CHAPTER 7! YAY! I have… 5 more chapters to go till this revision thing is done! Whee! So happy!
DISCLAIMER: Pokemon is owned by someone. That someone is not me.
Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 7:
A Show of Skills- Part 1
Usually when it is five o'clock in the morning children are tucked up and fast asleep in bed. Usually Pokemon are snoring their heads off at 5am in the morning. But unusually Sami Atwane was wide awake- but of course she wasn't exactly a 'child'. She was in the category of what most people like to call 'the age when you have incredible mood swings and literally live like a complete lunatic'.
"Closed." Koja stared at the human beside him. The Absol re-read the sign on the gym door, "Closed."
There was a brief moment of silence as the weary Absol stared. He had gone to bed at midnight. He had gotten up before dawn. He was standing beside the craziest human on earth. Obviously the gods did not have any pity on him today.
"Closed. You made us get up at an inane hour to walk over to a gym to challenge another human and we all find out that this building is currently in the state of being closed."
Even Inferno was now glaring daggers at his trainer- that is, he tried to. Being so tired, from staying up late and waking up early, the houndour was struggling to keep his gaze poisonous.
But, Shadow was perky. Well she wasn't exactly perky, but she was more awake then her fellow Pokemon companions. Unlike Koja and Inferno, she was not one who enjoyed prancing around at late hours of the night when it became dark. So she fell asleep in front of the fire while the other two went on a double high after eating all the chocolate chip cookies. A double high because one, most dark Pokemon were on a high in the middle of the night, and two, logically, after eating a dozen or so chocolate chip cookies each, both Pokemon could not restrain themselves from being on a high. Fortunately Shadow was unlike them and did not degrade her reputation by being on a double high.
Sami glanced quizzically at Shadow. She knew that the other two were probably tired and therefore crankier but Shadow… Strangely, the Umbreon had simply curled up in front of the fire last night and dozed off while the other two ran around like the lunatics they were. The teenager rummaged a hand through her hair and shook her head. She wasn't exactly a Pokemon expert but Sami knew that with her shocking blue eyes and strange personality traits, Shadow probably had some secrets that were probably left better unrevealed.
Shadow blinked as she stared at the sign. She of course, had no idea what everyone was going on about. It was closed. Yes, the door was definitely closed. It didn't take an Alakazam or some genius to figure that out. It was really quite…amusing. Shadow struggled to keep from laughing as she surveyed the scene. Inferno glaring daggers at Sami; Sami looking very nervous and sheepish, and Koja staring dully at the sign on the door. And this was all because of a sign that said, 'Closed'. Humans were really strange.
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Ruins of Alph, Johto Region
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The ruins were old. And even to the Gods, they were a strange and mysterious place to visit. The Unown seemed to have no voice, no mind… But, Articuno gazed into the darkness. She and her siblings were not leaving without some answers.
Zapdos, to the left of her, was already glowing brightly, acting as a walking lamp to light up the darkness. The Ice Goddess shivered suddenly as she felt something brush past her, touch her with a sense of resounding evil. She glanced at her brothers to see if it was one of them who brushed her, but they were standing a few meters apart.
A metallic sound echoed softly throughout the ruin, and suddenly, the Unown were everywhere. Their black eyes seemed to have a tiny emotion. It seemed to be that they were terrified. Moltres gazed around him, trying to discern what was happening. The Unown seemed to battle, but it was strange… Strange to for once be left on the sidelines, powerless to help or fight.
It was feeling that was alien to the three of them. It was feeling that meant nothing good. But thankfully, the thing that had been in the ruin, seemed to vanish, and the Unown seemed to rearrange themselves. Symbol after symbol, row after row. Silence after silence.
None of them spoke. They just read. They read what the symbols said, and put it into their memory…
When Ice Snow Pack's adopted member,
Is wrongly accused of murder and a kill,
When the darkness wailed out and everything went still,
That is when a mother will remember.
When Koja arrives with disaster,
Koja, of darkness and flame;
When once again the shadow feels shame,
That is when a darkness is the master.
When the shadow is owned by man and trembles,
Meets an energized lightning pup,
When child of day and darkness do assemble,
That is when the gods know something is up.
When Ice Snow Pack and dark night rally,
When powers unleash across the land,
When Gods fight shadows for their allies,
That is when the dark lord is at hand.
One of water, one of thunder, one of fire, all of night.
