time.

Darkrai, from his unseen perch, tormented Franz in his sleep with savage nightmares, draining his spirit. Broshi listened carefully, determined to stop the boogieman in his tracks, but despite how certain he was of where Darkrai was situated, he could not successfully strike him.

Bob glared across the town at Edwin. Something seemed off about the rival trainer. Particularly, his lack of verbally issuing commands to his team. 'Hang on a moment, I think he's using the same strategy we are!' he angrily informed his party line. 'He must be using Mewtwo to enhance his team's reactiveness. That copycat! Take him out! Execute plan Laser Pointer Goose Chase!'

All of Bob's team, with the exception of Broshi, knew exactly what Bob had in mind. Sera blinked directly onto Tryder's back as he took to the air again, flying about wildly and drawing attention to himself with a Follow Me. All six of the legendary Pokemon dropped what they were doing and focused on him and Sera.

'I'm suddenly not so sure about this,' thought Tryder nervously.

'Relax and concentrate on flying,' Sera reassured him.

Mewtwo wasted no time in summoning an Aura Sphere and casting it at the two of them. Tryder was more than familiar with the technique and knew that no amount of flying or teleporting could save them from getting hit by it.

Sera thought otherwise, however. She warped herself and Tryder to the opposite side of the town, and the Aura Sphere tracked their new location from a distance, stalling the collision. Palkia decided to speed things up by hurling a mighty Spacial Rend in their direction. Tryder flew under the attack, barely squeezing past it, then swerved to the right just out of reach of the sphere. Sera teleported again, this time above the merchant's building. Rayquaza, being nearest, assaulted the duo with an Outrage, and the Togekiss was once again tasked with flying out of the way, barely unable to prevent his wing from being struck.

Deoxys attempted to take advantage of his momentary falter with another Zap Cannon, but Broshi was standing by to lap it up with his tongue and spit it right back. Deoxys dodged the counter effortlessly, but it bought Tryder enough time to catch his breath.

While Mewtwo was focused on directing the Aura Sphere, Saucha came up from behind and swung a Thunderpunch. Mewtwo still managed to see this coming, sliding out of the Electric-type's reach, but right into the range of Phaunt's Bug Buzz. Slightly weakened by the super-effective move, Mewtwo momentarily lost his focus, which gave Zheil just enough of an opening to ram him with a powerful Double-Edge.

The Aura Sphere still chasing them, Sera waited until the last possible second to blink behind the smokescreen which still housed Darkrai. At that point, Tryder caught on to Sera's plan. The pressure that Mewtwo was feeling kept him from doing the same, and he blindly sent the projectile at them once again. The smoke cleared away in the presence of the sphere, which gave Tryder just enough vision to see Darkrai's location and guide the sphere. Before the nightmare Pokemon could react, Mewtwo's Aura Sphere connected. This heavy blow cost him his grip on Franz, who picked himself up wearily.

Darkrai suffered greatly from Sera and Tryder's trickery, but this only seemed to make him angry. Before he could retaliate, Tryder fired an Aura Sphere of his own, dealing enough damage to finish Darkrai off.

Bob glanced across triumphantly at Edwin, who was visibly shaken by the effectiveness of the maneuver, his fists clenched in rage.

"How do you like them bananas?" taunted the younger trainer.

"Hmph," grunted Edwin, shaking it off. "Mewtwo, recover."

The opposing Psychic-type began to glow with a soft light. When it faded, nearly all of its injuries had vanished. Before Bob could comment on how unfair that was, Mewtwo followed up by gripping the already exhausted Tryder in a Psychic attack, knocking Sera off of him. Zheil dove at Mewtwo with another Double-Edge, only to get pummeled by a weaponized Togekiss. The two Pokemon fell into a pile, both of them winded.

The other legendaries were finally able to focus on other targets. Deoxys, taking on a light blue aura, charged at Broshi with startling speed and lifted him with both arms. The Yoshi was helpless as he was then slammed into the ground. Saucha aimed a Discharge at Palkia, who was still regaining its energy from the Spacial Rend attack, but Dialga stepped in front and took the hit instead, retaliating by stomping the ground and unleashing Earth Power right at her feet. Saucha took the full force of the Ground-type move, toppling over painfully.

