Purifying Dark Hearts

Rose: YO! I was scrolling through my stories and decided hey, I wanted to update these stories! So I am updating more after this because the inspiration hit and I HAVE A LAPTOP AND CAN WRITE ALL I WANT! Ahem. Please, review and enjoy~

After a quick stop at the Galactic Eterna Building, I went straight to the gym. The flower clock was quite beautiful I have to admit. The trainers were a great source of training for my newly evolved Staravia. Which means this leader would be toast. Gardenia, I believe. The thrashing did not take long. After getting her badge and leaving, I healed up my Pokemon, before heading to the underground house, to grab me some of the supplies the man gave away. I did take a quick detour to the underground and made me a small secret base. Moved some rocks, put in a table and chairs, a TV in the corner, and a nice bookshelf next to the small computer. It really did seem like a good home, since I was a traitor to the people of Sinnoh, and the underground was nice and private. I buried a few prisms so they could grow big and I could get even more stuff for my new home, before finally going back to the land above ground.

When I emerged, it was clear Dawn had just been to the Eterna building, as all the grunts were gone without a trace. Which hopefully meant that she already skipped down by now. I clicked open my town map and saw the way to go from here was back to Oreburgh. I was about to give up when I remembered the bicycle road and the shop in town! With a soft cheer, I ran to the building and saw the man with his Clefairy. He recognized me and became fearful, practically thrusting a bike in my hands and hiding behind the counter. I smiled and left, setting up the bike and speeding out of the town and down the bicycle road, giving a well-deserved crushing to any trainer that got in my way. When I got to the route above the city, I made my way to the cave entrance, seeing the two happy little newbie trainers, chatting happily. They seemed to have just finished a battle, and both, unfortunately, had seen me. So I walked up and smiled.

"Dawn! Barry! It's been a little bit since we've last all been together! How are your Pokedexes coming along?" A convenient topic to talk about, as both showed theirs off. I was in complete shock to see that Barry had his filled up far more than Dawn, even having a few pages I didn't have. A wave of jealousy swept through me but never showed on my face. I gave both praises and suggested we head through the town to the next stop on the way to the third gym, Hearthome City. Dawn seemed excited to hear about the Contest hall and dashed off, leaving me with that annoying blonde.

"Lucas. Why do you do that?" He turned to me, giving me a determined look.

"You'll have to be more specific Barry," I replied nonchalantly, walking off to the cave entrance.

"Why do you act like a happy and nice person when around other people, but act so hateful and annoyed when I'm close?" That caused me to stop and think. What lie would throw him off the scent entirely? I thought of how when he had run into me one of those times before, he did blush, like how Dawn usually did the moment I walk up. No matter how much I hate it, it was a good distraction.

"Because I'm trying to not be in love with you." I looked over my shoulder with a soft look, one which I hoped portrayed longing, before walking into the cave, leaving the blathering idiot in his tracks, yelling at me to come back and explain what I said. Which wasn't happening because I was not digging a deeper freaking hole than I already have from saying those simple words. I sped through the cave and Route 208, only allowing a distraction when a weird man in a karate uniform gave me a weird rock and something about a stone tower ways away.

I entered the city and looked around in absolute awe. The place was huge and way more my taste than how loud Jubilife was. I did some asking and found out about how the gym leader here was a ghost type user and felt glad my Luxio recently learned bite. The leader also was a huge fan of contests, so obviously my best bet to find her would be there. As I approached the huge building, I began seeing a trend. Everyone going in was finely dressed and groomed. Which meant me walking in wearing jeans, a jacket, cap and a scarf would not look too good. I walked away, before finding a small boutique that was happy to help me find the perfect clothes. Because I despise crowds, I thought a mask would be a good way to make sure no one who sees me in there sees me while I try to work.

In the end, I had a simple black tuxedo, my hair combed over one of my eyes, which was covered by an onyx mask and silver lining, and the dress shirt a deep navy. The women at the boutique gushed over how handsome I looked and let me just leave with it without paying. Don't think I didn't try either, I was basically thrown out, my bag stuffed with my normal clothes. I had another though. Onix, Prinplup, Luxio, and Staravia didn't really seem like contest Pokemon. And what if someone recognized me with them? I made a beeline back to the mountain and caught a Chingling, giving it the nickname Melody, as people in contests, from what I heard, usually give little nicknames to their Pokemon.

After assuring myself no one would recognize me, I went into the building, hissing on the inside at all the pink. I looked around, before seeing a woman with the oddest hairstyle I've ever seen before, and my guy told me this was the gym leader. I approached her, and her eyes lit up. Her accent was heavy, but I understood the gist. She basically demanded that I go into a contest, before shoving me to the front counter. The clerk asked me for a name and on the fly, I came up with Kouki. After entering me in, and thrusting a prop case into my hands, I was escorted to the main stage. The three judges took their place and the announcer came on.

"Welcome! To today's normal ranked contest! Now for me to introduce the contenders! Entry number 1, Anna and her trainer... Louise!" There was a surge of claps as a blonde woman stepped up with a shiny Mareep, which meant she was most likely foreign as Mareep were not native here.

