Friendly reminder that Team Renegade is a collaborative idea between Antex and me.

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www-dot-fanfiction-dot-net/u/4223584

Epilogue, Part 4: Righteous vs. Renegade

-Meowth's POV-

"Are you Team Righteous?"

We turned to the Pokémon that just spoke, a Stunky, and Rio nodded before accepting the letter. He was still a bit shaken about Medicham's offer yesterday, but he said that it's no excuse to put off missions. Me, I think he's just trying to get his mind off it for now.

Rio seemed to be confused by the letter, "Wha…? Levi… What did you say that exploration team's name was? The one you used to be on?"

Levi turned to Rio and said, "Team Renegade. Is that…?"

Putting the letter down on the table, Rio went on, "It looks like a challenge letter, but there are a few odd things about it. First, the location given isn't a mystery dungeon; it's directions to a specific location somewhere. Second, they want the entire team to go to that location."

Levi nodded, "Mystery dungeons only allow groups of four to travel through them. Meeting in something like an open field would negate that rule. Expect for them to come in full force too; though I don't know how many there are by now, it's been two-and-a-half years."

Cathy said, "So, what, they just expect us to drop everything and go there right away? We have other things to do. I say just send a squad and go on as usual."

"I agree with Cathy," Damus added. "We cannot allow this one challenge to take up an entire day's worth of missions. You said they were all Dark-types, correct? A squad comprised of-"

"No!" Everybody was shocked at Levi's shout. He sighed, "Sorry. But if we don't follow the instructions and just send a squad, then Team Renegade will be merciless on those that do go. Make no mistake. They wouldn't fall so easily to something like type advantage. And that's assuming they wouldn't just attack the squad en masse."

Hogan crossed his arms, "And if we ignore it, then they've already won…"

Jirachi spoke up, "All the same, we can't ignore the other missions. I'll stay behind and do as many as I can. I wouldn't have much against Dark-types anyway."

"Alright." I turned to Manaphy, "Manaphy, you stay an' help him. 'S important dat you two hold down da fort while we're gone, ya hear?"

Manaphy nodded with a smile, "You can count on me!"

We all left Treasure Town after making sure we all had a good amount of items. Levi suggested that we should travel as a group since the place wasn't that far, and if we split up, they might attack the first squad that got there.

Rio started walking beside me at the front, "You had Manaphy stay behind because of what Levi said about Team Renegade being merciless, didn't you?"

I sighed, "I'm dat easy ta read now?"

"Not in most things, but I was thinking the same thing. You just put it more tactfully than I would have."

I shook my head, "If I flat out said dat Manaphy couldn't come along, ya know he'd follow us because he'd wanna help us."

Rio nodded, "In any case, what do you make of this? Team Renegade calling us out to this random location; and demanding that we all come?"

I thought hard about it. After a bit, I said, "Way I see it, they wanna pit their team against ours. I dunno how; whether they're gonna have a free-for-all or take turns, but we've got a team-on-team fight on our hands."

As we made our way to the location given in the letter, we got to an open field. A big group of Pokémon was standing there waiting for us. The Pokémon there were a Mightyena at the front, and from left to right in the back, a Spiritomb, a Cacturne, a Crawdaunt, a Weavile, a Sharpedo, a Shiftry, an Umbreon, an Absol, a Houndoom, a Tyranitar, and a Drapion. They all had Master Rank badges, but I didn't like the look of them. Looked to me like they were like Team Skull, but a lot more powerful.

I heard Levi mutter, "Twelve now, huh? But… where's…?"

The Mightyena, Fenrir, I think Levi called him, spoke up, "I see that you've accepted our challenge. But where's the rest of you? Our intelligence said that there were fifteen members of Team Righteous."

I stepped forward, "They're handlin' missions. Besides, looks ta me like we're just about even. Twelve on thirteen seems fair, don't it?"

The Crawdaunt laughed and said, "'Even' don't describe the situation ye be in. Ye woulda done better to 'ave brought yer full force! We'll crush-"

"Silence, Bruiser." Fenrir glared at him, and Bruiser stopped and shook before stepping back a bit.

