Percival's journey was just underway, and already about to get serious. As he walked through the city, Charles following him obediently and Fluffles on his shoulder (since he decided to let them both out again), he heard a loud chanting noise and a large crowd of people. As he looked to his right, he spotted what was happening. Across the street, a group of curious onlookers had gathered around a group of oddly-dressed individuals. Each was adorned in dark robes, with a draping hood that concealed their whole face. A prism could be spotted on their chest, each of their wrists, and the very tip of their hood. Percival didn't have to look twice to instantly know they were a cult.

As he approached, entering the crowd, the chanting stopped, and one of the cultists walked up to a microphone on the center of the stage, and spoke. "Greetings, citizens of Birmabright. We are all members of the Prism of Truth, and are here to explain to you what we intend to do. See, we have studied the fascinating Legendary Pokemon Necrozma; however, as you all know, these nigh omnipotent Legendary Pokemon are hard to come by, and almost as hard to study. Necrozma is the master of darkness, said to steal the light of the Moon and Sun of any world it comes in contact with. We wish to bring it to this world. Why?"

"Quite simple, really. This world deserves to die. Too many lies, too much hatred, too much corruption. Vile human beings of all walks of life threaten to destroy this world that we have been given alongside Pokemon. And thus, we have come to conclusion: we must summon Necrozma, take the light, and let ourselves die to let the world proceed as it did long before we came into existence. Believe me, we are no weak, tiny group. We are powerful, and growing in power everyday. To prove it, we challenge any of you brave enough to face us in a friendly Pokemon battle. Nothing on the table, just a plain, simple battle."

Plucky young trainers approached the cultists, challenging them to battles. Not many veteran trainers were there, and thus, the cultists were scoring many easy victories, leaving the new trainers in tears and the audience in shock. If these emissaries could decimate Pokemon of all types and sizes so quickly, they would be unstoppable if the stronger cultists were there, and invincible if they had the powers of a Legendary Pokemon on their side.

And so, sensing the panic in the crowd, Percival nervously scooted and excused his way to the front of the crowd, who looked with sympathy on what they assumed was another trainer dared by some friends into an ego blast from these cultists. Percival knew that morale was important, but he didn't have it in him to make it a show. And so, he quietly edged up to a cultist that has just scored a victory, tapping him on the shoulder with a nervous, shaky nod that could easily have been mistaking for him refusing a batlte. But the cultist saw it for what it was, and sent out his Pokemon, the Dark type Purrloin. The purple cat Pokemon smiled wickedly, on a streak of victories against these rookie trainers. And Percival, in his blue vest, and otherwise entirely black atire, seemed like a slightly posh, yet entirely rookie, trainer.

Percival nodded to Fluffles, allowing the little plushie bear to be his Pokemon for this battle. While Charles was stronger in battle, Fluffles was a Fighting and a Normal type, giving him an edge against Dark Types. Well, or so he hoped the cultist would think. Fluffles really didn't have any moves to capitalize on his Fighting Type, and thus, was likely another easy victory for the cultist. But he had to try, for the sake of the courage of the other people in the crowd. And Fluffles, well, he was going to give it his all. Never before had Percival been in a high stakes Pokemon battle, only occasionally sparring with his siblings while they were younger. But this was raw and real, and more depended on this than he would ever have wanted.

"Fluffles, strike at it with a Tackle!" Percival commanded his Stufful, as the pink bear leapt at his opponent, failing to strike the cat as it deftly, on its two legs, skipped away and sprung off a nearby building, using the aerial velocity to empower its next move. "Scratch!" the cultist commanded, as a claw was brandished and raked into the Stufful. Percival winced as his Pokemon braced itself for another ferocious strike, as the cultist ordered another Scratch attack. Before Fluffles could even react, the Purrloin was out of reach. Percival had no idea how they were planning on winning this, although he did know what move to use next.

"Bide!" Fluffles began to glow with white energy, as the cultist commanded for another Scratch. Fluffles took the scratch head on, much to the disappointment of the cultist. "I know full well what you are planning with Bide, but you aren't going to be able to pull it off at this rate." Percival nodded, grimly. As he scoured the arena, he hoped Fluffles wouldn't let up on the defense. Bide relied on Fluffles taking as much damage as possible, which he would then fire back two-fold at the target. Only problem was the speed of this Purrloin, as well as Fluffles being locked out of using any other moves while charging up his Bide.

As more claw strikes struck, Percival recognized that Fluffles could likely only take one or two more, as did the Cultist. "Use Scratch again!" As the Purrloin sprung up the building again, this time climbing on all fours to expediate the process, Percival spotted a win condition: a trash can. "Make a mess, Fluffles," he said, glancing towards the bin of rubbish. As Fluffles pranced over, knocking over a few cultists, kids, and crowd members, the Purrloin leaped at him again, landing the Scratch. As it began to spring off of him, he accidentally skidded into the trash bin, flipping it over as the trash spewed everywhere, disorienting the Purrloin long enough for the trash bin to catch it, trapping both it and Fluffles within it. While neither trainer could see their Pokemon in the flipped over bin, the white blast that blasted the trash can to pieces revealed who won: Percival.

Stunned, the cultist was forced to withdraw his Purrloin, with the white blast drawing all eyes towards Percival's battle. The crowd, in awe of the spectacle they had witnessed, waited for a comment from Percival. The best he could muster was a whispered pun "And that is how one victory can overshadow countless defeats." A moan-cheer was felt throughout the crowd, and the battles ceased soon after. Sure, it was a hollow victory compared to all the many defeats at the hands of these greenhorn grunts, but it was what the crowd needed.

Satisfied with his Pokemon, Percival called over Stuffles to himself. "You know, on second thought, let's head back to our house. I think we both need a bath before heading out. Besides, mom needs to know about this. I have a bad feeling we're going to see these guys a whole lot more in the future."

Pokemon So Far:

Fluffles (Stufful) - Moves: Tackle, Leer, Bide; Ability: Fluffy; Level: 7

Charles (Furfrou) - Moves: Tackle, Growl, Sand Attack, Bady-Doll Eyes; Ability: Fur Coat; Level: 9

AUTHOR'S NOTE - Thank you all for sticking with this! I hope it's picking up slightly. It's been pretty plot heavy so far, with only a few demonstrations of character on the part of Percival, but the next few are going to be more character driven. Thanks again!