Rayquaza set his sights on Sera with another Outrage. Rather than teleporting, Sera held out her hand, channeling her Psychic ability to hold him in place. Restraining such a powerful dragon took a large reserve of energy, so Phaunt came in from the side and sprinkled some more Sleep Powder to relieve her. Miraculously, the Rayquaza drifted off to sleep, letting Sera release him - by forcefully flinging him ground-ward. Franz crept up to the defenseless serpent with frozen jaws open wide, biting down. Rayquaza writhed in pain as the ice took over his body, even while under the effects of the Sleep Powder.

Bob, unwilling to let his Pokemon stay down, whipped out two Full Restores from his bag, one in each hand. 'I'm going in,' he announced. 'Cover me.' He ran into the battlefield somewhat recklessly, trusting his team.

Mewtwo followed the trainer's movements, considering attacking him directly, but his contemplation was interrupted by a protective Franz's Aqua Jet. "If you want Bob," he declared in his native tongue, "you'll have to go through me, first!"

"Do I?" Mewtwo retorted, leaning slightly to the left and stopping Bob in his tracks with his telekinesis. Everyone else at the scene froze as well. "Honestly, I should have done this to begin with." Bob writhed in midair, helpless against the mental grip of the psychic cat. "Now, if you want your precious human slaver to live, you'll surrender and give in to our demands. And if any of you take just one step towards either of us, well..." He flashed an evil smirk. "I'm sure you can guess what'll happen."

"What's... the matter...?" Bob strained, not an ounce of his confidence absent. "Afraid... you'll lose... in a fair fight...?"

"Silence, mortal!" Mewtwo tightened his hold, causing Bob to sputter.

Franz growled. 'Bob, Sera,' he called out in thought, 'Tell me ONE of you has a plan...'

'Well, we sure as heck aren't surrendering!' Bob defied. 'We need to find some way to block his psychic powers... but as far as I know, only Dark-types can do that.'

Edwin laughed pompously. "So, what'll it be? Death or defeat? Do hurry up and decide, we don't have all night."

Sera thought about Bob's statement. The only Dark-type here was Darkrai, and even if he wasn't on Edwin's side, he was already knocked out. "What are your demands?" Sera tried, aiming to stall them.

"You will let Charge enter the session in place of Blah," Edwin explained. "That is all. I trust that even complete scatterbrains such as yourselves can remember a deal like that. And we only care that Blah is out of the game. The rest of you can play as normal. Now, is that such a difficult decision?"

"An interesting proposition," commented Sera, "especially since it implies that Charge is not already destined to enter, despite his status as Hailstorm's server player. Blah still has the ability to enter instead."

The corner of the cowboy's mouth twitched, realizing his slight slip-up. "Pardon me, but who has the leverage here?" he coolly dismissed. "None of that matters unless you're willing to sacrifice that atrocious hairdo!"

"But you said... it was fabulous," whined Bob, prompting another tightening from Mewtwo. Bob shrieked.

"That was when you were still on the fence about joining me, way back when," snapped Edwin. "We've wasted enough time. I'm giving you ten seconds to make your decision, or else we'll execute Bob regardless. One..."

'Come on, Sera,' egged on Broshi, struggling to his feet. 'There's gotta be a way we can come out on top. Look deep inside yourself. I'm sure you can come up with something!'

"Two..."

Seraphina closed her eyes, entering a state of deep inner thought. Was it really worth risking Bob's life to pull some crazy, improvised stunt?

"Three..."

Bob did rescue and raise her after Charge captured her, so she would not be able to live with herself if something happened to him. However, she couldn't just let Charge have his way with the session, either.

"Four..."

The only way to completely block a Psychic-type was with a Dark-type. Perhaps with enough willpower, Sera could awaken and overtake the mind of Darkrai, but she was bound by the same rules that she wished to exploit.

"Five..."

Or was she? Despite her previous failures against dark and demonic presences, there was a voice in the back of her head telling her that it might just work. No logical explanation, no convoluted reasoning, just pure, raw instinct.

"Six..."

For once, Sera decided to trust this instinct. When logic fails, what else is there to turn to? She began to construct an extensive mental map of the network of minds present, leaving no stone unturned.

"Seven..."