Definitely da leader… Ta keep such a tight leash on a bunch like dis… he must be super strong.

Fenrir looked at the Houndoom and tilted his head for him to go forward. He did, and said, "What you meet us with is your choice. Your loss if it's not enough. For what we're going to do though, I think it would be easier if we all introduced ourselves by name. It's common courtesy, after all."

They each gave their nicknames, and I think that Fenrir and Levi used up all the clever names for this team. From left to right they were: Ghoul, Thorn, Bruiser, Icicle, Brute, Zane, Wilfred (pretty normal name for this team), Mirage, Pyro, Wrecker, and Toxin. Cathy looked at Wilfred funny, but then she looked like she was focused on now again. We each introduced ourselves too, and there were a few snickers from Team Renegade when they heard that I still went by Meowth after evolving.

When we got to Levi, he ignored Pyro and turned to Fenrir, saying, "You already know my name, Fenrir. Now tell me, where's Freak? The three of us started Team Renegade; he wouldn't sit out a fight with the team's reputation at stake."

The Shiftry, Zane, stepped forward and said, "You're not fit to speak to Fenrir, weakling. And that worthless whelp was ousted from Team Renegade. That Sableye couldn't even hold a decent fight without a steady supply of items. And, as you can see, we found a much better replacement." He finished with a gesture to the Spiritomb, Ghoul.

Levi glared, his hat-like crest seeming to make a shadow over his eyes, "Now I see… Fenrir, I always knew that you were ambitious, but to drive your two friends off, not because we were weak, but so you could be at the top of the pyramid? Despicable."

I didn't have to look to my side to know that Rio was ticked off. I could feel the anger coming off of his body. Can't say I blame him. If what Levi's saying is true, then that's just low.

Pyro cut in, "I believe that this conversation has run its course. Now, we're going to be fighting in a tournament. Rules are: One-on-one fight per round, one item allotted for each fighter, whether consumable or equipped, and no switching out. Once a fighter loses, they are out, and may not participate, even if they are healed after the fight. A fighter is considered to have lost if they are unconscious or they say 'I surrender'. Winners of each round must stay in the battle until they are defeated or the opposing team has no more fighters to send out. And lastly," Pyro's eyes seemed to gleam, "no interference from other members of either team, or both the fighter of that team and all interrupting are disqualified."

I glared at Team Renegade. I don't tink they'd be in a rush ta go ta their teammates' rescue. They just put dat rule in ta mess wit' us.

Pyro went on, "For the first round, both sides send out their Pokémon at the same time. All of you, pick your items and decide your first combatant. Tell us when you're ready."

They moved away a bit, and then we all gathered up all the items we had, including our exclusive items, trying to decide what would be best. I put my old charm in the Treasure Bag and looked through the set of items laid out. After we all picked our items, we started discussing who should go first.

Siltram volunteered first, but everybody else said that his quirky fighting style would be better as a surprise later in the fight. Hogan and Savage were immediately put on reserve, since they both had moves that would be good against almost all of Team Renegade. Rio and I were also put as "emergency reserve" since we were the strongest. After a long debate, we decided that Penny would be going first, since her type would cover most of her weaknesses, except for ground and electric.

I stepped forward, "Listen, Penny. If things get dicey, then surrender. Dis ain't worth getting seriously hurt over."

She grinned, "Not a problem! I don't plan on losing! And my Aqua Blade will make sure my opponent doesn't get off unhurt."

Rio called out that we were ready, and at the count of three by Pyro, Penny and Ghoul the Spiritomb moved forward, with a tiny item bag tied to his stone. He took one look at Penny and snickered, "Hee-hee-hee, sending a little girl against us? Most unwise."

I could just hear Penny's temper ticking down to blow up as she growled.

Fenrir spoke up, "Penny vs. Ghoul. Begin."

Penny didn't waste any time attacking. Her body got coated with water, and she shot forward with Aqua Jet. She slammed into Spiritomb, and he was pushed back a bit, but barely flinched. He stood there, seeming to think before his body got a black outline for a while. (AN: Nasty Plot)

Seeing an opening, Penny shot a Hydro Pump, but Ghoul ducked it by going into his keystone. Popping back out, his ghost form span like a windmill, shooting Ominous Wind. Penny crossed her flippers and guarded against it, but she was forced to take a step back.