"Entry number 2… With her Driftly, Dawn!" I wiped my head over to see Dawn in a sparkly white and pink dress, her hair done up in pink clips, a Drifloon by her side. No.. What if she recognized me?!

"Entry number 3! Inferno and his trainer... Barry!" At this point, my life was over, because for sure both of them would recognize me and I would never hear the end of it. Especially after what I said to Barry a few hours ago. He cleaned up decently, wearing a plain black Tux with his normally messy hair slicked to the side. By his side was his Monferno, though I really shouldn't be surprised.

"And finally… With the eye of Miss Fantina... Entry number 4! Melody and her trainer… Kouki!" When everyone's attention came to me, I just gave a slight bow, as my Chingling sang out her name, doing a slight twirl, which must be very cute, as everyone in the crowd cooed and cheered. The announcer went to explaining the dress up round as I felt two pairs of eyes on me. I glanced over and saw Dawn and Barry staring at me, Dawn in an even more lovesick way than she usually does, and Barry… With a similar look that sent chills down my spine. Thankfully, we were ushered off to our own devices for the first round and I worked on playing on the audience's love of Melody, and her apparent cuteness, so I put bow bows on her red and white appendage, and a little tiara over it, along with a pink puff for her to hold. After I finished, I heard footsteps and loud arguing voices.

"But Dawn, You have Lucas! Can't you let me…"

"N-no! Lucas obviously likes you and I don't have a chance! His baby sister said he h-had a boyfriend anyways!"

"Nu uh! C'mon Dawn, do it for me!"

I turned to the sound of the voices, only to see Dawn and Barry bickering at the doorway to the dressing room I was in. Did they not expect me to be able to hear them? When both noticed me looking at them, they both blushed equal shades of red. Their conversation seemed pretty obvious. They were fighting over me, and both were equally crushing on "Kouki." And the grave gets deeper. I stood up, trying to mask my voice in any means possible.

"Hello there. What brings you over here?" I ask cooly, cocking my head to the side as Melody floats up to sit on my shoulder. Both stand there, mouths opening and closing like a Magikarp's, obviously unable to formulate a proper response. I let at a chuckle, since it really was amusing, mostly in Barry's case because normally he never shuts up.

"Glameow got your tongue?" Both of them nod, Dawn burying her face in her hands, and Barry just looking anywhere but at me, which caused me to feel just the faintest twinge of annoyance. Why I have no idea and don't care enough to try and find out. I sighed.

"If both of you have no business with me, then please leave. I still need to finish up Melody." Said psychic type chimed in agreement. Both teens stammered at apologies and let, most likely to finish their Pokemon's look, which they put off to have this uneventful little meeting of theirs. I gently pet the Chingling and thought to myself. Normally I would be pleased with how a tool does its job but with little Melody… I may have caught it for ulterior motives but… I was genuinely pleased to be around her. Which doesn't make sense, she's only a tool to me. Yet thinking that in my head gives me such heartache. Then I realized it. It was so painfully obvious. I developed a personal bond with this tiny Pokemon in this short amount of time. I was being gripped with emotions, which I never really gave much thought about. Lord Cyrus was going to be getting rid of emotions. So then I can't feel annoyed at Barry and Dawn's antics, I can't feel joy or be proud of my little bell Pokemon, and I can't be angry at Rowen for all the things I've done for him.

Was… Resetting the world and destroying spirit actually going to fix the world…? No, of course, it would! Lord Cyrus knew what he was doing… Didn't he? And he complimented me today! But… If spirit is destroyed… Will that really solve anything? Without emotions… Humans aren't motivated to do anything. There would be no point. And no knowledge meant they wouldn't be able to learn and adapt to new situations. And without willpower? Humans wouldn't want to allow themselves to survive. Because they wouldn't be motivated to survive, be knowledgeably on how to get food or have to will to move and get that food. My mind was filling with doubt, doubt for everything I've done in my short life, and doubt for the man I had grown to worship like every other Galactic member… I was drawn out of my thoughts when the announcer's voice came on over the speakers in the dressing room.

"Can all the contestants and their beautifully dressed up Pokemon come down to backstage please?" I took a deep breath and threw the doubts from my mind. If I was going to do this stupid contest, I was going to win it for all my efforts. Melody chimed softly as if sensing my turmoil and nuzzling up to my cheek in comfort. My eyes soften at the tiny Pokemon. I took her into my arms and retrace the steps to the backstage area, holding her close. Because at this time in my life, I have found something to truly care about. And because of my ties to Galactic, I was afraid that she would be snatched away from me.

When I arrived at the backstage area, everyone else was already there, Pokemon besides them and dressed up. Louise had gone to enhance the pinkness her Mareep already had, adding bows and glitter. Barry had gone for a tougher approach, putting a headband on his Monferno, and adding rocks and spikes to its arms and head. Dawn had put feathers and prop clouds on her Drifloon, taking advantage of the flying type. I felt a twinge of pride. Melody, in my opinion, looked the best, no doubt. But then again, that's just my bias to my own Pokemon, isn't it?