Sure enough, much to her astonishment, she felt something unfamiliar among the mix. It was an eerie sensation, not unlike the omnipresent aura of the Underworld, except it did not repel her mind as it came close.

"Eight..."

Sera opened communication with this sinister soul. It did not respond, as it was unconscious, but perhaps if she gave it a gentle nudge...

"Nine... Ah, hello again Darkrai. Just in time to watch the death of the fool!"

Darkrai had awoken, and was now hovering in place, staring blankly at Bob and Mewtwo. "Do make yourself comfortable. The show is about to begin!" Slowly, the Dark-type approached Bob, holding out its ethereal arm.

"Erm..." Edwin rubbed his chin in confusion. "It was only a figure of speech, Darkrai. Give Mewtwo his space, if you would be so kind." Darkrai ignored him and continued. Edwin stamped the ground with his foot. "What are you doing? Now's not the time for games!"

Bob felt a clawed hand on his head. All he could manage to utter was a bewildered "Uhh..." before Darkrai sent a weak wave of darkness through his body. Instantly, the trainer dropped to the ground, maintaining the darkened aura, but able to move again.

"What is this insolence?!" yelled Mewtwo, already preparing an Aura Sphere. "I'm not afraid to put you down, Darkrai. I may not be able to touch you with Psychic, but you should know full well by now that a fully-charged Fighting-type move in your condition could end your tormented existence!"

Darkrai simply collapsed on the spot again. The utterly baffled Psychic-type let his sphere dissipate. A set of sturdy jaws clamped down on his unguarded back, bringing him to the ground. Franz had made his move, Crunching right into his spine.

"No!" cried Edwin as he watched his MVP twitch on the ground, gasping.

Mewtwo's eyes were as white as the moon, paralyzed as much by the turn of events as he was by Franz's bite. "How... how could this be...?"

Sera walked up to the fallen legendary Pokemon, a Shadow Ball forming in her hands. "You should be careful where you leave your puppets," Sera coldly advised, "or else anyone can pick up the strings."

She flung the ghostly orb, putting a stop to Mewtwo's uncomfortable twitching. She then glared at Edwin, instilling a subtle flinch.

A bead of sweat rolled down the foe's forehead as he returned all of his legendaries to their Pokeballs. "Y-you may have won the battle," he resigned, backing away, "but the war has only just begun!" With those parting words, he turned around and ran for the forest. However, after just a few steps, he realized his feet were no longer moving him. Sera had him locked in place.

The Kadabra teleported in front of the frozen Edwin. "The tables have turned. This time, you are going nowhere."

"Just what are you planning on doing with me?" Edwin asked, his perserverance weakened but still intact. "I already told you, I know nothing about Charge's plans, and killing me will not even dent them."

"Oh, but you must know something, being one of his minions." Sera casually walked back into town, the cowboy levitating at her side. "And we are going to squeeze every drop of information that we can out of you. After that, your fate will be in Blah's hands. Bob, open the door for me, would you?"

"I've taught you well," the trainer proudly stated, opening the door of the wooden shack for her. "Your one-liners could use a little work, but I gotta say, I couldn't have handled that any better myself!"

"That is because you were being held by Mewtwo," joked Sera as she tossed the captive into the corner. "Now let us see if we can find something to tie him up with."

'How about these?' Broshi entered the room, carrying a length of rope, a long, striped sock, and a handkerchief. 'I found Waluigi bound and gagged in that other building. I figured we could put his restraints to better use here.'

"Wah, it was horrible..." A roughed-up Waluigi stumbled in behind him with one bare foot, coughing occasionally. "He watched so many episodes of My Little Pony, right in front of me... and wouldn't let me see any of them..."

"Preposterous," denied Edwin amidst Bob's wild laughter. "Ludicrous, even. I do not take joy in viewing the exploits of colorful ponies."

"It makes no difference to me; you are entitled to your own interests," said Sera, her lip faintly trembling as if holding back a chuckle of her own. "Hold still, please."

Edwin stared apprehensively at the sock which had been in Waluigi's mouth minutes before. "You can at least spare me the gag, if you're going to ask me questions, right?"

Bob laughed again. "Yeah, no. Sera can read minds. I thought even a complete scatterbrain like yourself could remember a detail like that. You're getting the whole prisoner package, bub!"

Edwin sighed. "Can't blame a man for trying..."