Epilogue, Part 10: Reasons Why

We followed Fenrir away from the old plain and we stopped a few miles away. He looked around and said, "Here is fine. We shall begin as soon as you two step off the arena. Also, from this point on, only contestants are allowed to be near the arena. Any who lose must leave."

As we walked off, Hogan got into his stance and Fenrir crouched, ready to pounce. After we were off, Fenrir said, "Begin."

The two of them charged at each other, Fenrir slightly faster on all fours. He immediately went for Hogan's neck with Bite, but he was blocked, biting into one of Hogan's arms instead. With his fist glowing, Hogan punched Fenrir in the stomach with Brick Break. He was sent flying, but he flipped in the air and landed on his feet again, shaking his head clear and growling.

I raised an eyebrow. Dat shoulda been enough ta put 'im outta commission… Is he really dat strong…?

Fenrir charged again, but, as Hogan wound up for another punch, he suddenly sped up and used Sucker Punch. Hogan finished the attack, grabbing Fenrir and using Seismic Toss to spin and throw him, making him hit the ground about 15 yards away making a small dust cloud. He ran forward to try to get more attacks, but a huge roar came from the cloud, with a gust of wind, knocking him off his feet and sending him flying. (AN: Roar.)

Fenrir dashed out of the dust cloud and used Take Down while Hogan was still in the air. But he landed wrong and started leaning on his right side, keeping his left front foot lifted a bit. Hogan got up and used Cross Chop, getting a direct hit, and Fenrir was sent flying as usual. But something was weird. When Fenrir got up, he was standing fine on his left foot.

I narrowed my eyes. Sumpin's fishy here… Wait. If Levi can have a cape that makes 'im absorb electricity, one o' his weaknesses, then… Hmm… He said "one item," but I don't see any item bag or anythin'…

Hogan charged forward, his right arms spinning, ready for Dynamic Punch, but this time Fenrir dodged and jumped forward after Hogan was off balance from swinging too hard and missing. His body was outlined in purple with yellow streaks and he hit Hogan in the side with Giga Impact, knocking him down.

Hogan tried to get up, but fell back to the ground, breathing hard. "I'm spent," he panted. "You're really strong, Fenrir. Can't help but respect that. But, you still have two more to go, and they won't go down easy."

Rio walked forward and helped Hogan up, supporting him from his left side. He said, "Do you need help getting back?"

Hogan shook his head, "Nah, I'll be fine." He took an Oran Berry and left, walking at a faster pace after he ate the berry.

"Who is next?"

Rio started stepping forward, but I said, "Hold up, Rio. I'm thinkin' I should go first. I wanna check somethin'."

Rio turned and said, "All right, Meowth. If you want to go, then I guess there's no harm in it. Just… be careful, all right?"

I raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Hey, have ya forgotten who you're talkin' ta? I'm da master of bein' careful!"

Rio chuckled while I went to the Treasure Bag. Instead of reaching for the item that I planned on using before, I reached for a different one and slipped it into the tiny cloth bag before putting it around my neck.

Turning towards the arena, I stepped forward and crouched down, ready to put my legs into overdrive. I always complained about havin' short legs, and now I got some speed ta work with.

Fenrir also crouched down, "Begin."

-Rio's POV-

Fenrir charged forward first, but Meowth saw it coming and waited until he was closer before shooting Toxic mist. I felt a surge of fear from Fenrir as he skid to a stop, but it was pushed aside in place of anger and he appeared to hold his breath as the mist swept over him. Meowth stayed in the same spot, on guard, waiting for Fenrir to come out.

But the ground underneath Meowth started cracking and Fenrir burst up underneath Meowth and bit into his side. I looked back to the mist, which had faded by then, and saw that there was a hole dug in the ground.

Meowth, for his part, took it in stride and turned his head to point at Fenrir, the gem on his head glimmering before he fired Power Gem, blasting Fenrir off of his side. After that, he used Shock Wave to zap him before jumping into the hole that Fenrir had created. Fenrir just growled and dug a new hole, chasing Meowth underground.