The three are needed for darkness to fall,
All the creatures will heed their call,
For all are needed to defend and fight.
So hear my words, listen well.
The shadow must find its blood relations,
But all my words may not come true, in any nation,
But if does, life for a time will be a hell.
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Saffron City, Kanto Region
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Sami looked around frantically, trying to resolve the situation. She knew that she wouldn't be able to yank Koja out again, especially after the mistake of getting up before the gym opened. She wanted to beat Sabrina first thing in the morning, but now it seemed she'd been over enthusiastic. She sighed. And her old teacher said that enthusiasm was good.
The teenage girl looked up at a building, not far off. It was the Fighting Dojo, AKA the Fighting Gym. Her face lit up slightly. They'd go over there! Fighting Dojo students were normally some sort of training freaks… So they'd be up early… Right? But there was definitely one fool-proof idea to check if it was open…
Sami smiled 'convincingly' at the three Pokemon before her. They stared back at her.
"Who wants to go check out the gym eh? Let's have a race! Let's see who gets there first!"
Shadow stared skeptically at Sami with a look that obviously said, 'Do you actually think I'd fall for that?' The trainer was about to try more convincing on Shadow but the Umbreon's blue eyes that bored into her made the teenager change her mind.
"Koja! Wouldn't you like to-"her enthusiastic words were cut off by the Absol.
"No. The lights aren't even on in that building!"
"Well… Fighting Dojo people can have… different techniques!"
"Like training in the dark?"
"Yeah…!"
"No thanks. Besides, I'm only fighting for you once. And that is for this Gymleader in this gym."
"Inferno? I'm your best buddy right? Wouldn't you like to check out that-"
Again the human was cut off.
"No thanks. Besides, I though you were apparently not an amateur trainer. Those are pure fighting Pokemon Sami… Oh, let me see! One Umbreon, one Absol, one houndour. That makes three Dark Pokemon who are going to get a serious pounding by loads of Fighting Pokemon. We dark Pokemon are weak against Fighting types… Gah, how'd I get stuck with such an idiot."
A vein pulsed on Sami's forehead but her anger was restrained by new thoughts. She badly wanted a battle, and she was not going to give up.
"We need reinforcements! Zan, Ditto! Come on out you guys!"
Sami threw two red and white spheres into the air and soon after, a Cubone and a… Another Pokemon appeared.
Shadow's left ear twitched. The other Pokemon… Seemed to be a glob… Of purple Stuff? How did that work? She had never seen such a… thing before.
"Right… Shadow, Koja, Zan the Cubone, Ditto the ah…Ditto. Ditto, Zan, Shadow the Umbreon, Koja the Absol. Great! All done."
Unfortunately for Shadow, Ditto, the glob of purple stuff decided to come up right towards her. The glob managed some sort of grin at her.
"Hi I'm Ditto!" said Ditto the Ditto.
"Oh great, I didn't know that!" said Zan sarcastically.
The Cubone was probably a little bit older then her and Shadow but still younger then Inferno. His head was well concealed under his mask of bone and by the way he stood with his bone sword in his hand, Shadow had no doubt that Zan was an experienced fighter.
"So… Did your grandmother adopt them…? Or did you catch them?" Zan cocked his head at Sami.
Shadow noticed with some alarm that Koja's fur bristled and his eyes seem to become even more fiery then normal when he heard the word 'catch'. Sami ignored Koja.
"Naw, they're just here for the battle against Sabrina, right?"
Shadow nodded. There was a brief moment of silence before Ditto moved in to break it.
"I like being a copycat in stuff!" he said energetically.
"That's nice…" Shadow said politely
Ditto, encouraged by Shadow's comment went on, even more energetically.
"I can transform into any Pokemon that I can see! I can be an exact replica of you! All the way down to your exact hair and powers! Isn't that great! Oh! Oh! And you can sort of see through me, see!"
Sami shook her head. Maybe it wasn't THAT good an idea to let Ditto out. Zan muttered something that sounded like 'idiot' and Inferno just sighed and looked away.
The Ditto rose up on his… his hind things and beamed at Koja and Shadow. Both Pokemon looked scarred for life and very very disturbed. Unfortunately, Ditto seemed to see this as a positive reaction.
"Wanna see me transform? Huh huh?"
"Go ahead, I guess…" said Shadow.