After the wind died down, Penny shot a Bubble Beam attack, the bubbles blowing up as they hit Ghoul. His ghost form starting to flicker, the Spiritomb growled. I had a bad feeling that this team doesn't have a problem with fighting dirty when they're pushed into a losing position.

Suddenly, Ghoul flew forward, and Penny was caught off-guard. His ghost form went up her nostrils, and Penny's body was outlined in purple with green lights floating around her. She seemed to be in pain.

I gasped. Dis is da same thing dat happened ta Grovyle back when we were in da future!

A smaller version of Ghoul's ghost form rose out of the keystone, and he laughed, "Fool. You had no chance against us from the very beginning! Now, you're going to surrender. Say it!"

"I-I s-s-sur-"

Hogan stepped forward, "No way! They can't just do this!"

I looked at him, "They didn't say anythin' 'bout possession bein' against da rules. An' they phrased it as, 'they say "I surrender"', not dat they surrender. I'm ticked about it too, but they were stackin' da deck against us from da beginnin'."

Penny was still shaking, but a scowl grew on her face as she still looked in pain, "I s-sure d-don't take ord-ders fro-from c-cowards like y-you!"

Ghoul's eyebrows shot up, "You resisted our control? We are impressed." Then he got a scary grin, "But now we have reason to make you submit through pain. We wonder if your insides are as durable as your outside?"

My eyes widened, and I shouted, "Penny! Surrender, now!"

Penny's head turned to me, "W-why sh-sh-should I? I j-just need t-to-"

I shook my head, "Ya don't understand! If he can damage ya from da inside, there's at least a dozen different ways ya could die from it! Surrender!"

Penny actually looked a little scared now, and she straightened up, "I s-sur-guh!" Her voice was cut off as she reached for her throat. Ghoul grinned wider, "Too late. You would have done well to heed our order the first time. Now it is no longer an option."

Ghoul's energy seemed to concentrate around Penny's neck, and she fell to her knees, now able to move, but she couldn't breathe. Penny's flipper started glowing with Metal Claw, and she raised it, but Ghoul just floated a few feet away, and all she could do was swing it feebly as he chuckled.

Rio was shaking with anger and looked like he was about to jump in, but I put a paw on his shoulder, "I hate dis too, but they're tryin' ta get us ta break their rules. I'm sorry, but we need ta tough dis out and plan rationally."

Soon, Penny fainted, and Ghoul's energy faded away. Penny started breathing again, but she was still down. Fenrir spoke up again, "Penny is unable to battle. Ghoul is the winner."

"Tauros…!" Hogan darkly muttered. He looked like he wanted to deck Fenrir right there and then for saying that. Rose put a hand on his shoulder and walked over to Penny, teleporting her away for a short while before coming back.

"Chimecho will watch her," she whispered. "Penny will be fine."

We talked about who to send out next. It was a problem, since Ghoul could possess anybody and hurt them from the inside. We thought about sending Dash, since he might've been able to finish Ghoul before he could try anything, but Vlad volunteered to go out.

"I'm dead," he reminded us, "I have no body to possess. Also, I have these." He pulled his Sunglasses out of his bag and put them on. They let him absorb energy from Ghost-type moves, covering one of his weaknesses.

He floated forward, and Fenrir called out, "Vlad vs. Ghoul. Begin."

Ghoul started, "Dark-"

Vlad disappeared and punched him in the keystone, "Sucker Punch!"

Ghoul was sent flying from the attack to his main body. He fired the Dark Pulse, but Vlad just went into the floor and dodged it. His laugh was heard around the field as Ghoul looked around for Vlad. Vlad spoke, "Such a pity that you're not a true ghost like me. Bound to that little keystone; sure, you can fly, but that stone is dragging down your speed. And unable to phase through objects because of it? Why, I'd never be able to tolerate the boredom!"