With the fight being taken underground, I closed my eyes and concentrated on the two's auras. They were moving through the land, and from the look of it, Fenrir was tracking Meowth by scent while Meowth was dodging by sound. Eventually the two clashed underground, and their auras overlapped for a bit before Meowth's was knocked away down one of the passages. After that, Meowth retreated to the surface, but, before he did, I noticed that a smaller aura sprouted off of his and was going in a different direction to the surface.

He must've used Substitute…

After the two Meowths broke the surface, Fenrir followed them shortly after, and he looked at the two. Both of the Persians, Meowth and his clone, grinned smugly before they both said, "Well, come on, bozo. It's fifty/fifty." They both charged, but Fenrir just growled and bit into one before throwing it into the other. The second one, the one hit by the first, vanished and Meowth was on his side on the ground.

But, instead of charging forward, Fenrir seemed to be shifting his jaw, as if he was feeling around the inside of his mouth with his tongue. Eventually, he grunted in surprise and then spit. A broken Plain Seed was shot out of his mouth. He stared at it before growling and turning to Meowth, who was shaking now. Soon I realized he was shaking in the way that he did when he knew something that someone else (usually me) didn't know, and he was trying to not laugh.

He stood up and snickered, "Hee hee hee, lookin' for dis?" He opened his bag and took a black fang out. It was covered in saliva, but Meowth didn't seem to care. "Sorry, but I noticed ya had a bad tooth, so I did some corrective dentistry while we were underground." (AN: Switcheroo, swaps user's held item with the target's. So, Meowth swapped his Plain Seed with that tooth.)

Fenrir charged forward, apparently, to take it back, but Meowth said, "I surrender." He put the fang back in his bag and practically strutted off of the arena while Fenrir growled. "And, since ya couldn't get it back, technically, your item is mine now. I'll give it back after da tournament, though. Ya got dis, Rio?"

I nodded, but asked what the item was. Before Meowth could say, Fenrir said, "It's my Dark Fang. It lets me heal from getting hit by Fighting-type moves. Regardless, there's no rule against that stunt that your partner pulled, so I'll simply have to adapt."

After Meowth left, it was just me and Fenrir. We stared each other down and I decided to get straight to the point of what I wanted to ask, based on what I sensed earlier.

"Why did you really hold this tournament, Fenrir?"

His eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?"

I crossed my arms, "Nothing fools my senses. After you dismissed your Pokémon, nobody else may have noticed, but I sensed a huge sense of relief from you. Also, throughout the whole tournament, each time one of your teammates lost after about halfway, I sensed a growing hope. What's this all really about? What kind of leader hopes for their team to lose?"

His face went from angry-looking to tired as he sighed, "Do you know how difficult it is to be leader of a team that, with very little effort, could kill you in an instant? I had to always act in control, give the effect that I could take them down myself anytime I wanted to; keep them intimidated."

I uncrossed my arms and said, "What happened to let things come to this?"

Fenrir grew defensive again, "What do you care? Levi should've filled you in on what's happened by now."

"Levi is my teammate now, and since he used to be on your team, I'd usually lend a lot of credit to his opinion. But, he also spent a lot of time in World Abyss because of you. I feel that his opinion of you is a little biased right now, so I'd like to hear the other side. Besides, you're tired out from the fight with Meowth, and without your fang, I'd like this to be a fair fight and let you rest while you tell the story." I sat down and crossed my legs as he looked at me confused.

Eventually he sat down as well, and started saying, "As Levi said before in his fight with Zane, it started with our first outlaw mission three years ago."

*Flashback*

-Fenrir's POV-

After signing on to become a new exploration team, Levi, Freak and I were excited to start doing missions on our own. After a few rescue and escort missions, I had suggested that we try taking down our first outlaw, an Ariados in Apple Woods.

Freak fiddled with the strap of the Treasure Bag, "Uh… I dunno, Fenrir, we're still kinda green. And this Ariados is a Bug-type; all of us are weak to him."