In order, once again, our Pokemon was shown off to the crowd. The grading apparently was based on the cheers our Pokemon received during their time on stage. Anna, Inferno, and Driftly all got loud cheers. When Melody was sent out, I was awed by the screams and clapping she received. At the end of the round, the points were tallied, with Melody taking first, Driftly taking second, Anna placing third, and Inferno in a very close last. Then came round two. The dance competition. Which brings up a good thought, how do a sheep and a balloon dance?

After round 2, it was apparent that Melody was easily stage frighted, tripping up on some of her moves, dropping her to second, while Driftly took third. Lastly came acting.

"Alright! Time for the final round! Your goal is to use moves to impress the judges! Impress them enough and you'll get bonus points! Now.. Let's get this show on the road!"

To be honest, it was a pretty amazing spectacle. Inferno showed off his fighting and fire typing, wiping up fire tornadoes and showing off how fast Mach Punch was. Driftly wiped up Whirlwinds and used Will O Wisp to entrance the audience and judges. Anna summoned bolts of lightning and made rainbows of sparks fly from the stage. When it was our time to shine, I gave a confident smile to Melody. I may have disliked the idea of doing this t first, but I can see the appeal, even to trainers. Stepping up to the stage, I really had no idea what to do. Melody's move set wasn't much to work with. Uproar, Confusion, Astonish, and somehow, Wish, which I'm pretty sure is an egg move. Which may mean little Melody wasn't a natural born wild Pokemon. Either way, how can I make this work?

" Melody! Let's start with Astonish!" She nodded and glowed with the ghostly energy, before releasing it all, leaving behind trails of ghostly energy around the stage. Which made me get thinking. How can we show off a musical Pokemon? Music!

"Alright! Now use Uproar, and combine it with Confusion!" Hopefully, she knew what I meant. She floated up in the air and began to chime loudly, glowing purple as rainbow colored music notes bounced around the stage, some hitting the wisps from earlier and causing small explosions, leaving shimmering dust behind.

" And to finish it off, make a Wish!" The bell Pokemon curled up into a small ball, glowing white, before a small star went up, and came down like dozens of small shooting stars. The judges clapped, and the crowd cheered. Would that really be enough to compete with everyone else's sets?

Also of us took the stage, our Pokemon by our sides. The judges were whispering among themselves, before the head judge, an older man in a brown suit, took the stage and went to the microphone, holding a small pink ribbon delicately in his hands.

"Alright. Time for the results! In 4th place… Barry and Inferno!" Barry sighed but took the applause with a smile.

"In a very close match up, Dawn and Driftly take 3rd!" Dawn gave a shy smile and curtsied.

"In second… Our usual Queen and Princess of the contest hall… Louise and Anna!" The woman sighed, giving a small wave, while picking up the Mareep, feeding her what looked like a cookie as her reward. Which meant…

"In first place, newcomer Kouki and Melody!" The screams the erupted in the room were ear piercing. I gave proud smile and hugged my partner, who sang happily in response. The head judge walked over to us and fixed the small ribbon on one of Melody's little red and white cloths ( rope? I should research what that is.).

Hours later we were able to get out of there, after being rushed by fans wanting autographs and pictures, and many people begging to enter more contests. However, despite all of the fun it was, I still had my missions. Getting intel, getting the badges, and keeping my cover. The first mission still made me a little shaky. Melody noticed the expression I had on my face and hugged my cheek from her spot on my shoulder in a comforting gesture. I gave a small smile. Between her and the two teens from Twinleaf, they were really making life difficult for me.

I quickly went to the Pokemon Center and got a room, taking the contest get up off and folding it neatly and placing it back in my bag. I was about to return Melody back in her Pokeball until I found her already asleep on one of the pillows on my bed. I let go of the thought and quickly changed into my sweats and faded t shirt. I grabbed a toothbrush and toothpaste from my bag and left in search of the bathroom, until I heard a distinct yelling down the hall, around the corner.

"Happiny! No, don't run off! Please!" A pink Pokemon rounded the corner, and saw me, before narrowing its eyes, wagging its finger, which I recognized as Metronome, and so I dropped to the ground as the Pokemon shot something off, which from the sound of it was metal sound. I lifted my head as Barry ran up and grabbed the Pokemon, Happiny he called it, before turning to me and rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry about that Lucas. She just hatched and is a bit… Rowdy. Especially with metronome. Nurse Joy's already a little upset about when she used flamethrower in the main part of the Pokemon Center and caught a Roselia on fire." Barry talked on and on, not noticing the Pokemon in question wagging her finger again, before shooting off an orb in my face. The last thing I saw was a glowing pink light before I blacked out, with Barry screaming what I thought was my name.

Rose: I WANNA KEEP GOING BUT THEN THE WHOLE STORY WILL BE OVER WHEN I FINISH TYPING. SO ENJOY THE SUPER MEGA UPDATE EVERYONE. And sorry if you hated the contest crap, I need it for character development. It needed to happen sooner or later, man.