The Ditto soon began to transform and mutate. His purple body changed into a shiny red colour and he became round and big. He had transformed into a…
Koja gave a '0.o' look and Shadow did a look very similar. Sami gagged. Zan did nothing and Inferno sighed again. Ditto had transformed into a huge big red shiny pokeball that had a face with it. The giant pokeball started to hop around in circles around the whole group.
"Isn't it great? Isn't it great? Isn't it great?"
"Yeah…" Sami thought rapidly, trying to find a new subject of conversation before Ditto disturbed Koja and Shadow any further.
"Hey! Zan, Ditto! Wanna go check out the Fighting Dojo? You know, see if it's open?"
"It's closed." Responded Zan.
"Don't be such a pessimist!"
"… I'm not a pessimist, I'm just stating the truth, and the Dojo is closed. Go ask Ditto to check it out if you're really that desperate."
Sami glanced at Ditto who was still hopping around in circles in his giant pokeball form. In her mind's eye, she imagined what would happen if the members of the Fighting Dojo gym saw a giant pokeball with a face on it come up to them and ask them if the dojo was closed.
"No… I think the Dojo's closed." Sami replied quickly, "I'm not THAT desperate."
"It's open."
"WHAT!" Sami glared at Shadow, "We all finally are convinced that the Dojo is closed and then you go on and say it's open! Please! Give me logic here!"
Shadow rolled her eyes, "Not the dojo, the other gym!"
All gazes in the group, except Ditto's (who was still hopping around) were directed towards the gym. Indeed, it was now open. It was dimly lit up and the gym door was open. Sami put Ditto and Zan back into their pokeballs and the remainder of the group walked to the gym.
Shadow lagged behind but as she did she felt a sudden chill breeze from behind her. Glancing backwards, the Umbreon saw a faint shadow bound across the hills and then quickly out of sight. She shook her head; her imagination was getting to her.
As they went through the main doorway, Shadow caught sight of the sign. She shook her head and smiled slightly as she read it. It now read, 'Open'. And indeed the gym door was open.
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"So… Inferno goes out first… Then Koja then Shadow. Go it?"
They were all standing on the challenger's stage area of the gym and Sami was getting nervous. She had repeated that last sentence three times exactly.
Inferno sighed and shook his head, "Yeah, look. It's going to be fine! We're all dark type Pokemon. A psychic type can't actually hurt us unless they use a non-pyschic attack which of course won't be that powerful. Chill out."
"I suppose…" but the trainer still looked very nervous.
She gazed at the three Pokemon in front of her now. Inferno would be alright, he was without doubt going to really knock out his opponent fast. She had trained him a lot. Koja, from the looks of it could fight, probably just as well as Inferno but she had no idea until she saw him in battle. But there was the question if he would actually listen to her… Sami sighed. And Shadow? She would listen to commands but the Umbreon probably had zero battling experience so that would be a major disadvantage…
"She's here." Koja gestured towards a young woman in her early twenties who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"Are you here to challenge me?" The voice came soft and whispering.
"Ah…Yes. Yes, I am!" the words came a little startled. She had forgotten that Sabrina could of course speak mentally!
"Then let's begin."
A man walked out from a doorway and Sami took out her trainer ID, ready to show the referee.
"Samantha Atwane of Cinnabar Island challenges Sabrina, Gymleader of Saffron City to a Pokemon Battle. The fight will be three on three. Neither Gymleader nor Trainer may withdraw their Pokemon unless it has fainted. Let the battle begin."
Sami stuffed her trainer ID back into her pocket, mentally slapping herself once again. Of course she wouldn't need to show the man. She would probably use his psychic powers to get her name somehow…
"Inferno, you're out."
The houndour nodded and leapt onto the battle area. From Sabrina's end, A Xatu came out of its Pokeball and immediately started to fly towards Inferno at an astonishing speed.
"Flamethrower!"
Shadow glanced at the Gymleader. Sabrina did not speak like Sami to issue commands to her Pokemon, but the Umbreon had no doubt that the woman issued them mentally.
Fire erupted from Inferno's mouth and the Xatu was forced to fly up to avoid the attack.
"Flamethrower, again!"
Flames once again flew out from Inferno's mouth but the Xatu dodged them. Sabrina smiled. The bird Pokemon was too fast to be caught out.
"Flamethrower once more Inferno! Then finish it!"