Ghoul growled and then grunted in surprise when a fist-shaped shadow hit him from behind. He turned around, and Vlad was floating in the air waving with two fingers. Ghoul shot Ominous Wind, but Vlad's sunglasses just glowed purple, and seemed to absorb the wind.

Vlad grinned and tilted his head, "You know…? You seem to have quite an affinity for causing physical pain. You're reminding me an awful lot of someone I don't like…" A ring of black energy glowed around him, "And even though it didn't hurt, that still counts as an attack."

Beams of black energy shot out from the ring and blasted Ghoul. (AN: Payback)

Ghoul's ghost form fizzled out and went back into the keystone, but a Reviver Seed floated out of the bag strapped to his stone. It took root, and Ghoul's ghost form started rising out of the stone again. Good thing we sent Vlad out, he seems ta have everythin' under control. Even if he has ta go a second round, he hasn't even taken any damage.

"Do you really just expect me to sit here and wait for you to be back to full strength?" Vlad asked. "I doubt you would do the same, so it's only fair that I return the favor."

He floated right up to Spiritomb, and lifted his Sunglasses, his eyes flashing red. Spiritomb gasped and then fell asleep, going back into his keystone. Vlad said, "You seem to be well-versed in dealing and taking physical pain, but let's see how you deal with mental pain. 108 different sets of fears to work with… Hm-hm-hm, this will be fun."

He kept staring down at Ghoul, his eyes still glowing red, and soon the keystone started shaking and rolling around back and forth. Then Vlad put his Sunglasses back down, his eyes still glowing behind them, and he started using Shadow Punch while keeping up the Nightmare. After a while, the Reviver Seed stopped glowing and fell off, having used all its energy.

Vlad used another Shadow Punch, and the keystone flopped to its side, not moving anymore.

"Ghoul is unable to battle. Vlad is the winner."

Vlad crossed his arms and floated in the air with a smug grin on his face. Ghoul's keystone twitched and then flipped back right side-up, moving back to the rest of his team. None of his teammates gave him a second look.

After a bit of time, the Umbreon, Wilfred, stepped forward. He had a Chesto Berry in his mouth. Looks like he won't fall for Vlad's Nightmare.

"Vlad vs. Wilfred. Begin."

Wilfred immediately bit down on the Chesto Berry, making it so Vlad couldn't put him to sleep. Vlad flew forward, and his fist glowed with green and yellow energy as he used Drain Punch. It was a direct hit, but Wilfred barely flinched and then bit down on Vlad's arm. Vlad pulled back with a shout of pain, and then wound up for another Drain Punch. He didn't really have a lot of options, since his ghost and dark moves wouldn't be as effective, and he couldn't put Wilfred to sleep.

This time, a black circle of energy appeared around Wilfred after he was attacked, and Vlad was blasted since he was still right in front of him after the attack.

Vlad fell to the ground, and he pushed himself back up, and purple light glowed behind his Sunglasses. He was trying to use Destiny Bond. But Wilfred caught on, and didn't attack; he closed his eyes, and said, "Moonlight."

Next to me, Cathy stiffened after hearing the Umbreon speak.

The circle on his forehead glowed and the sky darkened for a bit as a golden moon appeared in the sky and shone light on him, healing most of his wounds. After the moon disappeared, the sky went back to normal.

Vlad cursed and then flew forward for another Drain Punch, but he was knocked out by the Payback attack after he hit.

"Vlad is unable to battle. Wilfred is the winner."

Rose started making her way over to Vlad, but he waved his hand as he sat up, "I'll live. I can stay." He floated back to us, "Shame I couldn't do more, though."

I shook my head, "Ya did what none of us would've been able ta do. Wit'out you, we all woulda lost ta dat Spiritomb. Now who's-"

Cathy spoke up, "I want to go next."

Everybody looked at her, surprised. Rose said, "Really? No offense, but usually you try to avoid fighting."

She turned to Rose, "Well, now I do. I know that Umbreon. I'd recognize that voice anywhere." Cathy started walking forward, "Back in Mystifying Forest, we were both Eevees. He stood me up."

*whistles* This is turning out pretty long, so I decided to divide it into parts. I think it'll be around two or three. I'll post the next part as soon as I'm able to.