I smiled, "Come on, Freak, we'll never grow if we don't take a few risks. Your items will help even the score. Besides, we have Levi here!"

Levi crossed his wings, smirking, "Gee, thanks for making me feel special by mentioning me as an afterthought. 'Your items will definitely help! Oh, and there's Levi too.'"

Freak slapped him lightly on the side with a grin, "That's not what he meant, and you know it."

The two of them agreed, and we set out. The trip through the forest was easy enough; Levi had his Peck and Wing Attack, Freak had his Scratch and Fury Swipes attacks, with items for support, and I lent support where I could with Bite or Sand-Attack.

Everything was going well… until we reached the outlaw.

The outlaw was on an entirely different level than anything else in the forest. And it was evolved, so it was much larger and stronger.

Levi managed to get the first hit, being the fastest, but when we saw how little it did, Freak started rummaging and said, "We're in way over our head!" He pulled out an Escape Orb, "Let's get-"

But before he could use it, a Spider Web was shot at Levi, pinning him to the ground and preventing escape items to work on him. The only way to escape would be to abandon him, which was not an option. (AN: In the game, Spider Web prevents Pokémon from switching out or teleporting away.)

As the Ariados got closer to Levi, who was trying to break out of the web, Freak quickly put the orb away and got out a Blast Seed. As Ariados sprayed more silk to cover him up, Freak jumped from behind Levi and ate the Blast Seed, burning away the flying silk and causing the outlaw to retreat a ways away. Freak quickly ate a Violent Seed and got his claws ready, trying to buy enough time for Levi to get free.

While Ariados was distracted with Freak, I tried to attack him from the side, but he spotted me and turned, hitting me with Bug Bite and tossing me aside before spraying me with Toxic. With the injuries piled up and Freak too busy protecting Levi to get an item to me, I laid there unable to do anything but watch helplessly as Freak tried to fight the outlaw alone, a Blinker Seed dodged and uselessly breaking on the ground of the other side of the room.

I felt the poison pumping through my veins as Freak tried item after item to turn the fight in his favor, but he soon ran out of battle items. The Ariados bit into Freak with his fangs, draining his energy with Leech Life.

Freak was right, I thought, we weren't ready. We're too weak… I'm… too weak to even help my comrades. At that thought, I felt an inner rage awaken, and I reached for strength reserves that I didn't know that I had. I forced myself to stand, ignoring the poison that was now moving through my body faster. I… am not weak!

I raced towards the outlaw, who was too preoccupied with wrapping up Levi to notice my approach. I went right for his neck and latched on, biting down with all of my newfound strength. He tried to throw me off, but I stayed and kept biting harder and harder until there was nothing left for me to bite into.

As the outlaw's head rolled and his body was twitching on the ground, I felt no remorse or shame. He was trying to kill my comrades; I stopped him.

I turned to Freak who hesitantly handed me a Pecha Berry. After taking it, I said, "Cut Levi out. We have training to do."

After that mission, I focused our efforts on training and recruiting to make our team bigger and stronger than ever. As the months passed, we recruited Zane, Pyro, Mirage, and Wilfred. Strong Pokémon that weren't exactly "by-the-book", but the important thing was that they were strong. After evolving, I adopted a "fear me and do as I say" attitude, and showed no mercy to disobedience or mistakes; these were dangerous Pokémon, and I had to make sure they didn't turn on us. All that I ever did, I did to keep the two that I cared about safe; so that I would never have to see them in danger the way that I saw them that day.

But, after six months, Levi confronted me about my change in attitude, saying that teamwork should be fostered through friendship, not fear. I told him to grow up. The victories that we had won had not been through friendship, but through power over the opposition. Our argument heated up and I got angry. I was making our team stronger for his protection, and here he was throwing my efforts back in my face like this?!

"Fine!" I shouted, "If you don't like the way I run things, then you can leave! You are dismissed from Team Renegade, and you shall be returned to your place of origin, World Abyss!" Levi vanished before my eyes, his badge disappearing as he was warped away.