Finish it. Shadow shook her head. It was impossible…
Inferno let his fire once again fly out from his mouth but the Xatu of course dodged it. The houndour smiled. Suddenly, out of the shadows, near the darker part of the gym, came a second Inferno. The houndour grinned at his surprised opponent and immediately let loose a flamethrower attack. The heat and fire completely scorched the Bird Pokemon with a direct hit. The other Inferno disappeared with a 'poof'. It had been an illusion.
"He knows double team?" interested and curious, Koja glanced at Sami.
The trainer did not take her eyes out of the battle, "He's not out yet Inferno! Use another flamethrower! Yes, Inferno knows double team. TM. Quite useful that move isn't it?"
Though injured quite badly, Inferno's opponent used what looked like 'recover'. Burn marks faded away, and the Xatu opened its eyes with new energy. Inferno took this time to use flamethrower again and the Xatu had no time to dodge. But even as the Bird tried to get out of the way, he still was hit but…
The Xatu and flew directly at Inferno and hit him with a wing attack. The houndour disappeared with a small 'poof'. It too, was an illusion.
"That doesn't make sense…" Koja muttered, his eye scanning the arena fro another Inferno to pop up, "If that Inferno wasn't real how did that Xatu get hit so badly?"
"It was real…" The Umbreon smiled grimly, "But Inferno switched with another illusion straight after… That was your plan right?"
"Yeah. And Inferno is going to take out that Xatu, now."
As if on cue, Inferno fainted in out of nowhere and bit his opponent in the neck. The houndour slashed the Pokemon and kicked for all he was worth. But the Xatu flew up. He kept flying. Finally, the Xatu mustered the last of its strength and flew right into the gym wall. Both Pokemon crashed into the wall and also crashed down onto the ground. Small shards of the wall flew out and there was a large impact on where the two battling Pokemon had crashed.
The referee walked over to the two Pokemon. Every eye in the gym looked anxiously at both Pokemon. The Xatu looked absolutely won out and bashed. Inferno just seemed really bruised and injured. But, Sabrina's Xatu somehow made it to stand up and look victoriously down at his opponent. Koja shook his head sadly.
"Thi-"
A black blur raced across the gym floor. The houndour that had bashed against the wall disappeared. Sabrina's Xatu just stood there, reflexes slowed down by the crash it had undertaken. But just before the blur managed the Xatu once again, made a teleport and vanished.
Inferno looked around anxiously but he didn't need to worry, the Xatu and teleported to the other side of the gym. In an instant, Inferno disappeared with a poof and another Inferno fainted in beside his Xatu.
"Yeah Inferno!" Sami pumped her hand into the air, "You have him now! Flamethrower!"
The burning flames completely decimated the Bird and it collapsed in a faint. Smiling grimly Inferno checked that his opponent was unconscious.
"That was one hell of a strategy…" Koja shook his head, "Let me see… You use an illusion to distract the Xatu and then get Inferno to get a direct hit with flamethrower then immediately create another illusion and switch then confuse the Xatu once more, get Inferno to come in with a faint attack then switch again somehow and finally finish Xatu off… That was one hell of a strategy…"
"It took a lot of training… But it finally pulled off eh, Inferno…What?" The trainer pumped her hand in the air again, "YES! You're finally evolving!"
The houndour glowed white and Shadow closed her eyes quickly to shield herself from the bright light that surrounded Inferno.
It was evolutionary light; she had remembered it from when she had… evolved. A flashback from that day reared up in Shadow's mind and the Umbreon tried to shut out the images.
There was Akara… Lying dead and the pack staring at her with unmerciful eyes… Then she was running…Curse… Killing…Death…Darkness… The day's events kept flashing over and over again.
Koja let out a grunt of respect for Inferno's new form. The houndour had evolved in a houndoom and the Pokemon had grown a more… devilish glint to him. Sami was smiling proudly as the referee announced the winner causing Shadow to snap out of her thoughts.
The Umbreon gazed at the houndoom and he grinned back at her. Sabrina withdrew Xatu and tossed another Pokeball out.
"Your up next Koja," Sami gestured to the Pokemon on the field, eager to do battle, "Inferno, return!"
Red light shot out from the pokeball in Sami's hand and encased Inferno. The light retracted and in a moment, faded. Koja leapt onto the battle area and took a battle stance. He was ready.
Whee. Chapter 7 Finished!