The instant that I did it, I felt terrible, but I couldn't take it back. Since the deed was done, I used it as leverage. Here was the Pokémon that showed no mercy to anyone, even to friends.

As more time passed, we recruited more Pokémon, Brute and Bruiser, Icicle, and Wrecker. Freak and I grew distant from one another after he heard what I did to Levi, but he still contributed to the team while studying his maps. He never found out that I knew, but he also visited Levi's old nest from time to time to read some of his books about ruins.

But, soon after I recruited Thorn, he came to me one night.

"Fenrir…" he said. I noticed his usual tell of wringing his hands on the Treasure Bag's strap. "I-I'm sorry, but… I can't take anymore of this. It's too much; seeing all of these Pokémon, even a current outlaw, joining our team that wouldn't even care about helping others if you didn't order them to do missions. All that they care about is helping themselves to grow stronger. I- I just can't. I can't stay here any longer."

I had expected it coming from a mile away, but, on the inside, I was touched by the fact that he still trusted me not to do anything to harm him. I had expected him to leave a letter and steal away in the night.

I grunted, "Then go. Do what you want."

"Fenrir-"

"GO!" I snarled. He yelped and put down the Treasure Bag before running away into the night. Picking up the Treasure Bag in my mouth, I noticed something gleaming a few yards away. Walking over and picking it up, I saw that it was Freak's badge. I kept it so that he would be able to wander free.

The next day, I told everyone that I had dismissed Freak because we didn't need him anymore.

-Rio's POV-

"And before I knew it, I found myself surrounded by Pokémon whose loyalty could change the instant I showed a sign of weakness. Only one, maybe two, would stay loyal to me if the rest tried to overthrow my leadership. I needed a reason to dismiss them, and then you and your team came along."

I raised an eyebrow, "You used our team to have a reason to dismiss your entire team?"

His eyes dropped to the floor, "The last reason I had to keep a strong team departed that night with Freak. But I couldn't dismiss them without reason; otherwise they would hunt me down, especially Thorn and Toxin."

"Why didn't you have Levi stay, then? You could've told him this story too."

He laughed humorlessly, "He wouldn't have believed me. I left him to rot, and could do nothing about it. I never expected him to be on your team now, but it was just a reminder of how many mistakes I've made."

I said nothing as I thought about what to do next. Having reached a decision, I said, "How about you join our team?"

Fenrir looked up at me, his face incredulous, "What?! Did you not see what my team did to your team?! What would they say?! And that's excluding the fact that Levi, the Pokémon who, within his rights, holds a grudge against me, is also on your team! Are you insane?!"

I stood up and dusted my legs off, "From the sound of it, you had no control over what your team did to our team, except in the rules you set. There were even loopholes that could be exploited. Vlad and Meowth found them, and you couldn't have known that one of our team members was mute, nullifying the rule that you set about surrendering. On top of that, if you were really as ruthless as you pretended to be, you wouldn't have put the surrender rule at all."

He started standing up, "I convinced my team that you forfeiting your pride by surrendering was a worse experience than them defeating you. Regardless, I will not join. To be honest, I don't know what I'll do when this tournament's over. Win or lose, my time with Team Renegade is done."

I dropped into my fighting stance, "We can find Freak, too. If he's still wandering around somewhere, then we can find him, and the three of you can be together again. I'm sure if you explained why you did what you did, and apologized to Levi and those that got hurt, that they'd accept you before too long."

Fenrir crouched, "You make a compelling offer. However it's not easy to change one's mindset. I may be inclined to agree if you defeat me in battle. But don't get the wrong impression. Just because I've told you my story, and your partner took my Dark Fang, doesn't mean I have any intention of losing. I'll show you that it was a mistake to let me get my energy back."

I smiled, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

I'll have to focus on my studies for finals in the coming week, but I'll still write when I can.

See you when I see you.

-AJ 203